View allAll Photos Tagged Kernel
First time planting corn. Grown in a five gallon bucket. I picked two ears today, one week before the 78 day maturity that the package noted. They weigh 3/4 of a pound each and are 9" long. Only one good ear formed on each plant. The cobs are pretty much full ears.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argan_oil
Now increasingly important for oil produced for sale, as the oil will keep 12 at18 months and extraction is much faster. Using mechanical presses, mixing of the dough and water is unnecessary and the dough can be directly pressed.
The fruits of the argan tree are nut-sizes and may be round, oval or conical in shape. The fruits are covered by a thick peel which covers the fleshy pulp. The pulp surrounds a hard-shelled nut which represents approximately 25% of the weight of the fresh fruit.
Contained within the nut are one to three argan oil-rich kernels. Argan oil is extracted from the kernels, with yields varying from 30% to 55% depending on the extraction method used.
Extraction of the kernels is key to the argan oil production process. In order to extract the kernels, the argan fruits are first dried in the open air and then the fleshy pulp of the fruit is removed. Sometimes the flesh is removed mechanically without the need to dry the fruits. The flesh is usually used as feed for animals.
The next stage involves cracking the argan nut to obtain the argan kernels. Attempts to mechanize this process have been unsuccessful and therefore it is still carried out by hand, making it a time-consuming and labour-intensive process.
Kernels used to make argan oil for food use, culinary argan oil, are then gently roasted. After the argan kernels have cooled down, they are ground and pressed. The brown-colored mash expels pure, unfiltered argan oil. After this, unfiltered argan oil is decanted into vessels. The press cake remaining after the argan oil has been expelled is protein-rich and is frequently used as feed for cattle.
Cosmetic argan oil is produced almost identically, although the argan kernels are not roasted to avoid an excessively nutty scent.
After pressing, the argan oil is decanted and left to rest for approximately two weeks. This allows solids suspended in the argan oil to settle to the bottom, creating a natural sediment. The clearer argan oil may then be further filtered depending on the clarity and degree of purity required. Pure argan oil may contain some sediment. This is a natural part of the production process and does not affect the quality of the argan oil.
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All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)
The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats
Photographs available as epic fine art luxury prints. For prints and licensing information, please send me a flickr mail or contact drelliot@gmail.com with your queries! All the best on your Epic Hero's Odyssey!
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All my photography celebrates the physics of light! The McGucken Principle of the fourth expanding dimension: The fourth dimension is expanding at the rate of c relative to the three spatial dimensions: dx4/dt=ic .
Lao Tzu--The Tao: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Unifying Physical Reality of the Fourth Expanding Dimensionsion dx4/dt=ic !: geni.us/Fa1Q
"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life." --John Muir
Epic Stoicism guides my fine art odyssey and photography: geni.us/epicstoicism
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” --John Muir
Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey
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All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)
The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats
Photographs available as epic fine art luxury prints. For prints and licensing information, please send me a flickr mail or contact drelliot@gmail.com with your queries! All the best on your Epic Hero's Odyssey!
The heatwave had gripped the countryside for weeks, turning the normally green fields into a sea of parched, cracked earth. Old Man Hemlock, who had farmed this land for sixty years, had never seen anything like it. The sun beat down with a relentless, fiery intensity, and the air shimmered with the heat. Then, a faint sound, like distant popping firecrackers, began to drift across the fields. He squinted, adjusted his straw hat, and realized with a mix of horror and wonder that the sound was coming from his own cornfields. The kernels on the stalks, unable to withstand the blistering temperatures, were popping right where they stood.
A soft, white cloud began to form over the field, a strange, beautiful contrast to the harsh, brown landscape. The popping intensified, a frenzied drumbeat against the silence of the sweltering afternoon. Soon, the air was filled with the buttery aroma of fresh popcorn, a scent that was both inviting and deeply unsettling. The popcorn floated on the wind, a surreal snowstorm in the middle of a blazing summer. Old Man Hemlock watched as the airborne kernels settled on the fence posts, the barn roof, and even on the head of his prize-winning goat, Bartholomew, who seemed to be enjoying the unexpected snack.
The local news quickly caught wind of the spectacle, sending a reporter and a camera crew to document the phenomenon. The reporter, struggling to maintain her professional composure while being pelted with warm, fluffy popcorn, described the scene as "a truly historic meteorological event, unprecedented in its deliciousness." The broadcast went viral, and within hours, tourists began to flock to the farm, bringing giant bags and buckets to collect the free-falling snack. Old Man Hemlock, who had initially been worried about his ruined crop, ended up setting up a small stand, selling cold sodas to the crowds and marveling at the bizarre turn of events that had transformed his ruined cornfield into a roadside attraction.
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Lao Tzu--The Tao: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Unifying Physical Reality of the Fourth Expanding Dimensionsion dx4/dt=ic !: geni.us/Fa1Q
"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life." --John Muir
Epic Stoicism guides my fine art odyssey and photography: geni.us/epicstoicism
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” --John Muir
Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey
“The mountains are calling and I must go.” --John Muir
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Support epic fine art! 45surf ! Bitcoin: 1FMBZJeeHVMu35uegrYUfEkHfPj5pe9WNz
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Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype: How to Shoot Epic ... Epic! Beautiful Surf Fine Art Portrait Swimsuit Bikini Models!
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Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)
The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats
124 Pictures in 2024 #110 "Teeny weeny"
This is a small sprinkling of grits, a southern US food staple in it uncooked form. Grits are basically ground hominy, which is just corn kernels treated by soaking in an alkaline solution to soften the kernel shell, then dried. Here, it is often sold canned like this to cook as a side dish. But mainly it is then dried and ground into "grits", a favorite breakfast food throughout the South. It is prepared by boiling in water at the correct ratio, similar to rice, then served topped with butter. This shot is fairly close to a 1:1 macro, the ground particles are quite small.
grown from native seed in our "three sisters" garden (the sisters are corn, beans, and squash).
it is recommended that you wash before eating.
The Greatest
Mumbaikar of All..
Huge and Tall
Hears you Cry
Hears Your Call
Saves you each Time
before You Fall
whatever your religiosity
he removes obstacles
he sees there are no pitfalls
no terrorists can breach
our city's walls
Mutual Coexistence
Be Proud Indians
on our Souls he scrawls
our greatest enemy
our bigotry
our narrow mindedness
our hate for each other
that hits the nation
first of all
before being
a hindu muslim christian
be an Indian
says it all
miljul ke rehne
main hi bhaliee hai
our mantra
of peace
the greatest cure all
dont sell your country
for american dollars
or saudi riyal
from wikipedia
Ganesha (Sanskrit: गणेश; Gaṇeśa; listen (help·info), also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh) is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in Hinduism[8]. Although he is known by many other attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify.[9] Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits, and explain his distinct iconography. Ganesha is worshipped as the lord of beginnings and as the lord of obstacles (Vighnesha),[10] patron of arts and sciences, and the god of intellect and wisdom.[11] He is honoured with affection at the start of any ritual or ceremony and invoked as the "Patron of Letters" at the beginning of any writing.[12]
Ganesha appears as a distinct deity in clearly-recognizable form beginning in the fourth to fifth centuries, during the Gupta Period. His popularity rose quickly, and he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the ninth century. During this period, a sect of devotees (called Ganapatya; Sanskrit: गाणपत्य; gāṇapatya) who identify Ganesha as the supreme deity was formed.[13] The principal scriptures dedicated to his worship are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.
Ganesha is one of the most-worshipped divinities in India.[14][15] Worship of Ganesha is considered complementary with the worship of other forms of the divine, and various Hindu sects worship him regardless of other affiliations.[16][17][18] Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.
Ganesha has many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vighneśvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri (Sanskrit: श्री; śrī, also spelled Sri or Shree) is often added before his name. One popular form of Ganesha worship is by chanting one of the Ganesha Sahasranamas, which literally means "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. There are at least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama. One of these is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture that venerates Ganesha.[24]
The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana (Sanskrit: गण; gaṇa), meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha (Sanskrit: ईश; īśa), meaning lord or master.[25][26] The word gaņa in association with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva (also spelled "Śiva").[27] The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation.[28] Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of created categories," such as the elements, etc.[29] The translation "Lord of Hosts" may convey a familiar sense to Western readers. Ganapati (Sanskrit: गणपति; gaṇapati) is a synonym for Ganesha, being a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord").[30]
Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras.[31] This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha (aṣṭavināyaka) temples in Maharashtra.[32] The name Vignesha, meaning "Lord of Obstacles", refers to his primary function in Hindu mythology as being able to both create and remove obstacles (vighna).
One of the main names for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pille or Pillaiyar, which means "Little Child".[33] A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pille means a "child" and pillaiyar a "noble child", and adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk of an elephant" but more generally "elephant".[34] In discussing the name Pillaiyar, Anita Raina Thapan notes that since the Pali word pillaka has the significance of "a young elephant" it is possible that pille originally meant "the young of the elephant".[35]
Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art.[36] Unlike some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variation with distinct patterns changing over time.[37][38][39] He may be portrayed standing, dancing, taking heroic action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down, or engaging in a remarkable range of contemporary situations.
Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the sixth century.[40] The figure shown to the right is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900-1200, after Ganesha had been well-established as an independent deity with his own cult. This example features some of Ganesha's common iconographic elements. A virtually identical statue has been dated between 973-1200 by Martin-Dubost[41] and another similar statue is dated circa twelfth century by Pal.[42] He has the head of an elephant and a big belly. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha . He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds some form of delicacy, which he samples with his trunk in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet which he holds in his lower-left hand is a particularly archaic feature.[43] A more primitive statue in one of the Ellora Caves with this general form has been dated to the 7th century.[44] Details of the other hands are difficult to make out on the statue shown; in this standard configuration, Ganesha typically holds either an axe or a goad in one upper arm and a noose in the other upper arm as symbols of his ability to cut through obstacles or to create them as needed.
