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Lesson 8 (ntro to Hinduism and Shiva Stories )

Major aspects of the Hindu Trimurti/Shaktis

Illustrations

·  

Brahma, the creator aspect                                                                      Sarasvati, consort/wife (Shakti) of Brahma

     -Often depicted with his mount, the white swan                                          -Represents knowledge and learning

     -Rarely figures in the stories                                                                     -Often depicted with books/musical instruments

Lakshmi, consort/wife (Shakti) of Vishnu

     -Often shown with her mount, a white elephant

     -Represents beauty, etc.

     -Is most often the avatar aspect, e.g. Sita

Vishnu, the preserver aspect                                                    

     -Often pictured with his mount, the bird Garuda              

     -Is most often the avatar aspect, e.g. Rama, Krishna   

Shiva, the destroyer aspect

     -Often depicted with his mount, the white bull Nandi

     -Often depicted with snakes and/or skulls around his neck

     -Often is shown with a third eye in the middle of his forehead

     -Often is shown with a blue throat (from swallowing the world poison)

       Shiva's wives/consorts (Shaktis) include:

      Uma, pictured here with her mount, a lion      

    Parvati, pictured here w/Shiva and their son, Ganesha, the elephant-headed God

  and Kali, representing death and motherhood, often depicted with skulls, a bloody tongue, and standing on Shiva

The Churning of the Ocean

Remember that in this myth, the names of the members of the Trimurti change with their functions at any given time, but God is still the same.  This myth is more properly called a myth of manifestation instead of a creation myth because Hinduism does not recognize an "original" creation. Creation takes place as part of a cycle of creation, destruction, re-creation.  This is the destructive phase of the cycle.

Shiva, the destructive aspect of the Trimuriti, is "insulted" (metaphorically representing the decline of the state of the world) and destroys the world. After the "ruin," the world is re-created.  Note that even though the members of the Trimurti are one, they often speak to each other, and at times seem to be unaware that they are all part of one deity.  

The creation metaphor used here is the churning of milk into butter.  Milk is a fertility element (hence, critical to the creation) as nourishment (breast-feeding). The "milky" ocean, with the mountain (or the churning stick) as the phallic symbol, is also the semen. In a literal sense, the churning of the ocean represented as the churning of milk into butter.

In this myth, "good" and "evil" work together, as the Gods pull the snake (rope) from one side and the "demons" pull the rope from the other.  Although they are pulling in opposite directions, their purpose is the same (to churn the ocean).  As in the Native American belief system, Hindu cosmology does not totally separate "good" from "evil," realizing that the existence of one depends upon the other.  All creation and destruction is part of the deity.


In this myth, Hari (Vishnu) occupies four positions: on the top of the mountain, the tortoise under the mountain, pulling on one side with the gods, and pulling on the other side with the demons. This is the concept of manifold consciousness (God is "present" in many places at once).

Out of the milky sea are churned: A cow (symbol of divinity); the divinity of wine; the tree of paradise; the apsaras (dancing girls); the deadly poison; the dew of life; Lakshmi (shakti of Vishnu)

The world must be destroyed in order to be recreated. Hence Shiva is part of the cycle of creation. Remember that Shiva drinks the poison and saves the world.  His throat turns blue from the poison, hence Shiva is often depicted with a blue throat.

The demons are pulling in the opposite direction from that of the gods, yet they are both working together to churn the ocean. The demons want the dew of immortality. Vishnu tricks them into helping with the churning while denying them the dew. The participation of the demons is important because the Hindu system does not recognize the concept of evil that is separate from God. God is everything.  The "gods" who are pulling on the one side of the churning are the "devas"  (see the notes on history of the evolution of Hinduism in the next section).

The Gods regain immortality (i.e., the world is restored).  The Three Worlds are restored:  the physical plane (earth), the astral plane (sky), and swarga ("heaven").  Three boons are offered by Lakshmi at the end of this myth. ("Boons" are favors). First, that she would never again abandon the worlds (until the next destructive phase, of course) and second, that she would never forsake those who sing her praises or read this story. (So you are now automatically blessed, unless you did not read the story and are reading only these notes instead).

