The World of the Axial Sages [1 ed.] 1527560813, 9781527560819

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The World of the Axial Sages

The World of the Axial Sages: The Age of Awakening By

John C. Stephens

The World of the Axial Sages: The Age of Awakening By John C. Stephens This book first published 2021 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2021 by John C. Stephens All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-5275-6081-3 ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-6081-9

To Denise

For the highest images in every religion there is an analogue in a state of the soul… —Frederick Nietzsche, Notes, 1875

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface ....................................................................................................... ix Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 Chapter One .............................................................................................. 15 A Day in the Life of Religion Chapter Two ............................................................................................. 27 Akhenaten’s Countermyth Chapter Three ........................................................................................... 37 The Visions of Zoroaster Chapter Four ............................................................................................. 51 The Awakening of the Hebrew Prophets Chapter Five ............................................................................................. 63 Awakening to the Logos in Greece Chapter Six ............................................................................................... 85 Vedic Dawn Chapter Seven......................................................................................... 101 The Awakening of Mahavira Chapter Eight .......................................................................................... 115 Buddha and the Middle Way Chapter Nine........................................................................................... 129 The Awakening of the Chinese Sages Chapter Ten ............................................................................................ 153 Conclusion

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Notes....................................................................................................... 165 Bibliography ........................................................................................... 175 Index ....................................................................................................... 177

PREFACE

Curiosity was the central force that guided me in writing this book. For quite some time, I have always wanted to know about the similarities and differences between the various religions of the world and how each tradition would measure up when placed side by side with the others. After pondering these comparative issues for a while, I realized that I needed to narrow my focus. This decision led me to stumble upon the “Axial Age”, that formative period of religious history dating back to the 6th through 4th century BCE. This historic era was a time of great religious and cultural change happening on a global scale. Since many of the major religions of the world find their roots in the Axial Age, focusing upon it seemed like the ideal place to begin my comparative analysis. Individual religious experience and the psychology of religion represent two additional sources of curiosity for me. Interest in these sorts of subjects led me to wonder about whether or not the personal dimension of religion played a significant role in the birth of the Axial Age. As a graduate student in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, I spent most of my time studying the Greco-Roman religious traditions of antiquity and had little time to investigate comparative issues about the religious traditions of the world. In the past, I was impressed more by the many stark differences between the eastern and western religious traditions than their similarities; likewise, the forces of religious change always seemed much more fascinating to me than the forces of religious stability. It always appeared to me that the gulf between these two cultural worlds was so huge that one would never be able to bridge the gap between them. The eastern religions seemed to have a much more mystical and pantheistic view of the world whereas the western religions seemed much more preoccupied with sin and guilt. In recent times, I have become more and more interested in examining the common elements shared by the Asian religious traditions and the three great monotheistic religious traditions of the west including Judaism, Christianity and Islam; inevitably, this topic led me to explore the events of the Axial Age.

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This book recognizes that throughout history people have sought to make contact in many different ways with the world of the supernatural. Finding patterns in the ways in which people have reached out to the sacred realm is an important type of scholarly research. The historian of religion Jonathan Z. Smith has argued that the term “religion” per se is an invention of modern western scholars1. One of the unfortunate consequences of this assertion is that in today’s world comparative studies in the field of religion have become a rarity. On the other hand, the field has seen a rise in the number of narrowly defined area-specific studies. Area studies are a valuable form of research, but they overlook some of the most exciting issues in the study of religion. Comparative research in the field of religious studies is important because it shows some of the underlying bonds uniting different cultural groups around the world. This book takes the position that terms such as “religion”, “Buddhism” or “the Axial Age” are perfectly acceptable to use for research purposes, especially for comparative research, as long as they are clearly defined with as much specificity as possible. From the standpoint of this book, the term “religion” will be defined as those beliefs and practices appearing in human culture that are directed to the sacred cosmos. Similarly, the term “religious experience” encompasses a variety of subjective incidents and occurrences which are interpreted by their recipients as numinous encounters with some aspect of the sacred cosmos. Defining and clarifying the meaning of the term “the Axial Age” will be one of the primary goals of this book. The case can be made that a variety of terms including the “Axial Age” have been invented by western scholars, but it is important to remember that the value of any intellectual construct is determined by its usefulness for the purposes of analysis. In many ways, this book on the religious traditions of the Axial Age offers supporting evidence for a fundamental axiom proposed by the father of modern psychology, William James in his classic study of religious experience, entitled The Varieties of Religious Experience. James notes that “in the distinctively religious sphere of experience, many persons (how many we cannot tell) possess the objects of their belief, not in the form of mere conceptions which their intellect accepts as true, but rather in the form of quasi-sensible realities directly apprehended.” 2 Further, this study finds guidance from the historian of religions Joachim Wach who defined religious experience as the way in which human beings respond “to what is experienced as Ultimate Reality.”3 As Wach points out, people who experience the sacred are frequently consumed with the propagandistic desire “to attract and invite others to see and hear as one has seen and heard.”4 These expressions of religious experience are embedded in a variety of cultural phenomena of interest to the student of religion including

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myths, rituals and theological doctrines. That need to “attract and invite others” into the realm of the sacred is clearly demonstrated in the lives of the Axial sages. One of the first things that I realized after exploring the so-called Axial Age for a while was that the label “The Age of Awakening “would be more suitable for describing this period of history. During this particular historical period, a variety of sages, prophets, priests, philosophers and their followers both in the east and west were beginning to slowly realize and literally “wake up” to the fact that the gods were far more than just simply largerthan-life supernatural beings possessing human-like qualities. Throughout the world new channels of communication with the divine were being discovered. My original concerns relating to the similarities and differences between the great religious traditions of the world could finally be addressed on a limited basis since many of these traditions, or at least certain ideological portions of these traditions, find their origins in the events of the Age of Awakening. My familiarity with the psychology of religion led me to realize that individual religious experience was an important factor in the birth of this global spiritual movement. Religious diversity is one of the most noteworthy characteristics of the Age of Awakening. Many of the traditional religious beliefs associated with the old anthropomorphic gods of antiquity were being abandoned or at least reconceived as manifestations of a spiritual energy existing everywhere in the universe, including the inner world of the person.5 Both in the east and west, spiritually-minded people were starting to take more responsibility for their own spiritual fate rather than depending upon someone else to do it for them such as the priests of the state. The sages and prophets of the Age of Awakening exhorted people to attune their thoughts and deeds to this invisible spiritual force lying at the foundation of everything in the cosmos. This reversal of spiritual values was happening on a global scale and involved many issues concerning the similarities and differences between the eastern and western religions. More importantly, this global awakening represented a huge step forward in humanity’s continuing spiritual evolution. Because of these reasons, the Age of Awakening became the focus of this book.

INTRODUCTION THE AXIAL AGE

This book examines a series of momentous spiritual changes that occurred between the sixth and fourth century BCE, a period of history that has been labelled by some scholars as “The Axial Age”. In his well-known book entitled The Origin and Goal of History, German philosopher Karl Jaspers coined the term “Axial Age “to refer to that period of ancient history when a number of seminal religious and philosophic developments unfolded upon the world.1 This was a time when several eastern and western prophets, sages and philosophers were instrumental in giving birth, either directly or indirectly, to a variety of large-scale religious movements. Despite running up against some stiff resistance from the religious mainstream, eventually these new religious and philosophic innovations gained a firm foothold in the civilized world. In classical Greece, various philosophers including Pythagoras (570 BCE495 BCE) and Plato (428 BCE-327BCE) sought new ideological perspectives to replace the outdated religion of the Greek city-state. In India during the first millennium BCE, a mystical tradition rooted in the practice of asceticism was rapidly unfolding. Roughly during the same period of history, the teachings of the legendary figure Laozi found a receptive audience in China among those who were searching for new mystical ways of communicating with the sacred. Confucius (551BCE-479 BCE) was another important Chinese sage of the Axial Age. In comparison to Laozi, Confucius was a conservative figure who was deeply appreciative of the traditions of the past. The Middle East also played a significant role in the spiritual revolution of the first millennium BCE. As early as the sixth century BCE in Persia, Zoroaster’s teachings about the Truth and the Lie led to the birth of another new religious movement known as Zoroastrianism. At the time of the Babylonian Exile(586 BCE-539 BCE), ancient Judaism underwent a process of radical spiritual renewal largely due to the inspired teachings of the Hebrew prophets. The Axial Age was the birthplace of many of the world’s religious traditions. In comparing the general characteristics of the major eastern and

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Introduction

western religious traditions, there are some stark differences that begin to emerge. The events of the Axial Age represent the logical place to begin accounting for some of these differences. At that time, although an elaborate process of spiritual awakening was happening, the end result of these events in each geographic setting was not the same. In his Gifford lectures delivered in 1968 at Cambridge University, R.C. Zaehner uses the phrase” the desire for release “as a concise way to sum up the main thrust of Indian spirituality. Zaehner explains that in the context of the religious traditions of India, “the transmigration of souls is accepted not merely as a dogma, but as a self-evident fact and salvation means …..final release from the world of samsara, the unending round of births and deaths from which there appears to be no escape.”2 In Jainism, Buddhism and classical Hinduism, the world is considered to be an illusion that must be seen through. Living the life-style of a monk or nun was considered as the preferred way to counteract the inherently harmful effects of karma so as to free one’s spiritual self from the clutches of samsara. In China, Confucius and Laozi understood the world in different terms. Instead of being an illusion, these sages believed that the world was real, but it was a place filled with greed and violence. Confucius believed that people had forgotten about traditional Chinese values such as treating one another with common decency and respect. Harkening back to the Sage-Kings of the by-gone Zhou dynasty, he sought to teach people about the principles of social etiquette. The otherworldly quality of Confucius’ teachings is found in his discussions about the principle known as the Mandate of Heaven. Confucius believed that people’s behavior in this world needed to conform to the dictates of this cosmic force. Laozi had similar ideas, but instead of concentrating upon external behavior, Laozi recommended taking an inward mystical route, focusing upon the eternal Dao. In eastern religions, a number of different names refer to this ubiquitous spiritual force permeating the cosmos including the Brahman, Nirvana, the Dao and the Mandate of Heaven, to name a few. Thus, eastern religions have a characteristic otherworldly and mystical quality that does not play such a dominant role in western religions. In the western world, the Age of Awakening unfolded under different circumstances. Even though ideas about the transmigration of the soul appear in the thought of Plato and Pythagoras, these doctrines never really caught on in the west. Instead, there is a preoccupation with the problem of sin and evil. Generally speaking, western religion’s interest in these ethical issues finds its origin in the Axial Age. In the west, the world of human experience was regarded as eminently real and so were the forces of good and evil. This world of lived experience was not an illusion; instead, it was the stage upon which the drama of salvation played out. The Hebrew

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prophets learned about God’s law directly, through revelatory experience in the form of dreams and visions. These visionary experiences taught the prophets that humanity’s spiritual goal was not to escape this world, but to have faith in God and follow His commandments while one was alive. Humanity’s reward would come in a future age when God would render His judgement upon the world. In visions, both the Iranian prophet Zoroaster and the Biblical prophets were told that human beings had to fight against the overwhelming powers of sin and evil. It was up to each human being to become morally responsible and freely choose God and the way of righteousness as opposed to a life of sin and guilt. Performing the old sacrificial rituals was a useless, empty activity. It was a difficult spiritual journey because even if one knew what was right, the powers of Satan, or the Lie, as Zoroaster put it, could sway you in the wrong direction. For the Greek philosophers, the problem was cast in slightly different terms. For philosophers such as Socrates, everything rested upon knowledge. If one knew the Good, then one would do the good, but if one was ignorant, then one would choose evil. The Greek philosophers rejected the old myths of the polis because they were based upon false beliefs and childish superstitions. They realized that although humans have freedom of choice, they are imprisoned by their ignorance. Because of our ignorance of the good, we choose a life of inequity. From this perspective, redemption can only be attained through education and developing our powers of rationality. In spite of all of these different spiritual orientations, collectively the Axial sages understood through their own personal experience that making contact and developing a relationship with the divine had its challenges. It required a personal commitment and spiritual fortitude; there would be failures along the way. A deeper kind of spirituality was involved. The Hebrew Bible tells us that the Chosen people did not always find it convenient to follow God’s law and there were many missteps along the way. Following Zoroaster’s call to follow the Truth and reject the Lie placed moral demands upon the individual. Living the life of a Buddhist monk was not stress-free either because without inner strength, it was easy to fall victim to the desires of the flesh. Learning to think like a Greek philosopher had its difficulties as well. Confucius recommended treating others with courtesy and respect, but that was not always a simple matter in the face of hatred, corruption and violence. None of the old religious traditions of the past placed such personal demands upon the individual. In the past, one could depend upon the temple priests to take care of performing the rituals.

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Introduction

In the Axial Age, the time had finally come for people to live their lives according to a higher, divine standard.

The Value of the Individual Many of the larger macro-trends of the Axial Age can be clarified by examining the ways in which the Axial sages apprehended the sacred. Studying the lives of these individuals leads one to appreciate the fact that their personal religious experiences were a contributing factor in the emergence of the Axial Age. Actually, new kinds of religious awareness are exhibited in the personal lives of the Axial sages. The knowledge and wisdom gained from their numinous encounters with the sacred empowered these individuals to formulate their teachings about humanity’s spiritual and ethical responsibilities. As a result, they passed on these teachings to others. Although some of these personal encounters with the sacred may have been forgotten or misunderstood by later generations of believers, the doctrines developed by the Axial sages continue to persist. Once these religious beliefs and ideas gained acceptance by the majority, they continued to exert an immeasurable influence upon the world. Many of today’s major religious traditions of both the eastern and western world trace their origins back to the momentous spiritual changes of the first millennium BCE. In some sense, this book focuses attention upon the complex subject of religious origins and admittedly, this is a topic that is filled with problems. In the words of Anne Vallely, “Discussion of origins in any religion is often fraught with ambiguities, as historicity and mythology are interwoven in such complex ways that they become hard to separate.”3 Very little information is known about the personal lives of the Axial sages and so an aura of mystery and ambiguity surrounds their lives and teachings. In the centuries following their death, a variety of stories, legends and anecdotes began to circulate about them. Eventually some of these tales became recorded in a variety of literary texts. For example, legends and myths grew up about the miraculous birth of the Buddha and Zoroaster. Skeptics might easily be tempted to dismiss the historical value of these kinds of stories and narratives on the grounds that they are mostly made up of myth and legend and cannot be taken to be literally true or historically accurate. Such a limited perspective fails to recognize the real possibility that a certain kernel of spiritual truth might be present in some of these tales, allowing one to have a glimpse into the inner world of the Axial sages. Anecdotal stories about the life of Zoroaster, the Buddha or the Biblical prophets should not be categorically dismissed as historically worthless purely on the grounds

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that the revelatory experiences described in them cannot be scientifically verified. A more fruitful approach to these kinds of narratives would be to seek to uncover the elements of genuine religious experience as they are articulated in these documents. Many of these stories contain descriptions of the Axial sages’ personal encounters with the sacred, potentially providing an opportunity to learn about the contours of their interior spiritual world. To suggest the opposite, namely that nothing can be learned from these narratives seems a bit narrow-minded. At the very least, these idealized literary portraits help in understanding some of the ways in which the Axial sages served as exemplary models for the community of believers to emulate. In the early days of the Buddhist tradition, there were many stories that developed within the community about the figure of Siddhartha Gautama, a prince who lived in northern India. Stories circulated about the time when Siddhartha saw four sights: a sick man, an old man, a dead man and a monk who appeared to be in a state of tranquility. Other legends spoke about his quest for enlightenment and how he learned about the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path while sitting under the Bodhi Tree. There is no way to verify the historical accuracy of any of these stories. Even though the veracity of the stories cannot be determined with any absolute certainty, nevertheless, much of what is contained in these narratives seems plausible. The idea that many fundamental doctrines of the Buddhist faith originated out of Buddha’s personal encounters with the sacred makes a lot of sense. The opposite assertion, namely, that Buddha’s religious experience had nothing to do with their origination seems difficult to swallow. No metaphysical truth claim is being asserted if one speculates that the Buddha probably had some type of unusual psychological experience which inspired his teachings, including the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Whether the supernatural exists or does not exist is a question that goes beyond the boundaries of this study. Unless one can come up with a better theory, it makes sense to accept the general picture that is presented in these stories of Buddha’s life, namely, that experiences which were interpreted by him to be encounters with the sacred, play a key role in many of the events of Buddha’s life. As the story of the Buddha indicates, his essential teachings were the by-product of his earth-shattering enlightenment experience under the Bodhi Tree. As we shall see, similar perspectives apply to many of the other sages of the Axial Age. The phenomenologist of religion Gerardus Van der Leeuw points out that, “revelation is consummated in an object: it has its proper medium.”4 The sacred reveals itself so that it “loses its essential secrecy by so revealing

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Introduction

itself in an object, or committing itself to some medium.”5 Similarly, Joaquim Wach states that when a person comes to an awareness of the sacred there is usually a tendency to communicate what has been experienced in various ways.6 Buddha’s personal apprehension of the sacred finds its expression in many of the anecdotal narratives describing his life as well as his doctrines and the community of believers. These three things, namely the Buddha, his doctrines(dharma) and the community of believers (sangha) have come to be known as the “Three Jewels” or the “Triple Gem” of the Buddhist tradition. Buddhists say they “take refuge” in them. One way to increase an appreciation of the collective spiritual developments of this historical period is to explore some of the hagiographies of the Axial sages. Most of these hagiographies were written many years after the sage’s death. Since hagiographies are idealized biographical portraits of spiritual figures such as the Buddha, it is difficult to expect them to be entirely historically accurate. Nevertheless, they are helpful in understanding the general features of Axial spirituality. In some cases, there is no extant biographical information at all about a particular Axial sage or only very limited information. Virtually nothing is known about the lives of any of the anonymous authors of the Upanishads except for the well-known fact that they belonged to the community of brahmins living in the Indus valley at the close of the Vedic period. Similarly, little in the way of biographical information is known about the personal lives of the Hebrew prophets, except for a few scanty details. Iamblichus’ biography of Pythagoras is a mixture of fact and fantasy although it contains some interesting stories about Pythagoras’ journeys around the ancient world. Likewise, the first century CE biography of Apollonius of Tyana written by Philostratus contains a few biographical remarks about Pythagoras. In the Apology, Plato shares a few details about the life of Socrates. In Jainism and Buddhism, a few sutras report various legends about the life of Mahavira and Siddhartha Gautama respectively. Similarly, the Chinese historian Ssu-ma Ch’ien (154 BCE-80 BCE) relates a few details pertaining to the life of Confucius. According to the Zoroastrian tradition, Zoroaster is believed to have composed the Gathas, one of the sacred books of Zoroastrianism. In these writings a few stories are provided about his life and spiritual visions. Although it is difficult to separate the strands of history and myth in these kinds of stories, nevertheless, these narratives are helpful in elucidating the nature of Axial spirituality as it was expressed in the lives of the Axial sages. Further, these stories provide evidence about some of the ways in which the Axial sages were perceived by their followers and peers. Undoubtedly, some of the reported material may be based upon actual events and some of

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it may have been based upon rumors or legends and not be connected to actual events. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to separate truth from fiction one-hundred percent of the time. However, it would be an error to automatically assume that these stories and legends have no relevance for furthering our understanding of the Axial period as a whole. The nineteenth century German philosopher of history Wilhelm Dilthey placed the individual at the heart of all historical investigations since they embody many of the central themes of the collective whole. Dilthey writes, the subject-matter of understanding is always something individual. In its higher forms it draws its conclusions about the pattern within a work, a person, or a situation from what is given in the book or person combined by induction. But analysis and understanding of our own experience show that the individual is an intrinsic value in the world of mind; indeed, it is the only intrinsic value we can ascertain beyond doubt. Thus we are concerned with the individual not merely as an example of man in general, but as himself… the unique contribution of understanding in the human studies lies in this; the objective mind and the power of the individual together determine the mind-constructed world. History rests on the understanding of these two.7

The Axial Age and the Nature of Religious Change At the outset of the Axial Age, many citizens, especially among the educated classes and intelligentsia in China, India as well as Greece and in the Near East, were becoming increasingly skeptical about the value of the state religion. There was a growing apathy about the traditional gods who seemed to have little or no interest in human affairs. Many people within the educated community were beginning to view the sacrificial rituals of the state as outdated and barbaric. Against the background of this collective disapproval, there arose a select group of religious sages and philosophers who articulated a new vision of the cosmos that would eventually replace the obsolete religious myths and rituals of the past. Reaching deep down into the depths of their being, these sages conjured up a whole new set of innovative spiritual teachings which they subsequently passed onto the world. Of course, these religious changes of the first millennium BCE represent just one of many times in history when the world has been besieged by change and development. Cultural shifts can be abrupt and cataclysmic or they can transpire slowly, predictably and with few consequences. Social and cultural change can occur either on a grand or small scale and for a variety of reasons including warfare, famine, population shifts, technological developments, migrations and changes in climate and

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Introduction

weather. The results can be a combination of positive and negative elements for society, depending upon the situation. Some of the factors contributing to widespread change within society, including climatic and weather modifications, may be well beyond the control of people. In some forms of societal change, inner psychological forces play an important role. The historical development of democratic institutions illustrates some of the ways in which psychological processes and the conscious decision-making of individuals and groups can play a decisive role in bringing about change within society. In both the past and present, one of the guiding principles of those supporting democracy as a political system has been the principle of “majority rule with minority rights”. Individual rights, including freedom of speech, religion and assembly have collectively played an essential role in the preservation of democratic institutions. In the early days of civilized life in the distant past, prior to the time when the first democratic governments came into existence, political authority was usually held in the hands of a single powerful person, such as a warlord or a king. These leaders used their army to seize power and then continued to maintain their authority by coercive means rather than seeking the consent of the people. Autocratic governments, both in the past and present, have given few, if any, rights or special privileges such as voting rights or freedom of speech to the individual members of a society. History has demonstrated that it has been only because of the tireless efforts of those who are willing to fight for freedom that democracy has flourished on the world stage. In the modern era, the struggle for individual rights continues to be fought in various locations. Similar ideological struggles have occurred in the development of religious institutions. Those favoring democracy have had to offer more than just criticism of authoritarianism in order to get their way. Likewise, throughout the history of religions, critics of the religious establishment have levelled objections to the conventional religious order and have offered a number of spiritual alternatives. There are many examples of these crusades for spiritual change throughout history. One good example is the “Great Awakening” which took place in North America in the seventeenth century. The “Great Awakening” was a spiritual revival movement led by a number of religious leaders including Jonathon Edwards. Leaders of the “Great Awakening” seriously criticized how members of the Protestant congregations in America had completely forgotten about developing a personal relationship with God by reading the Bible. Undoubtedly, Smith had developed a personal relationship to God which led him to exhort others to turn their attention to God through reading the scriptures, regardless of

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whether they attended or did not attend church. On the external plane of existence, the effects of Jonathon Smith’s first Great Awakening and the other revivals that followed were huge. Some historians believe that these religious revivals ultimately contributed to the subsequent American revolution. Internal psychological forces also played an important role in an earlier stage of religious history dating back to the time of the first millennium BCE. This book is directly concerned with addressing some of the religious changes associated with this historical period. The changes of the Axial Age revolved primarily around internal, psychological modifications within the hearts and minds of people which, in turn, found their impact in the external world in terms of the development of transformative religious doctrines, rituals, literary expressions and institutions.

The Problem of Periodization in the Study of History Typically, many historians prefer using categories and labels for describing historical eras. Some of the most popular ones that come to mind include the Gilded Age, the Enlightenment, the Age of Discovery, the Dark Ages and the Renaissance. The use of labels to describe periods of history is a common practice in the study of ancient history where there are many examples such as the Classical Age, the Hellenistic Age, the Age of Anxiety, etc. The term “Axial Age” is another example. Although historians like to use labels to identify certain periods of history, they sometimes fail to consider the unspoken connotations associated with these labels. As a result, numerous misunderstandings and exaggerations can arise. The use of labels to describe historical periods tends to exaggerate the importance of the phenomena being denoted by that label. E. R. Dodds popularized the label “The Age of Anxiety” in reference to that historical period between the time of Alexander the Great and the end of the Roman Empire in the fourth century CE when the world was engulfed in a kind of spiritual pessimism. In his famous book entitled Pagan and Christian in an Age of Anxiety, Dodds argues that certain melancholic persons including Marcus Aurelius and St. Augustine were representative of the dark spiritual climate of those times, but, of course, not everybody living in those times suffered from existential malaise.8 Likewise, only a small number of people in classical times were interested in artistic, scientific or philosophic pursuits even though the use of the label “Classical Age” could lead one to believe that such culturally uplifting endeavors were prolific throughout the Greek world during this time. Although labels may have use for describing

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Introduction

general historical trends, their employment can lead to distorted interpretations in the effort to fit the data into one’s interpretive categories. Other misunderstandings can also arise from such terminology. Upon closer examination, the frequent use of the term “Axial Age” by the German philosopher Karl Jaspers and others is not without its problems. One issue relates to identifying the essential characteristics of religious phenomena in their historical context. Beginning in the nineteenth century, scholars of religion became interested in trying to determine the essential characteristics of “religion”. Several attempts to define the essential constituents of religion were proposed by those studying the historical religious traditions of the world. For example, the nineteenth century German theologian Rudolf Otto tried to boil religious phenomena down to their essential ingredients by identifying the “holy” as the fundamental component of religion.9 The problem with trying to locate the fundamental constituents of religious phenomena is that it over-emphasizes the importance of certain characteristics to the exclusion of others. In other words, it over-generalizes the importance of particular attributes and ignores others.10 Nevertheless, as Stephen Prothero points out, “Although it is important to avoid essentializing the world’s religions, there is no way to avoid generalizations, either in the study of religion or in life.” 11 Characterization of the Axial Age as a watershed moment in religious history is a generalization, but generalizations have heuristic value as long as one remains cognizant of the fact that there may be exceptions to the rule. The historical evidence should not be distorted in order to fit the generalization. Significant religious developments undoubtedly did take place during the Axial Age, but it is important to remember not to exaggerate their magnitude. A similar kind of arbitrariness can happen whenever the boundaries of a particular period of history such as the Axial Age are determined. It is unclear when the Axial Age actually begins and ends. Some of the characteristics of the Axial Age are presaged in earlier periods of history. The foundations of the Axial Age were being laid in earlier times to some extent. Usually the label “Axial Age” refers to the period of history beginning in the sixth century BCE and concluding in the fourth century BCE since this was the time when a number of novel spiritual and philosophic ideas were born. The problem with this assertion is that the boundaries for a particular historical period such as “the Axial Age” often are blurred. Many of the discoveries of the Axial Age were anticipated in their rudimentary form in earlier periods of history. Even Confucius himself said that he was not an innovator, but a traditionalist. Many innovative ideas

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expressed in the Upanishads were touched on in earlier Vedic hymns such as the Rig Veda. It is not always easy to pinpoint when a particular idea came into existence. Other misunderstandings can also arise from historical periodization. Many uneducated people living in the Axial Age were not even aware of the Axial teachings. Many of the old rituals and religious customs continued to be practiced even though a variety of new spiritual beliefs and practices were coming into the picture. Despite the popularity of the Axial teachings, not everyone, including both those living during and after the Axial Age, were familiar with the Axial teachings. Many of the older traditions remained in vogue. Some of those who were aware of the teachings of the Axial prophets and sages did not necessarily accept or even understand them. Some people clung to the old comfortable conventions and religious conceptions of the past; others simply rejected them in favor of some other more simplistic ideology such as materialism. Further, the term “Axial” has other connotations which are worth noting. It is the adjectival form of the noun “Axis” which Webster’s Dictionary defines as “a straight line about which a body or geometric figure rotates or may be supposed to rotate.”12 An axis denotes an object existing in external space rather than within someone’s inner world. However, the prophets and sages of the Axial Age experienced the divine internally as a psychological event rather than externally as an object in the outer world. Thus, the term “Axial Age” tends to de-emphasize the importance of the catalytic psychological forces that were at work in this historic period. Jaspers’ use of the term “Axial Age” is also reminiscent of another closely associated term, axis mundi, or “center of the world”, which was popularized by the historian of religion Mircea Eliade in his analysis of religion. Fundamental to Eliade’s interpretation of archaic religion is the distinction he makes between the sacred and profane. Eliade points out that in archaic times people believed that the gods existed in a numinous world that was completely removed from the everyday world of profane existence. On certain special occasions, a hierophany, that is, a manifestation of the divine would appear in the profane world. At the place where a manifestation of the sacred takes place, the three cosmic realms of heaven, earth and the underworld are brought into close proximity with one another. One symbolic representation of such a breakthrough of the sacred comes in the form of the axis mundi or the center of the world. In archaic mythology, there are numerous symbolic representations of the center of the world or

12

Introduction

axis mundi such as the image of the sacred mountain, the Cosmic Tree of Norse mythology and the Cross in Christianity. 13 Anthropomorphic and externalized images of the supernatural such as the symbol of the axis mundi have never entirely disappeared since their first appearance in archaic times, but by the time of the first millennium BCE something new was beginning to happen that was related to inner forms of spirituality. The use of the term “Axial Age” implies that the spirituality of this period consisted of experiencing the supernatural as an objective phenomenon, like the symbol of the axis mundi existing in a numinous world outside of oneself. On the contrary, what was novel about this period was that people were discovering that the divine also existed within their hearts and minds and not only in a numinous realm outside of themselves. Therefore, this book proposes that a better label for referencing the spiritual developments of this period is the “Age of Awakening” as opposed to the” Axial Age”. The label “Age of Awakening” places greater emphasis upon the internal, subjective aspects of religious experience in distinction to earlier anthropomorphic conceptions of the gods. Although historians have a preference for referencing collective social forces in developing their explanations, the label “Age of Awakening” emphasizes the importance of the personal dimension of religion in understanding these revolutionary spiritual developments of the first millennium BCE.

The Age of Awakening In a sense, the events of the “Age of Awakening” were simultaneously progressive and retrogressive. On the one hand, there was a reaching out for new forms of spirituality, but, on the other hand, there was a nostalgic desire to return to the idyllic past, in illo tempore, to a time in the distant prehistoric past when people lived in union with nature and economic resources were equally shared among members of the tribal community. The Age of Awakening was a time when voices of criticism could be heard throughout the ancient world, setting the stage for the formation of new, alternative worldviews. For a number of reasons, the old traditions were rejected either in part or in whole or radically reformed. Some felt that the old traditions presented a misguided view of the cosmos. Others objected to the shallowness or ridiculous nature of the old mythological stories about the gods. Others simply said that the gods did not exist, but were invented by the officials of the state as a means to scare the masses into blind obedience. Given the fact that many sages of the Age of Awakening could not have possibly influenced one another’s thinking, since most of them did not know

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one another and lived in different times and locations, recently scholars have sought to identify a causal explanation for the religious developments occurring widely during this period of history. Various historical and sociological explanations have been offered for this unprecedented and extensive cultural and religious activity. The writings of sociologist Robert Bellah, the popular religious writer Karen Armstrong and Samuel N. Eisenstadt represent examples of such research. Each of these writers shared Jaspers’ enthusiasm for exploring the issues. In his article entitled “Religious Evolution” Bellah argues that one of the most significant trends in human religious history was “the emergence in the first millennium BCE all across the Old World, at least in centers of high culture, of the phenomenon of religious rejection of the world and the exaltation of another realm of reality as alone true and valuable.”14 In her book entitled The great transformation: The beginning of our religious traditions, Karen Armstrong made the case that what the religions of this period brought to the world was the need to be compassionate and kind to one another.15 The importance of intellectual activity as an important source of social and religious change during this period has been emphasized in the writings of sociologist Samuel N. Eisenstadt. Borrowing Max Weber’s concept of charisma, Eisenstadt argues that the main carriers of this spiritual energy were the “autonomous intellectuals” of antiquity.16 Many of the innovative social, cultural and religious changes of the first millennium BCE may have been brought about in part as a result of the emergence of a social class of intellectuals consisting of priests, philosophers and sophists. Cultural contact and trade between civilizations may have also led to further reflection and the birth of compelling, new religious and spiritual ideas, some of which contradicted many of the older themes of the traditional myths. In contrast to these collectivistic explanations, another important factor needs to be mentioned. Lying at the very foundation of the Age of Awakening was the personal search for meaning as it was expressed in the lives of figures such as Zoroaster, Pythagoras, Buddha and the Hebrew prophets. Earthshattering encounters with the sacred led these prophets and sages to reject the ossified traditions of the past and to preach a new message.

Overview of the Book Following the Introduction, Chapter One sets the stage for discussing the Age of Awakening by considering the nature of religion and culture in prehistoric times and in the early days of civilization. Chapter Two through

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Introduction

Five discusses the Age of Awakening as it unfolded in the ancient western world. In Chapter Two an important forerunner to the Age of Awakening is discussed, namely, the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten who lived during the second millennium BCE. Chapter Three focuses upon the sixth century BCE Iranian prophet Zoroaster and his ethical views. The Hebrew prophets made important contributions to the Age of Awakening and their insights are examined in Chapter Four. In Chapter Five, entitled “Awakening to the Logos”, the world of ancient Greek philosophy and its contributions to the Age of Awakening are discussed. Chapter Six through Nine explores the Age of Awakening in the East. Chapter Six traces the development of the Age of Awakening in Vedic India. Chapter Seven and Eight examines the life and teachings of two important representatives of the Age of Awakening in India, namely, Mahavira and Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. Going further eastward, Chapter Nine begins with a discussion of the roots of the Age of Awakening in early Chinese religion. The rest of the chapter examines the contributions to the Age of Awakening made by a few Chinese sages including Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi and Laozi. Chapter Ten discusses the conclusions reached in this book about the Age of Awakening.

CHAPTER ONE A DAY IN THE LIFE OF RELIGION

Sleep Patterns and the Age of Awakening The startling events of the Age of Awakening did not appear overnight in a cultural vacuum, nor did they materialize out of thin air. An analogy is helpful for understanding how this period of history dawned upon the world. Just as a person goes to sleep at night and wakes up in the morning, religious institutions sometimes go through similar processes on a macrocosmic level. In a certain sense, the sleep cycle recapitulates the history of human consciousness. The term “prehistory” corresponds to the time when a person is asleep at night. When a person is asleep, various stages of slumber occur ranging from periods of total unconsciousness to times of greater awareness. Dreaming occurs during the preconscious stage of sleep; likewise, the development of humanity’s collective consciousness of the sacred reflects similar alternating patterns of awareness and unawareness as humanity moved from prehistoric to civilized conditions. In recent times, sleep researchers have discovered that there are five stages of sleep.1 During the sleep cycle, there are periods involving rapid eye movement known as REM sleep, and periods that do not involve rapid eye movement, known as non-REM sleep. During non-REM sleep, brainwaves slow down and are interrupted by bursts of activity called spindles. During the first half of the night, sleep consists mostly of non-REM sleep, but during the second half, dreaming occurs during the fourth and fifth stage of the sleep cycle. During REM sleep, the brain wave activity is very similar to the activity of an awake brain. Similarly, throughout history, religious behavior has manifested different levels of spiritual awareness. Through time, human consciousness has not always progressed in a straight line from lower forms to more complex forms of religious expression. Its progression is more analogous to the sleeping brain of a person as it oscillates back and forth between non-REM and REM sleep. On many occasions, there is movement back and forth between various modalities of spirituality. It is difficult to say whether a particular form of religious behavior is representative of an entire period of history. In the early days of civilization,

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some religious activity may have anticipated many of the spiritual insights of the Age of Awakening. Likewise, during the Age of Awakening, older forms of religious expression of the distant past continued to be on display in certain contexts. The Age of Awakening corresponds to that time of day when a person first wakes up in the morning. At first, when a person opens their eyes, they may not be fully conscious and they may still remember some of their dreams from the night before. Soon the mind clears and a person gradually becomes fully awake. Similarly, in the first stages of the Age of Awakening, memories and themes from the past did not completely dissipate in the shadow of new insights and imagery.

Dynamic and Static Religion Just as a person may need a little time to wake up in the morning, the sages of the Age of Awakening were helpful in rousing people from their spiritual slumber. In many respects, these sages and prophets exemplified certain elements of what French philosopher Henri Bergson referred to as the concept of dynamic religion.2 Bergson made a comparison between what he called static and dynamic religion that provides some clarity about religion in the Age of Awakening. According to Bergson, static religion is a closed system that is resistant to change. Typically, static religion uses various techniques for legitimizing a society’s worldview and authenticating its values including the use of traditional stories about the gods and the cosmos as well as systems of belief and ritualized forms of behavior. On the other hand, dynamic religion is a vital process that is more open to the destabilizing influences of mystical states of consciousness and the reevaluation of the dominant religious values of a society. In applying Bergson’s model of “static and dynamic religion” to the Age of Awakening, one could say that in the early days of civilization, generally the focus was upon the performance of “static” external rituals associated with the state. Later on, during the Age of Awakening, a general shift away from earlier forms of spirituality occurs. Then, eastern sages such as Confucius, Laozi and the Buddha and western spiritual figures such as Zoroaster, the Hebrew prophets and some Greek philosophers including Pythagoras and Plato shifted their attention to dynamic forms of spirituality related to moral behavior, visionary encounters with the gods, mystical states of consciousness and other personalized forms of religious awareness. In the final analysis, these are only general trends and should not be interpreted to imply that earlier forms of static religion completely disappeared during the Age of Awakening; dynamic and static religious

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elements congealed together in religious institutions throughout the east and west during this period of history, with the components of dynamic religion taking on more and more significance. These developments provide a good example of Bergson’s ideas regarding “dynamic religion”, even though remnants of static religion remained on the scene. In addition to Bergson’s ideas, the thoughts of the eighteen century German philosopher Georg Hegel also are relevant for understanding the developments of the Age of Awakening. Hegel understood history as a dialectical process involving a clash between conflicting forces, which ultimately finds its resolution in the formation of a new synthesis of old and new ideas.3 The same kind of evolutionary development can be found in religious phenomena throughout the world. In Hegelian terms, whereas the traditional myths of the ancient world represented the thesis, the new spirituality developing in the Age of Awakening represented the antithesis. Once these new religious formulations gained acceptance within the community, the forces of institutionalization eventually took over. Then, the thesis, exemplified by the ideas of the static past and the antithesis, exemplified by the dynamic ideas of the Age of Awakening merged together to form a new synthesis. One corollary to Hegel’s evolutionary hypothesis is that vestiges of past religious ideologies never completely go away or evolve into a new thesis; there have been many instances of degeneration and devolution throughout history. It is true that there are numerous instances of opposites appearing in various areas of human endeavor, but the opposites do not always find a satisfactory resolution or reconciliation. According to French scholar Claude Levi-Strauss, most mythic narratives are characterized by the appearance of binary opposites, such as the conflict between “good “versus “evil”, or disputes between two or more people.4 A similar kind of tension operates in theological discourse. Whereas traditional religious institutions tend to embody current social values, a new religious movement may not, at least not at first. At the time of their origin, the message of a religious prophet or sage usually is accepted only by a few people at first and may slowly gain traction in society over time if the message catches on. However, once the new message achieves acceptance within the community, it is susceptible to undergoing change and transformation as it becomes institutionalized.5 A combination of the old and new religious ideas is the resulting outcome of this institutionalization process. The development of contradictory religious ideologies is not a phenomenon restricted to the Age of Awakening; examples can be found both before and

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after this period of history. A first step in examining the emergence of the Age of Awakening is to clarify the function of earlier mythic and ritual formulations.

The Prehistoric Religious Outlook In terms of our analogy to the sleep cycle, the religious activity of prehistoric communities corresponds on the microcosmic level to the time at night when a person is asleep. Just as a person has alternating periods of greater and lesser levels of brain activity while they are asleep throughout the night, prehistoric human communities demonstrated alternating levels of awareness about the divine. Understanding religious behavior in prehistoric times and in the early days of civilized life is a prerequisite for understanding the revolutionary developments of the Age of Awakening. To accomplish this goal, first the contours of the religious behavior of early humans will be discussed, followed by a brief examination of the emergence of religious institutions in the early days of human civilization. Since there is no firsthand literary evidence and very little hard archeological evidence regarding the religious beliefs and practices of prehistoric people, one is forced to engage in the art of speculation. One way to go about this speculative venture is to begin by using the Darwinian principles of natural selection in conjunction with any other material at our disposal to formulate a general picture of human life in prehistoric times. In his seminal book entitled The Origin of the Species, Charles Darwin successfully demonstrated that self-preservation is the guiding principle of all living organisms; it is likely that similar patterns of behavior were exhibited in early human communities.6 Since the process of cultural change and development is usually gradual, it seems reasonable to assume that certain behavioral similarities may have existed between prehistoric people and those living in civilized conditions during the second and third millennium BCE.7 The Paleolithic Age began approximately fifty thousand years ago. The first early humans that lived during this period of prehistory are called CroMagnons. Archeological evidence from this prehistoric period reveals that Cro-Magnons were hunter-gathers and lived a nomadic life-style. They showed signs of intelligence because they used a multitude of tools and weapons. Given such clear indications of rationality among early humans, it is likely that some form of religious behavior may have existed in archaic times. Paleolithic rock paintings and the various tools, statuettes and other

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objects uncovered at prehistoric burial sites provide further evidence that religious beliefs were not unknown among Paleolithic humans. Prehistoric drawings dating from the Paleolithic Era have been discovered inside the walls of the Chauvet cave in southern France.8 The drawings portray various hunting scenes in which a mysterious human figure wearing antlers appears. It is possible that this figure represents a shaman performing some type of hunting ritual. If this is true, it implies that the religious specialist known as the shaman probably existed in Paleolithic times. Shamanism continues to be found in modern times within indigenous cultures around the world.9After receiving a special calling, the shamanic apprentice undergoes a period of intense training involving solitude and fasting. The shaman has the special ability to experience trance states and spirit possession, allowing him to go on journeys to the three cosmic realms in search of healing remedies for sick persons within the tribe. After returning from his spirit journey, the shaman speaks to the community about what he learned during his travels. Then, various kinds of ritual prescriptions and sacrifices are performed upon the sick person in order to bring about healing. Because shamans experience trance states involving journeys to the three realms of the cosmos including the earth, underworld and heavens, shamanism, as a religious phenomenon, reflects heightened levels of spiritual awareness in comparison to other types of ritualized behavior. Returning to the sleep analogy, shamanism corresponds to the stage of sleep called REM or rapid eye movement when there are heightened levels of brain activity. The reason why shamanism is important in the history of religions is because it points to the importance of religious experience in the days before the Age of Awakening. One might say that shamanism represents a precursor to later forms of mysticism and occult experience found in the historic religious traditions. In the Paleolithic era, Cro-Magnons were a migratory species and spent the majority of their time trying to meet their basic material needs; little time was available to worry about higher spiritual needs and values unless those pursuits would increase the group’s chances for survival. Moving from place to place in search of water and a plentiful food supply, small, nomadic bands of hunter-gatherers had to deal with many challenges in adapting to the brutal primeval environment. For reasons that are not particularly clear, approximately 50,000 years ago, during the Paleolithic Age, our CroMagnon ancestors began to travel away from their original home land in northwest Africa into the other habitable areas of Earth including Europe,

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Asia and the Americas. It is likely that this great migration out of Africa was brought on by factors related to survival. Perhaps climatic changes such as the oncoming Ice Age and shortages of food and water drove many early peoples out of Africa into other more livable places around the globe. Most archeologists believe that approximately thirty or forty thousand years later, at the dawn of the Neolithic Age, bands of early humans gradually began to end their movement from place to place and began to settle down in specific geographic locations, usually near bodies of water such as rivers and lakes. Ultimately, many of these settled communities were highly successful because their inhabitants had learned how to domesticate livestock such as cattle and to grow agricultural crops such as wheat and corn for their consumption. At this point, a major socio-cultural shift took place away from the nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle of the Paleolithic Age to a more sedentary existence associated with the Neolithic Age. Living together in settled communities intensified the importance of social cooperation. As previously stated, understanding the nature of prehistoric religious institutions is a speculative enterprise, but the best way to go about this is to apply the principles of natural selection. Thus, it seems likely that in the Neolithic Age religious beliefs and practices served as a stabilizing social force within early human communities. In other words, they served an important survival function for Neolithic people by ensuring collaboration among members of the tribe. Hunting rituals were the most common rituals performed by prehistoric peoples. If the life of an animal was taken for food, the spirit of the animal had to be appeased to avoid the retribution of the animal spirits. To gain divine protection, these spirits had to be constantly appeased and placated through the performance of various kinds of communal rituals. Since appeasing the spirits was regarded as necessary for survival in the world, religious rituals of this type persisted through the ages. Eventually these ideas associated with spirit appeasement served as the foundation for religious ideas to grow and flourish among early humans. In addition to providing a means to gain divine protection, religious behavior promoted tribal solidarity which increased the chances for the survival of the clan. In order for a prehistoric community to endure, social cohesion and cooperation among its members was necessary.10 Religious beliefs and practices promoted cooperation which ensured a collective surplus of economic resources for the tribe. Neolithic human communities participated in a communistic lifestyle and lacked a class structure. Most of the economic resources were shared. This sharing of economic resources, including shelter, food and water did not extend beyond one’s own community. Conflict and warfare must have arisen between two or more

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tribes as a result of competition for the limited supply of resources. Members of the group had to think in terms of the greater good of their community rather than themselves. The continued existence of the community depended upon the cooperation of each of its members. Certain kinds of behavior, such as murder and violence, were forbidden because these behaviors jeopardized the well-being of the entire group whereas other behaviors such as kindness and sharing, needed to be emphasized, since they benefited the entire group and helped it to survive. Religious institutions helped to enforce the rules. It is likely that those who chose to commit crimes against others were punished and sometimes even ostracized from the larger group by their own immediate family. Soon a sense of commitment to the community developed. Religious institutions served a two-fold social function for Neolithic communities; on the one hand, they sanctified and legitimized those behaviors which promoted the continued existence of the tribe; on the other hand, they also served as a means to condemn and eliminate those behaviors which were seen as a threat to the community. From the standpoint of Darwinian theory, morality and supernatural beliefs and institutions promoted the survival of the Neolithic tribal community. Undoubtedly, prehistoric people must have found comfort in their belief that supernatural beings were benevolently watching over their world, making sure that they were safe and protected from the hostile forces of nature. When tragic events inevitably happened on earth, it made sense to people that they were being punished by the gods for failing to perform the proper offerings. Myth and ritual only served to reinforce many of the social norms, conventions and expectations of the tribe. The protection of the spirits was attained only through the proper performance of various rituals. The telling of stories and narratives involving the gods (myth) also helped to explain the role of the divine in the cosmos. Being at a loss to explain many things happening in the world such as the changing of the seasons, earthquakes and eclipses, mythic tales were told for the purposes of explaining the mysterious forces of nature. Whenever tragedy struck, people had some explanation regarding why evil things happened. Perhaps one had failed to offer a sacrifice; perhaps one was being punished for something one’s ancestors had done. Sacrifice was the way that humans showed their gratitude to the spirits for all that they had done. Otherwise, chaos would ensue.

