#* krishna / you may not be interested in war but war is interested in you !

[stxrrynxghts]

Re-watching Mahabharat (5/?)

Karna's obsession with Arjun is VERY unsettling

Bhishma is straight up BLACKMAILING Dhritrashtra. I don't have any issues with it, NGL.

Duryodhan's expressions are so FUNNY like he looks stupid 90% of the time despite being gorgeous

"Bhairava ne bhairavi gaa li, mere bacche" LMFAO

Dhritrashtra loves Pandu and his sons, but not more than his own kids.

Drona is gatecrashing this event. YAY.

Technically Drona is right. The Kurus are still his students.

Arjun crying in court T_T

see guys? This is WHY Arjun is the model student. HE is the one student who is so devoted to his guru, hence why he is Drona's fav as well.

Drona knew that Arjun would stop him, didn't he?

Drupad is SO creepy, ngl

Okay but why does Karna dislike Arjun and the Pandavas so much? He has known them for like...a day?

Karna be like: I am offended on your behalf, mitra

The mitrata between Karna and Duryodhan.....makes me think that they were room mates ;)

Not Arjun making a fool out of Subhadra

also their tune is so soft to listen to.

No Arjun, jumping isn't called "dancing".

Did I just see Arjun and Subhadra play the Dwapar version of hopscotch-

Srsly? Subhadra doesn't know what the chakravyuha looks like?!

Not Subhadra dropping dialogues said by Krishna to confuse Arjun

Arjun is not impressed by Krishna

Arjun is a huge simpleton. Dude can't even see that he is being flirted with.

did.....did he just flirt back? Is the world ENDING?!

Drona is not allowing Karna to fight in this thing. He isn't wrong, since as per the show, Karna is NOT Drona's student!

Also why is Karna being so salty about this, as if he didn't expect this

Okay, in canon, Shikhandi was born as a girl, but later in life, she transformed into a man, completely. He even married a woman, and had kids. why is he a girl here

why do the Pandavas always let Duryodhan boss over them

The Kauravas think they can break into the chakravyuha. How hilarious.

this. this is the result of overconfidence.

"Is vyuh rachna ko todna to mai bhi nahi jaanta" You should have thought this before entering, Duryodhan.

Le Duryodhan: pran jaaye, but hair flip na jaaye

Shikhandi is so incompetent for someone who aspires to defeat Bhishma.

TIME FOR ARJUN TO KICK SOME ASS

Seeing the chakravyuha transports me to more traumatic times

Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjun, Sahadeva: i fight with my weapon, Le Nakul: i talk in horse language

not Bhima thinking about in the midst of a fight o_O

The Pandavas are taking this VERY lightly

I mean, so would i, if Arjun and Bhima were my brothers

Yudhishthira has the "tumhara kuch nahi ho sakta" expression on his face

Sahadeva's wig is so BAD

Arjun is serving hair goals even in the midst of a war. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that his hair is all natural, and not a wig.

Arjun, this isn't hurdles. why are you jumping?

Arjun, sweetie, be careful, or else your dhoti might get untied somehow.

Drona and Drupad's history....is interesting.

Drupad is a sexist person, and an even shittier dad.

Dhritarashtra tried to manipulate Yudhishthira, but ended up getting manipulated by Arjun instead LOL

Gandhari isn't even hiding her displeasure. sis.

Duryodhan has the funniest smile, it sends me cracking everytime he smiles. like, it is very clear that his intentions aren't pure, but this is Yudhishthira he is lying to.

Not the Pandavas doing different things in the same room XDDD

Nakul and Bhima are clearly each other's favorites. This is so sweet.

Bhima almost moaned after tasting sugar syrup. I could see that on his face.

Why...why on earth is Bhima eating a RAW Karela?!

Bhima literally conducted a science experiment to show that Duryodhan will remain to be an asshole. Perhaps making slits in the karela would have helped reduce it's bitter taste?

Yudhishthira is telling his bros to look at Duryodhan's positives. No Yudhishthira, you are the stupid one here.

#mahabharata #mahabharat #hindu mythology #starplus mahabharat #starbharat recap #starbharat

[smythologies]

Similasis Ep 1

You knows just wild? How similar different mythologies and religions are to each other. That's why I'm gonna be doing this series, called:

Similasis

Or "Similologies" if you want.

But yeah, I'm just gonna be talking about different mythologies and their interesting similarities. Some may seem like stretches at first, but I feel like that's just part of the fun!

This first, "pilot episode" will be about:

Hinduism and Greek Mythology

So, let's start off with Krishna (Hinduism) and Herakles (Greek Mythology).

They're both "descended", in a sense, from one of the ultimate divinities in their respective pantheons; Krishna is the "avatar" of Vishnu, the Sustainer, while Herakles is one of Zeus' most popular children. They're also both incredibly powerful, with Krishna basically being a God on Earth, and Heraes having incredible strength.

From birth, they were also hunted and hated by a family member; for Krishna, it was his uncle Kansa, because of a Prophecy saying that Kansa would die at the hands of his sister's eight child. For Herakles, he was hunted by his stepmother, Hera, in her attempts to retaliate against Zeus for cheating.

As such, both faced, and defeated, assassination attempts at a young age. The she-demon Putana, sent by Kansa, attempted to breastfeed Krishna with her poisoned milk, but the young Godling bit down hard and simply sucked her dry (power move fr). On the other hand, Hera sent snakes to kill Herakles, which the child strangled with ease.

This isn't shown much in modernity, but both Krishna and Herakles were well-known for their wit and cunning; Krishna would always use his intellect to trick and confuse his adoptive mother Yashoda Ma, while Herakles has used incredible punishment to escape punishment and retribution in the past.

They've both also shown incredible feats of strength. When Vrindavan was being flooded by Indra Dev, Krishna lifted the Mount Govardhan with his little finger, so it acted like an umbrella. Similarly, while completing his Twelve Labours, Herakles held the sky on his back to allow Atlas to get him some apples.

Another major similarly is how similar the Mahabharata (Hinduism) and Trojan War (Greek Mythology) are. Many of the prominent characters share similar aspects, for example Arjuna (Mahabharata) is quite similar to Archilles (Trojan War), as they both refuse to fight (for admittedly different reasons), but eventually, due to a personal loss (Arjuna's son Abhimanyu, Achilles' lover-friend Patroclus), they both join the fray. Both Krishna and Achilles, two of the strongest beings in their wars, are also killed by an arrow to the heel. Achilles is also quite similar to Duryodhan, as they both were given blessings from their mothers (special armour for Achilles, stone body for Duryodhan) that were supposed to protect them from harm, but still didn't fully save them, due to a fatal weak point.

Of course, there are lots of other similarities between them, but for now, I think this is more than enough. Have a great day!

- Smylee

Edit: I almost forgot, both Achilles and Arjuna crossed dressed before. OK now I'm done.

#mythology #nerd alert #nerd stuff #hinduism #greek gods #greek pantheon #greek mythology #hindudharma #hindu mythology #mahabharata #trojan war #trojan horse #the illiad #achilles heel #patroclus #krishna #heracles #vrindavan #krishna vrinda vihari #arjuna #percy jackson who? #arjun is daddy #achilles was a twink #twelve labours these balls #analysis #similogies #similasis #smythologies #hindu myth memes #hindu

[paradise-lord-ryu]

Why anarchy serves the best interest of humanity and the gods themselves.

Throughout apocalypse, we see rival factions trying to endure within an isolated world engulfed in conflict. Tayama needing to use red pills derived from the brains of his captives to satiate the demons, enemy factions seeking to revitalize bloodthirsty gods, and gods being bound to humanity’s observation. People often had to take advantage of one another simply to survive in the scarred world.

“Only through the order of angels and the chaos of demons do humans lose their way” -Krishna

Offering an incentive to join you may not often be enough to ensure one’s loyalty, especially if it costs your way of life in the present. To allow demons to plague the land and create strife through chaos is to draw humans into the arms of law.

Whether through human observation or YHVH’s influence, Lucifer was a vehicle for this conflict.

A war where humans are caught in an unfavorable situation while each alignment wants to crush all opposition. All the while, most of the gods have been stripped of their true strength and robbed of grace, forced to live in shells imposed upon them by YHVH and humans alike.

And the cycle is set to persist time and time again. Keeping the universe as is would merely delay the inevitable, with YHVH returning once again to try his hand at world domination once more. It doesn’t matter how many times humanity drags him from his throne. All that it takes is for him to win once for all to be lost.

To eliminate the universe and bring the souls into the new, where the gods return to their true states and human egos have been reset and put in the place of gods, prevents them from ever being subject to this relentless cycle of sabotage, allowing them to reach their true potential.

#shin megami tensei #smt4 #smtiv #smt iv apocalypse #smt iv final

[manoshgeeechs]

True Love and Cricket.

True love should be *unconditional*. Should pass the test of time. The extremely loyal love, that no matter what flashy attractions come your way, you should stand by it and be committed towards it, come what may. Nevertheless, it should always have pure intentions. Be free from lust, greed and selfishness. And very importantly, have immense respect .

Eg. If you consider cricket as a sport of your interest, you should be passionate enough to watch it anyway. Irrespective of the team, the timings, the geography, the players, the platform of the game (state-level, national-level, or even gully cricket for that matter!), victory or failure of the team you support. Only then you can proudly say, “cricket is my hobby/interest and I LOVE it”. Otherwise you just watched it as your time-pass / acquaintance. Being superficial about things don't count. Or fades away with time.

This is applicable to literally every relationship in life. I related with cricket as an example because, as soon as the word “love” is used, there's a natural tendency to relate it with a person/romantic interest.

True love need not be confined to/necessarily be only applicable to romantic relationships. It may be also relevant to your relationship with parents, friends, your siblings, your hobby, your passion , your life goals and with oneself too. True love is like a diamond , very rare but extremely precious if possessed.

True love is what the Lord has towards each and every jeeva (Takes care no matter what!). True love is what Krishna had towards Arjuna (Opposed him at the war and brought him to right track without a second thought) . True love is what Radha , Yashodha, Gopikas and other vrajvaasis had towards Krishna(Even though he gets seperated from them they don't stop loving him ). True love is the faith Rukmini had in Krishna. In her love letter to Krishna, the shloka being :

यस्याङघ्रिपङ्कजरजस्नपनं महानो

वाञ्चन्त्युमापतिरिवात्मतमोपहत्यै

यह्यंबुजाक्ष न लभेय भवत्प्रादं

जह्यामसून् व्रतकृशन् शतजन्मभिः स्यात्॥7

The last line says, She is ready to wait for him even for 100 lives.

Dear Vitthoo Mauli, the definition of true love seems too idealistic. Does it actually exist in this world? 🙃 (Except the one you share with each one of us individually?)

[grandhotelabyss]

—Peter Dale Scott, “The Social Critic and His Discontents.” The Cambridge Companion to T. S. Eliot. Ed. A. David Moody. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1994.

Continuing to footnote my now-posted modernist centenary essay on Eliot’s The Waste Land and Four Quartets. Above we have a contribution from Peter Dale Scott, a Canadian poet better known, especially in online circles, as a theorist of the deep state and its machinations from the Kennedy assassination to 9/11. 

Despite these anti-imperialist practical politics, however, Scott’s defense of the western poetic tradition’s visionary cultural politics—using the canon against the temporal powers, from Dante through Milton to Eliot—stands opposed to the politically-correct disciplining of culture by party and power championed in the Leninist wing of anti-imperialism, itself now discredited (I hope) because of its appropriation by corporatist empire today. 

I am fascinated by Scott’s insistence that Eliot in the end defends liberal democracy, though a self-professed classicist in aesthetics, royalist in politics, and Anglo-Catholic in religion. This might be an instance of what Fukuyama discusses, the salvation of liberal society through an inner illiberalism. And I like the phrase “simultaneous defense of liberalism as an attitude, and...critique of it as an ideology.” Whereas with me it is more the opposite: it’s the ideology I’ll defend, the attitude I often dislike.

Eliot’s tripartite self-definition, devised to announce to his modernist public his religious conversion in 1927, makes a good parlor game. I might say, for instance: “I am a Romantic in aesthetics, republican in politics, and skeptical pluralist in religion.” Today, anyway. Ask me tomorrow. You might get a different answer.

What do these “big words that make us so unhappy” even mean? Past a certain point of intensity and abstraction, if you insist on discussing these matters in terms of “left” and “right,” you are off the track. As I’m sure critics must have observed before me, Eliot’s Christian fusion of time and eternity in Four Quartets bears some resemblance to Benjamin’s Jewish-Marxist messianism in “Theses on the Philosophy of History.” In one of the most moving passages in Four Quartets, written during the blitz, Eliot remarkably mourns together the Cavaliers and the Roundheads, Charles I and Milton, to create a united non-sectarian political and religious community:

If I think, again, of this place, And of people, not wholly commendable, Of no immediate kin or kindness, But of some peculiar genius, All touched by a common genius, United in the strife which divided them; If I think of a king at nightfall, Of three men, and more, on the scaffold And a few who died forgotten In other places, here and abroad, And of one who died blind and quiet Why should we celebrate These dead men more than the dying? It is not to ring the bell backward Nor is it an incantation To summon the spectre of a Rose. We cannot revive old factions We cannot restore old policies Or follow an antique drum. These men, and those who opposed them And those whom they opposed Accept the constitution of silence And are folded in a single party.

