#hindu new year reason

[specialagentartemis]

Inspired by @clonerightsagenda’s thoughts about the Ambiguously Brown Spacefuture trope, I kinda want to see more creativity with how Earth is treated in spacefuture sci-fi.

There are plenty of examples where Earth is the center of everything. Star Trek is the obvious one: it’s a bustling interstellar multispecies space society, and Earth is where Starfleet is headquartered and it’s often reflexively and unthinkingly treated by the narrative like it’s the most important planet in the Federation. (Most of our main viewpoint characters are Human, so it’s the most important planet to THEM because it’s their home, but even beyond that, Earth is treated as critically key to the Federation in a way that, say, Betazed is not.)

More recently, the common trope is that the centers of society and culture and economy and politics are elsewhere. Other planets are important, and Earth is either an unimportant backwater that no one really cares about, or galactic humanity has nearly forgotten about it entirely. This is explicit in Becky Chambers’s Wayfarers, strongly implied in The Murderbot Diaries, and one line in Ancillary Justice suggests that too. Ofc this isn’t entirely new—from what I understand it’s what’s going on in Dune too.

And they do this for obvious reasons: the authors are all interested in social and political worldbuilding that is not tethered to real Earth nations, politics, prejudices, and general baggage. Second-world fantasy authors are allowed to do this with no strings attached, but sci-fi authors who want to do social worldbuilding from the ground up have to justify why people don’t appear to identify as Chinese or Latino or Hopi or American anymore (and more often than not, not Jewish or Catholic or Muslim or Hindu or Baha’i or whatever either), why those identities don’t come into conflict with the new planetary identities and spacefuture religions the author wants to write about. It’s been so long that the origin of humanity is forgotten or irrelevant.

Star Wars is honestly underappreciated for the bold, creative, unique choice to have a bustling interstellar multispecies space society with lot of humans… and no Earth. At all. Where do humans come from? Irrelevant. Not Earth though.

And honestly I wish more sci-fi that wants to write in this space took more of a cue form Star Wars to just own it. (I actually thought the Imperial Radch HAD done the same thing—functionally a second-world fantasy, but in a spacefaring setting—until Kat pointed out the reference to arguing over which planet was the real origin of humanity.) If you posit your space future as our future, but Earth is no longer relevant and is generally forgotten… I guess it depends on how far out it is, but it strains my credulity that no one remembers or cares! The Jews in the spacefuture don’t know/remember/care where Jerusalem is? Muslims in the spacefuture decided that going to Mecca just kinda isn’t worth it? The spacefuture Papal seat is no longer in Rome and the future Catholics don’t know or care that it was ever anywhere else? All the Hopis left the Three Mesas and all the Navajos left Dinétah and all the Māori left Aotearoa and then just… forgot about it? Really? That isn’t true after hundreds and even thousands of years today; why would it be true hundreds or even thousands of years in The Spacefuture?

There are some works that do a little more complexity with spacefuture planetary societies and cultures vs. memory of Earth—the Vorkosigan Saga positions Old Earth as a culturally important memory even if it’s not a politically important planet, and The Locked Tomb makes Earth a holy center place that is mythicized more than it’s known or inhabited, for magic necromancy reasons.

I’d like to see more of that, Earth holding some sort of unique place in spacefuture humans’ culture in a historically informed way, even if you actually want to write about other things. Or go the Star Wars route and proudly proclaim that this takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, don’t worry about it.

[knowledge-from-the-abyss]

Godspousal and Spirit Family

Introduction and the History of Godspousal

First off, I would like to highly recommend the book Spirit Marriage by Megan Rose; this book is a fantastic resource on godspousal that shows both historical and interviewed accounts of godspousal. Another term for godspousal is spirit marriage; this term is a broader term that covers more than just ��gods’ in spousal. Another word that is commonly used to describe this is spiritspousal (generally used to describe a spousal relationship with non-deity entities). For this post, I am going to use the term spirit marriage or spousal, since these terms describe this more broadly. (I do generally use the term godspousal as a catch all term, however for this post, I want to use spirit marriage or just generally ‘spousal’ to avoid confusion). 

As this book describes, spirit marriage is not a new-age phenomenon, it can actually be found pretty much as far back as written history exists; there may be other instances where oral records had evidence of spirit marriage as well, but seeing as oral tradition may or may not be recorded, there isn’t much evidence of this. 

Different Types of Spirit Marriage

There are a few different types of spirit marriage, which I will describe here. 

Devotional- this type of spirit marriage usually involves the person devoting themselves almost fully to one or more deities. A lot of their craft may revolve around these deities, and there may be special things they do for and with these deities they are devotionally married to. 

Platonic- this generally involves a closer relationship with the deity, it can also go alongside devotional spousal. This is a relationship where the deity and the person may do things such as cuddle, hug, or even kiss. This relationship often involves the person relying on the deity/deities for emotional support or comfort when they are needing it. 

Romantic- this type of spousal is the most common type of spirit marriage, and the one that most generally is referred to when someone is talking about godspousal. Being romantically spoused to a deity/deities often involves a long process that can take years. Generally, romantic spousal includes a courting phase that can last months or even years. During this time period, the practitioner and deity/deities are getting to know each other. Some of the ways that spouses may get to know their deity/deities is by going on dates with them, getting to know them via meditation, and communicating with them through divination, clairsenses, and channeling. 

Familial/parental- this type of spousal is similar (and again can also involve) platonic and devotional spousal. The deity/deities will often take on a more parental or familial role within the person's life. The practitioner may lean on the deity for emotional support and comfort. The deity takes on a very parental, sibling or possibly uncle/aunt type role, depending on what the practitioner is needing. The practitioner may go to the deity for advice or otherwise treat them as a family member. The deity, in turn, will view the practitioner as one of their own family. 

How old do I have to be to be a godspouse? 

Some of the information I’m including in this section is going to be a bit controversial, however there are historical facts that I am going to go through here that I feel are important (and interesting). 

It is my belief that for romantic spirit marriage, a person should wait until they are at least 18 before even considering it. However, historically, there are records of romantic spirit spousal happening to people (specifically girls) as young as 12. This is mostly seen in Hindu culture (and is covered in the Spirit Marriage book mentioned above). Instead of forcing these young girls to be in an arranged marriage, these girls would be spiritually spoused to Shiva, or sometimes Shiva’s son, until they were older. 

The main reason, in my belief, that someone should not consider spirit marriage until they are older is not due to their age; deities do not hold the same human standards and morality as we do, they do not follow our laws and rules. Instead, this has more to do with maturity. Spirit marriage is a lifelong commitment and a very deep bond that you share. It is not something that someone does on a whim. Just like a human marriage, it takes years to get to know the entities involved, to bond with them, and to decide if ultimately you want them to be around you the rest of your life. Spirit marriage involves making vows, just like a human marriage, that you must uphold and keep. Sometimes, depending on the culture, the deity may even require the practitioner to be an open channel for them; allowing the deity to channel through them whenever the deity wishes, and even possibly allowing the deity to live permanently in the person's body so that they may do this. All of this requires someone to have the maturity to understand the depth and meaningfulness of this type of relationship; something that most teenagers (and even some people who are in their early 20s) will not truly understand. While divorce is sometimes possible, it would be similar to a human divorce, with many years of fighting and debating to decide if that is truly the best course of action for both parties. Divorce when it comes to spirit marriage is incredibly rare (the Spirit Marriage book actually does mention this as well). 

Can I be spoused to multiple deities? 

This question has already been alluded to, but yes, you can have multiple deities as spouses. In the book Spirit Marriage, there is a person who has about 7+ spouses that are listed. I personally am also spoused to multiple deities; some of the deities I am spoused to have been spousing me for many many lifetimes as well, and our spousals have continued into this lifetime. 

How do spouses interact with their deities/entities? 

As with some of the other posts I made, there are multiple ways to communicate with deities/entities. Divination is a very common way to do this, as well as using the clairsenses. Channeling is another very common way that a lot of spouses end up communicating. Interactions such as going on dates can often happen in the astral realm, the realm where non-corporeal entities reside. Some people will also go out on dates in the physical world, going to a restaurant or other places they enjoy and allowing their deity/entity spouses to accompany them. 

How do I know if a deity/entity wants spousal? 

Generally there will be very clear signs when a deity/entity is wanting spousal. You may even be able to feel it in the energy they give off; they may give off a flirtatious vibe (although there are some deities/entities that have a very flirtatious energy in general, so please make sure you are using discernment and doing divination to confirm that they genuinely do want spousal). Other ways they may show you are by being around you constantly; they may outright tell you they want spousal (if you’re able to hear them). Some deities will send practitioners dreams about marriage or otherwise romantically-inclined dreams to signal they are wanting spousal. Some deities may mention it while the practitioner is doing divination with them. 

Is sex involved with romantic spirit marriage? 

Yes, sex can be (but is not always) a part of romantic spirit marriage. Again, similar to the above question about interacting with spouses, this often happens in the astral realm. This can also happen through self-pleasure. Spiritual pregnancies and spiritual children can also be a result of this; energy from the deities/entities as well as the practitioner's energies can go into making a spiritual child (or children). Multiple deities can also be involved in the creation of these children. With me and my wife, since we are spoused to some of the same deities, sometimes both our energies go into our spiritual children as well. In these situations, either the deity or the practitioner can become spiritually pregnant, and there may even be physical symptoms of pregnancy involved as well if it is the practitioner who gets pregnant. Even masculine deities can get pregnant (deities are very genderfluid in nature). 

How do you balance spirit marriage with physical relationships? 

This is going to be individual to each practitioner and their spouse(s). Some deities/entities will allow someone to have a human partner or human relationships, while others will forbid a human relationship. This is also something that needs to be discussed with your spirit spouses, as some people will be ok with never having a physical relationship, while with others it is something they will require in their human lifetime. 

