Pattanaik's Secret Secrets of Vishnu: Part B (Matsya)

The overall secret of Matsya is that only humans can both empathize and exploit one another. The larger brain of humans allows humans to imagine, which inspires and makes us curious. The brain of humans allows the physical manifestation of spiritual reality which is born of Vishnu so we can realize Vishnu. Matsya is the fish avatar of the ten avatars of Vishnu. Manu is a man that represents all of humanity and here is his story. Manu's water pot that contains the fish is Manu's property which is quite different from the way animals mark their territory by their urine. In Manu's notion of property, one's territory is not inherited but instead, it is fought for. No rules and law protect one's existing territory. Without territory, animals will not survive. Now, Manu's fish has grown in size so it is transferred to a bigger water pot. As the fish continually grows, Manu takes care of it by providing bigger and bigger water bowls for the fish to live in. Manu takes care of that one fish but never considers the other fishes outside the bowl. The fish gets bigger and bigger, and it does not occur to Manu that the fish is strong enough to fend for itself as to throw it back into the ocean.The fish itself also never asks Manu if he can be let back into the ocean as he himself does not know if he can fend for himself to the point that the fish becomes dependent on Manu. Manu ends up having to put his fish into a lake because the fish is too big. Manu wonders why he is sad and suffering when he has spent all this time taking care of the fish. He blames a storm and curses the sea. However, he soon realizes that his obsession with the one fish made him become insensitive to the fish and to himself. Manu exclusively took care of that one fish but became insensitive when he did not take care of the rest of the fishes. The law of karma is that every action has a reaction that we experience. Manu understands his lesson and the fish he took care of comes back with a horn on his head which symbolizes Vishnu's sign.

Bibliography: Seven Secrets of Vishnu (Matsya) by Devdutt Pattanaik (link)

Matsya. Source: Wikimedia Commons. 

Pattanaik's Secret Secrets of Vishnu: Part A (Mohini)

Mohini is the female version of Vishnu. Material reality is represented by females while spiritual reality is represented by males but both realities are interdependent on each other. Mohini is female in form but male in essence. Mohini is spiritual reality wrapped in material reality. However, this does NOT mean that men are only spiritual and women are only spiritualistic. Vishnu is a god who celebrates infinite growth spiritually and materialistically. Vishnu is worshipped because people inspire to be like him.

Maya is the measuring scale, Brahma is doing the measuring, and Prakriti is that which Brahma measures. Maya continually changes as Brahma's experiences and expectations changes. Therefore, what was right in the past may be wrong in the future; what was good in one part of the world may be bad in another part of the world; what one person considers beautiful another may consider ugly. This conflicts people and makes people question life.


Bibliography: Seven Secrets of Vishnu (Mohini) by Devdutt Pattanaik's (link)

Mohini. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Movie, Part E

Subhadra wins over Draupadi and Abhimanya is born to Arjuna. Jarasandha is killed which makes Yudhisthir the next king.  Duryodhan is humiliated and Shakuni comes up with an evil plan. Yudhisthir puts on a gambling match to which Draupadi is at stake. 



Bibliography: Mahabharata by Epified (link)

