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Culture- ART FEATURE- Creative evolution: Watching two artists push forward
One benefit of living in a place as small as Charlottesville is practically being able to look over the shoulders of local artists as they work through visual problems and take tried-and-true ideas in new directions. Painter Rob Tarbell and ceramicist Rebekah Wostrel are two artists whose evident evolutions spice up their current exhibitions at Piedmont Virginia Community College.
Tarbell's last Charlottesville show, in 2004, offered oil-on-paper abstractions of birds swooping across color-washed backgrounds. The first three pieces in his new body of work, "Birding," hanging in PVCC's North Gallery, fall in line with those earlier pieces, although the textured layers have become more colorful and intricate.
The remainder of the current exhibition, however, reveals Tarbell's progression through ideas he was just starting to explore in 2004. His multi-media efforts to abstract further the fleeting gesture of birds in flight— what he calls the "fugitive moment"— incorporate layered nylon, frames within frames, collage, and even smoke. His central marks, whether painted or created with ribbon-like cutouts from past works, move closer to calligraphy and farther away from their literal reference.
Some of Tarbell's experiments are less successful than others. The combination of collage and drawing in "Let's All Ride Me Down" feels awkwardly cobbled together, while the varnished nylon of "Dirty Birds Get Busy on the Berries," results in pus-like yellows.
Tarbell is strongest when he's most minimal, paring everything away but an elusive monochromatic mark. In the evocative "Birding Smoke Aether," he uses actual smoke to create a wraithlike transience.
In the South Gallery, Rebekah Wostrel's porcelain pieces, enhanced with bits of fuzz and fluff, advance ideas she premiered locally in the McGuffey Art Center's 2005 "New Members' Show." Interested in the interplay of opposites— concave vs. convex, brittle vs. soft, embellished vs. bare— she gets surprising mileage out of her pristine wall-mounted discs.
In her new work, Wostrel pushes her yin-yang considerations in a more explicit direction by subtly sexualizing several pieces. It may be hard to believe that a small round of porcelain without illustration can be simultaneously humorous, erotic, and disturbing, but this is exactly the effect Wostrel accomplishes.
In "Outty," a glazed white disc dips toward an interior matte circle, where a mound of fuzz bulges from a squared cavity with dimpled corners. The piece is beautiful and balanced yet funny and slightly naughty.
Watching Tarbell and Wostrel's art evolve gives new meaning to "intelligent design."
Rob Tarbell's exhibition, "Birding," and Rebekah Wostrel's contributions to the show "Three Visions," which also features work by Jeffrey Allison and Colin Ferguson, are on display at Piedmont Virginia Community College through October 5. V Earl Dickinson Building. 961-5203.


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Still think the public will blame the Republicans if we have a debt apocalypse? Here's Gallup:
President Obama's job approval rating is at a new low, averaging 40% in July 26-28 Gallup Daily tracking. His prior low rating of 41% occurred several times, the last of which was in April. As recently as June 7, Obama had 50% job approval.
Obama's approval rating averaged 46% in June and was near that level for most of July; however, it has stumbled in the past few days, coinciding with intensification of the debt ceiling/budget battle in Washington....
Ezra Klein, citing academic research, thinks that's not going to remain true, because President Obama no longer seems to be taking the lead and the main action on the debt has shifted to Congress:
In a 2010 paper presented at the American Political Science Association's annual conference, Asger Lau Andersen, David Dreyer Lassen and Lasse Holboll Westh Nielsen tried to take a systematic look at how voters respond to fiscal gridlock.... this sort of budgetary dysfunction happens all the time on the state level. Between 1988 and 2007, 167 state budgets were late, which is a pretty good signal that the political system charged with producing them fell into gridlock....
"While governors are punished only when part of a unified government, legislatures are (almost) always punished."
This suggests that when one party controls the government, voters blame them for budgetary breakdowns. But when the two parties split control, the executive is able to float above the squabbling in the legislature, or at least heavily influence the way the public assigns fault. "Governors may be more adept at the blame game that sometimes follows failures to finish a budget on time," the authors speculate.
... it's ... evidence that Obama's strategy of trying to personally manage the negotiations hasn't improved his numbers. Which is why it's probably helping him that Boehner decided to move the negotiations over to Congress and assume more of the blame himself....
I'm having trouble downloading the paper, so I haven't read it, but the abstract says (emphasis added):
In general, electoral penalties are larger where clarity of responsibility, affected by divided government, supermajority requirements and seat share margins, is higher....
Do you think we're in a situation in which "clarity of responsibility" is high? I'd say it's just the opposite. Our news organizations are telling this story one way: It's everyone's fault; it's the system's fault. And the failure of Democrats (under duress, admittedly) to stick to basic principles -- principally, an approach with tax increases on the well-to-do -- makes that clarity even more difficult to attain.
So I'm not in any way convinced that this is going to be blamed on Republicans.
And I'm even less convinced when I see John Boehner going back and adding mandatory passage of a balanced budget amendment by Congress to his bill.
Yes, I know the Senate will reject that in the next couple of days. But I think I know how this crisis ends. We'll pass the deadline. We'll begin the process of default. Global markets will go into convulsions. Yet the president won't invoke the 14th Amendment. And so Democrats will do the only thing they can possible do to get the crisis resolved: they'll agree to the current Boehner plan, with the mandatory passage of a balanced budget amendment before the debt ceiling can be raised again. And the president will sigh and sign the bill. Which is an even more horrifying outcome than what we thought was going to happen all this week.
Then do you want to talk about "clarity of responsibility"?

subset: commoncrawl


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As used in this article, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
(1) "Application assistant" means an employee of a state or local agency, or of a nonprofit program that provides counseling, referral, shelter or other specialized service to victims of domestic abuse, rape, sexual assault or stalking, and who has been designated by the respective agency or nonprofit program, and trained, accepted and registered by the Secretary of State to assist individuals in the completion of program participation applications.
(2) "Designated address" means the address assigned to a program participant by the Secretary of State pursuant to section one hundred three of this article.
(3) "Mailing address" means an address that is recognized for delivery by the United States Postal Service.
(4) "Program" means the Address Confidentiality Program established by this article.
(5) "Program participant" means a person certified by the Secretary of State to participate in the program.
(6) "Residential Address" means a residential street, school or work address of an individual, as specified on the individual's application to be a program participant under this article.


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Monday, November 30, 2009
Sacred Ground
The image below was taken from the 1924-25 edition of the "Directory of Westbrook" (page 204). It lists the clothing businesses operating at that time. Benoit's is the business where Pepere started working as a fourteen year old boy.
I remember when my brothers and sisters used to visit Pepere at the Men's Shop. It was like we were entering sacred ground. Even though we were kids, he'd always greet us like we were VIP's, and was always happy to see us! There was a time I worked in the backroom folding clothes but I hated it just like Pepere did when he first started working at Benoits. Like him, I preferred to be interacting with people.
When I asked some of my students the other day what their earliest memory was, one girl said she remembered ushering as a little girl at her church. She must have viewed going to church as a special place because of the importance her family placed on its role. We viewed the Men's Shop in the same way - a special place where the magic of selling and cultivating customers was going on.
Pepere was president of the Westbrook Chamber of Commerce for a time and around 1960, he received one of the most distinguished recognitions in the clothing industry - the Brookfield Clothing Award. The article shown here came from one of my mother's scrapbooks. The source is most likely the Westbrook American.
2 comments:
For those of us that worked at the Men's Shop in the late 60's and 70's I remember getting paid in cash each week on Saturday mornings by Bob Thuotte; one of the owners sons who took over running the finances of the store. The cash (dollar bills and change) would be in a small taped colored envelope with the following items scribbled in pen on the back of the envelope: gross amount, state income tax deduction, federal tax deduction, social security deduction, and what the net pay was (should match the cash in the envelope). Our names were scribbled on the front side of this small envelope. This method of payment saved us from going to the bank to cash a check. What is better than "cash-in-pocket"!? Of course, the answer to this question today is "plastic-in-pocket"!
- December 2, 2009 at 10:02 AM
I remember Mom telling me to go downtown Westbrook on a hot summers day to see Pepere. I always entered the store through the back where all the pants were folded on shelves. After finding Pepere, usually working with a customer, I was always given a quarter to go get an ice cream at Deering. What a sweet memory!
- December 3, 2009 at 2:49 PM


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I've been curious what model Martin acoustic Jason plays, because it looks and sounds a lot like my own guitar. At the Bootleg Theater I got up close, but there was green tape over the guitar soundhole and I couldn't see the model number. Tonight someone has posted a video on Youtube - "Your Final Setting Sun" Live at KFUV - that allows you to see right into the soundhole and sure enough, it's a Martin 000-15 Mahogany Top Auditorium, exactly the same guitar as mine!
Although the 000-15 is a lower end Martin - which is why I have one - it's a really great guitar, light and compact with excellent action and a very satisfying tone. Excellent choice, Jason!


text: Farm fresh lettuces get just a bit of enhancement from a delicious green goddess dressing in Joanne's salad. Her student, Aggie, learns a few simple secrets to making great pie crusts, an they decide to make a savory galette toping their crust with a savory filling of mushrooms and blue cheese. Recipes: Butter Lettuce with Green Goddess Dressing, Mushroom and Blue Cheese Galette. Student: Aggie Gettys.


