I really like her introductory line: “Everyone lives on the edge in fear.” It’s so true!!
I also liked the line, “Domestication of Goddess (nature) must be mirrored with the awakening of God (mind).” I feel like the theme of balance is very present throughout Indian culture and this is once again demonstrated here.
I thought the story about Kanya kumari was very interesting. It’s ironic that she is more powerful without a man, especially since it seems like a lot of times in Indian culture a great deal of women’s power is determined by their husband.
I like how symbolic Durga’s hair is. I like that the fact that it’s unbound represents the freedom of nature while the traditional wedding garb represents the confines of culture.
I like the idea of humans used as portals to reach the divine. It’s nice to think that loved ones have that kind of power to make us feel the peace of God.
Another thing that is brought to light with Durga is the cyclical nature of life. This theme is also very prevalent in Indian culture.
It’s interesting that Durga is a sum of the parts from the different devas.
I had not ever heard the term Mahadevi, the goddess of the gods, or Mahadeva, god of the gods. It’s interesting that Durga is Mahadevi and Shiva is Mahadeva. Once again, we see this theme of balancing things out.
The comparison between humans and animals was also very interesting. I liked that it pointed out the struggle between our own desires and “social structures imposed upon us by others based on their desires”.
I like the idea that the wisdom comes from simple rural people. I thought it was interesting how this directly correlates with concept behind the Grama-devi.
I thought the quote, “for culture to happen, domestication has to be voluntary, born of love, not the desire for control.” While I really struggle with supporting the idea of “domestication”, I do agree with any sort of roles being voluntary.
Below is an image of the Goddess Durga.
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