Lilith, the first wife of Adam?

Image of a Sumerian terracotta relief called the ‘Burney relief’ or ‘Queen of the Night Relief’ (now in the British museum), with her bird-feet and owls suggest to a connection with Lilitu (Lilith in the Bible, and identified as the first wife of Adam in extra-Biblical Jewish folklore).

The Alphabet of Ben Sira is considered to be the oldest story of Lilith as Adam's first wife. The concept of Eve having a predecessor is not exclusive or new to the Alphabet, as it can be found in Genesis Rabbah.

Lilith is believed to have originated as a female Mesopotamian storm demon associated with wind. The figure of Lilith first appeared in a class of wind and storm demons or spirits as Lilitu in Sumer around 4000 BC. The phonetic name Lilith is believed to have originated in ancient Israel before 700 BC.

Although references to Lilith in the Talmud are sparse, some passages provide an insight into the demoness yet seen in Judaic literature. The Talmudic allusions to Lilith illustrate her characteristic wings and long hair, dating back to her earliest extant mention in Gilgamesh: "Rab Judah citing Samuel ruled: If an abortion had the likeness of Lilith its mother is unclean by reason of the birth, for it is a child but it has wings" (Niddah 24b), and, "In a Baraitha it was taught: She grows long hair like Lilith, sits when making water like a beast, and serves as a bolster for her husband” ('Erubin 100b).

The idea that Adam had a wife prior to Eve might have come from an interpretation of the Book of Genesis and its dual creation accounts. While Genesis 2:22 describes God's creation of Eve from Adam's rib, an earlier passage 1:27 indicates that a woman had been made, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them". The Alphabet text places Lilith's creation after God's words in Genesis 2:18, "It is not good for man to be alone". In this text God creates Lilith out of the clay from which he made Adam but she and Adam bicker. Lilith claims that since she and Adam were created in the same way they were equal and she refuses to submit to him:

“After God created Adam, who was alone, He said, 'It is not good for man to be alone.' He then created a woman for Adam, from the earth, as He had created Adam himself, and called her Lilith. Adam and Lilith immediately began to fight. She said, 'I will not lie below,' and he said, 'I will not lie beneath you, but only on top. For you are fit only to be in the bottom position, while I am to be the superior one.' Lilith responded, 'We are equal to each other inasmuch as we were both created from the earth.' But they would not listen to one another. When Lilith saw this, she pronounced the Ineffable Name and flew away into the air.”

“Adam stood in prayer before his Creator: 'Sovereign of the universe!' he said, 'the woman you gave me has run away.' At once, the Holy One, blessed be He, sent these three angels Senoy, Sansenoy, and Semangelof, to bring her back.”

“Said the Holy One to Adam, 'If she agrees to come back, what is made is good. If not, she must permit one hundred of her children to die every day.' The angels left God and pursued Lilith, whom they overtook in the midst of the sea, in the mighty waters wherein the Egyptians were destined to drown. They told her God's word, but she did not wish to return. The angels said, 'We shall drown you in the sea.’”

“'Leave me!' she said.’I was created only to cause sickness to infants. If the infant is male, I have dominion over him for eight days after his birth, and if female, for twenty days.’”

“When the angels heard Lilith's words, they insisted she go back. But she swore to them by the name of the living and eternal God: 'Whenever I see you or your names or your forms in an amulet, I will have no power over that infant.' She also agreed to have one hundred of her children die every day. Accordingly, every day one hundred demons perish, and for the same reason, we write the angels' names on the amulets of young children. When Lilith sees their names, she remembers her oath, and the child recovers.”

In folk traditions of the early middle ages, Lilith became identified with Asmodeus, King of Demons, as his queen. The second myth on Lilith included legends about existence of another world. Asmodeus and Lilith were believed to procreate demonic offspring endlessly, spreading chaos. Many disasters were blamed on them, such as causing wine turning into vinegar, men becoming impotent, women unable to give birth, and death of infants.

There are two main characteristics in these legends about Lilith: Lilith as the incarnation of lust, causing men to be led astray, and Lilith as a child-killing witch. The aspect of the witch-like role that Lilith plays broadens her archetype of the destructive side of witchcraft.

Lilith (1892), oil painting by British artist John Collier, located in Southport Atkinson Art Gallery

The Kabbalah mysticism attempted to establish a more exact relationship between Lilith and the Deity. Her origin has many versions. One mentions her creation as being before Adam's, on the fifth day, because the ‘living creatures’ with whose swarms God filled the waters included none other than Lilith. Another version recounts how Lilith was created with the same substance as Adam was, shortly before. A third version states that God originally created Adam and Lilith in a manner that the female creature was contained in the male. Lilith's soul was lodged in the depths of the Great Abyss. When God called her, she joined Adam. After Adam's body was created a thousand souls from the Left (evil) side attempted to attach themselves to him. However, God drove the evils off. Adam was left lying as a body without a soul. Then a cloud descended and God commanded the earth to produce a living soul. This God breathed into Adam, who began to spring to life and his female was attached to his side. God separated the female from Adam's side. The female side was Lilith, whereupon she flew to the Cities of the Sea and attacked humankind. Yet another version claims that Lilith was not created by God, but emerged as a divine entity that was born spontaneously, either out of the Great Supernal Abyss or out of the power of an aspect of God (the Gevurah of Din). This aspect of God, one of his ten attributes (Sefirot), at its lowest manifestation, has an affinity with the realm of evil and it is out of this that Lilith merged with Samael. According to The Alphabet of Ben-Sira, Lilith was Adam's first wife.

