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talonabraxas · 1 month

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'Vishnu & Lakshmi' Talon Abraxas

The Symbolic Meaning of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi

Lord Vishnu is Hindu Myth

Hindu’s recognise Vishnu as the “protector.” He is the aspect of your personality that can dissolve the ego and uphold new Dharmas that enable you to develop peace of mind and bliss.

Ayurvedic teachings describe consciousness as being present. By taking control of emotions present in the five elements and the three gunas, you can take control of your life and master the energies of universal manifestation.

Vishnu is the higher consciousness that guides us and downloads messages that inform us what the right actions are to take. The problem most of us suffer is not knowing when we receive these messages because we are rooted in base consciousness.

Conscious comes to us as a thought, symbolised by Brahma in Hindu mythology. In the “Padma Purana”, Vishnu gives birth to Brahma who blossoms from the lotus flower that sprouts from Vishnu’s navel.

Brahma is said to be the creator of all things. He is the manifestation of ideas in the physical plane. The Lotus flower symbolises enlightenment, implying that consciousness passed to mortals is the Absolute Truth. The instructions to follow.

The Rig Veda states: “Vishnu is the most ancient of all, yet also the most recent. Nothing and no one creates Vishnu, yet Vishnu creates everyone and everything.”

In essence, the Supreme deity is a creative source but serves a greater purpose as the preserver. Escaping the bonds of the habitual mind is not easy and Vishnu has to keep a check that right actions are being followed.

It is said that Vishnu created the world with the right side of his body – that which is controlled by the left-side hemisphere of the brain. Although there are creative aspects in the right-side of the brain, it is widely accepted that most creative powers arise from the left side of the brain.

The right side of the brain is associated with collecting information and analysis. It’s the sensible part of the brain that talks us through what we should really do.

The Incarnations of Vishnu

All matter is conscious which evolves. As Absolute conscious, Vishnu creates the world through Brahma, and Hindu mythology gives an account of the evolution of Earth in the incarnations of Vishnu.

According to legend, Vishnu has reincarnated nine times so far. They are:

Matsya, the fish Kurma, the Turtle (reptiles) Vahara, the pig (animal life) Narasimha, half man, half lion Vaman, the man-dwarf Parashuram the man with an axe Rama – moral man Krishna – philosophical man Buddha – enlightened man

As consciousness evolves in nature it consistently creates improved versions of itself. But Vishnu can only do this with the help of his wife Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.

The Symbolic Meaning of Lakshmi

Lakshmi emerged from the churning of the milky ocean on a lotus flower and subsequently incarnates amongst mankind in various forms. Described as ‘the mother of the world’ the goddess nurtures consciousness.

Lakshmi cleans Vishnu’s feet to show her nurturing nature. In chapter 8 of the Vishnu Purana says:

“Vishnu is meaning, she is speech; Hari is polity, she is prudence; Vishnu is understanding, she is intellect, he is righteousness, she is devotion.”

Lakshmi means ‘goals’ and as the goddess of wealth, beauty and love is said to reside in those that are prospering in life. In Hindu art she is always depicted sitting on a one hundred petal lotus indicated she is pure.

Together with Vishnu, Lakshmi is Absolute Consciousness, or The Truth.

Her four arms represent Dharma (doing the right thing), prosperity, perfection and freedom from mental and emotional bondages.

Other qualities of Lakshmi are portrayed through the elephants she is often pictured with. In Hindu esoteric symbolism, elephants represent strength, wisdom and patience, qualities needed to nurture.

The symbolic meaning of Hindu symbols

In ancient myth and Hindu art, Vishnu carries symbolic objects in his four hands and lies on a bed of floating serpents. The serpents represent the wisdom and peace of a calm mind that is freed from anxious thought.

Vishnu’s other symbols are:

Conch = vibrational frequencies and energetic forces that create and sustain all life in the universe. Scientifically speaking, Vishnu is the personification of the Conscious Universe.

Mace = the destructive nature of the god. It symbolizes the dissolution of ego and negative traits or even the destruction of the universe itself.

Bow or Lotus Flower = Both the lotus and the bow represent awakened consciousness that allows you to see beyond the veil of illusion.

Discus = The spinning discus symbolises Purity of mind and used by Vishnu to destroy demons.

The symbolic meaning of Vishnu and Lakshmi relates to the highest forms of human consciousness that we are aware of. Together they tell us what to do, and give us the ability to nurture Brahma into fruition.

Master Mind Content offers online symbolism courses. We have several in-depth guides that explain how symbolism relates to the body-mind-energy connection. Understanding symbolism can help you make important decisions, improve your quality of life and understand more about the world.

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queersatanic · 5 months

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Hindutva's Foreign Tie-up in the 1930s

Archival Evidence

To understand militant Hinduism, one must examine its domestic roots as well as foreign influence. In the 1930s Hindu nationalism borrowed from European fascism to transform 'different' people into 'enemies'. Leaders of militant Hinduism repeatedly expressed their admiration for authoritarian leaders such as Mussolini and Hitler and for the fascist model of society. This influence continues to the present day. This paper presents archival evidence on the would-be collaborators.

By Marzia Casolari

Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Jan. 22-28, 2000, Vol. 35, No. 4 (Jan. 22-28, 2000), pp. 218-228

'Fascist' was in Sumit Sarkar's words, "till the other day a mere epithet" ('The Fascism of the Sangh Parivar', Economic and Political Weekly, January 30, 1993, p 163). It has come to define the ideology and practice of the Hindu militant organisations. It is a common place, accepted by their opponents, as well as by those who have a critical, but not necessarily negative, view of Hindu fundamentalism. Defining the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and, in general, the organisations of militant Hinduism I as undemocratic, with authoritarian, paramilitary, radical, violent tendencies and a sympathy for fascist ideology and practice, has been a major concern for many politically oriented scholars and writers. This has been the case with the literature which started with Gandhi's assassination and continues up to the present day with works such as Amartya Sen's India at Risk (The New York Review of Books, April 1993) and Christophe Jaffrelot's The Hindu Nationalist Movement in India (Viking, New Delhi, 1996), the latest book published on the subject, or the well known Khaki Shorts and Saffron Flags (Orient Longman, New Delhi, 1993), which came out soon after the destruction of the Babri masjid. As a result, the fascist ideological background of Hindu fundamentalism is taken for granted, never proved by systematic analysis. This is an outcome that is, to a certain extent, explained by the fact that most of the above-mentioned authors are political scientists and not historians.

