Knjiga Urantije
DIO III. Povijest Urantije
POGLAVLJE 94 : MELKIZEDEKOVA UČENJA NA ISTOKU
Sekcije
- Uvod
- § 1. SALEMSKA UČENJA U VEDSKOJ INDIJI
- § 2. BRAHMANIZAM
- § 3. BRAHMANSKA FILOZOFIJA
- § 4. HINDUISTIČKA RELIGIJA
- § 5. BORBA ZA ISTINU U KINI
- § 6. LAO-TSE I KONFUCIJE
- § 7. GAUTAMA SIDDHARTHA
- § 8. BUDISTIČKA VJERA
- § 9. ŠIRENJE BUDIZMA
- § 10. RELIGIJA U TIBETU
- § 11. BUDISTIČKA FILOZOFIJA
- § 12. POJAM BOGA U BUDIZMU
Paper 94
The Melchizedek Teachings in the Orient
The Melchizedek Teachings in the Orient
Sections
- Introduction
- § 1. The Salem Teachings in Vedic India
- § 2. Brahmanism
- § 3. Brahmanic Philosophy
- § 4. The Hindu Religion
- § 5. The Struggle for Truth in China
- § 6. Lao-Tse and Confucius
- § 7. Gautama Siddhartha
- § 8. The Buddhist Faith
- § 9. The Spread of Buddhism
- § 10. Religion in Tibet
- § 11. Buddhist Philosophy
- § 12. The God Concept of Buddhism
RANI učitelji salemske religije prodrli su do najudaljenijih plemena Afrike i Euroazije, neprestano propovijedajući evanđelje Makivente o čovjekovoj vjeri i pouzdanju u jednoga univerzalnog Boga kao jedinu cijenu za stjecanje božanske naklonosti. Savez Melkizedeka s Abrahamom bio je uzor za svu ranu propagandu koja je izlazila iz Salema i drugih središta. Urantija nikada nije imala oduševljenije i poduzetnije misionare ijedne religije od ovih plemenitih muškaraca i žena koji su nosili melkizedekova učenja diljem cijele istočne hemisfere. Ovi su misionari bili regrutirani iz mnogih naroda i rasa, a svoja su učenja uglavnom širili putem domaćih obraćenika. Osnivali su obrazovne centre u različitim dijelovima svijeta gdje su poučavali lokalno stanovništvo salemskoj religiji, a zatim su te učenike ovlašćivali da djeluju kao učitelji među vlastitim narodom.
94:0.1 (1027.1)
THE early teachers of the Salem religion penetrated to the remotest tribes of Africa and Eurasia, ever preaching Machiventa’s gospel of man’s faith and trust in the one universal God as the only price of obtaining divine favor. Melchizedek’s covenant with Abraham was the pattern for all the early propaganda that went out from Salem and other centers. Urantia has never had more enthusiastic and aggressive missionaries of any religion than these noble men and women who carried the teachings of Melchizedek over the entire Eastern Hemisphere. These missionaries were recruited from many peoples and races, and they largely spread their teachings through the medium of native converts. They established training centers in different parts of the world where they taught the natives the Salem religion and then commissioned these pupils to function as teachers among their own people.
U vrijeme Melkizedeka, Indija je bila kozmopolitska zemlja koja je nedavno došla pod političku i religijsku dominaciju arijsko-anditskih osvajača sa sjevera i zapada. U to su vrijeme samo sjeverni i zapadni dijelovi poluotoka bili uvelike prožeti Arijcima. Ovi vedski došljaci sa sobom su donijeli svoja brojna plemenska božanstva. Njihovi oblici štovanja usko su slijedili ceremonijalne prakse njihovih ranijih anditskih predaka, pri čemu je otac i dalje djelovao kao svećenik, a majka kao svećenica, dok je obiteljsko ognjište još uvijek služilo kao oltar.
94:1.1 (1027.2)
In the days of Melchizedek, India was a cosmopolitan country which had recently come under the political and religious dominance of the Aryan-Andite invaders from the north and west. At this time only the northern and western portions of the peninsula had been extensively permeated by the Aryans. These Vedic newcomers had brought along with them their many tribal deities. Their religious forms of worship followed closely the ceremonial practices of their earlier Andite forebears in that the father still functioned as a priest and the mother as a priestess, and the family hearth was still utilized as an altar.
Vedski kult tada je bio u procesu rasta i preobrazbe pod vodstvom brahmanske kaste učitelja-svećenika, koji su postupno preuzimali kontrolu nad sve složenijim obredima štovanja. Stapanje nekadašnjih trideset i triju arijskih božanstva bilo je već uvelike u tijeku kada su salemski misionari prodrli na sjever Indije.
94:1.2 (1027.3)
The Vedic cult was then in process of growth and metamorphosis under the direction of the Brahman caste of teacher-priests, who were gradually assuming control over the expanding ritual of worship. The amalgamation of the onetime thirty-three Aryan deities was well under way when the Salem missionaries penetrated the north of India.
Mnogoboštvo ovih Arijaca predstavljalo je degradaciju njihova ranijeg monoteizma, uzrokovanu razbijanjem na plemenske jedinice, gdje svako pleme štuje svoje božanstvo. Ova devolucija izvornog monoteizma i trojednog koncepta iz anditske Mezopotamije bila je u procesu ponovne sinteze u ranim stoljećima drugog tisućljeća prije Krista. Mnoštvo bogova bilo je organizirano u panteon pod trojednim vodstvom Dyaus pitara, gospodara neba; Indre, silovitog gospodara atmosfere; i Agnija, troglavog boga vatre, gospodara zemlje i zakržljalog simbola ranijeg pojma Trojstva.
94:1.3 (1027.4)
The polytheism of these Aryans represented a degeneration of their earlier monotheism occasioned by their separation into tribal units, each tribe having its venerated god. This devolution of the original monotheism and trinitarianism of Andite Mesopotamia was in process of resynthesis in the early centuries of the second millennium before Christ. The many gods were organized into a pantheon under the triune leadership of Dyaus pitar, the lord of heaven; Indra, the tempestuous lord of the atmosphere; and Agni, the three-headed fire god, lord of the earth and the vestigial symbol of an earlier Trinity concept.
Jasni henoteistički razvojni oblici utirali su put razvijenom monoteizmu. Agni, najstarije božanstvo, često je bio uzdizan kao očinski poglavar čitavog panteona. Načelo božanstva-oca, ponekad nazivano Prajapati, a ponekad Brahma, bilo je potisnuto u teološkoj borbi koju su brahmanski svećenici kasnije vodili sa salemskim učiteljima. Brahman je bio shvaćen kao načelo energije-božanstva koje pokreće čitav vedski panteon.
94:1.4 (1027.5)
Definite henotheistic developments were paving the way for an evolved monotheism. Agni, the most ancient deity, was often exalted as the father-head of the entire pantheon. The deity-father principle, sometimes called Prajapati, sometimes termed Brahma, was submerged in the theologic battle which the Brahman priests later fought with the Salem teachers. The Brahman was conceived as the energy-divinity principle activating the entire Vedic pantheon.
Salemski misionari propovijedali su jednoga Boga Melkizedeka, Svevišnjeg neba. Ovo prikazivanje nije bilo posve u neskladu s nastajućim poimanjem Oca-Brahme kao izvora svih bogova, ali salemska doktrina bila je neritualistička te je stoga izravno proturječila dogmama, tradicijama i učenjima brahmanskog svećenstva. Brahmanski svećenici nikada ne bi prihvatili salemsko učenje o spasenju kroz vjeru, ideju da čovjek može primiti Božju naklonost na bilo koji način osim putem obrednih praksi i žrtvenih ceremonija.
94:1.5 (1028.1)
The Salem missionaries preached the one God of Melchizedek, the Most High of heaven. This portrayal was not altogether disharmonious with the emerging concept of the Father-Brahma as the source of all gods, but the Salem doctrine was nonritualistic and hence ran directly counter to the dogmas, traditions, and teachings of the Brahman priesthood. Never would the Brahman priests accept the Salem teaching of salvation through faith, favor with God apart from ritualistic observances and sacrificial ceremonials.
Odbacivanje Melkizedekovog evanđelja povjerenja u Boga i spasenja kroz vjeru označilo je presudnu prekretnicu za Indiju. Salemski misionari uvelike su pridonijeli gubitku vjere u sva drevna vedska božanstva, ali vođe, svećenici vedizma, odbili su prihvatiti Melkizedekovo učenje o jednom Bogu i jednoj jednostavnoj vjeri.
94:1.6 (1028.2)
The rejection of the Melchizedek gospel of trust in God and salvation through faith marked a vital turning point for India. The Salem missionaries had contributed much to the loss of faith in all the ancient Vedic gods, but the leaders, the priests of Vedism, refused to accept the Melchizedek teaching of one God and one simple faith.
Brahmani su prikupljali sveta pisma svoga vremena u nastojanju da se suprotstave salemskim učiteljima, a ta je zbirka, kasnije revidirana, opstala do današnjih vremena kao Rig-Veda, jedna od najstarijih svetih knjiga. Druga, treća i četvrta Veda uslijedile su kako su brahmani nastojali učvrstiti, formalizirati i ustaliti svoje obrede štovanja i žrtvovanja među tadašnjim narodima. U svom najboljem obliku, ovi su spisi ravni bilo kojem drugom korpusu slične naravi po ljepoti poimanja i pronicljivosti istine. No kako je ova uzvišenija religija bila onečišćena tisućama i tisućama praznovjerja, kultova i obreda južne Indije, postupno se preobrazila u najraznolikiji sustav teologije koji je smrtni čovjek ikada razvio. Proučavanje Veda otkriva neke od najuzvišenijih, kao i neke od najnižih koncepcija Božanstva koje su ikada bile zamišljene.
94:1.7 (1028.3)
The Brahmans culled the sacred writings of their day in an effort to combat the Salem teachers, and this compilation, as later revised, has come on down to modern times as the Rig-Veda, one of the most ancient of sacred books. The second, third, and fourth Vedas followed as the Brahmans sought to crystallize, formalize, and fix their rituals of worship and sacrifice upon the peoples of those days. Taken at their best, these writings are the equal of any other body of similar character in beauty of concept and truth of discernment. But as this superior religion became contaminated with the thousands upon thousands of superstitions, cults, and rituals of southern India, it progressively metamorphosed into the most variegated system of theology ever developed by mortal man. An examination of the Vedas will disclose some of the highest and some of the most debased concepts of Deity ever to be conceived.
Kako su salemski misionari prodirali prema jugu u dravidski Dekan, nailazili su na sve razvijeniji kastinski sustav, zamišljen od strane Arijaca kako bi spriječili gubitak rasnog identiteta pred nadolazećim valom sekundarnih sangičkih naroda. Budući da je brahmanska svećenička kasta bila sama srž tog sustava, ovaj je društveni poredak uvelike usporio napredak salemskih učitelja. Ovaj kastinski sustav nije uspio sačuvati arijsku rasu, ali je uspio održati Brahmane, koji su zauzvrat očuvali svoju religijsku hegemoniju u Indiji sve do današnjih dana.
