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The Symptoms of Kali-yuga
This chapter relates that, when the bad qualities of the Age of Kali will increase to an intolerable level, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will descend as Kalki to destroy those who are fixed in irreligion. After that, a new Satya-yuga will begin.
As the Age of Kali progresses, all good qualities of men diminish and all impure qualities increase. Atheistic systems of so-called religion become predominant, replacing the codes of Vedic law. The kings become just like highway bandits, the people in general become dedicated to low occupations, and all the social classes become just like śūdras. All cows become like goats, all spiritual hermitages become like materialistic homes, and family ties extend no further than the immediate relationship of marriage.
When the Age of Kali has almost ended, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will incarnate. He will appear in the village Śambhala, in the home of the exalted brāhmaṇa Viṣṇuyaśā, and will take the name Kalki. He will mount His horse Devadatta and, taking His sword in hand, will roam about the earth killing millions of bandits in the guise of kings. Then the signs of the next Satya-yuga will begin to appear. When the moon, sun and the planet Bṛhaspati enter simultaneously into one constellation and conjoin in the lunar mansion Puṣyā, Satya-yuga will begin. In the order of Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali, the cycle of four ages rotates in the society of living entities in this universe.
The chapter ends with a brief description of the future dynasties of the sun and moon coming from Vaivasvata Manu in the next Satya-yuga. Even now two saintly kṣatriyas are living who at the end of this Kali-yuga will reinitiate the pious dynasties of the sun-god, Vivasvān, and the moon-god, Candra. One of these kings is Devāpi, a brother of Mahārāja Śantanu, and the other is Maru, a descendant of Ikṣvāku. They are biding their time incognito in a village named Kalāpa.
SB 12.2.1 — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Then, O King, religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance, mercy, duration of life, physical strength and memory will all diminish day by day because of the powerful influence of the Age of Kali.
SB 12.2.2 — In Kali-yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man’s good birth, proper behavior and fine qualities. And law and justice will be applied only on the basis of one’s power.
SB 12.2.3 — Men and women will live together merely because of superficial attraction, and success in business will depend on deceit. Womanliness and manliness will be judged according to one’s expertise in sex, and a man will be known as a brāhmaṇa just by his wearing a thread.
SB 12.2.4 — A person’s spiritual position will be ascertained merely according to external symbols, and on that same basis people will change from one spiritual order to the next. A person’s propriety will be seriously questioned if he does not earn a good living. And one who is very clever at juggling words will be considered a learned scholar.
SB 12.2.5 — A person will be judged unholy if he does not have money, and hypocrisy will be accepted as virtue. Marriage will be arranged simply by verbal agreement, and a person will think he is fit to appear in public if he has merely taken a bath.
SB 12.2.6 — A sacred place will be taken to consist of no more than a reservoir of water located at a distance, and beauty will be thought to depend on one’s hairstyle. Filling the belly will become the goal of life, and one who is audacious will be accepted as truthful. He who can maintain a family will be regarded as an expert man, and the principles of religion will be observed only for the sake of reputation.
SB 12.2.7 — As the earth thus becomes crowded with a corrupt population, whoever among any of the social classes shows himself to be the strongest will gain political power.
SB 12.2.8 — Losing their wives and properties to such avaricious and merciless rulers, who will behave no better than ordinary thieves, the citizens will flee to the mountains and forests.
SB 12.2.9 — Harassed by famine and excessive taxes, people will resort to eating leaves, roots, flesh, wild honey, fruits, flowers and seeds. Struck by drought, they will become completely ruined.
SB 12.2.10 — The citizens will suffer greatly from cold, wind, heat, rain and snow. They will be further tormented by quarrels, hunger, thirst, disease and severe anxiety.
SB 12.2.11 — The maximum duration of life for human beings in Kali-yuga will become fifty years.
SB 12.2.12-16 — By the time the Age of Kali ends, the bodies of all creatures will be greatly reduced in size, and the religious principles of followers of varṇāśrama will be ruined. The path of the Vedas will be completely forgotten in human society, and so-called religion will be mostly atheistic. The kings will mostly be thieves, the occupations of men will be stealing, lying and needless violence, and all the social classes will be reduced to the lowest level of śūdras. Cows will be like goats, spiritual hermitages will be no different from mundane houses, and family ties will extend no further than the immediate bonds of marriage. Most plants and herbs will be tiny, and all trees will appear like dwarf śamī trees. Clouds will be full of lightning, homes will be devoid of piety, and all human beings will have become like asses. At that time, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will appear on the earth. Acting with the power of pure spiritual goodness, He will rescue eternal religion.
SB 12.2.17 — Lord Viṣṇu — the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master of all moving and nonmoving living beings, and the Supreme Soul of all — takes birth to protect the principles of religion and to relieve His saintly devotees from the reactions of material work.
SB 12.2.18 — Lord Kalki will appear in the home of the most eminent brāhmaṇa of Śambhala village, the great soul Viṣṇuyaśā.
SB 12.2.19-20 — Lord Kalki, the Lord of the universe, will mount His swift horse Devadatta and, sword in hand, travel over the earth exhibiting His eight mystic opulences and eight special qualities of Godhead. Displaying His unequaled effulgence and riding with great speed, He will kill by the millions those thieves who have dared dress as kings.
SB 12.2.21 — After all the impostor kings have been killed, the residents of the cities and towns will feel the breezes carrying the most sacred fragrance of the sandalwood paste and other decorations of Lord Vāsudeva, and their minds will thereby become transcendentally pure.
SB 12.2.22 — When Lord Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears in their hearts in His transcendental form of goodness, the remaining citizens will abundantly repopulate the earth.
SB 12.2.23 — When the Supreme Lord has appeared on earth as Kalki, the maintainer of religion, Satya-yuga will begin, and human society will bring forth progeny in the mode of goodness.
SB 12.2.24 — When the moon, the sun and Bṛhaspatī are together in the constellation Karkaṭa, and all three enter simultaneously into the lunar mansion Puṣyā — at that exact moment the age of Satya, or Kṛta, will begin.
SB 12.2.25 — Thus I have described all the kings — past, present and future — who belong to the dynasties of the sun and the moon.
SB 12.2.26 — From your birth up to the coronation of King Nanda, 1,150 years will pass.
SB 12.2.27-28 — Of the seven stars forming the constellation of the seven sages, Pulaha and Kratu are the first to rise in the night sky. If a line running north and south were drawn through their midpoint, whichever of the lunar mansions this line passes through is said to be the ruling asterism of the constellation for that time. The Seven Sages will remain connected with that particular lunar mansion for one hundred human years. Currently, during your lifetime, they are situated in the nakṣatra called Maghā.
SB 12.2.29 — The Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, is brilliant like the sun and is known as Kṛṣṇa. When He returned to the spiritual sky, Kali entered this world, and people then began to take pleasure in sinful activities.
SB 12.2.30 — As long as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the husband of the goddess of fortune, touched the earth with His lotus feet, Kali was powerless to subdue this planet.
SB 12.2.31 — When the constellation of the seven sages is passing through the lunar mansion Maghā, the Age of Kali begins. It comprises twelve hundred years of the demigods.
SB 12.2.32 — When the great sages of the Saptarṣi constellation pass from Maghā to Pūrvāsāḍhā, Kali will have his full strength, beginning from King Nanda and his dynasty.
SB 12.2.33 — Those who scientifically understand the past declare that on the very day that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa departed for the spiritual world, the influence of the Age of Kali began.
SB 12.2.34 — After the one thousand celestial years of Kali-yuga, the Satya-yuga will manifest again. At that time the minds of all men will become self-effulgent.
SB 12.2.35 — Thus I have described the royal dynasty of Manu, as it is known on this earth. One can similarly study the history of the vaiśyas, śūdras and brāhmaṇas living in the various ages.
SB 12.2.36 — These personalities, who were great souls, are now known only by their names. They exist only in accounts from the past, and only their fame remains on the earth.
SB 12.2.37 — Devāpi, the brother of Mahārāja Śāntanu, and Maru, the descendant of Ikṣvāku, both possess great mystic strength and are living even now in the village of Kalāpa.
SB 12.2.38 — At the end of the Age of Kali, these two kings, having received instruction directly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, will return to human society and reestablish the eternal religion of man, characterized by the divisions of varṇa and āśrama, just as it was before.
SB 12.2.39 — The cycle of four ages — Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali — continues perpetually among living beings on this earth, repeating the same general sequence of events.
SB 12.2.40 — My dear King Parīkṣit, all these kings I have described, as well as all other human beings, come to this earth and stake their claims, but ultimately they all must give up this world and meet their destruction.
SB 12.2.41 — Even though a person’s body may now have the designation “king,” in the end its name will be “worms,” “stool” or “ashes.” What can a person who injures other living beings for the sake of his body know about his own self-interest, since his activities are simply leading him to hell?
SB 12.2.42 — [The materialistic king thinks:] “This unbounded earth was held by my predecessors and is now under my sovereignty. How can I arrange for it to remain in the hands of my sons, grandsons and other descendants?”
SB 12.2.43 — Although the foolish accept the body made of earth, water and fire as “me” and this earth as “mine,” in every case they have ultimately abandoned both their body and the earth and passed away into oblivion.
SB 12.2.44 — My dear King Parīkṣit, all these kings who tried to enjoy the earth by their strength were reduced by the force of time to nothing more than historical accounts.
~ Srimad Bhagavatam, canto 12, chapter 2
#InternationalRebellionWeek #srimadbhagavatam
Thank you for viewing. If you like please fav and leave a nice comment. Hope to see you here again. Have a wonderful day 😊
Oxford Circus, London 🇬🇧
18th April, 2019
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The Symptoms of Kali-yuga
This chapter relates that, when the bad qualities of the Age of Kali will increase to an intolerable level, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will descend as Kalki to destroy those who are fixed in irreligion. After that, a new Satya-yuga will begin.
As the Age of Kali progresses, all good qualities of men diminish and all impure qualities increase. Atheistic systems of so-called religion become predominant, replacing the codes of Vedic law. The kings become just like highway bandits, the people in general become dedicated to low occupations, and all the social classes become just like śūdras. All cows become like goats, all spiritual hermitages become like materialistic homes, and family ties extend no further than the immediate relationship of marriage.
When the Age of Kali has almost ended, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will incarnate. He will appear in the village Śambhala, in the home of the exalted brāhmaṇa Viṣṇuyaśā, and will take the name Kalki. He will mount His horse Devadatta and, taking His sword in hand, will roam about the earth killing millions of bandits in the guise of kings. Then the signs of the next Satya-yuga will begin to appear. When the moon, sun and the planet Bṛhaspati enter simultaneously into one constellation and conjoin in the lunar mansion Puṣyā, Satya-yuga will begin. In the order of Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali, the cycle of four ages rotates in the society of living entities in this universe.
The chapter ends with a brief description of the future dynasties of the sun and moon coming from Vaivasvata Manu in the next Satya-yuga. Even now two saintly kṣatriyas are living who at the end of this Kali-yuga will reinitiate the pious dynasties of the sun-god, Vivasvān, and the moon-god, Candra. One of these kings is Devāpi, a brother of Mahārāja Śantanu, and the other is Maru, a descendant of Ikṣvāku. They are biding their time incognito in a village named Kalāpa.
SB 12.2.1 — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Then, O King, religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance, mercy, duration of life, physical strength and memory will all diminish day by day because of the powerful influence of the Age of Kali.
SB 12.2.2 — In Kali-yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man’s good birth, proper behavior and fine qualities. And law and justice will be applied only on the basis of one’s power.
SB 12.2.3 — Men and women will live together merely because of superficial attraction, and success in business will depend on deceit. Womanliness and manliness will be judged according to one’s expertise in sex, and a man will be known as a brāhmaṇa just by his wearing a thread.
SB 12.2.4 — A person’s spiritual position will be ascertained merely according to external symbols, and on that same basis people will change from one spiritual order to the next. A person’s propriety will be seriously questioned if he does not earn a good living. And one who is very clever at juggling words will be considered a learned scholar.
SB 12.2.5 — A person will be judged unholy if he does not have money, and hypocrisy will be accepted as virtue. Marriage will be arranged simply by verbal agreement, and a person will think he is fit to appear in public if he has merely taken a bath.
SB 12.2.6 — A sacred place will be taken to consist of no more than a reservoir of water located at a distance, and beauty will be thought to depend on one’s hairstyle. Filling the belly will become the goal of life, and one who is audacious will be accepted as truthful. He who can maintain a family will be regarded as an expert man, and the principles of religion will be observed only for the sake of reputation.
SB 12.2.7 — As the earth thus becomes crowded with a corrupt population, whoever among any of the social classes shows himself to be the strongest will gain political power.
SB 12.2.8 — Losing their wives and properties to such avaricious and merciless rulers, who will behave no better than ordinary thieves, the citizens will flee to the mountains and forests.
SB 12.2.9 — Harassed by famine and excessive taxes, people will resort to eating leaves, roots, flesh, wild honey, fruits, flowers and seeds. Struck by drought, they will become completely ruined.
SB 12.2.10 — The citizens will suffer greatly from cold, wind, heat, rain and snow. They will be further tormented by quarrels, hunger, thirst, disease and severe anxiety.
SB 12.2.11 — The maximum duration of life for human beings in Kali-yuga will become fifty years.
SB 12.2.12-16 — By the time the Age of Kali ends, the bodies of all creatures will be greatly reduced in size, and the religious principles of followers of varṇāśrama will be ruined. The path of the Vedas will be completely forgotten in human society, and so-called religion will be mostly atheistic. The kings will mostly be thieves, the occupations of men will be stealing, lying and needless violence, and all the social classes will be reduced to the lowest level of śūdras. Cows will be like goats, spiritual hermitages will be no different from mundane houses, and family ties will extend no further than the immediate bonds of marriage. Most plants and herbs will be tiny, and all trees will appear like dwarf śamī trees. Clouds will be full of lightning, homes will be devoid of piety, and all human beings will have become like asses. At that time, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will appear on the earth. Acting with the power of pure spiritual goodness, He will rescue eternal religion.
SB 12.2.17 — Lord Viṣṇu — the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master of all moving and nonmoving living beings, and the Supreme Soul of all — takes birth to protect the principles of religion and to relieve His saintly devotees from the reactions of material work.
SB 12.2.18 — Lord Kalki will appear in the home of the most eminent brāhmaṇa of Śambhala village, the great soul Viṣṇuyaśā.
SB 12.2.19-20 — Lord Kalki, the Lord of the universe, will mount His swift horse Devadatta and, sword in hand, travel over the earth exhibiting His eight mystic opulences and eight special qualities of Godhead. Displaying His unequaled effulgence and riding with great speed, He will kill by the millions those thieves who have dared dress as kings.
SB 12.2.21 — After all the impostor kings have been killed, the residents of the cities and towns will feel the breezes carrying the most sacred fragrance of the sandalwood paste and other decorations of Lord Vāsudeva, and their minds will thereby become transcendentally pure.
SB 12.2.22 — When Lord Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears in their hearts in His transcendental form of goodness, the remaining citizens will abundantly repopulate the earth.
SB 12.2.23 — When the Supreme Lord has appeared on earth as Kalki, the maintainer of religion, Satya-yuga will begin, and human society will bring forth progeny in the mode of goodness.
SB 12.2.24 — When the moon, the sun and Bṛhaspatī are together in the constellation Karkaṭa, and all three enter simultaneously into the lunar mansion Puṣyā — at that exact moment the age of Satya, or Kṛta, will begin.
SB 12.2.25 — Thus I have described all the kings — past, present and future — who belong to the dynasties of the sun and the moon.
SB 12.2.26 — From your birth up to the coronation of King Nanda, 1,150 years will pass.
SB 12.2.27-28 — Of the seven stars forming the constellation of the seven sages, Pulaha and Kratu are the first to rise in the night sky. If a line running north and south were drawn through their midpoint, whichever of the lunar mansions this line passes through is said to be the ruling asterism of the constellation for that time. The Seven Sages will remain connected with that particular lunar mansion for one hundred human years. Currently, during your lifetime, they are situated in the nakṣatra called Maghā.
SB 12.2.29 — The Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, is brilliant like the sun and is known as Kṛṣṇa. When He returned to the spiritual sky, Kali entered this world, and people then began to take pleasure in sinful activities.
SB 12.2.30 — As long as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the husband of the goddess of fortune, touched the earth with His lotus feet, Kali was powerless to subdue this planet.
SB 12.2.31 — When the constellation of the seven sages is passing through the lunar mansion Maghā, the Age of Kali begins. It comprises twelve hundred years of the demigods.
SB 12.2.32 — When the great sages of the Saptarṣi constellation pass from Maghā to Pūrvāsāḍhā, Kali will have his full strength, beginning from King Nanda and his dynasty.
SB 12.2.33 — Those who scientifically understand the past declare that on the very day that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa departed for the spiritual world, the influence of the Age of Kali began.
SB 12.2.34 — After the one thousand celestial years of Kali-yuga, the Satya-yuga will manifest again. At that time the minds of all men will become self-effulgent.
SB 12.2.35 — Thus I have described the royal dynasty of Manu, as it is known on this earth. One can similarly study the history of the vaiśyas, śūdras and brāhmaṇas living in the various ages.
SB 12.2.36 — These personalities, who were great souls, are now known only by their names. They exist only in accounts from the past, and only their fame remains on the earth.
SB 12.2.37 — Devāpi, the brother of Mahārāja Śāntanu, and Maru, the descendant of Ikṣvāku, both possess great mystic strength and are living even now in the village of Kalāpa.
SB 12.2.38 — At the end of the Age of Kali, these two kings, having received instruction directly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, will return to human society and reestablish the eternal religion of man, characterized by the divisions of varṇa and āśrama, just as it was before.
SB 12.2.39 — The cycle of four ages — Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali — continues perpetually among living beings on this earth, repeating the same general sequence of events.
SB 12.2.40 — My dear King Parīkṣit, all these kings I have described, as well as all other human beings, come to this earth and stake their claims, but ultimately they all must give up this world and meet their destruction.
SB 12.2.41 — Even though a person’s body may now have the designation “king,” in the end its name will be “worms,” “stool” or “ashes.” What can a person who injures other living beings for the sake of his body know about his own self-interest, since his activities are simply leading him to hell?
SB 12.2.42 — [The materialistic king thinks:] “This unbounded earth was held by my predecessors and is now under my sovereignty. How can I arrange for it to remain in the hands of my sons, grandsons and other descendants?”
SB 12.2.43 — Although the foolish accept the body made of earth, water and fire as “me” and this earth as “mine,” in every case they have ultimately abandoned both their body and the earth and passed away into oblivion.
SB 12.2.44 — My dear King Parīkṣit, all these kings who tried to enjoy the earth by their strength were reduced by the force of time to nothing more than historical accounts.
~ Srimad Bhagavatam, canto 12, chapter 2
#InternationalRebellionWeek #srimadbhagavatam
Thank you for viewing. If you like please fav and leave a nice comment. Hope to see you here again. Have a wonderful day 😊
Oxford Circus, London 🇬🇧
18th April, 2019
The world will be destroyed by good people who do nothing. We must act now.
The Symptoms of Kali-yuga
This chapter relates that, when the bad qualities of the Age of Kali will increase to an intolerable level, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will descend as Kalki to destroy those who are fixed in irreligion. After that, a new Satya-yuga will begin.
As the Age of Kali progresses, all good qualities of men diminish and all impure qualities increase. Atheistic systems of so-called religion become predominant, replacing the codes of Vedic law. The kings become just like highway bandits, the people in general become dedicated to low occupations, and all the social classes become just like śūdras. All cows become like goats, all spiritual hermitages become like materialistic homes, and family ties extend no further than the immediate relationship of marriage.
When the Age of Kali has almost ended, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will incarnate. He will appear in the village Śambhala, in the home of the exalted brāhmaṇa Viṣṇuyaśā, and will take the name Kalki. He will mount His horse Devadatta and, taking His sword in hand, will roam about the earth killing millions of bandits in the guise of kings. Then the signs of the next Satya-yuga will begin to appear. When the moon, sun and the planet Bṛhaspati enter simultaneously into one constellation and conjoin in the lunar mansion Puṣyā, Satya-yuga will begin. In the order of Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali, the cycle of four ages rotates in the society of living entities in this universe.
The chapter ends with a brief description of the future dynasties of the sun and moon coming from Vaivasvata Manu in the next Satya-yuga. Even now two saintly kṣatriyas are living who at the end of this Kali-yuga will reinitiate the pious dynasties of the sun-god, Vivasvān, and the moon-god, Candra. One of these kings is Devāpi, a brother of Mahārāja Śantanu, and the other is Maru, a descendant of Ikṣvāku. They are biding their time incognito in a village named Kalāpa.
SB 12.2.1 — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Then, O King, religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance, mercy, duration of life, physical strength and memory will all diminish day by day because of the powerful influence of the Age of Kali.
SB 12.2.2 — In Kali-yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man’s good birth, proper behavior and fine qualities. And law and justice will be applied only on the basis of one’s power.
