The Birth of Super Humans on Earth - Essay Example

The birth of super humans on earth Myths provide an insight into the origins of humanity; they educate humanity about the traditions and culture prevalent in that era. These are not merely tales of some kings who fought on this planet but there is always a message for humanity. The battle itself is a metaphor for the constant turmoil within human beings and the epics teach us to handle it in the righteous manner. The evil forces, the devil within have to be destroyed. Myths give meaning to life; epics deal with the issues of human existence. Each character in any story is of consequence but the hero has special significance. These heroes lead the life of an ordinary human being as this helps us to relate better. Gilgamesh, Herakles, and Rama’s birth has deep significance and each one was sent to earth with a definite purpose. All of them have been presented as super humans, demi-gods, or Gods. As demi-gods or reincarnations, these heroes, through their birth, teach that nothing lasts forever, that erotic women destroy men with impossible demands, that the meaning of life can be explained but has to be experienced, that purpose of birth has to be fulfilled, that divine support is necessary to attain the seemingly impossible, that consciousness has to be awakened and finally inner purification alone can lead one to salvation. Slight variations are found in the collections of stories by different authors and hence after wide reading the ones, which contained the most common incidents, have been used. The birth itself of super humans is different from the ordinary. While no evidence or myth is available about the birth of Gilgamesh, the births of Rama and Herakles were mystical. Rama’s father King Dasaratha of Ayodhya had no sons despite having three wives. He had to perform a sacrifice for progeny when a divine being emerged from the holy fire and offered milk-sweet which had to be consumed by the King’s wives. After consuming this holy sweet, Rama was born to the eldest wife as the reincarnation of Lord Vishnu. Herakles’s birth too was not a normal one. King Zeus was married to Hera but Herakles was his son through another woman called Alcmene, the wife of Amphitryon. It was not for his pleasure that he tricked Alcmene into sleeping with him but she was destined to give birth to the greatest hero of all times. Herakles and Rama were sons of kings. Herakles, half-man and half-God was granted godhood after his death; Gilgamesh was two-thirds God by birth while Rama was an incarnation of God on earth. Dasaratha and Zeus wanted their sons to take over the kingdom but the stepmothers Kaikeyi and Hera planned otherwise. They ensured that Rama and Herakles were sent to exile, Rama for fourteen years and Herakles for twelve years, before they could take over as kings. This period of exile was a great learning experience for them. Both these heroes earned glory through their stepmothers’ enmity. The half-brother of Rama, namely Bharata pleaded with Rama to take over the kingdom after their father’s death while Herakles served as a slave under his half-brother, Eurystheus. Ramayana teaches us to be an ideal son, an ideal king, and an ideal husband and to follow the laws of dharma at every stage. One should never give in to temptations in life. The epic of Gilgamesh and the Labors and Deaths of Herakles teaches us to face adversities, challenges and emerge victorious. Gilgamesh, two-thirds God and one-third human was the greatest king that ever existed on earth but he oppressed the people in his kingdom and was very harsh. He was their king but he killed their sons and raped their daughters. Rama and Herakles on the other hand, were entrusted with the responsibility to kill the evil forces, the animals, or demons that disturbed the life of human beings on earth. Gilgamesh too, killed the demon Humbaba in the cedar forest for the benefit of the people of Uruk. All the three heroes had the support of the Gods in accomplishing their feat, which establishes that this was one of the purposes of their birth. These three heroes teach through their life that immortality can be attained only after one fulfills the purpose of life on earth. The twelve tablets of Gilgamesh substantiate the process of learning that he had to undergo. These tablets have also been compared to the twelve zodiac signs, which influence the human beings on earth. The experiences of Gilgamesh are the experiences that people have to reel under and finally learn the lesson on life and immortality. Death does not come until then. Through Gilgamesh, we learn that man is capable of development. If Gilgamesh is lecherous and headstrong, he is also manly, courageous, a true friend, a superb fighter. As we learn from Herakles too, human beings must eliminate such tendencies. He finally teaches us the lesson of immortality. All human beings are mortal and obliged to face death. Herakles was forced to complete the twelve labors (although initially there were just ten but it was believed that he had taken assistance for two of them, hence he would have to accomplish another two labors). The condition was that if succeeded in completing the twelve glorious deeds he would be made immortal. He did it and then he was granted godhood. He was a brutal person killing ferocious, dangerous animals and man-eating birds. This symbolizes that man needs to kill the ferocious nature or animalistic tendencies within him only after which he can be granted godhood or immortality. Man has to develop and evolve himself to attain immortality. Rama too had to kill demons and evils on earth but he was always a very composed and calm person. He never did anything against the law of nature and followed the principles of a king even at the cost of banishing his wife Sita when the kingdom demanded. Enkidu was sent on earth by the Gods as the conscience of Gilgamesh to tame him. `Let them contend together and leave Uruk in quiet (qtd. by Arthur A. Brown 1996). This teaches us to awaken the consciousness within and take an account of the gain or loss when transcendence from one state to another takes place. Once we recognize the weakness in the self, immediate corrections should be made. Both Gilgamesh and Herakles had countless affairs with women while Rama was focused on