dying, dying" condition over a century ago.
hundred and fifty glaciers that existed in Glacier National Park in 1910 remain.
travels laterally across the Park roughly following the path of the sun: hence the name.
waterfalls that occasionally splashed onto our car as we drove underneath.
order to completely recover from the experience.
barely even acknowledging our presence.
problems already—but that is not to say there aren't solutions.
preservation of these precious natural resources.


text:
Server Info & News
*Sauerkraut
Tell us all about your server! Where is it located? Who's in charge? What are the rules? Game modes? Maps?
1 post Page 1 of 1
IAmYourFriend
Post by IAmYourFriend » Sun Feb 15, 2015 2:03 pm
Kraut is a German word recorded in English from 1918 onwards as a derogatory term for a German, particularly a German soldier during World War I and World War II. Its earlier meaning in English was as a synonym for sauerkraut, a traditional German and central European food.
*Sauerkraut started hosting game servers on a vps located in midwest Germany in September 2013, with the general idea to spice up the AOS experience using unique maps, gamemodes or scripts. Gamemodes and map rotation change from time to time, more details on what's currently up is available on the website.
http://sauerkraut.bplaced.net
*Sauerkraut was also the place where the "Custom Game" hosting service began, which was then later moved to http://hosting.buildandshoot.com, with other server hosters joining in.
Becoming trusted or part of the staff usually goes by invite, however if you are desperate or know other trusted/staff who can vouch for you, feel free to pm me.
For IRC visit #sauerkraut.aos on Quakenet, webchat is here.
Return to "Server Info & News"

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


It was the year 1965. Achva Benzinberg Stein had no more than $70, but after hearing about the Free Speech Movement in Berkeley, she bought a one way ticket on the Greyhound bus from New York to Berkeley. After 4 years, Stein graduated from UC Berkeley as a Landscape Architect. A Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architecture, twice awarded with a Fulbright Fellowship, Stein's travels and experiences throughout the years have shaped her career as a Landscape Architect.
She came to the United States after she finished her army service in Israel, her country of origin. When she arrived to New York, the Civil Rights Movement had just started. "I took one semester in New York, and then I read about Berkeley in the New York Times; it was about the free speech movement, and I thought Wow! They are having a good time,'" said Stein. So she left New York hoping everything would work out in Berkeley. Not long after she arrived, she realized it wouldn't be as easy. But she was lucky.
"There was a professor looking for an au-pair girl. He and his wife needed somebody to take care of the kids at night, wash the dishes…but not all day long. They would give you room and board in exchange. By 6 o'clock I took the bus, went up there, they met me, said ok, and that was the end for one semester. It was so fun!" However, being an au-pair girl for the couple wasn't working, so when the summer came, Stein started working for two older men cleaning house and cooking for them. This job allowed her to look for other jobs too. She worked in UC Berkeley's library, in a restaurant at the university, where she worked during lunch time, and had a third job as a waitress in the women's faculty club.
Stein was able to save money for next semester; however, not all her problems were solved. She was a foreign student, so she had no way of getting financial aid from the university. Luckily, she had a loving boyfriend who helped her. Together they went to the library and found a scholarship given to Jewish students studying agriculture. The problem was she wasn't studying agriculture; she was majoring in Landscape Architecture. So, they sent a letter arguing that she was studying "decorative agriculture." She got the scholarship.
Later on, David Stein would become her husband. "We stuck together ever since. My husband and I traveling all over. His family lived in India. He's not an Indian, but his family left at McCarthy's time. McCarthy was the senator who created this kind of anticommunist feeling in the 50s. My father-in-law was an architect and he worked in low cost housing, and that was considered communist at that time." Her father in law became a renown architect in India, and thanks to his connections, when Professor Stein's husband came to study in Berkeley, he knew people from the field.
"He knew all the architects in the Bay Area because of his father, so it was really nice for me, because I got to know all the professors in Architecture school. They invited him and I was his girlfriend. The chair of my department was almost like his uncle, so we used to eat there Friday night, Sunday night…it was really nice," recalls Professor Stein with a smile. David Stein's father was a freedom fighter against the British mandate, and her grandmother, who years later would visit her at the university, took part in the French Revolution.
After that, life just happened. She worked all over the globe, Europe, China, India, Israel, and the United States, mainly in public service designing parks, schools, housing projects, and more. She had two kids, and finally settled in California, so her children could be in a stable place during junior high.
Years later, Stein was invited to Northern Carolina to start a Landscape Architecture program, both graduate and undergraduate. She stayed there with her husband for five years. Later on, she was invited to start another program in the City College of New York.
"There was one student when it started and 60 when I left," said Stein with excitement. She explained that being a professor has a disadvantage; even though they have summer vacations and a more flexible schedule, they don't have much time to design since you are busy teaching, writing books, and doing research.
Learn more about Achva Benzinberg Stein's work at www.achvastein.com.


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Pep Guardiola: Man City draw at Manchester United a 'good point'
By Nicholas MendolaDec 12, 2020, 3:30 PM EST
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is fine with the point his team won versus Manchester United in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford, the Catalan genius insisting that his side had the better chances and defense.
"The first half we created three or four chances," Guardiola said after the scoreless draw. "We cannot expect many against a team like Man United. In the end it's a good point."
[ MORE: Three things learned | Player ratings ]
The reason? Guardiola knows what United does well — and has done well to score against his City in recent years — and believes his side took that away from the Manchester derby hosts.
"They punish you when you let them run, like against West Ham and Southampton is when they can run," Guardiola said. "They are so dangerous and we controlled them really well.
"Much better. At the end when we struggle to score goals, we have to be solid at the back. We had the chances. Raheem was 1v1 in the box, there was a clearance on Gabriel, one on Riyad, a clearance from John. They had one action in the first minutes and the shot from Fernandes, no more."
Guardiola was asked about how this derby felt without fans and he was quick to brand it as not a derby due to the lack of fans.
Man City's boss says the grounds haven't felt right since fans were taken from the game but is also unsure whether bringing fans back is the right move right now.
"Here with the people would be different, maybe they push more, we push more," he said. "The people have started to come back and hopefully it's a good decision because from what I hear from here and all around the world about the virus. We have to be careful."
Man City finishes a run of 14 matches since Oct. 17 with a 9W-4D-1L record, the loss at Spurs in the Premier League in which City carried a 4W-3D-1L mark.
MORE: Premier League
Leicester City climbs into second as Maddison sinks Southampton
Three things we learned from Fulham – Chelsea
Three things we learned from Leeds – Brighton


Fresh fellas sported looks of casual chic inspired by a desert dream. Think: long and lean suits of sleek, mixed and matched with short cuts and knits, easily rerouted for relaxing.
Sweaters and bermuda shorts played in a serene scene with vibrant pops . Coral and turq pop against neutral hues of khaki and grey, especially when color-blocked.


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Inside USC Village
Stained Glass at USC Village Gives Glimpse of Storied History
The handcrafted windows are the latest chapter in the rich story of Los Angeles and USC
by Alicia Di Rado
Stained glass at USC Village was designed at Judson Studios. | Photo by Gus Ruelas
You can't blame first-time visitors to USC Village when they're taken in by the sheer scope of the massive $700 million residential-retail complex. But its beauty also lies in its details. They're apparent in the gem-colored light and muted shadows cast by USC Village's handcrafted stained-glass windows. The windows star as the showpiece of the complex's expansive dining area in McCarthy Honors College and offer a collegiate sensibility reminiscent of Harry Potter's Hogwarts.
Created at Judson Studios in northeast Los Angeles, the windows give a glimpse into the university's soul. Emblems of Troy abound in the panels, from the university's shield to colorful crests and icons that represent the USC schools and residential colleges. Some symbols were chosen from USC's heraldic academic flags to reflect the longstanding, deep traditions of the university. "Our iconography represents the proud symbolism of the Trojan Family," says USC President C. L. Max Nikias, who worked closely with the artists for a year to ensure that the panels celebrate USC's intellectual heritage. "The timeless artistry of these beautiful windows is a testimony to our vibrant culture and rich shared past."
It's fitting that the creators behind the windows —some of the nation's most acclaimed glass artisans—have a history intertwined with USC. Their story begins with English painter William Lees Judson, who became the first dean of USC's fine arts school in the late 1890s. He convinced USC to build its residential College of Fine Arts in northeast Los Angeles, across the street from his own home above the Arroyo Seco. When the college building burned down in 1910, it was replaced with the American Craftsman-style building that still stands on the site.
After USC eventually relocated its fine arts programs to the University Park Campus (where today the school is known as the USC Roski School of Art and Design), Judson moved his family's stained-glass business— Judson Studios—to the former college building. In the years since, the building has been designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, and three subsequent generations of Judsons have attended USC.
The artist behind the stained glass at USC Village, David Judson MA '96, is William Lees Judson's great-great-grandson. The studio has created stained glass for buildings across USC, including Our Savior Parish/USC Caruso Catholic Center, Mudd Hall and Town and Gown, filling rooms with light that inspires, enlightens and uplifts.
ArtsUniversityRoski School of Art and DesignUSC HistoryUSC Village
Stained glass at USC Village was designed at Judson Studios. | Photo by Gus Ruelas	Inside USC Village
Insider's Guide to USC Village — from A to Z
From USC student life and Trojan traditions to restaurants and stores, we've got everything you need to know about the $700 million Los Angeles residential-retail project everyone's been waiting for.
15 min readStudent Life, University, Buildings, Campaign for USC, Community, Los Angeles, USC History, USC Village	 September 25, 2017
Below USC Village, the Land Tells Two Centuries of L.A. History
The site of USC Village has come a long way from scrubby underbrush to home of USC's largest residential complex.
