User talk:MadhuS.vichare
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Mesopotamia was surrounded by other peoples and cultures. Sometimes they were allies and trading partners, but often they were rivals and enemies. Elam lay between River Tigris and the Zagros (Sanskrit – Jaagruta) Mountains with the capital at Susa (Sustha – in good shape). Its culture goes back to 4000 BCE. Elamites had adapted cuneiform script and often wrote in the Sumerian language. Mesopotamians developed trading links with many places to the east, including Dilmun, Magan, and Bactria. Dimun, in the Persian Gulf, was especially important, as it was strategically for trade between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley. By 2500 BCE, an advanced culture was flourishing in the Indus Valley. The Sumerians described it as Meluhha (Meru – Sky, Heaven). The people invented their own writing, but experts still haven’t manage to understand it… they have to study “Munda” language to decode the script.
Mesopotamia means the land between the rivers in Greek; Temple of Tell Al-Ubaid (Upendra – Vishnu) displayed bulls, which were often used in sacrifice as they were a symbol of power; it is obvious Vedic totem was lost.
Greek Mythology states that god Zeus hurled his first thunderbolt from Olympus (Vedic god with thunderbolt as weapon is Indra. Zeus is attested as a pre-eminent god as early as 1400 BCE By some accounts the birth place of Zeus was Lykaion. It further says that Zeus kills his father the sky too – it is the suggestion that after day the night follows – While sage Gautama was away Indra slept with his wife Ahalya – stories are symbolic yet the main theme is unhidden. Recently archaeologists found the ashes, bones and other evidence of animal sacrifices to some pre-Zeus deity on the summit of mount Lykaion (Sanskrit – likh – to write, to draw a picture, or to dig a pit for Yajnya), in the region of Greece known as Arcadia (Arka – sun, or agni used at the time of “Ashvamedha Yajnya, ardal and also ardhya – meditation on the sun). The remains were uncovered in 2007 at an alter later devoted to Zeus. Fragments of a course, undecorated pottery in the debris indicated that the sacrifices might have been made as early as 3000 BCE, the archaeologists concluded. It was 900 years before the Greeks arrived on the scene. Pottery experts, geologists and other archaeologists worked in a team.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Science in Vedas/Vedas time frame
The last Ice Age was at its height around 16,000 BCE, had a major influence on how early people developed. It was the most recent of several Ice Ages that have occurred over the last 2.3 million years. With much water locked up in ice, the sea level was about 90 meter lower than what it is today. As a result there was dry land between Siberia and Alaska, between Australia and New Guinea and between Europe and Britain. This allowed people to migrate. The Ice Age people made cave paintings. Some other people did observation and a lot of thinking, till thoughts were written on their mental screens; this they began discussing among themselves. The process continued - their wandering continued – their observations continued – their discussions continued and around 10,000 BCE Vedas started taking shape. The first was the Rugveda, the verses were formed , discarded and new were formed. The very thinking process boosted up their intelligence level, accumulated knowledge boosted up their wisdom and Rugveda became a guide for further thinking and so new Vedas in the form of Atharva-Veda, Yajur-Veda Sama-Veda followed.
With the knowledge thus accumulated Aryans could settle down as well formed society. Pursuit of knowledge continued – science, art and philosophical wings were growing and developing. They thought of religion for the entire humanity, made rules to bring in righteousness as the main purpose of religion. Then came a big change, a natural calamity – Ice Age was coming to an end, water levels were rising and around 7500 BCE Mediterranean sea water poured into the Fresh Water lake turning it into what is known today as Black Sea. This was a Fresh Water Lake between Europe and Asia bordered by Turkey, Rumania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Georgia, and the today’s Russian Federation. Greeks called it Pontus Euxinus. I call it “Pavat Akshayaha” It was the water, Aryans thought, was renewing by itself, it was pure and inexhaustible. A Stotra called “Pavamaanaha” was formulated on its bank. Pavamaanaha was regularly chanted in a Yajnya in praise of “Soma”. It is believed Lord Indra obtain his weapon called “Pavihi” on the bank of “Pavat Akshayaha”.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Science in Vedas/Vedas time frame
Vedanta, Upanishads, Aranyake, are written to explain the 4 Vedas abundantly. Where these Vedas were conceptualized? This is the big question and Indian Vedantins and all other disciplines connected with the Vedas are contented that the Vedas were conceptualized on the slopes of the Himalayas. According to them Ancient Sages wrote Vedas with the help from Lord Brahma Himself. This was in 1500 BCE; Vedic Sanskrit came to these men. In the other parts of the world Sage Kashyapa had gone and delivered the Sanskrit language to Scandinavians, Tuetons, Goths, and many other human races settled around Black Sea when it was a fresh Water Lake. Persians knew Sanskrit through Prophet Zoroaster, who was around Russian region, Russians learnt Sanskrit from Sage Yaska, who had rearranged verses of Vedas. This was all between 10,000 – 7500 BCE.
According to Indian source, their Great Sages saw the phenomenon called Aurora Borealis on the slopes of Himalayas; - an aurora that occurs in earth’s northern hemisphere, also called northern lights. (a luminous phenomenon that consists of streamers or arches of light appearing in the upper atmosphere of a plant’s polar regions and is caused by the emission of light from atoms excited by electrons accelerated along the planet’s magnetic field lines. Alaska is the place where this is seen. Aurora Australis is seen in the vicinity of South Pole). Even today these people stick to their belief, because the Vedas are god sent.
Tilak tried to suggest that ancient Aryans stayed for a while in the vicinity of Arctic region, he was quoting from Rugvedic verses, where “Ushas” the dawn stayed as long as two to three month; he also referred to the lunar calendar used by the Indians for Astrological predictions. Max Muller won’t agree. Scientific tools like Archaeology, carbon dating were absent in the late 19th century. Today even we have exo-biology to search for life outside the earth. Yet to grant the authenticity to Ramayana war, political Indians caught hold of Goldman, who is professor of Sanskrit at the University of California at Berkeley. He said, the Sanskrit scholars, who lived between 1200 and 1800 ACE, were not “prepared to swallow any thing” and went through the texts carefully. They have painstakingly chronicled day-to-day events of the battle of Lanka. They have done meticulous calculations of the lunar calendar to explain the event Bunkum absolute. Tilak was wrong and Goldman was right. Goldman was short of saying that early Englishmen visited India during the period of war and even took part in the battle; that is how we find Sanskrit words in English like corruption of Sanskrit pitru, maatru, bhaartru, svasru.
Werner Heisenberg wrote: It is probably true generally that in the history of human thinking the most fruitful developments frequently take place at those points where two different lines of thought meet. These links may have their roots in quite different parts of human culture, in different times, or environments or different religious traditions. So all these people separated and met and separated again and again. The melting pot was the vast landscape from the vicinity of North Pole to the countries around Black Sea, Areas of the lands washed by Tigris Euphrates Rivers, Nile River, and Danube River.
I wish to take you to the trip of these ancient developments. Hence my postings will continue for a while. It covers Egyptian Mythology, Greek Mythology too.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas
Puraanic tales and epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata, also Vedaanta and Upanishada have relevance; yet to a greater extent Puraanas were extolling the importance of the particular god. In Shiva Puraana Shiva was main god, in Vishnu Puraana Vishnu was main god and so on. It is observed that Ancient Puraanic tales have common theme when compared to Norse Myths, Danish Myths, Gothic Myths, Egyptian Myths, Greek Myths, Aztec Myths, Maayan Myths, and many more.
Venaha was a great king of Sun Dynasty. He excelled in many skills and realized that he ruled efficiently than the god king Indra. So he declared that the worship of gods in heaven and Yajnya rituals be discontinued immediately. But the wise Sages of his time did not agree, as the legend has it he was killed by them by the power of mantra; and again brought him to life as a new personality, whose mental screen was wiped cleaned. Now he did not object to the worship of gods in heaven, and the Yajnya rituals were restored. He had a new name Pruthuraaj, the king of the earth planet. The other story from Puraana is that of King Nahusha, Sages agreed to give him the equal veneration as given to Indra, but he also wanted Indra’s wife for himself, Sages were carrying him to Indra’s thrown in a palanquin and he was asking them to hurry up wanting to hold Indra’s wife in his arms, he shouting “sarpa, sarpa meaning go fast; (Sanskrit root is “srup” to go, and imperative is ‘sarta’). Because of his insolence Sage Agasti cursed him that he will be a serpent; noun “sarpa means serpent. Thus he left and went to Patala.
There are people in central and south America known as Nahuatl (Spanish-nalwatle); they are in southern Mexico and Central America; the Uto-Aztecan language of these peoples is also known as Nahuatl. These are also a group of American Indian languages spoken in parts of Western North America, from Alaska to northern Mexico. Aztec Empire was in Mexico, and Inca Empire was in South America. The Aztec deity “Huitzilopochtli” was depicted as a serpent. We can see King Nahusha in the name Nahuatl, though appears distorted.
The word Aztec too is near to Sanskrit “Aajaanaha”, meaning basic reason; or “Aajananam”, meaning from noble heritage; “Ajata” means ownership of the land. Aztec marriage rituals include “Saptapadi” – circling fire seven times. Sun and fire is considered one and the same.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/Introducing Myself
I'm Madhukar S. Vichare, an ex-mariner who has sailed the high seas for the past few decades as a Chief engineer on board different types of merchant vessels calling various ports in the different parts of the world. My study of the origin of religion which started as a hobby has ended up as a book called "Universal Religion" published by Arthur house of United Kingdom. I am interested in displaying my book in various bookshops for the purpose of commercial sales and also to spread the information therein. I have hosted a web site called http://members.rediff.com/madhukarvichare/index.htm; which gives a fair idea of my efforts in this direction and have also attached the introduction circulated by Arthur house at the time the book was published. My book is an attempt to philosophize the arguments in the research I have undertaken in Indology.
The use of “Diacritics” has specific purpose; it helps to write and read Sanskrit words correctly as they appear in “Devanagari” script. It’s over a century, the diacritics are universally accepted. And diacritics can only remain readable in PDF format wherein optical character recognition does not come into play. Hence attachment file is in PDF format. By juxtaposing all the religious concepts and basic mythologies clear picture emerges for everyone to see and contemplate. This is what I have done and I wish you will take a look at it.
Tales of Scand Puraana are the true reflection of the religion that was conceptualized by the ancient Sages of early Aryan settlement in the near vicinity of Polar region. In my mind this idea is fixed as I notice that countries comprising Scandinavia have the origin of concept. It is in their names I still see the first words of Sanskrit uttered by the Sages. Most of the first Sages are nameless; their names are their utterances. To begin, the name Scandinavia has “Scand” in its name. Norse Mythology of Norway has “Nrusimha”, Danish Mythology says that the name Denmark is “Danu Marg”; Danu is Mother Goddess, daughter of Daksha and wife of Sage Kashyapa. German Goths believe that their ancestors came from snow-covered island called “Scandz”. Teutons were the members of ancient German or Celtic people; their mythology states that they are the generation of 5th root humans.
Earlier 4 Roots in the stages of human evolution, Puraanic tales are “Matsya”, “Koorma” Turtle, Varaaha, beasts, “Nrusimha”; earlier there were half developed human beings called “Lemurians” (off-shoots of monkey species Ring-tail Lemur). And 5th root human chieftain was Manu – Manu made us Maanavas; Danu made us Daanavas. All these original settlers scattered around due to catastrophic changes Earth was going through, new mythologies were coming into existence. Eskimos have their own mythology, Egyptians had theirs’ Greeks wrote theirs’ and there was no end to the mythologies. Web Sites are infested with mythologies, yet the threads that binds them together is the one that started in Scandinavia. One can see the roots of basic thought of these ancient Sages in the thinking of Judaism, Christianity and later cults. The languages changed and borrowing words and ideas became common; that is human nature, but segregation and complexes divided the human community further.
The use of “Diacritics” has specific purpose; it helps to write and read Sanskrit words correctly as they appear in “Devanagari” script. It’s over a century, the diacritics are universally accepted. And diacritics can only remain readable in PDF format wherein optical character recognition does not come into play. Hence attachment file is in PDF format. By juxtaposing all the religious concepts and basic mythologies clear picture emerges for everyone to see and contemplate. This is what I have done and I wish you will take a look at it.
Madhukar S. Vichare.
[edit] Going back to Vedas period and Place/influence of Aryans
Most Egyptian gods were gods of specific objects or activity; some gods represented more abstract ideas such as justice and harmony or wisdom. Many gods and goddesses were associated with a particular animal, bird or plant, and were often represented in more than one way. Hathor Sekhet is sometimes shown as a cow, a woman, or a woman with the head or ears of a cow. In Vedas a cow is imagined and compared with the planet earth; in Vedas she is called “Prushni” means sun rays; The other name for cow is “sthulaprushati” – in Yajnya ritual this imagined symbolic cow is sacrificed. In Egypt “Hator Sekhet” represents the Universe and she carries on her horns the boat of sun god “Ra”. Hatore Sekhet in Sanskrit Hastena Sek – sprinkling seminal effusion – sektru – one who sprinkles – This Egyptian god is in the form of a bull and he sprinkles the earth with his semen, hence the men and bulls on earth produce offspring in abundance.
In Rugveda sun is described as “apaam garbha” – sun holds the water (Rug. 1.164.52). Egyptian priest used to sprays water through pin-hole on the bride groom as a marriage ritual – this carries the same sense that sun holds water. The pin hole represents the sun. Eagle and other strong birds are also referred as symbol of the sun; ancient Egypt had the same beliefs.
Roots of almost all universal customs are found in Vedic period. Places vary: The slopes of the Caucasus, Scandinavia, or the valley of Euphrates and Tigris, Rumania, Turkey and other areas around the Black Sea – which was the Fresh Water Lake before the Great Floods. Ancient Sages had a thought, a strange thought (AUM pronunciation enabled them to go for forming words and give them meaning, while other animals are still repeating the same sound their ancestors gave them). Their observations were formulating relationships of the forces of Nature – The sun swallows the moon, they interpreted; and moon emerges a new and healthier than before. And that was transformed into a ritual for the health of their offspring: Yajnya swallows the host who performs the Yajnya; likewise the priest who performs the ritual of systemizing young boy in the disciplined youth is the swallower and the young “Batu” the swallowed. It was observed that the moon goes through the phases of waning and waxing, that was construed as moon going through the process of rebirth and thus lives healthier. “Batu” ritual would add vitality to him as he grows into a man. These rituals are not observed only in India; there are many tribes spread over the world. We will soon talk about them.
Madhu S Vichare,
[edit] Going back to Vedas period and Place/influence of Aryans
New Southwelse’s Australian tribe has similar ritual version though conceptualized differently. It is believed that a divine animal called “Therinaline”( A character from Mythology “Taraneya”, worshipper of the sun) carries the young child to be killed, and as a token of that one tooth is removed and the child is returned to the community. Some elderly person acts as Taraneya. (Frazer, “The Golden Bough” – sec. 2 Page 348). In Queensland in the similar type of ritual an equipment called “Bull Roarer” is used to make extremely loud sound and all the children of that age are gathered in a hut outside the village, and returned after the ritual, to their parents. (Andrew Lang, “Customs and Myths”). On the same line the ritual is performed in New Guinea (Island in Malay archipelago N of E Australia). The swallowing Divine beast god here is known as “Marshaba” (This could be phonetic corruption of Sanskrit “Maartanda”, sun also wild boar). In one sense he represents death and the other second birth. (“Ukta Grantha” Page 344-345 onward).
This is pastoral symbolism: paster – herdsman – L- pascere means to feed. It is based on livestock raising, related to spiritual care and guidance. Sanskrit “patsyam” meaning shelter is more appealing, “Paanshul” is name of one of the weapons of Shiva. In the Greek mythology Cronus, a Titan dethroned by his son Zeus, used to swallow his own children, this has same sense that the sun swallows his own planets. “Akaambaa” tribe of Africa has rituals resembling the idea of new birth. Most of these words are akin to Sanskrit. Akaamba – aakumbha – from the earthen pot. (birth of Sage Agasti is from the Kumbha and that of Dronaacharya is from Drona is known as mentioned in Ancient Scriptures. In Akaamban language a word for rebirth is “Kochiaru Okeri” meaning from Divine beast in the form of a goat. Goat is Kochiaru om bor. Sanskrit ajaha, bastaha is goat; moon’s crescent edges are “Korihi” in Sanskrit.
Vedic “Upanayan” ritual of Batu has one more aspect: The thread made of grass was put around his waist. This is a suggestion that he should be disciplined as he grows into a young man. Sages had observed this discipline in the sky: sun and his planets are suspended but they move about in disciplined manner, maintaining their distances, speeds and positions.