SB 12.2.3 — Men and women will live together merely because of superficial attraction, and success in business will depend on deceit. Womanliness and manliness will be judged according to one’s expertise in sex, and a man will be known as a brāhmaṇa just by his wearing a thread.
SB 12.2.4 — A person’s spiritual position will be ascertained merely according to external symbols, and on that same basis people will change from one spiritual order to the next. A person’s propriety will be seriously questioned if he does not earn a good living. And one who is very clever at juggling words will be considered a learned scholar.
SB 12.2.5 — A person will be judged unholy if he does not have money, and hypocrisy will be accepted as virtue. Marriage will be arranged simply by verbal agreement, and a person will think he is fit to appear in public if he has merely taken a bath.
SB 12.2.6 — A sacred place will be taken to consist of no more than a reservoir of water located at a distance, and beauty will be thought to depend on one’s hairstyle. Filling the belly will become the goal of life, and one who is audacious will be accepted as truthful. He who can maintain a family will be regarded as an expert man, and the principles of religion will be observed only for the sake of reputation.
SB 12.2.7 — As the earth thus becomes crowded with a corrupt population, whoever among any of the social classes shows himself to be the strongest will gain political power.
SB 12.2.8 — Losing their wives and properties to such avaricious and merciless rulers, who will behave no better than ordinary thieves, the citizens will flee to the mountains and forests.
SB 12.2.9 — Harassed by famine and excessive taxes, people will resort to eating leaves, roots, flesh, wild honey, fruits, flowers and seeds. Struck by drought, they will become completely ruined.
SB 12.2.10 — The citizens will suffer greatly from cold, wind, heat, rain and snow. They will be further tormented by quarrels, hunger, thirst, disease and severe anxiety.
SB 12.2.11 — The maximum duration of life for human beings in Kali-yuga will become fifty years.
SB 12.2.12-16 — By the time the Age of Kali ends, the bodies of all creatures will be greatly reduced in size, and the religious principles of followers of varṇāśrama will be ruined. The path of the Vedas will be completely forgotten in human society, and so-called religion will be mostly atheistic. The kings will mostly be thieves, the occupations of men will be stealing, lying and needless violence, and all the social classes will be reduced to the lowest level of śūdras. Cows will be like goats, spiritual hermitages will be no different from mundane houses, and family ties will extend no further than the immediate bonds of marriage. Most plants and herbs will be tiny, and all trees will appear like dwarf śamī trees. Clouds will be full of lightning, homes will be devoid of piety, and all human beings will have become like asses. At that time, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will appear on the earth. Acting with the power of pure spiritual goodness, He will rescue eternal religion.
SB 12.2.17 — Lord Viṣṇu — the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master of all moving and nonmoving living beings, and the Supreme Soul of all — takes birth to protect the principles of religion and to relieve His saintly devotees from the reactions of material work.
SB 12.2.18 — Lord Kalki will appear in the home of the most eminent brāhmaṇa of Śambhala village, the great soul Viṣṇuyaśā.
SB 12.2.19-20 — Lord Kalki, the Lord of the universe, will mount His swift horse Devadatta and, sword in hand, travel over the earth exhibiting His eight mystic opulences and eight special qualities of Godhead. Displaying His unequaled effulgence and riding with great speed, He will kill by the millions those thieves who have dared dress as kings.
SB 12.2.21 — After all the impostor kings have been killed, the residents of the cities and towns will feel the breezes carrying the most sacred fragrance of the sandalwood paste and other decorations of Lord Vāsudeva, and their minds will thereby become transcendentally pure.
SB 12.2.22 — When Lord Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears in their hearts in His transcendental form of goodness, the remaining citizens will abundantly repopulate the earth.
SB 12.2.23 — When the Supreme Lord has appeared on earth as Kalki, the maintainer of religion, Satya-yuga will begin, and human society will bring forth progeny in the mode of goodness.
SB 12.2.24 — When the moon, the sun and Bṛhaspatī are together in the constellation Karkaṭa, and all three enter simultaneously into the lunar mansion Puṣyā — at that exact moment the age of Satya, or Kṛta, will begin.
SB 12.2.25 — Thus I have described all the kings — past, present and future — who belong to the dynasties of the sun and the moon.
SB 12.2.26 — From your birth up to the coronation of King Nanda, 1,150 years will pass.
SB 12.2.27-28 — Of the seven stars forming the constellation of the seven sages, Pulaha and Kratu are the first to rise in the night sky. If a line running north and south were drawn through their midpoint, whichever of the lunar mansions this line passes through is said to be the ruling asterism of the constellation for that time. The Seven Sages will remain connected with that particular lunar mansion for one hundred human years. Currently, during your lifetime, they are situated in the nakṣatra called Maghā.
SB 12.2.29 — The Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, is brilliant like the sun and is known as Kṛṣṇa. When He returned to the spiritual sky, Kali entered this world, and people then began to take pleasure in sinful activities.
SB 12.2.30 — As long as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the husband of the goddess of fortune, touched the earth with His lotus feet, Kali was powerless to subdue this planet.
SB 12.2.31 — When the constellation of the seven sages is passing through the lunar mansion Maghā, the Age of Kali begins. It comprises twelve hundred years of the demigods.
SB 12.2.32 — When the great sages of the Saptarṣi constellation pass from Maghā to Pūrvāsāḍhā, Kali will have his full strength, beginning from King Nanda and his dynasty.
SB 12.2.33 — Those who scientifically understand the past declare that on the very day that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa departed for the spiritual world, the influence of the Age of Kali began.
SB 12.2.34 — After the one thousand celestial years of Kali-yuga, the Satya-yuga will manifest again. At that time the minds of all men will become self-effulgent.
SB 12.2.35 — Thus I have described the royal dynasty of Manu, as it is known on this earth. One can similarly study the history of the vaiśyas, śūdras and brāhmaṇas living in the various ages.
SB 12.2.36 — These personalities, who were great souls, are now known only by their names. They exist only in accounts from the past, and only their fame remains on the earth.
SB 12.2.37 — Devāpi, the brother of Mahārāja Śāntanu, and Maru, the descendant of Ikṣvāku, both possess great mystic strength and are living even now in the village of Kalāpa.
SB 12.2.38 — At the end of the Age of Kali, these two kings, having received instruction directly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, will return to human society and reestablish the eternal religion of man, characterized by the divisions of varṇa and āśrama, just as it was before.
SB 12.2.39 — The cycle of four ages — Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali — continues perpetually among living beings on this earth, repeating the same general sequence of events.
SB 12.2.40 — My dear King Parīkṣit, all these kings I have described, as well as all other human beings, come to this earth and stake their claims, but ultimately they all must give up this world and meet their destruction.
SB 12.2.41 — Even though a person’s body may now have the designation “king,” in the end its name will be “worms,” “stool” or “ashes.” What can a person who injures other living beings for the sake of his body know about his own self-interest, since his activities are simply leading him to hell?
SB 12.2.42 — [The materialistic king thinks:] “This unbounded earth was held by my predecessors and is now under my sovereignty. How can I arrange for it to remain in the hands of my sons, grandsons and other descendants?”
SB 12.2.43 — Although the foolish accept the body made of earth, water and fire as “me” and this earth as “mine,” in every case they have ultimately abandoned both their body and the earth and passed away into oblivion.
SB 12.2.44 — My dear King Parīkṣit, all these kings who tried to enjoy the earth by their strength were reduced by the force of time to nothing more than historical accounts.
~ Srimad Bhagavatam, canto 12, chapter 2
#InternationalRebellionWeek #srimadbhagavatam
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Oxford Circus, London 🇬🇧
18th April, 2019
Zylophagy relates to animals that eat wood. A great many insects are 'Xylophagous', especially in their larval stages. Termites come to mind when we think of insects that eat wood and cause a great deal of damage to wooden structures.
In this photo, a slice of a grand hickory tree shows the larva of a Hickory borer (Megacyllene caryae). The feces, left behind as it burrows, is packed almost as hard as the hickory wood! The adult looks like www.flickr.com/photos/centavo/8143693572
And this is a no-glam biology major idea of a "Holiday Ornament", made of a piece of hickory with the bored tunnels carved free and washed. You can see that a heavy infestation leaves almost no wood left! www.flickr.com/photos/goat_mountain/22939061584
God has the ability to relate interpersonally, and he does so. God is neither aloof nor disinterest in his creation. God is aware of, and concerned about, the detail of our lives - Brad Hambrick
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; nyou are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:29-31)
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because7 the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)
Talk Show
Oil on canvas Signed W x H (“) 36 x 47 Early Period
Talk Show is a painting that proves the idea that we live in a post-modern world with the apparent loss of any reasonable hope for alternative to the present.
In Talk Show, immediacy unites with immortality, trivial with profound.
In our days the long myth of immortality is replaced by the myth of immediacy.
The substitution of the trivial for the profound for many was a loss, rather than a gain, although, the will to be immediate speaks more directly to our lives. Jaisini unites the two principles, searching for unique ways that can create this double effect of physical lowland, united with the philosophical purity of mind. Talk Show has the significance of biblical wisdom based on a street scene. In Talk Show, Jaisini pictures not the dark side' of people, but the substantial one, when sex became 'the lyricism of the masses'.
The picture shows that we live in a more cynical, realistic time by means of parody. The new cynicism is the old one. The work is timeless and can relate to anyone. Talk Show has the analogous environment as in the work called Show Time the crowd representatives and the image that centers the crowd's attention. In Talk Show, it is the two dogs in an intercourse that attracts the attention of different people of the crowd. In the painting we can clearly see the interlocked line of composition. This line flows freely as an unconscious line. The absence of an 'end' in Jaisini's composition may be the artist's revolt against the end of ideology and the general failures of social theory, obsessed with 'ends', with visions of finished worlds and finalities.
Modern society was once based on a principle of expansion, but having reached a certain 'critical mass' it has begun to recoil.
Is this why Jaisini creates his secluded line composition? What we are witnessing in the domain of the social is a kind of inverse explosion. The artist avoids breaking the line because any attempt to save the principle of expansion is not 'archaic' and regressive. The principle of enclosure is the radical inquiry for continuance. Jaisini has found his way to avoid the end-state. His closed circle of composition creates a new visual code that guarantees the 'addressee,' a recognizable meaning.
The Talk Show mockery reflects the contemporary condition of Byzantizm. It could be mentioned here that even in Cicero's time, the ancient world was becoming stupid. Talk Show may symbolize the mass communication as an enclosing circle connecting mass culture and its audiences of 'mass conformist,' the picture's title can be attributed to the fact that consequently television, along with the rest of mass culture, has become an undreamed-of medium of psychological control. We become part of mass communication circuits, part of a realm and era of connection, contact, feedback, an era that is 'obscene,' yet lunar cold. The reason why the artist prescribes the emerald color to his painting may be to symbolize the coldness of the contemporary world of communications which contacts penetrate without resistance. In the picture, we see the dogs' intercourse as the critique of the talk show.
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The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and other conflicts. The Mustang was conceived, designed and built by North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a specification issued directly to NAA by the British Purchasing Commission. The prototype NA-73X airframe was rolled out on 9 September 1940, 102 days after the contract was signed and, with an engine installed, first flew on 26 October. The Mustang was originally designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine, which had limited high-altitude performance. It was first flown operationally by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft and fighter-bomber (Mustang Mk I). The addition of the Rolls-Royce Merlin to the P-51B/C model transformed the Mustang's performance at altitudes above 15,000 ft, matching or bettering that of the Luftwaffe's fighters. The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 60 series two-stage two-speed supercharged engine, and armed with six .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns. From late 1943, P-51Bs (supplemented by P-51Ds from mid-1944) were used by the USAAF's Eighth Air Force to escort bombers in raids over Germany, while the RAF's 2 TAF and the USAAF's Ninth Air Force used the Merlin-powered Mustangs as fighter-bombers, roles in which the Mustang helped ensure Allied air superiority in 1944. The P-51 was also in service with Allied air forces in the North African, Mediterranean and Italian theaters, and saw limited service against the Japanese in the Pacific War. During World War II, Mustang pilots claimed 4,950 enemy aircraft shot down. At the start of the Korean War, the Mustang was the main fighter of the United Nations until jet fighters such as the F-86 took over this role; the Mustang then became a specialized fighter-bomber. Despite the advent of jet fighters, the Mustang remained in service with some air forces until the early 1980s. After World War II and the Korean War, many Mustangs were converted for civilian use, especially air racing, and increasingly, preserved and flown as historic warbird aircraft at airshows. In April 1938, shortly after the German Anschluss of Austria, the British government established a purchasing commission in the United States, headed by Sir Henry Self. Self was given overall responsibility for Royal Air Force (RAF) production and research and development, and also served with Sir Wilfrid Freeman, the "Air Member for Development and Production". Self also sat on the British Air Council Sub-committee on Supply (or "Supply Committee") and one of his tasks was to organize the manufacturing and supply of American fighter aircraft for the RAF. At the time, the choice was very limited, as no U.S. aircraft then in production or flying met European standards, with only the Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk coming close. The Curtiss-Wright plant was running at capacity, so P-40s were in short supply. North American Aviation (NAA) was already supplying its Harvard trainer to the RAF, but was otherwise underutilized. NAA President "Dutch" Kindelberger approached Self to sell a new medium bomber, the B-25 Mitchell. Instead, Self asked if NAA could manufacture the Tomahawk under license from Curtiss. Kindelberger said NAA could have a better aircraft with the same engine in the air sooner than establishing a production line for the P-40. The Commission stipulated armament of four .303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns, the Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled engine, a unit cost of no more than $40,000, and delivery of the first production aircraft by January 1941. In March 1940, 320 aircraft were ordered by Sir Wilfred Freeman who had become the executive head of Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP), and the contract was promulgated on 24 April. The NA-73X, which was designed by a team led by lead engineer Edgar Schmued, followed the best conventional practice of the era, but included several new features. One was a wing designed using laminar flow airfoils which were developed co-operatively by North American Aviation and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). These airfoils generated very low drag at high speeds. During the development of the NA-73X, a wind tunnel test of two wings, one using NACA 5-digit airfoils and the other using the new NAA/NACA 45–100 airfoils, was performed in the University of Washington Kirsten Wind Tunnel. The results of this test showed the superiority of the wing designed with the NAA/NACA 45–100 airfoils. The other feature was a new radiator design that exploited the "Meredith Effect", in which heated air exited the radiator as a slight amount of jet thrust. Because NAA lacked a suitable wind tunnel to test this feature, it used the GALCIT 10 ft (3.0 m) wind tunnel at Caltech. This led to some controversy over whether the Mustang's cooling system aerodynamics were developed by NAA's engineer Edgar Schmued or by Curtiss, although NAA had purchased the complete set of P-40 and XP-46 wind tunnel data and flight test reports for US$56,000. The NA-73X was also one of the first aircraft to have a fuselage lofted mathematically using conic sections; this resulted in the aircraft's fuselage having smooth, low drag surfaces. To aid production, the airframe was divided into five main sections—forward, center, rear fuselage and two wing halves — all of which were fitted with wiring and piping before being joined. The prototype NA-73X was rolled out in September 1940 and first flew on 26 October 1940, respectively 102 and 149 days after the order had been placed, an uncommonly short gestation period. The prototype handled well and accommodated an impressive fuel load. The aircraft's two-section, semi-monocoque fuselage was constructed entirely of aluminum to save weight. It was armed with four .30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 Browning machine guns, two in the wings and two mounted under the engine and firing through the propeller arc using gun synchronizing gear. While the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) could block any sales it considered detrimental to the interests of the US, the NA-73 was considered to be a special case because it had been designed at the behest of the British. In September 1940. a further 300 NA-73s were ordered by MAP. To ensure uninterrupted delivery Colonel Oliver P. Echols arranged with the Anglo-French Purchasing Commission to deliver the aircraft, and NAA gave two examples (41-038 and 41-039) to the USAAC for evaluation.
Every mother can relate to this.
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Poznan, Poland
Zamek
Autumn
I can relate...occasionally I come here myself and spend a few minutes alone. Beautiful setting to do so I might add. Had she not been there, I was going to park on that very bench for a bit...moving on.
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I've never been able to relate to folks who claim the human world to be an evil place. Those people have embarked on an obsessive search for what they believe to be wrong, leaving little energy for a rightness they pretend to uphold. Most of us want what's good for others, but for those who don't, stories are my favourite corrupting force. Nothing will teach you how to humanize a stranger better than reading a good book, watching a movie, or following a show that depicts their way of living. What I learned from Gentlemen Jack, Boys Don't Cry, or Maurice – wasn't how I was raised to see things. We were taught to mark outsiders as distant threats alone, stop ourselves from getting too familiar or understanding. Certainly not accepting. My experience of life as transitory helped to open my heart, made me see how happiness is hard and love is precious. When rust and bones are all that's left of us, I want to know that I left more loving behind.
June 9, 2023
Annapolis County, Nova Scotia
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I have two psychological hang-ups relating to food and diet, and I can easily trace their origins to my father's participation in my upbringing.
The first is not only a love of - even a reverence for - food, but a belief that food is love. The importance of food in Chinese culture may be a cliche, but it's no less true for being one. In Cantonese, people ask one another "have you eaten yet?" in the same way as we ask "what's up?" or "how's it going?”, and then there’s this popular aphorism of Prince Philip’s:
“If it has got four legs and it is not a chair, if it has got two wings and it flies but is not an aeroplane, and if it swims and it is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it.”
When I left home at the age of seventeen, Dad gave me a rice cooker, a wok and some recipes, but my passion for food took hold much earlier, in childhood. Typically for a Chinese man of his generation, Dad worked long hours: fourteen hours a day, six days a week. I missed him, and his weekly days off on which he prepared what seemed to me then to be vast banquets, were occasions for childish excitement comparable to Christmas. Also typically for a Chinese man of his generation, Dad was not effusive or demonstrative. Of course, Dad's devotion to his family was expressed in the fact that he worked so hard to provide for us, but I had no appreciation of that as a child. And so I found his love and affection in the food he cooked for us: in the effort and care that was put into the meals; in the way he would put the best pieces of meat or fish into our bowls rather than his own; in how damned good they tasted.
Food as love is a belief I have inherited, or perhaps just inferred, from my Dad. Unless I'm working away from Glasgow, I cook every single day, but rarely for other people. If I cook for someone, it's because I care about them very much (or maybe, in some shallower instances, because I want to impress them). And by "cook for someone" I don't mean "I was going to heat up some of this stew, do you want some too?" or "feel free to have some of the soup I made earlier" but rather "I'm going to prepare and cook a meal for you and I to sit down and eat together." I can't expect everyone to understand what it means for me to do that, of course: romantic partners in the past have been baffled by my anger when they arrived late for dinner, or been irritated by how much I interest I took in their diets.
This brings me to my second neurosis, an unusually enthusiastic and occasionally angsty concern with the nutritional or health-giving value of my diet. As a child, I wasn't allowed to go and play after dinner until I had eaten an apple and drunk what seemed to me as a child to be a huge glass of water (I have since I was a teenager had a particular compulsion about staying hydrated, and remember thinking it irrational and unjust that we weren't allowed to drink water in class in secondary school). This compulsiveness may seem incompatible with the fact that I regularly abuse my body variously with alcohol, cigarettes and, until recently, by indulging my sweet tooth, but perhaps it (along with exercise) was borne of these abuses: knowing that I do these things, I feel I must exercise, eat well and try my best to sleep well.
A few months ago, I read an article in The Guardian (it's a running joke among my friends how many of our conversations begin with this line) about Dr Robert Lustig, the man at the forefront of the anti-sugar movement in America. In it, he makes the alarming claim that sugar is as harmful to our bodies as tobacco and cocaine. In further reading about the subject, I kept coming across the paleo diet. When I sought the advice of friends and colleagues who I knew subscribed to it, they were unanimous in proclaiming its benefits. The diet is based around the food our ancestors ate tens of thousands of years ago, before the advent of agriculture, and permits meat, fruit and veg, fish, nuts and seeds. This means that coffee, booze, grains, legumes, starches, dairy and any kind of processed food are all out. There are variations of the diet that permit some of these food groups, but bread, pasta, rice, couscous and potatoes (except the sweet variety) are out.
I've been following the paleo diet for three months now. I'm not particularly strict about it: legumes and some dairy still form a (now smaller) part of my diet, my meat isn't necessarily grass-fed, I treat myself to the occasional dessert or pizza, and nobody is ever taking beer away from me. When I go to a restaurant or a friend's house for food, I'm no more picky than I used to be. Some friends and family members have expressed alarm that someone like me, who has spent his whole life underweight, should go on a diet. I wouldn't be surprised if, since adopting this "lifestyle" (as many of its adherents prefer to think of it), my daily intake of calories and fat has increased substantially, but that's part of the point: fat doesn't make you fat; sugar makes you fat. In any case, I stress to them that this is not about losing weight or about body image - although if you are keen to lose weight, a paleo diet will show dramatic results very quickly - but about general good health. And after only a couple of weeks, I felt the benefits. My energy levels are much more constant than they used to be: I get out of bed earlier, more easily, and don't feel tired after meals; indigestion and acid reflux are things of the past; bowel movements are, to use a respectfully vague adjective, better. I’ve enjoyed an excitement I haven’t felt for a long time at going into the kitchen to cook and knowing that I’m forced to be creative. The downside is that I'm almost always a little hungry, but nuts and fruit are never far away to snack on. The other principal drawback is that this diet is expensive, cutting out all the cheap staples such as rice and pasta in favour of more meat, fish and vegetables.
