Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part III — Page 120
BarĀhĪn-e-a H madiyya — Part three 120 and chanted mantras to invoke them. All this was happening at a time when they were quite well-versed in the rational sciences and, compared to the times of the Vedas, had made considerable progress in rational and logical analysis. Indeed, they were not far behind the Greeks in terms of logic and philosophy, but their beliefs were corrupt, unholy and polluted by the filth of idolatry both in form and substance. In fact, their beliefs did not have the slightest sem- blance to divine truths and were totally fallacious, groundless, without substance, and useless, which prompted your ‘wise’ forefathers to view everything in the world as their deity. Seeing a tree verdant and beau- tiful, they took it to be their god; a flame emerging from the earth was to them worthy of worship; and the name of parmeshwar [god] was given to anything that was strange or fearsome in its physical appearance or in its characteristics. There was nothing they did not worship—water, wind, fire, rocks, the moon, the sun, birds, animals, and even snakes. The truth is that the Vedas had only advocated creature-worship to a limited degree and they did not even refer to worshipping idols, but those who came afterwards and took themselves to be great logi- cians kept adding footnotes whereby they created hundreds of arti- ficial parmeshwars and some even claimed to be parmeshwars them- selves. As a consequence of their thoughts and innovations, they became entangled in all kinds of ridiculous delusions and went so far as to deny the existence of the Omnipotent Creator and all His per- fect attributes. The effect that the Upanishads, Pur a n a s, and Pustaks had on the minds of the Hindus, the superstitions they sowed in their hearts, the paths they established for them, and the objects they led them to wor- ship, is not something hidden or which can be concealed by anybody, nor can it be made dubious by denial. Similar was the case with the Greeks. Being hailed clever as a crow, they also gorged themselves on the filth of idolatry. Thus, at no time in history did unaided reason pre- pare a community that was established on pure Tau hi d.