Rajanaka Newsletter April 1 2023
Saturday, April 1, 2023
AlohaAho’ Rajanaka,
WE have Goddess Sessions tonight, Mahabharata tomorrow, and word has it that it’s Easter Weekend. Wanna make some mischief?
Now just how that Easter thing is decided requires in Latin a computes, in truth another legerdemain positing purported facts about first Sundays after the Paschal full moon on or after the March equinox plus a whole lotta other moveable feasting lunisolar churchy artifice cum machination than we’s gots no time for here.
If you’re not yet amused confused then let us invoke the holy mystery called Ain’t Nuthin’ But a Party and celebrate these august events [wait, what’s this got to do with August?] as the feast of our great goddess Eostre---who we might all recognize in the more familiar form: Estrogen. This Goddess also once fronted a punk band, a little known fact not revealed in the Tantra---Eostre and the Killer Rabbits. Eostre’s “vehicle,” that’s right she’s got vahana, her very own wagon, a personal hoopty much the way Ganesha has a mouse or Muruga a peacock, her sled’s a rabbit. [All of that was true until this last bit. But there are moretrue things if you will just keep reading…]
Why the rabbit vahana? Rabbits are found on every continent except Antarctica meaning that Eostre is similarly ubiquitous and wouldn’tja’ just know it, in Her Great Mercy, will even allow a credulous penguin to substitute in those far southern reaches. Rabbits being prolific breeders, especially in spring, come ‘round Easter time when they are seen fucking interacting. Thus, it is little wonder that the libertine lagomorphs are associated with spring and new life and that Our Goddess Eostre too welcomes felonious intrigues sans hush money payments.
The ancient Greeks usually smarter than this thought that said bunnies could reproduce as virgins, which may be at least one reason the Virgin Mary became pregnant sans booty call. This is not yet a settled matter of scholarship. Queen Maya, Sakyamuni Buddha’s mother, too was virginal but that involved white elephants, dreams, and mysterious sideways entries. Rabbits however make appearances in medieval Christian manuscripts beside the Blessed Mother as allegories for her very special powers of parthenogenesis. And so Our Goddess too knows no some all bounds and we shouldn’t be surprised to learn many other creatures may also reproduce asexually--leopard sharks, planarians, lots of annelid worms including polychaetes and some oligochaetes, MAGA Republicans, turbellarians and sea stars. This is not the recommended method but I do think you get the point. There’s so much more to be said about the ancient punk group Eostre and the Killer Rabbits but for now we’ll have to settle for a little disco,
And do the things, do the things
That we like to do
Do a little dance, make a little love,
Get down tonight…
And for that you gots-ta’ come to seminar TONIGHT for another round of the Tamil Goddess who hides sumptuous colored-egg clues where you least expect them. She’ll put on the KC and let in the Sunshine Band,
Baby, babe, I'll meet you,
Same place, same time
Where we can get together
And ease up our mind
Do a little dance, make a little love,
Get down tonight
Here’s the usual 411 and please do come tonight if you can. MORE DEEP PLAY.
saprema/dbrk
IMPORTANT STUFF HERE ->
Satuday, APRIL 1st, 5pm. The Tamil Goddess, THIRD Session, the Sumptuous Lover. Here is the Amman, the most ancient goddess, as we know her in myth and imagery. Join us. This is really good.
Saturday ZOOM: https://rochester.zoom.us/j/95057662268
Archive:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/owz6urldp6rnl4nv6bpdh/h?dl=0&rlkey=7rty7mxnjwk301bjk6vt7qtpi
Sunday Mahabharta. We are reading Nala, the most important story imho in the Epic. Join us! It is always a new day in the most ancient of stories. You’re never lost or maybe always but it’s always fun.
Sunday ZOOM: https://rochester.zoom.us/j/314987250:
Archive:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bfqt15y3n0uglir/AAAB_89LiCOob0hJI1w8BK7_a?dl=0
All Sessions are now $15, please use PayPal or Venmo: svcourses@gmail (Venmo is douglas-brooks-8).
We resume The NonBinary Muruga: Myths of the Six Temples on Thursday. March 30th. These are great stories, amazing myths, and taken all to heart might change your life at least a little.
Thursday ZOOM: https://rochester.zoom.us/j/98183733328
Archive:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/1fwu9qhlghlmz9t1a1sd2/h?dl=0&rlkey=2lz0ox3znbhl0iqc48qu59gpx
See you soon, play on,
Douglas
&&&Below the line is important playful stuff
We are just about to launch INDIA PILGRIMAGE. Dates in India not including travel: December 29th 2023-January 13th 2024. Registration will begin NEXT WEEK and All The Details.
