A Course in Miracles Explained

Here are the principal characters of the movie (well, those which are relevant for this article anyway):

Mufasa : Current King of the Pride Lands. Well-built lion. Thick mane. Brown eyes. Father of Simba. Elder brother of Scar.

Scar : Younger brother of Mufasa. Uncle of Simba. Well-chiseled, bony features. Flat black matted mane. Aspires to be King of Pride Rock by deceit, due to his thin size and weak stature. His claws are always partly extended. Has a vertical scar across his right eye that presumably accounts for his name.

Simba: The cub of Mufasa and main protagonist of the film. Soon to be King of Pride Rock. Initially a cub, later an adult. Brown eyes.

The film starts with an exuberant display of life – elephants parading, antelopes jumping, birds going nuts. They are rejoicing at the The Birth of Simba. This is symbolic of the creation of Christ by God. There is an immense outpouring of Joy and Love, between this love of the Created and the Creator.

What God creates in His extension of Himself is called Christ. But Christ is not in any way separate or different than God. It is exactly the same. Christ is not a part of God, It is an extension of the whole. Real Love must be shared, and the perfect Love that is shared in God’s universe is beyond all human comprehension. Humans appear to be part of the whole, but Christ is all of it. The only possible distinction between Christ and God – if a distinction was possible – would be that God created Christ; He is the Author. Christ did not create God or Itself. Because of their perfect oneness, this doesn’t really matter in Heaven. God has created Christ to be exactly like God, and to share His eternal Love and joy in a state of unencumbered, boundless and unimaginable ecstasy.

Unlike the concrete, specific world you appear to be in now, this constant and enthralling state of awareness is completely abstract, eternal, unchanging and united. Christ then extends Itself by creating new Creations, or simultaneous extensions of the whole, which are also exactly the same in their perfect oneness with God and Christ. Thus Christ, like God, also creates – because It is exactly the same as God. These extensions do not go inward or outward, because in Heaven there is no concept of space; there is only everywhere. The result of all of this is the endless sharing of perfect Love, which is beyond understanding.

DU, Pg. 124.

The party ends and Simba wakes Mufasa up to watch the sunrise. It is beautiful. In the primal state, God and Christ (Mufasa and Simba) look upon the Kingdom of Heaven. This is land of plenty and his rightful inheritance – everything is to be his! Booya.

Alas, the good times don’t last long – we see the first glimmer of the separation concept when Mufasa tells Simba about the forbidden place that he must never go to. Of course, this parallel does not happen in the A Course in Miracles context – this communication of any separation concept would never happen with God and Christ. Mufasa telling Simba about this could be likened to the tiny aspect of Christ that thinks to itself, ‘What if I was to leave this place? (The Kingdom of Heaven)’ Immediately, we have the ‘first division of the mind’ – that there is something other than the Kingdom of God, and that non-oneness exists.

Mufasa: Look, Simba. Everything the light touches is our kingdom.
Simba: Wow.
{The camera revolves around them, during Mufasa’s speech, from a reverse view to a frontal shot.}
Mufasa: A king’s time as ruler rises and falls like the  sun. One day, Simba, the sun will set on my time here,     and will rise with you as the new king.
Simba: And this will all be mine?
Mufasa: Everything.
Simba: Everything the light touches. {Simba looks all around. He views the rip-rap canyon to the north} What     about that shadowy place?
Mufasa: That’s beyond our borders. You must never go there, Simba.
Simba: But I thought a king can do whatever he wants.
Mufasa: Oh, there’s more to being king than… getting your way all the time.

More separation happens in the film as the tiny, mad idea starts to descend down the ‘rungs of the ladder’. Bad uncle Scar, the ego, ‘accidentally’ reveals to Simba what the forbidden place is – an elephant graveyard! Young Simba, brimming with curiosity, is now faced with the ‘second division of the mind’ – Choice. Does he go find out what the forbidden place is? Or stay in the Kingdom of Heaven?

Of course, Simba chooses to go to the graveyard with his friend Nala. Having chosen with the ego, the ‘third division of the mind’ occurs. He now experiences a world he has never seen before – a dusty, dry and desolate world full of bones and death. As brave as he tries to be, he is very much afraid. He meets the 3 hyenas (the unholy trinity – Sin, Guilt and Fear), and they have a tussle and they nearly die, until Mufasa intercedes. Mufasa is really pissed at Simba, and tries to discipline him, but hey – it’s a Disney-film, he loves him too much (aw) and lets him off easily. Of course, life is never the same again..

