That at this time, however, they had lost the higher truths
involved in the conception of this Deity, is evident. They had
become worshippers of fire, or of that subtle igneous fluid
residing in fire which they believed to be creative force.
Although the Persiaus like all the other nations of the globe had
lost or forgotten the higher truths enunciated by an older race,
there is no evidence going to show that they ever became gross
phallic worshippers like the Jews; that they were not such is
shown in the fact that down to the time of Alexander the women of
Persia still held a high and honorable position, and that the
female attributes had not become wholly subject to male
power.
Had we no other evidence of the comparatively exalted
character of the religion of the Persians than the history of the
lives of such men as Darius, Cyrus, Artaxerxes, and others, we
should conclude, notwithstanding the similarity in the
ceremonials of these two religions, that some influence had been
at work to preserve them from the cruelty and licentiousness
which prevailed among the Jews. It is related of Cyrus that he
used to wish that he might live long enough to repay all the
kindness which he had received. It is also stated that on account
of the justice and equity shown in his character, a great number
of persons were desirous of committing to his care and wisdom
"the disposal of their property, their cities, and their own
persons."
In striking contrast to the mild and humane character of Cyrus
stands that of the licentious and revengeful David, a "man after
God's own heart."
"As for the heads of those that compass me about, let the
mischief of their own lips cover them."
"Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the
fire; into deep pits, that they rise not up again."[109]
"Happy shall he be that taketh and dasheth thy little ones
against the stones."[110]
[109] Psalms cxl.
[110] Ibid., cxxxvii.
No one I think can read the Avestas without being impressed by
the prominence there given to the subjects of temperance and
virtue. In their efforts to purify religion, and in the attempts
to return to their more ancient faith, the disciples of
Zoroaster, as early as eight hundred years before Christ, had
adopted a highly spiritualized conception of the Deity. They had
taught in various portions of Asia Minor the doctrine of one God,
a dual entity by means of which all things were created. They
taught also the doctrine of a resurrection and that of the
immortality of the soul. It was at this time that they
originated, or at least propounded, the doctrine of hell and the
devil, a belief exactly suited to the then weakened mental
condition of mankind, and from which humanity has not yet gained
sufficient intellectual and moral strength to free itself. This
Persian devil, which had become identified with winter or with
the absence of the sun's rays, was now Aryhman, or the "powers of
darkness," and was doubtless the source whence sprang the
personal devil elaborated at a later age by Laotse in China.
As the Jews had no writings prior to the time of Ezra or
Jeremiah, it is now believed that many of the doctrines
incorporated in their sacred books were borrowed from Persian,
Indian, and Egyptian sources. Resurrection from the dead, or the
resurrection of the body, was for hundreds of years prior to the
birth of Christ an established article of Egyptian and Persian
faith, while spiritual regeneration, symbolized by the outward
typification of "being born again," was the beginning of a new
life and an admission to the heavenly state.
In the Khordah Avesta we have the following concerning the
doctrine of the resurrection and that of future rewards and
punishments.
"I am wholly without doubt in the existence of the
good Mazdaycinian faith, in the coming of the resurrection and
the later body, in the stepping over the bridge Chinvat, in an
invariable recompense of good deeds and their reward, and of bad
deeds and their punishment."
The Zoroastrians, who led the way in the great intellectual
and religious awakening which took place during the intervening
years from 700 B.C. to 400 B.C., sought to purify all things by
fire and water, the two principles which had come to be regarded
as the original elements, from which, or by which, all things are
produced.
Prior to this time, in Persia, and long afterwards by various
other nations, baptism, a rite performed at puberty, was
connected only with the sexual obligations of the person
receiving it, but in the age which we are considering it became
especially a cleansing or regenerating process, and was the means
by which the pious devotee became initiated into the mysteries of
holy living, or by which she or he was "born again."
