The Undivided

"What a wonderful day

No-one in the village doing anything"

Shiki

(Masaoka Shiki (正岡子規, Masaoka Shiki?)

Eckhart Tolle

Rudra is clapping with glee at this exposition by Eckhart Tolle.:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPg9DnMP2D4&feature=related

Candy on the non-duality cake

Rudra's friend brings you some candy on the cake from Eckhart Tolle in this short video snippet:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAulJ38CjfU&feature=related

The delicious freedom of the (fully) driverless car

Rudra's favourite airport, and remember he considers airports to be the Western equivalents of Zen temples, is Stanstead. There you are delivered to your plane in a driverless train.


See Dave's comments below. He refers to one such train at a Malaysian Airport:

"The train, is fully driverless and automated. One example, when the train reaches platform, the exit doors will open first for passengers to disembark and only in a short while, the entrance door at the other side will be open (so called Spanish solution)."

Having just returned from the South of Spain I see how apt this description is. There appeared to be many driverless cars in that region.

4 stages of self.

Rudra postulates the four stages of self:

1. Owner occupier

2. Tenant

3. Squatter

4. Ghost

From a Scottish correspondent

'Rudra comes from a long line of Catholic Priests'.

What will you be today?

"Be an irrepressible fountain of happiness."

Robert Adams

Robert Adams

More wisdom from Robert Adams:

There are no problems. There is nothing wrong. Everything is unfolding as it should. Everything happens in its own time. Space and time are illusions. They really do not exist. They're stationary. Causation doesn't exist either. No thing has a cause, therefore no thing has an effect. Cause and effects are again products of your own mind. When the mind is quiet, karma ceases. Samscaras are non-existent. There never was a cause for anything. But if you feel that in a previous life you did something wrong and now you are paying the price, or if you think that you did something wrong in this life and you’re paying the price, then you'll pay the price, because that's what you think.

And Again:

What are you doing with your life? How do you spend your days? The appearance is that your body is getting older and older, and if you're still judging by appearances you try to look younger and younger by putting creams on your face, by exercising day and night, by buying the finest clothes. It's like beating a dead horse. The so called body is not meant to last. As soon as you were born you began to die. Therefore find out. Who is born? Who dies? Who has experiences? Who is going through this entire mess? Who needs it? Who wants it? Wake up!

Cosmic Joke How are you?

The beginning of wisdom is understanding that there is no wisdom. There is no body to have wisdom. The more you try to analyze things, the more you use your brain to function on this plane of existence, the more you put into Maya, into nothing, into illusion, the more that effort is inevitably doomed to failure. All your dreams and aspirations come to nothing. There is nothing you have to become or be.

Think of all the people looking for liberation, for enlightenment. Who wants to be liberated? The ego. There is no ego. (Laughter) There is no one to be liberated. Yet you continue to believe you exist.

From 'the Cosmic Joke' satsang of the late Robert Adams

More from Robert:

Now, let's talk about you. Think of the problems you believe you have. Think of the nonsense that you go on with everyday. Think how furious you become, how you always want to stick up for your rights, as if you had any. The problem is you think. If you would only stop thinking. You say, "How can I function if I stop thinking?" Very well, thank you! As a matter of fact you would function much better than you do now, for you will always be taken care of. The universe loves you. It will always supply you with your needs. Forget about other people, what they do, what they don't do. Do not listen to malicious gossip. Be yourself. Understand who you really are. You are the absolute reality, unconditioned consciousness. Work from that standpoint. Do not work from your problems. Do not get lost in meaningless gossip. Understand your true reality. Be yourself.

And again:

Where are you? You are consciousness. This is your true nature. Learn to love everything. Learn to see only the good. Realize there's a reason for everything. If a person displeases you, simply look the other way and forget it. Learn to stop your mind from thinking. And you do this by immediately catching yourself when you react to a condition, and inquiring within yourself, "Who is becoming angry? Who feels out of sorts? I do? I." Realize you're dealing with the personal I, and all the anger, all the frustration, all the karma, all the samscaras are all attached to that personal I. Consequently, when you get rid of the personal I, everything else will go with it. So don't try to solve your problems. Do not try to become a better person. Do not try to run away from your life. Simply see who it is who is running, who it is who needs to be a better person? Who has all these problems? I, I, always I. Hold onto that I with all of your might, but do not concentrate on the I. You concentrate on the source which is consciousness, God.

