#such great Tarn proportions

[keklordkaotic]

ponyformers are great, but could you make a raichuformer :3

Thanks for the prompt! I’m not entirely confident I got Raichu’s proportions right, but I think it turned out alright. Hope you like it

First transformer that came to mind for me was Kaon, for obvious reasons. Who better to make an electric type than the electric chair?

Now that I’ve made Kaon a Raichu, I’m wondering what species of Pokémon would the rest of the DJD be. At the very least, Tarn would need to be able to learn perish song.

If anyone else wants to send me art or writing prompts, I’m open to just about anything right now so long as I’m familiar with the subject or can otherwise pull up a reference for whatever it is

[decepti-thots]

Any thoughts about Blokees?

They're very neat! I think they're pretty much the perfect 'side' toyline tbh; they're simple enough they work well for people not super nerdy about toys and largely appeal to that G1-nostalgia crowd that is always gonna be the safest bet when trying to bring in more casual buyers looking for a desk toy or something, even if they aren't a huge collector normally. But they're also solidly well made, have the kit-building element to add some fun and interest, and have a few unexpected choices thrown in (a Tarn!) for the slightly deeper cuts that collectors love. I really like the proportions on the Galaxy line; they're just cartoony enough to feel fun without being outright SD looking. And the Transformers One kits are great- I really want that Elita. Perfect combo for the 'cogless' characters, they really hit it off with that approach.

My only thing is god, I haaaate the blind bag element. I feel like blind bag stuff works OK enough for stuff like idk, botbots, where the casual buyer is not really super obsessed with getting this or that character created new for the line. But it's so annoying that they do it for a line where like, people have pre-existing interest in certain figures and characters and know which ones they want. It's always such a blatant way to milk money; it's just a way to make sure you have to buy fifteen instead of nine, or whatever. Don't like that! I just wanna pay you however much for a Tarn and a Jazz and maybe a Prowl, thanks! Come onnnn.

[cleverthylacine]

I've been thinking about the Commander Jaguars|Ravage Clones in Energon and that rounded back to thinking about Ravage herself again. Do you think she deserves a Mace/Morning Star tail weapon once more in a new continuity? What would be the ideal design for her in your opinion?

Random thoughts but I thought you might like to think on her some.

Ravi herself is a stealth model so I don't think she would use a mace or a morningstar as they tend to be noisy and loud weapons. The clones having those makes sense--they attack en masse and they are not stealth agents. But I also think having a heavy object on the end of a long, flexible tail (that is part of a cat's spine no less) would be painful for her as it would be a constant downward pull on her tail.

(I am sensitive to this because I have a bad shoulder as a result of being knocked off my feet by a train that had stopped suddenly starting again. I was carrying a heavy bag, and the weight of it pulled my shoulder and arm away from the rest of me. It didn't dislocate the shoulder completely, but the rotator cuff tore. You don't want something heavy at the far end of a long, moving part of your body.)

My ideal design for her is based on a combo between the IDW Mastermind Creations Reformatted figure and the BW Ravage design, but less, uh, hypermasculine of course.

When she is on all fours, her torso is longer--her spinal struts are extensible, but there should be 3 and the extensible areas are different, so that she does not have any one place on her spine where they're all weakest. Tarn took advantage of that in IDW and we all saw how that ended.

Her opposable thumb/dewclaw pops out when needed, so that she doesn't have to put much weight on it when she walks quadruped. @dimorphodon-x drew some really great hand designs for her and for Glit -- Ravage is shown in IDW piloting a ship, and Glit is the best surgeon IN the Decepticon army.

Anyhow, so, her spine is compact when it bears her entire weight in bipedal mode but longer when she's a cat. Her upper abdomen/lower thorax is where she compresses, so that her proportions are felinoid when stretched out and padding around, but more humanoid when standing upright. It gives her the illusion of a femme figure that way, too. BW Rav is very bulky and Ravage herself is a stealth person, so narrow the shoulders and hips a bit, but narrow the hips less than the shoulders.

I love the knives on her tail but I've always specified that she can sheathe them inside of her tail tip so that she doesn't have to worry about randomly stabbing people when she needs to vent energy out through her tail and also so that she can sometimes use her tail along with or in lieu of her spike.

The one major thing I would change is the location of the missile launchers.

The person who designed that doesn't own cats. On all fours with their long twisty spines, the physics of firing missiles from a hip mount would be unpleasant at best and even if there were built in buffers, over a time it would cause damage and degradation to the lower spine. That's probably why late in (G1-IDW-BW canon) life, as she moves further from a G1 frame through a late IDW frame to the BW frame (if you look at them there's an obvious transition from point A to point C) she elects to be bipedal almost all of the time. The hip missiles will have done for the twistiness of her lower spine and to maintain her strength it'll have to be fused into place so she doesn't Tarn herself when she shoots someone.

I ... wish I could draw.

The one difference between my mental designs for her in VOS and some of the lovely drawings Dimo did of her for that RP, is that her head in biped mode at least is shaped more like BW Rav's, giving her more room in her cranial case.

Also, the thing I like least about the MMC Reformatted Jaguar is that her lower jaw is so freaking tiny. It's like putting a cat's lower jaw on a jaguar's face, wtf. Although G1 Ravage's face is more like that of a thylacine than that of either a big cat or a dog/wolf. There is nothing other than a thylacine that has that much range of motion in its lower jaw.

[spiritsoffrance]

What is Absinthe?

Absinthe is a strongly alcoholic aperitif made from alcohol and distilled herbs or herbal extracts, chief amongst them grand wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) and green anise, but also almost always including 3 other herbs: petite wormwood (Artemisia pontica, aka Roman wormwood), fennel, and hyssop. Some regionally authentic recipes also call for additional herbs like star anise (badiane), sweet flag (aka calamus), melissa (aka lemonbalm or citronnelle), angelica (both root and seed), dittany (a type of oregano grown in Crete), coriander, veronica (aka speedwell), marjoram or peppermint.

Where is Absinthe From?

Grand and petite wormwood were historically cultivated near Pontarlier in the Doubs region of east France and in the adjoining Val de Travers in Switzerland, the two traditional homes of absinthe, while the other herbs were shipped in: fennel from the Gard region of France and even from Italy, the anise from the Tarn region or from Andalusia. In modern Spanish absinthes star anise (badiane) is sometimes substituted wholly or partly for the green anise, but this tends to give a very one dimensional liquorice-like taste. Badiane was used only very sparingly if at all in traditional Swiss or French manufacture. So called Czech or German "absinths" sometimes omit the anise entirely, but these are not true absinthes and are best avoided.

What Absinthe to Avoid?

Home "absinthe-making kits" widely advertised on the internet, and based on adding dried herbs or essences to vodka or Everclear, do not produce even a rough approximation of the real drink - and the results, apart from being very unpleasant tasting, may be actively harmful. High quality absinthes are always distilled rather than produced from herbal essences, and have a deliciously complex herbal and floral character, with an underlying bitterness caused by the wormwood.

What Makes Absinthe Look Green?

The classic green absinthe verte is produced by a 3-step process: first maceration of the herbal mixture in a base alcohol, then distillation of the resultant liquid and finally chlorophyllic coloration by gentle heating of a further herbal infusion. The absinthe distillation process was summarised by J. de Brevans in his 1908 La Fabrication des Liqueurs as follows: Absinthe is made in accordance with a great number of recipes which are all based upon the following plants: grand wormwood, petite wormwood, anise, fennel, and hyssop. In general these different plants are mixed together for distillation; but a few manufacturers prefer to treat wormwood, anise and fennel separately, to later mix the scented spirits in the desired proportions. The raw ingredients are placed into a steam-heated still, ...with the desired quantity of alcohol and half the volume of water needed for distillation; the plants are allowed to macerate 12 to 24 hours or even longer; the rest of the water is added and distillation is started. ...This operation is stopped as soon as the first spurt of distillate marks 60% (alcohol): rectification is thereby avoided. The first part of the tails is collected separately and used to make absinthes ordinaire; only the heart is used to prepare fine absinthes. The milky liquid which distills at the end is added to subsequent macerations. Absinthe scented-spirit is colorless. To color it, a mixture of petite wormwood and hyssop is macerated; a colorator, a special apparatus heated by steam or hot water circulation, is useful for this purpose; the process takes 12 hours. Absinthe is put into barrels for aging, then reduced to desired proof before delivering for consumption.

What Does Absinthe Taste Like?