3 min readUniversity, Los Angeles, Urban Planning, USC History, USC Village	 September 25, 2017
Residential College Icons Build on USC Trojan Traditions
Crests harken back to the symbols and traditions of USC.
1 min readStudent Life, University, Residential Colleges, Student Life, USC Village	 September 25, 2017


My wife's Escape is a 2016 bought Oct 31st 2015. When she turned on the AC the other day with temps in the 80's and after a long winter rest there was no AC and she noticed a burnt rubber/wiring smell. Turns out the compressor locked up and burnt the belt. The vehicle only has 24K miles and I don't think that is normal and Ford should at the very least replace the compressor on their dime. What do you guys think and are there any service bulletins out on a problem of this nature for Ford Escapes. Thanks in advance for any replies or comments.
I totally agree "who knows" and as you said "live and learn" Ford will get it right it will just be a matter of time. Just to bad the bugs were not caught on staging before being moved to production. Of course there are deadlines and from my experience it is sometimes more important to "some" to hit a deadline that hold back for a better finished product. Take care akirby and good driving to you and the other members on the board.
Thanks for the reply akirby as you helped me a bunch when I was looking to by the Focus and as stated I still think it is a great design and I am sure a great car! Outsourcing can be a problem........you can fool yourself into thinking you (management) are saving money but in the long run I have not found that to be the case. We have excellent college graduates coming out of College every year in the IT field and we should utilize our resources and bring in house. So what if you have to pay them a little more or provide a pension or insurance. Is that not what we Americans need? Sorry to get political but I do understand the situation and I do see the mistakes made by management in my company as well as Ford. Outsourcing for IT overseas you are dealing with a language barrier and time zone barrier right off the top. You are also hire IT people that code with blinders on not ever looking at the bigger picture. I see outsourced code for my company failing all the time. The few in house people correct it "after" a failure that was released to production (because the outsourced people with "blinders on" tested as good). Outsourced IT mostly cannot think out of the box they were trained to be in. Example: I needed a change in the way a website worked. Outsourced answer would be to rewrite all the code. I could recognize it should not be that difficult and consulted in house. A stored proc running at 12pm every night could accomplish the same result with about 1 hour labor by one person (at a higher rate) other than 5 people working for a week (at a lower rate but not much lower) to accomplish the same result. I blame it all on management following the other "sheep". Sorry for the rant but this struck a nerve! Management has a problem thinking out of the box also! What they perceive as the bottom line is not always the true bottom line. The bottom line is I am sure Ford will fix the problem and other than and inconvenience to the first users of the new line it will be corrected with nothing more that a firmware update.
First, I want to thank all that were so helpful on this board. Probably no one on the Blue Oval forum wants to hear this but I just could not get an honest trade in value from any Ford dealer and I am giving an honest review. I know it was pointed out I was trading and "abandoned" brand Pontiac Vibe (pointed out by a dealer on this board (grand master or something) that said he would rather have and STD than a Vibe on the lot). That being said, a trade is a trade, and, a sell in the auctions is a sale in the auctions, no matter what the brand or what dealer may be going to auction. I bought a bow tie instead! It was simply economics and I was "hot" for a Focus. I ended up with a Cruze. Because of the economic factor I gave up the rear view camera and hatchback, but gained remote start without a huge package increase. I still like the style of the Focus hatchback better than the Cruze RS sedan but that being said, because of "much" better offer for trade and reduction in price from MSRP by Chevy dealer and the fact that I could get a car that basically has the same fuel mileage and is also made in the USA (those were my two key factors) I got a Cruze RS. Averaging mileage of 39 to 40 on driver info center (DIC) and pencil to paper 36+ on the first tank. Still like the Focus and think it is also a great car but if the distributorships/dealers, will not deal, economics comes into play especially at this time in the economy. If I had bought the Ford the check would have been for about 16K (with X plan and $500 private offer) and "without" the tag/title/tax. With the Cruze I was out the door with a little over 12K "with" tag/title/tax (without any plan or rebate). Maybe next time Ford, but not this time and the sale all boiled down to mileage capable vehicle, an honest trade in value, to buy a car manufactured in the USA. And again thanks to all that were so helpful on this board............good driving!
I never said you "cheated" those are your words. Taking advantage of a situation/sale and cheating are totally different. A salesman does what a salesman does which is trying to get the best deal for himself and his company. I am glad you are a honest person and have never taken advantage of any customer for 35 years.
It may come to that as much as I like convenience I won't trade for the price offered. I will try another dealer and maybe their overhead won't be as great and they may offer more. Time will tell. BTW, since you are a dealer I assume you get reembursed by Ford for the private offer. I would certainly hope so and I know their are all sorts of holdbacks and other incentives Ford allows the dealers on a sales to make a difference on your bottom line since as you say "overhead"
GapBoyPCS, thanks for the correction. Ohio was the other car I looked at and off the top of my head I was wrong. I will try another dealer and see if they think it is as bad as "STD's" as carguy commented.
Carguy, Edmunds will not cut a check as you so facetiously pointed out. But even if I rated it as the lowest possible entry for the options it has the dealer was dogging me on the trade in value. They knew where I worked and knew I qualified for the X plan without me saying a thing. I think they adjusted their trade in offer down because of that fact. I know a good deal when I see it and I know a bad deal when that is being offered! They were offering a bad deal for me and a very good deal for themselves as it was also below a current Black Book!! In your 35 years I guess you have never taken advantage of a customer that was uninformed and would just sign without questioning? I have worked in sales also and yes people do "lie" but the evaluation the dealer gave and stuck to was dishonest on their part. Remember I mentioned the problem they reported on the passenger airbag. Factually it was a non-existing problem on the passenger air bag (Total BS) All, I am fairly old and have owned and traded for many cars over those years. There could be several factors for what they did but they will not get my business. Been down this road before and just simply found another dealer that offered a better deal either by upping the trade in value or lowering the retail value or a combination of both. I bought the Vibe because of the gas mileage (34 to 36 "real world" the way I drive) and the fact it was assembled in CA, USA even though it was in fact a Toyota/halfbreed. As stated I have owned many cars and trucks over the years (3 Fords) with the exception of one used Volvo in the early 70's every car or truck I have owned was assembled in the USA. It is important to me to know I am doing what I can to help workers that manufacture here at home over foreign workers. This has always been important to me not just now! Again gas mileage is important as I commute 90 mi round trip 5 days a week. Unless I am wrong the Focus is manufactured in Ohio and that is part of the reason I have settled on a Focus, plus the gas mileage, ride, soundproofing, etc. Checked a Cruze but "no" hatchback (Europe only) and didn't like the handling or sound proofing which pushed me to the Focus which I drove and liked much better. If manufacturing location wasn't important to me I would probably get a Prius but my heart will not let me :-) It is an old guy thing I guess. akirby, My brochure came in today and Focusing is correct if you read the bold print it is $750 but if you read the fine print it states $500 on Focus (above S model Focus and Fiesta). The way I look at it this is an incentive regardless of the price all I needed was that incentive. I have made a decision to buy and will just now need to find a dealer that is more reasonable/honest with their evaluation of my trade in. It will not take a dealer with a Edmunds evaluation but simply and "honest" trade in evaluation.
I went to the dealer were I took the test drive today so they could appraise my trade in. They totally low balled my trade (deal breaker). It was $2500 below Edmunds lowest (trade in) TMV figure on the vehicle as it is equipped and the mileage. They gave me one reason for the low evaluation because the passenger side air bag light didn't engage. That has never been a problem and when I got home I got my wife to sit in the car and when it started "guess what" no problem as described by dealer. I hope to do business with Ford and purchase the Focus but I don't think it could ever happen with the dealer in question. Thanks again for all the help. Totally disappointed!
Chibana, I am impressed! You're are a physicist who is (self described) a driving enthusiast who cares about performance and doesn't care about economy. Since I have a degree in sociology, philosophy, and business I wonder about the reasoning behind why you bought an economy Focus? Is it because you want to push the limits and see if you are better than the engineers that designed the car? Is it because you are on a budget and cannot afford a high performance car (there are cars for about the same price with less economy and more performance) or was it simply your were impressed by the "look" of the car or that the car was American made? Just curious as to the reasoning behind your purchase as I may be able to apply it in some of my classes. If this was to push the limits of the car I hope you are successful and can give us "all" advice in the future.
Thanks for all the help and info. I am just waiting on a brochure now as I have not ever received a email response even though I put in my email address with ordering the brochure via snail mail. Between the X plan and private offer (when it comes) I will make the purchase and look forward to it.
Thanks akirby! I ordered the brochure as suggested but haven't gotten an email and will just wait for the brochure to be delivered. I think it said about 10 days. Your tip about ordering another may be necessary as I am pretty sure I will have to order mine. I want the rear camera and looking at inventory within 100 mile range I am not seeing one unless the dealers are hiding inventory. I have the X plan and from reading other forums people have stated this (private offer) could be applied in combination with the X plan. Does anyone know if that information is correct as in someone that actually used both?


Julio Urias, Corey Seager headline list of Dodgers' 17 non-roster invitees to spring training.
Eighteen-year-old pitching prospect Julio Urias has earned a non-roster invitation to the Dodgers' 2015 spring training camp. He and top shortstop prospect Corey Seager headline a list of 17 non-roster invitees to the Dodgers' spring training camp announced Friday.
Shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena, who was designated for assignment nine days ago with four years remaining on his $25 million contract, is also in that group.


Pixiedora Do not forget the hassle. Not sure how things are there, but everything about flying is a hassle over here, including security.
Let's share stories as we wait to die episode.
