Chhattisgarh is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the 17th most populous [14]. It borders seven states:
Uttar Pradesh to the north,
Madhya Pradesh to the northwest,
Maharashtra to the southwest,
Jharkhand to the northeast,
Odisha to the east,
Andhra Pradesh and
Telangana to the south [15].
Formerly a part of Madhya Pradesh, it was granted statehood on Nov. 1, 2000, with Raipur as the designated state capital [16]. The Sitabenga caves in Chhattisgarh, one of the earliest examples of theatre architecture in India, are dated to the Mauryan period of 3rd century BCE. More
Oldest in Europe? Spain's caves
Centuries old Mexican cave art
Cave unexplored for 500 years reveals previously unknown Mesoamerican people
(Discovery Future) Oct. 14, 2025: Deep within the remote mountains of Guerrero, Mexico, a team of explorers stumbled upon what they first thought was trash—only to discover it was a 500-year-old treasure hidden in the depths of a cave no human had entered for centuries. Inside TlayĆ³coc, the “Cave of Badgers,” archeologists uncovered 14 extraordinary artifacts crafted by a previously unknown culture now called the Tlacotepehua
These objects—shell bracelets, stone disks, and carbonized wood—reveal a lost people who likely practiced agriculture, held sacred cave rituals, and possessed their own spiritual and artistic traditions. This discovery sheds light on a forgotten civilization that thrived in the shadow of great Mesoamerican powers like the Aztec and Maya.
Who were the Tlacotepehua?
Why did they vanish?
And what do their sacred offerings tell us about their beliefs, their environment, and their place in history?
Join as we explore how this cave discovery is rewriting what we know about pre-Hispanic (pre-Columbus) Mexico, uncovering the mysteries of a people lost to time.
(Zen Confidential) May 8, 2025: A Patron sent me an email that basically says, "I have a friend who just found Jesus, and she's driving me CRAZY!!"
Why is she driving him crazy? It's because my Patron's friend is convinced that there is ONLY ONE true religion, one way or path, and she thinks anyone who doesn't follow it -- that is, anyone who doesn't go "full Yazoo" -- is on AC/DC's Highway to Hell.
Is there ONLY ONE TRUE WAY? My Patron wants to know.
Yes, is my answer. There IS just one true way.
Darby Crash, frontman of the Germs and an early Hollywood Zen Buddhist, wrote "The Slave," which goes: "It starts in your head/ And moves to your hands/ Your body starts shakin'/ 'Cause you're in demand/ You do the slave to the beat/ Of the neuro-sutra can can// You're lashed 'twixt the stars/ With your ice and motor cars/ You do the slave to the beat/ Of the neuro-sutra can can// Oh yea, yea, pull out the Zen/ I've got a Buddhist principle in my hand/ Your life seems wasted/ Your bodies laced in/ Don't stop now, you've got to trace it/ You put your hands together/ Writhe in the shackle/ You twist your body round/ 'Til it starts to crackle/ You do the slave to the beat/ Of the neuro-sutra can can// Right here right now/ Shake it in and out now/ Lights on off now/ Make it spin and fight now"
Unfortunately, it's different for absolutely everyone!
Let's touch on a lot of the basics that make Zen [and other forms of Buddhism] different from "religions."
For one thing, in Zen there is nothing to "believe" in [except maybe Taoism]. There is a practice, and there are principles, and the practitioner puts those principles into practice. That's kind of it.
What is Catholicism? It's Universalism
The main practice is zazen ("sitting meditation"), often defined as shikantaza ("just sitting"). Through this practice, attention is cultivated. But even this is saying too much.
Speaking of not speaking, we could say that Zen is the practice of not filling silences. To wit, there is the Great Silence from which we all come and to which we all go. Religion kinda sorta sometimes puts a great big Jesus statue right in the center of that silence, or a great big Buddha statue right there in the middle of serene silence.
