text:
Scaria THURUTHIYIL
1. Introduction
Before we turn to the specific theme of reincarnation in Hinduism, l think it important to specify very briefly what do we intend by Hinduism and Reincarnation in general.
1.1 Hinduism
Hinduism is not just a single religion, but a "mosaic of religion", within which we can find most elementary superstitions and mythologies, from the cult of inanimate objects, like stones, rivers, planets to animate objects, like trees, animals, heroes, dead ancestors and spirits; at the same time it presents itself as a fertile field for a most elevated mysticism, which seeks to reach not only the union of the soul with a personal God, the creator and governor of the universe, but even to overcome this dualistic attitude by "realizing" one's identity with the Absolute Spirit. Hinduism, we can say, is the global expression of the religiosity of the peoples of India, which again is a "museum of humanity"'.
Hinduism does not have a historical founder, nor does it have a central authority for defining or imposing its beliefs and practices. Hinduism does not insist on many dogmas; regarding God, a Hindu can be believer of monotheism or polytheism or pantheism or monism or even atheism (for example the orthodox Hindu schools of Samkhya and Mimamsa explain everything, including the liberation of the soul without being preoccupied about the existence of God). Hence it is almost impossible to define Hinduism. However we can gather some principles and common practices which go to make Hinduism. They are: (i) faith in the infallible authority of the Vedas (most important sacred scriptures of Hinduism), (ii) faith in the continuous creation, conservation and dissolution of the universe in a cyclic form, (iii) faith in the transmigration of the souls according to the law of eternal retribution (karma-samsara), (iv) faith in the final liberation of the soul from the chains of transmigration (multi, moksha), and (v) the observance of the law of the caste and of the stages of life (varnasrama~harma) 2
Historians divide Hinduism into (i) Vedism, religion based on the first part (stage) of the Vedas, called Samhita (1500-1000 BC), (ii) Brahminism, the second phase of the evolution of the vedic religion, based on the second part of the Vedas, called Brahmana (1000-800 BC), (iii) Upanishad (or Vedantism), the third phase, based on the last part of the Vedas, called Upanishad (800-300 BC); towards the end of this period only did the various philosophical schools of Hinduism arose (the six principal orthodox systems being, Nyaya, Vaiseshika, SamkAya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta, and the three heterodox being, Buddhism, Jainism and Carvaka), (iv) religious or popular Hinduism (especially the three main religious sects: Vishnuism, Sivaism and Sakitism), which is the religion of the masses, more simple and primitive, notably inspired by the simple and mythological religions of the original inhabitants of India, the Dravidians, and is based mainly on bhakti (loving devotion) which forms the central religious theme of the main smriti (tradition) literature, especially the great epics of Mahabharata (4th century BC to 4th century AD) and Ramayana (4th century BC?), Bhagavat Gita (between the 5th and 2nd century BC), Puranas (considered to be the Veda of the common people), Sutra and Dharmashastra (the code of laws) and (v) neo-lnduisn? (renewed Hinduism after the 19th century) .
1.2 Reincarnation
The doctrine of reincarnation, known also with other terms like, rebirth, transmigration of the soul, metempsychosis (or more accurately, metensomatosis, "passage from one body to another"), palingenesis (Gr., lit., "to begin again"), concerns the rebirth of the soul or self in a series of physical or preternatural embodiments, which are customarily human or animal in nature but are in some instances divine, angelic, demonic, vegetative, or astrological.3 The belief in rebirth in one form or another existed and is still found in tribal or non-literate cultures all over the world, which go to prove that this belief arouse contemporaneously with the origins of human culture per se.4
However it is in India and Greece that the doctrine of rebirth has been most elaborately developed. This belief is shared by all the other major religions of India, Hinduism, Buddhism, Gains, Sikhs and Sufis. [In ancient Greece, belief in rebirth formed part of the philosophical teachings of Pythagorean, Empodocles, Plato, and Plotinus. In modern times, religious teachers like Ramakrishna, Aurobindo or schools of thought, like Theosophy or various new "esoteric" "occultist" religious movements, like New Age or humanistic psychology: thinkers like C. G. Jung and Fritz Perls, hold onto belief in reincarnation.]
All the diverse religious groups and philosophical schools of Hinduism, except that of Carvaka, totally materialistic, believe in reincarnation. However, it should be noted that belief in reincarnation is not the basic teaching or the end of their religious cult and practices. Instead, it is deliverance from the chain of reincarnation (karma-samsara) and reaching moksha, the unique and final goal of every Hindu religious belief, cult and practices.
2. Reincarnation in Hinduism in General
2.1 Karma: the Cause of Reincarnation
According to the Hindu religious and philosophical concepts, man is composed of two fundamental principles opposed to each other per nature: one spiritual, the soul (atman), and the other material, the body (sarira). The atman is eternal, immutable, not born, not created, indestructible; instead, the body is temporal, created, mutable, destructible. The union between atman and body is not essential, but is accidental It is a type of imprisonment or a penalty which the atman has to undergo due to avidya and karma, to which it is associated from all eternity. Avidya and karma are two basic presuppositions of Hinduism. They have no beginning because they did not have a beginning. It is therefore a truth that transcends every intellectual explanation.
Avidya signifies ignorance, ignorance of the true nature of atman or of the distorted vision in which the atman identifies itself or confounds itself with the psycho-physical organism. Due to avirlya, the atman which is eternal and non-temporal, is caught up in time; gets joined to physical body. Birth is the union of the eternal and spiritual atman with the material and temporal body.5
2.2 Karma-Samsara
The nature of birth, that is, the condition of the body to which the atman gets united, depends on karma. Karma (Pali, Kamma, Tib., las; Chin., yeh or yin-k1lo; Jpn., go or inga), based on the Sanskrit verbal root he, signifies action, every sort of action, whether good or bad, meritorious or non-meritorious, religious or worldly; here, however, karma signifies the moral debit of the actions which one has done. Every action inevitably produces its own fruit (phala), and the subject (actor) has necessarily to experience all the consequences of his own actions. A person's behavior leads irrevocably to an appropriate reward or punishment commensurate with that behavior.6 It is the inevitable law of retribution or the law of karma. It is the law of cause and effect applied to the life of every individual, law according to which every one gathers the fruit of what one has sowed or undergoes the effect of his own actions.
The effects of all the actions which a person does cannot be experienced (lived) during one single existence, because while the subject (actor) experiences the fruit of some act, does other actions in the meantime, and therefore gains new fruits which have to be exper~enced. From this fact is deduced that the atman (soul) has to be reborn repeatedly. So it is believed that the soul from all eternity is undergoing birth and rebirth due to this inviolable law of karma. Thus is born the doctrine of the transfiguration of the soul. It is a corollary of the doctrine of karma.
The entire process of reincarnation of the soul according to the law of karma is called Karma-samsara. Samsara means "to wander or pass through a series of states or conditions." Samsara is the beginning-less cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, a process impelled by karma.8 Life, therefore, is not determined or limited to one birth and one death, but is instead a samsara, a current, a course, a migration in circle, which however is always determined by the law of karma. In short, human life is a karma-samsara, a transmigration of the soul according to the inevitable law of retribution.
2.3 The Subtle Body
In order to explain how the effects of past actions of man are preserved in the atman after the death of the body and how these effects produce their fruit in a future rebirth, the Hindu theologians make a distinction between two types of body: the gross body (sthula-sarira) and the subtle body (sukshma-sarira or linga- sarira).9 The gross body is that which is visible and tangible, consists of the eternal senses, of organs, etc. The subtle body, instead, is not visible nor tangible, and is composed of subtle elements, like: budclhi (intelligence), manas (mind), ahamkara (ego), etc.'° The subtle body encircles the atman and se~ves as a connection between the soul and the gross body. Every action of man leaves its imprint (samskara) on the subtle body and remains as a seed which has to mature and produce in due time its proper fruit.11 While the gross body disintegrates at death, the spirit continues to be in contact with the subtle psychic body which it carries forward. The subtle body together with all the tendencies, merits or effects of karma is said to migrate with the soul (atman) at death.
3. The Transmigration of Soul in Vedism and Brahminism
Although transmigration is a fundamental teaching of Hinduism and has an extraordinarily firm hold on the mind of the people of India, not only Hindus, but also of Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs, the origin of the doctrine of transmigration is one of the most difficult problems of Indian Philosophy.12 The theory of reincarnation (rebirth) does not appear in the Vedas. The seeming references to transmigration which have been seen in the Rigveda are all of the most improbable character. 13 The Vedic religion did not have this belief. Instead the theory of re-death (punarmyrtyu, new death) appears at a very early stage in the Vedas. In fact the ideas about death predate and predetermine the theory of birth.14 SO also the idea of karma (in its broader sense which includes the concept of"ment transfer") present in the Vedas, preceded the idea of rebirth.15 In this W. D. O'Flaherty is in agreement with David M. Knipe, who, analyzing the funeral rites of sraddha 16 and sapindikarana 17, comes to the conclusion that the theory of karma ("which includes the idea of merit transfer") preceded that of rebirth or reincarnation. Such rites were expressions of the desire of the Vedic and pre-Vedic man and performed to "prevent the dissolution of an after-life for the deceased"18. The offering of ritual food for the deceased ancestors suggest the desire of the ritual performer to keep them there, in a place of happiness (heaven) or limbo, and the desire to prevent them from suffening "repeated death (punarmrtyu)". All the karma texts begin with death and then proceed to describe birth.
3.1 In Rig Veda
The Rig Veda, the first book of the Vedas (1200 BCE), speaks of death and immortality, rather than rebirth. The problem is the fear of death which is inevitable; something that has to be, therefore, avoided as long as possible. Speaking of the Creator, the poet says, "His shadow is immortality and death" (Rig Vecia 10.121.2) and prays: "Deliver me from death, not from immortality" (Rig Veda 7.59.12). And what comes after death? Rig Veda offers various images of a vague but pleasant life after death. i9
One funeral hymn addresses the dead man:
Go forth, go forth on those ancient paths on which our ancient fathers passed beyond... Unite with the fathers, with Yama [king of the dead], with the rewards of your sacrifices and good deeds, in the highest heaven. Leaving behind all imperfections, go back home again; merge with a glorious body (Rig Veda 10.14.7-8).2°
Life in the reign of Yama together with the fathers with a glorious body is the desire and hope of the Vedic man.
Another hymn is addressed to the funeral fire, Agni:
Do not burn him entirely, Agni, or engulf him in your flames. Do not consume his skin or his flesh. When you have cooked him perfectly, only then send him forth to the fathers (Rig Veda 10.16. 1) 2~
This hymn expresses the desire and hope that, after the purification through fire, Agni, the dead person receives his body back, made perfect, so as to enjoy the life of the fathers.
Other hymns speak to the dead man, of the final dispersal of his old body:
May your eye go to the sun, your life's breath to the wind. Go to the sky or to earth, as is your nature; or go to the waters, if that is your fate. Take root in the plants with your limbs (Rig Veda 10. 16.3).22
Another hymn addresses the dead:
Creep away to this broad, vast earth, the mother that is kind and gentle.
And to the earth:
Open up, earth; do not crush him. Be easy for him to enter and to burrow. . Earth, wrap him up as a mother wraps a son in the edge of her skirt (Rig Veda 10.18.10-l l) 23
From these and other texts in Rig Veda it can be concluded that in this primitive phase of religion (Vedism) there are various and diverse ways of considering death and the fate of man after his death, which seem to represent some sort of rebirth, which consist in the 'putting on' of a glorious body or getting a purified body made perfect by Agni and living happily with the ancestors in the reign of the death; or in the dispersion of the old body in cosmic elements or in returning to the loving womb of mother earth. However, none of these texts speak explicitly that the dead man has to be reborn on the earth in any form.24
3.2 In Brahmana Veda
The texts of Brahmanas (900 BC) on the whole do not contain the doctrine of transmigration. In these texts too, the atman longs for the world of the fathers, for immortality, as in Rig Veda. The problem here too is not that of reincarnation or rebirth, but that of death, which is far more explicitly feared: Death is evil, and the essence of evil is death. The central preoccupation of the Brahmans, is therefore, the fear of death and the obsessive search for rituals that can overcome it.25 Not only can the gods become immortal, but also the sacrificer, in fact, "becomes immortal" (Sathapatha Brahmana 2. 2.2.14).
Perhaps the earliest foreshadowing of the doctrine of transmigration is to be found in the Satapata Brahmana, 10.4.3.1-10 This text, however, does not explicitly refer to transmigration. What the authors of the Brahmanas were searching was not rebirth, but liberation from the inevitable problem of death, which is the greatest of all evils. What they feared was not life but death, "old age and death" (janamrtyu), and more precisely 'recurring death' or 're-death' (punarmrtyu).26 The fear that in place of the desired immortality in the next world (of the Fathers), there will be renewed death,27 and as a consequence the turning to performing many rites, like Agnihotra, the Visuvant, the Naciketas fire, the piling of the fire, the study of the Veda, etc., which are to save them from suffering 'repeated deaths'.28 The repeated death refers to death in the next world, not in this: it is applied to the Fathers (Satapata Brahmana, 12. 9.3.12), and from those who are born after death to immortality are distinguished those who are born to die again (Satapata Brahmana, iO. 4.3.iO). The idea that death is a birth (a passage to3 in the next world is not at all rare and the conception that death might there be repeated is a very natural one.29 But the idea of rebirth (transmigration) on the earth was the innovation of the Upanishads.
4. Transmigration of Soul in the Upanishads
Also the Upanishads (composed from 700 BC) speak of renewed death (punnarmyrtyu) much before they began speaking of rebirth (punarjanma). However, the problem that the authors of the Upanishads confronted was self-realization, liberation or happiness (moksha). According to the Upanishads, our life is chaos, a dream, while death is order, sleep without dreams because it is final liberation from life, is attaining moksha, which is possible even during the earthly existence, by means of yoga, and consists in the realization of Atman is Brahman.
The clear and explicit mention of the doctrine of transmigration is to be found in the Upanishads. The earliest mention is found in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. "A man becomes good by good works, evil by evil' (3. 2.13) and on death, like a caterpillar -or a grass leech - proceeding from one leaf to another, the soul (atman), having shaken off the body and freed itself from ignorance, presumably empirical life, makes a beginning on another body. As a goldsmith forms newer and fairer form from a rough nugget, so the soul fashions for itself another newer, fairer form (4. 4.4), whether it be of the Fathers, or the Gandharvas, or the gods, or Prajapati, or Brahman, or other living beings; just as man acts, just as he behaves, so will he be born. He who does good will be born good, he who does evil will be born evil: he becomes holy by holy deeds, evil by evil (Brahadaranyaka Upanishad 4. 4.2-6; 4. 3 33).
The Chandogya Upanishad 30 speaks of the intimate relation that exits between conduct or action and the condition of rebirth. Human destinies are assigned to two divergent pathways: the pathway of the gods (devas) and the pathway of the fathers or ancestors (pitrs). Those who meditate and practice asceticism follow the pathway of the gods, which leads them (atman) to liberation, to union with Brahman. They are freed forever from the chain of karma-samsara; they will not be reborn. Instead those who walk the normal worldly pursuits follow the pathway of the ancestors, which leads them to rebirth, after having resided in the postmortem realm which lasts as long as the effects of their previous actions have been consumed. If one's good karma predominates over his bad karma, then the soul goes first to hell (place of suffering and purification) for a short period to pay (expiate) his bad karma and then goes to heaven for a longer period, where he enjoys the fruits of his good karma. If, instead, the bad karma predominates, then the soul goes first for a short period to heaven to enjoy the fruits of his good karma and then goes to hell for a longer