No Mistakes.

'The idea of a mistake is beside the point, for once anything happens, it authentically is.'

John Cage

Church Of The Flying Spaghetti Monster

Rudra has just been inducted into membership of the FSM Church.

Learn more about his conversion at:

http://www.venganza.org/

Spread the Word
Pastafarians believe above all else that it is our duty to enlighten others to our beliefs. This section is dedicated to those that have gone above and beyond the call of duty to spread the word.

Nobody home.

LaoTse said, "Everyone else has an aim and purpose in life, but I alone am confused and wander aimlessly like a child with no home".

"I do not know bad people, I only know myself. I see no saints nor sinners, only living beings."

Nisargadatta Maharaj.

The impudent / prudent question.

Just who do you think you are?

Breakthrough at Dzogchen Beara

The Truth has dawned up at our local Buddhist Centre and accordingly was posted on their front door.

How could Loving Kindness be 'practised' when it must arise of and by itself?

More to the point 'who' practises it. This illusory 'who' is seen to be the obstacle.

I hunt him here I hunt him there.

"The so called self-realization is the discovery for yourself and by yourself that there is no self to discover". U.G. Krishnamurti

Two without a Third

The ever attentive Rudra has been assessing recent input whilst attending to social engagements. He was there to watch the Irish President Mary Mac Aleese open The Spiritual Care Centre at Tibetan Retreat Centre in Garranes Co Cork. He awoke laughing at the idea of a Spiritual Care centre. "How to care for a thing that doesn't exist?" says he. Despite this oddity a warm day was enjoyed by all, cultists and non-believers alike. You can't beat the uncontaminated human prescence despite the contamination of rigid thought or religion (variously described by two Indian sages as 'heaps of verbiage' and ' the frozen thoughts of man').

Rudra has been dabling in the fields of Advaita, ('one without a second' ), and notes two characteristics:

1. A shining transparency and lightness of being.

2. The inevitable humourlessness of many proponents. Where O where has he seen this before?

He now launches a new approach: 'Two without a third' or as pronounced in Dublin 'Two without a turd'.

Bibliography to follow.

Action before thought.

An Israeli wildlife guide has overpowered an ageing leopard that jumped into his bed during the night.

Mr Du Mosch had no time to think before grabbing the wild creature.
Clad only in his night clothes, Arthur Du Mosch lunged at the big cat and grabbed its neck, pinning it down for 20 minutes until help arrived.
"This kind of thing doesn't happen every day," the 49-year-old said. "I wasn't thinking, I just acted."

Letters from India

Our very own Rudranee is in Delhi this moment taking some seasonal enemas and observing the vast throngs of humanity. She sends this pithy insight:

"Rudrinee was walking in the park this morning and got some pure consciousness stuck on the bottom of her shoe " Holy Cow!" she muttered....Oh well shit happens... "

From another Indian commentator:

"If we are really earnest and open with quest, insights and opening ups can happen even at the feet of a donkey."

Stick 'em Up.

Maybe you are not the driver of your car. Maybe you can take the hands off the wheel, look out the window and enjoy the vista. As my friend Alex added "maybe you are not in the car at all".

Don't mention it

"The most reassuring thing about zen is it's lack of answers". But what about the questions says Rudra.

Rudra's Friend

Rudra's friend Timmy was 7 + tax today. See the card he got. Rudra, who despite being a fundamentalist aetheist (elsewhere he describes himself as a Jehovah's Witnes says archivist Didier Defargo), came out of a Zen retreat (?) with this gem "Maybe things aren't what they seem to be, but they're probably not something else either".

Ab ovo usque ad mala

"From the egg right to the apples. Horatius 65-8 B.C.

Due to a surfeit of chicken, Rudrina (Rudra's feminine aspect) is in need of bodily balance. We learn that a trip to the Indian Sub-continent is in prospect and that she has availed of the following offer:


SUMMER DISCOUNT ON PANCHKARMA TREATMENT
It is to inform you that summer discount @ 25% on total cost of Panchkarma Treatment covering the period from 15th May 2007 to 31st August 2007 has been approved. Please send your kit & kin for availing the good opportunity and take the Panchkarma Treatment and inform the other persons also who are not enjoying this facility during the season time so that the paucity of time would not affect.

