Are You Grieving Lost Child Pilgrimage The Death Of A: Fill & Download for Free

I will add some poems by Ghani Khan. He's a well-known 20th century Pashto poet and philosopher. He's a son of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, the famous red-shirt leader aka know as the "Frontier Gandhi".Ghani Khan's poetry is full of mysticism and symbolism. He was also called the John Keats of Pashto. He has spent most of his time in prison due to his father's political activities in the early 19th century.He's deeply revered by the contemporary Pashtun youth.-----------------DeodasaiThe doves were cooing and larks twittered awayAs waves of zephyr brought wave on wave of joy.Morning came with tidings of laughter and light;All the buds were smiling – the air was euphoric.Time turned another tide, another night was parting –Some spent it in love’s lap, while others sulked and pined.I also spent it sitting in a world of fluorescence,Blending thought with color, painting pictures.I would spread out my sorrow fancying a beautyWhose hues would singe out and eyes dim down.Should I paint Laila’s face, of Shireen or of MansoorI am in everyone’s eyes – my pain beside my dreamsShould I take red and black to paint Changez? Taimur?The fury of their eyes is fanning my own fire.A sad fairy came along the way of these frenzied colors –Neither Laila nor Shahi, Heer nor Shireen.Her beauty was a longing, envisioned by a poet;Her eyes were dim and sad, bound to someone’s love.There was youth’s rhythm in every glance and gestureHer body was a joy – colored with fresh love.She said, ‘Artist, look at me, what am I?A wretched idol’s vassal, lowlier than the low.’I said, ‘You’re beauty’s daughter, a princess full of charm;With a single fiery gaze, you’d raze a thousand thrones.’I said, ‘O kin of sorrow, you are a fairy of flowers;Wherefrom these hues of autumn in springtime of youth?‘Yours are just not lips, they are joys and yearnings –A hidden cellar where each droplet harbors a storm.‘Such black and heavy burdens at your tender age,O branch of red roses, your autumn is still far.‘Let other veils be, just lift the veil of sadness;Let laughter reach the flowers and lighten up the world.‘You’re not an idol’s vassal – there’s brilliance in your eyes;You are the cupbearer, wine, euphoria and love.Such beauty yet unnoticed, and such love unrequitedThe world must be blind if it cannot see your grace‘Faithfulness shines through you and so do love and longing;A sad thought is hiding the brilliance of your wishes.‘Come here and sit by me; I am your kindred soul;You are a flower of the wild and so am I.‘I’ve also been hurt by life, pained and grieved;My blood and love both weep and long for love.She looked at me and smiled; her eyes welled up;She took her black shawl and walked away in silence.Her own hope, her wish became her guiding starAs she roved the desert in search of crimson flowers.Like a dancer’s step, like a branch of blooms,A touching world of grace is lost to consciousness.Leaving me with another ache, a fond wish,A golden grain of light from a radiant world.—Translated from Pashto by Taimur Khan----------------A Poppy FlowerIn a desert, once, on a hunt did I find,With a radiant smile, a flower so fair;Sadly, I approached and sighed, "Ah! Of my kindAre you too - a hapless flower from a beloved's hair.Frail fingers wouldn't take you to a soft face so close,Nor would you be kissed by lips delicate and rose."With a silent smile the flower replied, "Don't lose heart!This desert I wouldn't give up for the gardens of Iran,A solitary I am here while legions are there,Amidst this cursed soil I stand apart.In this gray desert, a flamboyant flame of divine light am I,Beauty's silent song, a miracle from the sky.In your garden, there are thousands of flowers like me -A nameless droplet in a nameless sea.You too, in your desert, don't feel forlorn,To behold you at last shall come a sore Ghani Khan.-------------------NiqabI drive myself mad: suffocated by existence.The clergy keeps reciting tales of torment and agony.Yet, here I am, tormented by existence and feelings.So, at times I stoop to God; at times I seek refuge in wine.When oblivious, I vanish; when conscious, I am in anguish!Without the strength for peace, without the courage to agitateWhen I look all over, it is my own being, revealed and concealedI am the one who made the nectar; I am the one who made the pulpit.Religion is but some rituals, tales and a rationale.It is the answer to a question that does not have any answer!-------Lewantob (Madness) - my personal favorite.O Master of the passionate ! Worship is good or mischief is better ?Becoming beauty is good or admiring beauty is better ?