Another legend of the Kabbalah faith links Lilith with the creation of luminaries. The ‘first light’, which is the light of Mercy (one of the Sefirot), appeared on the first day of creation when God said, “Let there be light”. This light became hidden and the Holiness became surrounded by a husk of evil. “A husk (klippa) was created around the brain” and this husk spread and brought out another husk which was Lilith.

Another version that was also current among Kabbalah circles in the middle ages establishes Lilith as the first of Samael's four wives: Lilith, Naamah, Igrath, and Mahalath, each of them being mothers of demons. The marriage of archangel Samael and Lilith was arranged by the ‘Blind Dragon’, who is the counterpart of ‘the dragon that is in the sea’.

The Blind Dragon acts as an intermediary between Lilith and Samael: Blind Dragon rides Lilith the Sinful. And Blind Dragon causes the union between Samael and Lilith. Just as the Dragon that is in the sea (Isa. 27:1) has no eyes, likewise Blind Dragon that is above is without eyes, that is to say, without colors (Patai81:458). Samael is called the Slant Serpent, and Lilith is called the Tortuous Serpent.

The marriage of Samael and Lilith is known as the ‘Angel Satan’ or the ‘Other God’. To prevent Lilith and Samael's demonic children Lilin from filling the world, God castrated Samael. In many 17th century Kabbalah books, this concept is based on the identification of ‘Leviathan the Slant Serpent and Leviathan the Torturous Serpent’ and a reinterpretation of an old Talmudic myth. After Samael became castrated and Lilith was unable to fornicate with him, she left him to couple with men who experience nocturnal emissions. A 15th or 16th century Kabbalah text states that God has ‘cooled’ the female Leviathan, meaning that he has made Lilith infertile and she is a mere fornication.

Another passage charges Lilith as being a tempting serpent of Eve's: “And the Serpent, the Woman of Harlotry, incited and seduced Eve through the husks of Light which in itself is holiness. And the Serpent seduced Holy Eve, and enough said for him who understands. And all this ruination came about because Adam the first man coupled with Eve while she was in her menstrual impurity - this is the filth and the impure seed of the Serpent who mounted Eve before Adam mounted her. Behold, here it is before you: because of the sins of Adam the first man all the things mentioned came into being. For Evil Lilith, when she saw the greatness of his corruption, became strong in her husks, and came to Adam against his will, and became hot from him and bore him many demons and spirits and Lilin (Patai81:455f).

Lilith is listed as one of the Qliphoth, corresponding to the Sephirah Malkuth in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. The demon Lilith is described as a beautiful woman, who transforms into a blue, butterfly-like demon, and it is associated with the power of seduction.

Another similar monster was the Greek Lamia, who likewise governed a set of child-stealing Lamia demons. She has different origins and is described as having a human upper body from the waist up and a serpentine body from the waist down. Lamia had a vicious sexual appetite that matched her cannibalistic appetite for children. The Empusae were a class of supernatural demons that Lamia was said to have birthed.

In Arabic lore, Karina is considered Lilith’s equivalent, mentioned as a child-killing witch. Karina plays the role of a ‘shadow’ of a woman and a corresponding male demon, Karin, is the ‘shadow’ of a man. Should a woman marry, her Karina marries the man’s Karin. When the woman becomes pregnant, Karina will cause her chaos. She will try to drive the woman out and take her place, cause a miscarriage by striking the woman and if the woman succeeds in having children then her Karina will have the same number of children she does. Karina will continuously try to create discord between the woman and her husband. Karina plays the role of disrupter of marital relations, akin to one of Lilith's roles in Jewish tradition.

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (around 1848), was greatly influenced by Goethe's work on the theme of Lilith. In 1863, Dante Gabriel Rossetti of the Brotherhood began painting what was his first rendition of ‘Lady Lilith’. Symbols appearing in the painting allude to the ‘femme fatale’ reputation of the Romantic Lilith: poppies (death and cold) and white roses (sterile passion).

Some Magical Orders dedicated to Lilith, featuring initiations specifically related to the arcana of the ‘first mother’ exist. Two organizations that use initiations and Magic associated with Lilith are the Ordo Antichristianus Illuminati and the Order of Phosphorus. A 2006 ‘creative occultist’ work by ceremonial magickian Donald Tyson, titled Liber Lilith, details the ‘secret cosmology’ for the 'Mother of Harlots' and spawn of all night breed monsters, Lilith.

In Luciferianism, Lilith is considered a consort of Lucifer and is identified with the figure of Babalon. She is said to come from the mud and dust, and is known as the Queen of the Succubi. When she and Lucifer mate, they form an androgynous being called ‘Baphomet’ or the ‘Goat of Mendes’, also known in Luciferianism as the ‘God of Witches’.

