In ancient Egyptian mythology, when a person dies his or her body needed to be preserved so it could be reunited with the person's soul in the afterlife.
This ritual mummification has mysterious origins that archaeologists and scientists do not quite understand how a culture created such a complex death ritual.
In simple terms, when a person passes away their body "is at rest," but its spirit or soul, embarks on a journey through the underworld. There are many tests, dangers and judgments in this passage toward eternal paradise.
The disunion of the body and soul is the key element. Once the soul completes its journey, its body is resurrected in the after life to be joined back together again. This reconstruction apparently would incorporate all the deceased memories, personality, position and power had as a human being.
This ritual does have a parallel in the LOST universe.
It is hard to grapple with the fact that the characters were in the sideways world, but could not remember their past, especially their island time. If you look at the memory cycle of the main characters it was:
PRE-FLIGHT 815 . . . . . ISLAND CRASH . . . . . . . SIDEWAYS WORLD AWAKENING
There are a few ways to comprehend this disconnect.
First, the characters were killed in the plane crash, but their "souls" continued to live on to journey through the underworld (the island) on their way to be reunited with their bodies in the sideways world (the awakening). It would then seem that the body and brain would contain the hardware in which to access the memories of the departed, especially those "unknown" or new ones of the soul's passage through the underworld.
Second, the characters were killed in the plane crash, but their "bodies" continued to live on in reincarnated form at a base level while their souls left this plane of existence to create the sideways world purgatory (limbo - - - waiting for their bodies to return). The ancient Egyptians respect for the dead body could be the answer here, since the body is the vessel for the soul. The "new" body could have the physical attributes to move in the plane of another dimension to be re-fused with the old body in the after life.
Third, the characters barely survived the crash but part of their spiritual being prematurely fled to the afterlife (and then had to create a second world, the sideways narrative, in order to provide a beacon for its full soul to find it.) The characters continue to live out their lives, both on and off the island, only coming to re-connect with their departed soul fragment after their death. But this does explain the delay in the reunification of the soul and body with the deep memories of the island time. The island experience is what brought the characters together.
One theory was that Eloise was suppressing the final unification of the body and spirits of the island friends so she could keep her son, Daniel, from awakening and realizing that she had killed him while he time traveled on the island. Only a strong emotional hit or jolt awakened the characters in the sideways world.
These elements do fit in the heavy Egyptian themes on the island but do not fully fit together in the sideways context.
Showing posts with label ritual. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ritual. Show all posts
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Saturday, June 21, 2014
ANCIENT CONCEPTS
Many ancient cultures had elaborate burial rituals, with some of the concepts unclear to modern archaeologists.
In ancient Egypt, there were burial manuals, Book of the Dead, which were supposed to help the deceased in his or her passage through the underworld in order to have their souls reunite with their body in paradise.
The scarab beetle was a significant symbol in that culture. It is known to roll large balls of dung and depositing them in deep burrows. The female beetle would lay its eggs inside the ball. When hatched, the larvae would consume the ball as a food source. When consumed, the young beetles would emerge from the burrow. At that time, the ancients believed they were "born."
The ancient Egyptians worshipped the beetles as "Khepera," associated with the creator god, Atum. Khepera was thought to use its antenna to symbolically push the setting sun along the sky, which was directly related to the passage from night (the underworld) to the day (rebirth).
Scarab amulets were often placed over the heart of the mummified deceased. These heart scarabs were supposed to be weighed against "the feather of truth" during the underworld's final judgment ritual. Many were inscribed with magic spells. At that ritual, a person's heart, if heavy with sin, would be weighed against a feather. If one's heart weighed less than a feather, the soul could move on to paradise. If not, the soul was damned to eternal nothingness.
The Egyptians took things that they saw in nature, used them as symbols to connect with their gods, in order to bridge the gap between this world and their god's paradise after death.
The concept of mummification is another key aspect of the burial rites. Just as with the scarab beetle, a body is encased and then buried in the ground. It was that procedure that would lead to a metamorphosis from an Earthly body to change into a spiritual one that could move on in the after life. Again, the ancients saw in nature a caterpillar spin a cocoon to seemingly die in a airless pouch, only to later emerge as a "new" being, a butterfly. This is what the Egyptians thought was going to happen to them after death: that their body would be transformed into a new being - - - the five aspects of the human soul reuniting with a new body in heaven.