“Better! Mischief is better!but it needs a heart pure like a mirror.To swallow this river one needs thevigor of a sea.Becoming beauty is to be someone’s love which is masterful !In a black river of sorrow,redintoxication is of separation.So O my child !The love of the beloved is much better.The beautiful name is too good; the colored charisma is good too.”O Master of the passionate !Beauty or loyality is better ?The part of the lover is good or part of the beloved is better ?“They say O my child !The breeze off the sweetheart’s mouth is best.Cool,gentle is too good; blazing, sharp is good too.The veil on the darling’s face is toogood red colored.Yellow is good,black is good,it isbetter as shining white too.So O my child !Beauty is good,so is loyalty.The part of the lover is best,so is the beloved’s .”So is sainthood great O sage !Or the world is very good ?The flower of a pine tree is good or the castle of darling is better ?“For a goblet,relaxation and forsea,gale is desirable.So O my child !Sainthood is good,this world is good.Throne of Solomon is great,hut ofJesus is great.”O great philosopher !Ministry or jail is better ?My own self defence (by small sickle) is good or a rented arsenal is better?“O my child !To cry for love ,the desert is best.The throne of opponent [villain] is not good,torture of the beloved is great.Friend of Yazeed is not good,Martyr of Karbala is great.Dependent on others, feminist is better than such machismo.So O my child!Jail is better than ministry.----------------O Lord of great bounties!This following poem is not written by Ghani Khan. The author is unknown to me.ده لویو لویو قدرتونو ربہیوتمنا ده اوریدے شے که نہO' dear Lord of great bounties!Can you spare a moment to hear a wish of mine?ستا د سکنړی سکنړی ماښام نہ لوګےدچا د زړه لوګے لیدے شے که نہMay I smolder myself in the name of Your foggy eveningCan you bear to see one's heart burning into smokes?ستا د سیلئیو طوفانونو پہ مخیو اسویلے دے درلیږل اے غواړمIn the name of Your violent gales and stormsI have just this one sigh I wish to send your wayستا د چپو چپو سیندونو پہ نوملیمہ راډک شو څڅول اے غواړمIn the name of Your wavy riversMy eyes are full of tears - may I shed them to you?هسے نہ چنړ د خولے ویستل کفر شیهسے نہ تاتم ژریدل کفر شیMay it not become a sin for one to speak one's mind,May one's cry not exclude one from the sphere of Your religionستا د جنت د نعمتونو نہ ځارزه درتہ اوږی پہ جہان ژاړمMay I sacrifice myself in the name of the bounties of Your paradiseI am crying for the hungry fellows of this world of Yoursستا د دوزخ له لړمانو توبہزه درتہ دا لړمانان ژاړمMay I be protected from the scorpions of Your hellI am crying of the scorpions of this worldدلتہ د ګیډے دوزخ تش ګرژوهلتہ شوستا د دوزخونو خشاکHere, we are dying of hungerAnd there we will be the fuel of Your hellدلتہ د دغہ قصابانو خوراکهلتہ د هغہ ځمارانو خوراکHere, we are the food of these butchersAnd there, we will be the food for the snakes of Your hellنہ مو ځان تور کړو او نہ سپین پاتے شونہ د دنیا شو او نہ د دین پاتے شوNeither can we dare to commit a sin, nor can we wash away our sinsWe are the losers of both of your worldsستا د سنګینو فیصلو نہ قربانولے حیران یم کوم قانون او منمMay I sacrifice myself before Your sharp decisionsBut I am confused about which law I am to followتہ خو د خپل قارون پہ مزکے منډےزه د پہ سر باندے قارون او منمYou are burying Your Qaroon deep into the earthWhy should I allow your Qaroon to bury me into the earth?ستا پہ رضا ځما رضا ده ربہکانړے هم نس پورے تړلے شمہO' Dear Lord, I agree with everything you command!I'll even gladly tie stones to my tummy to kill this hungerخو چہ بل ښامار پہ خزانو اووینماخر انسان یم څنګہ غلے شمہBut when I look at the snakes on our treasuriesAfter all, I am a human - how can You expect me to be voiceless?راډک شو زړہ ایسارولے نہ شمخوله ماتہ ښہ ده خو ګنډلے نہ شمI have so much to say I can't control my heartI can get my mouth broken but will not have it sownستا د جنت پہ طمع طمع چہ مرید هغہ اوږو پہ سلګو م قسمI swear on the last breaths of those hungry fellowsWho die longing for Your paradiseپہ د دوزخ کښے اے نور نہ شم لیدےستا د رضوان پہ منارو م قسمI can't watch them any more in this hellI swear on the minarets of Your paradiseیا خو د زمکے پہ دے ارته سینہماتہ خپل ژوند، ځما جنت راکړهEither on the vast chest of this earthGive me my life, my paradiseیا د نهر دوزخی مرګ نہ مخکښےد یوے چغے اجازت راکړهOr before dying for hell with my empty-stomachPermit me to send You my complaints just onceچہ دا ستا اوږی ستا پہ خوان ماړه کړمیا پہ خپل ځان باندے کارغان ماړه کړمSo that I can either feed Your hungry beings with Your bountiesOr let the crows feast on my own flesh.