Writings by Michael W. Ford, including The Foundations of the Luciferian Path, claim that Lilith is a part of the ‘Luciferian Trinity’ consisting of herself, Samael and Cain. Lilith is also said to have been Cain's actual mother, and not Eve. Lilith here is seen as a goddess of witches, the dark feminine principle, and is also known as the Goddess Hecate.

Early writers of modern day Wicca had special reverence for Lilith. Charles Leland associated Aradia with Lilith: Aradia, says Leland, is Herodias, who was regarded in Stregheria folklore as being associated with Diana as chief of the witches. Leland further notes that Herodias is a name that comes from West Asia, where it denoted an early form of Lilith.

According to one view, Lilith was originally a Sumerian, Babylonian or Hebrew mother goddess of childbirth, children, women and sexuality who later became demonized due to the rise of patriarchy. Other modern views hold that Lilith is a dark moon goddess on par with the Hindu Goddess Kali.

The Western Mystery Tradition associates Lilith with the Klipoth of kabbalah. Samael Aun Weor in The Pistis Sophia Unveiled claims that homosexuals are the ‘henchmen of Lilith’. Similarly, women who undergo willful abortion, and those who support such practice are ‘seen in the sphere of Lilith’. Dion Fortune writes, "The Virgin Mary is reflected in Lilith," and that Lilith is the source of ‘lustful dreams’. If one meditates on negative (or inverted) Binah, one readily finds Lilith; to worship Lilith is to use the power of the Holy Spirit for negative purposes.

In a paper on the subject of Feminist Theology, Deborah J Grenn, of the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute, argued that Lilith was a mother goddess whose demonization was designed to keep women alienated from their own 'original sources' of power and spiritual authority. It is argued for ‘a reinterpretation of the divine as embodied by the Semitic Goddess Lilith, she who has been represented and misrepresented in a variety of sacred texts’.

Marina Beach, Chennai

Marina Beach, a typical morning view

Marina Beach is a primarily sandy beach along the Bay of Bengal, dotting the city of Chennai, India. With an uninterrupted stretch of 13 km, Marina Beach is said to be the second longest beach in the world. The entire stretch of the Marina Beach is famous for a number of beautiful statues and historical monuments, including various government institutions and historical buildings of the British Raj era.

Located on the Marina Beach front is the Ice House, where Swami Vivekananda stayed during his visit in 1897, now known as Vivekananda House that houses art exhibits and memorabilia related to the life and mission of Swami Vivekananda.

The roadside area of the beach is dotted with stone statues of legendary personalities such as Mahatma Gandhi, Thiruvalluvar and Kannagi. Memorials for M. G. Ramachandran and C. N. Annadurai, the former Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, are also present on the beach, along with a recent addition of the statue of the actor Sivaji Ganesan.

Marina Beach is famous for its pristine beauty and rich ecosystems, though, since the middle of the twentieth century, the beach and seawater have become polluted. Efforts are being made to clean up the pollutants, with special emphasis on the protection of Olive Ridley turtle nests along the Neelangarai section of the beach.

The crowd at Marina Beach in the evening

In 2008 the Chennai Corporation started the ambitious Marina Renovation Project which aims at improving landscaping, seating arrangements, walkways and lighting along the promenade. A total of 14 galleries with seating arrangements have been built on nearly 3 km stretch between Triumph of Labour Statue and the Light House. Another 3 km segment from Anna Square to the Light House has uninterrupted pavement and a sub-road parallel to the main road. As part of ‘Chennai Forever’ campaign by the Tamil Nadu state government, a 34-feet tall artificial Marina Waterfall was created in September 2005.

A parked catamaran on Marina Beach

Marina Beach is a major tourist attraction with its memorials and statues, morning walk, joggers' track, lovers' spot, aquarium, etc. and is a popular hangout zone for people of all ages. The sea is rough and the waves are strong, with the possibility of forceful undercurrents near the shore. For this reason, swimming, bathing, etc. are prohibited in the sea.

There are several colonies of fishermen at both the ends of the beach. Though the picture above shows a lone catamaran parked on the sands, a typical fishing colony area on the beach will have several catamarans, fishing boats, fishing nets, and people engaged in fishing working on their daily routines.

Lightning strikes 62-feet tall Jesus statue

On Monday, around 11:15 PM, lightning struck a 62-feet-tall, 16,000-tonnes statue of Jesus Christ setting it into flames, agencies reported. Jesus Christ statue was one of southwest Ohio's most familiar landmarks tat had stood since 2004 at the evangelical Solid Rock Church along Interstate 75 in Monroe, north of Cincinnati.

The sculpture of Jesus Christ, about 62 feet (19 meters) tall and 40 feet (12 meters) wide at the base, was made of plastic and fiberglass over a steel frame, and only the steel frame remained on Tuesday. Monroe police dispatchers said that the fire spread from the statue to an adjacent amphitheater but was confined to the attic area. Luckily no one was injured. Watch the video for the rest of the report.

Swami Nithyananda’s bail plea allowed by High Court

The Karnataka High Court granted conditional bail on Friday to Swami Nithyananda, also known as Paramahamsa Nithyananda. Once the bail order is produced before the jail authorities and the Ramanagara Magistrate, Swami Nithyananda will be free again, after about two moths of prison life.

