Surak



Surak was a Vulcan philosopher and pacifist, born on Vulcan in 79 B.C. to Stef and T'Leia.

The Way of Kolinahr book states that Surak's father was Solek, a General of ShiKahr's army

Surak helped end the destructive wars on Vulcan and taught his followers to learn to embrace logic and control their emotions. This era became known as the Time of Awakening and saw Vulcans transform from violent savages and transcend into logical, ordered beings. Surak became the revered father of Vulcan logic and his teachings were still worshipped in the 24th century. (TOS episode: "The Savage Curtain" and novel: Spock's World; and TNG episode: "Gambit, Part II").

Early Life
One record states that Surak was born in the 279 A.D. (Earth relative date) during a time of war and suffering on his world. (Decipher RPG: Player's Guide). He born to a upper class family in the city of ShiKahr. Even when he was born, he was known to resist the more warrior behaviours demonstrated by others of his kind which was a source of disappointment to his father. This was the cause of many arguments between between father and son which would eventually lead to them not speaking to each other.

As a child, Surak witnessed the aftermath of a battle on the Ishaya plains near his family's home. Several Vulcan clans had fought to their mutual destruction. Surak found his father moments away from death. In Stef's last moments, he revealed to Surak the Devil's Heart. During a cold Vulcan night, the stone kept him warm, and in the morning he willingly gave up the stone, which was siezed by a rival Vulcan clan. (TNG novel The Devil's Heart).


 * The Way of Kolinahr book states that Surak's father was killed along with numerous other generals by assassins sent by the warlord of Sudoc. The book states that Surak's father, Solek was killed along with his wife and children with Surak being the only survivor as he was away discussing philosophy with his circle of friends.

Another tragedy that would strike the young Surak would be when his closest friend, Senet, joined the army to avenge the death of his father who was a general of ShiKahr. The death of his friend would have a profound impact on Surak who would begin to evaluate his life and the senseless carnage that engulfed his homeworld. (LUG The Way of Kolinahr: The Vulcans)

At first, he was a noted computer scientist, however, his breakthroughs were used in conjunction with weapons of war that killed thousands of Vulcans. Distraught, he left the field of science and journeyed through the harsh deserts of his world where he met with the Adepts of Gol and the Adepts of Seleya in order to find a way to cope with the guilt he felt in helping bring about the deaths of so many people.

At the time, he was noted at being the head of his House before he disappeared. He also did possess a nephew at the time. (TOS novel: Vulcan's Soul Exodus)

Way of Logic
By the 312 A.D., he adopted his philosophy of pure logic and helped lead the Vulcan people into a peaceful new age. (Decipher RPG: Player's Guide).

He had written many of his teachings down and was surprised at the clarity he had achieved when he began his belief in logic. However, when he spoke about his new beliefs to his circle of friends, they decided to abandon him as they believed that he had become a deranged after the death of his family. His teachings would aliennate more and more of his friends until a core group remained. These people would become future philosophers and included; Jarok, Nirak, T'Mor and Vethek. (LUG The Way of Kolinahr: The Vulcans).

Though preaching this new found belief, he had many opponents that attempted to silence him for his thoughts. One such individual was the Kolinahr master Zakal. (TOS novels: The Lost Years and The Romulan Way). His message of peace would spread from his home town and face many violent attacks from numerous people which was a test of his pacifistic belief. However, his message of peace would never gain root among the people, many of whom lost loved ones during the wars against the 'barbarians' under the command of the warlord Sudoc. Sensing that the people would not listen through words alone, Surak and his followers began to preach to the members of other armies and enemies which formed the teachings of Tu-Surak.

Some of his noted accomplishments were traveling to the Plains of Blood where he soothed the hot tempers of his fellow Vulcan's by preaching his belief in logic. (ENT episode: The Forge). Another one of his accomplishments was the conversion of ten thousand warriors who stood down in the face of his logic which was one of the defining moments in the Time of Awakening. (TOS novel: The Covenant of the Crown).

The mindlords of the Kolinahru were known to have converted to the teachings of Cthia after hearing the words from Surak himself and left the war that night. Other legends speak of the Four Hundred and Four, which tell of Surak's followers that would mysteriously appear in the camps of Sudocs armies and each time they would be executed. These tales had such an impact that Vulcan Masters for many years would remember the death speeches of these brave soldiers of peace.

The spread of Surak's teachings would be so profound as they were willing to die for the spread of logic which demoralized their enemies. Many warlords would rebel against Sudocs rule. After Sudoc's death, many more would convert to Surak's teachings with such intensity that members would be converted without ever meeting Surak himself. (LUG: The Ways of Kolinahr: The Vulcans)

During his travels, he was considered a terrorist for his radical views though he still journeyed and spread his views to those who listened. However, he realized that the wars that engulfed his homeworld may very well destroy the Mother World and made attempts to ensure the survival of his species. To do this, he journeyed to ShiKahr to the Vulcan Space Institute where he swayed the mind of the young engineer Karatek and brought the idea to the scientists of the Vulcan Space Initiative to allow thousands of Vulcans to leave the world in sleeper ships in order to preserve their species should the wars finally extinguish life on Vulcan (planet).