-----------Hell - by Ghani KhanIt is the measure of man’s eye -The black and the white;The fancy of man’s tongue -Both milkweed and honey.The tapping of my fingertips,A soft arm and smooth cheek -These songs of my spirit,Flowery and sweet.My God has made thisColorful wine from water;For some a sea of wineIs a droplet of zamzam;For some a sea of zamzamIs a glum evening of sorrow;To some a small white candleStands bright as the moon;Some hear the message of GabrielFrom the red lips of the beloved.One crown turns crimson with blood;Some throne blackened by night;One found it on the cross;The other on a red silken pillow;Some discover, like Moses,In a lifeless idol the face of the beloved -One turns it into dread and tears,The other into beauty and spirit.Some from a flower, from a child’s face,Create the lips of love;Some find it by the narcissus,Some among thorny bushes.Happy the man who wentLaughing to the lap of his love -Some tear from the bridal dressA coffin for the beloved.Lord! Lord! My lord!I’m maddened by reflections -How can I curse and tyrannizeThe spring and crimson flowers.How can I lend the Mullah an earAnd forget the lark and bulbul;How upon your grace and lightCan I cast the veil of ugliness!Turn the white morning of laughterTo a dark eve and tomb?Turn man’s despair toThe red joy of afterlife?From the fakir’s intrepidityCreate a king’s drunkenness?From the fire and might of hellDelineate your grace?How can I believe you madeThis world and the skies for this -When Khayyam is driven by forceTo the pilgrimage of ka’aba?This heart so full of spirits wasMade just to harbor doubts?Were beauty and love spun outAs a tale of retribution?You made out of your graceBeauty and doting;The shade of your under-plumesIs soft and colorful at each sundown.You laughed that the rose’s colorWas borne away on a butterfly’s wing;In your hand, Khayyam’s gobletTook away abandon and love.How do I bother Ghani withThe end and the judgment day?Imbue spite in a bulbul’s heartFor springtime and flowers?How can I lay the shawl of a vassalOn the fair face of Laila?Fulfill the longing of a NegroWith the presence of a fairy?How can I turn over to the handOf the beloved the dagger of betrayal?How can I sink in a dark wellThe secret of enamored eyes?How can I submerge a beautiful worldIn a single drop of night;How can I turn the glowOf candlelight to ashes!Lord! Lord! My lord!I’m maddened by reflectionsHow can I curse and tyrannizeThe spring and crimson flowers!- Khanpur Jail-----------MusicFlavor for lips,Color for eyes,Smell for the nose,Of narcissus and clove.Hope for the heart,Spirit and longing;Sarod for the ear,Jingle and strum.For me élan,Life and light;A few voicesOf life’s colors.Crack-a-crackle of fire,Pitter-patter of rain,Ach, ach of yearning,Oh, oh of longing,Shish, shish of passion,Ooh, ooh of loving,The eternal no, noAnd yes, yes of a darling.Giggle-gaggle of laughter,Crack-a-cackle of cheer,Tin-tinkle of anklets,Babble-bubble of a rill,Swash n’ gobble of water,Whispering whistle of wind,‘Stop, stop,’ of a sweetheart,Froth n’ foam of the foe,Swish, swish of lashes,Whiz, whiz of bullets,Crack-a-crackle of chillum,A butterfly’s flitter,Boom-boom of the drum,Twang-twang of the rabab,Gurgle-gargle of the cup,Sizzle, sizzle of the kebab,Slurp, slurp of the mouth,Sigh! Sigh! of the beloved,Chuck-a-chuckle of a chukar,Coo-coo of a pigeon,‘Stop, stop!’ of the lover,‘Fie, fie,’ she goes on;Squeak, squeak of the penOn and on, this dicourse.Hyderabad Jail – 1948------------Lord My Beloved!Would there be elation and youth, the beloved and a chalice full;Several flowers and a few friends in a mellow evening.Passion be light and fire, and the heart a flaming tandoor;I would gladly give up your heavens to embrace such a life.I’d far prefer this gain because no color is at rest;Each moment, each hue of life, is your time’s helpless slave;And the mullah says, in paradise, time would be my slave –If he were somehow undone, all my troubles would end.If I find eternal youth, it would become a curse;I cherish it now as its beauty is soon consumed.An eternally full moon, an eternal sweet sixteen,Eternal youth, a river of wine, is it a reward or hell?I’d weep after this world, and yearn for the night’s crescent,And remember everyday, the thin mist of eventide.Sick of faithful houris, I’d seek a fickle beloved;Man is a hunter by nature, and revels in hunting.I would fast on revelry’s riverside,And sulk after the cupbearer’s half-full chalice.Anything eternal becomes a curse and a catastrophe;It suits only you, this eternal beginning and end.Man seeks in each new palace a new beloved;Seeks red flowers in a wasteland, seeks lighting at night;He is the child of change and cannot stay the same.If you took him to heaven, this nature and this being,He’ll soon be searing and weeping with sore eyes.lord of great