It is a fact that many of those who witnessed the growth of Hindu radical forces in the years around the second world war were already convinced of the Sangh's fascist outlook. Particularly acute was the perception that the Congress had of these organisations and their character. There is no need to mention the already well known opinion of Nehru, who, right from the beginning, had pointed at these organisations as communalist and fascist.

Less well known is the fact that, as shown by a confidential report circulated within the Congress most probably at the time of the first ban of the RSS, after Gandhi's assassination, the similarity between the character of the RSS and that of fascist organisations was already taken for granted. In fact, the report itself states that the RSS

...Started in Nagpur some sort of Hindu Boys Scout movement. Gradually it developed into a communal militarist organisation with violent tendencies.

The RSS has been purely Maharashtrian brahmin organisation. The non-brahmin Maharashtrians who constitute the bulk of C P and Maharashtra have no sympathy with it.

Even in the other provinces the chief organisers and whole-time workers will be found to be inevitably Maharashtrian brahmins.

Through the RSS the Maharashtrian brahmins have been dreaming of establishing in India 'a Peshwa Raj' after the withdrawal of Britishers. The RSS flag is the Bhagwa Flag of the Peshwas - Maharashtrian rulers [who] were the last to be conquered by the British - and after the termination of British rule in India, the Maharashtrians should be vested with political powers.

The RSS practises secret and violent methods which promote 'fascism'. No regard is paid to truthful means and constitutional methods.

There is no constitution of the organisation; its aims and objects have never been clearly defined. The general public is usually told that its aim is only physical training, but the real aims are not conveyed even to the rank and file of the RSS members. Only its 'inner circle' is taken into a confidence.

There are no records or proceedings of the RSS organisation, no membership registers are maintained. There are also no records of its income and the expenditure. The RSS is thus strictly secret as regards its organisation. It has consequently... (National Archives of India (NAI), Sardar Patel Correspondence, microfilm, reel no 3, 'A Note on the RSS', undated). Unfortunately the document stops abruptly here, but it contains enough evidence of the reputation the RSS already had by the late 1940s.

This document, however, is by no means exceptional. An accurate search of the primary sources produced by the organisations of Hindu nationalism, as well as by their opponents and by the police, is bound to show the extent and the importance of the connections between such organisations and Italian fascism. In fact the most important organisations of Hindu nationalism not only adopted fascist ideas in a conscious and deliberate way, but this happened also because of the existence of direct contacts between the representatives of the main Hindu organisations and fascist Italy.

To demonstrate this, I will reconstruct the context from which arose the interest of Hindu radicalism in Italian fascism right from the early 1920s. This interest was commonly shared in Maharashtra, and must have inspired B S Moonje's trip to Italy in 1931. The next step will be to examine the effects of that trip, namely how B S Moonje tried to transfer fascist models to Hindu society and to organise it militarily, according to fascist patterns. An additional aim of this paper is to show how, about the end of the 1930s, the admiration for the Italian regime was commonly shared by the different streams of Hindu nationalism and the main Hindu leaders.

Particular attention will be devoted to the attitude adopted by the main Hindu organisations during the second world war. During those crucial years, Hindu nationalism seemed to uneasily oscillate between a conciliatory attitude towards the British, and a sympathy for the dictators. This is in fact far from surprising because - as will be shown - in those years, militant Hindu organisations were preparing and arming themselves to fight the so-called internal enemies, rather than the British.

More generally, the aim of this paper is to disprove Christophe Jaffrelot's thesis that there is a sharp distinction between nazi and fascist ideology on one side and RSS on the other as far as the concept of race and the centrality of the leader are concerned.^2

I Hindu Nationalists and Italian Fascism

None of the works mentioned above, Jaffrelot's included, deals with what I consider a most important problem, namely, the existence of direct contacts between the representatives of the fascist regime, including Mussolini and Hindu nationalists. These contacts demonstrate that Hindu nationalism had much more than an abstract interest in the ideology and practice of fascism.

The interest of Indian Hindu nationalists in fascism and Mussolini must not be considered as dictated by an occasional curiosity, confined to a few individuals, rather, it should be considered as the culminating result of the attention that Hindu nationalists, especially in Maharashtra, focused on Italian dictatorship and its leader. To them, fascism appeared to be an example of conservative revolution. This concept was discussed at length by the Marathi press, right from the early phase of the Italian regime.

From 1924 to 1935 Kesari regularly published editorials and articles about Italy, fascism and Mussolini. What impressed the Marathi journalists was the socialist origin of fascism and the fact that the new regime seemed to have transformed Italy from a backward country to a first class power. Indians could not know, then, that, behind the demagogic rhetoric of the regime, there was very little substance.

Moreover, the Indian observers were convinced that fascism had restored order in a country previously upset by political tensions. In a series of editorials, Kesari described the passage from liberal government to dictatorship as a shift from anarchy to an orderly situation, where social struggles had no more reason to exist.^3 The Marathi newspaper gave considerable space to the political reforms carried out by Mussolini, in particular the substitution of the election of the members of parliament with their nomination (ibid, January 17, 1928) and the replacement of parliament itself with the Great Council of Fascism. Mussolini's idea was the opposite of that of democracy and it was expressed by the dictator's principle, according to which 'one man's government is more useful and more binding' for the nation than the democratic institutions (ibid, July 17, 1928).%4 Is all this not reminiscent of the principle of 'obedience to one leader' ('ek chalak anuvartitva') followed by the RSS?

Finally, a long article of August 13, 1929, 'Italy and the Young Generations', stated that the Italian young generation had succeeded the old one to lead the country. That had resulted in the 'fast ascent of Italy in every field'. The article went on to describe at length the organisation of the Italian society according to fascist models. The principal reasons of the discipline of the Italian youths were strong religious feelings, widespread among the population, attachment to the family, and the respect of traditional values: no divorce, no singles, no right to vote for women, whose only duty was to sit at home, by the fireplace. The article focused then on the fascist youth organisations, the Balilla and the Avanguardisti.

