Diwali celebrations in Coventry, United Kingdom. Taken by Satinder Singh – Wikipedia
Special to Earthpages.org (article has been edited)
The Welsh Government, whose tagline is “working for a fairer and more prosperous Wales”, has been urged to be fair to minority religions.
Hindu advocate Rajan Zed said that while Hindus had not been granted the requested one-day school holiday on their most popular festival Diwali, Welsh schools would be closing for 20-21 school-days around two religious festivals of the majority religion, according to Welsh Government “School term dates 2017/18”.
Zed urged Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones and Kirsty Williams to work towards adding Diwali as an official holiday in all the state schools of Wales which falls on October 19 this year (and persuading the independent/private schools to follow), if they were serious about the welfare of “all Welsh people” and not just the majority.
Like all pupils, it is important to meet the religious and spiritual needs of Hindu pupils also and show respect to their faith by closing schools on Diwali. Holidays of all major religions should be honored and no one should be penalized for practicing their religion, Rajan Zed pointed out.
Rajan Zed – Wikipedia
As existence of different religions was considered to be favorably willed by God, Welsh Government should also learn to treat them with equality and fairness, Zed stated.
Rajan Zed noted that awareness about other religions thus created by such holidays like Diwali would make Welsh students well-nurtured, well-balanced, and enlightened citizens of tomorrow.
Zed further says that Hinduism is rich in festivals and religious festivals are very dear and sacred to Hindus. Diwali, the festival of lights, aims at dispelling the darkness and lighting up the lives and symbolizes the victory of good over evil.
Hinduism is oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.1 billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal.
~ “I Have Not Been to Oxford Town” by Bowie/Eno from Outside
The legendary Lorelei is a dark enchantress who lures fisherman and sailors to their death. In geography she is a steep rock over 4oo feet high on the bank of the Rhine river.
Her legend survives in countless songs and stories. So Mol Smith’s The Lorelei continues a long tradition of blending feminine beauty, danger and death—in French and in the arts, she’s la femme fatale.
From the opening frames of this Indie film, set and shot around Oxford, I knew I would enjoy it. But not just because the story takes place at Oxford.
Rebecca
After a scenic introduction, The Lorelei quickly moves into a well-paced murder mystery. Holy smokes, the British are good at that, aren’t they?
Canadians have been watching British TV murders for years. Like Rock and Roll, the Brits have a knack for murder mystery. And director Mol Smith is no exception. Smith is actually based in Oxford, and it shows.
I don’t want to write a spoiler. And regurgitating story lines can be tedious, like a high-school project I’d rather avoid. On the plus side, holistic thinkers like me often pick up on things outside the main plot line.
Elizabeth and Martin
So let’s just say there’s a murder at the outset and a supernatural element adds to the mystery. But that’s only the beginning.
Enter the affluent victim’s daughter, a private detective, a cop, along with a Madame and her “girls” who fund their education by selling sexual services.
The main characters’ lives intertwine with several twists and turns that, if outlined here, would ruin the film. But I will comment on the performances.
Mel Mills (Martin) and Tessa McGinn (Elizabeth) also appear in the Mol Smith’s Abduction. I enjoyed Abduction on a metaphysical level but for me The Lorelei is far more immediate. And the interaction between Martin and Elizabeth seems more real and grounded.
Daniel
Mills and McGinn also make a bold statement that so many millennials just don’t get: Seasoned and mature individuals can be just as sneaky, sexual and sexy as anyone else.
I liked this aspect of the film. Our contemporary “script” for normality implies that middle-aged people should behave like stale bread or sour wine. No sexual attractions nor thoughts. Just turn it all off.
Thankfully, Madonna, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen and a few other celebrities have shown that, for most creative people, that’s a sham. And repressing rather than expressing, redirecting or maybe transmuting sexuality usually turns out badly. If anything, repression leads to stagnant, judgmental and potentially abusive personalities.
Sarah
So I give The Lorelei full marks for representing its mature characters as full human beings, and not just as packages past their shelf life, as many folks – young and old – tend to see it.
Ageism sucks. And it rarely hits the radar these days.
As for the younger actors in this film, I find them charming. Sophie Townsend plays Sarah, a luminous young woman making her way through uni, as the Brits say, by taking clients on the side.
Sarah could be in an early Beatlemania film. Or maybe she reminds me of a young, female incarnation of David Bowie. I don’t know. But something about her spirited demeanor and slightly retro look won me over.
