My daughter who visited South Korea as an exchange student while in the University has told me about the "striking cultural and linguistic similarities" between Korea and India. In the following piece, she draws a connection between a plot in a K-drama with some concepts from the Siddha path. It is an interesting read. She writes that little did she expect to find answers to her questions in a fantasy K-drama. It reminds me of the days when I used to have so many questions in my mind. If Lord Shiva had not come to ask me to put off those questions to a later date, I would have turned cuckoo, for the scriptures about God being compassionate and loving did not tally with the reality I saw. I give way to her to express her thoughts.
When Murugar came recently, he told me that he could sense a lot of thoughts in my head, and I should think less as it stressed my physical health. He told me that I would get answers to my questions soon enough and that I should leave it at that.
Fast forward a few weeks, I was rewatching my favorite Korean drama, 'Goblin: The Lonely and Great God', for the 6th time. This time, however, I was surprised to find the answers to my ponderings answered in this very show!
Let me explain the plot of the K-drama as briefly as possible:
A decorated war general from the ancient Goryeo period named Shin is beloved by the people of the kingdom. The young King, manipulated by his evil advisor, grows jealous of Shin's popularity, and orders Shin and his entire family to be killed. This includes his beloved Queen, who happens to be Shin's sister who sides with her brother instead of her husband. As Shin dies after being impaled by the very sword that the King gifted him with, the Gods grant him a blessing and a curse. He becomes a Goblin who will live for eternity. Because he had taken many lives in battle, he would be cursed to remember the life and death of every person he goes on to meet. And because he had also saved many lives and was loved by the people, he was granted a way to end his immortal life; only his Bride or soulmate could see and remove the invisible sword embedded in his chest, which would finally turn him to dust.
Spoilers ahead so stop here if you wish to see the show.
After we learn of the Goblin's origin, we flash forward 900 years to meet a new character, a 300-year-old Grim Reaper. He collects the souls of the newly deceased and brings them to a tea shop, where he offers them the Tea of Oblivion. The good are offered the tea that will remove their memories of their current life before being allowed up to Heaven, while the bad and evil are not given the tea, so that they may stew in the memories and guilt of their crimes as they face the punishments of Hell. There are many other grim reapers too, who ponder amongst themselves of crimes they may have committed in their past lives, for only those who have committed the greatest of sins would be sent to serve as grim reapers for several centuries.
By some divine intervention, our lead Goblin and Grim Reaper end up becoming housemates, much to their annoyance. During this time the Goblin finally finds his Bride, a human who survived death and who just so happens to be a missing soul the Reaper was looking for, adding to their tensions as the Reaper complains about how letting her live longer was giving him extra paperwork. In this time too, the Grim Reaper falls in love with a living human named Sunny, causing an internal dilemma as they could never be compatible for each other. While the Goblin and Grim Reaper initially get on each others' nerves and are constantly bickering, over time they end up forming a very close friendship, especially through sharing many adventures and their relationship problems with each other.
As malevolent forces come into play, disturbing facts are revealed about the role of the 4 lead characters in each others' lives. In a shocking revelation, we find out that the Grim Reaper was the very King who had caused the deaths of Shin and his family in his previous life. The woman he falls for, Sunny, is also the reincarnation of his Queen and Shin's sister. The Goblin is enraged to learn that the man he wanted revenge against for almost a millennia was living right under his nose. While Goblin was cursed to remember every detail from his past and present life, his killer had been living guilt-free with no memory of his sins. Reaper is also torn with guilt after learning the extent of his sins and is prepared to accept the Goblin's wrath. But because of their newfound friendship, Shin cannot go through with his yearning for revenge. Sunny is also deeply afflicted as she realizes she has once again fallen in love with the man who had killed her in her past life. As a twisted test from the Gods, they are forced to remember their misfortunes and fate, simmer in guilt and sorrow for their past actions, and learn to forgive each other for the hurt they had caused each other.
I'd always had the question of why we humans had to seek the Nadi or other means to learn about our past lives, and how it seemed unfair that we had to face tests and sufferings or do parigarams to undo Karma committed in a life we could not even remember. A criminal who is arrested would be told the reason for their arrest, and if sent to court would know the crime they were being punished for. But why are we experiencing the effects of Karma for our past life instead of the present one? The show provided me with the answer, as the Grim Reaper learns that all Grim Reapers do not remember their past lives so that they may serve their sentence in peace, without being wracked with immense guilt at all times.
We have learned through many Nadi readings and conversations with the Siddhas that just like in the show, we often end up meeting the same souls that we had in our past lives. Even with the confidence that we are good people in our present lives if we could remember all the bad things we had done to those around us in our past lives, the sinners would be trapped in guilt while the victims would be caught up in anger and revenge. We might also never be able to trust someone who had wronged us in a past life again, even with the knowledge that they were a different person with different thoughts and principles. A new birth not only gives us a fresh start to be decent people but also a chance to repair our relationships with the people around us, without being weighed down by emotions from previous births. We would not be able to fix the hurt caused to each other on a soul level without bias if we retained all those memories, even the good ones.
My father once shared a story of how a man had wanted to learn about his sins even though the Siddhas refused to reveal it, but after insisting and learning that he had abused his children in his past life, he committed suicide in his present one, as he was unable to handle the immense guilt and shame. The relationships between Goblin, the Grim Reaper, and Sunny too were changed drastically after their revelations, and they could never go back to the happier and innocent days before they had learned the truth. The universe demands balance and justice, so we must face certain trials and hardships to repent for our sins. However, retaining our memories would only prolong our emotional suffering, so they must be forgotten for our own peace of mind.
The question of past births and karmic punishments was long on my mind. But when Murugar told me I would find answers to my questions, little did I expect them to come from a fantasy K-drama.