Quotes from Devdutt Pattanaik

Somvat had seen a creature such as Sthunakarna only on the walls of Ileshwara's temple. Images of such deformed beasts lined the northern wall just below images of the Apsaras. 'Because the world belongs not just to beautiful creatures,' said the Pujari. 'Shiva loves them. He is the indifferent one, who looks beyond bodies, beautiful and ugly, male and female, young and old, at the suffering soul.

You renounced your right to think independently when you let someone else play your game for you. His word is your word. And you must be committed to keeping it. For to keep one's word is dharma. To hate is not dharma.

Arjuna, fair or unfair, the results of any action depend on five things: the body, the mind, the instruments, the method and divine grace (luck? fate?). Only the ignorant think they alone are responsible for any outcome.—Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 18, verses 13 to 16 (paraphrased).

Remember, it is the nature of the ignorant mind to be drawn towards things that will cause harm and to avoid things that are good. We must remember that what tempts us will in all probability be the cause of our downfall. What we shy away from, what we procrastinate about, probably is what will help us evolve.' So

In nature, the strong overpower the weak in order to improve their chances of survival. But in culture, the strong must protect the weak. That is dharma.

Animals are loyal to a pack, a herd, a hive; human beings can choose which side they fight on. And the choice must be based on dharma.

Do you derive your identity by comparing yourself with me? This is maya, a necessary delusion without which society cannot function. It can uplift you with inspiration, depress you with jealousy or grant you peace by revealing how different you are from me.

Peace comes when one comes to terms with the three worlds: the personal world, the cultural world and the natural world.

We can never know everything and we can never be sure. All information is incomplete, and all readings distorted by personal prejudice. And yet we have to take decisions all the time and hope the results favour us. Bhartrihari

there is a reality greater than what you perceive.

WHEN THE HEART IS OPENED up, when love flows into it and from it, a sense of security prevails. With security comes freedom. There is no need to pretend. We can be ourselves.

Most desired form of happiness? 'Contentment

When you live only once, the value of your life becomes the sum total of your achievements. Hence the need to align or achieve, which are the driving forces of Western thought.

The sage said, 'It is the name of Ram that ensured the bridge of stones to Lanka did not crack under the weight of the monkeys. Likewise, it is the name of Krishna that ensures this bridge of arrows withstands Hanuman's weight. Strength alone is not enough in this world; divine grace is needed. Krishna is Ram and both are Hari or Vishnu. Never forget that. Without Krishna you are nothing. You are Nara and he is Narayana.

FEAR OF DEATH LEADS TO two kinds of fears as it transforms all living creatures either into predator or prey. The fear of scarcity haunts the predator as it hunts for food; the fear of predation haunts the prey as it avoids being hunted. Nature has no favourites. Both the lion and the deer have to run in order to survive.

takes the form of Draupadi, not his mother or his wife, but a distant relative, barely connected by blood or marriage. Draupadi cares for Krishna as Radha does, without expectations. And that is why Krishna always watches over her, even though he is not obliged to.

In fact the English word 'demon' is full of a value judgement that is wrongly attributed to the words rakshasa and asura.

As Indra's wife, Lakshmi is known as Sachi and Indra is known as Sachin.

Our psychological birth takes place when we accept a guru who reveals to us the secrets of the Vedas.

A line has been drawn around her hut. She has been told very clearly that only within the line do the laws of culture apply; here she is Ram's wife. Outside is nature, where the rules of marriage make no sense; she is just a woman for the taking.

Rage needs expression. Dhritarashtra expresses it by crushing the iron effigy of Bhima while Gandhari expresses it by burning Yudhishtira's toe with a glance. Once expressed, rage dissipates and reason returns. One is advised in many parts of India to eat sugar when angry, just like Gandhari did, so as not to end up cursing the Pandavas.

It is not about being a hermit in the forest. It is about overpowering lust and attachment wherever you are.

journey from knowing to becoming is the journey of transformation from Ravana to Ram.

Animals do not have beliefs. Animals want to know if the other is food, a mate or a threat. Humans, however, are consumed with notions of what is true (satyam, in Sanskrit), good (shivam) and beautiful (sundaram). Belief establishes these.