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This was Grainne's first time at the beach and her first time playing frisbee. Dusky, in contrast, is an old hand at this game. Tristan explains the rules to the newbie.
Author's Note: The contents of this chapter include very sensitive subject matter and may be triggering to some individuals. Scenes of abuse of various forms are represented as not only for storytelling, but to raise awareness of what this behavior looks like. Abusive behavior in this story includes, but is not limited to: physical abuse, mental abuse, verbal abuse, gaslighting, manipulation, intentional triggering of another's PTSD, and trauma. In no way are these scenes intended to purposely trigger or harm anyone.
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The following morning after Aiden's moonlit flight with Vincent, he'd woken up late just as Vincent was emerging from his quarters. His captain was already fully dressed and ready to run errands. As Vincent explained it to the yawning Aiden, now that he was going to the masquerade, there was much to be done! A short while later, Vincent departed in a determined but cheerful mood to get everything set in motion. And when he returned that evening he had an official invitation to the ball for Aiden in hand! He sat Aiden down and explained in greater detail what preparations would need to be done. While Vincent had informed him that there would be fittings, dancing and etiquette lessons, and even promenades for social practice, the days following were unexpectedly much busier for Aiden than he'd anticipated.
The first order of business was a visit to the tailor! The shop they went to belonged to a highly skilled older man who knew Vincent by sight and greeted the captain enthusiastically. As it turned out, this was where Vincent and the other men in his family frequented as regular customers! After Aiden's nervous last attempt to get himself to visit a shop like this, he was grateful to have Vincent there to guide him through the process. As soon as Vincent explained that they were here for a suit for Aiden for the upcoming ball, the tailor got straight to work! Vincent helped Aiden sort through different fabrics and finally settle on a nice dark teal and gold lining which, as Vincent put it, brought out the color in his eyes. The comment had made Aiden blush slightly; something Vincent noticed which made him feel a little pleased with himself.
When the topic of how much everything was going to cost came up, Aiden felt panic rearing up inside him. He knew it would be expensive but to actually spend the money? Aside from the tiny piece of Fulgora's Eye that he'd gotten for Pete, this was the most expensive purchase he'd ever made for himself! However, with a few quiet, carefully chosen words of reassurance from Vincent, Aiden remembered that he was, in fact, wealthy. He could afford this suit hundreds of times over and then some! With Vincent's encouragement, Aiden went ahead and made the down payment purchase for his suit! Once measurements had been taken some time later and they were free to go, they went next door to the cordwainer. There Aiden got measured again; this time for boots to go specifically for his ballroom attire! This time, Aiden didn't hesitate to pay for his boots which Vincent felt proud of him for.
The lessons Vincent promised began just two days later. While Vincent didn't really care much for all the niceties and politeness of upper class society, he was still a part of it and therefore educated thus. During these lessons, Aiden began to learn the basics of gentlemanly ballroom etiquette. He'd be learning how to dance very soon but first Aiden would need to learn how to properly walk, stand, and even how to talk. While Vincent stressed the importance of these lessons, most of the time the two men were just laughing and enjoying each other's company. Vincent was having such a grand time with his friend that he was often smiling and full of spirit. Vincent suggested Aiden put to practice what he'd learned while they were out and about. Aiden remembered that this was just a part of the facade; the mask that must be put on for society. So, that's what he did. Following Vincent's example, he began to learn. He would gladly play the part. Aiden knew deep down that Vincent liked Aiden just as he was now... but a big part of him wanted to fit into Vincent's world more. He wanted to show Vincent that he was capable of being a part of ALL aspects of his life; not just on the ship.
When it came time for Aiden to learn to dance, Vincent knew that Charlotte would be the most logical choice to be Aiden's dance partner. When the young lady learned to dance a few years ago, it had been Vincent, himself, who was her dance partner as she learned the art. He knew she was a lovely dancer for her age; a talented one, at that. She'd also proven herself to be a patient teacher. Besides all that, Aiden and she got along well and clearly there was chemistry between them. Vincent knew that this would be a perfect opportunity for the two of them to get to know each other and spend time together. There was every reason for him to allow them to practice together! Yet, Vincent knew without a doubt that Charlotte would be all over Aiden...which was why when Aiden arrived for his first day of dance lessons it was not Charlotte there to greet him alongside Vincent....it was Abigail!
Abigail was happy to join Vincent in teaching Aiden how to dance! Of course, she knew the real reason he was asking her even if he didn't want to admit it, and the alternative would have been Bernadette. While Bernie excelled in many other things, Abigail knew just how skilled her sister was on the dance floor....and something told her Aiden would prefer to keep his toes intact.
And so, practice began! Aiden discovered that he liked dancing and the chemistry between the three of them was very pleasant and enjoyable. Abigail was fond of Aiden already and the more she learned and saw of him, the more she found him a pleasure to be around. He was a fun student who made the task of teaching him an enjoyable experience. When the cousins demonstrated to Aiden the various popular dances that he'd see at the ball, the young man was in awe. They appeared to move flawlessly to the music coming out of the phonograph. As it turned out, Abigail had a small passion for dance, and Vincent, while he didn't like to show off, was quite skilled as well. Despite the intricate dances he was shown, Aiden was told he'd be learning the easiest of the dances first: the waltz.
The days passed and things were starting to come together quickly! Aiden's confidence with the waltz was starting to build. Soon, he was guiding Abigail with less mistakes and even felt brave enough to add in a small flourish in his step! Not only was his dancing skills improving, his suit for the masquerade was coming along nicely.
On the topic of his suit one afternoon, Vincent pointed out that dancing in full formal attire was different than practicing in comfortable clothes. It would be heavier and warmer than what they were doing now. He mused that Aiden should be more dressed up while practicing to get used to it; much the way Vincent dressed when out as a member of high society. It got Aiden thinking that maybe it was time he finally got something a little nicer to wear after all.
Normally, these things took time to make so when Aiden went back to the tailor's the next day, he was not expecting to be able to walk out with a brand new outfit in hand. The tailor happened to have a complete set on display that he sold to Aiden at a discounted price. Apparently, it had been made for another customer some time ago who had changed their mind at the very last minute. Amazingly, the entire ensemble fit Aiden like a glove! There were only a couple quick adjustments needed for the pants but that was it!
Finally Aiden stepped up to the mirror. He almost didn't recognize himself! The young man staring back at him looked older and more mature. There was a growing confidence which showed in how he stood tall and smiled with approval.
The next time Aiden was due to meet Abigail and Vincent marked two weeks until the masquerade! While it also meant Damien was officially back in town as well, Aiden had other things on his mind. This was the day he would be arriving dressed like a gentleman; not some commoner who worked aboard a ship.
Aiden was feeling nervous! His hands kept fidgeting and tugging at his fitted blue waistcoat as he stepped off the lift. Just ahead of him was the open door that invitingly led into Vincent's office. What would Vincent think? Would he approve of him? Aiden peeked into the room and took a cursory glance around to see who was all here. His eyes appreciatively settled on the slender yet curvy shape standing by one of the bookshelves beside the tea station.
It was Vincent, of course! He hadn't realized he had company yet. He was standing in front of a small mirror up on one of the bookshelves and was actually humming softly to himself. Intent upon his task, he deftly pinned the last strands of hair into his updo. It was a more effeminate style than Aiden had ever seen on him. It wasn't just his hair but also the way he was dressed that gave him such an androgynous appearance. He was a little more dressed up and the way his corset and trousers flattered and hugged his figure? There was just something different about him today. Whatever it was, Aiden found it attractive.
Just as Vincent finished with his hair and gave a satisfied smile at his appearance there was a soft knock at the door. Ah, that had to be Aiden. He was right on time! As he turned to greet Aiden, he saw Aiden's smile which bemused him. And while he'd never admit it aloud, it made him feel shy. His mind tried to reason why Aiden would be smiling at him as if...as if he were the loveliest creature in the world.
No, his mind reasoned, that couldn't be right! And as if to prove him right, Aiden suddenly began to grin. That's right...he must be amused by his appearance! However, he was completely unaware that, in truth, Aiden was actually grinning at the sight of Vincent's deepening blush that had blossomed across his cheeks at the sight of his friend staring at him...
But now, Vincent was feeling awkward and second-guessing his decision to dress up. He nibbled his lower lip and glanced off to the side. As he reached up with one hand and toyed with his bangs, he said just loud enough for Aiden to hear, "I know, I know. I look silly."
"What? No, you don't!" Aiden chuckled as he stepped into the room. "I think the whole look is very flattering on you."
"You really think so? It's not too much?"
"I really think so. You look great!"
Vincent saw that sweet, reassuring smile and suddenly he felt much better as he found himself suddenly smiling as well. Once upon a time, he would have not believed it so quickly, if at all. But Aiden had a way about him that made him feel safe to be himself. And it seemed that was turning into confidence that was taking hold more firmly in Vincent's life. And though Vincent didn't realize it, he was finally starting to come into himself and blossom; something those closest to him 'had' started to notice.
As it turned out, Abigail had come down with a small cold and wouldn't be joining them today...but Vincent didn't want to cancel Aiden's lesson. After all, Vincent knew how to be led in a dance just as well as he could lead! So, when he offered himself as Aiden's dance partner, he was pleased with Aiden's enthusiastic response.
Once Vincent turned the phonograph on, he turned to face his friend and saw Aiden offering out his hand towards him with a grin. It was much like he'd done the night he'd asked Vincent to join him on their moonlit flight. Vincent grinned back and placed his hand in Aiden's before allowing himself to be guided to the middle of the room.
Aiden slid his hand around Vincent's waist and stepped close, his gaze shifting down to gaze into Vincent's as Vincent's hand came to sit upon his upper arm and gently took his hand. Then after what felt like several quiet, wonderful minutes of suspended time (but was really only a couple of breaths), Aiden began to lead on the next beat of melody that was playing for them.
Aiden had proven by now that he had a pretty good handle on the waltz. So after a couple of dances together, Vincent decided how to show him the first steps of another type of dance he'd demonstrated the first day: the quadrille!
A couple of hours had passed and Aiden was finally ready to give leading a real try! So after a quick break, the men got back to it! It was about halfway through the first dance when Aiden first accidentally treaded on Vincent's toes and bumped into him. At first, Aiden was apologetic, but Vincent laughed it off.
And as they continued to dance, he told Aiden about a few collisions on the dance floor that he'd witnessed. Vincent was no longer keeping an eye on Aiden's dance moves because he was too preoccupied talking and laughing all while still dancing! As natural as can be, Aiden still led Vincent around the small space while listening and tossing in his own laughter and commentary. They were no longer dancing the quadrille, exactly, but instead just dancing for fun while they interacted. In fact, they were so engrossed with each other, their dance, and the music that they were unaware that they were no longer alone.
As seconds turned to nearly a minute, Damien's composure was starting to crack. So this was why Vincent couldn't spend time with him earlier today! Of course, it was because of fucking Aiden! What the bloody Hell was going on? Finally deciding to just get their attention before he completely lost himself, Damien forced another smile upon his face and knocked loudly on the door.
"Damien! Is it three o'clock already?!" Vincent exclaimed before quickly glancing towards the clock. With a small chuckle he added, "Oh, you're early!" He gently detached himself from Aiden's embrace so he could go turn off the music. And as he moved, he glanced out the window and was made aware that it was suddenly getting dark outside as if it were going to pour any moment. And indeed, there was the gentle sound of thunder in the distance.
"Well, you said to just come in when I got here so here I am!"
"I meant at three, but it's fine. It looks like it's going to rain anyways."
It wasn't fine, Vincent felt, but he moved onto the next topic as he joined Aiden and Damien in the center of the room. Vincent realized how nicely Damien was dressed and he complimented him, "Well, don't you look extra sharp today? What's the occasion?"
Damien beamed as Vincent praised his outfit. He'd dressed up just for him for this very reason! He'd even let his hair grow out which he thought gave him a more roguish appearance. He felt handsome and confident; especially now that he knew Vincent approved (just as he already knew he would)!
"Well, thank you! I think I appear rather dashing."
Vincent gave a nod of approval then smiled and gestured over at Aiden. "Aiden's gotten a new outfit, too. Well, two. He's been practicing his dancing for the ball! Didn't you see? He's doing great! He's only just started learning a couple of weeks ago!"
At Vincent's proud grin and praise, Aiden felt himself blush deeply and smile bashfully. He glanced towards Vincent who stood beside him and nudged Aiden's arm with a chuckle. But across the way, Damien wasn't as pleased.
"Wait, wait, wait. The ball?" Damien wondered aloud condescendingly. "Since when is Aiden coming to the ball?"
"Since I invited him!" Vincent retorted more defensively than he'd intended. Damien blinked in surprise and even Aiden felt a little surprised...though also a bit pleased. Mysteriously, a shade of red appeared on Vincent's cheeks as he cleared his throat. He'd invited Aiden there so that he'd not dread the event so much. And...and he wanted him there. Aiden always made things better when he was there!
Unaware that he was still blushing, he quickly glanced up at Aiden then looked back at Damien before explaining a little timidly, "I just thought it would be fun, you know? I wanted to have my best friends with me." And suddenly there was a weight on Vincent's shoulders as Aiden daringly slid his arm over them and leaned towards him with a handsome smile.
"And it's going to be absolutely fantastic. I'm looking forward to it. And...thanks again for teaching me how to dance. These past couple weeks have been...wonderful. You're wonderful."
"Well, gosh! I've been enjoying your company, too. Practice is just a good excuse to see you! It...it HAS been wonderful."
And as Vincent and Aiden teased the boundaries of flirting, the realization of how good they looked side by side was more obvious than ever! Damien suddenly realized that they were even dressed to match in similar colors! It made them look even more like a couple! And with how had Vincent turned to look up at Aiden and seemed to lean into his touch? It took everything in Damien not to punch Aiden in his cocky, smiling face!
'...These past couple of weeks...' Aiden had said. What else had happened during this past month while he was gone?! Maybe he should have come home sooner, after all.
"So, tell us about your trip!" Vincent exclaimed as he was suddenly approaching Damien and tugged him further into the room towards the armchairs. "Would you like some tea? I was just thinking about making some! Aiden?" With both his friends acknowledging his offer, Vincent left Damien to sit and started up the kettle. Meanwhile, Aiden went to lean against the desk as he watched and listened silently.
Damien took his seat and groaned softly as he settled in. His eyes remained focused on Vincent (ignoring Aiden's existence as much as possible) and responded enthusiastically, "It was a lot of fun! I saw lots of family and some old friends..."
Damien began to elaborate on his visit, to which Aiden found a bit dull. However, Vincent seemed to know who Damien was talking about and was much more invested in this conversation. Even as Vincent finished serving their teas, Damien was still talking. It was as Damien's tea finally cooled enough for him to drink some that Aiden finally had a chance to speak.
"After this cup, I think I am going to let you two finish catching up and head out, myself," Aiden informed them. "When you decide when you want to take Leon's Claw up in the air, let me know."