Kit and kin have been duly notified as we are sure that the paucity of time will not affect.

Rudra himself is preparing for an Amazonion adventure and taking all possible precautions against the Phoneutria Nigriventer*. (Investigations report that men bitten by the Phoneutria Nigriventer experienced priapism - long and painful erections.)

*You find this species in the southern and southeast of Brazil and in parts of northern Argentina.

Vote Meher No. 1.

Rudra votes according to the state of the teeth like many a good horse doctor. The less teeth the more he votes. On being asked his age he opined; "as old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth".

Rushka, Rudra's half brother and a fellow spiritual pygmy, was briefly ' taught' by the Indian 'Master' Meher Baba (1925-1969). If we didn't know that Meher was no longer with us we could surmise that he is standing for Fine Gael in Cork South-West in the General Election on May 24th 2007.

Unseated at The Chair

The intrepid Rudra was fool enough to participate in the Aintree Grand National but was 'unseated at The Chair' as the official report reads. This explains his recent vow of silence. It is in fact not elective, as many supposed. He suffered a rare and hopefully temporary brain injury that leads to him being unable to initiate any communication although he is well able to respond.

This condition might have some bearing on a communication just received from our corporate correspondent M.P.W of Kenmare and The Basque region:

"Despite his apparent fluency in the English tongue, Rudra still has some rudimentary problems to overcome, as witnessed when boasting about his recent work as understudy to the famous Western actor Boy Bodgers. "

Strong Medicine

Expect nothing, least of all clarity.....it only muddies the pool. Hoist the sail, put the paws up in the wheelhouse and watch the thriller. Even one gramme of effort would be a catastrophe. After all, the weak sun is without prejudice; it shines on every one of us poor cutters.

Mortality and Majesty

Rudra steps into the big silver bird, swapping the smell of frangipani for toilet duck. Seated above the clouds he contemplates fragility and majesty. Being Rudra he makes no comparisons, but mutters under his breath 'give me majesty'.

Rudra and The Bognors at Prague

From our European Correspondent, Mr T. B. of Ballinskelligs:

Little understood shot of Rudra (possibly) at a race meeting in 2004. Only the tips of his ears and antenae are visible. 'Blessed' Bognor can be clearly seen however, and as usual his image is somewhat blurred....an effect caused by an impetuous intake of curried fish and kidney beans...but this blurring adds authenticity to the image. Miss Lyme is not thought to be present in this shot although there is a school of belief that places her as seated below the steps of the statue just left of centre and many believe this to be the core inspirational notion behind Rudra's all time favourite beat group composition 'The Lady in Red', indeed there is a growing concensus that the very name 'De Burgh' may turn out to be anagramatic...although encrypted in a manner reminiscent of Enigma machinery.

U.K.G. recirculated 22nd March 2007

Rudra's father figure, although he would deny it, has gone to his reward. Rudra, the brave coward, feigns indifference. Instead he surfs to www.iambored.com

U.G. Krishnamurti, lovingly called UG by his friends and admirers all over the world, is no more. The end came on March 22, 2007 at 2.30 pm in an apartment built for him by his friends Lucia, Anita and Giovanni in their villa in Vallecrosia, Italy. As per UG’s advice, with no rituals or funeral rites, the cremation was carried out the next day at 2.45 pm, in Vallecrosia, Italy. He was eighty-eight years old.

Who was this UG?

What kind of person was he? He was the most enigmatic person you could ever meet – at once kind and cruel, most loving yet stern, constantly talking about money, seeming to ‘extract’ it from friends, yet most generous in giving; seemingly abusive and punishing, yet showering affection on the same person the next moment; utterly carefree, yet worrying about what might happen to the person in front of him; directing people to act in specific ways, yet instantly accepting of any outcome; demonstrating the most incisive logic, yet making utterly contradictory statements. For a man who complained that we are constantly preoccupied with something other than what is happening at the moment, he endlessly talked about himself and his past. One could never fathom UG’s true intentions behind his statements or actions.His answers to our questions came straight like arrows, unsettling our minds. He was well-known for striking down not only the edifices we have so carefully built in our own minds but the foundations of human thought as a whole. UG was truly enigmatic, subversive and revolutionary, and totally fearless.There was a unique energy with UG: in speech or in stillness it was constant and vibrant, and had a profound effect on those who were around him.

