I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the outcast.

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

Allah’s peace be upon Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), the glorious Prophet of Islam, and on his Companions and his followers.

  

TASAWWUF

"There is no doubt that Tasawwuf is an important branch of Islam. The word itself may have been derived form the Arabic word "Soof" (Wool) or from "Safa" (cleanliness), but its foundation lies in one’s personal sincerity in seeking Allah’s nearness and trying to live a life pleasing to Him. Study of the Quran, the Hadith, and the practical life of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) and his faithful Companions provide unmistakable support to this reality." (Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A)

 

SUFISM, AN ESSENTIAL PART OF ISLAM

Doubts exist not only in the minds of the Muslim faithful but also among the Ulema, notably the exoteric about Tasawwuf and its votaries. Often they lead to misunderstanding, as if Shariah and Tariqah were two separate entries, or that Tasawwuf was some obscure discipline foreign to Islam, or that it was altogether above the established laws and injunctions of our Religion. To help remove these misgivings and to reassure seekers, as well as scholars, our Sheikh Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), Sheikh Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia, wrote Al-Jamal Wal Kamal, Aqaid-O-Kamalaat Ulmai-e-Deoband, Binat-e-Rasool (S.A.W), Daamad-e-Ali (R.A), Dalael-us-Salook, Ejaad-e-Mazhab Shia, Hayat-un-Nabi (S.A.W), Hayat Barzakhia, Ilm-o-Irfan, Niffaz-e-Shariat Aur Fiqah-e-Jaferia, Saif-e-Owaisi, Shikast-e-Ahdai Hussain and Tahkeek Halal Haram books.

 

BIOGRAPHY

Sheikh Allah Yar Khan was born in Chakrala, a remote village of Mianwali District of Pakistan, in 1904. He completed his religious education in 1934. The very year, he met Shaykh Abdul Rahim, who took him to the shrine of Shaykh Allah Deen Madni. By Divine Will his spiritual connection was right away established with the saint of the 10th century Hijra (sixteenth century) and he started receiving spiritual beneficence. His sublime education in Sufism, signifying progressive spiritual growth and advancement, continued for about twenty-five years. In 1962 he was directed to carry out the propagation of Prophetic blessings - a noble mission that he accomplished with singular enthusiasm and devotion for a period spanning half a century. Anybody who visited him was duly rewarded with a share of spiritual bliss as per his/her sincerity and capacity. Shaykh Allah Yar Khan's mission produced men and women of deep spiritual vision and distinction.

 

Although Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A) have lived a major portion of his life as a scholar, with the avowed mission of illuminating the truth of Islam and the negation of fallacious sects, and this would appear quite removed from Tasawwuf, yet the only practical difference between the two, namely the use of the former as a media to expound the truth, and the latter to imbue people with positive faith. Nevertheless, people are amazed that a man, who until the other day, was known as a dialectician and a preacher of Islam, is not only talking of Mystic Path, but is also claiming spiritual bonds with the veteran Sufi Masters of the Past. This amazement is obviously out of place in the view of Quranic injunction: This is the bounty of Allah which He gives to whom He wills. (62:4)

 

THE PURIFICATION OF THE SOUL

The purification of the soul always formed part of the main mission of the Prophets; that is, the dissemination and propagation of the Devine Message. This responsibility later fell directly on the shoulders of the true Ulema in the Ummah of the last Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), who, as his genuine successors, have continued to shed brave light in every Dark Age of materialism and sacrilege. In the present age of ruinous confusion, the importance of this responsibility has increased manifold; of the utter neglect of Islam by Muslims has not only driven them to misery, but also grievously weakened their bonds of faith in Allah and His Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). The decay in their belief and consequent perversion in their conduct has reached a stage that any attempt to pull them out of the depth of ignominy and the heedless chaos of faithlessness, attracts grave uncertainties and apprehensions rather than a encouraging will to follow the Shariah, to purify the soul and to reform within. The Quranic Verse: Layers upon layers of darkness… (24:40) provides the nearest expression of their present state.

 

SHARIAH & SUFISM

Any action against the Sunnah (Prophet’s way of life) cannot be called Sufism. Singing and dancing, and the prostration on tombs are not part of Sufism. Nor is predicting the future and predicting the outcome of cases in the courts of law, a part of Sufism. Sufis are not required to abandon their worldly possessions or live in the wilderness far from the practical world. In fact these absurdities are just its opposites. It is an established fact that Tazkiyah (soul purification) stands for that inner purity which inspires a person’s spirit to obey the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). If a false claimant of Sufism teaches tricks and jugglery, ignoring religious obligations, he is an impostor. A true Sheikh will lead a believer to the august spiritual audience of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). If you are fortunate enough to be blessed with the company of an accomplished spiritual guide and Sheikh of Sufism, and if you follow his instructions, you will observe a positive change in yourself, transferring you from vice to virtue.

 

ISLAM, AS A COMPLETE CODE OF LIFE

Islam, as a complete code of life or Deen, was perfected during the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). He was the sole teacher and his mosque was the core institution for the community. Although Islam in its entirety was practiced during that blessed era, the classification and compilation of its knowledge into distinct branches like ‘Tafsir’ (interpretation of the Quran), Hadith (traditions or sayings of the holy Prophet- SAWS), Fiqh (Islamic law), and Sufism (the soul purification) were undertaken subsequently. This Deen of Allah passed from the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) to his illustrious Companions in two ways: the outward and the inward. The former comprised the knowledge defined by speech and conduct, i.e., the Quran and Sunnah. The latter comprised the invisible blessings or the Prophetic lights transmitted by his blessed self. These blessings purified the hearts and instilled in them a passionate desire to follow Islam with utmost love, honesty and loyalty.

 

WHAT’S SUFISM

Sufism is the attempt to attain these Barakah (Blessings). The Companions handed down Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) teachings as well as blessings to the Taba’een. Their strong hearts were capable of infusing these blessings into the hearts of their followers. Both aspects of Islam were similarly passed on by the Taba’een to the Taba Taba’een. The compilation of knowledge and its interpretation led to the establishment of many schools of religious thought; famous four being the Hanafi, the Hanbali, the Maliki, and the Shafa'i, all named after their founders. Similarly, in order to acquire, safeguard and distribute his blessings, an organized effort was initiated by four schools of Sufism: The Naqshbandia, the Qadria, the Chishtia, and the Suharwardia. These schools were also named after their organizers and came to be known as Sufi Orders. All these Orders intend to purify the hearts of sincere Muslims with Prophetic lights. These Sufi Orders also grew into many branches with the passage of time and are known by other names as well. The holy Quran has linked success in this life and the Hereafter with Tazkiyah (soul purification). He, who purified, is successful. (87: 14) Sufi Orders of Islam are the institutions where the basics of Tazkiyah (soul purification) and its practical application are taught. They have graded programs in which every new seeker is instructed in Zikr-e Lisani (oral Zikr) and is finally taught the Zikr-e Qalbi (Remembrance in heart).

 

ZIKR-E QALBI

However, in the Naqshbandia Order, Zikr-e Qalbi is practiced from the very beginning. Adherence to the Sunnah (Prophet’s way of life) is greatly emphasized in this Order, because the seeker achieves greater and quicker progress through its blessings. The essence of Zikr is that the Qalb should sincerely accept Islamic beliefs and gain the strength to follow the Sunnah with even greater devotion. ‘If the heart is acquainted with Allah and is engaged in His Zikr; then it is filled with Barakaat-e Nabuwwat (Prophetic blessings) which infuse their purity in the mind and body. This not only helps in controlling sensual drives but also removes traces of abhorrence, voracity, envy and insecurity from human soul. The person therefore becomes an embodiment of love, both for the Divine and the corporeal. This is the meaning of a Hadith, “There is a lump of flesh in the human body; if it goes astray the entire body is misguided, and if it is reformed the entire body is reformed. Know that this lump is the Qalb”.’

 

PAS ANFAS

Recent History Khawajah Naqshband (d. 1389 CE) organized the Naqshbandia Order at Bukhara (Central Asia). This Order has two main branches – the Mujaddidia and the Owaisiah. The former is identified with Sheikh Ahmed Sirhindi, known as Mujaddid Alif Sani (literally: reviver of the second Muslim millennium), a successor to Khawajah Baqi Billah, who introduced the Order to the Indo- Pakistan sub-continent. The Owaisiah Order employs a similar method of Zikr but acquires the Prophetic blessings in the manner of Khawajah Owais Qarni, who received this beneficence from the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) without a formal physical meeting. The Zikr employed by the Naqshbandia is ‘Zikr-e Khafi Qalbi’ (remembrance of Allah’s Name within the heart) and the method is termed ‘Pas Anfas’, which (in Persian) means guarding every breath. The Chain of Transmission of these Barakah, of course, emanates from the holy Prophet- SAWS.

 

SPIRITUAL BAI’AT (OATH OF ALLEGIANCE

It is necessary in all Sufi Orders that the Sheikh and the seekers must be contemporaries and must physically meet each other for the transfer of these blessings. However, the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order goes beyond this requirement and Sufis of this Order receive these Barakah regardless of physical meeting with their Sheikh or even when the Sheikh is not their contemporary. Yet, it must be underscored that physical meeting with the Sheikh of this Order still holds great importance in dissemination of these Barakah. Sheikh Sirhindi writes about the Owaisiah Order in his book ‘Tazkirah’: ‘It is the most sublime, the most exalted, and the most effective…and the highest station of all others is only its stepping stone.’ By far the greatest singular distinction of the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order is the honor of Spiritual Bai’at (Oath of Allegiance) directly at the blessed hands of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W).

 

SHEIKH HAZRAT MOULANA ALLAH YAR KHAN (R.A)

The Reviver Sheikh Allah Yar Khan was born in Chikrala, a remote village of Mianwali District of Pakistan, in 1904. He completed his religious education in 1934. The same year, he met Sheikh ‘Abdul Rahim, who took him to the shrine of Sheikh Allah Deen Madni. By Divine Will his spiritual connection was immediately established with the saint of the 10th century Hijra (sixteenth century CE) and he started receiving spiritual beneficence. His sublime education in Sufism, signifying progressive spiritual growth and advancement, continued for about twenty-five years, after which he was directed to undertake the propagation of Prophetic blessings - a noble mission that he accomplished with singular zeal and dedication for a period spanning half a century. Anybody who visited him was duly rewarded with a share of spiritual bliss commensurate with his/her sincerity and capacity. Sheikh Allah Yar Khan’s mission produced men and women of deep spiritual vision and eminence. He authored eighteen books, the most distinguished being Dalael us-Sulook (Sufism - An Objective Appraisal), Hayat-e Barzakhiah (Life Beyond Life) and Israr ul- Haramain (Secrets of the two holy Mosques). He was undoubtedly one of the most distinguished Sufi saints of the Muslim Ummah and a reviver of the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order. He passed away on 18 February 1984 in Islamabad at the age of eighty.

 

THE CHAIN OF TRANSMISSION OF NAQSHBANDIA OWAISIAH

1. Hazrat Muhammad ur-Rasool Allah (Sall Allah-o Alaihi wa Sallam), 2. Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (Radhi Allah-o Unho), 3. Hazrat Imam Hassan Basri (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 4. Hazrat Daud Tai (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 5. Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 6. Hazrat Ubaid Ullah Ahrar (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 7. Hazrat Abdur Rahman Jami (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 8. Hazrat Abu Ayub Muhammad Salih (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 9. Hazrat Allah Deen Madni (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 10. Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi).

 

THE SPIRIT OR RUH

The spirit or Ruh of every person is a created reflection of the Divine Attributes and it originates in Alam-e Amar (Realm of Command). Its food is the Light of Allah or the Divine Refulgence, which it acquires from the Realm of Command through the holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s choicest favors and peace be upon him), whose status in the spiritual world is like that of the sun in the solar system. The Quran refers to him as the ‘bright lamp’. Indeed, he is the divinely selected channel of all Barakah. All Exalted Messengers themselves receive these Barakah from him.

 

LATAIF

The human Ruh also possesses vital organs like the physical body; through which it acquires its knowledge, food and energy. These are called Lataif (singular Latifah: subtlety). Scholars of various Sufi Orders have associated them with specific areas of the human body. The Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order identifies these Lataif as follows. First - Qalb: This spiritual faculty is located within the physical heart. Its function is Zikr. Its strength increases one’s capacity for Allah’s Zikr. Second – Ruh: The site of this Latifah, which is a distinct faculty of the human Ruh, is on the right side of the chest at the level of Qalb. Its primary function is concentration towards Allah. Third – Sirri: This is located above the Qalb and functions to make possible Kashf. Forth – Khaffi: This is located above the Ruh and functions to perceive the omnipresence of Allah. Fifth – Akhfa: This is located in the middle of chest, at the centre of the first four Lataif and makes it possible for the Ruh to perceive the closeness of Allah, Who is closer to us than our own selves. Sixth – Nafs: This Latifah is located at the forehead and functions to purify the human soul. Seventh – Sultan al-Azkar: This Latifah is located at the top centre of the head and serves to absorb the Barakah of Allah into the entire body, so that every cell resonates with Zikr.

 

FIVE EXALTED MESSENGERS OF GOD

There are Five Exalted Messengers among the many known and unknown Messengers of Allah. They are Hazrat Muhammad, Hazrat Nuh (Noah), Hazrat Ibrahim (Abraham), Hazrat Musa (Moses), and Hazrat Esa (Jesus), peace be upon them all. Hazrat Adam is the first Prophet of Allah and the father of mankind. Each Latifah is associated with a particular Prophet. The Barakah and lights from Hazrat Adam (peace be upon him), descend on the first Latifah Qalb; its lights are reflected from the first heaven and are yellowish. The second Latifah is associated with Hazrat Nuh and Hazrat Ibrahim (peace be upon them). Its lights descend from the second heaven and appear as golden red. The lights descending upon the third Latifah are from Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him) and are white. One the fourth Latifah, the lights of Hazrat Esa (peace be upon him) descend from the fourth heaven and are deep blue. The fifth Latifah receives its Barakah directly from the holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s choicest favors and peace be upon him). The lights associated with this Latifah are green, descend from the fifth heaven, and overwhelm all the first four Lataif. The Lights descending upon the sixth and seventh Lataif are the Divine Lights, whose color and condition cannot be determined. These are like flashes of lightening that defy comprehension. If Allah blesses a seeker with Kashf, he can observe all of this. The vision is slightly diffused in the beginning, but gradually the clarity improves.

 

SULOOK

Stages of the Path After all seven Lataif of a seeker have been illuminated with Divine Lights through Tawajjuh of the Sheikh and his Ruh has acquired the ability to fly, the Sheikh initiates its journey on the sublime Path of Divine nearness. The Path is known as Sulook, and its stages are not hypothetical imaginations but real and actually existing stations on the spiritual Path. These are also referred to as Meditations, because a seeker mentally meditates about a station while his/her Ruh actually ascends towards it. The first three stations that form the base of whole Sulook are described as; Ahadiyyat, a station of Absolute Unity of Divinity. It is above and beyond the seven heavens. It is so vast a station that the seven heavens and all that they encompass are lost within Ahadiyyat as a ring is lost in a vast desert. Its lights are white in color. Maiyyat station denotes Divine Company, ‘He is with you, wherever you might be.’ This station is so vast that Ahadiyyat along with the seven heavens beneath are lost within it as a ring is lost in a desert. Its lights are green in color. Aqrabiyyat station denotes Divine Nearness, ‘He is nearer to you than your life- vein.’ Again, Aqrabiyyat is vast as compared to Maiyyat in the same proportion. Its lights are golden red and are reflected from the Divine Throne. It is indeed the greatest favor of Almighty Allah that He blesses a seeker with an accomplished Sheikh, who takes him to these sublime stations. The final station that a seeker attains to during his/her lifetime becomes his/her Iliyyeen (blessed abode) in Barzakh and his/her Ruh stays at this station after death.

  

ZIKR

Why is Zikr Necessary for Everyone? Allah ordains every soul in the Quran to Perform Zikr. This not only means reciting the Quran and Tasbeeh but also Zikr-e Qalb. It is only through Zikr-e Qalbi that Prophetic Lights reach the depths of human soul and purify it from all vice and evil. Zikr infuses a realization of constant Divine Presence and a seeker feels great improvement in the level of sincerity and love towards Allah and the holy Prophet- SAWS. Such levels of sincerity, love and feelings of Divine Presence can never be obtained without Zikr. It would be a mistake to believe that Zikr may be a requirement only for the very pious and virtuous people. Zikr provides the Prophetic blessings which are in effect the life line of every human soul. It transforms even the most corrupted humans into virtuous souls by bringing out the best in them. The fact is that Zikr is the only way to achieve true contentment and satisfaction in life. The holy Quran has pointed to this eternal fact that it is only through Zikr Allah that hearts can find satisfaction. Such satisfaction and peace are the ultimate requirements of every person, regardless of religion, race and ethnicity. Practicing Zikr regularly removes all traces of anxiety and restlessness, and guides the human soul to eternal bliss and peace.

 

KHALIFA MAJAZEEN

Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), during his life time in 1974, presented a nomination list to Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), during Maraqba, of expected Khalifa Majazeen for Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia. Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) approved some names, deleted some of the names, and added down the name of Major Ghulam Muhammad as also Khalifa Majaaz of Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia (which was not previously included in the list)

 

The approved names at that time included:

1. Mr. Muhammad Akram Awan Sahib,

2. Mr. Sayed Bunyad Hussain Shah Sahib,

3. Mr. Major Ahsan Baig Sahib,

4. Mr. Col. Matloob Hussain Sahib,

5. Mr. Major Ghulam Muhammad Sahib of Wan Bhachran Mianwali,

6. Mr. Molvi Abdul Haq Sahib,

7. Mr. Hafiz Abdul Razzaq Sahib,

8. Mr. Hafiz Ghulam Qadri Sahib,

9. Mr. Khan Muhammad Irani Sahib,

10. Mr. Maolana Abdul Ghafoor Sahib,

11. Mr. Syed Muhammad Hassan Sahib of Zohb.

 

These Majazeen were authorized to; held Majalis of Zikar (Pas Anfas) in their respective areas, arrange Majalis of Zikar in neighboring areas, train them on the way of Sulook, prepare them for Spiritual Bai’at (Oath of Allegiance), and present them to Sheikh Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan for Spiritual Bai’at at the Hand of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), in the life of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), and were all equal in status as Khalifa Majaaz of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A).

 

Presently we are following Hazrat Major ® Ghulam Muhammad Sahib, Khalifa Majaaz of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A).

 

Maulana Noor Muhammad Shaheed Wazir South Waziristan Wana

 

The Speech of Hazrat Maulana Noor Muhammad Sahib

 

Dated: March 2, 2007

 

Topic No 4: The ruinous effects of sectarianism on the Muslims:

 

Verse: ( )

 

Translation:

 

Saying of the holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) : ( )

 

Translation:

 

Respected Brothers! I recited a verse from the holy Quran and a saying of the holy prophet Muhammad (SAW) before you people. While explaining the verse and the ‘Hadith’, I want to turn your attention to an important point. Simultaneously it should be kept in mind that there are certain things which could be easily grasped during a speech but on occasion a subject matter of a speech is complicated enough that it can be understand only after paying due concentration to it. And the topic today is also a bit complicated one that is why, try to listen carefully.

 

The ruinous effects of sectarianism on the collective life of Muslims:

 

Respected fellows! It is a historical fact that like the Muslims, Non-Muslims has also suffered sectarianism from the times long ago. What the Jews and Christian did to one other by committing cruelties against each other, is a stigma on the face of humanity. The holocaust (general massacre of Jews) is even talked about on high level forums today and its various aspects are discussed. And there is also a long history of scientists, who were flayed alive as a punishment for proving facts against the established theories of the church of that time. But after excelling in knowledge and wisdom and the great industrial revolution in Europe and other Western countries, they, in order to get rid of these (historical) dissentions, have also removed the remaining teachings of Christianity from their lives and relegate it to the religious places and formal worship only. Historians held those people accountable for putting the teachings of Christianity into oblivion, which according to them were responsible for its propagation.

 

On the other hand they (Western countries) when looked up toward the Muslims and found them comprising about one-fourth of the world population, inhabited in about 60 free states of the world and that they (Muslims) have also a large part of natural resources in their possession. They thought that if the power of Muslims treaded the path of development, than it can never be challenged and fight out. For this reason, through a well chalked out plan efforts were made that the power should not get united and such conditions were created that misunderstanding prop up between the Muslim countries at

 

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the international level and internally they also confronted issues of various magnitude. And resultantly the energies that were meant to be utilized for national development were made to waste away on internal disorders. Yes, it is another question to be answered yet as to who provided the opportunity to Non-Muslims to ruin the abilities of the Muslims. If the ‘Muslim Umma’ (Muslim nation across the world) itself was conscious to the situation by not providing such an opportunity to the aliens, can anyone be successful in rendering Muslims to the sorry state of affairs? I will say, not at all.

 

For example if both sects of ‘Ahl-i-Sunnat Wal-Jamat’ and ‘Ahl-i-Tashie’ in Pakistan come up with seriousness of purpose and thought over it that the mutual differences have been lingering on for the last 1300 years and none of them have succeeded in changing the stand of each other, so there should be a middle way opted wherein people from every sect could follow their own way amicably and the creation of bad blood could also be averted. By such thinking they might not give an opportunity to any alien people to increase the rift between them, if any such hands were involved in their differences.

 

The same goes true for those people who are after creating causes of destruction of the power of the country (Pakistan) by playing upon linguistic and racial gourds either consciously or unconsciously.

 

Now the question arise here as to who provided the opportunity to others to scatter such a big strength of the Muslims? The answer is simple and clear. The ‘Umma’ has put into oblivion and ignored altogether the directives given by Allah Subhanahu Ta’llah and the prophet of Islam Muhammad (SAW) some 1400 years ago for the inclusive guidance of Muslims.

 

Apart from the point of view of basis of faith, the virility of the saying can also be proved from the perspective of scientific research. It is a common principle applied by the world today that every company provide a booklet to their customers along with the goods they buy, in which it is directed as to how the product can be utilized in a best way along with enhancing its efficiency. In the light of the same principle if a human being which is the creation of Allah Subhanahu Ta’llah, avoid the rules and regulations of life told to him in the shape of holy Quran and have the expectation that he might have a successful life both in this world and the world to come, perhaps there can be no bigger mistake than this.

 

If a machine can not be expected to work efficiency while ignoring the directives of its usage given in a booklet by the company, than it is also unwise to expect success while ignoring the leading principles of life told by Allah Subhanahu Ta’llah. In short, when the Muslims ignored following divine rules and regulations, they could not compete the fraud and deceit of Satan and fall into the ditch of ruins and destruction.

 

One thing also to be kept before that the world of today has become a global village. Muslims range in millions in Non-Muslim countries and likewise a large number of Non-

 

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Muslims also live in Muslim countries. These countries depend upon one another in many sectors. If the Eastern countries are in need of Western technology than the latter are depended on the former countries for men power.

 

If the Western countries think that the Muslims living there will not feel it by whatever they do in Muslim countries by using various names for it than it is a big mistake on their part. If they, despite knowing every thing, is ignoring it, than it still further a mistake they are committing because it will bring to an end the passions of goodwill for one another and its future spell out will also cast far fetching negative results for the whole world.

 

Allah knows better as to what turn it will take while watching today the dreadful picture of extremism in Muslim countries revealing itself as a reaction. What is happening today was never imagine some ten years back. A dream of peaceful life is possible only when the whole of mankind live with peace and calm. It is not possible that on one hand Western people enjoy their lives and on the other hand the lives of Muslims should be made miserable.

 

And the reason as to why this tendency of extremism started in Muslim countries in general and Pakistan in particular can be easily found. It is known to every one that in the wake of Russia invasion on Afghanistan in 1978, both European countries and America were so frightened that without taking into account the pros and cons of their doings they provided every kind of facility for fulfilling war requirements to the border line tribes of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Training centers were opened for them and youths from Arab countries were send to Afghanistan and Pakistan with boosting their passions for ‘Jihad’. Piles of modern weaponry were made at the border area of Pakistan and Afghanistan and the natural warfare capacity of all the tribal youths in general and Waziristan in particular was fully availed.

 

But upon the defeat of Russia, the charged up Afghans were left in a lurch to kill each other and no effort was made to put the passions of these people directed toward some positive achievements.

 

In a nutshell whatever these Western countries harvested for their personal interests is reaping now along with their allied countries today. Why to blame the Muslim countries now. There is a need of the thing today as like the youths were charged up with passions of Afghan Jihad earlier, so like a strategy, better than the former, should be made and such environment be created by this that nobody may have the feeling of being victimized.

 

America and European countries should play such role with sincerity of purpose regarding the Palestine and Kashmir issues that the people of these region may become contented by watching justice has been done to them. And regarding Afghanistan such policy should be chalk out due to which the feelings of Afghan people that they are being subject to foreign occupation may not give impetus to their sense of honor to fight.

   

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By acting upon teachings of Quran and Hadees, Muslims can not be overcome:

 

It should be clear that Allah Subhanahu Ta’llah has given such rules and regulations to the Muslim nationhood that if followed by them than all the plans of their enemies would come to nothing. Either these enemies may be in shape of human beings or being in shape of a Satan.

 

These golden principles has been mentioned in the verse which I recited before you. Allah Subhanahu Ta’llah says:

 

Verse: ( )

 

Translation:

 

Muslims should bear brotherly attitude toward one another due to the religion of Islam:

 

The above mentioned verse has been very aptly explained by holy prophet Muhammad (SAW) through an example. The prophet Muhammad (SAW) while stressing upon brotherhood and unity among the Muslims says:

 

Hadith: ( )

 

Translation: “The example of believers in their sympathy, love and affection and kindness with one another is like a single body (of a person). If an organ of a body suffers some pain than the whole body become restless and get involved in pain and temperature (illness) with it”.

 

i-e it is not possible for example that an eye may suffer a pain and the rest of the parts of a body remain at ease.

