Nakija's entire philosophy stemmed from a single realization -- that other creatures, such as dogs and cats, can sense things which we cannot. From there she realized that the world must possess sensory realities of which we are unaware -- sounds we cannot hear, scents we cannot smell, and even sights we cannot see. She realized that we sense only a small portion of reality.

"We see not the true world around us, but only a tiny part of it, as if we were viewing through a door-crack."

The reality of that statement is quite plain. Animals see things through impenetrable darkness, mages wield powers unfelt by most of us, and the basic elements, such as water, pass through invisible stages, such as when a puddle disappears in the sun. We could never, Nakija realized, sense the full reality of the world, and the fact that all creatures seemed attuned to only a tiny aspect of the world made her consider that the world would probably overwhelm anyone who could actually view it from all perspectives at once.

Those coming to learn of the Lakiratai philosophy are often greeted by a monk who hands them a sheet of parchment and an ink-dipped quill.

"Draw me a tree," says the monk. (If you're interested, go ahead and do so before you read on.)

Most draw a straight line representing the ground, then draw a trunk, limbs, and perhaps leaves. Some are more artistic and sketch in the texture of the trunk, a few birds in the limbs, and perhaps some mountains and a moon rising in the distance.

Inevitably, the monk will take up the parchment, peer at it, and say, "You have drawn but half a tree." He or she will then take up the pen and sketch in the roots beneath the ground, handing the parchment back.

The exercise is simple, even superficial, but it vividly displays the fact that we commonly assume the world to be as it appears to our limited perceptions, forgetting that the limits exist in our own interpretations, and not in the world around us.

Then the monk will take the person to a river or lake, and point out the reflection of the sun upon the surface.

"Where is the reflection?" the monk will ask.

"Right there," the person will say, pointing outward. "Near the middle of the lake, there."

The monk will nod, then take the person for a short walk along the bank.

"Where is the reflection?" the monk will ask.

"There," the person will say. "Just in front of that big tree."

"Has it moved," the monk will ask? "You just told me before that it was in the center."

"It has," the person will say. "It's moved as we did."

"And what if," the monk asks, "I walk back to our first observation point and look out? Where will the reflection be then?"

The person will think for a moment, and then say, "For you, it will be in the middle of the lake, and for me, near this side."

"And if we bring a thousand other people to stand about the lake? Where will they see the reflection?"

"Each in a different place."

An astute observer will realize, at this point, that the sun reflects off the entire lake, and only appears to be reflecting at one point when viewed from a single, limited perspective.

The monk, if the student shows interest, will begin to lead them toward other, similar realizations, all of them having the common thread of realizing that our singular perspective is seeing but a slice of the world.

The Realizations

The student of Lakiratai now begins to experience a series of realizations, often beginning with trying to imagine what the surface of the lake really looks like, glowing bright golden with sunlight, too bright to imagine. Time is spent in meditation, walking, and speaking with others as they begin to explore the nature of their own observations.

Students are not taught so much as pointed in one direction or another -- Lakiratai is based not on belief, but on direct experience and revelation. The student is urged to look, in as unbiased a light as possible, at their own way of seeing things.

They are encouraged to look at their attitudes -- stealing is wrong? Why? Does the cat burglar not train harder and work harder than the merchant for his living? And in stealing from the rich, does he not do less harm than that same merchant who charges high prices, even to poor folk?

They are encouraged to look at the limits of their senses -- how much of the world do they truly taste, see, hear, and smell? Nakija's initial realizations concerning the senses of animals, and the experiments with the sun and the lake show us that we truly sense very little of reality.

They are encouraged lastly to look at their mental constructs for the world -- we have cause and effect, but where does effect begin and cause end? We have young and old, pain and pleasure, good and evil, hot and cold. But where does the mountain end and the valley begin? They begin to see that our categorizations are simply mental constructs, and are not based in reality at all.

Enlightenment Begins

From here the student enters a dangerous state, where all the lines and boundaries of life and living begin to fall away, and the world's differentiations begin to swiftly break down. Time is seen as a continual, unfolding moment, lacking future or past. A fellow human is seen as an integral part of the world, taking the world in and being taken in by the world. It becomes ludicrous to see them as an individual entity. Static things, such as stone, are seen to be worn by wind and water, and the mountains are suddenly shifting and moving, always changing. The student realizes that they can look at a tree, blink once, and they will no longer be looking at the tree as it was just a blink before.

Students of Lakiratai are at their most fun right at this time, for they become quite amazed at the everyday things of the world, and develop a tendency to make statements which sound quite odd to others, but make perfect sense to themselves.

"I will never die, for I was never born."

"I am everything and nothing, all at once."

"I was walking before I was even created."

"If you wish to see clearly, blind yourself."

"There’s my pet dog" (pointing to a ladybug).

"You are as smart as the dung beetle."

"Ah, another nightfall" (as the morning sun rises).