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Archaic Religions, East and West Prior to the advent of civilization, what mattered most was the collective survival of the tribe in its perennial battle against the hostile forces of nature. Even though the survival function of religion took priority in prehistoric times, religion took on new functions during subsequent periods of history. Religious institutions have many different functions in various historical circumstances and none of them can be singled out as the most “essential” feature of religion. Once permanent human settlements began to crop up in the second and third millennium BCE in places like the Nile and Tigris Euphrates river-valleys, competition for limited economic resources became much more intense among various human groups. Various forms of social organization sprang up in response to this increased competition for resources. People became stratified into distinct social classes such as priests, warriors, merchants, and workers. With the development of writing systems, rules and laws became codified within the community and governments came into existence to enforce the laws. Ostensibly, governments were created in order to provide equal protection for members of the community, but soon it became apparent that certain people within the community enjoyed greater privileges and advantages in comparison to others. With the birth of the social classes, it became evident that the rulers, the warriors and priestly classes enjoyed greater social status and economic prosperity than other groups. Laborers and serfs lived in a condition of deprivation and poverty. In general, throughout the ancient civilizations of the world a distinction was made between two deeply divided socio-economic factions. On the one hand, there were “the haves”, consisting of the rulers, priests and warriors; on the other hand, there were “the have nots”, mostly made up of the farmers, merchants and workers. In addition to using coercion and the threat of force, those in power realized that religious doctrines and rituals could be used for maintaining their control over the people. With the birth of social classes and the rise of civilization, religious ideology became a political tool for the ruling class. With the rise of the great ancient civilizations of the east and west, religious institutions began to develop new, complex social functions that were absent in prehistoric times. As civilization began to expand during the second and third millennium BCE, large temple structures such as the Egyptian pyramids and the Parthenon of Athens were constructed in various locations. Priests were put in charge of these large temple structures and soon they became a very powerful group within ancient society. As the official custodians of the temple, members of the priesthood performed a

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number of elaborate sacrificial rituals of the state within the temple precincts. In addition to performing the official rituals of the state, the priests used various kinds of writing systems such as Egyptian hieroglyphs and other ancient scripts to compose various types of religious scripture. Up to this point in history, many of the old myths were told and re-told orally by countless generations of people. Now with the advent of writing, many of the old mythic stories were recorded in permanent written form. As a result, once myths became written down, they became objects of study and critical reflection among the priestly community. In some cases, the myths and rituals may have been changed through an editing process in certain imperceptible ways to suit the political interests of the state. With the arrival of temple religion and the development of writing systems in the early days of civilization, religious myths and rituals took on new social functions. In ancient society, all of the religious doctrines, myths, legends, rituals and ethical edicts of the official religion of the state functioned as part of the “accepted knowledge” of ancient society. Scriptures such as the Vedas, the Five Classics, the Egyptian Book of the Dead as well as the Hebrew Bible all are representative examples of the accepted knowledge of the ancient world. In ancient civilization, the priesthood was the caretaker of this “accepted knowledge”. It is likely that the priesthood opportunistically introduced a new theological idea into this vast ancient litany of religious knowledge. This new idea can be summed up in the following statement: the political leader of the earthly state is truly a representative of the gods. All the decisions of the earthly ruler were sanctioned by the gods above and could never be questioned. Throughout many ancient texts, the ruler was referred to as divine or a son of the gods. Ancient Chinese, Mesopotamian and Egyptian myths and rituals legitimated the ultimate authority of the ruler and his priestly administrators and played a vital role in the social construction of reality. At this point in history, religious institutions centered around the ruler, the priests and state as opposed to the common people. In the words of Peter Berger, religion functioned as “the central legitimating agency” within ancient society.11 By locating political institutions in a cosmic framework of myth and ritual, social stability was established and continued to be maintained and reinforced within the community. The cost of this social stability was the loss of vibrant forms of spirituality. Then, sometime around the sixth century BCE, the world entered into another period of religious change. In both the east and west, a cacophony of voices spoke out in various ways against the use of religious ideology as a tool of social and political manipulation. It was almost as if humanity was

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beginning to leave its comatose state of religious awareness to fully embrace the sacred cosmos. Although there were early signs of wakefulness, it was not until the sixth century BCE that a true awakening happened. At that point, religious authority was re-directed away from the ruling class into the hands of the other members of society. A number of prophets, sages, and philosophers both in the east and west rejected many of the old traditions and favored new competing methods for connecting with the sacred cosmos. As recipients of an inner experience of the divine, these sages of the Age of Awakening articulated a new vocabulary of the sacred. New ideas and terms were developed including innovative concepts such as the immortal soul, karma and reincarnation, all of which ignited a spiritual revolution throughout the world. In order to make room for these innovative concepts of the divine, many older anthropomorphic conceptions of the gods had to be cast to the wayside. Even though popular mythological portrayals of the divine were not discarded by everyone, new symbolic modalities of the divine were beginning to be articulated and became more and more popular. In place of the anachronistic conceptions of the gods found in popular myths, new esoteric conceptions were introduced in which the divine was understood as an imperceptible energy permeating everything in the universe, including both the internal and external spheres of human existence. No longer could the gods and the stories associated with them be strictly and exclusively used as political tools for legitimizing the laws of the state. Instead, a person’s relationship to the gods had less to do with the state and the sacrificial offerings made to its patron deities and more to do with one’s own choices and ethical behavior. Anthropomorphic ideas were replaced with abstract conceptions in which the divine was perceived to be an invisible force that was infused into the very fabric of the cosmos, including one’s soul. Different paths of spirituality emerged in the Age of Awakening. For some, human rationality was seen as the primary avenue for gaining a closer relationship with the divine. In classical Greece, the philosopher Plato believed that developing one’s intellect through philosophic activity was the ultimate means to prepare the soul to reach the upper levels of existence upon death. Others emphasized the importance of faith in God and ethics. The Hebrew prophets warned of the dangers that would befall humanity if they failed to abide by God’s ethical edicts, as those laws were outlined in Biblical scriptures. Similarly, Zoroaster warned of the coming of a future age when there would be a judgement of the dead and the wicked would receive their well-deserved punishment. Realizing that the world had fallen

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into moral and spiritual decay, the Chinese sage Confucius sought to guide people back to the Mandate of Heaven and all the forgotten traditions of the past. Others such as Mahavira and the Buddha were silent on such matters and defined the problem of human existence differently. For these sages, renouncing the things of this world was the answer. Anything unrelated to this goal was misguided. Despite all of their differences, all of the sages of the Age of Awakening could agree on one thing. Fulfilling one’s spiritual obligations was not an easy matter. Depending upon the actions of the priests of the state or some other person was not the answer. Each person had to take responsibility for their own spiritual fate. Some sages emphasized ethics; others stressed knowledge and wisdom; still others advocated asceticism or the mystical way. In each case, a profound type of religiosity was being advanced that involved challenges and strenuous personal effort. Prior to the Age of Awakening, one failed attempt to bring about significant religious change in the mysterious land of Egypt was made by Pharaoh Akhenaten in the second millennium BCE. This topic will be discussed in the next chapter.

CHAPTER TWO AKHENATEN’S COUNTERMYTH

Akhenaten and His God Ethical monotheism, as it was articulated by the Hebrew prophets, is one of the greatest achievements of the Age of Awakening. Prior to the time of the Hebrew prophets, the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten (1427BCE-1336BCE) instituted a form of monotheism as the official religion of the Egyptian empire. As the political ruler of Egypt, Akhenaten was the chief spokesperson for the monotheistic cult of Aten. Up to that time, Egyptian religion was strictly based upon the worship of many gods and was controlled primarily by the Egyptian priesthood. Given the polytheistic environment in which he lived, Akhenaten’s monotheism is an anomaly in the history of ancient Egyptian religion. Many historians of ancient religion have considered him to be somewhat of a rebel and a religious eccentric. It would be somewhat of a stretch of the imagination to consider the pharaoh as a forerunner to the Age of Awakening because his adulation of Aten was politically motivated and was not based upon an authentic religious encounter with the god. Unlike the Hebrew prophets and the other sages of the Age of Awakening, Akhenaten’s religious behavior falls far short of Bergson’s category of “dynamic religion” and stays within the confines of “static religion”. Despite introducing an alternative myth into ancient Egyptian society, he was oblivious to the subtle, mystical aspects of religious experience. One way of demonstrating the spiritual limitations of Akhenaten’s cult is through the use of a comparative method. When the religious world of Akhenaten is placed side by side with the religiosity of the Hebrew prophets, the differences are startling. The term “countermyth” comes to mind when describing the religious world of Akhenaten and his cult.1 The term “countermyth” is a combination of two other words. The word “myth” refers to traditional narratives about the gods and the sacred cosmos, and the term “counter” refers to the idea of dissent. Hence, a countermyth functions as a narrative about the gods and sacred cosmos that contradicts the dominant

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myth or myths of a society. Akhenaten’s countermyth of the god Aten deviates away from the polytheistic religious mythology of ancient Egypt. Whereas traditional mythology evolves over long stretches of time, involving many generations, countermyths such as Akhenaten’s monotheistic vision of one god are consciously created by a single person or a few people over a brief period of time. Traditional myths are widely accepted throughout society, but countermyths tend to have only a few adherents in their initial stages of development, and then gain momentum once they are accepted by the majority. In the case of Egyptian monotheism, there are good grounds to question whether anyone besides the pharaoh himself actually embraced the doctrine of one god, as it was espoused in the cult of Aten. Akhenaten had a two-fold plan in introducing his religious countermyth into Egyptian society: on the one hand, he wanted to undermine and delegitimize ancient Egyptian polytheism; on the other hand, he sought an alternate mythic perspective that would strengthen his authority over the Egyptian people. Besides being a revolutionary spiritual movement, Akhenaten’s cult of Aten has often been thought of as a forerunner to the rise of the three great monotheistic traditions of the western world which include Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Many questions surround the nature of Akhenaten’s cult. One issue has to do with how Akhenaten’s spirituality compares with the religiosity of other sages and religious visionaries who come after him such as Zoroaster and the Hebrew prophets. Monotheistic beliefs and practices connected to the cult of Aten fundamentally differ from the monotheism of the Hebrew Bible. The word “prophet” originates from a Greek word, “ʌȡȠijȘIJȘȢ”, meaning “one who speaks for a god.” Unlike the Hebrew prophets, there is no evidence that Akhenaten ever received any religious messages from on high or was the mouthpiece of Aten. Further, Akhenaten’s monotheism was primarily devotional in tone and devoid of any serious moral content. As a result, it represents only a superficial anticipation of the ethical monotheism portrayed in the Hebrew Bible. Despite these theological shortcomings, Akhenaten has a special place reserved for him in the history of religious ideas because he was audacious enough to replace the dominant polytheistic worldview of the ancient Egyptians with his own religious countermyth. Because of the changes he introduced to ancient Egyptian society, Akhenaten has been regarded as a revolutionary figure in the history of ancient Mediterranean religions. The question remains whether his innovations were religiously or politically motivated. As a first step in

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evaluating his contributions to the history of ideas, a brief examination of ancient Egyptian polytheism needs to be considered.

The Cult of Aten and Egyptian Polytheism Although the cult of Aten contradicted many of the central spiritual values of Egyptian polytheism, it becomes more comprehensible when it is seen in the context of the surrounding Egyptian political and religious environment.2 The blending of attributes among the gods is a noteworthy characteristic of the Egyptian divine pantheon. Prior to the time of King Menes, the first king of Egypt, most Egyptians lived in small farming communities scattered along the Nile. Each of these small communities had its own god or goddess who served as the protector of the people. Later, as Egyptian civilization grew in size, these local gods often merged together whenever one community defeated another in battle. Then, the god of the losing village became subsumed under the umbrella of a particular high god of the victorious community, such as the sun god Re or Osiris the god of the dead. Gradually, a hierarchy of Egyptian gods developed. Within the Egyptian divine pantheon, certain high national gods, such as Phat or Atum attained a higher status than the lower gods of various local villages or communities. A similar kind of hierarchical organization characterized ancient Egyptian society with the pharaoh, his priests and warriors existing on top of the social ladder and everyone else including shopkeepers and laborers remaining at the bottom. The Egyptian divine pantheon had countless creator gods and goddesses. The ancient Egyptian cosmological viewpoint incorporated a number of interesting polytheistic religious ideas. Egyptian myths of creation, including the Memphis and Heliopolis creation stories, describe the entire earth as well as the land of Egypt as the handiwork of the gods. With the rise of one unified kingdom, each of the local gods was eventually swallowed up by one high god. Finally, the net result of all of these assimilations was the emergence of a kind of nationalistic monotheism under the reign of Akhenaten. Akhenaten’s god was a political symbol representing the pharaoh’s power over his people. At a time when the authority of the pharaoh was ebbing away, Akhenaten used his monotheistic ideology as a way to re-gain control over Egypt.

The Political Nature of Akhenaten’s Cult of Aten Past scholarship has considered Akhenaten as a fanatical religious figure, placing less emphasis on his subtle political maneuvers. For example, in the nineteenth century the German scholar J. H. Breasted noted that Pharaoh

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Akhenaten was a “God-intoxicated man” who, in some ways, represented “the first individual in human history” because of his obsessive support of the monotheistic cult of Aten.3 In terms of documentary evidence, there is very little information to go on for giving a fair assessment of Akhenaten’s spirituality. Other than the few extant inscriptions and the Hymn to Aten, which clearly express Akhenaten’s religious views, the pharaoh wrote no other religious scriptures. In the Hymn to Aten, the god never speaks. It is the Pharaoh himself who instructs and teaches his people, not Aten. The fact that it was believed that there was no other way for the people to communicate to Aten except through the Pharaoh himself may have been one of the primary reasons for the failure of the cult. Besides the written evidence, there are a variety of pictorial representations of Aten such as those inscribed on the temple walls and the tombs of officials in which images of the sun disk and its rays shining down on the royal family are shown. A review of the evidence indicates that Aten was not actually the sun itself, but the light emanating from the sun that brings life to the earth.4 As such, Aten was not only the god of the Egyptian state, but he was also the omnipresent god of the entire world. Unlike Biblical prophets such as Daniel or Jeremiah, the Pharaoh never mentions that he received any kind of mystical revelation or a calling from his god in visions. Hence, it would be incorrect to classify Akhenaten as a religious prophet. Prophets gain their authority by means of a calling from God whereas Akhenaten received his authority because he was the ruler of a vast earthly kingdom. As a result, he already possessed enough political power to invoke the worship of one god upon his people. Akhenaten’s monotheistic vision of the cosmos was revolutionary primarily because it rejected the polytheistic weltanschauung (worldview) of ancient Egypt. As the divine king of Egypt, Akhenaten was one of the first political rulers in the civilized world to institute an entirely new policy in terms of a society’s dominant religious values. Although it is tempting to speculate about whether he was a concrete example of homo religiosus, that is, a religious person, in the final analysis, Akhenaten’s primary role was that of a monarch. The cult of Aten was not the creation of a charismatic prophet, unlike Zoroastrianism or Islam. Similarly, the Hymn to Aten is not an example of divine revelation. Instead, it presents the pharaoh’s teachings and instruction about his god which he delivers to his people. Thou appearest beautifully on the horizon of heaven, Thou living Aton, the beginning of life! When thou art risen on the eastern horizon,

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Thou hast filled every land with thy beauty Thou art gracious, great, glistening, and high over every land; Thy rays encompass the lands to the limit of all that thou hast made: As thou art Re, thou reachest to the end of them; (Thou) subdues them (for) thy beloved son Though thou art far away, thy rays are on earth….. O sole god, like whom there is no other! 5

Unlike Yahweh, the god of the Hebrew Bible, the god described in the Hymn of Aten does not function as an almighty ethical judge who looks down upon humanity, passing moral judgement from his heavenly throne. Unlike the other gods of Egypt, Aten is not an anthropomorphic god. Instead, Aten manifests himself as the physical rays of sunlight, bringing warmth and life to the earth. For Akhenaten, God manifests himself as a force or energy and in this way, he seems to be a precursor to those later philosophers who describe the divine in abstract terms. However, Akhenaten’s portrayal of Aten lacks the intellectual and moral subtleties found in later conceptions of the divine appearing within Greek philosophy and the Hebrew Bible. In the context of ancient Egyptian civilization, Akhenaten’s monotheism was unconventional. However, his use of religious ideology as a political tool was not uncommon in ancient times. In many of the pagan religious traditions of antiquity, the political ruler was seen as a direct descendant of the gods. Thus, in ancient Mesopotamia as well as in the civilizations of ancient China and Egypt, all of the ruler’s decisions were regarded as having divine approval and could not be questioned. Most likely, as custodians of the temple, the priests were responsible for developing this form of political manipulation. Akhenaten was unique in that he did not depend upon the priesthood for developing his brand of political manipulation. Ultimately, this may have cost him, because without the support of the Egyptian priesthood, his cult of Aten was doomed to failure from the outset. Akhenaten should not be regarded as the world’s first monotheist. In the nineteenth century, both Wilhelm Schmidt and Andrew Lang argued that monotheistic beliefs can be found among the archaic peoples of Africa and elsewhere.6 These scholars rejected the popular evolutionary theory of religion proposed by Sir James Frazer. According to Frazer, during humanity’s earliest stages of civilization, animistic religious beliefs evolved out of magical beliefs. Next, polytheism evolved out of animism which in turn led to the development of monotheistic religious beliefs. Schmidt and Lang objected to Frazer’s theory since they were able to provide evidence that monotheistic ideas existed during the earliest stages of human development. Although many of the ideas of Schmidt and Lang have been

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rejected by later generations of scholars, their theory of primordial monotheism has gained wide acceptance within the scholarly community. Although Akhenaten was not the world’s first monotheist, he was among the first despots in history to politically impose an alternative vision of the cosmos upon his people. The cult of Aten accepted only one god and only one way to contact this god, namely through the Pharaoh himself. In the Egyptian socio-political hierarchy, the ruler stood at the top which meant that he was therefore powerful enough to at least attempt to implement changes within Egyptian society. It should be noted that even though Akhenaten took advantage of the situation to institute a countermyth within Egyptian society, he did not single-handedly invent or create the cult of Aten out of thin air and then go about trying to spread it throughout the land. Worship of the god Aten existed in Egypt prior to the time of Akhenaten. The worship of Aten the sun-god took root during the reign of Thutmose IV (1411BCE -1397BCE) and most likely developed out of the Heliopolitan cult of the sun god Re. However, it was up to Akhenaten to make this cult the official religion of the state. One of the central features of ancient Egyptian religion was its syncretistic quality. For example, the fusion of the sun god Re with a number of other Egyptian deities such as Atum, Horus and Aten resulted in the assimilation of various divine qualities and attributes among these gods. In the case of the cult of Aten, worship was directed at the physical orb of the sun without any reference to earlier Egyptian mythological associations. In essence, for a short time under the direction of Akhenaten, the worship of Aten became the only acceptable form of religious worship in the land of Egypt. In doing so, he stripped away from it any polytheistic overtones associated with the worship of Re or any other Egyptian deities.

Political and Religious Changes Under Akhenaten’s Rule Among the many changes brought about by Akhenaten, the cult of Aten represented a significant departure away from the traditional focus upon death and the afterlife in ancient Egyptian religion. Ancient Egypt was a mysterious place shrouded in darkness and ambiguity. In comparison, the cult of Aten focused upon the sunlight shining down on this world. The mysterious land of ancient Egypt is symbolized by iconic historic artifacts such as mummies and pyramids. For the ancient Egyptians, earth represented the meeting place between two worlds, the world of eternity and the world of change and becoming. Ancient Egyptian religion included some interesting metaphysical ideas about the dualistic relationship between the

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soul and the body. Upon death, it was believed that the soul would detach itself from the deceased person’s body and travel to the underworld (Tuat) where it would undergo a judgement by the gods of the dead. Several sources including the Pyramid Texts, the Egyptian Book of the Dead and the Coffin Texts describe mummification procedures for the deceased person’s body and details about what a soul could expect on its journey to the underworld where it would receive its judgement. In the earliest days of Akhenaten’s reign, many of the old Egyptian deities such as Osiris and some of the other gods of the underworld immediately disappeared from many of the old monuments. Other gods took a little more time to disappear from view, but in the end, they were banished as well. These changes were indicative of the religious revolution introduced by Akhenaten. The cult of Aten focused upon the light, but had difficulty when it came to darkness. During the reign of Akhenaten, the underworld was rarely mentioned. Instead of awakening to a new life in the land of the dead, the regeneration of the deceased person’s body was thought to happen in the light of day. Any hope for salvation could only be guaranteed through the power of Aten and his one and only representative, Akhenaten. The Egyptian priesthood had little to do with any of this. Since the dead no longer resided in the underworld, they could not be judged there either. Under the terms of Akhenaten’s countermyth, a blessed afterlife was bestowed upon the deceased primarily through the grace of the Pharaoh himself as opposed to the gods of the underworld. It was only by being devoted to the Pharaoh while one was alive that one could hope to gain everlasting life in the hereafter. Likewise, many of the traditional religious rituals associated with the divine ruler of Egypt were transformed; eventually, under the terms of the countermyth of Aten, the only god to be officially recognized during the Sed festival was Aten. Unlike what is found in most of the Egyptian temples built before the time of Akhenaten, temples dedicated to Aten did not require an inner sanctuary located inside the temple precincts. The reason for this architectural change was because the light of Aten was thought to shine outward upon the entire world and did not need to remain enclosed in darkness.7 Given all the religious changes occurring with the rise of the cult of Aten, suddenly the Egyptian priesthood’s power and authority was significantly diminished. In the new cult, only the pharaoh himself and no one else was able to communicate directly with Aten.

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The Role of the Hyksos To understand Akhenaten’s political motivations in establishing the cult of Aten as the official religion of his empire, one has to go back in history a few hundred years. Even though the pharaoh considered himself to have a special status as the god’s exclusive representative, he may have felt significantly threatened by a certain set of circumstances existing within ancient Egyptian society. As a result, the cult of Aten was one way to ally his fears. Akhenaten was in a difficult position at the time when he assumed control of Egypt. In the years prior to his reign, a group of Semitic peoples called the Hyksos invaded Egypt and at that point Egypt underwent a period of turmoil.8 Using horse-drawn chariots and bronze swords, the Hyksos were able to take control of the Egyptian government and remain in power for approximately one-hundred years. Although the Hyksos did little in the way of making a positive contribution to Egyptian culture, their presence tended to undermine the newly acquired confidence and spirit of optimism of the Egyptian people. Eventually the Egyptians developed new military tactics and in 1570 BCE the Egyptian army, under the direction of the pharaoh Amosis, was able to defeat the Hyksos, forcing them to flee from Egypt. The defeat of the Hyksos ushered in a new era of Egyptian history which historians refer to as the “New Kingdom”. Once Egypt had defeated the Hyksos, the pharaohs of the eighteenth dynasty began to re-build the Egyptian army in an attempt to make Egypt stronger. As a result, the status of the pharaoh began to be restored and the prestige of the nomes (provinces) was reduced. Within a century after the defeat of the Hyksos, a new policy of imperialism was instituted. Military campaigns were launched against various surrounding nations to the north-east and south. Palestine and Syria were brought under Egypt’s control by 1400 BCE. Under the leadership of Pharaoh Thutmose I, who reigned from 1506 BCE to 1493 BCE, Egypt reached its zenith as a world empire and conquered many new lands. These conquests brought about social and cultural changes within Egypt. Besides acquiring great wealth, these military victories meant that captives of war were brought to Egypt to serve as slaves. Among these captives were the Israelites. Some ancient historians speculate that the Israelites may have been the ones responsible for bringing monotheistic ideas to Egypt. During the period of the New Kingdom, great temples such as the tombs in the Valley of the Kings outside of Thebes were constructed for the purpose of bestowing honor upon the pharaohs. Obelisks inscribed with hieroglyphics proclaimed the mighty feats of the pharaoh.

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During the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten, the Egyptians were driven out of Syria by the Hittites. Historians have laid much of the blame for Egypt’s retreat from Syria on Akhenaten. These historians have claimed that the Pharaoh was too pre-occupied with promoting his new monotheistic worship of the god Aten to be concerned with the loss of the precious vassalstate of Syria. This is the historical context for the birth of Akhenaten’s cult of Aten. However, there is no good reason to believe that Akhenaten did nothing to save his empire. Many of his policies, including the development of his countermyth, could be easily interpreted as an attempt to strengthen his political hold over his empire. Similarly, other things, such as moving the capital from Thebes to the city of Akhenaten, which today is called Telle-Amara, could be seen as an effort to take political control away from the priestly class and return it to the Pharaoh. The new capital was dedicated to his god Aten. Not all countermyths catch on with the people. In the case of the Egyptian countermyth of Aten, it failed to take hold of the Egyptian people and soon after the Pharaoh’s death, the cult of Aten vanished from Egypt. Quickly, all the old polytheistic religious practices of ancient Egypt were reinstated by the priesthood. Likewise, the new capital was abandoned by the new Pharaoh Tutankhaten and Akhenaten’s name was excised from all the various monuments of Egypt. The Egyptian empire was beginning to slip away which may explain why the people of Egypt chose to discredit Akhenaten’s legacy. Just as Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten in order to distance himself from the cult of the old god Amon, his successor Tutankhaten changed his name to Tutankhamen to indicate that the cult of Amon was returning. Regardless of these changes, within three centuries the Egyptian empire came to an end. From that point on, Egypt would be ruled by outsiders such as the Libyans, Persians, Greeks or Romans. In some instances, such as in the case of the cult of Aten, a countermyth may come into being, but it may not have enough energy to sustain itself and permanently replace the traditional myths and rituals of a society. This was true for the cult of Aten. Although Aten was the one and only beloved god of the Pharaoh, the god never received strong support from the people or the priesthood. The priests despised the cult because it deprived them of their important sources of revenue associated with the other traditional forms of religious worship. The people lost interest in the cult because they were considered unworthy to directly address the one god Aten. Only Akhenaten could do that and serve as an intermediary for the people. Soon after Akhenaten’s death, his countermyth slipped into oblivion.

CHAPTER THREE THE VISIONS OF ZOROASTER

The Life of Zoroaster Several key religious and philosophic figures helped to rouse humanity from its spiritual slumber during the Age of Awakening. One of these individuals who set the process into motion was the Iranian prophet Zoroaster. His religious mission grew out of a series of mystical revelations sent to him by the Iranian high god Ahura Mazda. The name “Zoroaster” is the Latinized version of the Persian name “Zarathustra”. Zoroastrianism has a number of religious scriptures that date from the time of the sixth century BCE up until the time of the Middle Ages and beyond. One of the most important scriptures of Zoroastrianism is the Avesta which is made up of a variety of treatises, poems and religious hymns. One part of the Avesta called the Yasna is a collection of liturgical writings. Within the Yasna there is a subsection called the Gathas. The Gathas represent another very important Zoroastrian text because it was allegedly composed, at least in part, by Zoroaster himself. In addition to the Avesta, three other important Zoroastrian scriptures are the Visparad, the Yashts and the Vendidad. The Visparad is a collection of polytheistic invocations dedicated to “All the Lords”. The Yashts are a collection of religious songs and hymns and the Vendidad describes some of the techniques used by the followers of Zoroaster for ritual purification. Differences of opinion exist about when Zoroaster was alive. Some scholars believe that he lived in the ninth or tenth century BCE and others claim that he was alive later on in history during the sixth or fifth century BCE. Because many of his theological ideas bare a strong resemblance to the religious ideas of other sages of the Age of Awakening, it seems reasonable to assume that he lived sometime during the sixth or fifth century BCE. Much of what is known about Zoroaster’s life comes in the form of hagiographies which were written many years after the prophet was alive. These accounts present an idealized portrait of the life of Zoroaster in which fact and legend are mixed together. It is not always easy to separate these

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intertwining literary strands from one another. Some sources mention that he was the son of a priest and lived in a pastoral tribe in western Iran. In many ancient religious narratives, miraculous events surround the birth of the religious leader. According to the Avesta, a number of miracles happened at the time when Zoroaster was born. For example, the Avesta states that when Zoroaster was born all of nature rejoiced. In recognition of the fitness of the infant to undertake his prophetic mission, the high god Ahura Mazda made the trees shake at the moment of Zoroaster’s birth. Even Ahriman, the evil one took flight down below the earth. Instead of crying, the infant Zoroaster laughed when he was born. The Roman historian Pliny reported that the baby’s brain throbbed so violently that the hand holding his head was shaken off. In later medieval times, Pahlavi texts mention how evil priests fiendishly plotted to prevent his birth but failed.1 Several other attempts to take the baby’s life were planned, but each one was miraculously halted. In one case, a group of wicked sorcerers tried to have the baby trampled to death by a herd of oxen, but miraculously the ox leading the herd stood over the baby and saved its life. Little is known about the events of Zoroaster’s life between the ages of fifteen and thirty. There are some spurious Syrian and Arabic accounts stating that as a young person Zoroaster became a pupil of the Hebrew prophet Jeremiah. Zoroastrian scriptures state that during these years he entered a period of meditation and education in preparation for the revelations to come beginning at the age of thirty.2 At this point Zoroaster spent time wandering around his community, inquiring about the best way to nourish the soul and was told things like he should give to the poor, to give fodder to cattle, and to worship demons, etc. According to Zoroastrian tradition, he willingly did those things with the exception of worshipping demons which he vehemently denounced. Between this time and the onset of his visionary revelations, Pliny mentions that he lived in the desert. Dio Chrysostom states that Zoroaster spent much of his time in meditation and reflection in a cave in the mountains. This was the time when he began to develop his own religious ideas.3 Then, when Zoroaster was thirty years old, which coincidently happens to be the same age that Jesus of Nazareth began his ministry, he began to receive a series of religious revelations. Over the next ten years, a total of seven revelations were sent to him by the god Ahura Mazda. Because many of Zoroastrianism’s founding principles and doctrines are based upon Zoroaster’s mystical experiences, Zoroastrianism exemplifies certain progressive religious themes, as they are outlined in Bergson’s concept of “dynamic religion”. Zoroastrianism moved beyond the static

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traditions of the ancient past, demonstrating a willingness to engage in a reappraisal of the moral foundations of ancient Mesopotamian society. However, even though Zoroaster was the recipient of mind-boggling religious visions, he lived in a Persian social environment and was surrounded by the static thought world of ancient Mesopotamian polytheism. As a result, the contours of his religious revelations were shaped by certain elements of the traditional religious outlook as well as a few other new ideas.4 Sometimes Zoroaster was a revolutionary and sometimes he was a traditionalist in his thinking about the gods. Like other polytheists of ancient Mesopotamia, Zoroaster believed that all humans were basically subservient to the gods. However, Zoroaster’s religious revelations taught him that humans need to be subservient to one god in particular, namely, Ahura Mazda. He was the god who would pass judgement on all of humanity at the end of time. Zoroaster’s religious thinking parted ways with the static traditions of the past on the topic of sacrificial rituals. He rejected the idea that humanity’s subservience to the gods meant that they had to make offerings of food and drink or perform any form of sacrifice to the gods. None of that was necessary. However, humanity was obligated to live in accordance with divine law. This emphasis upon humanity’s moral obligations represents a major break from the religious conventions of the past. Although Zoroaster remained a polytheist throughout his life, he was more devoted to Ahura Mazda than any of the other gods of the divine pantheon. Ahura Mazda appeared directly to Zoroaster in visions and taught him about humanity’s ethical obligations. Filled with vivid and sometimes bizarre imagery, Zoroaster’s visions resemble the type of apocalyptic revelations sent to the Biblical prophets such as Ezekiel and Daniel. In his visionary experiences, Ahura Mazda told Zoroaster that choosing the Truth (Asha) and rejecting the Lie (Druj) was what was required of human beings. Choosing the Truth meant living in accordance with ethical principles. Rejecting the Lie meant giving up the old sacrificial rituals of the past as well as other forms of sin such as stealing. Some have questioned the psychological authenticity of these kinds of visionary accounts on the grounds that they appear to be the product of literary invention as opposed to a faithful record of religious experience. However, if one accepts the reality of religious experience as a psychological phenomenon, then it seems inappropriate to categorically deny the genuineness of these narratives. One Zoroastrian document entitled Selections of Zat Sparam states that Zoroaster received each of his visions in the winter, a time when bad weather would have naturally prevented him from journeying from one

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place to another. His first vision happened at dawn while he stood on the banks of the Daiti river in western Iran. Suddenly the archangel of Good Thought, Vohu Manah miraculously appeared on the southern horizon carrying a staff in his hand. As he came closer to Zoroaster, the archangel’s incredible size became apparent, appearing nine times as large as a normal human being. The archangel took Zoroaster by the hand and told him to leave his fleshly body behind. While Zoroaster’s soul was in an ecstatic trance, the archangel led him off to heaven to meet the high god Ahura Mazda and his assembly of angels who were surrounded with brilliant light. Although Zoroaster’s visions of the divine resemble the kind of revelations received by various Hebrew prophets, it must be recalled that, unlike the Hebrew prophets such as Jeremiah or Isaiah, Zoroaster never claimed that there was only one god. He never rejected his belief in the existence of a multitude of gods and other supernatural beings. However, Ahura Mazda revealed to Zoroaster that two opposing supernatural forces called the Truth and the Lie stood above the rest of the gods and spiritual beings of the universe. When the heavenly gates opened, Zoroaster entered into the great chamber of Ahura Mazda. Once inside, the god greeted him and then, using all of his omniscient powers, the god began to teach the prophet about some of the most important doctrines of the Zoroastrian faith. Throughout the long day, Zoroaster witnessed a series of incredible beatific visions revealing to him things that would inevitably happen to humanity sometime in the future. Details of his first vision are hinted at in the Gathas and continue to receive further elaboration later in history in Pahlavi literature and Persian Zoroastrian writings. When this first visionary encounter ended, Zoroaster returned back to earth. Upon regaining normal consciousness, he realized that his mission was to awaken humanity from their spiritual sleep by preaching to them what he had learned from Ahura Mazda. Then, for the following two years, Zoroaster set out on his mission to preach to the world what had been revealed to him. His ideas were so unpopular that he was forced to flee his home and wander throughout the world for a period of time. Soon legends arose that he went even as far as China and India in his wanderings, but he was greeted with much hostility in those distant lands. In some cases, people took an extreme personal disliking to him and tried to physically attack him or, in some cases, even kill him. Upon returning home, he was successful in converting his cousin Maidhyoimaonha. Then, he decided to move on and to travel to an area south of the

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Caspian Sea to continue his religious mission. It was there that he unexpectedly experienced his second religious vision. This religious revelation is described in a Zoroastrian text entitled Selections of Zatsparam. It states that when the archangel Vohuman appeared to him, he taught Zoroaster about the proper care of horses and cattle.5 A short time later, Zoroaster continued travelling by the shores of the Caspian Sea and experienced a third vision. This time another archangel named Artavahisht appeared and taught him about the care of both profane and sacred fire. When Zoroaster travelled to the nearby province of Mazandaran located in western Iran, he was suddenly overtaken by a fourth vision. In this vision the archangel Shatver taught Zoroaster about the art of metallurgy. As Zoroaster entered another region called Adarbaijan near Lake Caecista, he had a fifth vision in which he met the spirit named Spenta Armaita. Then, when he continued on his journey to Lake Urumiah, Zoroaster had a sixth vision. In this vision the archangel Haurvatat taught Zoroaster about how to take care of water. In the seventh and last vision, Zoroaster returned to his home by the banks of the Dareja River and had another spiritual dialogue with the deity named Ameretat. Then, after experiencing this last vision, the high god Ahura Mazda once again appeared to Zoroaster. Lifting Zoroaster up into the heavens, the god warned him that evil spirits would descend upon him and attack him once he returned back to earth. Similar to Mahavira and Jesus, who also were besieged by the forces of evil during the initial stages of their ministry, Zoroaster had to undergo a similar kind of spiritual ordeal. The Avesta states that the demon Buiti was sent by the evil one Ahriman to deceive and destroy Zoroaster, but Zoroaster was well-equipped to defeat the enemy. When the evil spirit asked Zoroaster how he would defeat him, Zoroaster responded by saying, “With the sacred mortar, with the sacred cup, with the Word proclaimed by Mazda.”6 Twelve years after receiving his first vision from Ahura Mazda, Zoroaster eventually met a local ruler named King Vishtaspa and was able to convert him. Finding a friend in the King, Zoroaster finally was able to settle down and establish a new home nearby. At this point, his wanderings finally came to an end. King Vishtaspa’s religious conversion was critical to the spread of Zoroastrianism because he was the father of Darius, the Persian King. As the King of Persia, Darius assisted in spreading Zoroastrianism throughout his kingdom. Because of his association with King Vishtaspa, Zoroaster became an important figure in local affairs. Once he gained the backing of King Vishtaspa, Zoroaster regained his confidence in his ability to conduct his religious mission on a larger scale. After that, many conversions

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followed and Zoroastrianism expanded in the area. Undoubtedly, even though some people initially rejected his teachings, the seeds of Zoroastrianism had been planted, leading Zoroastrianism to become the official religion of Persia for approximately two-hundred years. During the initial phases of Zoroastrianism, an actual conflict in the historical plane took place between the followers of King Vishtaspa and “the followers of the Lie”. Just like in the case of Muhammad and the religion of Islam, Zoroaster relied upon warfare as a legitimate means to establish the efficacy of his religious stance. According to Zoroastrian tradition, it was in the context of this warfare that Zoroaster died in battle at the age of seventy-seven.

Zoroaster’s Ethical Dualism For the original followers of Zoroaster, there was no middle ground in the battle against the Lie. Zoroastrians believed that followers of the Lie should either convert to the path of righteousness or accept death. Ancient Iranian religion was overseen by the local rulers and priests. Like the sacrificial religion of Vedic India, the practice of animal sacrifice and the eating of the meat of the sacrificed animal was also a popular religious custom in ancient Iran. Just as the Indian brahmins participated in the Soma ritual, the priests of Iranian religion drank the fermented juice of the Haoma plant. Although Zoroaster was highly critical of these types of ritual practices, it is ironic that many of the same practices eventually became incorporated back into Zoroastrianism after Zoroaster’s death.7 Zoroaster was not the only sage during the Age of Awakening who found sacrificial rituals to be disgusting and wrong. In India during the sixth century BCE, two of the most outspoken critics of animal sacrifice were Mahavira and the Buddha. However, there were some basic differences between the religious perspectives of Zoroaster and these eastern sages. Both the Buddha and Mahavira advocated a withdrawal from the world. Buddha’s doctrine of the Four Noble Truths proclaimed that life was suffering. The Eightfold Path provided the solution to the problem. The cessation of suffering could only come about by learning how to become detached from one’s desires. Similarly, Mahavira believed that an extreme form of asceticism involving fasting, celibacy and solitude was necessary to defeat the karmic forces holding the human soul in a state of bondage to the material world. Instead of advocating a retreat from this world, Zoroaster was a man of action who believed that the problem for humans was not suffering, but what he called the “Lie”, a term which was synonymous with

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moral evil. Instead of pursuing the kind of ascetic withdrawal recommended by Mahavira and the Buddha, Zoroaster took a stance of active engagement against the forces of evil in the world. A few centuries later, the Greek philosopher Plato used his power of logic and reason to develop a dualistic picture of the world. However, Plato’s brand of metaphysical dualism was unlike Zoroaster’s perspective. Plato argued that the cosmos was made up of two separate ontological realms, the world of being and the world of becoming. On the one hand, there was the material world and, on the other hand, there was the immaterial realm of abstract ideas. Only through education could one escape the material realm and make the ascent upon death to the higher echelons of the universe. For Zoroaster, the Truth and the Lie both existed together in one world and did not exist in two separate ontological realms. In addition, these two forces were in a great cosmological battle for dominance. Only by aligning oneself with the Truth could one escape the inevitable doom awaiting those who were affiliated with the Lie. Zoroaster was much more willing than some sages such as the Buddha or Mahavira to use physical force to fight against evil. Zoroaster felt that taking offensive action of this kind was not only permissible, but mandatory. He prophesized that sometime in the future there would be a great cataclysmic battle in which God and his divine angels would descend upon earth to wipe away the Lie forever. Even though Zoroaster was a polytheist, his religious ideas had a striking resemblance to the Old Testament prophets and early Christians who anticipated the coming of the Messiah and the Kingdom of God sometime in the future.

The Socio-Cultural Environment In Zoroaster’s view of the world, violence and conflict filled the air, not just in the human world, but throughout the cosmos as well. In ancient Iran, most of the conflict was tribal in nature, but in the cosmos it was a battle between the Truth and the Lie. In Zoroaster’s social world, the main source of conflict had to do with the all-important source of life, water. Water was handled differently in Egypt and Mesopotamia. In Egypt, irrigation was handled by the central government and so there was little conflict between local tribal communities. In Mesopotamia, irrigation was handled on a local basis which set the stage for constant conflict, discord and skirmishes between various communities. Every summer the Nile flooded and when it subsided, rich fertile earth was left behind, making cultivation of the earth fairly easy and not requiring fertilization. This was not the case in the TigrisEuphrates river-valley.

