Ramayana and the concept of Lust
Ramayana by R.K. Narayana is an epic tale of the protector god Vishnu in his human form as Rama. Ramayana is not just a story about Rama’s journey to abolish evil but it also deals with conquering the five fold evils and reaching a higher level of one’s own spirituality. Lust is one of the main fold evils and is a very common subject in the epic tale. In many instances and situations, Rama conquers it to save many lives including his own. First, Rama learns about the sin of lust, how people involved in the story should be judged and then he learns the art of conquering the fold evil.
On his journey with Viswamithra, he learns about the sin from two different stories. First, he learns about it from the story of god Shiva and then through Ahalaya’s story. God Shiva turned the god of love into ashes when he tried to interpret Shiva while he was meditating on a mountain. Through this instance, Rama learned that lust is considered as one of the biggest sins in Hindu religion practiced at the time. This concept is proven by Ahalaya’s story in which her husband, Gautama punishes her by turning her into a stone until Rama comes and releases her soul. She is punished because of Lord Indra who disguises himself in the form of Sage Gautama while he was away because he is mesmerized by her beauty and considers himself to be the only one worthy of her.
Ahalaya was punished for surrendering to Indra without confirming whether it was truly Gautama. Also, when she realized that Indra was not Gautama, she didn’t take any action against him. Gautama also curses Indra who tries to run away by transforming into a cat; with an entire body covered with female parts. Later, he changed his punishment due to lord Brahma’s plead. This caused the female parts on his body to turn into eyes making Indra a “thousand-eyed, ” god. Learning about Ahalaya and Indra’s punishment, Rama understands that when one falls into the trap of lust, he or she has to face severe punishment and then has to perform various tasks to purify their body and soul. Rama releases Ahalaya’s soul and requests Gautama to take her back as his wife because Ahalaya has now fully justified her charge.
Rama faced his own battle of lust when Ravana’s sister Soorpanaka disguises herself as a beautiful woman and tried to seduce Rama.
Fairies, mortals, magic, love, and hate all intertwine to make A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare a very enchanting tale, that takes the reader on a truly dream-like adventure. The action takes place in Athens, Greece in ancient times, but has the atmosphere of a land of fantasy and illusion which could be anywhere. The mischievousness and the emotions exhibited by characters in the play, along with their attempts to double-cross destiny, not only make the tale entertaining, but also help solidify one of the play’s major themes; that true love and it’s cleverly disguised counterparts can drive beings to do seemingly irrational things.
Some of the most prominent themes in A Midsummer Night’s Dream are the omnipresence of love and desire and the tendencies of characters to manifest their defining traits. Helena and Hermia are two perfect examples of this. Hermia is the lover, and Helena the desirer, and both thrive off of their obsessions. In fact, both women are so tied to these traits that when they are taken away, their characters deflate and fall static.
“Ramayana.” The Language of Literature Ed. Arthur N. Applebee, et al. Boston: McDougal Littell, 1983. 130-140. Print.
...rwhelmed by her emotions, Queen Amata cannot fully comprehend the situation she is in and acts based on her emotions. This is the true price of being caught up in passion.
Love is often misconstrued as an overwhelming force that characters have very little control over, but only because it is often mistaken for the sum of infatuation and greed. Love and greed tread a blurred line, with grey areas such as lust. In simplest terms, love is selfless and greed is selfish. From the agglomeration of mythological tales, people deduce that love overpowers characters, even that it drives them mad. However, they would be wrong as they would not have analyzed the instances in depth to discern whether or not the said instance revolves around true love. Alone, true love help characters to act with sound reasoning and logic, as shown by the tales of Zeus with his lovers Io and Europa in Edith Hamilton’s Mythology.
The ideological stand point here is good vs. evil. Rama and his allies are the good battling against evil. Rama had allies who understood his cause and went in to fight with him to the end. Since Rama was a hum...
Overview: Mahabharata." Epics for Students. Ed. Sara Constantakis. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2011. Literature Resource Center. Web. 7 Apr. 2014.
