Tagore, Rabindranath

Rabindranath Tagore

Tagore, Rabindranath (1861-1941)

Indian renaissance man born in Calcutta, W. Bengal.

Tagore is known throughout India and the world for his paintings, folk songs, verse, short stories, plays and novels.

In 1901 Tagore founded a unique open-air school at Santiniketan, West Bengal.

Sometimes referred to as the ‘asram’ at Santiniketan, Tagore’s school integrates Eastern and Western approaches to education and has flowered into Visva-Bharati university, offering a diverse curriculum in the arts, sciences and humanities while hosting international students from around the world.

The school is fully recognized by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission which funds exceptional foreign students, particularly for graduate studies at the M.A. and Ph.D. levels.

In 1913 Tagore won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

In his Presentation Speech Harald Hjärne, Chairman of the Nobel Committee, said

Amra Kunja by Paul Ancheta (Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan, W. Bengal, India)

Tagore’s Gitanjali: Song Offerings (1912), a collection of religious poems, was the one of his works that especially arrested the attention of the selecting critics.

Source » http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1913/press.html

Tagore’s worldly acclaim and societal impact didn’t stop there, however. Knighted in 1915, he shocked India and the British Empire by resigning his knighthood in 1919 in protest over the British colonial presence in India.

On the Web:

“This was a school project in which we had to do a biography of a major poet. I chose to make an interview video with my poet, Rabindranath Tagore. Both are acted by me. Btw, I got an A+. Inspired …”

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Tyche

Caligula with Tyche Syria by Joe Geranio

Tyche (Greek: luck)

The Greek goddess of chance or fortune, usually identified with the Roman goddess Fortuna. Personifications of Tyche are somewhat unclear, although the abstract idea of Tyche is found throughout ancient literature and her imprint appears on ancient Hellenistic coins some three centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ.

Tyche is often referred to as one of the Fates or as a daughter of Zeus. Temples for Tyche were mostly built around cities, offering protection or good luck.

In art she’s sometimes depicted as blind but her influence goes further than that. In medieval times

she was depicted as carrying a cornucopia, an emblematic ship’s rudder, and the wheel of fortune, or she may stand on the wheel, presiding over the entire circle of fate. In the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara, Tyche became closely associated with the Buddhist ogress Hariti.†

One source says she’s an Oceanid, one of a group of 3,000 nymphs who are daughters of the oldest of the Titans, Oceanus. » Taboo

On the Web:

• Youtube video showing a temple of Tyche and giving a wonderful feel of the ancient world: “The Zeus temple, high tower, and mausoleum date from the Hellenistic Olba kingdom while the city gate, colonnaded street, fountain, and temple of Tyche are from the Roman period” (MariaJBogaerts)

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† http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyche

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Turning Against the Self

Papa Freud, conflicted, with cigar by Carla216

Turning Against the Self

A Freudian defense mechanism, elaborated on by Freud’s daughter Anna Freud, in which an original desire to harm others is directed towards oneself.

An example would be an individual who burns him- or herself with cigarettes.

Although considered a type of masochism, there are different interpretations as to why people burn themselves.

One interpretation is that they altruistically, in a misguided way, harm themselves instead of harming others. Alternately we can ask if an individual is dulled to pain because they’ve entered another type of consciousness where physical pain doesn’t matter or, perhaps, register.

As with most defense mechanisms, socially sanctioned activities like smoking also fall into the category of turning against the self.

Freud, himself, was a heavy cigar smoker. Even when he contracted jaw cancer he didn’t quit smoking cigars.

As a leading medical man Freud most likely was aware of the harmful effects of smoking.¹ In 1929 the German physician, Fritz Lickint, had published a paper outlining the link between smoking and cancer² (Freud died in 1939).

Given our present day knowledge, one could say that all smokers are turning against the self with their self-destructive habit, as we could with alcoholics, drug abusers, hydrogenated vegetable oil and aspartame consumers.

