The Prophet Mani (April 216–2 March 274 or 26 February AD 277)
Mani (traditionally referred to by early European sources as Manes), the founder of Manichaeism, was an Iranian prophet and gnostic who emerged during the earlier part of the Sasanian Empire.[1] His name meant “Light King” or “the Illustrious”. In 1969, a Greek parchment codex dating from approximately 400 AD was discovered in Egypt, providing an account of Mani’s career and teachings and is considered the most reliable source of information about the historical Mani. Mani’s father, Patik or Pattikios, was a native of Ecbatana (modern Hamadan), the ancient capital of Media, and was a member of the Mughtasilah or Mandaean Baptists. His mother was of a noble Arsacid descent, whose name is variously given as Mariam (Marmarjam) or Karossa. Based on an old Manichean manuscript, the late Professor Walter Henning calculated Mani’s death to have occurred on 2 March 277 AD.
Manichean Scriptures
Early Manichean sources, based on a lost Aramaic original text dating back to before 300 AD, speak of Mani’s miraculous birth and other exceptional qualities, as is common in all other religions. The Chinese Compendium of the Doctrines and Styles of the Teaching of Mani, the Buddha of Light, composed in 731 AD, also provides a highly legendary account of Mani.[2] According to the Cologne Mani-Codex, as a child, Mani was guided and protected by heavenly spirits and powers, mainly his “Twin Spirit” or his divine aspect. Mani received his wisdom through the revelations of his Twin Spirit (a form of the Holy Spirit). They revealed to him the secrets of his divine nature and instructed him to teach the world. The child is provided with the gift of clairvoyance and the ability to listen to the voices of suffering plants.[3]
First, at the age of 12, Mani had a visionary experience and received his first revelation. The angel Eltaum appeared to him and told him to leave his father’s sect and live chastely. He travelled to India between 240-242, where he studied Hinduism and Buddhism. Returning to Iran in 242, he joined the court of Shapur I (215-270), to whom he dedicated his only work written in Middle Persian, known as the Shapuragan (the Book of Shapur). On Sunday, 20 March 242 AD, Mani first proclaimed his gospel in the royal residence, Gundeshapor, on the occasion of the coronation day of Shapur I, when vast crowds from all parts of the empire had gathered together on the occasion of the Iranian New Year. “As once Buddha came to India, Zoroaster to Persia, and Jesus to the lands of the West, so came in the present time, this prophecy through me, Mani, to the land of Babylonia”, sounded the proclamation of this “Apostle of the true God”.[4]
Although the king protected him, he was not converted to Manichaeism, although the king’s brother Peroz converted to it. However, Bahram I (the fourth Sasanian emperor) incarcerated Mani, who died in prison in 277. He also ordered the persecution of the followers of Mani, but despite continuous persecution, Manichaeism spread with extraordinary rapidity in both East and West, including Africa, Spain, France, Italy, and the Balkans for a thousand years. It also flourished in Mesopotamia, Babylonia, Turkestan, Northern India, Western China and Tibet, where c. AD 1,000, the bulk of the population professed its tenets.
Mani wrote six of his major works in Syriac Aramaic, a version of the language spoken by Jesus and the common language of Judea in the first century AD, and The Seventh Book, Shapuragan (the Book of Shapur), which he dedicated to the Sasanian emperor Shapur I, was written in Middle Persian. They included: The Shabuhragan, the Book of Giants (numerous fragments in many languages), the Fundamental Epistle (quoted at length by Saint Augustine, who was a Manichaean before his conversion to Christianity), the Living Gospel, and his Letter to Edessa, contained in the Cologne Mani-Codex.