Keep in mind that this myth is to be read as a metaphor and is not to be taken literally (in other words, do not make the mistake of thinking that Hindus believe that the world is flat and is literally located on the back of a tortoise).  It is simply a way of describing the inconceivable -- the creation (re-creation) of the world, to which there are no human witnesses.   This myth expresses a number of important Hindu principles:  the cyclic nature of time (creation, destruction, re-creation), the manifold consciousness of God, the all-encompassing nature of God (no "good" vs. "evil").

The Shiva Stories

There are far more stories about Shiva than about the other two members of the Trimurti. 


The Supremacy of Shiva


The purpose of this story is to describe the articulation of the idea of a destructive aspect of God.  This does NOT mean that Shiva really suddenly appears, but that it is beginning of human understanding of the existence of the destructive aspect of God.

The narrator of this text is Brahma, who is speaking to Vishnu.  But keep in mind that these are not physical deities who literally converse with each other.  Have you ever "talked" to yourself?  Think of these "conversations" as taking place within the mind of God, as divine thoughts. 

The purpose of this story is to define the role of Shiva within the Hindu cosmology.  The articulation of Shiva as the destructive aspect of God is the final addition to the Trimurti.  The lingam is the cosmic pillar, a phallic symbol, which represents Shiva.  At first glance, this symbol of fertility would seem inappropriate to the destructive aspect of God.  However, the lingam represents the inseparable link between destruction and (re-)creation.  The destruction of the world is necessary to its re-creation and consequent purification. 

When Vishnu says to Shiva, "Happy has been our strife, thou God of gods, forasmuch as thou hast appeared to end it," he is noting that the "strife" of how to purify the world has been resolved with the notion of destruction that is required before the world can be re-created.  This also indicates that there is no "good" vs. "evil" dichotomy in the Hindu system.


Sati


This story describes the establishment of the worship of Shiva (i.e. the recognition of this newly-articulated function of the Divine).  Daksha is angry with Shiva because he (Shiva) did not offer homage to Daksha.  Thereafter, Daksha does not recognize Shiva as an aspect of God.  Daksha is cursed to waste his life in material pleasures and ceremonies, ending up with a face like a goat.  Within Hindu sects that focus their worship on Shiva, ceremony is not standardized, and there are no official priests.  Therefore, Daksha's failure to recognize Shiva's divinity results in his concentration on ceremony. 

Daksha's daughter, Sati (who is a shakti of Shiva), wants to marry Shiva.  Shiva is described as "a beggar, his body smeared with ashes."  This represents his destructive (but not "evil") aspect.  When Daksha refuses to recognize Shiva, even after he is married to Sati, Sati releases "the inward consuming fire" and falls dead.  Shiva is not really bothered by Daksha's refusal to invite him to the ceremony.  But Sati takes it as an insult, and thus gives up her life.  Shiva carries the body of Sati on his back.  This weight is relieved by Vishnu, who cuts up the body of Sati.  Like Osiris, Sati is cut up, and the body parts are scattered, establishing the worship of Sati (and hence, Shiva) throughout the land.  This imagery of the scattering of body parts is a metaphor for the spreading of the recognition of the divinity of Osiris in Egypt and Sati/Shiva in India.  This may also serve to establish the ordering of time, in the form of the calendar.

At the end of the story, Shiva retires from his destructive phase and returns to his meditative state, representing his second important function.  When he is not destroying the world, Shiva retires while Brahma and Vishnu re-create and maintain the world.  Vishnu then advises Daksha (now with a goat head), "Only the unlearned deem myself and Shiva to be distinct; he, I, and Brahma are one, assuming different names for creation, preservation, and destruction of the universe.  We, as the triune Self, pervade all creatures;  the wise therefore regard all others as themselves."  Whereas The Supremacy of Shiva articulates the existence of this third aspect of God, the Sati story describes the spread and acceptance of this notion.


