Ch6OceanMilk

Chapter 6: The Ocean of Milk

Major Sutton was acutely aware of just who Nickolas Fotis was. He couldn’t read any further. He needed a drink. He needed a cigarette. He needed another drink. He needed to come to grips, once and for all, with the dirty little secret that had been gnawing away at him for over two decades.

Yeah, he knew Nick. In fact, Sutton was the one who brought Nickolas into Shining Brass in the first place.

Sutton’s office had recruited all of their SOG (Studies and Observations Group) forces. When the war unexpectedly ended on that dreadful day in 1973, a handful of Sutton’s brave young men were simply left behind to somehow fend for themselves. Furthermore, Shining Brass wasn’t the only SOG mission operating in Vietnam. Heavy Green was very active. Then again, the C.I.A. was involved, inserting other teams of Americans.

In fact, some have estimated that altogether, as many as twenty G.I.s were simply abandoned. Its hard to say for sure because some of these missions were highly sensitive. So much so that at times, before being inserted, the Americans would be sterilized—in the sense that they would officially get out of the Army and then go back in as civilians, thus rendered completely free of any military identity. Plus, they never carried any type of identification papers and even their weapons and clothing were so generic that if captured, the VC would never know who they were. But how do you get rid of the blue eyes and fair complexions?

Being killed in action, at least Sutton could cope. But to just abandon his men—he never signed off on that. He thought that surely the President had known about them. If he didn’t, then someone sure as hell knew about it. Over the years, Sutton could only guess that the Commander-In-Chief had been advised that after America’s swift withdrawal from Vietnam, these men would simply be captured and returned home, just as our other POWs were destined to be released. That had to be it. But when that didn’t occur, he could only guess what had happened to his men—men who had trusted him with their lives—trusted that Sutton would get them back on American soil. Some of the men had wives and children. Now he was about to find out what had happened to at least one of them. The name on that dog tag was no mystery to him.

Yes, Sutton knew who Nick was. Sipping his whiskey, he thought about the day Nick had come to his office with Eleni. Sutton took a deep drag off his Marlboro. He remembered Eleni’s raven black hair and her charming smile. Sutton also remembered her deep concern for her husband. No wonder she was so worried; she was four months pregnant.

Of course, she was never told the whole truth. None of the wives were. And as far as Uncle Sam was concerned, he had a great way out. Three little letters—MIA. There: 20 problems solved at once.

Picking the letter back up, the Major continued to read.

What I am now going to tell you, Eleni, can only be described as divine intervention. Some of this first part is still a bit foggy, but not the rest. Not at all.

My prayers to Jesus—asking for His mercy—were answered. What happened next will show you there is no doubt that He heard me. I asked Him to save me, and He did.

Eleni, when I finally came to, at first I thought I was in a church or something. I was so confused. My leg and my head were both throbbing—especially my head. Then I heard a little bell ringing off in the distance, along with the most wonderful aroma. I had been saved by a group of monks who live in an enormous cave located in a remote corner of Laos. They had turned their cave into a beautiful monastery.

A young man by the name of Rama took care of me every day. Eleni, I could have been in an intensive-care unit in some hospital back in Minneapolis and not received more personal attention than this young monk gave me. Immediately we became very good friends. He even spoke good English. He told me that several years ago he had left Cambodia to come live at the monastery.

Actually, all of the monks had come from Cambodia. Rama’s father had sent him here. He told me that some of the young men in his village had been kidnapped and that his father had sent him to the monastery for safety. When I asked Rama how he knew English, he said that his father had taught him. The spiritual leader, here at the monastery, is the only other person who speaks any English. His name is Suryavarman. I’ll tell you about him in a moment.

As I mentioned, Eleni, it was the smell of this really wonderful incense that woke me up. Also a little bell that I kept hearing. Since my leg may have been broken and my forehead cut, it must have been close to two months before I even considered moving around on my own. At first there had been another person with me in the room. He had been bitten by a snake. I sort of remember him being there. Thank God he survived.

Temple Incense
photo by: Nick De Marco

Eleni, where do I begin? Even now, looking back and trying to write about it, I realize that so much time has gone by since I was saved.

Yes, they are real monks. Of course, at first I didn't know who they were but I wasn’t afraid. Fear was never a factor. I could just tell that I was safe there. Like I told you, they took really good care of me.

"Thank you for the cup of water."

"You are welcome, my friend. I am happy that you are feeling better. Later we will carry you outside. You can watch me work in my garden."

"I’d really like that, Rama. By the way, I heard the bell again this morning. It rings often. I like it. It reminds me of my church. Rama, do you know anything about my religion?"

"Only a little, Nick. But Surya knows Jesus. As soon as your strength returns you can talk to him."

