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...and we need to remind ourselves that the discourse in the Bhagavad Gita takes place on a battlefield, something Gandhi apparently struggled with, notwithstanding the mystical allusions in the text. tOM http://www.myspace.com/yetanotherbeatmaker ----- Original Message ----- From: "Qua Veda" <qua@oregon.com> To: <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com> Sent: Saturday, December 08, 2007 10:17 AM Subject: RE: Stockhausen, R.I.P. > Though not talking about art, but rather an atomic bomb tests, J.Robert > Oppenheimer cited a verse from the Bhagavad Gita, "If the radiance of a > thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the > splendor of the mighty one. Now I am become Death, the destroyer of > worlds." > This was slightly misquoted according to Gita experts, and Oppenheimer > mistakenly attributed it to Vishnu. I think it may have been Shiva (in > the > Hindu scriptures, Shiva is the destroyer, Bhrama is the Creator, and > Vishu > the maintainer - if I recall correctly). In any case, distructive >power > of > nature (and man) can inspire awe, and wonder. These particular qualities > are not dissimilar to art. In this mythology, Shiva , unlike Lucifer, >is > not evil, but simply the force of nature that transforms creation. > > -Qua > > -----Original Message----- > From: Daryl Shawn [mailto:highhorse@mhorse.com] > Sent: Saturday, December 08, 2007 8:18 AM > To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com > Subject: Re: Stockhausen, R.I.P. > > Well, no question he didn't endear himself to anyone with his comments. > However, other than referring to "Lucifer" as the spirit of rebellion > and anarchy (which is positive in my book :-D ), Stockhausen says he's a > destructor, who does not know love. To me it doesn't seem as if he's > praising the act itself, at all. If he'd have simply said "it was a work > of art by the Devil himself", or "it was the ultimate masterpiece of > destruction", I think it'd be accepted that the sentiment is that it was > an evil act. > > BTW, my personal definition of art is wide-ranging, and I accept > anything that involves creation with the intent of generating an > aesthetic reaction - a terrorist attack doesn't fall under this > guideline. I just think here that if someone as fearless as Sr. > Karlheinz actually admired the act, he'd have stood behind the simple > misquote of his words, or said something like "well, it certainly was a > brilliant plan" or something similar (and similarly offensive). > > Daryl Shawn > www.swanwelder.com > www.chinapaintingmusic.com > > >> In general, invoking "Lucifer" in a positive sense does not further >> endear yourself to the sort of audience that doesn't see terrorist >> acts as a form of art. >> > >