Readers dont worry the post looks longer than it is. The black writing was the reading notes A and the red lettering is me digging in a bit deeper. So the post is really about half the size of what it appears.
Why a horse? Perhaps horses were considered
very valuable in that tradition.
Rakshasa is a scary demon looking thing out of the Hindu They are man eaters and rather foul in the the way they
conduct themselves
60,000 dead princes is a lot, like a whole lot. Incredibly large over-inflated number to prove some point just
beneath the story to give context.
Performed austerity with 5 fires… intermittent fasting. Some special preparation via ritual and fasting is often
accompanied by claims of spiritual awakenings. (Yajna) and (Agni the fire God).
I know another story where God was made flesh for the
purpose of saving mankind. There exists a strong correlation
with this story and sacred stories told from several of the other major religions,
but this story predates them.
Ravana cannot be defeated by gods, only
humans and monkeys. Yama is in control of the sun and the moon? Many of these hardcore, end of the story enemies that must be
killed, stories have an almost invulnerable appearance, and sometimes even the heroes
fall due to their seemingly insignificant weakness. David and Goliath, Samson
and Delilah, Achilles’s heel, ect…
I know a tradition that pays homage to the sun and the
moon. Do they worship the god of death by proxy? Gnostics
in their many forms, Freemason’s, other various secret societies, and their legends?
One could trick humanity, being a
petty sneaky god with a weird sense of humor, and cause a very sadistic game of fate if one were so inclined an audience loves to hate in my experience.
Vishnu the savior of humanity from the
demon king Ravana. Is born human on earth as Rama, son of Dasharatha. Vishnu
says, “don’t be afraid, Ill save you”. The
Gods being unable to be all-powerful Gods show their weakness by being unable to vanquish
their enemies by simply using their almost unending power. The only way to
truly do away with evil is to become a vulnerable human who is flawed in so
many ways, generally due to the very god that is becoming said human. The interesting
part is that the reader, knowing all their weaknesses (said and unsaid), can
easily identify with the everyday human but, in some legends, suddenly is given
a very important role, one they had never thought of as a strength, one that
makes them what they always thought they might be, the hero of the story at the
center of the universe. It is up to him/her to save the universe or, at least, do their
small part to play in this bigger picture. I am thinking of the movie “Neverending
Story”. The name he calls out is Moonchild if you, like me re-wound the VHS over
100 times (I know I am giving away my age). I am sure that not everyone knows what I’m talking about but that’s ok.
Rama, Dasharatha, Lakshmana, fire arrows at a female but
only to wound because to kill would be dishonorable. Teaching
moral principles on how our society should strive to behave or face angering the Gods
by behaving dishonorably. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry god.
Thataka, the evil demon (Rakshasa) woman, after being
deprived of her nose and arms makes herself invisible and throws stones at our heroes.
This society clearly has a poor view of women,
especially ugly women; however, they manage to
stay virtuous, even when it comes to demon women. And they say chivalry is dead, evidently not in Rama's day.
It’s a good thing too because, often enough, they seem to transform into
another state which was their pre-cursed state before they were, a demon. Re-incarnation maybe? Definately a consequence of waiting for evil doers in the after-life and rewards perhaps as well, it would seem.
Vishwamitra (sage) begged Rama to kill her, so guided by
sound alone he shot one arrow at the invisible beast and killed her. The priest
rejoices and kissed Rama’s head. The sage chants powerful mantra and the
celestial weapons appear with the spirits of the weapons, with hands folded ask
to do the bidding of Rama, it appears they value generosity. Rama tells the weapons
to be ready and read his mind. Interesting view of Rama's skill with a bow, supernatural ability to sense his enemy even when unable to use the gift of sight. Alluding that Rama can see or sense things that we mortals are simply unable to comprehend. I also love the imagery here
of the weapons having spirits and having this humble servant type demeanor. I
will try to find an open source picture.
What is the mountains daughter, and why will he hold it
on his head? Oh, Ganga is on Shiva’s head via precipitation. But Shiva thought
Ganga was too proud and so he caused her to wander around in his hair for
several years. Ganga finally used her water to sanctify the 60,000 sons of
Sagara’s ashes and they finally accent into heaven. According to Ramayana and the
Mahabharata: I wonder if Ganga is related to Gaia the
earthy goddess? In my day, a certain illegal herb was called Ganga, I find that
a rather humorous and informative twist. I love these intricate relationships
the deities have with one another, that should have a part in any epic. Again,
we see a similar religious theme of sanctification, or to be made sacred. I can
only assume this Ganga is the Ganges river.
Vishnu with the Ganges staged behind him
The spiritual city of
Rishikesh (the yoga capital of the world)
Ricky and Lori Ann in
their real-life adventures.
