The living Goddess Anandamayi Ma

Anandamayi Ma, Hindu saint/goddess

Oldest Goddess: The Origins of VENUS

Venus encourages ancient orgy (Joachim Anthonisz)

Venus a Vishnu figure, rising from the sea as Aphrodite (mythology)

Our Oldest Gods: The origins of Venus

(Crecganford) Venus (Aphrodite, Inanna, Astarte...[maybe even to Radha, Saraswati, and Vishnu) is one of the oldest and most beloved deities of all time.

Syncretism

From her earliest beginnings arising from the communities of Neolithic farmers to her evolution into the ancient Greek Goddess Aphrodite, to her eventual worship as the Roman Goddess Venus, this video goes on a journey through time and across cultures.

Podcast: ► Spotify: open.spotify.com/show... Social media: ► Twitter: crecganford ► Instagram: crecganford ► Facebook Fan Page: crecganford Patreon: ► crecganford. Contact: ► Send mail to: hello@crecganford.com ► Business enquires: biz@crecganford.com (for business inquiries ONLY).

References

Allegory: Cupid, Mars, Time, Venus (Guernica)

• Black, Jeremy and Green, Anthony. 1992. Gods, Demons, and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia. British Museum Press.
• Puhvel, Jaan. 1989. Comparative Mythology. John Hopkins University Press.

Explore podcast's  84 episodes: Crecganford Podcasts of all the videos

• Crecganford, Feb. 4, 2023:; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Happy Int'l Women's Day 2023: DigitALL

ClickView; Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

• Feminists say no to war - CODEPINK: Women for Peace
• Jimmy Dore's website – home of The Jimmy Dore Show

Int'l Women's Day theme

(Prof. M.THANGA DARWIN) Feb. 20, 2023. Happy International Women's Day! The theme this year is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.”

What is International Women’s Day? It is celebrated every year on March 8th – but why is this day important? What does it signify? This Miniclip explores the origins of women’s suffrage (voting rights) throughout the United Kingdom’s modern history, including the impact of WWI on women's rights and the granting of voting rights to women. It also discusses damaging stereotypes for both girls and boys, the presence of gender inequality that still exists today, and how to celebrate the women in our own lives.

• ♫ Know (iheart.com)

DAY 3: Nine Nights of the Goddess (Navaratri)

Ashwin Kumar, Glendale; Sadhguru, 2022; Dhr. Seven, Ananda (DBM) (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Sound of the universe

Happy Navratri (the Nine Nights of the Divine Mother or power Shakti) according to the ancient Vedic solar-lunar calendar.

Shakti and willpower are within us and may be used for purpose, health, wealth, prosperity, and self-awareness/realization.

Come learn how to invoke and realize each of the nine aspects of energy (Divine Mother's creative aspect) as follows:

Goddess Saraswati

• each night learn about one of the nine aspects of shakti
• how to harness each aspect with a specific mantra and meditation technique
• each aspect's physioanatomy and psychosomatic connection
• how to heal body and mind with each aspect
• astronomical relevance of each night and aspect
• Vedic stories about each aspect

Division of the Nine Aspects

Goddess Ma Durga

The Divine Mother, Ma Durga, as "Shakti" — the energy of Kundalini (serpentine force coiled at the base of the spine) for the first three days.

The next three days, it's Lakshmi — the energy of wealth. The last three days, it's Saraswati — the energy of knowledge and wisdom.

• Monday, Sept. 26 to Oct. 3, 2022
• 6:00-7:00 pm Yoga and Meditation
• 7:00-8:30 pm Navaratri Celebration*
• Ashwin College of Ayurveda Yoga and Vedic Sciences
• 111 S. Kenwood St., Glendale CA 91205 (323) 702-1211

*Includes discussion, healing puja fire 🔥 ceremony, vegetarian food, socializing

Blessings/Namaste 🙏 Questions: call or text

What is the Navaratri festival?

