taken during our Disneyland Trip.

THOUGHT - the bliss of mankind

Travels anywhere and everywhere

Creates spaces for itself to travel and dwell

Desires all that it thinks good

Crosses the boundaries of earth

Searching its desires into the space

Amidst the radiance of celestial bodies

Stars constellations and beyond

Knowledge navigates through the space

Where the celestial bodies are woven

As flowers in a garland - so harmonious

Defines territories unknown

Forests of elephants, ocean of honey,

Island of jewel, woods of desire

THOUGHT - the thirsty traveler

Finds its destiny in the jewel of thought - CHINTAMANI

THOUGHT - the seed germinates, grows, bears

Fruits of prosperity unlimited

THOUGHT - THE PROSPERITY ETERNAL

VISHWAMANGALAM

Gesso, gouache and gilded over cloth and lime surface on plywood - 2010

The Prosperity Town

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The construction of the "Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens" started in 1220, after a predecessor Romanesque church burnt down two years earlier. Unusual for medieval structures, the first architects are known here. Robert de Luzarches was the architect until 1228. He was followed by Thomas de Cormont until 1258. His son, Renaud de Cormont, acted as the architect until 1288.

Today Amiens Cathedral is the largest existing Gothic cathedral in France. There was a lot of competition between the cities and towns about the largest nave, the highest vaults. The long and relatively peaceful reign of Louis IX (aka "Saint Louis") brought prosperity to the region, so that Amiens could afford such a structure. The cathedral is 145m long (interior length 133,50m). The volume of the structure is about 200.000m³, Notre Dame de Paris has only about 100.000m³

The western facade is dotted with lots of bas-relief medallions. Here are two of them. To the left the "Dream of the Magi", to the right the Magi in a ship. I have never seen them sailing, all icons I saw so far, they were riding horses.

Thanks to "tereliyesajjan", I found this impressive and highly interesting websites:

www.medievalart.org.uk/Amiens/Amiens_default.htm

Tidjane Thiam, CEO, Credit Suisse Group AG

Jim Yong Kim, President, World Bank Group

Jane Harman, Director, President and CEO, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; Former Congresswoman

Lotus paste fillings.

Lanterns themed-set lighted-up display at the Gardens by the Bay during River Hongbao 2023 for the Chinese New Year festival.

The yellow-stained walls of this ancient temple bears testament to some 200 years of pious devotion. The little dragons perched on the ornate temple roofs have seen the worst of storms and the hottest of days yet the colours of these “ceramic guardians” have not lost its luster.

Huge bells that rival even those of Notre Dame tell of the temple’s glory while fearsome stone dragons and lions stand guard over the holy sanctuary and its devotees.

Although the temple along Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling is actually called Kong Hock Keong or the Kwangtung Hokkien Temple, few people refer to it as such. It is better known as Kuan Im Teng or Goddess of Mercy Temple among both devotees as well as Penangites of other faiths.

The land where the temple sits was a gift from the East India Company to the early Chinese settlers here. Originally dedicated to Ma Chor Po - a patron deity seafarers and an incarnation of Kuan Im, the temple also houses other deities including the Tua Pek Kong (God of Prosperity), Kshitagarbha Buddha, Hu Ye (Tiger God), Tai Suey (God of the Year) and Boddhisattva Wei Tuo.

During the 1800s, it was among the most magnificent Chinese structures in northern Malaya, boasting of both Cantonese and Hokkien elements in its construction.

On her three birthdays (devotees of the Goddess of Mercy celebrate the 19th day of the second, sixth and ninth months of the Chinese lunar calendar as it is believed that her birthdays fall on these dates), devotees from all over the region will converge here to mark the special occasion and also to seek her blessings.

During these days, Chinese opera troupes would be engaged to perform for the deities for several days. These are the best times for foreigners to visit and pay their respects at the temple but please practice restraint and courtesy when taking photographs. At any given time, Kuan Im’s birthdays draw in hundreds of people jostling to get inside the temple with their joss sticks and offerings so please be mindful of your belongings and do not push!

