Religion: The Journey - 2
By Syed Osman Sher
Mississauga, Canada
We have seen that in the pantheon of gods, people had generally made arrangements for the position of a chief god along with the lesser gods. For example, in the Sumerian mythology first Anu, and later Marduk became the Chief god. In Greek mythology, the chief god was Uranus, the god of the sky, who was later replaced by his son Coronus, who in turn was deposed by his son Zeus.
In the early stages of mental development, man encountered so many forces affecting his life that he was inclined to worship many gods. He could not imagine that there could be a single entity, which alone could create and run this vast Universe. The natural outcome of a belief in so many supernatural forces was polytheism. ‘Polytheism has been the strongest appeal of paganism to weak souls in all times and places.’ Later, when man attained maturity and his sense of perception developed, he realized that the natural forces, no doubt, did have effects on his life but they could be placed in check by the man himself. Therefore, he concluded that there should be a much greater power, or powers, which created this universe, and that the forces of nature have been placed inside the universe merely as fuel to keep the engine running in its myriad and mysterious ways.
Proceeding from this point we face the question: If there is God, is it one or many? If many, can it be workable? Philosophers and religious thinkers have held conflicting opinions. Some believed in the oneness of the Divinity while others in its plurality. They also sometimes argued that the universe is the product of a committee of designers and the result of “the corporate endeavors of gods”. As men jointly produce and run a corporation or government, so do gods. Contradicting this theory, the philosophers like David Hume and Richard Swinburne are of the opinion that “If there were more than one deity responsible for the order of the Universe, we should expect to see characteristic marks of the handiwork of different deities in different parts of the Universe”. Qur’an also says: “If there were, in the heavens and the earth, other gods besides Allah, there would have been confusion in both!” (21.22)
In the sea of polytheism, however, we find many a spark kindling man’s mind from time to time with the feeling that there is only one God. Many religions of today claim to have belief in monotheism, like Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Sikhism. But such beliefs are generally polluted with polytheism in one way or the other. It is only Islam’s monotheism which is so perfect that without professing the undiluted unity of God one cannot be deemed a Muslim. Not an iota of plurality in this regard is tolerable. In Qur’an, God makes it clear that no sins would be unpardonable but the one associating another entity with God. The great poet Ghalib has summed up the concept of Divine Unity in the following couplet:
Usay kaun dekh sakta, kay yagana hai woh yakta
Jo duii ki boo bhi hoti to kaheen do char hota.
(How one can see Him, since that One is Unique
Had there been even a semblance of dualism, many would be around).
Let us now look at monotheism as professed in various times and places.
Egyptian: In the midst of polytheism, a young pharaoh, Amenhotep, made an effort for monotheism to be universally acceptable in Egypt. Realizing the sun as the life-giver, which through its warmth produced the light, seasons, rains, grains, and everything that could sustain life on this earth, he thought that only it must be a god of distinction. Amenhotep ordered his subjects to worship Aton (solar disc) as the one and only God and to obliterate totally the names and figures of all other gods from all places. But this movement for monotheism did not last long. Ikhnaton’s son-in-law, the famous Tutankhaton, who succeeded him, reversed everything. He restored all the older gods, and expunged the name of Aton from everywhere in the same manner as had been done by his predecessor.
Greek : A number of Greek poets and philosophers had shown their skepticism towards polytheism. “Greek philosophy began as monism: everything in the universe is some form or other of one thing. Thales said this substance was water; Anaximenes, that it was air; Heraclitus, that it was fire; and Anaximander, that it was an indeterminate somewhat. Whatever it was, it was creative or divine, they all agreed. Xenophanes was sure that the creative power was ‘one god greatest among gods and men, not like mortals in form, nor yet in mind. He sees all over, thinks all over, and hears all over” (Man’s Religions (Revised Edition) by John B. Noss, The Macmillan Company, New York, p. 82). Even Plato, being disgusted with the waywardness of the Greek gods, believed that there must be a being, which was nobler and was truly righteous and just. He thought that this Creator was an embodiment of all the highest values; he was the Supreme Good.