03:53 AM - Queen LikkleMel changed Ferefire's status to "Thanks Mel 4 my great pic~"
03:30 AM - Ferefire changed their status to "We're better together let's move forward"
02:06 AM - Ferefire changed their status to "Grow up and let's move on."
12:40 AM - Ferefire changed their status to "I've got this."
10:29 PM - Ferefire changed their status to "We All Stand Together"
11:22 PM - Ferefire changed their status to "Zzzzzz"
11:22 PM - Ferefire changed their status to "Zzzzz"
11:22 PM - Ferefire changed their status to "Zzzz"
11:22 PM - Ferefire changed their status to "Zzz"
11:22 PM - Ferefire changed their status to "Zz"
11:22 PM - Ferefire changed their status to "Z"
11:41 PM - Ferefire changed their status to "Zzzzzzz"
08:58 PM - Ferefire changed their status to "~Do You?"


text:
W 74 - 78
Notre Dame Fighting Irish News
Bennett: My picks against the spread for Rutgers-Iowa, Syracuse-Notre Dame and the rest of the day's top games
Brian Bennett
Brian Bennett picks the best 10 college basketball games on Wednesday.
ACC Power Rankings: The league has 'only' three top-tier teams, but others with postseason hopes
David Glenn
Over the past four years, the ACC has averaged eight Tournament teams. The league almost certainly will fall short of that this March.
Kravitz: Legal sports gambling in Indiana is generating big business – and big concerns about addiction
Former gambler Chuck Bovis: "I thought I was going to win and it was going to even out. Then it became desperation that I had to win."
Davis: My picks against the spread for Baylor-Kansas, Ohio State-Indiana and the rest of the day's top games
Seth Davis
Seth Davis picks the best college basketball games on Saturday across the country.
Louisville's Mike Pegues and Notre Dame's Mike Brey, the men who made each other
Danielle Lerner
For the third time, Brey and Pegues will be on opposite benches when the Fighiting Irish and the Cardinals square off.
MVP? Breakout player? Who wins it all? A women's college basketball midseason roundtable
The Athletic Staff
To make sense of the first half of the season, we asked our women's college basketball experts to weigh in on a number of topics.
Bennett: My picks against the spread for Kansas-Iowa State, Arkansas-LSU and the rest of the day's top games
Brian Bennett makes his picks for Wednesday's best college basketball games.
ACC Power Rankings: Led by Duke (again), the league is top-heavy with a lot of wait-and-see teams
Along with the Blue Devils, Louisville, FSU, Virginia and NC State show promise as the conference schedule gets under way.
Midseason All-ACC basketball awards: Not the star power of a year ago, but Vernon Carey Jr. is the real deal
Carey looks like the latest ACC player worthy of Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors.
Mushroom coffee, pilates and vacations on the water: College hoops coaches share their New Year's resolutions
Dana O'Neil
Tom Izzo, Bill Self, Chris Beard and other coaches share with The Athletic what they're focused on doing better in 2020.
Kravitz: Armaan Franklin, Indiana's less-heralded freshman, makes an audacious introduction
It's hard to know just how good these Hoosiers really are. But the answer is coming, and Franklin filled in some of the details Saturday.
Davis: My picks against the spread for Kansas-Villanova, Ohio State-Kentucky, Purdue-Butler and other top games
Neutral-site matchups give the Saturday slate a March feel.
Atlantic Coast Team Rankings
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Leaders
Juwan
Author Bob Kravitz Brandon Lilly Brian Bennett Brian Hamilton CJ Moore CL Brown Dana O'Neil Doug Gottlieb Dustin Dopirak Eamonn Brennan George Dohrmann Greg Auman Jeff Greer Ken Pomeroy Matt Fortuna Michelle Smith Nicole Auerbach Omari Sankofa II Richard Deitsch Sam Vecenie Seth Davis Seth Davis, Dana O'Neil, Brian Hamilton, Brian Bennett and Eamonn Brennan Stewart Mandel The Athletic Staff Will Sammon
Davis: Picks against the spread for Oregon-Michigan, Memphis-Tennessee, Gonzaga-Arizona and more
Seth picks the best games in college basketball on Saturday.
Davis: My picks against the spread for UNC-Ohio State, Virginia-Purdue and the rest of the night's top games
The ACC/Big Ten Challenge wraps up with several other nonconfernece matchups highlighting Wednesday's schedule.
Staff Poll: National champion, player and coach of the year, biggest surprises and more
Our team at The Athletic College Basketball makes their predictions for the 2019-20 season.
ACC roundtable: On the league's transition, Louisville, Notre Dame, top freshmen and more
Our experts on what they expect in the ACC during the 2019-20 season.
With no clear-cut favorite and most of the stars gone, the ACC is wide open
Eamonn Brennan
Only three of the 20 players recognized on last season's all-conference teams are back.
Which college coaches would you want for the next 10 years? We asked our experts
Seth Davis, Dana O'Neil, Brian Hamilton, Brian Bennett and Eamonn Brennan
Five writers each picked five coaches for the next 10 years, but if their coach retires/goes to the NBA/gets fired they stop earning points.
The 10* most intriguing games on the ACC basketball schedule
The ACC putting Duke-UNC and Virginia-Louisville against each other on the same day (twice) highlights the upcoming schedule.
Why the Grizzlies hired Niele Ivey: It was time for her to take the next step
Omari Sankofa II
People who know Ivey best agree a moment such as this — an assistant coaching job in the NBA — for her has been long overdue.
Kravitz: Celebrate with us as The Athletic Indiana has its one-year anniversary
We at The Athletic Indiana would like to thank you for your support. We look forward to an even better second year.
Underrating Villanova, a sleeper in Alabama: Eamonn Brennan's college basketball mailbag, Part III
Lots of questions about the SEC and what mid-major team will make a move?
How the NBA Draft shook up the ACC
The NBA Draft withdrawal deadline has come and gone, and (most of) the dust around college basketball has settled. There's still a major transfer decision to be made — looking at you, Kerry Blackshear — but we now have a much clearer view of what the ACC will look like next season. We...
Donovan Johnson following in the footsteps of his brother Cameron
Dustin Dopirak
Cameron Johnson had a terrific senior season at UNC and is off to the NBA. Younger brother Donovan just got a UNC offer.
Bryce Thompson is a third-generation scorer who has the attention of UNC, Kansas and others
CJ Moore
Before he was one of the best scoring guards in the Class of 2020, Bryce Thompson was a fifth-grade foreign exchange student in France. The Thompsons enrolled Bryce in Eisenhower International School in Tulsa, Okla., when he started grade school, and every student was expected to learn a second...
Way-too-early ACC power rankings for 2019-20: Virginia, again?
Defending national champion Virginia brings back enough, but Duke is bringing in another top recruiting class.
Deitsch: Way-too-early preseason women's college basketball top 10
Richard Deitsch
With Oregon bringing back Sabrina Ionescu, the Oregon Ducks are our early No. 1.
Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale: Missed free throws, back-to-back title chance 'doesn't define me'
Will Sammon
The loss is the final memory of Ogunbowale's career, with Sunday the expiration date on Notre Dame's one-year reign as national champion.
Notre Dame's Jessica Shepard ready for a test against the Baylor frontcourt
Greg Auman
After winning a national title with Notre Dame last season, Shepard dedicated herself to slimming down and improving her conditioning.
Block party: Brianna Turner's swat sends Notre Dame back to the title game
The Fighting Irish will seek their second consecutive national championship against Baylor.
Family drives Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale back to Final Four
TAMPA, Fla. — Long before she was hitting amazing buzzer-beaters to win a national championship, Notre Dame guard Arike Ogunbowale would sit in church in Milwaukee with her brothers and cousins, Bibles in hand, listening and waiting to make a furious dash. The pastor would announce the reading,...
Making the case for each of the Women's Final Four teams
Baylor, Notre Dame, UConn and Oregon were also the top four teams in preseason polls.
Behind the scenes as Notre Dame chases a second straight national title
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Muffet McGraw paces over to the baseline, a perplexed grin flashing across her face as the gym hurriedly clears. "The one day we decide to go at 3:45 instead of 2," she says to no one in particular. A minute earlier, her media relations director had stepped on the Purcell...
Kills. Gaps. Turkeys. By any name, getting three straight stops is a secret to success
The kill is not new to basketball by any stretch. ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla, the head coach at Manhattan, St. John's and New Mexico from 1992 to 2002 and an assistant coach at five schools before that, remembers hearing about kills, or something like them, long before "all the...
Kravitz Mailbag: Indiana's struggles, Purdue's winning streak, Colts' offseason plans and more
Bob Kravitz answered your questions this week about all-things Indiana.
Kravitz: Searching far and wide for decent college hoops in Indiana ... and finally finding it at Purdue
There is quality college basketball to be found in the state of Indiana. You just have to commit some time, effort and gas money to find it.
Saturday Specials: My picks ATS for the day's biggest games
All eyes are on Virginia-Duke, while other ranked teams hit the road in marquee matchups.
Saturday Specials: My ATS picks for Gonzaga-UNC, Indiana-Butler, Nova-KU and the rest of the day's top games
A Final Four rematch and the renewal of an in-state rivalry highlight the card.
Saturday Specials: My ATS picks for UK-Seton Hall, Michigan St-Florida, Wisconsin-Marquette, and the rest of the day's top games
Rivalry games, including Louisville-Indiana, Georgetown-Syracuse and Notre Dame-UCLA, highlight a full slate.
Hoop Thoughts: Does Calipari need to evolve? Villanova is maturing, an underrated Arizona State freshman and more
John Calipari has always had a knack for identifying trends in recruiting before they come. It's time for another adjustment.
