Intense Love

Most of the characters in love stories are very dramatic, but the stories in Metamorphoses seem to be a bit exaggerated. In the story of Alcyone and Ceyx, Alcyone is so in love with Ceyx that she believes that he's the only thing that matters in the entire world.

After Alcyone finally allowed Ceyx to leave, he started his long journey on a ship, leaving her alone, waiting for him. She was so intensely in love that she waited every single day on the shore, watching the horizon of the sea:

Alcyone: "...ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred.. Ceyx? Come home. I'm nearer now, I'm sleeping on the shore. It's not so far until you see me."

Here, we can see that Alcyone loves Ceyx too much for her own good. When she finds out that her husband actually has died, she denies the truth and tries to ignore reality. She sees her dead husband in a dream, but does not accept the fact that he has passed away:

Ceyx: "Look at me, I charge you--look at me."
Alcyone: "No! I won't. I won't!"
Ceyx: "Look at me, and know your husband's ghost. Your prayers have done no good, for I am gone, beyond all help or hope forever."
Alcyone: "Go away!"

This whole story, in my opinion, is a bit too dramatic. But, I guess that's what makes these plays so unique and entertaining. It was very strange and random when Alcyone suddenly just transformed into a bird, but besides that, it was interesting.

The Beginning - Metamorphoses, Creation

Even though Ovid wrote the book, Metamorphoses, a long time ago, it seems to have very similar concepts and ideas compared to Catholicism today. This first chapter talks about the creation of the Earth. The way it's described in the book is very similar to the way it's described in the Bible. Both say that God created the Earth, first with nothing but emptiness, and then filled it up little by little with land, ocean, air, lakes, rivers, trees, etc. He created the heaven and the underworld and divided them apart. Technically, this first chapter only talks and describes about how the world could have started. In the beginning, the author describes how dark, sad, and lonely the world was. But then, the author starts to describe in a more hopeful and cheerful manner, the creation of the Earth and everything added on to it later on.

The first chapter was okay but the events in this book seem to be going really slowly. It might be because of how slow the guy narrates the story in the audio file but besides that, it's fine.

Wrapping Up the Teachings

This was an interesting book to read. The whole book was about Krishna teaching Arjuna about life and trying to reason him to fight in the war. There were few parts that were hard to understand but in general, it was okay. I didn't really like it in the beginning because nothing really happened in the story. Then, I noticed that the whole book was going to about the teachings of Krishna so I realized that this was, of course, a different kind of reading than the ones that I was used to. But, in its own different way, it was an interesting book because it made me think really deep at times. I sometimes even disagreed with some of the concepts explained by Krishna. And, what seemed a bit weird to me was how Krishna acted a bit arrogant sometimes because he was superior to every other being on the universe. He said that superior people are the ones that believe and praise him. This is weird to me since Krishna is a god and gods usually treat everyone equally and no one is supposedly superior than other beings. Anyways, I guess that's it. This is probably the last post that I'm going to write about the Bhagavad Gita so here's a little picture I drew that represents Krishna.

The Universal Concept of Krishna

The Greatness of the Know-It-All: Bhagavad Gita 11 & 15

In both chapters, Krishna shows Arjuna what a great and mighty being he actually is. In chapter eleven, Krishna shows Arjuna his universal form because he wanted to see it. But, it seems like as if Krishna did it on purpose to convince Arjuna to battle in the war. He tells him that all these warriors are anyways going to die, so killing them would only fulfill his duty to become a king and not change anyone's destiny:

"I am time grown old, creating world destruction, set in motion to annihilate the worlds; even without you, all these warriors arrayed in hostile ranks will cease to exist. Therefore, arise and win glory! Conquer your foes and fulfill your kingship! They are already killed by me. Be just my instrument, the archer at my side!" (p. 103)

In this passage, it is also said that Krishna has the ability to control life and death of any being since he is connected with everything on the universe (he IS the universe). This, again, shows how great and mighty Krishna is; after all, he is a god. Later on, in chapter 15, Krishna talks about a metaphor between a tree and a person's spirit. He, again, says that everyone who knows him would be spiritually advanced and understand the world better. To me, it seemed like as if Krishna kept on saying this just to keep on reminding Arjuna how important he is and that he should be worshiped.

It's strange how I already read until the end of the book and the story still didn't progress. Now, I can surely say that the main purpose of the book is the teachings and lessons of Krishna, rather than the actual events happening in the book. Also, Krishna seems to keep on teaching many different things to Arjuna, but his main goal always seems to be the same: To make Arjuna notice him and to persuade him to fight the war.

The Know-It-All: Bhagavad Gita 7-9

Krishna continues on teaching Arjuna about life. This time, he teaches him the path to knowledge and also explains to him how he is the highest being on Earth. He reveals that he is sort of a god and that everything is connected to him. Since he is a god, he knows almost everything in the world and this is obviously the reason why he is able to teach Arjuna so many things. But, what really caught my attention was how Krishna described himself. He said that superior souls bow down and worship him while the other inferior ones worship meaningless objects. Living things that don't have faith in him would be reborn again and again as a sort of punishment. In my point of view, it didn't seem that fair. But then, this caught my attention:

"I know all creatures that have been, that now exist, and that are yet to be; but, Arjuna, no one knows me." (p. 76)

In this sentence, Krishna is trying to explain that he knows every being on Earth and has faith in them, but most of them don't even know that he exists: he who is the center and highest of all. So, I guess, in a way, that it could be fair to punish the ignorant ones in some way. I mean, it is sort of unfair that Krishna is able to keep track of every living being while none of them even notices him.

So, I guess I was right. The book will probably go on talking mostly about the teachings of Krishna, rather than the actual story that is happening. I do enjoy reading it though: it makes me think deeply from time to time.

To Act or Not to Act: Teachings 3-5

All of these three chapters is about Arjuna questioning Krishna whether he should act or not. Krishna keeps on saying that he should and tells him many reasons why it's right. Everything he says is very deep and sometimes a bit confusing, but because of the way he says it, it seems like he is always right. Krishna tells him that it is his duty to fight so that there is a greater good in the future. I do agree with this because according to Krishna, the souls of humans will remain living even after the body is destroyed. So, assuming this to be true, Arjuna would not commit any sins by killing someone because they will be born again some time later. Krishna, himself, says that he was reborn many times already. In fact, he says that even Arjuna wasn't in his first life. Krishna seems to be like a god-like person because he knows a lot about life itself, and he can apparently remember all his lives that he had before.

Another one of the most important explanations of Krishna is whether it's better to act or not to act. This, of course, is a very broad topic, but Krishna is able to explain why it's better for Arjuna to act. He says that both might have give benefits, but acting is a lot better since it is more superior and it would give more chances of other things to happen:

"Renunciation and discipline in action both effect good beyond measure; but of the two, discipline in action surpasses renunciation of action. The man of eternal renunciation is one who neither hates nor desires; beyond dualities, he is easily freed from bondage."

The book, until now, doesn't seem to be focused mainly on the story but rather more on the teachings of Krishna to Arjuna (this, obviously would be why the book is divided into "teachings" instead of chapters).