We dwell on Egyptian mythology because LOST itself dwelled on Egyptian mythology a lot. This was an intentional choice by the creators and writers of the series to have hieroglyphs in the temple which contained passages from the Book of the Dead. One has to assume that so much time and effort in the background words and symbols was important to understand the series as a whole.
Whether the Island's main characters were going through an underworld journey or symbolically going through a metamorphosis of their soul, mind or personality, it really does not matter in this discussion. What the Island was trying to accomplish was to give each person an opportunity to have an introspective ritual for which that person could realize a fundamental change so that they could be "reborn" and live a better life (now or in the future). For some, the future was death itself. Others, it was the opportunity to live a better, more meaningful life, off the island.
Whether the LOST writers pulled off this complex symbolism to actual character development is debatable because of the conflicting narratives used throughout the series. But seen through the eyes of an ancient Egyptian priest, LOST does contain many ancient life and death concepts.
In ancient Egypt, there were burial manuals, Book of the Dead, which were supposed to help the deceased in his or her passage through the underworld in order to have their souls reunite with their body in paradise.
The scarab beetle was a significant symbol in that culture. It is known to roll large balls of dung and depositing them in deep burrows. The female beetle would lay its eggs inside the ball. When hatched, the larvae would consume the ball as a food source. When consumed, the young beetles would emerge from the burrow. At that time, the ancients believed they were "born."
The ancient Egyptians worshipped the beetles as "Khepera," associated with the creator god, Atum. Khepera was thought to use its antenna to symbolically push the setting sun along the sky, which was directly related to the passage from night (the underworld) to the day (rebirth).
Scarab amulets were often placed over the heart of the mummified deceased. These heart scarabs were supposed to be weighed against "the feather of truth" during the underworld's final judgment ritual. Many were inscribed with magic spells. At that ritual, a person's heart, if heavy with sin, would be weighed against a feather. If one's heart weighed less than a feather, the soul could move on to paradise. If not, the soul was damned to eternal nothingness.
The Egyptians took things that they saw in nature, used them as symbols to connect with their gods, in order to bridge the gap between this world and their god's paradise after death.
The concept of mummification is another key aspect of the burial rites. Just as with the scarab beetle, a body is encased and then buried in the ground. It was that procedure that would lead to a metamorphosis from an Earthly body to change into a spiritual one that could move on in the after life. Again, the ancients saw in nature a caterpillar spin a cocoon to seemingly die in a airless pouch, only to later emerge as a "new" being, a butterfly. This is what the Egyptians thought was going to happen to them after death: that their body would be transformed into a new being - - - the five aspects of the human soul reuniting with a new body in heaven.
We dwell on Egyptian mythology because LOST itself dwelled on Egyptian mythology a lot. This was an intentional choice by the creators and writers of the series to have hieroglyphs in the temple which contained passages from the Book of the Dead. One has to assume that so much time and effort in the background words and symbols was important to understand the series as a whole.
Whether the Island's main characters were going through an underworld journey or symbolically going through a metamorphosis of their soul, mind or personality, it really does not matter in this discussion. What the Island was trying to accomplish was to give each person an opportunity to have an introspective ritual for which that person could realize a fundamental change so that they could be "reborn" and live a better life (now or in the future). For some, the future was death itself. Others, it was the opportunity to live a better, more meaningful life, off the island.
Whether the LOST writers pulled off this complex symbolism to actual character development is debatable because of the conflicting narratives used throughout the series. But seen through the eyes of an ancient Egyptian priest, LOST does contain many ancient life and death concepts.
Monday, December 23, 2013
RITUAL
When Ben executed his purge of the Dharma group, he took the bodies to an uncovered mass grave.
Ben also sought to kill Locke when he was pushed into the mass grave.He also gassed his own father in a mini-bus, and left his remains to be found by Hurley decades later. When Ben kills Widmore, we do not see any action but leaving the body behind in the barrack cabin. Open burial seems to be disrespectful, but it would seem the choice of Ben's enemies and foes.
There were several bodies left in the remains of their accident, such as the pilot in the cockpit or Yemi in the passenger compartment of the Beechcraft. There was no indication that the smoke monster's kiling sprees in the Roman village or to the Black Rock crew had any subsequent burial ritual.
Now, some suspect that the open burial allowed the smoke monster to "take over" a dead person's body and memories. That is why the Dharma group was explicit in their requirement that any fallen comrade be buried as soon as possible.
The 815 survivors used two means of burial: fire, when they torched the airplane section, and burial near the bluff next to the beach. Fire is an ancient means to dispose of human remains. Jacob was stabbed by Ben in the statue, but Flocke made sure to incinerate Jacob's body in the fire. But Jacob would return (in at least a ghost form) to interact with his final candidates.
