New Spirits – Reading Deleuze in India
Consciousness exists only in connection with other consciousness
Experiences of travel and place in India: Tamil Nadu, temples, paths, landscapes, and particular spaces of encounter.
Bodhi Zendo I had ordered a book to take with me to Bodhi Zendo: “Zen in der Kunst der Tuschemalerei” (“Zen in the Art of Ink Painting”) by Katharina Shepherd-Kobel. It is a beautiful book; it speaks to me and nourishes my longing to learn ink painting and deepen my meditation. When I first entered into Zen meditation three and a half years ago, the impulse to go to Auroville awoke. The meditation in Bremen was strict. We followed the…
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During the Chola Empire, the layout of Shiva temples was formalized to a great degree. Based on the Agamas and Shastras, the temple was fully developed into a place in space, time, and consciousness where the microcosm and macrocosm mirror each other. When a temple is built, a site will be chosen, and it has to be indicated as auspicious. Often an unusually friendly encounter with the animal realm is such a good sign. The site then has to be…
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During the Chola Empire, the layout of Shiva temples became highly formalized. Based on the Agamas and Shastras, the temple was fully developed into a place in space, time, and consciousness where microcosm and macrocosm mirror one another. Studying the Irumbai temple as a smaller temple that follows the strict rules of temple construction and serves as a temple for practitioners shows its central role in a cluster of about two dozen temples in the surrounding area. It follows the…
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But Hitler did build highways! I hear this more and more often lately. It is difficult to go on talking at this point, because a certain argument that I find very important is quite complex and is rejected by people who want to relativize fascism and the Holocaust. The argument, prompted by Adorno, is: after Auschwitz, no more poems can be written. In rough outline, it goes like this: The scale of the horror of the Holocaust is so great…
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Experiencing a culture shock in Chicago after coming from India, where the ancient wisdom of the Vedas is still alive. Exploring the contrast between consciousness and matter, and the search for a place to dwell. Reflecting on the extremes and values of modernity in the USA.
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The Tamil Nadu Department of Archaeology has officially counted thousands of temples. Learn more about the significance of these temples and their knowledge thousands of years old. #Archaeology #Temples #TamilNadu
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Learn more about the secret of kolams—a traditional art form in Tamil Nadu in which women draw complex patterns on the streets before sunrise. This practice combines dance, meditation, and contemplation and conveys symbolic messages across generations.
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Standing in the back of a small truck, I have spent the last few days driving through Auroville to collect various things for the Pottersmarket. These small trucks are the big brothers of the tuk-tuks. Sometimes you see six or seven dozen people standing on them when another big festival is coming up. They are a popular means of transport for people in the villages when they travel long distances together to be close to the gods. It is surprising…
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