bestowal, turn this world into heaven!The formula is simple, comprising these three things –As I’ve said before, a beloved, youth, and a chalice,So that my silly head is amused from time to time;And after this worldly death, endow me to the Mullah,If the wretch would be appeased by mere dreams of houris.Give me a houri here – lively, full, and fair –A loving white candle, which burns and flamesIn her glance myriad colors; in her nature myriad moods;With manners such as spring – now sunshine, now rain;Would she be under one skin, a harem of women;Now brimming and vivacious, now quiet and retiring;And in my tired heart, kindle restive flames,Blazing like fire and dancing like a rill,And with one impatient glance, intoxicate me soAs to leave everyone amazed and the cupbearer envious.In place of those thousands give me one here;Turn my eternal youth to a few years’ rejoicing;If you cannot do this, lord, keep your fat houris;I neither need them there nor miss them here.Those fat and fair ones who yield without entreaty;Wide and hungry eyes, wallowing in malmal.Lord! My beloved lord! Just grant this one prayer,Or else, your Ghani would pine away in love.- Ghani Khan-------------I will add more later. Enjoy.

Throughout the years the Roman Catholic Church has found the bodies of some of their saints to be incorrupt. When this happens, the body is often put on display (quite often they are put inside a Church altar with a glass front). This is a list of the most famous incorrupt saints. You can read a much more indepth article with a photo and video gallery of incorrupt corpses here.St Bernadette of LourdesDied 1879St Bernadette was born Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France. From February to July 1858, she reported eighteen apparitions of “a Lady.” Despite initial skepticism from the Roman Catholic Church, these claims were eventually declared to be worthy of belief after a canonical investigation. After her death, Bernadette’s body remained “incorruptible”, and the shrine at Lourdes went on to become a major site for pilgrimage, attracting millions of Catholics each year.St John VianneyDied 1859St. Jean Baptiste Marie Vianney (May 8, 1786 – August 4, 1859) was a French parish priest who became a Catholic saint and the patron saint of parish priests. He is often referred to, even in English, as the “Curé d’Ars” (the parish priest of the village of Ars). He became famous internationally for his priestly and pastoral work in his parish due to the radical spiritual transformation of the community and its surroundings.St Teresa MargaretDied 1770In March 19, 1934, Pope Pius XI entered Blessed Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart in the register of saints. In Germany, the new saint is virtually unknown outside of the Carmelite Order. Her life was quiet and hidden. She died on March 7, 1770 at the age of 22, and of this short lifespan, she spent five years in the Carmelite monastery in Florence. She performed no brilliant, attention-getting deeds, nor did her reputation reach the wider world. She spent her life living quietly and with virtue.St Vincent de PaulDied 1660Saint Vincent de Paul studied humanities at Dax with the Cordeliers and he graduated in theology at Toulouse. Vincent de Paul was ordained in 1600, remaining in Toulouse until he went to Marseille for an inheritance. On his way back from Marseille, he was taken captive by Turkish pirates to Tunis, and sold into slavery. After converting his owner to Christianity, Vincent de Paul was freed in 1607. Vincent returned to France and served as priest in a parish near Paris. n 1705 the Superior-General of the Lazarists requested that the process of his canonization might be instituted. On August 13, 1729, Vincent was declared Blessed by Benedict XIII, and canonized by Clement XII on June 16, 1737. In 1885 Leo XIII gave him as patron to the Sisters of Charity.St SilvanDied circa 350There is little known about Saint Silvan except that he was martyred (killed for his faith). Considering his body is over 1,600 years old, it is remarkably preserved.St Veronica GiulianiDied 1727Saint Veronica Giuliani (Veronica de Julianis) (1660-July 9, 1727) was an Italian mystic. She was born at Mercatello in the Duchy of Urbino. Her parents, Francesco Giuliana and Benedetta Mancini, were both of gentle birth. In baptism she was named Ursula. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, she showed signs of sanctity from an early age. Her legend states that she was only eighteen months old, she uttered her first words to upbraid a shopman who was serving a false measure of oil, saying distinctly: “Do justice, God sees you.”St ZitaDied 1272Saint Zita (c. 1212 – 27 April 1272) is the patron saint of maids and domestic servants. She is also appealed to in order to help find lost keys. Zita often said to others that devotion is false if slothful. She considered her work as an employment assigned her by God, and as part of her penance, and obeyed her master and mistress in all things as being placed over her by God. She always rose several hours before the rest of the family and employed in prayer a considerable part of the time which others gave to sleep.St John BoscoDied 1888Saint Don Bosco, born Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco, and known in English as John Bosco (August 16, 1815 – January 31, 1888), was an Italian Catholic priest, educator and recognized pedagogue, who put into practice the dogma of his religion, employing teaching methods based on love rather than punishment. He placed his works under the protection of Francis de Sales; thus his followers styled themselves the Salesian Society. He is the only Saint with the title “Father and Teacher of Youth”.Blessed Pope Pius IXDied 1878Pope Pius IX (May 13, 1792 – February 7, 1878), born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, reigned as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from his election in June 16, 1846, until his death more than 31 years later in 1878. Pius IX was elected as the candidate of the liberal and moderate wings on the College of Cardinals, following the pontificate of arch-conservative Pope Gregory XVI. Initially sympathetic to democratic and modernizing reforms in Italy and in the Church, Pius became increasingly conservative after he was deposed as the temporal ruler of the Papal States in the events that followed the Revolutions of 1848.Pope John XXIIIDied 1963Pope John XXIII (Latin: Ioannes PP. XXIII; Italian: Giovanni XXIII), born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (November 25, 1881 – June 3, 1963), was elected as the 261st Pope of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City on October 28, 1958. He called the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) but did not live to see it to completion, dying on June 3, 1963, two months after the completion of his final encyclical, Pacem in Terris. He was beatified on September 3, 2000, along with Pope Pius IX, the first popes since Pope St. Pius X to receive this honour.A mummy is a corpse whose body has been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air. Mummies of humans and animals have been found throughout the world – both as a result of having been embalmed and because of natural preservation through unusual conditions. Many mummies are thousands of years old and are famous because of the intriguing circumstances of the death or the remarkable preservation of the body. The following are some of the most fascinating mummies, mainly because of the story behind them or the incredible preservation of the body, most of which are still viewable today.Elmer McCurdyElmer McCurdy (January 1880 – October 7th 1911) was an outlaw killed in a gunfight in the Osage Hills in Oklahoma. A newspaper account gave Elmer’s last words as “You’ll never take me alive!” His body was taken to a funeral home in Oklahoma. When no one claimed the corpse, the undertaker embalmed it with an arsenic-based preservative and allowed people to see “The Bandit Who Wouldn’t Give Up” for a nickel, placed in Elmer’s mouth, which the undertaker would collect later. Five years later, a man showed up from a nearby traveling carnival claiming to be Elmer’s long-lost brother wanting to give the corpse a proper burial. Within two weeks, however, Elmer was a featured exhibit with the carnival. For the next 60 years, Elmer’s body was sold to wax museums, carnivals, and haunted houses.The owner of a haunted house near Mount Rushmore refused to purchase him because he thought that Elmer’s body was actually a mannequin and not lifelike enough. Eventually, the corpse wound up in “The Laff in the Dark” funhouse at the Long Beach Pike amusement park in California. During filming of the The Six Million Dollar Man shot in December 1976, a crew member was moving what was thought to be a wax mannequin that was hanging from a gallows. When the mannequin’s arm broke off, it was discovered that it was in fact the mummified remains of Elmer McCurdy, who was finally buried in the Boot Hill section of the Summit View Cemetery in Guthrie, Oklahoma on April 22nd 1977, with 2 cubic yards of concrete over his casket so his remains would never be disturbed again.Vladimir LeninVladimir Ilyich Lenin (10th April 1870 – 21st January 1924) was one of the leading political figures and revolutionary thinkers of the 20th century, who masterminded the Bolshevik take-over