Ryeli's Blog

7 Secrets of the Goddess: Gauri's Secret  by Devdutt Patanaik This should be my last reading notes post of the semester, which is exciting for me! On this section, we get to meet a new goddess and learn more history. Kali was wild and free. Gaia was almost completely opposite. They both made men anxious! I think the theming of the book/video is unique for this topic. It truly never ceases to surprise me when all of the cultures link back to one or similarities are found between them all.  I found it amusing how both negative and positive thoughts are ascribed to demons and gods. The concepts of asuras and devas are also interesting. Though these associations are incorrect, I can see how they have been associated with one or the other. I also find it interesting because the gods never were "pure" or entirely "good" so it is funny to me. Our concept of a god is one that is aligned with devas, which makes sense in all religions. The goddess being nature t

I'm so beyond glad to be almost finished with the semester! Looking back, I'm proud of all the progress that I've made in this class and all of my others! It's looking like I'm coming out with pretty good grades, though I don't want to jinx it by saying it, but it's a nice feeling. For this class specifically, I've enjoyed getting to write weekly and get back into doing so on a regular basis. I like to write, so I think it's useful to write often. Even if I didn't like to write, I think it's useful. I've enjoyed being able to connect with other students during the course of the semester. I frequently would miss doing project feedback because I'm awful, but I would read some of the stories. Why I didn't just comment anyway, the world may never know. It's been helpful in my development with this course. It's helped me loosen up and have more fun, which I think is the most important thing. Life is too serious sometimes, it&

7 Secrets of the Goddess: Kali's Secret  by Devdutt Patanaik I'm interested to see what chapter two holds! The introduction of the picture to Kali is how I know her. I see her standing over Shiva, with a sickle in hand. I wasn't brought up knowing much about hinduism, but my parents tried to keep me well rounded, so I did end up learning some about Kali. Everything that I hear about her is very neat and the stories included in the video reflect that idea as well. It's cool how these videos, well, I guess this book talks about history. It's spoken about in many different ways that can link back to the singular goddess that is the focus and ideas that come from her. She-of-the-long-tongue was cool. Her being the Kali prototype makes sense when hearing it. India has a unique way of discussing sex and body, I find it very creative and different from any other culture. I think all of these interpretations of Kali are so different from Gaia. "Everybody and ever

A New Theory of Human Intelligence by Scott Barry Kaufman This was such an interesting video to watch! I've never really liked standardized or IQ tests, so this take is especially nice to hear. I find that people are worth more than a test score and are more valuable than just a number. Some people test poorly and are going to test poorly no matter what. Does this make them less intelligent? Absolutely not. I don't think measuring intelligence in the form of tests is a great idea. I agree that it should take into account the child's goals and passions. That leads them to have better engagement and will connect better to the material they're learning. Copyright is Brain Damage  by Nina Paley It's really cool to hear how she went about creating "Sita Sings the Blues" because I watched it for reading notes one week. I remember being amazed that she had created such a beautiful movie and that it was also free to watch! Seeing this video, I can understan

7 Secrets of the Goddess: Gaia's Secret 3-4  by Devdutt Pattanaik The inclusion of a Japanese myth is fun to me because I've studied quite a bit of a them. Women and subserviency is so commonly heard of, it's crazy that it can be traced back to a kind of myth. We know that those were created to almost show how people are supposed to behave and such, so it's kind of sad to me that it's so well-known, though not surprising. The myth of Amaterasu and Susanoo is also quite interesting/really sad when you look at it in depth. The examples in Indian epics, mostly with Draupadi being disrobed is what stuck out the most to me. I felt so bad for her. The video said it best. They stopped being people and became a symbol for male honor. It was bad enough that she was humiliated, but she is just even further objectified in the form of a prize. I just think it's sad and disappointing. There are so many women characters, but they just don't get to see many shining mom

Gaia's Secret 1-2  by Devdutt Pattanaik Wow, immediately the first few lines are so strong. Women are often brushed to the side both in fiction and in legends. Deities were especially disregarded, as mentioned in the video, if they were female, despite being met with initial love and adoration. I find it interesting how this series mentions legends of other gods and goddesses from different locations outside of India. It really drives home the title of the chapter "Male Anxiety is Outdated." I like the addition of history in the story. It's lengthy, but useful and in depth. It's helpful to get a good image of the topic in a worldwide sense. They mention swayamvaras and I found that interesting. The man had no choice but to accept the woman and it was done so she could get the best husband. I found the mention of Aphrodite and Adonis neat. Again, I like the mention of other gods and goddesses. It makes the topic more universal. It really is... something... how

I’m still really enjoying reading other people’s writing! I don’t remember the exact person, but I read one today that was written just so well. The descriptions were so nice and everything was really thoughtfully done. I always feel like the best source for inspiration in writing is reading! It always makes me want to do better with my own work when I get to read good stories. I think what made their story so successful was the detail that they put into their descriptions. I could tell that they had put a lot of care into that particular piece. It was a joy to read. I did a few revisions on my project for this last week. The original really didn’t explain things as well as I had liked, so I fixed it up a little bit. I always really enjoy being descriptive with my writing, but sometimes it’s difficult telling a large story with a word maximum. I’d like to find a happy medium in the future. I think that I’m done with reading Mahabharata related materials for th