For me personally, I got incredibly lucky in that my wife is also spoused to many of the same deities I am, so our relationship and spousals often coincide with each other very well. 

What is a spirit family? 

Spirit family can describe several things which I will go through here. Spirit family can refer to the human people who your soul tends to reincarnate with and who your soul was made alongside. This can include people such as soulmates, twin flames, etc. 

Spirit family can also refer to the actual deities/entities that helped create your soul (this can also be referred to as soul family); many people have several deities/entities that would consider themselves to be parental figures (for me, I have several soul moms and dads). The person may also have deities/entities that are brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, and grandparents. Many times these deities/entities will have influence over the person’s personality and behavior (from what I’ve seen, a lot of times the soul parents will have the most influence. For me, Loki is one of my soul dads and he has influenced my personality greatly this lifetime. I'm incredibly chaotic, but also incredibly empathetic just like him). 

Spirit family can also refer to deities/entities that have adopted you as one of their own in past lives (or even in this current one). One of my spirit mothers, Yemoja, adopted me from a past life and still considers me to be her family (she takes on a motherly role for me). 

Can I be spoused to someone who is also part of my spirit family? 

Again this is another controversial question, but again I would like to point out that deities and other entities do NOT follow human laws and standards. They do not see things the same way we do. So the answer to this question, from my perspective, is a resounding YES. Loki is one of my soul fathers, and he is also the main deity I am spoused to. While in this lifetime he did start out as a father figure to me, and I grew up feeling that he was more of a dad than any other father-figures in my life, our relationship evolved and grew. As I started to get older (around when I was 18-19) I no longer needed him to act as a father figure to me. Our relationship evolved, and we eventually became platonically spoused when I was around 20. After that, our relationship continued to evolve, and at around 22 I accepted that he wanted to change our spousal once again to a romantic spousal. 

As for human relationships, I do want to go into more detail about soulmates, twin flames and other such terms. There are a lot of huge misconceptions about these concepts due to the media we have (social media, tv shows, movies etc). I want to go through the terms soulmates and twin flames, and cover the misconceptions many people have about these relationships. 

Soulmates

Soulmates are often a term that, in media, describe your ‘one true love’ that you are destined to be with. In reality, soulmates are people who were created alongside you and who often go through similar life experiences; you may be able to relate to them very deeply about similar experiences you have shared during your life. Most people have multiple soulmates, and not everyone will always be in a romantic relationship with their soulmates. I have encountered instances where someones pet, their mom, their dad, their siblings or even their best friends are their soulmates. I see many sibling relationships where this is the case in fact, where two siblings will be incredibly close, best friends, and will always be loyal to each other no matter what. These ‘ride or die’ sibling relationships can sometimes indicate that these two people are in fact soul mates. While some soulmate relationships are definitely meant to be romantic, that’s definitely not always the case. 

Twin Flames

Twin flame is another term that is often misunderstood or misused; some people use soulmates and twinflames interchangeably, however from my experience, they are two different categories of soul bonds. From my experience, a twin flame is someone who shares a part of another persons soul; twin flames often mirror each other in many ways, although unlike how soulmates may mirror each other in experiences, this tends to be more mirrored interests as well. As with soulmate relationships, I believe someone can have multiple twin flames, and that not all twin flame relationships are purely romantic. 

Karmic

The last soul bond relationship I want to cover is karmic relationships. These relationships can form over time from any type of soul connection someone may have with another person. These relationships are toxic and unhealthy; a lot of times the two people in the relationship will feed off each others negativity or bounce the negativity back and forth. Again, as with other soul connections, these relationships are not just romantic. These karmic relationships also often require cord cuttings in order to sever the bond between the two people so that they can grow and learn apart from each other. 

As usual, I would like to thank @astralscraft for helping me with this post! I'm sure that this is not all the information I can give about godspousal; feel free to inbox or message me if you have questions!

[srbachchan]

DAY 6101

Jalsa, Mumbai Nov , 1, 2024/Nov 2 , Fri/Sat 12:08 am

🪔 ,

And the wishes to the Ef ..

November 02 .. birthday wishes to Ef Erlika from Indonesia 🇮🇩 .. Ef Abhijit Jagtab from Pune .. and .. Ef Dipagala Gala .. 🙏🏻❤️🚩

November 01 .. birthday wishes to Ef Vishan Lal 🪈 from Gurugram .. Ef Honey Aishu from Bangkok - Thailand 🇹🇭 .. Ef Nouranne Achraf from Egypt / France 🇪🇬🇫🇷 .. Ef Pankaj Shukla from Indore .. Ef Shubhra Rattan .. and Ef Somraj Mane from Kolhapur .. 🙏🏻❤️🚩

..

may this new year in your lives bring greater joy and prosperity ❤️🌹

Govardhan Pooja ... नमस्कार 🙏

and the festivities continue .. as do all the rituals .. and among all this Australia declares the month of October as a heritage month of Hindu festivities .. grace and divine blessings ..

But the intimacy of soft celebrations and the adherence to the control of many environmental obligations is revered .. as another year of the year of Lights ends , to another day of light ..

The intrigue of religious festivities .. their time and date and occasion still brings a wonder to many .. indeed to a great many .. and the readings of our Ef Sudhir and his dedicated research on the subject does evoke curiosity .. and awareness ...

The Calendar

There are two lunar calendars in the Jyotish Shastra… One is Purnaant and the other is Amaant…

There's a gap of 15 days between the two, although the order of the months are the same…

For instance, Deepavali's Lakshmi puja is on Purnaant Kartik Amavasya… while the same day is Amaant Ashwin Amavasya in some states…

So, the festival has a different reason in each region, and one common reason at the national level…

Like, the South, where the Lakshmi puja night of diwali is to recall the victory of Krishna over Narakaasur… In the North, it's for the return of Shri Ram to Ayodhya…

The concept of a civilisation made of many cultures dates back to the Treta Yug…

Diwali is celebrated for different days in different places… One day, three days, five days and eleven days… depending on the local history…

Yes… the different calendars, different cultures, but the same festivals, and the same civilisation…

You know, what… I think it's always an advantage when we do something that has no precedence… when there is nothing to refer…

This organisation of a nation is first envisaged in the chronicles of the satyug… each kingdom was called a country… group of countries was a region… the collective of regions was called a nation…

In Hindi - देश, प्रदेश तथा राष्ट्र…

What calendar do I follow?

I follow Rishi Varāhamihira's Brihat Samhita… In that, there is no need of dividing time into months and years…

The movements of cosmic objects don't need a calendar to have months and years… Only days are enough… Just count the days from a no-moon or a new-moon… the patterns are measurable and predictable…

Like,

The diwali always happens on the same no-moon night… regardless of which month in which state…

Thus, all the differences are dissolved in the universal medium… 🙂

About the light…

Darkness is not displaced by light… darkness is eliminated by light…

तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय।

Easiest way to do it is: Use one lamp to light the next… A series of lamps… Hence, Deepavali… Deep + Aavali - strings of light…

एक ब्रह्म है… एक सत्य है… एक ही है परमात्मा… प्राणों से प्राण मिलाते चलो.

my obsessed gratitude ..

my love and regard ...

Amitabh Bachchan

[burningcheese-merchant]

Wake up, BurningCheese/GoldenSpice babes, new poorly drawn blorbos just dropped

They look cooler in my head, I swear.

the images didn't show up the first time wtf lol

The kids are finally here, yay. I promised I'd show you them, and I finally stopped being an asshole and followed through. Almost got 200 followers and I'm very grateful for it - really, I'm nobody. I'm just some clown who says dumb stuff and makes dumb memes and writes cringey stories, and yet I convinced almost 200 people to tune in. Thank you all so much, users on here and anons in my inbox alike. As a token of appreciation, you can all endure my rambling about my OCs and witness a person in their early 20s draw like a 12 year old.

The boy is Pepper Jack (or Pepper Jack Cookie). He's the firstborn and older than his sister by a few years. He takes after his mother in a lot of ways, primarily in her appearance (save for nabbing his father's red eyes). He's incredibly bright (and a smartass lol), preferring to think his way out of conflict rather than fight his way out... not that he's above violence at all, if that glaive doesn't give it away lol. He harbors a deep sense of love and loyalty towards his family and his peoples, and carries the weight of his responsibilities and heritage with as much confidence and poise as he can muster. (There are/will be times where he stumbles, of course. He's not perfect. He struggles a lot more than he lets on, really. But he tries his best, for everyone's sake.)

The girl is Matar Paneer (or Matar Paneer Cookie). Again, she's the younger one by a few years. She was all but made in her father's image, save for inheriting her mother's eyes. She's a little firecracker: lively and fun-loving and stubborn as a mule. She doesn't ask "can I have/do this thing", she tells you "I'm going to have/do this thing". Golden is proud as anything to see her daughter be so greedy... until that greed comes into conflict with her and Spice's authority lol. But she's a good kid, despite being such a handful. She has an enormous heart and is not afraid to stand up for others/what's right, and she loves her parents and brother more than anything in the world. She might doubt her own capabilities, she might secretly fear that she's not strong enough to do what she needs to... but she keeps pushing anyway, because she'd honestly choose death over quitting.

Your eyes are not deceiving you, Pepper Jack's wings are blue lol. There's an actual reason for that. And that USO (Unidentified Sitting Object) in Matar Paneer's hair is a lotus (the cheese one in the GCK decor set lol). There's a reason for that, too. I thought it would be cool to give Jack a glaive and swap out the normal blade for that of a khopesh sword (glaives are not Egyptian, they only saw use in Asia and Europe, but I just HAD to give him a glaive), to add that Egyptian touch. Paneer's supposed to be wearing a pattu pavadai, it's a traditional Indian dress for young girls. It's a blouse plus a skirt. She's holding katar, Indian knives (Cilantro Cobra has them, too). And her hair's supposed to be in a low ponytail.

