Well, kinda’ funny to be writing about this on a blog focused on the society, lifestyle, movies, environment and new technology. Nevertheless, after a recent round of casual discussions with my friends (over a couple of pints of beer!), I would wanna share my thoughts on this.
What (or, may be who?) is a ghost? Going by the classic definition on Wikipedia..
A ghost is said to be the apparition of a deceased person, frequently similar in appearance to that person, and usually encountered in places she or he frequented, the place of his or her death, or in association with the person’s former belongings.
I agree, more or less, with Wikipedia’s definition of ghosts. Various religions treat/consider ghosts in their own form, choreographed to that religion’s ‘personal’ likes and dislikes, and I’m not gonna discuss about them over here. I may believe in God and ghosts, but not in religion.
Do you believe in ghosts? Well, it is subjective! In my opinion, if you believe in God, you must believe in ghosts too, just like there is matter and antimatter. So, atheists can be positive in their thinking that there are no ghosts in this world.
What are ghosts made of? Hmm, an interesting question, but difficult to give a concrete answer. During the conversation with some of my friends (over a couple of pints of beer ,of course!), almost everyone gave a visual representation of a ghost, which resembled a cute friendly little one that ‘comes’ in the movie ‘Casper’. And, all of them, including me, concurred that ghosts are transparent!! Having said that, I have a very different opinion on the composition of ghosts. As a student of science, I would say they are electromagnetic. Our body is electromagnetic, and our imprint (apparition) should also be electromagnetic, with very low energy levels. Perhaps, this is the reason why those so called ‘ghost busters‘ look out for uneven EMF (electromagnetic field) readings (surges or spikes) on their EMF detectors.
Do ghosts have mass? Any matter in this world, be it electromagnetic or not, contains mass, and ghosts are no exceptions. Probably, they will weigh a few trillionth of a milligram, I don’t know. Please let everyone know if you have an answer to this question, or if you know the average weight of ghosts (just in case they are categorized as fat, slim, athletic, average, etc.).
Ghost busting on TV I’ve come across quite a few serials on the Discovery/National Geographic channels, about the various ghost stories, and how these ghost-busters have fun with their infra-red cameras, and EMF detectors. In some cases, I see these religious priests drawing five-pointed stars, and holding a miniature copy of the Bible, chanting something, moving their body back and forth as if attached to a pivot beneath their waist. Then they appear before the TV camera, with full make-up on their faces, to describe the kind of ‘being‘ they encountered during the ritual. This is in all religions, and to me, this is LOL (laugh-out-loud) stuff. Some don’t even know that they are dealing with an atheist ghost. ROTFL (rolling on the floor laughing!). Jokes apart, these serials are seriously funny.
So, here are my thoughts, inferred from various books and online resources:
- I believe that ghosts or spirits are electromagnetic imprints of the deceased person
- Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, and these electromagnetic imprints need energy to sustain its course. Since they are imprints of the deceased person’s thoughts with unaccomplished goals and cravings, they may find a living person with similar thoughts, and merge with him/her (unisex).
- The soul of a person that has accomplished everything in his life, attains Mukthi or Nirvana. Hence, he may not leave an imprint after his death. Huh, very rare! Probably, one in seven billion people?
- Ghosts are not physically harmful. What can a ghost do with a weak EMF field? Slap you? eeeks, scary (did you read, crazy?).
I would never say that the above thoughts are my own ones. I just concur with the various theories, books and brainstorming with my friends. However, I would like to mention one special book that I came across last year, that deviated me from thinking the conventional way about ghosts. And, the book is “Life Before Birth And After Death” by Shri Vethathiri Maharishi. Don’t worry, there is nothing religious in this book. A good read; a view of ghosts and bio-magnetism from a unique perspective.
Got any comments on ghosts, spirits or beer? Lemme know!!
TIP: Since the ghosts/imprints always find someone (with similar thoughts) to dwell with, almost immediately after their owner’s death – graveyards are safer places to visit, 24×7!!
Interesting and Intriguing article
The word Demon is derived from the da_n of Sanskrit as opposed to Dae which simply means naturally arising, and letting things be and the other being forcing ones way, intruding into, arising uncalled, etcetera…from these two definition are derived swara and aswara or asura.
The word Ghost comes from Bhoot, which means past, or unwanted, or uncalled intrusion of the past into the otherwise natural unfolding of the present.
In this sense, we are invaded by ghost every day, hour, literally.
I think an Atheist can go this far, but he can also push little bit further, for example the self is something that extends out and spreads around arranging the surrounding into its own image and feelings. A house is arranged in a particular pattern, and patterns are after all like genes, a living and intelligent imprint of pure information, we are well aware how surrounding can attune us to its own moods.
