Astronomers and Astrophysicists vs. Historians and Archaeologists

The origin of the universe can be explained by modern astronomers and astrophysicists. While the origination of humankind, on the other hand, can be explained by historians and archaeologists. Before science was used to explain the way of the world, however, mythology was the approach to explain the obscure beginnings of the world. Mythology, as defined by the dictionary, is myths dealing with gods, demigods, divine beings and legendary heros of a particular people, eclectic tales that have been passed down over generations. Frequently people misunderstand what myth means. Simply they envisage myth as fictional, or something that did not occur, a tale of another world, a bedtime story. The idea of a myth is to explain the unexplainable. It is not a literal recounting of historical events, but a suggestion that behind the explanation there is a reality that cannot be seen and examined. Both spiritually and religiously, myths are linked to the life and understandings of certain cultures, as a way to explain supernatural phenomena or things that do not have a simple explanation such as the beginnings of the universe, afterlife and everything in between. Not entirely true or false, these sacred stories are used symbolically, psychologically or spiritually. Functionally myths were created to lay a foundation in a way of explanation in the form of cosmological and mystical myths; explaining supernatural phenomena-explaining the unexplainable, as well as an explanation the way a human should behave in society and the way society should act as a whole, taking the form of sociological and pedagogical myths, -all chronicled through Hindu fables, epics and the recountings of gods, avatars and mythical creatures.

Despite having many definiti...

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...nd spraying it upon the surface of the earth as a gift of rain for human needs.(Rose). In current Hindu beliefs, the white elephant is a sacred and respected animal. “ The white elephants mystique has its beginnings in animistic beliefs that were subsequently adopted and adapted by proponents of new religions…white elephants were associated with rain clouds and were a symbol of life and prosperity” (Sochazewski). As the elephants were adopted in to Hindu mythology, the Airavata became “the steed of Indra…god of the heavens (Sochazewski).

Another mystical elephant, and widely worshiped god of the Hindu people, is Ganesh, the half human half elephant deity. Creation of the mystical stories in any religion teaches that, ”there are many paths to salvation and that each of us should choose the path that best suits our temperament”, hence the creation of the many gods.