What is knowledge?

"Nothing is as pure as knowledge in this world. Knowledge is higher than all rituals. All activities find fulfilment only in knowledge." - Bhagwad Gita..

One of the most famous questions of the Upanishads is: "What is that, knowing which, everything else is known?" (Mundaka Upanishad 1.1.3). The technical term for the study of knowledge, its characteristics and its limitations is "epistemology". In ancient India, nyaya - one of the six classical schools of philosophy - dealt primarily with epistemology (and so did many of the Upanishads).

The harmonious existence of different systems of knowledge was the framework of the three epistemologies given in the Upanishads. Knowledge is said to be at three levels or three realms. The first is called adhibhuta - the knowledge that belongs to the material world, or what we call "facts". A large part of modern science and factual based knowledge will come under this heading.

The second is called adhidaiva - the knowledge that belongs to the non-material sphere, such as emotions, ideas, and beliefs, or what we call "values". The emotional response to a work of art or an abstract idea conceived by the mind - all these are parts of adhidaiva.

The third realm is called adhyatma - the knowledge that belongs to the self, such as personal experiences and insights. Inner awareness and consciousness come under this heading.

This framework can be extended not just to our reading but also to various activities we undertake in our daily lives. Some activities are merely at the level of adhibhuta, like taking care of the body or managing finances. Activities like prayer or engagement with an art form will be at the level of adhidaiva. And those activities that involve contemplation and meditation are at the level of adhyatma.

While adhibhuta works in the realm of matter (and is realised by experimentation and logic), adhidaiva works in the realm of human psyche (and is realised by faith and imagination), and adhyatma works in the realm of the self (and is realised by experience and wisdom). All these three realms are essential for living a complete human life. And each realm gives us a fresh layer of meaning.

The philosophy of Hinduism in ancient times with the existence of these three epistemologies, rarely saw clashes between religion and science, art and science, religion and morals, art and ethics. They realised that truths can be at different levels, applicable to different realms.

Apotropaic Magic

Apotropaic magic is a ritual observance that is intended to turn away evil. It can be as elaborate as the use of magical ceremonies or spells, or as simple as the vaguely superstitious carrying or wearing of a "good luck" token or "charm" (perhaps on a charm bracelet), crossing one's fingers or knocking on wood.
"Apotropaic" is an adjective that means "intended to ward off evil" or "averting or deflecting evil" and commonly refers to objects such as amulets or other symbols. The word is of Greek origin: apotrope literally means "turning away" or averting (as in "averting the evil eye"). 

Apotropaic symbols


The Gorgon


The Gorgon, flanked by lionesses and showing her belt clasp of serpents, as depicted at the pediment of the 7th century B.C. temple on display at the Archaeological Museum of Corfu, Greece

The Gorgon, flanked by lionesses and showing her belt clasp of serpents, as depicted at the pediment of the seventh century B.C. temple on display at the Archaeological Museum of Corfu

Among the Ancient Greeks the most widely-used image intended to avert evil was that of the Gorgon, the head of which now may be called the Gorgoneion, which features wild eyes, fangs, and protruding tongue. The full figure of the Gorgon holds the apex of the oldest remaining Greek temple where she is flanked by two lionesses. The Gorgon head was mounted on the aegis and shield of Athena.

** does it remind us of Kali 


Sheela na Gigs

The doorways and windows of buildings were felt to be particularly vulnerable to evil. On churches and castles, gargoyles or other grotesque faces and figures such as Sheela na Gigs and Hunky Punks would be carved to frighten away witches and other malign influences. Those other openings, fireplaces or chimneys, may also have been carved. Rather than figural carvings, these seem to have been simple geometric or letter carvings. Where a wooden post was used to support a chimney opening, this was often an easier subject for amateur carving. 