Sarah and Rebecca
Lorie-Lanie Shanks as Rebecca comes out strong, fulfilling that “rich English babe” stereotype to a tee. Rebecca seems to have an ambiguous sexual preference, which only adds to the uneasy tension between her and Sarah.
Shanks would be perfect in an Agatha Christie movie. Murder on the Orient Express, Fantasy Island, or something like that. That highbrow woman with a poisonous snake in a wicker box for anyone who crosses her.
Kemal Yildirim, also in Abduction, plays the private detective Daniel with a characteristic depth and detachment that invites viewers to wonder what’s going on inside his head. Daniel’s low key ambience is captivating. We can never really know what the quietly intelligent gent is thinking.
Likewise, the alluring Hive Queen in Abduction, Amelie Leroy, appears as “Trouble” in The Lorelei. Leroy’s deceptive character effortlessly switches back and forth among English, French and maybe something else. Trouble charges up the film with loads of presence, awareness and jungle-edged sexuality.
Trouble
So we have a supernaturally tinged mystery, enigmatic leading characters and a solid supporting cast. Together, they forge an unforgettable foray into the fictional underbelly of Oxford life.
At least, those on the outside must assume it is fictional. From what I’ve seen in the far corners of student life, there might be more truth to this fiction than most are willing to admit.
“We don’t get murders in Oxford, you get it?” exclaims Martin. It’s all about image. Elitism. High class. And sex workers? That would certainly rub most Oxford Deans the wrong way.
The Lorelei, true to its name, busts the myth and does so very well. Along with its great, gooey makeup art and delightful soundtrack, this is a film to absorb on many levels.
“Fascismo: O Governo duma ditadura, marcado pelo controle da economia pelo Estado, pela arregimentação social e por uma ideologia de nacionalismo beligerante;
Nazismo: Fascismo, segundo praticado pelo Partido Nacional-Socialista dos Trabalhadores Alemães, sob Hitler.
A PALAVRA “fascismo” geralmente suscita imagens de milícias militares italianas de camisas pretas e de tropas de assalto alemãs, de uniformes pardos, portando a suástica. Mas outros países também tiveram suas experiências com o fascismo.
Na década de 30, o fascismo ganhou destaque na Hungria, na Romênia e no Japão. Durante a Guerra Civil Espanhola, o apoio fascista ajudou Francisco Franco a obter o controle da Espanha, embora a maioria dos historiadores não encare a ditadura de Franco (1939-75) como tendo sido de natureza genuinamente fascista. A ditadura argentina de Juan D. Perón (1943-55), por outro lado, era fascista.
O termo “fascismo” provém da palavra italiana fascio e refere-se a um antigo símbolo romano de…
Although Judaism, Christianity and Islam all assert that they teach pure monotheism, only Christianity proclaims that Jesus was the Son of God; and a third of a Divine trinity (a trifold unity. Christians also believe Jesus was a Divine Messiah (Greek Christ) predicted centuries before by several Jewish prophets in the Hebrew Bible. Jews say the Messiah is always human.
In the Qur’an, Jesus is referred to in ninety three verses in fifteen surahs; and mentioned by name twenty-five times as “son of Mary” or “Messiah Jesus, son of Mary”.
Islam agrees with Christianity that Jesus was born to a virgin, was sinless, performed miracles, and was superior to other prophets. Both Islam and Judaism teach that Jesus was not in any way Divine. Jews think Jesus was only a Rabbi. Islam teaches Jesus was no more than a prophet.
Islam, denies the central teaching and belief of Christianity by denying Jesus’ divinity, crucifixion, and resurrection. Judaism denies divinity. Both religions deny original sin.
Jews and Muslims are both in fundamental agreement that neither Jesus, nor any other human, should be worshiped as a God or as any part of the one and only God.
But doesn’t the Qur’an state: “The Jews call ‘Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call the Messiah a son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (thus) they only imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say (pagans who believed their many Gods had many divine or semi-divine children). Allah’s curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth! (Qur’an 9:30)
Baptism of Christ via Wikipedia
Now there are a half dozen different places in the Qur’an where the Christian claim that Jesus is the son of God is refuted and denied. For example, “Jesus son of Mary, did you ever say to people ‘worship me and my mother as Gods beside Allah?’ and he will answer, ‘How could I say what I had no right to say?’” 5:116
Also, “Jesus in the sight of Allah is like Adam” 3:59. and “The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger of Allah…do not say :Trinity. Stop saying that.” 4:171 Jews agree 100% with these ayahs.