As in their religious procedure every act was performed in
connection with symbols, so in the matter of baptism they were
not satisfied with the inner consciousness of regeneration, but
must go through with certain processes which typified the new
life upon which they had entered. According to Wilford, the
outward symbolization of the "new birth" in the East is
manifested in the following manner:
"For the purpose of regeneration it is directed to
make an image of pure gold of the female power of nature, either
in the shape of a woman or of a cow. In this statue, the person
to be regenerated is inclosed, and dragged out through the
natural channel. As a statue of pure gold and of proper
dimensions would be too expensive, it is sufficient to make an
image of the sacred Yoni, through which the person to be
regenerated is to pass."
Thus at the time Nicodemus is said to have queried concerning
the mysteries of the new birth, it is observed that the outward
forms of regeneration had long been in use among the pagans. In
passing themselves through these apertures, the applicant for
regeneration was supposed to represent the condition of one
"issuing from the womb to a new scope of life."
According to the testimony of various writers upon this
subject, there are still extant, not alone in oriental countries,
but in Ireland and Scotland as well, numerous excavations or
apertures in the rocks which by an early race were used for the
same purpose. Through the misconception, bigotry, and ignorance
of the Roman Catholic missionaries in Ireland, these openings
were designated as the "Devil's Yonies." Although these emblems
typified the original conception of one of their most sacred
beliefs, namely, the "new birth," still they were "heathen
abominations" with which the devotees of the new (?) faith must
not become defiled.
The people who executed these imperishable designs, and who
have left in the British Isles innumerable evidences of their
religious beliefs, are supposed by some writers to belong to a
colony which, having been expelled from Persia on account of
their peculiar religious beliefs, settled in the "White Island,"
the "Island of the Blessed." This subject will, however, be
referred to later in this work.
When we closely examine the facts connected with the evolution
of religion, there can be little doubt that the Persians laid the
foundation for that great moral and intellectual awakening which
a century or two later is represented by Confucious, Gotama
Buddha, and Pythagoras. From the Persians, doubtless Jew and
Gentile alike received the little leaven of spirituality which in
later ages crept into their gross conception of a Deity.
By the Persians, the Hindoos, and other nations of the East,
it was believed that the end of each cycle of six hundred years,
at which time a new sun or savior was to come, would mark a new
era of religious development. At the close of each of these
cycles it was devoutly expected that the "golden age" of the past
would be restored, and that mankind would again be freed from the
ills which had overtaken them. As many of these cycles had
passed, numerous deliverers, saviors, or solar incarnations had
appeared in India, Gotama Buddha having been the ninth. In the
East, about six or seven hundred years before the birth of
Christ, not only one savior or prophet but three or four of them
appeared.
Concerning the leader of the reform in Persia there seem to be
many conflicting accounts. The learned Faber concludes that there
were two Zarathustras or Zoroasters, the former being identical
with Menu, the law giver and triplicated deity of India, and who
by various writers is recognized as the Noah of the Hebrews.
According to Pliny, the former lived thousands of years before
Christ. Several writers concur in placing him five thousand years
before the siege of Troy. According to Sir Wm. Jones, the latter
Zoroaster lived in the time of Darius Hystaspes. It is now
claimed that in the Dabistan, one of the sacred books of Persia,
thirteen Zoroasters appear. The name of the last great leader,
together with a few of his doctrines, and various scattered
fragments in the Gathas, are all that remain on record of a man
whose personality stands connected with the earliest attempt to
reform a degraded and sensualized religion.
That this prophet was without honor in his own country is
shown by the following lamentation:
"To what country shall I go? Where shall I take
refuge? What country gives shelter to the master, Zarathustra,
and his companion? None of the servants pay reverence to me, nor
do the wicked rulers of the country. How shall I worship thee
further, living Wise One? What help did Zarathustra receive when
he proclaimed the truths? What did he obtain through the good
mind? . . . Why has the truthful one so few adherents, while all
the mighty, who are unbelievers, follow the liar in great
numbers?"[111]
[111] Quoted by Viscount Amberley from Haug's Translations.
Although the prophet Zarathustra and his companion were first
rejected, the fact seems plain that the monotheistic doctrines
which they set forth were subsequently accepted as the groundwork
of the religion of Persia.