The influence of this old constellation of iconographic elements can still be seen in contemporary representations of Ganesha. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but rather is turned toward the viewer in the gesture of protection or "no fear" (abhaya mudra).[45][46] The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing,[47] which is a very popular theme.[48]
Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art.[50] Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got this form.[51] One of his popular forms (called Heramba-Ganapati) has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known.[52]
While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, in most stories he acquires the head later, with several accounts given.[53] The most common motif in these stories is that Ganesha was born with a human head and body and that Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant.[54] Details of the battle and where the replacement head came from vary according to different sources.[55] In another story, when Ganesha was born his mother Parvati showed off her new baby to the other gods. Unfortunately, the god Shani (Saturn) – who is said to have the "evil eye" – looked at him, causing the baby's head to be burned to ashes. The god Vishnu came to the rescue and replaced the missing head with that of an elephant.[56] Another story tells that Ganesha is created directly by Shiva's laughter. Shiva became concerned that Ganesha was too alluring, so he cursed Ganesha to have the head of an elephant and a protruding belly.[57]
The earliest name referring to Ganesha is Ekadanta ("One Tusk"), noting his single tusk; the other is broken off. [58] Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk.[59] The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the Mudgala Purana, which states that the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta.[60]
Ganesha's protruding belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries).[61] This feature is so important that according to the Mudgala Purana two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on it, Lambodara ("Pot Belly", or literally "Hanging Belly") and Mahodara ("Great Belly").[62] Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly (Sanskrit: udara).[63] The Brahmanda Purana says that he has the name Lambodara because all the universes (i.e., cosmic eggs; Sanskrit brahmāṇḍas) of the past, present, and future are present in Ganesha.[64][65]
The number of Ganesha's arms varies; his best-known forms have between two and sixteen arms.[66] Many depictions of Ganesha feature four arms, which is mentioned in Puranic sources and codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts.[67] His earliest images had two arms.[68][69] Forms with fourteen and twenty arms appeared in Central India during the 9th and 10th century.[70]
The serpent is a common element in Ganesha iconography, where it appears in many forms.[71][72] According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vāsuki around his neck.[73][74] Other common depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread (Sanskrit: yajñyopavīta),[75][76] wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, and as a throne. Upon Ganesha's forehead there may be either a third eye or a sectarian mark (Sanskrit: tilaka) of Shiva showing three horizontal lines.[77][78] The Ganesha Purana prescribes both a tilaka mark as well as a crescent moon for the forehead.[79][80][81] A distinct form called Bhālacandra ("Moon on the Forehead") includes that iconographic element.[82][83]
The colors most often associated with Ganesha are red [84] and yellow, but specific other colors are prescribed in certain forms.[85] Many examples of color associations with specific meditation forms are prescribed in the Sritattvanidhi, a treatise on iconography that includes a section on variant forms of Ganesha. For example, white is associated with his representations as Heramba-Ganapati and Rina-Mochana-Ganapati.("Ganapati Who Releases From Bondage").[86] Ekadanta-Ganapati is visualized as blue during meditation on that form.[
The earliest Ganesha images are without a Vahana (mount).[88] Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha has a mouse in five of them, but uses a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation of Vikata, and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja.[89] Of the four incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana, Mohotkata has a lion, Mayūreśvara has a peacock, Dhumraketu has a horse, and Gajanana has a rat.[90][91] Jain depictions of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse,[92] an elephant,[93] a tortoise, a ram, or a peacock.[94]
Mouse as vahana
Ganesha riding on his mouse. A sculpture at the Vaidyeshwara temple in Talakkadu, Karnataka, India. Note the red flowers offered by the devotees.Ganesha is often shown riding on, or attended by a mouse.[95][96] Martin-Dubost says that in central and western India the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Gaṇeśa in the 7th century A.D., where the rat was always placed close to his feet.[97] The mouse as a mount first appears in written sources in the Matsya Purana, and later in the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle only in his last incarnation.[98] The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag.[99] The names Mūṣakavāhana ("Mouse-mount") and Ākhuketana ("Rat-banner") appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.[100]
Devotee literature provides a variety of interpretations regarding what the mouse means. Michael Wilcockson says it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less selfish.[101] Martin-Dubost thinks it is a symbol of the fact that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even the most secret places.[102] Krishan gives a completely different interpretation, noting that the rat is a destructive creature and a menace to crops. The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the root mūṣ which means "stealing, robbing". It was essential to subdue the rat as a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed to be overcome. In this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat proclaims his function as Vigneshvara and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāmata-devatā (village deity) who later rose to greater prominence.[103]
Buddhi
Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of Intelligence.[108] In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect.[109] The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, where many stories showcase his cleverness and love of intelligence. One of Ganesha's names in the Ganesha Purana and the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya.[110] This name also appears in a special list of twenty-one names that Gaṇeśa says are of special importance at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama.[111] The word priya can mean "fond of", but in a marital context, it can mean "lover" or "husband". Buddhipriya probably refers to Ganesha's well-known association with intelligence.
This association with wisdom also appears in the name Buddha, which appears as a name of Ganesha in the second verse of the Ganesha Purana version of the Ganesha Sahasranama.[112] The positioning of this name at the beginning of the Ganesha Sahasranama reveals the name's importance. Bhaskararaya's commentary on the Ganesha Sahasranama says that this name means that the Buddha was an avatar of Ganesha.[113] This interpretation is not widely known even among Ganapatya. Buddha is not mentioned in the lists of Ganesha's incarnations given in the main sections of the Ganesha Purana and Mudgala Purana. Bhaskararaya also provides a more general interpretation of this name as simply meaning that Ganesha's very form is "eternal elightenment" (nityabuddaḥ), so he is named Buddha.
[edit] Aum
Ganesha (Devanagari) Aum jewelGanesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum (ॐ, also called Om, Omkara, oṃkāra, or Aumkara). The term oṃkārasvarūpa ("Aum is his form") in connection with Ganesha refers to this belief that he is the personification of the primal sound.[114] This association is attested in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. The relevant passage is translated by Paul Courtright as follows:
You are Brahmā, Vişņu, and Rudra [Śiva]. You are Agni, Vāyu, and Sūrya. You are Candrama. You are earth, space, and heaven. You are the manifestation of the mantra "Oṃ".[115]
A variant version of this passage is translated by Chinmayananda as follows:
(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire and air. You are the sun and the moon. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka, Antariksha-loka, and Swargaloka. You are Om. (that is to say, You are all this).[116]
Some devotees see similarities between the shape of his body and the shape of Om in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.[117]
[edit] First chakra
Ganesha is associated with the first or "root" chakra (mūlādhāra). This association is attested in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. As translated by Courtright this passage reads:
You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra].[118]
A variant version of this passage is translated by Chinmayananda:
You have a permanent abode (in every being) at the place called "Muladhara".[119]
[edit] Family and consorts
Shiva and Pārvatī giving a bath to Gaṇeśa. Kangra miniature, 18th century. Allahbad Museum, New Delhi.[120]For more details on this topic, see Consorts of Ganesha.
While Ganesha is popularly considered to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths relate several different versions of his birth.[121][122] These include versions in which he is created by Shiva,[123] by Parvati,[124] by Shiva and Parvati,[125] or in a mysterious manner that is discovered by Shiva and Parvati.[126]
The family includes his brother Skanda, who is also called Karttikeya, Murugan, and other names.[127][128] Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In North India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder brother while in the South, Ganesha is considered the first born.[129] Prior to the emergence of Ganesha, Skanda had a long and glorious history as an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when his worship declined significantly in North India. The period of this decline is concurrent with the rise of Ganesha. Several stories relate episodes of sibling rivalry between Ganesha and Skanda[130] and may reflect historical tensions between the respective sects.[131]
Ganesha's marital status varies widely in mythological stories and the issue has been the subject of considerable scholarly review.[132] One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as a brahmacharin (brahmacārin; celibate).[133] Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified by goddesses who are considered to be Ganesha's wives. A third pattern couples Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati, and the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi, symbolically indicating that these qualities always accompany one other. A fourth pattern mainly prevalent in the Bengal region links Ganesha with the banana tree, Kala Bo.
[edit] Buddhi, Siddhi, and Riddhi
Shri Mayureshwar, MorgaonThe Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana contain descriptions of Ganesha flanked by Buddhi and Siddhi.[134] In Chapter I.18.24-39 of the Ganesha Purana, Brahmā performs worship in honour of Ganesha. During the puja, Ganesha himself causes Buddhi and Siddhi to appear so that Brahmā can offer them back to Ganesha. Ganesha accepts them as offerings.[135] In a variant, the two are born from Brahmā's mind and are given by Brahmā to Ganesha.[135] Buddhi and Siddhi are best identified as his consorts in the Shiva Purana, where Ganesha cleverly wins the two desirable daugters of Prajāpati over Skanda.[136] The Shiva Purana version says that Ganesha had two sons: Kshema (Kşema, prosperity) and Labha (profit). The 1975 Hindi film Jai Santoshi Maa shows Ganesha married to Riddhi and Siddhi and having a daughter named Santoshi Ma, the goddess of satisfaction. However, this story has no Puranic basis. Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.[137][138]
Representations of Ganesha's consorts can be found aside from Puranic texts. In the Ganesha Temple at Morgaon (the central shrine for the regional aṣṭavināyaka complex), Buddhi and Siddhi stand to the right and left sides of the Ganesha image.[139] In northern India, the two female figures are said to be Siddhi and Riddhi; Riddhi substitutes for Buddhi with no Puranic basis.[140] The Ajitāgama describes a Tantric form of Ganesha called Haridra Ganapati as turmeric-colored and flanked by two unnamed wives distinct from shaktis.[141] The word "wives" (Sanskrit: दारा; dārā) is specifically used (Sanskrit: दारायुगलम्; dārāyugalam).[142]
[edit] Interpretations of relationships
Ganesha with the Ashta (meaning eight) Siddhi. The Ashtasiddhi are associated with Ganesha. Painted by Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906).In discussing the Shiva Purana version, Courtright comments that while Ganesha is sometimes depicted as sitting between these two feminine deities, "these women are more like feminine emanations of his androgynous nature, Shaktis rather than spouses having their own characters and spouses."[143] Ludo Rocher says that "descriptions of Gaṇeśa as siddhi-buddhi-samanvita 'accompanied by, followed by siddhi and buddhi.' often seem to mean no more than that, when Gaṇeśa is present, siddhi 'success' and buddhi 'wisdom' are not far behind. Such may well have been the original conception, of which the marriage was a later development."[144] In verse 49a of the Ganesha Purana version of the Ganesha Sahasranama, one of Ganesha's names is Ŗddhisiddhipravardhana ("Enhancer of material and spiritual success"). The Matsya Purana identifies Gaṇesha as the "owner" of Riddhi (prosperity) and Buddhi (wisdom).[145] In discussing the northern Indian sources, Cohen remarks:
They are depersonalized figures, interchangeable, and given their frequent depiction fanning Gaṇeśa are often referred to as dasīs — servants. Their names represent the benefits accrued by the worshipper of Gaṇeśa, and thus Gaṇeśa is said to be the owner of Ṛddhi and Siddhi; he similarly functions as the father of Śubha (auspiciousness) and Lābha (profit), a pair similar to the Śiva Purāṇa's Kṣema (prosperity) and Lābha. Though in Varanasi the paired figures were usually called Ṛddhi and Siddhi, Gaṇeśa's relationship to them was often vague. He was their mālik, their owner; they were more often dasīs than patnīs (wives).[146]
His relationship with the Ashtasiddhi — the eight spiritual attaintments obtained by the practice of yoga — is also of this depersonalized type. In later iconography, these eight marvellous powers are represented by a group of young women who surround Ganesha.[147] Raja Ravi Varma's painting (shown in this section) illustrates a recent example of this iconographic form. The painting includes fans, which establish the feminine figures as attendants.
