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.