"Good, I’d like that very much. In my church back in America, our priest, Father Ambrose, uses a bell in his service. He also burns incense. Yours smells different, but very pleasant. But tell me Rama, why does the little bell ring so often?"

"Around the corner, over there, is where our Deity lives and whenever our meals are prepared, before we eat, we first offer our food to Lord Vishnu."

"Who is Vishnu? Aren’t you a Buddhist monk?"

"Oh no," Rama said, laughing. "Soon you will feel better and Surya wants to talk to you. He is very smart and will answer all your questions."

"How do you pronounce his name, again?"

"Suryavarman—Sur-ya-VAR-mon."

Suryavarman
photo by: Ben Visbeek

"Thank you, Rama. Does his name mean anything?"

"When I was in school, Nickolas, I was taught about a powerful king who built Angkor Wat. Suryavarman II was a great leader who ruled during the first half of the 12th century and my father told me that Suryavarman was named after him."

Angkor Wat - Built by Suryavarman II
photo by: Colin Payne

At that moment, another monk entered the room and handed Rama some salve for Nick’s forehead. Saying thank you, Nick laid back as Rama turned around and went outside.

Back in his vegetable garden, Rama thought about the American’s question. Again his mind took him back to Angkor Wat. Lord Vishnu was everywhere. That was because Angkor Wat had been built for Lord Vishnu and generations of early Cambodians had worshipped Him as God.

Rama recalled the day he had asked his father the meaning of the stone statues. Some of the older boys had told him that Vishnu was churning an ocean of milk. You can imagine how such a statement would play inside a child’s mind. Later that morning, Rama asked his father where the ocean of milk was, so he could go see it.

Rama's father, Ajita
photo by: Marco del Rosario

Ajita took his son by his hand and led him to the front of the temple and up the stone stairway. After finding a place to sit they both looked down at the destruction below. The Phimeanakas Temple was slowly being ravaged by the marching armies of time and mother nature. Smiling warmly at his son, Rama's father began to speak.

View From Above
photo by: John Campbell

"Rama, it is only natural to wonder about the stories that these statues are telling. As you will learn, there are many great legends to discover here at Angkor Wat. The Churning of the Ocean of Milk is the greatest.

Rubbing his son’s head, Ajita continued. "Rama, Phimeanakas was my favorite place to play when I was a small boy. I brought you here because this is the exact spot where I first heard the story of, The Churning of the Ocean of Milk. Now I will tell it to you.

Demons and Demigods Holding a Divine Snake to Churn The Ocean of Milk
photo by: Kevin King

Demons and Demigods: Churning The Ocean of Milk
photo by: John Campbell

"Rama, you know how soldiers come here now and then looking for the bad men. In the heavens there are also good and bad men. A long time ago, these men were fighting each other. The good men were called demigods. The bad men were called demons. Both the demigods and the demons were fierce warriors.

"Even though the demigods were very strong, they were being defeated by the demons. Besides being defeated on the battlefield, they had become weakened in other ways."

"What do you mean, father?"

"Son, one of the most powerful mystics in heaven is called Durvasa Muni. One day he gave his flower garland to Indra, who was the King of Heaven and one of the leaders of the demigods.

"But sadly, sometimes men of great power become puffed up and forget how to act properly. When Indra was given the flower garland, instead of thanking Durvasa Muni, he put it on the tusk of his elephant, who then trampled on it. This made Durvasa Muni very angry at the demigods so he placed a curse on them for being disrespectful. In this way, the demigods were in a very precarious position, having been defeated both in battle and now, in spirit.

"Rama, you are probably wondering why the demigods, who are suppose to be righteous, acted in such a bad way. In fact, son, when you learn other stories about Lord Vishnu you will see that the demigods made other mistakes. Even so, Rama, although the demigods are not perfect, the most important thing that sets them apart from the demons is that they never forget God. Ultimately, whenever they find themselves in great danger, the demigods turn to Him for protection.

"Now I am going to tell you about someone who is very important and who played a vital role in, The Churning of the Ocean of Milk. The first person that Lord Vishnu created was called Brahma. Because he was the first, Brahma is also the most famous and honored demigod. So naturally, when the demigods realized how the demons were about to destroy them, they went to Brahma and explained to him what was happening.

Lord Brahma
© Bhaktivedanta Book Trust

"After hearing about their plight, Brahma began to pray to his Father. Then he gathered all the demigods together, and along with Shiva, took them to the ocean of milk. Do you understand the story so far?"

"Yes father, but who is Shiva?"

"Rama, soon you will learn about Lord Shiva. He is a very powerful god."

"What happened next, father?"

"In the middle of the ocean of milk is an island where Lord Vishnu lives. Standing on the shore, looking toward the island, Brahma started to recite many wonderful prayers to his father. In all, Brahma offered the Lord 24 prayers. At the end of the last prayer—so brilliant that at first the demigods couldn’t even see Him—Lord Vishnu appeared before them."