During his days in prison for almost two months, Nityananda has filed several petitions before the Ramanagara Court and the Karnataka High Court in Bangalore. This is the first of such pleas to bring him some relief. Two other petitions, seeking quashing of proceedings against him, his trusts, etc., and another petition against freezing of Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam Trust's bank accounts, are still pending before the court. He had moved the High Court after the Ramanagara Court rejected his plea for bail.

Senior counsel and former Advocate-General B.V. Acharya appeared on behalf of Nityananda before the High Court. He said the Karnataka CID had not been able to place any credible evidence against the godman so far. He said his client had been kept in jail on flimsy grounds. He also said Nithyananda was wrongly booked under several charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He urged the court to grant him bail.

In his order, Justice Subash B. Adi allowed the bail petition of Nithyananda, subject to certain conditions. The court order asked Nithyananda Swami to refrain from giving any discourses or going away without permission of the jurisdictional courts at Ramanagara / Bangalore. The bail order also asked Nityananda to furnish a personal bond of Rs.100,000 and two personal sureties of Rs.100,000 each. Also, Paramahamsa Nithyananda has to report to a local police station once every fortnight. Swami Nithyananda was also asked to surrender his passport.

Nithyananda is likely to be freed on Monday from Ramanagara jail, about 40 km from Bangalore, according to jail authorities. They said The Karnataka High Court verdict will be presented to Ramanagara Magistrate who then will order the jail authorities to release Nithyananda after he executes the bond and agrees to fulfill other conditions stipulated by the bail order.

In March 2010, several television channels aired videos of Paramahamsa Nithyananda in his bedroom at Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam Ashram at Bidadi in Ramanagara District, allegedly showing him in sexual act with a woman, believed to be a Tamil film and television actress from Chennai. Nithyananda claimed the video footage was morphed.

Swami Nityananda had been on the run since March 23, 2010 when the Karnataka High Court dismissed his petition for anticipatory bail. Following the alleged sex scandal, Nithyananda has resigned as the head of Dhyanapeetam Ashram and various trusts he controls.

Swami Nithyananda was detected and arrested on April 21, 2010, along with one of his close disciples Bhaktananda and two others by the officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Karnataka, from a house in a village near Solan in Himachal Pradesh. Nithyananda has been in lodged at the Ramanagara jail since then.

Swami Nithyananda’s driver, Lenin Karuppan, also known as Swami Dharmananda, has filed a complaint against him at a Chennai police station. The Chennai police transferred the case to Karnataka as the scene of the alleged crimes was in Bidadi. Once the Bidadi police registered a case, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Karnataka took over the investigations against Nithyananda.

Paramahamsa Nithyananda has been reportedly slapped with several criminal charges including rape, unnatural sex, and criminal intimidation and cheating. The discovery by CID of a non-disclosure agreement signed by his devotees showed that Dhyanapeetam Ashram allegedly asked followers to sign a 'sex contract' as a preemptive move against any legal action by the devotees. The 10-page non-disclosure agreement alerts devotees about participation in activities that ‘involve nudity... close physical proximity and intimacy, verbal and written descriptions and audio sounds of a sexually oriented and erotic nature.’

When the news of Nithyananda’s bail reached Dhyanapeetam Ashram at Bidadi, the inmates welcomed the verdict and greeted each other with joy. They hoped that the ashram would ‘spring back’ to life once again on the return of Paramahamsa Nithyananda.

Statue of Lord Shiva in Mauritius

Mauritius, the island nation off the coast of continental Africa in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 900 kilometers east of Madagascar, is the only country in Africa where Hinduism is the dominant religion, with about 52 per cent of the population following Hinduism, as of 2000. Hinduism originally came to Mauritius with Indians who worked as indentured servants of the European settlers of the island. The first Hindus of Mauritius arrived mostly from the Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

One of the biggest Hindu festivals in Mauritius is Maha Shivaratri (Great Night of Lord Shiva), which takes place in the months of February/March. Four to nine days of ceremony and fasting lead up to an all-night vigil of Lord Shiva worship. Other important Hindu festivals in Mauritius are Thaipusam (honoring Lord Murugan), Ganesh Chaturthi and Diwali, the festival of lights.

Mata Hari - Mysterious life and death of a dancer

In 1917, a famous oriental dancer Mata Hari was executed by a French firing squad for acting as a German spy during World War I. But the charge has never been proved!

Mata Hari was the stage name of Margaretha Geertruida Zelle MacLeod, a Dutch dancer who excelled in oriental dances and was a courtesan, born on 7 August 1876 in Leeuwarden in The Netherlands and executed on 15 October 1917 in Vincennes in France.

Margaretha was born as the eldest of four children of Adam Zelle and Antje van der Meulen. She had three younger brothers. Her father owned a hat store, made investments in the oil industry, and became affluent enough to give Margaretha a lavish early childhood and exclusive schooling until age 13.

Margaretha's father went bankrupt in 1889 and her parents divorced soon after. Her mother died in 1891. Her father remarried in Amsterdam in 1893, but he had no children from that marriage. So, as the family fell apart, she moved to live with her godfather Heer Visser. She studied at a teachers' college in Leiden to be a kindergarten teacher, but when the headmaster began to flirt with her openly, she was withdrawn from there by her offended godfather. Then, a few months later, she fled to her uncle's home in The Hague.

