been referred to by some as the Axial Age, because of the similar change of religious perception and beliefs along the axis running from the European oceans to eastern China.
Do you think it was a bazaar and strange coincidence that these isolated societies all had a religious awakening at the same time? Although most of these religious awakening's eventually involved some sort of 'god' (a misconception that the Eternals or extraterrestrial visitors were gods), most enlightenment’s were merely that of a Prophet 'seeing' the cosmos as it really is, a divine dream or a new consciousness of things as they really are (a NDE?).
Probably the most universal new belief during the Axil Age was that morality plays the primary role of what a person's future destiny will be. Although there were some religions that still believed in multiple gods, most religion's transcended to the belief in only one god or no god at all. What really happened was that most got the message wrong, there are no 'gods', but rather that they are part of a larger thing, the Universe its self. Maybe the concept of religion was introduced, too, soon for the intellect of humans at that period in time and the misconception that the contact they had with the Eternals or extraterrestrials was that of a god (more on the misinterpretation of extraterrestrials in ET's UFO's & GHOST).
Man has always wanted to define his reason for being, actually it has been in his psyche since the inception of mankind's soul, to explain his existence in a world he does not understand. From the earliest cave dwellers there has been a need to explain the environment he lives in and why things are the way they are.
The Eternals do not understand the concept of a 'god'. That is not what they introduced to mankind, it is what mankind has manifested from the early teachings of the Prophets and past myths, that there must be a higher power to explain their existence and the existence of the Universe its self, that all of this could only come from a god. The perceived notion of a 'god' is something that has evolved from the early myths and teachings of the misguided elders of most religions as a form of control, as has the concept of a Devil or a Heaven and Hell.
The early purveyors of religion used the concept of a god for personal power and wealth, while others practiced Zootheism (51) and prayed to symbolic symbols such as golden statues of cows, or even a black piece of meteorite as in Mecca today. Yes, that's right, the 'holy stone' of Mecca, that is prayed to multiple times every day is just a large piece of meteorite, it came from the heavens so it must be from Allah. So as you can see, people of today's world still worship and pray to inanimate objects, just as past cultures worshiped golden statues.
The best of intentions sometimes do not always work out as they are intended. In other words, the introduction of brotherhood, peace and harmony amongst the people has not worked as intended on this world because of mankind's misguided belief in a god and the fate that will befall you if you do not believe in that god! The introduction of peace and brotherhood has helped to save other civilizations from extinction on distant worlds, all without the myths and fantasy of a god to confuse and misguide the populous of that world.
The Eternals do not understand a Being praying to them, or a 'god' of any kind for that matter. Sure the Eternals are what we would call the 'Founding Fathers', but they know they are only a part of the whole, as is all matter and Beings of the Universe are a part of the whole, that which comprises the ultimate Entity, the Universe in its entirety. Even with this knowledge of truth about the Eternals and their heterogeneous creation, some will still refer to the Eternals as 'Quasi-gods' (52).
Contemplate that your body in whole is the Universe and you are the little finger on the left hand of this Universe. Now pretend your little left finger started praying to the soul of your body. Does that make any sense? If you are a part of the whole, why would you pray to a part of yourself? Come to the understanding there is no God, no Heaven, no Satin, no Hell, just that you are a part of the whole Entity that is the Universe!
The Eternals rarely interfere with the normal evolution of a planet or the Entities on that planet. People here on Earth that are religious, wonder how a 'God' could let a natural disaster occur with the loss of so many lives. How a 'God' could let one of their loved ones die in a tragic accident. Religious leaders of today explain, that it is 'God's will', or 'the work of the Devil' to allow horrible things to happen such as an earthquake, a tsunami, an airplane falling out of the sky, or even the mass murder of millions of people, that you should be 'God fearing' or be punished similarly for perceived sins.
The religious teachers preach; 'We must endure these tragic events and suffering so we can appreciate the life that has been bestowed upon us, that you must endure pain as a test of your faith so you can fully experience and enjoy pleasure.'
You should suffer and have your children perish so you can fully appreciate pleasure and the life you have? What a crock!
Religious leaders do not have much to say after a tragic loss, but they are rarely short on words when something goes right. 'God made that happen, if you pray, repent and give your soul to God, your life will be very good, no evil will get you, you will be rewarded with eternal life in Heaven, if you only believe what I am telling you'.
Morality does play a part in the fate of the Entity that is you, but not in the worshiping of a god! There is the possibility of life after this physical life, provided you have lived a 'wholesome' life. Wholesome is the word used by the Eternals to describe a physical Entities life actions. More on this later.
Now that I have totally trashed religion for you and the harmful effects it has had on Humankind, I should also say there is some truth to some religions of today that most closely matches what was first introduced in the Axil Age.
Buddhism, as the story has been told (embellished to make a point), somewhere between 600 and 500 BCE (Axial Age), Siddhattha Gautama of the Sakya clan was born in what is now jungle country on the Nepal border. Gautama was a good looking man of wealth and means, at nineteen he married and had a son. The arrival of his son was said to be an awakening to the lavish and carefree life he had led up to that point. At twenty nine he decided to give up his life of wealth and privilege to achieve true knowledge, he left on a sabbatical of poverty giving up material wealth. It is said he stopped at a river and cut off his hair with his sword, then he removed all of his jewelry. On his travels he met a ragged man and exchanged cloths with him, thus having gotten rid of all his worldly possessions.
It had always been believed in his clan, that power and knowledge was attainable by fasting, sleeplessness, and self torment. It is said Gautama had left on his quest with five disciples to the jungle below the Vindhya mountains. After becoming very weak and collapsing from a lack of nourishment and near death, he thought this is silly, I don't want to die. He finally asked for food and refused to continue the self torture. The disciples called him weak and not worthy, saying he had no conviction to attain enlightenment and they left him in the jungle.
After being near death Gautama got his strength back, stating he had a spiritual awakening (an encounter, a NDE (53) and the best way to achieve wisdom was with a nourished mind and body. He traveled the lands for a long period of time and it is said that while sitting under a tree by a stream, life finally became clear to him in a vision. He went back to his village and found the five disciples that had abandoned him, after five days of talk he convinced the disciples that he was now enlightened, believing of Gautama's enlightenment the disciples declared him to be The Buddha. It was already believed in India that the enlightened one of knowledge would be reborn and returned to Earth as The Buddha.
The teachings of Gautama were: All the miseries are attributable to selfishness. Suffering is attributable to man's greedy desire The three evil cravings are; the desire to gratify one’s self, the desire for personal desire. The desire for prosperity or worldly goods.
Gautama believed all these desires must be overcome to live a serene life, not just thinking of one's self and your own needs. When you
have achieved this status, you will have achieved a higher wisdom and Nirvana, serenity of soul.
Buddhist believe in karma, that good or evil will be passed on to a subsequent life, that life tends to repeat its self. They believe a man's soul becomes more pure each time it is reincarnated.
There may be some truth to the enrichment of a soul the more times it has lived a physical life, I cannot say for sure if this is true, but it does make sense, as subconscious memory is carried forward in your psyche, learning from previous lives experiences as a new Entity is reborn.
The Aryan path consist of eight steps:
1. Right views.
2. Right aspirations, love for the service of others.
3. Right speech.
4. Right conduct.
5. Right livelihood.
6. Right effort.
7. Right mindfulness, guard against personal feeling or glory.
8. Right rapture.
I probably could have left out the story of Gautama, but it is pertinent to the extent that it shows the mind-set of Buddhism. The basic philosophy is that one should not live their life only for the sake of your individual life needs and wants, but for the good and compassion of all mankind. This philosophy is very close to