While I know that there are many challenges to the anthropological and evolutionary bases of the paleo diet, and that nutritionists continue to disagree on what constitutes the healthiest diet, the benefits of the paleo diet have for me been tangible, and I recommend it to anyone.
Glasgow, 2014.
Lothian Buses Gemini 3 Facelift bodied Volvo B5LH number 554 (SA15 VUE) ‘Estiland’ is seen here at OT, under a certain sign that relates to its number plate
Taken on Wednesday the 17th of December 2025.
This is a photo I’ve been wanting to get for SO many years, 554 (SA15 VUE) ‘Estiland’ under the big ‘vue’ sign at OT, corresponding wi the registration plate very nicely. The original photo needed some editing work to be presentable, but I went a bit over the top wi the saturation and such, because I can.
Thanks to ZZ9 for motivating me to try and actually finallly go and get this shot!
I posted a photo of this bus to flickr shortly after its 5th birthday, talking about how weird it seemed that it was already five years old, the new hybrids on the 34 were a highlight of 2015, and they seemed fairly new and exciting for a while after. Well now it’s over a decade old somehow, but spending its days mainly on the 34 and 35, just where it’s most at home.
So I unofficially named this bus ‘Estiland’ originally, mistakenly thinking it was Estonian for Estonia (no, that’s Eesti), but the name stuck and It’s now played a part of enough of my life that I have a fondness for it, even slightly more than some others in its batch.
In November this year, ZZ9 nicknamed this ‘Lothian’s Cinema Bus’ in relation to the number plate, as we see here quite clearly. I intend to add ZZ9’s name to the unofficial names doc, what better name could there be for this? However, ‘Estiland’ is also staying, that’s what it’s always been to me. It’s by far not the first bus wi two names, even though I usually try and avoid multiple names, there’s no reason why we can’t have some! An example currently in the fleet is XLB number 1066, which I nicknamed ‘Frances’, and Callum Colville nicknamed ‘Battle of Hastings’, due to the fleet number corresponding to the date of that battle.
This batch (551-570) may be unremarkable, but they seem to still be doing just as well as ever, usually winding their slow way through the city from the foot of the Pentlands in Currie to the sea at OT. If anyone wants to have a go at which of this batch of B5LHs have which seatback colours then go ahead, it’s not intuitive!
Vehicle Information
Operator: Lothian Buses
Service: 34 Leith Harbour and Newhaven Ocean Terminal Ocean Drive – Currie Riccarton Hariot-Watt University The Avenue (Trip NovWedAL23925725)
Vehicle type: Wrightbus Eclipse Gemini 3 Facelift bodied Volvo B5LH
Vehicle engine: Euro 6 Diesel-Electric Hybrid
Vehicle fleet number: 554
Vehicle registration: SA15 VUE
Vehicle name: Estiland
Vehicle depot: Longstone (LS)
Vehicle livery: Lothian Buses Madder and White Fleet of the Future (FOTF) non-ADL Double Deck 2020 version
Vehicle destination screen: white Hanover LED screen
Vehicle destination display: Heriot-Watt 34 / via Research Park
Vehicle Chassis: Vo B5LH YV3T1U22XFA172380
Vehicle Body: Wt AM087
Vehicle Seating: H49/25F
Operating area: City of Edinburgh, Midlothian and East Lothian
Registration prefix area: Glesga
Year of manufacture: 2015
Date of first registration: 14.07.2015 (Day T42198)
Original operator: Lothian Buses
Original fleet number: 554
Original registration: SA15 VUE
Age of vehicle: 10 years, 5 months and 3 days (total 3809 days)
Photo location: Ocean Drive, Ocean Terminal, Leith Harbour and Newhaven, Lìte, City of Edinburgh
Taken on: Wednesday the 17th of December 2025 (17.12.2025)
Taken on Day U3639
References
Bus Lists on the Web (2025) SA15VUE. Available at: www.buslistsontheweb.co.uk/ (Accessed 17.12.2025, Day U3641)
Bustimes.org (2025) Lothian Buses - Vehicles – 554 (SA15 VUE). Available at: bustimes.org/vehicles/loth-554?date=2025-12-17 (Accessed 17.12.2025, Day U3641)
GOV.UK (2025) Check MOT History – SA15 VUE. Available at: www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/results?registration=SA15VUE... (Accessed 17.12.2025, Day U3641)
Scottish Community Councils (2025) Find a Community Council. Available at: www.communitycouncils.scot/community-council-finder (Accessed 17.12.2025, Day U3641)
The Symptoms of Kali-yuga
This chapter relates that, when the bad qualities of the Age of Kali will increase to an intolerable level, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will descend as Kalki to destroy those who are fixed in irreligion. After that, a new Satya-yuga will begin.
As the Age of Kali progresses, all good qualities of men diminish and all impure qualities increase. Atheistic systems of so-called religion become predominant, replacing the codes of Vedic law. The kings become just like highway bandits, the people in general become dedicated to low occupations, and all the social classes become just like śūdras. All cows become like goats, all spiritual hermitages become like materialistic homes, and family ties extend no further than the immediate relationship of marriage.
When the Age of Kali has almost ended, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will incarnate. He will appear in the village Śambhala, in the home of the exalted brāhmaṇa Viṣṇuyaśā, and will take the name Kalki. He will mount His horse Devadatta and, taking His sword in hand, will roam about the earth killing millions of bandits in the guise of kings. Then the signs of the next Satya-yuga will begin to appear. When the moon, sun and the planet Bṛhaspati enter simultaneously into one constellation and conjoin in the lunar mansion Puṣyā, Satya-yuga will begin. In the order of Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali, the cycle of four ages rotates in the society of living entities in this universe.
The chapter ends with a brief description of the future dynasties of the sun and moon coming from Vaivasvata Manu in the next Satya-yuga. Even now two saintly kṣatriyas are living who at the end of this Kali-yuga will reinitiate the pious dynasties of the sun-god, Vivasvān, and the moon-god, Candra. One of these kings is Devāpi, a brother of Mahārāja Śantanu, and the other is Maru, a descendant of Ikṣvāku. They are biding their time incognito in a village named Kalāpa.
SB 12.2.1 — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Then, O King, religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance, mercy, duration of life, physical strength and memory will all diminish day by day because of the powerful influence of the Age of Kali.
SB 12.2.2 — In Kali-yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man’s good birth, proper behavior and fine qualities. And law and justice will be applied only on the basis of one’s power.
SB 12.2.3 — Men and women will live together merely because of superficial attraction, and success in business will depend on deceit. Womanliness and manliness will be judged according to one’s expertise in sex, and a man will be known as a brāhmaṇa just by his wearing a thread.
SB 12.2.4 — A person’s spiritual position will be ascertained merely according to external symbols, and on that same basis people will change from one spiritual order to the next. A person’s propriety will be seriously questioned if he does not earn a good living. And one who is very clever at juggling words will be considered a learned scholar.
SB 12.2.5 — A person will be judged unholy if he does not have money, and hypocrisy will be accepted as virtue. Marriage will be arranged simply by verbal agreement, and a person will think he is fit to appear in public if he has merely taken a bath.
SB 12.2.6 — A sacred place will be taken to consist of no more than a reservoir of water located at a distance, and beauty will be thought to depend on one’s hairstyle. Filling the belly will become the goal of life, and one who is audacious will be accepted as truthful. He who can maintain a family will be regarded as an expert man, and the principles of religion will be observed only for the sake of reputation.
SB 12.2.7 — As the earth thus becomes crowded with a corrupt population, whoever among any of the social classes shows himself to be the strongest will gain political power.
SB 12.2.8 — Losing their wives and properties to such avaricious and merciless rulers, who will behave no better than ordinary thieves, the citizens will flee to the mountains and forests.
SB 12.2.9 — Harassed by famine and excessive taxes, people will resort to eating leaves, roots, flesh, wild honey, fruits, flowers and seeds. Struck by drought, they will become completely ruined.
SB 12.2.10 — The citizens will suffer greatly from cold, wind, heat, rain and snow. They will be further tormented by quarrels, hunger, thirst, disease and severe anxiety.
SB 12.2.11 — The maximum duration of life for human beings in Kali-yuga will become fifty years.
SB 12.2.12-16 — By the time the Age of Kali ends, the bodies of all creatures will be greatly reduced in size, and the religious principles of followers of varṇāśrama will be ruined. The path of the Vedas will be completely forgotten in human society, and so-called religion will be mostly atheistic. The kings will mostly be thieves, the occupations of men will be stealing, lying and needless violence, and all the social classes will be reduced to the lowest level of śūdras. Cows will be like goats, spiritual hermitages will be no different from mundane houses, and family ties will extend no further than the immediate bonds of marriage. Most plants and herbs will be tiny, and all trees will appear like dwarf śamī trees. Clouds will be full of lightning, homes will be devoid of piety, and all human beings will have become like asses. At that time, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will appear on the earth. Acting with the power of pure spiritual goodness, He will rescue eternal religion.
SB 12.2.17 — Lord Viṣṇu — the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master of all moving and nonmoving living beings, and the Supreme Soul of all — takes birth to protect the principles of religion and to relieve His saintly devotees from the reactions of material work.
SB 12.2.18 — Lord Kalki will appear in the home of the most eminent brāhmaṇa of Śambhala village, the great soul Viṣṇuyaśā.
SB 12.2.19-20 — Lord Kalki, the Lord of the universe, will mount His swift horse Devadatta and, sword in hand, travel over the earth exhibiting His eight mystic opulences and eight special qualities of Godhead. Displaying His unequaled effulgence and riding with great speed, He will kill by the millions those thieves who have dared dress as kings.
SB 12.2.21 — After all the impostor kings have been killed, the residents of the cities and towns will feel the breezes carrying the most sacred fragrance of the sandalwood paste and other decorations of Lord Vāsudeva, and their minds will thereby become transcendentally pure.
SB 12.2.22 — When Lord Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears in their hearts in His transcendental form of goodness, the remaining citizens will abundantly repopulate the earth.
SB 12.2.23 — When the Supreme Lord has appeared on earth as Kalki, the maintainer of religion, Satya-yuga will begin, and human society will bring forth progeny in the mode of goodness.
SB 12.2.24 — When the moon, the sun and Bṛhaspatī are together in the constellation Karkaṭa, and all three enter simultaneously into the lunar mansion Puṣyā — at that exact moment the age of Satya, or Kṛta, will begin.
SB 12.2.25 — Thus I have described all the kings — past, present and future — who belong to the dynasties of the sun and the moon.
SB 12.2.26 — From your birth up to the coronation of King Nanda, 1,150 years will pass.
SB 12.2.27-28 — Of the seven stars forming the constellation of the seven sages, Pulaha and Kratu are the first to rise in the night sky. If a line running north and south were drawn through their midpoint, whichever of the lunar mansions this line passes through is said to be the ruling asterism of the constellation for that time. The Seven Sages will remain connected with that particular lunar mansion for one hundred human years. Currently, during your lifetime, they are situated in the nakṣatra called Maghā.
SB 12.2.29 — The Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, is brilliant like the sun and is known as Kṛṣṇa. When He returned to the spiritual sky, Kali entered this world, and people then began to take pleasure in sinful activities.
SB 12.2.30 — As long as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the husband of the goddess of fortune, touched the earth with His lotus feet, Kali was powerless to subdue this planet.
SB 12.2.31 — When the constellation of the seven sages is passing through the lunar mansion Maghā, the Age of Kali begins. It comprises twelve hundred years of the demigods.
SB 12.2.32 — When the great sages of the Saptarṣi constellation pass from Maghā to Pūrvāsāḍhā, Kali will have his full strength, beginning from King Nanda and his dynasty.
SB 12.2.33 — Those who scientifically understand the past declare that on the very day that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa departed for the spiritual world, the influence of the Age of Kali began.
SB 12.2.34 — After the one thousand celestial years of Kali-yuga, the Satya-yuga will manifest again. At that time the minds of all men will become self-effulgent.
SB 12.2.35 — Thus I have described the royal dynasty of Manu, as it is known on this earth. One can similarly study the history of the vaiśyas, śūdras and brāhmaṇas living in the various ages.
SB 12.2.36 — These personalities, who were great souls, are now known only by their names. They exist only in accounts from the past, and only their fame remains on the earth.
SB 12.2.37 — Devāpi, the brother of Mahārāja Śāntanu, and Maru, the descendant of Ikṣvāku, both possess great mystic strength and are living even now in the village of Kalāpa.
SB 12.2.38 — At the end of the Age of Kali, these two kings, having received instruction directly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, will return to human society and reestablish the eternal religion of man, characterized by the divisions of varṇa and āśrama, just as it was before.
SB 12.2.39 — The cycle of four ages — Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali — continues perpetually among living beings on this earth, repeating the same general sequence of events.
SB 12.2.40 — My dear King Parīkṣit, all these kings I have described, as well as all other human beings, come to this earth and stake their claims, but ultimately they all must give up this world and meet their destruction.
SB 12.2.41 — Even though a person’s body may now have the designation “king,” in the end its name will be “worms,” “stool” or “ashes.” What can a person who injures other living beings for the sake of his body know about his own self-interest, since his activities are simply leading him to hell?
SB 12.2.42 — [The materialistic king thinks:] “This unbounded earth was held by my predecessors and is now under my sovereignty. How can I arrange for it to remain in the hands of my sons, grandsons and other descendants?”
SB 12.2.43 — Although the foolish accept the body made of earth, water and fire as “me” and this earth as “mine,” in every case they have ultimately abandoned both their body and the earth and passed away into oblivion.
SB 12.2.44 — My dear King Parīkṣit, all these kings who tried to enjoy the earth by their strength were reduced by the force of time to nothing more than historical accounts.
~ Srimad Bhagavatam, canto 12, chapter 2
#InternationalRebellionWeek #srimadbhagavatam
Thank you for viewing. If you like please fav and leave a nice comment. Hope to see you here again. Have a wonderful day 😊
Oxford Circus, London 🇬🇧
18th April, 2019
“Other letters simply relate the small events that punctuate the passage of time: roses picked at dusk, the laziness of a rainy Sunday, a child crying himself to sleep. Capturing the moment, these small slices of life, these small gusts of happiness, move me more deeply than all the rest. A couple of lines or eight pages, a Middle Eastern stamp or a suburban postmark . . . I hoard all these letters like treasure. One day I hope to fasten them end to end in a half-mile streamer, to float in the wind like a banner raised to the glory of friendship..”
― Jean-Dominique Bauby, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death
Thanks a lot for your visits and comments, my friends. Have a memorable Sunday...!
Best seen on black - press L or click on image above.
Old W.R. bashers will relate to this story.
So there you are trawling the depths of Cornwall desperately hoping to catch a photo of the last working Western needed to complete your collection - 1025 Western Guardsman.
You're tired and knackered after a long day's bashing and you've just hopped on to the up wakers sleeper in Cornwall hoping to grab a few hours kip in a Mark 1 compartment before you jump off at Bridgwater to catch the return working. You drift off to sleep....
Just east of Liskeard in the dark, you feel a sharp swing to the right - the train is going wrong line - why? A few minutes later, in your sleepy half awake state, you become aware of lights flashing past the window. You reach up from your prone position and wipe the (by now) damp window and scrub off a patch of condensation to see what's going on. A P.W. train - with wagons and workers on the track. What's on the front of it? Wagon after wagon passes your window, the light from your train briefly illuminates them - then suddenly something larger. A loco - what's that number? Darn, missed it. What about the nameplate? Wxxxx Guardsxxxx then another Westxxx Pxxxxfinder - what the heck? Then it is gone!
You wake from your deep slumbered state and shout out. Did I just dream that? Was that my wicked imagination? Your fellow basher on the seat opposite, agrees, it was 1025 in the pitch black darkness.
OK, so now what to do? How do I get back there for a photo in the middle of the night? Do I get off at Plymouth and wait for the PW train to come back to Laira? No, my accomplice convinces me that we can stick to our original plan - it will still be there in the morning with (importantly) some daylight. I spend the rest of the journey drifting in and out of sleep wondering if he is right.
At Bridgwater, we nearly get arrested by the local plod asking us why we are wandering around the town centre at 2am in the morning. 'Waiting for the down sleeper' charms the most confident one of our group. We're trying to stay awake by walking around, honest! Thankfully he believes us.
The rest is history. We took the down wakers with 1051 and in the early twilight, somewhere near Menheniot about 7am, the old Mark 1 stock squeels around a left hander (not the easiest of curves to capture a passing train) and then I see them. The left hand shot is 1001 Western Pathfinder as we approach it - then I turn and 'snap' 1025 Western Guardsman as we move away, the right hand shot.
And my collection is complete - every Western - if you include the various cab ends I shot in B&W around Swindon Works in '74! It remains the only double headed Western I ever saw in service.
Were we insane? Probably - but even though it was over 40 years ago, it still brings a wry smile - great days!
Ref: SL257/258
This text is spread over three Gobate II images, and is a complement to the 'Peña Hueca' text (see below, for those reading from a computer). The texts look at issues relating to a potential local architectural response to amber deposits. I propose that these early architectures have the potential to be early human examples of building structures outside of functions such as habitat or issues such as ancestors and the dead. They would sit in a chronology aside a second early speciality late Neolithic structure I call the 'Boat Haven' and indeed in keeping, I name this class of Upper Ebro troglodytic structures 'Amber Havens'.
A scattered line of sites can be seen from the north east within the Basque region's piedmont, through the amber deposits aside Las Yurdinas 2, the Peñacerrada and other Urizaharra deposits, and down to the feathered edges of the great River Ebro's valley. The distance between Gobate and the Chalcolithic villages associated with the physical extraction of the amber mineral deposits is as low as five straight kilometres. Gobat is at an altitude of 650m and a sharp rise to around 1000m provides a qualitative ridge for the amber deposits to hide behind. Whilst the ridge climbs just 300m, it is steep enough to take the zest from hasty gaits - a natural pause for thought.
Along this scattered 'line', and towards its southern end, are the close-by Gobate and La Llana sites in addition to occasional dolmen and necropolis of monolithic sarcophagi in a range of styles including of those witnessed in and around the Gobate and La Llana sites. [I will later argue that these sarcophagi can be reappropriated, and that their origins need to be stretched back in chronology].
Carved stone spaces are cleaned and swept and the archaeological record may not be as laminated as it is for non-ritual family fed rock abris. Ploughing has also occurred up to the edges of many sites.
This diagonal of artificial caves runs out from the plane of the upper Ebro and is a potential subset of the Upper Ebro group of troglodytic ritual sites. Understanding this subset is a task that will require hypothesis, and the hypothesis I use for Gobate and La Llana is one that develops from ideas I presented for Peña Hueca up on the plateau and equally buffered on the other side of the amber deposits.
Before looking at the line of artificial caves and late prehistoric sites, it is important to see that there are striking similarities between the La Llana sites and the potentially slightly older Gobate sites. Each loci may consist of two separated elements, the first element a 'hubub' around at least three different 'warm water forms' and the second, a 'quiet' site with little space for more than a handful of people. For each site, the 'warm water form' clusters are within shouting distance (drum distance) but not within sight (111m and 250m apart respectively). Were it not for the artificial cave under the 'warm water forms' of the 'Gobate I' site, the similar 'footprint' of the adjacent sites would be blatant and indubitable. Accepting that the La Llana sight is slightly younger, It may seem that La Llana was either an improved and newer version of an aged Gobate cluster, or that La Llana was a second example of a function, i.e. there was an activity that required a combination of 'quietness' and 'hubub' that was locally successful, and thus could sustain a second example (a town with one big biscuit factory attracts a second...). For either scenario, it is worth trying to imagine what sort of activity could thrive and sustain over time from a duality between calm and hubub.
Exposed rock surfaces melt away with weathering and any forms added by man are today shrunk by the constant tick of ablation's clock. If Gobate was the first version, then its carved 'warm water forms' should be less edgy and worn out, and indeed this is the case.
Happenstance can cause the most wonderful links, but here we have two sites between the River Ebro 'highway' and a low mountain zone rich in amber and I think that before the face of happenstance is called upon to reply, an attempt should be made to see how the exact configuration might have helped man key into landscape from an optic of 5000 years before present.