Indian Goddess Lakshmi

(Wiki) Navaratri is an annual festival in India, one of the most revered Hindu celebrations observed in the honor of the Mother Goddess Ma Durga. It is held over nine nights (and ten days), in the early part of the year (Chaitra or March/April) and again in the fall (Sharada). It is observed for different reasons and celebrated differently in various parts of the Hindu Indian cultural sphere [2, 3]. Theoretically, there are four seasonal Navaratri but in practice, it is the post-monsoon autumn festival called Sharada Navaratri. It is celebrated during the bright half of the Hindu calendar month of Ashvin, which typically falls in September and October [2, 4]. It takes place at the same time as the Nine Emperor Gods Festival [5]. More

Gayatri Mantra for Saraswati (video)

Deva Premal "Gayatri Mantra" via Ganesha on YouTube; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

The Gāyatrī (Sāvitri or Saraswati) Mantra is a highly revered chant from the Rig Veda (Mandala 3.62.10), dedicated to the Goddess Savitri, the deity (devi) of five elements.

Gāyatrī is the name of the Vedic meter in which the verse is composed (Frits Staal, "The Sound of Religion," Numen, 33, June 1986, Fasc. 1: 33–64).

Its recitation is preceded by Oṃ and the formula bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ, known as the mahā vyāhṛti or "great (mystical) utterance."

Vishvamitra had it created, and it is cited widely in Vedic and post-Vedic texts, such as the mantra listings of the Śrauta liturgy and classical Hindu texts, such as the Bhagavad Gita, Harivamsa, and Manusmṛti.

The Buddha

The mantra and its metric form was known by the Buddha, and in one sutra the Buddha is described as "expressing their appreciation" for the mantra (Brett Shults, "On the Buddha's Use of Some Brahmanical Motifs in Pali Texts," Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies. 6: 119).

The mantra is an important part of the rite of passage upanayana ceremony for young males in Hinduism and has long been recited by "twice born" (dvija) males as part of their daily rituals.

Modern Hindu reform movements have spread the practice of this mantra to include women and all castes. Its use is now very widespread (Rinehart, 2004, p. 127; Lipner, 1994, p. 53). More

Voices of Women in Sacred Music (video)

Prof. Anne Harley, Scripps College (voicesofthepearl.org), YouTube, John Schneider ("Global Village," June 21, 2018, KPFK 90.7 FM); Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Buddhist Therigatha is 2,600 years old.

On today's episode of Global Village, John Schneider hosts some incredible female musicians. The first is Yale-educated Anne Harley talking about ancient Buddhism in Dunhuang (Central Asia as it abuts Western China with its own Research Academy). She talks about Buddhist nuns of the two dominant schools and Abbess Hildegard of Bingen, a Western mystic, poet, composer, and musician. Hildegard opened scholars' minds as to how much women contributed to spirituality through music. Are women capable of enlightenment and mysticism (direct experience of the divine)? These women prove they are. LISTEN (Global Village - Thurs, June 21, 2018, 11:00 AM)

 

Professor of Music Anne Harley (Scripps)

Voices of the Pearl, in newly commissioned song cycles,  traces the tenuous lineage of women who dared to encounter the unmediated divine.

Their efforts span time, religion, nation, and culture. This project commissions, performs, and records musical works from composers across the world, setting text by and about female esoterics from world traditions throughout history, reclaiming these lost voices and the tradition of female spirituality.

By juxtaposing and performing four to five cycles by living composers, a full-length evening of portraits is created of female esoterics, traversing time and geography.

 

Ayya Tathaloka, California Theravada nuns

The performance of several different cycles over the course of an evening focuses audiences' attention on the musical portraits of women negotiating the intersection of heaven and earth, in a variety of world traditions: Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Taoist, Buddhist.

• [The section on Buddhist nuns is particularly striking as it sets to music rare and ancient Buddhist texts known as the Therigatha or "Verses of the Nuns," which are songs about individual enlightenment experiences of theris or female-elders, an "elder" being anyone with ten or more rains retreats in the robe. Harley gathered these texts from "female monks" in Theravada Thailand, the are fully ordained nuns. But "nun" has another, lower-status meaning of the Maechi or White-Clad Ten Precept Nuns, like Srirasmi Suwadee is treated, who are not fully ordained.]