Merchant thinks that if they explain what their terrible drawings are supposed to convey, people will understand their intended vision and the pain will stop

I sat down and did research into both Egyptian and Hindu mythology for the sake of drawing inspiration for them both. I'll explain in detail in another post, but basically: both of them take after one Egyptian god and one Hindu god each. Golden takes after Ra and Spice takes after Shiva, so I figured I'd follow along that line.

Please flood my inbox with questions about them now. I've really been dying to talk about them for ages now. I've drafted extensive character sheets for them both, I even made up in-game descriptions for them lol. They're my little fankid blorbos and I love them :') I hope you all come to love them, too

(Also, I'm sorry they're on lined paper. I'm visiting family rn and that's the only paper my grandmother has in her house. I'd have to drive to a stationery to get printer paper and I'd really rather not drive in this particular country lol (shit roads, even shittier drivers). I'll doodle them on printer paper whenever somebody remembers to bring me some)

[macgyvermedical]

Do you know how our understanding and treatment of diabetes has changed through history?

Oooh good question, anon!

As you may guess, diabetes mellitus is not new.

We've known about it since at least the Ebers Papyrus (1550 BCE) when the disease and a treatment was first described. This treatment was: "a liquid extract of bones, grain, grit, wheat, green lead and earth." I did not look these up, but I would guess they did not do a whole lot for the treatment of diabetes.

Later during the 6th century BCE it was first given a name when it was described by Hindu physician Sushruta as madhumeh or "honey urine."

Honey urine is a very apt descriptor for diabetes. In any type, one of the most measurable symptoms is that the person urinates a lot, and the urine tastes sweet (or, if one didn't feel like tasting, that it ferments, or that it attracts ants). This was also the first test for diabetes.

The reason for the sweetness of the urine (as well as a lot of other general info about diabetes) is spelled out more clearly in my "Don't Be That Guy Who Wrote Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters" post.

A Greek physician Apolonius of Memphis named it Diabetes, meaning "to siphon" (referring to the large amount of urine lost).

Roman physician Aretaeus later made the first precise description of diabetes. This included the classic symptoms of incessant thirst, copious urination, and constant hunger leading to emaciation and death. He also notes that if deprived of water, the patient will continue to urinate until they become so dehydrated that they die.

The term "Mellitus" was not added until the 1600s by an English physician Thomas Willis. This was again due to the sweetness of the expressed urine. Willis prescribed a diet of "slimy vegetables, rice, and white starch. He also suggested a milk drink which was distilled with cypress tops and egg whites, two powders (a mixture of gum arabic and gum dragant), rhubarb and cinnamon". Supposedly his patients improved if they kept to this diet, though few managed it long term. I honestly don't know how it would have worked, even temporarily.

A major breakthrough came in 1889 when it was discovered that if you removed the pancreas from a dog, the dog would become diabetic (particularly, that it would urinate large quantities of sweet urine). Up until this point it was thought that diabetes stemmed from the kidneys and bladder, or perhaps the lungs. This was the first time it had been shown experimentally that the pancreas was the problem.

Speaking of this, this was also part of a series of experiments where an English physician named Merkowski implanted a small amount of pancreas in the pancreas-less dog's fat, which reversed the diabetes temporarily. This proved that the pancreas was making something that helped regulate blood (and thus urine) sugar.

What this was wasn't figured out until 1921, when Canadian scientists Banting and Best (with help from McLeod and Collip) isolated something they called insletin (after the islets of langerhans, where the substance was being produced). It's important to note that all of these scientists hated each other so much they almost refused a Nobel Prize over it. Later, Collip would refine the substance and McLeod would rename it insulin.

Prior to insulin existing there was basically 1 vaguely useful treatment for diabetes. Unfortunately, that was starvation. So you could either die a slow and painful death by diabetes or you could die a slightly less slow but still painful death due to eating about 500 calories per day. Either way, diabetes was fatal, usually within a couple of years of diagnosis.

By 1923, the first commercial insulin product, Iletin, had been developed. Iletin was a U10 insulin (10 units per 1 milliliter- less potent than today's U100 and U500 insulins) and was made from pork pancreases. It took nearly a ton of pork pancreas to make 1oz of insulin. Fortunately, as a byproduct of the meat industry, pancreases were readily available.

Now, you might be thinking- no one has mentioned type 1 or type 2 yet in this entire post!

Well, you would be right, because diabetes wouldn't be split into 2 forms (insulin-dependent and non-insulin dependent) until 1979, and wouldn't be classified as types 1 and 2 until 1995. That's right- some of you were alive when there was only one kind of diabetes out there.

Now, there's more about the types in the Hansel and Gretel post, but essentially type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas itself stops producing insulin, usually in childhood. When this happens, the body stops being able to use sugar (insulin, a hormone, acts as a "key" to let sugar into cells for use). Without replacing that insulin, the person dies because their cells starve.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the pancreas still produces insulin, but the cells stop responding to it correctly. This causes high sugar levels in the blood, which causes longer-term complications (infections, ulcers, blindness, neuropathy, heart and kidney disease, hyperosmolar syndrome, etc..) which eventually lead to death.

We started discovering oral drugs that worked on what would later become type 2 in the 1950s. Particularly those that worked by increasing the insulin output of the pancreas, but only when the pancreas was still producing some insulin.

Predicting which diabetics would benefit from oral therapies was challenging, but it was recognized that when the onset of diabetes was slow and came on in adulthood, the oral agents would work, while if it came on suddenly in childhood, the oral agents wouldn't. Terms like "adult onset" and "maturity onset" were common:

(Side note: if you have ever read Alas, Babylon (1955) there is a diabetic character who by today's standards clearly has type 1 diabetes, but wants to switch to the "new oral pill" (called "orinase" in the book, though they are likely referring to diabinese pictured above).)

From 1923 into the 1980s, insulin was given once or twice per day, and not particularly titrated to blood sugar. This was probably just because we didn't have a great way to measure blood sugar in real time. Pre-1970s, there was no way to test blood sugar outside of a lab setting.

Urine testing was common starting in the 1940s, but was cumbersome as it required a flame for heating the urine. By the 1950s, a test had been developed that didn't require a flame, but was still not practical for home use. In the 1960s, paper strips were developed that changed color for different amounts of sugar in the urine. The problem with this was that the strips couldn't change color until there was sugar in the urine- a blood sugar level of over 200 by today's measurements. Low blood sugar readings were impossible at this time, and had to be treated based on symptoms.

In the 1970s, blood sugar could finally be measured by putting a drop of blood on a test strip, wiping it off, and matching the color of the test strip to a chart. While less cumbersome than urine tests, this was still something that would generally only be done at a doctor's office.

In 1983, the first home blood glucometer is developed. Finally, it was practical to take one's sugar multiple times per day, and it becomes possible to experiment with "sliding scale" insulin injections that keep tighter control of blood sugar. By the late 90s, continuous glucose monitors became available- though unlike today's CGMs that allow readings in real time on a smartphone or monitor, these had to be downloaded to a computer at regular intervals.

The 1980s were the first decade where insulin pumps become widely available. The very first pump was large and had to be carried in a backpack, but it represented a huge step forward in glucose control, as it more closely mimicked the function of a working pancreas than once-daily injections.

For the next 30 or so years you really had to work to qualify for an insulin pump, but recently it's been found that pumps greatly improve compliance with blood glucose control whether or not the person had good compliance before getting the pumps, and insurance has gotten better about covering them (though CGMs are still a pain to get insurance to cover).

The 1980s was also the decade that recombinant human insulin (insulin made by genetically modified bacteria) was first used. Up until that point the only insulins were pork and beef insulins, which some people had allergic reactions to. Recombinant insulin was closer to regular human insulin than beef or pork, and represented a big change in how insulin was made.

Today for people who take insulin to manage their diabetes, insulin is usually given as a single injection of a long-acting basal insulin, coupled with smaller doses of ultra-short-acting insulins with meals or snacks. This is the closest we've gotten to mimicking the way a pancreas would work in the wild, and keeps very tight control of blood sugar. This can be done by fingerstick blood sugar tests and individual injections of insulin, or it can be done with a CGM and pump- it just depends on the resources available to the person and their personal preference.

[nicolettesdreamworld]

Bound by moonlight

I had this idea last night so decided to write it. I'm not sure if this will become more part series or just a little cute short story so let me know if you maybe want me to continue it! Hope you enjoy!

The full moon holds significance across countless cultures. In Chinese traditions, it symbolizes family unity and yin energy. To Hindus, the full moon is sacred, a celestial witness to rituals like Guru Purnima, honouring those who illuminate the path to wisdom. The Japanese gaze at the autumn moon as a poignant emblem of impermanence. For Muslims, it marks the heart of the lunar month. And for the Celts and pagans, the full moon brims with ancient power, a beacon for magic and spiritual awakening.

The poets and artists of the ages have romanticized its silver glow, spinning it into a symbol of love, mystery, and longing.

But for Nicolette, the full moon was neither sacred nor beautiful.

It was chaos.

Each month, the moon’s rise heralded her undoing. Beneath its unyielding gaze, her body would break, shift, and reform into a creature of instinct. A wolf born of rage and primal energy. And though her senses sharpened, her mind became a blank canvas, void of reason, void of memory.

What she did in those dark hours—those fleeting moments when she surrendered to her wolf—was a mystery. It was her blessing, perhaps, that she never remembered.

But it was also her curse.

