Wednesday

 

Worship Ganesha and be happy! 

Creationism´s Trojan Horse?

 

A recent critique of the so-called Third Way of Evolution (or Third Way). I assumed TWE was a legitimate - albeit controversial - participant in the scientific debates on Neo-Darwinism, but according to the video above, TWE has diplomatic relations with creationists from the Discovery Institute. 

The famed "crisis meeting" at the British Royal Society, which is often mentioned by creationists, was actually called by TWE´s founder Denis Noble himself. In other words, it was simply a TWE-adjacent meeting, not some kind of official scientific conference trying to salvage a evolutionary theory in deep trouble. Some fellows from the Discovery Institute were invited to participate. 

The critics charge that TWE has no scientific standing. That is, their research (if they even do any) isn´t leading anywhere. The more speculative supporters of TWE believe that the individual organism can willingly chose to evolve! There is currently no evidence for this super-Lamarckian take on things.  

Meanwhile, standard evolutionary science has already incorporated other mechanisms besides natural selection working on genetic mutations, for instance epigenetic inheritance, so "narrow Neo-Darwinism" isn´t a thing anymore. This extended synthesis explains things just fine and has lead to huge progress in the medical field (which happens to be Noble´s field).

But note that Sam McKee (the guy on the left in the video) speaks highly of Simon Conway Morris, who is a Christian and believes that evolutionary convergence is an argument for teleology and hence God. Conway Morris recently got a huge grant from the Templeton Foundation. McKee also points to remarkable convergence all across the board in evolution, but never explicitly draws the same conclusion as his collegue. Yet, McKee is a Christian himself. 

Maybe there is more to discover here...

Makabert

 

Credit: JM Ligero Loarte

Källan är en avhoppare, men även den amerikanska militären undersökte ju om djur kunde ha övernaturliga förmågor. Och människor! Så visst kan detta vara sant. Och sanslöst. 

Makabert experiment skulle testa kaniners övernaturliga förmågor

Absorption

 

My result on the "Tellegen Absorption Scale" was only 5 out of 34. So is *that* why I never have any spiritual or religious experiences? Or almost never. Damn. I suppose I will never see the sky fairies and their luminous orbs...

Juan Diego mythicism

 

Claim: Juan Diego never existed. You know, the guy who supposedly saw Marian apparitions in 1531. The Lady of Guadalupe.

Hmmm... 

Sockerchock lyfter Sverige

 

Credit: Andrzej Otrebski 

Många klagar över att valrörelsen är så avslagen och "märklig". Visst, det kanske stämmer. Fast förklaringen är väl ganska uppenbar? Många väljare förstår antagligen att en socialdemokratisk regering inte kommer att förändra så värst mycket. Och det inkluderar socialdemokraternas egna väljare...

Paradigmskifte? 

Veckans Strasser

 

Lite förvånad över att den här gamle skojaren fortfarande gör utspel till och från...

Har bara ett krav: Bryt Löfvens arv. Sluta ljuga.

Den onödiga samtiden

 

Apropå en ny "reality"serie (som jag inte har sett). 

HBO spelar med i en kvinnohatande samtid 

Second breakfast

 

Another video on the Homo florensiensis situation. Recent research suggests that the "Hobbit" might not be a dwarfed Homo erectus (sensu stricto) but some kind of pre-human or almost-human. Perhaps an australopith (sensu latto)? I´m not surprised. I had a hunch in this direction already seven years ago. So can we go home now? Second breakfast, guys!

Bigfoot evidence

Shiva as alchemist

 

- Welcome, stranger!

A kind of sequel to the previous blog post. I want to see this place! 

Who is Hatakeshvara?

Hāṭakeśvara (हाटकेश्वर) is a form of Śiva, particularly associated with the subterranean realm Vitala in Purāṇic cosmology. The name is usually understood as "Lord of Hāṭaka", with hāṭaka meaning gold (especially a particular kind of sacred or subterranean gold).

He is a rather obscure but fascinating Śaiva form.

Hāṭakeśvara in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa

The key passage is 5.24.16, in the description of the seven lower worlds.

The text describes Śiva and his consort Bhavānī dwelling in Vitala. Through the power of their union, a special form of gold called Hāṭaka is produced from the subterranean waters.

The inhabitants of Vitala use this gold to make ornaments and enjoy extraordinary wealth.

So the basic symbolism is:

Śiva + Śakti → subterranean fire/energy → Hāṭaka (gold)

Hāṭakeśvara is therefore an unusual Śiva manifestation connected with chthonic power, fire, fertility, transformation and precious metals.

The name

Hāṭaka = a type of gold
Īśvara = Lord

Hence:

Hāṭakeśvara = "Lord of Hāṭaka (gold)."

The Bhāgavata passage actually makes the connection more explicit by saying that Hāṭakeśvara is the name by which Śiva is known there.

His consort

The text associates him with Bhavānī (Pārvatī).

This is significant because Vitala isn't simply a realm where an isolated Śiva is present. It is a Śiva–Śakti environment.

The resulting gold is described as having a brilliant appearance, and the beings of Vitala use it for their ornaments and possessions.

Is Hāṭakeśvara a major deity?

No. Unlike:

• Mahādeva,
• Rudra,
• Bhairava,
• Natarāja,
• Dakṣiṇāmūrti,
• Paśupati,

Hāṭakeśvara is a relatively obscure regional/cosmological epithet of Śiva.

There are, however, temples called Hāṭakeśvara in India, and the name has also been used independently of the Bhāgavata's cosmological passage.

One should therefore distinguish:

Hāṭakeśvara as the Purāṇic Śiva of Vitala

from

Hāṭakeśvara as a temple/deity name used in later regional Śaiva traditions.

Why he is interesting for your previous question

There's a striking implication here.

You were asking about the possibility of sacred darkness / sacred night, rather than darkness as something evil.

Vitala is a subterranean, "lower" realm, yet the Bhāgavata places Śiva and Śakti right there, generating a substance of extraordinary beauty and value.

That makes Hāṭakeśvara an interesting example of a broader Hindu principle:

Śiva is not confined to the luminous, heavenly regions. He is present in the subterranean, chthonic and hidden dimensions of reality as well.

And because Hāṭakeśvara appears together with Bhavānī, the symbolism is almost quintessentially Śaiva-Śākta: consciousness and power operating within the depths of manifestation, transforming the "dark" or hidden realm into something precious.