It tries to fill the void, the peace of silence, as if it could improve on it, gilding the lily, giving the snake legs, papering over the gaps and blanks, pretending that we can fill the not-knowing with some kind of knowing.
But in the end, the job of a spiritual practice is not to remove uncertainty. Rather, in my experience at least, a practice humbles us before that uncertainty. There's a big difference. Every time I think I finally found the One True Way, something changes -- me, the world around me, the situation, life -- and I have to change along with it, grow, go with the flow, and keep going, keep living, keep not knowing.
No fake certainty!
Today, on YouTube,
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Shogan Jack Haubner, May 8, 2025; Darby Crash, Germs, "The Slave"; What is Catholicism? (video); Strangest Catholic relics (video #short); Seth Auberon, Dhr. Seven, Crystal Quintero, Pfc. Sandoval (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
It's a miracle. It's a miracle how anyone holds onto faith in Catholicism in the face of insults like this, a "third-class relic," by the church's own description, "a replica of the cloth Veronica wiped Jesus’ face with" that "has been touched to Veronica's Veil, the True Wood of the Cross, and the Lance," oy vey. By this rationale, the original could fall on the floor (be touched to) and thereby bless the whole earth, ushering in world peace, blind faith, and worldwide allegiance to Rome and the Vatican. Has the Church tried that? If they did, it hasn't worked. Blessed are the meek, for they [shall believe and] inherit the earth. What they'll do with it only the God knows. When is the Rapture again? All we can think of is Alanis Morissette and her Catholic sentiments: "We all needed something to cling to, so we did. We all had delusions in our heads. We all had our minds made up for us. We had to believe in something, so we did."
*Christian Carnival Barker Voice* Get out of the bars, boys and girls, and into Catholic church to see the Holy Kerchief, the Vernicle (Sudarium or "Sweat Cloth"), Veil of Veronica or simply Veronica, the "Face of Jesus" relic.
Yes, just this one time, it may never come round to your neck of the woods again! You were wowed by the Holy Hand of St. Judas last year in Pasadena, but did you know the Creator's own son, drenched in blood, sweat, and tears while being whipped and beaten at the sixth Station of the Cross, had a kindness shown to him?
Veronica holding face of Jesus on her veil after wiping him
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, St. Veronica was kind enough to use her hanky on the lord, and with no time to emanate an entire life-size photocopy like he would with the Shroud of Turin, he left a headshot.
NOTE: While it may sound as if Wisdom Quarterly is mocking the idea of relics, sacred objects, particular religions, or those invested in their faith, a closer examination reveals that what is being mocked and made fun of is commercialization, corruption, and greed in the name of religion. This is what Mr. Show is aiming at, as well as taking on conservatives in government, Christianity, and hypocrisy in general. It is our confirmed belief that some objects are holy, sacred, divine, supernatural, extraordinary and miraculous. This may or may not be them, but such things exist. The Buddhist tradition, which preceded Christianity by six centuries, spoke of relics (sariras).*
Put down the pints of St. Paddy's Day Guiness and join us as we go out to see them on tour just as we went out to see various stops of the worldwide Relic Tour by Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhists years ago in LA. Wisdom Quarterly will be at each stop as part of our ongoing "Adventures in Church" series.
ALL religions are beautiful. They may not be true, but they are all beautiful.
Those who wish to be spiritual should not let commercialized religion stand in the way.
It may look like a splotch, but with FAITH, it becomes a holy face.
Think about it. You loved the Blood Moon, a mere sideshow, you loved snow in LA's mountain tops in spring, you think fire, rain, and chilling cold are spectacles, but how about the authentic miraculous face of the creator-savior incarnate?
Yes, leggys and germs, this is gonna be a really big shoe. This may be your only opportunity to stand up close to a real relic (as recognized in both Catholic and Orthodox traditions, though Protestant not so much).
Hieronimus Bosch painted these hideous nutters, including Veronica's Veil in lower left.
.
