PLOT: Lokkhi chele is a film about taboo topics, like superstition and social norms.
The movie starts with three young junior doctors visiting a remote village. There, they find a child with extra hands. People believe she is a deity because of this condition. The villagers and the upper-caste masters believe the girl is the goddess Lakshmi reincarnated.
These three young doctors risked their lives. They made the villagers shift from superstitious beliefs to medical science. This movie explores conflicts between traditionalism and progress, and between castes. It also looks at religion, ignorance, faith, and education's role in social change.
I'm not writing a movie review. There's a scene where a junior doctor explains the symbolism of many Hindu gods' organs.
HINDU MYTHOLOGY
Hindu mythology is a vast collection of ancient Indian stories, creatures, and beliefs.
Some studies show that some Hindu sects are pantheist, panentheist, henotheist, polymorphist, monotheist, or monist. They call them polytheistic, but that is incorrect.
Pantheists believe the divine is the Earth. Panentheists believe the universal spirit is everywhere and transcends all things. Henotheists worship a single god but accept other deities. Polymorphists believe in one God with many forms. Monotheists and monists believe in one, and only one, God.
Hindus who practise Bhakti recognize one deity.
People know it as Paramatman, Parabrahman, Bhagavan, Ishvara, and others.
They believe that God became incarnate in infinite ways. This allows devotees to reach God.
Hindu mythology features a diverse pantheon of gods and goddesses. Different aspects of life and the cosmos link them.
A striking feature of Hindu art is its sculptures and idols of gods and goddesses. They have many limbs, heads, and eyes. These multi-limbed figures are not mere art. They are full of meaning and significance.
The many arms of Hindu deities also convey deeper philosophical and spiritual messages.
1. Omnipotence: Many arms meant an infinite capacity to perform the gods' roles. These roles are beyond human comprehension and possibility.
2. . Omnipresence: These images remind people that the gods are everywhere. They are active in all aspects of life and the universe. The gods are also multi-dimensional in their authority.
3. Protection: The weapons and objects in the deities' hands symbolise their battles against evil and their enforcement of good.
4. Multiplicity of the Divine: The many arms represent the gods' varied roles and natures. The concept of divinity is too vast for a single appendage to represent.
CONCEPT OF TRINITY
Trimurti/Trinity is the concept of three primary forms of divinity in Hinduism. Each deity represents the cosmic functions of creation, preservation, and destruction.
Thrimurties
BRAHMA - Creator
VISHNU - Preserver
SHIVA. - Destroyer
Deities display varied physical characteristics in pictorial representations.
MANY-HEADED DEITIES: Infinite Knowledge
Many heads symbolise omniscience. It is the ability to see and understand all things. It is divine, infinite, and wise.
BRAHMA: The Creator
Lord Brahma has four heads, each facing a direction: North, South, West, East. Indicating his all-seeing, all-knowing power.
SHIVA: The Destroyer
Some depictions show Lord Shiva with five heads. Panchamukha Shiva is the term used for this.
Five heads represent the five elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Aether) and the five senses. They symbolise Shiva's mastery of the physical world and his control over the senses.
MANY EYES: Perception Beyond the Ordinary
Rarely, some of the gods have extra eyes. This symbolises their ability to see beyond the physical realm.
SHIVA: Third eye
Some pictures and sculptures show Lord Shiva with a third eye on his forehead. It signifies his power of inner vision and wisdom.
GODDESS KALI
Apart from Trimurti, some of the other deities are also shown with many body parts.
People worship Goddess Kaali as the all-seeing. Her extra eyes represent the ability to see the past, present, and future.
MANY ARMED DEITIES: immense power and virtue.
The extra arms symbolise God's power to do many tasks. Each hand, holding an object, represents a specific virtue.
LORD VISHNU: The Preserver
In Hindu mythology, one divinity holds supreme status, often depicted with four arms. Each arm holds different objects which are: a conch, a mace, a disc, and a lotus.
Conch (shanka): The primordial sound of creation,
ability to create and maintain universe
Mace: Control over time, physicality, and mentality.realms.
Disc (chakra): Ability to destroy evil.
Lotus. : Represents creativity and purity.