Typical of the ego, Scar has to resort to trickery in order to get his way and ascend to the throne – for the ego has no real power, no real might as compared to God / Christ (Mufasa / Simba). Now, Scar tricks Simba on staying on a rock, in the middle of the plains. On giving a signal, the hyenas trigger off a wildebeest stampede, and sweeps Simba away with it. Scar tells Mufasa that Simba is in trouble. Mufasa jumps to the rescue, manages to get Simba to safety, but is badly hurt in the process. He ends up clinging on to dear life. Scar finishes Mufasa off, unseen by Simba.

Simba sees Mufasa’s dead body. This is a pivotal scene for our comparison. It’s a really tragic scene, and you can feel Simba’s pain. There is such an immense sense of loss – the principal role model in his life, the one that created him, the one he loves so much, has died. Because of him. Guilt, loss and sorrow overwhelm the little cub. A Course in Miracles-wise, the decision maker, having chosen with the ego, thinks that he has separated / wounded / killed God – for suddenly he is in a place where God is not present. (Of course, God doesn’t die – God ‘dies’ in the mind of the tiny, mad idea) And it’s all his fault! It’s the perfect moment for the ego / Scar, who comes along to ‘comfort’ the decision maker / Simba, only to make him feel even more guilty. Scar then slips in an interesting and peverse solution…

Scar: Simba. …What have you done?

Simba: {Jumps back, crying} There were wildebeests and he tried to save me… it was an accident, I… I didn’t mean for it to happen.

Scar: {Embracing Simba, yet still distant} Of course, of course you didn’t. No one… ever means {pulls Simba closer; Simba hides his face on Scar’s foreleg} for these things to happen. …But the king IS dead. {looking with mock regret at Simba) And if it weren’t for you, he’d still be alive. {Simba is crushed, believing his guilt. Another thought “occurs” to Scar.} Oh! What will your mother think?

Simba: {Sniffing} What am I gonna do?

Scar: Run away, Simba. Run… Run away and never return.

{Simba runs off blindly, obviously broken. Slight pause, for the audience to catch its emotional breath.  Music ends. The three hyenas appear behind Scar.}

Scar: Kill him.

—————–

“Don’t you know what you’ve done?” – the ego asks in our metaphorical story – “You’ve separated yourself from God! You’ve sinned against Him big time. You’re in for it now. You’ve taken paradise – everything He gave you – and thrown it right in His face and said, ‘Who the hell needs you?’ You’ve attacked Him! You’re dead. You haven’t got a snowball’s chance in hell against Him – He’s awesome and you’re nothing. You’ve ruined everything; you’re so guilty. If you don’t haul ass out of here right now, it’s gonna be worse than death!” Oh my God, you think in response to the ego. What have I done? You’re right – I’ve ruined everything and attacked Heaven! But where can I go? What can I do? I can run, but I can’t hide. There’s no place I can hide from God Himself!

“Well, that’s not exactly true,” says the ego, “because I’m here to help you. I’m your friend – and I have an idea. I have somewhere we can go together. You can be your own boss and not have to face God at all. You’ll never see Him. He won’t even be able to get into this place!”

Really? you ask. That sounds pretty damn good to me. Let’s go!

“All right,” says the ego. “Do exactly as I say.”

DU, Pg. 138

Overwhelmed with grief and guilt, Simba / the decision maker accepts the ego’s cunning solution – to leave the Kingdom of Heaven and forget everything. Scar ascends to the throne, bringing with him the Hyenas – with obvious references to the Nazis – the ego’s obsession with control, fear, indoctrination, etc. The Pride Land / Kingdom of Heaven is cast in darkness. (The Kingdom of Heaven is cast metaphorically in darkness, in the mind of the decision maker)

Simba, sick with grief and weary after running away, collapses in the desert. He wakes up to find a foreign world – the world of duality. He is found by Timon and Pumbaa, his new companions. They want him to be his friend because he’s a lion. (conditional love? special relationship? )

Like the Prodigal Son who eats and sleeps with the pigs - Simba is now reduced to eating slimy grubs, instead of meat. He learns the phrase ‘Hakuna Matata’ – why worry? Although innocent sounding, it is yet another superficial plaster on Simba’s deep emotional wounds, and also a form of denial against his past – the horrible thing which he never did.