Reference about women is reflexes of woman’s place in Vedic Aryan society. The first woman is Aditi, and she had relations with many devas so she may give birth to strong and healthy children; the other womwn followed the suit. The institution of marriage was absent in that period of time. And when Vaivasvat Manu made the rules for Aryan society, man was permitted to take as many wives as he would like or maintain. And woman was disallowed to take more than one man as her husband as per the rule. As the society grew out of proportion, women were subjected to more restrictions.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Going back to Vedas period and Place/influence of Aryans
The Sanaatana Dharma stands for Eternal or Universal Righteousness. Babylonians, Sumerians, Persians, after the Great Floods lost contact with the batch of Aryans who took northward route to India via Hindukush or Caucasus-Indicus Mountain Ranges, Afghanistan, Baluchistan and finally they landed in India. Some places they had to fight with the local groups, some places they had to join forces together for the safe follow-through. Vaishnavites and Shaivites were equally advanced in culture and war weapons. So the groups amalgamated. Local languages were absorbed in the mainstream Sanskrit. The time frame was considerably longer – Asura King Bali and Vishnu in the disguise of young Batu Wamana is associated with the cultures coming together. The place of the scene was Afghanistan- corrupted from “Upa-gana-stana” (Shiva had his ganas, his ardent followers, and their followers were known as subordinates or Upa-ganas).
Ganesh Shiva’s son is the chieftain of ganas. They lives on the slopes of the Hindukush Mountain Ranges. {the other example in this respect is Turkey or Turkastan is corrupted from “Tirtha-stana”, the place of pilgrimage- as the legend has it- Sage Vyasa was not happy with many a Aryan settlements (Groups) performing Yajnyas on a large scale, the food was offered to gods in heaven and animal sacrifice was reducing the livestock. He declared that pilgrimage to holy places will also please the Gods in heaven, hence the Yajnyas may be stopped altogether or only the chieftain of the place should perform Yajnya ritual for the benefit of his clan. The place Ankara (Today capital of Turkey) was designated as a pilgrim spot. Vyasa created the Aura around the – he said Brahma lives there in the form of AUM and called the place “Omkaara”. It corrupted to Ankara.}.
Therefore, after the long disassociation Persians (Zoroastrians to be more precise) came as invaders in approximately 3500 BCE they mate their kinsmen, but now complete strangers, and speaking a different dialect (Sanskrit had gone through a phenomenal change, 19th century philologists termed it “Munda”. It had Afghani, Baluchi, and the words from the original people of Indus Valley, which include Dravidian languages). They called them Sindus; Zoroastrians pronounce “S” as “H”, hence Sindus became Hindus. Later on Huns from Rumania invaded India, but no invaders returned to their place of origin. The old association of the Zoroastrians is obvious: their Super Personality of Godhead is “Ahura Mazda”; the word is “Asura Mardan” pointing towards Krushna. The word “Munda” is also a corrupted form of Mantra (Ved Mantra – Chinese official language Mandarin is also a corruption of Mantra.
The Munda language was the language of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa, (Mahesh and Hara is Shiva) the civilizations on proper Indian soil which got buried; Archaeological investigation suggests that it was in existence in 2500 BCE. Rationally thinking people will realize that Vedas could not have been conceptualized in 1500 BCE on the slopes of the Himalayas, wherein most of Rug Vedic verses are in praise of dawn “Ushas” – Oh Ushas stay there for a longer time, let our cattle have grass to feed on so we can feed on the milk products. There was no need for these verses where the dawn is present throughout the year. And Sanskrit was the dialect of the ancient Aryans before 7500 BCE. India has Caucasians, Nordic, Alpine, Armenoid, Persian, Mesopotamian, and Mediterranean races. Aryans also took other roots in search of shelter and food.
madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Going back to Vedas period and Place/influence of Aryans
The ancient Aryan settlers were on the move because the environment was hostile. The stage of hunting /gathering was over. Their intellect was on the increase, the spoken language Sanskrit was increasing its vocabulary. Sages had given the settlers the basic thought at the cost of their life. They existed as thought, and thinking power, it was necessary to proceed from that point. They knew the development of human intellect was on the increase, but they also realized the beast in man was showing in various stages of human behavior. Genome and DNA they did not understand; how the evolution takes its course in human, they were unaware. They developed the curiosity in the disciples of the Sages who had meditated on the original thought of the sages. This can be put philosophically: Rushis did not exist, they were considered as manifestation of “Praanaha”. In the process of understanding “Brahman” they laid down their lives. “Rish – reshati, rishyati – to perish; they perished in their bodies, but their soul and mind survived. They were called “Rushis”. They were thoughts, principles, disciplines; -Basic intelligence was called “Indra – soul, which manifested in all disciples.
Life is built around sex; this fact is depicted in various ways by the Ancient Sages: Sage Agasti and Sage Vasishtha are brothers. How are they born? He is the son of “Mitravaruna”, Mitra is Sun, and Varuna is god of rain, both are males, but when is used to mean “Night” – MitraVaruna is a couple – during the Yajnya ritual they saw the nymph “Urvashi” near by and they had ejaculation; the semen and female egg met outside and two sons were born. Agasti and Vasishtha. This is only symbolic of the power of Creation. One Rugveda verse says “Sa Kaamayate” – the Creator is in sexual passion, the hidden sense is soon the Universe will take birth. This was the positive thinking of the Ancient Aryan Sages.
However, soon the senior thinking heads of the groups of Settlements realized that they had unruly and wild and strong youths among them and it was necessary to discipline them, to bind them in the laws of Dharma. Righteousness is what they had in their mind. They dedicated their energy towards this goal. Though the tradition remained oral for quite some time, Sanskrit language developed further and wandering Aryan groups spread the language on the earth wherever human groups were settling.
With the other groups language’s nascency went through a change, yet it helped to remove their nesciences. Vedic rituals took different forms but basic concept remained in tact. In this regard it will be worthwhile to look at Ancient Egyptian culture, Pre-Geek culture, Babylonian civilization Sumerian culture, Persian civilization and many more like Inca and other old American cultures. All are influenced by the Aryan culture of 10,000 years BCE.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Going back to Vedas period and Place/influence of Aryans
The story of “shunahashepa” is pre-Vedic narration. Wherein Sage Vishwamitra, King Haricchandra are involved. Shunahashepa is the son of Sage Ruchika. (Sage Ruchika is the father of Sage Jamadagni and was married Vishwamitra’s sister) King Haricchandra sacrifices him as a gift to Varuna for the better crops in his kingdom. This does in spite of his promise to offer his won son in sacrifice to Varuna. Vishwamitra secretly adopts shunahashepa as his son and shunahashepa goes away in search of knowledge. This story suggests the wild imagination of these pre-Vedic sages before their intellect had improved and their thinking was substantivized. However, this is the concept of “Rajasooya” – raja suyate atra; he is reborn (soo - suyate - to bring forth, saving the animal fetus).
“Saraswaan” is another deity in the sky, Sage Vasishtha was looking at the Milky Way (Galaxy); it is the male version of River Saraswati. (Rugveda – 7.95;96). The reference of this is in Zoroastrian Avestaa too. And the River Tigris was venerated with the title of celestial River (The Galaxy).
Vrushabha the bull also appears as female in the Rugveda. Sun is vrushabha and the Earth “prushni” is cow. This is cosmo-sexualism. This particular stage was farming as well as roaming; because only farming was not sufficient, hunting animals continued for extra food. And because of farming faith in Divine blessing was on the increase. “shunaasirau stutyaaha” – plough and attached sharp-edge (Flint).were worth praising. In the later verses in Rugveda Rudra was replaced with Shiva and vrushabha the bull found his place with Shiva as “Nandi”.
God did not come on the Earth planet to write Vedas; it was the evolving man whose intelligence was growing, created god out of fear of death in particular and the ignorance to figure out the turmoil on the earth and in the space above. Thinking Sages soon realized that soul searching activity provides with variety of new interpretations of the observed phenomenon. The mental screen has infinite number of explanations and as per the intelligence level of the Rushi interpretations varied in meaning. Einstein said his Theory of Relativity was not the result of arduous work – the idea came to his mind from his inner vision of the soul. Ancient Rushis got their ideas from the inner vision of the soul – it may come as a dream too.
Cosmos is ever expanding – it appears steady because we don’t have telescopic eye sight. It does maintain the dynamic balance though. During this process specks of cosmic energy balls enter the earth’s atmosphere – someone whose mind is alert and engaged on some problem attracts one of these specks – it provides the mind with Divine solution – the same cosmic energy has provided the animal and plant life to the earth. The process is self-supporting. This is the creative manifestation of cosmic energy we call GOD. The same energy gave Vedas to our deserving Aryan Sages.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Going back to Vedas period and Place/influence of Aryans
There is a reference of “Sita Yajnya” in the Puraanic stories, where farming communities’ rituals are highlighted. This Yajnya was the part of the farming traditions of the post-Vedic era. The farming was sufficiently developed: They made wooden hoes, to prepare the fields for planting and wooden sickles fitted with sharp flint blades to cut the crops. They made stone querns to grind the grain to make flour, and simple clay pots to carry water and milk. “Seetaa” means line made by the plough’s sharp flint blade. Through memories people had enough knowledge of Vedic period Yajnyas. And “Sita Yajnya was performed on the lines of Vedic Yajnya rituals – This line became symbolic of deity of prosperity in the heaven who made the farming successful. These rituals became the traditions of the future time. (Ravana’s abduction of Sita is the suggestion of the thefts of flint blades- this was the rare commodity, and a few craftsmen worked on it; they could be bought by giving cows or grains, not all could afford it. So in the night thieves removed the flint blade where plough was left buried in the line became symbol of Ravana asking Sita to cross the to offer him alms, “Bhikshaa”). New gods took place of the Vedic gods; now ordinary peoples were involved in the rituals and the craftsmen were important praxes. The praxeology was changing into traditions of religion of the people encompassing all communities in varied occupations.
The worship of the Persian god “Mithra” spread as far as Europe, it was especially popular with Romans (The Vedic couple “Mitra Varuna” - sun and the god of rain was Persians’ “Mithra Ahura”. Mithra is sun and Ahura was considered superior to sun). The Prophet Zoroaster taught that the life was a struggle between forces of good and evil – “sura Asura” conflict of Vedas.
Egyptian Apis Bull is the Vedic version of “Apaan Vrushabha”, which represents the sun, Varuna, or Ocean, but in general means “Agni”. Apis bulls were always black, with a white patch on their forehead and double white hairs in their tail. The Apis bull was carried on a sacred barque and was paraded at religious festivals.
Now there were new activities of journeys: People who spoke Sanskrit of post-Vedic period began journeying from southern Europe and Russia to the Middle East sometime time before 3000 BCE – two of those groups were the Mittanni and Hittites. The Mittanni lived in northern Mesopotamia. They were enthusiastic about horses, and wrote books on how to train them. The Hittites were a warlike nation who settled in a region called Anatolia, in Turkey. Around 2500 BCE they conquered the Mattanni and many other peoples, building up a large Empire. ( This is Mahabharata Period of 4000-2000 BCE). Time frames are flexible – Influece of Ramayana Period is traceable to the activities of the people of Mesopotamia in around 6500 – 4000 BCE. Tigris Euphrates delta areas where alluvial deposits were in abundance and the their Estuaries where sea crafts could be worked. The influence of Ramayana spread up to Egypt.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/and Sanskrit roots in other languages of the world
Finns (phiha means angry but wicked man), who introduced a birch-tree sweetener for gum, have found that the habit of chewing sticky lumps dates back thousands of years. Last month, students in western Finland found a piece of Stone Age birch-bark tar, believed to have been used for chewing and to fix broken arrowheads or clay dishes, archaeologists said. "Most likely the lump was used as an antique kind of chewing gum," said Sami Viljamaa, an archaeologist who led the dig near Oulu, (Aulanam - Lake) north of Helsinki (helihi -the sun; sina – a period of “No Moon” night when the small part of Moon is visible at certain latitudes). "But its main purpose was to fix things." Viljamaa said the piece of Neolithic gum was found among artifacts in a Stone Age village at the Kierikki (Kairavaḥ - Moon-lit-Night) Stone Age Center. "It's somewhere between 5,500 and 6,000 years old," he said. The ancient Finnish habit of chewing gum surged in the 1980s when scientists discovered that gum containing xylitol prevented tooth decay.
Egyptian archaeologists have found what they said could be the oldest human footprint in history in the country's western desert, the Arab country's antiquities' chief said. "This could go back about two million years," said Zahi Hawass, the secretary general of the Egyptian supreme council of antiquities. "It could be the most important discovery in Egypt," he said. Archaeologists found the footprint, imprinted on mud and then hardened into rock, while exploring a prehistoric site in Shiwa (Shiva in search of water for cooling down), a desert oasis. Scientists are using carbon tests on plants found in the rock to determine its exact age, Hawass said. Khaled Saad, the director of prehistory at the council, said that based on the age of the rock where the footprint was found, it could date back even further than the renowned 3million year-old fossil Lucy, the partial skeleton of an ape-man, found in Ethiopia in 1974. Most archaeological interest in Egypt is focused on the time of the pharaohs. Previously, the earliest human archaeological evidence from Egypt dated back around 200,000 years, Saad said.
Madhu S Vichare
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/and Sanskrit roots in other languages of the world
I have highlighted my views of looking at the old concepts with new insights in view of the new knowledge: The subject of INDOLOGY will be meaningful. Madhukar Vichare.
Anandamurti JI wrote for the “Speaking Tree” (On Religion):
Taraka (Tarkaha or Taaraka) Brahma wants to emancipate living beings, but only those who want liberation get liberation. When you long for liberation, the search leads you to the Sadguru. Every one of us has a fixed role to play. You are a character in a divine drama. The composer of this drama is Taaraka Brahma. An episode in the Mahabharata is instructive in this regard: After battle, the battleground at Kurukṣetra became a cremation ground. At the end of the war some people came there from the Kauravas' side. Among them were women and a few elderly men. Gandhaari, mother of the Kauravas, was also there. Kuntī, mother of the Pandavas, and Krushna, Pandavas' friend, were present as well, along with the visually challenged Dhrutarashtra.
Everyone was weeping. Gandhaari had lost hundred sons in the war. Krushna approached Gandhaari and said: "Mother, why are you weeping? Death is a naturallay. One who is born will die. So why cry?" Gandhaari replied: "Yes Krushna, you have come here to console me, but I ask you, behind this great event whose mind was at work? Who was the author of this great plan? Was it not you?" Krushna replied: "Those who have committed injustice and sinned have been punished. What can I do about that?" Gandhaari said to Krushna: "Everything you have said up until now is quite correct. From the worldly point of view, everything that has happened until now is as it should be, because every action must have its reaction. But my point is: You yourself are Taaraka Brahma; your duty is to liberate living beings. You can give liberation to whomsoever you please.
'As Taaraka Brahma you can create and destroy as you wish. In this drama of yours you have created characters who are honest, ideological people. If one does virtuous deeds then one gets liberation. To teach the people you create these kinds of characters. And you also create sinful characters to show how much a person degenerates because of sinful behavior. In this drama, you could have had my hundred sons play roles of righteousness and the Pandavas play roles of unrighteousness, if you had so wished. In that case my hundred sons would have gotten salvation. Now, after having made me cry, you come to console me!" Taaraka Brahma formulates his plan in order to create situations that lend themselves to illustrating values, to create awareness. For instance, if one engages in honest work then one moves towards eternal truth, and if one performs dishonest work then one moves towards untruth. Thereafter comes the other part of the story.
Gandhaari said: "Kṛṣṇa, give me permission to curse you". Krushna replied: "Okay, curse me. I give you permission". Gandhaari cursed him: "Just as my entire lineage has been destroyed before my very eyes, may your Yaadava lineage be destroyed before your very eyes as well". "Let it be so", Krushna replied. Remember always that we are only actors in a universal drama. This is not our real identity. Someone may play the role of a king, but he might not even have two handfuls of rice in his house. Someone plays the role of a poor man, but in real life he may be very rich. We ought to remember that we are only playing specific roles in a cosmic drama. Act according to the role given. This is a person's duty. This is a wrong note to end the moral of the “Cosmic Drama” – Man must keep on bettering his lot; learning new things, and keeping himself fit to fight against the odds. He must use his intelligence and apply his mind. Krushna is not coming to salvage your soul; man has to come up to the expectation of the Super Personality of Godhead- it is symbolic, you have to become Krushna.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/and Sanskrit roots in other languages of the world
Uyuni is in Bolivia: On the edge of the world's biggest salt desert, villagers optimistically scrawl "salt for sale" signs on their mud brick homes. In backyards, mountains of the stuff are heaped like year-round snow drifts. But mining salt is no longer the only way to survive in this cold, arid corner of southwestern Bolivia. The Salar de Uyuni is becoming a must-see for adventurous visitors to South America, changing at least some fortunes in the poor village of Colchani. "There's nothing here apart from salt... Tourists used to arrive and they wouldn't buy anything, so we thought, 'How can we improve things?" said Fermin Villca, who now sells ashtrays and llama figurines carved from salt stone. Stretched between distant Andean peaks like a shimmering white carpet, the Salar de Uyuni is home to pink flamingos, 1,000-year-old cacti, rare hummingbirds and hotels built entirely from blocks of salt. Earlier this year, leading travel publisher Rough Guides listed the Salar as one of its top 25 wonders of the world, along side far better-known attractions such as the Taj Mahal, Grand Canyon and Great Wall of China.
