Week 10 Reading Diary: Tales from Old India retold by Rouse

For this week’s reading diary I chose to read The Giant Crab and Other Tales from Old India retold by W. H. D. Rouse. I was looking to learn more about Buddhist legends and ended up choosing this reading of Buddhist jataka tales because the summary caught my attention, which read, "This is a fun collection of Jataka tales, with some delightful illustrations too. I was not disappointed by my selection and would highly recommend this book if it sounds like s

omething you may be interested in too. This creative retelling of stories by Rouse is exactly what we are supposed to be practicing in the course Epics of India.

My favorite part about this book was Rouse’s retelling of The Turtle Who Couldn’t Stop Talking which I also retold in my storybook, Kurma and Karma, in the section called Boarding School. Rouse called his version The Talkative Tortoise. I especially enjoyed The Talkative Tortoise because I got to hear yet another perspective on this old tale. One thing that was different about Rouse’s version was that the fish were annoyed with this chatty turtle and that the birds were actually saving the turtle from this pond where he was unwanted.

The story of The Giant Crab was very entertaining. First of all, Rouse used beautiful descriptions and the story had great flow. Next, he made it funny by making this monster of a giant crab into a “great flirt”. It was quite humorous that this crab had scared of everyone and so no longer had anybody to flirt with. I would love to read the original version of this story. Here is an image of the elephant who finally killed this monstrous crab:

Elephant Crushing the Giant Crab. Source: Gutenberg.com

Week 9 Review

I absolutely LOVED the video Google Search: Reunion! What a beautiful piece. I was saddened by the news about Lahore, Pakistan and this video made me even more sad to see people who actually resided near the same park. It was incredibly touching to see the reunion of these two old friends. I highly recommend this video and intend to look for more that are possibly made by this same author.

Mochi Gate Lahore. Source: Panoramio. 

Tech Tip: Sidebar Box

For this week's tech tip, I added an HTML/Javascript box to my sidebar as you may have noticed. I decided to call it "About My Blog" and included a brief summary that I thought may be beneficial to my blog viewers.

Week 9 Reading Diary: Chapter 2 - Narayan's Secret

In 7 Secrets of Hindu Calendar Art by Devdutt Pattanaik, the main idea of Chapter 2: Narayan’s Secret is that what dies is always reborn.

According to Hindu beliefs, the world began with Narayan’s awakening. Hindus also believe that if Narayan was asleep, he must have previously been awake. Therefore, his awakening was actually a rebirth of a world that had already existed. This cyclical pattern is characteristic of Hinduism, which is one of the few religions that roots itself in rebirth. To name a few, the Greek, Christian, or Muslim faiths only believe that there is one life. This is why Hindus feel less rushed to live a heroic or extraordinary life – because it is only one of many lives to come.

A lotus, which Brahma is seated on, sprouts out of Narayan’s belly button. This leads to a question similar to that of the chicken and the egg, did Narayan create Brahma or did Brahma create Narayan?

Creation depicted as Narayan with Brahma on lotus and Lakshmi at feet.
Source: Prezi.

Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth, nourishes mankind and is interestingly portrayed as a cow. As the cosmic cow, she embodies the entire world. Similarly, Vishnu’s turtle avatar Kurma is a cosmic turtle, who holds the entire world on his back.

Next, we learn about Hanuman and Vishnu’s companionship who team up to regain Vishnu’s lost queen, Sita. Hanuman is known as the “trouble-shooter” because his presence means that problems are also present BUT he reminds us that the mind is capable of coming up with solutions to the problems!

Interestingly, creation is often referred to as the result of awareness.

Week 9 Reading Diary: Chapter 1 - Ganesha's Secret

I would highly recommend watching the 7 Secrets of Hindu Calendar Art by Devdutt Pattanaik if you have any interest in learning more about Hinduism. The main idea of Chapter 1: Ganesha’s Secret is that different people see god differently.

Shiva is the god of the mountains while Parvati, his wife, is a mountain princess.

Shiva is depicted with a river flowing out of his forehead. Their two children are Ganesha and Kartikeya. As you can see below, Ganesha is portrayed with a head of an elephant.

Ganesha. Source: Flickr.

I really enjoyed the observation that although this scene may seem strange to us, it is not out of the ordinary to Hindus because they are taught to accept them without feeling like they need rationale. Similarly, especially in the West, Christians are taught to accept the Lord’s word without question. In Hinduism, the divine can reside in anything from plants to animals to human beings. I love this idea! If the divine resides in nearly anything and everything, it teaches us to respect the natural world.

I was blown away by the story of Ganesha and Kartikeya who raced around the world three times. Ganesha ran around his parents three times; Kartikeya was confused why his brother was doing this and Ganesha explained that his parents are his world. He then proposes the question, “Which one matters more?” This is subjective to an individuals’ own beliefs – is his family or the entire world more important?

These gods are so beautiful and this video does a great job explaining the importance of each. When Shiva closes his eyes, the world ceases; this is why he is referred to as “the destroyer” and is known as God to many. Princess Parvati is master of emotions, how feminine and intriguing is that?