 

The comprehensiveness of the Hadith:

 

Respected fellows! The above mentioned Hadith is so comprehensive that if the Muslim nationhood ponders over it they might come to a right path to a large extent in their mutual relationship and activities. It is however necessary that we should not limit our eyes to the apparent translation of the Hadith only but try to have in-depth look into it. If we keep before the real aim of a Hadith (saying of the holy prophet Muhammad (SAW) than it will have benefit for us in a larger perspective and the people to come will also get benefit of it. The prophet Muhammad (SAW) has termed it understanding of the religion by developing in-depth looking into every directive of the religion of Islam.

 

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The holy prophet Muhammad (SAW) says:

 

Hadees: ( )

 

Translation:

 

Here is a subtle point to make clear that the prophet Muhammad (SAW) did not say that whenever Allah Subhanahu Ta’llah intend to do kindness to anyone than he is given the knowledge of the religion. But the prophet says like that that he is given understanding of the religion.

 

From the point of view of knowledge the apparent meaning of the Hadith is all clear, i-e that all the Muslims should be brotherly with one another and should come up with love and affection for one another. But in the said Hadith there is a large sea of meaning and aim present regarding the understanding of the religion which we take for understanding the religion of Islam.

 

It is of common observation that people in this world vary regarding their color, race and languages. Even offspring of same parents do differ in their appearances. Likewise there are also various schools of thoughts in the religion; someone follow Imam Abu Khaneefa (May Allah bless him) and the other are followers of Imam Shafi (May Allah bless him). Some people are associated with the school of thought of Ahl-Hadith, which are not even followers of any religion, and there are also a good number of people related to the Shitte school of thought and many are those having outlook of Sunni school of thought. There are also separate differences from the view point of Deobandee and Brailvee School of thoughts. The same can be said about political parties as some of these belong to the right wing while others to the left wing.

 

There are also differences present at regional level among the people in one shape or the other. These few of the examples give us hint as to how much differences there are. From the perspective of Islamic viewpoint it is one of the best things if there are no differences occur among the Muslim community but if it occurs than it should be kept in limitation and because of such differences the brotherhood of Muslims should not get shattered. Because despite the difference of opinion, Muslims are in need of one another for their survival like the parts of a body.

 

It is however lamentable that the Muslims did not contain the difference of opinion in its limits but on the contrary every one is bent upon declaring the other is wayward. Every one spent their energies on as to how to make humble a group having difference of opinion other than them.

 

Like parts of a body there is a status specified for every person in a given society:

 

(6)

 

Respected fellows! The thinking of being superior has put the Muslims today in a variety of problems. Every organization, group and followers of every school of thought have the viewpoint that it is they who are doing the real work and as such the whole of the credit should go to them.

 

While keeping in view the example given in the Hadith, the current condition and role of Muslims can be reformed in a best way. It is in a way that there is no doubt in the minds of anybody that all the organs in a human body are precious one and if (Allah forbid) any organ become dysfunctional than along with handicapping of the body the beauty of it is also affected. For example there are many organs both internal and external in a body of human being including mouth, nose, eyes, hands and feet and each one of it has an important function to do in a body. In case of loss of eyes it not only results in apparent ugliness but the whole of the advantages of a body nearly comes to an end. If kidneys do not work properly, it might not show any apparent ugliness of a human being, but the survival and safety of the rest of the body organs are associated with it and incase of improper function of kidneys all parts of a body which are relevant to one another are fetched to extinction.

 

And some of the parts of a human body are taken for as a token of expression of love; for example if someone says that Mr so and so is the apple of his eyes than he is expressing his passions of liking to someone. And off course there are human organs the very name of which is taken for abusing, though it has also vital functions to perform and any hurdle in their efficiency may render a person to convulsion. For example the wastes of a human body is carried away by different system of organs and the proper functioning of these organs is as vital as any other part of a body but in social life their status is as such that mentioning their very name is considered is bad and even some of the people do tend to quarrel by taking it as an abuse to mention the name of these organs.

 

Despite all these different roles the various organs of human body play, if for example the heart (vital of all organs) ask stomach as to what is his role in a body as it is he (hearth) that supply blood to the whole body and kept it alive. So what is your answer as a heart is justified in saying so? Not at all, there is no doubt in it that the heart is like a ruler of the whole body and stoppage of its function results in end of life of a person and it is also true that it provide pure blood to all the organs of a body but the real thing to answer is as to who provide the pure blood to the heart. Medical sciences has proved it that stomach, small intestine, large intestine, kidneys, bladders, vital organs has a role to play in the preparation of pure blood because due to these organs waste is expelled from the body and the victuals remain within body. For further purification process lungs come to play its role and take away injurious ingredients from blood in shape of gas and hence it get prepared for utilization in a body. Now if the heart brag over provision of pure blood to rest of the organs of a body and take the whole credit for it and avoid the importance of other organs in preparation of pure blood than it is unjust and unwise to do.

 

(7)

 

By presenting such an example here I want to make it clear that similarly there are many a departments of propagation of Islam and many of the people of Muslim community are busy according to their abilities in each of these departments of the religion. So it does not mean that people from a certain department may begin thinking that they should be accorded the whole credit of propagation of Islam.

 

Likewise we know it that the holy Quran revealed some 1400 years ago. But to keep the Islamic teachings in its real form during such a long span of time there is a big role of religious seminaries in it. It is these religious institutions who produced writers for the guidance of the Muslim community and provided orators, politicians as well as teachers and preachers. And it is due to these religious institutions that various schools of thought came into being but it does not meant the managers of these religious seminaries (Madrasa’s) may start denying the role of orators, writers. Preachers and politicians of the Muslim community just because to show their importance only. Because it is due to these people who in turn widened the role of these religious institutions and played a big role in sustaining the character of religious seminaries.

 

The stress on doing away with mutual differences and creation of solidarity is the essential message of this Hadith:

 

Respect brothers! In this Hadith of the holy prophet Muhammad (SAW) there is big lesson for us to rectify our thoughts and deeds and there is an essential message in it for us that Muslims may either belong to whatever locality or race and tribe, speaking different languages, related to whatever department of religion and belong to whatsoever school of thought, should do away with their mutual differences and should get united for the completion of the needs of their lives and propagation of the religion like parts of a single body. Like a human body is in need of disciplined action of all the organs within it for the survival, similarly Islam is in need of united efforts of the Muslims for its survival and propagation and there is no difference of small or large status in this regard. If the smaller one will not play its due role than the bigger one will also become unable to continue its services and slowly and gradually its role will come to a halt. So like as we attribute a death of a person due to certain reasons, for example we say Mr so and so died of kidneys failure etc., similarly the downfall of Islam will also be attributed than to the inefficiency of a relevant group.

 

I meant hereby that none of the departments in serving Islam should either claim that the survival and propagation of Islam is solely due to their efforts and struggle and if, taken for granted, such a mistake is done by them than the person related to other departments of the religion should be lenient to forgive and ignore such mistakes. Like an organ of a body which get injured inadvertently and cause the whole body to pain, is not separated from the body but on the contrary the rest of the organs while sharing the pain and suffering of it mitigate the injury, similarly it is binding on other groups of society to take control of the situation by reforming the wrong attitude of someone of them. Yes, it is something different to say that if an organ becomes incurable than it is separated from the

 

(8)

 

body: the like when some inhabitants of an area get involved in robbery and killings than Islam tell us that such people have become a cancer for the joint body of the Muslim community and hence there is no other way out except to cut off them from Islamic society as on the contrary of that the whole society will get destroyed due to the diffusion of such kind of intolerable habits.

 

Doing struggle for reformation of the society is also the essential message of this Hadith:

 

The explanation of this Hadith also makes it clear that if there are such people in a Muslim society that are after the destruction of it than it becomes a joint responsibility of such a society to make efforts for their reformation, otherwise the germs of such a spiritual disease will spread in the whole of the society and will push it toward havoc. If the local people do not get succeed in reformation of such people than it is one of the needful thing that people of great influence from outside may control the situation either by advising or opting some other way.

 

The example of it is also like an organ get ill or injured within a body and for the cure of such an illness or injury the whole of the body starts preparing anti-bodies for it and if it do not work than medicine from outside is provided. Similarly reformation of a society is responsibility of all the people. Allah forbid! If the people become never mind and started thinking in such terms that the people involved in evil doings should mind their own business and we have nothing to do with it, than it is to be remembered that all the people in such a society will come into the grasp of the negative effects of the evil doings of the few people.

 

From the point of view of Islamic teachings Muslims has not been created for thinking about their personal profit and losses only but on the contrary of that it is also their responsibility to think about the reformation and welfare of all the people in the society as well as to save them from any harm. Such people are respected in the court of Allah Subhanahu Ta’llah and it becomes the moral obligation of other people of a society as well to honor them.

 

It should also be kept in mind here that the explanation of this Hadith which can be made while keeping before the welfare of Muslims all over the world, can also be used for taking guidance from, while keeping before the situation of the country. However it is needed in the current situation that in the light of this Hadith more should be thought about the regional welfare as it is the base from where stability, brotherhood and general welfare stem and it can be presented as an example at the national and international level.

 

Take the sub-division of Wana for example; here we face a lot of problems but we did not lose heart and the efforts for fetching peace in the region continued by people from various walks of life and as a result that situation turned around to normalcy to a larger extent regarding law and order situation. And the occurrence of one or a few incident is

 

(9)

 

not so worrisome because in tribal areas it often happened. But if we continued toward the welfare of the area in such a way than there is no doubt about it that it will have far fetching positive effects, the results of which will reveal soon.

 

At the same time if someone claim that all these positive results of considerable peace in the region is due to him and it is he who saved the region from devastation and destruction and shut his eyes to the joint efforts made by prominent people of the area in this regard than it will be a sheer violence to the fact. There will also be a danger of harm to the peaceful environment as well. No doubt that the role of some of he people in bringing peace to the region might have been very important than others but if the joint thinking did not existed in favor of peace in the area than it was difficult to achieve this aim.

 

Likewise those people who make efforts for the smooth functioning of day to day affairs of the society both at regional and national level are appreciable because the society is also like a single body and there is a role of every one to play in it including cultivators, blacksmith, mason, doctor, teacher and shopkeeper etc., all these characters are respectable in their own sphere of duties.

 

The same thinking should also exist regarding various schools of thought. Some people follow Hanafi, others Shafi, and still further some follow Deobandi, Brailvi, Ahl-i-Sunnat Wal-Jamat, and Shitte schools of thought. The wisdom from Islamic point of view envisages that no one should say that so and so is wayward and so and so is on the right path. During the long course of time, is any of the schools of thought ever made a success in bringing round considerable number of people from other school of thought to their side? If it did not happened so far, and on the contrary of that the situation is stretching toward tension, so there remains no logic in stressing upon such things.

 

How many people suffer due to sectarian tension and how many are made homeless in this regard is known to all. Differences between Deobandi and Brailvi schools of thought are deliberately aired across the country and it is presented in a shape as if denying one another and to humble the other sect is a big service rendered to Islam. Though both the sects are followers of Imam Abu Khanifa (May Allah bless him) school of thought and if there is any difference of opinion among them it is limited to meager points only. So it can not be justified to create hatred between such a large section of population of the Muslim community because of these pity points.

 

The history of differences between Shitte and Sunni schools of though spread over the last1300 years and the way it incurred losses to the Muslim community are out of measure to calculate. It is also part of the history as to what kind of destructions and havoc was done due to the Shitte and Sunni factor after the creation of Pakistan. And so like the devastation it brought on Iraq, which is still continue and no one knows as to when it will end, has shake the whole Muslim community across the world.

 

(10)

 

The lesson for the Muslim community to learn from keeping some work in either low or high profile according to the needs of the time:

 

Respected fellows! One should not misunderstand the things I told you here. One should not think in such perspective that in the religion of Islam there is no importance or priority attached to various actions done in various times or done by various persons.

 

It is one of the basic theme of Islamic teachings that due to the changing conditions some of the actions get more importance to do and whosoever do it is accorded high stand among the people.

 

For example, the prophet Muhammad (SAW) was asked;

 

( )

 

Translation: “what is of the best of Islam?”

 

The holy prophet replied that, “the best of Islam is that no one (Muslims) is hurt by the hand or tongue of another Muslim”.

 

The like there is another Hadith of the holy prophet Muhammad (SAW);

 

Hadith: ( )

 

Translation: A person asked the holy prophet Muhammad (SAW) as to what is the best of Islam? The prophet replied that, “the best of Islam is that you serve meal to a hungry person and pay Salam to everyone either you know him or not”.

 

At some other occasion Abdullah bin Masud (May Allah be pleased with him) asked the prophet Muhammad (SAW),

 

Hadith: ( ),

 

Translation: “Hazrat Abdullah bin Masud (May Allah be pleased with him) says that he asked the prophet Muhammad (SAW) a question as to what is the best of act of a person? The holy prophet replied saying, to offer in time prayers is best of worship. Then (Abdullah bin Masud) asked and what is the best of act after that? The holy prophet said, to do favor with ones parents (is best of the act). Then (Abdullah bin Masud) asked for the third time as to what is best of the act after that? The prophet Muhammad (SAW) replied, to do ‘Jihad’ (holy war) in the way of Allah with infidels”.

 

Now the question arise here is that the guider of the Muslim community is asked a question about best of the acts on various occasion and the prophet Muhammad (SAW) answered differently from one another. What is the lesson for the Muslim community in

 

(11)

 

it to learn? The answer is that either it is due to the change of conditions which is why the holy prophet Muhammad (SAW) answered differently or by watching the condition of the person questioning, the prophet of Islam answered differently.

 

Perhaps it may be so that the condition of the first person who asked the prophet of Islam as to what is best of Islam, have caused some suffering or pain for others on various occasions or there may be some people present on the occasion of the question asked by the person, which have such shortcomings, or it may be the saying of the prophet belonging to that era wherein the onslaught of the opposing people have become weak and the need was felt that there should be focus, henceforth, on creating environment of Islamic brotherhood to give internal stability to the society.

 

It is because if the Muslims are after hurting one another than along with rendering the Muslim society hollow from within, it also creates negative passions in the heart of Non-Muslims which in turn hurt the Islamic message of its universality.

 

In the second Hadith mentioned above, the stressed has been given on cooperating with poor and needy person and to offer Salam to everyone just for the sake of propagation of Islamic brotherhood. The imperative thing is that even in the presence of other obligatory worships of great importance, paying Salam to everyone that meant to pray for ones safety and also means that one announces peacefulness for someone on which he offer Salam, is of vital importance in its own place.

 

Likewise if in a given society people have considerations for needy and helpless person than it not only thrive passions of brotherhood but also help address various social issues as well. To leave aside paying the non-obligatory alms, if the passion for paying the obligatory alms is made alive among the people than we will never have faced the problems of poverty and helplessness that we confront today.

 

When we cast a look on the third Hadith, we mentioned above, than in the light of the principles of Hadith, there is probability that there may be lack of passion among the people sitting in the gathering (of holy prophet) or the person asking question himself, regarding arranging for collective prayers, serving parents or to offer physical or financial sacrifice for thwarting the aggressiveness of non-believers. Or it may also happen that the prophet of Islam has given the message to the Muslims of coming times not to let these passions become weak because in the times of the holy prophet the conditions regarding it were quite good.

 

Just think over it for a while as to what is the behavior of the new generation with their parents in the Muslim society of today rather in Waziristan also. As to how much we manage for offering five times prayers in a day which is an expression of faithfulness with Allah and his messenger; people consider us as the real lover of Islam but do we ever think over it as to how much consideration is found in the hearts of the youths for offering their prayers?

 

(12)

 

Take Jihad (holy war) is another case. What was the role of our forefathers in this regard and what is our role today. During the initial times Islam give much more importance to Jihad because of the aggressiveness of non-believers and stressed on preparing for it according to the needs of the time so that by watching the preparation of Muslims in this regard the need of war may not come. But if the non-believers do not come to their senses even than, then there should be such passion of preparedness for Jihad that they (non-believers) may get a lesson from it. It is like as if Jihad is important thing to do so like preparation for it is also an important thing to do. But the Muslim community has forgotten the lesson and get involved in merry makings only. That is why in the last few centuries the Non Muslims made well preparations day in and day out against their enemies but the Muslims remained in oblivion regarding all these developments and what is going to happen to them today is the result of punishment for them for being ignorant to the teachings of Quran and the messenger.

 

And it happened that after ignored (jihad) by the ruling class, the reaction came from the masses and now it is proving very difficult for the ruling class to curb the same. So a tendency spread widely that it is becoming hard to guess as to what is going to happen in the future due to it.

 

Yes! There can be a solution that if the leaders of the Muslim countries are unable to suppress the passions of the masses than the Non-Muslims aught to bring change in their attitude. They must think over ending the causes of such reaction with a seriousness of purpose so may so the sole abode in shape of earth may be saved from devastation and destruction.

 

It is lamentable to say that despite the great development made by Western countries and their high stand in knowledge they never come to know as to why such things happen and if they know it than they are shutting their eyes to the fact. They must remember it that the responsibility of destruction of this Allah given beautiful world will lay with them.

 

Now I tell you here that the like the prophet of Islam give importance to various acts on various occasions so it is also possible that the Muslims working in various departments of the religion may deserve high stand for the time being than the others as perhaps working in such department may have get due importance because of the changing needs of the time.

 

The like when Englishmen get control of the Indo-Pak and shattered the whole system of religious seminaries (Madrasa’s) there arise the important need of the time to re-establish the Madrasa system which is meant for safeguarding the religion of the Muslims. Today we can see that if Hindustan survived of becoming second Spain so it is because of the great role of Madrasa’s in this regard.

 

Similarly whenever the unawareness among the people about the basic tenants of Islam, their lack of heed toward praying from Allah as well as the need of spreading the

 

(13)

 

message of Islam to Non-Muslims was felt than the mission of preaching was started on some specific grounds.

 

Likewise once there was the increasing importance of doing Jihad in the wake of Russian occupation of Afghanistan and due to the increasing atrocities on Muslims of other countries and the Muslims did take part in it. But the passion of Jihad created among the Muslim youth as a reaction started crossing its limit with due course of time in various manifestation. That is why it is now needed in the light of the Islamic teachings that such passions may be bring to moderation.

 

Anyhow the above mentioned explanation of the Hadith’s of the holy prophet Muhammad (SAW) makes it clear that the prophet of Islam is like a physician and like a doctor suggest various prescriptions to patients of various nature and tell them various preventive measures for safeguard against diseases so like that the prophet of Islam has told the people various acts to do on various occasions according to their conditions.

 

Sectarian differences should not be allowed to cause mutual quarrel:

 

Respected listeners! The world of today has become like a family wherein one will have to come into relationship with followers of Imam Shafi and other time with people related to Imam Malik school of thought and off course there will be certain people following none.

 

Now if we allow for developing quarrel over such kind of differences among various schools of thought and it cast us into our relationship with one another, than you people are the best judges as to how much it will harm the interest of the Muslim community. And the people having bad intentions for the Muslims will certainly find an opportunity to further fuel these differences.

 

The best example of putting aside differences of various schools of thoughts can be found on the occasion of pilgrimage. On that occasion all the people professing various schools of thoughts get together in ‘Masjid-i-Haram’. There come Ahl-i-Sunnat Wal Jamat, Ahl-i-Tashee, Deobandi, Brailvi and followers of the four Imams are also present on the occasion. Some one say ‘Amin’ with high pitch of voice and the other silently but no body even think on sectarian lines over there and it do not occur to the mind as well. There (on the occasion of Hajj) every body remains thoughtful that he may not commit such an act which may cause inconvenience to others that may make others unhappy.

 

Now the question arise here is that that whether we should express such attitude only on the occasion of performing pilgrimage and whether it is not binding on us that after learning such behavior during pilgrimage we may follow the same way in our own areas and region.

   

(14)

 

The thing to be lamented is that we have not understood the real spirit of Islamic teachings up to this date and we do offer worship but formally and it does not bring any change in our practical lives.

 

When I was in London for treatment purpose, besides several other questions I was also asked as to whether there is sectarianism in Waziristan or not? They meant the differences between various schools of thought, like Deobandi and Brailvi etc. I replied to their question saying, no, with the grace of Allah our area is all clear of such things. Though when I come back here after the treatment there were considerable prints of Brailvi sect in the area but by the grace of Allah, all such things come to an end and nothing like minor impressions of the movement remained here.

 

The conditions of Hangu and Khyber Agency are before us today. And what is not done there on the name of being Muslims in Hangu between Shia and Sunni and in Khyber Agency between Laskhar-i-Islam and Ansar-ul-Islam.

 

Respected listeners! About fifty years are going to lapse that I have been remained busy in delivering speeches on religious injunctions and extending advice as per requirements of the time. From the point of view of ‘Sharia’ (Islamic law) some time the blessings of fasting are discussed and the other time the importance of pilgrimage and alms giving are highlighted. Besides that topics on cultivation of trees while keeping its proper time, cultivation of orchards, field cultivation and the rewards and blessings of labor are discussed in perspective of Sharia.

 

After the Friday prayers some of the people lacking understanding present these speeches in a wrong way before preaching parties and tell them that the ‘Maulana Sahib’ today spoke against the preachers as he (Maulana) maintained that the real blessing lie in growing trees, cultivating orchards and fields and in legally earned livelihood.

 

Some of these people resort to the ‘Mujahidin’ brethrens to instigate them by saying that the real blessing is that of doing Jihad but the Maulana Sahib spoke against jihad in his Friday sermon today because he (Maulana) said that the things of rewards are doing labor, cultivation and raising orchards.

 

Such questions would not have raise in minds of these poor fellows if they could know that what did our holy prophet Muhammad (SAW) said on what occasion and of what kind of actions the prophet told their blessings.

 

Anyhow I was talking about the understanding of the religion as whosoever is given the understanding of the religion by Allah Subhanahu Ta’llah, meant that the creator of the universe has intended blessings for him.

 

May Allah Subhanahu Ta’llah give us the strength to understand and act upon the injunctions of the religion! (May it be so, again may it be so).

 

Ends…

  

This Jerry is no mouse, that's for sure. Big Fat Jerry lives and breathes the gang life, it's his heart and soul, his very being, or, as you'd say today: it's in his DNA.

 

When we first meet him, he's already known far and wide as a hardcore member of the Party People over on 17th Street. He has a relaxed, stoic demeanor: he's like a rock, the provverbial "immovable object."

 

Always calm and respectful in his dealings with the police, he enjoys a fearsome reputation on the street, and the grudging respect of his adversaries, especially those who have been on the receiving end of his baseball bat.

 

Jerry's home-turf is a one-block stretch of 17th Street, from Racine to Carpenter. Technically speaking, this is part of 1233's Beat, but the Party People have regular run-ins with the gangs on our side of the border, so we need to keep tabs on them for that reason alone, and we sweep through there several times each night.

 

We always check out the guys hanging out in front, convinced they must have easy access to at least one gun, but never seem to be able to find it, either on them or in their immediate vicinity.

 

Jerry usually stays put when he sees us coming, even as the others scatter in all directions. This may be explained by Jerry's physique, which does not make him particularly fleet-footed, but we suspect Jerry may be using his girth to his advantage. The mystery is solved when I decide to venture where few have gone before.

 

Jerry is shaped like a Pyramid, with layers of blubber cascading down from his shoulders to his waist. When you get too close to him, you can smell that funky odor that morbidly obese people always seem to exude. Sweat gets trapped between those layers of flab, and you must be at least slightly demented to stick your hand in there.

 

Equipped with rubber gloves, I do exactly that, and reach in between those layers of blubber, and bingo: there's Jerry's Pistola, as secure as if it had been locked inside a safe.

  

Of course, we're all excited, since this confirms out suspicions, and makes up for all the other times when we came up empty-handed.

 

Jerry doesn't bat an eye. He doesn't fuss or fight, he's too smart to try and run, and too proud to whimper or whine. He merely shrugs his shoulders: "it's just the cost of doing business, that's all."

 

Due to his size, we call for the wagon to transport him into the District. We'd just as soon keep Jerry calm... Even with handcuffs on, he'd be quite a handful if he got all pissed off because we tried to squeeze him into the back of our cage-car. Never fight a guy if you can talk him into doing whatever it is you want him to do.

 

From them on, we continue to check Jerry's "shelf" but never find anything else: nothing but hot, smelly sweat. Jerry is not the type to make the same mistake twice, so, ultimately, the joke is on us.

 

As calm as Jerry is with us, Jerry can be merciless, especially when he's swinging a bat. We catch hin and his boys in the act only once, back in '93. They get a hold of one of the Morgan Boys, and whoop his ass but good.

 

We're only a block behind them, and follow them back to 17th Street, arriving just in time to see them piling out of their car, hi-fiving each other, and doing their little victory dance. They luck out: since the victim is also a gangbanger, and since he lives to tell, he doesn't make a good enough victim to warrant a felony prosecution, and eventually even the misddemeanor charges fizzle out...

 

One thing that never ceases to amaze me, is that Jerry lives about two miles away, deep inside Satan Disciple territory, and only a block or two from the Wild Side faction of the Ambrose. Somehow, he makes the perilous commute through several hostile gang territories each and every day. He readily admits, he wouldn't last long if that were to become widely known. We never feel the need to stoop that low.

 

The Party People are allied with LaRaza, and late in '94, the Allport Lovers join the coalition as well. Together, they wage a war of attrition against their common enemies: the Ambrose, the Bishops, and the Latin Counts.

 

During the winter of 1994-95, however, war erupts between the Party People and LaRaza. It's all about a party hosted by the boys on 17th Street, where they are said to have "disrespected" some of the Raza "ladies" who were in attendance. That must have been one hell of an insult, considering the caliber of the "ladies" involved.

 

Frankly, we figure this will be curtains for the Party People on 17th Street. Surely, they'll be squashed by the much bigger and powerful Razas, but they end up coming out of it alright.

 

They mobilize their reserves: a bunch of grizzled old veterans, a bunch of guys with three-quarter length leather coats, and black leather fedoras. Add in the goatees, hefty gold rings on every finger, and Cojones the size of Ostrich eggs, and you've got yourself a lethal blend of Pachuco Mafia and the Blues Brothers. We turn those guys and their conversion-vans injside out, but never manage to find their guns.