A gargantuan explosion ripped apart a star perhaps 150 times more massive than our Sun in a relatively nearby galaxy in the most powerful and brightest supernova ever observed, astronomers said. And there is one such star in our own Milky Way galaxy that appears to be on the brink of dying in just such a supernova. The exploding star's dramatic death may have come in a rare type of supernova reserved for "freakishly massive" stars that astronomers had speculated about but never previously witnessed. The supernova, designated as SN 2006gy, occurred 240 million light years away in a galaxy called NGC 1260, and was studied using observations from NASA's orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory as well as earthbound optical telescopes. The explosion occurred long ago but was detected last year after its light traveled many trillions of kilometers before it could be observed from Earth. "That sounds far away but it's actually quite nearby on the vast scale of the universe," astronomer Nathan Smith of the University of California at Berkeley, who led the research, said. A supernova marks a star's death in a spectacular explosion. Scientists say these events playa crucial role in creating heavy elements through nuclear fusion and synthesis and then expelling them into space, seeding the cosmos with metals.
The travel of Manu and the great Fish, a symbolic story of the Puraana, the event that occurred 10,000 BCE (ca): An event like the one involving Noah's ark is depicted in- almost every ancient civilization or religion: Naunet in Egyptian; Manu in Hindu; Nuwa in Chinese; Ziusudra in Sumerian; Atra-Hasis, Utnapishtim and Xisuthrus in Babylonian; Deucalion in Greek; and Toptlipetlocali in Toltec. Noah is also mentioned often in the Qumran, referred to as the prophet ‘Nuh’. All the names are the corruption of original Sanskrit words used in Vedic rituals by the Āryans.
For many scientists, the evidence that moral reasoning is a result of physical traits that evolve along with everything else is just more evidence against the existence of the soul, or of a God to imbue humans with souls. For many believers, particularly in the US, the findings show the error, even wickedness, of viewing the world in strictly material terms. And they provide for theologians a growing impetus to reconcile the existence of the soul with the growing evidence that humans are not, physically or even mentally, in a class by themselves. The idea that human minds are the product of evolution is "unassailable fact," the journal Nature said this month in an editorial on new findings on the physical basis of moral thought. A headline on the editorial drove the point home: "With all deference to the sensibilities of religious people, the idea that man was created in the image of God can surely be put aside." Or as V S Ramachandran, a brain scientist at the University of California, San Diego, said in an interview, there may be soul in the sense of "the universal spirit of the cosmos," but the soul as it is usually spoken of, "an immaterial spirit that occupies individual brains and that only evolved in humans - all that is complete nonsense." Belief in that kind of soul "is basically superstition," he said.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/and Sanskrit roots in other languages of the world
Greenland was home to a number of Paleo-Eskimo cultures in prehistory, the latest of which disappeared around the year 200 AD. The island seems to have been uninhabited for some eight centuries till Icelandic settlers led by Norwegian Erik the Red found the land when they arrived in 982 AD. They thrived here for 450 years, after which they mysteriously vanished.
The term tetra-pod, from the Greek 'tetrapoda,' (Sanskrit-“totra-vetram”- weapon of Viṣṇu- + pada means feet) refers to vertebrate animals having four feet, legs or leg-like appendages. Amphibians, lizards and mammals are all tetra-pods. The term auto-pod, however, is used to refer to animals whose limbs are subdivided into hands and feet, example: Humans.
The researchers therefore believe that the capability of building limbs with fingers and toes existed for a long period of time, but it took a set of environmental triggers to make use of that capability. "Animals in the Late Devonian period (385 to 359 million years ago) acquired limbs with fingers using this primitive design, largely because their ecosystem - the small streams that they lived in - was new," Shubin said "It had the tools, but it needed the opportunity as well." In yet another study on what killed off the beasts of the Ice Age, researchers said that an extraterrestrial object with a three-mile girth might have exploded over southern Canada nearly 13,000 years ago, wiping out an ancient Stone Age culture as well as mega-fauna like mastodons and mammoths.
The blast could be to blame for a major cold spell called the Younger Dryas that occurred at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch, a period of time spanning from about 1.8 million years ago to 11,500 years ago. Research, presented at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in Acapulco, Mexico this week, could shed light on major questions about the mega-fauna extinction, the disappearance of the Clovis people, and an abrupt climate change, Live-science reported. "Based on the distribution of material, it looks like this impact probably occurred in southern Canada near the Great Lakes, over what at that time would have been a major glacier, the Laurentide ice sheet," said one of the presenters, Richard Firestone of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. They couldn't find a distinct crater, suggesting the comet burst in the air rather than slamming into Earth. Even an airburst should leave its mark, so the scientists think the Laurentide Ice Sheet absorbed much of the impact.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/and Sanskrit roots in other languages of the world
A huge flood hundreds of thousands of years ago cut Britain off from the rest of Europe and turned it into an island, according to a new study that offers clues to how England was settled. Using high-resolution sonar waves, researchers mapped the floor of the English Channel and turned up images of an enormous valley tens of kilometers wide and up to 50 meters deep carved into chalk bedrock. The images were similar to an area in the state of Washington where a mega-flood some 15,000 years ago also created a landscape of distinctive land formations - indicating that the same thing happened in Britain, the researchers said. Scientists said the study provides the best evidence yet in the debate seeking to explain how the English Channel formed and cut Britain off from the rest of Europe. "It showed us for the first time the existence of this huge valley in the centre of the English Channel," said Sanjeev Gupta, a researcher at Imperial College London.
Mexican archaeologists using ground-penetrating radar have detected underground chambers they believe contain the remains of Emperor Ahuizotl, who ruled the Aztecs when Columbus landed in the Americas. Ahuizotl (ah-WEE-zoh-tuhl), an empire-builder who extended the Aztecs' reach as far as Guatemala, in South America, was the last emperor to complete his rule before the Spanish Conquest. Accounts written by Spanish priests suggest the said area was used by the Aztecs to cremate and bury their rulers. But no tomb of an Aztec ruler has ever been found. Now, archaeologists said that they have located what appears to be a Six-foot-by-six-foot entryway into a tomb about 15 feet below ground, off Mexico City's Zocalo plaza. The passage is filled with water, rocks and mud, forcing workers to dig delicately.
Later this year, they hope to enter the inner chambers - a damp, low-ceilinged space - and discover the ashes of Ahuizotl, who was likely cremated on a funeral pyre in 1502. Because no Aztec royal tomb has ever been found, the archaeologists are literally digging into the unknown. Radar indicates the tomb has up to four chambers, and scientists think they will find a host of elaborate offerings to the gods on the floor. "He must have been buried in solemn ceremony with rich offerings, like vases and ornaments," said Luis Alberto Martos, director of archaeological studies at Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History.
All signs found so far point to Ahuizotl. The site lies directly below a huge, recently discovered stone monolith carved with a representation of Tlaltecuhtli (tlahl-tay-KOO-tlee), the Aztec god of the earth. Depicted as a woman with huge claws, the fearsome Tlaltecuhtli was believed to devour the dead and then give them new life. In the claw of her right foot, the god holds a rabbit and 10 dots, indicating the date "10 Rabbit" - 1502, the year of Ahuizotl's death. "Our hypothesis is precisely that this is probably the tomb of Ahuizotl," said Leonardo Lopez Lujan, the lead government archaeologist on the project. "Imagine it - this wasn't just any high-ranking man. The Aztecs were the most powerful society of their time," Martos said. "That's why Ahuizotl's tomb down there is so important."
The Aztecs is a term used for the Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico that thrived before the advent of Christopher Columbus in the Americas. Aztec culture had rich and complex mythological and religious traditions. For Europeans, the most striking element of the Aztec culture was the practice of human sacrifice which was conducted throughout Mesoamerica prior to the Spanish conquest Greenland was home to a number of Paleo-Eskimo cultures in prehistory, the latest of which disappeared around the year 200 AD. The island seems to have been uninhabited for some eight centuries till Icelandic settlers led by Norwegian Erik the Red found the land when they arrived in 982 AD. They thrived here for 450 years, after which they mysteriously vanished. Archeologists have discovered what they think are ruins of an Aztec pyramid razed by vengeful Spanish conquerors in what is now one of Mexico City's most crime-ridden districts. Construction workers unearthed ancient walls in the busy Iztapalapa neighborhood in June, and government archeologists said on Wednesday that they believe they may be part of the main pyramid of the Aztec city, destroyed by conquistador Hernan Cortes in the 16th century.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/and Sanskrit roots in other languages of the world
In the Gothic Bible, 'þiudans' is used of a king who goes to war:
aiþþau hvas þiudans gaggands stigqan wiþra anþarana þiudan (vipra praana-yukta pinda) du wiganna, niu gasitands faurþis þankeiþ, siaiu mahteigs miþ taihun þusundjom gamotjan þamma miþ twaim tigum þusundjo gaggandin ana sik?
Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
Luke 14:31.
'frauja' (Praanaaha) "lord" is also used with no Greek model for the noun in a military context (II Tim 2:4). I'm not sure whether 'reiks' is used anywhere in an explicitly military context.
I am not a linguist but as far as I know they were reiks also when leading a war expedition. Their sacral king, however, was never allowed to leave his own territory when the people was permanently settled, but had to order a reiks (Rushis –wandering Sages) to take command. During the wandering, according to Getica at least, the þiuðans was sacral king and he used 'kings of the army' to lead parts of the united army (like e.g. Cniva as Wolfram suggests) but I do not know their title in Gothic.
The clue to the root of the hypothetical Gothic form though is in Old Norse 'ugla' and especially (Old) Swedish 'uggla'. These show a sound change common to North and East Germanic whereby 'ww' > 'ggw', as described by Wright. In Old Norse, the medial vowel of the suffix has been lost, which is normal, but presumably it would have been present in Gothic (compare 'mawilo' "little girl" San – mahilaa meaning a woman), and the 'w' has been dropped, as always between two consonants. So, I'd reconstruct Gothic *'uggwilo': weak noun, feminine on-stem, i.e. declined like 'mawilo', 'tuggo', etc. One last clue is the Catalan word 'òliba', (San. – Ulooka) which it's been suggested may be derived from the Gothic word for owl
2. örn "eagle" (San. – utkrosha)
Elof Hellquist's Svensk etymologisk ordbok. 6 is especially interesting; both roots are attested in Gothic. This would make a very handy addition to our reconstructed "modern" vocabulary. There
is a Gothic derivative from the same root as 2 recorded, namely 'ara' "eagle", cognate with Old Norse 'ari', but since ON had 'örn' (San. – “ara” one going with speed) there's no reason Gothic couldn't have had both words too.
Ah, no need for embarrassment! I was just thinking of it as an exercise in phonetic reconstruction. In other words, what would a Gothic cognate of (word descended from the same Proto-Germanic
ancestor as) Modern English 'wood' look like? But you're right 'triu' does mean "a tree" (San. – “taru” means tree also wood,) or "a stick". I guess that illustrates another issue in reconstruction: where a word already exists in the same semantic field, how might that have related to the meaning of a hypothetical, reconstructed Gothic cognate? Does that make sense?
In this case, it seems that the better attested early Germanic languages did have a few partly overlapping words in this semantic field, e.g. Old Norse has a word 'viðr' which is cognate with 'wood', as well as a word 'tré' congate with English 'tree'. So there's nothing improbably about supposing Gothic had cognates for both, even though only one, 'triu', is recorded.
The gist is this: initial 'b' in English corresponds to Gothic 'b' (as in Go. 'broþar' : Modern English 'brother' Sanskrit is “Bhaartru”)-- no catch there. I found a comparison chart but it didn't tell me what to do with initial B, medial TH, or final -M, let alone the morpheme -AM, so I'm a little lost right now.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/and Sanskrit roots in other languages of the world
Other Indo-European languages (e.g. Latin 2nd declension nouns ending in -um, Greek in -on, Sanskrit in -am).
The 3rd person singular
(he/she/it does/is doing smth) ends in –iþ for the verbs used in the story. "He's sleeping" is 'slepiþ' (from 'slepan' "to sleep" San. Root is “svap” - svapiti). The last sentence is in subjunctive, but you can have a simpler translation.
Some vocabulary you need: early morning – air uhtwon clothes – wasti (Sanskrit – Vastra) F.-jo (that is, feminine jo-stem) staff – hrugga F.-o to push – stigqan to get awake – gawaknan to climb up – ussteigan to look like – wisan galeiks (lit. "to be like") + noun in dative ("he's looking like A." is 'ist galeiks A.'). Don't forget to put the A. ("owl" in our case) in dative.
That is, "I take" is 'nima' (from 'niman' "to take" Sanskrit word “nirgam” means get off, get away from – ni-sru). The 3rd person singular (he/she/it does/is doing smth) ends in –iþ for the verbs used in the story. "He's sleeping" is 'slepiþ' (from 'slepan' "to sleep"). The last sentence is in subjunctive, but you can have a simpler translation.
early morning – air uhtwon; Sanskrit – ushas;
to push – stigqan; Sanskrit – saahasin; to climb up – ussteigan, San. – upari gama;
- kiggwan, OE cíowan, (San. – ‘charvanam”) ON tyggva? 6. däggdjur "mammal"
So you are through with your Aztec torment, unlike me. Everyone saying that Gothic is difficult should be immediately reminded of the existence of Nahuatl. A couple remarks. Ilnâmiqui is "to remember", right? Niquilnâmiqui – þis (or þata) [ik] ga-man? Iirc 'cân' can be both directional and stative. I mean weren't it better to say 'þarei' with 'ainshun ni gaswiltiþ' and 'manna sigis nimiþ'? Is it the 'îchân tônatiuh', the place? An interesting parallel between 'in yâômiqui' and einherjar...
Irish Suibhne geilt living on trees and perhaps also the Nahuatl (Aztec) word for "demon" (= Go. skohsl) – tlâcatecolôtl, lit. "man-owl", used in the Anales de Cuauhtitlan of the gods whom human sacrifices were due to.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/Science in Vedas
We shall take a scientific look on creation and gods. First, there was only darkness. (Scientists call it black hole). The entire dump darkness is named as Shiva, the Sanskrit word for causeless goodness. The energy within, exploded. Now due to that energy, one part of that darkness started vibrating and light came into existence. In this position, the light was seen as milky ocean (it is called milky way galaxy by scientists) the dump dark part is named as Vishnu (Sanskrit word for black) and the vibrating portion is sensed as a snake and named as Adi Shesham (Sanskrit meaning is 'a part of the origin'. So, Shiva and Vishnu are one and the same cosmic energy. There is no such thing as electing Surya to give light. Surya is not a name. One which makes things to glow or make it brighter is called Surya or Aditya. (Again in Sanskrit, Aditya means, a part of the origin) So Surya or Aditya is also part or outcome of that explosion (Big Bang theory?)
Any word or phrase which can cut your thought cycle and make your thoughts freeze is Mantra. To quote Vedas, 'Manasaa struvaha iti mantraha'
Everything in this world is made up of five basic elements: earth, water, fire, air and space. As man is also created combining the elements by the cosmic power, man, through the ages, try to merge with the cosmos/cosmic power through the same five elements.
All Sages, Yogis and mystics aim at merging with the cosmic intelligence. As the cosmic intelligence is taken as it is i.e., formless, for advanced meditators, it will be a rosy path.
It is a matter of general acceptance that the Vedas form the foundation of Sanaatana Religion now called Hinduism (Sindhu Culture – corrupted to Hindu Culture – Zoroastrians make S to H). The Vedas are universal.
There is an urgent need for providing knowledge of our Vedic Heritage, Devotional Literature and allied areas of knowledge in English because a substantial section of our people, especially
youngsters, are able to understand these things better in English. This trend is likely to grow further in future. Unless we provide an instrument of communication in English for the specific purpose, the vital linkage may be broken very soon. Apart from this, there is one more important consideration. The Vedas are universal. Even the Plant Kingdom has a right to be benefited by it. It is our duty to share what we have inherited with all the peoples of the world. So presenting them in English becomes a moral obligation to us.
