10-12-2006, 06:04 AM
<b>Theological Reflections on the Kolam</b>
<b>The Kolam</b>
A. Preliminary Definition: The kolam, or rangoli, is an auspicious diagram drawn on thresholds with rice powder. There are three basic designs: the labyrinth (a single line drawn around a matrix of dots), the figurative (images of gods, goddesses, plants, animals, and things), and the landscape (pictures conveying messages of harmony).
B. "Relatives" of the Kolam
a. The kolam is a South Indian ritual art
b. Similar arts are the Chowkpurana (northern India ), Madana (Rajasthan), Aripurana (Bihar), and Alpana (ancient floor art in Bengal )
c. Yantras and mandalas are also similar to the kolam, but it is not known if or how they are related.
C. (from) Dr. Vijaya Nagarajan and her Kolam Research
D. Sacred People, Sacred Times, Sacred Spaces
a. Cross-religious, Cross-caste and Cross-gender
1. Ritually, however, the person making the kolam possesses and communicates auspicious female power
2. Men who live as women create the kolam to confirm, proclaim, and wield female power
b. Time of Day and Month
1. Time just before dawn is most auspicious time of day
2. Markali: most auspicious month
3. At these sacred times, the gods and goddesses are waking up. The diagrams are designed to catch their eyes.
c. The Threshold
1. Thresholds are sacred crossing spaces between male and female, human and divine, and public and private
2. Three major thresholds where the kolam is placed: before deities in the house puja room, on thresholds in temples, at the household threshold. Each threshold has its own ritual creation of the kolam. I concentrate on the kolams at the thresholds of houses.
E. Ritual at the Threshold of a House
a. Clean and sweep the threshold (the porch)
b. Purify the porch by spreading fresh cow dung paste over the porch
c. Posture must be standing on both feet, bent over at the waist (in a "V")
d. Pinching the rice flour through the fingers, create patterns on the porch
e. As the designs are made, the creator focuses on her desires ("earthly" and "spiritual"), transferring them into the kolam. These desires become auspicious power.
f. Desires are bound by the created sacred space and then released as people walk over the kolams
F. Auspiciousness and Female Power
a. Women are Lakshmi in the household; as such, they have tremendous power over their familiesâ lives and fortunes. Her auspiciousness is power for the household and beyond.
b. The kolam signifies female auspiciousness (the absence of a kolam indicates inauspiciousness; it indicates that something is "wrong" in the household, either illness, sickness, death, mourning, or lack of a ritually pure female)
G. Hospitality: Lakshmi, Bhu, and Narayana
a. The kolam is an invitation and hosting of Lakshmi (Goddess of auspiciousness, fortune, wealth), Bhu (Goddess of the Earth), and Narayana (Vishnu)
b. The woman calls Lakshmi (auspiciousness, luck, fortune, and wealth) into the kolam to be transferred into the home and out in the world as people walk over it and release its power
c. The kolam is dedicated to Narayana, a demonstration of the womanâs love for Vishnu and her husband (who is Vishnu in the home)
d. The kolam also hosts Bhu Devi. The rice powder feeds ants and other animals throughout the day. This is meant to replenish the Earth, to give something in return for the many things taken from Bhu during the day.
H. Pollution and Power
a. Kolam hosts auspiciousness and prevents pollution (such as death, misfortune, and the evil eye)
b. Yet the kolam must be ritually polluted (stepped on) to release its auspicious power; this is similar to menstruation and childbirth, being both polluted and auspicious
<b>Theological Reflections on the Kolam</b>
<i>A. Womenâs Ritual Power </i>
a. The kolam is a ritual art where women are powerful agents. They call the goddess into their home, they become the goddess, and they bestow their blessings onto all who step on the kolam. It is important that the power of their blessed desires is not simply for the home, but it flows out into the world as well. In the kolam, then, womenâs ritual power is horizontal and vertical ("earthly" and "spiritual"), private (home) and public (world).
<i>B. Hospitality and Sacramentality </i>
a. The idea of "hosting the divine" (Nagarajanâs term) is an interesting symbol to connect to the notion of sacramentality. "Hosting" implies reciprocity and relationality.