period, in order to expiate his bad karma. In both the cases, once the two types of karma are consumed, the soul reincarnates in a place of life determined by the original equilibrium between good karma and bad karma.
According to the Upanishads rebirth or reincarnation of the souls can take place in a series of physical bodies (normally in human bodies but also in animals and even plants) or in a series of astral and preternatural bodies (sun, moon, planets, stars, angels or demons), depending on one s karma. The Kaushitaki Upanishad expresses it more clearly: "He is reborn here either as a worm, or as a butterfly, or as a fish, or as a bird, or as a lion, or as a serpent, or as a tiger, or as a person, or as some other being in this or in that condition, according to his works, according to his knowledge" (1.2)
From the beginning, however, the idea of transmigration was immediately followed by two other ideas: that it was possible for some to be freed of it, and that it was desirable for some to be freed of it. But at the same time, according to some texts of the Upanishads, there was the possibility that some do not want to get out of the chain of transmigration: when the soul of the dead reaches the moon, it can choose to continue in the process of rebirth or be freed of it completely (moksha), and the text affirms that some choose to be reborn (Kaushitaki Upanishad 1.1-7). These two possible options give rise to discussion as to whether it is good or bad to be in the wheel of transmigration.3 ~
5. Transmigration of Soul in the Popular Religions
5.1 In the Bhagavat Gita
According to the teachings of the Gita the atman is spiritual, imperishable and eternal as god himself is eternal; it is neither born nor can it die. Regarding atman, the Gita aff~rms: "Of the nonexistent there is no coming to be; of the existent, there is not coming not to be" (2.11-25). It cannot be affected even to the slightest degree by the vicissitudes of finite existence. It is rather the body (sarira) or the embodied form (jiva) of the self that is subject to the changing conditions of life, viz., creation and destruction, good and evil, victory and defeat.32 Karma affects only the jiva, and the soul (atma'') passes from body to body in the successive reincarnations. "Just as man takes off his old clothes in order to put on new ones, so does the one (soul) who lives in the body, by abandoning the old form, enters into other forms prepared for it" (2.22).
Krishna, the god-incarnate, declares, however, that one should not be sad over the necessity of being born again, because it is the inviolable law, from which even the gods are not exempt. "Just as death is certain for all that is born, so is certain birth for all that dies" (2.26-27).
The Gita aff~rms that one who does good works will be born in a good family of saints and spiritual men, and after having reached perfection through various rebirths, he will reach his final goal (moksha)33
5.2 In the Puranas
The Puranas (500-1000 AD) contain a series of myths (narratives) regarding reincarnation. One series of myths pits death against withdrawal from life altogether. Thus, for example, Siva (the god of ascetics and yogis) on being asked by the Creator to create living creatures, refuses to create since living creatures would be subject to re-death. Siva, instead, wants to create immortals, which the Creator refuses34.
The Puranas contain answers, which are at times ambivalent and contradictory, to questions that one normally asks regarding death and rebirth: why is there so much of fear in front of death, if the atman is eternal and immortal? What happens to the soul at after death? Where does it go? What is the state of the soul after death? Where and how is it reborn? Has his relatives any role in its rebirth?, etc.
5.2.1 The Process of Death
The great fear in front of death, the processes of death and birth are discussed in great detail in the Puranas; they begin with death and then proceed to birth.
The sages asked Vyasa, "Who is the companion of a dying man, his father or mother or son or teacher, his crowd of friends and relations? When he leaves the body that has been his house as if it were a house of wood or mud, and goes into the world beyond, who follows him?" The sage vyasa replied, "Alone he is born, and alone he dies; alone he crosses the dangerous thresholds, without the companionship of father, mother, brother, son or teacher, without his crowd of friends and relations. When he leaves the dead body, for a brief moment he weeps, and then he turns his face away and departs. When he leaves the body, dharma alone follows him; if he has dharma he goes to heaven, but if he has adharma he goes to hell. Earth, wind, space, water, light, mind, intelligence, and the self (atman) - these are the witnesses that watch constantly over the dharma of creatures that breath on earth; together with them, dharma follows the jiva. Skin, bone, flesh, semen and blood leave the body when it is lifeless; but the jiva that has dharma prospers happily in this world and the world beyond."35
Another version of this text is rendered as follows: "his relatives turn away and depart, but dharma follows him...The body is burnt by fire, but the karma he has done goes with him".36 If dharma is one's karma, then the jive (subtle body) goes to heaven and realizes to be atman. If, instead, his karma is adharma, then he goes to hell.
At death the atman takes on the subtle body (diva) in order to experience the fruits of karma. Jiva is the carrier of the karmic deposit; it does not get destroyed in the blazing fire of hell nor does it get destroyed by any created instrument or by the elements of nature 37. [Jiva is at times identified with the linga-sarira and is also called the ativahika body, the body "swifter than wind".38 But the ativahika body is impure and eats on the pinda offered by his relatives, after which the jiva abandons the ativahika body and assumes a preta body. Then after the sapindikarana rite has been performed, the jiva abandons his preta body and gets an experience body (hhoga-deha). The experience body has two forms: one good, which experience the fruit of its good acts and the other bad, which experiences the evil fruit accumulated according to his karma and then he transmigrates39.]
Thus the man of mixed karma has one experience body in heaven and another one in hell; if evil predominates, apparently he goes first to hell, then to heaven, and then from hell to an animal womb; if good predominates, he goes first to heaven, then to hell, and then from heaven again to a good birth among humans.
5.2.2 The Process of Birth
The process of birth is determined by one's karma. In the early texts the process of birth is merely described, and not explained:
When he has suffered through all the hells, the sinner, through the ripening of his own karma that he committed even while inside another body, enters the animal creation, among wonns, insects, and birds; among wild animals, mosquitoes, and so forth; among elephants, trees [sic], cattle, and horses, and other evil and harmfull creatures. Then he is born as a man, a contemptible one like a hunchback or a dwarf; among Candalas, Pullkasas, and so forth. And then, accompanied by his remaining sins and merits, he enters the classes in ascending order - Sudra, Vaisya, king, and so forth - and then he becomes a Brahmin, a god, and an Indra. But sometimes he does it in descending order, and evil-doers fall down into hell"40.
Jiva (the subtle body which is attached to atman) is born as man, when a woman gets impregnated by a man.
Impregnation of a woman by a man takes place when the seed is placed in her blood; as soon as it is discharged from heaven or hell, it sets out.... The embryo remembers its many transmigrations, and it is distressed because of this one and that one, and therefore it becomes depressed41.
At the time of the faIling of the seed of the man, a portion of the jiva (,/ivarmsa) grows in the pregnant womb, by means of blood. From the entry of the man's jiva into the womb, flesh accrues42
Here it is apparent that the jiva is given by the man and nourished by the woman, a view upheld in most of the medical and legal texts. Other Puranas indicate a more equal division of responsibility between man and woman: "... In the union of a woman and a man he is born"43.
In the womb of the mother, the jiva remembers all its past lives and his karmas, both good and bad, the joys and sorrows of his previous actions, but at birth it is deluded by the force of maya and forgets his former lives. Thus the newborn child is unaware of his accumulated karma, but is predetermined by his karma: "By his own karmas a creature becomes a god, man, animal, bird, or immovable thing".44 "By good deeds one becomes a god; by bad deeds a creature is born among animals and by mixed deeds, a mortal. The Veda (sruti) is the authority for the distinction between nrmn and ndharma "45
It is therefore jiva which has still to pay its adharma (karma) that incarnates or transmigrates as man. Consciousness (caitanya), desire, thought are inherent in the jiva which takes a material form in the womb of a woman 46
5.2.3 The Role of the Parents in the Process of Rebirth
According to Garuda Purana, it is not the karma or the jiva alone that determines birth and nature but the consciousness of the father at the time of impregnation. "Whatever a man has on his mind at the time of impregnation, a creature born of such a nature (svabhava) will enter the womb',47
This, naturally, brings up the question of the role of the karma of the parents in the process of rebirth. The Puranas state that the child's birth is affected by the karma of the father and the mother;48 similarly, the embryo's physical makeup is contributed by both parents: the mother gives hair, nails, skin, flesh and the father gives bone, sinew, and marrow49. The actual mechanism of this karmic transfer during the process of birth is not explained in the Puranas, but the effect of it is certainly taken for granted; and the transfer of karma in the opposite direction (from child to parent) takes place often during life and after the death of the parent.
Both in the Mahabharata and in the Puranas, we find myths illustrative of the karma flow in both directions: from living children to dead ancestors (as in the tale of a sage's ancestors hanging by their fingertips in a great pit - Mahabharata 3.94-97); and, less often, from parents to children. [A series of karmic transfers from children to parents takes place between King Yayati and his sons and grandsons.50 In the myth of Vena, karma flows in both directions: the evil of Vena himself is the result of the direct transfer of negative karma from his evil mother - who is evil because of the karma inherited from her father, death;5i but when Vena dies, and is reborn as a leper, his good son Prthu saves him by going to a shrine, performing a ritual, and transferring that merit to his father, for his father is so impure that he would transfer his own bad karma to the shrine and thus defile it; only the devotional sacrifice of the son can save him.52 In other texts, Vena is saved simply by the birth of his good son,53 or, in a more primitive process, by the birth of an evil son, who draws the evil out of Vena in a direct transfer,54 as the evil demon drew the evil nature out of the Brahmin's wife. Thus evil karma is transferred from parent to child in a direct line, thus explaining the existence of evil in the present; good karma is transferred backwards into the past and into the future, through the heteropathic devotion of the good child to the evil parent - the ritual model of the sraddha offering, translated into bhakti mythology.]
5.2.4 The Role of Fate in Rebirth
A child's birth is affected not only by the karma of the jiva and of the parents, but also by other factors, among which fate plays an important role. "By karma impelled by fate a creature is born in the body; taking refuge in a drop of the seed of a man he enters the belly of a woman". Yet karma and fate are often said to work together, or even to be the same55. [In a myth found in the Lingua Purana, a sage tries to dissuade Parasara from killing all the demons in order to avenge his father's murder by them: "The demons did not hurt your father; it was fated to happen to him in this way. Who is killed by whom? A man experiences (the fruits of) his own deeds"56.]
Or again, in the Bhagavata Purana we find a similar myth, where a sage tries to dissuade Dhruva from killing all the Yaksas in order to avenge his brother's murder by them. The Yaksas did not actually kill his brother, but it was fate that he should have got killed. The cause of man's birth or death or fate.
[''The Lord ordains the increase or decrease in the life span of a miserable creature. Some say this is karma; others that it is one's own nature; others that it is time; others that it is fate; and others that it is desire. The servants of Kubera, the Yaksas, were not the slayers of your brother; the cause of a man's birth and death is fate [daiva: Sridhara glosses it as Isvaral. He creates this universe, and keeps it, and kills it; but because he has no egoism, he is not affected by karmas or qualities [gunas]''57.l
Although gods, on the whole, are free of k;arma58, they come under the sway of fate. Krishna performed all his great manly deeds Epaurusa] by the power of predestination [bhavivasat]59. But very often fate and karma are taken to mean the same thing, especially when referred to the gods, either when evoked as an excuse for weakness or failure on their part60 or to escape punishment6~. These apparently conflicting attitudes to the fate and karma of the gods may be somewhat clarified when one realizes that Sridhara is talking about God, the absolute, who is regarded as being either above fate or identical with it, and that the others are merely lower-case gods, who are helpless against fate and karma.
If God controls fate and the gods are controlled by it, then nothing can be done against fate, it would seem. It is not so, because in the Puranas we have many examples of those who challenge fate and also overcome fate.
Thus, for example, when the wicked Kamsa learns that he is "fated" to be killed by a child of Devaki, he boasts, "This is a matter that concerns mere mortals, and so it can be accomplished by us though we are mortal. It is known that people like me can overcome fate and turn it to advantage by the right combination of spells, and herbal medicines, and constant effort"62. Of course Kamsa had no luck, because the child fated to kill him was none other than Krishna, no "mere mortal" and so accepted the fact that he could not overcome his fate by mere human effort. Or we have the case of Devaki and Vasudeva, who make an effort to save their last son, Krishna and their effort is crowned with success, which goes to prove the efficacy of human effort over fate.
l"Men must experience the karma that was formerly made, but can that not be worn away by pilgrimages, asceticism, and gifts? For the rites of expiation has been set forth in the Dharmasastras composed by the noble (sages) in order to destroy the evils amassed in former (lives).... If everything is brought about by fate...then all undertakings are without purpose, even the sacrifices that are supposed to achieve heaven. If this is so. then the authority (of the Vedas) is falsely proclaimed, and if the authority is false, why isn't
dharma cut down? But in fact, when an effort is made, success is achieved, night before your eyes. Therefore you should investigate and determine what is to be done to protect this little boy, my little son" 63.]
5.2.5 The Conquest of Karma and Reincarnation
If one can reverse fate, one can certainly reverse karma and its consequences. In fact in severe! chapters of the oldest Puranic writings one can read how a sinner can save himself from going to hell. A sinner can save himself by giving gifts (various types) to Brahmins. By giving gifts one can acquire merit and thus abolish even rebirth 64.
Yoga became another means of overcoming karma. Thus for example, in the Markandeya Purana, after setting up an inexorable karma process, it proceeds to undermine it completely with a long chapter on the way that the practice of Yoga releases people from karma 65. Meditation and renunciation are equally effective as karmic antidotes 66. The glorification of shrines (tirthamahatmya), pilgrimage and bathing at the holy shrines can wipe away one's past bad karma. Thus when Parvati asks Siva how evil that has been accumulated in a thousand former births can be worn away, Siva replies that this evil is worn away when one enters the Avimukta shrine at Banares 67.
Though the functions of karma and the mechanisms of rebirth are discussed at great length, the major thrust of the texts is to exhort the worshipper to undertake remedial actions in order to swim like a salmon upstream against the current of karma68. Almost every chapter on Karma-vipaka (ripening of karma), which explains how people get to hell by committing sins 69, is followed by a chapter on expiation.
By Bhakti (loving devotion) worship of a personal God (Vishnu or Krishna) is a sure means of overcoming one's bad karma and its consequences. The Puranas abound in stories in which the unrepentant sinner, about to be dragged away by the minions of Yama, is saved at the last minute by the arrival of the chariot of the servants of the sectarian god. By worshipping Vishnu, one can be "dispensed', with karma and karma can be conquered by those whom Krishna loves70.
5.3 Reincarnation in Dharmashastra (The Laws of Manu)