At the age of 18, she answered an advertisement, in an Amsterdam newspaper, placed by a Dutch army officer of Scottish origin seeking a wife, and married the balding 39-year-old Rudolf John MacLeod in Amsterdam on 11 July 1895. They lived in Holland for two years and from 1897 to 1902 they lived in Java and Sumatra in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). They had two children, Norman-John and Jeanne-Louise.

Her husband MacLeod was a violent alcoholic who would blame his failures on his wife and beat her. At least once he threatened her with a loaded gun. He also openly kept both a native (Indonesian) wife and a concubine. A story states, in 1899 their son Norman was poisoned by a native soldier, whose girlfriend, the boy’s nurse, was seduced by MacLeod. But possibly, and more convincingly, Norman died of complications relating to the treatment of syphilis he contracted from his parents.

The disenchanted Margaretha found solace in flirting with young army officers and planters. Finally, she abandoned MacLeod, moving in with Van Rheedes, another Dutch officer. For months, she watched the Indonesian temple dancers who inspired her future career, studied the Indonesian traditions intensively, and joined a local dance company.

At MacLeod's urging, Margaretha returned to him although his aggressive demeanor hadn't changed. After moving back to the Netherlands, the couple separated in 1902 and divorced in 1906, with Rudolf forcibly retaining the custody of their daughter Jeanne-Louise, who later died at the age of 21, also possibly from complications relating to syphilis. MacLeod later married twice more.

In 1903, Margaretha moved to Paris, where she performed as a circus horse rider, using the name Lady MacLeod. Struggling to earn a living, she also posed as an artist's model. By 1905, she began to gain fame as an oriental dancer, adopting the stage name Mata Hari (Malay for ‘eye of the day’, the sun). She was a contemporary of dancers Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis, leaders in the early modern dance movement, which looked to India, other Asian countries and Egypt for artistic inspiration.

Mata Hari enthralled her audiences and was an overnight success from her debut at the Musée Guimet, where, on 13 March 1905, she gave an electrifying performance of oriental dances, dressed in jeweled bra and diaphanous draperies in a setting of palms, bronze statues and garlanded columns. Thereafter, she became the long-time mistress of the millionaire Lyon industrialist Emile-Etienne Guimet, who had founded the Musée.

Mata Hari had spun around a story about herself, a new identity: she was the child of a 14-year-old Indian temple dancer who had died giving birth; was raised by temple priests who had taught her dances sacred to the Hindu god Shiva; danced nude for the first time at the age of 13 before the altar of a Hindu temple. She looked very much such a character – tall, dark, strong-featured and velvety-eyed. At times she posed as a Java princess of priestly Hindu birth, pretending to have been immersed in the art of sacred Indian dance since childhood.

Mata Hari’s career sky-rocketed – she was a sensation in most of the European capitals and major cities. The most celebrated segment of her performance was her progressive shedding of clothing until she wore just a jeweled bra and some ornaments upon her arms and head. According to some sources, Mata Hari was seldom seen without a bra as she was self-conscious her small breasts. Other sources claim that she always concealed her breasts which had been bitten and permanently disfigured by MacLeod. Pictures taken during her performances suggest she might have worn a body-stocking, as navel and genitals are not seen even in poses where they should be visible on a nude person.

Mata Hari’s performance was spectacular because it elevated exotic dance to a more respectable status, and broke new ground in a style of entertainment for which Paris was later to become world famous. Her style and her free-willed attitude made her very popular, as did her eagerness to perform in exotic and revealing clothing. She moved in wealthy circles. At that time, as most Europeans were unfamiliar with the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and thus thought of Mata Hari as exotic, it was assumed her claims were genuine.

Mata Hari was also a successful courtesan. She had relationships with high-ranking military officers, politicians, and others in influential positions in many countries, including the German crown prince, who paid for her luxurious lifestyle. Her liaisons with powerful men frequently took her across international borders. Prior to World War I, she was generally viewed as an artist and a free-spirited bohemian, but as war approached, she began to be seen by some as a wanton and promiscuous woman, and perhaps a dangerous seductress.

The spy-plot in her story, true or not, started the day the First World War was declared, as she rode through the streets of Berlin with a police official. It was high drama; the bottles of invisible ink given her by the Germans (she threw them into a canal, she said); her German code number H-21; her seduction of high German officials (for money, love, or secrets?); her agreement to spy for the French for one million francs she needed to impress the father of the love of her life, Vadime de Massloff, a Russian captain; her grandiose plans for manipulating noblemen through jealousy, greed and lust; the French spies trailing her in Madrid…

During World War I, the Netherlands remained neutral. As a Dutch citizen, Margaretha was thus able to cross national borders freely. On one occasion, when interviewed by British intelligence officers, she admitted to working as an agent for the French military intelligence, although the latter did not confirm her story. It is unclear if she lied on this occasion; believing the story made her sound more intriguing, or if the French were using her for espionage, but would not acknowledge it due to the international backlash it could cause.

In January 1917, the German military attaché in Madrid transmitted radio messages to Berlin describing the helpful activities of a German spy, code-named H-21. French intelligence agents intercepted the messages and identified H-21 as Mata Hari. Unusually, the messages were in a code that German intelligence knew had already been broken by the French, making some historians to suspect that the messages were contrived.

