𝓐𝓷 𝓔𝓷𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓬𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓭 "𝓡𝓮𝓼𝓲𝓵𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓮"
"If the demons take it all, we are lost, and all our effort would go in vain!" Indra looked devastated.
"Let us pray to Lord Vishnu." "He is the only one who can help us," replied Sage Brihaspati.
Situations can go from bad to worse in seconds. Deaths, natural calamities, financial losses; there are several events that create several levels of pain, and those are of grief and guilt. Many people blame themselves for these events. While some people are indeed to blame, most are not. The best option comes after the deed has been done.
For the gods, it was a situation they had never thought of in their wildest of dreams. For them, just like many people, they found it challenging to overcome their grief. Their prayers were answered. Vishnu immediately took the form of Mohini, the enchantress, and walked up to the fighting demons with a sweet smile and charming looks.
We often turn to our elders, parents, siblings, team leaders, managers, or even the CEO to help us solve these problems at work, in business, and in our personal lives. The middle time period from the rise of the problem to its solution gives us a lot of stress. A recent study at Baylor University found that working with bad coworkers can cause a lot of stress that follows you home and makes your family and spouse unhappy. This can affect your partner's job in the long run. The study was written by Merideth J. Ferguson, a psychologist and an assistant professor of management at Baylor University. She used statistical software to look at the connection between what employees said about rude co-workers and what their partners said about their home and work lives. Not surprisingly, she found that exposure to rudeness created stress for both the partner and the family. She also found a direct link between the rudeness the worker had to deal with and stress at the partner's job. Keeping workplace stress outside the home can be difficult, especially when it is chronic, Ferguson says. Being treated unkindly by a colleague can cause loss of self-esteem, anxiety, and depression, which undermines your happiness outside of work.
What should be done? Build resilience. Building resilience and finding lasting joy comes with many sacrifices. It involves knowing when to react and how to react. It involves creating happy moments that will last a long time. When in grief, it is highly important to avoid three regressive positions. These are as follows:
You can find all these three qualities in the character of Indra. First the personalization. Indra always had this strange and personal idea that everything was his fault because he had insulted Sage Durvasa. He believed that he could have done something different and overcome, but he didn't, and now he feels guilty. Indra failed to realize that it was not his fault. He was only acting the way he always acted, and he wouldn't have done it any other way. In his mindset, he completely overlooked the preparations made by the demon king, Mahabali. For a time, Mahavishnu had not been on good terms with the devas. Shukracharya, the teacher of the Asuras, saw this as a chance to convince Bali to fight the devas. In a pitched battle, Bali defeated the devas completely. Thus, the realm of the gods came under the sway of Mahabali. Once, during that period, Bali invited his grandfather Prahlada to heaven and asked him to accept the most honorable seat there. Prahlada accepted his invitation and anointed Bali as Indra. Bali asked Prahlada what the best way was to run the government of heaven. Prahlada said, thus in reply: "Only virtue will always win." "Rule the kingdom without deviating from virtue."
The second problem Indra had was that he thought this tragedy would take over his whole life, even his very existence, and change everything about it. This completely broke his spirit, so he couldn't think of any way to get the jar of nectar on his own. He felt that his strategy was falling apart and that no hope was left. This kind of thinking is very detrimental. He felt that no longer could the gods defeat the demons and acquire the jar of nectar. Demons have become more powerful. Shukracharya, the great teacher of demons, possessed the knowledge of the Mritasanjivani (life-restoring remedy). So the dead were being brought to life. But it was not possible for the devas to do so. Under the guise of getting back the lost wealth, the devas tried to churn the sea to get ambrosia from it so they could make up for this lack. But what is Mritasanjivani really like and where is it located? Jambavan in the epic Ramayana gives the details of the same below:
Jambavan the oldest among the monkey warriors, then instructed Hanuman to get it from the mountain Mahameru explaining to him the way to reach there. He said: "If you go a hundred yojanas (1200 kilometers) from here to the north, you will reach Rameswaram, the southernmost point of Bharata." From there, if you go to the north another thousand yojanas, you will reach the Himalayas, which is the northern-most point of Bharata. Himavan is a thousand yojanas high, two thousand yojanas wide, and long enough to reach the two oceans on the east and west. On that mountain is the marriage-dais of Parvati and Parameswara and you will find places where Paramesvara sat to practice penances. On the northern side, under a big Kuvala tree, lies Kamadhenu. This cow gives milk to the sages and tourists who go there. Nine thousand yojanas to the north of this, there are two mountains named Hemakūṭa and Ratnakuta. The center of that is Rsabhavarṣa. On a big Karaskara tree, there will be a king with his face downwards after being cursed by the sage Durvasas. He will be released from the curse by you. If one eats the fruits of this tree, one will be free from the greying of hairs and rugosity. If you go farther north from Hemakuṭa you will reach the mountain Nisadha. There is a lake there. If one bathes there one will be granted all prosperity by Laksmidevi. Farther to the north is situated Mahameru. The greatness of this mountain is indescribable. Mahameru has got four supporting mountain pillars named Mandara, Merumandara, Suparsva and Kumuda. The abode of the three deities is on the top of this mountain. On a peak in the centre is living Brahma with his wives Vaṇi, Gayatri and Savitri as creator of the universe. This place is called Satyaloka and to the west of it is Sri Vaikuṇṭha the abode of Mahavishnu. Madevi and Bhudevi are his two wives. He is the god who protects us all. To the east of Satyaloka is Kailasa, the abode of Shiva. He lives there with his wives Ganga and Parvati and sons Ganesha and Subrahmanyam. To the south of Satyaloka is the city Saṃyamanī the abode of Yamadharmaraja. He lives there with his wife, Kalini and sons Vidava, Mahima and Dipaka. To the east of this is the wonderful Devaloka. There lives Indra, his wife Sacidevi and son Jayanta with thirty-three crores of devas. Celestial nymphs like Urvasi, Rambha and Tilottama live there. Kamadhenu, the Kalpa tree, Airavata, Uccaissravas, and Cintamani are all there. You will find Amaravati the Capital of Indra and Sudharma his court there. On the northern side of Meru is a tall Asvattha tree. The Nila-mahagiri (the great blue mountain) is to the north. Kasyapa has installed a deity named Svetavarahamurti there. Beyond that is the Rsabhadri (ox-shaped mountain). It is believed that a divine ox became a mountain there. Its two horns are like two peaks. This mountain contains many divine medicines, of which Salyaharani, Visalyakarani, Sandhanakarani and Mritasanjivani are the most important. "
Mritasanjivani is another name for Goraksadugdhi, an unidentified medicinal plant, possibly identified with either:
(1) Grewia hirsuta (Malvaceae family),
(2) Sida spinosa or
(3) Euphorbia thymifolia Linn. (Euphorbiaceae family), according to 13th-century Raj Nighantu or Rajanighantu.
So, it was possible for Indra to prepare several barrels of nectar as he wanted even if he failed to get this one jar! But since Indra's morale was low, he didn't work as hard as he used to, and he also forgot how to make nectar.
Indra also felt that if the demons drank the nectar, their negative situation would never end. When the demons got nectar, he couldn't get away from the pain because of this lingering feeling. He felt that the aftermath would last for ever. He never communicated with Mahabali about the situation at hand. He even lost faith in Mahabali, who was a great king. Vamana Puraṇa, Chapter 74-75, says because Bali had ruled his kingdom according to the advice of Prahlada, he became famous in all three worlds.
Resilience builds its power on gratitude, thanks, and positivity. Resilience also takes its strength from how well you react to grief. It is the only playing field on which you can stare at your troubles in the face without feeling too much guilt or pain.
To develop our resiliency, the following points can be very helpful:
Now, let us look at Mohini. Who is Mohini? An avatar? A chemical? A Medicine? A Skill? A Quality?
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2. According to Kamakoti Mandali, the Yoginis of Narasimha Vyuha and Nrisimha Matrika-mandala describe Mohini differently. Mohini is referred to as one of the various Matrka-Saktis created by Rudra in order to destroy the clones that spawned from Andhaka’s body. —Accordingly, Andhakāsura attempted to abduct Girajanandini (Parvati) and thus ensued a fierce battle between Andhakāsura and the great Rudra, the Lord of Uma. Like raktabija, every drop of blood that fell from the body of Andhaka created another Asura like him, and in no time, the entire world was filled with Andhakas. To destroy the growing number of Andhakas, Rudra created innumerable Matrka-saktis. These Saktis of immense power at once began to drink every drop of blood that flowed from the body of Andhaka, but they could still not effectively contain the emergence of more and more demons.
3. According to Shiva Purana, Mohini refers to "deluding someone". Accordingly, as Uma (Durga/Sati) spoke to the Gods: "Just as you, Rudra, too, desire my incarnation in the abode of Himavan." As a result, I will incarnate. That should be the end of misery in the world. You have all returned to your homes. You will be happy for a long time. After incarnating, I shall give Mena full happiness. I shall become Śiva’s wife. But this desire is a great secret to me. Shiva’s divine sport is wonderful. It deludes [i.e., Mohini] even the wise. "
4. According to the Vishnu Purana, Devas and Asuras quarreled with each other over the right to partake of the Amrta (nectar) obtained from the sea of milk. At that time, Mahavishnu appeared before them in the guise of a beautiful maiden of maddening charm, and the asuras were guilefully made to turn their attention to her for some time, during which time the nectar was carried away by the Devas. The female form of Mahavishnu was called Mohini. It also says that, Shiva fell in love with Mohini and that, by the union of the two, was born Sasta.
