Making a stair way to heaven

Hi all. A combination of vacations and circumstances colluded to keep me from posting anything new for the last two months, i'm afraid. This is to make amends for the same. The nice thing about this article is that I wrote it in an end-semester exam. The bad thing is that the lack of polish is extremely palpable. Anyway, here it is for all it is worth,

There’s a lady who’s sure
All that glitters is gold
And she’s buying
A stairway to heaven

The concept of divinity and a Supreme Entity is fairly recent, dating back not more than 3000 years. The monotheistic Semitic religions were preceded, however, by a vast evolutionary span of religious practice, originating from the Animism of Chalcolithic cultures. The origin of God, thus, lies in the awe of Nature, the might of the mastodon, the fury of the hurricane, the raging sea, the tempestuous lightning.

And when she gets there, she knows
If the stores are all closed
With a word she can get
What she came for

But awe was soon replaced by respect, and respect gradually assumed anthropomorphic connotations. Thereby, primitive cultures, established elaborate rituals to commune with non-corporeal entities and entreat them to do their bidding. It is known that Neanderthal man possessed a very firmly entrenched and intense religion of this type as far back as the early Neolithic period. The time period when Cro-Magnon adopted these practices cannot be stated definitively.

There’s a sign on the wall
But she wants to be sure
‘cause you know sometimes
Words have two meanings

This was followed by the establishment of a separate priestly class, for the purpose of propitiating, on rigid ritualistic lines, the forces of Nature, now anthropomorphized as gods. The worship of gods was too important a task, it was now held, to be left to amateurs.

In a tree by the brook
There’s a song-bird that sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts
Are misgiven (sic)

It was now that, owing to various economic and political factors, the priestly class attempted to increase its influence on society. This was primarily accomplished by repeated reiterations of human incompetence and insignificance before the all-powerful majesty of the Being that was then born – God.

There’s a feeling I get
When I look to the west
And my spirit is crying
For leaving

At this stage, Semitic religion made itself apparent, insistence on elaborate rituals being its link to the past, monotheism the pennant of its novelty. The key new element in proto-Judaism was the concept of the Adamite fall from Grace and the consequent theological distaste for affairs of the corporeal realm.

In my thoughts I have seen
Rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those
Who stand looking.

This was followed by a period of turmoil in western civilization. The outmoded Greek pantheon, accompanied by Roman innovations, was fighting a losing battle against Father Time to retain its faithful. Apollo, Dionysus et al would brook no divided allegiance from their devotees. For the first time in recorded history, the State actively involved itself in favoring and persecuting religious creeds. The stage was set for a world-historical event.

If there’s a bustle in your hedge-row
Don’t be alarmed now
It’s just a spring clean
For the May queen

The advent of Christianity sealed the victory of monotheism and hence, God, over the vast pantheon of Greek, Nordic, Egyptian and Hindu lore. Christianity, with its simple message of universal love and brotherhood, its powerful symbology and most importantly, its cohesive political vitality, stormed all bastions of ‘heathen’ thought and beliefs.

Yes, there are two paths
You can go by, but in the long run
There’s still time to change
The road you’re on

There remained but one modification to be made. The somewhat abstruse concept of the sacrifice of Christ, and the consequent Salvation of mankind was substituted by the concept of a totally anthropomorphic just Providence, requiring model behavior in daily life and perfect submission to the will of the one God – Allah. This was the seal of Semitic religion; this was the end of the evolutionary road for the anthropomorphic Semitic God. This was the inception of Islam.

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our souls
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold

And so we wind up to the modern Semitic milieu, walking down a lonely narrow road, encroached upon by an incredibly materialistic culture. And it is palpable to most that life is naught but strife and that the human spirit needs a beacon to guide it onwards. That beacon, for want of a better description is the 20th century God.

And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all is one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll

The future, it is being claimed, belongs to pantheism. Judging by the popularity of Zen and Vedanta in non-Catholic communities in Europe and America, one would be obliged to concur. Is Vedanta the one true world religion of humanity? Time will tell.