On 13 February 1917, Mata Hari was arrested in her room at the Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris by the French. She was put on trial, accusing of spying for Germany and consequently causing the deaths of at least 50,000 soldiers. The French held her guilty and she was executed by a firing squad on 15 October 1917, at the age of 41.

The file on her case was six inches thick, but the evidence was inconclusive. A tube of ‘secret ink’ in her possession turned out to be oxycyanide of mercury, which she used as an injection after making love as a birth-control method. Her aged lover Maitre Clunet defended her at her trial; another lover Jules Cambon of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs testified on her behalf.

On the day of her execution, on her way out of prison, she was asked if she was pregnant – according to French law, a pregnant woman could not be executed. This question arose as a last ditch effort by Clunet to save her – he had even claimed to be the father of the unborn child. But, she was shot at the polygon of Vincennes, at her own request without blindfold. What is the truth? Was she guilty? The question remains unanswered.

Mata Hari's dead body was not claimed by anyone. So it went to a medical school for dissection and study. Her head was embalmed and kept in the Museum of Anatomy in Paris. But in 2000, archivists discovered that the head had mysteriously disappeared, possibly as early as 1954, when the museum had been relocated. Records dated from 1918 show that the museum also received the rest of her body, which was never found after that. So, where did her body disappear? It is a mystery!

Pat Shipman, in his biography of Mata Hari, ‘Femme Fatale’, argues that Mata Hari was never a double agent, and that she was used as a scapegoat by the head of French counter-espionage. Georges Ladoux had been responsible for recruiting Mata Hari as a French spy and later he was arrested for being a double agent himself. Truth about the charge on Mata Hari is hidden, because the official case documents regarding her execution were sealed for 100 years, although in 1985 biographer Russell Warren Howe managed to convince the French Minister of National Defense to break open the file, about 32 years early. On examination of the files, it was revealed that Mata Hari was innocent of charges of espionage on her.

The fact that an exotic dancer had been executed as a spy immediately provoked many unsubstantiated rumours and scandals. One is that Mata Hari blew a kiss to her executioners, although it is possible that she blew a kiss to her lawyer, who was a witness to her execution. Her dying words were purported to be, "Merci, monsieur". Another rumour claims that, in an attempt to distract her executioners, she flung open her coat and exposed her naked body. "Harlot, yes, but traitor, never," she is reported to have said. Nor did another lover bribe the firing squad to use blanks, put her in a ventilated coffin, and bury her in a shallow grave so that he could spirit her away.

The fact that almost immediately after her death questions rose about the justification of her execution, on top of rumours about the way Mata Hari acted during her execution, set a high-voltage story. An exotic dancer, working as a lethal double agent, using her powers of seduction to extract military secrets from her many lovers, fired the popular imagination, set the legend that made Mata Hari an enduring archetype of the femme fatale.

The hit film ‘Mata Hari’ (1931), starring Greta Garbo in the leading role, while based on real events in the life of Mata Hari, the plot was largely fictional, appealing to the public appetite for fantasy at the expense of historical facts. As Garbo's most successful film and MGM's biggest hit of the year, the film inspired subsequent generations of storytellers. Eventually, Mata Hari featured in more films, television series, and in video games. Many books have been written about Mata Hari, some of them serious historical and biographical accounts, but many of them highly speculative.

The Frisian Museum at Leeuwarden, The Netherlands, exhibits a 'Mata Hari Room'. Located in Mata Hari's native town, the museum is well known for research into the life and career of Leeuwarden's world famous citizen.

Witchcraft through ages

Picture: Witches (Woodcut, 1508) by Hans Baldung Grien (1480-1545), the famous German Renaissance artist in painting and printmaking in woodcut.

Among the believers of monotheistic religions, sorcery came to be associated with heresy and apostasy, and hence it was viewed as evil. Among leaders of established popular religions and even secular leadership of the late Medieval/ early Modern periods, fear of witchcraft was widespread and sometimes it led to large scale witch hunts. In such hunts, not only practitioners of witchcraft, but even believers of minor religions and sects were also targeted. As a result, in Europe and some parts of the middle east, hundreds of thousands of people suspected of practicing witchcraft were imprisoned, tortured, banished, executed, and the lands and possessions of tens of thousands of accused persons were confiscated.

Interestingly, the majority of the accused witches were women, though in some regions the main focus shifted on men. Mostly, accusations of witchcraft were combined with charges of heresy against groups such as the Cathars and Waldensians. Cathars, or believers of Catharism, were a Christian religious sect with dualistic and gnostic beliefs who lived in the Languedoc region of France and other parts of Europe in the 11th century to 13th century.

The Waldensians (aka Waldenses or Vaudois), a Christian movement of the later Middle Ages and descendants of whom still exist, are active congregations in Europe, South America, and North America, and they are followers of the Waldensian Evangelical Church. Their spiritual heritage is considered lofty, and includes proclaiming the Gospel, serving the marginalized people, promoting social justice, fostering inter-religious services, and advocating respect for religious diversity and freedom of thoughts.

