Kepelhoutuo Chüsi
Da Vinci Code matters much to the people. If Dan Brown’s fiction is so convincing and rendering more than a fiction and so also the movie based on this, then let’s observe from another angle on who Da Vinci was.
Because. . . . ...a person, his thinking, belief; action and behavior are generally molded by the conditions like, the period of history in which he lives, the type of society and political arrangement that brings him up, the’ profession he holds, the religion he professes and so on. Now let’s see some.
His full name was Leonardo Da Vinci. He was born on 15th April 1452 in Vinci, a hill village near the Italian city of Florence to a legal clerk family. In 1466 he moved to Florence for apprenticeship in art and became a person so talented and excelled in many fields. He was a painter, sculptor, engineer, scientist, philosopher, poet, signer and a man among the chief humanists of his time. He died in France on 2nd May, 1519.
At this period of history (Renaissance) the growth of humanism was so immense and perhaps culminated to its zenith point so far as different periods of history are concerned. “The chief characteristic of renaissance way of thinking was humanism. It was the heart and soul of the renaissance”. In Short, humanism is a system of views which glorifies humanity rather than divinity. Hence, enjoyment of the present life, beauty and aesthetic were the main emphasis and occupied the central life of the renaissance society in which the religious theory of present life as a preparation for the world next was rejected. This was also a period when modern., science. Was germinated and was-growing- fast and new learning was taking place tremendously in different fields in the world particularly in Europe. Why and how these changes took place could be mainly attributed to the fall of Constantinople of Byzantine Empire or also known as Eastern Roman Empire in the hands of the Turks in 1453. As in the aftermath of this event, most of the Greek scholars¬ had exiled into Italy and other European countries for safety and asylum. They taught the local scholars about their philosophy, art, literature and culture for the Greeks were since most learned people in the world. This situation led the people to study literature, history, philosophy etc and infused in them a spirit of enquiry and curiosity. So much so that the people refused to accept thing for granted and developed a sense of love for learning, observation, reason and experimentation. This revival of learning is popularly termed as Renaissance in history and with this many learning centres emerged such as colleges and universities. Knowledge was therefore disseminated to the common masses perhaps for the first time. Then the enlightened people began to question everything of its reason, and above all, the medieval church was thoroughly and meticulously questioned of its conservativism and asceticism, its corrupt practices and rituals. Leonardo Da Vinci himself made various researches in medical science and technology against the current of stiff opposition from the church of his days. Some people became so bold and reckless that distinction between moral and immoral was not thought of and material gains reigned supreme over anything.
Prior to renaissance the position of artists was negligible in the society but we had, witnessed the exaltation of their position in this era. The artists took the themes/subjects from the bible but painted according to their whims having a different interpretation other than the scriptural context so as to lead the meaning towards humanistic approach of life. Hence ‘The last supper’ painted by Leonardo Da Vinci at a monastery in Milan (Italy) during 1497 was not based on reality, but, an imagery picture of Christ and his disciples. Because photography was non existent in those days until 1822 invented by a Frenchman. Therefore the ‘last supper’ on which so called ‘Code” based, is a handy work of Leonardo Da Vinci1an artist, a scientist and a chief humanist of his time (Renaissance) and not a contemporary of Christ but younger to Christ by 1400 years. So whether the sign or code “V or ‘M’ that may be present on the painting and represent family or whatsoever deciphered by modem cryptographer does not hold much water according to one’s judgment. Whether Leonardo was from the genealogical line of Jesus or whether a secret was handed down to Da Vinci, I leave it to the manipulative power of a fiction writer. But the fact is, the renaissance art itself did not claim the authenticity of its interpretation as far as historical statement is concerned, even though the subject or the theme was taken from the Bible. “The Renaissance artists made use of biblical subjects but the interpretation that they gave these subjects had little to do with the traditional religious attitude”. They emphasizing more on the physical aspects of man existence than that of the religiosity. Renaissance artists painted imagery pictures of heaven, hell, the fall of man , the last judgment etc which non of us has seen in reality. If certain code or sign used in all these will be taken as true then humanity will land into endless controversy.
If some hidden meaning is being deciphered by modem cryptographer on these painting even then we can not understand the intention of the artists whether to confuse the world or just for an amusement they painted in that way or this way. Had Jesus married Mary Magdalene his marriage life would have been referred to by his closest associate like Peter some where in the Bible or might have been exposed and condemned by his opponents for he had so many opponents, who time and again attempted to defile his purity.
Lastly, as for a fiction writer, his work of fiction is supposed to be convincing and heart rendering so as to earn money and fame by selecting a topic of common interest or controversy which may enthrall people and if possible hypnotize and mesmerize the people’s mind. In fact the people of the world are directly or indirectly being defeated by Dan Brown and we should say he has shaken the world with his pen and satirical skill.
However, writing a fiction or filming on a religious theme is a sensitive issue that a wise writer should always avoid for the sake of peace and tranquility among human kinds. Because when it is deviated far from the truth, it misleads the people and hurts the sentiment of its followers. You and I may know what fiction is but it is definitely going to mislead the common people when put into screen. Therefore banning is necessary and is done by state government. However, there is a tendency in human mind that he is more curious in banned or contraband goods. Hence this write up is placed out to the public to mentally prepare Christians to face the emerging challenge of their faith with courage and confidence.
As prophesized, this thing and the likes will come more and more towards the end days and deceive, if possible even the believers.