Eye-Saint


This story describes the "acceptable" ways to express reverence and worship for Shiva. 

Sturdy's father, a hunter, offers the mountain deity "strong drink and fowl" during feasts and ceremonies.  Sturdy is ignorant of God, but he is sincere.  The lifting of the weight of the wild boar represents the removal of Sturdy's ignorance as he approaches the Shiva- lingam.  When Sturdy discovers the Shiva-lingam, he brings meat and water (carried in his mouth) as offerings.  However, Sturdy's offerings are not accompanied by any dancing or feasts.  He approaches the Shiva-lingam as an individual. These offerings of meat and water represent the destructive aspect of Shiva. 

The priest who normally tends the Shiva-lingam is shocked by these crude offerings, and he brings instead flowers and pure water, representing Shiva's meditative aspect.  However, Shiva is not displeased with Sturdy's offerings.  When Sturdy is willing to cut out both of his eyes to restore the lingam, Shiva proves that Sturdy's offerings are more genuine than those of the priest.  Shiva says, "He who offers flesh and water from his mouth is an ignorant hunter of the woods who knows no sacred lore.  But regard not him, regard his motive alone; his rough frame is filled with love of me."  Ceremony is not important to the "worship" of Shiva.  It is actions and motives, not empty ceremonies, that are meaningful.  Therefore, there are no official priests in the Shiva sects.  One does not have to know the sacred stories or texts;  one does not have to perform special ceremonies.  A worshipper of Shiva must be pure of heart and express this purity in actions, not words.


Uma's Sport

This myth describes, in a very concise plot, the role of the shakti in Hindu cosmology, as well as the cyclic nature of the universe. 

In the beginning of this myth, Shiva is engaged in his usual meditation, dressed in his "typical" garb (lion's pelt, snake, green beard, matted hair).  Uma, by covering Shiva's eyes, brings him out of mediation -- she is the catalyst for Shiva's actions.

The world is immediately covered in darkness (symbolically destroyed), but Shiva's third eye (in his forehead) blazes forth (re-creation and fertility) to restore the light.  However, the light is too hot and the world is burned up (destroyed).  Shiva then restores the world (re-creation).  Shiva is both the creative and destructive power, which are inextricably linked.  And all of this activity is initiated by Uma. This is a mini version of the destruction, re-creation, destruction, re-creation of the world.


Shiva's Dance (excerpt)

The Potter Analogy is an important metaphor for understanding the Hindu system.   The First Cause is a member of the Trimurti (Brahman, Vishnu or Shiva). Like the potter, it is a member of the Trimurti who decides what action will be taken: creation, preservation or destruction. The clay pot which is being created is called the Material Cause because it is the result of the action taken by the potter. Therefore, the Material cause is the creation, the world. The Instrumental Cause is the wheel itself, which turns the clay and allows the potter to create the pot. The Instrumental cause provides the energy, which allows the potter to create (or to destroy the pot if it becomes crooked or defective). The shaktis are the Instrumental cause because they give the members of the Trimurti the energy to take action. The shaktis are the catalyst for the actions. Therefore, without the wheel, the potter would not have the movement or the motion necessary to create the pot; without the shaktis, the Trimurti would not have the energy and the ability to take action. Remember that the Trimurti and the shaktis are just metaphors for the creative acts of God. Think of it this way: Even though the potter, the pot and the wheel are separate physically, they are all elements which are required to create. There is no potter's wheel and no pot if there is not a potter. There is no potter if there is not a pot to be  created, etc.

The Potter Analogy describes the relationship between the members of the Trimurtis and their shaktis, and between God and the universe. 

Shiva's Dance represents the energy and movement (activity) of the Universe and the human soul. 

Note from the illustration that the dance is also depicted as cyclic.   

Lesson 9 (Historical Background and the "Ramayana")

The Vedas and the Upanishads

The sections you have read are only brief excerpts, chosen to give you a sense of the overall tone of these two important Hindu texts.