94:2.1 (1028.4)
As the Salem missionaries penetrated southward into the Dravidian Deccan, they encountered an increasing caste system, the scheme of the Aryans to prevent loss of racial identity in the face of a rising tide of the secondary Sangik peoples. Since the Brahman priest caste was the very essence of this system, this social order greatly retarded the progress of the Salem teachers. This caste system failed to save the Aryan race, but it did succeed in perpetuating the Brahmans, who, in turn, have maintained their religious hegemony in India to the present time.
A sada, s oslabljenjem vedizma uslijed odbacivanja viših istina, kult Arijaca postao je sve izloženiji prodorima iz Dekana. U očajničkom pokušaju da zaustavi val rasnog nestajanja i religijskog zatiranja, brahmanska kasta nastojala je uzvisiti samu sebe iznad svega ostalog. Učili su da je prinošenje žrtava božanstvu samo po sebi sveučinkovito i neodoljivo u svojoj snazi. Proglasili su da od dva temeljna božanska načela svemira jedno jest Brahman kao božanstvo, a drugo brahmansko svećenstvo. Ni među jednim drugim narodima na Urantiji svećenici nisu sebi prisvajali uzdizanje iznad čak i svojih bogova, niti su sebi pripisivali počasti koje pripadaju njihovim božanstvima. No otišli su tako daleko u tim oholim tvrdnjama da se cijeli taj krhki sustav urušio pod utjecajem degradirajućih kultova koji su nadirali iz okolnih i manje razvijenih civilizacija. Golemo vedsko svećenstvo samo je posrnulo i potonulo pod tamnim valom tromosti i pesimizma koji je njihova vlastita sebična i nerazborita oholost navukla na čitavu Indiju.
94:2.2 (1028.5)
And now, with the weakening of Vedism through the rejection of higher truth, the cult of the Aryans became subject to increasing inroads from the Deccan. In a desperate effort to stem the tide of racial extinction and religious obliteration, the Brahman caste sought to exalt themselves above all else. They taught that the sacrifice to deity in itself was all-efficacious, that it was all-compelling in its potency. They proclaimed that, of the two essential divine principles of the universe, one was Brahman the deity, and the other was the Brahman priesthood. Among no other Urantia peoples did the priests presume to exalt themselves above even their gods, to relegate to themselves the honors due their gods. But they went so absurdly far with these presumptuous claims that the whole precarious system collapsed before the debasing cults which poured in from the surrounding and less advanced civilizations. The vast Vedic priesthood itself floundered and sank beneath the black flood of inertia and pessimism which their own selfish and unwise presumption had brought upon all India.
Nesrazmjerna usmjerenost na sebstvo neminovno je vodila strahu od neevolutivnog održavanja sebstva u beskrajnim krugovima uzastopnih inkarnacija u obliku čovjeka, životinje ili biljke. A od svih onečišćujućih vjerovanja koja su se mogla vezati uz nastajući monoteizam, nijedno nije bilo toliko zaglupljujuće kao vjerovanje u transmigraciju — doktrinu reinkarnacije duša — koje je poteklo iz dravidskog Dekana. Ovo vjerovanje u zamorni i jednolični krug ponovljenih transmigracija lišilo je napaćene smrtnike njihove dugo njegovane nade da će u smrti pronaći oslobođenje i duhovni napredak, što je bilo sastavni dio ranije vedske vjere.
94:2.3 (1029.1)
The undue concentration on self led certainly to a fear of the nonevolutionary perpetuation of self in an endless round of successive incarnations as man, beast, or weeds. And of all the contaminating beliefs which could have become fastened upon what may have been an emerging monotheism, none was so stultifying as this belief in transmigration—the doctrine of the reincarnation of souls—which came from the Dravidian Deccan. This belief in the weary and monotonous round of repeated transmigrations robbed struggling mortals of their long-cherished hope of finding that deliverance and spiritual advancement in death which had been a part of the earlier Vedic faith.
Ovo učenje, filozofski izrazito debilitirajuće, ubrzo je bilo praćeno izumom doktrine o vječnom bijegu od sebstva kroz uranjanje u sveopći mir i počinak apsolutnog jedinstva s Brahmanom, naddušom sveukupnog stvaranja. Smrtnikove težnje i ljudske ambicije bile su učinkovito opustošene i gotovo potpuno uništene. Više od dvije tisuće godina najbolji umovi Indije nastojali su pobjeći od svake želje, i time su širom otvorili vrata za prodor kasnijih kultova i učenja koja su u biti okovala duše mnogih hinduskih naroda lancima duhovnog beznađa. Od svih civilizacija, vedsko-arijska platila je najstrašniju cijenu za odbacivanje salemskog evanđelja.
94:2.4 (1029.2)
This philosophically debilitating teaching was soon followed by the invention of the doctrine of the eternal escape from self by submergence in the universal rest and peace of absolute union with Brahman, the oversoul of all creation. Mortal desire and human ambition were effectually ravished and virtually destroyed. For more than two thousand years the better minds of India have sought to escape from all desire, and thus was opened wide the door for the entrance of those later cults and teachings which have virtually shackled the souls of many Hindu peoples in the chains of spiritual hopelessness. Of all civilizations, the Vedic-Aryan paid the most terrible price for its rejection of the Salem gospel.
Sama kasta nije mogla održati arijski religijsko-kulturni sustav, i kako su inferiorne religije Dekana prodirale na sjever, razvilo se razdoblje očaja i beznađa. U tim se mračnim danima pojavio kult nenasilja prema životu, koji se održao sve do danas. Mnogi od novih kultova bili su zapravo ateistički, tvrdeći da je spasenje, ako je uopće moguće, dostižno jedino vlastitim naporima, bez pomoći sa strane. No kroz velik dio te nesretne filozofije mogu se razaznati iskrivljeni ostaci učenja Melkizedeka pa čak i Adama.
94:2.5 (1029.3)
Caste alone could not perpetuate the Aryan religio-cultural system, and as the inferior religions of the Deccan permeated the north, there developed an age of despair and hopelessness. It was during these dark days that the cult of taking no life arose, and it has ever since persisted. Many of the new cults were frankly atheistic, claiming that such salvation as was attainable could come only by man’s own unaided efforts. But throughout a great deal of all this unfortunate philosophy, distorted remnants of the Melchizedek and even the Adamic teachings can be traced.
To su bila vremena sastavljanja kasnijih spisa hinduističke vjere, Brahmana i Upanišada. Nakon što su odbacili učenja osobne religije kroz osobno iskustvo vjere s jednim Bogom, i nakon što su bili zasićeni bujicom degradirajućih i debilitirajućih kultova i vjerovanja iz Dekana, sa svojim antropomorfizmima i reinkarnacijama, brahmansko svećenstvo doživjelo je snažnu reakciju protiv tih iskvarenih vjerovanja; tu dolazi do jasnog nastojanja da se pronađe istinska stvarnost. Brahmani su nastojali deantropomorfizirati indijski pojam božanstva, ali su pritom zapali u tešku pogrešku depersonalizacije pojma Boga, te su umjesto uzvišenog i duhovnog ideala Rajskog Oca došli do udaljene i metafizičke ideje sveobuhvatnog Apsoluta.
94:2.6 (1029.4)
These were the times of the compilation of the later scriptures of the Hindu faith, the Brahmanas and the Upanishads. Having rejected the teachings of personal religion through the personal faith experience with the one God, and having become contaminated with the flood of debasing and debilitating cults and creeds from the Deccan, with their anthropomorphisms and reincarnations, the Brahmanic priesthood experienced a violent reaction against these vitiating beliefs; there was a definite effort to seek and to find true reality. The Brahmans set out to deanthropomorphize the Indian concept of deity, but in so doing they stumbled into the grievous error of depersonalizing the concept of God, and they emerged, not with a lofty and spiritual ideal of the Paradise Father, but with a distant and metaphysical idea of an all-encompassing Absolute.
U svojim nastojanjima samoodržanja, Brahmani su odbacili jednoga Boga Melkizedeka, i sada su se našli suočeni s hipotezom Brahmana, tog neodređenog i iluzornog filozofskog sebstva, neosobnog i nemoćnog „tog”, koje je ostavilo duhovni život Indije u bespomoćnom i jadnom stanju od tog nesretnog dana pa sve do dvadesetog stoljeća.
94:2.7 (1029.5)
In their efforts at self-preservation the Brahmans had rejected the one God of Melchizedek, and now they found themselves with the hypothesis of Brahman, that indefinite and illusive philosophic self, that impersonal and impotent it which has left the spiritual life of India helpless and prostrate from that unfortunate day to the twentieth century.
U vrijeme pisanja Upanišada u Indiji se pojavio budizam. No unatoč svojim uspjesima tijekom tisuću godina, nije se mogao natjecati s kasnijim hinduizmom; unatoč višoj moralnosti, njegov rani prikaz Boga bio je još slabije određen nego u hinduizmu, koji je dopuštao niža i osobna božanstva. Budizam je naposljetku ustuknuo u sjevernoj Indiji pred naletom militantnog islama sa svojim jasno određenim poimanjem Allaha kao vrhovnog Boga svemira.
94:2.8 (1029.6)
It was during the times of the writing of the Upanishads that Buddhism arose in India. But despite its successes of a thousand years, it could not compete with later Hinduism; despite a higher morality, its early portrayal of God was even less well-defined than was that of Hinduism, which provided for lesser and personal deities. Buddhism finally gave way in northern India before the onslaught of a militant Islam with its clear-cut concept of Allah as the supreme God of the universe.
Iako najviša faza brahmanizma jedva da se mogla nazvati religijom, ona je uistinu predstavljala jedno od najuzvišenijih posezanja smrtnog uma u područjima filozofije i metafizike. Zaputivši se u potragu za konačnom stvarnošću, indijski um nije stao dok nije spekulirao o gotovo svakoj fazi teologije, osim o dvama temeljnim pojmovima religije: postojanju Oca Svih svih stvorenih bića u svemiru i činjenici uzlaznog iskustva tih istih bića u svemiru dok nastoje doseći vječnog Oca, koji im je zapovjedio da budu savršeni kao što je i on savršen.
94:3.1 (1030.1)
While the highest phase of Brahmanism was hardly a religion, it was truly one of the most noble reaches of the mortal mind into the domains of philosophy and metaphysics. Having started out to discover final reality, the Indian mind did not stop until it had speculated about almost every phase of theology excepting the essential dual concept of religion: the existence of the Universal Father of all universe creatures and the fact of the ascending experience in the universe of these very creatures as they seek to attain the eternal Father, who has commanded them to be perfect, even as he is perfect.
U pojmu Brahmana, umovi toga vremena doista su pojmili ideju nekog sveprožimajućeg Apsoluta, jer je taj postulat istodobno bio poistovjećen sa stvaralačkom energijom i kozmičkom reakcijom. Brahman je bio shvaćen kao nešto izvan svake definicije, razumljivo jedino postupnim nijekanjem svih konačnih svojstava. To je nedvojbeno bilo vjerovanje u apsolutno, čak beskonačno biće, ali taj je pojam bio uglavnom lišen atributa ličnosti i stoga nije bio iskustveno dostupan pojedinačnim praktikantima religije.