(I spent way too much time reading about this couple's traveling adventures)
In the poem, He is angry enough to curse her and yet tells her when the punishment
ends. The Bride returns to her original sinless state only after a good deed
done to Rama…. Very strange and interesting. Prophetic?
The whore washes
the feet of her saviors. She has heard and believes the word of Gautam. The “
Great Dame” and is reconciled with her husband. Very familiar
religious theme of what, at that time, must been considered the least likely to
be redeemed, The Whore. Yet she shows us that humbleness and being a faithful servant
give us the chance at redemption, but only when the chosen one, the son of Vishnu
returns.
Sita prays to Bhavani, knowing that her god already knows her will.
She makes her appeal to try and persuade her god to heed her call. Yes, gods can be persuaded but only by the most cunning and/or humble among us. The gods seem to be entertained when we understand how they operate and reward us when we want what they already wanted us to want.
Three times around
the altar equals marriage in death and life. We see the
rite of initiation taking place in almost all mystery religions, fraternities,
magickal/ witchcraft traditions, and some main stream religions. The alchemical
wedding of spiritual entities, be they a group or two people to a church. The
idea is a psychological one. It is meant to leave a lasting impression and to
bind a person by solemn oath to the other entity. One would have to break an
oath with their deity to leave this group or person which would result in utter
annihilation of their honor and expulsion of the group usually including family
and friends. This is a promise to their culture A.K.A. the cult. It is an
extremely important undertaking for most people and not to be taken as lightly
as many in our culture does today. Initation in the Hindu tradition
Saṃskāra (Sanskrit: संस्कार) has
various context driven meanings, that broadly refer to "the putting
together, accomplishing well, making perfect, a form of solemn recognition and
getting ready, engaging in works and acknowledging the purification of body by
cleansing or mind by education or an object by a process (such as polishing a
gem or refining a metal)".[4] The term appears in the Śrutis, and in the Smritis of diverse schools of Hinduism as well as
the texts of Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism.[4][6] The etymological roots of the word samskara
when it refers to rites of passage, is also "preparation, purifying,
perfecting" from one's past state to one's future state.[1]
Truth arises from
the conflict of various views, you are very wise old king. The theme that conflict can render delicious fruit is a
lovely theme.
Another familiar
theme. Good woman is seduced into thinking she has a rival and foolish kings
have made vows to grant wishes, and written checks they can't cash. Like the story of John the Baptist, and Samson
and Delilah. This, like Star Wars, is how good people
go bad. The thinking that the end justifies the means. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
The old woodsman
and his wife enter the kingdom of death via their son’s funeral pyre. What a wild image. I thought this was a very romantic view of
suicide, just like walking through a fiery door to the otherside. Must be a
cultural thing. Perhaps the reincarnation thing. Fascinating!
We see a king on his death bed and grieving over what he perceived as a
deed done to him, but he
brought it on himself through pride of honor. To save his word he has done
great evil and to add insult to injury, Rama’s mother lets him know that he has
broken his word regardless, but now he dies without his favorite son by his
side. We also see that when he cries out for mercy the woman graciously
apologizes. A great act of kindness paid to him by Rama's mother. This
adds to my thought about how important the bond between Rama and Sita is. When their
wedding was highlighted, the story teller pointed out utter devotion, like the above king was with his word,
Rama the incarnate of God could not and would not ever ever ever break his
word. It kinda goes without saying. We also gain a bit of perspective on why
Vishnu picked Rama’s mother to bear him. She is clearly above and beyond
virtuous.
Bibliography:
Public Domain Story of Ramayana, Click Here
Freemasonry by W. Bro. J.S.M. WARD http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/ward_EA_handbookfr.html
By Wikipedia:
Initiation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiation
Ganges River https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges
Vedic Wedding Ceremony https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedic_wedding_ceremony
Hindu Wedding https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_wedding
Rhino, just to say: this is great! The whole "story planning" thing is a new idea that a student suggested last semester, and it is really perfect for people who want to ask questions and explore before coming up with a story. I am so glad you are able to make good use of that to pursue your interests as you ponder the story writing. :-)
ReplyDeleteRhino, wow! You did a LOT of research into specific details and really analyzed certain aspects. I think you really found the underlying meaning to a lot of the events in the story. I jumped right into writing my story but I thought about doing a planning week. Professor Gibbs told us to maybe suggest ideas for people that did planning, so I guess my one suggestion would be to maybe when you are writing these notes to pick certain things you like and make notes of how you could put it into a story. Not just analyze the original story. I hope that makes sense!
ReplyDeleteHi, Rhino! I love how you decided to plan a story this week. In your introduction, you said you weren’t comfortable with writing, and this is the perfect way to help you out! I would suggest you narrow down your focus a little, and try to determine what story you want to tell. For instance, if you wanted to discuss the dichotomy of this story with that of another religion and/or another culture’s mythology, you should focus on specific similarities/differences between them and come up with a medium in which you can display this information.
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