U.G. TELLING IT LIKE IT IS:

Atmospheric pollution is most harmless when compared to the spiritual and religious pollution that have plagued the world.

A messiah is the one who leaves a mess behind him in this world.

Religions have promised roses but you end up with only thorns.

Going to the pub or the temple is exactly the same; it is quick fix.

The body has no independent existence. You are a squatter there.

Gurus play a social role, so do prostitutes.

By using the models of Jesus, Buddha, or Krishna we have destroyed the possibility of nature throwing up unique individuals.

It would be more interesting to learn from children, than try to teach them how to behave, how to live and how to function.

People call me an ‘enlightened man’ -- I detest that term -- they can’t find any other word to describe the way I am functioning. At the same time, I point out that there is no such thing as enlightenment at all. I say that because all my life I’ve searched and wanted to be an enlightened man, and I discovered that there is no such thing as enlightenment at all, and so the question whether a particular person is enlightened or not doesn’t arise. I don’t give a hoot for a sixth-century-BC Buddha, let alone all the other claimants we have in our midst. They are a bunch of exploiters, thriving on the gullibility of the people. There is no power outside of man. Man has created God out of fear. So the problem is fear and not God.

From the Housewife and The Sage l980:

My first interview with U.G. The handsome, smiling, humbly-clad man they called U.G. sat relaxed and friendly before me. Intent upon using my visit to get straight answers, I hurled at him my first question:

"Are there any boots to walk on thorns."
His reply came back crisp and direct, "There are no thorns."
Unsatisfied, I pursued, "The thorns are very much there for me!
"With quiet patience he answered, "Stop looking for roses and there will be no thorns."

The Lion and the Lamb

"the lion will lie down with the lamb, but the lamb won't get much sleep".

'Heel theyself'. Hippocrates dog.

Nice one Jug Jug

Slinky Lad 33/1

There's a grand stretch in the evening.

Rudra skates on thin ice.

He bats on a sticky wicket.

Potty Anonymous

Rudra has reputedly joined a twelve step programme. It requires that new members admit to the above. It proseletises by offering free burgers. Rudra, being an 'American Vegetarian', fell for it.

The Growth of Buddhism (feedback)

From Mrs G.G. of West Cork: "Rudra is an example to none of us" .

From Mrs R.B. of West Cork: "Rudra says wherever I keep leg there will be ants".

From Mr D.S. of Co Cork: (On hearing that Rudra had put his clock forward 25 hours) "May God be amongst her goats for evermore. Praise be to St Rudra, may she continue to deepen the mysterie

From Miss P.D.G of London: (on hearing the same news) "Whereas Ruppee Bear was extremely forward and clocked someone"

From Miss C.G. 0f Wicklow: "Rushka put his clock back 23 hours"

From Guru Des Res: "May all your Mondays be Sundays".

Comment from archivist Didier Defargo (no relation to the world cup skier or personality disorder clinic doctor) 'We are thrilled to hear that Rudra has achieved Sainthood and femininity in some quarters'. We won't pass it on as it might induce a swollen ego. Rudra is quite content with his massive one already. In fact he is proud of it. Rudra always carries ant repellent.'

From Mrs G.G: 'Aunt Repellant'

Oscars and Elephants

The World Forum of Religions has announced the Spiritual Oscars. Rudra has been tipped for best supporting evangelist.

A bitchy rival, name supplied, has claimed that "Rudra is a spiritual pygmy, what little he knew has evaporated."

Rudra himself claims that the further he runs away the nearer he gets. The very concept of 'the spiritual' is anathema to him; a construct of man. He sees no such divide. Truth to tell, his world is populated by elephantine thoughts. These dear creatures are noted for their love of family and their rage when in 'must'.