94:3.2 (1030.2)
In the concept of Brahman the minds of those days truly grasped at the idea of some all-pervading Absolute, for this postulate was at one and the same time identified as creative energy and cosmic reaction. Brahman was conceived to be beyond all definition, capable of being comprehended only by the successive negation of all finite qualities. It was definitely a belief in an absolute, even an infinite, being, but this concept was largely devoid of personality attributes and was therefore not experiencible by individual religionists.
Brahman-Narajana bio je shvaćen kao Apsolut, beskonačno „ONO JEST”, iskonska stvaralačka potencija potencijalnog kozmosa, sveopće sebstvo koje postoji statično i potencijalno kroz svu vječnost. Da su filozofi toga vremena uspjeli učiniti sljedeći korak u poimanju Božanstva, da su mogli zamisliti Brahmana kao udružujuće i stvaralačko biće, kao ličnost kojoj mogu pristupiti stvorena i evoluirajuća bića, tada bi takvo učenje moglo postati najnapredniji prikaz Božanstva na Urantiji, jer bi obuhvatilo prvih pet razina ukupnog djelovanja Božanstva i možda naslutilo preostale dvije.
94:3.3 (1030.3)
Brahman-Narayana was conceived as the Absolute, the infinite IT IS, the primordial creative potency of the potential cosmos, the Universal Self existing static and potential throughout all eternity. Had the philosophers of those days been able to make the next advance in deity conception, had they been able to conceive of the Brahman as associative and creative, as a personality approachable by created and evolving beings, then might such a teaching have become the most advanced portraiture of Deity on Urantia since it would have encompassed the first five levels of total deity function and might possibly have envisioned the remaining two.
U određenim fazama, pojam Jedne Sveopće Nadduše kao ukupnosti zbroja sveukupnog postojanja stvorenih bića doveo je indijske filozofe vrlo blizu istini o Vrhovnom Biću, ali ta im istina nije bila od koristi jer nisu uspjeli razviti nikakav razuman ni racionalan osobni pristup ostvarenju svojeg teorijskog monoteističkog cilja Brahmana-Narajane.
94:3.4 (1030.4)
In certain phases the concept of the One Universal Oversoul as the totality of the summation of all creature existence led the Indian philosophers very close to the truth of the Supreme Being, but this truth availed them naught because they failed to evolve any reasonable or rational personal approach to the attainment of their theoretic monotheistic goal of Brahman-Narayana.
Načelo uzročnog kontinuiteta karme vrlo je blizu istini reperkusijske sinteze svih vremensko-prostornih djelovanja u prisutnosti Božanstva Vrhovnog; ali taj postulat nikada nije omogućio usklađeno osobno postignuće Božanstva od strane pojedinačnog religioznog čovjeka, već samo konačno utapanje svake ličnosti u Sveopćoj Nadduši.
94:3.5 (1030.5)
The karma principle of causality continuity is, again, very close to the truth of the repercussional synthesis of all time-space actions in the Deity presence of the Supreme; but this postulate never provided for the co-ordinate personal attainment of Deity by the individual religionist, only for the ultimate engulfment of all personality by the Universal Oversoul.
Filozofija brahmanizma također se vrlo približila spoznaji o unutarnjem prebivanju Ispravljača Misli, samo da bi bila izopačena pogrešnim shvaćanjem istine. Učenje da je duša prebivalište Brahmana otvorilo bi put naprednoj religiji da taj pojam nije bio potpuno izopačen vjerovanjem da ljudska individualnost ne može postojati odvojeno od Univerzalnog koji prebiva u čovjeku.
94:3.6 (1030.6)
The philosophy of Brahmanism also came very near to the realization of the indwelling of the Thought Adjusters, only to become perverted through the misconception of truth. The teaching that the soul is the indwelling of the Brahman would have paved the way for an advanced religion had not this concept been completely vitiated by the belief that there is no human individuality apart from this indwelling of the Universal One.
U doktrini o stapanju duše-sebstva s Naddušom, teolozi Indije nisu osigurali opstanak nečega ljudskog, nečega novog i jedinstvenog, nečega rođenog iz sjedinjenja volje čovjeka i volje Boga. Učenje o povratku duše Brahmanu usko je usporedivo s istinom o povratku Ispravljača u krilo Oca Svih, ali postoji nešto drugo, različito od Ispravljača, što također opstaje nakon smrti, a to je morontijski ekvivalent smrtne ličnosti. A taj je vitalni koncept kobno izostao iz brahmanske filozofije.
94:3.7 (1030.7)
In the doctrine of the merging of the self-soul with the Oversoul, the theologians of India failed to provide for the survival of something human, something new and unique, something born of the union of the will of man and the will of God. The teaching of the soul’s return to the Brahman is closely parallel to the truth of the Adjuster’s return to the bosom of the Universal Father, but there is something distinct from the Adjuster which also survives, the morontial counterpart of mortal personality. And this vital concept was fatally absent from Brahmanic philosophy.
Brahmanska filozofija približila se mnogim činjenicama svemira i dotaknula brojne kozmičke istine, ali je prečesto padala kao žrtva pogreške što nije razlikovala različite razine stvarnosti, poput apsolutne, transcendentalne i konačne. Nije uzimala u obzir da ono što može biti konačno-iluzorno na apsolutnoj razini može biti apsolutno stvarno na konačnoj razini. Također nije uzimala u obzir bitnu ličnost Oca Svih, koji je osobno dostupan na svim razinama, od ograničenog iskustva Boga kod evoluirajućeg stvorenog bića pa sve do neograničenog iskustva Vječnog Sina s Rajskim Ocem.
94:3.8 (1031.1)
Brahmanic philosophy has approximated many of the facts of the universe and has approached numerous cosmic truths, but it has all too often fallen victim to the error of failing to differentiate between the several levels of reality, such as absolute, transcendental, and finite. It has failed to take into account that what may be finite-illusory on the absolute level may be absolutely real on the finite level. And it has also taken no cognizance of the essential personality of the Universal Father, who is personally contactable on all levels from the evolutionary creature’s limited experience with God on up to the limitless experience of the Eternal Son with the Paradise Father.
S vremenom se stanovništvo Indije donekle vratilo drevnim obredima Veda u obliku koji je bio izmijenjen učenjima Melkizedekovih misionara i učvršćen djelovanjem kasnijeg brahmanskog svećenstva. Ova, najstarija i najkozmopolitskija od svih svjetskih religija, prošla je daljnje promjene pod utjecajem budizma i džainizma, kao i kasnijih utjecaja islama i kršćanstva. No, u vrijeme kad su u Indiju stigla Isusova učenja, ona su već bila u tolikoj mjeri obilježena zapadnjačkim biljegom da su djelovala kao „vjera bijelog čovjeka”, te su stoga bila čudna i strana hinduističkom umu.
94:4.1 (1031.2)
With the passing of the centuries in India, the populace returned in measure to the ancient rituals of the Vedas as they had been modified by the teachings of the Melchizedek missionaries and crystallized by the later Brahman priesthood. This, the oldest and most cosmopolitan of the world’s religions, has undergone further changes in response to Buddhism and Jainism and to the later appearing influences of Mohammedanism and Christianity. But by the time the teachings of Jesus arrived, they had already become so Occidentalized as to be a “white man’s religion,” hence strange and foreign to the Hindu mind.
2. Trimurti, vrhovno trojstvo hinduizma. U toj se povezanosti Brahma, kao prvi član, shvaća kao samostvoren iz Brahmana—beskonačnosti. Da nije bilo njegove uske poistovjećenosti s panteističkim Beskonačnim, Brahma bi mogao predstavljati temelj za pojam Oca Svih. Brahma se također poistovjećuje sa sudbinom.
94:4.4 (1031.5)
2. The Trimurti, the supreme trinity of Hinduism. In this association Brahma, the first member, is conceived as being self-created out of the Brahman—infinity. Were it not for close identification with the pantheistic Infinite One, Brahma could constitute the foundation for a concept of the Universal Father. Brahma is also identified with fate.
Štovanje drugog i trećeg člana, Šive i Višnua, pojavilo se u prvom tisućljeću nakon Krista. Šiva je gospodar života i smrti, bog plodnosti i gospodar razaranja. Višnu je iznimno popularan zbog vjerovanja da se povremeno utjelovljuje u ljudskom obliku. Na taj način Višnu postaje stvaran i živ u mašti Indijaca. Šiva i Višnu kod nekih se smatraju vrhovnima nad svima.
94:4.5 (1031.6)
The worship of the second and third members, Siva and Vishnu, arose in the first millennium after Christ. Siva is lord of life and death, god of fertility, and master of destruction. Vishnu is extremely popular due to the belief that he periodically incarnates in human form. In this way, Vishnu becomes real and living in the imaginations of the Indians. Siva and Vishnu are each regarded by some as supreme over all.
94:4.6 (1031.7)
3. Vedic and post-Vedic deities. Many of the ancient gods of the Aryans, such as Agni, Indra, and Soma, have persisted as secondary to the three members of the Trimurti. Numerous additional gods have arisen since the early days of Vedic India, and these have also been incorporated into the Hindu pantheon.
Iako hinduizam već dugo nije uspio oživjeti indijski narod, istodobno je obično bio tolerantna religija. Njegova velika snaga leži u tome što se pokazao kao najprilagodljivija, amorfna religija koja se pojavila na Urantiji. Sposoban je za gotovo neograničene promjene i posjeduje neobičan raspon prilagodljivosti, od visokih i polumonoteističkih spekulacija intelektualnog Brahmana do otvorenog fetišizma i primitivnih kultnih praksi potlačenih i neukih slojeva.
94:4.8 (1031.9)
While Hinduism has long failed to vivify the Indian people, at the same time it has usually been a tolerant religion. Its great strength lies in the fact that it has proved to be the most adaptive, amorphic religion to appear on Urantia. It is capable of almost unlimited change and possesses an unusual range of flexible adjustment from the high and semimonotheistic speculations of the intellectual Brahman to the arrant fetishism and primitive cult practices of the debased and depressed classes of ignorant believers.
Hinduizam je opstao jer je u biti sastavni dio temeljnog društvenog tkiva Indije. Nema veliku hijerarhiju koja bi se mogla poremetiti ili uništiti; utkan je u životni obrazac naroda. Njegova prilagodljivost promjenjivim okolnostima nadmašuje sve druge kultove, a pokazuje i tolerantan stav prihvaćanja prema mnogim drugim religijama, pri čemu se Gautama Buda pa čak i sam Krist smatraju inkarnacijama Višnua.
94:4.9 (1032.1)
Hinduism has survived because it is essentially an integral part of the basic social fabric of India. It has no great hierarchy which can be disturbed or destroyed; it is interwoven into the life pattern of the people. It has an adaptability to changing conditions that excels all other cults, and it displays a tolerant attitude of adoption toward many other religions, Gautama Buddha and even Christ himself being claimed as incarnations of Vishnu.