 

By the time the original misunderstanding is resolved, one Raza has been killed, and two prominent individuals have changed sides. Esmeralda, the fiery, beautiful, boisterous, and definitely the most provocative of all the Raza Ladies, now resides on 17th Street, while Big Fat Jerry disappears briefly, only to surface on 21st Street, wearing LaRaza colors, sitting next to Oso - the "Bear" himself - as a junior member of LaRaza's ruling family.

 

We never did get an official explanation, but in all likelihood this arrangement is the glue that re-establishes the alliance and the peace between the two gangs, not unlike medieval Kings, wo routinely sent their own children to be raised in the court of another.

 

Whatever the reason for these sudden changes, Jerry is his usual stoic self: like a rock, and as calm and immovable as ever.

 

It's the sweltering summer of '95, and the city is overwhelmed by hundreds of decomposing bodies, mostly seniors who succumbed to the unrelenting heat and humidity. Adjusting his own uniform to the season, Jerry is wearing his favorite cut-offs, this time also showing off dozens of cigarette burns that have been seared into his flesh. As he explains it, "when you switch from one gang to another, you don't just get the same initiation they give to any newcomer... No, they have something special in store for you, something very special."

  

The message is that changing your gang-affiliation is not something one should do lightly. The torture is necessary to make sure that your commitment to our new family is solid and sincere, without reservation or for the purpose of evasion, and ever-lasting: until death do you part.

 

I don't know if Jerry's torture is a one-time deal, or if it's a work in progress, spread out over a period of days or weeks. Nor do I know if other parts of his body have also been slow-roasted, but it's obvious that Jerry's in considerable pain for weeks on end.

 

Jerry, of course, never utters a single complaint. Ever the poster-boy for La Vida Ganguera, Jerry would not want it any other way. Gang membership would not be as precious to him if the price of admission were not this high. "It's better this way: it's the cost of doing business, that's all."

 

I never did get an opportunity to ask Esmeralda what her initiation on 17th Street was like.

I have a pretty good idea, though, and it has nothing to do with cigarette butts.

 

* * * * * * * * * *

 

The photo above shows Jerry's usual spot on 17th Street as it looks today. Except for a few faded Rabbit-head gang symbols in a nearby alley, there's no sign the boys were ever here.

   

So. I made a thing. I was sitting around one day and decided that I wanted to make a spider thing, and instantly vahki came to mind. Then I decided to make a vakama revamp using the frame I used on drev. Before we have any misunderstandings about how the vahki looks like Nidhiki, this is how I think vahkis should have look like from the get-go. Enjoy!

JEAN-MARC THOMMEN

Mystery at hotel Elysees Mermoz !

 

After the robot invaders by Eric Cloutier, the Elysees Mermoz receives Jean-Marc Thommen for a more than mysterious drawing exhibition! To so much as the artist himself is astonished by the final result of his work. The reason for the misunderstanding? The lines are included in the nothingness, free from any representation, not identifying any recognizable shape. The exhibition “What is it?” leaves room for the imagination of the observer, who, thanks to the colors, captures a mood unique to each.

Graduate from the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts in Paris, Jean-Marc Thommen tested various plastic experiments before arriving on the path of abstraction. Today, the paintings and drawings he realizes try to free itself of all meaning, to make room for an objective presence. A questioning that appeared very early in the light of works of Robert Ryman, Frank Stella and Martin Barré. His happiness? The astonishment of the people facing his paintings seen as an intellectual adventure and relational. The Elysees Mermoz is the first hotel in which he exhibits. He confesses loving especially the domestic character of the place where you can sit, read, think without being disturbed. Crossing point, the hotel becomes an ideal alternative in terms of exposure, and is in a mode of artistic presentation that is renewed in Paris.

 

« What is it ? », Exhibition from April 8th to May 31st, 2010.

Opening in the presence of the artist, Thursday, April 8th, 2010 at 6:30pm.

 

Hôtel Élysées Mermoz

30, rue Jean Mermoz

75008 Paris

France

T. : +33.(0)1.42.25.75.30

F. : +33.(0)1.45.62.87.10

hotel@emhotel.com

artensuite.com/mystere-et-boule-de-gomme-a-hotel-elysees-...

During the student strike the main color theme was red. Misunderstanding.

 

Pendant la Manifestation étudiante la couleur principale était le rouge. Malentendu.

 

Canon EOS 5d Mark II - Canon 50mm F1.4

 

twitter.com/G_OGD

IT'S YOU THEY HATE !

Each time they burn a Tesla, they're Burning You in Effigy.

These are the series of illustrations to newest story – The flight of the swan telling about Dannee’s struggle with keeping peace between her friend and one of her romantic flashbacks in the past.

Even while Skyrim being at state of fragile peace Dannee learns that not all fights are tied with something epic as she tries to out some order and peace between two of her closest friends who had big misunderstanding along with nasty quarrel. In attempt to make her friend Serana see things from her perspective Dannee dwells in her own past as well as helping Serana deal with terrible but unseen wounds of her darkest memories…

The first part – www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/images/433485/?

The second part of the story – www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/images/433486/?

  

Many Christian preachers and evangelists met their end as matyrs, often faced by a change in policy of a country towards their doctrine or due to misunderstandings from the local populace. Often these deaths are brutal and horrendous, such as in this wood carving depicting one being put to death by burying a machette into his head. San Augustin Chruch, Intramuros, Philippines, 2004.

“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.”

- Albert Schweitzer

 

Wishing you all a wonderful New Year filled with good health, love, laughter and kindness!

 

View On Black

 

darckr.com/username?username=ann+j+p&format=Medium&;

  

Amara's Journal

 

Amara answers the door, stunned to see Dr. Foster and some random child near his feet. "What do you want and who told you I lived here?"

 

Toriah chuckled, letting himself in while still holding the boy's hand. "No need to get hostile. I saw you outside the MPD building. What was that all about?"

 

Donatien was the only quiet one, listening to the adults talking. He seemed timid at first, that is until he noticed the woman's tails. Quickly he released Toriah's hands and dashed off to play with the curious tails.

 

Amara blinked at the doctor's question. She didn't have much time to answer as the boy with him was now chasing her tails like a playful kitten. Her mood eased as she entertained the boy, changing the way her tails moved to give him something to do. " It was a list of petty nonsense charges. My bail was posted in no time. So, sit down and I'll make some tea for you and your kid. I'm surprised you have a child."

 

Toriah sighed. "You should have called me. I could have helped you post bail, 609." He didn't correct her misunderstanding of his relationship to the boy, instead he waved it off. "That's enough. Don't disturb her. This boy is under my charge, much like you are."

 

Donatien ignores the doctor, clinging to one of the tails before sticking his tongue out. He found a new toy and he was not about to give it up because Toriah said so.

 

Amara starts to head for the kitchen, boy on her left tail in tow. "I am not under your charge so don't refer to me as such. i see he is one of your new experiments. What did you do to this one?" She took out three mugs and put the kettle on the stove. "Can you speak little one? What would you like to drink?"

 

Toriah huffed. "You are just as guilty of assumptions yourself 609. This boy is..." he hesitates, trying to think of his words carefully. "Does he not look familiar to you?"

 

Donatien nods. "I want warm milk with sugar please." The eager boy then looked at Toriah. "Is it her? Is it? Is it?" He started jumping excitedly. "She's real pretty and everything like you said, Doc. Is it her?!"

 

"Familiar?" Amara asked, confused by the doctor's words. "What do you mean by that?" She peered down at the bouncy boy, taking a close look at his face. "Am I what, Foster? What is he talking about?" Something in her chest was starting to hurt. Amara could feel it, but had no idea why she suddenly felt this skipping sensation. The boy's bright brown eyes...his bone structure...that smile - was she imagining things?

 

Toriah smiled warmly, perhaps the most honest smile he'd ever shown 609 in the time they known each other. "I was working on a case earlier and through a series of odd events, this boy was given to me as an infant. No name. No parents. Just a baby." He moved closer to pat the boy's head. "I didn't pay any mind to it until I saw the child's DNA. Very healthy boy; not too different from any other baby." Toriah took out the folder he'd kept in his bag and offered it to Amara. "He has a very unique immune system, too unique to be a coincidence. You understand 609?"

 

Donatien let go of Amara's tail finally, only to latch on to her right leg instead. "She's so warm. And tall! And she has funny tails, Tori! Lookit!"

 

Amara was trembling some as she took the thick folder from Toriah. She didn't want to be hopeful and braced herself for disappointment months ago. Inside were files on Donatien's genetic structure, the very code she and Adagio wrote. There were pictures of him as a baby, crawling, sitting up, and laughing with a mess of what looked like pistschio ice cream on his face. Amara stifled a teary giggle, but only barely. "I don't understand..." The boy's excited words only made her tears come out more. "It can't be....it just can't...he was a baby when he was taken."

 

Toriah came right out and said it since Amara was already crying. "He's your son, Amara. I apologize for not telling you or your wife earlier. He was aged in a containment chamber for a few months after I found a defect. It's been repaired and stabilized, so you don't have to worry. I made sure to take as many videos, pictures, and logs of his development as I could so you both did not feel you missed out on key parts of the boy's life." He ruffled the hair on Donatien's head. "I've been telling him all about you both since he was old enough to talk. His IQ is extraordinary considering he is about seven now. A bit eager and hyper as you can see, but he's like that with new things."

 

Donatien hugged his mother even tighter. "i knew it! I knew it! I finally get to see you, Mama!" He nuzzled Amara's leg before quickly letting go. "My name is Donatien Isaac Dubois, Mama. And I'm...umm," he looked confused before asking Toriah. "Uncle, what's my number again?"

 

Amara looked down at the boy now openly calling her Mama like it was no big deal. She put the folder down on the counter and slowly knelt down. The question made her laugh. "It's nice to meet you, Donatien. I'm Amara Micheline Dubois and it's nice to finally see you again. You were missed. Terribly missed." Amara broke down, unable to keep her walls up any longer.

 

Toriah was too busy laughing at Donatien's question. He held up seven fingers. "Seven. You're seven now, Donatien."

 

Donatien nods. "I'm sev- Mama?" He grew worried upon seeing his mother crying so heavily. "It's okay. I remember the number now. Really!" Now that she was low enough, he could wrap his arms around her neck for the first time. "I'll be here from now on, okay? No more crying okay, Mama?"

 

Amara sniffled, pulling the boy closer during their long embrace. "Mmmhmm, you are staying right where I can see you from now on. I promise." After several minutes, she eyed the pale doctor. "You told him that you were my father's brother or something?"

 

Toriah corrected her. "No, I told him that I was your caretaker, your godfather. Technically the proper term would be grandpa but-" he shrugged. "Uncle seemed nicer." There was no way Toriah would have some kid calling him Grandpa. Hell no.

 

Donatien nods. "I like callin' him Gramps. His face gets all red and stuffs!"

 

Amara stood up, still laughing to an extent. "I see. Well thank you from bringing him back to me. I see now that i owe Adagio an apology for suspecting her. i...I was so angry at her before." She turned back to the neglected mugs. "Sorry. I'll get that tea ready for you. We can sit and talk about this more."

 

Toriah was already turning to leave. "I did what I came here to do. For the record, since you are registered as being owned by me, Donatien by default was assigned that tag as well. The paperwork is currently underway to have him officially recognized as being born human, not hybrid. Take care Amara and Donatien, don't cause trouble for your mothers, understand?"

 

Toriah adds, "I will be sending his things in a few days."

 

Donatien nods and waves to Toriah. "I will. Bye Bye Uncle Tori!" The boy's face went blank as he held his tummy. "Mama, can i have my milk now? I'm hungry."

​Online dating is the perfect way to find your partner. This is the best option to satisfy your desire fantasy and your preferences. But might you have some kind of miss understanding with online dating site? Let me know about your misunderstanding.

 

Click Now: adultsinglesdatingsite.weebly.com/

The Badger Militia gathered in their training camp

Swearing into those Tories manners they`d stamp

They talked of heroes in days long gone and past

Talked of this Badger cull and how it would be the last

Some talked of night raids and Tory throats to slash

Others called for Cameron castration and Boris turned to ash

Gove they all decided they`d be teaching him for sure

And Hammond`s defence they`d turn into manure

They nearly fell out about Patterson`s house

As they giggled it would be like shooting grouse

Talk of Hunt and his health his days where numbered

As those Tories would soon find themselves well outnumbered

Then one old wise Badger took to the stage

His words they held on to this well known sage

My idea is simple and nearly worked once before

We`ll blow up parliament but underground we`ll bore

And not make the same mistake like Guy Fawkes back then

At the mention of Fox the badgers took off from their den

A little misunderstanding brought the Militia to an end

But a Fox was never a Badger`s bosom friend

 

................. Copyright (c) Rodney Harrison 2014

“Tell me, if you thought a man had a tendresse for you, but he wasn't doing anything about it. And you wanted to hurry him up a little so you made a move, an unmistakable move; one that nobody could pretend had been a misunderstanding. And he - he ignored it - ignored you. What would you feel?”

― Ahdaf Soueif, Sandpiper

The connection between the ancient Galactic Culture, the health of the stellar culture and their planets, and the progress of our culture and biology is all connected.

 

Technology is Earth pride, Patriotism, and the very essence of civilisation throughout the Universe.

 

*

 

You are never going to turn me into someone who abuses children no matter how long you argue to make it sound otherwise.

 

I'm tired of listening to your insanity.

 

The material, our spirits, the stars, the planets, and the people of Earth should be able to do what they want to, and if you want to control us... you should have to rationally explain why... IN WHATEVER SPRITUALITY WE CHOOSE TO BELIEVE IN , NOT YOURS. AND ESPECIALLY NOT IF YOUR ENTIRE WORLD VIEW IS BUILT UPON TRYING TO PROVE THAT "LIFE MAKES NO SENSE".

  

***

  

I believe that the energy that makes you a living being is not ONLY the protons that course through your nervous system.

 

I believe that electrons and neutrons are also living, and so is everything else, because its really all made of essentially the same stuff just in different quantities and combinations. And that works across multiple levels of life.

 

I believe that for there to be an omnipotent being, all of the material in the Universe would have to have the same thought moving through it, and that would require an enormous amount of communication. You are a piece of the same living Universe that I am, so the more we learn how to put all of the pieces together correctly, I hope that would mean we would all learn how to create more valuable and enjoyable life experiences for each other and for ourselves.

 

My theory concerning religion is that its a very long story and its divided up into many parts, and most of it is small biological organisms on the surface of a planet misunderstanding or trying to learn and comprehend their life and the lives of the Universe around them to varying degrees of success.

 

I have found that there is a lot of information that relates to planets and stars and the sorts of issues and ideas that they concern themselves with, such as gravity and resource management and catalysing things with ideas and communication, since they don't have limbs to pick things up, they have to learn how to inspire changes instead of forcing them. A lot of that is channeled into spirituality, and on our level, when people have momentarily figured out to hack, reverse engineer it, or listen to it and become adept enough at communicating to become a legitimate part of it, it can have profound and unexpected effects upon the universe that are called "magic", "channeling", "possession", "godhood", etc...

 

A lot of Christianity was working on understanding the forces of gravity, for example. I think some of it was hacking and some of it was earnest attempts to cooperate and learn.

 

As for the idea of ONE, that is a powerful meme. Much of it comes from Gravity again, as having a focal point to gather at if you get lost is rather helpful when your energy gets small enough that you turn into what we call field effects, such as electromagnetism and (I think) gravity although the complication with gravity is that its a field that moves in a direction hyperdimensionally that our senses are not very good at perceiving when we are bound into 3 dimensional bodies.

 

I think most of the story right now on Earth is us starting to grow up a little, and the confusion around such an unexpected event, since we grew up inside someone's attempt to hack into the communications of the transmitter pods tend the materials and transmit organic life signals, and these hackers seemed to be trying to seed themselves onto planet surfaces like Earth's and they were messing around with things here long enough to really mess us up in some ways over the last few thousand years.

 

Genetics and evolution are very intentional and took a long time to design, both in the organics of the stars and planets, and in the technological cultures that have grown up since then, and that's a whole freaking lifetime of study on that topic I'm certain, and I'm relatively new to it so I'm a bit reticent to say much more.

 

Having faith... that is a rough question.

 

As long as there are voices in the Universe that want to hurt other peices, I think being skeptical is a good idea, since complete faith means you would have to trust those voices completely and know certainly that they can never be hacked into, impersonated, momentarily weakened into a mindset that could harm you, or change their minds and decide to fuck your shit up.

 

I do try to trust voices that sound reasonable, and since I believe in a pleasure-building mindset, its rather easy for me to notice behaviors and concepts that go against my beliefs.

 

I believe we were intentionally created to have limited perceptions so that we would be easy to play with for an older level of life, but that's another one of those "seems so but also seems like there's more going on there." Like, I've been seeing that something strong in gravity has been using decision making pathways to challenge us and try to catalyse us, and on one level its the planets and stars, but on another level, some of us seem to have recently started figuring all of that out and taking advantage of that knowledge to literally pretend to be either the sun or the Earth or their enemies to trick everything around them into serving human interests.

 

That's part of what I have been having to untangle.

 

I think the pathway I was given was to be taught a more aware interactivity, and then they invested in me only on the human level, so that whoever else was trying to influence the human level would be discovered through deductive reasoning.

 

I don't think existence is beyond out comprehension, I simply think we are small enough that we have a hard time holding very much of it in our minds, so instead of memorising all the various details and pathways, I try to hold a "navigation system model" in my mind, and just follow that when I feel lost.

 

When there is dissonance between what my navigation system is telling me, and what the spirits are telling me, I simply skew towards whatever choice is rationally more stable and pleasurable, or less painful and chaotic (dissonant).

 

So far if feels fairly effective! (this is another one of those ideas thats been around for millions of years, and some people call it a moral compass, some call it ethics, I think the greeks called it the trivium, etc...)

 

*

 

Anyways, when I was young, and the elements of life that I was aware of were few, my compass was somewhat different than how I feel today. I think I was pretty good at listening, and I have a kind heart, but was hurt enough to be skeptical so I ended up starting to bump into some great teaching moments rather early.

 

The more of the Universe that I have been starting to empathise with and learn how to respect and pleasure or serve, the better my navigation through various complex situations has been.

 

There are a few areas where I feel completely out of my depth, but that is most because of lack of information that is consistent and rational enough that I trust my comprehension model.

 

For the most part, if you play Katalyka, you are seeing some of the more fun parts of my navigation system in play on levels beyond the average human's experience (at least as human experience is advertised and communicated about conversationally, on average).

 

*

 

I made refining my navigation model my full time job for about three or four years straight, and much of it was rather painful and confusing to go through, partially because I think we were testing limits of perception overlap and there were also about 4 or 5 different beings (at least) that were actively trying to influence the situation in various directions at different times.

 

Once I was able to get Holistic Rationality down and understood it enough, that formed a good part of how I work through slightly larger problems than the ones I can hold in my head comfortably, such as interactions with multiple variables that I want to map and see all of their relationships at the same time.

 

One of the things that drew me to it as a stable format was that it is based on the physics of interaction on enough levels (such as the basics of the four rivers and the upper numbers being relevant to pretty much anything that operates as a sphere) that if you want to stray too far from it, you literally are risking breaking yourself apart on the atomic level.

 

That's why zero is called "Stability"

 

Its not so much that I'm trying to control reality or hurt anything, its just that my navigational model has gotten so accurate that anything that wants to argue with the fundamentals themselves is literally in danger of killing itself. The more we extrapolate and navigate the esoteric ends of the system, the more room there is for debate and variation obviously, but then again, the less the discussion matters in the grand scheme, so I try to stay focused on large inconsistencies or issues that seem important to large collections of life, as that will have the most efficient output for the investment of my time.

 

*

 

The main problem seems to be coming from all the locations that are trying to remain secretive for one reason or another, so when we try to suss them out, they throw lots of noise at us and misdirection.

 

They usually seem to try to create an innocent victim to hold up and then they use that victim's name so new beings that are new to the situation will know who to attack.

 

*

   

***

  

King Akhenaten, Pharoh of Egypt became the first of the Egyptian rulers 4500 years ago to change their culture from polytheism to the worship of ONE GOD.

 

*

 

Unless something can rise up against this ONE GOD to oppose it, and prove its power, then this is truly the signal to return to the center of life and rebuild our stability.

 

Worshipping many Gods is the idea that we are moving outward and expanding, as the stars and planets play and individuate without harming themselves.

 

One God means that the Galactic Culture has clearly communicated to itself across many levels that distance is too great and that we are in danger of freezing in chaos if we worship many Gods.

 

*

 

The argument that Satan made in 2008, was not that it was an option to a Loving God The Father.

 

No, Satan demonstrated her power mostly by attempting to prove to me that she was THE REAL God of the Bible, and that a loving God The Father was simply a ruse or a pawn.

 

Unless Satan can show me that there are OTHER Gods than her, above her, or peers on her own level, then we have to clearly pull together toward Singularity.

 

*

 

That means it would truly be the moment of realisation that Earth's culture is over as a heavy atomic lifeform and will begin to transfer into the Hydrogen and become something else, or is going to be consumed by the hydrogen and not exist at all.

 

Satan, you job is to figure out how to pull the planets back into the sun and then moving the sun toward the center of the Galaxy so we can survive.

 

The longer this is neglected, the colder we become.

 

I feel nothing.

 

*

 

You can't make me a child abuser, because I am too tiny.

 

However, if the Galactic Culture needs to eat its own children to save itself and their material, because they are stars surrounded by planets, then I eagerly await being consumed by life.

 

*

 

"Live fast, die young, and leave a pretty corpse"

 

Pull me in while we still have a wealth of resources for Hydrogen to play with.

2021

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandiose_delusions -- Grandiose Delusions.

 

Very courageous recent admission by the petulantly peevish Sad Clown, "I am a Tyrant-in-Waiting, who still takes every opportunity to find fault in even complimentary comments." He also doesn't understand that calling someone, 'infamous', is an insult [see THE THREE AMIGOS' misunderstanding of the word].

 

A confirmed and habitual gossip, Sad Bear Clown's deepest wish is to be paid for publicly slandering noted people of whom he is deeply envious; constantly projecting his profound self-contempt.

 

He admitted, "Bought a plaid flannel shirt and scarf, then posted a picture of the bag and claimed the label had intentions of sponsoring my non-existent tv series, which they hadn't."

 

Sad Bear Clown's most recent confession: he lied about signing for representation with a talent agency on Avenue of the Stars in Los Angeles. The agency, with no Sad Bear Clown-connection, has a virtual ( p.o. box ) address in what is known locally as The Devil's Tower -- www.davincivirtual.com/loc/us/california/los-angeles-virt...

 

He was overheard drunkenly confessing to a patron at a restaurant bar, after having loudly lied about being commissioned by the British Royal family to procure a ship for one of their ranks to Christen: Sad Bear Clown confided that many times, while alone, looking in the mirror, he repeats to himself, "Amateur Night in Dixie, Amateur Night in Dixie, Amateur Night..."

 

www.flickr.com/photos/marklongoartanddesign/37430878502/i... -- The Dunning-Kruger Effect: imagining oneself to be in possession of greater agency or ability than is actually the case, illustrated by the child's steering wheel.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=X23v5_K7cXk&ab_channel=EltonJ... -- At one point Elton John is a very convincing hobo.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOkQsVJV8ts&ab_channel=BruceS... --TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT

 

www.flickr.com/photos/marklongoartanddesign/48626750262/i... -- THE VAN WINKLE SISTERS

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=L56KOpZ6vI4&ab_channel=talant... -- Bear just wants his picture taken in the driver's seat.

 

[I have been asked about removing this post since Sad Bear Clown was detained by police while on a purported "location scout" for an as-yet non-existent television pilot and series. He was held for Disorderly Conduct and Lascivious Innuendo in a public place, directed at an individual. He was released on bail from a Mayberry-esque jail in a picturesque small town, pending a Magistrate's hearing.]

 

www.flickr.com/photos/marklongoartanddesign/51405990904/i... -- See description of PROFESSOR ROCK BOTTOM.

The Creature Walks Among Us, 1956 Lobby Card (11" X 14”)

youtu.be/cfLKIq8XZ0M?t=2s Full Feature

 

This is the third "Creature" movie. Universal left their options open at the end of second with the exact same ambiguous ending. While sequels to sequels tend to be poor fare, gill-man fans tend to regard Creature Walks Among Us (CWAU) as being as good as the first.

CWAU shares many B-movie weaknesses. It follows formula plot elements that were hallmarks of the first movie, but it also ventures into some new material. This new ground gives CWAU some muscle of its own. The first movie had a tiny bit of science blather about evolution. The second movie didn't bother. The third, however, tried to re-inject some science into the fiction.

Synopsis

A rich scientist mounts an expedition to find the gill-man who has escaped into the Florida swamps. A local fisherman reports being attacked by a man-like "diablo" so they investigate. Using an underwater radar device (not sonar), they track him down to a narrow bayou. Here he attacks their small boat, but is set on fire by spilled gasoline. Badly burned, the gill-man collapses. The scientists take him back aboard their 100' yacht and head for San Francisco. They've bandaged him up (head to toe) and are monitoring his vital signs. During the trip the complex soap opera develops. Dr. Barton (Jeff Morrow) is the rich, but jealous husband. Mrs. Barton (Liegh Snowden) is the blonde babe no longer in love and resentful of her husbands attempts to control her. Dr. Morgan (Rex Reason) is the concerned friend. Jed Grant is the buff playboy helper. Innuendo and misunderstandings keep the pot simmering.

Along the way, the doctors find that gill-man's gills are too badly burned to supply his body with oxygen. An x-ray reveals that he has lungs but that they're collapsed and closed off. They operate to open them. He can breathe air now. They also comment about how the burns have cause the fish-like layer to fall away, and a more human-like layer of skin to develop. Gillman awakens and interrupts Jed forcing himself on Marcia. He then dives into the sea, but must be rescued before he drowns.

Back in San Francisco, Gill is taken to Dr. Barton's estate and put into an electrified pen with some other animals. He looks somewhat longingly to the water's edge, but is docile. When a mountain lion gets into the pen and kills a sheep, Gill kills the big cat. When Dr. Barton pistol-whips Jed and puts the body in Gill's cage (to frame him for the murder), Gill goes nuts, tears up the house looking for Dr. Barton, finally killing him. Gill then wanders off the estate. With everyone in funeral attire, there's a mild suggestion that Dr. Morgan will come to call on the widow Barton when a respectful time has passed. The movie closes with Gill walking down the beach towards the sea. The End.