Because male is incomplete without female according to Hinduism, there is an invisible female force, or Goddess, called Saraswati or Veda-Mata, which means mother of the Vedas. This is why Brahma did not compose the Vedas but instead received the Vedas, because no man can create anything without woman – not even God. I thought this was wonderful that Hinduism promotes such pure femininity.

Brahma is portrayed with four heads, which represent the four expressions of the Veda, or the four goals of life:

1. Dharma – righteous conduct
2. Artha – economic activity
3. Karma – pleasurable pursuits
4. Moksha – spiritual practices 

“Just as Brahma is incomplete without any of these four heads, life is incomplete without any of these four goals.”

From what I have gathered, Hindus intentionally live well-balanced lives. I think we could all learn a lot from them whether we choose to practice Hinduism or not.

Week 8 Review: Spring Break

Spring Break flew by as usual and as usual I am completing this week's assignments on Sunday night... But I am happy to feel rested and somewhat caught up and ready to take on this week! I spent my spring break in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Where did you spend yours? I would love to know in the comments below!

 

This week I really enjoyed checking out the Tale of the Traveling Cat. The picture really caught my eye - I just love this cat with glasses, and what a neat blog!

Tech Tip: Embed Tweet

For this week's Tech Tip, I chose to embed a tweet and Wow, I am so impressed! This is so cool. I chose this tweet posted by OU Daily and also re-tweeted by Professor Laura Gibbs because I thought it was very powerful and an impressive display on the part of OU's students.

"There’s still a lot of work to be done."@OU_Unheard recalls the SAE incident: https://t.co/KY41sOu4p3 pic.twitter.com/Nx5i4ZnJPg

— OU Daily (@OUDaily) March 7, 2016

Epics of India Reading Plan

During Week 9 I would like to finally watch Nina Paley's "Sita Sings the Blues." I am also very interested in watching the film series "Seven Secrets of Hindu Calendar Art - Gods and Goddesses."

During Week 10 I want to read the Buddhist Jataka Tales. I have always been interested in Buddhist ideas and feel that they really resonate with me. I also think that they could be beneficial to my storybook theme of karma, as this is a core belief in Buddhism.

I am also open to reading suggestions, specifically those that may help me write my Storybook (that have to do with turtles, sea-life, and/or karma).

Bhavacakra. Source: Wikipedia.

This image depicts the samsara, an important symbol to Buddhists. Samsara means cyclic existence or wheel of life, and can be compared to the idea of karma. This is also an important concept in yoga.  

Blog Reflections

I have so enjoyed my time spent on Blogger in this class. Although it is sometimes hard to make the time for this everyday, I have always found it to be very rewarding.

There are two blogs in particular that I would like my blog design to look more like. These include Jessica W.'s and Madison B.'s. I just think these two ladies did a wonderful job with the aesthetics of their blogs. They also customized them to make them more complex. This makes it all the more enjoyable to read their blogs!

Learning Challenge: Grant Snider's Interior Life

This is so true!! This is what yoga is all about and what we learn about in my yoga teacher training. People are very surprised to learn that the physical aspect of yoga is miniscule compared to the mental and emotional aspects. 

Source: Learning by HEART

An unkept mind can be very dangerous to our mental health, especially that "I'll deal with it eventually" space where we push everything that we don't want to deal with when in reality we should be dealing with it head on! This is much easier said than done but it doesn't hurt to TRY.

Growth Mindset: Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

I was very intrigued by Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. It seems like everyone would be great in at least one aspect of these intelligences, which makes everyone unique and special and important. I think it would be very beneficial if people were familiarized with these multiple intelligences. For example, I am good at caring for others but I am not so good at drumming. I think this class can make me better at reflection. What are your strengths?

Source: Growth Mindset Memes

Week 7 Review: More Midterms...

Unfortunately, my midterms have received nearly all of my attention for the past few days. Thus, I'm sure my Epics of India course feels like the unloved child. Still, it is a source of motivation just as this meme is!

Source: Cheezburger

Week 7 Reading Diary: The Mahabharata Part C

Again, this idea that it is a man’s obligation to protect women appears in Krishna’s Visit when Draupadi inquires, “Is it not the duty of a husband to protect his wife?” The theme in both The Ramayana and The Mahabharata is consistently that those who have everything must deal with the loss of everything. This is a really interesting theme because it shows the values that our meant to be emphasized through literature and that is not the value of material things but of values of integrity, honor, and truth, as the quote below illustrates.

I absolutely LOVE what Yudhishthira preaches, “Anger is sinful; it is the cause of destruction. He that is angry cannot distinguish between right and wrong. O fair Draupadi, one should forgive every wrong. Forgiveness is holiness; it is Truth; it is Brahman.”

The characters of these stories must find this truth by abandoning their attachments to worldly things. The value of such qualities, for example patience, is emphasized again in The Himalayas.

What a beautiful depiction of the life of a hermit in Arjuna and Shiva.

I was intrigued by the explanation of Hanuman's presence on earth even still today, which was provided in the reading guide for Bhima and Hanuman. It is quite humorous that Bhima was unable to lift Hanuman in the form of a monkey. As Hanuman explains in this section, I also believe that humanity's fall away from universal truth is responsible for disease and many other calamities.

Hanuman in monkey form. Source: Flickr.