[edit] Motif of shaktis
Ganesha in his form as Mahāganapati with a shakti. From the Sritattvanidhi (19th century).A distinct type of iconographic image of Ganesha shows him with a single human-looking shakti (śakti).[148] According to Ananda Coomaraswamy, the oldest known depiction of Ganesha with a shakti of this type dates from the sixth century.[149] The consort lacks a distinctive personality or iconographic repertoire. According to Cohen and Alice Getty, the appearance of this shakti motif parallels the emergence of tantric branches of the Ganapatya cult. Six distinct forms of "Shakti Ganapati" can be linked to the Ganapatyas.[150] Of the thirty-two standard meditation forms for Ganesha that appear in the Sritattvanidhi (Śrītattvanidhi), several include a shakti.[151][152] A common form of this motif shows Ganesha seated with the shakti upon his left hip, holding a bowl of flat cakes or round sweets, with him turning his trunk to his left to touch the tasty food. In some tantric forms of this image, the gesture is modified to take on erotic overtones.[153] Some tantric variants of this form are described in the Śāradātilaka Tantram.[154]
Prithvi Kumar Agrawala has traced at least six different lists of fifty or more aspects or forms of Ganesha each with their specific female consorts or shaktis.[155][156] In these lists, goddess names such as Hrī, Śrī, and Puṣṭī are found. However, Buddhi, Siddhi, and Riddhi do not appear on any of these lists, which also do not provide any details about the personalities or distinguishing iconographic forms for these shaktis. Agrawala concludes that all of the lists were derived from one original set of names. The earliest of the lists appears in the Nārada Purāṇa (I.66.124-38), and a similar list with minor variations appears in the Ucchiṣṭagaṇapati Upāsanā. These lists are of two types. In the first type the names of various forms of Ganesha are given with a clear-cut pairing of a named shakti for that form. The second type, as found in the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa (II.IV.44.63-76) and the commentary of Rāghavabhaṭṭa on the Śāradātilaka (I.115), gives fifty or more names of Ganesha collectively in one group, with the names of the shaktis provided collectively in a second group. The second type of list poses problems in separating and properly connecting the names into pairs due to ambiguities in the formation of Sanskrit compound words.
[edit] Worship and festivals
Celebrations of Ganesh by the Indian and Sri Lankan Tamil community in Paris, FranceWhether the reason has to do with a religious ceremony, a new vehicle, students taking exams, sessions of devotional chanting, or beginning a business, Ganesha is worshipped. Throughout India and the Hindu culture, Ganesha is the first icon placed into any new home or abode. Devotees widely believe that wherever there is Ganesha, there is success and prosperity. By calling on him people believe that he will come to their aid and grant them success in their endeavours.
The worship of Ganesha is considered complementary with the worship of other deities.[157] Hindus of all sects begin prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies with an invocation to Ganesha. Ganesha is also adored by dancers and musicians, who begin their performances of arts such as Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to him, particularly in South India.[158] Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah ("Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha"), and others, are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (literally, "Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts").
Devotees offer Ganesha various sweets, such as modaka, small sweet balls (laddus) and others.[159]. He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra, which is one of his iconographic elements.[160] Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with things such as red sandalwood paste (raktacandana),[161] or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and various other materials are used in his worship.[162]
[edit] Ganesh Chaturthi
A large Ganesha statue at a Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, 2004There is an important festival honouring Ganesha that is celebrated for ten days starting from Ganesh Chaturthi.[163] This festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi when images (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed into the most convenient body of water.
The Ganapati festival is celebrated by Hindus with great devotional fervour. While it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra,[164] it is performed all over India.[165] In Mumbai, the festival assumes huge proportions. On the last day of the festival, millions of people of all ages descend onto the streets leading up to the sea, dancing and singing, to the rhythmic accompaniment of drums and cymbals.
In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak reshaped the annual Ganesh festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. [166] He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropiate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra.[167][168] Thus, Tilak chose Ganesha as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule because of his wide appeal as "the god for Everyman".[169][170] Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavillions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day.[171]
[edit] Rise to prominence
[edit] First appearance
Ganesha appears in his classic form as a clearly-recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes from the early fourth to fifth centuries.[172] Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known cult image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period.[173]. By about the tenth century his independent cult had come into existence.[174] Narain sums up controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:
[W]hat is inscrutable is the somewhat dramatic appearance of Gaņeśa on the historical scene. His antecedents are not clear. His wide acceptance and popularity, which transcend sectarian and territorial limits, are indeed amazing. On the one hand there is the pious belief of the orthodox devotees in Gaņeśa's Vedic origins and in the Purāṇic explanations contained in the confusing, but nonetheless interesting, mythology. On the other hand there are doubts about the existence of the idea and the icon of this deity" before the fourth to fifth century A.D. ... [I]n my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence or the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.[175]
[edit] Possible influences
Courtright reviews various speculative theories about the early history of Ganesha, including supposed tribal traditions and animal cults, and dismisses all of them in this way:
In this search for a historical origin for Gaņeśa, some have suggested precise locations outside the Brāhmaṇic tradition.... These historical locations are intriguing to be sure, but the fact remains that they are all speculations, variations on the Dravidian hypothesis, which argues that anything not attested to in the Vedic and Indo-European sources must have come into Brāhmaṇic religion from the Dravidian or aboriginal populations of India as part of the process that produced Hinduism out of the interactions of the Aryan and non-Aryan populations. There is no independent evidence for an elephant cult or a totem; nor is there any archaeological data pointing to a tradition prior to what we can already see in place in the Purāṇic literature and the iconography of Gaņeśsa.[176]
Thapan's book on the development of Ganesha devotes a chapter to speculations about the role elephants had in early India, but concludes that:
Although by the second century AD the elephant-headed yakṣa form exists it cannot be presumed to represent Gaṇapati-Vināyaka. There is no evidence of a deity by this name having an elephant or elephant-headed form at this early stage. Gaṇapati-Vināyaka had yet to make his debut.[177]
One theory of the origin of Ganesha is that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vināyakas.[178][179] In Hindu mythology the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties,[180] but who were easily propitiated.[181] The name Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras.[182] Krishan is one of the academics who accepts this view, stating flatly of Ganesha that "He is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th-4th century B.C.) who cause various types of evil and suffering."[183]
[edit] Vedic and epic literature
5th C Ganesh by Shahi King Khingala, found at Gardez, Afghanistan now at Dargah Pir Rattan NathGanesha as we know him today does not appear in the Vedas. The title "Leader of the group" (Sanskrit: gaṇapati) occurs twice in the Rig Veda but in neither case does it refer to the modern Ganesha. The term appears in RV 2.23.1 as a title for Brahmanaspati, the teacher of the gods. H. H. Wilson translates the Sanskrit verse "gaṇānāṃ tvā gaṇapatiṃ havāmahe kaviṃ kavīnāmupamaśravastamam" (RV 2.23.1 [2222]) as "We invoke the Brahmaṇaspati, chief leader of the (heavenly) bands; a sage of sages".[184] While there is no doubt that this verse refers to Brahmanaspati, the verse was later adopted for worship of Ganesha even to this day.[185][186] In rejecting any claim that this passage is evidence of Ganesha in the Rig Veda, Ludo Rocher says that it "clearly refers to Bṛhaspati - who is the deity of the hymn - and Bṛhaspati only."[187] The second passage (RV 10.112.9) equally clearly refers to Indra.[188] Wilson translates the Sanskrit verse "ni ṣu sīda gaṇapate gaṇeṣu tvāmāhurvipratamaṃ kavīnām" as "Lord of the companies (of the Maruts), sit down among the companies (of the worshippers), they call you the most sage of sages".[189]
Ganesha does not appear in epic literature. There is a late interpolation to the epic poem Mahabharata, saying that the sage Vyāsa asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed, but only on the condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, without pausing. The sage agreed to this, but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages in order to get Ganesha to ask for clarifications. This is the single passage in which Ganesha appears in that epic. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata,[190] where the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote to an appendix.[191] Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyāsa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation to the text.[192] Richard L. Brown dates the story as 8th century, and Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900 but he maintains that it had not yet been added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Moriz Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature of Southern manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend.[193]
[edit] Puranic period
Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, circa 600- 1300.[194] Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he came to acquire an elephant's head are in the later Puranas composed from about 600 onwards, and that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.[195]
In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature Ludo Rocher notes that:
Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent.[196]
Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The ninth-century philosopher Śaṅkarācārya popularized the "worship of the five forms" (pañcāyatana pūjā) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smārta tradition.[197][198] This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devī, and Sūrya.[199][200] Śaṅkarācārya instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity. The monistic philosophy preached by Śaṅkarācārya made it possible to choose one of these as a preferred principal deity and at the same time worship the other four deities as different forms of the same all-pervading Brahman.