The temple is also busy during the Chinese New Year period when people come to pray for good luck and prosperity for the coming year.

Constructed in accordance to Feng Shui principles, the temple has three wells – one on the right side of the main shrine, another outside the temple and the third hidden under the main altar of the Goddess of Mercy. The water from the wells is believed to be able to cure illnesses.

During the Japanese Occupation, many lives were saved as people ran into the temple to seek shelter from the bombings. Miraculously, when the Japanese invaded Penang, many buildings were damaged but the Kuan Im Teng was spared from destruction.

A Photo by the Creativity Engine

Wordpress Blog / Facebook Page

Carte de visite by an unidentified photographer. Civil War history is filled with anecdotes of how the bonds of Masons were stronger than the political parties and military organizations that divided the Northern and Southern states. This portrait reminds me of the various stories I’ve read or researched that involve Confederate and Union soldiers coming to each others’ assistance once it was known they shared the Masonic connection.

This man, wearing a sash wrapped and knotted around his waist and a hat with plume and tassel, posed for this portrait in the studio of an unidentified photographer during the 1860s. Though his name is currently lost in time, his distinctive accouterments and a pencil inscriptions along the bottom of the card stock mount, “Knights of Virginia,” are clues to his identity. The Knights Templar of Virginia were a sect of the Masons, sharing the same moral and ethical teachings, an emphasis on brotherhood, and symbols and rituals rooted in medieval and religious traditions. But the Knights Templar required its members to be professed Christians, which was not required in the larger Masonic fraternity.

Was this man a soldier during the war? If so, did he ever have the need to call on his Masonic connection to help himself out of a tough spot on a battlefield? Or, did he hear the call of a fellow Mason on the other side and did a good deed for him?

Until he is unidentified, we cannot know.

However, in researching the Knights Templar of Virginia, I learned that the Masonic ties between brothers on opposite sides of the conflict were frayed between the national and state organizations that governed Templar Masons across the country.

Virginia is a case in point.

The middle of the 19th century was a period of strife for the Knights Templar of Virginia. From its earliest days in the first quarter of the century until the 1850s, Templar Masonry evolved into a national organization with member states as the nation expanded from coast to coast, and agricultural to industrial. In the late 1850s, a flurry of name changes and related actions further unified national and state organizations. They include the titles “Grand Master” for organization leaders and “Encampment” for the chapters.

When civil war divided the country, the separation between the states played out among the national and state Templars. On April 18, 1861, less than a week after the bombardment of Fort Sumter shocked the nation, Grand Master Benjamin Brown French, the head of the Knights Templar of the United States of America, distributed a circular reminding all Knights of their historic fidelity to each other. Nine days later, on April 27, a letter from Sir Knight Edward H. Gill, the leader of the Virginia Templars, announced Virginia’s secession from the national organization.

French’s circular and Gill’s letter parallel what was happening in the national conversation in the disunited states.

Here’s is French’s circular:

Office of the Grand Master of Knights Templar of the United States of America:

To all True and Patriotic Templars:

Brotherly Love, Peace, Honor.—An awful fratricidal conflict seems to be impending. He alone who rules the destinies of Nations can prevent it. He works through human instruments. I implore every Templar Knight on the Continent of America, after humbly seeking strength and aid from on High, to exert all the means at his command to avert the dread calamity, which, to human vision, seems inevitable.

Let each templar to whom this may come, remember how often we have stood at each other’s side, and raised our voices in prayer for the prosperity of a common country and a common cause. Let us call to mind how the Knights of Virginia, mingling in fraternal brotherhood with those of Massachusetts pledged themselves to each other, on Bunker Hill, only a few brief years ago; and when another hear had passed away, the same noble bands stood together in the city of Richmond, in the state of Virginia, the birth-place of Washington, and with mutual vows bound their souls in an everlasting covenant! Let them remember these things, and, with hearts on fire with love for each other, and for their countrymen, go forth among these countrymen and implore the arbitrament of peace, instead of that of the sword.