Danas je u Indiji velika potreba za objavom Isusovog evanđelja—da je Bog Otac, da je čovjek njegov sin i da su svi ljudi braća; stvarnosti koja se osobno ostvaruje kroz služenje iz ljubavi i društvenu službu. U Indiji filozofski okvir već postoji, kultna struktura je prisutna; sve što nedostaje jest oživljujuća iskra dinamične ljubavi prikazane u izvornom evanđelju Sina Čovječjeg, oslobođenom zapadnjačkih dogmi i doktrina koje su pridonijele tome da se Mihaelovo darivanje života shvati kao religija bijelog čovjeka.
94:4.10 (1032.2)
Today, in India, the great need is for the portrayal of the Jesusonian gospel—the Fatherhood of God and the sonship and consequent brotherhood of all men, which is personally realized in loving ministry and social service. In India the philosophical framework is existent, the cult structure is present; all that is needed is the vitalizing spark of the dynamic love portrayed in the original gospel of the Son of Man, divested of the Occidental dogmas and doctrines which have tended to make Michael’s life bestowal a white man’s religion.
Dok su salemski misionari prolazili Azijom, šireći učenje o Svevišnjem Bogu i spasenju kroz vjeru, usvajali su mnogo filozofije i religijske misli različitih zemalja kroz koje su prolazili. No, učitelji koje su Melkizedek i njegovi nasljednici obučili i poslali u svijet nisu podbacili u ispunjenju svojih dužnosti; prodrli su do svih naroda euroazijskog kontinenta, i sredinom drugog tisućljeća prije Krista stigli su u Kinu. U See Fuchu su više od stotinu godina održavali svoje sjedište, gdje su obučavali kineske učitelje koji su zatim poučavali diljem svih područja žute rase.
94:5.1 (1032.3)
As the Salem missionaries passed through Asia, spreading the doctrine of the Most High God and salvation through faith, they absorbed much of the philosophy and religious thought of the various countries traversed. But the teachers commissioned by Melchizedek and his successors did not default in their trust; they did penetrate to all peoples of the Eurasian continent, and it was in the middle of the second millennium before Christ that they arrived in China. At See Fuch, for more than one hundred years, the Salemites maintained their headquarters, there training Chinese teachers who taught throughout all the domains of the yellow race.
1. Preostala učenja Singlangtona, koja su se održala u pojmu Shang-tija, Boga Neba. U vrijeme Singlangtona kineski je narod bio gotovo monoteistički; usredotočili su svoje štovanje na Jednu Istinu, kasnije poznatu kao Duh Neba, vladar svemira. I žuta rasa nikada nije u potpunosti izgubila taj rani pojam Božanstva, premda su se u kasnijim stoljećima mnogi podređeni bogovi i duhovi potajno uvukli u njihovu religiju.
94:5.3 (1032.5)
1. The lingering teachings of Singlangton, which persisted in the concept of Shang-ti, the God of Heaven. In the times of Singlangton the Chinese people became virtually monotheistic; they concentrated their worship on the One Truth, later known as the Spirit of Heaven, the universe ruler. And the yellow race never fully lost this early concept of Deity, although in subsequent centuries many subordinate gods and spirits insidiously crept into their religion.
2. Salemska religija Svevišnjeg Stvoritelja koji daruje svoju naklonost čovječanstvu kao odgovor na čovjekovu vjeru. No posve je točno da je, do vremena kada su Melkizedekovi misionari prodrli u zemlje žute rase, njihova izvorna poruka bila znatno izmijenjena u odnosu na jednostavna učenja Salema iz vremena Makivente.
94:5.4 (1032.6)
2. The Salem religion of a Most High Creator Deity who would bestow his favor upon mankind in response to man’s faith. But it is all too true that, by the time the Melchizedek missionaries had penetrated to the lands of the yellow race, their original message had become considerably changed from the simple doctrines of Salem in the days of Machiventa.
94:5.5 (1032.7)
3. The Brahman-Absolute concept of the Indian philosophers, coupled with the desire to escape all evil. Perhaps the greatest extraneous influence in the eastward spread of the Salem religion was exerted by the Indian teachers of the Vedic faith, who injected their conception of the Brahman—the Absolute—into the salvationistic thought of the Salemites.
Ovo složeno vjerovanje širilo se zemljama žute i smeđe rase kao temeljni utjecaj u religijsko-filozofskoj misli. U Japanu je ovaj proto-taoizam bio poznat kao šinto, i u toj zemlji, dalekoj od Salema u Palestini, narodi su doznali za inkarnaciju Makivente Melkizedeka, koji je boravio na zemlji kako ime Boga ne bi bilo zaboravljeno među ljudima.
94:5.6 (1033.1)
This composite belief spread through the lands of the yellow and brown races as an underlying influence in religio-philosophic thought. In Japan this proto-Taoism was known as Shinto, and in this country, far-distant from Salem of Palestine, the peoples learned of the incarnation of Machiventa Melchizedek, who dwelt upon earth that the name of God might not be forgotten by mankind.
U Kini su sva ta vjerovanja kasnije bila izmiješana i sjedinjena s neprestano rastućim kultom štovanja predaka. No još od vremena Singlangtona Kinezi nikada nisu pali u bespomoćno ropstvo svećeništva. Žuta rasa bila je prva koja se uzdigla iz barbarskog ropstva u uređenu civilizaciju jer je prva postigla određeni stupanj slobode od ponižavajućeg straha od bogova, ne bojeći se čak ni duhova mrtvih kao što su se druge rase bojale. Kina je doživjela svoj poraz jer nije napredovala dalje od svog ranog oslobođenja od svećenika; pala je u gotovo jednako pogubnu pogrešku time što je prihvatila štovanje predaka.
94:5.7 (1033.2)
In China all of these beliefs were later confused and compounded with the ever-growing cult of ancestor worship. But never since the time of Singlangton have the Chinese fallen into helpless slavery to priestcraft. The yellow race was the first to emerge from barbaric bondage into orderly civilization because it was the first to achieve some measure of freedom from the abject fear of the gods, not even fearing the ghosts of the dead as other races feared them. China met her defeat because she failed to progress beyond her early emancipation from priests; she fell into an almost equally calamitous error, the worship of ancestors.
94:5.8 (1033.3)
But the Salemites did not labor in vain. It was upon the foundations of their gospel that the great philosophers of sixth-century China built their teachings. The moral atmosphere and the spiritual sentiments of the times of Lao-tse and Confucius grew up out of the teachings of the Salem missionaries of an earlier age.
Otprilike šest stotina godina prije dolaska Mihaela, činilo se Melkizedeku, odavno već otišlom iz tijela, da je čistoća njegova učenja na zemlji ozbiljno ugrožena općim utapanjem u starija vjerovanja Urantije. Neko je vrijeme izgledalo da bi njegova misija kao preteče Mihaela mogla biti dovedena u pitanje. I u šestom stoljeću prije Krista, kroz neobičnu koordinaciju duhovnih djelatnika, od kojih mnogi nisu shvatljivi čak ni planetarnim nadzornicima, Urantija je svjedočila jedinstvenom očitovanju raznolikih religijskih istina. Posredstvom više ljudskih učitelja, salemsko evanđelje bilo je ponovno izneseno i oživljeno, i kako je tada bilo predstavljeno, mnogo toga se održalo sve do vremena ovog zapisa.
94:6.1 (1033.4)
About six hundred years before the arrival of Michael, it seemed to Melchizedek, long since departed from the flesh, that the purity of his teaching on earth was being unduly jeopardized by general absorption into the older Urantia beliefs. It appeared for a time that his mission as a forerunner of Michael might be in danger of failing. And in the sixth century before Christ, through an unusual co-ordination of spiritual agencies, not all of which are understood even by the planetary supervisors, Urantia witnessed a most unusual presentation of manifold religious truth. Through the agency of several human teachers the Salem gospel was restated and revitalized, and as it was then presented, much has persisted to the times of this writing.
Lao-Tse se izravno nadovezao na pojmove salemskih tradicija kada je proglasio Tao Jedinim Prvim Uzrokom sveukupnog stvaranja. Lao je bio čovjek velikog duhovnog uvida. Učio je da je čovjekova vječna sudbina „vječno sjedinjenje s Taom, Vrhovnim Bogom i Univerzalnim Vladarom.” Njegovo razumijevanje krajnje uzročnosti bilo je iznimno pronicljivo, jer je pisao: „Jedinstvo proizlazi iz Apsolutnog Taoa, a iz Jedinstva se pojavljuje kozmička Dvojnost, i iz te Dvojnosti nastaje Trojstvo, a Trojstvo je izvor sve stvarnosti.” „Cjelokupna stvarnost uvijek je u ravnoteži između potencijalnog i aktualnog u svemiru, a to dvoje vječno je usklađeno duhom božanstvenosti.”
94:6.3 (1033.6)
Lao-tse built directly upon the concepts of the Salem traditions when he declared Tao to be the One First Cause of all creation. Lao was a man of great spiritual vision. He taught that man’s eternal destiny was “everlasting union with Tao, Supreme God and Universal King.” His comprehension of ultimate causation was most discerning, for he wrote: “Unity arises out of the Absolute Tao, and from Unity there appears cosmic Duality, and from such Duality, Trinity springs forth into existence, and Trinity is the primal source of all reality.” “All reality is ever in balance between the potentials and the actuals of the cosmos, and these are eternally harmonized by the spirit of divinity.”
94:6.5 (1033.8)
He taught the return of the creature to the Creator and pictured life as the emergence of a personality from the cosmic potentials, while death was like the returning home of this creature personality. His concept of true faith was unusual, and he too likened it to the “attitude of a little child.”
Njegovo razumijevanje vječne svrhe Boga bilo je jasno, jer je rekao: „Apsolutno Božanstvo ne teži, ali uvijek pobjeđuje; ne prisiljava ljude, ali je uvijek spremno odgovoriti na njihove istinske želje; volja Boga vječna je u strpljenju i vječna u neizbježnosti svojeg očitovanja.” A o istinskom religioznom čovjeku rekao je, izražavajući istinu da je blaženije davati nego primati: „Dobar čovjek ne nastoji zadržati istinu za sebe, nego nastoji podijeliti ta bogatstva sa svojim bližnjima, jer to je ostvarenje istine. Volja Apsolutnog Boga uvijek koristi, nikada ne razara; svrha istinskog vjernika jest djelovati, ali nikada prisiljavati.”
94:6.6 (1034.1)
His understanding of the eternal purpose of God was clear, for he said: “The Absolute Deity does not strive but is always victorious; he does not coerce mankind but always stands ready to respond to their true desires; the will of God is eternal in patience and eternal in the inevitability of its expression.” And of the true religionist he said, in expressing the truth that it is more blessed to give than to receive: “The good man seeks not to retain truth for himself but rather attempts to bestow these riches upon his fellows, for that is the realization of truth. The will of the Absolute God always benefits, never destroys; the purpose of the true believer is always to act but never to coerce.”
Laovo učenje o nenasilju i naglašavanje razlike između djelovanja i primoravanja kasnije su izopačeni u vjerovanje da čovjek „ne vidi, ne čini i ne misli ništa.” No Lao nikada nije učio takvu pogrešku, premda je njegovo učenje o nenasilju igralo ulogu u daljnjem razvoju pacifističkih sklonosti kineskih naroda.
