Durga's Secret: Everyone Lives on the Edge in Fear

by Devdutt Pattanaik

Imagination wipes out all structures and we are forced into a struggle between our own desires (how we want to imagine ourselves) and social structures imposed upon us by others based on their desires (how others are expected to see us). More often than not we regress to our animal selves: we want to dominate or be dominated, we want to domesticate others with rules or be domesticated by them.

In the jungle, there are no heroes, villains or victims. But in culture, there are heroes, villains and victims. We feel we are victimised and seek heroes who will destroy villains. This is humanity’s greatest delusion.

I remember reading a similar thought from Jim Corbett... 'Jungle Raj' does not fear or favour anyone or anything, unlike how we have twisted the meaning.