in the hindu tradition of india, and the ancient yogis, kurma is the second avatar of the deity vishnu. vishnu, a central figure in the trimurti, is the 'preserver of the universe' and maybe the ultimate superhero! he is the dude that always gets the call when the shiz has hit the fan. in this particular circumstance, the world is going down the tubes, and everybody is about to die, (sound familiar?) so they call up ol' vishnu, freaking out!
he says, "tranquillo everybody... the elixir you will need to restore the balance of the world, lives in the ocean, (sounds familiar!) and is call amrita. what you need to do is churn the sea, and spin the elixir out of its milky waters. go grab that giant snake over there, tie him around that massive mountain, and tug o' war back and forth until the ocean is spinning like a vitamix."
"ok. cool vish. thanks. got it."
the dudes get to work churning the ocean, but then suddenly the mountain starts sinking into the abyss.
"don't worry, boys, i got your back. or rather, i got you on my back."
vishnu comes down to earth in the form of a turtle, kurma! he swims down to the bottom of the ocean, hoists the mountain up on his shell, and tells them to, "hit it!"
success.
this was the first time that the turtle saved humanity, and the world we live in. that story is about 5000 years old.
the second time is now. we adopt the turtle as our totem. besides being one of the most chill and snuggleable critters in the sea, the turtle is a tremendous barometer for the health of the ocean. if we can save them, and their habitat, we save everything. we save ourselves.