Fast forward a couple of years, and Simba is now an adult. The Pride Lands are in trouble due to over-hunting, and Nala decides to leave to find help. Nala meets Simba by chance, and catch up. They are happy to see each other, but it stirs up much conflict in Simba. Like a wake-up call – Simba can’t help but be reminded of his past, which has become all but a distant memory now.

Just as many of us find it hard to believe that we are Christ, Timon and Pumba, both of whom Simba has never shared his past with, are incredulous that he is the Son of God.

Simba, now fully down the rungs of the ladder and totally immersed in the world of duality, has an emo moment and recalls a bit of his past: You said you’d always be there for me! But you’re not. And it’s because of me. It’s my fault. It’s my fault. Along comes Rafiki, the monkey shaman, who has intuited that Simba is alive and well. Rafiki is an all-singing, all-dancing monkey, which annoys Simba, until he mentions a key fact which wakes Simba up – you’re Mufasa’s boy.

Rafiki (as well as Nala) represent to me, a messenger of the Holy Spirit in a very physical form – immediately I think of Gary Renard or Ken Wapnick. They are individuals who are close to the Holy Spirit and have chosen to deliver the message of the Holy Spirit. They are living, breathing pointers to the abstract state of the Holy Spirit, and have come as very potent reminders to our true nature, which we, like Simba, have forgotten..

Simba: Creepy little monkey. Will you stop following me? Who are you?

Rafiki: {In front of Simba, then right in his face.} The question is: Whooo… are you?

Simba: {Startled, then sighing} I thought I knew. Now I’m not so sure.

Rafiki: Well, I know who you are. Shh. Come here. It’s a secret.

{He pulls Simba’s head over to whisper into his ear. He starts his chant into Simba’s ear and laughs.}

Asante sana! Squash banana! We we nugu! Mi mi apana!

Simba: Enough already. what’s that supposed to mean, anyway?

Rafiki: It means you are a baboon– and I’m not. {laughs}

Simba: {Moving away} I think… you’re a little confused.

Rafiki: {Magically in front of Simba again} Wrong. I’m not the one who’s confused; you don’t even know who you are.

Simba: {Irritated, sarcastic} Oh, and I suppose you know?

Rafiki: Sure do; you’re Mufasa’s boy.

{Simba is surprised by this revelation. Rafiki disappears off stage right.}

Bye!

{Cue music: “Lala” theme.}

BS: We sangoma ngi velelwe  [Oh, spiritual healer, I'm troubled]     We baba ngivelelwe  [Oh, my father, I'm in pain] We baba ngivelelwe      [Oh, my father, I'm in pain]
Simba: Hey, wait!

{Simba chases after him. When we catch up. Rafiki is in a meditative lotus position on a rock.}

You knew my father?

Rafiki: {Monotone} Correction– I know your father.

Simba: I hate to tell you this, but… he died. A long time ago.

{Rafiki leaps off the rock over to a dense jungle-like area.}

Rafiki: Nope. Wrong again! Ha ha hah! He’s alive! And I’ll show him to you. You follow old Rafiki, he knows the way. Come on!

{Rafiki leads Simba through the brush. Simba has trouble keeping up due to his size. The music slips into African chant.}

Rafiki: Don’t dawdle. Hurry up!

Simba: Hey, whoa. Wait, wait.

Rafiki: Come on, come on.

Simba: Would you slow down?

{Rafiki is seen flitting through the canopy ahead of Simba, laughing hollowly and whooping.  Simba struggles to keep up. Suddenly, Rafiki appears with his hand held up right into Simba’s face.}

Rafiki: STOP!

{Rafiki motions to Simba near some reeds.}

Shhh.

{He parts the reeds and points past them with his staff.}

Rafiki: Look down there.

{Simba quietly and carefully works his way out. He looks
over the edge and sees his reflection in a pool of water
He first seems a bit startled, perhaps at his own mature
appearance, but then realizes what he’s looking at.}

Simba: {Disappointed sigh} That’s not my father. That’s just
my reflection.