I have been individually studying Vedas and link the modern science linkages. For this we must appreciate that Pundits who know Sanskrit can not be expected to find any science in Vedas, because Pundits may not have any knowledge of sciences. Merely by knowing English language only, you can not understand any sciences without learning sciences. Similarly if the Sanskrit scholars and scientists get to gather and interact, lot of science can be found in Vedas. So we should make efforts to find members who are scientists and also enlist Sanskrit scholars for mutual discussions.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/Science in Vedas
On the Website “Science in Vedas” a question was asked in 2006 as to the origin of Vedas. I joined the community only in October 2007. However, I’m posting my abstract on the subject:
It is generally believed that Vedas were chanted by the Ancient Sages on the slopes of Himalayas in 1500 BCE. Vedas were absolute property of Brahmins because they received them directly from Lord Brahma! When it comes to Vedas even Brahmins do not ask rational questions to themselves.
Leave them alone – we Indians must ask these questions to ourselves – The language of Vedas is unabashed Sanskrit, Vedic Sanskrit as it is popularly known. Yet languages like English, German, Norwegian, Danish, Greek, and Spanish have Sanskrit words – all these languages form the group of Indo-European languages. Ancient Teutons were Germanic or Celtic; Celts were a division of early Indo-European peoples distributed from the British Isles and Spain to Asia Minor (Peninsula forming W extremity of Asia between Black Sea on N Mediterranean Sea on the S and Aegean Sea on W), that is Anatolia (the part of Turkey comprising the peninsula on “Asia Minor”).
All these peoples knew Sanskrit before 1500 BCE. Teutons believe that Manu was their original man; and from Lemuria to Manu was the great advancement of human Evolution. In their mythology they speak about “Praanas” “Vaayu” as basic elements.
Danish mythology speaks of Danu (wife of Sage Kashyapa) as the mother Goddess and the country is named in her honor as “Danu Marga” later corrupted to Denmark.
Greek mythology has an island Crate where king Minos ruled – King Minos is Manu and Crate is corruption of “Kratu” imagined son of Lord Brahma.
Egyptian Mythology has many a Vedic symbols – their temples have horse and a goat representing sun the power giver and Aja the one who is without death (and not goat, though Sanskrit word Aja also means goat).
Vedas were conceptualized on the bank of Huge and vast fresh water Lake, before Great Floods turned it into today’s Black Sea as the result of 2nd ICE AGE coming to an end. That was about 7500 BCE. Fifty years or so ago National Geographic’s scuba diving team had tested the sea weed from the black Sea at 100 meter depth and Radio Carbon test revealed that it was fresh water weed before the Great Floods. Description of Noah’s Arc, Manu and the Fish of Hindu mythology is the token of that catastrophic event; Eskimos have their own story, Goths have their own, and many other groups of people who were dislocated from their land of origin have their stories.
In India the people from North as well as Tamilians from South confirm to the test of “Skull Measurement” as to being belonging to the Caucasians origin people.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/Science in Vedas
Please note that Vedic mathematics book was written by Shankaracharya of Puri mutt. It had 17 chapters. Only one volume is available. All others are just adoption from the original text. Totally it has 16 sutras and 13 subsutras. Thank you. Vedananda. This won’t be of any use for Young Generation; it needs to be verified by mathematicians and also needs to be tested with the formulae of advanced maths. (MS Vichare).
I recommend this book for the students of 9th standard onward, SSC board or IBM Schools. Vedic Maths is the book written by H.K. Gupta, BPI INDIA PVT LTD, NEW DELHI. Email: bpindia@airtelbroadband.in; Vedic Mathematics for fast calculation: Simple Formulae (Sutras) are explained. Vedas are considered religious treatises; and they include this subject to develop the power of mind as well as use math for learning calculations in physics, chemistry and astronomy. Vedic Aryans did develop power of mind and had sound knowledge of astronomy. They called comets mischievous children of the cosmos, and knew when to expect them by mathematical calculations. They did not differentiate callers from space by the names that are known to science today.
Asteroids, Meteors, are the stones from the space; not all meteorites are big, the first known modern case of a human being hit by a space rock was with a tiny grape-fruit sized meteor. In 1954, American Ann Hodges was napping on her living room coach when the meteor crashed through her roof and struck her. She was badly bruised. We in India have lost those astronomical or astrological links in Vedas. Perhaps door to door inquiry for the preserved old scriptures may be worthwhile. In the 18th and 19th centuries European travelers in search of Vedic knowledge did that in India. Historian Rajawade acquired his historical documents in the similar way. Bhrugu Samhitaa is a book of guidance for astrological studies written by Sage Bhrugu. He has used special coded sutras, which do not make sense to the casual readers. His intensions were honorable: He had serious researchers in his mind that would be able to decipher the code by deep involvement. The books are in possession of private book collectors. Parents interested in the subjects for their children may try on these lines.
Many biologists think the smile started as a sign of fear. Primalogist Signe Preuschoft traced the smile back to over 30 million years of evolution with the 'fear grin' - a defense tactic used by many primates. Monkeys and apes used barely clenched teeth to portray to predators that they were harmless.
A United Nations report states that cattle farming is 'responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gases'. Some of the microbes in a cow's gut respire by an anaerobic process that produces the gas methane - a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, having a warming effect 23 times greater. Cattle emit a large amount of this methane - 95 per cent of it through belching.
In their bid to make stones narrate their history, archaeologists carrying out an excavation at Stonehenge, have broken through to a layer that may finally explain why the site was built. The team has reached sockets that once held bluestones, smaller stones, most now missing or uprooted, which formed the site's original structure, BBC News portal reported. The researchers believe that the bluestones could reveal that Stonehenge was once a place of healing; the team now needs to extract organic material from these holes to date when the stones first arrived. Tim Darvill, of Bournemouth University, who is leading the work with Geoff Wainwright, president of the society of Antiquaries, said: 'The first week has gone really well.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/Science in Vedas
We have broken through to these key features. 'It is a slow process but at the moment everything is going exactly to plan." Darvill and Wainwright say that finding out more about the history of the bluestones could hold the key to solving the mystery of why the 4,500-yearold landmark was erected. They believe that the bluestones, which were transported 250km from the Presley Hills in Wales to the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, were brought to the site because the ancient people believed they had healing properties.
The name is always of the living entity and not of its skeleton. Therefore, the term Stonehenge must not have any relation to the English word 'Stone', from the remaining random stones left standing there. Our discovery, (Says Prof. PN Oak, author of the book –World Vedic Heritage) therefore, is that 'Stonehenge' is the Sanskrit term – “Stavankunja” i. e. a meditation bower. A few miles away is another location titled Wood-henge. Since the Sanskrit equivalent of ‘Wood’ is ‘Vana’ alias ‘Wana’, the original Sanskrit name of the location is “Vanakunja” i. e. a forest 'bower.' This gives one a new insight in detecting the Sanskrit origin of English names ending in the suffix 'henge' which is the Sanskrit word ‘Kunj’ meaning 'bower.' Considered merely as an English syllable the term ‘henge’ is meaningless. The Stonehenge is a circle of huge boulders standing on the Salisbury plain in Wiltshire. Salisbury is the Sanskrit term "Shaileshpury" i. e. the Township of (Shiva) the 'Lord of the Mountains 'Wiltshire' which is also the Sanskrit term Walalteshwar, signifying lord Shiva.
According to several renowned astronomers Stonehenge is an ancient sophisticated astronomical observatory because the circle if stones enables one to determine the time for solar and lunar years and get navigational bearings by the stars. Avinsky, a Russian claims yet other significance for the structure. According to him the five circular stone-groups there form a pentagram or five--pointed star, and that the sizes of the circles represent the varying sizes of the planets of our solar system, With an error margin of barely one per cent. Currently only 16, 26-tonne stones remain standing in the inner circle; while 11 lie flat. Excavations have indicated that originally the number of boulders in the outer circle numbered 30, and in the inner one 40. There are also two 6.6 meter high stones standing in the configuration, and 12 visible stones forming a horseshoe.
Spanish astronomers announced the discovery of the smallest planet discovered to date outside the solar system, located 30 light years from earth. "I think we are very close, just a few years away, from detecting a planet like earth," team leader Ignasi Ribas told a news conference. The rocky planet, with a radius about 50% greater than the earth's, circles a small red dwarf star 30 light years away in the constellation of Leo, said the scientists from Spain's Superior Council for Scientific Investigations' (CSIC). The planet, known as GJ 436c, was found by analyzing distortions in the orbit of another, larger planet around the star GJ 436, a technique similar to that used more than 100 years ago to discover Neptune.
With a mass about five times greater than earth's, it is the smallest planet yet discovered outside the solar system and improving techniques are opening the way to discovering worlds ever more like our own. "In a very short time, we are going to be able to see a planet with the same mass as the earth, although it's going to be in an orbit much closer to its star than that of the earth around the sun, so it won't strictly be a planet like the earth," said Ribas. "Planets with a mass similar to earth situated at a distance from their star which allows liquid water on the surface, in other words, a habitable planet, we're probably a bit further from (discovering those), but we surely will in a decade." Most of the 280 planets discovered until now are gassy giants like Jupiter. Scientists are increasingly finding small rocky worlds as they realize that planetary systems are extremely common in stars around our galaxy. GJ 436 is not much bigger than the Earth and it orbits close to its small, relatively cool star once every five earth days.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/Science in Vedas/Indology
The dictionary meaning of INDOLOGY is the country INDIA and its people. The word was coined in 1888 when the country was deep into British slavery. Indians, particularly Hindus were convinced that they were born to be Britain’s slaves.
Only the British had an authority to talk about India and the people enslaved by them hence the term Indology. They had Max Muller to study most venerated Vedas that were given to Hindu Brahmins by Lord Brahma Himself. Lord Macaulay (Thomas Babington – 1800-1859 – 1st Baron Macaulay was historian, author and statesman) was confident that once Max Muller sees through good-for-nothing Vedas Hindus will cling to Christianity and the British Empire will have intelligent slaves. They will serve them from here to eternity. Rig Veda by Max Muller was seen in London in 1844, and Rig Veda in English was available by 1848 through 1850. Max Muller (1823-1900, philologist) studied many more ancient Sanskrit scriptures; and in 1874 International Congress of Orientalists had the glimpses of max Muller’s great work. Lord Macaulay was dead and he never saw his dreams come true. On the contrary Max Muller realized that there was lot in the ancient Sanskrit Scriptures to enlighten the entire world of human civilization.
Indians have never tried to explore their “Origin”, they believe Ram or Lord Krishna will appear some time and take them to the kingdom of Lord Brahma and Brahmins will busy themselves chanting Vedas in praise of Lord Brahma.
It is recorded that evidence has been found in teeth dating from around 5500 BCE to 7000 BCE. The teeth, showing evidence of holes from dental drills, were found in people of the Indus Valley Civilization. A Sumerian text from 5000 BCE describes a “tooth worm” as the cause of dental caries. Evidence of this belief has been found in India, Egypt, Japan and China. So the Indus Valley Culture had the influence of Sumerian, Egyptian and many other local dialects – the combined form of language was known as Munda; this was also the language of Harappa and Mohenjodaro. Chinese call their official language Mandarin (Sanskrit- Mantra – a pedantic official in the Chinese Empire).
In the South American country Peru at a place called “Tiha Vanaco”, there is a stone sculpture known as Sun Gate; and the images of deities are carved in three rows. They appear to be Rig Vedic symbols. All that was happening on the Earth planet, in the belly of the ocean and the turmoil in the sky above was understood as presence of various gods and goddesses. This was the idea of Aryan settlers to commit to writing after they displaced from their original place of settlements-Scandinavia, Asia Minor, Banks of Tigris and Euphrates, and Turkey. Their influence was as far as India, Egypt, Japan and China. On the border of Peru Bolivia old town of Saksa-Vaman was excavated, more carvings of human figures were found – it appears that Saksa Vaman is the corrupted form of Sanskrit words “Sanskaar Vaamana”, meaning evolved as complete human being but development of intellect considerably poor due to the lack of thinking process. According to Mythology Vaamana is the 5th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. So the Teuton mythology considers Manu as 5th root human race man.
It is about time we see through Indology and work backward- India – Greek Indu – Zoroastrian Hindu – from Sindu – Sindu Valley Civilization – and reach the original land of Vedas, the land around Pontus Euxinus, so the Greeks called, which is the Black Sea today. The period in Time is pre-7500 BCE.
Phoenicians were also known as Sea People, and they went all over the ancient world. They wrote history in Hieroglyphs. Wherever it was found was recognized - Professor Cyrus Gordon of America could recognize the script. Ancient Aryans could harvest the Cosmic Energy - they spread all over the world after the Earth Planet went through catastrophic changes created by meteorites, volcanic eruptions, and turmoil in oceans' bellies - and created the identical symbols. Cosmic energy got trapped on large scale - either accidentally or willfully Ancient Aryans harvested this energy. They did not leave their dead buried behind; they carried their bones in pots as they moved. Whatever they created and built got accidentally buried.
The combination of intuition and intellect: Brain cells grow in a specific way as DNA is transferred to a new-born in all animal species. Secrets of Evolution: mind and soul activation produces changes. And the process of evolution continues and the dynamical balance is maintained. Another example how evolution works is of "Newts": (any of various small semi aquatic salamanders- as of the genus Triturus - Besides limbs, newts have the ability to generate eyes, spinal cords, and even hearts and intestines. The cells at the site of the injury have the ability to de-differentiate and reproduce rapidly to create a new limb or organ. One theory is that the cells are related to tumor cells since chemicals which produce tumors in other animals will produce additional limbs in newts.
Aryans were in search of the reality. Their records were in their memories and transferred from the teacher to the disciple.
On the Website “Science in Vedas” a question was asked in 2006 as to the origin of Vedas. I joined the community only in October 2007. However, I’m posting my abstract on the subject: It is generally believed that Vedas were chanted by the Ancient Sages on the slopes of Himalayas in 1500 BCE. Vedas were absolute property of Brahmins because they received them directly from Lord Brahma! When it comes to Vedas even Brahmins do not ask rational questions to themselves.
Leave them alone – we Indians must ask these questions to ourselves – The language of Vedas is unabashed Sanskrit, Vedic Sanskrit as it is popularly known. Yet languages like English, German, Norwegian, Danish, Greek, and Spanish have Sanskrit words – all these languages form the group of Indo-European languages. Ancient Teutons were Germanic or Celtic; Celts were a division of early Indo-European peoples distributed from the British Isles and Spain to Asia Minor (Peninsula forming W extremity of Asia between Black Sea on N Mediterranean Sea on the S and Aegean Sea on W), that is Anatolia (the part of Turkey comprising the peninsula on “Asia Minor”).
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/Science in Vedas/Indology
All these peoples knew Sanskrit before 1500 BCE. Teutons believe that Manu was their original man; and from Lemuria to Manu was the great advancement of human Evolution. In their mythology they speak about “Praanas” “Vaayu” as basic elements.
Danish mythology speaks of Danu (wife of Sage Kashyapa) as the mother Goddess and the country is named in her honor as “Danu Marga” later corrupted to Denmark.
Greek mythology has an island Crate where king Minos ruled – King Minos is Manu and Crate is corruption of “Kratu” imagined son of Lord Brahma.
Egyptian Mythology has many a Vedic symbols – their temples have horse and a goat representing sun the power giver and Aja the one who is without death (and not goat, though Sanskrit word Aja also means goat).
Vedas were conceptualized on the bank of Huge and vast fresh water Lake, before Great Floods turned it into today’s Black Sea as the result of 2nd ICE AGE coming to an end. That was about 7500 BCE. Fifty years or so ago National Geographic’s scuba diving team had tested the sea weed from the black Sea at 100 meter depth and Radio Carbon test revealed that it was fresh water weed before the Great Floods. Description of Noah’s Arc, Manu and the Fish of Hindu mythology is the token of that catastrophic event; Eskimos have their own story, Goths have their own, and many other groups of people who were dislocated from their land of origin have their stories.
In India the people from North as well as Tamilians from South confirm to the test of “Skull Measurement” as to being belonging to the Caucasians origin people.
