Tirta dan Bayang

For decades, the Phaṇin philosopher Bagus Jayanagara has written on the nature of Numina - the gods and spirits that arise from the thoughts of sentient beings - arguing that it is both a practical duty and a moral responsibility for individuals and nations to police their own thoughts, with the goal of controlling what beings are brought into existence. For much of his career, Bagus remained an obscure figure in philosophical circles, regarded as a fringe thinker whose ideas were too radical or impractical to adopt. But in the past decade, his work has drawn the attention and support of key members of the Persatuan Phaṇin military alliance, who became the founding members of a new organization based on his philosophy: the Tirta Baya, or "Purifiers of the Sacred." This group now seeks to spread their doctrine of divine purification through pure thinking, both within Phaṇin society and beyond. As part of that effort, they have disseminated a new treatise by Bagus Jayanagara - Tirta dan Bayang - which distills his ideas into a comprehensive and accessible manifesto.

Purpose of the Tirta dan Bayang

The ideas of Bagus Jayanagara developed over many years and were previously scattered across more than a dozen books and hundreds of shorter treatises. These ideas also evolved over time, resulting in inconsistencies between earlier and later works that can confuse those attempting to understand his philosophy. Addressing these issues is the primary purpose of the Tirta dan Bayang: it serves as a definitive and clarified version of the philosophical stance adopted by the Tirta Baya and is considered authoritative over Bagus's previous writings.

An Introduction to the Gods

The document begins by laying out the common understanding among philosophers regarding Numina - that they are beings of the Dream, born from and sustained by the thoughts of sentient creatures. Worship is not required for their continued existence - nor even belief - only that they are thought about often enough to remain active in the collective mind.

It then turns to The Godcrafter Manifesto, written by the Clarati sorcerer Illustrata when he founded the Godcrafter's Guild centuries ago. This manifesto described the process of deliberately creating new gods through the collective power of thought - gods designed to serve those who brought them into being. While the Godcrafter's Guild was ultimately unable to realize the full ambitions set forth in the manifesto and dispersed after Illustrata's death, the techniques they developed resulted in the creation of several deities now known collectively as the Godcrafted.

Bagus next addresses the matter of Rangdayan. For centuries, the Phaṇin have been locked in struggle with this goddess and her Utkrośa creations. They believe Rangdayan to be the origin of all manner of monsters and abominations, and that she has actively sought the destruction of the Phaṇin - most notably through the catastrophic eruption of Gunung Ratnala two centuries ago, which they attribute to a monstrous beetle sent by Rangdayan to burrow into the mountain's heart. Bagus extrapolates from this catastrophe to the many violent, dangerous, and malevolent deities that populate the world, placing the blame for their actions on those individuals who continue to create, shape, and sustain them through their thoughts.

A Moral Imperative

This argument forms the heart of the treatise: since sentient beings create Numina with their thoughts, it is their duty to police those thoughts and to focus only on deities who are worthy of existence. To neglect this duty is a moral failure, making one complicit in the crimes committed by the gods they empower. Furthermore, Bagus asserts, it is necessary to actively purge all thought of inherently evil gods, starving them of belief and allowing them to fade into nonexistence.

The remainder of the Tirta dan Bayang explores the implications and practical consequences of this moral obligation. It rejects the idea that evil gods can be reformed; Bagus argues that the original myths and associations will always exert a corrupting influence, rendering any such efforts futile. He discusses the obliteration of a god's name and story, and methods individuals can use to purge all thought of a particular entity from their minds. In an aside, he revisits the idea of custom-created gods and concludes that the process is too unreliable to be useful. The Godcrafted seldom remain faithful to their designers' intentions and are often no less harmful than naturally arising deities. Bagus briefly suggests that the world would be better off without gods altogether - but acknowledges that such an outcome would require a radical, global transformation in the way sentient beings think.

To Slay Rangdayan

In its final section, the Tirta dan Bayang outlines how this process might be applied to Rangdayan to bring the centuries-long struggle with her to an end. It calls for the extermination of all her creatures, especially the Utkrośa, who form the core of her worshippers. The goddess herself must be bound using her True Name - which remains unknown but is a central focus of the Tirta Baya's efforts - so that she cannot interfere with her own unmaking. Then she must be purged: all records, stories, and knowledge of her consigned to oblivion, until she vanishes entirely from the Dream and becomes less than memory - nothing at all.

Reactions to the Tirta dan Bayang

The Tirta Baya have distributed the Tirta dan Bayang as widely as possible, sending copies around the Great Ring and commissioning translations in more than a dozen languages. Many readers have been appalled - seeing in it a declaration of war against the gods of their own peoples. Others reject the idea that they are morally responsible for the actions of another being simply because they think of it, even if those thoughts are what sustain it. And some, looking toward the dark and shadowed places where they know monsters dwell, find themselves wondering: Is it truly possible to be free of our demons forever?

Thus far, the Tirta Baya have not spread beyond the borders of the Persatuan Phaṇin, and their struggle with Rangdayan continues. But the Tirta dan Bayang has planted seeds on many islands—and only time will tell which of them will take root, and what they will grow into.