"Mm, that's right. You and I need to decide on that!" Damien replied with a pleased grin to which Vincent smiled and nodded before sipping contently at his tea. Good, Damien thought to himself. Aiden was leaving! As soon as Aiden was gone, he'd get to the bottom of all this.
Aiden finished his tea fairly quickly, and it didn't take long before he reluctantly bid Vincent and Damien farewell. He'd be seeing Vincent the day after tomorrow for sure but that already felt like too far away. And there was something in the way Vincent hesitantly gave Aiden an umbrella to borrow and how he looked at him with a touch of longing that convinced Aiden that Vincent may, in fact, be feeling the exact same way.
Damien watched silently from where he leaned against the desk, arms rising and folding across his chest as the door finally closed behind Aiden. He watched as Vincent turned to face him with a smile. However, Vincent's smile immediately faded as he caught sight of Damien's slight frown and how his brows creased with irritation.
"What's-?" Vincent started but was cut off by Damien's abrupt, "What the fuck is going on?" Vincent drew in a deep breath and defensively responded, "What are you talking about exactly?"
"You know what I mean, Vincent!"
Vincent's lips parted but no words came out. He was flabbergasted! Where was all this coming from?! He really had no idea what Damien was so upset over so quickly! Yet as seconds passed and Vincent couldn't come up with an answer, Damien finally huffed and took a step away and ran his fingers through his hair frustratedly. Though a moment later he took a deep breath and glanced over his shoulders. He let out another sigh and asked Vincent, "I'm your best friend right?"
"Of course you are!"
"You know you can tell me anything."
"I know that."
"So, then what has he done to you?"
"What are you talking about?!"
"Aiden!" Damien placed his hands on Vincent's shoulders and squeezed tightly. Vincent winced and felt a headache take immediate siege as Aiden was being blamed yet again. "Come on, Vincent! This isn't you! I told you: you look silly when you dress like this. What's with the hair?"
Vincent felt his confidence start to sink as he glanced off to the side towards his mirror. Earlier, he'd felt pride in his appearance. He found he liked dressing more androgynously sometimes for personal reasons. Secretly, honestly... Vincent liked pretty things and had always wanted to dress more like this. It wasn't that he wanted to do it all the time but just on those rare occasions...but thanks to Damien, he was starting to question himself again and already wanted to unpin his hair. But then he remembered how Aiden had told him that it was flattering on him and that he looked great!
Remembering that, Vincent shifted his gaze up to look at Damien and placed his hands atop of his and pulled them off before stating a little sharply, "I'm trying something new. It's MY decision, Damien. No one makes that for me. No. One."
Drawing his hands back as if struck, Damien's brow furrowed as if hurt as Vincent walked past him with a sigh. Vincent placed his hands on his prized orrery and stared down at the planets as they rotated around. It was a moment later when Damien's voice appeared right behind him in his ear in a way that sent uncomfortable shivers down his spine.
"You're not the same anymore," Damien murmured. "It's like you're becoming a different person. I just miss my best friend. Is that such a bad thing?"
"No. It's-"
Vincent had turned around and found himself practically sandwiched between the orrery and Damien who was standing very, very close. Vincent wet his lips nervously and glanced off to the side uncomfortably.
"It's not a bad thing. I get it," Vincent relented as he maneuvered away towards his desk. Now feeling much less confident about himself, Vincent folded his arms over his abdomen and hunched slightly. This whole conversation had knocked the wind out of his sails.
Sensing Vincent's drop in mood, Damien reached out to touch his shoulder and explained, "It's just...not you. That's all. But I suppose I can get used to it. I just like good old Vincent, you know? I like how things used to be when it's just us...like now! It's okay, though. So..." And with that, Damien walked past Vincent towards the chair and went to plop down and folded his arms across his chest as he demanded, "...so, what's been going on with you this past month? What brought you to giving 'dancing' lessons?"
Vincent took a deep breath and then let it out and forced a smile on his face. He may as well try to keep the mood light. However, he decided to tread a little more carefully as he shrugged and went to the mirror across the way. He began to unpin the pins in his hair as he explained, "It's not just me. Abby's been helping as his dance partner but she's got a cold so I just stepped in for today."
"Oh! Well why didn't you say SHE was his dance partner?"
And though Vincent's back was turned and he couldn't see it, he could hear and feel Damien's demeanor easing down and becoming less tense. Thank God! He replied, "Because I didn't think it mattered? Anyway, I invited him to come to the ball because I thought it would be fun to have him there. Besides, there will be people he knows and it's a good opportunity. Plus, I was bored! You took TWO extra weeks to come back!"
"Yeah, but it was worth it. At least I had fun! I'm back now. That's what matters and things can go back to as they should be! Tell you what, why don't I come help out with Aiden's lessons? It would be fun! It would be easier to practice with another couple and you and I can dance together! How's that sound? We can practice for the ball!"
Vincent unwound his hair and let it fall across his shoulders; his hair falling forward across his brow and he stared at himself unhappily. And as he did, Damien suddenly appeared behind him, blocking his light and placing his hands around Vincent's upper arms. Vincent glanced off to the side though he felt Damien looming over him and pressing right up against his back and making him shrink and feel very small. Damien's eyes pierced the side of his head and his fingers dug in just the tiniest bit into his arms as he asked, "Don't you think that's a grand idea?"
"I do!" Vincent quickly lied as he plastered a smile on his face and glanced up at him up over his shoulder. Though, honestly, he wanted to crawl and hide for a while. While Damien was right that Aiden could practice better with another couple present for the quadrille, he didn't want to put them together right now. It seemed 4 weeks apart hadn't helped matters at all. "But he's already gotten so good that he won't need much more practice, I think. But if we do, I'll definitely be letting you know first."
Quickly, Vincent turned in place and pushed his long hair over his shoulder, "I'm tired of all this ball talk! Let's decide when we want to go flying!" He hoped Damien would allow himself to be distracted with plans and leave the rest of it alone. He just wanted to enjoy the rest of the day. And thankfully it seemed he was in luck!
Damien grinned and went to take his seat again all while going on a tangent about how eager he was for that. For now, it was best to let Damien enjoy that while he, Vincent, came down from whatever the fuck that argument had been about.
Vincent still wasn't sure what the core of Damien's actual problem was. It always felt like he was running in circles and never directly clarifying what upset him so much. Sometimes, Vincent wondered if even Damien knew. But it was as they parted ways much later in the evening, hours after the whole incident had even happened...that Damien finally started to hint what was really wrong.
"Tell me that you're not going to fall for Aiden."
"That's preposterous! Ha! What in the Hell has you thinking I'm going to fall for Aiden?!"
Vincent actually laughed at the idea! He shook his head as he leaned against the door jamb and folded his arms over his chest. And, if Damien was being honest with himself, Vincent sure did look surprised by this idea. Damien was standing before him in the hallway, peering back at Vincent with slightly narrowed eyes. He didn't want to go until he got that promise.
"Just....promise me you won't!"
"Pfft. Now you're just being ridiculous! Aiden? And 'me?' We're just friends! And crewmates...like you and me. Nothing's going to change, okay? Besides, I am absolutely sure Aiden doesn't see me as anything like that. Don't be a worry wart! You'll see! As soon as this damned masquerade is over with and we're back in the air, everything will be back to normal as it should be."
Vincent smirked and pushed on Damien's shoulder to nudge him to go home. The sooner Damien was gone, the sooner he could lock up and depart, himself. Thankfully, they were heading in opposite directions so he could finally get some peace and quiet.
It took a long moment, but Damien finally gave a satisfied nod and chuckle before responding, "I'm not a worry wart! Just call me a concerned best friend. I care about you. You know that."
"I do know. Be off with you! Get some rest! I'll see you in two days. Five o'clock at Leon's Claw. I'll make sure to get everything arranged ahead of time."
"See you then!"
And as soon as Damien's back was turned, Vincent ducked back into his office and slumped back against the door. Why the Hell was Damien so worried? Sure, Damien was never a person who enjoyed change but who ever truly did? Usually, the two worked very well together and got on well enough. They just needed to work through these few rough patches!
And besides, he was certain that whatever had Damien paranoid would soon pass because sooner or later he'd see that there was only friendship between Aiden and Vincent. It was absurd to think otherwise!
Absolutely...absurd.
---
NEXT PART:
www.flickr.com/photos/153660805@N05/53826223464/in/datepo...
To select another chapter (or even start from the beginning), here's the album link:
www.flickr.com/photos/153660805@N05/albums/72157717075565127
***Please note this is a BOY LOVE (LGBTQ+) series. It is a slow burn and is rated YOUNG ADULT!***
Special thank you to my husband Vin (Be My Mannequin? Pose Store) for collaborating with me on this series and co-starring as The Captain!
DISCORD SERVER: That's right! The Captain and the Engineer has a Discord Server! If you would like to join and chat with other crewmates and see what's new and happening before it gets posted to Flickr, click the link!
***NEW!!!!***
The Captain and the Engineer now has a FACEBOOK PAGE! Please come Like, Follow, and join the crew! Thank you so much for all your support!
FACEBOOK PAGE:
The last few photos I've posted were from "Beast of a Feast," an annual fundraising event at Elmwood Park Zoo.
The "feast" comes through samples offered by local restaurants, bakeries, and other food establishments. Each business sets up a booth. Some cook on the premises, while others bring their finished products to the zoo, ready to hand out.
Each guest purchases a ticket, and in return, may have unlimited samples. At least while the food supplies last!
The zoo also uses "Beast" as an opportunity for its education staff to shine. There are many chats about many species, as well as information about animal conservation.
I have more "Beast of a Feast" photos to post as Janice and I finish packing to move. Then, I'll be off the grid for a few days . . . until we get wifi in the new digs. Moving day will be Tuesday.
“Tracking the trackers: Gary Kovacs explains Mozilla Collusion” #data #privacy #opinions
It was said that data is the new oil [1]. The data mining industry is an annual US$39 billion business. Like it or not, data is being collected about you surf the web. The technology was not intended as evil, but as Internet citizens we have the right to know what data is being collected and how it might affect us.
During a recent TED Talk, Gary Kovacs, the CEO of the Mozilla Corporations, demonstrated Collusion, a free Firefox add-on which visualizes your browsing behavior in real time. [2, 3]
In the visualization: the blue dots are sites which you have visited, the red dots are third party sites which are tracking you, and the gray dots are tracking data which could not be identified.
In his demo, Gary showed that 25+ sites started tracking him by checking emails during breakfast. An even more alarming aspect of this was installing the addon on his 9 year-old daughter’s computer and visualizing what companies are tracking through her browsing kids’ sites.
What Gary showed is the tip of an iceberg. Through my own consulting gigs in New York, several multi-national corporations have demonstrated what their own tech can track—which goes far beyond what is thought to be humanly possible. A very alarming feat indeed.
Recommended.
1. Data is the new oil - Human Face of Big Data © Nigel Holmes 2012 www.flickr.com/photos/emcuki/8008798697/
2. TED: Gary Kovacs: Tracking the trackers: www.ted.com/talks/gary_kovacs_tracking_the_trackers.html
3. Mozilla: Collusion: discovers who is tracking you online: www.mozilla.org/en-US/collusion/
“Tracking the trackers: Gary Kovacs explains Mozilla Collusion” #data #privacy #opinions / SML.20130202.SC.Data.Privacy.Opinions
/ #SMLScreenshots #CCBY #SMLOpinions #SMLPublicMedia #SMLData #SML8BigData #SMLUniverse #SMLRec
/ #screenshots #Mozilla #GaryKovacs #bigdata data privacy opinions #technology #business #datamining #infovis #visualization #Firefox #addon #tools #security #IT #TED #internet #kids
I can't begin to explain how awesome that last two days exploring Roatan have been for photography. This poor little canoe sits quietly moored near the beach, completely unaware of the thrashing its about to receive.
Small local beachside village of Punta Gorda (Roatan), Honduras
Near one of the "comfort stations", also called "porta-johns, smelly toilets, Johnny-on-the-Spot, Here's Johnny," we came across a discussion between man and his best friend, or was it dog and biggest fan. The man spoke with a decidedly British accent and for all we knew, so did the canine. "It will only be a minute, mate. Surely, you understand that there are times when we humans need to relieve ourselves, old chap. You don't have the problem of having to do it in a sanctioned proper loo, out of sight of all but those in similar straits, understood. But try to see it from my perspective, not yours, Harvey," he pleaded to the unsympathetic Labrador, who was determined to stand his ground and not to be left unchaperoned. "I don't think he's in a mood to compromise," Ash said, startling the man, who was unaware of our presence, "But if it's alright with Harvey, and you of course, I'd be more than happy to hold his leash and pet him, while you....uh, well you know." "How frightfully kind of you. By the by my name's Nick and this handsome fellow is Harvey," he answered happily as he handed over the line and Harvey immediately jumped up to cuddle at Ashley's side. They took to each other instantly....it was a communication that seemed second nature to her with any dog. "Well, I needn't worry that you'll miss me, Harvey, so I'll take leave briefly," Nick said and then hurried toward relief.
When he returned, much relaxed, Nick told us that both he and Harvey were huge fans of Wee Jackie and were in the country to catch several of his races. "I hope he wins for Harvey today, and you too, of course," Ash wished for them. "Oh, he won't win today. Won't even finish. You see , his car just overheated not far from here and we watched the track crew tow it back to the pits. Jackie took it in stride though...always a gentleman...and rode with them in the lorry," Nick informed us. We talked a bit longer, Nick telling us about the way Peter Revson was passing car after car and had caught up with half the field, and his belief that Harvey had royal blood in his lineage, and was the descendant of Gelert, a canine owned by LLewellyn, the legendary king of ancient Wales. The leash was handed back by Ash and Harvey longingly looked back at her, as did she, when we walked away in opposite directions.
Banff, Alberta, Canada - July 7, 2022: Informational signs explaining the elk wildlife presence in the area of the Bow Valley Parkway
Here you can see that through the use of some interesting lift arms and a pneumatic piston, I can change the points quite easily.
There is actually a second piston and set up for the other half of the track that works in tandem, so the train can effectively change tracks regardless of the direction of travel.
from ift.tt/1NKysKI
Well, I survived my surgery.
Yay!
I got to the hospital on time & got checked in/taken to pre-op almost immediately. Of course I had to do the required pregnancy test.1
Eventually, a nurse2 came in to set-up an IV—she only stuck me once, thus allowing her to join my unofficial Hall of Fame—while my nurse3 reviewed my medical history, medications, allergies, and the results of the unnecessary pregnancy test.4 I praised Candi for her achievement and tried to interact with Danielle. I was more calm and relaxed once the IV56 was set up. Danielle said the change in my demeanor after the IV was very noticeable.7 She wasn’t really thrilled, at first, with my mom saying that she was there to mock me while my IV got set up, but my mom explained why she does that.8 But she didn’t need to.
