On Monday, April 26, 2021 during a Spring snowstorm with the daily moon moving from Libra to Scorpio, I posted on Yasmin Boland’s Subscriber Facebook Page that I wanted to create a GRATITUDE scrapbook page.

I started researching designs and was just about to create the page when the pain from hanging drapes became almost debilitating. It took a long time before I went to the Urgent Care and got injections for Gamekeeper’s Thumb. Today, my hand felt back to normal so I created this and will mail it tomorrow.

I’m still researching Siddhars so stay tuned.

I was delighted to find that Dr. Kulreet Chaundary included a brief description of the famous Siddhars in her new book, Sound Medicine. The word is not well known but their abilities have been portrayed in epics and in folklore and in sci/fi.  Huh?  You say?  Think back to the old Superman comics and the original TV series.  NOT that old, eh?  Well, I grew up watching Superman in black and white.

Superman was able to “leap to the top of tall buildings”.  And he could fly.  Always thought it looked odd until I watched how Lord Hanuman (Sri Hanuman or Hanuman-ji) has been depicted flying in the Ramayana.

Yes, yes.  I’ll talk about the Siddhars – just be aware that one of their abilities is FLYING!

George Reeves made Superman famous.  Unfortunately, it appears Reeves was murdered. Reeves’s death was a HUGE scandal when I was little. Oddly enough Christopher Reeve, who also portrayed Superman, had a nasty twist of fate. But if go into all the weird “coincidences” we find in history, I’ll never get this post published.

Take a look at how each actor is portrayed flying.  Now I understand we are dealing with actors but even in old illustrated manuscripts, this is how flying is depicted.  IF you have ever had a lucid dream where you’re flying, try to recall if this is the position you were in.

And not to belabor the point but Peter Pan teaches Wendy to fly the same way.

Now let’s quickly jump or take a flying leap to see Sun Wukong, the Great Sage of Heaven. He uses a magical cloud as a flying skateboard.  This clip is from my favorite version. Here in the opening scene of the 1986 CCTV Journey to the West starring Zhang Jin Lai as Monkey* and Xu Shao hua as the Tang dynasty monk, Sanzang, also called Tripiṭaka. Sanzang has been charged with traveling to India to bring back the Buddhist sutras. In this clip, we see Sun Wukong doing multiple somersaults at first and then skateboarding or surfing on a cloud.

This is far different from just levitating.  Both Hanuman-ji and Sun Wukong were able to fly great distances.  They were also both able to shrink to very tiny, TINY sizes – even as small as a fly or gnat or even a grain of sand.  The first of the eight Siddhas translated as supernatural powers is called Aṇimā.  Hanuman-ji was a master of Aṇimā.

Both Hanuman-ji and Sun Wukong were masters of Mahima – the ability to assume a gigantic form.  Hanuman-ji expanded his form multiple times.  In this scene Rama’s brother, Lakshman, stands on Hanuman-ji’s shoulder in order to battle a gigantic asura (demon) called Kumbhakarna.

I can’t find the scene where Sun Wukong matches Erlang’s cosmic size but it is well described by Jim R. McClanahan who writes one of the most well researched blogs on any subject I have ever found.

Although not on the list of the 8 Siddhis, shapeshifting into everything from an animal, insect, other person or “being”, or even something like a teapot or plant is one of the transformations described in the Taoist tales. 

Oddly enough, Sadguru (Jaggi Vasudev), founder of the Isha Foundation, was asked about Hanuman-ji and here is the clip of his answer. 

I watched this and had flashbacks to reading every single book by and about Carlos Castaneda and a rabbit hole I went down in the archives of the University of Texas El Paso where I found Daniel G. Brinton’s 1894 86-page manuscript.  Back then it was not a well known work so I made a photocopy.  Today you can download it.  Nagualism: A Study in Native American Folklore and History by Daniel G. Brinton.  Naguals were reported to be able to shapeshift into animals. 

If you want to lie awake at night, watch this video of Navajo Ranger Jonathan Dover. At the moment I can’t find the one where two rangers are describing HOW someone becomes a skinwalker but it involves brutally killing close relatives and loved ones.  Murder as a means for obtaining “powers” is not unlike how Bhandasur was told to throw his very young daughter, Rashmiprabha, off a cliff into a pit of fire in order to obtain a weapon that would resurrect several demons and an arsenal of weapons to try to kill Goddess Parashakti.