Because each morning, she awoke to the aftermath: torn clothes, muddy footprints, and whispers of terror she could not trace. And so, the full moon wasn’t poetry to her, it was a thief, stealing her control, her sanity, and the fragile peace she clung to.

And tonight, as the moon climbed higher into the midnight sky, Nicolette felt it again—the pull, the promise, and the curse.

She had been trapped in this endless cycle ever since that night.

It had started so innocently, a joyful evening meant to celebrate a milestone in her life. She’d finally earned her driver’s license, and her parents couldn’t have been prouder. They decided on dinner to mark the occasion. She couldn’t even recall whose idea it was to order some wine, the casual suggestion that, since she could drive now, they could indulge just a little and she could drive them home. It wasn't like she was old enough to drink anyway.

But what seemed like a harmless decision turned out to be fatal.

The memory had grown hazy over the years, softened around the edges like a photograph left too long in the sun. She could barely piece it together now—the blinding lights of the oncoming car, the screeching metal, the jarring pain that stole her breath. Then the sterile, suffocating smell of the hospital. The rhythmic beeping of machines punctuating the silence of her grief.

And finally, the words. The ones that shattered what little remained of her world. You survived. They didn’t.

The pain of their loss had been unbearable, a wound that time refused to heal. But worse still was what came after.

When she first turned, she had no idea what was happening. She thought the grief and guilt had finally consumed her mind. The agony of the transformation had been unlike anything she’d ever experienced. Her body twisting and breaking, muscles contorting as something ancient and primal clawed its way to the surface.

She woke naked and trembling in the middle of the woods, her skin streaked with dirt and blood. The confusion had been bad enough. The horror came later, when she heard the news: a group of tourists had been slaughtered in the forest that night. Torn apart by some wild animal.

It didn’t take long for her to connect the pieces.

She was sixteen then—just a child, really. A child who had to learn, alone and terrified, what she had become.

Now, at twenty-three, Nicolette had learned how to survive. She knew how to chain herself up when the full moon rose, how to isolate herself far from civilization. She understood the curse that coursed through her veins.

But that didn’t mean she’d accepted it.

The full moon still terrified her. It always would.

And tonight, as it began its slow ascent into the night sky, she felt the familiar dread settle into her chest. The ache of anticipation, the promise of pain.

She hated it. Hated the moon, hated herself. Hated the monster she became when its light consumed her.

But no amount of hatred could change the truth. The moon didn’t care.

Klaus was at the Mikaelson manor, seated in the dim glow of the living room, a glass of bourbon cradled lazily in his hand. The firelight flickered across his sharp features, casting shadows that danced with an almost menacing rhythm. He stared into the flames, his expression a familiar mix of brooding and defiance. For Klaus Mikaelson, self-pity was as much a pastime as it was an art form.

He swirled the amber liquid in his glass, debating whether he should pour another, knowing full well he would. But just as his hand moved toward the decanter, a faint sound disrupted the silence.

A scratching at the front door.

His brow furrowed, the irritation immediate. Who in bloody hell dares disturb me at this hour? he thought, rising from his chair with an air of both annoyance and intrigue. His steps were slow, deliberate, as he approached the door. Whoever or whatever was foolish enough to trespass on his doorstep was about to be sorely reminded why the Mikaelson name inspired fear.

He leaned closer, peering through the peephole.

What he saw gave him pause.

A wolf. But not just any wolf.

This creature was larger than any ordinary wolf, its powerful frame illuminated faintly by the moonlight. That alone was enough to spark suspicion—Klaus knew the difference between a wild animal and one cursed by the moon. It had to be a werewolf.

But what werewolf would dare show up at his front door?

Its fur was a pristine white, almost glowing against the darkness, and its eyes… pale blue, piercing, as if they could see through him. A flicker of recognition stirred in Klaus’s chest, though he couldn’t explain why. What unsettled him most was the way it stood there, perfectly still, its gaze unyielding.

He couldn’t see its eyes clearly from the peephole, yet somehow, inexplicably, he felt as though the wolf was staring right back at him.

His instincts screamed caution. Logic dictated he should turn away, that this was some foolish trap, some scheme to provoke him.

But curiosity, that old, dangerous friend of his, had other plans.

Against his better judgment, Klaus opened the door.

The wolf didn’t flinch. It merely stood there, its gaze locked on his, as though waiting for something. A challenge, perhaps. Or an invitation.

Klaus stepped forward, his movements deliberate but not without caution. He knelt slowly, his gaze never leaving the wolf’s. He hadn’t survived centuries of betrayal by being careless, but there was something in those pale blue eyes that stilled his wariness.

Tentatively, he reached out. His fingers brushed its fur, and he was startled by the sensation. It was soft. Softer than he’d imagined. Like silk.

For a moment, he simply stayed there, kneeling before the creature, his hand resting on its fur. It didn’t move. It didn’t snarl or growl. It only watched him with those unyielding eyes.

"Who are you?" Klaus mumbled, his voice low and hesitant.

The wolf tilted its head at his words, its pale blue eyes unblinking as it continued to watch him. Klaus exhaled sharply, shaking his head at himself. As if it’s going to answer, he thought, a dry smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Right," he muttered under his breath, his hand absently stroking the soft fur between the wolf’s ears. It was strange, absurd really, but oddly soothing. "Are you hurt?" he asked, tilting his head as if searching for signs of injury.

The wolf didn’t flinch, didn’t even whimper. If anything, it seemed… calm. Far too calm, considering it was in the presence of the infamous Klaus Mikaelson.

He should have been suspicious. Any other time, he would have been suspicious. But tonight? For reasons he couldn’t quite name, his usually hypervigilant mind remained uncharacteristically quiet.

"Do you maybe want some water? Something to eat?" Klaus asked, his voice softening in a way that surprised even him.

The wolf gave no response—just that same steady, unyielding gaze.

"Very well," he sighed, pulling his hand back and rising to his feet. He gestured toward the doorway. "Come on in."

To his surprise, and mild amusement, the wolf actually obeyed, padding into the house without hesitation. Its movements were graceful, deliberate, and eerily quiet, like a predator who knew its strength and had no need to flaunt it.

Klaus led the way to the kitchen, his mind racing with questions even as his hands moved on autopilot. He grabbed a bowl and filled it with water, then retrieved some raw meat from the fridge, placing it neatly into another dish.

Setting both bowls down on the floor, he glanced back at the wolf, who had followed him and now stood watching him intently, as though waiting for something.

"You know," Klaus said, a dry chuckle escaping him as he straightened up, "I usually don’t let my guests eat on the floor, but…" He trailed off, shaking his head.

The wolf didn’t seem to mind. It leaned down and began eating, its movements as composed as they were deliberate.

Klaus crossed his arms, leaning casually against the counter as he observed the strange scene before him.

"I must be losing my mind," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Why am I talking to you? And, more importantly, why in bloody hell did I invite you inside and serve you dinner?"

The wolf, naturally, didn’t respond. It simply kept eating, its pale blue eyes flicking up to meet his now and then, as if it understood every word.

And for reasons Klaus couldn’t explain, the wolf’s silent gaze didn’t unnerve him. If anything, it intrigued him.

When the wolf finished eating, it let out a wide, lazy yawn, its jaw stretching in a way that made Klaus smirk.

"Oh, so now you're tired, are you?" he said, his tone laced with amusement. The sheer absurdity of the situation wasn’t lost on him, but for reasons he couldn’t explain, he didn’t mind it.

The wolf padded over to him, its movements unhurried, and nudged his hand with its snoot. Klaus chuckled at the gesture, shaking his head as his fingers instinctively reached out to rub behind its ear.

"You know," he began, his voice softening, "you’re quite adorable, little wolf. Not exactly a word I throw around often, but there it is."

The wolf tilted its head again, that curious expression making Klaus laugh under his breath.

"Are you tired?" he asked, his fingers brushing the fur along its jawline. "Do you want to sleep?"

In response, the wolf licked his hand, its warm, wet tongue startling him just enough to make him laugh again.

"Well, aren’t you full of surprises," Klaus mused, rising to his feet. He gestured toward the living room. "Come on, then."

The wolf followed him obediently, its steps silent against the hardwood floors. Klaus sank onto the couch, stretching one arm along the backrest, and patted the cushion beside him.

"Here," he said, his voice almost teasing. "A royal invitation, no less."

To his continued astonishment, the wolf leapt up onto the couch with the ease of a cat, settling beside him. It turned its head to study him, then glanced at the blanket draped over the armrest.

Klaus raised a brow, watching as the wolf gently bit down on the blanket and tossed it into his lap.

"Oh, now you want me to cover you, do you?" he asked, a bemused smirk tugging at his lips.

The wolf nudged him again with its snoot, an unmistakable hurry up gesture.

Klaus couldn’t help but chuckle. "You really are an unusual wolf, I’ll give you that."

He picked up the blanket, careful not to make it seem like he was trapping the creature, and laid it over the wolf’s body. As if on cue, the wolf shifted, curling up against him and resting its head in his lap.

"Comfortable, are we?" Klaus asked, his voice softer now, as if speaking too loudly might shatter the strange peace that had settled over the room.

The wolf closed its eyes, its breathing slowing as Klaus’s hand drifted to its back. He stroked the silky fur absentmindedly, his own tension easing with every rhythmic movement.

The fire crackled softly in the hearth, the room bathed in warm light. For the first time in what felt like years, Klaus Mikaelson didn’t feel alone.

And as the wolf’s breathing evened out, its chest rising and falling steadily, Klaus found himself smiling—a quiet, genuine smile that no one else would have believed him capable of.

"Sweet dreams, little wolf," he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.

