text:
INTEGRATION AND RECURRENCE
If, on the one hand, a great portion of the educated public is running into atheism and scepticism, on the other hand, we find an evident current of mysticism forcing its way into science. It is the sign of an irrepressible need in humanity to assure itself that there is a Power Paramount over matter; an occult and mysterious law which governs the world, and which we should rather study and closely watch, trying to adapt ourselves to it, than blindly deny, and break our heads against the rock of destiny. More than one thoughtful mind, while studying the fortunes and reverses of nations and great empires, has been deeply struck by one identical feature in their history, namely, the inevitable recurrence of similar historical events reaching in turn every one of them, and after the same lapse of time. This analogy is found between the events to be substantially the same on the whole, though there may be more or less difference as to the outward form of details.
The Theosophist, July 1880
H. P. BLAVATSKY
Cyclic causation or the eternal law of periodicity stands midway between the affirmation of the Absolute and the postulate of progressive enlightenment in the set of fundamental axioms of Gupta Vidya. Pointing to the inexorable alternation of day and night, of birth and death, of manvantara and pralaya, cyclic law ensures that all events along with their participants, great or small, are comprehended within the archetypal logic of the Logos in the cosmos. Gupta Vidya indicates the mayavic nature of all manifestation in relation to the Absolute, whilst at the same time stressing that karmic responsibility is the pivot of all spiritual growth. The essential significance of the complex doctrine of cycles sometimes seems difficult to grasp in theory or to apply in practice. If the mind misconceives the metaphysical distinction between TAT and maya, then the dignity of spiritual striving through cycles under karma will be minimized. Self-examination and self-correction may be neglected owing to a false and merely intellectualist theory of transcendence. Conversely, the mind which embraces a too literalized conception of the immanence of the Absolute will find itself mired in experience with no accessible power of transcendence. It will tend to acquiesce in a sanguine or despairing doctrine of mechanical destiny which is psychological fatalism resulting from a mistaken conflation of causality with the ephemeral forms of outward events.
The true teaching of cyclic causation implies neither a trivialization nor a mechanization of life in a vesture in terrestrial time. Instead, it intimates the mysterious power of harmony, the irresistible force of necessity, which resides in the eternal balance of the manifest and the unmanifest in every living form and phase of the One Life. The ceaseless vibratory motion of the unmanifest Logos is the stimulus of the complex sets and subsets of hierarchies of beings constituting the universe; and of the intricate and interlocking cycles and subcycles of events that measure out its existence. The intimate relationship between temporal identity and cyclic existence is symbolized in the identification of the lifetime of Brahmâ with the existence of the universe, a teaching which also conveys the true meaning of immortality in Hiranyagarbha.
From the standpoint of universal unity and causation, the universe is a virtual image of the eternal motion or vibration of the unmanifest Word, scintillating around a set of points of nodal resonance within that Word itself. From the standpoint of individual beings involved in action, the universe is an aggregation of interlocking periodic processes susceptible to reasoned explanation in terms of laws. Understanding the nature of cycles and what initiates them, together with apprehending the mystery of cyclic causation itself, requires a progressive fusion of these two standpoints. The exalted paradigm of the union of Eternity and Time is Adhiyajna, seated near the circle of infinite eternal light and radiating compassionate guidance to all beings who toil in the coils of Time. Established in Boundless Duration, all times past, present and future lie before his eye like an open book. He is Shiva, the Mahayogin, the leader of the hosts of Kumaras, and also Kronos-Saturn, the lord of sidereal time and the ruler of Aquarius. If humanity is the child of cyclic destiny, Shiva is the spur to the spiritual regeneration of humanity. And, if the Mahatmas and Bodhisattvas, the supreme devotees of Shiva, live to regenerate the world, then it is the sacred privilege and responsibility of those who receive their Teachings to learn to live and breathe for the sake of service to all beings.
It is in this spirit that H.P. Blavatsky, in her essay entitled "The Theory of Cycles", suggested several keys to the interpretation of cyclical phenomena. We can readily discern the vast variety of periodic phenomena which has already been noticed in history, in geology, in meteorology and in virtually every other arena of human experience. We can also recognize the statistical recurrence of certain elements in reference to economics, to wars and peace, to the rise and fall of empires, to epidemics and revolutions, and also to natural cataclysms, periods of extraordinary cold and heat. H.P. Blavatsky"s intent was not merely to persuade the reader of the pervasiveness of periodic phenomena through the multiplication of examples, but rather to convey the immanent influence of the power of number and of mathematics within all cyclic phenomena. She reviewed the original analysis of certain historical cycles made by Dr. F. Zasse and published in the Prussian Journal of Statistics. Dr. Zasse presented an account of a series of historical waves, each consisting of five segments of two hundred and fifty years, which have swept over the Eurasian land mass from east to west.
According to Dr. Zasse"s chronology, which began at approximately 2000 B.C., the year 2000 of the present era should mark the conclusion of the fourth such wave, and the inception of yet another wave from the east. Commenting briefly upon the importance of one-hundred-year cycles within the longer cycles indicated by Dr. Zasse, H.P. Blavatsky cited his analysis of ten-year and fifty-year cycles of war and revolution affecting European nations. In order to draw attention away from external events and to direct it towards deeper psychological causes, she pointed out:
The periods of the strengthening and weakening of the warlike excitement of the European nations represent a wave strikingly regular in its periodicity, flowing incessantly, as if propelled onward by some invisible fixed law. This same mysterious law seems at the same time to make these events coincide with astronomical wave or cycle, which, at every new revolution, is accompanied by the very marked appearance of spots in the sun.
Elsewhere, both in Isis Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine, she made reference to the eleven-year sunspot cycle, suggesting something of its occult significance in the respiration and heartbeat of the solar system.
During the nineteenth century a number of scientists speculated about the relationship of sidereal and terrestrial events. Dr. Stanley Jevons, one of the founders of econometrics, saw a correlation between sunspot cycles and the rises and falls of economic output and productivity. Jevons went so far as to speculate that "the commercial world might be a body so mentally constituted . . . as to be capable of vibrating in a period of ten years". In The Secret Doctrine, H.P. Blavatsky observed:
Drs. Jevons and Babbage believe that every thought, displacing the particles of the brain and setting them in motion, scatters them throughout the Universe, and they think that "each particle of the existing matter must be a register of all that has happened".
The Secret Doctrine, i 104
Correlating this idea to the occult conception of the enduring impress of thought upon the subtle matter of the invisible human vestures, H.P. Blavatsky intimated the vital relationship between the impress of sidereal influences upon the psyche and the cyclic destiny of human souls.
The Hindu Chitra-Gupta who reads out the account of every Soul"s life from his register, called Agra-Sandhani; the "Assessors" who read theirs from the heart of the defunct, which becomes an open book before (whether) Yama, Minos, Osiris, or Karma – are all so many copies of, and variants from the Lipika, and their Astral Records. Nevertheless, the Lipi-ka are not deities connected with Death, but with Life Eternal.
Connected as the Lipika are with the destiny of every man and the birth of every child, whose life is already traced in the Astral Light – not fatalistically, but only because the future, like the PAST, is ever alive in the PRESENT – they may also be said to exercise an influence on the Science of Horoscopy.
From such considerations a complex picture emerges of a myriad overlapping cycles and subcycles on several planes of existence. Whilst the enormous breadth and depth of cyclic phenomena would render elusive any exacting analysis of cycles for the neophyte in Gupta Vidya, one should attempt to nurture a cool apprehension of the regular periodicity in the excitement of mental and physical forces affecting both collective and distributive karma. It may help to begin with a relatively simple example. Consider the case of a single family living within a larger household and a local community. Each member of the family is born at a different moment. Each, therefore, has a different constellation in the ascendant at the moment of birth, and each has different cycles determined by the positions of the moon, the planets and the stars in the heavens at the moment of birth. For each, the angular relationships between these sidereal bodies – and their placement relative to the zenith and horizon in the place of the individual"s birth – will vary. Already, even at the simplest level, one can see an inherent complexity to the cyclic destiny of every individual.
