Warrier's Collage 21082020 : Symbolism in Mythology

Warrier's Collage 21082020 : Symbolism in Mythology Today's Theme Courtesy : Vathsala Jayaraman From the several stories and discourses on Symbolism in Mythology, only some introductory articles have been included. When free, please listen to the interesting talk on "Symbolism in Bhagavad-Gita" (YouTube link given below) M G Warrier Symbolism in Bhagavad-Gita https://youtu.be/5CfAY8tGEmQ A focused, effective, convincing discourse. A Interaction 1) R Jayakumar " The Collage provides many literary articles contributed by its readers which make it more interesting. In today's Collage, I liked reading the short write up by Shri Babusenan on Sangha Poetry. I studied Tamil literature only upto high school level. From Eighth to Eleventh Standard, there was more emphasis on the Sangam period as this period helped greatly for the growth of Tamil literature. Tamil was as popular in use as Sanskrit. Shri Babusenan's explanation of the period, though in short, helped me to refresh my forgotten memory about it. Back to literary articles in the Collage, such articles can be contributed only by readers who have adequate knowledge of literature. ***. *** The catchwords Tamil Sangam is so popular among Tamilians, whether literate or illiterate, that wherever they settle down in any part of the world, they start a Tamil Sangam putting the name of the local area in the front. If not for promoting literature, they at least celebrate important days like Pongal, Birthdays of Kamaraj, Kavi Bharati Raj and sometimes the birthdays of their matinee idols etc.. I am aware of the existence of Kerala Samajams in similar fashion. R Jayakumar." ( Collage has no constituency interests to protect. Its readers are from all walks of life and different age groups. While selecting content, utmost care is taken to ensure the acceptability in an Indian Middle Class drawing room-Warrier) 2) M Haridasan, Kannur " 🙏 Prayer My prayer and desire and wish is to prepare myself, .... To consider all my goodness as the gifts of that 'supreme soul/supreme source of energy' and to hold responsible me for all my villainism ..... 😢 🙏" B Lead Story Vathsala Jayaraman chats with Lord Ganesha : "On Ganesh Chathurthi day, I wanted to interview the Lord myself to get to know Him better and perform my actions that would be pleasing my dearest Lord ( Ishta Devatha). As I thought holding my ears across with my crossed hands and doing sit ups is favorite way to invoke him. He did not fail to appear before me. The conversation with Him started. Me: Namaskaram, My dear Lord of Wisdom, what do you do so well to be so popular among children to elders and be present in every nook and corner of India? Ganesha: It is simple. I listen to everyone’s prayers without interrupting them. I have all the patience in the world to let people talk whatever they want in my presence. Eventually, they find answers to their own questions and walk away praising me. Me: How do people find answers themselves in your presence? Ganesha: It has nothing to do with my presence. If they share their feelings, emotions and desires with other human beings, depending on their own mindset, they say things that complicate the matter further. When people talk to me with a hope and confidence that I would resolve their problems and provide solutions, they invoke the power within them to resolve their own issues. I only facilitate the process. Me: Why do you have an elephant face? Ganesha: Did you think the intention is to be different than the rest of the Gods? Certainly not. My long ears are to communicate that I have all the patience to listen to the prayers of everyone (in other words to make people listen to their own inner voice), my tusk is the reflection of the self-confidence of the people and my big forehead is the reflection of the knowledge everyone possesses, my eyes are reflection of love inherent in each one of you and my trunk is the effort everyone makes to live happily. Me: Are you the Lord of knowledge and wisdom? Ganesha: You are not following my words. I am what you see in yourself. If you dig deep into yourself until you see the surface of the seat of wisdom, you will find me. Me: What is the significance of Ganesh Chathurthi? Ganesha: It is a day when you realize that you are no longer your body or mind but a divine being having a human experience. You make Modhakams and present it to me as a symbol of recognizing that within your nice-looking body, there is a seat of Ananda. You break the shell of the coconut to get the white substance to understand that within this hard-core body and mind, there is a pure divine being. The day you realize that you are a divine being is the day your knowledge is complete and that is Ganesh Chathurthi. Me: Can you explain to me the rationale behind some deciding to take you on a procession to immerse you in the sea? Lord: I am trying to understand the rationale myself. I don’t expect them to worship me, leave alone