The Cabin of God

The purpose of The Cabin is twofold. My first goal is to introduce the West to Hindu myths from the Mahabharata and Ramayana while also sharing the Hindu values of toleration and empathy. At the same time, the stories will show Hindu Americans the philosophy inherent within their myths and legends. It will also attempt to remind Hindus that to achieve enlightenment and to break the cycle of life and death; race, caste, gender, and sexuality must all be forgotten. These identities are all lies, told by a fearful ego, hoping to survive. We must destroy our egos and realize that our only real identity is God.
My intent is not to just rewrite Hindu stories. I am striving to make these stories as accessible as possible to Hindus and non-Hindus alike. If a person who has never heard of Krishna is able to read and understand the stories, I will have accomplished my goal. I am also trying to emphasize and draw out the philosophy inherent to each of these myths. To achieve this, I have made a number of creative changes to the original myths so that the philosophical lessons each character teaches us are prioritized.
For example, the main creative change I make to the story of Yudhisthira is the order of tests that the Lord of Righteousness faces. In the original tale, Yudhisthira first refuses to abandon the dog, and then refuses to leave his family behind. I change the order of tests to family, then people of other faiths, and then the dog, to better show Yudhisthira’s commitment to leaving no one behind. In addition, Yudhisthira’s attempt to save people of different religions from hell was imagined by me. I felt Yudhisthira’s discussion with Indhra is particularly relevant for the modern age. It also helps capture how Hinduism views other religions and faiths. Furthermore, in the original myth, Yudhisthira is liberated from the cycle of birth and death after exhausting the karma of his good deeds in heaven. In my story, Yudhisthira is reborn on Earth to demonstrate the effect of attachments and to reveal that heaven and hell, if they exist, are not the end goal in Hinduism.
The story of Rama is mostly faithful to the original legend. The key difference is the private conversation that occurs between Rama and Dasharatha. Rama’s entire life exemplified the path of action, but I felt that by having him explicitly teach Dasharatha to renunciate the fruits of action, the philosophy would become much clearer to the reader.
In contrast, I make several changes to the story of Karna. As my story encompasses Karna’s entire life, many of his legends are either abridged or omitted in order to maintain narrative flow and focus. The casteism that Karna experiences early in his life are inspired by the stories I have heard of how untouchables were abused in India. To eliminate casteism, we must acknowledge its rotten, immoral, and embarrassing existence. Additionally, in the original tale, Karna disguises himself as a Brahmin so that Parashurama will teach him. In my version, Karna presents himself as a Sudra in order to portray how he is constantly rejected based on caste until he finally achieves liberation. In the original myth, when Karna surrenders his armor and earrings to Indhra, the King of the Gods gives him the Brahmastra, a weapon with incredible power. Instead, I have Indhra promise Karna enlightenment, which helps focus on the philosophical lesson of the tale: liberation. Finally, the Brahmin’s second test to Karna, where he pretends to be repulsed by Karna’s caste, is imagined by me. This final test proves to Krishna that Karna sees the God in everyone, and that he is worthy of liberation.
My depiction of the Vishwaroopa, or Krishna’s true form, must also be explained. Karna and Raj’s visions of God differ based on their understanding of the world. They only see what they can comprehend. Because of this, Karna’s vision is similar to traditional descriptions of the Vishwaroopa in the Bhagavad Gita and other scriptures. In contrast, Raj’s vision reflects his understanding of modern science and the creation of the universe, as well as his awareness of religions like Christianity and Islam. I add these references to other religions to show the inclusive, all encompassing worldview of Hinduism
Finally, I would like to briefly discuss the scope of this project. Hinduism is incomprehensibly vast. It is the oldest living religion, and has more Gods than Peru has people. Hindus can be polytheist, monotheist, monist, atheist, and anything in between. Hindus understand that there is no single path for everyone. We all have different minds and internal biases and imagine God through these differing lenses. The stories told in The Cabin encapsulate the essence of Advaitha philosophy, the school of non-dualism. Advaitha Hindus believe there is no reality but God. There is no difference between us and God. In order to be liberated from the cycle of eternal life and death, the soul must realize this truth and return to God.
For three millenia, Hindus used storytelling to immortalize their values and pass their ideas on to the next generation. I am proud to be able to continue this sacred tradition.