Each herb adds its own subtle character to the blend - grand wormwood has both woody and bitter notes; petite wormwood is aromatic but less bitter (and also useful for coloration); green anise gives its characteristic scent and rich smooth mouth-feel (which fennel also enhances); the dried hyssop flowers contributes to the classic absinthe feuille morte (dead leaf) colour. Well made absinthes are generally pale green, but louche, or turn milky, when water is added. This is caused by the essential oils precipitating out of the solution, as the alcohol is diluted. Absinthes with a high percentage of star anise (or badiane as it is known in France), such as those made in Spain, tend to have a very dramatic and opaque louche, while the louche in more traditionally made absinthes develops slowly, and is more subtly translucent. Traditionally made absinthes are never a bright emerald green - those that are, have artificial colouring added. Clear absinthes - often called La Bleue or La Blanche, and historically popular in Switzerland - are made without the final colouring step, and may also differ slightly in herbal composition (sometimes for instance containing génépi, which is not otherwise usually found in absinthe). A red absinthe (originally probably coloured with paprika) has been made under the name Serpis for several decades in Spain, but this is an isolated oddity. The traditional strength is 55% - 72% alcohol, or 110º - 144º proof. Historically the best absinthes, including those from Pernod Fils, were made from a base of grape alcohol, although cheaper grain or beet alcohols were also widely used.

The Green Fairy

Almost from its inception, absinthe has been known as “La Fée Verte” or “The Green Fairy”, a tribute to its reputedly seductive and intoxicating powers.   SHOP ABSINTHE HERE!   Originally Published by Distillerie Pernot Image Provided Through: Click Here

[templepurohit]

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 Verse 1 - TemplePurohit.com śrī-bhagavān uvāca mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaḿ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ asaḿśayaḿ samagraḿ māḿ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu Word Meanings: Explanation: When will I take shelter of the feet of Mahaprabhu, which are a sweet ocean of mercy, made of eternal bliss? Then somehow or other, I will attain the nectar of prema through the path of bhakti, which shuns liberation. The seventh chapter describes the powers of Krishna, the powers of the Lord who is most worthy of worship. The four types of persons who worship and do not worship Krishna are also described. In the first six chapters of the Gita, jnana and astanga yoga which lead to liberation, and depend upon niskama karma yoga which first purifies the heart, have been described. In the middle six chapters, two types of bhakti will be described: that bhakti which yields salokya and other types of liberation by being either without desire or with it, because of mixture of karma, jnana or other elements; and the main type of bhakti, which yields liberation in the form of becoming an associate of the Lord with prema, which is independent of karma, jfiana or other processes, and which, moreover, independently yields all goals such as svarga and moksa without performance of any other process, and which, though easy to perform for all people, is most rare. yat karmabhir yat tapasa jnana-vairagyatas ca yat yogena dana-dharmena sreyobhir itarair api sarvam mad-bhakti-yogena mad-bhakto labhate ‘njasa svargapavargam mad-dhama kathancid yadi vanchati Everything that can be achieved by fruitive activities, penance, knowledge, detachment, mystic yoga, charity, religious duties and all other means of perfecting life is easily achieved by My devotee through loving service unto Me. If somehow or other My devotee desires promotion to heaven, liberation, or residence in My abode, he easily achieves such benedictions. SB 11.20.32-33 “But the sruti says tarn eva viditva ati mrtyum eti: knowing it, one surpasses death (Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.15). How can you then say that without knowledge, just by bhakti, one attains liberation?” It is not so. The meaning of that sruti statement is: knowing-paramatma (tam), having direct realization of paramatma (tat padartham), not knowing the individual soul (tvam padartham), or prakrti or any existing object at all, one surpasses death. Just as the cause of tasting sugar is the tongue, not the eye or ear, so the cause of tasting the para brahman, is bhakti. It is possible to grasp the brahman, which is beyond the gunas only by the process of bhakti which is beyond the gunas, and not by sattvika knowledge of atma being different from the body. This is understood from the Lord’s statement bhaktyaham ekay grahyah: I am obtained only by bhakti. (SB 11.14.11) And I will elaborate on this in the commentary on the verse bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas casmi tattvatah: I can be known as I am only by bhakti. (BG 18.55) And the accomplishment of liberation through jnana and astanga yoga is brought about only through the influence of bhakti, which is a subordinate element in those practices. It is stated in many places in the scriptures that without bhakti, those two processes are insignificant. Moreover, because of the absence of the word eva (only) after viditva, there is another meaning. This then does not indicate that exclusively by knowing paramatma, one attains liberation: knowing paramatma or not knowing, one attains liberation. Therefore, one can get liberation by knowledge beyond the gunas-knowledge of paramatma, which arises through bhakti; and sometimes also, without paramatma knowledge arising from bhakti-just by bhakti alone, one can attain liberation. It is just like eating sugar candy, which cannot be tasted, due to malfunction of the tongue. But gradually taste is restored. By that, the sickness is destroyed. According to Amara Kosa, matsyandika is a transformation of sugar. nanv isvaro ‘nubhajato ‘viduso ‘pi saksac chreyas tanoty agada-raja ivopayuktah It is true that the Supreme Lord Himself awards His blessings even to an ignorant worshiper, just as the best medicine works even when taken by a person ignorant of its ingredients. SB 10.47.59 In the Moksa Dharma, there is a statement made about Narayana: yo vai sadhana sampattih purusartha catusthaye taya vina tad apnoti naro narayanacayah Even without performing actions for attaining the four purusarthas (artha, dharma, kama and moksa), the person who surrenders to Narayana attains the goal. As quoted above already, Bhagavatam says: Everything that can be achieved by fruitive activities, penance, knowledge, detachment, mystic yoga, charity, religbus duties and all other means of perfecting life is easily achieved by My devotee through loving service unto Me. If somehow or other My devotee desires promotion to heaven, liberation, or residence in My abode, he easily achieves such benedictions. SB 11.20.32-33 yan-nama sakrc chravanat pukkaso ‘pi vimucyate samsarat Not to speak of seeing You personally, merely by hearing the holy name of Your Lordship only once, even candalas, men of the lowest class, are freed from samsara. SB 6.16.44 Thus, according to many such statements in the scriptures, liberation can be attained by bhakti alone. Now, let us return to the verse. “In your statement at the end of the last chapter (yoginam api sarvesam), it is understood that you have indicated your own devotee, with the special quality of absorbing his mind in you (mad gatenantaratmana) and having faith in you. But what type of devotee is that? One would expect that he is qualified with knowledge (jnana) and realization (vijnana).” The Lord then answers in two verses. Realizaton will occur gradually in proportion to the intensity of the worship. bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir anyatra caisa trika eka-kalah prapadyamanasya yathasnatah syus tustih pustih ksud-apayo ‘nu-ghasam Devotion, direct experience of the Supreme Lord, and detachment from other things—these three occur simultaneously for one who has taken shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the same way that pleasure, nourishment and relief from hunger come simultaneously and increasingly, with each bite, for a person engaged in eating. SB 11.2.42 Just as by eating a handful of food one does not attain satisfaction or nourishment, but by taking a lot of food one does get satisfaction and nourishment, when you have attained the stage of attachment to me (mayy asakta manah) in my form of Syamasundara with yellow cloth, you will know me. Hear how (yatha) you will realize me clearly. What type of yoga is this? You will gradually attain a relationship with me (samyogam yunjan). You will take shelter of me alone, not karma or jnana (mad asrayah) since you are my ananya bhakta. You will be absolutely without doubt about which is better, my impersonal aspect or my personal aspect, as indicated later in chapter 12 with my words: kleso ‘dhikataras tesam avyaktasakta-cetasam avyakta hi gatir duhkham dehavadbhir avapyate Those who are attached to the impersonal aspect endure great difficulties. The impersonal goal gives difficulties for one a body. BG 12.5 Moreover, that brahman is just an expression of my greatness, as I, in the form of Matsya, say to Satyavrata: madiyam mahimanam ca param brahmeti sabditam vetsyasy anugrhitam me samprasnair vivrtam hrdi You will be thoroughly advised and favored by Me, and because of your inquiries, everything about My glories, which are known as param brahma, will be manifest within your heart. SB 8.24.38 In the Gita I will later say, brahmano hi pratisthaham: I am the basis of brahman. Thus in comparison to knowledge about me in my personal form, which is complete (samagram), this knowledge of impersonal brahman is incomplete. Therefore you will know me completely (samagram mam), without doubt. https://ift.tt/3xMOEnG

[straycatstalking]

SOME LINKS/MANUFACTURERS TO IDW/MTMTE FIGURES:

Note: This list is for self reference and I am not endorsed by any of these companies. It’s also for shits and giggles because many of the manufacturers are Third Party (aka not officially licensed) and as I mentioned in my previous post…. I love the terrible names the figures get in a bid to escape trademark infringement. My brief descriptions probably doesn’t do the manufacturers/companies justice, so if you come across this post in search of figures, please check them out!