<i>C. Finding the "Center"? </i>
a. The kolam is seen by some as marginal to religious tradition. However, it is central in the lives of many of the women who create it. They focus their social and religious lives around it, spending many hours practicing new designs, looking at other womenâs designs, and talking about it. What, then, is the "center" of any religious tradition? And how do we know it? The significance of the kolam points to the importance of attending to religious experiences and voices we sometimes ignore.
b. The centrality of the kolam for many South Indian women also suggests the priority of ritual in religious life. Although theological principles and rules are a part of the kolam ritual, they are flexibly interwoven into the fabric of the kolam practice.
c. Moreover, the deep impact this "popular" practice has on the lives of so many means that theologians must take seriously "popular" religious expressions.
d. The complexity of the kolam as religious ritual, social marker, and artistic expression finally suggests that rituals touch our lives on many levels. As a result, understanding ritual will require a willingness to engage it at these multiple levels.
<i>D. Ecology, Ritual, and the Changing Face of the Kolam </i>
a. One of the fundamental purposes of the kolam is to give back a little of what we take from Bhu Devi everyday. Yet industrial powders cheaper than rice powder have proliferated and become quite popular. In temples and houses, kolams are sometimes replaced by kolam stickers or acrylic paintings (e.g., The New England Lakshmi Temple). This takes away from the ecological meaning in the ritual.
b. Kolam competitions sponsored by temples and universities are becoming more and more popular. They have led to a less ritualistic and more artistic view of the kolam. Men have become quite prominent at these kolam competitions, and this leads to less emphasis on female power.
c. Although the kolam is primarily a Hindu womenâs ritual art, it is gaining wider appeal. We cannot say that all recent developments in the kolam are necessarily negative. Certainly they change some of the meanings associated with the kolam. However, new possibilities also arise. For example, the kolam points to the fluidity of boundaries, where a ritual art can be flexibly interpreted and incorporated into multiple frameworks. It also brings many people together who live otherwise separate lives. Finally, kolams are changing as social consciences change. Many kolams at kolam competitions now incorporate messages of peace, interreligious harmony, and ecological awareness.
<b>triangle power</b>
I t is said-Triangles are a magnificent way to bring about positive change. As your triangle links into the network of Triangles, it adds to the channel of light flowing from the Ultimate to the minds and hearts of humanity.
<b>The Triangles Work:: </b>Link daily in thought with your triangle/s members or as often as you can. Visualize the energies of light and love circulating from point to point. Then direct this flow of energy through the network of triangles and say the Great Invocation with concentration and intention.
<b>Requirements:</b> Click in and light up each day or so. You may click in for each time that you have activated your Triangle with the world invocation when you did not light up online. If you are in several triangles, visualize each member and then say the Invocation once. After you visualize light moving from point to point to outline the triangle, mentally picture it interfacing with thousands of other triangles. Imagine your triangle helping to illumine all people to see higher purpose, live in more light, and to express love from their hearts. All men and women of goodwill who are willing to do the work outlined above are invited to participate. There are no other requirements. The process takes only a few minutes.
Activate your Triangle any time or the day or night. When you light up your Triangle online, your whole triangle will be brighter the next time you go online. Triangles form a powerful group channel and make light more available to all people.
<b>How many Triangles to create or join:</b> There is a limit of three Triangles for each member. Once you establish the habit of doing Triangles each day for a month or so, you are invited to create a second triangle and a third triangle also if you wish.
<b>How Triangles Affect You:</b> When you are active in Triangles, you become more sensitive and receptive to these spiritual energies. You may find the distribution of light and love more powerful. Each triangle expands over time and becomes quite magnetic. As your spiritual links within your triangle grow stronger, the light of the triangle grows brighter and overlaps other triangles.
What is the network of Triangles? The network is built and maintained by the daily action of each Triangles worker invoking spiritual energies and using the creative power of the mind. This network provides the necessary interlocking strands or channels along which flow the spiritual energies of light and goodwill invoked by all Triangles workers. The network is built of strands of lighted mental substance along which flows the energy of goodwill. We are only one unit of this world network.
<b>Spreading the Word:</b> As your receptivity increases, you realize the delight of telling others about Online Triangles. This strengthens and expands the network. The radiant power of Triangles keeps expanding as more of us add our light and love to this worldwide network. Spreading the word is part of each one's spiritual contribution to the whole.
<b>A Unversal Spiritual Project: </b>Triangles is not connected with, or confined to any one of the great world religions. It is a universal spiritual project which, in practice, includes men and women of all faiths. The Triangles work, is an act of service to humanity. Triangles workers take up the activity in a spirit of co-operation and selfless service, and in order to stimulate and increase the flow of light and goodwill all over the world.