The Ramayana is the most famous and well-known of all Indian epics, originally based on an epic poem it has taken many variations and forms over the centuries. Traditionally the story centers on the hero Prince Rama, who is the embodiment of virtue and perseverance, as he is wrongfully denied his birthright of being crowned king and instead is unjustly exiled into the forest where he encounters his fair share of dilemma. In R. K. Narayan’s condensed, modern version of The Ramayana the classic conflict of duality is a predominant theme, as Rama faces many instances of uncertainty and trivial chaos which are eventually balanced by order and goodness under the laws of karmic causation and dharma alike which he virtuously strives to uphold. Nina
"They turn casually to look at you, distracted, and get a mild distracted surprise, you're gone. Their blank look tells you that the girl they were fucking is not there anymore. You seem to have disappeared.(pg.263)" In Minot's story Lust you are play by play given the sequential events of a fifteen year old girls sex life. As portrayed by her thoughts after sex in this passage the girl is overly casual about the act of sex and years ahead of her time in her awareness of her actions. Minot's unique way of revealing to the reader the wild excursions done by this young promiscuous adolescent proves that she devalues the sacred act of sex. Furthermore, the manner in which the author illustrates to the reader these acts symbolizes the likeness of a list. Whether it's a list of things to do on the weekend or perhaps items of groceries which need to be picked up, her lust for each one of the boys in the story is about as well thought out and meaningful as each item which has carelessly and spontaneously been thrown on to a sheet of paper as is done in making a list. This symbolistic writing style is used to show how meaningless these relationships were but the deeper meaning of why she acted the way she did is revealed throughout the story. Minot cleverly displayed these catalysts in between the listings of her relationships.
Siddhartha Gautama was born with auspicious marks on his body, which was a sign that he would conquer the world. As result of these markings, his father believed Siddhartha would be drawn to the spiritual world if given the opportunity to witness suffering within the world, so his father made sure Siddhartha did not have any contact with the outside world. His father provided him with a luxury life and indulged comforts. He was married to a princess and then had a son named, Rahula. Despite his fathers attempts, Siddhartha grew restless and traveled outside the palace with his charioteer. He saw four things that could influence his life, which are called the "Four Sights". He realized he wanted to find the truth about suffering and so he left behind the palace, his family, and the luxury life he had to find the truth. He removed his jeweled clothing and cut his hair, removing any traces of his old life.
Gilgamesh is an epic of great love, followed by lingering grief that causes a significant change in character. It is the story of a person who is feared and honored, a person who loves and hates, a person who wins and loses and a person who lives life. Gilgamesh's journey is larger than life, yet ends so commonly with death. Through Gilgamesh, the fate of mankind is revealed, and the inevitable factor of change is expressed.
On his journey throughout, Siddhartha spotted a very old and sickly man. This made the prince contemplate life and unavoidable old age very much. On his second journey to the city, he saw a man wailing in pain and on the verge of death. This made Siddhartha think a lot about how sickness can happen at any time to anyone. On his third journey, he saw a few people carrying a dead body to be properly burned. This caused Siddhartha much sorrow and thoughts of the fact that every living thing is subject to death at some point in time. The final instance was when Siddhartha spotted a monk and got to see the simple yet helpful life he lived. This made the prince want nothing more than to become a monk as well. Soon after this last incident, Siddhartha 's son, Rahula, was
The film “Sita Sings the Blues” and “Ramayana the Epic” are two versions of the Ramayana but were portrayed in different ways. “Sita Sings the Blues” was presented by Nina Paley based on Valmiki 's version of the Ramayana and she showed the side that many people don 't know and fail to accept about the Ramayana, Sitas side of the story. She doesn 't portray Rama to be the ideal husband although he goes through the trouble of saving Sita. In the film “Sita Sings the Blues” Nina Paley did not show Lakshmana throughout the whole journey of Rama leaving Ayodhya and trying to finding Sita. Also, Rama himself ends up killing Ravana which was different in the film “Ramayana the Epic.” In the film “Ramayana the Epic,” Rama was portrayed as the ideal
... me. She was a girl, she knew the full story, but she was not Esha, Priyanka, or Radhika. Which meant there was only one alternative left. ‘So…that means... Oh my’ my whole body shook as I found it difficult to balance. I fell down on my knees. Her face shone, and bright sunlight entered our compartment in one stroke. I looked up at her as she smiled. She had an open book next to her. It was the English translation of a holy text. My eyes focused on a few lines on the page that lay open: Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are my very dear friend.”(Page 275 and 276). Chetan ends the book by saying that the person who told the story to him was GOD.