Goddesses (devis) can teach and sing.

The female esoteric practitioner is twice marginalized in the world’s traditions. First, the mystic’s direct contact with the divine threatens the hierarchical [and patriarchal] structures of organized religion, so they are sometimes labeled heretical.

Second, women are often considered by religious traditions incapable, due to their female bodies, to attain an authentic [enlightenment or] direct mystical contact with the divine.
 
[The Buddha said they could and made them "nuns," wandering female ascetics, but that did not stop sexist societies from doubting them and them doubting themselves.] 

Voices of the Pearl traces the tenuous lineage of women who dared to encounter the divine directly. More

Voices of the Pearl: Vol. 1, Secret Book of Sun Bu'er: Step 5: Cultivating the Elixir (養丹)

Global Village, Thursday, June 21, 2018, 11:00 AM

Listen now: This episode will only be available for 90 days in the KPFK Archives

Artist	Song Title	Album	Label	Played
Joan Huang	Along the River During the Gingming Festival (Bustling Market)	Festive River, East Meets West	Cambria Music	11:01 AM
Anne Harley, Steve Thachuk	Voices of the Pearl, excerpts	Live In-Studio	Live In-Studio	11:15 AM
Anne Harley, Steve Thachuk	Voices of the Pearl, excerpts	Live In-Studio	Live In-Studio	11:

Our Buddha Boy and Goddess Girl (video)

Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Crystal Quintero, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; Deccan Times

Buddha Boy was elevated to guru by followers and well-wishers (dharmasangha.info)

Goddess Girl, as we're calling Sadhvi Saraswati, is standing up for ahimsa (Indian Express)

(Maitriya Guru) Buddha Boy/Ven. Dharma Sangha's blessings from Feb. 5, 2016 (Maitriya.info)

 

The Buddha was right! Follow the Dharma.

In this day (dystrumpian times) and age (Kali Yuga), it is not easy to find a proper role model, a hero/heroine, an idol who does not quickly disappoint.

Buddhists (and anarchist punks) have no need for heroes, it is said. But that's not to say we don't enjoy admiring good people doing good things (rejoice/saddhu-saddhu-saddhu!) even as the world comes after them for doing it.

Monster (Mara) breathes down Buddha's neck

Take our heroine Dr. Jill Stein, M.D., Green Party presidential candidate who stood up to the twin-monsters Donny and Hillary and did not succumb to Barry or Bernie's misleading sweet talk. She stands up to corporations at the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) as a water protector and is arrested and threatened with fines and jail.

Where's my Grrl Crew, Boo? - I'm CariBOO.

Kids look up to rich automatons Tadolf Swiftler and Catty Purry because that's what they're fed. Not us.

When we want youthful idols to look up to, we look toward the Himalayas to "Buddha Boy" (Ram Bahadur Bomjon/Maitreya?/Ven. Dharma Sangha) and Sadhvi Saraswati-ji, whom we're calling the living "Goddess Girl" (not to be confused with the revolving Nepalese Kumari).

I blame it on Russell Brand, my ex.

If for no spiritual reason, look how they stand up for animals and our environment! But there are spiritual reasons relating to lives lived dedicated to meditating and awakening in a time of great lust, anger, and confusion (aka "greed, hatred, and delusion," the Three Poisons of the heart and mind in Buddhism).

It's been seven years of meditation, long enough -- according to the historical Buddha -- to attain enlightenment.

(Satipatthana Sutra/"The Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse")

Who is Buddha Boy?

It all began in 2005 under a tree in Nepal.