We get this on Indian Web Site: Can we really take a scientific look on creation and gods? They say: First, there was only darkness. (Scientists call it black hole). The entire dump darkness is named as Shiva, (In the Rig Vedic gods Shiva replaced Rudra in much later versions, as original conception was expanding) the Sanskrit word for causeless goodness. The energy within, exploded. Now due to that energy, one part of that darkness started vibrating and light came into existence. In this position, the light was seen as milky ocean (it is called milky way galaxy by scientists) the dump dark part is named as Vishnu (Sanskrit word for black) and the vibrating portion is sensed as a snake and named as Adi Shesham (Sanskrit meaning is 'a part of the
origin'. So, Shiva and Vishnu are one and the same cosmic energy. There is no such thing as electing Surya to give light. Surya is not a name. One which makes things to glow or make it brighter is called Surya or Aditya. (Again in Sanskrit, Aditya means, a part of the origin) So Surya or Aditya is also part or outcome of that explosion (Big Bang theory?)! Great thinkers like Yogi Arvida Ghosh suggested before Aditya, a part of the origin was “Maartanda”, a name for Surya but this was before planetary System came into existence. The words like “Aja” and “Gou” appearing in Rig Veda do not stand for mere Goat and Cow, actually they mean “without death and Fire the energy”. High-lighted comments are by Me.
Any word or phrase which can cut your thought cycle and make your thoughts freeze is Mantra. To quote Vedas, 'Manasaa struvaha iti mantraha'. This was the oral tradition, and by-hearting was the only option at their disposal, so it has to be formulated in a way to make it easier to put it to memory, making formulation with rhythm helped and it was called Mantra.
Everything in this world is made up of five basic elements: earth, water, fire, air and space. As man is also created combining the elements by the cosmic power, man, through the ages, try to merge with the cosmos/cosmic power through the same five elements. No, man does not merge, it helps him to understand “Cosmos” – which understanding is not yet complete – humanity is far away from the ultimate Reality. We are moving towards it at snail’s pace. Advancement in Science and Astronomy are mere tools to help to add a bit speed towards that direction.
All Sages, Yogis and mystics aim at merging with the cosmic intelligence. As the cosmic intelligence is taken as it is i.e., formless, for advanced meditators, it will be a rosy path. A rosy path, yes, it is meant only for individual inner peace. The Sanskrit word for that is “Moksha”. It does not do any good to the humanity at large.
It is a matter of general acceptance that the Vedas form the foundation of Sanaatana Religion now called Hinduism (Sindhu Culture – corrupted to Hindu Culture – Zoroastrians make S to H). The Vedas are universal.
There is an urgent need for providing knowledge of our Vedic Heritage and allied areas of knowledge in English because a substantial section of our people, especially youngsters, is able to understand these things better in English. This trend is likely to grow further in future. Unless we provide an instrument of communication in English for the specific purpose, the vital linkage may be broken very soon. Apart from this, there is one more important consideration. The Vedas are universal. Even the Plant Kingdom has a right to be benefited by it. It is our duty to share what we have inherited with all the peoples of the world. So presenting them in English becomes a moral obligation to us.
Ancient Sages sang in praise of River Saraswati – they had the Galaxy, the Milky Way in their mind. They wanted their disciples to look at sky and ponder over their observations, discuss and learn more, create new instruments to advance their search. The idea will come from within. That was the only way of acquiring knowledge. All this was conceptualized on the shores of Fresh Water Lake, which turned into Black sea around 7500 BCE. There was no Himalaya in the sight and hence there was no River Saraswati oozing out of Himalaya. Rivers in Himalaya took birth out of frozen glaciers at that height, if one river disappears when the glacier vanishes in thin air all rivers would vanish and India would have turned into Desert by 3000 BCE. Well, we all know that did not happen. High-lighted comments are by
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/Science in Vedas/Indology
Was the scientist an atheist or a believer? Andrew Whitaker wrote: The writer is professor of physics at Queen's University, Belfast. In a long life, Einstein spoke and wrote on a vast range of topics, and practically every paragraph has been dissected to discover its meaning today, or to bolster our own particular beliefs. My attempt is also to rediscover thoughts of Ancient Sages of 10,000 years BCE. The sense of mystery can be understood in the light of modern science and technology. The Sages did not want to take credit to anything they said in the Vedas; so they attributed those Vedas to the unknown God. The Sage was searching for God by study of the Universe. (M. Vichare).
One of his interesting sayings is that the most beautiful experience one may enjoy is a 'sense of mystery'. Inevitably this has led to the suggestion that Einstein was in some way a mystic. (I define mysticism as the search for conscious awareness of, or communion or unity with, the divine through direct experience.) Einstein's religious views have been a matter of considerable controversy. Max Jammer, the well-known Jewish historian and philosopher of science, wrote a thoughtful book, Einstein and Religion, concluding that for Einstein 'religion' was definitely not 'atheism'. Einstein himself said that: 'You will hardly find one among the profounder sort of scientific minds without a religious feeling'. Yet in his best selling and much-publicized atheist polemic, The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins, who takes most of his Einstein quotes from Jammer, categorizes Einstein as 'atheistic'. Einstein, in fact, spoke and wrote of God extremely frequently; for example his most famous way of criticizing the random nature of quantum mechanics was to say 'God does not play dice'. He described himself as 'an intensely religious man', but also, equally interestingly, as 'a deeply religious non-believer'. A crucial point is that Einstein stated categorically that he did not believe in a personal God, of the kind assumed by most practicing religious people. He had not always been this way.
Though brought up in a very liberal Jewish household, at the age of six he became fervently religious, obeying all the religious prescriptions. However, when he was 12, he read various scientific texts and came to believe that much in the Jewish bible could not be true. This was a crucial period in his life; in which he became an intense free-thinker, first over religious matters, later over orthodox scientific beliefs. Einstein detested the idea of a personal God who rewarded or punished his creatures, or exercised his will by interfering in events. He felt such an idea was intrinsically connected with human selfishness, merely 'a reflection of human frailty'. Einstein's God was a much more lofty idea. However, for Christian fundamentalists on one flank, and for Dawkins on the diametrically opposite flank, anything but a personal God was no God at all, and Einstein could be vilified or saluted as an atheist.
So what was Einstein's religion? He called it 'cosmic religion' and it was a sense of awe at the nobility and marvelous order which are revealed in nature and in the world of thought. He believed that throughout history the greatest religious geniuses have followed cosmic religion, and that exploring this order in the laws of science was the motivation for the most celebrated scientists such as Newton and Kepler. Without this feeling of confidence in order and simplicity, science, he felt, degenerated into uninspired empiricism. Einstein felt closest to the nineteenth century Jewish philosopher, Baruch Spinoza, who also rejected the idea of a personal God. Like Einstein, some considered Spinoza intensely religious while others judged him an atheist. Spinoza's firmest belief was in a universal determinism; all events, including the actions of human beings, followed a precise law of cause and effect.
There was no free will, and thus no justification for punishment of offenders. Einstein broadly followed Spinoza in these beliefs. As is well known, as well as realism, he was a strong believer in determinism; one of his main arguments against quantum mechanics was that it respected neither. Spinoza's belief in the unity of nature was paralleled in Einstein's long search for a unified field theory. Einstein's view of traditional religion was somewhat ambivalent. He detested any idea of indoctrination or fundamentalism, but admitted that conventional religions had a role in setting ethical standards. Dawkins would disagree, considering that 'the cause of all this misery, mayhem, violence, terror and ignorance is religion itself'. Einstein also venerated the founders of the major religions, especially Jesus and Buddha; Dawkins might be more skeptical. Einstein even found the elements of cosmic religion in the Psalms and the Proverbs of the bible, and particularly in Buddhism. An interesting question is whether Einstein's beliefs, like those of Spinoza, were pantheistic, in the sense of actual worship of Nature, giving it the status of God. At times Einstein seemed close to accepting this label, but he was clear that God was to be found in the laws of the Universe, not in Nature itself. Jammer suggests that Einstein's theology may be called a naturalistic theology, in which one searches for God by study of the Universe.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/Science in Vedas/Indology
So at last we reach the question: Could Einstein be considered a mystic? Awe about the Universe might lead to some direct spiritual experience of ‘God’; however 'God' might be defined. However Einstein explicitly rejected such ideas, saying: 'Mysticism is the only reproach that people cannot level against my theory'. Whatever his feeling of wonder about the Universe, his exploration into its laws was always entirely rational. He believed that scientific knowledge could not be obtained through direct supernatural perception, and incidentally considered any idea of personal immortality or the suggestion of any contact with the dead ridiculous. I started off by suggesting that many things may be read into Einstein's words, but mysticism is certainly one thing that may be ruled out.
Jonathan Leake & Roger Waite wrote:
For 18 months it has been a closely guarded secret. Sea horses, the exotic creatures from tropical waters, are alive and well in the Thames estuary. The fish once thought to pull Neptune's chariot in some enchanted realm can do the same for Old Father Thames now that the river's waters are cleaner. The Zoological Society of London discovered the colony in 2006 but decided to keep quiet until legislation could be put in place to protect the sea horses. They live in the river's estuary between Essex on the north bank and Kent. Scientists have greeted their arrival as an indicator of the increasing purity of the river's water. Fifty years ago they declared the river biologically dead - killed by the pollution that was the product of industrialization: and urban growth. Environmentalists, however, will point out that the arrival of the sea horse is also a sign of ecological changes linked to global warning.
Alison Shaw, the Zoological Society of London's marine and freshwater conservation manager, said: "These amazing creatures have been found in the Thames over the past 18 months during our wildlife monitoring work. It demonstrates that the Thames is becoming a sustainable habitat for a diversity of aquatic life." Legislation is coming into force to protect the 6inlong creatures. The short-snouted sea horses in the Thames are commonly found around Africa and the Mediterranean and only occasionally near the southern coasts of Britain. Their usual habitat is shallow coastal waters rich in weeds and plant life, although they can be found as deep as 100ft. There are an estimated 30 species of sea horse worldwide but only two are found around Britain. Both the short-snouted and long-snouted sea horse can be found off the south coast; only occasionally have isolated individuals been identified as far north as the Thames Estuary. "They're rarely found in Great Britain at all," said Richard Harrington from the Marine Conservation Society. "If they are, then it is usually in the Channel Islands or near Dorset." Last year, however, juvenile sea horses were found in the marina at Brighton, on England's south coast. This was the first evidence to suggest the fish were actually breeding in British waters. The Thames discovery illustrates the partial success of attempts to reduce pollution in a river once considered one of the dirtiest in Europe. The clean-up has already resulted in the return of salmon, which were extinct in the Thames from 1833 until 1974 but are now breeding in Berkshire. Their regeneration has been aided by releases of juvenile fish.
NASA scientists have identified the smallest black hole ever found -less than four times the mass of our sun and about the size of a large city. But the mini-black hole, dubbed JI650, could still stretch a person into a "strand of spaghetti" with its pull, the researchers told a meeting in Los Angeles. "This black hole is really pushing the limits. For many years astronomers have wanted to know the smallest possible size of a black hole, and this little guy is a big step toward answering that question," Nikolai Shaposhnikov of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Green belt, Maryland, said in a statement. It would likely be stronger than bigger black holes found at the centers of galaxies. Shaposhnikov said if someone ventured too close to JI650, its gravity would "stretch your body into a strand of spaghetti". Like other black holes, it was formed by a star that ran out of fuel and shut down, collapsing due to its own gravity.
Shaposhnikov and his Goddard colleague Lev Titarchuk used NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer satellite and a new method to estimate the size of the black hole, found in a system in the southern constellation Ara, in our own Milky Way Galaxy. It measures the oscillation of hot gas piling up near the black hole as it sucks in matter, they told a meeting in Los Angeles of the American Astronomical Society High-Energy Astrophysics Division. The new black hole has a mass of 3.8 suns and would be about 15 miles across, they estimate. "This makes the black hole one of the smallest objects ever discovered outside our solar system," Shaposhnikov said. The smallest black hole previously identified was GRO 1655-40, with Ii mass of about 6.3 Suns. "Amazingly, equations from Albert Einstein predict that a black hole with 3.8 times the mass of our sun would be only 15 miles across - the size of adty," NASA said in a statement.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/Science in Vedas/Indology
Astronomers using robotic cameras said that they had found 10 new planets outside our solar system, while a second team said they had found the youngest planet yet. The findings add to a growing list of more than 270 so-called extra-solar planets, they told a meeting of astronomers in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The robot team is called "Super WASP", for Wide Area Search for Planets, and the cameras look for planets transiting, or crossing in front of, their stars. The light from the sun fades just slightly when this happens, and astronomers can extrapolate the size and location of the planet. Most planets around other stars have been found using a different method measuring the tiny tugs that a planet makes on its sun's gravitational field. Don Pollaco of Queen's University in Belfast and colleagues used banks of cameras in Spain's Canary Islands, South Africa, Arizona, Hawaii, Chile, France and Australia to discover the 10 new extra-solar planets. The planets range in mass from half the size of Jupiter to more than eight times the size of Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. One orbits its sun once a day and is so close that its daytime temperature could reach about 2,300° C.
Jane Greaves of the University of St Andrews in Scotland and colleagues said they found a baby planet while using radio astronomy to examine a disk of gas and rocky particles around the star HL Tau. This star is thought to be young, also -100,000 years old compared to our 4.6 billion-year-old sun. They found a clump that appears to contain rocky pebbles. "We see a distinct orbiting ball of gas and dust, which is exactly how a very young proto planet should look," Greaves said in a statement. "In the future, we would expect this to condense out into a gas giant planet like a massive version of Jupiter. The proto planet is about 14 times as massive as Jupiter and is about twice as far from HL Tau as Neptune is from our sun." Anita Richards of Britain's Jodrell Bank observatory in Cheshire said the finding "gives a unique view of 'how planets take shape". "The new object, designated HL Tau b, is the youngest planetary object ever seen," she added.
Team member Ken Rice of the University of Edinburgh ran a computer simulation to find out how such a massive proto planet could form. His animation shows a very similar body condensing out of a disk with similar properties to that actually observed around HL Tau. The planet forms because of gravitational instability in the disk, which is about half as massive as the star itself. This allows small regions to separate out and cool down into self-contained structures. This instability mechanism has been controversial, but the simulated and real data are such a good match that it seems the mechanism really does operate in nature.
Climate change drove woolly mammoths to the edge of extinction and then humans finished them off, according to Spanish study that adds to the debate over the demise of the Ice Age behemoths. Using climate models and fossil remains, the researchers determined that warming temperatures had so shrunk the mammoths' habitat that when humans entered their territory about 6,000 years ago the species were already hanging by a thread. "The collapse of the climatic niche of the mammoth caused a significant drop in their population size, making woolly mammoths more vulnerable to the in creasing hunting pressure from human populations," the -researchers wrote in the journal PLoS Biology. There has been a spirited debate among scientists about what drove animals like the woolly mammoth into extinction, noted David Nogues-Bravo, a re searcher at Museo Nacional Ciencias Naturales in Spain, who led the study. Some argue that climate change was to blame while others promote the "blitzkrieg" or "overkill" theory proposed by University of Arizona scientist Paul Martin in 1967 that humans armed with primitive weapons devastated populations of animals that never previously had encountered people.
Untangling the two causes of extinction to determine which played the bigger role has proved tricky, with many studies looking to back one theory or the other, Nogues-Bravo said. His team's approach was to compare a climate model with fossil remains collected from different points in time between 6,000 years ago and 126,000 years ago to analyze the individual role humans and the environment played This showed that warming climate had pushed the animals that thrived in cold dry tundra to the brink of extinction when humans pushed into their habitat mainly restricted to Arctic Siberia by 6,000 years ago. The researchers estimated that based on the mammoth population at the time, humans would only have had to kill one animal each every three years to push the species to extinction. "Our analyses suggest that the humans applied the coup de grace and that size of the suitable climatic area available in the mid-Holocene was too small to host populations able to withstand increased human hunting pressure," the researchers wrote.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/Science in Vedas/Indology
Your dream of possessing an invisibility cloak or a ray gun could become a scientific reality in this century, according to a leading physicist. In an article written in the latest issue of New Scientist, Professor Michio Kaku revealed that concepts taken from science fiction such as invisibility cloaks, force fields, ray guns, basic forms of teleportation and telepathy are all within the reach of scientists and conform to the known laws of physics. "History has shown that it is always dangerous to declare something impossible," News.com.au quoted him as saying. "Unless there is a law of physics forbidding a technology, then it is not only possible, ins sure to be built someday," he added. Kaku categorized his ideas into three categories. The first included technologies that could possibly be developed within coming decades; second included those that could be theoretically possible but would take hundreds or thousands of years to develop; and the third comprised of impossible ideas. "What Class I impossibilities have in common is that they could be achieved in the foreseeable future using the known laws of physics, but may require sophisticated engineering," he said. "These include invisibility, force fields, ray guns, psycho-kinesis, starships, antimatter engines and even certain forms of teleportation and telepathy.