Klaus had watched the wolf for hours, his hand still resting gently on its back. There was something hypnotic about the rise and fall of its breathing, the way it had curled so trustingly into him. Eventually, even the mighty Klaus Mikaelson succumbed to the pull of sleep.

It was just before dawn when the wolf began to change. The transformation was silent, graceful in a way that defied the usual violent contortions Klaus associated with werewolves. Fur receded, bones reshaped, and in place of the white wolf lay a girl—her head still resting on his lap, her body covered only by the blanket.

Neither stirred.

It wasn’t until hours later, when the first rays of morning light filtered through the curtains, that Nicolette woke.

Her eyes fluttered open, her mind groggy, but it took only seconds for panic to set in. She wasn’t outside. She wasn’t in the woods. She was in a house she didn’t recognize, lying on the lap of a stranger.

Her breath caught in her throat as she scrambled back, clutching the blanket tightly to her chest. The sudden movement jolted Klaus awake, his blue-green eyes snapping open.

For a moment, neither spoke.

Nicolette was the first to break the silence. "Who are you?!" she demanded, her voice shaking despite her best efforts to sound firm.

Klaus stared at her, his expression unreadable but tinged with a faint amusement. His gaze lingered, as if trying to piece together how the wolf from last night had become the girl before him.

"So you really are a werewolf," he said finally, completely ignoring her question.

Nicolette frowned, clutching the blanket tighter as she sat up straighter. "I asked you a question!" she said, her voice a mix of fear and defiance.

"And I ignored it," Klaus replied smoothly, his smirk growing. "But fine. I’m Klaus. Klaus Mikaelson. And you are?"

Her breath hitched at the name. "You’re the hybrid," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"In the flesh," he replied, his smirk now a full grin.

Nicolette’s eyes widened as she tried to make sense of the situation. "Did you kidnap me?" she asked, her voice rising with a mix of fear and accusation. "Is that how I ended up here?"

"Kidnap you?" Klaus echoed, offended by the very suggestion. "I’ll have you know, you came to my doorstep."

She blinked, her frown deepening as she processed his words.

Before she could respond, Klaus stood and began walking toward the hallway, his movements unhurried and unconcerned.

"Hey!" Nicolette called after him, clutching the blanket as she rose to her feet. "Where are you going?"

"To get you some clothes," Klaus replied over his shoulder, his tone casual. Then, with a glance back at her and a hint of that devilish smirk, he added, "Unless, of course, you’d prefer to continue this conversation in your little blanket ensemble."

Nicolette flushed, her grip on the blanket tightening as she glared at him. But Klaus had already disappeared into the next room, leaving her to process everything that had just happened.

Soon enough, Klaus returned with a black henley and a pair of sweatpants with a drawstring, the kind of casual clothes he probably didn’t wear often, but somehow they still looked good on him. He pointed toward a bathroom down the hall. "You can change in there," he said, his voice casual, as if the world hadn’t just shifted beneath their feet.

Nicolette took the clothes in silence, the weight of the situation pressing down on her. She didn’t trust herself to speak, not when her mind was still reeling. She changed quickly, the unfamiliar clothes feeling both comfortable and strange against her skin. When she emerged, Klaus was lounging on the sofa as if nothing had happened, a glass of bourbon in his hand and a faint smirk on his lips.

"It makes no sense," Nicolette said, her voice tight as she handed him the folded blanket. Her eyes didn’t leave his face, searching for any hint of an explanation, anything that might make sense of the madness of the night.

Klaus glanced up, raising an eyebrow. "What’s making no sense, love?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, frustration and confusion boiling within her. "When I turn, I run around ripping anything and anyone that comes into my way to shreds. I don’t come to stranger’s homes for belly rubs."

Klaus’s smirk only deepened. "Well, I don’t know what to tell you, little wolf. You came here, ate some food, nudged me until I rubbed you, and then fell asleep in my lap." He shrugged as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Nicolette glared at him, shaking her head. "Wolves don’t act this way… especially around you."

"You wound me," Klaus said, a mock look of offense crossing his face, but his eyes sparkled with amusement.

She could feel the weight of his gaze on her, and she turned away, shaking her head. "The only way it would make sense is if you were my—"

Her voice faltered, the word hanging in the air between them, thick with unspoken possibilities.

"Your what, love? Finish the sentence," Klaus prompted, his voice low, as if he already knew where this was going.

She froze, her mind rejecting the thought. "No, there has to be another explanation," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, but it lacked conviction.

Klaus leaned forward, his expression all too knowing. "No, you started it… now continue."

Her pulse quickened. "It’s stupid," she muttered, but Klaus’s piercing gaze never wavered.

"I highly doubt that," he said, his voice dripping with the kind of confidence that could only belong to someone who had lived for centuries.

Nicolette swallowed hard, trying to steady herself. She took a breath and met his gaze. "How much do you know about werewolf folklore?" she asked, the question feeling heavy on her tongue.

Klaus didn’t hesitate. "You mean how much do I know about mates?" He raised a brow, the words cutting through the air like a blade.

Her breath hitched, and her heart skipped a beat. "Yes," she whispered, barely able to process the realization herself.

"Enough to know where you’re going with this," Klaus said, his tone surprisingly light.

Nicolette couldn’t help the frustration that bubbled up in her chest. "How are you so calm?" she asked, genuinely baffled.

Klaus stood up from the couch and made his way toward her, his footsteps measured and deliberate. "Because it has already crossed my mind," he said, his voice low but steady, the kind of calm that only centuries of experience could foster.

She shot him a puzzled look, but Klaus simply shrugged. "Your inner wolf sought me out. It craved my closeness and was calm around me. And for some reason, I felt calm as well. Doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together, love."

Nicolette shook her head, the idea still feeling like it couldn’t possibly be true. "There’s no way you’re my mate," she said, the words sounding almost ridiculous coming out of her own mouth.

"And why is that?" Klaus asked, an amused glint in his eyes.

"Because it’s insane," she replied quickly, but as soon as the words left her, she realized something: she wasn’t freaking out. The weight of the situation should’ve sent her into a spiral of panic, but she was calm. Too calm.

Klaus smirked, his eyes glinting with that knowing look of his. "I think we’ve both seen stranger things happen, haven’t we?"

She turned away slightly, running a hand through her hair, as if trying to process everything. "I feel like I should freak out," she said, her voice tinged with uncertainty. "Why do I feel so calm?"

Klaus took a step closer, his voice quiet yet unwavering. "Because your inner wolf recognizes my inner wolf."

It hit her then, like a wave crashing over her. Her body still felt foreign to her, caught between disbelief and undeniable truth. "So... you’re my mate," she murmured, almost as if she were talking to herself.

"That I am, love. And you’re mine," Klaus said, his tone final, matter-of-fact, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Nicolette looked at him, her mind still trying to catch up with the words. "How did I end up as a mate to the Original Hybrid?" she whispered, more to herself than to him.

Klaus chuckled softly, a rich sound that made her feel something stir deep inside her. "Beats me, love," he said, his grin widening.

She shook her head, still unsure of everything, but there was a strange comfort in his certainty, in the way he spoke, as if it was simply meant to be.

Part 2

[wilderebellion]

An endorsement of Dropout's Dimension 20 calendars, for less obvious reasons:

1) Wirebound for easier flipping to the new month, and printed on something like card stock you can actually write on. No thin and glossy paper sheets to be found here.

2) Do you forget to flip the calendar when a new months starts in the middle of a week? NOT ANYMORE. Each "month" is allotted 5 weeks of space. What would be BLANK spaces in an 'average' calendar is marked with the dates of the surrounding months, so you have the full week at a glance even before flipping.

For example, January 2025 starts on a Wednesday, so the first Sunday through Tuesday indicate December 29-31. January itself ends on Friday the 31st, so the last Saturday on the January page is February 1.

3) Inclusive Holidays! These vary from religious and cultural observances (including but not limited to Jewish, Hindu, and Muslim) to commemmorating notable figures. Solstices and equinoxes are marked, as well as monthly celebrations for heritage and cultural awareness. They even took the time to mark when a date is "tentative" for a particular celebration, rather than leave it out entirely from the printing.

4) Deep Cuts: Only a couple of them, but there are some dates based on Dropout content (like when Kingston Brown made pancakes)

5) You get an EXTRA month (with extra art)! Just in case you didn't grab a new calendar before the new year: the 2024 calendar includes the month of January 2025, and same for 2025's with January 2026.

[anyroads]

Here's the thing. I wouldn't have a problem with people just saying "Merry Christmas" if other major religious holidays were acknowledged too. If around late October everyone was like "happy Diwali!" and every Rosh Hashanah people said "shana tovah" or it was standard to wish people Eid mubarak, then a "Merry Christmas" would just be a marker of time and I would feel like it's someone else's turn to celebrate in the multi-cultural cycle of annual celebrations. Because the thing is, these holidays tend to happen off the radar of the dominant culture in culturally Christian countries. Christmas specials are a norm, but the Diwali episode of The Office was a one-off, the Jewish high holidays barely show up even in shows with Jewish characters, Chinese New Year is... where is it? Right? Where's the representation? I mean, the reason a holiday like Hanuka gets emphasized next to Christmas and rolled into "Happy Holidays" (as does Kwanzaa) is because that means these holidays can be gathered around being able to keep Christmas central to the season. Hanuka is a minor holiday; funny how Purim, which is of similar status among Jewish holidays, is a blip outside of Jewish communities.