The extraordinary phrase here is “the constitution of silence.” This is the political community we will all join in the grave. It may also be a political community on earth pledged not to clamorous factional wars but oriented toward the mystery of the divine. (Our current devotees of René Girard should appreciate this.) 

Eliot, like Emerson and Thoreau before him, was inspired by the Bhagavad-Gita, where Krishna counsels Arjuna to do what is politically and socially necessary while maintaining inner discipline, detachment from any desire to attain the fruit of action, and devotion to the divine. It may seem reductive to call this “cultural politics,” but this is only a way of saying that politics is about more than interests and institutions, though these are important, but about how we live out the substance of our everyday lives.

#peter dale scott #t.s eliot #modernism #literary criticism #literary theory #cultural criticism #poetry #political philosophy #bhagavad-gita

[writingwithcolor]

Hello! First of all, huge thank you to all the mods for the amazing work. My question is: I have a character who is an Indian woman living in the States. However, most of her family, which practices Hinduism, lives in a semi-fantasy world which is parallel to the regular world. Is it realistic and not offensive to have this family reject the caste system as an influence of the culture of this parallel world?

Indian woman / family who reject caste | Indian Cultural Magic

Rejecting Caste

Hmm. The caste system is always iffy. It wouldn’t be necessarily realistic to reject the system but it is certainly possible. One white author that tackled this was the late Lloyd Alexander in The Iron Ring. People in my family are more subtle about their prejudices, but as immigrants castes aren’t as important in the United States.

Don’t forget that change isn’t always welcome, regardless of the community. You may have snooty Brahmans refusing to share water with undertakers and laborers, and sometimes angry mobs bringing out the flames.

More reading South Asian-Coded Fantasy Caste System

Magic in Indian Cultures

More importantly, what kind of fantasy system in this? Magic in Indian culture has some different nuances from say someone waving a magic wand – usually only certain beings can cast spells. 

These include 

gods

demigod children

rakshasas

asuras

the immortals like Garuda, sages, Gandharvas, and so forth.

Magic performed by non-magical Indian people

An ordinary person can affect the world with meditation but only if they are concentrating hard for months at a time. They have to study with an instructor, say a guru, to achieve these powers honorably. Another way is to ask for boons from Brahma or Shiva.  

9Changes has good information on white and “black” magic in India. Black magic is meant to cause harm, while white magic does good. Colette reminds you to be mindful of implying Black as bad in your worlds, though, and that goes for magic as well. See the Black and White Color Symbolism Guide.

Some Hindus believe that people should seek help from the gods and that using any kind of magic is evil. If you have ordinary people, they have to put in the work. Children sired by gods have some latent abilities or blessings, as seen with Arjuna and Karna.

Indian Cultures and Chosen Ones

Also, Indian culture doesn’t have chosen ones necessarily; they have inconvenient prophecies or boons, and avatars interested in making destiny happen. Krishna is probably the closest thing to a chosen one, due to his divine birth and his uncle sending assassins after him since he was a child, He’s also a Vishnu avatar that causes as much pain as he does good, according to the Mahabharata, and invites death upon his people after the war ends.

If your system has chosen ones, their journey can’t be easy and they need to have a life after fulfilling their purpose. I’m all for Desi Harry Potter and taking back the narrative; just note that Hindus can be a bit strict and do research if you’re incorporating a caste system.

- Jaya

#yurilipnicki #Indian #Indian woman #family #family life #Magic #hinduism #caste #fantasy #worldbuilding #world building #caste system #asks

[captainscanadian]

Love Me Blue | Bucky Barnes x Reader (Vaaranam Aayiram)

MY MASTERLIST

Series Masterlist

Summary: This night was surely a dream come true. 

Word Count: 2000+

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Tamilian!Hindu!Reader, Sam Wilson

Warnings: References to Hinduism, Death, PTSD, Civil War & Endgame References.

A/N: This is my entry for @bucky-smiles​‘s 3K Diversity Writing Challenge! My prompt was to write a fic with a Hindu reader. I decided to write this fic with a Tamilian reader because I am Tamilian. I was born in Sri Lanka and my mother’s side of the family are Hindu. Although I consider myself an agnostic theist, I do enjoy reading the epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana. Pic from Pinterest! <3 Divider by @whimsicalrogers​!

Back in the 1940s, Bucky had always made it a habit to check out the Stark Expo. Having been interested in the sciences from a very young age, he had often been rather fascinated by the genius of Howard Stark - at least, until things had taken a turn for the worst once he had joined the war. He still remembered the last Stark Expo he had attended. It had been the night before he was to be shipping out to England for the war, and he had dragged Steve out to celebrate; he had also invited two girls to be their dates. 

Seeing Howard Stark present a prototype of a flying car that night had been quite the surreal experience. Sure, the Barnes family had been wealthy enough to own a car during the Great Depression and all. But nothing could ever live up to the sheer excitement of witnessing a flying car.  

Well, almost nothing. 

“You never mentioned that you could drive a flying car…” The man teased as he saw you enter the pocket park after parking Lola. 

“You never asked.” You responded, a cheeky grin plastered across your lips as you made your way over to him. 

“Well, aren’t you full of surprises?” 

“Me?” You quirked your eyebrow at his words. “Are you seriously telling me that I’m the one who’s full of surprises? You’ve been full of surprises all day, Bucky.”

“Guilty as charged.” Bucky beamed, stepping over to kiss you on your cheek. “You look lovely, Y/N. Let me guess, a new dress?”

That cheeky bastard. 

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” You commented, having noticed that he had finally managed to cut his hair off, and he was dressed in the finest velvet suit that matched the blue of your dress. “I’ve got to admit. You clean up really nice.” 

“I’m glad you could make it.” He told you once he pulled back. “Welcome to the Stork Club.” 

You could not help but let out a soft giggle at that. When Sam had told you to ‘follow the music’, you had not understood what he must have meant at first. But it hadn’t taken you that long to realize that Bucky had referred to the music that had always been playing in your heart. You had followed your heart, and it had led you right towards Paley Park. 

“So, this is where the playboys of the 40s used to dance the nights away, huh?” You asked him as you stepped towards him, gently throwing your arms over his neck as you took it all in. 

It was a rather warm summer’s night, and New York City was as busy as ever. But with the noise cancelling atmosphere in this pocket park, you somehow felt at ease. It felt as though you were standing on a piece of history, as the Stork Club had been one of the famous clubs during the time of the Great Depression and the years that followed. But being here with Bucky was the most surreal experience of all. Perhaps this was how calming Radha had felt when she followed Krishna’s music out to the forest - calm, relaxed, and madly in love with the man who had led her there. 

“Yeah, this is it.” Bucky responded with a chuckle, his metal hand resting on your hip while his other hand moved to tuck a loose strand of your hair behind your ear. “So, may I have this dance?” 

And so, the two of you had danced the night away, under the stars in a rather tiny pocket park in Manhattan, to the music that played in your hearts. While it was not the most romantic first date out there, it was more than enough for the two of you. You had to have your own Rasleela with the man you had fallen in love with, and Bucky had finally taken a girl out to dance as he did during the 1940s. 

The two of you returned to the compound just around midnight, having strolled around Manhattan for a little longer, and taking in how busy it was in the city that never sleeps. Bucky had spent most of the night spitting out historical facts about the multiple buildings you’d walked past, and you could not help but admire the fact that you were indeed on a date with a historical figure.  

If Natasha were alive right now, you were sure that she would have teased you about your obsession with history, and how it had caused you to date the man you had written your thesis on. Perhaps if the rest of the team found out about it, they too would refuse to pass up the chance to pull your leg about it. 

Thankfully, by the time you had returned, they were all asleep. It was just you and Bucky, alone in the common kitchen, just like the many nights you had shared together before. But this time, it was not because you could not sleep through the night. It was because you did not want to sleep, or accept the fact that this night had to come to an end somehow. 

Once this night ended, you knew that you had to return to reality. The reality of leading the Avengers until Nick Fury decides to return and free you from your duties; whether he was returning was still a doubt. 

The reality was also working with the newly established GRC to deal with the many individuals who had been displaced due to the Blip. While diplomacy had always been your first choice in your career, it was safe to say that you were starting to enjoy working amongst the earth’s mightiest heroes once again. 

And speaking of diplomacy, there was something else that you really needed to get off of your chest... something that you had been meaning to tell Bucky for a while now. 

“I wish my father could see me right now.” You told him with a sigh as the two of you snuck into the common kitchen to finish up some of your leftover dosa batter. “I wish my father could see that I’ve managed to make a life for myself after he left me.” 

Bucky nodded as he sighed, understanding all too well about the loss you had been dealing with. “I’m sure your father’s watching you from wherever he is, and he’s proud of you for being the best boss lady the Avengers have ever seen.” Mixing up the batter as you wait for the pan to heat up.

You could not help but chuckle at that. “It’s funny how you say that.” Seriously, it was ironic. 

“Do you miss him a lot?”

You nodded. “Yeah, I do. I miss him… every day. He wasn’t just my father, you know? He was my role model, my mentor. I looked up to him. I wanted to be like him.”

“How did he pass?” He asked. “If you wouldn’t mind me asking…” There was a slight hesitancy that he noticed when you turned your head away from him for a moment, and he could not help but wonder why. 

Sam had mentioned to him that your last mission with the Avengers had been in Lagos, and that you had left the compound soon after, as your father had passed away around that time. 

“The bombing in Vienna.” You muttered, feeling your eyes glaze over as you remembered that dreadful day. 

It did not take that long for Bucky to put two and two together. He was well aware that your father had been a diplomat, so it made sense that he would have been at the United Nations conference to sign the Sokovia Accords when the bomb had gone off. “I… I’m so sorry, Y/N. I didn’t know...” He told you as he frowned, now understanding why you had given your kind regards to the Wakandan royal family. 

It was for the role they had played in putting Zemo behind bars.

“N-No, Bucky… it wasn’t your fault.” You told him with a sigh, leaning over to wrap your arms around his neck. “It wasn’t your fault. I know that now.”

That last statement almost came out as a whisper. After all, you had blamed him for your father's death, along with the rest of the world that had accused him of bombing the United Nations conference. Hell, you had even fought with Steve because of it. It was a time you did not want to recall, as you now knew that you were in the wrong. 

“You thought I killed your father, didn’t you?” He asked you, his eyes glazing over as he remembered those days. Although Shuri and her team had managed to remove HYDRA’s programming from his mind, all of the memories, the trauma and the guilt were very much there for him; he was yet to start working on them. 

You could not help but nod in response to his question. “I did. I… I didn’t know then that I had been wrong about you. Steve and I… we were close. I was one of the first people he befriended after coming out of the ice. Every mission, every battle he fought… I was there every single time to fight alongside him. Even when Steve opposed the Accords, I agreed with him. I was even willing to go against my own father. Hell, I even tried to talk him out of signing. I tried to stop him from going to Vienna, but he wouldn’t listen. He…”

Bucky wrapped his arms tightly around you as he let out a sigh. “So, is that why you left? Because opposing the Accords had cost you your father’s life?”

You nodded as you rested your head against his shoulder, letting out a sigh as you accepted his comfort. “Yeah, I did. I left because I didn’t see a point in fighting anymore. I couldn’t do it, not when my father was dead. I felt like it was my fault. I could have tried harder to talk him out of it. I could have stopped him from going to Vienna, but I didn’t… and now he’s dead.” You explained. “I never even got to say goodbye to him.” 

He continued to hold you for a moment as you cried, knowing that you must have been holding onto this guilt for several years now. If anything, he understood that guilt himself. “It wasn’t your fault, Y/N.” He told you once he pulled back from the embrace, his thumbs brushing off your tears.  

Wiping away the remainder of your tears, you turned over to pour the dosa batter in the pan. “Yeah, well… that makes two of us.” 

He wrapped his arms around you once again, resting his chin against your shoulder. “If it wasn’t my fault, it wasn’t your fault either, okay?” 

You nodded. “Yeah…” You agreed, for you knew that he was right. “You know, for the longest time, I believed that you were the guy who killed my father, that you were the reason why I fought with Steve, that you were the reason why my life as I knew it was gone…” You admitted, grabbing the oil and drizzling it in the pan. “But now I know that I got to know you, I know that you’re… you’re not who HYDRA had made you out to be. Under all of that brainwashing and… pain, you’re a really nice guy, Bucky. You’re kind and thoughtful. You’re…” 

“The Krishna to your Radha?” Bucky cut you off with a soft chuckle, his metal hand rubbing up and down your arms.  