Ram Bahadur Bomjon (Sanskrit, राम बहादुर बामजान), nicknamed "Buddha Boy" (born circa April 9, 1990), is also known by the monastic names Palden Dorje and now Dharma Sangha. He was born in Ratanapuri, Nepal. He rose to fame when he drew media attention and tens of thousands of visitors by months of complete fasting and meditation. He began his meditation on May 16, 2005 until large crowds disrupted him "because there is no peace" when they started coming to see him in large numbers. He left and reappeared elsewhere in Nepal on December 26, 2006. He left again on March 8, 2007. On March 26, 2007, inspectors from the Area Police Post Nijgadh in Ratanapuri found Bomjon meditating inside an underground chamber of about 7 square feet. More

Buddha Boy no show at Hindu killing festival (Wisdom Quarterly) Gyanendra's kin leads campaign against animal sacrifice [at horrific Hindu Gadhimai Festival]...by Nepal's Buddha Boy Ram Bahadur Bomjan taking up cudgels on its behalf. 

Buddha Boy beats instigators... "I took minor action against them after taking them under control when they came to disrupt my meditation... Did Buddha Boy really stand up to instigators?

 

The Incredible Buddha Boy (Longform.org) A legend is growing in Nepal, where people say a meditating boy hasn't... 

The Gadhimai [Killing] Festival: Why it Must Never Happen Again

Mass slaughter of innocent animals for insane Hindu (Judeo-Christian) sacrifice ritual

The 2014 Gadhimai festival is now over, but there are actions you can take to... Stop Animal Sacrifice is website promoting awareness and action against animal... Nepal is predominately Hindu [according to census officials who purposely miscount whole families to make this small country the only Hindu nation in the world] but was the [alleged] birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha [who was actually born in ancient Kapilavastu, more likely in Bamiyan, Afghanistan]. ...Thousands of buffaloes were standing in an enclosure when [Hindu] butchers... 

Gadhimai festival in Nepal - Occupy for Animals! It takes up to 25 attempts to kill a big buffalo. The suffering is unimaginable. Campaigners have protested against the widespread public [religious] sacrifice in Nepal... stands in the way of abolishing archaic practices such as animal sacrifice as well... religious icons like the "Buddha Boy" Ram Bahadur Bomjan, among others. 

A buddha differs from an ordinary arhat.

Palden: Buddha Dharma ...to collect as much information as possible regarding the wonderful ascetic and... According to scriptures, Nepal is an abode of sacrifice and meditation of... When he was only 4 to 5 years old he used to take food set aside for him only after... 

Buddha, The Sensible Rationalist! (nirmukta.com) Great store, great wealth is thine; make (cow) sacrifice! ... young Brahmin to debate the Buddha regarding Varna Dharma. The boy tells the Buddha to disprove the fact that Brahmins were ... In contrast to Jainism's extreme opposition to violence toward animals, the Buddha took a moderate stand on this issue.

You take the good, you take the bad, you take it all and there you have...bad karma decrying a good aspirant to enlightenment in our dark and dismal times. About four tiny but fishy websites (Irregular Times, Setopati, The Halkoriya Times, who spell their own name wrong, and Buddha Boy Media) seem to be dedicated-haters trolling Buddha Boy to defame him and take the con view as we take the pro view. But it is good to take in all honest views.

• Anti-Buddha Boy propaganda: halkoriatimes.wordpress.com
• Bad karma: buddhaboymedia.wordpress.com
• Who is ["Goddess Girl"] Sadhvi Saraswati? 

Living Goddess says, Stop eating cows!

DeccanHerald.com edited and expanded by Wisdom Quarterly

[Practice nonharming. Be patriotic. Love your duty, country, religion (indianexpress.com).]

  

Ascetic Hinduism is all about ahimsa

Amid the raging debate over cow slaughter and consumption of beef, a sadhvi [female-sadhu or ascetic] attending a meet of various Hindu outfits here has said those who consider eating beef as a status symbol should be hanged [in public as a negative example to others].

Beautiful, kind Sadhvi Saraswati

The remarks made by Sadhvi Saraswati here last evening triggered a sharp reaction from the Congress, which said her speech would spark communal hatred [because minority Muslims and Christians kill and eat a lot of beef] and asked the BJP-led government in Goa to lodge an FIR against her.

