Na-Ima-Sthae at Home

Cat in a Turkey Costume I'm all backed up and ready to spend thanksgiving with my family!!! I really enjoyed the video that was posted about the effects of gratitude. Within that video gratitude was defined as "The quality or condition of being thankful, or the appreciation of the inclination to return kindness." Even before thanksgiving began to approach, I realized that I am TERRIBLE at 1) Being thankful towards the Lord and all he has done for me (which is a lot) and 2) Telling others that I'm thankful for them outside of a time that makes sense. This has been something I've been trying to work on this semester as a way to be more aware of the blessings in my life. Thanksgiving shouldn't be the one time a year we appreciate what we have in front of us!! I hope everyone has a great thanksgiving break!

Yamuna and Balaram (start at 2:43) Matsya’s Secret: Secret mar of vishnu is on the head Save me from the big fish and I will save you- Big fish story Law of the fishes Vishnu takes form of a fish to interact with human kind and draw attention to jungle law  No rules in the jungle Only the fir survive  Humans judge uaniamls but they are driven by a need to survive Only humans can imagine a world where might is not right Men interfere with nature which has its roots In empathy We fear the fear of the little fish and do something to allay it.  Story of river goddess who is requested to go to the kings place so he doesn’t have to go to the river every time he wants to bathe. The goddess gets mad and the king has to be aggressive in order to force her to come back with him.  Two story ideas come to mind. First, I could tell a story as the beginning of creation with everyone living in a jungle style, and then an animal I can name Manu, discovers that

Fastforward to 1:20 to get to the good stuff This week I decided to change my note taking up a bit so that I could learn as much as possible when watching the video. So below I have provided my rough notes that I took while watching the video. Mohini is the female version of Vishnu  enchantress, temptress, but not a nymph  Known for being bale to seduce sages and demons  Gender is a vehicle to communicate metaphysical ideas.  Material: tangible that can be perceived through the senses  Typically representing using through female form  Spiritual: Intangible reality that cannot be perceived  Typically representing using through male form  Apsara enchants to distract humanity from spiritual reality Mohini enchants to draw humanity’s attention to spiritual reality within material reality Spiritual reality and material reality is best expressed through the interdependence of a man and woman. These two things are best explained as a couple  temple walls usually have im

 Kuvalaypida Hello, My name is Kuvalaypida. Many of you know me as the big, bad elephant that tried to kill your beloved Krishna. The story you know, however, is very one sided. Today, I will clear my name so this history can no longer follow me. My story starts back many years ago when I was just a child. Rumors had been going around the elephant herd that King Kans had shown a recent interest in our kind. As the days went on we started noticing the young elephants from our herd were starting to go missing. My mom became very scared that she would lose me. I was unable to go anywhere without her. One evening when I was laying down with my mother I heard a noise from the bushes. I whispered, “Mama?” My mother did not wake. I wanted to know what was making the noise, so I walked towards the bush. When I peaked my head inside the bush, I found myself staring straight into the eyes of a man. Before I could make a sound him and a few other men grabbed my trunk and took me away. I would

The Savior of Dharma : In this story Krishna wants to marry Radha, but his mother refuses to let him. His mom seeks out his father's help, but Krishna refuses to listen. His father seeks the advice from the family priest who then goes on to tell Krishna the truth about his past. He reveals to him that he is unable to marry Radha because he is to fulfill a greater prophecy, and that he was not really the son of Nanda and Yashoda. I think this story could be told from a kid's point of view when he find out he is adopted. I think that would be an interesting way to tell the story! Krishna Kills Kuvalayapida : In this story Kans tries one last effort to kill Krishna. He created an evil plan to put an elephant, Kuvalayapid, at the gates of the palace to stomp on Krishna and Balram. When Krishna and Balram arrived at the gates, Kuvalayapid tried to attack Krishna, but Krishna grabbed its trunk and flung it out of the way. Refusing to give up, the elephant ran back at Krishna, but

Kamsa : In this tale Kamsa is prophesied to be killed by Devaki's 8th child. In order to prevent that from happening Kamsa threw Devaki and her husband into prison so that every time Devaki became pregnant he could kill the infant. One by one Devaki bore a child and Kamsa continued to kill them with his bare hands. Devaki's 7th child was transferred to another woman's womb which made it appear as if Devaki had a miscarriage, but there was still one more prophesied birth left. When Devaki had her 8th child a sleep spell overcame the kingdom and the husband was able to escape the prison with baby Krishna to keep him safe from Kamsa. When I rewrite this tale I think it could be interesting to try and create a less gory storyline that doesn't consist of the babies being smashed against the cell walls. Durga Speaks To Kamsa : When Krishna's father escaped the prison with him on the day of his birth he switched baby Krishna out with another girl who had been born on the