Keep in mind that the Vedas and the Upanishads do NOT describe modern Hinduism, but instead describe the EVOLUTION of various traditions into what is modern Hinduism.  The Vedas describe the process of combining Native and Aryan sacred elements, and are therefore important and unique historic as well as religious documents.  The Vedas describe a polytheistic system, which will later evolve into the Hindu monotheistic system.  The Upanishads describe a "fine-tuning" and further development of the hybrid belief system.

The Rig Veda, in Sanskrit

You will notice that the excerpt from the Rig-Veda X, unlike most religious texts, poses many questions without giving answers.  It does not provide a clear picture of divinity, but asks the questions that any human might consider when thinking about divinity:  "What did it [Being] encompass? Where?"  The passage even ends with a profound statement of belief AND doubt:  "Only he who is overseer in highest heaven knows. [He only knows,] or perhaps he does not know!"

The Upanishads go one step further and not only ask questions, but provide conflicting responses.  Remember that "Upanishads" means "sitting next to," as in having a conversation.  Section III,19 states that in the beginning there was nothing ("non-being") that turned into an egg.  Section VI,2 contests this response, noting that in the beginning there was just Being, for "How from Non-being could Being be produced?" 

Are you confused?  That's OK.  You can see that the Hindu tradition of questioning and seeking personal answers has a long history.  It is not important to know the answers, as there are no ultimate "right" answers.  What is important is the asking of the questions.  This is what is meant by the statement, "At the highest level, everyone is a Hindu."

The Ramayana

This is one of India's two traditional epics.  The purpose of this epic is to establish social order through the observance of dharma.

Rama and his brothers are avatars of Vishnu; Sita is an avatar of Lakshmi

Ravana (w/10 heads and 20 arms)

and the battle of Lanka

The purpose of Rama’s birth is to rid the world of the "evil" rakshasa (demon) Ravana. Ravana represents, not evil per se, but rather a kind of "anti-dharma." Ravana has been granted a boon by Shiva that he cannot be destroyed by rakshasas or Gods, but he can be defeated by humans. Ravana feels that humans could never be a threat to him.  Therefore Vishnu takes on a human form as Rama.

Dasharata's wives cannot conceive, so he performs the "horse sacrifice" to ask for divine intervention.  Please note that the horse sacrifice does NOT involve killing the horse, but performing a special ceremony and then releasing the horse.  Rama and his brother are conceived by eating divine rice/milk (the seed/semen), and here we see the non-sexual conception motif again.

Rama "earns" Sita in marriage by stringing the Shiva-bow. Sita, born of the earth, is a fertility figure.

Dasharata prepares to name Rama as his successor as king of Ayodhya. However, Bharata’s mother, Kaikeyi, is told by the nurse-maid that she should insist that her own son be named king instead.

Bharata’s mother decides to "cash in" on two boons that Dasharata had granted her for saving his life.  Dasharata has no choice but to grant the boons. He believes that this situation is punishment for a past life when he killed the Brahman boy. Thus, karma. Rama is required to go into exile for 14 years, and Bharata is to be installed as king instead.  However, Bharata's mother is not an evil character.  She is merely an instrument in the ultimate fulfillment of Vishnu's purpose as Rama.

Rama agrees to give up his throne and go into exile. He is not passive, but is merely accepting his dharma to follow his father’s instructions. This will lead (karma) to the eventual killing of Ravana and the fulfillment of Rama’s (Vishnu’s) purpose. Thus "Destiny should never be mistaken for tragedy." Rama, realizing that it is his dharma to obey his father, does not question the exile, but complies without objection.  This is not a weakness, but a strength.  Bharata refuses to take the throne in Rama’s place. He places Rama’s sandals on the throne and rules from outside of Ayodhya, awaiting Rama’s return.

Sita and Lakshman follow Rama into exile. They live simple lives.

Ravana causes destruction and interferes with the rituals of the rishis.