• No FIR against Sadhvi Saraswati over beef consumption remarks... (indianexpress.com, July 19, 2017) No FIR was lodged against Sadhvi Saraswati over her statement... 
• Arrest Sadhvi Saraswati for hate speech against beef-eaters: BJP's... (firstpost.com)
• FIR filed against other sadhvi, Sadhvi Prachi, for calling for "a Muslim-free country" in 2016 thereby hurting feelings

"I appeal to the Government of India that those people who consider eating meat of their own mother as a status symbol should be hanged," Sadhvi Saraswati from Madhya Pradesh said.

"They [those who eat beef] should be brought before the public and hanged. Then only people will know that it is our duty [dharma or social obligation] to protect 'gau mata' [lit., 'cow mother,' source of sustenance, nourishing parent]," she said while commenting on beef consumption during the inauguration of All India Hindu Convention at Ramnathi village here.

Passion for cow-kindness leads to hyperbole?

Sadhvi Saraswati, president of Sanatan Dharma Prachar Seva Samiti of Chhindwada in Madhya Pradesh, also wanted the Hindus to keep arms in their homes to protect themselves:

"If we do not stock arms, we will be destroyed in future," she said.

"Today Bharat [India] is under attack from all directions. Efforts are being made to separate Kashmir from Bharat and also stop the Amarnath pilgrimage. Bharatmata-Gaumata [Goddess "India Mother-Cow Mother"] are being censured," she said.

World-weary beauty and junior Hindu saint

Slamming the demand by some political parties to ban the outfits calling for the creation of the "Hindu Rāshtra," she said they should realize that no power in the country can prevent Hindus from establishing the "Hindu Nation" [in addition to the one India established in Nepal].

She said, "There is no such thing as saffron terrorism," adding that: "Saffron means dedicated life for the nation and dharma."

Nearly 130 Hindu organizations from 21 Indian states and countries including Bangladesh, [Buddhist] Sri Lanka, and Nepal are attending the four-day convention, its organizers said. More

• The American sadhvi (Ph.D.) from Hollywood living in India
• How a Westerner embraced the Eternal Dharma (Hinduism) 
• Has the young goddess gone too far? Lynching, guns, purity

Sensual pleasures like a creeping vine (sutra)

Ananda, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly, Culadhammasamadana Sutra: "Shorter Discourse on Taking on Practices" (MN 45) based on Ven. Thanissaro (trans.); Ticklemeplant; Saraswati

Beautiful female ascetic, Sadhvi Saraswati-ji, speaks to crowd in modern India.

There are hidden dangers in sensual pleasures.

SUTRA: "Thus have I heard. On one occasion the [Buddha] Blessed One was staying near Savatthi at Jeta's Grove, in Anathapindika's monastery. There he addressed the monastics: "Meditators!"

 

"Yes, venerable sir," they responded.

 

"Meditators, there are four ways of taking on practices. What are the four?

1. There is the taking on of a practice that is pleasant in the present but yields pain in the future.
2. There is the taking on of a practice that is painful in the present and yields pain in the future.
3. There is the taking on of a practice that is painful in the present but yields pleasure in the future.
4. There is the taking on of a practice that is pleasant in the present and yields pleasure in the future.

There's no harm in sensual pleasures.

..."What is the taking on of a practice that is pleasant in the present but yields pain in the future?

"There are some Brahmins and wandering ascetics who hold to a doctrine, a view, like: 

"'There is no harm in sensual pleasures.' Thus, they meet with their downfall through sensual pleasures. They consort with female wanderers who wear their hair coiled in a topknot.

 

A female wanderer (Sadhvi Saraswati-ji)

"The thought occurs to them: 'What future danger connected with sensual pleasures do those [other] Brahmins and wandering ascetics foresee that they have spoken of the letting go of [relinquishing, abandoning, detaching from, and rejecting] sensual pleasures and describe the full comprehension of sensual pleasures? It's pleasant, the touch of this female wanderer's soft, tender, downy arm!'

  

O, wandering ascetics, beware of sensual pleasures! There are hidden dangers!

.

