Indian Epics and Analysis

Krishna's Secret: Part 1 He is in Mahabharata as a warrior Krishna challenges traditional character of Indian culture and gods His beloved is not his wife, and his war is not really war Krishna is the only god that smiles in his statues. It is mischevious He enjoys life, unlike Ram, who is serious and demands respect Krishna is in the 3rd quarter of the world; the world more like we live in. Dharma becomes even more difficult to understand  What is a good things in Ram's yuga could be seen as bad in Krishna's yug King Yayati uses his power for his own good, so his Dharma goes down. The letter of the law is more important (thought) than the deed according to Krishna Krishna has two mothers: Devaki (birth) Yushthura (raises him); represents nature and nurture He has the blood of Devaki and the milk of Yushthura Not all can be seen. Someone might be a prince at heart even though they are a cowherd Milkmaids at his village sells milk, and Krishna grabs the pots ...

Ram's Secret: Part 1 Vishnu's stories are either from beings that are timeless or bound to time (mortal or immortal) The battle between Manavas and Devas is a moral battle It is verticle: about heaven and earth (Dharma and adharma) Justice alone does not truly define Dharma because notions of what is right and wrong change over time in different cultures and perspectives Dharma enables a man to see his divine potential (humans only have the ability to reject the law of the jungle) Positive rejections mean empathize (something animals cannot do) helping the helpless Adharma is about domination, and Dharma is getting away from this Ramayana: Ram is the only avatar to be worshipped as king Vena is a king that plundered the earth so much that it ran away and it created chaos The sages then chanted and used grass to kill the king The new king is Prithu, a form of Vishnu.  He tamed the earth in order to feed humanity, but he must do it with moderation Growth: domestic...

Since I have not done a story planning post in awhile (and because I wrote a story last week), I am going to plan a story I will write next week. Because this is the final week of classes before dead week, it will help me to plan a little bit before I actually start writing. I am going to do more research and write a story about one Jataka I read: The Golden Feathers. -         Once there lived a very poor man with his wife and two daughters -         One day, the man left them and told them he would return to them with riches; he loved his wife and wanted her and his daughters to have jewels and nice things -         On his journey, he met a fairy that turned him into a goose. He flew to a lake and noticed that he had golden feathers in his reflection -         He went back home and told his wife that he will return every week with one go...

This week, just like every other week, has been full of class (including a few tests), work, and activities. I know everyone is just as busy as I am, so I certainly don't use my business as an excuse to not get work done. I have lots of assignments I need to catch up on, but I need a new way of motivating myself. Many other students struggle with this; I am beginning to get burned out on this semester. It has been full of hard work and lack of sleep, so I am deeply in-need of rest and time to be with my family. The more I think about my family and how much I miss them, the more I distract myself from the things I need to get done this week. I do feel like I will come back after Thanksgiving renewed and ready to tackle my finals, but I need to take a break first. In this class, I am going to focus on three stories in my project. Adding another story could be a good asset, but I feel like I can keep revising the three that I have. This will make my project more concise, and the ...

Eagles Isaiah 40:30-31 has been my “life motto” since I was in high school: That is Isaiah 40:30-31:   Even the youths grow tired and weary, Even the young men stumble and fall; But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. The will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.   I remember thinking about this verse for the first time; I attended Student Leadership University when I was a sophomore in high school, and it changed my life. In order to attend this event (it was a week-long seminar/camp for high school students), I had to read a few books and write reports about them. All the authors of those books were speaking at SLU. This is the first time I have heard so many people go deep inside God’s words (and I mean DEEP). It taught us how to be leaders for Christ even if we have secular careers someday. The notes I took and experiences I had ...

The Scam: Storytelling Two Small-Town Sisters flickr Two sisters, Lisa and Linda, lived on the outskirts of Fort Worth, Texas and had a very simple life. Both were young, right out of high school, and both wanted more out of their life than their simple life on their parents’ ranch. One morning (about a month out of graduation), the sisters were sitting outside after a long morning of bailing hay.  "Lisa, I think I want to be a model," Linda suddenly said after a cold drink of water.  "What made you say that? Why do you want to be a model?" Lisa quickly replied.  Lisa, the elder of the two sisters, was much more level-headed than Linda. However, Linda was the one that was creative, bold, and willing to experience new things. Both of the girls balanced each other perfectly; they each possessed qualities that the other lacked.  "Think about it, Lisa! You and I could move to Dallas and learn about fashion, walk the runway, ...

Seven Secrets of Vishnu: Kurma's Secret Kurma, the avatar of Vishnu Wikimedia Part 1:  Kurma is the tortoise avatar of Vishnu He restores equilibrium and comes in times in chaos  The gods needed to have immorality by drinking nectar, and it comes from churning the ocean. Kurma (he is the best problem-solver out of the gods) appears to support as the foundation for the cosmos and the "cosmiic churning stick"  The gods and demons churn the ocean, and both good and bad things come out of the ocean when it is disrupted Kurma transforms into Mohini (a female) to tempt and seduce demons in order to not take the nectar away from the gods  most images of Kurma are of his head (identical to the artwork of Vishnu) with the legs, tail, and body of a tortoise He churns the "ocean of milk" with a churning stick which was made into Mount Mandara After researching, I also found out that there is a food called Kurma also there are 10 incarnations of V...

In my personal opinion, and in the opinion of many others, one of the most selfless things a person can do is have a child. I truly believe that mothers caring for their children is one of the most virtuous things anyone can do for another, and empathy plays a huge role in this. I have gotten the challenge to reflect on people this week that shows empathy, and I cannot think of anyone who is more empathetic than my mother. She has a full-time job, is the booster-club president for THREE of my brother's sports, junior league president, caring for her elderly parents, and she STILL has time and energy to care for my brother and I. No matter how tired she is, she is always empathetic when I am tired or struggling. My mother never tries to compete with us about who is more frustrated or exhausted (because she would win every time), but she is patient enough to let us talk about it. I am so thankful for her wonderful example of empathy. She has taught me to treat all people as val...