Ravana’s sister sees Rama and falls in love with him. She proposes to him, but both Rama and Lakshman refuse her. They even make fun of her by playing a game of sending her back and forth between the two of them. Finally, Lakshman cuts her nose and ears. The rakshasas attack, but Rama and Lakshman successfully them (some versions say that they alone defeat 14,000 demons).

Ravana’s sister tells Ravana what happened, and he vows revenge. Karma has been set in motion as a result of Rama following his dharma.  (Remember what happens when Gilgamesh rejects Ishtar?)

The abduction of Sita

Sita plays a critical role in this epic.  Although she may seem at first glance to be a very passive character, Sita is the catalyst that allows Rama to fulfill his dharma.  For example, when she sees the golden deer (a rakshasa in disguise), she asks Rama to catch it for her.  This leaves her protected by Rama's brother, Lakshman.  When the wounded deer cries out in Rama's voice, Sita insists that Lakshman go help Rama, whom she thinks is in danger.  This leaves her alone to be kidnapped by Ravana.  This kidnapping provides the motive for Rama's attack on Lanka.  Sita, as an avatar of the shakti Lakshmi,  functions as the "instrumental cause" of the potter's wheel because her choices set in motion all of the critical action of the epic.

Rama enlists the help of Sugriva, the monkey king, in his effort to rescue Sita.  Sugriva's kingdom had been taken by his brother.  Rama helps Sugriva regain his throne, and Sugriva in turn vows to help Rama rescue Sita.  Hanuman is the "son of the wind" monkey who can leap over the sea to Lanka (present-day Sri Lanka).  He finds Sita and reports back to Rama. 

In the meantime, Ravana tries to woos Sita, who rejects him.  Ravana cannot force himself on Sita because, having forced a woman in the past, Ravana had been cursed so that if does this again, he will die.  This is another example of karma (moral decisions to act that have consequences). 

When Hanuman enters the city of Lanka, it is described as a woman.  Initially the city "resists" Hanuman's entrance, but he "struck her down," and "she yielded to him" (i.e., he "entered" the city).  Later, Hanuman's flaming tail sets the city on fire.  The flaming tail is a phallic symbol, and this imagery describes the rape of the city of Lanka, caused by Ravana's violation of order in the kidnapping and wooing of Sita.

Eventually Rama fulfills his dharma and kills Ravana (after he and Lakshman are revived in battle with the healing herbs found by Hanuman).  Rama returns to Ayodhya as a victor, restoring the order that was disrupted by the rakshasas.  Although Rama knows that Sita has been pure during her time in Lanka, he tests her purity by asking her to undergo the "fire-ordeal."  She passes and proves her innocence.  Rama must prove Sita's innocence to his people in order to establish social laws.  Years later, when rumors are again flying that Sita may have been unpure, Rama banishes Sita, who is pregnant with twins.  Rama is not a cruel husband, but he puts the welfare of his kingdom above his own feelings.  He lives by example, and does not want his people to think that adultery is acceptable.  Although Western readers tend to criticize Rama for his treatment of Sita, in Hindu tradition, Rama and Sita are models of social responsibility, putting the welfare of the kingdom above their personal feelings.  After the birth of Rama's sons (to whom the author, Valmiki, tells the story of Rama), Sita is called back to Ayodhya, but does not submit to another test of purity.  Instead, she is received back into the earth and returns to her shakti-form (Lakshmi).  Years later, Rama also returns to his divine state as Vishnu.

Hanuman

This epic establishes social order through karma and dharma.  Rama and Sita are role models who put aside their personal lives for the sake of society.  Remember that Vishnu is responsible for maintaining order in the world.  Sita is also important as a catalyst, exemplifying the relationship between the members of the Trimurti and their shaktis (see the potter analogy). 

Lesson 10 (The "Mahabharata")

The Mahabharata

The Mahabharata -- The Battle Scene -- 

Can you find Krishna in the picture?