94:6.7 (1034.2)
Lao’s teaching of nonresistance and the distinction which he made between action and coercion became later perverted into the beliefs of “seeing, doing, and thinking nothing.” But Lao never taught such error, albeit his presentation of nonresistance has been a factor in the further development of the pacific predilections of the Chinese peoples.
No popularni taoizam dvadesetog stoljeća na Urantiji ima vrlo malo zajedničkog s uzvišenim mislima i kozmičkim pojmovima starog filozofa koji je poučavao istinu onako kako ju je spoznao: da je vjera u Apsolutnog Boga izvor one božanske energije koja preinačuje svijet i pomoću koje se čovjek uzdiže do duhovnog sjedinjenja s Taom, Vječnim Božanstvom i Apsolutnim Stvoriteljem svemira.
94:6.8 (1034.3)
But the popular Taoism of twentieth-century Urantia has very little in common with the lofty sentiments and the cosmic concepts of the old philosopher who taught the truth as he perceived it, which was: That faith in the Absolute God is the source of that divine energy which will remake the world, and by which man ascends to spiritual union with Tao, the Eternal Deity and Creator Absolute of the universes.
Konfucije (Kung Fu-tze) bio je mlađi suvremenik Laoa u Kini šestog stoljeća. Konfucije je svoja učenja temeljio na boljim moralnim tradicijama duge povijesti žute rase, a bio je i donekle pod utjecajem preostalih tradicija salemskih misionara. Njegovo se glavno djelo sastojalo u prikupljanju mudrih izreka drevnih filozofa. Tijekom života bio je odbačen kao učitelj, ali su njegova djela i učenja od tada imala velik utjecaj u Kini i Japanu. Konfucije je postavio novi standard za šamane time što je moralnost postavio na mjesto magije. No previše je dobro izgradio svoja učenja; od poretka je načinio novi fetiš i utemeljio štovanje predaka koje Kinezi još uvijek njeguju u vrijeme pisanja ovog teksta.
94:6.9 (1034.4)
Confucius (Kung Fu-tze) was a younger contemporary of Lao in sixth-century China. Confucius based his doctrines upon the better moral traditions of the long history of the yellow race, and he was also somewhat influenced by the lingering traditions of the Salem missionaries. His chief work consisted in the compilation of the wise sayings of ancient philosophers. He was a rejected teacher during his lifetime, but his writings and teachings have ever since exerted a great influence in China and Japan. Confucius set a new pace for the shamans in that he put morality in the place of magic. But he built too well; he made a new fetish out of order and established a respect for ancestral conduct that is still venerated by the Chinese at the time of this writing.
Konfucijansko propovijedanje moralnosti temeljilo se na teoriji da je zemaljski put iskrivljena sjena nebeskog puta; da je pravi obrazac vremenske civilizacije zrcalni odraz vječnog poretka neba. Potencijalni pojam Boga u konfucijanizmu bio je gotovo potpuno podređen naglasku na Putu Neba, obrascu kozmosa.
94:6.10 (1034.5)
The Confucian preachment of morality was predicated on the theory that the earthly way is the distorted shadow of the heavenly way; that the true pattern of temporal civilization is the mirror reflection of the eternal order of heaven. The potential God concept in Confucianism was almost completely subordinated to the emphasis placed upon the Way of Heaven, the pattern of the cosmos.
Učenja Laoa izgubljena su za gotovo sve, osim za nekolicinu na Istoku, ali su spisi Konfucija od tada činili temelj moralnog tkiva kulture gotovo trećine stanovnika Urantije. Ovi konfucijanski propisi, iako su očuvali najbolje iz prošlosti, bili su donekle nepovoljni za sam kineski duh istraživanja koji je proizveo ta visoko štovana postignuća. Utjecaj tih doktrina bezuspješno su pokušali suzbiti carski napori Ch’in Shih Huang Tija te učenja Mo Tija, koji je proglasio bratstvo utemeljeno ne na etičkoj dužnosti nego na ljubavi prema Bogu. Nastojao je ponovno rasplamsati drevnu potragu za novom istinom, ali su njegova učenja pokleknula pred snažnim otporom Konfucijevih sljedbenika.
94:6.11 (1034.6)
The teachings of Lao have been lost to all but a few in the Orient, but the writings of Confucius have ever since constituted the basis of the moral fabric of the culture of almost a third of Urantians. These Confucian precepts, while perpetuating the best of the past, were somewhat inimical to the very Chinese spirit of investigation that had produced those achievements which were so venerated. The influence of these doctrines was unsuccessfully combated both by the imperial efforts of Ch’in Shih Huang Ti and by the teachings of Mo Ti, who proclaimed a brotherhood founded not on ethical duty but on the love of God. He sought to rekindle the ancient quest for new truth, but his teachings failed before the vigorous opposition of the disciples of Confucius.
Kao i mnogi drugi duhovni i moralni učitelji, i Konfucije i Lao-Tse na kraju su bili obožavani od svojih sljedbenika u onim duhovno mračnim razdobljima Kine koja su nastupila između opadanja i izopačenja taoističke vjere i dolaska budističkih misionara iz Indije. Tijekom tih duhovno dekadentnih stoljeća religija žute rase izrodila se u jadnu teologiju u kojoj su vrvjeli demoni, zmajevi i zli duhovi, sve to odražavajući povratak strahova neprosvijećenog smrtnog uma. I Kina, nekoć na čelu ljudskog društva zahvaljujući naprednoj religiji, potom je zaostala zbog privremenog neuspjeha da napreduje na pravom putu razvoja one svijesti o Bogu koja je neophodna za istinski napredak, ne samo pojedinačnog smrtnika, nego i složenih civilizacija koje obilježavaju razvoj kulture i društva na evolucijskom planetu vremena i prostora.
94:6.12 (1034.7)
Like many other spiritual and moral teachers, both Confucius and Lao-tse were eventually deified by their followers in those spiritually dark ages of China which intervened between the decline and perversion of the Taoist faith and the coming of the Buddhist missionaries from India. During these spiritually decadent centuries the religion of the yellow race degenerated into a pitiful theology wherein swarmed devils, dragons, and evil spirits, all betokening the returning fears of the unenlightened mortal mind. And China, once at the head of human society because of an advanced religion, then fell behind because of temporary failure to progress in the true path of the development of that God-consciousness which is indispensable to the true progress, not only of the individual mortal, but also of the intricate and complex civilizations which characterize the advance of culture and society on an evolutionary planet of time and space.
Suvremenik Lao-Tsea i Konfucija u Kini, još jedan veliki učitelj istine pojavio se u Indiji. Gautama Siddhartha rođen je u šestom stoljeću prije Krista u sjevernoindijskoj pokrajini Nepalu. Njegovi su sljedbenici kasnije prikazivali da je bio sin nevjerojatno bogatog vladara, ali je u stvarnosti bio prijestolonasljednik jednog manjeg poglavara koji je, uz dopuštenje viših vlasti, vladao malom i zabačenom planinskom dolinom u južnim Himalajama.
94:7.1 (1035.1)
Contemporary with Lao-tse and Confucius in China, another great teacher of truth arose in India. Gautama Siddhartha was born in the sixth century before Christ in the north Indian province of Nepal. His followers later made it appear that he was the son of a fabulously wealthy ruler, but, in truth, he was the heir apparent to the throne of a petty chieftain who ruled by sufferance over a small and secluded mountain valley in the southern Himalayas.
Gautama je oblikovao teorije koje su, nakon šest godina uzaludnog prakticiranja joge, prerasle u filozofiju budizma. Siddhartha se odlučno, ali bez uspjeha, suprotstavio rastućem kastinskom sustavu. Ovaj mladi proročki knez odlikovao se uzvišenom iskrenošću i jedinstvenom nesebičnošću koje su snažno privlačile ljude toga vremena. Odvraćao je od prakse traženja osobnog spasenja kroz tjelesno mučenje i osobnu patnju. I poticao je svoje sljedbenike da njegovo evanđelje nose cijelom svijetu.
94:7.2 (1035.2)
Gautama formulated those theories which grew into the philosophy of Buddhism after six years of the futile practice of Yoga. Siddhartha made a determined but unavailing fight against the growing caste system. There was a lofty sincerity and a unique unselfishness about this young prophet prince that greatly appealed to the men of those days. He detracted from the practice of seeking individual salvation through physical affliction and personal pain. And he exhorted his followers to carry his gospel to all the world.
Usred zbrke i ekstremnih kultnih praksi u Indiji, razumnija i umjerenija učenja Gautame djelovala su kao osvježavajuće olakšanje. On je osuđivao bogove, svećenike i prinošenje žrtava, ali ni on nije uspio spoznati ličnost Jednoga Univerzalnog. Ne vjerujući u postojanje pojedinačnih ljudskih duša, Gautama je, naravno, hrabro ustao protiv dugotrajne predaje o transmigraciji duše. Uložio je plemenit napor da oslobodi ljude od straha, da im omogući da se osjećaju spokojno i kao kod kuće u velikom svemiru, ali im nije pokazao put prema onom stvarnom i uzvišenom domu uzlaznih smrtnika—Raju—niti prema sve širem služenju vječnog postojanja.
94:7.3 (1035.3)
Amid the confusion and extreme cult practices of India, the saner and more moderate teachings of Gautama came as a refreshing relief. He denounced gods, priests, and their sacrifices, but he too failed to perceive the personality of the One Universal. Not believing in the existence of individual human souls, Gautama, of course, made a valiant fight against the time-honored belief in transmigration of the soul. He made a noble effort to deliver men from fear, to make them feel at ease and at home in the great universe, but he failed to show them the pathway to that real and supernal home of ascending mortals—Paradise—and to the expanding service of eternal existence.
94:7.4 (1035.4)
Gautama was a real prophet, and had he heeded the instruction of the hermit Godad, he might have aroused all India by the inspiration of the revival of the Salem gospel of salvation by faith. Godad was descended through a family that had never lost the traditions of the Melchizedek missionaries.
U Benaresu je Gautama osnovao svoju školu, i tijekom druge godine jedan je učenik, Bautan, prenio svom učitelju predaje salemskih misionara o savezu Melkizedeka s Abrahamom; i iako Siddhartha nije imao vrlo jasan pojam Oca Svih, zauzeo je napredno stajalište o spasenju kroz vjeru—jednostavno vjerovanje. Tako se izjasnio pred svojim sljedbenicima i počeo slati svoje učenike u skupinama od šezdeset da narodu Indije objavljuju „radosnu vijest o besplatnom spasenju; da svi ljudi, visoki i niski, mogu postići blaženstvo vjerom u pravednost i pravičnost.”
94:7.5 (1035.5)
At Benares Gautama founded his school, and it was during its second year that a pupil, Bautan, imparted to his teacher the traditions of the Salem missionaries about the Melchizedek covenant with Abraham; and while Siddhartha did not have a very clear concept of the Universal Father, he took an advanced stand on salvation through faith—simple belief. He so declared himself before his followers and began sending his students out in groups of sixty to proclaim to the people of India “the glad tidings of free salvation; that all men, high and low, can attain bliss by faith in righteousness and justice.”
