Myth and Reality

Part-I

The two words Myth and Reality seem to convey  opposite meanings but actually it is not so. Truly speaking myth is the cloud hovering over the reality whose facts are shrouded in mystery. The great religious books like the Bible, Ramayana and Mahabhaarat are examples of mythology which are stories woven round particular myths passed from one generation to the other. Pre-historic times did not allow the people to keep ample records of history and the waves of time had swept away the solid evidences and monuments which could have proved the myths as historical truths. Besides, it is a human nature that we paint a particular person or event who m we adore due to a particular reason into a Godlike figure having super natural qualities. So, myths have to be sorted out from the historical truths through the understanding of the period, the situations and the symbolic meaning inherent in it. Let us take the example of the Saagar Manthan, the churning of the seas  as it is described in our Puraanas which are full of mythological stories but have immense factual substances if we could sort out the myth from the reality by scientific analysis. Actually, Saagar Manthan is the episode symbolizing the process of assimilation between the aboriginal Asura race of India and the Devas who were supposedly of  Aryan race. India is a land bounded from  three sides by seas and oceans. So, Saagar Manthan has a material substance as well. The sea has always been the object of human exploration and research which has led to the prosperity of our human race. According to our Puraanas the Asuras and the Devas with the help of Vaasuki the serpentine god had churned the sea and out of the churning they got approximately 14 ratnas or precious gems. These ratnas include Amrita, the nectar of life, Halaahal the poison, Lakshmi the goddess of wealth and so on. If we try to bring out the apparent meaning of these things then it would seem that this is a mere myth and it has no semblance of truth. In everyday parlance we  use the word myth as something which has no material basis. But it we delve deep into the esoteric meaning of these symbols then we find that these symbols carry deeper meaning which shed light on the quest of human race in the journey towards endless path of progress. Let us take Amrita and Halaahal for example. Human race from its very primitive times has been trying hard to solve the riddle of lilfe. In trying to solve the mystery of death and disease he has explored  to find herbs and other methods by which he could heal and increase the longevity of life. Actually this was the Amrita, the nectar or elixir of life. The other one is Halaahal or poison, which seem to be the symbol of death and destruction which has baffled human race from time immemorial. The poison is no longer poison if we use it in proper dose and in a proper way. It works as medicine which is a known fact of everyday science. So, it is high time that we the so called people of reasoning begin to see these myths as not something unsubstantial but which carries truth behind it which may shed much light on our past history and culture. 




Part-II

The term Tantra has a myth surrounding it and hence my sincere intention is to clear some of the myths from the reality of history. Normally, Tantra is understood as an occult science in the west as well as in the eastern countries. But actually apart from occult science Tantra is a religion and a philosophy of life. In the spiritual literature we find the mention of Shiva and Shakti Tantra. Lord Shiva according to the Hindu scriptures,  is not only the supreme God but also the founder of Tantra. Actually, Shiva is not a single personality as I perceive,  but he is a continuity of a process of saadhna undergone through several ages. So we can say that Shiva is beyond time and space. He is all the pervading power encompassing  several branches of spiritual persuits. One name of Shiva is Bhootnaath, i.e. the God of spirits. Shiva is the founder of occult science but he is not limited to this form only. He is continuously exploring the latent potentialities in the human life. Besides, he is the first among the ascetics who accepted marriage as a basic component of social life. Rather marriage is according to him not merely limited to the social life but also to spiritual persuits. Marriage according to the Shaivism is the combination of Shiva and Shakti which corresponds to yin and yang of the Buddhist path. It is a paradox of history that Buddhism developed the philosophy of Tantra but was also very much misused by the later charlatans.  Although Gautam Buddha was not interested in Tantra but his followers delved into it to bring spirituality closer to human society. As far as  I have perceived through my dilly dallying with Tantra out of situation that Tantra is the approach to the question of life and its various facets including the relationship of man and woman. Sex of course is instrumental in this relationship but it is not limited to it but it acts as a bridge to cross the quagmire of worldly attachments called Maayaa. This is the pitfall in which many of the would be sadhakas fell in course of their spiritual sojourn and in this way they gave bad name to this simple and natural science of spirituality. Let us take for example the love of Radha and Krishna who were symbols of love and dedication. The relation of Radha and Krishna did not materialize into marriage but remained a pure relationship of love beyond doubt. Rukmini was the eldest among the queens of Lord Krishna  but she is not mentioned with Krishna as Radha is. I think Krishna developed the concept of Tantra into a socially acceptable philosophy whose central message is love and kindness to fellow beings. Krishna is not merely body when he is dancing with the gopikas and the gopas in vrindaavan but he is spirit enveloping the whole nature. No wonder that the dancers of India accept Shiva and Krishna as their ideals. While dancing the feeling of discrimination is vanished. There is only one thing i.e. divine existence which is all pervading. Now, if we try to explain sex from Tantra point of view it is an effort of the spirit to reach the divine through the body but as it is not conscious of its motive, it moves from one object to another in persuit of happiness. As the body does not know where happiness really lies. Real happiness is beyond time and space and it is not limited to sensuous pleasure alone.  A thing of beauty is a joy forever. These words are the basic kernel of Tantra philosophy. Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram is another tenet of this philosophy. That which is Truth is in reality Shiva and that is the real beauty. Real beauty does not fade with time and age but it grows continuously. To me this Tantra and its philosophy. 