One big fear down, a couple more to go.
The antibiotic they used was clindamycin. It’s amazing how my old acne medicine is one of the few antibiotics my atopy-prone body has not declared war on. I guess it’s because it’s not really used that often. Danielle said that typically they’ll give Keflex9 and, if the person is allergic, they’ll use penicillin.10 Or the other way around? Having a Keflex allergy while having a penicillin allergy isn’t exactly normal, despite their being related. It probably happened in me because of genetics11 and because my first antibiotic allergy was Ceclor, which is related to both Keflex & penicillin somehow. Anyway, Danielle made sure I was not allergic to clindamycin before they officially hooked it up.
When the anesthesiologist came in, he insinuated that I wasn’t allergic to the medicines I listed. That changed as I explained the reactions. Each person who reviewed my list, including him, did not understand why I listed my orange juice allergy12 under the section for food allergies. Hmm. I wonder why a person would list a food allergy as a food allergy.
Maybe because:
Oranges and other fruits contain proteins that are chemically similar to pollen; eating these can cause itching and irritation of the mouth in certain people, many of whom also happen to be allergic to pollen… (via Newsweek)
That article points out that orange juice allergies can be worse for asthmatics because of our already inflamed airways. There are also some who believe that orange juice allergies can be a result of salicylate (aspirin-relatives) allergies/sensitivities.13 Basically, this orange juice allergy stuff is serious as fuck.
But I digress…again.
Before taking me to the OR, I was given a dose or so of Versed, aka midazolam.14 In some people,15 there is an unexpected reaction16 and medical professionals can go into denial mode over it because it is pretty much the opposite of what the drug is meant for.
Eventually, I was rolled off to the OR. Special latex precautions were taken, which was expected, and was the reason my surgery took place at the hospital instead of an outpatient surgery facility. I think I was the last surgery on the schedule and there may have been a good reason. The anesthesiology team consisted of the anesthesiologists ans 2 nurse anesthetists—the 3 were monitoring me for allergic/adverse reactions. Seriously. The patient board in the OR also mentioned I had multiple allergy issues.17
Eventually, the sleepy-time doc gave me the propofol and I zonked out. My parents said the surgery took five minutes and that my orthopedist, who I saw one time today…before the surgery, said my meniscus and fat pad were fine, but that the debris in my patella was made of bone flakes and that I definitely have arthritis. He also said I need to start exercising and trying to lose weight. I got pissed when he said that because this particular doctor always dismisses that I do exercise. I told him with a previous injury that I was injured while exercising. I told him this issue became noticeable while exercising.
As for trying to lose weight?
I’ve lost around 27% of the weight I wanted to lose. I’ve lost 32% of what I need to lose to reach a healthy weight. I would have lost more if my knee hadn’t been fucked up since Spring. Being fat doesn’t mean I should be dismissed like this.
Pretending like all of this is due to weight and weight alone is also bullshit.18 I’m having a hard time believing that the meniscus and fat pad1920 are totally okay, given the symptoms. I just think he’s used this to tell me that he thinks poorly of me for my weight. And that’s pathetic and superficial crap. If he’d ever bothered to listen to me, he could have come to that conclusion on his own.
After surgery, I started talking like crazy21 to the nurses in the recovery section, including Danielle, who was literally keeping watch over me afterward. She got so busy talking to me that she almost forgot to give me a dose of Fentanyl.22 And she almost forgot once again with my Demerol dose. At first, I wondered if she wanted to give me the pain relief injections because she thought it would shut me up. It just made me worse. It wasn’t long before I was getting discharged; we did have to wait for a drug-induced23 vertigo spell to pass.
I also had the lovely experience of a different nurse doing a bad job of removing my IV. She was trying to take the tape off without tearing my skin. I would be grateful for that effort except that, while doing that, she ended up removing the catheter24 rather violently. It started bleeding. A lot. As I mentioned earlier on Instagram, removing an IV so violently is not only painful and dangerous to people with conditions like Ehlers-Danlos or any other chronic health issues, it is painful and dangerous for able-bodied, healthy folks, too. And if you factor in the time it takes to stop the bleeding, taking it out that way costs you more time. Be careful with IVs.
Soooo…
As you have probably figured out, the IV bleeding finally stopped & it didn’t kill me. Yay!
Anyway, it’s been several hours since I got home. I’m still pretty wired and may be so for several days to come.
I chose to avoid going to the bathroom upon waking to make sure I could take the test. If I hadn’t, they might have refused to do the surgery. They almost refused my endoscopy-colonoscopy procedures a few years ago because I didn’t have enough urine to take the test. Part of that lack of pee was from the dehydration that resulted from prep. ↩
Candi ↩
Danielle ↩
Danielle apologized for that multiple times, especially since she knew I was taking hormonal birth control. It’s funny how the nurses who wanted dehydrated, virginal me to take the pregnancy test a few years ago for my endoscopy-colonoscopy combo didn’t apologize for demanding the test. The one who did when I had my D&C and hysteroscopy did. ↩
Candi gave me lidocaine to ease some pain, which isn’t the greatest to use in Ehlers-Danlos patients. ↩
The IV itaelf was quite painful. ↩
She understood what it was like to be a hard stick. The last time she had an IV, it took ten times. I almost asked her if she was some long-lost cousin. ↩
I’ve repeatedly mentioned the hard stick issue. I used to, as a small child, get blood work done a lot and had IVs started, and there were always vein issues—including when, as a preschooler, I had blood work done using a vein in my foot. I also was admitted to the hospital for asthma issues and the nurses setting up my IV wouldn’t let my mom come in while they did it. I kicked and screamed and cried and they just were mocking and not compassionate. I remember that as one of the few truly dissociative moments I’ve ever experienced. As a result, I was terrified of needles until I was a teenager. My mom—who I get my bad veins from, so she’s got an idea of how terrifying and painful vein stuff can be—could keep me calm by telling jokes. The calmer I was, the easier it was to hit the veins. It’s amazing how that works. ↩
My latest antibiotic allergy. ↩
It was my fourth antibiotic allergy. ↩
Thanks, Nana & Mama. They had allergies to antibiotics, pain killers, and anesthetics, too. ↩
I vomit, have uncontrollable stomach pains, and have asthma flare ups whenever I ingest it. This even happens when it’s an ingredient in a dish. I have to check ingredient lists closely for it & caffeine, or related products. ↩
Guess what over the counter pain medication Nana has an anaphylactic reaction to when she takes it?! Even in the form of cream for arthritic joints. ↩
Midazolam is a benzodiazepine that is used in lethal injections to calm the convicted individual so they don’t panic as they are exposed to other drugs that stop their hearts or suppress their breathing. ↩
Children, some death row inmates who were executed in the recent past, and me… ↩
They don’t fall asleep or stay asleep; hyperactivity & its short-term sedative effect is actually well-documented. ↩
There were also my bright protocol bracelets. ↩
Yes, my weight contributes. That’s part of why I was trying to exercise. ↩
He’s never acknowledged that the MRI wasn’t the “nothing is wrong here” situation he has suggested. Maybe he doesn’t realize I’ve seen the results. ↩
It was swollen enough yesterday that there was a lump right over it. ↩
I think if I ever imbibed, I would be a chatty drunk. More specifically, a chatty, giggly drunk. Alas, I shall never know, unless you count my drunk-like state when dehydrated and my intoxicated state on anesthetics and pain killers. , booze, I think we could have had some fun, bur jt apparently wasn’t meant to be. ↩
She told me I’d already had two other doses of it. ↩
There were quite a few meds in my system. ↩
The tubing that goes under the skin & into the vein that connects it to the IV. ↩
Related Posts:
Bad Blood (Vessels) June 22, 2015
Anaphylaxis and You April 17, 2015
Get A Location on That July 4, 2015
“Unspecified” Knee Pain October 2, 2015
Something Stitch-ed This Way Comes December 2, 2015
278|365 As a kid, the tooth fairy would drop off cash when I lost a tooth. Now, as an adult, it costs money to have them removed, and way more than I ever earned as a kid.
His words, copied from a post on social media....
"This is the floor of a formerly underground sandstone cave that was exhumed and eroded away including the ceiling and walls. The sandstone has various dissolution textures (vertical pipes, polished surface, lots of eroded fracture sets) than can only happen by groundwater. It’s a very unique rock and unlike the weathering textures seen in sea or ice caves. There’s more of this a few other places. I like this spot the best."
Photo citation: Ted Auch, FracTracker Alliance, 2021.
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Never explain yourself, Your real friends don't need it, & your enemies won't believe it.. #Good_Morning 💙
This image is part of explaining how f stops work going from 1.4 to f16. You will get a feel for how the image is effected.
My second stay at this hotel. Anxious for my third. As I left, I was given a paper explaining the 522 year history of the hotel. I scanned it and corrected most typos. Here it is:
522 years of the Radisson SAS Schwarzer Bock Hotel
Martin Luther, the Christian reformist, was only three years old and America had not even been discovered by Christopher Columbus when the "Hotel Schwarzer Bock" (black goat hotel) in Wiesbaden was founded in the year 1486. The hotel is the oldest business in the city of Wiesbaden.
1800 years ago the Romans had their settlement, Aquae Mattiacorum, in the quarter where the health springs are located, stretching along the Langgasse from the Kranzplatz to the Mauritiusplatz. The Langgasse and the Kirchgasse are ancient Roman roads and the historical Roman bath system is still concealed under the Kranzplatz. Nowadays the curators of monuments regret that a lot of modern buildings have been constructed over these elegant baths.
Roman gravestones and bricks were also discovered during construction work in the cellar of the Hotel Schwarzer Bock. Ruins of a Hypocaustum, a Roman floor heating system, were unearthed as well.
The Romans were wise enough to make use of the hot springs, but in the times that followed during the conflicts between the Alemannic and the Frankish tribes in the 3rd century A.D., much was destroyed and partly forgotten. The luxurious bathing customs of the Romans cannot be compared to those of the Middle Ages. Life in the Roman baths took place on an entirely different level, while over 1000 years later landlords prepared hot baths from the spring water for their guests in order to earn a small extra income.
In those days, all the tiny houses around the Kranzplatz were probably very similar to each other in their appearance: One storey high and half-timbered, with gables, a yard, livestock,and gardens. The figure 1486, the earliest date the "Hotel Schwarzer Bock" is mentioned, is inscribed in the door of the bar in today's Radisson SAS Schwarzer Bock Hotel. Wiesbaden's bathhouses however were mentioned already in the 14th century.
And how did the "Schwarzer Bock Hotel" get its name?
We want to avoid being too scientific, since the ingenious vernacular of the common people is usually correct in such cases: The first proprietor of the bathhouse was the mayor Phillip zu Bock. Because he had black hair, his house was referred to as the "Schwarzer Bock". In 1486, the year of its founding, Wiesbaden had a population of 36 citizens.
It was customary at that time to name the houses after their owners. Only since 1450 the landlords used so-called inn-signs carrying the appropriate emblem. Thus the "Schwarzer Bock" had a sign hanging over the street showing the head of a black goat.
Other bathhouses had eagles, stags, swans, lions, and the like on their signboards. Otherwise little is known of the bathhouses in Wiesbaden in those days.
Chronological point of-reference: At this time the Turks besieged Vienna.
In the 16th century the small town of Wiesbaden suffered great damage by fires which also destroyed the "Hotel Schwarzer Bock". It is mentioned in historical documents that Hermann Burg rebuilt the house in 1578. Then the Thirty Years' War came; during that time imperial troops as well as Swedes, French, and Spaniards passed through Wiesbaden and the officers were accommodated in the bathhouses. The "Schwarzer Bock Hotel" was a special favourite for the billeting of soldiers. Plundering, murder and incendiarism were the order of the day.
At the end of the war there were no more than 51 citizens in the small town of Wiesbaden. It is hard to imagine the poverty in those days.
For a long time thereafter, the surviving inhabitants were unable to recover from the terrors of the war. The properties lay vacant, bathhouses were no longer required; who of the 51 people should be interested in bathing? And foreigners were no longer coming to visit anyway. Not until Count Johann restored the "Schwarzer Bock Hotel" along with other houses. But it was not until the year 1662 that we learn of the "Schwarzer Bock Hotel" being in operation once again: It had even been provided with two baths for the public.
Chronological point of reference: At this time the English were buying New Amsterdam from the Dutch and renaming it New York.
Ten years later Wiesbaden had once again to suffer, this time under the movements of the French troops of Louis XIV. Because of this, Count Johannes was constantly concerned about the welfare of his possessions. The town was fortified with trenches, towers, and gates. When he died in 1677 the worst ravages of the Thirty Years War had been set to rights, and the Hotel Schwarzer Bock is found in the list of bathhouses.
The Hotel Schwarzer Bock was redecorated in 1712 and in the same year it was enlarged by the acquisition of a pub named Rindsfuss (cattle foot), next door facing the Spiegelgasse. The "Hotel Schwarzer Bock" flourished and in 1736 got awarded for the designation "Bathhouse of the first order." The hot spring supplied water for 8 houses. This also meant that the proprietors had to reach an agreement in all questions of organisation. This was mainly attended by the landlord of the "Hotel Rose" and the "Hotel Schwarzer Bock", Johann Phillip Schramm. The 8 bath house owners who had the rights to use the water began in 1726 to elect two masters of the spring who were in charge of the supervision, repair and cleaning of the hot spring.
The spring water was not only used for supplying water to the baths, but was also very often sold off to Mainz, Frankfurt and other cities. The hot spring water (149°F/65°C) was filled into double walled barrels, sent off in the afternoon on wagons, and arrived the next morning at its destination at the right temperature.
Johann Phillip Schramm, the owner of the Hotel Schwarzer Bock installed a bath for horses to make his house profitable. This was an attraction for the small town.
Here it becomes necessary to mention that in 1730 Reverend Hellmund wanted to connect his paupers’ bath to the hot spring. The 8 bath house proprietors refused him, whereupon he lodged a bitter complaint, because the thermal spring was used for horses.
After Schramm had died in 1749 the Hotel Schwarzer Bock passed into the hands of the surgeon and hospital supervisor Johann Daniel Freinsheim. His widow continued running the bath house until 1779. As a result of the following division of the inheritance house and inventory were rated of the town councillor, and this list gives exactly information concerning the furnishings and facilities of the bathhouse.
At the same time elsewhere in the world: Czar Peter the Great was ruling Russia, the French Revolution, USA gained independence. Birth of Napoleon. Wiesbaden was now one of the most elegant tourist attractions of Europe.
In writing up their marriage contracts, ladies of Frankfurt reserved the rights to take the water at Wiesbaden once a year - without their husbands, of course.
The Freinsheims do not appear to have managed the house for a very long time, for it was taken over at the end of the century by the owner of the bathhouse Spiegel (mirror), Ferdinand Daniel Bergmann. He closed down the horse bath and expanded his property and procured additional income through the sale of colonial products, wine, and the profits of a company employing a horse drawn carriage.
