What was the purpose of Kosh's "One Moment of Perfect Beauty"? (Babylon 5)

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What was the purpose of Kosh's "One Moment of Perfect Beauty"? (Babylon 5)

Post by FaxModem1 »

In season 2 of Babylon 5, Sheridan requests that Kosh teach him how to 'think like a Vorlon'. Kosh agrees. One of his lessons is to experience "One Moment of Perfect Beauty". We can see the lesson here:



So, knowing what we know about Kosh, the Vorlons, Sheridan, and the Babylon 5 universe, what is the purpose of this lesson? Who are these people that are singing for Sheridan? How did this experience help Sheridan? What are your thoughts?
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Re: What was the purpose of Kosh's "One Moment of Perfect Beauty"? (Babylon 5)

Post by B5B7 »

Maybe the lesson is that some things should be appreciated for themselves, not as a lesson. :wink: Yes, that is a paradox.
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Re: What was the purpose of Kosh's "One Moment of Perfect Beauty"? (Babylon 5)

Post by Raw Shark »

To think like a Vorlon, you must experience one moment that you consider perfect beauty, and then spend forever busting ass to try to preserve it instead of approaching it with more of a Life is Like a Garden LLAP Y'all mindset. The purpose of this lesson was to try to further indoctrinate Sheridan into their Order Cult, already well on its way thanks to a very successful unwitting honey trap. This experience helped Sheridan by damaging his trust of them as selfless benefactors, leading up to his eventual equation of them with the Shadows and rejection of the influence of both.

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Re: What was the purpose of Kosh's "One Moment of Perfect Beauty"? (Babylon 5)

Post by Alyrium Denryle »

Pretty sure they're an order of Mendicant monks (Mendicants being monks who beg), they're signing in latin after all.

That said, OG Kosh wasn't like most of the other Vorlons. He cared about the younger races for their own sakes, and wasn't about dominating them the way the other Vorlons did (you can tell, because he ended up fighting Ulkesh). I think this was a lesson to Sheridan that beautiful things don't come about due to the actions of single people, but through concerted action. You cannot have a gregorian chant without many cantors,all acting with a common purpose but but in slightly different ways.
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Re: What was the purpose of Kosh's "One Moment of Perfect Beauty"? (Babylon 5)

Post by WhiteLion »

this series has always fascinated me, sooner or later I have to find time to see it
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Re: What was the purpose of Kosh's "One Moment of Perfect Beauty"? (Babylon 5)

Post by Broomstick »

The lesson has many facets:

The most important point at which to find a moment of serenity and contemplation is when you are most tired and harried, for that is when your spirit is most in need of refreshment. [Kosh saying that when Sheridan is tired and harried is precisely the correct time for the lesson]

One must be open to new things and uncertainties, rather than rigidly planning out all actions in advance. ["I'm not sure I understand what we're doing down here." "Good."]

There is beauty to be found even in the most ugly and neglected parts of the universe. [The worst part of down-below.]

One must give some payment/earn one's moment of beauty. [The putting forward of the begging bowl]

One must set aside ones mundane/daily concerns in order to see the beauty. [Sheridan offering his bar, which is not worth much in a monetary sense but symbolizes his career, life, and daily concerns]

The lesson: when you are at your most spiritually depleted set aside the mundane, open yourself to previously unheeded possibilities, offer yourself to the universe and you will experience beauty where you thought there was none.

Now, as to whether or not that actually has anything to do with thinking like a Vorlon, or is just what the Vorlons want you to think, is another question entirely.
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Re: What was the purpose of Kosh's "One Moment of Perfect Beauty"? (Babylon 5)

Post by LadyTevar »

Broomstick wrote: 2019-09-08 03:43pm The lesson: when you are at your most spiritually depleted set aside the mundane, open yourself to previously unheeded possibilities, offer yourself to the universe and you will experience beauty where you thought there was none.
I think you've figured it out. That makes perfect sense as The Lesson.
Now, as to whether or not that actually has anything to do with thinking like a Vorlon, or is just what the Vorlons want you to think, is another question entirely.
One thing it did do was move Sheridan down the path the Vorlon planned ... until Sheridan met The Eldest, and then the plan went out the window.
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