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Ancient Mesopotamia was divided into two starkly dissimilar geographic areas. On the one hand, there was the dry, barren Mesopotamian desert that was far removed from the Tigris -Euphrates river-valley. Survival in the desert was a bitter struggle and for many it was an almost impossible feat. On the other hand, there was the richly fertile agricultural land situated near the Tigris-Euphrates. This more hospitable land became known as the Fertile Crescent. For obvious reasons, this was where human beings in the area wanted to live. Since the earliest of times, local bands of people fought many battles. Control of the Fertile Crescent brought the victors an easier life, if not survival itself. Given such circumstances, it is easy to understand how Zoroaster saw the world in terms of a clash between the opposing forces of good and evil. This cosmic battle was thought to mirror the earthly conflict occurring on the socio-historical plane of existence. In the early days of ancient Mesopotamia, most of the city-states in the area remained independent of one another and were governed by members of the priestly and aristocratic classes. However, as trade gradually expanded throughout the region of southern and northern Mesopotamia, various citystates began to come into contact with one another. In spite of the positive social and economic outcomes that resulted from the birth of civilization, such as the development of writing systems and improved means of production, ultimately competition for limited economic resources such as habitable land, food and water led the early Mesopotamian city-states into inevitable conflict with one another. The antagonistic mind-set of “Us versus Them” developed early on in ancient Mesopotamian civilization and continued to be reflected in Zoroaster’s ethical outlook and his view of the cosmos. Each Mesopotamian city-state was pitted against the others in terms of gaining needed economic resources; unless a distribution agreement was reached between two opposing communities, ultimately one would be defeated by the other. Ancient Mesopotamia was a world that was filled with constant outbreaks of violence and conflict between warring city-states and empires, but it was also a world in which most people accepted their lowly status in life. Their primary job was two-fold: they needed to serve the king and his court, by paying tribute to them and they also needed to serve their divine masters by performing rituals. Little in the way of food, water and shelter was available for them after fulfilling their obligations to their earthly and heavenly rulers. This was the world into which Zoroaster was born.

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Zoroaster’s Cosmological and Ethical Views In many ways, Zoroaster’s vision of the Two Spirits, known as the Truth and the Lie epitomized the perennial conflict that existed within ancient Mesopotamian society. The originality of Zoroaster’s ideas lies in his realization that these earthly conflicts and social inequities reflected a deeper conflict existing at the cosmic level between the forces of good and evil. For Zoroaster, only those who chose to live an ethical existence in the present age would have a chance to survive the great cataclysmic battle coming in the future. Superficial practices such as appeasing the gods through the performance of sacrificial rituals had to be abandoned. Moving beyond the shallow rituals of the state, Zoroaster beseeched his listeners to look within themselves. His listeners needed to ask themselves whether they were following the Truth by making moral choices or whether they were following the Lie by making immoral choices. This was the pivotal theological turning point in Zoroaster’s religious thinking and one of the defining moments for the unfolding of the Age of Awakening in sixth century BCE Iran. In the Gathas, Zoroaster discusses the nature of the “Lie” and presents an overview of his fundamental theological teachings: I will speak of two spirits Of whom the holier said unto the destroyer at the beginning of existence: Neither our thoughts nor our doctrines nor our mind forces Neither our choices nor our words nor our deeds, Neither our consciences nor our souls agree. I will speak of the beginnings of the existence, Of the things which the Wise Lord has told me, he who knows, Those of you who do not carry out the word, As I shall think it and speak it, For them the end of existence shall be ‘Woe’! Whoever (therefore) shall henceforth bear ill-will to the false gods And to those who bear ill-will to the savior (That is to those who do not submit themselves to him) To him shall the holy conscience of the coming savior, the master of his house, Stand instead of sworn friend, of brother or father, O Wise Lord! 8

According to Zoroaster, all human beings possess the power to freely choose between good and evil, or as Zoroaster would put it, between the Truth or the Lie. One can either willingly live in accordance with the Truth, as it was revealed to Zoroaster, or one can choose to stay within the drab confines of the religious system of the past. Since freedom of choice was

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given to humanity by the creator god Ahura Mazda, it implies that each person has the ability to choose Ahura Mazda’s path, but at the same time, one could make the wrong choice. Zoroaster clarifies his views on freedom of choice by telling a story about two primordial spirits called the Twins, one good and one evil. In the beginning those two Spirits who are the well-endowed (?) twins were known as the one good and the other evil, in thought, word, and deed. Between them the wise chose rightly, not so the fools. And when these Spirits met they established in the beginning life and death that in the end the followers of the Lie should meet with the worst existence, but the followers of the Truth with the Best Mind. Of these two Spirits he who was of the Lie chose to do the worst things; but the Most Holy Spirit, clothed in rugged heaven, [chose] Truth as did [all]who sought with zeal to do the pleasure of the Wise Lord by [doing]good works.9

In his preaching, Zoroaster reminds humanity that each person must choose goodness rather than evil just as the Wise Lord had done in primordial times. Although Zoroaster was a prophet and a reformer, he never completely renounced his belief in traditional polytheism. Unlike the Hebrew prophets who struggled with issues concerning the nature of religious faith, Zoroaster never had to deal with the problem of remaining faithful to just one god. Apart from his ethical outlook, much of his religious vision was rooted in the dominant polytheistic formulations of the past. Many of his descriptions of the cosmic battle between the Truth and the Lie are strikingly reminiscent of traditional mythological narratives. However, a degree of sophistication and sensitivity is exhibited in the way in which the relationship between Ahura Mazda and the two Twins is described. Zoroaster points out that if, indeed, the Wise Lord is the one and only creator of the Holy Spirit, then it follows that he must be the creator of the Holy Spirit’s Twin, namely, the Destructive Spirit as well. If the Evil Twin exists because of the Supreme God’s creative activity, this raises doubts about whether the Supreme God represents the principle of absolute goodness in the universe. Zoroaster resolves the dilemma by stating that although the Evil Twin was created by the Wise Lord, nevertheless, the Evil Twin is not actually substantially evil; instead, his evil nature is the result of his freedom of choice.10 Although the supreme god did not actually create evil, the deity did create freedom of choice and it was through this freedom of choice that evil came into existence. Zoroastrianism shares something with Christianity on the topic of evil and freedom of choice. In Christianity, God is not responsible for the existence of evil; instead, evil is understood to be the result of human

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choice. Likewise, in Zoroaster’s teachings, evil arises from the decisionmaking of human beings and it is up to people to turn away from evil and choose the Truth instead.

The Legacy of Zoroastrianism Zoroaster’s doctrine of the Two Spirits re-appears later in history in the Dead Sea Scrolls. In the Manual of Discipline, it states that God created man and two spirits, one called truth and the other called error. in the abode of light are the origins of truth, and from the source of darkness are the origins of error…And by the angel of darkness is the straying of all the sons of righteousness…and all the spirits of his lot try to make the sons of light stumble; but the God of Israel and his angel of truth have helped all the sons of light. For he created the spirits of light and darkness, and upon them he founded every work and upon their ways every service. One of the spirits God loves for all ages of eternity, and with all its deeds he is pleased forever; as for the other, he abhors its company, and all its ways he hates forever.11

Zoroaster’s visionary experiences taught him that evil is the result of bad choices, an insight that is shared most prominently by the Hebrew prophets and later in Christian theological teachings. In this respect, Zoroaster emphasized the need for each person to become morally responsible for their behavior. Ethics is also stressed in the way in which God’s nature is portrayed. It was revealed to Zoroaster that God is just, and He will judge humanity based upon their actions; those who live according to the Truth will be rewarded with eternal life. Many Zoroastrian ideas regarding God’s judgment of the dead are strikingly similar to Christian ideas on this same subject. Thanks to the conquests of Alexander the Great and the Roman military, Zoroastrian ideas as well as other eastern religious ideas spread throughout the Mediterranean world during the Hellenistic period. In the Common Era, certain theological language and symbolic representations associated with Persian Zoroastrianism were incorporated into the popular Roman mysteries of Mithra. Given the fact that the cult of Mithra was a mystery religion, it did not have much in common with Zoroastrianism as it came to be known in the Middle East.12 Zoroastrian theological ideas had more influence upon Jewish thinking after the time of the Babylonian Exile and later through contacts with Jewish people of the Diaspora. In Judaism, ideas pertaining to the existence of two ages, consisting of the present age of wickedness and the future age of God’s reign reflect Zoroastrian influence. Through Judaism, many of these ideas spread into Christianity as well.

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Despite its eventual decline, Zoroastrianism made its mark upon the world because many of its cardinal doctrines filtered into Jewish apocalyptic and early Christian literature. Early Christians including the apostle Paul incorporated the Zoroastrian doctrine of the resurrection of the dead and the idea of a final judgement at the end of time. Ahura Mazda revealed to Zoroaster that two separate judgements would occur at the end of time. In the first judgment, Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord would determine the fate of a person’s soul immediately upon their death. Another, second judgment was scheduled to occur in the future, at the end of time, when all of humanity would be brought together to collectively experience a great ordeal involving fire and molten metal. These ideas are also briefly mentioned in an unsystematic fashion early on in the Gathas, but in later traditions the two judgments have been reduced to a single judgment. In the earlier traditions recorded in the Gathas, individual souls are guided across the “Bridge of the Requiter” by Zoroaster himself where they are led to their judgment by Ahura Mazda in the “House of the Good Mind”. The motif of the “Bridge of the Requiter” resembles what is described in ancient Egyptian religion pertaining to the scales of the god Maat. The “Bridge of the Requiter” is the place where a person’s life is judged, with the gods Rashnu, Mithra and Sraosha overseeing the process. If a person has lived wickedly and fails to meet the test, then his or her soul is eternally damned to Hell which is called either as the “House of the Worst Mind”, “the House of Song “or “the House of the Lie”. In later Zoroastrian traditions, a belief surfaced that at the end of time the souls of the damned would be set free. Additionally, there was the belief that at the end of time a savior would come to earth to bring about a general resurrection of the dead and individual bodies would be reunited with their corresponding souls. Then, a great fire would descend upon the earth and everyone would be forced to travel through a river of molten metal that would burn the wicked. However, the sins of the wicked would be pulled away from them and all of humanity would be gathered together to join their creator. Some of these ideas are found in the earlier Gathas, but are presented in an unsystematic fashion.13 After Zoroaster’s death, his dualistic moral outlook degenerates into a type of animistic worship of plants and animals as well as inanimate objects such as fire and water. Ahura Mazda is still regarded as the creator of the universe, but the Wise Lord and the Bounteous Immortals who constitute aspects of His personality are no longer seen to be as the sole objects of worship for the people. A new group of gods originating from the older traditions of the past are now seen to be more suitable for present conditions.

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Innumerable deities are commemorated, the most important of which are the god Mithra and Sraosha. As a result, some of the old traditional gods of past generations become the new focus of attention for a new generation of the followers of Zoroaster. Eventually, after several centuries, Zoroastrianism slowly lost much of its popularity, but not without leaving its conspicuous mark upon the world. Zoroaster’s lasting impact is imprinted upon the face of Judaism, Christianity and Islam in terms of his eschatological thinking and ethical outlook.

CHAPTER FOUR THE AWAKENING OF THE HEBREW PROPHETS

Divine Callings Several hundred years after the time of Pharaoh Akhenaten, the Hebrew prophets developed their theological perspective about God and the world. The inspired teachings of the Hebrew prophets had some things in common with Zoroaster’s religious beliefs. Inspired by their divine encounters, both Zoroaster and the prophets of the Bible spoke out as God’s mouthpiece to their respective communities about the need to behave ethically and to be responsible for one’s actions. Many of the Biblical prophets shared Zoroaster’s zeal for the rejection of ritual sacrifice. However, unlike the Hebrew prophets, Zoroaster was a polytheist and never delved into the complexities of having an exclusive faith in one and only one God. That new insight was left up to the Hebrew prophets to formulate. During the time of the Babylonian Exile, the Hebrew prophets developed a radically new spiritual message which combined elements of Pharaoh Akhenaten’s monotheism with Zoroaster’s moral teachings.1 The religious perspective of the Hebrew prophets is encapsulated in the phrase “ethical monotheism”. The prophets of the Bible exhorted Israel to have faith in the one and only God, Yahweh and to follow His moral edicts because He is the one who provides protection to those who believe in Him and obey His divine laws. Jewish monotheism developed in a world that was filled with a variety of polytheistic practices. God called upon the prophets to keep His people on the right track, that is, to have faith in Him and to observe His commandments as they were recorded in Torah. In the scholarly world, the term “ethical monotheism” has been used to refer to this type of religiosity. The emergence of ethical monotheism in the world had a good deal to do with the spiritual awakening of the Hebrew prophets. Many Hebrew prophets were recipients of religious visions in which they were called upon by God to act as His spokesperson. Under the guidance of the prophets, Judaism underwent a period of revolutionary change during the period of

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the Babylonian Exile. This was the time when the first five books of the Bible, better known as Torah, and many prophetic writings were compiled together to form the first edition of the Hebrew Bible. Rather than being appointed by some priestly agency of the state, most of the Biblical prophets believed that they were called upon by God Himself to serve as His personal messenger to relay His teachings to the world. It was through God’s mouthpiece, namely the prophets, that Yahweh urged His people to resist the polytheistic practices of their foreign neighbors. Prophetic experience was the medium through which God’s message was communicated to the world. In dreams and visions the prophets came to an understanding of their role in carrying out God’s will. Many of the innovative moral and spiritual themes introduced in the Bible by the prophets are described as being born out of the revelations that the prophets received from God. In short, the Biblical narrative connects ideas related to ethical monotheism to religious revelation. Prophetic experience exemplifies Bergson’s category of dynamic religion, characterized by an openness to change and propelled by various forms of mystical states of consciousness. The Book of Jeremiah begins with a description of the prophet’s calling by God. The word of the Lord came to me, saying “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations”2

In response, Jeremiah confessed that he did not know how to speak because he was only a child. Then, God told him not to be afraid because He would assist him in his mission. Similarly, the prophet Isaiah received his calling in a heavenly vision. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted and the train of his robe filled the temple…. I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said,” Here am I. Send me!”3

Even though the Biblical authors were working with some extremely archaic traditions, dating back to the second millennium BCE, innovative theological ideas related to ethical monotheism became carefully interwoven into the Biblical narrative as it was finally put into written form during the Babylonian Exile. This editing process is clearly reflected in Torah, that is, the first five books of the Bible. Much of the Hebrew Bible

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is based upon oral traditions dating back to the time of the second millennium BCE, but once these archaic traditions became compiled in written form in Torah and the prophetic writings during the Babylonian Exile, many of these older traditions underwent a substantial editing process. For example, in the Book of Genesis, ethical ideas that were popular around the time of the Babylonian Exile are interwoven into the story of creation, revealing the editorializing of the Biblical authors.4 When the Genesis story of creation is placed side by side with other Near Eastern stories of creation, such as the Babylonian creation myth (Enuma Elish), several similar mythic themes and motifs appear. However, there are some important differences as well. In the Babylonian story of creation, the creation of the world is the by-product of a violent clash between many gods; in the Genesis creation narrative (Genesis 1-2), there is only one god who creates the entire cosmos simply by issuing a verbal command. In comparison to the bloody battle of the gods described in the Enuma Elish, the issuance of a verbal command by God is a far more peaceful way of bringing the cosmos into existence. In Genesis, when God creates the world, He makes a pronouncement that His creation is good. No such ethical pronouncement is made in the Babylonian story of creation. In the first chapters of the Book of Genesis, the ethical aspect of Yahweh’s creative activity continues to be highlighted in the story of the Garden of Eden and the creation of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. After God created the first man, Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed air into his nostrils, he came alive. After placing Adam inside the Garden of Eden, God realized that Adam was alone and so God decided to create a companion for him. While Adam was asleep, God took one of Adam’s ribs and from it made the first woman, Eve. Adam and Eve were faced with an important decision about whether they were going to obey or disobey God’s commandment. After placing Adam in the Garden of Eden, God told him that he was free to eat from any tree in the Garden, but he forbade him from eating from the Tree of Knowledge because if he did, he would die. When the serpent heard this, he tempted Eve by telling her,” You will not surely die…For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”5 When Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s commandment, the first humans fell victim to the forces of evil. God punished them by throwing them out of the Garden of Eden. The point of the Biblical narrative is clear: the ethical choices freely made by human beings define their relationship with God. A similar point of view is expressed by the prophet Zoroaster.

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According to the traditional Jewish outlook, there is no hope for a life beyond this one. Instead, the greatest reward for one who follows the way of the Lord is prosperity and a long life.6 Thus, God tells Adam, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life It will produce thorns and thistles for you, And you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow You will eat your food Until you return to the ground, Since from it you were taken; For dust you are and to dust you will return.”7

Elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible, a few passages mention Sheol, a dark shadowy place beneath the earth where unfortunate souls go upon death. Nevertheless, ancient Judaism did not conceive of a pleasant afterlife as the reward for living a good life.8 As a result of the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, nothing beyond short-term earthly goals are attainable for human beings. In Genesis 3, the archaic belief in the finitude of human existence is coupled with ethical ideas circulating at the time of the Babylonian Exile. One of the major differences between earlier forms of Judaism in the days of the Jewish Patriarchs and Judaism in the time of the prophets, centers upon the nature of the divine and how God is conceived. In archaic times, the Jews believed that Yahweh was their god, but within this spiritual universe, there were other gods that existed besides Yahweh. By the time of the Babylonian Exile, Yahweh had become the one and only god who was the supreme creator of the entire universe and the Almighty God for all of humanity. At that time, various editing techniques were used by the Biblical authors to insert various innovative spiritual concepts related to the Age of Awakening into the Biblical narrative. Prior to the time of the Babylonian Exile, the god of the Israelites was considered to be higher than the other gods because he was a creator god. Nevertheless, the other gods existed and had to be appeased through ritual sacrifice. Some passages in the book of Exodus reflect some of these earlier polytheistic ideas. For example, in one passage in Exodus a question is asked: Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you? ----

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majestic in holiness, awesome in glory working wonders?9

Elsewhere, in the Book of Psalms, Yahweh is described as one of many gods: God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgement among the “gods” …. “I said, ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.’ But you will die like mere men; You will fall like every other ruler.” Rise up, O God, judge the earth, For all the nations are your inheritance.10

Other than Akhenaten’s monotheistic cult of Aten, the idea of a single universal god had not been fully expressed in the spiritual writings of the ancient west until roughly around the time of the Hebrew prophets (6th century BCE). In Zoroaster’s view of the world, the supreme Zoroastrian god, Ahura Mazda comes close to being regarded as the one and only god of the cosmos, but in the final analysis, even Ahura Mazda is surrounded by a multitude of other spiritual powers and entities, some of which are good and some of which are evil. Earlier in Babylonian religion, Marduk and Ishtar assume a leadership role in the Babylonian pantheon, but within that divine hierarchy, other gods still exist and continue to serve important functions. Even in the early days of Judaism, Yahweh is regarded as one of many gods existing in the cosmos who stands above the rest because he alone is the creator of the universe. In the early days of ancient Israel, God was portrayed anthropomorphically as a protective father figure expressing emotions ranging from forgiveness and vengeance as well as love and hate; his primary anthropomorphic characteristic is his maniacal demand for absolute obedience from his subjects. In this sense, he tends to resemble an earthly despot who insists upon total loyalty from his subordinates. Frequently, the archaic god of the Israelites manifested himself to the world in the form of various theophanies (divine appearances) such as the Burning Bush and the Ark of the Covenant described in the Book of Exodus. The cult of Yahweh was one of many polytheistic religious cults existing in the immediate environment during the early days of the Hebrew faith. Each Near Eastern community had their own god to whom sacrifices were offered for the sake of gaining protection and security. Like other Near Eastern communities, the Israelites made

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sacrificial offerings to their god, Yahweh who offered protection to the Hebrews in return. However, unlike other Near Eastern gods, Yahweh was an extremely jealous god and demanded absolute loyalty and devotion to Him alone. And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.”11

Several Biblical passages describe some of the sacrificial practices that were performed in the time of the Patriarchs. Care needs to be taken when examining these passages since many of the descriptions reflect a mixture of archaic motifs and ideas developed in later times. In the days of the Patriarchs, animal sacrifice was a popular religious practice throughout the Mesopotamian world. Often, stones had a special religious significance in the performance of these kinds of ritual activities. Not only were stones important in the pagan religious traditions of the Mesopotamian world, but they had a similar function in the Patriarchal religion of the Jews.

Abraham’s Sacrifice Sacrificial rituals play an important role in the religious outlook of the Jews, especially in the early days. One of the earliest examples of sacrifice occurs in the context of the establishment of a covenant between God and his people. For example, in Genesis 15 1-9, God commands Abraham to sacrifice a heifer, a goat and a ram by cutting them in half. Similar kinds of sacrificial offerings were performed among the Hittites.12 During the Age of Awakening, many new and innovative religious ideas were introduced to the world. In many religious texts originating during this period, newer religious ideas were combined together with a variety of older, more archaic religious ideas in various novel ways. One example of this synthesis of the old and new is illustrated in the Book of Genesis in the story of Abraham. The topic of sacrifice and the nature of religious faith are two intertwining themes explored in Genesis 22. On the one hand, the theme of sacrifice reflects some older aspects of the Hebrew religious tradition. On the other hand, the second theme, which focuses upon the testing of Abraham’s faith in Yahweh, reflects a more contemporary interest in exploring the nature of religious faith. In the story, Abraham, the founding patriarch of the Jewish nation, is faced with a difficult choice. God decided to prove that Abraham was faithful to

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him by ordering him to take his beloved son, Isaac to a mountain top in the region of Moriah and sacrifice him there as a burnt offering. The next day Abraham immediately awoke and saddled his donkey. He told two of his servants and his son Isaac to prepare for the journey. After gathering some wood to be used for the burnt offerings, Abraham and the others set off on the trip. After travelling for three days, Abraham finally saw his destination in the distance. Then, he told his servants to wait behind because he was going ahead with his son to make an offering by himself. Isaac carried the wood, a knife and fire. Isaac asked his father why he did not have an animal to sacrifice. Abraham told him that God himself would provide an animal once they arrived on top of the mountain. When they arrived at the appropriate spot, Abraham constructed an altar and placed the wood on it. Unhesitatingly, he put his son on the altar. Just as he was about to kill Isaac, he heard the angel of the Lord speak; “Abraham! Abraham! “ “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”13

Then, Abraham saw a ram in the brush, and he grabbed it by the horns. Instead of sacrificing his son, he sacrificed the ram as a burnt offering. The Lord was very pleased with Abraham’s faith because he never hesitated when he was told to sacrifice Isaac. Then in Gen. 22.17-18 God says, “I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through their offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

The Problem of Evil At the time when Israel was being overrun by foreign powers and its people were being taken into captivity, several Hebrew prophets were perplexed about why God had failed to protect His people from these awful calamities. Although many righteous Jews remained faithful to the Covenant regardless of all the difficulties that beset them, the question still remained about why their God did not intervene on their behalf to offer any form of significant defense for His people. Some devotees began to wonder whether Yahweh was either too indifferent or distant from this world to care about their

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sufferings. Some questioned whether this God truly existed at all. In coming to terms with these questions and concerns, the Hebrew prophets were essentially grappling with the problem of evil. Many were puzzled about why a good and all-powerful god would allow so much evil to exist in the world. In the face of all this evil, somehow the prophets had to find a viable means for reaffirming the sacred order of the cosmos and God’s interest in preserving that cosmic order. In archaic times, evil was frequently objectified as spiritual powers that permeated the three cosmic levels, consisting of earth, the underworld and the heavenly realm. If a lowly human offended the gods, then one laid oneself open to divine vengeance. No divine protection could be granted to those who failed to honor the gods. For the archaic religious traditions, the malevolent forces of the universe had an independent existence and could only be warded off by gaining the protection of the gods. It was believed that this divine protection could only be gained through ritual sacrifice and purification. It was up to various religious thinkers such as Zoroaster, the Hebrew prophets as well as others to promote the novel idea that the existence of evil had more to do with human choice as opposed to the mere performance of sacrificial rituals. In other words, the prophets of the Age of Awakening asserted that there was a significant relationship between the existence of evil and human choice. The existence of evil was due to something more than failing to perform various sacrifices. Making good choices and choosing to do what is morally right had many tangible benefits for both individuals and society. On the other hand, many of the harmful things happening to the Jews as well as others in the world were seen to result from making bad choices and committing immoral acts. For the people of Israel, the guidelines for ethical decision-making were clarified in the Mosaic Covenant. In short, the Hebrew prophets believed that taking responsibility for one’s own actions was an essential element for removing wickedness from the world. However, the problem of explaining why God would allow good people to suffer as a result of the sinful actions of others still remained an issue. Even if one lived their life according to Torah, there were still others in the world who committed evil actions. Questions remained about why God allowed righteous people to suffer because of the evil actions of others. As the Book of Ecclesiastes states, many Jews felt beaten down and oppressed by the wickedness of others;

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I saw the tears of the oppressed and they have no comforter, power was on the side of the oppressors--and they have no comforter.14

Job’s Test The Book of Job probes into theological questions concerning the nature of religious faith in the face of wickedness. Just as the Book of Genesis describes the test of Abraham’s faith, similarly, the Book of Job describes the test of Job’s faith. At the beginning of the story, Satan tells God that Job really was not such a devoted prophet, but merely an overprotected child of God who remained God’s faithful servant because God protected him from any serious harm. Satan believed that Job’s faith would cave in under dire circumstances when put to the test. Satan challenged God to test Job’s faith to find out if it was strong enough to withstand any trouble sent his way. Job’s first test happened when the Sabeans attacked his home and carried off all his animals and servants. Instead of becoming angry at God for these misfortunes, Job fell down on his knees and worshipped God, by saying, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”15

Then, as a second test of his faith, Job was afflicted with many sores that spread all over his body. When his wife wondered why he was still holding on to his faith, Job claimed that a person should have faith in God regardless of whether good things or bad things happen to him or her. After that, Job became despondent because of all of his sufferings. When three of his friends heard about all of his misfortunes, they decided to pay him a visit. After they arrived, they sat with Job on the ground without speaking for seven days and nights. Finally, Job broke the silence and began to speak, cursing the day of his birth. “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And they come to an end without hope…. So he who goes down to the grave does not return. He will never come to his house again, His place will know him no more.”16

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Visions of a New Age Ultimately, Job never receives a satisfactory answer to his questions about the injustices he experiences and simply relents to the mysterious and inscrutable will of God. After the time of the Babylonian Exile, further changes in Jewish religious thinking occur as a result of increased contact with the Hellenistic world. Greek philosophical thinking, especially as it was articulated in Platonism and Stoicism, exerted a significant amount of influence upon Jewish religious thinking, especially after the time of Alexander the Great’s conquest of the known world. Some of these Greek philosophic ideas are reflected in the third section of the Hebrew Bible known as the Writings, most of which come into existence in Hellenistic and Roman times. Hellenistic Judaism borrowed many of the concepts developed by Greek philosophers, including Plato’s doctrine of the immortal soul and the theory of forms, to develop a unique apocalyptic vision of God’s final judgement occurring at the end of time. Even before the time of Alexander the Great, Hebrew prophets such as Zechariah spoke about an age to come when God would balance the scales of justice. Those who profited in this life through their acts of betrayal and inequity would receive their just punishment in the Age to Come. Perhaps reflecting Zoroastrian ideas, Jewish apocalyptic literature describes two great ages, the Present Age and the Age to Come. During the Present Age, the powers of evil hold sway, but this age will come to its end in a cataclysmic battle between God and his heavenly angels and the forces of evil. Once the forces of evil are defeated, then God will usher in another glorious age when the problem of evil will finally be resolved. Finally, justice will be restored for all of those who have suffered inequities at the hands of evil doers. In the Age to Come, a Davidic Messiah will restore the Jewish nation to its former glory days. For example, IV Ezra 5.4-12 describes some of the signs indicating that the end of the Present Age is imminent. These signs include earthquakes, eclipses and other strange weather phenomena. Above all, the appearance of the mysterious figure called the Anti-Christ marks the end of the Present Age. Perhaps the best example of Jewish apocalyptic literature is found in the sixth century BCE text entitled the Book of Daniel which describes a series of visions sent to the prophet Daniel by God. In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations, and men of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.17

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Another Jewish apocalypse originating from a period of history shortly after the Age of Awakening in the second or third century BCE is the Book of Enoch (1st Enoch). In this apocalypse, the Biblical patriarch Enoch receives a divine revelation about topics such as creation, salvation, Heaven and Hell. The vision clouds invited me and a mist summoned me, the course of the stars and lightning sped me, and the winds in the vision caused me to fly, lifting me upward and bearing me into heaven. I went in till I came near a wall built of crystals and surrounded by tongues of fire. It began to frighten me. I went into the tongues of fire and came near a large house built of hailstone crystals.18

In the company of angels Enoch journeys throughout the heavens and descends into Hell. Then he is taken back to earth to confront a great mountain and the Tree of Life. Michael, the Archangel tells Enoch that the great mountain is the throne of God. It is where the holy great one, the Lord of glory, the eternal king, will sit when he comes to visit the earth with goodness. As for this fragrant tree, no mortal is permitted to touch it till the great judgement when God’s justice redresses all and brings everything to its ultimate consummation. The tree shall be given to the good and holy. Its food shall be food for the elect. It shall be transplanted to the holy temple of the Lord, the eternal king.19

Because these kinds of visionary narratives contain an abundance of theological motifs and strange, symbolic imagery, some scholars have precluded the possibility that they are based upon any actual psychological experiences. However, rather than passing judgement on the truthfulness of what is presented in these texts, a better approach is to provide a descriptive analysis of the material. There is no need to make unconditional assertions such as stating that what is described in the Book of Daniel or the Book of Enoch cannot be based upon actual psychological experiences. Actually, the opposite appears more likely, namely, that many of the elements of genuine religious experience are expressed in these and other texts like them recorded in the Age of Awakening. The exhortation of the Hebrew prophets to live a moral life and be singularly devoted to God and His commandments is reiterated throughout all of these apocalyptic narratives; anyone who stood against God would be destroyed at the time when God and His angels will return to the world. Keeping the fall of Adam and Eve in mind, the Hebrew prophets proclaimed that sin not only had disastrous consequences for people living in the present age, but could only be forgiven by God’s miraculous grace in a future age. Instead

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of limiting divine forgiveness to the Hebrew nation, the prophets expanded the nature of God’s forgiveness to include all of humanity. God was more than simply the god of his chosen people; He had become the god of the entire world. Submission to God required something more than merely performing sacrificial rituals, such as what many pagan religious traditions demanded. Absolute faith in God and obedience to His moral commandments are necessary. The Hebrew prophets exhorted humanity to awaken to the reality of the living God; there is only one god whose moral laws govern the entire cosmos. Although the message was simple, it was not easy to follow. It was not rooted in the static traditions of the past. Rather, it was grounded upon an authentic experience of the sacred and exemplifies Bergson’s category of “dynamic religion”. Further, the prophets proclaimed that it would be through the exigencies of history that humanity would experience God’s presence. What mattered the most according to the prophets was total faith and obedience to God. At the same time when the prophets were preaching their message, a group of Greek intellectuals were developing their own perspective about the divine in strictly abstract terms, asserting that knowledge rather than faith was the key. The philosophers of classical Greece used their intellectual powers to conceive of another perfect world that transcended the world of time and space. In the next chapter, the world of classical philosophy will be discussed.

CHAPTER FIVE AWAKENING TO THE LOGOS

The Two Strands of Religion in Classical Greece The Classical Age of Greece (510 BCE-323 BCE) has been lauded as one of the most remarkable periods of human history. In a period of approximately two hundred years, unprecedented achievements took place in the arts, literature, science, mathematics and philosophy. Up to that time, no other civilization had ever achieved so much by using the power of reason. However, what tends to be forgotten is that there were some classical Greeks who had a penchant for exploring the non-rational forces of the mind. Although human reason was placed on a pedestal as the ultimate source for solving life’s problems, some Greeks believed that the rational and irrational forces of the mind complemented rather than opposed one another. The overlapping relationship between the powers of reason and the non-rational forces of the mind provided a fertile ground for the birth of the Age of Awakening in ancient Greece. Like any other historical period, in classical times there were many materialists who doubted the existence of a supernatural realm. However, there were some who took a more openminded view on subjects related to the sacred. Rather than seeing reason and religion in virtual opposition, the pre-Socratic philosopher Pythagoras and his followers believed that developing one’s rational faculties was a vital step in the growth of one’s spiritual awareness, leading to a mystical apprehension of the divine. The classical philosopher Plato claimed that philosophic activity prepared the soul for its departure from the physical body upon death and its ascent to another invisible world of ideas. Other Greek intellectuals accepted the idea that the gods directly communicated with human beings in various ways such as omens and even dreams. In fact, many of the new developments of classical philosophy were directly born out of inward reflection upon the nature of religious experience. Several pre-Socratic and classical philosophers played an important role in the emergence of the Age of Awakening in Greece. Many of their ideas

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about the nature of reality stood in sharp contrast to the scientific and rationalistic tendencies of the Classical Age. As Bertrand Russell states in his History of Western Philosophy, The opposition of the rational and the mystical, which runs all through history, first appeared, among the Greeks, as an opposition between the Olympic gods and those other less civilized gods who had more affinity with the primitive beliefs dealt with by anthropologists. In this division, Pythagoras was on the side of mysticism, though his mysticism was of a peculiarly intellectual sort.1

In this chapter, we will look at some of these sages and the viewpoints that were instrumental in bringing about the Age of Awakening in Greece.

Greek Popular Religion Ancient Greek religion can be conveniently divided into two categories that existed side by side during the Age of Awakening and thereafter. The vast majority of the population were members of the first category, namely, popular religion. These were people who subscribed to a variety of popular superstitious beliefs and engaged in a number of magical practices. Included in this category would be the religion of the city-state(polis), the hero cults, the mystery religions and the oracles. A second category, which had far fewer members, was centered upon the “religion of the philosophers”. In Greece, the Age of Awakening was born in the context of this second category.2 Of course, not everyone in classical Greece was thoroughly imbued with a love of wisdom. Classical mythology, as it was articulated in the Homeric Epics and the religious rituals of the city state, was the main preoccupation of the vast majority of the population. In terms of the Hegelian dialectic, the mythological perspective, representing the thesis, eventually gave rise to its antithesis, namely, rationalism. The synthesis of these two antithetical perspectives is found in the Pythagorean idea that reason and intuition play complementary roles in humanity’s spiritual quest. The Odyssey and Iliad, both of which were composed by Homer sometime in the 8th century BCE, represent the point of origin for the study of ancient Greek religion and culture. The Homeric Epics provide an open doorway into the anthropomorphic mind-set of the ancient Greeks in terms of how they saw the gods. Most modern scholars agree that many of Homer’s descriptions of the activities of the gods and the sacrificial rituals performed by humans in their honor tell us much about how archaic Greeks

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experienced the sacred. The Iliad and Odyssey look back retrospectively at some of the significant historical events taking place in the MinoanMycenaean era. Many of the archaic religious remnants of this era continued to survive and exerted a significant cultural influence during the Classical Age. In Minoan and Mycenaean times, ancient Greek religion focused upon ritual sacrifice. The Minoans felt that since their entire existence depended upon the gods, it made sense that the best way to stay on good terms with the gods was to make offerings of food and other material objects to them. After Minoan civilization had crumbled into oblivion because of a series of devastating earthquakes, the Mycenaeans quickly assumed control of the eastern Mediterranean. With the coming of the Indo-Europeans, a new set of male sky deities entered the picture whose strong war-like attributes were uncharacteristic of the earlier indigenous gods of the earth. When these Indo-European sky deities were introduced into the Greek world, eventually they metamorphized into the Olympic gods of the Greek city-state. When the Mycenaean era came to an end, ancient Greece was organized into a network of city-states, each of which had its own patron deity. For example, the goddess Athena was the watchful patron deity of Athens. Temple structures became the focus of the polis religion of classical Greece. The religious activity performed by the temple priests related primarily to ritual purification and sacrifice, which were thought of as viable ways of gaining divine protection. Regardless of whether an offense against the gods was intentional or not, it had to be expiated ritualistically in a variety of ways.3 The religion of the polis was heavily involved in traditional types of ritualistic prescriptions and conventions. Civic religion was communally based with the role of the individual having only secondary importance. In the context of ancient Greek society, the religion of the polis played an essential role in the maintenance of the classical Greek worldview. In classical Greek times, the Delphic Oracle is one of the best examples of how civic religion legitimized the political decisions of the leaders of the polis. In addition to Greek polis-religion, which focused upon securing divine protection against all the hostile forces at large in the world, another popular form of religion in the ancient Greek world was the mystery religions. By becoming initiated into the mysteries, one could attain salvation for one’s soul in the next life. The Eleusinian mysteries took an interest in humanity’s destiny in the next life rather than in this life. Because of its otherworldly orientation, the mysteries of Eleusis, as well as all the other mysteries which came later in Hellenistic times, represent an exception to the this-worldly

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orientation of classical Greek religion. It trumped earlier Homeric conceptions of the netherworld by reconceptualizing the afterlife as a delightful, cheerful place inhabited by the immortal souls of the initiated. The mystery religions provided salvation and immortality to its initiates by means of participation in an elaborate series of rituals.

The Religion of the Philosophers Given the diverse cultural influences impinging upon ancient Greece dating back to Minoan-Mycenaean times, it is clear that Greek religion cannot be easily boiled down to a few fundamental concepts or institutional arrangements such as the oracles, the polis -religion of the Greek city-state, the ecstatic cult of Dionysus or the mysteries of Eleusis. However, one issue that produced the most consternation among many intellectually inclined classical Greeks was the outdated polis-religion. Even though the religion of the city state persisted among the masses during the Age of Awakening, critical reflection by the intellectual elite on the shortcomings of the mythopoetic worldview led them to develop alternative perspectives which understood reason, as opposed to myth and ritual, as the most useful tool for solving life’s perplexing problems and issues. In classical times, many of the educated people of Greek society craved a deeper kind of intellectual apprehension of the cosmos that went beyond anything that was offered in civic religion or the mysteries. Some individuals turned to philosophy as their way to salvation. Although some philosophers were atheists, others did not want to entirely reject the idea that a supernatural world existed. In turning their attention to religious matters, many disputes arose among the Greek philosophers. Many agreed with one another that the entire body of Greek mythology represented a false narrative made up of a collection of outlandish fairytales about the gods. Although these stories were quite entertaining to the uneducated masses, many members of the intellectual elite believed that the true purpose of the myths was to bring about social control of the populace. This skeptical attitude played an important role in dismantling the old classical view of the universe. Although many classical Greek intellectuals ridiculed the way in which the Olympian gods were portrayed in mythology as having human-like personalities and emotions, many unanswered questions remained about the nature of the cosmos and whether the gods existed at all. Skeptics discarded the old anthropomorphic portrayals of the gods as false and without any merit. They also felt that it was pointless to believe in the existence of the gods at all or to give thanks

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to nonexistent gods through the performance of countless, meaningless rituals. As early as the fifth century BCE, Greek thinkers such as Protagoras (490 BCE-420 BCE) began to develop atheistic arguments against the belief in the traditional gods of Olympus.4 For Protagoras, humanity was the measure of all things. Since the soul represented the totality of all human sensation, there was no objective method to determine the truth about anything nor could one determine what is just and what is not. What appears to be just or the truth to one person might appear unjust or false to another. His conclusion was that “all is relative, and everyone is right.” Similar ideas were voiced by the classical sophist Democritus (460 BCE-370 BCE) who believed that it was primarily fear that led humans to deify certain forces of nature such as lightning, thunder, earthquakes and so forth. Critias, the poet (460 BCE-403 BCE) believed that the gods were invented by wise men to frighten people who dared to break the laws.

Pythagoras Greek skepticism set the stage for the birth of the Age of Awakening in classical Greece. Skeptical thinking among certain Greek intellectuals led to a contrarian trend among some pre-Socratic philosophers who sought to legitimize certain kinds of religious ideas through the use of intellectual reflection. One philosopher with a positive attitude regarding theological matters was Pythagoras. Pythagoras was a member of the Italian school of pre-Socratic philosophy. Rather than joining other skeptics and atheists in their repudiation of traditional Greek mythology, Pythagoras’ brand of mystical theology represented a place in the middle between total skepticism and absolute blind faith. This philosophical orientation represented the ideological launching pad for the Age of Awakening in ancient Greece. In Greece, the Age of Awakening evolved out of the tension existing between abject faith in the gods of myth and philosophic skepticism. The intuitive apprehension of the divine is clearly expressed in the life of Pythagoras. As such, he exemplifies a dynamic form of spirituality rooted in an authentic experience of the divine. Not only did Pythagoras reject the static traditions of the polis-religion, but he also spoke out against the skeptics. One problem in assessing Pythagoras’ thought is that nothing remains of what he actually wrote about philosophy and other matters. Information about Pythagoras’ philosophic outlook is recorded in the writings of other ancient authors such as Plato, Philostratus, Iamblichus, and

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Diogenes Laertes. As a result, what is known about Pythagoras’ life and thought is a mixture of fact and fantasy. Philostratus (170 CE-250 CE) reported that Pythagoras actually came back to life again after he died. His clothes were made of animal skins and he refrained from eating meat. Philostratus also mentioned that Pythagoras spoke directly to the Greek gods and had knowledge of what pleased and upset them. Many of his followers considered his revelations to be divine law.5 In the realm of mathematics, Pythagoras is famous for his Pythagorean theorem. One of his most important contributions in the realm of philosophy was tied to his discovery that musical harmony has a mathematical basis. As a result, Pythagoras argued that numbers and mathematics represent the most fundamental component of reality. Pythagoras argued that engaging in mathematics and philosophy allows one to enter into the supernatural realm of the immortal soul. From Pythagoras’ viewpoint, rationality complements rather than suppresses higher forms of spirituality. Although Pythagoras was one of the earliest thinkers of the western world to discuss the existence of the immortal soul, reincarnation and the transmigration of the soul, he cannot be credited as the originator of these ideas. Nevertheless, the topic of the immortal soul becomes a focal point of discussion for Greek philosophers of the Age of Awakening. In his classic book entitled The Greeks and the Irrational, E. R. Dodds points out that the idea of survival after death has a long history dating back to archaic times. It was not a new one in classical literature; its presence is well documented in the Homeric epics.6 Elsewhere, ideas regarding the afterlife and the existence of the immortal soul are recorded in the second millennium BCE in ancient Egyptian sources as well, including the Pyramid Texts, the Coffin Texts and the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Similarly, the idea of rewards and punishments being levelled upon the ghostly apparition of the deceased was not the novel invention of Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras. In Greece, examples of it can be found in the Eleusinian mysteries, which promised a blessed afterlife to its initiates; outside of Greece, in ancient Egyptian religious literature, there is mention of a judgement of the dead awaiting those who journey to the Land of Osiris upon death. However, by arguing that the cosmos was made up of two distinct ontological realms, consisting of the world of ideas and the imperfect world of material objects, Plato’s dualistic perspective went beyond the ritualistic interpretations of the afterlife expressed in the mysteries and Egyptian religion. Since Plato was familiar with Pythagoras’ thought, his dualistic ideas may reflect Pythagoras’ influence.