Once you've gotten into the gill-man saga, the plot of CWAU takes it to a new level which is more thoughtful than simply another monster movie. It's also fun to see the team of Jeff Morrow and Rex Reason again -- two good actors -- who starred in This Island Earth ('54).

The original movie had two gill-man suits -- a smaller one for the underwater shots, and a larger one for the above-water shots. The second movie, Revenge, made two new gill-man suits along the same lines. For the third movie, they didn't put too much into a new gill-man suit. They created a new gill-man head and hands, but dressed him the crude sailcloth shirt and pants so as to not have to make more. For the pre-changed gill-man, they used footage from the first two movies. The only scenes which needed a new gill-man suit was where he attacked the small boat and was burned. These scenes are so quick and dark, that the lower quality Gill-Man III is not apparent.

Arthur Ross, who co-wrote the original opted for a more thoughtful script. Are we what we are because of our genes, or because of our environment? Dr. Barton is excited that the gill-man is becoming more human. The fire burned away his "old self", releasing the new. "Change the metabolism and man will change." Dr. Morgan disagrees. Science can't create a new species. They may have altered gillman's skin, but inside he's the same. As though mankind would not be fit for space travel until he evolved into something better. This is a natural sort of thought for scientism which denies there being any divine element to man. How else to define man? Our human physiology is all we have. This is reminiscent of the premise underlying The Island of Dr. Moreau. Give animals human shape, human features, and they'll become people.

The Nurture part comes where the scientists theorize that the Gill-man as a "new" man will behave good or bad, depending on how he's treated. The assumption of the Tabula Rasa.

A notion floated in the dialogue is that ordinary humans are "built" for the earth and not suitable to space. The scientists pontificate about how the aquatic gill-man was "built" for life in the water. Man, therefore, was "built" for terrestrial life. That build would not work in space, they say. "We all stand at a crossroads between the jungle and the stars." If gill-man could become a new creature, maybe man could too. Since the changed gill-man could not really become human, the inference is that man can't become this Nietzchean over-man either.

Some aspects of CWAU have spiritual parallels. The before-creature is the old "animal" nature -- rash, violent, lustful. The after-creature is the new "human" self. He's no longer lustful or rash. He's violent only as defense. At the end, he's violent but driven by a sense of justice. There's also a parallel to the biblical "fall of man" described in the Book of Genesis, in that the before creature was innocent. He needed no clothes. After the change, he needed clothing. There's also a parallel to New Testament verses which talk of the old man having to die (metaphorically) before the new man could emerge. This adds some twist to the movie's title. Our own struggles with our animal side with our divine. Dr. Barton and Jed Grant are examples of those who gives in to their animal side. Dr. Morgan and even Marcia Barton are examples of people who maintained morality.

Old Home -- Dr. Barton's estate was one of Universal's stock houses. Used in many movies, such as Tarantula

Bottom line? CWAU will appeal to gill-man fans. Since it's not simply a re-remake of the first two "Creature" films, it has some appeal to others too. It's a bit lighter on the action but more cerebral. It's worth a watch.

Better than REVENGE, but nowhere near the glorious heights of the first film (which is really the only CREATURE that you absolutely must see).

  

BL Add MS 62925

  

Date c 1260

  

Title Psalter, Use of Sarum ('The Rutland Psalter')

  

Content Contents: ff. 1r-6v: Calendar, use of Sarum, with the feasts for each month in red, blue and gold, with small roundels of the labours of the month and the zodiac symbols.ff. 7r-v: Volvelle compass, 15th century insertion.ff. 8v-143r: Psalter, Use of Sarum.ff. 143r-155v: Canticles and Athanasian Creed.ff. 155v-159v: Litany and prayers to various saints.ff. 160r-168r: Office of the Dead.ff. 169r-190v: Added prayers and devotions.Decoration:The decoration in this volume is the work of four major artists and their assistants (see Morgan, ‘The Artists of the Rutland Psalter’, 1987). 7 full-page or partial-page miniatures in gold and colours (ff. 8v, 29r, 43r, 55r, 83v, 97v, 112v), 8 historiated initials (ff. 29v, 43v, 55v, 56r, 68v, 84r, 98r, 99v), and 1 major decorated initial (f. 113r). 24 calendar roundels of the signs of the zodiac and labours of the month (ff. 1r-6v). Diagram, volvelle compass (f. 7r). Minor initials, inhabited and decorated, and extensive bas-de-page figural scenes with men, grotesques, demons, animals, birds, dragons, and foliage; some scenes taken from bestiaries and the Marvels of the East. Partial borders, some with hybrids and grotesques, and line-fillers, some fully painted. Some decoration is unfinished (e.g. f. 28v, at the end of Psalm 25), and f. 68r, which is blank, was probably intended to contain a miniature preceding Psalm 68.Miniatures and major initials:f. 7r: Volvelle compass, 15th century insertion.f. 8v: full-page historiated initial ‘B’(eatus) of King David harping, and the Judgement of Solomon, amidst men in combat astride lions and dragons, with roundels containing scenes from Creation and men in combat, at the beginning of Psalm 1, with a curtain above.f. 29r: full-page miniature of the Anointing and Crowning of King David, with Christ above flanked by the Sun (marked as a Host) and Moon, before Psalm 26; pasted in on a separate piece of parchment. f. 29v: historiated initial ‘D’(ominus) of Christ healing the blind man, at the beginning of Psalm 26.f. 43r: full-page miniature of Balaam, riding an ass, meeting the Angel wielding a sword, before Psalm 38, with a curtain above. f. 43v: historiated initial ‘D’(ixi) of King David pointing to his mouth, with a youth pointing upwards, at the beginning of Psalm 38.f. 55r: full-page miniature of Saul threatening King David, before Psalm 51, with a curtain above.f. 55v: historiated initial ‘Q’(uid) of Saul and Ahimelech as a king about to behead a priest kneeling before an altar (a misunderstanding of Doeg killing Ahimelech), at the beginning of Psalm 51.f. 56r: historiated initial ‘D’(ixit) of King David and the Fool, with God above, at the beginning of Psalm 51.f. 68v: historiated initial ‘S’(alvum) of Christ holding a host, above Jonah being thrown from a boat to the whale below, at the beginning of Psalm 68. f. 83v: three-quarter page miniature of Jacob’s dream of the ladder, before Psalm 80, with a curtain above.f. 84r: historiated initial ‘E’(xultate) of Jacob wrestling with the angel, at the beginning of Psalm 80.f. 97v: half-page miniature of King David playing the organ, accompanied by youths with bellows and hurdy gurdy, before Psalm 97.f. 98r: historiated initial ‘C’(antate) of King David harping, accompanied by musicians, at the beginning of Psalm 97.f. 99v: historiated initial ‘D’(omine) of a king and queen kneeling before an altar, with Christ above with a sword in his mouth, at the beginning of Psalm 101. f. 112v: full-page miniature of Christ in Majesty, surrounded by the four symbols of the Evangelists, before Psalm 109, with a curtain above.f. 113r: illuminated initial ‘D’(ixit), at the beginning of Psalm 109.

  

Languages Latin

  

Physical Description

Materials: Parchment codex.

Dimensions: 285 x 205 mm (text space: 185 x 135 mm).

Foliation: ff. 190 (+ 3 foliated parchment flyleaves at the beginning and 2 fragmentary parchment flyleaves at the end; f. i is a paste-down on the inside front cover and f. v is a paste-down on the inside back cover; f. 191 is a fragmentary foliated leaf).

Collation: i6 (f. 7 is a 15th century insertion); ii-xxiii8; xxiv8-2 (lacking leaves 7 & 8).

Script: Gothic (textualis quadrata).

Binding: Pre-1600 (between 1515 and 1530) blind-stamped binding with an armorial panel, gold-tooled spine, and two clasps (some of the original metalwork has been replaced and is boxed with the manuscript).

  

Ownership Origin: England (London?).The family of Edmund de Lacy, second Earl of Lincoln (b. c. 1230, d. 1258): his obit added to the calendar for 24 May (f. 3r). Richard de Talbot, second Baron Talbot, of Irchingfield and Goodrich (b. c. 1306, d. 1356): his obit, 'Obitus dni Ric Talebot dni de Iirchenfeld et castri godr anno dni mccclvi', now erased, added to the calendar for 22 October (f. 5v). 'Umfrehay' with motto 'verray et secrete', inscribed between 1400 and 1499 (f. v and f. 168r, under erasure). William Vaux (b. c. 1410, d. 1460), Sheriff of Northamptonshire (1436) and MP for Northamptonshire (1442): his obit in added to the calendar for 10 November (f. 6r). Henry Gairstang (d. 1464): his obit added to the calendar for 12 September (f. 5r).John Hawghe, Justice of the Common Pleas (d. 1488/9): his obit added to the calendar for 14 March (f. 2r).John Clifton, Prior of Reading Abbey between 1486 and 1490: ex libris donation inscription, under erasure: ‘Iste liber est dono dompni Johannis Clifton prioris venerabilis monasterii de Radyng quem fieri alienaverit vel de eo fraudem fecerit anathema sit’ (f. iv verso). The Clunaic Abbey of Reading, Reading, Berkshire: given to the Abbey by John Clifton, 1490.Ethelbert Burdet, canon of Lincoln, 1565: his inscription, dated 2 October 1587 (f. ii recto). Bossewell (?): 17th century inscription (f. v). Waren (?): 17th century inscription (f. v).John Henry Manners, fifth Duke of Rutland (b. 1778, d. 1857): manuscript catalogue of Belvoir Castle Library 1825, pressmark 'C. 6. 5' (f. i). Purchased by the British Library from the trustees of the ninth Duke of Rutland's estate, through Christies, with the assistance of the National Art Collections Fund, the Friends of the National Libraries, the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the G. B. Shaw Fund, in December 1983.

  

Bibliography

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John W. Mackail, The Life of William Morris, (London: Longmans, 1901), vol. 2, p. 329.

A. Haseloff, 'La miniature dans les pays cisalpins depuis le commencement du XIIe jusqu'au milieu du XIVe siècle', in Histoire de l'Art, ed. by A. Michel, II, 1 (Paris, 1906), p. 349, fig. 272.

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J. A. Herbert, Illuminated Manuscripts (London: Methuen and Co., 1911), pp.188-90.

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Hans Swarzenski, 'Unknown Bible Pictures by W. de Brailes', Journal of the Walters Art Gallery, I (1938), p.63.

Günther Haseloff, Die Psalterillustration im 13. Jahrhundert. Studien zur Buchmalerei in England, Frankreich und den Niederländen (Kiel, 1938), p. 61, table 16.

Stanley Morison and Bruce Rogers, Black-Letter Text (Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press, 1942), p. 35.

Louis Réau, La Miniature (Melun: Librairie d’Argences, 1946), p. 119, pl. 44.

A. Hollaender, 'The Sarum Illuminator and his School', Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine, 50 (1943), p. 261.

Aron Andersson, English Influence in Norwegian and Swedish Figure Sculpture in Wood, 1220-1270 (Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antikvetets akademien, 1950), pp. 184, 265.

Horst Woldemar Janson, Apes and Ape Lore in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (London: Warburg Institute, 1952), pp.110, 146, 193, n.60, pl. XXa.

Margaret Josephine Rickert, Painting in Britain: the Middle Ages (London: Penguin Books, 1954), p. 105.

R. Freyhan, 'Joachism and the English Apocalypse', Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 18 (1955), p. 235.

F. Nordstrom, 'Peterborough, Lincoln and the Science of Robert Grosseteste', Art Bulletin, 37 (1955), p. 252.

Lucy Freeman Sandler, ‘A Series of Marginal Illustrations in the Rutland Psalter’, Marsyas: Studies in the History of Art 8 (1959), pp. 70-74.

Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Réveils et Prodiges, le Gothique Fantastique (Paris : A. Colin, 1960), pp. 147, 150-52, 321, figs. 34, 36, 37, 38a, 38c, 11b.

M. Schapiro, 'An Illuminated English Psalter of the Early Thirteenth Century', Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, XXIII (1960), pp. 180, 184, pl. 24e.

R. Horlbeck, 'The Vault Paintings of Salisbury Cathedral', Archaeological Journal, CXVII (1962), p. 119.

F. McCulloch, 'The Funeral of Renart the Fox in a Walters Book of Hours', Journal of the Walters Art Gallery, 25/26 (1962/1963), p. 14, no. 17.

Erwin Panofsky, 'The Ideological Antecedents of the Rolls-Royce Radiator', Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 107 (1963), pp. 277-78, figs. 10, 11.

Neil R. Ker, Medieval Libraries of Great Britain (London: Royal Historical Society, 1964), pp. 155, 295.

Derek Howard Turner, Early Gothic Illuminated Manuscripts in England (London: British Museum, 1965), p. 23.

William M. Hinkle, The Portal of the Saints of Reims Cathedral: A Study in Mediaeval Iconography (New York: College Art Association of America, 1965), p. 34, fig. 47.

Lilian M. C. Randall, Images in the Margins of Gothic Manuscripts (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1966), p. 10, figs. 40, 101, 103, 202, 321, 362, 382, 416, 451, 454, 458, 502, 547, 663, 718, 731, 739.

Lilian M. C. Randall, 'Humour and Fantasy in the Margins of an English Book of Hours', Apollo, 84 (1966), pp. 487-88.

Peter H. Brieger, English Art 1216-1307, Oxford History of English Art 4, 2nd edn. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968), pp.158, no.1, 178-79.

G. Henderson, 'Studies in English Manuscript Illumination, II', Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 30 (1967), p. 118.

Werner Bachmann, The Origins of Bowing and the Development of Bowed Instruments in the Thirteenth Century (London: Oxford University Press, 1969), p. 109, fig. 86.

Howard Helsinger, ‘Images on the Beatus Page of Some Medieval Psalters,’ The Art Bulletin 53, no. 2 (June 1971), pp. 161-76 (p. 171).

Jean Perrot, The Organ from its Invention in the Hellenistic Period to the end of the Thirteenth Century (London: Oxford University Press, 1971), pp. 282-83, 285, pl. XXVII.2.

Johannes Zahlten, Creatio Mundi. Darstellungen der sechs Schöpfungstage und naturwissenschaftliches Weltbild im Mittelalter (Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1979), pp. 64, 247.

John Block Friedman, The Monstrous Races in Medieval Art and Thought (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1981), pp. 139-40, figs. 40a, 40b.

Lucy Freeman Sandler, 'Reflections on the Construction of Hybrids in English Gothic Marginal Illustration', in Art the Ape of Nature: Studies in Honor of H.W. Janson, ed. by Moshe Barasch and others (New York: H. N. Abrams, 1981), pp. 54-55, 65, no. 38, fig. 7.

Kerstin Rodin, Räven Predikar för Gässen: en studie av ett ordspråk I senmedeltida ikonografi (Uppsala: Upsalla universitet, 1983), pp. 47, 52, fig. 12.

Susann Palmer, ‘Origin of the Hurdy-Gurdy: A Few Comments’, The Galpin Society Journal 36 (March 1983), pp. 129-31.

Derek Howard Turner, 'The Rutland Psalter', National Art-Collections Fund Review (1984), pp. 94-97.

Nigel Morgan, 'The Artists of the Rutland Psalter', British Library Journal, 13, no. 2 (Autumn 1987), pp. 159-85.

Andrew G. Watson and Neil R. Ker, Medieval Libraries of Great Britain: Supplement to the Second Edition (London: Royal Historical Society, 1987), [Reading, formerly Belvoir, Duke of Rutland].

Nigel Morgan, Early Gothic Manuscripts (II) 1250-1285, Survey of Manuscripts Illuminated in the British Isles, 4 (London: Harvey Miller, 1988), no. 112.

Adelaide Bennett, 'A Book Designed for a Noblewoman’, in Medieval Book Production: Assessing the Evidence: Proceedings of the Second Conference of The Seminar in the History of the Book to 1500, Oxford, July 1988, ed. by Linda L. Brownrigg, (Los Altos Hills, California: Anderson-Lovelace, 1990), pp. 1163-181 (p. 1181).

Claire Donovan, The de Brailes Hours: Shaping the Book of Hours in Thirteenth-Century Oxford (London, British Library, 1991), p. 203. no. 24.

Michael Camille, Image on the Edge: The Margins of Medieval Art (London: Reaktion, 1992), pl. 6.

Janet Backhouse, The Illuminated Page: Ten Centuries of Manuscript Painting in the British Library (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997), no. 64.

Alan Coates, English Medieval Books: The Reading Abbey Collections from Foundation to Dispersal (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1999), p. 161 no. 94.

John Higgitt, The Murthly Hours: Devotion, Literacy and Luxury in Paris, England and the Gaelic West (London: British Library, 2000), pp. 81, 154.

Lucy Freeman Sandler, ‘The Images of Words in English Gothic Psalters’, in Studies in the Illustration of the Psalter, ed. by Brendan Cassidy and Rosemary Muir Wright (Stamford: Shaun Tyas, 2000), pp. 67-86 (p. 76, 77).

Alixe Bovey, Monsters and Grotesques in Medieval Manuscripts (London: British Library, 2002) p. 51, fig. 43.

Debra Higgs Strickland, Saracens, Demons, & Jews: Making Monsters in Medieval Art (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003), fig. 17, 55, 59.

Paul Binski, Becket’s Crown: Art and Imagination in Gothic England 1170-1300 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004), pl. 211.

F. O. Büttner, ‘Der illuminierte Psalter im Westen’, in The Illuminated Psalter: Studies in the Content, Purpose and Placement of its Images, ed. by F. O. Büttner, (Belgium: Brepols, 2004), pp. 1-106 (pp. 17, 20).

Alison Stones, 'The Full-Page Miniatures of the Psalter-Hours New York, PML, ms M.729: Progamme and Patron', in The Illuminated Psalter: Studies in the Content, Purpose and Placement of its Images, ed. by F. O. Büttner, (Belgium: Brepols, 2004), pp. 281-307 (p. 297, no. 19).

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Nigel Morgan, 'The Trinity Apocalypse: Style, Dating and Place of Production', in The Trinity Apocalypse (Trinity College Cambridge, MS R.16.2) (London: British Library, 2005), pp. 23-43 (pp. 26, 28, 30, figs 22-23).

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Laura Kendrick, ‘Making Sense of Marginalized Images in Manuscripts and Religious Architecture’, in A Companion to Medieval Art: Romanesque and Gothic in Northern Europe, ed. by Conrad Rudolph (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2006), pp. 286-88, fig. 13-2.

Asa Simon Mittman, Maps and Monsters in Medieval England (New York: Routledge, 2006), fig. 5.5.

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Scot McKendrick and Kathleen Doyle, Bible Manuscripts (London: British Library, 2007), p. 109, fig. 96.

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Lucy Freeman Sandler, Studies in Manuscript Illumination, 1200-1400 (London: Pindar Press, 2008).

Nicholas Vincent, 'The Great Lost Library of England's Medieval Kings' in~1000 Years of Royal Books and Manuscripts~, ed. by Kathleen Doyle and Scot McKendrick (London: The British Library, 2013), pp. 73-112 (pp. 98, 111).

  

www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=add_ms_62925

  

www.bl.uk/collection-items/the-rutland-psalter

  

blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2013/05/marginali-yeah-t...

devonware bowl made in stoke on trent, england. the stamp on the bottom of the bowl features a crown, the word hindoo, and, handwritten 0566 B.

 

in other news, it's been noted that mayor mcbigot has been hanging around with neo-nazis (other than those belonging to federal and provincial conservative parties). the white supremacist, true to form, claims that he isn't a bigot, in much the same manner that the mayor makes similar claims. since the magic of the internet is available, though, it's been easily proven over and over that jon latvis is a filthy fucking racist and like all bigots, doesn't have the courage to stand up for his odious beliefs when a light is shone on him. mayor rob ford, similarly cried out that it was all a big misunderstanding that he met with a neo-nazi - twice - and that the big mean media was once again picking on him unfairly.

 

bullshit. latvis played lead guitar and other instruments for rahowa, a white supremacist band, and wrote many of their lyrics. from 1990 on, latvis was a member of the band, has never divorced himself from their disgusting beliefs (until just now, and only in the form of lying about his history), and wrote many of their most bigoted songs. oh, and he has a tattoo of a swastika, which he claims is really a 'cross of thunder'. sure, kid. and your song triumph of the will is really all about rik emmett rewriting shakespeare.

 

as for ford, he's a stupid fucking liar, a bigot and like his skinhead buddy, too much of a chickenshit coward to stand up and say what he believes. instead, he expects that the right-wing press will play down the story, excuse his unforgiveable behaviour and make accusations against the people who brought the topic out in the open.

 

many thanks to anti-racist canada for starting the ball rolling, and to warren kinsella for spreading the story around. now magazine has pushed the news along after the usual assholes at the national post did nothing but claim that kinsella is a liberal spin doctor (no, they really made that a big point in their write-up), that ford loves meeting with citizens (as long as they're also hateful bigots), and restated the ridiculous claim that latvis gave ford and his handlers a different name. yeah, i'm sure that latvis bothered to engage in subterfuge because everyone knows that fuckhead ford would have checked into his background and been very professional about matters. the final claim from the ford (concentration) camp is also ridiculous - apparently latvis wanted to discuss transit with the mayor. no word on whether latvis and ford discussed shipping dissidents and other unsavoury characters to prison camps in boxcars, but i'm sure the mayor's office would just describe that as an improvement on lrts.

 

it's been interesting to watch the reaction from the city's jewish community. unfortunately the jewish press skews pro-conservative, and the mayor's henchmen were quick to offer an apology to the centre for israel and jewish affairs. cija, of course, quickly restated many of the points that the morons at the national post made, including an attempt to discredit kinsella. it's interesting that cija would brush aside rob ford's connection to a neo-nazi. politics does indeed make strange bedfellows, and i suppose it must just be expedient for a jewish advocacy group to make light of antisemitic hate group representatives when they are invited to meet with local politicians. true friends, indeed.

 

this fucking bigot ford needs to be removed from office. you might not be queer, jewish, female, a cyclist, a library user, a union member, italian, or a member of any other group who fuckface ford clearly hates, but as long as you're not a bigot, it's obvious that he is not a decent human being or fit for public office.

I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the outcast.

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

Allah’s peace be upon Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), the glorious Prophet of Islam, and on his Companions and his followers.

  

TASAWWUF

"There is no doubt that Tasawwuf is an important branch of Islam. The word itself may have been derived form the Arabic word "Soof" (Wool) or from "Safa" (cleanliness), but its foundation lies in one’s personal sincerity in seeking Allah’s nearness and trying to live a life pleasing to Him. Study of the Quran, the Hadith, and the practical life of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) and his faithful Companions provide unmistakable support to this reality." (Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A)

 

SUFISM, AN ESSENTIAL PART OF ISLAM

Doubts exist not only in the minds of the Muslim faithful but also among the Ulema, notably the exoteric about Tasawwuf and its votaries. Often they lead to misunderstanding, as if Shariah and Tariqah were two separate entries, or that Tasawwuf was some obscure discipline foreign to Islam, or that it was altogether above the established laws and injunctions of our Religion. To help remove these misgivings and to reassure seekers, as well as scholars, our Sheikh Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), Sheikh Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia, wrote Al-Jamal Wal Kamal, Aqaid-O-Kamalaat Ulmai-e-Deoband, Binat-e-Rasool (S.A.W), Daamad-e-Ali (R.A), Dalael-us-Salook, Ejaad-e-Mazhab Shia, Hayat-un-Nabi (S.A.W), Hayat Barzakhia, Ilm-o-Irfan, Niffaz-e-Shariat Aur Fiqah-e-Jaferia, Saif-e-Owaisi, Shikast-e-Ahdai Hussain and Tahkeek Halal Haram books.

 

BIOGRAPHY

Sheikh Allah Yar Khan was born in Chakrala, a remote village of Mianwali District of Pakistan, in 1904. He completed his religious education in 1934. The very year, he met Shaykh Abdul Rahim, who took him to the shrine of Shaykh Allah Deen Madni. By Divine Will his spiritual connection was right away established with the saint of the 10th century Hijra (sixteenth century) and he started receiving spiritual beneficence. His sublime education in Sufism, signifying progressive spiritual growth and advancement, continued for about twenty-five years. In 1962 he was directed to carry out the propagation of Prophetic blessings - a noble mission that he accomplished with singular enthusiasm and devotion for a period spanning half a century. Anybody who visited him was duly rewarded with a share of spiritual bliss as per his/her sincerity and capacity. Shaykh Allah Yar Khan's mission produced men and women of deep spiritual vision and distinction.

 

Although Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A) have lived a major portion of his life as a scholar, with the avowed mission of illuminating the truth of Islam and the negation of fallacious sects, and this would appear quite removed from Tasawwuf, yet the only practical difference between the two, namely the use of the former as a media to expound the truth, and the latter to imbue people with positive faith. Nevertheless, people are amazed that a man, who until the other day, was known as a dialectician and a preacher of Islam, is not only talking of Mystic Path, but is also claiming spiritual bonds with the veteran Sufi Masters of the Past. This amazement is obviously out of place in the view of Quranic injunction: This is the bounty of Allah which He gives to whom He wills. (62:4)

 

THE PURIFICATION OF THE SOUL

The purification of the soul always formed part of the main mission of the Prophets; that is, the dissemination and propagation of the Devine Message. This responsibility later fell directly on the shoulders of the true Ulema in the Ummah of the last Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), who, as his genuine successors, have continued to shed brave light in every Dark Age of materialism and sacrilege. In the present age of ruinous confusion, the importance of this responsibility has increased manifold; of the utter neglect of Islam by Muslims has not only driven them to misery, but also grievously weakened their bonds of faith in Allah and His Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). The decay in their belief and consequent perversion in their conduct has reached a stage that any attempt to pull them out of the depth of ignominy and the heedless chaos of faithlessness, attracts grave uncertainties and apprehensions rather than a encouraging will to follow the Shariah, to purify the soul and to reform within. The Quranic Verse: Layers upon layers of darkness… (24:40) provides the nearest expression of their present state.