One may wonder how the Indian journalists could be so well informed about what was going on in Italy. Very possibly, among their sources there was a pamphlet in English, published by an Italian editor in 1928, entitled The Recent Laws for the Defence of the State (copy in NAI, Foreign and Political Department, 647G, 1927). Emphasised, right from the beginning, was the importance of the National Militia, defined as "the bodyguard of the revolution". The booklet continued with the description of the restrictive measures adopted by the regime: a ban on the "subversive parties", limitations to the press, expulsion of "disaffected persons" from public posts, and, finally, the death sentence.

Significantly, the shift from the liberal phase to fascism is described by the pamphlet in strikingly similar terms to those employed by the above-mentioned articles:

This step [the shift to fascism] has struck a death blow to the thread-bare theories of Italian liberalism, according to which the sovereign state must observe strict neutrality towards all political associations and parties. This theory explains why in Italy the ship of state was drifting before the wind, ready to sink in the vortex of social dissolution or to be wrecked on the rocks of financial disaster.

Another inspiring source of the literature published in Kesari must have been the work by D V Tahmankar, the correspondent of the Marathi newspaper from London and admirer of the Italian dictator. In 1927 Tahmankar published a book entitled Muslini ani Fashismo, (Mussolini and Fascism), a biography of the dictator, with several references to the organisation of the fascist state, to the fascist social system, to the fascist ideology, and to Italy's recent past. An entire chapter, the last, was devoted to description of fascist society and its institutions, especially the youth organisations.

One can easily come to the conclusion that, by the late 1920s, the fascist regime and Mussolini had considerable popularity in Maharashtra. The aspects of fascism which appealed most to Hindu nationalists were, of course, both the militarisation of society and what was seen as the real transformation of society, exemplified by the shift from chaos to order. The anti-democratic system was considered as a positive alternative to democracy which was seen as a typically British value.

Such literature made an implicit comparison between fascism and the Italian Risorgimento. The latter's influence on Indian nationalism, both moderate and radical, is well known.^5 However, whereas the Risorgimento appealed to both moderates and extremists, fascism appealed only to the radicals, who considered it as the continuation of the Risorgimento and a phase of the rational organisation of the state.

The first Hindu nationalist who came in contact with the fascist regime and its dictator was B S Moonje, a politician strictly related to the RSS. In fact, Moonje had been Hedgewar's mentor, the two men were related by an intimate friendship. Moonje's declared intention to strengthen the RSS and to extend it as a nationwide organisation is well known. Between February and March 1931, on his return from the round table conference, Moonje made a tour of Europe, which included a long stop-over in Italy. There he visited some important military schools and educational institutions. The highlight of the visit was the meeting with Mussolini. An interesting account of the trip and the meeting is given in Moonje's diary, and takes 13 pages (Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), Moonje papers, microfilm, m 1).^6

The Indian leader was in Rome during March 15 to 24, 1931. On March 19, in Rome, he visited, among others, the Military College, the Central Military School of Physical Education, the Fascist Academy of Physical Education, and, most important, the Balilla and Avanguardisti organisations. These two organisations, which he describes in more than two pages of his diary, were the keystone of the fascist system of indoctrination - rather than education - of the youths. Their structure is strikingly similar to that of the RSS. They recruited boys from the age of six, up to 18: the youths had to attend weekly meetings, where they practised physical exercises, received paramilitary training and performed drills and parades.

According to the literature promoted by the RSS and other Hindu fundamentalist organisations and parties, the structure of the RSS was the result of Hedgewar's vision and work. However Moonje played a crucial role in moulding the RSS along Italian (fascist) lines. The deep impression left on Moonje by the vision of the fascist organisation is confirmed by his diary:

The Balilla institutions and the conception of the whole organisation have appealed to me most, though there is still not discipline and organisation of high order. The whole idea is conceived by Mussolini for the military regeneration of Italy. Italians, by nature, appear ease-loving and non-martial like the Indians generally. They have cultivated, like Indians, the work of peace and neglected the cultivation of the art of war. Mussolini saw the essential weakness of his country and conceived the idea of the Balilla organisation...Nothing better could have been conceived for the military organisation of Italy...The idea of fascism vividly brings out the conception of unity amongst people...India and particularly Hindu India need some such institution for the military regeneration of the Hindus: so that the artificial distinction so much emphasised by the British of martial and non-martial classes amongst the Hindus may disappear. Our institution of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh of Nagpur under Dr Hedgewar is of this kind, though quite independently conceived. I will spend the rest of my life in developing and extending this Institution of Dr Hedgewar all throughout the Maharashtra and other provinces.

He continues describing drills and uniforms:

I was charmed to see boys and girls well dressed in their naval and military uniforms undergoing simple exercises of physical training and forms of drill.

Definitely more meaningful is the report of the meeting with Mussolini. On the same day, March 19, 1931 at 3 pm, in Palazzo Venezia, the headquarters of the fascist government, he met the Italian dictator. The meeting is recorded in the diary on March 20, and it is worth reproducing the complete report.

