Duppy skulls - Photo by Paul H. Williams
In the June 29 instalment of His Story, called 'Chance upon a duppy', I looked at the existence, or lack thereof, of ghosts, also called duppies, in Jamaica. A deacon from Bath, St Thomas, who claims he has the ability to see duppies formed the backdrop for the story. The article ends with the following questions:
So, what manner of man is Deacon? How has he come to be 'seeing' these apparitions, and you and I cannot? Yet, the burning questions that Deacon and others who claim to have that special 'gift' cannot, and perhaps never will be able to answer, are: What exactly are duppies/ghosts? Where do they live? Are they aware of their existence? How can they exist without a body, a brain? Will they live forever? Do they age? Can they communicate with the living? And, how possible is it to see something that has no physical form?
The article generated some 'strange' responses, but the one I found most interesting was written by Cyrus Grant from London, England, as he attempted to answer my questions. He said he had "looked closely" at the evidence of the existence of apparitions and with the aid of his sixth sense (extra-sensory perception) he was able to provide the answers.
What is a ghost?
He claimed that "a ghost is the composite of the soul (God within us), the mind (feelings, emotions, desires), the intellect (decision-making process and reasoning ability) and the subtle ego (the feeling that we are separated from God), which are the remains of a person after his physical death". Yet, not all physically dead humans become ghosts. So, what happens to those who don't?
"When a person is physically dead, the soul, mind, intellect and subtle ego are released back into the universe as the vital energy, and the physical body remains on Earth. As this vital energy leaves the body of the dead person, it takes on the form of a subtle body. The subtle body of a dead person is the exact representation of that person as he was alive," he explained.
The Bible, which is the source of reference for Christians, does not contain all of this, yet, Cyrus' explanation took on a biblical theme, with the Heaven and Hell story. He said, "After death, the subtle body goes to one of three planes - Heaven, 'nether world' or one of the regions of Hell. The subtle bodies that go to one of the regions of Hell by the will of their evil intentions automatically turn into ghosts. Subtle bodies that go to the regions of Heaven and above do not acquire a ghostly status."
The ghosts in Hell do not just sit there and bide their time. They get mischievous by making contact with the living. "They achieve this through the means of telepathy (using their spiritual emotions). By communicating this way they put thoughts directly into the mind of the receiver. These thoughts are aligned with bringing about unrighteousness in society. Unless the receiver has a developed or advanced sixth sense, he will think that these thoughts originate from within his own mind." But, isn't this the same sort of power that Satan allegedly possesses? Is the Devil, therefore, a ghost?
Sixth sense
A person with a sixth sense is sensitive to the vibrations from the spirit world, Cyrus argued. He said that person can feel the intensity of the impact of a ghost in the same way that our sense of feeling (one of our senses) would allow us to experience the intensity of the impact of fire of the skin - to use an analogy. The deacon from Bath, St Thomas, therefore, seems to have this sixth sense; thus his 'ability' to see and sense duppies around him.
As to whether ghosts age or live for eternity, Cyrus said, "Ghosts do not necessarily live forever. This is because, with time, some ghosts get the chance to be reborn to complete their give-and-take account, balancing the books in other words. Subtle bodies from the lower regions of Hell could take thousands of years to re-incarnate or it might take eternity. And ghosts do not age. Ageing relates only to physical matter and the biological processes of it."
Spiritual awakening
Having explained all of this, Cyrus, who is 44 years old, said he has had his own run-in with ghosts while he was residing here in Jamaica. He said, "My crude spiritual awakening to the effects of ghosts unfolded in two separate locations. The first was in Ocho Rios in October 2003, to be precise. Facing what I thought was perhaps my slow, imminent demise, I sought refuge in St Elizabeth, where it started all over again within a matter of weeks, only this time it appeared more perilous.
"From the first manifestation of the ghost to the point at which I was totally free from its tyranny was nine months. Perhaps, it could have ended sooner had I not suffered this in silence. I thought that what was happening to me was personal and, as such, I opted to deal with it likewise. I mustered every bit of courage and strength I had in me.
"This was wearing me out because I simply didn't know enough about the situation I was faced with. From the first gentle, beguiling encounter to the Hell-raising climax, I had been outwitted, but the knowledge and insight gained when the dust settled will be useful in putting the spotlight on the activities of ghosts, and hopefully debunk some of the myths. My profound experience left a trail of unanswered questions."
But who really is Cyrus Grant, and what was the nature of his affliction? How did he come by the answers to my questions? I get the feeling that we will be hearing from him again, soon.
paul.williams@gleanerjm.com