An infamous and widely circulated witch-hunting manual written by Heinrich Kramer, an Inquisitor of the Catholic Church, is ‘Malleus Maleficarum’, first published in Germany in 1487. It instructs governments, law courts and priests about how to identify witches, why most witches are women, how to put witches on trial and how to punish witches. The book also defines a witch as evil and typically as a female. The main purpose of the Malleus was to refute arguments claiming that witchcraft does not exist. Also it promoted the idea that witchcraft do exist in large scale. As a result, anyone found not believing in the mainstream religion was persecuted by others.

Due to invention of mechanical movable type printing press in the fifteenth century by Johannes Gutenberg, the printing and circulation of Malleus Maleficarum dramatically spread throughout Europe rapidly in the late fifteenth century and the early sixteenth century. In the words of Bertrand Russell, "the swift propagation of the witch hysteria by the press was the first evidence that Gutenberg had not liberated man from original sin." The Malleus is also heavily loaded with the subjects of divination, astrology, and healing rituals the Catholic Church inherited from antiquity.

Religious, spiritual and philosophical confusion prevailed all over, as the late fifteenth century was also a period of religious turmoil. The ideas contained in Malleus Maleficarum and the witch craze promoted by it took advantage of the increasing intolerance of the Reformation movement and the Counter Reformation movement in Europe, where the Protestant and Catholic camps, fighting against one another and zealously trying to maintain the purity of their respective faiths.

Even in today’s world, witchcraft accusations are regularly reported, often it is often followed by the satanic ritual abuse and moral panic. Ironically, there seems to be an increase in the followers of witchcraft, and an equally increasing number of people fearing and opposing witch craft. Both are based on superstitions or illogical thinking, sometimes find support from misguided religious, spiritual and political leaders, and lead to blood libel of various kinds. These are not limited to any one region or religion, but can be found across believers of many religious groups all around the globe.

Wicca practitioner Ipsita Roy Chakraverti, who declared herself as India's first trained witch years ago, said in an interview, "Sometimes our darker forces come to the fore and dominate events. These are always there in our subconscious and it is when these forces come out that the unexplainable takes place." In her website (www.wiccanbrigade.com/ipsita/bio.htm) Chakraverti states, “Even though I studied Wicca in the West, I believe at one time it was a global movement. In India, I have researched Dakini Vidya which draws its strength from the Goddesses Kali and Durga. Just as I have wrapped myself in the black cloak of Isis and stood like a queen among my peers, arrogant and beautiful, so also I have walked with bare feet on the cold grey stones of the Yogini Temple in Orissa, India, and felt them warm with a sudden pulsation under my feet. The same Goddess force which goes by the name of Isis, Athena or Minerva in the West, manifests as the Yoginis in the East.” Chakraverti has published her experiences and views in the form of two books, ‘Beloved Witch’ (2000) and ‘Sacred Evil: Encounters with the Unknown’ (2003).

Do you believe in witchcraft?

Painting: ‘Examination of a Witch’ inspired by the Salem Witch Trials, painted by T. H. Matteson, an American painter, known for the use of historical, patriotic and religious themes in his works.

The notorious ‘Salem Witch Trials’ were a series of legal hearings to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex counties of colonial Massachusetts (now in USA), between February 1692 and May 1693. The episode has been highlighted in political rhetoric, literature and popular culture as a cautionary tale about the dangers of religious extremism, superstitions, false accusations, lapses in due legal process, and even as governmental intrusion on individual liberties.

The ‘Salem Witch Trials' of 1692 were conducted in a many places such as Salem Village, Ipswich, Andover and Salem Town. The most publicized trials were conducted by the Court of Oyer and Terminer in 1692 in Salem Town. Over 150 people were arrested and imprisoned, with many more accused of witchcraft but not pursued by the authorities. Five of the accused died in prison and all twenty-six people who went to trial before this court were convicted.

The four sessions of the Superior Court of Judicature in 1693, held in Salem Village, but also in Ipswich, Boston and Charlestown, produced only three convictions in the 31 witchcraft trials it conducted. The two courts convicted 29 people of the capital felony of witchcraft. 19 of the accused - 14 women and 5 men - were hanged, and a man, Giles Corey, who refused to enter a plea, was crushed to death under heavy stones in an attempt to force him to do so.

Belief in witchcraft, witch hunts and persecutions of alleged witches can be found in many cultures, almost in all countries in one form or the other. While it is reportedly the worst in Sub-Saharan Africa, witch craft practices and opposition to such practices are still rampant in Europe, many Asian countries and in the Americas. In Europe of 14th to 18th centuries, witchcraft was allegedly seen as ‘a vast diabolical conspiracy against Christianity, and accusations of witchcraft led to large-scale witch-hunts, especially in Germanic Europe.’

In 19th and 20th centuries, a controversial theory speculated that European witchcraft was a suppressed pagan religion. Since the middle of the 20th century, witchcraft has become the self-designation of a branch of neo-paganism, especially in the Wicca tradition.

By simple definition, a witch (old English: Wicce/ Wicca) is a practitioner of witchcraft. Witchcraft is the use of supernatural or magical powers; the use of such powers in order to inflict harm or damage upon members of a community or their property. Reference can also be found about good witchcraft practiced to heal someone from bad witchcraft. Witchcraft is often linked to cultural ideologies, as means of explaining human misfortune by blaming it either on a supernatural entity or a known person in the community.