...As soon as I was announced at the door, he got up and walked up to receive me. I shook hands with him saying that I am Dr Moonje. He knew everything about me and appeared to be closely following the events of the Indian struggle for freedom. He seemed to have great respect for Gandhi. He sat down in front of me on another chair in front of his table and was conversing with me for quite half an hour. He asked me about Gandhi and his movement and pointedly asked me a question "If the Round Table Conference will bring about peace between India and England". I said that if the British would honestly desire to give us equal status with other dominions of the Empire, we shall have no objection to remain peacefully and loyally within the Empire; otherwise the struggle will be renewed and continued. Britain will gain and be able to maintain her premier position amongst the European Nation (sic) if India is friendly and peaceful towards her and India cannot be so unless she is given Dominion Status on equal terms with other Dominions. Signor Mussolini appeared impressed by this remark of mine. Then he asked me if I have visited the University. I said I am interested in the military training of boys and have been visiting the Military Schools of England, France and Germany. I have now come to Italy for the same purpose and I am very grateful to say that the Foreign Office and the War Office have made good arrangements for my visiting these schools. I just saw this morning and afternoon the Balilla and the Fascist Organisations and I was much impressed. Italy needs them for her development and prosperity. I do not see anything objectionable though I have been frequently reading in the newspapers not very friendly criticisms about them and about your Excellency also. Signor Mussolini: What is your opinion about them? Dr Moonje: Your Excellency, I am much impressed. Every aspiring and growing Nation needs such organisations. India needs them most for her military regeneration. During the British Domination of the last 150 years Indians have been waved away from the military profession but India now desires to prepare herself for undertaking the responsibility for her own defence and I am working for it. I have already started an organisation of my own, conceived independently with similar objectives. I shall have no hesitation to raise my voice from the public platform both in India and England when occasion may arise in praise of your Balilla and Fascist organisations. I wish them good luck and every success. Signor Mussolini - who appeared very pleased - said - Thanks but yours is an uphill task. However I wish you every success in return. Saying this he got up and I also got up to take his leave.

The description of the Italian journey includes information regarding fascism, its history, the fascist 'revolution', etc, and continues for two more pages. One can wonder at the association between B S Moonje and the RSS, but if we think that Moonje had been Hedgewar' s mentor, the association will be much clearer.^7 The intimate friendship between Moonje and Hedgewar and the former's declared intention to strengthen the RSS and to extend it as a nationwide organisation prove a strict connection between Moonje and the RSS. Moreover, it makes sense to think that the entire circle of militant Hinduism must have been influenced by Moonje's Italian experience.

II Moonje’s Plans for Militarising Hindus

III Eve of Second World War

IV Savarkar and Nazism

V Waiting for the Right Enemy

VI Conclusions

Notes

#hindutva #Hindutva's Foreign Tie-Up in the 1930s #Marzia Casolari

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moontyger · 2 months

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Trump has changed what it means to be evangelical

After evangelicals embraced Trump, something odd happened. As other Christian denominations hemorrhaged members, evangelicals saw their ranks grow; from 2016 to 2020, their share of the White adult population increased to 29 percent, from 25 percent, according to the Pew Research Center. The catch was many of these new evangelicals didn’t go to church. They became evangelicals because of what it meant politically, most of all because it was a way to signal support for Donald Trump. Among White Trump supporters who were not evangelicals in 2016, 16 percent began to identify as evangelical by 2020, suggesting again that politics rather than religion was the driving factor.

The idea of evangelicals who don’t go to church was once unusual. Now, it is surprisingly common. In 2008, only 16 percent of evangelicals said they never or seldom attended church. By 2020, 27 percent did.

Evangelicalism, in short, has become about shared political convictions. In one survey of Christian attitudes, for example, 43 percent of evangelicals said they did not believe in the divinity of Christ. But it gets even more bizarre. According to the 2022 Cooperative Election Study, 14 percent of Muslims (and 12 percent of Hindus and 5 percent of Jews) described themselves as “born-again” or evangelical Christians. This is not a joke.

If we look more closely at the numbers, what’s happening becomes clearer — and it’s fascinating. About three times more Republican Muslims and Republican Jews identify as “evangelical” than their Democratic counterparts, according to an analysis of the data by political scientist Ryan Burge. In an America that is rapidly secularizing — in just two decades, church membership has plummeted to under 50 percent, from about 70 percent — partisan commitments are replacing religious affiliation as people’s overarching source of identity.

#Xianity #US politics #US politics 2024 #religion in politics

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metamatar · 1 year

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ok so i am very much uninformed on politics, i decided at a younger age that i wasn't interested in it and therefore would not read or keep myself particularly informed about it. obviously this is a bad idea, and i want to change and keep myself informed on actual politics and well, abstract[?] (wrong word but cannot think of another, basically mean like. knowing which political .. stance ?? [idk. like marxist or communist or whatever] i might be.) ones as well. what's a good place to get started here? where do i look for actual politics going on in india since i'm pretty sure ndtv or whatever isn't exactly the best source? or maybe it is? idk, like i said i'm pretty uninformed on the matter but would like to learn more

so one thing is, in india you have to accept the media landscape is just dire because being a journalist with integrity is a bit like signing up to have your life ruined. all major media has been bought by hindutva already. what you have to do is more learn to read between lines, understand people's motivations, which is a matter of practice. a good way to start is to read analysis (not news reports) of the same incident in different media and you'll start noticing patterns. even more important imo is to talk and bounce ideas with a friend at a similar place as you or someone interested in politics who won't overwhelm you with their perspective. you can try online but idt its safe or advisable anymore to do that experiment online. i had debate club in university (sad) and some socialist reading groups (better) after. the thing is this journey to self education is kind of personal and im also not pedagogically oriented or trained? so lots of first person description instead of prescriptions.

i still check what's up on ndtv because it gives me a good pulse of what english language media and liberals are thinking. major newspapers i scan hindu and the indian express sometimes. online i have a look at newslaundry (also has some youtube content) and the wire, they're reader supported and haven't turned full hindutva yet. i read longer form things in the caravan and epw, but these are subscription based. i keep tabs on the latest round of hindutva fake news when alt news debunks it.

for the abstract things, i literally did an online course bc i was frustrated by what all the liberal arts grads seemed to already agree on. i did ian shapiro's moral foundations of politics which is available online as both youtube lectures and a textbook. if you want to go that route feel free but it's not necessary, you can also try to read the entries on wikipedia or stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (more expertise) when you encounter something unfamiliar and build up like that. podcasts like bbc in our time will often interview academics to give intros to many political philosophy concepts and thinkers. whatever your learning style supports! i think the important thing is to find something you are actually interested in, and take that tack. i like history, so i might read books about historical revolutions or historical forms of organising society or listen to podcasts like mike duncan's revolutions.

For communism the usual starting points are these very short pamphlets:

Principles of Communism by Engels

The Manifesto of the Communist Party by Marx

Wage-Labor and Capital by Marx

Socialism: Utopian and Scientific by Engels

feel free to ask for more specific questions!

