Gods Among Us

[Abishai100]

This is a fictional short-story about the two Hindu gods Krishna (god of negotiation) and Shiva (god of destruction) talking about pro-consumerism vigilance and vigilantism in the time when Hollywood (USA) was making countless comic-book adapted films such as The Dark Knight and Iron Man.

Krishna and Shiva decide to intervene on the activities of mankind in this modern age of capitalism hysteria.


====

KRISHNA: Let us descend upon Earth and play with mankind!
SHIVA: Americans are playing Monopoly on their iPhones.
KRISHNA: They've become obsessed with consumerism.
SHIVA: I'll descend as an Internet-blogging 'vigilante.'
KRISHNA: I'll become an American movie star.
SHIVA: It's 1960, and Hollywood already boasts countless 'celebrities.'
KRISHNA: I'll make films about the U.S. Navy and American politics.
SHIVA: I'll start dating an attractive film actress.
KRISHNA: So will I, and we can create a 'free-speech empire.'
SHIVA: Vigilantism is so much fun!
KRISHNA: Vigilantes represent the anti-federalism sentiments in a democracy.
SHIVA: Do you think we can make a difference?
KRISHNA: Yes. Networking is becoming vital.

Krishna and Shiva descended upon Earth, and Krishna became an American actor named Tom Cruise and made culturally-symbolic films such as Top Gun, Rain Man, and Lions for Lambs. Shiva, meanwhile, became an Algerian-American Internet-blogging 'vigilante' named Ajay Satan. Krishna/Cruise started dating the attractive Hollywood actress Jennifer Connelly (star of A Beautiful Mind), while Shiva/Satan started dating the attractive Hollywood actress Diane Kruger (star of Troy).

Krishna/Cruise and Shiva/Satan decided to spread messages in the media about pro-consumerism optimism after 9/11, and when the Trump Administration began in 2017, the two gods-turned-patriots became staunch advocates of democratic values in America. Their girlfriends Connelly and Kruger were celebrated in the press as 'doll-like' representatives of a new age of media optimism. Everything was going smoothly, and Krishna and Shiva congratulated each other for taking an active role in the development of modern civilization. They became good friends with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, and their girlfriends became good friends with Mark Zuckerberg.

People Magazine did a special article. "Why are Tom Cruise and Jennifer Connelly dating? What is their chemistry, and who is the mysterious Internet-blogging 'vigilante' boyfriend of Troy actress Diane Kruger?" the article asked. Shiva and Krishna decided they created enough media intrigue to make Americans feel more excited about consumerism-culture. The Trump Administration was doing very well in its NATO campaign, stabilizing the free market and securing China as a lifelong trading partner and new UN ally. However, the emergence of ISIS as an anti-globalization, anti-capitalism, and anti-Western terrorism threat undermined the aspirations of Krishna/Cruise and Shiva/Satan. Would the World Trade Center be attacked...again?

====

 

[Abishai100]

CHAPTER 2: The Soliloquy

Here's Shiva and Krishna talking about the natural 'logic' of the life and experience of Man. How close do we feel to the gods in this modern age of technology-based 'worldliness'?



====

SHIVA:

"A man ought to know the value of feeling self-reliant, and if he's seen a rugged-courage isolationism-experiment film such as First Blood or The Beach, he will think deeply about this in the comfort of his own home (and on his Netflix-equipped laptop!).

Being self-reliant can mean a curiosity about life's complex questions that can be answered with private contemplation. 'Do I feel good about myself?' 'Do I appreciate Earth's ecosystems?' 'Do I love my family?'

As a man determines the 'borders' of his peaceful mental space, he may consider the limits and scope of anarchy or loss of self-control (e.g., drunkenness, rage, angst, etc.). He many watch a movie such as The Silence of the Lambs and consider the symbolism of deranged destructive violence (or even arson!).

Man is endowed with biophysical 'tickle-spots' or sensitive areas which can be stimulated to evoke natural gut reactions of laughter, pleasure, or even discomfort, and acupuncture specialists are trained to identity and massage these special 'sensitivity-areas.' I personally like to use yoga and meditation to contemplate the body's sensitivity and how the mind responds to such sensitivity.