Rajanaka Summer Camp, Bristol, NY, July 6th-10th. Plan now. Deposit is $200. Camp tuition will be $600, includes lunch and Curry Night, tea and snacks, you cover other meals and transportation, as it has always been since 200X. Venue: Bristol Valley Winery, Lane Road, Bristol, New York. More details with the Come to India Pilgrimage this coming week. Please come. Please?
You can find all of our Newsletters on the Kalliyam Blogspot here:
https://kalliyam.blogspot.com/2023/01/rajanaka-newsletter-january-10-2023.html
And so much to read on the Rajanaka Sammelana, Rajanaka Adesa, and the Contraiety [SIC] Blogspots, links here:
https://rajanaka.blogspot.com/2023/01/a-story-in-news-rajanaka-past-and.html
https://rajanakadesa.blogspot.com/2023/01/vrata-resolutions-and-new-year.html
https://contraiety.blogspot.com/2022/08/what-you-havent-earned-is-more-important.html
&&&this is the line, so look below for more stuff
Stories from the Tamil Temple and our focus is the Great Goddess, the Mother called Amman. We will visit with her first as the huntress bride, the wielder of the bow and spear, dauntless and committed to love but unwilling to be managed or housebroken. The Tamil vision of Amman is diacritic, extraordinary, and a far cry from meek or pliant. She offers love but never passivity, she is accommodating, merciful and ingratiating but never acquiescent or servile. The temple myths tell these stories of her deep desire for connection and relationship and we are invited to see her in ourselves and all around us. We begin tonight at 5pm, the Zoom link is here and there will of course be Archive recordings. Tuition is $15 per Session, that’s $90 for all Sessions to PayPal or Venmo (svcourses@gmail.com) . If you can’t make it live, the Archive recording will always be available.
The Zoom for all Saturdays at 5pm is always the same. ZOOM LINK:
https://rochester.zoom.us/j/95057662268
Dates: March 4, 18, 25, April 1, 8, 15
So much more. NEW FREE ONE HOUR, A Conversation About the Goddess Aranyani, The Wild One of the Forest, on the Archive here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fzcqc48pzzlilxa/AAB6LMj-WGPpjEBuEp6eqjz5a?dl=0
THURSDAYS IN MARCH & APRIL at 7pm Eastern
SIX MURUGA MYTHS: THE NONBINARY ARCHETYPE
You may not be much familiar with Ganesha’s brother Murugan. He is really only “important” in south India where his temple cult is significant. But in this archetype of the Tamils resides one of the great body of stories and imagergy. One of Muruga’s names is Shanmukha, Six Faces, and for each there is a temple and a very particular story. We will go on mythic pilgrimage together to the six temple myths of Muruga. (In December we are visiting these very temples on India Pilgrimage. This would be a great opportunity to make these trips.
Tuition is $15 per Session, or $90 for all Sessions to PayPal or Venmo (svcourses@gmail.com) . If you can’t make it live, the Archive recording will always be available.
The Zoom for all Thursdays at 7pm is always the same. ZOOM LINK: https://rochester.zoom.us/j/98183733328
You can find all of our Newsletters on the Kalliyam Blogspot here:
https://kalliyam.blogspot.com/2023/01/rajanaka-newsletter-january-10-2023.html
And so much to read on the Rajanaka Sammelana, Rajanaka Adesa, and the Contraiety [SIC] Blogspots, links here:
https://rajanaka.blogspot.com/2023/01/a-story-in-news-rajanaka-past-and.html
https://rajanakadesa.blogspot.com/2023/01/vrata-resolutions-and-new-year.html
https://contraiety.blogspot.com/2022/08/what-you-havent-earned-is-more-important.html
· Pancamukha Anjaneya, The Five-Face Hanuman of the Tantra. NOW IN ARCHIVE. Here is the link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/d62llefrjvyidefn3uequ/h?dl=0&rlkey=p774e7zbme37d8cc49ocysog2
What will you find?
Six Sessions and PDF to aid in study. Write to me if you need help.
Description: No form of Hanuman is more important or less understood and studied than the great Pancamukha. Here Hanuman bears the visage of Varaha the Boar, Garuda the Raptor, Hanuman the Monkey, Narasimha the Lion Man, and Hayagriva the Horse. We will bring this character to life in mythos, mantra, and mudra, in theory and practice, and there will be new stories and work that extends far beyond what we have done before with the Tantric Hanuman. Everyone is welcome. We start at the beginning and we go deep.
Tuition for Six Sessions is $150, payable over time if you need, use PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com or nallapaampu@gmail.com) or Venmo (douglas-brooks-8 or svcourses@gmail.com) If you can’t afford full tuition, talk to me. Your access is guaranteed. Tuition further promises unlimited access to the Recorded Dropbox Archive that will allow you to listen whenever you like. Registration for all is by attendance and tuition is on the honor system.