Now, as to dogs, we have it on good authority that Amphetmine Boy, that won a small fortune for Mrs B of Uttoxeter (scroll down to 'introducing the Blessed Bognor Regis') was in fact owned, in camera, by the Grimaldi Racing Stables. Their racing colours blew their cover; red triangles on a white background.

On listening

Rudra has his ear to the ground and his nose to the grindstone (one awkward, the other painful).

On reading these chronicles you may find our subject is unrelable, vascillating, opinionated, fanciful, farcical and out of touch with social reality. You may find that.

He is never stable never the same . He follows moment to moment. Like a bi-polar personality he is "thrilled to the sky, ready to die" . The process is only ever beginning, he tries to hold it yet it slips into concrete, the life evaporates. He especially makes light of experiences that appear 'significant' They are the dangerous ones. To render every moment as equally significant is a bland platitude yet he gave up categorising a minute ago. He remembers Tony Parsons saying to him "This is it" .

Where is Rudra? Where did Prince Reindeer of the Grimaldis go?

What is the most common thing in the world asks Shri Shri Alex:

1. Space

2. Porridge.

3. Now.

4. Other.

Thank you Guru Borat; the most common thing in the world is 'nice, very nice'

The Mistake of Enlightenment

Feedback from our readers Mr. and Mrs. M of West Cork :

Rudra: Enlightenment is not all it's made out to be. (literal
translation: "Finding true enlightenment of the Self was a huge
disappointment")

St Bognor comments: There IS no self to be enlightened.

Rudra (in belligerent form, you don't mess with him): I trust those who wish to take offense to my words are clever
enough to find a reason to do so without me explicitly having to give
them one.

John Trudell: Religious realities are not spiritual. The religious
reality that exists in these technolgic industrial perceptions are
not about responsibility, they're about authoritarianism and guilt
and sin and blame, domination and submission. They're not about
responsibility. Look at the situation and condition that the world is
in and you can tell that they're not about responsibility. They
accumulate wealth, they create their own authoritarian systems, they
use their authoritarian systems and accumulated wealth to influence
economic and political decisions that get made. They use their
resources, they use their authority and accumulated wealth to
influence military decisions that get made. Every behavior they have
is really and truly not about responsibility.

Rudra replies: "Go John Go"

Rudra is a conspiracy theorist.

Savoir et Pouvoir.........

.

Rudra suggests a more succinct spelling of Tallagh

"Savoir et Pouvoir-to know and to do-are two different things......And we must look everywhere to find what we are looking for........it is in ourselves that we shall find the answer if we know how to listen." Maria Huxley (wife of Aldous)

Rudra smells mischief when he hears the 'we' being overly used. Are you talking about yourself Maria? He sometimes feels liverish if not aldous.

Rudra's countenance is threatening. His ruddy cheeks, spinafex eyebrows and thunderous expression would sicken you, yet he speaks in dulcet tones with the most refined of language, bar the use of expletives. Solicitous in the extreme his rage knows no bounds.

He seeks solace in Petit Point.

Rudra gave away his complete inheritance in a brown paper bag to St Patrick. All he got for his efforts was a gruff " Thanks Big Fella".

Hospital where the small seat is large

Our Japanese readers sent us their take on Prof. Hilary Bunyon's famous maxim (small stool large hospital). They somewhat laconically comment:

"As for the hospital where the large seat is small; the hospital of the seat of 'no ' is closed."
Go figure!

Multiple Personality Disorder Clinic, L.A.

Rudra has just checked out from 'The Legion' multiple Disorder Clinic in L.A (above). Whilst there Dr Didier Defargo, 47 (no relation of the archivist on this site or the professional downhill skier) managed to diagnose 'Anticipatory Nostalgia'. He found significance in Rudra's statement that he wanted his nose to be one size smaller so that he could break into the Hollywood A List. An inside source has leaked further revleations . Watch this space.

The new (improved?) Rudra

!9th March is significant . Rudra turns over a new leaf today.

As mentioned in the preamble at the head of this blog Rudra is not to be confused with an early form of Shiva.

That Rudra ("Howler") is a rigvedic God of the storm, the hunt, death, nature and the wind.

This one does however have quite some influence over the wind.

