Bible Myths and their Parallels in other Religions Part 105

"The Catholic[368:2] faith is this: That we wors.h.i.+p _One_ G.o.d as Trinity, and Trinity in Unity--neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance--for there is One person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the G.o.dhead of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost _is all one_; the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal."

As M. Reville remarks:

"The dogma of the Trinity displayed its contradictions with true bravery. The Deity divided into _three_ divine persons, _and yet_ these _three_ persons forming only _One_ G.o.d; of these three _the first only_ being self-existent, the two others _deriving their existence_ from the first, _and yet_ these three persons being considered as _perfectly equal_; each having his special, distinct character, his individual qualities, wanting in the other two, _and yet_ each one of the three being supposed to possess the fullness of perfection--here, it must be confessed, we have the deification of the contradictory."[368:3]

We shall now see that this very peculiar doctrine of three in one, and one in three, is of _heathen_ origin, and that it must fall with all the other dogmas of the Christian religion.

The number _three_ is sacred in all theories derived from oriental sources. Deity is always a trinity of some kind, or the successive emanations proceeded in threes.[369:1]

If we turn to _India_ we shall find that one of the most prominent features in the Indian theology is the doctrine of a divine triad, governing all things. This triad is called _Tri-murti_--from the Sanscrit word _tri_ (three) and _murti_ (form)--and consists of Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva. It is an _inseparable_ unity, though three in form.[369:2]

"When the universal and infinite being Brahma--the only really existing ent.i.ty, wholly without form, and unbound and unaffected by the three Gunas or by qualities of any kind--wished to create for his own entertainment the phenomena of the universe, he a.s.sumed the quality of activity and became a male person, as _Brahma_ the creator. Next, in the progress of still further self-evolution, he willed to invest himself with the second quality of goodness, as _Vishnu_ the preserver, and with the third quality of darkness, as _Siva_ the destroyer. This development of the doctrine of triple manifestation (_tri-murti_), which appears first in the Brahmanized version of the Indian Epics, had already been adumbrated in the Veda in the triple form of fire, and in the triad of G.o.ds, Agni, Surya, and Indra; and in other ways."[369:3]

This divine _Tri-murti_--says the Brahmans and the sacred books--is indivisible in essence, and indivisible in action; mystery profound!

which is explained in the following manner:

_Brahma_ represents the _creative_ principle, the unreflected or unevolved protogoneus state of divinity--the _Father_.

_Vishnu_ represents the _protecting_ and _preserving_ principle, the evolved or reflected state of divinity--the _Son_.[369:4]

_Siva_ is the principle that presides at destruction and re-construction--the Holy Spirit.[369:5]

The third person was the Destroyer, or, in his good capacity, the Regenerator. The dove was the emblem of the Regenerator. As the _spiritus_ was the pa.s.sive cause (brooding on the face of the waters) by which all things sprang into life, the dove became the emblem of the Spirit, or Holy Ghost, the third person.

These three G.o.ds are the first and the highest manifestations of the Eternal Essence, and are typified by the three letters composing the mystic syllable OM or AUM. They const.i.tute the well known Trimurti or Triad of divine forms which characterizes Hindooism. It is usual to describe these three G.o.ds as Creator, Preserver and Destroyer, but this gives a very inadequate idea of their complex characters. Nor does the conception of their relations.h.i.+p to each other become clearer when it is ascertained that their functions are constantly interchangeable, and that each may take the place of the other, according to the sentiment expressed by the greatest of Indian poets, Kalidasa (k.u.mara-sambhava, Griffith, vii. 44):

"In those three persons the One G.o.d was shown-- Each first in place, each last--not one alone; Of Siva, Vishnu, Brahma, each may be First, second, third, among the blessed three."

A devout person called Attencin, becoming convinced that he should wors.h.i.+p but _one_ deity, thus addressed Brahma, Vishnu and Siva:

"O you _three_ Lords; know that I recognize only _One_ G.o.d; inform me therefore, _which of you is the true divinity_, that I may address to him alone my vows and adorations."

The three G.o.ds became manifest to him, and replied:

"Learn, O devotee, that there is no real distinction between us; what to you _appears_ such is only by semblance; _the Single Being appears under three forms, but he is One_."[370:1]

Sir William Jones says:

"Very respectable natives have a.s.sured me, that one or two missionaries have been absurd enough in their zeal for the conversion of the Gentiles, to urge that the Hindoos were even now almost Christians; because their Brahma, Vishnou, and Mahesa (Siva), were no other than the Christian Trinity."[370:2]

Thomas Maurice, in his "Indian Antiquities," describes a magnificent piece of Indian sculpture, of exquisite workmans.h.i.+p, and of stupendous antiquity, namely:

"A bust composed of _three heads_, united to _one body_, adorned with the _oldest_ symbols of the Indian theology, and thus expressly fabricated according to the unanimous confession of the sacred sacerdotal tribe of India, to indicate _the Creator_, the _Preserver_, and the _Regenerator_, of mankind; which _establishes the solemn fact, that from the remotest eras, the Indian nations had adored a triune deity_."[371:1]

Fig. No. 34 is a representation of an Indian sculpture, intended to represent the Triune G.o.d,[371:2] evidently similar to the one described above by Mr. Maurice. It is taken from "a very ancient granite" in the museum at the "Indian House," and was dug from the ruins of a temple in the island of Bombay.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. No. 34]

The Buddhists, as well as the Brahmans, have had their Trinity from a very early period.