If Christians were able to be as comfortable with Rosh Hashanah and Eid and Diwali and Chinese New Year and other festivals as they expect the rest of us to be with Christmas, then I'd say ok fair, everyone has their festivals and we all pay attention to each other and know how to give well wishes that are culturally respectful and it's wonderful! It would just be living in a society where people from diverse backgrounds respect and acknowledge each other (what a concept). What bothers me is that not only are no other religion or culture's holidays acknowledged or given thought in culturally Christian societies, but the only way to get any acknowledgment is to have your holidays timed around Christian holidays like Christmas. If the Maccabees had stayed up in the mountains for another month, Hanuka would be treated as the minor holiday it is. If Diwali was a couple months later than it is, then it would be called the "Hindu Christmas" and Hindu people could rightfully be frustrated about that.

It bothers me so much that Western culture is so deeply centered around Christianity that we have debates over whether "happy holidays" is an OK thing to say or not, instead of asking, "what if you just learned about other holidays too and respected them as much as you demand respect for yours?" And we're all thinking it. Non-Christians talk about this, btw. But we know that if we say it out loud, then it makes the Christians (including the atheist cultural Christians*) angry because they know it's a bad look to say the quiet part out loud: that they think they're superior and expect everyone to acknowledge this without them having to give non-Christian cultures basic respect in any genuine way.

*this is specific to atheists who consider themselves culturally Christian. if you don't belong in BOTH these categories don't @ me. there's no implication that the two go irrevocably hand in hand and your lack of reading comp skills isn't my problem. i don't have spoons for a baby Richard Dawkins tantrum.

[reveriedraffs]

I think i know why Christian was set to Marry Devi... (My theory i uploaded on reddit was removed by the admin idk why?)

It was bugging me from the moment when Christian said that he wanted to marry Devi from the very beginning although dozens hid this fact from her to spar her to get married to Christian. But why he wanted to marry her? Christian didn't know Devi and the latter came way before Devi met Ian. so what was he insisted to marry on marrying and devi only. also if it was because he show her portrait then he could've remember her when they meet for the first time.

After thinking about it so much i couldn't come to theory or connect the dots that not until i was sitting with my dad watching the news (I am Indian btw) and suddenly the news was talking about the most famous and precious jewel of india "Kohinoor" i am not sure how many of you know about this but this diamond it very "precious", "Priceless" and "CURSED" yes this diamond is "cursed" it was called cursed because of that soley diamond in the past war has fought for 500 years or more. and it has killed everyone who tried to posses that diamond the biggest empire has collapsed because of this mere diamond although it's not a mere diamond. because in reality, this diamond belongs to the gods.

The Koh-i-Noor Diamond isa a 186-caratt diamond with a curse affecting only men. According to folklore, a Hindu description of the diamond warns that “he who owns this diamond will own the world, but will also know all its misfortunes. Only God or woman can wear it with impunity.” Throughout history, the gem traded hands among various Hindu, Mongolian, Persian, Afghan and Sikh rulers, who fought bitter and bloody conflicts to own it. Every prince whohadf the diamond would ultimately lose his power if not his life. For over 500 years the stone changed hands in gruesome battles and vicious coups.

The kingdom of Golconda(current day state of Telengana,India), The khilji Empire,The Tughlaq Empire,The Lodhi Empire,The Mughal Empire,The Maratha Empire,The kingdom of Persia,The Durrani Empire,The Afghan Khanate,The Sikh Empire all collapsed one behind the other while owning the Koh-i-noor Diamond.The height of the curse can be seen in the fact that even World level Empires crumbled below the weight of the curse.The British East India company owned the Jewel since the Annexation and Disbandment of the Sikh Empire. But only 7–8 years following the looting of the jewel,the revolt of 1857 literally destroyed the east IndiaCompanyy from its roots.

Historical records indicate the diamond was acquired by the British in 1849 and given to Queen Victoria in 1850. To heed its legend, the diamond has since only been worn by women, including Queen Alexandra of Denmark, Queen Mary of Teck and the late Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, wife of King George VI.

In 1936, the stone was set into the crown of the wife of King George VI, Queen Elizabeth (later known as the Queen Mother). The British Royal family was aware of the Curse of the Koh-i-Noor, and from the reign of Queen Victoria the Kohinoor diamond has always gone to the wife of the male heir to the British throne

Currently, it is set as one of the jewels within a British monarchy crown that is kept at the Tower of London Jewel House.

I am telling you the whole story because?

here is the dots to this theory:

Sharma owns the mines for gemstones, diamonds, and crystals not only in Bengal but in very different places on all over India.

Devi's brother died while trying to save the bride.

Those who came to kill people talked about letting "Women alive and killing all the men" A simple person may think they said it to use them later on. if so then why was Rati killed?

Devi becomes the heir of the Sharma household, and Kamal insists on making Devi the heir why? i understand that is because Kairas was his best friend but he could've easily let Devi's uncle become the heir.

For some reason Kamal agreed to marry off Devi to Ian suddenly? like that man fought for 5 years against everyone then why did he turn his back suddenly?

Also I personally thin Ian chose devi for specific reasons too, like right now she is the head of Sharma's house but even when she wasn't he wanted to marry her and only her.

The Koh-i-noor might be found on devi's mine. as it holds the power of god and specifically it is cursed. As it said that "Only God or Woman can wear it with IMPUNITY" where Impunity simply means exemption from punishment or freedom from the injurious consequences of an action.

Or Devi personally is or is the koh-i-noor itself. Or Maybe British knew about the diamond and it's real power. They have stole diamonds from Taj Mahal too but they knew that the diamond who belongs to god holds its own power so they might need someone for that. Devi. Not only she is related to Maa Kali, she is girl and if they choose Devi and then found diamond form her mine then they can ask her to give it to them as in original i mean in reality that's how the koh-i-noor to the queen, they manipulate the royal family livin' in the England making them into thinking it was a simple diamond was given to the queen but in reality it was more then that!

I think they knew about the mines or something similar related to it.

[everything-is-crab]

Whenever a femicide case occurs in India, first thing people question is the religion of the victim and the murderer.

Was the girl Hindu? She must be.

Was the guy Muslim? He must be.

Otherwise this case isn't worth debating about as an alarming social issue.

According to Hindu men, only Muslim men possess a threat to us. Femicide is a love jihad case. Not a patriarchal one that Hindu men are responsible for too.

After that recent incidence where a 16 year old girl in Delhi was killed by an adult male she was in a relationship with, people only cared that the guy was Muslim. Same for Shraddha Walker's case.

Nobody gave af that the people who witnessed the murder of the minor girl literally just walked away from the scene. Were those people Muslim too? Nobody gaf about how the police didn't take Shraddha seriously. Were they Muslim too?

Nobody gave af about the incidence in Thane where another minor girl was murdered by her brother when she had her first period. Nobody gave a fuck in 2021 when a husband murdered his wife on a main road in Delhi in broad daylight (and nobody stepped forward to save the woman) because she wanted to do a job and earn by herself.

Even now, another recent incidence in Mumbai that made the news where both the victim and murderer were Hindus, Hindu men are crying victim because the name of the man was revealed and according to them Muslim men's names aren't revealed (which we all know is a big fat lie but imagine feeling victimized when one of yours who murdered an innocent woman is publicly recognized).

Men of all kinds are sick and inhumane. They see that our lives are taken away by them when we choose to trust them as lovers, fathers, brothers or whatever (it's not stranger men attacking us). But the patriarchy doesn't exist. There must be some other politics like race or religion involved.

It is more important now than ever that Indian feminists start taking cases of femicide seriously considering the media talks only about these isolated cases that stand out most due to their disturbing descriptions of the crime and we don't have any idea about the stats because femicide isn't counted as a different crime (it comes under homicide). So many women get murdered or driven to death for marrying out of their religion,caste or for dowry related reasons. Our sex ratio isn't skewed just due to the female infanticide and sex selective abortion cases.

[monstrousgourmandizingcats]

Men ain't the problem grow up 🤣🤣 white women voted trump

Well, yes and no.

Yes, white women are an example of a demographic the majority of which voted for Trump. They've done so three times in a row now and we've been hearing for eight years that there's a problem here. Everyone knows it and it isn't really new or productive information, especially since they did not move towards Trump in this election, which most other demographics did. It was something like 55% for Trump in 2020 and 52% this time,* and yet in the nationwide popular vote he gained four points. That's a pretty significant leftward shift in an increasingly right-wing electorate. Those 52% of white women still need to take a hard look at themselves, though, as does everyone who voted for Trump, because fascism offers nothing of value to anyone. (Even the so-called captains of industry like Musk and Bezos have to live in fear of getting on the ruling clique's bad side, and the ruling clique in turn have to live in fear of one another.)

The reason a lot of people are focusing on men and gender with this election, even though the overall gender gap didn't really grow that much, is that the groups that moved the most towards Trump are types of men with a preexisting reputation for being fixated on masculinity and perceived threats to it--Latinos, Gen Z men, men in some other ethnic and age groups as well but those are the two big ones. Whether or not this is a fair reputation is another question, but both campaigns acted as if it was while the election was ongoing. The Trump-Vance campaign was explicitly misogynistic and masculist.† Even the Harris-Walz campaign often seemed to be thinking as if the median voter was some kind of softcore MRA and Walz had to act as macho as possible to win them over, rather than touting his progressive accomplishments in Minnesota, which are considerable. This seems to have been true, because these are, again, the groups that shifted towards Trump by enough to yield a different election result nationally. If Candidate A gets 47% of the vote one year and then 51% or so four years later, the group that went from 55% to 52% is, mathematically, less at fault for that than are groups that went from 36% to 55% (Latinos) or 45% to 60% (Gen Z men). Those are massive, massive lurches towards Trump, and there's compelling evidence that, among some of the smaller subgroups of men that I alluded to above, it was even worse.

