Like many of
the books in the Old Testament, Deuteronomy also has separate Greek and Hebrew
names. While the word ‘Deuteronomy’ is
of Greek origin which means "second law" (That’s the
reason it is sometimes called இணைச் சட்டம்
in Tamil), the Hebrew title ‘Devarim’ (דְּבָרִים)
means ‘words’ (of God spoken through Moses). Just like how the Sura’s in the Qur’an
are titled based on some of the key words that appear in the beginning of the
chapter, this Hebrew title is also based on the opening phrase in the very
first verse “eleh ha-devarim” which means "These are the
words..." (Deut 1:1). In Tamil, the book is also called ‘உபாகமம்’. Deuteronomy has 959 verses and is the
fifth and last book of the series of five books (Pentateuch) attributed to
Moses. With this we come to an end of
the major scripture of the Jews, the Torah, which the Qur’an refers by name
Taurat (توراة).
Deuternomy,
besides recapitulating or recounting (i) the post-Exodus history of the Jews,
(ii) their wanderings and conquests in the wilderness and (iii) the teachings
of 10 commandments, it also contains warnings and promises and rewards and
punishments the Lord of the Jews has laid out for Israelites for their obedience
& disobedience of various domestic laws. The Book ultimately ends with the death
of Prophet Moses, but not before it records his last counsel.
Deuteronomy has two verses that resemble
the Kural in its idea. The directive “You shall not be partial in judgment; you
shall hear the small and the great alike” (1:17) is very like the Kural “Justice may be called good only
when it acts impartially regardless of the class of men” (தகுதி எனவொன்று
நன்றே பகுதியால் பாற்பட்டு
ஒழுகப் பெறின்,
Kural 111). Another verse in Deuteronomy describes the qualities of an ideal
land: “For the LORD your God is bringing you into a
good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth
in valleys and hills” [8:7].
The Kural says “A land’s limbs are waters from rains, springs
and well placed hills, and strong fortress.” (இருபுனலும்
வாய்ந்த மலையும் வருபுனலும்
வல்லரணும் நாட்டிற்கு உறுப்பு, Kural, 737).
Let me now thrash out the three topics I would like to focus this week.
(1) Mantra of Jewish identity
In many
religious and cultural traditions, certain phrases become a slogan or mantra of
their identity. This phrase or sentence often becomes the most popular one to
be displayed at home, offices, and in the modern days as a wallpaper in
computers and laptops. The origin of
these key phrases usually come their respective scriptures or a well know
literary work. For the Jews, it is their Shema which has its origin in
Deuteronomy.
So the instruction is very specific, that the Jews will engrave this mantra “Hear,O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord” in the heart, teach to children, recite it often and also display it at home. It has therefore become a statement of Jewish identity just like how the Shahada in Islam, Ek Onkar in Sikhism and Triratna in Buddhism has become the fundamental proclamations of these respective religions. Among these, Shema, Shahada and Ek Onkar, are summations of the monotheistic foundations of Judaism, Islam and Sikhism.
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“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD”;
And
you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and
with all your might.
And
these words which I command you this day
shall be upon your heart;
And
you shall teach them diligently to your children,
and shall talk of them when
you sit in your house,
and
when you walk by the way,
and
when you lie down,
and
when you rise.
And
you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand,
and they shall be as frontlets
between your eyes.
And
you shall write them on the doorposts
of your house and on your
gates.
(Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
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So the instruction is very specific, that the Jews will engrave this mantra “Hear,O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord” in the heart, teach to children, recite it often and also display it at home. It has therefore become a statement of Jewish identity just like how the Shahada in Islam, Ek Onkar in Sikhism and Triratna in Buddhism has become the fundamental proclamations of these respective religions. Among these, Shema, Shahada and Ek Onkar, are summations of the monotheistic foundations of Judaism, Islam and Sikhism.
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Ek onkar
(ੴ)
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Tiratna (त्रिरत्न)
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Shahādah
(الشهادة)
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It is the symbol of unity of God in
Sikhism, with all the three phrases emphasizing the attributes of a
monotheistic God.
