Enslaved Gods

[StephanUlrich]

We were many once, many more than the humans that worshipped us. Now we are few, the ones with the more violent and persuasive followings quickly grew in strength while others faded to obscurity, and eventually out of existence.


We came in a great range of shapes, colours and sizes, but through the ages mankind’s imagination has dulled, rendering us all in humanoid forms, even reincarnations of the Old Gods, reimagined by a new cult that chanced upon ancient learnings. I have seen New Gods splitting from the flesh of the Old Gods, I have seen them change appearance and witnessed a Changing of the Guard, if you will, as their followers dictate what is appropriate and acceptable for their God and what is canon.


But of all these transformations, one of the saddest things I have encountered is the assimilation of one or more of the fading Gods into a younger, more promising New God. To me, that is worse than fading away completely - you are always there, seeing the world through eyes that aren’t yours; feeling the agony of being forgotten as your followers convert to the new assimilated God; being part of something you hate.


Just like the humans that worship us, we form bonds with one another; we jest, we boast, we bicker and we bet. It was one big party in the Old Days, when there were still seven gods on a grain of rice, a God of Language for each language and their respective Gods of the Bards singing songs and making merry. But the odds of bumping into one of your friends from those days are dismal at best now. I try, as most of us do, to help out when I can by guiding one of my followers to an old temple or such. My days are numbered, and my friends are few. I can only hope that my slumber won’t last too long this time, because Gods can be revived if someone starts believing again.


Hah! The humans created us so that they had someone to guide them, someone to help them grow and prosper, someone to govern over them, but in the end they are the ones that govern over us, that are responsible for our growth and prosperity and they are the ones that decide the paths our lives take.


Us Gods are merely slaves to the human race, just something else for them to control.

(end)

Hi, this is my first post here, and rather short at that, but that should (will) change over time.

[cafolini]

Might have been a good speach by Epicurus.

[durlabh]

JETA GROVE.


King Prasena was a devotee of Buddha and came to know of his teachings gradually in his life. When he heard about Buddha the first time, he dismissed it as simply one of those mendicants who were springing all over India and with different teachings and followings of their own and he had been to visit some of those but was not very impressed about what he saw and heard.

Gradually more and more news filtered to him about a new teacher and his teachings
And which was sweeping the country so one day he went to one of his assembly disguised as an ascetic. He had his mind made up as to listen to him for few moments and then walk away but a strange thing happened while he was there. Strangely the more he listened; the more he was attracted to what he was saying. The teacher was dealing with some profound questions about human existence and the role of suffering in life, which played such a major part. He felt that the new teacher was talking about something very real as he had experienced it at first hand.

It was profound and difficult teaching and to comprehend it you needed an acute sensibility of heart and brain. He sensed it that one need to develop the sensibilities to great extent in order to appreciate the teaching. His regret being that he would not have time enough before his life ends. He began to attend more and more sermons and was pleased that Buddha treated him with respect and tried to answer his questions in a free discussions and did not impose any ritualistic dogma on him.

During one of the discussions the matter of universal flux of time and things was being discussed and which being the great cause of sufferings of existence. Nothing ever remains the same, everything is in flux- we are born, grow old and die and the clinging to things unstable is suffering, according to teacher.

‘Honoured one! I have listened to your teachings and it means a great deal to me.’ He bowed to the teacher in all his sincerity.

‘But one thing puzzles me which I want to ask you more about but I am afraid to
ask about it as I may look foolish in the eyes of the congregation being somewhat naïve.’

‘Your kingship be not afraid to ask me anything however foolish it may seem to you.’ the teacher encouraged him.

‘Honored teacher! Is there anything beyond the ‘flux’ of things in our life.’

‘In order to answer that, I have to ask you some questions, to which I hope you will answer with sincerity.’

‘I will answer to the best of my knowledge.’ The king replied

‘Have did you visit the river Ganga in your life?’

‘I first visited the river when I was four, in company with my mother and I was impressed what I saw and, since I have visited the river many times.’

‘Tell me more about your impressions.’

‘ At four I was full of vigour and with my eyesight acute and I could see the river flow for miles around. I visited river again when I was thirty in company of my wife.
My eye sight and sensibilities were a little diminished.’

‘ Tell me more?’

‘When I visited it again, I was middle age man in my fifties and acuteness of my eyesight had diminished a great deal, my hair were graying and my face had wrinkled.’

‘What about now?’

‘Now I am in my seventies and look old with a wrinkled face and white hair and cannot walk far without taking a rest. Soon the death will come to claim me.’