This isn't to say that that 52% of white women is off the hook; again, fascism ultimately offers nothing good to anyone, and therefore anybody who votes for it is a world-historically malicious and/or gullible motherfucker, regardless of who they are and why they did it. But it is to say that we've been discussing the political woes of the dang dirty white women for eight fucking years now, and now we have plenty of other groups full of bad faith and false consciousness to worry about too.

*Everything I'm saying about how different demographics shifted is an estimate, because this isn't an exact science. You can't scrutinize people's ballots based on their race or gender or religion. You have to make educated guesses based on how different geographic areas voted and how people claim to have voted in exit polls. For once, the US makes this easier than some other countries, because we report vote totals with more geographic specificity; we can see how neighborhoods voted, not just cities or counties or Congressional districts.

†In addition to manipulating resentments between different minority groups, something Trump had never successfully done before; he improved with Hindus by bashing Muslims, improved with Muslims by bashing Jews, improved with Orthodox Jews (but not non-Orthodox Jews, who held the line for the center-left despite the serious tensions of the past year) by bashing Muslims...Vance even tried to improve with gay men by bashing other types of LGBT people, although it's not clear if this one worked or not.

[mariacallous]

Bangladeshis made history in July when a mass uprising, led by student protesters, toppled Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League’s government, which had become increasingly dictatorial over the course of 15 years in power. Before she fled to India on Aug. 5, Hasina oversaw the killing of thousands—at least 90 people were killed by the police on the day before her departure alone. Children were not spared.

The end of Hasina’s dictatorship has turned a new chapter in Bangladesh’s history. The country’s lone Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, now heading an interim government, called it Bangladesh’s second liberation. But Bangladesh has to step carefully over the mess Hasina has left behind—both in domestic and foreign affairs.

And the mess is huge. Historically, Bangladesh’s politics has been a game of pass the parcel played between Hasina’s center-left Awami League and Khaleda Zia’s center-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), with the two regularly exchanging power for years—until Hasina broke the norms of democracy in 2011. That was the year she abolished the caretaker government system, where neutral civil society leaders headed an interim government to conduct the elections in a free and fair manner. Since then, the country has witnessed one rigged election after another. The BNP said about half of its 5 million members faced legal charges.

The democratic institutions that have been destroyed over the years can’t be rebuilt overnight. In his first speech to the nation, Yunus talked about bringing back the “lost glory of these [government] institutions.” The country effectively has no police force left. Hasina used members of the Border Guard Bangladesh, who were supposed to be posted at the border, against the protesters. Now they are facing widespread public anger too.

The damage is everywhere from administration to law enforcement to the military. Nothing has been spared. Hasina destroyed the country’s judiciary by handpicking judges. In 2017, the chief justice of Bangladesh’s Supreme Court, Surendra Kumar Sinha—a Hindu in a Muslim-majority country—was forced to resign and seek asylum in Canada after being threatened by the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence, the country’s military intelligence service.

The economy is in tatters, and corruption is rampant. Hasina herself has said that her manservant is worth $34 million and commutes via helicopter. According to Transparency International, around $3.1 billion is laundered from Bangladesh every year, which is more than 10 percent of the country’s total national reserves.

With the Awami League now hated by most of the public, the only political force left this political vacuum is the BNP. Zia, the party chairperson, is 79—and she is now gravely ill and was hospitalized multiple times since this summer. Tarique Rahman, her firstborn child and deputy, is 56. Rahman, often seen as his mother’s successor and the future head of state, has been living in a self-imposed exile in the U.K. for the last 16 years and the extent he is in touch with the country’s new reality is a question up for debate. He faces a slew of corruption charges—although these may not stand up in a fair trial as they were trumped up by Hasina.

After 15 years of autocracy, most of the remaining politicians are greying, while the median age in Bangladesh is a little over 25. The uprising that saw Hasina’s rule crumble was spearheaded by mostly by members of Generation Z. Their leadership of these supposedly apolitical groups in the July revolution has caught the politicians off guard, proof that Bangladeshi politicians are not capable of reading the pulse of the young.

Amid this chaos, the West needs to start playing a far more positive role. One of the reasons Hasina’s rule lasted so long was because the U.S. turned a blind eye to her misrule. Months before the one-sided elections in January, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken threatened to “restrict the issuance of visas for any Bangladeshi individual, believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh.” But after the polls, no punitive measures materialized. On the contrary, U.S. President Joe Biden wrote a letter to Hasina, expressing his government’s wish to “work together on regional and global security” and “commitment to supporting Bangladesh’s ambitious economic goals.”

U.S. complicity depends in part on its desire for India, a close ally to Bangladesh, to contain China in the Indo-Pacific. According to the Washington Post, last month Indian officials told their U.S. counterparts, “This is a core concern for us, and you can’t take us as a strategic partner unless we have the same kind of strategic consensus.”

India supported successive Awami League regimes due to its own security and strategic concerns. India’s landlocked northeastern states, also known as the Seven Sisters, are linked to the rest of the country through the narrow 60-kilometre-long Siliguri Corridor. This tiny passage, known as the Chicken Neck, separates Bangladesh from Nepal and Bhutan. The strategically important Tibetan Chumba Valley controlled by China is only 130 kilometers away.

The Seven Sisters are inhibited by 220 ethnic minorities and are home to active insurgent groups, especially in Assam, Manipur and Nagaland. India also has the world’s fifth-longest land border with Bangladesh. All this gives India a potent stake in Bangladesh—but instead of making new friends or giving Bangladesh’s democracy a chance, India placed its chips entirely on Hasina and the Awami League. Anti-Indian sentiment now runs high in Bangladesh—the Indian Cultural Center in the capital was torched within three hours of Hasina’s fall.

India has a long way to go to win the hearts and minds of ordinary Bangladeshis, and blaming Pakistan and its intelligence agency, the ISI, for every problem won’t help. India’s old narrative is dead, and New Delhi must realize this.

The U.S. must stop seeing Bangladesh through India’s eyes. Time and again U.S. policymakers have misread Bangladesh’s importance, looking at it as an extension of India instead of a state in itself. Bangladesh is potentially crucial to containing China in the Indo-Pacific. It has a young population who hold their ethno-religious identities close to their hearts but are pro-Western, too, with more than 13 million Bangladeshis living abroad.

Hasina herself was playing both sides, turning herself into China’s closest ally in South Asia. In July, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning described the relationship between Bangladesh and China as “good neighbors, good friends, and good partners.”

China dislodged India as Bangladesh’s top trading partner nine years ago. Bangladesh imports more goods from China than from any other country, and is in debt to China to the tune of $17.5 billion, which was mainly invested in white elephant infrastructure projects. After Hasina’s fall, China’s reaction, however, has been muted—hoping to build a relationship with whoever emerges afterwards.

The U.S. and the European Union have welcomed Yunus and his interim government. Mathew Miller, a State Department spokesperson, said last month the U.S. wants the interim government to “chart a democratic future for the people of Bangladesh.” The best way to do this is for the U.S. to offer support to U.N.-led efforts to support order and democracy in the country.

The interim government immediately needs to establish law and order. It can start by bringing the perpetrators of the July carnage to the book. A national office of missing persons should be established to look into all the incidents of enforced disappearances. It can seek technical support from the United Nations, which should lead an independent U.N.-led fact-finding program into the revolution and fall of the Hasina regime. Western nations should support the establishment of a new, fairer constitution that takes the range of Bangladeshi identities into account.

The presence of torture cells inside Dhaka cantonment and the alleged involvement of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence tells us that a section of the armed forces were involved in crimes against humanity. Bangladesh has been a major contributor to U.N. peacekeeping—but that needs to stop until responsibility for these crimes has been established.

The ongoing civil war in Myanmar is also an existential threat to Bangladesh’s national security. With Bangladesh’s security forces in disarray, the U.S. should support Bangladesh by setting up a temporary base that will provide the Bangladesh Armed Forces and intelligence agencies with arms, training and other logistical support, while maintaining a firm emphasis on the political neutrality of the army and its support of human rights.

Bangladesh has survived a dire time to potentially chart a brighter future. Washington should see it not as an extension of Indian interests, but as an independent country that is capable of making its own decisions, an important ally, and a partner in the Indo-Pacific.

[singto-prachaya]

So and here’s my last end of the year posts. The best BL’s I have watched this year. I gave all of these a 8.5 or higher. And it's a long list this year.

We already knew Bible was a good actor and with pairing him up with a veteran hetero actor we knew that acting wise this would not dissapoint. The side couple also delivered acting wise so double the treat. And I really liked the mature storyline here. 8.5

Hey listen we know Daou and Offroad won't dissapoint on the chemisty part. It's one of the best out there. Now we had to see how they would do on their second acting job in a BL that definitly required more then their first BL. They did not dissapoint and the BL it self also did not. Daou played the grumpy old man really well and his kid version? Perfectly cast! It's an action packed BL lakorn that was also really populair with the older generation on Thailand. They reasoned so much with grandpa San and his refusal first to accept his love was now a man. Can't wait for their new BL The Wicked Game. 8.5

I already talked about Top and Mick in the surprising ships of 2024 post. But besides their ship the BL they started in this year Every You, Every Me is also one of my faves. I love how there where different storylines and how they fell in love in every universe. And the ending of ep4? It left people in shambles. 8.5

A Gagaooala original and it did not dissapoint. I loved this. I liked how there was not that much drama. I also loved the secondary couple. And the MosBank cameo was a nice touch. 8.5

I have a love/hate relationship with K-BL's and when I binged Love for Love's Sake because it had a really high rating I was dissapointed because I didn't like it at all. So at first I was on the fence of watching this. But I'm glad I did. This was such a good BL. Also loved the cinematography here and good acting from the leads. I could totally feel the painful scene. 8.5

