Spring 2018 Indian Epics

I began this trail while looking up more information on King Sagara , mentioned in the "Bhagiratha and Ganga" story in the PDE Ramayana. He was said to have lost 60,000 sons and I wrote my story this week on that. While reading about him, I was interested to learn more about the age he lived in, because the scale of time involved in the story is massive. That led me to the Satya Yuga , the first of four Yugas (great ages) which cycle through endlessly. They are not the same length, and the Satya Yuga is 1,728,000 years long. This was fascinating because I already learned about the Kali Yuga, the final and darkest age which concludes with the arrival of.... Dasavatar: The Avatars of Vishnu Image Source: Wikimedia Commons Kalki , the final avatar that Vishnu occupies in the cycle of existence. He arrives to end the dark age of Kali Yuga, and he is mentioned not only in Puranic texts but also Buddhist literature. A text from Tibetan-Buddhism mentions that there are a...

REIGN OF KING SAGARA King Sagara’s grandson Anshumat found the ashes in an open plain.  The horse was there also, but hours passed before he realized that the powdered grey sands he trod upon were the ashes of his uncles. As any good nephew would, he searched for water to consecrate their deaths. There was none. He traveled north, then east, and finally south. In the far south of the plains he found a man, who explained that no water would suffice for oblation save that of the Ganga, the holy celestial rivers of heaven. Anshumat left the plain of ash, and returned the horse to his grandfather. King Sagara despaired, but resolved to find some means of moving the Ganga to earth. King Sagara spent his reign in mourning for the loss of his sixty-thousand sons. He failed to attract the attention of the gods.  His rule lasted thirty-thousand years. REIGN OF KING ANSHUMAT I wait. Many thousand years have passed, and I wait. My brothers wait with me, all sav...

"Wikipedian Protester" Great example of constructive feedback Image Source: Wikimedia Commons I chose to focus on two articles which explored the potentially negative side effects of praise. Presence, not Praise  relates a study performed in 1998 which analyzed the effects of praise for intellect vs. praise for effort. The findings of this study support the idea that not all praise is equal; the children who were praised for effort approached their next set of problems with greater patience and a higher success rate than those who were praised for the sharpness of their intellect previously. In fact, the very act of acknowledging cleverness in many of these children was found to cause anxiety and fears of failure, reducing their ability to solve the next set of problems. This makes sound sense to me, and I think all parents should consider the praise factor while their children are still young. In a scholastic sense, this is also valuable advice. Stating that some...

Significant plot progression of the Ramayana thus far seems to be linked to a series of bad choices made by female characters. Beginning with Donald A. Mackenzie's relation of  Manthara's influence on Kaikeyi  to banish Rama, the theme continues with Surpanakha's instigation of Sita's kidnapping. While this is happening, Sita herself contributes to her own folly by shaming Lakshmana into chasing after Rama following the death of Maricha, leaving herself alone and undefended when Ravana arrives. With the exception of Shabari, the wise woman waiting in the shrine untouched by time, the female characters portrayed so far are responsible for the majority of the conflicts described. Kecak Ramayana in Bali, a dance recreating the battle from the Ramayana Image Source: Flickr Seen from Ravana's point of view, his actions are not so morally reprehensible, at least not at first. His sister Surpanakha has been permanently disfigured, and his brother Khara is killed...

Ganges River Delta Image Source: NASA The story which grabbed my attention immediately was that found in The Great Indian Epics, by John Campbell Oman, of Bagiratha and Ganga : The origin of the Ganges River , told to Rama by Vishvamitra prior to their visit to Mithila. The sheer scale of time involved in this story is impressive. Just for fun, if Vishvamitra was telling Rama this story at ~5085 BCE (which is taken from this fascinating page regarding  Scientific Dating of Ramayan Era ), and this story relates ancient times, then using the reigning time given for each ruler as seen below, 92,000 total years elapsed within the ancient story alone. For this story to be dubbed ancient when it was related implies a passage of time nearly mind-boggling.  Sagara reigned 30,000 years.  Anshumat his son reigned 32,000 years.  Dilipa, his successor, reigned 30,000 years. Only Bhagiratha was able to succeed in his quest to elevate his 60,000 dead un...

Adam's Bridge This mostly submerged stretch of land connects India to Sri Lanka, and has a rich history in the Ramayana, referred to as Rama's Bridge. Scholars and scientists still dispute whether the bridge's origins are natural or man-made. I found this while trying to determine if the Vanara, the monkey people supposedly responsible for the bridge's creation, represented a real tribe (such as the Sora people) or possibly Homo erectus . 

