And yet, though I have taken possession of the earth for myself, I am nevertheless not happy nor perfect. Misery and crime and selfishness are upon my people.
What is my weakness that I cannot overcome it? Or what is my strength that I give in to the desires of the earth? I build up my belief and courage in You, but before I know the way of my weakness, I stumble and fall. Am I made that I will forever be a reproof to myself, and a censure to my own behavior?
How shall I say to other people: Be pure and holy! Aren't my own flesh and blood proof that people cannot be without sin? Oh this corruptible self, this tendency to fall from the right way! You, my Creator, have proven before my senses every day of my life, that You alone are mighty in purity and truth.
If only I had a starting point from which to honor Your wonderful decrees, or could find a road in which I would never stumble! But yet, O Jehovih, I will not complain because of the way of Your works. You have created a limit to my understanding, by means of which I am reminded of You, to call upon Your name. I perceive my own vanity; that whereas if knowledge were mine, I would become less perceptive of You!
What am I, O Jehovih, without You; or how shall I find the glory of Your creations but by the light of Your countenance? You brought me forth out of sin and darkness and clothed me in light. I see the smallness of myself in Your great works. You have limited me to travel on the earth, to abide with beasts and all manner of creeping things; and have not given me one attribute in which I can boast over them, except in the power of destruction. You placed the high firmament above me; the stars and moon and sun! I know You have been there, but I am confined to a little corner of Your works! I do not have the power to rise up to Your distant places, nor to know Your extended heavens.
No, I do not have the power to shape my own size and stature; instead all things take form and dimension whether I wish it or not. The walls of the world are built in Your own way; I am bewildered by their magnitude and appalled by the majesty of Your hand. Why have I vainly set up myself as the highest of Your works? My failures are worse than any other living creature under the sun. I cannot build my house in perfection like a bird's; my ingenuity cannot fashion a spider's web; I cannot sail up in the air like a bird, nor live in the water like the fish, nor dwell in harmony like the bee. Half of my offspring die in infancy; the multitude of my household are quarrelers, fighters, drunkards and beggars; the best of my sons and daughters are less faithful than a dog! I go forth to war, to kill my brother, even while Your wide earth has room for all. Yes, I accurse the earth with starvation and sin and untimely death. Oh, if only I could teach myself to not boast of my greatness; if only I could forever feel ashamed in Your sight, O Jehovih!
But I will make a clean breast of my iniquities; I can hide nothing from the eye of my Creator. Hear me then, O Father!
I took up arms against my brother. With great armies I surrounded him so as to rob him.
His widows and orphans I multiplied by the stroke of my sword; the cry of anguish that came out of their mouths I answered with the destruction of my brother's harvests.
To my captains and generals who showed great skill in killing, I built monuments in stone and iron. I inscribed them from top to bottom with their bloody victories.
And in my vanity I called out to the young, saying: See here, the glory of great men! I have built these great monuments to them!
And the youth of my household were excited with ambitions for spoils. The example of my hand made them train themselves for warfare.
To my colonels and generals I gave badges of gold. I called to the young ladies, saying: Come, a great honor I give to you; you may dance with the officers of death!
And they tripped up on tip-toe, elated by the honey of my words! O Jehovih, how have I not covered up my wickedness; how have I not failed to make the flow of my brother's blood the relish of satan!
To my destroying hosts I have given great honor and glory. In the pretense of enforcing peace I hewed my way in flesh and blood.
I made an igneous fatuous, a kingdom. I called out to my people, saying: We must have a kingdom. I showed them no reason for it; but I told them to take up arms and follow me for patriotism's sake. And yet, what was patriotism? See, I made it as something greater than You and Your commandment: Thou shalt not kill.
By the cleverness of my words, I taught them that my brother was my enemy; that to fall upon him and his people and destroy them was great patriotism.
And they ran at the sound of my voice, for my victory in the greatness of my kingdom, and they accomplished great havoc.
I built colleges for training my young men in warfare. I drew boundaries here and there, saying: This is my kingdom! All others are my enemies!
I patted my young men on the head, saying: You dogs of war! Great shall be your glory!