Artist enhanced version of image
It's authorized by your children's friends at the Vatican, within the fortress city-state, inside the vestigial heart of the Holy Roman Empire (not merely Rome, Italy, but the tiny, independent country known as the Holy See once dedicated entirely to the worship of the solar son-God Mithra and his mysteries), under CEO Francis, while he yet hangs on by the power of prayer and modern medicine.
Sudarium: Holy Sweat Towel
Price? Priceless! Donations? Solicited.
Cost? What is money but the seed of Mammon, the joy of Shaytan(Shaitan), the love of which is the root of all evil? It's free. But buy paraphernalia at the concessions stand with plastic bottled water, sugary drinks, plastic trinkets, tchotchkes, Catholic bling, and curios. Booklets and stickers too. Why not invest in an "I Saw It 2025" tour t-shirt to wear on your deathbed or any future surface where you might meet G Almighty? Might score some leniency points with St. Pete.
But Satan (Shayatin) and the Iblisneed me in a bar on Saint Patrick's Day to part and turn the toilet water green. Fiducia supplicans blesses gay Catholic marriages?
This is no joke, so don't dream of laughing (Alicante).
They made Veronica a saint for it
Need an indulgence (for the remission of sin by the Church for money)? Why not get a set of authentic wood simulated plastic rosary beads laced together with plastic twine to carry in your pocket, wear around your neck, or dangle from your rearview?! Now available in child and adult sizes. Please allow time for a long line of penitents and curiosity seekers ahead of you in the queue. No photography please as this relic replica may be very delicate and light sensitive.
True meaning of St. Pat's Day
Drive "snakes" out = kill pagans for Jesus - "Nazis" of the first Reich (Rome)
Earlier the same day, St. Patrick's Feast Day to the secular world of imbibers and intemperate drinkers, see the Vernicle travel from the small town of Monrovia, a foothill community in the SGV, to neighboring Alhambra for a stop at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church on Shamrock, just off of Foothill Blvd. (the famous Route 66):
Fortunately, St. Therese Catholic Church has something to say about this event in advance so parishioners might choose a St. Pat's party instead: "This year, being the 100th anniversary of the canonization of St. Therese,* we are having a special visit of a Holy Face relic on MONDAY, MARCH 17, FROM 6:00 TO 10:00 P.M.
"This third-class relic is a replica of the cloth Veronica wiped Jesus’ face with and has been touched to Veronica's Veil, the True Wood of the Cross, and the Lance that pierced Christ's side.
St. Patrick's Day celebration, Lenten Mission
Since this image was touched to the instruments of Our Lord's Passion, which were drenched in His Blood, it has therefore been touched to the Blood of Christ. And so is considered a “Living Image of Jesus Christ.”
(*Note: When she was still in the Carmel in Lisieux, France, our patroness’ religious name was Sr. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. She was first given the name “Therese of the Child Jesus” when she entered, and she added “and the Holy Face” when she took the veil.) The evening will begin with a talk at 6:00 p.m., by Vicki Schreiner, author of Chronology of the Holy Face Devotion, followed by Mass at 7:15 p.m., and then veneration of the Holy Face relic until 10:00 p.m." Source: Church bulletin, sttheresechurchalhambra.org).
Eve Libertine/Crass "Reality Asylum"
WARNING: Not suitable for anyone under 70. Vile, vulgar, crass, obscene
(Why is Crass SO angry at British/Irish Christian religious oppression?)
Atheist/Agnostic point of view
Mr. Show exposes hypocrisy, ripping it a new hole
Once upon a time in the Valley of Los Angeles, California, HBO gave Bob Odenkirk and David Cross the money to develop a comedy sketch show for cable TV: Mr. Show with Bob and David. They ran with it and filmed one of the funniest and smartest shows (right up there with Amy Sedaris' Strangers with Candy) ever created for basic cable. It has only gotten funnier with time, having introduced the world to many actors who went on to stellar comedy careers like Sarah Silverman, Jack Black, and that shy bald guy. In this 30-minute episode entitled "What to Think" (S1E02), they brilliantly satire the U.S. government's censorship attempts, the hypocrisy of the Christian church (at least the televangelist wing of it), and greedy transnational corporations, while cussing a lot.