[edit] Ganesha Scriptures
Statue of Ganesha with a flowerFor more detail see: Ganesha Purana and Mudgala Purana
Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some brāhmaṇas chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.[201]
The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana, and their dating relative to one another, has sparked academic debate. Both works developed over periods of time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews different views on dating and provides her own judgement. She states that it appears likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana came into existence around the 12th and 13th centuries but was subject to interpolations during the succeeding ages.[202] Lawrence W. Preston considers that the period 1100-1400 is the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana because that period agrees with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by it.[203]
R. C. Hazra suggested that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana which he dates between 1100 and 1400 A.D.[204] However Phillis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha because, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas that deal at length with Ganesha (these are the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala puranas).[205] The Mudgala Purana, like many other Puranas, contains multiple age strata. While the kernel of the text must be old it continued to receive interpolations until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions.[206] Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries A.D.[207]
[edit] Beyond India and Hinduism
For more on this topic, see Ganesha outside Hinduism.
Tibetan depiction of Dancing Ganesha[208] This form is also known as Maharakta ("The Great Red One")[209]India had an impact on the regions of West and Southeast Asia as a result of commercial and cultural contacts. Ganesha is one of many Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.[210] The worship of Ganesha by Hindus outside of India shows regional variation.
Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures.[211] The period from approximately the tenth century onwards was marked by the development of new networks of exchange, the formation of trade guilds, and a resurgence of money circulation. It was during this time that Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders.[212] The earliest inscription where Ganesha is invoked before any other deity is by the merchant community.[213]
Hindus spread out to the Malay Archipelago and took their culture with them, including Ganesha.[214] Statues of Ganesa are found throughout the Malay Archipelago in great numbers, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences.[215] The gradual emigration of Hindus to Indochina established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side-by-side and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region.[216] In Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles.[217] Even today, in Buddhist Thailand Ganesha is regarded as remover of obstacles and thus god of success.[218]
Before the arrival of Islam, Afganistan had close cultural ties with India, and the adoration of both Hindu and Buddhist deities was practiced. A few examples of sculptures from the period 5th-7th century have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was in vogue in the region at that time.[219][220]
Ganesha appears in Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also portrayed as a Hindu demon form with the same name (Vināyaka).[221] His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period.[222] As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing, a form called Nṛtta Ganapati that was popular in North India, later adopted in Nepal and then in Tibet.[223] In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha known as Heramba is very popular, where he appears with five heads and rides on a lion.[224] Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him.[225] In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākala, a popular Tibetan deity.[226][227] Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, sometimes dancing.[228] Ganesha appears in both China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In North China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated 531 CE.[229] In Japan the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806 CE.[230]
The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the cult of Ganesha.[231] However Ganesha is worshipped by most Jains, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera.[232] Jain connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up the worship of Ganesha as a result of commercial connections.[233] The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century.[234] A 15th century Jain text provides procedures for the installation of Ganapati images.[235] Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.[236]
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To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats
Colorado Autumn Colors Dallas Divide Range Ridgway Snow Stormy Moody Weather Fall Foliage Aspens Fine Art Landscape Nature Photography Fuji GFX100! 45EPIC Dr. Elliot McGucken Master Fine Art Luxury Photography CO Fine Art Fuji GFX 100 & FUJIFILM GF Lens !
Dr. Elliot McGucken Fine Art Spacetime Sculpture dx4//dt=ic:
Epic Fine Art Photography Prints & Luxury Wall Art:
Support epic, stoic fine art: Hero's Odyssey Gear!
Follow me on Instagram!
Facebook:
All my photography celebrates the physics of light! The McGucken Principle of the fourth expanding dimension: The fourth dimension is expanding at the rate of c relative to the three spatial dimensions: dx4/dt=ic .
Lao Tzu--The Tao: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Unifying Physical Reality of the Fourth Expanding Dimensionsion dx4/dt=ic !: geni.us/Fa1Q
"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life." --John Muir
Epic Stoicism guides my fine art odyssey and photography: geni.us/epicstoicism
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” --John Muir
Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey
“The mountains are calling and I must go.” --John Muir
Epic Art & 45EPIC Gear exalting golden ratio designs for your Hero's Odyssey:
Support epic fine art! 45surf ! Bitcoin: 1FMBZJeeHVMu35uegrYUfEkHfPj5pe9WNz
Exalt the goddess archetype in the fine art of photography! My Epic Book: Photographing Women Models!
Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype: How to Shoot Epic ... Epic! Beautiful Surf Fine Art Portrait Swimsuit Bikini Models!
Some of my epic books, prints, & more!
Exalt your photography with Golden Ratio Compositions!
Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)
The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats
Photographs available as epic fine art luxury prints. For prints and licensing information, please send me a flickr mail or contact drelliot@gmail.com with your queries! All the best on your Epic Hero's Odyssey!
It is good to have a dream. Dreams get us through the hard times.
What is your dream?
I was never fancy enough to have one of those. or i was to busy, working.
North Lake Bishop Creek Autumn Aspens High Sierra Eastern Sierra California! Autumn Colors Fall Foliage American West Elliot McGucken Fine Art Nature Landscape Photography!
Epic Fine Art Photography Prints & Luxury Wall Art:
Support epic, stoic fine art: Hero's Odyssey Gear!
All my photography celebrates the physics of light! The McGucken Principle of the fourth expanding dimension: The fourth dimension is expanding at the rate of c relative to the three spatial dimensions: dx4/dt=ic .
Lao Tzu--The Tao: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Unifying Physical Reality of the Fourth Expanding Dimensionsion dx4/dt=ic !: geni.us/Fa1Q
"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life." --John Muir
Epic Stoicism guides my fine art odyssey and photography: geni.us/epicstoicism
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” --John Muir
Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey
“The mountains are calling and I must go.” --John Muir
Epic Art & 45EPIC Gear exalting golden ratio designs for your Hero's Odyssey:
Support epic fine art! 45surf ! Bitcoin: 1FMBZJeeHVMu35uegrYUfEkHfPj5pe9WNz
Exalt the goddess archetype in the fine art of photography! My Epic Book: Photographing Women Models!
Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype: How to Shoot Epic ... Epic! Beautiful Surf Fine Art Portrait Swimsuit Bikini Models!
Some of my epic books, prints, & more!
Exalt your photography with Golden Ratio Compositions!
Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)
The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats
Yosemite Sunrise Cook's Meadow Half Dome Elm Tree Autumn Colors Red Leaves Fall Foliage ! Yosemite National Park California Fall Colors Oaks Fine Art Landscape Nature Photography Fuji GFX100 ! 45EPIC Elliot McGucken Master Fine Art Luxury Photography Fine Art Fuji GFX 100 !
Dr. Elliot McGucken Fine Art Spacetime Sculpture dx4//dt=ic:
Epic Fine Art Photography Prints & Luxury Wall Art:
Support epic, stoic fine art: Hero's Odyssey Gear!
Follow me on Instagram!
Facebook:
All my photography celebrates the physics of light! The McGucken Principle of the fourth expanding dimension: The fourth dimension is expanding at the rate of c relative to the three spatial dimensions: dx4/dt=ic .
Lao Tzu--The Tao: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Unifying Physical Reality of the Fourth Expanding Dimensionsion dx4/dt=ic !: geni.us/Fa1Q
"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life." --John Muir
Epic Stoicism guides my fine art odyssey and photography: geni.us/epicstoicism
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” --John Muir
Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey
“The mountains are calling and I must go.” --John Muir
Epic Art & 45EPIC Gear exalting golden ratio designs for your Hero's Odyssey:
Support epic fine art! 45surf ! Bitcoin: 1FMBZJeeHVMu35uegrYUfEkHfPj5pe9WNz
Exalt the goddess archetype in the fine art of photography! My Epic Book: Photographing Women Models!
Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype: How to Shoot Epic ... Epic! Beautiful Surf Fine Art Portrait Swimsuit Bikini Models!
Some of my epic books, prints, & more!
Exalt your photography with Golden Ratio Compositions!
Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)
The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats
Photographs available as epic fine art luxury prints. For prints and licensing information, please send me a flickr mail or contact drelliot@gmail.com with your queries! All the best on your Epic Hero's Odyssey!
Epic Panorama The Mountain Town of Ouray Colorado! Million Dollar Highway Ouray Colorado Fall Foliage Aspens Fine Art Landscape Nature Photography Fuji GFX100 ! 45EPIC Dr. Elliot McGucken Master Fine Art Luxury Photography CO Fine Art Fuji GFX 100 & FUJIFILM GF 23mm f/4 R LM WR Lens!
Dr. Elliot McGucken Fine Art Spacetime Sculpture dx4//dt=ic:
Epic Fine Art Photography Prints & Luxury Wall Art:
Support epic, stoic fine art: Hero's Odyssey Gear!
Follow me on Instagram!
Facebook:
All my photography celebrates the physics of light! The McGucken Principle of the fourth expanding dimension: The fourth dimension is expanding at the rate of c relative to the three spatial dimensions: dx4/dt=ic .
Lao Tzu--The Tao: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Unifying Physical Reality of the Fourth Expanding Dimensionsion dx4/dt=ic !: geni.us/Fa1Q
"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life." --John Muir
Epic Stoicism guides my fine art odyssey and photography: geni.us/epicstoicism
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” --John Muir
Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey
“The mountains are calling and I must go.” --John Muir
Epic Art & 45EPIC Gear exalting golden ratio designs for your Hero's Odyssey:
Support epic fine art! 45surf ! Bitcoin: 1FMBZJeeHVMu35uegrYUfEkHfPj5pe9WNz
Exalt the goddess archetype in the fine art of photography! My Epic Book: Photographing Women Models!
Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype: How to Shoot Epic ... Epic! Beautiful Surf Fine Art Portrait Swimsuit Bikini Models!
Some of my epic books, prints, & more!
Exalt your photography with Golden Ratio Compositions!
Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)
The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats
Photographs available as epic fine art luxury prints. For prints and licensing information, please send me a flickr mail or contact drelliot@gmail.com with your queries! All the best on your Epic Hero's Odyssey!
Remember, this is 1918. And how many women hunted for gold in the Yukon with their husbands?
"Why, Margaret," he said, "they're dolls."
And you should have seen Kernel Cob's face as he turned to Sweetclover and said:
"I don't see any woman, do you?"
But Sweetclover only smiled.
"Do you see the one that isn't John?" she said.