Phalli

In ancient Greece, phalli were believed to have apotropaic qualities. Often stone reliefs would be placed above doorways, but there were also many three-dimensional renditions erected across the Greek world. Most notable of these were the urban monuments found on the island of Delos. Grotesque, satyr-like beaded faces, sometimes with the pointed cap of the workman, appeared often over the doors of ovens and kilns, to protect the work from fire and mishap. A similar use of phallic representations to ward off the evil eye remains popular in modern Bhutan and is associated with the 500 year old Buddhist tradition of Drupka Kinley, and is paralleled by other south Asian uses of the lingam symbol.

Lajja Gauri from Naganatha Temple, Bijapur District, Karnataka, India

This is a stone sculpture from Naganatha Temple, Bijapur District, Karnataka, India, c. 650 CE, now in the Badami Museum.


Bijapur District, Karnataka, India

This is Devi as the Creatress, as Mother of the Universe, as the Life-Giving Force of Nature, in a bold, uncompromising display of the Divine Feminine Principle. The late scholar David Kinsley, who wrote several popular studies of the Goddess in India, noted that Lajja Gauri's headlessness is meant to focus Her devotee's attention away from Her individual personalities, and upon Her cosmogonic function as the Source of Everything That Is. He wrote in 1986:

"Some very ancient ... examples have been discovered in India of nude goddesses squatting or with their thighs spread ... The arresting iconographic feature of these images is their sexual organs, which are openly displayed. These figures often have their arms raised above their bodies and are headless or faceless. Most likely, the headlessness of the figures [is intended to] focus attention on their physiology, [placing the] emphasis on sexual vigor, life, and nourishment."

Without a doubt, the most comprehensive monograph to date on Lajja Gauri is Bolon's Forms of the Goddess Lajja Gauri in Indian Art, published in 1992 by Penn State University Press. Bolon judges that the sculpture of the goddess above is probably the finest Lajja Gauri sculpture still in existence. Here is her lyrical description of the idol:

The modeling of the female figure is supple and sensitive. The suggestion of soft, sagging stomach flesh, like the slackening of a woman's abdomen after childbirth, is masterly. The breasts are firm with folds of flesh beneath them. The arms and shoulders are delicate and feminine. The legs, in uttanapad, are spread more naturally than in other [Lajja Gauri] images with the knees up, the feet are flexed with soles up, and the toes are tensed. The nude body is ornamented with necklace, channavira [body-encompassing jewelry that hangs from the neck, crosses between the breasts, passes around the waist and up the back], girdle, bracelets, and armlets that are like a vine tendril wrapping around the arms and actually ending in a leaf. Tassels of the anklets also seem plantlike. There is a cloth woven through the thighs.

"... The half-open lotus flower, sitting like a ruff on the shoulders, is turned three-quarters toward the viewer. The goddess holds, to either side of her lotus head, a half-open, smaller lotus flower, the stalk of which winds around her hand. The fingers themselves have a tentril-like quality. The fingers of the right hand seem to form a swastika, symbol of fortune and well-being. No doubt, the suggestion of her relation to vegetation is intended. ... This image is a masterpiece of fluid modeling and conscious symbol-making."

Lajja Gauri from the Sangameshwara Temple, Kudavelli, Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh, India

This is a stone sculpture of Lajja Gauri from the Sangameshwara
Temple, Kudavelli, Kurnool District,Andhra Pradesh,
India, c. 650 CE, now in the Alampur Museum.

The modeling of the female figure is supple and sensitive. The suggestion of soft, sagging stomach flesh, like the slackening of a woman's abdomen after childbirth, is masterly. The breasts are firm with folds of flesh beneath them. The arms and shoulders are delicate and feminine. The legs, in uttanapad, are spread naturally with the knees up, the feet are flexed with soles up, and the toes are tensed. The nude body is ornamented with necklace, girdle, bracelets, and armlets that are like a vine tendril wrapping around the arms and actually ending in a leaf. 