I ask no one to surrender a principle that has become dear to his heart, but I ask every one to labor and to pray that such counsels may take place between the contending parties who have for so many years acted with a common impulse, as to restore harmony and kind feeling, and avoid the course of having fraternal blood crying to Heaven from the ground, and bringing down its maledictions on our children’s children through all future time! Labor and pray that hostilities may be suspended until the mild counsels of peace can be appealed to, and that the appeal may not be in vain.

Casting aside every political feeling, every political aspiration, and asking every Templar to do the same, let us, as one man, unite in one grand effort to prevent the shedding of fraternal blood, and to inaugurate here that blessed result which our Lord and Master initiated: “Peace on earth and good will to men.”

Templars! you count in this land by tens of thousands. Each one has his influence in the circle about him. Never, no never was there an opportunity to exert that influence in a more holy cause, or to a more sublime purpose. Forward, then, to the rescue of your country from fratricidal war!

But, if war must come — which dread calamity may God, in His infinite mercy, avert — then I call on every Knight Templar to perform that sacred duty which so well becomes our Order, of binding up the wounds of the afflicted, and comforting those who mourn.

Dated at the city of Washington. on this 18th day of April, in the year of our Lord, 1861 and in the year of our Order 743.

B. B. French, Grand Master.

Here is Gill’s reply:

Justice.

]office of the Grand Master of Knights Templar of Va.,

Lynchburg, Va., April 27, 1861.

Hon. B. B. French. Grand Master Grand Encampment Knights Templar of the United States.

M.E. Sir Knight:—Your Circular of the 18th instant., relative to the “awful fratricidal conflict which seems to be impending” between the citizens of the North and the South, has been received; and as the people of the South are merely acting on the defensive in this conflict, those of the North, regardless of that “Brotherly Love, Peace and Honor” alluded to in your circular, having trampled upon their constitutional rights, and being now about to invade their soil, their homes and their firesides, and desecrate their altars, I am at a loss to understand why you should send such a circular to the Knights Templar of Virginia.

Residing as you do, at Washington, you cannot be ignorant of the fact that Virginia has exhausted every honorable means to avert this conflict. “Casting aside every political feeling, every political aspiration,” she has plead to prevent the “shedding of fraternal blood;” she has plead for “Peace on earth and good will to men,” and she has plead that her constitutional rights, and those of her sister States of the South, should not be trampled upon; but her pleadings have been disregarded, and conscious of the justice of her cause, she now appeals to the “God of Battles,” confident that Heaven will smile approvingly upon her efforts in resisting unto the death this Cain-like and marauding attack of the vandals of the North; and I thank God that the valiant Knights Templar of Virginia unanimously participate in this feeling of resistance, and are prepared to welcome their invaders “with blood stained hands to hospitable graves,” designated by no “sprig of evergreen.”

For the reasons stated, I now, as the Grand Master of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the State of Virginia, give you notice that that body is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Grand Encampment of the United States, and will no longer regard or obey any orders or edicts emanating from it or its officers.

E. H. Gill, Grand Master.

I encourage you to use this image for educational purposes only. However, please ask for permission.

Photographs from Prosperity Candle. Non-profit assiting female entrepreneur in Baghdad Iraq.

Finally after a few years of construction work, the new Karnaphuli Bridge opened up in Chittagong,Bangladesh.

The older bridge was 30 years older and so this new bridge signifies prosperity!

Photographs from Prosperity Candle. Non-profit assiting female entrepreneur in Baghdad Iraq.

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land -- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the fainthearted -- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again, these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act -- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control -- and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort -- even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment -- a moment that will define a generation -- it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed -- why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

SMC Pentax DA 70mm F2.4 Limited

Blessings to a married lady.

