Disembodiment – On the relationship between mind and body in world religions
Thematic field of the exhibition "Body. Cult. Religion."
Body and soul or spirit are understood as a unit, but can also be separated. The soul or spirit can leave the body, at the latest at death. However, people can also disembody themselves during their lifetime through religious practices and attain a different consciousness. Every person experiences one form of disembodiment: dreaming. They therefore experience a difference between their physical existence and their phenomenal consciousness.
Practices such as asceticism (abstaining from food), meditation, ecstasy or the use of intoxicants can not only help to minimise the needs of the body in order to concentrate fully on the mind, but often also lead to a trance-like state. This state is often used to make contact with deities or superhuman beings. In many cases, the human body is seen as an obstacle and restriction for the soul. For this reason, the rituals can also lead to death in extreme forms (e.g. complete abstinence from food in Indian Jainism).
Death is often seen as the liberation of the soul. In many cultures and religions, there is a strong belief that the soul lives on outside the human body, which is why burial offerings are often used to give the soul after death a (transitional) life as comfortable as possible. In traditional China, the so-called ceremony of recalling the soul was performed after death, and only then did the actual burial ceremonies begin. While one part of the soul remained with the body and thus in the grave, it was imagined that another part would embark on a journey to the world beyond.
