Myths and Legends

India: Create, Preserve, Destroy, Repeat

Indian religion and mythology are closely interwoven and cannot really be separated. Moreover, both are so vast and confused that any generalization is likely to oversimplify.  I know very little about their culture and religion, other than the earliest Indian texts are the Vedas, a series of sacred hymns in honor of the Aryan gods, who personified natural forces such as the sun, storm, fire, soma, and the like.The Vedic religion was materialistic, devoted to obtaining power, prosperity, health, and other blessings by means of ritual and sacrifice. By the time Buddha ,around 500 B.C., the old Vedic religion had been transformed by Brahmin priests into a fantastical hodgepodge, with the priests claiming godlike powers for themselves. Buddha addressed himself to the problem of human suffering and discovered a way to eliminate it through disciplined living and giving up one's desires. He gained so many followers that the Brahmins were forced to incorporate his ideas into their teachings. The result was Hinduism, a modified polytheism with three major gods: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.

Brahma began from nothingness. By thought alone, he created the waters, into which he deposited his semen....gross,but who am I to judge. This grew into a golden egg, out of which he was born( Wait was he the egg and created himself?Who can tell me how hard of a time I will have researching more Indian myths?) By thought again, he split the egg in two, and the halves became heaven and earth. Brahma grew lonely, so he split himself in two to form male and female. In one variation of the story, Brahma repeatedly splits himself in two until all living things are created from his body. In another, the first man and woman mate in different animal forms until life forms are born.

So where does Vishnu and Shiva fit into this?I'd like to know that too. Hindus worship Brahma the least. This may be because his work is already done and there is no further reason to pray to him. However, according to a popular view, the Hindu creation story demonstrates that Brahma is lustful and therefore unfit for worship. While there are thousands of temples dedicated to Shiva, there are only two in all of India dedicated to Brahma.

So, and I don't mean to offend anyone, Brahma is the oldest child, Vishnu is the somewhat sane and forgotten middle child, and Shiva is the "what the hell is wrong with you" youngest child. Because Shiva has a tendency to...destroy..every world that Brahma creates. Plus Shiva also recreates....This right here, this is why this book exists. 

Each universe Brahma creates is eventually destroyed by Shiva, after which there is nothing but a vast ocean on which Vishnu floats, resting on a great snake.So this is where Vishnu comes in. He rests on the cosmic waters between creations, or universes.In some versions of the myth, Brahma comes not from an egg, but from a lotus flower that springs from Vishnu's navel. That must have been traumatizing...

Eventually, our world, too, will be destroyed by Shiva and the cycle will begin anew.Together, Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the Preserver), and Shiva (the Destroyer) make up the Supreme One.