"Of course," said Kernel Cob, "I'm not blind."
"Well," said Sweetclover, "she's a woman."
"But she's got a man's suit on," said Kernel Cob.
"Well, that doesn't make her a man." said Sweetclover.
"What'll women be doing next," said Kernel Cob.
“Kernel Cob and Little Miss Sweetclover” by George Mitchell, who had a delightful sense of humor unusual for the time. Illustrated by Tony Sarg. Published by P.F. Volland in 1918. Can be found at www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14110
Yosemite El Capitan Reflections Cathedral Beach Merced River Yosemite National Park California Autumn Colors Fall Foliage Oaks Fine Art Landscape Nature Photography Fuji GFX100 ! 45EPIC Dr. Elliot McGucken Master Fine Art Luxury Photography Fine Art Fuji GFX 100
Dr. Elliot McGucken Fine Art Spacetime Sculpture dx4//dt=ic:
Epic Fine Art Photography Prints & Luxury Wall Art:
Support epic, stoic fine art: Hero's Odyssey Gear!
Follow me on Instagram!
Facebook:
All my photography celebrates the physics of light! The McGucken Principle of the fourth expanding dimension: The fourth dimension is expanding at the rate of c relative to the three spatial dimensions: dx4/dt=ic .
Lao Tzu--The Tao: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Unifying Physical Reality of the Fourth Expanding Dimensionsion dx4/dt=ic !: geni.us/Fa1Q
"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life." --John Muir
Epic Stoicism guides my fine art odyssey and photography: geni.us/epicstoicism
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” --John Muir
Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey
“The mountains are calling and I must go.” --John Muir
Epic Art & 45EPIC Gear exalting golden ratio designs for your Hero's Odyssey:
Support epic fine art! 45surf ! Bitcoin: 1FMBZJeeHVMu35uegrYUfEkHfPj5pe9WNz
Exalt the goddess archetype in the fine art of photography! My Epic Book: Photographing Women Models!
Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype: How to Shoot Epic ... Epic! Beautiful Surf Fine Art Portrait Swimsuit Bikini Models!
Some of my epic books, prints, & more!
Exalt your photography with Golden Ratio Compositions!
Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)
The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats
Photographs available as epic fine art luxury prints. For prints and licensing information, please send me a flickr mail or contact drelliot@gmail.com with your queries! All the best on your Epic Hero's Odyssey!
Kebler Pass Gunnison National Forest Colorado Fall Foliage Aspens Fine Art Landscape Nature Photography Fuji GFX100 Crested Butte! 45EPIC Dr. Elliot McGucken Master Fine Art Luxury Photography CO Fine Art Fuji GFX 100 & FUJIFILM GF Lens !
Dr. Elliot McGucken Fine Art Spacetime Sculpture dx4//dt=ic:
Epic Fine Art Photography Prints & Luxury Wall Art:
Support epic, stoic fine art: Hero's Odyssey Gear!
Follow me on Instagram!
Facebook:
All my photography celebrates the physics of light! The McGucken Principle of the fourth expanding dimension: The fourth dimension is expanding at the rate of c relative to the three spatial dimensions: dx4/dt=ic .
Lao Tzu--The Tao: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Unifying Physical Reality of the Fourth Expanding Dimensionsion dx4/dt=ic !: geni.us/Fa1Q
"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life." --John Muir
Epic Stoicism guides my fine art odyssey and photography: geni.us/epicstoicism
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” --John Muir
Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey
“The mountains are calling and I must go.” --John Muir
Epic Art & 45EPIC Gear exalting golden ratio designs for your Hero's Odyssey:
Support epic fine art! 45surf ! Bitcoin: 1FMBZJeeHVMu35uegrYUfEkHfPj5pe9WNz
Exalt the goddess archetype in the fine art of photography! My Epic Book: Photographing Women Models!
Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype: How to Shoot Epic ... Epic! Beautiful Surf Fine Art Portrait Swimsuit Bikini Models!
Some of my epic books, prints, & more!
Exalt your photography with Golden Ratio Compositions!
Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)
The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats
Photographs available as epic fine art luxury prints. For prints and licensing information, please send me a flickr mail or contact drelliot@gmail.com with your queries! All the best on your Epic Hero's Odyssey!
Please do not download, copy, edit, reproduce or publish any of my images. They are my own intellectual property and are not for use without my express written permission. Thank you.
1. I am thankful for Doreen at the local RBC who was not able to directly assist me but was lovely just the same ! :) I am equally thankful for Jess, Rach, Joshua and Gail who helped me to understand and fill out a gosh darn lot of paper work this week.
2. I am thankful for finally letting myself ask someone if we could work together in a life coaching sense. Asking was the first step and usually helps heaps with my getting going.
3. I am thankful for letting myself use Flickr people as my reward for the close of at least one day! :) There are so many great photos with so many great stories to learn. I had been frustrated by my tendency to sort of ‘wander off’ for weeks at a time and then feeling bad about not having communicated with the cool people that come by to say howdy and whose photos and stories that I enjoy. Flickr is a community .. my sitting passively viewing (and being inspired by) people’s photos is not engaging in that community. This is me working to become actively involved in communities that inspire me to come more alive. Yes, I know it is generally wrong to use people but my intentions are good! :)
4. I am thankful for Daniel for letting me know that he has found the gratitude lists that I do to be helpful. His action has been a catalyst to a great deal of important inner work for me (that is why it takes me so much time to respond to comments sometimes). The important stuffs I am working on are how I seem to be able to hand that gratitude out but I could certainly use some practise in being a better receiver of gratitude. To receive gratitude gracefully is to honour the gift inside the person offering the gratitude. (I think) I think this means that to offer gratitude is to say, “your action has made something in me come alive and it caused this reaction/action”?
5. I am thankful for learning about Marshall B. Rosenberg’s writing because his books are helping me to learn to express and receive gratitude.
6. I am thankful to have been able to work with T because she helped me to be accountable for walking my talk and through her example I am learning that I have a lot to learn about celebrating my successes.
7. I am thankful for finishing a large artwork this week along with a couple of medium works. I am truly amazed how limiting the time I allow myself to do my work gets so much more done .. and it has me sneaking in work on my ‘bank day’ to do work simply because doing my work just feels good and right. I am thankful for the feeling I get when the artwork gets done before lunch, not only because I get to eat lunch on time but also because I feel like I have triumphed over something very difficult and I seem to fly through the rest of my work day! :)
8. I am thankful that my younger sister is speaking up for herself and self-directing her life more so. She is really fun and personable (IMO) and I wish for her new work that makes her come more alive and her eyes shine surrounded by more people who value her work! :) I am quite excited for the new opportunities this will bring into their lives! Now I am thinking of what present I can send to her?! :)
9. I am thankful for when I go to bed before 11:30 because then I am much more pleasant to be around! Since I must be around myself 24/7, the experience might just as well be pleasant! ;) I am thankful there is heat in my apartment, the 17 Celsius average was not particularly conducive to rest or thought.
10. I am thankful for putting more effort into understanding and connect with my mom better and differently. This is helping me to recognize more of the gazillion loving ways she is and has always been. This has also been a smidge humbling [*cough] because it has helped me to see how she always seems to go the extra mile but I haven’t always recognized this and am still practising recognizing this. For instance, she was at the store and sent me a text message asking if I would like her to pick up some things while she was in town. Yes, please! :) I asked for a certain cheese, she brought the certain cheese AND another type of cheese that I like! (this makes me feel more special) I asked her to bring some dry beans for protein .. she brought me some of the meat that I sometimes eat when I am with her. While meat doesn’t agree with my digestive tract so well I can see that she brought the meat because (I suspect) she believes that good meat is important to be healthy AND our family hasn’t always been able to afford nice things so to have good meat is a treat AND she knows that I am working on doing my artwork so this is her way of being supportive and cheering me on. She also brought me some black sharpie pens to help me do my work. I am thankful at how I am getting better at offering her the opportunity to either hear or read my gratitude list and how I am getting better at simply shutting up and listening for her to talk about what she wants to and leaving the rest alone. That has been a challenge for me in the past.
11. I am thankful for these materials I have been reading this week
* Dr. Seuss books are awesome with the sauce! It amazes me how much wisdom can be gained from reading some rhyming words of a children’s book. I don’t know that I have a favourite at the moment though. I hated reading as a kid because I couldn’t get the words to be still long enough to read the darned things - now I read as much as I can fit into my brain! I heart reading. :) I am so very thankful that I have Irlen filters and some adaptive software now to access information that I always tried to get at. People will only put up with so many questions, believe it or not! ;)
* Letters to a young artist : building a life in art by Julia Cameron. Some of the back at forth defensiveness can be a little grating on the nerves but it still has some very useful kernels wisdom to impart, IMO.
12. I am thankful for Simon Sinek’s TED talk (that I have listened to at least five times so far!) It kind of haunts my thoughts on why/how/what I could do better.
13. I am thankful for allowing myself the time and space to think about what I want to communicate with people before interacting because it feels authentic and it certainly is good to know the world does not go all Wacky Wednesday when it takes me a bit longer to reply.
14. I am thankful for the window cleaning guy this morning who kindly washed the back of my inside kitchen windows this morning because it is the one that causes me much grief and cussing when I take it out and repeatedly attempt to put it back!
15. I am thankful for getting my butt in gear this morning to go for a short photo walk! I had not taken any photos this week, not even any documentary ones for my artwork. I have been taking my camera along, I just hadn’t taken any photos.
16. I am thankful for signing up for Tim Brownson’s newsletter because he is offering ”free” life coaching to the person that is able to communicate their commitment to making lasting changes. To answer the question of exactly how committed I am through my ability to make previous lasting change is an effective exercise for me because I have been able to see that I have already made several important life changes. When in the middle of changes I don’t always remember that.
17. I am thankful for composting because when I re-pot plants there are often volunteer plants that flower, like the little yellow flowers on the vines that are wrapping themselves around two of my impatiens. They might be cantaloupe or watermelon.
18. I am thankful for taking art history with Dr. Carmen Robertson because she was very encouraging and helpful to me to write my first essays in about a decade. Without her way of doing things I don’t think I would have written the essays for the class, passed the class or had the momentum to heave myself out of the belief that my writing is worthless. I highly recommend taking a class with her if you want to learn about art and art history because she is engaged and engaging in the work, has a sense of fun AND she marks with a green pen! :) I appreciated how she treated people like the adults that we are while introducing us to the subject matter leaving the deeper learning up to each learner. I read and learnt SO much!!