"Thus, they meet their downfall through [clinging to] sensual pleasures. Then, having met with their downfall through [clinging to] sensual pleasures, with the breakup of the body, after death, they go to an unwished for destination, the downfall [subhuman worlds collectively called the Great Waste], the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, even the hells.

"There they experience sharp, burning pains, and say: 'This was the future danger connected with sensual pleasures those Brahmins and wandering ascetics foresaw that they spoke of letting go and relinquishing sensual pleasures and described the full comprehension of sensual pleasures. It's because of sensual pleasures, as a result of sensual pleasures, that we're now experiencing these sharp, burning pains.'

Hidden danger: the soft creeping vine

Beautiful female ascetic, Sadhvi Saraswati, seated in front of Krishna and Radha, India

Devas (dryads) live in trees.

"Just as if a maluva creeper pod were to burst open in the last month of the hot season, and a maluva creeper seed were to fall at the foot of a sal tree.

"The deva [dryad] living in the tree would become frightened, apprehensive, and anxious. Her friends and companions, relatives and kin -- garden devas, forest devas, tree devas, devas living in herbs, grass, and forest monarchs -- would gather together to console her: 

"'Have no fear, have no fear! In all likelihood a peacock will swallow this maluva creeper seed, or a deer will eat it, or a brush fire burn it up, or woodsmen will pick it up, or termites will carry it off. And anyway it probably isn't really a seed.' 

 

"Then no peacock swallowed it, no deer ate it, no brush fire burned it up, no woodsmen picked it up, no termites carried it off, and it really was a seed. Watered by a rain-laden cloud, it sprouted in due time and curled its soft, tender, downy tendrisl around the sal tree.

 

"The thought occurred to the deva living in the sal tree: 'What future danger did my friends and companions, relatives and kin -- garden devas, forest devas, tree devas, devas living in herbs, grass, and forest monarchs -- foresee in that maluva creeper seed that they gathered together to console me:

"Have no fear, have no fear. In all likelihood a peacock is sure to swallow this maluva creeper seed, or a deer will eat it, or a brush fire will burn it up, or woodsmen will pick it up, or termites will carry it off. And anyway, it probably isn't really a seed"?

"'It's pleasant, the touch of this maluva creeper's soft, tender, downy tendrils.'

 

"Then the creeper, having enveloped the sal tree, having made a canopy over it, and cascading down around it, caused the massive limbs of the sal tree to come crashing down.

"The thought occurred to the deva living in the tree: 'This was the future danger my friends... foresaw in that maluva creeper seed that they gathered together to console me... It's because of that maluva creeper seed that I'm now experiencing sharp, burning pains.'

 

"In the same way, meditators, there are some Brahmins and wandering ascetics who hold to a doctrine, a view, like: 'There is no harm in sensual pleasures.'

The female ascetic Saraswati

"Thus, they meet with their downfall through sensual pleasures. They consort with female wanderers who wear their hair coiled in a topknot.

 

"The thought occurs to them: 'What future danger do those [other] Brahmins and wandering ascetics foresee that they teach the relinquishment and analysis of sensual pleasures? It's pleasant, the touch of this female wanderer's soft, tender, downy arm!'

 

"Thus, they meet with their downfall through sensual pleasures. Then, having met with their downfall through sensual pleasures, with the breakup of the body, after death, they go to an unwished for [rebirth] destination, the downfall [the Great Waste], the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, even the hells.

"There they experience sharp, burning pains. They say: 'This was the future danger connected with sensual pleasures those Brahmins and wandering ascetics foresaw that they spoke of the letting go and relinquishing of sensual pleasures and described the full comprehension of sensual pleasures.

"It's because of sensual pleasures, as a result of sensual pleasures, that we're now experiencing these sharp, burning pains.'

 

"This is called the taking on of a practice that is pleasant in the present but yields pain in the future. More

• What's wrong with clinging to sensual pleasures?
• Sadhvi Saraswati: "Hang those who eat beef [their mother] as status symbol" (Deccan Herald)
• Yogi directive to madarsas on I-day celebrations triggers controversy