'Warm water forms' might be used for many procedures from detanning acorns to softening fibres before weave, and from vegetal dying and cleaning to perfume production. A group of visitors who arrive from the River Ebro highway - keen to trade for stones of amber - might be taken to the 'warm water forms' to relax and chat in friendly states of semi nudity. Each 'warm water form' would have had a deeper shallow pool, and stretching out in a warm 'paddling pool' of perfumed water would occupy, as would plunging into the deeper 'collection pool'. It is safe to say that a visiting trade party from between 12 people and 24 people might here be soothed after days of walking, welcomed by the 'warm water form' facilities of La Llana and Gobate. All tools that might double for weapons have thus been pacified by this memorable moment and even rite. Once an ambience of mutual trust and common heath is assured, then a 'bigman' might ask the visiting group's 'leader/negotiator' to come aside for 'talks' and barters over amber. Walking 1 or 2 hundred metres to the smaller artificial cave, be it La Llana or Gobat I, and the pacified party has been 'diffused' as a potential threat to amber resources via Epicurian pleasure, goodwill and trust. Implicit with this visualisation is the cultural detail that the water in the 'warm water forms' must have been kept to a standard of cleanliness for it to keep its status and allure. If the water is a perfume of, lets imagine, local lavender and rosemary, then giving the water a symbolic status, and asking that people leave for a change of perfumed waters, would be a cultural detail and imply roles for specific individuals. The implication of location specific protocols and roles associated with a category of monument being a potentially interesting aside.
Amber as a mineral was highly desired and traded throughout the Neolithic and Chalcolithic. Here our group leader must leave behind his travelling companions - and we will imagine a self contained group with selected people from crofts and villages associated with a far-off valley cluster. Our visiting negotiator is 300m below a protective ridge that hides the actual deposits, and is told that were his group to venture to try to see the actual quarries, the worst would be guaranteed !(and indeed skeletons with arrow damage from the Chalcolithic period have been discovered in this upper amber quarry zone). Here the amber quarries are sites protected by cultural design.
Any transformed or raw amber held down in La Llana or Gobat II, on its approximative level with the Ebro plane, is also relatively secure and disassociated from the dynamic potential power of the visiting group. Tucked onto their 'warm water forms' and inside the rare musky fragrances, the rest of the visiting group cannot see the place or even direction of the place of negotiation and exchange. They are in a perfect hubub.
One representative man steps inside a small man-made cave on a cusp of a slight ridge, sits down on a stone chair (above left?) in a corner shade, and waits to see the mythical amber stones they have all travelled so far to acquire. The different sizes of stone will be taken to him and an exchange will be negotiated. He is alone fixed to a stone or carved chair, and representatives from the La Llana site or the Gobat site are slipping in and out of the low doorway. Stones of amber appear in hands and leather wraps as if from nowhere.
The goods the group carried to be exchanged are with the main party aside the 'warm water forms' - perhaps pots of grain, textiles, early metal tools, bags of nuts, wooden tools and other ways that might help the local region escape some elements of the domesticated Neolithic revolution. The goods are held in the artificial cave of the 'Gobate II' site, or in a temporary building long gone that was central in a waiting space in the 'warm water form' cluster of La Llana.
Today the 'warm water forms' of La Llana are disassociated from the La Llana 'amber haven' by a small road. The impact of modern roads on prehistoric landscapes can deeply effect the reading and 'living' of a vista, and I think that hiding roads in tunnels may seem expensive or even destructive, but is a vital way to return man's deeper appreciations to landscape. The La Llana road is quiet with infrequent traffic, and landscaping and ochre coloured surfacing and even a short section of cobble strip may be enough - elsewhere, where traffic noise, colour and pollution is ever present, deeper tunnels must be welcomed and 'pseudo' pseudo-druids challenged.
On the above image it is possible to see examples of modern petroglyphs next to a space apt for taking a negotiator to wait between amber stone samples.
As with the Gobate I site, the monolithic sarcophagi do not systematically respect E/W orientations common with dolmen openings and early Christian burial.
AJM 28.01.21
Story by my Twin Sister
Pict by me
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2023 A New Year's Eve Soliloquy
I was asked recently by a friend if I would ever be likely to teach someone what
he/she felt were my skills at pickpocketing.
Extremely flattering as the question was, I had never thought of what we do as a skill. Rather than just role play, or taking advantage of a friend’s condition ( like Pissed drunk, or compellingly overwhelmed emotionally) that makes them vulnerable.
We had a discussion over this with my brother and our group of friends, concluding that since non of us would ever try to do a lift on a stranger for keeps, the topic of this being an actual skill is pretty much mute.
That all being said, if there are professional pickpockets that are adept enough to actively lift jewelry from a victim, then either they are incredibly skilled, or just know how to spot an advantage brewing that would cook up into a victim’s concocting condition as described above.
For a clearer example of a concocting condition, let me relate my own experience this past New Year’s Eve.
As is our habit, my friends and I celebrated New Year's Eve at our local “The Poet & Peasant Pub”.
I was on the decorations committee, so I was there to observe most of the guests coming in.
I was at the top of the stairs leading to the upper rooms, placing a party hat on Erik, the skull of the medieval poet who is the pub’s namesake. The macabrely grinning thing sits high on a ledge of the stairs overlooking the pub and its guests (peasants).
So I had a great vantage point to take an early drink and watch.
A friend(and he knows of whom I speak) had sorta challenged me to make a lift this evening. So it was with a thief’s eye that I tried to look innocent as I watched the partiers coming in.
The pub proper is not large, but it has two larger first-floor rooms, one for dance, the other for dart competitions. Since we usually can expect a crowd of two hundred, all three areas come into play.
The upstairs rooms are old bedrooms used for various pub-related antics.
Now, It’s not supposed to be a dressy affair at this party, but the guests, regulars, and visitors make it one.
The gents in suits, and tuxes, the lady’s getting a second chance to show off by wearing an old gown or dress they’ve only worn once.
Rhinestones and pearls are the majority of jewels worn with splashy brilliance.
This year was no exception.
Once it was in full swing one would have thought it was an after-party at a actors' awards show.
Use that thought to picture in your mind a quick visual without me going into boring paragraphs of detail.
But for a brief idea, I’ll describe what my clique was wearing…
Which, since it was one(or more)of us girls that became a victim that evening, it appears appropriate to do so.
So, In my role-play thief's mind I observed:
First off, myself.
I had on a smart ocean blue coloured satin dress with a below-knee length skirt and a slick solid top with a mock turtleneck collar. The sleeves flared out just below my elbows. I was wearing my gold necklace set with diamond Sapphire rhinestones with matching long earrings. Also being worn was my rhinestone cuff bracelet. The same one my brother once nicked from me at the very pub we were now partying at.
I also added two of my real cocktail rings to complete the glittery effect.
As far as the type of mark I’d be for a thief? Well if being a twit came in degrees, and I was in my monthly period, I would be certified as a solid brown belt. If I was wearing real jewels, thieves would be able to have a field day lifting the bloody things, as did actually happen to me in a very similar situation as this evening. But it was not done by a real thief, just by an opportunist who took advantage of a victim who had been having herself a pisser.
But then, this is not that story.
My friend Byrne was wearing an old-fashioned black tux, black vest, black shirt, and blue bow tie, topped off by a black bowler. He had to work late at the Dyfed station that day and said he was wearing the suit he had on. So it was a pleasant surprise to see him dressed up, and I let him know it in no uncertain terms.
My brother was dapper in his tawny-colored herringbone vest suit, brown silk shirt, and gold satin necktie. A gold satin handkerchief stuck jauntily out from a vest pocket.
Ginny had again poured her lithe figure into the sleek satin Japanese-style Qipao sheath dress she had bought to wear in a play she acted in last spring. It was midnight black with a brite lime green inner lining and tight lime green Lycra pants. The only decoration on the elegant dress was a glittery silver rhinestone Dragon, with green slanted eyes and a red fiery tongue. It was embroidered crawling up one side of the dress, reaching around up towards her bosom.
Ginny was wearing a bib-style necklace of rhinestone emeralds with matching earrings.
The necklace she usually wore was still in a police evidence locker at Dyfed ( see my tea party story).
Her hair was held up on one side by a glittery clip. She wore no gloves, so her diamond rhinestone cuff bracelet lay on bare skin, as were the 3 cocktail rings she was wearing.
Ginny would be a tougher nut for thieves to crack. For she is logical to a fault and witty. She is also a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu.
But one really after her jewels, would just have to follow her around to see she is on the wee bit clumsy side. I immediately thought how useful a satin handkerchief could be if employed along the high, partially exposed neckline of her gown to acquire her necklace. And I happened to now know where to obtain one ….
Two other two close friends (members of our role-playing troupe) also eventually showed up.
Merrick was dashing in a James Bond-styled black tux. The vest he wore had a gold and black calico silk pattern.
His Heather enticingly was wearing a very shiny black satin, slightly off shoulders gown with long white lace frills hanging down from the neckline and the gown’s puffy elbow-length sleeves.
Her jewellery was a ruby rhinestone necklace with matching earrings. Like Ginny, one side of her hair was pulled back and held by one of her real diamond chip hair clips. She wore black satin gloves, and around one wrist was the wide tennis bracelet Merrick had given her last Valentine’s Day. It was a beauty, two rows of diamonds and a centre row of round rock rubies. She also wore twin ruby cocktail rings.
Heather is a timid meek little thing who blushed easily and turn her head away whenever complimented(think of Actress Alison Pill ). Also, those black satin gloves of hers would hinder feelings of lifting from her skin.
Mum and Auntie were also in attendance.
Mum was wearing a shimmering dress of silvery metallic material. She was wearing a necklace of round diamond rhinestones, with matching earrings and bracelets. They were ones I first “borrowed “, sneaking them out of mum’s day jewel case and started wearing as my twin and I began first exploring our games of thievery.
Her personality and looks matched the actress Haley Mills. Her eyes getting delightfully large as she was surprised by something. It would be worth trying for her necklace just to witness that reaction.
Father was working the Dyfed station this evening, so my bodyguard-built uncle was the escort of both ladies.
Uncle(or the man from U.N.C.L.E . As I thought of him) was a rugby player in his youth and still had the physic for it. The tight tux he wore looked like it was bursting from the seams over his muscular build. But for all his looks he was a pussycat. Though a fierce darts competitor.
Auntie was very elegant in a long white silk dress with a red and green flowery print. She was wearing her gleaming set of pearls.
Our Aunt reminded me of the actress Janine Duvitski, in looks, and the way she was insecure, like Janine’s character in the Telly series” Waiting for God.” She was a foil to far too many things in her life and would offer no challenge to a proper thief, which may be her saving grace.
Then there was our cousin Michelle(Micke)
She has come there with a group of her coworkers but divided her time with us.
Micke was enticingly wearing a very sleek, slick brown satin fully off-shoulder number that nicely outlined her petite figure as it poured along it down to her silver high heels.
Her Jewels were a sparkling collection that consisted of a wide V-shaped necklace that looked like a falling river of rhinestones, amazingly sparkling chandelier earnings, her favorite diamond-appearing bracelet, and several enticing rings.
But the real showpiece was the eye-grabbing broach she had pinned to the gown just at her waistband. It had a sparrow egg-sized diamond at its centre.
Now blonde Micke just wears her heart upon her sleeve. Just as gullible as her mum, she has fallen victim to many of our pranks. Micke was easy prey to a compliment or falling into a tight, searching hug.
And by now most of the rest of the crowd had entered.
I tapped Erick’s boney jaw open so the poor sod of a poet was grinning, then came down from my perch to begin mugging, er, mingling.
^^^^^^^^
And so the party rambled on, properly behaving like most pub-held New Year’s Eve affairs.
I highly recommend going to one if you have never been.
Plenty to drink, and eat, games to play dancing to music( ours was live this year) camaraderie, storytelling and jokes, attempts to lite the cigar someone had stuck in Erik’s mouth, etc
Oh, And did I mention games?
Especially the one I was playing on my own, pretending to be a thief on the prowl.
I did miss one early opportunity on me mum’s necklace when I stood behind her in the snack line. She had literally backed into me and was reaching down to snag a small pork pie, exposing her throat and necklaces' clasp. But uncle was in front of her and turned to look as she asked him if he had one for himself.
Victims 1 Thief 0
But then as the night went by quickly and since I’m not a real thief, I found myself having so much fun I almost forgot I was looking for a further lifting opportunity.
Almost…
End Acte 1
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Acte 2
Almost forgot I had been dared to do a lift, that is until I had l came out of the loo around 11:00 and realized I was on my own.
For the first time that evening.
Everyone I had been with was split up into small groups now doing their own thing
I could either join in, watch, or….
And now I thought licking my freshly touched-up lips, time to do something on my own.
So like my pretend thief, I decided to have a walk around and seek an opportunity amongst my chosen potential victims.
Byrne, Merrick, Uncle, and my brother Craig were we’re still playing darts with another group of men. I had been watching before slipping away to freshen up.
Micke and one of her co-workers ( in green taffeta) were amongst a group dancing. I thought of cutting in as a possibility to make a score, for that glittering broach of hers was an enticing calling card.
I watched for a minute or so when suddenly an opening appeared that paved my way in. A man had cut in and was dancing with Micke’s girlfriend. His back to Micke. I curled my fingers while licking my lips ready to plunge in and make a lift of a glittery broach.
I got no more than two steps in when the music stopped and the dancers headed off the floor in the opposite direction, including my Cousin.
I walked away, my heart pounding.
Victims 2 Thief 0
Our Mum and Auntie were sitting at a side table of the long mahogany bar, chatting away. Mum has an almost empty glass, so I surmised she may need to be making a trip to the ladies' room. I stored away that tidbit.
But there, in an opposite corner, underneath Erik’s perch, a makeshift stage was set up. With guests coming up to tell jokes and stories.
It was at one of the tables, chairs backed against the stairway, Ginny and Heather sat listening to an Irishman telling one of his drinking stories.
Both, in my thief’s eye, were a royal treat to be observed. Two enticingly dressed and deliciously jeweled prospects, very distracted, sitting in a rather vulnerable location.
It was all far too tempting, and I felt an overwhelming urge to acquire a piece of jewellery and strted to excitedly tingle from deep within.
Ginny’s necklace was beckoning with a flashy invitation. Heather's elegantly gloved hands with the inviting jewelry she wore, also called out to my inner thief with a fiery blazing hot lure.
^^^^^
The Irishman telling the joke was holding a long cigar as he started, his accent and mannerisms adding much embellishment to the story.
(Look up on Utube Mike Dunafon. An Irish drinking joke)
“Irishman Paddy O'Brien has moved to a small city in Wales. And as men are won’t to do, looks for a new local. He walks into the first pub he finds, and tells the bartender, "Give me three pints of Guinness."
The bartender obediently brings him three pints…..
As the story started I had circled over to the empty staircase and snuck up it till I was level with Heather and Ginny’s chairs. Then I sat down.
I earlier decided that my game would be to lift a piece and make it outside to the victim’s car and write gotcha on it, for my thief to win, if I was caught or stopped by anyone, then I lost.
The Irishman took a long puff of his cigar and carried on.
Paddy proceeds to alternately sip one, then the other, then the third until they're gone. Then he rose, threw coins on the table, winked at the bar mistress, and left.
Meanwhile, I was leaning against the rails, my hands reaching out to the back of Ginny’s throat, aiming for the clasp of her emerald-laden necklace. Figuring once the punchline was given, the laughing (if it was as funny as I hoped) would provide the perfect opportunity.
The Irishman continues…
The next Saturday evening Paddy walks in, hanging his cap, taking a seat, he walks again and orders three more pints.
The bartender brings them over, and says, "Sir, you don't have to order three pints at a time. I can keep an eye on one and when you get low, I'll bring you a fresh pint."
Paddy responds, "You don't understand. I just moved to wales and I have two brothers, one in Australia and one Canada. We made a vow to each other that every Saturday night we'd still drink together. So right now, me brothers are having three Guinness Stouts and we're drinking together.
The bartender thought that it was a wonderful tradition and said as much.
Both Ginny and Heather were now leaning back in their chairs. My fingers had been slowly working on pulling Ginny’s necklace down lower on her back so it would dangle. Just then Heather put her arms behind her chair. Her bracelet danced with rippling sparks that just cried out to the thief in me to be taken.
So, as the Irishman took a sip of his drink, I moved my hands from Ginny, and moving down a stair reached for Heather’s ruby bracelet. As the next part of the joke was told, I delicately worked at removing it.
Now, every week for several years Paddy came in and ordered three pints at a time.
Then one Saturday week he came in and ordered only two pints.
He solemnly drank them, rose. Put on his cap and went over to pay his tab.
The bartender, who had worriedly been watching, said to Paddy, "I know your tradition, and I'd just like to say that I'm sorry that one of your brothers died."
Paddy responded, “oh no, both my brothers are just fine Dontchay knows now.”
The Bartender, puzzled asked, “then why only two beers now? laddie?”
But I never heard the answer, for as Paddy was still drinking his two beers, I had fiendishly slipped off Heather’s glittering ruby bracelet from around her sleekly gloved wrist and had snuck off the staircase and was heading towards the back door.
Victims 3 Thief 1
I managed to slip past the table where my Aunt sat( mum was gone).
Behind me, I hear vigorous laughter and applause at the ending of the Irishman’s joke.
I would have to ask later what it was.
Then, by the entrance to the dart room, I waited until everyone was watching a dart being thrown before walking past the room.
The dance floor was again packed. But I couldn’t spy Micke, so I took a chance and scurried past.
I made it to the door, excitedly letting out my breath as I pulled it open and slipped through into the chilly night.
A couple was walking in the parking lot, so I ducked into a shadowy side alley and skirted around a fence. Kneeling, I peeked through the pickets.
I did not know the couple, but they obviously had been having a great time, though I wondered why they were leaving so soon. The lady was dressed in a blue taffeta gown with prickling rhinestone adornments. Her jewelry also prickled fire in the moonlit evening.
In my thief’s eyes, I saw them being approached and held up. The lady is forced to hand over her jewels to a masked female thief. Not me though, the thief I was picturing had bigger boobs.
Of course, that would be something only I would find to be that amusing, and let out a giggle.
They both heard it and looked around as I slinked back into the shadows.
They shrugged it off and got inside the car.
I took my eyes off them and soon spotted Merrill and Heather’s black sports car.
I rose.
Suddenly a male voice snarled sinisterly from behind me...
“Who let you out all dressed up looking like a mugger's dream?”
I let out a shriek as I jumped up and turned around.
Byrne stood there grinning.
I playfully pounded his shoulder, my heart thumping as I scolded him between breaths that gave off wisps of vapor into the cold night.
“Byrne you rotter. Scared the Jesus out of me you did, and almost peed my undies. And how would that have looked I ask you?!”
Byrne held onto my shoulders and laughed.
“Sorry, you looked so mischievous as I saw in the corner of my eye you sneaking out. I followed, then lost you until I heard the giggle. So tell me what you are up to now?”
I explained to him my game, that upon the thief’s success, I had come out to write “gotcha” on the car door.
“Then what were you gonna after that Ms. Cadence?”
“Follow Heather out when she left and give it back …?”
Byrne looked thoughtfully at Merrick’s car.
“I have got a better idea. She won’t know who did it.”
He led me over to his auto. Goes to the back and pulls a long slender bar from what I call his cop box, in the trunk.
We go over to Merrick’s black sports car and Byrne, looking around first, uses the tool to lift the latch on the passenger side.
“Now lay her bracelet out on the seat.
I did so letting it curl up on the black leather, where it lay sparkling. Then I locked and shut the door.
With a smirk, Byrne reminded me not to forget what else I was going to do
I nodded and in the dirty side of the door, I traced the word “Gotcha” as Byrne went over to put back his tool.
Arm in arm, with a co-conspirator's air, we walked onto the sidewalk, making our way to the front of the pub and went back inside. Innocent as a sparrow…
Another gent was getting up on the stage telling a story so we went and joined Ginny and Heather with an air of innocence as we began laughing along with them.
An old Irishman, Paddy, is about to go to his eternal reward. He looks at his grieving friend, Mike, and says, "Michael, I have one last request."
Ginny’s necklace was still lifted and the backside hanging down. She hadn’t noticed that fact. Nor had giggling Heather noticed her flashy bracelet was now missing.
"Anything, Paddy," Mike says. "What is it?"
"In me kitchen pantry lad, you'll find a bottle of whiskey from the year I was born. When they put me in the ground will you pour it over me grave as a final salute?"
"I will, Paddy," Mike says.
“Thank you Michael, you have been a true and thoughtful lad.”
I nudged Byrne and pointed to my wrist. He looked over and saw that Heather had her hand on the table, with her other gloves hand over it. I was tingling with excitement over how my game had played out.
Byrne nudged me back and I shook my head in agreement. He was loving the fact that we had pulled it off. So like a man to take the whole credit now that he had contributed a wee bit to my game.
We both turned back to listen to the stories finish.
"But Paddy?”
Mike asks earnestly ….
“Would you be minding if I be passing it through me kidneys first?"
The whole room erupted into laughter as the gent merrily raised his glass.
It was then announced that we were only ten minutes away from midnight and everyone should take their places.