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The original source of the mind-body dualism is unknown. However, various theories have been proposed regarding its origin. Dodds points to Siberian shamanism as one possible source. In Scythia and Thrace, the ancient Greeks had come into contact “with peoples who, as the Swiss scholar Meuli has shown, were influenced by this shamanistic culture.”7 Dodds concludes that the real origin of metaphysical dualism as it was developed by the ancient Greek philosophers, is located in Siberian shamanism. According to Dodds, metaphysical dualism could have arisen as a natural consequence of the shaman’s out-of-body experiences and trance states. Other scholars have traced the origin of metaphysical dualism to eastern influences. Eastern religious texts like the Upanishads incorporate this kind of perspective in their discussions about the relationship between the human soul and the material world. Eastern dualistic ideas could have filtered into the west because of increased cultural contact between the eastern and western world occurring in the Age of Awakening. Others have claimed that Greek philosophers such as Plato inherited his dualistic ideas from Orphism, a religious movement dating back to Homeric times. Orphism’s name is derived from a legendary figure named Orpheus whose shamanic journeys to the underworld were well-documented in Greek mythology. On the one hand, Orphism was skeptical of the traditional religion of the polis, but, on the other hand, it was not atheistic. Instead, it was interested in purifying the immortal soul through practices such as fasting, vegetarianism and celibacy in order to attain a visionary experience of the divine. Classical philosophers such as Pythagoras and Plato used the categories of metaphysical dualism as a way to explain the complexities of human nature. A number of Greek thinkers including Plato and Socrates reasoned that people are responsible for the decisions they make. People choose evil because they are ignorant of “the Good”. They have not yet learned how to think philosophically in order to escape the material world and align themselves to the world of timeless Being. In earlier times, human nature was understood from the standpoint of traditional Greek mythology. In this perspective, external, supernatural powers and mythological beings play a leading role in human outcomes. In the story of the Five Ages of Man, recorded in Hesiod’s Works and Days. human nature is understood in terms of the stages of history. Hesiod divides the history of the human race into five great ages including the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Bronze Age and the present Iron Age. According to Hesiod’s myth, a titan named Cronus created the first men in the Golden Age. During this age, humans lived a life that was very much like the gods. They never had to work or suffer any pain.

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This period came to an end when Zeus destroyed the Titans. Next came the Silver and Bronze Age when Zeus created a vastly inferior race of human beings who had little wisdom or strength. During the Bronze Age, humans were violent and loved to fight and make war. Things improved during the Age of Heroes because during this time god-like heroes such as Odysseus walked the earth. However, further degeneration occurred during the fifth and last Age called the Iron Age. This was the final downgrade in humanity’s prospects when people became even more selfish and greedy.8 An alternative perspective on human nature appears in Orphism. In contrast to traditional Olympian mythology, as represented by Hesiod’s story of the Five Ages of Man, Orphism developed its own distinctive countermyth in order to explain the good and evil side of human nature. The Orphic tale features the figure of Dionysus-Zagreus who is born from the union of Zeus and Persephone. In the Orphic myth, the Titans grew fearful of Dionysus Zagreus’ strength and so they decided to kill him by eating his flesh. Once Zeus learns of his offspring’s death, he kills all the Titans in a thunderbolt attack. Human beings are created out of the ashes of the dead Titans. Because humans are born out of the ashes of the evil Titans, humanity has an evil side. However, the ashes of the Titans possessed a certain amount of goodness too because they ate Dionysus Zagreus’ flesh before they were killed by Zeus. Thus, both good and evil exist within the hearts and minds of human beings.9 Regardless of its origins, metaphysical dualism becomes one of the noteworthy spiritual developments of the Age of Awakening. The point that needs to be underscored is that the remarkable philosophic discoveries of the Greek Age of Awakening brought about a transformation of earlier religious ideation dating back to archaic times. In some ways, Pythagoras resembled a shaman in his outlook, but he also incorporated eastern religious influences as well. Not only did he believe in the existence of an immortal soul that dwelt in an immaterial realm divorced from the physical world, but he was also a firm believer in reincarnation. Some of his biographers allege that he claimed to have gone on spirit journeys. Among his many accomplishments, Pythagoras was the first to make connections between various areas of knowledge and open the door to others after him such as Plato and Aristotle who made similar connections and correlations between the branches of knowledge. It is likely that Plato derived many of his ideas about the immortal soul from Pythagoras. In his Life of Pythagoras, Iamblichus states that Pythagoras was born on the island of Samos. As a young person, Pythagoras met up with a few other

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influential thinkers who belonged to the Milesian school of pre-Socratic philosophy. For a brief period of time, Pythagoras studied philosophy with Thales of Miletus (620 BCE-546 BCE) and Anaximander (610 BCE-546 BCE). Thales is considered to be the first philosopher of the Milesian school of philosophy and a trailblazer in the development of ancient Greek philosophy. Instead of relying upon mythological ideation, he was among the first in human history to use reason to address some of the most pressing problems of the day. When Thales pondered about questions concerning the origin of the world, his conclusions were a world apart from what was outlined in archaic creation myths. Thales thoughtfully speculated that everything must have originated from water since water seemed to be everywhere. He continued by asserting that water must be the one substance underlying everything in the world. Pythagoras was acquainted with a number of other pre-Socratic philosophers living in the area. Some of them shared Pythagoras’ love of the occult and others did not have an interest in such matters. The pre-Socratic philosopher Anaximander was not particularly interested in the supernatural. Like Thales, Anaximander engaged in rational thinking and tried to move beyond mythological explanations for the origin of things. Anaximander taught that all things originated from a single material substance, but it was not water. Instead, it was suggested that all things originated from some unknown substance that is continually transforming itself into other material substances such as earth, air, fire and water. Besides Thales and Anaximander, other Milesian philosophers in the area sought to identify the underlying substance of the world. Anaximenes (585 BCE-528 BCE) claimed that everything originated out of air. His thesis was based upon the observation that when air becomes rarified, it is transformed into fire and when it solidifies, it becomes earth. In Ephesus, Heraclitus (535 BCE-475 BCE) asserted that neither water nor air is the primary substance of the cosmos. Instead, he boldly claimed that the only identifiable constant in the cosmos is change itself. As a member of the Italian school of pre-Socratic philosophy, Pythagoras took a keen interest in spiritual matters. At the point when Thales became very old, he recommended that Pythagoras should continue his studies in Egypt with the priests there. In order to make sure that Pythagoras remained healthy, Thales taught him to abstain from wine and meat. On his way to Egypt, Pythagoras stopped at Phoenicia where he spoke with the prophets and became initiated into the mysteries at Byblos and Trye. Once in Egypt, he spent the next twenty-two years travelling to the temples scattered throughout the land, becoming initiated into all of the mysteries and

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studying astronomy and geometry with the priests. At Cambyses, he was captured by soldiers and carried off to Babylon where he spent the next twelve years studying with the Magi who taught him about the intricacies of arithmetic and music in addition to a variety of other theological matters. Finally, after all these esoteric adventures, Pythagoras returned to the island of Samos in the Aegean at the age of fifty-six. At Samos, he was invited to teach at a local school. He chose to teach mathematics, but soon discovered that the Greeks were not very interested in what he had to teach. After travelling to Delos, Crete and Sparta for a period of time, Pythagoras returned to Samos to establish his Pythagorean school which specialized in the study of mathematics and philosophy. Soon he became famous throughout Greece. Other than the Pythagorean movement, no other school of pre-Socratic philosophy survived beyond classical times. The exact degree to which the Pythagoreans incorporated Pythagoras’ teachings into their movement is difficult to determine largely because so little is known about the exact nature of Pythagoras’ teachings. What is known about the Pythagoreans comes largely from later sources. Generally speaking, the Pythagoreans resembled a religious order more than a school of philosophy. Some of the rules of the Pythagoreans were rather odd. For example, they were not allowed to eat beans, nor were they allowed to pick up what has fallen. Eastern religious influences are rather explicit in Pythagorean thought. Pythagoras and his followers believed that the soul was immortal and, upon death, transmigrated into another living thing. In the Pythagorean community men and women were treated equally and property was held in common.

Parmenides and Empedocles A few other pre-Socratic philosophers besides Pythagoras had shamanic attributes and shared his interest in cosmological and metaphysical questions. Although the exact dates of Parmenides’ birth and death remain unknown, he lived sometime in the last half of the fifth century BCE. As a member of the Italian school of pre-Socratic philosophy, he was greatly influenced by Pythagoras. Parmenides is credited as the first philosopher ever to use logical argumentation for the presentation of his metaphysical views. The mystical side of Parmenides’ thought is reflected in his poem entitled On Nature. In the poem, Parmenides distinguishes between the way of truth and the way of belief. The way of truth focuses upon the oneness of Being. For Parmenides, our senses delude us into believing that a multitude of things exist in the world. However, in reality only the oneness of Being

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exists and Being is infinite and indivisible. Whereas Heraclitus argued that all is change, Parmenides argued the opposite is true, namely, only the One exists and change does not exist. Since everything in the world is part of the One, it is impossible to think or speak about that which is not. Parmenides refutes the idea that things come in and out of being since this implies that something can come from nothing and this is impossible. In support of Parmenides’ contention that plurality and change do not exist, Zeno of Elea (490 BCE-430 BCE) developed a series of paradoxes called Zeno’s Paradoxes. For example, in the Paradox of Achilles and the Tortoise, Zeno explains that Achilles, who is a very fast runner, can never overtake the slowest runner, the Tortoise because in order to do so, he must first arrive at the place where the Tortoise started, so that the Tortoise will always hold the lead.10 Empedocles (494 BCE-434 BCE) was another member of the Italian school of pre-Socratic philosophy who sometimes behaved like a shaman. Like Pythagoras and Parmenides, Empedocles had several distinct personae including the philosopher, the holy man and the scientist. Empedocles was a contemporary of Parmenides and lived in Aeragas on the southern coast of Sicily. In his youth, Empedocles was an advocate of Orphic ideas and in his later years he took on the persona of a religious sage. Some legends report that Empedocles had supernatural powers including the ability to control the winds. He even brought a deceased woman back to life. Empedocles even went so far as to proclaim himself to be a god. One legend said that he ended his life by jumping into a volcano on top of Mt. Etna. In addition to his shamanic characteristics, Empedocles made some interesting scientific discoveries as well. By means of empirical research, he demonstrated that air is a separate substance. Through his powers of observation, he also discovered the existence of centrifugal force. He stated that when a string is attached to a cup of water and whirled around, the water does not fall out of the cup. Like Anaximander, Empedocles claimed that the cosmos is made up of four elements: earth, air, fire and water, but added that change comes about when the four elements were combined together in different proportions through the powers of love and strife to produce all the things in the world. He explained that during some periods of history, love is the dominant force, but during other periods, strife rules the day. Although the spiritual ideas of Pythagoras, Empedocles and Parmenides were rather novel in comparison to the classical norm, there is no evidence that the state was ever suspicious about these philosophers or ever took any action to harass or castigate them because of their unusual religious ideas. Politically speaking, these philosophers kept a somewhat low profile and

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were not very outspoken against the state, but this was not always the case with other Greek intellectuals. As noted earlier, in the ancient world, religious myths and rituals enabled the state to legitimize its worldview. Traditional creation myths explained the divine origin of a society and its political institutions and placed them within a cosmic framework. In antiquity, religious rituals often worked hand in hand with a society’s mythic formulations to provide an important way to recall the traditional meanings attached to many cultural institutions. Thus, the religious institutions of antiquity helped to maintain a society’s view of the world. Anyone who challenged the legitimacy of that viewpoint would naturally be seen as a great danger to the community. A significant “calling into question” of the traditional rituals and myths of the state eventually took place within the ancient Greek intellectual community. In Athens, the political leaders of the community decided to impose stricter controls over the populace as a means to ensure that the old traditional views would be followed.

Anaxagoras In classical times, hostility against those attempting to introduce ideological change is illustrated in certain events that unfolded in the city of Athens. When Pericles was very old, some of his enemies launched a crusade against his supporters. A new law was passed that allowed the polis to impeach anyone who did not practice the state religion and taught spurious things about “the things on high”. Sometime between the year of 432 BCE to 430 BCE, Athens passed a law making it a crime to teach astronomy or to disbelieve in the supernatural. During the next thirty years, a number of thinkers such as Anaxagoras (500 BCE-428 BCE), Socrates (470 BCE-399 BCE) and even Euripides (480 BCE-406 BCE) were targeted for their heretical views and eventually were successfully prosecuted by the Athenian government, with very few mounting a successful defense against the charges brought against them. On this basis, the Athenian government prosecuted Anaxagoras, charging him with erroneously instructing the citizenry by saying things such as the sun was a red-hot stone. Plutarch states that Anaxagoras, was the first man to put in writing a rational explanation of the moon’s eclipses, but his doctrine was not “in high repute” and circulated in secret among a few only. Discretion was necessary because men could not abide by natural philosophers and visionaries. They reduced the divine agency down to irrational causes, blind forces and necessary causes. As a result, even Protagoras had to go into exile, Anaxagoras was with difficulty

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rescued from imprisonment by Pericles and Socrates, though he had nothing to do with such matters, nevertheless lost his life.”11

When Anaxagoras was sent to jail, Pericles arranged for him to be freed. Anaxagoras was forced to leave Athens and moved to Ionia where he founded a school. At the school he continued to develop his philosophical and scientific ideas, including the idea that everything is divisible, even the smallest amount of matter. He agreed with Empedocles that the Void did not exist because air is everywhere. One of his chief philosophic teachings was that the mind has power over all of life and is the source of all motion. As a scientist, he discovered that the moon is situated below the sun and shines by reflected light. After being convicted, the guilty were either fined, jailed or banished. Whereas Anaxagoras was temporarily jailed and then forced to leave Athens, Protagoras chose to escape before taking the risk of being put on trial and being incarcerated. Another wandering Athenian philosopher named Socrates could have easily fled as well, but instead decided to stand trial. Once convicted and sentenced to death, Socrates probably could have pleaded with the court to be banished from Athens, as others had successfully done, but instead chose to accept his sentence of death by means of drinking hemlock. In classical times, the state’s prosecution against certain philosophers points out that the old guard had not completely lost control of the reins of power within the polis. Probably the most noteworthy prosecution of all was the case launched against Socrates in the Athenian court.

The Trial and Death of Socrates The Age of Awakening in Greece did not happen overnight nor did it happen without a good deal of opposition. A good example of this resistance can be found in the story of the trial and death of Socrates. The figure of Socrates is an interesting one for many reasons. He was regarded as somewhat of an eccentric and overly frugal figure. In passages 174a and 219b of the Platonic dialogue entitled the Symposium, Plato describes Socrates as often walking around the city barefoot, infrequently bathing and wearing the same worn out cloak both in the winter and summer. Since Socrates was illiterate, little would be known about his philosophic views if it were not for Plato, his faithful student. In several of his Dialogues, Plato provides a record of Socrates’ teachings. As a philosopher, Socrates took an interest in moral and ethical questions whereas his most famous student, Plato was more interested in metaphysics and epistemological issues. Socrates served as a

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hoplite in the Athenian army during the Peloponnesian War against Sparta. He garnered quite a reputation in the city of Athens for being opinionated on various issues. His outspoken personality and unpopular political opinions led the authorities to put him on trial. In contrast to the prevailing political environment, Socrates had a dissenting point of view about democracy, saying that it was a form of “mob rule”. Instead, he favored rule by an enlightened despot. Socrates preferred using a question and answer method for criticizing the conventional values of the Athenian aristocracy. His penchant for the cross examination of others regarding their erroneous and foolish beliefs is frequently put on display in various Platonic dialogues. In the Euthyphro, Socrates meets an associate named Euthyphro while on his way to his preliminary hearing. After mentioning the charges brought against him, Socrates asks Euthyphro whether he really believes in the truthfulness of all the mythological stories told by the poets such as the one which tells of a gigantic war taking place in the heavens between the gods. Euthyphro admits that he believes in the truthfulness of these tales. When Socrates demands clarification about the nature of piety, Euthyphro offers various examples, such as the offering of sacrifices, but is unable to provide an adequate definition of piety. By the end of the dialogue both Socrates and Euthyphro are thoroughly frustrated with one another. Euthyphro’s frustration stems from the fact that he is exhausted from being grilled by Socrates. Socrates is frustrated by Euthyphro’s childlike acceptance of the conventional wisdom about the gods. Socrates’ sarcastic disposition in this dialogue demonstrates why members of the Athenian government decided to bring charges of atheism and corrupting the youth against him. Quite a few people were offended and annoyed by his pointed attacks that made them feel like they were ignorant about what they were talking about. For these reasons, he was officially indicted by the Athenian government in 399 BCE on the charges of atheism and corrupting the youth. Despite Socrates’ reputation for engaging in rational argumentation, he gave a lot of credit to the non-rational forces within his mind for shaping his thoughts and behavior throughout his life. In the Apology, he states that whenever he had to make a difficult decision, an inner voice spoke to him and gave him advice. Ever since he was a child, this strange voice within himself occasionally spoke to him. In one case, his interior voice told him not to enter into politics.12 In his defense against the charges brought against him, he claimed that he was ordered by the gods in dreams and oracles to practice philosophy to show that people are not as wise as they think. Even though a punishment of death awaited him when he was found guilty, he

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stated that he was not afraid of being executed because what happens upon death is completely unknown. Asking for a known evil for punishment, such as exile or imprisonment, would not make sense under such circumstances. He felt confident of his decision because his inner voice did not oppose him. In the past, the voice within himself would always hold him back whenever he was about to do something wrong. In this case, it appeared to him that he was about to do something good. The setting of The Apology is the Athenian court where Socrates has been put on trial. In the dialogue, Socrates speaks to the jury and offers a defense against the charges of corrupting the youth and atheism. In his defense, he claims that many people in the community dislike him because he is a busybody and “investigates the things beneath the earth and in the heavens, makes the weaker argument the stronger, and teaches these things to others.”13 Socrates claims that such charges are untrue because he does not try to educate people nor does he attempt to charge anyone any fees unlike the Sophists. He believes that his reputation of possessing wisdom has led some people to make up false stories about him. Giving an example of his reputation, he states that once a man named Chaerephon visited the Delphic Oracle and asked the oracle whether there was anyone who was as wise as Socrates. The oracle said that there was no one. After hearing about this, Socrates wondered about what the god had meant and so he decided to refute the oracle by finding someone in Athens who was wiser than him. He decided to approach an Athenian politician who thought he was wise and was considered wise by others as well. Socrates showed him that he was not as wise as he thought. Because of this, the man came to dislike him. Socrates thought to himself, I’m wiser than that person. For it’s likely that neither of us knows anything fine and good, but he thinks he knows something he doesn’t know, whereas I, since I don’t in fact know, don’t think that I do either. At any rate, it seems that I’m wiser than he in just this one small way: that what I don’t know, I don’t think I know.14

After that, Socrates sought out several other persons who possessed a similar reputation for wisdom and the same thing happened. Soon there were many people in Athens who disliked him. Those who had the best reputation for wisdom were the most deficient. When he talked to a few poets, he quickly discovered that they could not explain the meaning of the poems that they wrote. Although lacking wisdom, they possessed a kind of inspiration that was similar to what a soothsayer possesses because they could say many fine things without knowing the meaning of what they were saying. When approaching craftsmen, he soon discovered they knew quite

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a bit about their craft, but tended to overvalue their knowledge and failed to realize that they were not in possession of a superior kind of knowledge. Much hostility arose against Socrates because of these kinds of philosophic inquiries. He concluded that it was as if the gods were showing him the truth in the following statement: “That one among you is wisest, mortals, who, like Socrates, has recognized that he’s truly worthless where wisdom’s concerned.”15 He realized that people in the community were angry with him for inspiring many young people to engage in similar types of crossexamination, demonstrating that the citizens of Athens were not as wise as they thought. For these reasons, Socrates believes the prosecutors were motivated to mount a legal case against him in behalf of the poets, artisans and politicians of the community. As a representative of the Age of Awakening, Socrates demonstrated the value of knowing oneself, and yet because of this, he was executed by the Athenian government. As the first martyr of the Age of Awakening, Socrates chose to follow the dictates of his conscience and intellect, rather than to submit to the authorities of the polis. His eyes were focused upon another world existing beyond this one.

The Search for Philosophic Truth: Plato and Aristotle Socrates’ execution by the Athenian government was one of the primary reasons why Plato developed an extreme distain for politics. Among the many letters allegedly written by Plato, his Seventh Letter is widely considered to be the only one that actually was written by Plato himself. In the beginning of the letter, Plato explains that the trial of Socrates and other political events involving corruption within the Athenian government led him to become disillusioned with politics as a young man.16 Instead of pursuing an active role in government, Plato preferred the life of a contemplative philosopher. In the earlier dialogues, Plato provides a faithful record of his teacher Socrates’s ideas on ethics and morality, but in the later dialogues, Plato makes his own contribution to the Age of Awakening by presenting his metaphysical and epistemological views. The later dialogues discuss a range of esoteric topics including the theory of forms and other subjects including reincarnation and the immortality of the soul. According to Plato, philosophy is the way in which the soul prepares itself for its final journey to an immaterial world of abstract ideas existing beyond the earthly realm. The main topic of discussion in the Phaedo is the immortality of the soul. The setting is the jail cell where Socrates is awaiting his execution. Surrounded by his friends, he states that he is not fearful of dying because

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philosophy has prepared him for such an event. He is willing to die at the hands of the Athenian government because philosophy has shown him that the best way to live and die is in the pursuit of philosophic truth. Rather than putting all of one’s faith in the five senses, Socrates argues that the most reliable way of attaining knowledge is to rely upon the power of reason. Whereas the bodily senses deceive and distract us with incorrect perceptions about the surrounding world, the cognitive faculties are a much more effective tool for acquiring knowledge. When asked if he fears death, Socrates says that he welcomes death since then the soul finally becomes separated from the impure body and goes on its journey to the world of pure ideas. At that point, the soul is no longer bothered by the distractions imposed upon it by the body. Unhindered by the demands of the flesh, the soul can contemplate what is real and true in the realm of the pure intellect. After the time of Socrates, Plato began a school in Athens called the Academy where students studied a variety of subjects including philosophy, science and mathematics. One of his best students was a man named Aristotle (384 BCE-322 BCE). Aristotle paid far more attention to the natural world than the immaterial world of ideas. In contrast to Plato’s idealism, his student Aristotle took a much more practical, down-to-earth empirical approach. In Hegelian terms, Aristotle’s empiricism was the antithesis of Plato’s viewpoint. Having spent many years studying in the Academy under Plato, Aristotle eventually struck out on his own to develop his own philosophic system. To no one’s surprise, many of Aristotle’s philosophic theories contradicted many of Plato’s fundamental philosophic axioms. In short, Aristotle was much more oriented to the world of the senses in comparison to Plato. Rather than viewing the things in this world to be modelled after eternal forms existing in another immaterial realm of pure ideas, Aristotle realized that Plato’s viewpoint detracted from a scientific investigation of natural phenomena. From an Aristotelian perspective, everything in this world operated according to a series of causes and effects. The concept of God interested Aristotle only insofar as it could be identified as the first cause of everything in the cosmos. Thus, Aristotle defined God as the “prime mover” or first cause. Other than identifying God as the first cause, Aristotle had little time for speaking about mystical experience or putting his faith in anything beyond the reach of the five senses. He realized that through one’s power of observation, important knowledge about the real world could be gained, leading to technological advancements. Aristotle’s move away from Plato’s idealism represents an important turning point in the history of western civilization. His contributions to the history of philosophy points out that the Age of

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Awakening is made up of a diverse set of insights and intellectual breakthroughs. One important step Aristotle took in the pursuit of scientific knowledge was the classification of the various branches of knowledge. Much of his interest in scientific knowledge was ignored by Plato who preferred talking about the ideal world of forms, culminating in the contemplation of the highest form, the form of “the Good”. Despite their differences of opinion, both Aristotle and Plato agreed that the most important characteristic of human beings was their rational faculties. Putting reason on a pedestal was one of the most important contributions of Greek philosophy during the Age of Awakening. Classical Greek thinkers believed that education enabled people to sharpen their intellect. Aristotle defined a human being as “a rational animal”. Whereas Plato believed that it was through the power of reason that human beings could participate in the world of forms, Aristotle realized that the senses played an important role in the pursuit of knowledge about this world. Rather than emphasizing the five senses as a source of error, Aristotle asserted that they served humanity as the ultimate source for exploring and learning about the natural world. In contrast, Plato claimed that mathematics rather than scientific knowledge represented the highest kind of knowledge. Scientific knowledge has less certainty than mathematical knowledge because science relies upon the powers of observation and sense experience for verification. Plato was profoundly influenced by Pythagoras who claimed that numbers functioned as the ultimate source of truth in the cosmos. Whereas sensory experience is frequently subject to misconceptions and errors, mathematical truth is self-evident. Put simply, the proposition that 2+2 equals 4 is true regardless of whether one has experienced it or not. Thus, mathematical statements are a priori truths, that is, they are true prior to any experience we may have of them in the natural world. Other forms of knowledge depend upon the five senses to verify their truthfulness. Thus, the truths attained in the natural and physical sciences are examples of a posteriori truth, that is, their truthvalue is based upon their verification in the world of experience. Mathematical truths do not depend upon this type of sensory verification. According to Plato, knowledge of abstract concepts such as the concept of justice or love is similar to mathematical knowledge because it does not depend upon sense experience. Instead, Plato believed that abstract thinking involves a process of recollection. Borrowing Pythagorean ideas about reincarnation, Plato speculated that human beings recognize the self-evident

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truths of mathematics and higher abstract ideas because they are recalling information that was learned in a previous lifetime. Plato’s ideas about reincarnation and the immortality of the soul are given further clarification in a story entitled the Myth of Er that appears at the end of the Platonic dialogue entitled the Republic. The central character of the story, Er is a soldier who dies while fighting on the battlefield. Then, Er’s soul awakens in the heavenly realm where he is surrounded by deceased souls and other supernatural beings. Arrangements are being made for all the souls of the dead to choose new bodies for their next life on earth. Those with philosophic knowledge make wise choices and return to earth in the bodies of noble creatures, but the ignorant make poor choices, returning to earth as tyrants and other evil creatures. Although the deceased souls will remember nothing upon their return to earth, Er will remember everything because he has been commissioned by the gods to report back to the living about what he has learned about the world above. In the Republic, Plato’s discussion about the differences between those possessing philosophic knowledge and those who do not is framed around a larger question concerning the attributes of the ideal society. Plato bases his critique of government on the idea that most rulers are only interested in preserving their own power. Therefore, the citizens of the state are educated for the purpose of serving the needs of the ruling class. In an ideal world, a philosopher-king would be the best choice for governing the people because they would put the needs of the people over the needs of the elite. Plato agreed with Socrates that ignorance prevails amongst the general population so that democracy would only produce chaos and a tyranny of the majority. Unfortunately, since the people themselves lack philosophic wisdom and the ability to make good choices, they would be easily deceived into following those who fraudulently appear to have wisdom, but may be motivated by other selfish aims. Plato’s spiritual inclinations led him to see the world in dualistic terms. He argued that the cosmos was made up of two entirely separate ontological realms, the world of ideas and the imperfect, physical world. These dualistic ideas had an influence upon the way in which the human psyche was understood. Instead of considering the psyche as a bundle of feelings and emotions, as it was understood in Homeric times, during the Age of Awakening, various Greek philosophers were beginning to see the self as the seat of human reason. Plato claimed that our true identity had a heavenly origin that existed independent from the physical body residing in the material world. In this model of the mind, the psyche was held captive inside

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a bodily shell; for Plato, a life of philosophy was the only means to set the mind free from the clutches of the material world. This kind of metaphysical dualism is quite different from the kind of ethical dualism advocated by the Iranian prophet Zoroaster. In Zoroaster’s thinking, good and evil are two separate spiritual principles existing within one all-encompassing cosmological realm. In contrast, Plato distinguished between two worlds: the world of being and the world of becoming. On the one hand, the eternal world of being is made up of a series of “ideal types” or unchanging, perfect forms of all the material objects and ideas existing on earth. The world of becoming is made up of imperfect copies or particularistic representations of the forms. The philosopher has trained his mind to contemplate the eternal forms of the particular things existing in the world of becoming. The forms are organized hierarchically so that as a person advances in their knowledge, they begin to contemplate the higher forms such as love or justice. According to Plato, the highest form is the form of the Good. Later in history, Plato’s theory of forms becomes the foundation of Christian theology as expounded by Church Fathers including St. Augustine. In Augustine’s theological system, God replaces Plato’s form of the Good. Thus, in Christianity, upon death the soul has the potential to ascend to heaven to be with God rather than the Forms. Plato asserts that since a philosopher has knowledge of the higher forms, he is the most suitable person for governing everyone else. Generally speaking, other members of society, such as the artisans, soldiers and merchants lack the ability to comprehend abstract ideas. In the Republic 514a-520, Plato presents a story entitled the Allegory of the Cave in which he outlines his ideas about education and government. In the story, Socrates compares the effects of education and the lack of it to a situation in which people are living in an underground cave. The entrance of the cave is a long way up from where they are stationed. Ever since childhood these cave dwellers have been chained in one place inside the cave and have only been able to see what is in front of them. There is a dim light inside the cave provided by a fire burning nearby. Between the prisoners and the fire, there is a long road leading out of the cave. Socrates says that those residing in the cave are like uneducated people living in the world who are unable to think abstractly. Inside the cave there are many who can only see the shadow of things flickering on the walls of the cave, instead of the things themselves. As a result, these persons tend to mistake the shadows for the things themselves. If one of these prisoners was freed from their chains and could draw closer to the light coming from the entrance of the cave, they would be blinded by the light and turn away. They would choose to look only at

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the things their eyes were used to seeing, such as the shadowy images flickering on the cave walls. This situation is analogous to a person’s immediate reaction when something new is learned. Frequently, they reject the new knowledge and cling to their old beliefs. In the Allegory of the Cave, Plato is commenting about some of the reactions that people were having to the Age of Awakening. Socrates points out that if a person inside the cave was dragged outside, they would become angry and unable to see things until their eyes became adjusted to the light. Eventually the person’s eyes would adjust to the light and then they would see things in the world as they really are. The person would think that they were lucky to be released from the cave and freed from their previous condition. No one would wish to return to the place where people mistook shadows for the things themselves. If the person ever did return to the cave, their eyes would not be adjusted to the darkness which would provoke ridicule among the other prisoners to the point where they might try to kill the person. This is a direct reference to Socrates’ trial and execution. Then, Socrates explains the situation as follows; And if you think of the upward journey and the seeing of things above as the upward journey of the soul to the intelligible real…. the last thing to be seen is the form of the good, and it is seen only with toil and trouble. Once one has seen it, however, one must infer that it is the cause of all that is correct and beautiful in anything.17

The point of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is that the philosopher is like one who makes an upward journey into the light out of the recesses of a dark cave. They are the best suited to lead others out of the darkness. Just as Plato’s Allegory of the Cave speaks about leading people out of the darkness, the word “to educate” is derived from the Latin word “educare” which literally means “to bring up”. Many of the philosophic developments leading to the Age of Awakening in Greece were discussed in this chapter. Classical Greece is well known for its many breakthroughs in the arts and sciences. Equally important was the developing interest in topics such as the immortal soul and the existence of God. For many Greek thinkers, the highest kind of knowledge could only be attained through the practice of philosophy. Thus, cultivating one’s intellect was regarded as an all-important step for improving one’s spiritual development, leading to an intuitive apprehension of the divine. In addition to providing criticisms of the drab polis-religion, some philosophers such as Pythagoras and Plato offered new and exciting perspectives on the invisible world of the gods. The officials of the polis believed that the introduction

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of philosophic thinking tended to erode confidence in their authority. As a result, philosophers such as Socrates were put on trial. Despite the persecutions launched against certain Greek thinkers in Athens, interest in the world of ideas and philosophic discourse continued to grow. These were the circumstances in which the Age of Awakening was born in classical Greece.

CHAPTER SIX VEDIC DAWN

Indus Valley Civilization Between the sixth and fourth century BCE, civilization underwent a period of dramatic spiritual change. In the previous chapters, the discussion centered upon the Age of Awakening in Europe and the Near East. The remaining chapters of the book focus upon the emergence of the Age of Awakening in the Asian world. Prior to the Age of Awakening (sixth century BCE), Indian religious history can be divided into two separate eras, the pre-Vedic period and Vedic period. Seeds of the Age of Awakening were planted in India during these two periods of history. The Pre-Vedic era corresponds to the time before the Indo-European migrations of the second millennium BCE. The Vedic period begins with the arrival of the Indo-Europeans in the middle of the second millennium BCE and continues on for approximately a thousand years. Throughout its long historical development, India’s geographic location has protected it from foreign invasion and outside cultural influences. India’s topography can partially explain its uncanny ability to absorb and transform a variety of external cultural forces. India is surrounded by vast mountain ranges in the north, dense jungle in the east, and the Indian Ocean along its southern and western coast. These geographic factors and its tropical climate contributed to giving India its unique cultural characteristics.1 In comparison to the early history of ancient Egypt, Greece and Mesopotamia, very little is known regarding Indian history prior to the arrival of the IndoEuropean invaders. One thing that is known is that agriculture came to India later than its arrival in the Near East. Archeological evidence suggests that agricultural settlements first appeared in the northwestern portion of India around 6000 BCE. Around three thousand years later, settled agricultural life began to appear in the Indus river-valley. At that time, people lived in small, mud brick huts, and grew crops and domesticated animals including

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cattle, sheep and goats. By 3100 BCE, the first towns began to appear in the area. Around 2600 BCE two large scale towns, Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa began to be constructed in the region of northwestern India. Unlike the small village communities of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, which eventually expanded into larger communities, the first towns of the Indus river-valley were planned to be large-scale communities from the outset. Most likely, the inhabitants of these two urban developments were descendants of pre-Aryan people who originally came from the geographic area of modern Iran. Archeologists claim that towns such as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa existed well before the time of the great migration of IndoEuropean peoples into the region by several hundred years. These cities had huge reservoirs which allowed them to develop impressive irrigation and sanitation systems. It is likely that these two ancient cities were capitals of a vast empire stretching throughout the area. Archeological evidence shows that a trade relationship probably existed between these two great urban centers. Archeologists believe that up to thirty thousand people may have lived in each of these cities. Several discoveries have been unearthed at each of these sites, including many inscriptions written in an unknown language and several large building structures which are comparable to the fantastic architectural creations of the ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians. Some of these discoveries have led archeologists and historians to develop various theories about the religious life of pre-Aryan civilization. At Mohenjo Daro, a structure resembling a large swimming pool encircled with porticos and stairways was discovered. Some scholars believe that the structure served some unknown religious purpose. A few houses standing nearby appear to contain altars which may have been used for the purposes of making offerings to the gods. Stone sculptures and terracotta statues of mothergoddesses have also been uncovered. Evidence in the form of smoke stains located by the statues suggests that these items were used in the observance of a fire ritual. This evidence supports the contention that the cult of the Great Mother existed within Harappan civilization prior to the arrival of the Indo-Europeans.2 The absence of any significant cultural change or development within preAryan civilization over its thousand-year life span has led some archeologists to believe that it was governed by the priestly authorities.3 Another fascinating discovery resulting from the excavations along the Indus River was the unearthing of a multitude of flat seals and amulets. A few of the seals portray a man sitting on a throne in a yogic posture. Some

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scholars have interpreted the figure as an early prototype of the Hindu god Shiva. Other seals represent a horned person coming out of a pipal tree and in front of him are seven figures that appear to be holy men. All of these discoveries underscore the idea that certain fundamental aspects of Indian religion are indigenous and predate the Indo-European migrations of the second millennium BCE. In general, there is little evidence about the indigenous religious traditions of India prior to the arrival of the Indo-Europeans. For example, nothing is known about how the residents of Harappa culture buried their dead since the burial grounds were washed away by flood waters. However, some of the themes of classical Hinduism are reflected on a limited basis in the archeological remains of pre-Aryan culture.

The Arrival of the Indo-Europeans Because very little is known about the earliest history of ancient India, historians have been forced to speculate and develop theories; one theory gaining widespread support in the scholarly community focuses upon the distinct likelihood that a large group of Indo-European people migrated into the Indian sub-continent during the second millennium BCE. In the nineteenth century, a number of modern linguists and historians took notice of an inordinate number of cognates and grammatical similarities existing between various classical languages including Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin as well as modern languages spoken in India and Europe. For example, the Sanskrit word jnana corresponds to the English word” knowledge”. The Sanskrit word ajnana corresponds to the English word “ignorance”. Some scholars sought to develop an explanation for the existence of these cognates and grammatical similarities originating in languages and cultures widely separated in time and space. The theory of the Indo-European migration was proposed to answer these questions. According to this theory, sometime during the second millennium BCE, people from the north began a great migration into various places around the world. Although their exact place of origins is unknown, some of the evidence suggests that these IndoEuropean people originally lived in Central Asia near the area of the Black Sea and moved westward to places such as Greece, Italy and throughout the eastern Mediterranean. They also travelled to the north to Ireland and Scandinavia. Other factions travelled in an eastern direction to Mesopotamia and into the northwestern territory of India. According to the proponents of this theory, this relocation of people extended all the way from western Europe into Asia. Because they were gifted in the art of

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warfare, these nomadic tribes were successful in conquering territory everywhere they went. These invaders were called “the Noble Ones” (Arya) and later came to be known as “the Indo-Europeans” because their conquests stretched from Europe to India. The Indo-Europeans had highly developed metallurgical skills and used them to make weapons to defeat anyone who opposed them. They travelled by horseback and pillaged and conquered everywhere they went. Once a territory was defeated, the invaders imposed their customs and cultural traditions upon the area. As they migrated into northern India during the second millennium BCE, it is likely that these invaders brought an end to Harappa civilization. In India, one major consequence of this movement of people was the emergence of a form of social organization known as the caste system. The Indo-Europeans organized society into three social classes consisting of priests, warriors, and producers. The priestly class performed the sacrificial rituals and stood at the top of this social hierarchy. Beneath them were the warriors who provided protection for the community. The producers, including the farmers and stock-breeders, were those who provided material support for the community. Within the context of Indian civilization, the third social class consisting of producers became split into two sub-groups consisting of shopkeepers and servants, resulting in four castes instead of three. Thus, the traditional Indian caste system represents a cultural remnant of the Indo-European social structure. A corresponding ideological element of Indo-European culture was the emergence of a tripartite divine pantheon.4 Each social class had its equivalent group of gods. The priestly caste became associated primarily with the first group of Indo-European deities including Varuna and Mitra whose primary function was the administration of justice. Within the Vedic pantheon, the first category was further divided into two sub-categories. Some deities were related to magical sovereignty and others were related to judicial sovereignty. Usually the gods of the first category lived in the sky and played a role in the creation of the cosmos. A second group of Aryan warrior gods including Indra were associated with the warrior class(kshatriyas). The third group of gods were the deities of fecundity and economic prosperity and corresponded to the third social class of farmers and producers(vaishyas). Many of these gods were associated with the underworld and the fertility of the earth. During the second millennium BCE, the Indo-Europeans established many agricultural settlements in the area of the Punjab. Vedic India had a pastoral economy, with agriculture playing a strong role. Two of the most important

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economic resources were cattle and horses. In particular, the horse was used whenever the Indo-Europeans conducted raids upon neighboring communities. In the day-to-day lives of the Aryans, the horse was an important tactical weapon. Using horse-drawn chariots, the Aryan invaders spread eastward driving the Dravidians southward. By the beginning of the first millennium BCE, the Indo-Europeans reached the flatlands around the Ganges River where they established communities and began to grow rice. The Vedas state that once the Aryans migrated into the area of the Ganges plain, they lived in small clans governed by a king (raja). Around 900 BCE, several of these clans banded together to form small kingdoms. Many of these small kingdoms eventually combined together to form larger kingdoms in an area stretching from modern day Afghanistan to the Ganges Delta. The buildings of the Indus river valley civilization were constructed out of stones and bricks, but the Aryans used wood and mud bricks to construct their buildings.

The Vedas In addition to the archeological evidence, the Vedas provide much information about ancient Indian culture. Whereas archeological evidence is the primary source of information regarding pre-Aryan Indian civilization, literary texts including the Vedas play a much greater role in understanding developments occurring in later stages of ancient Indian history. The word “Veda” means “to know” and connotes divine knowledge. The composition of the Vedas took place over many centuries. The Vedas began to be written during the initial stages of the Indo-European migration, at the time when the Aryan Empire was spreading into the Indian subcontinent (1700 BCE-900 BCE). The last portion of the Vedas, known as the Upanishads, were composed at the dawn of the Age of Awakening, during the sixth century BCE. The Vedas represent a mixture of IndoEuropean and indigenous Indian religious ideas. The synthesis of Indo-European and indigenous Indian religious beliefs and practices probably began very soon after the arrival of the northern invaders. Despite the fact that the Vedas generally promote an anthropomorphic view of the gods, tremors of the Age of Awakening can be identified in some earlier Vedic hymns; towards the end of the Vedic period, the old sacrificial system of the brahmins began to be displaced by a growing interest in asceticism and yoga. In India, the Age of Awakening finds its most quintessential literary expression in various Upanishadic writings which bring together indigenous and Indo-European religious elements under one

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roof, so to speak. At that time, many Indian ascetic movements put into practice many of the esoteric spiritual concepts described in the Upanishads.

The Vedic Pantheon Much of what is known about ancient Indian polytheism appears in the Vedas. Prior to becoming recorded in Sanskrit, the Vedas were the earliest example of the phenomenon known as shruti, “that which is heard”. Originally, the Vedas were transmitted orally, but eventually they became recorded in textual form by the priestly community. As documents, the Vedas represent a compendium of religious hymns, poetry and philosophical discourses. In terms of their organizational structure, the Vedas are made up of four written collections which include the Rig Veda, the Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and the Atharva Veda. Each of these four collections contains four sub-sets consisting of hymns (Samhitas), directions for performing sacrificial rituals (Brahmanas), compositions for the forest (Aranyakas) and philosophical discussions, (Upanishads), which literally means “sitting near the teacher”. The Rig Veda contains 1017 hymns devoted to the gods of the Indian pantheon. In particular, two deities receive the most attention in the Rig Veda, namely, Indra, the god of the sky who is in charge of rain and Agni, the god of fire. Many of the Vedic gods are described in anthropomorphic terms. Early Vedic hymns reflect the culture of warfare that the Aryans brought to India during the Indo-European migration. For example, in Rig Veda 1:26 Agni, the god of fire receives praise for providing continuous strength to warriors in battle. Agni’s role in the Vedic pantheon is conveyed in Rig Veda 1:27 which states that this god ensures that all the other gods of the Aryan pantheon are always present whenever a sacrificial offering is made on earth. On some occasions, Agni would carry offerings off to the other gods. Agni is closely aligned to the Brahminical community since the brahmins are the ones who performed many of the sacrificial rituals and sang many of the hymns which were part of the rituals. In Rig Veda 1:26, Agni is seen to function as the high priest to all the other gods. Agni is always involved in any sacrifice made to another god since fire is an integral part of every sacrifice. Given the importance of sacrificial ritual in the early phase of Indian religion, Agni is one of the most important deities within the divine pantheon. Indra is one of the most popular Vedic gods and is mentioned in over 250 hymns in the Vedas. As the paradigmatic model of the warrior, he is often described in many Vedic hymns as the god who holds a thunderbolt in his

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hand, like the Scandinavian god Thor, as he goes about launching attacks throughout the land. As the god of rain, he was worshipped in order to obtain water for survival and to grow crops. In the Rig Veda, Indra is portrayed anthropomorphically as a warrior god who kills the demons with a thunderbolt and causes rain to fall from the sky. (Rig Veda 1:103) Although many of the actual battles happened before the Vedas were written down, Vedic texts transform these conflicts into mythological battles taking place between the Indo-European gods and the indigenous population. In various Vedic passages, the god Indra is described as roaming the land, like an IndoEuropean warrior, seeking out various enemies and engaging them in battle. The indigenous Indian population is described as speaking a barbaric language and professing faith in a cult of the phallus. They were said to live in fortified settlements that were frequently destroyed by Indra, “the destroyer of fortifications”. The Rig Veda praises the god’s many victories which have increased the power of the Aryans. (Rig Veda 1:103) In certain cases, the Vedas refer to the indigenous Indian people as supernatural beings such as demons and sorcerers who had to be subjugated in battle by Indra and other Aryan gods.5 Although less popular than the god Indra, Varuna is another important god of the Vedic pantheon. Possessing certain features of a sky god, He is visible everywhere and omniscient. (Rig Veda 8.41.3) He is frequently portrayed as holding a rope in his hands. Varuna is connected to the underlying order of the cosmos. The term rta is used throughout the Vedas to signify “the order of the cosmos.” Varuna is said to have been brought up in the House of rta, and is referred to as both the “King of rta” and “a lover of rta.” Varuna is regarded as the judge of anyone who chooses to break any law. Numerous mythic details about the god Soma and soma plant are related in the Rig Veda. For example, Rig Veda 8.100.8 states that an eagle brought the soma plant down from the sky to the earth where it grows in plentiful supply. Other details are mentioned about the soma sacrifice celebrated by the brahmins and how the intoxicating beverage is prepared. According to Rig Veda 8.48, the drinking of soma was said to bring about various kinds of ecstatic experiences. Even in the days prior to the Age of Awakening, ecstatic religious experience had a place in the religious life of the Brahminical community. Two gods whose importance grew after Vedic times were Vishnu and Shiva. Vishnu is portrayed as a benefactor of men in the Rig Veda and a friend of Indra. He assists Indra in his battle against the demon Vrtra. In the Vedas, Vishnu is closely associated with sacrificial rituals, but later in the

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Upanishads he becomes part of the great Hindu trinity consisting of himself, Shiva and Brahma. Shiva represents the opposite of Vishnu because he is unfriendly towards other gods and men. Rather than expressing kindness or compassion towards humanity, he spends his energy terrorizing humanity by sending diseases and other awful events their way. He is said to live in the mountains in darkness.

