Category: Asia
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Lingam cult
Lingam cult The lingam and the yoni are worshipped in thousands of temples and shrines dedicated to Shiva throughout India. Devotees come there, bring flowers and other offerings, perform a puja, pray and then leave again. Sometimes they bathe the lingam in milk, rub it with ash and other ingredients, pour water over it and…
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Showing off
Showing off This priest can boast of looking after the largest lingam and – its counterpart – yoni in Hampi, once the capital of the ancient Vijayanagar Empire. It seems as though he is weighed down by the heavy responsibility resting on his shoulders. At Kalinjar Fort in Uttar Pradesh (see previous post), I was…
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Lingam and yoni
Lingam and yoni or Shiva and Parvati The blissful union of Shiva and Parvati finds its ultimate expression in the combination of their sexes. In an earlier post you can read a short citation from the Brhaddharma Purana explaining the essence of the lingam and yoni idea. It is the form in which life, creation, the universe, is…
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Shiva and Parvati
Shiva and Parvati In last few weeks’ posts we have identified the creative aspect of Shiva in his ithyphallic representation. But without his female half, Shiva is incomplete and deprived of his creative powers. In the image above, Shiva’s consort Parvati is seated next to him. Together they are the two complementary poles of one…
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Ithyphallic Shiva Nataraj
Ithyphallic Shiva Nataraj In last week’s post we saw the ancient sculpture of an ithyphallic dancing Shiva inside Kalinjar Fort in Uttar Pradesh. Here we have one on a 9th century temple in Bhubaneshvar, Orissa. It is better preserved, with the erect phallus clearly visible. This may be due to its high placement on the…
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Kalinjar Fort
Kalinjar Fort Kalinjar means ‘the destroyer of time’ and thus refers to Shiva, who next to Brahma, the creator, and Vishnu, the preserver, takes care of this part in the eternal cycle of creation, preservation and destruction. However, apart from being the destroyer, Shiva is at the same time very much regarded as creator, which explains…
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Invisible blinkers
Invisible blinkers For this new human addiction airports provide no special room. No room would be large enough to meet the demand anyway. Since it is considered a non-offensive habit, unlike smoking, and not one dying out and in need of protection, like praying, the whole airport is put at the disposal of all passengers…
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Sex room
Sex room Bars, restaurants, toilets, smoking rooms, prayer rooms, ….. : Airports cater to all kinds of human needs. But a – tax free – sex room I haven’t come across as yet. Photo of the week: New Delhi International Airport, India 2015
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Miss Dior
Miss Dior To the toilet I have been and prayer is not my sort of thing; so maybe I should take Miss Dior up for a free tour? Photo of the week: Changi Aiport, Singapore 2015
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