taking me on a procession in the city to immerse in the sea or river. When people talk about thinking of me first before starting anything is nothing more than having self-confidence to perform the action. My devotees pour so much water, milk, etc. on me and decorate me so nicely throughout my birthday only to throw me out at the end of the celebration. Will they throw their self-confidence out? Me: Can you explain to me the significance of holding a rope, ankusha, modak and a pen-like broken tusk in your four hands? Also, what is the significance of a snake around your waist? Lord: You must be well-trained to ask so many questions every time you get my audience. A few minutes back you asked the reason for my elephant face and now this. Hmmm…… The rope in my hand signifies that there is no human being who is not tied by the desires and attachments. I was trying to convey that they could pursue only until the life is taken away by Yama using his rope. Ankusha as you know is the instrument one uses to control the elephant. Similarly, those who control their mind and senses (two mighty elephants) would conquer their lives. I have already explained the rationale for modak. The broken tusk is to explain to the people that I have written so many scriptures to make the life easier for all human beings. Lastly the snake around my waist is to let everyone know that no matter how rich or poor a person is, he or she needs to satisfy the hunger that arises from the digestive system existing like a snake inside. Me: Can you explain to me the rationale for your snatching away the mango fruit from your younger brother without physically going around the globe? Isn’t it cheating? Lord: (Laughs aloud) You really made my day. As expected, you have not understood the lessons out of that incident. Every Atma requires a vehicle of body to perform actions in the world. That body is gifted to each one of you because of the parents. The world appears real only after the Atma gets a body. In order to let the human-beings know that the world that every one of you see is a gift of the parents. It is a drama played by the first family with the consent of all. There is no real dispute. Me : “Eating so many Modaks in a day, won’t it cause sugar trouble?” “First, I am above all the diseases that one could get as human and secondly, most of you keep the Modaks in front of me, sprinkle water on it and conclude that as the end of offering. Where is the opportunity for me to reach out to the Modaks?” Now, it is my turn to smile at the Lord’s response visualizing how the human beings enjoy the Modaks as Prasadam without worrying about the blood sugar levels. Me : “You are being such a busy Lord, why did you choose mouse as your vehicle? This issue even came up in discussions among the devotees” This time he wasn’t angry but responded, “My brother chose Peacock as His vehicle so that he could fly all over the world quickly to fight wars for the well-being of Devas. I realized that being the foremost Lord worshipped for complexities in life, it is much more important to choose Mouse capable of penetrating even a small hole to find out what is inside. You must have read what happened when Rishi Narada brought a unique Mango fruit, right?” He asked. I affirmatively nodded my head trying to comprehend the unique choice the Lord had made with His stunning intellect to win the fruit from His parents. Me : “Lord, how do you communicate with your family members and others in Kailasam and Vaikuntam? Do you have verbal communication or you also have social media like Facebook, Twitter, FaceTime, Instagram, etc. Do you post your status”? Lord: “I don’t know whether it would make sense to you if I explain how things work in Kailasam and Vaikuntam. All our conversations are recorded only for teaching something to the humanity. In real terms, no one speaks to each other nor we post our status. Everything is known to everyone and there is no need for communication among the Lords. We are all close to each other always. I understand humanity is distancing itself with the real-life family members and friends to establish friendship internationally with unknown friends and that too with a brand-new social media ID? Is that correct?” Me: (I blushed a little while thinking how to answer the Lord’s counter question.) “Sometimes, it is easier to communicate with unknown friends to share some of our life issues and share the status, Lord”. Lord: “Please remember that I am always available in every corner of the street and you can either come and talk to me or think about telling all your problem to me. I am everywhere to listen to your problems and eventually, you will find a way to solve it yourselves”. Me: . "Thank you for clarifying all my doubts”. Lord: “Did I? then why your mind is asking what is my Gathi (Destiny)? Please tell your mind Saranagathi (Surrender) is the best option”. He left saying, " Don't torture RBI retirees with the details of our conversation." I closed my eyes