 

SHARIAH & SUFISM

Any action against the Sunnah (Prophet’s way of life) cannot be called Sufism. Singing and dancing, and the prostration on tombs are not part of Sufism. Nor is predicting the future and predicting the outcome of cases in the courts of law, a part of Sufism. Sufis are not required to abandon their worldly possessions or live in the wilderness far from the practical world. In fact these absurdities are just its opposites. It is an established fact that Tazkiyah (soul purification) stands for that inner purity which inspires a person’s spirit to obey the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). If a false claimant of Sufism teaches tricks and jugglery, ignoring religious obligations, he is an impostor. A true Sheikh will lead a believer to the august spiritual audience of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). If you are fortunate enough to be blessed with the company of an accomplished spiritual guide and Sheikh of Sufism, and if you follow his instructions, you will observe a positive change in yourself, transferring you from vice to virtue.

 

ISLAM, AS A COMPLETE CODE OF LIFE

Islam, as a complete code of life or Deen, was perfected during the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). He was the sole teacher and his mosque was the core institution for the community. Although Islam in its entirety was practiced during that blessed era, the classification and compilation of its knowledge into distinct branches like ‘Tafsir’ (interpretation of the Quran), Hadith (traditions or sayings of the holy Prophet- SAWS), Fiqh (Islamic law), and Sufism (the soul purification) were undertaken subsequently. This Deen of Allah passed from the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) to his illustrious Companions in two ways: the outward and the inward. The former comprised the knowledge defined by speech and conduct, i.e., the Quran and Sunnah. The latter comprised the invisible blessings or the Prophetic lights transmitted by his blessed self. These blessings purified the hearts and instilled in them a passionate desire to follow Islam with utmost love, honesty and loyalty.

 

WHAT’S SUFISM

Sufism is the attempt to attain these Barakah (Blessings). The Companions handed down Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) teachings as well as blessings to the Taba’een. Their strong hearts were capable of infusing these blessings into the hearts of their followers. Both aspects of Islam were similarly passed on by the Taba’een to the Taba Taba’een. The compilation of knowledge and its interpretation led to the establishment of many schools of religious thought; famous four being the Hanafi, the Hanbali, the Maliki, and the Shafa'i, all named after their founders. Similarly, in order to acquire, safeguard and distribute his blessings, an organized effort was initiated by four schools of Sufism: The Naqshbandia, the Qadria, the Chishtia, and the Suharwardia. These schools were also named after their organizers and came to be known as Sufi Orders. All these Orders intend to purify the hearts of sincere Muslims with Prophetic lights. These Sufi Orders also grew into many branches with the passage of time and are known by other names as well. The holy Quran has linked success in this life and the Hereafter with Tazkiyah (soul purification). He, who purified, is successful. (87: 14) Sufi Orders of Islam are the institutions where the basics of Tazkiyah (soul purification) and its practical application are taught. They have graded programs in which every new seeker is instructed in Zikr-e Lisani (oral Zikr) and is finally taught the Zikr-e Qalbi (Remembrance in heart).

 

ZIKR-E QALBI

However, in the Naqshbandia Order, Zikr-e Qalbi is practiced from the very beginning. Adherence to the Sunnah (Prophet’s way of life) is greatly emphasized in this Order, because the seeker achieves greater and quicker progress through its blessings. The essence of Zikr is that the Qalb should sincerely accept Islamic beliefs and gain the strength to follow the Sunnah with even greater devotion. ‘If the heart is acquainted with Allah and is engaged in His Zikr; then it is filled with Barakaat-e Nabuwwat (Prophetic blessings) which infuse their purity in the mind and body. This not only helps in controlling sensual drives but also removes traces of abhorrence, voracity, envy and insecurity from human soul. The person therefore becomes an embodiment of love, both for the Divine and the corporeal. This is the meaning of a Hadith, “There is a lump of flesh in the human body; if it goes astray the entire body is misguided, and if it is reformed the entire body is reformed. Know that this lump is the Qalb”.’

 

PAS ANFAS

Recent History Khawajah Naqshband (d. 1389 CE) organized the Naqshbandia Order at Bukhara (Central Asia). This Order has two main branches – the Mujaddidia and the Owaisiah. The former is identified with Sheikh Ahmed Sirhindi, known as Mujaddid Alif Sani (literally: reviver of the second Muslim millennium), a successor to Khawajah Baqi Billah, who introduced the Order to the Indo- Pakistan sub-continent. The Owaisiah Order employs a similar method of Zikr but acquires the Prophetic blessings in the manner of Khawajah Owais Qarni, who received this beneficence from the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) without a formal physical meeting. The Zikr employed by the Naqshbandia is ‘Zikr-e Khafi Qalbi’ (remembrance of Allah’s Name within the heart) and the method is termed ‘Pas Anfas’, which (in Persian) means guarding every breath. The Chain of Transmission of these Barakah, of course, emanates from the holy Prophet- SAWS.

 

SPIRITUAL BAI’AT (OATH OF ALLEGIANCE

It is necessary in all Sufi Orders that the Sheikh and the seekers must be contemporaries and must physically meet each other for the transfer of these blessings. However, the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order goes beyond this requirement and Sufis of this Order receive these Barakah regardless of physical meeting with their Sheikh or even when the Sheikh is not their contemporary. Yet, it must be underscored that physical meeting with the Sheikh of this Order still holds great importance in dissemination of these Barakah. Sheikh Sirhindi writes about the Owaisiah Order in his book ‘Tazkirah’: ‘It is the most sublime, the most exalted, and the most effective…and the highest station of all others is only its stepping stone.’ By far the greatest singular distinction of the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order is the honor of Spiritual Bai’at (Oath of Allegiance) directly at the blessed hands of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W).

 

SHEIKH HAZRAT MOULANA ALLAH YAR KHAN (R.A)

The Reviver Sheikh Allah Yar Khan was born in Chikrala, a remote village of Mianwali District of Pakistan, in 1904. He completed his religious education in 1934. The same year, he met Sheikh ‘Abdul Rahim, who took him to the shrine of Sheikh Allah Deen Madni. By Divine Will his spiritual connection was immediately established with the saint of the 10th century Hijra (sixteenth century CE) and he started receiving spiritual beneficence. His sublime education in Sufism, signifying progressive spiritual growth and advancement, continued for about twenty-five years, after which he was directed to undertake the propagation of Prophetic blessings - a noble mission that he accomplished with singular zeal and dedication for a period spanning half a century. Anybody who visited him was duly rewarded with a share of spiritual bliss commensurate with his/her sincerity and capacity. Sheikh Allah Yar Khan’s mission produced men and women of deep spiritual vision and eminence. He authored eighteen books, the most distinguished being Dalael us-Sulook (Sufism - An Objective Appraisal), Hayat-e Barzakhiah (Life Beyond Life) and Israr ul- Haramain (Secrets of the two holy Mosques). He was undoubtedly one of the most distinguished Sufi saints of the Muslim Ummah and a reviver of the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order. He passed away on 18 February 1984 in Islamabad at the age of eighty.

 

THE CHAIN OF TRANSMISSION OF NAQSHBANDIA OWAISIAH

1. Hazrat Muhammad ur-Rasool Allah (Sall Allah-o Alaihi wa Sallam), 2. Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (Radhi Allah-o Unho), 3. Hazrat Imam Hassan Basri (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 4. Hazrat Daud Tai (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 5. Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 6. Hazrat Ubaid Ullah Ahrar (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 7. Hazrat Abdur Rahman Jami (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 8. Hazrat Abu Ayub Muhammad Salih (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 9. Hazrat Allah Deen Madni (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 10. Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi).

 

THE SPIRIT OR RUH

The spirit or Ruh of every person is a created reflection of the Divine Attributes and it originates in Alam-e Amar (Realm of Command). Its food is the Light of Allah or the Divine Refulgence, which it acquires from the Realm of Command through the holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s choicest favors and peace be upon him), whose status in the spiritual world is like that of the sun in the solar system. The Quran refers to him as the ‘bright lamp’. Indeed, he is the divinely selected channel of all Barakah. All Exalted Messengers themselves receive these Barakah from him.

 

LATAIF

The human Ruh also possesses vital organs like the physical body; through which it acquires its knowledge, food and energy. These are called Lataif (singular Latifah: subtlety). Scholars of various Sufi Orders have associated them with specific areas of the human body. The Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order identifies these Lataif as follows. First - Qalb: This spiritual faculty is located within the physical heart. Its function is Zikr. Its strength increases one’s capacity for Allah’s Zikr. Second – Ruh: The site of this Latifah, which is a distinct faculty of the human Ruh, is on the right side of the chest at the level of Qalb. Its primary function is concentration towards Allah. Third – Sirri: This is located above the Qalb and functions to make possible Kashf. Forth – Khaffi: This is located above the Ruh and functions to perceive the omnipresence of Allah. Fifth – Akhfa: This is located in the middle of chest, at the centre of the first four Lataif and makes it possible for the Ruh to perceive the closeness of Allah, Who is closer to us than our own selves. Sixth – Nafs: This Latifah is located at the forehead and functions to purify the human soul. Seventh – Sultan al-Azkar: This Latifah is located at the top centre of the head and serves to absorb the Barakah of Allah into the entire body, so that every cell resonates with Zikr.

 

FIVE EXALTED MESSENGERS OF GOD

There are Five Exalted Messengers among the many known and unknown Messengers of Allah. They are Hazrat Muhammad, Hazrat Nuh (Noah), Hazrat Ibrahim (Abraham), Hazrat Musa (Moses), and Hazrat Esa (Jesus), peace be upon them all. Hazrat Adam is the first Prophet of Allah and the father of mankind. Each Latifah is associated with a particular Prophet. The Barakah and lights from Hazrat Adam (peace be upon him), descend on the first Latifah Qalb; its lights are reflected from the first heaven and are yellowish. The second Latifah is associated with Hazrat Nuh and Hazrat Ibrahim (peace be upon them). Its lights descend from the second heaven and appear as golden red. The lights descending upon the third Latifah are from Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him) and are white. One the fourth Latifah, the lights of Hazrat Esa (peace be upon him) descend from the fourth heaven and are deep blue. The fifth Latifah receives its Barakah directly from the holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s choicest favors and peace be upon him). The lights associated with this Latifah are green, descend from the fifth heaven, and overwhelm all the first four Lataif. The Lights descending upon the sixth and seventh Lataif are the Divine Lights, whose color and condition cannot be determined. These are like flashes of lightening that defy comprehension. If Allah blesses a seeker with Kashf, he can observe all of this. The vision is slightly diffused in the beginning, but gradually the clarity improves.

 

SULOOK

Stages of the Path After all seven Lataif of a seeker have been illuminated with Divine Lights through Tawajjuh of the Sheikh and his Ruh has acquired the ability to fly, the Sheikh initiates its journey on the sublime Path of Divine nearness. The Path is known as Sulook, and its stages are not hypothetical imaginations but real and actually existing stations on the spiritual Path. These are also referred to as Meditations, because a seeker mentally meditates about a station while his/her Ruh actually ascends towards it. The first three stations that form the base of whole Sulook are described as; Ahadiyyat, a station of Absolute Unity of Divinity. It is above and beyond the seven heavens. It is so vast a station that the seven heavens and all that they encompass are lost within Ahadiyyat as a ring is lost in a vast desert. Its lights are white in color. Maiyyat station denotes Divine Company, ‘He is with you, wherever you might be.’ This station is so vast that Ahadiyyat along with the seven heavens beneath are lost within it as a ring is lost in a desert. Its lights are green in color. Aqrabiyyat station denotes Divine Nearness, ‘He is nearer to you than your life- vein.’ Again, Aqrabiyyat is vast as compared to Maiyyat in the same proportion. Its lights are golden red and are reflected from the Divine Throne. It is indeed the greatest favor of Almighty Allah that He blesses a seeker with an accomplished Sheikh, who takes him to these sublime stations. The final station that a seeker attains to during his/her lifetime becomes his/her Iliyyeen (blessed abode) in Barzakh and his/her Ruh stays at this station after death.

  

ZIKR

Why is Zikr Necessary for Everyone? Allah ordains every soul in the Quran to Perform Zikr. This not only means reciting the Quran and Tasbeeh but also Zikr-e Qalb. It is only through Zikr-e Qalbi that Prophetic Lights reach the depths of human soul and purify it from all vice and evil. Zikr infuses a realization of constant Divine Presence and a seeker feels great improvement in the level of sincerity and love towards Allah and the holy Prophet- SAWS. Such levels of sincerity, love and feelings of Divine Presence can never be obtained without Zikr. It would be a mistake to believe that Zikr may be a requirement only for the very pious and virtuous people. Zikr provides the Prophetic blessings which are in effect the life line of every human soul. It transforms even the most corrupted humans into virtuous souls by bringing out the best in them. The fact is that Zikr is the only way to achieve true contentment and satisfaction in life. The holy Quran has pointed to this eternal fact that it is only through Zikr Allah that hearts can find satisfaction. Such satisfaction and peace are the ultimate requirements of every person, regardless of religion, race and ethnicity. Practicing Zikr regularly removes all traces of anxiety and restlessness, and guides the human soul to eternal bliss and peace.

 

KHALIFA MAJAZEEN

Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), during his life time in 1974, presented a nomination list to Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), during Maraqba, of expected Khalifa Majazeen for Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia. Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) approved some names, deleted some of the names, and added down the name of Major Ghulam Muhammad as also Khalifa Majaaz of Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia (which was not previously included in the list)

 

The approved names at that time included:

1. Mr. Muhammad Akram Awan Sahib,

2. Mr. Sayed Bunyad Hussain Shah Sahib,

3. Mr. Major Ahsan Baig Sahib,

4. Mr. Col. Matloob Hussain Sahib,

5. Mr. Major Ghulam Muhammad Sahib of Wan Bhachran Mianwali,

6. Mr. Molvi Abdul Haq Sahib,

7. Mr. Hafiz Abdul Razzaq Sahib,

8. Mr. Hafiz Ghulam Qadri Sahib,

9. Mr. Khan Muhammad Irani Sahib,

10. Mr. Maolana Abdul Ghafoor Sahib,

11. Mr. Syed Muhammad Hassan Sahib of Zohb.

 

These Majazeen were authorized to; held Majalis of Zikar (Pas Anfas) in their respective areas, arrange Majalis of Zikar in neighboring areas, train them on the way of Sulook, prepare them for Spiritual Bai’at (Oath of Allegiance), and present them to Sheikh Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan for Spiritual Bai’at at the Hand of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), in the life of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), and were all equal in status as Khalifa Majaaz of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A).

 

Presently we are following Hazrat Major ® Ghulam Muhammad Sahib, Khalifa Majaaz of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A).

 

Norio sleeping on the couch (which we bought for us in the misunderstanding it was for us and not the cats) this afternoon.

www.klump.photo

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The unknown has plagued mankind since the dawn of time...

Fear, mistrust, uncertainty and assumption have been a poisonous bane of civilization from the highest lofts of mighty empires to the singular relationships between man and woman...

And both have been brought to their respective knees by the power of doubt and unanswered question...

Wars have been waged and hearts have been broken over little more than misunderstanding...

 

I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the outcast.

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

Allah’s peace be upon Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), the glorious Prophet of Islam, and on his Companions and his followers.

  

TASAWWUF

"There is no doubt that Tasawwuf is an important branch of Islam. The word itself may have been derived form the Arabic word "Soof" (Wool) or from "Safa" (cleanliness), but its foundation lies in one’s personal sincerity in seeking Allah’s nearness and trying to live a life pleasing to Him. Study of the Quran, the Hadith, and the practical life of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) and his faithful Companions provide unmistakable support to this reality." (Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A)

 

SUFISM, AN ESSENTIAL PART OF ISLAM

Doubts exist not only in the minds of the Muslim faithful but also among the Ulema, notably the exoteric about Tasawwuf and its votaries. Often they lead to misunderstanding, as if Shariah and Tariqah were two separate entries, or that Tasawwuf was some obscure discipline foreign to Islam, or that it was altogether above the established laws and injunctions of our Religion. To help remove these misgivings and to reassure seekers, as well as scholars, our Sheikh Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), Sheikh Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia, wrote Al-Jamal Wal Kamal, Aqaid-O-Kamalaat Ulmai-e-Deoband, Binat-e-Rasool (S.A.W), Daamad-e-Ali (R.A), Dalael-us-Salook, Ejaad-e-Mazhab Shia, Hayat-un-Nabi (S.A.W), Hayat Barzakhia, Ilm-o-Irfan, Niffaz-e-Shariat Aur Fiqah-e-Jaferia, Saif-e-Owaisi, Shikast-e-Ahdai Hussain and Tahkeek Halal Haram books.

 

BIOGRAPHY

Sheikh Allah Yar Khan was born in Chakrala, a remote village of Mianwali District of Pakistan, in 1904. He completed his religious education in 1934. The very year, he met Shaykh Abdul Rahim, who took him to the shrine of Shaykh Allah Deen Madni. By Divine Will his spiritual connection was right away established with the saint of the 10th century Hijra (sixteenth century) and he started receiving spiritual beneficence. His sublime education in Sufism, signifying progressive spiritual growth and advancement, continued for about twenty-five years. In 1962 he was directed to carry out the propagation of Prophetic blessings - a noble mission that he accomplished with singular enthusiasm and devotion for a period spanning half a century. Anybody who visited him was duly rewarded with a share of spiritual bliss as per his/her sincerity and capacity. Shaykh Allah Yar Khan's mission produced men and women of deep spiritual vision and distinction.

 

Although Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A) have lived a major portion of his life as a scholar, with the avowed mission of illuminating the truth of Islam and the negation of fallacious sects, and this would appear quite removed from Tasawwuf, yet the only practical difference between the two, namely the use of the former as a media to expound the truth, and the latter to imbue people with positive faith. Nevertheless, people are amazed that a man, who until the other day, was known as a dialectician and a preacher of Islam, is not only talking of Mystic Path, but is also claiming spiritual bonds with the veteran Sufi Masters of the Past. This amazement is obviously out of place in the view of Quranic injunction: This is the bounty of Allah which He gives to whom He wills. (62:4)

 

THE PURIFICATION OF THE SOUL

The purification of the soul always formed part of the main mission of the Prophets; that is, the dissemination and propagation of the Devine Message. This responsibility later fell directly on the shoulders of the true Ulema in the Ummah of the last Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), who, as his genuine successors, have continued to shed brave light in every Dark Age of materialism and sacrilege. In the present age of ruinous confusion, the importance of this responsibility has increased manifold; of the utter neglect of Islam by Muslims has not only driven them to misery, but also grievously weakened their bonds of faith in Allah and His Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). The decay in their belief and consequent perversion in their conduct has reached a stage that any attempt to pull them out of the depth of ignominy and the heedless chaos of faithlessness, attracts grave uncertainties and apprehensions rather than a encouraging will to follow the Shariah, to purify the soul and to reform within. The Quranic Verse: Layers upon layers of darkness… (24:40) provides the nearest expression of their present state.

 

SHARIAH & SUFISM

Any action against the Sunnah (Prophet’s way of life) cannot be called Sufism. Singing and dancing, and the prostration on tombs are not part of Sufism. Nor is predicting the future and predicting the outcome of cases in the courts of law, a part of Sufism. Sufis are not required to abandon their worldly possessions or live in the wilderness far from the practical world. In fact these absurdities are just its opposites. It is an established fact that Tazkiyah (soul purification) stands for that inner purity which inspires a person’s spirit to obey the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). If a false claimant of Sufism teaches tricks and jugglery, ignoring religious obligations, he is an impostor. A true Sheikh will lead a believer to the august spiritual audience of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). If you are fortunate enough to be blessed with the company of an accomplished spiritual guide and Sheikh of Sufism, and if you follow his instructions, you will observe a positive change in yourself, transferring you from vice to virtue.

 

ISLAM, AS A COMPLETE CODE OF LIFE

Islam, as a complete code of life or Deen, was perfected during the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). He was the sole teacher and his mosque was the core institution for the community. Although Islam in its entirety was practiced during that blessed era, the classification and compilation of its knowledge into distinct branches like ‘Tafsir’ (interpretation of the Quran), Hadith (traditions or sayings of the holy Prophet- SAWS), Fiqh (Islamic law), and Sufism (the soul purification) were undertaken subsequently. This Deen of Allah passed from the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) to his illustrious Companions in two ways: the outward and the inward. The former comprised the knowledge defined by speech and conduct, i.e., the Quran and Sunnah. The latter comprised the invisible blessings or the Prophetic lights transmitted by his blessed self. These blessings purified the hearts and instilled in them a passionate desire to follow Islam with utmost love, honesty and loyalty.

 

WHAT’S SUFISM

Sufism is the attempt to attain these Barakah (Blessings). The Companions handed down Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) teachings as well as blessings to the Taba’een. Their strong hearts were capable of infusing these blessings into the hearts of their followers. Both aspects of Islam were similarly passed on by the Taba’een to the Taba Taba’een. The compilation of knowledge and its interpretation led to the establishment of many schools of religious thought; famous four being the Hanafi, the Hanbali, the Maliki, and the Shafa'i, all named after their founders. Similarly, in order to acquire, safeguard and distribute his blessings, an organized effort was initiated by four schools of Sufism: The Naqshbandia, the Qadria, the Chishtia, and the Suharwardia. These schools were also named after their organizers and came to be known as Sufi Orders. All these Orders intend to purify the hearts of sincere Muslims with Prophetic lights. These Sufi Orders also grew into many branches with the passage of time and are known by other names as well. The holy Quran has linked success in this life and the Hereafter with Tazkiyah (soul purification). He, who purified, is successful. (87: 14) Sufi Orders of Islam are the institutions where the basics of Tazkiyah (soul purification) and its practical application are taught. They have graded programs in which every new seeker is instructed in Zikr-e Lisani (oral Zikr) and is finally taught the Zikr-e Qalbi (Remembrance in heart).

 

ZIKR-E QALBI

However, in the Naqshbandia Order, Zikr-e Qalbi is practiced from the very beginning. Adherence to the Sunnah (Prophet’s way of life) is greatly emphasized in this Order, because the seeker achieves greater and quicker progress through its blessings. The essence of Zikr is that the Qalb should sincerely accept Islamic beliefs and gain the strength to follow the Sunnah with even greater devotion. ‘If the heart is acquainted with Allah and is engaged in His Zikr; then it is filled with Barakaat-e Nabuwwat (Prophetic blessings) which infuse their purity in the mind and body. This not only helps in controlling sensual drives but also removes traces of abhorrence, voracity, envy and insecurity from human soul. The person therefore becomes an embodiment of love, both for the Divine and the corporeal. This is the meaning of a Hadith, “There is a lump of flesh in the human body; if it goes astray the entire body is misguided, and if it is reformed the entire body is reformed. Know that this lump is the Qalb”.’

 

PAS ANFAS

Recent History Khawajah Naqshband (d. 1389 CE) organized the Naqshbandia Order at Bukhara (Central Asia). This Order has two main branches – the Mujaddidia and the Owaisiah. The former is identified with Sheikh Ahmed Sirhindi, known as Mujaddid Alif Sani (literally: reviver of the second Muslim millennium), a successor to Khawajah Baqi Billah, who introduced the Order to the Indo- Pakistan sub-continent. The Owaisiah Order employs a similar method of Zikr but acquires the Prophetic blessings in the manner of Khawajah Owais Qarni, who received this beneficence from the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) without a formal physical meeting. The Zikr employed by the Naqshbandia is ‘Zikr-e Khafi Qalbi’ (remembrance of Allah’s Name within the heart) and the method is termed ‘Pas Anfas’, which (in Persian) means guarding every breath. The Chain of Transmission of these Barakah, of course, emanates from the holy Prophet- SAWS.

 

SPIRITUAL BAI’AT (OATH OF ALLEGIANCE

It is necessary in all Sufi Orders that the Sheikh and the seekers must be contemporaries and must physically meet each other for the transfer of these blessings. However, the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order goes beyond this requirement and Sufis of this Order receive these Barakah regardless of physical meeting with their Sheikh or even when the Sheikh is not their contemporary. Yet, it must be underscored that physical meeting with the Sheikh of this Order still holds great importance in dissemination of these Barakah. Sheikh Sirhindi writes about the Owaisiah Order in his book ‘Tazkirah’: ‘It is the most sublime, the most exalted, and the most effective…and the highest station of all others is only its stepping stone.’ By far the greatest singular distinction of the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order is the honor of Spiritual Bai’at (Oath of Allegiance) directly at the blessed hands of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W).

 

SHEIKH HAZRAT MOULANA ALLAH YAR KHAN (R.A)

The Reviver Sheikh Allah Yar Khan was born in Chikrala, a remote village of Mianwali District of Pakistan, in 1904. He completed his religious education in 1934. The same year, he met Sheikh ‘Abdul Rahim, who took him to the shrine of Sheikh Allah Deen Madni. By Divine Will his spiritual connection was immediately established with the saint of the 10th century Hijra (sixteenth century CE) and he started receiving spiritual beneficence. His sublime education in Sufism, signifying progressive spiritual growth and advancement, continued for about twenty-five years, after which he was directed to undertake the propagation of Prophetic blessings - a noble mission that he accomplished with singular zeal and dedication for a period spanning half a century. Anybody who visited him was duly rewarded with a share of spiritual bliss commensurate with his/her sincerity and capacity. Sheikh Allah Yar Khan’s mission produced men and women of deep spiritual vision and eminence. He authored eighteen books, the most distinguished being Dalael us-Sulook (Sufism - An Objective Appraisal), Hayat-e Barzakhiah (Life Beyond Life) and Israr ul- Haramain (Secrets of the two holy Mosques). He was undoubtedly one of the most distinguished Sufi saints of the Muslim Ummah and a reviver of the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order. He passed away on 18 February 1984 in Islamabad at the age of eighty.

 

THE CHAIN OF TRANSMISSION OF NAQSHBANDIA OWAISIAH

1. Hazrat Muhammad ur-Rasool Allah (Sall Allah-o Alaihi wa Sallam), 2. Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (Radhi Allah-o Unho), 3. Hazrat Imam Hassan Basri (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 4. Hazrat Daud Tai (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 5. Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 6. Hazrat Ubaid Ullah Ahrar (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 7. Hazrat Abdur Rahman Jami (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 8. Hazrat Abu Ayub Muhammad Salih (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 9. Hazrat Allah Deen Madni (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 10. Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi).