Within the lifetime of the individual a variety of cycles and subcycles will operate, some marked off by septenates of years and having to do with the incarnation of the higher principles, and others governed by a cycle slightly more than eighteen years having to do with the revolution of the nodes of the moon. Each of these cycles will have its own subcycles, and these in turn will be comprised of still smaller cycles, down to those which may last only a few weeks, a few days, even a few hours. Although this kind of mathematics can be most readily handled with the help of a minicomputer, it is not beyond the capacity of the human brain. Nor should it be forgotten that several people live together in families, and that there is a close interaction between what is happening in the orbit of the father, the mother, the children and all the ancestors of each. Owing to the complex overlapping and intersecting of the mathematics applying to each individual and to a specific group of individuals, one might think of constellations of energy-fields wherein many people produce an immense clustering of elements, all of which obey the laws of cycles. If one passes from the limits of a single family to the scope of a mini-commune or even a small community, it is evident that the degree of complexity involved in comprehending the cycles at work will become very great.
In order to understand the activity and overlapping of cycles on any broad scale, one must adopt a set of categories that has nothing to do with the perceptions and propensities of the personal nature. To the integrative and synthetic vision of the Adept, the interplay and interaction of human beings on the terrestrial plane are resolved into the occult correspondences of sounds, colours and numbers. Individual human beings are seen as having manvantaric stars, or rays of individuality, which pertain to them throughout the vast cycle of their incarnations. Within each incarnation that individuality takes up a personal existence connected with a personal star or ray. Whilst the tone, coloration and number associated even with the latter is generally unknown to most human beings in incarnation, and only crudely guessed at by contemporary theories of personality, the still more fundamental elements of individual identity as a Monad are scarcely even conceived. Yet, for the Adept the world of human interaction consists of a series of mathematically governed octaves of colour and sound beyond the comprehension of even the most speculative forms of modern painting and music. Nonetheless, if an individual is privileged to have received spiritual instruction regarding the nature of colour, sound and number, then he may begin to make experiments. By taking one of the simple colour charts available, he could discover how, out of the primary colours, complex shades and hues may be derived. Also he could gain some insight into what the developed artist means by a pure colour – an extremely pure blue or a luminous gold.
All such experiments are clearly relative to perception and to circumstance, because the pigments used will inevitably introduce a tincture which is part of the physical chemistry of what is called colour. And, whilst discrimination of colours on the physical plane can be heightened to an extraordinary degree – as exemplified by silk dyers, for instance – this skill represents only the most mundane aspect of the conscious refinement of colour vision. There is a tremendous difference between what is ordinarily perceived as colour and what is potentially perceptible on the subtler planes. Many are aware of the possibilities of subtle hearing or melodious colouring in music, whether it be through Indian music, with its refined system of quarter tones and complex rhythms, or through classical European music, with its intricate system of voices and use of silences. By playing a raga or a symphony, one can transform the entire elemental field of one"s room. When one listens to such music, cycles overlap and the psyche fluctuates, in ways intensified by the collective nature of these forces. By noetically imposing upon the field some elevating spiritual note, one can gain the benefit of the fluidic nature of the field without being drawn into or absorbed by the psychical atmosphere.
If colour, sound and number can work such soothing charms, they can also work destructively. Great deliberation and intelligent sifting are, therefore, paramount in the use of alchemical knowledge. There are secrets locked within the spectrum, within the octave and within the series of numbers from 1 through 7, which can kill as well as heal. Without discrimination based upon purity of motive, any attempt to manipulate these Fohatic factors of cyclic destiny is likely to result in either unconscious grey or even black magic. In the realm of unconscious motivation, this will emerge through impulsiveness, particularly in speech, and a tragically misplaced sense of timing. Despite these dangers, inherent to a universe in which Manasic beings have free choice, persistently shines the ever-present possibility open to each human being to help Nature and harmonize with her through cycles, striving for the elevation of the human condition. Neither the ideas of Pythagoras on the mysterious influence of colours, numbers and sound, nor the theories of the ancient world-religions and philosophies, are so bizarre or so irrelevant as sectarian dogmatists and secular empiricists would pretend.
H.P. Blavatsky"s aim in hinting at the occult foundations of the law of cycles was to restore the rights of ancient wisdom, and she recognized that nine out of ten human beings are somewhat open to the Teachings of Gupta Vidya. There is, alas, always the tenth person who has a problem – whether it be materialism, soul-blindness or suggestibility – and therefore goes around proclaiming some sort of superstitious humbug or general nihilism out of nervousness and a lack of courage, traceable to previous lives. And as long as some people talk shallow nonsense about sacred matters without real knowledge, this will tend to reinforce the sceptic. Hence, there exists a kind of see-saw action between people who talk about the sacred but do not really know it, and those who hear about it but refuse to consider it because their survival depends upon their illusions. All this waste provides a negative example of the cyclic reinforcement of social attitudes. As the Upanishadic and Socratic traditions demonstrate, the dialectics of speech and silence can convey as well as obscure the highest knowledge.
H.P. Blavatsky knew that the time was fast approaching when more and more people would emerge who have the courage both to examine ancient wisdom and to correlate it with the discoveries of science. It was for those who would ask questions, and make their own investigations by looking at the heavens and looking within themselves through meditation, that she partially unveiled the Teachings of Gupta Vidya. Those who use these Teachings – and daily consult The Voice of the Silence – in order to understand the profounder visions and longings of their hearts will progressively gain confidence in charting the seas of the psychic unconscious. With steadiness and persistence, they will become more skilled in handling the take-off and landing, the vertical ascent and descent in consciousness, so critical to the Aquarian Age. The ability to sustain oneself in any state of consciousness or meditation and the related ability to move deliberately from one plane or state of consciousness to another with relaxed control depend upon one"s access to a fixed point of reference or vibration within consciousness. If the sevenfold human constitution were likened to a miniature solar system, the centre of consciousness would reside on one of the planets of that system.
Despite all the variations and fluctuations of cyclic existence affecting states of consciousness, all points of view within the system revolve in complex orbits around the central sun of the Atman. The motions of attention from one point to another are regulated by that central sun in accordance with its breath and heartbeat. As in the macrocosm of the universe, so too in the microcosm of human nature – all the oscillating motions and emanations of the MONAD and the Monad are comprised in an original fundamental vibration.
All are contained within the Maha-Yug, the "Great Age" or Cycle of the Manu calculation, which itself revolves between two eternities – the "Pralayas" or Nights of Brahma. As, in the objective world of matter, or the system of effects, the minor constellations and planets gravitate each and all around the sun, so in the world of the subjective, or the system of causes, these innumerable cycles all gravitate between that which the finite intellect of the ordinary mortal regards as eternity, and the still finite, but more profound, intuition of the sage and philosopher views as but an eternity within THE ETERNITY. "As above, so it is below", runs the old Hermetic maxim.