of power in Russia in 1917, and was the architect and first head of the USSR. In 1918, he narrowly survived an assassination attempt, but was severely wounded. His long-term health was affected, and in May 1922 he suffered a stroke from which he never fully recovered. In December 1922, he suffered a second stroke that partly paralyzed his right side and caused him to withdraw from active politics. In March 1923, he suffered a third stroke that left him dumb and bed-ridden until he died on 21st of January 1924, aged 53, at his estate in Gorki Leninskiye. His body was embalmed and exhibited in the Lenin Mausoleum, Moscow where it can still be viewed today.JuanitaJuanita (“The Ice Maiden”) was discovered on the summit of Mount Ampato, Peru, on September 8th, 1995. She was 12–14 when sacrificed 500 years ago – a great honour for an Incan – they believed the Ampato God supplied water and withheld avalanches in return for human sacrifices. A young girl, boy and the skeleton of a woman were discovered in later expeditions, as were items left as offerings to the gods. The eruption of nearby volcano Mount. Sabancaya melted 500 years of ice and snow encasing Juanita, who was almost entirely frozen – her skin, internal organs, hair, clothing, blood and even the contents of her stomach preserved, offering scientists a rare glimpse into the life of the Incas. Juanita was wearing clothing resembling the finest textiles from Cuzco and was the closest sacrifice to the Inca capital, suggesting she may have come from a noble Cuzco family.Juanita was chosen as the most beautiful and innocent and would be ‘guaranteed eternal life with the gods’. As the other bodies were further down the mountain, they were not as pure and worthy as Juanita. It took incredible effort (and whole entourages of priests, villagers, provisions, water, as well as symbolic items used in the ritual – all carried on the backs of hundreds of llamas and porters) to hold sacrificial rituals in the thin air and life-threatening cold of Mount Ampato – 20,000 feet high. Juanita was killed by a powerful blow to the head and was probably given chicha, a strong hallucinogenic drink before the ritual was performed. In 1996, President Clinton saw a photo of Juanita and reportedly said, “If I were a single man, I might ask that mummy out. That’s a good-looking mummy!” Juanita is on display at the Museo Santuarios de Altura in Arequipa, Peru.Ötzi the IcemanÖtzi the Iceman (also known as Similaun Man or Man from Hauslabjoch) is a well-preserved natural mummy of a man from about 3300 BC (53 centuries ago). The mummy was found in September 1991 in the Schnalstal glacier in the Ötztal Alps, near Hauslabjoch, on the border between Austria and Italy. The nickname comes from Ötztal, the region in which he was discovered. He is Europe’s oldest natural human mummy, and has offered an unprecedented view of Chalcolithic (Copper Age) Europeans. The cause of death was most likely a blow to the head. The body and his belongings are displayed in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, northern Italy.Ginger‘Ginger’ is the nickname given to the naturally preserved body of an adult man (believed to be the earliest known ancient Egyptian “mummified” body), who despite having died more than 5,000 years ago, had perfectly preserved golden hair, and even toe and fingernails. Ginger was found in at Gebelein, Egypt, and dates to the Late Predynastic period, around 3400 BC, or earlier. Before mummification was developed, human remains were placed in shallow graves, in direct contact with the hot, dry sand, which absorbed the water that constitutes 75% of the human weight. Without moisture, bacteria cannot breed and cause decay, and the body is preserved. However, it is uncertain whether Ginger’s mummification was intentional or not, though since Ginger was buried with some pottery vessels it is likely that the mummification was a result of preservation techniques of those burying him. Ginger is currently on display in the British Museum.Tollund ManTollund Man is the naturally mummified corpse of a man (a ‘bog body’) who lived during the 4th century BC during the Pre-Roman Iron Age. He was found in May 1950, buried in a peat bog on the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark, which preserved his body. The head and face were so well-preserved that at the time he was mistaken for a recent murder victim, however, he was later found to have died over 1,500 years ago. Autopsies have shown that the cause of death was hanging – the rope left visible furrows in the skin beneath his chin and at the sides of his neck, however, there was no mark at the back of the neck where the knot of the noose would