Part-III

                                                               Devaasur Sangram

In the Hindu mythological stories of the Puranas Devaasur Sangram is the oldest stories which sheds some light on the migration and subsequent assimilation between the Aryans and the non-Aryan races during the Rig Vedic period. The Devas were the Aryans and the Asuras were the non-Aryans who lived prior to the arrival of the Aryans. Although there are several proponents of the view that the Aryans belonged to the original races of India but scientific historicity holds that no community can claim absolute originality in terms of settlement in a particular region or county. The Puranas through their legends tell us that the Asuras were of enormous size and strength and the Devas had to struggle a lot to win over them.  Besides the Asuras there were Danavas, Daityas, Kinnars and Gandharvas as well as Rakshasas who were spread in the various parts of the country called Jambu Dwipa. Now, geography tell us that the Indian sub continent was a big island which continuously inched  towards Asia and it finally joined the mainland Asia. So, it may be that Jambu Dwipa got its name from its far distant formation. After the Aryans established their political and cultural supremacy over the non-Aryans they gave the name Aryyavart to our country. If we analyze the struggle of the Devas and Asuras we find the scientific basis. We find mention about the frequent battles  between these two races for the heaven. Now, the heaven which has been referred in the Puranas is not the heaven of the spiritual world. This heaven was in my view Kashmir which is still called heaven. A Persian poet of the medieval age has described Jammu and Kashmir in a couplet which says that if any heaven exists in this world that is certainly this,  that is Kashmir. The natural beauty, the indigenous people’s racial looks all corroborates this impression till this date. Besides. the geographical location of this region is of immense military value. Hence this region has been the bone of contention from time immemorial. So, it is more likely that even in the ancient times the Aryans and the Asuras fought for this region. Interestingly, the Devas in the Puranas were known to be luxurious kind with passion for beauty and culture which had probably made them time to time careless which was used advantageously by the Asuras and the Danavas to usurp their power. It is a  recent discovery that the descendants of  the Rakshasa King Ravan till  today live in some parts of Rajasthan. It has been found that they do not worship Lord Ram who had destroyed the army of Ravan to get his queen Sita released from his captivity. In the same way in some parts of the district of Jalpaiguri in the Dooars region people belonging to the Asuras reside even today. They even use Asur as the surname. They do not worship the Goddess Durga who is believed to have defeated and killed the Asura King Mahisasura. Although the young generation out of the sway of the festival of Durga Puja are participating but the conservatives are still adamant about it. It is high time that the Indian History Congress the autonomous body to promote research in the historical events should come forward to put the ancient mythology to the acid test of scientific verification so that a lot of new truth could come out of the oblivion.