#asks

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holycatsandrabbits · 1 month

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Hey, y’all, it’s Weird Wednesday! Where on some Wednesdays, I blog about weird stuff and give writing prompts.

Today: Roopkund: Skeleton Lake

Welcome on this Weird Wednesday! Today we’re off to the Indian Himalayas to check out a lake that people are just dying to visit. Literally.

Also known as “Skeleton Lake,” Roopkund is famous for having shores littered with the scattered bones of at least 300 people (see pic, above). Who were they? How did they die and when? Unfortunately, nobody knows for sure. But there are some clues.

At first, people wondered if the skeletons might belong to a doomed army marching through the mountains, but the remains include women and children, and few weapons. There aren’t many elderly people whose presence might suggest the lake was used as a graveyard, and their bones show no sign of an epidemic disease that could have wiped out hundreds at once. Instead, the clothing and artifacts found with the bones suggest they belong to pilgrims on a holy voyage, and indeed, Roopkund is near several Hindu pilgrimage sites.

But how did they all die? Oddly enough, some of the bones show signs of blunt trauma. And there is a local legend that tells of a large party of pilgrims who angered the goddess Nanda Devi, who punished them with a hailstorm. Hail is common in the area, so it makes perfect sense: the legend is preserving a real weather event that killed hundreds.

Except recent DNA analysis and other scientific studies suggest something far stranger.

Check out the blog post for the whole story and some writing prompts, such as:

Visitors from another realm. Just when you think you understand what happened in the past, a new find changes everything. It’s especially unsettling when the evidence consists of human remains. You could write just that kind of mystery about our planet or a fantasy world, where scientists discover foreign travelers in a strange place, or evidence of ancient contact between two peoples long before they were thought to have met. Explanations could include voyages of exploration or just people getting lost, or less realistic ideas like teleportation, tunnels through the center of the earth, alien abductions that return people in the wrong place, or magic.

DannyeChase.com ~ AO3 ~ Linktree ~ Weird Wednesday writing prompts blog ~ Resources for Writers

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sasoxichomoshi · 1 year

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Ashlesh analysis

Since im the only person in the face of this world that is deranged enough about Nilah to go beyond the mortal realm seeking for answers, i felt i had the responsibility to write this post with as much info as i could

frequently i feel like people dont know how to address or read ashlesh since 1) he's subortinated to nilah (as if he was an accessory, and not an entirely different entity, but i understand why this overlap happens) and 2) it's not like we have a lot of info on him to begin with

or that's i think people like to believe; i mean, yes he has less lore that directly mentions him than fiddlesticks, but i believe that with a bit of reading we can infer a lot from ashlesh, and that's why im here writing this post

1. DUALITY

first i would like to point out something interesting that (so far) just happened with ashlesh: the fact that he has two different titles

for me, it speaks about ashlesh complexity as a character - he resonates in duality, joy under his influence can mean multiple things, his waters cut deep but they also veil against harm, he gives power but takes the soul

i feel like (at some point) ashlesh was closer to humanity (meaning that he helped humans thrive at the same time he fed on them, yk like cattle) than to his siblings - The Ten Kings - and that's why he was granted two titles, he seems to go beyond the "just consume" that we see from fiddle, yes he fed on humans but he understand how to do this

the devil is smarter

this of course is a past that we'll probably never know about ashlesh; if it was once written, the river of fate has likely washed it away long ago

2. AMBITIONS

despite mysterious, ashlesh seems to have a clear and audacious goal: fight the heavens

it's transparent like water that ashlesh harbours resentment towards the celestial realm above and it has a good reason: it was the celestials that trapped him

here's the story

For those who dont know, the new fiddlesticks and zoe got a small connection in lore - in one of the old splasharts, fiddle carries a key, but upon receiving his rework, it was not there anymore

so people started noticing that the key that once belonged to fiddle was now in the hands of a mischievous little (and too powerful) girl

(this lore event is also present in fiddle's biography)

but after all, what this key was for?

Carnivalnites (or Jared Rosen), the main writer behind fiddle rework, rell, viego and nilah, answered it in an old tweet (now deleted) what the key was for

note 1: "beautiful and terrible in its joy", the duality concept strikes again

note 2: by the way it's put and by the way jared talks about the "something else" (that we now know it's ashlesh), it seems that at early stages the demon of joy was meant to be a lesser demon that was under fiddle sphere of influence (this concept is confirmed by the demonology annotation image from noxus that came out with fiddle rework) but with nilah release they have since moved from this concept cause now ashlesh is one of the ten kings alongside fiddlesticks

with all this information we can confirm that ashlesh is deeply tied with targon, or more specific to the celestial realm beyond

celestial beings trapped ashlesh for some unknown reason, possibly the demon was posing some kind of direct threat to them so he had to be locked

...

my personal theory is that ashlesh got kicked from the celestial realm, tried to build up his own "kingdom" below on runeterra, but also got denied this option and the celestials locked him away as a final punishment

"She read of the mad king Viego and his tragic fall, the genesis of the first dragons, and the foundation of the universe in the Kathkan tradition."

how is this possible? cause ashlesh himself is a star that once resided on the celestial realm and upon coming to the world below, he turned into the demon we know

Ashlesha (or Āśleṣā) is the 9th nakshatra (constellation) of the Hindu astrology; it's symbol is the sea serpent and its element is water. The head of the snake (in Hydra constellation) corresponds to the star Āshleshā.

interestingly, fiddlesticks bio also mentions this strange and otherworldly nature

An evil gone from the world for numberless centuries—long enough that the warnings of a nascent humanity passed into rumor, then myth, then legend… until all that remained were simple fables. An entity so utterly alien that it defies almost all contemporary knowledge of magic.

note 3: about the "turning into a demon" part, fiddle's bio is full of "it got turned into" imageries, of men and animals transforming with demonic power, so i dare say that is not impossible for ashlesh turning into a demon;

last, but not least, to make this even joyful (and funnier) i present you all the Star Guardian Version of the story (Jared worked on Another Sky novel for SG 2022 event too, so the thematics overlap)

ashlesh the STAR of joy

remember how fiddlesticks and zoe were (also) related in Another Sky? yup yup

(i feel somehow that zoe also was the key to free ashlesh in this AU too)

with these i finish my thoughts, thank you for those who read it !