have been located. The body is displayed at the Silkeborg Museum in Denmark, though only the head is original, and is attached to a replica of the body.Rosalia LombardoRosalia Lombardo was an Italian child born in 1918 in Palermo, Sicily. She died on December 6th 1920 of pneumonia. Rosalia’s father was so sorely grieved upon her death that he approached Dr. Alfredo Salafia, a noted embalmer and taxidermist, to preserve her. She was one of the last corpses to be admitted to the Capuchin catacombs of Palermo, Sicily and one of the most well-known. Her preservation is such that it appears as if she were only sleeping, hence receiving the nickname “Sleeping Beauty”. She is considered one of the world’s best-preserved bodies and it is hard to believe she died nearly 90 years ago. For many years, the formula that preserved her so magnificently was a mystery, but it has recently been discovered that she was injected with a mixture of formalin, zinc salts, alcohol, salicylic acid, and glycerin.Formalin, now widely used by embalmers, is a mixture of formaldehyde and water that kills bacteria. Dr. Salafia was one of the first to use this for embalming bodies. Alcohol, along with the arid conditions in the catacombs, would have dried Rosalia’s body and allowed it to mummify. Glycerin would have kept her body from drying out too much, and salicylic acid would have prevented the growth of fungi. According to Melissa Williams, executive director of the American Society of Embalmers, it was the zinc salts that were most responsible for Rosalia’s amazing state of preservation. Zinc, which is no longer used by embalmers in the United States, petrified Rosalia’s body. “[Zinc] gave her rigidity. You could take her out of the casket, prop her up, and she would stand by herself.”King TutankhamunTutankhamun (approximately 1341 BC – 1323 BC) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom. Tutankhamun was 9 years old when he became pharaoh and reigned for approximately 10 years, until his death. Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings (where he still resides) was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922 almost completely intact — the most complete ancient Egyptian royal tomb ever found. Eternal life was the main focus of all Ancient Egyptians, which meant preserving the body forever. Egyptians mummified bodies because they believed in an afterlife. Believing that the afterlife was much like life in this world they had to preserve their bodies so they would be able to use them after they die. Egyptian culture believed the body was home in the afterlife to a person’s Ka, Ba and Akh, without which it would be condemned to eternal wandering.The Ka was a less solid duplicate of the body. Without a physical body, the soul had no place to dwell and became restless forever. The Ba was able to leave the tomb and revisit the dead person’s haunts in the mortal world. The Akh was the immortal soul that emerged when the Ka and the Ba united after the deceased person passed judgement. The mummification process lasted for a period of 70 days, applied to all classes of Egyptians – rich or poor. The 70-day mummification process was as follows: 15 days spent on cleansing and purification, 40 day drying period and 15 days wrapping and bandaging. Tutankhamun has become one of the most famous Egyptian mummies, his death mask becoming one of the most iconic images of the world today. The cause of Tutankhamun’s death is unclear and is still the root of much speculation.Lady Dai (Xin Zhui)In 1971 workers in China digging an air raid shelter near the city of Changsha uncovered an enormous Han Dynasty-era tomb containing over 1,000 well-preserved artefacts, as well as “the most perfectly preserved corpse ever found”. The tomb belonged to Xin Zhui, wife of the Marquis of Han who died between 178–145 BC, around 50 years of age. Her body is so well preserved that when found it was autopsied as if recently dead and her skin was supple, limbs could be manipulated; hair and internal organs were intact; remains of her last meal were found in her stomach and type A blood still ran red in her veins. Examinations have revealed that she suffered from parasites, lower back pain, clogged arteries, had a massively damaged heart (an indication of heart disease brought on by obesity, lack of exercise and an overly rich diet) and was overweight at the time of her death.The ‘mystery of Lady Dai’ has not yet been solved. Scientists believe contributing to her remarkable preservation was the 22 dresses of silk and hemp and 9 silk ribbons she was tightly wrapped in. Clothes filled the coffin, which was perfectly sealed, keeping air out. There were inner and outer tombs, which were more than 50 feet below the earth as well as the four coffins she was buried in, each inside the other. However, some scientists suspect the real key to her preservation lies in the mysterious unidentified reddish liquid found in the coffin she was discovered in. To intensify the mystery, two other tombs containing bodies in a similar state of preservation have been found close to Lady Dai – Sui Xiaoyuan and Ling Huiping. Her 2,000-year-old body is currently housed in the Hunan Provincial Museum.