19. I am thankful that people are being very kind and gentle when trying to tell me about my Red Velvet Ropes. This is exciting because it is showing me how my work is becoming more focused and funneling people in their right directions - some toward me, some away! This has lead to several epiphanies about what my goal is by writing what I do. It does not matter how many people read these lists or look at my work. What matters to me is that the people that will come more alive by reading my writing or seeing my artwork can find it!! :) I want to poke my art’s right people in the brain and connect with them in the heart.
20. I am seriously thankful for going back to read Beth and Daniel’s encouraging words on the lemon stack gratitude list .. I feel so tired but .. Thank you, it has been a really long week.
21. Thank you for reading, that is what I had to give, see you next week.
Mount Sneffels County Road Ridgway Colorado Autumn Colors Sunset Snow Fall Foliage Aspens Mount Sneffels Range Fine Art Landscape Nature Photography Fuji GFX100! 45EPIC Dr. Elliot McGucken Master Fine Art Luxury Photography CO Fine Art Fuji GFX 100 & FUJIFILM GF Lens !
Dr. Elliot McGucken Fine Art Spacetime Sculpture dx4//dt=ic:
Epic Fine Art Photography Prints & Luxury Wall Art:
Support epic, stoic fine art: Hero's Odyssey Gear!
Follow me on Instagram!
Facebook:
All my photography celebrates the physics of light! The McGucken Principle of the fourth expanding dimension: The fourth dimension is expanding at the rate of c relative to the three spatial dimensions: dx4/dt=ic .
Lao Tzu--The Tao: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
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Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
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All my photography celebrates the physics of light! The McGucken Principle of the fourth expanding dimension: The fourth dimension is expanding at the rate of c relative to the three spatial dimensions: dx4/dt=ic .
Lao Tzu--The Tao: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Unifying Physical Reality of the Fourth Expanding Dimensionsion dx4/dt=ic !: geni.us/Fa1Q
"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life." --John Muir
Epic Stoicism guides my fine art odyssey and photography: geni.us/epicstoicism
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” --John Muir
Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey
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All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)
The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
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With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats
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All my photography celebrates the physics of light! The McGucken Principle of the fourth expanding dimension: The fourth dimension is expanding at the rate of c relative to the three spatial dimensions: dx4/dt=ic .
Lao Tzu--The Tao: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Unifying Physical Reality of the Fourth Expanding Dimensionsion dx4/dt=ic !: geni.us/Fa1Q
"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life." --John Muir
Epic Stoicism guides my fine art odyssey and photography: geni.us/epicstoicism
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” --John Muir
Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey
“The mountains are calling and I must go.” --John Muir
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Exalt your photography with Golden Ratio Compositions!
Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)
The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats
Photographs available as epic fine art luxury prints. For prints and licensing information, please send me a flickr mail or contact drelliot@gmail.com with your queries! All the best on your Epic Hero's Odyssey!
Shiva
from wikipedia
Shiva (IAST: Śiva, also spelled Siva; Hindi, Shiv) is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. Within Shaivism he is viewed as the supreme deity, whereas in other branches of Hinduism such as the Smarta tradition he is worshipped as one of several manifestations of the divine. Followers of Hinduism who focus their worship upon Shiva are called Shaivites or Shaivas (Sanskrit Śaiva)[2]. His role as the primary deity of Shaivism is reflected in his epithets Mahādeva ("Great God"; mahā = great + deva = God),[3][4] Maheśvara ("Great Lord"; mahā = great + īśvara = lord),[5][6] and Parameśvara ("Supreme Lord").[7] Shaivism, along with Vaiṣṇava traditions that focus on Vishnu, and Śākta traditions that focus on the Goddess (Devī) are three of the most influential denominations in Hinduism[8].
Shiva is one of the five primary forms of the Divine in Smartism, a denomination of Hinduism that puts particular emphasis on five deities, the other four being Vishnu, Devi, Ganesha, and Surya.[9] Another way of thinking about the divinities in Hinduism identifies Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva as each representing one of the three primary aspects of the Divine in Hinduism, known collectively as the Trimurti. In the Trimurti system, Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva is the destroyer or transformer.[10]
[edit] Etymology
The Sanskrit word śiva (Devanagari शिव) is an adjective meaning kind, friendly, gracious, or auspicious.[11][12] As a proper name it means "The Auspicious One", used as a euphemistic name for Rudra.[13] In simple English transliteration it is written either as Shiva or Siva. In English it is pronounced as IPA: [ɕivə]. The adjective śiva meaning "auspicious" is used as an attributive epithet not particularly of Rudra, but of several other Vedic deities.[14] In the Rig Veda Indra uses this word to describe himself several times. (2:20:3, 6:45:17, 8:93:3)
The Sanskrit word śaiva means "relating to the god Shiva", and this term is the Sanskrit name both for one of the principal sects of Hinduism, and for a member of one of those sects.[15] It is used as as adjective to characterize certain beliefs and practices, such as Shaivism.[16]
[edit] Historical development
For the early history see Rudra
The worship of Shiva is a pan-Hindu tradition, practiced widely across all of India.[17][18]Modern historians believe that the figure of Shiva as we know him today was built-up over time, with the ideas of many regional cults being amalgamated into a single figure.[19] How the persona of Shiva converged as a composite deity is not well-documented.[20] Axel Michaels explains the composite nature of Shaivism as follows:
Like Vişņu, Śiva is also a high god, who gives his name to a collection of theistic trends and sects: Śaivism. Like Vaişņavism, the term also implies a unity which cannot be clearly found either in religious practice or in philosophical and esoteric doctrine. Furthermore, practice and doctrine must be kept separate.[21]
An example of assimilation took place in Maharashtra, where a regional deity named Khandoba is a patron deity of farming and herding castes.[22] The foremost center of worship of Khandoba in Maharashtra is in Jejuri.[23] Khandoba has been assimilated both as a name for Karttikya[24] and also as a form of Shiva himself[25] in which case he is worshipped in the form of a lingam.[26][27] Shakti M. Gupta clarifies the possible confusion between these two identifications by explaining that one of Karttikeya's functions is as the patron deity of thieves, and it is in this capacity that the tribe called Ramoshis, who are thieves by profession, worship Khandoba.[28] Khandoba's varied associations also include an indentification with Surya.[29] The derivation of the name Khandoba has been variously interpreted, and M. S. Mate says that the most commonly-held belief is that it was a distorted form of Skanda, but also notes alternate theories.[30]
[edit] The Pashupati seal
An Indus Valley seal with the seated figure termed pashupatiA seal discovered during excavation of the Mohenjo-daro archaeological site in the Indus Valley has drawn attention as a possible representation of a "proto-Shiva" figure.[31] This "Pashupati" (Lord of Animals, Sanskrit paśupati)[32] seal shows a seated figure, possibly ithyphallic, surrounded by animals.[33] Sir John Marshall and others have claimed that this figure is a prototype of Shiva, and have described the figure as having three faces, seated in a "yoga posture" with the knees out and feet joined.
This claim has not fared well with some modern academics. Gavin Flood characterizes these views as "speculative", saying that while it is not clear from the seal that the figure has three faces, is seated in a yoga posture, or even that the shape is intended to represent a human figure, it is nevertheless possible that there are echoes of Shaiva iconographic themes, such as half-moon shapes resembling the horns of a bull.[34][35] Historian John Keay is more specifically dismissive, saying:
...there is little evidence for the currency of this myth. Rudra, a Vedic deity later identified with Shiva, is indeed referred to as pasupati because of his association with cattle; but asceticism and meditation were not Rudra's specialties, nor is he usually credited with an empathy for animals other than kine. More plausibly, it has been suggested that the Harappan figure's heavily horned headgear bespeaks a bull cult, to which numerous other representations of bulls lend substance.[36]
[edit] Rudra
Main article: Rudra
Shiva as we know him today shares many features with the Vedic god Rudra[37] and both Shiva and Rudra are viewed as the same personality in a number of Hindu traditions. Rudra, the god of the roaring storm, is usually portrayed in accordance with the element he represents as a fierce, destructive deity.
The oldest surviving text of Hinduism is the Rig Veda, which is dated to between 1700–1100 BCE based on linguistic and philological evidence.[38] A god named Rudra is mentioned in the Rig Veda. The name Rudra is still used as a name for Shiva. In RV 2.33 he is described as the "Father of the Maruts", a group of storm gods.[39]
The identification of Shiva with the older god Rudra is not universally accepted, as Axel Michaels explains:
To what extent Śiva's origins are in fact to be sought in Rudra is extremely unclear. The tendency to consider Śiva an ancient god is based on this identification, even though the facts that justify such a far-reaching assumption are meager.[40]
Rudra is called "The Archer" (Sanskrit: Śarva)[41] and the arrow is an essential attribute of Rudra.[42] This name appears in the Shiva Sahasranama, and R. K. Sharma notes that it is used as a name of Shiva often in later languages.[43] The word is derived from the Sanskrit root śarv- which means "to injure" or "to kill"[44] and Sharma uses that general sense in his interpretive translation of the name Śarva as "One who can kill the forces of darkness".[45] The names Dhanvin ("Bowman")[46] and Bāṇahasta ("Archer", literally "Armed with arrows in his hands")[47][48] also refer to archery.