Insofar as individuals can assimilate this radical perspective within themselves, they will not be so dependent upon transient fashion and fickle opinion, nor will they be so susceptible to volatile psychic influences. In a society where many have scarcely any conception of self-magnetization and magnetic purity, they perpetually throw off negative emanations through speech and the eyes – and thought. Through the natural rhythms of daily life – the cycle of waking and sleeping, of going to work and returning home, of interacting with family and friends – strong focal points are established for the aggregation of psychic impressions. If one has not prepared oneself through proper meditation to use these focal points for the strengthening of positive vibrations, then they will by default turn into rats" nests of negativity. Through identification with the personal nature, one may tend to take every one of these disturbances literally and personally, and thereby make it the hooking-point for further infestation of the psyche. If, instead, one strengthens a meditative awareness of the manvantaric vibration of the Avatar, then these inevitable collecting-points in terrestrial consciousness can become powerful regenerative agents enabling one to meet one"s own karmic responsibility and to lighten the burden of others.
Meditation upon the cosmos as a complex hierarchy of interacting cycles radiating from a common source may be aided by simple, yet suggestive, diagrams like the following:
This yantra represents a spiral seashell with a lotus at the centre, the outside of which is like the head of a coiling serpent. The diagram is in ceaseless motion. At the same time, because of the harmonizing of different strata – which resemble the skins of the earth, the layers of language and concept, and even the different hierarchies of reality – the yin-yang alternation within the different strata harmonizes with the lotus-like sun in the centre. Thus, lines of emanation radiate out from the centre and return to it. Through meditation upon such a yantra one can break the fixity of the static geometry and the limited algebra governing one"s responses to the world, and move on to a more dynamic and topological post-Newtonian conception of space, a more fluidic and flexible post-Euclidian geometry, and a more interactive conception of a post-Cartesian algebra founded upon matrices and groups. As one gains a sense of Aquarian meta-mathematics and meta-geometry, founded upon the triadic meta-logic of Gupta Vidya, one will prepare oneself to participate self-consciously in the dialectical calculus of the cosmos. Daily meditation can provide the basis for dynamic integration of distilled perceptions.
Cycles are not mechanical recurrences of events, but living curves of dynamic causation. Every individual has a karmic curve, and at each point has potential access to the sum total of karmic energies generating that curve. Through noetic conceptions of maxima and minima, of curvature and inflexion, one can self-consciously generate a line of life"s meditation. Through the Buddhic powers of correlation and discrimination, of integration and differentiation, one can penetrate the deceptive surface of events and reach towards the underlying planes of causation. Most individuals, alas, fail to maximize their opportunities because their notions of cause and effect are mistaken. This may be discerned by comparing the concepts of explanation and definition. If told that the term "lion" is defined as "a large carnivorous feline mammal found most often in Africa and Asia, with a tawny body, a tufted tail and a shaggy mane", one will not think that the phrase defining "lion" is actually a lion in any way. One will understand that the term being defined and the phrase doing the defining both have the same meaning. Similarly, if one is told that a certain event is to be explained by the occurrence of certain other events, one should not think that the events constituting the explanation are the cause of the given event, but rather that both the explained event and the explaining events are manifestations of the same cause.
To the eye of Shiva the entire universe and all its cyclic phenomena comprise a single harmonious consequence of one Causeless Cause, the Karmic Sum Total symbolized by the lifetime of Brahmâ. Most human beings are unable to maximize their opportunities even under the lesser, though still vast, sum totals and karmic curves of individual Monadic existence, prefigured by the manvantaric star. They die hardly having used one percent of their potential brain-power, and hardly having tapped one-tenth of one percent of their far more powerful heart-energy. If the spiritual and mystical heart is not exercised, it begins to atrophy. If, however, it is strengthened through the exercise of dispassion and devotion, it gains strength, firing the synapses of the nervous system and stimulating the cells in the centres of the brain. Through heart-energy, through an abundant love of one"s fellow men, of their children and their families, one begins to break down the false boundary of the persona and its limited view of family and friendship. As this barrier is dissolved, other human beings, and the world at large, seem less alien and less hostile. Life becomes more meaningful and challenging through the perception that all other human beings are immortal souls, like oneself, capable of reciprocity in spiritual aspiration. One can tap more and more of one"s heart-energy, and thus quicken the Buddhic mind and even release the spiritual will.
Then, passing beyond the narrow horizon of personal existence, one may naturally insert oneself into the broader evolutionary development of humanity. One will learn to discard that which is perverse, whilst turning that in oneself which is unique and individual to the good of others, all the while strengthening an inward sense of that which is common to all and confined by none. As Mahatma K.H. taught in the last century:
Whenever any question of evolution or development in any Kingdom presents itself to you bear constantly in mind that everything comes under the Septenary rule of series in their correspondences and mutual relation through nature.
In the evolution of man there is a topmost point, a bottom point, a descending arc, and an ascending arc. As it is "Spirit" which transforms itself into "matter" and (not "matter" which ascends – but) matter which resolves once more into spirit, of course the first race evolution and the last on a planet (as in each round) must be more etherial, more spiritual, the fourth or lowermost one most physical (progressively of course in each round) and at the same time – as physical intelligence is the masked manifestation of spiritual intelligence – each evoluted race in the downward arc must be more physically intelligent than its predecessor, and each in the upward arc have a more refined form of mentality commingled with spiritual intuitiveness.
One must not forget for even a moment that there are seven colours, seven sounds, seven days of the week, seven principles in the cosmos and in man, that the physical body has seven layers of skin and that every seven years one experiences important and irreversible changes in the mortal vestures. It will thus become possible to draw those kinds of Buddhic analogies and correspondences which are essential to the comprehension of cycles and the alchemical task of noetic integration. Disabused of any false dichotomy between spirit and matter, one will come to understand that if spirit transforms itself into matter and matter resolves itself once more into spirit, then matter is nothing but a passive lower expression of spirit, whilst spirit is, through ideation, an intensification of the energy-field in matter with a transforming power. How much one can bring this power to bear will depend upon one"s degree of constancy in remembering the septenary rule. Without comprehending the entire series, it is not possible to enjoy the entire spectrum or to employ the seven notes with accuracy and timing.
To do the right thing at the right time depends upon a lively awareness of the subtle phases and stable conditions of prevailing cycles. In the Aquarian Age it is helpful to acknowledge that human beings, having begun in the First Root Race as extremely ethereal and spiritual beings, have now completed their arc of descent into matter and are engaged in a progressive process of etherealization and spiritualization. In the Fifth Root Race, going from the Fifth Sub-Race to the Sixth Sub-Race, this process is giving birth to a profound spiritual sensitization of intelligence through the elevation of life-atoms. This is connected with the cosmic electricity of Daiviprakriti, the Light of the Logos. All the modes of physical and astral intelligence throughout the various kingdoms of nature are nothing but masked manifestations of the synthesizing spiritual intelligence of Mahat. Along the upward involutionary arc of growth and spirituality, each human being, each individuated ray of Mahat in Manas, must self-consciously cultivate what Mahatma K.H. calls a "refined form of mentality commingled with spiritual intuitiveness". Refined mentality is Manas-Taijasi, and spiritual intuitiveness Buddhi. Thus, Buddhi-Manas-Taijasi is the colouring, the tonality and the number of the Avataric impulse in the present cycle. It is the spiritual essence of secular monasticism which, from its present bija or seed state, will flourish as a new mode of self-regenerating civilization in the maturing phases of the Aquarian Age. Like seeds that lie beneath the protection of mountain snows, every element of spiritual intuition, of mental refinement, and of the heart radiance that comes through compassion out of the mystic marriage – hieros gamos – of truth and love is being helped and nourished by Shiva-Shakti (Ardhanari) at this sacred moment and hour in the evolutionary history of mankind. Such seeds, sown in trust by courageous pioneers in the chill midnight of outward darkness, will bring forth a rich harvest for mankind in the warmer dawns of the foreseeable future.
Hermes, November 1982
by Raghavan Iyer


