The Journey of Mohini

(Mohini)

Mohini never felt like she belonged anywhere. She was adopted when she was a baby so she never got to know her birth parents. In school, Mohini didn’t have any friends. Many would make fun of her due to her being different. See, Mohini somehow always had the ability to attract bugs. Sounds weird right? Well, due to her strange ability, many would avoid even sitting near Mohini. She grew up with only a little bit of love, which was given to her by her adoptive parents. Although Mohini loved her parents dearly, she wanted to experience friendship. She wanted to be normal.

Mohini lived in such a small village that everyone basically knew each other. Her parents worked in the fields, tending to the land of a farmer who supplied a variety of crops a to big company. Their family made just enough money to get by. Their family resided in a small house made of wood. The house itself was old with some of the wood splitting and the tin roof starting to rust but the interior made it feel brand new. Inside the home was where Mohini lived her best memories. Since she never had any friends, Mohini spent most of her time with her family. She loved watching her mother cook and her father working on different chores in the house. This was before they started to work in the fields. Mohini’s parents wanted her to go to a good school so they had to start working in order to pay for it. That’s when Mohini began to feel more and more alone. She had always felt that a part of her was missing but she didn’t know what.

This year, many of the people who worked in the fields were getting laid off. Mohini’s village had been suffering a terrible drought and the since the crops were dying, the farmer wasn’t able to pay some of his workers so he had to let them go, Mohini’s parents included.

Every day, many of the villagers would gather to the center of the village to pray to the Gods. They prayed for an end to this terrible drought. Then one day, an old sage came.

“You need not worry! For the God, Vishnu, will be the one to stop this terrible curse! Legend says that Vishnu will one day come when there is a terrible drought and I believe that that time has finally come. We need not lose hope.”

Everyone thought that the sage was crazy. However, they did not want to lose hope as the sage had said in the case that Vishnu would actually come. They quickly began to prepare offerings to the God. Many brought fruits while other hunted animals. They earnestly waited the arrival of their savior.

At first, Mohini was happy that her parents no longer had a job. Now, she could once again spend time with them. However, her parents were deeply saddened by the whole ordeal. One day, when Mohini was on her way to the bathroom, she overheard her mom crying. This was the first time she had seen her mom sad. She didn’t know what to do so she ran out of the house. She ran all the way to the village. There, she saw the offerings that the villagers had prepared for Vishnu and it made her angry.

“Why aren’t you here? Why haven’t you saved us from this horrible drought?”

Mohini began to cry. She cried and cried. Then, as Mohini's tears hit the ground a single drop of rain hit her cheek. She looked up and suddenly, it began to pour. Everyone gathered to the center of the village and rejoiced. Then they began to look for Vishnu, who the sage had said would be the one to bring the rain. Suddenly, a bright light appeared and Vishnu now stood where Mohini had. The people gasped in shock of the sight they had witnessed.

“Hello, everyone. As you may have noticed, I am Vishnu. I have been asleep for centuries, waiting for the day that I would be needed. Your cries of help have awakened me.”

“Wait, so are you Mohini?” asked a villager.

“Mohini and I are one. She is me and I am her.”

So that’s how Mohini found the missing piece in her life. She had always gone about wondering what her purpose was. She always felt out of place, but not anymore. Mohini was the female form of Vishnu. With this newfound knowledge, Mohini lived her life helping others. She would become the light that would guide people. She would be the hand that reached out to those in need. She became the person who they needed when times were rough. Lastly, she would finally become the person she had always wanted to be for herself.


Author's Note:

For last week’s reading, I read about Mohini. She is known as the female form of Vishnu. In history, Mohini is known as a goddess that enchants lovers which ultimately leads to their doom. In my story, I wanted to portray her in a different light. I made it to where she didn’t know that she was the female version of Vishnu in order to create a story that would explain to the audience how she came to find out she was. She finds out who she was after it was her tears that caused the rain to finally pour. My story portrays the journey of a girl who was once lost but has now found her true calling in life. I chose this topic because it is one that can be applied to all aspects of life no matter the time we live in. Since I did not base my story off of another story, but off of the fact that Mohini was known as the female form of Vishnu, I don’t have much to explain in my author’s note. I just wanted to try and write a more modern story while still applying original Hindu teachings that were well known. I would still like to expand more on different parts of the story. I hope you will enjoy!

Bibliography

Pattanaik, Devdutt. Seven Secrets of Vishnu. Link to videos online.

Wikipedia: Mohini.