Week 15 -Review: ALL DONE!!

For this Back up and Review I made sure that once this blog is posted I'll have 410 points so that I can have an A. Also I love the following graphic.

Dante's Circles of Hell
ouclassannouncements.blogspot.com

 I read Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paridiso for another class this year and absolutely loved all three. So when I saw this graphic in the announcements it really stood out to me!

 I have thoroughly enjoyed this class and I am glad that I was able to get the points I needed!

Week 15 - Tech Tip - Google Timer

I had never tried to set a timer on google before. I don't know if anyone else had any problems getting it to work but it worked perfectly for me. I think it could be super useful for setting study break timer for me. I have a tendency to ignore my phone whenever I have my computer open which means phone timers don't work great for me. I think this might work a little bit better!

Week 15 - Reading Notes - Francis and Thomas Jataka Tales Part C

The Great Dreams

 - There is an interesting parallel between this story of a powerful man having dreams that need to be interpreted and the biblical story of Pharaoh and Joseph. I always wonder when I reading these stories how much knowledge the authors had of biblical literature. 

 - Also 16 dreams is just excessive. Definetely could have done with fewer dreams.

The Valiant Dwarf

 - I love that Bhudda is not incarnated as a perfect version of whatever creature (human, animal, otherwise) he currently resides as. It is an interesting reflection on both the culture and the author that the story features Bhudda as a dwarf and that it is remarked that Bhudda knew he would be discriminated against because of that. 

The Stolen Jewels

 - I think it is interesting that Bhudda immediately realizes that it was a monkey that stole the jewels. After figuring out that the five men had nothing to do with it I would have immediately thought that the female slave had just stolen it and blamed someone else. 

The Too-Clever Merchant

 - This story is one the weirdest ones that I have read so far. I thought it was strange that Wise was fitting for Bhudda but Wisest was not for the other merchant. It would seem that these people should have been more careful naming their kids. 

The Three Fishes

Three Fishes
wikimedia.org

 - I continue to be very confused by the naming choices. If a fish is very thoughtful it would logical mean that it should not be one of the lazy fishes. 

The Hypocritical Jackal

 - I had read this story towards the beginning of the semester in one of the earlier readings I think. I still really like it but I think I like the other version better. 

The Grateful Mouse

 - I think that it is interesting that the women loved gold so much that she was reborn as a mouse and as a mouse she grew to love someone more than money and wanted to share with him. 

Bibliography

H.T. Francis and E.J. Thomas, Jataka Tales, Part C

Week 14 - Extra Reading Notes - Francis and Thomas Jataka Tales Part B

Pigeon
commons.wikimedia.org

The Pigeon and the Crow
 - This one was really interesting and a little disturbing in how detailed the crow's punishment ended up being. I can see how these stories could be used as moral warning bells for young children. 

The Foolish Friend
 - This might have been the weirdest Jataka I have read so far, and it might also be the shortest. It seems like a really extreme narrative to convey the message to choose smart friends.

The Stupid Monkeys
 -Sidenote: I'm curious if there is any consistency or methodology to how many Jataka's there are. If each Jataka is part of one of Budha's reincarnations how many incarnations has he had? Is there any set number of lives he is suppossed to have lived or are the Jatakas just created at random and have been coalesced together.
 - I thought this story was very interesting because I think it paints a good picture of how information is ofter received and disseminated and the problems that a lack of clarity can cause.

Great King Goodness
 - This was a really weird story because at first the morality that it preaches seems to be in contrast with the morality of the epics that I read. It kept me on my toes as I wondered whether the king would ever strike back or if the story was setting him up to be a martyr.

The Brahmin's Spell
 - I really like all the little 4 line poems/proverbs in these Jataka's. I did not notice them in some of the other stories and since these are on average a little longer than the earlier Jataka's that I read it is nice to have some variation.

The Value of a Brother
I thought this was a really interesting spin on the suppossed words of Rama. I liked that they had the main character be a woman. Her logic was sound even though I think if I were the spouse or child I would be a little annoyed. 

Bibliography

H.T. Francis and E.J. Thomas, Jataka Tales, Part B

Week 14 Story - Diary #4

Vishnu and Lakshmi
wikipedia.org 

Dear Diary,

That's it. I'm officially losing my mind. I can't just "rest and recover" any longer. Honestly, I love Rati but she has been so overprotective in the few days that since my reascension. Just because I got a little overzealous and almost drove a couple insane by accidentally infusing them with too much passion...twice. 

How was I supposed to remember that I had already told Rati to bring them together yesterday??

Okay so maybe I am still readjusting to actually having the full strength of my powers back. But that doesn't mean that sitting here doing nothing is helping me at all. Rati suggested that I write about the greatest love story I knew of (besides our own of course) to relax myself. 

So here goes...

Despite all of Vishnu's mortal screw-ups, his godly form is a perfect match for his wife Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and prosperity. You see Lakshmi is the daughter of the sea asuras (gods) and was created out of the churning of the sea along with a lot of other powerful beings. From the second she was born the other gods (myself included) knew that she was special and immensely powerful.  