In the opening verses of the 5th Gatha appears the
following:
"It is reported that Zarathustra Spitama possessed
the best good, for Ahura Mazda granted him all that may be
obtained by means of a sincere worship, forever, all that
promotes the good life, and he gives the same to all who keep the
words and perform the actions enjoined by the good religion. . .
.
"Pourutschista, the Hetchataspadin, the most holy one, the most
distinguished of the daughters of Zarathustra, formed this
doctrine, as a reflection of the good mind, the true and wise
one."
The fact will doubtless be observed that Pourutschista was not
merely a disciple of Zarathustra, but that she FORMED the
doctrine which was accepted as a "reflection of the good
mind."
In the 5th Gatha it is stated that among those who "know the
right paths, the law which Ahura gave to the Profitable," is
Pourutschista the "Holy worthy of adoration among the daughters
of Zarathustra. . . . wise female worker of
Wisdom."[112]
[112] Spiegel's Translation.
Ormuzd, or Ahura Mazda, which was the essence of heat or
light, was the principle adored by the followers of the reformed
religion in Persia. Throughout the Avesta the most desirable
possession, and that which is most praised, is purity of
life.
"We praise the pure man.
"The best purity praise we.
"The best wish praise we of the best purity. The best place
of purity praise we, the shining, endued with all
brightness."[113]
"This Earth, together with the women, we praise
Which bears us, which are the women, Ahura Mazda
Whose wishes arise from purity, these we praise--
Fullness, readiness, questioning, wisdom."[114]
[113] Vespered xxvi. Spiegel's Translation.
[114] Yacna xxxviii.
Praise is offered to the "everlasting female companion, the
instructing."
The following is a part of the marriage ceremony of the
Persians as it is found in the Khorda-Avesta:
"Do you both accept the contract for life with
honorable mind? In the name and friendship of Ormuzd be ever
shining, be very enlarged. Be increasing. Be victorious. Learn
purity. Be worthy of good praise. May the mind think good
thoughts, the words speak good, the works do good. May all wicked
thoughts hasten away, all wicked words be diminished, all wicked
works be burnt up. . . . Win for thyself property by
right-dealing. Speak truth with the rulers and be obedient. Be
modest with friends, clever, and well wishing. Be not cruel, be
not covetous. . . . Combat adversaries with right. Before an
assembly speak only pure words. In no wise displease thy mother.
Keep thine own body pure in justice."
Confucius, the great Chinese teacher and philosopher, who
lived probably in the sixth century B.C., may be said to have
been a humanitarian or moralist instead of a mystic. Although he
believed in a great first principle, or cause, which he termed
Heaven, we are given to understand that in his philosophizing
little mention was made of it.
The system known as Confucianism was not originated by
Confucius.
In referring to this subject Legge remarks:
"He said of himself (Analects, vii., I), that he was
a transmitter and not a maker, one who believed in and loved the
ancients; and hence it is said in the thirtieth chapter of the
doctrine of the Mean, ascribed to his grandson, that he handed
down the doctrines of Yao and Shun, as if they had been his
ancestors, and elegantly displayed the regulations of Wan and Wu,
taking them as his models."[115]
[115] Legge, Preface to vol. iii. of Shu King.
The ancient books which Confucius interpreted or rewrote laid
no claim to being sacred in the sense of being inspired; but, on
the contrary, were works of wisdom put forth by historians,
poets, and others "as they were moved in their own minds." The
most ancient of these doctrines was the Shu, a work which since
the period of the Han dynasty, 202 years B.C., has been called
the Shu King.
A number of documents contained in this work date back to the
twenty-fourth century B.C., and as they are regarded as
historical are considered to be of greater importance than are
any others of their ancient writings.
Second in antiquity and importance is the Shih or the Book of
Poetry. This work contains the religious views of its writers,
also an account of the manners, customs, and events of the times
to which they belong. For 5000 years, in China, Tien or Ti has
expressed the moving or creating force in the universe. In later
ages it is observed that this name has been attached to royalty.