Another ancient means of burial was placing corpses in caves. Jacob did so with Crazy Mother and his brother, who were found by Jack, Kate and Locke (who called them Adam and Eve).
The Others also used a Viking funeral boat pyre. The example seen was Colleen, who died in her pregnancy, was set off into the water in a boat of fire while Juliet brought Jack to the ceremony.
In a few circumstances, people died and they were cast off into the water, such as Desmond killing the guards in the underwater communications station. Many passengers presumably drowned during the plane crash.
But in all the forms of island burial, there was no distinct religious element. There were few, if any, words spoken. It seemed like everyone on the island was resigned to this fate, death. It was just a matter of time; a slow waiting game against the island and its hidden jungle reapers.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
PYRAMIDS
The science community will always have debates about ancient history. One of the most diverse debate is how various ancient cultures from around the world created the same type of massive structures when they had no contact with each other.
Science researchers have found massive pyramid structures in Egypt, central China, Mexico and South America. Some archaeologists believe that these ancient people found that stepping back stones to form a pyramid would be the easiest way to make a large structure because its base is wider at the bottom. However, others point out that the same people did not make pyramid shaped houses, granaries or other basic structures (went more to a box form of walls.)
Then there is a debate about what the pyramids purpose was to those ancient civilizations. Most believe that these towering structures were used as astronomical observatories to align important cosmic events such as the solstice or equinox to the planting or harvesting cycles of the land. Many believe that these structures served as the centerpiece of community rituals, including religious ceremonies. Other historians believe that some of these structures were made to show the power and authority of the king against his own people and other tribal rivals. Pyramids were symbols of power, wealth, control and status.
In Egypt, the consensus is that the pyramids were used as tombs for the kings. However, no modern science expedition found any Pharoah remains inside the pyramid itself; the temple and burial complex usually was found around the main pyramid structure.
The pyramids are tied to ritual beliefs. Apparently the Pharaoh believed, like any commoner among his people, that every living body was inhabited by a double, or ka, which need not die with the breath; and that the ka would survive all the more completely if the flesh were preserved against hunger, violence and decay.
The pyramids of Egypt, by its height, its form and its position, sought stability as a means to traverse death; and except for its square corners it took the natural form that any homogeneous group of solids would take if allowed to fall unimpeded to the earth. The symbolic nature of the pyramid pointing to the sky, or aligned with the constellations, are clues to the ancient philosophies.
But most science teams cannot understand how these massive structures were built. Even today, with modern machinery and crane technologies, it would be very difficult for the 2013 construction crews to build a pyramid with such precision and in the time frame that the ancients completed their work. So the speculation is that the ancients had help or technology that we cannot comprehend. Pyramids are a lasting mystery hidden in plain site.
In LOST, we go into the walled temple structure with two outside court yards. We are taken into the magical pool inside the temple, where there are columns of Egyptian hieroglyphs which appear to be prayers to the underworld gods. But it is interesting to note, we never see an actual pyramid on the island. What happened to it? Or why was it not built? The people brought to the island once built the massive Taweret statue that was destroyed with the Black Rock hurricane ship wreck.
If the pyramids were the "space ships" for the spiritual soul to go to the underworld or heavens, then that could explain why there was no pyramid on the island: it was not needed. The island was the destination. Except, that does not explain why modern men who did not share ancient Egyptian beliefs, would have this island was their destination, alive or dead.
Science researchers have found massive pyramid structures in Egypt, central China, Mexico and South America. Some archaeologists believe that these ancient people found that stepping back stones to form a pyramid would be the easiest way to make a large structure because its base is wider at the bottom. However, others point out that the same people did not make pyramid shaped houses, granaries or other basic structures (went more to a box form of walls.)
Then there is a debate about what the pyramids purpose was to those ancient civilizations. Most believe that these towering structures were used as astronomical observatories to align important cosmic events such as the solstice or equinox to the planting or harvesting cycles of the land. Many believe that these structures served as the centerpiece of community rituals, including religious ceremonies. Other historians believe that some of these structures were made to show the power and authority of the king against his own people and other tribal rivals. Pyramids were symbols of power, wealth, control and status.
In Egypt, the consensus is that the pyramids were used as tombs for the kings. However, no modern science expedition found any Pharoah remains inside the pyramid itself; the temple and burial complex usually was found around the main pyramid structure.