<b>The Plan:</b> The world has a spiritual destiny. Behind evolution there is an abiding purpose, which we can call the Plan of God. All who respond to spiritual need can, in their own way and within their own environment, co-operate in fulfilling the divine Plan. The Plan works out through humanity. We are responsible for understanding it, and for doing what we can through our daily living to express its meaning and significance.
<b>The Great Invocation:</b> This invocation carries the light of wisdom, understanding, and love that exists beyond all barriers of belief and prejudice. It does not belong to a religion or group. Every moment, someone is invoking light and love for the world in one of 70 languages, and adding to the grid work of light for humanity. The Great Invocation forms a channel for spiritual energies to reach humanity and aligns you with other spiritual workers invoking help for humanity. You are also "lighted up" as the energy of the Great Invocation generates healing and transforming energy from solar fire.
<b>A Bridge of Light : </b>Triangles attract and weave the substance that builds a lighted bridge from the Great Ones to the human race. This bridge will reveal all souls as descended from the same divine source. not just as theory, but in conscious realized sight and sound. Expect changes for humanity, as divine light can flow more easily into their minds and hearts. When enough humans tap into the Will and Purpose that lies beyond our little human wills, a spontaneous link will unite them, and the lost knowledge of higher purpose will be revealed.
<b>World Service through Triangles:</b> Our Online Triangles site is in response to the mass call for help, hope, and sanity. When you link with your Triangle members, visualizing light, love, and higher purpose for humanity, you provide a profoundly useful world service. You invoke spiritual help for humanity through the network of Triangles, and help step down spiritual energies to be more available. Each participant adds light to this great channel and participates in lifting the masses out of reactionary and separative domination or using hatred and revenge for motivation.
The energies that flow through Triangles stream into the world -- carrying Divine Love, Divine Light, and Divine Purpose. Presently, the subtle energy interlacing our planet and all life is a grid of squares. The higher spiritual energies have to move very slowly around this network of squares as the energy travels from point to point to point. Imagine the squares like a sieve. Triangles break up this congestion of squares and the energies can flow freely. Triangles cut across these squares diagonally and form two triangles from each square. Spiritual energy from higher levels can then smoothly pass through the grid. The Path from the higher dimensions to the denser dimensions of earth becomes radiant with light
<b>The Kolam</b>
A. Preliminary Definition: The kolam, or rangoli, is an auspicious diagram drawn on thresholds with rice powder. There are three basic designs: the labyrinth (a single line drawn around a matrix of dots), the figurative (images of gods, goddesses, plants, animals, and things), and the landscape (pictures conveying messages of harmony).
B. "Relatives" of the Kolam
a. The kolam is a South Indian ritual art
b. Similar arts are the Chowkpurana (northern India ), Madana (Rajasthan), Aripurana (Bihar), and Alpana (ancient floor art in Bengal )
c. Yantras and mandalas are also similar to the kolam, but it is not known if or how they are related.
C. (from) Dr. Vijaya Nagarajan and her Kolam Research
D. Sacred People, Sacred Times, Sacred Spaces
a. Cross-religious, Cross-caste and Cross-gender
1. Ritually, however, the person making the kolam possesses and communicates auspicious female power
2. Men who live as women create the kolam to confirm, proclaim, and wield female power
b. Time of Day and Month
1. Time just before dawn is most auspicious time of day
2. Markali: most auspicious month
3. At these sacred times, the gods and goddesses are waking up. The diagrams are designed to catch their eyes.
c. The Threshold
1. Thresholds are sacred crossing spaces between male and female, human and divine, and public and private
2. Three major thresholds where the kolam is placed: before deities in the house puja room, on thresholds in temples, at the household threshold. Each threshold has its own ritual creation of the kolam. I concentrate on the kolams at the thresholds of houses.