*Relics (sarira) are real in Buddhism
ÅarÄ«ra is a generic term referring to Buddhist relics, although in common usage it usually refers to pearl or crystal-like bead-shaped objects [which Wisdom Quarterly has determined to most likely be silica] that are found among the cremated ashes of the Buddha, chief disciples, and other Buddhist spiritual masters (aka "noble ones," the Aryans).
Relics of the Buddha after cremation are termed dhÄtu ("elements") in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta [1]. ÅarÄ«ra are held to emanate or incite "blessings" and "grace" (Sanskrit adhiį¹£į¹hÄna) within the mindstream and experience of those connected to them [2].
Mind here refers to streams of cittas ("mind-moments")
Sarira are also believed to ward off evil in the Himalayan Vajrayana Buddhist tradition.
The Buddha, beloved figure of Thailand, SE Asia
Terminology
Cremation pyre relics of Shakyamuni Buddha
ÅarÄ«ra (pronounced /ÉÉɽiĖɽÉh/) means "body" in Sanskrit. When used in Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit texts to mean "relics," it is always used in the plural: ÅarÄ«rÄįø„.
The term ringsel is a loanword from the Tibetan ą½¢ིą½་ą½ą½¦ྲེą½£ (ring bsrel). Both of these terms are ambiguous in English; they are generally used as synonyms, although according to some interpretations, ringsels are a subset of ÅarÄ«ras.
ÅarÄ«ra can refer to:
DharmakÄya ÅarÄ«ra, which are sutras as told by the Buddha. According to Ding Fubao's Dictionary of Buddhist Terms, a "Dharma body" ÅarÄ«ra is "the Sutra as told by the Buddha: That which is unchanging in what is told by the Buddha, is of the same property as the essence of the Buddha himself, hence it is called the 'dharma body ÅarÄ«ra.'"
Remains of the Buddha or other spiritual masters, either cremated remains or other pieces, including a finger bone or a preserved body, similar to the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox incorruptibles.
Broken-body ÅarÄ«ras refers specifically to cremated remains.
When used without qualification, it generally refers to the pearl-like remnant of a master left after cremation.
Pearl-like ÅarÄ«ras
Mass market holy Buddhist relic container
Although the term ÅarÄ«ra can be used to refer to a wide variety of Buddhist relics, as listed above, it is generally used to refer to pearl or crystal-like bead-shaped objects that are purportedly found among the cremated ashes of Buddhist spiritual masters.
These objects are considered relics of significant importance in many sects of Buddhism since they are believed to embody the spiritual knowledge, teachings, realizations, or living essence of spiritual masters.
They are taken as evidence of the masters' enlightenment and spiritual purity. Some believe that ÅarÄ«ras are deliberately left by the consciousness of a master for veneration, and that the beauty of the ÅarÄ«ras depends on how well the masters had cultivated their mind and morals.
ÅarÄ«ra come in a variety of colors, and some are even translucent.
Sariras are typically displayed in a glass bowl inside small gold urns or stupas (burial mound reliquaries) as well as enshrined inside the master's statue.
ÅarÄ«ras are also believed to mysteriously multiply while inside their containers if they have been stored under favorable conditions.
Saffron threads are sometimes placed within or around the bowl containing individual ÅarÄ«ra as an offering. More
The Catholic Church; Mr. Show with Bob and David; Team Recovering Catholics (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
(ReligionForBreakfast)
Feb. 20, 2025: Korean Shamanism (Musok with its trance mansins) is a dynamic religious tradition rooted in spirit mediation (not meditation), ritual healing, and ancestral veneration to appease the spirits all around.
It's piƱata time. Mexico (which extends over the border, reaching Los Angeles, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and even Chicago) has a beautiful Judeo-Christian tradition in the almost entirely Catholic country. It is called Los Posadasor "The Lodgings."
