The Necessity for Balance: Ma’at and Isfet
We all strive for complete success and perfection. None of us want to go through hardships, but we have to deal with one thing or another. If I could have it my way, I would want the good things in life without any struggle or hassle.
And while that sounds perfect, it also feels oddly empty. In this hypothetical situation, it would be paradise, but when I think about it, it sounds boring.
Here’s why- there is no balance.
I believe that everything in life has a counterpart to it. Good vs. evil, happy vs. sad, dark vs. light. The list goes on.
The Ancient Egyptians also believed in balance and based their entire existence on this notion.
Maat versus Isfet, Ra versus Apophis
The Ancient Egyptians believed in dualism. For the world to be balanced, there needed to be two forces that opposed each other in an equal manner. For them, the balance of the world was accomplished when the forces of order and chaos fought against each other.
From my understanding, there are two versions of the order vs. chaos fight- the abstract version and the concrete version.
The abstract version is Maat and Isfet. (It is a bit hard to explain but let’s do this)
Maat translates to order and harmony. It is the heart of the Egyptian civilisation. Maat symbolised goodness, truth and ethics (there is also the goddess Maat who was seen as the goddess of justice but let’s just stick to the abstract version)
The Pharaoh of Egypt had to protect Maat as it was the only thing keeping Isfet at bay and preventing the world from destruction.
Isfet was the opposite of Maat. Isfet symbolised the chaos, disharmony and darkness the world would descend into if she prevailed over Maat.
The two forces were almost equals in power, Maat had a slight edge over the other so that the world would live. But Maat wasn’t given power so that it could completely destroy Isfet, it was given power so that the two would fight each other constantly, and give the world a dual sort of sustenance.
The point is that the two stay in constant balance with each other, for the survival of the world
This struggle between the two is solidified in the daily fight between Ra (sun god and creator), representing Maat and Apep/Apophis (Great Serpent), representing Isfet.
Ra was an important deity of the religious pantheon and was seen as a very powerful god.
(I have already written quite a bit about Ra, so if you would like to know more, just click on the links throughout the article)
Apophis is a new character. Apophis was the embodiment of chaos and fear. He was associated with earthquakes, darkness and storms.
Apophis was said to have existed before creation, swimming contentedly in the primaeval waters. But when the world was created, order was created and Apophis naturally became the opposing force against creation and Maat. He wished to destroy the world and bring back the darkness and to do so, he needed to destroy Ra, and effectively, the sun.
He waited every day in the Underworld while Ra made his journey (to know more about his journey, click on the link!) on his solar boat. Every day, Ra and his entourage of gods have to fight off Apophis to be able to complete his journey as the sun. They always injure him but are unable to kill him.
Ra and Apophis are stuck in a continuous and eternal battle and ensure that there is balance in the cosmos.
The Ancient Egyptians believed in the daily struggle between order and chaos and did their best to help Ra in his fight against the evil serpent. They made prayers and priests held daily rituals to aid the sun god. They focused on keeping the balance and ensuring that the amount of chaos did not overpower and destroy the order of nature.
We can’t have too much of one thing, it creates an imbalance. That’s why I will be okay with both the good and bad things that happen in life cause it gives me stability. Too much happiness would make me complacent but too much sadness/hardships would pull me down.
This precarious balance is what makes life fulfilling. So don’t worry and embrace the dual nature of life to its fullest!