Sita alone. They realized the futility of such relations at the end. Enkidu surrendered to the erotic advances of the harlot in the forest and lost his strength while Gilgamesh rejected the sexual advances of Ishtar just as Rama could not be lured by the temptations of Shurpanakha. The ensuing fight in both cases was the result of sexual rejections. A bull was sent to fight Gilgamesh and Enkidu in which Gilgamesh lost his dear friend. Ravana, the brother of Shurpanakha, abducted Rama’s wife Sita to teach him a lesson. Shurpanakha’s advances led to the destruction of her brother Ravana while Ishtar’s demands ultimately killed Enkidu. Rama and Herakles were valiant archers. In the tenth labor, Herakles is asked to fetch the kine of Geryon from Erythia. Erythia is an island just as Sri Lanka is an island from where Rama had to fetch his wife who had been abducted by Ravana, the demon with ten heads. Geryon too had the body of three men joined together at the waist. Herakles had to destroy many wild beasts to reach Erythia and he was granted the boon of a golden goblet, which helped him to cross the ocean. Rama had to travel through the forests and encounter many problems to reach Sri Lanka. Rama, being an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, granted the boon to Hanuman to build a bridge across the ocean to reach Sri Lanka and with the help of a troop of monkeys, they could accomplish their purpose. Divine intervention is necessary to cross the ocean of life and conquer the evils within the self. Adversities in life give a jolt, awaken us, and bring us to reality. Gilgamesh was inconsolable at the death of Enkidu. He embarks upon a quest seeking immortality as a means to peace, meaning, and joy in life. Gilgamesh journeys eleven leagues before the light begins to glimmer, after twelve leagues he has emerged into day. The twelve tablets, the twelve zodiac signs, the twelve labors of Herakles, the fourteen years of exile of Rama are processes of learning. Man evolves as he progresses in life and finally emerges into the day – light dawns in his life, realization comes, the consciousness awakens. Direction can be given but it has to be experienced by the self as Gilgamesh was given all directions to pluck the plant of immortality. Gilgamesh awakens to find the plant gone; he falls to his knees and weeps (Richard Hooker 1996): For whom have I labored? For whom have I journeyed? For whom have I suffered? I have gained absolutely nothing for myself, While all three heroes depicted and educated humanity through their lives, Gilgamesh is an authentic hero. He grows with time. He evolves from a self-centered lecher and demonstrates the qualities of a true friend. He was aggressive but accomplished whatever he determined. Despite resistance from Enkidu, he managed to kill the demon in the cedar forest. He slays the celestial Bull, which had killed his dear friend. Fearing his own death, he then marches off in search of immortality. While these incidents in his life demonstrate what can be achieved through determination, he also sets an example that man is capable of transcending, no matter at what stage he is in. He reveals that immortality is not a material gain; it has to be earned through the right deeds in life. Herakles successfully completed the twelve labors. He was granted godhood but until the end, he was fighting for women. He married thrice during his lifetime. Even at the end, he fought until he broke off Akheloos’ horns and won Deianeira. He was revengeful and until the end, he carried grudge against Iole’s father for not giving him his daughter’s hand in marriage. He kept Iole as his mistress as a punishment. His story gives no evidence of growth and maturity as life progresses even though he attained godhood after death and married the Goddess of Youth. Rama, on the other hand was an ideal hero. No doubt, this is what everyone desires to be and there is a lot be learnt from Ramayana but transcendence as in the case of Gilgamesh makes it easier for mortal human beings to identify themselves. Nobody is born perfect; if we were perfect, we would not be humans. Hence, the story of Gilgamesh is practical in the modern day civilization. A study of the three epics reveals that through execution of karmas, through experiences, man can evolve himself and attain godhood at the end. The purpose of human life itself is to merge with God and this has amply been demonstrated through all the three heroes. Godliness within has to be established through the release of impurities and animalistic tendencies. Women tempt, women lure, women attract, women lead man astray; their erotic tendencies cause destruction. They are nothing but delusions in life. The harlot, Ishtar and Shurpanakha are examples of such delusion. The demons or the evil forces that appear to be stronger cannot withstand the powers of God; godliness prevails. Anything that is created has to die; human beings are mortal. Herakles became immortal in death after attaining godhood. To attain the inner purity we need the support and guidance of the gods; divine intervention alone can swim us across the ocean full of wild weeds and sharks. While evidence exists that, these incidents did take place but even if they are mere stories, when depicted human beings find it easier to apply the messages in life. Each epic is unique as they carry diverse messages; each human being is different and requires a different experience to evolve and hence no epic can be classified as better than the others. Works Cited/Bibliography Brown A Arthur, 1996, The Epic of Gilgamesh, URL:< http://eawc.evansville.edu/essays/brown.htm> accessed 30 Nov 2005 Stewart, Michael. "Herakles", Greek Mythology: From the Iliad to the Fall of the Last Tyrant. http://messagenet.com/myths/bios/heracles.html (December 02, 2005) Richard Hooker, 1996, Mesopotamia, http://www.wsu.edu/%7Edee/MESO/GILG.HTM, (December 02, 2005) Summaries and Commentaries for Greek Mythology, http://education.yahoo.com/homework_help/cliffsnotes/mythology/51.html( December 02 2005) Herakles, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heracles> (December 02 2005). Heracles, The Erymanthian Boar, (December 02 2005). The Ramayana, (December 02 2005). Johnson Jean, Rama and the Ramayana: Lessons in Dharma, (December 02 2005). Read More