Week 13, Reading Diary B, Sita's Ramayana

Author: Samhita Arni

Artist: Moyna Chitrakar

Title: Sita's Ramayana

Year: 2011

Sita's Ramayana

Pages 36-71

Jatayu the friendly bird tells Rama about Sita being nabbed by the evil Ravana.  The friendly bird died for the sakes of Sita and Rama. 

Loyalty.Duty. Desire. Rebirth and Death.

Dharma.

Kama.

Karma.

Moksha.

Samsara.

They find the dropped jewelry that Sita leaves as a trail. 

Rama, the banished and exiled king gathers the army of Vanaras the king of which was also an exiled king. Sugriva. He gets his vengeance but it is at a high price. It hurts those he loves.

I find it comical that Hanuman starts the fire for the demon king and its demons. In modern western tradition, the demon king (satan) would already have fire in his kingdom of hell. Of course a strinking difference being that Lanka is real and Hell maybe not so much.

Bears, monkeys and squirrels in army to rescue lovely Sita. It's hard for me not to see her as Snow White. The animal kingdom builds a bridge. Whoa.

The War begins.

Week 11, Reading Diary B, Seven secrets of the Hindu calendar, Nayan's secret

Narayan's Secret

Title: Hindu Calendar Art

Author: Devdutt Pattanaik

Year: 2009

Narayan sleeps on a coiled serpent, Sesha, that floats in a ocean of milk. The world ends when Narayan is asleep. Sesha is what remains at the end. Does this posit the philosophical question that our world also disappears when we sleep? Yes. Without the observer, the observed does not exist.

I was going to keep better notes for this one, but I have watched it three times and it moves so fast it would really be a lot of writing.

This part of the movie is deep. Tremendously awesome. This is the story of all creation. Narayan is God. WE are also Narayan. Everything is God. All of creation is connected, it is all primal forces that weave the fabric of reality. The soul is never destroyed, it is immortal. It is what remains as we, like Shiva close our eyes and sleep, and wake up reborn.

This is some of the most beautiful ways to look at life. It really resonates with my soul. As a child I could remember past lives. I was also able to tell other people about their past lives. About the age of 6 when my grandpa asked me to give someone a reading, I did not know what he was asking of me, and I was unaware that I was doing it. Also, my mom would get angry with me, because she was convinced that I was making things up, and if I got things right it was because I had a wild imagination, or must have overheard some adults talking etc.

When I was in high school, my mind woke up and I started remembering past lives again. I know when I meet certain people that I see their soul and that we "travel" together. Our souls are immortal. Our loved ones are always with us. They are also an expression of us. Like Narayan. He is surrounded by his loved ones, the primal forces that makes his world move and stop.

One thing that I really love about epified the people producing these videos is that when something comes up, like the angels in the picture, they point out that this idea became popular after being influenced by western thought. I was all excited and about to look it up when they gave the disclaimer. Awesome!!!

Sesha is interesting to me, because in my previous dabbling in the metaphysical world I read a book called "The Serpent of Light" by Drunvalo Melchizedek. I have since 2008 when I read the book become very aware of how much the symbol of the serpent is a very important part of all ancient knowledge.

I am terrified of snakes. And horses. I love cows. None of this makes any sort of logical sense. But to my soul it makes perfect sense.

Week 10, Reading Diary B, Sita Daughter of the Earth

Bibliography :

Author: Saraswati Nagpal

Artist: Manikandan

                                                               Year: 2011

Title: Sita: Daughter of the Earth

Pages 46-end

xxxxx

After Rama and his brother killed the Rakshasa's the Maharishi Agastya

gave them both magical celestial weapons to kill the demons that they were going to face in the forest. Quivers that were never empty and arrows that travel at the speed of light. King Jatayu Sita grew to love as an uncle. Years pass.

A woman with anklets finds Rama in the forest and decides that is what she wants. Rama refused her because of Sita. So the woman decided to get rid of Sita. She was a demon and threatened to scratch out the eyes of Sita, a puny woman. Lakshmana cuts the demon up.

The demon, Shurpanakha is angered and is the sister of king Ravana the king of Lanka. 

She whines to her brother and they plot to have Sita become the wife of Ravana and the demon to have Rama.

The golden deer is enchanted and Sita asks Rama to get it for her. Rama, because of his duty does go after it. It was a trick and Rama's brother is left to guard Sita, but is tricked to go into the forest after Rama and Sita is tricked by a man who looks like a Brahmin, so she is under obligation to feed him, but she is magically protected by a ward and doesn't want to step out of it. The Brahmin is a demon and tricks her into crossing the ward.

Sita leaves her jewelry as a way for Rama to have clues to find her. She is taken to a glorious palace in Lanka. She is treated like the queen she should be an Ravana wants her to come willingly to him as his wife.

Sita is loyal only to Rama. The Rakshasa's tempt her daily and she is threatened by death if she does not agree to marry Ravana.

Hanumana pledges his services to Rama and he agrees to go find Sita. He finds her, shows Sita Rama's ring, so she will trust that he is sent from Rama. He asks Ravana to set Sita free, he says no. So Hanumana sets the kingdom on fire. Ravana shows Sita her husbands head and says that she is free to marry him now. Sita doesn't buy it.

Rama builds and army and comes to Lanka to fight for Sita. A battle ensues. Ravana dies. Rama is crowned the king of Lanka.

So Rama has to tell Sita that he cannot accept her back as his wife. She is upset. She goes through an ordeal by fire to prove her purity. She passes. They go back to Ayodhya because the 14 years had passed. Sita is cause for trouble in the kingdom. Rama has his brother take Sita to the forest. she is pregnant.  Maharishi Valmiki takes care of her and helps to raise the twins. Rama shows up to take the boys. Sita has another trial to prove her purity, this time she goes into mother earth.

Week 9, Reading Diary B, Ganesha the Remover of All Obstacles

Amar Chitra Katha Vol 509

Ganesha The Remover of All Obastacles

Lord Ganesha image found on Google images www.astrogems.com

I chose this reading  because I love this guy, Ganesha!

Parvati wife of  Shiva

taking a bath and posts a guard to demand that no one enter (does this remind you of Melusine?!)

The guard feels helpless to stop the Lord Shiva from entering

this irritates Parvati because she feels that the guard does not respect her

She makes a boy from Saffron paste, 

he comes to life (a bit like Pinnocchio?)

She makes him her guard and he is eager to please his mother

He tries to stop Shiva and hits him with his staff

This causes problems with the other Ganas (staff/guards)

Shiva is angry with Parvati and feels she has gone too far by not letting him into his own house

so he sends the guards to attack the boy,

He easily takes them all down and others fled

Brahma, Vishnu and Indra hear about the issues and talk with sage Narada to talk with Lord Shiva

The whole kingdom tried to get rid of the boy, they fail

Parvati is upset for them harassing her son

So she creates the Shaktis Kali and Durga

Kali ate the enemies trying to kill her brother basically

Durga became lightening and destroyed the weapons of the enemies of her brother

this news upsets Shiva and he decides to kill the boy himself

A battle ensues with all the gods and Shiva kills the boy from behind with his trident

Then he worries about what his wife will say, she created the boy, which makes it his son!!!

Parvati wants the boys death avenged, created hundreds and thousands of shaktis to destroy devas and ganas

Shiva tells the shaktis to go north and bring the head of the first creature in the path and put it onto the boys body in order to appease Parvati

they find a single tusked Elephant

Parvati was half pleased 

Shiva puts his hand on the boys head and declares him status the presiding officer of all the ganas and to be worshipped as Ganesha,

called Vighneshawa, the queller of obstacles