Hwang Ti is the present title of the Emperor of China.
From some of the texts found in the Shu King, it would seem
that the Chinese had in the remote past caught sight of the
scientific fact that virtue is its own reward. "Heaven graciously
distinguishes the virtuous. . . . Heaven punishes the
guilty."[116]
[116] Max Muller, Sacred Books of the East, book iv.
The principal object of Confucius seems to have been to
inculcate those doctrines of his ancestors which, taking root,
would in time bring about a return to those principles of former
virtue, a faint knowledge of which seems still to have survived
in China. The following precepts are found among his
teachings:
"Knowledge, magnanimity, and energy are the virtues
universally binding. Gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity,
earnestness, and kindness constitute perfect virtue. Sincerity is
the very way to Heaven. My doctrine is that of an all-pervading
unity. The superior man is catholic and not partisan. The mean is
partisan and not catholic. The superior man is affable but not
adulatory, the mean is adulatory but not affable."
When asked for a word which should serve as a rule of practice
for all our life he replied: "Is not Reciprocity such a word?
What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others." On
one occasion the question was asked him: "What do you say
concerning the principle that injury shall be recompensed with
kindness?" To which he replied: "Recompense injury with justice,
and recompense kindness with kindness."[117]
[117] Lun Yu, xiv., 26.
It is recorded by his disciples that there are four things
from which the master was entirely free. "He had no foregone
conclusions, no arbitrary predeterminations, no obstinacy, and no
egoism." Contrary to the rule of most reformers or leaders of
opinion, he always regarded himself as a learner as well as
teacher. It is related of Confucius that he at one time desired a
governmental position, thinking that through its occupancy he
might the better disseminate the ancient doctrines of rectitude
and virtue. Offers of individual advantage could not swerve him
from his well-grounded principles of honor. On one occasion one
of the rulers of the country proposed to confer upon him a city
and its revenues, but Confucius replied: "A superior man will
only receive reward for services which he has rendered. I have
given advice to the duke-king, but he has not obeyed it, and now
he would endow me with this place! very far is he from
understanding me."[118]
[118] Quoted by Amberley, Analysis of Religious Belief, vol. i., p. 197.
The fact seems evident that Confucius had not sufficient
strength of character to attempt a change in the social
conditions of his time. He had not that grandeur of soul which
enabled him to strike the key-note of reform. Monarchical
institutions and social distinctions he did not rebuke. The
brotherhood of man and the levelling processes in human society
were probably never thought of by him; certainly they were never
attempted.
By certain writers Confucius has been accused of insincerity
in a few minor matters; still, the wisdom contained in his
religious doctrines, the philosophical value of his teachings
relative to the regulation of human conduct, and, above all, his
purity of purpose, justly entitles his name to be enrolled among
the great reformers of the world.
The lasting influence which this man exerted upon the minds of
his countrymen, and the appreciation in which his name and works
are still held, are shown by the fact that his descendants
constitute the only order of hereditary nobility in China.
"He lived five hundred years before Christ; and yet to this
day, through all the changes and chances of time and of
dynasties, the descendants of Confucius remain the only
hereditary noblemen and national pensioners in the empire. Even
the imperial blood becomes diluted, degraded, and absorbed into
the body politic after the seventh generation; but the
descendants of Confucius remain separate, through all the
mutations of time and of government."[119]
[119] Thomas Magee, in the Forum, vol. x., p. 204.
Laotse, the founder of the smallest of the three sects in
China, namely, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, was an old man
when Confucius was in his prime. The word Taou signifies reason,
but the doctrines believed by the Taoists prove their system to
be the most irrational of all the religions of the East. In an
article on The Taouist Religion, Warren Benton says:
"The tendency in rationalism is toward the utter destruction
of a belief in the existence of unseen spirits of evil.