Abhimanyu, son of Arjuna. Source: Wikipedia

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Movie, Part F

Dushasan was pulling on the garments of Draupadi to humiliate her just as he did to her five husbands, the Pandavas. Draupadi looked to her husbands for help but none did. Therefore, Draupadi prayed to Krishna and he answered her prayer as to there was no end to her garments that Dushasan was pulling at. The Pandavas left Hastinapur with rage in their eyes. They wanted revenge on their cousins. The Kauravas sent the Pandavas an invitation to gamble and the Pandavas agreed to it even though they knew what was at stake. The Pandavas lost and were sent into exile for 13 years. While in the forest, Krishna visited them and saw the terrible condition that they were in to which he blamed himself for this happening. Krishna promised his support when the time came for revenge against the Kauravas. The brothers face many difficulties in the forest like fighting Kirmira and barely not having enough food and resources to survive. A wise sage came and visited them in the forest and told Arjun that he has to acquire Indra and Shiva's celestial weapons to win the war. In order to do so, Arjun paid his respect to Shiva to gain grace from him. As Arjun is paying his respect, he encounters and even fights Shiva to which Shiva grants him his mighty weapon. Next, Arjun meets Indra who invites him to Indralok. Arjun was not happy in Indralok because he missed his brothers and wife. In Indralok, there is a beautiful woman named Urvashi. Urvashi was attracted to Arjun and confessed her love for him. He did not feel the same way so she put a curse on him saying that he would not desire any women. While Arjun was in Indralok, his brothers were paying respect to the gods to which Bhim meets Hanuman.

Bibliography: Mahabharata by Epified (link)

Krishna visits the Pandavas and Draupadi in the forest. Source: Wikimedia Commons. 

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Movie, Part C

When Karna was a baby, he was found floating in the river by his father. Karna already had the beautiful armor to protect his body and had tremendous rings on his ears when he was a baby and grew as he turned into a man. By knowing about his story, Karna knew that he was a Kshatriya, therefore, he was on a quest to prove it. Karna finally got Parshuram to accept his has his pupil. Karna was an eager and attentive student, but one-day Parshuram figured out he was a Kshatriya when Karna held the pain of spider's bite as to not wake up Parshuram who was sleeping on Karna's lap. One-day a tournament was held and Karna showed up uninvited to show his power and that he could defeat Arjuna. Karna did in fact beat Arjuna who was insulted, but since Karna was not invited, he could not claim rightful victor. The Pandavas wanted to fight Karna but only could fight if he was of royal blood. Karna told his story and at that moment, Kunti (the Pandavas' mother) fainted and Duryodhan named him king of Anga so that he would be worthy to battle the brothers. King Drupad was once a pupil of Drona, the man who is teaching the art of war to the Pandavas. Drupad and Drona were once close friends and Drupad made the promise that Drona could get half his kingdom one day. When Drona went to visit Drupad and acquired about the promise, Drupad was a different man and told Drona that he had never made such promises. Drona vowed to himself that Drupad would pay for humiliating him. Duryodhan, one of the Kaurava brothers, created a plan to kill his cousins, the Pandavas, because he knew that they would be the next rulers and did not like that. Duryodhan's plan was to burn the brothers to their death in a palace made of wax. Upon reaching Vanvrat, the Pandavas realized that the palace built for them was made of combustible material. Therefore, they quickly assembled a plan to escape by building an underground tunnel. This plan of escape was successful. As soon as Kunti and the Pandavas escaped their death trap, it was Bhim who took his family (literally) onto his own shoulders. He took care of them and protected them as they journeyed through the forest. The Pandavas finally settled in a quiet city known as Ekachakra and disguised themselves as Brahmans. The once wealthy and powerful Pandava family were now begging for food and staying at a kind scholar's house. The asura named Bakasur would eat the townspeople as they gave him food to eat. This week it was the scholar's turn to face Bakasur and he knew that this would be his death. When Kunti heard this story from the scholar, he told him that her sons can and did defeat Bakasur. As the Pandavas lived their lives, Drupad was granted a son and beautiful daughter named, Draupadi. She grew up to become a young woman whose beauty was unmatched. 

Bibliography: Mahabharata by Epified (link)

Arjuna and Karna battling each other in the tournament. Source: Flickr. 