The Dharmashastra dedicates an entire chapter on the theme of karma-samsara, where the mechanism of the transmigration of soul is explained7'. The Book of Manu introduces a threefold origin of karma: manas (mind), vac (speech) and deha (body) (12.3). Sinful actions which spring from the mind will lead to rebirth in a low caste, evil actions from speech will cause rebirth as a bird of a beast and bodily sinful actions will lead one to be reborn as something inanimate. The book of Law classifies men into three categories according to the predominance of one or the other of the
three constitutive principles (guna) which determine the character of an individual, viz., the sattva (principle of clarity and tranquillity), the rajas (principle of activity and movement), and the tamas (principle of obscurity and inertia)72. Those in whom sattva prevails are characterized by goodness and purity, are enlightened by spiritual knowledge and do good works; those in whom rajas prevail are characterized by greediness for fame, power and material goods, and occupy themselves with activities of love and hatred; and those, instead, in whom tamas prevail are characterized by lethargy, impiety, cruelty, ignorance and desires of sensual pleasures. The prevailing of one or other principle derives from the merits or demerits of the past lives73.
Then the Book of Law then deals in details with the types of future re-births corresponding to the acts done by each one, acts which arise from the above-mentioned principles. At the moment of death, those in whom tamas predominate will be reborn as grass, trees, insects of every type, fishes, snakes, reptiles, birds, lions, boars, evil men, etc., depending on the amount of tamas each one has gathered during his present life and the non-expiated ones of his previous life (12. 42-45); those in whom rajas prevail will be reborn as kings, kshatriyas, servants, drunkards, etc., depending on the amount of rajas each one has collected (12. 46); and those in whom sattva prevails will be reborn as Brahmins, hermits, apsaras (servants of god), sages, etc. (12. 47-50), again depending on the amount of sattva one has gathered.
The Book of Manu deals in a particular way with mahapataka (mortal sins), viz., killing of a Brahman, drinking, stealing and adultery (11. 55), which will lead the offenders to spend large numbers of years in dreadful hells and after that enter into the wheel of samsara. It also deals, in great detail, with the rebirths of all kinds of thieves (12. 61-69) and finally with the rebirths of those who are not faithful to the specific duties of their varnas (four castes): "will migrate into despicable bodies" and "will become the servants of the Dasyus"74.
In the Dharmasastras the description of various types of rebirth for different types of evil actions outweigh by far the attention given to theoretical considerations and analyzing the technique of karma and rebirth.
6. Popular Theory
Three elements of popular faith merge together in the doctrine of karma: the spirits of the dead exist as preta, in a quasi-material state; the concept of a tribunal in the kingdom of god Yama (the king of the dead, also Dharmaraja, the king of justice); the ascent of the soul to heaven.
The soul as preta lives in an intermediary state (pretyabhava) in which it can die again (punarmyrtyu), which can be averted through performing religious rites. Other conceptions make the preta as "poor souls" which wander about in the houses of the living, if they are not assisted properly, viz., if their family members on earth fail to offer the religious rituals (sraddha). Then, once the soul (preta) is completely purified of its sins, becomes devoyana and enters brahmaloka (heaven, paradise), or enjoys first the fruits of his good acts in chandraloka (the sphere of the moon) on the "way of the fathers" (pitryana), to be reborn after enjoying the fruits of his good actions76. The bad karma has to be completely wiped off in hell. The time spent in the intermediates states are phases of purification. The sraddha ceremonies, performed after the death of a deceased, help him in his journey through the intermediary kingdom (prevent him from dying a new death) and influence on the karmic order.
7. Towards the Ultimate Liberation
The fundamental teaching of the four Vedus, the Bhagavat Gim, the Puranas and other religious texts of Hinduism, is not reincarnation, rebirth, but the ultimate liberation or salvation. In fact the necessity of transmigration is a nightmare for the Hindus77. The ultimate scope is moksha or multi, and in order to arrive at moksha, Hinduism proposes different ways (yoga or marga), by which one can reach spiritual perfection and finally eternal salvation of the soul: the way of action (karma-marga), the way of loving devotion towards God and abnegation (bhaktimarga), the way of concentration (raja yoga) and the way of spiritual knowledge (jnana-marga), of the non duality of Atmar' (the 'self' or the individual 'I') and Brahman (the Absolute).
According to the Advaiia Vedanta (the absolute non-dualism of Sankara) the only absolute reality is Brahman and the most intimate reality of man (the self or Atman) is the same Brahman. All the rest is maya, an illusion, a veil placed over by the same Brahman. Salvation or liberation consists precisely in the realization of A`man is Brahman through the jnana-yoga (marga). Only the one who is liberated knows the One (Absolute) and for the one who knows reincarnation is an illusion. Instead, the one who does not know, does not realize Atman is Brahman, continues to live in illusion and considers vam.sara as real.
8. Eschatology
What is the condition of the liberated soul? According to Advaita Vedanta, the individual soul (atman) looses its false individuality by realizing its identity with Brahman: "I am Brahman" (A ham Brahmasmi). It is a state of supreme beatitude, bliss, knowledge and pure existence. For the Nyaya Vaiseshika and the Mimamsa schools, the liberated soul exists deprived of any pleasurable or painful experience; it does not have neither happiness nor consciousness. According to the Samkhya Yoga, the liberated soul exists in a solitary state of tranquillity; experiences its intimate nature as pure spirit without having any relationship with matter78.
The popular theist sects (Vishnuism, Sivaism, Shaktism, etc.), hold on to the view that the liberated soul keeps its individual identity and enjoys the beatific vision and communion with a personal God.
9. Arguments in Favor of the Theory of Reincarnation in Hinduism
9.1 Metaphysical Arguments
Metaphysical arguments, as such, in favor of reincarnation do not exit, because no philosophical schools of Hinduism deny this doctrine79. It is, in fact, a question of faith that one tries to understand, without putting it to discussion or deny it. The karma-samsara is Original Sin for the Hindus and is one among the very few dogmas of faith, as we have mentioned above. Modern Hindu philosophers, however, propose a metaphysical argument, viz., that the soul (atman) is eternal, but the normal condition of the soul is that it is associated with a body. It is probable, therefore, that the soul in the past would have had and in the future will have a succession of bodies.
9.2 Empirical Arguments
From the empirical point of view, some facts that occur are considered to prove the truth of reincarnation. Thus for example, the existence of prodigious children (like Mozart or Menuhin) who with their instinctive capacity far superior and prodigious in every way goes to prove that they had a training (or knowledge) before they were born, or those, for example, Bridey Murphy, yogis and Buddhist saints, who claim to remember their previous births and lives, or again the deja vu experience of some people who have explicit knowledge of people and places without having had any previous contact with them, or, finally, the conception that since the soul is indivisible it cannot be derived from parents.
9.3 The Argument of Evolution
In the philosophical system of Sri Aurobindo, reincarnation is a necessary and indispensable mechanism for the dynamic process of evolution of the universe8°. According to him, the whole universe is a manifestation, an self-revelation of the Supreme Spirit, Saccidananda. The various grades of beings are similarly grades of involution or self-limitation of the Spirit. But then through various stages of evolution, the Spirit recovers his original nature; that is, matter evolves gradually in the Spirit. Involution is the decent of the Spirit, while evolution is ascent to the Spirit. Through the process of evolution, the human mind is still to evolve itself to become superman which will then finally culminate in SaccidCananda. Hence the soul did not begin its existence in human form, but in subhuman forms and is on the way to becoming superman8'.
9.4 Theological Arguments
In favor of reincarnation, from the theological point of view some reasonable and interesting observations are made by Hindu Theologians.
1. Faith in reincarnation is confirmed by the Vedas, which are revealed and therefore contain intuitions of rishis (sages, holy persons) that are true, precisely because they are expressions supported by authentic testimony.
2. Rebirth, associated with karma, offers a fitting solution to the great problem or mystery of evil (inequality, injustice, suffering: all results of past actions: karma). Justice demands, calls for reincarnation. So much of inequality exists among men: some are strong and healthy, others instead are weak and sick, deaf and dumb, blind, mentally and physically handicapped. Some are rich, others are poor, etc. What is the reason for all this? It cannot be from God, because He is goodness and love. It cannot be attributed to the responsibility of others (first parents, for example) which would be unjust. All these problems and diff'culties can be overcome by accepting the doctrine of karma-samsara or the transmigration of souls according to the inviolable law of retribution. Each one is responsible for his own destiny in his life.
3. The doctrine of transmigration offers the possibility of a long period of time for the process of self-purification and self-perfection. Everyone has the possibility of achieving his ultimate goal, moksha. No one is exempt from it.
4. God the Creator, good and merciful, cannot punish his creature (the soul) for all eternity in hell, but offers him always new chances so that he can arrive at his final goal, viz., to be united with Him (Atman is Brahman).
10. Conclusion
Practically all the religions speak of an intermediary existence, of a sort of purgatory, a place and a time to expiate one's sins, between the earthly existence and the final one of absolute happiness (salvation, liberation, makti, moksha, nirvana, beatific vision of God or union with God, the Absolute).
The reincarnation of the soul is one way of explaining or representing this intermediary existence.
The doctrine of reincarnation is considered to be fundamentally evil; it is like the doctrine of original sin (for Christians), which remains a mystery of faith and evades every sort of rational explanation.
At the same time all the religions propose ways and means to overcome or to escape from this intermediary state of existence so as to reach the ultimate scope of human existence, viz., eternal happiness or union with God.
The fundamental preoccupation of any religion, including Hinduism, is not so much to propose or to give solutions to the problem of this intermediary existence (including reincarnation) as such, but to bring all to final salvation (heaven, moksha, nirvana), by proposing ways and means to arrive at the final goal, which for Hinduism includes also the definitive liberation from the karma-samvara or the chain of reincarnation.
' ACHARUPARAMBIL D., Induismo. Vita e pensiero, Roma, PP. Carmelitarni Scalzi, 1976, p. 15.
2 Ibid., pp. 15-18.
3 LONG J.B., "Reincarnation", in ELIADE M. (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Religion, vol. XII, New York, Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987, p. 265.
4 Ibid., pp. 265-266
5. ACHARUPARAMBIL D.. lnduismo. Vita e oensiero, op. cit., p. 199.
6 MAHONY W. K., "Karman", in ELIADE M. (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Religion, vol. VIII, New York, Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987,p.261.
7 ACHARUPARAMBIL D., Induismo. Vita e pensiero, op.cit., p.200.
8. SMITH B.K., "Samsara", in ELIADE M (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Religion, vol. XIII, New York, Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987,p.56. .
9 TAPASYANANDA S., The Bhagavad Gita and the Methods of its Study, in "The Vedanta Kesari" 58(1971)8,p. 74.
'° According to Swami Sridharananda the suEsma-sarira is "constituted by the seventeen components, namely, the five jnanendriyas (organs of knowledge), the five karmendriyas (organs of action), the five pranas and the manas (mind) and ahamkara (ego)." See Swami Sridharanada, Sri Krishna's First Sermon: A Running Commentary on the Second Chapter of the Gita, in "Prabhudha Barata 91 (1986),p.195. In his enumeration, the component buddhi is omitted.
" ACHARUPARAMBIL D., Induismo. Vita e pensiero, op. cit., p. 201.
12 KEITH A. B., The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads, Part II, Delhi, Motilal Banarasidass,
1989, p 570.
13 Ibid., pp. 570-571.
14 O'FLAHERTY W. D., Karma and Rebirth in the Vedas and Puranas, in: O'FLAHERTY W. D (Ed.), Karma and
Rebirth in Classical lndian Traditions, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 1983, p. 3.
15 Ibid.
16 Also known as preta-karma, which is rite performed some days after the antyeshti (sacrament of the last rites, cremation). It is to assist the deceased, now a disembodied spirit (preta) to get a new body in heaven (Rigvedic eschatology) or in order to help the preta to pass to the kingdom of pitarah.
17 Pinda is a ball of cooked rice mixed with other ingredients (sesame, milk, butter, honey, etc.) and is offered to the dead ancestors in limbo as a transitional food mediating between death and rebirth.
18 KNIPE D. M., Sapindikarana: The Mndu Rite of Entry into Heaven, in FRANK REYNOLDS - EARLE H.WAUGH ((Eds.), Religious Encounters with Death, Insights from the History and Anthropology of Religions, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State University Press, 1977, p. 112; cited by O'FLAHERTY W. D. (Ed), Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions, op. cit., p. 3.
19 O'FLAHERTY W .D., Reincarnation in Hinduism, in "Concilium", 29 (1993) 5, p. 3.
20 Cited in O'FLAHERTY W. DReincarnation in Hinduism, in "Concilium", 29 (1993) 5 p. 3.
21 Ibid. p. 4.
22 Ibid.
23 Ibid.
24 Ibid.
25 Ibid., p. 5
26 THURUTHIYIL S., La reincarnazione nelle grand) religion), in FIZZOTTI E. (Ed.), Quante vite viviamo? Dibattito sulla reincarnazione, Roma, Las, 1995, p. 27.
27 KEITH A B, op cit, p 573
28 Ibid.
29 Ibid.
30 Changogya Upanishad 5.3.1-10; cited in O'FLAHERTY W. D., Reincarnation in llinduism, in "Concilium" 29 (1993) 5, pp. 7-8.
3] O'FLAHERTY W. D., Reincarnation in Hinduism, in "Concilium", 29 (1993) 5, p.8.
32 LONG J. B., Reincarnation, in ELIADE M. (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Religion, vol. 12, New York, Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987, p. 266.
33 Bhagavat Gita, 6 40-45.
34 O'FLAHERTY W. D., Reincarnation in Hinduism, in ``Conclium', 29 (1993) 5, p. 9. 35 Brahma Purana 217. 1- 16.
36 Garuda Purana, Uttara Khanda, 2. 22-2s.
37 Brahmavaivarta Purana 2. 32.27-32.
38 Visnudharmottara Purana 116. 1-12; 2. 113-114; Markandeya Purana 10. 48b-50; -.63b-72; Agni Purana 369. 1
10; 371. 6-11.
39 Agni Purana 369.15-19; Visnudharmottara Purana 2.113.1-25.
40 Markandoya Purana 10.88-92.
4] Ibid 11 1 - 13 - 22-24.
42 Harivamsa (Poona, 1969), appendix II (sesadharmaprarakarana), lines 2909-2915; cf. O'FLAHERTY, Karma and Rebirth in the Vedas and Puranas, op. cit., p. 19.
43 Linga Purana 88.47-48.
44 Padma Purana 2. 94.12.
45 Bhavisya Purana 4.4.6-8.
46 Garuda Purana, Uttara Khanda 22.18-20.
47 Garuda Purana, Uttara Khanda 22.17.
48 Agni Purana 151. 18: pitur matusca karmatah.
49 Agni Purana 369.31-32; 370.19-20.
so Mahabharata 1.76-91; S.118- 120.
5' Padma Purana 2.29-33; Bhagavata Purana 4.13; Vamana Purana, S. 26.
52 Skanda Purana 7.1.336.95-252; Garuda Purana 6.4-8.
53 Brahmanda Purana 2. 36.127-227; Skanda Purana 7. 1.337.72-175; Harivamsa 5.1-21; 6.1-4; Brahma Purana 4. 28-122; VamanaPurana, S. 26.31; VisnuPurana 1. 13.7-41.
54 Bhagavata Purana 4.13-15; Padma Purana 2.27.19-46.
S5 Matsya Purana 30. 12.
56 Linga Purana 1. 64.109-111.
57 Bhagavata Purana 4 . 1 1.21-25.
5g Matsya Purana 4. 6.
59 Ibid., 6. 10.17-19, -.38b.
60 Vamana Purana 49-50; cf. Devibhagavata Purana 6. 17.40 and 9. 40.70-91 for other examples of Indra's karma.
61 SkandaPurana 2. 7.23.~-40.
62 FLarirnm.`n 47 1 15
63 Devithagavata Purana 4.21.5-17.
64 MatsyaPurana 57.27; 59.19; 206.17-18.
65 Markandeya Purana 39.
66 Linga Purana 1.86.15-21.
67 MatsyaPurana 181.10,-.17-18.
68 Cf. O'FLAT~ERI?Y W.D., Karma and Rebirth, op. cit., p. l4.
69 Visnu Purana 2.6; Vamana Purana 12; Agni Purana 370; Markandeya Purana 14; Bhagavata Purana 3.30;
Purana 1.15.31, etc.
70 Devithagavata Purana 9. 29-30; Varaha Purana 5; Brahmavaivarta Purana 2.29-33; 4.74.
71 Dharmashastra 12.1-82.
72 Dharmashastra 12.24-28;cf.ACHARUPARAM~ILD., Induismo. Vita e pensiero. op. citp. 205.
73 Ibid.
74 ROCHERL., Karma and Rebirth in the Dharmasastras, in O'FLAHERTY W.D.(Ed.), Karma and Rebirth in
Classical Hinduism, op.cit.,pp.67-76.
75 Ibid., p. 77.
76 THURUTHIYILS., La reincarnazione nelle grand) religion), op. cit., p. 31.
77 ACHARUMPARAMBIL D., Induismo. Vita e penisero, op. cit., p. 210.
78 ACHARUPARAMBIL, Induismo. Vita e pensiero, op. cit. p. 211.
79 Cf. SMART N., Reincarnation, in EDWARDS P. (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, The Macmillan Company and the Free Press, New York, 1967, vol. VII, p. 123.
80 Cf. ACHARUPARABIL D., Induismo. Vita e pensiero, op. cit., pp. 207-208.
81 SRI AUROBINDO Life Divine, vol. 2, Pondicheny, 1970, pp. 760-764.