You nodded as you laughed. “Yeah, that you are.” You admitted, not just to him but also to yourself. 

Eventually, that night did come to an end. After all, the two of you were exhausted from your date and having stuffed yourselves with a late night snack, it was only fair to retreat to your respective living quarters. 

It was the first night in a while that Bucky Barnes was able to sleep in his own bed without any nightmares, as he was now dreaming of the life he would get to live with you. 

You had  a dream that night too. A dream that Andal had described that she had of when Lord Krishna had come to marry her:  

Vaaranam aayiram soozha valam vandhu,

Naarana Nambi nadakkindraan yendredhir,

Poorana pokudam vaithu, puramengum,

Thoranam naatta kana kanden thozhi, naan. 

The only difference was that it wasn’t Krishna who had come to marry you in your dreams. 

It was Bucky. 

#3kdiversity #aj writes #love me blue #vaaranam aayiram #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x desi!reader #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes series #desi au

[demonkidpliz]

Things I learned while re-watching Star Plus Mahabharata (Part 19/many):

Kansa’s death scene is A+, 10/10. 

Boy Krishna literally looks like Devaki!

I know where else I have seen Boy Krishna! He plays Pradyumna in Radhakrishna!

Arjun, Bhim and Drupad have no chill and I am here for this rage. Let’s keep this going until the war starts.

It is very sad that in Kalyug a woman has to fend for her own honour when ideally it should be a joint effort by men and women.

The only appropriate reaction to a man attempting to dishonour your wife was shown by Krishna and by Ram before him = decapitation. I will not be hearing arguments against this at this time.

We should not be resorting to war. WELL YOU AND YOUR NEPHEWS SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE THAT GAME OF DICE KAKASHRI VIDUR.

I am here for this Panchali. What did you decide? What did Madhav have to say?

Panchali is against the peace proposal and honestly I am on her side.

Panchali is 100% right. The decision to fight or not is Panchali’s. Not the Pandavas. Because for every action and reaction of men, it is the women and their children who suffer. She is 100/100 right.

At least she has Krishna on her side who has absolutely no qualms in pretending anything other than the fact that he really badly wants this war. This is literally what he was put on earth to do.

In the actual story, Duryodhan offers to put Krishna up in Dushasan’s palace which was allegedly bigger and better than the main palace. And Krishna declines because he wishes to stay in Vidur’s palace but StarBharat fails to show why. It’s because Krishna’s aunt, Kunti, lives with Vidur and I think it is the most natural thing in the world that he would want to stay with his aunt rather than with these random cousins by marriage.

I am sorry sweetie (Krishna) there is no dharm ka phool in Angaraj Karna’s heart. He's a social climber.

Aye hai laddoo Gopal really be here turning all this karela into laddoos.

Nice that they gave some screen time to Vidur’s wife. Now they need to do this 200x with all the female characters.

Krishna is…right? Yudhishthir should have been crowned Yuvraj the moment Pandu died and the Pandavas came to Hastinapur. Dhritarashtra was a placeholder king and his son cannot inherit this throne. It is a different matter altogether that Dhritarashtra was the rightful king and that they should have never crowned Pandu as king. 

Krishna coming at the Kauravas with one banger after another. Their behaviour towards Draupadi cannot be forgiven. And not just Duryodhan, every man in that Sabha was culpable.

Is Duryodhan really going to bind Krishna with those big ass fake looking gold chains? This seems like a bad idea.

Krishna is asking for five villages for the five Pandavas. But Duryodhan has nothing if not his principles.

Karna is sooo annoying. Oh my god, we get it. You would give your life for your rich pals.

At least Bhishma, Vidur and Dronacharya are showing some good sense now. Long overdue.

Oho! Even Dhritarashtra has the good sense to agree to this five village business.

Lol, I can’t wait for Duryodhan to try and imprison Krishna.

I’m also waiting for the needle’s head worth of land line. Will StarBharat oblige?

StarBharat has obliged! Duryodhan will not concede a needle’s worth of land.

Krishna looks...mildly discomfited.

Arrest this cowherd LMAAOOO 

The big ass fake looking gold chains are here.

The soldiers can’t even get up, let alone pick up the chains. How underwhelming.

Is StarBharat also going to show me the wondrous scene where Dhritarashtra temporarily gets his vision? Coz that would be cool.

Oh finally someone (Karna) has the sense to say that this is not how one behaves with a peace messenger.

Chal, gwale! I am ded 🤣

What happened to the Vishwaroop scene in the middle of the Hastinapur court??

Very attracted right now to moustached Krishna dressed like a guard.

Calm down, think of Jesus.

Is Krishna also dressed like Vikarna and Karna?

Accha, Drona also.

And Pitamaha.

This is fun! 

Mamashri Shakuni 😂

Kakashri Vidur. I could do this forever.

SRJ looks amazing as all these characters. Even Dhritarashtra.

Where did Krishna transport them? On the banks of the Ganga? Dwarka? 

Did Krishna strike Duryodhan’s thigh?

YAAAAS

Dhritarashtra can see the Vishwaroop! 

Apparently, after this, Krishna gave him the option of retaining his sight. And Dhritarashtra said that after having seen the Vishwaroop to see other sights on earth was simply not worth it. 

Should’ve kept his sight for the war but he has his satellite dish Sanjay.

Okay Krishna has left. This was anticlimactic.

Oh cool, Krishna is going to play the Kunti card.

I simply love Kunti’s character and every scene with Krishna and Kunti in the same frame is simply golden.

Kunti’s entire personality is so on brand with the no chill Yadav mood.

Please do not for one second pretend that you altruistically care about the child you abandoned at birth. You’re doing this to save the skins of the five sons you actually give a damn about.

At least Radha is slightly more realistic about Karna than Kunti is.

Radha and Vrushali are like, how do you know this, Vaasudev? Vaasudev (probably): I drink and I know things.

Nothing will astonish me as much as my progression in life going from a Karna Stan to an absolute Karna Skeptic.

Karna is a social climber. That is all I have to say on this topic.

The only thing admirable about Karna’s character is his loyalty towards Duryodhan.

Also, where is this conversation between Krishna and Karna taking place? On the banks of the Ganga? Yamuna? The sea beach at Dwarka?

Where is the big speech Krishna gives to Karna? Where he promised that Draupadi will marry him (HA, AS IF) and that Yudishthira will crown him King of Hastinapur (that fool might just) if he fights on behalf of the Pandavas.

Are all Radhas this terrible? Are they all hell bent on stealing for themselves things that do not belong to them? Why won’t this awful woman own up to the fact that she’s not Karna’s biological mom?

Okay Karna is back on the banks of this mysterious water body.

I will have you all know that Karna may be suddenly having feels for Kunti, but was totally okay to sacrifice her during the Varnavat episode.

Oh goddamn it, Starbharat! 

Hitting me right in the feels when I least expect it.

Karna thinking back to all the times he was with Arjun, not knowing that they were brothers.

I’m not going to lie. Karna is in an impossible spot. Damned if he did, damned if he didn’t.

Now I am remembering why child me Stanned Karna so much.

I may not like Karna but at least I respect him for supporting Duryodhan.

I can’t wait for Queen of Resting Bitch Face, Kunti, to come and beg for her sons’ lives from Karna, when she literally does not give a damn if Karna lives or dies. Kunti knows which side her bread is buttered. Such a Yadav.

Oh this Karna-Vrushali scene is A+, 10/10. I really wish StarBharat gave more screen time to its women.

Okay I feel bad for Kunti also, mostly because I love Kunti. 

But let us not pretend that given a choice between her Parth and this veritable stranger, she will always always choose Arjun.

She had to do this for Kuntibhoj, her poor father, who loved her so much, who couldn’t have children and all he ever wanted was a child of his own, so much so that he begged Shoorsena to give him one of his daughters.

I think what’s worse is that Kunti knew. Right from the beginning. And she stayed quiet. That was not right. 

StarBharat really be here trying to make me feel for Karna again. Smh.

How tf will Karna be a Pandava? When Kunti wasn’t even mf married to Pandu when she gave birth to Karna?

Karna talking about Duryodhana while the Dharmecha shlok plays in the background. Chills.

I have a story called The tree stump on Karna, in case you are interested. 

Yeah Kunti f*cked up here. I support Karna. He is nothing but a prisoner of birth. 

Pretty big of Karna to ask Kunti not to tell his brothers. Uncharacteristic of a social climber. He’s not a bad soul, I guess. 

I don’t know if it’s Kunti’s dialogue or her acting or the background score but I am tearing up. No assholes here.

Kunti might as well cry because if Karna refuses to call her Mata until Arjun dies, she’s never going to hear it from him. Coz he will be dead.

It’s okay, Kunti, you can relax. You got what you came here for (ish).

#mahabharata #mahabharat #starbharat #starbharat recap #siwt

[marmalodi]

John Lennon and Yoko Ono Interview: St. Regis Hotel, 9/5/1971

When we turned up at the St. Regis for our first interview, John and Yoko were still in bed. It was nearly afternoon and there was a flurry of activity in the adjacent rooms. May Pang was much in evidence, bustling about, her long black hair swirling around her. (This was a year or two before her affair with John.) She told us that our interview would have to be interrupted by a fitting for Yoko, which turned out to be to our advantage, because in Yoko's absence John was prepared to go back into the past and talk about Hamburg and the role of Brian Epstein.

We were served tea on a silver tray. John chain-smoked Gauloises, and the interview proceeded. It was obvious from the start that he was still angry at Paul, but when I played the tapes back later, I noticed he did not say anything negative about Paul's music. He attacked Paul for being bossy, arrogant, chauvinistic, etc, but in the next breath he would be telling us about Hamburg and about Paul having to be onstage for an hour and a half playing 'What'd I Say,' and you could hear the affection in his voice.

I have listened to these tapes many times, and I have always been struck by the contradictions within John Lennon. He tended to see the world in terms of black and white, and people were either on his good list or his hit list, and often subject to being switched from one to the other, according to which way the conversation turned. He was always outspoken, yet the charm of John's outspokenness was not only his way with words, but also that he was as critical and candid about himself as others. In the end it was this that made him endearing. He bared his soul about everything -- his insecurities, his mistakes -- and when he did so, even when he appeared ridiculous, he was a breath of fresh air in the entertainment world.

One moment I remember during the interview was when John and Yoko were leaning toward the microphone, each jostling the other to tell the story of how they met and fell in love. No one could have been in their presence for those minutes and not have been affected by it.

Neil Aspinal, the Beatles' longtime friend, said, 'The Beatles' world was an unreal world... a war zone.' It surely was. In a way I think Yoko brought John home. He found comfort, love, and understanding with her. He had a son by her and devoted himself to his child. I have no doubt he was a happier man in 1980 than he was in 1967 when he walked into that London art Gallery. - Peter McCabe (1984)

Q: "Let's talk about the Beatles' breakup, and the falling out between you and Paul. A lot of people think it had to do with the women in your lives. Is that why the Beatles split up?"

JOHN: "Not really. The split was over who would manage us -- Allen Klein or the Eastmans -- and nothing else really, although the split had been coming from Pepper onward."

Q: "Why, specifically?"

JOHN: "Paul was always upset about the White Album. He never liked it because on that one I did my music, he did his, and George did his. And first, he didn't like George having so many tracks. He wanted it to be more a group thing, which really means more Paul. So he never liked that album, and I always preferred it to all the other albums, including Pepper, because I thought the music was better. The Pepper myth is bigger, but the music on the White Album is far superior, I think."

Q: "That's your favorite, of all the Beatle albums?"

JOHN: "Yeah, because I wrote a lot of good shit on that. I like all the stuff I did on that, and the other stuff as well. I like the whole album. But if you're talking about the split, the split was over Allen and Eastman."

Q: "You didn't like Lee Eastman (Linda's father), nor John (Linda's brother), and the Eastmans didn't like Allen Klein..."

JOHN: "The Eastmans hated Allen from way back. They're from the class of family... like all classes, I suppose, they vote like Daddy does. They're the kind of kids who just think what their fathers told them."

Q: "But for a while you didn't get along with Linda."

JOHN: "We all got along well with Linda."

Q: "When did you first meet her?"

JOHN: "The first time was after that Apple press conference in America. We were going back to the airport and she was in the car with us. I didn't think she was particularly attractive. A bit too tweedy, you know. But she sat in the car and took photographs and that was it. And the next minute she's married him."

YOKO: "There was a nice quality about her. As a woman she doesn't offend you because she doesn't come on like a coquettish bird, you know? So she was alright, and we were on very good terms until Allen came into the picture. And then she said, 'Why the hell do you have to bring Allen into it?' She said very nasty things about Allen."

Q: "Yoko, you weren't with John the first time he met her?"

