Re: Ancient Egyptian Religion
Namaste David,
That is very interesting! I had forgotten about the koshas contained in the Atman. It is quite a similar concept to what the Egyptians believed then, this idea of a soul made up of various layers.
As for the sun god you mentioned, it could well be Amun (Amen/Amoun) you are talking about. Although, he was not initially a sun god, he later became merged with the solar deity Ra to become the composite deity, Amun-Ra. This was mostly to appease both factions of worshippers, those who venerated Ra as the supreme god and those who had raised a local Theban deity named Amun to the status of king of all gods. The OM sound theory is interesting, but if has any foundation, my guess is it probably originated elsewhere. Amun in its original heiroglyphic transliteration sounds more like Imen than Amon, which meant "the Hidden One". I would be more inclined to associate it would the god, Khnum/Khnoum, believed to be the source of the Nile, and therefore, the source of life in Egypt. His name literally identified him as the potter-god of creation, "the Moulder", who gave form to everything. If OM were to manifest itself as deity to the Egyptians, I believe this god would be it. The heavy um/oum sound at the end of this name could even be closer attributed to the sacred OM syllable, maybe? Who knows if there is even a link there somewhere. But it's still fun to speculate.
"Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become your character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny."
ॐ गं गणपतये नमः
Om Gam Ganapataye namah
लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु ।
Lokaah SamastaaH Sukhino Bhavantu
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