Disclaimer:
Everything that follows is partly affected by data on the internet and partly by my opinions on the topic. I have published this discussion to enlighten those who don't know who Satan is, and discuss my opinions with those who do. The topic that I have chosen to write upon is a highly sensitive one and is open to interpretations. Having said that, I welcome any counter opinions (as well as supportive ones, of course).
"And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."
- Revelation 12:9
Satan, or Devil, is the figure that brings evil and temptation unto humans, and is known as the deceiver that leads humanity astray. He is supposed to be the guy who fries those who have sinned in huge pots of hot, boiling oil ;) .
So is he an Angel or a Demon?
Having said that he "brings evil and temptation ..." et al, this question might seem a bit bizarre. He ought to be a demon, doesn't he?
But...
Satan was created by God thousands of years ago as a perfect ANGEL. He was called "Lucifer" back then. The name "Lucifer" literally means "Morning Star", that is "The Angel of Light". He lived in heaven and was above every other angel. According to the Bible, his appearance was beautiful and dazzling. He radiated light and glory and was covered with gold and shimmering jewels.
But gradually, he became prideful and greedy, and seeked to rule heaven himself. He thus waged a war against the Almighty. He was eventually defeated badly and thrown out of heaven, along with his army (of angels). He now came to be known as "Satan", and became the ruler of the underworld, or hell as we know it. His ultimate goal became to lead people away from the path preached by God - to lead them to fallacies which God opposed. He tempts and influences people on earth, to tread upon the wrong path.
A.K.A.
As is the case with God, Satan too is called by many names.
Some of his aliases are: Lucifer - literally means "Angel of Light", Satan - original Hebrew term "Satan" means "to obstruct, oppose", Beast, Devil, Azazel, Antichrist, Beelzebub and many more.
How Does He Look?
Satan's physical appearance is never described in the Bible or any other religious text.
But since the medieval period, he is generally depicted as red coloured, having horns, sometimes having a goat's hindquarters, with a tail and a pitchfork.
These depictions are not based on biblical grounds, but apparently on pagan horned gods.
Alter-egos?
So Satan thought that if God can have alter-egos in other religions, then why can't he?
Like Christianity has Satan/Devil, similarly many other religions have analogous forms of Satan.
Judaism has Satan too, Islam has Shaitan or Iblis/Djinn, Yazidism has Shaitan. In Zoroastrianism, there is no supernatural being like the Devil, but a spirit - a human trait - called The Lie. The ancient Greek religion had Pluto.
Interestingly, Hinduism is one religion which DOES NOT have any analogous form of Satan. Some people might not agree with the above statement, saying that the analog is the Asuras. But that brings us to the fundamental question: "Who is Satan?". Satan, as I have said, is the figure that TEMPTS and INFLUENCES humans to tread on the wrong path, and punishes those who do so. But he doesn't commit evil deeds himself, unlike the Asuras, who, as we know, are infamous in that particular field.
In my opinion, Hinduism is a religion which only has one pole: a positive pole. There is no negative, but simply variations of positive - highly positive, less positive, mildly positive and so on. Highly positive being the Trinity - Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, less positive being the other Devas, mildly positive being us humans, and least positive being the Asuras. There is NO negative force (like that of the Devil).
Think of it like the difference between force due to a positively charged particle, and the effective force due to a positively charged particle kept at a distance from a negatively charged one.
The force in the first case is maximum at places immediately around the particle - corresponding to God - but gradually fades as we go away. As we go farther, the positive force decreases, but there is no NEGATIVE force (which would correspond to Satan).At a sufficiently large distance, there is virtually no force present - corresponding to the Asuras.
While in the second case, the forces due to both positive as well as negative particles determine the effective force at a point, like in religions such as Christianity - which have a positive force of God and a negative one of Satan.
Another argument can be that Yamraj is the Hindu analog of Satan. But Yama is the God of Death, a transporter of souls from the earth to hell/heaven. He, therefore, is not a viable candidate.
Satanism
Who is God?
God is any entity that a person wishes to worship. For some people, it may be Christ, Buddha, Shiva, may be some human ...... or maybe Satan.
Satanism refers to the symbolic association with or admiration for Satan. It teaches that Satan was the true God of the universe, who is falsely blamed for everything that goes wrong in the world. There will come a time when he will again be redeemed and recognised as the true creator of the universe, as the true God. It teaches that those who devote themselves to Satan shall have greater power over others, and hence satanists often meet, meditate and pray to Satan.
The public practice of Satanism officially began in 1966 with the founding of "The Church of Satan" by a person named Anton Lavey. Lavey also authored the book "The Satanic Bible". Surprisingly, in the book, Lavey mentioned that should ever the followers be in doubt, they can always look up to Walt Disney for guidance. Consequently, Disney is widely hypothesised to be a Satanist. To corroborate this conjecture further, it is said that his famous signature contained three 6’s – 666 – the Number of the Devil himself. Moreover, many of his cartoon movies are said to have contained Satanic themes.
Disney's famous signature
There are two kinds of Satanic groups: Theistic Satanism and Atheistic Satanism. Theistic Satanists worship Satan as a supernatural deity, viewing him not as almighty but rather as a patriarch. In contrast, Atheistic Satanists regard Satan not as a deity, but as a symbol of certain human traits. We know that everything is associated with certain symbols, which represent the motif, the teachings, the true meaning of that entity. Similarly, Satanism is also associated with certain "Satanic Symbols".
1. The Serpent: The serpent is a symbol of evil power and chaos from the underworld.
2. Inverted Pentagram: It symbolises the descent of spirit into matter.
3. Skull and Bones
4. Pitchfork (not the Trident. There is a difference.)
5. Inverted Cross: It symbolises mockery of Jesus and his crucifixion. Hence, it is an honouring of the opposing force to Christ.
6. The eye in the pyramid: It is used to represent knowledge. And since knowledge is essentially source of all power, it represents man's own divinity and ability to become god.
7. 666 - The Bible states the number 666 as the Number of the Beast (Satan).
“Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred three score and six.”
- Revelation 13:18
So WHO is 666?
Again ... bizarre??
How can a number be someONE ?
How can a number be a PERSON ??
Interestingly, in the Greek, Latin and Hebrew alphanumeric system, every alphabet has a corresponding number value, and hence every number can have corresponding alphabetical strings (yes, "strings", plural, since one number can be written as a sum of more than one number in more than one ways.)
So, WHO is 666?
I will continue this discussion next time... let you wonder and conjecture on the above paradox.
May the Force be with you :)