Melting Snow

Myths versus Independent Investigation of Truth

Monday, February 20, 2017

"Baha’u’llah continually urges man to free himself from the superstitions and traditions of the past and become an investigator of reality, for it will then be seen that God has revealed his light many times in order to illumine mankind in the path of evolution, in various countries and through many different prophets, masters and sages."

Abdu’l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 8.1

The "Blogging Circle of Friends "  prompt for DAY 1558
"Myths are public dreams, dreams are private myths." Joseph Campbell What is your opinion of this statement? Or write a myth about something that is going on in the world or your life. If you want write a myth about your favorite pet or stuffed animal.

I don't entirely agree with Joseph Campbell on this. I think in some cases it is a true statement, while it other cases it is false. This statement, like myths, contains a shadow of truth; however, shadows are the results of light shining behind a solid object or something that appears solid (clouds appear solid and the sun shining behind them will cast a shadow on the ground). The shadow resembles the object without being the object. This is the problem with public myths, people accept them as solid object rather then shadows cast by a light source.

There are a lot of myths running rampant in modern society. Myths that have lost contact with both the light source and the object that created them. These myths have taken on a life of their own and like zombies searching for brains shamble across the the political, national and religious landscapes of humanity. The only way to dispel these myths is to investigate truth for oneself. This is not an easy task for human beings because they must put aside the traditions or superstitions taught to them through they years. While it is not easy it is possible through meditation, prayer and reading with a critical eye to put aside those superstitions, traditions and myths to discover truth.

Footnotes
1  Quoted in http://bahaiteachings.org/bahai-principles-independent-investigation-of-truth