Vedic Rituals In Vedic times, contact with the gods was made primarily through ritual sacrifice. Many of the proper procedures for carrying out the rituals were outlined in the Vedas. Having been written over a period of roughly nine hundred years between 1500 BCE and 600 BCE, Vedic literature represents a portal into the archaic world of Indian religious ideology. During the early Vedic period, fire was frequently involved in many sacrificial rituals. Prior to the time when temples and altars were constructed under the leadership of the priestly authorities, most of the rituals were performed either inside a house or outside on a piece of ground. There were two main types of Vedic rites, domestic rites and solemn rites. Domestic rituals(grhya) were usually performed by the head of the household. The most important of these rituals involved fire and were connected to agricultural festivals and rites marking life cycle events such as birth, marriage and death.6 In Vedic times, the solemn rites(srauta) were considered even more important than the domestic rituals. In these rituals, offerings were made to various celestial gods such as Indra and Vishnu. Two of the most important solemn rituals were the Soma Ritual and the Horse Ritual. In order for these rites to be supernaturally effective, the rites had to be performed correctly. The Sama Veda describes many of the particulars surrounding the Soma Ritual which was usually performed by a brahmin. Unlike other rituals performed by the priests, the Horse Ritual could only be performed by the king. The rite lasted three days and involved a series of events. It concluded with the stallion’s death by suffocation. The Horse Ritual was performed as part of the New Year’s celebrations within the Vedic community. The horse’s death provided spiritual renewal and any form of pollution was thought to be destroyed. In this way, safety throughout the land was ensured. In many Vedic texts, the performance of the sacrificial rituals by the brahmins involved a certain amount of cosmological significance. This extra cosmic significance receives further elaboration later on in the Upanishads. In Vedic times, many Indian people believed that without

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divine support from the god Varuna, truth and justice(rta) on earth could never be achieved. In order to obtain that support and to achieve a harmonious balance between the gods and the human world, it was necessary to perform the proper rituals. Further examination of the Vedic hymns reveals that the cosmos itself was thought to have originated out of a great cosmic sacrifice of the primeval man (Purusha) taking place at the beginning of time. In the Hymn to the Supreme Person (Purusha Sukta), the Cosmic Person is described as being incredibly huge, possessing a thousand heads, eyes and feet. The cosmos itself comes into existence as a result of a sacrifice of the cosmic person. From his mind came the moon From his eye, the sun Indra and Agni from his mouth The wind came from his breath From his navel came space From his head, the sky From his feet, earth; From his ears, the four directions Thus the worlds were created.7

Even the caste system was thought to have originated out of this cosmic sacrifice of Purusha. Out of Purusha’s body came the four castes. From his mouth came the priestly class From his arms, the rulers, The producers came from his legs From his feet came the servant class.8

The Awakening of the Brahmins During the Vedic period, Indian religion centered upon the performance of sacrificial rites that were believed to be the source of divine protection from the gods. However, by the time of the sixth century BCE, a great wave of intellectual and religious ferment swept across the Indian landscape. This was the dawn of the Age of Awakening in India. All of these developments in Indian religious history reflect Bergson’s distinction between static and dynamic religion. Because many of the archaic myths and rituals of Vedic society legitimized the authority of the ruling class, they exemplify Bergson’s concept of static religion. Many of the esoteric ideas of the Upanishads express Bergson’s concept of dynamic religion. In the

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Upanishads, the divine is presented as an all-pervasive spiritual energy that bears no resemblance to the anthropomorphic gods of the Vedas. Instead, Brahman was understood strictly in abstract terms. For example, in the Isavasya Upanishad this unseen spiritual energy is said to permeate the entire universe, including oneself. Without moving, it is faster than mind. The gods do not know that which existed prior to them. Standing, it overtakes other runners. In it are held waters and wind. It moves and does not move; it is far and yet near. It is inward to all this; yet it is beyond all this. He pervades everything.9

Accordingly, because of this growing interest in the Brahman, many of the old Indian religious conventions associated with ritual sacrifice began to lose their hold on the minds of the Indian people. Several allusions are made to this single divine energy in the Vedas. The most explicit descriptions of the Brahman are provided in the Upanishads where the old Vedic gods are reinterpreted as concrete expressions of the omnipresent Brahman. Because the traditional sacrificial system of the priestly community was not totally abandoned, but simply re-cast in a broader philosophic context, the Brahminical authority was not diminished. However, the Upanishadic authors did offer a philosophic clarification of the meaning and significance of the ancient sacrificial rituals without having to supersede the power of the priesthood. Some of these innovative philosophic perspectives about Brahman and its relationship to humanity are vaguely anticipated in earlier Vedic hymns composed before the time of the Upanishads. In many instances, these Vedic hymns reveal a mixture of traditional mythic and innovative philosophic perspectives that are presented side by side, demonstrating that the insights of the Upanishadic authors did not happen overnight or in a single moment in time. Just as the sixth century BCE pre-Socratic philosopher Parmenides said that something cannot come from nothing, the creation story in the Rig Veda ponders how Being could have ever arisen out of non-Being since in the beginning neither Being nor non-Being existed. The passage below taken from Rig Veda 10.129 sounds strangely similar to the kinds of philosophical discussions appearing in the Upanishads. There was no air, nor sky that is beyond it. What was concealed? Wherein? In whose protection? And was there deep unfathomable water? Death then existed not nor life immortal; Of neither night nor day was any token. By its inherent force the One breathed windless: No other thing than that beyond existed.

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Darkness there was at first by darkness hidden; Without distinctive marks, this was all water. That which, becoming, by the void was covered, That One by force of heat came into being. Desire entered the One in the beginning: It was the earliest seed, of thought the product. The sages searching in their heart with wisdom, Found out the bond of being in non-being.10

Indian Asceticism The concept of inner heat (tapas) lies at the heart of the previous passage taken from the Rig Veda. It was out of tapas that the One came into existence at the dawn of time.11 The authors of the Upanishads develop the concept of tapas further as a way of discussing the importance of asceticism and the inner spiritual transformation of the person. The word tapas is derived from the Sanskrit root word tap, meaning “to heat up”. In contrast to the performance of external rituals in which fire was used as a means to gain divine protection, asceticism involves the production of an inner fire by psychophysical means. Fasting, yoga, celibacy, meditation and even standing before a fire or drinking intoxicating substances all are used to secure spiritual power. Originally, ascetic practices were conducted in the context of ritual sacrifice. In the context of the religion of the brahmins, an assimilation took place between sacrifice and asceticism. Dating back to archaic times, the process of heating oneself up through the use of rigorous ascetic practices was regarded as a viable road leading to sanctification from the gods. Although various kinds of asceticism and shamanic behavior, including the ingestion of various intoxicating substances such as soma, appear in Vedic times, by the time of the Upanishads, greater emphasis was placed upon yoga and meditation as a result of continued speculation about the nature of sacrifice. A foreshadowing of some Upanishadic spiritual insights occurs in the Brahmanas where the figure of Prajapati is identified with the cosmic person Purusha. At first, Prajapati was an unmanifested spirit who heated himself up through the practice of asceticism in order to create the first brahmin followed by the creation of the cosmos, the earth, and human beings. After creating the cosmos and its inhabitants, he created the Year. Then, by giving himself to the gods, Prajapati created sacrifice. Mircea Eliade points out the importance of Prajapati’s creative activity when he states,

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Chapter Six This triple identification of Prajapati with the universe, with cyclic time (the year) and with the fire altar constitutes the great novelty of the Brahmanical theory of sacrifice. It marks the decline of the conception that was the informing spirit of the Vedic ritual and prepares the discoveries achieved by the authors of the Upanishads.12

In the Age of Awakening, this deeper meaning of the sacrificial rituals came to be articulated in terms of the concept of the universal soul (Brahman) and its identification with the soul of the individual (atman). In Vedic times, the term Brahman was strictly associated with the numinous power connected to the sacrifice. Since it was the brahmin who performed the ritual, he was thought to possess the special ability to control the sacred energy associated with the sacrificial rituals. Thus, both the Brahman and brahmin had a special, supernatural connection. Eventually, the sacred energy of the sacrifice was extended to the entire cosmos and Brahman became equated with the universal soul of the world. In the Upanishadic formulation “thou art that” (tat tvam asi), it was declared that the identity of the brahmin and Brahman were one. In the Katha Upanishad, a young boy named Naciketas has a dialogue with Yama, the god of death. The boy asked Yama to explain to him what happens to a person upon death and Yama agrees by saying the following; The eternal conscious Self is not born, never dies. It does not come from anywhere, nothing is born of it. Unborn, eternal everlasting, the ancient one is not destroyed when the body is destroyed. If the destroyer intends to destroy and the destroyed thinks of being destroyed then neither know the truth. This (atman) does not destroy and is not destroyed… Yama said “The self-born forged the senses by directing them outwards (towards external objects). So man sees external objects, but not his inner atman. But some steady-minded one, desiring immortality, turns his senses in the reverse direction and sees the inner atman…. He who knows Prajapati who was born through penance along with the other elements out of the waters, who dwells in the heart(cave), and who is known by the elements---This verily is that…. From him arises the sun and into him he sets. In him are all the gods fixed, and none can be separated from him. This verily is that.13

The identification of the atman with the Brahman lies at the heart of several other Upanishadic religious concepts such as rebirth and karma. In later Vedic speculation, attention is fixed upon the human soul and its metaphysical connection to the cosmos. This metaphysical relationship focuses attention upon the brahmin who performs all of the important

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sacrificial rites. Since the brahmin possesses the esoteric knowledge and sacred power needed to maintain the cosmic order, it is regarded as the embodiment of the Brahman itself. As a result, the doctrine of Vedic sacrifice is the original context for the identification of the atman and Brahman. Not only is the world and the cosmic figure of Prajapati restored through ritual activity, but an indestructible spiritual self comes into existence through ritual action that becomes identified with Prajapati, or the Brahman. Through the performance of sacrifices, the brahmin is unified with Prajapati and achieves a higher level of being and ultimately, immortality. Devotees of the Vedas believed that the blessings of immortality and moksha were exclusively reserved for the brahmins who perform the sacrificial rituals. However, during the Age of Awakening, the special status of the brahmins was rejected by many. For these individuals, the path of liberation was available for anyone to pursue.

The Reinterpretation of Vedic Sacrifice This ontological identification of the atman and Brahman represents one of the most important insights of the Upanishads as well as the Indian Age of Awakening. An embryonic understanding of these ideas appears in earlier Vedic writings, but a fuller treatment unfolds in various Upanishadic texts. It is worth noting that the concept of reincarnation is actually not explicitly mentioned in any of the earlier Vedic hymns, but only is discussed later on in the Upanishads. The Upanishads focus primarily upon the subject of the spiritual destiny of the individual and other elusive spiritual topics such as the nature of karma, the continuing cycle of re-births(samsara), reincarnation and liberation(moksha). Although it is likely that the Indo-Europeans brought many new ideas related to Vedic sacrifice to the Indian subcontinent, other spiritual ideas related to the spiritual destiny of the soul, including karma and the practice of yoga probably were indigenous to Indian culture. The concept of karma and reincarnation play an important role for understanding the unique characteristics of Indian spirituality. However, the authority of the Vedas and the importance of ritual sacrifice are soundly rejected by the Buddhists and the followers of Jainism. As a result, the concept of karma and reincarnation receive a radically different interpretation within the context of these other religious traditions. Although Upanishadic discussions regarding yoga, reincarnation and karma reflect a degree of influence from Buddhist and Jain sects, the unique emphasis of the Upanishads is the philosophic reinterpretation of Vedic sacrifice. In contrast, both Buddhism and Jainism entirely reject the

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authority of the Vedas and its sacrificial system. However, despite these differences, during the Age of Awakening many brahmins, Buddhists and adherents of Jainism share a general commitment to the practice of asceticism. For the authors of the Upanishads, sacrifice was seen in a new light, as something internalized through various ascetic practices. Once the Age of Awakening began to unfold in India, the simple formalism of performing the external rituals undoubtedly left many people with a feeling of emptiness because they were unable to get in touch with a deeper and truer meaning attached to these actions. In these times, greater significance was attached to attaining knowledge(jnana) about the underlying meaning of the rituals rather than simply performing them. However, many people within the Indian community still deferred to the brahmins as the ones possessing this esoteric wisdom. In the Upanishads, the assertion is made that unless one meditates on the atman while performing the sacrificial rituals, the rituals lose their potential. Since the brahmins were thought to possess knowledge and wisdom, they were also regarded as the ones who had the power to release the untapped spiritual energy bound up in the sacrificial rituals. In its reinterpretation of the sacrificial rituals, the Upanishadic authors maintained the authority of the brahmins. This dependence upon the brahmins was one area that proved to be problematic for those who wanted to be spiritually self-reliant. It set the stage for the rise of other egalitarian religious movements such as Jainism and Buddhism that rejected the elitism of the brahmins. The Upanishads made another salient point: performing or not performing sacrifices had karmic consequences, but so did other actions too. At this juncture, one of the dominant themes of the Age of Awakening comes to the forefront, namely, the connection between the concept of karma and personal responsibility. The karmic effects of one’s actions did not simply come to an end upon death. It made more sense to believe that upon the death of the physical body, one’s atman would become attached to another body through the process of reincarnation. Furthermore, the actions of one’s past life determined your future reincarnation. The concept of karma, as it is discussed in the Upanishads, incorporates the idea that each person is responsible for their daily actions and consequences result from one’s deeds. Therefore, it represents a step beyond the Vedic emphasis upon sacrificial ritual. One could no longer entirely depend upon the actions of the brahmins to provide for a better future reincarnation. One had to look to oneself to find a better re-birth. One of the emerging themes of the Indian Age of Awakening is the idea of personal responsibility. Here the message was simple: be accountable for

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one’s own liberation. By 500 BCE, a new spiritual movement was born in India in which people were taking their spirituality into their own hands. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the region of the Ganges River where countless brahmins and other sages gathered together to welcome those in search of the truth and a better re-birth. Many of these spiritual teachers were strictly opposed to any form of violence. Since all living beings were placed on the highest pedestal, killing any form of life, even for the purposes of eating food or performing a sacrifice, was seen as wrong. Some archeological evidence dating from pre-Vedic India supports the notion that the teachings of these fifth and sixth century BCE Ganges ascetics reflect continuity with many indigenous religious trends of India. Among the spiritual seekers who turned away from the old system of ritual sacrifice were two men, Mahavira and Siddhartha Gautama. The lives and teachings of these two religious leaders will be discussed in the next two chapters.

CHAPTER SEVEN THE AWAKENING OF MAHAVIRA

The Wandering Sages of the Ganges While a few passages in the Rig Veda allude to itinerant sages, by the time of the fifth and sixth century BCE, their numbers had increased exponentially throughout India. By this time, the Indian Age of Awakening was well under way. These wayfaring ascetics were either brahmins or free-lance sages who practiced a wide range of religious behaviors including yoga, meditation, celibacy and fasting, as well as some things that would be considered odd or strange by modern standards. Some of these eccentric patterns of behavior include staring into the bright sun in the heat of the day or lying on a bed of sharp nails.1 Many of the wandering brahmins never overtly rejected the efficacy of the old Vedic sacrificial rituals. Nevertheless, some ascetics vehemently rejected the Brahminical practice of animal sacrifice. Bands of wandering sages congregated on the banks of the Ganges river offering open-air spiritual instruction to any interested party. This new Indian spiritual movement exemplifies Bergson’s category of “dynamic religion” because of its openness to new forms of mystical experience. The pursuit of ecstatic religious experience was beginning to catch on with the public; many sages were willing to share the principles of yoga and meditation with anyone who was willing to listen, regardless of their caste affiliations. Some of these teachers of spiritual wisdom were vehemently opposed to the caste system and were particularly disturbed about the practice of killing animals for food or for carrying out the sacrificial rituals. Some even went so far as to reject the entire idea of farming or cooking vegetables since these practices also involved violence against plant life. For these ascetics, even plants possessed a spiritual identity. Among the many ascetic religious clusters emerging in India during the Age of Awakening, only two sects survived, namely, those who followed the teachings of Mahavira and those who followed the Buddha. In the nineteenth century, some scholars believed that Jainism was a subgroup within Buddhism, but upon closer inspection it was seen that clear

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differences existed between the two traditions. Jainism involves a radical withdrawal from this world whereas Buddhism represents a moderate course of action called “The Middle Way”. Although Jainism accepts many traditional Indian religious values such as karma and the doctrine of the transmigration of souls, it distinguishes itself from the followers of the Vedas in various ways. For example, Jainism is basically atheistic and rejects the caste system. Furthermore, it abhors the Vedic system of sacrificial rituals. The Age of Awakening saw the birth of a number of Indian spiritual movements that challenged the authority of the brahmins and their overarching dominance over the three lower castes. The contrarian reaction against the brahmins and the Vedic tradition manifested itself in a variety of ways. In Jainism, Mahavira represented the last of the twenty-four Jinas (conquerors) sent down from heaven into this world to serve as a model to show people how to become spiritually self-reliant. Unlike the classical Greeks, Mahavira did not believe that human reason was humanity’s greatest attribute nor did he think that philosophy was the answer to life’s problems. He did not possess the type of faith that the Biblical prophets had for their god. Similarly he lacked the kind of religious zeal displayed by Zoroaster in his fight against the Lie. For Mahavira, non-violence and withdrawal from the material world was what mattered most. He also took a stance against the Vedas as well. His ascetic life-style represented a viable alternative to mainstream Indian religious institutions which centered upon the routine performance of sacrificial rituals and the veneration of a pantheon of anthropomorphic gods.

The Life of Mahavira It is generally accepted that Jainism originated in northern India sometime towards the beginning of the sixth century BCE. Many of Jainism’s key doctrines are based upon the teachings of Mahavira. Orthodox Jainism asserts that, unlike what is taught in the Vedas, the cosmos has no point of origin in the past, but has always existed. Therefore, most of Mahavira’s followers do not think of him as the originator of Jainism. Instead, he is regarded as the twenty-fourth and last of the spiritual teachers called Jinas who have come into the world during this cosmic cycle to bring spiritual assistance to the world. The long line of Jinas stretches far into the distant past. The emphasis on the eternal nature of Jainism and the cosmos differs from the perspective of Vedic texts which tell many stories about how the cosmos came into existence by the power of the gods in the distant past.

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From the perspective of Jainism, the cosmos has undergone many long transformative cycles, each of which is characterized by periods of improvement and degeneration. During each of these cosmic cycles, twenty-four Jinas have appeared in the world during times of stress and disorder. Once a Jina or Tirhankara (ford-maker who has crossed the river of transmigration) achieves liberation(moksha) for themselves during a particular cosmic cycle, then they begin their mission to teach others the way to salvation. Mahavira’s immediate predecessor was Parsva, the twenty-third Jina who lived sometime in the eighth century BCE. Little is known about Parsva. According to legend, Parsva lived in heaven as the god Indra before his birth. When he descended to earth, he entered into the womb of Queen Vama. In his youth he disliked the things of this world. Because he did not want to assume the throne, he was granted permission from his parents to withdraw from this world and retreat to the forest. Eventually, after many years of meditation, he attained the state of pure consciousness and enlightenment. Having achieved liberation, he then turned his attention to preaching to others about what he had learned about the fundamental principles of salvation. When he died legend has it that his soul ascended to the upper realms of the cosmos. Although the exact date of Mahavira’s birth is unknown, it is likely that he was born in the city of Patna in Northern India in the year 599 BCE. This date would make Mahavira a contemporary of Siddhartha Gautama, although there is no evidence that these two individuals ever met or knew one another. Given the fact that Mahavira saw himself as the twenty-fourth and last in a long line of Jinas, he did not consider himself as a religious innovator, but rather as a conduit for spiritual awakening. His advocacy for an extreme form of asceticism sets him and his followers apart from many of his fellow Indian contemporaries. According to Mahavira, the cosmos was not created by the gods. Some foolish men declare that a creator made the world. The doctrine that the world was created is ill-advised, and should be rejected. If God created the world where was he before creation? If you say he was transcendent then, and needed no support, where is he now? No single being had the skill to make this world.2

Followers of Mahavira believe that when he became enlightened, he gained omniscience. As a result, all of his teachings are rooted in transformative spiritual experiences. Therefore, he alone is allowed to make such pronouncements about the nature of the cosmos and the gods, but the average believer usually is admonished not to make dogmatic statements

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about these kinds of subjects. Unless one has attained omniscience and has become a Jina, one should avoid speaking about the nature of reality in absolute terms. Similarly, unless one has had a spiritual awakening, Jainism’s extreme forms of asceticism will not make much sense. Followers of Mahavira believe that much of the learning and wisdom of the Jinas has been passed down to humanity in the form of various religious documents which provide insight into many metaphysical and cosmological issues. Rather than clinging to any single dogmatic, absolutist view of reality, an unenlightened person should take a non-committal attitude about these kinds of matters which in Jainism is referred to as the doctrine of maybe (syad-vada). In the words of Geoffrey Parrinder, “A statement like ‘x is eternal’ is not only dogmatic but also wrong, since it denies its impermanence.”3 For followers of Mahavira, the correct thing to say is, “maybe x is eternal.” Mahavira was born at the dawn of the Age of Awakening. His insistence that humans need to take their salvation into their own hands by practicing non-violence set him apart from the Vedic traditions of the past. Instead of apathetically relying upon the brahmins and the Vedic gods for deliverance from harm, Mahavira preached a message of spiritual self-reliance. A number of hagiographical narratives about Mahavira’s life have circulated among his followers within the religious community. Although these accounts represent a mixture of historical facts and legendary material, they present a good impression of how this great teacher was perceived within his community of followers. Similar to other savior figures in the history of religions, his birth was marked by a number of uncanny events. The third century BCE text entitled the Kapla Sutra states that “{When} the Venerable Ascetic Mahavira was born, …. {there rained down on the palace of king Siddhartha one great shower of silver, gold, diamonds, clothes, ornaments, leaves, flowers…sandal powder and riches were born.”4 One literary tradition mentions that Mahavira remained a bachelor for his entire life, but other sources state that when he was a young person, he married a princess named Yasoda and was the father of a daughter called Anoja. His parents died when he was approximately thirty years old. When his older brother took over the family concerns, this gave Mahavira the freedom to leave his wife and child behind and renounce the world. Then, he joined a group of monks that followed the traditions established by the twenty-third Jina, Parsva. For the next twelve years, Mahavira lived the life of a wandering mendicant, practicing various austerities that included remaining silent at all times, fasting, celibacy, vegetarianism and meditation.

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In the face of great adversity, Jainism recommends that the ascetic needs to remain calm and detached at all times. Equanimity represents an important religious value in Jainism. In the hagiographies of Mahavira’s life, he exemplifies this idealized type of behavior during the years prior to his enlightenment. However, he met a good deal of resistance from others in the various communities he visited. In the face of ridicule and abuse, Mahavira remained at peace and never became angry or lost his temper. As he wandered from town to town, Mahavira faced a number of painful ordeals and challenges from those members of the community who disapproved and objected to his ascetic life-style. Frequently, he was the subject of ridicule and harassment. Some traditions report that at the beginning of his wanderings he wore a robe, but as time went by, he eventually gave up wearing any clothing except a loin cloth. In addition, he gave up all of his material possessions. In the early days of Jainism, these kinds of practices became the norm for others to follow. For Mahavira, asceticism represented the solution to the problem of greed and attachment to material possessions. Except during the rainy season, usually he would only spend a single night whenever he visited a particular village and five nights whenever he visited a town or city. Frequently, many people would watch him as he walked about their community leading some of them to become shocked and appalled at what they saw. Some of these people reacted in anger by striking him with sticks. Others were deeply saddened and cried when they saw him. In spite of the negative reactions within the community, Mahavira persevered steadfastly, choosing to avoid the company of all householders and concentrate upon meditation. For several years Mahavira did not even drink cold water. As a result, he came to know “the earth-bodies, and water-bodies and fire-bodies and windbodies, the lichens, seeds and sprouts. ”5 Once he understood that all of these things possessed life, he realized that he should not injure them. Even though others were constantly threatening him, he realized that all forms of violence should be avoided. Ceasing to use the stick (i.e., cruelty) against living beings, abandoning the care of the body, the houseless (Mahavira), the Venerable One endures the thorns of the villages (i.e., the abusive language of the peasants), (being) perfectly enlightened. Sometimes when he approached a village the residents would meet him on the outskirts and shout at him,” Get away from here.”6

On many occasions, bystanders would attack him with sticks or fists. Sometimes, the crowd threw lances, fruit, or clods of dirt at him. Even when

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he found himself in crowded locations, Mahavira would remain in deep concentration. When people spoke to him, he would rarely answer, but simply move away from them. The only time he would speak was if he was spoken to, but that rarely happened. Usually, he would not respond. Sometimes this sort of behavior would anger onlookers. On one occasion while he sat in meditation, he was viciously attacked by angry villagers who used knives to cut his flesh and tear at his hair. Then, they covered his body with dirt and threw him in the air. Instead of catching him, they let him fall to the ground. The hagiographies of Mahavira stress that through all of these attacks, Mahavira never attempted to defend himself. He never showed any sign of wavering from his religious goals and unflinchingly continued to bear all the pain inflicted upon him. Whenever insults and mean words were hurled his way, he simply ignored them, but remained immersed in deep thought. It was said that he had no interest in idle conversation and did not enjoy listening to stories, plays, songs or any other type of entertainment. As a hero at the head of the battle is surrounded on all sides, so was there Mahavira. Bearing all hardships, the Venerable One, undisturbed, proceeded (on the road to Nirvana).7

Despite all of his injuries, Mahavira never asked for medical treatment nor did he ever become sickened with any serious illness. Throughout the summer months, he sat in the sun many long hours and ate only a sparse diet of rice and beans. Even when it was cold during the winter months, he still refused to wear any clothing and would not even put his arms under his shoulders to keep himself warm. He endured a variety of hardships such as being bitten by a snake or a dog without complaining. On certain occasions he was attacked by a variety of insects such as ants, flies or mosquitos, but would never cause them any harm.8 He ate only the minimum amount of food necessary to remain alive. He had no desire to eat delicious food and sometimes would only consume stale food. He rarely drank any water. On one occasion, he went several months without drinking any liquid. He adamantly refused to engage in any personal hygienic practices such as bathing himself or brushing his teeth because he believed that the body was an unclean thing that could never be made clean without causing injury to some life form. From the perspective of Jainism, the way in which Mahavira handled his earthly suffering provides an ideal model for others to follow. Followers of Mahavira believe that all the things that happened to Mahavira in his life have occurred many times before to

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other Jinas because the cosmos is eternal and the transmigration of the soul is never-ending.

Mahavira’s Enlightenment According to various stories that are told about Mahavira, it was only after living the austere life of a monk for twelve years that he finally reached the state of omniscience and liberation. This momentous event occurred one day while he visited the town of Jrimbhikagrama, situated on the banks of the Rijupalika river. Having just completed a long, arduous fast, he decided to sit under a Sala tree and began to meditate. As he sat there, he finally achieved omniscience and liberation. In Jainism, it is believed that Mahavira’s enlightenment experience gave him telepathic powers and the ability to know about the thoughts and feelings of all humans as well as to perceive the past and future reincarnations of all living things. Having achieved total omniscience, Mahavira had finally escaped from the oppressive karmic forces of the universe that lead to the continual cycle of birth and rebirth of all life forms. From the perspective of Jainism, Mahavira’s life demonstrates how asceticism can eventually lead to the destruction of all of the karmic forces that holds a soul (jiva) in its state of attachment to the material world. After attaining the state of omniscience, Mahavira began his career of informing his students as to the way to liberation(moksha) until he reached the age of seventy -two. Then, Mahavira passed away and his soul or “jiva” was said to have ascended to the upper realms of the cosmos. Then, his soul “quitted the world, cut asunder the ties of birth, old age, and death; became a Siddha {a liberated being} a Buddha, a Mukta, a maker of the end (to all misery), finally liberated, freed from all pains….9

The “Sky- Clad” (Digambaras) and “White-Clad” (Shvetambaras) Following Mahavira’s attainment of omniscience and enlightenment, he dedicated the remaining thirty years of his life to preaching throughout India. As a result, a new Indian religious movement was born known as Jainism. According to legend, Mahavira delivered his first sermon to a group of brahmins who were performing a sacrificial ritual. After listening to his sermon, the brahmins converted to Mahavira’s way of non-violence, giving up their harmful actions against life. Eleven of these brahmins became Mahavira’s main disciples. Three of these disciples, named Gautama, Sudharma and Jambu were responsible for preserving Mahavira’s

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teachings for future generations in the form of an oral tradition. Several hundred years after the time of Mahavira, these oral traditions became recorded and codified in a written format. During the period between 317 BCE and 293 BCE, a council of monks compiled a canon of sacred writings consisting of a variety of ancient texts dating back to the time of Parsva. Having liberated himself from all the karmic forces circulating in the universe, Mahavira told his listeners that all forms of violence against life need to be avoided. Because there were absolutely no exceptions to the rule, certain strict procedures had to be followed when it came to pursuing moksha. For example, since cooking food involved causing harm to both plant and animal life, Mahavira’s followers had to rely upon others for cooking food. Since having material possessions including clothing represented a form of attachment and generates bad karma, Mahavira told his followers to give up all their possessions, including their clothes. The issue of clothing eventually became a sticking point for the followers of Mahavira after his death. Although during his lifetime Mahavira’s personality was strong enough to keep his community united together, and little disagreement existed among his followers about doctrines or practices, things eventually changed in the centuries following Mahavira’s death. Controversies arose and eventually Jainism split into two major sects, the “sky-clad” (Digambaras) and the “white-clad” (Shvetambaras). The actual time period when this schism occurred is difficult to determine, but most modern scholars believe that it happened around the fourth century BCE, well after the time when Mahavira was alive. Various legends have developed about the circumstances surrounding the schism. One legend claimed that the split occurred immediately after the death of Mahavira. According to this legend, a person named Bhadrabahu, who was in charge of overseeing the community of monks after the passing of Mahavira, migrated to the south because he was afraid that a flood was about to come. This left another monk named Sthulabhadra in charge of those monks who decided to remain in the north. Several years later, Bhadrabahu returned to the north to discover that the monks there had given up the austere ways taught to them by Mahavira. They had even abandoned wearing loin clothes and instead chose to wear white robes. These activities of the northern Jainists shocked the southern community because it appeared that the northern monks had failed to renounce all of their bonds to the material world. Because of these events, a split eventually occurred between the “sky-clad” in the south and the “white -clad” in the north that

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took many years to mollify.10 On the one hand, the “sky-clad” believed that since women should not be allowed to go without clothing and that nudity was a pre-requisite for attaining moksha, women could not be world renouncers and could never attain the highest state of liberation. On the other hand, the “white-clad” felt that women should be allowed to wear clothing and that they could attain liberation just as any other male world renouncer. Thus, members of the “white-clad” clung to the doctrine recorded in a passage of the Sutraprabrita which states, In the teaching of the Jinas no person who wears clothes attains [liberation], even if he is a Tirthankaras. The path of liberation is that of nakedness, and all other [paths] are wrong paths.”11

Besides the issue concerning nudity and the status of women, these two sects had differences of opinion on other issues as well. For example, whereas the “white-clad” believed that it was permissible for flowers to be used during worship services, the “sky-clad” believed that such practices violated the principle of non-violence(ahimsa). Members of the “white-clad” community believed that once an arhat such as Mahavira had achieved omniscience, they still had to deal with their day to day bodily needs such as sleep and nutrition, but the “sky-clad” believed that the enlightened ones no longer had to bother with those things. Another issue which brought changes to Jainism was the issue of cooking food. Both members of the “white-clad” and “sky-clad” agreed that the greatest obstacle to attaining moksha was the accumulation of karmic particles upon one’s jiva. Any form of violence against life forms, even in the case of cooking food, produced bad karma (paap). Since cooking food involved causing harm to either plant or animal life, some sort of solution was needed to allow monks to eat. To solve this dilemma, householders were allowed to join the religious community. By providing material support to the monastic community, the householders would earn good karma(punya). In the modern world, Jainism has four types of membership: the monks and nuns and the male and female householders. Eventually, after many long years of debate, members of both the “white-clad” and “sky-clad” decided to compromise and “live and let live” even though there were differences of opinion about the issue of clothing and women. Undoubtedly, the “whiteclad” were instrumental in formulating a more lenient position within Jainism regarding the question of clothing, the status of women in the monastic community and the role of the householders. Currently, Jainism has more nuns than monks. Nevertheless, members of the “sky-clad” remain adamant in their refusal to allow women to take the full vows of

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renunciation. In spite of their greater numbers, nuns of the “white-clad” still remain subordinate to the monks. Among the householders, it is women who play a larger role than male householders in providing sustenance to the mendicants.

The Jiva and Ajiva Despite their differences of opinion, members of both the “white-clad” and “sky-clad” hold a number of beliefs in common. Like many other ascetics of the Age of Awakening, such as the Buddha and his followers, both the “white-clad” and “sky-clad” vehemently opposed the Brahminical orthodoxy and their obsession with preserving the social and cosmic order. Both the “white-clad” and “sky-clad” accepted in totality many of Mahavira’s fundamental teachings on subjects such as the nature of karma and the dualistic nature of the cosmos and so forth. The way in which Jainism differentiated itself from other world renouncing movements such as the Buddhists was by means of its extreme asceticism and dualistic cosmology. In Jainism, the universe is thought to be made up of two contrasting forces, namely, the soul (jiva) and non-soul (ajiva). Both the white-clad and sky-clad agreed that liberation for human beings was only possible by means of detaching one’s jiva from the ajiva through the practice of asceticism. In distinction to the Hindu understanding of karma as an energy circulating throughout the cosmos, Jainists thought of karma as a materialistic substance that attaches itself to the jiva as a result of various actions. By holding the jiva down, karma prevents it from ascending to the heights of the cosmos where moksha is attained. The easiest way of generating bad karma is by performing acts of violence against any life form. Lying at the root of all the ascetic practices of Jainism was the insistence that all forms of violence against any living being needed to be eliminated as much as possible. As Jainism’s most sacred religious value, non-violence(ahimsa)represents the negation of the central message propagated in the Vedas, namely, that the sacrificial rituals are essential for the maintenance of both social and cosmic order. Unfortunately, human beings find it almost impossible not to cause some harm to other living things, whether that injury is intentional or not. As a result, bad karma is frequently the by-product of earthly existence. In Jainism, karma is regarded as a sticky substance that attaches itself to one’s soul (jiva) like glue. Good karma is produced through a combination of compassionate deeds and ascetic practices such as meditation, fasting and celibacy. By performing these activities, one destroys any bad karma that

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has accumulated upon one’s jiva. Further, any additional bad karma(paap) that is produced in the future will be curtailed. The practice of asceticism enables one’s jiva to eventually liberate itself from its hostile surroundings in the material cosmos and avoid any further rebirths. Jainists believe that karma ultimately fuels the continual cycle of reincarnation. An important ritual in Jainism is known as the Fasting to Death (sallekhana). This ritual involves a way to achieve moksha at the point of death. Rather than celebrating birth as in most other religions, Jainism celebrates death in this important religious rite. Since fasting is believed to be one of the best ways to destroy any bad karma that has become attached to one’s jiva, theoretically, if one engages in a prolonged fast leading up to the point when one passes away, then most, if not all, of the karma sticking to one’s jiva will be destroyed. Then, at the moment of death, one’s jiva will be free to liberate itself from the physical body and avoid any further rebirths. Jainism’s division of the cosmos into two separate substances is quite different from Zoroastrian cosmology. In Zoroaster’s brand of ethical dualism, a great war is taking place in the cosmos between the Truth and the Lie. Whereas Zoroaster never split the cosmos into two separate and distinct realms of reality, Mahavira took things a step further by dividing the universe into two separate ontological domains consisting of the world of the ajiva and the jiva. Mahavira’s dualistic cosmology is more akin to Plato’s metaphysical dualism to the extent that in each system, the cosmos is made up of two distinct ontological realms. Whereas Plato divides the universe into the realm of Being (the world of ideas) and Becoming (the world of material things), Mahavira divides it into the realm of the jiva (pure spirit) and the ajiva (material substances). In Platonism, the gap between the world of Becoming and Being is bridged through intellectual development. By means of perfecting one’s intelligence through education and the practice of philosophy, one comes to an increasing understanding of the world of the forms. In Jainism, asceticism allows the jiva to remove itself from the ajiva. By means of fasting and other ascetic techniques, karmic particles are burned away from the jiva, bringing the person closer to spiritual perfection. In addition to their common dualistic outlook, Jainism shares something else with Platonism. Both Jainism and Platonism have an appreciation for knowledge, but each perspective emphasizes different kinds of knowledge. As a philosophic school, Platonism values rational knowledge about the world of abstract ideas; as a religious tradition, Jainism values spiritual

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knowledge about the harmful effects of karma. Without awareness of the harmful effects of karma, humans remain bound in a state of ignorance. Because of a person’s ignorance, the jiva and ajiva remain connected to one another. Whenever a person commits a harmful action against another life form, harmful karma is produced that attaches itself to the jiva, causing the jiva’s connection to ajiva to remain intact. From this point of view, the solution to humanity’s existential problem is to use asceticism to stop the relentless production of bad karma (paap). By removing any past karmic formations that have attached to the jiva, the jiva is released from the clutches of the ajiva and moksha is achieved. There are an infinite number of jivas, each of which possessed consciousness. In its natural state, the jiva is blissful and all-knowing, but once karma attaches to it, it is no longer happy or all-knowing. Whereas the jiva has consciousness, the ajiva does not and is devoid of any awareness. According to Mahavira, the ajiva is made up of five material substances, namely, pure matter (pudgala) time (kala), motion (dharma), rest (adharma) and space (akash). Pure matter (pudgala) represents the most fundamental substance of the ajiva and can be known by human beings through their five senses including sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. Besides being the underlying substance of everything in the material world, pure matter in all of its forms (pudgala) attaches itself in various ways to the jiva. As a result, followers of Mahavira believe that the jiva and ajiva have become completely intertwined with one another. According to Mahavira, the jiva’s connection to the ajiva represents the main reason why human beings fail to attain true happiness and ultimately moksha. Mahavira taught the world that true happiness cannot be achieved unless one becomes totally disassociated from the material world through the practice of rigorous asceticism. In the viewpoint of Jainism, the cosmological struggle between the jiva and ajiva has been going on for a very long time extending into the distant past. In fact, there has never been a time when the jiva and ajiva existed in a state of blissful separation. These two cosmic forces have always been emmeshed with one another. In Jainism, the universe is thought to resemble a gigantic person that has always existed, with no beginning or ending. The dimensions of the cosmos are immense. It would take a person six months to travel across it, travelling two million miles per microsecond. Sitting at the midpoint of this huge cosmic person is the world of living beings. Despite the fact that Jainism is atheistic, it admits to the contradictory belief that various deities inhabit the vast regions of the cosmos. Above and below the midsection of the gigantic cosmic person are several hierarchically

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arranged levels of heaven and hell, each of which are populated by various deities and spirits. When a jiva becomes released from the karmic forces of this world, it ascends away from the material world to an area beyond the realm of the gods to another place near the head of the cosmic person. It will stay there forever in a blissful state of tranquility.12 Unfortunately, it is impossible to completely avoid causing some injury or harm to another living thing. As a result, extreme measures need to be taken to reduce the unintentional harm that one inflicts upon other life forms. This is where the lay community plays an essential role for the monks and nuns. Members of the monastic community also use a variety of other techniques such as fasting, celibacy, and meditative concentration to generate good karma and destroy all the bad karma that has become attached to one’s jiva. Mahavira taught his followers that only by living a life of extreme withdrawal, self-denial and detachment from the material world could one expect to eventually attain moksha. For practical reasons, the householders take a less extreme path, but this means that a delay occurs in achieving the desired goal of liberation. Other less extreme Indian ascetic movements developed alongside Jainism during the Age of Awakening. In the next chapter one of the most popular of these world renouncing movements will be examined, namely, Buddhism.

CHAPTER EIGHT BUDDHA AND THE MIDDLE WAY

Siddhartha, the World Renouncer Another sage of the Age of Awakening was Siddhartha Gautama, better known as the Buddha (the Enlightened One). His quest for enlightenment resembled Mahavira’s quest in many ways. Each of these men shared a critical attitude towards the Vedic tradition and took a practical approach for finding release from the cycle of birth and re-birth. Each of them believed that people were capable of gaining salvation on their own, without requiring help from some external agency such as the brahmins or even the gods themselves. This emphasis upon taking charge of one’s own spiritual fate, whether it involved choosing to develop one’s own intellectual powers, as in the case of Greek philosophy, or learning how to withdraw from the world of material objects, as in the case of the great ascetic religious traditions of the eastern world, is one of the penultimate characteristics of the Age of Awakening. Just as the stature of Mahavira grew in the minds of his followers, the historical persona of Siddhartha Gautama became transformed into the aggrandized image of the Buddha, the Enlightened One. Gradually, as the Buddhist tradition developed in history, Siddhartha became more than just a normal human being. Eventually, Siddhartha Gautama, the prince from northern India metamorphized into the semi-divine figure known as the Buddha. At that point, he became the first of the Three Jewels of Buddhism, consisting of the Buddha (Enlightened One), the Dharma(doctrines) and the Sangha (the community). Although both Mahavira and the Buddha advocated the importance of spiritual self-reliance, each took a different approach to achieving this ideal. In comparison to Mahavira’s extreme asceticism, the Buddha advocated a less strenuous path which he referred to as “the Middle Way”.

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Ancient Indian Socio-Economics Beneath the surface of the Indian caste system, a number of socio-economic tensions were lurking during the Age of Awakening. The opening lines of Charles Dickens’ famous novel A Tale of Two Cities are quite apropos for describing the situation. In Dickens words, “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” Dickens used these famous opening sentences in his classic novel as an ideological frame of reference for describing social conditions in France on the eve of the French Revolution, but they also sum up the shape of things in northern Indian society in the sixth century BCE. In terms of the accumulation of material wealth, northern India had become a bustling marketplace for the acquisition of goods and services during this stage of history. Much of this economic prosperity was due to the rapid development of lucrative trade routes stretching far across the Indian subcontinent between the Bay of Bengal in the east and the Arabian Sea in the west. It was a time of momentous social and economic change. Trade activity had transformed northern India, sometimes referred to as the “Middle Country”, from a poverty-stricken land of desperate souls to a place of opulence and wealth. The rapid growth of the population led to further demand for food and shelter which caused the agricultural industry to expand. Those brahmins who owned large amounts of farm land in the area had suddenly become abundantly prosperous over night as a result of the economic expansion. Also, many middle-class business owners and merchants benefited because of the increased demand for a variety of their products.1 Even though the economic prospects of the three upper castes of Indian society had unexpectedly improved, there were still many families of the lower caste of servants and the untouchables who were left out in the cold for a variety of reasons. The “have nots”, that is, the servants and untouchables, still suffered greatly from material deprivation. Even among the “haves”, there was a general malaise and a feeling of spiritual uneasiness about their situation in the world. Hostility and friction existed between the wealthy landowners and the merchant caste. Most of the merchants living in the city represented the nouveau rich of sixth century BCE Indian society. The two highest castes represented the “old money” of Indian society because they owned large farms. Even though the merchants were wealthy, they did not own any land. Therefore, the land owning brahmins and other members of the ruling class still viewed them as their inferiors. One of the greatest priorities of the brahmins was the need to maintain their authority over the lower castes by promoting the teachings of the Vedas.