My Experience of Chhath

I am a permanent resident of Kolkata, but I never witnessed the celebration of Chhath Pooja here. Lakhs of migrant residents from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other states of India and Nepal as well, celebrated their most ancient festival along the bank of river Hoogly, the sacred river that flows through the city. On 6th November this year, around 2pm, I went to a famous ghat on the bank of river Hoogly opposite to Eden gardens. It was an unique photographic journey to witness how people performed their rituals with so much devotion and faith. I saw hundreds of devotees sitting on the banks quietly with their offerings to Sun God and some performing their rituals with half of their bodies immersed in the Ganges, and some with fire, called ‘Homas’. I was closely looking at them, and I was amazed by their dedication, devotion and complacency. Thousands of devotees were found proceeding towards the Ganges with their offerings, all cladded in bright clothes and ornaments, and many were found on their way to lay prone on the roads touching their whole body (Ashtanga or eight parts of the body) on the Earth and performing ‘Dondis’(Surya Namaskara -Sanskrit: सूर्यनमस्कार, Sun Salutation). Many of the family members, including newborn kids were found lying on the roads waiting for the main worshipper of the family to crossover their bodies as a way to get blessings from them. Most of the main family worshippers were found to be the eldest ladies of the family. Through Chhath, I rediscovered my religious India, in a new and beautiful way.

Chhath Pooja

Chhath is an ancient Hindu Vedic festival of worshiping Sun God, as the Rigveda contains hymns worshiping the Sun God and describes similar rituals.Historically it is native to eastern Uttar Pradesh, North Bihar of India and Mithila State of Nepal.The Chhath Puja is dedicated to the Sun and his wife Usha in order to thank them for bestowing the bounties of life on earth.The God is worshiped during the Chhath festival to promote well-being, prosperity and progress. In Hinduism, Sun worship is also believed to help cure a variety of diseases, including leprosy, and helps ensure the longevity and prosperity of family members, friends, and elders. Environmentalists claim that Chhath is the most eco-friendly Hindu festival.

Regions Celebrating Chhath

Although the festival is observed most elaborately in Mithila Province of Nepal,Terai-Madhesh region of Nepal, Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand and UP, it is also more prevalent in areas where migrants from those areas have a presence.The festival is celebrated in the regions including but not exclusive to the northeast region of India, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Gujarat, as well in various countries worldwide.

Timings

Chhath puja is performed on Kartika Shukla Shashthi, which is the sixth day of the month of Kartika in Bengali calender. This falls typically in the month of October or November in the Gregorian English Calendar.

History

The rituals also find reference in the Sanskrit epic poem Mahābhārata in which Draupadi is depicted as observing similar rites. It is assumed that the oldest Purohits were requested by the kings to come and perform the traditional pooja of the Lord Sun. They used to chant the ancient Rigveda texts and a variety of hymns for worshiping the God. In the ancient time of Mahabharata Chhath pooja was celebrated by Draupadi and Pandavas of Hastinapur (present Delhi) for solving their instant problem and regaining their lost kingdom. It is also assumed that the Chhath puja was first started by the Surya Putra (son of Sun God) Karna. He was a great warrior and had ruled over the Anga Desh (Munger district of Bihar) during the Mahabharata period.

Ethymology

The word chhath means sixth in Nepali, Maithili and Bhojpuri languages and the festival is celebrated on the sixth day of the month Kārtika of the Hindu lunar Bikram Sambat calendar.The word is a Prakrit derivation from the Sanskrit ṣaṣṭhi, meaning sixth.

The Goddess who is also worshipped during the famous Chhath Puja is known as Chhathi Maiya. Chhathi Maiya is known as Usha in the Vedas. She is believed to be the beloved younger wife of Surya, the sun god. The rituals signify rising sun as well as setting sun.

Rituals and Traditions of Chhath Puja

It is believed that worshipers of the Chhath take holy bath and follows a period of abstinence and become separate for 4 days from the main family. Throughout the period he is believed as the pure spirit and sleep on the floor having single blanket.