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Oscar's Worst Dressed
Check out fashion flops from the 79th annual Academy Awards. [US Online]
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The court-appointed attorney is working as quickly as possible on Anna Nicole Smith's funeral details. [Yahoo]
Brandon "Greasy Bear" Davis Ruins Paris' Party
Oil heir makes an ass out of himself, sends hieress' guests home early and leaves Paris in tears. [TMZ]
Diddy's 12 Year Old Son Gets Lap Dance
Whoever said "like father, like son" definitely wasn't lying. [The Doghouse]
What Do Britney, Lindsay, Other Stars Do In Rehab?
For the rich and famous, "going to rehab" is far from what it's cracked up to be. [MTV News]

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Fun and Free: Philly on a Budget
With plenty of free sights and activities, you don't have to be rich to have fun in Philly. You can do all of the following for free—yes, you heard right, free.
With plenty of free sights and activities, you don't have to be rich to have fun in Philly. You can do all of the following for free—yes, you heard right, free.
Check out these recommendations from author Sacha Jackson and explore Vieux-Québec's Upper Town with an eye on the arts.
If Québec is known for one thing, it's the circus. Between unconventional circuses like TOHU, theatre, and a variety of museums, you'll have plenty to explore in the greater Montréal area.
Between the Triangle and the beaches are a band of small towns like Wilson which continue to be culturally vital, architecturally interesting, and full of good places to browse for antiques and to gobble up barbecue. Here's a quick look at the Sandy Lowland's towns and state parks.
The Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario typically opens with preview performances in late April and early May and continues through October. Beyond the plays, the festival offers a variety of theater tours, lectures, and special events.
Belize is a melting pot of cultures, religions, languages, and ethnicities. In this article, author Victoria Day-Wilson discusses the general culture of Belize, including everything from the types of popular cuisine to the likelihood of finding a golf course or a race track.
Whether you're in town for business, a conference, or a short holiday, you'll want to know how to get the most out of your visit to Canada's largest city. Carolyn B. Heller reveals her favorite activities and experiences that you can fit into one perfect Toronto day.
Want to know the national instrument of Guatemala? Learn more about Guatemalan culture including favored music, literary figures past and present, notable figures in visual arts, Guatemala's baroque architecture, and more.
Channeling counterculture and rock n'roll, an eclectic and charismatic collective of artists galvanized fans and critics throughout the country with their shows, albums, performances, and happenings that came to be known collectively as Tropicalismo.
A century ago, the simultaneous invention of motor cars and motion pictures was a match made in Hollywood heaven, and over the years, movies have created some magical road trip memories. Jamie Jensen gives us part one of a brief chronology of classic road trip films.


