Paradise… What did this word mean in the past and does it make sense for a modern person? What can be considered the idea of paradise? Are these relics of the past or a sign of striving for the future? Who deserves it and who can get there? Do all religions have a concept of heaven? Briefly, we will try to understand these complex issues.
Ancient world
Some scientists believe that primitive people had ideas about the future life that will come after death. This is evidenced by many of their burials. Graves were often filled with things that it was believed a person might need after death. The ancient peoples and ancient tribes that inhabited 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. It was only in late antiquity that the idea that dedicated and righteous people could get into this pleasant place appeared.
Other ideas abouteternal life in polytheism
Scandinavian Valhalla is a paradise for warriors who fell heroically in battle. During the day they feast in the heavenly halls, and at night they are gratified by the divine virgins. But the most vivid colors describe the paradise of the ancient Egyptians. After the soul answers for all its sins at the court of Osiris and is admitted to eternal life, it enters the so-called fields of Jaru. 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 gate to another, better life. Beautiful flowers and graceful boys and girls, tasty and plentiful food and amazing gardens - all this can be seen on the old artful paintings.
Eden
In Judaism, there was a different concept of what paradise is. Biblical myths tell of the blessed garden of Eden, where 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 primary 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 who has knowledge. This is a lost paradise. His concept was criticized both by ancient philosophers and Gnostics, who wrote that real freedom does not consist in consciously obeying prohibitions, but in doing whatever you want. Then this will be heaven.
Islam
This religion also has an idea of eternal life for the blessed. She isawaits those who observed all the prohibitions and instructions 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 paradise in the Qur'an are too carnal, but Islamic theologians, especially modern ones, assure that the representations described there are symbols that are close to the human perception of happiness. In fact, heavenly 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 a stage on the path to the highest enlightenment. This is the land of eternal joy, where all who invoked the Buddha are reborn to taste bliss. After resting, they will be ready to follow the Teacher further. Most sects of Buddhism recognize that this land is in the west. The founder of the religion himself vowed not to reach Nirvana until all the beings who got to this place aspire to final enlightenment. The Japanese branch of Mahayana Buddhism, Amidism, gives the greatest weight to the ideas of paradise. Other currents of both the Greater and Lesser Vehicles predominantly teach how to reach Nirvana, and many of them do not pay much attention to this intermediate stage. Paradise in the soul is the main thing that should accompany a person who decides to give up desires and thereby overcome suffering.
Promised Heaven, or Paradise Returned
For the paradigmChristianity is characterized by the concept of the possibility of eternal life regained for man, 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, gospel parables served as a source of inspiration. But the most important text that formed the idea of paradise is the "Revelation" of John the Evangelist. The image of Heavenly Jerusalem, where there will be no sickness, no grief, no tears, has become the main Christian symbol. It has become 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 final resting place of the righteous. At the same time, 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 certain place where saints, righteous people and angelic orders enjoy the contemplation of God and his presence. In theology, this is called visio beatifica. That is the vision that bestows bliss. But in the literary, folklore and mythological ideas about paradise, the image of a garden with walls decorated with precious stones and roads paved with emeralds has been preserved. The image of Heavenly Jerusalem seems to unitelonging for lost Eden and new eternal life. It will exist when all former life, full of fear of death and suffering, will be destroyed. The kingdom of heaven is a place of bliss for the righteous and repentant sinners who believe in Christ.
Different interpretations of paradise
As 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 was not of this world. They believed that paradise had no physical geographic boundaries. The sky we see cannot be its container. It can only be a reminder of the existence of another world, the true creation of God. They believed that the visible heavens, like the earth, were 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 to God. They represented the Heavenly Jerusalem according to the Epistle of Saint Peter, where it is said that it will be a new earth and a new heaven, where righteousness dwells. The fall of man, in their opinion, was associated with his departure from paradise to this world due to the deceit or violence of the devil. Therefore, people must return to the true, God's creation. This is the main difference between orthodox and heretical Christianity. In the dissident understanding, paradise is exactly the place from where we were once expelled, but where we can return, our “heavenly homeland”. The Cathars believed that a personby nature, it 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. By 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 refuse the concept of paradise and the afterlife, while others, on the contrary, approached Catharism in the perception of heaven as a return to their homeland.