Devotees offer prasad to Sun at the Chhath such as sweets, Kheer, Thekua, bananas and other fruits included in a small bamboo tokari. The prasad is cooked without salt, onions or garlic with maintained purity. It is a four days festival which includes:

On the first day, devotees take bathe early in the morning in the holy water of Gange and bring some holy water to their home to prepare the offerings. The home and its surroundings should be cleaned at this day. They take only one meal a day known as kaddu-bhat cooked only by using the bronze or soil utensils and mango woods over the soil stove.

On the second day, the day before Chhath, devotees keeps fast for whole day and break their fast in the evening after sunset after the worship of Sun. They offer Rasiao-kheer, puris, fruits in the puja. After taking meal in the evening, they go on a fast without water for the next 36 hours.

On the third day (day of Chhath) they offer the Sanjhiya Arghya at the ghat of riverbank. After Arghya, they wear the single saree of turmeric color. Other family members are waiting for getting the blessings from worshiper. At the night of Chhath a vibrant event of Kosi is celebrated by lighting the lamps of clay diyas under the covering of five sugarcane sticks. The five sugarcane sticks indicate the Panchatattva (earth, water, fire, air and space) the human is body made up of.

On the early morning of the fourth day (Paarun), devotees along with their family and friends offer Bihaniya Aragh at the ghat of riverbank of Gange. Devotees end their festival through breaking the fast by having the Chhath prashad.

Six levels of purification in Chhath ( a belief)

The belief of fast and cleanliness of body on the festival identify the detoxification of the body and mind in order to set up the body and mind to accept the cosmic solar energy.

Standing in water with half of the body inside the water diminishes the escape of energy as well as facilitates the prana to elevate to the sushumna.

Then the entrance of cosmic solar energy takes place in the pineal gland, pituitary gland and hypothalamus (known as the Triveni complex) through the retina and optic nerves.

In the 4th stage Triveni complex gets activated.

After activation of the Triveni complex, spine gets polarized and body of devotee gets transformed into a cosmic powerhouse and gets the Kundalini Shakti.

At this stage the devotee is fully able to conduct, recycle and pass on the energy into entire universe.

Benefits of the rituals (a belief)

Devotee of the Chhath puja can improve the immunity of body.

A variety of skin infections can be cured through the safe radiations of sunlight.

It increases the fighting power of blood by improving the performance of WBC.

Solar energy provides the power to control the secretion of hormones.

Significance

Chhath puja has a special significance during the Sunrise and Sunset periods. The Sunrise and sunset are the most important periods of the day during which a human body can safely get the solar energy without any harm. That’s why there is a myth of offering the Sanjhiya Arghya and Bihaniya Arghya to the Sun at the Chhath festival. During this period the solar energy has low level of ultraviolet radiations so it is safe for the human body. People perform the Chhath puja in order to thank the Lord Sun for the lives on the earth as well as to get blessings.

The ritual of Chhath puja provides mental calmness (by detoxifying the body and mind), enhances the energy level and immunity, reduces the frequency of anger, greed and jealousy as well as lot of negative emotions. It is also believed that following the Chhath processes helps in slowing down the ageing process. Such beliefs and rituals of the Chhath make it the most significant festival in the Hindus ever.

[ Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhath and www.varanasi.org.in/chhath-pooja ]

Beyond the Crisis: Shared Prosperity and Future of Progressive Politics

Monday, December 13, 5:00 P.M. to 6:30 P.M.

Progressive politics succeeds best when it offers citizens an optimistic vision for their future, one based on the values of freedom, opportunity and fairness. Today, we are confronted by the most profound economic crisis in decades, fear and anxiety are on the rise and a politics of pessimism is taking hold. To counter the conservative politics of austerity and pain, progressive must define and defend an innovative and forward looking economic agenda that combines fiscal responsibility with investment in our citizens and the industries of the future.

