Reading Notes: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art Part B

(Statue of Lakshmi and Vishnu)

Narayan's Secret

What dies is always reborn. I knew about the Hindu concept of reincarnation, but I had never considered extending it to include the world as a whole cyclically developing and being destroyed throughout time. There's something very beautiful in that.

It makes sense that having many worlds and lives removes some of the sense of urgency of living. Sesha is the remainder, the serpent bed for Narayan when he sleeps. So the world exists while Narayan is asleep, but no one can conceive of it or be aware of its presence ergo it may as well not exist. Essentially this is examining the semantic difference between a person's world and the whole world, between existence and experience.

Lakshmi is Narayan's consort. Narayan is called Vishnu when he's awake. I find it very interesting that Narayan becoming Vishnu is associated with Shiva becoming Shankara. I find it very interesting that these stories make the distinction between loving someone and desiring them for a spouse.

Narad is the source of so many problems because he has grown listless with his cursed existence. This harks back to the question of whether or not one would actually want to live forever. Narad must continue to exist even once he has grown bored with the world. His character is a very direct representation of the fact that men are neither truly good nor truly evil in general in Hindu mythology. In fact, there are several examples in which rakshasas can be good or devas can be punished for evil behavior.

Garuda is the hawk Vishnu rides to set the world right. I like the idea of Garud provoking the evil parts of the world to move by the very nature of his existence as a hawk. Rama is an avatar of Vishnu. I like that in Hinduism gods take a very direct interest in the workings and balance of the human world. "[Creation] is a subjective realization."

Water is the symbol of formlessness, entropy, and disillusion. When a sage visualized the end of the world, his vision of destruction and the world being submerged in water was punctuated by his finding a newborn baby. "The end is actually just a phase."

"Death is a comma - there is no full-stop." The Banyan tree represents things that cannot be destroyed. Essentially, the baby is representative of the immortal soul. I love how even something as simple as the different sides of the body are representative of more intricate ideas. The right side is the considered representative of the soul and spirit while the left side represents the physical aspects of existence. Even a simple image of a human person can be considered representative of the commune of the physical and spiritual world.

Imperfect forms to communicate a perfect truth. It is intent and behavior that create demons, not birth. Bhagavad Gita means the song of god. Vishnu takes the form of Krishna, Arjuna's charioteer. Matter exists to draw our attention to the soul.

There is no definitive good and evil when all things are based on context and perspective.

Bibliography: 7 Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art Part B