(Wiki) Las Posadas is a novenario (an extended devotional prayer). It is celebrated chiefly in Latin America, El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and by Latin Americans in the United States [1, 2].
Catholic church service in Chicago
It is typically celebrated each year between December 16-24 [1]. Latin American countries have continued to celebrate the holiday, with very few changes to the tradition since the Conquerors brought imperial rule, rape, and enslavement to the indigenous people of the Americas courtesy of the Vatican in Rome and the imperial Holy Roman Church, extracting gold, silver, and land in exchange.
Los Angeles ("The Angels") is still very Mexican even after Partition
Las Posadas derives from the European language (Latin-based Spanish) word posada ("lodging," "accommodation") which, in this case, refers to the inn from the Nativity story.
What do the Irish call the holy family: Issa-son, Muire, and Seosamh?
It uses the plural form as the celebration lasts for a nine-day interval (called the novena) during the Christmas season, which represents the nine-month pregnancy [3, 4] of the virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. More
GUEST: Cambridge scholar of comparative religion Dr. Catherine Nixey is a classicist and journalist, author of The Darkening Age and her latest, Heretic: Jesus Christ and the Other Sons of God. She sits down with Mitch Jeserich, Letters & Politics, KPFA.org (Pacifica Free Speech Radio, Berkeley).
Heretic: Jesus Christ and the Other Sons of God: An Eye-Opening Account of Early Christian Divergence
Explore the Evolution of Jesus in Early Christianity: Author Catherine Nixey has 4.5 out of 5 stars with 4 ratings since Dec. 3, 2024. This is the #1 new release in historiography.
"A brilliant book." — The Times, Best of the Year.
"Heretictells a moreish intellectual story and shakes up your understanding of Western history. At the same time, somewhat improbably, it supplies at least one good joke per paragraph; you have to keep turning back to enjoy them again." ― The Economist, Best of the Year
From a celebrated Cambridge University classicist and author of The Darkening Age (“[a] ballista-bolt of a book”—New York Times Book Review), a biography of the many, diverse variations of Jesus who thrived in early Christian traditions — and how they were lost until just one “true” Christ survived.
Contrary to the teachings of the Church today, in the first several centuries of Christianity’s existence, there was no consensus as to who Jesus was or why he had mattered. Instead, there were many different Christs.
One [named Saint Issa] had a twin brother [named Saint James] and traveled to India [and ancient Hemis Gompa in Leh, Ladakh, Tibet]; another consorted with dragons [serpent Reptilians].
One particularly terrifying Christ scorned his parents and killed those who opposed him.
Moreover, in the early years of the first millennium there were many other saviors, many sons of gods [like the more popular Apollonius of Tyana] who healed the sick and cured the lame. But as Christianity spread, they were pronounced unacceptable – even heretical – and they faded from view.
The original meaning of "heresy" was positive and referred to thinking through and choosing a narrative from among those offered and argued for. The Church made "heretic" a horrible thing.
Comparative religion in the Christian church
Heresy: Jesus Christ and the Other Sons of God
An earlier hardcover of the book with a slightly different title came out on March 7, 2024, and has racked up 4.3 out of 5 stars with 200 ratings:
Heretic unearths the different versions of Christ [Kristos, one "anointed" with entheogenic drugs, according to American classicist Dr. Ammon Hillman] who existed in the minds of early Christians, and the process of evolution — and elimination — by which "Jesus" became the singular figure we know today.
“Heretic has the mother lode of tales too hot for Christendom. Nixey has carefully wrung out a number of apocryphal texts for scandal.” — Harper's Magazine
From a celebrated classicist [one who studies the classics] comes a group-biography of the many, diverse Jesuses who thrived in early Christian traditions — and how they were killed off until just one “true” [official single-Church narrative of] Christ survived [everything else being considered a blasphemous heresy even if it was true].
