Week 14 Storytelling: A Caterpillar Named Devi

There was once a beautiful caterpillar who was smart and sweet. Her name was Devi. Her dream was to become a mother and have little caterpillar babies after she found a handsome and kind husband. Devi knew that she would make an excellent mother. She was ready to nurture and devote all of her time to bringing up strong young caterpillars. All day she fantasized about this life she hoped to create one day… when the time was right.

Devi would name her first daughter Saraswati, who would love to read and learn. From the day Saraswati was born, Devi would read to her, feeding her insatiable desire for knowledge. Of course, this would lead to Saraswati’s adoration of music and the arts.

Devi would name her second daughter Parvati. Parvati would have a gentle and nurturing demeanor. She would have the biggest most caring heart, much like her mother’s. Parvati was especially loyal and her presence provided a constant comforting warmth.

Devi would name her third daughter Lakshmi. Whereas Parvati’s energy was constant and comforting, Lakshmi’s was highly active. She would be proactive and successful in both her mundane and spiritual life. Lakshmi may not be a traditional woman but she would be a powerful woman.

Well Devi waited and waited for a husband. She had faith that he would come but time was passing and she was getting tired and anxious. Eventually Devi decided that she should take a nap and rest up for her long-awaited husband’s arrival. She made a cocoon around her tired body and fell fast asleep.

Source: How Stuff Works: Animals.

When Devi awoke from her much needed nap, she felt like a new person. Devi thought, “That is exactly what I needed, a nap! Maybe now I will find a husband.”

But when Devi began to emerge from her cocoon, she realized that that there was something very wrong… she had taken the body of another animal. She was no longer a caterpillar!

Devi didn’t know what to do. After awhile, she worked up the courage to fully exit the cocoon, and she didn’t know what to think. She was no longer her beautiful citron green color. Now she was the most brilliant purple, and she had two wings… did this mean that she could fly?!

She decided to give it a try and with a flutter of her two wings, she took off. No longer did Devi have the desire to find a husband. She was so much more now: a goddess!

And it just so happens that she had all of those qualities she hoped for her children within herself.

Source: Pinterest.  

Author's Note: This story is based off the goddess Devi. I learned a lot about her from Chapter 5: Devi's Secret from 7 Secrets of Hindu Calendar Art by Devout Pattanaik. The concept of the goddess as the divine feminine is very important in Hinduism. The goddess represents raw energy that can be funneled into creating a family or protecting life. The divine feminine is infinite power. Similarly to my story of the butterfly, Kanyakumari was supposed to be married but after her groom never showed, she spun all of that pent up energy to becoming the powerful woman that she had always been meant to be, even if it wasn't exactly how she had imagined her life. Furthermore, I based Devi's children on three more goddesses, Saraswati, Parvati, and Lakshmi. 

Week 14: Shiva's Secret

In 7 Secrets of Hindu Calendar Art by Devdutt Pattanaik, the main idea of Shiva’s Secret is that withdrawal leads to destruction.

Shiva is commonly known as the destroyer. Rage and anger are often associated with the act of destruction but Shiva is calm and composed, which is confusing to many people. But, according to Pattanaik, this confusion is due to our negative connotation of this verb. Shiva is the destroyer of Kama, Yama, and Tripura, or the destroyer of desire, death, and the three worlds. There is nothing negative about this sort of destruction.

Shiva destroys desire by destroying Kama, the god who makes us want for things. Therefore, Shiva wants for nothing. Shiva destroys death by destroying Yama, the god of death. Shiva destroys the three worlds - the earth, the atmosphere, and the sky - by destroying Tripura. Thus, Shiva destroys our desire for life, our fear of death, and our need for the world around us.

Ash is a byproduct of destruction and also happens to be a symbol of an immortal soul. On Shiva's forehead are three vertical lines of ash, which you can vaguely see in the picture below. It also happens to look a lot like an eye in closer up pictures, which I believe has to do with the third eye or evil eye. These three lines represent inertia, lack of movement, and a state of dissolution.

Three is a very important number to the god Shiva, where he is the destroyer of three things, the third eye is made up of three lines, and he holds a trident of three blades.

Shiva. Source: Mythology Wikia.

Week 14 Reading Diary: The Orient Pearls

For the final week of reading diaries, I chose to read The Orient Pearls by Shovona Devi. I really enjoyed these Indian folk-lore tales.