Small Stool Large Hospital

From Mr. T.B. of Ballinskelligs:

"There is a sister to Bognor - the very pretty Miss Lyme, and of course the saintly American uncle from N/Y. St. Regis Hotel who - it is assumed - lives under an assumed name.
I'm off to Prague in the morning so will talk to you when I return. Prague - pronounced Pray - Gee in Midleton."

This somewhat enigmatic message came in today. It is an update on his previous intelligence re. 'The Blessed' Bognor Regis who features in many posts below. He remains silent on the other sister Professor Hilary Bunyan (nee Regis). She is a renowned medical judge and may have coined the maxim 'small stool large hospital'.

Archivist Didier Defargo asks 'is the corollary true; large stool small hospital?'
Without wishing to labour the obvious......'no stool hospital closed'

N.B. The Regis family alluded to above has no connection with that of British award winning Olympic athlete John Regis.

Grimaldese Tidbits

Prince Reindeer's mother, Princess Charlotte, took a noted jewel thief known as René the Walking Stick as her lover.

Prince Reindeer's great love of dog's led to an embarrasing financial swindle, in which he lost his shirt, on a scheme to manufacture jewel encrusted collars with the royal insignia ( a pattern of red diamonds on a white background).

Grimaldi Kennels

Rudra was invited to tour the Royal Kennels with his acquaintance Bognor Regis (he of greyhound fame). Bognor was suitably attired with a very fetching Panama hat decorated with red diamonds*.

*The coat of arms of the House of Grimaldi are simply described as fusily argent and gules, i.e., a pattern of red diamonds on a white background.

Swami Rudra

Arti, or arathi, for Rudra

You are the thorn on my mountain

You are the sheep in my side

You are the fly in my ointment

You are my all to me.

You are the hair in my china shop

You are the bull in my soup
You are the needle in my haystack

You are my all to me.

You are the wind in my trousers

You are the bulge in my sail

You are the meat in my dumpling

You are my all to me

I said all.

Beyond Acceptance

Rudra used to embrace the bizarre, now he embraces the norm. He wanted to solve the problem of pain, sickness, loneliness, boredom, sadness and malaise. He employed every trick in the book to escape these; acceptance, sublimation, choiceless awareness, distraction and avoidance. He sought the help of meditation, stupefaction, hypnosis, drugs and 'spiritual guidance'. He twisted and squirmed until he had nowhere left to run. He was stopped in his tracks yet his fevered brain fought for survival. The first step was to throw out all the deadweight solutions, namely philosophies, religion and meditation. The second step was the realisation that his survival depended on a self that wanted to survive. As when the car starts to break away in a skid the best thing to do is nothing said he to himself. The third step was.............

Sometimes he kills the motor, hoists the sail and lets the wind take him. Sometimes he dons the Teflon overcoat. Sometimes his vile temper gets the better of him, sometimes he swoons with love. Rudderless he allows the meteorites of ennui. He says to himself "What a little cutter" and we fail to understand where he has gone.

Where are you Rudra (when we need you)? The cat has gone but the grin remains.

St Patrick's Day, Castletownbere

Our correspondent Mr I.P. of Kenmare reports that Rudra sang ribald rebel songs on Paddy's day till 3.00 a.m. then voted for the DUP.

He can ride two horses at once, fly on one wing and bilocate but can't operate his DVD.

Rudra's golden angel

Neurosis

Concerning the current debate, see posts below, Mr U.K.G of India writes;

"If you go on trying to suppress the past, trying to live in what you call the present, you will drive yourself crazy. You are trying to control something that you cannot control. It is just not possible to control thought without becoming neurotic.........

If you try to control the natural flow of the river through all these artificial means, building a dam so to speak, you will inundate and destroy the whole thing. That is why you find thoughts welling up inside you despite your efforts to control, observe and be aware of them. Once this is understood then you are never concerned whether your thoughts are there or not."

Rudra will be giving his take on this in due course. But today he is in a kind mood. That's when he is at his most dangerous.

The Symptoms of Cult (see complaints)

Rudra is a fellow traveller of cultists. He is always with them. Here he lists some of their identifying characteristics:.

Divided self.