"It may also be possible that people would be able to read each other's mind. In the future, researchers may be able to compile a 'dictionary of thought' a one-to-one correspondence between brain signals and specific thoughts," he added. Scientists are currently working on developing brain-reading gadgets. A San Francisco Company Emotive Systems has already launched an EPOC headset that allows garners to control on-screen action only by thinking. Scientists have already been teleporting single photons over distances of 600m, and can also teleport whole cesium and beryllium atoms.
Using written symbols such as hearts, arrows and hands, the ancient Aztecs maintained an arithmetic system that was far more complex than previously understood, scientists said. The Aztecs, an empire in central Mexico toppled by Spanish invaders in 1519, has long been recognized for its sophistication in architecture, engineering, astronomy and other fields. And the new research confirms arithmetic can be added to the list. The researchers examined hundreds of drawings in two manuscripts dating back to between 1540 and 1544 that were used to document agricultural properties by the Aztec people in the city-state of Tepetlaoztoc, near modern Mexico City. The Aztecs used a system that included symbols of hearts, hands, arrows, bones, arms as alternatives to using fractions. An examination of these hieroglyphic records showed that the Aztecs used their own calculation system to figure out, for example, the area of a parcel of land. "What we thought we knew about the Aztec measuring system was a little simplistic. We've determined that it was more complex," researcher Barbara Williams of the University of Wisconsin-Rock County said. Williams teamed with Maria del Carmen Jorgey Jorge of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico in the study published in the journal Science.
"You can accuse the disgraced ex-governor Eliot Spitzer of many things in his decision to flout the law by soliciting the services of a pricey prostitute: hypocrisy, egomania, sophomoric impulsiveness and self-indulgence, delusional ineptitude and bone-headedness. But one trait decidedly not on display in Spitzer's splashy act of whole-life catabolism was originality. It's all been done before, every snickering bit of it, and not just by powerful "risk-taking" alpha men who mayor may not be enriched for the hormone testosterone. It's been done by many other creatures, tens of thousands of other species, by male and female representatives of every taxonomic twig on the, great tree of life. Sexual promiscuity is rampant throughout nature, and true faithfulness a fond fantasy. Oh, there are plenty of animals in which males and females team up to raise young, as we do, that form "pair bonds" of impressive endurance and apparent mutual affection, spending hours reaffirming their partnership by snuggling together like prairie voles or singing hooty, doo-wop love songs like gibbons, or dancing goofily like blue-footed boobies.
Yet as biologists have discovered through the application of DNA paternity tests to the offspring of these bonded pairs, social monogamy is very rarely accompanied by sexual, or genetic, monogamy. Assay the kids in a given brood, whether of birds, voles, lesser apes, foxes or any other pair-bonding species, and anywhere from 10 to 70% will prove to have been sired by somebody other than the resident male. As David P Barash, a professor of psychology at the University of Washington in Seattle put it with Cole Porter flair: Infants have their infancy; adults, adultery. Fidelity is best seen in Diplozoon paradoxum, a flatworm that lives in gills of freshwater fish. "Males and females meet each other as adolescents, and their bodies literally fuse together, whereupon they remain faithful until death," Barash said. "That's the only species I know of in which there seems to be 100% monogamy." And where the only hearts burned, belong to the unlucky host fish; -
Nonhuman beings -have been shown to pay for sex, too in the journal Animal Behavior, researchers "from Adam Mickiewicz University and the University of South Bohemia described transactions among great grey shrikes, elegant raptor like birds with silver capes, white bellies and black tails that, like 90% of bird species, form pair bonds to breed. A male shrike provisions his mate with so called nuptial gifts: rodents, lizards, small birds or large insects that he impales on sticks. But when the male shrike hankers after extracurricular sex, he will offer a would-be mistress an even bigger kebab than the ones he gives to his wife - for the richer the offering, the researchers found, the greater the chance that the female will agree to a fly-by night fling.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/Science in Vedas/Indology
Dogs greet their masters with the same warmth after a five-minute absence - or five hours. Does this mean they do not possess a sense of time? This question led William Roberts of the University of Western Ontario to experiment with rats. And he found that the rodents did keep track of time after discovering a piece of cheese, but without forming memories of its discovery. These results suggest that episodic-like memory in rats is qualitatively different from human episodic memory, which involves retention of the point in. time when an event occurred. "The rats remember whether they did something, such as hoarded food a few hours or five days ago," explained Roberts. "The more time that has passed, the weaker the memory may be." The researchers designed an experiment in which rats visited the "arms" of a maze at different times of day. Some arms contained moderately desirable food pellets, and one arm contained a highly desirable piece of cheese. Rats were later returned to the maze with the cheese removed on certain trials and with the cheese replaced with a pellet on others. They were tested using three cues: when, how long ago or when plus how long ago. "This research supports the theory I introduced that animals are stuck in time, with no sense of time extending into the past or future," he said.
Researchers are exploring a new controversial theory, which suggests that the great pyramids of Giza may have been cast in place of concrete, rather than quarried and moved into position. The theory is being tested by researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US. Although the idea that the Egyptians may have used a kind of concrete in building the pyramids was first suggested in the 1930s, with a specific material that could have been used proposed in 1988, so far there has been no proof and the idea has remained mired in controversy. Now, in order to help identify blocks that were cast rather than quarried, MIT students are assembling a small pyramid using a combination of both kinds of material. They will then use techniques such as microscopic imagery and chemical analysis to look for signs that might provide ways of telling the difference on samples from the Great Pyramid itself. According to Linn Hobbs, co teacher pf the pyramid building class at MIT, "The materials and know-how needed to cast the pyramids' giant 2-1/2 ton blocks in place, rather than quarrying and moving blocks of solid limestone, was definitely available to the Egyptians."
A new study has found that tiny shifts that are making our clays longer by some milli-seconds may be due to electrical forces present deep under the Earth. It has long been known that natural phenomena on Earth's surface, such as tides and winds, affect its rotation speed. Now scientists are investigating how events in a mineral layer at the core-mantle boundary, 2,600 kilometers deep, similarly affect the planet's spin. "The length of a day is changing due to the interaction between the mantle and the core in the very deep Earth," said study co-author Kei Hirose, a geoscientist at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan. "This is basically because the bottom of the mantle has very high electrical conductivity," he added.
Like the bombardier beetle, many species, including ladybirds and blister beetles, can secrete distasteful or toxic substances to make them unpalatable or even poisonous. These same species often exhibit aposematism, where bright or contrasting color patterns warn away potential predators. Large ground beetles and longhorn beetles may go on the attack, using their strong mandibles to forcibly persuade a predator to seek out easier prey.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/Science in Vedas/Indology
My thoughts have taken color from what have seen in the life time and again. [Talking to myself] Disciples were as pipes for any wind to play upon; the harmony and the time today come only through going over several times. In the company of sages, their disciples vegetated; they yielded fruits of different tastes and flavors. At time they maintained meditative silence. Thoughts can provide intoxication, but as body as a man is reasoning the fine intoxication cannot dazzle the brain, it ands in a peace of mind and opens for new thoughts. Study of the history of the humanity can only solve the problems by finding explanation and illustration in the successive shapes of growth of humanity or its deterioration. Comprehensive statements are serving here to hold together the details which are wiped away by time.
The Lonely Planet Pluto, ominously named after Head, the god of the underworld in Greek mythology, was all set to be derecognized as a planet. However, when the International Astronomical Union took up this issue seriously, it was inundated with a furious barrage of e-mail, denouncing the proposal to demote the planet that had endeared itself to all, after Mickey’s dog of Walt Disney fame was named after it. The remotest and the coldest amongst the nine planets in our solar system, it was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. The celestial status of Pluto has been debated and discussed ever since. In 1978, it was discovered to have its own satellite, Charon (named after the old man who is said to ferry the souls of the dead). The satellite is large in size its diameter is more than half that of Pluto. This led astronomers to consider the two as a double planet. Smaller than the Earth’s moon. Pluto’s standing as a planet is questioned on several grounds: Its small dimension, its unusually sweeping elliptical orbit that frequently brings it closer to the sun than Neptune and its closer resemblance to asteroids and comets.
One astronomer, apparently upset about the possible ‘demotion’ in Pluto’s status, was keen to classify Pluto as a ‘minor planet’, thereby salvaging at least a part of its original honor. He also wanted to give to it the number 10,000 for easy recall, as all minor planets are identified on the basis of numbers and not name. Another scientist wanted to accord to Pluto the status of Trans-Neptunian No. 1 as part of a family of objects which orbit beyond Neptune. While the West was more concerned about the errant planet’s status in astrophysics and other astronomical sciences; Fortunately, the ambit of Indian astrology is confined to the Puranic tales has included even the mythical Rahu and Ketu who are held responsible for solar and lunar eclipses. With the International Astronomical Union giving in to the sentiments expressed in favor of Pluto, for now, the planet is safe, out of reach.
WHEN IT comes to extrapolating from present trends in order to portray a reasonable future scenario, sometime people just don’t get it right. Back in 1894, for instance, the eminent physicist Albert Michelson made this amazing gaffe during a speech: “The more important fundamental laws and facts of physical science have all been discovered, and these are now so firmly established that the possibility of their ever being supplanted in consequence of new discoveries is exceedingly remote.”Ironically, it was Michelson’s own experiments that led Einstein to his special theory of relativity 20 years later which totally overturned that naive 19th century belief!
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/Science in Vedas/Indology
Scientists have established “Mars’s” sea level by using altimetry and 252 gravity data to determine the level to which an ocean like abundance of water would rise on this dry planet. The average water level at the equator was chosen as the zero level and from it scientists measure features like Olympus. ”collective effort of Kumbha Mela is fundamentally and historically a highly significant phenomenon. Mythology has it that the gods and demons together churned the ocean of milk K’shirsagar’, to bring forth the ‘ Amrit-Kumbh’- the pitcher full ambrosia. The demons demanded their share of the nectar, but the gods wanted to withhold from the demons the means of immortality; secrets learnt from the Gods and were better posed in learning quickly, being disciplined and always resorted to fair means.
Yet it was neassary to keep secrch of trade from as by position they were crucial and did not wish to co-exist with the Kumbh Mela in the present from was institutionalised by the great Adi Shankaracharya during his visit around eighth century A D. He directed ten different sects of ascetics commonly known as ‘A kharas’ to assemble regularly at the Kumbh Mela for maintaining mutual contact, religious discussion and giving socio-religious guidance to the masses. Saints and sages who mostly remain absorbed in meditation and penance in the inaccessible caves and forests of Himalayas come out at this time in the Kumbh fair.
Sadhus and Mahatmas in saffron robes with their long tresses coiled around the head like a turban are a common sight. So Kumbh Mela becomes a meeting place for the entire religious community. Being powerful and strong the gods got the ‘Amrit-Kumbh’ cunningly removed with the help of Lord Indra’s son Javant who spirited it away and went to various places in heavev and earth in order to concel it for its exclusive use by the gods A unique communitarianism and social equality is reflected the Kumbh Mela. The fair with its pilgrims and devotees drawn from the distant corners of the country is a unique and significant contribution to the unity and integrity of the country. The truth of unity behind diversity of costumes, language, habits, race, religion, caste and creed that hold the people of different part of country together is very clearly manifested at this time. According to Agni Purāṇa, Prayāga is the abode of all god and goddesses, and the holy place has accordingly been described as Brahma Kṣetra in Varāha Purāṇa.
It is said that the entire kingdom of gods and goddesses descend from heaven and more above in the Kumbh Mela in the form of saints and sages. A part from the Purāṇas, the great poet Vālmiki presents a poetic description of the holy Saṅgama in his Ramayana. Another great poet Kālidās in his ‘Raghuvamsa’ has Lord Rāma Describing the scenic beatuy of Sangam from the ‘Pushpaka Vimāna’ while returning from Lanka; in ‘Rāma Charit Mānas’ Tulsidas describes the exiled Rama, Lakṣman and Sita passing through Prayag and staying and system at the hermitage of the gerat sage Bharadwai.
Rakshasa:
These were suppressed human will traits, detracted as demons or a mythical demonic being. The rakshasa are the demons of the night; they eat meat, partly human flesh. They are found at burial grounds and like to disrupt sacrifices to the gods. They are hospital to humans.
The Aims of Existence.
The lives of the ancient Indians had three guiding priniples. Dharma (the moral order) is the sum of all religious and secular duties regarding sanctity, legality and generally accepted morals. Artha (profit) means material prosperity and success in social and financial affairs. Kama (delight) is that which satisfies physical and spiritual need and cravings. It was only later that a fourth goal, Moksa (salvation) was added; in fact, it is merely another aspect of Dharma.
The Castes There were four of them in ancient India. The highest was that of the Brahmans, the priests and spiritual intellectuals. The Kshatriyas were warriors, aristocrats and secular rulers. The Vaishyas were craftsmen, traders, healers and entrepreneurs in general. The Shudras were labourers, peasant farmers, journeymen - in short, the dependent working class. Those without a caste were the “untouchables”, the outcasts.
The Upanishads:
Literally “sitting near’’ - of pupil and teacher: Texts containing mainly philosophical matters, dating from the most recent Vedic Period. The Vedic texts (“Vedas”), the oldest documents in ancient Indian literature, chiefly religious philosophical verse. They appear to date from soon after the middle of the third between fifth & fourth 6500 to 5500 year from now millennium BC. They are not a unified work of literature, but comprise collections of hymns, poems, odes and prose passages, all of which were of practical significance and were used regularly in the religious of the ancient Indians.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/Science in Vedas/Indology
For many centuries the Vedas were part of the oral tradition, like all other ancient Indian literature, and were only written down much later, long after the Indians began to use writing. The oldest gods of the Vedas are deified natural forces and phenomena; such as the sky-god Akasha, the fire-god Agni, the sun-god Surya, the earth - goddess Prithivi, the wind-god Vayu and the water-god Varuna. Vishnu and Shiva, later to be mighty deities, are still minor gods in the Vedas.
[Story of fish swallowing the ring]Time of Dushyant/shakuntala; Indus valley settlements were spreading to the banks of River Ganges and learning more about the river and associated creatures. This is the finest time came across the fisher folks and their kingdom. This is stated with degrees of verisimilitude confluence of the area is mate fertile. One of the seven great Sages husband of and father of moon is said to have been for duced from his eyes. One who argues to oppose. He did will accept Ganga as his wife. It seams during his time the Ganges had changed her course and portion of his kingdom was lost but the land become more fertile as if Ganga borne him and brought prosperity to the region.
Sankara on the other hand has followed the positivism of the Up- anishands by referring to the state of deliverance as Brahman or ananda, ` Anand Bramheti Vijanata’ - Ananda is Brahman. The term Ananda, bliss, is grossly misunderstood by the limited human mind which is incapable of comprehending any state beyond sensory perceptions. So the mind thinks of anand as some highly intensified from of sukha. Pleasure, may be a million time more intense but besically some experience like pleasure. But as Osho says ananda is not like sukha at all. The difference between the two is not of degrees. The difference is qualiative, not quantitative. Ananda is not the axperience of an individual at all. It is the state wherein the individual merges into the universal reality.
The Sanskrit word yoga is derived from its root IP- to unit; 4A- to- prepare; to U-to join, to censure. The logic of religians behaviour lies in and suggested by this root. The word religion is derivation from =which are off shoots. Latin “ religate” can only be traced bank to - sanskrit - Greak - Latin ... So all religions practices known as different yogas are directed to this union to one`s real self. So also dose, Vedanta helps you rega in your orignal being. Furthermore excels in its scientific exprosition. It expounds the truth systematically and logically has a universal appeal to all the lovers of truth.
Changes in behaviour also occur through growth or mataration. This is especially evident in childhood. Learing is not involved in such changes unless the speed of change is modified by it. In most human activities learning and mataration are closely interwoven. Learning can only be inferred ... (over leaf).Alfred adler rejects Freudian psychology, his psycho and by is known as individual Psychology. He stressed man`s will to power and need to - compensate for inferiorities real or imagined, which he termed” in teriority Complex: Obviously, education hasmany frontions to conquer.
Fenatism consists in redurbling your efforts when you have forgo how your aim. George Senayana. If some areis in transigent, they refuse to change their behaviour or poinious. The party is forced into violence by the sigence of its opponents. Your process of throught dose not follows any predicitable rules. Tremendus part of energy for the pro cess come from your soul. The mind is a sachet that per fumes the thanght as it travls it travels tiwards spiritnality. Once this stage is achieved the thunght news odediently to the dectaus of mind and soul. Out pops the losophy and many a sciences. The full scall of their intricacies is explained at that level to a pusan who reaches that stage.