DURGA: Embodiment of Shakti
One of the most powerful deities. Portrayed with a multitude of arms, often numbering eight or ten. Each arm wields a weapon representing different aspects of power and protection.
Trident: protection
Lotus: wisdom and enlightenment.
Sword :signifies knowledge that cuts through ignorance
GODDESS LAKSHMI
People worship Goddess Lakshmi for wealth and prosperity. Photographs with four arms symbolize the four goals she encompasses.
Which are: Dharma (righteousness), Artha (wealth).
Kama (Desire), Moksha (Liberation)
GANESHA: Elephant-headed god.
Ganesha is the Hindu elephant god. People worship him for protection and to remove obstacles. His elephant tusk symbolism of intellectual strength, adaptability, and efficiency.
Lord Ganesha is also depicted with extra arms. Four arms each hold an object: an axe, a rope, a sweet (modhaka), and a lotus. They symbolise his powers to remove obstacles and grant wisdom and prosperity.
A close look shows that all these multi-bodied deities are good gods.THE RAVANA, king of rakshas, is an unconventional anti-hero figure. He possesses ten heads and twenty arms. Which lent him the name ASHTAMUKHA. His 10 heads symbolises his vast knowledge in six Shastras and four Vedas.
Hindu mythology is very tricky; on one side, you see the story, but on the other side, there is a deeply hidden meaning to every story.
Ten heads are useless: The story of Ravana teaches us that his ten heads signify that when you desire to have more than enough, it serves no purpose. Because of his excessive desire, he became a slave to his feelings, which ultimately led to his death.
Metaphor: I'm aware of the conflicts between the beliefs and disbeliefs, and I often wonder, "Does God really exist?" Yet, approaching this question from a theoretical perspective, it feels both exciting and beautiful. I mean we can also consider the extra body parts as a metaphor. It is very thoughtful, in my opinion.
Symbolic of spirituality, multitasking, and the ability to go beyond limitations.
SUPERNUMERARY BODY PARTS
A congenital disorder known as supernumerary body parts causes the growth of extra body parts and deviates from the body plan.It can be easily visible or hidden such as internal organs.
The extra part formed by the same process as conjoined twins begins to split but fails to complete the separation . This can be a symptom of continuous inbreeding in a genetic line.
Specific types
1. Accessory breast: one or more breasts.
2. Accessory spleen: one or more spleens.
3. Cervical rib: an extra rib.
4. Diphallia: having two penises.
5. Pelvic digit: bony growth in the soft tissue of the pelvic region.
6. Polycephaly: an extra head.
7. Polydactyly: limbs and digits in excess number
8. Polyorchidism: three or more testicles.
9. Supernumerary bones: as seen above, extra bones are rather common. Primarily in the feet, and often give the impression of being features of x-ray.
10. Supernumerary kidney: a third kidney.
11. Supernumerary musculature: more muscles, like the double-headed biceps brachii or changes to the coracobrachialis.
12. Supernumerary nipples: more nipples.
13. Supernumerary phantom limbs: where the brain gives signals that are followed by the limb, but in actual sense, they aren't there.
14. Syndactyly: webbing between the hands and feet.
15. Uterus didelphys: has two vaginal canals and two uterine canals.
Scientists continue to search for the causes of the rare and infrequent occurrence of parasitic twins.
What is a parasitic twin: a kind of Siamese twin in which one of the foetuses fails to develop but remains joined to the other. The other twin also grows on, but it is often correctly formed and has a parasitic twin with it. This is a very rare condition, and the surviving twin should be taken for attention and treatment as soon as possible. The remaining twin could also contract diseases from the parasitic twin.
Different myths and cultural attitudes tend to revolve around the existence of supernumerary limbs, something that is a clear testament to the fact that there are seedier connections between mythology and medicine. These myths may determine how people manage medical situations through a process that may not be scientifically grounded. The problem here is how to maintain an appropriate degree of culture not to violate the norms, but at the same time encourage proper medical practices. Informing people about the necessity of evidence-based practice in medicine is equally important to avoid following various superstitions that might hinder an individual’s effective treatment. Education plays the middle link between traditional principles and modern medicine to enable people to get the right treatments that meet their needs and are safe.
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