Birthday Celebrations

What is it about Birthdays that need celebrations? Why do we ‘celebrate’ a birthday? My search takes me to the land of mythology (and occasionally History too) and this is what I find – two stories:

The Pharaohs of Egypt were supposed to be the descendants of the god Horus, who was considered to the first image of all the Pharaohs, though Ra the Sun god was considered to be the first Pharaoh. In those days, birthdays of the Pharaoh was celebrated with great pomp and show as it was the day to be honoured as the embodiment of god had graced the earth and mankind. It was during one such celebration, that the Pharaoh was celebrating his birthday, that he hanged the chief Baker.

Another story from the Bible says that Herod Antipas was celebrating his birthday and his daughter entertained him by dancing in front of him. This impressed Herod so much, that he granted her a wish. Herod’s daughter was coached on this by her mother Herodia and she promptly asked for the head of John the Baptist. Herod did not quite wanted to dirty his hands with the murder of John the Baptist, but then he had no choice and immediately sent executioners to bring the head of John the Baptist. Herodia was against John as he had opposed the wedding of Herod and Herodia as she happened to be the widow of Herod’s brother.

Celebrations of birthdays were considered as evil by the early Christians who considered it to be a Pagan remnant. A birthday celebration was seen as self-indulgent leading to sinful behaviour like excessive drinking, etc. Also the above two myths had resulted in murders, which also got associated with early Christianity which led to such thinking. They also felt that on this day, people and the celebrant praised himself/herself as against god and thus the celebrations were looked down upon.

In due course of time, and with the arrival of neo-Christians, birthdays got associated with celebrations. Today, the birth of Jesus Christ is a mass celebration across continents. A remnant of the Pagan thinking however believed that on the day of one’s birthday, the celebrant was most vulnerable to both good and bad spirits. So on ones birthday, a celebrant was supposed to be surrounded by friends and relatives and all would wish good for the celebrant. This would deter the bad spirits from acting, thus began the concept of wishing well on Birthdays.

The usage of Birthday cake and candle too has its origin in Greek mythology. Greek goddess Artemis was the goddess of moon, and her birthday was celebrated once every month in ancient Greece. As a practice, the Greeks offered her a round cake (in the shape of a moon) and also lit candles on the cake in the likeness of a glowing moon! Needless to say that fire always had a special significance in religious orders and rituals. The practice got carried on to the modern age and today it is mandatory to cut cakes, lit with candles and making a wish.

Birthday celebrations have come a long way from the Pagans to today. But as someone has said – A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the free trip. And if you get gifts and wishes, take them as bonus!

A Quote by Joseph Campbell

‎"Whenever men have looked for something solid on which to found their lives, they have chosen not the facts in which the world abounds, but the myths of an immemorial imagination."
                                  - Joseph Campbell, "The Masks of God, Vol. I: Primitive Mythology"

Goddess Kali

What is it about Goddess Kali that makes it so grotesque and repulsive? What is in the depiction of the goddess that invokes a sense of fear and a sense of worry? Her complexion, her nakedness, her blood-lust and her uncivilised conduct is not only deplorable but equally embarrassing for all.

She is quite an antithesis to the very concept of Mother Goddess. Instead of dressing up in bridal finery like all the other goddesses, she shuns clothes. She doesn’t tie her hair like all the other goddesses, a sign of total disdain for homely norms. She does not partake of pleasing food as others, but prefers blood! Unlike all the other goddesses, she is not a meek shadow of her husband; rather she actually puts her foot on him, a concept that is blasphemous to all and sundry. She is a goddess who lacks grace, benevolence and femininity. So what is it about her that could have been misunderstood?

In myths lie messages and the hidden symbolism. If you view Kali through the metaphysical lens, then there is nothing that can upset anybody. She is depicted to shock one and all as she is making a radical statement by her appearance and her conduct.

Kali’s nakedness represents the raw form of nature, that which cannot be bound by the norms of man-defined culture. Hair has always been a metaphor of sexuality. In the olden days, a woman’s hair-do communicated her status. Unmarried girls were supposed to plait their hair; a married woman was supposed to oil and have a centre parting and knot her hair. She was not supposed to be seen with untied hair outside her bedroom. A widow was supposed to be sans-hair. Kali’s disheveled and untied hair indicated that she was not bound by the sexual norms laid down by the people. She represented the untamed, wild aspect of life.

Kali has been the epitome of cultural reversal. She does everything that a ‘cultured’ woman would not dare do. Her lack of dressing, her mad murderous dance and her anti-culture stand, forces one and all to see things that we detest, fear or suppress in our lives. She forces us to see the raw and naked form of things that exist outside the purview of human moral or ethical standards. She is a reminder of the fragility of culture. Her nakedness represents the collapse of modesty and all that culture so strongly tries to uphold. She represents what can happen when a society does not respect the feminine forces of the world. She shows that the same docile woman who is the fountainhead of creation can lead to destruction in the goriest form, if and when provoked.

Her stepping on her husband is a challenge to the institution of patriarchal values. It’s a reminder to the ‘upholders of the moral conscience of the society’, not to rid the woman of her rights and dues and the respect that she so deserves. A woman who is expected to worship her husband can step on him to protect her own self-respect. Many modern writers see Kali as the goddess of feminism.

Our early thinkers who have given docile goddesses, have ensured that the modern-day self-made gods of the world do not get carried away and are kept in check by giving us the likes of Goddess Kali too!

Happy Diwali!

Happy Diwali to all my readers!!!

utkarsh

Chhoti Diwali or Narak Chaturdashi

The day prior to the actual Diwali is known as Chhoti Diwali (Small Diwali) or sometimes Narak Chaturdashi.

The myth concerning this day is related to a fierce demon king by the name of Narakasur, who was the king of Pragjyotishpur, a place south of the present day Nepal. He had defeated Lord Indra in a fierce battle and taken away the earrings of Goddess Aditi. Goddess Aditi happened to be related to Lord Krishna’s wife, Satyabhama. Besides the earrings, Narakasur had also imprisoned sixteen thousand girls who were the daughters of different gods and saints.

When Satyabhama came to know about it, she was furious and sought the help of her husband, Lord Krishna. She asked for the empowerment, so that she could vanquish the demon herself. Lord Krishna was aware that Narakasur was cursed to die in the hands of only a woman, so this empowerment was necessary. Krishna, empowered her, and also decided to act as her charioteer in the battle against Narakasur.

On the day prior to Narak Chaturdashi, with the help of Lord Krishna, Satyabhama manages to not only kill Narakasur but also recovered the precious earrings. She also releases the sixteen thousand girls. However, to save the girls the embarrassment of being in the confines of a demon, Lord Krishna decided to marry all of them, and grant them legitimacy.

As a mark of victory, Krishna smeared his forehead with the blood of Narakasur and when he arrived the next day, his wives massaged him with perfumed oils and gave him a royal bath.

Since then it has become a custom in parts of Maharashtra, to get up early on the day of Narak Chaturdashi and have an oil-bath before sunrise. Many apply kumkum on their foreheads, as a ritual before the bath, imitating the smearing of the blood of Narakasur by Lord Krishna.

The myth further states that Bhoodevi (Mother earth) who was the mother of Narakasur, declared this day as a day of celebrations and not mourning. Thus this day is celebrated as Chhoti Diwali!