Israel and Humanity - Eastern Paganism
§ 2.
EASTERN PAGANISM.
It remains to compare the ideas of paganism with Eastern doctrine Hebrew. Most features are undoubtedly those who come from India. We know what degree of perfection superhuman characters can achieve many of the religions of this country, we know the Judaism of their virtues, their prodigious abstinence and respect, even fear that they manage to inspire the gods themselves. There is a peculiar aspect of religious faith that was believed to oppose precisely that of Semitic religions: "According to Semitic ideas, we are told, major characters can certainly perform wonders, but their power depends only on the Lord they are separated by a chasm which, if he withdraws his hand from them, may precipitate them into nothingness. In India the contrary, the sky they are not unattainable. " It is necessary to examine if it affects the righteous saints of Judaism is true and then if this domination over nature which reach the mystical Buddhist may be likened to that biblical and rabbinic Judaism promises to man.
For us, the answer to one and the other question is in the distinction between God and the gods, distinguish legitimate and necessary even in pantheism, except perhaps to substitute the word God of Unit or All great. If we admit, everything becomes perfectly intelligible. It is true that among the Semites is nothing holy, God comes to give up, but why? Precisely because the unit is Semitic and that no creature can boast count for something in front of the Absolute Unity. But once it is made in connection with the universe, nature, plurality, with the domain of finite forces, angels, celestial powers or gods in a word, immediately after [1] size appears . The Talmud declares that the right greater than heaven and earth, the saint who, according to the Rabbis, is a member of God is superior not only to nature but to the angels and gods.
We agree that in the eyes of the holy nature of Buddhism is very small, since we often see them on an equal each of their gods are only deified natural forces. But we will have no trouble grasping the difference between this attitude and that that Judaism offers us. The Hindu saint is a miracle worker, the Jewish holy can be a miracle worker, but he is foremost a man. The first goal is not to improve, develop nature, let alone use it, and he dominates it without the discipline or tame. The second point is rather a capricious magician who seeks only to parade their strength, which he has in mind is above all the moral, social, humanitarian in him the supernatural s 'harmonizes with nature that does not destroy, but correct. The superiority of the ascetic Buddhist disappears when it is put in front of God, Unity, the Great Whole and not gods or natural forces, like disappearing into the inferiority of Judaism just as it is not in the presence of God, but gods or angels, that is to say of Nature and its forces. Because, as we have had occasion to remark in the first part of this work, the usual point of view of Judaism is monotheism pure, while all that regards multiple divine heard in the sense that we have said, remains secret, exceptional. In paganism the contrary, it is polytheism which forms the background of general beliefs, the idea of divine unity is reserved for an elite. In a word what is in exoteric one is esoteric in the other and there is, we believe the key to several historical puzzles on which we need not dwell here.
It is therefore quite naturally happened that in drawing the comparison between Judaism and paganism in the eastern question of holiness and its outward manifestations, like so many other issues, they merely consider what is exoteric of both sides and thus could not grasp that the apparent differences, whereas when considering the esoteric doctrine peculiar to each of these religions and that is precisely what in the other, is part of the teaching [2] audience, one sees the common ground and replenish the resemblance. We even say that we have obtained a similar result if, while neglecting the esoteric Hebrew, it was at least more depth the Jewish conception of miracles, such as remembering the definition of Ibn Ezra says that it ' when the party is united in all its product in any of the signs and wonders. This brings us very close indeed to theosophy and miracles of the saints of Hindustan.
