The Harmful End

The story of Eros and Psyche, and Bacillus and Philemon, had only one thing in common: love. It seems that love is present in most Greek myths, because apparently for them, love was a very important part of life. If you think about it, love is probably the most important part of life in our modern culture (Almost all songs written today are about love).
The description of love, personified as Eros the god of love, was so accurate, it impressed me. He has wings so he can move quickly from person to person. He is showed naked to represent how we expose ourselves to others when we’re in love. He is blind, to show how compulsive and foolish one becomes when fallen in love. That's just how love is today. Not much has changed over the centuries, and the human heart still strives for an equal love (expectations are just a little different now). "The soul wanders in the dark until it finds love." (pg 76)
In Bacillus and Philemon, neither of them wanted to outlive the other. They loved each other so much, they never wanted to be separated by the imminent fate of death. Fortunately for them, their wish was granted, and in addition, they were exempt from the fate that should come to all living beings. Mortality was no longer an obstacle for their love.
Still, as strong as everyone claims love to be, it is also extremely fragile. One wrong move or even one wrong word can destroy everything. It is a very hard thing to control, and most of the times, when love is broken, sadness, anger and pain are what follows. Some relationships are like a uranium atom. It has to have just the right amount of neutrons to balance the protons. If something goes wrong, and there's a tiniest change in the atom, it can cause it to collapse and release a huge amount of energy that can vaporize a person in tenths of a second, and destroy everything at a 3 km radius (atomic bomb). That's how powerful love can be. It is really hard to escape love’s traps, and like the story said, “It’s just inevitable.” (pg.76). I just wish they weren't so harmful.
Reading Metamorphoses was a great, because it helped me understand human characteristics that are still present today. Greek mythology has influenced the world amazingly (far more than we think), so it is important to know their stories well. Besides, they are very entertaining, because it is very easy to relate to them
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Your Little Voice

His wish, to ride the horse of day

Instead he burned the Earth away.

The story of Phaeton made me think how stupid it is to ignore good advice. "Don't do it!" was Phoebus' suggestion, but Phaeton decided to ignore his father’s excellent advice and take the chariot anyway. Being impulsive and not taking a moment to think what the consequences could be (even if his father had already warned him it was 100% dangerous), he took the chariot and messed up everything. And his father couldn't do anything, because he had sworn to grant him any wish, and he already had a very bad standard with his son for abandoning him. He couldn’t simply forget his oath, even if it was for Phaeton’s own good.

I many times think on cases like this one, "Where is that little voice that tells you to be careful?" I have that little voice, and it's always warning me to be aware of what's going on. It is important to listen to this little voice that could be called "survival instinct", because listening to it can be useful, and could save your sorry butt from many senseless stupidities. In Phaeton's case, if he had listened to his little voice, maybe he would have paid attention to his father, thought twice about it and saved himself from the terrible catastrophe he caused.

I was amazed how the characters in the story were related and even personified from things that exist in real life. For example, relating the sun to a god that takes a flaming chariot across the sky is very original. Then time (hours, days and years) being Phoebus' secretaries (time is measured by Earth's rotation around the sun) also makes a lot o sense. It's for me a very interesting way to understand the universe and different aspects of life, because that's what myths are after all, "Myths are the earliest forms of science."(pg.67). It is actually a very clever way of understanding life.

The Weight of Love

The story of Pomona and Vertumnus is like a sign of hope for most teenage girls of modern time. Girls are desperate to fit into society's image of the perfect girl, set down by models, fashion trends and mainstream propaganda. This makes girls desperate to be like the image media has set as a standard. They try to change themselves so they can achieve this (in some ways they are disguising themselves to get people's attention). What this story says is that all you need to do is be yourself and people will like you just as you are, with no need of copying others or changing who they are. People frequently get tricked by the sense that all people care about is the outside part (which in most cases is sadly true), but there are some cases in which what really matters is the inside.


I was impressed with Myrrhas' story. Who would have thought that Aphrodite was so powerful she could make her fall in love with her own father. To me, this was a little grotesque, and very cruel from the goddess. Who said falling in love is an essential part of life? Of course she is the goddess of love and wants everyone to depend on her, but love isn't necessarily a sexual relationship. Love can be found in many other ways, like love to your family or love to your homeland, etc. I even think life would be better if there was no need for couple relationships. To me, that type of relationship is full of lies, cheating and eventual suffering. For example Myrrha's love for her father caused her a lot of grief, desperation and sadness in the end. She even made her own father suffer after he discovered he was with his own daughter. I really think love (couple relationships) is a much overestimated thing.