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A doctor picks four "superstar" skin care ingredients that you can feel comfortable investing in: sunscreen, Vitamin A, antioxidants and alpha hydroxy acids.
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Western Albemarle's defense has been getting the job done this year in the Warriors' toughest tests. The unit posted a pair of shutouts against Monticello and Liberty-Bealeton and held Powhatan to just 10 points.
On Friday, the Warriors' high-octane offense had to save them. They were up to the task, holding off Charlottesville for a 50-49 shootout victory.
"On the offensive side, our kids did what we needed to do," said Western coach Ed Redmond. "We got the ball to our playmakers."
Facing a Charlottesville squad that unleashed a single-wing style power run attack after halftime, Western Albemarle had to match the Black Knights score for score in a showdown of the final two schools that were unbeaten in Jefferson District play. The Black Knights employed an unbalanced line and looked to power past the Warriors, which they did throughout the second half.
"We planned it this week to come out (with it) in the second half knowing they wouldn't have time to make adjustments to it," said Charlottesville coach Eric Sherry. "We just thought we could do something with it and it really helped."
Western simply didn't have a choice but to take the offense up a notch as Charlottesville erased an early 21-7 deficit and eventually snagged, for a brief moment, a 43-42 lead.
"We never really stopped the single wing (approach)," said quarterback and defensive back Kent Henry.
Henry, as usual, orchestrated that offensive effort, 205 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, including all three second half scores for the Warriors. The area's leading passer also threw a pair of touchdowns to Daniel Kuzjak and finished with 143 passing yards. Kuzjak, who also had an interception on one of the few defensive stops by either team in the game, finished with 104 yards and the two touchdown catches. But Kuzjak's most critical play came in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, when a 45-yard catch and run set the table for a 20-yard quarterback keeper by Henry that put Western up 50-43 with 3:53 to play.
Western tried to defend that narrow lead on defense, but Charlottesville stuck with what worked all game long — a heavy dose of Rashard Davis and Chris Thurston on the ground. The Black Knights orchestrated a 13-play, 59-yard drive that alternated between the speedy quarterback (Davis) and the fast, powerful tailback (Thurston). With 10 seconds to play, Davis scrambled after a play broke down inside the 10 and scored to pull Charlottesville within a point at 50-49.
The Black Knights opted to go for the two-point conversion and the win. After a muddle huddle set that showed — briefly — a potential PAT attempt, Davis lined up behind center during a called shift. He took off to his right, seemingly, headed for a run-pass option, but threw back across the formation to set up a potential screen. The ball fell to the ground, ending, realistically, Charlottesville's hopes.
The Black Knights, however, recovered an initial attempt at an onsides kick, but were called offsides. Western's Isaiah Cowan easily corralled the re-do and Western took a knee to run out the remaining time.
Davis was electric throughout, and finished with 293 yards and three touchdowns on the ground on 19 touches — bolstered significantly by a 90-yard touchdown run in the second half — while Thurston notched a 202-yard night on 33 carries, grinding it out largely between the tackles. With a dash of Rashad Brock thrown in, Charlottesville finished with 510 yards on the ground as a team.
"There's no doubt Charlottesville is back," said Charlottesville coach Eric Sherry. "And I think we're going to stay there. They're just going to have to get over how much this hurts and that's a hard thing."
Western got a big first half boost from an incredible 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Nic Drapanas that answered a 31-yard touchdown pass from Davis to Darius Watson.
"Charlottesville played their hearts out, they never quit they kept grinding and grinding," Drapanas said. "We grinded at the end there, but it was a tough one."
Western moves to 7-0 on the season and with two Jefferson District games left, has a big leg up in the District race with wins over the only two one-loss JD teams (Powhatan and Charlottesville). The Black Knights enter their bye week before gearing up for the season's final stretch against Louisa and Powhatan. Wins against those teams could boost CHS to a playoff appearance.
and host..... Charlottesville who pounded MHS!
Then soundly beat a horrible TA team! Fluvanna beat Louisa as well as played Powhatan tough most of the game. Heck.. MHS is a solid tie for 4th if not 5th. They will lose to Powhatan and possibly Fluvanna!
Face it... Not MHS's year. they just don't have the depth
Let's see ... WAHS, CHS, Powhatan, Fluvanna ...
.... who are we missing? Oh yeah, MONTICELLO! Behind Fluvanna? Really? C'mon now. That's crazy talk.
BTW, if the season were to end today, Western would be the top seed in the region and host ... Charlottesville.
Offensive line play
Offensive line play led the story the week before against Powhatan: http://www.scrimmageplay.com/articles/headlines/western-drops-powhatan-s...
Nice to see you not give the
Nice to see you not give the offensive line for Western any credit. As Mr. Henry stated himself in another interview " the offensive line really opened holes to were all I had to do was run in a straight line". Its nice to know juniors in high school now more about the game than the grown ups reporting it. Its good to hear "skill" players give credit to the men in the trenches even if the media refuses.
What an amazing game..
I know defense wins games but this was fun to watch with two absolutely athletic teams.. Thanks for the show. Interesting how the JD has changed.. WAHS, CHS are definitely the class of the league.. Powhatan is not far behind this year.. Fluvanna may be the 4th best... It'll be interesting to see how it plays out