Top 10: Notre Dame our favorites to repeat as women's champs, but plenty of contenders pushing Irish
Defending national champ Notre Dame returns so much of the 2017-18 roster that a repeat seems likely, but Oregon, UConn and Baylor are among the challengers to the throne.
Thirty up-and-coming coaches to keep an eye on
The focus here is on rising assistants and head coaches who aren't in fairly prominent jobs yet.
KenPom: Out with the old, in with the NET — what we can expect from NCAA's new rating system
IBM introduced the first personal computer, complete with its own floppy disk drive, in 1981. That was a few months after the NCAA brought the RPI to college basketball. Yes, there was a time when college basketball had a cutting-edge tool to help select tournament teams. But as floppy disks gave...
NBA Draft: Deep thoughts, hidden gems, potential disappointments and the final Top-100 Big Board
Sam Vecenie
The 2018 NBA Draft season is almost over and with that comes my final top-100 prospect rankings. On the whole, this draft is shaping up to be quite good in comparison to past ones — a positive for the league as the same may not be said about the 2019 iteration. From the moment the 2017...
Notre Dame heads our (very early) women's basketball preseason top 10
You probably never noticed it, but during every Notre Dame women's basketball game at Purcell Pavilion over the past few years, Irish coach Muffet McGraw would gaze up toward the program's lone national championship banner and ask herself the same question: When are we going to do it again?
ACC coaches to propose expanding NCAA Tournament field to 72 teams
AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — What had been a rather uneventful four days at the ACC's annual spring meetings concluded with a surprise revelation that could alter March Madness as we know it. The men's basketball coaches in the 15-member league are proposing legislation to expand the NCAA...
Resilient and brilliant, Notre Dame rallies again to win women's title on Arike Ogunbowale's buzzer-beater
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The word Muffet McGraw kept coming back to throughout this unforgettable weekend was "resilient," a word that seems wholly inadequate now. Down to seven scholarship players thanks to a 10-month string of injuries, four ACL tears that stripped the Irish of depth and experience.
Women's Final Four: On historic night, history repeats as UConn falls on OT buzzer-beater, this time to Notre Dame
COLUMBUS, Ohio – It was a testament to talent and toughness and a rebuttal, all at the same time. It was the most heart-pounding night in the history of a sport, good for "the game" down to the last shot. For the first time ever, two overtime games decided who will play for the NCAA...
Women's Final Four Preview: For UConn, heavy is the head that (usually) wears the crown
COLUMBUS, Ohio – No one does more to leech the madness out of March than the Connecticut Huskies. The Final Four trip is practically a timeshare for Geno Auriemma and his team. First weekend in April. Book it and see you there. But Auriemma, who has made more Final Four trips that any coach in...
Women's NCAA Tournament Preview: UConn poised to reclaim throne, but another seismic upset isn't out of the question
That moment last April, when Morgan William's pull-up jumper dropped through the net, synchronized so perfectly with the final horn, something seismic occurred. American Airlines Center in Dallas erupted in a deafening mix of disbelief, joy, excitement and possibility, a quake felt across...
NBA Draft Report: Top prospects to watch in every 1st-round NCAA game, plus the Top-100 Big Board
The NCAA Tournament is a beautiful event. It gives spectators drama, excitement, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. In equal amounts though, it gives us terrific, competitive matchups between NBA Draft prospects. This NCAA Tournament field did not disappoint, as the first round has...
First impressions: What the selection committee got right (and wrong), who's on upset alert and easy street, and more
Let me start out by saying this: The NCAA Tournament is undefeated. The pregame screeching and caterwauling, all part of the charm this time of the year, fades into forgotten white noise by the time the first game reaches halftime. But we do have a few really long days to fill between now and...
Around the Rim: ACC's best ready for the big test in the NCAA Tournament
Brandon Lilly
Notes from around the league as the ACC season comes to a close.
Bubble Watch: The end is near, for better or worse (Saturday special)
This is it: The last hours of NCAA Tournament bracket projection madness, the last hours of bubble drama, the final moments of will-they-get-in-or-not insanity before the most wonderful day of the year. At which point, of course, we will promptly forget all of the teams that didn't get in...
ACC Tournament Notebook: Virginia leaves yet another victim baffled
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Sitting at the podium, staring at the stat sheet after his team lost 75-58 to top-ranked Virginia, Louisville coach David Padgett looked not unlike many of the coaches who have tussled with the Cavaliers this year – utterly baffled. "We didn't turn the ball over today,"...
The gym at John Jay College: 'the center of the college basketball universe'
NEW YORK — Notre Dame coach Mike Brey is in the middle of explaining where, exactly, the hot dog stand he likes to frequent in Hell's Kitchen is located — "I usually grab a dog off that street cart on the way out of here," he says — when a certain former player of his pops out from...
Fast Break: How will the top seeds shake out, bubble teams to watch, dangerous early qualifiers and more
We're just four days away from Selection Sunday, and the last batch of conference tournaments is already under way. So The Fieldhouse is getting out on the Fast Break even faster. Our weekly staff chat usually appears on Friday, yes. But we bumped it up this week given all the action taking...
The Fieldhouse Bracket Watch: Time for bubble teams to stake their claim
Editor's Note: Updated to reflect Tuesday night's results. As you watch conference tourney games over the next several days, you are going to hear broadcasters refer to about 127 different teams as being "on the bubble." In reality, the number of teams that truly have a realistic...
Hoop Thoughts: Player and Coach of the Year, my weekly top 25, plus lots of thoughts as the madness begins
The regular season is done, and the best four weeks of the year are upon us. Before the madness begins, your resident Hoop Thinker is here to dispense with the end-of-season awards. I have to say the national player and coach of the year races were the most interesting I have seen in quite some...
ACC Tournament Preview: Can anyone topple Virginia?
CL Brown
The ACC tournament is back in Brooklyn, N.Y., for a second straight season before returning to its Tobacco Road roots for 2019 and 2020. There'll be plenty of drama for several teams, including Louisville, Notre Dame and Syracuse, who are trying to make a late push for a NCAA Tournament bid.
The Fieldhouse Bubble Watch: Living on the edge
Life on the bubble is always hard, but it's never harder than now. Think about it: There are 351 Division I teams. The vast majority of them can approach the final week of the regular season with the implicit, unspoken understanding that the stakes are low. Sure, maybe you're chasing...
The Fieldhouse Bracket Watch: Could the UNC-Duke winner move up to the top line?
There are no shortage of stakes whenever rivals Duke and North Carolina meet, as they will for the second time this season on Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. But here are a couple of added NCAA Tournament incentives on the table: A chance at the fourth No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday and...
Fast Break: On the FBI, a player of the year dilemma, tourney talk and more
It's Friday. We know what that means. It's time for The Fieldhouse roundtable discussion, where we tackle the hot topics in college basketball. What would the first week in March be without conference and NCAA tourney talk, player of the year debates and bubble banter? Senior editor...
Bonzie's back, and Irish eyes have reason to smile again
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — He stood last in line to take the floor, which was both an honor and a torture, all things considered. It had been two months since Bonzie Colson played a basketball game for Notre Dame. He was all set to remedy that on Wednesday. But first he had to be feted on Senior Night,...
Wednesday Winners: My picks ATS for Ole Miss-Kentucky, Nova-Seton Hall, Nevada-UNLV, and more
The best time of year is finally upon us, but no team is heading into March with more momentum than yours truly. On Saturday, I went 8-2 ATS, which put me 11 games over .500 on the season. Double digits baby! So pay close attention to today's picks, which as always should be used only for...
ACC Notebook: Duke's defense no longer the missing link
There's still a bit of an adjustment for die-hard Duke fans watching this year's team convert to zone as its primary defense. After all, coach Mike Krzyzewski's tenure in Durham has long been defined by playing man-to-man defense almost exclusively for three decades-plus. And when they're...
ACC Notebook: Markell Johnson a difference-maker for N.C. State
As North Carolina State's Markell Johnson quietly slices up opposing defenses, he's carving out a historic season. The 6-1 sophomore guard just notched his eighth game with 10 or more assists in the Wolfpack's 90-84 win at Wake Forest on Saturday. It's the most for any ACC player since N.C.
ACC Notebook: North Carolina watching, learning from Virginia's defense
North Carolina senior Joel Berry II said he knew something had to change defensively after the Tar Heels gave up a combined 42 3-pointers in three consecutive losses. Some of those 3s came because of poorly defended ball screens, which also allowed some rolls to the basket for easy buckets. The...
2018 NBA Mock Draft: Is Deandre Ayton the best player to build around?
The Hawks are in the market for the best player available to build around for the next decade. While you can make the case that Luka Doncic fits well within their wing-dependent scheme, Deandre Ayton is who this evaluator believes has the highest upside in this draft. Ayton not only gives a team...
Gottlieb: The mistakes I made, and the price I paid
Last Nov. 10, three UCLA Bruins were caught shoplifting sunglasses during the basketball team's trip to China. The criticism of those kids came hard and fast, always underscored by a seemingly simple question: How could they be so stupid? I knew, however, that the question was not so simple.
ACC Spotlight: Notre Dame trying to salvage its season in final eight games
During the closing minutes of an 88-66 loss at Duke, Notre Dame's sixth consecutive defeat in its current string of seven, the Cameron Crazies began mocking the Irish with chants of "N-I-T." Irish coach Mike Brey didn't act like he couldn't hear them either. In fact, he mentioned to...
The Fieldhouse Bubble Watch: A new era dawns
In 2010, a newly hired 24-year-old college hoops writer was casually informed by an editor that, henceforth, he would assume responsibility for something called Bubble Watch. Over the next eight years, that assignment gobbled more hours of the writer's 20s than he cares to consider. It...