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Movie, Part D

The Pandavas, disguised as brahmins, decided to attend Draupadi's swayamvar to win her hand and heart. As the swayamvar began, a mighty bow was placed in the middle of the room. To win Draupadi's hand in marriage, a suitor had to watch the reflection of a fish swimming in a bowl of oil and shoot an arrow to penetrate the fish's eye. All the princes and various other suitors could not fulfill the challenge. However, when Arjuna came up to string the bow, he did what no one thought he could. Arjuna successfully fulfilled the challenge. However, another man wanted his try at the challenge and his name was Prince Karna. Now Karna was a charioteer's son which did not bring him any respect. Therefore, before he could even attempt to string the bow, it was Draupadi herself who told him he could not. Karna returned to his seat humiliated. Now that Arjuna won the hand of Draupadi, they returned to their home. The brothers were looking for their mother and found her praying in their hut. Kunti thought that her sons brought food and without looking behind her told them to share what they have. Little did she know that what they brought was a new wife, Draupadi. She realized her mistake but did not take it back for fear that it would tear the brothers apart. However, the brothers felt weird about it because they believed it was Arjuna who was the rightful husband of Draupadi. As the brothers felt unsure about the request of their mother, a sage came by and said that Draupadi was destined to have a husband with five virtues. The brothers took this as their sign and all married the beautiful Draupadi.




Bibliography: Mahabharata by Epified (link)

Draupadi and the Pandavas. Source: Wikimedia Commons. 

Reading Notes: Jataka Tales (Babbitt), Part A

The Monkey and the Crocodile - The crocodile tried to trick the Monkey through several attempts, first by telling the monkey that there is ripe fruit across the river and the other time saying hello to the monkey while he was trying to be a rock. The monkey was wise, clever, and outwitted the crocodile, which ended up saving his own life.

How the Turtle Saved his Own Life - The sons of a king thought that the turtle was a demon and were extremely frightened by the turtle. Therefore, the king asked his men to think of ideas on how to kill the turtle. One day was that the turtle be thrown out in the water, which the turtle tricked the men making it seem like that was the worse idea ever when in actually the turtle was most safe in the water.

The Merchant of Seri - There were two merchants both selling the same products. One was nice and the other was greedy. One day, in a village the two were selling at lived a poor grandmother and her granddaughter. The granddaughter badly wanted something that the merchants were selling to which the grandmother unwilling agreed to. They were first visited by the greedy merchant to which the grandmother gave him a bowl to trade which was made of gold but unbeknownst to her or her granddaughter. The greedy man figured this out but pretended it was worth nothing so he could trick them. He left acting like he did not want the bowl. Next, the nice merchant visited the poor family and treated them with respect by telling them the truth about the bowl. He did not feel right to take it from the family but the grandmother insisted so in exchange he gave them all the money and product he had. In the end, it was the rich man who received blessings and the poor man who was left with nothing. The message of this story is that being kind reaps its reward.

The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking - The turtle ended up losing his life because he could not keep quiet and could not keep from talking. If only he stopped talking like he was asked to, his life would have been safe from harm. Even to this day, this lesson is important because in situations when we have no right to speak or should not speak, we should just hold our tongue because it is for the best.

The Ox Who Won the Forfeit - A man who owned an ox placed a bet with the people of a village that his ox could move a hundred wagons. The man called his ox names and treated him with disrespect that the ox did not do as his owner asked him of, therefore, losing the bet. However, the next day, when the ox and the owner went back to village and placed another bet, a different outcome happened. The owner showed respect and love to the oxen to which the ox successfully won the bet and the two were happy. I believe the main lesson of this tale is to treat others with respect and that respect will be given back to you.

The Sandy Road - A group of traveling merchants can only travel the road by night because in the day, the road was too hot to travel. The merchants were doing great on the journey and one day they were so close to their destination that the pilot said that they could throw away all their water to which they did. However, that night as they were traveling, the pilot fell asleep and did not make their destination. The merchants were getting worried but miraculously they found some water and made it to their destination. The moral of the story is to never be too confident and save your resources until one is for sure they do not need it.

The Quarrel of the Quails - When the quails worked together, they saved their lives. However, when they quarrel and bicker with one another, they end up losing their lives to the fowler. The moral of the story is that quarreling never solves one's issues.