Lajja Gauri in Kamakhya Temple, Assam, India

Lajja Gauri in Kamakhya temple, Assam

Sanskrit scholar, Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty, identifies this Vedic Goddess as "the female principle of creation or infinity". O'Flaherty's colleague, Carol Radcliffe Bolon, agrees that the "form of the Goddess most widely known today as Lajja Gauri fits the Vedic descriptions of the Mother of the Gods, Aditi," but notes that the unlettered artisans who carved Her images and the devotees who worshipped Her were probably unaware of this formidable pedigree.

In this case, however, ignorance of priestly interpretations was probably not much of a handicap: Lajja's visual message seems abundantly clear. Her frequent juxtaposition with the Shiva linga (an aniconic, phallic form of the Divine Masculine Principle), and Her association with lions and the god Ganesh, suggest beyond a doubt that She was considered a manifestation of the Supreme Devi, specifically Parvati (who is also called Gauri). Her size (always equal to Shiva's), and the prominent display of Her full breasts (suggesting life-giving nurture and sustenance) and yoni (vulva, womb; suggesting generative, creative power) indicate that She probably served as a Feminine counterpart to the Masculine linga. 

Whatever Lajja Gauri's ultimate origins, She is clearly a very auspicious Goddess. Everything about Her suggests life, creativity, and abundance. Her images are almost always associated with springs, waterfalls and other sources of running water -- vivid symbols of life-giving sustenance. Her belly usually protrudes, suggesting fullness and/or pregnancy; in earlier sculptures, Her torso was often portrayed as an actual pot, another ancient symbol of wealth and abundance. Lajja Gauri's head is usually a lotus flower, an extremely powerful, elemental symbol of both material and spiritual well-being. (Interestingly, today's images of the popular Goddess Lakshmi -- patroness of wealth and material fulfillment -- are also rife with water, pots and lotuses.) 

Her images are virtually always prone, laying at or below floor level in her characteristic uttanapad posture, as though rising from the Earth itself, a manifestation of the primordial Yoni from which all life springs. Indeed, Her birth/sexual posture unambiguously denotes fertility and reproductive power. This is Devi as the Creatress, as Mother of the Universe, as the Life-Giving Force of Nature, in a bold, uncompromising display of the Divine Feminine Principle. She is besides the protector of light that illuminates all life and ensures consciousness.

The iconic model of Lajja Gauri takes its source in the Mesopotamian civilization. Her representation was brought by the trade in the civilization of the early Indus. Lajja Gauri-like pre dates the Vedas.

Swastika in Christianity

On the walls of the Christian catacombs in Rome, the symbol of the Swastika appears next to the words “ZOTIKO ZOTIKO” which means “Life of Life”. It can also be found on the window openings of the mysterious Lalibela Rock churches of Ethiopia, and in various other churches around the world.

The Swastika Problem: Symbol of peace or hate?

How and why did so many diverse countries and cultures, across many eras, use the same symbol and apparently with the same meaning?   

It is ironic, and unfortunate, that a symbol of life and eternity that was considered sacred for thousands of years has become a symbol of hatred.

http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/onmyplate/the-swastika-problem-symbol-of-peace-or-hate/

Aditi

devAnAm yuge prathame.asataH sadajAyata |
tadAśA anvajAyanta taduttAnapadas pari ||
bhUrjajNa uttAnapado bhuva AśA ajAyanta |
aditerdakSHoajAyata dakSHAd vaditiH pari ||

In the first age of the gods, existence was born from non-existence.
The quarters of the sky were born from Her who crouched with legs spread.
The earth was born from Her who crouched with legs spread,
And from the earth the quarters of the sky were born.
Rig Veda, 10.72.3-4 


aditirdyaur aditirantarikSHam aditirmAtA sa pitA sa putraH |
viśve devA aditiH paNca janA aditirjAtam aditirjanitvam ||

Aditi is the sky
Aditi is the air
Aditi is all the gods...
Aditi is the Mother, the Father, and Son
Aditi is whatever shall be born.
Knowledge is Aditi, knowledge is knowing Aditi.
(Rg Veda, I.89.10)

Lajja Gauri.Vinca.5th mill.bc

Lajja Gauri.Vinca.5th mill.bc
Lajja Gauri and snakes.
Gomolova.
The goddesses and Gods of Old Europe. Marija Gimbutas.

