Alina Puscau Romanian Actress Victoria's Secret Model and Singer in Playboy, Africa, March 2012

 

Alina Puşcău is a Romanian actress, Victoria's Secret model and singer. She has appeared on the cover of Playboy and released a debut single and music video titled "When You Leave", which is a cover of the English version of "Dragostea din tei".

Alina was the girlfriend of American filmmaker and director Brett Ratner until they split in 2010 and has previously had relationships with Eddie Irvine, and Vin Diesel. She denied that she had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, although it was reported in some press.

Jade Fairbrother Soth African Playmate Hot andSexy Photos in Playboy Magazine, Africa, September 2011

Jade Fairbrother was announced as South Africa’s first ever Playboy Playmate of the Year 2012.

The 25-year-old from Cape Town received the title on Friday night at a gala function held at the ZAR night club in Sandton, Johannesburg, the Saturday Star reported.

“It feels amazing. It still hasn’t hit me though,” Fairbrother told the newspaper.

Fairbrother received a customised Playboy pendant worth R50,000 and would spend five days at the Playboy mansion in Los Angeles as part of her prize.

She also won an expensive watch and would feature as the cover girl for the March edition of Playboy, the newspaper reported.

Jesinta Campbell Australlian @ FHM, Australia, December 2010

 

Jesinta Campbell is a pageant titleholder from Australia. She won her national title, Miss Universe Australia, on 17 June 2010. She born on 12 August 1991.

Campbell was crowned Miss Universe Australia 2010 on 17 June 2010 then became a contestant at the Miss Universe 2010 pageant. She finished as the second runner-up behind Yendi Phillipps (Jamaica) and winner Ximena Navarrete (Mexico). She was also designated Miss Congeniality at this pageant.

In September 2010, she became a guest reporter for entertainment and fashion subjects on Seven Network's The Morning Show.

In October 2011, she appeared as a contestant on the Nine Network's The Celebrity Apprentice Australia as a member of Team Unity.

More Photos of Jesinta Campbell 

 

Women in Islamic countries across the Middle East are forced to wear coverings, known as Burqas or Hijabs from heat-to-toe. In many nations, such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, such dress standards are strictly enforced by law. In front of a millions of viewers worldwide on 23rd August 2010 night, watching the Miss Universe pageant, Miss Australia seemingly took a stand against such oppressive policies.

From the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Aug. 23:

Miss Australia Jesinta Campbell: What role should the government play in regulating potentially offensive clothing? "One of the greatest things we have is the freedom of choice...I don't think the government should have any say in what we wear."

Her answer was met with loud cheers from the audience.

However, she did not make the top two contestants. The pageant was won by Miss Mexico. Campbell was in the Top 5, along with Miss Phillipines, Miss Jamaica, and Miss Ukraine.

Interestingly, Miss Ukraine was similarly asked a political question. She was queried about full body scans at airports to protect against potential terrorists. Neighboring Russia has been a target of Islamic terrorism in recent years. Her response:

This is a very important question of security. To avoid the type of catastrophes that we are well aware. So if that helps us to save the lives of people then I’m for it!

Out of a total of 83 contestants, only 6 came from predominantly Muslim countries: Egypt, Lebanon, Kosovo, Indonesia, Turkey, and Albania. Notably, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, and other large-population Muslim nations, did not participate.

God Vinayaka Photos | Vigneswara Photos | Maha Ganapathy Photos

Ganesha, गणेश,Gaṇeśa, also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh, also known as Ganapati (Sanskrit: गणपति, IAST: gaṇapati), Vinayaka (Sanskrit: विनायक; IAST: Vināyaka), and Pillaiyar (Tamil: பிள்ளையார்), is one of the deities best-known and most widely worshipped in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.

Although Ganesa is known by many other attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him particularly easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles and more generally as Lord of Beginnings and Lord of Obstacles (Vighnesha (Sanskrit: विघ्नेश; IAST: Vighneśa), Vighneshvara (Sanskrit: विघ्नेश्वर; IAST: Vighneśvara)), patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom. He is honoured at the beginning of rituals and ceremonies and invoked as Patron of Letters during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.

Ganesha emerged a distinct deity in clearly recognizable form in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. His popularity rose quickly, and he was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya (Sanskrit: गाणपत्य; IAST: gāṇapatya), who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity, arose during this period. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.

Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum (Tamil:ஓம், Sanskrit:ॐ) also called Om). The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the primal sound. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association. Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:

O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).

Ganesha is worshipped on many religious and secular occasions; especially at the beginning of ventures such as buying a vehicle or starting a business. K.N. Somayaji says, "there can hardly be a [Hindu] home [in India] which does not house an idol of Ganapati. Ganapati, being the most popular deity in India, is worshipped by almost all castes and in all parts of the country". Devotees believe that if Ganesha is propitiated, he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity.

Ganesha is a non-sectarian deity, and Hindus of all denominations invoke him at the beginning of prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies. Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to Ganesha. Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah (Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha) are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts).

Devotees offer Ganesha sweets such as modaka and small sweet balls (laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra. Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with red sandalwood paste (raktacandana) or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and other materials are also used in his worship.

Festivals associated with Ganesh are Ganesh Chaturthi or Vināyaka chaturthī in the śuklapakṣa (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the Gaṇeśa jayanti (Gaṇeśa's birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the śuklapakṣa (fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of māgha (January/February)."

An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesh Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha, symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water, while the people shout "Ganapati Bappa Morya" (Ganesh come back soon next year). Some families have a tradition of immersion on the 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune, and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.

Halebid Ganesha..truncated by Ghazni Mohd!

Madurai Vinayakar

Ujjain Vinayakar

Maheshwar

Lord Vinayaka Swamy

Dancing Lord Ganesha

Lord Vinayaka Deity Pendants in Platinum

Ganesh Wallpaper

Chaturbhuj Lord Ganesha

Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some Brahmins (brāhmaṇas) chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition, as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.

The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana—and their dating relative to one another—has sparked academic debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews comments about dating and provides her own judgement. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.

R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. However, Phyllis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha. She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. While the kernel of the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the 16th or 17th centuries.