Each bath house proprietor retained his individual economic resources. Not only that there was fowl fluttering around the large yard, there were also pigs, cows, and horses in the stables. Only gradually the custom of bathing became important. And for a long time there were complaints that the baths were not up to the standards of the time.
Proprietor Bergmann passed away in 1818, after having achieved a dignified level of prosperity. His widow continued to run the enterprise for further 4 years and then relinquished it to her son-in-Iaw Christian Bauer. In addition to the bathhouse, Bauer also maintained the post office and a wine tavern. Here we see that the sale of wine always played an important part, which is not surprising considering the proximity of the Rhine wine growing district. Following the advice of the government of Nassau he rebuilt the horse bath with room for 2 horses.
At the same time elsewhere in the world: At this time the emperor Napoleon was
conducting wars in an attempt to gain power over Europe.
In 1834 the "Hotel Schwarzer Bock" was sold to the Rudolphs, a married couple, who passed the bath house to their daughters in 1860/61. In the meantime the house had grown to 47 rooms and was capable of providing 50 baths daily. The guests in the bathhouse were supplied only with lodging and baths. They were responsible for their own victuals and had to cook their meals on the stoves in their rooms.
At the same time elsewhere in the world: Japan decided to open itself to the west, the term socialism appeared for the first time. In 1840 the first railway connected Frankfurt and Wiesbaden.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was one of the most famous guests in the "Schwarzer Bock Hotel" who composed the following lines: "The primary duty of every bather - is not to sit and think but rather - to bend to a higher purpose his wit/and make a merry life of it". The popular writer Dostojewski wrote his novel 'The gambler"- the casino is right around the corner.
In 1865 the ownership of the "Hotel Schwarzer Bock" was transferred to the merchant Theodor August Schäfer, who had presumably married one of Rudolph's daughters. The address book of the year shows Rudolph as the owner and Schäfer as the landlord of the baths.
In 1899 Schäfer acquired in addition the pub "Zur goldenen Kette" (golden chain) next door in the Langgasse.
All the bathhouses grouped around the Kranzplatz were of considerable age and were hardly able to meet the demands. Schäfer, too, was aware of this. So the bathhouses got replaced with a modern new building just before the First World War.
Once the "Zur goldenen Kette" had merged with the "Hotel Schwarzer Bock", the grounds of the "Schwarzer Bock bathhouse" were discovered to contain all the hot springs, and the owners considered about them being unified into a single spring and redefining it. This way they wanted to simplify the prevailing terms of possession and shares, and to effect an improvement in the hygienic conditions.
A proposal relating to this was approved by the town council. The city built the facilities and the cost was divided proportionally among the owners of the bathhouses. The new joint spring received the name "Drei Lilien Quelle" (spring of the three lilies) based on the three lilies found in the Wiesbaden coat of arms.
The new facilities were completed in 1906.
Untouched by world history, Wiesbaden was now a city of European format and an internationally cure city. The "Hotel Schwarzer Bock" now had baths with electric light, lifts, and 220 beds-room rate: 5 Mark (2,50 Euro). The Schäfer family continued to improve the house in the following years. In 1911/12 the roof was enlarged.
In 1927 the emblem of the black goat appeared for the first time on the letterhead of the hotel stationery. In 1929 the Hotel Schwarzer Bock had 260 rooms, all with running water and still for the price of only 5 Mark (2,50 Euro). Baths on the upper floors were built in addition to those on the ground floor.
Then the Second World War came along with bombs and occupation. In 1951 Karl Heinz Schäfer's damaged hotel was returned back to him. Bombs had destroyed the upper floors. The façade remained largely intact, but certain alterations were carried out which now give the house a much more sober look. The projections around the windows disappeared, as well as many other pretty decorations. The roof was completely restructured. On two floors in the Langgasse we can still see the magnificent old facades.
After the end of the Second World War the Americans occupied the hotel for another 12 years and left it in a sad state of repair. And once again it was necessary to make plans. In the autumn of 1957 the renovation work was completed and the family Schäfer was able to present a new, modern "Hotel Schwarzer Bock".
Nowadays you can still find old parts of the Roman foundations from the 3rd century in the cellar and the historical cellar door with the date 1486 inscribed, is today the entry to our Bar 1486.
In 1987 the family Schäfer sold the hotel. New proprietor was Winfried D.E. Völcker. He introduced the "Hotel Schwarzer Bock" as the first German hotel in the Association of Distinguished Hotels of the World, whose most famous member is the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok. Völcker had tried to preserve the European and German traditions in spite of all its undeniable risks. But Wiesbaden had been a well-known city within Europe since 1834 and became "Weltkurstadt" ("World Destination for Treatments and Cure") in 1852.
In 1995 Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts (now Rezidor SAS Hospitality) with headquarters in Brussels took over the management of the hotel and many issues have been solved since then. The oldest hotel in Germany that has received a certificate of the German Hotel Association, rating the hotel officially as a five star hotel, had been renovated for more than 20 million Deutsche Mark (approx. 10,2 million Euro). All 142 guest rooms offer air conditioning, ISDN telephones, modem connections, free WiFi, and marble bathrooms. The traditional bath house is still an attraction for young and elder people, seeking relaxation and well-being. The restaurant "Capricorne" spoils the guests with regional and international dishes, served in an exceptional atmosphere. Tradition blends with modern arts. The flair of the "Ingelheimer Zimmer" - the event room for special occasions - is created by precious wooden carvings from the 16th century.
More information to be obtained from:
Radisson SAS Schwarzer Bock Hotel, Wiesbaden
Mr. Christian Hoffmann - Director of Sales & Marketing
Phone: +49 611 155 3610
E-Mail: christian.hoffmann@radissonsas.com
Stained glass Masonic Square and Compasses hang at the foot of my bed.
Masonic Square and Compasses.
The Square and Compasses (or, more correctly, a square and a set of compasses joined together) is the single most identifiable symbol of Freemasonry. Both the square and compasses are architect's tools and are used in Masonic ritual as emblems to teach symbolic lessons. Some Lodges and rituals explain these symbols as lessons in conduct: for example, Duncan's Masonic Monitor of 1866 explains them as: "The square, to square our actions; The compasses, to circumscribe and keep us within bounds with all mankind".
However, as Freemasonry is non-dogmatic, there is no general interpretation for these symbols (or any Masonic symbol) that is used by Freemasonry as a whole.
Square and Compasses:
Source: Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry
These two symbols have been so long and so universally combined — to teach us, as says an early instruction, "to square our actions and to keep them within due bounds," they are so seldom seen apart, but are so kept together, either as two Great Lights, or as a jewel worn once by the Master of the Lodge, now by the Past Master—that they have come at last to be recognized as the proper badge of a Master Mason, just as the Triple Tau is of a Royal Arch Mason or the Passion Cross of a Knight Templar.
So universally has this symbol been recognized, even by the profane world, as the peculiar characteristic of Freemasonry, that it has recently been made in the United States the subject of a legal decision. A manufacturer of flour having made, in 1873, an application to the Patent Office for permission to adopt the Square and Compasses as a trade-mark, the Commissioner of Patents, .J. M. Thatcher, refused the permission as the mark was a Masonic symbol.
If this emblem were something other than precisely what it is—either less known", less significant, or fully and universally understood—all this might readily be admitted. But, Considering its peculiar character and relation to the public, an anomalous question is presented. There can be no doubt that this device, so commonly worn and employed by Masons, has an established mystic significance, universally recognized as existing; whether comprehended by all or not, is not material to this issue. In view of the magnitude and extent of the Masonic organization, it is impossible to divest its symbols, or at least this particular symbol—perhaps the best known of all—of its ordinary signification, wherever displaced, either as an arbitrary character or otherwise.
It will be universally understood, or misunderstood, as having a Masonic significance; and, therefore, as a trade-mark, must constantly work deception. Nothing could be more mischievous than to create as a monopoly, and uphold by the poser of lacy anything so calculated. as applied to purposes of trade. to be misinterpreted, to mislead all classes, and to constantly foster suggestions of mystery in affairs of business (see Infringing upon Freemasonry, also Imitative Societies, and Clandestine).
In a religious work by John Davies, entitled Summa Totalis, or All in All and the Same Forever, printed in 1607, we find an allusion to the Square and Compasses by a profane in a really Masonic sense. The author, who proposes to describe mystically the form of the Deity, says in his dedication:
Yet I this forme of formelesse Deity,
Drewe by the Squire and Compasse of our Creed.
In Masonic symbolism the Square and Compasses refer to the Freemason's duty to the Craft and to himself; hence it is properly a symbol of brotherhood, and there significantly adopted as the badge or token of the Fraternity.
Berage, in his work on the higher Degrees, Les plus secrets Mystéres des Hauts Grades, or The Most Secret Mysteries of the High Grades, gives a new interpretation to the symbol. He says: "The Square and the Compasses represent the union of the Old and New Testaments. None of the high Degrees recognize this interpretation, although their symbolism of the two implements differs somewhat from that of Symbolic Freemasonry.
The Square is with them peculiarly appropriated to the lower Degrees, as founded on the Operative Art; while the Compasses, as an implement of higher character and uses, is attributed to the Decrees, which claim to have a more elevated and philosophical foundation. Thus they speak of the initiate, when he passes from the Blue Lodge to the Lodge of Perfection, as 'passing from the Square to the Compasses,' to indicate a progressive elevation in his studies. Yet even in the high Degrees, the square and compasses combined retain their primitive signification as a symbol of brotherhood and as a badge of the Order."
Square and Compass:
Source: The Builder October 1916
By Bro. B. C. Ward, Iowa
Worshipful Master and Brethren: Let us behold the glorious beauty that lies hidden beneath the symbolism of the Square and Compass; and first as to the Square. Geometry, the first and noblest of the sciences, is the basis on which the superstructure of Masonry has been erected. As you know, the word "Geometry" is derived from two Greek words which mean "to measure the earth," so that Geometry originated in measurement; and in those early days, when land first began to be measured, the Square, being a right angle, was the instrument used, so that in time the Square began to symbolize the Earth. And later it began to symbolize, Masonically, the earthly-in man, that is man's lower nature, and still later it began to symbolize man's duty in his earthly relations, or his moral obligations to his Fellowmen. The symbolism of the Square is as ancient as the Pyramids. The Egyptians used it in building the Pyramids. The base of every pyramid is a perfect square, and to the Egyptians the Square was their highest and most sacred emblem. Even the Chinese many, many centuries ago used the Square to represent Good, and Confucius in his writings speaks of the Square to represent a Just man.
As Masons we have adopted the 47th Problem of Euclid as the rule by which to determine or prove a perfect Square. Many of us remember with what interest we solved that problem in our school days. The Square has become our most significant Emblem. It rests upon the open Bible on this altar; it is one of the three great Lights; and it is the chief ornament of the Worshipful Master. There is a good reason why this distinction has been conferred upon the Square. There can be nothing truer than a perfect Square--a right angle. Hence the Square has become an emblem of Perfection.
Now a few words as to the Compass: Astronomy was the second great science promulgated among men. In the process of Man's evolution there came a time when he began to look up to the stars and wonder at the vaulted Heavens above him. When he began to study the stars, he found that the Square was not adapted to the measurement of the Heavens. He must have circular measure; he needed to draw a circle from a central point, and so the Compass was employed. By the use of the Compass man began to study the starry Heavens, and as the Square primarily symbolized the Earth, the Compass began to symbolize the Heavens, the celestial canopy, the study of which has led men to think of God, and adore Him as the Supreme Architect of the Universe. In later times the Compass began to symbolize the spiritual or higher nature of man, and it is a significant fact that the circumference of a circle, which is a line without end, has become an emblem of Eternity and symbolizes Divinity; so the Compass, and the circle drawn by the Compass, both point men Heavenward and Godward.
The Masonic teaching concerning the two points of the Compass is very interesting and instructive. The novitiate in Masonry, as he kneels at this altar, and asks for Light sees the Square, which symbolizes his lower nature, he may well note the position of the Compass. As he takes another step, and asks for more Light, the position of the Compass is changed somewhat, symbolizing that his spiritual nature can, in some measure, overcome his evil tendencies. As he takes another step in Masonry, and asks for further Light, and hears the significant words, "and God said let there be Light, and there was Light," he sees the Compass in new light; and for the first time he sees the meaning, thus unmistakably alluding to the sacred and eternal truth that as the Heavens are higher than the Earth, so the spiritual is higher than the material, and the spiritual in man must have its proper place, and should be above his lower nature, and dominate all his thoughts and actions. That eminent Philosopher, Edmund Burke, once said, "It is ordained that men of intemperate passions cannot be free. Their passions forge the chains which bind them, and make them slaves." Burke was right. Masonry, through the beautiful symbolism of the Compass, tells us how we can be free men, by permitting the spiritual within us to overcome our evil tendencies, and dominate all our thoughts and actions. Brethren, sometimes in the silent quiet hour, as we think of this conflict between our lower and higher natures, we sometimes say in the words of another, "Show me the way and let me bravely climb to where all conflicts with the flesh shall cease. Show me that way. Show me the way up to a higher plane where my body shall be servant of my Soul. Show me that way."
Brethren, if that prayer expresses desire of our hearts, let us take heed to the beautiful teachings of the Compass, which silently and persistently tells each one of us,
"You should not in the valley stay
While the great horizons stretch away
The very cliffs that wall you round
Are ladders up to higher ground.
And Heaven draws near as you ascend,
The Breeze invites, the Stars befriend.
All things are beckoning to the Best,
Then climb toward God and find sweet Rest.”
The secrets of Freemasonry are concerned with its traditional modes of recognition. It is not a secret society, since all members are free to acknowledge their membership and will do so in response to enquiries for respectable reasons. Its constitutions and rules are available to the public. There is no secret about any of its aims and principles. Like many other societies, it regards some of its internal affairs as private matters for its members. In history there have been times and places where promoting equality, freedom of thought or liberty of conscience was dangerous. Most importantly though is a question of perspective. Each aspect of the craft has a meaning. Freemasonry has been described as a system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols. Such characteristics as virtue, honour and mercy, such virtues as temperance, fortitude, prudence and justice are empty clichés and hollow words unless presented within an ordered and closed framework. The lessons are not secret but the presentation is kept private to promote a clearer understanding in good time. It is also possible to view Masonic secrecy not as secrecy in and of itself, but rather as a symbol of privacy and discretion. By not revealing Masonic secrets, or acknowledging the many published exposures, freemasons demonstrate that they are men of discretion, worthy of confidences, and that they place a high value on their word and bond.
Masonic Square and Compasses.
The Square and Compasses (or, more correctly, a square and a set of compasses joined together) is the single most identifiable symbol of Freemasonry. Both the square and compasses are architect's tools and are used in Masonic ritual as emblems to teach symbolic lessons. Some Lodges and rituals explain these symbols as lessons in conduct: for example, Duncan's Masonic Monitor of 1866 explains them as: "The square, to square our actions; The compasses, to circumscribe and keep us within bounds with all mankind".
