دار بيبليون
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The fall of the angels is a decisive step towards monotheism
Conference by Lwiis Saliba on Zoom, Wednesday 20/04/2022
The fall is a crucial and necessary step
and necessary step towards monotheism
If we try to link the two stages of cosmic law and the fall of the gods in the Vedas and the Avesta, then what conclusion do we get?
We have seen that the Indian and Iranian scriptures share a common view of cosmic law, called Rita, and later Dharma. Dharma became the basic principle and doctrine of Hinduism. The problem that urgently arises here is: how did the doctrine and outlook develop in the Indian and Iranian traditions, to arrive at a monotheism with an impersonal God: Brahman in the former, and a personal God: Ahura Mazda in the latter?
It is obvious that an adequate answer to a problem of this importance and gravity requires a careful examination of the texts of both traditions, some of which have been misplaced and lost, as we mentioned in our discussion of the Avesta. We will therefore content ourselves with a few general lines and a preliminary response.
It seems to us that the path in both traditions has been from the Rita cosmic system, i.e. from that which parallels the concepts of a unity of existence, to a monotheistic concept of an impersonal God: Brahman on the one hand, and the personal God Ahura Mazda on the other.
The concept of monotheism is evident in the Rig Veda. It begins with the hymn of unification and ends with the hymn of unity, as we have seen in our study and translation of the latter. () At the beginning of the first we observed: “He who is the only Truth, is called by many names by the wise” (). In our explanation of monotheism in the Rig Veda, we have said: “The doctrine of the visionaries of the Vedas recognises the One and Only. He who is beyond time and space, beyond all things and phenomena, and above them at the same time, whom neither mind nor thought understands, the only existence that is the first cause and the last result. He who transcends existence and non-existence. Constructor and generator of all things, male or female, man or woman. He is the father and mother of the worlds, and he is also the Son, because he manifests himself in the evolution of all creatures. He is Rudra, Vishnu, Surya, Agni, Vayu and Varuna at the same time” ().
It should be noted that Varuna returned at a later stage, specifically in the Iranian tradition, to take centre stage among the gods, and later became the one god, Ahura Mazda. Whereas in the Indian tradition of the Upanishads, which followed the stage of the Vedas, there is a clear orientation towards a monotheism with an impersonal God: Brahman. In both traditions, the two stages are separated: pluralism and monotheism by the stage of the fall: the fall of the gods to become demons, as mentioned above. Everything happens as if this fall was a necessary and decisive step towards the presidency of a god, and then the unification of the gods. Thus, the fall of the gods explains the trend towards monotheism. It is as if this was done by a process of exclusion, that is, by elimination.
What we have presented in this paragraph of opinions and analyses is nothing more than a preliminary reflection and overview of the three known stages of development of the traditions of the Vedas and the Avesta: the cosmic system, the pantheon of gods, and an impersonal monotheism on the one hand and a personal one on the other. This is only the beginning of a search, not the end.
Two peoples and common origins
Many scholars point to the unity of the origins of the Indian and Iranian peoples. Orientalist Brown cites a group of historians and anthropologists: “Indians and Iranians are of common Indo-Iranian origin. And they were at one time united in a part of the Punjab” ().
Masson-Oursel, in turn, starts from this hypothesis and builds on it, confirming that the interaction, as well as the cultural and religious relations between Iran and India, have been close for centuries and have not been interrupted. This would explain many of the Indian influences in Iran’s ancient religion and vice versa. Oursel says: “Persia’s relations with the Far East continued almost without interruption at any time, and this was not difficult, contrary to what had been thought. For Iranian culture has remained closely linked to Indian culture, due to the unity of the Aryan origin, the permanent solidarity and the frequent contacts throughout history. This is because both Eastern Persia and the Punjab were under the same political control: Dara and Alexander, or Chandra Gupta, Kanishka and the Mughals. This is what we call the Indo-Iranian community.
This continuity of contact, interaction and acculturation between the Iranian and Indian nations seems essential to understand many of the Indian characteristics found in Zoroastrianism and vice versa. Here we must mention the Silk Road, which provided the ancient world with a proactive model for what we know today in the age of globalisation. The Iranians played an active role in this, and we will come back to this again and again. On this subject Masson-Oursel adds: “If we go to the other side of the world, we will see Persian thought shining in a no less important and visible way. The plains of Turkestan were opened up to the Iranians while they were still nomads, and they spread from there to China. This is how the Silk Road extended to Persia.
The continuity of communication and interaction between India and Iran had influences from both sides. And what scholars, or some of them, have referred to are the Zoroastrian influences in Hinduism and Hindu philosophical thought, especially in the Sankhya, or the third system of the 6 Indian philosophical systems. In this regard, Iranian scholar Mehrdad Mehrin states: “Some scholars believe that the source of Sankhya philosophy is based on the ideas of Zoroaster, because just as Zarathustra believes in the two forces of good and evil, Sankhya philosophy also believes in two forces: the physical (evil) and the moral (good), and Sankhya calls them: Prusha and Prakriti. Prusha is equal to Aspenta Manio (the power of good) and Prakriti to Angrah Manio (the power of evil)” ( ).
We present this opinion under the responsibility of its author, as the limits of our research do not allow us to discuss or verify it.
Conclusion
After this tour through Zoroastrianism and Hinduism and their interaction and common heritage, what can we conclude?
It has become clear to us that it is almost impossible to understand Zoroastrianism and its predecessor the religion of the magi, as well as their development in isolation from Hinduism, especially in its earliest, i.e. Vedic, period. While others have continued to regard the Rig Veda as a common Indo-Iranian heritage because of the similarities between the two holy books in form and content.
The path of monotheism in the two traditions is similar, although the result is different: from a cosmic system whose concept is one, to a personal God in one tradition, and not personified in another. As for the fall of the angels, it has seeped from the Indian tradition into the Abrahamic traditions through Zoroastrian channels.
The Rig Veda offers us another distinct understanding of the phenomenon of the Ascension rooted in Zoroastrianism in its various periods, which later became known in the Abrahamic religions. And this through the juice of the soma plant and the deity at the same time, as well as the Haoma its equivalent in the Avesta.
If the Indian impact on Zoroastrianism is decisive and unambiguous, the reverse effect is more than likely, due to the continuous links through the ages between the two nations. We are most likely dealing with two peoples and one origin. And Iran was part of the Silk Road, which was a model of globalisation thousands of years before the age of globalisation. This route allowed the Persians to have continuous contact not only with their Indian cousins, but also with all the peoples of the Far East, especially among them the Chinese.
All these factors, in addition to Iran’s geographical location and others, made Iran, especially Zoroastrianism, a bridge of transit and a link between the Far East and the Middle East, and between their religions. In this context, the historian of religions Jeffrey Barender says: “While Western Iran is subject to the influence of Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome, we find that Eastern Iran is subject to the influence of India, and even to the influence of China. Thus, Iran presents itself as a bridge between East and West, and in fact it has not only affected its religion, but has made Iran the meeting point of many historical tributaries.” ().
Iran, and Zoroastrianism in particular, has been a link between the two worlds for centuries. Therefore, any in-depth study of any of the Abrahamic or Indian religions cannot neglect research on Zoroastrianism and its distinctive and active role.