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I just read some good insights on the Aussie startup scene downunder, from Airtree VC partner John Henderson :
My own take on this is – RECYCLE talent, more.
We somehow need to reach a kind of critical mass of local success, so we have a sustainable "pyramid" of biz / tech / investment talent.
In Silicon Valley and even Berlin, as soon as startup X tanks [or exits], the people who worked there – devs, sysops, seo marketers, finance, bizdev, CXOs, managers, investors, scientists – move on to other startups and so are "recycled" back into the pyramid of special startup knowledge, experience and talent.
In startups, this is a vastly more important process than in normal business, because the tech and biz approach of early high-growth startups is fairly unique, and because its well known that all the economic benefit comes from the few successes – so there will be a lot of failures, and it would be really costly to waste all that experience / investment in time. If people with startup experience move on to 'normal' business environments, instead of being able to move into another startup, its a massive loss.
One side effect of not having this self-replenishing Pyramid, is knowing both sides – techs who know biz, and entrepreneurs that know some code, founders who can wear both hats. Aussie founders often have a view of tech as purely a cost center – a pain point to outsource, a necessary evil – rather they should see it as core business, an area to innovate, to generate business ideas, a channel to the customer, a means to delight users, and a way to project power at scale. I really think this is holding us back.
To get to this Pyramid, one thing we have to do is find more efficient ways to recycle talent – just get people to flow into the next thing, instead of a deep dive of depression and naval gazing about how we did the wrong thing and that's why it tanked. Do the painful postmortem blog post, learn and move on.. heal while your working on the next thing. Recycle what you can – code as open source, your team into an acqui-hire or other startups via intros to people you know, even competitors. Slava Akhmechet, founder of RethinkDB, was totally classy in the way he did this.
There's a scene in one of those bad Vin Diesel movies, where Vins getting stared down by some bigger punk and he says "500" … pause … punk asks "500 whadd ?" .. Diesel retorts "500 fights.. it takes 500 street fights to learn the craft" .. or something to that effect.
Maybe we need to wear our failed startups as a sign of pride, a tattoo to show off .. because a failed startup is going to teach a developer or entrepreneur an incredible amount in a short space of time – its the perfect learning environment, where you are engaged, get to use cool stuff, change hats, have mutable roles, and are challenged beyond your comfort zone on a daily basis.
We could be getting close in Melbourne and Sydney to that magic number, be it 500 or otherwise, where we have enough of a pyramid of talent to fuel a viable startup ecosystem. recycle, dammit.


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Jim and Carmen hosted Sunday's Concert in the Park with The Mar Dels, a well-known San Diego nostalgia band that performs dynamic renditions of the best music from the 50's - 70's. We all agreed 50's diner food would be a fun culinary theme to pair with the music, and we certainly made up for any calories saved during our healthier Mushrooms, Flowers and Weeds theme a few weeks ago.
Although I nicknamed this week's theme Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives after Guy Fieri's Food Network Show, I consulted Bobby Flay's Throwdown cookbook, based on another popular Food Network show, and came up with Spaghetti and Meatballs for my diner dish.
In the Meatball Throwdown episode, Bobby's mission is to challenge Italian superstar Mike Maroni and his award-winning meatballs, a recipe handed down to him from his grandmother. Customers of Maroni's in Northport, NY buy pots of them...500 - 600 pots of meatballs a week of takeout to bring home to their own tables. Mama Mia, that's a lot of meatballs!
It was no big surprise Grandma Maroni's Meatballs easily won the Throwndown against Irishman Flay's meatballs. Both the meatballs and the marinara sauce have only a few ingredients and are super easy to prepare. The meatballs are baked in the oven, and the sauce takes a mere 20 minutes of simmering. Key ingredients include ground beef chuck, Pecorino Romano cheese, and lots of garlic, fresh basil and parsley. Bobby's meatballs featured a mixture of ground beef chuck, veal and pork, parsley, and Parmesan cheese.
|My preparation of Grandma Maroni's Meatballs
"Unless one of you guys can score me some coon meat, I'll be making baked chicken and gravy from Earline-Edison Broomfield's Davey's Halfway Home - a cafe way out in the woods near my hometown, Decatur, Mississippi. The restaurant looks the same as always and - as you can see from the guest list - several famous people including a few U.S. Presidents have dined there over the years. I'm also making cracklin' corn bread and vinegar pie - so come on, put your dish down on the table - bring on the tuna melts, hot pastrami, casserole and meatloaf and let's all have some supper!" - Carmen
|Hostess Carmen
It was a great surprise when Jim and Sam arrived with the most amazing birthday cake for Jim's birthday! Sam decorated it with all sorts of fondant-sculpted diner food and signs, and said it took her 8 hours a day for three days to create the masterpiece. For her first attempt at cake decorating, I'd say she did a marvelous job! We all did our best to polish off the cake, but Jim was giving away pieces at the end of the evening to anyone who wanted some.
|Sam (Photo courtesy of Jim)
|The amazing Diner Birthday Cake
|Jim and Carmen kissing the birthday boy
|Carmen and Jim
|Sam's design pieces for the cake were so realistic
|The aftermath
|Carmen's Baked Chicken and Gravy
John came up with Farmhouse Breakfast Deviled Eggs for this week, featuring mini sausage patties, toast, and sausage gravy.
|John and his latest deviled egg creation
|Adding sausage gravy
|Farmhouse Breakfast Deviled Eggs
|Grace (photo courtesy of Jim)
Since I doubled the recipes for the meatballs and sauce, there was enough for leftovers the next night.
Mike Maroni's Grandma Maroni's Meatballs
(100-year-old recipe)
Slightly adapted from Bobby Flay's Throwdown
Serves 4
Meatball Ingredients:
1 pound ground chuck
1 1/2 cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 1/4 cups fresh bread crumbs
3 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup minced fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 small Spanish onion, grated or minced
3 tablespoons minced garlic
Pinch of kosher salt, or to taste
Maroni Sauce Ingredients:
1/3 cup olive oil
12 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 large Spanish onion, finely diced
2 (28-ounce) cans imported crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large handful fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced (small leaves left whole for garnish)
1 lb. spaghetti, cooked al dente
Meatball Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray.
Mix all ingredients thoroughly in large bowl. If mixture seems a little loose add more bread crumbs.
Roll meatballs loosely about the size of a golf ball and place on baking sheet. Place into preheated oven for approximately 35 to 40 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned.
Maroni Sauce Preparation:
While the meatballs are baking, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until sightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute an additional 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, and black pepper. Allow the sauce to come to a simmer and let simmer 20 for about minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat, add the basil, and gently stir. Add the meatballs to the sauce and serve over spaghetti. Garnish with small whole basil leaves. Buon appetito!
|Did somebody say leftover meatballs?


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Confession: Wedding planning has turned me into a way more superficial brat than I used to be.
There's nothing like imagining walking down the aisle with all those eyes on me, plus getting professional photographs taken of myself, to make me worry like crazy about how I will look.
Yes, I know everyone says brides ALWAYS look beautiful. I know I have dreadlocks so I won't seem like a traditionally-styled bride no matter what, not that I want to. But I still feel tons of pressure to look my best! This pressure is mostly self-inflicted, and lately I'm just feeling like an ugly duckling!
- Source: http://www.figuregirlworld.com
Pardon the bitchfest for a moment, but my two main complaints are my weight and my skin. In a way, the weight is the easy one. Too many desserts and cervezas have taken their toll on my midsection, but if I really commit to healthier choices I know I can shed a few pounds by June. I don't want to be unrealistic and go on a torturous diet, just lose the beer belly and get more fit! I know if I can pull it off I'll feel much more confident on my wedding day!
My skin has always confused me. First of all, my skin tone is very uneven, freckly, and red. I blame the Irish in me. I've tried several different makeup regimens over the years but I always end up looking shiny by the end of the day. With an outdoor summer wedding, I'm really worried about looking like a sweaty beast in all the pictures! Secondly, I have really dark under-eye circles. No matter how much sleep I get or how little caffeine/alcohol I drink, they remain. I've even tried this:
- Source: http://www.allwomenstalk.com
The concealers I've tried never really hide my circles as much as I'd like, and they too end up melting down my face after several hours. I'm really worried about how I'm going to DIY my wedding makeup when I'm not even satisfied with my day-to-day look! I'm terrified I won't feel confident and I won't like how I look in the photos. I know these concerns are totally stupid and conceited, but I can't help feeling stressed about the beauty aspects of the big day!
Has anyone else been infected with Ugly Duckling Syndrome while planning "the most important day of your life"? Anyone have advice on longer-lasting makeup brands?


