We had recently been asked to weigh in on a rather recurrent matter of Hindu … well, iconography and understanding - namely, whether Hanuman is appropriate to depict as an 'ape' or 'monkey' style figure. The reasoning for this being at issue is that one can potentially interpret the name of Hanuman's clade, the Vanaras, … Continue reading On The Simian Symbolic Representation Of Hanuman
Bajrang Bali Ki Jaye!
The Hanuman Of My Home Shrine
It is Tuesday - Hanuman's Day. And therefore … This is the Hanuman of my Household Shrine. And as you'll immediately note, it's a bit of a different style to the other deific representations. Both because of its style, as well as its form. For you see - it is a Balinese shadow-puppet. One that … Continue reading The Hanuman Of My Home Shrine
Telling Your Problem The (Siddhi-Shifting) Size Of Your God – Bajrang Bali Ki Jaye !
It has been said that faith is not telling a God the size of your problems - but, rather, telling your problems the size of the God. Apt wisdom for a Tuesday. Where we honour Hanuman, depicted in the photograph. And before somebody asks - no, no that is not He there on the right … Continue reading Telling Your Problem The (Siddhi-Shifting) Size Of Your God – Bajrang Bali Ki Jaye !
On Robert Sepehr’s Spurious Suggestion That Vanaras Constituted A “Simian Slave Race”
Earlier today, an associate alerted me to some annoying remarks by one Rober Sepehr - a pseudo-anthropologist of dubious standing yet notable following, who appears to have made a small mint off conspiratorial ravings with a veneer of 'serious' sounding mythological referencing. This time, he's taken as his target some bizarre prognostications about a 'hidden history' … Continue reading On Robert Sepehr’s Spurious Suggestion That Vanaras Constituted A “Simian Slave Race”
On Hanuman, The Striker/Thunderer, As Son Of Shiva, The Sky Father – A Textual Collation
It is Thursday - Thor's Day via the familiar late-Germanic reckoning, although in truth and per the older Indo-European schema a Day of the Sky Father: Jupiter (Dies Jovis), Zeus (Hemera Dios), and Brihaspati. This double-linkage of affiliation makes our subject for this post rather apt - a textual concordancy of material pertaining to both … Continue reading On Hanuman, The Striker/Thunderer, As Son Of Shiva, The Sky Father – A Textual Collation
Hanuman Jayanti : The Indo-European Situation Of The Striker/Thunderer Deific In Apelike Form
Today marks Hanuman Jayanti - and, as has become our custom, we present an (A)Arti-cle in His Honour. A 'Jayanti', in case you were wondering, is one of those wonderful Sanskrit terms with several mutually reinforcing meanings - it is, at once, a 'Victory', but also can mean a 'Birthday'. So is therefore eminently appropriate … Continue reading Hanuman Jayanti : The Indo-European Situation Of The Striker/Thunderer Deific In Apelike Form
The Apple of Odin to Rerir, The Fire-Seed of Agni, The Egg of Nemesis, The Paternity of Alexander, And The Asvamedha of Dasharatha – On The Equine Investiture Of The Divine Essence In A King’s Heir-To-Be In The Indo-European Mytho-Religious Sacro-Political Tradition
It is curious how things align. During the course of my research, looking over the ancient scriptural materials of two cultures in order to demonstrate that Odin is Agni - I happened across a potent potential explication for an otherwise rather curious phenomenon encountered in the Greek mythos. And then one of my devotees asked … Continue reading The Apple of Odin to Rerir, The Fire-Seed of Agni, The Egg of Nemesis, The Paternity of Alexander, And The Asvamedha of Dasharatha – On The Equine Investiture Of The Divine Essence In A King’s Heir-To-Be In The Indo-European Mytho-Religious Sacro-Political Tradition
Shiva Is Not Indra – A Response To A Grave Mythunderstanding
It has come to my attention that there is a curious misbelief out there - that Shiva is somehow Indra. As in, the post-Vedic Deity Shiva is a 'continuation' of the Vedic Indra under a somewhat different name. I thought that this was merely a matter of some people being a bit misinformed - yet … Continue reading Shiva Is Not Indra – A Response To A Grave Mythunderstanding
Hanuman, of the Rudras
Something interesting which I happened across earlier this morning, and eminently appropriate for a Tuesday, is the identity of a particular Rudra amidst the RudraGana in several attestations. The Rudras (plural) are emanations, descendants, forms, and especially favoured followers of Rudra - all of which is entailed in the term "Gana" [for more detail upon … Continue reading Hanuman, of the Rudras
HANUMAN JAYANTI
Today [yesterday for those of us to the west of the International Date Line] is an important religious observance, commemorating the triumph of an incarnate-and-born form of Deus Pater - sent from on high to help out Mankind (particularly via severance of the chains of sin upon the soul) in fulfilment of a covenant made … Continue reading HANUMAN JAYANTI