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Triratna
or Triple Gem refer to the three things that Buddhists are supposed to take
refuge in Buddha, his Teaching and the Community.
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The shahada is a Muslim’s faith in
the unity or oneness of God (tauhid) and Prophet Muhammad as His
messenger.
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ੴ (Ek Ōnkar)
ਸਤਿ ਨਾਮੁ (Satnūm)
ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ (Wāhegurū)
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Buddham saranam gacchāmi
Dharmam saranam gacchāmi
Sangham saranam gacchāmi
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لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله
Lā
ilāha illallāh,
Muḥammad
rasūl-allāh
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God
is one
His
name is Truth
He
is a wonderful Teacher
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I go for refuge in the Buddha.
I go for refuge in the Dharma.
I go for refuge in the Sangha
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There is no god except Allah, and Muhammad is the
messenger of God.
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The first two phrases appear in the
beginning of the Mūl Mantar, which is the opening prayer in the Sikh
scripture Guru Granth Sāhib. The phrase “wāhegurū”
appears elsewhere in the scripture (p. 1403).
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This Triple Gem has its
basis in Ratana Sūtta: The Jewel Discourse, a sutra in Sutta Nipāta (2.1) and
Khuddakapātha (67).
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Shahadat is not found the Qur’an as such like the
Shema of Jews. Sura 112
is the most apt one that talks about the Unity of One God.
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It
is difficult pinpoint any particular slāka
or mantra to be a unique and popular one
in Hinduism. No doubt that the
Gāyatri mantra is probably the most frequently used of all mantras, but I doubt
if this could be equated to a Shahadah or Shema of the Jews. It is only a
prayer and is more relevant to the entire opening recitations of Mūl Mantra of
Sikhs and Sūrat Al-Fātiha of Muslims. We might consider ‘Tat Tvam Asi’ (तत् त्वम् असि) or "Thou are that" which
appears in Chandogya Upanishad (6.8.7) as the possible one for Hinduism, but we
do not see this being written everywhere like the “OM” symbol which seems to be
the only symbol cosmopolitan.
(2) Torah
and Qur’an
ךיהלא
הוהיל ןה
םימשה ימשו
םימשה ׃הב־רשא־לכו ץראה
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وَلِلَّهِ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ وَإِلَى ٱللَّهِ تُرْجَعُ ٱلْأُمُورُ
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Behold, to the LORD your God belong
heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.
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To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth: To
Him do all questions go back.
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[Torah
5.10:14]
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[Qur’an,
3:109]
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Of all the religious scriptures I have read, it is to the Old Testament that the Qur’an resembles the most in spirit and content. Though the Qur’an recapitulates the stories of toils and struggles of prophets of the Old and New Testaments, particularly those of Moses and Jesus (referring to their scriptures as Taurat and Injeel), it is to the Old Testament that the essence and content of the Qur’an resemble. The resemblances come in the subject matters like sundry laws on what is permitted and forbidden and in divine retribution and commandments. Striking among these are the verses proclaiming the destruction of disbelieving communities and God inciting his believers to fight against those who refuse faith. Presented in the table is below are some of exciting Qur’anic parallels found between Deuteronomy and Qur’an.
Deuteronomy
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Qur’an
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(a)
Followers of Moses and Muhammad are told not get threatened by looking at the
might of the opponents’ forces because they will have the support of God in
their side
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When you
go forth to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army
larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God
is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. [20:1]
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O Prophet,
urge the faithful to fight. If there are twenty among you with determination
they will vanquish two hundred; if there are a hundred then they will
slaughter a thousand unbelievers, for the infidels are a people devoid of
understanding. [8:65]
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(b)
Jews and Muslims are encouraged to fight people because they worship other
gods, suppress the new revelation
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Know
therefore this day that he who goes over before you as a devouring fire is
the LORD your God; he will destroy them and subdue them before you; so you
shall drive them out, and make them perish quickly, as the LORD has promised
you.
