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This is aimed at Mithraists rather than Zorochristians who focus more on the angel-saints Zartus, Jesus and Georgius. However these three saints perhaps also embody the same ideal. Zoroaster points to the ideal Adult in Head, Jesus to the ideal Adult in Heart and St.George to the Adult in Hand. MITHRAS THE ADULT - in Hand, Heart and Head We all start as children, but we don't all get to adulthood. Some parts of us receive what they need to grow into maturity, but other parts remain undeveloped and immature. We can simplify these parts of us as 'Hand, Heart and Head'. An Adult in Hand is a capable person - able to do the practical things that are needed to survive and flourish in the world. In pre-modern times an adult man would be able to hunt animals for food, make tools, build a shelter and fight off hostile neighbours etc. An Adult in Heart is an emotionally mature and strong person. An adult in heart may get angry or fearful but he keeps these feelings in proportion to the task at hand. Where the situation demands it he can push through emotions such as fear in order to do what he needs to do. He is not overly affected by the emotions of others, and can deal with them straightforwardly, neither letting them sway him too much, nor feeling a need to push them away. An Adult in Head is an intellectually mature and enlightened person. He is able to reason dispassionately - make sense of things without letting emotions get in the way. He recognises his own way of seeing things is exactly that - a way of seeing things - and not the final truth about reality. He is engaged in a continual pursuit to make better sense of the world - to understand it more truthfully and in greater complexity. Growing towards adulthood comes about as we strive to interact with the world, and the world feeds back to us. Only if we are very lucky do we get the right kind of interaction that allows us to develop smoothly and completely into adults. Usually our environment is imperfect, and doesn't provide enough of the 'food' we need to grow, nor food of the right kind or at the right time. We may develop in some areas and not others. We may become injured in some way which makes further growth very difficult if we cannot heal. Mithras however is the ideal of the fully adult - one who has gained the right experience to fully grow in his every aspect. As a consequence Mithras is able to 'turn the stars in the heavens' as the ancients thought - he is able to escape the sirens, the traps and prisons that most of us fall into in life and pursue his purpose directly and effectively. It is our task as Mithraists to seek to become more like Mithras. We strive to grow up. If we are injured we strive to gain healing. If healthy we strive to gain challenge and experience for our growth. However do not think this is a purely individual project. The experiences we can have depend very much of what other people do. Thus we must work together to create the right experiences for each other - those more mature, helping those less mature just as a good parent helps their child or a sage teaches his disciples. TC) Can you explain more , how Mithras was an adult?? MZ) I am starting from the idea that Mithras is the ideal person who is able to promote the Good as much as it is humanly possible to do. From this comes the idea that he must have fully developed adult human abilities. TC) kind of how Christians see Jesus. MZ) Yes, maybe, though a Mithraist would argue that Jesus as someone with a particular human history can't represent the full spectrum of ideal human character as well as Mithras can. BE) Mithras does indeed seem to embody the ideal of the Wise, Benevolent, and Courageous Adult, a being whose cognizance and acceptance of the world’s contingencies and its inexorable forces is equally and maturely balanced by his adoration of the Good and his commitment to bring about its ever-progressing realization in this world. I found the following summary of Marcus Aurelius’ ‘Stoic Code of Honor’ to elegantly encapsulate this point of view as well as the fundamental ethos of rational-emotive, eudaimonistic psychotherapy... MZ) I would emphasize that it is not for everyone to have a stoic training. Some people may benefit from a more pagan training that strengthens them (strengthens their ego?) before undergoing a stoic training (to set aside their ego ?). BE) certainly. I think those Mithraists to whom Stoic training is best suited will have a natural attraction to it. |