Paradise - what is it? How to get to paradise?

Paradise ... What is the word meant in the past and does it make sense for a modern person? How can you think of paradise? Are they vestiges of the past or a sign of aspiration for the future? Who is worthy of it and who can get there? Do all religions have a concept of paradise? In short, we will try to understand these complex issues.

Ancient world

Some scientists believe that the notion of a future life that will come after death, was still among primitive people. This is evidenced by many of their burials. In the graves were often put in what, as was thought, a person after death might need. The ancient peoples and ancient tribes inhabiting Europe also knew about what is paradise. Champs Elysees (or Elysium) is a place where spring always reigns, a gentle breeze blows and there are no sorrows. However, not everyone gets there, only heroes and those who had personal ties with the gods. Only in late antiquity there was an idea that dedicated and righteous people can get to this pleasant place.

Other ideas about eternal life in polytheism

Scandinavian Valhalla is a paradise for soldiers who heroically fell in battle. In the daytime they feast in the heavenly halls, and at night they are blessed by divine virgins. But the most vivid colors described the paradise of the ancient Egyptians. After the soul has answered all his sins at the trial of Osiris and will be admitted to eternal life, she enters the so-called fields of Jaru. If you look at the frescoes in ancient Egyptian tombs, you can be sure that the then believers looked to death with hope, not as a cessation of existence, but as a gateway to another, better life. Beautiful flowers and graceful boys and girls, delicious and abundant food and amazing gardens - all this can be seen on the old and artful paintings.

Eden

In Judaism, there was another concept of what is paradise. 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 allowed to distinguish between good and evil, people lost their primary innocence. They were expelled from paradise, forced to live in a world where death and sin rule. In Eden it is impossible to return, it is inaccessible to a person who has knowledge. This is a lost paradise. His concept was criticized both by the ancient philosophers and the Gnostics, who wrote that true freedom does not consist in consciously obeying prohibitions, but in doing everything 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 injunctions of Allah, was faithful and obedient to him. What is a paradise in Islam? It is a set of beautiful gardens with beautiful ponds and various pleasures. Critics of Islam say that the images of paradise in the Koran are too carnal, but Islamic theologians, especially modern ones, assure that the representations described there are symbols approximating to the human perception of happiness. In fact, heavenly life can not be described in ordinary words. The main joy of the inhabitants of heaven is 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 the land of eternal joy, where all who called upon the Buddha are reborn to eat bliss. After resting, they will be ready to follow Teacher further. Most Buddhist trends recognize that this land is in the west. The founder of religion himself made a vow not to reach Nirvana until all beings who have fallen into this place will not rush to ultimate enlightenment. The Japanese branch of Mahayana Buddhism, amidism, gives the greatest weight to the ideas of paradise. Other currents of both the Great and the Lesser Chariots predominantly 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 the person who decided to give up desires and thereby overcome suffering.

"Promised Heaven", or Return of Paradise

The paradigm of Christianity is characterized by the concept of the newfound opportunity for eternal life that has come to life thanks to the Savior. This is not the paradise that was at first, not the unity of the perfect universe, where everything is "very good" ... According to the ideas of orthodox Christianity, it was destroyed because of the fall of man, because he abused free will. In traditional theological literature, a new paradise exists in heaven. For the majority of Christian writers who talked about this, the visions of the prophets-Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, and evangelical parables-were a source of inspiration. But the most important text that shaped the idea of paradise is the "Revelation" of John the Divine. The image of Jerusalem of Heaven, 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 shelter of the righteous. There are several types of ideas about what the Kingdom of Heaven is. For example, this is a metaphysical and philosophical concept, describing a place where saints, righteous people and angelic ranks enjoy contemplation of God and his presence. In theology, this is called visio beatifica. That is a vision that gives bliss. But in literary, folklore and mythological ideas about the paradise, the image of a garden with walls adorned with precious stones and cobblestoned roads has been preserved. The image of Heavenly Jerusalem seems to unite in itself the longing for lost Eden and the new eternal life. It will exist when all the old life, full of fear of death and suffering, will be destroyed. The Kingdom of Heaven is the place of blessedness of the righteous and repentant sinners who believe in Christ.

Variations in the ideas of paradise

Both in Antiquity and in the Middle Ages there were points of view that were at odds with orthodox Christianity in the description and conceptual concept of paradise. For example, many religious dissidents, in particular Cathars, believed that this is the Kingdom of Heaven, which is not of this world. They believed that paradise does not have physical geographical boundaries. The sky that we see can not 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 of God. They represented Heavenly Jerusalem according to the Epistle of St. Peter, where it is said that it will be a new earth and a new heaven where truth dwells. The fall of man, in their opinion, was due to his departure from paradise into this world because of the deception or violence of the devil. Therefore, people must return to the true, God's creation. This is the main difference between the orthodox and heretical Christianity. In the dissident sense of paradise - this is exactly the place from where we were once expelled, but where can we return, our "heavenly homeland". The Cathars believed that man by nature is an angel. Heaven is his place of residence. He lives in this world, not knowing about 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 blessed existence of the righteous often have more symbolic than concrete character. Some Protestant currents in general renounce the concept of paradise and the afterlife, while others, on the contrary, have come close to catharism in the perception of heaven as a return to their homeland.