Now that you have watched Sadguru talk about shapeshifting and why you should not choose to become a chicken or you might end up as someone’s tandoori lunch, take note of how Sun Wukong almost ended up as a fried fish!

If you think this topic is just too strange for words, keep in mind that Dr. Chaundhary is working with the avatar of Narayani, Amma, translating palm leaves written by the siddhars about MEDICINE! Plus, there are multiple websites describing siddhis – some look like they have cut and pasted but others like this one seem “grounded” enough to share.

TO BE CONTINUED!

*If you are a fan of Sun Wukong, I highly recommend you watch this video. It is AMAZING!

In case any of you thought I had writer’s block I did but it was in the form of an inflamed, stomach churning painful tendon in my wrist. Wanting to be self sufficient, I tried to unscrew the knob on a drapery rod while standing on a step ladder. Being only 5’1″ with osteoarthritis, it was a wrong turn (get it turn of the screw).

Well, I didn’t feel the pain right away. And I wanted to believe it was tendonitis and I could treat it myself.

OH, NO after 3 weeks of no sleep and waking up unable to grip anything or use my right hand without tears and wincing, my husband demanded I get an x-ray. Oddly enough the bones looked HEALTHY – except for the calcium on my fingers (something called Heberden’s nodes I inherited from all the women on my mom’s side).

As the physician assistant assessed the look of horror on my face with the diagnosis of Gamekeeper’s Thumb (De Quervain’s tenosynovitis), a wave of terror washed over me. Oh, that’s right, you are a medical librarian so you know about the injections. I did NOT faint. I didn’t shake – not externally – and let me tell you the pain of the FIRST needle going into the tendon to numb it triggered a past life memory of snake poison cursing up the hand. The second shot was equally painful despite the first being an anesthetic. The third just felt like ice. I had my eyes closed. This wasn’t something I wanted imprinted in my mind.

Today is the first day I feel like typing. The worst of the ugly bruising from the injections is almost gone. The horrible feeling in my finger tips is gone.

When you have Mercury in Gemini and you can’t express yourself – IT SUCKS!

My next blog post or page will pick up where I left off about Siddha Medicine and siddhis only I’ll tie in a comparison between Hanuman-ji and Sun Wukong!

Drapery rod injury – Sunday, April 18, 2021 – Moon in Cancer

PAIN started to become unbearable – Thursday, April 22 – Moon in Leo and Scorpio

URGENT CARE – injections – Tuesday, May 11, 2021 – Yasmin’s New Moon Ceremony – left and drove to the clinic

Wednesday, May 19,2021- Moon in Leo and Scorpio- I’d say I’m 95% back to normal

Please let me leave a comment if you’ve ever had this injury AND definitely post if you know about the moon and injuries and recovery.

• in the form of Lakshmi, killed Mahishasura (episodes 96-107)

In Vighnaharta Ganesh it is the goddess Katyayani who slays the buffalo asura (demon).  However, you might have heard the same tale told except that it is the goddess Durga who slays the demon.  In the TV series Maharakshak Devi, it was a revived (restored to life), Mahishasur, as a high school senior, that tries to woo Gauri (who is also a high school student) only to reveal his true form towards the end and be defeated once again. 

• in the form of Saraswati, killed Shumbha and Nishumbha. (episodes 217-255)
  
  

In Vighnaharta Ganesh it is the Goddess Kaushik with the help of the shakti (female) form of Ganesha – Vinayaki  – that defeats Shumbha and Nishumbha.  

Ramachander goes on to say that in “South India, this text is known as Devi Mahatmya. It is known as Chandi in West Bengal and as Durga Sapthasathi in the northern parts of the country including Varanasi”.

Going back through my notes on documentaries and films, I finally found the temple which had 108 statues of the Divine Mother.  And this is where it gets confusing – VERY CONFUSING!  Several more posts are needed JUST to discuss the many avatars.  In the series Vighnaharta Ganesh, the actress (Akanksha Puri) who portrays the goddess Parvati, also portrays all of her avatars.  The actress Madiraskshi Mundle took over the role in episode 743. The same holds for the actor (Malkhan Singh) who portrays Lord Shiva. 

Actresses Anshu Malik and Deblina Chatterjee portray the goddess Lakshmi (often spelled Laxmi).  Actresses Preetika Chauhan and Bhawna Kanwar Hada portray the goddess Saraswati. 