YOKO: "No. The first time I met her was when she came to the EMI studio. And you know, when Beatles are recording, there's very few people around, especially no women. If a young woman comes into the room, everybody just sort of looks at her. So I was there, and the first thing Linda made clear to me -- almost unnecessarily -- was the fact that she was interested in Paul, and not John, you know? She was sort of presupposing that I would be nervous. She just said, 'Oh, I'm with Paul.' Something to that effect. I think she was eager to be with me and John, in the sense that Paul and John are close, we should be close too. And couple to couple we were going to be good friends."

Q: "What was Paul's attitude to you as things progressed?"

YOKO: "Paul began complaining that I was sitting too close to them when they were recording, and that I should be in the background."

JOHN: "Paul was always gently coming up to Yoko and saying, 'Why don't you keep in the background a bit more?' I didn't know what was going on. It was going on behind my back."

Q: "So did that contribute to the split?"

JOHN: "Well, Paul rang me up. He didn't actually tell me he'd split, he said he was putting out an album. He said, 'I'm now doing what you and Yoko were doing last year. I understand what you were doing.' All that shit. So I said, 'Good luck to yer.'"

Q: "So, John. You and Paul were probably the greatest songwriting team in a generation. And you had this huge falling out. Were there always huge differences between you and Paul, or was there a time when you had a lot in common?"

JOHN: "Well, Paul always wanted the home life, you see. He liked it with daddy and the brother... and obviously missed his mother. And his dad was the whole thing. Just simple things. He wouldn't go against his dad and wear drainpipe trousers. And his dad was always trying to get me out of the group behind me back, I found out later. He'd say to George, 'Why don't you get rid of John, he's just a lot of trouble. Cut your hair nice and wear baggy trousers,' like I was the bad influence because I was the eldest. So Paul was always like that. And I was always saying, 'Face up to your dad, tell him to fuck off. He can't hit you. You can kill him (laughs) he's an old man.' I used to say, 'Don't take that shit.' But Paul would always give in to his dad. His dad told him to get a job, he dropped the group and started working on the fucking lorries, saying, 'I need a steady career.' We couldn't believe it. Once he rang up and said he'd got this job and couldn't come to the group. So I told him on the phone, 'Either come or you're out.' So he had to make a decision between me and his dad then, and in the end he chose me. But it was a long trip."

Q: "So you think with Linda he's found what he wanted?"

JOHN: "I guess so. I guess so. I just don't understand. I never knew what he wanted in a woman because I never knew what I wanted. I knew I wanted something intelligent or something arty. But you don't really know what you want until you find it. So anyway, I was very surprised with Linda. I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd married Jane because it had been going on for a long time and they went through a whole ordinary love scene. But with Linda it was just like -- boom! She was in and that was the end of it."

Q: "So if the falling out was essentially with Paul, what made you decide not to participate in the Bangladesh concert with George?"

JOHN: "I told George about a week before it that I wouldn't be doing it. I just didn't feel like it. I just didn't want to be fucking rehearsing and doing a big show-biz trip. We were in the Virgin Islands, and I certainly wasn't going to be rehearsing in New York, then going back to the Virgin Islands, then coming back up to New York and singing. And anyway, they couldn't have got any more people in, if I'd been there or not. I got enough money off records and I don't feel like doing two shows a night."

Q: "Do you have any regrets about not doing it?"

JOHN: "Well, at first I thought, 'Oh, I wish I'd been there,' you know, with Dylan and Leon... they needed a rocker. Everybody was telling me 'You should have been there, John,' but I'm glad I didn't do it in a way because I didn't want to go on as 'The Beatles.' And with George and Ringo there it would have had that connotation of Beatles -- Now let's hear Ringo sing 'It Don't Come Easy.' That's why I left it all. I don't want to play 'My Sweet Lord.' I'd as soon go out and do exactly what I want."

Q: "John, you said you 'get enough off records,' but you used to say you weren't as rich as people thought you were. Are you rich enough finally?"

JOHN: "Well, I do have money for the first time ever, really. I do feel slightly secure about it, secure enough to say I'll go on the road for free. The reason I got rich is because I'm so insecure. I couldn't give it all away, even in my most holy, Christian, God-fearing, Hare Krishna period. I need it because I'm so insecure. Yoko doesn't need it. She always had it. I have to have it. I'm not secure enough to give it all up, because I need it to protect me from whatever I'm frightened of."

YOKO: "He's very vulnerable."

JOHN: "But now I think that Allen Klein has made me secure enough, it's his fault that I'll go out for free."

Q: "You mean tour for free?"

JOHN: "Well, I thought I can't really go on the road and take a lot more money. What am I going to do with it? I've got all the fucking bread I need. If I go broke, well, I'd go on the road for money then. But now I just couldn't face saying, 'Well, I cost a million when I sing.'"

YOKO: "It's criminal."

JOHN: "It's bullshit, because I want to sing. So I'm going out on the road because I want to this time. I want to do something political, and radicalize people, and all that jazz. I feel like going out with Yoko, and taking a really far-out show on the road, a mobile, political, rock and roll show."

YOKO: "With clowns as well."

JOHN: "You know what I was thinking -- when Paul's going out on the road, I'd like to be playing in the same town for free next door! And he's charging about a million. That would be funny."

YOKO: "Our position is -- I come from the East, he comes from the West -- a meeting of East and West, and all that. And to communicate with people is almost a responsibility. We actually are living proof of East and West getting along together. High water falls low, you know. And if our cup is full, it's going to flow. It's natural for us to give because we have a lot. If we don't give, it's criminal, in the sense that it's going against the law of nature. In order to go against the law of nature you have to use tremendous energy."

Q: "Let's talk about Allen Klein. He has a reputation as a tough wheeler-dealer in the music business. What made you decide to have him as your manager?"

JOHN: "Well, Allen's human, whereas Eastman and all them other people are automatons. And one of the early things that impressed me about Allen -- and obviously it was a kind of flattery as well -- was that he really knew which stuff I'd written. Not many people knew which was my song and which was Paul's, but he'd say, 'Well, McCartney didn't write that line, did he?' I thought, anybody who knows me this well, just by listening to records, is pretty perceptive. I'm not the easiest guy to read, although I'm fairly naive and open in some ways, and I can be conned easily. But in other ways I'm quite complicated, and it's not easy to get through all the defenses and see what I'm like. Allen knew to come to me and not to go to Paul, whereas somebody like Lew Grade or Eastman would have gone to Paul."

Q: "Did Klein hope to get Paul back into the group?"

JOHN: (laughs) "He came up with this plan. He said, "Just ring Paul and say, 'We're recording next Friday, are you coming?' So it nearly happened. Then Paul would have forfeited his right to split by joining us again. But Paul would never, never do it, for anything, and now I would never do it."

Q: "There was a lot of negative publicity about Klein. Didn't that bother you?"

JOHN: "Well, he's a businessman. He's probably cut many peoples' throats. So have I. I made it too. I mean, I can't remember anybody I literally cut, but I've certainly trod on a few feet on the way up. And I'm sure Allen did also."

Q: "How does Klein compare with Brian Epstein as a manager?"

JOHN: "Well, Brian couldn't delegate, and neither can Allen. But I understand that. When I try and delegate it never gets done properly. Like with my albums and Yoko's, each time I have to go through the same process -- Get the printing size right. I want it clear and simple. I have to go through the same jazz all the time. It's never a lesson learned."

Q: "Let's get back to something we were talking about earlier. The attitude of the other Beatles toward Yoko."

JOHN: "They don't listen to women. Women are chicks to them."

Q: "What about George?"

JOHN: "George always has a point of view about that wide (he holds his hands close together), you know? You can't tell him anything."

YOKO: "George is sophisticated, fashionwise..."

JOHN: "He's very trendy, and he has the right clothes on, and all of that."

YOKO: "But he's not sophisticated, intellectually."

JOHN: "No. He's very narrow-minded. One time in the Apple office I was saying something, and he said, 'I'm as intelligent as you, you know.' This must have been resentment. Of course he's got an inferiority complex from working with Paul and me."

Q: "John, what did you think of Yoko's work when you first saw it?"

JOHN: "Well, her gallery show was a bit of an eye-opener. I wasn't sure what it was all about. I knew there was some sort of con game going on. She calls herself a concept artist, but with the 'cept' left off, it's con artist. I saw that side of it and that was interesting. And then we met."

Q: "Was it love at first sight?"

JOHN: "Well, I always had this dream of meeting an artist woman I would fall in love with. Even from art school. And when we met and were talking I just realized that she knew everything I knew -- and more probably. And it was coming out of a woman's head. It just sort of bowled me over. It was like finding gold or something. To have exactly the same relationship with any male you'd ever had, but also you could go to bed with it, and it could stroke your head when you felt tired or sick or depressed. Could also be Mother. And if the intellect is there... well, it's just like winning the pools. So that's why when people ask me for a precis of my story, I put, 'born, lived, met Yoko.' because that's what it's been about.

"As she was talking to me I would get high, and the discussion would get to such a level that I would be going higher and higher. And when she'd leave, I'd go back into this sort of suburbia. Then I'd meet her again and my head would go off like I was on an acid trip. I'd be going over what she'd said and it was incredible, some of the ideas and the was she was saying them, And then once I got a sniff of it I was hooked. Then I couldn't leave her alone. We couldn't be apart for a minute from then on."

YOKO: "He has this nature, and I'm thankful for it. Most men are so narrow-minded. Somebody once told me, 'You don't make small talk, and that's why men hate you.' I mean, I have so many male enemies who try to stifle me. What the hell."

JOHN: "I did the same, of course. I found myself being a chauvinist pig with her. Then I started thinking, 'Well, if I said that to Paul, or asked Paul to do that, or George, or Ringo, they'd tell me to fuck off.' And then you realize -- you just have this attitude to women that is just insane! It's beyond belief , the way we're brought up to think of women. And I had to keep saying, 'Well, would I tell a guy to do that? Would I say that to a guy? Would a guy take that?' Then I started to get nervous. I thought, 'Fuck, I better treat her right or she's going to go. No friend's going to stick around for this treatment."

Q: Did you know anything about rock music, Yoko, when you first met John?"

YOKO: "I didn't know anything about rock music, or anything like it. I thought of rock songs as something a bit lower than poetry. It was like reading poetry that had a definite rhythm to it."

JOHN: "She used to say, "Why are you doing the same beat all the time?' I used to get very irritated."

Q: "What were your feelings about art and the art world at that time?"

JOHN: "Well, I went to art school and I thought that was the art world, virtually. And they're all such pretentious hypocrites. There was no artist I admired, except for maybe Dali or someone from the past. And when I read the art reviews... I couldn't understand why I wasn't being reviewed for my art, because I always felt like an artist.

"So I went to her show. I was thinking, 'Fucking artist shit. It's all bullshit.' But then there were so many good jokes in it, real good eye-openers."

YOKO: "That's another thing, most artists don't have a sense of humor."

JOHN: "And there was a sense of humor in her work, you know? It was funny. Her work really made me laugh, some of it. So that's when I got interested in art again, just through her work."

YOKO: "All the men I met, I felt they were more pretentious than me, hypocritical, narrower than me, and not genuine. And I'm talented. Because I can compose, I can paint, I can be in many fields. Most men that I met were bragging about their professionalism in one field."

JOHN: "They get one idea and flog it to death, and become famous on one idea."

YOKO: "And fucking conservative, you know? And they talk about women not having a sense of humor. I used to despise every man that I met. I was thinking, 'There's something wrong with me, because everybody hated me for it.' And then I met this man, and for the first time I got the fright of my life because here was a man who was just as genuine, maybe more genuine than me. He's very genuine. And he can do anything I can do, which is very unusual. And I got surprised. And that happened at the first meeting."

JOHN: "It took me a long time to get used to it. Any woman I could shout down. Most of my arguments used to be a question of who could shout the loudest. Normally I could win, whether I was right or wrong, especially if the argument was with a woman -- they'd just give in. But she didn't. She'd go on and on and on, until I understood it. Then I had to treat her with respect."

Q: "Yoko, did you have any idea of what the Beatles' life had been like, on tours for example?"

JOHN: "She was really shocked. I thought the art world was loose, you know? And when I started telling her about what our life was like, she couldn't believe it."

YOKO: "I came from a different generation. I mean, my friends didn't want me to know they smoked pot, you know? So I thought 'Oh, he's an artist. He's probably had two or three affairs.' Then I heard the whole story and I thought, 'My God!'"

JOHN: "She was just like this silly Eastern nun wandering about, thinking it was all spiritual."

YOKO: "He once said to me, 'Well, were you a groupie in the art world?' I said, 'What's a groupie?'"

JOHN: "So I said, 'Just tell me. I don't want to go 'round and fucking Picasso or someone comes up and says, 'Yes, I've had her.'"

YOKO: "And I really didn't know the word 'groupie.'"

JOHN: "So anyway, I'd been dying to tell her about the 'raving' on tour. I just wanted her to know what a scene it was. I thought it was silly not to say it. And of course the people with us were living like fucking emperors when we were locked in our rooms. That's why they cling so much to the past."

