A reader comments on our recent article on Spiritual Evolution:

The behavior of "Swami" Kriyananda is really astonishing: He goes to an Eastern society, is welcomed into their religion, defiles their Holy Orders with gross sexual misconduct and then attempts to teach "the savages" that their traditional doctrine of the cycles must be stood on its head! And on what evidence? On the evidence of the "obvious superiority" of Western technical civilization! The arrogance is truly beyond all belief!

A reader comments on our recent article on Spiritual Evolution:

The behavior of "Swami" Kriyananda is really astonishing: He goes to an Eastern society, is welcomed into their religion, defiles their Holy Orders with gross sexual misconduct and then attempts to teach "the savages" that their traditional doctrine of the cycles must be stood on its head! And on what evidence? On the evidence of the "obvious superiority" of Western technical civilization! The arrogance is truly beyond all belief!

A reader comments on our recent article on Spiritual Evolution:

The behavior of "Swami" Kriyananda is really astonishing: He goes to an Eastern society, is welcomed into their religion, defiles their Holy Orders with gross sexual misconduct and then attempts to teach "the savages" that their traditional doctrine of the cycles must be stood on its head! And on what evidence? On the evidence of the "obvious superiority" of Western technical civilization! The arrogance is truly beyond all belief!

"Spiritual evolution" is one of the key notions of the "New Age" movement. We examine this deceptive and anti-traditional doctrine.

"Spiritual evolution" is one of the key notions of the "New Age" movement. We examine this deceptive and anti-traditional doctrine.

"Spiritual evolution" is one of the key notions of the "New Age" movement. We examine this deceptive and anti-traditional doctrine.

I have read about Eckhart Tolle and his philosophy. Apparently many people find it appealing. However, something about it is disturbing to me. Would you please comment on whether his ideas are compatible with the Deanic/Filianic Faith or not and why. Thank you, Rev. Madria Georgia Honored Madria Georgia, we cannot claim to be in any way experts on the writings of Herr Tolle, although we have encountered the name before and done a little research. Essentially the work seems to be rather similar to many New Age writers who take bits of the more "airy" aspects of world traditions and stick them together to make something new. While this is in itself a little dangerous, by far the worst part of the New Age is not the bits it collects, but the "glue" it uses to stick them together, which invariably turns out to be modern individualistic ideas, post-Freudian "psychology", Darwinist evolutionism projected onto a supposedly "spiritual" plane etc., etc. Alarm bells should immediately ring when we read (on Herr Tolle's official website) that:

"at the core of Tolle's teachings lies the transformation of consciousness, a spiritual awakening that he sees as the next step in human evolution."

This is one of the key "fingerprints" of New Age error - the notion that humanity is "spiritually evolving" into a higher phase, when in fact, in spiritual terms, humanity in the late Kali Yuga has never been at a lower ebb. This adoption of the modern progress/evolution superstition (and when a biological theory and a social ideology are mixed together, as they are in most people's minds, as though they were somehow the same thing, one can only speak of superstition) and then re-packaged as a "spiritual truth" we know we are dealing with one of two things: unfortunate error or deliberate charlatanry.

I have read about Eckhart Tolle and his philosophy. Apparently many people find it appealing. However, something about it is disturbing to me. Would you please comment on whether his ideas are compatible with the Deanic/Filianic Faith or not and why. Thank you, Rev. Madria Georgia Honored Madria Georgia, we cannot claim to be in any way experts on the writings of Herr Tolle, although we have encountered the name before and done a little research. Essentially the work seems to be rather similar to many New Age writers who take bits of the more "airy" aspects of world traditions and stick them together to make something new. While this is in itself a little dangerous, by far the worst part of the New Age is not the bits it collects, but the "glue" it uses to stick them together, which invariably turns out to be modern individualistic ideas, post-Freudian "psychology", Darwinist evolutionism projected onto a supposedly "spiritual" plane etc., etc. Alarm bells should immediately ring when we read (on Herr Tolle's official website) that:

"at the core of Tolle's teachings lies the transformation of consciousness, a spiritual awakening that he sees as the next step in human evolution."

