A look into Dante's journey

Prelude:
I had an odd dream last night, I was typing on AIM (I think to hermie) - and at one point a guy called Reece (who I read about yesterday) showed up in there. At one point, I was trying to talk (I don't know who to, or what I was saying entirely) but I just was not able to type anything comprehensable - I kept pressing wrong keys nomatter how I tried, I was also aware that I couldn't make proper words speaking either. At one point I was able to make a question mark and then get accross 'huh?', which then I got a refrence to dante from 'Reece' - I had heard of 'Dante's inferno' before but in my dream I had no idea what/who dante was, it just sounded familiar. This was the last dream before I woke, so I looked him up in wikipedia.

My perspective:
I don't know whether it's true, but it's still interesting to look at, and his journey an interesting analogy. When I read the bit about 'poetic justice' I realised that me not being able to communicate was sort of poetic justice for me - because it's the main thing I do on the internet, but I also realised it was fairly light, not exactly scary, just frustrating. In my dream I kept trying, I don't know whether I would've given up had it kept going, that I wondered - depends whether it occured to me, in dreams it doesn't always.

What struck me about his supposed journey through levels of hell, through purgatory and into heaven, is that it seemed like a journey everyone takes - that everyone starts at the first and works their way through when each level has done it's job - and that will be to different extents for each person, depending on just how much there was to fix about them. It struck me as by and large a one way thing - it actually said in the article that people only get better and purer - they can go back to previous levels, but deep down they won't change for the worse as people (although what badness is within us may be drawn out for show, but we shouldn't fear that because we need to be purified of it anyway)

Although abandoning hope was part of the hell, and people could exist in one realm forever if they didn't change, I got the impression they were only there to learn their lesson, and certainly the article said about people moving realms - Dante and Virgil, as well as "two in heaven and one (Cato of Utica) in Purgatory"

It's not unusual to come across people hoping for a lighter version of hell if they cannot get heaven, so would , given the choice, choose to stick in limbo or the early levels of inferno, but the journey takes Dante deeper in and repents each 'sin' one by one until he reaches god at the end - indicating basically, you have to go through it to purge yourself in order to get to heaven. Avoiding progressing further down or staying in limbo because you don't want to go into a harsher realm slows down your reaching of the eventual destination of heaven - it's like having to go through a burning coridor in order to get out of a burning house. Much as I wish there was an easier way (like jumping through a window), I cannot think of one that applies to life that would genuinely change people deep down without having to suffer.

I think some things about the story would be wrong - like how someone who lived as a pagan cannot progress even if they repent - that they just vanish - to me there doesn't seem any point in purging somoene if it's not to any end. Perhaps Virgo (dante's first guide, a pagan) - when he disappeared he did go to a more heavenly realm but one notn visible to Dante because Dante may have had beliefs that prevented him being able to see a good end for pagans - I think the whole experience for him was moulded round him, for him, and so reflects his views on famous people quite often, and may look down on philosophers who Dante may not have liked (like Epicurus).

Assuming Dante based his poem on a dream or NDE experience, then because I think this may well be a personalised thing, I think the different realms of heaven/hell may be different for each person - in how we percieve them, how many levels there are, and what punishment/reward works. When Dante reached heaven, he admitted also that what he saw was only what his human eyes alloed him to see, in other words, he saw it as his perspective - for him maybe that was angels on clouds or the usual stereotype of heaven (I'm not sure) - but it could be very different for people with different beliefs, because their expectations seem to shape their experience - after all heaven is meant to be without challenge - so you may well see what you want to see.

Another thing that struck me was that Inferno and Pergatory were really just different takes on the same thing, albeit with pergatory you could see the happy ending whereas inferno got deeper. I say they're the same because they're both described as realms where people learn + get punished for 'sin' as part of a purification, the main difference seems to be how they are percieved - Pergatory is regarded as a nicer place with 'angels' guarding parts of it rather than the 'demons' of inferno - but in some ways really they're the same thing - guardians to areas where people are tortured to repent, but that maybe they approach things differently.

But this did seem like it's a path everybody takes, there's no avoiding it, we go through hell in order to get to heaven, if it's true, it makes some sense in terms of how people learn, I'd also say feel free to make the mistakes that bring out any bad side that is there so that it can be purged

One thing that bothered me though was how it all seemed to be 'by the whip' - punishment after punishment after punishement, even after a life of suffering, although suffering is the only way I can see for some things, but I try to use words where words will reach so that suffering won't be necessary to make people realise. By the time people get to heaven they must think "what now?". I think it's better to pass through all this quickly if possible, but to spend as much time as you think you need under honour - and if you don't want to, I'm sure people will make you (as was another difference between pergatory and inferno - inferno happened regardless of your will once you were in, people in purgatory sounded like they could take breaks).

Above all though, I don't understand why 'sin' or the bad side of human nature existed in the first place - why should there be anything there to purge? I don't buy the idea that sin was created by adam/eve's temptation to eat an apple - because that very temptation existed before they made their decision, so they were inherently vulnerable to something that existed from the start. In addition, their decision shouldn't have had any bearing on anyone else, it may symbolise their disobedience, but it's only theirs, it's nothing to do with us - and how could curiousity possibly be the cause of much darker, more sinister intentions of humanity, it doesn't make sense - I reckon something was there before, I don't know how or why, but something happened. I also don't buy the story that sin may be to do with satan + others rebelling out of pride, but still, in order for that to have happened, the pride must've existed beforehand, it's not the result of our deeds or our deeds itself, it's like a kind of muck we all start with, admittidly it may pressure us to develop + become strong, but I would very much like to know why it's necessary, so far I've only observed that it can work. I wish I could find another way...