Lajja Gauri. Lorestan.1250-650 bc.

Bronze disk headed pin.Louvre museum.A 2nd similar piece in the Louvre collection.
Curious to weird representation. All the fertility functions ; sexuality, birtgiving and nurturing ...Inanna star converted in 8 petals flower ... surrounded by 2 antelopes Astarte design.

Lajja Gauri attitude.Colombia.1st mill.ac.

Lajja Gauri attitude.Colombia.1st mill.ac.
Museo del Oro, Banco de la Republica. Bogota.
Tairona culture. Santa Marta.
The earth mother, creator of all things. Legs apart and arms raised in Lajja Gauri attitude : fertility cult of the primordial mother.
The large Chibcha culture: Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia (Tairona) The Tairona culture was destroyed by the Spaniards towards the 16th century ac.
12,4 x 13,9 cm.

Dilukai - Caroline Islands, Belau (Palau)

Dilukai (or dilukái or dilugai), are wooden figures of young women carved over the doorways of chiefs' houses (bai) in the Palauan archipelago. They are typically shown with legs splayed, revealing a large, black, triangular pubic area with the hands resting on the thighs. These female figures protect the villagers' health and crops and ward off evil spirits. They were traditionally carved by ritual specialists according to strict rules, which, if broken, would result in the deaths of the carver and the chief.

References

• D’Alleva, Anne, Arts of the Pacific Islands, New York, Harry N. Abrams, 1998.
• Jones, Lindsay (ed), Encyclopedia of Religion, Detroit, Macmillan, 2005, article on Yoni.

Lajja Gauri

Parvati in a birth-giving posture

108 marma points cover the human body

The guiding principle of Ayurveda is disease prevention by harmonizing the body's rhythm with nature. Marma is a Sanskrit word meaning hidden , or secret. By definition, a marma point is a juncture on the body where two or more types of tissue meet, such as muscles, veins, ligaments, bones or joints. Yet marma points are much more than a casual connection of tissue and fluids; they are intersections of the vital life force and prana, or breath.

The marma points are where consciousness meets matter; where deep silence resides in the body. In Ayurveda, marma points are thought to house the three pillars of life, otherwise known as the doshas. According to Ayurvedic philosophy, doshas make up a person's constitution. The trinity includes vata (air), pitta (fire) and kapha (earth). Everyone is born in a state of balance, or prakriti. The marma points are vital points on the body where vata, pitta, and kapha are present in their subtlest forms.

In all, 107 marma points cover the human body. They range in size from one to six inches in diameter. The points were mapped out in detail centuries ago in the Sushruta Samhita, a classic Ayurvedic text. Major marma points correspond to the seven chakras, or energy centers of the body, while minor points radiate out along the torso and limbs. The points cover both the front and back body, including 22 on the lower extremities, 22 on the arms, 12 on the chest and stomach, 14 on the back, and 37 on the head and neck. (The mind is considered the 108th marma.)  Major marma points correspond to   seven Chakras, or energy centers of the body, while minor points radiate out along the trunk and limbs. Traditionally marma points are grouped into 3 categories. those on the legs and feet, Sanakha Marma, on the trunk, Madhayamanga Marma, neck and head, Jatrurdhara Marma. 

During the aging process, factors such as anxiety, lackluster diet, or poor sleep habits cause disharmony among the doshas. Over the years, doshic imbalances begin to block the movement of free-flowing energy in the body. Eventually, the stagnation opens the door to physical and mental discomfort and disease. 