No Rest for the Wicked

The story of Erysichthon gave me a very bitter sweet feeling. For one thing, I was glad Erysichthon was punished for his evilness. I have always felt there has to be some kind of punishment for people who are evil. Somehow, evil people always seem to get away with their schemes with impunity, so I was glad at least this time cruelty was punished. I felt like the spirit of the tree which said, "My pangs of death are eased by one thing-That you will never get away with this." (pg. 34, act?, scene ?). The problem is I felt really sorry for him when he was attacked by hunger. I can say for experience that there is no worse feeling than hunger or thirst (my mother has a hidden fear that we may become fat-thanks to my grandfather's absurd comments-so she decided we should eat very little. Even today she will do the impossible to stop us from eating a little more than necessary). That terrible fate he was punished with was so terrible I wouldn't wish it to the dirtiest scum that has ever wandered the face of the earth. I think any death is worse than starvation, and certainly reaching the point of eating yourself must be terrible. For me, there couldn't have been a worse punishment for Erysichthon. I still wonder why he sold his mother. I'm sure there were plenty other things he could have sold and gained a lot more money than selling an old weak woman, especially because she was the one who took care of you and raised you for as longs as you can remember. That was very stupid indeed.

Fear thy Family-in-Law!

As I read Alcyone's warning over her father's power, I couldn't help but connect it with my own family. Alcyone is daughter of Aeolus, master of the winds. Ceyx thought his trip was safe because his father in law would protect him, but he didn't know Aeolus wouldn't give him the special treatment he expected. The winds were too wild and they heeded no orders. Ceyx, Aeolus' son-in-law perished in the sea. It is a similar case with my father and my mother's parents. He frequently tells stories of how he had to endure terrible conditions in order to be accepted in the family. My father used to take my mother from college to her home. He invited her to the finest restaurants in the city and did her college homework (I still can't get over that). If this wasn't enough, he had to be approved by my mother's family! I really don't want to be mean, but I have never met a worst family than the Guarin's. To begin with, my grandfather, who is a 94 year old man but seems like if he were like 80, is exactly as troublesome as he was 30 years ago. Everything he says is sacred law, and every single detail that happens around the house has to be approved by him. My grandmother, on the other hand, is only there to obey to anyone's orders. She has had to endure living with my grandfather for 52 years! If I were her, I would have killed myself by now. My mother has five more siblings: Three sisters and two younger brothers. To this point, I still don't know which one is the worst of them. All of my cousins agree my mother is the least problematic sister of the family (imagine how bad the rest of them are!). My father had to withstand these people, always with a smile, in order to get married with my mom. One of the funniest stories my father has of his terrible experiences was when he got invited to Girardot. I think dad would've thought twice to go if he had known he was invited exclusively to wash dishes, clean the kitchen and attend mom's two brothers while she was out playing tennis. Honestly, I think my grandfather only let my mom date my dad because he was such a good mechanic. Dad said that almost all dates ended up in my grandfather making him fix their cars (he loves saving money, and he had earned a free mechanic that couldn't whine for worker rights). Miraculously, my dad finally got to marry my mother, and they have lived happily ever after for 23 years and hopefully counting.

The Creation of the World

This version of the birth of our world is just like every other version I have ever heard. The world was a dark inhabitable place, but then a god came and decides how everything should be arranged. What amazes me of this version is the science involved in the story. They even refer to some elements that make part of the periodic table. He mentions something about the heavier elements that sink to the center of the world (this would be iron and silicon, which are what make up the Earth's core. The water stays in the middle holding the Earth together, while fire and air, the lightest of the composers of Earth, go to the heavens with the god (water in the oceans and air in the sky). He also mentions that the center may not be dwelt in because it's too hot, the upper layers aren't habitable either because of the cold and snow, but the center could be lived on because god gave it a temperate climate. Indeed, it was a very scientific review of the creation of the Earth (even if it was written so long ago). The rest is very similar to the other versions. The god forms the shape of the surface (the mountains, the forests, the valleys the rivers and the lakes) and then leaves everything perfect, just as we see it now.

Again, I think Fantasia can make the scene of the inhabitable beginning very vivid (obviously, it skips the part of the god making things better and goes directly to the scientific version of the beginning of life in the next part of the video).

The Dawn of Understanding

Today I finally was able to understand what Krishna meant from the beginning of his teachings. It took me a lot of time and effort, but after today's discussion in class I was able to see what he meant all along. Krishna wants Arjuna to choose whether to fight or not, based on his teachings. This is why he mentions the relation between action, and inaction. He mentions detachment and discipline, and how a man is supposed to live by them to be able to enter his realm of no reincarnation and no change. They were all clues to help him decide whether he was supposed to kill his friends and family. According to Krishna's teachings, he was supposed to fight because it was his sacred duty. He had to do so detached of his feelings for his family, and at the same time beseech no reward from his action. I t would all be a sacrifice for Krishna, and for his accomplished duty, Krishna would take him to the realm of no change where he would find the true joy.

I am very happy because I was finally able to crack this code, but I'm not too satisfied with the real message. How come it is justified to kill and have war because it's one's sacred duty? I really don’t like the way Krishna justifies killing under his terms, "When one is free of individuality and his understanding is untainted, even if he kills these people, he does not kill and is not bound.” (18th Teaching, pg. 137, 17). If you believe in reincarnation it isn't too bad, but for me, we just have one life, and it isn't fair someone comes and kill with the excuse that he is doing it with detachment and isn’t looking for a final reward (no, that’s not too comforting). I don't know about the period where they were living, but today I don't think that part of the teachings is very acceptable. I just hope I never have to read these types of books again. They can be really controversial and somewhat confusing. And what’s worse, they make me feel like a bad person, even if I don’t believe in what he’s saying.