The Measure of Rice - A greedy king wanted to gain riches so he fired an honest Valuer in replace of a peasant and dumb Valuer. The not-so-smart Valuer tricked people and were setting unreasonable prices for various goods. Therefore, one day a horse-dealer talked to the honest Valuer and asked what he should do to set the prices straight and fair. The horse-dealer ended up showing the true colors of the bad Valuer who said that a measure of rice is worth the whole king's kingdom. The dumb Valuer was laughed at and did not show his face again.

The Foolish, Timid Rabbit - Once upon a time a timid rabbit lived in the forest. One day a coconut dropped to the ground and the rabbit thought the world was breaking. That one single rabbit got a whole bunch of rabbits, a deer, and a fox to believe that the world was breaking. It was not until when the pack of animals ran into the lion that the lion was able to prove the timid rabbit wrong and saved the animals.

Bibliography: Jataka Tales by Babbitt (link)

Turtle. Source: Flickr. 

Week 11 Story: Love Bug

Krishna and Radha have been dating for the past ten years and have been living together for the past year. Their love for each other was evident and it gave them this glowing aura. Krishna and Radha were childhood friends who grew up right across the street from one another. They never imagined that their friendship would blossom into something as significant and beautiful as their compassionate love for each other. However, throughout the years their love was never perfect and they experienced their fair share of trials and tribulations. The relationship has been strong and steady since they moved in together, but in the last couple of months, Radha has had this feeling stirring within her that her relationship with Krishna was not going in the direction she desired... 

Radha finally just got home to her and Krishna's apartment after a busy day at work and a long commute home. She was not yet quite used to extreme hustle and bustle of the New York City lifestyle, but she was doing her best to get accustomed to it. Radha had just moved to NYC because Krishna got a new job at a law firm. Radha left her stable life in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to be with Krishna in New York. The decision was difficult and she spent days before leaving going back and forth between the two options. However, she ultimately decided to make that sacrifice and moved to New York City with Krishna because she deeply loved him and knew that he was the one for her. She could not dare loose Krishna so she packed her bags and moved to the East coast. She was an elementary school teacher in Ann Arbor and she loved her students so, but ultimately made that decision to leave with Krishna. Her friends, family, and fellow teachers were skeptical of her decision but did not tell her so because they did not want to worry Radha.

Well, a year has passed and Radha was still feeling unsure of the choice she made to move to New York. As Krishna spent long nights at the law firm, she barely got to see him anymore, which allowed her to be alone with her thoughts and truly think about everything.

Author's Note: In the original story, I learned about how Krishna and Radha first met and the many sacrifices they made for their love for one another. The two meet when they were young and grew up together in the city of Vrindavan. Krisha would play his flute when he let his cows out to the field to graze and in the field were gopis, one of which was Radha. Krishna and Radha made many sacrifices for one another because they cared and loved one another. One of these sacrifices was Radha drank scolding hot milk to prove to the gopis that she loved Krishna, but it was Krishna's tongue that was red with blisters while Radha suffered no pain. Another instance of sacrifice was when Radha healed Krishna when he felt ill by letting him drink water off of her feet. The gopis thought that that act of kindness would bring them to hell, but Radha did not care and only wanted to heal Krishna.

Bibliographies: Krishna by Epified (link) and Radha Krishna: A Divine Love by Dolls of India (link)

Krishna and Radha. Source: Flickr.

Reading Notes: Jataka Tales (Babbitt), Part B

"The Wise and The Foolish Merchant" - In this tale, there are two merchants both ready to sell the goods throughout the country. The wise merchant knew that they both could not travel and sell similar goods at the same time so he asked the foolish merchant who shall travel first. The young and not as wise merchant decided that he shall go first and the wise one allowed it. Just as his journey began, the foolish one was tricked and deceived by a demon and his demon friends, which ultimately led to the foolish man's death. Next, is the wise merchant's turn to go into the country and the same demon attempted to trick him just as he successfully accomplished with the other merchant. However, as wise as this merchant was, the demon could not trick him; therefore, he was able to sell all his goods and make a substantial profit.