Q: "Talking of your entourage, do you resent it that so many people take credit for their contributions to the Beatles?"

JOHN: "Well, there was an article on George Martin in Melody Maker -- he's telling all these stories. He says, well, I showed them how to play feedback, or put tape loops together, or some arbitrary little technical thing... Where is the great talent of George Martin and Derek Taylor, and the legacy of Brian Epstein? Where is their talent?"

YOKO: "It's like my ex-husband saying that he sacrificed his talent for me, or something."

JOHN: "Well, I never had anything against George Martin. I just didn't like all the rumors that he actually was the brains behind the Beatles. I can't stand that."

Q: "Let's talk about Brian Epstein, your first manager. What did you think of him?"

JOHN: " I liked Brian. I had a very close relationship with him for years, like I have with Allen, because I'm not going to have some stranger running the scene, that's all. I was close with Brian, as close as you can get with someone who lives sort of the fag life, and you don't really know what they're doing on the side. But in the group I was closest to him. He had great qualities and was good fun.

"He was a theatrical man rather than a businessman, and with us he was a bit like that. He literally fucking cleaned us up. And there were great fights between him and me, over years and years, of me not wanting to dress up. He and Paul had some kind of collusion... to keep me straight. Because I kept spoiling the image, like the time I beat up a guy at Paul's twenty-first. I nearly killed him, because he insinuated that me and Brian had an affair in Spain. I was out of me mind.

What I think about the Beatles is that even if there had been Paul and John and two other people, we'd never have been the Beatles. It had to take that combination of Paul, John, George and Ringo to make the Beatles. There's no such thing as 'Well, John and Paul wrote all the songs, therefore they contributed more.' because if it hadn't been us we would have got songs from somewhere else. And Brian contributed as much as us in the early days, although we were the talent and he was the hustler."

Q: "So after Brian died you made 'Magical Mystery Tour.' You said Paul was acting as if he were going to take charge of everything?"

JOHN: "Well, I still felt, every now and then, that Brian would come in and say, 'It's time to record,' or 'Time to do this.' And then Paul started doing that -- 'Now we're going to make a movie,' or 'Now we're going to make a record.' And he assumed that if he didn't call us, nobody would ever make a record. Well, it's since shown that we managed quite well to make records on time. I don't have any schedule, I just think, 'Now I'll make it.' But in those days, Paul would say that now he felt like it. And suddenly I'd have to whip out 20 songs. He'd come in with about 20 good songs and say 'We're recording.' And I had to suddenly write a fucking stack of songs. Pepper was like that. Magical Mystery Tour was another. So I hastily did my bits for it and we went out on the road. And Paul did the thing for his album -- the big-timer, auditioning directors."

Q: Let's go back for a minute and talk about all the early influences on the Beatles. What would you say had the greatest effect on the group? Was it Liverpool? The Cavern? Hamburg? Did Hamburg really improve the playing?"

JOHN: "Oh, amazingly. Because before that we'd only been playing bits and pieces, but in Hamburg we had to play for hours and hours on end. Every song lasted 20 minutes and had 20 solos in it. We'd be playing eight or ten hours a night. And that's what improved the playing. Also, the Germans like heavy rock, so you have to keep rocking all the time, and that's how we got stomping. That's how it developed. That made the sound. Because we developed a sound by playing hours and hours and hours together."

Q: "You all must have found yourself playing in some unbelievably bad conditions."

JOHN: "Yeah, but it was still rather thrilling when you went onstage. A little frightening because it wasn't a dancehall, and all these people were sitting down, expecting something. And then they would tell us to 'mak show'. After the first night they said, 'You were terrible. You have to make a show -- Mak show!' So I put my guitar down and I did Gene Vincent all night. You know -- banging and lying on the floor and throwing the mic about and pretending I had a bad leg. They're all doing it now -- lying on the floor and banging the guitar and kicking things and just doing all that jazz.

"Then they moved us to another club, which was larger and where they danced. Paul would be doing 'What'd I Say' for an hour and a half. And these gangsters would come in -- the local mafia. They'd send a crate of champagne onstage... this imitation German champagne, and we had to drink it or they'd kill us. They'd say, 'Drink it and then do What'd I Say.' We'd have to do this other show, whatever time of night. If they came in at five in the morning and we'd been playing for seven hours, they'd give us a crate of champagne and we were supposed to carry on. We'd get pills off the waiters then, to keep awake. That's how all that started.

"I used to be so pissed I'd be lying on the floor behind the piano, drunk, while the rest of the group was playing. I'd just be onstage fast asleep. Some of the shows, I went on just in me underpants. I'd go on in underpants with a toilet seat 'round me neck, and all sorts of gear on. Out of me fucking mind!"

Q: When did you get into acid? Did Paul time his LSD announcement to coincide with the release of Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band?"

JOHN: "No. We'd had acid on Revolver. Everyone is under this illusion... even George Martin saying 'Pepper was their acid album,' but we'd had acid, including Paul, by the time Revolver was finished."

Q: "So why did he make that big announcement?"

JOHN: "Because the press had cornered him. I don't know how they found out about him taking it. But that was a year after we'd all taken it. Rubber Soul was our pot album, and Revolver was acid. I mean, we weren't all stoned making Rubber Soul because in those days we couldn't work on pot. We never recorded under acid or anything like that. It's like saying, 'Did Dylan Thomas write Under Milk Wood on beer?' What the fuck does that have to do with it? The beer is to prevent the rest of the world from crowding in on him. The drugs are to prevent the rest of the world from crowding in on you. They don't make you write better. I never wrote any better stuff because I was on acid or not on acid."

Q: "Did the fact that Sergeant Pepper inspired so many people to try LSD surprise you?"

JOHN: "Well, I never felt that Haight-Ashbury was a direct result. It always seemed to me that all sorts of things were happening at once. The acid thing in America was going on long before Pepper. Leary was going around saying, 'Take it, take it, take it.' We followed his instruction. I did it just like he said in the Book Of The Dead, and then I wrote Tomorrow Never Knows,' which is on Revolver, and which was almost the first acid song -- 'Lay down all thought, surrender to the void' -- and all that shit. Do you remember if Paul's statement on acid came out after Sergeant Pepper?"

Q: "Just as it was released."

JOHN: "I see. He always times his big announcements right on the letter, doesn't he. Like leaving the Beatles. Maybe it's instinctive. It probably is. Anyway, 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' is not about LSD. And Henry the Horse is not about smack on Sergeant Pepper, because I'd never even seen it when we made Sergeant Pepper. But those kinds of stories evolved from it -- people thought if you listened to it backwards it said 'Paul is dead.' All that shit is just gobbledygook."

Q: "Still, many who got into acid might never have followed Timothy Leary but did follow the Beatles."

JOHN: "Well, blame it on Dylan. He turned us onto pot."

Q: "Having written so much with Paul, do you think it's possible for there to be some type of settlement, outside of business?"

JOHN: "Well, there's no way for it to be settled 'outside business,' because it all gets down to who owns a bit of what. It's a house we own together, and there's no way of settling it, unless we all decide to live in it together. It has to be sold."

Q: "Have you missed writing songs with him?"

JOHN: "No I haven't. I wrote alone in the early days. We used to write separately. He used to write songs before I even started writing songs. I think he did. And we'd written separately for years. I wrote 'Help.' I wrote 'A Hard Day's Night.' He wrote 'Yesterday.' They'd been separate for years.

"In the early days we'd write together for fun, and later on for convenience to get so many numbers out for an album. But our best songs were always written alone. And things like 'A Day In The Life' was just my song and his song stuck together. I mean we used to sit down and finish off each other's songs. You know, you could have three quarters of a song finished and we'd just sit together, bring ten songs each, and finish off the tail ends, and put middle eights in ones that you couldn't be bothered fixing, because they weren't all that good anyway.

"We usually got together on songs that were less interesting. Now and then we'd write together from scratch. 'I Want To Hold Your Hand,' things like that were done like that. But we'd been working apart ever since we were working together. It was only news to the public that a lot of Lennon-McCartney songs weren't Lennon-McCartney. That was something we'd agreed on years ago."

Q: "Do you think it was a mistake in retrospect to have named everything Lennon-McCartney?"

JOHN: "No, I don't, because it worked very well and it was useful. Then it was useful, so it was quite good fun. I've nothing against it."

Q: "If you got, I don't know what the right phrase is... 'back together' now, what would be the nature of it?"

JOHN: "Well, it's like saying, if you were back in your mother's womb... I don't fucking know. What can I answer? It will never happen, so there's no use contemplating it. Even if I became friends with Paul again, I'd never write with him again. There's no point. I write with Yoko because she's in the same room with me."

YOKO: "And we're living together."

JOHN: "So it's natural. I was living with Paul then, so I wrote with him. It's whoever you're living with. He writes with Linda. He's living with her. It's just natural."

Source: Transcribed by www.beatlesinterviews.org from original magazine issue

#john: where is the great legacy of brian epstein? where is their talent? #john two minutes later: brian contributed as much as us in the early days #i've seen a lot of quotes from this interview going around on tumblr but not the whole thing #tw f slur #john lennon #yoko ono #the beatles #shanty’s posts

[hindumyththoughts]

Essomenic- Sahadev, and Patration for Arjun, please?

Hi @ambidextrousarcher (I love the new url and header 💙)

Essomenic: showing things as they will be in the future

Sahadev

Sometimes, ignorance is bliss, its veil covers the undesirable, allows the smiles to live on for a little longer. But that luxury was not one bestowed to him in the charity of fate. Unbridled knowledge, lacking any mercy, was an inseparable share of his life now. And if it spared the ones he loved from bearing any more pain, he would choose this fate again and again, for all his lives. To see them smiling together was enough to provide him with newfound resolve. The sight of the entire Indraprastha, thriving and joyful, was the proof that many times, ignorance really was bliss. Never in his dreams he would want to shatter this beautiful, breathtaking sight, their perfect and carefree home.

He loved the sight of Panchaali laughing lightly, he treasured each one of those in his mind. She would often be puzzled by his steady glances, but still humored his behaviour. She and Bhraata Bheem would be sharing an inside joke about Bhraata Arjun, and then instantly dissolved into laughter, tears glistening in their eyes, those ones of pure joy, which he would reverently preserve in his palms, if he could. If he could, he would lock this blessed time within his heart, away from the cruelty of fates. And then his musings would be disturbed, for it would be time for Krishnaa to feed the needfuls that they welcomed as their guests, before the royal family accepted any meals for themselves. No one left her presence with any want in their hearts. No one ever will.

Their beloved Abhimanyu used to run around all of them, trying to hide from his mothers, and more often than not, he would hide his nephew in his arms. A master in evasion, he passed through the rooms as a breeze, slipping through their hands. Whenever he got a hold of his little nephew, he would show a toothy, guilty smile, one which made him weak. And the little menace knew that. The only words he could manage to whisper, inaudible to their little prince, were a request and a blessing, "may the valorous Saubhadra always remain elusive to the ones who wished him ruin, untouched from the malicious clutches of the vengeful".

Nakul used to laugh, because he would sometimes spend his free hours under the guidance of the royal herder, learning about how to attend to the large population of cattle under the ownership of the palace and how best to provide for their welfare. His twin would tremble with humorous chuckles and tease him about the absolute uselessness of this kind of knowledge for a Kshatriya prince, joking about the times when the advisor of the Samrat will have the absolute need to milk a cow. When he retorted back, about how Nakul himself was spending a bit much time in the stables, he would defend himself by explaining that a prince should have mastery in the art of horse riding, a skill too useful for a warrior. His mind reflected on the cruelty of fate, for this interest would certainly be of service to his twin, in the future that stormed nearer. He himself encouraged his brother to hone this skill of his but, on the outside, he would pout a little in return, tell him off or threaten to tell Bhraatashree about his unmannerly teasing, and their childish squabbles would continue. He relished every moment of it, he loved when Nakul complained about petty matters, because it meant that he was happy, he was comfortable, that he was still optimistic...

He buried back the immense remorse in his heart, whenever the king played a harmless game of dice, only a mere diversion from the daily duties. His family tried to distract him from his habit, but only a halfhearted attempt. When invited for a round, he would try to lead the king's mind away from that weakness of his. "Any riches of the world would turn to dirt if obtained through a mode so neglectful." he used to advise respectfully, "Only a coward would attempt to seize anything precious and worthwhile from behind the shelter of a game so trivial" always countered the Samrat, his belief immovable in all Kshatriyas always adhering to their morals. So their game would continue, and he would try to prevent his mind from wondering mirthlessly about how it would feel to be in the place of one of those bags of gold, a general possession, only on display to be gambled away...

Patration: perfection or completion of something

Arjun

Draw the string of the bow, and lose it again. The routine may feel mechanical, soulless to anyone on the sidelines, but it feels like a prayer to the one practicing. The whistling arrows are singing the hymns in his stead, the blood drawn from his hands is the sacrifice to the holy fire, every arrow finding it's mark is one cycle of chanting complete. There is no one else present in that world in which the devotee Paarth worships his gods, the bow and arrow. The center of the target beckons to him as his moksha, and as certain as an ancient sage meditating for centuries, he attains it.

