The One is the god worshipped by the Iriali ... a single entity breaking down into smaller, constituent parts in order to gain diverse and varied experiences.[1]
Religion[]
According to belief, the One knew everything but had experienced nothing. And so the One became Many in order to experience all things. As each experience was different, each brought completeness to the One.
Eventually, all will again become One. Every individual is a different mind of a single being experiencing different lives. As Many, they need ignorance. Each fragment of the One's mind has its own body with different passions and inclinations. They each exist in variety to experience all kinds of thought.*[2]
The Iriali religion may involve fortune-telling with ocean waves, as a member of the Iriali court is the court tidereader. A spanreed meeting between the Iriali queen and Dalinar was moved up because of something seen in the waves.[3]
According to Evi Kholin, everyone will know all eventually, when they return to the One. Further, that there is no use troubling their minds about things they cannot now understand. She suggested that in contemplating just what the One has given each individual, that one should seek the peace of oblivion, and bask in the joy of one's own sensation.[4]
Philosophy[]
The philosophy behind the One is that the Spiritual Realm and the Beyond are the same thing. When an individual dies, their soul rejoins the Investiture of the Spiritual Realm. Most cosmere philosophers disagree with this belief.[5]
Speculation[]
*A reader asks, could this be the purpose behind the Shattering? Instead of people, perhaps they are Shards, and they will at some point be put back together.
References[]
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