‘ Your Kingship! Do not be so despondent. You may live a while yet. Tell me has the impression of the river has changed with the passing of years?’

‘ Truthfully I would say that though the faculties of my body have diminished, my impression of the river has remained the same.’

He was heartened to realize that there were things which were not subjected to the flux of time.’

That was a truth he had found with the help of the teacher


*

It happened that that the king had assembled some wise men to advise him on running the kingdom and its finances were managed by an elderly man Suddatta who was expert in making and handling the budget of the kingdom and king greatly respected him. He wanted him to remain in the same capacity as when the king’s son took over.

After two years the king died and his son Jeta took over the country as his successor and started running the country and put his advisors in place. Suddatta and Jeta did not like each other for the start it was obvious that here was going to be a rivalry between them. Jeta thought of him as a boring person without any interest outside his sphere of finance.

One day Suddhatta went to visit ha friend in a distant city and was well received by him friend and laid a grand banquet in his honour as he was well off financially too After his evening meal, he went to his assigned sleeping place which was well furnished and comfortable and went to sleep straight away He was woken in the middle of the night by some noise from the adjoining building and went down there to see what was happening.

He saw that preparations were made for a great feast for a distinguished visitor who was invited by his friend. His friend told him that he had invited the great teacher, The Reverend Buddha, for a vegetarian banquet and he would be accompanied by an assembly of disciples. That was the first time he had heard about this teacher and was curious to see and hear him.

Suddhata saw him and was greatly impressed by the personality of the teacher and when he listened to his teachings, it opened a new door into his soul. He thought about the King Jeta and wished to prove him wrong regarding his opinion as to be a boring person without any wider interests and wanted to prove him wrong. He made up his made to revisit the teacher at his place in the city of Sravasti. He made this visit and found the teacher’s place to be too small for him and his large retinue of disciples and he wanted to do something about it. He informed Buddha that he was going to find a suitable place for him and his disciples soon and would offer him as a gift

King Jeta owned a vast estate called Jeta Grove as named after him when his father acquired it at his birth. It was a vast wooded space with plenty of living quarters and meditation halls. It was famous for its variety of its trees and beauty of its flowering plants enclosed within its boundaries. Suddhata had his eyes on it and so he sent a messenger to King Jeta to name his price for its sale. It was a place very dear to king’s heart and he did not want to sell it and told so to the messenger.

Suddhahta knew the king’s temperament and his weakness and so he sent the messenger again asking him to name any price, which he wished to put on it and Suddhata, would try to match it and king jokingly said. ‘ One gold coin for every foot of the land’ and he was certain that Suddhata would not afford to buy it at that exorbitant price. But Suddhatta and his party visited him and agreed to pay the asking price. King was annoyed at being outmaneuvered at the hand of the old man and tried to wriggle out of it by pretending that it was all a joke but the buyer did not like it and threatened to tell the people of his kingdom that the king did not keep his promise and told a lie.

Now Suddhahta had the upper hand and he wanted his revenge. King promised to give his decision on the deal, after a recess of two days. The king thought about it and devised a cunning move and told him to bring the full price in gold coins.

When Suddhata came and deposited a gold coin for every foot of the land, the king stated:

‘ You have put money on every foot of the land which has now become yours, but there are no gold coins on the trees and plants and these are still mine and I will have access to these.’

Suddhata was stunned with that trickery by the king and did not know what to do next.

The king saw it an was pleased with his triumph and said:

‘ I gather you are offering the purchased land to Buddha and I am offering all the trees and the plants to the great teacher from myself as gift. I think we are on par now.’


Durlabh Singh ©2013.

[cafolini]

Nice little stories, Durlabh. But I fail to see what they have to do with the Gods, as that is the subject of this thread. Perhaps your interpretation is that the Gods were always men. But that's not the case, as the pagan Gods had no transactions with the flesh of men. The point of the thread is humorous, as it would be impossible to occur that precisely those Gods could actually be enslaved by some idiots.

[hillwalker]

Durlabh - hijacking someone else's thread is hardly gentlemanly behaviour. Why did you not begin your own thread with this piece?

And is your work really a short story or a misplaced wikipedia entry??

H

[AuntShecky]

Us gods are merely slaves to the human race.

But obviously not slaves to grammar. "Us gods?"

This posting is not really a short story. It reads like a precis of an episode about Apollo from the original Star Trek series. My advice to you is to read a number of modern and contemporary short stories as well as learning all you can about the craft. Brush up on your basic grammar skills, as well.