Vishnu rests on the serpent Ananta while Brahma appears within a lotus flower emitting from Vishnu's navel Image Source: Wikimedia Commons I like starting things at the beginning. Anything with more than one episode or book I refuse to begin unless I can start where the story does. The wild array of characters, gods, goddesses, demons, people and places found in Hindu mythology was bewildering, and so I chose to try starting at the beginning. That did not work as well as I had hoped, but I learned quite a bit more than I intended. Creation and Recreation I quickly discovered that the Hindu origins of our world were every bit as complex and detailed as the rest of Hindu mythology. Rather, the world as we know it belongs to a cyclic existence and has been created and destroyed many times over, each cycle referred to as a Kalpa, or aeon, and lasting 4.32 billion years in length. In each Kalpa there is a new creation, which is why there are so many creation stories present ...

Negative feedback (in the case of constructive criticism) works far more efficiently than positive feedback for me. I hate to make mistakes, and I hate being told of my mistakes even more, but I pay far more attention to feedback which indicates an error or an opportunity for improvement than I do to reading "Great job!" No one enjoys having their errors pointed out, but I try to see each instance as a chance to learn.  I was not always like this. The article 14 Signs Your Perfectionism Has Gotten Out Of Control  provides an apt summary of my earlier self. In fact, there are several statements which I still identify with today. Most accurate would be a constant knowledge that I am never finished; there is always another paper to review, another graduate school to apply towards, another set of vocabulary flashcards to review, and a fridge full of slowly rotting produce because I don't make enough time to cook what few healthy foods I buy. These things, and so many...

There lived a monkey tribe in the Himalayas, and their leader was Devadetta. His consorts were many, but his sons were few, and cursed. None lived to the age of adulthood, and he despaired at finding an heir to his kingdom, a prosperous and wholesome land. What Devadetta did not know was that among his consorts there hid a Rakshasi, a wily shape-changing spirit who schemed to take over his kingdom, seeding her curses through the land and preventing any other heirs from interfering with her plans. This Rakshasi waited until she carried the king’s child, then spirited him away to a far forest. She raised him with falsehoods of the king’s depravity and awful deeds. The child grew to hate his unmet father. When the young monkey reached his coming of age, she rejoiced in his strength and courage. “See, my son, how valiant and cunning you are,” she told him as they journeyed back to the kingdom of Devadetta. “Your evil father cannot stand against you.” When the young...

I chose to focus on The Monkey Who Gathered Lotuses  for this week's reading. Translated by Robert Chalmers in 1895, it is one of myriad tales contained within The Jataka, Volume I . There were parallels within this story to Cronus, a mighty titan who chose to eat his offspring rather than allow them to one day usurp his throne. In that story, the mother of the children protected one of them and spirited the child away to grow up strong and safe away from a dangerous father. Also too, in that story the child returned (as Zeus) and defeated Cronus. The monkey son, who is actually the Bodhisatta, upon meeting his father realizes his life is in danger. Sent to gather colored lotus flowers from a lake haunted by a terrible ogre, the monkey observes that footprints only lead down to the lake. The image of a monkey whizzing across a lake surface gathering flowers without entering the water is comical, but still better is the mental image of this terrible ogre returning with th...

The World's Largest Bird Sculpture - Jatayu Nature Park Image Source: Youtube Jatayu and Sampaati These two brothers seem to provide an intriguing parallel for the Greek story of Daedalus and Icarus; I would very much like to read further to find out which story came first. The beautiful sculpture shown, a rendition of Jatayu, is part of the Jatayu Nature Park, located in Kerala, India. The brothers are eagle demi-gods, who when young competed regularly for height accomplishments in flying. Apparently Jatayu flew too high and started to lose his wings, and Sampaati flew above and shielded him, forever losing his wings in the process. Panchatantra One of my favorite things to do is seek out similarities in ancient stories. Did you know that the Sumerians, the Hebrews, the Greeks, the Assyrians, and the Hindus all recount stories of an enormous flood, a single man, and the divine instruction to build a vessel to survive the deluge? What I find most fascinating is tryi...

Clock watching is one of my least favorite habits, yet I find myself guilty more often than I care to admit. A compulsive need to verify that I still have time, even when there are no deadlines, assignments, or critical events occurring. In fact, there are occasions when the number of times I've checked the clock has probably reduced the amount of time I have available by a significant amount (at least 5%).  The article " Why Time Management is Ruining Our Lives " speaks at length regarding the decrease in life quality when efficiency and production are maximized, and I am forced to agree with the author in multiple areas. Managing time is important, and that fact is not disputed. But the inundation of emails, alerts, notifications, and advertisements which are experienced daily can result in a drowning feeling of insufficiency, and this I strive to avoid. This was a great article which helped me realize which things I ought not to do when planning out this semes...