ACC Notebook: Why Virginia's Tony Bennett shuns exhibition games
Some schools would never allow its head coach to do away with playing exhibition games to start the season, simply because it's another opportunity to generate revenue from a home game. Tony Bennett is happy Virginia is not one of those places. Bennett believes it's more beneficial to take...
NBA Draft Report: Deandre Ayton rules the first Top-100 Big Board
Here is the Fieldhouse's first official 2018 NBA Draft Big Board of draft season. And with it, comes a slight change at the top. Deandre Ayton has surpassed Luka Doncic as the No. 1 prospect in the class at this point. That's through no fault of Doncic, who is still the most accomplished...
The Tao of Jack: How old-school center Jack Cooley found hoops happiness and a spot in the NBA
George Dohrmann
Jack Cooley's most consequential quality, the reason above all others that he has a life playing basketball, is an unwillingness to consider what could be. Cooley is Catholic – he played four years at Notre Dame – and he would never describe himself as a Buddhist, but his approach is...
ACC Notebook: Notre Dame still scrapping despite shorthanded roster
A week off between games comes at an opportune time for a beleaguered Notre Dame squad that has dropped its last four. It will allow the Fighting Irish a much-needed break to recharge. Even though injuries have drastically altered their rotation, the Irish haven't let them change their outlook.
ACC Notebook: Breakthrough moment for Louisville's Deng Adel?
Louisville has been patiently waiting for junior Deng Adel's breakthrough. The 6-7 forward has been good in flashes, but given all the turmoil surrounding the program, the Cardinals need Adel to be great this season. He's responded to the challenge at a most-critical moment for Louisville...
Saturday Specials: Picks ATS for Mich-Mich St, TCU-Oklahoma, UNC-Notre Dame, and more
We are getting into thick of conference play, where the only thing that is predictable is unpredictability. As usual, the following projections should be used for entertainment purposes only. Any similarities between these picks and the actual course of events is strictly coincidental. Michigan...
Fast Break: The great debate, the D in Duke, how Texas can regroup and more
It's time for another Fast Break, the weekly roundtable in which the Fab Five from The Fieldhouse discusses hot topics on and off the court. SETH All right, gang, we are getting into the swing of things with conference play. Villanova sure looked the part on Wednesday night, but the same...
Wednesday's Winners: Picking ATS for Duke-Pitt, Xavier-Nova, TCU-Texas, and more
I was a Chris Chiozza steal and a missed Jaylen Fisher three-pointer from having a stellar record in my most recent Saturday Specials. Still, I did well enough to stay above the magic .500 threshold for the season. As usual, these picks should be consumed for entertainment purposes only. Any...
ACC Notebook: Keatts aiming for consistency with Wolfpack
North Carolina State players became used to the emotional swings. Last season during a three-game stretch, the Wolfpack went from the lows of an 81-63 loss to Miami to a promising 104-78 road win at No. 21 Virginia Tech. Then they got pulverized in historic fashion at No. 14 North Carolina, 107-56.
Hoop Thoughts: The best and worst bubble schedules, Tad Boyle's FBI hot take, my top 25, and lots more
The NCAA Tournament doesn't begin for another two months, and while that feels a long way off, it also means that soon we're going to start hearing America's favorite three letters when it comes to college hoops. No, not F-B-I. I'm talking about R-P-I. Looking at RPI rankings in early...
NBA Draft Report: Ranking the top 15 forwards
In today's NBA, everyone is looking to play small, skilled and athletic on offense while retaining size, strength and toughness on defense. The easiest way to do that is through the forward position. These players are often brawny and big, yet also possess the ability to space the floor and...


Winnipeg, MB — Hinode Taiko, Canada's best known taiko ensemble, propels two decades of high-energy drumming into the release of their self-titled debut CD at Plug-In Gallery, 286 McDermot, on Sunday, April 18, 2004, 1:00 – 4:00 pm.
Twenty-two years after they first brought the sound of rolling thunder to the Canadian Prairies, the group brings on the big drums with a style described as "pure raw energy and power tempered by precision and focus" (Winnipeg Free Press).
Under the guidance of Juno-award winning producer Dan Donahue, the disc runs the gamut of contemporary taiko expression. Nine original tracks range from the galloping excitement of Uma to the inner calm of V, and from the danceability of Yellow Socks and a Blue Bow Tie to the hilariously offbeat catharsis of Stress. "Wherever you start from, it's not where you end up — every piece takes you to someplace different," says Okano. Considering Hinode's music has taken them from Thunder Bay to Tokyo with many stops between, chances are Okano means what she says.
CDs are available at the outlets listed below, and will be available for sale at the release at a special discount.
and the Manitoba Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (774-5909).


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This book proposes the innovative concept of palimpsest bodies to interpret provocative theatre and performance experiments, exploring issues of cultural memory, history, transgression, and community transformation.
Proposing the innovative concept of palimpsest bodies to interpret provocative theatre and performance experiments that explore issues of cultural memory, bodies of history, archives, repertoires and performing remains, Ruth Hellier-Tinoco offers an in-depth analysis of four postdramatic and transdisciplinary collective creation theatre projects. Combined with ideas of postmemory and rememory, palimpsest bodies are inherently trans-temporal as they perform re-visions of embodied gestures, vocalized calls and sensory experiences.
Focusing on one of Mexico's most significant contemporary theatre companies, La Máquina de Teatro, directed by renowned artists Juliana Faesler and Clarissa Malheiros, this ground-breaking study documents the playfully rigorous performances of layered, plural and trans identities as collaborative, feminist and queer re-visions of official histories and collective memories.
Illustrated with over two hundred colour photos, Performing Palimpsest Bodies: Postmemory Theatre Experiments in Mexico will appeal to creative artists and scholars interested in contemporary theatre and performance studies, critical dance studies, collective creation and performance-making.


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The band was founded in 2013. Alpha Ghoul was the debut full-length from grinding band Deny The Cross. The group was comprised of current and past members of Spazz, Black Army Jacket, Agents Of Satan, Municipal Waste and Discordance Axis. The album was out through Tankcrimes in the summer of 2016.


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Auspicious dates
Samskaras >
Samasrayanam - Taking Refuge
Vivaha - Wedding
Birth Samskaras
Upanayana & Samavartana
Death Samskara
Pujas & Yajnas
Publications of Others
International Yoga Day and Marriage Equality
Currently there have been two major events in the world – one is international Yoga Day and the other is the decision by the Supreme Court of America.
International Yoga Day, June 21, was declared as the International Day of Yoga by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 2014. Yoga is a physical, mental and spiritual practice or discipline that originated in India. The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his UN Address suggested the date to be June 21 as the International Day of Yoga as it is the longest day of the year (Summer Solstice) in the Northern Hemisphere and has special significance in many parts of the world.
From the perspective of yoga, the Summer Solstice marks the transition to Dakshinayana. The first full moon after Summer Solstice is known as Guru Purnima. Lord Shiva, the first yoga practitioner (Adi Yogi) is said to have begun imparting the knowledge of yoga to the rest of mankind on this day and became the first guru (Adi Guru). Dakshinayana is also considered a time when there is natural support for those pursuing spiritual practices.
On June 26, 2015, the United States became the twenty-first and most populous country to legalize same-sex marriage, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. The court ruled that the denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples violates the Due Process and the Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
As the only English-speaking country to still resist same-sex marriages the decision of the US has implications for us in Australia.
Marrying these two events together, what should be the appropriate reaction of the Hindu community.
Whether one approves of homosexuality or not, is irrelevant. In most countries throughout the world homosexuality is legal. The 79 countries where it is illegal are mostly in Africa, the Middle east and Indian sub-continent, and Malaysia to Papua New Guinea.
What would Sage Patanjali, the father of Yoga have decided on this matter? According to Patanjali the author of the Yoga Sutras, the human existential problem is dukha or lack of happiness. All beings are pursuing happiness and trying to avoid suffering. The cause of our personal suffering is due to ignorance of our essential nature (avidya). Ignorance leads to the assumption of false identities (asmita) which in turn results in attraction (raga) and aversion (dvesha) — these two forces result in immersion in samsara, clutching, clinging, attachment and further suffering and rebirth.
Having diagnosed the problem, Patanjali then gives the fourfold medication (bhashaja-catushtaya). These four practices are the essential practice for all Yogis to facilitate their spiritual development.
They are:--
1. Maitri — friendliness to all sentient beings, opening up to others, allowing others into our space, being non-judgemental and accepting of others – with all their flaws and idiosyncrasies.
2. Karuna — compassion. This is the active desire to alleviate the suffering of others and not just sympathy. To do all we can to lessen the suffering and disadvantage of others who are striving for happiness.
3. Mudita — empathetic joy. To cultivate joy in the happiness of others and to rejoice with their achievements in self-determination.
4. Upeksha — equanimity, non-attachment to our personal views and the practice of the above three. It also refers to indifference to what others do, to legitimately achieve their happiness projects.
Conclusion in the light of Yoga.
Gays and lesbians are born that way due to samskaras (subliminal conditioning) from their previous incarnations. It is not a "life-style" choice based on free-will. They, like all beings, are all striving to maximise their happiness and avoid suffering. Marriage equality would contribute to their security and happiness and would be good for society through family stability.
Our spiritual duty therefore is not to judge them according to our personal prejudices and bias but to accept them for who they are and allow them to be.
Compassion requires us to do everything we can to facilitate their accomplishment of their goals of social equality and equal rights and never to obstruct their legitimate pursuit of happiness.
With empathic joy we should rejoice in the gay community's joy in their achievement of marriage equality.
And we should be indifferent and non-attached to what others are doing to be happy as long as no one is harmed and no one else's rights are being infringed.