The Goddess Mahalakshmi Narayani is “unification of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati”.  So, if you have not immersed yourself in the metaphysics of how multiple personages emerge out of one deity as depicted in the famous paintings of Lord Krishna manifesting all of his “forms” to Arjuna, the idea that you are given the opportunity to connect to whichever manifestation you need is truly remarkable.

(1) Note:  Amma is a very interesting word.  It has almost the same meaning in many languages.  In Chinese amah is what you call a nanny.  In India someone who is thought of as a spiritual mother is called Amma. During the Tang dynasty in China, the word amah was used as an informal and poetic title for the Taoist goddess, the Queen Mother of the West!

To be continued

It is 5:55 p.m., Sunday, April 25, 2021. I have been working for the past two weeks on a post about Mata Durga. First set back was I tried to throw out a cat food can lid and got a slice on my middle right hand finger (I’m right handed) so I had a terrible time using my Apple track pad. Next I tried to hang new drapes and I think I pulled a tendon, you guessed it, in my right wrist so I’m currently typing with a Futuro splint.

It’s been raining all day so editing a long post on a very complicated subject seemed too much of a strain. So I took a detour. It will prove relevant as time goes on, I promise.

I discovered Craig Hamilton-Parker several years back. It took awhile before I got around to watching his Amazon Prime special Mystic Journey to India and a few months after that to decide I really need the companion books. The film is outstanding. The books are very interesting but I bit repetitive – Craig could have used a better editor but that’s my opinion only.

The topic of this blog post is Naadi or Nadi leaves – which I had never heard of until Craig talked about them. In researching Mata Durga, I really wanted to find a translation of the Vedas or the Puranas that I could trust. In one of the many, many, many, numerous comments and discussions on the Vedas, someone wrote that if you’re interested look up Swami Vivekananda. Oh, yeah. I said. After googling Vivekananda, and I think Puranas, I ended back in a rabbit hole I had gone down a very long time ago. But THIS TIME something jumped out at me. NADI LEAVES!

So what is a naadi leaf? That’s complicated and Craig says mind blowing.

I will trust that you just watched the above video. This next one is over 2 hours long but it is another example. The description reads as follows:

“One of our seeker’s, Dr. Erica Middlemiss (Co-host of the Positive Head Podcast, QHHT -Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique- practitioner ), was so kind to allow us to share with you her entire Indian Palm Leaf Reading experience. Listen to her entire matching and reading and learn more about the process, the atmosphere and the remedies that are prescribed in a Nadi Reading. The Indian Palm Leaf Reading Institute helps you find your Palm Leaf Prophecy that was written specifically for you over 2,000 years ago. Your Prophecy is stored in a library in India and was written to answer your most important questions about your life as well as to help you with your most important challenges and decisions of your life.

So now that we are on the same palm leaf page, let me take you down a rabbit hole. The post I was working on was about avatars. LOTS of avatars. And about reincarnation or incarnation or the idea of transmigration of souls. What I had forgot about was that I had discovered this person before but didn’t bookmark his website so that I would be reminded to research his site when I had time. Mmmm.

I have not decided what I think about this webpage. In fact, I am hoping you all will leave lots of comments. You can click on the photo and you can watch the video. I thought that Kalki would appear and we’d all know about it. If you ever watched the 1937 movie or read the 1933 book, Lost Horizon, you would have heard about “Shangri–La“. It’s a mythical place that shows up in a lot of films and books. If you ever had a Kalachakra empowerment, you would have received the teachings, given only to initiates, about Shambhala and KALKI. Ah, HA, you say. Now she is finally making sense!

So, who is this man who looks an awful lot like Swami Vivekananda? What do the Nadi leaves say?

As soon as I upload this blog post, I am going to use the contact form and try to see if Kalki will leave a comment. Because I can write about avatars until I am blue (pun intended if you get it) in the face, but what IF I can write to a real avatar? I don’t know if Amma would have the time to read my blog and comment. I haven’t asked Yasmin Boland yet because I assume Narayani is focused on pujas but who knows? We live in very, strange times, yes?

PS Swami Vivekananda died in 1902 – two years before my father was born in Brooklyn, New York. Swami-ji was in New York City in December 1893 but my dad never mentioned his father or grandfather going to hear him. But who knows? Nikola Tesla met Swami-ji, did any of you expect to read that? Tesla, will be the topic of several posts at some point because I keep encountering HIM also.

PLEASE leave comments. I really want opinions, input, compassionate constructive criticism, and just plain ol’ feedback. I hate writing in a vacuum.