Being born into a classic Hindu family, I’ve been acquainted
with astrology ever since I could remember. As I grew older, the ritual belief
started manifesting itself in me as a stubborn interest to discover the
unknown. When people ask me whether I
believe in “Astrology for the Crazy”, I give a blank nod. Well, the fact is, I
believe in the science, only when it predicts good things for me. So, I’d
rather have you call it – “Astrology for the Opportunists”.
Anyway, today being the first day and post of the April
#A-ZChallenge, my post is going to be about a character I discovered
and grew close to through my keen oddity involving astrology.
An ‘Asura’ – is characterized by aggression, and vehement
passion for power and life. He lives a day at a time, and lives it to the
fullest.
From a very young age, us Indian kids have listened to our
grandmothers endlessly recite tales of various asuras being defeated till the
ground beneath their feet hauled them into ‘Naraka’. However, I had a very
different taste when it came to mythologies; I went for the brave than the
noble. And hence, ended up falling in love with Durga and Shiva for their
braveries. People with valiant and fearless personalities were always among my
favorites than the meek Devas who sat in Devaloka immersed in the immaterial gossip.
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| PC: http://blog.ninapaley.com/ |
“It is significant that it was not for their sins that
the anti-gods had to be destroyed but because of their power, their virtue,
their knowledge, which threatened that of gods” – Alain Danielou ( Via
Wiki)
Here are some of the random things about Asuras that
amaze me:
1.
They were marked by passion and determination.
The gods were terrified of their iron-willed personalities. In many of the stories I've come across – most of the Asuras meditated in excruciating
physical conditions for years, till the gods gave them an apparition and
granted them wishes.
2.
Ravana - One of the most popular Asura of our
times. The ten headed physical description of Ravana is often drawn from the
fact that, his acumen was unparalleled during those times i.e. his intelligence
and capacity could beat that of ten ordinary men taken together.
3.
Humility and Dedication - Some of the stories
seem to lay emphasis on the fact that Ravana waited all his life to die in the
hands of Rama, who was a godly incarnation, with the ulterior motive of
attaining ‘Moksha’.
4.
Creativity – Most of the Asuras were in
possession of some endearing creative skills. If you take Ravana himself for
instance, who was an adept instrumentalist – he played the Veena like nobody’s
business.
5.
Despite the wrath, Asuras were fond of forging
great friendships and being loyal to their kins.
6.
I often end up comparing Asuras to Lord Shiva –
the strikingly similar appearances and habits, the unkempt hair and dressing,
the heroic valor and the intense personalities who dare to go beyond what’s
defined.
7.
This may sound slightly (read: majorly) dim,
but, I had a fond liking for the kind of weapons the Asuras crafted, in comparison
to the other demi-gods.And this judgement of mine, comes from watching too much of the shoddy mythical TV shows of the 90's.
8.
Great warriors – The word Asura closely
resembles ‘Ahura’ which is the Persian expression for a great warrior.
Perhaps, this is me being a believer of “Astrology for the
Opportunist”, since I was born under the Asura Gana as per my Indian horoscope.
However, it is a matter of perception, whether ones liking bent towards the
brave one fighting for himself, or belonged to the successful and reticent, who
maintained double standards. For years I questioned the perception I was born
into, and finally put a finger on the fact that, maybe Asuras aren’t as bad as
they were portrayed to be!
While researching for this piece, I came across a wonderful
write-up on similar lines, some facts from which I have quoted in this article
too - http://vak1969.com/tag/asuras/
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