Gautamina supruga vjerovala je u evanđelje svoga muža i bila je osnivačica reda redovnica. Njegov sin postao je njegov nasljednik i znatno proširio kult; shvatio je novu ideju spasenja kroz vjeru, ali se u kasnijim godinama počeo kolebati u vezi sa salemskim evanđeljem božanske naklonosti kroz samu vjeru, i u starosti su njegove posljednje riječi bile: „Radite na vlastitom spasenju.”
94:7.6 (1035.6)
Gautama’s wife believed her husband’s gospel and was the founder of an order of nuns. His son became his successor and greatly extended the cult; he grasped the new idea of salvation through faith but in his later years wavered regarding the Salem gospel of divine favor through faith alone, and in his old age his dying words were, “Work out your own salvation.”
Proglašeno u svom najboljem obliku, Gautamino evanđelje sveopćeg spasenja, bez prinošenja žrtava, mučenja, obreda i svećenika, bilo je revolucionarna i zadivljujuća doktrina za svoje vrijeme. I zapanjujuće se približio obnovi salemskog evanđelja. Donio je utjehu milijunima očajnih duša i, unatoč njegovim kasnijim grotesknim izopačenjima, i dalje opstaje kao nada milijuna ljudi.
94:7.7 (1036.1)
When proclaimed at its best, Gautama’s gospel of universal salvation, free from sacrifice, torture, ritual, and priests, was a revolutionary and amazing doctrine for its time. And it came surprisingly near to being a revival of the Salem gospel. It brought succor to millions of despairing souls, and notwithstanding its grotesque perversion during later centuries, it still persists as the hope of millions of human beings.
94:8.2 (1036.4)
Buddhism took origin in a historic person, not in a myth. Gautama’s followers called him Sasta, meaning master or teacher. While he made no superhuman claims for either himself or his teachings, his disciples early began to call him the enlightened one, the Buddha; later on, Sakyamuni Buddha.
Usko povezana s doktrinom patnje i oslobođenja od nje bila je filozofija Osmerostrukog puta: ispravna gledišta, težnje, govora, ponašanja, način života, napora, svjesnosti i kontemplacije. Nije bila Gautamina namjera da pokuša uništiti svaki napor, želju i privrženost u nastojanju bijega od patnje; naprotiv, njegovo je učenje imalo za cilj pokazati smrtnom čovjeku uzaludnost polaganja svih nada i težnji isključivo u prolazne ciljeve i materijalne svrhe. Nije toliko riječ o tome da bi trebalo odbaciti ljubav prema bližnjima, koliko o tome da istinski vjernik treba gledati dalje od veza ovog materijalnog svijeta prema stvarnostima vječne budućnosti.
94:8.8 (1036.10)
Closely linked to the doctrine of suffering and the escape therefrom was the philosophy of the Eightfold Path: right views, aspirations, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and contemplation. It was not Gautama’s intention to attempt to destroy all effort, desire, and affection in the escape from suffering; rather was his teaching designed to picture to mortal man the futility of pinning all hope and aspirations entirely on temporal goals and material objectives. It was not so much that love of one’s fellows should be shunned as that the true believer should also look beyond the associations of this material world to the realities of the eternal future.
Siddhartha jedva da je vjerovao u besmrtnost ljudske ličnosti; njegova je filozofija dopuštala tek neku vrstu funkcionalnog kontinuiteta. Nikada nije jasno definirao što podrazumijeva pod doktrinom Nirvane. Činjenica da se ona, barem teoretski, mogla iskusiti tijekom smrtnog života upućuje na to da nije bila shvaćena kao stanje potpunog nestajanja. Podrazumijevala je stanje vrhunskog prosvjetljenja i uzvišenog blaženstva u kojem su sve spone koje vežu čovjeka za materijalni svijet bile raskinute; oslobođenje od želja smrtnog života i izbavljenje od svake opasnosti ponovnog utjelovljenja.
94:8.16 (1036.18)
Siddhartha hardly believed in the immortality of the human personality; his philosophy only provided for a sort of functional continuity. He never clearly defined what he meant to include in the doctrine of Nirvana. The fact that it could theoretically be experienced during mortal existence would indicate that it was not viewed as a state of complete annihilation. It implied a condition of supreme enlightenment and supernal bliss wherein all fetters binding man to the material world had been broken; there was freedom from the desires of mortal life and deliverance from all danger of ever again experiencing incarnation.
Prema izvornim Gautaminim učenjima, spasenje se postiže ljudskim naporom, bez božanske pomoći; nema mjesta spasonosnoj vjeri ni molitvama nadljudskim silama. Gautama je, nastojeći umanjiti praznovjerja Indije, pokušao odvratiti ljude od očitih tvrdnji o magijskom spasenju. No u tom je nastojanju ostavio širom otvorena vrata svojim nasljednicima da pogrešno protumače njegovo učenje i da proglase kako je svaki ljudski napor za postignućem neugodan i bolan. Njegovi su sljedbenici previdjeli činjenicu da je najviše blaženstvo povezano s razumnim i oduševljenim težnjama za vrijednim ciljevima, te da takva postignuća predstavljaju pravi napredak u kozmičkom samoostvarenju.
94:8.17 (1037.1)
According to the original teachings of Gautama, salvation is achieved by human effort, apart from divine help; there is no place for saving faith or prayers to superhuman powers. Gautama, in his attempt to minimize the superstitions of India, endeavored to turn men away from the blatant claims of magical salvation. And in making this effort, he left the door wide open for his successors to misinterpret his teaching and to proclaim that all human striving for attainment is distasteful and painful. His followers overlooked the fact that the highest happiness is linked with the intelligent and enthusiastic pursuit of worthy goals, and that such achievements constitute true progress in cosmic self-realization.
Velika istina Siddharthinog učenja bila je njegova objava svemira apsolutne pravde. Poučavao je najbolju bezbožnu filozofiju koju je smrtni čovjek ikada razvio; bila je to idealna humanistička misao i vrlo je učinkovito uklonila sve temelje za praznovjerje, magijske obrede i strah od duhova ili demona.
94:8.18 (1037.2)
The great truth of Siddhartha’s teaching was his proclamation of a universe of absolute justice. He taught the best godless philosophy ever invented by mortal man; it was the ideal humanism and most effectively removed all grounds for superstition, magical rituals, and fear of ghosts or demons.
Velika slabost izvornog evanđelja budizma bila je u tome što nije proizvelo religiju nesebične društvene službe. Budističko bratstvo dugo vremena nije bilo zajedništvo vjernika, nego prije zajednica učitelja i učenika. Gautama im je zabranio primanje novca i time nastojao spriječiti razvoj hijerarhijskih sklonosti. Sam Gautama bio je izrazito društven; uistinu, njegov je život bio mnogo veći od njegova propovijedanja.
94:8.19 (1037.3)
The great weakness in the original gospel of Buddhism was that it did not produce a religion of unselfish social service. The Buddhistic brotherhood was, for a long time, not a fraternity of believers but rather a community of student teachers. Gautama forbade their receiving money and thereby sought to prevent the growth of hierarchal tendencies. Gautama himself was highly social; indeed, his life was much greater than his preachment.
Budizam je napredovao jer je nudio spasenje kroz vjeru u Budu, prosvijetljenoga. Bio je bliži Melkizedekovim istinama nego ijedan drugi religijski sustav u istočnoj Aziji. No budizam nije postao široko rasprostranjen kao religija sve dok ga, iz samoodržanja, nije prihvatio monarh niže kaste Ašoka, koji je, uz Ehnatona u Egiptu, bio jedan od najznačajnijih svjetovnih vladara između Melkizedeka i Mihaela. Ašoka je izgradio veliko indijsko carstvo putem propagande svojih budističkih misionara. Tijekom razdoblja od dvadeset i pet godina obučio je i poslao više od sedamnaest tisuća misionara na najudaljenije granice tada poznatog svijeta. U jednoj je generaciji učinio budizam dominantnom religijom polovice svijeta. Ubrzo se učvrstio u Tibetu, Kašmiru, Cejlonu, Burmi, Javi, Sijamu, Koreji, Kini i Japanu. I općenito govoreći, bio je to religijski sustav daleko nadmoćniji od onih koje je zamijenio ili uzvisio.
94:9.1 (1037.4)
Buddhism prospered because it offered salvation through belief in the Buddha, the enlightened one. It was more representative of the Melchizedek truths than any other religious system to be found throughout eastern Asia. But Buddhism did not become widespread as a religion until it was espoused in self-protection by the low-caste monarch Asoka, who, next to Ikhnaton in Egypt, was one of the most remarkable civil rulers between Melchizedek and Michael. Asoka built a great Indian empire through the propaganda of his Buddhist missionaries. During a period of twenty-five years he trained and sent forth more than seventeen thousand missionaries to the farthest frontiers of all the known world. In one generation he made Buddhism the dominant religion of one half the world. It soon became established in Tibet, Kashmir, Ceylon, Burma, Java, Siam, Korea, China, and Japan. And generally speaking, it was a religion vastly superior to those which it supplanted or upstepped.
Širenje budizma iz njegove domovine u Indiji po čitavoj Aziji jedna je od najuzbudljivijih priča duhovne predanosti i misionarske ustrajnosti iskrenih religioznih ljudi. Učitelji Gautaminog evanđelja nisu samo prkosili opasnostima kopnenih karavanskih putova nego su se suočavali i s opasnostima kineskih mora dok su provodili svoju misiju diljem azijskog kontinenta, donoseći svim narodima poruku svoje vjere. No taj budizam više nije bio jednostavna doktrina Gautame; bio je to čudotvorno obogaćen nauk koji ga je pretvorio u božanstvo. I što se budizam više udaljavao od svoje planinske postojbine u Indiji, to je sve manje nalikovao učenjima Gautame, a sve više religijama koje je zamjenjivao.
94:9.2 (1037.5)
The spread of Buddhism from its homeland in India to all of Asia is one of the thrilling stories of the spiritual devotion and missionary persistence of sincere religionists. The teachers of Gautama’s gospel not only braved the perils of the overland caravan routes but faced the dangers of the China Seas as they pursued their mission over the Asiatic continent, bringing to all peoples the message of their faith. But this Buddhism was no longer the simple doctrine of Gautama; it was the miraculized gospel which made him a god. And the farther Buddhism spread from its highland home in India, the more unlike the teachings of Gautama it became, and the more like the religions it supplanted, it grew to be.
Budizam je kasnije bio snažno pod utjecajem taoizma u Kini, šintoizma u Japanu i kršćanstva u Tibetu. Nakon tisuću godina, u Indiji je budizam jednostavno uvenuo i nestao. Bio je brahmaniziran, a potom se ponizno podčinio islamu, dok se u velikom dijelu ostatka Istoka izrodio u ritual koji Gautama Siddhartha nikada ne bi prepoznao.