However, as Freemasonry is non-dogmatic, there is no general interpretation for these symbols (or any Masonic symbol) that is used by Freemasonry as a whole.
Square and Compasses:
Source: Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry
These two symbols have been so long and so universally combined — to teach us, as says an early instruction, "to square our actions and to keep them within due bounds," they are so seldom seen apart, but are so kept together, either as two Great Lights, or as a jewel worn once by the Master of the Lodge, now by the Past Master—that they have come at last to be recognized as the proper badge of a Master Mason, just as the Triple Tau is of a Royal Arch Mason or the Passion Cross of a Knight Templar.
So universally has this symbol been recognized, even by the profane world, as the peculiar characteristic of Freemasonry, that it has recently been made in the United States the subject of a legal decision. A manufacturer of flour having made, in 1873, an application to the Patent Office for permission to adopt the Square and Compasses as a trade-mark, the Commissioner of Patents, .J. M. Thatcher, refused the permission as the mark was a Masonic symbol.
If this emblem were something other than precisely what it is—either less known", less significant, or fully and universally understood—all this might readily be admitted. But, Considering its peculiar character and relation to the public, an anomalous question is presented. There can be no doubt that this device, so commonly worn and employed by Masons, has an established mystic significance, universally recognized as existing; whether comprehended by all or not, is not material to this issue. In view of the magnitude and extent of the Masonic organization, it is impossible to divest its symbols, or at least this particular symbol—perhaps the best known of all—of its ordinary signification, wherever displaced, either as an arbitrary character or otherwise.
It will be universally understood, or misunderstood, as having a Masonic significance; and, therefore, as a trade-mark, must constantly work deception. Nothing could be more mischievous than to create as a monopoly, and uphold by the poser of lacy anything so calculated. as applied to purposes of trade. to be misinterpreted, to mislead all classes, and to constantly foster suggestions of mystery in affairs of business (see Infringing upon Freemasonry, also Imitative Societies, and Clandestine).
In a religious work by John Davies, entitled Summa Totalis, or All in All and the Same Forever, printed in 1607, we find an allusion to the Square and Compasses by a profane in a really Masonic sense. The author, who proposes to describe mystically the form of the Deity, says in his dedication:
Yet I this forme of formelesse Deity,
Drewe by the Squire and Compasse of our Creed.
In Masonic symbolism the Square and Compasses refer to the Freemason's duty to the Craft and to himself; hence it is properly a symbol of brotherhood, and there significantly adopted as the badge or token of the Fraternity.
Berage, in his work on the higher Degrees, Les plus secrets Mystéres des Hauts Grades, or The Most Secret Mysteries of the High Grades, gives a new interpretation to the symbol. He says: "The Square and the Compasses represent the union of the Old and New Testaments. None of the high Degrees recognize this interpretation, although their symbolism of the two implements differs somewhat from that of Symbolic Freemasonry.
The Square is with them peculiarly appropriated to the lower Degrees, as founded on the Operative Art; while the Compasses, as an implement of higher character and uses, is attributed to the Decrees, which claim to have a more elevated and philosophical foundation. Thus they speak of the initiate, when he passes from the Blue Lodge to the Lodge of Perfection, as 'passing from the Square to the Compasses,' to indicate a progressive elevation in his studies. Yet even in the high Degrees, the square and compasses combined retain their primitive signification as a symbol of brotherhood and as a badge of the Order."
Square and Compass:
Source: The Builder October 1916
By Bro. B. C. Ward, Iowa
Worshipful Master and Brethren: Let us behold the glorious beauty that lies hidden beneath the symbolism of the Square and Compass; and first as to the Square. Geometry, the first and noblest of the sciences, is the basis on which the superstructure of Masonry has been erected. As you know, the word "Geometry" is derived from two Greek words which mean "to measure the earth," so that Geometry originated in measurement; and in those early days, when land first began to be measured, the Square, being a right angle, was the instrument used, so that in time the Square began to symbolize the Earth. And later it began to symbolize, Masonically, the earthly-in man, that is man's lower nature, and still later it began to symbolize man's duty in his earthly relations, or his moral obligations to his Fellowmen. The symbolism of the Square is as ancient as the Pyramids. The Egyptians used it in building the Pyramids. The base of every pyramid is a perfect square, and to the Egyptians the Square was their highest and most sacred emblem. Even the Chinese many, many centuries ago used the Square to represent Good, and Confucius in his writings speaks of the Square to represent a Just man.
As Masons we have adopted the 47th Problem of Euclid as the rule by which to determine or prove a perfect Square. Many of us remember with what interest we solved that problem in our school days. The Square has become our most significant Emblem. It rests upon the open Bible on this altar; it is one of the three great Lights; and it is the chief ornament of the Worshipful Master. There is a good reason why this distinction has been conferred upon the Square. There can be nothing truer than a perfect Square--a right angle. Hence the Square has become an emblem of Perfection.
Now a few words as to the Compass: Astronomy was the second great science promulgated among men. In the process of Man's evolution there came a time when he began to look up to the stars and wonder at the vaulted Heavens above him. When he began to study the stars, he found that the Square was not adapted to the measurement of the Heavens. He must have circular measure; he needed to draw a circle from a central point, and so the Compass was employed. By the use of the Compass man began to study the starry Heavens, and as the Square primarily symbolized the Earth, the Compass began to symbolize the Heavens, the celestial canopy, the study of which has led men to think of God, and adore Him as the Supreme Architect of the Universe. In later times the Compass began to symbolize the spiritual or higher nature of man, and it is a significant fact that the circumference of a circle, which is a line without end, has become an emblem of Eternity and symbolizes Divinity; so the Compass, and the circle drawn by the Compass, both point men Heavenward and Godward.
The Masonic teaching concerning the two points of the Compass is very interesting and instructive. The novitiate in Masonry, as he kneels at this altar, and asks for Light sees the Square, which symbolizes his lower nature, he may well note the position of the Compass. As he takes another step, and asks for more Light, the position of the Compass is changed somewhat, symbolizing that his spiritual nature can, in some measure, overcome his evil tendencies. As he takes another step in Masonry, and asks for further Light, and hears the significant words, "and God said let there be Light, and there was Light," he sees the Compass in new light; and for the first time he sees the meaning, thus unmistakably alluding to the sacred and eternal truth that as the Heavens are higher than the Earth, so the spiritual is higher than the material, and the spiritual in man must have its proper place, and should be above his lower nature, and dominate all his thoughts and actions. That eminent Philosopher, Edmund Burke, once said, "It is ordained that men of intemperate passions cannot be free. Their passions forge the chains which bind them, and make them slaves." Burke was right. Masonry, through the beautiful symbolism of the Compass, tells us how we can be free men, by permitting the spiritual within us to overcome our evil tendencies, and dominate all our thoughts and actions. Brethren, sometimes in the silent quiet hour, as we think of this conflict between our lower and higher natures, we sometimes say in the words of another, "Show me the way and let me bravely climb to where all conflicts with the flesh shall cease. Show me that way. Show me the way up to a higher plane where my body shall be servant of my Soul. Show me that way."
Brethren, if that prayer expresses desire of our hearts, let us take heed to the beautiful teachings of the Compass, which silently and persistently tells each one of us,
"You should not in the valley stay
While the great horizons stretch away
The very cliffs that wall you round
Are ladders up to higher ground.
And Heaven draws near as you ascend,
The Breeze invites, the Stars befriend.
All things are beckoning to the Best,
Then climb toward God and find sweet Rest."
I absolutely adore this gorgeous Man and how he keeps his cool when he is trying to explain exactly how these contraptions work. For a dizzy blonde, I am finding it quite hard to take in but absolutely loving his passion ❤️
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
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
SHODASI : SECRETS OF THE RAMAYANA
Kundalini Yoga & Gayathri Mantra in Valmiki Ramayana
ENGLISH HINDI AND TELUGU ORIGINAL
AUTHOR : SESHENDRA SHARMA
Seshendra : Visionary Poet of the Millennium
REVIEWS :
Books :
kinige.com/author/Gunturu+Seshendra+Sharma
Valmiki , The Sage of 5th century B.C wrote The Ramayana not to narrate the story of Rama in an absorbing style. Though the epic poem presents Rama’s Journey of life in enchanting poetry , the story and the enchanting poetry are sugar coating or honey to the organic medicine called Kundalini Yoga. Maharshi Valmiki wrote the Ramayana to spread / propagate Kundalini Yoga among the masses. Thus the soul of The Ramayana is Kundalini Yoga / Sri Vidya. Valmiki embedded Kundalini Yoga in the Chapter titled “ Sundara Kanda” . Hanuman and Ravana are Kundalini Yogis of Samaya and Kaula Paths.
And in Sundara Kanda , he inserted “ Trijata Swapna “ , dream sequence of a demon and in it embedded the Gayathri Mantra. The concepts of Vishnu and Avatar (reincarnation) were nonexistent during the Ramayana Period.
Seshendra Sharma , Scholar - Poet in his Magnum Opus of Research “ Shodasi : Secrets of The Ramayana “ reveals these secrets lying hidden for thousands of years .
* * * * *
How old is Valmiki Ramayana? One Calculation says 8 lacks 70 thousand Years. Going by the Christian calendar dating to approximately the 5th to 4th century BC. According to Indian classification of time Ramayana belongs to the Treta Yuga and today we are in the Kali Yuga. All these millions of years the human civilisation the world over, recognised it as the first poetry and in this part of the world i.e. the Indian Subcontinent the central character of the epic is present as an idol of worship in thousands of temples and in every household of believers.
But here is a research work which says Ramayana is merely poetry to the naked eye whereas it is an ensemble of invisible secrets which have been lying unnoticed all these ages.
What could have been the Valmiki Maharshi’s vision which made him chisel an epic poem which is pregnant with startling secrets?
Shodasi : Secrets of the Ramayana , a Magnum Opus comprising both revelations and research findings written in Telugu 47 Years ago is translated into English by Dr. G.S.Murthy , a 86 year old physicist (Retrd) from BARC. Dr. Murthy observes about Shodasi that “the approach adopted by Seshendra Sharma is unprecedented. .. His conclusion that Ramayana is closer to Sruthi than any other scripture is very significant and is based on the intrinsic evidence in the Ramayana itself.... it is a revolt against the customary methods followed to understand the status of Ramayana in the Sanskrit Literature.”
The fulcrum of Shodasi is that poetry in Ramayana is a supplement to the bitter medicine called “Kundalini Yoga” and Ramayana is divine Ambrosia for all mundane afflictions and problems that beset the human kind.
Seshendra reveals that Sundara Kanda is the heart of Ramayana and it is nothing but Kundalini Yoga . And the heart of Sundara Kanda is Trijata ‘s Dream , which is nothing but Gayatri Mantra.
Kundalini Yoga which is also known as Sri Vidya is awakening of inner powers dormant in humans through meditation. The very 1st Shloka of Sundara Kanda is analysed and explained exhaustively by the author from several angles. “Chaarana Charithe pathi..(Sky-Path) “is , according to the author the Sushumna in Humans. Lanka Dahana ( Reducing Ravana’s Empire Lanka to ashes ) is the climax of the Kundalini Yoga which is Sahasrara Bhedana. The author analyses citing evidence from the Ramayana original text , that both Paths of Kundalini Yoga , Samaya and Kaula ways are shown in the epic.
What is of paramount importance in this work is that each exposition refers to a cluster of references germane to the main discussion. Hence it is obvious that this work is a scholastic paradise to people who are conversant with Sanskrit literature and other ancient scriptures. A pedestrian reader cannot even peep into Shodasi . Seshendra’s introduction “One word to begin with “sets the tone and tenor of the work. He dilates at length how Sanskrit language is moulded by Valmiki on the lines of Sruthi and Veda to envelop his central theme in suggestive and oblique style.
It is said Valmiki wrote Ramayana in 24 thousand Shlokas taking each syllable of Gayatri Mantra, which has 24 syllables. Seshendra Shows convincingly, where the Gayathri Mantra itself is located in Ramayana. He says “ Sundara Kanda “ is the heart of Ramayana and Trijata ‘s Dream is Sundara Kanda’s heart. “ Maharshi created an apparent episode of “Trijata Swapna “ and through this he embedded Gayathri Mantra in it. “
This book is replete with several such revelations and unnerving observations. The chapters on “ Relationship between Ramayanayana and Megha Sangesham “ “Indra supreme deity “ compel the reader to stop and think at the turn of every observation. This reviewer does not like to “spill all the beans “.
Dr. Murthy, the translator, aptly observes “ It needs a very attentive mind and adequate patience to follow author’s arguments “. Seshendra Sharma( seshendrasharma.weebly.com ) , winner of Sahitya Akademi Award for his “Kaala Rekha “( Arc of Blood ) a collection of essays in comparative literature , a fellow of the Akademi During his life time whose Long Poem “ My Country – My People – Modern Indian Epic “was nominated for Nobel in 2004 is scholar –poet of our times . His Kavisena Manifesto (Modern Indian Poetics), Kaala Rekha( Essays in Comparative Literature)are monuments of contemporary Indian Literature , unsurpassed to this day. His prose works prove that he is Albert Einstein of Indian Literature.
After completing the first round of reading the reader would certainly agree with Vishwanatha Satyanarayana ,Telugu poet of romantic era , recipient of Gyanpith Award for his “Ramayan Kalp Vriksh” who wrote preface to this book “ Every one , not only the telugu – speaking people all Indians must be grateful to him for writing this book”.
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Ramayana, a replica of Vedas
S. VARADARAJAN
There are several versions of the Sri Ramayana, one of the two greatest epics. Following Sri Valmiki Ramayana several editions have been published in various languages, besides scores of commentaries written across centuries. Late.GunturuSeshendra Sharma, scholar poet of 20th Century unearthed secrets of the Ramayana through his popular Telugu book “Shodasi”.
The novelty of nomenclature Shodasi , called Sri Vidya is reflected , in the 16th Chapter . Sharma’s intellectual depth comes forth in analyzingSundara Kanda specially through KundaliniYoga . The author highlights hidden truth in Valmiki’s thought that is similar to Vedas and says that Trijata’s dream in Sundara Kanda reflects Gayatri Mantra of 32 Syllabi in 4 lines. Sharma pays rich encomiums in the description of Lanka surrounded by three impregnable borders. He compares these three borders with Trikuta viz... Shakti ,Kaamaraaja , VagbhavaKutas with those of Sri Vidya in Kundalini . A staunch believer of Vedas, the author feels that Ramayana is a replica of Vedas and oriented towards the character of Indra . He concludes that in Ramayana the mentioning of the supreme God is Indra and not Vishnu, as the presiding deity of valour in Vedas. Utterances of the word Vishnu were considered to be imaginary overstatements in the author’s view.
