Diary #1: I am awesome at my job
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| Vishnu and Lakshmi commons.wikimedia |
Sometime in the Treta Yuga...
Dear Diary,
This is my first attempt at journaling my thoughts, but supposedly it will help my decision-making. Personally I think my choices are excellent. True, as the God of Love and Desire, sometimes I can wreak a little havoc on people’s lives. However, what is life without a little craziness?
I don't mean for my previous statement to sound cavalier. I actually treat my job very seriously. Honestly, I treat my tasks more seriously than most of the other gods treat their positions. It's just that humans so often abuse my gifts, or completely ignore them, that at some point I realized I either needed to lighten up or trade gigs with one of the other gods. Being the most powerful god, in my humble yet accurate opinion, and having people treat love as if it is a child's game can be a demeaning experience. However, I remain committed to my purpose.
I don't mean for my previous statement to sound cavalier. I actually treat my job very seriously. Honestly, I treat my tasks more seriously than most of the other gods treat their positions. It's just that humans so often abuse my gifts, or completely ignore them, that at some point I realized I either needed to lighten up or trade gigs with one of the other gods. Being the most powerful god, in my humble yet accurate opinion, and having people treat love as if it is a child's game can be a demeaning experience. However, I remain committed to my purpose.
A few days ago I had one of my personal best experiences with influencing human lives. My dear friends Vishnu and Lakshmi are currently reincarnated as mere mortals, Rama and Sita. Although, "mere" may be an incorrect modifier now that I think about it. Both Rama and Sita are rather extraordinary humans. Rama's strength is unmatched and Sita's commitment is unrivaled. Vishnu and Lakshmi’s love is one of my greatest achievements. They respect each other greatly and are the epitome of fidelity and passion.
I was glad that Rama ended up in Janakpur. My power does not extend to guiding a man's steps on his path to love. I can influence desires and emotions, but if two people never meet I have to give them a more secondary type of love with someone other than their soulmate.
With that being said, once they were in the same place, I couldn’t just let their mortal forms miss out on each other!! So, I made sure to infuse the purest breath of desire, or in other words sringara, into both Rama and Sita. True, I probably breathed a little too heavily in Sita’s direction but it will be fine.
I was glad that Rama ended up in Janakpur. My power does not extend to guiding a man's steps on his path to love. I can influence desires and emotions, but if two people never meet I have to give them a more secondary type of love with someone other than their soulmate.
With that being said, once they were in the same place, I couldn’t just let their mortal forms miss out on each other!! So, I made sure to infuse the purest breath of desire, or in other words sringara, into both Rama and Sita. True, I probably breathed a little too heavily in Sita’s direction but it will be fine.
Right, diary?
What harm could possibly come from making Sita lovelorn to the point that she is almost suicidal?
From changing her normally levelheaded and intelligent demeanor into every stereotype that has ever existed about emotionally charged women?
From changing her normally levelheaded and intelligent demeanor into every stereotype that has ever existed about emotionally charged women?
It’s fine.
The extreme desire will die down in the coming years. In that time I’m sure Vishnu and Lakshmi’s souls will have recognized one another through the guises of Rama and Sita. I'm certain that their human forms will mirror my dear divine friends. I’ll be honest though. It was complete luck for me that Rama could string that bow. If Vishnu’s human form hadn’t been strong enough then Rama and Sita could not have married and the desire I gave them would most likely have driven them insane. Whoops. Oh well, I’ll just have to be a little more careful with my next couple.
I suppose I should find someone for Laksmana. Heroes, especially ones that are the avatar of Shesha, aka the King of primal beings, tend to want worthy partners and I aim to please. I’ll make sure not to infuse as much desire though. The last thing someone as hot-tempered as Laksmana needs is more passion. I suppose I could reach across realms and ask one of the other love deities for advice. Aphrodite and Eros are always up for a good chat. I’ll get started on that first thing tomorrow. For now I think it's time to get some rest. Creating true love does take a lot out of me.
Author's Note/Bibliography
Narayan's Ramayana, Guide A
The major plot points of my story stay true to the original story. Rama and Sita see each other and instantly are obsessed with one another. Sita is almost inconsolable. Rama is allowed to marry Sita because he can string a god's bow that no one else has been able to string. The diary is set after Rama strings the bow but before their wedding. My story is the commentary of Kamadeva (the god of love) on their love story's origin. I wanted to play with different tones for Kamadeva and will probably go more serious next time. Update: Since I originally wrote this story I have made slight modifications. I tried to both bring in references to some other mythological backgrounds, primarily ancient Greece. Additionally, I tried to make Kamadeva more serious while still maintaining the sarcastic undertones of my original story. I don't know how successful my attempts are going to be. There is a fine line between a fun but sincere character and a flippant idiot. I am not sure how far I will go with the references to non-Indian gods, but I think it could be an interesting thing to play around with. I will most likely spend a good portion of the next diary entry going in depth with Kamadeva's interaction with another deity and the differences between the Love Gods of the ancient Greek and Indian traditions. I will also say that I don't know how to strike the right balance between commentary on the main plot while still giving insight into Kamadeva as a character.