The pyramids are tied to ritual beliefs. Apparently the Pharaoh believed, like any commoner among his people, that every living body was inhabited by a double, or ka, which need not die with the breath; and that the ka would survive all the more completely if the flesh were preserved against hunger, violence and decay.
The pyramids of Egypt, by its height, its form and its position, sought stability as a means to traverse death; and except for its square corners it took the natural form that any homogeneous group of solids would take if allowed to fall unimpeded to the earth. The symbolic nature of the pyramid pointing to the sky, or aligned with the constellations, are clues to the ancient philosophies.
But most science teams cannot understand how these massive structures were built. Even today, with modern machinery and crane technologies, it would be very difficult for the 2013 construction crews to build a pyramid with such precision and in the time frame that the ancients completed their work. So the speculation is that the ancients had help or technology that we cannot comprehend. Pyramids are a lasting mystery hidden in plain site.
In LOST, we go into the walled temple structure with two outside court yards. We are taken into the magical pool inside the temple, where there are columns of Egyptian hieroglyphs which appear to be prayers to the underworld gods. But it is interesting to note, we never see an actual pyramid on the island. What happened to it? Or why was it not built? The people brought to the island once built the massive Taweret statue that was destroyed with the Black Rock hurricane ship wreck.
If the pyramids were the "space ships" for the spiritual soul to go to the underworld or heavens, then that could explain why there was no pyramid on the island: it was not needed. The island was the destination. Except, that does not explain why modern men who did not share ancient Egyptian beliefs, would have this island was their destination, alive or dead.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
A BELIEF SYSTEM
The finality of LOST has one element that no one can dispute: death.
Everyone was dead in The End.
It is just a question of fact, metaphysical, spiritual or cosmic, when each character actually died.
But they all died.
Then one must ponder if that is the ultimate truth, that everyone dies, what was the show's belief system towards death?
In The End, all major religious symbols were contained in the stain glass. But the series as a whole had no deep moral, right or wrong, punishment for sins or crimes lessons. It had an atheist tone even though there were clear religious themes like faith versus science, etc.
There were three main religious philosophies that were in the series. First, there was a deep connection to the ancient Egyptians. The first great civilization had extremely detailed religious death rituals, embodied in the Book of the Dead and other tomb hieroglyphs. In order for a dead person to reach paradise in the afterlife, the deceased body and soul would be separated upon death. The dead would be reanimated in the underworld, where there would be numerous tests, dangers and conflicts. If at the time of judgment, one's heart weighed less than a feather, that person was fit to move on to the afterlife, to be reunited with its soul in paradise.
The ancient Greeks also had a similar view of the after life. In it, they believed that a dead person's soul would be re-established with speech and movement in the after life realm, where the person would be subject to punishment and purification. After this stage was completed, the dead person would be "reborn" in the realm of the gods.
Then there was the Buddhism-Hindu elements. Buddhism follows the basic Hindu doctrines of reincarnation and karma, as well as the notion that the ultimate goal of the religious life is to escape the cycle of death and rebirth. Buddha asserted that what keeps us bound to the death/rebirth process is desire, desire in the sense of wanting or craving anything in the world. Hence, the goal of getting off the endless wheel of reincarnation necessarily involves freeing oneself from desire.Nirvana is the Buddhist term for liberation. Nirvana literally means extinction, and it refers to the extinction of all craving, an extinction that allows one to become liberated. Individuals do not possess eternal souls. Instead of eternal souls, individuals consist of a "bundle" of habits, memories, sensations, desires, and so forth, which together delude one into thinking that he or she consists of a stable, lasting self. Despite its transitory nature, this false self hangs together as a unit, and even reincarnates in body after body. In Buddhism, as well as in Hinduism, life in a corporeal body is viewed negatively, as the source of all suffering. Hence, the goal is to obtain release. In Buddhism, this means abandoning the false sense of self so that the bundle of memories and impulses disintegrates, leaving nothing to reincarnate and hence nothing to experience pain. It is imperative that the dying individual remain fully aware for as long as possible because the thoughts one has while passing over into death heavily influence the nature of both the after-death experience and, if one fails to achieve nirvana, the state of one's next incarnation.
Everyone was dead in The End.
It is just a question of fact, metaphysical, spiritual or cosmic, when each character actually died.
But they all died.
Then one must ponder if that is the ultimate truth, that everyone dies, what was the show's belief system towards death?