THE CURSE OF MONOTHEISM
Pandit Sri Ram
"The great unmentionable evil at the center of our culture is monotheism. From a barbaric Bronze Age text known as the Old Testament, three anti-human religions have evolved —Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These are sky-god religions." — Gore Vidal
Monotheism is the belief that there is only ONE god. All three monotheistic religions supposedly all worship the same sky-god - Yahweh/God/Allah but all hate and fight with each other!
Since the dawn of time all humans have been natural polytheists (believing in many gods). The great civilizations were all polytheist, the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indians, Mayans, Aztecs etc.
The major polytheistic world religions today are Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism. While Buddhism does not accept the idea of a Godhead, the Buddha acknowledged the existence of the Hindu gods.
Hinduism has a large range of beliefs — monism[1], deism[2], henotheism[3], pantheism[4] and pan-en-theism,[5] polytheism as well as monotheistic sects (which are more henotheistic than pure monotheistic. Hindu monotheism is informed by the doctrine that the Ultimate Reality can be approached in many ways and the God/ess takes whatever form his/her devotee desires.)
Monotheism as a premise leads to some seriously unfortunate results!
The first attempt at monotheism took place in Egypt and was actually a complete failure. The first originator of monotheism was the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep IV, who changed his name to Akhenaten. His aim was to establish the worship only one god – Aten (the sun). It was a radical change and was rejected by the population. In the beginning, the pharaoh was tolerant of others, but gradually he turned into a religious fanatic, an ominous portent of things to come in future centuries, because monotheism has never been about harmony. Akhenaten's experiment failed and shortly after his death in 1336 BC the religion of Aten ceased and the traditional Egyptian polytheism was restored. The pharaoh's religious reform was rejected by the people and monotheism had to wait for a second attempt. That's how the very first appearance of the idea of a single god, so distant and different from all the other deities, turned out to be a disaster and the threat was successfully stopped in Ancient Egypt, but not for good. That's almost without doubt monotheism's biggest loss in history.
Tragic conclusion of the Monotheistic premise.
1. The deity of monotheism is always a sky/male with a definite bias for males and a concurrent prejudice against earth/females.
2. The separating of humanity into the chosen/un-chosen people, the elect/damned, the believers and non-believers. The chosen, elect, believers are of course elevated above the un-chosen, damned, unbelievers. We thus have a hierarchy of human value and the greatest of all crimes is rejection of, or disbelief in the sky-god. The believers (Christians and Muslims) have a duty out of 'compassion' for unbelievers to convert them to the great benefits of the sky-god's mercy and grace. (Judaism excepted.)
3. God naturally 'loves' his chosen ones and will admit them to his heaven and therefore he must obviously hate the un-chosen ones because he will burn them in hell for all eternity! The Koran categorically declares Allah's disgust and hatred of the unbelievers, whereas Christianity has a rather schizoid proposition that their sky-god actually "loves" the unbelievers until they formally reject him and then he will smite them with all his might and torture them for all-eternity. The result —racism and the dehumanizing of the other, and the laying down of the ground work for conversion by force, coercion, exploitation, discrimination, enslavement and colonization — in order to save the pagans from themselves.
4. The one god also happens to be the ultimate source of all law and his clergy are the arbitrators. This god also governs the world through his moral laws and is very jealous and zealous about their adoption by all humankind.
5. Furthermore every monotheistic religion because of its absolutist claims, has one self-elected group which represents the 'true' way to believe in, and worship the sky-god. Every one in the community that dissents from this 'orthodox' dogma is an 'heretic'. Heretics need to be 're-educated', expelled or killed. So monotheists will always split into heretical and deviant sects and argue among themselves and invariably this will lead to violence:— physical and mental. (Somehow the Jewish sects have remained composed among themselves but the history of the Christian and Islamic sects is blood-soaked and sectarian wars continue today among the Muslims.)
One of the most common insults that Hindus endure is the question:— "Why do you guys believe in so many gods and we believe only in the ONE TRUE GOD?" This question itself assumes that monotheism is a self-evidently superior intellectual position to have. I always answer with a challenge:— "Name me one single tangible, universally beneficial contribution that monotheism has made to the world!"
Let's take a look at a few of the major ones--
1. Democracy — Greek
2. Modern legal system — Roman
3. Mathematics — Greek and Roman — Zero supplied by the Hindus.
4. Astronomy — Greeks, Mesopotamians and Hindus
5. Medicine — Western — Greek, Eastern — Hindu and Chinese.
6. Philosophy & free enquiry — Greek, Roman, Hindu, Buddhist etc.
7. Science & technology — flourishes under pagans and atheists. Most scientific advances have been strenuously resisted by the custodians of monotheism. (Most climate change deniers today would be linked to a monotheistic belief system.)
8. Fine Arts — flourished under pagans and was deprecated by Jewish monotheists. Later adopted by the monotheists to propagate their ideology among the pagans.
9. Environmental custodianship — promoted by all pagans.
10. Charter of human rights — atheists and pagans
11. Multiculturalism — all polytheistic societies by their very nature are inclusive and accepting of others.
13. Libraries — Greeks, Hindus and Buddhists. (Christians and Muslims are notorious for their habit of burning books and indeed entire libraries. (The Great libraries of Alexandria and Nalanda are examples.)
It is true that Christians and Jews under the influence of atheists and humanists have nurtured and improved on all of these above mentioned factors but only by resisting the ordained representatives of the sky-god. Many of the medieval thinkers and scientists were burned alive by the church!
The contribution of monotheism.
Monotheists would argue that their ideology contributes 3 'unique' values:--
1. Value of life
2. Justice and equality
3. Social responsibility
All of these are found in the preexistent pagan religions. In fact paganism generally has a higher regard for all life forms. The Bible prescribes killing as the most common form of punishment - even for picking up twigs on the Sabbath!! The code of Hamurabi which pre-dates the Law of Moses (given by Yahweh) was far more humane and just. Social responsibility as well as responsibility to the other beings and the environment has always been the basis of Hindu and Buddhist Dharma. None of these values are unique to monotheism, in fact one could argue that they are the result of pagan influence!
The contribution of monotheism has primarily been suppression, oppression and ideological wars. Depending on where monotheism was forcibly imposed, hundreds to thousands of years of religious oppression backed up by enormous political violence have given the false impression that monotheism was a natural development in human society. Its followers killed off their opponents, burned their libraries, smashed their temples, and then wrote new books explaining their view of what happened. Dead men and burned books make it hard to learn anything but the victors' stories.
"The conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. The Islamic historians and scholars have recorded with great glee and pride the slaughters of Hindus, forced conversions, abduction of Hindu women and children to slave markets and the destruction of temples carried out by the warriors of Islam during 800 AD to 1700 AD. Millions of Hindus were converted to Islam by the sword during this period." (Will Durant — Story of Civilization)
War Among Monotheists
Why do monotheistic religions fight so many religious wars? The track record is spectacular, beginning with the Zoroastrians during the Persian invasion of Greece, continuing with the eradication of the pagans under Constantine's successors, the wars of the Arian Heresy, the invasion of Christendom by the Muslims, the Crusades which were wars on monotheist Christians to liberate their holy sites from the monotheistic Muslims, the Muslims invasion of India and the Hindu holocaust. While back in Europe we had the Albigensian Crusade, the Hussite Rebellion, the Thirty Year's War, and so on throughout the middle ages up to the Middle East conflicts today. Even the ancient Egyptians had a brief fling with religious violence during their short-lived experiment with monotheism under Akhenaten before they gave it up as a bad job.
No sooner did monotheism triumph politically wherever it was established than it began to disintegrate. The force of arms imposed a unity that sacred books could never come close to achieving. When that imposed unity ended, the result was war, as passions once directed against Pagans became fratricidal, pitting Protestants against Catholics, both against smaller heretical sects, Christians against Jews, Sunnis against Shias and so forth — all because the opposing party had differing views on the sky-god and his plan for humankind! Freedom of thought and intellectual independence was and still is the principle enemy of monotheism!
Anyone knowledgeable about Western history knows hundreds of years of religious war and more than a thousand years of religious persecution characterized Europe after it became dominated by Biblical monotheism. Most of the killing was Christian killing Christian after they had exterminated older faiths.
In modern history we are still suffering under the tyranny of monotheism. Most of the current wars on the planet, terrorism, bloody massacres and persecutions are a direct result of monotheism. The entire Middle-east is engulfed in bloody and horrendous conflict right now — all justified by monotheism only.
Monotheism has produced directly, or indirectly contributed to the following blights on humanity:--
1. Wars of ideology and persecution of free-thinkers (intellectual deviants)
2. Colonization and proselytization with exploitation of resources
3. Destruction of native civilizations and cultures (mainly in the Americas.)
4. Racial discrimination laws (USA and African colonies mainly).
5. Environment degradation and exploitation of resources and animals
6. Gender bias and misogyny as well as the stigmatization, murder and oppression of non-heterosexuals.
7. Psychological trauma in individuals (through indoctrination and guilt).
8. Suppression of free thought and discourse (through blasphemy laws.)
9. Sexual repression and puritanical morality.
I stand up today proud to be a polytheist!!
David Hume has argued that monotheism is less pluralistic and thus less tolerant than polytheism because the former stipulates that people pigeonhole their beliefs into one.
Auguste Comte argues, "Monotheism is irreconcilable with the existence in our nature of the instincts of benevolence" because it compels followers to devote themselves to a single Creator.(The Catechism of Positive Religion pg 251)
James Lovelock criticized monotheism, due to its idea of a transcendent almighty father, he says about monotheism, "seems to anesthetize the sense of wonder as if one were committed to a single line of thought by a cosmic legal contract."