Withdrawal from daily life.
Loosening of family bonds and responsibilities.
Belief in a more powerful and significant purpose than material, bodily and social needs.
Adherence to tradition and authority rather than personal insight.

Desire (just another desire) for self-advancement to an 'egoless' or 'surrendered' state.
Abbrogation of personal intuition and desires in the name of loosening of ego.
Worshipful attitude to 'elders' and 'masters'.
Personality cult behaviour.
Feelings of higher knowledge compared to fellow men, even a subtle sense of pity.
Spiritual careerism.
Adherence to hierarchical structures .

Secrecy required for 'advanced teachings.'

Ladder of advancement and concommitment bestowal of initiations, titles and status.

Inordinate reverence for scripture and teachings said to come from higher or enlightened sources (no proof needed).
Loss of sense of humour, loss of sense of self.
Lack of ability to continue to question.
Rootedness in one worldview to the exclusion of others or none.
Can't see outside the box.

Belief in tradition (what was) and teachings (the frozen thoughts of man).
Group bonding which automatically creates a 'them' and 'us'.
Charitable activity in the name of the group (or to 'save' others.)
Frozen views on morality and ethics.
Frozen views, period.
Depression.
Exaltation.

He has noticed many of these traits in those with no cult or religious tenets as well. Being a cultist himself however he finds it hard to see outside the box (Cult symptom number 18).

He recognises the tender glory of the uncontaminated human being but would never dream of solidifying it in thought or structure.

Complaints

Several complaints have been received from indignant readers about Rudra's trenchant comments on organised religions. A typical one from Sister Perpetua of the discalced order Of The Little Widgeons of Jesus Adolescent: " How can your Mr. Rudra (if he indeed exists) say such cruel things when the core of all religions preach the brotherhood of man. Shame on him!)"

Rudra referred her to the statement of Mr. U.G.K of India who said "More people have been killed in the name of the man who said 'love your neighbour as yourself' than in all recent wars put together.

R will be issuing a bulletin on this trivial matter shortly. Meanwhile he says Frederick the Great's prayer assiduously 'O God if there is one, have mercy on my soul if I have one'.

St Patrick's Day

From Mr I.P. of Kenmare:

"Rudra sings ribald rebel songs till 3.00 a.m. on St Patricks day but votes for the DUP".

Rudra's School of Business Studies

Further advice for business:

'Ensure all your employees have the same skills as you.
If you lack planning and bookkeeping skills try and find someone equally hopeless otherwise you might feel threatened.
Don't keep any records.
Cash is good receipts are bad.
Always start letters to the bank with 'Dear Pen Pal'
Always start letters to the tax office with 'off the record.'

From Ms P.D.G.of London

The cares of the world

Rudra searches in vain to differentiate between the arms industry and organised religions. They are the wealthiest corporations in the world, biggest employers and initiate or perpetuate mass slaughter, one in the name of freedom and the other in the name of Peace and Truth (but their peace and truth). Both steal the liberty of man, one his very life and the other his freedom to think for himself and often his life as well.

What does Rudra do about this? He looks neither left nor right. His massive unconcern is so pointed that it liberates the attentive student. Rudra hasn't a care in the world.

Perfection

Rudra maintains that 'perfection is found within imperfection'.

Hounds of Grimaldi

Rudra's connection with the crowned heads of Europe is not just the result of social climbing (sometimes, unpleasantly, called 'brown-nosing') . His great uncle Barnaby was cousin by marriage to the late Prince Reindeer of Monaco, he of the Grimaldi dynasty. The illustration above shows two of the royal hounds; Grimaldi and Caraldo (Maldi and Fitz for short).

The 'blessed' Bognor Regis (see below), the putative patron saint of greyhounds, who briefly met Rudra at Liz Hurley's wedding drew his attention to Francis Thompson's poem 'The Hound of Heaven':

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic glooms of chasmèd fears,
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.
But with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbèd pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat -- and a voice beat
More instant than the Feet --
"All things betray thee, who betrayest Me."