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Saturday, March 10, 2012
Crack Potatoes
I read recipe after recipe for these potatoes on Pinterest but all of them called for frozen potatoes. So I decided to health it up a little, not by much but a little in my mind. I made these along side my BBQ meatballs and all loved them. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek this garden making morning!
3 cups sour cream
2 cups cheddar cheese-shredded finely
1 pound bacon-cooked crsip and crumbled
1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
1 Bottle Ken's Ranch Salad Dressing
4 pounds potatoes-washed and shredded *read note below
*Important note about your potatoes. Shred them into a big bowl of cool water and let them sit in the water for at least one hour. After 1 hour, pour water off and rinse shredded potatoes very well. This will remove the starch that makes potatoes mushy and not tasty when fried.
Combine first 5 ingredients, and now mix in shredded potatoes. Spread into a 9x13 pan. Bake at 400' for 45-60 minutes. Serve hot!
By What's Cookin Stacey?? at March 10, 2012 2 comments
Labels: Potato, Side Dishes
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Rising sales, falling foreclosures buoy area real estate outlook
Southwestern Connecticut's residential real estate market is going through an up-and-down period, but it isn't as iffy as it sounds. Real estate professionals are optimistic as foreclosures decline and home sales rise.
Foreclosures among outstanding mortgage loans in the region fell to 3.97 percent in August form 4.84 percent during the same period of 2012, according to CoreLogic, a California-based provider of real estate data.
That's still higher than the national rate of 2.36 percent. The five states with the highest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were Florida, 7.9 percent; New Jersey, 6.2 percent; New York, 4.9 percent; Maine, 4 percent, and Connecticut, 3.97 percent.
There were 48,000 completed foreclosures in the United States in August, down from 72,000 in August 2012, according to CoreLogic, which reported that the overall residential "shadow" inventory as of July was 1.9 million homes, accounting for a value of $293 billion and representing a supply of 3.7 months. The most-recent inventory figure is down 22 percent from a year ago when it was at 2.4 million and town 38 percent from its peak in 2010 when it reached 3 million homes.
"The foreclosure inventory continues to improve, as exhibited by these recent numbers," said Mark Fleming, Ph.D., chief economist for CoreLogic. "A surge in completed foreclosures and a rise in the foreclosure inventory is unlikely, given continued house price improvements and shortages of supply in many markets."
CoreLogic also reported that the mortgage delinquency rate decreased in Fairfield County in August when 6.57 percent of mortgage loans were 90 days or more delinquent, compared with 7.69 percent for the same period last year.
The improvement in the foreclosure rates, comes as housing permits across the state rise.
Housing permits issued in Connecticut are ahead of last year through August by 11.1 percent, averaging about 340 units per month, according to Berkshire Hathaway New England Properties HomeServices.
"This is significant because last year's total permits -- 4,140 -- was Connecticut's best year since 2008 when 4,910 permits were issued," said Berkshire Hathaway in its third quarter report. "We are projecting a year-end total of 4,085 this year, which would be on par with last year."
The company said 58 percent of those permits were for single-family homes, while 40 percent were for multi-family homes or apartments.
Down-county sales, prices
Halstead Property, meanwhile, reported a marked year-over-year improvement in several important facets of the residential real estate market in the region.
Among some of the highlights, Fairfield saw a 49 percent jump in sales in the third quarter compared with a year ago, as well as a 4 percent rise in median prices. In Westport, sales jumped 33 percent, as the median price rose 11 percent to $1.26 million. Homes there spent 17 percent less time on the market.
New Canaan experienced a 27 percent increase in sales in the third quarter, and a decline in the time on the market from 172 days to 169. Darien had a 20 percent rise in sales.
Prices were also up in most towns, according to Halstead.
Wilton saw the highest increase in prices across the region, as the median price rose 16 percent to $845,000. Norwalk also recorded a gain in prices, with the median cost of a house climbing 7 percent to $465,000. There also was 19 percent increase in closings.
Stamford had a 24 percent increase in sales and a 12 percent decrease in time on the market, but there were only modest changes in prices, according to Halstead.
"This has been another upbeat quarter as far as real estate goes," said Diane Ramirez, CEO of New York City-based Halstead Property, with offices in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York state. "Though prices increased only modestly, it is still a positive trend overall. We were pleased to see the huge upswing in sales in some of the markets and in the decline in days on the market in many of the towns that reported."
In Greenwich, known for its high-end, manicured properties, single-family home sales increased 11 percent year to date, compared with 2012, with the median sale price up 2.6 percent to $1.67 million, according to the Greenwich office of Houlihan Lawrence, which reported that the market there is on pace to exceed 600 single family home sales in 2013 -- the highest level since 2007.
The firm also reported that the condominium market is hot in Greenwich with sales up 73 percent year-to-date, compared with 2012, and the median price is up 7.7 percent to $700,000.
"In the classic pattern seen at the end of a housing bear market -- one which has been playing out across the U.S. over the past several years -- prices fall until buyers perceive value and return to the market in enough numbers to halt further price declines," said Chris Meyers, managing principal of Houlihan Lawrence, in prepared comments. "This marks the proverbial bottom. "Eventually, continued sales growth and declining inventories lead to price appreciation as a new bull market cycle begins."
Typically, a sustainable housing market recovery starts at the lower price levels, he said.
New foreclosures slow
Many of the foreclosure cases that enveloped the state's real estate market date back to mortgages originated between 2004 and 2008, said Katherine Pancak, professor of finance and real estate at the University of Connecticut.
New foreclosures are being added but at a slower rate because since 2008 there have been higher lending standards, she said, commenting that Connecticut added more than 25,000 foreclosure cases in 2008-2009 and almost another 27,000 in 2009-2010.
"That's compared to an average of about 10,000 cases in the earlier years of the decade," she said. "Since 2010, the number of new cases is decreasing, but it is still high compared to historic averages."
The fact that Connecticut was among the top five states in terms of foreclosure inventory as a percentage of mortgaged houses is not surprising, Pancak said, because Connecticut is one of about 22 states that requires a foreclosure to go through a judicial process.
She credited the state's foreclosure mediation program, for encouraging lenders to work with borrowers on loan modifications to keep home owners in their homes.
Pancak cited the state's judicial website, which reported that where foreclosure mediation has occurred, 67 percent of borrowers were able to stay in their homes, and 55 percent of borrowers received some type of loan modification.
The decline in foreclosures has been a boon to the real estate market, said Carlos Perez, an associate with Re/Max Right Choice Realty in Trumbull.
"Definitely foreclosures have come down. It helps because they aren't selling property at below-market value. You're seeing less short sales," Perez said, citing a house that sold in Bridgeport last year in a short sale for about $120,000. He represents the property, which is now being sold for $220,000.
Often a time-consuming process, a short sale occurs when a lien holder permits a home owner to sell the property for less than what is owed.
While foreclosures have seriously impacted real estate markets, when the properties are acquired and rehabilitated, neighborhoods improve, Perez said.
Danbury market
There is a demand for lower-priced homes, forcing buyers to act quickly, said Harry Stark, a veteran real estate agent with William Raveis in Danbury.
"Homes costing $500,000 or more are still the tough part of the market, but houses under $300,000 -- as soon as they go on the market there is a deposit," said Stark, who started in the business in 1973 and has been with Raveis since 1991. "Things have gotten a lot better. We're selling houses. I'm optimistic. It's getting better day by day."
The average sales price for single-family homes has zoomed in Danbury from $286,516 through September 2012 to $314,949 in the same period of 2013, according to Raveis. They have also jumped in Brookfield from $400,176 to $420,378; Ridgefield from $719,805 to $752,346; Bethel from $317,016 to $321,072; New Fairfield from $366,053 to $378,470; and Sherman from $442,448 to $506,087.
Only in Newtown and Redding did the average sale price fall -- from $433,898 to $410,801 in Newtown and from $605,520 to $545,924 in Redding.
The number of single-family homes sold has increased in every community in the Danbury area.
Like Perez, Stark has seen a decline in foreclosures, but he said he has seen properties being sold through the short sale process. Lenders seem to be more willing to work with home owners who want to sell their home through a short sale, he said.
Some properties are commanding multiple bids, as did one house on Haviland Road in Stamford.
There were four offers on the house, and two of them were the asking price, said Elayne Jassey, a real estate agent with the Stamford office of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services New England Properties.
"That house hit a chord with many people. It was well-priced, and it's in a wonderful neighborhood," said Jassey, who has seen a jump in sales this year. "We have more sales this year than in the last four or five years. Sales are up, but prices are not up. There are good values, and interest rates are still very attractive. This is a good year to have your house on the market."
While there seems to be a shortage of inventory in some area communities, she said home shoppers in Stamford should be able to find a property that fits their needs. And through their use of the Internet and interaction with their broker, they are more knowledgeable than ever about residential real estate.
Despite the budget and debt ceiling crises in Congress that this month jeopardized the nation's financial footing and its fragile economic growth, Jassey is optimistic about the future of the real estate market believing that elected officials in Washington will not repeat their performance as they address the issue over the next few months.
"I don't think we're going off the cliff," she said. "They're not that foolish."