This is one of the key "fingerprints" of New Age error - the notion that humanity is "spiritually evolving" into a higher phase, when in fact, in spiritual terms, humanity in the late Kali Yuga has never been at a lower ebb. This adoption of the modern progress/evolution superstition (and when a biological theory and a social ideology are mixed together, as they are in most people's minds, as though they were somehow the same thing, one can only speak of superstition) and then re-packaged as a "spiritual truth" we know we are dealing with one of two things: unfortunate error or deliberate charlatanry.

I have read about Eckhart Tolle and his philosophy. Apparently many people find it appealing. However, something about it is disturbing to me. Would you please comment on whether his ideas are compatible with the Deanic/Filianic Faith or not and why. Thank you, Rev. Madria Georgia Honored Madria Georgia, we cannot claim to be in any way experts on the writings of Herr Tolle, although we have encountered the name before and done a little research. Essentially the work seems to be rather similar to many New Age writers who take bits of the more "airy" aspects of world traditions and stick them together to make something new. While this is in itself a little dangerous, by far the worst part of the New Age is not the bits it collects, but the "glue" it uses to stick them together, which invariably turns out to be modern individualistic ideas, post-Freudian "psychology", Darwinist evolutionism projected onto a supposedly "spiritual" plane etc., etc. Alarm bells should immediately ring when we read (on Herr Tolle's official website) that:

"at the core of Tolle's teachings lies the transformation of consciousness, a spiritual awakening that he sees as the next step in human evolution."

This is one of the key "fingerprints" of New Age error - the notion that humanity is "spiritually evolving" into a higher phase, when in fact, in spiritual terms, humanity in the late Kali Yuga has never been at a lower ebb. This adoption of the modern progress/evolution superstition (and when a biological theory and a social ideology are mixed together, as they are in most people's minds, as though they were somehow the same thing, one can only speak of superstition) and then re-packaged as a "spiritual truth" we know we are dealing with one of two things: unfortunate error or deliberate charlatanry.

Annalinde Matichei wrote the following as part of a discussion on worshiping the Daughter in the form of Kuan Yin: This is an interesting question. I have a statue of Thousand Hand Kuan Yin as my main Altar-piece. Do I "worship Kuan Yin"? What would that mean? I do not see her according to Buddhist doctrine - though I do believe that she refused Deity until all being was saved "even to the last blade of grass" - which is just another way of putting the Daughter's Taking on of Fate that we celebrate at Luciad (the Feast of Lights). I certainly do not believe she was the daughter of a king who was murdered and freed the souls from hell as some legends state, but I do believe she is the Daughter of the One Queen of the Universe, who descended into Hell, died and was reborn and freed the souls from Hell. I would not especially refer to Her as Kuan Yin, but I would not be averse to calling Her that either. This is not like modern Pagans who say "I'm working with Bast this week" - I do not believe that deities from different traditions are separate entities, like the people we meet on the street. They are simply different ways of seeing the same Universal Truth - and of course I believe that a lot of patriarchal accretions are highly misleading. And having said that, is there something different about seeing the Daughter through this statue rather than, say, a Marian one? I think there is. It has a special quality of contemplative purity. She is in perfect repose, while her "thousand" arms (actually 24 on this statue, but figuratively a thousand) so clearly and beautifully represent her all-saving omnipotence. They also help us to be free from the "humanism" of the Christian perspective, in which everyone is a "historical figure" and of the pagan perspective (which I have never inclined to, but is in fact just a natural outcropping of modern individualism) that "Deities" are individuals, pretty much like people. So this statue represents Dea - and in particular the Daughter - under a very particular aspect, stressing certain of Her Divine qualities, because as humans we can't see them all at once. To me in particular it represents repose, purity and Unacting Action ("Earth moves, but Heaven is still"). As for names, I am not inclined to give personal names to Dea. The Scriptures once mention the name Inanna (which is just a universal Name of the daughter) but other than that She is never referred to by a name in the whole narrative. To me using the Name Quan Yin would tend to localize and historicize the statue (even though I love the name!). This is not a statue from some part of Telluria of some particular figure in some particular tradition. This is a universal statue of Dea in Her Daughter form, in perfect repose and perfect compassion.