It’s a very long post, so I’m going to be cutting this post past the first manufacturer.

A small disclaimer that I am also kind of a newbie to Transformers and my research may be limited, so do forgive any factual inaccuracies and such. This is also an IDW/MTMTE specific list and THERE MAY BE SPOILERS. Additionally, I’m exclusively using promotional images from the companies (aside from my own pictures).

FLAME TOYS

http://www.flametoy.com/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=22

https://www.facebook.com/flametoyshk/

Their products can be viewed on TFSource and BigBadToyStore too among a few other sites! They’re also officially licensed by Hasbro.

They carry a wide range of figures including a few really nice model kits that are based off the IDW designs. From what I understand, they have two (?) prominent types of toys for Transformers, the first being Kuro Kara Kuri (High-end, Preassembled figures, usually on the pricier end) and Furai Model (Model Kits which you have to assemble yourself).

They’ve released IDW figures such as (and not limited to):

Kuro Kara Kuri Tarn (I really love this one, it’s REALLY pretty)

Furai Model Megatrons (Both the Decepticon and Autobot versions)

Here’s my Autobot version Model kit that I lined! It was my first kit so I’m very happy with it :^) Feat. McDonald’s Cyberverse Starscream

Kuro Kara Kuri Megatron

Furai Model Drifts (ClassicTM Drift doesn’t seem to be sold anymore, but they’re recently released a Shattered Glass Drift!)

Furai Model Coptimus

Furai Model Ultra Magnus (I’m very confused about this one, and I’m not even sure if it’s because I haven’t finished the entirety of the IDW comics. Magnus, why do you look like that…? Nonetheless, it specifies that it’s an IDW ver. figure. It’s this guy below. WHO ARE YOU??)

Furai Model Starscream (It’s not explicitly stated to be IDW and I could be wrong, but his proportions suggest IDW rather than G1? Many of his features seems in line with his IDW self compare to his other continuity counterparts, so I’m putting him here just in case. I don’t think he is officially sold anymore as he and Drift are older figures)

They also have some very exciting IDW stuff announced (There’s a Furai Model Rodimus Kit that is supposed to be released in July 2021 and I’m writing this at the end of July haha… so I don’t know when it’ll be out. I’m very hyped for him and he’ll probably be shipped out sometime this year probably-):

Kuro Kara Kuri Cyclonus (The concept art is ✨gorgeous✨, no sculpt released yet though)

Kuro Kara Kuri Rodimus (They are spoiling IDW Rodimus fans, he is also✨ gorgeous✨)

MASTERMIND CREATIONS

https://www.mastermind-creations.com/collection.html

https://www.facebook.com/CreationsMastermind/

Their products can be viewed on TFSource and BigBadToyStore too among a few other sites, and I’d recommend it as it seems hard to see their whole collection on mobile. They’re a third party manufacturer.

✨Here’s where the fun begins!✨

They have a surprisingly huge (and niche..?) range of IDW figures and they all have wAcKy names.

Some of their IDW stuff includes:

THE WHOLE DECEPTION JUSTICE DIVISION?? (Yes, even Nickel and Dominus Freaking Ambus/The Pet. This whole concept is so wild to me and I’m still staring in awe that Kaon (Dubbed Anarchus, by the way) turns into his chair alt-mode. How cool is that?! I’ve mentioned it in my last post, but Tarn is called “Kultur” and I wheeze at his stupid name)

LOOK AT IT!!! Anyway, back to the list (including their knockoff names)

Chromedome and Rewind (Mnemo and Motif)

Three Rodimus Figures, Classic, Lost Light and Shattered Glass with a Moustache (Calidus, Calidus Asterisk Mode and Calidus Shadow Ghost. Amen.)

Wing (Aero Alpha)

Getaway (Exitus. I will never get over his name.)

Megatron (Tyrantron)

Drift (Stray)/Deadlock (Ater Beta)

Thunderclash (Collisus)

Ravage (Jaguar) (Completely unrelated but I should mention that they sell a cage specifically for Ravage)

LET HIM OUT

Impactor (Spartan)

Mentis (Rung)

Rung appears to an upcoming release and I’ve rebooted the promotional pictures from another blog awhile ago (it probably contributed to this downward spiral into looking at third party figures) but here’s one that I found! Everything about it seems wonderful. LOOK AT THE SCOOTER!! HE IS ROLLING

And these are just the people I recognise off the bat! They have many other transformers figures too and it’s a gold mine of pretty figures that are quite accurate to the source material (I really like their face sculpt for Rodimus). The names to make fun of are really just an added plus.

GCREATIONS

https://www.facebook.com/gcreationchina/

I didn’t link their “official” page mentioned on Facebook as it’s a link to Weibo (Chinese social media site) and it leads to a staff members account rather than an official company account cataloging their products. Feel free to take a look at it though! I’m not sure if they’re still active as their last post on Facebook is from years ago. Their products can be viewed on TFSource and BigBadToyStore too among a few other sites, and once again they’re a third party site.

Their range of toys are pretty small for IDW but I thought they were absolutely worth a mention because the figures are great.

The two IDW figures (along with their pseudo names) they have are:

Prowl (Rebel)

I’m inserting a picture of him because man I love this figure. He looks like an asshole. I want it.

Drift (Ronin)

I don’t have much to say other than that their fake names are well done and so are their figures. I mainly know about this company as I was looking for an IDW Prowl figure and they delivered so excellently. Let me simp in peace.

MAKE TOYS

http://www.maketoys.jp

https://www.facebook.com/Maketoys/

The link to their official page seems to be broken for me, but I put it here in case. Their products can be viewed on TFSource, third party site, you know the drill.

They have a small range of IDW/MTMTE Toys but boy are they absolute madlads in naming their figures.

Here’s the line up:

Swerve (TRASH-TALK. HIS NAME IS ACTUALLY TRASH-TALK HAHAHDJWJSHS)

He doesn’t come with it, but they’ve got a My First Blaster TM add-on for him and that’s pretty neat.

Tailgate and Cyclonus (Rear End and Hurricane. How does one top REAR END?)

It comes with a cute panicking expression too úwù I’m actually tempted now. The reviews on TFSource also decided to use their fake names to refer to them and I can’t get through reading them with a straight face.

AND SO WE’VE COME TO THE END OF THE LIST. PHEW. If you made it to the end, thanks for reading!! I had a blast making it despite it taking so long to compile and research and I hope it was enjoyable despite the chaos of it all :^)

ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU FOR READING

TILL ALL ARE ONE!

[rawmeknockout]

tarn is just a great character. he's so edgy that he's a lovely opportunity for tragic romance you could throw a dart at any point in his timeline and every story could end in sad time downfall of Ancient Greek proportion.,. But ALSO the djd are just always sunny on the peaceful tyranny and that will just never not be funny

tarn the incel haha

[daisyachain]

Attempt to figure out the IDW political timelines

>10 million years ago - Reign of Primes

A whole bunch of bullshit happens involving Onyx Prime, tribes, Prima, etc. that I don’t know and don’t care about because by that point I was only reading exRiD for the Arcee/Aileron 

7-10 million years ago - Reign of Nova Prime

Cybertron is unified into a single state. Nova begins a series of explorations, culminating in his forming the Primal Vanguard and starting the Cold Construction program with the help of Tyrest. At some point, the Functionist religion becomes the governing belief system, heavily influencing government policy. The official stance of Functionism is that Cybertronians with beast and/or extremely common, weak alt-modes are non-sentient beings. These Cybertronians are treated as droids or animals. Cybertronians with common or manual alt-modes are discriminated against.

The Cold Construction program creates an underclass of citizens intended to be soldiers in Nova’s imperialist conquest of neighbouring worlds. These Cybertronians are also heavily marginalized, though allowed more rights than beast or disposable alt-modes due to their usefulness to the government.

The creation of Cold Constructed Cybertronians starts an energon shortage that heavily impacts Cybertronian politics for millions of years, especially when Cybertronian imperialism slows.

Cybertron in this era is a heavily classist, imperialist society beholden to the ruling forces of the Prime, the Senate, and the Functionist Council.