text:
No Easy Answers
by Namrata Kolachalam
Art in Conflict, Conflict in Art
Nandita Dutta's F-Rated is a book that examines Indian filmmaking through the eyes of eleven women directors who have been central to the industry across decades.
Dutta speaks with influential filmmakers from Farah Khan to Mira Nair and Alankrita Shrivastava about being leaders in a male-dominated field, their common challenges, and the ways in which their paths have diverged. Dutta, who works at the Centre for Studies in Gender and Sexuality at Ashoka University, interviews these women while also incorporating her own analyses of their films and their relationships with feminism in the book. The result is an illuminating and satisfying read filled with intimate details and thoughtful critiques of the state of filmmaking in India today.
Read on for an interview with the author—
"When women speak against compartmentalising, what they are also implying is that they simply do not have the luxury to compartmentalise." — Nandita Dutta
In the introduction, you mention that several women you were interviewing withdrew halfway through, saying that they wanted to move beyond gender. Others were reluctant to be called "women filmmakers". What do you make of this resistance? Did you get a sense that they worried it would be harmful to their careers to be called women filmmakers, or that they might be taken less seriously?
There is definitely that element of wanting to dissociate themselves from the "woman filmmaker" tag because it might make them seem like lesser beings in the filmmaking ecosystem. However, this is a complex question. So, one aspect of it is that they do not want to risk their hard-earned places by being pigeonholed into this category of women filmmakers—the assumption then is that they would only make a certain kind of film that wouldn't be of interest to a wider audience. It is a vicious cycle, which makes women really wary of labels.
Having said that, some women also resisted the label as they hadn't really thought hard about how gender affects their professional lives, and for some others, they don't want the spotlight to be on their gender because it seems like an unnecessary distraction from the kind of work they are doing, which is also a valid concern.
"We have to consciously and constantly challenge our deep-seated cultural conditioning that male stories and experiences are the default."
There's a cliché of the solitary artistic genius in filmmaking, but a number of women you spoke with rejected that idea, including Aparna Sen and Shonali Bose. They say filmmaking isn't separate from their ordinary lives— there isn't a need to compartmentalise. What do you think about their approach? What are your thoughts on the gender element?
When women speak against compartmentalising, what they are also implying is that they simply do not have the luxury to compartmentalise. Now, history is full of examples of men who were solitary artistic geniuses, but let me give you an example which is closer to home. A friend recently sent me an interview of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, one of the few he gave after Padmaavat, where he holds forth on how he needs solitude in order to create, which is why he does not even talk to the media. While that narrative is alluring, women who are in caregiving roles simply cannot afford to cut themselves off from the world. You'll read more than one account in F-Rated of women with babies who used whatever little wiggle room they had early in the morning or late at night to write their scripts. That is the reality of being a mother and a filmmaker, and we need to shine the spotlight on it. As for men, I feel a little tired of them not acknowledging the care work of women—paid or unpaid—that enables their solitary genius.
F-Rated by Nandita Dutta (Purchase)
Were there common themes from your conversations that you weren't expecting? Anything that really surprised you?
Yes; I wasn't expecting women to talk at length about the difficulties of managing filmmaking with motherhood. Especially as someone who is not particularly keen on marriage and motherhood, I think I too had this binary in my mind, of the artist and the mother. But irrespective of my personal beliefs, the reality is that many women want both, and are sold the myth that they can easily have both. So, in filmmaking, as in any other profession in this world, the most challenging point in a woman's career arrives when she decides to have a child. However, unlike other professions, filmmaking is so mired in glamour that nobody wants to talk about these mundane but very real challenges.
You reference a 2017 survey by Oxfam India showing that 30% of males said they would not watch a film with a female lead, and 90% saying they wouldn't watch an all-female cast. Why do you think that is the case? What would it take for people of all genders to support specifically female-centric films?
That's a very difficult question. As viewers, I think it will take a phenomenal shift in our gaze. We have to consciously and constantly challenge our deep-seated cultural conditioning that male stories and experiences are the default. We have to seek out more female-centric content. And we have to be patient with it, since female-centric is not a gold star in itself. For every Lipstick Under My Burkha, there will also be a Veere Di Wedding.
The final interview places Alankrita Shrivastava in a category of young filmmakers that are here to shake things up. To you, what makes these filmmakers unique and boundary pushing? What do you think about their approach to the female gaze?
The Halo and the Horns
I think pretty much everyone profiled in the book is trying to shake things up. Especially with the younger lot of women filmmakers, you will notice that they are choosing to tell unconventional stories and imbuing their female characters with agency, which goes deeper than portraying them as someone who has the freedom to drink and smoke. While their female characters are well-rounded and unabashed about their desires, their male characters are also more sensitive and empathetic. And empathy is what is central to the female gaze.
"Empathy is what is central to the female gaze."
Many of the filmmakers discuss the challenges they face when trying to finance their films, even after they have proven themselves. Some, including Alankrita Shrivastava, prefer the creative control that comes from small budgets. Do you see a path forward for women to have better access to funding while also telling the stories they want to tell?
I have grappled with this question quite a bit. Many women want to keep working with smaller budgets because that gives them a lot of creative freedom. With bigger budgets comes bigger responsibility, which might blunt their edges. But then, that creates a vicious cycle, because the common perception becomes that women can't handle big budgets. With the exception of Farah Khan and Zoya Akhtar, there aren't any women working with the kind of budgets men usually work with. The only way forward is for production houses to make a conscious effort to invest into female directors, to choose women directors for big-budget projects. However, I think what's more important is to have a critical mass. So, we need more women directing films, irrespective of the budgets.
You spoke to a range of filmmakers, some of whom entered Bollywood decades ago, and others just starting off. What have been the biggest changes over time? Is there any cause for hope for upcoming women filmmakers in the Indian film industry?
I am tempted to quote Mira Nair here, who said at an event put together by Women in Film Los Angeles that we cannot afford to mistake the passage of time as progress. While Bollywood seems to have warmed up to female-centric content, I don't see any difference in the number of women filmmakers getting to direct films. Or at least, the rise in numbers has been very, very small. I don't have any easy answers to your question on hope, but I have tried to talk about the structural issues at play in my book.
alankrita shrivastava books farah khan Interviews mira nair nandita dutta zoya akhtar
Namrata Kolachalam
Namrata is a writer based in Mumbai. She previously worked as a spokesperson for the Obama Administration.
Namrata Kolachalam August 22, 2019
Standing By

