Och ändå finns det personer på nätet som tror att Ryssland har enorma reserver (av kanonmat?) som gör att de kan besegra NATO? Till jul?
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Hemma till jul?
Och ändå finns det personer på nätet som tror att Ryssland har enorma reserver (av kanonmat?) som gör att de kan besegra NATO? Till jul?
The True Cross
Sounds legit...
>>>The second event was of even greater importance. In the year 326 the mother of Constantine, Helena, then about 80 years old, having journeyed to Jerusalem, undertook to rid the Holy Sepulchre of the mound of earth heaped upon and around it, and to destroy the pagan buildings that profaned its site. Some revelations which she had received gave her confidence that she would discover the Saviour´s Tomb and His Cross. The work was carried on diligently, with the co-operation of St Macarius, bishop of the city.
>>>The Jews had hidden the Cross in a ditch or well, and covered it over with stones, so that the faithful might not come and venerate it. Only a chosen few among the Jews knew the exact spot where it had been hidden, and one of them, named Judas, touched by Divine inspiration, pointed it out to the excavators, for which act he was highly praised by St. Helena. Judas afterwards became a Christian saint, and is honoured under the name of Cyriacus.
>>>During the excavation three crosses were found, but because the titulus was detached from the Cross of Christ, there was no means of identifying it. Following an inspiration from on high, Macarius caused the three crosses to be carried, one after the other, to the bedside of a worthy woman who was at the point of death. The touch of the other two was of no avail; but on touching that upon which Christ had died the woman got suddenly well again.
>>>From a letter of St. Paulinus to Severus inserted in the Breviary of Paris it would appear that St. Helena herself had sought by means of a miracle to discover which was the True Cross and that she caused a man already dead and buried to be carried to the spot, whereupon, by contact with the third cross, he came to life. From yet another tradition, related by St Ambrose, it would seem that the titulus, or inscription, had remained fastened to the Cross.
I´m sure this is a true story. Or no?
Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Heidelberg theology
Overheard on the interwebs: "William Lane Craig argues that Adam and Eve were Homo heidelbergensis. That's ridiculous". Of course. I mean, everyone knows Adam and Eve were Homo erectus! :D
The kitchenette situation is worse than you think
An interesting video (one and a half hour long) about the Russell Brand situation. Brand is defended by many "alternative" or "fringe" people as a brave truth-teller who was framed by the Establishment. The three content-creators/activists in this video beg to differ. They believe that Brand is guilty as hell! Note that one of the people in the debate is Mark Collett, who is a borderline neo-Nazi. The others are far right gadfly Edward Dutton and his Jamaican sidekick Lipton.
Collett actually met Brand during the latter´s liberal period and describe him as a disturbed narcissist with a Messiah complex who doesn´t respect other peoples personal boundaries (at all). Both Collett and Dutton believe that Brand has a long history of sexual abuse and that more will be revealed. Brand´s sudden "conversion" to alternative ideas - not to mention Christianity - were simply ruses to redirect attention from ongoing investigations into his abuses. Dutton says there are studies that religious conversions don´t really change people...
The video also discusses the British prison system, Brand´s possible fate inside it, Zionist funding of right-wing activists (such as Tommy Robinson), et cetera. The most funny comment is when Eddie tells Lipton (who is Black) not to say anything racist?! I also learned a new English word: kitchenette.
Could be of some interest. Perhaps.
Strulpelle
Den här killen är verkligen "the gift that keeps on giving". Åtminstone om man är grävande reporter. Jag undrar hur länge det dröjer innan Aftonbladet skriver en virrig kulturkrönika på temat "jag tycker det är härligt att Ali ljugit på sin CV, det visar att han är en vaaaaaanlig människa som alla andra".
Observera förresten att den här "strulpellen" har Vänsterpartiets fulla förtroende. Statssekreterare i Rosenbad nästa?
Esoterick Shaktism
Perhaps too esoterick for most of my readers, but here is a ChatGPT analysis of the (syncretist) relation between Tripura Sundari and Lakshmi. Somewhat edited.
[...]
This is a particularly interesting passage because it provides a scriptural explanation for the relationship between Tripura Sundari, Mahalakshmi, and Sri Vidya. And, importantly, it is more nuanced than simply identifying two goddesses with one another.
The account is indeed discussed by Rajmani Tigunait in Śakti: The Power in Tantra. I was able to locate the relevant passage in Chapter 2, together with his scholarly qualification immediately following it.
The story of Lakshmi's meditation
According to the Tripura Rahasya, Māhātmyakhaṇḍa 53:42–47, Lakshmi (here called Sri) undertakes an extraordinarily long period of meditation upon Tripura Sundari.