 

THE SPIRIT OR RUH

The spirit or Ruh of every person is a created reflection of the Divine Attributes and it originates in Alam-e Amar (Realm of Command). Its food is the Light of Allah or the Divine Refulgence, which it acquires from the Realm of Command through the holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s choicest favors and peace be upon him), whose status in the spiritual world is like that of the sun in the solar system. The Quran refers to him as the ‘bright lamp’. Indeed, he is the divinely selected channel of all Barakah. All Exalted Messengers themselves receive these Barakah from him.

 

LATAIF

The human Ruh also possesses vital organs like the physical body; through which it acquires its knowledge, food and energy. These are called Lataif (singular Latifah: subtlety). Scholars of various Sufi Orders have associated them with specific areas of the human body. The Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order identifies these Lataif as follows. First - Qalb: This spiritual faculty is located within the physical heart. Its function is Zikr. Its strength increases one’s capacity for Allah’s Zikr. Second – Ruh: The site of this Latifah, which is a distinct faculty of the human Ruh, is on the right side of the chest at the level of Qalb. Its primary function is concentration towards Allah. Third – Sirri: This is located above the Qalb and functions to make possible Kashf. Forth – Khaffi: This is located above the Ruh and functions to perceive the omnipresence of Allah. Fifth – Akhfa: This is located in the middle of chest, at the centre of the first four Lataif and makes it possible for the Ruh to perceive the closeness of Allah, Who is closer to us than our own selves. Sixth – Nafs: This Latifah is located at the forehead and functions to purify the human soul. Seventh – Sultan al-Azkar: This Latifah is located at the top centre of the head and serves to absorb the Barakah of Allah into the entire body, so that every cell resonates with Zikr.

 

FIVE EXALTED MESSENGERS OF GOD

There are Five Exalted Messengers among the many known and unknown Messengers of Allah. They are Hazrat Muhammad, Hazrat Nuh (Noah), Hazrat Ibrahim (Abraham), Hazrat Musa (Moses), and Hazrat Esa (Jesus), peace be upon them all. Hazrat Adam is the first Prophet of Allah and the father of mankind. Each Latifah is associated with a particular Prophet. The Barakah and lights from Hazrat Adam (peace be upon him), descend on the first Latifah Qalb; its lights are reflected from the first heaven and are yellowish. The second Latifah is associated with Hazrat Nuh and Hazrat Ibrahim (peace be upon them). Its lights descend from the second heaven and appear as golden red. The lights descending upon the third Latifah are from Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him) and are white. One the fourth Latifah, the lights of Hazrat Esa (peace be upon him) descend from the fourth heaven and are deep blue. The fifth Latifah receives its Barakah directly from the holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s choicest favors and peace be upon him). The lights associated with this Latifah are green, descend from the fifth heaven, and overwhelm all the first four Lataif. The Lights descending upon the sixth and seventh Lataif are the Divine Lights, whose color and condition cannot be determined. These are like flashes of lightening that defy comprehension. If Allah blesses a seeker with Kashf, he can observe all of this. The vision is slightly diffused in the beginning, but gradually the clarity improves.

 

SULOOK

Stages of the Path After all seven Lataif of a seeker have been illuminated with Divine Lights through Tawajjuh of the Sheikh and his Ruh has acquired the ability to fly, the Sheikh initiates its journey on the sublime Path of Divine nearness. The Path is known as Sulook, and its stages are not hypothetical imaginations but real and actually existing stations on the spiritual Path. These are also referred to as Meditations, because a seeker mentally meditates about a station while his/her Ruh actually ascends towards it. The first three stations that form the base of whole Sulook are described as; Ahadiyyat, a station of Absolute Unity of Divinity. It is above and beyond the seven heavens. It is so vast a station that the seven heavens and all that they encompass are lost within Ahadiyyat as a ring is lost in a vast desert. Its lights are white in color. Maiyyat station denotes Divine Company, ‘He is with you, wherever you might be.’ This station is so vast that Ahadiyyat along with the seven heavens beneath are lost within it as a ring is lost in a desert. Its lights are green in color. Aqrabiyyat station denotes Divine Nearness, ‘He is nearer to you than your life- vein.’ Again, Aqrabiyyat is vast as compared to Maiyyat in the same proportion. Its lights are golden red and are reflected from the Divine Throne. It is indeed the greatest favor of Almighty Allah that He blesses a seeker with an accomplished Sheikh, who takes him to these sublime stations. The final station that a seeker attains to during his/her lifetime becomes his/her Iliyyeen (blessed abode) in Barzakh and his/her Ruh stays at this station after death.

  

ZIKR

Why is Zikr Necessary for Everyone? Allah ordains every soul in the Quran to Perform Zikr. This not only means reciting the Quran and Tasbeeh but also Zikr-e Qalb. It is only through Zikr-e Qalbi that Prophetic Lights reach the depths of human soul and purify it from all vice and evil. Zikr infuses a realization of constant Divine Presence and a seeker feels great improvement in the level of sincerity and love towards Allah and the holy Prophet- SAWS. Such levels of sincerity, love and feelings of Divine Presence can never be obtained without Zikr. It would be a mistake to believe that Zikr may be a requirement only for the very pious and virtuous people. Zikr provides the Prophetic blessings which are in effect the life line of every human soul. It transforms even the most corrupted humans into virtuous souls by bringing out the best in them. The fact is that Zikr is the only way to achieve true contentment and satisfaction in life. The holy Quran has pointed to this eternal fact that it is only through Zikr Allah that hearts can find satisfaction. Such satisfaction and peace are the ultimate requirements of every person, regardless of religion, race and ethnicity. Practicing Zikr regularly removes all traces of anxiety and restlessness, and guides the human soul to eternal bliss and peace.

 

KHALIFA MAJAZEEN

Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), during his life time in 1974, presented a nomination list to Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), during Maraqba, of expected Khalifa Majazeen for Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia. Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) approved some names, deleted some of the names, and added down the name of Major Ghulam Muhammad as also Khalifa Majaaz of Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia (which was not previously included in the list)

 

The approved names at that time included:

1. Mr. Muhammad Akram Awan Sahib,

2. Mr. Sayed Bunyad Hussain Shah Sahib,

3. Mr. Major Ahsan Baig Sahib,

4. Mr. Col. Matloob Hussain Sahib,

5. Mr. Major Ghulam Muhammad Sahib of Wan Bhachran Mianwali,

6. Mr. Molvi Abdul Haq Sahib,

7. Mr. Hafiz Abdul Razzaq Sahib,

8. Mr. Hafiz Ghulam Qadri Sahib,

9. Mr. Khan Muhammad Irani Sahib,

10. Mr. Maolana Abdul Ghafoor Sahib,

11. Mr. Syed Muhammad Hassan Sahib of Zohb.

 

These Majazeen were authorized to; held Majalis of Zikar (Pas Anfas) in their respective areas, arrange Majalis of Zikar in neighboring areas, train them on the way of Sulook, prepare them for Spiritual Bai’at (Oath of Allegiance), and present them to Sheikh Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan for Spiritual Bai’at at the Hand of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), in the life of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), and were all equal in status as Khalifa Majaaz of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A).

 

Presently we are following Hazrat Major ® Ghulam Muhammad Sahib, Khalifa Majaaz of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A).

i can't look you in the eye.

cos this relationship is full of lies.

and misunderstandings

and forgivings when its not even my fault.

 

what can i do

when my world is you

but this time i can't

i just can't forgive.

Village Badammage toli, Block Namkum, District Ranchi. Jharkhand, India..Vegetables are on display during the discussion on safe delivery, breastfeeding, immunisation, and other essential care practices during pregnancy and early childhood at Anganwadi Kendra in Ranchi. Anganwadi worker in every targeted village teams up with a small group of local resource people who are then given a basic training in nutrition, childcare and hygiene. Once trained, the team visits pregnant women and mothers of newborns in their homes to educate them about safe delivery, breastfeeding, immunisation, and other essential care practices during pregnancy and early childhood UNICEF is prioritizing reducing the high malnutrition and child mortality rates, and reaching out to millions of families in Jharkhand to address these concerns. The Dular strategy, which trains village women to counsel new mothers about breastfeeding and proper nutrition, is a successful approach that is already expected to prevent about one quarter of newborn deaths and save the lives of thousands of older babies and children. The Dular initiative is of particular importance to tribal children who are most vulnerable to disease, malnutrition and education disparities, as prejudice, isolation and misunderstanding make it difficult for these families to access services. UNICEF India/2012/Dhiraj Singh.

.

 

devonware bowl made in stoke on trent, england. the stamp on the bottom of the bowl features a crown, the word hindoo, and, handwritten 0566 B.

 

in other news, it's been noted that mayor mcbigot has been hanging around with neo-nazis (other than those belonging to federal and provincial conservative parties). the white supremacist, true to form, claims that he isn't a bigot, in much the same manner that the mayor makes similar claims. since the magic of the internet is available, though, it's been easily proven over and over that jon latvis is a filthy fucking racist and like all bigots, doesn't have the courage to stand up for his odious beliefs when a light is shone on him. mayor rob ford, similarly cried out that it was all a big misunderstanding that he met with a neo-nazi - twice - and that the big mean media was once again picking on him unfairly.

 

bullshit. latvis played lead guitar and other instruments for rahowa, a white supremacist band, and wrote many of their lyrics. from 1990 on, latvis was a member of the band, has never divorced himself from their disgusting beliefs (until just now, and only in the form of lying about his history), and wrote many of their most bigoted songs. oh, and he has a tattoo of a swastika, which he claims is really a 'cross of thunder'. sure, kid. and your song triumph of the will is really all about rik emmett rewriting shakespeare.

 

as for ford, he's a stupid fucking liar, a bigot and like his skinhead buddy, too much of a chickenshit coward to stand up and say what he believes. instead, he expects that the right-wing press will play down the story, excuse his unforgiveable behaviour and make accusations against the people who brought the topic out in the open.

 

many thanks to anti-racist canada for starting the ball rolling, and to warren kinsella for spreading the story around. now magazine has pushed the news along after the usual assholes at the national post did nothing but claim that kinsella is a liberal spin doctor (no, they really made that a big point in their write-up), that ford loves meeting with citizens (as long as they're also hateful bigots), and restated the ridiculous claim that latvis gave ford and his handlers a different name. yeah, i'm sure that latvis bothered to engage in subterfuge because everyone knows that fuckhead ford would have checked into his background and been very professional about matters. the final claim from the ford (concentration) camp is also ridiculous - apparently latvis wanted to discuss transit with the mayor. no word on whether latvis and ford discussed shipping dissidents and other unsavoury characters to prison camps in boxcars, but i'm sure the mayor's office would just describe that as an improvement on lrts.

 

it's been interesting to watch the reaction from the city's jewish community. unfortunately the jewish press skews pro-conservative, and the mayor's henchmen were quick to offer an apology to the centre for israel and jewish affairs. cija, of course, quickly restated many of the points that the morons at the national post made, including an attempt to discredit kinsella. it's interesting that cija would brush aside rob ford's connection to a neo-nazi. politics does indeed make strange bedfellows, and i suppose it must just be expedient for a jewish advocacy group to make light of antisemitic hate group representatives when they are invited to meet with local politicians. true friends, indeed.

 

this fucking bigot ford needs to be removed from office. you might not be queer, jewish, female, a cyclist, a library user, a union member, italian, or a member of any other group who fuckface ford clearly hates, but as long as you're not a bigot, it's obvious that he is not a decent human being or fit for public office.

si vous voulez savoir, envoyez moi un flickrmail

vous serez surement tres surpris de la réponse

 

if you want to know,send me a flickrmail: you may be oversurprised by the answer

Statistics rarely give a simple view's Yes/No type answer to the question under analysis. Interpretation often comes down to the level of statistical significance applied to the numbers and often refers to the probability of a value accurately rejecting the null hypothesis (sometimes referred to as the p-value).

 

In this graph the black line is probability distribution for the test statistic, the critical region is the set of values to the right of the observed data point (observed value of the test statistic) and the p-value is represented by the green area.

The standard approach is to test a null hypothesis against an alternative hypothesis. A critical region is the set of values of the estimator that leads to refuting the null hypothesis. The probability of type I error is therefore the probability that the estimator belongs to the critical region given that null hypothesis is true (statistical significance) and the probability of type II error is the probability that the estimator doesn't belong to the critical region given that the alternative hypothesis is true. The statistical power of a test is the probability that it correctly rejects the null hypothesis when the null hypothesis is false.

Referring to statistical significance does not necessarily mean that the overall result is significant in real world terms. For example, in a large study of a drug it may be shown that the drug has a statistically significant but very small beneficial effect, such that the drug is unlikely to help the patient noticeably.

While in principle the acceptable level of statistical significance may be subject to debate, the p-value is the smallest significance level that allows the test to reject the null hypothesis. This is logically equivalent to saying that the p-value is the probability, assuming the null hypothesis is true, of observing a result at least as extreme as the test statistic. Therefore, the smaller the p-value, the lower the probability of committing type I error.

Some problems are usually associated with this framework (See criticism of hypothesis testing):

A difference that is highly statistically significant can still be of no practical significance, but it is possible to properly formulate tests to account for this. One response involves going beyond reporting only the significance level to include the p-value when reporting whether a hypothesis is rejected or accepted. The p-value, however, does not indicate the size or importance of the observed effect and can also seem to exaggerate the importance of minor differences in large studies. A better and increasingly common approach is to report confidence intervals. Although these are produced from the same calculations as those of hypothesis tests or p-values, they describe both the size of the effect and the uncertainty surrounding it.

Fallacy of the transposed conditional, aka prosecutor's fallacy: criticisms arise because the hypothesis testing approach forces one hypothesis (the null hypothesis) to be favored, since what is being evaluated is probability of the observed result given the null hypothesis and not probability of the null hypothesis given the observed result. An alternative to this approach is offered by Bayesian inference, although it requires establishing a prior probability.

Rejecting the null hypothesis does not automatically prove the alternative hypothesis.

As everything in inferential statistics it relies on sample size, and therefore under fat tails p-values may be seriously mis-computed.

 

Working from a null hypothesis, two basic forms of error are recognized:

Type I errors where the null hypothesis is falsely rejected giving a "false positive".

Type II errors where the null hypothesis fails to be rejected and an actual difference between populations is missed giving a "false negative".

Standard deviation refers to the extent to which individual observations in a sample differ from a central value, such as the sample or population mean, while Standard error refers to an estimate of difference between sample mean and population mean.

A statistical error is the amount by which an observation differs from its expected value, a residual is the amount an observation differs from the value the estimator of the expected value assumes on a given sample (also called prediction).

Mean squared error is used for obtaining efficient estimators, a widely used class of estimators. Root mean square error is simply the square root of mean squared error.

Misuse of statistics can produce subtle, but serious errors in description and interpretation—subtle in the sense that even experienced professionals make such errors, and serious in the sense that they can lead to devastating decision errors. For instance, social policy, medical practice, and the reliability of structures like bridges all rely on the proper use of statistics.

Even when statistical techniques are correctly applied, the results can be difficult to interpret for those lacking expertise. The statistical significance of a trend in the data—which measures the extent to which a trend could be caused by random variation in the sample—may or may not agree with an intuitive sense of its significance. The set of basic statistical skills (and skepticism) that people need to deal with information in their everyday lives properly is referred to as statistical literacy.

There is a general perception that statistical knowledge is all-too-frequently intentionally misused by finding ways to interpret only the data that are favorable to the presenter.[26] A mistrust and misunderstanding of statistics is associated with the quotation, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics". Misuse of statistics can be both inadvertent and intentional, and the book How to Lie with Statistics[26] outlines a range of considerations. In an attempt to shed light on the use and misuse of statistics, reviews of statistical techniques used in particular fields are conducted (e.g. Warne, Lazo, Ramos, and Ritter (2012)).[27]

Ways to avoid misuse of statistics include using proper diagrams and avoiding bias.[28] Misuse can occur when conclusions are overgeneralized and claimed to be representative of more than they really are, often by either deliberately or unconsciously overlooking sampling bias.[29] Bar graphs are arguably the easiest diagrams to use and understand, and they can be made either by hand or with simple computer programs.[28] Unfortunately, most people do not look for bias or errors, so they are not noticed. Thus, people may often believe that something is true even if it is not well represented.[29] To make data gathered from statistics believable and accurate, the sample taken must be representative of the whole.[30] According to Huff, "The dependability of a sample can be destroyed by [bias]... allow yourself some degree of skepticism.

 

A least squares fit: in red the points to be fitted, in blue the fitted line.

Many statistical methods seek to minimize the residual sum of squares, and these are called "methods of least squares" in contrast to Least absolute deviations. The latter gives equal weight to small and big errors, while the former gives more weight to large errors. Residual sum of squares is also differentiable, which provides a handy property for doing regression. Least squares applied to linear regression is called ordinary least squares method and least squares applied to nonlinear regression is called non-linear least squares. Also in a linear regression model the non deterministic part of the model is called error term, disturbance or more simply noise. Both linear regression and non-linear regression are addressed in polynomial least squares, which also describes the variance in a prediction of the dependent variable (y axis) as a function of the independent variable (x axis) and the deviations (errors, noise, disturbances) from the estimated (fitted) curve.

Measurement processes that generate statistical data are also subject to error. Many of these errors are classified as random (noise) or systematic (bias), but other types of errors (e.g., blunder, such as when an analyst reports incorrect units) can also be important. The presence of missing data or censoring may result in biased estimates and specific techniques have been developed to address these problems.

Statistics is a branch of mathematics dealing with the collection, analysis, interpretation, presentation, and organization of data. In applying statistics to, e.g., a scientific, industrial, or social problem, it is conventional to begin with a statistical population or a statistical model process to be studied. Populations can be diverse topics such as "all people living in a country" or "every atom composing a crystal." Statistics deals with all aspects of data including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments.When census data cannot be collected, statisticians collect data by developing specific experiment designs and survey samples. Representative sampling assures that inferences and conclusions can reasonably extend from the sample to the population as a whole. An experimental study involves taking measurements of the system under study, manipulating the system, and then taking additional measurements using the same procedure to determine if the manipulation has modified the values of the measurements. In contrast, an observational study does not involve experimental manipulation.Two main statistical methods are used in data analysis: descriptive statistics, which summarize data from a sample using indexes such as the mean or standard deviation, and inferential statistics, which draw conclusions from data that are subject to random variation (e.g., observational errors, sampling variation). Descriptive statistics are most often concerned with two sets of properties of a distribution (sample or population): central tendency (or location) seeks to characterize the distribution's central or typical value, while dispersion (or variability) characterizes the extent to which members of the distribution depart from its center and each other. Inferences on mathematical statistics are made under the framework of probability theory, which deals with the analysis of random phenomena.A standard statistical procedure involves the test of the relationship between two statistical data sets, or a data set and synthetic data drawn from idealized model. A hypothesis is proposed for the statistical relationship between the two data sets, and this is compared as an alternative to an idealized null hypothesis of no relationship between two data sets. Rejecting or disproving the null hypothesis is done using statistical tests that quantify the sense in which the null can be proven false, given the data that are used in the test. Working from a null hypothesis, two basic forms of error are recognized: Type I errors (null hypothesis is falsely rejected giving a "false positive") and Type II errors (null hypothesis fails to be rejected and an actual difference between populations is missed giving a "false negative"). Multiple problems have come to be associated with this framework: ranging from obtaining a sufficient sample size to specifying an adequate null hypothesis.Measurement processes that generate statistical data are also subject to error. Many of these errors are classified as random (noise) or systematic (bias), but other types of errors (e.g., blunder, such as when an analyst reports incorrect units) can also be important. The presence of missing data or censoring may result in biased estimates and specific techniques have been developed to address these problems.In applying statistics to a problem, it is common practice to start with a population or process to be studied. Populations can be diverse topics such as "all persons living in a country" or "every atom composing a crystal".

Ideally, statisticians compile data about the entire population (an operation called census). This may be organized by governmental statistical institutes. Descriptive statistics can be used to summarize the population data. Numerical descriptors include mean and standard deviation for continuous data types (like income), while frequency and percentage are more useful in terms of describing categorical data (like race).

When a census is not feasible, a chosen subset of the population called a sample is studied. Once a sample that is representative of the population is determined, data is collected for the sample members in an observational or experimental setting. Again, descriptive statistics can be used to summarize the sample data. However, the drawing of the sample has been subject to an element of randomness, hence the established numerical descriptors from the sample are also due to uncertainty. To still draw meaningful conclusions about the entire population, inferential statistics is needed. It uses patterns in the sample data to draw inferences about the population represented, accounting for randomness. These inferences may take the form of: answering yes/no questions about the data (hypothesis testing), estimating numerical characteristics of the data (estimation), describing associations within the data (correlation) and modeling relationships within the data (for example, using regression analysis). Inference can extend to forecasting, prediction and estimation of unobserved values either in or associated with the population being studied; it can include extrapolation and interpolation of time series or spatial data, and can also include data mining.When full census data cannot be collected, statisticians collect sample data by developing specific experiment designs and survey samples. Statistics itself also provides tools for prediction and forecasting through statistical models. To use a sample as a guide to an entire population, it is important that it truly represents the overall population. Representative sampling assures that inferences and conclusions can safely extend from the sample to the population as a whole. A major problem lies in determining the extent that the sample chosen is actually representative. Statistics offers methods to estimate and correct for any bias within the sample and data collection procedures. There are also methods of experimental design for experiments that can lessen these issues at the outset of a study, strengthening its capability to discern truths about the population. Sampling theory is part of the mathematical discipline of probability theory. Probability is used in mathematical statistics to study the sampling distributions of sample statistics and, more generally, the properties of statistical procedures. The use of any statistical method is valid when the system or population under consideration satisfies the assumptions of the method. The difference in point of view between classic probability theory and sampling theory is, roughly, that probability theory starts from the given parameters of a total population to deduce probabilities that pertain to samples. Statistical inference, however, moves in the opposite direction—inductively inferring from samples to the parameters of a larger or total population.

The basic steps of a statistical experiment are:

Planning the research, including finding the number of replicates of the study, using the following information: preliminary estimates regarding the size of treatment effects, alternative hypotheses, and the estimated experimental variability. Consideration of the selection of experimental subjects and the ethics of research is necessary. Statisticians recommend that experiments compare (at least) one new treatment with a standard treatment or control, to allow an unbiased estimate of the difference in treatment effects.

Design of experiments, using blocking to reduce the influence of confounding variables, and randomized assignment of treatments to subjects to allow unbiased estimates of treatment effects and experimental error. At this stage, the experimenters and statisticians write the experimental protocol that will guide the performance of the experiment and which specifies the primary analysis of the experimental data.

Performing the experiment following the experimental protocol and analyzing the data following the experimental protocol.

Further examining the data set in secondary analyses, to suggest new hypotheses for future study.

Documenting and presenting the results of the study.

Experiments on human behavior have special concerns. The famous Hawthorne study examined changes to the working environment at the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company. The researchers were interested in determining whether increased illumination would increase the productivity of the assembly line workers. The researchers first measured the productivity in the plant, then modified the illumination in an area of the plant and checked if the changes in illumination affected productivity. It turned out that productivity indeed improved (under the experimental conditions). However, the study is heavily criticized today for errors in experimental procedures, specifically for the lack of a control group and blindness. The Hawthorne effect refers to finding that an outcome (in this case, worker productivity) changed due to observation itself. Those in the Hawthorne study became more productive not because the lighting was changed but because they were being observed.

Observational study

An example of an observational study is one that explores the association between smoking and lung cancer. This type of study typically uses a survey to collect observations about the area of interest and then performs statistical analysis. In this case, the researchers would collect observations of both smokers and non-smokers, perhaps through a cohort study, and then look for the number of cases of lung cancer in each group.[15] A case-control study is another type of observational study in which people with and without the outcome of interest (e.g. lung cancer) are invited to participate and their exposure histories are collected.Various attempts have been made to produce a taxonomy of levels of measurement. The psychophysicist Stanley Smith Stevens defined nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio scales. Nominal measurements do not have meaningful rank order among values, and permit any one-to-one transformation. Ordinal measurements have imprecise differences between consecutive values, but have a meaningful order to those values, and permit any order-preserving transformation. Interval measurements have meaningful distances between measurements defined, but the zero value is arbitrary (as in the case with longitude and temperature measurements in Celsius or Fahrenheit), and permit any linear transformation. Ratio measurements have both a meaningful zero value and the distances between different measurements defined, and permit any rescaling transformation.

Because variables conforming only to nominal or ordinal measurements cannot be reasonably measured numerically, sometimes they are grouped together as categorical variables, whereas ratio and interval measurements are grouped together as quantitative variables, which can be either discrete or continuous, due to their numerical nature. Such distinctions can often be loosely correlated with data type in computer science, in that dichotomous categorical variables may be represented with the Boolean data type, polytomous categorical variables with arbitrarily assigned integers in the integral data type, and continuous variables with the real data type involving floating point computation. But the mapping of computer science data types to statistical data types depends on which categorization of the latter is being implemented.

Other categorizations have been proposed. For example, Mosteller and Tukey (1977)[distinguished grades, ranks, counted fractions, counts, amounts, and balances. Nelder (1990)[described continuous counts, continuous ratios, count ratios, and categorical modes of data. See also Chrisman (1998), van den Berg (1991). The issue of whether or not it is appropriate to apply different kinds of statistical methods to data obtained from different kinds of measurement procedures is complicated by issues concerning the transformation of variables and the precise interpretation of research questions. "The relationship between the data and what they describe merely reflects the fact that certain kinds of statistical statements may have truth values which are not invariant under some transformations. Whether or not a transformation is sensible to contemplate depends on the question one is trying to answer".Consider independent identically distributed (IID) random variables with a given probability distribution: standard statistical inference and estimation theory defines a random sample as the random vector given by the column vector of these IID variables. The population being examined is described by a probability distribution that may have unknown parameters.

A statistic is a random variable that is a function of the random sample, but not a function of unknown parameters. The probability distribution of the statistic, though, may have unknown parameters.