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Certain Vedic teachings regarding sacrifice promoted the spiritual and temporal authority of the brahmins. It was up to other free-thinking spiritual teachers such as Siddhartha and Mahavira to lay out the case against the authority of the brahmins. The brahmins’ manipulative activities in business and agriculture helped to clarify the exploitative nature of the Brahmanical religious orthodoxy. Since the brahmins had fashioned a number of Vedic mythological tales about the gods so as to legitimize their authority, one of the cardinal tactics of many other-worldly ascetic movements was to deny the existence of the Vedic gods. Thus, since the Vedic pantheon formed the pinnacle of all of the “accepted knowledge” of Indian society, refusing to admit the existence of the Vedic gods toppled the traditional Vedic worldview in a single stroke. If people no longer believed in the existence of the Vedic deities, then a loss of social status would take place among the brahmins who performed all of the solemn sacrificial rituals outlined in the Vedas. A number of otherworldly responses to economic and social deprivation bubbled up among the lower castes of Indian society during the Age of Awakening. In contrast to the Brahminical school of thought which focused upon the performance of sacrificial rituals and the veneration of the Vedic gods, there were others, especially among the three lower castes, who vehemently rejected the authority of the brahmins and the teachings of the Vedas. Critics of the Vedas charged that animal sacrifice was a barbaric practice that needed to be shunned. Many middle-class merchants and commoners were beginning to reevaluate their assumptions about the importance of the traditional sacrificial rituals; some of them realized that non-violence (ahimsa) and the practice of asceticism were far more effective for attaining spiritual liberation than the performance of sacrificial rites. People questioned the assumption that the brahmins were the only ones qualified to make contact with the gods. This challenge to the spiritual authority of the brahmins and the Vedas was not born purely out of economic or social discontent. Religious experience and the way in which it was understood also played an important role in the development of the anti-Vedic movement. Opposition to Vedic culture was exemplified in the life of Siddhartha Gautama. He belonged to that group of wandering Indian sages of sixth century BCE who devoted themselves to asceticism and the attainment of spiritual enlightenment. The Buddha’s special contribution to the Age of Awakening was based upon his realization that only by eliminating suffering and craving could one attain moksha, but liberation could only be realized through one’s own efforts alone. It did not depend upon the metaphysical speculations of the brahmins

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or the offerings they made to the Vedic gods. The stories told about Siddhartha’s journey to enlightenment delegitimized the authority of the brahmins in a fundamental way.

The Life of the Buddha The first jewel of Buddhism refers to the figure of the Buddha himself. Most of what is known about the life of the Buddha as well as his basic teachings(dharma) are derived from a number of ancient Pali texts originating about four hundred years after the time of the Buddha. The Buddha himself did not write down any of his own teachings nor did anyone else assume that responsibility while Buddha was alive. In accordance with the customs and traditions of ancient Indian society, writing was used mostly for business activities, but religious matters were passed down orally by the priests and monks. It was the task of his followers to memorize his teachings which then were passed down from one generation to the next. The main doctrines of the Buddha and stories about his life were recorded in the first century CE by Theravada monks of Sri Lanka. These writings became known as the Three Baskets (Tripitika). It is likely that these texts were called the Three Baskets because they were recorded on palm leaves tied together and literally carried around by the monks in three baskets.2 Naturally, a large number of hagiographical narratives and other legends circulated about the life of the Buddha. There are some interesting parallels between the story of Siddhartha and the figure of Jesus of Nazareth.3 For example, in many legends describing the birth of Jesus and Siddhartha, each was born in unusual circumstances. Jesus is born from the Virgin Mary. Siddhartha is born from a married woman under a temporary vow of celibacy. Whereas Jesus is born in a manger, Siddhartha is born in a grove of trees in a park. Eventually, both leave their home and are tempted by the forces of evil. Jesus is tempted by the devil and Siddhartha is tempted by Mara. Both have a number of disciples who become missionaries.4 Similarly, a review of the Pali texts reveals that the life histories of both Siddhartha and Mahavira share some interesting things in common. Like Mahavira, the exact dates for Siddhartha’s birth and death are unknown, although most scholars believe he was born sometime in the sixth century BCE. Also, like Mahavira, Siddhartha Gautama was born into a family of the ruling class (Ksatriya) in northern India, in an area that is known today as Nepal, sometime in the sixth century BCE. Siddhartha’s father was one of the leaders of the Sakya clan. The exact date of Siddhartha’s birth is not certain. While the Theravada tradition claims that he was born in the year

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624 BCE, some other Mahayana traditions argue that he was born several years after that. Some modern Buddhist scholars believe that he was born between 566 BCE and 533 BCE. Despite these differences in dating Siddhartha’s birthdate, everyone agrees that he was born in Lumbini, Nepal and died at the age of 80. According to the hagiographies of the Buddha, as a young person, his father sheltered him from many of life’s troubling aspects. Siddhartha lived a life of opulent luxury and material comfort. When Siddhartha was a young man, he got married and had one son, named Rahul. According to one popular legend which has come to be known as the” Great Departure”, young prince Siddhartha eventually became tired of his overprotected life as a prince and became curious about what life was really like beyond the palace gates, despite his father’s warnings and attempts to keep his son safely at home.5 When Siddhartha’s father learned that his son desired to venture outside the confines of the palace, he ordered his servants to have all the sick and old people to be taken away from the area. He also told his servants to make sure that there were no corpses or monks nearby. Then, accompanied by Candaka, his charioteer Siddhartha took his royal chariot beyond the boundaries of the palace walls. According to the story, Siddhartha made four separate excursions. On each trip, he encountered something that made a great impression on him. The first time he ventured outside he stumbled upon a sick man who blocked his chariot from passing on the road. Apparently, not all of the sick people in the area had been taken away by his father. Seeing this sick person shocked him greatly because he had never seen such a thing before. Siddhartha asked his charioteer for an explanation. Candaka explained that this person had grown old and his condition was the inevitable result of old age. Siddhartha thought that it was odd that even though most people are familiar with these kinds of disturbing events, they continue on their day-to day existence without worrying about the fact that someday they too will become old, sick and eventually die. The next time he left the palace he saw a suffering old man and this sight bothered him greatly. On his third journey he saw a dead man lying along the side of the road. The combination of these three sights, which included a sick man, an old man and a dead man disturbed him immensely because he had no idea that there was so much suffering and grief in the world. His last trip outside the palace was different because on that trip he encountered a monk sitting in a state of deep meditation. At first, Siddhartha did not understand what the monk was doing. He asked his charioteer for an

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explanation. Candaka told him that the monk sitting in meditation had withdrawn from the world and had given up all of his earthly attachments. The tranquil expression on the monk’s face convinced Siddhartha that he wanted to experience that same kind of peaceful state, especially now that he had come to know about the profound sadness of life. This fourth sight had thoroughly convinced him that he wanted to become like the monk he had seen so that he could also be peaceful in the face of all of life’s sorrows. He realized that despite the fact that he had enjoyed a variety of sensuous pleasures throughout his life, he still had not found true happiness. After witnessing these four earthshaking sights, he became convinced that the only answer for him was to pursue the monastic life and seek enlightenment. Returning to the palace, he quickly made preparations for setting out on his new life as an ascetic. When he departed, he took along with him his servant and horse. Very soon he decided that he wanted to travel alone and so he told his servant to go back home and to take his horse with him. Then, taking off his royal clothing, the prince donned the clothing of a wandering nomad and began roaming the countryside by himself. His first decision was to find a competent teacher who could teach him each of the eight steps of classical yoga. His first guru was able to successfully teach him six of the eight steps, but the guru did not have enough knowledge to instruct him on the seventh and eighth levels. Therefore, Siddhartha had to turn to another guru to master the seventh level. After mastering the seventh level, he felt a certain amount of tranquility and inner peace, but it still was not enough to satisfy him. He still felt a need to continue on and master the eighth and last stage of classical yoga. This was the most difficult step since it involved discovering his soul(atman) and then becoming one with the universal soul (Brahman). The methods and techniques being shown by his new guru did not help him and so he turned to another group of itinerant monks for help. These monks were also searching for enlightenment, but they had their own methods for attaining this goal which involved an extreme form of asceticism, similar to the type that Mahavira and his followers practiced. For several years, Siddhartha spent all of his time walking about the land with his begging bowl in his hand, accompanied by these five other wandering mendicants. His ascetic life-style only allowed him to ingest a single handful of rice and a cup of water on a daily basis. Like many other monks of sixth century BCE India, he used yoga and self-denial as a means to come into direct contact with the atman, the spiritual core of one’s being and to realize, as it was taught by certain Upanishadic scriptures, that atman and Brahman are one and the same.

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Buddha’s Enlightenment Eventually, after many difficult years of living the austere life of a monk, Siddhartha became frustrated because the atman remained elusive to him and seemingly unknowable. The only thing that he had to show for all of his efforts was that he had become exceedingly emaciated and weak. Then, he decided to vacate the cave where he had been living and go to a nearby town called Bodh Gaya. Once he arrived there, he decided to eat a meal like a normal human being. After eating the meal, he resumed meditating again, but this time he used a different technique than the previous one. Instead of narrowing his awareness to a single point of concentration, Siddhartha decided a better approach would be to expand his consciousness to greater and greater degrees of awareness.6 Then, he sat down under a nearby Bodhi tree and made a vow to himself not to get up from under the tree until he had attained enlightenment. As I sit here, my body may wither away, My skin, bones, and flesh may decay, But until I have attained awakening---Which is difficult to gain even during many ages--I will not move from this place.7

There he sat for seven days and seven nights, drawing into ever deeper meditative states. Early on, Mara, the lord of death appeared to Siddhartha in a vision and tempted him just like Satan tempted Jesus in the desert following his baptism by John the Baptist. First Mara summoned his daughters who tried to lure and distract Siddhartha. When that did not work, then Mara offered to fulfill any wish that Siddhartha might have if only he would give up his attempt to achieve enlightenment and return home to the palace. Mara became angry when that failed and so he sent his sons to violently attack Siddhartha. When that did not produce the desired effect, then Mara began to argue that he should be the one, not Siddhartha, who should be sitting under the Bodhi tree in search of awakening. Then, Siddhartha asked the earth to drive Mara away. The Earth complied by sending a huge earthquake that caused Mara along with his sons and daughters to run away. Just as Zoroaster defeated the demons who attacked him after he received his seventh and last revelation, Siddhartha was victorious in his fight against Mara. Having defeated Mara, then Siddhartha turned his attention to meditation once again and continued using his new method of concentration. Instead of drawing the mind downward into a deep state of unconsciousness, like he had been doing before, Siddhartha expanded his consciousness to greater

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and greater degrees of wakefulness. This new approach paid unexpected dividends in terms of his enlightenment experience. During that fateful night, his enlightenment came to him in three distinct waves. Just as the military divides the night into three watches, similarly Siddhartha’s enlightenment had three watches. During the first watch, Siddhartha developed some unexpected telepathic powers including the power to recall all of his own past lives. Although this is an important kind of spiritual knowledge, the Buddha always maintained that it is not the final goal for someone working towards enlightenment(bodhisattva). During the second watch, Siddhartha acquired a deep kind of spiritual insight into the nature of karma and the ways in which it affects one’s previous reincarnations. Finally, during the third and final watch, Siddhartha reached the final stage of his enlightenment. At this point, he came to a full understanding of some of the most fundamental aspects of life. As a result, he became the Enlightened One (Buddha). First and foremost, the Buddha’s enlightenment experience taught him that all of life is characterized by suffering (dukkha). Further, he realized that suffering arises from our unrelenting desire and attachment to things. Because nothing is permanent, however, including our own self, everything eventually dissolves into nothingness and we are left in a state of discomfort and pain. Not only do we become attached to impermanent material objects, but we also cling to our fleeting mental conceptions as well. Clinging to the idea of the self is one example of how attachment leads to pain and suffering. Giving up the illusory belief in the self leads to freedom and detachment. During the third watch, the Buddha realized that all of his efforts to find the atman were futile because there was no self. It did not make any sense to claim that the atman is equivalent with the Brahman since the atman does not exist. Whether the Brahman exists was another question that Buddha was hesitant to address. However, his doctrine of the no-self (anatman)represented a major challenge to the teachings of the brahmins. What unfolded in his mind as he sat there under the Bodhi tree that night eventually came to be known as the Doctrine of the Three Characteristics of Existence, namely, that life is suffering, all things are impermanent and that there is no self.

Buddha’s Teachings The second jewel of the Buddhist tradition consists of doctrines(dharma), many of which were formulated by the Buddha himself as a result of his enlightenment experience. In the morning when the Buddha finally awoke

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from his trance, he immediately realized that no one could possibly understand the truths that he had discovered the night before. Therefore, he initially chose to remain silent about what had happened to him. However, according to the Lalitavistara Sutra, what happened next was that the creator god Brahma immediately appeared before him, pleading with him not to shut out the world about the truths he had discovered so that anyone who was interested could find liberation. After listening to Brahma’s request, Buddha decided to show compassion by teaching the world about what he had learned under the Bodhi tree. Then, the Buddha delivered his first sermon to the five itinerant monks who accompanied him in his wanderings throughout the land. Those transformative spiritual events under the Bodhi tree played a critical role in the formation of Buddha’s teachings to the world. In the words of Ninian Smart,” After the enlightenment the Buddha saw the empirical world in the light of his shining experience of the transcendent state he had attained.”8 In his initial sermon the Buddha explained that the essence of the Middle Way is the Eightfold Path consisting of the following steps: right understanding, right intentions, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. The steps are not hierarchically organized; each of the steps plays an equally important role in securing liberation for the individual. Step number one, right understanding focuses attention upon becoming aware of the Four Noble Truths. This first step is necessary before undertaking step number two through eight. The remaining steps show the way to spiritual freedom by outlining each of the areas in one’s daily activities and psychological life where freedom from attachment needs to be cultivated. After discussing the Eightfold Path, Buddha turned his attention to the Four Noble Truths and the fundamental problem of suffering. The first truth is that all of life is suffering(dukkha). The problem of suffering, including both mental and physical suffering, is humanity’s greatest problem. It must be overcome in order to attain enlightenment. The second truth explains how suffering arises (samodaya). Suffering comes about from our desires and craving for things. The third truth is concerned with the cessation(nirodha) of suffering. Suffering can be eliminated by means of eliminating craving. The fourth truth is that craving can be eliminated by following a path (magga) known as the Eightfold Path. Now this, O monks, is the noble truth of pain: birth is painful, old age is painful. Sickness is painful; death is painful, sorrow, lamentation, dejection,

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Chapter Eight and despair are painful. Contact with unpleasant things is painful, not getting what one wishes is painful.9

Next, the Buddha explains that suffering originates from craving: Now this, O monks, is the noble truth of the cause of pain: that craving which leads to re-birth, combined with pleasure and lust, finding pleasure here and there, namely, the craving for passion, the craving for existence, the craving for non-existence.10

In the third truth, the Buddha proclaims that all of the craving and suffering that is engendered can be eliminated. Lastly, Buddha tells his disciples that craving and suffering can be eliminated through the Eightfold Path. Unlike the philosophers of classical Greece and the authors of the Upanishads, the Buddha remained silent about a number of subjects related to the nature of the soul and the cosmos. The Buddha was never particularly interested in discussing these types of metaphysical and cosmological topics. Buddha’s disinterest in this type of speculation emulated certain aspects of the Doctrine of Maybe found in Jainism. The Buddha preferred to remain silent on these issues. Instead, Buddha concentrated on providing practical information about the fundamental problem of human existence and how to attain liberation. Usually, he would begin his sermon with a series of “Neither/ nor” statements such as” the soul neither exists, nor does it not exist” or “the gods neither exist nor not exist.” His experiences under the Bodhi tree taught him that enlightenment is an ineffable experience that can only be attained through the Middle Way because it gives “sight and knowledge, and tends to calm, to insight, enlightenment, nirvana.”11 In the Cula Malunkya Sutra Buddha compares a person interested in metaphysical questions to someone who has been shot by an arrow and refuses medical treatment until he learns about the kind of arrow that wounded him, from which direction the arrow came and the identity of the person who has shot him.12 The person would surely die before finding the answer to his questions. The point that Buddha is trying to make is that metaphysical questions are a waste of time because they do not help anyone find real spiritual happiness. In another sutra entitled the Brahmajala, the Buddha states that all metaphysical speculations about God, the soul and other spiritual topics are a form of dogmatism(ditthi-vada) which should be categorically rejected in all of its forms. Some people have accused the Buddha of being an atheist and others have labelled him as an agnostic. Although Buddha’s unwillingness to take a stand on a multitude of philosophical issues such as the existence of God could be misconstrued as

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a form of atheism or agnosticism, actually his silence underscores an awareness of the indescribable nature of the supernatural.13 Many mystics throughout the ages have agreed with the Buddha that experiencing the divine cannot be expressed in rational terms using ordinary language. Another issue related to Buddha’s silence on a number of metaphysical subjects concerns his teachings on the nature of karma and re-birth. Fundamental to Buddha’s enlightenment experience was the discovery that there is no self. According to the traditional Upanishadic view of karma and reincarnation, when a person dies, their atman becomes detached from their body and subsequently re-attaches to another body, enabling them to live another life. In this scenario, one’s past actions and the karma generated in a previous lifetime determines the quality of one’s future reincarnations. Buddha’s enlightenment experience gave him the power of omniscience and showed him some of the things that took place in his past lives, but it also showed him that there is no self. This experience of recollecting previous lives raises some questions. If there is no self, then reincarnation would seem to make little sense since there is no entity that can transmigrate from one body to another. Buddha’s enlightenment experience gave him insights into the nature of karma and reincarnation. It taught him that even though there is no self and the idea of the atman travelling from one body to another is an illusory Upanishadic idea, living things do have consciousness. Buddha taught that each human being has a bundle of sensations and feelings which travels from one body to the next. By means of this reinterpretation, Buddha was able to incorporate the traditional Indian belief in reincarnation without having to hang on to the dogmatic belief in the atman. Buddha’s experience under the Bodhi tree taught him many things about the human predicament that are outlined in his doctrine called the Stages of Dependent Origination(pratitya-samutpada). Unless one gains spiritual liberation, one remains caught up in an endless cycle of birth and re-birth through the ages. Buddha’s analysis of reincarnation is understood in causal terms. There are twelve links in the chain of dependent origination. Beginning in the past, ignorance is the first link which leads to the formation of karma, (link two). Karmic formations bring about the birth of a new individual consciousness (link three) which then causes a new mind-body complex to come into existence (link four). The birth of a new mind-body complex gives rise to the creation of the bases of sensing (link five) which then leads to sense impressions to be experienced (link six). From sense impressions comes consciousness (link seven) which leads to cravings (link eight) and grasping for things (link nine) which in turn brings about the drive

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for re-birth (link ten) which then leads to re-birth (link eleven) and finally old age and death (link twelve). After link twelve the cycle continues to repeat itself over and over again. In other words, there is an endless stream of karmic formations leading to an infinite cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Unless one finds the way out of the cycle through enlightenment, one remains a captive forever.

The Sangha Upon concluding his initial sermon, Buddha launched his career as a spiritual teacher to the masses. For the next forty-five years, Buddha continued to deliver his spiritual teachings throughout India to anyone who was interested. Emerging from its humble origins in the sixth century BCE in India as a small community of believers(sangha), the movement eventually expanded beyond the borders of India over the next several hundred years to become one of the largest religious traditions of the world. The five monks listening to Buddha’s first sermon at the Deer Park became his first converts. Their conversion marked the beginning of the third jewel of Buddhism, the community of believers. Thus, shortly after the time when the Buddha had delivered his first sermon in the Deer Park, the Three Jewels of Buddhism came into existence consisting of the Buddha, his dharma and the sangha. Soon customs and traditions arose within the Buddhist community about how to become a member. Anyone wishing to become a Buddhist monk was required to don a saffron robe. Then, the candidate was required to take vows of poverty, celibacy and obedience. In the early days of Buddhism, a question arose regarding the status of women within the Sangha and whether they should be permitted to join the ranks of the monks. Some early Buddhist texts suggest that the Buddha did not want to allow women into the movement because he thought they would be a distraction to the monks. Eventually he agreed to allow them entry. Further, besides monks and nuns, a thriving lay community also eventually sprang up. The early Sangha had two types of lay membership. The highest members of the lay community were the men and women who were thought to have already entered into the stream of Nirvana; beneath them were the men and women who had made enough spiritual progress in their lives to be reincarnated just one more time. Similarly, there were two types of monks and nuns as well. The first and highest group of monks and nuns were those who were considered to be at the point where they would never return to this world when they died; the second group consisted of monks and nuns who had achieved the

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level of an Arhat (worthy of enlightenment). For each of the four levels of the Sangha, a distinction was made between those who recently attained that level versus someone who had attained that level for a longer period of time. Hence there was a total of eight different levels within the community. Countless socio-historical factors were responsible for the growth of Buddhism, but among the factors that loom the largest is the figure of the Buddha himself and his penetrating analysis of human existence. The figure of the Buddha stands out as one of the most important reasons for the success of Buddhism. Buddha never excluded anyone from listening to his teachings. Everyone was welcome, including a number of different collections of people such as brahmins, members of the ruling class, merchants, beggars and untouchables. Even more appealing than Buddha’s social egalitarianism was his adamant rejection of religious and metaphysical dogmatism. Buddha never instructed anyone regarding what they should believe, such as whether they should believe or not believe in God or whether there is or is not a soul or an afterlife. Buddha was more interested in providing practical instruction for people seeking enlightenment rather than telling them which metaphysical doctrines to believe. Buddha refused to give opinions to certain unanswerable questions because he believed that these types of issues were insoluble. Rather, Buddha gave advice about how to critically evaluate a particular doctrine or teacher in the following text. Do not be [convinced] by reports, traditions, or hearsay; nor by skill in the scriptural collections, argumentation, or reasoning; nor after examining conditions or considering theories; nor because [ a theory] fits appearance, nor because of respect for an ascetic [who holds a particular view]. Rather, Kalamas, when you know for yourselves: These doctrines are non-virtuous; these doctrines are erroneous…. Then you should reject them.14

In the Age of Awakening, the divine was apprehended in a multitude of new ways. Individuals including the Iranian prophet Zoroaster, the prophets of the Bible, certain Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras and Plato as well as eastern ascetics including Mahavira and the Buddha embody these new forms of religious awareness. The next chapter examines the ways in which individual religious experience plays a critical role in the emergence of the Chinese Age of Awakening.

CHAPTER NINE THE AWAKENING OF THE CHINESE SAGES

Neolithic China and Shang Civilization Upon encountering ancient Chinese religion, immediately one is confronted with a vast array of beliefs and practices. To some extent, this religious diversity is a reflection of China’s vast geographic dimensions. The Chinese landscape covers a huge amount of territory and is characterized by a variety of climatic conditions and terrain. The weather and topography of northern and southern China differ greatly from one another. Northern China has desert terrain and summers are very hot and dry there. Southern China has a lush, green landscape throughout much of the year. In the early years of Chinese history, civilized life tended to move from northern China downward into the more hospitable southern region. Rivers and mountains played a huge role in dividing the Chinese landscape. To truly understand the emergence of the Age of Awakening in China, a certain amount of historical background needs to be considered. This historical review will establish the context out of which the Chinese Age of Awakening emerged. The place to begin is an examination of the earliest forms of Chinese religion and culture.1 The first signs of Chinese civilized life sprang up along the banks of the Yellow River. Two major Neolithic cultures emerged there, namely, the Yangshao and the Longshan. As early as the seventh millennium BCE, there is some evidence that rice was grown along the banks of the Yellow River. There are further indications of agriculture developing in the area around 5800 BCE. Yangshao farming settlements began to appear in northern China during the fifth millennium BCE. Later, agriculture moves further north to places like Manchuria as well as in the south. Then, in the third millennium BCE, a Neolithic Chinese community came into existence that was known as the Longshan. These people lived in farming settlements near the Yellow River in eastern China. Besides growing rice and domesticating cattle, they used copper tools and weapons. Great walls encircled these communities because warfare was a common event in those times.

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Most historians believe that civilization officially began in China with the Shang dynasty. The reign of the Shang dynasty began around 1600 BCE and continued until 1100 BCE. The Shang were able to control much of the territory by the Yellow River because they were well equipped with weapons and horse-drawn chariots. Like their Mesopotamian counterparts, the Shang rulers had scribes that codified the laws which helped in the governance of the people. A rudimentary form of modern Chinese appeared during the Shang dynasty when a system of pictorial writing appeared. The Shang rulers implemented a few clever economic ideas including the development of currency for economic transactions. The rulers were able to mobilize a large labor force to work on a number of building projects. Because of this, a number of large-scale urban communities arose including the cities of Eritou, Luoyang and Zhenzhou. Another distinctive feature of Shang civilization was its stratified social structure, with the emperor and his administrators at the top rung of the social hierarchy. Below the ruling class were the lower rungs of society consisting of the warrior class, the merchants, the shopkeepers, the servants and slaves. Due to the fact that Shang civilization was divided into two groups, the “haves” and the “have nots”, in many ways it resembled the social structure of several other great civilizations of antiquity including ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome.

Shang Religion Hints of religious activity in China dating back to the Neolithic period (12000 BCE-2000 BCE) have been uncovered by archeologists, but most of the archeological evidence comes from the time period of the Shang dynasty. During the time of the Shang rulers, religious behavior revolved around the practice of divination and ancestor worship. In Shang religion, the ancestral spirits were thought to exist in a supernatural world beyond this one. It was commonly believed that the best way to make contact with these spirits of the dead was through the practice of divination. New information about Shang religion was acquired by investigators in the first decades of the twentieth century. So-called “dragon bones” were unearthed by local farmers in the area of the city of Angang, the ancient capital of Shang civilization. The fortuitous discovery of the “dragon bones” led to the subsequent archeological excavation of the ancient city of Angang which, in turn, led to further revelations about the religious beliefs and practices of the Shang people. In addition to “the dragon bones”, other archeological evidence was uncovered during the excavation, including the

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discovery of bronze vessels which were adorned with various imaginary animals such as dragons and monsters. The Shang had a very large bronze casting industry which produced a vast collection of receptacles including pots and cups. Scholars concluded that the so-called “dragon bones” were frequently used for the purpose of foretelling the future. Hence, the bones were given the new name “oracle bones”. In addition, the discovery of the bronze vessels led scholars to conclude that these were frequently used by the Shang people for making offerings to the spirits of their deceased ancestors. Not only were divination and ancestor worship part of the domestic religious practices of the Shang people, but they also played an important role in the workings of the government. Sacrificial offerings were often made by the official diviners of the state according to a fixed schedule. A number of other rules and regulations came into play regarding when the sacrifices of the state were to be performed as well as to which gods the sacrifices were to be made. With the assistance of his court diviners, the king frequently used oracle bones for deciding certain important political questions concerning the kingdom. Likewise, sacrificial offerings were made to the spirit of the king’s ancestors to obtain protection for his kingdom. Various questions would be carved on the dried bones of animals and then heat would be applied to the bone inscriptions. These carvings represent the earliest historical writings in Chinese history. The resulting cracks in the bone fragments would be interpreted either by the king himself or his court diviners to determine whether auspicious or inauspicious signs and omens had been sent from the spirit world.2 The king held a special position in Shang theology as a divine intermediary who stood between the heavenly realm of the gods and the earthly realm of human beings. Like the divine king of ancient Mesopotamia and the Pharaoh of ancient Egypt, the Shang king functioned as both the political and religious leader of the earthly community. The Shang king made sacrificial offerings to the gods and then employed an elaborate system of divination using the oracle bones to ascertain whether the offerings were pleasing to the gods. Divinatory practices were used to find answers to a number of other important questions as well. Besides asking questions about whether or not the sacrifices had been accepted by the gods, other kinds of questions would be asked concerning things such as the weather, agriculture, sickness and dreams. The Shang people relied upon their king’s divinatory skills to establish a harmonious relationship with Di, the Lordon-High of the Shang pantheon, which in turn would provide peace and prosperity throughout the land.

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Beyond the world of the king and his administrators, further review of the evidence reveals that every aspect of the Shang people’s daily life was deeply imbued with the belief in luck and the powers of fate. It was commonly believed that one’s fate was inextricably tied to the whims of the higher powers existing in the spirit world. The most influential spirits of this otherworldly domain were the spirits of deceased Shang rulers and one’s own deceased ancestors as well as other spirits of natural phenomena such as the mountains, rivers or other gods. In addition to asking the spirits for advice, sometimes people would invoke the spirits for assistance in providing fertility for the crops. Since religious beliefs and practices were deeply involved in the workings of the state, they served the special social function of legitimizing the power and authority of the king. Of course, from the standpoint of the Shang religious worldview, the king performed his religious rituals to secure divine protection for his people rather than to gain political legitimacy. One of the primary reasons why the people gave their allegiance to the king was because they believed that he possessed a special role as an intermediary between the earthly plane of existence and the world of the spirits. Since the king was endowed with a special sacred power to communicate with the numinous realm of his departed ancestors, therefore, to defy his authority was a sacrilege. Just as the king possessed a special sacred power which placed him above everyone else, a similar hierarchical arrangement existed in the realm of the gods. In a sense, the ruler served both as the king and high priest of Shang civilization. Just as in other religious systems of the ancient world, including those of ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilization, in Shang religion the heavenly realm of the gods duplicated the social hierarchy on earth. Just as the king and his administrators sat at the top of the class structure of Shang society on earth, the god Di, the Lord-onHigh sat on top of the Chinese divine pantheon in heaven. Below the high gods, other lower gods and spiritual beings existed as personifications of various natural phenomena such as lakes, mountains and rivers. The Lordon-High was an omnipotent deity and had the supernatural power to control earthly events including the outcome of military battles, weather events as well as the well-being of the king. The king’s deceased relatives also had a supernatural influence over the general health of the king and could intervene on behalf of Di whenever it was necessary.

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Religion During the Zhou Dynasty In their attempt to keep a close watch over their kingdom, the Shang rulers subdivided it into a series of vassal states. The leaders of the Shang dynasty made the fatal mistake of treating their subjects cruelly. Unfortunately, their heavy-handed approach to religion and politics cost the rulers dearly because they were unable to hold on to the allegiance of the people. Through the years, the Shang kingdom had become so large that it became increasingly difficult to govern it in an efficient manner without the cooperation of its subjects. As a result, after seven hundred years in power, in 1122 BCE the Shang dynasty was finally over thrown by Wu, a vassal king of western China. Wu established his own dynasty which was called the Zhou dynasty. After a reign of seven hundred years, the Shang dynasty finally came to an end. The Zhou rulers did not entirely depose the old Shang rulers and their family. Instead, they granted them to be in charge of a small province called the state of Song. The Zhou dynasty existed for over eight hundred years and can be divided into two historical periods, known as the Western Zhou (1045 BCE-771 BCE) and the Eastern Zhou (771 BCE-221 BCE). The first half of the Eastern Zhou was called the “Spring and Autumn” period. It was named after a set of writings appearing in the Five Classics, allegedly written by Confucius himself, called the Spring and Autumn Annals. Following this era was the period known as the Warring States period (481 BCE-221 BCE) which concludes with the reunification of China under the Qin dynasty.

The Sage-Kings The Chinese Age of Awakening emerged during the sixth and fifth century BCE. During this time, many Chinese philosophers and religious thinkers fondly looked back at the Zhou dynasty of the eighth and seventh century BCE as a golden age of Chinese history. The first centuries of the Zhou dynasty were nostalgically remembered as the era of the Sage-Kings.3 Much of what is known about the Sage-Kings is described in an iconic collection of writings known as the Five Classics. The Five Classics is made up of the Book of Changes (Yijing), the Book of History (Shujing), the Book of Poetry (Shijing), the Book of Rites (Liji) and the Spring and Autumn Annals (Chunqui). A number of sophisticated religious and philosophic ideas are presented in these books which receive further elaboration and clarification later on during the Chinese Age of Awakening.

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One famous Sage-King was named Yao. The Book of History states that Yao was a successful ruler because his highest priority was to insure the peace and prosperity of the people. Another beloved Sage-King was the Duke of Zhou. He instituted an important governmental policy called the Mandate of Heaven.4 Although in the early stages of the Zhou dynasty, the rulers lacked writing skills and were not as well-educated as the Shang rulers, they quickly got up to speed and began instituting some major policy revisions that reflected a sophisticated knowledge of politics. In taking control of the land, the rulers of the Zhou dynasty soon realized that a whole new approach needed to be implemented in order to gain the unmitigated trust and support of the people. The Zhou rulers believed that gaining the peoples’ confidence would lead to winning control of the vast Chinese empire. The Mandate of Heaven served simultaneously as both the religious and political justification for the major shift in power away from the Shang to the Zhou dynasty. In other words, the Mandate of Heaven was used to convince the people that the Zhou leaders deserved to be in power. The Zhou authorities justified their political ascendency by claiming that it was ordained by the gods. In fact, the Zhou rulers called themselves “the Son of Heaven”. According to the Duke, the gods themselves had played a significant part in overthrowing the Shang rulers because they had violated cosmic law. According to the principle of the Mandate of Heaven, the earthly rulers were obligated to establish and administer their laws in accordance with universal ethical principles. If the rulers failed to do this, by acting unjustly towards the people, then the people were justified in overthrowing the old political order and setting up a new system of government. In the Book of Poetry, an explicit connection is made between the Mandate of Heaven and the first king of the Zhou empire, King Wu. The admirable, amiable prince Displayed conspicuously his excellent Virtue. He put his people and his officers in concord And he received his emolument from Heaven. It protected him, assisted him, and appointed him king. And Heaven’s blessing came again and again. (Ode 234) Although Chou is an ancient state, The mandate it has received from

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Heaven is new. Isn’t Chou illustrious? Isn’t the mandate of the Lord timely? (Ode 235)5

A few years after assuming the reins of government, King Wu passed away. King Wu’s son was too young to assume the throne and so Wu’s brother, the Duke of Zhou, served as regent until the young boy was old enough to serve as the king. Because the Duke willingly returned the throne to Wu’s son, the Duke was highly revered in Chinese society as the model of wisdom and restraint. According to the Duke, Heaven had taken away the Mandate of Heaven from the Shang because they had failed the people. Hence, an important idea was introduced into Chinese politics at this time, namely, that the moral character of a ruler, as opposed to their military prowess, established their right to rule. In spite of the development of the doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven, in reality, the Zhou authorities ruled their kingdom like the Shang rulers and made many of the same kinds of mistakes. In the words of J. M. Roberts, the difference in government between the Shang and Zhou was “a change of degree rather than kind.”6 The Zhou rulers organized their kingdom into a number of small vassal states, or fiefdoms, each of which was governed by a warlord who would receive military and/or economic support from time to time from the central government. Each warlord of the large estates acted like an independent king and was assisted by their own bureaucracy in the governance of their fiefdom. During the earlier centuries of the Zhou kingdom, each small state within the Zhou empire acknowledged the supremacy of the Zhou rulers and shared a common Chinese culture. Divination, ritual sacrifice and ancestor worship all remained popular practices during the reign of the Zhou. Even though some of the older rituals continued to be practiced, new religious developments were happening under the tutelage of the Zhou rulers. Gradually, more abstract understandings of the divine began to circulate throughout the kingdom and eventually overshadow the older anthropomorphic conceptions of the divine.

China in the Age of Awakening As we have seen, spiritual revolutions do not happen overnight. The Chinese Age of Awakening did not happen suddenly in the sixth century BCE. Instead, it emerged slowly over several centuries. The earliest hints of the Age of Awakening began to appear during the time of the Zhou dynasty. It fully blossomed in the fifth and sixth century BCE. In the eighth

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century BCE, Chinese scholars had already begun to reinterpret the idea of the Mandate of Heaven in new ways. Instead of seeing it as a tool for gaining political legitimacy, as it was originally used by the Zhou, these elite thinkers viewed it as the conceptual foundation for their philosophic vision of the world. Despite the fact that the Five Classics discuss the procedures for conducting various kinds of rituals (Li), a substantial amount of time was also devoted to philosophical discussions about the profound meaning of the rites and explaining why they were effective. Hence, the Five Classics provided inspiration for future generations of Chinese philosophers to develop ideological reinterpretations of various Chinese religious ideas. In the context of Indian spirituality, the Upanishads presented a similar kind of spiritual reinterpretation of Vedic sacrifice. Later, during the Age of Awakening, Confucius and his followers once again took up the discussion of rites, as it appears in the Five Classics. The search for the inner meaning of the rites led many Chinese thinkers, including Confucius, to speculate about the existence of a higher ethical principle underlying everything in the cosmos. Even though these discussions were rooted in concepts from the past, sages of the Age of Awakening concluded that conforming to this cosmic ethical principle was the highest goal for all of humanity. Confucius lived in a time of bewildering change and turmoil in Chinese society. Political power had shifted away from the “Son of Heaven” to a number of princes who divided up China into a number of independent principalities. Even in the provinces, many princes were beginning to lose control of their power in certain localities to various oligarchs and aristocratic nobles. These kinds of power grabs raised questions and concerns among the general populace about whether those in charge on earth had gained the approval of the Mandate of Heaven and had the legitimate right to perform the official rituals. This was the situation where Chinese philosophy and ethics entered the picture. It was up to the sages of Chinese religion to offer a solution to the feeling of disequilibrium that overwhelmed the Chinese population. Frequently, aristocratic Chinese families employed tutors to teach their children the art of city life. One of these tutors was Confucius. Tutors such as Confucius were referred to as the Ju, meaning ‘the gentle’ or ‘the yielding’. They focused their instruction on the art of city-state life as well as the proper way of performing the ceremonial rituals. They also provided instruction in basic skills including reading and writing. Sometimes ancient anthologies of the royal court and popular songs and other state documents were used as textbooks. Many of these teachers gained a following among their students

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and soon various philosophic schools emerged. Confucius and his followers formed one of the most influential schools during the Age of Awakening.

The Life of Confucius Just as in the case of other sages of the Age of Awakening, biographical accounts about Confucius’ life are filled with legendary material, making it difficult to separate fact from fiction. According to traditional Chinese lore, Confucius was born in 551 BCE in the province of Lu.7 The name “Confucius” is the Latinized version of the Chinese name Kongzi. Biographical records state that his father was employed as a member of the Chinese army. One legend circulating about Confucius was that when he was born, a dragon miraculously appeared inside his home and a unicorn was sighted in the nearby town. Both of his parents died when he was still a child. The ancient Chinese historian Ssu-ma Ch’ien wrote that in his youth, Confucius did not enjoy playing the games that other children enjoyed. Instead, he enjoyed performing make-believe ritual ceremonies and sacrifices.8 Because he was orphaned at an early age, he had to get a job as a young adult by working for the state. He was in charge of the grainstorehouses and kept track of the animals used for the official sacrifices of the state. At the age of nineteen Confucius married a woman from P’inkuan. They had two children. Although Confucius lacked the funds to secure a formal education, he managed to educate himself in much of the traditional knowledge and learning of Chinese society. Many of these traditional ideas form the core of his religious teachings. As a young man he gained quite a reputation throughout the community for his knowledge and wisdom. In his thirties, he was regarded throughout the province as a teacher of li, or ceremonial rituals. Confucius taught his students to practice li in their daily interactions and relationships. Soon, many students sought him out to become their tutor. His reputation enabled him to advance in the government and soon he was promoted to the position of Minister of Works and Minister of Justice for the Duke of Lu. Finally, he became Chief Minister, but eventually his extraordinary success turned many people against him. It is unclear whether he was fired or resigned. Confucius wanted to use his new position to bring about an end to the period of instability that China was experiencing, but eventually he came to the conclusion that he was unable to do so. Therefore, at the age of 53, he set out on a thirteen-year journey throughout China in search of a ruler who would allow him to put his ideas into practice. In some states he was warmly welcomed, but in others he was treated with suspicion

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and hostility. In one instance, there was even a plot to assassinate him. Everywhere he went he told people that if he was given the reins of power, he would transform their society into a wonderful place of prosperity and justice. Unfortunately, most people reacted with doubt and cynicism to his promise to transform society and distrusted everything he said. None of the rulers of the various Chinese provinces wanted to give up their political power and so they ignored Confucius’ suggestions about how to reform their government. As a result, he became frustrated with the situation and after many years of trying to convince people to listen to his ideas, he basically gave up. In the year 484 BCE, at the age of 68 Confucius was invited to return to the state of Lu. He accepted the invitation and returned to Lu where he spent the rest of his life teaching and writing. On occasion, he worked as a consultant to the government. At the time of his death in 479 BCE, Confucius considered his life as a complete failure because he felt he was unsuccessful in bringing about many of the needed reforms for improving Chinese society. He never had the opportunity to learn that many of his ideas would eventually become very popular. It was primarily through the work of his followers such as Mencius and Xunzi, that Confucianism became an influential force in Chinese politics.