E. Ritual at the Threshold of a House
a. Clean and sweep the threshold (the porch)
b. Purify the porch by spreading fresh cow dung paste over the porch
c. Posture must be standing on both feet, bent over at the waist (in a "V")
d. Pinching the rice flour through the fingers, create patterns on the porch
e. As the designs are made, the creator focuses on her desires ("earthly" and "spiritual"), transferring them into the kolam. These desires become auspicious power.
f. Desires are bound by the created sacred space and then released as people walk over the kolams
F. Auspiciousness and Female Power
a. Women are Lakshmi in the household; as such, they have tremendous power over their familiesâ lives and fortunes. Her auspiciousness is power for the household and beyond.
b. The kolam signifies female auspiciousness (the absence of a kolam indicates inauspiciousness; it indicates that something is "wrong" in the household, either illness, sickness, death, mourning, or lack of a ritually pure female)
G. Hospitality: Lakshmi, Bhu, and Narayana
a. The kolam is an invitation and hosting of Lakshmi (Goddess of auspiciousness, fortune, wealth), Bhu (Goddess of the Earth), and Narayana (Vishnu)
b. The woman calls Lakshmi (auspiciousness, luck, fortune, and wealth) into the kolam to be transferred into the home and out in the world as people walk over it and release its power
c. The kolam is dedicated to Narayana, a demonstration of the womanâs love for Vishnu and her husband (who is Vishnu in the home)
d. The kolam also hosts Bhu Devi. The rice powder feeds ants and other animals throughout the day. This is meant to replenish the Earth, to give something in return for the many things taken from Bhu during the day.
H. Pollution and Power
a. Kolam hosts auspiciousness and prevents pollution (such as death, misfortune, and the evil eye)
b. Yet the kolam must be ritually polluted (stepped on) to release its auspicious power; this is similar to menstruation and childbirth, being both polluted and auspicious
<b>Theological Reflections on the Kolam</b>
<i>A. Womenâs Ritual Power </i>
a. The kolam is a ritual art where women are powerful agents. They call the goddess into their home, they become the goddess, and they bestow their blessings onto all who step on the kolam. It is important that the power of their blessed desires is not simply for the home, but it flows out into the world as well. In the kolam, then, womenâs ritual power is horizontal and vertical ("earthly" and "spiritual"), private (home) and public (world).
<i>B. Hospitality and Sacramentality </i>
a. The idea of "hosting the divine" (Nagarajanâs term) is an interesting symbol to connect to the notion of sacramentality. "Hosting" implies reciprocity and relationality.
<i>C. Finding the "Center"? </i>
a. The kolam is seen by some as marginal to religious tradition. However, it is central in the lives of many of the women who create it. They focus their social and religious lives around it, spending many hours practicing new designs, looking at other womenâs designs, and talking about it. What, then, is the "center" of any religious tradition? And how do we know it? The significance of the kolam points to the importance of attending to religious experiences and voices we sometimes ignore.
b. The centrality of the kolam for many South Indian women also suggests the priority of ritual in religious life. Although theological principles and rules are a part of the kolam ritual, they are flexibly interwoven into the fabric of the kolam practice.
c. Moreover, the deep impact this "popular" practice has on the lives of so many means that theologians must take seriously "popular" religious expressions.
d. The complexity of the kolam as religious ritual, social marker, and artistic expression finally suggests that rituals touch our lives on many levels. As a result, understanding ritual will require a willingness to engage it at these multiple levels.
<i>D. Ecology, Ritual, and the Changing Face of the Kolam </i>
a. One of the fundamental purposes of the kolam is to give back a little of what we take from Bhu Devi everyday. Yet industrial powders cheaper than rice powder have proliferated and become quite popular. In temples and houses, kolams are sometimes replaced by kolam stickers or acrylic paintings (e.g., The New England Lakshmi Temple). This takes away from the ecological meaning in the ritual.
b. Kolam competitions sponsored by temples and universities are becoming more and more popular. They have led to a less ritualistic and more artistic view of the kolam. Men have become quite prominent at these kolam competitions, and this leads to less emphasis on female power.
c. Although the kolam is primarily a Hindu womenâs ritual art, it is gaining wider appeal. We cannot say that all recent developments in the kolam are necessarily negative. Certainly they change some of the meanings associated with the kolam. However, new possibilities also arise. For example, the kolam points to the fluidity of boundaries, where a ritual art can be flexibly interpreted and incorporated into multiple frameworks. It also brings many people together who live otherwise separate lives. Finally, kolams are changing as social consciences change. Many kolams at kolam competitions now incorporate messages of peace, interreligious harmony, and ecological awareness.
<b>triangle power</b>
I t is said-Triangles are a magnificent way to bring about positive change. As your triangle links into the network of Triangles, it adds to the channel of light flowing from the Ultimate to the minds and hearts of humanity.
<b>The Triangles Work:: </b>Link daily in thought with your triangle/s members or as often as you can. Visualize the energies of light and love circulating from point to point. Then direct this flow of energy through the network of triangles and say the Great Invocation with concentration and intention.