[edit] Attributes of Shiva
Shiva Bearing the Descent of the Ganges River as Parvati and Bhagiratha, and the bull Nandi look, folio from a Hindi manuscript by the saint Narayan, circa 1740Third Eye: Shiva is often depicted with a third eye with which he burned Desire (Kāma) to ashes.[49] There has been controversy regarding the original meaning of Shiva's name Tryambakam (Sanskrit: त्र्यम्बकम्), which occurs in many scriptural sources.[50] In classical Sanskrit the word ambaka denotes "an eye", and in the Mahabharata Shiva is depicted as three-eyed, so this name is sometimes translated as "Having Three Eyes".[51] However, in Vedic Sanskrit the word ambā or ambikā means "mother", and this early meaning of the word is the basis for the translation "Having Three Mothers" that was used by Max Müller and Arthur Macdonell.[52][53] Since no story is known in which Shiva had three mothers, E. Washburn Hopkins suggested that the name refers not to three mothers, but to three Mother-goddesses who are collectively called the Ambikās.[54] Other related translations have been "having three wives or sisters", or based on the idea that the name actually refers to the oblations given to Rudra, which according to some traditions were shared with the goddess Ambikā.[55]
Blue Throat: The epithet Nīlakaṇtha (Sanskrit नीलकण्ठ; nīla = blue, kaṇtha = throat)[56][57] refers to a story in which Shiva drank the poison churned up from the world ocean.[58][59] (see: Halāhala)
Crescent Moon: Shiva bears on his head the crescent of the moon.[60] The epithet Chandraśekhara (Sanskrit: चन्द्रशेखर "Having the moon as his crest" - chandra = Moon, śekhara = crest, crown)[61][62][63] refers to this feature. The placement of the moon on his head as a standard iconographic feature dates to the period when Rudra rose to prominence and became the major deity Rudra-Shiva.[64] The origin of this linkage may be due to the identification of the moon with Soma, and there is a hymn in the Rig Veda where Soma and Rudra are jointly emplored, and in later literature Soma and Rudra came to be identified with one another, as were Soma and the Moon.[65]
Matted Hair: Shiva's distinctive hair style is noted in the epithets Jaṭin, "The One with matted hair"[66] and Kapardin, "Endowed with matted hair"[67] or "wearing his hair wound in a braid in a shell-like (kaparda) fashion".[68] A kaparda is a cowrie shell, or a braid of hair in the form of a shell, or more generally hair that is shaggy or curly.[69]
Sacred Ganga: The Ganga rivers flows from the matted hair of Shiva. The epithet Gaṅgādhara ("Bearer of the river Gaṅgā") refers to this feature.[70][71] The Ganga (Ganges), one of the major rivers of the country, is said to have made her abode in Shiva's hair.[72]
Ashes: Shiva smears his body with ashes (bhasma).[73] Some forms of Shiva, such as Bhairava, are associated with a very old Indian tradition of cremation-ground asceticism that was practiced by some groups who were outside the fold of brahmanic orthodoxy.[74] These practices associated with cremation grounds are also mentioned in the Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism.[75] One epithet for Shiva is "Inhabitant of the cremation ground" (Sanskrit: śmaśānavāsin, also spelled Shmashanavasin) referring to this connection.[76]
Tiger skin: He is often shown seated upon a tiger skin.[77]
Serpents: Shiva is often shown garlanded with a snake.[78]
Trident: (Sanskrit: Trishula) Shiva's particular weapon is the trident.[79]
Drum: A small drum shaped like an hourglass is known as a "damaru" (Sanskrit: ḍamaru).[80][81] This is one of the attributes of Shiva in his famous dancing representation[82] known as Nataraja. A specific hand gesture (mudra) called ḍamaru-hasta (Sanskrit for "ḍamaru-hand") is used to hold the drum.[83] This drum is particularly used as an emblem by members of the Kāpālika sect.[84]
Nandī, also known as Nandin, is the name of the bull that serves as Shiva's mount (Sanskrit: vāhana).[85][86] Shiva's association with cattle is reflected in his name Paśupati or Pashupati (Sanskrit पशुपति), translated by Sharma as "Lord of cattle"[87] and by Kramrisch as "Lord of Animals", who notes that it is particularly used as an epithet of Rudra.[88]
Varanasi (Benares) is considered as the city specially-loved by Shiva, and is one of the holiest places of pilgrimage in India.[89]
Mount Kailāsa in the Himalayas is his traditional abode.[90] In Hindu mythology, Mount Kailāsa is conceived as resembling a linga, representing the center of the universe.[91]
[edit] Forms and depictions
According to Gavin Flood, "Śiva is a god of ambiguity and paradox", whose attributes include opposing themes.[92] The ambivalent nature of this deity is apparent in some of his names and the stories told about him.
[edit] Destroyer versus benefactor
In the Yajurveda two contrary sets of attributes for both malignant or terriffic (Sanskrit: rudra) and benign or auspicious (Sanskrit: śiva) forms can be found, leading Chakravarti to conclude that "all the basic elements which created the complex Rudra-Śiva cult of later ages are to be found here."[93] In the Mahabharata, Shiva is depicted as "the standard of invincibility, might, and terror", as well as a figure of honor, delight, and brilliance.[94] The duality of Shiva's fearful and auspicious attributes appears in contrasted names.
The name Rudra (Sanskrit रुद्र) reflects his fearsome aspects. According to traditional etymologies, the Sanskrit name Rudra is derived from the root rud- which means "to cry, howl."[95] Stella Kramrisch notes a different etymology connected with the adjectival form raudra, which means wild, of rudra nature, and translates the name Rudra as "the Wild One" or "the Fierce God".[96] R. K. Sharma follows this alternate etymology and translates the name as "Terrible".[97] Hara (Sanskrit हर) is an important name that occurs three times in the Anushasanaparvan version of the Shiva sahasranama, where it is translated in different ways each time it occurs, following a commentorial tradition of not repeating an interpretation. Sharma translates the three as "One who captivates", "One who consolidates", and "One who destroys."[98] Kramrisch translates it as "The Ravisher".[99] Another of Shiva's fearsome forms is as Kāla (Sanskrit: काल), "Time", and as Mahākāla (Sanskrit: महाकाल), "Great Time", which ultimately destroys all things.[100][101][102] Bhairava (Sanskrit: भैरव), "Terrible" or "Frightful"[103] is a fierce form associated with annihilation.[104]
In contrast, the name Śaṇkara (Sanskrit शङ्कर), "Beneficent"[105] or "Conferring Happiness"[106] reflects his benign form. This name was adopted by the great Vedanta philosopher Śaṇkara (c. 788-820 CE), who is also known as Shankaracharya.[107][108] The name Śambhu (Sanskrit: शम्भु), "Causing Happiness", also reflects this benign aspect.[109][110]
[edit] Ascetic versus householder
An illustration of the family of Shiva, consisting of Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha and Skanda (Kartikeya)He is depicted as both an ascetic yogin and as a householder, roles which are mutually exclusive in Hindu society.[111] When depicted as a yogin he may be shown sitting and meditating.[112] His epithet Mahāyogin (The Great Yogi: Mahā = great, Yogin = one who practices Yoga) refers to his association with yoga.[113] While Vedic religion was conceived mainly in terms of sacrifice, it was during the Epic period that concepts of tapas, yoga, and asceticism, became more important, and the depiction of Shiva as an ascetic sitting in philosophical isolation reflects these later concepts.[114]
As a family man and householder he has a wife, Parvati (also known as Umā), and two sons, Ganesha and Skanda. His epithet Umāpati ("The husband of Umā") refers to this idea, and Sharma notes that two other variants of this name that mean the same thing, Umākānta and Umādhava, also appear in the sahasranama.[115] Umā in epic literature is known by many names, including Pārvatī.[116][117] She is identifed with Devi, the Divine Mother, and with Shakti (divine energy).
Shiva and Parvati are the parents of Karthikeya and Ganesha. Karttikeya is popular in South India by the names Subrahmanya and Murugan, and in North India he is more popular by the name Skanda, Kumara, or Karttikeya.[118]
[edit] Nataraja
Bronze Chola Statue depicting Shiva dancing as Nataraja. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.Main article: Nataraja
The depiction of Shiva as Nataraja (Sanskrit: naṭarāja, "Lord of Dance") is popular.[119][120] The names Nartaka ("Dancer") and Nityanarta ("Eternal Dancer") appear in the Shiva Sahasranama.[121] His association with dance and also with music is prominent in the Puranic period.[122] In addition to the specific iconographic form known as Nataraja, various other types of dancing forms (Sanskrit: nṛtyamūrti) are found in all parts of India, with many well-defined varieties in Southern India in particular.[123]
[edit] Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Main article: Dakshinamurthy
Dakṣiṇāmūrti (Sanskrit: दक्षिणामूर्ति)[124] literally describes a form (mūrti) of Shiva facing south (dakṣiṇa). This form represents Shiva in his aspect as a teacher of yoga, music, and wisdom, and giving exposition on the shastras.[125] This iconographic form for depicting Shiva in Indian art is mostly south Indian in character.[126] Elements of this motif can include Shiva seated upon a deer-throne and surrounded by sages who are receiving his instruction.[127]
[edit] Ardhanarishvara
Chola bronze from the 11th century. Siva in the form of ArdhanarisvaraMain article: Ardhanari
An iconographic representation of Shiva called Ardhanarishvara shows him with one half of the body as male, and the other half as female.[128] According to Ellen Goldberg, the traditional Sanskrit name for this form, (Ardhanārīśvara) is best translated as "the lord who is half woman", and not as "half-man, half-woman".[129]
[edit] Tripurāntaka
Main article: Tripura (mythology)
Shiva is often depicted in the act of destroying the triple fortresses, Tripura, of the Asuras.[130] Shiva's name Tripurāntaka (Sanskrit: त्रिपुरान्तक), "Ender of Tripura", refers to this important story.[131]
[edit] Lingam
Main article: Lingam
Also see: Jyotirlinga
Apart from antropomorphic images of Shiva, the worship of Shiva in the form of a lingam is also important.[132][133][134] These are depicted in various forms. One common form is the shape of a vertical rounded column.