They will make such statements and sit for hours contemplating a stream or rock or bird. It is a blissful state, and also a state that Nakija called a "sugared trap".

Full Circle

Nakija often used circles to describe the true nature of things, though she said that such an image could be misleading, for a circle exists only as a flat and limited thing. She stressed the importance of coming back to the original starting place, but with a new set of perceptions. Students stuck in the "sugared trap" could not communicate with anyone -- no one could make sense of them, and many took to ascetic ways or became wandering teachers asking food and shelter from others in exchange for teaching.

Nakija said that the most realized monk "was a groomer of horses or a gatherer of rushes." What she meant was that to truly become realized, the teachings had to be re-integrated into practical life -- that way the practitioners still contributed to the society, and also showed that the Lakiratai teachings were something other than a quick route to insanity.

Such monks returned to society and realized that they were "playing" at life, acting out a role in a great drama, and though they knew that all our systems of thought are artificial, they could still use such systems to communicate with others.

Lakiratai Today

Over the millennia, Nakija's original philosophy has been divided into so many branches that the original teachings are sometimes difficult to discern. Here are a few of the major branches, beginning with the most popular and descending into more esoteric forms. Practitioners of a certain branch usually refer to themselves as a "So practitioner", or an "Isa practitioner", which in Jeddan would translate as "So Jo", or "Isa Jo". The term "Lakit" is a Jeddan linguistic phenomenon which utilizes a shortened version of the entire root-word (in this case, Lakiratai), and adds the suffix "it" (Pronounced "eet") to describe a hybrid or offshoot of whatever the central word indicates.

So Lakit -- The widest and broadest form of Lakiratai, So Lakit was founded by Hashima, an Isa Lakit monk, a few centuries after Nakija's death. He proposed an easier-to-understand version of Lakiratai which replaced actual realizations with belief in stated principles. He also incorporated much of the ancestor-worship present in earlier Jeddan religions, all in an effort to bring Lakiratai to the common folk. In effect he created a religion which bears the signature of Lakiratai, but little else -- the practice consists mostly of prayers to spirits and ancestors, with the addition of an established priesthood of individuals who excel in mediation and problem-solving. Practitioners will attend religious gatherings in small groups, and these priests will give out their wisdom to anyone having problems with relationships, money, business, or health.

Easily more than half of all Jeddans practice So Lakit, and it provides them with a means of putting life into a wisdom-perspective. Detractors of the religion say that it provides people with little or no personal growth, and encourages practitioners to leave the solving of their problems to supposedly wiser individuals.

Jotai Lakit -- From the beginning Nakija's ways were popular with the warrior class, who not only were drawn to the discipline of meditation, but saw in her teachings a means of freeing themselves of ego and attachment to the transient, physical body, thus freeing them of any fear of death.

Jotai Jo utilize Nakija's practices to break down their views of the world until they can begin to train their bodies to overcome their former physical limitations. Jotai Jo are famous for pushing their bodies to extreme limits of endurance and even pain, and are renowned as the most potent martial practitioners in Jedda Felsuin. Some practitioners also claim to have developed the ability to speed healing or strike with more force than is possible with mere human strength.

Isa Lakit -- Isa Lakit is the path of the mystics. These practitioners, considered to be holy and enlightened monks by the masses of the population, often take to ascetic paths. Many are wanderers, while others teach at wilderness temples -- many take residence in Jotai Lakit training halls to teach the practitioners there. Although Isa Lakit is considered by many to be the highest form of Lakiratai practiced, practitioners of Tusa Lakit have been known to criticize them for forgetting the 'gatherer of rushes' aspect of Nakija's teachings.

Tusa Lakit -- A deeply personal path, these practitioners have no governing body, temples, or special practices other than meditation and an earnest study of Nakija's teachings. Tusa Jo do not concern themselves with gaining followers or even much with teaching -- they see in Nakija's path a means of understanding the world as it is, and take pride in living out their "part" as well as they can.

Use Lakit -- The Use (Oosay) Lakit use the teachings to overcome all physical limitations. They use the teachings as a sort of magical system with which they influence the world by the use of thought and spell. Their teachings include herb lore and aspects of Jeddan alchemy as well, and many of these practitioners use their magics for ill. Thus, Use Jo are often condemned as witches or sorcerers. In truth, they wield strong powers, and are especially versed in healing, but their reputation has been tarnished by numerous incidents which linger in the minds of Jeddan people.

Many other forms of Lakiratai exist, but most can be traced to one of these main branches. Use Lakit has many cults, all with different powers and purposes and secret teachings, while Jotai Lakit is broken into numerous sects, each one designed to fit the philosophy of one of the major martial arts systems of Jedda. Isa Lakit, too, has numerous systems of practice.

Lakiratai is beginning to spread outward as well, as the rest of the world begins to discover the benefits of following Nakija's teachings. A student of philosophy would be well to watch the growth of these beliefs, for many feel that the spread of Lakiratai will do much to change the state of the world.