No more duel but dual/duet among collaborators and competitors

Lot of festival victories of good over evil in the last couple of months, mostly killings. But not in modern times, during next week election winning leader will not kill the other leader. It was a duel (and gladiators) in the ancient past, but nowadays it is more of a dual/duet, involving collaborative competition between different parties (leaders and voters).

Durga Puja: victory of Maa Durga over Mahishasura/Mysore Arasan/மைசூர் அரசன்(Tamil).  

Diwali: Lord Krishna's victory over Narakasura (or Narakasur நரகாசுரன்).  Victory over அரக்கன்/Arakkan, அசுரன்/Asura, காட்டுமிராண்டிகள்/Savages.

Dussehra: This is when Ravana and his brothers bites the dust. (பத்து கலைகளை அறிந்து கொண்டவன் or known as பத்து/ten தலைகளை/heads கொண்டவன்.  Ra + Vanan = Knowledge of nigh sky /astrology (Night/Ra/ரா Sky/Vanan/வானன்). கும்பகர்ணன் (Kumbakarnan) is a rishi and his brother and it took long time to get him of meditation by various soldiers (or can be alternatively known as he was sleeping). Reminds the Tamil prince Bodhidharma, a fervent meditator, the originator of Chan Buddhism in China, later evolved as Zen in Japan and not much in other places including his native place Tamilnadu. According to legends, Bodhidharma meditated in a cave for nine years, facing a wall in deep and unwavering contemplation. The local rulers and soldiers, amazed by his discipline and dedication, tried various means to draw him out of this meditative state. Perhaps a similar attempt made by Ravana soldiers to get Kumbakarna out meditation (or deep sleep or an alternative story).

Kanda Sashti (or Skanda Shashti): Lord Murugan (or Kartikeya) vanquishes Surapadman, along with other demons like Tarakasura and Simhamukha.

Divinity can provide or divide

 Divinity can provide or divinity can divide, and it is all in human hands.

Are humans curse or boon?

 Is humanity the earth’s present cause?

Or is humanity the earth's current curse?

AI model with human-level reasoning

It is getting real. AI Models are being developed with a human level reasoning.

Google reportedly working on AI model with human-level reasoning

Humans are building homes. Animals are losing their homes.

Humans are building homes. Animals are losing their homes.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/28/australia/australia-endangered-koalas-queensland-intl-hnk-dst/index.html

Proto-galactic fragments in the inner Milky Way named after Shiva and Shakti as symbolic representation

 

The researchers, Khyati Malhan and Hans-Walter Rix, named the two newly discovered proto-galactic fragments in the inner Milky Way Shiva and Shakti as a symbolic reflection of the cosmic forces represented in Hindu cosmology. 

In Hinduism:

Shiva represents the forces of destruction and regeneration, symbolizing the cyclical nature of the universe, where destruction leads to rebirth and transformation.

Shakti represents creative energy and power, often seen as the dynamic force that drives the creation and sustenance of the universe.

Source: Two ancient star streams that built early Milky Way galaxy found | CNN

Immortality Cure and the Divide Between Haves and Have Nots

1. In Hindu mythology, humans (Devas and Asuras) churn the ocean and got Amrita/Nectar to attain immortality.

Devas pirated/tricked Amrita from Asuras after their teamwork.

2. In modern times, humans found Sea Squirts living in the ocean having the cure for cancer cells. 

In modern times, rich countries may do Biopiracy against poor countries. They may fail to share the fair share with poor.

Note: Sea squirts are among an endless list of animals, plants, and microbes that stand to improve human lives. They also produce chemical compounds to defend themselves that are known to damage cancer cells.

Researchers estimate that an astonishing 70 percent of antibiotics and cancer treatments in use today are rooted in natural organisms, from plants to snakes to sea sponges.

https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/372277/digital-sequence-information-dsi-cop16-explained

 

Happy Vinayagar Chaturthi

Happy Vinayagar Chaturthi/விநாயகர் சதுர்த்தி. A few millennium years old tradition, fostered a sense of unity and belonging among the villagers.

Nowadays everyone has a calendar, clocks, and smart phones. Move the camera back into few millennium years where villagers may not have these, but they had beautiful Sky as the clock, perhaps a good TV show at night. On 4th day (Chatur/Four/சதுர்/चतुर्) of waxing moon monks, Chittars (சித்தர்), Buddhist monks (புத்தர், பௌத்தர்), Vinayagars (விநாயகர்,விண் நாயகர்) were visiting villages, a practice in Hindu culture, particularly in South India. Perhaps these monks, often itinerant and ascetic, are believed to be carriers of blessings, medical knowledge, and spiritual energy. The villagers welcome the monks with traditional rituals, such as offering flowers, fruits, and sweets. Villagers will tell their issues and monks provided solutions, obstacle removers.

Few examples of propitiatory acts in scriptures

Propitiatory acts can be performed for the benefit of society or the community as well.

Yashoda : Unknowingly involved in a propitiatory act, she had her child swapped without her consent, participating in a cosmic plan—a sacrificial act for the greater good.

Sita : Sita’s forced journey into the forest, without her prior knowledge, was a propitiatory move to uphold dharma—a sacrificial act for the kingdom's greater good.

Draupadi : Her propitiatory marriage to the five Pandava brothers was conducted without her counsel to fulfill divine prophecy.

Sati (Rukmini and Satyabhama) : Their propitiatory act, seen as a noble sacrifice, was perhaps to ensure their husbands' eternal glory and maintain family honor.

Parvati as Sati : In an act of rebellion, she immolated herself to protest her father’s disdain for Shiva, praying to be reborn as Shiva’s wife. In later days, the practice of Sati was observed, and forced Sati was documented. After the arrival of the British, the practice was gradually eliminated through laws.

Madri : She performed Sati, believing Kunti would care for the children and feeling obligated to atone for her husband's death, which she attributed to his attraction to her. https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/mahabharata/d/doc118372.html

Propitiatory acts have parallels in other cultures and scriptures worldwide. 

Jacob's Ladder: A Symbol of Striving Toward Higher Ideals

Jacob's Ladder is a ladder leading to heaven that was featured in a dream the biblical Patriarch Jacob had during his flight from his brother Esau in the Book of Genesis.

"He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it." (Genesis 28:12, NIV)

This ladder concept signifies a connection between the divine (heaven) and the earthly (earth), serving as a symbol of mediation between God and humanity via angels. It represents God's guidance and signifies the responsibility for moral and spiritual development, striving to ascend toward higher ideals. The ladder also symbolizes the interconnectedness of all things, with heaven and earth being linked as part of a unified cosmos.

1. Jesus referred to this in John 1:51.

2. Muslims believe the Islamic prophet Muhammad (AD 570–632) took a miraculous journey during a single night around the year AD 621 (Isra and Miraj).

3. Staircases in temples lead up to the garbhagriha, symbolizing the ascent towards spiritual enlightenment or union with the divine.

4. Various Puranas and spiritual texts describe the wisdom and stages of ascent achieved by sages and saints.