This book lends a new perspective to the Ramayana by adding the dimension of KundaliniYoga .
The foreword by VishwanathaSatyanarayana adds credibility to the book. The current work is an English translation of the original by GurujadaSuryanarayanaMurthy , a scientist by profession . His proficiency in the subject is evident in the translation throughout that doesn’t swerve from the original’s purport.
The Hindu
(Friday Review: 2nd October 2015)
A Resplendent Icon of all Arts
This is an exemplary book which elevated the status of Indian Literary Criticism to the peaks of the world literature. Shodasi is a name associated with a great hymn. The title suggests that it’s a book on spiritual discourse. A reading of this book suggests that the spirit of scientific temper is critical to comprehend Valmiki’sSrimad Ramayana. Besides this, command on Vedic or Scriptural knowledge is essential. What does a layman has to say when a towering personality like ViswanathaSatyanarayana himself extolled the critical acumen and serious scholarship of Seshendra Sharma.
Sharma has made it crystal clear that unless one has an apparent understanding of the plot’s context, psyche of the characters, and the milieu of the bygone days supplemented by extraordinary scholarship, sound knowledge of phonetics and awareness on contemporary issues; one cannot easily comprehend the poetic diction of Valmiki. The debate on the phrase “Netraturaha” is a fitting example. The uniqueness of the title, Sundarakanda, Kundalini Yoga, Gayatri Mantra secretly hidden in Trijata’s dream sequence, considering The Bharatha as an image of The Ramayana.... this book is a repository of many such critical discourses. It is replete with inconceivable and unfathomable issues. This magnum opus is an invaluable gift to the Telugu literature.
- VIPULA, Viswa Katha Vedika: May 2014
(An exclusive Telugu Monthly Magazine for stories)
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Valmiki Ramayana – Greatest Medicine for Mankind
The story of Ramayana is prescribed as textbook for students. Sita and Rama are worshiped as prime couple. No need to mention about reciting it. Whether Valmiki was satisfied with simple narration of the story? Seshendra Sharma denies it.
He analyzed it mentioning that to understand the inner meanings of Valmiki Ramayana, the scientific knowledge is essential.
The underlying secret of the sage’s mind will be known through the knowledge of science.
It is the firm opinion of Seshendra that the argument that “the sciences are for scholars only” is a conspiracy hatched by Selfish scholars and lazy uneducated persons.
Seshendra who has democratic ideology and conviction on science and literature informs the public about the secrets of Ramayana expounded by Valmiki. He explains that Valmiki dedicated ambrosia (The Greatest Medicine) named “Kundalini Yoga” to the mankind. The poetry in the metre of AnushtupSloka is the honey coating to the medicine. It was explained with great introspection and exemplary scholarship. He concludes that the Ramayana is older than the MahaBharatha and it is another form of Veda. Valmiki introduced the system of meditation in Ramayana. The Introspection and research bent of mind of Seshendra are spread over in the book in two streams. The exuberant fragrance of scholarship is experienced throughout the book.
The present generation can understand the scholarship of Seshendra in Vedas and Mantra Sastra. Seshendra is a poet who has composed unique RuthuGhosha (Cry of the Seasons: Metrical Poetry) and revolutionary free verse –MandeSuryudu (The Burning Sun).
- Andhra Prabha (Telugu Daily), 24th August 2014.
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Two Great Peaks in the world literary criticism and research
Shodasi: Secrets of The Ramayana and SwarnahamsaHarshanaishada from the mighty pen of the great Telugu poet, GunturuSeshendra Sharma are considered to be the two great peaks in the world literary criticism and research. This is a truth most contemporary Telugu writers and readers aren’t aware of. The way Seshendra could discover Kundalini Yoga, Gayathri Mantra in Shodasi, he could discern the treasure trove of mantra yoga, Sri Mahatripurasundari, Chintamani mantra in Swarnahamsa.
At a time when our universities which are mere Degrees production Units, churn out “solid waste” in the name of research; Seshendra even while attending to his job as a Municipal Commissioner created research oriented critical volumes like a sage.
Though Shodasi was published in 1967 and Swarnahamsa in 1968; Swarnahamsa was created by him much before Shodasi was conceived. The concepts that Srinatha, Nannayya and Mallanatha, the Telugu Classical poets couldn’t decipher,
Seshendra could. He humbly submits that he is most fortunate that the triumvirate had left behind some pertinent concepts only to be discovered by him at a later stage.
These two great kavyas were serialised under the editorship of late NeelamrajuVenkataSeshaiah in Andhra Prabha Daily, Sunday Literary Supplements from 1963 to 1967 and Seshendra’s poems and non-fiction were published in the book forms (6) only after they appeared in serial form in Andhra Prabha.
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GunturuSeshendraSarma, the well-known poet, critic and scholar of unfathomable depth, has to his credit quite a number of books in Telugu as well as English. A keen intellect and a lucid exponent of the intricacies in Samskrit literature, the author brought out a treatise on Ramayana. The book also reveals the symbolism in our epics and shows the spirit behind.
According to the author, Sage Valmiki has observed Ramayana as though it is a story of a dynasty in its outward appearance. But when the story part is kept aside, the hidden secrets of the Mantrasastra come out. Valmiki’s Ramayana is full of Vedic literature, language and usages. Ramayana can be appreciated from three angles. The poetic beauty, the historicity and the secret meaning of mother Parasakti. Later Upanishads have taken Valmiki Ramayana as the way to the Mantrasastra. Rama’s wife Sita is considered as Parasakti. In Devi BhagavathamSita is described as Goddess Gayatri. The author has taken unusual pains and quoted Vedic dictations which are literally taken by Valmiki in his Ramayana. Thus it has been a product of Vedas and the usages in Ramayana and the words used therein and the similies adopted by Valmiki speak inexplicably the secret of Mother Lalita in his stories.
The author has given and attached a very great significance for Sundarakanda in Ramayana. The author has quoted numerous quotations from Smrithis and Srithis to establish that Sundara-kanda is beautiful because Anjaneya the Jeeva has seen Sita the Parasakti. Hence this canto is so styled as Sundara. According to the author “Sita” means “Kundalini.” Hanuman has seen Sita while she was sitting on the ground. Ground means Earth. Earth denotes Mooladharam. The serpent Kundalini stays in this. Thus it is symbolised as Sita sat on the ground. Hanuman the Yogi has the vision of Kundalini in Sita. With the aid of Ida and Pingala, Kundalini travels in Sushumna through spinal cord crossing the six fluxes, and finally reaching Sahasraram. This again speaks of “Shodasi.” Rama is a beautiful man. He is having a Sundari in Sita (a beautiful woman). The descriptions are beautiful in this canto. Thus it is synonymous with “Soundarya-lahari” of Sankaracharya.
The author expressed that Mahabharata is a reflection of Ramayana in all the cause, origin and delivery. Innumerable similarities are quoted from both Valmiki and Vyasa to prove that the usages, style and similies are almost similar in both the epics. He compares Vyasa’s “Nalacharitam” with Sundarakanda of Valmiki in the vision of Srividya.
The author further argues that Kalidasa’s “Meghasandesam” is only an imitation of Valmiki. The flight of Anjaneya in search of Sita is the basis for Kalidasa’s “Meghasandesam.” Both Sita and the Yaksha’s wife are described as “Syamas” – meaning in the middle of youth. The duration of separation is one year in both the cases. Ultimately the author said that “Meghasandesam” is the offspring of Ramayana, with yearning to see Parasakti.
The author has taken the readers in his book to that sublime beauty where there is no further argument, than to enjoy the flow of citations with their intrinsic meaning and full of scientific vision. His unsurpassed knowledge in Mantrasastra has enabled him to pass dictums vivisecting the symbolic mysticisms into splinters and handing the kernel of truth under each word, usage, and application. He deserves all praise for this meritorious contribution to our literature.
Visionary Poet of the Millennium
An Indian poet Prophet
Seshendra Sharma
October 20th, 1927 - May 30th, 2007
www.facebook.com/GunturuSeshendraSharma/
eBooks :http://kinige.com/author/Gunturu+Seshendra+Sharma
Seshendra Sharma is one of the most outstanding minds of modern Asia. He is the foremost of the Telugu poets today who has turned poetry to the gigantic strides of human history and embellished literature with the thrills and triumphs of the 20th century. A revolutionary poet who spurned the pedestrian and pedantic poetry equally, a brilliant critic and a scholar of Sanskrit, this versatile poet has breathed a new vision of modernity to his vernacular.Such minds place Telugu on the world map of intellectualism. Readers conversant with names like Paul Valery, Gauguin, and Dag Hammarskjold will have to add the name of Seshendra Sharma the writer from India to that dynasty of intellectuals.
Rivers and poets
Are veins and arteries
Of a country.
Rivers flow like poems
For animals, for birds
And for human beings-
The dreams that rivers dream
Bear fruit in the fields
The dreams that poets dream
Bear fruit in the people-
* * * * * *
The sunshine of my thought fell on the word
And its long shadow fell upon the century
Sun was playing with the early morning flowers
Time was frightened at the sight of the martyr-
-Seshendra Sharma
B.A: Andhra Christian College: Guntur: A.P: India
B.L : Madras University: Madras
Deputy Municipal Commissioner (37 Years)
Dept of Municipal Administration, Government of Andhra Pradesh
Parents: G.Subrahmanyam (Father) ,Ammayamma (Mother)
Siblings: Anasuya,Devasena (Sisters),Rajasekharam(Younger brother)
Wife: Mrs.Janaki Sharma
Children: Vasundhara , Revathi (Daughters),
Vanamaali ,Saatyaki (Sons)
Seshendra Sharma better known as Seshendra is
a colossus of Modern Indian poetry.
His literature is a unique blend of the best of poetry and poetics.
Diversity and depth of his literary interests and his works
are perhaps hitherto unknown in Indian literature.
From poetry to poetics, from Mantra Sastra to Marxist Politics his writings bear an unnerving pprint of his rare genius.
His scholar ship and command over Sanskrit , English and Telugu Languages has facilitated his emergence as a towering personality of comparative literature in the 20th century world literature.
T.S.Eliot ,ArchbaldMacleish and Seshendra Sharma are trinity of world poetry and Poetics.
His sense of dedication to the genre of art he chooses to express himself and
the determination to reach the depths of subject he undertakes to explore
place him in the galaxy of world poets / world intellectuals.
Seshendra’seBooks :http://kinige.com/author/Gunturu+Seshendra+Sharma
Seshendra Sharma’s Writings Copyright © Saatyaki S/o Seshendra Sharma
Contact :saatyaki@gmail.com+919441070985+917702964402
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GunturuSeshendraSarma: an extraordinary poet-scholar
One of the ironies in literature is that
he came to be known more as a critic than a poet
HYDERABAD: An era of scholastic excellence and poetic grandeur has come to an end in the passing away of GunturuSeshendraSarma, one of the foremost poets and critics in Telugu literature. His mastery over western literature and Indian `AlankaraSastra' gave his works a stunning imagery, unparalleled in modern Indian works. One of the ironies in literature is that he came to be known more as a critic than a poet. The Central SahityaAkademi award was conferred on him for his work `KaalaRekha' and not for his poetic excellence. The genius in him made him explore `Kundalini Yoga' in his treatise on Ramayana in `Shodasi' convincingly. His intellectual quest further made him probe `NaishadhaKaavya' in the backdrop of `LalitaSahasraNaamavali', `SoundaryaLahari' and `Kama Kala Vilasam' in `SwarnaHamsa', Seshendra saw the entire universe as a storehouse of images and signs to which imagination was to make value-addition. Like Stephene Mallarme who was considered a prophet of symbolism in French literature, SeshendraSarma too believed that art alone would survive in the universe along with poetry. He believed that the main vocation of human beings was to be artists and poets. His `Kavisena Manifesto' gave a new direction to modern criticism making it a landmark work in poetics. Telugus would rue the intellectual impoverishment they suffered in maintaining a `distance' from him. Seshendra could have given us more, but we did not deserve it! The denial of the Jnanpeeth Award to him proves it
The Hindu
India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 01, 2007
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Ramayana, a replica of Vedas
S. VARADARAJAN
There are several versions of the Sri Ramayana, one of the two greatest epics. Following Sri Valmiki Ramayana several editions have been published in various languages, besides scores of commentaries written across centuries. Late. Gunturu Seshendra Sharma, scholar poet of 20th Century unearthed secrets of the Ramayana through his popular Telugu book “Shodasi”.
The novelty of nomenclature Shodasi , called Sri Vidya is reflected , in the 16th Chapter . Sharma’s intellectual depth comes forth in analyzing Sundara Kanda specially through Kundalini Yoga . The author highlights hidden truth in Valmiki’s thought that is similar to Vedas and says that Trijata’s dream in Sundara Kanda reflects Gayatri Mantra of 32 Syllabi in 4 lines. Sharma pays rich encomiums in the description of Lanka surrounded by three impregnable borders. He compares these three borders with Trikuta viz... Shakti , Kaamaraaja , Vagbhava Kutas with those of Sri Vidya in Kundalini . A staunch believer of Vedas, the author feels that Ramayana is a replica of Vedas and oriented towards the character of Indra . He concludes that in Ramayana the mentioning of the supreme God is Indra and not Vishnu, as the presiding deity of valour in Vedas. Utterances of the word Vishnu were considered to be imaginary overstatements in the author’s view.
This book lends a new perspective to the Ramayana by adding the dimension of Kundalini Yoga .
The foreword by Vishwanatha Satyanarayana adds credibility to the book. The current work is an English translation of the original by Gurujada Suryanarayana Murthy , a scientist by profession . His proficiency in the subject is evident in the translation throughout that doesn’t swerve from the original’s purport.
The Hindu
India’s National Newspaper
(Friday Review: 2nd October 2015)
Shodasi
Astounding scholarship of Sanskrit classics
A product of deep research, intense intellectual labour
And amazing scholarship
The book under review which is an English translation by Dr. Gurajada Suryanarayana Murthy of the original Telugu Text represents a scholarly attempt by the erudite author to justify and prove the validity of certain radical propositions which he makes about the world – renowned Kavya – Valmiki Ramayana. The propositions that he makes are – 1. Sundara Kanda is an allegory of Kundalini Yoga 2. Sita is Kundalini Shakti 3. Hanuman’s search – mission of Sita symbolises Tantric Exercise of identifying the Kundalini Shakti and raising it from the Moola Dhara Chakra (denoted by Lanka) to Sahasrara Chakra 4. The descriptive terms employed about Sita hint at Sita being essentially a Kundalini Shakti 5. Trijata’s dream is nothing but Gayathri Mantra 6. Valmiki’s language has pronounced Vedic flavour 7. The phraseology employed by Valmiki corresponds largely to the terms employed in Lalitha Sahasra Nama , Durga Saptasati , Devi Bhagawatam etc.. 8. The aptness of the name Sundara Kanda is provable on Strong Grounds 9. Ramayana is anterior to Bharatha on various grounds such as the Vedic language employed in the former the reference of Valmiki and Ramayana in Mahabharata and absence of reference to Vyasa and Mahabharata episodes in Ramayana , Mention of Rama in Mahabharata and Rama’s greater antiquity than Pandavas and a host of other plausible evidences 10. Indra , the chief Vedic god more prominently featured and praised in Ramayana than Vishnu of the Puranic origin. 11. Megha Sandesham of Kalidasa originated out of the seed of Valmiki Ramayana and 12. The benedictory verse of Sakuntalam is eulogy of Devi.