Did you know that in 2013 the internet was ruled to be an "essential" part of life in a German federal court? We use it for virtually everything, after all, but I scoffed at this ruling initially. Later, about two years down the line, I realized with the looming net neutrality argument that that ruling made good sense. It's an interesting story, and you can read more about the German ruling here . In 2016, Canada made the same decision , but expanded the argument to include high-speed broadband internet access. I was at first surprised to discover most of the course takes place outside of Canvas, the undoubtedly expensive learning management software used by our university, but upon considering the type and nature of this open-source classroom, the limitations in Canvas become apparent. However, the real reason provided (that we will never use Canvas again following graduation) makes even better sense. When I was about 13 years old, my technology skills were fair...

This could be one of my favorite classes of all time. I was rather intimidated at first by the daunting process of creating a blog, but the organization and step-wise introduction to each part of the process simplified everything. I really like the option of choosing when to complete assignments based on my schedule, and the blog-based approach to teaching is actually delightful.  I enjoy writing, but I am very rusty. Microbiology majors don't get much free composition practice this late in the game (senior year), and I am anticipating that both the storytelling and project assignments will provide me with a welcome respite from the biochemistry and heavy science workload I've had the last year.  I am somewhat in awe of the level of organization provided for this course. There is a vast amount of material perfectly organized and explained in as much or as little detail as I require. Should I ever choose to keep a blog outside of class, this is one of the best possib...

The difficulty of adapting to a growth mindset for adult students lies primarily in the adjustment of expectations for one's education. I first encountered the growth mindset concept about two years prior, halfway through my undergraduate degree. My entire focus at that time was simple: Make the A. This is a normal feeling for any student, but most especially those who plan to attend a medical or dental school for post-graduate education. The issue with the A mentality is that more effort and time is spent worrying over grades than actually learning. I've seen entire class periods in lab courses go by with students arguing over a two point assignment rather than using the time set aside for actually learning and connecting with the material and concepts presented. This was me, in semesters past. I realized at some point that I was no longer really learning. I would cram for tests, maximize my grades, and retain in cases almost nothing a few weeks after. This is not why I cho...

"Live with a man 40 years. Share his house, his meals. Speak on every subject. Then tie him up, and hold him over the volcano's edge. And on that day, you will finally meet the man." -Joss Whedon I never realized what an awful person I was until I found myself at five minutes til class searching for a parking space the day of an exam. Being a somewhat punctual person, I made a point of arriving on campus with a planned excess of about twenty minutes prior to class each day I commuted to the Norman campus at the University of Oklahoma. This habit was fairly well established by the time midterm examinations rolled around my first semester. I felt comfortable and secure with my route, a drive of about fifty minutes from the north side of Oklahoma City. My exits were firmly conditioned, and I could drive it easily without having to constantly remind myself to pay attention to the road. I have always struggled with using a GPS navigator or software; the robot voice interr...

How to Acquire Divine Wisdom: The Journey of Jack This storybook grabbed my attention in two ways; a descriptive title and minimal, dark design paves the way for focus upon the dialogue and story. The introduction opens with the main character, Jack, waking from an accidental nap during an all-night meditation session, and the colors and mood of the site design complement a story told at night. I am relatively unfamiliar with the characters and events portrayed, but that did not stop me from reading more.  Image.PR: India's Highest Ranked PR Firm This was such a fun storybook! Retelling these classics using a PR firm as the central basis of the story-line is delightful. The homepage of the storybook is so realistic, I was unsure at first if the link I choose was actually a storybook. I enjoyed the style and the approach; I have yet to become familiar with the characters in detail but I am eager to read more. This was a great foot-in-the-door to the revered epics with a mod...

When I think about my absolute favorite places, I am forced to admit that I cannot choose only one. My favorite place to relax is vastly different from my favorite place I've visited, so I present them both. Bookshelf at Half Price Books Dee Coetzee, 2011. Web Source: Flickr The used bookstore replaced the library as my all-time favorite place approximately 15 years ago; I discovered that the library had a limited and fixed inventory, while the used bookstore rotated through an ever-changing supply of books, journals, articles, and even antiques. This was and is my favorite place to relax and browse at leisure.  (Image information: Sun Observatory, Chacchoben, Mexico; personal photo, January 2018) I recently returned from a trip to (among other places) Costa Maya, Mexico. While I was unable to fulfill my lifelong dreams of "becoming" Indiana Jones, I was able to visit several ruins of impressive age and history. The Chacchoben ruins, painstakingly r...

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