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Monday, June 22, 2009
avoiding the "Well, how did I get here?" syndrome
Maybe because it's my favorite genre these days, but I've been hearing a lot of "I was successful but unhappy so I quit my job to follow my dream" stories. The lovely thing about these stories is that no matter how insane the decision looks on paper (i.e., bagging enormously lucrative advertising job complete with fat expense account and prime corner office to enroll in cooking school in the hopes of working 60 hours a week as a line cook, making $15k/yr salary while getting yelled at by Chef), no one ever seems to regret taking this step.
I've done Part One of this process - I quit the hateful job that was making me a miserable slug - but I'm still working on Part Two - figuring out my dream, and going for it. (Though sometimes I worry that, actually, I've found my dream, and it involves lots of reading, traveling, hanging out, and going to the movies, none of which seem to be paying much these days.) Over the past couple of months, however, I've been connecting a lot of dots and feel (finally!!) that I'm moving forward - still not quite sure toward what, but it does feel like progress of a sort. I've been tentatively thinking about making some sort of career as a writer, and I'm not talking press releases and PowerPoint. I've received a lot of support from various corners, and I'm at a point in my life where I can actually hear the encouraging words and not discount them as I would have in the past ("Oh, that's nice of her to say that about my writing, but really, anyone could do it"; or "Well, okay, so what I wrote isn't half bad, but what are the odds I could actually get published?"). Also, I have plenty of role models right now.
For example. Last week, during what was supposed to be a business-type meeting (I say "business-type" because I no longer have actual hard-core business meetings, thank you very much), David and I digressed into a major discussion of "Vocation, Finding one's." David has the classic narrative of the genre: turned his back on a big-shot career as a commercial photographer, went to film school, and ultimately found his calling as an artist, creating intimate, powerful works that connect deeply with their audience. I get the sense that he sees his work and his path very clearly, and the joy and self-confidence and contentment that he radiates are so strong, he can't help but inspire those of us still flailing about in the murky depths.
It takes a lot of courage and faith, I believe, to make such a drastic change, and getting past the fear of what others will think is one of the biggest challenges. After all, following a dream along these lines usually means freaking someone out - a parent, a spouse, a lending institution. A few years back, as one of the many, many, many things I did to try to figure out my life, I went on an Outward Bound sea-kayak trip in the Sea of Cortez - 10 days of paddling around, sleeping on beaches, and (rather to my surprise) organized soul-searching. I didn't delve into the "sharing" as much as I probably should have (not my cup of tea, though I applaud those who went all out and shared like mad), but there were still some deeply resonant moments. At one point, one of the trip leaders read us a list of qualities you need in order to find and follow your own path, and there was one that, for me, rose above self-help treacle: "You must have the courage to disappoint the ones you love." Yowza.
Perhaps one of the reasons it's been so difficult for me to find my path is that there's constantly been a checklist of people I feel I must please, people whose voices I can hear whenever I'm making a big (or even semi-big) decision. It's bad enough when these people are criticizing me inside my head; if one of them questions my choices in real life, I get flustered, and it's difficult for me to stay centered on my (typically wishy-washy) convictions. Nowadays, however, I do feel I'm better equipped to disconcert friends and family with my crazy schemes ("I'm going to Mexico on Sunday!") without getting knocked off track, and I'm less worried about making mistakes and getting a load of "I told you so" down the road.
Because, Dear Readers, if I've learned one thing and one thing only during this process, it's that the big risk doesn't lie in recklessly chasing the dreams of your heart (even the vague and indistinct ones); the big risk is sticking to the safe, easy, well-trod path and realizing much later that you missed out, and then there you are, sitting up late at night, nursing a scotch and listening over and over to Miss Peggy Lee sum it all up for you.
8 comments:
"It was clear, at last, that in writing, she had found a home."ReplyDelete
Freya Stark
As one of your readers, Sioban, it couldn't be clearer that you, too, have found that home. And what a pleasure it is to be there with you. Don't stop.
What Brenda said.ReplyDelete
What neither said. Does it PAY?ReplyDelete
Thanks, brenda and Jane2 - I was unsteady about this post, so your comments are much appreciated.ReplyDelete
And Remonster: unfortunately, it doesn't pay, but I'm hoping it has inherent value.
I just finished reading ALL the entries on your 25 Days in Paris blog and wanted to send you a note to let you know a/ how much I enjoyed it and b/ how helpful it has been to us as we are headed to the City of Light in about 10 days. Le Verre Vole and Mon Viele Ami are both on our list!ReplyDelete
Pooja: thanks for the comments! I'm so glad you enjoyed 25 Days - and have a GREAT time in Paris! Please report back on your discoveries.ReplyDelete
Fear of failure is something that I'm struggling a lot with right now in my life decisions as well. I'm only 21 and feel as though I have to make the right decision RIGHT NOW to avoid future unhappiness and/or regret. The only problem is, the fear of having regrets and of letting people down is preventing me from putting myself out there, my greatest regret. It's easy for me to get down on myself about this, but reading your blog helps me know there's at least one other person out there struggling with these same fears, and inspires me to keep an equally positive outlook.ReplyDelete
Thank you for not being a silent sufferer, and for your humour and perspective :)
Hi Siobhan,ReplyDelete
I came from your 25 days in Paris blog. I too was in Paris about the same time you were and your blog makes me miss it so much. I didn't have a chance to explore as much as I wanted to but I will definitely go back and live the Parisian life one day.
This particular blog hit close to home with me. Especially your very last paragraph. I'm struggling with this right now and hope to find my path soon.