"The Elephant Girly-Face" - There was once a elephant named Girly-face who was called Girly-face because she was kind and has never hurt anyone before. However, one night Girly-face was negatively influenced by a band of robbers who were talking outside her gate one night. It was because of what he learned from the robbers that Girly-face became this way and began killing whoever came near him. Therefore, the king sent his one of his wise men to check on Girly-face to which he determined that it was because of the robbers that he was acting this way. So the next night, a group of nice men talked about being kind around Girly-face and from then on he was nice again.  I believe the moral of this story is that people are susceptible to the influence of those around us. Therefore, we must make sure we are leaving a good impression and impact because we never know who may be listening to and watching us.

"The Banyan Deer" - There were two herds with two kings respectively. There was also another king who enjoyed hunting deer so much that the people of kingdom made an enclosed park of deer so that the king can hunt whenever he so pleased. The king granted the two deer kings their lives but not their respected herds. Many deers were being killed that the two deer kings began to be concerned. One day it was a mother who just had her child that was supposed to die, but instead the Banyan king too her place and bravely faced his death. When the king saw the kindness of the Banyan king he was drawn by that compassion and did not kill anymore deer.

"The Princes and the Water-Sprite" - There was once three princes, Prince of the Stars, Moon Prince, and Sun Prince that were sent to safely live in the forest until the day that their father, the king, dies. While in the forest, both the Moon Prince and Sun Prince were dragged into the river of the water-sprite because they could not answer his riddle correctly. When the oldest prince, Prince of the Stars came looking for them, he ran into the water-sprite and correctly answered his riddle, which prompted the water-sprite to give back one of the brothers. When the water-sprite realized how kind the oldest prince was, he decided to give back both the brothers.

"The King's White Elephant" - The king bought a beautiful white elephant from the merchants who took care of him and his father. The king took care of the white elephant for as long as he lived.

"The Ox Who Envied the Pig" - The oxen ate only grass and straw but did most of the work on the farm. However, the pig does nothing to contribute to the farm but gets fed delicious food. One day a young ox asked his older brother why it was like that and the older brother replied that the pig is eating the food of death. The young ox saw this to be true and did not envy the pig anymore.

"Granny's Blackie" - An elephant named Blackie helps his owner, Granny, who is becoming old and feeble find work so they he can support himself and Granny. Blackie never had to work a day in his life but realized he needed to find a job. Therefore, he did find a job and got paid two silver coins, which allowed him to start working for himself and Granny, his beloved owner.

"The Crab and the Crane" - The crab tricks the crane which became payback for what the crane did too all the fish. (We read this one earlier this semester).

"Why the Owl is Not King of the Birds" - The owl is not the king of the birds because the crows did not like them and testified against the owls. Therefore, the turtle dove became the king of the birds instead.

Bibliography: Jataka Tales by Babbitt (link)

Elephant. Source: Flickr. 

Reading Notes: Epified: Krishna, Part A

All of Krishna's enemies and loved ones did not know that Krishna was not part of their world, but instead they were part of his world. Krishna was a king and a god. Kamsa was Krishna's evil uncle and Kamsa was foretold that Kamsa's sister and brother-in-law (Krishna's parents) eight child would kill him. Kamsa was furious so he threw Krishna's parents into jail instead of killing them. When Krishna was born, he was the eighth incarnation of the god Vishnu. Before Kamsa could take Krishna and kill him, Vasudev took his soon to the Yamuna River. A large and majestic serpent appeared and took Vasudev and Krishna under its protection as Vasudev walked the river. Once Vasudev reached the other bank, he reached the cowheard people and knew this was where he must leave his son.

Bibliography: Krishna by Epified (link)

Birth of Lord Krishna. Source: Wikimedia Commons.