Africian Religion Vol 4 Asarian Theology ( The Mystery of Resurrection and Immortality) [Paperback]

Muata Ashby (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 10, 2005

18. ASARIAN RELIGION: RESURRECTING OSIRIS The path of Mystical Awakening and the Keys to Immortality NEW REVISED AND EXPANDED EDITION! The Ancient Sages created stories based on human and superhuman beings whose struggles, aspirations, needs and desires ultimately lead them to discover their true Self. The myth of Aset, Asar and Heru is no exception in this area. While there is no one source where the entire story may be found, pieces of it are inscribed in various ancient Temples walls, tombs, steles and papyri. For the first time available, the complete myth of Asar, Aset and Heru has been compiled from original Ancient Egyptian, Greek and Coptic Texts.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Reginald Muata Ashby holds a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Religion. He is an independent reseacher and practitioner of Egyptian, Indian and Chinese Yoga and studied Yoga under the supervision of Spiritual masters for over four years. Muata is also the author of Egyptian Proverbs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Cruzian Mystic Books; 4 edition (November 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1884564275
• ISBN-13: 978-1884564277
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,775,553 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Repetitive Repitition of the Repitition of the Repitition... of Great Mystical Knowledge, October 14, 2007

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Bonam Pak (Berlin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Africian Religion Vol 4 Asarian Theology ( The Mystery of Resurrection and Immortality) (Paperback)

Originally written in 1998 I read the 4th edition of 2005. As usual with books by Muata Ashby they seem to change title with every edition. This one is known as: "The Ausarian Resurrection: The Ancient Egyptian Bible", "Resurrecting Osiris: Secret Mysteries of Rebirth and Enlightenment", "Resurrecting Osiris: The Path of Mystical Awakening and the Keys to Immortality" and "African Theology Vol. 4: Asarian Theology - The Mystery of Resurrection and Immortality". However, "The Mystical Teachings Of the Ausarian Resurrection: Initiation into the Third Level of Shetava Asar" (page exists on Amazon, but currently not linkable) seems to be a different book, as it gets referenced in this one as the "companion book to this volume" (outside the later African Religion series). In other words, the choice to include the book in the 5-part "African Religion" series is a belated one and quite arbitrary at that as in contrast to the other books, Volume 4 isn't concerned with a specific ancient Egyptian city (which Akhenaten's/Akenten's Aton branch of religion WOULD have been instead). However, I suspect that both companion books on Asar/Ausar are very much identical in content for the simple fact that Muata Ashby's books usually are anyway.

The first 61 pages are virtually identical to the introductions of the previous volumes of the African Religion series (and other books by the author). NOT identical is the UNABRIDGED story of Asar, Aset, Heru and Set (Osiris, Isis, Horus and Seth), compiled from various ancient sources - and various modern translation sources as the old and current English are inconsistent. (Please read together with the interpretations at the end of the book, starting on page 217, as the commentaries do not get mentioned till they hit you.) Some of the remaining text, including within the commentaries, is copy and paste from other books as sick. But even within itself, the book gets repetitive. For example pages 58-61 are virtually identical to pages 200-204 and pages 145-152 to pages 207-213.

The many do-it-yourself production slips, another recurring phenomenon in the author's books, do not help either in giving full five stars. I find it careless not to correct them after at least three reprints. After all, the new editions are a fresh print anyway with new cover, new title and obviously new layout, as references in the original text to other pages lead to the wrong ones.

Of course I venerate Muata Ashby's mystic knowledge the I (he) shares with I-n-I (us). As in contrast to the author I do not like to repeat myself, so I won't go into that in this review as I have reviewed half a dozen books by Muata Ashby already. However, some new specifics are always rewarding to read in his books, this time it was the origin of the Christian Eucharist (sharing of bread and wine as the body of Christ) and the real symbolism of that, which got a bit "superficialized" in the West. Also the Egyptian-derived symbolism of the star which lead three wise kings to the new born Christ is more revealing than the uninterpreted story we popularly know. Similarly the original "devil" concept I find much more intriguing than the Western dark ages one, as Set isn't really blinded as such to be destroyed, but seen as the inherent lower self (of separations) to be overcome. Intriguing is Set and Heru's UNABRIDGED sexual encounter. Which is really very explicit. The fascination lies in the SYMBOLISM, however, as nothing in Egyptian mythology is to be taken literally. Literally, it could be translated in a homophobic message, however, the real knowledge behind the myth is something completely different, utterly unconcerned with the gender issue of the participants. ALL deities (who are all facets of ONE) are "androgynous" anyway, for better and worse.

Of course, I do not agree 100% with the author, but that is unlikely anyway and hence not that incredibly important. Some "myth" origins provided could have been better elaborated on, though. It gets mentioned that Jesus' birth had been moved from January 6th to December 25th by the Church to match the symbolic birth of Heru. However, there is no mentioning of the small discrapancy between the Orthodox Christian and the Catholic/Protestant calender and that the emerging European Church actually attempted to DISassociate from Egypt. However, she also assimilated any other religion within its territory to take over the other believers more easily. That way, a Roman religious festival on that date got incorporated. THAT in turn is based on the Egyptian mother religion, I take it. (Of course, there are other theories, putting the "real" birthday in a completely different time of the year.) Just as an example for the occasional simplifications in this and other of Muata Ashby's books.

Some visions I find inconsistent. For example that the individual soul gets completely merged into the ONENESS of the divine, but gets reincarnated as the same individual later on after all. Also, his take on "desires, emotions and feellings" I find personally dysfunctional. As "they are empty and cannot provide real and abiding satisfaction or peace" they should get controlled as the lower self. Of course, in principle he is right, yet in consequence of putting that into practice in human life, I find him too extreme, being aware that following generations tend to get ever more extreme than the original teacher.

The current last part of the African Religion series is African Religion Vol. 5, The Ancient Egyptian Mysteries, if you want to look up the start, see African Religion Vol. 1, Anunian Theology and the Philosophy of Ra.