7 Secrets From Hindu Calendar Art
by Devdutt Patanaik
Chapter 1 -- Ganesha's Secret
via Video Book on YouTube
The Divine Family Portrait
Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha and Kartikeya
I have seen this classic Divine Family Portrait loads of times -- but it had never really clicked in my head exactly who they all were. This video broke down exactly the family relations, and dove into a bit about who each God or god is as a person.
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This week I started reading 7 Secrets From Hindu Calendar, by Devdutt Patanaik via Video Book on YouTube -- a much appreciated format! While the Video Book is narrated slowly enough, it still feels like a deluge of information being thrown at you -- and then stirred around with rhetoric questions which challenge the notion that anything at all in this world can be concrete.
For example, Shiva's sons Ganesha and Kartikeya are challenged as to who might be the better son and win a prized mango by traveling around the world 3 times the quickest. Kartikeya travels around the whole world, and so represent physical might, while Ganesha went around his parents 3 times, who are, to him, his entire world. He embodies intellect and cunning. In supporting his claim, Ganesha tells Kartikeya,
"Myth is an idea churned in my world; mythology is the set of stories, symbols, and rituals that communicate a myth."
Shiva
Most interesting was learning about Shiva. "When Shiva shuts his eyes, the whole world ceases to be, which is why Shiva is called the destroyer, and is considered God." [there are lesser gods and goddesses, spelling in English with lower-case g]
Shiva did not want to be a husband or a father, but when he opened his eyes (and spirit), he married Parvati. Ganesha represents the union of two opposites, the desire of his mother to have a family (Parvati represents material aspiration), and his father, who does not (Shiva represents spiritual aspirations). Ganesha also represents a mortal body and an immortal head.
It is important to note that "Brahma is male, and excludes the female form. It is an incomplete form, and thus implies the existence and need of a female, but where is she?" "She is the formless knowledge that is being transmitted.... She is called Saraswati."
No man can create anything without Woman, not even God. She is the creator of the Vedas, and Brahma merely communicates it.
4 Heads of Brahma = 4 Expressions of the Veda = 4 Goals of Life:
- Dharma -Righteous Conduct
- Artha - Economic Activity
- Kama - Pleasurable Pursuits
- Moksha - Spiritual Practices
Bahuchara Mata - goddess of the Hijras
Hijra is the third gender, hermaphrodites who live on the fringes of society. Bahuchara once turned a woman into a man, allowing her to be a husband to the woman who was given to her as a bride.
I saw a lot of Hijras when I was in Mumbai, and they would offer blessings to you after begging change off of you. If you met a Hijra, but did not give them something, then they would curse you. They are considered auspicious, and it is lucky if a group of them (or even one) visits your wedding party. I was unaware who their goddess was, precisely, however, until this video.
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| A Hijra in 1860's Eastern Bengal, via Wikimedia Commons |
