Epics of India

The analogy of mythology being a "slurpee of knowledge" is really good. It takes a bunch of different educational principles, religion, history, etc. and casts them into a story that tries to explain them. My understanding of a "myth" is something that is untrue, but to many peoples and cultures, they are truth, used to explain phenomena that they had no understanding of in the past. I appreciate them touching upon this, the Greek background of the word, and how he actually defined the word: stories that have significance and staying power.  Consequently, mythology is the study of these myths. Concerning mythology, this dates back to ancient Greece and the Greek philosophers, where there was contention regarding attributing human attributes to the gods, especially the negative ones. With many denoting myths as lies, a dichotomy was able to be setup for the logos, the truth, of the Christian belief. Paul, in his Epistle to Timothy, implores his spiritual child not ...

These notes were taken as I was reading through the Public Domain Edition of the Ramayana, by Valmiki. The Bridge Okay, so let me get this straight. Rama, because he wants to get his wife back, had to cross an ocean to get there, but when his offering to the God of the Ocean failed, he basically threw a tantrum. The thing is, his tantrums aren't like your toddler's; when he throws one, it has a global impact. On top of that, he threatens to dry up the sea.  I mean, I'm no marine ecologist or anything, but that seems like a VERY serious threat, not only because of the impact on life, but because of that fact that he can do it on a whim. I feel like he should have more responsibility, especially knowing his power. Indrajit Ah, so this is where the story of "Hanuman Saves the Day" comes from, maybe? Where he flies off to find an herb to revive the dying/dead Lakshmana, but then, because he can't find the herb, decides to just bring back the entire mo...

This week, I'm only writing on the parts that stood out to me, because Hanuman, the monkey himself, has arrived. But as before, I'm taking down my notes as I'm reading through, to get my immediate thoughts. And as before, this is from the PDE Ramayana  by Valmiki. It seems like Vali is...kind of justified? He was fighting a beast in a hole, but instead of helping him, Sugriva just watched...for a year, then closed the hole with a mountain.  Surely if he was that strong, he could have just gone into the hole and helped Vali. I can see Vali's point of view, and to me, it seems a little more righteous. If I had barely escaped a life-or-death situation, found a mountaintop blocking my way out, broke through that, all to find that my brother was now ruling over my kingdom, I mean, yeah I would be angry, too! Even though his wife pleaded for him not to fight because of Rama, a man has his pride, you know? (killing of Vali, from Wikipedia ) Hmm...I'm not sure how ...