As a child, through said many a god - Raise yourself. By yourself- one willgel - guidance within. Obsauranticism is the opposition to the spread of knowledge. Sacrad, vibhuti, Pubhie pujas or namaj or sermous in charches are obscuratists ideas. Roligians precepts should be based on reality rather than on symbols and rituals, then only total human development is possible. Educated have vanities of education.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
What is the reason for Karna’s opting to remain with the Kauravas instead of joining hand with his own brothers? Is it merely a recognition to Duryodhana and his foster - parents, as averred? But, as the eldest Pandava prince, Karna would have been entitled to an entir kingdom to hand over to Duryodhana, as a befitting acknowledgement of his indebtedness.But such a gesture will not serve the right cause, apart from being demeaning. He also realises that he is not fighting on the side of ‘dharma’ and the rightous Yudhisthira who enjoys moral superiority will make a better king. His outbursts of vanity are a manifestation of his inferiority complex. Karna is pained to observe that Kunti’s overtures are motivated not by her love for Karna but rather by her concern for Arjuna’s safety.
Reader may be able to summarize for himself the juxtapositionings and see more justice to chonology. He may appreciate the attempt. It is very difficult for chronology to place any particular thiukar of ancient time before one another and it is equally irrelevant to insist upon the order of chronology. Chronology may be set as per the value of the thought put forward. The cultural tradition is important, and new it influenced the thought of Egyptions Greeks and cultural traditions of Europe. The spirit of ancient thiukers was enlivened in the world of 19th centyry that made people more realistic and bemocratic. The independent work in Europe America, as well as India after the long sleep in intellectual fields in philosophy, literature and science got borst and learnt to work entirely withent the Indian ancestry.
Indian must learn that goodness without ability is lame; and all the virtues in the world will not save us it we lack intelligence. Ignorance is not bliss, it is unconscionsness and slavery; only intelligence can make us sharers in the shapring of our religions understanding. Freedom of will is the illumination of canduct by knowledge. Our troust must after all be in throught and not in instiuet will Durant wrote. He is our father, our creator, our destiny. He knows his cosmos. Though he is one, we give him many names. Every living thing is searching him.The power of light of the sun, we offer our prayers of we believe, that power is the inspiration of all mankind.
Vedas considered the light from the sun as “ water” (steam) the life on earth was possible and self supporting because of the solar power.Oh God, from nothing lead me to substance; from the death as if of non - human being (mind less being ) to the remem berance of eternity; from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge. It is human ambition to be recognizad as an in tellectual man. We pray for high aims in terms of intellectuality and discipline in team work. This way only we can expect to be successful with your blessings Oh God.
Sweet blows the breeze for him who lives by Law, rivers for him pour sweet, So ( as we live by Law) may the plants be sweet to us! Pleasant be our nights, Pleasant dawns, and Pleasant the dust of the earth! Pleasant for us be Father Heaven! Rig Veda Oh, God, youare all pervading, can I say I’m callig you? You provided the earth for dwelling, can I say I’m offering on seat for you? when there is no duality between you and me, tell me, how to workship you? Vedas do not know you fully, you provide light to the suer, how can I light a candle in frout of you, in what words cal I praise you whrer can I hide you while I coinmitsins?
The great achievers are not bogged down because of poor appliances, equipmeuts and crippled subordinales. Understand universe and ultimately understand God. This gives us a feeling that we all are together in search of God. Waves of happiness will pass over an entire world of man; we will all be positive optimistic individuals but not separate in terms of understanding cosmos. We will look at every single problem as an opportunity to understand and solve and no individual will feel bored out of life. Through the chronicle of the live history in terms of Ramayana and Mahabharata humanities approached towards better life, it is clearly seen. They were rewriting their scriptures, adding new ideas. Vedanta in particular shows a positive approach to life. Vedanta explains the constitution of human personality. It shows that the godhead within us is the spiritual core of our personality, with mind and intellect forming outer layers. Vedanta says, This is simple truth and accept the same. Vedic Rsis did not create dream-factories of make-believe; they reasoned out the dream-factories of the entire space.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
They were instilling positive qualities of humanity by showing the connection with the outside space. They tried to explain the life and death cycle and asked humanity to accept it. Thus was born the philosophy, theology and rationalism. They taught humanity the basics of soul searching. In the spirit of great sage Vyasa we have Divinity in the infinite human form. He built the bridge spanning eternity to corporeality. Human mind is without boundaries and frontiers, leaving nothing in the realm of the impossible. Yet he advised the boundaries for the human mind, advised to control freewill and encouraged ethical uprightness. Humans also must control insatiability for raw sensation.
I earnestly feel this should be known universally. That was the reason to touch these human evolving elements and keep the awareness of history alive to understand ourselves better and to be equipped well in our struggle to understand God. Our search for God is already on our DNA print. We have to understand that God diverted us from chimpanzees to mold us into the best image of His own. In Mahabharata there is a story of Yaksa and Yudhisthira: Yaksa asked, What is the most surprising thing in this world? (This was 5,000 years BCE). Yudhisthira replied, Each moment brings us near to death and yet everyone fears death. This indicates that in their thinking, ancient sages were in touch with cosmos... they were near to God already. It won't be exaggeration of sages' virtues to state that they entered the space using returning solar winds to ride on. Their teaching indicates their knowledge in depth about the creator.
All ancient scriptures provide ample guidance in the various fields of knowledge, apart from making us historically relevant. This helps one to develop mental power; through guidance we can learn to decipher true elements and accept them. Catholics are made to believe that Christian ideology is all pervading, and their zealots go to the extent of declaring thus: the other faiths have only a small element of truth. This shows a complete ignorance on the part of those so called Holy men with their holy doctrines.
British Empire builders were no different that the Savage Chengeze khan who kills people out of killing instinct. They could not imagine that their Golden Era would one day come to an end. On the contrary they thought that knowledge and empire were their monopoly. God the maker personally made them; other humans were created by lesser gods to serve the British. During the Second World War, God, it seems lost interest in the British altogether! God was tired of empires; even He dismantled His heaven and hell and sent them on the Earth and decided to keep the man away from Him.
In a freewheeling chat with TNN, Dr Goodfellow, now head of discovery research at GlaxoSmithkline, said his main goal was to translate the sort of knowledge he helped create as an academic into treatments for people. ``If you ask what I worry about today, it’s chemistry-for every new drug we make, we have to make 20,000 molecules and it costs roughly 800 million dollars in research and development,’’ he said. ``But if you ask me what I will be worrying about tomorrow, it would be IT. From having about ten million data points a year, we will be going on to 100 million data points,’’ he added. Dr Goodfellow moved from Oxford to ICRF, where his group made the crucial discovery that showed that the distance between the sexes, Mars and Venus, might be closer than previously thought. This involved the cloning of a crucial gene called SRY, which is normally found only in the male Y chromosome.
The aim was to develop the letter generatios of man; and turthering the cause of making the rehwls of the world. Todays scientistsand religion in the we Kant and Bergson tried of rascue faith from the universaliged mechanics of materialism kant’s ``practical reason;’’ Schopenhaur’s exaltation of the will utilitarianism (which measured all goods in terms of use), empirical and indutive traditions of English philosophy, and phiwsophical suggtions of American sceue, could hot uild successful tridges ``religion and science’’. The path shown of the great ancient thinlers has all that is missing in the Western thought.
Introspection realises this truth. It is not necessary to be a successful scientist, an expert of philosophy a poet or a brilliant writer to understand these principles. When the references are not wiped out after not having attadment, the speech becomes rich with references. No sign of having less education is seen. Even a person who listens to him gets a feeling that the speaker is a great philosopher and pandit. The bright rememberence in the 4 glorious light of the self is the key to it. Even after studying
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
The qualities like tolerance, modesty, thinking, feeling and action all belong to the individuality or personality means a harmonious combination of these characteristic traits. This is what personality is. Tolerance as such cannot be seen but it becomes manifest in behavior. If a man stays calm and unruffled and does not retaliate even in the face of abuse and ill-treatment, it is not difficult to infer that he is well bred and cultured. Lord Buddha kept laughing in the face of invective accusation.
Why he did not feel angry at the invective? His reply was if someone offers you something but you do not accept it, the thing offered remains with him who offered it. Invective not accepted belongs where it came from. The behavior got modified as a result of tolerance. How to build personality is a very complex question-- how to build it so as to avoid irrational insistence and cultivate flexibility, for there are people who go on insisting without relenting in the slightest. Some people have a strong twisting both local and English words to manufacture new words to suit the requirements of the changing times. It goes without saying that India can make a very substantial and thought-provoking contribution to the ODE. In college campuses, factories and offices of India, this process of adoption is continually in progress. Quite a few of the words being created are of a somewhat pejorative nature, but a language needs pejoratives too. It is about time that the word ‘chalaak’, meaning clever or sly, finds a place in the ODE; even some of the most enlightened Indians now use it while speaking or writing English. Columnists in film magazines use it with abandon while describing the proclivities of the stars they want to nail. ‘Maroing’, used to mean misapperopriation of funds etc, has a strong case; it is widely felt that it aptly describes the nature of the operation.
‘Jharoing’ or giving a ‘jhar’ has become immensely popular to signify that someone is being bashed up. No pleading is perhaps required for ‘yaar’, meaning ‘buddy’ or ‘old boy’. Bengal can make two valuable contributions. The word ‘tarmuj’ (water-melon) is now being widely used to mean something or someone of a deceptive nature; green outside and red inside, like a tarmuj. The other word is ‘bhaat’ with a hard t, meaning nonsense or rubbish, like ‘bakwaas’ in Hindi. These are words that will lend extra teeth to the English language. Appeal of new words an object used as a wanter in a guestion by chance; something that wmes of oue upon whom a lot has talleh. Lotn (Heb Lot): a nephew of Abraham who aewrding to the account in Genesis, escaped from the down city of Sodom with his wife, who turhed into a pillar of sail when she looked back.Sodom Indicates the natural calamities like from volcanos etc.
Do you not remember what the Bible says: ``If you cannot love your brother whom you have seen, how can you love God whom you have not seen?’’ If you cannot see God in the human face, how can y scriptures Dashagranthi-these are 10 granthan i. e. scriptures of Rugveda viz Sanhita, Brahman, Philosophe F, lit, philosopher (1774): one of the deistic (deism-1682 movement or system of thought advocaling natural religion, emphasizing morality, and in the 18th century denying the interference of the Creator with the laws of the universe) or materalistic writers and thinkers of the 18th century French Enlightement.
Bridging the gap between science and literature: Literation and science started to gether with the ``Ô’’ word. The initiative is an acknowledgment of the quality and range of contemporary science writing and an attempt to extend ``the frontiers of writing come to submit new words to lexicographers working on the first complete revision of the 120-year-old dictionary. The OED is jettisoning its image of a stodgy, conservative gentleman and turning thoroughly democratic. There would, undoubtedly, be no shortage of contributions; new words will come tumbling out of all corners of the world. In recent decades, interset in the English language has grown, and so has the inclination to ‘adopt’ it, by adding indigenous words, prefixes and suffixes.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
Indus Valley-- some more information: Evolution of man and religion went hand in hand. Perched on the edge of the millennium, the 500-year-old history of Indus valley civilization is on the threshold of being rewritten. Recent excavations at Dholoavira in Gujarat and at Rakh Gadhi in Hissar District of Hariyana may push the history of the civilization further back by over 1000 years It could change the commonly held view about the Indus Valley civilization, first discovered in the 1920s. Archeologists and historians are already excited about the findings from Rakh Gadh-- the largest Indus Valley site after Mohenjodaaro. Says Amarendra Nath, director of archeological Survey of India and its main excavator: ``this is on ordinary Harappan site. The unearthed clues may yield answers to many questions that have remained unanswered so far.’’ In fact, the findings have already started showing new civilization conrours.
The humility shown by ancient sages was supreme; their attenpt was to make hu man sense of the knowledge.Letus look at Mohenjodaro and Harappa: The tindings are pushing back History first, the area and dimensions of the site are far wider than assessed by archeologists Raymond and Bridget Allchin and J M Kenyer.
It is whopping 224 hectares, the largest in the country and the second to Mohenjodaro in size, dimensions, strategic location and unique significance of the settlement; Rakh Gadhi matches Harappa and Mohenjodaro at every level. ``Rakhi Gadhi takes over from where Dholavira ends,’’ says director general, ASI Ajai Sankar. Suraj Bhan, a leading archeologist of Haryana, has found three layers-- Early, Mature and Late phases--of Indus Valley civilization at Rakhi Gadhi. What has so far been found un can ni ly indicates that Rakhi Gadhi settlement witnessed all the three phases. The site has thick deposits of ``Hakra Ware (typical of settlements dating back before the early phases of Indus Valley), ``Early’’, and ``Mature’’ Harappan artifacts. The soild presence of the Hakra Ware culture is boubd to raise the question: ``did the Indus civilization come later than it is recorded?’’ The Hakra and the early phases are separated by more than 500-600 years and the Hakra people are considered to be the earliest Indus inhabitants.
Although the carbon-14 dating results are awaited, based on the thick layers of Hakra were at Rakhi Gadhi, Nath argues that the site dates back to about 3500 B. C. to 4000 BC. This pushes the Indus Valley civilization history by 1000 years or more. The surnise echoes the view of S P Gupta, chaiman of the Indian Archeological Society, who has long held that the Indus civilization pre-dates the period historians generally assign to it. Excited by the find, Nath says, ``Excavations at Raki Gadhi started only in 1997. Had they been unearthed 70 years earlier, when Harappa and Mohenjodaro were uncovered, the story would have been different.’’
The findings are starling, copper finishing hooks and woven (a woven fabic) found at the site affirm the river’s existence nearby. Fossils indicate that Harappan man reared cattle. The site’s antiquities, drainage system and telltale marks of small-scale industry are in continuity with other Indus sites. All this adds one more dimension to the whole debate on Indus civilization. And just as well because many had started feeling the predominance of Harappa and Mohenjodaro in history books ``dead boring;’’ but then there are others who stand against any revision of the currently held views. D N Jha, professor of history at Delhi University, ``such an assumption based on few findings of a site, yet to fully excavated, is only a step on the road to’’ cultural nationalism’’. Dholavira’s excavator R S Bisht too feels that it is premature to reach any conclusion. All this only adds to the enigma called Indus civilization, rich in facts, and richer still in speculation. What stands out from the churning debate is the fact that much more perhaps still remains shrouded in the folds of the past centuries. Eureka! There is no end.
Vyasa tried to pick up from the Vedic script what was lost in the crease of boundless space, where ``Idea’’ of universe took shape. Today’s complex abstractionists like David Smith; are revealing hidden meaning in sculpture; artists are finding, their works are labeled as more controversial. Aesthetic of culture that grew out of the main intellectual movements of the century and an esthetic of nature drawing drew its main inspiration from the primitiv art of Africa, Oceania and pre-Columbian Amer i ca. The spiritual intensity that radiates from Polynesian totems (an animal or plant) is rarely seen in present-day art froms. The Dadaist, later surrealist, Marcel Duchamp laid a men’s urinal on his back, aclled it ``Fountain’’ and had a globe-circling joke, if not quite a sculpture. Yet there is a hidden meaning, which may sugest that spirituality is mocked at in the Western World.
The true value for life is lost; its physical aspects like Alexander Calder; Jean Tinguely could operate their sculptures by pushing a button. The playful Picasso you will see through his work in various galleries of the worl. In three-dimensional works such as ``lus’’ soyght to instill the spiritual intensity that radiates; if the bottom-line notion of Modernism--the idea that there were, should be a materialization of an anti-historical sttitude in an isolated object. There are plenty of Vedi totems found in excavations in India and Pakistan that should not have been disregarded. They serve as the emblem of a clan, a reminder of its ancestry. These are the harbingers of spiritual intensity of that time and the reminder of spiritual intensity.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
The works of Vyasa were turned out as if in a factory (word--thought--idea brooding factory), and there were many brooding Vyasas. His model was, all the ancient sages who created Vedas. His sub jects were the knowledge percolating through Vedas. That task would have daunted a lesser mortal, but it left Vyasa unfazed and raarher excited. The phantasmagoria of it, was an urge to do good to humanity at large; He was Lord Krsna’s holometabolizer. Also many an idiosyncratic followers came down the line, who wrote like him. They were all called Vyasa.There is this point: Mahabharat: From this history you can pick up the idiosyncratic, the individual,the flavor or the color of a particular human suffering.
