Zeynep Oral's Books:

Vishnu:

You cannot imagine how many names, features, how many different appearances this god has.

Vishnu is the protector of cosmic order. And as a protector, he is full of kindness and courage. When something gets complicated on earth, he comes down from the skies and gets rid of the "bad things," saves people from the problems they have created, puts things back in order and then leaves as he came.

"Vishnu Help!

Whether I am on one of my trips to the other side of the world or buried in my ten square meter study room, how many times I have thought of crying out those two words! Maybe I knew that he would never come to help me, and that's why I never petitioned him. But each time I witnessed a most beautiful sunrise or swam in a sparkling ocean or walked a pretty beach, I could not help thinking of him.

Long before, Vishnu was the Sun God. He was known for his three giant steps over the atmosphere, between the points of sunrise and sunset.

But … He is the God of Cosmic Oceans at the same time, and when he lives in the oceans his name is Narayana. The sun and the seas are his ancestors. Whether in the sea or in the sky, Vishnu appears on a coiled serpent, lying down sleeping (this is when he is not down on earth fighting evil). He gave birth to the God, Brahma, from that lotus on his abdomen while he was sleeping on the serpent.

Vishnu's wife is the most beautiful, lovely Lakshmi… Born from the ocean foams, she is the Goddess of Good Luck, Good Fortune.

We see the two together in the temples, in sculptures, reliefs and pictures. Vishnu is standing (he is very handsome), Lakshmi seated on a lotus flower at his feet. The mode of transportation for these two who look like a noble King and Queen, is the half bird, half human, King of the Birds, the legendary Garuda.

Oh Vishnu, you should not have done this to me! Why did you not at least once place your wife in the middle of Garuda with you curled at her feet! "Even if she is a goddess, a woman's place is at her husband's feet." We, here, working hard to change these issues between human beings need the gods as examples!

A few lines earlier I noted that Vishnu is very handsome; he certainly is when he is in human form…Vishnu can transform himself, and appear as a different body each time he crosses over the life and death circles. But these are not frivolously chosen bodies. Each one of them has a purpose.

For example, when he comes to earth as a fish, he saves the earth from floods… When he comes as a turtle, he saves Mount Meru from sinking by stirring the Ocean of Milk… In his half man, half lion body, he kills a king "who cannot be killed, either by humans or animals"… Sometimes he comes to earth as a midget or as an axe to kill evil spirits…

At other times when Vishnu visits the earth, he becomes the God, Krishna, or the God, Rama, or Buddha.

Dear Readers, I am in trouble with this Vishnu. Let's say I am visiting the Denpasar Museum. I am in front of a most handsome statue and, admiringly, I say, "Oh Vishnu," and the people around me start giggling. " That is the eighth reincarnation of Vishnu and because of that he is not Vishnu anymore," they say! How do I solve this puzzle?