MYTHIC CONNECTIONS (MYTH IN PRACTICE): MYTH AS HUMAN NATURE While not all myths (such as creation myths) deal with humanity and the human predicament, the majority of lessons in these stories (in)directly touch upon the issue of human nature. The divine imagery and the supernatural elements are by their very nature more grandeur, if not boastful, yet we may in fact learn more about the creation of humanity, its legacy, governing or consequent end (such as in destruction myths). While we are generally dealing with specific myths of specific cultures (in specific times!), the creation may be expressed generally rather than locally. In other words: it is obvious that for example Deucalion and Pyrrha are presented in Greek myths as the progenitors of the future Greek tradition, the story can equally be taken to mean that they represent the primordial human pair … or one of them, such as Adam and Eve (if you count them as protohumans as well). The same can, however, be said about other pairs from different traditions, (in)directly stressing the importance of the culture in question. Also, there are even more supernatural pairs such as the Japanese Izanagi and Izanami, because the realm above or below humanity mostly comes first. The stories of gods may transcend the tempo-spatial dimension of the readers and participators, inspiring sublime awe, yet it is the stories of human characters and their trials and tribulations which touch closer to heart and more directly teach and inspire. We cannot empathize with the divine, since it by default occupies in more postmodern scientific terms different space and time. Even if we take the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism which states that everyone has an inherent Buddha (enlightened) nature, the actual realization that you are potentially “divine” (similar to the “thou art that” doctrine) elevates you beyond the mortal, mundane conception. While there are plenty of inherent paradoxes here, consequently, the issue of empathy actually reverses, since the role of a Bodhisattva (an enlightened being) is to help others on the road to enlightenment. In either case, we can find parallels to the hero stories or general life stories of either downtrodden or inspirational characters. Characters such as Jesus (or the Buddha), who represent the profane and the divine nature in one, play an equally dual role for the perception of their believers and followers (if not critics), serving as mediators between the human and the supernatural sphere and powerfully stressing both their differences and similarities. Consequently, when people have Jesus in their heart, there is an intrinsic connection between the historic Jesus as the martyr and the transcended Jesus as the loving divine power. Human physical existence has long since been on the same trajectory of life and death. This may be extremely oversimplified and while the basic human nature and progression of our life goes through similar stages or rather mythic thresholds, every individual is his or her own microcosmos, rich and diverse as the multitude of stories about human endeavors. The most exemplary endeavors can be found in hero myths which describe the almost limitless possibilities that humans can aspire towards and the extensiveness of human actions and its consequences. The essence of hero myth is the mythic quest; a search in the realm of aspiration of every single character that reflects every individual’s search for oneself. In its purest form, this is the search for wisdom and life that has been the focal point of human endeavors since its conception. What the mythic quest teaches and reflects through its generally metaphysical realms is directly based on the human experiences from which it originated and, what is crucial for our own temporal existence, reflects the nature of life that humanity is centered in. Consequently, myth is the gateway to higher learning. The fantastic, the pseudo-science-fiction world entwined in the cords of both beautiful and banal imaginary threads is the fictitious passage for understanding human nature and our existence in general. There is a vital reason why myths are central aspects of every religion … and religions consequently play a fundamental role in our lives (and by that I don’t mean institutional dogmas). Quite simply, myth and religion both draw on our seemingly innate feature of aspiration and desire to understand both ourselves and the world outside. Myths take human nature as their subject in order to reflect nature itself. We just need to listen a bit more and be constructively critical to boot. Easy peasy, right?
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November 2017
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