I gasped inwardly. Blimey had not been keeping track of the time.
Byrne helped us out of our chairs, and we followed Ginny and Heather to where my brother was standing next to Merrick.
Lights soon dim as the countdown begins
10,9,8,
Everyone behind us is prancing around
7,6,5
We go around hugging. I lift my brother's satin handkerchief from his pocket as I hug him.
4,3,2
I hug Ginny
Wrapping the handkerchief around Ginny’s throat as we hug. Feeling the clasp of her necklace. Oh so tempting.
Victims 4 Thief 1
Then 1 was called out at the stroke of midnight.
“Happy new years everybody!!!”
Lights flicker horns are honked, crackers exploded, and drinks were toasted.
As Ginny turns to hug my brother, I grab and hug Heather, seeing Merrick and Byrne hugging.
I then pull Bryne from his man crush on Merrick and hug him.
Then we spilt up to wish others a Happy New Years.
^^^^^^^^^
We party for another hour before Merrick and Heather say they must leave.
We say our goodbyes and as Byrne and I watch Heather being helped on with her wrap we smirk at each other knowing what she will be finding on her car seat. Love to be a fly on the wall for that.
The music was still playing. A series of slow dances now that the party was winding down.
As we dance, Byrne, looking over at Ginny, commented:
“Damn if Ginny’s necklace isn’t a corker. If I’d been playing your game, I would have had a go for it, though I may have needed a bit of good luck to pull it off.”
I smirked and explained I had originally been attempting to lift it but had gone for the bracelet instead…and that in his case luck may have been needed, but it would not have been good.”
Then, as we both were watching Ginny, with that lovely necklace just sparking away around her throat, I purred into his ear…
“Say the word, and I’ll get for you, my love.”
He shook his head no…
“The scary part is if I said yes you would do it.”
I giggled:
“And wear it until she noticed.”
Byrne smiled:
“You will play nice here the rest of the party won’t you now?”
I nodded as a delighted thought crept into my head.
“So if Ginny had been skulking outside would you have snuck up on her luv, maybe had her hand it over?”
“And have my arse thrown over the fence. No, think I’ll stick to the easily distracted ones who meltdown in my arms.”
“Dream on mister.” I chide him happily.
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Early the next morning as the last of us were kicked out long after the party was officially over, Byrne bundled me into his car, knowing I was too wasted to drive my own self home. I sat there in a mute stupor, hornily replaying the evening's fun.
Suddenly Byrne spoke into the windshield.
“Let’s go to the playground.”
I perked up, for ideas like that usually came from me.
“Your drunk.” I teases
“Well, So are you Lass.”
“But it’s too cold. Let’s go to your flat and play at burglars…”
Byrne, sensing my hot flashy feelings, nudged me…
“I knew you would like to role-play since you were playing your games this evening.”
I poked him
“You were the one to mention muggers. Steal my jewelry and strip me naked, is that what’s in your head me lad?”
“Something like that.”
“Do you have your cuffs?”
That perked him up royally.
“Do you want me to use them?”
I giggled with a burgeoned horny appetite.
“Yes, laddie. On yourself. So you can do the thieving and stripping of my easily distracted person without using your hands.”
I do so enjoy it when one can score by making my Byrne speechless.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
So I would like to think that in real life, once upon a time, there may have been an actual pickpocket attending an actors' award show after a party, with real jewellery being worn, that may have seen what I saw, made observations as I did. and lurked, and waited to take advantage of the situation once it developed.
As I did.
Food for thought
Fini
Mike Dunafon. An Irish drinking joke
Did you know that the "Marseille tarot" is associated with the city? Why do you ask? It was brought by Mary Magdalene, the hidden wife of Jesus. She came to Provence, not Marseille. Aren't you wondering why the decks contain 78 cards if only 22 are used? And has anyone ever told you that the Tarot was never designed to predict the future? This includes the Tarot's history and the rich symbolic significance of the Magdalene heresy that is embedded into its images. This hidden heresy relates to the recognition of Mary Magdalene as the wife of Jesus Christ. This sheds light on the need for the balance of the Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine in our World today.
The gypsy clairvoyants recovered the Tarot for its particularly effective system for understanding all the unconscious mechanisms, for better orienting oneself towards the right choices, and ultimately for healing.Mary Magdalene (Mary of Magdala), the woman with the jars in Christian symbolism, could well in this case be represented in the star chart. But their hypotheses stopped there. No one had ever imagined that the Tarot itself represented the teaching and life of Mary Magdalene in its entirety, let alone that the Tarot had been created by Mary Magdalene herself in the first century.It changes the dating of the Tarot from the 14th century to the 1st century AD with Mary Magdalene, the Tarot de Marseille thus becoming the ancestor of all Western tarot cards, i.e. "the Tarot".
Historians and experts say that the Tarot originated in Italy during the Renaissance, towards the end of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th. On the other hand, nobody thought that the Tarot de Marseille itself came from Marseille.Mary Magdalene is the Saint who was the first witness to Christ's resurrection. In other words, she sees the Resurrection. Now, in the Tarot, if you look again at the Judgement and the World side by side, you will see that the Saint in the World card is looking in the direction of the light blue Christ who is rising from his tomb. So here we have a major Tarot code which explains that the naked Saint in the World card is the one who witnesses Christ's resurrection.
fr.camoin.com/tarot/Tarot-Marie-Madeleine-Magdala.html
This tradition begins with the MAT, the traveller who sets off in search of the Grail, but also the people of the MAT, the gypsies. The tradition was reborn with esotericism around 1880. That's when Wirth arrived at Guaita's. How did they send this to Waite? He's still waiting for the piece of the jigsaw to be put together into a clearer system. We're sticking to the stuff available in the web stock.
Oswald Wirth is known for his occult and esoteric work on the Tarot de Marseille. He produced his own version of the 22 Major Arcana cards, and also worked on representing the Minor Arcana with the help of Gérard Encausse, known as Papus, who also studied the Tarot for occult and esoteric purposes, and Arthur Edward Waite, who also produced his own tarot with the popular success we all know. The links between Wirth and Waite are still a secret, but the agility at the heart of esoteric houses and the porosity that may have existed before the 1914 war. Today it's remains like a mirage and that's hard to imagine an other mind. So I've tried to compile some information about these great men, these great initiates, because today everything has been reduced and simplified.
The Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot is a deck of tarot cards traditionally used for divination and spiritual practice. It was designed by English illustrator Arthur Edward Waite and American designer Pamela Colman Smith, and first published in 1909. It uses the codes and symbols of the Tarot de Stanislas de la Guaita illustrated by Oswald Wirth. Oswald Wirth was Stanislas de Guaita's secretary, and in collaboration with him drew a Tarot, which has since been republished as the Wirth Tarot. It is also known for its occult symbols and its references to the Hermetic tradition and the Kabbalah. The Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot is one of the most popular and widely used tarot decks in the world. It has inspired many interpreters, authors and practitioners of divination, as well as artists and writers.
Wrapping it All Up…
To summarize, the Nine of Cups is a card of actualization, accomplishment and indulgence. It can also mean the reverse depending on its orientation. It holds significance in many areas of your life, from success and riches, to love and loss. Spiritually, it speaks to a feeling of fulfillment, and materially, it calls to plenty. That was everything you might need to know about the Nine of Cups and the meanings associated with drawing the card. We feel the need to clarify that despite the orientation you may draw the card in, not to fret or become too complacent. The tarot cards do not control or enforce their readings in any aspect of your life. They tell a possible story, based on divination and your own vibrations that attract their energies. Because of this, you can play into the reading or shatter expectations completely.There is not much to say about the booklet because there are only 5 translated pages per language. A brief summary of Oswald Wirth's life precedes the presentation of the 22 cards of the Major Arcana. Each card has an explanation in 3 or 4 sentences. The publisher guarantees that the meanings are as faithful as possible to Wirth's vision.
en.tarotquest.fr/review-en-007-golden-wirth-tarot.html
Remember that even drawing the card upright does not mean you can sit back and good things will come to you. The card calls you to action to go after what you want, appreciate what you have, and indulge in the rewards. Conversely, drawing the Nine of Cups in reverse calls you to exercise caution, reflection, and self-discovery. This is because whether it’s the stars, a roll of the dice, or the draw of the card doesn’t matter. The Universe guides us, not shackles us to our fate, and ultimately you alone are in control of your life.
Wirth is best known as the author of Le Tarot des imagiers du Moyen Âge (1927), translated and published in English as The Tarot of the Magicians. Joseph Paul Oswald Wirth (5 August 1860, Brienz, Canton of Bern – 9 March 1943) was a Swiss occultist, artist and author. He studied esotericism and symbolism with Stanislas de Guaita and in 1889 he created, under the guidance of de Guaita, a cartomantic Tarot consisting only of the twenty-two Major Arcana. Known as "Les 22 Arcanes du Tarot Kabbalistique", it followed the designs of the Tarot de Marseille closely but introduced several alterations, incorporating extant occult symbolism into the cards. The Wirth/de Guaita deck is significant in the history of the tarot for being the first in a long line of occult, cartomantic, and initiatory decks.
The occult in life: Stanislas de Guaita - memories of his secretary Oswald Wirth
They recruited Gérard Encausse to help rebuild the tradition of alchemists. Encausse, who went by the pseudonym “Papus”, was a Spanish-born French physician and occultist who had written books on magic, Cabalah and the Tarot. From the end of the 19th century until his death, Oswald Wirth (1860-1943) exercised a veritable moral magisterium over French alchemy. Through his works and the magazine Le Symbolisme, which he founded and edited, he made a major contribution to restoring to alchemy its spiritualist and symbolic dimension, largely abandoned during the 19th century in favor of political battles. His personality and aura inspired Jules Romain to create the character of Alchemist Lengnau in Recherche d'une Eglise (volume 7 of Les Hommes de bonne Volonté). Initiated in January 1884 in a Châlons-sur-Marne laboratory during his military service, he left the alchemists of France to join the Great Work shortly after settling in Paris. Secretary to Stanislas de Guaïta (1861-1897), a writer and poet whom his friend Maurice Barrès described as "the renovator of occultism", he owed it to him, by his own admission, to "write legibly". Although he denounced what he called "low occultism", Wirth (who was a magnetizer) nourished part of his symbolic reflection with Hermetic contributions.
Oswald Wirth's symbolic tarot is one of the few tarot cards to reveal the key to the knowledge of the ancient initiates, secretly conveyed for millennia.
The theosophical reductions (what can be learned from the experience we live) and the tetrads (the experience itself, its origin and its possible development), enable everyone to interpret the messages of the 78 beautifully illustrated cards with accuracy and precision. The historical tarot deck, created in the Marseilles style, is based upon the original designs by famous Swiss kabbalist and occultist Oswald Wirth. The 22 Major Arcana first appeared in 1889 in a hand-colored limit edition deck. The 22 Major cards have French titles and the Hebrew letters attributed to each card by Eliphas Levi, and popularized by Oswald Wirth. This authorized full 78-card deck is printed with vivid colors on gold background. The 56 Minor Arcana cards present the four traditional suits of Swords, Batons, Cups and Coins. The pack includes a booklet of commentary by Stuart R.
www.usgamesinc.com/oswald-wirth-tarot.html
Stanislas de Guaita (6 April 1861, Tarquimpol, Moselle – 19 December 1897, Tarquimpol) was a French poet based in Paris, an expert on esotericism and European mysticism, and an active member of the Rosicrucian Order. He was very celebrated and successful in his time. He had many disputes with other people who were involved with occultism and magic. Occultism and magic were part of his novels. De Guaita came from a noble Italian family who had relocated to France, and as such his title was 'Marquis', or Marquess. He was born in the castle of Alteville in the commune of Tarquimpol, Moselle, and went to school at the lyceum in Nancy, where he studied chemistry, metaphysics and Cabala. As a young man, he moved to Paris, and his luxurious apartment became a meeting place for poets, artists, and writers who were interested in esotericism and mysticism. In the 1880s, Guaita published two collections of poetry The Dark Muse (1883) and The Mystic Rose (1885), which became popular. De Guaita was influenced by the writings of l'Abbé Alphonse-Louis Constant, alias Eliphas Lévi, a prominent French occultist who was initiated in London to rosicrucianism by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1854. Eliphas Lévi was also initiated as a Freemason on 14 March 1861 in the Grand Orient de France Lodge La Rose du Parfait Silence at the Orient of Paris. De Guaita became further interested in occultism after reading a novel by Joséphin Péladan which was interwoven with Rosicrucian and occult themes. In Paris, de Guaita and Péladan became acquainted, and in 1884, the two decided to try to rebuild the Rosicrucian Brotherhood. They recruited Gérard Encausse to help rebuild the brotherhood. Encausse, who went by the pseudonym “Papus”, was a Spanish-born French physician and occultist who had written books on magic, Cabalah and the Tarot.
In 1888, De Guaita founded the Ordre kabbalistique de la Rose-Croix, or the Kabbalistic Order of the Rose-Cross. Rosicrucianism is an esoteric movement which first began with the publication of the three Rosicrucian Manifestos in the early 17th century. Guaita's Rosicrucian Order provided training in the Cabala, an esoteric form of Jewish and Christian mysticism, which attempts to reveal hidden mystical insights in the Bible and divine nature. The order also conducted examinations and provided university degrees on Cabala topics. Guaita had a large private library of books on metaphysical issues, magic, and the "hidden sciences." He was nicknamed the "Prince of the Rosicrucians" by his contemporaries for his broad learning on Rosicrucian issues. Papus, Peladan, and Antoine de La Rochefoucauld were prominent members. Maurice Barrès was a close friend of De Guaita.
In the late 1880s, the Abbé Boullan, a defrocked Catholic Priest and the head of a schismatic branch called the “Church of the Carmel” led a “magical war” against de Guaita. French-Belgian novelist Joris K. Huysmans, a supporter of Boullan, portrayed De Guaita as a Satanic sorcerer in the novel La Bas. Another of Boullan’s supporters, the writer Jules Bois, challenged De Guaita to a pistol duel. De Guaita agreed and took part in the duel, but as both men missed, no one was hurt.
By the 1890s, De Guaita's, Papus' and Péladan’s collaboration became increasingly strained by disagreements over strategy and doctrines. Guaita and Papus lost the support of Péladan, who left to start a competing order. De Guaita died in 1897 at the age of 36.
His original drawing of an inverted pentagram with a goat's head appeared in La Clef de la Magie Noire (The Key to Black Magic), published the year he died. It later became conflated with Baphomet, or the Sabbatic Goat. In 1888, De Guaita founded the Ordre kabbalistique de la Rose-Croix, or the Kabbalistic Order of the Rose-Cross. Rosicrucianism is an esoteric movement which first began with the publication of the three Rosicrucian Manifestos in the early 17th century. Guaita's Rosicrucian Order provided training in the Cabala, an esoteric form of Jewish and Christian mysticism, which attempts to reveal hidden mystical insights in the Bible and divine nature. The order also conducted examinations and provided university degrees on Cabala topics. Guaita had a large private library of books on metaphysical issues, magic, and the "hidden sciences." He was nicknamed the "Prince of the Rosicrucians" by his contemporaries for his broad learning on Rosicrucian issues. Papus, Peladan, and Antoine de La Rochefoucauld were prominent members. Maurice Barrès was a close friend of De Guaita. In the late 1880s, the Abbé Boullan, a defrocked Catholic Priest and the head of a schismatic branch called the “Church of the Carmel” led a “magical war” against de Guaita. French-Belgian novelist Joris K. Huysmans, a supporter of Boullan, portrayed De Guaita as a Satanic sorcerer in the novel La Bas. Another of Boullan’s supporters, the writer Jules Bois, challenged De Guaita to a pistol duel. De Guaita agreed and took part in the duel, but as both men missed, no one was hurt. By the 1890s, De Guaita's, Papus' and Péladan’s collaboration became increasingly strained by disagreements over strategy and doctrines. Guaita and Papus lost the support of Péladan, who left to start a competing order. De Guaita died in 1897 at the age of 36. His original drawing of an inverted pentagram with a goat's head appeared in La Clef de la Magie Noire (The Key to Black Magic), published the year he died. It later became conflated with Baphomet, or the Sabbatic Goat.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislas_de_Guaita
Lévi and Wirth interests also included Freemasonry and Astrology. He wrote many books in French regarding Freemasonry, most importantly a set of three volumes explaining Freemasonry's first three degrees. On January 28, 1884, Wirth was initiated in the regular Scottish Rite Masonic Lodge La Bienfaisance Châlonnaise affiliated to the Grand Orient of France. In 1889, he joined the Scottish Rite Travail et les Vrais Amis Fidèles where he became Grand Master . In 1898, the latter lodge was admitted to the Grand Lodge of France.
Works[edit]
Le Livre de Thot comprenant les 22 arcanes du Tarot (1889).
L'Imposition des mains et la médecine philosophale (1897), Paris.
La Franc-maçonnerie rendue intelligible à ses adeptes, sa philosophie, son objet, sa méthode, ses moyens, three volumes:
Vol. I: Le livre de l'Apprenti : manuel d'instruction rédigé à l'usage des FF. du 1er degré (1893, 2nd revised edition 1908), Paris.
Vol. II: Le livre du Compagnon : manuel d'instruction rédigé à l'usage des FF. du 2° degré (1912), Paris.
Vol. III: Le livre du Maître : manuel d'instruction rédigé à l'usage des FF. du 3° degré (1922), Paris.
Le Symbolisme hermétique dans ses rapports avec l'alchimie et la franc-maçonnerie (1910), Paris.
Les Signes du zodiaque, leur symbolisme initiatique (1921), Paris.
Le Serpent vert (1922) (translation and analysis of Das Märchen by Goethe), Paris.
L'Idéal initiatique (1924), Paris.
Le Tarot des imagiers du Moyen Âge (1927), Paris.
Introduction à l’étude du tarot (1931), Paris.
Les Mystères de l'art royal - Rituel de l'adepte (1932), Paris.
Stanislas de Guaïta, souvenirs de son secrétaire (1935), Paris.
Le Symbolisme astrologique : planètes, signes du zodiaque, maisons de l'horoscope, aspects, étoiles fixes (1938), Paris.
Qui est régulier ? Le pur maçonnisme sous le Régime des Grandes Loges inauguré en 1717 (1938), Paris.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_Wirth
Interpretation of this Cards
Ace of Cups's Meaning
The Ace of Cups signifies the beginning of period of strong emotional health for you. Expect copious joy, happiness, and love to surround you during this time. Existing personal relationships may strengthen, meaningful new ones are likely to form. If marriage is in your future, you are likely to lay the foundations for it during this time.The Ace of Cups represents overall satisfaction throughout all different areas of your life. It predicts success and abundance through use of good intuition and creativity. New relationships or possibly a birth or pregnancy could be associated with these positive outlooks.
www.trustedtarot.com/cards/ace-of-cups/
The Wheel of Fortune's Meaning
Symbolic of life's cycles, the Wheel of Fortune speaks to good beginnings. Most likely, you will find the events foretold to be positive, but, being aspects of luck, they may also be beyond your control and influence. Tend those things you can control with care, and learn not to agonize over the ones you cannot.
www.trustedtarot.com/cards/wheel-of-fortune/
The Star's Meaning
The Star's presence signifies a period of respite and renewal for you. This renewal may be spiritual, physical, or both. It is a particularly positive sign if you or someone close is recovering from illness or injury. It is a light in the darkness, illuminating your future and your past.
www.trustedtarot.com/cards/the-star/
Eight of Wands's Meaning
Prepare yourself for an abrupt increase in the pace of your life. Things are about to get very busy. They good news is that any projects you begin will progress quickly, you will experience few delays, and the conclusion is likely to be successful. This card is also good news for relationships, although it raises the possibility of needing to travel for relationships. All things considered, this is a good card to find in your spread, as long as you are willing to buckle down and get to work.
www.trustedtarot.com/cards/eight-of-wands/
Drawing on Success: Nine of Cups Tarot Card Meaning
What else is there to glean from the card? It represents the fulfillment of a goal or some deep, unfulfilled desire. But tarot cards are tricky business. Their meaning is usually tied to the context of a situation, and in fact many diviners will read more than one card during a fortune telling. The meaning of Nine of Cups then, can change depending on its adjacent cards.
Its meaning can also change depending on where you are in life. What you’re struggling with, or where you’ve been or are going also changes the card’s meaning. Our tarot aficionados reading this article will also acutely point out that tarot cards have two different meanings, depending on the orientation that the card is facing when drawn. The Nine of Cups upright meaning is different from the Nine of Cups reversed meaning!
We’ll go over as many of these as we can in this article, to prepare you for everything you’d need to expect after drawing this card. Maybe you’re a tarot card enthusiast brushing up on knowledge or maybe you’ve recently had or thought about getting a divination. Perhaps you’re simply curious and want to find out more. Whatever the case, we hope you find this article educational, enlightening, and most importantly, fun! Without further ado, everything you need to know about the Nine of Cups:
Upright: Everything You Need to Know(That We can Think of!)