Sarvepalli Ramakrishna — "The intolerance of narrow monotheism is written in letters of blood across the history of man from the time when first the tribes of Israel burst into the land of Canaan. The worshippers of the one jealous God are egged on to aggressive wars against people of alien cults. They invoke divine sanction for the cruelties inflicted on the conquered. The spirit of old Israel is inherited by Christianity and Islam, and it might not be unreasonable to suggest that it would have been better for Western civilization if Greece had molded it on this question rather than Palestine. (Quoted in "A Primal Perspective on the Philosophy of Religion", by Arvind Sharma, page 29)
[1] The belief that nothing actually exists but the Absolute Reality i.e. God, the world is an illusion.
[2] belief in the existence of a supreme being, specifically of a creator who does not intervene in the universe
[3] adherence to one particular god out of several, especially by a family, tribe, or other group.
[4] a doctrine which identifies God with the universe, or regards the universe as a manifestation of God.
[5] the belief or doctrine that God is greater than the universe and includes and interpenetrates it.
Why are religious people so obsessed with genitals?
Since their inception the Abrahamic religions have been obsessed with genitals — so much so that Jehovah commanded that his sign should be on every man's penis through circumcision. Original sin entered the world through the genitals of Adam and Eve. Now we have idiots like Baba Ramdev and the BJP getting wound-up and fussing over other people's genitals! Spending enormous amounts of money and energy fighting to curb the rights of LGBT people to live and love in peace and safety.
Strangely enough the BJP and Ramdev have joined cause with Muslims and Christian — both groups have an inveterate hatred of Hindus and see all Hindus as the fuel for their respective eternal hell-fires! Hindus joining causes with Muslims and Christians is like Jews joining cause with the Nazis!
The highest form of Dharma is AHIMSA – non-violence in word, deed or thought. Dharma is about spiritual evolution and self-unfoldment. It's about personal self-transformation in the cultivation of compassion and development of Self-knowledge.
adrohaḥ sarvabhūteṣu karmaṇā manasā girā |
anugrahaśca dānaṃ ca stāṃ dharma sanātanaḥ ||
The Eternal Duty (Sanātana Dharma) towards all creatures is the absence of malevolence towards them in thought, deed or word, and to practice compassion and charity towards them. (MB Vana Parva 297;35)
Dharma is not about investigating, discovering or controlling other people's genitals!
There are so many social evils in India like the pervasive culture of abuse of women and rape, rampant child trafficking – child-prostitution, corruption is destroying the country, Islamic extremism is on the rise, Christian missionaries are converting people by the thousands, industrial pollution, environmental degradation, cruelty to animals and on and on the list goes! But what exercises the minds of the "religious" more than anything else? What other people are doing with their genitals in their bedrooms !!
The squint-eyed charlatan Ramdev now has the dubious reputation of being the world's greatest "Yoga guru!" If this be the case then he is the greatest fraud out and a disgrace to the Yoga community! He is out there proclaiming to the world that homosexuality is a sin, he detests gays and can cure homosexuality through yoga and pranayama! A sanyasi filing petitions against the decriminalization of homosexuality! And making himself a caricature and disgracing the Noble Dharma in the sight of the civilised world!
The great sage Patanjali the father of Yoga says:--
1:33 The cultivation of friendliness (maitri), compassion (karuna), empathetic joy (mudita), and equanimity to all beings (upeksha) — be they happy, sorrowful, meritorious or de-meritorious (bring about) the pacification of the mind.
These are known as the Four Immeasurables because of the immeasurable benefit they bring to all beings. They are also know as the bheshaja catusthaya — the four great medicines which alleviate the suffering of samsara.
The third is "empathetic joy" – rejoicing in the happiness of others and never doing anything to obstruct that happiness. Equanimity is seeing all with an equal compassionate vision.
Krishna himself has said that the highest ethical goal of the spiritual aspirants is Lokasangraha — the welfare of the entire world.
Instead of trying to impede and destroy the happiness of gay people perhaps the Right-wing Hindu fanatics and Ramdev should be working for the benefit of all sentient beings and be spreading the message of loving kindness, compassion and unconditional acceptance.
Instead of targeting socially productive gay people with such venom and hatred perhaps the baba and his BJP cronies should be focussing all their charisma and resources on attacking rapists, chauvinists, child-traffickers, pimps, drug-dealers, mafia, corrupt officials and politicians, crafty landlords, money-lenders and all the other riff-raff that are truly infecting Indian society. How are people loving and copulating with members of their own gender having a deleterious effect on society? As
Why are the Buddhists the only major religious community not to get caught up in genital hysteria and condemnation of others?
The Indian Penal Code 1860 section 377
Indian elites are still groveling Christian slaves!!
Once again the modern western educated Indian elite (the Indian Supreme Court) have demonstrated craven slavishness to their erstwhile British masters! Struggling to be even more "British" than the Victorians!! Even Rajnath Singh president of the BJP has proven himself to be the peon of the Christian-Muslim lobby and another cardboard Christoid puritan!
When will the Hindus finally be liberated from this contemptible slavish mentality imposed by Imperialist Christians and step into the light of history in their own glory and pride? When will Hindus finally claim their own Dharma recognizing it to be superior to anything else?
Why are these Uncle Toms claiming and clinging to an archaic law based on the Bible and forced upon them by their erstwhile masters who have long since abandoned this law and moved on in justice and compassion and acceptance?
Indian Penal Code (1860), Section 377, 'Unnatural Sex'
377. Unnatural offences — Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with 1 [imprisonment for life], or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. Explanation — Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence described in this section.
According to Section 377 of the IPC, oral and anal sex is illegal, and you could receive a life sentence for indulging in an 'unnatural sexual practice'. This explains why Indians go abroad on holiday so often, and also why many Goans are resentful, since it was OK for them till 1962. Sex with animals also comes under the purview of this section, so getting fresh with pets is inadvisable.
At the time this law was formulated, in 1860, a different queen was in charge of India. Her name was Victoria. She frowned deeply on sex, as a result of which the maximum penalty for an 'unnatural sexual practice' was fixed at life imprisonment. She had pushed for the death penalty, but she was convinced otherwise by her husband, Albert, who was very soft-hearted. In contrast, the maximum imprisonment for causing the death of a human being was two years, proving once more that love is much more powerful than death.
In fact, this richly detailed law makes most forms of sexual activity illegal. Consequently, we would strongly advise that you stick to the missionary position, which is a natural sexual practice, endorsed by missionaries.
Most of the Dharma Shastras neglect to even pronounce on the subject of "unnatural" sex which means it was totally insignificant and irrelevant to them. Manu does mention the topic and prescribes a penance.
Manava Dharma Shastra on 'Unnatural Sex'
amānuṣīṣū puruṣa udakyāyām ayoniṣu |
retaḥ siktvā jale ca-eva kṛcchraṁ sāntapanaṁ caret ||
11:173. A man who has sex with a non-human being (animal, blow-up doll, mechanical toy, vegetable etc.), or non-vaginal sex with a female, or has intercourse in water, or with a menstruating woman, shall perform a penance called Santapana Krcchra.
Commentary — Please note that in terms of social value, "unnatural intercourse is the equivalent of having sex with a menstruating woman! The problem here is not one of morality but rather "purity!"
This penance is undertaken either voluntarily because of guilt or because one was found out and is being shunned by the community as being impure. It is a means of reinstatement of social standing and purification. It is defined by the Yajñavalkya Smriti — "O Brahmins, the Pancagavya consists of cow's milk, ghee, curd, urine and dung. The expiator should swallow these and fast for the next day. This is called Santapana Krcchra."
Now I ask you to compare this mild form of social reinstatement with life-imprisonment!! The Georgian British laws of the 1770's were some of the most evil in the history of humanity. Property was sacrosanct to the Georgians and had to be protected at all costs. A man could be hanged for stealing a chicken, but until 1803 attempted murder was classed only as a 'misdemeanour'. 'Stealing an heiress' meant death because an heiress was property incarnate, but stealing a child was not even a criminal offense. In the "Bloody Code" there were 222 crimes for which the punishment was death. Hanging was prescribed for any theft above the value of 40 shillings.
By the 1800's the death sentence was commuted to transportation to a penal colony (Australia) for life. Compared to the Georgian and Victorian Laws the Code of Manu is a akin to a charter of human rights!
And surprisingly the BJP which is campaigning for 'Hindutva' deliriously imagines that some freaky Christian laws of the 1860 are somehow illustrative of Hindu values! The challenge and subsequent reinstatement of this evil law was supported by a coalition of Christian/Muslim lobby groups and apparently taciturnly endorsed by the BJP (Whom the Christians and Muslims are convinced are all fuel for the eternal fires of hell!!!).
The attitude of our Acharyas to 'Unnatural Sex'
On all the temples we find sculptures of "unnatural" sex. Even in Srirangam there is a statue of a woman being pleasured by a dog. Ramanuja Acharya and all the other acharyas of the Srivaishnavas saw these sculptures on a daily basis yet not one of them mentioned the sculptures nor demanded their destruction or effacement — let alone prescribe life-imprisonment for perpetrators. Why? Because they were there for amusement and nobody could care less!! They were totally indifferent to them! So why are the custodians of Hindutva the BJP so concerned? Why don't they just shut their mouths and allow the Christian and Muslims of India to become the brunt of the western world's disgust and anger at the infringement of human rights?
And this is all happening in a country where a woman is raped every 20 minutes, child prostitution is rife, bonded labour is still practiced and corruption is out of control. Surely there are more important social reformations to focus on than what the private citizens are doing with their genitals in their bedrooms?
Wake up Hindus! Stop being Christian/Muslim puppets and Uncle Toms, regain your "purushatvam" and return to the Sanatana Dharma and stand proud of being the inheritors of a brilliant culture and tradition spanning over 5000 !!