I began my reading with "A Feast of Fists," which is about karma. On the second page of this story, Shovona Devi writes, "Suffering is the badge of mankind. Indeed, these mortals bring down suffering upon their own hears by sheer demerit, and suffer they must, do all you can, until they have passed through the usual cycles of birth, death, and rebirth, again and again, working out demerit by merit in the process, and thus paving the way for final absorption into the Deity, the source of their being. So why trouble about these wretches?"My favorite part about this passage is the question that is asked: "Why trouble about these wretches?" If eventually everyone gets what they deserve for the actions that they have done on this earth then this is so true, why worry about others' bad deeds? It is not our problem. The only thing that we should worry about it paving our own way for, as Devi puts it, "final absorption into the Deity, the source of their being." I especially love this because it includes almost everyone - not just those of a certain faith.

In "A Feast of Fists," a starving brahmin begs the gods for mercy on him and his starving wife. The gods respond by providing the man with a gold mug that can replenish any food to which one's heart desires. The brahmin is so joyful and shares his blessing with hungry children who end up replacing the holy gift with an identical but mundane gold mug. The brahmin returns to the gods to ask why the mug no longer provides food and they discover that the mug has been switched. They give the brahmin another mug that, instead of yielding food, yields punches. The family who stole the mug tried to get food out of the new mug but ultimately receives a few black eyes and returns the original mug.

Next, a king takes the mug away from the brahmin to serve all of his guests. The king becomes very greedy and pompous having this mug in his possession. The brahmin arrives at the king's castle with the "mug of fists" and the king greedily takes it as well. To his surprise, he isn't given any food by this mug but a face full of punches and a lot of embarrassment from all of his onlooking guests.

Gold mug. Source: Pinterest. 

Week 13 Review

I thought this very a good way to look at stress. With five finals coming up and countless other work I have to do, there is going to be stress no matter what. So rather than get bogged down by stress these next few weeks, let's harness it as motivation.

Let the stress energize you. Source: Cheezburger. 

Week 13 Reading Diary: Devi's Secret

In 7 Secrets of Hindu Calendar Art by Devdutt Pattanaik, the main idea of Chapter 5: Devi’s Secret is that desire and destiny create life.

As this semester wraps up, I wanted to use my Reading Diary posts to continue learning about Hindu gods with my favorite method: The 7 Secrets of Hindu Calendar Art video series. I have come to love this educational tool because, at least to me, Devdutt Pattanaik does an incredible job of making what could be a very boring topic very interesting!

There is actually a very sad story associated with the goddess Kanyakumari. As it goes, she was supposed to marry Shiva. On his way to the wedding, he came across a giant rooster, which he took as a sign that the wedding had been canceled. Yet, Kanyakumari waited and waited in her wedding attire for Shiva’s arrival, which never came. The most interesting part of the story to me was that Kanyakumari held incredible feminine power (what is known as raw energy) that would have been diluted upon marriage and maternity so that she may provide for her family. But in the case of an unmarried goddess, this energy is used for protection and in Kanyakumari’s case, the ability to destroy demons. 

Because goddesses represent the material world, it is only fitting that feminine power not only are able to nourish the household but also to protect the household – as that is equally vital. For this reason, goddesses have the power to channel their energy into either of these roles. I just love all that Devi represents - she is the ultimate goddess! All of the images of her really portray her incredible femininity:

Devi. Source: Dolls of India.

Growth Mindset Challenge

Almost weekly for this entire semester, I have dedicated time to a post about Growth Mindset. This is an opportunity that I have thoroughly enjoyed, especially as a strong advocate that we can change ourselves by changing our mind. Everything that I have read tells of just how incredibly malleable the human brain is. We have infinite potential to become whatever we want to become through our mind. Whatever you believe in or whatever method you use I believe can affect you in real ways whether it be through the music you listen to or through meditation. Even the Bible says through God and prayer, you can regenerate and renew your mind. This is similar to the practice of manifestation, which says that through repetition and concentration on a mantra or goal, you will eventually reach that goal or at least have a much better chance of reaching that goal. Anyway, I have been writing about Growth Mindset and although I have learned a ton, I never really understood what it was all about, so in one of my final Growth Mindset posts I thought it would be beneficial for both my readers and myself to include this very helpful diagram:

Growth Mindset. Source: GrowthMindsetMemes.blogspot.com.

Learning by H.E.A.R.T.

For this week's Learning by H.E.A.R.T. Challenge, I chose to watch John Spencer's video, We Need a Bigger Definition of Creativity. He is so right that we have a very narrow-minded definition of creativity where we see only those who are painters or writers as "creative." He says that in actuality, creativity can mean mashing up ideas into innovative ways, thinking differently about data, finding unique solutions to practical problems, tweaking things in unusual ways, or even hacking systems. It can mean exploring ideas, navigating information, and designing systems. Especially as an accounting major, this video gave me lots of hope to lead a creative life. Watch it here: