soul doctor or soul taker, making the cut vs sending them to the slaughter

WEDNESDAY

is it wednesday already

cartoon from new yorker, it was a dark and silly night, gahan wilson meets neil gaimon:

SATURDAY

im not supposed to take whole pages of websites but im taking this one
this is some place selling saraswati icons so maybe they wont mind the free publicity

i fell in love with saraswati while i was in india recently, was in calcutta during her day
and got invited to a saraswati puja and did my performance thing on her day and folk

kept telling me you one of saraswatis folk, that fusion of word, knowledge, music and spirit you try to do,

that shabby but sincere attempt at wisdom, had

a really magical day wandering about new market that day and folk were devoting her all day
and she came to mean something to me, ive added her to my personal pantheon, let me see

my personal pantheon, a hoodoo nine, would be (this changes according to my mood)

highjohn the conqueror
olodummare
legba
oshun
yemeya
gullah jack
marie leveau
shango
babajohn killens
saraswati

okay okay, so math is not my thing, that might have been 10

i dont know if that holds, i had to leave a lot out
ima have to work on this concept some more

my true pantheon is 81 hoodoo haints (9 x 9)
but this im thinking as my primary personal pantheon

but what about john henry and ogun and my father and david walker
i really should have davidwalker instead of gullah jack, cause he the one

i model in terms of my service, my appeal to the colored peoples of the world
his attempt to set up an underground distribution system among the slaves

thats my boy

but saraswati my girl, too, i put her up there with oshun and yemaya

i tell you being a citizen of the world can be confusing sometime

all my love

rdoc

----------------------

Hindu Goddess Saraswati the Goddess of Wisdom

Saraswati the goddess of knowledge, who is praised by the wise, who is the wife of the creator, may she reside on the tip of my tongue.

Saraswati, goddess of knowledge and the arts, embodies the wisdom of Devi.  She is the river of consciousness that enlivens creation; she is the dawn-goddess whose rays dispel the darkness of ignorance.  Without her there is only chaos and confusion.  To realize her one must go beyond the pleasures of the senses and rejoice in the serenity of the spirit.  Saraswati wears neither jewels or paints herself with bright colors.  The white sari she adorns reflects her essential purity, her rejection of all that is base and materialistic. She transcends the cravings of the flesh and rejoices in the powers of the mind as the patron of pure wisdom.  She embodies all that is pure and sublime in Nature.

The four Vedas, books of universal knowledge, were her offspring.  Her mount, the swan, personifies pure knowledge and her herald, the peacock, is a symbol of the arts.   Schools and libraries are her temples; books, pens, all tools of the artist and musical instruments are the items used in puja to the enlightening goddess of wisdom.

The Birth of Saraswati In the beginning there was chaos.  Everything existed in a formless, fluid state.  “How do I bring order to this disorder?” wondered Brahma, the creator.  “With Knowledge”, said Devi.  Heralded by a peacock, sacred books in one hand and a veena in the other dressed in white Devi emerged from Brahma’s mouth riding a swan as the goddess Saraswati. “Knowledge helps man find possibilities where once he saw problems.”  Said the goddess.  Under her tutelage Brahma acquired the ability to sense, think, comprehend and communicate.  He began looking upon chaos with eyes of wisdom and thus saw the beautiful potential that lay therein. Brahma discovered the melody of mantras in the cacophony of chaos.  In his joy he named Saraswati, Vagdevi, goddess of speech and sound. The sound of mantras filled the universe with vital energy, or prana.  Things began to take shape and the cosmos acquired a structure: the sky dotted with stars rose to form the heavens; the sea sank into the abyss below, the earth stood in between. Gods became lords of the celestial spheres; demons ruled the nether regions, humans walked on earth.  The sun rose and set, the moon waxed and waned, the tide flowed and ebbed.  Seasons changed, seeds germinated, plants bloomed and withered, animals migrated and reproduced as randomness gave way to the rhythm of life.

Brahma thus became the creator of the world with Saraswati as his wisdom.

Saraswati was the first being to come into Brahma’s world.  Brahma began to look upon her with eyes of desire.  She turned away saying, “All I offer must be used to elevate the spirit, not indulge the senses.”

Brahma could not control his amorous thoughts and his infatuation for the lovely goddess grew.  He continued to stare at Saraswati.  He gave himself four heads facing every direction so that he could always be able to feast his eyes on Saraswati’s beauty. 

Saraswati moved away from Brahma, first taking the form of a cow.  Brahma then followed her as a bull.  Saraswati then changed into a mare; Brahma gave chase as a horse.  Every time Saraswati turned into a bird or a beast he followed her as the corresponding male equivalent.  No matter how hard Brahma tried he could not catch Saraswati in any of her forms.

The goddess with multiple forms came to be known as Shatarupa.  She personified material reality, alluring yet fleeting.

Saraswati Curses Brahma   Angered by his display of unbridled passion Saraswati cursed Brahma, “You have filled the world with longing that is the seed of unhappiness.  You have fettered the soul in the flesh.  You are not worthy of reverence.  May there be hardly any temple or festival in your name.”   So it came to pass that there are only two temples of Brahma in India; one at Pushkar, Rajistan and the other in Kumbhakonam, Tamil Nadu.   Undaunted by the curse, Brahma continued to cast his lustful looks upon Saraswati.  He gave himself a fifth head to enhance his gaze.    Bhairava, Shiva, Confronts Brahma Brahma’s action motivated by desire confined consciousness and excited the ego.  It disturbed the serenity of the cosmos and roused Shiva, the supreme ascetic from his meditation.

Shiva opened his eyes, sensed Saraswati’s discomfort and in a fit of rage turned into Bhairava, lord of terror.  His eyes were red, his growl menacing.  He lunged towards Brahma and with his sharp claws, wretched off Brahma’s fifth head.  The violence subdued Brahma’s passion.

Brahma’s cut head seared through Bhairava’s flesh and clung to his hand sapping him of all his strength and driving him mad.  The lord of terror ranted and raved losing control of his senses. Saraswati, pleased with Bhairava’s timely action, rushed to his rescue.  With her gentle touch she nursed him like a child, restoring his sanity. Brahma, sobered by his encounter with the Lord of terror sought an escape from the maze of his own desire.  Saraswati revealed to him the doctrine for his own liberation.  Brahma sought to conduct a yagna, fire sacrifice, to cleanse himself and start anew.  In order to conduct a yagna ritual the assistance of a wife is needed.  Brahma chose Saraswati to be his wife and thus they were reconciled.

Saraswati, her Veena and the song of the Gandharva The Gandharvas were demigods who sprang from the fragrance of flowers.  Once they stole the Soma plant whose inebriating and invigorating sap was much sought after by the devas.  The theft of the Soma infuriated all the gods. Saraswati promised to recover the soma plant.  She went to the garden of the gandharvas and with her veena created enchanting tunes: the ragas and the raginis. “Give us this music,” begged the gandharvas. “Only if you give back the Soma plant to the devas,” said the goddess. The gandharvas returned the Soma plant and learned how to play music from Saraswati.  In time they became celestial musicians whose melodies had more power to rouse the mind than any intoxicant.

Saraswati Outwits a Demon

A demon practiced many austerities to appease Brahma.  The demon sought to conquer the three worlds and the gods feared that he may ask a boon that would make him invincible; the gods sought the help of the goddess Saraswati.  The goddess sat on the tongue of the demon so that when it was time to ask for a boon all he could say was, “I would like to never stay awake.”

“So be it,” said Brahma.

As a result, the demon wanted to conquer the three worlds ended up going to sleep forever.

Saraswati, Lakshmi and Brahma Brahma created the universe with the help of Saraswati. Brahma was the guardian of the cosmos.  He too needed Saraswati’s support to sustain the cosmos.  Using her knowledge he instituted and maintained dharma, sacred laws that ensure stability and growth in society. Brahma also needed the help of Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, who gave him the wherewithal to ensure cosmic order. The question arose: who did Brahma need more?  Lakshmi or Saraswati?  Wealth or knowledge?  The goddesses argued, “Knowledge does not fill an empty stomach.” Said Saraswati.  “Wealth keeps man alive but gives no meaning to life.” Said Saraswati. “I need both knowledge and wealth to sustain the cosmos. Without knowledge I cannot plan.  Without wealth I cannot implement a plan.  Wealth sustains life; the arts give value to life.  Thus both Lakshmi and Saraswati are needed to live a full life. Saraswati Saves the World from Shiva’s Third Eye and the Beast of Doom Shiva was woken from his meditations and looked around to discover a world on the brink of corruption and being unsalvageable.  Shiva decided it was time to wipe the slate clean.  Shiva, the destroyer, opened his world destroying third eye attempting to destroy the three worlds..  Out came a terrible fire that threatened all existence. There was panic everywhere.  Only Saraswati remained calm.  “Shiva’s fire burns only that which is impure and corrupt.” She took the form of a river and with her pure waters picked up the dreaded fire from Shiva’s third eye.  Within the folds of her water she carried the fire far away from the earth to the bottom of the sea where it transformed into a fire breathing mare called Badavagni – the beast of doom. “So long as the world is pure and man wise, this terrible creature will remain on the bottom of the sea.  When wisdom is abandoned and man corrupts the world, Badavagni will emerge and destroy the universe,” foretold the wise goddess.