As the list of known harmful substances grows almost daily, the debate continues as to what constitutes normal versus abnormal, as well as defensive, destructive or adaptive behaviors. » Deviance

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¹ Digital Dame adds: “The link between cancer and smoking was discovered at least as early as the 1920s. I remember seeing an old B&W silent showing people on a float in a parade (maybe it was an anti-smoking rally?) dressed as skeletons, or the Grim Reaper, as an anti-smoking campaign. There’s an article on Wikipedia about the anti-smoking movement and the Nazis. Maybe because of its association with the Nazis, the anti-smoking movement never really took hold here? As late as the 1960s doctors were telling people it was good to light up, and many doctors themselves were smokers.” » See in context

² Hanspeter Witschi, “A Short History of Lung Cancer” http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/64/1/4

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Troy

Schliemann Trench at Troy by Julian Fong

Troy

An ancient city with archaeological ruins located in Turkey.

According to Homer’s Illiad, it was attacked by the Greeks for ten years, commonly known as the Trojan war. In a space of 4000 years the city was rebuilt nine times.

For many years Troy was thought to be a mythical place, along the same lines as Atlantis. But in the 1870′s its ruins were discovered by Heinrich Schliemann.

Sadly, Schliemann’s excavations did much damage to the ancient site. As the Wikipedia entry about him notes:

His career began before archaeology developed as a professional field, and so, by present standards, the field technique of Schliemann’s work leaves a lot to be desired. Thinking that Homeric Troy must be in the lowest level, he dug hastily through the upper levels.†

Michael Wood‘s In Search of the Trojan War, an investigation into the myth and archaeology of Troy, is available on DVD and highly recommended. » Achilles, Aphrodite, Atlantis, Cayce (Edgar), Homer, Illiad, Projection

On the Web:

• annotated pictures at flickr.com
• several videos about the historicity of Troy at youtube.com

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† http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Schliemann

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Trinity (Holy Trinity)

Holy Trinity theme slide by Lars Hammar

Trinity (Holy Trinity)

In Christian theology, the Holy Trinity refers to the belief that God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit form a co-equal and co-eternal mystical union.

Each of the three parts is defined as a “person.”

It remains somewhat mysterious as to just what this means. Are the persons human in form? Or do created human beings resemble the three holy persons of the Trinity?

According to one interpretation of the latter view, some persons predominantly act as God’s “hands,” others the “mind” and others the “heart.”

Biblical support for this idea is often drawn upon Romans 12:4-6, 1 Corinthians 10:17, and Collossians 3:15.

Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) forwarded a similar idea in his book, The Universal Human and Soul-Body Interaction.

The notion of different types of people corresponding to different parts of the Divine Body is also fundamental to Hinduism, a religion which has its own kind of Trinity, one quite different from the Christian Trinity.

The Hindu Trinity consists of Brahma (Creator), Visnu (Preserver of the Universe) and Siva (Cosmic Destroyer).

Obviously, to say that the Trinity as understood by Swedenborg, Hindus and mainstream Christians is identical would be a gross simplification.

The idea that the diversity of human beings resembles the Trinity opens important questions about the relationship between God and humanity. For most Christians it does not mean that God is humanity and nothing more. Rather, the idea is that God, as Creator, is reflected by and present in humanity but still transcends the human condition.

The Christian Holy Trinity is often quickly dismissed as a cultural and historical production (i.e. a man-made belief) but those claiming to have been granted a vision of the Holy Trinity say that its mysterious character may only be comprehended through revelation.

Holy Trinity, Tattershall, Lincolnshire by Brian

Rev. Glenn “Mac” at GlennFrazier.com adds:

Since you mention Swedenborg, it might be worth pointing out that he explicitly spoke up against the idea of a trinity of persons. According to his theology (in, e.g., his book, True Christian Religion), Jehovah the Father and Jesus the Son were not only one God, but also the one and only one person of God. Likewise, the Holy Spirit is the activity of that person, and not a seperate person in its own right. This is somewhat similar to Michael Servetus’ ideas expressed a good deal earlier in his “Errors of the Trinity”. Swedenborg’s idea of a trinity of essentials, rather than of persons, should not be confused with modalism-the idea of there being one God that at various times takes on different functions or modes in sequence. To Swedenborg, the Father was literally God’s soul, the Son his body, and the Spirit his influence/activity, not by analogy, but actually. » Source

» Arius, Brahman, Christianity, Faith, Father, God, Hinduism, Holy Spirit, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jesus Christ, Logos, Monotheism, Siva

On the Web:

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Trickster

the desert trickster by darren logan

Trickster

In Native American mythology the trickster is a spirit responsible for, as the name suggests, trickery.