ROLE OF MARMA

There are four basic purposes of Marma:

1. It remove  blocks in energy channels called shrotas.
2. It pacifies vata dosha, (air and space elements ), bringing it to its normal path— especially vyana vata, (a sub-dosha which controls the autonomic nervous system.) 
3. It creates physical, mental and emotional flexibility.  Because of ama (toxins) and because of vata, human beings after 35 or 40 years of age become rigid — and this happens to animals and plants as well.  As vata increases in   body, it leads to degeneration.  This rigidity  means becoming fixed in ideas, emotions and physical movements. 
4. This gentle treatment creates an opportunity to experience powerful and dynamic transformation at the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level  by building a positive link with the unconscious mind.  Many a times, people are not able to go outside their ‘comfort zone’.  They think they have absolute limitations.  After Marma is done, they can start taking positive risks.

Swastika Symbol in Bengal, a state in India

The swastika (in Bengali  স্বস্তিক) is an important Bengali Hindu symbol used for every religious and auspicious ceremony. All religious items and spaces are sanctified with this symbol, which is traced using the middle finger and smearing red sindoor (red vermilion) paste. House entrances and doorways are decorated with this symbol and every space and item consecrated with this symbol for weddings, festivals and ceremonies. The symbol relates with the invocation of Shakti (the female energy).

Anthropomorphic Pendant

Date:5th–10th century

Geography:Colombia, Rio Magdalena region

Culture:Tolima

Medium:Gold (cast)

Dimensions:H. 5 3/8 x W. 3 3/8 in. (13.7 x 8.6 cm)

Classification:Metal-Ornaments

Credit Line:The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979

Accession Number:1979.206.547

Provenance
[John Wise Ltd., New York, until 1957]; Nelson A. Rockefeller, New York, 1957, on loan to the Museum of Primitive Art, New York, 1957–1978

Timeline of Art History (2000-present)
Timelines
Northern Andes, 1–500A.D.
Northern Andes, 500–1000 A.D.

Swastika Early cycladik II 2700-2300 BCE.

National museum Athens.

Gold Figure Pendant

Date: 1st–7th century

Geography: Colombia

Culture: Tolima

Medium: Gold

Dimensions: H. 7 1/8 x W. 4 3/8 in. (18.1 x 11.1cm)

Classification: Metal-Ornaments

Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979

Accession Number: 1979.206.497

The Tolima peoples of Colombia's Magdalena Valley produced a distinctive type of gold object that had a high degree of consistency over a considerable period of time. The objects, figure pendants with zoomorphic and anthropomorphic references, were worn about the neck suspended from cords or thongs; they are almost flat, with sharp, symmetrical outlines. Their standard, identifiable forms verge on abstraction, but facial features such as the long, slender noses, beady eyes, and toothy mouths are depicted more realistically. Two basic configurations are known; the present example is of the "winged" body type. It has the squarish face with big, loopy ears, inverted L-shaped ornaments on top of the head, perhaps representing plumes, and the large bifurcated tail common on both types. Its midsection, however, below the splayed, fringed "arms," features elaborate openwork, perhaps depicting feathers or even a feathered costume. It has been suggested that the animal references of Tolima spread "wing" pendants—perhaps to bats, birds, and serpents—relate the figures to shamanism.

Provenance

[John Wise Ltd., New York, until 1957]; Nelson A. Rockefeller, New York, 1957, on loan to the Museum of Primitive Art, New York, 1957–1978

References

Art of Oceania, Africa, and the Americas from the Museum of Primitive Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1969, 463.

Newton, Douglas, Julie Jones, and Kate Ezra. The Pacific Islands, Africa, and the Americas. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987.

Timelines
Northern Andes, 1–500A.D.

Lajja Gauri Colombia AD 100-500

PRE-COLOMBIAN Pectoral, Tolima culture, Colombia, 100-500 AD.
Gold.
Museo del Oro, Banco de la Republica. Bogotá. Pectoral Tolima en or.

Tairona culture. Tolima. Magdalena valley.

The earth mother, creator of all things. Legs apart and arms raised in Lajja Gauri attitude : fertility cult of the primordial mother.

The large Chibcha culture: Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia (Tairona)
The Tairona culture was destroyed by the Spaniards towards the 16th century AD.

23,4 x 25,7 cm.