Confucius’ Teachings The easiest way to learn about Confucius’ thought is to focus upon his writings. There is much debate about which books of the so-called Confucian canon were actually authored by Confucius himself and which were authored by someone else. According to the Confucian tradition, the first four books of the Five Classics were allegedly written prior to the time of Confucius, but edited by Confucius himself while he lived in semiretirement. The fifth book of the Five Classics, namely, the Spring and Autumn Annals was supposedly composed by Confucius himself. In addition to the Five Classics, another set of writings known as the Four Books also clarifies some of the fundamental doctrines of Confucianism. Among the Four Books, which include the Analects (Lun Yu), the Great Learning (Ta Hsueh), the Doctrine of the Mean (Chung Yung) and the Book of Mencius (Meng Tzu Shu), the Analects represents the best source for gaining an understanding of Confucius’ thought. The Analects is divided into 492 chapters that are organized into 20 books. Here many of the essential doctrines and teachings of Confucius are recorded. Confucius used the term li to refer to religious rituals as well as social etiquette and courteous behavior. He was well-informed about the earliest

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Zhou traditions that taught about the importance of li. Confucius believed that li should be the guiding principle for interaction between all the social classes of Chinese society. He divided human relationships into five categories: emperor and minister, father and son, elder and younger brother, husband and wife and friends. Each of these relationships are hierarchical, with the elder one or senior having greater authority than the younger. The senior was expected to show consideration in terms of how their actions impact the younger and the younger was expected to be loyal and honest in their interactions with the senior.9 Confucius took a particular interest in teaching his students about the ethical ideas expressed in the Book of History and the ritual hymns recorded in the Book of Poetry. Granted that the ideas expressed in these documents were part of the mainstream and shaped many of Confucius’ teachings, it follows that Confucius should not be regarded as someone operating on the outer fringes of Chinese society. It would be an error to view him as a marginal religious figure. In fact, Confucius should be regarded as a conservative figure of mainstream Chinese society who tried to turn people’s attention back to the tried and true traditions of the past. He felt that many of the key problems of Chinese society, including warfare and violence, could be solved only through restoring the key religious values espoused by the Sage-Kings of the Zhou dynasty. Confucius modelled his teachings upon their doctrines. Although Confucius could be mistakenly hailed as a progressive thinker, in actuality, he represents someone who had a deep nostalgic yearning for the past, leading to his reinterpretation of such religious concepts as li and the Mandate of Heaven. In the words of Terry Tak-ling Woo, “Confucius spoke of himself as a transmitter of tradition rather than an innovator.” 10 Confucius believed that moral responsibility is the defining characteristic of human beings. The essence of Confucius’ teachings can be summed up as follows: a superior person has cultivated their moral sense and knows what to do in any given situation in life. A superior human being possesses ren, that is, “human-heartedness”; a gentleman’s (junzi) actions always reflect honesty, courage and moral goodness. Although they possess knowledge, they are not proud or conceited about their learning. They refrain from arguing over politics or arrogantly judging others. These kinds of people tend to improve society because everywhere they go, they tend to motivate others to behave in a similar fashion. Prior to the time of Confucius, the term ren came to mean virtues such as kindness and generosity of a person of superior social status, but in Confucius’ thought it referred to the most essential characteristic of human beings, namely their “humaneness”. In the Analects, when asked about ren, Confucius responded by saying “Love

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others”11. Confucius believed that a person possessing ren is filial, that is, they are respectful to their parents and elders and in extreme circumstances will choose death rather than forsaking ren. During the reign of the Zhou, a number of new religious ideas were being introduced which eventually filtered down into Confucian thinking during the Age of Awakening. For example, one of the chief themes of Confucianism appears earlier in the Book of Rites in its discussion of li (rites). According to the Book of Rites, the performance of li leads to the creation of a harmonious society. It would be incorrect to regard Confucius as an innovative thinker since many of his teachings appeared in their embryonic form in earlier times, but it would be equally wrong to believe that he had nothing new to offer in his teachings. His special talent lay in the art of communication. Although Confucius himself realized that he was not a religious pioneer, he also understood that he had something new and original to offer and was not simply an imitator. In Confucianism, many indigenous Chinese religious ideas were reinterpreted to evoke their ethical implications and in such a way that the average person could understand what was being said. Some of what Confucius taught involved clarifications of previous religious ideas circulating during the Zhou dynasty. One of those ideas was the Mandate of Heaven. Confucius agreed with his Zhou predecessors that a divine agency in heaven grants the rulers of earth the right to rule. However, Confucius clarifies the nature of the Mandate of Heaven by elaborating on some of its philosophic underpinnings. At the heart of Confucius’ thought was the noteworthy spiritual teaching that an all-pervading impersonal ethical force originating from Heaven underlies everything in the natural world. A righteous person is someone who embodies this cosmic order in all of their actions. On the other hand, an unprincipled person lacks this moral awareness and therefore behaves in a way that contradicts the basic principles of ethical conduct. Confucius understood that ethical conduct was more than simply obeying certain social conventions and rules, but is grounded in an experience of the sacred. The recognition that Confucius spoke from the standpoint of faith and religious experience rather than purely from a rationalistic standpoint flies in the face of those who think of him as an ethical teacher or philosopher. Those who see Confucius as an ethical guide rather than a religious sage point out that he devoted most of his time discussing correct forms of behavior rather than presenting a vision of the numinous world of the spirit.12 In some ways, the system of Confucian beliefs and practices has little resemblance to what people think of in terms of a traditional religion. Confucianism never developed an institutional structure like other Chinese

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religious traditions such as Buddhism. Confucius never spoke about the existence of a creator god or some other anthropomorphic divinity nor did he or his adherents organize a church for the purposes of celebrating Confucian values and ideals. On the other hand, it is interesting to note that for a brief period of time following Confucius’ death, many Chinese people, including emperors, gave Confucius a quasi-divine status and bestowed many honors upon him. People even performed sacrificial offerings to him as if he were a god. However, none of this type of popular devotion came close to the kind of worship associated with the Buddha. Unlike the Buddha, most Chinese people regarded Confucius as one of the great Chinese sages of the past rather than a divine figure. Clarification about the differences between philosophy and theology will help to settle the issue about whether Confucius should be regarded primarily as a religious thinker or a teacher of ethics. Although both theology and philosophy focus on similar topics such as the existence of God and ethical ideas, they approach these topics in different ways. Whereas theology discusses these issues from the standpoint of faith, philosophy approaches them purely from a rational point of view. Philosophers do not assume the existence of God, but theologians do. The mission of theology is to elucidate the nature of one’s faith in God using rational categories. Although theological discussions can be highly intellectual, the task of proving the actual existence or non-existence of God is left up to the metaphysicians. Likewise, theology never tries to prove whether or not “the good” exists. Instead, it simply has faith that it does and then it clarifies how people should behave in light of this belief. Philosophy does not approach the subject of ethics or the existence of God from the standpoint of faith. Given these distinctions between philosophy and theology, it is clear that Confucius approached matters concerning human behavior from the standpoint of faith. Confucius never tried to prove the existence of the Mandate of Heaven. Instead, all of his ethical ideas about human behavior were founded upon the theological assumption that a universal ethical force called the Mandate of Heaven underlies everything in the world. Like many other sages of the Age of Awakening, Confucius firmly believed in the existence of a higher spiritual power emanating throughout the sacred cosmos, but, unlike other dualistic thinkers, he never divided the cosmos into two distinct realms of reality. Instead, he spoke about the Mandate of Heaven as an omnipresent spiritual force. Confucius firmly believed that the world would be a better place if human beings learned to conform their behavior to the dictates of the Mandate of Heaven. Confucius’ followers

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believed that his teachings were an embodiment of this higher ethical order. In this sense, Confucius should be regarded as a religious thinker even though his fundamental teachings were focused primarily upon how people needed to behave ethically in this world. For Confucius, it is not enough to become consciously aware of the sacred without manifesting that awareness in one’s daily actions. Unlike other agents of the Age of Awakening such as Zoroaster or Mahavira, Confucius was primarily a religious teacher, not a prophet or a mystic. Although he shared the Hebrew prophets’ zeal for higher moral principles, he never envisioned a time of judgement in the future when God would punish the wicked and reward the faithful with eternal life. Instead, he was entirely focused upon improving conditions in the present. Even though he was reticent about discussing topics related to the supernatural, such as the existence of the gods, ghosts and other paranormal phenomena, this does not mean that he lacked a spiritual focus in his teachings. However, his teachings were not the product of visions or revelations, but were based upon Chinese traditions of the past such as those found in the Five Classics. From the standpoint of Confucianism, spiritual awareness has little value unless it brings about a transformation in one’s moral behavior. Frequently, those who possess a consciousness of the sacred may have difficulty in expressing their awareness by changing their behavior in their daily activities and interactions. This practical dimension requires discipline and effort. This was the area where Confucius placed special emphasis. In short, Confucius realized that regardless of whether a person possesses or does not possess awareness of the divine, they still may need help in fulfilling their ethical obligations in the world. Changing one’s behavior is not always an easy process. Like Zoroaster and the Hebrew prophets, Confucius realized that when people make poor choices, evil often comes into existence. However, unlike Zoroaster and some of the prophets of the Bible, he never foretold of a time in the future when a great cosmic battle would take place between the forces of good and evil. On the other hand, he recognized that the world was filled with corruption and detrimental influences. Regardless of whether or not a person has become aware of the sacred, they still are faced with many confusing moral dilemmas in their day-to day lives and may not always be sure about how to behave in an ethical way in each and every situation. A certain amount of specific guidance may be necessary and this is where Confucius stepped in to offer clarification. Confucius realized that people needed concrete, practical help in learning how to conduct themselves in their daily interactions with one another, regardless of whether or not they

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apprehended or believed in the divine. As Confucius surveyed the landscape of Chinese society at the close of the Zhou dynasty, he saw a world filled with corruption and violence. In some cases, many people were either forgetful or ignorant about how to behave respectfully with one another in the first place. Because of this, even the most well-intentioned, spiritual people were being corrupted. Given these circumstances, Confucius believed that the best thing he could do to improve Chinese society was to teach others, in a very basic kind of way, how to treat one another in various situations.

Mencius After Confucius died at the age of 72, Confucian ideas continued to spread throughout China largely because of the work of Confucius’ students. Many of his former students went on to form a number of Confucian schools and this was one of the main vehicles by which Confucianism became a strong force within Chinese culture. In particular, two of his students, Mencius (343 BCE-289 BCE) and Xunzi (310 BCE-219 BCE) gained quite a bit of notoriety as purveyors of Confucian wisdom. Both of these individuals garnered many enthusiastic supporters. Mengzi, whose Latinized name is Mencius, concentrated his attention upon two areas, namely government and human nature. Although Confucius focused little attention upon human nature, Mencius added a lot to the discussion.13 Whereas Mencius elaborated upon Confucian ethical doctrines, Xunzi explored the ritual dimension of Confucianism. Both teachers held Confucius in high esteem, but, to some extent, they both felt that some of his views on human nature needed to be refined. Whereas Confucius believed in the inherent humaneness of people, Mencius, who lived more than a century after Confucius, believed that people needed guidance and discipline in order to achieve their inherent potential. On the other hand, Xunzi believed that human nature was inherently evil and extreme measures needed to be taken in order for people to achieve their humaneness and behave in accordance with Confucian values. Unlike Confucius, not much is known about the life of Mencius. He was born in the state of Zou. Mencius was raised almost entirely by his mother because when he was just a little boy his father died. Upon being introduced to the teachings of Confucius, Mencius quickly came to the conclusion that his mission in life was to spread these ideas throughout China. He believed that the ethical idealism of Confucianism might serve as a remedy to the violence and bloodshed that had risen to an all-time high during the Warring

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States period. Therefore, just like Confucius, he set out on a journey visiting many states and localities in China seeking to convince the rulers to embrace Confucian values for governing the people. Mencius believed that a good ruler does not govern his people by creating and enforcing harsh laws, but by serving as an exemplary model of moral perfection and honor. A ruler’s primary duty is to provide for the health and safety of his people. He needs to make sure that the citizens can find jobs so that they can eat and find shelter for themselves. Only after these basic needs have been taken care of can a ruler expect his people to join the army or develop a moral outlook upon life. Mencius agreed with Confucius that virtue is more effective than force for governing the people. He distinguished between two kinds of rulers. On the one hand, a despot, like those who had gained the upper hand during the Warring States Period, may provide temporary material benefits of a superficial nature to his people, but a “true king” is one who provides both for the material and spiritual well-being of his people. A ruler should treat his subjects in the same way as he would like to be treated. He should provide the people with the same things that he enjoys. When the government acts as a moral example to the people, it encourages the people to behave morally as well and causes them to come to self-realization regarding their own moral nature. In his effort to persuade the rulers to adopt more humane policies, Mencius would participate in discussions and debates with anyone who opposed his views. He believed that family members should be devoted to one another. They especially needed to show respect for their elders. These values would lead to improved conditions in society since eventually the respect shown in the family would spread to society as a whole. Two of the most outspoken critics of Confucius and Mencius were Mozi and Yang Zhu.14 Yang Zhu rejected Mencius’ views about respecting one’s family as short-sided. He believed a wiser course would be for people to think of themselves first instead of others. Mencius’ response was that Yang Zhu placed selfishness and greed on a pedestal. Mozi went in a different direction by stating that everyone in society should be treated equally with love and respect, but Mencius believed that this doctrine sought to undermine the Confucian doctrine that one’s elders, especially one’s father, should be given special respect. Mencius believed that if everyone respected the elder members of their family, then society would be transformed, since this respect would eventually be transferred to other peoples’ families. Mencius agreed with Confucius that humaneness is the most fundamental component of a human being, but Mencius went further in his thinking than Confucius. Whereas Confucius believed that everyone possessed an inner

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conscience that allowed them to know things like one should respect one’s elders, Mencius believed that such behavior needed to be reinforced through teaching and guidance. Mencius made a connection between humaneness and righteousness. For Mencius, our humaneness leads us to the path of righteousness like a flower that blossoms. Just as a flower needs sunshine and water for it to grow, a human being needs supervision to reach its full potential. Although human nature is essentially good, our behavior does not always reflect our goodness. Virtuous behavior needs to be cultivated despite the fact that humans possess an innate sense of compassion and respect for others, as well as an inner sense of what is inherently right and wrong. Although people are innately good, the environment they live in has the power to turn people away from the good and embrace evil. The importance of going to school was promoted by Mencius and other Confucians in the following way: just as a parent needs to see to it that their child grows up in a healthy environment, likewise a teacher has the same kind of responsibility for seeing to it that their students are placed in the right kind of educational environment. The religious dimension of Mencius’ thought is highlighted in his understanding of human nature. According to Mencius, people possess an intuitive capacity to understand the Mandate of Heaven. This kind of spiritual wisdom is different from the knowledge that is gained through using one’s senses to explore the external world. Through self-reflection, one gains knowledge of the Mandate of Heaven. As a result of acquiring this spiritual wisdom, a person’s behavior is transformed. In the Book of Mencius, it states, He who has exhausted all his mental constitution knows his nature. Knowing his nature, he knows heaven. To preserve one’s mental constitution, and nourish one’s nature, is the way to serve heaven.15

Xunzi Xun Kuang, better known as Xunzi, was born a few years after Mencius’ death. Xunzi’s views on human nature reflect the times in which he lived. He grew up at the end of the Warring States period. Witnessing these troubling events led him to take a very negative view of human nature.16 He believed that human beings were innately evil and could only be redeemed through intensive educational programs designed to bring order to society. In contrast to Confucius and Mencius who believed that human nature was essentially good, Xunzi argued that the essential characteristics of a thing appear spontaneously in it without any intervention; thus, if training or

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education are required for a particular noble trait or quality to appear in a human being such as respect for one’s elders, then that trait is not part of the essential nature of human beings. Since people require guidance to achieve goodness and are not naturally good, therefore goodness is not part of their essential nature. Although people have great potential to achieve moral perfection, or even to become a sage, none of this can be accomplished without much supervision and education. Both Mencius and Confucius believed that people have a natural propensity to be good and spontaneously exemplify noble traits such as showing respect to their elders, etc. For example, Mencius comments on the innateness of the four great virtues, humaneness, righteousness, propriety and wisdom in the following passage. All men are such that they cannot bear seeing others suffer. The kings of old had this kind of compassion and it governed their policy…I say that men are like that because anyone seeing a child fall into a well would have a feeling of horror and distress. They don’t feel this out of sympathy for the parents, or to gain a reputation among friends and neighbours, or for fear of being considered unfeeling. Not to feel the distress would be against human nature. Similarly, not to feel shame and disgrace and not to feel respect for others and not to have a sense of right and wrong are contrary to human nature.17

On the other hand, Xunzi was far more aware of the difficulties involved in accomplishing such noble objectives. If left unchecked, human beings are basically evil because their nature is fundamentally evil, which directly contradicts the basic teachings of Confucius and Mencius. Xunzi argued that for a person to achieve the status of “sage”, certain things are necessary, including directing one’s attention to the teachings of the noteworthy sages of the past. The road to becoming a virtuous person is an arduous one requiring much effort.

Laozi Few people would disagree with the statement that Confucianism and Daoism represent the two most influential indigenous religious traditions of China. Both of these grand religious traditions emerged on the world stage at roughly the same point in history, that is, between the fifth and fourth century BCE. Each tradition stands at opposite ends of the religious spectrum, with contrasting viewpoints regarding humanity’s relationship to the sacred cosmos. In the case of Confucianism, a more conservative approach is taken that is steeped in the performance of traditional rituals, moral discipline and social etiquette. In its clarification of traditional Chinese religious values, Confucianism exemplifies Bergson’s category of

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“static religion”; on the other hand, Daoism, with its emphasis on seeking mystic awareness of the Dao, exemplifies Bergson’s category of dynamic religion.18 Whereas Confucianism focuses upon social etiquette, Daoism takes a much more inward path directing its attention to the search for the truth within the self. Instead of relying upon long standing customs and traditions and externalized forms of ritual behavior, Daoism urges its practitioners to look deep within their own psyche in order to find the hidden truth about the nature of reality. From a Hegelian perspective, if Confucianism represents the thesis, in some sense, Daoism represents its antithesis. Daoism did not intentionally seek to dismantle or destroy Confucianism, but some Daoist writings level some serious criticisms against the Confucian way of seeing the world. Their main objection was that Confucianism was overly superficial in its focus upon externalized forms of ritualized behavior and did not place enough emphasis upon inner transformation. There are a few Daoist and Confucian literary sources that describe various occasions when Laozi and Confucius encountered one another. Undoubtedly, these accounts are not based upon fact, but are legendary material that illustrates the contentious relationship existing between Daoism and Confucianism during the Age of Awakening. Not surprisingly, the Daoist sources depict Confucius as Laozi’s spiritual inferior whereas in the Confucian narratives, Confucius comes out on top. The Chinese historian Ssu-ma-ch’ien reports that when the two met, Confucius asked Laozi for some advice about how to perform various rituals. Laozi responds by telling Confucius to give up his inflexible practices and open up to the Dao. “Get rid of your arrogant manners and many desires, get rid of your artificial mannerisms and your grand ambitions. These all are of no benefit to you.”19

Although mysticism never gained very much attention within Confucianism during the Age of Awakening, it found considerable expression in Daoism. Because of Daoism’s transcendental orientation, many Chinese people felt that it was an offshoot of Buddhism, even though Buddhism was not indigenous to China, but originated in India. Although numinous interpretations regarding the nature of reality can be found to a limited extent in the teachings of Mencius, it never became a central area of concern in his writings or in the writings of any other Confucian teacher during the Age of Awakening. In China, it was left up to Buddhist and Daoist thinkers to initially expand upon the subject of mystical and supernatural phenomena. Later in history, Neo-Confucianism incorporates many Daoist

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and Buddhist religious ideas. However, during the Age of Awakening, the legendary Daoist figure Laozi played a very important role in introducing a mystical outlook to Chinese society. The Daodejing (Classic of the Way and Power) which is sometimes called the Tao-De Ching, was allegedly written by Laozi, and is considered by many to be one of the most important Daoist religious texts. The exact date when Laozi lived has come into question. One tradition claims that Laozi lived around the same time as Confucius, but another tradition asserts that he was alive much later, around the time of the fourth century BCE. In addition to these issues, there are also good grounds for questioning whether or not this famous personage actually lived at all, due to the confusion in the historical records regarding the facts about his life. Those who claim Laozi was an actual historical person believe that it is likely that he was alive during the later period because there is solid evidence that this was when the Daodejing was composed, not a century or two earlier. However, many other scholars believe that the Daodejing was composed by several authors and not by a single author. This conclusion is based upon the fact that the book appears to be an anthology of writings composed by a group of individuals sharing a common worldview. This is one more reason to believe that Laozi was a legendary figure and not an actual historical person. A number of legends have evolved about this enigmatic figure of Chinese religious history. The second century BCE Chinese historian Ssu-ma Ch’ien said that Laozi was born in a small village in southern China during the Zhou dynasty. According to Ssu-ma-Ch’ien, his surname was Li and his personal name was Er. He was employed as an archivist for much of his life. At one point he became so upset about the degenerate conditions of his society that he decided to leave. Accordingly, he left his job as a bureaucrat of the Zhou dynasty and headed in a westward direction. As he crossed the mountains, he stopped along the way to leave behind his book of writings that came to be known as the Daodejing. Passing through the Western Gate, he disappeared from China never to return. However, periodically there were sightings of him from time to time. At the time when Buddhism first came to China, people noticed many similarities between Daoism and Buddhism. Soon rumors began to spread about the identity of the Buddha. Speculation arose that at the time when Laozi left China to travel around the world he traveled to India. It was claimed that the real identity of the Buddha was Laozi who had traveled from China to India to establish the movement known as Buddhism.20

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Even if Laozi is a legendary figure rather than an actual historical person, nevertheless, Daoist religious ideas, as they are expressed in the Daodejing, are representative of important currents of Chinese religiosity developing in the Age of Awakening. The cryptic and allusive meaning of the Daodejing has puzzled many throughout the ages. As a result, a number of different interpretations of the text have evolved in response to many of its enigmatic and ambiguous statements. In its opening passage, the Dao is said to be ineffable and beyond description. Various English translations of the term “Dao” or “Tao” have been suggested, including the Way, the Logos, and the Path. The Tao (Way) that can be told of is not the eternal Tao; The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth; The Name is the mother of all things.21

Paradoxically, even though it is useless to try to speak about the Dao, the text describes it as the source of all things. As the inexpressible source of all things, the following passage suggests that the Dao exists in a transcendental realm beyond all sense experience. We look at it and do not see it; Its name is The Invisible. We listen to it and do not hear it Its name is The Inaudible. We touch it and we do not feel it; Its name is The Subtle (formless).22

In Daoism, apprehending the Dao involves achieving a higher state of consciousness in which the sage perceives the unity of all opposites. As the Daodejing states, When the people of the world all know beauty as beauty, There arises the recognition of ugliness. When they all know the good as good, There arises the recognition of evil…. Therefore, the sage manages affairs without action (wuwei) And spreads doctrines without words.23

Although the Daodejing has a powerful religious message, there were those within the Chinese political establishment who saw an opportunity to apply Daoist ideas to government. Just as Confucianism slowly found its way into governmental circles after Confucius’ death, largely because many of Confucius’ followers became employed within the government as bureaucrats,

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similarly, Daoist beliefs gradually filtered into Chinese politics and began to influence the way in which the government operated and how policy was made. Daoism was different from Confucianism in the way in which it impacted politics. On the one hand, Confucianism stressed the need for a ruler to become actively involved in governing the people in a just and fair manner and in accordance with the Mandate of Heaven. On the other hand, Daoism advocated a kind of anarchism in which the good ruler acted simply by not acting. Given the widespread warfare and socio-economic turmoil of the Warring States period, it is understandable why Daoism’s laissez-faire political approach may have been popular among those who were upset with the government’s heavy-handed attempts to impose order over the chaos. Nevertheless, Daoism was essentially an otherworldly religious movement that fixed its attention upon the numinous, supernatural world rather than the everyday world of human affairs. As a result, none of the utopian ideals of Daoism provided much help for governing the people. Although the spiritual ideals of Confucianism and Daoism may have had limited influence over Chinese politics, neither of them could gather enough leverage to replace the absolute power of the Chinese emperor nor could they be used as a means to do away with the totalitarian way of doing things in the Chinese political system throughout history.24 During the Age of Awakening, Daoism introduced the Chinese people to a mystical way of seeing the world. Eventually, Daoism branched out into two schools, namely Philosophical Daoism and Religious Daoism.25 Philosophical Daoism arose in the third and fourth century BCE and is closely aligned with some of the issues discussed in the Daodejing. Later in history, around the second century BCE, a second branch of Daoism developed that became known as Religious Daoism; it represented a more popular form of Daoism for the masses since it focused upon the belief in ghostly spirits, the quest for ecstatic religious experiences and the use of various intoxicating drugs. Despite the fact that both Philosophical Daoism and Religious Daoism shared some common values including adhering to the principle of wuwei (non-action) and transcendence of the personal self, nevertheless, Religious Daoism, with its characteristic interest in ecstatic experience, had more in common with the shamanistic trends of the archaic past and less in common with the esoteric teachings of Laozi. As such, it represented a throwback to the popular religious currents of the Zhou dynasty.

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Daoism introduced a variety of dietary practices and exercises designed to increase health and longevity. Two additional strategies, called internal and external alchemy were also introduced.26 In external alchemy, effort was made to combine various elements including mercury, cinnabar, lead and other metals and minerals into an elixir of immortality. Because such experimentation led to the premature deaths of several Daoists, a second type of alchemical practice came into being known as internal alchemy. In internal alchemy the process of creating the medicine of immortality was internalized inside the body through meditation, breathing and stretching exercises as well as dietary practices. In China, two great religious traditions, Confucianism and Daoism, were born during the Age of Awakening. Each of them brought spiritual renewal to the Chinese population, but each tradition did this in a different way. In many ways, these two indigenous Chinese religious traditions represent polar opposites of one another, with Confucianism representing the more conservative school and Daoism representing the more experimental school of Chinese religion. Whereas Confucius was an actual historical person, Laozi probably existed only in legend. Confucius taught people about the ways in which social etiquette and the outward forms of ritualized behavior could be utilized to achieve greater social harmony. Laozi focused his eyes upon the interior world of the Dao. According to Laozi, contacting the Dao was the all-important goal for humanity that required an inner transformation of the person. Externalized forms of behavior including manners and traditional customs were irrelevant to this religious quest. What mattered most in Confucianism was following the Mandate of Heaven and conforming to social norms. Daoism tried to focus upon the inner mystical world instead. Together these two schools of religious wisdom embodied the heart of the Chinese Age of Awakening.

CHAPTER TEN CONCLUSION

In the middle centuries of the first millennium BCE, humanity began an incredible spiritual odyssey. Both in the east and west, a number of religious visionaries, prophets and philosophers were actively engaged in bringing about an unprecedented reversal in spiritual values. The traditional rituals of the state were being overshadowed by deeper, intensified forms of spiritual awareness. Although some of these new religious ideas were hinted at in earlier times, the Age of Awakening saw their full expression in a number of locations around the world. Prior to the Age of Awakening, religion was mostly characterized by grouporiented rituals and little attention was given to the individual’s apprehension of the divine. In the Neolithic Age, religious activity was focused primarily upon the performance of sacrificial rituals in a tribal setting as a means for securing divine protection for the community. Sometime during the early days of the third millennium BCE, large-scale civilizations grew up in various river valleys around the world such as the Tigris-Euphrates, the Nile and the Yellow river-valley civilizations. Then, there was a shift in the social function of religion. When social classes, systems of writing and organized governments came into being in the early days of civilization, religious institutions took on new social functions. Members of the ruling class realized that religious doctrines and rituals could be exploited for controlling the lower classes of the social hierarchy. Akhenaten’s monotheistic cult of Aten provides an example of how religious ideology could be used as a tool of political manipulation by the rulers of the ancient world. Without the support of the Egyptian priesthood, his cult quickly disappeared after he passed away. There is little evidence that the pharaoh’s spirituality was anything like the religiosity of the Hebrew prophets or any of the other sages of the Age of Awakening. In an age when the central government of Egypt was losing its grip over its people, Akhenaten seized upon a new kind of monotheistic ideology to restore his absolute political authority over the land. Unlike the Hebrew prophets, nothing about Akhenaten’s cult of Aten contained any serious moral

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substance. None of the extant writings pertaining to the cult of Aten make any mention of mystical revelations or prophetic callings. A variety of ethical ideas, revelatory visions, mystical insights and theological perspectives characterized the Age of Awakening. For some sages, such as the Iranian prophet Zoroaster and the Hebrew prophets, apprehending the divine meant very little unless it was reflected in one’s behavior in the world. Zoroaster preached a revolutionary ethical message warning of a disaster to come sometime in the future when two great cosmic forces of the universe known as the Truth and the Lie would collide in a final cosmic battle to the death. Those who had lived a life of wickedness would receive their just punishment for their sins and those who had sided with the Truth would join Ahura Mazda in paradise. Zoroaster was inspired to conduct his religious mission because he was the unexpected recipient of a series of ecstatic visions sent to him by the Iranian high god Ahura Mazda. In these bizarre visions, earth-shattering theological truths were revealed to him about the nature of the cosmos and human existence. Ahura Mazda commanded Zoroaster to share these mysterious revelations with the world. For several years, Zoroaster wandered the land proclaiming what he had learned to anyone who would listen. Zoroaster’s preaching had strong moral overtones and at first only a few people were interested in paying any attention to his message. Eventually, his ideas caught on. An important person who helped Zoroaster’s teachings gain acceptance throughout Iran was a local king named Vishtaspa. Zoroaster was able to convert the king and this event was significant for two reasons. Not only did Vishtaspa encourage his subjects to convert to Zoroastrianism, but, in addition, he was the father of Darius, the future king of Persia who also played an important role in the spread of Zoroastrianism. Zoroaster was among the first prophets of the Age of Awakening to realize that evil was the result of human choice. He understood that evil comes into existence because of human frailty, greed, and selfishness rather than failing to perform the proper magical or sacrificial rituals. Zoroaster’s dualism was founded upon the idea that a bitter clash between the forces of good and evil was taking place in the world, but this type of ethical dualism differed from the metaphysical dualism of certain Greek philosophers such as Plato. Whereas Plato divided the cosmos into two separate realms of reality, consisting of the world of becoming and the world of being, for Zoroaster there is only a single world where the forces of good and evil are engaged in a fierce battle with one another. Zoroaster foretold of a time in the future when this struggle between good and evil would come to its dramatic climax. Then, the forces of evil would be wiped away by Ahura Mazda and

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his angels. There would be a general resurrection and judgement of the dead. All the souls of those who had failed to choose the Truth while they were alive would be destroyed in a great fire. Zoroaster urged people to make a commitment to side with the Truth and actively fight against the Lie, and even take up arms, if necessary. This is one of the main reasons why his religious ideas are diametrically opposed to the perspective of those eastern sages such as Buddha and Mahavira who advocated a peaceful withdrawal from the material world. Morality and ethics figure prominently in the teachings of the Hebrew prophets. Prophets such as Jeremiah and Job stressed the need for humanity to put their faith and trust in the one and only living God and follow His moral precepts. Roughly at the same time period when Zoroaster was conducting his mission in Iran, several Hebrew prophets were actively preaching a similar message to the people of Israel as well. Like Zoroaster, the Biblical prophets believed that they were chosen by God Himself to serve as His mouthpiece. Because of their shared emphasis on ethics, Zoroaster’s message has many things in common with the teachings of the Biblical prophets. The Hebrew prophets’ message was a simple one: have faith in the one and true God, Yahweh and follow His moral edicts. Because the Jewish people lived in a pagan world, staying true to their god was not always an easy proposition. Polytheistic religious practices were widespread throughout Israel and the neighboring communities in the early days of ancient Judaism. Yahweh was regarded as the god of Israel, but other gods were thought to exist also and were worshipped as well. Eventually around the time of the Babylonian Exile, the prophets formulated the idea that there is only one god, Yahweh, who exists not only as the god of the Hebrew people, but as the universal god for all of humanity. During the period of the Exile, many Hebrew prophets became increasingly preoccupied with the nature of religious faith as well as some of the moral issues surrounding human existence. At that point, older anthropomorphic images of God gave way to deeper understandings of religious faith and more abstract conceptions of the divine, reflecting the influence of Greek philosophy. This period represents the birth of the Age of Awakening in Israel. In Genesis 22, Abraham’s deep religious faith and total submission to God is revealed when he is willing to obey God’s command to sacrifice his own son Isaac. Further discussions regarding the problem of evil appear in the Book of Job. Rather than personifying evil as demonic beings who must be appeased through sacrificial offerings, evil is regarded as the result of human choices. However, the prophet Job is perplexed about why God has allowed so many honorable and righteous Jews to experience so much

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hardship at the hands of evildoers. Many Jews were struggling with their faith in God and wondering about whether God had abandoned his people. Although Job never received a satisfactory response from God on this issue, later towards the close of the Age of Awakening, apocalyptic prophets such as Daniel and Zechariah foretold of a future age when God would send a Messiah to restore justice to the world. In Greece during the sixth century BCE, the Age of Awakening was ushered in via the birth of philosophy. In contrast to the Hebrew prophets’ doctrine of ethical monotheism, which was rooted in blind faith and absolute devotion to God, the Greek philosophers, on the other hand, took a more rational approach to religious matters. The Golden Age of Greece is noted for its many intellectual and artistic accomplishments, but what is sometimes forgotten is that the ancient Greeks were also fascinated with the supernatural world and the non-rational aspects of life. Philosophy is customarily defined as a logical enterprise used to develop answers about life’s most perplexing questions. However, it is interesting to note that many ancient Greek philosophers were equally enamored with religious experience and issues concerning non-rational phenomena as well. Just as prophecy and divine revelation played an important role in Zoroaster’s life and the lives of the Hebrew prophets, these subjects figured prominently in the thinking of some ancient Greek philosophers. Both Plato and Pythagoras believed that developing one’s intellect leads to the highest forms of intuitive knowledge and, ultimately, the mystical apprehension of the divine. Strands of idealism and pragmatism are reflected throughout the history of ancient Greek philosophy beginning with the pre-Socratics. Parmenides was interested in rational argumentation, but he was also interested in exploring the non-rational forces of the mind and other related mystical topics. In his poem entitled On Nature, he distinguished between two ways in which people can perceive the world. The first is the way of Truth and the second is the way of Belief. The Way of Truth is the superior of the two since it allows humans to perceive the underlying mystical unity of all things. In addition to using reason to inquire into a number of scientific and philosophic questions, both Empedocles and Pythagoras exhibited a number of shamanistic characteristics in their pursuit of wisdom. Empedocles’ shamanistic feats included resurrecting a woman from the dead and controlling the winds. He even went so far as to consider himself to be a divine man. Pythagoras and his followers firmly believed in the importance of sharpening one’s wits as a preliminary step for coming to an awareness of

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the divine. As a young man, Pythagoras studied mathematics and astronomy with the priests of Egypt and Babylonia and came to believe in the immortality of the soul and reincarnation. Several years later, Plato expanded upon Pythagoras’ ideas. In addition to his theory of forms, Plato developed a number of other metaphysical and epistemological theories as well. For Plato, the practice of philosophy was the ideal method to prepare oneself for death. In the Myth of Er, Plato provides a brief mythopoetic description of the afterlife and the immortal soul’s journey to the upper realms of the universe. Many Greek philosophers and sophists were particularly critical of the superficial portrayals of the Olympians expressed in the myths associated with Greek civic religion. In Greece, the Age of Awakening began with various philosophers and sophists denouncing the absurdity of Greek civic religion, but this left many Greek thinkers vulnerable to persecution by the officials of the state. Plato’s teacher, Socrates was officially indicted by the Athenian government on the charges of atheism and corrupting the youth. In the Apology, Socrates defended himself against these charges by claiming that the gods themselves had ordered him to practice philosophy. He claimed that ever since he was a child a mysterious spirit had always guided him in his decisions. Nevertheless, he was found guilty as charged and sentenced to death. Although he could have requested the court to give him a lesser punishment such as banishment, Plato reported that Socrates welcomed death since it would free his immortal soul from the prison of his corporeal shell. In India, the stage was set in Vedic times for the coming of the Age of Awakening. What little is known about pre-Aryan civilization in India comes in the form of archeological evidence. Archeologists have uncovered two large-scale cities, Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa in the area of northwestern India that existed during the third millennium BCE. Archeological evidence suggests that in pre-Vedic times the indigenous religion of the people revolved around sacrificial rituals dedicated to the Great Mother. With the arrival of the Indo-Europeans, sweeping cultural and social changes came to the Indus valley in the second millennium BCE. As the Indo-Europeans migrated into India, they destroyed Harappa civilization and imposed their own social structure and religious beliefs and practices upon the indigenous community. Indo-European society was organized into three classes consisting of the priests, the warriors and merchants. Eventually, this social system added a fourth class called the servants. This social system formed the basis of the Indian caste system. Along with their class structure, the Indo-Europeans had their own

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sacrificial rituals which eventually became the life blood of Indian religion in Vedic times. During the Age of Awakening, Vedic sacrificial rituals were given a new cosmological and soteriological meaning. Many innovative religious concepts discussed in the Upanishads provided the ideological context for this spiritual re-evaluation. In the Upanishads, each of the old gods of the Vedic pantheon was reinterpreted to be an individual manifestation of the Brahman, the universal soul underlying all things. By performing the sacrifices, the brahmin was seen to release spiritual energy into the cosmos, restoring balance and order to the world. Since the brahmin performs the sacrifices, his atman embodied the Brahman itself. In the Upanishads, the identification of the atman and Brahman becomes the philosophic foundation for a number of other ideas including reincarnation, samsara, karma and moksha(liberation). The spirituality reflected in these religious conceptions is tied to personal religious practices such as meditation and yoga which are designed to bring about various mystical states of consciousness. For Upanishadic thinkers, asceticism and the quest for liberation (moksha) became the ultimate expression of spirituality. In India, several world-renouncing movements including Buddhism and Jainism came into existence at the same time when the authors of the Upanishads were developing their ideas. In contrast to members of the Brahminical priesthood, the followers of Jainism and Buddhism vehemently rejected the authority of the Vedas. In Jainism, the cosmos is considered to be eternal and everlasting; it was not produced by a creator god such as Brahma or any other god of the Vedic pantheon. In fact, the whole idea of the existence of a god or gods was entirely thrown out. Within the Buddhist community, the atman (individual soul) was thought to be illusory. The Buddha taught that the sage must learn how to become detached. This detachment even included learning how to stop clinging to ideas such as the atman. Many Buddhists and Jainists were in agreement that the Vedic practice of killing animals for food or for sacrificial rituals was abhorrent. The Vedic assumption that the brahmins held all the knowledge and authority to provide spiritual liberation for everyone else seemed ridiculous. Although the Brahminical priesthood was hereditary, becoming a mendicant was a matter of personal choice. Likewise, the sages of Jainism and Buddhism believed that finding spiritual liberation was a matter of individual determination and did not require someone else to accomplish the goal.

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In Jainism, the cosmos has no beginning or end and has gone through infinitely long periods of preservation and destruction. Whenever the cosmos enters into a time of chaos and disorder, that is when the twentyfour Jinas or “Conquerors” one by one descend upon the world to help put it back on the right track. In the current cosmic cycle, Mahavira is considered to be the last of the long line of twenty-four Jinas to appear in the world. Since each of these spiritual teachers provides the same message, Mahavira was not considered by his followers to be a religious innovator. Jainists believe that Mahavira brought the perennial message of nonviolence to the world. Mahavira’s intricate analysis of the cosmos begins by dividing it into two different realms, the jiva(spirit) and ajiva (material substance). Whereas the jiva has consciousness, the ajiva is devoid of consciousness. Although the jiva and ajiva are distinctly different from one another, a connection exists between them in the form of karma. Steadfastly practicing asceticism in one’s daily life removes the karmic particles that have become attached to the jiva and keep it stuck to the ajiva. Renouncing the things of this world paves the way for the jiva to extricate itself from its entanglement with the ajiva. Once the jiva is freed from the hold of the ajiva, then it is able to ascend to the higher realms of the cosmos upon death. When the British first came to India in the nineteenth century and began to learn about eastern religions, they mistakenly thought that Jainism was a branch of Buddhism because the two religious traditions seemed so much alike. In reality, Buddha recommended “the Middle Way “which represented a lesser form of renunciation in comparison to Mahavira’s approach. Some of the reasons why Buddha advocated a less strenuous form of asceticism can be explained if one takes a closer look at the events of his life. What is known about the life of the Buddha comes in the form of legends which bare striking similarities to the legends of other religious figures including Mahavira and Jesus of Nazareth. However, the story of Buddha’s quest for enlightenment illustrates an important point: it was only after Siddhartha had eaten a normal meal of food and drink and had abandoned extreme forms of asceticism that he was able to attain his spiritual goal. This abandonment of extreme asceticism differentiates Buddha’s story from the story of Mahavira. When Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, it taught him about the Four Noble Truths. Life is suffering, but the way to eliminate suffering is not through rigorous and painful self-denial. Instead, Buddha takes a much more wholistic approach which is described in his doctrine of the Eightfold Path. In this way, the key doctrines of Buddhism were shaped by Buddha’s awakening under the Bodhi Tree.

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Prior to the time of the Age of Awakening, Chinese religion was mostly made up of divinatory practices and the worship of ancestors. Under the Shang regime (1600 BCE-1100 BCE), the majority of the Chinese people believed that another numinous realm of spirits existed beyond the material world. So-called “oracle bones” were used by Chinese kings and commoners alike to make contact with the spirits and to learn about future events. As we have seen, religion and politics were closely intertwined in the archaic civilizations of the eastern and western world. This alignment of religion and politics also occurs in Chinese civilization during the Shang and Zhou dynasty. Whenever sacrificial offerings were made by the official Shang diviners, a number of bureaucratic procedures had to be closely followed to ensure the efficacy of the sacrifice. The role of the Shang king as a divine intermediary between the world of the gods and the earthly realm underscored his dual role as both the political and religious spearhead of Chinese society. In Zhou times, the Five Classics express some ideas that foreshadow some of the spiritual conceptions of the Age of Awakening. Even Confucius would fondly reminisce about the time of the benevolent Sage -Kings. One influential idea developed by the Sage-Kings was the concept of the Mandate of Heaven. According to this principle, earthly rulers were required to create and maintain their laws in accordance with divine precepts. If they failed to carry out their duty, then the people were justified in rebelling and deposing the existing government in order to create a new, just system of government. Although the Mandate of Heaven was initially used to legitimize the Zhou political takeover, during the Age of Awakening Chinese intellectuals interpreted this religious concept to be the ultimate ethical standard of the cosmos. For these sages, the Mandate of Heaven applied to both politics and individual behavior. During the Age of Awakening, Confucius and Laozi played leading roles in showing people how to live their lives in accordance with the wellspring of righteousness, but each of them took a different approach towards attaining this goal. Whereas Confucius believed that living one’s life in accordance with the Mandate of Heaven meant conforming to social norms and treating people with courtesy and respect, Laozi believed that the truth resided within the human heart, that is, the inner world of the psyche. According to Confucius, a superior person has deep appreciation for moral values(ren) and can handle any situation that might arise. In other words, a gentleman (junzi) possesses humaneness. Confucius’ interest in morality and ethics has led some to consider him to be a philosopher or ethical

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teacher rather than a religious sage. Confucius never established a church or some other place of worship. Unlike other prophets like Zoroaster, Confucius never claimed to have received a vision or a calling from God. Unlike the Biblical prophets, Confucius never spoke about a god who intervened into peoples’ lives. However, similar to other sages of the Age of Awakening, Confucius had faith in the existence of a higher spiritual power permeating the entire cosmos. He also firmly believed that humans needed to conform their behavior to this all-pervasive divine force. Since most of Confucius’ ideas are rooted in his unquestioning faith in the existence of this omnipresent spiritual energy, he should be regarded as a religious thinker rather than a philosopher or ethical teacher, even though his teachings focused primarily upon human relationships and ethics. Confucius lived in an age of violence and social turmoil within China. He thought that he could improve social conditions and so he set out to convince the political rulers of China to follow his teachings. Unfortunately, his efforts to bring reform to China failed during his lifetime. However, after his death, Confucianism continued to spread throughout China as a result of the work of his followers such as Mencius and Xunzi who added some clarifications and revisions to Confucius’ thought. Confucius believed that people have a natural desire to do good. For example, a child inherently knows that respect should be given to one’s parents. In contrast, Mencius believed that people needed guidance in order to achieve their full potential. Xunzi grew up during the Warring States period and witnessed a tremendous amount of violence and turmoil. These experiences led him to take a very pessimistic view of human nature. Xunzi believed that the only way to compensate for humanity’s inherently evil nature was through rigorous teaching programs and meticulous supervision. For Xunzi, the road to moral perfection was a difficult one, requiring much work and effort. At the time when Confucianism was introduced to Chinese civilization, another Chinese spiritual movement known as Daoism was underway. Whereas Confucianism stressed the importance of conforming to social norms in one’s outward behavior, Daoism re-directed people’s attention away from external actions to the internal world of the psyche. Daoism criticized Confucianism’s obsession with the rules of etiquette and recommended an inward path to the Dao. One of the reasons why Buddhism flourished and found a new home in China, even though it was not an indigenous Chinese religious tradition, was because of its introspective orientation which was familiar to Chinese people through their acquaintance with Daoist ideas.