Hindu : Hinduism is a classic example of apparent and rampant polytheism although its various scriptures lay stress on monotheism. There is only one God, not the second; not at all, not at all, not in the least bit (Brahma Sutra). He is One only without a second (Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1). Of Him there are neither parents nor lord (Svetasvatara Upanishad 6:9). He is devoid of body (Yajurveda 40:8). Let us offer our worship to the Eternal of infinite forms, of stability immeasurable, of vision unbounded, of knowledge absolute, with arms all-embracing, with names without number, the Eternal Witness of all Life, the Timeless Holder of all ages of time and history. Obeisance to Him! (Vishnu-Sahasra-nama). Those who are well versed in these scriptures, feel that a Hindu should believe in and worship only one God. But old belief dies hard.
Abrahamic : Prophet Abraham, born in Ur around 1900 BC, was the leader of one of the migrating Hebrew tribes. He chose El-Shaddai, or the El of the Mountains as his God, which had belonged to Harran. He professed that there is only one God. “Abraham exercised faith in God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:3). He professed that there is only one God. He admonished his father for believing in the multiplicity of gods, argued with people in this regard, and even smashed their idols.
Judaic : The one great theme of Judaism is that there is one single God at work. But the Jews have gone also after false gods from time to time. In the time of Moses, they made a calf of molten gold and worshipped it as god. This is why the prime Commandment in God’s compact with the Jews was You shall have no other gods before Me.’" (Exodus 20:1–3). In order to please his foreign wives Solomon had filled Jerusalem with shrines of foreign deities. Then in the time of Assyrian tutelage they once again forgot the existence of a single God. A sect of the Jews believed Ezra (‘Uzair) as a son of God. Old Testament says, “Now it came to be the day when the sons of the [true]God entered to take their station before Yahweh, and even Satan proceeded to enter right among them (Job 1:6)
Christian : The mission of Jesus was solely to establish God’s worship. He was a Semite, a scion of Abraham, and what he preached was the original preaching of Abraham, i.e., the existence of one God. But it was due to Paul’s efforts that Jesus’ teaching of one God was annulled and Jesus himself was made divine. Taking Christianity to pagan Greeks and Romans, who already believed in myriad of gods, it was easy for him to spread Christianity by creating a Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Thomas Paine observes about the present shape of Christianity: “As to the Christian system of faith, it appears to me as a species of atheism; a sort of religious denial of God. It professes to believe in a man rather than in God. It is a compound made up chiefly of man-ism with but little deism, and it is as near to atheism as twilight is to darkness”.
Pre-Islamic Hunufa in Arabia : Like other places on the surface of the earth, Arabia too was polytheistic except that in its various regions many people professed Judaism and Christianity. However, during the 4 th and 5 th centuries there arose in some people a belief in One God, who was referred to as Rahman, meaning the Merciful. The followers of such a belief belonged to the sect of the Hunufa, or the upright people. Qur’an attributes this quality many times about Abraham. It says in Sura 16 verse 120: “Abraham was indeed a model, devoutly obedient to God, and true in faith (Hanif), and he joined not gods with Allah.” It further says in Surah 3:67: “Abraham was not a Jew nor yet a Christian; but he was Upright (Hanif), and bowed his will to God’s, and he joined not gods with Allah.”
EndNote: While discussing religion and deity we also find some religions where God does not exist. The most notable among the godless religions is Buddhism where man is the arbiter of his own fate after death. His bad deeds cause him to take continuous rebirth and suffer in life. Only, his piety makes him free of this suffering by attaining Nirvana or Deliverance.
In its long journey, we see religion emerging from murkiness to a state where the fear of forces of nature defines it, but having the least concern with morals. Becoming more intelligence-oriented through the ages, however, religion starts classifying human behavior as good and bad, virtuous and sinful, and ultimately becomes the guardian of morals and the adjudicator of man’s actions in the after-life.
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