4(?)-7 million years ago - Reign of Nominus Prime

Nominus is notably less aggressive than Nova, leading to the Senate and the Functionist Council gaining influence in Cybertron. Both bodies are generally aligned, their goal being to maintain and further the class structure on Cybertron, but they disagree as to the status of CC Cybertronians. Dissent begins to spread, spurred on by the anonymous writings of a CC miner, Megatron of Tarn and possibly the more diluted power structure of the upper classes. The Decepticon movement arises, some advocating for reform but most for revolution. 

The Senate is largely classist and corrupt, but there are still Senators such as Shockwave, Sherma, and Momus who sympathize with anti-establishment movements and push for reform. The overall population is in support of governmental reform, though many oppose the drastic measures proposed by the Decepticons. Cybertron maintains the appearance of a constitutional monarchy, though its governing bodies are highly corrupt and the Functionist Council is politically powerful. Senator Shockwave is scouting candidates for Primehood, including Zeta and Orion Pax.

Megatron gains widespread fame when police officer Orion Pax breaks into the Senate chamber and quotes his writings. Megatron of Tarn is then exiled to Messatine. The Decepticon movement continues to grow, but its populist roots and lack of organization lead some to fear that it will only create a new form of oppression.

Eventually, the Senate seizes power from Nominus by having him assassinated, plotting to discredit the Decepticon movement and lobotomize its members. The plot fails, but Senate security agent Sentinel is still installed as Prime. Orion Pax goes on the run and forms a group of dissident Autobots who oppose the corrupt establishment but believe that reform is possible without revolution.

4(?) million years ago - Reign of Sentinel Prime

Sentinel begins a brutal crackdown on all dissent, transferring power from the Senate back to the Prime. Physical conflict between Pax’s dissident Autobots, the military and Senate security, and the Decepticons breaks out in the form of labour riots and battles over control of important territory. Megatron escapes Messatine after killing a guard during a labour riot and becomes a pit fighter, building what will become the core of Decepticon command. Sentinel Prime eventually challenges Megatron to a fight, and is killed.

4(?) million years ago - Reign of Zeta Prime

Senator Shockwave’s former protege Zeta (who was secretly modified by Shockwave to have Matrix affinity) becomes Prime. Initially, Pax’s dissidents and the establishment Autobot forces are united under Zeta. Zeta passes several important laws, including one securing the rights of disposable class Cybertronians, after years of advocacy by Dominus Ambus. Zeta continues to reform Cybertronian society at such a pace that it satisfies Pax and his dissidents. 

However, Zeta slowly introduces more and more authoritarian and anti-dissident policies in the name of security. Decepticons are forced to register, public gatherings are all but shut down, and the secret New Institute lobotomizes anyone seen to be a threat to the regime. Zeta encourages violence against political prisoners, eventually starting an all-out war against dissidents. 

After Orion Pax discovers the extent of Zeta’s warmongering, he and his allies join forces with Megatron and his Decepticons in order to take down Zeta’s forces. Megatron then attempts to kill Orion Pax, sparking the war between the Decepticons and more or less the rest of Cybertron.

Note: the increasing military conflict between the Decepticons and various other forces is likely what Rewind refers to as “The Uprising.”

4(?) million years ago - Reign of Optimus Prime, start of the Cybertronian war

Orion Pax finds and joins with the Matrix in order to survive the attempt on his life.

The Decepticons conquer five Cybertronian cities, likely spurring what Rewind refers to as “The Exodus.” Millions of Cybertronians flee into space to avoid the conflict. Those that remain are quickly sorted into either the Autobots, who are led by Optimus Prime and seek to curtail Megatron’s imperialism. 

Megatron quickly turns his sights outward from Cybertron to the galaxy, beginning a campaign of Decepticon imperialism that marks the key ideological conflict in the war from this point on. The Decepticon view is that the energon shortage was a key factor in the maintenance of the Cybertronian class system, meaning that equality among Cybertronians must be backed up by an ample energon supply. Decepticons view organic species as inferior to Cybertronians--securing a stable energon supply for Cybertron takes priority over the saving lives of organic species. The Decepticons develop a 6-phase plan for annexing planets, starting with infiltration and ending with the elimination of all organic life. 

The Autobots stand in opposition to the Decepticons, attempting to stop their colonization of planets but often wreaking havoc in the process. The Galactic Council, an organic-run diplomatic alliance, blacklists the Cybertronian species. As the Decepticons continue their colonization and the Autobots race to contain and push back the Decepticons, the size of the Cybertronian war grows to such great proportions that both Optimus and Megatron both control their armies from pods where they are exposed to billions of data points from battles across half a galaxy. Both armies are controlled by an extensive, decentralized command structure. This is likely what Rewind refers to as “The Remote Age.”

Throughout the war, both the Autobots and the Decepticons create hundreds if not thousands of cold-constructed made-to-order soldiers, often with inferior designs or health problems, to fight in the war.

??? years ago - Simanzi Massacre

The Decepticons instigate a battle that ends up wiping out half of all fighting Cybertronians. This is likely a part of what Rewind refers to as “The Cataclysm.” Fighting dies down somewhat after this event.

???-200 years ago - ???

This era of the war is ill-documented. It is likely that both sides required time to rebuild after Simanzi. 

0-200 years ago - Earth Campaign

The Decepticons make Earth, a watery planet inhabited by small organics, their next target. The Autobots attempt to stop the destruction of Earth by the Decepticons, but both sides come into conflict with humans. The Decepticons come close to victory several times, in what may be what Rewind called “The Surge”. However, due to the unforeseen chaos caused by the return of Jhiaxus from the Dead Universe, the Autobots get the upper hand, some weird stuff happens, and Vector Sigma recreates Cybertron. The non-combatants that fled during The Exodus return, called by Vector Sigma, and the Autobots try to secure a temporary peace amid protests by neutrals and Decepticons. Optimus Prime chooses to leave Cybertron, and a very fragile alliance is formed by Bumblebee, Metalhawk, and Starscream.

[hamoudablog]

Spotlight by Pete Rowbottom, Wigan, UK Another new image and a quite unplanned one, we had decided to go up to the Lakes despite the weather Forecast being less than ideal with some heavy rain forecast, but the one thing heavy rain brings is great clouds, so the idea was to look for breaks in the weather and worst case scenario was drive around and just have a beer somewhere and some lunch... It vwas only a last minute decision to drive via the Langdales, purely as I hadn't been for ages, Blea Tarn (this location) is absolutely shot to death, you can see why as it's beautiful but it really does need still water and some real drama to bring it to life, trying to avoid shooting this popular shot too much we call it 'going into Bleahab' :-) but, passing here the sky looked great at the back over the Langdales so we decided to stop, I was going to fly the drone and get some still / video. Once at the Shoreline the scene wasn't really that good with ripples water and flat light so I just composed a shot and left the camera there on the tripod literally just incase a break came while I was flying the drone. A while afterwards and after I'd pretty much exhausted one drone battery the Langdale Pikes to rear just started to light up against the black sky so it was back to the set up camera and sure enough a few moments later they were fully illuminated, if I wasn't already set up I'd definitely have missed it... the light then faded away and it was back to full gloom once again. 100% worth stopping after all, just the little moments you want to capture that happen so fleetingly against the far larger proportion of lacklustre showings. Have a great weekend all. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You can visit my website here ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://flic.kr/p/2m7LEke

[jacksjoke]

not to hijack this ask but i totally agree w this! i just want to add that bc it might be more from oh-aew’s pov in contrast to teh’s in the first episodes, i can imagine that maybe oh-aew is sort of struggling to deal w how intense teh can be, like u mentioned with him trying to help teh in this time of transitioning but being overwhelmed

like in season 1 teh shows that he can be rather jealous and clingy but not great at using his words, things which contributed to the hot/cold confusion oh-aew experienced bc oh-aew had pretty much no doubts in how he wanted to be with teh. although they’re gonna be more on the same page with how they feel now, part of me feels that 1) teh will be hesitant like u said about coming out, like u said; but another part of me feels that 2) teh will be totally comfortable as the over-affectionate boyfriend (in public or otherwise), but his jealousy won’t necessarily go away either. like i can see him sort of smothering oh-aew and being so sure of his feelings that this time he’s the one who starts off steady and devoted to their relationship, while oh-aew becomes uncertain bc he’s feeling overwhelmed by so much happening at once.

