PART I_MYTHS_Sec 1-Intro-3 of 4

[Guest guest]

Dear Bhagavatas,

Follwing is posting 3 of 4 in Section 1-Introduction to Part I on Myths.

Dasoham

Anbil Ramaswamy

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They serve to instill a certain humility in prosperity and a reminder

that not by one's own efforts alone one could avert indiscretions but

divine guidance is also needed. They also serve to prove that penitence

and atonement are sure to invite divine forgiveness to extricate men

from such intriguing situations. In other words, they drive home the

adage that 'there is no saint without a past and no sinner without a

future'.

 

The modern movies depict the role of villain and his deeds in such

vivid and realistic fashion as to lure impressionable minds to copy

them. The scriptural stories though they also show how even great people

err, never fail to warn and wean the reader from getting into the

vice-grip of vices. The episodes in the Ramayana and Mahabharata take us

on a guided tour of joys and sorrows that flesh is heir to but finally

raise us above both and we find ourselves transported to the world of

transcendental reality.

 

Conversely, it is seen that not only Valmiki but other poets also have

depicted even bad characters with sympathy. It should be remembered that

nobody is wholly good or wholly bad. Human psyche is a mixture of

qualities which govern the moods, attitudes and behaviors called Sattva,

Rajo and Tamo gunas. The contents of this mixture is constantly in a

flux and are always in a see-saw movement. Just as in a democracy, even

though there are several parties in the fray, the party that secures

majority takes over the reigns of Government for the time being , the

guna that is predominant at any given point of time would decide whether

a person would be virtuous or vicious and if so, how far in any given

circumstance.

 

Even Rajasic and Tamasic characters are delineated by poets in such

glowing terms to appeal to the readers with similar qualities. When such

readers come across such characters, a sympathetic vibration swells in

their hearts. They would feel not only at home with such characters but

also appreciate their emotions and actions with such an empathy to the

point of finding fault with the really Satvic characters. Like culinary

experts who can by their unique recipes turn even bitter ingredients

into delicious dishes, the poets are adepts in ingeniously depicting

even vile characters in agreeable light so that those governed by

corresponding gunas would be better able to appreciate.

 

Such a painting also serves another purpose. When admirable qualities

like valor,bravery, strength, determination etc are projected of

otherwise despicable characters, they serve as a necessary backdrop to

highlight their darkside in sharp contrast. And, when such strong,

brave, valorous people get vanquished at the hands of the virtuous

heroes, it goes to heighten the superior ratings of the heroes.

 

Very often,we find the vanquished themselves sing paeans of praise of

their victors (e.g) In the Ramayana, Vaali, Taara, Maareecha,

Kumbakarna, Mandodari and even Ravana take their turns in praising the

qualities of Rama. A TRIBUTE FROM AN ADVERSARY IS EVEN MORE VALUABLE

THAN FROM A TRIBUTARY.

 

Another reason for inclusion of such 'less than perfect' personalities

is to reflect the actualities of life lest a monotonous display of

idealistic heroes should fatigue the sensibilities of the readers. Our

classics realistically embody our national culture with all their

virtues and all their faults so that we could see ourselves as we really

are, apart from what we wish to become.

 

Again, these vicious personalities provide a necessary compementary

role without which the value of the virtuous may not be fully

appreciated. You need scorching heat to realize the value of shade. You

need drought to realize the value of rains. You need the beast to

realize the value of beauty. So, you need the vicious as an antithesis

to realize the value of the virtuous. If there were no devils, there

would perhaps be no Gods since a positive cannot exist without a

negative.

 

It is true that we discern a perceptible erosion in values from the

Ramayana days to the Mahbharata days and further deterioration as

Kaliyuga advances. While even a war had to be on Dharmic lines in the

Ramayana days, there has been a slow but steady decline in the concept

of Dharma in the Kurukshetra war. As the war progresses and passions run

riot, we see too many transgressions of ethics of war (e.g) the incident

in which Dharmaputra uttered a half truth 'Aswattama Hata Kunjarah' -

the first half in a loud pitch and the latter half - barely audible.

And, this resulted in the fall of Drona who thought that his dear son,

Aswattama had died while actually an elephant by that name got killed.

 

" Without myths a society decays. By losing touch with myth, however,

modern society has lost its sense of wonder and awe at the natural world

and the universe - perhaps one reason for the exploitation of the

resources of the planet, pollusion of the environment and destruction of

other living beings in the name of progress" - 4

 

As observed by Joseph Campbell -

" Myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of

the cosmos pour into human cultural manifestations and it has always

been known that the prime functions of mythology and rite is to supply

symbols that move the human spirit forward" -5

(Continued)