This is the second of the great Hindu epics, based on oral tradition and drastically condensed in the version you are reading.  It is the single longest literary work in history.  Can you find the direct reference to Rama and Sita (from the Ramayana) in this epic?

This is not your typical "Western-type" epic with well-defined good guys and bad guys.  The basic plot involves a conflict between two groups of cousins over the right to rule the kingdom.  The grandfather, Bhishma, has two sons with equally flawed claims to the throne.  The elder son, Dhritarashtra, is blind, so he passes the right of kingship on to his younger brother, Pandu.  However, Pandu, because of a curse, cannot father children.  So he passes the kingship back to his brother, Dhritarashtra.  From the outset of this epic, there is no clear legitimate claim to the throne.

Although Dhritarashtra is given the throne, he passes the rule on to his nephew, Yuddhistira, rather than his own son, Duryodhana, in deference to Pandu having given up the throne.  This begins the conflict between the two groups of cousins (the Kurus, sons of Dhritarashtra, and the Pandavas, sons of Pandu).  The 101 sons of Dhritarashtra are born as one mass that emerge as indivduals from a jar of butter.  Further complicating this scenario is the fact that  the "sons" of Pandu are not his biological sons, since he cannot father children.  They are the children of Pandu's wife, Kunti, and various divine fathers. 

Karna is an adopted charioteer's son (found in a basket like Moses)  who later joins the Kurus.  His biological mother is Kunti, who is the wife of Pandu (she conceived Karna with the Sun before she married Pandu).  Karna is by birth a member of the Kshatriya caste, but is by adoption a member of the Vaishya caste. 

If you are now very confused, it's OK.  The point of this cast of characters is precisely to confuse the issue about who is the rightful king.  Both the circumstances of birth and birthright are confused and unclear.  Efforts to ban the Panadavas or divide the kingdom only lead to more conflict and uncertainty (see text for details).

Draupadi becomes the wife of all of the Pandavas.  She saves the Pandavas from Yuddhistira's gambling debts by asserting her right to autonomy.  Like Sita in the Ramayana, she is a catalyst for actions that move the epic in the right direction.  The gambling episode also shows that Yuddhistira, even though he later becomes king, is not a perfect hero. 

During his time in exile, Yuddhistira "learns" the importance of dharma and the insignificance of the material world.  For example, he saves his brothers when they all die from drinking poison water.  He answers the spiritual questions posed by the crane (who is Dharma in disguise) and is allowed to choose one brother to bring back to life.  Instead of choosing one of the brothers he is closer to (Arjuna or Bhima), he chooses Nakula.  Nakula is Yuddhistira's half brother.  Yuddhistira feels that it is only fair for his mother and his father's other wife to each have a surviving son.  Yuddhistira's compassionate and dutiful choice is rewarded with the revival of all of the brothers.

Arjuna and Krishna

Krishna is an avatar of Vishnu who encourages a reluctant Arjuna to fight in the war with his cousins.  Why is this?  The answer is provided in the Bhagavad Gita , the most famous and important part of this epic.  This small excerpt gives you an idea of the tone of the much longer text.  In the Gita, Krishna encourages Arjuna to fight because, if he refuses to kill his cousins, he delays their re-incarnation and eventual progress towards Nirvana.  The Gita outlines all of the important Hindu principles, such as the insignificance of the material body and world in the face of the spiritual ("none can destroy that changeless Being.  It is but these bodies of the Body-Dweller, everlasting, infinite, undying, that have an end'").  It is Arjuna's dharma to fight, for "there is nothing more to be welcomed by a knight than a righteous war."  The battle is not really about the kingship;  it is about a ritual that embodies the Hindu principles of re-incarnation, spirituality, and movement away from the material world.

In the course of the battle, Bhishma (the grandfather) is wounded and lies on a bed of arrows.  He is allowed to choose the time of his own death.  The Pandavas ultimately "win" the battle, and Yudhishthira is crowned king.  He and other sages consult Bhishma, who is now a source of great wisdom.  Lying on the bed of arrows, Bhishma has separated himself from the material world and approached a spirituality that does not recognize pain or social structure.  He explains to Yuddhishthira his kingly duties from the perspective of dharma.