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Le Sirenuse opened in 1951, when the Marchesi Sersale turned their summer house into a charming Hotel, overlooking the bay of Positano. Today Le Sirenuse has 59 rooms, furnished with all the comforts of a luxury hotel, while maintaining the atmosphere of a private home.
n the historic area, at beginning of a characteristic staircase that arrives straight to the Fornillo Beach, there is the " Bed and Breakfast VENUS INN Residence". Renovated this years, the house is composed of big rooms, each one with bathroom and a big terrace full of flowers.
The colours of some of the most beautiful shores in the world, the scents and tastes of an ancient tradition, the beauty of its natural landscape, the enchanting sunrise view and the sunset silence … this is Positano! The Hotel Poseidon is perched on a mountainside, in a privileged position, overlooking the sea of the beautiful Amalfi Coast.


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These Wall Street bailouts resemble King Kong…
These Wall Street bailouts resemble King Kong movie
By News Herald | newsherald@dfmdev.com |
PUBLISHED: September 21, 2008 at 9:48 a.m. | UPDATED: July 16, 2021 at 2:13 a.m.
Everyone has a right to own a home whether they can afford it or not. It says so in the Constitution — well, actually the Declaration of Independence in the part about inalienable rights like the "pursuit of happiness." Politicians have been selling us on that privilege nearly since the Founder's wrote it all down. All they charged us was our vote. That is until the price suddenly went up. In fact, the cost to the rest of us in just one day increased by $85 billion, the amount the Federal Reserve has pledged to save (by nationalizing) the American Insurance Group (AIG). As we all know that's only part of the taxpayer outlay so that everyone can share the American Dream. In the last few weeks, billions and billions more have been added to our tab with the bail out of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and private investment firm Bear Stearns. Meanwhile, Wall Street has imploded and banks are teetering and trillions in investment wealth have disappeared. In the classic movie "King Kong," the final line by the would-be show biz impresario looking down at the magnificent but lifeless creature says, "It was beauty that killed the beast." For years now banks and mortgage companies and the "Street" have been preparing to ape that scene, subbing "greed" for "beauty" in the sudden demise of the sub-prime beast. But unlike Kong the common people have come to try to resuscitate this monster. Had Kong revived, he might have carried off Fay Wray to a split-level, four-bedroom, three-and-one-half bath number in the trees in his favorite Florida neighborhood at a nifty price of $1 million. It wouldn't have mattered that Kong not only didn't have deep pockets or that in fact he had no pockets at all. The only requirement was to sign on the dotted line, nothing down with a super, duper interest three-year arm of 4.9 percent that might only go up three points at the end of the first period. But he needn't worry. By then this lovely home would be worth at least a half a mill more. If he couldn't afford the bananas, all he would have had to do is sell it and use the equity to move higher. Right? That's how it worked forever until it didn't. For some reason, the house that he got for such a bargain was a bit overpriced, say by a third. Now he's dealing with a big time problem and looking for a way to get himself and Fay back to his island — maybe on the same kind of tramp steamer that brought him here in the first place. So he jumps the loan and the venal little jerks who sold it to him without proper documentation using one of those time bomb interest rates are gone too, leaving the greedy financial institutions who have bought umpteen zillion of these worthless deals in the lurch and us holding the bag. Panic is everywhere. It turns out that some of the most venerated money companies in the land like AIG are so far out on Kong's limb that if it breaks, all those hardworking, responsible stiffs who knew that one should obligate only one quarter of one's monthly income to one's shelter are going to crash with him. That means we all have to pitch in to save our hides (no offense Kong) and pray the entire housing market comes back into balance soon and the cheap money philosophy dies before we all tank financially. What choice do we have? In the meantime, perhaps there is some solace in the fact that maybe the high rollers who got us here took a bath, too. But don't bet on it. If the past is any indication, these geniuses probably stashed away plenty in past earnings during years of irresponsible prosperity. The employees and small time holders of now practically worthless stock in Fannie and Freddie and Lehman Brothers and AIG and so forth are the victims and have booked passage with Kong to his cliff side resort where roofs aren't necessary. So much for the American Dream and the politicians who not only promised a chicken in every pot but a Viking Stove to cook it on and a granite counter top on which to place the warming tray. Perhaps this is the catharsis we needed to understand that not everyone should own a house or other bought on credit goodies beyond our means. It may be the only way out of this nightmare where we end up on the ground like Kong with no one capable of administering CPR. The pursuit of happiness has cost us dearly.
'Countless tributes' paid to late musician Kelly Derrick of Stagepass, Festivus, Stone Pony
'Countless tributes' paid to late musician Kelly Derrick of Stagepass, Festivus, Stone Pony
Officials: Man fatally shot by bailiff during eviction in Cleveland
Lake County experiences two minor earthquakes in same day
Mickey's Ice Cream and Hot Dogs to open in March in Willoughby
Mickey's Ice Cream and Hot Dogs to open in March in Willoughby
Wellness Traditions in Eastlake expands therapy options with new yoga space
Richmond Heights man accused in November murder at city apartment building
Culver's in Eastlake building restaurant, team
Culver's in Eastlake building restaurant, team
Kade McClure of Mentor enters pivotal season of pro baseball with uncertainty at MLB level
Boys basketball area statistical leaders through Jan. 27
High school scoreboard for Jan. 27
News Herald
Group gathers enough signatures in Ohio pot legalization effort
Ohio House passes resolution honoring US soldiers exposed to Agent Orange
Morning Journal