94:9.3 (1038.1)
Buddhism, later on, was much affected by Taoism in China, Shinto in Japan, and Christianity in Tibet. After a thousand years, in India Buddhism simply withered and expired. It became Brahmanized and later abjectly surrendered to Islam, while throughout much of the rest of the Orient it degenerated into a ritual which Gautama Siddhartha would never have recognized.
No čak i prije raspada u Indiji, kineske i sjevernoindijske skupine Gautaminih sljedbenika započele su razvoj mahajanskog učenja o „Velikom putu” spasenja, za razliku od južnih purista koji su se držali hinajane, odnosno „Manjeg puta.” Ovi su mahajanisti odbacili društvena ograničenja svojstvena budističkom nauku, i od tada se ta sjeverna grana budizma nastavila razvijati u Kini i Japanu.
94:9.5 (1038.3)
But even before the collapse in India, the Chinese and north Indian groups of Gautama’s followers had begun the development of the Mahayana teaching of the “Great Road” to salvation in contrast with the purists of the south who held to the Hinayana, or “Lesser Road.” And these Mahayanists cast loose from the social limitations inherent in the Buddhist doctrine, and ever since has this northern division of Buddhism continued to evolve in China and Japan.
Budizam je i danas živa, rastuća religija jer uspijeva očuvati mnoge od najviših moralnih vrijednosti svojih sljedbenika. On potiče smirenost i samokontrolu, povećava unutarnji mir i sreću te uvelike sprječava tugu i žalost. Oni koji vjeruju ovoj filozofiji žive bolje živote od onih koji ne vjeruju.
94:9.6 (1038.4)
Buddhism is a living, growing religion today because it succeeds in conserving many of the highest moral values of its adherents. It promotes calmness and self-control, augments serenity and happiness, and does much to prevent sorrow and mourning. Those who believe this philosophy live better lives than many who do not.
94:10.1 (1038.5)
In Tibet may be found the strangest association of the Melchizedek teachings combined with Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and Christianity. When the Buddhist missionaries entered Tibet, they encountered a state of primitive savagery very similar to that which the early Christian missionaries found among the northern tribes of Europe.
Ovi prostodušni Tibetanci nisu u potpunosti napustili svoju drevnu magiju i amajlije. Proučavanje religijskih obreda današnjih tibetanskih rituala otkriva prenapuhano bratstvo svećenika obrijanih glava koji prakticiraju složen obredni sustav koji uključuje zvona, pjevanje, tamjan, procesije, krunice, slike, amajlije, prikaze, svetu vodu, raskošna odijela i razrađene zborove. Imaju krute dogme i učvršćena vjerovanja, mistične obrede i posebne postove. Njihova hijerarhija obuhvaća redovnike, redovnice, opate i Velikog Lamu. Mole se anđelima, svecima, Svetoj Majci i bogovima. Prakticiraju ispovijed i vjeruju u čistilište. Njihovi su samostani prostrani, a njihove katedrale veličanstvene. Održavaju beskrajno ponavljanje svetih obreda i vjeruju da takvi ceremonijali donose spasenje. Molitve se pričvršćuju na kotač, i okretanjem vjeruju da molbe postaju djelotvorne. Ni kod jednog drugog naroda suvremenog doba ne može se naći tako mnogo praksi iz tolikog broja religija; i neizbježno je da takva kumulativna liturgija postaje pretjerano složena i nepodnošljivo opterećujuća.
94:10.2 (1038.6)
These simple-minded Tibetans would not wholly give up their ancient magic and charms. Examination of the religious ceremonials of present-day Tibetan rituals reveals an overgrown brotherhood of priests with shaven heads who practice an elaborate ritual embracing bells, chants, incense, processionals, rosaries, images, charms, pictures, holy water, gorgeous vestments, and elaborate choirs. They have rigid dogmas and crystallized creeds, mystic rites and special fasts. Their hierarchy embraces monks, nuns, abbots, and the Grand Lama. They pray to angels, saints, a Holy Mother, and the gods. They practice confessions and believe in purgatory. Their monasteries are extensive and their cathedrals magnificent. They keep up an endless repetition of sacred rituals and believe that such ceremonials bestow salvation. Prayers are fastened to a wheel, and with its turning they believe the petitions become efficacious. Among no other people of modern times can be found the observance of so much from so many religions; and it is inevitable that such a cumulative liturgy would become inordinately cumbersome and intolerably burdensome.
Budizam je ušao u Kinu u prvom tisućljeću nakon Krista i dobro se uklopio u religijske običaje žute rase. U štovanju predaka već su se dugo molili mrtvima; sada su se mogli moliti i za njih. Budizam se ubrzo stopio s preostalim ritualnim praksama raspadajućeg taoizma. Ova nova sinkretička religija sa svojim hramovima štovanja i određenim religijskim obredima uskoro je postala općeprihvaćen kult naroda Kine, Koreje i Japana.
94:11.1 (1038.8)
Buddhism entered China in the first millennium after Christ, and it fitted well into the religious customs of the yellow race. In ancestor worship they had long prayed to the dead; now they could also pray for them. Buddhism soon amalgamated with the lingering ritualistic practices of disintegrating Taoism. This new synthetic religion with its temples of worship and definite religious ceremonial soon became the generally accepted cult of the peoples of China, Korea, and Japan.
Iako je u nekim pogledima šteta što budizam nije donesen svijetu prije nego što su Gautamini sljedbenici toliko izopačili tradicije i učenja kulta da su od Gautame načinili božansko biće, ipak se taj mit o njegovu ljudskom životu, ukrašen mnoštvom čuda, pokazao vrlo privlačnim slušateljima sjevernog, odnosno mahajanskog evanđelja budizma.
94:11.2 (1039.1)
While in some respects it is unfortunate that Buddhism was not carried to the world until after Gautama’s followers had so perverted the traditions and teachings of the cult as to make of him a divine being, nonetheless this myth of his human life, embellished as it was with a multitude of miracles, proved very appealing to the auditors of the northern or Mahayana gospel of Buddhism.
Neki od njegovih kasnijih sljedbenika poučavali su da se duh Šakjamuni Bude povremeno vraća na zemlju kao živi Buda, čime je otvoren put neodređenom umnožavanju budinih likova, hramova, obreda i lažnih „živih Buda”. Tako se religija velikog indijskog protestanta naposljetku našla okovana upravo onim ceremonijalnim praksama i ritualnim zazivima protiv kojih se on tako neustrašivo borio i koje je tako hrabro osuđivao.
94:11.3 (1039.2)
Some of his later followers taught that Sakyamuni Buddha’s spirit returned periodically to earth as a living Buddha, thus opening the way for an indefinite perpetuation of Buddha images, temples, rituals, and impostor “living Buddhas.” Thus did the religion of the great Indian protestant eventually find itself shackled with those very ceremonial practices and ritualistic incantations against which he had so fearlessly fought, and which he had so valiantly denounced.
Veliki napredak budističke filozofije sastojao se u njezinu shvaćanju relativnosti svake istine. Putem tog misaonog okvira budisti su uspjeli uskladiti i povezati razlike unutar vlastitih religijskih spisa, kao i razlike između svojih i mnogih drugih. Učilo se da je mala istina za male umove, a velika istina za velike umove.
94:11.4 (1039.3)
The great advance made in Buddhist philosophy consisted in its comprehension of the relativity of all truth. Through the mechanism of this hypothesis Buddhists have been able to reconcile and correlate the divergencies within their own religious scriptures as well as the differences between their own and many others. It was taught that the small truth was for little minds, the large truth for great minds.
Ova filozofija također je držala da se Budina (božanska) narav nalazi u svim ljudima; da čovjek, vlastitim naporima, može doseći ostvarenje tog unutarnjeg božanskog. I ovo je učenje jedno od najjasnijih izlaganja istine o unutarnjem prebivanju Ispravljača ikada iznesenih u nekoj urantijskoj religiji.
94:11.5 (1039.4)
This philosophy also held that the Buddha (divine) nature resided in all men; that man, through his own endeavors, could attain to the realization of this inner divinity. And this teaching is one of the clearest presentations of the truth of the indwelling Adjusters ever to be made by a Urantian religion.
No veliko ograničenje izvornog Siddharthinog evanđelja, kako su ga tumačili njegovi sljedbenici, bilo je to što je pokušavalo potpuno osloboditi ljudsko sebstvo od svih ograničenja smrtne naravi tehnikom izdvajanja sebstva iz objektivne stvarnosti. Istinska kozmička samoostvarenost proizlazi iz poistovjećenja s kozmičkom stvarnošću i s konačnim kozmosom energije, uma i duha, koji je ograničen prostorom i uvjetovan vremenom.
94:11.6 (1039.5)
But a great limitation in the original gospel of Siddhartha, as it was interpreted by his followers, was that it attempted the complete liberation of the human self from all the limitations of the mortal nature by the technique of isolating the self from objective reality. True cosmic self-realization results from identification with cosmic reality and with the finite cosmos of energy, mind, and spirit, bounded by space and conditioned by time.
No premda su ceremonije i vanjska obilježja budizma bila uvelike onečišćena utjecajima zemalja u koje se proširio, to nije u potpunosti bio slučaj u filozofskom životu velikih mislilaca koji su s vremena na vrijeme prihvaćali ovaj sustav mišljenja i vjerovanja. Tijekom više od dvije tisuće godina mnogi od najboljih umova Azije usredotočili su se na problem utvrđivanja apsolutne istine i istine Apsoluta.
94:11.7 (1039.6)
But though the ceremonies and outward observances of Buddhism became grossly contaminated with those of the lands to which it traveled, this degeneration was not altogether the case in the philosophical life of the great thinkers who, from time to time, embraced this system of thought and belief. Through more than two thousand years, many of the best minds of Asia have concentrated upon the problem of ascertaining absolute truth and the truth of the Absolute.
Razvoj uzvišenog pojma Apsoluta ostvaren je kroz mnoge misaone tokove i zaobilazne putove razmišljanja. Uzlazni napredak ove doktrine beskonačnosti nije bio tako jasno definiran kao što je bila evolucija pojma Boga u hebrejskoj teologiji. Ipak, postojale su određene široke razine koje su umovi budista dosezali, na njima se zadržavali i kroz njih prolazili na svom putu prema poimanju Prvotnog Izvora svemira:
94:11.8 (1039.7)
The evolution of a high concept of the Absolute was achieved through many channels of thought and by devious paths of reasoning. The upward ascent of this doctrine of infinity was not so clearly defined as was the evolution of the God concept in Hebrew theology. Nevertheless, there were certain broad levels which the minds of the Buddhists reached, tarried upon, and passed through on their way to the envisioning of the Primal Source of universes:
1. Legenda o Gautami. U temelju ovog pojma nalazila se povijesna činjenica života i učenja Siddharthe, proroka i kneza Indije. Ta je legenda, kako je prolazila kroz stoljeća i širila se prostranim područjima Azije, prerasla u mit i nadmašila pojam Gautame kao prosvijetljenoga, počevši poprimati dodatna obilježja.
