Thursday, May 18, 2006

Da Vinci Dilemma

Da Vinci Dilemma

Tom Hank’s movie Da Vinci has kicked up a row in India and its release on May 19, 2006 is doubtful. Interestingly, the Dan Brown’s Book didn’t create much controversy in India. There were some plagiarism charges elsewhere but that only brought in more publicity for the book and increased its sales.

Some Catholic groups in India and around the world are upset with the portrayal of Jesus Christ in the movie. Earlier, even Vatican had issued advised Christians to boycott the movie, but they since seem to have distanced themselves from the issue.

In India, Federal Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi first indicated Government intervention and later backed out and passed the buck back to the Censor Board.

Even though, I would like to see the movie see the day of light in India, I respect the dignified protest against the release of the movie. There is no bloodshed, no name calling in the name of religion. Just recently, there was a huge uproar over the some cartoons and most of muslim world was up in arms. Sadly, several people even lost their lives.

This is yet another occasion where the freedom of expression is in collision course with some group’s sensitivities. I am trobuled by the rise of ‘holy cows’ indicating decreasing tolerance level. It is becoming increasingly difficult to understand where the threshold lies. I wish we could all be more tolerant of divergent views and opinions.

Chennaites are all too familiar with these kinds of controversies. Kamal Hasan to Kushboo to Vaasanthi, they all have invited wrath of some group or the other. Even the Tamil movie titles have created huge controversies in Tamil Nadu.

But a significant reform announced by Tamil Nadu Government seems to have gone unnoticed at the local and the national level. Immediately after assuming power, Mr. Karunanidhi, has thrown open the archaka profession (limited to Brahmins till now) to all qualified Hindus. While, I support and welcome this move, I am surprised that no group has come out against this announcement at any level. This is a significant break from the age old Indian tradition and has far reaching consequence.

PS: Initial movie reviews Da Vinci are out and they are lukewarm at best.

2 comments:

  1. There is a way to verify the truth...

    Hello Ram,

    Yes, the DaVinci Code is a novel. It is no more accurate as a literal version of history than is the New Testament. In other words, neither is the literal truth, which is a key fact of the story and ancient history. The primary sub-plot is about purposeful symbology being used to encode hidden meanings, exactly like the Bible and related texts. Arguing about whether the DaVinci Code, Gospel of Judas, or the Bible are accurate history is a Machiavellian red herring designed to hide the truth by misdirecting your inquiry away from the heart of the matter.

    Want to truly understand why we can't let the Vatican succeed at telling us what to think about ancient history? There is a foolproof way to verify the truth and expose centuries-old religious deceptions. It is also the common thread connecting why the ancient Hebrews, Yahad/Essene, Jews, Gnostics, Cathars, Templars, Dead Sea Scrolls, DaVinci Code, and others have all been targets of Rome’s ire and evil machinations. What the Vatican and its secret society cohorts don’t want you to understand is that the ancient Hebrew symbology in all of these texts purposely encodes and exposes the truth about them. Furthermore, the structure of ancient symbology verifiably encodes the rules to decode messages built with it. This is what they most fear you will discover.

    If the Bible represented the literal truth or even accurate history, there would be no need for faith in the assertions of deceptive and duplicitous clergy and their ilk. Wisdom and faith are opposing concepts, because wisdom requires the unequivocal truth where faith obfuscates and opposes it. Religion is therefore the enemy of truth and wisdom.

    It is undeniable the New Testament is framed by ancient Hebrew symbolism and allegory. The same is evidenced in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Gnostic texts, biblical apocrypha, DaVinci Code, and other related texts. All ancient religious, mystical, and wisdom texts have been shrouded in mystery for millennia for one primary reason: The ability to understand their widely evidenced symbology was lost in antiquity. How do we finally solve these ages-old mysteries? To recast an often-used political adage: It’s [the] symbology, stupid!

    It is amazing the Vatican still tries to insist the Gospels are literal truth. It is beyond obvious they are replete with ancient Hebrew symbology. Every miracle purported for Jesus has multiple direct symbolic parallels in the Old Testament, Apocalypse, Dead Sea Scrolls, and other symbolic narratives and traditions. This is the secret held by the ancient Gnostics, Templars, and Cathars, which is presented with dramatic effect in the DaVinci Code. None of these narratives or stories were ever intended as the literal truth. That is a key fact to unraveling ages-old mysteries.

    Likewise, the following Washington Post article ( The Book of Bart) describes how many changes and embellishments were made to New Testament texts over the centuries, unequivocally demonstrating they are not original, infallible, or truthful.

    It's no wonder the Vatican fears the truth more than anything else. Seek to understand the symbolic significance of my name (Seven Star Hand) and you will have proof beyond disproof that Jews, Christians, and Muslims have long been duped by the great deceivers I warned humanity about over the millennia. What then is the purpose of "faith" but to keep good people from seeking to understand truth and wisdom?

    Now comes justice, hot on its heels... (symbolism...)

    Not only do I talk the talk, I walk the walk...
    Here is Wisdom!!

    Revelations from the Apocalypse

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  2. Seven Star Hand

    Wow..

    What shall I say..? Nothing...

    ReplyDelete