Annalinde Matichei wrote the following as part of a discussion on worshiping the Daughter in the form of Kuan Yin: This is an interesting question. I have a statue of Thousand Hand Kuan Yin as my main Altar-piece. Do I "worship Kuan Yin"? What would that mean? I do not see her according to Buddhist doctrine - though I do believe that she refused Deity until all being was saved "even to the last blade of grass" - which is just another way of putting the Daughter's Taking on of Fate that we celebrate at Luciad (the Feast of Lights). I certainly do not believe she was the daughter of a king who was murdered and freed the souls from hell as some legends state, but I do believe she is the Daughter of the One Queen of the Universe, who descended into Hell, died and was reborn and freed the souls from Hell. I would not especially refer to Her as Kuan Yin, but I would not be averse to calling Her that either. This is not like modern Pagans who say "I'm working with Bast this week" - I do not believe that deities from different traditions are separate entities, like the people we meet on the street. They are simply different ways of seeing the same Universal Truth - and of course I believe that a lot of patriarchal accretions are highly misleading. And having said that, is there something different about seeing the Daughter through this statue rather than, say, a Marian one? I think there is. It has a special quality of contemplative purity. She is in perfect repose, while her "thousand" arms (actually 24 on this statue, but figuratively a thousand) so clearly and beautifully represent her all-saving omnipotence. They also help us to be free from the "humanism" of the Christian perspective, in which everyone is a "historical figure" and of the pagan perspective (which I have never inclined to, but is in fact just a natural outcropping of modern individualism) that "Deities" are individuals, pretty much like people. So this statue represents Dea - and in particular the Daughter - under a very particular aspect, stressing certain of Her Divine qualities, because as humans we can't see them all at once. To me in particular it represents repose, purity and Unacting Action ("Earth moves, but Heaven is still"). As for names, I am not inclined to give personal names to Dea. The Scriptures once mention the name Inanna (which is just a universal Name of the daughter) but other than that She is never referred to by a name in the whole narrative. To me using the Name Quan Yin would tend to localize and historicize the statue (even though I love the name!). This is not a statue from some part of Telluria of some particular figure in some particular tradition. This is a universal statue of Dea in Her Daughter form, in perfect repose and perfect compassion.

Annalinde Matichei wrote the following as part of a discussion on worshiping the Daughter in the form of Kuan Yin: This is an interesting question. I have a statue of Thousand Hand Kuan Yin as my main Altar-piece. Do I "worship Kuan Yin"? What would that mean? I do not see her according to Buddhist doctrine - though I do believe that she refused Deity until all being was saved "even to the last blade of grass" - which is just another way of putting the Daughter's Taking on of Fate that we celebrate at Luciad (the Feast of Lights). I certainly do not believe she was the daughter of a king who was murdered and freed the souls from hell as some legends state, but I do believe she is the Daughter of the One Queen of the Universe, who descended into Hell, died and was reborn and freed the souls from Hell. I would not especially refer to Her as Kuan Yin, but I would not be averse to calling Her that either. This is not like modern Pagans who say "I'm working with Bast this week" - I do not believe that deities from different traditions are separate entities, like the people we meet on the street. They are simply different ways of seeing the same Universal Truth - and of course I believe that a lot of patriarchal accretions are highly misleading. And having said that, is there something different about seeing the Daughter through this statue rather than, say, a Marian one? I think there is. It has a special quality of contemplative purity. She is in perfect repose, while her "thousand" arms (actually 24 on this statue, but figuratively a thousand) so clearly and beautifully represent her all-saving omnipotence. They also help us to be free from the "humanism" of the Christian perspective, in which everyone is a "historical figure" and of the pagan perspective (which I have never inclined to, but is in fact just a natural outcropping of modern individualism) that "Deities" are individuals, pretty much like people. So this statue represents Dea - and in particular the Daughter - under a very particular aspect, stressing certain of Her Divine qualities, because as humans we can't see them all at once. To me in particular it represents repose, purity and Unacting Action ("Earth moves, but Heaven is still"). As for names, I am not inclined to give personal names to Dea. The Scriptures once mention the name Inanna (which is just a universal Name of the daughter) but other than that She is never referred to by a name in the whole narrative. To me using the Name Quan Yin would tend to localize and historicize the statue (even though I love the name!). This is not a statue from some part of Telluria of some particular figure in some particular tradition. This is a universal statue of Dea in Her Daughter form, in perfect repose and perfect compassion.