Enlightened reason dethrones devils; but Laotse created devils
innumerable, and the chief concern of the Taouist sect has always
been to manipulate these emissaries of evil. Modern rationalists
deny the existence of devils, and relegate them to the category
of myths and to personified ideas. Not so the rationalist of the
Orient. He finds his greatest pleasure in contemplating the very
atmosphere he breathes as filled with spirits constantly seeking
his injury; and to outwit his satanic majesty is the chief end of
life."[120]
[120] Pop. Science, Jan. 1890.
At a time when a personal devil was gradually assuming shape,
it would have been singular, indeed, if there had not arisen one
who, by his peculiar temperament and natural disposition, was
exactly suited to the task of elaborating this doctrine in all
its grim seriousness. That such an one did arise in the person of
Laotse is evident from what is known regarding his history and
teachings.
The growth of religious faith had long tended in this
direction. Typhon, "the wind that blasts," "Darkness," and the
"cold of winter," constituted the foundation of a belief in a
personal Devil; and, when the time was ripe for the appearance of
his satanic majesty, it required only a hypochondriac-- a
disordered mental organization--to formulate and project this
gloomy and unwholesome doctrine.
There is little known of the life and character of Laotse
except that he labored assiduously through a long life-time for
the establishment of certain principles or tenets which he
believed to be essential to the well-being of humanity. In the
twentieth chapter of his work are found to be some hints of his
personality and of the gloomy cast of his character. He complains
that while other men are joyous and gay, he alone is despondent.
He is "calm like a child that does not yet smile." He is "like a
stupid fellow, so confused does he feel. Ordinary men are
enlightened; he is obscure and troubled in mind. Like the sea, he
is forgotten and driven about like one who has no certain resting
place. All other men are of use; he alone is clownish like a
peasant. He alone is unlike other men, but he honors the nursing
mother."
Of all the various teachers which arose during the fifth,
sixth, and seventh centuries B.C., none of them were able to rise
to the position of moral grandeur occupied by Gotama Buddha. The
efforts put forth by this great teacher seem to have been humane
rather than religious. In his time, especially in India, society
had become encysted beneath a crust of seemingly impenetrable
conservatism, while religion, or priestcraft, riveted the chains
by which the masses of the people were enslaved.
The mission of Buddha was to burst asunder the bonds of the
oppressed and to abolish all distinctions of caste. This was to
be accomplished through the awakening of the divine life in each
individual. The leading processes by which the lines of caste
were weakened were in direct opposition to the established order
of society. It was a blow at the old Brahminical social and
religious code which had grown up under the reign of
priest-craft.
Notwithstanding the sex prejudice which had come to prevail in
India, it was directly stated by Buddha that any man or woman who
became his disciple, who renounced the world and by abstinence
from the lower indulgences of sense proclaimed her or his
adherence to the higher principles of life, "at once lost either
the privilege of a high caste or the degradation of a low one."
Earthly distinctions were of no consequence. Rank depended not on
the outward circumstance of birth, but on the ability of the
individual to resist evil, or, upon his capacity to receive the
higher truths enunciated by the new sun or savior--Buddha.
In one of the canonical books he is represented as saying:
"Since the doctrine which I teach is completely pure,
it makes no distinction between noble and common, between rich
and poor. It is, for example, like water, which washes both
noblemen and common people, both rich and poor, both good and
bad, and purifies all without distinction. It may, to take
another illustration, be compared to fire, which consumes
mountains, rocks, and all great and small objects between heaven
and earth. Again, my doctrine is like heaven, inasmuch as there
is room within it without exception, for whomsoever it may be;
for men and women, for boys and girls, for rich and
poor."[121]
[121] Viscount Amberley, Analysis of Religious Belief, vol. i., p. 216.