Lord Brahma Offering Prayers to His Father
by: Puskar Paintings

"Rama, I know that you have seen many of the stone statues of Lord Vishnu, but what I am going to tell you is exactly how He looked when the demigods were finally able to see Him. My father had me memorize this when I was just a boy. Now I am going to tell you, so that you can memorize it, too."

Lord Brahma, along with Lord Shiva, saw the crystal-eyed personal beauty of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose blackish body resembles a marakata gem, whose eyes are reddish like the depths of a lotus, who is dressed with garments that are yellow like molten gold, and whose entire body is attractively decorated. They saw His beautiful, smiling, lotus-like face, crowned by a helmet bedecked with valuable jewels. The Lord has attractive eyebrows, and His cheeks are adorned with earrings. Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva saw the belt on the Lord's waist, the bangles on His arms, the necklace on His chest, and the ankle bells on His Legs. The Lord is bedecked with flower garlands, His neck is decorated with the Kaustubha gem, and He carries with him the goddess of fortune and His personal weapons, like His disc and club. When Lord Brahma, along with Lord Shiva and the other demigods, thus saw the form of the Lord, they all immediately fell to the ground, offering their obeisances. (His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Shrimad-Bhagavatam 8.6.7,© Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1976, 1982)

After pausing for a few moments, Ajita continued to tell his son the story.

"Gazing upon the beautiful form of his father, Brahma offered Lord Vishnu a few more prayers. Then the Lord spoke in a voice that sounded like deep thunder. He told the demigods they needed to make a truce with the demons for the specific purpose of churning the ocean of milk. Doing so would produce a delicious nectar and whoever drank it would become immortal.

"The Lord said that churning the ocean would produce many things, including a deadly poison. However, the Lord told the demigods not to fear. Later when the demigods approached the king of the demons—Bali Maharaja—about establishing a truce and making the nectar, the demons falsely agreed. Actually, the demons planned to steal the nectar from the demigods as soon as it was produced, giving them all immortal life and certain victory over their eternal enemies.

"Soon after making this agreement, both the demons and the demigods worked very hard. Together with their mystical powers they uprooted the mountain—named, Mandara—that was made of solid gold. They were going to use the mountain to stir the ocean of milk. Because the mountain was so heavy, Lord Vishnu had to help them carry it to the ocean. This was an easy task for the all-powerful Lord. He carried the mountain on His shoulder.

"Then Garuda, the huge bird that carries the Lord on his back, removed the golden mountain from the Lord’s shoulder and placed it in the ocean.

"In order to spin the mountain and churn the ocean of milk, the demons and the demigods asked Vasuki, the King of Snakes, to wrap himself around the mountain. With the demons pulling Vasuki from one end and the demigods pulling the snake from the other end, their plan was to churn the ocean and make the eternal nectar. They promised Vasuki some of the divine potion if he would help them.

"Unfortunately, because the mountain was so heavy, when it started to churn the ocean of milk, it sank. Not to fear, when this happened, Lord Vishnu turned himself into a huge tortoise and lifted the mountain back to the surface. The rotating motion of the mountain felt wonderful on His hard shell—exactly like the pleasure one gets when someone scratches your back."

Rama smiled as he remembered how his father then reached out and scratched his back.

His father continued. "When the demons and demigods saw how the mountain could now be churned, they all worked very hard. Even the Lord helped. The snake, however, being pulled back and forth so quickly, started to breath out smoke and fire, which quickly made the demons and demigods sick. Once again Lord Vishnu came to the rescue, this time in the form of a huge rain storm which cleared the air.

"Continuing their hard work, still they could not churn the ocean fast enough. Seeing this, Lord Vishnu grabbed Vasuki, and with His strong arms, churned the ocean so fast that all the fish came to the surface.

"Then the deadly poison that the Lord had warned the demigods about, suddenly appeared."

Looking at his son, Ajita reminded him of his earlier question about Shiva.

"When this happened, Lord Vishnu and the demigods went to see Lord Shiva. After offering him nice prayers, they told him about the deadly poison. Shiva turned to his wife, Bhavani, and reminded her about the glories of acting benevolent to relieve the suffering of others. Thus speaking, Shiva asked his wife to let him drink the poison in order to save everyone. Bhavani agreed and with his mystical powers, Shiva condensed all the poison into the palm of his hand and began to drink. Although the poison was very deadly, the only effect on Lord Shiva was a blue line that appeared on his neck.

Lord Shiva Drinking the Poison
© Bhaktivedanta Book Trust

"With the poison no longer a threat to the demons and the demigods, once again they took up the task of churning the ocean of milk. It was then that many wonderful things began to magically appear.