94:11.9 (1039.8)
1. The Gautama legend. At the base of the concept was the historic fact of the life and teachings of Siddhartha, the prophet prince of India. This legend grew in myth as it traveled through the centuries and across the broad lands of Asia until it surpassed the status of the idea of Gautama as the enlightened one and began to take on additional attributes.
2. Mnogi Bude. Zaključivalo se da, ako je Gautama došao narodima Indije, tada su u dalekoj prošlosti, a i u dalekoj budućnosti, ljudske rase morale biti, i zasigurno će biti, blagoslovljene drugim učiteljima istine. To je dovelo do učenja da postoji mnogo Buda, neograničen i beskonačan broj, pa čak i da svatko može težiti tome da postane jedan od njih—da postigne božanstvenost Bude.
94:11.10 (1040.1)
2. The many Buddhas. It was reasoned that, if Gautama had come to the peoples of India, then, in the remote past and in the remote future, the races of mankind must have been, and undoubtedly would be, blessed with other teachers of truth. This gave rise to the teaching that there were many Buddhas, an unlimited and infinite number, even that anyone could aspire to become one—to attain the divinity of a Buddha.
3. Apsolutni Buda. Kada se broj Buda počeo približavati beskonačnosti, umovi toga vremena nastojali su ponovno ujediniti ovaj nezgrapni pojam. Tako se počelo učiti da su svi Bude samo očitovanja neke više biti, nekog Vječnog Bića beskonačnog i neuvjetovanog postojanja, nekog Apsolutnog Izvora sve stvarnosti. Od tog trenutka, pojam Božanstva u budizmu, u svom najvišem obliku, odvaja se od ljudske ličnosti Gautame Siddharthe i oslobađa antropomorfnih ograničenja koja su ga držala sputanim. Ova konačna koncepcija Vječnog Bude može se s pravom poistovjetiti s Apsolutom, ponekad čak i s beskonačnim „JA JESAM.”
94:11.11 (1040.2)
3. The Absolute Buddha. By the time the number of Buddhas was approaching infinity, it became necessary for the minds of those days to reunify this unwieldy concept. Accordingly it began to be taught that all Buddhas were but the manifestation of some higher essence, some Eternal One of infinite and unqualified existence, some Absolute Source of all reality. From here on, the Deity concept of Buddhism, in its highest form, becomes divorced from the human person of Gautama Siddhartha and casts off from the anthropomorphic limitations which have held it in leash. This final conception of the Buddha Eternal can well be identified as the Absolute, sometimes even as the infinite I AM.
Iako ova ideja Apsolutnog Božanstva nikada nije stekla veliku popularnost među narodima Azije, ipak je omogućila intelektualcima tih zemalja da ujedine svoju filozofiju i usklade svoju kozmologiju. Pojam Apsolutnog Bude ponekad je bio kvazi-osoban, a ponekad posve neosoban—čak jedna beskonačna stvaralačka sila. Takvi pojmovi, premda korisni filozofiji, nisu od presudne važnosti za religijski razvoj. Čak je i antropomorfni Jahve veće religijske vrijednosti nego beskonačno udaljeni Apsolut budizma ili brahmanizma.
94:11.12 (1040.3)
While this idea of Absolute Deity never found great popular favor with the peoples of Asia, it did enable the intellectuals of these lands to unify their philosophy and to harmonize their cosmology. The concept of the Buddha Absolute is at times quasi-personal, at times wholly impersonal—even an infinite creative force. Such concepts, though helpful to philosophy, are not vital to religious development. Even an anthropomorphic Yahweh is of greater religious value than an infinitely remote Absolute of Buddhism or Brahmanism.
94:11.13 (1040.4)
At times the Absolute was even thought of as contained within the infinite I AM. But these speculations were chill comfort to the hungry multitudes who craved to hear words of promise, to hear the simple gospel of Salem, that faith in God would assure divine favor and eternal survival.
Velika slabost budističke kozmologije bila je dvostruka: njezino onečišćenje brojnim praznovjerjima Indije i Kine te njezino uzdizanje Gautame, najprije kao prosvijetljenoga, a zatim kao Vječnog Bude. Kao što je kršćanstvo patilo zbog upijanja mnogih pogrešnih ljudskih filozofija, tako i budizam nosi svoj biljeg ljudskog porijekla. No učenja Gautame nastavila su se razvijati tijekom protekla dva i pol tisućljeća. Pojam Bude, za prosvijećenog budista, više nije istovjetan ljudskoj ličnosti Gautame nego što je za prosvijećenog kršćanina pojam Jahve istovjetan demonskom duhu Horeba. Oskudnost terminologije, zajedno sa sentimentalnim zadržavanjem starih naziva, često dovodi do nerazumijevanja stvarnog značenja evolucije religijskih pojmova.
94:12.1 (1040.5)
The great weakness in the cosmology of Buddhism was twofold: its contamination with many of the superstitions of India and China and its sublimation of Gautama, first as the enlightened one, and then as the Eternal Buddha. Just as Christianity has suffered from the absorption of much erroneous human philosophy, so does Buddhism bear its human birthmark. But the teachings of Gautama have continued to evolve during the past two and one-half millenniums. The concept of Buddha, to an enlightened Buddhist, is no more the human personality of Gautama than the concept of Jehovah is identical with the spirit demon of Horeb to an enlightened Christian. Paucity of terminology, together with the sentimental retention of olden nomenclature, is often provocative of the failure to understand the true significance of the evolution of religious concepts.
Postupno se u budizmu počeo pojavljivati pojam Boga, nasuprot Apsolutu. Njegovi izvori sežu u rane dane razdvajanja sljedbenika Manjeg puta i Velikog puta. Upravo je u potonjoj grani budizma konačno sazrelo dvostruko poimanje Boga i Apsoluta. Korak po korak, stoljeće po stoljeće, pojam Boga razvijao se sve dok, kroz učenja Ryonina, Honena Šonina i Shinrana u Japanu, nije naposljetku dosegnuo svoj puni izraz u vjerovanju u Amida Budu.
94:12.2 (1040.6)
Gradually the concept of God, as contrasted with the Absolute, began to appear in Buddhism. Its sources are back in the early days of this differentiation of the followers of the Lesser Road and the Greater Road. It was among the latter division of Buddhism that the dual conception of God and the Absolute finally matured. Step by step, century by century, the God concept has evolved until, with the teachings of Ryonin, Honen Shonin, and Shinran in Japan, this concept finally came to fruit in the belief in Amida Buddha.
Među tim vjernicima uči se da duša, nakon iskustva smrti, može izabrati boraviti neko vrijeme u Raju prije ulaska u Nirvanu, konačni stupanj postojanja. Proglašava se da se to novo spasenje postiže vjerom u božansku milost i brižnu skrb Amide, Boga Raja na zapadu. U svojoj filozofiji amidisti se drže Beskonačne Stvarnosti koja nadilazi svako konačno smrtničko razumijevanje; u svojoj religiji čvrsto se drže vjere u svemilosnog Amidu, koji toliko ljubi svijet da neće dopustiti da ijedan smrtnik koji zaziva njegovo ime s istinskom vjerom i čistim srcem ne uspije dosegnuti uzvišenu sreću Raja.
94:12.3 (1041.1)
Among these believers it is taught that the soul, upon experiencing death, may elect to enjoy a sojourn in Paradise prior to entering Nirvana, the ultimate of existence. It is proclaimed that this new salvation is attained by faith in the divine mercies and loving care of Amida, God of the Paradise in the west. In their philosophy, the Amidists hold to an Infinite Reality which is beyond all finite mortal comprehension; in their religion, they cling to faith in the all-merciful Amida, who so loves the world that he will not suffer one mortal who calls on his name in true faith and with a pure heart to fail in the attainment of the supernal happiness of Paradise.
Velika snaga budizma jest u tome što su njegovi sljedbenici slobodni birati istinu iz svih religija; takva sloboda izbora rijetko je obilježavala neku urantijsku vjeru. U tom je pogledu japanska sekta Shin postala jedna od najnaprednijih religijskih skupina na svijetu; oživjela je drevni misionarski duh Gautaminih sljedbenika i počela slati učitelje drugim narodima. Ta spremnost da se usvaja istina iz bilo kojeg izvora doista je hvalevrijedna tendencija koja se pojavljuje među religijskim vjernicima u prvoj polovici dvadesetog stoljeća nakon Krista.
94:12.4 (1041.2)
The great strength of Buddhism is that its adherents are free to choose truth from all religions; such freedom of choice has seldom characterized a Urantian faith. In this respect the Shin sect of Japan has become one of the most progressive religious groups in the world; it has revived the ancient missionary spirit of Gautama’s followers and has begun to send teachers to other peoples. This willingness to appropriate truth from any and all sources is indeed a commendable tendency to appear among religious believers during the first half of the twentieth century after Christ.
Sam budizam prolazi kroz preporod u dvadesetom stoljeću. U dodiru s kršćanstvom društveni su aspekti budizma znatno unaprijeđeni. Želja za učenjem ponovno je rasplamsana u srcima redovnika i svećenika bratstva, a širenje obrazovanja unutar ove vjere zasigurno će potaknuti nove napretke u religijskoj evoluciji.
94:12.5 (1041.3)
Buddhism itself is undergoing a twentieth-century renaissance. Through contact with Christianity the social aspects of Buddhism have been greatly enhanced. The desire to learn has been rekindled in the hearts of the monk priests of the brotherhood, and the spread of education throughout this faith will be certainly provocative of new advances in religious evolution.
U vrijeme pisanja ovog teksta, velik dio Azije polaže svoju nadu u budizam. Hoće li ova plemenita vjera, koja je tako hrabro opstala kroz mračna razdoblja prošlosti, ponovno prihvatiti istinu proširenih kozmičkih stvarnosti, kao što su učenici velikog učitelja u Indiji nekoć slušali njegovo proglašenje nove istine? Hoće li ova drevna vjera još jednom odgovoriti na oživljujući poticaj predstavljanja novih pojmova Boga i Apsoluta za kojima je tako dugo tragala?
94:12.6 (1041.4)
At the time of this writing, much of Asia rests its hope in Buddhism. Will this noble faith, that has so valiantly carried on through the dark ages of the past, once again receive the truth of expanded cosmic realities even as the disciples of the great teacher in India once listened to his proclamation of new truth? Will this ancient faith respond once more to the invigorating stimulus of the presentation of new concepts of God and the Absolute for which it has so long searched?
Cijela Urantija iščekuje objavu oplemenjujuće poruke Mihaela, neopterećene nagomilanim doktrinama i dogmama devetnaest stoljeća dodira s religijama evolucijskog porijekla. Došao je čas da se budizmu, kršćanstvu, hinduizmu, pa i narodima svih vjera, predstavi ne evanđelje o Isusu, nego živu, duhovnu stvarnost evanđelja Isusa.
94:12.7 (1041.5)
All Urantia is waiting for the proclamation of the ennobling message of Michael, unencumbered by the accumulated doctrines and dogmas of nineteen centuries of contact with the religions of evolutionary origin. The hour is striking for presenting to Buddhism, to Christianity, to Hinduism, even to the peoples of all faiths, not the gospel about Jesus, but the living, spiritual reality of the gospel of Jesus.