"Read what's in their heart" is an invitation to self-projection. A weak plea for the American public to imagine themselves as a figure they reject in the hopes that if they imagine themselves in place of that person, they will go along with whatever ...
...the powers-that-currently-be tell them to. As a scold against political protest or criticism, it's facile, condescending, and absurd.
A politician, as with any public figure, will be judged on what they say and what they do. On the policies they plan and implement, the speeches they make, and the agendas they serve. Not on some nebulous, pseudo-spiritual, idea about what might be "in their heart."
I don't care what their intentions are. Their actions are what matters.
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Let's talk about the Vasudev Shaligram! It's an interesting one.
Vaasudev carries a wide variety of meanings depending on the particular Hindu tradition in question. In Indian epic poetry, Vasudeva is the father of Krishna. He was the brother of Nanda Baba, the chieftain of the cowherder tribe...
...who was a Surasena (an ancient Indian region corresponding to the present-day Braj region in Uttar Pradesh) who also became the foster father of Krishna.
What's missing here is a mention that the "hot pastor" issue also comes directly on the heels of a broader masculinization of Jesus and Christianity in general.
Three years ago, Nate Pyle posted this very short piece wherein he used the term "Muscular Christianity." An attempt to recast Jesus as the quintessential "man's man" in order to appeal to diminishing male engagement in Church life.
This hyper-masculine Christ then aligned with Euro-American (as in, White) ideals of men’s strength and virility, and drew them back in to religion by calling on the age-old framing of women as naturally subservient and men as lords of their households.
So, I've been casually watching my very Conservative Christian family members (and Trump supporters) react to the election results. Here's how it has played out so far.
(A Thread about social media, religion, and politics)
At first, there was silence. No posts. No responses. Nothing. Just a social media blackout that lasted from roughly November 5th to November 7th. Then, the first memes appeared. This was the one that came through my feed first.
One of the most common requests I get is for help in identifying the specific manifestation of a particular Shaligram stone. I.e., "Reading" a Shaligram.
There are many reasons for this. Primarily, I'm often asked for help in identifying Shaligrams from people who either don't have access to gurus or ritual specialists from their home traditions and/or those who were never able to receive instruction on Shaligram interpretation.
When I can, I am happy to help. By virtue of my ethnographic research, I've now been privileged to experience almost 8 years of study in reading Shaligrams. I've had teachers in India and Nepal, as well as sustained, long-term, work with practitioners in the Diaspora.
@ShabanaMir1 recently requested a story thread detailing how I first encountered the Shaligram Stones and came to be researching them years later. So, here you go! A bit of Release Day bonus Shaligram content!
I began my Master's fieldwork in northern India in 2012. At the time, I was specifically interested in deity care. As in, how did people encounter the material Divine and look after/care for it day-to-day in their homes. I observed puja and darshan rituals for months.
And then, by chance, I happened to notice a small brass bowl with one of these black fossil stones sitting on a puja home altar (mandir). It struck me as interesting but at the time, I didn't think too much about it. Oh, how that would change in such a short period of time.