Oct 15, 2017

"Vishvamitrasana? Not Vasisthasana?" "Did I stutter?"
Vasistha, the great sage, lead a peaceful community-- the kind where people got on swell and took care of each other. He also had a dope magic cow that granted wishes, given to him by the gods. Come through, Nandini, the cow o' plenty!
Vishvamitra, leader of a neighboring land, was curious as to how Vasistha managed his people. He was even more interested in his magic cow.
Arriving in Vasistha's kingdom with his army, Vishvamitra tried to take the cow with force. He was convincee the cow could feed his vast armies. It didn't go well: the magic cow created a crazy big army and walloped Vishvamitra's men! No slouch, Vasistha defeated Vishvamitra's army with his keen control of emotions and also incinerated the rest of the warriors with the power of his breath.
Leaving the life of a king, with the blood of his men on his hands, he swore atonement. Penance and effort and an abandoning of worldly riches allowed him to discover great wisdom ultimate redemption in his time as an ascetic.
Even Vasistha came to recognize Vishvamitra as a sage.
The first posture of Ashtanga's third series is named for Vishvamitra... Tho many other lineages name it for Vasistha. Proving that a) pettiness is timeless b) that through great effort, we can all find redemption c) don't fuck with magic cows