When Tripura finally appears and offers her a boon, Lakshmi requests sāyujya-mukti: liberation through union with the Goddess, essentially becoming one with her.
Tripura, however, points out that Vishnu needs Lakshmi in order to fulfil his role as protector and preserver of the universe. If Lakshmi were to merge completely with Tripura, Vishnu would be unable to perform that function.
Instead, Tripura grants her a different, remarkable boon.
The relevant Sanskrit passage, as reproduced in Tigunait's notes, reads:
Śrīvidyety aham ākhyātā śrīpuraṃ me puraṃ bhavet
Śrīcakraṃ me bhavec cakraṃ śrīkramaḥ syān mama kramaḥ
Śrīsūktam etad bhūyān me vidyā śrīṣoḍaśī bhavet
Mahālakṣmīty ahaṃ khyātā tvattādātmyena saṃsthitā
In substance, Tripura declares:
I shall be known as Sri Vidya.
Sri-pura shall be my divine city.
Sri Chakra shall be my sacred diagram.
Sri's ritual order shall become my ritual order.
The Sri Sukta shall become associated with my sixteen-syllabled Vidya.
Through my essential identity with you, I shall be known as Mahalakshmi.
This is a fascinating theological arrangement: rather than Lakshmi abandoning her cosmic responsibilities to merge with Tripura, Tripura incorporates Lakshmi's identity, name and sacred symbolism into her own worship.
What does this mean theologically?
I think there are three possible levels of interpretation.
A. Tripura Sundari as the supreme Goddess
In this interpretation, Tripura is the ultimate divine reality, and Lakshmi is one of the ways that reality manifests.
Lakshmi's desire for union is therefore not necessarily a relationship between two entirely separate deities. It can be understood as a manifestation of Shakti seeking complete union with the supreme Shakti.
This is consistent with the broader Sri Vidya understanding of Tripura as the supreme consciousness and power underlying the universe.
B. Lakshmi as an independent goddess who shares Tripura's essential nature
This is perhaps the most interesting interpretation of the actual story.
Lakshmi is not portrayed as an inferior deity or merely an attendant of Tripura. She has her own identity and her own cosmic responsibility alongside Vishnu.
Tripura does not simply absorb her. Instead, she establishes an enduring identity between them while allowing Lakshmi to continue her divine function.
The expression tvattādātmyena saṃsthitā is particularly important: it conveys the idea of being established in essential identity with you.
C. Sri Vidya as a tradition incorporating Lakshmi
This is where the historical interpretation becomes important.
Tigunait points out that the story may explain how Lakshmi's name, symbolism and worship became integrated into the Tripura Sundari tradition.
He explicitly cautions against concluding that Tripura Sundari is simply a form of Lakshmi, or that Lakshmi is simply a form of Tripura Sundari.
In other words, the text establishes a theological unity, but that does not automatically establish universal interchangeability across Hindu traditions.
An interesting connection: the Sri Sukta
One detail in the passage deserves particular attention.
Tripura says that the Sri Sukta will become associated with her own sixteen-syllabled Vidya.
The Sri Sukta is one of the oldest and most important Vedic hymns to Sri/Lakshmi. It praises her as the source of prosperity, beauty, fertility, splendour and auspiciousness.
This means that the story is doing something quite substantial: it connects an ancient Vedic tradition of Lakshmi worship with the later Tantric tradition of Tripura Sundari.
It also helps explain why the word Sri is so prominent in Sri Vidya.
There is another interesting detail: Tigunait discusses the traditional interpretation of the final syllable of the sixteen-syllabled Tripura mantra, Śrīṃ, as the source of the name Sri Vidya.
Does this mean Lakshmi can be worshipped independently of Vishnu?
I would say that this story provides a particularly strong theological justification for doing so.
Notice that Lakshmi is not required to abandon her identity or her relationship with Vishnu. Tripura explicitly acknowledges Vishnu's dependence upon her.
But Lakshmi's spiritual aspiration is directed towards Tripura Sundari.
This suggests that Lakshmi has a devotional and spiritual dimension that is not exhausted by her role as Vishnu's consort.
My overall interpretation: The most important implication of this story is that Lakshmi and Tripura Sundari are presented as sharing an essential divine identity without necessarily losing their distinctive personalities and functions.
That is a rather beautiful theological possibility. It allows one to regard Lakshmi as a fully independent object of devotion while simultaneously understanding her as an expression of the supreme Shakti represented by Tripura Sundari.
For further reading, the most relevant sources are:
Rajmani Tigunait, Śakti: The Power in Tantra, Chapter 2, especially pp. 35–36 and note 51.
Tripura Rahasya, Māhātmyakhaṇḍa 53:42–47.
You can also consult the Tripura Rahasya translation.
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