Myths and its functions should be at present

Every culture and society has its own myths. Myth or myths is not new word. Simple meaning of the word myth is story. But people also believe myth as history and even as the truth. Let me state it in twentieth century theorist and critic Roland Barthes’ words that “myth is neither a lie nor a confession; it is an inflection”.  Every group of society has their own cultural myths because myths are “public dreams, dreams are private myths”.

 
Scholars in myths and in mythology found its origin as early as in the time when man was living in cave in stone-age. At that time the natural the natural phenomena like thunderbolt and rain and similar types of things frighten them. Thus to understand such natural phenomena they used to tell stories and those stories through the flow of time and by the nature of retelling and repetition in time it grown up as myth and several other stories are also included for the purpose of pleasure. As the human race evolved from that stone-age or from cave man to the modern civilization the number and the scope of the myths has evolved in innumerable ways. For D.H. Lawrence “myth is an attempt to narrate whole human experience, of which the purpose is too deep, going too deep in the blood and soul, for mental explanation or description.”
The stories become well formed myths and characters in the stories become god and goddesses. At present there are people who consider it as mere stories some believe it as the history of their ancestors. But the question which bothers one is that if the word myth itself means story than how far it is viable to call it a history. But that is not point of our discussion at present.  Myths are backbones of any culture and society, and each and every society tries their best to preserve it in best possible way. 

As the culture differs so differs the myths. But what is common in worlds all culture is that each and every culture has MYTHS, in some culture there can be similar kind of myths.

First of all let’s ask 

What is/are the function/s of myths ?

As I have pointed in the earlier part of this article that the prime function of the myth was to understand the complex,  unprecedental and uncommon natural phenomena. Myths plays vital role in the formation of the structure of the society. The believers of the one myth, have shared common feelings, life style will come together and the group of the people will latter on turned into a society. 

Myths and rites were used to celebrate, in a way people come together and take part in the moment of happiness and sorrows together. For instance in Hindu religion new year day people use to meet each other, same in the Christianity on the day of ester, and even in Islam people come together at common place for the enjoyment and marry making…

Myths –a lesion for ideal life- good life- people in general

In various stages of human evolution myths played very vital role. In the early and the latter stages of human race, function of myths largely remains to teach, to inform and to make them aware in metaphorical way. Myths teaches us lesion for life, how to live life in a better way, which way of living life is better for a human being, what one should do and what, it presents examples from the variety of the characters and types of the people. Myths were and still are full of dos and don’ts .
Telling stories of myths and remembering them, repeating them on certain occasion and on certain days in the years, it teaches, inform entertain sometime even warns also but in indirect way. 
To tell myth of the legendary culture is to teach individual and society in large, that what one or more character has done in that particular myth and what were the consequence of those deeds. For example myths of Ramanayana and Mahabharata both are the encyclopedia of the cultural myths of the larger part of India.

For example 

According to the myths of Mahabharat what Kauraavas had done are all bad things and what Pandavas had done are good things. It simply suggests that you are free to choose any path but the destination of your path is depending on the choice you make. The story of Mahabharata is about the consequences of the both paths whether you follow one or another. It indirectly suggests that to choose the right one and good one. It indirectly suggests the listener to follow and to live life like Pandavas.
The same with the Ramayan, it teaches the life should be live like Rama, but with that it also teaches that what Ravana did and in some cases Ram, one should avoid those things in life. On part of Ram it can be said that too much generosity and too much dutifulness is not only problematic for oneself but also for others who are living with them.  To obey the parents, fight for wife and kill the evils, but to abandon sita only for the sake of the duty is really a mistake, which one should not do in the life otherwise be ready for the similar type of consequence.

The play in the first semester of my M.A, where the story comes of a Greek scholar Dr. Faustus who have mastered all the arts and sciences available in his time still he has excessive crave for knowledge and pride for the knowledge. More in that he wanted to learn necromancy which was considered evil/sin in those days, and to gain that he sells his soul to the Lucifer the devil. But now when we look at this play we find that there is nothing bad in having desire to know more to learn more. There is nothing bad in having knowledge or in gaining more knowledge if it helps in the development of an individual and human race at large. No knowledge of the world is either good or bad if it helps in living better life.

In the similar way all the myths of the world has some or something to say to, to communicate, to inform, and to teach. The myths who ever had made must be very intellectual people; who tells story of the complex structure of human life in very simple manner. from life to the death we are surrounded by so many myths which now became rituals and we are going on following it. We never ask such question like is it necessary?