R K Narayan (elder brother of cartoonist R. K. Laxman & famous for "Malgudi Days") is an author whose books I just love to read. I specially like the way he re- tells stories from Indian mythology. In his own words, he remains faithful to the original text without commenting on the happenings. Today, I intend to share with you, ( in R K Narayan's own words), the mind boggling assumptions and time frames on the basis of which all these epics have been created.
[1] Brahma, the four faced GOD and creator of the universe, rests on a bed of lotus petals in a state of contemplation and by mere willing, creates everything. He has his own measure of "night" and "day". In the 12 hours that he is awake, he creates the Universe. When Brahma falls asleep, there is total dissolution of everything. Brahma sleeps for 12 hours, then wakes up & the business of creation begins all over again. Please remember, one hour in the life of Brahma is different than what it is for us mortals.
[2] Brahma himself is mortal (now that surprised me no end) and his life span is equivalent to 311,040,000,000,000 human - years at the end of which he is dissolved and nothing is left of the creation or the creator.The sun & stars are put out and oceans rise in gigantic waves that close over the earth. Ultimately even the waters from this deluge evaporate & a tremendous darkness and stillness take over. That is when the supreme GOD emerges. He is called Narayana or Ishwar. The entire cycle of creation and dissolution of the universe is equivalent to just one twinkling of the eye for Narayana.
[3] The universe created by Brahma always passes through four well defined yugas. Each yuga lasts for 1 crore and 8 lac human years. These yugas, as you probably know, are: [a] Kritayuga: Righteousness prevails universally in this yuga. [b] Tretayuga: Righteousness is reduced by one-quarter but sacrifices and ceremonies are given greater emphasis. There is a gradual decrease in austerity and men act with material objectives - no longer doing the rites with a sense of duty. [c] Dwaparyuga: Righteousness is now diminished by one-half. Ceremonies are multiplied, goodness declines, diseases and calamities make their appearance. Some study all four Vedas, others only three, some two and some none. [d] Kaliyuga: Righteousness, virtue & goodness completely disappear. Rites & sacrifices are abandoned as superstitions. Anger, distress, hunger and fear prevail. Rulers behave like highway robbers - seizing power and riches in all possible ways (sounds like the time we are presently living in)
Now that's as grand as anything else I have ever heard.
Friends, what do you think? Should all this be believed or dismissed as flight of imagination? I await your verdict.
4 comments:
[a] Kritayuga: Righteousness prevails universally in this yuga. [b] Tretayuga: Righteousness is reduced by one-quarter but sacrifices and ceremonies are given greater emphasis. There is a gradual decrease in austerity and men act with material objectives - no longer doing the rites with a sense of duty. [c] Dwaparyuga: Righteousness is now diminished by one-half. Ceremonies are multiplied, goodness declines, diseases and calamities make their appearance. Some study all four Vedas, others only three, some two and some none. [d] Kaliyuga: Righteousness, virtue & goodness completely disappear.( Why reduction not in step of 1 Quarter but two at a time?)
oh i loved yr list, only because it started with jhumpa lahiri.... im a big fan of hers, and i think she writes better than anyone else....
maybe u shud consider vikram seth's a suitable boy.... though really long, its poetically beautiful....
and have you read paulo coelho? i thought youre the kind of person who'd like his writing....
All subsequent realities were previously only thoughts. Mobile phones were a dream. Internet was a flight of imagination. Aeroplane was useless talk. Da Vinci drew a halicopter 400 years before it was operational.
Science is what we have learnt and confirmed and reconfirmed. Every other knowledge is beyond the grasp of Science and the best part is that it is not retricted.
I agree with the traditional view. Of course, we are witness to only the last yuga, but from what we read in the Srutis and Smritis, it all seems plausible.
Regards,
Ankur
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