The Saturn
Presentation of this planet and its moons, including ring and creatures
- Chapter 40 -
Law against arrogance. The law of cleanliness. Aversion to everything dead. Funeral services. Marriage.
What does this political constitution contain? Its content is as follows: Nobody is allowed to talk to any great extent about his physical beauty and size or about any other aspect of himself.
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So that this important commandment is obeyed at all times, they already impress upon their children that they are very small and all worldly greatness appears to the Great Spirit as a mere nothing. That is why there is not one patriarch or elder and much less a family member who thinks anything great about himself.
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They make the following comment regarding the beauty of the body: "All of us are equally beautiful as the image of the Great Spirit. Anyone who would say and believe that he is beautiful by himself and therefore have an advantage over all the others would no longer resemble the eternal primary image, and that would make him uglier than the ugliest animal on the celestial body."
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The spirits of the departed assist in maintaining this law. Should someone be beset by vanity, he will soon be confronted by some horrible, distorted, smirking face. Whoever has been punished once in this manner will soon discard all his vanity; the Saturnites know that the spirits do not jest, because it does not matter in what manner they express themselves, they are always serious. This is a political law which is observed by the important and the less important, by old and young.
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As far as this greatness is concerned, it remains for always in the spirit, namely that you consider yourself as small or as the least important person. That is why the spirits on Saturn do not have a good relationship with the spirits on earth, because nothing is more predominant than their putative greatness.
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The next law is a domestic law which is based upon the recommendation and maintenance of cleanliness; that is why you will rarely find anyone on Saturn who is not clean, whether as regards body or clothing.
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Regardless of the law mentioned above, their main teachings are not to attach too much value to the physical body, because it is mortal; however, the opposite applies to the spirit, because he is immortal.
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This is why the Saturnites have an aversion for everything dead and, as you know, they will not live in dead houses, but only in live ones. Much less will they tolerate anything dead in a temple which is blessed by God.
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Everything must be kept clean, especially the body, since it is the dwelling place of the immortal spirit. And that is another house rule!
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What happens on Saturn with the bodies of departed human beings? They are not buried as on earth, nor are they cremated as is the custom in some earthly countries. The bodies are taken to a place where there is a pyramid tree forest. While there, the dead are placed face down on the ground and covered with the branches of the pyramid tree. The bodies of dead females are hung from a branch close to the trunk of the tree by tying their feet together with the head almost touching the ground.
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You probably might think that a bad odor would pervade the air for quite a distance when such large bodies begin to putrefy, but on this planet this is not at all the case; instead, it is the opposite. Since the bodies of the Saturnites are more ethereal and lighter than your physical, coarse "serpent bodies," they evaporate in a very short time after the person has departed, and this evaporation produces a very pleasant fragrance in that region.
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When this fragrance enters the nostrils of a Saturnite, he falls to the ground full of gratitude towards the Great Spirit and implores Him to permit the spirit of the one whose fragrance has touched his nostrils to come to him so that together they can give praise to the Great Spirit for the deliverance from the prison of the flesh. This happens all the time, especially when the petitioner is serious.
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Do the Saturnites mourn when someone experiences physical death? The answer is no. For example when an elder has died, the next oldest in the order becomes his successor, and asks all family members to fall to the ground and thank the Great Spirit for bestowing upon the patriarch such great blessings that He has called him into the eternal life.
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After that they have to beseech the Great Spirit that He may graciously permit the spirit of the departed to appear soon to the new elder to lead him into the inner sanctum of the temple to bless him there for the sublime office of the Great Spirit.
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This always happens visibly for the entire family to see. The spirit of the departed elder appears in his glory and asks the new elder in perceptible words to follow him into the inner sanctum of the temple and for the family to follow him into the general area of the temple.
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While there, the spirit places the new elder onto the pulpit in the presence of the family, blesses him, and points out that the Great Spirit is pleased that the new elder has taken over the holy office and therefore the family should obey him in all matters and observe his words, whatever they might be.
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He then asks the men to remove his dead body in the usual manner; he blesses the entire family and promises that the newly installed patriarch will be the head of the family as long as it pleases the Great Spirit, and he will remain the teacher and leader of the entire family in accordance with the will of the Great Spirit.
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Following that, the spirit vanishes. The new elder and the entire family fall to the ground and thank the Great Spirit for everything that has occurred. Once the prayer of thanksgiving is complete, they all arise, immediately remove the body of the departed elder, and take him to a previously designated place and then go home in silence.
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When a woman dies, they also ask for the appearance of her spirit. After her appearance, they pray a thanksgiving prayer at home. Then the body of the departed is taken to a previously designated place. The body of a woman evaporates considerably faster than that of a man; under favorable circumstances it evaporates so quickly that on the tenth day nothing remains, not even the bones.
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The quick decomposition is accelerated naturally by the great needle tree (uhurba) which robs the corpse located beneath it of all its electricity with its millions of tips. As soon as the electricity has completely escaped from any natural body, the body vanishes as if consumed by a fire.
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The observance of these rules is another one of those "important house rules" which are to be followed exactly and strictly at all times.
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Is there another house law which is important and noteworthy? Yes! It is the law of the conjugal union of man and wife.
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Through this law every man is strictly bound when he has reached the proper age for marriage, anywhere from thirty to forty, to take a wife of his choosing and satisfaction.
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However, he himself cannot make it known to the one he has chosen for his wife. This can only be done through the elder. The elder calls upon the parents of the intended bride and lets them know the wish and the will of the suitor. Such a declaration is accepted with the greatest of gratitude and is considered to be the will of the Great Spirit. And such a suitor is never turned down, as is often the case on earth.
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Then the elder takes the bridegroom to the bride, takes her right hand and his right hand, and joins them. They have to keep their hands joined and follow the elder into the temple, but only up to the inner sanctum. There they lean with their faces on the cone-shaped altar, while the elder in the inner sanctum calls in prayer for the Spirit of Light.
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On this occasion, as soon as the Spirit of Light with his veiled countenance appears, the elder asks the bridegroom and bride to rise. The elder then informs them of their conjugal duties, which consist of all the house rules which we have already learned, as well as some others which we have yet to learn about.
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Once he has done that, the elder comes down from the pulpit and makes a gesture, as if he wants to separate the hands of the bride and bridegroom. But this is an old well-known rule, which is only symbolic and means that while they are in this world they should never separate, no matter what happens.
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After this ceremony the elder steps aside, the Spirit of Light unveils his countenance, blesses the couple, approaches them and separates their hands. The significance of this is that the only valid reason for their separation is death or the separation of the spirit from the body.
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Whereupon the Spirit vanishes and the couple are man and wife.
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Now they offer a prayer of thanks to the Great Spirit. They beseech Him to bless the married couple with descendants that are pleasing to Him and to guide them in accordance with His most holy will. Once they complete this prayer the elder and the married couple rise and walk home with the greatest veneration, where usually a meal for the glory of the Great Spirit with the entire family present awaits them.
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The next day the newly married couple is given a choice to either remain with their present family community, or to move elsewhere and build their dwelling. Should they agree to remain, a branch is prepared as their dwelling and also a new house, a new kitchen and a storage building is built for them. Should they decide, however, to leave their family because of limited space, they are provided with all kinds of supplies and they can take their parents and other close relatives with them.
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It has already been explained what happens when they find an unoccupied dwelling.
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That is also a family house rule! We will, however, discuss a few more house rules and then we shall discuss their spiritual religious constitution.