<b>Requirements:</b> Click in and light up each day or so. You may click in for each time that you have activated your Triangle with the world invocation when you did not light up online. If you are in several triangles, visualize each member and then say the Invocation once. After you visualize light moving from point to point to outline the triangle, mentally picture it interfacing with thousands of other triangles. Imagine your triangle helping to illumine all people to see higher purpose, live in more light, and to express love from their hearts. All men and women of goodwill who are willing to do the work outlined above are invited to participate. There are no other requirements. The process takes only a few minutes.
Activate your Triangle any time or the day or night. When you light up your Triangle online, your whole triangle will be brighter the next time you go online. Triangles form a powerful group channel and make light more available to all people.
<b>How many Triangles to create or join:</b> There is a limit of three Triangles for each member. Once you establish the habit of doing Triangles each day for a month or so, you are invited to create a second triangle and a third triangle also if you wish.
<b>How Triangles Affect You:</b> When you are active in Triangles, you become more sensitive and receptive to these spiritual energies. You may find the distribution of light and love more powerful. Each triangle expands over time and becomes quite magnetic. As your spiritual links within your triangle grow stronger, the light of the triangle grows brighter and overlaps other triangles.
What is the network of Triangles? The network is built and maintained by the daily action of each Triangles worker invoking spiritual energies and using the creative power of the mind. This network provides the necessary interlocking strands or channels along which flow the spiritual energies of light and goodwill invoked by all Triangles workers. The network is built of strands of lighted mental substance along which flows the energy of goodwill. We are only one unit of this world network.
<b>Spreading the Word:</b> As your receptivity increases, you realize the delight of telling others about Online Triangles. This strengthens and expands the network. The radiant power of Triangles keeps expanding as more of us add our light and love to this worldwide network. Spreading the word is part of each one's spiritual contribution to the whole.
<b>A Unversal Spiritual Project: </b>Triangles is not connected with, or confined to any one of the great world religions. It is a universal spiritual project which, in practice, includes men and women of all faiths. The Triangles work, is an act of service to humanity. Triangles workers take up the activity in a spirit of co-operation and selfless service, and in order to stimulate and increase the flow of light and goodwill all over the world.
<b>The Plan:</b> The world has a spiritual destiny. Behind evolution there is an abiding purpose, which we can call the Plan of God. All who respond to spiritual need can, in their own way and within their own environment, co-operate in fulfilling the divine Plan. The Plan works out through humanity. We are responsible for understanding it, and for doing what we can through our daily living to express its meaning and significance.
<b>The Great Invocation:</b> This invocation carries the light of wisdom, understanding, and love that exists beyond all barriers of belief and prejudice. It does not belong to a religion or group. Every moment, someone is invoking light and love for the world in one of 70 languages, and adding to the grid work of light for humanity. The Great Invocation forms a channel for spiritual energies to reach humanity and aligns you with other spiritual workers invoking help for humanity. You are also "lighted up" as the energy of the Great Invocation generates healing and transforming energy from solar fire.
<b>A Bridge of Light : </b>Triangles attract and weave the substance that builds a lighted bridge from the Great Ones to the human race. This bridge will reveal all souls as descended from the same divine source. not just as theory, but in conscious realized sight and sound. Expect changes for humanity, as divine light can flow more easily into their minds and hearts. When enough humans tap into the Will and Purpose that lies beyond our little human wills, a spontaneous link will unite them, and the lost knowledge of higher purpose will be revealed.
<b>World Service through Triangles:</b> Our Online Triangles site is in response to the mass call for help, hope, and sanity. When you link with your Triangle members, visualizing light, love, and higher purpose for humanity, you provide a profoundly useful world service. You invoke spiritual help for humanity through the network of Triangles, and help step down spiritual energies to be more available. Each participant adds light to this great channel and participates in lifting the masses out of reactionary and separative domination or using hatred and revenge for motivation.
The energies that flow through Triangles stream into the world -- carrying Divine Love, Divine Light, and Divine Purpose. Presently, the subtle energy interlacing our planet and all life is a grid of squares. The higher spiritual energies have to move very slowly around this network of squares as the energy travels from point to point to point. Imagine the squares like a sieve. Triangles break up this congestion of squares and the energies can flow freely. Triangles cut across these squares diagonally and form two triangles from each square. Spiritual energy from higher levels can then smoothly pass through the grid. The Path from the higher dimensions to the denser dimensions of earth becomes radiant with light