#ashlesh #analysis #character analysis #nilah

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everything-is-crab · 1 year

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I agree with this. As much I detest the devadasi system as any other feminist, and I am aware many upper caste men wanted the tradition to continue on (as they're still forcing young girls to do that today) but the laws passed against it weren't out of good faith. And they didn't make much positive material difference-

This isn't like any prostitution system. This was the result of upper caste men exploitating female temple artists from marginalized castes, whose work shaped a lot of Indian culture which nationalists like to boast today. It hides the ugly truth that these performing arts of our culture, that are glorified today by upper caste Hindus, were modified so that it's suitable to the chaste pure "upper" caste woman compared to the "lower" caste women who had no "dignity".

Both upper caste and men from marginalized castes saw this as a debate of a dalit/sudra woman's sexual purity. Not as a form of sexual exploitation. Men like Periyar can claim to be pro women as much as they want, but their analysis of marriage and everything came out of their anti caste analysis, not out of genuine concern for women. They saw the bodies of women of their castes as a leveling ground, not as people whose own consent mattered. Which is why they focused on banning the whole system, which was a dumb thing to do as the writer in first article says, because not only was the contribution of these women to our culture neglected and erased from history but also they were also now seen as some impure women responsible for being marked as a shameful reminder of casteism and they were ostracized further. Ostracized from their own communities.

Keep in mind initially the devadasis could own land, need not have married any human male and could adopt daughters in case they didn't want to conceive with a human male. Understanding the kind of time this was and how patriarchal the upper castes were, this was probably seen as something too revolutionary for women from the "sudra" and "ati sudra" castes who were now gaining recognition in the temple, where many marginalized castes were forbidden to enter or segregated at temples. It was not the fault of the devadasis that Brahmin men started sexually exploiting them. As if women from "lower" castes aren't already seen as born as sexually deviant by upper caste people, now even the men of their own castes blamed them to "scar" their reputation.

In states like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, instead of reforming it so that the men who exploited and wish to exploit these dancers would be punished, they passed laws punishing the female dancers themselves. Including minors. I.e- the devadasis, who were the primary ones exploited in this system, were now criminalized themselves. In other states if the woman is exempt from conviction, then her family or any relative can be charged.

But there's not a single provision in the laws to do anything about cases that involves trafficking, coercion by men of upper castes, or for the men directly involved in sexual exploitation of the woman/girl. In fact in some states there were supposed to be rules to implement rehabilitation of those women, but those rules were never made and therefore never implemented 🙄

How this tradition (the original one, being married to a god instead of a human) and the arts related to it should reform.....is upto the women of those families in my opinion. I am definitely against the sexual exploitation and wish for it to be abolished instead of fully legalized, all I am objecting to is the framework of these laws (similar to criminalizing prostitutes and not the perpetrators of the sexual exploitation) and the social stigma these women face.

#india #desi feminism #devadasi system

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ajayvermablog · 8 days

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Top Study Resources for Preparing for NABARD Grade A

Preparing for the NABARD Grade A exam requires access to high-quality study materials that cover all aspects of the syllabus. From general awareness to specific subjects like agriculture and rural development, choosing the right resources can significantly boost your chances of success. Here are some top study resources that every NABARD aspirant should consider.

1. Standard Textbooks

Textbooks form the foundation of your preparation. They provide a comprehensive understanding of core subjects and help you grasp fundamental concepts.

Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh: An excellent resource for economics, it covers both basic and advanced concepts.

Agriculture at a Glance by R.K. Sharma: A must-have for aspirants to understand agricultural science and technology.

Lucent’s General Knowledge: For general awareness, this book provides concise information on various topics.

Additionally, many aspirants choose to enroll in a NABARD Grade A course to complement their preparation. These courses are designed to provide structured learning, expert guidance, and comprehensive coverage of the syllabus, ensuring you don’t miss out on important areas.

2. Government Websites and Reports

Staying updated with the latest government policies, schemes, and reports is crucial for the NABARD Grade A exam, especially in the areas of agriculture, rural development, and the economy.

NABARD’s Official Website: Regularly visit the NABARD website for updates on schemes and initiatives.

Government Reports: Read important reports like the Economic Survey, Union Budget, and NITI Aayog reports to stay informed.

Yojana and Kurukshetra Magazines: These monthly publications focus on rural development and government schemes, making them valuable for preparation.

3. Current Affairs Resources

General awareness is a key component of the NABARD Grade A exam, and staying updated with current affairs is essential. Relying on multiple sources ensures comprehensive coverage of national and international events.

The Hindu or Indian Express: Reading a daily newspaper helps keep track of important news, especially in the agriculture and rural development sectors.

Monthly Current Affairs Magazines: Choose from well-known publications like Pratiyogita Darpan or Banking Services Chronicle for detailed analysis of important events.

Mobile Apps: Use apps like GKToday or GradeUp for daily current affairs quizzes and updates.

4. Online Study Platforms

Online study platforms offer a wide range of study materials, mock tests, and expert lectures that can enhance your preparation.

EduTap Learning Solutions: A popular platform among NABARD aspirants, EduTap offers comprehensive courses, mock tests, and study materials designed specifically for NABARD Grade A exams. It provides detailed video lectures, notes, and quizzes to help aspirants grasp difficult concepts easily.

YouTube Channels: Many educators provide free lectures and tips on NABARD preparation. Channels like Study IQ and EduTap are popular among aspirants.

5. Revision Notes and Flashcards

Preparing for a competitive exam like NABARD Grade A requires continuous revision to retain important concepts and facts.

Create your own revision notes for important topics like government schemes, agricultural terms, and economic policies.

Use flashcards to memorize important dates, data, and definitions quickly.

Focus on revising current affairs and static GK daily.

Conclusion

Having the right study resources is essential to cracking the NABARD Grade A exam. From textbooks and government websites to online platforms, using a mix of resources ensures a well-rounded preparation. For structured guidance, enrolling in a NABARD Grade A course can further enhance your learning experience, giving you the confidence to tackle this competitive exam successfully. With dedication and the right resources, you can achieve your goal of clearing NABARD Grade A and embarking on a rewarding career in the banking sector.