If we believe that this mortal span of earthly life is the entirety of our existence, than the shortness of our lives is tragic indeed. On the other hand, if we accept the teachings of the great world religions, then this life is merely the prelude for an unending life of even greater awareness and progress than we achieve here. The following excerpt explains this view.“Today I have been speaking from dawn until now, yet because of love, fellowship and desire to be with you, I have come here to speak again briefly. Within the last few days a terrible event has happened in the world, an event saddening to every heart and grieving every spirit. I refer to the Titanic disaster, in which many of our fellow human beings were drowned, a number of beautiful souls passed beyond this earthly life. Although such an event is indeed regrettable, we must realize that everything which happens is due to some wisdom and that nothing happens without a reason. Therein is a mystery; but whatever the reason and mystery, it was a very sad occurrence, one which brought tears to many eyes and distress to many souls. I was greatly affected by this disaster. Some of those who were lost voyaged on the Cedric with us as far as Naples and afterward sailed upon the other ship. When I think of them, I am very sad indeed. But when I consider this calamity in another aspect, I am consoled by the realization that the worlds of God are infinite; that though they were deprived of this existence, they have other opportunities in the life beyond, even as Christ has said, ‘In my Father’s house are many mansions.’ They were called away from the temporary and transferred to the eternal; they abandoned this material existence and entered the portals of the spiritual world. Foregoing the pleasures and comforts of the earthly, they now partake of a joy and happiness far more abiding and real, for they have hastened to the Kingdom of God. The mercy of God is infinite, and it is our duty to remember these departed souls in our prayers and supplications that they may draw nearer and nearer to the Source itself.“These human conditions may be likened to the matrix [womb] of the mother from which a child is to be born into the spacious outer world. At first the infant finds it very difficult to reconcile itself to its new existence. It cries as if not wishing to be separated from its narrow abode and imagining that life is restricted to that limited space. It is reluctant to leave its home, but nature forces it into this world. Having come into its new conditions, it finds that it has passed from darkness into a sphere of radiance; from gloomy and restricted surroundings it has been transferred to a spacious and delightful environment. Its nourishment was the blood of the mother; now it finds delicious food to enjoy. Its new life is filled with brightness and beauty; it looks with wonder and delight upon the mountains, meadows and fields of green, the rivers and fountains, the wonderful stars; it breathes the life-quickening atmosphere; and then it praises God for its release from the confinement of its former condition and attainment to the freedom of a new realm. This analogy expresses the relation of the temporal world to the life hereafter—the transition of the soul of man from darkness and uncertainty to the light and reality of the eternal Kingdom. At first it is very difficult to welcome death, but after attaining its new condition the soul is grateful, for it has been released from the bondage of the limited to enjoy the liberties of the unlimited. It has been freed from a world of sorrow, grief and trials to live in a world of unending bliss and joy. The phenomenal and physical have been abandoned in order that it may attain the opportunities of the ideal and spiritual. Therefore, the souls of those who have passed away from earth and completed their span of mortal pilgrimage in the Titanic disaster have hastened to a world superior to this. They have soared away from these conditions of darkness and dim vision into the realm of light. These are the only considerations which can comfort and console those whom they have left behind.” The Promulgation of Universal Peace, 23 April 1912.