Jesus 5.0 -- What Easter Means to Me

[Shaman]

Most of us have heard by now of the famous pagan origins of Easter named for the Germanic goddess Eostre.
And many of us have heard those countless springtime versions of resurrection stories of Jesus, Heru, Krishna, Dionysus, Mithras and many other legendary gods.

As one story has it, the Persian deity Mithras had a virgin birth (born from a rock), and he was an offspring of the Sun (which, back then, people often viewed as god). Long before Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding, Mithras had already turned a rock into water. And at the end of his life, Mithras ascended into heaven and was called "saviour" by his devotees who honored him by performing a ritual meal with bread and wine. According to some, the Persian story of Mithras predates the story of Jesus by abot 600 years.

Hmmm...

Another story tells of Heru, the falcon-headed Egyptian god, who preceded the story of Christ by roughly 3,000 years. As one version has it, Heru was born in a cave to a virgin, the only begotten son of Osiris. His birth (near December 25), was heralded by angels and witnessed by sherperds. Heru performed many miracles: walking on water, casting out demons, healing the sick, and giving sight to the blind. According to some versions of the story, he was killed by a scorpion and arose on the third day.

Hmmm....

Now, it could be that religious scholars (and their interpreters) lack, shall we say, originality. It could be that they all suffer from chronic plagarism. Or it could be, as I prefer to believe, that they're all capturing the same divine truth in a simple but powerful allegory of birth, death, and resurrection.

To be sure, there are many variations and heated controveries surrounding these religious stories. Take your pick. There is simply no such thing as a religious fact--all religions require a leap of faith.

But I personally believe that all of these stories fundamentally capture the divine circle of life: we are born into physical form, we die, and then we resurrect (i.e., we are reborn into the spritual realm).

We certainly see clues of this sacred pattern in the cyclical rising (birth) and setting (death) of the sun. We see it in the cyclical waxing (birth) and waning (death) of the moon. We see it in the cyclical four seasons rotating flawlessly from birth (spring) to death (winter) and then back again to spring (rebirth): Easter.

It seems to me that in the divine scheme of things, death is merely a phase or a process--not an actual ending. Death, as we know it, does not exist. We are all eternal spirit passing through a brief human experience. The story of Christ's ascension into the clouds captures this so perfectly. And, more importantly, in his short 33 years, Christ taught us not only how we will "die"--but how we should live.

In the article below, the writer reminds us that even the easter bunny (despite his capitalist mentality) captures a key aspect of this sacred cycle of life--at least for those who grasp the spiritual symbolism of the rabbit and the eggs. (And no, mammals don't lay eggs! Even my 5-year-old daugher knows that!)

Nonetheless, Easter, which aptly arrives at the turn of the spring equinox, is a truly wonderful reminder of this rhythmic perfection of the Divine Being (call it God, Great Spirit, Jehovah, Olodumare, Jesus, Tao, Allah, or whatever you'd like). It's a reminder that we are all intrinsically woven into the divine circle of birth, death, resurrection. But we keep thinking that we're "only human"--forgetting about the eternity of our being.

Indeed, we and the Creator are one, which seems to be precisely what the stories of Jesus and Heru and Mithras and others are trying to tell us. These stories all orginated at a time when humans used allegories to explain our spiritual reality because these allegories are compelling and memorable.

They are also quite similar.

When we humans shed our damnable propensity to declaring our own religion as superior to all others, we will quickly discover, through higher consciousness, the great truth that we are all telling the same timeless story.

Call it Jesus 5.0, if you'd like. Happy Easter!


Here's an interesting article about that mysterious bunny...

Easter Bunny represents rebirth, not capitalism
By: Amanda Gross
Posted: 4/2/09
Easter is almost here and many Christians are observing Lent. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is on the mind. And the Easter bunny. And chocolate eggs.

Wait, what?

Christians all over the world celebrate the day in history, or in the Bible, rather, when Jesus Christ was brought back to life three days after his crucifixion.

This holiday is celebrated in a variety of ways throughout the world.

In the United States, the Easter Bunny comes to mind, along with a hidden basket full of sweet treats the Bunny hid for you the night before.

In France, children look forward to finding eggs on their doorstep left by the bell that dropped them there en route to Rome, where it retreats for Easter day.

In almost all Christian-dominated cultures, including America, Britain, France, Northern and Central European, Australia, and New Zealand, eggs are a crucial part of the holiday.

We decorate the eggs-it is fun. It is colorful. And it is a great family-bonding experience.

But few of us know why, and some are disturbed that this is all the ever-so-holy holiday has been boiled down to.

Although the association is rarely made now, eggs are actually symbolic of the fertility and resurrection, or rebirth, of Jesus. In fact, according to the Web site Factmonster.com, Orthodox Christians in the Middle East and Greece dye the eggs red to represent the blood of Christ.

Rabbits are also symbols of fertility. However, its symbolic inclusion into Easter celebrations was slightly more exaggerated. The idea actually originated in Germany, where an Easter hare laid eggs for children to find. They brought this tradition over to the States through immigration.

The last time I checked, rabbits are mammals and do not lay eggs, but I guess that is beside the symbolic point here of fertility and rebirth.

Some people have become upset about Easter's transgression from a celebration of Christ to a celebration of sugary marshmallow chicks, glittery eggs, and jelly beans. Granted, Easter originated with Christ's rebirth, but things have changed since the year 1000. Ancient things take on new meanings constantly.

As the times change, and people change and modern views come more into play, ancient religious traditions and rules tend to get watered down or changed completely. I think that is okay.

Easter is a holiday that still represents rebirth, but in varied ways. Maybe I do not think of Christ coming back to life on the cross, and I do not dye my eggs to represent Christ's blood, but I do think of the grass becoming greener, the flowers starting to come out, and the other natural joys that the earth "births" every year.

I dye my traditional eggs bright colors and decorate them to represent these exciting developments of a season whose beauty never ceases to astonish me. I get happy about spring and its promise of a warm, sweet, relaxing summer. Now that is a reason to celebrate with chocolate.

The ancient Easter goddess, known as Eostre (in old English) and Ostara (in old German), is illustrated here with animals, including the bunny. According to the 8th century monk Bede, the ancient celebration of the Easter goddess, traditionally held in April, had mostly died out by the 6th or 7th century. Christendom scrapped the pagan goddess, revived the pagan holiday, but replaced the nature goddess with Jesus and the bunny rabbit.