· Saturday CORE: Rasa in Theory and Practice.
Time: Six Sessions on Saturday Evenings, 5pm Eastern
Dates: January 14 we begin! Jan 14/21/28 then February 11/18/25
ZOOM link for all Saturdays: https://rochester.zoom.us/j/95057662268
ARCHIVE is HERE: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/d4uwwjw17seca2livd6r2/h?dl=0&rlkey=nh4g7xj6x7skeghw4x6tcsk2c
Description: Rasa means essence, taste, liquidity, flavor, sentiment, elemental feeling and emotion. At the heart of the study of poetry, Rasa Theory is a remarkable, rich, and complex method of analysis and appreciation of artistry and aesthetics. But rasa is also a roadmap, a process and practice, a method for understanding and exploring our most elemental feelings. Rajanaka has among the most developed and useful rasa traditions of yoga. At the center of every yoga is engagement with feeling and the development of “taste”: rasa is the core of our being and here we learn the way through that labyrinth of essence.
Tuition for Six Sessions is $150, payable over time if you need, use PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com or nallapaampu@gmail.com) or Venmo (douglas-brooks-8 or svcourses@gmail.com) If you can’t afford full tuition, talk to me. Your access is guaranteed. Tuition further promises unlimited access to the Recorded Dropbox Archive that will allow you to listen whenever you like. Registration for all is by attendance and tuition is on the honor system.
· SUNDAY MAHABHARATA.
EVERY Sunday is a new story, every bit of it makes sense no matter when you choose to attend!
Time: Sessions on Sundays at 5pm Eastern.
Dates: Every Sunday unless we announce otherwise!
ZOOM link is the same for all Sundays:
https://rochester.zoom.us/j/314987250
Tuition: $15 per Session or $20 and all goes to India causes. Your call. Complete Archive INCLUDING a free Audio book is here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bfqt15y3n0uglir/AAAB_89LiCOob0hJI1w8BK7_a?dl=0
Tuition for any of these Archives is $150 for complete access. You are on your honor to access them as you please and offer tuition via PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com or nallapaampu@gmail.com) or by Venmo (svcourses@gmail.com or douglas-brooks-8).
Gayatri Mantra
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/r58rwnp3ryxgi6a6y8yme/h?dl=0&rlkey=59kbd7hjdrl8n809zv8becmdi
Lalita 1000 Names
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/18o5rtle7p91hz2/AADQnph8ofpPAX5mtW7mX-L4a?dl=0
OM Autobiography
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/11jd30d14ibjjtv3wauaj/h?dl=0&rlkey=1wugbag9m7myo1c50gt6qoa6d
Shakuntala for India
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/osx5n6i9vrz5vi5ek9vch/h?dl=0&rlkey=pa7akqysgrauu07mw9te61yb1
Pancamukha Hanuman
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/d62llefrjvyidefn3uequ/h?dl=0&rlkey=p774e7zbme37d8cc49ocysog2
Rasa Theory
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/d4uwwjw17seca2livd6r2/h?dl=0&rlkey=nh4g7xj6x7skeghw4x6tcsk2c
Free Saturdays in 2023
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/rm505c2fcy04y3upn5abv/h?dl=0&rlkey=6gk1d5rzyypn0r37100wzv5hk
Sricakra Puja Appa Svadhyaya
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bi7z70589ztuak4/cakra%20puja.wav?dl=0
Religion 270 The Meaning of Life
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ab5ioprn7bk2qgsd8800i/h?dl=0&rlkey=k9g4xukvctff91fkye1wo5mdr
Poised for Grace Audio Book
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iw0za7jwml6m7mc/AACjDhxf9owOXjbkzT2r2k-Ra?dl=0
Patanjali Essential Core
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2qd7wc5qroiva3v/AAAaZPvnc9I2JQSrO88Iv1exa?dl=0
Sivakamasundari Practicum
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ifddb0hglwrm5hx/AABGyYYfSJ9B_KHhU1LgdsT3a?dl=0
Mahabharata Sundays
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bfqt15y3n0uglir/AAAB_89LiCOob0hJI1w8BK7_a?dl=0
· FREE One Hour Conversation this week on the Archive entitled Prana and the Five Pranas, Origins, Meanings and Mudras. (Please download directly from Dropbox, you need not ask to join the folder.) Link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/qcc7o1wxw69v55iyt5nlf/h?dl=0&rlkey=6jhxlo0i6zp2o69kuoxe8mkh5
Comments
Post a Comment