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Unlike Confucius who was an actual historic person, Laozi probably existed in legend only. Although Laozi is the alleged author of the famous Daoist composition entitled the Daodejing, this book was likely written by a group of authors and not by the person named Laozi. A number of folktales and legends circulate about the alleged originator of Daoism. According to these stories, Laozi worked as an archivist, but became so upset with the conditions in China that he decided to leave. Before he moved away, he left behind a book, the Daodejing. Once Buddhism came to China, a rumor spread that when Laozi left China he went to India and it was he, not Siddhartha Gautama, who really was the Buddha. Although no one knows for sure who wrote the Daodejing, there is no question that the enigmatic descriptions of the Dao recorded in this book have exerted an enormous influence in China and throughout the world. The ambiguous meaning of the Dao has puzzled many people throughout the ages. Even the Daodejing itself states that the Dao is indescribable and goes beyond all logic and words. The Dao is just one more word to be added to the long list of terms used by sages throughout the ages to describe the numinous power of the divine. The Age of Awakening has had long-lasting effects. This was a time when people were waking up to the realization that the divine had far less to do with the state than previously thought and far more to do with a person’s apprehension of Ultimate Reality. Although foreshadowed in the earlier stages of history, each of the new types of religious experience became fully articulated in the Age of Awakening. Revelatory experience was the way in which Zoroaster and the Hebrew prophets learned about the moral demands placed upon humanity. In ancient Greece, the strongest voices of the Age of Awakening were intellectuals like Plato who believed that philosophy opened new channels of communication to the world of the divine. In India, withdrawal from the material world, abstinence and asceticism, in varying degrees, were seen as vehicles leading to an apprehension of the divine. Two spiritual pathways emerged in the Chinese Age of Awakening. The first path was Confucianism, the path of outward behavior. Confucius instructed his listeners about the importance of social etiquette and how to conduct oneself with others. The second path was Daoism, the inward path. Laozi told his followers to look within themselves for guidance in finding the Truth. Despite the many differences between these diverse pathways, there is one overriding message that is essentially the same: people need to get in touch with Ultimate Reality and live their lives in accordance with it. Instead of relying upon someone else to do it for them, people need to take responsibility for their own spiritual fate. Sages, teachers and prophets were

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there to show people the way. Of course, none of this was an easy thing to do. Trials and tribulations were involved along the way. Some individuals like Socrates, Confucius, Mahavira and Zoroaster had personally experienced harassment and persecution and knew how difficult it was to live one’s life according to higher spiritual principles and values. When it came to honoring the terms of the Mosaic covenant, the Israelites had many failures. Learning to think philosophically like Plato or Socrates required diligence and intellectual stamina, to say the least. The Upanishads spoke about humanity’s need to apprehend the ontological connection to the Brahman (universal soul), but coming to such a realization involved dedication and determination to live the life of an ascetic. In some ways, the Buddha represents an anomaly in the Age of Awakening because he remained silent when it came to talking directly about Ultimate Reality or related issues. Nevertheless, the Buddha claimed to have attained Nirvana as he sat under the Bodhi Tree. Although the Buddha was silent on metaphysical issues, he was practically minded and gave concrete assistance to those searching for liberation. For the Buddha, the Ultimate could only be found by bringing human suffering to its end. Buddha realized that following a spiritual path is difficult. For the Buddha, life is suffering, but human suffering can be overcome by following the Eightfold Path. A similar kind of practicality is demonstrated in the life and teachings of Mahavira. In China, Confucius never spoke about the gods or other supernatural phenomena either, but unlike the Buddha, he never attempted to justify his silence. He was more interested in changing people’s interactions with others in a positive way. For Confucius, the road to Ultimate Reality involved following the rules of social etiquette and ethical norms. To do this, he encouraged people to get in touch with the Mandate of Heaven, that spiritual force permeating everything in the universe. Laozi disagreed with Confucius about how to make contact with Ultimate Reality. Rather than following the norms of society, Laozi told his audience to look within themselves to find the mysterious force called the Dao. When it came to describing the Dao, Laozi shared some of the Buddha’s general feelings about the ineffability of the sacred. Nevertheless, there are some paradoxical and enigmatic descriptions of the Dao in the Daodejing. During the Age of Awakening, people were reaching out in some innovative and revolutionary ways in an effort to make contact with Ultimate Reality. Whether or not one gives a name to the world of the sacred, such as Yahweh, the Truth, the form of the Good, the Dao or the Mandate of Heaven, or whether or not a name for it is given at all, these new forms of spirituality expressed the unrelenting desire to apprehend the divine. At that time, a

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dramatic shift away from static to dynamic forms of religiosity swept the world. Reverberations emanating from the Age of Awakening are still being felt even today. For example, modern Zoroastrianism represents a relatively small religious movement, but Zoroaster’s dualistic outlook has had an incalculable impact upon the Judeo-Christian weltanschauung(worldview). As an eschatological prophet of doom, Zoroaster anticipated the current mood among many modern Christians who look to the future in anticipation of the time when the world as we know it will come to an end and God will bring about a final judgement of humanity. Ancient Platonism continued to thrive in later times as a viable spiritual perspective through the workings of the Christian Church. In the early Middle Ages, certain Church Fathers such as St. Augustine built the edifice of Christian theology upon Plato’s theory of forms. In the eastern world, the Age of Awakening was highlighted by the amazing insights of the brahmins and other sages including the Buddha, Confucius and Laozi who ignited a period of unprecedented spiritual growth that continued to unfold in subsequent centuries in various localities. The Upanishads represents the ideological foundation of classical Hinduism, the religion of the Indian people. In modern times, the principles of non-violence that are outlined in the teachings of Jainism have been put into practice in civil rights movements throughout the world. Eighteen different schools of Buddhism came into existence in India both during and shortly after Buddha’s lifetime. Among these, only Theravada Buddhism remains in existence to this day in Sri Lanka. However, Buddhism flourished in China and Japan in a popular form of religious expression known as Mahayana Buddhism beginning around the first and second century CE and remains a strong religious force in those places in modern times. Shortly thereafter, Vajrayana Buddhism came into existence in Tibet. New interpretations and understandings of the teachings of the Buddha, Confucius and Laozi have continued to evolve throughout the centuries. Insights gained from an examination of the Age of Awakening provide a good foundation for understanding later events in humanity’s ongoing spiritual quest. Hopefully, this book has shed some light on the spiritual underpinnings associated with these ensuing developments.

NOTES

Preface 1

Jonathan Z Smith, Imagining Religion: From Babylon to Jonestown, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill. 1982. 2 William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, Collier Books, New York, 1961, p. 67. 3 Joachim Wach, The Comparative Study of Religion, Columbia University Press, New York,1958, p.31. 4 Ibid., pp.232-233. 5 In describing the religious developments of the Axial Age, Roy C. Amore and Amir Hussain use the term “energy god”. According to these scholars, “another important pattern emerged around 2,500 years ago. In it the divine is understood not as a human-like entity but as the energy of the cosmos. The Energy God does not issue commandments, answer prayers, or in any way interact with humans as a human. It does not create in the usual fashion of the gods; it does not direct the course of history, or dictate the fate of individuals. In fact, some have suggested that this god may have more in common with the principles of modern physics than with the traditional gods of most religions. This divinity simply exists—or rather— “underlies” everything that exists. Among the traditions that developed around the Energy God concept were Chinese Daoism, the Upanishadic wisdom of India, and the pre-Socratic philosophy of the early Greek world.” See Willard G. Oxtoby, Amir Hussain and Roy C Amore, eds. World Religions: Western Traditions, Oxford University Press, New York and London, 4th edition, 2014, p 13-14.

Introduction 1 Karl Jaspers, The Origin and Goal of History, trans. M. Bullock, London: Routledge and Paul, 1949. 2 R.C. Zaehner, Concordant Discord: The Interdependence of Faiths, Oxford At the Clarendon Press, Oxford University Press, London, 1970, p.437. 3 Anne Vallely, Jaina Traditions, in World Religions: Eastern Traditions, eds. Roy C. Amore, Amir Hussain and Willard G. Oxtoby, 5th edition, Oxford University Press, New York 2018, p.167 4 Gerardus van der Leeuw, Religion in Essence and Manifestation, 2 vols., Harper and Row, New York, 1963, vol 2, p.566. 5 Ibid. 6 Joaquim Wach, The Comparative Study of Religion, p.59.

166

Notes

7

Wilhelm Dilthey, Selected Writings, ed. and trans. H.P. Richman, Cambridge University Press, London, 1976, p.224. 8 E.R. Dodds, Pagan and Christian in an Age of Anxiety, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1965. 9 Rudolf Otto, The Idea of the Holy, Oxford University Press, London, 1959. 10 The problems connected to the search for the essence of religion are discussed by Stephen Prothero in his book entitled Religion Matters: An Introduction to the World’s Religions, W. W. Norton, New York, 2020, p.9-11. 11 Ibid., p.11. 12 Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10th edition, Springfield Mass, 1993. 13 Eliade discusses the persistence of the archaic world view as well as ancient Germanic and Norse religion in volume 2 of his A History of Religious Ideas, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill., 1982, pp.172-179. For more on Eliade’s general views on myth and religion see Douglass Allen’s Myth and Religion in Mircea Eliade, Routledge, New York and London, 2002. 14 Robert Bellah, Religious Evolution, American Sociological Review, 29,3, p.359. 15 Karen Armstrong, The great transformation: The beginning of our religious traditions, Knopf, New York, 2006. 16 S. N. Eisenstadt, The Axial Age: The Emergence of Transcendental Visions and the Rise of the Clerics, European Journal of Sociology, 23(2), pp.294-314, 1982. See also The Origins and Diversity of the Axial Age Civilizations, edited by Samuel Eisenstadt, State University of New York Press, Albany, 1986.

Chapter One 1

“Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep”, Office of Communications and Public Liaison, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, US National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD., 2017. 2 Henri Bergson, “Dynamic Religion”, in The Two Sources of Morality and Religion, trans. R. Ashley Audra and Cloudesley Brereton, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York,1935. 3 For more on Hegel’s dialectic see Georg Hegel, The Phenomenology of the Spirit, ed. Terry Pinkard, Cambridge University Press, 2017. 4 See Claude Levi-Strauss, The Raw and the Cooked, Harper and Row, New York, 1969. 5 For more on the institutionalization of prophet’s message see Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, trans. and ed. H.H. Gerth and C Wright Mills, Oxford University Press, New York, 1946. 6 Charles Darwin, On the Origin of the Species, Oxford University Press, London, 2008, Oxford World Classics Edition. 7 Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane, trans. Willard Trask, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York,1959. 8 Amir Hussain, Roy C. Amore and Willard Oxtoby, eds. World Religions: Western Traditions, Oxford University Press, 5th edition, Oxford and New York, 2018, p.8. 9 See Mircea Eliade, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, trans. Willard Trask, Princeton University Press, Princeton New Jersey, 1964.

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10 See the discussion on the function of archaic religion in Nicholas Wade’s A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History, Penguin Books, New York, 2014, pp.50f. 11 See Chapter Two of Peter Berger’s, The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion, Anchor Books, New York, 1967.

Chapter Two 1

For more on countermyths and their function in society in general see Chapter Seven of Jaan Valsiner’s An Invitation to Cultural Psychology, Sage Publishers, London, 2014. 2 An excellent overview of ancient Egyptian religion is provided in Emily Teeter’s Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York, 2011. 3 See Mircea Eliade, Essential Sacred Writings from Around the World, Harper Collins, New York, 1967, p.27; for an extensive review of the scholarly work done on the religion of Akhenaten see Eric Hornung, Akhenaten and the Religion of Light, trans David Lorton, Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 1999. 4 Mircea Eliade, Sacred Texts from around the World, p.27. 5 Hymn to Aten; see the “Hymn of Aten”, trans. John A Wilson, in James B Pritchard, ed. The Ancient Near East, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1958, vol.1, pp.226-230. 6 Ninian Smart discusses Schmidt’s ideas on primitive monotheism and Sir James Frazer’s views on the relationship between magic and religion in The Religious Experience, p.32f; see Sir James Frazer, The Golden Bough, MacMillan Paperback Edition, Macmillan Publishing, New York, 1963. 7 See Eric Hornung, Akhenaten and the Religion of Light, trans. David Lorton, pp.3339. 8 See J. M. Roberts discussion of the struggle between the Egyptians and Hittites in The New Penguin History of the World, 5th edition, Penguin Books, London and New York, 1976, p.84-85.

Chapter Three 1

Abraham Jackson, Zoroaster: Prophet of Ancient Iran, MacMillan Press, London, 1899, p.24. Jackson discusses many of the legends surrounding the life of Zoroaster. For background on Zoroastrianism see John Stephens, Ancient Mediterranean Religions: Myth, Ritual and Religious Experience, Cambridge Scholars Press, Newcastle Upon the Tyne, UK, 2016, pp.182-183. 2 Ibid., p.23-35. 3 Ibid., p.38-40. 4 There are a number of excellent summaries of the basic elements of the religions of the ancient Mesopotamians; see for example, Tammi Schneider, Introduction to Ancient Mesopotamian Religion, William Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2011.

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Notes

5

Jackson, Zoroaster: Prophet of Ancient Iran, p.47. Ibid., p.52 and 53; see Max Muller, Sacred Books of the East, Oxford at the Clarendon Press, Oxford, England, vol.4, 1899, p.208. 7 Zaehner, The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism, p.38-39. 8 Yasna 45, 1-2; excerpted in Zaehner, The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism, p.43. 9 Yasna,30.3-6; in Zaehner, The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism, p.42. 10 See Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin, trans. The Hymns of Zarathustra, Murray Publishers, London,1952, p.102f; excerpted in Eliade, Essential Sacred Writings from Around the World, Harper Collins,1967, p.70-71; cf. Gatha; Yasna 30,6-7. 11 Millar Burrows, The Dead Sea Scrolls, Viking Press, New York,1956, p.374; see also Zaehner, The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism, p.52. 12 For a discussion of Persian Zoroastrianism and the cult of Mithra see Franz Cumont’s, Oriental Religion in Roman Paganism,135-161, Dover Publications, New York, 1956. See also, Roger Beck, The Religion of the Mithras Cult in the Roman Empire, Oxford University Press, London and New York, 2006. 13 Zaehner, The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism, p.59. 6

Chapter Four 1

The concept of ethical monotheism, as it appears in ancient Judaism, is discussed by Warren Hollister in his book entitled, The Roots of the Western Tradition: A Short History of the Ancient World, McGraw Hill Publishers, New York, 1991, p.57. 2 Jer. 1.4-5; we have used an English translation of the Bible provided by the New International Version of the Bible published by Zondervan Publishers and Tyndale House Publishers Grand Rapids Michigan and Wheaton, Ill, 1998. 3 Isaiah 6.1,8. 4 There have been a number of studies of the Genesis creation myth. See for example Rudolf Bultmann’s analysis in his Primitive Christianity in its Contemporary Setting, Thames and Hudson, New York,1956, p.15-21. See also Herman Gunkel and Heinrich Zimmern, Creation and Chaos in the Primeval Era and the Eschaton, Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2006. 5 Gen.3.4. 6 See Ninian Smart’s comments on the Biblical concept of humanity. According to the traditional Jewish view regarding humanity, human beings are made up of flesh and spirit, but there is no suggestion that the human soul has a transcendental origin or that it exists in a separate ontological realm away from the material realm. In the western world, various forms of metaphysical dualism develop in classical times in the context of Platonism; see also Ninian Smart, The Religious Experience, p.224; John Hick also discusses the way in which the concept of the immortal soul develops in Hellenistic Judaism and apocalyptic literature in his Death and Eternal Life, Harper and Row, New York, 1976, p.70f. 7 Gen.3.17-19. 8 Job 10.20-22; Ps. 88.3-5. 9 Ex. 15.11. 10 Ps. 82.1-8.

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11

Ex.20.1-2. Mircea Eliade, History of Religious Ideas, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill, vol.1, 1978, p.174. 13Gen. 22.11-12. 14 Eccl. 4.1. 15 Job 1.21. 16 Job 7.6-8. 17 Dan. 7.13-14. 18 The Book of Enoch; see The Other Bible, ed. Willis Barnstone, Harper One, New York, 2005, p.487. 19 Ibid., p.489. 12

Chapter Five 1

Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, Simon and Schuster, N.Y.,1946, p.45. 2 For more on the distinction between “popular religion” and “the religion of the philosophers” see A. J. Festugiere’s remarks about popular piety and reflective piety in his book entitled Personal Religion Among the Greeks, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles,1954, pp1-2; see also John Stephens, Ancient Mediterranean Religions: Myth, Ritual and Religious Experience, pp.121-122. 3 Martin Nilsson, A History of Greek Religion, Oxford at the Clarendon Press, London, 1949, p. 191. 4 For further discussion of the pre-Socratic philosophers see Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy. 5 Philostratus, The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, Book One 1-3, ed. and trans. Christopher P. Jones, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 2005, Loeb Classical Edition. 6 E. R Dodds, The Greeks and the Irrational, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, p.136-146. 7 Ibid., p. 140. 8 N. S. Gill Hesiod’s Five Ages of Man, Thought Co., Feb 11, 2020, thought co.com/the -five-ages-of-man-111776. 9 John Stephens, Ancient Mediterranean Religions: Myth, Ritual and Religious Experience, p.124-126. 10 Aristotle, Physics, 239b15. 11 Plutarch, Life of Nicias, 23, Loeb, 3:289-291. Quoted in I F Stone, The Life of Socrates, Little Brown and Co., Boston and Toronto, 1988, p.236-237. 12 Ibid., 31d. 13 Plato, Apology, 19a; in The Trials of Socrates: Six Classic Texts, ed. and trans. C. D. C Reeves, Hackett Publishing, Indianapolis, Indiana, 2002. 14 Ibid. See also Plato, Apology, 21d. 15 Plato, Apology, 23b. 16 A translation of Plato’s Seventh Letter appears in Plato’s Epistles, trans. Glenn Morrow, Bobbs-Merrill, New York, 1962. 17 Plato, Republic. 517b.

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Chapter Six 1

See J.M. Roberts description of the geography and culture of the Indian subcontinent; The New Penguin History of the World, p.119 f. 2 Mircea Eliade discusses Harappan religious life in The History of Religious Ideas, vol.1, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill, 1978, p. 114f. Eliade also offers a valuable analysis of Vedic religion and Indo-European culture on p.187-247. 3 B. and R. Allchin, The Birth of the Indian Civilization, Penguin Books, N.Y. 1968, p.136; see also Mircea Eliade, The History of Religious Ideas, vol. 1, p.125. 4 See Georges Dumezil, The Destiny of the Warrior, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill, 1970; see also Archaic Roman Religion, 2 vols., John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, 1996. 5 See Mircea Eliade’s excellent commentary of the Vedic pantheon; History of Religious Ideas, vol 1, pp. 187-214. 6 Geo. Parrinder, ed. World Religions: From Ancient History to the Present, Facts on File Press, New York.1971, p.194. 7 Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty, ed. and trans. The Rig Veda: An Anthology, One Hundred and Eight Hymns, Penguin Classics, New York, 1981, excerpted from Roy Amore, Amir Hussain and Willard Oxtoby, eds. World Religions: Eastern Traditions, p.39. 8 Ibid. 9 See W. Chan, I. al Faruqi, J. Kitagawa and P.T Raju., eds. The Great Asian Religions, Macmillan, London,1969, p.30. 10 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Charles Moore, eds. A Sourcebook of Indian Philosophy, Princeton University Press, Princeton N.J., 1957, p.23. 11 See Mircea Eliade’s discussion of the concept of tapas as it relates to the practice of yoga in his Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, trans. Willard Trask, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1958, pp.106-111. 12 Mircea Eliade, History of Religious Ideas, vol.1, p.228. 13 Katha Upanishad; see Chan, al Faruqi, J. Kitagawa and P.T. Raju, eds. Great Asian Religions, p.32.

Chapter Seven 1

Geo. Parrinder discusses the wandering ascetics(shramanas) and priests (brahmins) of sixth century BCE India in his World Religions: From Ancient History to the Present, p.210-211; see also Anne Vallely’s discussion of the shramana revolution of the sixth century BCE in World Religions: Eastern Traditions, 5th edition, eds. Roy Amore, Amir Hussain and Willard Oxtoby, Oxford University Press, New York and London, 2019, p.146. 2 Mahapurana 4. 16-18.in Scriptures of the East, eds. James Fieser and John Powers, McGraw Hill, 1998, p.67. 3 Geo.Parrinder, World Religions, p.244.

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4 Hermann Jacobi, trans., 1884 Jaina Sutras, Part 1; in Max Muller, ed. Sacred Books of the East, Oxford at the Clarendon Press, Oxford, England, vol.22, 1899, pp.251256. 5 Mircea Eliade, ed. Essential Sacred Texts of the World, p. 464. 6 Ibid. 7 Ibid., p.465. 8 Acaranga -Sutra and Kalpa Sutra, in Scriptures of the East, eds. James Fieser and John Powers, p.61. 9 Ibid., p.263-4. 10 See Anne Vallely’s discussion of the schism within Jainism in World Religions: Eastern Traditions, p.169. 11 Scriptures of the East, p.62. 12 See Ninian Smart’s discussion of Jainism in The Religious Experience, p.63.

Chapter Eight 1

See Roy C. Amore’s comments on the socio-historical environment of northern India during the sixth century BCE in the chapter entitled “Buddhist Traditions” in World Religions: Eastern Traditions, p.201. Also see J.M. Roberts, The New Penguin History of the World, p.131f. 2 See Geoffrey Parrinder, ed. World Religions: From Ancient History to the Present, p.263. 3 Roy Amore, “Buddhist Traditions” in World Religions: Eastern Traditions, p.206. 4 Ibid., p.206. 5 See Fieser and Powers, eds. Sacred Texts of the East, p.80 f. 6 See Ninian Smart’s description of Siddhartha’s meditative technique in The Religious Experience, p.67. 7 Fieser and Powers, eds. Sacred Texts of the East, p.83. 8 Ninian Smart, The Religious Experience, p.67. 9 Radhakrishnan and Moore, eds. A Sourcebook of Indian Philosophy, p.274. 10 Ibid. 11 Ibid. 12 T. R. V. Murti, The Central Philosophy of Buddhism, George Allen and Unwin, Ltd, London,1970, p.37. 13 Numerous scholars have commented on the profundity of Buddha’s silence when he was asked questions of a metaphysical nature. Perhaps two of the best commentaries on Buddha’s teachings and his silence are Walpola Rahula’s What the Buddha Taught, Grove Press, New York, New York,1959 and Edward Conze’s Buddhism: its essence and development, Harper and Row, New York,1959. 14 Anguttara-nikaya 1.189, in Sacred Texts of the East, p.86.

Chapter Nine 1

For an excellent overview of ancient Chinese history see J. M. Roberts: The New Penguin History of the World, pp.132-147.

172 2

Notes

For more information on divination and oracle bones see Chapter 2 of Joseph Adler’s Chinese Religious Traditions, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 2002. 3 For more information on the Chinese sage-kings and the transition from the Shang to Zhou dynasty see Terry Tak-ling Woo’s discussion entitled “Chinese and Korean Traditions” in World Religions: Eastern Traditions, eds. Roy Amore, Amir Hussain and Willard Oxtoby, p.288-295. 4 Ibid., p.291f. 5 W. Chan, I. al Faruqi, J. Kitagawa and P.T Raju., eds. The Great Asian Religions, p 101. 6 J. M Roberts, The Penguin History of the World, 5th edition, Penguin Books, London and New York, 1976, p.137. 7 See Chapter Two “The Story of Confucius” in Rodney L. Taylor’s, Confucianism, Chelsea House Publishers, Philadelphia, 2004. 8 Scriptures of the East, p.147 9 See Terry Tak-ling Woo’s discussion in “Chinese and Korean Traditions” in World Religions: Eastern Traditions, eds. Roy Amore, Amir Hussain and Willard Oxtoby, p.290. 10 Ibid., p.294. 11 J. Adler, Chinese Religious Traditions, p.33. 12 This subject is discussed at length by Xinzhong Yao’s An Introduction to Confucianism, Cambridge University Press, New York, 2000, p.12f. 13 Ninian Smart, The Religious Experience, p.127-128. See Terry Tak-ling Woo’s discussion of Mencius in the chapter entitled “Chinese and Korean Traditions” in World Religions: Eastern Traditions, eds. Roy Amore, Amir Hussain and Willard Oxtoby, p.296. also see J. Adler, Chinese Religious Traditions, Ch. 2 and 3 for a description of the religious ideas of Mencius and Xunzi. 14 For more on Mozi and Yangzhu, see Ninian Smart, The Religious Experience, pp.126-129. 15 Ninian Smart, The Religious Experience, p.128; see also Roy Amore, Amir Hussain and Willard Oxtoby, eds. World Religions: Eastern Traditions, p.296. 16 Ninian Smart, The Religious Experience, p.128; see also see also Roy Amore, Amir Hussain and Willard Oxtoby, eds. World Religions: Eastern Traditions, p..297. 17 Ninian Smart and Richard Hecht, eds. Sacred Texts of the World, p.316. 18 An excellent discussion of Daoist beliefs and practices is provided in Paula Hartz’s Daoism, Chelsea House, 3rd edition, New York, 2009. 19 Shih-chi, p.63.2139; excerpted from Scriptures of the East, p.182. 20 Some of the legends surrounding the figure of Laozi are discussed by Stephen Prothero in Religion Matters, p.396-397. 21 Daodejing1.1-2; see W. Chan, I. al Faruqi, J. Kitagawa and P.T Raju., eds. The Great Asian Religions, p 151. 22 Daodejong14.1-6; see W. Chan, I. al Faruqi, J. Kitagawa and P.T Raju., eds. The Great Asian Religions, p.152 23 Ibid., 2.1-5,11.

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24 See Ninian Smart ‘s discussion Chinese religion and its relationship to politics in The Religious Experience, p.130. 25 Philosophical and Religious Daoism are discussed in Terry Tak-ling Woo’s chapter entitled “Chinese and Korean Traditions” in World Religions: Eastern Traditions, eds. Roy Amore, Amir Hussain and Willard Oxtoby, p.299-300. 26 Ibid., p.312-313.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adler, Joseph, Chinese Religious Traditions, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 2002. Allchin, B. and R., The Birth of the Indian Civilization, Penguin Books, New York, 1968. Armstrong, Karen, The great transformation: The beginning of our religious traditions, Knopf, New York, 2006. Berger, Peter, The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion, Anchor Books, New York, 1967. Burrows, Millar, The Dead Sea Scrolls, Viking Press, New York,1956. Chan, W., I. al Faruqi, I., Kitagawa, J., and Raju P.T, eds. The Great Asian Religions, Macmillan, London, 1969. Conze, Edward, Buddhism: Its Essence and Development, Harper and Row, New York, 1959. de Bary, W., Chan, Wing-tsi and Watson, B., eds. Sources of Chinese Tradition, Columbia, University Press, New York and London,1960. Dodds, E.R., The Greeks and the Irrational, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1951. Dumezil, Georges The Destiny of the Warrior, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill, 1970. —. Archaic Roman Religion, 2 vols., John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, 1996. Eliade, Mircea, The Sacred and the Profane, trans. Willard Trask, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York, 1959. —. Essential Sacred Writings from Around the World, Harper, San Francisco, 1967. —. A History of Religious Ideas, 2 vols., trans. Willard Trask, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill.,1982. Fieser, James, and John Powers, eds. Scriptures of the East, McGraw Hill Publishers, New York, 1998. Hornung, Eric, Akhenaten and the Religion of Light, trans. David Lorton, Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 1999. Hussain, Amir, Roy C. Amore, Roy C., and Willard Oxtoby, Willard, eds. World Religions, 2 vols., 5th edition, Oxford University Press, New York and London, 2019.

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Jackson, Abraham, Zoroaster: Prophet of Ancient Iran, MacMillan Press, London, 1899. Jaspers, Karl, The Origin and Goal of History, trans. M. Bullock, Routledge and Paul, London, 1949. Muller, Max., ed. Sacred Books of the East, 22 vols., Oxford at the Clarendon Press, Oxford, England, 1899. Murti, T.R. V. The Central Philosophy of Buddhism, George Allen and Unwin, Ltd, London, 1970. Nilsson, Martin, A History of Greek Religion, Oxford at the Clarendon Press, London, 1949. Parrinder, Geo., ed. World Religions: From Ancient History to the Present, Facts on File Press, New York, 1971. Philostratus, The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, ed. and trans. Christopher P. Jones, Harvard University Press, 2005, Loeb Classical Edition. Plato, Apology, trans. C.D C. Reeves, in The Trials of Socrates: Six Classic Texts, ed. C. D. C Reeves, Hackett Publishing, Indianapolis, Indiana, 2002. Pritchard, James B., ed. The Ancient Near East, Princeton University Press, 2 vols., Princeton, New, Jersey, 1958. Radhakrishnan Sarvepali and Moore, Charles, eds. A Sourcebook of Indian Philosophy, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1957. Rahula, Walpola, What the Buddha Taught, Grove Press, New York,1959. Roberts, J.M., The Penguin History of the World, 5th edition, Penguin Books, London and New York, 1976. . Smart, Ninian, The Religious Experience, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1996. Smart, Ninian and Hecht, Richard, eds. Sacred Texts of the World: A Universal Anthology, Crossroad Publishing Co., New York, 1982. Wade, Nicholas, A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History, Penguin Books, New York, 2014. Weber, Max, The Sociology of Religion, trans. Ephraim Fischoff, Beacon Press, Boston, 1963. Zaehner, R.C., The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism, Putnam, New York, 1961.

INDEX

Abraham 56-57,59,155 Age of Anxiety 9,166 Age of Awakening 2-4,23-25,162164; see Axial Age Agni 90,93 Agnosticism 124-125 Ahimsa (non-violence) 109-110, 117 Ahriman 38,41 Ahura Mazda 37-41,46,48,55,154 Ajiva (non-soul) 110-113 Akhenaten 14,25,27-35,51,55, 153 167; see Hymn to Aten Alexander the Great 9,47,60 Amon 35,58 Amosis, Pharaoh 34 Analects 138-139 Anatman (no soul)122 Ancestor worship 130-131,135 Angang 130 Animal sacrifice 42,56,101,117 Animism 31 Anthropomorphism 1112,24,31,55,64,66,8991,94,102,135,141,155 Apocalyptic literature 39,48,6061,156,168 Apollonius of Tyana 6,169 Area studies 10 Aristotle 70,78-80,169; see Greek philosophy, Plato and preSocratics Archangels 40-41,61 Ark of the Covenant 55 Armstrong, Karen 13,166 Aryans 89-91; see Indo-Europeans Asceticism 1,25,42,89,95,98,103104, 107, 110-117, 120, 158, 159; see Yoga Asha (the Truth) 39; see Druj

Aten 29-33 Atheism 76-77,125,157 Athens 65 Athena 65 Atman (individual soul) 96-98,120122,125,158 Augustine, St. 9, 82,164 Autocracy 8 Avesta 37-38, 41 Axial Age 1-12, 165, 166; see Age of Awakening Axis mundi (center of the world) 1112; see Mircea Eliade Babylonian Exile 1,47,51-54, 60, 155 Bellah, Robert 13, 166 Berger, Peter 23, 167 Bergson, Henri 16-17, 27, 38, 52,62,93; see Religion Boddhisattva (someone working towards Buddhahood) 122 Bodhi tree 5, 121-125, 159,161 Bounteous Immortals 48 Brahma 92,123,158 Brahman (universal soul) 2,94-97, 120, 122, 158, 163; see Atman Brahmins (priests) 6, 42, 89-88, 101-102, 104,107, 115-118, 122,127, 158, 164, 170; see Soma ritual, Horse ritual Buddha (Enlightened One) 4-6, 1314, 16, 25,42-42, 102, 107, 110, 115-127, 141, 148, 155, 158159, 163-164, 171; see the Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path and the Three Characteristics of Existence

178 Buddhism 2, 10, 97-98, 101-102, 113, 115, 118, 126-127, 141, 147-148, 161-164, 171 Caspian Sea 41 Caste system 88, 93, 101-102, 116, 157 Chauvet Cave 19 Chinese civilization 160-161 Christianity 9, 11, 28, 46-47, 49, 82, 168 Classical Greece 1, 24, 62-67, 8384, 124; see Greek religion Coffin Texts 33, 68 Confucianism 138, 140-151, 161162, 172 Confucius 1-3, 7, 10, 14, 16, 25, 133, 136-151, 164; see Mandate of Heaven and the Five Classics Cosmology; Archaic 11-12,18-21; Biblical 56-57; Egyptian 32-33; Jainism 110-113; Orphism 69-70; Zoroastrian 45-47; see Dualism Countermyth 27-28, 32-33, 35, 70 Critias 67 Cro-Magnons 18-19 Cula Malunkya Sutra 124 Dao (the Way) 2, 146-151, 161-163, 165, 172 Daodejing 148-150, 161-163, 172 Daoism 146-151, 161-162, 165, 172 Darius, King 41, 154 Darwin, Charles 18, 21, 166 Dead Sea Scrolls 47, 168 Democracy 8, 76,81 Democritus 67 Dharma (spiritual path) 112, 115, 118, 122, 126 Di, the Lord-on-High 131-132 Dilthey, Wilhelm 7, 166 Diogenes Laertes 68 Divination 130-131, 135, 171 Dodds, E.R. 9, 68-69, 166, 169 Doctrine of maybe 104, 124

Index Doctrine of the immortal soul 24, 60, 66, 68-70, 83, 157 Domestic rites 92 Druj (the Lie) 39; see Asha Dualism; Ethical Dualism 82, 111, 154; Metaphysical Dualism 43, 82, 111, 154, 168; Orphic dualism 69-70; see Cosmology Duke of Zhou 134-135,137 Dukkha (suffering) 122-123 Eastern Zhou 133 Edwards, Jonathan 8 Egalitarianism 98, 127 Egyptian civilization 29-31, 132 Egyptian polytheism 29-33 Eisenstadt, Samuel, N. 13, 166 Eightfold Path 5, 42, 123-124, 159, 163; see Buddha, the Four Noble Truths and the Three Characteristics of Existence Eliade, Mircea 11, 95, 166-170; see Axis Mundi Empiricism 79 Enuma Elish (Babylonian creation myth) 53 Eschatology 49, 164, 168 Ethical monotheism 27-28, 51-52, 155-156, 168; see Hebrew Prophets and Mosaic Covenant Fasting to death 111 Fate 132 Five Ages of Man 69-70, 169 Five Classics 23, 133, 136, 138, 142,160; see Confucius and the Mandate of Heaven Fire ritual 86 Four Noble Truths 5, 42, 123, 159; see Buddha, the Eightfold Path and the Three Characteristics of Existence Frazer, James 31, 167 Freedom of choice 3, 45-46 Ganges river 89, 99, 101 Gathas 6, 37, 40, 45, 48

The World of the Axial Sages Good, the 3, 69, 80, 82-83, 141, 149 Great Departure 119 Great Awakening 8-9 Greek philosophy 14, 37, 71, 80, 115, 155, 156; see Aristotle, Plato and pre-Socratics Greek religion 64-66, 169; Civic religion 65-66, 157; Delphic Oracle 65, 77; Hero cults 64; Mystery religions 64-68; see Classical Greece Hagiography 6, 37, 104-105, 118119 Haoma plant 42 Harappa 86-88, 157, 170 Hebrew Bible 3, 8, 23, 28, 31, 5152, 54, 60, 127, 142, 168-169; Daniel 30,39, 60-61, 156; Ecclesiastes 58; Genesis 53-56, 59, 155, 168; Enoch 61, 169; Exodus 54-55; IV Ezra 60; Isaiah 40, 52, 168; Jeremiah 40, 52, 155; Job 59-60, 137, 144, 148, 155156, 168-169; Psalms 55, 168, 171; Zechariah 60, 156; see Mosaic Covenant and Hebrew prophets Hebrew prophets 1-2, 6, 13-16, 24, 27-28, 40, 46-47, 51-62, 142, 153-156, 162; see Hebrew Bible and Mosaic Covenant Hegel, George 17, 79, 147, 166 Hegelian dialectic 64 Hellenistic Age 9 Hesiod 69-70, 169 Hinduism 2, 87, 164 Hindu trinity 92 Hittites 35, 56, 167 Homeric epics 64, 68 Horse ritual 92; see Brahmins Horus 32

179

Humaneness 139, 144-146, 160 Hyksos 34 Hymn to Aten 30, 167; see Akhenaten Iamblichus 6, 67, 70 Idealism 79, 144, 156 Iliad 64-65 Indo-Europeans 65,85-89, 97, 157 Indus river-valley civilization 89 Indra 88, 90-93, 103 Israel 51, 55, 57-58, 155 Israelites 34, 54-55, 163 Islam 9, 28, 30, 42, 49 Jainism 2, 6, 97-114, 124, 158-159, 164, 171; see Mahavira James, William 10, 165, 167; see Religious experience Jaspers, Karl 1, 10 Jesus of Nazareth 38, 41, 118, 121, 159 Jinas (conquerors)102-104, 107, 109, 159 Jiva (soul) 107-113, 159 Job 59-60, 137, 144, 148, 155-156, 168-169 Judaism 1, 9, 28, 47, 49, 51, 54-55, 60, 168 Judgement of the dead 24, 68, 155 Junzi (exemplary person) 139, 160 Kalpa Sutra 171 Karma (action) 2, 24, 96-98, 102, 108-113, 122, 125, 158-159; see Reincarnation and Samsara Lalitavistara Sutra 123 Lang, Andrew 31-32 Laozi 1, 2,14, 16, 146-151, 160-164, 172 Levi-Strauss, Claude 17, 166 Longshan 129 Maat 48 Magic 31, 64, 88, 154, 167 Mahavira 25, 41-43, 99, 101-115, 116-118, 120, 159, 163; see Jainism Maidhyoi-maonha 40

180 Mandate of Heaven 2, 25, 135-136, 139-142, 145, 150-151, 160,163; see Confucius and the Five Classics Manual of Discipline 47 Mara 121 Marcus Aurelius 9 Marduk 55 Mencius 138, 143-146, 161, 172 Mesopotamia 23, 31, 39, 44-45, 56, 86-87, 130-132, 167 Messiah 43, 60, 156 Metaphysics 75; see Cosmology and Dualism Middle Way 102, 115, 123-124, 159 Miraculous birth narratives 4 Minoans 65 Mithra 47-49, 168 Mohenjo-Daro 86, 157 Mosaic Covenant 58, 163; see Hebrew prophets and Hebrew Bible Muhammad 42 Mycenaeans 65-66 Mysticism 19, 64, 147 Neolithic Age 20-21, 129-130,153 Neolithic China 129 Netherworld 66 Nile river 22, 43, 153 Nirvana 163 Odyssey 64-65 Omniscience 103-104,107,109, 125 On Nature 72, 156 Oracle bones 131, 160, 171 Orpheus 69 Orphism 69-70 Osiris 29, 33, 68 Otto, Rudolf 10, 168; see Religious experience Paap (bad karma) 109, 111-112 Paleolithic Age 18-20 Pantheism 9 Parrinder, Geoffrey 104, 170-171 Parsva 103-104, 108 Parthenon 22 Patriarchs 54, 56, 61

Index Paul, St. 48 Periodization 9, 11 Persia 1, 35, 37, 39-42, 47, 154, 168 Phat 29 Philostratus 6, 67-68, 169 Plato 1, 2 ,6, 16, 24, 43, 60, 63, 6769, 70, 75-76, 78-83, 111, 127, 154, 156-157, 162-164, 168169; Allegory of the Cave 82-83; Apology 6,76-77,157,169; Euthyphro 76; Myth of Er 81, 157; Phaedo 78; Symposium 75; see Aristotle, Greek philosophy and preSocratics Polis 3, 29, 64-67, 69, 74-75, 78, 83, 169 Polytheism 28-29, 31, 39, 46, 90 Prajapati 95-97 pre-Socratics 63, 67, 71-73, 94, 156, 165; Anaxagoras 74-75; Anaximander 71,73; Anaximenes 71; Empedocles 73,75,156; Heraclitus 71,73; Parmenides 72-73; Protagoras 67, 74-75; Pythagoras 1, 2, 6, 13, 16, 6364, 67-73, 80, 83, 127, 156157; Thales of Miletus 71; Zeno of Elea 73; see Aristotle, Greek philosophy and Plato Problem of evil 57-60, 155 Prothero, Stephen 10, 166, 172 Pudgala (matter)112 Punjab 88 Punya (good karma) 109 Purusha 93, 95 Purusha Sukta 93 Qin dynasty 133 Rationalism 64

The World of the Axial Sages Reincarnation 24, 68, 70, 78, 80-81, 97-98, 107, 111, 122, 125, 157158 Re, the sun god 29, 32 REM (rapid eye movement) 15, 19 Ren (humaneness)139-140 Religion; Definition X; Differences between eastern and western religious traditions IX, 2-3; Problem of essentialism 10; Static and dynamic religion 1617, 27, 38,52,62, 93,101, 147,166; Religious change 7,9,13,23,25,32-33; Religious experience 4-5, 9-12, 27, 39, 63, 91, 101, 117, 127, 140, 162, 165, 167; see Henri Bergson, William James and Rudolf Otto Reincarnation 24, 68, 70, 78, 80-81, 97-98,107, 111, 122, 125, 157158; see Karma, Samsara Roberts, J.M. 135, 167, 170-172 Rta (cosmic order) 91, 93 Russell, Bertrand 64, 169 Sage-kings 2, 133, 139, 160, 172 Sala tree 107 Samsara (the continuing cycle of rebirths)2, 97, 158; see Karma and Reincarnation Sangha (community of believers) 6, 115, 126-127 Satan 3, 59, 121 Schmidt, Wilhelm 31-32, 167 Selections of Zat Sparam 39, 41 Shamanism 19, 69-70, 150, 156 Shang dynasty 130-135, 160, 172 Sheol (netherworld) 54 Shiva 87, 91-92 Shruti (that which is heard) 90 Siddhartha Gautama 5-6, 14, 99, 115-122, 171 Skepticism 67

181

Sky-Clad 107-110 Smart, Ninian 123, 168, 171-172 Smith, Jonathan 9-10, 165 Socrates 36, 69, 74-84, 157, 163, 169; see Plato Solemn rites 92 Soma 91 Soma ritual 42, 95; see Brahmins Son of Heaven 134, 136 Sophists 13, 46, 67, 77, 133-134, 157 Spring and Autumn Annals 133, 138 Ssu-ma-Ch’ien 6, 137, 147-148 Stages of Dependent Origination 125 Stages of sleep 15 Sutraprabrita 109 Syncretism 32 Tak-ling Woo, Terry 139, 172 Tapas (inner heat) 95, 170 Tell-e-Amara 35 Thebes 34-35 Theory of forms 60, 78, 82, 157, 164 Three Baskets 118 Three Characteristics of Existence 122; see Buddha, Buddhism, the Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths Three Jewels of Buddhism 6, 115, 126 Thutmose I 34 Tigrus-Euphrates River Valley 153 Tirhankara (ford maker)103 Titans 69-70 Torah 51-53, 58 Twins (Holy Spirit and Destructive Spirit) 46 Tuat (underworld) 33 Tutankhaten 35 Vallely, Anne 4, 165, 170-171 Van der Leeuw, Gerardus 5, 165 Varuna 88, 91,93 Vedas 23, 89-94, 97-98, 102 110, 116-117, 158; Atharva Veda 90;

182 Rig Veda 11, 90-91, 94-95, 101, 170; Sama Veda 90, 92; Upanishads 6,11, 69, 89-98, 136, 158, 164, 168,170; Yajur Veda 10 Vedic India 14, 42, 88, 99 Vendidad 37 Vishnu 91-92 Vishtaspa, King 41-42 Visparad 37 Vohu Manah 40 Wach, Joachim 6, 10, 165 Warring States Period 133, 143-145, 150, 161 Weber, Max 13, 166 Western Zhou 133 White-Clad 107-110 Works and Days 69 Wu, King 133-135

Index Xunzi 14, 138, 143, 145-146, 161, 172 Yama 96 Yangshao 129 Yao 134, 172 Yashts 37 Yasna 37, 168 Yellow River 129-130, 155 Yoga 89, 95, 97, 101, 120, 158, 170; see Asceticism Zaehner, R.C. 2, 165, 168 Zeus 70 Zhou dynasty 2, 133-135, 139-140, 143, 148, 150, 160, 172 Zoroaster 3, 4, 6,13-14, 16, 24,28, 37-55, 58, 82, 102, 111, 121, 128, 142,154-156, 161-164, 167-168 Zoroastrianism 1, 6, 30, 37-38, 4142, 46, 49, 167-168