Quotes from Devdutt Pattanaik

greatness is not transmitted through the generations. Every man ultimately makes or destroys his own legacy.

Dating of Hindu history is always approximate and speculative, and often a range, as orally transmitted scriptures precede the written works by several centuries, and parts of the written work were composed by various scribes over several generations, in different geographies.

According to rationalists, Hanuman did not fly, he swam. In the Valmiki Ramayana, words for swimming and flying are used interchangeably.

Ultimately, all wars can be traced to the simplest of quarrels where man is eager to overpower rather than indulge the other.

By making man the master of his own destiny and the creator of his own desires, God makes man ultimately responsible for the life he leads and the choices he makes. God does not interfere with fate; he simply helps man cope with it.

There are two kinds of victory in this world,' said the storyteller-sage, 'Vijaya and Jaya. Vijaya is material victory, where there is a loser. Jaya is spiritual victory, where there are no losers. In Kuru-kshetra there was Vijaya but not Jaya. But when Yudhishtira overcame his rage and forgave the Kauravas unconditionally, there was Jaya. That

The Buddha spoke of nirvana, which means oblivion of individual identity, but Krishna speaks of brahma-nirvana as an expansion of the mind (brahmana) that leads to liberation (moksha) while ironically also enabling union (yoga), indicating a shift away from monastic isolationism. That

point of existence is not to accumulate merit, but to attain wisdom. We have to ask ourselves—why do we do what we do? When we truly accept the answer, we break free from the cycle of births and deaths, and discover the realm beyond Swarga, Vaikuntha, where there is peace forever.

One must bear in mind that the concept of God as a judge, which is part of Christian and Islamic mythology, is absent in Hindu mythology

What we mean by 'life' is a psychological response to the physical world.

That conflict comes from rage, rage comes from fear, and fear comes from lack of faith. That

Arjuna, in age after age, whenever humanity forgets its potential and functions as it should not, I manifest to inspire those with faith and shake up those without faith, so that humanity never ever forgets what it is capable of.'—Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 4, verses 7 and 8 (paraphrased).

Actions in Hindu mythology are never 'right', though they are often necessary or obligatory, and they always come at a price.

Both greed and outrage stem from insecurity; insecurity is the result of a poor understanding of, and a lack of faith in, one's true nature and the true nature of the world around us. The Veda says that as long as we do not accept life for what it is, as long as we try to control and change things, there will always be conflict. Conflict ends when we realize that beyond tangible material reality, there is intangible spiritual reality.

No one person can ever take credit for a moment in this cosmos.

In the Ramayana many women are killed or mutilated on the grounds of them being demons: Tadaka is the first amongst them and Surpanakha is the most well known. But there are others such as Ayomukhi, Simhika, Surasa, Lankini and even Mandodari, the wife of Ravana, and Chandrasena, the wife of Mahiravana. It is difficult to digest that these are simply metaphors for wild, untamed nature. There is clearly an acceptance of male violence against women.

Rama's poise and dignity in the face of such pressure and tragedy make him, in the eyes of Hindus, the supreme upholder of social values, maryada purushottam.

Thanks to our larger brain, we can imagine and create a world where we can look beyond ourselves, include others, and make everyone feel wanted and safe. We can, if we wish to, establish a society where the mighty care for the meek, and where resources are made available to help even the unfit thrive. This is dharma.

There are two kinds of victory in this world,' said the storyteller-sage, 'Vijaya and Jaya. Vijaya is material victory, where there is a loser. Jaya is spiritual victory, where there are no losers. In

Adharma is thus an eternal temptation, while dharma is an endless work in progress that validates our humanity.

The greatest human fear is validation.

In Vyasa's tale, that which seeks is visualised as male; that which is sought is female. The feeder is male; the food is female. The male creates life outside itself; the female creates life within itself. The being was the feeder, hence male, and the world around was food, hence female.

Those who believed they were righteous never listened.

Shiva-linga then is thus at once, the self-stirred phallus of the Tapasvin, the reverse flow of his semen, the burning of Tapa, the endless pillar of fire and the form of the formless divine. This is the Stanu, the still pillar of consciousness, the fountainhead of imagination, around which nature dances.