The cause of the symptoms of those who claimed affliction by witchcraft continues to be a subject of scientific interest. Medical and psychological explanations for the reported effects of witchcraft have been explored by researchers, and most conclusions find the cause in normal afflictions not associated with witchcraft. But some modern academics are less inclined to believe that the cause for the behavior was biological, exploring instead motivations of jealousy, spite and a need for attention to explain behavior they contend was simply acting.

Many practitioners of witchcraft are also found to use methods such as magic, sleight of hand, mesmerism/hypnotism/animal magnetism, and even chemicals and drugs etc., and some of them are also reported to pose as spiritual healers, swamis, babas, or spiritual masters because of the hatred people have now developed against witchcraft. There are also hundreds of cases of lynching/killings of witchcraft practitioners in the villages of Indian states of Bihar, West Bengal, etc., with the maximum killings reported from Chhattisgarh.

Nithyananda’s judicial custody extended to June 9

Swami Nithyananda’s judicial custody, which ended today, has been extended to June 9 by the Karnataka High Court. The court also adjourned the hearing of the bail plea of Nityananda Swami, who was arrested on criminal charges including rape, to June 8.

The orders of the court was announced when the case came for hearing before Justice Subhash Adi, after the CID police sought more time to conduct investigations into the alleged cases against Nithyananda Swami, aka Paramahamsa Nithyananda, after hearing the arguments of both the sides.

Also, a writ petition filed by the counsel of Swami Nithyananda against freezing of bank accounts of the trusts of which he is a trustee has been adjourned to June 4 for hearing. Earlier, Nithyananda’s trust’s bank accounts were frozen as the CID police had communicated to ICICI Bank, Corporation Bank and Canara Bank to freeze that the accounts of Dhyanapeetam Charitable Trust, Nithyananda Foundation, Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam and Nithyanandeshwara Devasthana.

Nithyananda’s lawyer contended before the court that there were ‘no victims or witnesses in the case and it was admitted by the investigating agency’.

Swami Nityananda landed in legal controversies in the first week of March 2010 after some TV channels aired alleged videos showing him in a compromising position with a Tamil film and TV actress. He was later arrested from a village near Solan in Himachal Pradesh on April 21.

Nithyananda’s American devotees issued notices

Media reports say that Swami Nithyananda’s American devotees have been issued notices by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Karnataka, seeking their cooperation in the investigations against the self-appointed godman, who is now in judicial custody facing alleged cases of rape, unnatural sex, fraud, criminal intimidation, hurting of religious sentiments and financial irregularities, after he was caught on hidden cameras in a compromising position with a film and television actress and broadcast by television channels.

The American citizens, believed to be the followers or devotees of the alleged sex-scandal hit Swami Paramahamsa Nithyananda, were tracked down through their e-mail ID, according to sources. The two American citizens, now being summoned stayed in Swami Nithyananda’s Bidadi ashram, have agreed to cooperate with the investigation, though no specific date has been fixed for their return to India, according to Deccan Herald.

The controversial godman Swami Nityananda’s bail plea is to come up for hearing on May 26 before the Karnataka High Court, and the CID is expected to include an updated list of notices issued to American nationals in the statement of objections to Swami Nithyananda’s bail plea before the Karnataka High Court. The bail plea was earlier dismissed by a lower court.

Also, the Karnataka High Court, through an order of Justice B.S. Patil, adjourned petitions filed by four trusts run by Nithyananda challenging the freezing of his bank accounts as part of the CID investigation into the alleged sex scam. Earlier, Nithyananda’s Trust’s bank accounts were frozen as the CID had communicated to ICICI Bank, Corporation Bank and Canara Bank to freeze the accounts in the names of Dhyanapeetam Charitable Trust, Nithyananda Foundation, Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam, and Nithyanandeshwara Devasthana.

The CID sleuths have informed the High Court that they have collected evidence from at least 35 witnesses on cases against Swami Nithyananda. Acting upon a search warrant issued by a lower court in Ramanagara, the police have also seized 23 computer hard disks from Bidadi Ashram of Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam.

The bail plea of Nithya Bhaktananda, a disciple of Swami Nithyananda, has also been adjourned to May 26, along with Nithyananda’s petition.

Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam, Hyderabad: According to reports, on Wednesday, May 12, Nithyananda’s ashram was attacked and the ashram inmates chased away by locals of Satamrai in Shamshabad, near Hyderabad. It was the second such attack on the ashram in the last three months. The ashram is built on a 4.5 acre property donated by Sujatha Reddy, a former devotee of Swami Nithyananda. Recently, the locals, who were annoyed by the poor maintenance of the temple and the attitude of Nithyananda’s staff, approached the donor and explained the situation to her.

On Wednesday afternoon, Sujatha Reddy, along with the locals, went to the ashram and asked the Nithyananda’s disciples, who were working as priests and caretakers of the temple, to leave the ashram. Consequently, alleging that they were manhandled by Sujatha Reddy and the local people, the ashram staff approached the RGI Airport police. On the case, inspector R Sanjay Kumar said, "We are talking to both groups and so far no cases have been registered".

Earlier on March 3, after the alleged sex scandal of Swami Nithyananda broke out on television, internet, etc. the local people evicted some of the inmates of Nithyananda’s Ashram here.