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150 – Comic Strip
Sat, Mar 28 – 12:30 AM
Nifty one-fifty! Â Emulating syndicated artists' styles is quite a bit tougher than I thought it'd be. Â You'd think I'd know that after comic 50…! Â This strip's underlying meta-reference was fun to do, but it was also quite enjoyable to try to delve into the styles (both art-wise and humor-wise) of other famous comic strips.
Sorry about the delay on this one–there've been some non-BitF-related issues over here lately, and it's something that slowed progress this week.  As a side-effect, I probably won't have the next comic until around Wednesday of next week.  But there will still be two comics next week, so don't worry!
Also, sorry about the lack of a BIG SURPRISE but…rest assured it's coming very soon! Â In fact, you might even see it by the next update. Â Here's a hint–it's been in development for months. Â What could it be!?
Links to larger, individual comic images: PEAN, FARS, FORB, FOXT, GARF.
-By Matthew


text:
Saltash student died from drug abuse, inquest hears
Posted: January 31, 2013|
A SALTASH teenager who was found dead in a toilet cubicle at his college had been using cannabis and butane gas, an inquest has heard.
Charlie Alford, 16, collapsed at Cornwall College Saltash on September 26 last year.
Today an inquest heard that Charlie was found with a yellow butane gas cylinder, and that butane was found in his blood and cannabis in his urine.
Coroner Ian Arrow recorded a verdict of accidental death.


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Strange odor leads police to meth lab
Lab found at Rayo Del Sol Apartments on Blanco Road
SAN ANTONIO - A North Side apartment resident helped police find a methamphetamine lab Friday.
The resident at the Rayo Del Sol Apartments in the 7200 block of Blanco Road smelled something strange coming from an apartment in Building Three and called police.
When police checked it out, they found the lab.
"By normal standards, I guess it would be considered a small- to medium-sized lab," said Sgt. Javier Salazar of the San Antonio Police Department.
Salazar said, no matter how small, a meth lab is a big deal.
"This was probably a potentially hazardous situation for a lot of these residents. Sure is a cause for concern," Salazar said.
It took a specialized group of narcotics officers several hours to clean up the lab and safely dispose of the chemicals.
"It's a very volatile type mix of chemicals, and you have to be trained in how to recognize it and how to handle it correctly," Salazar said.
No one was in the apartment when police arrived and as of Friday afternoon, no arrests have been made.
Copyright 2012 by KSAT.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Cardiac catheterization
Cardiac catheterization is used to study the various functions of the heart. Using different techniques, the coronary arteries can be viewed by injecting dye or opened using balloon angioplasty. The oxygen concentration can be measured across the valves and walls (septa) of the heart and pressures within each chamber of the heart and across the valves can be measured. The technique can even be performed in small, newborn infants.
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Clarks Circuit HuntSKU: #8107701
Product Information
- You're on the hunt for the right shoe. While you cruise the circuit, we're sure we've found just what you need.
- Luxurious leather upper with contrast moc stitching and gathered detail for much added visual appeal.
- Leather, suede, and fabric lining ensure an abrasion-free environment for all-day wear.
- Cushioned EVA footbed massages the foot with each and every step.
- Flexible rubber outsole delivers long-lasting durability on a variety of surfaces.
- Imported.
- Measurements:
- Weight: 11 oz
- Product measurements were taken using size 11, width D - Medium. Please note that measurements may vary by size.


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BIKER SERIES ALERT!! Book #1 did the trick for us biker-romance lovers, and this motorcycle club is pretty bad a$$! A little less gritty (at least, so far – there are still two more books scheduled for release) than some of our fav MC books, but still plenty of illicit biker action to enjoy! And even with the more "hardcore" moments in the forefront, the steamy romance is still the bulk of the story.
T-K: to me the best biker book is "Reaper's Property". I really love the more "hard core" stories.
Rogetta: Loved this book!! I need another biker book ASAP!!
Maryse C: boy oh boy did Reaper's Property do it for me. More hardcore then Motorcycle Man but Horse was seriously delish. <— sidenote. OMG that's totally not me (although I agree with her… another Maryse in the mix!! YAY!)
Nicole: I really swooned on the way he HAD to have her. …………steamy + scary biker dudes = YUM! ;)
Kassi: love reaper's property. just as great as undeniable. horse is my new favorite
About book #1:
Marie doesn't need a complication like Horse. The massive, tattooed, badass biker who shows up at her brother's house one afternoon doesn't agree. He wants Marie on his bike and in his bed. Now.
But Marie just left her abusive jerk of an ex-husband and she's not looking for a new man. Especially one like Horse—she doesn't know his real name or where he lives, she's ninety percent certain he's a criminal and that the "business" he talks with her brother isn't website design. She needs him out of her life, which would be a snap if he'd just stop giving her mind-blowing orgasms.
Horse is part of the Reapers Motorcycle Club, and when he wants something, he takes it. What he wants is Marie, but she's not interested in becoming "property of".
Then her brother steals from the club. Marie can save him by giving Horse what he wants—at home, in public, on his bike… If she's a very, very good girl, she'll get lots more of those orgasms only he can offer, and he'll let her brother live.
- Reaper's Property (check out my Book Review)
- Reaper's Legacy (Reapers Motorcycle Club) (check out my Book Review)
- Devil's Game (Reapers Motorcycle Club)
- Reaper's Stand (Reapers Motorcycle Club)
- Reaper's Fall (Reapers Motorcycle Club) - expected release date November 2rd 2015
Devil's Game synopsis (book #3):
Liam "Hunter" Blake hates the Reapers MC. Born and raised a Devil's Jack, he knows his duty. He'll defend his club from their oldest enemies—the Reapers—using whatever weapons he can find. But why use force when the Reapers' president has a daughter who's alone and vulnerable? Hunter has wanted her from the minute he saw her, and now he has an excuse to take her.
Em has lived her entire life in the shadow of the Reapers. Her overprotective father, Picnic, is the club's president. The last time she had a boyfriend, Picnic shot him. Now the men in her life are far more interested in keeping her daddy happy than showing her a good time. Then she meets a handsome stranger—a man who isn't afraid to treat her like a real woman. One who isn't afraid of her father. His name is Liam, and he's The One.
Or so she thinks.


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A Christmas Wish for Abusers…
by Camille Marino
As the world gathers with their loved ones this weekend
At the center of all the warm fuzzy moments will be the cooked carcasses of holocaust victims
What god would condone such atrocities
What god would want them celebrated in his name
Religion confounds me and this season is odious
At least retailers and churches will make some money
Thank god I'm an athiest
But at this special time of year
It's nice to share our innermost thoughts with those who occupy space in our heads
So to every vivisector, farmer, breeder
Every genre of animal-abusing scum and their apologists
For your holiday, may your god exact justice for your crimes
May your tree or menorah burn your blood-money home down with you in it
This video is a gift from me to you
Merry christmas, die motherfucker die!
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« Walter Bond's Exclusive Post-Sentencing Interview | Home | Britain's last circus elephant, beaten and stabbed by sadistic keeper, enjoys Christmas sanctuary »
3 Responses to "A Christmas Wish for Abusers…"
Negotiation Is Over Says:
December 24th, 2011 at 10:33 am
vegangsterARNP Says:
December 24th, 2011 at 4:45 pm
Thank you for this.
miren Says:
December 25th, 2011 at 9:43 am


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Couleur Nature
This kantha throw is hand-stitched with bright multicolored thread, forming a unique reversible design. Made of durable cotton, it can be used for a variety of needs, while still keeping its artisan feel.


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Baby Name Poll
Evangeline Ruth vs. Evangeline Ray vs. Evangeline Rose
Hey it's Christina and last night I posted asking if Evangeline would be a good way to honour my brother Evan who died recently and everyone thought it would work perfectly. So now which middle name? Her nickname will be Evan or Ev, not Evie/Eve/Angel/etc. My husbands favourite is Ray (which could honour his father Raymond) and mine is Ruth. Rose is just a random one that sounded pretty. But thanks so so much. -Christina.
|Which baby name is best?
|Evangeline Ruth
|Evangeline Ray
|Evangeline Rose
Voting on this baby name poll has ended. View the results »
» create your own baby name poll