After a long trial in your life, the Nine of Cups represents a positive, fruitful conclusion. The nine cups are sometimes interpreted to mean different ups and downs, or different challenges you’ve faced before now. Now is important, because the Nine of Cups encourages you to ‘drink up.’ That you should happily partake in the success you have worked and endured for. The tarot card is a wake-up call that you have entered a positive chapter in your life, and should enjoy it. The Nine of Cups can also refer to something in the future in a different context. If you are yearning for something, and draw the Nine of Cups, there’s a good chance it will come true! Indeed, this tarot card is sometimes referred to as the wish card. Because of its association with fulfillment and plenty, the tarot card also has positive meanings in health, love, career and finances. We’ll go over each below: Career-wise, the Nine of Cups focuses more on the confident, successful man more than the cups of blessings themselves. You will find yourself taking in the admiration of your peers and workmates. It’s likely that tasks you found challenging or difficult before are becoming easier or even menial to accomplish. This is the time to look towards possible advancement in your position. Maybe move to a different job that holds better opportunities. This is also a prime time to ask for a raise. Move confidently. Though arrogance is a fool’s errand, don’t shy away from the rewards waiting for you. Your superiors are likely more receptive towards such moves in light of your increase in skill. Most importantly, at the end of the journey symbolized by the nine cups, you’ve likely earned this.ust as in your career, financially the Nine of Cups signifies blessings and comfort. This is the time to relax, to treat yourself a little. From tiny things like the raise you’re likely to score to a bonus on performance here and there, things will add up. While thrift is a virtue in itself, it can’t hurt to celebrate your success a little. You’ll likely need it.Remember that the good times won’t last forever. Fear of what is to come often takes away from the now. Remember that you’ve earned the success and subsequent rewards that come to you. In fact, what we’re going over next has a lot to do with the opposite of everything you’ve read so far. The reversed meaning of this card in particular is a sign of the bad times to come.To summarize, the Nine of Cups is a card of actualization, accomplishment and indulgence. It can also mean the reverse depending on its orientation. It holds significance in many areas of your life, from success and riches, to love and loss. Spiritually, it speaks to a feeling of fulfillment, and materially, it calls to plenty.
That was everything you might need to know about the Nine of Cups and the meanings associated with drawing the card. We feel the need to clarify that despite the orientation you may draw the card in, not to fret or become too complacent. The tarot cards do not control or enforce their readings in any aspect of your life. They tell a possible story, based on divination and your own vibrations that attract their energies. Because of this, you can play into the reading or shatter expectations completely.
Remember that even drawing the card upright does not mean you can sit back and good things will come to you. The card calls you to action to go after what you want, appreciate what you have, and indulge in the rewards. Conversely, drawing the Nine of Cups in reverse calls you to exercise caution, reflection, and self-discovery. This is because whether it’s the stars, a roll of the dice, or the draw of the card doesn’t matter. The Universe guides us, not shackles us to our fate, and ultimately you alone are in control of your life.
trusted-astrology.com/nine-of-cups-meaning/
Originally from German-speaking Switzerland, Oswald Wirth (1860-1943) arrived in Paris at the age of twenty. Here he became acquainted with various enthusiasts of the occult sciences, in particular the members of the Société Magnétique de France, among whom he soon became known for his abilities as a "curative magnetiser". After a short stay in London, in 1884 he joined the Grand Orient de France, an event that kindled his interest in Masonic symbolism.Early in 1887 he met Stanislas de Guaita, with whom he formed a deep and indissoluble friendship. The Marquis introduced the young man to the study of the Cabala and the Tarot, and after the necessary period of apprenticeship welcomed him as a member of the OKCR, the Kabbalistic Order of the Rosicrucians. Having noticed his drawing skills, he suggested that Wirth design a new deck, with the aim of restoring the cards to their "hieroglyphic purity", as Eliphas Lévi had wished in his day.En partant de la base de deux jeux, le Tarot de Marseille (un Tarot de Besançon précisément) et un jeu italien, Wirth fit une élaboration importante, surtout en ce qui concernait (selon sa vision) la correction des erreurs présentes, la juste attribution des couleurs et les détails singuliers des figures. Ainsi virent le jour, après à peine un an, Les XXII Arcanes du Tarot kabbalistique, restitués à leur pureté hiéroglyphique sous les indications de Stanislas de Guaita (Paris, 1889).Early in 1887 he met Stanislas de Guaita, with whom he formed a deep and indissoluble friendship. The Marquis introduced the young man to the study of the Cabala and the Tarot, and after the necessary period of apprenticeship welcomed him as a member of the OKCR, the Kabbalistic Order of the Rosicrucians. Having noticed his drawing skills, he suggested that Wirth design a new deck, with the aim of restoring the cards to their "hieroglyphic purity", as Eliphas Lévi had wished in his day.The reference to Guaita was accurate because, although the Marquis left no writings on the Tarot, it is correct to think that Wirth's Arcana were an expression of his teachings. Wirth himself acknowledged that he had been introduced to the mysteries of esotericism by his spiritual father."Guaita, knowing me to be a draughtsman, advised me from our first meeting in the spring of 1887, to restore the 22 Arcana of the Tarot to their hieroglyphic purity, and immediately documented this by entrusting me with two tarots, one French and the other Italian, as well as the Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie, the capital work of Eliphas Levi, in which the Tarot is the subject of copious commentaries. This was the starting point for the present work, whose spiritual authorship is attributable to Stanislas de Guaita. Having submitted to him a first Tarot redesigned according to the rough decks compared, this learned occultist offered me his criticisms, which were taken into account when the Kabbalistic Tarot was published in 1889. (...) With the help of Stanislas de Guaita, I set to work to acquire the science of symbolism that would allow me to reconstitute the Tarot. (...) As soon as one succeeds in making the symbols speak, they surpass all speeches in eloquence, for they enable one to rediscover the lost Word, that is to say the eternal living thought of which they are the enigmatic expression. Decipher the hieroglyphs of the profound silent wisdom common to thinkers of all ages and religions, of myths and poetic fictions, and you will come up with concordant notions relating to the problems that have always preoccupied the human mind". (Oswald Wirth, The 22 Arcana of the Kabbalistic Tarot restored to their hieroglyphic purity under the guidance of Stanislas de Guaita). Each major arcana is marked with a Hebrew letter, according to the scheme devised by Eliphas Levi. According to many, Wirth had the merit of knowing how to accept and summarise the thought and principles of the most important Masonic initiatory currents. He used them to interpret the secrets of the Great Work, devoting himself to the study of alchemy, the Cabala and the Tarot. For Wirth, symbolism was a universal value, and he tried to bring the teachings of the various esoteric schools down to a common matrix through the use of a common symbology, derived directly from the archetypal concepts of Masonic thought. He wrote texts on the Tarot in which he defined the art of divination as a kind of priesthood, and numerous texts on Freemasonry, in which he tried to make the institution comprehensible to laymen and adepts alike in a simple yet transcendent way:
"Such a definition is realistic if we consider that the person exercising divination must feel himself to be a 'mediator', a 'means', an 'intermediary' and an 'instrument' of such capacity. A priest is: the moment he performs a ritual, the power of that ritual captivates and involves him to the point where it almost cancels out his very personality."
www.franck-durand.fr/lhistoire-oswald-wirth-tarot-du-moye...
1929 Knapp-Hall
Published in Los Angeles using the chromo lithography process, this deck of seventy-eight cards is the oldest tarot deck inspired by Wirth's that we have been able to find. It was created by the artist J. Augustus Knapp (1853-1938) in collaboration with Manly P. Hall, director of the Philosophical Research Society in Los Angeles. In addition to the many features of the Wirth tarot on each illustration, the yellow cartouche is as it appeared on Oswald Wirth's first tarot: with the title in capitals (and the World with the double numbering 21 and 22). The fifty-six minor arcana are freely created. The backs of the cards also feature the word TARO (without the T). This deck was republished in 1985 by the USGS under the name Knapp-Hall Tarot.
www.tarot-artisanal.fr/enquete-des-tarots-dits-de-oswald-...
As mentioned in the comments relating to mine and Tim Machin's preserved Berresfords liveried Swift, I also had two St. Helens Swifts in my own Knotty Bus fleet.
Following the excellent service we had from AEC Swifts in the Berresford group, it was only natural that as the Knotty need for service buses grew, we'd seek out the last of the type available.
By the early 1990s, AECs of any kind were starting to be a little thin on the ground and Swifts even more so. EDJ 242J came to us from a temporary home in preservation, having been purchased by those owners from Liverpool's Speke Airport. It was bought at very reasonable cost, and as a bonus, it had also been the recipient of quite a bit of remedial work by those same preservationists. Preparing it for a new life in service therefore wasn't an onerous task.
EDJ 242J is seen here just after I'd finished painting it, and was awaiting its fleetnames etc. It went on to be a very dependable bus, if a little harsh riding at the front end. I certainly don't recall any major expenditure on it. Sadly it perished in a yard fire in 1996.
I can relate photography to very good experiences in my life.
It has given me so much!! It´s been an escape to problems, it´s been a source of great peace. It´s been creativity and a reason to conect myself with the land, but the main reason is that has allowed me to share.
It´s been kind of difficult to find people who i can share a time of photography. I normally go out alone to take photos because i loose my mind and the sense of time when i´m doing it, People who is not into this would not understand.
In the last months i´ve been lucky to find friends who enjoy this as much as i do so i´m very grateful for this. Sharing with people and see their experiences through photography is something that i love. Thanks to photography, here on flickr, i have found very valuable friends and this is the main reason for me to be here. I´m not much interested in getting views and awards for my photos. I find my satisfaction when i learn new techniques, and thanks to that i feel myself satisfied with my work and in addition i find friends to share this whole process.
This is a collague i did of my last travel to the andes. I was able to camp in the middle of the mountains with some very nice friends that love photography as much as i do. A fabulous moment that will last in my mind, i hope forever.
PS: Most of this photos belong to my friends, so the credits also go to Karla Ramos, Luis Perez and John Pictures.
West Palm Beach / Jul 11, 2022
25-story building set to bring a new class of luxury to office sector in 2024.
Related Companies today announced six top-ranking firms to expand their footprint into West Palm Beach’s forthcoming Class-A office One Flagler. Situated at the gateway to Palm Beach Island and connecting West Palm Beach's past and future, the building continues to attract a selection of the nation’s most influential financial and professional services firms.
Built on Related’s legacy of elegance, style and service, the building is expected to open at the beginning of 2024 with the most prestigious WiredScore Platinum rating, the world’s only internationally recognized digital connectivity rating platform.
Today, the building is nearly 60 percent pre-leased including:
GTCR, a leading private equity firm founded in 1980, will expand its existing presence in the market by opening a new West Palm Beach office. Their new office is expected to open in mid-2024. GTCR is headquartered in Chicago and has an office in New York. Colliers, Ryan Barr, Alain LeCoque and Bob Schneiderman, represented GTCR.
Diameter Capital Partners, a global credit-focused asset manager headquartered in New York, will move its West Palm Beach office to the building. The move is expected to be completed in mid-2024.
Four additional confidential firms spread across the financial services and pharmaceutical industries.
These companies join First Republic Bank and private equity firm Siris Capital and represent 50,000+ square feet of new leases.
“The expansion of our presence in West Palm Beach into this new space reflects our growth as a firm and our continued confidence in the region as a business and investing center,” said Collin Roche, co-CEO and managing director of GTCR. “The West Palm Beach market offers a unique and differentiated option for talent and diversity and building our footprint further in the city will allow us to compete for the best people. The space at Related’s One Flagler will create a dynamic environment for further collaboration within our teams and with members of the growing investment community in the area.”
“We are pleased to welcome a high caliber list of significant tenants from leading U.S. markets who believe in the power of West Palm Beach and have witnessed the evolution of the destination as a booming financial district,” said Gopal Rajegowda, partner, Related Southeast.
Designed by world-renowned architect David Childs, One Flagler is a 25-story Class-A office building that will anchor West Palm Beach’s Okeechobee Business District and the Flagler Financial District. It will include 270,000 square feet of flexible office space, 4,100 square feet of retail space, over 10,000 of indoor and outdoor upscale dining led by Estiatorio Milos by Costas Spiliadis and a reading room open to both the public and members of the adjacent First Church of Christ, Scientist. The church, designed by architect Julian Abele in 1928, is considered one of the most architecturally significant buildings in all of Palm Beach County and would be preserved in perpetuity by One Flagler. The project will also feature a living green wall adorning its parking garage and include 1.25 acres of green space extending the waterfront greenbelt.
Related Companies is the visionary firm behind some of the world’s most impactful mixed-use urban neighborhood developments and, in the past few years alone, has created more than eight million square feet of office space for dozens of diverse business leaders across all industries, including WarnerMedia, SAP, Sidewalk Labs, Wells Fargo, KKR, Google, Facebook, Converse and Tapestry. In West Palm Beach, Related has demonstrated a deep understanding of workplace needs with its widely acclaimed CityPlace Tower and a legacy in neighborhood placemaking with the conception of the original CityPlace, now called The Square.
Jon Blunk, president of TCRE, is the exclusive leasing agent for One Flagler and represented Related in the transactions.
About Related Southeast:
Headquartered in the heart of rapidly expanding Downtown West Palm, Related Southeast is Related Companies’ locally based, global real estate and lifestyle company that has redeveloped Downtown West Palm into one of the nation’s fastest growing commercial, retail, culinary, art and tourism destinations. Related Southeast leads the market in Class A office with 360 Rosemary, CityPlace Tower, Esperanté, Philips Point and the forthcoming 1 Flagler, as well as the celebrated destinations of Rosemary Square, Hilton West Palm Beach, RH West Palm and the historic Harriett Himmel Theater. The dynamic neighborhood built for all to enjoy has recently undergone a $700 million transformation designed to foster culture and enrich the community with lush green spaces; a diverse mix of experiential retail and culinary offerings; the largest concentration of public art installed by a private company in Palm Beach County, featuring renowned artists such as Yinka Shonibare, CBE and Jeppe Hein; rich cultural and educational programming and modern luxury residences. For more information about Related Southeast, please visit www.relatedsoutheast.com.
Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:
www.relatedsoutheast.com/press-releases/2022-07-11/relate...
issuu.com/pbmg/docs/pbi_0223/106
www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/one-flagler/32010#:~:te...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Childs
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
A copy of an actual photograph of Jesus Christ which formed on His burial cloth. Negative image (computer enhanced, with added colour to blood stains).
The herringbone weave of the cloth can be seen (when enlarged). The white lines are creases in the cloth.
This is a unique, photographic image (miraculously?) formed by a process unknown to science.
The only such example of its kind from any historical or modern period.
Unable to be replicated or explained by any known photographic or artistic technology.
Tangible proof of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus and confirmation of the Christian Gospel narratives.
A summary of scientific and historical evidence supporting the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin as the ancient burial cloth of the historical Jesus of Nazareth.
newgeology.us/presentation24.html
The shroud - new evidence.
www.asis.com/users/stag/shroud/newevid.html
____________________________________________
"This is a Nuclear Video Exploding with information about how the image was formed on the Shroud of Turin.
The Shroud of Turin is an x ray, Photographic, Holographic Image.
It has properties of
1. X Ray Photo
2. Photo Negative
3. Hologram
Yet none of these are an accurate description of the Shroud. The Shroud is a one of a kind image in which a new word would have to be invented to describe it.
The Shroud is not a painting or contact image of any kind with the exception of the blood stains which are a result of body to cloth to contact. The image is over the blood stains and is a separate event that occurred 2-3 days after the blood stains made contact with the cloth.
The Shroud of Turin is not a painting, X Ray Fluorescence, micro chemistry, ultra violet and infrared evaluations confirm this.
The painting rumor was started by Walter McCrone who found some microscopic traces of paint on some sticky tape samples delivered to him in Chicago by Ray Rodgers of the Shroud of Turin Research Project on Friday October 13th, 1978. It was a bad luck day for the Shroud. He received a total of 30 to 33 of these sticky samples. A few of them had microscopic traces of paint on them. This should not have come as a surprise to him or anyone; this is what we would expect to see knowing
The Savoy Family (who purchased The Holy Shroud of our Lord in 1453 for what would be a multi- million dollar real estate deal today) allowed artists to attempt to replicate the Shroud. No less than 52 different times they allowed artists to lay their paintings on top of the Shroud after completing their replica as a way of sanctifying it, or attempting or hoping some of its “power” would rub off on their painting. The Savoy Family kept very detailed records of most everything did with the Shroud, each time it was moved and when it was displayed. The forensic evidence on the Shroud is in agreement with the historical record. The historical record states the Savoy Family allowed artists to lay their paintings on it and of course we did indeed find trace evidence of this. Does that mean the image on the Shroud is paint? Of course not!
People like to touch famous things and or attempt to replicate them. Of course during this process microscopic traces of this paint got on the Shroud. If one was to scrape them all together and put them in one pile on the Shroud you would need a microscope to see them. They do not make up the Shroud image. There are many foreign objects on the Shroud, such as pollens from Israel and Turkey and a rare calcite from soil found in tombs around the Damascus Gate, but that does not mean the Shroud image is made up of pollens and dirt!
When McCrone was confronted with this information he stomped out of the room like a 5 year old baby and refused to listen. He could not admit he was wrong. We all make mistakes. It is important we stand up like a man and admit it. He could not bring himself to do that. Pride goes before the Fall. He fell.
To this very day this painting rumor still persists. If after watching this video you still think the Shroud is a painting or contact image, God help you.
I have spent the last 7 years of my life studying the Shroud, I know the forensic evidence and I know the scripture that relates to it. What you are hearing and seeing in this video is accurate information.
Know right now, in your heart, mind and body and soul. The Shroud is authentic, The witness to the Resurrection.
To the viewer: I hope and pray you are baptized in the Holy Spirit as a result of watching this video, in the case you are not. Amen.
This subject line in the video was inspired by John Klotz who wrote one of the best books on the Shroud of Turin ever written and is writing a 2nd book which involves the subject of life after death, near death experiences. This is not a promo for his book "Quantum Christ" but if you are interested:
johnklotz.blogspot.com/2015_01...
This is a famous quote from that book
If the Shroud of Turin is the actual burial cloth of Jesus Christ, it is arguably the most important object on the face of the earth with the possible exception of nuclear weapons."
John C. Klotz
I don't normally recommend books, or post links to them on this channel but I recommend this book written by Isabelle Esling who is baptized in the The Holy Spirit.
This is a book for someone who has come to believe but wants to come to know and learn more about a "Higher Power Intelligence/God/Jesus/Yeshua"
Please go to this link to see and read more. FREE INFO.
encounterwithyeshua.blogspot.c...
The new astonishing phenomenon detected on the Shroud
Scientific evidence.
Carbon dating of the Shroud debunked.
_________________________________________
The real theory of everything.
www.flickr.com/photos/truth-in-science/34295660211
www.flickr.com/photos/truth-in-science/34295660211/in/dat...
Evolution timescale refuted by field and experimental evidence.
Rapid strata formation.
Built in 1966, this modernist public branch library was designed by Stephen Oyakawa, whom had worked with Frank Lloyd Wright from 1944 until 1958. The building features Wrightian and Usonian elements including curved geometries, concrete screens, brackets, a rooftop parking lot, a low-slung form that relates to the surrounding landscape, and canopies with rounded edges. The building is one of the most high-profile works by Oyakawa, and is a significant work of modernist architecture inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright.
At the start of the 1969 film ‘The Italian Job’, one is led to believe that the automotive star of the film may in fact be a brand new orange Lamborghini Miura being driven through curvaceous mountain passes in northern Italy. This notion is brought to an abrupt halt, at the car collides with a bulldozer, and then is pushed over the edge of the road into the chasm below.
The film, released by Paramount pictures, is a comedy caper, about a crew of British crooks trying to steal gold bullion. Our characterful felons hatch a plan to steal the gold from the FIAT factory in Turin, Italy. The real automotive starts, the three Minis (red, white and blue) are modifies to carry the gold through the streets of Turin, the police and mafia unable to catch them due to the traffic chaos caused by a deliberate mal-programming of the city’s traffic signals. The Mini’s small size allow them to be driven through shopping arcades and even the sewer system (filmed in the UK) before the gold is transferred to a football tour bus.
No more spoilers though, if you haven’t seen the film.
The Mini was by this stage, ten years old, but ‘The Italian Job’ film cemented the Mini is popular culture as much as its association with the Beatles and as regular street furniture in almost every British film during the decade. When BMW sought to create a new Mini for 2001, a remake of the film, now shot in the US in 2003, was a key ingredient in bringing back some of the nostalgic Mini magic.
What is the deal with the E86 Corolla?
The car is now considered the quintessential Japanese classic, when the reality is that the car was the last vestige of the old RWD Corolla genes. Even stranger still then car was not considered particularly special when new. Just another car that with a few years and a few dozen thousand miles, is just another used car.
The kind of car than might be driven by a student with a take-away food run.