And general statements like “those who say, ‘Allah has begotten a son.’ have no knowledge about it, nor did their forefathers; this is a monstrous word that comes from their mouths. They utter nothing but a lie.” 18:4,5 and 5:72-75, and 19:30. Jews also agree 100% with this.
Indeed, the verse that follows 9:30 specifically applies to Jesus: They take their priests (Ahbar) and their monks to be their Lords in derogation of Allah, and (take as their Lord) the Messiah the son of Mary; yet they were commanded to worship but One God: there is no god but He. Praise and glory to Him: (Far is He) from having the partners they associate (with Him). (Qur’an 9:31)
Then how shall we understand the Qur’an’s statement: ‘The Jews call ‘Uzair a son of Allah”?
Al-Tabari and Abdallah ibn Ubayd state that only one Jew (Pinhas) viewed Uzayr as the son of God. Ibn Abbas and Qurtubi say only four Jews, whose names they record, believed Uzayr was a son of God. Ibn Hazm said that just a small group of Jews in Yemen worshipped ʿUzayr as a son of God in some remote period.
Since the Jews of Yemen, who have lived there since the third or fourth century, do have an old tradition not to name their children Ezra, perhaps there was such a small, short lived, heretical sect that later generations wanted to forget.
Child Jesus with the virgin Mary, with the Holy Spirit (represented as a dove) and God the Father, with child john the Baptist and saint Elizabeth on the right via Wikipedia
But most Christians to this day, proudly proclaim that they do indeed worship Jesus, the Son of God. Jews however, have always vehemently denied that they worship any partner or other God except the one and only God. So how can we understand the difference between the two seemingly parallel statements in ayah 9:30?
There is a Hadith in Sunan Al-tirmidhi which says that the Jews worship their Rabbi’s. One of the companions said that this is not true. Then Muhammad said that they accept what their Rabbi’s say over the word of God; so in this way they worship them. This Hadith provides an important clue.
Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians actually do venerate and pray to both Jesus and his mother Mary; but only a small party of Jews figuratively venerate their rabbis as Muhammad says because, “they accept what their Rabbi’s say, over the word of God, so in this way they worship them”.
This Hadith is correct. Orthodox Jews believe in both a written Torah and an oral (unwritten) Torah which has been handed down for over 3,200 years, ever since Sinai. They often observe Judaism according to the rabbinic interpretation of this oral Torah.
For example, the Torah states that the new Jewish year starts: “On the first day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a day for you to blow ram horns”. (Numbers 29:1)
This one day holy day, was turned into a two day holy day some 17-18 centuries ago, when most Jews lived outside the Land of Israel and could not be sure exactly when the lunar new year calendar began. A similar issue exists for Muslims in determining the start of Ramadan, which is why in some years two different days mark the beginning of Ramadan in various parts of the world.
“Adoration of the Shepherds” by Gerard van Honthorst, 1622 via Wikipedia
Thus, different circumstances produce different rituals and legal systems, but basic theology can differ only in unessential details. As the sage of Konya, Jalal al-Din al-Rumi says, “Ritual prayer might differ in every religion, but belief never changes.” (Fihi Mafih 49)
The Qur’an also states 4:171 “O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ (Messiah) Jesus the son of Mary was (only) a messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His messengers. Say not “Trinity”: desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah: Glory be to Him: (He is far) above having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth.”
The Qur’an credits Messiah Jesus as being a Word of God. What does this mean? The Qur’an also states 43:61: “And (Jesus) shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment): therefore have no doubt about the (Hour), but you (should) follow Me: this is a Straight Way.”
Jews do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, son of David; because the Messianic Age of international peace clearly has not yet come about. But Jesus could have been the Messiah, son of Aaron or Joseph (Yusuf) who according to rabbinic teachings will be killed by the anti-Messianic forces (Romans) before the coming of the son of David Messiah, and the final judgement and resurrection.
Bernardino Luini – Holy Family with the Infant St John via Wikipedia
The belief in two different messiahs, one a moral political leader from the house of David (Davidson) and the other, a religious reformer from the house of Aaron (Aronson), and a special “end of days” prophet like Elijah or Jeremiah (Matthew 16:14) is also found in inter-testament literature.
A Dead Sea scroll states that the Qum’ran community must live according to the original discipline “until there shall come a prophet (Elijah) and the Messiahs of Aaron and Israel” (Manuel of Discipline 9:11). There is also a rabbinic belief in a messianic figure from the northern tribes; a son of Joseph, Mary’s husband, who is killed by Roman enemies.