His was the aim to master the art of archery, and thus Savyasachi was born into the world, the one who wields the flame-blessed Gandiva with dexterity of both his hands; the Gudakesha who lords above the constraints of sleep. His was the aim to raise Indraprastha as a part of the heavens, and so Dhananjaya was brought into existence, the winner of absolute wealths in the four directions and all the three worlds, the very one called Kiriti who graced the crown gifted by Devendra.

His was the aim to become stronger for retribution, for their tears and their scars. And for that wish, born was the warrior Jishnu, the unsurpassed, uncontrollable one who subdued his opponents, the Vijaya who defeated all in the fields of war, the one who was blessed with the feared Pashupatastra by Mahadeva. In his name-fellow Krishna's words, he was the Parantapa who scorched his enemies. But, even then he didn't relinquish the title of Vibhatsu, whether referring to the honorable one or the one who incited terror in the hearts of his foes, all the difference lied in the eyes of his beholder.

His was the aim to finish their Agyatavas successfully, so came Brihannala into creation, for achieving that target. Each movement of the teacher who taught Matsya's princess was a precise and well-crafted one, never spurred in a moment; each gesture sharper than the finest of blades, the disciplined motions preconceived even before the melodies flowed into the air, leaving the spectator entranced beyond mere words. The gracefulness mesmerized all before they could grow any suspicions. The princess adored her mentor and the prince realized all too late why he was so affected by the sways of that dancer, flaring like the fierceness of the one who was perfected by the heat of wars. When the prince was finally blessed with knowledge about their guests, it all became too clear.

All these thoughts flashed by Uttar's mind in mere moments. In his eyes, the Arjun whose charioteer he had the honour of becoming was the essence of excellence, the flawless, pure white one, the white horses of Shvetavahana's chariot being very fitting for his stature. He was standing in the presence of perfection itself and so multitudes of feelings were storming inside his mind, all names of Phalguna falling short in describing his greatness. Maybe it was his incredulous countenance, or the awe in his eyes that Arjun noticed, for he smiled at the young prince- a knowing smile. "I am just a man who wants to protect my loved ones, don't you want to protect princess Uttara, your parents and your kingdom too, Prince?" He asked good-naturedly and received a nod in reply. With kind eyes came the explanation, "So there you go, we are both not so different then. We both have somethings we cherish and want to protect, and if there are obstacles in the path we have chosen, then?" "We will best them and forge ahead?" answered the young prince hesitantly. "Exactly," encouraged Arjun "what we seek is not perfection but fulfillment of our aims, our wishes. We desire the bird's eye only, so we only follow the path that leads to it, unwaveringly, and the perfection of piercing through that target will follow in our steps as a result". Uttar smiled in response, with the resolve that one day he would surely justify the words that Arjun has said to him. That one day, he would proudly declare to the world that he and The Archer were the ideal warriors of one kind..

#lost words drabble ask #answered asks #asks #mahabharata rambles #sahdev #arjun #mahabharata #mahabharat #uttar #nakul #draupadi #bheem #yudhishthir #ask prompts

[theartofimaginaryfriends]

Chapter 8 - People Watching

Fic series: The Final Straw (HP/PJO Crossover)

Premise: Nova spends the day watching students enter into the competition.

Masterlist

taglist: @ilvermornymascot, @lukecastellandeservedbetter, @eva-blog-p

word count: 917

A/N: I'm back!! Took an unwelcomed break for a bit because of two things: a lack of motivation and the new Sims 4 update. If you know, you know. If you don’t, it’s been a pain. Anyway, this chapter is a lot shorter than I initially intended but it is a much needed filler chapter in order to get to the better parts of the story. I've got about nearly 40 chapters planned (oops) so it'll be sometime before this book is finished. Although, with that in mind a few of them might be able to be combined. How does everyone feel about longer chapters? I just want to be careful and not make Tumblr glitch. Hopefully the next update will come a lot sooner, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Nova didn't have anything to do on Saturday, leading her to sit on the Grand Staircase and watch as people entered their names in the fountain throughout the day. She had a book resting on her lap, open to the page she had been on since breakfast. The cheers from surrounding students that sounded every few minutes piqued her curiosity. It was nearly as entertaining as watching how the Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbatons students interacted on the day they entered in the Goblet of Fire.

The contrast between the excitement of Hogwarts, the regal manner of Beauxbatons, and the seriousness of Durmstrang was fascinating to Nova. Now, it seemed like everyone was more or less the same. Everyone was pretty excited, others tried to intimidate the other students. The one person that stood out to Nova was Clarisse. The daughter of Ares had a commanding presence, one that caused the crowd of kids to part as she made her way to the fountain.

"Going to enter?"

"Nah," Nova turned to Percy, who had just dropped his name in. "They're going to need me as a healer. Plus, I'm not super keen on the possibility that I may die if I'm on one of the teams. Granted, I'm not super keen on the thought that anyone may die."

"I doubt they'd let that happen," Percy noted, causing both Nova and Harry to let out exasperated sighs.

"They can't do anything if the cup is charmed into a portkey in the final task," Harry explained.

"Obviously they'll ban any curses or hexes that could kill the target," Nova continued. "But that doesn't mean people will completely follow the rules."

"And think about the prophecy," he said, sitting next to Nova. "'The heroes combined, shall face the unkind.' Must involve this bloody competition."

"It could involve something else," Percy noted. "Something bigger."

"Exactly." Nova and Harry chorused.

"Wait, what?"

Harry told Percy what had happened the night of the third task, and Nova half-tuned him out. There wasn't a single part of her that wanted to hear a telling of the story again. Tuning back into people watching, she saw Annabeth and Hermione immersed in a conversation as they both slipped their names into the fountain. "So that's how the ceiling works?"

"Yes, and it's all detailed in Hogwarts: A History," Hermione smiled. "I could lend you the book if you like."

"As long as I can borrow any others," Annabeth agreed. "Magic is a lot more interesting than I initially expected."

The Head Girl couldn't help but smile. She knew the girls would get along once they got to know each other, and the two being roommates seemed to help significantly. Soon, Nova found herself fully tuning Harry out as she continued to people watch. It wasn't until she felt a hand on her shoulder that she moved back to the conversation. "Hm?"

"Is that why you seemed off during that summer?" Percy asked, empathetically.

"What?" Nova took a second to remember the topic of conversation. "Oh… yeah. It's a bit hard to grieve when you're preparing for war and fighting it. And vice versa. I'm honestly a little surprised you even noticed."

"The pranks that the Stoll's pulled to help the camp morale didn't have your touch," he shrugged.

"My touch?" she giggled.

"You know, the little hint of magic you always added," Percy scratched his neck, slightly embarrassed.

"Ah, yes of course," Nova shook her head in amusement. "That would be the joke shop products from Zonko's."

Harry laughed at Nova's comment and was about to add to it when Draco approached the trio. "Harry, could I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure, what's up?" Harry followed Draco up the staircase, to a quieter area of the castle. If Nova wasn't mistaken, the Slytherin seemed almost nervous.

"I should probably head back to the dorms," Percy sighed. "It's been a week and we already got homework I don’t want to do."

"Let me know if you need help," Nova offered.

"Thanks, Nova." the demigod left in the direction of the lodges, leaving Nova alone again.

Through the rest of the day, Nova would have short conversations with anyone passing by, and tried and failed to get back to her book. Cree had joined her after lunch and watched as the Stoll's entered into the competition, not without pulling a prank. Their pieces of paper somehow turned the water in the fountain a deep purple, and the Charms professor, Krishna Padamse, had to fix it. It had taken longer than expected, leaving a whole group of students waiting to enter watching the scene unfold.

By the time the campfire rolled around, Nova was longing for her bed. Admittedly, Payton wasn't a terrible roommate, but they didn’t talk that much in the dorm room. Nova was only in the room when she had to be, making the lack of conversation not feel awkward. There was still tension present whenever they were in the same room.

Not wanting to waste time, Nova immediately went to get ready for bed as soon as the campfire ended, and plopped down on her bed. She was too tired to notice the curtains were still open but didn’t bother moving to do that when Payton walked in.

"Nova, are you okay?"

"Just tired, why do you ask?" She turned to face the wall.

"Because this competition must be hard for you," she said. "With the reminder of Cedric's death, and all that."

#harry potter #percy jackson #pjo #hoo #harry potter/percy jackson crossover #harry potter/percy jackson crossover fic

[thisyearingaming]

1997 - This Year in Gaming

Muggins here was born in ‘97, and can’t really remember much of it, natch. But there were some good things released this year - I’ve played every one of these, and have missed so many more.

Diablo - Windows, January 3rd

We start with dungeon-crawl-em-up and well-loved out of season April Fool’s Joke, Diablo. I’ll be totally honest - I don’t like Diablo that much. It’s absolutely fine, I just can’t get into it. The writing, setting and characters are all very good especially since this year only marks the beginning of games being seen as a bit more adult and intelligent. Check out this gameplay from Hour of Oblivion on YouTube, and marvel at the faux-Scottish accent on Griswold the blacksmith.

Mario Kart 64 - Nintendo 64, February 10th

Compared to its more recent versions, Mario Kart 64 is a veritable bloody relic of the past - solid controls and a quirky style mean it’s still a crowd pleaser to this day, but you’d be hard pressed to find anyone right now that would die on the hill of it being their favourite single-player racing experience. It’s also got some of the deepest, impenetrable lore in any medium known to the human race - why exactly is Marty the Thwomp locked up here?

Blast Corps - Nintendo 64, February 28th

February’s position as most boring month of the year is shaken up a bit by having a uniquely designed Rare game slammed into its 28-day long face. Blast Corps is the puzzle-action game where you take control of several vehicles to destroy homes and buildings in order to prevent a nuclear warhead exploding in the coolest incarnation of Cold War politicking ever seen in a video game. Calling Blast Corps a “hidden gem” these days is like calling Celeste a hidden gem - it impresses nobody and makes you look like a dick. 

Turok: Dinosaur Hunter - Nintendo 64, March 4th 

The N64 was home to a surprisingly large number of above-average shooters despite its muddy graphics and small cartridge space - Turok is one of these, a great FPS game where you shoot the SHIT out of dinosaurs. Brett Atwood of Billboard said it was like Doom and Tomb Raider mixed - Doom Raider, if you will. I say it isn’t - there’s no demons, and there’s no polygonal breasts to poke dinosaurs’ eyes out with! 

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Sony PlayStation, March 20th

What is a retrospective? A miserable little pile of opinions. I’ve only recently played through SotN for the very first time on a TOTALLY LEGITIMATE copy with a CRT filter. Bloody good (geddit?) game, that takes the repetition of its predecessors, improves on it in basically every conceivable way, and combines it with special effects and graphics that even 23 years later had me going “ooh, that looks quite good!” Symphony’s music and audio design are wonderfully paired with a deeply enjoyable experience that’ll have you saying “mm, maybe just one more room?”

Tekken 3 - Sony PlayStation, March 20th

Also releasing from the Land of the Rising Sun that day was Tekken 3, which many believe is still one of the best fighters ever made. Tekken 3′s combat is so fast and responsive that it’s better than some games made today. T3 is also the best and easiest way to knock seven shades of absolute shite out of your friends without risking a massive head injury or a trip to the headmaster’s office... where you could also challenge him, but only if he plays as my favourite Not-Guile-or-Ken character in gaming, Paul. 

Sonic Jam - Sega Saturn, June 20th

The moment Sega realised that re-packaging old Mega Drive games would net them serious cash - although unlike later collections, this is a strictly Sonic affair, and has a neat little 3D world to run around in as a sort of hub world. Sonic X-Treme proved that Sonic Team would have to work hard at getting the fastest thing alive into 3D space properly: Jam is the sort of test ground for it too. It features some genuinely good emulation work for 1997, although it’s basically the gaming equivalent of going round to your grandparents at Christmas only for them to give you the exact same gifts you got in 1991, 1992 and 1994 but wrapped in a bow to make you think it’s different. What are you lookin’ at, you little blue devil?

Star Fox 64 - Nintendo 64, June 30th

So there’s this German company, right, called StarVox. Nintendo look at Europe and say “shit, we don’t want another lawsuit... after all, we’ve done three this year!”. So they give us in the PAL region the exciting title of Lylat Wars which as far as I know means absolutely fucking nothing in the context of the game. They’re still called Star Fox in-game too so what was the point? Anyway, fun 3D shooter with graphics that’ll make you do a barrel roll off the sofa and onto the power button to make the brown and green blurs a little easier on the eyes. Hello 2007, I’ve come back to make old references with you!

Carmageddon - Windows, July 30th

The game so scary it was BANNED in the UK! More like the game so fucking shit it was banned. Carmageddon is so deeply boring to play on PC that I can only imagine that Stainless Games made it tasteless by 90s standards simply to ramp up demand - much like another game we’ll be covering soon. 