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Acta Theologica
On-line version ISSN 2309-9089
Print version ISSN 1015-8758
Acta theol. vol.33 suppl.17 Bloemfontein Nov. 2013
Discernment: the message of the Bhagavad-Gita
K. Perumpallikunnel
Dr K. Perumpallikunnel, Research Fellow, Department of New Testament, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein. E-mail: email@example.com
The Bhagavad-Gita is an intelligent response to a perennial human predicament which other religions and philosophies also tried to resolve in their own way. Human beings often stood perplexed and mystified as they confronted paradoxical situations in life that demanded action. Discerning right from wrong often became an existential predicament. The Pandava prince Arjuna found himself standing on the shaky ground of Kurukshetra not knowing the way forward. Lord Krishna outlines for him the path towards gaining flawless self-knowledge and self-mastery from his sorrowful state of confusion and opened his eyes to perceive the truths beyond appearances. Krishna instructs him that, when a person is capable of watching everything that happens within and around him dispassionately and acting with an attitude of detachment, he attains sthithaprajna (equanimity) and samadhai (liberation).
Keywords: Discernment, Detachment, Liberation, Equanimity, Karma
Trefwoorde: Onderskeiding, Afstand, Bevryding, Onversteurdheid, Karma
The subject matter of the Bhagavad-Gita (The song of God) is nothing other than discernment (Ramacharaka 2010:3). According to the Gita, discernment is all about nityanithya vastu viveka (discernment of the eternal and temporal realities) (Kaji 2001:27). Lord Krishna, the supreme Guru, tutors his confused disciple, Arjuna, to lead him from the state of maya (illusion) to the perfect understanding of satyasya satyam (really real). Krishna outlines for Arjuna the path towards gaining flawless self-knowledge and self-mastery from his sorrowful state of confusion (1:47). Being a part of the epic Mahabharatha, which falls under the category of ithihasas (epics), the Bhagavad-Gita technically belongs to the smrti literature (recollected/reflected/remembered: all human wisdom and knowledge belong to this category). However, since it is the utterance of the incarnated God Lord Krishna himself, the Bhagavad-Gita is approved as a part of shruti (heard/revealed: Vedas and Upanishads) and is often called Gitopanishad.1 According to its devotees, the Bhagavad-Gita is the essence of the Vedic knowledge and one of the most important Upanishads in the Vedic literature.
The Bhagavad-Gita was written to lead Arjuna from the slavery and obscurity of avidya (ignorance) to the freedom and splendour of jnana (wisdom). Moksha (liberation/enlightenment) is the purging of the illusory thoughts and beliefs about this transitory world - thus entering a state of pure consciousness and realising and accepting reality as it is. The instructions of the Bhagavad-Gita are designed to awaken this pure consciousness; therefore, in the final section of the Gita, Krishna asks Arjuna if he is now in pure consciousness (18:72). Pure consciousness is being in a state of samadhi (equanimity), being in control of one's mind and body. Impure consciousness is a state of being blinded and disturbed by the ego. In the last section of the Bhagavad-Gita (18:66), the Lord Krishna reiterates sarva-dharman parityajya, mam ekam saranam vraja, aham tvam sarva-papebhyo, mokshayisyami ma suchah. (Abandon all religions [beliefs and concepts] and take recourse in me. I shall liberate you from all sins. Do not be afraid.) Many people such as Mahatma Gandhi found solace in this Celestial Song:
When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to the Bhagavad-Gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from it every day.
The Mahabharata, often known as the Hindu bible, is the story of a great war. It is one of the two Sanskrit epic poems of ancient India (the other being the Ramayana). The poem is made up of nearly 100000 couplets (approximately seven times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined or 12 times the length of the Bible) or approximately 1.8 million words in total. Its authorship is traditionally ascribed to the sage Vyasa, although it is unlikely that a single person wrote the poem (Chaturvedi 2006:24). The author Vyasa himself appears in the work as the grandfather of the Kauravas and the Pandavas. The Mahabharata not only displays a riveting plot and a compelling dramatic structure, but is also full of wisdom. Its characters are complex and real, with depth of personality that is unmatched in any other story humanity has ever conceived. The Mahabharata contains numerous mythological and didactic material arranged around a central heroic narrative that tells of the struggle for sovereignty between the Kauravas and the Pandavas. The traditional date for the war that is the central event of the Mahabharata is 1302 BCE, but most historians assign it a later date. The best scholarly evidence indicates that the earliest layers of the epic were composed between 2500 and 3000 years ago. The oldest preserved parts of the text are not thought to be appreciably older than 400 BCE, although the origins of the story probably fall between the 8th and the 9th centuries BCE. The text reached its present form by 300-400 CE. According to the Mahabharata itself, the tale is an extended text from a shorter version of 24000 verses called simply Bharata. The present poem is divided into 18 books or parvas.
The central plot constitutes little more than one fifth of the epic. The remainder of the epic addresses a wide range of myths and legends. Besides its epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War and the fate of the Kauravas and the Pandavas, the Mahabharata contains a great deal of philosophical and devotional material. The Mahabharata itself proclaims its comprehensiveness confidently:
As the sun dispels the darkness, so does the Mahabharata by its discourses on religion, profit, pleasure and final release, dispel the ignorance of men (1.1.73).
He who knows the four Vedas with all the Angas (subdivisions) and Upanishads, but does not know this history (Mahabharata), cannot be regarded as wise ... As the formation of the three worlds proceeds from the five elements, so do the inspirations of all poets proceed from this excellent composition (1.2.572).
The Mahabharata uttered by the lips of Dwaipayana is without a parallel; it is virtue itself and sacred (1.2.584).
The Mahabharata incorporates most of the lore and legend of the Classical Hindu Tradition (Ganguli 2012). It is a plot large enough to encompass all categories, yet it is not a random collection of tales. Every story in the Mahabharata sheds light on the central story which is the great battle that was fought on the field of Kurukshetra between the five sons of King Pandu and their allies, on the one hand, and the hundred sons of King Dhritarashtra and their allies, on the other. The war broke out. And it was devastating. In its plain sense, it was a tragic war that pitted brothers against brothers, sons against fathers and uncles, brave noble men against brave noble men. Though initially keeping to chivalrous notions of warfare, both sides soon began adopting disreputable tactics. At the end of the ferocious 18-day battle, though the Pandavas and Krishna managed to survive, it was not a victory for them, for the war had destroyed the world that they knew, and the emptiness of what they had won tainted the rest of their lives. After "seeing" the carnage, Gandhari2 who had lost all her sons, cursed Krishna to face a similar death and to witness an equivalent eradication of his own family for, although divine and capable of stopping the war, he did not do so. Krishna accepted the curse, which befell on him in the course of time. The Pandavas who gained their kingdom through bloodshed and fratricide chose to renounce everything and set off on a pilgrimage to Indraprasta (heaven), their destiny. On the way, one by one the brothers and Draupadi, their wife3 fell. As each one fails, Yudhishtira (the elder brother) gave the other brothers the reason for their fall (Draupadi was lenient towards Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva who were vain and proud of their looks, and Bhima and Arjuna were proud of their strength and archery skills, respectively). Only the virtuous Yudhishtira, who had tried everything to prevent the carnage, and the stray dog that joined the group prevailed. The dog reveals itself as Yama (god of death/underworld), and then takes Yudhishtira to the underworld where he sees his siblings and wife. After explaining the nature of the test, Yama takes Yudhishtira back to heaven and explains that it was necessary to expose him to the underworld, because any ruler has to visit the underworld at least once (Rajyante narakam dhruvam). Yama then assures him that his siblings and wife would join him in heaven after they had been exposed to the underworld for measures of time according to their vices (Nadumuri 2010).
The Bhagavad-Gita opens with the blind King Dhritarashtra requesting his secretary, Sanjaya, to narrate the battle between his sons, the Kauravas, and their cousins, the Pandavas (1:1). Out of affection for his devotee, the Pandava prince Arjuna, Lord Krishna, the mighty incarnation of Vishnu, one of the Hindu Trinity (the others being Brahma and Siva), agreed to drive his chariot. As Arjuna takes up his bow and prepares to fight, he faces his great-grandfather Bhishma and his teacher Drona on the other side with the sons of Dhritarashtra (1:26). His mind reels as he foresees the imminent death of his teachers, relatives, and friends (1:45). Developing doubts about the battle, he requests the glorious Krishna to draw his chariot between the two fighting forces (1:24). From there he observes the imminent devastation. Overtaken by grief, he lays down his weapons and decides not to fight (1:47). In that decisive moment, Krishna delivers his magnificent instruction to enlighten and embolden him to wake up to his call of duty.
The Bhagavad-Gita is thoroughly practical and free of any intellectual gymnastics, or vague, abstract philosophy. It offers diagnostic solutions to every challenging situation that we face in our daily life that calls for discernment and action. The Gita is not rigid either. At the end of his instruction, Krishna tells Arjuna:
Now I have taught you that wisdom which is the secret of secrets. Ponder it carefully. Then act as you think best (18:63).
No coercion, no promises, no threats. It is up to the listener to decide. The Gita simply shows us the way forward.
Just as the epic Mahabharata contains 18 books that narrate a war that was fought between 18 Akshuhinis4 for 18 days, the Gita also contains 18 chapters. Each chapter is envisioned as a kind of yoga in itself. The function of yoga is to train our body and mind until it reaches samadhi (equanimity/liberation/enlightenment). The chapters have a progressive order to their teachings, whereby Krishna raises Arjuna up the ladder of yoga one rung at a time. According to the Bhagavad-Gita, every aspect of our life can be salutary, even those aspects that seem negative.
- Chapter 1: Arjuna-Vishada yoga (The yoga of the dejection of Arjuna) - 47 verses. Arjuna's depression is presented as a system of yoga. When Arjuna sees his near and dear ones on the opposing army side of the Kurus, he loses morale and decides not to fight (1:20-27). Arjuna presents Krishna his arguments for refusing to fight (1:28-47). Basically, he fears the sinful reactions of killing.
- Chapter 2: Samkhya Yoga (The yoga of knowledge) - 72 verses. Concluding his reasoning and yet confused, Arjuna turns to Lord Krishna for discernment (2:7). Krishna begins countering Arjuna's objections. Krishna tells Arjuna that the eternal self is immortal and the body is designed to pass away (2:12-30). Explaining the three principles dharma, (right action) atman (individual self) and sarira (body), Krishna reminds Arjuna that, as a warrior, his duty is to uphold the path of dharma through warfare (2:31-38).
- Chapter 3: Karma Yoga (The yoga of action) - 43 verses. Confused by listening to Krishna's exaltation of samkhya (jnana) yoga (The yoga of knowledge), Arjuna questions why he should engage in fighting if knowledge is more important than action (3:1-2). Krishna then explains nishkama karma (performing one's duties without desiring its fruits - detached activity) as the appropriate course of action (3:3-8). He explains that both improper action and neglect of duty are impelled by desire and lack of knowledge. Krishna counsels Arjuna to act with knowledge and detachment without falling victim to his own attractions and aversions (3:29-30).
- Chapter 4: Jnana-Karma-Sanyasa Yoga (The yoga of knowledge, discipline of action and knowledge) - 42 verses. Krishna reveals to Arjuna his many incarnations for the defence of the virtuous and the destruction of the wicked (4:7). The chapter ends with Krishna glorifying transcendental knowledge and appealing to Arjuna to arm himself with this knowledge, which burns the evil effects of every action to ashes (4:33-42).
- Chapter 5: Karma-Sanyasa Yoga (The yoga of action and knowledge) -29 verses. Arjuna wants to know if it is better to renounce action or to be involved in action (5:1). Krishna answers that one who is detached from his works' fruits is the one who is truly detached (5:2-6). He will be in a position to see action in inaction and inaction in action (4:18). Such a person knows that, while the body acts, he, the soul, actually does nothing (5:7).
- Chapter 6: Dhyana Yoga, or Atmasamyama Yoga (The yoga of self-control) - 46 verses. Krishna explains the correct posture for meditation (6:11-15) and how to achieve samadhi (6:24-27).
- Chapter 7: Jnana-Vijnana Yoga (The yoga of knowledge of Nirguna Brahma and manifest divinity) - 30 verses. Krishna instructs the path of knowledge (Jnana Yoga).
- Chapter 8: Akshara-Brahma Yoga (The yoga of indestructible Brahma) - 28 verses. Krishna tells Arjuna that, by remembering him at the time of death, one can attain his supreme abode (8:5-7). He pinpoints devotion towards him as the easiest way to attain liberation (8:14).
- Chapter 9: Raja-Vidya-Raja-Guhya Yoga (The yoga of the sovereign science and the sovereign secret) - 34 verses. Krishna discloses to Arjuna how all beings find their existence in him (9:4-8). He reveals his self, although independent and aloof, as that which pervades, creates and annihilates the entire cosmos through his material energy (9:9-10). This awareness is recommended as a way to remember him in all circumstances. Krishna affirms that he will take care of his devotees, compensate for their deficiencies, and preserve their strength. And all he asks of his devotees is an offering of a leaf, a flower, or some water - if it is offered with devotion (9:26). Even if a devotee unintentionally commits a dreadful sin, he will be rectified, for Krishna promises that his devotee will never perish (9:30).
- Chapter 10: Vibhuti-Vistara-Yoga (The yoga of divine glories) - 42 verses. Krishna explains his grandeur more specifically and thereby reveals himself the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of all (10:2-8). Krishna also tells how his pure devotees know that he is the unborn Supreme Lord, the source of all sages, the source of the material and spiritual worlds, and the source of all qualities and attitudes. Arjuna recognises Krishna as the Supreme Being, as the great sages have done in the past.
- Chapter 11: Visvarupa-Darsana Yoga (The yoga of the vision of the universal form) - 55 verses. On Arjuna's request, Krishna displays his visvarupa (universal form), a theophany of a being facing every way and emitting the radiance of a thousand suns, containing all beings and substances in existence (11:9). In this astounding effulgent, all-expansive form, Arjuna sees all soldiers on both sides dying within it (11:10-30). Krishna explains his form as time, the destroyer of all worlds, and requests that Arjuna, knowing in advance the inevitable death of all the warriors, become his instrument (11:32-34).
- Chapter 12: Bhakti Yoga (The yoga of devotion) - 20 verses. It describes Bhakti Yoga in detail. Krishna extols the benefits of devotion (12:1-12). He also explains different forms of devotions and spiritual disciplines. Arjuna inquires whether it is better to worship Krishna (incarnate God) through devotional service or the impersonal God (Ningana Brahma). Krishna clarifies that one who is engaged in active service is the highest (12:20).
- Chapter 13: Kshetra-Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga (The yoga of discrimination between the field and the knower of the field) - 34 verses. Krishna describes the human body as kshetra (temple/field), stating that one who knows this fact is a kshetrajna (knower) (13:1-18). Krishna describes prakrti (nature/matter), the purusha (enjoyer/spirit) and consciousness (13:19-34). Unassumingly advancing in knowledge, one can become free from worldly entanglement.
- Chapter 14: Gunatraya-Vibhaga Yoga (The yoga of classification of the three gunas) - 27 verses. Krishna explains the three gunas (qualities/ traits) of material nature, namely satvaguna, rajoguna and tamoguna (goodness, passion and ignorance), respectively (14:5-10). These three forces control all conditioned persons within this world. A discerning person is of satva nature (14:11). It is possible to transcend the bondages of these gunas through devotion (14:26).
- Chapter 15: Purusottama Yoga (The yoga of the supreme person) -20 verses. It explains the ways and means to free oneself from the grip of the three gunas of matter. Krishna compares the material world to a gigantic banyan tree with its roots in the heavens and its foliage on earth. Krishna invites Arjuna to fell this tree with the "axe of detachment", in order to progress towards his supreme abode (15:3).
- Chapter 16: Daivasura-Sampad-Vibhaga Yoga (The yoga of discrimination between the divine and the demonical properties) - 24 verses. Krishna indicates the divine and the demonic traits present in human nature. After mentioning twenty-six godly qualities, Krishna explains the demoniac nature which degrades the soul through arrogant, ignorant, and conceited pursuits of sense gratification and power (16:1-18). He counsels that, in order to attain the supreme destination, one must give up lust, anger and greed (16:21-22). Assisted by buddhi (intellect) and supported by scriptural confirmation, one should discern right and wrong and act appropriately (16:24).
- Chapter 17: Sraddhatraya-Vibhaga Yoga (The yoga of the classification of the threefold faith) - 28 verses. Krishna mentions three divisions of beliefs, thoughts, deeds and even eating habits corresponding to the three gunas (17:4-10).
- Chapter 18: Moksha-Sanyasa Yoga (The yoga of liberation through the path of knowledge and self-surrender) - 78 verses. It is a review of the truths already presented (18:6). In conclusion, Krishna advises Arjuna to abandon all forms of dharma and simply surrender unto him (18:66). He describes this as the ultimate perfection of life. After listening to the instructions of Sri Krishna, Arjuna is confirmed and gets ready to fight (18:73). After narrating this conversation to Dhritarashtra, Sanjaya regards Krishna with enormous admiration and predicts victory for Arjuna, the supreme archer, for he is surrendered to Krishna, the master of all mystics (18:78).
Some people insist that Sacred Scriptures can have only one meaning and, therefore, eschew interpretations and even translations (Frein 2012:12). However, this is a mistaken assumption with regard to the Hindu Sacred Scriptures in Sanskrit. Hindu scriptures are intended to have multi-level messages and subtle nuances. Their literary style (sutras and shlokas: aphorisms and versifications) demands, necessitates, and provides room for any number of commentaries and interpretations. Words that carry several relevant ideas are ideal for the profound wisdom of the Gita and the Upanishads, in particular. The Hindu scriptures consist of unlimited layers, many symbolic in nature (Knapp 2012). In addition, the meanings of the symbols are not fixed. They may change according to the level on which they occur.
While attempting to explore the allegorical realms of the Bhagavad-Gita, we should not fail to notice a metaphor portrayed in the first chapter of the Kathopanishad:5
Body is the chariot, soul the traveler, intellect the charioteer, mind the bridle, five senses are five horses, while desires are the paths on which those horses gallop. (Kathopanishad 1:3:3, 4).
Over the centuries, numerous attempts have been made to figure out and attribute symbolic meanings to the events and personalities in the Bhagavad-Gita. Leaving aside the complex issue of assigning symbolic meanings to every person named in the battle narrative, it is not difficult to figure out the basic symbolism. This world in which we live is a dharmakshetra, a field upon which we act out our svadharma (vocation/ duty/inherent obligation) according to our character or our innate constitution. The quality of our emotions, mind, intellect, and will depends on our present level of evolution. It is not merely in the world, but even within ourselves that we find all kinds of negative impulses, conflicts, confusions, fears, and ignorance. Although, at times, deep within ourselves, we could sense an attraction towards divinity, it is often overruled by a multitude of impulses to delusion. However, it is to be noted that all the warriors of ignorance and delusion are children of a blind ego (Dhritarashtra), whereas the inner soldiers of truth and higher consciousness are the children of the Spirit-Self, the divine Atman. Kurukshetra is the personality. Buddhi (mind/intellect) of the individual is the charioteer who tries to lead the true self to attain enlightenment. This aspiration for truth evokes opposition from within one's own mind and body, governed by the blind ego. Thus begins the war between Pandavas and Kauravas, good and evil, truth and falsehood, ignorance and wisdom, trying to annihilate each other. The most surprising feature of this inner war is that many insightful and honest "virtues" are lining up in support of the "worthless". For example, the ego, which is the creation of ignorance and delusion, torments the individual self as a result of his/her fears, desires and illusions. It manages to line up the bona fide human qualities to defend and ensure its survival under the pretext that the individual's survival is intertwined with his/her own survival. Individuals who use their intellectual faculties to achieve the goals dictated by their blind instincts are yet another example of this phenomenon. As a result, along with the Kauravas, most of the "Pandava" army is also eliminated in the eventual transformation of the individual into a higher state of being.
