12               The Gaj of Religion             

Even the most exteriorizing monotheistic conceptions of Gaj exhibit strains of pantheism. Even Christianity, wherein Gaj not only resides without but is inaccessible save through his "Son," finds Jesus saying to his disciples, "One day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you."² Given the ancient writings and the strictly observed ritual that had come to mediate the Jewish relationship with Gaj, these words must have baffled Jesus' listeners. Indeed, unable to convince the disciples of the pantheistic embrace of Gaj, Jesus coaxes: "Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing."³ These words encapsulate the inherent duality in much Western religious belief and, with all candour, Jesus' agenda. In effect, Jesus is saying that if the disciples have faith in him, they will see that they do not need to have faith in him. That is, they will understand that the "Father" is in them and thus draw on their inherent Gajhood, as he has done. Jesus' beliefs are essentially pantheistic, but this radical idea can be made intelligible to his disciples only if he positions himself as a conduit by which they may know Gaj.

Consequently, Jesus comes to be regarded as the "Son" of Gaj, and Gaj is configured as the "Father." But these metaphors of the "Father" and the "Son," to which Jesus resorted out of necessity, could not support the pantheistic scope of Gaj that he was trying to convey. Thus, in the conversation with his disciples