In The End, all major religious symbols were contained in the stain glass. But the series as a whole had no deep moral, right or wrong, punishment for sins or crimes lessons. It had an atheist tone even though there were clear religious themes like faith versus science, etc.
There were three main religious philosophies that were in the series. First, there was a deep connection to the ancient Egyptians. The first great civilization had extremely detailed religious death rituals, embodied in the Book of the Dead and other tomb hieroglyphs. In order for a dead person to reach paradise in the afterlife, the deceased body and soul would be separated upon death. The dead would be reanimated in the underworld, where there would be numerous tests, dangers and conflicts. If at the time of judgment, one's heart weighed less than a feather, that person was fit to move on to the afterlife, to be reunited with its soul in paradise.
The ancient Greeks also had a similar view of the after life. In it, they believed that a dead person's soul would be re-established with speech and movement in the after life realm, where the person would be subject to punishment and purification. After this stage was completed, the dead person would be "reborn" in the realm of the gods.
Then there was the Buddhism-Hindu elements. Buddhism follows the basic Hindu doctrines of reincarnation and karma, as well as the notion that the ultimate goal of the religious life is to escape the cycle of death and rebirth. Buddha asserted that what keeps us bound to the death/rebirth process is desire, desire in the sense of wanting or craving anything in the world. Hence, the goal of getting off the endless wheel of reincarnation necessarily involves freeing oneself from desire.Nirvana is the Buddhist term for liberation. Nirvana literally means extinction, and it refers to the extinction of all craving, an extinction that allows one to become liberated. Individuals do not possess eternal souls. Instead of eternal souls, individuals consist of a "bundle" of habits, memories, sensations, desires, and so forth, which together delude one into thinking that he or she consists of a stable, lasting self. Despite its transitory nature, this false self hangs together as a unit, and even reincarnates in body after body. In Buddhism, as well as in Hinduism, life in a corporeal body is viewed negatively, as the source of all suffering. Hence, the goal is to obtain release. In Buddhism, this means abandoning the false sense of self so that the bundle of memories and impulses disintegrates, leaving nothing to reincarnate and hence nothing to experience pain. It is imperative that the dying individual remain fully aware for as long as possible because the thoughts one has while passing over into death heavily influence the nature of both the after-death experience and, if one fails to achieve nirvana, the state of one's next incarnation.
The root of Hindu religious beliefs is that one should strive to connect one's self, the Atman, with the
Godhead, the Brahman, which is the spiritual source of the material world. Hindus also believe in reincarnation,
samsara, and that one is reborn into a station and particular set of circumstances in life depending on one's
actions, karma, and duties, dharma, in the previous life.
The goal is join the Godhead and get off the cycle of birth, death and rebirth, which only leads to suffering, because of man's incessant and insatiable desires. In Hindu religious beliefs, there are four ways (yoga = path) of achieving this union:
Jnana Yoga: based on knowledge
Bhakti Yoga: based on service to God
Karma Yoga: based on work for God (ie, not for oneself)
Raja Yoga: based on psychophysical exercise.
In LOST, the light cave force was described as "life, death and rebirth," which parallels the Hindu principles of the after life. LOST was also a bundle of character memories being re-worked or re-ordered which follows a pattern of thought in Buddhism. The ancient Greeks felt that after death, punishment and purification was necessary in order for a soul to move on in the after life. Likewise, the ancient Egyptians believed that there had to be final judgment in order for one's body to be reunited with its soul.
Perhaps the problem with LOST was that it jumbled these religious tenets not create a unified belief system for the show, but only to add a layer of conceptual confusion to the show's premise.
The goal is join the Godhead and get off the cycle of birth, death and rebirth, which only leads to suffering, because of man's incessant and insatiable desires. In Hindu religious beliefs, there are four ways (yoga = path) of achieving this union:
Jnana Yoga: based on knowledge
Bhakti Yoga: based on service to God
Karma Yoga: based on work for God (ie, not for oneself)
Raja Yoga: based on psychophysical exercise.
In LOST, the light cave force was described as "life, death and rebirth," which parallels the Hindu principles of the after life. LOST was also a bundle of character memories being re-worked or re-ordered which follows a pattern of thought in Buddhism. The ancient Greeks felt that after death, punishment and purification was necessary in order for a soul to move on in the after life. Likewise, the ancient Egyptians believed that there had to be final judgment in order for one's body to be reunited with its soul.
Perhaps the problem with LOST was that it jumbled these religious tenets not create a unified belief system for the show, but only to add a layer of conceptual confusion to the show's premise.
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