During his trip, he faced many attacks on his life by members of the Vulcan High Command, the Te-Vikram Brotherhood and even members of his family, who had disowned him. (TOS novel: Vulcan's Soul Exodus).

Though his teachings would spread across the globe, many Vulcan's would still attempt to cling to old martial beliefs. One such group would consist of a cadre of Sudoc's followers who were led by Tellus and formed the Children of Ket-Cheleb. This group would attempt to leave Vulcan on generation ships and despite all of Surak's attempts at convincing them otherwise, this group of Vulcan's left the homeworld. Surak's failure in this task would haunt him for the rest of his life and would be a source of animosity between him and Jarok. (LUG: The Ways of Kolinahr: The Vulcans)


 * Vulcan's Soul and the Ways of Kolinahr book take different approaches to the exodus of the Proto-Romulans. Vulcan's Soul states that they left with numerous other groups on generation ships with Surak's blessings while the Way of Kolinahr states that they left in defiance of the spread of logic over Vulcan.

One of the most prized works of Surak was the development and encoding of his teachings into a codex known as the Kir'Shara. He was also noted in the creation of the Surak's Analects.

Death and Return
Despite his message of peace, it is said that Surak passed away at Mount Seleya from radiation poisoning from the weapons of mass destruction used in that era. (ENT episode: Awakening, Kir'Shara). One source states that this was in the Vulcan year 481. (LUG: The Ways of Kolinahr: The Vulcans)


 * One source states that Surak was killed by Yhri terrorists. (TOS novel: Spock's World - Vulcan Six). While Vulcan's Soul Exodus states that he died in ShiKahr after an attack on the Vulcan Space Initiative by factions that wished to prevent the launch of the Great Ships. It should be noted, however, that it he may have survived the attack but was believed to have been killed in the skirmish.

Though his physical form died, Surak's Katra was preserved through the ages. It was later discovered in 2137 by a Vulcan known as Syrran who stored it within his body. Seeing how his teachings had become distorted, the two minds formed the Syrrannites movement which attempted to recover the Kir'Shara and bring the true way of Cthia to the people.

During this time, the Vulcan High Command atempted to frame and destroy the Syrranite movement. On this journey, Syrran himself was gravely wounded but passed the katra of Surak to a Human known as Jonathan Archer who managed to bring a new age on the Vulcan homeworld by toppling the corrupt rule of the High Command.

Surak's katra would be embedded within the Hall of Ancient Thought and deny the chance of being released from the burdens of the world as he decided to continue to serve his people by the 24th century. (TOS novel: Vulcan's Soul Epiphany)

Personality
The engineer Karatek described Surak as being ruthless in his use of logic but was never cruel. And even though he was a believer of Cthia, there were rare moments when he did display a sudden 'flash' of emotion which he immediately suppressed. This was noted only once, when his student Skamandros was killed in a sudden attack by Surak's enemies. (TOS novel: Vulcan's Soul)

Students of Surak

 * Skamandros
 * S'task
 * T'Klaas
 * Varen

Legacy
Many credit Surak for starting the movement that would alter the Vulcan species for all of time and start their path down the ways of logic as well as peace. This would result in the Vulcan race being given the opportunity to step away from the violent conflicts that threatened to destroy the Vulcan homeworld.

During his life, Surak would create a great many pieces of work that the Vulcan people would adhere to in their belief of Cthia. This would include his original writings which were present on the Kir'Shara that would be lost initially (ENT episode: Kir'Shara). Another accomplishment was his Analects which were a collection of writings made by him which sparked much controversy when first written (TOS novel: Vulcan's Soul Exodus). His Tenets of Discipline were also an important piece of work known to many Vulcans (TOS novel: Killing Time). In addition to this, his Irreducible Foundations of Logic would spark the basic framework for Vulcan forsensic work which preached a "degrees of harm" test which essentially meant that the "needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few... or the one." (TOS novel: Captain's Peril)

Other races, such as humans were also exposed to Surak's teachings when his writings were translated into other languages. The Vulcan Skon was the first to translate some of these teachings into English. (ENT episode Two Days and Two Nights).

Another legacy that affected the Vulcan people was the adoption of names beginning with the letter 'S'. These disciples did such a task in honor of Surak. At the time of his preaching, appoximately 28.6 percent of the population did so. In addition to this, the logic seeking Vulcans abandoned the need for the consumption of meat and became strict vegetarians. (TOS novel: Vulcan's Soul Exodus)

His debates with T'Karik and Sessinek were famous among the Vulcan people. (ENT novel: The Good That Men Do)

Quotes

 * "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."
 * "The spear in the enemy's side is the spear in your own." - Suraks preaching to the people in ShiKahr's market place.
 * "The outcome of our actions is entirely out of our control. Only intent remains entirely within out control." - the Scrolls of Surak
 * "The calm mind is the one that truly knows."
 * "The only noble desire is the desire to serve others."
 * "Once you have thrown away your pach-te, you have found the true center, the golden river, the lifeblood of the world."
 * "The mind controls the body; control the mind and the body will follow."
 * "Animals have no virtue. And if we are not careful, we shall degenerate into animals once again."

Related Articles

 * ShiGral
 * Surakian