I could feel that all of the gods, especially Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu, liked Lakshmi. However, at first she did not seem to be drawn to any of them. A goddess this powerful could certainly increase the happiness and prosperity of whichever god she ended up with. However, since she controlled wealth and prosperity I also understood that if she did not marry another god that she truly loved then those same powers could darken and she could cause misery and loss.

I decided to declare right off the bat that for the universe to remain in balance Lakshmi must choose her own husband. While the big three (Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva) weren’t super pleased that I just declared something without their consent, they also knew that I was right. Also I’m not super pleased that they were offended that the GOD OF FREAKING LOVE DECLARED SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE WITHOUT THEIR EXPLICIT PERMISSION. Like I’m sorry I’m doing my job I guess???

Anyway, annoying leaders aside my plan was a great one. Lakshmi watched the gods, especially when she thought they weren’t looking to judge their character. As she did, I watched her. You see, sometimes people, and gods, deny their brains what their heart has decided. I could tell that Lakshmi respected Vishnu more than any of the other gods and loved that he protected people. Rati weighed in and confirmed that Lakshmi was deeply attracted to Vishnu as well. So, like with so many couple before them I bound Lakshmi and Vishnu’s souls together as one. I ensured that no matter what form their godly selves took their spirits would recognize their other half. And, at least while in their eternal forms, their love has never diminished or wavered. Lakshmi has brought Vishnu happiness, joy, and prosperity. In turn Vishnu preserved the marriage and protected Lakshmi with every fiber of his being.

So I did well.

And, now it’s time for me to continue to do more good. I will rest for a few more days, or until Rati thinks I am ready, and then continue to bring the right souls together and continue helping to maintain the balance of the universe.

Author's Note:

Since I had focused so much on Vishnu and Lakshmi's avatars I thought it would be nice to tell their original story while wrapping up Kamadeva's narrative as well. I found a couple of different sources that all seemed to agree that Lakshmi was formed out of the churning sea (almost like Aphrodite in the greek legends, which I thought was really interesting). Those same sources also all said that she chose Vishnu as her partner, which I thought was fascinating since none of the epics that I have read have a female character choosing her husband (that I can remember anyway). One of the sources I read said that she was originally linked to Indra and then chose Vishnu. I thought that might be a little confusing so I just had her choosing Vishnu for the beginning. Additionally, while I tried not to directly contradict any of the sources, none of them actually say how she and Vishnu actually fell in love, so I created my own narrative.  One source claimed that she was drawn to Vishnu's protective nature and that she respected that he served as the preserver and protector of humanity. I liked that logic so I tried to shape her attraction to him around it. 

Bibliography

Wikipedia, Vishnu

Wikipedia, Lakshmi

Devdutt Pattanaik, Seven Secrets of the Goddess

Week 14 - Reading Notes - Francis and Thomas Jataka Tales Part A

The Little Gildmaster:

I think this is one of the few stories where the former incarnation is human and not animal. I liked seeing the necessity of relationship building to complete the task, rather than just finding money somewhere to pay the workers. 

King Makhadeva's Grey Hairs:

I will never not be confused by how long certain types of characters lifespans are in both the epics and the tales. It seems like humans should have normal life spans and then other creatures should be immortal but everything just seems very inconsistent. I’m curious whether there is an actual system to how old these characters are supposed to be or if it is all just random. 

The Feast For The Dead

If sacrificing the goat was part of a religious ordeal, why was there a punishment associated with it? And shouldn't the punishment rest on the person who ordered that goats be used in sacrifice, rather than the person forced to make the sacrifice?

The Discontented Ox:

I thought this version of the Ox and Pig story was fun because the authors created a little bit more backstory with the upcoming wedding. I didn't realize it was the same Jataka I read before until I was halfway through it. This particular story continues to be one of my favorites. I may try to somehow incorporate it into my Kamadeva story this week. 

The Peacock's Wooing:

Peacock
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peacock_feathers_close.jpg

I get that the lesson of this one was "don't be a show off" but I still don't like that bird dad told his daughter she could marry whoever she wanted and then changed his mind.Bad form bird dad. Also I don't like that the original author's underlying message appears to be "dads pick a marriage for your daughter because she will choose wrong if you let her do it herself."

Bibliography

H.T. Francis and E.J. Thomas, Jataka Tales, Part A

Week 13 - Extra Credit - Learning Challenge

Lack of Sleep
https://imgur.com/gallery/dueSH

For this challenge I read the article "10 Proven Ways Teachers Can Improve Their Sleep". I thought this article was really good especially since I have a lot of trouble sleeping and maintaining a regular sleep schedule. I have noticed, especially in recent months that my body really needs me to start sleeping better. I knew that sleeping in pitch black was really good for you and that you shouldn't use a laptop for the 90 minutes before you sleep. However, I did not know that a decluttered room can help you sleep or that cold or hot feet could disrupt your sleep. I will definetely try to apply these tips to my own sleep schedule as the semester comes to a close.