[9:3]
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Fight
those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they
prohibit what Allah and His Apostle have prohibited, nor follow the religion
of truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax
in acknowledgment of superiority and they are in a state of subjection. [9.29]
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(c) Towns, people and cattle destroyed
spoils taken as booty
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And we
captured all his cities at that time and utterly destroyed every city, men,
women, and children; we left none remaining; only the cattle we took as spoil
for ourselves, with the booty of the cities which we captured.
[2:34-35]
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How many towns have We destroyed (for their sins)? Our punishment took
them on a sudden by night or while they slept for their afternoon rest.
[7:4]
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And we
utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon the king of Heshbon, destroying
every city, men, women, and children. But all the cattle and the spoil of the
cities we took as our booty.
[3:6-7]
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How many
were the populations We utterly destroyed because of their iniquities,
setting up in their places other peoples? Yet, when they felt
Our Punishment (coming), behold, they (tried to) flee from it.
[21:11-12]
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(d)
Fighting is not prescribed if the people offer to surrender in peace
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When
you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it. And
if its answer to you is peace and it opens to you, then all the people who
are found in it shall do forced labor for you and shall serve you. But if it
makes no peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege
it; and when the LORD your God gives it into your hand you shall put all its
males to the sword.
[20:
10-13]
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Except for those who
take refuge with a people between yourselves and whom is a treaty or those
who come to you, their hearts strained at [the prospect of] fighting you or
fighting their own people. And if Allah had willed, He could have given them
power over you, and they would have fought you. So if they remove themselves
from you and do not fight you and offer you peace, then Allah has not made
for you a cause [for fighting] against them. [4:90]
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(e)
Disbelievers are destroyed and subdued because they disobeyed the
commandments
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Know
therefore this day that he who goes over before you as a devouring fire is
the LORD your God; he will destroy them and subdue them before you; so you
shall drive them out, and make them perish quickly, as the LORD has promised
you. [9:3]
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"And when We wish to destroy a town, We send Our commandment to
the people of it who lead easy lives, but they transgress therein; thus the
word proves true against it, so We destroy it with utter
destruction."
[17:16]
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(f)
Both texts permit women, captives of war, for marriage
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and see
among the captives a beautiful woman, and you have desire for her and would
take her for yourself as wife,
[21: 11]
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"Prophet,
We have made lawful to you the wives whom you have granted dowries and the
slave girls whom God has given you as booty;..."
[33:50] |
(g)
Both scriptures forbid soothsaying, divination, sorcery and the like
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There
shall not be found among you any one who burns his son or his daughter as an
offering, anyone who practices divination, a soothsayer, or an augur, or a
sorcerer, or a charmer, or a medium,
or a wizard, or a necromancer.
[18: 10-11]
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And
(forbidden is it) that ye swear by the divining arrows. This is an
abomination [5:3]
Said Moses: "Say ye (this)
about the truth when it hath (actually) reached you? Is sorcery (like) this? But sorcerers
will not prosper." [10:77]
When they had had their throw, Moses
said: "What ye have brought is sorcery:
Allah will surely make it of no effect: for Allah prospereth not the work of
those who make mischief. [10:81]
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(h)
Lending money for interest is also an admonishment
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You
shall not lend upon interest to your brother, interest on money, interest on
victuals, interest on anything that is lent for interest. To a foreigner you
may lend upon interest, but to your brother you shall not lend upon interest;
that the LORD your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land
which you are entering to take possession of it.
[23:19-20]
(See
also Psalm 15:5)
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Those
who consume interest cannot stand [on the Day of Resurrection] except as one
stands who is being beaten by Satan into insanity. That is because they say,
"Trade is [just] like interest." But Allah has permitted trade and
has forbidden interest. So whoever has received an admonition from his Lord
and desists may have what is past, and his affair rests with Allah. But
whoever returns to [dealing in interest or usury] - those are the companions
of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein. [2:275]
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(i)
Law of divorce: Interesting to know that while Deuteronomy forbids a husband
to remarry his wife after divorce, the Qur’an permits this but only after she
gets married and divorced by another
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Then her former husband, who sent
her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled;
for that is an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring guilt
upon the land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance.