Sanatana Dharma ki jai!
Ub Ve Sri Rama Ramanujachari
Authority of Acharyas
Many Srivaishnavas invoke the "opinions" and "rulings" of a nebulous group "acharyas" as if they were, a united, congruous, and harmonious band of divine beings and like the Catholic Pope "infallible". Yet we know that the "acharyas" were many – Ramanuja appointed 700 simhasanadhipatis. (We hear nothing about the 300 women teachers that he also appointed!). All these men (and women) were very much human beings with the disposition (svabhava) that is natural to the species. They often disagreed in their views and many learned acharyas wrote complex polemic works refuting each others arguments. Hence we have the classical Vadagalai/Tengalai divide and the 18 points of doctrinal dispute – which are still not resolved till this day! There is no Srivaishnava "pope" and no unitary body issuing "fatwas" – each and every acharya and matham is independent and can make up their own minds on doctrinal points and matters of interpretation. If you approach three acharyas today on any major issue you will probably have at least two opinions. (Please note that there is often also bitter rivalry between acharyas of the same faction!).
When such be the case, it is important to understand that the acharya is a guide and counselor on the spiritual path and the one that formally establishes our connection with Sriman Narayana (a connection which was never lost and is irrevocable, perpetual and natural – one is advised to choose a personal acharya and after testing him (or her) to ensure that what is taught is (a) in the spirit of Ramanuja's teachings, (b) is reasonable and practicable and (c) benefits all beings – one should then surrender to the guidance and teachings of such a person.
To invoke the tired phrase "our acharyas have said …….. " — is vague, general and unhelpful and ultimately a cop-out from actually using our intelligence.
Krishna said to Arjuna in the 18th chapter – "reflect well over all that I have taught you and then follow the teachings as you will" – there was no "command" to "do as I say because I am God" – but use your intelligence and reason and make up your own mind.
Vedanta in general is a methodology of
(1) sravana – listen to the teachings
(2) manana – reason, apply logic and reflect upon the teachings and
(3) nididhyasana – meditate upon and REALISE those teachings in your own life — the ultimate goal of Vedanta is to bring about personal transformation in the here and NOW. To manifest all the atma-gunas of loving kindness, compassion, generosity etc.
Antaryamin
According to Vaishnava theology the Supreme Being exists in 5 forms – varying in degrees of comprehension, conception and transcendence.
1. Paravasudeva — transcendent and incomprehensible by humans or gods.
2. Vyuhas — functional forces of projection, maintenance and transformation.
3. Avataras — divine incarnations — remote and unaccessible.
4. archa — directly perceptible in the icons established in the temple – easy of access and adoration.
5. antaryamin — dwelling within the heart of every living being.
Paravasudeva is the most distant and transcendent aspect — comprising the totality of Being; having the entire universe as His body — incomprehensible and inexpressible.
The polar opposite is the antaryamin — the indweller — within each and every one of us.
The only 2 aspects of the Divine that are really available to us to interact with, are the Archa and the Antaryamin. How is it that we have completely neglected the antaryamin and focussed our attention and devotion totally on the archas?
We spend huge amounts of time, money, effort, resources into the worship of the Archa but treat the Antaryamin with neglect and even contempt! How can a person who claims to be a Vaishnava discriminate against others?
Is not any form of discrimination based on caste, social status, gender, sexual orientation, colour, profession or physical appearance a contravention of this teaching?
Is it not a great sin to treat the antaryamin embodied in mind/body with contempt while adoring the archa embodied in stone/metal?
One of the greatest farces and hypocrisies is the perversion of "tadiya-aradhanam" — which literally means "worshipping what is the Lord's" — which in the common practice of this travesty is the feeding of Srivaishnava Brahmins!
If we really believe our philosophy then the entire universe both sentient and insentient is His and His alone!! Should we be discriminating between what belongs to him? Should we not also be worshipping the Lord through caring for the environment which is His body and serving the needs of all other sentient beings as well?
Let the Brahmins who can, feed themselves, and let us care for all the poor and the marginalised who cannot! There is greater merit in that. How is it that Advaitis can generally realize and put into practice the concept of sama-darshana as instructed by Krishna so much easier than Vaishnavas?
Gita 6:29. With the mind harmonised by Yoga one sees equality everywhere; one sees one's Self as abiding in all beings and all beings in one's own Self. 30. He who sees Me everywhere and everything in Me; I am not separated from him and he is never separated from Me.
Loka-sangraha Gita 3:20,25
loka saṅgraham-evāpi saṁpaśyan kartum arhasi || 20 ||
"One should engage in work with a view to benefit the world. (loka-saṅgraha)"
In the dictionary among the various meanings we find for the term sangraha are:--
elevation, kind-treatment, entertainment, protection, holding together, benefitting, favouring.
And the word loka refers to the whole world and the human race.
What Krishna is enjoining us to do is to work for the benefit and upliftment of the whole world and the whole human race.
While Krishna teaches this and we talk about it, the Catholics actually DO IT! All over the world we find nuns and priests who have dedicated their lives to the service of the masses.
I began my spiritual journey with the Divine Life Society of Paramahamsa Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh. He and his disciples all embodied this ideal and one of the major focuses of the Ashram is running schools and the serving of the poor and the sick. There are free clinics and meals are distributed everyday to everyone who turns up. The Ashram also runs a leper colony and the monks themselves serve the lepers, changing their dressings and feeding them.
In South Africa the Divine Life Ashram runs free clinics and food and clothing distribution centres as well as schools for the poor Africans.
The Ramakrishna centre is also at the forefront of charitable work as are numerous other Advaiti organizations.
But what of the Vaishnavas? The Hare Krishnas were the first to really begin this sort of outreach program but they concentrated mainly of "food for life" and the distribution of Prabhupada's books in order to gain converts.
Chinna Jeeyar Swami is today the only Srivaishnava monk of note who actively pursues charity work and he is to be highly commended for it.
The rest of the Srivaishnavas are primarily concerned with attending festivals and enjoying the alankaram of the deities. They then fight and argue about who stands where in the temple queue and who gets the "prathama tirtha" first dispensing of holy water! God help you if you stand on the wrong side! Most of the time they spend congratulating themselves on the good fortune of being Srivaishnavas and arrogantly disparaging others (especially the other "kalai"!)
We are told that the essence of being a Srivaishnava is to empathize with the suffering of others and to work to alleviate their suffering (Nanjiyar)! How many of us actually do this? How many of us perform act of charity, help the poor and work for the benefit of others? Of the major schools of Vedanta the Srivaishnavas are the most status-conscious and bigoted! More concerned with window-dressing than actually delivering the product. The tilak that we wear, the size of our topknots, the orthodox practices of 'purity' (madi-acaram) are all frivolous, tinsel and trash! What really matters is the degree to which we have attained self-mastery and developed the qualities of compassion and kindness and the amount of service we do for others.
Nididhyasana
It seems that most Srivaishnava sites one visits are principally concerned with alankaram (decoration) of the deities and utsavas (festivals). While beautiful, elevating and enjoyable it distracts from another activity — alankaram of the atma or self.
Vedanta proposes 3 tools for self-development
1. sravana (listening to the teachings),
manana — (reflecting upon the teachings) and
nididhyasana (application of the teachings through contemplation and assimilation).
The deity enshrined in the temple is called a bimba — 'reflection' of the antaryamin — the indweller in one's own heart. The decoration of the icon in the temple should coincide with self-development — atma-alankaram.
Bathing and decorating the icon is a futile exercise in self-delusion if it is not concurrently accompanied by the bathing and decorating of the jivatman!
In the 12th Chapter of the Gita Krishna delivers the teaching on Amrita-dharma (The Dharma of immortality) and declares the 32 qualities of the "beloved devotee". Let us just review the first of these qualities 12:13--
adveṣṭā sarva bhūtānāṃ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca |
nir-mamo nir-ahaṅkāraḥ sama duḥkha sukha kṣamī ||
Not prejudiced towards any living being, friendly and compassionate to all, free from the notions of 'I' and 'mine', and regarding all pain and pleasure with equanimity, and forbearing;
The first preparatory practice is to divest oneself of all feelings of antipathy and prejudice towards all living beings. Please notice that He says "all beings" both sentient and insentient. All hatred, animosity and negativity must be rejected. One has to dispense with all prejudices based on class, caste, creed, gender, sexual orientation, qualification etc.
The second step is to open up a space for everyone to enter — friendliness — not rejecting anyone, open and inviting to all, treating all alike — as sparks of the divine. This is a passive state of simple allowing others into one's own space and abandoning feelings of separation and difference. Sama-drsthi — seeing all alike.
The 3rd stage is more difficult — it requires us to develop active compassion. There are 2 types of compassion — sympathy, which is feeling sorry for the suffering of others and empathy, which is feeling the pain of others and then begetting a sincere desire to alleviate the pain and suffering of other sentient beings. Every moment of our lives we should be looking for opportunities to decrease the suffering that is characteristic of samsara.
The 4th stage of our practice requires an even greater effort — to rid ourselves of all feelings of possessiveness and delusive ideas of who we are! These two go together — we assume identities and then accumulate status symbols to support those delusive ideas, all of which are associated with and pertain to the conditioned physical body.
The next stage consists of 3 qualities — remaining balanced in pleasure and pain — being unpeturbed by either of these two experiences — recognizing all pain and joy to be the result of previous karma. Not due to either the pleasure or the wrath of any deity but resulting from our own actions. And integral to this balancing act is the quality of "forbearance" or forgiveness, not bearing a grudge against those who cause us pain but recognizing them as merely agents of our own karma.
Sri Ram Ramanuja Achari
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