Wow a Pinoy BL on here? Yes and I know it's rare but if they get it together they know how to make a good BL. It's a BL from the director of GSP and it's so beautifully done. I also love the characters and how fleshed out they are. And beautiful OST. 8.5

This BL is on top of my best BL's of 2024. The acting, script, music, everything is top notch! Now let's see if their next BL will also come out on top for me. 9

Okay it started in 2023 but it ended in 2024 so that's why it's here. This is just such a good BL. Babe's first time acting was really good and the chemistry he has with Billy is of the charts. I love the cinematography here and the CGI is also really good. I also loved how this BL touched on buddhist/hindu culture with the garudas and nagas. It really makes you also learn something from this BL. Saint really outdid himself producing this BL. 9

O the backstory of the second couple from Unintentional Love Story. I am so glad we got this because I loved Unintentional Love Story and I also loved the second couple. 8.5

I was really excited for this one since GreatInn were in this. And while this definitly could have been better I loved this. I am also glad we got some ace rep even if it was just a little bit. I also loved the side couple. To bad we won't get to see them again. 8.5

[11queensupreme11]

Can you explain more about the geography in your fic? I get confused whenever you describe locations in Valhalla 😅

yeah it can get a bit confusing since i never expanded on it with specific explanations in my fic 😅😅

i'll start from big to small

first off! the ror universe. back in chapter 28, remember how hera was looking at different universes and they each had their own name? i haven't decided on what universe to name the one percy's been on, i've just been calling it "ror universe" but yeah, this is all happening in "ror universe"

within the ror universe are 3 realms: valhalla, midgard, and helheim (niflhel technically isn't really a realm, it's more so "nonexistence")

and within those realms are smaller (well, not really "smaller" but you get what i mean) places

valhalla and helheim are the biggest of the realms for the most obvious reasons. not only are they housing (most of) the gods, but they're also housing every other human spirit that's ever lived dating all the way back to 7 million years ago when adam was born. that's a SHIT TON of humans! so these two realms are always ever-expanding as more are added

in valhalla, for the human side, you have a copy of every midgardian place that's ever existed. victorian era england, modern-day england, 1980s new york, 1920s new york, etc. EVERY place that's ever existed down in midgard is there.

over at the gods side, it's basically the "heaven" equivalent of each pantheon. there's mount olympus for the greeks, svarga for the hindu pantheon, the otherworld for the celtic pantheon, asgard, jotunheim where the norse giants once lived etc etc.

and ofc, within those places are other smaller places. for example, the otherworld (celtic) is divided up into several places like Tír na nÓg, Mag Mell, Mag Cíuin, etc.

it's the same instance for helheim! within it are basically the "hell" equivalent for every pantheon. there's the underworld for the greeks, the duat for the egyptians, hell for abrahamic and philistine, etc. and ofc, they've got they're own smaller places within them too.

and then midgard, aside from the empire of atlantis down in the sea, everything else is pretty much the same. we've got countries, and within those countries are cities, towns, villages, etc.

hope this made sense! 🥲

[beardedmrbean]

[Huey Zoomer anon]

The Left: I want to show more black people in history

Me: Okay!

The Left: *Proceed to bastardized history with a Marxist oppressed vs oppressors mindset and refuse to actually use actual African Civilizations properly*

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Also like the black Roman thing….hmmm do people mean like North African and MENA provinces where naturally west Africans would show up

Or are they trying to pretend that people of black descent would live in Roma and the Italia peninsula?

Also the black supremacy thing, where black characters can act like Victorian sociopaths because they were oppressed in the past

Don’t get me started on the renewal blood and soil arguments thanks to the Decolonial theory

Also why just more black people in historical eras? Why not show off the ancient Indian merchant (we found Hindu artifacts in ancient Egypt and even the infamous Pompeii dig sites)

Or make the “invisible Jews” more present as they were there

Actually AC origins was the first games I notice the proper cultural exchange between the Levantines and Egyptians

And this weapon from the game https://assassinscreed.fandom.com/wiki/Canaanite_Blade

Wait the Jews were known for their ferocity? *Glance at Hollywood portrayal of Jews and stereotypes of jews* that new, perhaps I can fun NON BIBLICAL and non holocaust focus books about Jewish people more

Hmm, I told this to Nunya in the dms, but what about a video game or two set about the unification of Israel under Saul and David? Not saying from this franchise. But I was thinking like similar to the recent AC rpg games like Valhalla and Odyssey. Mossad can kill me for this but hey

Prologue David as a youth: Baby boy (sorry he was the youngest of 8, the baby fat on his face must been strong af)

David after killing Goliath and his exile: Traumatized baby boy

Fully grow adult David after got his beard: Conquerer daddy

Hmm, have Israelites found any ancient breastplates? Might play with the Judah Tribe Lion Motif with David designs a lot.

Sorry for my rambling…despite being progressive, I think we regress back to 60’s representation with a woke hat

Or are they trying to pretend that people of black descent would live in Roma and the Italia peninsula?

Septimius Severus Roman emperor from 193 to 211. From current year Lybia, there's debate™ about him.

Black people in ancient Roman history - Wikipedia The Romans didn't really have a concept of black or white only roman or not roman, kinda like how the French have been trying to do it for a long time.

Also the black supremacy thing, where black characters can act like Victorian sociopaths because they were oppressed in the past

You can say Killmonger it's ok

Also why just more black people in historical eras? Why not show off the ancient Indian merchant (we found Hindu artifacts in ancient Egypt and even the infamous Pompeii dig sites) Or make the “invisible Jews” more present as they were there

Both would be nice, be interesting to get something going into where the afro iranians came from (same place African Americans came from, same reason too) but there were also traders and others that likely set up shop all over the land mass that makes up the "old world"

Small Jewish community in China been there for a long time, there's some debate about how long but even the most conservative estimates put it at over 800 years.

Actually AC origins was the first games I notice the proper cultural exchange between the Levantines and Egyptians

The Egyptians may have looked down on shepherds, but they still needed that wool at times.

Wait the Jews were known for their ferocity? *Glance at Hollywood portrayal of Jews and stereotypes of jews* that new, perhaps I can fun NON BIBLICAL and non holocaust focus books about Jewish people more

Fiddler on the Roof is good if you're looking for a Musical.

Hmm, I told this to Nunya in the dms, but what about a video game or two set about the unification of Israel under Saul and David? Not saying from this franchise. But I was thinking like similar to the recent AC rpg games like Valhalla and Odyssey. Mossad can kill me for this but hey

could be fun, could also be a minefield

Fully grow adult David after got his beard: Conquerer daddy

We could probably skip calling him that

Hmm, have Israelites found any ancient breastplates? Might play with the Judah Tribe Lion Motif with David designs a lot.

Resources on ancient Jewish armor? Reddit Brain Trust on r/ArmsandArmor has this and skimming it I'm going with probably not, looking around I'm seeing one place calling the garments the High Priest wore including the Breastplate with "the name" written on it listed as armor.

In fairness it was supposed to keep him from getting killed, just not by soldiers.

Found this too, easy enough to pick out the eras even if you can't totally read what it says, first 2 are Saul next is Davidic then Maccabean, and the last two are Herodian.

You'd have to look up what passes for a coat of arms for the different families to go past that. This looks like a fairly well accepted collection of what they crests are though

Sorry for my rambling…despite being progressive, I think we regress back to 60’s representation with a woke hat

going to the lowest common denominator has really done that a lot it would seem ya.

sorry some of this is a little short, gotta run out for the night soon so I wanted to get it out to ya

[proudhinduforever]

Sanatani Saints

PART 1

I will be starting a new Series on Hindu saints who have inspired many people and guided their disciples towards moksha.

Most of the contents are choosen excerpts from the internet. I will be adding my lines too.

I'm choosing Neem Karoli baba today.

Neem Karoli baba was born in wealthy brahmin family. It is believed that Maharajji had acquired all the knowledge by the time he was 17 years old. It is said that Lord Hanuman was his Guru. He visited many places in India and was known by different names in different states. During his visit to Maa Tara Tarini Shakti Peeth in Ganjam, the local people addressed him as Hanumanji, Miracle Baba.It is said that once Baba was travelling in a train. He did not have a ticket. Due to which the TT officer caught him. Since he did not have a ticket, the officer asked him to get down at the next station. The name of the station was Neem Karoli. The village near the station is known as Neem Karoli. Baba was made to get down from the train and the officer ordered the driver to drive the train. Baba did not go anywhere from there. He sat down near the train with a tong on the ground. The driver tried a lot but the train did not move ahead. The train was not moving at all. Then all the people sitting in the train said that this is Baba's wrath. The reason for making them get off the train is that the train is not moving. Then the senior officer who was familiar with Baba apologized to Baba and asked both the driver and the ticket checker to apologize to Baba. Everyone together convinced Baba and apologized to him. After apologizing, Baba respectfully sat on the train. But he put a condition that a station will be built at this place. So that it becomes easy for the villagers to come by train because people used to come there from miles away. Only then they could sit in the train. They promised Baba and a station named Neem Karoli was built there. From here the miraculous stories of Baba became famous and from this place Baba's name started becoming known all over the world as Neem Karoli Baba. From here Baba got the name Neem Karoli.

He inspired many people such as Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg. Neem Karoli Baba was a lifelong adept of bhakti yoga, and encouraged service to others (seva) as the highest form of unconditional devotion to God. Baba would say that attachment and ego are the greatest hindrances to the realisation of God and that "a learned man and a fool are alike as long as there is attachment and ego in the physical body." He would advise people to surrender to God's will above everything else so that they might develop love and faith in him and thereby be free of unnecessary worries in life.

He was an ardent devotee of Lord Hanuman.

🙏🙏 JAI BABA NEEM KAROLI 🙏🙏

Below is one of my favorite bhajans which reminds me of him.