Krishna (literally, the dark one) and Arjuna (literally, the white one) represent the unknown and the known (God and human person), as well as our own dual nature as immortal and mortal. From this standpoint, the dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna can be regarded both as God's communication to human beings and the communication of our own divine Self with our human self, the intention of which is moksha/samadhi or liberation from sufferings (equanimity). Accordingly, Arjuna and Krishna are the indwelling atman (individual self) and Paramatman (immortal self) riding the chariot, which is Arjuna's body. The Mundakopanishad speaks of two birds of golden plumage; inseparable companions, the individual self and the immortal self, as perched on the branches of the same tree. The former tastes of the sweet and bitter fruits of the tree, whereas the latter, tasting of neither, calmly observes. The individual self, deluded by forgetfulness of its identity with the divine self, bewildered by its ego, grieves and is sad. However, when it recognises Paramatman as its own true self, and beholds its glory, it grieves no more (Mundakopanishad 3:1:1, 2). These verses are a perfect summary of the Gita. Arjuna is the bewildered and sorrowing atman, the individual self, and Krishna is the divine Paramatman, the supreme self from which the atman derives its very being and existence. Forgetful of its true nature as part of the cosmic/universal/immortal self, the finite atman passes through countless experiences that confuse and pains it, producing utterly false conclusions that compound and perpetuate the illusion and sorrow. Only when the perspective of the divine self is entered into, will its plight fade away.
The ego (blind Dhritarashtra) is the false self that reigns on the throne of our body and mind, blinding us to everything else, and making us think that it is the essence of our being. However, this is not true. Buried deep within us is our true self, awaiting its liberation and the recapturing of its rightful kingdom. Duryodhana (dirty fighter), the elder son of Dhritarashtra (one who holds the kingdom), is a dangerous evolution of his blind father since he is no longer blind. He is capable of consciously choosing evil if he believes that it serves his ambition. He is coercing the virtuous to commit self-sacrifice in order to gratify his hunger for power. This shows that the virtues serving the ego and working to ensure its preservation are certainly risking their lives. It is amazing to note how the ego devours people, sapping their energy, turning them into blind brutes, while they themselves believe that they are really living a great life. This is the fatal delusion in which human beings often dwell. Only those who have glimpsed the truth of their inner divinity are likely to escape this milieu of death.
In the Kurushetra war, conchs play not only a battle announcement role but also a very significant symbolic role. The war is declared by sounding conchs. Suddenly, there is a riot of conch sounds, conchs vying each other, in the battlefield. Conchs are not man-made, but the product of the ocean and are mere empty shells. However, they can transform human breath into mighty sounds. Conchs thus represent human words, the condensation of their breath. In the final analysis, all known realities can be reduced to, and are acknowledged as mere vibrations (e = mc2). Hinduism considers Aum, the eternal sound, as the source and the sum of everything. Every sound we produce is the echo of the eternal Aum. The sound of the Kaurava conchs represents the vibrations of maya (delusion), ignorance and the ego. But the sound of the Pandava conchs represents the divine sound of Aum intoned by yogis. We are told that
Krishna blew his Panchajanya; Arjuna blew Devadatta, while Bhima, terrible in action, blew the great conch horn Paundra. King Yudhishthira, son of Kunti, blew Anantavijaya; Nakula and Sahadeva blew Sughosha and Manipushpaka (1:15,16).
These names are highly symbolic. Panchajanya (five victories) points to the spiritual victory of Aum over the five elements (bhutas), mastery over the five bodies (koshas) and control over the five sense organs (indriyas). Devadatta (God-given) proclaims Aum as the key to liberation given by God himself to human beings. Paundra (mighty sound) announces Aum as the supreme Word of Power. Anantavijaya (unending victory) states the effect of the recitation (japa) of Aum. Sughosha (great/excellent sound) makes known the ecstatic experience of those who recite Aum. Manipushpaka (could mean jewelled bracelet, flowery mind, aerial chariot of the mind, and so on). Through the recitation of Aum, the mind is transformed into a precious jewel. At the recitation of Aum the mind blossoms like a flower. Aum causes the mind to open up and soar in the Chidakasha (sky of consciousness). The sounding of the conchs thus symbolically portrays the yogi, engaged in the interior battle, who has brought under control all his faculties in meditation and united them in the constant invocation of Aum, causing it to vibrate throughout his being. By its continual intonation, Aum resounds throughout the "sky" (mind) and "earth" (body) of the yogi, and bursts apart the hearts of all the foes of the self, for the consciousness arising from its invocation first renders them powerless, and then annihilates them (1:19).
As mentioned earlier, the core of the Bhagavad-Gita is the enlightening response to the confused and puzzled Arjuna, who was unsuccessful in discerning his svadharma (personal duty). Arjuna appeals to Krishna:
With my very being tainted by the vice of faint-heartedness and my mind puzzled with regard to duty, I am asking you. Tell me that which is decidedly good; I am your disciple. Pray, instruct me, who have put myself into your hand (2:7).
Most of the commentators, including Mahatma Gandhi, were of the opinion that the Bhagavad-Gita is not concerned with actual warfare and opted for allegorical or metaphorical interpretation. In his commentary on the Gita, Gandhi interpreted the battle as "an allegory in which the battlefield is the soul and Arjuna, man's higher impulses struggling against evil". One of the great modern Indian mystics, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, stated that the essential message of the Gita can be obtained by repeating the word several times: one begins by saying "gita, gita, gita", but then one finds oneself saying "ta-gi, ta-gi, ta-gi". Tyagi in Sanskrit means one who has renounced everything for God (Nikhilananda).
The Bhagavad-Gita presents Arjuna as an embodiment of the human predicament as he enquires: "How Krishna, shall I fight Bhisma and Drona with arrows on the battle-field? They are worthy of deepest reverence." (2:4) Bhishma is his grandfather and Drona, his beloved teacher. He continues:
We do not know which is preferable for us - to fight or not to fight; nor do we know whether we shall win or whether they will conquer us. Those very sons of Dhrtharashtra, killing whom, we do not even wish to live, stand in the enemy ranks. (2:6).
By way of clearing the confusion of Arjuna, Lord Krishna first tries to shed some light on the mental state of Arjuna who was arguing with Krishna like a learned person. However, Krishna points out that his sorrow and grief indicate that he is not yet wise, because "wise men do not sorrow over the living or the dead" (2:11). Krishna again clarifies that, for a wise man, pain and pleasure are alike (2:15). This is because
[t]he unreal has no existence, and the real never ceases to be; the reality of both has thus been perceived by the seers of the truth (2:16).
Krishna clarifies to Arjuna that the soul is eternal, omnipresent, immovable, constant and everlasting (2:24); so there is no need for him to mourn for this transitory body which is designed to perish sooner or later.
Krishna reminds Arjuna of the duty that is assigned to him as a soldier: "... there is nothing more welcome for a man of the warrior class than a righteous war" (2:31). Krishna continues: "Now, if you refuse to fight this righteous war, then, shrinking your duty and losing your reputation, you will incur sin" (2:33). According to Krishna, Arjuna, being a warrior by profession, should be ready to accept both life and death:
Die, and you will win heaven; conquer, and you will enjoy sovereignty of the earth; therefore, stand up, Arjuna, determined to fight. Treating alike victory and defeat, gain and loss, pleasure and pain, get ready for the fight, then; fighting thus you will not incur sin (2:37-38).
Lord Krishna helps Arjuna to discern the true cause of suffering. "... those who are deeply attached to pleasure and worldly power cannot attain the determinate intellect concentrated on God" (2:44). Krishna clearly instructs Arjuna:
Your right is to work only, but never to the fruit thereof. Be not instrumental in making your actions bear fruit, nor let your attachment be to inaction. Arjuna, perform your duties established in yoga, renouncing attachment, and even-temperament in success and failure; evenness of temper is called yoga (2:47-48).
For a person who has attained equanimity, even the scriptures are useless. Krishna makes a most daring statement:
A Brahman, who has attained enlightenment, has the same use of all the Vedas as one who stands at the brink of the sheet of water overflowing on all sides has for a small reservoir of water (2:46).
He assures Arjuna that, "he who has given up all desires and move free from attachment, egoism and thirst for enjoyment attains peace" (2:71).
Krishna reminds Arjuna of his obligation to act:
Surely none can ever remain inactive even for a moment; for everyone is helplessly driven to action by nature-born qualities. He who outwardly restraining the organs of sense and action, sits mentally dwelling on the objects of senses, that man of deluded intellect is called a hypocrite (3:5-6).
However, Krishna points towards the possibility of acting without any attachment, which is sacrifice (3:9). Krishna points towards God as the best example for this kind of "perfect action". According to Krishna, God's creative activity in itself was a sacrifice:
Having created mankind with sacrifice at the beginning of creation the Creator, Brahma, said to them, 'You shall prosper by this; may this yield the enjoyment you seek' (3:10).
Arjuna is made to understand that every act of the Creator is a sacrifice. The world has originated, is sustained and supported through sacrifice. Our vocation as human beings is to collaborate consciously and actively in this ongoing divine sacrifice:
Foster the gods through sacrifice, and let the gods be gracious to you. Each fostering the other disinterestedly, you will attain the highest good. (3:11).
Feed gods and get fed by gods - be a conscious collaborator in this eternal feeding-chain. Krishna calls those who refuse to engage in self-sacrificing activities, thieves (3:12). Acting with a desire for its fruit is a disgraceful act like a cow that drinks its own milk. It already had its share of milk as a calf and now her milk is for her calf. Krishna demands from Arjuna action without attachment, seeking only the maintenance of the world order (3:25).
Krishna instructs Arjuna about the inherent gunas (qualities) of prakrti (nature/matter). Being material, we have inherited those qualities. Yet, we are not destined to be governed by those natural qualities (3:28). However, having transcended the control of nature does not give anyone the right to scorn the ignorant, who are still under its yoke. The liberated should be compassionate towards them and should be willing to help them:
Those who are completely deluded by the gunas of prakrti remain attached to those gunas and actions; the man of perfect knowledge should not unsettle the mind of those insufficiently knowing fools. (3:30).
It is the forgetfulness of the past that makes people proud. Presenting himself as an example; Krishna clarifies the difference between an enlightened person and an ordinary person: "Arjuna, you and I have passed through many births, I remember them all; you do not remember." (4:5). It is the forgetfulness of the past that makes people proud, arrogant, and cold towards others. Krishna then reveals another fact about action to Arjuna: "He who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is wise among men; he is a yogi, who has performed all actions." (4:18). Running away from action or finding false justification for our failures to act will not make us wise or masters of our nature:
On the earth there is no purifier as great as Knowledge; he who has attained purity of heart through a prolonged practice of karma yoga (action without attachment) automatically sees the light of Truth in the self in course of time, assures Krishna (4:38).
In an attempt to lead him to the royal path of discernment, Krishna says to Arjuna:
He who acts offering all actions to God, and shaking off attachment, remains untouched by sin, as the lotus leaf by water (5:10).
The wise look with the same eye on a Brahman endowed with learning and culture, a cow, an elephant, dog, and a pariah too (5:18).
According to Krishna, when the disciplined mind of a person is firmly established in God and is actively engaged in the service of all beings, it attains Brahma, who is all peace (5:25). He will be in a position to regard stone, earth and gold alike (6:8):
He who looks upon well-wishers and neutrals as well as mediators, friends and foes, relatives and objects of hatred, the virtuous and the sinful with the same eye, stands supreme (6:9).
This state of mind is attainable if one could perceive the universal self to be present in all beings, and all beings existing within it (6:30):
Arjuna, he who looks on all as one, on the analogy of his own self, and looks upon the joy and sorrow of all with a similar eye, - such a yogi is deemed the highest of all (6:32).
The awareness that all beings have emerged from the same source and their destination is also the same will enable one to overcome one's irrational responses of attachment and aversion (7:6). Krishna offers Arjuna an easy way to reach this state of equilibrium through bhakti (devotion):
Arjuna, whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer as oblation to the sacred fire, whatever you bestow as a gift, whatever you do by way of penance, offer it all to me (9:27).
As a powerful means to convince his beloved disciple, Krishna is transfigured in front of Arjuna and reveals his glorious divine form with an effulgence of a thousand suns where he could see the universe, its past, present and future, gods and goddesses, even the terrible conclusion of the battle they are about to wage and the looming mass destruction. Krishna reveals himself as the embodiment of Time (kala) and warns him:
Even without you all these warriors arrayed in the enemy's camp must die ... These warriors stand already slain by me; be you only an instrument, Arjuna. Do you kill Drona, and Bhishma, Jayadratha and Karna and even other brave warriors; who stand already killed by me; fear not. You will surely conquer the enemies in this war; therefore, fight (11:32-34).
Krishna assures Arjuna that
[t]he Spirit dwelling in this body, is really the same as the Supreme. He has been spoken of as the Witness, the true guide, the Sustainer of all, the Experiencer (as the embodied soul), the Overlord and the absolute as well (13:22).
When a person is capable of watching everything that happens within and around him dispassionately and acting with an attitude of detachment, s/he has reached sthithaprajna (equanimity) and attained Samadhi (liberation). According to Krishna,
He alone really sees, who sees all actions being performed in every way by prakrti (nature) alone, and the Self as the non-doer (13:29).
When light and discernment dawn in this body, as well as in the mind and senses . (14:11),
one will be free from every turbulence of mind and body:
He who sitting like a witness, is not disturbed by gunas, and who, knowing that the gunas alone move among gunas, remains established in identity with God, and never falls off from that state (14:23).
Krishna's final warning is even more authoritative: "If taking your stand on egoism, you think, 'I will not fight', vain is this resolve of yours; nature will drive you to the act. That action too which you are not willing to undertake through ignorance, - bound by your own duty born of your nature, you will helplessly perform." (18:59-60). After his extensive and magnificent discourse on discernment, Krishna leaves everything to the discretion of Arjuna saying: "Thus has this wisdom, more secret than secrecy itself, been imparted to you by me. Fully pondering it, do as you like" (18:63). Being fully enlightened, Arjuna responds:
Krishna, by your grace my delusion has fled and wisdom has been gained by me. I stand shorn of all doubts. I will do your bidding. (18:73).
At last, a happy ending to a long walk to discernment.
In a context that explores the biblical roots of discernment, one may reflect on what would be the role and relevance of a study on discernment according to a non-Christian scripture such as the Bhagavad Gita. The answer is quite simple. Such an exploration is not only relevant, but also exceptionally helpful and enormously valuable for a deeper understanding of this concept from a fundamentally different perspective. Discernment is after all not merely a Christian concern, but also a perennial human obsession. As Celia Kourie rightly concludes in her article in this volume, an inter-scriptural soul-searching will "contribute to greater insights into the many-faceted splendor of the Ultimate". In our multicultural society, no religion or society can isolate or insulate itself and survive like a living fossil. According to Kourie, tapping into the wisdom of other cultures and religions for mutual understanding and enrichment should be our way forward. For example, the literary style of the Bhagavad Gita, which demands, necessitates, and provides room for any number of commentaries and interpretations, becomes an eye-opener and a challenge to those who support and practise scriptural idolatry that takes away the growth potential, plasticity, freedom, and the life of their Sacred Scriptures. A generous attitude will keep our windows open to new perspectives and doors to new dives into the ever-deepening realms of divine revelations. Scriptural idolatry can blind people, sapping their energy, turning them into bullies while believing themselves to be defenders of orthodoxy and truth.
An occasional glance into analogous concepts found in other religions will, in addition to revealing the complementarities and mutual agreements, save us from forgetting the past that makes people proud, arrogant, and cold towards others. Moreover, as Krishna instructs Arjuna, such comparisons can be regarded as part of our intellectual discernment cum scriptural validation (16:24). For example, the Bhagavad Gita treats sacrifice - a concept that people often demarcate as a Christian contribution to the milieu of spirituality - from a radically different perspective. Krishna tells Arjuna that acting without attachment is in itself a sacrifice (3:9). He points towards God as the best example for this kind of "perfect action". According to Krishna, God's creative activity was in itself a sacrifice. The world has originated, sustained and is supported through sacrifice. Our vocation as human beings is to collaborate consciously, actively and collectively in this ongoing divine sacrifice.
Even a casual reading of the Bhagavad-Gita will convince a person that our ancestors have left a great treasury of wisdom for us, their posterity, from which to derive some benefit and become enlightened. Thinking that it belongs to the Hindu Sacred Scripture, people of other religions and cultures need not be too nervous about the Gita, as it is part of the epic Mahabharatha (a part of smrti [reflections]) and does not belong to Vedas or Upanishads (shruti [revelations]). The Bhagavad-Gita is an intelligent response to a perennial human predicament which other religions and philosophies tried to resolve in their own way. As the Veda would state, Ekam sat vipra behudha vadanti (Reality is one, learned people speak of it differently) (Rigveda 1:164, 46). The superiority-inferiority complexes emerging from blind egos will not benefit humanity. Any answer given, any discovery made in any corner of the world belongs to the entire human species and to the entire universe. Therefore, turning a blind eye towards, or refusing to open up to the available truths and resources is a crime against oneself, others and God. According to the Gita, there are three margas (ways) available to us to attain freedom, namely karma (action), bhakthi (devotion) and jnana (knowledge). They are not watertight compartments. They are merely three stages of the one and the same path, the goal being transcendence from the servitude of the known and the unknown. Transcendence is a human potential, even though all have nama-rupa (name and form); only those who attempt to realise this potential can be considered truly human in its proper sense. The proud and the arrogant are still struggling in the pit of ignorance, self-deception and brutality. What they need is the discerning capacity disseminated by the Bhagavad-Gita!
Chatufwedi, B. 2006. The Mahabharata: An inquiry in the human condition. New Delhi: Orient Longman. [ Links ]
Frein, B. 2012. Fundamentalism and narrative approaches to the Gospels. Biblical Theology Bulletin 22:12-18. [ Links ]
Gandhi, M.K. [s.a.] Influence of Bhagavad Gita. [Online.] Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influence_of_Bhagavad_Gita [20 November 2012]. [ Links ]
Ganguli, K.M. [s.a.] Mahabharata of Vyasa. [Online.] Retrieved from: www.mahabharataonline.com/translation/mahabharata_01002.php. [20 November 2012]. [ Links ]
Güyandaka, J. 1994. The Bhagavad-Gita or The Song Divine. Gorakhpur: Govind Bhavan Karyalaya. [ Links ]
Griffith, R.T.H. [s.a.] Rigveda. [Online.] Retrieved from: http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/index.htm [20 November 2012]. [ Links ]
Guruparananda, S. [s.a.] Katha Upanishad. [Online.] Retrieved from: http://archive.org/details/KathaUpanishad [20 November 2012]. [ Links ]
Kaji, D.S. 2001. Common sense about uncommon wisdom: Ancient teachings of Vedanta. Honesdale: The Himalayan Institute Press. [ Links ]
Knapp, S. [s.a.] Vedic Culture/Hinduism: A short introduction. [Online.] Retrieved from: www.stephen-knapp.com/vedic_culture_hinduism_a_short_introduction.htm [20 November 2012]. [ Links ]
Krishnananda, S. [s.a.] Mundakopanishad. [Online.] Retrieved from: http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/mundaka_0.html [20 November 2012]. [ Links ]
Nadumuri, J. 2010. Bharatha. [Online.] Retrieved from: http://ancientvoice.wikidot.com/mbh:bharata [20 November 2012]. [ Links ]
Nikhilananda, S. [s.a.] The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. [Online.] Retrieved from: www.belurmath.org/gospel/index.htm [20 November 2012]. [ Links ]
Ramacharaka, Y. 2010. The Bhagavad Gita's teachings on spiritual discernment. Whitefish: Kessinger Publishing. [ Links ]
Wikipedia [s.a.] Mahabharata. [Online.] Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabharata [20 November 2012]. [ Links ]
1 Even in the Gita, at the end of every chapter, while assigning a title to each, the catechesis of Krishna is mentioned as Gitopanishad.
2 The Queen Gandhari, the mother of Kauravas, blindfolded herself when she wed the blind king Dhritarashtra and opted for "blindness" all through her life.
3 Draupadi was the wife of all the five Pandava brothers, as mandated by their mother Kunthi.
4 An Akshauhini was an ancient battle formation that consisted of 21870 chariots; 21870 elephants; 65610 cavalry and 109350 infantry as per the Mahabharata (Adi Parva 2.15-23). The ratio is 1 chariot : 1 elephant : 3 cavalry : 5 infantry soldiers. In each of these large number groups (65610, etc.), the digits add up to 18.
5 The Kathopanishad is a widely known Upanishad and is counted among the principal Upanishads. It consists of two chapters, each divided into three sections that contain between 15 and 29 verses. It belongs to the Black Yajurveda. It was likely composed after the fifth century BCE. Central to the text is the story of Nachiketa, son of sage Vajasravasa, and his encounter with Yama, the Hindu God of death.


