The Ideology Presented in the Mythologies of Hinduism - Research Paper Example

?Free Topic Table of Contents Introduction 3 Thesis ment 3 Rudiments of Hindu Mythology 3 The Matsya or Fish Avatara 5 Story of King Yayati 7 Conclusion 8 Works Cited 10 Introduction It has often been argued that ideology presented in the mythologies of Hinduism succeeds in the modern world quite flexibly. Greater number of followers has been enchanted by its symbolic representation of ‘prem’ (referred to love), ‘karma’ (referred to responsibilities) as well as ‘punar janam’ (referred to rebirth or reincarnation). Myths are not true in any scientific sense, philosophically, theologically, metaphysically or ontologically. However, the power of mythology evolves from its capability to communicate the existing requirements for identity within a human society (Williams, 2-3). The cultural as well as religious identity related to Hinduism is considered as quite broad. In Hindu mythology, there are more than 330 million role models that are most likely to validate the person’s identity who have been framed in pace with the developing mankind since ancient times (Doyle, “Hindu Mythology”). Thesis Statement Two short stories have been considered in the discussion henceforth, i.e. the Story of Yayati and the Incarnation of Vishnu as a Fish with the sole intention to obtain a better knowledge regarding the linkage of cultural values, philosophies and beliefs perceived by Indians with Hindu mythology. Hence, the chief objective of the discussion will be to obtain a better in-sight to the rudiments of Hindu mythology. Rudiments of Hindu Mythology Being the ancient most religion, Hindu mythology presents a rich culture along with some distinct but highly valuable principles of human life which can bring integrity and prosperity within the mankind. As the inherent values, ethos and principles of human culture are practiced as a complex purpose, various stories have been described in Hindu mythology rendering a comprehensive understanding of morality and justness within human society. One of the rudiments of Hindu mythology depicts that women play a dominant role as Shakti possessing the power of creation as well as destruction (Goel, “The Sacred Feminine in Hinduism”). As demonstrated in Ramayana, Kaikeyi (the third wife of King Dasharath) and Manthara (Kaikeyi’s maid) played the fundamental roles to cause the exile of Rama from Ayodhya which certainly caused destruction at the primary view, but for a greater good, i.e. the death of Ravana. Again, in the Story of King Yayati, Devyani (the daughter of sage Shukracharya) was shown imposing a direct impact on the decision making of her father causing the curse of King Yayati (Joshi, “The Story from Mahabharata”). Another rudiment of Hindu mythology emphasizes on the aspect that there is one ‘Supreme Soul’, God who is the creator and destructor of the cosmos. He is one who preserves the mankind and also punishes them according to their deeds (Hindu Wisdom, “Symbolism in Hinduism”). This particular belief can be observed apparently with reference to the story of Matsaya Avatar by Lord Vishnu. Matsya Avatar by Lord Vishnu is thought to have taken place in Satya Yuga when the Lord destroyed the life on earth due to the unsystematic and unjust practices of human kind (Purucker, “Section 4: Galaxies and Solar Systems: their Genesis, Structure, and Destiny”). It can be stated that the ‘Law of Karma’ is basic principles of Hinduism. Karma tends to generate its fruits in the form of pain as well as pleasure. It can be observed from the story of Yayati that King Yayati had been cursed by Shukracharya because of King’s own Karma or deeds to have a secret relationship with Sharmishtha. Furthermore, the ‘Law of Karma’ has also been reflected in the story of Matsaya Avatar where the demon, Hayagriva was defeated by Lord Vishnu owing to his deed of stealing the precious Vedas and hampering the creation of life on earth (Sivananda, “Hinduism”). The Matsya or Fish Avatara According to the Satapatha Brahmana, a Hindu sacred text determining account of Vedic rituals, the first incarnation of Lord Vishnu on earth is known as Matsya Avatar. The story narrates that when Hari, who was considered to be the preserver of the universe, discovered the deed of the prince of the Danavas, became bound to take the shape of the fish which was known as Saphari or Matsya (Wilkins 134-141). According to the myth, Brahma was sleeping one day when Hayagriva, a horse-headed demon, took away the holy Vedas that helped God in creating life. The demon ran away and concealed inside the deep oceans which obstructed Brahma from nurturing the establishment of the universe. Owing to the fact that He was incapable of doing so, Brahma called Vishnu for assistance. It was during that time when Vishnu took the form of fish in order to get the Vedas back from the demon. Consequently, Vishnu took the avatar of Matsya, a one-horned fish, and swam into the hands of Satyavrata, who has also been the king of ancient Dravida-desa and renowned as Manu. Lord Vishnu, in his Matsya avatar then asked Manu for shelter from the predators in the ocean. In order to save the life of the fish, Manu took it back to his palace and placed it in a vessel. However, with every night passing, the size of the fish kept on increasing manifolds. Manu also kept on transferring the small fish from vessel to pond and then finally to an ocean as per its size. After being released in the ocean, Lord Vishnu envisaged that after seven days of His fighting with Hayagriva, a deluge ill occur and Manu was bestowed with the responsibility to collect the seven great sages, samples of every animals, birds as well as plants species and carry them in a huge boat. Finally, when Lord Vishnu defeated the demon and was capable of bringing the Vedas back to Brahma the deluge occurred for the re-construction of the world. This incarnation of Vishnu has often been argued to the Biblical narration of Noah’s ark in the Old Testament of Christianity (Wilkins 134-141). According to Hindu values and beliefs, Vishnu is regarded as the sustainer of life on earth based upon the principles of truth, order and principles. An analysis of the incarnation of Lord Vishnu demonstrates a close similarity to modern theories of evolution. Philosophy according to Hindu tradition reveals viewing the truth and hence implementation of the truth to daily lives. As can be observed in this story, Lord Vishnu had to come in his true form in order to bestow the responsibilities to Manu. Manu thus gained knowledge and was capable of satisfying his own curiosity after viewing Matsaya in its original form. Matsaya Avatar demonstrates the use of law of cause and effect in human life. According to Hindu culture worshipping of Matsya incarnation offers human being with a new creative force and permits them to locate a fresh and higher karma in order to get closer to the Divine power of peace and justness. Hinduism beliefs convey that every human being has Angel and Demon within it. The strength and wisdom from an enlightened soul thus assists in winning over his/ her evil character where the ultimate demolition of evil is quite certain. Hindu mythology also believes that since God is responsible for the destruction of this earth when evil spreads, He is solely responsible to create a new world as well (Wilkins 134-141). Story of King Yayati In another quite famous short story of Indian mythology and Hinduism, the preceptor of the demons, Shukracharya and his daughter, named Devyani, were illustrated to showcase the true meaning of a human birth. One day she decided to take a bath in a lake with Sarmistha, the demon king named Vrishaparva. These two girls left their clothes on the bank of the river. Owing to the strong wind these two girls had to quickly come out of the lake and put their clothes on when erroneously, Sharmishtha wore Devyani’s clothes which led to a conflict between the two. As King Yayati was passing by the well where Devyani had fallen during her quarrel with Sharmishtha, he pulled her out. When the entire event came to the knowledge of Shukracharya (excluding the fact that Devyani had actually insulted Sharmishtha), he went to Vrishaparva with the desire to leave the kingdom. However, as Vrishaparva begged Devyani for her clemency, she agreed to forgive if Sharmishtha became her hand-maid for her entire life. After Yayati got married to Devyani and had three sons. However, secretly Sharmishtha narrated the story to Yayati regarding how she became Devyani’s maid and Yayati decided to marry Sharmishtha secretly as his second wife. As soon as Devyani came to know regarding Sharmishtha’s children, she complained Shukracharya. In rage, Shukracharya cursed Yayati with a pre-old age. After hearing regarding the curse, Devyani was quite depressed and requested Shukracharya to take back his curse. However, Shukracharya told her that it was quite impossible to renounce the curse but if, any of the sons of Yayati will agree to exchange his youth with him, Yayati might get recovered and enjoy the youthful life of his son. In order to enjoy his life, Yayati requested each of his sons to take back his old age. After the refusal of his elder sons, his youngest son, Puru accepted and took his father’s old age. After few years, Yayati realised that he was being unjust to his son and hence decided to give Puru’s youth back to him spending rest of his life meditating upon Brahma in a forest (Joshi, “The Story from Mahabharata”). This story affirms a significant verdict that it is important for one to have a proper balance in life. As per the Hindu culture, the curse made by Shukracharya on Yayati demonstrates that a person is not capable of escaping the consequences of unrestrained behaviour committed in his / her life. The other aspects related to the Indian culture and philosophy is that a person is likely to attain frustration and feeling of emptiness in taking sensual pleasures without considering the spiritual pursuits. It can further be stated that without adequate balance of various activities, a person will face a destiny similar to that of Yayati. The moral of the story also demonstrates the values related to insatiability of human desires where persistent are considered as the basic theme of the insatiability of human desires in the Indian culture. Hence, it can be learnt that the story related to Yayati demonstrates the disagreement between outwardly directed acquisitions which is also identified as extrinsic motivation as well as the inner values which is known as intrinsic motivation (Joshi, “The Story from Mahabharata”). Conclusion To be summarised, it can be stated that both the stories reflect upon balancing ‘Karma’ or the responsibilities of a human with integrity and pride. In order to balance ‘Karma’, it is significant to comprehend the quadratic equation of life. To be explained, a person is happy when his needs are less and spirituality is high. Conversely, he is likely to be unhappy in case the needs are high and turns into greed. A person might be driven by short term happiness and demands for sensational as well as money-orientated luxuries which offer temporary joy but not eternal peace. Hence, the Indian values direct that a person must balance the spirituality need and materialistic wants in their day to day life (Kosambi, “Myth and Reality”). Works Cited Doyle, Bernard. Hindu Mythology. Introduction, 2012. Web. 08 November, 2012. Goel, M. L. The Sacred Feminine in Hinduism. University of West Florida, No Date. Web. 08 November, 2012. Hindu Wisdom, Symbolism in Hinduism. A Tribute to Hinduism, No Date. Web. 08 November, 2012. Joshi, Apurva. The Story From Mahabharata. Story of Yayati, 2012. Web. 08 November, 2012. Joshi, Deepa & Ben, Fawcett, Water, Hindu Mythology and an Unequal Social Order in India.The Post Vedic Periods4and the Institutionalisation of Water-related Social Inequality, 1994. Web. 08 November, 2012. Kosambi, D. D. Myth and Reality. Urvasi And Pururavas, 1962. Web. 08 November, 2012. Purucker, G. Section 4: Galaxies and Solar Systems: their Genesis, Structure, and Destiny. The Twelve Fohatic Magnetisms, 1974. Web. 08 November, 2012. Wilkins, W. J. Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 1882. Print. Williams, George, M. Handbook Of Hindu Mythology. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print. Read More