Rafiki: Noo. Look harder.

{Rafiki motions over the pool. Ripples form, distorting Simba’s
reflection; they resolve into Mufasa’s face. A deep rumbling noise
is heard.

You see, he lives in you.

{Simba is awestruck. The wind picks up. In the air the
huge image of Mufasa is forming from the clouds. He
appears to be walking from the stars. The image is ghostly
at first, but steadily gains color and coherence.}

Mufasa: {Quietly at first} Simba . . .

Simba: Father?

Mufasa: Simba, you have forgotten me.

Simba: No. How could I?

Mufasa: You have forgotten who you are, and so have forgotten
me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what
you have become. You must take your place in the
Circle of Life.

Simba: How can I go back? I’m not who I used to be.

{Shot of cloud-Mufasa, with glowing yellow eyes.  He is framed
in swirling clouds, radiating golden light.}

Mufasa: Remember who you are. You are my son, and the one
true king.

{Close up of Simba’s face, bathed in the golden light, showing
a mixture of awe, fear, and sadness.  The image of Mufasa starts
to fade.}

Remember who you are.

{Mufasa is disappearing rapidly into clouds. Simba runs into
the fields trying to keep up with the image.}

Simba: No. Please! Don’t leave me.
Mufasa: Remember…
Simba: Father!
Mufasa: Remember…
Simba: Don’t leave me.
Mufasa: Remember . . .

While many of us will dismiss the possibility of having communication with Spirit in as clear a form as this scene – all of us have the ability to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice directly. It may be a sense of inner prompting, ‘gut feeling’ or events that are far too serendipitous to be mere coincidences. Some of us may receive messages through our higher communication modalities – clairvoyance, clairsentience, clairaudience, or claircognizance.

Simba’s looking into the pool of water to see his own reflection is also highly symbolic. The Holy Spirit is the Higher Self. It is really ourselves, but in a state where all lessons have already been learnt. We are guiding ourselves back to God. The way to access the Holy Spirit’s voice is to go within ourselves. It is by owning ourselves and by facing our insecurities and fears that we can clearly identify with the Holy Spirit’s voice. Like Mufasa’s spirit, the Holy Spirit prompts us to remember who we are – Christ. In order for us to ‘be more than than we have become’, we must ‘take our place in the Circle of Life’. The A Course in Miracles parallel here is the Circle of Atonement, spoken about in Chapter 14 of the text. The Circle of Atonement is an ever-widening chain of events, in which we have a unique role to play. It is initiated whenever we practice true forgiveness – events which we may or may not be aware of. In order for us to remember our Christ nature, we must take our place in the Circle of Atonement. We must forgive.

T-14.V.2. Everyone has a special part to play in the Atonement, but the message given to each one is always the same; God’s Son is guiltless. Each one teaches the message differently, and learns it differently. Yet until he teaches it and learns it, he will suffer the pain of dim awareness that his true function remains unfulfilled in him.

It’s also worth pointing out that Rafiki corrects Simba when he refers to Mufasa in the past tense. While we may have forgotten God in our descent into duality, the Holy Spirit always lives within us. Being the living memory of God, it is a force and presence which is always with us – from the moment we enter this world to our last breath.

From knowledge, where He has been placed by God, the Holy Spirit calls to you, to let forgiveness rest upon your dreams, and be restored to sanity and peace of mind. Without forgiveness will your dreams remain to terrify you. And the memory of all your Father’s Love will not return to signify the end of dreams has come. A Course in Miracles, Workbook, ’7. What is the Holy Spirit?’

Simba ‘wakes up’ and decides to challenge Scar for the throne. Returning to the Pride Lands, Nala and Simba look at the sorry state it has become.

Nala: What made you come back?

Simba: I finally got some sense knocked into me. And I’ve
got the bump to prove it. Besides, this is my kingdom.
If I don’t fight for it, who will?

If we do not ‘fight’ for our inheritance, who will? If we do not ‘fight’ the ego for our inner peace, who will? There is nobody else that can do the fighting for us. As Sons of God, we share the will of our Father – nobody can force us to do anything if we choose not to.