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Tina Harley
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My name is Tina, I am 25 years old and I am from Romania, a country full of beautiful places filled with history and warm people. I recommend you to visit Transfagarasan - a street that crosses the Carpathians Mountins - Top Gear presenter said that it is "The best road ever"! :P I am a charismatic person, always with my smile and full of energy. I love the red color because it is a strong color and I think it suits me perfectly. I am ambitious, cheerful, optimistic and evergreen. I like to help people, I am enjoing the reaction of people when I give them gifts! I like to read books about motivation and personal development. I like movies, serials in particular and good music. I like to learn something new every day, and in the future I would like to be able to open my own business. I would love to be able to open ourselves to each other, to know each other more than carnal desires and to build close relationships. Just be yourself with me! Put your camera on and let's begin experiencing something new together ;)
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I am a cooking addict, yes ! My dream is to make the whole world smell better with my cookies and my special plates; the secret ingredient is always love, I like to put LOVE in all I do. I love to hang out with my friends, shopping and try new things in life, new experiences that can get us unforgettable memories.
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India is a horny milf who wants some thick young cock in her pronto, but the younger guy she picked up from the club seems nervous and insecure. India quickly finds out he's a virgin! But that's okay, she's more than willing to make his first time the best sex he'll EVER have. Collapse
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This outdoor furniture, is made by rattan and wicker. But, it has a luxury design. It comes a fresh collection that combines nearly 50 years of work and research with the innovation of materials to decorate a corner of paradise dedicated to self-care and well-being .
Suitable for the interior of the house, or of Greenfield collection are ideal for outdoor areas: the combination of aluminum and SunWeave Sunloom (LAN polyethylene) provides maximum weather resistance: no concern, then, in leaving the outdoor furniture, so its marked with All weather furniture furniture.
|a fresh collection : Outdoor furniture
|a fresh collection : Outdoor furniture