Happy New Year! I've moved the blog over to a new address. Hope that you'll come visit me and will adjust your settings.

Happy New Year! I've moved the blog over to a new address. Hope that you'll come visit me and will adjust your settings.

Happy New Year! I've moved the blog over to a new address. Hope that you'll come visit me and will adjust your settings.

Many devotees of Dea are familiar with the names of the Seven "Planetary" Janyati. However, many of us have also heard mention of other Janati. I would imagine that there are many Janyati whose names we do not know. However, I would be interested in seeing a list of the names and characteristics of some of the other Janyati whose names are known to Aristasians. Thank you, Rt. Rev. Georgia B. Cobb The Seven Great Janyati are of course the primary ones, but there are several others. While we do not have an exhaustive list, some of the more important are: The three Werdes: Sai Maia, Sai Werde and Sai Kala, said to be daughters of Sai Thame. Sai Herthe Janya of hearth and home. Sai Annya the Janya of fire - very important in some forms of Deanism. Sai Ouranya Janya of the sky - often seen as an "emanation" of Sai Thame. Sai Vaya the Spirit as Wind or Breath - sometimes conceived as a Janya.

Many devotees of Dea are familiar with the names of the Seven "Planetary" Janyati. However, many of us have also heard mention of other Janati. I would imagine that there are many Janyati whose names we do not know. However, I would be interested in seeing a list of the names and characteristics of some of the other Janyati whose names are known to Aristasians. Thank you, Rt. Rev. Georgia B. Cobb The Seven Great Janyati are of course the primary ones, but there are several others. While we do not have an exhaustive list, some of the more important are: The three Werdes: Sai Maia, Sai Werde and Sai Kala, said to be daughters of Sai Thame. Sai Herthe Janya of hearth and home. Sai Annya the Janya of fire - very important in some forms of Deanism. Sai Ouranya Janya of the sky - often seen as an "emanation" of Sai Thame. Sai Vaya the Spirit as Wind or Breath - sometimes conceived as a Janya.

Many devotees of Dea are familiar with the names of the Seven "Planetary" Janyati. However, many of us have also heard mention of other Janati. I would imagine that there are many Janyati whose names we do not know. However, I would be interested in seeing a list of the names and characteristics of some of the other Janyati whose names are known to Aristasians. Thank you, Rt. Rev. Georgia B. Cobb The Seven Great Janyati are of course the primary ones, but there are several others. While we do not have an exhaustive list, some of the more important are: The three Werdes: Sai Maia, Sai Werde and Sai Kala, said to be daughters of Sai Thame. Sai Herthe Janya of hearth and home. Sai Annya the Janya of fire - very important in some forms of Deanism. Sai Ouranya Janya of the sky - often seen as an "emanation" of Sai Thame. Sai Vaya the Spirit as Wind or Breath - sometimes conceived as a Janya.