a major part of the finale was oh-aew asking teh not to disappear and teh promising that he won’t, but who’s to say this time oh-aew won’t be the one who needs to disappear for a while? it would be an interesting parallel i think

(another entirely different topic is just me wondering how long they’ve been together at the start of the show. is it picking up right as theyre starting uni or have they been there for months, even a year or more? it matters obv bc it affects how long theyve been together, and another significant part of the first eps was their sexuality w each other and the difficulties teh and oh-aew had -- oh-aew is a boy, do i like a boy when i have tarn?? vs teh would like me and be w me if i were a girl, but i cant be something im not even if i could change -- regarding that sexuality.

so much of what they did in s1 was teh plowing ahead half the time and then reeling back when his brain caught up w his body. kissing once -- 2 secs before a fight that ends in tears lmao -- certainly doesnt erase the shit that comes w internalised homophobia, so if we skip months and months, we may very well miss the conversations they need to have about where this is going and how they feel about it, what’s ok and what isnt.

not to mention that we might assume oh-aew is going to be more confident bc he knew he was lgbt before teh ever did, but he might very well be a nervous wreck in this department when it comes down to it bc hes as new to it as teh is, as they established on the cart ghfkjgdl

i MAY also just be blowing that part of s1 out of proportion and it actually doesnt matter to them in the new eps lmaooo but trouble in this area would add to the ones they're already sure to face in s2 so u know i have to wonder

so you think they are gonna fall out of love?

i don’t necessarily think they’re gonna fall out of love exactly? though if we take the quote on the poster quite literally then it could mean that as well. but if we put the meaning of the idiom against the quote it does lowkey hint that someone is gonna have doubts about how they feel. it could simply be just that

or that they both simply had unrealistic expectations about their relationship? where they both stand in the relationship? i personally would like to see this from ohaew’s perspective. given that he had been so patient and understanding initially with teh when he was struggling with his sexual identity

so the plot could unfold from ohaew’s perspective having a burnout from being with teh (who might still be unsure about coming out of the closet about their relationship) so it could be ohaew who’s like i know i promised to hold your hand through this really difficult transition of your life but maybe i was overestimating how much i can take and then again they’re both in university too now so that in itself is so much work

realistcally speaking too every relationship is gonna have ups and downs and its gonna be beautiful but i’m guessing a painful growth for teh and ohaew to eventually make their relationship stronger in the long run

[clairescreativeadventures]

New Post has been published on https://clairescreativeadventurescom.stage.site/the-windows-of-absolute-night/

The Windows of Absolute Night

On the other hand, the illimitable is no less potent in mystery than the invisible, whence the dramatic effect of Keats' "stout Cortez'' staring at the boundless Pacific while all his men look at each other with a wild surmise, "silent upon a peak in Darien.'' It is with similar feelings that the astronomer regards certain places where from the peaks of the universe his vision seems to range out into endless empty space. He sees there the shore of his little isthmus, and, beyond, unexplored immensity.

The name, "coal-sacks,'' given to these strange voids is hardly descriptive. Rather they produce upon the mind the effect of blank windows in a lonely house on a pitch-dark night, which, when looked at from the brilliant interior, become appalling in their rayless murk.

Infinity seems to acquire a new meaning in the presence of these black openings in the sky, for as one continues to gaze it loses its purely metaphysical quality and becomes a kind of entity, like the ocean. The observer is conscious that he can actually see the beginning of its ebon depths, in which the visible universe appears to float like an enchanted island, resplendent within with lights and life and gorgeous spectacles, and encircled with screens of crowded stars, but with its dazzling vistas ending at the fathomless sea of pure darkness which encloses all.

The Galaxy, or Milky Way, surrounds the borders of our island in space like a stellar garland, and when openings appear in it they are, by contrast, far more impressive than the general darkness of the interstellar expanse seen in other directions. Yet even that expanse is not everywhere equally dark, for it contains gloomy deeps discernable with careful watching. Here, too, contrast plays an important part, though less striking than within the galactic region. Some of Sir William Herschel's observations appear to indicate an association between these tenebrious spots and neighboring star clouds and nebulæ. It is an illuminating bit of astronomical history that when he was sweeping the then virgin heavens with his great telescopes he was accustomed to say to his sister who, note-book in hand, waited at his side to take down his words, fresh with the inspiration of discovery: "Prepare to write; the nebulæ are coming; here space is vacant.''

The most famous of the "coal-sacks,'' and the first to be brought to general attention before astronomers had awakened to the significance of such things, lies adjacent to the "Southern Cross,'' and is truly an amazing phenomenon. It is not alone the conspicuousness of this celestial vacancy, opening suddenly in the midst of one of the richest parts of the Galaxy, that has given it its fame, but quite as much the superstitious awe with which it was regarded by the early explorers of the South Seas. To them, as well as to those who listened in rapt wonder to their tales, the "Coal-sack'' seemed to possess some occult connection with the mystic "Cross.'' In the eyes of the sailors it was not a vacancy so much as a sable reality in the sky, and as, shuddering, they stared at it, they piously crossed themselves. It was another of the magical wonders of the unknown South, and as such it formed the basis of many a "wild surmise'' and many a sea-dog's yarn. Scientific investigation has not diminished its prestige, and today no traveler in the southern hemisphere is indifferent to its fascinating strangeness, while some find it the most impressive spectacle of the antarctic heavens.

All around, up to the very edge of the yawning gap, the sheen of the Milky Way is surpassingly glorious; but there, as if in obedience to an almighty edict, everything vanishes. A single faint star is visible within the opening, producing a curious effect upon the sensitive spectator, like the sight of a tiny islet in the midst of a black, motionless, waveless tarn. The dimensions of the lagoon of darkness, which is oval or pear-shaped, are eight degrees by five, so that it occupies a space in the sky about one hundred and thirty times greater than the area of the full moon. It attracts attention as soon as the eye is directed toward the quarter where it exists, and by virtue of the rarity of such phenomena it appears a far greater wonder than the drifts of stars that are heaped around it. Now that observatories are multiplying in the southern hemisphere, the great austral "Coal-sack'' will, no doubt, receive attention proportioned to its importance as one of the most significant features of the sky. Already at the Sydney Observatory photographs have shown that the southern portion of this Dead Sea of Space is not quite "bottomless,'' although its northern part defies the longest sounding lines of the astronomer.

[templepurohit]