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CHSC Loan Repayment Opportunity Open through September 30, 2013
The Colorado Health Service Corps (CHSC) loan repayment application is now open! Starting on September 1, 2013 until September 30, 2013, the online application is available for primary health care professionals who want to work in approved areas of Colorado, including Community Health
September 06, 2013
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Emphasizing Community in Community Health Centers
One of the special things about working at a Colorado Community Health Center (CHC) is that staff have the opportunity to truly interact with the community. For example, Valley-Wide Health Systems partnered with Rocky Ford's Jefferson Intermediate School to celebrate César Cháve
June 06, 2013
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Farmworkers Receive Health Care Services at CHCs
On March 31, many Americans celebrated César Chávez's birthday throughout the country. Chavez, co-founder of the United Farm Workers union with Dolores Huerta, is known for his activism supporting farmworkers' rights. He strove to gain fair treatment, improved working conditions, an
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What Integrated Health Care Means for Patients and Providers
"Integrated health care" is a hot topic these days. But what does it mean? Simply put, integrated health care recognizes the benefit of patients receiving medical, dental and behavioral or mental health care at the same time in the same place. After all, ailments don't necessarily sti
March 01, 2013
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Like all other states in the US, Colorado offers Community Health Centers (CHCs) as affordable health care options for Coloradans located in rural, urban, and frontier areas of the state. CHCs are non-profit or public comprehensive primary care providers with a mission to provide hea
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text:
Prime Cut Heads to Belmont After Workout
Donald A. Adam's Prime Cut, third in the Peter Pan (gr. II) and runner-up in the Coolmore Lexington (gr. II), will head to New York for a run in the June 11 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) following a strong five-furlong work on Monday, June 6, at Churchill Downs.
Bred iin Kentucky by Stuart McPhee, Prime Cut was a $475,000 Keeneland September sale purchase.
Copyright © 2015 The Blood-Horse, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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Drugs, violence and Colombia
The South American country of Colombia has experienced decades of violence, civilian massacres, political assassinations and urban terrorism.
Two words are synonymous with Colombia: violence and drugs, with the country accounting for 60 per cent of the global production of cocaine.
Not even the death of the most notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar in 1993 dampened the production and associated misery of the drug. It actually escalated the problem.
So how does a country that is contaminated and corrupted by drug money redeem itself?
According to the leading drug scholar in the country, Francisco Thoumi, you need to legalise Colombia, not cocaine.
This interview was first broadcast on 11/05/2013
- Magnus Linton
- Swedish writer and journalist
- Title
- Cocaina: a book on those who make it
- Author
- Magnus Linton
- Publisher
- Scribe Publications
- Presenter
- Geraldine Doogue
- Producer
- Kate MacDonald


text:
|Religion and Dharma / Sister Nivedita (Margaret E. Noble); with a preface by S. K. Ratcliffe.
|Nivedita, Sister, 1867-1911
|London : Longmans, Green and co., 1915
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Below is the poem entitled My Suede Side which was written by poet
CJonr. Please feel free to comment on this poem. However, please remember, PoetrySoup is a place of encouragement and growth.
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Unic Cjonr
Love sounds the beat to my broken heart, filled by the hate to relieve my fate. The clouds darken, the thunder strikes the membrane surrounding my mind, ear piercing aches cause tears to fake, eyes bleeding by visions, the ace will be spaded by the rake. Pale deformities stalks my suede side, my lovefor pain invites the ride, by the cross which cuts my wrists to bleed, i will subside, i will have no need to succeed. Black darkness will guide me, through the brightest of lights, left will war to theecho, seven shallows to right. The bat sees the unseen, without the sanctuary chained to sight.
A comment has not been posted for this poem. Encourage a poet by being the first to comment.


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Clot or Not?
Page 2 of 3
Dx: Femoral Artery? Look Again
LN=lymph node superficial to the common femoral vein and common femoral artery
Knowing that the devil is in the details, you ask your resident to describe what we are looking at on the ultrasound image. He states that there is a round, anechoic vascular structure with a hyperechoic clot in the middle. When you ask him to tell you which vessel he saw the clot in, he states authoritatively, "the common femoral vein." You then ask him to identify where the common femoral artery is on his image. You can almost feel his consternation when he suddenly realizes his mistake. "That's not a vessel is it?" he asks, as he is begins walking towards the order sheet to cancel his Lovenox order.
After he gracefully explains to the patient what has happened, and palpates the enlarged lymph nodes he saw on his bedside ultrasound, you help your resident repeat the left lower extremity vascular ultrasound. You walk him through how to map out the pertinent vessels and identify the corresponding, adjacent structures. As you scan through the femoral triangle, you help him identify the superficial inguinal lymph node sitting right above the common femoral vein and artery (pictured above).
A quick review of the lower extremity anatomy helps him remember to map out each vessel's course and you finish your scan by reminding him to obtain both longitudinal and transverse views of the vessel to ensure he is indeed looking at the intended target structure.
One negative DVT study later, your resident has learned a valuable lesson about one of the common pitfalls in bedside vascular ultrasonography, but even more importantly, he has seen that haste can indeed make waste.
Continue for Pearls and Pitfalls >>
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We Try Every Cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory
Best idea ever!
Best idea ever!
what a fun way to serve dessert!
i wonder how this would be with dark chocolate instead of white...
haha wow!
I like the last tip:-)
oh i need to make this!
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Chocolate chip peanut butter brownies topped with milk chocolate ganache... More


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The connection between Audiology and Speech Therapy
Some of our patients, particularly children have difficulty with auditory processing - the inability to attach meaning to sounds. The way a child hears a word and the way he or she processes it does not always connect. Having a speech therapist and audiologist on site together is an added value for families in need of both services. Read more →


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NWS Cooperative Station Network
The HPRCC archive of National Weather Service (NWS) surface observations includes daily measurements of high temperature, low temperature, precipitation, snowfall, and evaporation for first order (NWS forecast offices) and second order (cooperative observer network) sites. The data are available through the HPRCC Online Services or through the HPRCC Climate Office.
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Brandy's turning 31…
…but don't tell her T-shirt that!
So, supposedly, Brandy's 30th birthday was "wack." She implies that this was a result of Ray J not coming through. Is she implying that the West Coast Party King is less than omnipotent? That is harrowing news that shakes up my entire world view.
Well, he can still eat standing up, so he's at least retaining some of his powers.
Brandy and her friends seem to come up with the idea of celebrating her birthday in Miami. Ray's in. He agrees to "go hard" for Brandy's special day and pledges, "We gonna hit Miami like a thunderstorm." Not a hurricane, though. I guess there's a difference between going hard and devastating.
Speaking of the latter, though, Brandy requests that Flo Rida be invited. A perfect setup to have her heart rained on!
Brandy packs for Miami. We get a peek into her closet, which seems to carry enough bangles to fill a Claire's Boutique.
The funniest bit of this Miami preparation occurs when Ray attempts to convince Sonja and Willie to join them in Florida. An unlikely, very frustrating English lesson ensues:
Ray: I said y'all wasn't gonna come…
Sonja: You weren't gonna come
Ray: You was NOT gonna come.
Sonja: You weren't gonna come
Ray: You wasn't gon' get there.
Sonja: You weren't!
Ray: You weren't.
Sonja: Right.
He got it! He actually got it! Now in addition to the West Coast Party King, Ray J is the West Coast Grammar King. Boo ya!
West meets South when the Brandy birthday entourage touches down in Miami. From the start, everything is lovely and poppin' (thanks to the champagne and its cork than Ray's ruling, probably).
Meanwhile at home…
…Sonja wears a T-shirt featuring something she said during the first season of For the Love of Ray J. I was going to call it her "catchphrase," but I think Amy Winehouse might have a thing or two to say (or at this point, I guess mumble incoherently) about that. I would love to see them battle it out for claim over "No! No! No!" I have a feeling that Winehouse would win for sheer willingness to bite and/or spit blood like one of the rage zombies of 28 Days Later.
Ray J contacts a party promoter about Brandy's extended birthday celebration. The most interesting thing about this scene is that the camera stays focused on the upper part of Ray's face for a good 10 seconds.
I wonder if this is a subliminal bid to get Ray on Proactiv commercials. Lovely, lovely skin.
Then he and Ryan attempt to strategize on how Brandy should be presented with the $10,000 in cash that he plans to give her.
This concern is legitimate. When giving someone $10,000, you must do it with finesse, lest they reject it and embarrass you. People are very particular when it comes to receiving money.
At dinner, a discussion regarding the battle of the sexes takes place.
Brandy says she has discovered that she likes guys that pose a challenge. Like, say, the type of guy who invites you to the Grammys and then disinvites you. That's otally hot.
Then, the best scene of the episode (besides Ray's grammar lesson): Ray wants to hire some sexy dudes to carry Brandy out to the pool, but then realizes that he has to select said the sexy dudes, and sexy dudes are not exactly in his area of interest.
In the face (and pecs and belly buttons) of this…
…Ray's all…
…but I'm not! Here's some more!
These may be the most exciting screencaps I've ever taken. Oh, and the one directly above with the shaved head is totally the hottest. I wouldn't just hire him to carry me, but my baggage as well. That's not a euphemism and I'm not being pervy. I'm not supposed to lift things, a la George Rekers.
Anyway, Shay is brought in to help with the selection.
Shay loves her life.
Like, really, really loves it.
Apparently, everyone gets hired and Shay escorts the shirtless dudes to Brandy's room. I know nothing of the interests of these men, but it looks like a mini Pride Parade.
Brandy cannot believe her luck!
She says, "I've never been around seven good-looking guys at the same time with their shirts off," and I'm all, "Well, I guess she's never been to a gay club." And then she continues, "…carrying me like I'm some kind of queen or something," and I'm still all, "Well, I guess she's never been to a gay club."
And now, she at least knows what going to a gay club feels like.
Who's got two thumbs and enjoys being carried around by shirtless dudes?
Who doesn't? (Except people who aren't into dudes, and even then, they'd probably get a kick out of this if they were comfortable enough with themselves.)
Anyway, the shirtless dudes hang around and party with the entourage.
So that's fortunate. Brandy calls Sonja to…I don't know? Wish herself a happy birthday? Anyway, Sonja's busy! She ignores Brandy's call.
I guess after dodging those favoritism allegations, Sonja got comfortable again.
The money arrives…
..and, phew, Brandy'll take the $10,000. Close one, right? Then an airplane banner advertising tonight's festivities goes by…
At this, Brandy breaks down.
She says she feels truly appreciated. It's amazing, the power of planes. But really, feeling appreciated is an issue that repeatedly comes up with Brandy. Kinda makes you wonder if instead of a destination blowout featuring a cash prize, a handwritten card would have sufficed.
But whatever! They're going big! And to Mansion!
Flo Rida does end up attending the party…
(I love the weird mix of specificity and generality in his billing, btw.)
He's standoffish as ever…
And after he mumbles, "Glad I saw you, I'll talk to you later," Brandy interviews, "It's just better for us to be friends" with all the complications of paparazzi, etc. Sometimes closure is the best gift of all. You don't even need a princess crown to appreciate it.
Related content
Our exclusive Brandy and Willie Norwood video interview
Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business show page
Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business videos and extras