FRIDAY

okay, basically killing this post, it caused a friend of mine a lot of unnecarray grief
behind my own preoccupation with who will make the literary cut among my students

this is an ongoing obsession of mine but speculating about it online caused unnecssary grief

for which i apologize - way i told it and it was received made it sound like my colleague
was dismissive of their chances, which is not the case, and speaking about the odds dismayed some

i should have been more discrete in my blogging, this question of who will make the cut is

its something mfa faculty struggle with daily, how to get as many thru as possible - what do this one need

so much of the literary life is sheer endurance, an almost psychotic unwillingness to take a no

a bind faith in the value of good work, no matter what the industry or the literary world says

ive worked with folk that no matter how hard you work with them they just never get past shallow work

they are just incapable, and even folk doing good work fall by the wayside cause the industry is ruthless

is it better encouraging them knowing that most of them wont make the cut, or should i disencourage somebody who just might have it in them down the line

this is something that comes up often as a hoodoo practitioner, as a soul doctor, as a teacher

you tell a young writer, oh you not a realistic writer, you need to write surrealism, thats your strength
you tell a young writer, o, invest the next 5 years of your life on a novel, knowing that most of them wont follow thru

as a hoodoo you tell somebody come to you w/an abusive spouse, oh this is no good, leave that person - or stay with them, whatever -
whatever advice you give affects their lives, specially if they really trust you, and the tradition, to help them, to care

i try to avoid taking control of folks lives, i try to lay out the options and let them decide but the role (teacher, hoodoo) is fundamentally one of guidance

the question i have to constantly ask myself is - are you a soul doctor or a soul taker
cause thats what i do, i handle souls, and im good at it - i shape souls

i strive with all my power to avoid taking souls, i consider it an abomination of the power to take souls
but thats what i do on a regular basis - deciding what i think people need to best evolve on their chosen life path

as a hoodoo im constantly giving folk life advice,

as a teacher im constantly giving folk life advice - and grading them on how well they take it,

its a daunting responsibility sometimes, taking care of folks souls

thats why rickydoc believe souls should always be handled with a very light hand

okay, ive just twisted myself up into a no win hole here, will have to refine this post when i get a moment

i will continue to encourage young writers, its what i do, but i will constantly make it clear, the odds are against you

your call

all my love

rdoc

Comments

[Alex Yates]

Some thoughts from a student, probably on his way to the slaughter:

I see a big difference between encouragement and being a soft critic. You are one of the most encouraging teachers, writers, and people I’ve ever known. But you’re not a soft critic. In my experience you always give work on the page the respect of your most honest judgments, the sharpest power of your critical and creative faculties. If the work is unrealized, you say so, and in the end it is always about the work. The most encouraged bulldog writer won’t get anywhere if their work does not grow.

You’re leading no one to the slaughter. I don’t think anyone stays in this game for the long haul just because someone else said it would be a good idea, and those who fall off for wont of encouragement were never destined to get there anyway. We may be walking to the slaughter, but we are going there under our own power. You’re taking a stretch of trail with us, saying: I’m with you. I believe.

It’s not false hope you’re offering. For people already committed to their destination, no hope is false hope.

[Lafreya]

Mr Yates is right on so, so many levels.

We need the rah rah teachers, those teacher who encourage but aren't soft critics either. Those instructors who give a student’s work on the page their respect and honest judgment. We need more teachers in writing programs who as you so wonderfully put it, trust their literary nature as a teacher enough to remember that a floundering student can suddenly blossom.

Lord knows I suddenly blossomed late in life. Wish I had met a teacher like you earlier when I was a younger writer.

I was one of those students teachers dismissed as not being able to make the cut and for a long, long time I believed them, wasted years of my literary life believing that I couldn't make it because they said so. But the writing dream wouldn’t die part of that persistence and determination thing, part of that psychotic unwillingness to take a no.

Writing was something I had to do, seemed like I always had novels in my head, in my soul. So I finally wrote my first novel and along the way the universe sent me mentors who have nurtured me and sternly critiqued me, those rah rah folks who knew how to nurture a gift. I have an agent now and though she hasn’t sold the book and may never sell it given the market for literary fiction written by black folks, I’ve never been happier. I love the struggle that writing is despite the pain and the frustration.

[Chelsea Lemon Fetzer]

My first fiction writing teacher wrote "Rejection" on the board of our first workshop until he had filled it.... at the end of the class he told us he doubted any of us would have the balls to continue writing beyond our diaries. Can tough love and a light hand exist at once? Yes, I'm sure. In any case, we have to cultivate our psychotic unwillingness to stop at a no as we cultivate our craft. I think the best professors find a way to guide us in both senses. Arthur your honesty, though I may have challenged you at times, has always grown me.