In Amerindian myth and legend, the trickster is usually symbolized by the coyote or fox.

Often comic, deceptive or crude, the trickster motif has been the object of scholarly study due to similar but certainly not identical appearances in most world mythologies and religions.

Carl Jung designated it as an archetype and suggested that its quirky energy may erupt from the unconscious in interpersonal affairs.

When this happens the trickster’s various hoax’s and capers serve the important psychological function of balancing the sunny side of human nature with an equal and opposite edge of mischief and darkness.

If, for instance, someone at a cocktail party makes a faux pas and unwittingly insults another through a slip of the tongue or naivete, the insult may serve the positive function of compelling the other to take stock of a problematic aspect of his or her personality, actions or life situation, which otherwise would remain unconscious or ignored.

This view presupposes a meaningful connection among of all living beings.

To make this essentially spiritual perspective on life more accessible, Jung formulated the concept of the collective unconscious.

The trickster is also regarded as a necessary catalyst in human history.

» Aesir, Archetype, Balder, Culture Hero, Evil, Hero, Loki, Parapraxis, “Parapraxes, Accidents and Necessary Mistakes,” Q (in Star Trek), Shadow, Shapeshifter, Siva, Unconscious

On the Web:

• Excellent entry at Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trickster#Tricksters_in_various_cultures
• A Cree story about the trickster, Wesakecak…

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Tree of Life

Tree of life by Swamibu

Tree of Life

In the story of Genesis 2:9 this is a sacred tree planted in the Garden of Eden, representing eternal life.

When Adam and Eve eat from the forbidden tree of knowledge, they are cast away from the tree of life and become mortal.

For conservative Christians, only through the redemption of Jesus Christ does mankind regain everlasting life.

The tree of life was a popular symbol in the ancient world, appearing on seals, reliefs, pottery and literature. It forms an important prelude for aspirants in the mystical tradition of the Kabbala. Hindu mythology ascribes all sorts of magical properties to different trees. And the Buddha is said to have gained enlightenment under a bodhi tree.

Some Christian theologians say that non-Christian precursors and parallels to Jewish and Christian stories and symbols does not indicate that all stories are just myths of equal value, an idea forwarded by figures like Joseph Campbell and sometimes by the psychiatrist C. G. Jung.

Instead, traditional Christian theologians usually say that non-Christian symbols act as a kind of rough and abstract “blueprint” for the perfect manifestation of God’s true revelation–i.e. the Christian Bible, the Word Made Flesh, and so on.

Not surprisingly, this reasoning has been critiqued and debated from various angles.

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Transubstantiation

O Sacrament Most Holy by Br Lawrence Lew, O.P.

Transubstantiation

The Roman Catholic dogma that the substance of bread and wine transforms into the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ during the celebration of Holy Mass.

To make sense of the obvious fact that the communion wafer doesn’t change in outward appearance, Catholic theologians rely on the Aristotelian distinction between a thing’s form and its substance.

According to this belief, the form (what we can see) does not change but the substance (sometimes called the “essence”) does.

This is in opposition to the popular view, which from a Catholic perspective is inadequate, that the Eucharist is a mere symbol of remembrance or, as some New Age believers say, sign of human or cosmic unity.

While the sacrament of the Eucharist includes symbolic and unifying aspects, its essentially heavenly mystical quality supersedes these reductive interpretations concerning its meaning and character.

Symbolic and social realities aside, there is a current trend to equate the cosmic and/or astral realms with the heavenly. For Catholics, however, there is a qualitative difference among the cosmic (e.g. galaxies, stars, planets), the astral (spirits, gods, goddesses, energy fields), and the heavenly (experienced as the indwelling of grace).