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The Final Truth of Krishna

 This is basically Krishna's message. Everything has to die someday, and they will all reincarnate, so why not kill them now? What Krishna actually wants Arjuna to understand is that he is the absolute truth, and anyone who lies in his infinite spirit is free of all pain and delusion. Obeying all his teachings and being a person detached of the senses, we may achieve becoming part of his realm of  no change. "Relinquishing all sacred duties to me, make me your own refuge; do not grieve, for I shall free you from all evils." (Teaching 18, pg 144, 66)

Too Many Hands to Handle

It is so impressive that after all this time Krishna claims to have lived; it is the first time he shows his true form to a mortal. "I revealed through self discipline my higher form, which no one but you has ever beheld..." (part 47). He has so many forms that seem to be the whole universe. He does seem to be what the world is made of, “You are the gods of wind, death, fire and water; the moon; the lord of life; the great ancestor..." (pg. 105 part 39). (Although no one should forget the other gods which are just as important as he is, no matter how many hands he can pull out of himself).

Now I understand why Krishna doesn't care for all the people who are going to die in the war. He is going to kill them later on, so why not save some time and let Arjuna do it. "Drona, Bhishma, Jayadratha and Karna, and all other battle heroes are killed by me. Kill them without wavering; fight and you will conquer your foes in battle!" (pg. 104, part 34). Everyone and everything is under his power of living or dying. Even he is the one who decides who stops reincarnating and lives in the realm of no change. "Then search to find the realm that one enters without returning...reach that realm without change." (pg 124, part 4 and 5). He has decided that detached people who have cut the tree of senses can find this realm and forever dwell in it. "...cut this tree that has such deep roots with the sharp ax of detachment." (pg 123, part 3). (That's curious, no one had ever asked me to cut a tree before, like if it were a harmful parasite or weed).

Based on what I have read in this book, life and death isn't very important to the Hindu culture. That's alright I guess, and every culture has its own ways to view life and existence. Still, I don't think it's a good message that a god is asking a person to kill his family and friends. Like my teacher quoted once from one of her college professors," Sure we can be open minded, but not to the point that our brains fall out!"

The Supreme God

Krishna is a very arrogant god. He says he is the highest power over all the deities, and no god can beat his power. "...great souls devote themselves to my divine nature..." (part 13). "I am the rite, the sacrifice, the libation for the dead, the healing herb, the sacred hymn..." (part 16). He is life and death; being and unbeing, and the knowledge of true peace and happiness. In other words, if it weren't for him, there would be no order in the world, and we'd live in chaos and destruction.

To this I can't be so sure. In Hinduism there are countless other gods and deities, all worshipped by different people for different reasons. They also make part of the universe and they also play a role as powerful beings that make the world go round. Krishna is not the only one to which people have to listen to. Anyway, he has nothing to brag about. He has to share power with a hundreds of other deities that are probably just as powerful as he is, and surely more popular. Ganesha, Vishnuv and Shiva are more important than Krishna in Hinduism, and I think they have more followers than he does.

Krishna said, "Gathering in my own nature, again and again I freely create this whole throng of creatures, helpless in the force of my nature." (part 8). This reminded me of the part in Fantasia 2000's Firebird by Igor Stravinsky. Since this is a story of life, death and rebirth, I thought it would fit well with Krishna's ranting of the never dying soul.

Deluded and Confused

As I read through the teachings, I can't help but feel more confused as Krishna rants on with his explanations. As Arjuna said, "You confuse my understanding with a maze of words." (part 2). I seriously can't understand what he is trying to say, or what noble truth he's trying to reveal. I guess I'm going to need someone to make a little drawing for me. Maybe I'm that type of ignorant person Krishna keeps saying live sad and miserable (but I feel quite happy with myself) "An ignorant man is lost, faithless and filled with self doubt." (part 40). It's just so hard for me to understand everything he's saying. One has to have no desires, but one has to act for the better good, but in that action you can't desire to obtain that better good, so in the end…could you explain it again please?

And what's even worse, Krishna doesn't want the wise people to explain their reasoning to those who are having a hard time understanding. "Those deluded by the qualities of nature are attached to their actions; a man who knows this should not upset these dull men of partial knowledge." (part 29). All I can understand is that happiness is only reached by relinquishing the fruit of action. Although he also mentioned that no one can renounce action for an instant "No one exists for even an instant without performing action;" (part 5), so action has to be part of sacrifice and discipline. But the action has to be believed as not acted by one, but by nature. "When he can discriminate nature's qualities and think, 'the qualities depend on other qualities,' he is detached." (part 29). In the end, we can apparently do nothing but detach from human feelings and senses.

I' m still waiting to see where all this knowledge applies in the justification of war and killing carelessly.