Building upon many years of privately shared thoughts on the real benefits of Stoic Philosophy, Liam Milburn eventually published a selection of Stoic passages that had helped him to live well. They were accompanied by some of his own personal reflections. This blog hopes to continue his mission of encouraging the wisdom of Stoicism in the exercise of everyday life. All the reflections are taken from his notes, from late 1992 to early 2017.
The Death of Marcus Aurelius
Friday, May 6, 2022
Sayings of Ramakrishna 153
As the moon is the uncle of every child, so God is the Father and Guide of the whole of Humanity. (The children in Bengal call the moon their "maternal uncle".)
I don't know Indian myths as well as I'd like, but my understanding is that because the Moon is seen to both rise from and set into the ocean, and Lakshmi was born of the ocean, they are like brother and sister. Now Lakshmi is often called the "Mother of the World", and so the Moon is the maternal uncle of the world. Ramakrishna enjoys such plays on literal and figurative meanings.
It's interesting that it's a masculine name with a feminine modifier on it.
ReplyDeleteI don't know Indian myths as well as I'd like, but my understanding is that because the Moon is seen to both rise from and set into the ocean, and Lakshmi was born of the ocean, they are like brother and sister. Now Lakshmi is often called the "Mother of the World", and so the Moon is the maternal uncle of the world. Ramakrishna enjoys such plays on literal and figurative meanings.
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