Different cultures have different takes on the process of life and its purpose. In order to express these ideas and concepts they used mythology. The Egyptians had their mythological figures like Osiris, Isis, Anubis, etc.,and others along with stories to go with them explaining life, the afterlife, etc. The same with the Greeks and their tales of Zeus, Hades, etc. The ancient Hindus also had their own expressions of life through mythology. One of which I’m going to try and convey here in my article.
This story centers around the Hindu god Indra. Indra had many functions in Indian culture but was considered to be the “King” of the gods. As with the previously mentioned cultures, the Hindu mythology contains many gods. In this story Indra had been watching some pigs on a farm and became curious. He thought they seemed like they were having a good time and wondered what it would be like to become a pig, so he did. Indra descended from the heavens and entered the body of a pig.
Indra wasn’t the only pig on this farm, there were others. They all stayed in a small pen eating all day and wallowing in the mud. Indra kinda liked pretending to be a pig and made friends with the other pigs that were in the enclosure. As time passed the other gods started to worry about Indra. They were wondering why he was taking this whole stunt so far and staying there in the pig pen for so long. So, they decided to go there and ask him to come back, they figured that he had been a pig long enough.
When the other gods descended down to the farm and tried to talk to Indra he didn’t want to listen. It was like he didn’t remember and of the other gods. He just ignored them and continued being a pig stuffing his face and playing in the mud.
The other gods were a bit confused with Indra for not wanting to return with them. They discussed what to do amongst themselves and felt that Indra had lost his way. They decided that he was too attached to the other pigs and that was what was keeping him there. So, the gods slaughtered every pig in the pen except for Indra.
In seeing the other pigs around him dead Indra became filled with sadness and began to cry. The other gods had thought that once the other pigs were gone that Indra would snap out of it but he didn’t. Finally the other gods surrounded indra and figured that they would have to remove him from the pig by force. They grabbed the pig that he inhabited and cut it open. Immediately Indra popped out and in realizing once again what he was he burst out laughing.
This story illustrated the nature of our infinite soul. In this story Indra took on the body of a pig and forgot who and what he was. He was so distracted in the context of being a pig that he lost track of his true nature. It wasn’t until the other gods intervened that he once again realized this and he found the humor in what had happened. Such is life…
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