seems like i was just talking to a friend about the crazy rain patterns here on Guam- how it could rain on your neighbor's house and your house could be completely dry. as i sat on the hood of the car underneath the carport tonight, i noticed rain softly falling on our backyard.
i had decided to sit outside and think, as there is so much to think about. it was nice to have some quieter time to just be still and listen for a change. it's sometimes hard to find privacy here as the houses here are so close together in my neighborhood. you can either look at it as not having any privacy, or belonging to a close knit community :) however close the houses might be (with the noise of people hanging out and simply living), it was unusually peaceful and quiet tonight. quite refreshing.
-our house is feeling more like home. "home is where the heart is" i've often heard, and if your heart is with the ones you love, i guess it doesn't really matter where in the world you are as long as you're together.


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MATT RIX
TRAVELS FROM: New Mexico
You Ain't No Leader If'n You Cain't Talk Good!
The "Three S's" Guaranteed to Jump-Start Your Career
From Invisible to Unforgettable!
It's Not What You Say ... It's What People HEAR You Say!
Get What You Want Without Negotiating
Facts Tell, but Stories Sell!
The Secret Triggers of Influence (and How to Use Them)
Communications | Sales | Humor | Leadership | Marketing
Matt Rix is one of America's leading authorities on the science of influence and motivation combined with the art of persuasive presentation methods. He is an internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, executive-level communications consultant, and a widely respected expert in subliminal triggers of influence, persuasive sales techniques, and Signature "Story-Selling".
Mr. Rix helps organizations build compelling corporate and organizational stories while creating motivational sales teams and influential executive leaders using his unique process called The MATTRIXX Method(TM). As he simply states, "Real leaders don't let public opinion influence them...real leaders influence public opinion."
Matt Rix' credentials make him without equal. His formal education includes a Bachelor of Science and post-graduate research in microbiology, virology, and biochemistry, as well as an MBA in Technology Management. His professional background includes 22 years spanning international strategic communications, sales-force training, and corporate leadership development, not to mention over 9 years as a professional stand-up comedian and live-performance entertainer.
Mr. Rix' client list includes Fortune 500 corporate executives, top sales and marketing personnel, media personalities, doctors, lawyers, select political figures, and even Miss America, Miss USA, and Miss Universe pageant contestants. As he is fond of saying, "The real tragedy is when people don't have the training to speak well or the intelligence to remain silent."(TM)
Mr. Rix' audiences laugh and learn while becoming active participants within his presentations and hands-on workshops. His eye-opening, life changing messages are filled with humor, motivational stories, and extraordinary personal content. He is an experienced platform personality with over 1500 professional "live-stage" presentations worldwide, and he is in constant demand as the "Professor of Persuasion" and the "Sage of Signature Stories".
In summary, Matt Rix is a phenomenal, educational, and entertaining platform personality who combines the science of influence and motivation with the art of persuasive presentations using his groundbreaking MATTRIXX "Story-Selling" Method. His concepts are compelling, amazing, and undeniable, as is his tag line, "It's Not What You Know or What You Say That Counts; It's What People REMEMBER You Said and How You Made Them FEEL!"(TM)
Billy Riggs
Billy Riggs has been called "The Dr. Phil of Magic," and is America's source for all things attitude! Through television, radio, books, videos, and live keynote speeches he has used an unusual blend of comedy, music, magic, and motivation
Terry Hawkins
Having spent almost a decade as a Senior Manager for National Specialty Chains, and disillusioned with the results being achieved at the coalface, Terry Hawkins made the brave decision at 27 to start her training organization, People
Scott Bedbury
Scott Bedbury became one of the world's most recognized marketing experts by helping take Nike and Starbucks to iconic leadership positions during their pivotal growth periods. Since leaving the client side and establishing Brandstream, a brand development consulting firm in
Preston Ni
Preston Ni is a professor, coach, trainer, and course designer in the areas of interpersonal effectiveness, professional communication, cross-cultural understanding, and organizational change.
With twenty years of experience, Preston's dynamic presentations and powerful coaching have benefited