If you want to be like me I will help you, knowing that we are alike. If you want to be different, I will wait until you change your mind. I can teach you, but only you can choose to listen to my teaching. How else can it be, if God’s Kingdom is freedom? Freedom cannot be learned by tyranny of any kind, and the perfect equality of all God’s Sons cannot be recognized through the dominion of one mind over another. God’s Sons are equal in will, all being the Will of their Father. T-8.IV.6.

Simba enters a scene where Scar and Sararbi (Simba’s mother) are having an argument. Both of them are understandably shocked and think it’s Mufasa himself, such is the likeness of Simba to his father. (Christ is perfectly alike to God in all aspects, except that God created Christ and not the other way round)

{Simba appears on the ledge, growling loudly. He leaps out
and runs to his mother. Scar mistakes Simba as Mufasa
and is understandably frightened.}

Mufasa? No. You’re dead.

{Sarabi awakens at her son’s nudge, but mistakes him as
Mufasa as Scar did.}

Sarabi: Mufasa?

Scar, who knows he will lose in a fight with Simba, resorts to trickery again – he makes Simba admit that he was ‘responsible’ for Mufasa’s death. Like the ego, Scar engages in emotional arguments and broad generalisations, eg. ‘If not for you, Mufasa would be alive. Thus, you are a guilty murderer.’ The hyenas and Scar take advantage of the situation to push Simba off the cliff. As Simba is about to fall off, Scar cannot resist revealing a final tidbit to Simba: I killed Mufasa.

Unfortunately for Scar, this proves to be his downfall. Simba is sufficiently enraged by this revelation that he does a superlion comeback and pins Scar down.

Simba: {Quietly, severely} Murderer.

Scar: Simba, Simba. Please. Please have mercy. I beg you.

Simba: You don’t deserve to live.

Scar: But, Simba, I am… ah… {unsure of his tactic} family.
It’s the hyenas {regaining composure} who are the real enemy.
It was their fault– it was their idea!

(The ego always blames and projects onto others)

{Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed are in the background. They
overhear and back away growling at Scar’s betrayal.}

Simba: Why should I believe you? Everything you ever told
me was a lie.

Scar: What are you going to do? You wouldn’t kill your old
Uncle…? {ingratiating grin}

Simba: No, Scar. I’m not like you.

Scar: {Greatly relieved} Oh, Simba, thank you. You are truly
noble. I’ll make it up to you, I promise. How can I, ah,
prove myself to you? Tell me; I mean, anything.

Simba: {Gravely, with deep anger} Run. Run away, Scar. And
never return.

Scar: Yes. Of course. As you wish… {looking down and seeing
a pile of hot coals} …your Majesty! {Scar swipes the coals
into Simba’s face.  With a cry of surprise and pain, Simba
paws the coals away as Scar leaps and attacks.}

Like the ego, Scar in unable to change his ways until the very end, even as Simba offers him forgiveness. Like a hard-wired machine with dysfunctional code, the thought-form of the ego cannot be changed, and can only be chosen against.

{There is a fight in slow motion. Both Scar and Simba land heavy
blows. Simba gets knocked on his back. Scar leaps through the
flames at him. Simba gathers courage and uses Scar’s momentum in a
“throw” similar to Nala’s fighting tactics to send him flying over the
edge. Scar tumbles to the bottom. He weakly gets up. He sees Banzai,
Shenzi, and Ed approaching and smiles. Ed has a very angry look on his
face.}

Scar: Ahh, my friends.

Shenzi: Frie-he-hends? I thought he said we were the enemy!

Banzai: Yeah, that’s what I heard.

Banzai and Shenzi: Ed?

Ed: {Laughs evilly}

Scar: {Very nervous} No. L-L-L-Le-Le-Le-Le-Let me explain. No.
You don’t understand. No! I didn’t mean for… No, No!
Look, I m sorry I called you…  No! NOO!

The ego, represented here collectively by the hyenas and Scar, self-destruct and disappear into the nothingness whence it came. Simba takes his rightful place in the Kingdom and ends the period of darkness.

The film ends on a happy note. We fast forward a couple of years and view a scene similar to the opening scene, only that Simba’s son is being presented. The circle of life continues – symbolising the continuation of the process of God’s creation of Christ and his expression of infinite Love to his Son. Cue credits.

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