At first, Yuddhisthira "developed a distaste for the kingdom which they had won after unparalleled carnage; he repented having waged war, wished his enemies had continued to follow their own ways, and he and his brothers their mendicant life; he condemned the warrior's life and desired to renounce the world."  (p. 345-6).  However, the others convince Yuddhishthira of his obligation to take the throne, and Yuddhisththira rules as a wise king for many years.  He then decides to give up the material world and passes the tests of loyalty as he proceeds to heaven (swarga). In the end, all of the cousins are reunited in swarga and Krishna returns to his Vishnu state.

The disrobing of Draupadi

The purpose of the Mahabharata is to establish the significance of spiritual order (as outlined in the Gita) over social order.  The lack of clear kingship claim and the confusion of identities is not important in the greater spiritual scheme of things, as Krishna outlines in the Gita.  How does this differ from the outcome of the Ramayana?  What is the role of social order (through dharma) in the Ramayana compared to the significance of social order in the Mahabharata? 

HINDU MYTH THEORY

Excerpted from Grammar of the Gods by Devdutt Pattanaik

In Hindu mythology, divinity is expressed in the form of three couples – Brahma and Saraswati, Vishnu and Lakshmi, and finally Shiva and Shakti. What is interesting to note is that the male half of this trinity is associated with verbs – Brahma creates, Vishnu preserves and Shiva destroys. The female half on the other hand is associated with nouns – Saraswati is knowledge, Lakshmi is wealth and Shakti is power. The gods are thus the creators, preservers and destroyers; they are the active subjects. The goddesses by contrast are that which is created, preserved or destroyed; they are the passive objects. While the goddesses are described as embodying wealth, knowledge and power, they themselves are never described as knowledgeable, wealthy or powerful. ..

What is often overlooked while looking at mythological images of gods and goddesses is that mythology is symbolic. Shiva does not represent a man and Shakti does not represent women. Shiva and Shakti are male and female forms that lend themselves to embody ideas. Ideas have no gender. But to communicate them, they are often given various forms – sometimes animals, sometimes plant, sometimes geometrical patterns and sometimes human. If human, they are given gender.

Wealth is embodied using the form of Lakshmi, but that does not mean wealth is feminine or women are wealth. Such confusion between the signifier (the form) and the signified (the thought) has led to all kinds of readings of mythology. ..

In Samkhya, the school of analytical metaphysics, the world is divided into two parts: the spiritual (Purusha) and the material (Prakriti). Purusha [the spiritual] is today translated to mean man; that makes Prakriti [material] woman. Prakriti [material] is today translated to mean nature; that makes Purusha [spiritual] culture, or more specifically male culture. But this attribution of gender to elements of Samkhya is more convenient and simplistic rather than correct.

Purusha [the spiritual] that which is not contained in space and time. Prakriti [material] means that which is contained in space and time. Purusha is thus the spirit while Prakriti is matter. Purusha is the soul while Prakriti is that which wraps around the soul – the mind, the body and the world. Now the flesh can be male or female. Thus gender is an attribute of Prakriti [the material]. Purusha [the spiritual] is beyond gender. That makes man, a soul wrapped in male flesh and woman a soul wrapped in female flesh.

Prakriti [the material] is the container of wealth and knowledge and power. It stimulates and provokes Purusha [the spiritual] into action. Purusha [the spiritual] is that which can act – it can if it so wills create or sustain or destroy anything: wealth, knowledge or power. Thus Purusha [the spiritual] is the divine within us that can create or sustain or destroy. Prakriti [the material] is the divine around us manifesting as wealth, knowledge and power. Purusha [the spiritual] creates outside itself but within Prakriti just as man creates life outside the male body within a woman’s body. This is why Purusha [the spiritual] is best represented by the male form while Prakriti [the material] is best represented by the female form. Within is God. Without is Goddess. Without either here is neither.