The brain – tickling propositions are not just of the cuff remarks made without basis but credible theories buttressed with profuse quotations of relevant Sanskrit Texts , wide and deep study of the relevant treatises unassailable arguments based on internal and external evidences and astounding scholarship of Sanskrit classics.
On the flip side, there are a few errors in the transliteration of the Sanskrit texts. Had the Sanskrit passages from the treatises been provided in Devanagari Script also in addition to transliterated form in Roman Script value and appeal of this essentially Sanskrit oriented book would be much higher to the large and growing Sanskrit readership. The book is doubtless, a product of deep research, Intense intellectual labour and amazing scholarship.
The Vedanta kesari : August 2016
The Lion of Vedanta
A Cultural and Spirtual Monthly of the of the Ramakrishna Order since 1944
AN INTELLECTUAL FEAST
Along With utmost devotion
The author has clear understanding of not only of the Ramayana
but also Mantra Sastra , Vedas and Kundalini Yoga
His method is going deep into the subject and at the
same time comparing the same with ideas of other branches of literature
Shodasi , authored by Seshendra Sharma is a book of a special type . Though its purpose is to unfold secrets of the Ramayana many other aspects from different branches of knowledge also find a place there.
The Ramayana is read in every household with devotion. It narrates not only story of Rama but it also spotlights very intricate and subtler points in other branches of knowledge, a point not even noticed by many.
The author has clear understanding of not only of the Ramayana but also Mantra Sastra , Vedas and Kundalini Yoga . There are two approaches to understand the Sastras. One is vertical which is closely followed in Sanskrit Literature. It is reading a book with the help of commentary on it. In this method not only each word of the original analysed; its correct meaning and contextual purpose are also examined. The second is a horizontal method where in various ideas in the text are read not with one commentary but with many commentaries by different people. This gives total meaning of the text.
Seshendra Sharma follows both methods. His method is going deep into the subject and at the same time comparing the same with ideas of other branches of literature.
This needs a thorough understanding of various branches and ability to compare texts and spot new ideas and enjoy the same. For example , when Hanuman asks Sita who she is ,she replies ,“sama dvadasa tatraham raghavasya nivesane bhunjhana manushan bhogan sarva kama samrudhinee “ . Meaning “I enjoyed 12 years of mundane pleasure in the home of Rama”
Though she is not an ordinary human being, she enjoyed mundane pleasures. “ you may mistake that I am a mortal woman , but understand I am Sri Maha Lakshmi” . That was the message. The most important clue is the statement “ Aham Sarva Kama Samridhinee “ . In Devi Bhagawatham we find “ Matah Sankaree Kamade “ In Sri Sukta “ Sarva Kamartha Siddhaye “ and in Lalitha Sahasra Nama “ too it is stated “ Om Kamyayai Namah” . If Sita were to be just an ordinary being all these statements would have been irrelevant.
At another place she says “ Maya Ramasya Rajarshe Bharyayaya Paramatmanah” which means that she is wife of Paramatma. Hanuman , the devotee , recognized Sita to be none other than Jaganmata. Hence he could identify her easily as the divine mother and says “ tat sreemadyate tarat”. The word sreemat is used to mean brilliance Hanuman identifies Sita as Devi by the holy seed letter ( Sreem ) .
The book is full of comparisons between different branches of learning and surely a feast for one who could enjoy the existence of similar ideas at various places. It only proves that ways may be different but the goal is one.
Seshendra Sharma physically lifts the minds of the readers and offers an intellectual feast along with utmost devotion. Surely everyone should read this book and keep a copy of the same at home.
Goda Venkateswara Sastry
Tatvaloka : June 2016
The Splendour of Truth
( Monthly Magazine)
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Ramayan Through Kundalini Yoga
Shodasi is an ideal read for Sanskrit-literate readers
who are open to eclectic yogarthas and connotative meanings
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So you thought Vyasa was before Valmiki, Mahabharat was before Ramayan, Rama a Vishnu avatar, and tantrism distinct from vedism? Think again. In Shodasi: Secrets of the Ramayana, Telugu poet Seshendra Sharma re-reads the Ramayan to come up with a number of new conclusions.
Much of the book sets out to prove that Ramayan was written before the Mahabharat. Sharma discusses how Indra is cited more often than Vishnu, thus placing the context of the Ramayan closer to Vedic than Puranic thought. He quotes from the Mahabharat to show how it follows descriptions of hills, rivers from the Ramayan. The Mahabharat has some prose, and therefore, it must have been composed after Ramayan, which is entirely in poetry. These are only some of the numerous reasons that Sharma offers to suggest a new sequence of our itihasas.
Sharma’s book is also an experimental reading of the Ramayan through the interpretive lens of what he calls Kundalini yoga. Hanuman’s flight to Sri Lanka gets a new interpretation. “Charana Charite Pathi” is interpreted as the path of Kundalini, and the first verse of the Sundara Kanda “Tatho Ravana Nithayah” is interpreted by Sharma to refer to Hanuman traversing the sushumna nadi of the Kundalini.
Trijata’s dream becomes the Gayatri mantra through an imaginative recasting of words as numbers. Gaja (elephant) means eight, danta (teeth) means thirty-two, and maha-gaja-chaturdantam somehow also adds up to 32 syllables, which is the number of syllables in the Gayatri mantra. That Trijata’s dream is halfway through the Ramayan also becomes significant for Sharma, he calls it the ‘central bead’ in the Ramayan garland of 24,000 beads. Identifying 32-syllables as the Gayatri follows a convention, for mantras are referenced by the number of syllables; however, it is the “secret” yogartha—or mystical, anagogical translations—derived by Sharma that becomes problematic, unless he is considered an authority in his own right.
conclude that the name Sundarakand is unrelated to any descriptions of beauty of any of the main characters in the Ramayan. However, Soundarya and Tripura-Sundari are well-known conventions in the tantric tradition and hence, Sharma concludes that Sundarakand derives its name from Shakti’s beauty, and “Sundara-Hanuman” means “Hanuman who is a devotee of Devi” (117).
A coda in this book is about the benedictory verse in Kalidasa’s Sakuntalam which has traditionally been understood to refer to Ishwara. Sharma re-interprets this verse highlighting the “eight forms” of the last line as the eight forms of Devi that please Ishwara.
This book is suitable for a reader who is Sanskrit-literate and open to eclectic yogarthas and connotative meanings. Sharma cites substantially from the Ramayan in roman but without diacritics, this is difficult to follow; and he does not always include translation. Sharma often cites commentators without citing names and sources. It is not clear why the book is called Shodasi—readers may note, this book is not about the Srividya tradition. Even if the reader is unconvinced by Sharma’s reasoning or methodology, the free flow of references may prove absorbing for a reader interested in the subject.
This could also be an eclectic reference for a scholar researching tantric elements in the Ramayan.
- Mani Rao
The Sunday Standard Magazine
The New Indian Express
29th November 2015
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Scholarly and deeply researched monograph
Pearls of insightful ideas and truths
Most of the ancient treatises like the Valmiki Ramayana and Bhagavatha lend themselves to allegorical interpretations. The book under review is scholarly and deeply researched monograph that formulates the startling theory that the immortal epic Valmiki Ramayana, particularly, Sundara Kanda, is nothing but the enunciation of the doctrine of Kundalini Shakthi Yoga. The very title of the book is bound to make the scholarly fraternity and even the common readership sit up and take notice. The radical propositions that the erudite author advances are on the basis of relentless logic and a mass of internal and external evidences are: Ramayana is rooted in Vedas, both in terms of ideas it disseminates and its verbal garb in those it is clothed. Many of the similes that Valmiki employs are inspired by vedic poetry and literature. Many of the expressions employed in the Valmiki Ramayana bear close resemblance to phraseology found in texts like Devi Bhagavatham, and Soundarya Lahari. Sita is none other than Divine Mother and Gayathri. As borne out by an analysis of similarity of names and words used in Valmiki Ramayana and Sri Vidya Literature. Sundara Kanda is nothing but delineation Kundalini Yoga. Hanuman’s aerial voyage in search of Sita represents allegorically the devi worshipper’s exercise in Kundalini Yoga. Sita is Kundalini Shakti. The episodes of mainaka, surasa and Simhika – representing satwa, rajas, tamas respectively –represent piercing of the triple knots by the spiritual aspirant. The Sanskrit phrase “Charana Charithe pathi” that occurs at the opening Canto of Sundara Kanda clearly implies Hanuman’s movement through the path of Sushumna. Lanka is the Mula Dhara Chakra, the seat of Kundalini implied in Valmiki’s graphic description of Lanka, the place of incarceration of Sita. Lanka is Muladhara also from the point of view of Yoga and it is Sri Chakra from the point of view of Spiritual practice. The burning of Lanka symbolises awakening of Swadhishthana. The aptness of name Sundara Kanda is explicable in the light of various evidences embedded in the epic. Trijata’s dream is nothing but the Gayathri Mantra as can be inferred from certain Sanskrit terms representing their numerical equivalents employed to describe dream – scenes of Trijata and also from Dramatis Personae appearing in her dream. Mahabharata is an image of Ramayana and many striking similarities may be found between Valmiki and Vyasa in their style of narrative. Valmiki’s Ramayana is the seed of Meghadootha and Valmiki reincarnates, as it were, as Kalidasa. The vedic god Indra , as the supreme deity dominates epic as a benchmark for all comparisons with Rama and dwarfs Vishnu, the Puranik God, in importance. Ramayana is anterior to Mahabharata. There are 2 annexures at the end of the book “benedictory verse of Sakunthalam is nothing but eulogy of Devi “and “All Humans have same destination” . Coming from the pen of the Telugu poet proficient in several languages, who was active in various disciplines ranging from Sanskrit studies to Cultural activism and who was given the Sahitya Akademi Award, this book is definitely of exceptional merit as the ingenious interpretations of various verses of the epic and also of allied hymnal literature to establish the novel but plausible propositions, come as a refreshing revelations. The book unmistakably bears imprints of an amazingly analytical, deeply erudite and marvellously nimble mind that effortlessly plumbs the oceanic epic and picks up and presents to the community of discerning readers pearls of insightful ideas and truths. One glaring drawback of this essentially Sanskrit-oriented book is the absence of Sanskrit quotations in Devanagari script as transliterations in roman script that are given are poor substitute sonorous Sanskrit words clothed in Devanagari script. The merits mentioned in a short review of this book packed with quaint and profound ideas constitute merely the proverbial tip of an iceberg. A fund of fruitful and lofty ideas awaits those who venture dive deep into this great book. In short this book is a riveting read for scholars and a strong stimulant for the general readers. –
N. Hariharan
Madurai
Prabuddha Bharata
March 2016
A monthly journal of the Ramakrishna Order
started by Swami Vivekananda in 1893
Unearthing secrets of Ramayana Ramayana
A sea-bed of secrets
A great boon to Devi Upasakas and Practioners of Sri Vidya
The Ramayana popular as the Adi Kavya (first work of poetry) the world over is not just beautiful poetry . It is a sea bed of secrets – containing the methods of Kundalini yoga and mantra sastra . This is the heart of Shodasi : Secrets of the Ramayana authored by Seshendra Sharma , one of the towering personalities of Telugu Poetry . This book, a collection 16 articles with one article added on from this edition appeared in Telugu Original in 1967. Mr. N.Ramesan IAS , the then Principal Secretary to Education Dept , the then AP Govt observed feelingly in his preface , that this work is a boon for Devi Upasakas and merits to be translated into English and other Indian Languages. This advice has fructified after 48 Years. Dr. Suryanarayana Murthy , a physicist (retired : Baba Atomic Research Centre ) has translated Shodasi into English with commendable clarity of grasp over the subject and felicity of thought process and flow of reading. The story of Rama narrated in enchanting poetry, according to Seshendra is a honey supplement to the bitter medicine called Kundalini Yoga. Valmiki Maharshi chose the Story of Rama to propagate Kundalini Yoga and systems of meditation in the society, among the masses of his era. This is the fulcrum of this Research work. What is of significance is that the author , in order to buttress his analysis and arguments cites extensively and conclusively from the Original Text of Ramayana itself. This Translation introduces this seminal work to wider sections of readers in other parts of our multilingual nation and to scholars engaged in research in Indian scriptures in the west. As the reader goes through the pages of Shodasi it gradually becomes clear that , the story that Valmiki was a Hunter , after viewing the pair of birds dying for each other renounced hunting and became a Rishi is an episode woven around him to make him and his epic the Ramayana popular and that Valmiki belongs to the pantheon of Vedic Rishis . Seshendra at every point of analysis cites from the Vedas and sruthis. His own introduction to this work “one word to begin with “ he discusses elaborately on the significance of Valmiki’s Style of expression of phrases . This chapter is the gateway to the entire work. While analysing one stanza of he touches upon a simile Which compares moon in the night sky wit vrishabham in Goshtam (cowshed). Seshendra goes deeper into shruthi and Vedas and concludes that go means in Sanskrit speech and “goshte vrishabham mattamiva bhramantam “ implies that like Omkara moves at the throat the divine personality of moon is moving in the sky. That intricate and deep is the analysis of the author. Seshendra , then discusses why sundara kanda was chosen as the name of a chapter . He observes incisively and proves conclusively that Sita is the main character of this Kanda and Sita is none other than Adi Shakti ( The Divine Mother ) Sri Maha Tripura Sundari.This is the reason why Maharshi named it Sundara Kanda. Sundara Kanda is the heart of the Ramayana and Trijata Swapna (Demoness Trijata’s Dream) is its heart. Sundara Kanda is nothing but Kundalini Yoga . Right from the 1st stanza of the chapter Maharshi starts unfolding the path of Kundalini Yoga in a suggestive manner garbed in enchanting poetry teaming with breath taking similes. Hanuman is SriVidyopasaka. The author discusses the 1st stanza “Chaaranaa Charithe pathi “ with intrinsic evidence from the Ramayana itself. Charanas are Divine Singers and their path is the sky . In other words in Kundalini Yoga “Sushumna “. The entire chapter elaborates each stanza in a captivating tone and concludes with Lanka Dahana ( Burning of Lanka ) as piercing of the Sahasrara seated in the head. First hand reading alone will give the unnerving feel of this chapter. Another important chapter is “ Trijata’s dream is nothing but Gayathri mantra “. In this , Seshendra views Trijata’s Dream, one of the demonesses guarding Sita in Ashoka Vana as Gayathri mantra. He dwelves deep into each Sloka of this episode and proves convincingly that Valmiki created this episode in order to embed the mantra in Ramayana. Till this point this book is a cluster of revelations. “The later part is both revelation and research. Seshendra in the chapter “ Indra is the Supreme Deity of Ramayana “ discusses each stanza of the Ramayana and goes on to reveal that at the time when Valmiki was writing the Ramayana the concepts of Vishnu and incarnation (Avatar ) were non– existent . Indra is the supreme deity of the Ramayana. In other 2 chapters the author‘s exhaustive study and Incisive analysis are all pervasive. Seshendra explodes the myth sought to be propagated by some of the Western Scholars that the Bharatha precedes the Ramayana . Shodasi , as rightly pointed out in one preface, is a great boon to Devi Upasakas and Practioners of Sri Vidya. All these ages this Adi Kavya is seen only as the Story of Rama. Here is a path breaking work which reveals the hidden treasure of spiritual secrets which Valmiki Maharshi embedded them in his epic.
