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In over 21 chapters, she treats
all her subjects as a superstitious and tradition-bound Hindu
lady would and she is true to the Puranic versions and quotes
from them extensively. There are "artis" too in Hindi
as well as in English renderings. She seems to have no intention
of bridging the gap between science and religion as is being
done by Capra and other enlightened physicists. She has no
hesitation about presenting inconsistent and irrational
statements as understood by a modern scientific mind. In the
chapter, "Lord Hanuman", while tracing the birth of
this most dedicated devotee of Lord Rama, who has assumed the
form of a monkey to fit in his role as a warrior of Rama, she
has used no discretion to avoid inconsistencies.
Shiva is
believed to have destroyed Kama, the god of sensual love and is
known as an ascetic, all the time busy in his penances and
austerities. Then how to reconcile this fact with what she
writes about the birth of Hanuman, although based on a legend:
the Shiva Puran and some other scriptures, it is mentioned that
during the churning of the ocean, Lord Vishnu had to take the
form of a beautiful woman named ‘Mohini’ to enchant the asures
(demons) and lure them away while the devtas (gods)
took the amrit (nectar) to make them immortal. Lord Shiv
was very susceptible to the charms of beautiful women. During
this incident he also ran after Mohini in his sexual lust, but
prematurely ejaculated. The seed of Shiva was too precious to be
wasted; so the sages collected it in some leaves and later
implanted it into Ajnani’s womb. Hanuman was thus born and is
Shankra’s son."
Here Shiva, the
god of asceticism, is portrayed as if he was a Profumo in the
company of another Lord, running after a semi-nude Christine
Keeler. Even this day the offspring of a test tube baby does not
carry the name of the donor, so how could Lord Hanuman be son of
Shiva?
On page 76
there is a mention of another legend according to which Hanuman
was a brother of Ram, Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughan. She
should have used her judgement and not presented such
absurdities. The statement, "Lord Shiva was very
susceptible to the charms of beautiful women," is, however,
a figment of her imagination. Again, she has considered Hanuman
as a god and in a different, irrereverant vein, she writes about
him: "When caught by the men of Lanka and produced before
Ravan it was decided to set fire to his tail, as a monkey loves
his tail." The last words, "as a monkey loves his
tail" show her making a study of animal behaviour rather
than that of a god. The herb used by Ravana’s royal physician
to heal Lakshman revived him and not resurrected him as she has
put it. Lakshman was unconscious and not dead. The words
"awesome beast", instead of an awe-inspiring from
about Narsingh avtar are irrereverant as the lion form
was assumed by Narayan, the "isht devata" (deity) of
Prahlad.
Her accounts
about Rama and Sita are based upon Tulsi Ramayana and are
recounted in full detail. She has treated Parshuram and the
Buddha as gods who are generally not accepted by most Hindus.
Unless symbolism behind legends is explained, many stories about
gods and goddesses become a laughing matter. This is evident
from the account of Ganesha’s marriage. She mentions the
legend that Ganesha being not handsome could not get marriage
proposals. With a feeling of vengeance he asked rats, his
vehicle, to dig holes and delay the gods "barats".
The book is
rich in stories about gods and goddesses some are very
interesting, some absurd but the deeper meanings are not
presented. In the chapter on Lakshmi, she has given an
interesting story about the indebtedness of Narayan, her
consort, to Kubera, a half-brother of Ravana. Varun, the Lord of
Ocean and her father, promised to marry her off to Narayan if he
could give him money beyond the dream of any god. Kuber agreed
to lend him the money but at a very high interest rate which is
being contributed by human beings to repay Kuber, "That is
how Narayan made his abode at Tripati and made it the centre of
collection of funds. All and sundry would get their wishes
fulfilled in return for funds; the more one gives, the more
quickly his desire will be fulfilled." How strange that
Lakshmi-Narayan duo who shower blessings and bestow upon men
riches are seeking donations from their devotees. Her accounts
of Lakshmi, Sati or Shakti, Ram and Sita are engrossing.
The writer has
in all her sincerity presented without critically examining what
she came across in the Puranas. Her effort at assimilation of
innumerable episodes is laudable. Much of the material in her
book is, however, well known to the reader and still there is
freshness in her accounts. The book is most useful for young
minds who want to know about their tradition, how people
worshipped their gods and goddesses. The significance of several
rituals becomes clear. She has explained the implication of the
use of "sindoor" (vermilion) on Hanuman’s image.
Hanuman applied it on his body because he wanted to please Rama
when he saw Sita using it on the parting of hair.
In the preface
to the book the writer has admitted her inability to explain
deeper meaning of the legends. "I am neither competent
enough to go into the deeper philosophies of the ancient
writings nor can I hope to do justice even to this work.
If we probe the
deeper aspects of these stories we will find that Lakshmi
represents what is beautiful and valuable in human beings. She
is fairness in beautiful forms and prosperity in life. Saraswati
represents wisdom, artistic pursuits and learning in men and
women. Parvati, Durga and Kali represent the force and motion in
life. With the trinity every creation can be explained. Brahma
represents beginning of any activity, Vishnu, the middle or the
supporting power to that activity and Shiva stands for the
completion and fruitfulness of the activity. Ganesha is the god
who removes obstacles in accomplishment of any activity.
Hanuman, Narsingh and Varah had taken the assumed forms of a
monkey, a lion and a boar to fulfil certain conditions. These
were just masks of their realities. Hanuman was perfect in
knowledge, wisdom and valour and was the most ardent disciple of
Brihaspati, god of widom. He was like a shadow of Rama and most
dedicated devotee.
In truth there is one supreme
reality as the substratum of all forms and it manifests itself
in various forms, which are its aspect just as every woman is a
sister, a wife and a mother. She remains the same person in all
relationship. As all streams merge in one ocean, all concepts in
Hindusim merge with Vedantic truth — all is brahm.
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THE
pantheism of Hindus is well-known even though there are
various sects like Arya Samajis and Radhasoamis who do not
believe in gods and goddesses. In the pantheon Brahma, Vishnu
and Shiva form the major trio, although there are 33 crores of
gods and goddesses worshipped by the Hindus, especially
Sanatan dharmis. Om Lata Bahadur has selected as many as 23
gods and goddesses like Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Saraswati,
Lakshmi, Shakti, Uma, Kartikeya, Balram and Krishna, Ram and
Sita, Ganesha and Hanuman. She has presented a detailed
account of each god and goddess in a racy style in "The
Gods of the Hindus", her third book, which should have
been titled, "The Gods and Goddesses of the Hindus".