And their judgment was turned away from peace; I made them think that righteousness was to stand up for me and my country and to destroy my brother and his people.
They built me innumerable forts and castles and arsenals. I called unto my people, saying: Come, see the wonderful defenses which I built for you!
And they gave me money and garrisons, and ships of war, and torpedos, shouting: Hurrah for our kingdom! We have faith in these things, but not in You, our Creator!
In this way I led them away from You. I turned down their eyes in the way of death. I put away righteousness through the might of my armies.
I covered the earth with drunkards, and widows and orphans. I reduced them to beggary, but I incited their pride by saying: Look what great standing armies we have!
To the people who said: There shall come a time of peace, when war shall be no more forever, I mocked them and said: You fools!
I know the counts against me, O Father. I cannot hide my iniquity from Your sight. I have said war was a necessary evil to prevent an over populated world! I refused to see the wide, unsettled regions of the earth. With this falsehood in my mouth I stood up before You! I cried out as if for the righteous, saying: I wage war for righteousness, and for the protection of the weak! In the destruction of my brothers I stood as a murderer, pleading this excuse. Stubbornly I persisted in not seeing justice on the other side, while I cut down those whom You had created alive. I raised myself up over the works of Your hand like a pruning knife in Your vineyard.
Even more than this, I persuaded my sons and daughters that to go to war for me was to war for our Father in heaven. By my blasphemy I led them into ruin. And when the battle was over for a day I cried out: Look at the glory of them that were slain for the honor of their country! In this way I have added crime onto crime before You, Jehovih, and destroyed Your beautiful creation. Truly, I do not have one word in justification of my deeds before You!
Oh, if only I had remained faithful with You, Jehovih! But I invented Gods for the glory of the evil one. In one place I called out to my sons and daughters, saying: Become Brahmins; Brahma will save whoever professes his name. In another place I said: Become Buddhists; Buddha will save whoever calls on his name. In another place I said: Be Christians; Christ will save whoever calls on his name. In another place I said: Be Mohammedans; whoever says: There is but one God and Mohammed is his prophet! shall have self-indulgence without sin.
In this way I have divided the earth, O Jehovih! I have divided them into four great idolatries and put into their hands all manner of weapons of destruction; and they have become more terrible against one another than are the beasts of the forest. If only I could put away these great iniquities which I raised up as everlasting torments to the earth. Truly, there is no salvation in any of these.
Their people are forever destroying one another. They quarrel and kill for their respective religions, setting aside Your commandment, Thou shalt not kill. They love their own nation and hate all others. They set aside Your commandment, Love thy neighbor as thyself.
They preach and pray in sufficient truth; but not one of these people practices peace, love and virtue in any degree commensurate with their understanding. These religions have not saved from sin any nation or city on the whole earth.
I have searched in vain for a plan of redemption; a plan that would make the earth a paradise, and the life of man a glory unto You, and a joy unto himself. But alas, the two extremes, riches and poverty, have made the prospect of a millenium a thing of mockery.
For one person who is rich there are a thousand poor, and their interests are in endless conflict with one another. Labor cries out in pain, but capital smites him with a heartless blow.
Nation is against nation; king against king; merchant against merchant; consumer against producer; even man against man, in all things upon the earth.
Because the state is rotten, the politician feeds on it; because society is rotten, the lawyer and court have riches and sumptuous feasts; because the flesh of my people is rotten, the physician finds a harvest of comfort.
Now, O Jehovih, I come to You! You hold the secret of peace and harmony and good will among mortals. Give me of Your light, O Father! Show me the way of proceeding, so that war and crime and poverty may come to an end. Open the way of peace and love and virtue and truth, so that Your children may rejoice in their lives, and glorify You and Your works forever.
Such is the voice of man, O Jehovih! In all the nations of the earth this voice rises up to You! As You spoke to Zarathustra, and to Abraham and Moses, leading them forth out of darkness, O speak, Jehovih!
Man has faith in You only; You alone were sufficient in the olden times. Today, You alone are sufficient unto Your own creation. Speak, O Jehovih!