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RELIGION AND COMPARATIVE RELIGION
61
their scriptures. And when this is done we shall discover the real guarantee of truth to consist in an unqualified agreement between science and religion and the scriptures of the diverse faiths.
I shall now explain to you the significance of the fascinating allegory of the fall in the book of Genesis. The story is generally known to men all over the world, and therefore I shall proceed with its explanation at once.
To begin with, you must banish from your minds the notion that there ever was a spot on the earth or in heaven, known as Eden, where a Supreme Being plantel a grove of beautiful trees once upon a time. Those who have read Origen's works know how absurd the supposition appeared to him. And Origen was a very pious and learned Christian himself. If you try to picture to yourself further the two famous trees, that of Life and that of knowledge of Good and Evil, you will see the absurdity of the supposition beco ning still more ridiculous. Then, why should knowledge of Good and Evil be forbidden to man? Why, again, should he be punished so cruelly for just one piece of the fruit as to be cursed and turned out of the Garden, to become subject to death, and to have his children and grandchildren, and their remotest descendants, down to the very last man, inflicted with wretchedness and misery? And if punishment was what was intended from the beginning - and an omniscient god must be deemed to have known from the very outset that Adam will prove disobedient -why do we find Jehovah repeatedly sending down prophets for the guidance of the fallen humanity? Could he not have redeemed them with a word, just as he had cursed them with a word ?
If you ponder over these and other similar questions that arise on the literal interpretation of this legend, you will agree with Origen that it is not to be taken as a narrative of facts. Its purport is hidden, like the purport of the Vedic deities.
I shall now place before you the esoteric interpretation of this fable. (1) The Garden of Eden is a representation of the attributes of the soul.
(2) The Tree of Life and the Tree of knowledge of Good and Evil are two such attributes that are the most important of all; hence, they grow in the centre.
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