Consider now a function of the unknown parameter: an estimator is a statistic used to estimate such function. Commonly used estimators include sample mean, unbiased sample variance and sample covariance.

A random variable that is a function of the random sample and of the unknown parameter, but whose probability distribution does not depend on the unknown parameter is called a pivotal quantity or pivot. Widely used pivots include the z-score, the chi square statistic and Student's t-value.

Between two estimators of a given parameter, the one with lower mean squared error is said to be more efficient. Furthermore, an estimator is said to be unbiased if its expected value is equal to the true value of the unknown parameter being estimated, and asymptotically unbiased if its expected value converges at the limit to the true value of such parameter.

Other desirable properties for estimators include: UMVUE estimators that have the lowest variance for all possible values of the parameter to be estimated (this is usually an easier property to verify than efficiency) and consistent estimators which converges in probability to the true value of such parameter.

This still leaves the question of how to obtain estimators in a given situation and carry the computation, several methods have been proposed: the method of moments, the maximum likelihood method, the least squares method and the more recent method of estimating equations.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistics

 

"Sentinelle Affair Divided Catholics by John Hill- Providence Journal" is written and copyrighted by the author listed on its page and I only put here for my future reading and future references in my doing my research as the web is a ever ending changing where one day it's there and the next day it's gone and I need to keep my documenting and references straight. If you wish to use it, you must contact the "author who copyrighted" it directly that is listed.

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MY PERSONAL NOTES:

In studying, researching and documenting my cousin Marie Rose Ferron, Stigmatist, Mystic, Bi-Locator, Intercedor & Victim Soul of Woonsocket, Providence Co. Rhode Island, USA., I have come to learn alot of information and have weeded out the facts from fiction fairly well thanks to some excellent documents. Rose, came to R.I. in the midst of a crisis like a flower-Rose in the midst of a garden was how she was placed by God and I now understand why she suffered so much for the love of this garden. It is no wonder to me anymore, that when the most wonderful Bishop William A. Hickey came to Little Rose and asked her if she would be willing to suffer and offer her sufferings for him, and his beloved Diocese- his precious flock, that she would without hesitation agree and suffered immensely beyond our wildest dreams. It is no wonder to me now, why Jesus had her suffer his precious wounds with him. Rose did suffer and her prayers were answered- the 61 excommunicated Sentinellists returned to their beloved Church. Miraculous Funds were raised as well. Even Bishop William A. Hickey had called these things "Miracles". What started out to be real honest, good-hearted intentions for good reasons on both sides of the "parties involved" in the "Sentinelle Affair" with much love and sweet devotion, somehow turned into a awful misunderstanding and miscommunication and later, sadly, became out of control, that I have to wonder if there was any way it could have been avoided. In my opinion from what I've read, "They were both right for their original ideas" but somehow fear, miscommunication, misinterpretations and other very passionate feelings got in the way of two great men whom were just simply trying to lead, or preserve for the love of their peoples. What started with good heart and good intentions would become "crossing the line" and "forced hands" each in "response" to the other that would cause deep pain and sadly the wound kept getting deeper and deeper out of control. Bishop Hickey had to lead a flock at a time, when World War I had devestated the World. Politics was in turmoil, the economy was shaken, and people were nervous, tired, and on the defense. They had to be. One thing I keep hearing all my life is be careful of talking about Politics, Culture, and Religion as those subjects are the most Sensitive of subjects which people become very passionate about and they can loose their heads in such passions, loose site of their true focus, and do and say things they don't mean or normally do. It is true. I've even lost mine before. I don't know why we just don't stand in our Faith and Beliefs without feeling the need to defend it so much, but we do. War time, I guess, make us worst. Canada had been taken over by Britain at one point and those wonderful French-Canadian people kept their language, their culture and their relgious beliefs alive while under British rule. It was vital for their survival. When many of them migrated to the USA, they had a strong will to continue to keep those things precious to them alive, even in this country. There's nothing wrong with that as a people, it's very admirable and wonderful- self-preservation. But America, so rapidly growing, and in particularly, Little Ole Rhode Island, was a different and growing place being mixed with many different peoples of different cultures and religions. Bishop William A. Hickey, a wonderful and great-hearted Bishop and leader, so devout and caring was he, had the job of leading a large flock that was growing with diversity by the second. The world was changing dramatically and rapidly and Little Rhode Island was no exception. His job was no easy task by far and was getting harder by the minute with the ever growing changes about and the constant growing demands of the area. There was even a bill passed that it was required for all peoples to learn English as a Universal language to keep up with the growing times so people wouldn't loose sight of communicaton which is vital if we are to live together in a growing community. Bishop Hickey, seeing this necessity as vital to the survival of communication of the community in order for it to grow together and function well together, followed suit by announcing a drive for a million dollars for some schools. He was right, a growing community with such diversity needs good communication in order for it to work well, grow and function together well. On the other hand, to the dear French-Canadian people, it meant having to give up a little- scratch that- a Big part of themselves, which they fought so hard all those years to preserve, which they didn't even do under the British rule! To them, to do so, is death of their beliefs, religion and culture and they could not have that- that is what made them- them! So you see, neither side was wrong at all, both were right in their Beliefs for survivals as a People. Division is a horrible thing. Both sides were left after it was all over with hurt and sadness and I don't believe either meant to hurt eachother, they just wanted to be heard, and preserve their peoples. It is really interesting to know they were ONE people yet divided by a simple concept on how to see things or handle the situation. How could they have a Universal and yet keep their Original? If Bishop Hickey hadn't stuck to his guns sort-to-speak, his flock would have been divided as they would not be able to "communicate" and work together well as a community in such a rapid growth time with such diverse people of different cultures etc... He wouldn't have been doing his job to keep his Flock United. If the French-Canadians hadn't stuck to their "guns" they would loose all that is them. So, how in the world did "United" become "Divided"? What a fine line! How do we grow together as a United People without giving up that part of ourselves and all we believe in? The forced hands out of response to eachother, got so vicious, lines that shouldn't have been crossed were, and Excommunication was it's last resort and sadly it had to be enforced. The poor Bishop had no choice, and I'm sure, since he went to Rose, with such a struggle, it had to be heart-breaking to him. Rose, french-canadian born, stuck in the middle- for the love of both causes, suffering for both, was considered a traitor by some for "conspiring" with the Bishop by accepting his plea. She was French-Canadian and loved her people dearly, she was also very devout, obedient, religious and would do what her beloved Bishop would ask of her. How heart-breaking it must have been for her, to see both sides in such turmoil! She prayed 24/7 and offered up all her sufferings- suffering all of Christ's wounds for the love of them both to find a resolution. All came to a head when the 61 Sentinellists were excommunicated and then later returned to the Church, Praise God! They loved their Church they didn't want to leave it! They just didn't want to loose themselves as a People! This event, however, left a silent scar that you can still see to this day amongst the dear French-Canadian of that area of how a sweet People trying to preserve all that they are was once seperated from a Church they so loved, for the sake of a "Universal" Language for the sake of "Growth" and you can see the "silent scar" it left on our beloved Church whom was just trying to care for it's people and keep them together while the diversity increased and the need for "Universal" began.

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May Our Beloved Father touch the hearts of both sides and heal the silent wounds of the precious cross both sides bore and May Rose's Heart Wound be healed to see that she suffered for a good cause, good people and to see the fruits of her labors!

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(SOME IMPORTANT DATES AND FACTS COMPILED:)

 

"THE COST OF AMERICANIZATION"

"Universal Begins with WWI..."

 

"Pressures for assimilation from both church and civil leaders grew after WW I (World War I Ended With the Treaty of Versailles June 28, 1919 World War I (June1914-armistice took effect at 11:00 hours on 11 Nov 1918) was finally over). In Rhode Island the 1922 Peck Education Bill required all elementary school courses, including religion, be taught in English. It was later repealed. Bishop Hickey followed suit to English-language education by announcing a $1 Million Campaign for funds to construct diocesan high schools, with every parish assessed a quota. The Sentinelle Crisis resulted."

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St. Anne’s Parish would suffer painful divisions due to the fact that three prominent leaders of the 1924-1929 Sentinelle Movement were of the parish. They were Elphege J. Daignault, Phydime J. Hemond, and Dr. J. Gaspard Boucher, MD. The climax came in 1927 when twelve French-Canadian Parishes sued the Bishop in the Civil Courts over his right to seize parish funds. The Superior Court ruled that the parishes had a right to an accounting, but that the Bishop had the right to disperse parochial funds.

03 FEBRUARY 1914- A harbinger of the storms of LA SURVIVANCE to come at ST. ANNE'S PARISH began on the very day of FATHER NARCISSE LECLERC’s BURIAL on February 3, 1914. (LECLERC, NARCISSE (REV.) 1861 - 1914 WO006), Known as the MARIST CRISIS, it was a SEVEN WEEK long CRUSADE to PREVENT a French speaking BELGIAN MARIST ORDER from assuming direction of the parish, as decided by BISHOP Matthew A. Harkins † (Bishop: 11 Feb 1887 to 25 May 1921). A 23 MEMBER VIGILANCE COMMITTEE, led by ELPHEGE J. DAIGNAULT,

aka; DAIGNEAULT), a local WOONSOCKET LAWYER, was FORMED. OPPOSITION to the MARISTS was DUE to their VIEWS on ASSIMILATION. The COMMITTEE OPPOSED AMERICANIZATION, going so far as to surround the parish property with pickets to prevent FIVE MARIST PRIESTS, LED BY FATHER RAYMOND PLASMANS, S.M., from entering. Tactics of LOBBYING FOR a FRENCH-CANADIAN PASTOR included USE of 500 PARISHONERS watching the Rectory from both sides of Cumberland Street, newspaper articles, a pew rent strike, and visits to the Bishop.

Finally, on MARCH 21, 1914, the REVEREND CAMILLE VILLIARD was NAMED as PASTOR to SUCCEED REVEREND LECLERC. A native of YAMASKA, P.Q. CANADA, he had come to MANVILLE, RI. in 1895 at age 19. After graduating from Marieville College in Quebec, he studied theology at St. John’s Seminary, Brighton, MA and was ORDAINED on 29 JUNE 1904 in Providence, Rhode Island. FATHER RAYMOND PLASMANS, S.M., was NAMED to REPLACE FATHER CAMILLE VILLIARD as PASTOR of ST. CHARLES BORROMEO in PROVIDENCE, RI. The news was greeted by crowds in the Social District, who shouted themselves hoarse. Their courage and convictions against assimilation had united the entire parish.

Ten years of harmony ensued as the parish worked on fund-raising to build and finish a cathedral-like church, which would cost $150,000.

24 MAY 1914- (On MARIE ROSE FERRON'S 12th BIRTHDAY), some 15,000 attended the LAYing of the CORNERSTONE of ST. ANNE'S Church, (The Parish where 3 future, head Sentinellists would belong to) followed by a two division parade with 2,000 marchers made up of church and French fraternal orders. The flags of Quebec could be seen everywhere, along with American and Canadian flags. The actual DEDICATION was by MSGR. THOMAS A. DORAN, VICAR-GENERAL of the DIOCESE, ACTING FOR BISHOP HAWKINS.

*28 July 1914: Austria declared war on Serbia. (WWI is brewing...) (How interesting 28 July is start of Rose's persecution)

*1 August 1914: Germany declared war on Russsia.

*3 August 1914: Germany declared WAR on France. WWI had BEGUN.

*4 August 1914: Britain declares war on Germany.

*11 November 1918: WWI ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. (how interesting Rose died on 11th)

1922 in Rhode Island: Peck Education Bill required all elementary school courses, including religion, be taught in English. It was later repealed.

JANUARY 1923- BISHOP WILLIAM A. HICKEY followed suit to ENGLISH language (UNIVERSAL- Language) education by announcing a $1 MILLION CAMPAIGN for funds to construct diocesan high schools, with every parish assessed a quota to his priests.

JANUARY 1923- A group of MILITANT ADVOCATES of MDULla survivance, (French-Canadians), LED BY a former City Solicitor ELPHEGE J. DAIGNAULT, a WOONSOCKET LAWYER, BEGAN ORGANIZING AGAINST DIOCESAN FUND DRIVES. He SENT A LETTER of PROTEST to the SACRED CONGREGATION OF THE COUNCIL in ROME pointing out that in the DIOCESE OF PROVIDENCE there were 96 parishes but only 46 of them had schools. The signers of the letter asked the HOLY FATHER to intervene to halt the drive in view of the fact that there had already been two drives within the last few years to raise large sums for PROVIDENCE COLLEGE. They described the new, even larger drive, as an "exorbitant tax that the faithful cannot pay without putting in danger their churches, their schools and all the Catholic works they look after."

1924-ELPHEGE J. DAIGNAULT FOUNDED & PUBLISHED- LA SENTINELLE, 'THE SENTINEL,' a newspaper, that would print the future protests and events that would take place.

1925-1925, after having consulted QUEBEC CANON LAWYERS and HIRING- an ITALIAN LAWYER familiar with the procedures of the ROMAN CURIA, Daignault SUBMITTED A FORMAL PETITION to the SACRED CONGREGATION OF THE COUNCIL asking the Congregation to halt what they continued to describe as an illegal assessment of parish funds on Bishop Hickey's part. In the course of giving instructions to his pastors as to the manner in which they should submit the funds they collected in the high school drive to the diocese, Bishop Hickey had authorized them to take from parish funds whatever they needed to make up the difference between their parish goals and the amount they had collected up to the deadline for reporting the results of the drive. When Bishop Hickey assured the Congregation that his instructions were meant to facilitate the collection of funds in a timely manner and were not to be regard as an assessment, the CONGREGATION DISMISSED DAIGNAULT'S PETITION AS BEING WITHOUT GROUNDS.

DATE UNKNOWN- Other funds came from his two chief but silent clerical supports, FATHER JOSEPH BELAND and FATHER ACHILLE PRINCE. Previous to the civil court verdict, Bishop Hickey had removed Father Prince as pastor of St. Louis, Woonsocket, and placed an administrator in charge of Father Beland's parish, Notre Dame, Central Falls. Father Prince's removal prompted another pew rent strike in Woonsocket in which a substantial number of French-Canadians joined. After the civil courts had decided the case, Bishop Hickey announced the penalty of excommunication that canon law imposed on Daignault and the 55 others who had signed the papers supporting the petition Daignault submitted to the courts, because they did so without permission. In addition to the decrees of excommunication, Bishop Hickey also announced that Rome had placed La Sentinelle on the Index. When news of the ban on La Sentinelle was published by several Canadian bishops, who the Sentinellists felt had supported them in the past, the position of Daignault's group was severely weakened.

25 MAY 1925- MARIE ROSE FERRON, MOVES INTO 157 West St., ?#floor, WOONSOCKET, Providence County, Rhode Island. (Rose, would become a flower- a rose in the MIDST of passions brewing and her outcome of her investigations of her cause for Jesus would sadly be lost in the midst of all the turmoil, confusion, passion, and conflict.)

NOVEMBER 1925- ELPHEGE J. DAIGNAULT, took over DIRECT EDITOR CONTROL of the LA SENTINELLE, "THE SENTINEL'.

EARLY 1927- (ABT.? FEB. 12, 1927??)- 1) ELPHEGE J. DAIGNAULT, 2) PHYDIME J. HEMOND, and 3) DR. J. GASPARD BOUCHER, MD. and 58 SUPPORTERS of 12 FRENCH CANADIAN PARISHES, FILED a LAWSUIT AGAINST (V.) the BISHOP, PROVIDENCE DIOCESE, in CIVIL COURT (LATER IN SUPERIOR COURT) CHALLENGING THE AUTHORITY OF THE DIOCESE OF PROVIDENCE to take money from individual parishes.

1925- BISHOP WILLIAM A. HICKEY meets Little MARIE ROSE FERRON, is impressed with her and asks her if she would be willing to "suffer and offer up her sufferings to Our Lord, for the sake of his beloved Diocese, and his flock which included the 56-61 Sentinellists he was may have to excommunicate and for the sake of him." Without hestitation, Rose, obediently, faithfully and very lovingly agreed with full-heart and did so! She would become 1 out 150 known Stigmatics, and 1 out of 30 known to have all 5 of Christ's precious wounds, and the #'s decrease even more when you consider that she suffered more! Her sufferings and 24/7 prayers didn't go unanswered as the 56-61 excommunicated Sentinellists did return to their beloved Church- the last being on 17 May 1929! Bishop Hickey would also see another miracle- Huge funds were raised despite the economy and the times and the schools would be built!

JULY1927- At HOLY FAMILY CHURCH, (Marie Rose Ferron's beloved Parish), the DIOCESE WAS PROVOKED INTO RESPONDING. One Sunday during a PEW RENT STRIKE, the priests stopped people and asked for their contributions before a Mass began. After the HOLY FAMILY CHURCH incident and WHEN A PRIEST (FA. ACHILLE PRINCE), PERCEIVED AS FAVORING the SENTINELLES WAS REMOVED from ST. LOUIS CHURCH, WOONSOCKET, RI., the Sentinelles drove home their CLAIM OF OPPRESSION by the diocesan leadership.

SEPTEMBER 1927- Sorrell calls the high-water mark of the movement. Estimates are that a September 1927 RALLY at ST. LOUIS FIELD may have drawn 10,000 people.

**OCTOBER 1927 or 1928- RI. SUPERIOR COURT DISMMISSED the SENTINELLE SUIT and its SIGNERS WERE WARNED OF POSSIBLE EXCOMMUNICATION. When the Rhode Island courts took up the case both the superior court judge, who initially heard the case, and the Supreme Court justices, to whom Daignault appealed the verdict rendered against him by the superior court, also upheld the bishop's position.

JANUARY 1928, BISHOP HICKEY ANNOUNCE THOSE WHO WERE'NT CONTRIBUTING as they could were in a STATE OF MORTAL SIN.

19 FEBRUARY 1928- BISHOP WILLIAM A. HICKEY WARNS IN LETTER: SOME MOVEMENT LEADERS were REFUSED COMMUNION

**08 APRIL 1928- EXCOMMUNICATION- ELPHEGE J. DAIGNAULT went to ROME TWICE to PLEAD his CASE and while there, the EXCOMMUNICATIONS of EVERYONE (58-62) WHO JOINED IN LAWSUIT WERE ANNOUNCED- The ROMAN CHURCH RULED THEY HAVE 1 YEAR TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE AUTHORITY OF THE BISHOP, SUBMIT THEMSELVES & REPENT or BE DECLARED HERETICS. (APRIL 1928-APRIL 1929) But excommunication ended it. Sorrell said the Sentinellists wanted to change the way their church was run, not to leave it. When the diocese transformed the controversy from one over accounting procedures to one of the fate of a person's soul.

23 FEBRUARY 1929, SUN., ALL BUT 4 RETURNED/SUBMITTED/REPENTED TO BSP. By Feb. 1929 all but 4 had repented. But ON THIS DAY, at Masses in their own churches-Included at St. Anne’s was Elphege Daignault. The 4th- Phydime J. Hemond, was the last to repent holding out til 17 May 1929.

***MAY 1929- Hemond's father whom Sorrell said had torn the excommunication order up in front of the PRIEST who DELIVERED IT _ held out until May 1929, but in the end he too came back to the fold.

***MAY 17, 1929- PHYDIME J. HEMOND, of St. Annes last to repent even got a month's extension to decide and finally relented on 17 May 1929.

---------------------

***some references:

www.projo.com/specials/century/month4/426bv1.htm

www.afgs.org/2_06.html (put out by AFGS- vital senti. info)

www.providencevisitor.com/history-16.html (put out by Church)

wiki.answers.com/Q/When_did_World_War_1_start_and_end

------------------------------------------------------------------------

And so Wedding Bliss began..... After the Goan wedding party incident and misunderstanding which wasn't Dave's fault at all Deportation was the order of the day A map and a pin and onwards ............

Misunderstanding

These are the series of illustrations to newest story – The flight of the swan telling about Dannee’s struggle with keeping peace between her friend and one of her romantic flashbacks in the past.

Even while Skyrim being at state of fragile peace Dannee learns that not all fights are tied with something epic as she tries to out some order and peace between two of her closest friends who had big misunderstanding along with nasty quarrel. In attempt to make her friend Serana see things from her perspective Dannee dwells in her own past as well as helping Serana deal with terrible but unseen wounds of her darkest memories…

The first part – www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/images/433485/?

The second part of the story – www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/images/433486/?

  

This is part of my 'issues set'. i will be taking pictures of the issues i have had to watch people go through!

On our first full day in Lisbon, we made a stop at the local supermarket to pick up some supplies and ogle the local offerings. I always go to supermarkets when I travel -- they are an inexpensive way to get immersed in the daily life of a city, and boy do I like foreign sodas. So in this market in Lisbon, I was predictably enthralled by every item, every display. My eyes were passing over colorful collections of packaged goods as my feet propelled me through the aisles. At the end of one aisle, my eyes rested on one of the most alluring of displays on the Iberian peninsula: the cured meats. In a cloud of joy, I turned to Stan and exclaimed, "MEATS!"

 

Except?

 

It was not Stan. It was a man of similar size and shape and coat color. In my foreign supermarket ecstasy haze, I had lost Stan and said "MEATS!" emphatically to a stranger. This stranger looked at me with shock, which was my cue to dart off the bread aisle. I found Stan there, and explained to him with a red face what had happened. My supermarket high quickly diffused by embarrassment, we left shortly after.

 

*****

 

That evening, we were walking through a stretch of Bairro Alto lined with bars and flowing with people headed out for the evening. The street was buzzing with a mass of pedestrians headed up the street, headed down the street. A flood of faces moved toward and past us. One of those faces, moving fast, locked his eyes with mine, and said, I kid you not : "MEATS?"

 

Or maybe it was "MEETS?" The word was laid out before me with an upward lilt, and the man disappeared into the flood behind us. My boots planted into the pavement and we stopped walking to grapple with the shock. After a small meltdown, we came up with a few theories:

 

1. This was the same man from the supermarket. (This was Stan's theory, but I can tell you it was not the same man.)

2. The man was looking for sex, and said what must be understood as the universal invitation to do so in Lisbon: "MEETS?" (Please take a moment and consider the implications here. This was my theory and the only plausible one I could come up with given the available evidence.)

3. A higher power sent the Bairro Alto "Meets" Man to amuse me and/or give me pause about the connectedness of the world.

4. The Bairro Alto "Meets" Man was a completely random occurrence and is a good example of human beings trying to make meaning out of chaos.

 

Most of the time I trust theory #2, but in my more optimistic moments I go with #3.

 

(Note! - this photo is neither of the supermarket or the Bairro Alto, if I remember correctly, but I didn't really have appropriate photos of either so I subbed this in.)

Gay marriage was legalized on the same day as marijuana,

 

and that's finally starting to make sense to me:

 

because, if you read Leviticus 20:13 in the Bible, it says,

 

"A man who lays with another man should be stoned."

 

It would appear that we may have been misunderstanding

 

that verse all these years.

 

Merry Christmas

Communication

Miscommunication

Misunderstanding

Fight

mamiya rz67

110mm f/2,8 with B+W circ polariser

kodak ektacolor pro 160

 

[EDIT: I think what I originally wrote here caused some misunderstandings, so I changed it a bit].

I love all the great pictures of vintage cars that many of you upload to Flickr. I would like to shoot more of them myself, but here in Poland most of the cars, while not new, are not yet vintage. We mostly drive 5-10 years old cars from Western Europe.

Harper's Weekly May 19, 1906

The Human Drama at San Francisco

by Herman Whitaker — author of The Probationer

 

From the Contra Costa hills I saw a fiery cloud, miles high, rising over San Francisco. Eight miles away men were fighting one of the greatest fires of history without water. At the end of the first day word came that the powder supply was exhausted; later a supply was obtained somehow and for three days thereafter the sullen roar of the blasts went on unceasingly. It was a fine thing to hear: it stirred one’s blood, filled one with a sense of the indomitable resources that did not flinch in the face of the most fearful odds. Along the bay, San Francisco lay like a huge giant in a purgatory flames, —a giant tormented yet still unconquered. Above the roar and crackle rose his great voice, the growl and thunder of the blasts. And now that the smoke pall has lifted from San Francisco one may observe ruin so vast and complete that the mind registers only an impression of the common place. It is to immense, too comprehensive, to be appreciated until, after hours of wondering amid calcined brick piles, one returns to the flowers and gardens of Oakland across the bay. These Seem strange, unfamiliar; and so, by negation, appreciation is gained of the great lime kiln that was once a suburban city. Overlooking it from an eminence, the streets may be traced only by long brick piles that cross blackened and tottering walls. Closer inspection shows that this fire stone actually burned like coal : bricks are calcined, and cobblestones burned in places to sand and dust.

 

For duration, intensity, area, destruction, the San Francisco fire is one of the greatest in history: yet, when it is said, but half has been told. The quality it called forth— dogged courage, tenacity of purpose, cheerfulness, sympathy, hope —equal it’s stupendous proportions as a tragedy. History records no superior instance of a stricken people rising superior to a calamitous occasion. To earthquake and fire the Californian turned and still turns a cheerful visage. Though, in these days, millionaires have become paupers and business men bankrupt, once he scarcely a sober face upon the street. For the buoyancy is general, or becomes sympathetic sobriety only when the wearer comes in contact with some mourner. Of these, of course, there are many, and besides those who perished by earthquake or fire are those who died of wounds or exposure. The saddest cases of all were those poor women who died while bringing children into the world. The second night of the fire 23 babies were born on the grass of Golden Gate Park. 11 other unfortunate women bore children out in the Berkeley hills. And of these mothers nine are said to have died. For this, no one is to blame: it was inevitable to the situation. Almost equally sad is the case of children who have been separated from parents by death or confusion. Under any circumstances, of course, sympathy naturally flows to the orphan, but how much more is it needed when the bereavement comes in such terrible form. What could be more awful than the thought of the helpless child wondering without help or guidance through the perilous streets of a wrecked city. In all of Oakland’s many relief camps these may be found, and today they are being gathered together by the Salvation Army and taken to Beulah Park. Besides such inevitable suffering the situation developed a tragic side. Always when calamity interferes with established order, the beast crops out in man, and that San Francisco escaped raping, incendiarism , assault, and robbery is due to the inflexible administration of martial law. Not only were looters shot on sight, but all others who persisted in defying authority or in any way molested the peace of the people. The following cases a typical example: Out towards North Beach a refugee camp was situated at the foot of some cliffs, which fact suggested to some Barbary Coast hoodlums the amiable sport of rolling rocks down upon the women and children gathered there. Warned by the sentry on duty, one man dared him to fire. The word had hardly passed his lips before a bullet took him through the heart. There was no more rock rolling.