In Extremis

Rudra surpasses the bounds of common decency. He flouts all norms of humanity teaching us that almost any imaginable action or dogma can be justified by the accomodating function of mind/thought (where have we seen that before?). On the very minor end of the scale we need only listen to the words of our London correspondent Ms. P.D.G.* describing R's behaviour:

"Rudra is now in a relationship with Ruppee bare. Rudra is following his rules on relationships to the letter. He only finds Ruppee attractive when legless and is planning to marry her before sobering up.

His future plans include insulting her entire family by name; forgetting every festival if possible but, if pushed, only buying his presents from all night garages including briquettes, anti-freeze or flowers that have been tied to a railing.

Rudra will be constantly on the look out for sexual alternatives. He'll never listen but be sure to make unreasonable sexual demands involving third parties and coprophilia and call Ruppee by his previous girlfriends name."

Charming! Go Rudra Go.

From Mrs C.M. of London

'Rudra smokes dried watermellon seeds to relax. He is going to supply them too as no one else will. Being a part time solopsist he plays the guitar like Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'.

Rudra's musical relatives

The Rudra archivist, Didier Defargo (no relation to the world cup skier), has come up with an interesting genealogical surprise.Whilst researching Rudra's visit to Dorrigo in the rain forest of New South Wales in 2005 he found that R's distant relatives had lived there almost a century back. It seems this was Rudra's raison d'etre for the trip. The Murphy family emigrated there around the beginning of the twentieth century, in fact it was a forcible emigration due to the paltry theft of a ewe.

Back to the present day! Brendan Murphy and his nephew Junior (above) are both passionate piano players (seen above with the family Bechstein, manufactured in 1893). It was their grandparents who went to Dorrigo and hence they are distant relations of Rudra.

An arcane footnote: Cecil Murphy (1931 to 1997), Brendan's father, was a ranger in the Dorrigo National Park and was awarded the AC (Companion in the general division) in 1983.

Multiple Choice Puzzle

Rudra found a substantial sum of money on a train seat.
Did he?:
A. Burn it.
B. Give it to Harrow School.
C. Add an equal sum.
D. Other?

From Ms. C.G. of Wicklow:
'Rudra chose option E. (all of the above with a twist). He took half the money and invested it on the stock market then burnt the other half and sent it in a briefcase to Harrow School.'

Introducing 'The Blessed' Bognor Regis

We have been introduced to 'The Blessed' Bognor Regis and his dog 'The Cratur' by a Mr T.B. of Kerry who knows him well. He assures us that Bognor can be seen at all the society events and is just back from the Indian wedding of Liz Hurley where he met a rather shy man answering to the name of Rudra.

Although technically still alive 'The Blessed' Bognor Regis is the putative saint of greyhounds. His name is on the list for canonisation after his intercession resulted in a small fortune for Mrs B. of Uttoxeter. She had won ST£125,000 on the popular television game show 'Who wants to be a millionaire' after correctly answering the multiple choice question: Who was the father of Edith Piaf?
A. Igor Stravinsky
B. Bernard Manning
3. M. Gassion*
4. Antoine de St. Exuprey

*Correct

After a prayer to Bognor Regis she wagered the whole sum of money on Amphetamine Boy in the 2.30 at her local racetrack resulting in a record payout for that meeting.

Dr Strange

He is strangely trapped but oddly free.

From Naxalite to Socialite.

Our hero, the soigne Rudra, is a consumate socialite mixing seemlessly with celebrities and those in high places. Despite impeccable table manners his filthy fucking tongue has led his detractors to label him a parvenu.. This unfortunate lapse once led to his arrest in Thailand for lese-majesty. He escaped jail by a whisker due to his connections to the crowned heads of Europe.

Religion.

Although a Jehovah's Witness he is puzzled as to what they had for afters at The Last Supper. Whatever it was, it was past its sell-by date and led eventually to the apostles speaking in tongues. (From Mrs R.B. of West Cork)

Since wrestling with this Christian Koan he took up all the other world religions and put them down again.

His favourite cocktail, apart from the Molotov, is religion and politics with a dash of patriotism. Possessing the morals of an alley cat he is not easily shocked. Ethics become mere playthings in his aleatory nursery.

Stupified by religious texts, he found that every step he took towards purification led to contanimation.

Talk about the mystic in him!

He hears silence in thunder and thunder in a blade of grass.

A no nonsense message