#nabard grade b course #online nabard course #best online nabard course #nabard assistant manager courses

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tarunias-official · 2 years

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youtube

#cop27 climate summit #india at cop27 #cop27 egypt #the hindu editorial analysis #the hindu news #the hindu #upsc current affairs #upsc cse #Youtube

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strawberry-soot · 2 years

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✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 🐲 MALLEUS BIRTHDAY SSR FLOWER ANALYSIS* 🐲*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

*Mandatory reminder that I’m no flower specialist, which means these are all very subjective opinions. Take everything with a grain of salt!

He has red helichrysums which symbolizes immortality, and possibly red asters which represent undying devotion, wisdom, faith and valor. Helichrysums don’t lose color or shape when you dry them by hanging them upside down which is why they’re also called everlasting. Asters are considered to be the flower of love and sacrifice and are the perfect flower to give your partner on any happy occasion.

Malleus has green roses which is sometimes assumed to stand for jealousy. While it’s true that green is the color most often associated with jealousy, that meaning isn’t usually portrayed with green roses. Instead, people gift them to give the recipients are a sense of freshness and balance. They stand for life, growth, and abundance, as well as renewal, fertility, energy and richness. In the context of roses, the color green can also be used to express feelings of stability and peace.

In folklore, elderberry (the fruit, not the flower) is a symbol of the ability to protect, induce vivid dream (in particular those of the faerie realm), to heal, as well as to exorcise/remove negative influences. Wearing elderberry leaves is supposed to protect you from attacks.

Red calla lilies portray courage, determination, and beauty. They symbolize rebirth and resurrection, though generally speaking, lilies represent purity, holiness and faithfulness. On the flip side, calla lilies also stand for an untimely death – particularly that of a young person, which is why they often appear in funerary arrangements where they’re a symbol of hope and rebirth into a better reality (note: white calla lilies are common funeral flowers but Malleus has red ones so that meaning might not hold quite as true.)

The big white flowers in Malleus’ bouquet are white magnolias, which symbolize purity, luck, perfection, and stability. Magnolias in general represent endurance and perseverance, as well as dignity and pride. (I’ve also seen some say they’re white amaryllis are used to portray pride, strength and determination, as well as beauty and love. They stand tall above other winter blooms and are particularly sturdy and thus have commonly become a symbol of success and hard-won achievement. Otherwise, they’re given to those in mourning as a sympathetic, loving message.)

The black flower/plant in his bouquet could be (red rubin) basil which has originally been used to express hatred but long since became a symbol of love and is nowadays used to convey good wishes to the receiver. Hindu tradition associates basil with purification, protection and eternal life and thus uses it in burial rites.

The green more star-shaped flower might be a lupine plant before flowering, which stands for imagination and admiration and brings those who have been gifted it inner strength and the energy to recover from trauma. It also tells the one receiving the flowers to look for new opportunities and have a more positive outlook. They’re also used to symbolize voraciousness and a general hunger for life, and represent strength and protection, as well as transformation and renewal. Biblically, they’re a reminder of one’s mortality and the fleetingness of power and wealth.

I’m very unsure about the bigger green plants (flowers?) at the very top and the left of Malleus’ bouquet. I’ve seen someone say they’re dracaena, which is a plant that’s used to mark graves, define property lines, and symbolize peace throughout Africa. It represents inner power, prosperity and, in Chinese culture, good luck. The person I originally saw this take from said dracaena symbolize bitterness. Admittedly I haven’t done enough research on dracaena to say for certain whether that is or isn’t one of its meanings, but it is one I haven’t come across in the research I did do. What I can say is that dracaena have a bitter taste that keep animals from eating it which is good since it’s moderately to highly toxic to pets. If I were to pick a flower/plant that symbolizes bitterness, I’d say aloe vera is a better suited option. (On another note, I also have a dracaena in my room and it’s a big boy. Not sure if it’s a good fit for a bouquet, but since I haven’t found a better match I wanted to include it anyways.)

Naturally, these are my un-educated guesses, but feel free to let me know if I got anything wrong/what flowers I might’ve missed.

#twst #twsisted wonderland #malleus draconia #twst malleus #flower analysis

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talonabraxas · 6 months

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Cosmic Lovers 'Vishnu & Lakshmi' Talon Abraxas

The Symbolic Meaning of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi

Lord Vishnu is Hindu Myth Hindu’s recognise Vishnu as the “protector.” He is the aspect of your personality that can dissolve the ego and uphold new Dharmas that enable you to develop peace of mind and bliss.

The Rig Veda states: “Vishnu is the most ancient of all, yet also the most recent. Nothing and no one creates Vishnu, yet Vishnu creates everyone and everything.”

The right side of the brain is associated with collecting information and analysis. It’s the sensible part of the brain that talks us through what we should really do.

The Incarnations of Vishnu All matter is conscious which evolves. As Absolute conscious, Vishnu creates the world through Brahma, and Hindu mythology gives an account of the evolution of Earth in the incarnations of Vishnu.

According to legend, Vishnu has reincarnated nine times so far. They are:

As consciousness evolves in nature it consistently creates improved versions of itself. But Vishnu can only do this with the help of his wife Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.

The Symbolic Meaning of Lakshmi Lakshmi emerged from the churning of the milky ocean on a lotus flower and subsequently incarnates amongst mankind in various forms. Described as ‘the mother of the world’ the goddess nurtures consciousness.

Lakshmi cleans Vishnu’s feet to show her nurturing nature. In chapter 8 of the Vishnu Purana says:

“Vishnu is meaning, she is speech; Hari is polity, she is prudence; Vishnu is understanding, she is intellect, he is righteousness, she is devotion.”

Together with Vishnu, Lakshmi is Absolute Consciousness, or The Truth.

Her four arms represent Dharma (doing the right thing), prosperity, perfection and freedom from mental and emotional bondages.

Other qualities of Lakshmi are portrayed through the elephants she is often pictured with. In Hindu esoteric symbolism, elephants represent strength, wisdom and patience, qualities needed to nurture.

