Biography of Shant Norashkharian
























I was born on April 30,1953, in Beirut, Lebanon, where I graduated from the Armenian Evangelical College. My father, Hagop Norashkharian, was the author of mostly poetry books, and the grandson of the leader of the Zeytoun Insurrection against the Ottomans/Turks, Prince Nazaret Norashkharian.
         
I began studying at the American University of Beirut, and earned my Electrical Engineering degree from California State University, Los Angeles, after immigrating to the United States in 1976. Mainly because of my father and teachers, I developed a passion for poetry and have been  writing it since childhood. I also made translations of Armenian poetry and prose to English.  I chose my first name Shant because it means peaceful in Sanskrit. My last name means The New World in Armenian. Therefore, my whole name means "peaceful new world".

I currently reside in Dayton, Ohio, United States, and can be reached at the following email address:

thegraypoet@yahoo.com.

My dear grandfather, Levon Norashkharian, who with his father Prince Nazaret Norashkharian, led the people of Zeytoun in Historic Armenia, to fight against the Ottoman/Turkish brutal tyranny for many years.
My dear grandmother, Gadar Norashkharian, who survived the unbelievable horrors of the Armenian Genocide.
My dear father, Hagop Norouni Norashkharian, author and editor, published nine poetry books among others.


The Armenian DNA project tested my DNA free of charge and my great grandparents apparently were the only ones who married sisters and brothers together until recently, which is an Armenian tradition from the pagan times and as you know true with Russian and Eur...opean royalty. They also carried the title of prince over 600 years after the last Armenian kingdom in Ani fell.

At the root of my family tree is a prominent prince called Kogh Vasil and when I mentioned that to a historian, he said there are many books about him (mostly in French) of which I was not aware of. Extensive analysis of my DNA showed that I come from the Cilicia region. If the genes in the royal tombs in Cilcia prove to be the same as mine then I will have the legal right to claim our right for our lands at the International Court.  Some of those royal tombs were most likely plundered, but the mud around the skeletens may be intact. If you could help me get a sample it would be great. In other words, it could happen overnight. It all depends on the geopolitics of the big powers to use it as an opportunity for their plans. Armenia today is nothing more than a den of thieves and must be cleaned up. Armenians in Diaspora are mostly interested in speeches and flags and money. Their interest in Armenian culture stands short of spending $10 for a new CD to help our greatest living classical composer alive, whie a Georgian composer Kancheli is recognized all over the world. Such is the sad state of our affairs. Cheers to freedom and justice!!!

Blood does not wash away, neither does land. The denial by the Turks will simply prolong their own misery!

The Turks with the help of International Zionism and Germans tried to exterminate every male in my famiiy. Only my grandfather survived by organizing his people and fighting in the mountains of Zeytoun. There are eyewitness testimonies of this.. The first insurgence against the Ottoman Empire om 1862 was led by my great granfather. Most Armenians today are buried in the mass media of deception and do not care about the real truth, which also explains their apathy about the plight of the Palestinians and Iraqis who are suffering the same fate. What do we have to show for after 100 years?? Nothing but singing to Ararat with a glass of oghi!! At the root of my family tree is a prominent prince called Kogh Vasil and when I mentioned that to a historian, he said there are many books about him (mostly in French) of which I was not aware of. Extensive analysis of my DNA showed that I come from the Cilicia region. If the genes in the royal tombs in Cilcia prove to be the same as mine then I will have the legal right to claim our right for our lands at the International Court.  Some of those royal tombs were most likely plundered, but the mud around the skeletens may be intact. If you could help me get a sample it would be great. In other words, it could happen overnight. It all depends on the geopolitics of the big powers to use it as an opportunity for their plans. Armenia today is nothing more than a den of thieves and must be cleaned up. Armenians in Diaspora are mostly interested in speeches and flags and money. Their interest in Armenian culture stands short of spending $10 for a new CD to help our greatest living classical composer alive, whie a Georgian composer Kancheli is recognized all over the world. Such is the sad state of our affairs. Cheers to freedom and justice!!!



