Paradise ... What does the word mean in the past and does it make sense for modern man? What can be considered the idea of ​​paradise? Is it a relic of the past or a sign of aspiration for the future? Who deserves it and who can get there? Do all religions have a concept of paradise? Briefly we will try to understand these complex issues.
Ancient world
Some scholars believe that primitive people still had ideas about the future life that would come after death. This is evidenced by many of their burials. The graves were often put in what was believed that a person may need after death. Ancient peoples and ancient tribes inhabiting Europe also knew what paradise was. The Champs Elysees (or Elysium) is a place where spring always reigns, a light breeze blows and there are no sorrows. However, not everyone gets there, but only heroes and those who had personal connections with the gods. Only in late antiquity did the idea that initiates and righteous people come to this pleasant place.
Other notions of eternal life in polytheism
Scandinavian Valhalla is a paradise for warriors who heroically fell in battle. During the day they feast in the heavens, and at night the divine virgins appease them. But the most striking colors described the paradise of the ancient Egyptians. After the soul is responsible for all its sins at the judgment of Osiris and will be allowed to eternal life, it enters the so-called fields of Iaru. If you look at the frescoes in the ancient Egyptian tombs, you can see that the believers of that time looked at death with hope, not as a cessation of existence, but as a gateway to another, better life. Beautiful flowers and graceful young men and women, delicious and plentiful food and amazing gardens - all this can be seen on ancient masterful paintings.
Eden
In Judaism, there was another concept of what paradise is. Biblical myths tell of the blessed garden of Eden, in which the first people lived. But the main condition for their happiness was ignorance. Having tasted the fruits that made it possible to distinguish between good and evil, people lost their original innocence. They were expelled from paradise, forced to live in a world dominated by death and sin. It is impossible to return to Eden, it is inaccessible to a person with knowledge. It is a lost paradise. His concept was criticized both by the ancient philosophers and the Gnostics, who wrote that the real freedom is not to consciously obey the prohibitions, but to do whatever you want. Then it will be paradise.
Islam
In this religion, too, there is an idea of ​​eternal life for the blessed. She expects those who obeyed all the prohibitions and precepts of Allah, were faithful and obedient to him. What is paradise in Islam? This is a lot of beautiful gardens with beautiful ponds and various pleasures. Critics of Islam claim that the images of the paradise in the Qur'an are too carnal, but Islamic theologians, especially modern ones, assert that the representations described there are symbols that are close to the human perception of happiness. In fact, paradise life cannot be described in ordinary words. The main joy of the inhabitants of heaven is the contemplation of God.
Buddhism
In this religion, paradise is not the ultimate goal of existence, but the stage of the path to the highest enlightenment. This is a land of eternal joy, where all who invoke the Buddha are reborn to enjoy bliss. Having rested, they will be ready to follow Teacher further. Most currents of Buddhism recognize that this land is in the west. The founder of religion himself made a vow not to reach Nirvana until all beings who came to this place rush to ultimate enlightenment. The greatest weight of ideas about paradise is given by the Japanese branch of Mahayana Buddhism - amidism. Other currents of both the Great and the Lesser Chariots mainly teach how to achieve nirvana, and many of them do not pay too much attention to this intermediate stage. Paradise in the soul is the main thing that should accompany a person who has decided to abandon desires and thereby overcome suffering.
The Promised Heaven, or Paradise Returned
The paradigm of Christianity is characterized by the concept of the newfound possibility for man of eternal life, which came thanks to the Savior. This is not the paradise that was at the beginning, not the unity of the perfect Universe, where everything is “very good” ... According to the ideas of Orthodox Christianity, it was destroyed due to the fall of man, because he abused free will. In traditional theological literature, a new paradise exists in heaven. For most Christian writers who spoke about this, the visions of the prophets — Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, and the gospel parables — served as a source of inspiration. But the most important text that formed the concept of paradise is the "Revelation" of John the Theologian. The image of Heavenly Jerusalem, where there will be no disease, no grief, no tears, has become the main Christian symbol. He became the location of paradise.
Kingdom of heaven
In the traditional Christian sense, it is associated with a happy life that comes after death. This is the ultimate refuge of the righteous. Moreover, several types of ideas about what the Kingdom of Heaven is are known. For example, this is a metaphysical and philosophical concept that describes a place where saints, righteous people and angelic ranks enjoy the contemplation of God and his presence. In theology, this is called visio beatifica. That is a vision that grants bliss. But in the literary, folklore and mythological representations of paradise, the image of the garden with walls decorated with precious stones and paved with emerald roads is preserved. The image of Heavenly Jerusalem as if combines longing for the lost Eden and a new eternal life. It will exist when all previous life, filled with fear of death and suffering, is destroyed. The kingdom of heaven is a place of bliss for the righteous and the repentant sinners who believed in Christ.
Differences in Paradise Views
Both in Antiquity and in the Middle Ages there were points of view that diverged from Orthodox Christianity in the description and conceptual concept of paradise. For example, many religious dissidents, in particular the Cathars, believed that this was the kingdom of heaven, which is not of this world. They believed that paradise has no physical geographical boundaries. The sky that we see cannot be its receptacle. It can only be a reminder of the existence of another world, the true creation of God. They believed that visible heaven, like earth, was created by a different beginning. Therefore, from their point of view, the Evangelist John says that if a person loves the world, then he becomes an enemy of God. They represented Heavenly Jerusalem according to the Epistle of St. Peter, which says that it will be a new earth and a new heaven, where the truth dwells. The fall of man, in their opinion, was associated with his departure from paradise to this world due to deception or violence of the devil. Therefore, people must return to God's true creation. This is the main difference between Orthodox and heretical Christianity. In the dissident understanding, paradise is exactly the place from which we were once exiled, but where we can return to, our "heavenly homeland." The Cathars believed that man by nature is an angel. Paradise is his place of residence. He lives in this world without knowing it. But Christ showed him the way to salvation. Following the commandments and fulfilling them, a person has the opportunity to achieve eternal life and return to paradise.
Modern religious ideas about the blissful existence of the righteous are often more symbolic than concrete. Some Protestant currents generally abandon the concept of paradise and the afterlife, while others, on the contrary, approached catarism in the perception of heaven as a return to their homeland.