Contrary to the teachings of the Church today, in the first several centuries of Christianity’s existence, there was no consensus as to who Jesus was or why he had mattered [when he lived and was making trouble for the Temple].
Instead, there were many different Christs. One had a twin brother and traveled to India; another consorted with dragons; one scorned his parents and killed those who opposed him.
Why do we know so little about these early versions of Jesus? It is because, starting in the fourth century AD, the [Eastern] Orthodox form of Christianity that had become preeminent set about systematically wiping out every other variation, denouncing their gospels as apocryphal [of doubtful origin] and their followers as heretics [freethinkers who dare contradict the official story].
These unfortunate Christians lost their rights, their property, their churches [congregation sites] — in some cases, even their lives. [Burn them as witches!]
Heretic unearths the different versions of Christ who existed in the minds of early Christians and the process of evolution — and elimination — by which Jesus became the singular figure we know today.
Catherine Nixey, Host Mitch Jeserich, Letters & Politics,KPFA.org (KPFK.org, Los Angeles), Dec. 9, 2024; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Conversations with an Anti-Zionist Jew: Haim Bresheeth
(IHRCtv) Feb. 13, 2024: In this extended conversation, Prof. Haim Bresheeth-Zabner speaks about his Jewish family history and unique upbringing, reimagining the Middle East beyond Israeli apartheid, racist/Islamophobic settler colonialism, and Western hegemony. Prof. Haim is a teacher at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. An former Israeli Jew and ardent anti-Zionist, his most recent book is titled An Army Like No Other: How the Israeli Defence Force Made a Nation.
He wanted to be a "Refusik" and avoid joining and killing for Zionist Jewish genocide to build a settler colonial project in Palestine and call it "Israel," but he could not. He bitterly regrets it that he was not strong enough as a very young man, when he was forcibly inducted into Israel's killing machine, which he reckons was worse than the Nazi war machine the Jews survived in Germany. Many Jews had money back there but were not free to take it with them if they wanted to leave Germany. However, they were allowed to take it to one place in the world: Palestine. Were Nazis behind fashioning a genocide against Palestinians or "Arabs" as Jews hatefully dubbed them?
The stench of Israel's hypocrisy in dubbing its genocidal killing force, the IDF, the "most moral army in the world" became too much, necessitating this book, proving what racist, Zionist, white supremacist Israelis are, valuing their blood over all others all out of proportion to anything seen before in the history of war crimes.
An Army Like No Other: How the Israel Defense Forces Made a Nation
Prof. Haim Bresheeth-Zabner has 3.8 out of 5 stars with 21 ratings. This history of the IDF argues that Israel is a nation formed by its genocidal army.
The Israeli army, euphemistically dubbed the "Israel Defence Forces" (IDF), was established in 1948 by David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, who believed that "the whole nation is the army."
In his mind, the IDF was to be an army like no other. It was to be an instrument of might that might transform a diverse population into a new people.
Since the foundation of Israel, the IDF has been the richest, largest, and most influential institution in Zionist Israel's Jewish society, its settler colonial project to eject the indigenous people, paint themselves as the indigenous population returning from a short absence.
The IDF is the nursery of its social, economic, and political ruling class. In this fascinating history, Prof. Bresheeth charts the evolution of the IDF from the "Catastrophe" (Nakba), the persecution, ejection, and genocide of native Palestinians, to the continued assaults on Gaza.
(Corey Gil-Shuster) Religious anti-Zionist Jews: Whose land is this?
Posted June 8, 2024. Filmed before Israel's October 2023 war.
It shows that the state of Israel was formed out of war. He also gives an account of his own experiences as a young conscript during the 1967 War.
He argues that this army is embedded in all aspects of daily life and identity and that we should not merely see it as a fighting force enjoying a world-class reputation. It is the central ideological, political, and financial institution of Israeli society. Killing is its ambition.
As a consequence, everyone has to reconsider assumptions about what any kind of peace might look like.
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