Storybook Plan

 Storybook Theme:

The main focus of my storybook is to apply Advatia Vedanta ontology in explaining Maya's role in various Indian stories. This storybook should re-tell the stories in a way that explains the diverse ideas around Maya. Rather than restricting the concept to 1 or 2 ideas, such as Maya being an illusion or magical powers, I want to show the various interpretations of Maya and how it connects back with the philosophical approach to reality.

Storytelling Styles:

I want to retain the original narrative style of these stories, but I want to take the creative liberty to allow for more insight and explanation of Maya. Rather than leaving it up to the reader, I want the characters within the story to employ Advatia Vedanta philosophical ideals to explain the narrative role of Maya and its broader philosophical implications. This would mean keeping the original characters and environment, but I would add more dialogue between the characters in order to explain the ideas of Maya.

Stories:

One of the stories will definitely include Narada's experience in fetching water from a nearby river. The Tiny Tales offers a good summary of the story, but I'll definitely need to find a longer re-telling of the narrative in order to understand how Narada interpreted his experience as well as how to apply the Advatia Vedanta philosophy to the story. I'd also love to use The Doll of Salt to explain a different side of Maya. Rather than recognizing the role illusion, this story takes one step further by highlighting the unity produced from Maya. Finally, I would want to use The Frog in the Well to highlight how the illusion of existence is limited by experience. It's a really interesting story, and this idea is prevalent across a range of Asian religions, so I'm excited to use this narrative. I also have a backup story with Shiva experiencing Ravana's birth and death, just in case I find any of the previous stories difficult to use.