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 Verse 1 - TemplePurohit.com śrī-bhagavān uvāca mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaḿ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ asaḿśayaḿ samagraḿ māḿ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu Word Meanings: Explanation: When will I take shelter of the feet of Mahaprabhu, which are a sweet ocean of mercy, made of eternal bliss? Then somehow or other, I will attain the nectar of prema through the path of bhakti, which shuns liberation. The seventh chapter describes the powers of Krishna, the powers of the Lord who is most worthy of worship. The four types of persons who worship and do not worship Krishna are also described. In the first six chapters of the Gita, jnana and astanga yoga which lead to liberation, and depend upon niskama karma yoga which first purifies the heart, have been described. In the middle six chapters, two types of bhakti will be described: that bhakti which yields salokya and other types of liberation by being either without desire or with it, because of mixture of karma, jnana or other elements; and the main type of bhakti, which yields liberation in the form of becoming an associate of the Lord with prema, which is independent of karma, jfiana or other processes, and which, moreover, independently yields all goals such as svarga and moksa without performance of any other process, and which, though easy to perform for all people, is most rare. yat karmabhir yat tapasa jnana-vairagyatas ca yat yogena dana-dharmena sreyobhir itarair api sarvam mad-bhakti-yogena mad-bhakto labhate ‘njasa svargapavargam mad-dhama kathancid yadi vanchati Everything that can be achieved by fruitive activities, penance, knowledge, detachment, mystic yoga, charity, religious duties and all other means of perfecting life is easily achieved by My devotee through loving service unto Me. If somehow or other My devotee desires promotion to heaven, liberation, or residence in My abode, he easily achieves such benedictions. SB 11.20.32-33 “But the sruti says tarn eva viditva ati mrtyum eti: knowing it, one surpasses death (Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.15). How can you then say that without knowledge, just by bhakti, one attains liberation?” It is not so. The meaning of that sruti statement is: knowing-paramatma (tam), having direct realization of paramatma (tat padartham), not knowing the individual soul (tvam padartham), or prakrti or any existing object at all, one surpasses death. Just as the cause of tasting sugar is the tongue, not the eye or ear, so the cause of tasting the para brahman, is bhakti. It is possible to grasp the brahman, which is beyond the gunas only by the process of bhakti which is beyond the gunas, and not by sattvika knowledge of atma being different from the body. This is understood from the Lord’s statement bhaktyaham ekay grahyah: I am obtained only by bhakti. (SB 11.14.11) And I will elaborate on this in the commentary on the verse bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas casmi tattvatah: I can be known as I am only by bhakti. (BG 18.55) And the accomplishment of liberation through jnana and astanga yoga is brought about only through the influence of bhakti, which is a subordinate element in those practices. It is stated in many places in the scriptures that without bhakti, those two processes are insignificant. Moreover, because of the absence of the word eva (only) after viditva, there is another meaning. This then does not indicate that exclusively by knowing paramatma, one attains liberation: knowing paramatma or not knowing, one attains liberation. Therefore, one can get liberation by knowledge beyond the gunas-knowledge of paramatma, which arises through bhakti; and sometimes also, without paramatma knowledge arising from bhakti-just by bhakti alone, one can attain liberation. It is just like eating sugar candy, which cannot be tasted, due to malfunction of the tongue. But gradually taste is restored. By that, the sickness is destroyed. According to Amara Kosa, matsyandika is a transformation of sugar. nanv isvaro ‘nubhajato ‘viduso ‘pi saksac chreyas tanoty agada-raja ivopayuktah It is true that the Supreme Lord Himself awards His blessings even to an ignorant worshiper, just as the best medicine works even when taken by a person ignorant of its ingredients. SB 10.47.59 In the Moksa Dharma, there is a statement made about Narayana: yo vai sadhana sampattih purusartha catusthaye taya vina tad apnoti naro narayanacayah Even without performing actions for attaining the four purusarthas (artha, dharma, kama and moksa), the person who surrenders to Narayana attains the goal. As quoted above already, Bhagavatam says: Everything that can be achieved by fruitive activities, penance, knowledge, detachment, mystic yoga, charity, religbus duties and all other means of perfecting life is easily achieved by My devotee through loving service unto Me. If somehow or other My devotee desires promotion to heaven, liberation, or residence in My abode, he easily achieves such benedictions. SB 11.20.32-33 yan-nama sakrc chravanat pukkaso ‘pi vimucyate samsarat Not to speak of seeing You personally, merely by hearing the holy name of Your Lordship only once, even candalas, men of the lowest class, are freed from samsara. SB 6.16.44 Thus, according to many such statements in the scriptures, liberation can be attained by bhakti alone. Now, let us return to the verse. “In your statement at the end of the last chapter (yoginam api sarvesam), it is understood that you have indicated your own devotee, with the special quality of absorbing his mind in you (mad gatenantaratmana) and having faith in you. But what type of devotee is that? One would expect that he is qualified with knowledge (jnana) and realization (vijnana).” The Lord then answers in two verses. Realizaton will occur gradually in proportion to the intensity of the worship. bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir anyatra caisa trika eka-kalah prapadyamanasya yathasnatah syus tustih pustih ksud-apayo ‘nu-ghasam Devotion, direct experience of the Supreme Lord, and detachment from other things—these three occur simultaneously for one who has taken shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the same way that pleasure, nourishment and relief from hunger come simultaneously and increasingly, with each bite, for a person engaged in eating. SB 11.2.42 Just as by eating a handful of food one does not attain satisfaction or nourishment, but by taking a lot of food one does get satisfaction and nourishment, when you have attained the stage of attachment to me (mayy asakta manah) in my form of Syamasundara with yellow cloth, you will know me. Hear how (yatha) you will realize me clearly. What type of yoga is this? You will gradually attain a relationship with me (samyogam yunjan). You will take shelter of me alone, not karma or jnana (mad asrayah) since you are my ananya bhakta. You will be absolutely without doubt about which is better, my impersonal aspect or my personal aspect, as indicated later in chapter 12 with my words: kleso ‘dhikataras tesam avyaktasakta-cetasam avyakta hi gatir duhkham dehavadbhir avapyate Those who are attached to the impersonal aspect endure great difficulties. The impersonal goal gives difficulties for one a body. BG 12.5 Moreover, that brahman is just an expression of my greatness, as I, in the form of Matsya, say to Satyavrata: madiyam mahimanam ca param brahmeti sabditam vetsyasy anugrhitam me samprasnair vivrtam hrdi You will be thoroughly advised and favored by Me, and because of your inquiries, everything about My glories, which are known as param brahma, will be manifest within your heart. SB 8.24.38 In the Gita I will later say, brahmano hi pratisthaham: I am the basis of brahman. Thus in comparison to knowledge about me in my personal form, which is complete (samagram), this knowledge of impersonal brahman is incomplete. Therefore you will know me completely (samagram mam), without doubt. https://ift.tt/2C0DuE8

[templepurohit]

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 Verse 1 - TemplePurohit.com śrī-bhagavān uvāca mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaḿ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ asaḿśayaḿ samagraḿ māḿ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu Word Meanings: Explanation: When will I take shelter of the feet of Mahaprabhu, which are a sweet ocean of mercy, made of eternal bliss? Then somehow or other, I will attain the nectar of prema through the path of bhakti, which shuns liberation. The seventh chapter describes the powers of Krishna, the powers of the Lord who is most worthy of worship. The four types of persons who worship and do not worship Krishna are also described. In the first six chapters of the Gita, jnana and astanga yoga which lead to liberation, and depend upon niskama karma yoga which first purifies the heart, have been described. In the middle six chapters, two types of bhakti will be described: that bhakti which yields salokya and other types of liberation by being either without desire or with it, because of mixture of karma, jnana or other elements; and the main type of bhakti, which yields liberation in the form of becoming an associate of the Lord with prema, which is independent of karma, jfiana or other processes, and which, moreover, independently yields all goals such as svarga and moksa without performance of any other process, and which, though easy to perform for all people, is most rare. yat karmabhir yat tapasa jnana-vairagyatas ca yat yogena dana-dharmena sreyobhir itarair api sarvam mad-bhakti-yogena mad-bhakto labhate ‘njasa svargapavargam mad-dhama kathancid yadi vanchati Everything that can be achieved by fruitive activities, penance, knowledge, detachment, mystic yoga, charity, religious duties and all other means of perfecting life is easily achieved by My devotee through loving service unto Me. If somehow or other My devotee desires promotion to heaven, liberation, or residence in My abode, he easily achieves such benedictions. SB 11.20.32-33 “But the sruti says tarn eva viditva ati mrtyum eti: knowing it, one surpasses death (Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.15). How can you then say that without knowledge, just by bhakti, one attains liberation?” It is not so. The meaning of that sruti statement is: knowing-paramatma (tam), having direct realization of paramatma (tat padartham), not knowing the individual soul (tvam padartham), or prakrti or any existing object at all, one surpasses death. Just as the cause of tasting sugar is the tongue, not the eye or ear, so the cause of tasting the para brahman, is bhakti. It is possible to grasp the brahman, which is beyond the gunas only by the process of bhakti which is beyond the gunas, and not by sattvika knowledge of atma being different from the body. This is understood from the Lord’s statement bhaktyaham ekay grahyah: I am obtained only by bhakti. (SB 11.14.11) And I will elaborate on this in the commentary on the verse bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas casmi tattvatah: I can be known as I am only by bhakti. (BG 18.55) And the accomplishment of liberation through jnana and astanga yoga is brought about only through the influence of bhakti, which is a subordinate element in those practices. It is stated in many places in the scriptures that without bhakti, those two processes are insignificant. Moreover, because of the absence of the word eva (only) after viditva, there is another meaning. This then does not indicate that exclusively by knowing paramatma, one attains liberation: knowing paramatma or not knowing, one attains liberation. Therefore, one can get liberation by knowledge beyond the gunas-knowledge of paramatma, which arises through bhakti; and sometimes also, without paramatma knowledge arising from bhakti-just by bhakti alone, one can attain liberation. It is just like eating sugar candy, which cannot be tasted, due to malfunction of the tongue. But gradually taste is restored. By that, the sickness is destroyed. According to Amara Kosa, matsyandika is a transformation of sugar. nanv isvaro ‘nubhajato ‘viduso ‘pi saksac chreyas tanoty agada-raja ivopayuktah It is true that the Supreme Lord Himself awards His blessings even to an ignorant worshiper, just as the best medicine works even when taken by a person ignorant of its ingredients. SB 10.47.59 In the Moksa Dharma, there is a statement made about Narayana: yo vai sadhana sampattih purusartha catusthaye taya vina tad apnoti naro narayanacayah Even without performing actions for attaining the four purusarthas (artha, dharma, kama and moksa), the person who surrenders to Narayana attains the goal. As quoted above already, Bhagavatam says: Everything that can be achieved by fruitive activities, penance, knowledge, detachment, mystic yoga, charity, religbus duties and all other means of perfecting life is easily achieved by My devotee through loving service unto Me. If somehow or other My devotee desires promotion to heaven, liberation, or residence in My abode, he easily achieves such benedictions. SB 11.20.32-33 yan-nama sakrc chravanat pukkaso ‘pi vimucyate samsarat Not to speak of seeing You personally, merely by hearing the holy name of Your Lordship only once, even candalas, men of the lowest class, are freed from samsara. SB 6.16.44 Thus, according to many such statements in the scriptures, liberation can be attained by bhakti alone. Now, let us return to the verse. “In your statement at the end of the last chapter (yoginam api sarvesam), it is understood that you have indicated your own devotee, with the special quality of absorbing his mind in you (mad gatenantaratmana) and having faith in you. But what type of devotee is that? One would expect that he is qualified with knowledge (jnana) and realization (vijnana).” The Lord then answers in two verses. Realizaton will occur gradually in proportion to the intensity of the worship. bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir anyatra caisa trika eka-kalah prapadyamanasya yathasnatah syus tustih pustih ksud-apayo ‘nu-ghasam Devotion, direct experience of the Supreme Lord, and detachment from other things—these three occur simultaneously for one who has taken shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the same way that pleasure, nourishment and relief from hunger come simultaneously and increasingly, with each bite, for a person engaged in eating. SB 11.2.42 Just as by eating a handful of food one does not attain satisfaction or nourishment, but by taking a lot of food one does get satisfaction and nourishment, when you have attained the stage of attachment to me (mayy asakta manah) in my form of Syamasundara with yellow cloth, you will know me. Hear how (yatha) you will realize me clearly. What type of yoga is this? You will gradually attain a relationship with me (samyogam yunjan). You will take shelter of me alone, not karma or jnana (mad asrayah) since you are my ananya bhakta. You will be absolutely without doubt about which is better, my impersonal aspect or my personal aspect, as indicated later in chapter 12 with my words: kleso ‘dhikataras tesam avyaktasakta-cetasam avyakta hi gatir duhkham dehavadbhir avapyate Those who are attached to the impersonal aspect endure great difficulties. The impersonal goal gives difficulties for one a body. BG 12.5 Moreover, that brahman is just an expression of my greatness, as I, in the form of Matsya, say to Satyavrata: madiyam mahimanam ca param brahmeti sabditam vetsyasy anugrhitam me samprasnair vivrtam hrdi You will be thoroughly advised and favored by Me, and because of your inquiries, everything about My glories, which are known as param brahma, will be manifest within your heart. SB 8.24.38 In the Gita I will later say, brahmano hi pratisthaham: I am the basis of brahman. Thus in comparison to knowledge about me in my personal form, which is complete (samagram), this knowledge of impersonal brahman is incomplete. Therefore you will know me completely (samagram mam), without doubt. https://ift.tt/2lJnVoL

