Week 7 Reading Diary: The Mahabharata Part B

I love how Prince Vidura is responsible for making the connection between the wood furniture and tapestries and the hazard that presents itself in the form of oil in The House of Fire, which you would think would give away the plot although it didn’t for me. The way Indian epics relate to the moon is very beautiful; for example, Purochana sought a “moonless” night to set Queen Kunti and the Pandavas’ palace on fire. It is apparent that the stages of the moon are very important to Indian literature. I believe the moon affects nearly every aspect of our lives in some way or another and for this reason, we should become more in tune with its cycles.

Cycles of the Moon. Source: Pixabay.

Ironically, the trap that Purochana intended for Queen Kunti and the Pandavas actually ended up being his demise. I was so sad to hear what happened to the low-caste woman and her five sons! I feel like this may be some kind of consequence for Price Vidura’s actions – karma.

I cannot imagine reading Bhima and Hidimba without the impeccable descriptions it provides. As in this part of The Mahabharata and also my story The Great Banyan Tree, the banyan tree is presented as a strong and protective being. The lotus flower is present too as a description of the rakshasa woman’s lover’s eyes, or Bhima’s. Another blog that I read mentioned the stigma around women to not be harmed or engage in combat; I didn’t recognize this for myself until Bhima claims that no woman shall be killed in his presence. This distinction between man and woman is really interesting to me.  It really shows Bhima’s beautiful character when, in a life or death situation, he is concerned for his mother and brothers’ slumber.    
 

Tech Tip: Website Theme

For this tech tip, I changed my website theme by choosing a background that I thought was appropriate for my story, Kurma and Karma. I was really happy with how it turned out! You can check it out for yourself here. Then let me know what you think in the comments section below.

Learning Challenge: What Kind of Reader Are You?

I'm not sure how I feel about this but I am a neurotic reader. I love reading but I get bored of books very easily, which means that I usually read the beginning of books many times... It's just hard to find ones that really hold my attention for their entirety. If you would like to see a list of my favorite books that I may or may not have gotten through on my first try, see my post on the ten books I would bring with me to a deserted island.

Source: Learning by HEART

Please share the kind of reader you are in my comments below!

Growth Mindset: Growth Beyond School

I am very interested in nutrition and fitness, which is one reason I am pursuing my Yoga Teacher Certification. Although it has become extremely difficult to make time for these two interests especially this semester as I am taking 18 hours. I hate it that I have to set aside my interests especially ones that are so beneficial to my health but there is only so much time in a day. I am already looking forward to this summer when I will (hopefully) have more "me" time to enhance my knowledge beyond school. Being in tune with my nutrition and fitness also allows me to be the best I can be! There is such a difference in my energy levels, attitude, and overall life when I can keep these in check.

Me Time Meme. Source: Meme Generator.

Storytelling for Week 6: Satya

Each and every day, Madri would bring her twins, Nakula and Sahadeva, to the river for their daily lessons. Nakula and Sahadeva’s education was a priority to Ganga who believed that knowledge was a necessary foundation for a meaningful life. Their lessons often consisted of discussing philosophical theories. Ganga’s favorite topic to teach her children about was that of satya, which is based on the idea that an unchangeable and universal truth exists that cannot be escaped. Sahadeva, the youngest of five, couldn’t help but wonder why anyone would want to escape this beautiful gift of truth. His mother promoted these kind of questions as she believed critical thinking was the path to higher knowledge. She also urged her children to not only ponder such curiosities but to do everything in their power to discover answers to these queries. So Sahadeva challenged himself to deep inquiry as to why an individual would want to escape truth but he was stuck. So he asked his mother to help him in his discovery process. As usual, she brought him down to the river and began to tell him a story about fish:

There was once a school of fish, which (like all schools of fish) followed the current together. 

School of Fish. Source: Flickr

Every year, more fish would be born into the school and still they would all follow the current together. This was instinctual for the fish. It was the right way, an unchangeable and universal truth for all fish. One year, a fish was born who was what some like to call a “rebel without a cause.” For no apparent reason, he wanted to swim upstream. He wanted to break the laws of nature that make the world go round – those universal and unchangeable truths he just could not accept. This decision he made took a toll on his health. Because he didn’t work with nature, he worked against nature. And so nature worked against him. Eventually, this fish became sick, exhausted from fighting the largest force in the universe. His mother told him a story very much like the one I am telling you now, and he decided to give these truths a chance. For the first time in his life, he did not try to escape from them – he allowed the current to take him downstream, surrendering. Soon enough the fish reached a beautiful and calm place of rest filled with endless lotus flowers. Finally.

Water Lotus. Source: Pixabay.

So Sahadeva, you must remember that this isn’t meant to be a story to scare you into trusting nature but a story to allow you to realize that nature has a plan and these truths are it.

Author’s Note: I used the five-motif strategy to tell my story for the week. My five motifs were drawn from The Mahabharata and consist of the twins, fish, lotus flowers, a river, and the concept of satya. I focused my story on satya because I just love this idea of a universal and unchanging truth!

Bibliography: Public Domain Edition of The Mahabharata.