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The following excerpt from a book called The Book Of Destiny by Carlos Barrios reflects some of my beliefs:

“One day I asked Don Isidro what the Maya's vision is.   'To understand our vision', Don Isidro said, 'first you need to know how we see you. That way you'll be able to understand the natural cycle, the cosmic plan we're a part of, and the teachings our Fathers and Grandfathers passed down to us. What I'm about to say isn't meant to offend or to impose my way of thinking. This is not a competition. Most of humanity is now at the mercy of the white man's way of thinking. The white man, or kaxlan, is in control, in this and in a material or financial sense. All that has happened in the past few centuries was written. Our prophets warned our Grandfathers about the coming of the conquistadors (Hernan Cortes in 1519) and told us there would be no way to stop their rule until the Great Night, a period of 468 years, had elapsed. 'There are two visions, two ways of thinking about existence. The Western world starts from a position of logical reasoning. This is the result of the state of spiritual neglect they're living in. Materialism is nothing more than a palliative for having distanced themselves from nature. Big cities were built without incorporating nature; they even overrode it. There was this sick need for possessions, wealth, and power; the Western world began to think that humans own the earth. They created religious dogma that became a series of impositions designed to dominate the masses. Out of this Puritanism arose an even greater illusion, that of technology and materialism. The West is mired in a state of confusion, licentiousness, and a worship of consumerism. Now they play at being gods and use scientific reasoning to back them up. This has brought nothing but destruction to the planet because they believe it's their divine order to possess or destroy the minds and lives of others. The entire economic system is controlled by one group, and they only see people as numbers, as puppets with a productive lifespan. To keep people in such a position, they blind them to true existence, making them believe they're free when actually they live in police states, ruled by laws and regulations that benefit only those in power. The saddest thing of all is that they've forgotten to live, forgotten to respect the Great Father, and every day they pollute our earth a little more.' 'As a misguided response to this manipulation, some have taken refuge in fearsome religious fundamentalism, creating even more stringent rules. Under this new illusion, they dream of a paradise where they'll live in peace and harmony. Unfortunately, no such kingdom exists in this life' they must wait for death. In the meantime, they must suffer stoically. In other words, there is a submissive population that accepts everything about this 'divine' mandate.' 'Along the way, they've created concepts that, under the umbrella of materialism, abuse the use of reason. Hand in hand with science, they've attempted to classify and place a value on everything. Anything they can't understand is snubbed, denied, or destroyed. They've appointed themselves judges. Dismissing other cultures' truths and imposing their vision for all these years.' 'All this disorder has brought us to a dangerous point. There seems to be no end to the ecological disaster resulting from insanity, ambition, greed and irresponsibility. This is how we see the West. Many of our own people have adopted this vision and lost touch with our ancestors' tradition. We were taught to respect and live in harmony with nature. In our vision, we are part of creation, and we are equals with every other being that inhabits the earth. The knowledge our Father left us was respect. Our vision is of a Natural Order.' 'Since their religious tradition gave them dominion over all being and the earth, they control the life and resources of our brothers the plants and animals. In the name of development, they've determined the destiny of all of us who are a part of creation.' 'By isolating themselves from nature, fear became a part of their lives, and they created rules to contain it. These are a contradiction to the Natural Order. In our vision, humans are not the owners of Mother Earth; we belong to her.”
ere are two visions, two ways of thinking about existence. The Western world starts from a position of logical reasoning. This is the result of the state of spiritual neglect they're living in. Materialism is nothing more than a palliative for having distanced themselves from nature. Big cities were built without incorporating nature; they even overrode it. There was this sick need for possessions, wealth, and power; the Western world began to think that humans own the earth. They created religious dogma that became a series of impositions designed to dominate the masses. Out of this Puritanism arose an even greater illusion, that of technology and materialism. The West is mired in a state of confusion, licentiousness, and a worship of consumerism. Now they play at being gods and use scientific reasoning to back them up. This has brought nothing but destruction to the planet because they believe it's their divine order to possess or destroy the minds and lives of others. The entire economic system is controlled by one group, and they only see people as numbers, as puppets with a productive lifespan. To keep people in such a position, they blind them to true existence, making them believe they're free when actually they live in police states, ruled by laws and regulations that benefit only those in power. The saddest thng of all is that they've forgotten to live, forgotten to respect the Great Father, and every day they pollute our earth a little more.' 'As a misguided response to this manipulation, some have taken refuge in fearsome religious fundamentalism, creating even more stringent rules. Under this new illusion, they dream of a paradise where they'll live in peace and harmony. Unfortunately, no such kingdom exists in this life' they must wait for death. In the meantime, they must suffer stoically. In other words, there is a submissive population that accepts everything about this 'divine' mandate.' 'Along the way, they've created concepts that, under the umbrella of materialism, abuse the use of reason. Hand in hand with science, they've attempted to classify and place a value on everything. Anything they can't understand is snubbed, denied, or destroyed. They've appointed themselves judges. Dismissing other cultures' truths and imposing their vision for all these years.' 'All this disorder has brought us to a dangerous point. There seems to be no end to the ecological disaster resulting from insanity, ambition, greed and irresponsibility. This is how we see the West. Many of our own people have adopted this vision and lost touch with our ancestors' tradition. We were taught to respect and live in harmony with nature. In our vision, we are part of creation, and we are equals with every other being that inhabits the earth. The knowledge our Father left us was respect. Our vision is of a Natural Order.' 'Since their religious tradition gave them dominion over all being and the earth, they control the life and resources of our brothers the plants and animals. In the name of development, they've determined the destiny of all of us who are a part of creation.' 'By isolating themselves from nature, fear became a part of their lives, and they created rules to contain it. These are a contradiction to the Natural Order. In our vision, humans are not the owners of Mother Earth; we belong to her.”

