India, April 23 -- By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik - Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist

One of the unique features of Hindu temple traditions is the stories of the resident god quarrelling with the resident goddess. These take the form of a domestic spat and through the storytelling and rituals that enact this quarrel, audiences are drawn into the lives of the gods and the divine.

This participation in divine acts (leela) was the original Bhakti practice from around the 8th century, where devotees engage in the divine activities, participate in temple ceremonies, enjoy them and experience god. After the 12th century, the idea of submission to a deity, who protects and saves you, emerged under influence of Sufis of Central Asia who alway...