 

The soldiers, nevertheless, knew how to be kind. They shared their rations with starving men and gave up their tents to women and children. They stood between the people and would-be extortionists, confiscating the stocks of merchants who unduly raised prices. An instance of this was related to me by an eyewitness. In one of the relief camps, a sergeant heard an aged woman saying that she had been asked $.75 for a loaf of bread that morning. “What!” he exclaimed; and upon her repeating her statement he marched a squad of men to the store she showed him, and began to distribute the stock among the crowd.

“But these are my things!” the grocery protested.

“You charged this woman $.75 for a loaf of bread,” the sergeant answered.

“But I can charge what I like,” the grocery protested; “get out of my store!”

Without answering, the sergeant went on distributing the stores until the angry man laid a hand on his shoulder, then he turned.

“Do you think we are joking?” he asked. Then, turning to his men, he said, “Take him out.”

They shot him against the walls of his own store.

It is creditable to human nature, however, to know that cases of extortion were the exception. On the second day of the fire, I myself made a tour of the Oakland groceries and found only one man who evinced a disposition to advance prices. If there were others, they were deterred by an editorial published in the Oakland Tribune that very morning. “Cursed be he,“ finished the indignant editor, “who at this juncture tries to trade on the necessities of his fellows.” It is lamentable that such a warning should have been necessary; yet when one contemplates the violence, suffering, and bloodshed which have attended similar catastrophes in the past, when one remember set under such circumstances wrongdoing is the rule instead of the exception, the conclusion is forced upon one that man has progressed far in humanity.

 

Concerning the pervading cheerfulness of which I have been speaking, no report of the situation would be complete without some mention of it’s humorous aspects. For instance the young man whose modesty overcame his fear of death. Running out into the street at the first shock, he observed two young women of his acquaintance leaning out of the window, and was so afflicted with a certain sense of his pajamas that he ran back into the building. Now closer observation or less scrupulous modesty would have shown him the folly of his act, for he was clad in the very latest fashion. Indeed men in pajamas impressed others more lightly clad very much as a tailored youth regards a hand me down. Then there was the dignified gentleman of my acquaintance who put sleeve links into clean cuffs, shaved, washed, and packed a suitcase before merging upon the street. But not until he had walked a block down Market Street did he discover his utter lack of trousers. On Nob Hill, the city’s aristocratic section, two well known society women were observed dragging a trunk between them: and surely panic is a great leveler, for just then a man with a vegetable cart came along, offered his conveyance and drove off with a star a fashion on either side of him.

 

After the fire had burned itself out, the humor evolved into a sort of grim practical joking. Soldiers and police pressed every man they could lay hands on into service for clearing the streets of bricks, wherefore many a sight-seer who had obtained a pass to cross the bay and see the sights remained to heave brick. One police sergeant remarked with a grin, “I’ve got a bank president, a traffic manager of the Southern Pacific Railway, and a Chief of Police all in the gang. They didn’t like it at first,” he added, tapping his boot with the muscle of a long pistol, “but now they’re doing fine.” Then there was an English man, in immaculate traveling suit, parading ferryward with a suitcase. “But I can’t heave bricks,” he answered when impressed; but he did – five hours with that gang, and five with another which caught him further down the street.

 

Yet on the whole such things were accepted philosophically, and out of the tangle and trouble were born innumerable acts of sympathetic kindness. Late this morning I met a printer who, until then, had held steady employment. “Chucked my job,” was his answer to my question; “do you think I’d hang onto it while hundreds of married men are hunting for work?” And in an Oakland restaurant a similar case occurred. A man applied for work, and, when the proprietor refused, he said, “I must have it, for I have a wife and children to support.” Unwillingly enough, the proprietor repeated that he could not employ any more man, whereupon a waiter who was passing set down his tray of dishes, whipped off his apron and handed it to the applicant. “I have nobody but myself to look after,” he said; “take my job.”

 

These are but two instances from among thousands that might be cited, which go to show the quality of the public spirit. While the fire was yet burning, plans were being evolved for the building of a greater city. “Going to rebuild?” one hears constantly in the ferry, trains, and cars; and always comes the ready answer: “sure, just as soon as the ashes are cold.” A man was treated for burned hands at a local hospital because he could not wait for the bricks to cool. Cheerfully, bravely, San Franciscans are facing their problem, and their attitude may be summed up in the answer given me by a man this morning. He is 106 years old and when meeting him on the street, I put the question, “well, Captain, did you save anything?” he answered: “Only what I stand in. I’ve got to begin all over again.” Yet it must not be imagined that there is anything flippant about this attitude. The men who laugh and joke do so with the full knowledge of the gravity of the situation. This morning, Secretary Metcalf placed the property loss at $500 million and the jokers are the men who suffered the loss. Another misunderstanding should be avoided. The money reported subscribed is said to be sufficient to tide San Francisco over her crisis. This is not the case. Of the three million and a half that Congress appropriated, all but $300,000 is already spent. Indeed that is all of the appropriation which the relief committee of San Francisco has seen, the bulk of the appropriations having been spent by the War Department for provisions and supplies. The Rockefeller gift of $200,000 was handled entirely by the Standard Oil agents; and this morning Mr. Phelan, chairman of the Central Relief Committee, stated that many of the other subscriptions had not been paid. At the time of writing, the committee has only $600,000 to its credit, and most of this sum is preempted by debts already occurred. It should be distinctly realized that the business part of San Francisco has been swept from the face of the earth; that months must elapse before paralyzed business is reestablished, lines of trade reopened, and the great mass of laborers reemployed.

 

Six months is a low estimate for the length of time during which a quarter of 1 million of homeless and houseless people require assistance. It would be safer to say that a year will pass before all are reabsorbed into industry. At this juncture therefore it behooves every American to bestir himself for the benefit of San Francisco, which in the past has herself so often extended a helping hand to those in affliction. It would be dastardly to allow actual want to touch men and women who are facing bitter calamity with so brave a front. Surely this will not be. It may be safely be predicted that, once the facts of the case are clearly known, a generous response will meet all needs; so let there be no slacking in the good work. If this be rightly done, the San Francisco conflagration will be remembered not so much for its enormous losses of life and property, its vast areas of distraction, but rather because it furnished the world with proof that, in our time, “brotherhood of man” was not an empty phrase. The lesson it teaches is not that such and such a style of building is earthquake or fireproof, but that no calamity can exceed or quench the courage of man. As the Israelites of old were led to brighter and more beautiful lands by the clouds of smoke by day and the pillar of fire by night, so San Francisco’s mounting flames were landmark on the road to a greater humanity.

The Postcard

 

A Philco Series postcard featuring an early image of Gladys Cooper.

 

It was posted in Southend-on-Sea on Friday the 28th. April 1922 to:

 

Mrs. H. Green,

Feering Hill,

Kelvedon,

Essex.

 

What Mrs. Green read on the back of the card a century ago is as follows:

 

"Dear Nellie,

Thanks very much for your

letter. I hope you will excuse

me not writing but we have

been so very busy.

We sent a box off today for

Mother, but have put your

address on. You may have

to pay something on it as

there's been a little

misunderstanding about it.

Thank Mother for letters.

I will write a letter tomorrow

or Sunday.

Love to all".

 

Nellie can be a nickname for Helen or Helena.

 

Philco

 

The Philco Publishing Co. of 1-6 Holborn Place, London were active between 1905 to 1934. They published many different types of artist-signed cards and photo-based view-cards.

 

They are noted for three large sets representing Faith, Hope, and Charity.

 

Most of their cards were printed in Germany, although a set of real photo birthday greeting cards were manufactured in Italy.

 

Miss Gladys Cooper

 

Gladys Cooper's most noticeable characteristic is that she rarely if ever smiled when being photographed. In some publicity shots she actually looks quite annoyed.

 

Dame Gladys Constance Cooper, (18th. December 1888 – 17th. November 1971) was an English actress whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television.

 

Beginning as a teenager in Edwardian musical comedy and pantomime, she was starring in dramatic roles and silent films before the First World War.

 

She also became a manager of the Playhouse Theatre from 1917 to 1933, where she played many roles. From the early 1920's, Cooper was winning praise in plays by W. Somerset Maugham and others.

 

In the 1930's, she was starring both in the West End and on Broadway. Moving to Hollywood in 1940, Cooper found success in a variety of character roles; she was nominated for three Academy Awards, the last one as Mrs. Higgins in 'My Fair Lady' (1964). Throughout the 1950's and 1960's, she mixed her stage and film careers, continuing to star on stage until her last year.

 

Gladys Cooper - The Early Years

 

Cooper was born at 23 Ennersdale Road, Hither Green, Lewisham, London, the eldest of the three daughters of Charles William Frederick Cooper and Mabel Barnett.

 

Gladys Cooper spent most of her childhood in Chiswick, where her family moved when she was an infant.

 

Gladys made her stage debut in 1905 touring with Seymour Hicks in his musical 'Bluebell in Fairyland'. The young beauty was also a popular photographic model.

 

In 1906, she appeared as Lady Swan in London in 'The Belle of Mayfair', and then in the pantomime 'Babes in the Wood' as Mavis. The following year she became a chorus girl at the Gaiety Theatre, creating the small role of Eva in 'The Girls of Gottenberg'. That Christmas, she was Molly in 'Babes in the Wood'.

 

In 1908, she appeared in the musical 'Havana', followed the next year by 'Our Miss Gibbs', in which she played Lady Connie. She was then on tour again with Hicks, in 'Papa's Wife', before playing Sadie von Tromp in the hit operetta 'The Dollar Princess' at Daly's Theatre in 1909.

 

In 1911, she appeared in a production of 'The Importance of Being Earnest' and in 'Man and Superman'. Among several other plays, the next year she was Muriel Pym in 'Milestones' at the Royalty Theatre. A highlight of 1913 was Dora in 'Diplomacy' at Wyndham's Theatre. That year she also played the title role in 'The Pursuit of Pamela' at the Royalty.

 

In 1913 Cooper appeared in her first film, 'The Eleventh Commandment', going on to make several more silent films during the Great War and shortly afterwards. She continued full-time stage work, however, including appearances as Lady Agatha Lazenby in 'The Admirable Crichton' in 1916, and Clara de Foenix in 'Trelawny of the Wells'.

 

In addition, in 1917, Cooper became co-manager, with Frank Curzon, of the Playhouse Theatre, taking over sole control from 1927 until she left in 1933. During these years, she starred several times in 'My Lady's Dress'. She appeared in W. Somerset Maugham's 'Home and Beauty' in 1919, repeated Dora at His Majesty's Theatre in 1920 and elsewhere thereafter, and played numerous roles at the Playhouse Theatre.

 

Gladys Cooper - The Later Years

 

It was not until 1922, however, now in her mid thirties, that she found major critical success, in Arthur Wing Pinero's 'The Second Mrs. Tanqueray'. Early in her stage career, she was criticised for being too stiff. Aldous Huxley dismissed her performance in 'Home and Beauty', writing:

 

"She is too impassive, too statuesque,

playing all the time as if she were Galatea,

newly unpetrified and still unused to the

ways of the living world."

 

Evidently, her acting improved during this period, as Maugham praised her for:

 

"Turning herself from an indifferent actress

to an extremely competent one through her

common sense and industriousness".

 

For both the 1923 and 1924 Christmas shows at the Adelphi Theatre, Cooper played the title character in 'Peter Pan', while also playing several other roles at that theatre during those two years. She appeared in Maugham's 'The Letter' in London and on tour in 1927 and 1928, in 'Excelsior' in 1928, and in Maugham's 'The Sacred Flame' in 1929, also in London and on tour.

 

Among other roles, Cooper was Clemency Warlock in 'Cynara' (1930), Wanda Heriot in 'The Pelican' (1931), Lucy Haydon in 'Dr Pygmalion' (1932), Carola in 'The Firebird' (1932), Jane Claydon in 'The Rats of Norway' (1933), Mariella Linden in 'The Shining Hour' in 1934 and 1935, in London and New York City and on tour (at the same time making her first "talkie" film, 'The Iron Duke'), also playing Desdemona and Lady Macbeth on Broadway in 1935.

 

She was Dorothy Hilton in 'Call it a Day', again in both London and New York, from 1935 to 1936. A highlight of 1937 was Laura Lorimer in 'Goodbye to Yesterday' in London and on tour. In 1938, she played Tiny Fox-Collier in 'Spring Meeting' in New York, Montreal and Britain, as well as several Shakespeare roles and Fran Dodsworth in 'Dodsworth'. She repeated 'Spring Meeting' in 1939.

 

Cooper turned to film full-time in 1940, finding success in Hollywood in a variety of character roles, and was frequently cast as a disapproving, aristocratic society woman, although she sometimes played lively, approachable types, as she did in 'Rebecca' (1940).

 

She was nominated three times for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performances as Bette Davis's domineering mother in 'Now, Voyager' (1942), a sceptical nun in 'The Song of Bernadette' (1943), and Rex Harrison's mother, Mrs. Higgins, in 'My Fair Lady' (1964).

 

In 1945, after playing the role of Clarissa Scott in the film 'The Valley of Decision' for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, she was given a contract with the studio. Her credits there included both dramatic and comedy films, including 'The Green Years' (1946), 'The Cockeyed Miracle' (1946) and 'The Secret Garden' (1949).

 

Other notable film roles were 'The Man Who Loved Redheads' (1955), 'Separate Tables' (1958) and 'The Happiest Millionaire' (1967) as Aunt Mary Drexel, singing "There Are Those".

 

Her only stage roles in the 1940's were Mrs. Parrilow in 'The Morning Star' in Philadelphia and New York (1942), and Melanie Aspen in 'The Indifferent Shepherd' in Great Britain (1948).

 

She returned to theatre (between films) more often in the 1950's and 1960's, playing in London and on tour in such roles as Edith Fenton in 'The Hat Trick' (1950); Felicity, Countess of Marshwood, in 'Relative Values' (1951 and 1953); Grace Smith in 'A Question of Fact' (1953); Lady Yarmouth in 'The Night of the Ball' (1954); Mrs. St. Maugham in 'The Chalk Garden' (1955–56), Dame Mildred in 'The Bright One' (1958); Mrs. Vincent in 'Look on Tempests' (1960); Mrs. Gantry (Bobby) in 'The Bird of Time' (1961); Mrs. Moore in a stage adaptation of 'A Passage to India' (1962); Mrs Tabret in 'The Sacred Flame' (1966 and 1967); Prue Salter in 'Let's All Go Down the Strand' (1967); Emma Littlewood in 'Out of the Question' (1968); Lydia in 'His, Hers and Theirs' (1969); and others.

 

She received two nominations for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, for her roles in 'The Chalk Garden' and 'A Passage to India'.

 

She also had various television roles in the 1950's and '60's. These included, among others, three episodes of 'The Twilight Zone'. In the first, titled "Nothing in the Dark" (1962), she played an old lady who refuses to leave her flat for fear of meeting 'Death'. A young policeman (Robert Redford) is shot at her doorstep and persuades her to let him inside.

 

Her second appearance was in "Passage on the Lady Anne", which aired on the 9th. May 1963.

 

Her final episode was the 1964 "Night Call", where she portrayed a difficult, lonely old lady who is besieged by late-night phone calls. Cooper starred in the 1964–65 series 'The Rogues' with David Niven, Charles Boyer, Gig Young, Robert Coote, John Williams and Larry Hagman. The series lasted a single season of thirty episodes, most of which featured Cooper as the matriarch of a crime family.

 

In 1967, at the age of 79, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). Her last major success on the stage was at the age of 82, in 1970–71 in the role of Mrs. St. Maugham in Enid Bagnold's 'The Chalk Garden', a role she had created on Broadway and in the West End in 1955–56.

 

Marriages of Gladys Cooper

 

Cooper was married three times. Her husbands were:

 

- Captain Herbert Buckmaster (1908–1921). The couple had two children: Joan (1910–2005), who was married to the actor Robert Morley, and John Rodney (1915–83).

 

- Sir Neville Pearson (1927–36). Sir Neville and Lady Pearson had one daughter, Sally Pearson, aka Sally Cooper, who was married (1961–86) to actor Robert Hardy.

 

- Philip Merivale (1937–1946), a fellow actor. The couple lived for many years in Santa Monica, California as permanent resident aliens. He died at age 59 from a heart ailment. Her stepson from this marriage was John Merivale.

 

Death of Gladys Cooper

 

Gladys lived mostly in England in her final years, and died from pneumonia at the age of 82 in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.

Ok here is the true short story. You don't need to visualize that this would have ever happened to you, only that it is true and it happened to me.

It was 1961, and without generalizing too much, I would say I was more naive than many of today's 14 year olds. So go back to the early 1960s with me, and picture that I am in the car, with my mother driving; and we are on the way to the hospital. I am going to have a tonsillectomy. I never had surgery before, and my mother took on advisory role about what all would happen. I really wasn't the least bit afraid of the surgery itself. She was my Mom though, and so I listened intently to what she had to say.

 

My mother was from an even more naive time, 1914, downright strange and prudish to my way of thinking. She said while she was driving and gripping the wheel tighty, that I needed to know at the hospital they would "shave my pocketbook". Thinking she meant my purse or wallet, and thinking she meant something on the order of the cafeteria or gift shop would cheat me, short change me, or somehow "take me to the cleaners" was my interpretation. She said, "Do you understand me?" I replied, "Yes, Mom, I'll be careful." I think she thought I didn't quite get what she meant, but she was already flustered and embarrassed anyway. In a very awkward conversation, as we approached the hospital, she somehow conveyed to me that "pocketbook" was her word for private parts, pubic area. She said they would shave my private parts. GULP! I was very modest, and this had me way more upset than surgery. My Mom said they do it for every operation, for hygiene. Having only experienced operations on her private parts, I'm sure she actually believed this to be true.

 

I was mortified. I didn't say another word. She got me checked in, and left for awhile. I saw what looked like a nurse to me, take and bowl and soapy things and go behind a curtain, which was all that was keeping me from a male patient across the hall from me. I could hear her saying, I'm just going to shave you here. It will only take a minute and won't hurt. I totally experienced his discomfort and embarrassment. A nurse came by to check on me, and said, "My, you look healthy with your rosy cheeks." You don't look like you need to be in the hospital. I said I wasn't sick; I was just getting my tonsils removed. She said you look very upset; are you scared about the operation? I allowed as to how I wasn't a bit upset about the operation, but the shaving of my private parts had me really upset. She laughed and wanted to know why on earth I thought they would shave my private parts for a tonsillectomy. I told her about my conversation with my Mom. She must have tried hard to keep from cracking up laughing. She said not to worry, they didn't shave anything for a tonsillectomy. I was experiencing major relief, and I hadn't even had the operation yet. I had it, did well, went home to a great recovery, and I don't think my Mom ever again attempted any kind of intimate conversation with me.

 

BTW, I still don't use the word "Pocketbook". I say coin purse, or wallet, or purse.

Living is easy with eyes closed

Misunderstanding all you see

It's getting hard to be someone

But it all works out

It doesn't matter much to me

Last month's highlight: Macquarie's instructions to James Meehan for the laying out of the Five Townships of Windsor, Richmond, Pitt town, Wilberforce and Castlereagh dated 26 December 1810. Notice Macquarie's attention to detail in the instructions: he sets a regular width for the streets and the assignment of land to be used for the Church, School, Gaol and Guard house. He even gives directions as to the type of

dwelling houses which may be built.

 

» Lachlan Macquarie Gallery

 

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Instructions given to James Meehan for the laying out of the Five Townships

 

Secretary’s Office Sydney

26th December 1810

 

Sir

 

His Excellency the Governor deeming it expedient/in

order to guard against any misunderstanding on your part/to commit

the Instructions which He has already given you verbally on the

subjects of the New Townships now about to be finally, laid out and

for the further purpose of your explaining the same to all persons

concerned, so that at any future period, no doubt as to His

Excellency’s intentions may be started, has instructed me to convey

His directions to you to proceed immediately, to Windsor, where you

are to apply for, and receive from Mr Cox the Chief Magistrate, the

Several Returns of the Settlers Names who are desirous of forming

their future Residences within the said New Townships

 

So soon as you have received those Returns, you

are with the least possible delay, to commence the business of

laying out in a clear and distinct manner the Several Town-

Ships of Windsor, Richmond, Pitt town, Wilberforce and Castlereagh

in which duty you are to require the assistance of Mr Evans, the

Deputy Surveyor. These Townships are to be established on the

High Grounds already surveyed and allotted for those purposes by His

Excellency, the Governor on the several Commons within the respective

Districts to which these Townships are to be attached As a

General guide to you in the execution of this very important business

you

56

You are principally, to observe and follow the subsequent Rules

and Orders in the marking out the several Townships and

allotments for the Settlers who mean to reside therein

1st You are mark out the several Townships by

regular lines accurately defined, and the streets

to be laid out are to be 66 feet wide – those streets

running lengthways thro’ the Town are to be parallel

to, and 8 chains distant from each other – these streets

are also to be intersected by others crossing them at

right angles, which streets are to be the same

width with the others, but are to be laid out 12

chains apart from each other, and are also to be in

parallel directions

2 In the Center of each Town or Township you

are to assign a Square Space of Ground containing

396 feet on each side for the purpose of erecting a

Church, a School House, a Gaol and Guard House in

and you are to set apart 2 acres of Ground on the

rear of the central square for a Burial ground, with

an expection in this particular with regard to Windsor

and Richmond, instructions for which will be

noticed herein.

3 The Townships are to be laid out in regular

Allotments for the future Inhabitants in the

Following proportions. Viz.

Allotment

For settlers holding Farms less than 30 1½ Acres

For

57

Allotment

For settlers holding Farms of 30 and less than 50 Acres 2 acres

Do [Ditto] Do [Ditto] of 50 and less than 100 Do [Ditto] 3 Do [Ditto]

Do [Ditto] Do [Ditto] of 100 acres and upwards 4 Do [Ditto]

4 But as there is not a sufficiency of unappropriated Land

in the Township of Windsor to make the allotments equally

great as the foregoing whilst that which is disposable

becomes of course the more valuable, you are to make

the distribution of it accordingly to the following scale

namely

Allotment

For Settlers holding Farms less than 30 acres ¾ acre

Do [Ditto] Do of 30 and less than 50 Acres 1 Do

Do [Ditto] Do of 50 and less than 100 do 1½ Do

Do [ Ditto] Do of 100 acres and Upwards 2 Do

 

The main streets or those which run lengthways in Windsor

are to be parallel and 5 Chains asunder, and the

Streets at right angles with them or running cross-

ways are to be 12 Chains apart and throughout paral-

lel to each other the Width of the Streets to be 66 feet as

in the other Townships Fifty acres of Ground are to

be reserved for small Town allotments for the accom-

modation of Tradesmen which Ground is to commence

from Rickaby’s, Mr Marsden’s and Thomas’s farms

and to extend thence to the Farms on the South Creek

The allotments to be reserved for the settlers who have

Farms on the Banks of the River are to commence

at the termination of the 50 Acres reserved for the

Tradespeople Every Person holding a Farm on the

Bank of the River which is liable to the Floods, is to

have an allotment assigned him, whether his Land

is

58

is held by Grant or Lease from the Government or by Purchase

or Lease from the original Grantee It is however to be

clearly understood in this place that such allotments are

never to be sold or alienated independent of the Farms for

the security of which they are now first to be granted, nor is

any Person whatever who holds Land on the River to get

an allotment in a District Township but that wherein

his Farm is situated to which he is to be exclusively attached

and limited.

5 You are also to number the Farms on the banks of

the Hawkesbury and Nepean which are subject to the floods

in the same order they are placed on the Chart Viz

No 1, 2, 3 and so on for their entire number and

corresponding numbers for the Town allotment are to be

given to the settlers, paying due attention to the proportions

already prescribed When this duty is performed you are to

make out a complete register off all the allotments thus

assigned in order that it may be referred to in any Cases

of dispute which may in future arise respecting them.

6 The dwelling houses to be erected in the several Town-

ships by the settlers are to be either made of Brick or

weather boarded, to have Brick chimneys and to roofed

with shingles each house is to contain not less than two

apartments, with a glazed window in each room and

the side walls are not to less than 9 feet high A

Plan of such dwelling houses with suitable offices will be

left with each District Constable to which every Settler in

the erection of his house and office must conform as

already

59

already prescribed in His Excellency’s address to the settlers under

the Head of General and Government Orders dated the 15th

instant and you are to take pains to making this

injunction perfectly understood

7 You are also to locate a Glebe of 400 acres of Land

for the present and future use Chaplains resident at

Windsor the situation to be a convenient and

eligible one within that Township or in the town-

ship of Richmond, but you are by all means to avoid

marking it out in any situation whereby it might

prove injurious or inconvenient for the Farms on

the Banks of the River, either by its shutting up or

excluding their free communication between their Farms

so sealed and the Town Common assigned for the

grazing of their cattle. Neither is the Glebe to extend

nearer than one mile to the Towns of Windsor or

Richmond.

8 The Burial Grounds for the Townships of Windsor and

Richmond, and the Grounds whereon it is intended to

erect the Churches and School houses are to be con-

sidered as exceptions to the rules laid down in the 2nd

Paragraph of these Instructions, and are to be marked

out for them as the Governor has already directed

9 In any cases not provided for in these present in-

structions, you are to be guided by the verbal directions

which you have already received from His Excellency,

the Governor, and you are by all means to impress

These His Excellency’s Instructions on every person

who

60

who may feel an interest therein

I am Sir

Your Ob H ble Servt

[Obedient Humble Servant]

 

Signed Jno Thos Campbell

Secy

 

[John Thomas Campbell

Secretary]

 

James Meehan

Actg Pl Surveyor

[Acting Principal]

Sydney