Renewing a progressive agenda that sparks job growth and engenders a resurgence and expansion of the middle-class has become an urgent priority.

How can progressive successes of the past shed light on the challenges of today, and help a new generation of progressive leaders build a more hopeful economic agenda? Are progressive principles still the most appropriate ones for today’s challenges? How should they be applied to today’s challenges?

The Chinese dragon represents peace and prosperity, unlike the Western dragon which is vile and destructive. It has no wings, which the Western dragon has, but it can fly probably due to some secret advanced technology.

Photographs from Prosperity Candle. Non-profit assiting female entrepreneur in Baghdad Iraq.

The Co-Prosperity Sphere (C-PS), an experimental cultural center, is located at the corner of S. Morgan Street and W. 32nd Place. Its space showcases work by a diverse group of artists, performers and cultural workers. The C-PS hosts exhibitions, screenings, presentations, installations, festivals, meetings and performance programs in its more than 2,600 square-foot gallery. The space hosts between 30 and 40 events and exhibitions annually, serving more than 20,000 persons. Co-Prosperity is also the home office of Public Media Institute.

Local fishing boat Prosperity P238 leaving harbour at first light and Freedom P105 in the background.

PROSPERITY (UL250) at Macduff Shipyards.

bata department store (centrum), brno, 1930 - 1931, architect: vladimir karfik;

The Tomáš Baťa shoemaking firm achieved such prosperity that he decided to build a network of large department stores throughout the entire Czechoslovakia. The company purchased the plot between Jánská and Kobližná streets, right in the center of the city, where Europe's first skyscraper was to have replaced the historic low buildings. After the unsuccessful architectural competition and other delays, Tomáš Baťa addressed architect Vladimír Karfík, who could profit from his experiences from the studio of American Frank Lloyd Wright, and design the final appearance of the building. The building consisted of the rectangular and horizontally segmented mass of the department store and the lean tower of the administrative facilities.

In 1944 the facade was damaged by a bomb blast near the department store during an Allied air raid. The present modified appearance of the facade is the result of the reconstruction of the building in 1966 involving the only available materials, so-called Boletice panels, which entirely disrupted the original horizontal segmentation of the facade.

by zenobaybe ift.tt/1WREAEj

Photographs from Prosperity Candle. Non-profit assiting female entrepreneur in Baghdad Iraq.

Photowalk Oosterdok Amsterdam, 5 june.

bay of Bengal with golden rays

祝新歲快樂，健康。

Koi have many different colors. Some of the major colors are white, black, red, yellow, blue, and cream.

While possible variations are limitless, breeders have identified and named a number of specific categories. The most popular category is Gosanke. The Gosanke category is made up of the Kohaku, Taisho Sanshoku, and Showa Sanshoku varieties. The Japanese breeders have many generations of knowledge and experience when it comes to breeding and raising Nishikigoi. They know which ones will be worth hundreds of dollars and which ones will be worth thousands of dollars.

October 7, 2015 - LIMA, Peru. 2015 World Bank / IMF Annual Meetings. Inequality, Opportunity and Prosperity

Moderator: Patricia Janiot, News Anchor, CNN en Espanol;; Juan Alberto Fuentes Knight, Chair, Oxfam International; Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary General, SEGIB; Jim Yong Kim, President, World Bank Group. Photo: Grant Ellis / World Bank

Photo ID: 100715-Inequality Prosperity-0014_F

Eu Tong Sen Street, Chinatown | Singapore

Giant golden coin-shaped lanterns light up the entire stretch of Eu Tong Sen Street for the whole month in Chinatown, as the country celebrates the Chinese New Year of the Horse 2014. These Chinese coins are a great symbol of prosperity because they represent money and abundance. In this particular view, there is a sea of prosperity. :)

Wishing everyone a prosperous New Year ahead!

