In Rakanism, there is one deity with absolute power. There are no angels, or lesser gods, nor is there a devil figure to provide an antithesis to this one deity. This lone deity is Prajapati, Lord of the Universe, and he demands more than anything else that the peoples of Eras abide by standards of peace and social justice. The word rakan, in Syrixian, means "universal", so the full Mercanti translation would be "Universalism". This refers to the fact that adherents to the Rakanist faith try to connect with the Universe; with Shri Prajapati.
In Rakanism, there are two forms of doctrine one must abide by. These are yoga, the mental and spiritual doctrine; and dhanta, the physical doctrine. In Yoga, people try to harness their internal energy to meditate, pray to Prajapati, etc. There are two energies, jina and janga; the former representing the heavens, idealism, and liberalism, and the latter representing the Eras, realism, and conservatism. People of a very advanced age who have achieved samadhi, the Bliss, also known as nirvana, become gurus; people who preach and teach.
Currently the Empire is in an England-like religious state. The Emperor is, according to tradition, the Supreme Leader of the Satsang, the faith's term for the community of Rakanist adherents. However, the most senior and spiritually powerful of the Gurus is the Guru-Baba, who resides in Rajpur. He has no political power but has much spiritual power and is the de facto leader of the Satsang, while the Emperor has no spiritual power but does have political power and is the de jure leader of the Satsang. The Guru-Baba traditionally crowns the Maharaja and did so in 2006, upon the reestablishment of the Empire. While the Guru-Baba is the de facto leader of the Satsang, he is the de jure second in command, so all over the spiritual board he has considerable power.
The Guru-Baba is found through a complex process. The Emperor has a religious committee that works for him known as the Council of Divine Investigators, whose job it is to investigate all the Rakanist Gurus of the world and gather the 5 Gurus with the most spiritual power in Rajpur. From there, the current Guru-Baba peruses the group of 5 and chooses an heir. If he is already dead, the Emperor chooses the next Guru-Baba. However, if both the current Guru-Baba and the Emperor are either dead or unable to choose, whatever the case, the 5 Gurus gather and elect one of them to be elevated to Guru-Baba status, similar to how Vatican City elects the Pope.
The Dhanta, or physical doctrine, is basically the religious law code of Rakanism. It is divided into the Four Pillars; Proclamation, Almsgiving, Reading, and Pilgrimage. The first Pillar, Proclamation, is the requirement that all those born into the Satsang or those who are converted to Rakanism, must say (as early as they can) the religious oath "There is no God but Prajapati, and I shall live amongst His Glory and His Divine Energy." The second Pillar, Almsgiving, is the requirement that all Rakanists must give 2.5% of their yearly income to some form of charity. The third Pillar, Reading, is the requirement that all Rakanists, by the end of their life, know well both the Bhagavad Gita and the Kanuna Gita; Rakanism's holy books. The final pillar, Pilgrimage, is the requirement that all Rakanists, at some point in their life, must make a pilgrimage to the ancient holy city of Rajpur and prostrate before the Perfect Statue, a representation of Prajapati. This statue has no facial features and is simply a smooth statue with a head, limbs, hands, and feet, to represent the perfection of Prajapati and how we must strive to understand such Divine Glory and achieve samadhi.
As mentioned before, Rakanism has two holy books. The Bhagavad Gita, which translates in Mercanti to "the Song of the Lord", is a reading of the ancient Rakanist mythology, containing various religious epics and the creation story itself. The Kanuna Gita, which translates to "the Law of the Lord", is a compendium of the religious doctrines of Rakanism, containing everything that is discussed in this post and more.
