"Meetings with Remarkable Men" (film)

Peter Brook (arcoridio); Amber Larson, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Wiki edit

Sufi Whirling Dervishes at Mawlānā Rumi's tomb, Konya, Turkey (Intension/wiki)

Meetings with Remarkable Men is a 1979 British film directed by Peter Brook based on the book of the same name by Greek-Armenian mystic, G. I. Gurdjieff, first published in English in 1963.

Shot on location in formerly Buddhist Afghanistan (except for dance sequences, which were filmed in England), it starred Terence Stamp, and Dragan Maksimović as the adult Gurdjieff.

The film was entered into the 29th Berlin International Film Festival and nominated for the Golden Bear.

The plot involves Gurdjieff and his companions' search for truth in a series of dialogues and vignettes, much as in the book. Unlike the book, these result in a definite climax -- Gurdjieff's initiation into the mysterious Sarmoung [Shraman?] Brotherhood.

The film is noteworthy for making public some glimpses of the Gurdjieff [Sufi dance] movements. More

• The [dance] movements are purportedly based upon traditional dances that Gurdjieff studied as he traveled throughout Central Asia, India, Tibet, the Orient, and Africa where he encountered various Indo-European and Sufi orders, Buddhist centers, and other sources of traditional culture and learning...

Ancient Aliens: Who lives in our Hollow Earth?

Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; Ancient Aliens, History Channel (History.com)

Ancient Aliens episode "Underground Aliens" on subterranean cities built by ETs ("the gods")

Ancient Buddhist stupas (burial mounds/reliquaries) are shaped as mandala-pagodas that represent the form of the cosmos. Pagan (Bagan), Burma (Azimuddin Ibrahim/flickr.com).

Buddhist cosmology: 31 Planes of Existence with beings in worlds below, devas up in space.

Happy Spring! (Narooz)

Editors, Wisdom Quarterly edit of Wikipedia entry Nowruw

Spring: the flowers of the New Year when Bhumi (Gaia) is in full bloom (Lila Daley)

 

Nowrūz (Persian, نوروز‎, "[The] New Day") is the name of the Iranian/Persian New Year  (2013 actually being 1392) in Iranian calendars and the corresponding traditional celebrations.

Nowruz is also widely referred to as the "Persian New Year." Nowruz is celebrated and observed by Iranian peoples and the related cultural continent and has spread in many other parts of the world -- including parts of India, Central Asia, Caucasus, South Asia, Northwestern China, the Crimea, and some groups in the Balkans.

 

Nowruz marks the first day of SPRING and the beginning of the year in the Iranian calendar. It is celebrated on the day of the astronomical Northward equinox, which usually occurs on March 21 or the previous/following day depending on where it is observed. 

 

Nature's otherworldly lights (aurora borealis) visible from space

 

Auroras ("sunrises") north and south

As well as being an Asuran (Buddhist titan) Zoroastrian holiday and having significance amongst the Zoroastrian ancestors of modern Iranians (the Parsis and Iranis of India), it is also celebrated in parts of the South Asian sub-continent as the new year. The moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day is calculated exactly every year and Iranian families gather together to observe the rituals.

 

Originally being a Zoroastrian festival, and the holiest of them all, Nowruz is believed to have been invented by the founder Zoroaster (Zarathustra) himself, although there is no clear date of origin.

 

Since the Achaemenid era the official year has begun with the New Day when the Sun leaves the zodiac of Pisces and enters the zodiacal sign of Aries, signifying the Spring Equinox. Nowruz is also a holy day for Sufis (Buddhist-influenced mystical Muslims), Bektashis, Ismailis, Alawites. Alevis, Babis, and adherents of the Bahá'í Faith. More

India: Kashmir rally, Mumbai massacre

Serene Dal Lake in war torn Kashmir, made famous by a Led Zeppelin song residents have never heard, Kashmir Valley, India (AFP).

Kashmir, in the extreme north of India, is a state (J&K) with a wondrous valley, home of the remains of Jesus Christ, and the gateway to Buddhist-India (Ladakh). Its proximity to Tibet means constant foot traffic between world-famous Hemis Gompa, the Chinese line-of-control (de facto border), and Lhasa (in the Tibetan Autonomous Region).

Mumbai (formerly Bombay) is the banking and movie capital (Bollywood) of India. It is home to millions -- as made infamous by the Academy award-winning "Slumdog Millionaire" -- and recently suffered an appalling attack from Pakistan. It is home to a little-known religious minority (the Parsis) who practice Zorastrianism (Zoraster as in Zarathustra), which formed the foundation of the Christian tradition.

Suspected communist rebels kill 16 police in India
MUMBAI, India (AP) - Suspected communist rebels ambushed a police patrol in western India today, killing 16 officers, police said.

Thousands rally in Kashmir to mourn slain separatist leaders
SRINAGAR, India (AFP) - Tens of thousands of Kashmiris chanting pro-freedom slogans today held a rally to commemorate two top separatists slain on the same day a dozen years apart.

• Asia News

Another example of post-colonial civil strife thanks to the United Kingdom and its waning dreams of empire: Supporters of the moderate faction of Indian-administered Kashmir's main separatist alliance the All Parties Hurriyat Conference attend a rally in downtown Srinagar. Tens of thousands of Kashmiris chanting pro-freedom slogans today held a rally to commemorate two top separatists slain on the same day a dozen years apart (AFP/Tauseef Mustafa).

The Origins of Religion (PRI)

A study of the origins of the world's great religions reveals surprising ideas about God and how we define religion.

A study of the origins of the world's great religions reveals surprising ideas about God and how we define religion.

• LISTEN NOW (Public Radio International)

The following is a partial transcript; listen to audio for full story.

Karen Armstrong is the author of nearly 20 books on religion. When her breakthrough book, "A History of God" appeared in 1993, she quickly became one of the world's leading historians of spiritual matters. Her work displays a wide-ranging knowledge of religious traditions -- from monotheistic religions to Buddhism. That expertise is on full display in her latest book, "The Great Transformation," which charts the origins of many of the world's religions, including Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism. What's remarkable is that all these spiritual traditions emerged in the same historical era -- the "Axial Age" -- from 900 to 200 B.C. More>>

• "To the Best of Our Knowledge" is an audio magazine of ideas -- two hours of smart, entertaining radio for people with curious minds. More "To the Best of Our Knowledge"
• It pays to be Jewish (AP)
• Evolution vs. Religion documentary: Flock of Dodos (PRI, mention of Buddhism at Minute 7:00)