Why judge Narad Muni?
Attributed to Devrishi Narad, Narad Bhakti Sutras define bhakti as pure, selfless love for the Divine, independent of caste, status or intellectual ability. The Bhakti Sutras emphasise that true devotion is free from selfish desires and ego, focusing on God's love. Bhakti is presented as a natural and accessible path to moksh, for eternal bliss and unity with the Divine.
The Sutras also emphasise humility, compassion and surrender, while warning against material attachments and intellectual pride – obstacles to true devotion. Ultimately, they offer a timeless and inclusive path to evolution, underscoring that anyone with a sincere heart can experience the transformative power of love.
Narad Jayanti is on May 13
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San Francisco Chronicle
13-06-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘I'm just thrilled': S.F. film community applauds Clay Theatre's anticipated comeback
As San Francisco movie houses continue to struggle in the post-pandemic streaming age, it's notable when a theater gets an encore. So the recent news that the Clay Theatre in San Francisco's Upper Fillmore is set to reopen as early as 2026 after being shuttered the past five years has been greeted ecstatically by members of the Bay Area film community. 'I think it'll be great,' cult director John Waters, whose films screened at the Clay as midnight movies in the 1970s, told the Chronicle. 'I have a history there because that's where 'Pink Flamingos' first opened (in San Francisco), but I always went there. I saw Andy Warhol's 'Trash' for the first time there, and I lived near there for many, many years — and so did (Waters' frequent star) Divine, at California and Pierce. 'I'm just thrilled. You know, who's opening a new movie theater (these days)?' In this case, it's tech investor Neil Mehta, who grew up in the neighborhood. Mehta revealed on Tuesday, June 10, plans to renovate the 115-year-old theater at 2261 Fillmore St. He expects the nearly 5,000-square-foot space to seat 200 and host more than 500 film screenings annually. Though the inside will need to be extensively updated, the Clay's landmarked sign and marquee will remain, according to a statement released by his team. Mehta has hired Ted Gerike, founder of Los Angeles cinema-bookstore Now Instant, as director and chief creative officer. Mehta and Gerike promise that programming will include first-run premieres, repertory classics, filmmaker talks and 'cinema-focused events.' 'I envision The Clay as both a home for local voices and a bridge connecting San Francisco to the wider world of cinema and ideas,' Gerike said in statement. Mehta's vision is a return to the Clay's heritage. In 1935, it became one of the first San Francisco movie theaters to focus on international cinema, and its arthouse reputation blossomed under the ownership of longtime Bay Area exhibitor Mel Novikoff, who included the Clay as part of his Surf Theaters local chain along with the Surf, Castro and Lumiere theaters. Marc Huestis, a longtime filmmaker and impresario, worked at the Clay as 'a popcorn pusher,' as he called it, from 1979 through '85 under Novikoff. 'It was absolutely formative. I can't tell you how much I loved being there,' Huestis said. ''Lust in the Dust' opened at the Clay with Divine. 'Burroughs: The Movie' opened there — Burroughs was kind of half dead and would occasionally smile. It was the jewel in the crown and a cultural institution. 'My hat is off to anyone who will reopen a movie theater.' Gary Meyer, who co-founded the Landmark Theatres chain, shared an office with Novikoff across from the Clay. 'We always enjoyed watching through the windows as the crowds came on opening Fridays, and then going across the street as shows were getting out to overhear reactions to the movies,' Meyer recalled. 'I am always for new creative ways to bring audiences in, and the proposal for the Clay is exciting and somewhat unique.' Novikoff died in 1987, and the Clay became part of the Los Angeles-based Pacific Theatres chain. Landmark took over in 1991, and eventually closed the theater in January 2020 due to financial difficulties. Steve Indig, who helped program the Clay as marketing director for Landmark from 2000 to 2015, said the closing was 'a sign of the times.' From the early aughts into the 2010s, the theater maintained a reputation as an art house and prestige film destination, with local openings and private screenings part of its calendar. Artist and filmmaker Lynn Hershman Leeson, who premiered her 2002 film 'Teknolust' at the the Clay with star Tilda Swinton in attendance, called the theater 'a great theater that gives credibility to film as an artform.' Midnight movies also continued at the Clay up until its closing, with the cult musical 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' and Tommy Wiseau's 'The Room' screening there monthly. It's too early to know whether similar programming will return, but the prospect of a bustling movie theater in the neighborhood again is encouraging. 'I personally was pessimistic that the building would ever show movies again, so this is very exciting news,' Indig said. 'I think the neighborhood and greater San Francisco and Bay Area will be motivated to support a revived Clay Theatre, with the right programming.' Mehta's announcement comes not just as Hollywood continues to reevaluate how it releases films, but at an inflection point for movie theaters locally. While the Roxie Theater launched a capital campaign to buy its historic Mission District home, the Castro Theatre is undergoing a years-long renovation, with the future of repertory film at the venue bleak as it shifts focus to live events. The promised revival of Clay is also a potential boon for the region's many film festivals, which have been experiencing something of a venue crisis with the closing of several theaters since the start of the pandemic, including the Castro, CGV San Francisco, Landmark's Embarcadero Cinemas and the CineArts Empire, among others. Todd Traina, a film producer and board president for SFFilm, which operates the San Francisco International Film Festival, lauded plans for the Clay, which boast showing films in both 4K digital and 35mm projection. Meanwhile, Frameline Executive Director Allegra Madsen observed that 'independent neighborhood theaters often serve as moviegoers' first touch point with indie films, arthouse cinema, and midnight, cult-classic screenings. The sense of community that neighborhood theaters cultivate is so special, so it's great to see that The Clay's revitalization is in progress.' The Clay Theater is part of the Upper Fillmore Revitalization Project, directed by Cody Allen. A timeline for the renovation work, spearheaded by architectural firm Page & Turnbull, has not been revealed as proposals still need to be submitted to the city later this year. But some in the neighborhood are already excited about its comeback. 'San Francisco needs ever more space for art and storytelling,' said Joni Binder, an author and former SFFILM board member who lives near the Clay. 'I, for one, am grateful for the significant investment made in both the exhibition of film and architectural love and attention for The Clay.'