[24:4]
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In Qur’an
sura al-Baqara says,”…So if a husband divorced his wife he cannot after that
remarry her until after she has married another husband, and he has divorced
her, in that case there is no blame on either of them if they reunite…”
[2:230]
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3) Higher than the heavens and deeper than the oceans
For this commandment which I command you this day
is not too hard
for you, neither is it
far off.
It is not in heaven, that you should say,
It is not in heaven, that you should say,
`Who will go up for us to heaven, and bring
it to us,
that we may hear it and do it?'
Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say,
Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say,
`Who will go over the sea for us, and bring
it to us,
that we may hear it and do it?'
But the word is very near you;
But the word is very near you;
it is in your
mouth & in heart, so that you can do it.
(Deuteronomy
30:11-14)
The
practice of using height of the heavens, depth of the oceans, at time even the width
of the earth as examples to denote the farthest points of humanly possible
limits is not uncommon to find in literary works of the world. In the above
Biblical verse, these boundaries have been employed to assert that Yahweh’s
commandments are not beyond the reach of his chosen people.
If you still
keep asking “Where can I find the moral law?”, Doctrine of Mean provides the
answer employing the very same examples of extremes. Doctrine of Mean is one of
the Chinese classics attributed to Confucius, and is considered a guide
to perfect oneself. Quoting
from the ancient Book of Songs, Confucius
interprets the reference to the soaring hawk and diving fishes this way.
The Book of Songs says,
The hawk soars to
the heavens above
Fishes dive to the depths below.
Fishes dive to the depths below.
That is to say,
There is no place
in the highest heavens above
Nor in the deepest
waters below
Where the moral
law is not to be found.
(Doctrine of Mean, 12)
“How
much you love me?” is perhaps the most often asked question that girls pose
to their boyfriends. In the Sangam literature of Tamils, poet Thévakulattār
employs the same extremes of measures to express the love of the heroin towards
the hero.
Wider
than the earth,
And
higher than the sky,
And
deeper than the vast ocean
Is
my love for this man of the hills
Where bees make honey
From the black-stalked kurinchi flowers.
(Kurunthogai
3)
[Translator:
Shanmugam Pillai & David Ludden]
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நிலத்தினும் பெரிதே; வானினும் உயர்ந்தன்று;
நீரினும் ஆர் அளவின்றே- சாரல் கருங் கோல் குறிஞ்சிப்பூக் கொண்டு, பெருந்தேன் இழைக்கும் நாடனொடு நட்பே. |
Or, how great is the stature or fame of
a king? We say Akbar the Great, Alexander the Great, Ashoka the Great, but there
is no yardstick to measure their greatness. How did then poets describe the
greatness of their kings and emperors? The following poem from Tamil Sangam classic
Paditruppathu,
poet Kumattūr Kannanār describes the greatness of his king Imayavaramban
Nedunchéralāthan in the following terms:
Your greatness is such in cannot be measured
Even like the land, and the shoreless sea,
The constant wind and the sky above.
(Patitruppattu, 2:14)
[Translator: A.V. Subramanian]
“Is
it possible for me to escape from the consequence of my evil deeds?” is a
question that would be reverberating in the hearts of evil-doers. The Buddhist
Dhammapāda reiterates that no one is exempted from the effects of evil karma.
Neither in the skies,
Nor in the depths of the ocean,
Nor in the rocky caves,
Nowhere upon the earth
Does there exist a place
where a man can escape from
his evil deeds.
(Dhammapāda, 127)
Ven. Nārada interprets this verse with the
following story: “Three groups of monks went to see the
Buddha. On their way one group saw a flying crow being burnt to death. Another
group saw a woman being drowned in mid-ocean. The other group saw seven monks
imprisoned in a cave for seven days. All of them wanted to know from the Buddha
the reason for these occurrences. The Buddha related that the crow, as a farmer
in a previous birth, had burnt a lazy ox to death, the woman had drowned a dog,
and the monks, as cowherds in a previous life, had imprisoned an iguana in an
anthill for seven days. The Buddha added that no one is exempt from the
consequences of his or her past evil deeds.”
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