and started singing a bhajan. My husband and myself prostrated to the Lord seeking His blessings, He used His trunk to bless both of us. Suddenly, I heard a voice, “Why you are singing amidst sleep? Today is Ganesh Chathurthi. Get up soon. You have to do mothakams, and after pooja we have to go to temple as well and we have million things to do. It was my husband. My dream came to an end." C Symbolism in Mythology 1) Brahma : Four heads https://www.speakingtree.in/blog/symbolism-in-indian-mythological-stories-of-gods-and-goddesses 2) Krishna's 16108 wives https://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/lord-krishna-and-his-16-108-wives-a-symbolism 3) Shiva's form https://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/symbolism-of-lord-shiva-203980 4) Ravana's ten heads https://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/ravana-10-heads-meaning The above four links accessed at random from Speaking Tree are intended only for the purpose of provoking thoughts on the subject. We should not get stuck on the rationality or scientific possibility of any statement. They have their own relevance in the context they are made. It's for us to go by the saying : " Puranamityeva Na SadhuSarvam..." https://abillionstories.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A3%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B5-%E0%A4%A8-%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%81-%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5/ D Readers Write V Babusenan on friendship There are many ways to help an old friend in distress. All will agree that the manner chosen by Lord Krishna to help a friend was the best among these. He did it without hurting the self-respect of Kuchela. Only Rukmini knew it. How nicely he had avoided her intervention until he did what he wanted should be a model for all of us. Have you heard how Picasso, the great Spanish painter, helped an old schoolmate in distress? He casually took a sheet of white paper, drew a few lines on it, put his signature at the bottom, gave it to his friend and said goodbye. The latter sold it for a good sum and solved his financial problem. But I am with those who would say that, more than satisfying an urge to help his friend, Picasso wanted to satisfy his vanity! Let us today discuss how God himself tried to help a poor man. This time it is not Lord Krishna, but Lord Siva. The incident is said to have occurred during the first Sangham period when Ugra Pandian presided over the Tamil Sangham in Madurai. Lord Siva, the main deity's spouse in the Madurai temple, wanted to help a poor priest in distress through the Sangham. He changed himself into a poet from another town having come to Madurai to present a poem before the Sangham. He told Dharmi, the priest, that he had no objection to the latter presentiing the poem, as if it were his own, and take the bag of gold coins he would surely be getting from the king. Dharmi was naturally happy and, as anticipated by the stranger who gave the palm leaf to him, when the king decided to give him a bag of gold coins, his joy knew no bounds. At that juncture, Nakkeeranaar, the chief poet, stood up. He said: '' Sire,will you kindly ask this young poet to read his poem again?" Dharmi read the poem again which may be roughly translated as under: O bumble bee Thee, with thy magnificent wings, Fly from flower to flower Enjoying their honey. Tell me the truth And the truth only Condescending to my wish. Here you see standing before me Her who has loved me dearly From birth to birth And is as elegant as a peahen And delights all With her fine array Of sparkling teeth. Tell me, O, bee Have ye smelt in any flower The pleasant odour Of this sweet woman's hair? The king: "Now that you have heard the poem again, have you got anything to say, Nakkeeranaar?" The poet: "Yes,Sire. Here the young poet claims that his wife's hair has natural pleasant smell. That is far from the truth. Human hair has no natural smell. If it is left unattended, it will smell badly. If it is well attended and adorned with sweet+smelling flowers, it will smell nicely. This is a serious flaw in the poem." The king: "According to me, it is an excellent poem. Do you mean to say that I should withhold this money?" The poet: "No Sire, I don't mean that. You may give the money as financial help to a poor poet, but not on the merit of the poem." Hearing this, the poet who claimed to have written the poem, came to the Sangham and sought permission to argue on behalf of the young poet. To him also Nakkeeranaar repeated the objection.He got annoyed and said: "I am Lord Siva. I wrote this poem to help my devotee. Still do you hold on to your objection?" The poet stood unperturbed. He said calmly: "My Lord, a poem has to be judged by its own quality and not on the basis of who has written it. Even if You have written it, a flaw is a flaw and I stand by what I have said." Whether he was punished for his intransigence or not, is not our concern."