If that take-away food was in Japan, it might just be tofu that you were delivering, and as with all ‘first’ cars, the ability to be independently mobile was more important than any objective faults the car may have had. You could now play at being a race driver.
And thus: Initial D – the story of 18-year old Takumi Fujiwara, a high-school student who delivers tofu in his father’s 1985 Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT Apex AE86 coupe. Initial D was original an illustrated manga in Weekly Young Magazine from 1995 to 2013, but adapted to anime in 1999. Though legendary in native Japan, Initial D also has a cult-following outside of the country, with English-language distribution through Tokyopop, and latterly Funimation.
I relate to the story, having delivered takeaway food in my own RWD Corolla during the same period, though I did not have the benefit of the punchy 4A-GE 1.6 DOHC Twin Cam – but then, I didn’t have to race through mountain passes in the Kantō region of Japan up against Mazda RX7s. What all RWD Corollas do though, is go sideways. And in a FWD world, that is still a big deal.
The name ‘AE86’ too has so much cache that when Toyota released a new RWD sportscar in conjunction with Subaru, they named it the ‘86’.
The three model Mini Cooper S from the original film 'The Italian Job' is included with full instruction in my latest book "How to Build Brick TV and Movie Cars", Published by Motorbooks.
The book is now available on most online platforms.
The easiest way to find the book is by the ISBN
ISBN-10: 0760365881
ISBN-13: 978-0760365885
www.quartoknows.com/books/9780760365885/How-to-Build-Bric...
When I first started noticing Monster High dolls in 2011, Draculaura certainly wasn't one of the characters to catch my attention. There were so many other appealing options who jumped out at me, like Deuce Gorgon and Cleo de Nile. Even as I learned more about the franchise in 2013, Draculaura still didn't stand out in my memory. I would relate her in this way to Bratz Cloe. Like Cloe, Draculaura is one of the pillars in the world of Monster High. Also, similar to Cloe, I wasn't compelled by Draculaura initially. Instead, my fondness was rooted in the fact that I overlooked her. Let me explain. It was March 2013...close to a year after my dad passed away. In those days, Colleen and I had lots of time to kill. We were both learning how to navigate this new and daunting life all by ourselves. However, we followed in the footsteps of our dad and often found ourselves using shopping as a distraction. It was this spring that I felt the strongest urge to dabble in Monster High. Maybe I needed a new type of doll to wash away my worries. Maybe it was simply that I put off my desire to buy Monster High dolls for two years. Whatever the case, the timing couldn't have been any more perfect.
I had my heart set on getting Scaris Deuce. As I mentioned before, Mr. Gorgon was one of the Monster High characters who stole my heart immediately. It was that green snake mohawk...oh how I have a weakness for male dolls with this hairdo. I had discovered while doing some preliminary Monster High internet browsing, that a Scaris Deuce was scheduled to be released. This would be the MOST opportune time to score a Deuce Gorgon doll. The day I set out to procure this Deuce, I had no such luck. But after spending several hours driving around in my beat up 1999 Jeep Wrangler and stopping at every possible location that carried dolls, my sister started realizing how obtainable Monster High dolls were. Colleen had not liked the concept or look of the dolls from the get go. She preferred more traditional, conventionally attractive dolls. We were also both aware that collectors and kids alike were frenzied over them. Seeing how affordable and widely stocked they were made Colleen have a change of heart. She encouraged me to buy at least one of the dolls we stumbled upon that day. That way I could see how much I enjoyed her, and track Deuce down later if I was impressed. I had my sights set on "Swim Class" Lagoona. We were at one of the last stops of the day, at a small store called Benny's, when I finally caved. The "Swim Class" dolls were all on some sort of sale, which sweetened the offer. The last store we planned on popping into was an antique shop down the road. Since there would be no Monster High dolls there, I made my move. I decided to not only buy Lagoona, but Venus McFlytrap too. She was yet another character whose unique design captured my attention. I realized as I was giving one last pan over the humble Monster High section that there was only one doll left in the "Swim Class" line. I would only be missing Draculaura. It seemed silly to not grab her too, what with the sale and the adorably irresistible beach theme (a true shopaholic's logic). Just as Cloe dolls found themselves at the register in year's past, Draculaura made her way to check out just because it would have been unfair to not snag her too.
Unexpectedly, it was that almost-left-behind Draculaura who made the greatest impression on me. Looking back nearly ten years ago as I type this, I can still visualize that moment with such clarity it's like I was just experiencing it. I thought I'd open my "least favorite" doll first, as we had the hoard of newly acquired plastic friends spread out over our dining room table. We'd also found several 90s Disney dolls at the antique store that same afternoon...strangely, I was more excited about the Monster High gals. It didn't take much effort to free Draculaura from her cardboard and plastic shroud. The second she was fully grasped in my hand was truly magical. There was something special about the way this doll felt, the scent emanating from her new hair, and her vampire styled features. I turned to Colleen and expressed how impressed I was. She too found herself fawning over Draculaura. Her darling pigtails, cherubic swimsuit, and goofy expression (which lacked fangs) were irresistible. I knew in my heart that this was the beginning of something wonderful...and something expensive.
As I began my infamous Monster High binge of 2013, I strangely wasn't compelled to buy Draculaura dolls. Perhaps this was in part because my "Swim Class" Draculaura was hard to beat. I was admittedly trying not to purchase too many of the same character, that way I could have a bit more variety in my collection. I could not, however, resist a deal. That's why I bought 2012 Dead Tired and Skull Shores Draculaura rather early on. I was especially excited by Skull Shores, since she was slightly "out of date" (not really, but the line wasn't brand new). Funnily enough, she turned out to be one of my first duplicates. I acquired the Skull Shores Gift Set later that summer for dirt cheap (with a gift card and a sale I think I paid $15 for the set). I was amazed at how derpy and homely this version was (her Indonesian country make gave her strikingly different features). I was happy to dress her in a Scaris fashion pack I bought...why have two dolls wearing the same outfit on display? Then of course there was 2012 Dead Tired Draculaura. Just like my "Swim Class" lady, she ended up in my shopping bag because of a sale at the Family Dollar. She was the least interesting of the trio when I stumbled upon them on our way, ironically, to the aforementioned antique store not long after. Several years later, in 2014, I cracked and bought Scaris Draculaura for 50 percent off (a shopping spree we dubbed the "Barnes and Noble Bonanza"). She was the LAST doll from the expansive Scaris line I was missing. Despite the fact that she was rather bland, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to complete the iconic collection when she was such a bargain.
Not all my Draculaura dolls were random purchases though. There were several gals who I was fixated on adding to my collection. I'll never forget the most notorious one...."1st Edition Re-release" Draculaura. Websites denoted this reissue wave as the "Original Favorites." I had heard rumors that Clawdeen, Frankie, and Draculaura might be re-released, but I was skeptical. One day I was checking Walmart's website when I saw the three dollies pop up. I literally screeched from my rolling chair in front of the computer. Colleen could hear my jubilant cries from the bathroom. I immediately ordered all three...but I most anticipated Draculaura. When the package arrived, I was enthralled by her. She was perfect in every way. I recall taking photos of her for my old Flickr account in front of our porch flower baskets. Her beauty had to be captured. My collection began at a convenient time because Mattel was beginning to re-release many of the old school Monster High dolls (a smart way to capitalize off the brand's success). Dead Tired Draculaura was released as a Kohl's exclusive with her bed set. I stalked this doll online until she went on a 50% off sale. She was a Christmas gift of sorts to myself...and the very first thing I ever ordered for Kohl's website. Her iconic, vertically styled ponytails had made her one of those dolls I HAD to own. I was over the moon that Mattel had made it possible for me to purchase these classic Draculaura dolls for retail price. At that point, in 2013, the online resale values of Monster High dolls were outrageous (I relate it to the Beanie Babies fad of the 1990s). I simply couldn't afford to purchase any of the older dolls on eBay...and I didn't want to feed into the ridiculous hype. Some people scoffed at the reissues and made many disparaging remarks about their quality (I recall my old Flickr being barraged with these sorts of comments). But my spirit was not dampened...I was simply grateful for the opportunity to get my hands on some of these gals like Draculaura.
Two of my other early favorites were Snow Bite and 13 Wishes Draculaura. I couldn't believe my luck when Snow Bite popped up at Target for 50% off one evening when we were heading home from an eye exam. Ironically, I also found Sea Stunnerz Cloe on sale at the same store. Cloe was still notorious for being the last Bratz character I'd buy from a set. I couldn't decide who I was more stoked to acquire that night between Draculaura and Cloe (to this day, I can't answer that question). Poor Little Dead Riding Wolf Clawdeen didn't stand a chance. I hoped to get 13 Wishes Draculaura on sale, but that opportunity never came my way. I was so taken with her, that I remember forking out the full hog for her at Kmart one afternoon. I just couldn't bear the thought of not having her...especially since I had the rest of the Haunt the Casbah set already (in perfect condition). Die-ner Draculaura was another fixation of mine. Normally it would have been her food themed playset that drew me in. On the contrary, I found the doll herself to be captivating. I almost purchased her at Toys 'R' Us in 2014 on sale. But since I was trying to curb my doll spending, I ended up leaving her behind. It was a decision I regretted until I found my secondhand lady at the flea market some years later.
Speaking of the flea market, I have always had decent luck when it came to Draculaura. Being manufactured for almost every Monster High line means that Drac has a better chance of turning up in the wild. Sometimes I would hit gold and stumble upon a coveted Draculaura. "School's Out," Art Class, and Sweet 1600 were all ladies I wanted to buy brand new. Obviously, "School's Out" was long gone from stores by the time I started my collection. But I almost bought Sweet 1600 and Art Class Draculaura on several different occasions when they were still available. I was willing to pay a little more than usual for them secondhand too, because I was so in love. I want to say Sweet 1600 cost me a whopping $6 used, because the seller knew Monster High dolls were so popular at the time. She was worth every penny, especially since I was angry with myself for not buying her in stores while I could (I still would buy her boxed since I don't have her spare clothing item!). Gloom Beach Draculaura is another notable flea market find. I discovered her all alone in a large container, entirely nude with only a stand. I recognized her right away...that goofy expression was ingrained into my memory. I took pity on her unclad figure and gluey head. Since she was just one dollar, I had to adopt her. It wasn't all that long later that I purchased an inexpensive Monster High clothing lot on eBay, that featured her swimsuit! I can't deny that it was the presence of her outfit that prompted me to buy it. Similarly I took pity on Creepateria Draculaura at the local Salvation Army. She was wearing improper attire AND was sporting limbless arm sockets. I couldn't leave her behind in such a condition when I had Draculaura fashion packs at home, and a set of arms! Not all my thrifted dolls were such sorry stories though. I found a few gems, like Save Frankie and Frights Camera Action--dolls I didn't ogle in stores, but was very grateful to find used.
Something else notable about my love for Draculaura was my keen interest in her redesign. In 2016, Mattel started shifting the Monster High brand into a more "kid friendly" direction. Translated, this means they were making the dolls cheaper quality with more babyish details, to appeal to a younger audience. Cue in the era of molded clothes and less articulation! Unlike many collectors, I didn't see this revamp as a Monster High doomsday. Granted, I knew it would lead to the end of the franchise, but I still was interested in buying the dolls. I couldn't write this "My Story" and not mention my infamous Monster Family Vampire Kitchen pack. It was a set that I could only dream about. It retailed for around $45 and only showed up locally at Kmart. I was broke then, in 2018...which meant I didn't have the funds for such an extravagant purchase. I was also cripplingly depressed...the worst my depression had ever been. For my 27th birthday, Colleen and our friend Beth surprised me. I knew that Beth was coming over to hang out for my birthday. I did NOT know that she and Colleen conspired to buy me the Monster High set. They told me one afternoon they were going out to eat at a restaurant Colleen had a gift card to. While this was true, they also went out to Kmart after and bought Draculaura and Dracula. It was an easy lie to sell, because I HATE going out to eat (I haven't sat at an actual restaurant since probably 2015...only pizza places once a year if that). You can imagine how my face lit up when I opened the wrapped gift and saw Draculaura and Dracula staring back at me. I had no idea what was in the mysterious package...it was a better present than I ever could have dreamed. If you watch my videos, then you will be very familiar with Dracula. But it shouldn't go unmentioned that I adore Draculaura just as much--she means the world to me. This memory has made the revamped era of Monster High dolls irreplaceable to me. Sure, if the dolls had come out a few years earlier it would have been more detailed. But I love Dracula's static "Pepsi drinking" bent arm and Draculaura's matronly design. I am also incredibly fond of Party Hair and Skulltimate Art Class Draculaura who are from the same time frame. They were both dolls I admired on store shelves, but couldn't afford. Needless to say, I appreciated them even more when I found them discounted later on ($5 art class playset...what a bargain!).
I can't quite explain it, but somehow Draculaura has become the most sentimental Monster High character. Perhaps it's because I blew her off in the beginning so my love for her was unexpected. It could be that I appreciated her re-releases the most. Or maybe it's that experience with my Monster Family Vampire Kitchen that makes her irreplaceable. I can't deny that I have an immense fondness for the revamped era Draculaura dolls...a connection the other characters cannot touch. Sometimes it's the dolls you have the least expectations for that leave the greatest impression in the end. Draculaura has come to mean so much more to me as time has gone on. She's always been a staple in the world of Monster High. But more than that, Draculaura is an integral piece to my personal Monster High experience. I wouldn't change anything...not a single dolly!
I don't often relate what went into taking a photo that I've posted but this time I feel inclined to give you a bit of background.
Back on July 25th of this year Sharon and I headed up to the Bonnyville (Alberta) area to look for some of the more remote Ukrainian churches NE of Edmonton. I had packed the Yashica TLR loaded with infrared film in hopes that I would come across a good tract of boreal forest. I had yet to photograph that type of terrain but had a hunch that it would make for a fascinating infrared subject. It's not a short drive up to that area, plus if you toss in all the stops we made it was fairly late in the afternoon before we hit the northern edges of the parkland zone. The heavy late afternoon clouds were forming and the sun was not in the best part of the sky for shooting so I had pretty much given up thinking of shooting infrared………….until we were starting to cross the Beaver River that is……..POW!……there it was and it was beyond my wildest expectations.
I hit the binders and pulled over halfway into the ditch. Sharon and Jack waited patiently while I grabbed my IR gear and ran (I don't run well) back to the bridge. I just got the point on the bridge that I wanted to shoot from when a huge cloud drifted across the sun suppressing the effects the infrared spectrum that would have highlighted the foliage of the surrounding forest…..damn! As any dedicated photographer would do I waited out the cloud, but this one was big……and slow moving.
The bridge I was on was thankfully paved, but unfortunately it was a heavily used by logging trucks. Now if anyone has been subjected to the debris peeling off of a logging truck when it's doing 100+ kph you'll have a pretty good idea what I experienced. There I was on this two lane bridge sucked up to the guardrail waiting for the sun to make an appearance when these 18-wheeled monsters would roar past spitting out small bits of bark at me. Not only was I in a self-induced precarious position catching all sorts of tree debris, BUT every time one of those monsters hit the bridge it would shake like it was being subjected to an earthquake that would easily register 7.8 on the Richter Scale.
That was almost 5 months ago and I'm still traumatized……but I stuck it out and I did manage to get some decent photos. On this particular shot I waited until the cloud was only partway out of the view so I could catch the different intensities of light on the leaves of the trees.
Yashica Mat 124G
Efke IR820 Infrared Film
Hoya RM72 Infrared filter
A route restriction relating to the class 50 on 'The Wolf Hall Thunderer' railtour prevented the train from using the normal 'Up' line to return from Hampton Court, instead leaving 37403 'Isle of Mull' to take the Hampton Court Reversible back over the viaduct to reach Surbiton where it's tour, running as 1Z48 would reverse to then head back under the flyover towards Guildford, taking the alternative branch at Hampton Court Junction to travel via Cobham.
In the distance is Sandown Park Racecourse which has a grandstand view (sorry!) over the SWML near Esher.
... de l'empereur Ferdinand III de Habsbourg. Cependant, Both ne relate pas la cérémonie officielle ou les feux d'artifices, mais le moment où la fête dégénère.
LES COMMENTAIRES NE SONT PAS DE MOI, JE LES AI COPIES SUR LES PETITS PANNEAUX QUI ACCOMPAGNAIENT LES TABLEAUX
ENGLISH :
Jan Both (Utrecht, towards 1618-1652) Party and brawl on the outskirts of the Spanish Embassy, 1637-1638 The painting evokes a real event: the festivities organized in 1637 by the Spanish Ambassador in Rome piazza di Spagna, in honor of the election of Emperor Ferdinand III of Habsburg. However, Both does not state the official ceremony or the fireworks, but the moment the party degenerates.
Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is a widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.
Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.
Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya arose, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.
ETYMOLOGY AND OTHER NAMES
Ganesha has been ascribed many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vighneshvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri is often added before his name. One popular way Ganesha is worshipped is by chanting a Ganesha Sahasranama, a litany of "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. At least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama exist; one version is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture venerating Ganesha.
The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana, meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha, meaning lord or master. The word gaņa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva. The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation. Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements. Ganapati, a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord". The Amarakosha, an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha : Vinayaka, Vighnarāja (equivalent to Vighnesha), Dvaimātura (one who has two mothers), Gaṇādhipa (equivalent to Ganapati and Ganesha), Ekadanta (one who has one tusk), Heramba, Lambodara (one who has a pot belly, or, literally, one who has a hanging belly), and Gajanana; having the face of an elephant).
Vinayaka is a common name for Ganesha that appears in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha temples in Maharashtra known as the Ashtavinayak (aṣṭavināyaka). The names Vighnesha and Vighneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) refers to his primary function in Hindu theology as the master and remover of obstacles (vighna).
A prominent name for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pillai. A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pillai means a "child" while pillaiyar means a "noble child". He adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk", also "elephant tooth or tusk". Anita Raina Thapan notes that the root word pille in the name Pillaiyar might have originally meant "the young of the elephant", because the Pali word pillaka means "a young elephant".
In the Burmese language, Ganesha is known as Maha Peinne, derived from Pali Mahā Wināyaka. The widespread name of Ganesha in Thailand is Phra Phikhanet or Phra Phikhanesuan, both of which are derived from Vara Vighnesha and Vara Vighneshvara respectively, whereas the name Khanet (from Ganesha) is rather rare.
In Sri Lanka, in the North-Central and North Western areas with predominantly Buddhist population, Ganesha is known as Aiyanayaka Deviyo, while in other Singhala Buddhist areas he is known as Gana deviyo.
ICONOGRAPHY
Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art. Unlike those of some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variations and distinct patterns changing over time. He may be portrayed standing, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down or on an elevated seat, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations.
Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the 6th century. The 13th century statue pictured is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900–1200, after Ganesha had been well-established as an independent deity with his own sect. This example features some of Ganesha's common iconographic elements. A virtually identical statue has been dated between 973–1200 by Paul Martin-Dubost, and another similar statue is dated c. 12th century by Pratapaditya Pal. Ganesha has the head of an elephant and a big belly. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha. He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds a delicacy, which he samples with his trunk, in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet in his lower-left hand is a particularly archaic feature. A more primitive statue in one of the Ellora Caves with this general form has been dated to the 7th century. Details of the other hands are difficult to make out on the statue shown. In the standard configuration, Ganesha typically holds an axe or a goad in one upper arm and a pasha (noose) in the other upper arm.
The influence of this old constellation of iconographic elements can still be seen in contemporary representations of Ganesha. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but is turned towards the viewer in a gesture of protection or fearlessness (abhaya mudra). The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing, which is a very popular theme.
COMMON ATTRIBUTES
Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art. Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got his elephant head. One of his popular forms, Heramba-Ganapati, has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known. While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, he acquires the head later in most stories. The most recurrent motif in these stories is that Ganesha was created by Parvati using clay to protect her and Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant. Details of the battle and where the replacement head came from vary from source to source. Another story says that Ganesha was created directly by Shiva's laughter. Because Shiva considered Ganesha too alluring, he gave him the head of an elephant and a protruding belly.
Ganesha's earliest name was Ekadanta (One Tusked), referring to his single whole tusk, the other being broken. Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk. The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the Mudgala Purana, which states that the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta. Ganesha's protruding belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries). This feature is so important that, according to the Mudgala Purana, two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on it: Lambodara (Pot Belly, or, literally, Hanging Belly) and Mahodara (Great Belly). Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly. The Brahmanda Purana says that Ganesha has the name Lambodara because all the universes (i.e., cosmic eggs) of the past, present, and future are present in him. The number of Ganesha's arms varies; his best-known forms have between two and sixteen arms. Many depictions of Ganesha feature four arms, which is mentioned in Puranic sources and codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts. His earliest images had two arms. Forms with 14 and 20 arms appeared in Central India during the 9th and the 10th centuries. The serpent is a common feature in Ganesha iconography and appears in many forms. According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vasuki around his neck. Other depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, or as a throne. Upon Ganesha's forehead may be a third eye or the Shaivite sectarian mark , which consists of three horizontal lines. The Ganesha Purana prescribes a tilaka mark as well as a crescent moon on the forehead. A distinct form of Ganesha called Bhalachandra includes that iconographic element. Ganesha is often described as red in color. Specific colors are associated with certain forms. Many examples of color associations with specific meditation forms are prescribed in the Sritattvanidhi, a treatise on Hindu iconography. For example, white is associated with his representations as Heramba-Ganapati and Rina-Mochana-Ganapati (Ganapati Who Releases from Bondage). Ekadanta-Ganapati is visualized as blue during meditation in that form.