[templepurohit]

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 Verse 1 - TemplePurohit.com śrī-bhagavān uvāca mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaḿ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ asaḿśayaḿ samagraḿ māḿ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu Word Meanings: Explanation: When will I take shelter of the feet of Mahaprabhu, which are a sweet ocean of mercy, made of eternal bliss? Then somehow or other, I will attain the nectar of prema through the path of bhakti, which shuns liberation. The seventh chapter describes the powers of Krishna, the powers of the Lord who is most worthy of worship. The four types of persons who worship and do not worship Krishna are also described. In the first six chapters of the Gita, jnana and astanga yoga which lead to liberation, and depend upon niskama karma yoga which first purifies the heart, have been described. In the middle six chapters, two types of bhakti will be described: that bhakti which yields salokya and other types of liberation by being either without desire or with it, because of mixture of karma, jnana or other elements; and the main type of bhakti, which yields liberation in the form of becoming an associate of the Lord with prema, which is independent of karma, jfiana or other processes, and which, moreover, independently yields all goals such as svarga and moksa without performance of any other process, and which, though easy to perform for all people, is most rare. yat karmabhir yat tapasa jnana-vairagyatas ca yat yogena dana-dharmena sreyobhir itarair api sarvam mad-bhakti-yogena mad-bhakto labhate ‘njasa svargapavargam mad-dhama kathancid yadi vanchati Everything that can be achieved by fruitive activities, penance, knowledge, detachment, mystic yoga, charity, religious duties and all other means of perfecting life is easily achieved by My devotee through loving service unto Me. If somehow or other My devotee desires promotion to heaven, liberation, or residence in My abode, he easily achieves such benedictions. SB 11.20.32-33 “But the sruti says tarn eva viditva ati mrtyum eti: knowing it, one surpasses death (Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.15). How can you then say that without knowledge, just by bhakti, one attains liberation?” It is not so. The meaning of that sruti statement is: knowing-paramatma (tam), having direct realization of paramatma (tat padartham), not knowing the individual soul (tvam padartham), or prakrti or any existing object at all, one surpasses death. Just as the cause of tasting sugar is the tongue, not the eye or ear, so the cause of tasting the para brahman, is bhakti. It is possible to grasp the brahman, which is beyond the gunas only by the process of bhakti which is beyond the gunas, and not by sattvika knowledge of atma being different from the body. This is understood from the Lord’s statement bhaktyaham ekay grahyah: I am obtained only by bhakti. (SB 11.14.11) And I will elaborate on this in the commentary on the verse bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas casmi tattvatah: I can be known as I am only by bhakti. (BG 18.55) And the accomplishment of liberation through jnana and astanga yoga is brought about only through the influence of bhakti, which is a subordinate element in those practices. It is stated in many places in the scriptures that without bhakti, those two processes are insignificant. Moreover, because of the absence of the word eva (only) after viditva, there is another meaning. This then does not indicate that exclusively by knowing paramatma, one attains liberation: knowing paramatma or not knowing, one attains liberation. Therefore, one can get liberation by knowledge beyond the gunas-knowledge of paramatma, which arises through bhakti; and sometimes also, without paramatma knowledge arising from bhakti-just by bhakti alone, one can attain liberation. It is just like eating sugar candy, which cannot be tasted, due to malfunction of the tongue. But gradually taste is restored. By that, the sickness is destroyed. According to Amara Kosa, matsyandika is a transformation of sugar. nanv isvaro ‘nubhajato ‘viduso ‘pi saksac chreyas tanoty agada-raja ivopayuktah It is true that the Supreme Lord Himself awards His blessings even to an ignorant worshiper, just as the best medicine works even when taken by a person ignorant of its ingredients. SB 10.47.59 In the Moksa Dharma, there is a statement made about Narayana: yo vai sadhana sampattih purusartha catusthaye taya vina tad apnoti naro narayanacayah Even without performing actions for attaining the four purusarthas (artha, dharma, kama and moksa), the person who surrenders to Narayana attains the goal. As quoted above already, Bhagavatam says: Everything that can be achieved by fruitive activities, penance, knowledge, detachment, mystic yoga, charity, religbus duties and all other means of perfecting life is easily achieved by My devotee through loving service unto Me. If somehow or other My devotee desires promotion to heaven, liberation, or residence in My abode, he easily achieves such benedictions. SB 11.20.32-33 yan-nama sakrc chravanat pukkaso ‘pi vimucyate samsarat Not to speak of seeing You personally, merely by hearing the holy name of Your Lordship only once, even candalas, men of the lowest class, are freed from samsara. SB 6.16.44 Thus, according to many such statements in the scriptures, liberation can be attained by bhakti alone. Now, let us return to the verse. “In your statement at the end of the last chapter (yoginam api sarvesam), it is understood that you have indicated your own devotee, with the special quality of absorbing his mind in you (mad gatenantaratmana) and having faith in you. But what type of devotee is that? One would expect that he is qualified with knowledge (jnana) and realization (vijnana).” The Lord then answers in two verses. Realizaton will occur gradually in proportion to the intensity of the worship. bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir anyatra caisa trika eka-kalah prapadyamanasya yathasnatah syus tustih pustih ksud-apayo ‘nu-ghasam Devotion, direct experience of the Supreme Lord, and detachment from other things—these three occur simultaneously for one who has taken shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the same way that pleasure, nourishment and relief from hunger come simultaneously and increasingly, with each bite, for a person engaged in eating. SB 11.2.42 Just as by eating a handful of food one does not attain satisfaction or nourishment, but by taking a lot of food one does get satisfaction and nourishment, when you have attained the stage of attachment to me (mayy asakta manah) in my form of Syamasundara with yellow cloth, you will know me. Hear how (yatha) you will realize me clearly. What type of yoga is this? You will gradually attain a relationship with me (samyogam yunjan). You will take shelter of me alone, not karma or jnana (mad asrayah) since you are my ananya bhakta. You will be absolutely without doubt about which is better, my impersonal aspect or my personal aspect, as indicated later in chapter 12 with my words: kleso ‘dhikataras tesam avyaktasakta-cetasam avyakta hi gatir duhkham dehavadbhir avapyate Those who are attached to the impersonal aspect endure great difficulties. The impersonal goal gives difficulties for one a body. BG 12.5 Moreover, that brahman is just an expression of my greatness, as I, in the form of Matsya, say to Satyavrata: madiyam mahimanam ca param brahmeti sabditam vetsyasy anugrhitam me samprasnair vivrtam hrdi You will be thoroughly advised and favored by Me, and because of your inquiries, everything about My glories, which are known as param brahma, will be manifest within your heart. SB 8.24.38 In the Gita I will later say, brahmano hi pratisthaham: I am the basis of brahman. Thus in comparison to knowledge about me in my personal form, which is complete (samagram), this knowledge of impersonal brahman is incomplete. Therefore you will know me completely (samagram mam), without doubt. https://ift.tt/2GzdsVz