"The first thing that the ocean produced was a surabhi cow, whose milk, yogurt, ghee, dung and urine are used by the sages in ritualistic ceremonies.

"Next, a beautiful white horse appeared. Bali Maharaja, the king of the demons, took the horse for his own.

"Then many elephants were produced by the churning. Also, a very beautiful gem appeared out of the ocean. Lord Vishnu took it and hung it around his neck. The demons and demigods then saw parijata flowers float to the top of the milk. These flowers are used to decorate the celestial planets.

"After the flowers, very beautiful women were produced."

Again looking at his son, "Rama, remember the stone carvings of the beautiful damsels I showed you last week?"

Image of an Apsara
photo by: Kevin King

http://www.devata.org/
photo by: Kent Davis

photo by: Christopher Cotton

Apsaras
photo by: Christopher Cotton

"Yes Father, I remember looking at them with you."

"Some of those carvings are the heavenly women that came out of the ocean of milk. Then, right after the apsaras were produced, another beautiful woman appeared. Her name is, Lakshmi.

Lakshmi: The Goddess of Fortune
Painting By: Raja Ravi Varma

"She is the Goddess of Fortune and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Upon seeing her unique beauty, the King of Heaven, Lord Indra, offered her a jeweled covered seat. The sacred rivers in their human forms brought her pure water and golden pots. The earth, personified, brought her many herbs. Everyone worshiped her, including the elephants, clouds and sages. Flowers, jewels, beautiful clothing, ornaments, earrings, and other nice things were given to her.

"Lakshmi then looked around for a suitable husband. Unable to find one among the demons and demigods, she turned to Lord Vishnu and accepted Him as her husband. She placed a flower garland of fresh lotus flowers on the Lord’s shoulders. Bumblebees looking for honey surrounded the flower garland. When the demigods saw the Lord accept Lakshmi as His wife, beautiful music and dancing greeted the Divine couple. From the heavens, flowers showered them and they could hear wonderful prayers.

Lakshmi-Narayana sculpture, Hoysaleshwara Temple,
Karnataka, India.

"Unable to attract Lakshmi for their own pleasure, the demons became very agitated. Then out of the churning milk appeared the goddess, Varuni, who is sought after by those attached to strong drink and intoxication. The King of the Demons took the young girl. This made the demons very happy.

"Still churning the ocean of milk—next—Lord Vishnu in the form of a young man appeared—strong, young, and handsome. In His hands He carried a large jug filled to the top with the nectar of eternal life. However, even though He was very strong, by the will of Providence, the demons were able to steal the jug.

"When the demigods saw this disaster, again they turned to God for help. Always protecting those who approach Him, the Supreme Lord entered the hearts of the demons and made them argue amongst themselves as to who would take the first drink. Because of the fierce argument that ensued, none of them tasted the nectar. During the height of their fighting, the Lord transformed Himself into His incarnation of a woman. Her name was, Mohini and because of her incomparable beauty, she captivated the demons, who became like soft clay in her hands."

Mohini

"With her smiles and shyness, She set into motion a colossal trick to take back the jug of nectar and give it to the demigods.

"Desiring Mohini’s favor, the demons asked her to settle their argument. She consented and the demons gave her the nectar, allowing her to disperse it however she saw fit.

"After fasting and other rituals, Mohini had the demons and demigods sit in separate rows, across from each other. First she approached the demons, offering them only her sweet words. She then appeared before the demigods and gave them the nectar.

"One of the demons, who was called Rahu, spotted the trick and disguised himself as a demigod. Sitting with them, he had just barely taken a sip of the nectar when the sun and moon gods revealed Rahu’s true identity. Quickly, Mohini used Her disc and severed Rahu’s head from the rest of his body."

Angkor Wat: Mohini With Her Deadly Disc
photo by: Nick De Marco

"However, because the nectar had touched Rahu’s lips, although his body lay dead on the floor, his head remained alive. Brahma then took Rahu’s head and turned it into the planet that causes both the sun and the moon to eclipse.

"Son, now you know the story behind, The Churning of the Ocean of Milk. This is the story told by these stone statues."

"Thank you for telling me the story father. Now I can tell it to my friends."

"But don’t forget—there is a great lesson to be learned from this story. You see, both the demons and the demigods had desired the nectar. But only the demigods succeeded in obtaining it. Despite their foolish actions, their folly never left them completely blind. Whenever trouble rears its ugly head, they always turn to the Lord for help. The demons, however, were cheated out of their share. The Lord only blesses those who take shelter of Him. The demons hate God. They never take shelter of Him. Therefore, the demons were thwarted in their attempts to steal the pot of nectar.

"Rama, this is just one of the countless stories about Lord Vishnu. As you grow older you will learn many more."

Chapter 7: Father Mikalson • Abandoned • Ronald E. Boutelle • Back • Table of Contents

Part One