Herc’s Adventures - Sony PlayStation, July 31st

“And they said Kratos was the best hero? Shish... they got it wrong, sister! Hercules is clearly better... he even has a coconut weapon.” A surprisingly fun overhead action game that most people only know for... well, I’ll just embed it.

Mega Man X4 - Sony Playstation, August 1st

A few years ago I tried playing every Mega Man game there is - I gave up at X3 because I was getting bored. Even still, Mega Man bores me - but at least the level design is good. Stay away from the Windows port. Pictured: me in the background yawning.

GoldenEye 007 - Nintendo 64, August 25th 

The name’s Intro. Overused intro which I also managed to fuck up twice through the deeply editable medium of text. GoldenEye is like the Seinfeld of console shooters - playing it nowadays you’re unlikely to be amazed but holy shit there’s some absolute greatness in this game. Every sound and every piece of music in GoldenEye is permanently seared into my brain - sometimes I’ll just hear Facility or Frigate in my head alongside the door opening sound and the gentle PEW of the PP7. I mean come on, fucking listen to this and tell me Grant Kirkhope isn’t cool as all hell.

LEGO Island - Windows, September 26th

The first open world experience I ever had was LEGO Island. It’s still quite good today, utterly deranged animation from the likes of the Infomaniac and Brickster - a cautionary tale for children that giving pizza to high-profile criminals is disastrous for the human LEGO race. 

Fallout - Windows, October 10th

War never changes, but franchises do. Fallout’s legendary status in the industry is exemplified in how different it feels. Yes, we had the game Wasteland nine years prior, but until September 97 there was nothing quite like Fallout. From the chilling introduction sequence showing the ruins of the United States to the tragic ending, Fallout is an exercise in pure human misery with the brightest spots of hope it can possibly muster thrown in for good measure. What begins as a tedious isometric point-and-click RPG ends as a minigun-wielding power fantasy, before your entire worth is stripped from you at the finish line. You have 500 days to find a water chip before it’s too late, but you’re constantly being fought by terrifying Super Mutants, irradiated animals, and the biggest monster of all - humanity. See what I did there? If anything, humanity in Fallout’s setting would be the greatest unifying force possible against the horror of the outside world. But how is it? It’s dull, it’s sluggish, and it’s really hard to get into even if you’re already a fan - but push through that and it’s worthwhile to see exactly how far the series got before Todd Howard said “eh fuck it” and had the whole thing dipped into an FEV vat.

Grand Theft Auto - Sony PlayStation, October 21st

To put it simply, the first in the GTA series is now nothing but a novelty. It has an irritating camera, wonky controls, poor graphics and deeply repetitive gameplay. But thank fuck it exists, because without it the Rockstar story may have been very different indeed. It’s quintessential cops and robbers gameplay, spanning across Liberty City, Vice City and San Andreas in one game, but with maps so far removed from their modern incarnations they may as well be named “Not New York, Possibly Bristol and Orange Town”. People really fucking hated Hare Krishnas in the 20th Century, didn’t they?

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back - Sony PlayStation, October 31

A hard one to talk about, honestly - it’s more Crash and better than the first one. It looks great, and Crash controls so well compared to his first outing. It’ll also keep you playing for 100%, fiendishly addictive and unashamedly difficult. Had a weird cover that moved with your head. 

PaRappa the Rapper - Sony PlayStation, November 17th

Type type type the words into the box! (Type, type, type - uh oh - the box?)

PaRappa is a gorgeously stylised rhythm game about rapping to steal the heart of the girl of your dreams - which involves learning karate, getting your driver’s license, selling bottle caps and frogs, making a cake, desperately trying not to shit yourself, and finally performing live on stage. Every one of its segments is so well-produced that they’d genuinely sell like ghost cookies in this era of shite rap. Notable for producing the greatest Jay-Z backing track ever made.

Sonic R - Sega Saturn, November 18th

Sonic R is absolutely FINE with vibrant textures, interesting levels, neat gimmicks and decent controls. But I’m gonna talk about its fucking AWESOME soundtrack by Richard Jacques and T.J. Davis, an eclectic mix of Europop and New Jack Swing - even thinking about it is bringing tears of absolute joy to my eyes hearing Super Sonic Racing in my head. You’ve got the main theme, Living in the City, Can You Feel the Sunshine, Back in Time, Diamond in the Sky, Work It Out and Number One - all of these are absolute club bangers and genuinely wouldn’t be out of place in a 90s disco. 

Tomb Raider II - Sony PlayStation, November 18th

Lara Croft returns to single-handedly endanger every species on Earth. TR2 is really good, the exploration and puzzle-solving aspects of the first game expanded upon here and the gunplay remaining just as punchy. Lara’s got a fully-functioning ponytail which absolutely boggles the fucking mind - a lot of work went into Lara’s hair for the 2013 reboot, so I can’t imagine the amount of man hours it took to get fluid(ish, come on, it’s the PS1 we’re talking about) hair movements in 1997. 

And really, that’s all I played from 1997. I’ve left out big hitters like Quake II, Gran Turismo and Diddy Kong Racing, but I simply haven’t formed an opinion on them yet. Maybe in a future post. 

Thanks for reading.

#playstation #ps1 #n64 #nintendo #jontron #castlevania #carmageddon #mega man #hercules #star fox #mario kart #every copy of mario kart 64 is personalised #sonic #saturn #goldeneye #oddworld #retrospective #1997 #gaming #retrogaming #fallout #grand theft auto #gta #parappa #jay-z #lara croft #tomb raider #sonic r

[skyaches-aaa]

Tbh the future Krishna does end up with is not really what she wants for herself either she just feels a sense of obligation and duty to ask for a title because she realizes in that moment she can help the elves of Ferelden and she does want that very badly. When she is in a comfortable enough position to pass on the title of teyrna to her heir ( still up in the air on if it is her adopted daughter or not because Nina also is not very into being teyrna ) she will gladly retire to a farm in Gwaren with Loghain ( @apogeaned )

#* krishna / you may not be interested in war but war is interested in you ! #i'm just dropping all the lore i don't talk about #but know is canon for her today asdfghjkl #anyways yeah she wants to just live a Normal Fucking Life with her husband thanks

[ashfaqqahmad]

Faith versus Logic Final

Could Shara’s rule be an ideal system?

Click here to read the previous part of this article

If you want to give the example of Sharia law as an example of low crime rate and safe environment, and then also consider that ten countries of the world with the lowest crime rate Iceland, Denmark, Austria, New Zealand, Portugal, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Canada, Japan, and Slovenia are there— so why not their system is ideal?

Sharia laws were defined at a time when there was a tribal culture in Arabia – the monarchy was the system. In that era, there were often wars for animals, women, domination, and expansion of power, in which women were widowed largely— to support them, more than one marriage or to make them mistress was allowed… what wars are happening now?

If the people living there accept it due to happiness or helplessness, but even if enjoying full civil liberties in democracy, the Sharia system of Saudi Arabia is attracting you, where there are restrictions at every step, then you are religiously ill— and you don’t want to think anything beyond faith. Even in that system, this thinking of mine will also come under Blasphemy because I raised the questions, whose punishment is death— do you want such a system? I really do not want it. The one who follows another religion cannot get citizenship there nor can he adopt his method of worship.

How did humans start their journey on earth

And in India, those who are advocates of Sharia seen wandering here and there – there is a request to them that even if our rule is a democracy, but as a true believer, they should apply the Sharia to themselves and don’t do anything which is wrong or a crime with the Shariah. For example—

Avoid the interest-bearing banking system— immediately cash whatever mutual funds, shares, FDs you have. Avoid stealing power, which is the most common custom among Muslims. If photos are not allowed in the house, then break the TV and throw it away. Since porn is also available on mobile and you can see a picture/video of unknown women on Facebook etc., then quit using your Smartphone and keep a simple buttoned mobile. Do not wear tight clothes (jeans, t-shirt, etc.). On the way, getting-up or sitting, do not look at any girl and woman. The Sharia has made the daughter a shareholder in the property, immediately give her due right to your sisters or daughters. These are the deeds which Momins are doing indiscriminately— the rest things like gambling, liquor, womanizing, are a different issue.

If you can do this much then try doing it, then after that, if you talk about Sharia law or Sharia, only then your say will matter to the people.

Did God make a man or the man, made God?

God created man or the man, made the God— this dispute may never be resolved, but an unseen God is in existence ever since the first human being in the world would have found first hope amid awe. Fear and hope – right here begins the God, and even though he may not have been known in any particular way then, but as man became smarter, God too became accepted in different forms and its separation is the prevalent “religion” at present.

Where did religion come from and how logical from the point of view of science?

The real meaning of religion is not what is in front of everyone in the world today, but its practical meaning is this— you are Hindus, I am Muslim, that is a Sikh, that is a Christian and that is Jew.

So for a while, free yourself from this tilak, cap, cross, turban— and find out what is religion? What is its real form— why is it and what has it given to you? What are you achieving from this religion?

Leave the past in the past, whatever was written in those books, was according to the circumstances of that time, was written to handle the humans of that time. Come in the present and think, can it be a religion to abuse someone, or to speak to someone with love should be the religion?

Can it be religious to hate someone or to love someone should be the religion? Taking someone’s life should be a religion or to save someone’s life? To take away someone’s right can be religion or to help any poor fellow to get his right? Can injustice done to someone be religion or give/help to get justice? To torture, someone with the opposite ideology can be religion or to give respect to people of other ideology?

Think as many questions like these as you can think, think those questions with closed eyes and introspect yourself honestly. Test your answers on the criterion of religion you have been carrying from generation to generation. Think, brainstorm what religion was for— why there was a need for religion and how you are practising that religion. Among Hindus too, “Meditation” is said to be the way to seek God and to connect oneself with him and in us too it is called “Salat”.

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Salat means meditation, that is, attaching oneself to God— the Prophet adopted this Salat as “Namaz”, Sufis in some other form— but later on people adopted Namaz as a rule and today its meaning is lost somewhere. Do not ask me this question, but ask yourself whether you reach that state of “meditation” in Namaz? That you feel connected to Allah or does your mind keep wandering in worldly additions/subtractions? Remains stuck in High pyjama or Skull cap?  Do you find yourself ever close to “Salat”? If not, find out the reason for that.

However, if by churning so much you do not get this pearl of knowledge, that to hurt someone is not a religion, but to help in someone’s suffering, to help him overcome his suffering is religion— then be sure, that there is a lacking in you being a human.

Religion, Iniquity and Foul-Iniquity

Here people are often seen asking the question, what is religion? So the question is right in its place but the answers of those in front can be different… Actually, when you say Religion in English or ‘Mazhab’ in Urdu, it has a direct and only meaning— The particular ideology, creed, the enclosure bound with the law of uniformity— but when you say ‘Dharm’ in Hindi, then it has two meanings. The first meaning that is commonly practised is Religion itself.

If God is there then how can it be from the point of view of science

But what it has as another meaning is, in fact, the actual meaning of the word “Religion”. Your good deeds— your behaviour that is in harmony with the welfare of humans, that actually is the religion. Now understand this in detail—

Every small or big practice of your entire life is divided into only three parts— Religion, Iniquity and Foul Iniquity. Maybe you ever gave attention to this or not— but every little or big work of yours, every small or big decision taken at every step of your life, comes only under these three rules.

Telling the truth, supporting the truth, living honestly, avoiding false deception, doing justice, to support the justice, to stand for the rights of the victim, to stand against the cruelty, not doing injustice, helping others, avoiding illegal, excluded and selfish deeds that are outcaste by society, means to say that everything you do for the betterment and welfare of human beings… is actually religion.

And on the contrary, whatever you do, the result of which is harmful, troublesome to any human being, which gives suffering… will come under the purview of Iniquity.

Now there is a link between them, that is, your acts which may seem iniquitous to appear but religion is hidden in them— that is a ‘Foul-Iniquity’ You can understand this with two or three examples— You lie in a place where telling the truth can be harmful to one or more humans— then that lie of yours is Foul-Iniquity. You steal somewhere, where the stolen goods have the welfare of others hidden behind them and not your selfishness, then that theft is a Foul-Iniquity.

You stand somewhere with a Cruel, and there you can help the victims in any way, then it is a Foul-Iniquity to stand with that cruel. You may or may not understand this, but every activity of yours is tied to these rules. And the interesting thing you will find is that it is the core of all religions. On this basis in the Gita, the ‘Kauravas’ were declared unjust by Lord Krishna, or else they also believed in the worship of God and other things— and in fact, “Kafir” in Islamic Mythology has also been determined on this basis. People derive the meaning of ‘Kafir’ as an atheist or non-Muslim according to their own belief.

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Whereas, as a religious person, whatever rituals of worship, Aarti, Pilgrimage, Roza Namaz, Hajj, Zakat, etc. have you mistaken as religion, they, can be called the flattering methods or ritualism of God, but it is not the real religion. Real religion is your good conduct, with which if you do these rituals, then in a way we can see them as religion, but alas that it does not happen in practice.