Ok this far maybe ^_^
-rajiv
@Rajiv – I think we are also like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, the swara and aswara you've mentioned
We all need to be like this if we've to survive in this highly corrupt society.
Hey Naren!
I don believe in ghosts. Period. But over the years, like u , I have been searching for reasons and evidences to believe. Watched this show on Discovery…i think its called ” the Haunting”. They make it almost believable! And I came across some people who swear they have seen a ghost! U shud hear some of the stories
:
One person , a distant relative, told me, he once saw a young woman in white saree sitting cross legged in the middle of a highway at 1 in the night. Yikes. Sounds scary , true. But was it real……?
Well, I told him he must have been drunk and dreaming about gals!
My uncle told me ….when he was a baby…..whenever his mother would put him in the cradle and leave the room, she would come back and find that the baby was lying on the floor…but still asleep. I just rolled my eyes for that story.
@Suni – Whoever (more than 90%) believes in ghosts, believe that they can do psychological and physical harm – which sadly is not the truth. There are no friendly ghosts or dangerous/mischievous ghosts. Believing in such things is absurd. Having said that, if you believe in blessings, you must also be believing in curses. These are just positive and negative waves (a starter book on Reiki would help at the moment) that may influence the way we think and act. Do not think that these are superstitions. There is a scientific connection between our body's electromagnetic mechanism (again, you may relate this to Advaitha principles) and our subsequent thoughts and actions. Phew! if you do a deep dive into this..it is never ending
but worth exploring!!
Any attempt to explain ghosts by “electro-magnetism” will fail. Most basically, electro-magnetism doesn't have any physical existance.
Your best bet is to go the route they use for fantasy- ghosts are from another dimension. You can get away with alot if said dimension doesn't obey the rules of logic- the Immaterium from 40K is a particularly good example… and gives you an idea why that is really, really bad.
@Samuel – Electro-magnetism doesn't have a physical appearance – that's what 've mentioned in my post. And that's why I also said that these electromagenetic fields cannot do physical harm.
Can you pinpoint where our thoughts reside inside our body? and how do they look like? do they have a physical form? Well, these apply exactly to those memory imprints in the form of electromagentic fields, which many refer to as ghosts. This is not in another dimension..per se
Ok, as I'm reading the posts I have this thought (Thanks Rajiv for inspiration)…if we are all patterns (thoughts, emotions, energy…) spreading out and arranging other patterns around us, forming them to our image or being formed by them, when we cease to have physical presence, is perhaps our pattern merely more closely merged with those that still have a physical embodiment? And then bits of patterns, taken from the whole become more concentrated and attached to new little bodies at birth? With all the people in the world, the merging and leaving, ebb and flow of patterns (thoughts, emotions, energy, essence of whatever type) would be barely perceptible by the individual. It reminds me of a theory of pre-/afterlife concocted by a group of us in second year of university – that all humanity exists as a whole, good/bad – everything as one essence, and that we are split off into physical bodies for the duration of our lifetime, and reunited at the end. Hence why so many people are so lonely and searching for their 'soulmate' or belonging of some type – they miss the collective of the group and acutely feel the isolation. OK, I won't deny that there was something a little stronger than beer involved in this discussion and we might have just finished watching Star Trek: Next Generation, but it's fascinating to see where these theories intersect…
Interesting topic! But i don't think i am educated enough to answer the question! But well, i do believe that they exist! And i get scared as hell when i hear people telling their experience:D
Well, to be frank, no one in this world is completely 'educated' to say a firm YES or NO. But I do believe in certain theories about the electromagnetic fields that may contain memory imprints of the deceased…especially if that deceased has an unnatural death (accident, suicide, murder) the intensity of the EMF is more..trying to find a suitable 'soul-mate' to get attached to and carry out the unfinished businesses
What do you think?
You have a point there! People who fit your description are called “Brahma Rakshasas”!
Brahma Rakshasas? Well, who are they? sounds funky though
[...] and again, tagged with the word UNEXPLAINED. Some time ago, my friend Ubi wrote an article on the scientific composition of ghosts, and I’m able to partly, if not completely, relate some of his points with this [...]
Don't believe in ghosts so I can tell you something about beer. It's makes a great hair conditioner.
heh heh
I will pass the word around and you will soon know all about a ghosts' DNA, …and thinking processes also. Since they can squeeze through narrow spaces, I guess ghosts have something in common with cats! They can even see in the dark
Beer and hair conditioner. Never tried, and don’t want to
Btw, ghosts need not squeeze through narrow spaces..can’t they just pass through?