Personal Mythology: An Introduction to the Concept - Essay Example

Running head: Personal mythology Personal Mythology Introduction The word Mythology has many meanings. It is the study of myths which means false stories or traditional stories. The main characters of the false stories or myths will be usually Gods or super natural powers. Since God and supernatural powers are associated with religions, the myth stories often considered as the true account of the past by the religious people. This paper briefly explains some basic aspects about myths and mythology.

Cultural association of myths Myths are closely associated with cultures and religion. People from some cultures have more belief in myths compared to others. For example, the African people have strong belief in supernatural powers and they often claim that they can perform miracles with the help of super naturals. Technology has wide influence in reducing the amount of myths, but “In Africa where technology is minimal, you will find people clinging to the intangible.to the supernatural, even to gods” (African Juju, Mysticism and The Supernatural) Black magic and superstitions are part of African life.

Most of the people are uneducated and hence myths has a definite role in their social and cultural life. Examples of myths India is a country consisting of many religions and communities. The Hindu religion which believes in multi God theory has lot of sub divisions and each one of them have different types of Gods, rituals, and beliefs. Each God of Hindu religion has an association with some kind of myths. “Supernatural human life of Ravana God of Ramayana is considered to have ten heads that are symbol of attainment of all seven cosmic layers of lack of information and three subtle world information” (Supernatural human life of Ravana) Ravana is considered to be the king of “Assuras” who has stolen the wife (Sita) of Hindu God Raman and settled in Lanka.

Hanuman the monkey God who was the loyal disciple of Raman has set fire on Lanka and saved Sita from Ravana. My personal life and mythology Though I have belief in religion and God, I don’t have any belief in myths associated with it. For example, I don’t have belief in devils though the Holy Bible says about them. For me the ultimate decider about the future of mankind and the world is the God and no supernatural spirits can change anything against the wish of God. As per my belief God has no origin and no end.

In other words, God has the full control over the entire universe and the whole power and energy is concentrated in the one and only God. I don’t have any belief in multi God theory. Though good and evil are the part of life, I don’t have the belief that evil things are controlled by evil spirits while good things are controlled by God. Conclusions Mythology is the study of myths which deals mainly with gods and supernatural since it is associated with religion mostly. Most of the myths are false stories or traditional stories which are associated with the cultures or religion.

African culture is one of the best example for the association of myths with culture. References 1. African Juju, Mysticism and The Supernatural, 2009, Retrieved on June 16, 2009 from http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/13931 2. Supernatural human life of Ravana, Retrieved on June 16, 2009 from http://www.heavenlygardens.org/album/Gods/image22.htm