The Scala has a so-called "tornado" line along the side that makes the vehicle look longer.
Skoda is going upscale in Europe's compact car segment with the Scala hatchback, which will go on sale in the first half of next year.
The Scala replaces the Rapid to slot below the brand's Octavia. Its safety and driver assistance equipment, and design, give the hatchback a much more upmarket position than the Rapid, which was sold as a budget model.
Technology available will include radar-controlled adaptive cruise control and parent Volkswagen Group's 'virtual cockpit' screen in place of dials.
Updates to the car's infotainment system and satellite navigation can be delivered over the air (OTA) via the built-in SIM card, which connects to the Internet.
The Scala is the first Skoda to be built on the VW Group's MQB A0 platform, which the Czech brand is now in charge of developing. The use of the platform enabled Skoda to incorporate the latest technology.
"MQB allows new assistance systems which have so far only been available in higher vehicle segments," said Skoda's head of technical development, Christian Strube.
The Scala is the first Skoda to use a free-standing touchscreen in the center of the dashboard. The infotainment screens available range from 6.5 inches to 9.2 inches.
Other technology includes standard LED headlights and taillights, an optional heated windscreen and an optional electric tailgate.
Safety equipment includes standard automatic emergency 'city' braking and an advanced version of blind spot detection that Skoda calls Side Assist to spot overtaking cars up to 70 meters away.
A sports chassis will also be offered with adaptive dampers that let the driver switch between Normal or Sport modes.
The Scala is 4363mm long, which is over 100mm longer than a VW Golf. The long wheelbase and extended rear overhang give the Scala a cabin almost as big as the larger Octavia, Skoda said.
The Scala's trunk capacity at 467 liters with the rear seats up is the largest in the car's class, Skoda said.
The Scala is the first Skoda production vehicle in Europe with block lettering across its tailgate.
The engine range at launch will be one diesel and three gasoline engines.
The most powerful engine is a 1.5-liter turbocharged gasoline unit with 148hp. A 1.0-liter three-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine will be available in two power outputs.
The 113-hp,1.6-liter TDI diesel has a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) filter and a particulate filter to reduce emissions.
A CNG-powered version of the 1.0-liter engine badged G-Tec will be available later in 2019.
The Scala was previewed by the Vision RS model at the Paris auto show in October that had a plug-in hybrid drivetrain based on the 1.5-liter gasoline engine. No production model was announced but Skoda is expected to launch a performance-oriented plug-in hybrid later in the car's cycle.
A plug-in hybrid version of the Superb using the same drivetrain will be launched in 2019, Skoda has said.
The Scala has a central touchscreen positioned high on the dashboard. It also has an upscale soft-foam surface.


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Espúrio Postúmio Albino Regilense () foi um político da gente Postúmia nos primeiros anos da República Romana, eleito tribuno consular em 394 a.C.. É possível que seja o mesmo Espúrio Postúmio que foi censor com Caio Sulpício Camerino em 380 a.C..