The symbolic meaning of Hindu symbols In ancient myth and Hindu art, Vishnu carries symbolic objects in his four hands and lies on a bed of floating serpents. The serpents represent the wisdom and peace of a calm mind that is freed from anxious thought.

Vishnu’s other symbols are: Conch = vibrational frequencies and energetic forces that create and sustain all life in the universe. Scientifically speaking, Vishnu is the personification of the Conscious Universe.

Mace = the destructive nature of the god. It symbolizes the dissolution of ego and negative traits or even the destruction of the universe itself.

Bow or Lotus Flower = Both the lotus and the bow represent awakened consciousness that allows you to see beyond the veil of illusion.

Discus = The spinning discus symbolises Purity of mind and used by Vishnu to destroy demons.

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nohkalikai · 1 year

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hi!!!!

ok first thing: i was mentally screaming SAME at everything in ur recent posts—need to overexplain!! feeling so uncertain about faith because of *gestures at evangelical fundamentalist world* yet so incapable of leaving it!!

and feeling so fED UP & WEIRD at being a national minority + (supposedly) part of a global cultural imperialist majority. it is FUCKED UP sir

also omg i did not know u were not out at church aaaa. all this time i thought u had found a cool affirming and reasonable church outside home and u were being cool there. somehow this helps with my near constant crises of identity + struggling with The Church. anyway ilu i hope better things for us

HELLO i hope you don't mind me posting this publicly.

but yes to everything. it's such a strange sort of cognitive dissonance at best and actively endangering at worst! to have to come to terms with white ppl not wanting you till you subscribe to the racist ways they do religion, hindus not wanting you either bcs you're better dead to them or completely secularized, and our own community at large, rife w islamophobia and all sorts of incredibly right wing beliefs.

i don't have a proper analysis to offer wrt how to make sense of minority in the sheets hegemony in the streets, i'm sure many people who have come before me have already done that LMAO.

i like (love) this personal essay by a friend of mine:

also yea lmao i stopped going to church. i was going mostly out of compulsion and to maintain a sense of familiarity in a completely new place. but something about going to centuries-old churches that claim to be inclusive and welcoming made me laugh. like, come ON. no matter how political the pastors are or how inclusive the community is, i can't shake away feelings of discomfort and anger. and i suppose that's been my brain's cue to remember all of paul's letters regarding the body being people instead of a building blah and blah. but i can't be fussed atm.

i guess that juggling all this cognitive dissonance is a lifetime thing, very much mediated by the outside world. i've long reconciled that my faith cannot be amorphous immaterial faith that i learnt of in bible studies; it HAS to be a material faith (thinking of Ambedkar and mass conversions).

and it's like yea, we grow up being critical of christianity in all its forms but it refuses to let u go. and that can be incredibly stifling sometimes or incredibly comforting.

#'just be an atheist it frees you mentally' i did my free trial of that too dw thanks tho #i rmb talking w my friend before he wrote this article and we both rly found the idea of a material faith (marxist sense not moral sense)#to be something to sink our teeth into; to bite into #this was long but this is what happens when you have decades' worth of unresolved and very heavy emotions to deal with #nyomkitten #asks

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dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 2 years

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The religious makeup of the new Congress bucks the trends seen in American religious life, a new report finds.

The Pew Research Center says the Senate and House members are “largely untouched” by the continuing decrease in the portion of Americans who identify as Christian and the comparable increase in the share of those who say they do not have a religious affiliation.

Christians comprise 88% of the voting members of the 118th Congress who are expected to be sworn in this week (week of Jan. 3), a number that has not changed much since the 1970s, when 91% of members said they were affiliated with that faith.

The American population, on the other hand, has seen a drop in those identifying as Christians, from 78% in 2007 to 63% currently. Close to 3 in 10 Americans (29%) say they are religiously unaffiliated — atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” — a far larger portion than 16% in 2007.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent from Arizona, remains the only member of the new Congress who uses the description of religiously unaffiliated. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., described himself as humanist. Huffman also said he was “the token humanist in Congress” when he spoke via videotaped remarks to the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s annual convention in October.

Another 20 members are listed as having no known religious affiliations. Most of them declined to state an affiliation when asked by CQ Roll Call, whose data is the primary source of analysis for the Pew biennial report. The “Faith on the Hill” report noted that Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., was “moved to this category following revelations that he misrepresented parts of his life story and resume during his 2022 midterm campaign.”

The number of Christians — 469 — within the new Congress does mark the lowest number since Pew began its analysis of religious affiliation of the 111th Congress at the beginning of the 2009-10 session. But just by a hair. The number of Christians in Congress was above 470 in the eight most recent sessions and exceeded 500 as of 1970.

Overall, the 118th Congress looks similar to the previous body when comparing the two religiously.

Of the 534 total congressional members, 303 Protestants are being sworn in for the 2023-24 session, compared to 297 in the one that just ended. The number of Baptists remained the same — at 67 — while the number of Methodists and Episcopalians dropped by four each; Presbyterians had one fewer member. Catholics saw a drop of 10, with a new total of 148, but still comprise a greater share of Congress (28%) than they do the overall U.S. population (21%).

The members of Congress aligned with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon church, remained unchanged: nine. And the number of Orthodox Christians increased by one to eight. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., is the sole member of the new Congress who identifies herself as Messianic Jewish; she has also described herself as a Christian.

The number of Jews decreased by one to 33 members and all three Muslims and two Hindus were reelected in the House as well as all three members who identify as Unitarian Universalist.

Here are some of the other findings related to Congress’ religious makeup:

• Both chambers are dominated by Christians numerically.

• Almost all Republicans — 268 out of 271 — and three quarters of Democrats — 201 of 263 — identify themselves as Christians.

• All nine members of Congress who are Mormons are Republicans while Orthodox Christians are evenly split, with four from each major political party.

• Almost two-thirds (64%) of newcomers to Congress are Protestant; a bit more than half (55%) of incumbents identify with that branch of Christianity.

• There are fewer Catholic first-timers than returning members of Congress (22% compared with 29%).

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