Rabbi Maller’s website is: www.rabbimaller.com. An ordained Reform Rabbi who retired in 2006 after 39 years as the Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City, California, Rabbi Maller has published over 100 articles about Islamic and Jewish connections on Islamic and Jewish web sites. His newest book is ‘Judaism and Islam: Synergistic Monotheisms.’ He is also the author of a book on Jewish mysticism.
Rama’s Marriage, 1913. A scene from the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. Rama marries Sita, daughter of King Janaka, after proving able to wield the great bow presented to the king by the god Shiva
Special to Earthpages.org
At Taiwan’s National Palace Museum Southern Branch in Taibao, children can join the Ramayana battle and attack Ravana to save Sita with an interactive game device for educational purposes.
Lord Hanuman is the game host and it also includes constructing the bridge over the ocean. This is done, after children finish watching animation film on “Ramayana” in its Asian Theater, for the purposes of reviewing the plot and remembering it and children are prompted to recall the storyline. This film “aims to convey to children the many virtues of Rama, Laksmana, Hanuman, and Sita”, Museum announcement says.
Lord Hanuman is also the mascot of Children’s Creative Center of the Museum, (dedicated to 5-12 year-old children and established “to encourage children to explore the diversity of Asian cultures”), “in order to appeal to family audience”.
Commending Taiwan’s National Palace Museum for educating visiting children about Ramayana and for exhibiting Hindu artifacts, Rajan Zed said that art had a long and rich tradition in Hinduism and ancient Sanskrit literature talked about religious paintings of deities on wood or cloth.
Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged major art museums of the world, including Musee du Louvre and Musee d’Orsay of Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Los Angeles Getty Center, Uffizi Gallery of Florence (Italy), Art Institute of Chicago, Tate Modern of London, Prado Museum of Madrid, National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, etc., to frequently organize Hindu art focused exhibitions, thus sharing the rich Hindu art heritage with the rest of the world.
Jeng-Yi Lin is the Director of awards-winning Taiwan’s National Palace Museum founded in 1925, which houses ancient Chinese artifacts and includes a collection of about 700,000 objects.
Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about 1.1 billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal.
Most of us know about Freudian Slips. Many of us make them. Every now and then Freudian Slips creep into my own speech and writing.
Sometimes I’ll miss a typo and, on correcting it, consider what the apparent “mistake” might suggest in a bigger picture.
Critics to this worldview might say I have an overactive imagination or that I associate ideas because I want to fit them into my particular cosmology.†
That’s a good thing to keep in mind. Possibly some insane people can’t tell the difference between intuitive connections and imaginative fabrications. But that doesn’t mean that all intuitive connections are crazy. We have to apply reason, experience and humility to sort through it all. Catholics call this discernment. Other religions also try to separate insight from delusion.
So is your particular cosmology adamantly individualistic or about a greater connectivity? How about some intelligent combination of the two?
The other day I revised this earthpages.ca entry about Freudian Slips. It raises some questions that could become increasingly relevant in our collective future. —MC
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† The word “cosmology” isn’t just about planets and stars; technically, it means how one sees and understands the world—inside, outside and beyond.
Freudian Slips – Glitch in the machine or key to countless possibilities?
Alexandra Xubersnak – FC&P New York Cocktail Party shoot: Is he envious of my ciggie? via Flickr
Parapraxis, the Freudian Slip
Parapraxis is an obscure word for a pretty common idea—The Freudian Slip. The founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, was the first to try to analytically explain its occurrence.
In the Psychopathology of Everyday Life Freud says parapraxes are unintentional acts resulting from an unconscious wish, desire, attitude or thought.¹
This could involve forgetting names and sequences of words. But classic examples of parapraxes are slips of the pen or tongue.
Imagine a guest at a cocktail party accidentally saying, “I love your horse” instead of, “I love your house.”
For Freud, the hidden, unconscious meaning of the slip points to… Read More
First ministers of Scotland and Wales threaten constitutional crisis over Great Repeal Bill (telegraph.co.uk)
Demon Possessed Hindus Riot Across India, Beat And Murder Christians For Claims Of Eating Beef (shoebat.com)
It makes no sense to compare religious majoritarianism in India and Pakistan – Publications – AEI (aei.org)
Odisha: Mob sets truck on fire in Ganjam district after suspecting that it carried beef (scroll.in)
India events (telegraph.co.uk)
The Meaning of India’s ‘Beef Lynchings’ (theatlantic.com)
Keep on Trekkin’: Journey of Creation – Day 32 (susanwithpearls.com)
Followers of an Indian Guru Have Won the Right to Keep His Body in a Freezer (time.com)