VAHANAS
The earliest Ganesha images are without a vahana (mount/vehicle). Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha uses a mouse (shrew) in five of them, a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation as Vikata, and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja. Mohotkata uses a lion, Mayūreśvara uses a peacock, Dhumraketu uses a horse, and Gajanana uses a mouse, in the four incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana. Jain depictions of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse, elephant, tortoise, ram, or peacock.
Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a mouse, shrew or rat. Martin-Dubost says that the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Ganesha in central and western India during the 7th century; the rat was always placed close to his feet. The mouse as a mount first appears in written sources in the Matsya Purana and later in the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana, where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle in his last incarnation. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag. The names Mūṣakavāhana (mouse-mount) and Ākhuketana (rat-banner) appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.
The mouse is interpreted in several ways. According to Grimes, "Many, if not most of those who interpret Gaṇapati's mouse, do so negatively; it symbolizes tamoguṇa as well as desire". Along these lines, Michael Wilcockson says it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less selfish. Krishan notes that the rat is destructive and a menace to crops. The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the root mūṣ (stealing, robbing). It was essential to subdue the rat as a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed to be overcome. According to this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat demonstrates his function as Vigneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāma-devatā (village deity) who later rose to greater prominence. Martin-Dubost notes a view that the rat is a symbol suggesting that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even the most secret places.
ASSOCIATIONS
OBSTACLES
Ganesha is Vighneshvara or Vighnaraja or Vighnaharta (Marathi), the Lord of Obstacles, both of a material and spiritual order. He is popularly worshipped as a remover of obstacles, though traditionally he also places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. Paul Courtright says that "his task in the divine scheme of things, his dharma, is to place and remove obstacles. It is his particular territory, the reason for his creation."
Krishan notes that some of Ganesha's names reflect shadings of multiple roles that have evolved over time. Dhavalikar ascribes the quick ascension of Ganesha in the Hindu pantheon, and the emergence of the Ganapatyas, to this shift in emphasis from vighnakartā (obstacle-creator) to vighnahartā (obstacle-averter). However, both functions continue to be vital to his character.
BUDDHI (KNOWLEDGE)
Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of letters and learning. In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect. The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, when many stories stress his cleverness and love of intelligence. One of Ganesha's names in the Ganesha Purana and the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya. This name also appears in a list of 21 names at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama that Ganesha says are especially important. The word priya can mean "fond of", and in a marital context it can mean "lover" or "husband", so the name may mean either "Fond of Intelligence" or "Buddhi's Husband".
AUM
Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum, also spelled Om. The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the primal sound. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association. Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:
(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).
Some devotees see similarities between the shape of Ganesha's body in iconography and the shape of Aum in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.
FIRST CHAKRA
According to Kundalini yoga, Ganesha resides in the first chakra, called Muladhara (mūlādhāra). Mula means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation". The muladhara chakra is the principle on which the manifestation or outward expansion of primordial Divine Force rests. This association is also attested to in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Courtright translates this passage as follows: "[O Ganesha,] You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra]." Thus, Ganesha has a permanent abode in every being at the Muladhara. Ganesha holds, supports and guides all other chakras, thereby "governing the forces that propel the wheel of life".
FAMILY AND CONSORTS
Though Ganesha is popularly held to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths give different versions about his birth. In some he was created by Parvati, in another he was created by Shiva and Parvati, in another he appeared mysteriously and was discovered by Shiva and Parvati or he was born from the elephant headed goddess Malini after she drank Parvati's bath water that had been thrown in the river.
The family includes his brother the war god Kartikeya, who is also called Subramanya, Skanda, Murugan and other names. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In northern India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder, while in the south, Ganesha is considered the first born. In northern India, Skanda was an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when worship of him declined significantly in northern India. As Skanda fell, Ganesha rose. Several stories tell of sibling rivalry between the brothers and may reflect sectarian tensions.
Ganesha's marital status, the subject of considerable scholarly review, varies widely in mythological stories. One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacari. This view is common in southern India and parts of northern India. Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses, said to be Ganesha's wives. He also may be shown with a single consort or a nameless servant (Sanskrit: daşi). Another pattern connects Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati or Śarda (particularly in Maharashtra). He is also associated with the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi. Another pattern, mainly prevalent in the Bengal region, links Ganesha with the banana tree, Kala Bo.
The Shiva Purana says that Ganesha had begotten two sons: Kşema (prosperity) and Lābha (profit). In northern Indian variants of this story, the sons are often said to be Śubha (auspiciouness) and Lābha. The 1975 Hindi film Jai Santoshi Maa shows Ganesha married to Riddhi and Siddhi and having a daughter named Santoshi Ma, the goddess of satisfaction. This story has no Puranic basis, but Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.
WOSHIP AND FESTIVALS
Ganesha is worshipped on many religious and secular occasions; especially at the beginning of ventures such as buying a vehicle or starting a business. K.N. Somayaji says, "there can hardly be a [Hindu] home [in India] which does not house an idol of Ganapati. [..] Ganapati, being the most popular deity in India, is worshipped by almost all castes and in all parts of the country". Devotees believe that if Ganesha is propitiated, he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity.
Ganesha is a non-sectarian deity, and Hindus of all denominations invoke him at the beginning of prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies. Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to Ganesha. Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah (Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha) are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts).
Devotees offer Ganesha sweets such as modaka and small sweet balls (laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra. Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with red sandalwood paste (raktacandana) or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and other materials are also used in his worship.
Festivals associated with Ganesh are Ganesh Chaturthi or Vināyaka chaturthī in the śuklapakṣa (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the Gaṇeśa jayanti (Gaṇeśa's birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the śuklapakṣa (fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of māgha (January/February)."
GANESH CHATURTI
An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesha Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha, symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water. Some families have a tradition of immersion on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune, and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.
TEMPLES
In Hindu temples, Ganesha is depicted in various ways: as an acolyte or subordinate deity (pãrśva-devatã); as a deity related to the principal deity (parivāra-devatã); or as the principal deity of the temple (pradhāna), treated similarly as the highest gods of the Hindu pantheon. As the god of transitions, he is placed at the doorway of many Hindu temples to keep out the unworthy, which is analogous to his role as Parvati’s doorkeeper. In addition, several shrines are dedicated to Ganesha himself, of which the Ashtavinayak (lit. "eight Ganesha (shrines)") in Maharashtra are particularly well known. Located within a 100-kilometer radius of the city of Pune, each of these eight shrines celebrates a particular form of Ganapati, complete with its own lore and legend. The eight shrines are: Morgaon, Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar and Ranjangaon.
There are many other important Ganesha temples at the following locations: Wai in Maharashtra; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Jodhpur, Nagaur and Raipur (Pali) in Rajasthan; Baidyanath in Bihar; Baroda, Dholaka, and Valsad in Gujarat and Dhundiraj Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Prominent Ganesha temples in southern India include the following: Kanipakam in Chittoor; the Jambukeśvara Temple at Tiruchirapalli; at Rameshvaram and Suchindram in Tamil Nadu; at Malliyur, Kottarakara, Pazhavangadi, Kasargod in Kerala, Hampi, and Idagunji in Karnataka; and Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh.
T. A. Gopinatha notes, "Every village however small has its own image of Vighneśvara (Vigneshvara) with or without a temple to house it in. At entrances of villages and forts, below pīpaḹa (Sacred fig) trees [...], in a niche [...] in temples of Viṣṇu (Vishnu) as well as Śiva (Shiva) and also in separate shrines specially constructed in Śiva temples [...]; the figure of Vighneśvara is invariably seen." Ganesha temples have also been built outside of India, including southeast Asia, Nepal (including the four Vinayaka shrines in the Kathmandu valley), and in several western countries.
RISE TO PROMINENCE
FIRST APEARANCE
Ganesha appeared in his classic form as a clearly recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes in the early 4th to 5th centuries. Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known iconic image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period. His independent cult appeared by about the 10th century. Narain summarizes the controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:
What is inscrutable is the somewhat dramatic appearance of Gaņeśa on the historical scene. His antecedents are not clear. His wide acceptance and popularity, which transcend sectarian and territorial limits, are indeed amazing. On the one hand there is the pious belief of the orthodox devotees in Gaņeśa's Vedic origins and in the Purāṇic explanations contained in the confusing, but nonetheless interesting, mythology. On the other hand there are doubts about the existence of the idea and the icon of this deity" before the fourth to fifth century A.D. ... [I]n my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence of the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.
POSSIBLE INFLUENCES
Courtright reviews various speculative theories about the early history of Ganesha, including supposed tribal traditions and animal cults, and dismisses all of them in this way:
In the post 600 BC period there is evidence of people and places named after the animal. The motif appears on coins and sculptures.
Thapan's book on the development of Ganesha devotes a chapter to speculations about the role elephants had in early India but concludes that, "although by the second century CE the elephant-headed yakṣa form exists it cannot be presumed to represent Gaṇapati-Vināyaka. There is no evidence of a deity by this name having an elephant or elephant-headed form at this early stage. Gaṇapati-Vināyaka had yet to make his debut."
One theory of the origin of Ganesha is that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vinayakas (Vināyakas). In Hindu mythology, the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties but who were easily propitiated. The name Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. Krishan is one of the academics who accepts this view, stating flatly of Ganesha, "He is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th–4th century BCE) who cause various types of evil and suffering". Depictions of elephant-headed human figures, which some identify with Ganesha, appear in Indian art and coinage as early as the 2nd century. According to Ellawala, the elephant-headed Ganesha as lord of the Ganas was known to the people of Sri Lanka in the early pre-Christian era.
A metal plate depiction of Ganesha had been discovered in 1993, in Iran, it dated back to 1,200 BCE. Another one was discovered much before, in Lorestan Province of Iran.
First Ganesha's terracotta images are from 1st century CE found in Ter, Pal, Verrapuram and Chandraketugarh. These figures are small, with elephant head, two arms, and chubby physique. The earliest Ganesha icons in stone were carved in Mathura during Kushan times (2nd-3rd centuries CE).
VEDIC AND EPIC LITERATURE
The title "Leader of the group" (Sanskrit: gaṇapati) occurs twice in the Rig Veda, but in neither case does it refer to the modern Ganesha. The term appears in RV 2.23.1 as a title for Brahmanaspati, according to commentators. While this verse doubtless refers to Brahmanaspati, it was later adopted for worship of Ganesha and is still used today. In rejecting any claim that this passage is evidence of Ganesha in the Rig Veda, Ludo Rocher says that it "clearly refers to Bṛhaspati—who is the deity of the hymn—and Bṛhaspati only". Equally clearly, the second passage (RV 10.112.9) refers to Indra, who is given the epithet 'gaṇapati', translated "Lord of the companies (of the Maruts)." However, Rocher notes that the more recent Ganapatya literature often quotes the Rigvedic verses to give Vedic respectability to Ganesha .
Two verses in texts belonging to Black Yajurveda, Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā (2.9.1) and Taittirīya Āraṇyaka (10.1), appeal to a deity as "the tusked one" (Dantiḥ), "elephant-faced" (Hastimukha), and "with a curved trunk" (Vakratuņḍa). These names are suggestive of Ganesha, and the 14th century commentator Sayana explicitly establishes this identification. The description of Dantin, possessing a twisted trunk (vakratuṇḍa) and holding a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane, and a club, is so characteristic of the Puranic Ganapati that Heras says "we cannot resist to accept his full identification with this Vedic Dantin". However, Krishan considers these hymns to be post-Vedic additions. Thapan reports that these passages are "generally considered to have been interpolated". Dhavalikar says, "the references to the elephant-headed deity in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā have been proven to be very late interpolations, and thus are not very helpful for determining the early formation of the deity".
Ganesha does not appear in Indian epic literature that is dated to the Vedic period. A late interpolation to the epic poem Mahabharata says that the sage Vyasa (Vyāsa) asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed but only on condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, that is, without pausing. The sage agreed, but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages so Ganesha would have to ask for clarifications. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata, in which the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote in an appendix. The story of Ganesha acting as the scribe occurs in 37 of the 59 manuscripts consulted during preparation of the critical edition. Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyāsa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation. Richard L. Brown dates the story to the 8th century, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900, but it was not added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature in South Indian manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend. The term vināyaka is found in some recensions of the Śāntiparva and Anuśāsanaparva that are regarded as interpolations. A reference to Vighnakartṛīṇām ("Creator of Obstacles") in Vanaparva is also believed to be an interpolation and does not appear in the critical edition.
PURANIC PERIOD
Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, c. 600–1300. Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he acquired an elephant's head are in the later Puranas, which were composed from c. 600 onwards. He elaborates on the matter to say that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.
In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature, Ludo Rocher notes that:
Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent.
Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century, when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The 9th-century philosopher Adi Shankara popularized the "worship of the five forms" (Panchayatana puja) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smarta tradition. This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and Surya. Adi Shankara instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity.
SCRIPTURES
Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some Brahmins (brāhmaṇas) chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition, as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.
The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana - and their dating relative to one another - has sparked academic debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews comments about dating and provides her own judgement. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.
R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. However, Phyllis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha. She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. While the kernel of the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the 16th or 17th centuries.
BEYOND INDIA AND HINDUISM
Commercial and cultural contacts extended India's influence in western and southeast Asia. Ganesha is one of a number of Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.
Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures. From approximately the 10th century onwards, new networks of exchange developed including the formation of trade guilds and a resurgence of money circulation. During this time, Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders. The earliest inscription invoking Ganesha before any other deity is associated with the merchant community.
Hindus migrated to Maritime Southeast Asia and took their culture, including Ganesha, with them. Statues of Ganesha are found throughout the region, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences. The spread of Hindu culture to southeast Asia established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side by side, and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region. In Thailand, Cambodia, and among the Hindu classes of the Chams in Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles. Today in Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles, the god of success.
Before the arrival of Islam, Afghanistan had close cultural ties with India, and the adoration of both Hindu and Buddhist deities was practiced. Examples of sculptures from the 5th to the 7th centuries have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was then in vogue in the region.
Ganesha appears in Mahayana Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also as a Hindu demon form with the same name. His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period. As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing. This form, called Nṛtta Ganapati, was popular in northern India, later adopted in Nepal, and then in Tibet. In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha, known as Heramba, is popular; he has five heads and rides a lion. Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him. A Tibetan rendering of Ganapati is tshogs bdag. In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākāla, (Shiva) a popular Tibetan deity. Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, and sometimes dancing. Ganesha appears in China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In northern China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated to 531. In Japan, where Ganesha is known as Kangiten, the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806.
The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the worship of Ganesha. However, Ganesha is worshipped by most Jains, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. Jain connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up Ganesha worship as a result of commercial connections. The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century. A 15th-century Jain text lists procedures for the installation of Ganapati images. Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.
WIKIPEDIA
"relating to the motion of material bodies and the forces and energy associated therewith"
A creative outing with my photo club - Inland Empire Photo Club - where we played with light and motion and long exposures to create kinetic art. It was a wonderful, creative evening.
Relates to Macro Mondays' "matchstick" theme. The matchbook is approximately 2" square.
All rights reserved. Please do not use or reproduce this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my permission.
Part of "MY BEST" Set, a collection of Images that I feel represent my skill as a Photographer, as well as reveal my eye for picking good quality Images. View more of MY BEST here.
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EXPLORED ON 30 APRIL 2009 - # 88
“A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.”
- Oscar Wilde
Each time I wake up early in the morning to start my photography journey, everyone around me express their surprise. They think I am crazy to give up my lovely sleep for taking some "stupid" pictures. One of them even told me "Would you rather not be peacefully asleep?"
For me my photography is like a meditative practice. As I try and relate with my subject all other distractions and worries shut off, and it brings a deep sense of calmness.
This is especially so when the subject is the early morning sun. Often there is not many people around at this time. Also the magic of the light at this time keeps those awake, in rapt attention.
It was such a morning, when I went out to take this image. It was dark when I arrived at the beach to capture dawn. As I found this scenario, I positioned myself a bit futher away from the beach, tried to frame this "Still Morning".
As usual, the angel of luck sent another crow my way, who perched silently on the boat.
Photograph © Kausthub Desikachar
Photographed with Canon EOS 5D Mark II, and Canon EF 24-150mm F4 IS USM L Lens. Handheld.
Please do not reproduce in any form without prior written consent from the copyright holder. Please contact the photographer through Flickrmail, to inquire about licensing arrangements.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so they say. Here an ex Bournemouth Fleetline, owned by a fellow flickrite, is seen today following painting in the colour of his (or rather his young daughter's!) choice. Alongside is an equally vividly coloured ex LT RMC belonging to Halewood International, aka 'Crabbies'.
Fleetline NFX 132P was rolled out yesterday, but there's still quite a bit to do to finish it off including a 'Notifiable alteration' relating to it's revised internal layout.
The picture was taken with my newly acquired old style Kodak 'bridge' camera, a P850, one of which I'd had in the past. (the Sony SLR's too bulky to live in my brief-case for every day use) I replaced my first P850 when it finally failed supposedly up-grading to the superior Z1015 but which have never been happy with. My principal gripes were poor light metering and vastly over-saturating of images such that almost every image it produced had to be 'treated' on the computer. Looking at the above as a sort of test, the old P850 seems to have restored my faith with a more natural picture.
…HAS ARRIVED! After waiting almost three weeks for the body only I couldn’t take anymore (never received it and they had no idea when they are going to have them in stock)… so today I cancelled the order and bough a 7D kit (anyone interested in a brand new 28-135mm??? lol now I have two of them an no use for either).
I freak out when the Best Buy sales person told me that there were only two kits in the entire state of Minnesota. So I purchase one of them and drove almost 40 miles (one way) to pick up my new camera. I am sure some of you can relate and understand what is to spend almost a month without a camera! I am such a geek.
talk show: an oil painting by jaisini by yustas kotz-gottlieb
Talk Show is a painting that proves the idea that we live in a post-modern world with the apparent loss of any reasonable hope for alternative to the present. In Talk Show, immediacy unites with immortality, trivial with profound. In our days the long myth of immortality is replaced by the myth of immediacy. The substitution of the trivial for the profound for many was a loss, rather than a gain, although, the will to be immediate speaks more directly to our lives. Jaisini unites the two principles, searching for unique ways that can create this double effect of a physical lowland, united with the philosophical purity of mind. Talk Show has the significance of biblical wisdom based on a street scene. In Talk Show, Jaisini pictures not the dark side’ of people, but the substantial one, when sex became ‘the lyricism of the masses’. The picture shows that we live in a more cynical, realistic time by means of parody. The new cynicism is the old one. The work is timeless and can relate to anyone. Talk Show has the analogous environment as in the work called Show Time; the crowd representatives and the image that centers the crowd’s attention. In Talk Show, it is the two dogs in an intercourse that attracts the attention of different people of the crowd. In the painting we can clearly see the interlocked line of composition. This line flows freely as an unconscious line. The absence of an ‘end’ in Jaisini’s composition may be the artist’s revolt against the end of ideology and the general failures of social theory, obsessed with ‘ends’, with visions of finished worlds and finalities. Modern society was once based on a principle of expansion, but having reached a certain ‘critical mass’ it has begun to recoil. Is this why Jaisini creates his secluded line composition? What we are witnessing in the domain of the social is a kind of inverse explosion. The artist avoids breaking the line because any attempt to save the principle of expansion is not ‘archaic’ and regressive. The principle of enclosure is the radical inquiry for continuance. Jaisini has found his way to avoid the end-state. His closed circle of composition creates a new visual code that guarantees the ‘addressee,’ a recognizable meaning. The Talk Show mockery reflects the contemporary condition of Byzantizm. It could be mentioned here that evenin Cicero’s time, the ancient world was becoming stupid. Talk Show may symbolize the mass communication as an enclosing circle connecting mass culture and its audiences of ‘mass conformist,’ the picture’s title can be attributed to the fact that consequently television, along with the rest of mass culture, has become an undreamed-of medium of psychological control. We become part of mass communication circuits, part of a realm and era of connection, contact, feedback, an era that is ‘obscene,’ yet lunar cold. The reason why the artist prescribes the emerald color to his painting may be to symbolize the coldness of the contemporary world of communications which contacts penetrate without resistance. In the picture, we see the dogs’ intercourse as the critique of the talk show. Copyright © 2014 Yustas Kotz-Gottlieb All Rights Reserved
Talk Show on Spark website, circa 1999