5. In Sangitasiromani, Mohini is different. It refers to "the bewildering one" and is the presiding deity of sobhī (‘brilliant’). Mohini is one of the sixteen deities presiding over the corresponding sixteen words of the elā-prabandha, all of which are defined in the Sangitasiromani ("crest-jewel of music"). Ela is an important subgenre of song and was regarded as an auspicious and important prabandha (composition) in ancient Indian music (gandharva). According to nirukta analysis, the etymological meaning of ela can be explained as follows: a represents Vishnu, i represents Kamadeva, la represents Laksmi.
As you can see from the above examples, it is not possible to be sure as to whom Mohini actually refers to. The closest we can get to Mohini is through the concept of resilience, from the definition of "deluding someone". But why is this delusion needed? We need this delusion to get through problems, traumatic events, or failures so that they don't make us give up. It is a belief or changed reality that someone holds on to even though evidence or agreement says otherwise.
Resilience is the psychological quality that allows some people to be knocked down by the adversities of life and come back at least as strong as before. High-resilience people don't let problems, traumatic events, or failures get the best of them or weaken their resolve. Instead, they find a way to change course, heal emotionally, and keep moving toward their goals. Psychologists have found that having a positive attitude, being optimistic, being able to control your emotions, and being able to see failure as a form of helpful feedback all seem to make a person more resilient. Optimism, for instance, has been shown to help blunt the impact of stress on the mind and body in the wake of disturbing experiences. That gives people access to their own cognitive resources, enabling cool-headed analysis of what might have gone wrong and consideration of behavioral paths that might be more productive. Other aspects of resilience’s roots remain under study. For example, there does seem to be a genetic predisposition for resilience, but early experiences and life circumstances play a role in how resilient genes are ultimately expressed.
Post-traumatic growth is when people find more psychological and spiritual meaning in their lives after a traumatic event. It doesn't always happen right away after a traumatic event, and the person may still have anxiety, depression, or flashbacks.
One thing that is very important to know is that you will not find growth in yourself if you don't believe that you can grow. There are four forms of post-traumatic growth in humans:
Post-traumatic growth is not a technique that brings about instantaneous results; it's a slow process of making lemonade out of lemons. Getting your happiness back might seem like an impossible task, but the first step in getting the desired result is to commit to the processes that led to its events.
Many factors that determine resilience—such as genetics, early life experiences, and luck—can’t be modified. But specific resilience-building skills can be learned. These include breaking out of negative thought cycles, pushing back against catastrophizing, and looking for upsides when faced with setbacks. Building resilience in children depends on the opportunities and exposure the children have, and the relationships they form with parents, guardians, teachers, and friends. Children can build resilience if:
Children should be allowed to express their feelings without restrictions. When they express these feelings, it is left to the parents and guardians to make them understand why they feel a certain way, and what they should do in order to be in control. When children grieve, it is very difficult to help them because, in most cases, they have no idea how to overcome the grief. You must teach them to always ask for help whenever they need it, and they should also learn the dangers of the 3 Ps.
Resilience isn't there to make you forget the memories of your loved ones, but to help you live with those memories every day. Getting through pain and disappointment without letting them become overwhelming isn’t necessarily easy for anyone. But researchers have begun to uncover what more resilient people do to emotionally and mentally carry on after the death of a loved one, a job loss, chronic or acute illness, or another setback.
Indra failed to get the jar of nectar. His morale was low, his productivity was lowered, and his knowledge was forgotten. But this failure to achieve his goals gave rise to Mohini. The churning of the ocean is a myth. The myth of churning the ocean corresponds to a yogi practising his art (including meditation) to stir his vast ocean-like unconscious in order to find the nectar (soma) in his mind and merge with eternity. Good thoughts, memories, and actions are called Gods, while evil thoughts, memories, and actions are demons. The ability to bounce back from demonic qualities to divine qualities requires the help of resilience, or better known as Mohini. And what is the churning process? Its self-transformation is a churning process which requires the integration of both positive and negative aspects of the human personality.
Failing is deeply human; everyone, no matter their background, skillset, or life story, will fail spectacularly at least once in their life. Its commonplace nature, however, doesn’t mean that experiencing a major loss or setback is easy or fun—or that it’s widely accepted in a winner-takes-all culture that prioritizes success at all costs. But learning to be okay with making mistakes, big or small, is a critical skill—one tied not only to resilience but also, perhaps, to future success. One recent study, for example, found that young scientists who experienced a significant setback early in their career actually went on to greater success than scientists who had seen early wins. Becoming okay with making mistakes helps build better emotional regulation, which can benefit someone in a wide variety of domains, from relationships to the workplace. Furthermore, analyzing and accepting a setback can provide lessons that will prevent the failure from repeating itself in the future.
Staying in grief takes a lot from you, both psychologically and physically. Staying unhappy is a choice and a state of mind that can be changed with the help of resilience, or better known as Mohini. When you agree to overcome your grief, you are accepting the inevitability of a bad situation and you are agreeing to the fact that the best option is always to move on. Never let demonic qualities steal your nectar and run away by wallowing in self-pity for too long, because like quicksand, the more you struggle, the more you get stuck.
What should you do to arouse Mohini's help? Simple steps will help.
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