Source:  The Five Brothers: The Story of the Mahabharata  by Elizabeth Seeger I like being able to read multiple versions of the same story. I find that the way each author approaches the storytelling is always so different than the other, so I chose to do one more Mahabharata reading for extra credit this week. I like the way this one is written. The use of language is quite nice and makes it easier for me to imagine what all is happening. Though I am familiar with all of the characters, I do still get confused with a large cast, but the language used here makes it easy to follow! I really enjoyed the beginning of book II, the tournament. I liked the descriptions of all of the weaponry used and the boys themselves. Arjuna, son of Indra, wore golden mail. I can imagine he looked dazzling and gleaming. It's just a nice picture to have. The tournament was described in great deal too. I felt like I was a spectator watching as well. I think a tournament is great way to show off all

Epified's Mahabharata Episodes 45-52 This is the last set of the video series! It's sad, but I have enjoyed seeing the beautiful art they have shared with the world! I literally cannot believe it took the Pandavas that long to intervene for Draupadi. In an ideal world, they would have just decked the person humiliating Draupadi in the face and it would have been over, but this is an epic. it has to be dramatic. Literally, just stand up for your girl! Fight for her! I will not understand how they just let her be disrobed in front of all those people and disgraced like that. I mean, I guess her prayer to Krishna worked and it all turns out okay, but that sucks so bad for Draupadi. Then they're immediately exiled, like, none of them can get a break. How do the Kauravas have supporters at this point like... what? I wanted to throw in a quick sentence, but I cannot believe that they lost everything gambling. That's wild. Arjuna receiving the weapon from Shiva was

Epified's Mahabharata Episodes 36-44 I wish that Draupadi had liked Subhadra immediately. I get her reasoning. She was probably jealous, but she's forgetting that all women are queens! I liked the way the episode talked about Subhadra's simplicity. I think it would be nice to rewrite this conversation. I think they're nice characters and I just like writing stories where women are friends and talk to each other. I like reading it too! It was a nice little moment to see.  I like when weddings are described. I think it's nice that they're building a family. Sometimes things are not all terrible. The concept of Abhimanyu maintaining all of the knowledge in the womb is so funny to me somehow. I get that it's because it's his beginning of being a grreat warrior, but it's really so amusing to picture this baby retaining information like that. Baby genius 2.0.  The fact that Bhim can just rip a man in half with his bare hands? King. I think that&

I really enjoy reading Jataka Tales for extra reading. I've already read about the Ramayana and Mahabharata, so this way I get new stories each time! I think next week I might look more into Gods and Goddesses, but I wanted to do one more week of this. I really do like these a bunch. I think that there's a lot to say about how each other tells these tradition stories and how they are passed down from generation to generation. We have fables like "The Little Red Hen" and India has these! I think it's so neat how storytelling with a moral is such a universal concept in every part of the world. The Guilty Dogs  from Twenty Jataka Tales by Noor Inayat This one stuck one to me for a dog could never be guilty! Except these rich ones I guess. I'm glad it worked out in the end. It's nice that at least someone was levelheaded in pointing out the injustice in slaughtering every dog in the city for one dog's misdoing. In fact, it was the king's own dogs wh

I wanted to take a moment to do a brief moment of research for my project! For my next story, I'm looking at Sita's swayamvar. I know how the story goes, but I want o make sure that I'm using the terms correctly! I don't know a lot of background information for a regular swayamvar, so I'd like to start there. Wikipedia describes a swayamvar as a wedding ceremony that led to the bride choosing her groom from a list of potential suitors. This sounds like the set up for a fun dating show to me! Swayam in sanskrit translates to self. and var or vara means groom. The lady gets to decide the terms here and then it is told to neighboring kingdoms! The potential suitors then come flocking, hoping to meet her standards by completing the task that she and her family have chosen. The Ramayana uses this to help show how strong Rama is. Because none of the other suitors were able to string the bow and he was, it further emphasizes his power against the others. My sources fo

Epified's Mahabharata: Episodes 27-35 This is the third time the stringing of a powerful, divine bow has been a theme in an epic. This time it's with Arjuna, but it has also been seen with Rama and Krishna. I find that interesting for many reasons. As far as I know, a swayamvar is simply a way for a bride to select her groom. It's interesting how the bow is specifically so common. I wonder why that is. I don't remember the name of the bow specifically used here of is it was mentioned. I still feel bad for Draupadi. I mean, in a previous lifetime she prayed for a husband with all five virtues and life couldn't really give her that? Life gave her five husbands instead. That's kind of strange, but okay! Her brother was wild for telling on her like that though. All these characters want is war, at least that's how I saw them and continue to see them. I get that many of their motivations are completely different, but at the end of the day, their disagreements

Source: Epified's Mahabharata 18-26 It's been a minute since seeing any material related to the Mahabharata, so I chose to go back to it for the week! I liked the video option because I'm going to be pretty busy this week and watching a video is a little bit easier for me to do quickly. I'm glad to see more Epified videos are on the list of reading note options! I still think it sucks that Karna gets cursed for trying to not slightly inconvenience someone. Like, that interaction was absolutely brutal and we all know his skills do end up failing him when he needs them most, illustrating the principle of karma, but still it seems harsh to curse a teen boy out like that. Poor guy. I think it would also be interesting to talk more in depth about Karna's armor. I know I've mentioned liking the description of it before, but I think it would be different. I never really do character studies, I do storylines, it might be nice to try something new, but I'm not

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