Mr. Faber, in his "Origin of Heathen Idolatry," says:

"Among the Hindoos, we have the Triad of Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva; so, among the votaries of Buddha, we find the self-triplicated Buddha declared to be the same as the Hindoo Trimurti. Among the Buddhist sect of the Jainists, we have the triple Jiva, in whom the Trimurti is similarly declared to be incarnate."

In this Trinity _Vajrapani_ answers to Brahma, or Jehovah, the "All-father," _Manjusri_ is the "deified teacher," the counterpart of Crishna or Jesus, and _Avalokitesvara_ is the "Holy Spirit."

Buddha was believed by _his_ followers to be, not only an incarnation of the deity, but "G.o.d himself in human form"--as the followers of Crishna believed him to be--and therefore "three G.o.ds in one." This is clearly ill.u.s.trated by the following address delivered to Buddha by a devotee called Amora:

"Reverence be unto thee, O G.o.d, in the form of the G.o.d of mercy, the dispeller of pain and trouble, the Lord of all things, the guardian of the universe, the emblem of mercy towards those who serve thee--OM! the possessor of all things in vital form. Thou art Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa; thou art Lord of all the universe. Thou art under the proper form of all things, movable and immovable, the possessor of the whole, and thus I adore thee. I adore thee, who art celebrated by a thousand names, and under various forms; in the shape of Buddha, the G.o.d of mercy."[371:3]

The inhabitants of _China_ and _j.a.pan_, the majority of whom are Buddhists, wors.h.i.+p G.o.d in the form of a Trinity. Their name for him (Buddha) is Fo, and in speaking of the Trinity they say: "The three pure, precious or honorable Fo."[372:1] This triad is represented in their temples by images similar to those found in the paG.o.das of India, and when they speak of G.o.d they say: "_Fo is one person, but has three forms._"[372:2]

In a chapel belonging to the monastery of Poo-ta-la, which was found in Manchow-Tartary, was to be seen representations of Fo, in the form of three persons.[372:3]

Navarette, in his account of China, says:

"This sect (of Fo) has another idol they call _Sanpao_. It consists of _three_, equal in all respects. This, which has been represented as an image of the Most Blessed Trinity, is exactly the same with that which is on the high altar of the monastery of the Trinitarians at Madrid. If any Chinese whatsoever saw it, he would say that _Sanpao_ of his country was wors.h.i.+ped in these parts."

And Mr. Faber, in his "Origin of Heathen Idolatry," says:

"Among the Chinese, who wors.h.i.+p Buddha under the name of _Fo_, we find this G.o.d mysteriously multiplied into _three persons_."

The mystic syllable O. M. or A. U. M. is also reverenced by the Chinese and j.a.panese,[372:4] as we have found it reverenced by the inhabitants of India.

The followers of Laou-tsze, or Laou-keum-tsze--a celebrated philosopher of China, and deified hero, born 604 B. C.--known as the Taou sect, are also wors.h.i.+pers of a Trinity.[372:5] It was the leading feature in Laou-keun's system of philosophical theology, that Taou, the eternal reason, produced _one_; one produced _two_; two produced _three_; and three produced all things.[372:6] This was a sentence which Laou-keun continually repeated, and which Mr. Maurice considers, "a most singular axiom for a _heathen_ philosopher."[372:7]

The sacred volumes of the Chinese state that:

"The Source and Root of all is _One_. This self-existent unity necessarily produced a _second_. The first and second, by their union, produced a _third_. These _Three_ produced all."[372:8]

The ancient emperors of China solemnly sacrificed, every three years, to "Him who is One and Three."[372:9]

The ancient _Egyptians_ wors.h.i.+ped G.o.d in the form of a Trinity, which was represented in sculptures on the most ancient of their temples. The celebrated symbol of the wing, the globe, and the serpent, is supposed to have stood for the different attributes of G.o.d.[373:1]

The priests of Memphis, in Egypt, explained this mystery to the novice, by intimating that the premier (first) _monad_ created the _dyad_, who engendered the _triad_, and that it is this triad which s.h.i.+nes through nature.

Thulis, a great monarch, who at one time reigned over all Egypt, and who was in the habit of consulting the oracle of Serapis, is said to have addressed the oracle in these words:

"Tell me if ever there was before one greater than I, or will ever be one greater than me?"

The oracle answered thus:

"First _G.o.d_, afterward the _Word_, and with them the _Holy Spirit_, all these are of the same nature, and make but _one_ whole, of which the power is eternal. Go away quickly, _mortal_, thou who hast but an uncertain life."[373:2]

The idea of calling the second person in the Trinity the _Logos_, or _Word_[373:3] is an Egyptian feature, and was engrafted into Christianity many centuries after the time of Christ Jesus.[373:4]

_Apollo_, who had his tomb at Delphi in Egypt, was called the Word.[373:5]

Mr. Bonwick, in his "Egyptian Belief and Modern Thought," says: