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Every year in remembrance of our deceased parents,we perform a ritual ceremony in my hometown.
It is officiated by a priest who, by tradition, is ordained to officiate the local Hindu cremation rites and worship of ancestors.
Since we follow the lunar calendar the date varies and the anniversary of my Mothers passing , fell on the March 28 , this year.
As Covid would have it, we were unable to travel to our hometown, let alone hold the ceremony – as was the case the previous year.
So I performed the ritual early morning as the best as memory would serve me.
In the briefest sense it entailed summoning moms soul from the world of ancestors.A lamp is lit with 2 wicks aligned north and south.
And facing South I invoked the soul, inviting her to inhabit the representation of her earthly self, fashioned out of rice. I proceeded to worship her with water,flowers, tulsi leaves, sesame seeds,oil and yoghurt – to symbolize the vital aspects of her being, that still lives on in her children.
After this ceremony, the soul is released from this makeshift earthly domain and guided back to the ancestral world ,assisted by my prayers.
It definitely does not bode well for anyone should the soul tarry on the way or remain in any other realm but that of ancestors.
The rice moulds are then carefully collected in leaves and fed to the crows and the fishes. Thus celebrating the eternal Truth -that of Eternal Life.
I live in the Middle East ,about 4000km from my home country and there are no crows in this part of the world.
Crows represent the ancestors collective in my culture, but suffice to say that the sparrows, bulbuls and the doves,took up this foreign task with great gusto.
As I emptied the remnants of the offerings into the Arabian gulf waters,
I watched the grains sink down and fan out as the currents swept them away.
It also brought the fishes to the surface and I watched them chase after the rice grains – with a certain degree of relief and wonderment.
In Death indeed is one’s Supreme Giving.
As I headed towards my work place, I was also distractedly toying with this thought of a fish not choosing to chase after rice.
A Prodigal Piscis! – for choosing not to heed the call of a billion odd year old ancestral wisdom.
Would ShHe have a growing tribe of wide eyed emaciated followers? Though one could hardly be enthusiastic about any of the afore mentioned being robust enough to spawn a generation of the emancipated.
It was a slow day at work, so I whiled some time jawing with a colleague .
After exhausting most topics, he somehow manoeuvered our ambit of conversation to religion.
His first premise was that Science keeps changing its Truth – where as in Religion the Truth never changes.
I replied that it is a great advantage indeed of Faith over Science – that one could afford great faith in ones beliefs, whereas such is not the case in science.
Perhaps my attempt at understated skepticism was lost on him.
Apparently emboldened by my feeble offering, he drew himself up and let go-
‘There is only One who can do anything he chooses , in any corner of this universe.
He is the creator – he created everything out of his will and he can undo his creation at the drop of the celestial Hat! (not in as many words) . He can bring death to the living, as well as life to the dead!
His Divine Writ rules the Universe’
I thought of the Prodigal Piscis – the one who refused to go with the flow ( sorry for the pun)
I thanked my colleague profusely and walked away.
What a soul shattering revelation !
Free Will is only as real as the Creator.
Unfortunately there is nothing to be overjoyed about it.
If one has to inflict death and instil life at Will it cannot be the work of a Creator.
It shows the frenzy of a mind trying frantically to control reality – or come to terms with it…. . By Creating a Story!
A mind out of sync with the Flow – a Creator who doesnt recognize his own holy handiwork
I trust……
I dont have to spell out, who is/are the Creator/sWake up neo!
Thank you Stephen for illustrating the Archetypes that underpin the celebration of Winter Solstice amongst all humanity.
Your brilliant exposition of multiple motifs alive in different civilizations, but sourced from the same Archetypal idea, reminds me of a piece written by Clemsy a couple of years ago . I believe he touched upon the similarities between Egyptian as well as Zoroastrian religious beliefs to Christs story, but the involvement of Saturnalia and the Father God Saturn is indeed new knowledge to me as well as intriguing.I was racking my brain to find a parallel in Indian Mythos and to me there seem to be many motifs of light emerging victorious in a battle with darkness.
But it all falls in Autumn . In fact Autumn seems to be the season for festivals and thanks to diffusion brought about by globalization, it is funny to see people celebrate the victory of the Mother Goddess over the Dark Demon and the return of the Hero Ram , alongside the ghoulish makeover of a Halloween party.
But the myth of Amaterasu emerging from her rocky confinement has brought forth a flood of related stories to the mind.
The first story and the most intriguing is the story of the daughter of the Father of the Sky in Rig Vedas. Goddess Ushuss – The Dawn. She is liberated from the Vala cave by Indra. The Titaness Eos is the Hellenic equivalent derived from the Old Indo Aryan word for dawn – Heosus.
What is intriguing is that Japanese language and Vedic/ProtoVedic languages are totally unrelated from a Linguistic or philological point of view.The annual ritual of freeing Amaterasu from her cave is enacted in a Shinto temple the Kamikura Shrine. Women are forbidden to go up the shrine.
And the first fire of the New year is passed on by the Shinto priest to a crowd of 200 merry men, who rush down the hill – many breaking their leg – in the process to bring the 🔥 of the living to the World…. a la Prometheus!
Curiously enough in my home state the end of the month of winter solstice is celebrated with great pomp . It marks the new year in a few Indian provinces.
In my State, There is a shrine atop a high hill dedicated to a God where women under 50 and girls who have attained puberty aren’t allowed . On the day that marks the end of the month of Winter solstice ((Makara Sankranthi) , a fire lights up the sky from a distant hill. Lit by the tribals in the forest who had been ritually enacting a myth the transcends the sphere of the Known and binds us all to the cradle of Human civilization – nay, our consciousness!.
The lighting of the fire coincides with the rising of Sirius Star..So thats another exciting loose end to follow😀
Merry Warmth to all
Wake up neo!
Brilliant! The predicament of millions of Secular minded Hindus
and unspoken words find a place n your essay.
Yes. This is a phase in Indian history that will determine
our survival as a modern nation through this millennia.
I daresay that it is going to be traumatic and the first step
is to be brutally honest to oneself and those around you.
The revelation of the real nature of the Indian soul is a
revelation not only to the Liberal Hindus but also to the minority
community who now find that they cannot hold the Hindu community
to ransom by raising the spectre of the Hindu Radical Juggernaut
and reinforcing the politically correct conduct in an obliging people.
Its already at their door step.
It behoves all Indians to negotiate this changing dynamics
that define us as a people, with honesty and only then
proceed with dialogue
and hopefully succeed in reconciliationWake up neo!
What do you think is the difference between the Indian subcontinent and the civilizations of Sumer, Akkad, and so many others that shared essentially the same social divisions?
The difference is that the priestly class chose to enclose itself and practice endogamy.And in the other classes it became prevalent as a derivation.
the further the classes were to the priestly class – the looser , the rules governing their conduct.
If one looks at DNA studies the Indian society showed robust miscegenation till about a millenium or more before CE.
And then the genetic picture shows a strictly endogamous trait.
All the stories ,the practices that lionized Sati and Widowhood and Chastity were means to ensure that Endogamy was practiced in a class were Exogamy is still very much a norm. It is even today punishable with death if one married within a Clan or community or village. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manoj%E2%80%93Babli_honour_killing_case
So why did the classes opt for endogamy? Could it be competition ? Too many of the priestly kind loafing around ,waiting for temples to be built inorder to discharge their duties?
increase immigration? Or the desire to be a part of an organised social order?
But when some Classes close their doors to others. There are those who were automatically shut out from all doors.The Dalits are one of those.
But it is hilarious to see people accuse the Brahmins for their predicament. Cultural absorption is something all classes aspire to. The Brahmins may have found the means to remain an undiluted and critical social component but to force endogamy on other classes would prove far above their mettle. This is according to the stalwart Dr B.R Ambedkar a Dalit , who authored our constitution.
And now we see those who take the cause of the Dalits seized with impotent rage. And fattening themselves on it.
There are classes among Dalits who enjoyed great economic and social stature a few even rose to become Emperor Like Mahapadma Nanda and the Nanda dynasty.
So in effect the situation could be charitably described as that of a particularly slippery snake and ladder game.
And if you think that the Brahmins had it easy ,Well, think again.
The life within a caste itself is highly controlled and monitored and never more so than for a Brahmin.
A good example is Poet Rabindranath Tagores Grandfather who was ostracised bcz someone in his clan converted to Islam.
Another more tragic eg is my great grandfather who was accused of if having sexual relations with his Gurus wife, when he was a teenager and committed suicide 20 years later when my grandfather was 8 years of age.
And he was demoted to a lesser subcaste. Which like the Tagore family proved to be a blessing!
If you want to see how caste overshadows religion look at this quora comment by a pakistani muslim punjabi
the ruling elite in Punjab was mainly Rajput before the arrival of Sikhs. Many of them converted to Islam and remained Rajput just like my ancestors. When Sikhs came into power most of its people belonged to Jatt tribes and people who converted to Sikhism, whether they were Rajput or not denoted themselves as Jatts.
For instance Barar and Sidhu/Sindhus are also a sub caste of Bhatti Rajput just like Sansi. My grandfather was from a village in Moga called Killi Kalan. Now it belonged to Bhattis and Brars. All Hindus who converted to Islam remained Bhatti and those who converted to Sikhism became Brars.
But the real premise of your OP if I am not wrong is that of the creeping Casteism in America.
Well we have seen a midline split of the electorate in USA.
Fareed Zakaria described the groups without batting an eyelid as thus-
If you hold a diploma or a higher education and live in an Urban area you are a Biden voter. Highschool and non urban population vote for Trump.
The demographics are changing and it is no longer about colour or creed.
Its about clamouring and jostling for opportunities. Just the way things are happening in India.
Look how ML King discovered that he belonged to a Caste when he came to India 😀😀 https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/08/17/isabel-wilkersons-world-historical-theory-of-race-and-caste
For those who gnash their teeth at the way India is not changing to their expectations. I say to them – India never believed in the idea of a linear progression of events ending in a makebelieve world.
The Gods and Demons , the Dark and Light will come
and go again and again.
Like that carousel in ‘A Hundred Years of Solitude’
We will reach the realm of enlightenment then descend into the darkness and come out of it again.
But the important thing to remember
– is to dance 🙏
Wake up neo!
This is indeed an interesting topic to delve into.
As I read Nandu’s post, I was curious to know if the conclusion was arrived at , after years of trying to reconcile with Joe Campbells rather indulgent take on Hinduism , or a first hand impression.
Nandu introduced me to J.C through the Hero of a Thousand faces. And ever since Im a great admirer of Josephs incisive and articulate genius. And how effortlessly and unassumingly did he add dimensions and socioreligious context , to obscure rituals that remain shrouded in what Nandu had termed Orthopraxy. Despite not being as politically articulate nor half as erudite as Nandu, our perceptions were shaped by the same sociopolitical dynamics that prevailed in Kerala.
As a scion of a secular Hindu family of a deeply religious parents, I had the fortune to be exposed to the deep – often cryptic culture of practicing Hinduism as well as a good dose of liberalism that prevailed in my hometown which was relatively the most cosmopolitan in Kerala.
Like all youngsters I had voiced more questions than could be answered. I went through phases of contesting the premise of my religion -then ignoring it – and to finally reexamining it.
And I cannot thank J.C enough for providing clues to finding perspective, and the ability to perceive the larger canvas on which – not only my religion – but all categories of Human thought that reflect his/her inner environment – are so exquisitely crafted.
I can understand Nandus angst at the movement to establish a Vedism based monoculture and I share his sentiment that its a revolting and a dangerous idea.
But then I look to Hinduism -as jameson put it the juxtaposing of the conflicting parts of the Whole.
For every Manu or a brahmin zealot a detractor is born in India to oppose him.
Infact there are studies that indicate that Manusmrithi is a product of the anxiety of the priestly class which was facing existential threat from reformist forces.
That is what Krishna means when he declares that he will take form on earth to correct the inequilibrium.
Regarding Caste- it is a European term for the social structure that existed in India made up of different social and community groups called Jati .
But according to a famous Historian Romila Thapar the Jati system existed even before religion incorporated and reorganised it into a horizontally stratified social structure.
So the term Caste which referred to Ex Jew converts to Christianity who were identified so that the privileges accorded to Gentiles did not extend to them is inadequate to describe the Indian social architecture.
Even if the Religion faded away – the empty shell that it had inhabited, will be replaced by political ambitions that will give impetus to new found social mobility to a shackled humanity.
A realist can easily understand that the Jati form the backbone of the Indian society and it may get restructured and eroded but never give way.
Those who would never fit in where either néecha (outcasts) or Nishedhis (those who rejected the system). Mahavira the aghoras the ShaivaTantriks patanjalis Sri Buddha the Charvakas the Samkhya where all Nishedhis.
The moral of the story is what Lee Yuan Kew the father of Singapore puts so succintly-
To oppose is the Indian way – it is in their blood.
I love the way Hinduism embraces conflict as a necessary element in its narrative. It is reflected in our Swastika.
So to paint the entire Hindu civilization in one colour as a repressive system that trapped millions hapless souls may be true only up to a point.
That is another Monolith that we need to take down.Wake up neo!
Thank you Mr Norland for this refreshing new perspective on the question of living vs fossil myths.
Yes, some of the harshest aspects of a living myth are on display in many ancient societies.
It is the living myths that we breathe and and finally dissolve into that has helped Indian civilisation to remain the only surviving Pre Bronze Age Pagan culture in the world.Rather than trying to identify the archetypes invested in a myth, I think we should explore the rise and evolution of the Story and as to why people chose to believe ideological premise and social codes that are sustained by the story.
I read that someone was uncomfortable about the idea of diminished individuality when dominated by a collective imperative.
You have to understand that the individual is still a newfangled notion in Asia. The Compelling need for any individual in those days was to lose himself – alive or dead – to the collective identity. In this case the castes – that eventually make up a Macro Individual -Manu.
Quote “I want to broaden our view of the psyche as an encompassing reality well beyond the confines of an individual consciousness.“
This is exactly what Western civilization struggles with – and pursues as an afterthought.
Rather, the journey should be traced from the collective to the individual. I had read a Manusmriti translation almost 40 years ago. And in the preface the scholar who I believe was British, confesses that there is a theatre in the fringes of conscious reality, that will elude even the most diligent of students.
It is the story – and it has to connect to and knit together a fraying society at an instinctual realm, A fraying society eaten away by detractors of Brahminism, many of whom, were born into it like Buddha and Mahavira. As well as the Nishedhis the people who rejected all forms of political and ideological architecture that underpinned the society.So it is the story that is paramount
A living myth will transplant the story to any social or geographic environment and strike root into the psyche of a people drawing nourishment as well as giving shade them and their parochial archetypes.
Ramayana ,one of the oldest epic in the world composed by a Shudra (Wayside robber) turned Sage is a great example.
I would really hesitate to Anchor it to Now
If we place a Story in a timeframe it will lose its Eternal nature and therefore meaningfulness . It will remain a Picture, framed and nailed to a wall.
But I concede that such an exercise is necessary for research and didactic purposes. For eg the Caste system and untouchability existed among those who themselves were considered outcasts. These were the first people – the forest and hill tribals of India.
Another feature that indicates an organic evolution of Caste system was that genetic studies indicate that South Asians had a high level of miscegenation at around 4millenium BC and then in a millenium or ao very little gentic variation. Just giving a context to our story.
Wake up neo!
Sorry for the weird format. Still learnin how to do this on mobile phone.
Yes the doors are open on designated intervals usually after the deity is all decked up and between meals and a siesta. This is accompanied by temple rituals like pooja or worship that the public can witness.
At a distance. Its a very powerful experience the sights the sounds the fragrance and the audible yearning of the faithful to get as close in prqyers as well as physically.
Moving on to another Religiouss tradition .
Is the Abrhams religion and how he built the house of God in Mecca
The Kaaba.
This will be of immense interest tonthe architect or anyone exploring the geometric mysteries.
That Kaaba literally means Cube in Arabic.
And the ancient obssession of circlinbthe square is ritually enacted dduring Hajj. When the faithful circumambulate the Cube.
Wake up neo!
The mythic element of ancient monuments were their connection to the Story.
An arena for ritual representation of the myth,
and an abode, a sacred space – to invoke the Mythic beings.
the Mayan temples ,the Pyramids, the Ziggurat, the Konark ,the Jagannath Angkor Wat…. All represented the threshold of material existence and a stepping stone to what happens after.
A kind of launchpad of transcendence.
And what we see now for eg. the Eiffel tower are showcases of Mans hubris. Our edifices now tell the story of a precocious kid raucously declaring his insusceptibility to the flow of time. Man has become the God and his worshippers. And he wants everything to submit to his will.
From the Indian perspective: The conflict of forces turning the Cosmic engine The symbols of creation -sustenance- and destruction , and the depiction of the Garbha griha ( the sacrosanctum literally the Womb house) concept in Hindu temples is worth exploring.
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Wake up neo!