Tribunato consular (394 a.C.)
Em 394 a.C. foi eleito com Marco Fúrio Camilo, Caio Emílio Mamercino, Lúcio Valério Publícola, Públio Cornélio Cipião e Lúcio Fúrio Medulino (cônsul em 413 a.C.). A Fúrio Camilo foi encarregada a campanha contra os faliscos que acabou com a rendição de Falérios à Roma. Camilo aproveitou a oportunidade para desviar a atenção dos difíceis conflitos sociais que assolavam cidade focando a população num único conflito externo. Ele cercou Falérios e, depois de rejeitar como imoral a proposta de um professor local de entregar a maior parte das crianças locais aos romanos, os falérios ficaram muito agradecidos e juraram lealdade aos romanos.

A Caio Emílio e Espúrio Postúmio foi encarregada a campanha contra os équos. Os dois tribunos, depois de haver derrotado os inimigos em uma batalha campal, decidiram que, enquanto Caio Emílio ficaria responsável por Verrugine, Postúmio seguiria saqueando o território dos équos. Mas os romanos, durante esta ação, foram surpreendidos e derrotados por um ataque dos équos. Apesar da derrota e do fato de muitos soldados da guarnição de Verrugine estarem refugiados em Túsculo temendo um novo ataque dos équos, Postúmio conseguiu reorganizar o exército e obteve vitória completa contra os équos.

Ver também

Bibliografia

Romanos antigos do século V a.C.
Romanos antigos do século IV a.C.
Nascidos no século V a.C.
Mortos no século IV a.C.
Ano de nascimento desconhecido
Ano de morte desconhecido
Tribunos consulares
Postumii
Censores da República Romana

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MLS Week 11 Preview: Rivalry games, new beginnings and more
By Joe Tansey
| PRO SOCCER USA |
Fanendo Adi of FC Cincinnati controls the ball against the Portland Timbers in the first half at Nippert Stadium on March 17, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. FC Cincinnati won its inaugural home match 3-0. (Joe Robbins / Getty Images)
The Week 11 slate in Major League Soccer provides a chance to examine certain teams in different lights.
FC Cincinnati and New England joined Colorado in the collection of teams to fire their head coaches, while a handful of significant signings and trades were made before the close of the primary transfer window Tuesday.
Now, the mad sprint to the Concacaf Gold Cup break begins with some teams re-energized by the changes and others attempting to keep up the early-season form that boosted them up the standings.
A trio of rivalry games stand out right away on the 12-game slate, which begins with the Cascadia Cup showdown between Portland and Vancouver.
Real Salt Lake and Colorado renew Rocky Mountain Cup hostilities, and one of the league's fastest-rising rivalries in the southeast takes center stage Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
With staggered start times across the league Saturday, you should be able to watch a few minutes of each game, which can't be said every week.
Week 11 Schedule
Friday, May 10:
Portland Timbers at Vancouver Whitecaps (10 p.m. ET, TSN1, ESPN+)
Saturday, May 11:
Montreal Impact at FC Cincinnati (1 p.m. ET, TVA Sport, ESPN+)
New York Red Bulls at FC Dallas (2 p.m. ET, Univision)
Philadelphia Union at Toronto FC (3 p.m. ET, TSN, ESPN+)
New York City FC at LA Galaxy (4 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Los Angeles FC at Columbus Crew (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
San Jose Earthquakes at New England Revolution (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Minnesota United at Chicago Fire (8 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Latest 90 Minutes
Lloyd's revenge, Pogba's bomb and the best of the soccer weekend
Lloyd starts again, nets brace in USWNT's win over Chile
USWNT face Chile with a chance to advance in the World Cup
LA Galaxy's Antuna nets hat trick in Mexico's Gold Cup debut win
Chicago Fire's Mihailovic called up to the USMNT Gold Cup squad
Real Salt Lake at Colorado Rapids (9 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Houston Dynamo at Seattle Sounders (10 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Sunday, May 12:
Orlando City at Atlanta United (2:30 p.m. ET, Fox)
Sporting Kansas City at D.C. United (7 p.m. ET, FS1)


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Q: Storing the order of objects in a database I have a pretty basic data model: a bunch of Routes and a bunch of Locations.
They have a many-to-many relationship requiring a linking table (e.g. RouteLocation).
I'm having trouble with coming up with a way to store the order of the locations within a route. My first instinct would be to have an order column for the Route table which is basically a comma-separated string of the IDs of the locations in that route, ordered of course. This means I have to do the ordering within the webapp (parse the string, compare IDs and so on). I'd rather have it done by the database system (ORDER BY for example).
I could maybe store the index of a location within a route in the RouteLocation table, then I could have a query like SELECT *, RouteLocation.order FROM Location, RouteLocation WHERE Location.id IN (SELECT RouteLocation.locationId FROM RouteLocation WHERE RouteLocation.routeId = 1234) ORDER BY RouteLocation.order ASC;. My problem with this approach is that I'm using the Hibernate framework which just abstracts the linking table away. The query would be something like (I forget the exact Hibernate SQL dialect) SELECT loc from Location loc WHERE loc.route = :route.

A: Storing a list of things as a comma-separated string is always bad, for various reasons (you can't tell how much space you might need for the string, iterating the list takes more processing effort every single time, changing it takes even more effort...). Duplicating foreign relations that already exist is doubly bad, because you introduce redundancy that serves no purpose except to make catastrophic inconsistency possible. And when the things you store are actually foreign keys, badness takes on a whole new level. As it is, I see only disadvantages for that solution and no advantages.
I don't understand what you say the issue is with the obvious solution (using the RouteLocation records to store not only the association of stops in a route but also their order), but it can't possibly be worse than rolling your own redundant n:m relation emulator. If the issue is that Hibernate transforms away data that the code needs to achieve correct behaviour, then clearly it is working against you and not for you; you should ask an implementation question on Stackoverflow, something like "How do I get Hibernate to store additional data in a linking table?".

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