[templepurohit]

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 Verse 1 - TemplePurohit.com śrī-bhagavān uvāca mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaḿ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ asaḿśayaḿ samagraḿ māḿ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu Word Meanings: Explanation: When will I take shelter of the feet of Mahaprabhu, which are a sweet ocean of mercy, made of eternal bliss? Then somehow or other, I will attain the nectar of prema through the path of bhakti, which shuns liberation. The seventh chapter describes the powers of Krishna, the powers of the Lord who is most worthy of worship. The four types of persons who worship and do not worship Krishna are also described. In the first six chapters of the Gita, jnana and astanga yoga which lead to liberation, and depend upon niskama karma yoga which first purifies the heart, have been described. In the middle six chapters, two types of bhakti will be described: that bhakti which yields salokya and other types of liberation by being either without desire or with it, because of mixture of karma, jnana or other elements; and the main type of bhakti, which yields liberation in the form of becoming an associate of the Lord with prema, which is independent of karma, jfiana or other processes, and which, moreover, independently yields all goals such as svarga and moksa without performance of any other process, and which, though easy to perform for all people, is most rare. yat karmabhir yat tapasa jnana-vairagyatas ca yat yogena dana-dharmena sreyobhir itarair api sarvam mad-bhakti-yogena mad-bhakto labhate ‘njasa svargapavargam mad-dhama kathancid yadi vanchati Everything that can be achieved by fruitive activities, penance, knowledge, detachment, mystic yoga, charity, religious duties and all other means of perfecting life is easily achieved by My devotee through loving service unto Me. If somehow or other My devotee desires promotion to heaven, liberation, or residence in My abode, he easily achieves such benedictions. SB 11.20.32-33 “But the sruti says tarn eva viditva ati mrtyum eti: knowing it, one surpasses death (Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.15). How can you then say that without knowledge, just by bhakti, one attains liberation?” It is not so. The meaning of that sruti statement is: knowing-paramatma (tam), having direct realization of paramatma (tat padartham), not knowing the individual soul (tvam padartham), or prakrti or any existing object at all, one surpasses death. Just as the cause of tasting sugar is the tongue, not the eye or ear, so the cause of tasting the para brahman, is bhakti. It is possible to grasp the brahman, which is beyond the gunas only by the process of bhakti which is beyond the gunas, and not by sattvika knowledge of atma being different from the body. This is understood from the Lord’s statement bhaktyaham ekay grahyah: I am obtained only by bhakti. (SB 11.14.11) And I will elaborate on this in the commentary on the verse bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas casmi tattvatah: I can be known as I am only by bhakti. (BG 18.55) And the accomplishment of liberation through jnana and astanga yoga is brought about only through the influence of bhakti, which is a subordinate element in those practices. It is stated in many places in the scriptures that without bhakti, those two processes are insignificant. Moreover, because of the absence of the word eva (only) after viditva, there is another meaning. This then does not indicate that exclusively by knowing paramatma, one attains liberation: knowing paramatma or not knowing, one attains liberation. Therefore, one can get liberation by knowledge beyond the gunas-knowledge of paramatma, which arises through bhakti; and sometimes also, without paramatma knowledge arising from bhakti-just by bhakti alone, one can attain liberation. It is just like eating sugar candy, which cannot be tasted, due to malfunction of the tongue. But gradually taste is restored. By that, the sickness is destroyed. According to Amara Kosa, matsyandika is a transformation of sugar. nanv isvaro ‘nubhajato ‘viduso ‘pi saksac chreyas tanoty agada-raja ivopayuktah It is true that the Supreme Lord Himself awards His blessings even to an ignorant worshiper, just as the best medicine works even when taken by a person ignorant of its ingredients. SB 10.47.59 In the Moksa Dharma, there is a statement made about Narayana: yo vai sadhana sampattih purusartha catusthaye taya vina tad apnoti naro narayanacayah Even without performing actions for attaining the four purusarthas (artha, dharma, kama and moksa), the person who surrenders to Narayana attains the goal. As quoted above already, Bhagavatam says: Everything that can be achieved by fruitive activities, penance, knowledge, detachment, mystic yoga, charity, religbus duties and all other means of perfecting life is easily achieved by My devotee through loving service unto Me. If somehow or other My devotee desires promotion to heaven, liberation, or residence in My abode, he easily achieves such benedictions. SB 11.20.32-33 yan-nama sakrc chravanat pukkaso ‘pi vimucyate samsarat Not to speak of seeing You personally, merely by hearing the holy name of Your Lordship only once, even candalas, men of the lowest class, are freed from samsara. SB 6.16.44 Thus, according to many such statements in the scriptures, liberation can be attained by bhakti alone. Now, let us return to the verse. “In your statement at the end of the last chapter (yoginam api sarvesam), it is understood that you have indicated your own devotee, with the special quality of absorbing his mind in you (mad gatenantaratmana) and having faith in you. But what type of devotee is that? One would expect that he is qualified with knowledge (jnana) and realization (vijnana).” The Lord then answers in two verses. Realizaton will occur gradually in proportion to the intensity of the worship. bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir anyatra caisa trika eka-kalah prapadyamanasya yathasnatah syus tustih pustih ksud-apayo ‘nu-ghasam Devotion, direct experience of the Supreme Lord, and detachment from other things—these three occur simultaneously for one who has taken shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the same way that pleasure, nourishment and relief from hunger come simultaneously and increasingly, with each bite, for a person engaged in eating. SB 11.2.42 Just as by eating a handful of food one does not attain satisfaction or nourishment, but by taking a lot of food one does get satisfaction and nourishment, when you have attained the stage of attachment to me (mayy asakta manah) in my form of Syamasundara with yellow cloth, you will know me. Hear how (yatha) you will realize me clearly. What type of yoga is this? You will gradually attain a relationship with me (samyogam yunjan). You will take shelter of me alone, not karma or jnana (mad asrayah) since you are my ananya bhakta. You will be absolutely without doubt about which is better, my impersonal aspect or my personal aspect, as indicated later in chapter 12 with my words: kleso ‘dhikataras tesam avyaktasakta-cetasam avyakta hi gatir duhkham dehavadbhir avapyate Those who are attached to the impersonal aspect endure great difficulties. The impersonal goal gives difficulties for one a body. BG 12.5 Moreover, that brahman is just an expression of my greatness, as I, in the form of Matsya, say to Satyavrata: madiyam mahimanam ca param brahmeti sabditam vetsyasy anugrhitam me samprasnair vivrtam hrdi You will be thoroughly advised and favored by Me, and because of your inquiries, everything about My glories, which are known as param brahma, will be manifest within your heart. SB 8.24.38 In the Gita I will later say, brahmano hi pratisthaham: I am the basis of brahman. Thus in comparison to knowledge about me in my personal form, which is complete (samagram), this knowledge of impersonal brahman is incomplete. Therefore you will know me completely (samagram mam), without doubt. http://ift.tt/2po0pAG