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Jessie J, Ariana Grande + Nicki Minaj Share a Tease of New Collab 'Bang Bang' [VIDEO]
We got the first taste of Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj's song 'Bang Bang' and already it's even more amazing than we were expecting!
It's only been a week since the collab was first announced, but considering the big names involved, it's no surprise that 'Bang Bang' is already highly anticipated. With all three singers bringing something different to the project, the track was pretty much guaranteed to have a unique sound — and to be a huge hit. We're calling it now!
The 15-second clip that Jessie posted has a punchy and catchy beat. The 'Domino' singer belts out, "She got a body like an hourglass / But I can give it to you all the time / She got a booty like a Cadillac / But I can send you into overdrive."
'Bang Bang' will feature as the first single off of Jessie J's third studio album. She captioned the teaser, "Me + @arianagrande + @NickiMinaj #BANGBANG WORLD premiere on 29th July!! #20DAYSTOGO."
Trust us, Jessie, we're counting down the days, too!
See Nicki Minaj + Other Celebs' Most Embarrassing Wardrobe Malfunctions


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Big Island's Puna side often overlooked
HAWAII SPECIAL SECTION Big Island's Puna side both fiery and funky
Signs of death and destruction were everywhere: scarred landscapes, buried towns, plumes of smoke and the glow of fire smoldering in the distance. Still, there was a truth facing us more sobering than the brutal scene:
There just isn't enough time.
We had planned to explore Puna, a volcanically active area on the Big Island, over the course of a few days, spending evenings in Hilo, about an hour's drive away. On paper, it was a sound idea - no chic dining scene, no postcard beaches, no ubiquitous zip line. But soon we learned that this southeastern corner of Hawaii's Big Island - the "Wild, Wild East" to some - has more than enough diversions and attractions in which you could lose yourself for a few weeks.
Don't believe it? Ask the several generations of visitors who decided to find themselves by just staying lost.
Most of the bizarre, mysterious landscape is credited to ka wahine 'ai honua ("the woman who devours the land"), also known as Pele. Millions have visited her legendary home in Kilauea Crater, just to the east in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which itself offers days (rather than the typical hours) of exploration.
But far fewer have veered off the main highway heading from the park to Hilo to experience the wake of destruction along the narrow triangle of Pahoa, Kapoho and Kalapana-Kaimu - as well as the people and culture shaped by living at destruction's door.
Eerie sites
Trying to maximize our time, we opted to spend our first day on KapohoKine Adventures' "Secrets of Puna" van tour, led by Emma, a Native Hawaiian whose family goes back many generations in the area. Picking us up at our vacation rental house - common accommodations in the area, which has no traditional hotels or motels - Emma drove us over unpaved roads to the easternmost point on the island, Cape Kumukahi. During a 1960 eruption, its tall metal beacon was spared from harm at the last minute when the lava split and flowed around the structure.
But the family farms, homes and other buildings in nearby Kapoho were not so lucky. Our guide took us to a place that defined poignancy: Kapoho's Japanese American cemetery, half-covered in lava, where flowers lay on a few of the surviving sites. (Sacramento author Frances Kakugawa describes the scene in her recent short story collection, "Kapoho: Memoirs of a Modern Pompeii," published after my visit.)
A red road made of older crushed lava led us past a set of post office boxes - many now used by people living "off the grid" and in the woods - standing eerily in an empty field of rocks and weeds, the former heart of Kapoho. Close to Pu'u Kukae ("Poop Hill" would be a genteel translation) lie the former recreation areas of Warm Springs and Higashi Pond, filled in by the relentless lava flow of 1960.
We could have also visited the ghostly molds of ohia tree trunks engulfed by lava during a 1790 flow, had Lava Tree State Monument in nearby Pahoa not been closed for renovation; it has since reopened, with a new paved entrance and fewer invasive albizia trees for better viewing. But we were just as happy to spend more time in the ghost town of Kalapana, an area devastated 200 years later where all roads end in lava.
Kalapana now springs to life during the Wednesday night market at Uncle Robert's, one of the few places to survive the months-long lava flow of 1990. Kalapana's quaintly painted Star of the Sea church, built in 1927, remains standing because parishioners decided to move it a few miles up Highway 130, only hours before molten rock streamed across its former site.
Lava destroys, creates
Close by, the fishing village and palm-lined black sand beach of Kaimu also disappeared under the slow-moving waves of molten rock. Before heading on the path to the new, rugged shoreline, we stopped at the lone craft stand to pick up some coconut seedlings to help restore the once-lush landscape. No green thumb is needed, as Emma showed us: You just wedge the sprouting coconut between lava rocks, and nature eventually takes its course.
Several miles away, lava is still snaking its slow course from the mountain to the sea, and is often visible from the official viewing area at the end of Highway 130. Although the county announced plans in March to close the free site in the next fiscal year, it is still open, with a telephone hotline listing current hours and lava sightings.
Pele's destruction is also creation, of course. While it's important to heed warnings to stay on trails when hiking on newly formed land, Emma encouraged us to immerse ourselves in the warm springs and teeming tide pools that have risen from all the geothermal rumblings. The grand finale of our tour was an extended dip in the 90-degree waters of oceanfront Ahalanui Pond, a large, spring-fed, shallow pool in a recently renovated county park along Highway 137.
Warm swimming holes
Ahalanui is a lot easier to access than Champagne Pond, another tranquil, deliciously warm body of water fronting Kapoho Bay. While technically open to the public, you can't drive there unless you're staying in the gated community of Kapoho Beach Lots - or you have four-wheel drive and you've followed a local pickup truck across the jagged black shoreline to the pond's ocean side.
Fortunately, our group of five had opted for a vacation rental inside the gates, the two-bedroom Clearpond Paradise, which as its name suggests comes with its own thermal pond and a paradisiacal vista of Kapoho Bay. Walking on the shore behind it, we discovered a mandala of red lava and spotted surfers and 'opihi pickers braving the waves.
Just outside the gates was the Kapoho Farm Stand, where a woman universally known as Smiley sells papayas, bananas and, for $5, admission to Green Lake, a deep freshwater pool in a crater atop Green Mountain (Pu'u Kapoho). Local legend has it that Jacques Cousteau tried to plumb its depths in a submarine and gave up trying.
I can understand how Cousteau felt: We ran out of time before we could hike up Green Mountain, or snorkel in the Waiopae Tidepools, a renowned marine life conservation area in the conveniently ungated community of Kapoho Vacationland.
The secrets of Puna may not be as deep as Green Mountain, but there are just too many to discover in a few days.
If you go
Getting there
Pahoa is three hours from Kailua-Kona, which has nonstop service from the Bay Area, and about an hour from Hilo, which offers connecting flights. All locations below have a Pahoa mailing address, with more specific locations listed because online maps are often inaccurate.
Where to stay
We rented Clearpond Paradise in Kapoho Beach Lots, $200-$225 a night for two, through Hawaiiislanddreams.com, which also lists other Pahoa-Kapoho vacation rentals; (808) 930-6880. For licensed bed-and-breakfast options, see www.stayhawaii.com.
Kalani Oceanside Retreat, 12-6860 Kalapana-Kapoho Beach Road, near Kalapana. Wellness center with campsites, $40, and lodge rooms and cottages, $90-$275. (808) 965-7828, www.kalani.com
Isaac Hale Beach Park, Highway 137 at Pohoiki Road, Kapoho. Campsites, $5 adult, $2 ages 13 to 17, $1 ages 12 and under, by mail-in permit from www.hawaiicounty.gov/pr-county-parks.
Where to eat
Kaleo's Bar & Grill, 15-2969 Pahoa Village Road, downtown. (808) 965-5600, kaleoshawaii.com. Lunch entrees $7-$16, dinner $10-$27.
Ning's Thai, 12-2955 Pahoa Village Road, downtown. (808) 965-7611. Entrees $9.95 to 14.95, lunch specials $8.
What to do
KapohoKine Adventures' daylong "Secrets of Puna" tour is now available only as a cruise excursion (usually $179) or by special charter; (808) 964-1000, kapohokineadventures.com. But most of its stops - including Star of the Sea painted church, Kaimu, the county-run Ahalanui Pond and state-run MacKenzie recreation area and Lava Trees monument - are open to the public.
Kalapana Night Market, 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays, at end of Highway 137 in Kaimu.
Green Lake access, $5. (808) 965-5500, or see Smiley from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays at fruit stand across from Kapoho Beach Lots entrance.
Waiopae Tidepools Marine Life Conservation District, Kapoho Kai Drive, next to Kapoho Vacationland. hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/mlcd_waiopae.html.
Kalapana lava viewing site hotline, (808) 961-8093.
Jeanne Cooper is a former editor of Travel and writes the Aloha Friday column and Hawaii Insider blog for SFGate.com. email@example.com


