The story of Osiris – the weight of a soul

weighing the worth of a life –

I love the Egyptian story of the dead soul who comes to the gates of the land of the dead to be judged and has his/her heart weighed against the
feather of Maat . And undergoes the
judgment of Osiris carried out ny Osiris or the
protector of the dead – Anubis using
the wisdom of Thoth to determine if they are worthy of paradise.
The judgment is based on more than one factor.

Declaration of Innocence

‘Behold, I have come to You,

Bringing Justice to You,

Repelling evil for you.

I have not done evil against men.

I have not improvished my associates.

I have not acted crookedly in the Place of Justice.

……

I have not defiled a god.

I have not worsened the lot of an orphan.

I have not done what the gods detest.

I have not calumniated a servant to his master.

I have not caused either pain or hunger.

I have not brought forth tears.

I have not killed.

I have not commanded to kill.

I have not caused anyone sorrow.

…..

Which leads to deep philosophical questions about the weight of a soul or value of a person’s life.

• If you could go back in time and kill Hitler or Stalin, should you? Their deeds were evil, but many good things came out of their evil. Could they have been had otherwise?

• do you save a friend or a group of strangers? Which child do you save if both are in danger?

• Are the rich or poor of more value to society?

• What about the talented/stupid, sick, old, criminal, misfit? If we allow that they have varying worth, do we want homogeneity/conformity to such a degree? That we are willing to kill to get it? When do you not fit into the narrower box of what should be?

….

in the words of Martin Niemoeller

….

• And if you do make such life/death assessments of others, how could you not be affected by that? Would you become more evil if you took this decision upon yourself?

• Are you a hero or a villain if you take a life to save another’s or your own? Is it really black or white?

• Can a word, a name be responsible for someone’s life loss, if you didn’t know how vulnerable they were? Are you responsible or are they?

• And if you do it or allow it to be done in your stead, who is the guilty party? Is it not you?

Bottomline, when you judge the one person you are angry or ashamed about and find them wanting, how soon is it before you get judged and found lacking?
And how do you judge their life when you don’t see inside of it? Like a god/dess can?

….

For me? I think I’ll leave it to Osiris.

This series of questions is just something to consider. I honestly don’t expect answers. But a discussion would be cool, … if not related to any particular thing.