Happy weekend everyone! :)

For more inspiring images, you can also find me in these pages:

www.facebook.com/LemjayLucas.Photography

500px.com/LemjayLucas

© Lemjay Lucas

Homemade fried dumpling pastries for Lunar New Year that symbolize Chinese gold ingots (prosperity is a big thing for those celebrating the festival) next to a red envelope from The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Canada's Prime Minister (or at least a trinket from the Yee Hong Dragon Ball from Saturday. It's a gold foil wrapped chocolate loonie inside).

The crispy pleated pastries are filled with a mix of sugar, dried shredded coconut, peanuts and sesame seeds.

A timely receipt of the red pocket so that I could style it with the fresh fried yau gok. :)

Happy Chinese New Year! Wishing you prosperity on the Year of the Monkey.

The royal starship Prosperity is a magical flying castle.

The structure is complete for this show, maybe a third of the way there.

Julia Gillard (Australia's Prime Minister) and Booby (Bob) Brown (Leader of Australian Greens) seem to ignore all the benefits of prosperity during their campaign for the Carbon Tax.

Without the wealth and comfort offered by development and prospereity there would be no opportunity for their big new taxes - such as the Resources Tax and the Carbon Tax.

Now Booby Brown has suggested a FAT Tax on people who are over weight. What is his description of over weight? I wonder how he would react to a Homosexual Tax. He and his mates would be up in arms over such a suggestion. Individually, who are potentially a great burden on our health system - over weight folk or homosexuals. Consider the cost and impact of HIV.

It seems as the Aussie flag is almost blotted out, so too is Julia Gillard blotting out the interests of the Australian nation and people for pride of place on the international stage.

# Rosais, Ilha São Jorge #

Photographs from Prosperity Candle. Non-profit assiting female entrepreneur in Baghdad Iraq.

Swimming to and from the Prosperity Wreck off Perelle Bay, Guernsey

Chinese new year 2015 in Binondo, Manila Chinatown.

I visited Peterhead Fishing Harbour Sunday 24th February 2019, a heavy Haar put my plans to capture the views a little difficult, hence I revisited today Tuesday 26th February 2019, posting a few of the captures I managed to take over both days.

Peterhead ; Scottish Gaelic: Ceann Phàdraig, Scots: Peterheid is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement (the city of Aberdeen itself not being a part of the district), with a population of 18,537 at the 2011 Census.

Peterhead sits at the easternmost point in mainland Scotland. It is often referred to as The Blue Toun (locally spelt as "The Bloo Toon") and people who were born there as Blue Touners (locally spelt as "Bloo Tooners").

More correctly they are called blue mogginers (locally spelt as "Bloomogganners"), supposedly from the blue worsted moggins or stockings that the fishermen originally wore.

History

Peterhead was founded by fishermen and was developed as a planned settlement. In 1593 the construction of Peterhead's first harbour, Port Henry, encouraged the growth of Peterhead as a fishing port and established a base for trade.

Peterhead was a Jacobite supporting town in the Jacobite risings of 1715 and 1745. In particular, it was one of the Episcopalian north-eastern ports where reinforcements, plus money and equipment, were periodically landed from France during the Forty-Five.

A lifeboat station was first established in 1865.

Since early times Peterhead has received a portion of its water supply from Morris Wells.

Peterhead convict prison was opened in 1888, gaining a reputation as one of Scotland's toughest prisons.

The present harbour has two massive breakwaters, enclosing an area of approximately 300 acres in Peterhead bay. The south breakwater, about 2700 ft long, was constructed in 1892–1912 using convict labour from the prison. The north breakwater, constructed 1912–56, is approximately 1500 ft long.

A new phase of growth was initiated in the 1970s with Peterhead becoming a major oil industry service centre, and the completion of the nearby St Fergus gas terminal. At this time, considerable land holdings were allocated for industrial development.