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Lee Woodruff, wife of ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff, will be in Charlotte Feb. 14 to help raise money for patient rehabilitation efforts at Carolinas Rehabilitation. The fundraiser is at noon at Charlotte Country Club.
The Woodruffs co-wrote the 2007 book, "In An Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing," about the roadside bomb in Iraq that left Bob Woodruff with severe brain injury. Since then they founded the Bob Woodruff Foundation (ReMIND.org) to assist wounded service members and their families in receiving the long-term care they need and help them successfully reintegrate into their communities.
Lee Woodruff, who now works as a contributing editor for CBS This Morning, is also the author of "Perfectly Imperfect: A Life in Progress," a personal look at the many roles played by a modern American wife, mother, daughter and friend.
Most recently, she published a novel, "Those We Love Most," about a family that deals with the tragedy of having their young son hit by a car driven by a teenager in their neighborhood.
Tickets are on sale for $50 each. Order by calling Kelly Osborne at 704-355-1955.
Tickets are on sale for $50 each. Order by calling Kelly Osborne at 704-355-1955.


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Troop 107, we believe that all questions regarding Scouting should primarily be answered from information in the Scouts Handbook. The Scouts elected to the Troop's Leadership Council plan and lead in the troop's meetings, outings and Christmas tree lot fund raiser. Our adults provide support in all activities with the understanding the Scouts are to lead.
Our Troop 107 Meetings are held every Wednesday, between 6:30-8:00 PM, Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd Church in Reno, Nevada. If you are interested in joining our troop, please contact our Scout Master or attend one of our meetings.