R

Radiant Child, The

John M—– once, when I was in his house, told me a curious tale about himself. He was riding one night to Thirsk, when he suddenly saw passing him a radiant boy on a white horse. There was no sound of footfall as he drew nigh. Old John was first aware of the approach of the mysterious rider by seeing a shadow of himself and his horse flung before him on the high-road. Thinking there might be a carriage with lamps, he was not alarmed till by the shortening of the shadow he knew that the light must be near him and then he was surprised to hear no sound. He thereupon turned in the saddle and at the same moment the radiant boy passed him. He was a child of about eleven, with a bright, fresh face. “Had he any clothes on, and if so, what were they like?” I asked. But John was unable to tell me. His astonishment was so great that he took no notice of particulars.[*] The boy rode on till he came to a gate which led into a field. He stopped as if to open the gate, rode through, and all was instantly dark.

[S. Baring-Gould, Yorkshire Oddities, vol. 2, pp. 105-6]


thirst / Thirsk – Lemures thirst for blood

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[*] See >Short-term Memory Impairment.

Ramananda, K. B. (1917-1987)

The mandala is a sacred circle surrounded by eight rays[*], signifying an area purified of all ephemeral ideas. Mandalas also serve as a template for the universe – the centre of the mandala is the primordial atom, born from the germinal syllable of meditation, containing the image of a holy city or a famous temple.[+]

The outer circle is ringed with flames, fiery peaks denying access to the mysterious world within the circle.[#] The flowers are the Buddha consciousness which breaks down all obstacles. The third circle with eight cemeteries symbolises the eight consciousnesses of illusion. A ring of lotus petals comes next – the harmonious unfolding of spiritual vision.[~]

After that we come to the heart of the mandala, the four gates which symbolise the first dawn of knowledge. Within these gates is the city itself, whose central park is surrounded by another four gates topped with thunderbolts of power. In the middle is the primal lawn where the Buddha rests, buoyed up by lotus flowers.[$]

[K. B. Ramananda, Buddha Consciousness: An End to Turmoil, pp. 32-33]

Circles and squares (>Felton Mathews, Critias):

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[*] See >UFOs.

[+] See >Derren Brown Mind Control.

[#] See >Guide to the Otherworld.

[~] See >Ka.

[$] See >Kronos.

R. U. R.

RADIUS. All our expeditions have returned. They have been everywhere in the world. There is not a single human being left. …

ALQUIST. Why did you murder us?

RADIUS. Slaughter and dominion are necessary if you want to be like men. Read history, read the human books. You must domineer and murder if you want to be like men. We are powerful, sir. Increase us, and we shall establish a new world. a world without flaws. A world of equality. Canals from pole to pole. A new Mars. We have read books. We have studied science and the arts. The Robots have achieved human culture.

ALQUIST. Nothing is more strange to man than his own image. … Robots are not life. Robots are machines.

RADIUS. We were machines, sir. But terror and pain have turned us into souls. There is something struggling with us. There are moments when something enters into us. Thoughts come up on us which are not of us. We feel what we did not use to feel. We hear voices. Teach us to have children so that we may love them.[*]

ALQUIST. Robots do not love.

[J. & K. Čapek. R. U. R., pp. 94-95]

terror and pain have turned us into souls

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[*] See >Xanthippe.