Gemini´s version of the Newar Buddhist goddess Graha Matrika, associated with Saturdays.
Saturday, October 24, 2026
A living god
I just read "Continuing Transformation: Shri Nath, His Gurus and His Devotees in a Timeless World" by Paul van der Velde, originally published in the journal "Religions" in 2023. It´s available free on-line.
The article deals with the Pushtimarga, one of several Hindu groups which concentrate their devotion on Krishna. The Pushtimarga worship Krishna in the form of a boy-child, here called Shri Nath. The author concentrates on the potentially antinomian side of the Shri Nath cult and references several "vartas", devotional texts from the 16th century. It´s not clear to me how ecstatic the Pushtimarga sect is today, although the author does describe a rather chaotic and rambunctious worship service at the Nathdwara temple dedicated to the divine child.
Today, the Braj area around Mathura is associated with Krishna and Radha, but it was not always thus. Apparently, there is evidence that it was originally Shaiva. Vaishnava movements took it over during the 16th and 17th centuries. There were conflicts between two different Krishnaite sects: Pushtimarga and the followers of Caitanya. The former eventually banished the latter. Theologically, they emphasized two different forms of Krishna. As already noted, the pushtimargis worship the god in the form of a small boy, while Caitanya´s movement see him as an amorous young man. Krishna´s "girlfriend" Radha plays a central role in the peculiar theology developed by Caitanya´s disciples, while having a more marginal role in the Pushtimarga pantheon. Still, both movements have "sensual" traits. Vitthalnath, an important 16th century guru of the Pushtimarga, is described in near-erotic terms as extremely beautiful and attractive.
One thing I didn´t realize before is that the Pushtimarga consider their gurus to be divine incarnations. Most are "partial" avatars, but the more prominent ones are clearly connected to Krishna or his companions. Thus, Vitthalnath is Krishna, while his elder brother and predecessor as Pushtimarga guru, Gopinath, was Balarama. The founder of the tradition, Vallabha, embodied the mouth of Vishnu or Krishna, but also the fire-god Agni (since he purified the world). Gopinath is said to have merged with the Balarama (Balabhadra) idol at the Jagannath temple in Puri. Note the similarity with the legend that Caitanya (supposedly an avatar of Krishna) merged with the Jagannath idol. As for the Pushtimarga´s own idols, they are considered to be literally alive. The author retells a number of strange anecdotes to this effect. Thus, one follower of Vitthalnath apparently claimed that the idol of Shri Nath had thrown stones at him (in the manner of a playful child), prompting him to throw a stone back at the idol! In another incident, the devotees blowed in a conch to wake up Shri Nath in the morning (i.e. "wake up" the idol) but the god-child simply continued sleeping. This was discerned by a devotee with mystical abilities...
The weird gender-bending characteristic of some Hindu mythology and even theology is present here, too. One Pushtimarga mystic saw himself as a cowherd boy playing with Krishna during daytime, and as a cowherd *girl* playing with the god at night. At least during the 16th century, the male temple priests would sometimes dress as females. Other "antinomian" traits are also present, as when one devotee claimed to play with Shri Nath on his back, pretending to be a horse...even to the point of urinating like the animal!
At least during the time under discussion, Muslims were considered extremely polluting by Brahmins. The "vartas" contain a story about a Vaishnava bard whose devotional songs were rendered impure by the (hidden) presence of Akbar the Great at the worship service. However, the Pushtimarga also has legends claiming that Akbar was secretely a devotee of Krishna. Even more "problematic" is a tradition about Raskhan, apparently a homosexual Muslim, who after various adventures manages to get initiation into the Pushtimarga by Vitthalnath, prompted by Shri Nath himself.
The deeper point of all this is the distinction between the mundane world (laukik) and the divine ditto (alaukik). Krishna belongs to the latter, but intervenes in our mundane reality in various strange and paradoxical ways. He can break the Brahminical purity rules at will, indeed, this is part of what makes him divine. It struck me when reading the article that Krishna´s trickster-like quality resembles that of fairies in folklore. Indeed, the supernatural often comes across as deeply mysterious and incomprehensible to humans. Krishna resembles the fairy in other ways, as well. Note the similarity between the fairy ring-dance and the rasa-lila.
With that, I close this review.
Friday, October 23, 2026
En åsna bland hästar?
Ali (V) hånar en kurdisk medlem av SD. Sammanhanget är lite oklart, men Ali ska ha tweetat ett arabiskt ordspråk: "En åsna som betar med hästar kan börja tro att han är en häst själv". Fria Tider tolkar detta som etno-hån mot SD-kurden.
Man skulle ju kunna svara: "Det finns tydligen åsnor som är fullt medvetna om att de faktiskt är åsnor, men ändå vill ha papper på att de egentligen är hästar". Med tanke på Alis ihärdiga ansträngningar att bli svensk medborgare...
Gather around
"Oh, venerable Vasudeva, please tell us about the sweet pastimes of the Lord, we will listen attentatively at your lotus feet!"
Still Friday
Lakshmi blessing a Bigfoot. I can probably post hundreds of these funny AI-generated pics!
Revolutionsromantik
Kulturvänstern stretar på...
Plundringarna av livsmedelsbutiker kanske är bra för den franska momssatsen i längden? Eller?
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