New York Times
04-06-2025
- New York Times
‘A Freeky Introduction' Review: Pleasure Principles
In 'A Freeky Introduction,' the writer-creator, NSangou Njikam plays a quasi-deity, M.C., holy hedonist named Freeky Dee. He is a poet delivering sybaritic couplets above the thrum of R&B tunes. He is a missionary preaching the gospel of freakdom: 'All of us are aftershocks of the Divine orgasm.' (The Big Bang, Freeky argues, was an explosive one.) The result is a sort of hip-hop hallelujah — a work of interactive theater that's funny and familiar in its embrace of Black culture, yet flattened at times by a lack of specificity. Freeky Dee is also a storyteller. He opens the show, now at Atlantic Stage 2 in Manhattan, with the tale of an eagle destined to fly, but born into a nest of bullying buzzards — a not-so-subtle allegory about one species that must resist the self-appointed superiority of another. Accompanied by DJ Monday Blue onstage, Freeky Dee is the sole performer who acts out these scenes, including his pursuit of a fine lady named Liberty ('French, with a splash of Africa' and wearing 'a crown that looked like sun rays coming out her forehead' — you get it). Njikam, who wrote and starred in the lively and semi-autobiographical 'Syncing Ink,' is a fan of salacious reinterpretations. Under Dennis A. Allen II's well-paced direction for this Atlantic Theater Company production, he delivers them with the charisma of a folkloric trickster. DJ Monday Blue's sounds and samples lend a rock-steady groove — a feast of R&B and hip-hop staples. Whenever Freeky Dee sets up for a spoken-word set, the standing bass and sax lines of 'Brother to the Night,' from the movie 'Love Jones,' ring out. It's a knowing wink — sonic choices that affirm Black cultural memory as its own special canon. Audience participation also becomes a form of communion for Njikam and Blue. At times, we're ordered to recite an affirmation-laden 'Mirror Song' or do kegel exercises in our seats. The show is always edging the sacred up against the sexual, which set designer Jason Ardizzone-West reinforces, adorning square columns with divine contradiction: half evoke West and North African etchings of figures kneeling in spiritual offering; while the other lean into smut — peach and eggplant emojis, thirst drops, figures on their knees for a different purpose. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Yahoo
Valhalla Announces WWE Won't Be Renewing Her Contract
Valhalla has announced some unfortunate news in regards to her WWE contract. Over the weekend, R-Truth and Carlito announced that WWE wouldn't be renewing their contracts. Now, RAW Superstar Valhalla has come forward to announce the same. Advertisement Valhalla took to Instagram to write an emotional post announcing that WWE wouldn't be renewing her contract, posting the following message: 'Dear wrestling, I come to you with tears in my eyes cause our time has come to a sudden end. WWE informed me yesterday that they are letting my contract expire. To be completely honest my ego can't help but be damaged. You always assume that when you end a lifelong career there is going to be a grand exit. But here I am, using the notes app on my phone typing up a goodbye letter to an entity that will forget I was even there. I truly take no offense to this, my career as it was is getting usurped by my vocation and it's all on a Divine timeline that I trust deeply. WWE will not be renewing the contracts of Valhalla, R-Truth, and Carlito I'll definitely miss you but know I'll be taken care of by my wonderful husband, by the land you provided for me and alongside the children I've made along the way. I'm going to take off the weight of being a superstar and let myself soar being just Sarah. She's been growing on me and it's time I let her fully cultivate. I love all the people you've brought into my life but my social media page won't be about you anymore. It will share only the parts of me that I wish and none of that will be wrestling. I'm more of a clean break kinda girl and the other calls to me will be taking my full attention. With all my love, Sarah' Advertisement READ MORE: R-Truth Released By WWE, Backstage Details On His Departure What do you make of WWE letting another contract expire? Are you disappointed to hear Valhalla's time with the company is coming to an end? Let us know your overall thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below. The post Valhalla Announces WWE Won't Be Renewing Her Contract appeared first on Wrestlezone.