When a man wrestles with another man or punches another man, he may receive an 'Indian-burn' (skin-burn) or a bruise or even a broken bone. If a man is attacked by a dog or shark, he may feel the stinging pain of a jagged tooth-bite and feel he sudden numbing rush of endorphins creating temporary relief of pain. He will ponder the natural resilience of his body and his fibers.

When you go to the dentist to have a root-canal, you may feel the odd sensation of sado-masochistic pain tinged with moments of sharp pain which can be numbed with anaesthetics.

When you eat too much sugar or ice-cream, you feel a 'sugar-rush/binge' or even a 'brain-freeze.' Your body is trying to catch up to the overdose of stimulation you are giving it, and your brain is struggling to comfort your body with regulatory reflex actions and muscle-relaxation.

Given the dimensions of sensitivity in our proverbial Vitruvian Man of symmetry, proportion, and fibers gauged in sensitivity by sugar, pain, pleasure, or itching/tickling, we can wonder about the geometry or 'shape' of eschewed pain or deformed discomfort --- e.g., the experience of being tortured (e.g., as a P.O.W.)

If a man's jaw is broken, he feels the jagged-feeling of his face-and-head-and-chin-and-jawline knocked out of place. If a man's finger-tips are smashed (during the hammering of a nail), he feels the shrieking pain of something suddenly heavy and brutal. If a man's genitals are bitten by a dog or shark, he feels his body fibers are being destroyed. If a man's head is lit on fire, he feels his skull is being irrevocably corroded.

A man has a tapeworm in his belly which aids in the digestion of food and this human-tapeworm symbiotic/pseudo-parasitic relationship contributes to the quality of life felt by a man in his lifetime. If a man experiences indigestion or diarrhea, he feels he is losing control of how elements enter and exit his body (his flow has become 'ugly').

Woman is the glory of man and relieves him of these unusual meditations with doses of humbling life-accepting mysteries, which is what the American film Forces of Nature is all about! Enjoy on Netflix!"


KRISHNA:

"No man is an island, and that's what the film The Beach is all about. Isolation can breed imagination but also self-contempt, doubt, and misanthropia. He may seek the worldly-delights of ice-cream and sex or the intellectual stimulation of Treasure Island or Lord of the Flies. His primary concern is the reliability of friendship.

What does one man owe to another? The network is very symbolic for modern civilization (e.g., Facebook, European Union, NATO, Wall Street, etc.). Who is a man's friend --- a dog, a wife, a son, a god?

When a man goes to a library to study and learn, he may feel he is learning about himself or others. What does he owe to other men when stumbled upon a life-discovery (e.g., science/medicine, art/poetry, etc.)? Should he report his 'revelations' first to his family? What is the difference between a friend and a teacher?

When a family-man goes to a shopping-mall on Black Friday (shopping-ritual day following Thanksgiving), he may buy something for himself and/or some things for his loved ones and friends (or even co-workers or teachers). How does such a man valuate his experience of feeling enriched by the generosity towards other men (or other human beings)?

When friendship is betrayed, we may see envy, corruption, murder, assault, extortion, blackmail, or even simple but irredeemable deception. How does man evaluate the communication(s) which delineate the boundaries of friendship and group solidarity?

How does man share the otherwise private experiences of fear and pain with others --- others deemed as enemies, or others deemed as friends? Such questions are daily 'exorcised' by millions of people around the world in modern times staring a laptop, computer, and smartphone screens to surf profile pages on Facebook (which now includes pages for businessmen, celebrities, artists, politicians, and even fictional characters).

A man will meditate on the value and role of friendship when he reads about the anti-social Marvel Comics super-villain Pyro (a pyromaniac and arsonist) or when he watches the life-experience film Forces of Nature!

It is in the inter-connected 'web' of mankind where a man may discover the philosophical value of communication and comfort, which may be why man sometimes communicates important ideas through the euphoria of music!"

====



Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia (Wikipedia)