There is little doubt that the religion of Buddha was an
attempt to return to the almost forgotten principles of a past
age of spiritual and moral greatness. According to this ancient
wisdom, man is an immortal soul struggling for perfection. The
growth of the real man is a natural unfolding of the divine
principle within, such process of evolution being accomplished
through the power of the will. As every individual must work out
his own salvation, this will-force must ever be directed toward
the complete mastery of the body, or the lower self. In other
words, the development of the higher life depends upon the power
of the individual to overcome or conquer evil. The effect of
every thought, word, and deed is woven into the soul, and no one
can evade the consequences of his own acts. All sin is the result
of selfishness, so that only when one renounces self and begins
to live for others does the soul-life begin. No one who has
arrived at a state of soul-consciousness will lead a selfish or
impure life. On the contrary, every impulse of the devout
Buddhist goes out toward humanity and God, of whom he is a
conscious part.
Gotama Buddha was not a "savior" in the sense of bloody
sacrifice for the sins of the people. On the contrary, he was an
example to mankind--a man who through moral purification and a
life of self- abnegation had prepared himself for this holy
office. Mythologically, or astrologically, he was the new sun
born at the close of the cycle. He was the great Light which
revealed the way to eternal repose-- Nirvana. The mythical Buddha
was the prototype of the mythical Christ. His mother was Mai or
Mary, Queen of Heaven, or the Vernal Spring. He was a new
incarnation of the Sun--the Savior of the world. In process of
time his many miracles were offered as proof of his divine
character. Although he taught the existence of a great and
universal Power, he made no attempt to explain the unknowable.
The Infinite is to be contemplated only through its
manifestations. Nirvana is not annihilation, as has been
erroneously taught by Christian missionaries. As explained by
Buddhists themselves, it comprehends a state of absolute rest
from human strife and wretchedness. It is the absorption or
relapsing into the great First Principle, whence all life is
derived--a state so pure that the human is lost in the
divine.
"Lamp of the law!
I take my refuge in thy name and Thee!
I take my refuge in thy Law of Good!
I take my refuge in thy Order! Om!
The dew is on the Lotus!--rise, Great Sun!
And lift my leaf and mix me with the wave.
Om Mani Padme Hum, the Sunrise comes!
The Dewdrop slips into the shining Sea!"[122]
[122] Arnold, Light of Asia.
From the Buddhist colleges at Nolanda went forth teachers who,
inspired with enthusiasm in the cause of human justice and
individual liberty, endeavored to abolish the abominations which
had grown up under Brahminical rule. The masses of the people,
however, were too deeply sunken in infamy, wretchedness, and
ignorance to accept, or even understand, the pure doctrines of
the great teacher, and, as might have been anticipated, priest-
craft soon assumed its wonted arrogance, and eventually the whole
paraphernalia of antiquated dogmas were tacked upon the new
system.
Through the various efforts put forth for the elevation of
mankind during the six or seven hundred years which preceded the
advent of Christianity, sufficient strength had been given to the
moral impetus of humanity to create in many portions of the world
a strong desire for a return to purer principles, and to make the
appearance of a spiritual teacher like Christ possible. The
effects, however, of ages of moral and intellectual degradation,
in which the lowest faculties have been stimulated to the highest
degree, are not wiped out in a few centuries of struggle by the
few among the people who desire reform. As true reform means
growth, those who have reached a higher stage of development can
only point the way to others--they are powerless to effect
changes for which the masses are unprepared.
Although through a partial revival of the ideas entertained by
an ancient people the attempt was made by Zoroaster, Confucius,
Gotama Buddha, Pythagoras, the Stoics, and other schools of
philosophy, to elevate the masses of the people, and, although
the unadulterated teachings of the man called Christ were
doubtless an outgrowth of this movement, yet the human mind had
not, even as late as the appearance of this last-named reformer,
sufficiently recovered from its thraldom to enable the masses to
grasp those higher truths which had been entertained by an
earlier civilized people.
While there are doubtless many points of similarity between
the religious system elaborated by Gotama Buddha and that
enunciated by Christ, there is little likeness between the
teachings of the former and those set forth by the Romish Church,
or by Paul. Seven hundred years B.C., the Persians had grasped
the idea that virtue is its own reward, and that every soul is
responsible for its own growth. The fundamental doctrine of the
Christian Church to-day is that of a vicarious atonement--a
belief which takes away man's responsibility for his own
misdeeds.