» Agape, Aristotle, Consubstantiation, Grace, Quiddity

On the Web:

• While Catholics believe that the Eucharist need not change in physical appearance to be an effective sacrament, claims are sometimes made as to its miraculous transformation

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Transmigration

Photo Credit: Nod Young

Transmigration

The belief that the soul departs from the body at death and returns to another body to live another embodied life.

In Eastern religions, the equivalent term is reincarnation; within the Western tradition, the belief in transmigration first appears in Orphism (5-6th century BCE) and later with the Pythagoreans. Western philosophy also uses the equivalent term, metempsychosis.

Many people claim to have flashback memories that they assume stem from former lives. Documented cases tell of individuals in trance states, dictating precise details about homes and places, often in distant countries that they’ve never visited. Some claim to be drawn for no apparent reason to certain ideas, interests or historical sites such as the Egyptian pyramids.

Others strongly identify with a person who’s passed. The musician K. D. Lang apparently once toyed with the idea that she was a reincarnation of Patsy Cline. And John Lennon and Yoko Ono

consciously adopted the image of themselves as the reincarnation of Victorian poets Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning for Milk and Honey; the album jacket even reproduces verses by the Brownings next to lyrics by John and Yoko (http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/johnlennon/albums/album/192382/review/5945871/milk__honey)

It is often assumed that unusual experiences or strong identifications with the dead are ironclad proof of a past life. But there are other possible explanations for these types of experiences:

1. So-called vampiric or tramp souls influence and even possess individuals in the present, infusing their memories and past desires into the minds of sensitive or impressionable living persons. The upshot is that living persons uncritically believe they have reincarnated.
2. From the perspective of theology it is said that Satan uses supernatural trickery to deceive people into believing in reincarnation.
3. In a less malefic vein, it’s conceivable that some individuals pierce the veil of space-time and connect with other souls from other time zones but misinterpret the experience as proof of transmigration. This hypothesis assumes, of course, that the past still somehow exists. Considering the relativity theory of Albert Einstein, this idea might not be too far fetched.
4. Another view is that the living are not connecting with evil beings or those living in other regions of space-time but merely with ordinary persons who’ve passed.

While these alternative theories are no easier to prove than the idea of transmigration, many seem to uncritically embrace transmigration as if it were not just another theory but a fact. And if urged to consider alternative hypotheses, some believers in reincarnation condescendingly act as if they know it all and there’s nothing left to say on the matter.

» Mind Abuse, Pythagoras, Tramp Souls

On the Web:

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Transference

Freud - Exploring the unconscious mind by Enrico

Transference

For Freud transference refers to the displacement of mostly unconscious ideas and feelings associated with past figures or events onto present figures or events, thereby distorting current relationships.

Charles Rycroft notes that Freud initially saw this as a unfortunate aspect of the psychoanalytic relationship but later recognized it as an unavoidable and, in fact, useful aspect of therapy (A Critical Dictionary of Psychoanalysis, Harmondsworth: Penguin 1977, p. 168).

While the narrow definition of transference refers to distortions generated by the patient and thrust onto the figure of the analyst, counter-transference refers to distortions created by the analyst and falsely attributed to the patient, these also based on past experiences.

C. G. Jung‘s view of transference emerged from the Freudian school but includes the concept of the collective unconscious and extends to the borders of the metaphysical.

For Jung, transference is a special type of projection that may link human beings together in an almost mystical bond of meaning. Both positive and negative, transference is a significant interpersonal factor among friends, lovers, family and marriage partners.

While transference at the extreme may exhilarate or enslave, according to Jung it is a natural dynamic whereby the psyche strives for genuine individuality (i.e. the individuation process).

Once projections are made conscious and stripped away, Jung believes individuals are faced with the task of relating in a more mature and realistic manner. This arguably is a never-ending process by virtue of our intrinsic human limitations.

In pop culture the idea of projection appears in Bruce Cockburn’s song “Tell the Universe” (2006):

You’ve been projecting your sh** at the world
Self-hatred tarted up as payback time
You can self destruct–that’s your right
But keep it to yourself if you don’t mind

» Future of an Illusion, Individuation Process, Lévi-Bruhl (Lucien), Participation Mystique, Psychoid,  Syntonic Counter-Transference, Unconscious

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