Who is free from the clutches of the devil? I mean even Jesus Christ from the Bible, the New Testament Luke 4:1-14, was not spared from the evil machinations of the devil. Christians are not unaware about the section from the scriptures where Satan tempts Jesus with hedonism, egoism, and materialism which translates into lust of body, pride of life and lust of eyes. However, Jesus returns to Galilee to resume his ministry after vanquishing the devil. If you are wondering where this blog is heading, it is to remind you how every time we entertain an unholy thought which involves inflicting harm on others we are being victimized by the demon or the devil. If we succumb to any devilish temptations, we have accepted the supremacy of the demoniac.
The representations of demon or demons varies from religion to religion and culture to culture. Irrespective of the fact how they are represented, the demons are regarded as evil or harmful supernatural beings who are adversaries of god. Ancient mythologies talk about people who have summoned demons to gain ungodly powers and to exercise wicked power over others for vested interests and ulterior motives. In Christianity, there are references to Christians bargaining their souls with the devils for riches. In African mythology, Gauna, the ruler of the underworld is believed to visit the earth to cause trouble in human society and take the dead souls with him. He is also known to torment the living by sending the souls of the dead people to haunt them, especially their family members. In the Chinese and Japanese mythology, Gui and Oni are demons who cause mischief to the people on earth as they have not been buried properly or have not been given befitting funeral services. Hinduism and Buddhism has references to Asuras, Rakshasas and Hayagriva who are demons reputed to upset the cosmic order and deceive people by tempting them with evil, unnecessary desires. Egyptians and Persians believed in demons’ existence, Nehebkau and Ahriman and their powers to harm the living. Islam believed in the existence of Iblis or Shaitan, a fallen angel who influenced human beings to sin.
To return to the point I was driving home the notion of ‘Demoniac’ or characteristics relating to a demon as defined by the dictionary have co-existed with us ever since time immemorial. Here is an interesting conversation on the topic demoniac.
A Writer's Exposé 