Dowbrigade

When
you hear the term "Tantric," what do you think of? C’mon guys,
fess up, it’s SEX, isn’t it? Well, in the interest of religious education
the Dowbrigade (an inveterate educator, after all) is pleased to inform
you that the modern Tantric religion isn’t all about Sex – it also has
a leg up in the growing field of – Human Sacrifice! And Cannibalism! Who
says religion’s no fun anymore?

After a rash of similar killings in the area — according to an unofficial
tally in the English-language Hindustan Times, there have been 25 human
sacrifices in western Uttar Pradesh in the last six months alone — police
have cracked down against tantriks, jailing four and forcing scores of
others to close their businesses and pull their ads from newspapers and
television stations.

Perhaps the biggest danger posed by tantrism stems from the difficulty
of defining it. “No one really knows what it is,” said Sudhir Kakkar,
a psychoanalyst who has written widely on Indian mysticism. Some tantriks,
for example, believe the path to salvation lies in shattering taboos –
involving sex, diet, and other forms of behavior — to “uncondition yourself
from all the conditioning you have had,” Kakkar said. Followers of one
tantrik cult near the Hindu holy city of Varanasi are said to eat charred
human flesh pilfered from cremation grounds.

Leftovers, anyone?

from the Boston Globe

“Pope
John Paul met the Dalai Lama on Thursday but the Vatican, which has very
thorny relations with China, gave the visit a low profile. The name of
the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet did not appear on the list of people
received by the Pope in the Vatican’s daily bulletin.

A spokesman said this was because it was a brief courtesy visit and the
content was exclusively religious, although other such visits with religious
leaders have been listed. The Dalai Lama later said he had no problem
with the Vatican’s attitude.

“That’s the right description. It was a short visit,” he said. “My main
purpose [was] my expression of admiration and appreciation for what [the
Pope] has done and his dream. In spite of his age and difficult physical
condition he’s really determined for peace and religious understanding.”
The Vatican has difficult ties with Beijing. Chinese Catholics are not
allowed to recognise the Pope’s authority and must join a state-backed
“patriotic church”. Relations between China and the Dalai Lama have appeared
to thaw in the past 18 months, but China still objects to governments
talking to him.

Unconfirmed reports suggest they were conferring on the ecumenical
implications of the upcoming nuptial between polytheistic golf superstar
Tiger Woods and his Swedish ego-masseuse. Early reports have the Dalai
Lama in favor, while the Pope is not too sure……

“Despite the elegantly elucidated position of the Dow Brigade, we are
unsure if God intended that the sacred sacrament of marriage be extended
to people who want to marry Tigers," according to a Vatican spokesman.

from the Sydney Sun Herald