[edit] The five mantras
Adoration of Five-headed Shiva by Vishnu (blue figure, to left of Shiva),Brahma (four headed figure to the right of Shiva), Ganesha (elephant-headed son of Shiva, bottom left) and other deities. Painting from LACMAFive is a sacred number for Shiva.[135] One of his most important mantras has five syllables (namaḥ śivāya).[136]
Shiva's body is said to consist of five mantras, called the pañcabrahmans:[137] As forms of god, each of these have their own names and distinct iconography:[138]
Sadyojāta
Vāmadeva
Aghora
Tatpuruṣa
Īsāna
These are represented as the five faces of Shiva, and are associated in various texts with the five elements, the five senses, the five organs of perception, and the five organs of action.[139][140] Doctrinal differences and possibly errors in transmission have resulted in some differences between texts in details of how these five forms are linked with various attributes.[141] But the overall meaning of these associations is summarized by Stella Kramrisch:
Through these transcendent categories, Śiva, the ultimate reality, becomes the efficient and material cause of all that exists.[142]
According to the Pañcabrahma Upanishad:
One should know all things of the phenomenal world as of a fivefold character, for the reason that the eternal verity of Śiva is of the character of the fivefold Brahman. (Pañcabrahma Upanishad 31)[143]
[edit] Relationships in the pantheon
Shiva's rise to a major position in the pantheon was facilitated by his identification with a host of Vedic deities, including Agni, Indra, Prajāpati, Vāyu, and others.[144]
[edit] Agni
Rudra and Agni have a close relationship.[145][146] The identification between Agni and Rudra in the Vedic literature was an important factor in the process of Rudra's gradual development into the later character as Rudra-Shiva.[147] The identification of Agni with Rudra is explicitly noted in the Nirukta, an important early text on etymology, which says "Agni is called Rudra also".[148] The interconnections between the two deities are complex, and according to Stella Kramrisch:
The fire myth of Rudra-Śiva plays on the whole gamut of fire, valuing all its potentialities and phases, from conflagration to illumination.[149]
In the Śatarudrīa, some epithets of Rudra such as Sasipañjara ("Of golden red hue as of flame") and Tivaṣīmati ("Flaming bright") suggest a fusing of the two deities.[150] Agni is said to be a bull[151] and Lord Shiva possesses a bull as his vehicle, Nandi. The horns of Agni, who is sometimes characterized as a bull, are mentioned.[152][153] In medieval sculpture both Agni and the form of Shiva known as Bhairava have flaming hair as a special feature.[154]
[edit] Indra
In the Rig Veda, Rudra is the father of the Maruts, but he is never associated with their warlike exploits as is Indra.[155]
In the Rig Veda the term śiva is used to refer to Indra. (2.20.3,[156] 6.45.17,[157][158] and 8.93.3.[159]
Indra, like Shiva, is likened to a bull.[160][161]
[edit] Vishnu
Vishnu (right half - blue) and Shiva (left half - white)During the Vedic period, both Vishnu and Shiva (as identified with Rudra) played relatively minor roles, but by the time of the Brahmanas (c. 1000-700 BCE) both were gaining ascendance.[162] By the Puranic period both deities had major cults that competed with one another for devotees.[163] Many stories developed showing different types of relationships between these two important deities.
Sectarian forces each presented their own preferred deity as supreme. Vishnu in his myths "becomes" Shiva.[164] The Vishnu Purana (4th c. CE) shows Vishnu awakening and becoming both Brahmā to create the world, and Shiva to destroy it.[165] Shiva also is viewed as a manifestation of Vishnu in the Bhagavata Purana.[166] In Shaivite myths, on the other hand, Shiva comes to the fore and acts independently and alone to create, preserve, and destroy the world.[167] In one Shaivite myth of the origin of the lingam, both Vishnu and Brahmā are revealed as emanations from Shiva's manifestation as a towering pillar of flame.[168] The Śatarudrīya, a Shaivite hymn, says that Shiva is "of the form of Vishnu".[169] Rivalry between the two cults is apparent in the story of Śarabha (also spelled "Sharabha"), the name of Shiva's incarnation in the composite form of man, bird, and beast. Shiva assumed that unusual form to chastise Vishnu in his hybrid form as Narasimha, the man-lion, who killed Hiranyakashipu, an ardent devotee of Shiva.[170][171]
Syncretic forces produced stories in which the two deities were shown in cooperative relationships and combined forms. Harihara is a the name of a combined deity form of both Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara).[172] This dual form, which is also called Harirudra, is mentioned in the Mahabharata.[173] An example of a collaboration story is one given to explain Shiva's epithet Mahābaleśvara, "Lord of Great Strength" (Maha = great, Bala = strength, Īśvara = Lord). This name refers to story in which Rāvaṇa was given a linga as a boon by Shiva on the condition that he carry it always. During his travels, he stopped near the present Deoghar in Bihar to purify himself and asked Vishnu in the guise of a Brahmin to hold the linga for him, but after some time Vishnu put it down on the ground and vanished. When Ravana returned, he could not move the linga, and it is said to remain there ever since. A number of lingas in southern India are associated with this story, including the famous Mahābaleśvara linga at Gokarna.[174]
[edit] Avatars
Shiva, like some other Hindu deities, is said to have several incarnations, known as Avatars. Adi Shankara, the 8th-century philosopher of non-dualist Vedanta was named "Shankara" after Lord Shiva and is considered to have been an incarnation of Shiva.[175] In the Hanuman Chalisa Hanuman is identified as the eleventh avatar of Shiva.[176]
[edit] Names of Shiva
A statue of Shiva near Indira Gandhi International Airport, DelhiIn Hinduism, deities are called by many names, which describe them in different ways. These names often refer to specific stories about the deities, functions they perform, or ways of thinking about them. Study of these names is helpful to understanding deities from multiple points of view. Some names are used by more than one deity, so looking for names that uniquely describe a deity is one way to pinpoint their functions.
[edit] Sahasranamas
There are at least eight different versions of the Shiva Sahasranama, devotional hymns (stotras) listing many names of Shiva.[177] The version appearing in Book 13 (Anuśāsanaparvan) of the Mahabharata is considered the kernel of this tradion.[178]
The eight versions analyzed by Ram Karan Sharma are:[179]
1. Mahabharata 13.17.30-150 (Anuśāsanaparvan Version)
2. Linga Purana (version 1, LP 1.65.54-168) is close to the Mahabharata Anuśāsanaparvan version.
3. Linga Purana (version 2, LP 1.98.27-159) has some passages in common with LP version 1, but also with other sources
4. Shivapurana 4.35.1-131.
5. Mahabharata (Śāntiparvan version). The critical edition of the Mahabharata does not include this version, relegating it to Appendix 28 to Śāntiparvan. It does appear in the text of the Gita Press edition as 12.284.68-180.
6. Vayu Purana (1.30.179-284) is almost the same as the Mahabharata Śāntiparvan version.
7. Brahmanda Purana (38.1.1-100) is almost the same as the Vayu Purana version.
8. Mahābhāgavata Upapurana (67.1-125) appears to be of comparatively recent origin.
[edit] Chamakam
The Shri Rudram Chamakam, also known as the Śatarudriya, is a devotional hymn to Shiva hailing him by many names.[180][181]
[edit] See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
ShivaShaivism
History of Shaivism
Shiva Puja
Lingayat
Kapalika
Ramnathi
Native corn from the garden -- it was chewier and not as sweet as yellow corn, but still quite delicious
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Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats
This ear was still on the stalk, in a cornfield I walk past regularly. The kernels make me think the crop is being grown for animal consumption, not for humans.
And they went in search of the things they would make the dolls of. And pretty soon, Peggs made the most wonderful doll of flowers that ever a child could see.
The head was of Sweetclover, the dress was a purple morning-glory turned upside-down so it looked like a bodice and a skirt, and it was tied to the head so that they wouldn't come apart. And perched on the top of the head was a little bonnet, only it wasn't really a bonnet, you know, but a little four o'clock.
And she called it Little Miss Sweetclover and it was the dearest little doll and as fresh as the morning dew.
In the meantime, Jackie had been busy, you may be sure; but he couldn't find anything to make a soldier of except sticks of wood, but he had no jack-knife, much as he had always wanted one.
"Whatever shall I do?" thought Jackie, as he looked about the garden, and just then he saw an ear of corn and he picked it up.
"Maybe this will do," and he picked all the kernels off except two for the eyes, one for the nose, two more for the ears and a row for the teeth.
And he ran to Peggs to have her sew some clothes for his soldier.
“Kernel Cob and Little Miss Sweetclover” by George Mitchell, who had a delightful sense of humor unusual for the time. Illustrated by Tony Sarg. Published by P.F. Volland in 1918. Can be found at www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14110
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Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey
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All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)
The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats
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All my photography celebrates the physics of light! The McGucken Principle of the fourth expanding dimension: The fourth dimension is expanding at the rate of c relative to the three spatial dimensions: dx4/dt=ic .
Lao Tzu--The Tao: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Unifying Physical Reality of the Fourth Expanding Dimensionsion dx4/dt=ic !: geni.us/Fa1Q
"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life." --John Muir
Epic Stoicism guides my fine art odyssey and photography: geni.us/epicstoicism
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” --John Muir
Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey
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All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)
The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats
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Lao Tzu--The Tao: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Unifying Physical Reality of the Fourth Expanding Dimensionsion dx4/dt=ic !: geni.us/Fa1Q
"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life." --John Muir
Epic Stoicism guides my fine art odyssey and photography: geni.us/epicstoicism
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” --John Muir
Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey
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All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)
The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats
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All my photography celebrates the physics of light! The McGucken Principle of the fourth expanding dimension: The fourth dimension is expanding at the rate of c relative to the three spatial dimensions: dx4/dt=ic .
Lao Tzu--The Tao: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Unifying Physical Reality of the Fourth Expanding Dimensionsion dx4/dt=ic !: geni.us/Fa1Q
"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life." --John Muir
Epic Stoicism guides my fine art odyssey and photography: geni.us/epicstoicism
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” --John Muir
Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey
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Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)
The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats
Tunnel View Yosemite National Park Spring Wildflowers & Waterfalls 45EPIC Elliot McGucken Fuji GFX100 Fine Art Landscape Nature Photography! Master Medium Format Fine Art Photographer! Fujifilm GFX 100 & Fujifilm FUJINON Lens!
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All my photography celebrates the physics of light! The McGucken Principle of the fourth expanding dimension: The fourth dimension is expanding at the rate of c relative to the three spatial dimensions: dx4/dt=ic .
Lao Tzu--The Tao: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Unifying Physical Reality of the Fourth Expanding Dimensionsion dx4/dt=ic !: geni.us/Fa1Q
"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life." --John Muir
Epic Stoicism guides my fine art odyssey and photography: geni.us/epicstoicism
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” --John Muir
Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey
“The mountains are calling and I must go.” --John Muir
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Some of my epic books, prints, & more!
Exalt your photography with Golden Ratio Compositions!
Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)
The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats
Photographs available as epic fine art luxury prints. For prints and licensing information, please send me a flickr mail or contact drelliot@gmail.com with your queries! All the best on your Epic Hero's Odyssey!