Week 11 Storytelling: Who Destroyed the World?

As the great Narayan was observing the world beneath him, it began to crumble! Buildings fell, volcanoes erupted, earthquakes swallowed the people whole, and oceans covered up the land. Narayan could do nothing, but watch as the earth turned black. He then stormed off in an angry rage to find Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.

NARAYAN: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, I know you are the only ones capable of such a feat, and I will not rest until I find out which one of you destroyed the world without my slumber.

BRAHMA: It wasn't any of us Narayan!

VISHNU: We have been together this whole time.

SHIVA: It's true!

NARAYAN: Then what is it that you were doing?

The three Gods stood there in silence, without a response, as they looked at each other awkwardly waiting for someone to talk.

NARAYAN: I'm sure whatever it was that you were doing, could not have been worse than destroying the world!

BRAHMA: Where's my lawyer!?

VISHNU: We don't have any lawyers.. We're Gods.

NARAYAN: If one of you doesn't start talking in the next thirty seconds. I will drown you in my sea of milk.

SHIVA: Please no! I'll talk, but you have to promise me that you will not tell Rama.

NARAYAN: What does this have to do with Rama? Don't you dare try to blame it on him.

SHIVA: Well...uhh...umm...

NARAYAN: SPIT IT OUT!!

SHIVA: Brahma, Vishnu, and I can't take our eyes off of Sita! We know that she and Rama still secretly love each other after what happened, but we can't help it! She's just so pretty.

NARAYAN: Is that seriously all you three nitwits were doing? The what the heck happened to the world? I know that I haven't slept for thousands of years, but I wasn't the least bit tired when the world started to crumble.

BRAHMA: Well, did you notice anything unusual right before all of the destruction started happening?

NARAYAN: Now that you mention it, I did notice that something was a little off. I did notice that no one has been born in the last 30 days.

BRAHMA: Thirty days! That's impossible because I...wait...Shiva, how long how we been staring at Sita?

SHIVA: I don't know, maybe for the past month or so. Why?

BRAHMA: So Narayan, did you happen to notice any deaths?

NARAYAN: Now that you mention it, I haven't seen anyone die either!

SHIVA: Uh oh...

VISHNU: You idiots! Legend has it that if the earth is not balanced between life and death then it cannot sustain itself. It must renew and refresh the life that is on the earth in order to continue functioning properly. And since Brahma and Shiva, the Creator and the Destroyer, have done nothing, but stare at Sita, the world became unbalanced!

NARAYAN: But Vishnu, you are supposed to be the Sustainer! Who could you let this happen!

VISHNU: I guess I should take part of the blame too...

SHIVA: Vacation time!

NARAYAN: WHAT DO YOU MEAN "VACATION TIME"?! YOU HAVE TO FIX THIS!

SHIVA: Correction, Brahma has to fix this. He's the Creator. You won't need my services for a very long time.

And Shiva lived happily ever after.

Author's Note: This story is based on the ideas that when Narayan sleeps, the world is destroyed. It also uses the three Gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, as the creator, sustainer, and destroyer.

Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva (Image Info)

Week 11 Reading Diary: Ardhanari and Shiva's Secrets

• God can be visualized with and without form
• Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the sustainer, Shiva is the destroyer
• Male trinity is associated with verbs. Female trinity is associated with nouns
• Males make action and women are acted upon, according to Hinduism
• Men represent spiritual reality
• Women represent material reality
• There are 2 truths. Changing and unchanging. 
• Triangles are used to show stability and movement. Upside down is stability. Right side up is movement
• There are opposites to everything. That was said in many different ways
• Everything has a material and a spiritual half
• Ash is the symbol of destruction and permanence. It is the leftovers of destruction, but cannot be destroyed
• Shiva destroys by shutting his eyes. He is not an observer, so it doesn't exist
• Why is Shiva worshiped but not Brahma?
• Kali dances on Shiva as his opposite
• In society, there is good and bad, right and wrong. This means that society has judgement

Title: Ardhanari's Secret and Shiva's Secret 

Author: Epified

Year 2015

Shiva (image info)

Week 11 Reading Diary: Narayan's Secret

• The ocean of milk represents possibility
• When Narayan wakes, everything comes out of the milk, so when Narayan sleeps the world is still
• When Narayan sleeps, it is the end of the world because he is over the world
• Does the observer create the observation or does the observation create the observer?
• Narad provokes people and tries to create conflict and insecurity
• Death is considered a comma, not a period
• The soul is permanent and ever-present, but is without form
• A perfect truth is conveyed through imperfect forms
• Hiranakashipu is arrogant for thinking that he is a God for being immortal and was put in his place when he was killed by Narcima
• Intent and behavior can make anyone a demon
• Arjuna is expected to kill and start a war but refuses. Krishna speaks to Arjuna and explains the order of the world. Things die only to be born again.
• What is the purpose of life? Matter exists to draw attention to the soul. This means that we must live in society and do our part. We are part of society and there is no escape, unless one disciplines the mind and has no selfish desires
• God is all things, in all things, outside all things. Everything is God
• We are God, but just have not discovered it ourselves. We can once we strip ourselves of selfish behavior and thought

Title: Narayan's Secret

Author: Epified

Year: 2015

Narayan (Image Info)