n this and in a material or financial sense. All that has happened in the past few centuries was written. Our prophets warned our Grandfathers about the coming of the conquistadors (Hernan Cortes in 1519) and told us there would be no way to stop their rule until the Great Night, a period of 468 years, had elapsed. 'There are two visions, two ways of thinking about existence. The Western world starts from a position of logical reasoning. This is the result of the state of spiritual neglect they're living in. Materialism is nothing more than a palliative for having distanced themselves from nature. Big cities were built without incorporating nature; they even overrode it. There was this sick need for possessions, wealth, and power; the Western world began to think that humans own the earth. They created religious dogma that became a series of impositions designed to dominate the masses. Out of this Puritanism arose an even greater illusion, that of technology and materialism. The West is mired in a state of confusion, licentiousness, and a worship of consumerism. Now they play at being gods and use scientific reasoning to back them up. This has brought nothing but destruction to the planet because they believe it's their divine order to possess or destroy the minds and lives of others. The entire economic system is controlled by one group, and they only see people as numbers, as puppets with a productive lifespan. To keep people in such a position, they blind them to true existence, making them believe they're free when actually they live in police states, ruled by laws and regulations that benefit only those in power. The saddest thing of all is that they've forgotten to live, forgotten to respect the Great Father, and every day they pollute our earth a little more.' 'As a misguided response to this manipulation, some have taken refuge in fearsome religious fundamentalism, creating even more stringent rules. Under this new illusion, they dream of a paradise where they'll live in peace and harmony. Unfortunately, no such kingdom exists in this life' they must wait for death. In the meantime, they must suffer stoically. In other words, there is a submissive population that accepts everything about this 'divine' mandate.' 'Along the way, they've created concepts that, under the umbrella of materialism, abuse the use of reason. Hand in hand with science, they've attempted to classify and place a value on everything. Anything they can't understand is snubbed, denied, or destroyed. They've appointed themselves judges. Dismissing other cultures' truths and imposing their vision for all these years.' 'All this disorder has brought us to a dangerous point. There seems to be no end to the ecological disaster resulting from insanity, ambition, greed and irresponsibility. This is how we see the West. Many of our own people have adopted this vision and lost touch with our ancestors' tradition. We were taught to respect and live in harmony with nature. In our vision, we are part of creation, and we are equals with every other being that inhabits the earth. The knowledge our Father left us was respect. Our vision is of a Natural Order.' 'Since their religious tradition gave them dominion over all being and the earth, they control the life and resources of our brothers the plants and animals. In the name of development, they've determined the destiny of all of us who are a part of creation.' 'By isolating themselves from nature, fear became a part of their lives, and they created rules to contain it. These are a contradiction to the Natural Order. In our vision, humans are not the owners of Mother Earth; we belong to her.”

         The Poetry Of Shant Norashkharian                                                 From 1988  To 2010