In recent times, the town has suffered from several high-profile company closures and is facing a number of pressures, including Common Fisheries Policy reforms. However, it retains a relatively diverse economy, including food processing, textiles, service industries and, still importantly, fishing. (Over 90,000 tonnes of fish, with a value of around £60m are now landed at Peterhead, which is still also base to over 550 fishermen.)

The Peterhead Port Authority plans to extend the northern breakwater as a stimulus to the town's economic development. In addition, to assist with business diversification and town centre environmental improvements, the 'Peterhead Project' initiative under the Aberdeenshire Towns Partnership brings together the Council, Scottish Enterprise Grampian, Communities Scotland, commerce and community representatives.

Until April 2005, the Royal Air Force station RAF Buchan was located near the town.

Local government : Peterhead is the largest settlement in Buchan, a committee area of Aberdeenshire.

The town was a burgh in the historic county of Aberdeenshire. In 1930 it became a small burgh under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929, but in 1975 small burghs were abolished and Peterhead became part of the district of Banff and Buchan within the new Grampian Region. When districts and regions were abolished in 1996, Peterhead became part of the new unitary authority of Aberdeenshire.

Since 1975 Peterhead has had a community council, with limited powers.

Education : Peterhead Academy

Peterhead Academy houses around 1,300 pupils and the school is split into six houses (Arbuthnot, Buchan, Craigewan, Grange, Marischal and Slains), with all the names associated with areas of the town. The school has pupils coming from surrounding villages such as Boddam, Cruden Bay, Hatton, Inverugie, Rora, St Fergus and Crimond. The academy's motto is "Domus Super Petram Aedificata" (A House Built on a Rock). The academy is Scotland's largest school at over 22,920 square metres (246,700 sq ft) of gross internal floor area.

The school has multiple subjects such as ICT, English, French/German, Technical, Engineering, Art, Home Economics, and many more.

Primary and specialist schools.

Peterhead has six primary schools (Clerkhill, Buchanhaven, Meethill, Dales Park, Central, Burnhaven).

There is one special school, Anna Ritchie, which caters for most specific learning difficulties, autism and other disabilities.

There is also Peterhead Alpha School which caters for children with social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties, as well as learning difficulties, e.g. dyspraxia and dyslexia.

Transport :Peterhead has a number of in-town and out-of-town bus services.

Peterhead is further from a railway station (32 miles from Aberdeen) than any other town of its size in Great Britain.

The town once had two stations Peterhead railway station and Peterhead Docks railway station. Passenger trains on the Formartine and Buchan Railway stopped in 1965 under the Beeching Axe, and freight in 1970. The start of reconstruction of the Borders Railway to Galashiels (early 2013) has begun a local political debate into the possibility of reopening the line from Aberdeen to Fraserburgh and Peterhead.

The nearest airport with scheduled services is Aberdeen Airport. A heliport has been set up at the Eastern end of the former RAF Buchan air base. Recreational aviation also takes place from a part of a former runway.

Tourism

The harbours, maritime and built heritage are the town's principal tourism assets. Recent initiatives include investments in the Peterhead Bay area, which have included the berthing of cruise ships in the harbour.

A number of projects are planned under the auspices of the Peterhead Project initiative, including tourism strategy development, enhancement of existing attractions, measures to improve the town's physical attractiveness, and improved marketing and promotion.

Sport

Peterhead F.C. are a Scottish Football League club who play in the League One. They won the League Two championship in 2013–14.

Peterhead also has a successful amateur boxing club, and in 2008 was the most successful boxing club in Northern Scotland. And currently has two reigning Scottish champions. The boxing gym is open to all and located in Ellis Street.

Peterhead RFC are a Scottish Rugby Union team who play at the Lord Catto playing fields.

Maritime Economy

Peterhead has a thriving port, serving the fishing, oil and gas and other commercial industries. It also receives many visiting seafarers arriving on ships that ply these trades. Seafarers' welfare organisation Apostleship of the Sea has a port chaplain at Peterhead to provide pastoral and practical support to them.

Twin town : Ålesund, Norway