The real religion is Humanity and not these worship methods

Let’s give many examples of this and explain— A true Momin believes in himself that by doing Namaz, keeping Roza, and doing Haj, he is doing a lot of good work and he will get a lot of praise for it – but while he sits at the shop and lying to the customer that this much of this merchandise is purchased, he can give it in that much— though this is not true. He is performing all the good rituals but he is sitting on the rented or untitled land occupied by a house or shop. The stolen light is glowing in the house and after washing himself with water pulled with that stolen electricity, he is reciting Namaz. He is eating sacred food made on the heater burning with that stolen electricity.

Consuming water, fans, lights obtained by direct theft or rigging of the electricity in the mosque, is washing himself and performing Namaz— Performs Haj and becomes a Haji with the money acquired through bribes, commissions, frauds, rigging or by other illegal means. Performing Namaz by surrounding roads as religious work, doing processions, even if all traffic is disrupted, may someone miss their train, plane or bus… or may someone die in an ambulance.

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Similarly, a true Hindu by applying a Tilak on the forehead, ties a red thread in his hand, chanting Ram-Ram day and night, keeps on ringing bells for hours in temples— but at the same time lies, deceits, manipulations, deception are all being done. Donating from the money saved through commissions, bribe, black marketing, stealing tax. The religious pandals are decorated with stolen electricity. Narrating religious stories by installing big loudspeakers, DJ sound— whether there are sick people around, children going through exams or people are going crazy by the noise.

They have been occupying the streets in the name of Ganapati, Navratri, Kanvar processions, even though the traffic system is collapsing. By surrounding the roads in the name of Jagran or big sacred type of religious events and causing problems for the people wandering around— by making noise pollution from the heavy sound systems, making people around it sick— but thinking that he is doing very religious work and this will give him great virtue, which will lead him to salvation or heaven.

In the name of religion, all these people who commit hypocrisy, pretence are in deception— they are confused as to whether they are doing any religious work worth virtue. Actually, while knowing all of this, he is engaged in wrongdoing with closed eyes and it is not that he has is no feeling of it… he has it and to erase the guilt created by this feeling, they try to show that they are very religious people and continue to prove others as trivial, by making a lot of noise from personal life to social media.

What do you think are these religious people and if there is a God/Allah will he be happy with them? So by putting yourself in his place and thinking about it, maybe instead of being happy on their gimmicks, you will reel off their skin by hunter until they do not truly understand the difference between religion and Iniquity.

इस लेख को हिंदी में पढ़ने के लिये यहाँ क्लिक करें

#religion and science #islam #faith vs fact #faith and logic #athiesm

[themodernvedic]

What is the essence of Hinduism

Hinduism literally speaking is the religion of Hindus. Hindu is one who is a believer in any form of Brahmanism (one of the religions of India). In his lecture, delivered at the Parliament of Religions, at Chicago in Sept. 1893 Swami Vivekananda said, "Three religions stand in the world, which have come down to us from prehistoric times, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and Judaism. They have all received tremendous shocks, and all of them can be proven by their survival, their inner strength. Sects after sects arose in India and unwillingly tried to shake and shatter the religion of the Vedas to its very foundation but like the waters of the seashore in a tremendous earthquake it receded only for a while, only to return in an all-absorbing flood - a thousand times more vigorous and when the tumult rush was over these sects were all sucked in, absorbed and assimilated into the immense body of the mother faith." http://youtube.com/watch?v=hi8g2h7mvMA Essence of true religion consists of nothing but the eternal truths and laws of the spiritual world. These principles have been discovered by the sages of ancient India. The degradation of Hindus took place because the life-giving principles of religion or Hinduism were applied in the practical life to solve social and national problems. Caste tyranny, loss of faith in their inherent powers and social neglect, reduced poor masses to mere cogs in the wheels of the exploitative machine, which was run by a few, powerful people. In reality if religion of the Vedas i.e. Hinduism was spread among the poor masses, it would awaken the dormant powers in them and they would be able to solve their own problems without any assistance.

Hindus were a philosophical race, whose conflicts were intellectual conflicts. Fortunately, India then was a country where the people had no lack of wealth, food and security. Having the Himalayas in the north and ocean on three sides, the country was free from the danger of foreign invasion. Nature was also favorable in such a place, in the Ashrams and Tapovans, the Indian rishis absorbed themselves in deeper truths of life which gave birth to the Indian philosophy. Dr. Radhakrishnan writes "The native utterances of the Vedic poets, the wondrous suggestiveness of the Upanishads, the marvelous psychological analysis of the Buddhists and the stupendous system of Shankara are quite as interesting and instinctive from the cultural point of view of the system of Plato, Aristotle, Kant and Hegel, if only we study them in true scientific frame of mind, without disrespect for the past or contempt for the alien" which is interesting and instructive from a cultural point of view Philosophy had a great impact and importance in India especially to Hinduism from the earliest times. "Darshan" as philosophy is called, etymologically means, "Seeing". This seeing is possible by perceptual observation direct experience, inference or self-realization. Indian philosophy recognizes that truth can never be self-contradictory. Therefore, in order to realize the distinction and relation of philosophy and religion i.e. Hinduism in the present context, we must first know what religion is. The word religion includes two Latin terms "Religio and Onis". Re-means again, ligio means to bind. Literally speaking religion binds a man to his source. Philosophers have emphasized one or the other aspect of it. Some important approaches in this connection are as follows: Intellectual Approach: Religion is clearly a state of mind. Moral Approach: Religion is nothing but morality touched with emotion Axiological Approach: God cannot be called the highest value because there is no un-valued phenomenon with which God can be contrasted.

Various definitions of Hinduism as a religion. Hinduism is a complex phenomenon in which one finds attitudes and feelings towards ultimate reality or God. From the definition of religion given by Sri Aurobindo, Hinduism appears to be highly comprehensive. To quote him "in most, essence of religion... is the search for God and finding of God. Its work is sincere giving out of the true and ultimate relation between man and God, relation of unity, relation of difference, relation of an illuminated knowledge and ecstatic love and delight, and absolute surrender and service, casting of every part of our existence of its normal status into up rush of man towards the Divine and descent of divine into man". This is true even today when we talk of Modern Hinduism. Our age is known as the atomic age. By controlling atomic energy man has achieved things which were formerly beyond his imagination. In the form of atom bombs he has developed an instrument of destruction whose after effects can be seen years after its use. Many nations, developed or even underdeveloped, of the world are busy in piling up such destructive weapons and many other nations are trying to copy them. This has made the thinkers of the world to worry about the future of man because an atomic war will not only lead to destruction and death but also deformities of crores of people and poisoning of the atmosphere and water to the extent of making human life practically impossible on this planet. But international peace and cooperation cannot be achieved through science alone because science is unable to do anything in this situation. This on the other hand is a moral and spiritual problem. For example, the philosophy of the Gita and the Upanishads may be found to be the most useful to a man at the present juncture. Hence it can be said that in this atomic age, science is more in need of philosophy than it has ever been. Ancient Indian thinkers of Hinduism have suggested different paths for reaching God or Truth, which is relevant in modern times also. These are classified into three chief paths of action, knowledge and devotion. In fact, these are the phases or the three different layers of every human mind.

Here we shall take the path of action. This is just like the choice between what is right and what is wrong, the good and the evil. One has to follow the right way and give up the wrong way. Gradually the evil will be eliminated and the good will be established which will ultimately lead one to godliness/ divinity. The question that now arises is, how to ascertain which action is good and which is evil Mahavir's advice is to walk carefully so that we do not tread over, even an ant. On the other hand, Lord Krishna advises Arjuna to fight the evil forces because no one dies, as the soul is immortal In ancient times Sri Rama accepted and abided by all limitations and restrictions of the society, and that is why he is called "Maryada Purshotam" while Shri Krishna who disregarded all social limitations and restrictions is still called "Yogeshwara Krishna". On the one hand Sita is adored as she never even saw the face of another man except her husband Rama but on the other hand Draupadi who was the wife of five Pandavas is regarded as a virtuous lady. Yudhisthira had staked his wife in a game of dice and yet he is called Dharam Raj. Bhishma was a witness to the disrobing of Draupadi and did nothing to avoid that incident, yet he is called an apostle of morality and righteousness. Parashurama killed his mother at the behest of his father and is yet called a great rishi. Therefore, no universal standard can be set for deciding what is good and what is evil. It deals with doing, not with being. As long as one does not know his inner self all his actions are cravings of the mind for the fulfillment of desires. That is why Indra says "in the very first instance try and realize what the Atman is so that all your doubts are answered. Socrates has said, "know thy self". Modern vision of Hinduism warrants us to rededicate ourselves to the pursuit of knowing the Self, because we possess spiritual wealth that can end all our woes. Secondly, we must inculcate a sense of unity and identity. Self-realization is the real definition of Hinduism. Taittiriya Upanishad declares in Tantra III-1 यतो वा इमानि भूतानि जायन्ते येन जातानि जीवन्ति । यं प्रयन्ति अभिसंविशान्ति तज्जिज्ञासस्व तदेव ब्रह्म ॥ "That from which all those beings come into existence, that by which they live, that into which they are finally absorbed, know that be the eternal verity - the Absolute" Once in the Ashram of Ramana Maharshi a visitor made display of his knowledge by enumerating the various paths described by various masters along with quoting the western philosophers. He inquired "one says one thing and the other says something else, which way should I go?" Ramana Maharshi rose to leave the hall, he replied curtly "Go back the way you came". Speaking about the intellectual persons, Shri Ramana Maharshi has said, "They have made themselves like a gramophone. What else are they, Oh Arunachala? It is the unlearned who are saved, rather those whose ego has not subsided despite their learning. It is sincerity that is required and not brilliance or understanding of theory, humility, and not mental pride". Read the full article

#dharma #god #gods #hindu #hinduism #religion #religions #shaivism

[brotherhoodnovel]

My parents have been rewatching The Mahabharata, the 1988 TV series that faithfully dramatizes the longest story ever told (the 93 chapters + Prelude in The Brotherhood is a homage to the 94 episodes in the series!). Since I’ve been busy finishing The Dance Towards Death, doing library stuff, and occasionally watching films/reading, I’ve only been able to rewatch parts of it (have seen it many times, btw its other productions are crap!) and of course be very annoying in my questioning of its substance to my mother, who is the most knowledgeable person I know of its content in its multiplicity of forms. There’s no question it’s not only the longest and one of the oldest epics in history, but also, by far, the greatest, and certainly the most influential on my own narratives, particularly The Brotherhood Chronicle, which is probably why there’s so much reference to it throughout the epic trilogy (as I’ve mentioned in many readings, the mythologies of the past are referred to write a mythology of the present). The older Ramayana is simplistic drivel in comparison; if only Homer and Plato had lived in the same era, or been fused into the same person, the ancient Greeks could have combined its action with its philosophical questioning; the Old Testament, while full of interesting stories, is also mostly a bunch of “begats”; the New Testament has too many miracles; Virgil, Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Milton, and others have their great merits, but again, nowhere near its depths. Faulkner has a wider range of stylistics, but his specific concern for the South, and the introspection and specific obsessions of his characters makes him fall a bit short, and Balzac, while comparable in his output, is too concerned with Parisian interests too. Only Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy perhaps compare, in terms of their totality of works, and maybe if War and Peace was fused into The Brothers Karamazov, it could be on its level, somewhat. I could go on and on, but, The Mahabharata is so great it really has to be watched (don’t worry, this version has subtitles) to be fully appreciated. You can also read it, but good luck, it is 10 times the length of The Iliad and The Odyssey combined, as it has so many subplots and small stories within its great primary narrative. My only issue is The Bhagavad Gita itself. As great as it is, as with other “religious” works, I can’t possibly see anyone living by it literally. For example, Krishna repeatedly tells Arjuna that one should do one’s birth caste duty (like warrior for example) even if one is dreadfully bad at it, and some else of a different caste is good at it. I mean, really??? How could any society survive in such a way? Thankfully in America we have a choice of profession and can even change them up (in my case, I’ve chosen multiple ones!) If you don’t know what I’m referring to, feel free to dive into the work! I also have to say my great appreciation for my parents in how they raised me, both instilling a remarkably good knowledge of my heritage and the great mythological and philosophical traditions of our past (pretty good for someone born in the USA, anyway), while also making me free to be as American as I wanted (unlike many Hindu kids (I’m actually agnostic, btw) I was allowed to eat meat at an early age for example) and open to all other cultures and types of learning. As a result, not only do I feel like I have good knowledge of one of the great cultural traditions on earth but also deeply and proudly American at the same time and able to constantly explore the endless multicultural learning and discovery experiences of NYC and the world, as much as there may be issues to all these realities that I explore in my books. Anyway, check it out!

#mahabharata #the brotherhood trilogy #the brotherhood #epicreads #tv series