My Journey with Vedanta, Magical Realism, and New Weird
Focus on "Aura" by Carlos Fuentes
Reading "Aura" by Carlos Fuentes made me feel dizzy - AI Image by Author (Microsoft Designer)
Reading "Aura" by Carlos Fuentes made me feel dizzy. It was like my spiritual studies and love of books were mixing. This created an odd feeling in my mind.
Quick Look at Vedanta, Magical Realism, and New Weird
Let me tell you a bit about these three things.
Vedanta is an old Indian way of thinking. It says that everything is one big thing called Brahman. Our true self is the same as this big thing. Vedanta talks about ideas like the world being an illusion and time going round in circles.
Magical realism is a type of story from Latin America. It mixes normal things with magical stuff. Writers like Gabriel García Márquez and Carlos Fuentes are famous for this.
New Weird is a newer type of story. It mixes fantasy, sci-fi, and scary stuff in odd ways. It has strange cities and weird creatures. Writers like China Miéville do this.
The Story of "Aura"
"Aura" is about a young man named Felipe. He gets a job at an old lady's house. The house is dark and strange. There's a young woman named Aura who appears and disappears.
As Felipe works, he finds out weird things. The past and present seem to mix up. People's identities get muddled. The story makes you think about time and what's real.
How I Felt About the Story
I've been learning about Vedanta for years. But reading "Aura" made these ideas feel real. Felipe's story made me think about how Vedanta says time goes in circles.
I wondered if stories like this could help people understand Vedanta better. This made me want to examine how Eastern ideas and Latin American stories might be alike.
When Vedanta Met Magical Realism
Reading "Aura" felt like my brain was short-circuiting. The weird house in the story reminded me of how Vedanta says the world isn't quite real. The way people in the book seemed to be more than one person made me think about Vedanta's ideas.
It was like the Vedanta ideas became colourful through the story. And the odd things in the story felt deeper because of what I knew about Vedanta.
Adding New Weird to the Mix
I recently found out about New Weird stories. This made things even more interesting. Writers like China Miéville make worlds that don't make sense in normal ways.
Looking at "Aura" again, I saw how it was like New Weird stories. The strange house could be in one of Miéville's books. This helped me see how stories can talk about big ideas.
How This Changed Me and What I'll Do Next
Thinking about all these things together is changing how I see Vedanta and books. Magical realism and New Weird aren't just types of stories now. They're ways for me to understand Vedanta better.
Reading "Aura" feels like part of my spiritual practice now. And knowing about Vedanta helps me see more in the story.
I want to keep looking at how these things fit together. I'll read old Vedanta books and look for ideas like those in magical realism and New Weird. I'll read more magical realism and New Weird stories and think about how they're like Vedanta.
And…so?
Looking at how Vedanta, magical realism, and New Weird fit together has shown me new things. I think you should try it too. Read "Aura" and think about Vedanta's ideas. Read New Weird stories and think about old spiritual ideas.
I've found that truth can show up in lots of ways. Sometimes, when you mix up different ideas, you find out something new. If you like thinking about big ideas or just like odd stories, try mixing these things up. You might find out something surprising.
I hope to meet other people who are looking at these things too. Maybe we can make new kinds of stories that talk about big truths in new ways. This mix of Vedanta, magical realism, and New Weird is just starting. I'm excited to see where it goes.
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