Excerpted from Grammar of the Gods by Devdutt Pattanaik

Printed in Speaking Tree supplement, Times of India, 21 March 2010

Cited by http://devdutt.com/grammar-of-the-gods

Excerpted from Everybody Tells a Story by Devdutt Pattanaik

 Traditional western stories typically have a clear start and a clear finish. So the story typically begins with “Once up on a time” and ends with “Happily ever after”. But traditional Indian stories are rather different in structure. Take “Vetal-Pachisi” for example. Vetal-Pachisi is a story of king who repeatedly goes to a  tree and pulls down  a vampire with the intent to give him to a sorcerer. On the way, the vampire tells the king a story which ends with a question and he forces the king to answer the question. As soon as the answer is blurted out the vampire runs away from the king and returns to the tree. The king returns to the tree and has to pull the vampire down again. This happens 25 times.  Thus, the story always starts at the same point, with pulling down the vampire and ends at the same point by return of the vampire. The plot lies in between. The difference in structure of stories reflect the differences in cultural beliefs. The Western story celebrates a linear construct of life – with one beginning, one ending and one life in between. The Indian story celebrates a cyclical construct of life – with many beginnings, many endings and many lives in between. Thus stories reflect the culture they emerge from, while reinforcing the culture at the same time.

Excerpted from Everybody Tells a Story by Devdutt Pattanaik

First published in First City, Delhi, May issue

Cited by http://devdutt.com/everybody-tells-a-story

Excerpted from The Aims of Indian Art by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy

The extant remains of Indian art cover a period of more than two thousand years. During this time many schools of thought have flourished and decayed, invaders of many races have poured into India and contributed to the infinite variety of her intellectual resources; countless dynasties have ruled and passed away; and so we do not wonder that many varieties of artistic expression remain, to record for us, in a language of their own, something of the ideas and the ideals of many peoples, their hopes and fears, their faith and their desire. But just as through all Indian schools of thought there runs like a golden thread the fundamental idealism of the Upanishads, the Vedanta, so in all Indian art there is a unity that underlies all its bewildering variety. This unifying principle is here also Idealism, and this must of necessity have been so, for the synthesis of Indian thought is one, not many.

What, after all, is the secret of Indian greatness? Not a dogma nor a book; but the great open secret that all knowledge and all truth are absolute and infinite, waiting not to be created, but to be found the secret of the infinite superiority of intuition, the method of direct perception, over the intellect, regarded as a mere organ of discrimination. There is about us a storehouse of the As-Yet-Unknown, infinite and inexhaustible; but to this wisdom, the way of access is not through intellectual activity. The intuition that reaches to it we call Imagination and Genius.....The reality of such perception is witnessed to by every man within himself upon rare occasions and on an infinitely smaller scale. It is the inspiration of the poet. It is at once the vision of the artist, and the imagination of the natural philosopher...

Maya

It cannot be too clearly understood that the mere representation of nature is never the aim of Indian art. Probably no truly Indian sculpture has been wrought from a living model, or any religious painting copied from life. Possibly no Hindu artist of the old schools ever drew from nature at all. His store of memory pictures, his power of visualisation and his imagination were, for his purpose, finer means: for he desired to suggest the Idea behind sensuous appearance, not to give the detail of the seeming reality, that was in truth but mâyâ, illusion. For in spite of the pantheistic accommodation of infinite truth to the capacity of finite minds, whereby God is conceived as entering into all things, Nature remains to the Hindu a veil, not a revelation; and art is to be something more than a mere imitation of this mâyâ, it is to manifest what lies behind. To mistake the maya for reality were error indeed.

Excerpted from The Aims of Indian Art by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy

Studies in Comparative Religion, Vol. 9, No. 1. (Winter, 1975). © World Wisdom, Inc.

http://www.studiesincomparativereligion.com/Public/articles/The_Aims_of_Indian_Art.aspx