Insight ( Sunday Magazine )
The Hitavada ( English Daily ) 1st November 2015
My name is Bart Allen, and I am the fastest man alive! Well, fastest teenager alive.. I came back from the 30th century to get help from my grandfather-- Wait a minute, this sounds like an opening to some television show.. My bad. Let's back things up and properly explain. Like I said before, my name is Bart Allen. I'm the grandson of Barry Allen, who was known as the Flash of this time. He was a hero using the powers of the Speed Force to fight criminals, and put them behind bars. I say was, as he retired after several years of being a hero. Wanted to slow down, and settle down with the love of his life, Iris West. Didn't help that he no longer had access to the Speed Force. Central City still needed the Flash, so Wally West took up the mantle. He was originally Kid Flash, getting his powers through the Speed Force Storm which gave life to many new speedsters. How do you know all of this Bart? You weren't there when this happened! Yes, that's all true. But since I come from the 30th century, these events have already happened. Which leads me to the reason I travelled back in time to the 21st century. I needed Barry's help with my hyper-accelerated metabolism. Basically, I looked older than I actually was. When I arrived, it honestly didn't take much for them to help me. They were able to come up with a solution, and now, there's no crazy metabolism problems! Well besides having to eat a lot, but that's expected for speedsters. Anyways, after that whole ordeal, I ended up staying in Central City, even though there's a possibility that my existence ruins the timeline, therefore changing the future as I know it. I decided to become a hero, like my grandfather. Speed Force zen master Max Mercury taught me many things about the Speed Force, before his passing. The whole Flash Family was there for Max's funeral, and it still hurts to this day. Trying to move past his death, I started attending school, and now I'm a junior at Central City High. A few months ago, Wally West disappeared. His disappearance has hit his wife, Frances Kane-West the hardest. I've tried my best to reassure her that I'll find him. So now I have to keep this city safe as the Flash, while I also figure out where Wally is. I sure hope I can do it, because honestly, I'm not even sure I can.
I've checked with the usual suspects, but most are accounted for. Most of the Rogues are locked up in Iron Heights. Heatwave, Trickster, and Prank are the only ones not there. I heard through the grapevine that Heatwave is on vacation in Aruba, while the other two have gone into hiding. Can't say I blame them, with all these new speedsters running about. Speaking of speedsters, the major ones are accounted for. The Rival, Thawne, Hunter Zolomon (technically not a speedster, but I'll put him under the speedster umbrella anyway), Negative Flash, and Daniel West are all locked away in a prison tailor-made for those with the Speed Force. It was created after the Speed Force Storm gave speedster powers to a good chunk of people. Anyways, now that we're all caught up, let's move forward.
Central City High School, 2:30pm
The bell announcing the end of the school day rings, and I'm about to leave when Preston Lindsay, my best friend, walks up to me.
"Hey Bart!" He says with enthusiasm, as he opens his locker which is conveniently right beside mine.
"Oh hey Preston.. What's up?"
"The ceiling!" He starts laughing, even though that 'joke' got old after the first time..
"You know that joke got old after the first time you did it right?"
"Ah whatever. You just don't understand it's charm, that's all. Anyways, you free to hangout at my place? Really not in the mood to study right now."
"I feel ya there. Studying is so not crash. Would if I could man, but I already have plans for the afternoon. Sorry Preston. Maybe tomorrow?" That's me, lying to my best friend.. Well, sort of. My plans mostly just consist of me going out on patrol, fighting the various criminals. It's mostly been wannabe Rogues, but who knows, maybe some day I'll face the real deal. But it's better if he doesn't know. At least that's what Barry keeps telling me.
"It's all good. Got plans with Valerie, I understand.. Alright, well, I guess I better figure something else out then."
"Now you're making me feel the mode.. Also, my plans do not include Valerie. Not sure why you're so focused on the concept of us being an item, when we clearly aren't." It sometimes feels like he's saying these things intentionally to get a rise out of me.
"Mhm.. Sure.. Catch ya later Bart." He walks away, and soon enough, I can't spot him in the crowd of people bustling through the hallway.
"You too." I mutter under my breath, as he's gone by the time I'm about to speak. I walk out the front steps, and start running home, once I'm at a safe distance from the school. Upon arriving at home, I open the door, and shut it once I enter.
"I'm home!" I say, announcing my presence.
"Oh, Bart, you're home!" I hear Iris say, as I see her coming out of the kitchen. I go up to her and give her a hug.
"Yeah. Though I'm going out on patrol for a bit. It has been a pretty boring day, and I could go for some villain fight right about now."
"Sometimes, you just have to slow down. Like Barry has! Anyways, make sure you get your homework done before you go, and be careful."
"That will take me like two seconds, but fine. When am I not careful?" Iris gives me a look where she's essentially saying 'really?', without actually saying it.
"I'll be fine Iris! No need to fret!" I mostly call them by their first names, as it weirds me out calling them grandpa and grandma, considering how old they are right now. I rush into my room, unpack, and finish my homework in a matter of seconds before, grabbing the Flash ring, and releasing the costume from it. I change into the costume, and start running. There's police radio comms units in the earpieces of my cowl, which helps me out a bit with crimes in progress.
"211 in progress at Central City National Bank. Requesting all units in the area for back-up." Guess that's my queue. I make my way there, which only takes me a minute or two. Once there, I notice a few police cars already here. I stop right beside one of the cop cars, and an officer notices me. He walks towards me, with a look of relief on his face.
"Flash! Thank goodness you're here!"
"What's the situation like in there Officer--?" I ask, distinguishing my voice by vibrating it. After what seems like the longest pause ever, he responds
"Officer Heart. As for the situation, its White Lightning and her cronies again, trying to make fools out of us." Heart? That last name seems familiar. Oh right, he's that new speedster hero called Velocity.. August Heart.. Strange that he isn't just going in himself. White Lightning is one of my villains anyway, so it doesn't really bother me that he's not suiting up. I check the outside of the building before dashing inside. Once inside, I make sure there's no one here besides White Lightning and her crew. I notice them filling up bags of money inside the vault, talking among themselves.
"Got yourself a new crew I see.. Kind of miss the last one if I'm being honest. They were a more charismatic bunch." I mean I have to at least give them a warning, before locking them all away. Wouldn't be as crash if I just zoomed in there without them noticing, and knocked them out cold within seconds. I mean it'll still only take a few seconds, but at least I'll get some enjoyment out of it. Besides, banter is half the fun of being a superhero!
"Eh, well you know how it is with me, only using each crew once before moving on to another.. Love the new diggs by the way Impulse. Upgraded from zero to hero in no time.. Too bad you'll be dead soon enough." Her goon squad opens fire, unloading their clips into me. White Lightning throws her lightning bolts at me. I'm able to dodge all the bullets easily enough, along with her lightning.
"A + for effort. Sucks that you still haven't learned from the other times we've fought though." I disarm her cronies, and stand right in front of them, taunting White Lightning. When she shoots off her next electrical blast, I get out-of-the-way, and she takes down her own minions for me. I grab power dampener handcuffs from the police outside, and come back, handcuffing her hands together.
"I wouldn't be so smug if I were you.. He'll be coming soon enough, and when he does, you'll know what it means to lose everything."
---------
Unknown Location, with someone looking at security footage.
"Oh Bart Allen.. How little you truly know. She spoiled the surprise a little early, but that's what I get for using z list villains as my pawns in this game. It's fine.. I want him feeling cocky. Cockiness leads to mistakes, which can be lethal, especially when it's against an actual threat. I've been waiting for this moment all my life, so I can wait a little while longer before I introduce myself. Guess it's that time again. Have to check up on the prisoner. Bye for now." The figure cackles, as he leaves. In one of the security footage panels, there's someone with strawberry red hair, chained up in what looks to be a cellar of some sort.
Ok here it is. I took one image of the model using the strobes . I had the camera on Auto bracket mode , so the dark frame was taken immediately after that, before the flashes could recharge. The dark frame is for the outside detail coming in through the cracks in the door and the first shot is for the model only. LAter.. I had the model walk out and took a bunch of different exposures of the barn by itself. I used photomatix Image blending to compile them. Strobes were used in that image as well but were moved to different places for each frame to ensure an even distribution. later in photoshop I used the pen tool to vector out the model and created a mask ( Bottom Right) since the hair was really difficult, I chopped it off with the pen tool mask and duplicated the original (1) picture, placed it on top and set the blend mode to either overlay or multiply... whatever one leaves lighter (hair) detail and makes darker areas transparent. Thats how I got the hair edges so finite. A separate mask was also used to get the outside detail from the second image and place it on top of layer 3 so that it appears that My camera has that kind of dynamic range. :) YEah.. I cheated :) other than that, I used the basic retouching like skin smoothing and some toning using curves. whole thing took about an hour and a half.
Link to final img
www.flickr.com/photos/40889933@N07/4879681429/in/photostr...
"" The advantage over jpg is that you are not forced to have a perfect white balance from the beginning, that you can more efficiently catch up with chromatic aberrations and "unburn" the skies too bright. Also reveal details in the dark parts. You can even make a pseudo HDR from a single image!!!, Can you believe it ? Yeah, mom, raw is really great, I’m telling you ""
DSC04778_tak508e
Who Tagged Me ??? It's my friend T@ao
Sorry for the translate sometime is hard to explain all when is not your language ;)
But i Promise i write that i think, all be REAL
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1/i am French, Italian with a touch of German because my father family living in Alsace therefore neighbor & i'm wedding with Japan Woman
2/i am a Skateborder since 18 years, although unfortunately at this moment I can not do too
3 / Flickr I started with the skate, for maintaining a passion for photography
4/i am addicted to music, I listen to at least 2 hours minimum per day of its
5/I have passion for Asia culture and especially Japan
6/i believe in friendship, my friends are my family for me, so I do not like the friendship single use
7/i am very sensitive of places, smells, sounds, images etc. .., a real sponge
8/Student of the Way of Bushido, I try by readings, by the practice of martial arts, sword to follow these precepts at best "it may be cliché but it's true"
9 / I love cooking and wine but not if I'm alone, I think it is a pleasure to share above all
10/I can not conceive of life without art in all forms, painting, music, photography, design, architecture, fashion etc ... ... ....
11/I am addicted to travel, because I always come back enriched of human relationship, cultural and that change my vision of every day.
12/I think we must fight for these freedoms, these desires and way of thinking
13/He is important to try to understand mind of other, to better understand the reactions of those close without non-judgmental
14/I am a dreamer, I am not against the fact of growing up but that does not mean losing one's soul child
15 / I love meetings, I like the opportunity to know the fate of new people and experience new
16/I believe that beauty is everywhere if you open a little attention and that the simple things every day are the best
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version francaise 100% vrai
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1/Je suis français, italien avec une touche d’allemande la famille de mon père vivant en Alsace donc en pays limitrophe et marié à une japonaise
2/Je suis un Skateur depuis 18ans, même si malheureusement en ce moment je ne peux pas trop en faire
3/J’ai commencé Flickr avec le skate, pour avoir maintenant une passion dévorante pour la photo
4/Je suis accro a la Musique, je dois écouter au moins 2h mini de son par jour
5/Je suis un grand passionne de l’Asie et particulièrement du japon
6/Je crois beaucoup en l’Amitié, mes amis sont ma famille pour moi, donc je n’aime pas l’amitié à usage unique
7/Je suis très sensible, aux lieux, aux odeurs, aux sons, aux images..Etc, un vrai éponge
8/Etudiant de la Voie du Bushido, j’essaye par mes lectures, par la pratique des arts martiaux, du sabre de suivre au mieux ces préceptes « ça peut être cliché mais c’est vrai »
9/J’aime faire la cuisine et le vin mais pas si je suis seul, je pense que c’est un plaisir de partage avant tout
10/Je ne peux concevoir la vie sans l’Art sous toute ces formes, peinture, musique, photo, design, architecture, danse………etc.
11/Je suis accro aux voyages, car je reviens toujours enrichi de mes expériences humaines, culturelles et sensitives.
12/Je pense que l’on doit se battre pour ces libertés, ces envies et son mode de pensée
13/il est important d’essaye de se mettre a la place des autres, pour mieux comprendre les réactions de ces proches sans porté de jugement hâtif
14/Je suis un rêveur, je ne suis pas contre le fait de grandir mais cela ne veut pas dire perdre son âme d’enfant
15/J’aime les rencontres, j’aime donner la chance au destin de connaître de nouvelles personnes et vivre de nouvelles expériences
16/Je pense que la beauté est partout si on prête un peu attention et que les choses simples de tout les jours sont les plus belles
May have missed boat - Sells bedstead. The End.
~ A CRYPTIC TRIPTYCH ~
--
It's cut up audio of a singing kid!
"I %^ ca&$n't ge#&t fa$it%h
On the edge, th^a$t's w#hy I
Ca!n't g$et %th2e E
C#an't ge@t th#$#$e A
Sw$%eet emp$^*ire, the e@dge,
Why I can%$'t get it h#&igh
Hig*^h, h!~igh
Aye, aye
Can't g!et t~he e@dge
Def*^&eat my emp$%^&ire
Wioooouuu, wawawawawaw
Patipatu, wo-na, wo-na"
Hugo Pierre Leclercq
Social Bookmarking is a really simple tool that can offer your Extension audience a great deal of value. It's also a great place to get started with eExtension.
Children of Matam, Conakry listen to UNICEF explain the current outbreak of Ebola and the ways to stop the spread
Watch my video explaining how to build them: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXch9OlDAoA
From left to right:
Crime Scene Investigator Candice Procedural
Officer Ralph Habeus
Detective Lydia Upright
Officer Chuck Malarkey
Sergeant Snaps Harvey
Lieutenant Huxley Goldbuzz
Dispatcher Ashleigh Clearbrick