Mani’s Teachings
Mani seems to have borrowed the concepts of metempsychosis or transmigration of the soul from Hindu and Buddhist sources. The monastic life of the Manichaeans also seems to have its origins in Buddhism. The division of the Manichaean community into the Elect and Hearers resembles the division of the sańgha into the monks and laymen, and the commandments of the Elect also resemble the commandments for monks in Buddhism. But, unlike Buddhist monks, Manichean Elect did not go out begging for alms, and the Hearers brought them their meals.[5]
Manichaeism professed to be a religion of pure reason and claimed that it explained the origin and the future of the universe. It preached that before the existence of heaven and earth, there were two Principles, the one Good and the other Bad. The Good Principle dwells in the realm of light and is called Father of Majesty, or the Father with four Faces or Characteristics, Time, Light, Force and Will. He also had five hands or limbs, which He indwelt and possessed them all. They were Longanimity (patience or forbearance), Knowledge, Reason, Discretion, and Understanding. And again, these five as limbs of the Father’s spiritual body were sometimes distinguished from the five attributes of His pure Intelligence: Love, Faith, Truth, Highmindedness, and Wisdom. This Father of light, together with the light-air and the light-earth, the former with five attributes parallel to his own, and the latter with the five limbs of Breath, Wind, Light, Water, and Fire, constitute the Manichaean spiritual universe.[6]
To set the light-substance free from the pollution of matter was the ultimate aim of life. Those who devoted themselves entirely to this work were the “Elect” or the “Perfect Ones”, similar to the concept of bodhisattva in Buddhism. Such ascetics were forbidden to have property, eat meat or drink wine, gratify any sexual desire or engage in any servile occupation or trade, or possess a house or property. Clearly, the number of Elect was very small, and in addition to avoiding those negative commandments, they had to engage in prayer and fasting. Mani’s Ten Commandments forbade idolatry, mendacity, avarice, murder, fornication, theft, deceit, magic, hypocrisy and religious indifference.
The concept of dualism, which is sometimes wrongly ascribed to Zoroastrianism, came from Mani. This concept spread in early Christianity and later on was severely persecuted as the “Manichaean Heresy”. Like Prophet Muhammad many centuries later, Mani also came to regard himself as the Seal of the Prophets and named Zoroaster, Buddha and Jesus as his forerunners. He was regarded by his followers as the ultimate revelation of God and a model of righteous behaviour, compassion, philanthropy, and brave martyrdom.
Like Christ, Mani is also said to be of divine origin. According to a Parthian fragment of his scriptures, M 6032, his spiritual existence is stressed when he tells his father that he only begot Mani’s body, “another one, however, came to dwell in it”.[7] Mani had a transcendental, spiritual existence, which “through mercy put on the earthly garment”, namely, his material body. He existed from the beginning as an “Apostle of Light”. Mani’s last three days of life, which somewhat resemble the life of Christ, are exhaustively described. Like Christ, he foresaw his imminent death and even craved it.
He bade farewell to his devoted followers, and after his death, we have the account of the triumphal ascension of his immortal soul to the realm of light. It seems that at first, the authorities doubted his death and carried out medical examinations. The Manichean hagiographical tradition has even referred to Mani’s passion and death, and many accounts indicate that his body was mutilated.[8]
So, Mani was another early Iranian prophet who had a great impact on the ancient world. He founded a religion and a school of thought that spread very widely after his cruel death and also influenced many religions and philosophies.
Footnotes:
[1] For Mani’s biography, see L.J.R. Ort, Mani: a religio-historical description of his personality (Leiden, E.J. Brill, 1967). “The Cologne Mani Codex”, dating from c. 400 AD, is a parchment containing a Greek text discovered in 1969 in Egypt and is one of the earliest sources about the life of Mani. See: Albert Henrichs, “The Cologne Mani Codex Reconsidered”, Harvard Studies in Classical Philology (1979) 83: pp. 339-367.
[2] Haloun and Henning, 1952, pp. 189-94
[3] See Encyclopaedia Iranica, “Mani”.
[4] Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent, “Manichaesm”, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09591a.htm
[5] Encyclopaedia Iranica, “Manicheism iv. Buddhist Elements In”.
[6] Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent, “Manichaeism”.
[7] The Cologne Mani Codex, p. 155; ed. Koenen and Romer, 1988, pp. 82-83
[8] Psalm Book, ed. Allberry, 1938, pp. 24. 2-3; 44. 17-20
F Jahanpour 