You can clearly see his predecessors, the great sages, and a sense of their works’ belatedness haunt Vyasa. The successful writer gains his originality only by creatively deep reading, and hence vanquishing his father. How did Vyasa manage to do speed writing? It was not understood at all; could be because he was not the oneperson who did writing, there was a generation of other writers who were exactly like Vyasa in quality and had the same knowledge and skill that was possessed by Vyasa. There was no scandalously rapid writing rate; it was just that many a Vyasa-like genius men were writing at the same time. This may sound a bit precoious but it is more than just another idiosyncrasy. Dnyanesvar wrote Bhagavad-Gita, it was a translation of Vyasa’s Bhagavad-Gita in Samskrt. However, he had the ability to maintain the original depth of meaning in tact.
With new interpretations and inferences it did justice to the circumstances prevalent in the 11th century. None other than Dnyanesvar did enhance the already soul-touching guidance to a man from all walks of life. There was a passionate personal in volve ment with the guidelines and their purpose; that distinguishes him from other writers. Vyasa and Dnyanesvar both heard the full cry of the human; for which they a deep concern. God acaptis such a man to below from upon, and says close to him. This is the concept of ``Religion’’ that was conceived by Ancient sages who reliened God upon to take to them. Hawing bears examples that, those sages were telling the truth. He ``shook his finger at me’’ and told not to say such thing again. Let us have shares in it...
Excavators discovered a mammoth chamber about 1,480 feet underground. They are also said to have found artifacts such as weapoms and copper instruments of a kind that have never been known to be native to the Americas. One of the crypts contained mummies, all adult males, wrapped in a bark fabric, had resemblance to subterranean society Central Asia. They said that, this ``civilization’’ was home to 20 million people, and was such that it extended throughout all the subterranean passages of beings that stood seven to eight feet tall and had bluish skin. Brazil also seems to have its share of mystery tunnels. Two explorers returning from tunnels near Ponte Grosse in Brazil say thay spent five days in an underworld city inhabited by 50 adults and some children. In another incident the same explorers are said to have seen luminous flying saucers going in a shrine containing a Buddha-like idol sittingcross-legged with a lotus flower in each hand.
Were these people? It is claimed by the Smithsonian Institute, claimed to have submarines who tried to explore a few of these tunnels vanished forever. Some claim that the San Andreas Fault is actually a large network of tunnels. In West Virginia, miners found some caverns with strange hieroglyphics written on the walls. They also claimed to have heard faint voices and what sounded like machinery from beyond the walls of the Cavern. Two men searching for bat guano (which has some value as fertilizer) at the foot of Lassen, claim to have interacted with strange cave men that, they say, took them deeper into the cave in a hovercraft.
Travelers like Ferdinand Ossendowski and Nicholas Roerchclaim to have discovered a cave civilization; they heard beautiful choral singing in strange dialect. Strangers still, an old man living near Concepiao, tells tales about his visit to a vast underground city where strange vehicles darted back and forth. In another interesting incident an explorer looking through a tunnel near Rio Casdor is said to have met a beautiful woman who said that she was 2500-yeard-old. Would you believe these stories? Well, I really don’t know. There is still no concrete evidence to prove these findings. Explorers like Nicholas Roerich who are obsessed with reaching that depth of these mystery caves may find answers. Or may be someday a mad explorer will fall in love with a 2500-year-old beauty and bring her to earth for a wedding. That will be the day!
Relivance- thought may scattered, they may occur in various different ages - The common factor is the thought has occurred to a man. = Possibilities = 1 year has 125 days, and 2500 were the number of days, then she was actually 20 years old! The race had super power to make time element come to a halt at will! Any training in any field and in any discipline is successful, when looked at religiously. What scientists have done is - they have increased their understanding of this olfactory ability and employed sophisticated training techniques. How the human training achieves results is baffling.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
The disruption of the Bamiyan Buddhas was the latest obscenity in an unending chain of religious fanaticism that started thousands of years ago. Some people are simply unable to transform their hearts and souls. They twist and turn the meaning of ancient’s scriptures to suit their own benefits. They insist on recreating history time and again even in the face of new, enlightening scientific discoveries. Today we know for a fact that genetically, all human beings are 99.99 percent identical. Yet, this does not prevent brother from murdering brother. For the last few months every newspaper’s deep-analysis dug out that the latest breaking story in biology is: the human genome sequence shows that every person on Earth shares 99.9 percent of the same genetic code with all other people, thus substantiating the theory that human kind has descended from one mother. The erason for this concord isn’t far to see. For, to paraphrase biologists and archaeologists writing on the subject recently, this means there is no scientific basis for the concept of race.
Darwin was the first to point out, that we were all related to one another--going ancestrally back to the first proto-entity that affected itself out of the primeval slime. That such should be and, is indeed, the case can come as no surprise to any rationally thinking individual, given the one self-contained and astronomiaclly isolated planet where perforce dwell-- bound. The only astonishing percept though, is that if life could have arisen once out of either non-living elements or through the intervention of some incorporeal agency why couldn’t it have done so repeatedly ever so often. Because according to this recent cutting edge discovery, it clearly did not. That’s why we now turnout to be very long-distanced relations with everything else. The question is: Why did not life arise independently again and again? Answer: May be there was no need to. Meaning, once life has established itself, nothing can really diminish or stop it from escalating wherever it extends to. Therefore the really interesting news will be probably when information permeates down to us from somewhere far in the future of evidence of life discovered elsewhere in the universe besides our little toe hold on it.
What if that DNA too then turns out to be 99.99 percent of the same genetic code as the rest of our measly earth life? Luckily there is a hypothesis around called the panspermia theory which posits the propagation of life via spores being carried across vast vistas of light-years by means of comets, asteroids and other such couriers. But that seems to be a comparatively easy solution. The more difficult one would have to involve the intervention--or rather, invention-- of a ceator.
By equating the destruction of the priceless Buddhist art treasures by the Taliban with the demolition of Babri Masjid by the VHP they have given an alibi to the lslamic fundamentalists. They’re trying to cover it up with a lot of intellectual parbage, forgetting that there is a fundamental difference between the two. Babri Masjid was an aberration that had neither the religious sanction nor the support of the majority of Hindus whereas, Taliban’s excesses are committed in the name of Jihad. The fact that not a single Muslim country or organization or its leaders have ever condemned Taliban for its atrocities clearly shows that what it does has the unreserved support of the Muslim community all over the world.
Secondly, there has never been an instance of Hindu intolerance against people of other faith, but history is replete with instances of Muslim invaders destioying the religions and cultures of the land they overrn all in the name of lslam. It was shocking to read some author’s analogy; by mischievously linking it with Babri demolition, the author has succeeded in diluting the impact of the outrae. The author has failed to see the diabolic design, the impending challenge to Hinduism. This, in fact, is the third assault on the Hindu civilization. The Hindu civilization failed to stand against the Ghouris and Ghaznis, even against the mobs of Jinnah. It is to be seen whether they can win the war against terrorism and against the Taliban and the rerorist-thinking tank in Pakistan.
This characteristic sense of Roman confidence: III patens suit laetusque degut cui licit in Diem daises Vixen. Happy the man, and happy he alone, he who can call today his ow; he who, secure within, can say, tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today. In 1843 when the British general Sir Charles James Napier came up with a Latin dispatch that was even better. Napier had set out with the small force, hoping to capture Sindh, in modern Pakistan. Back in Delhi his commanding officer, Lord Ellenborough, had anxiously awaited news--``does Napier have Sindh?’’ Finally Napier’s message arrived from the front. Ellenborough impatiently tore open the envelope and found a single word: ``Peccaris.’’ Naturally, the officers at British headquarters could recognize this as a past tense from of the Latin verb `pecco’, meaning, ``I sin.’’ In other words, ``I have Sindh.’’
Even among people who lack such impeccable training in ancient Ianguages, Latin pops up in conversations and documents around the world everyday: alma mater, alter ego, antebellum, habeas corpus, ignoramus, sine die, sub Rosa, vice versa, a. m., p.m.,(i.e.), A. D., R.I. P., Q. E. D., etc. Our list could go on ad infinitum, but we’ve better stop here to live space for other things, one more phrase we must mention, though, is ``carpe diem’’ or `seize the day!’’ This is still familiar expression of live-for-the-moment philosophy comes from a poem by Horacproof indeed that he did not completely die. A Latin inscription at Harvard Law School conveys the idea precisely: ``Non sub hominy sed sub deo et long-- it is not by men but by God the law (that we are governed).’’
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
We need to invoke the strength of Vedas, of those ancient sages who created good men like Rama, Krsna, Greek and Romans Picked up strength from Vedas, though only the hearsay reached them. The philosophy of ``Anekant’’ (mutual beneficial relationship of singularity and plurality): Don’t overload mind. The meditation masters are right. Overload your mind with too many stray thoughts and you won’t be able to focus on the task at hand. The ability to ignore thr irrelevant distractions is critical to concentration, but this ability requires a certain amount of free ``working memory,’’ according to Dr. Jan de Fockert from University College London, UK and associates. Working memory is the contemporary term for short-term memory, or that process in the image in the min’s eye from visul experigators. To understand the relationship between visual and working memory, the investigators tested the ability of ten volunteers to ignore visual distractions, such as pictures of famous people, while being asked to remember a series of numbers.
When asked to remember more information-- a strain on working memory--the participants experienced more difficulty ignoring distractions. There is a profound relationship between an individual and society, like that between a drop and an ocean. The drop and the ocean like the individual and the world cannot be separated and therefore they cannot be viewed in isolation. Two Samskrt words Pind (embryo) and Brahmand (universe) are very well know. Thus the saying, ``what ever is in the embryo is in the universe and what ever is in the universe is in the embryo’’. According to the philosophy of Anekant, the relation between the indivdual (the embryo) and the collectivity or society is so close that it cannot be severed, there is a saying that shaking a finger results in shaking the whole world. Commentators have put the whole conceptinstructively thus: whenever a sage or anyone else tears a clot, some particles of the atom justreleased may travel thousands of miles and may cause ripples in a sheet of water if so closely reflected to one another that it is undesirable to harm, obstruct or oppress anyone or anything.We should experience this all-pervasive universal inter-relatedness.
There are a few special characteristics of the individual and not society who has a body. Similarly, thinking, feeling and action all belong to the indivual. Again, distinguishes Himself in both the regions of the universe Like the minds hastily rustling Throygh field of ripe corn. May we prosper, invigorated by They cosmic laws, which are generous, diverse in form, but with similar functions. The sky is like a barren cow, And the earth is potent. The sky takes whatever shape it desires. The mother earth receives water from the father, the sky, who nourishes all living beings.
The rise of of life on earth: Looking like a planet adrift in space, a tiny ball of carbon holds the world of meaning: nestled in a cavity etched from 3.8 6 billion years old rock, it may be the oldest evidence of life on earth. The specimen, found on what is now an island off Greenland, has lost all anatomical features, yet scientist believe its bio-chemistry was similar to that of every life form that has evolved since. “Yes, there was a nine-day fire in Rome in A.D 64- but Nero was not fiddling while Rome was burning; he sent messengers to investigate and examine the sea, today a Salf Sea linked by the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmora, the Dardanelles and the Aegean to the Mediterranean and the oceans. Their studies show that it was once a closed, fresh water sea that lay far below the level of the world’s oceans, then rapidly filling with the melt waters of the last Ice Age. Modern research techniques indicate that salty Mediterranean waters must have poured through what was then the narrow Bosphorus river valley, rushing down
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
…Stories, but it is not solid enough to eliminate the old ones. Instead of an arrival fourteen thousand years ago, some scientists now place humans in the Americas 15,000, 20,000 or even 30,000 or more years ago. Some suggest that instead of a singal first migration, people came in a complex series of waves. The idea that they walked across a land has been challenged by theories that some came by boat. Stone cannot be acrbon-dated, but the dating of organic material found with the tools showed that the people he valley at some 80 kilometres an hour with 200 times the force of today’s Niagara Falls. The Black Sea, which had been a fertile oasis in the middle of a parched wasteland, became a sea of death, over spilling its shores, driving people ahead of it into the flood.
Could the people displaced by the flood be at least partly responsible for spreading agricultural civilisation toward Europe and for sparking sudden progress in farming and irrigation in Anatolia and Mesopotamia, Pitman and Ryan ask in their book, Noah’s Flood: The New Scientific Discoveries About The Event That Changed History. And could it be that the Black Sea flood disaster left such a lasting impression on its survivors that it passed on into the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh and from there into Jewish tradition and ultimately into the Christian Bible?
The Gilgamesh epic, discovered and teanslated by the English archaeologist George Smith in 1873 and named for the ruler of Sumeria between, 2, 700 and 2,600 B. C., predates-and contains all the major details of the Biblical tale of the flood. Even the imaginative theological context surrounding the Hebrew flood legend is there, right down to the story of the building of the ark. The unimaginable tale of near-total, universal destruction runs like a thread through the folklore and belife of many peoples on many continents, and the details are uniformly and surprisingly similar. Legends of the Eskimos and the Indians of North and South Americ all have detailed descriptions of the catastrophe and how it ultimately helped spur on the further advancement of mankind. In their book Und die Sintflut Gab es Doch (There really was a big flood). The Austrian geologists Alexander and Edith Tollmann propose a more global explanation for the catastrophic flood the cataclyamic impact of a comet 9,500years ago, with all its disastrous consequences. The 150 impact craters dotting the surface of the earth and the crater-pocked surfaces of the moon and other planets testify to the raw violence with which a comet or asteroid can strike.
The large number of language families in North America proves that people were here well over 20,000 years ago. The Mesa site in the northern Alaska, these people must have come, but in the deeper context of geologic time it is in eastern Beringia. Beringia is the name of the chunk of land that, until about 11,000 years ago, connected Siberia and Alaska. Beringia has been called the Bering land bridge, but that phrase gives too narrow an image. A few years ago Heaton and colleague Fred Grady found parts of Officina Sans Book a human skeleton in the cave. The bones were dated to above 10,500 years old and other tests revealed that the person had been raised almost entirely on seafood. Though not as the old as Clovis, the bones showed that a maritime culture was well underway. Dennis Stanford of the Smithsonian and archaeologists Bruce Bradley, their idea throws even the assumption of Asian orgin into question: it says the Clovis pepole may have come not a cross Beringia but across the Atlantic.
Solutrean tools faded away froS-DV- Europe about 19,000 years ago because the people either left or changed their technology. But Stanford thinks that sites like Cactus Hill, whose dates appear to go almost that far back, may contain Solutrean remains. Luzia was found about 25 years ago near Belo Horizonte, north of Rio, in a site dated at around 13,500 years. Recently there was a dramatic development: a new analysis of the shape of the skull indicated that she did not look much like an American Indian. Just who she did look like was other matter. The new research focused attention on the views of Brazilian scientist Walter Neves, who claims that the skull shape is more like those of people from Africa or the South Pacific than like modern Indians. He suggests that she might have descended from Asians who may have also been ancestors of the original Australians.
If the study of stones and bones often seems subjective, the study of DNA looks far more like hard science. After all you can convict criminals on the basis of DNA, so why can’t you track the first Americans? ``From the point of view of mitochondrial DNA,’’ said David Glenn Smith, an anthropologist at the University of California at Davis, ``the best bet for the origin is the Lake Baikal area of Russia.’’ But over the past few days these scientists had seen persuasive evidence that far to the south, people had occupied Monte Verde at least 1000 years before the oldest Clovis settlement, which dates back 11,500 years. The scientists had visited Monte Verde and poured over hundreds of Wood type Ornaments OCRA Alternatef artifacts, from tools to pieces of mastodn meat.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
Some of the arguments at the bar focused on how radiocarbon dates might have been contaminated by carbon spewed on from nearby volcanoes. Some thought that Ice Age glacies across Canada had barricaded passage from Siberia into the heart of North America and beyond before 12,000 years ago. Since Month Verde now proves people were in the America earlier, how and when did they arrive? A more likely explanation: they migrated into the lower reaches of North America even before the ice sheets developed more than 20,000 years ago. Indeed a second site at Month Verde has revealed stones that many have been flaked by human hand 33,000 years ago. As imposing as this barricade is, it is merely the picture of a great wall with towers built by the Canaanites in 1850 B. C., a century after the reached Ashkelon. Babylonians at this time might have had a population of 30,000 in its prime this gateway would have bustled with activity.
Oxcarts and donkeys laden with produced from the countryside or goods fron ships in the harbor would have labored up a sloping road to pass through the portals. Sailors and merchants speaking Babel of tongues entered with goods from Egypt, Crete, Turkey, and Syria. Ashkelonian goods would likewise have flowed out of the gateway. A symbol of Baal, the Canaanits storm God was also found; it was four inches tall and dating from 1600 BC. The calf lay within its own shrine, a beehive-shaped-shaped pottery vessel. Apparently travelers paused at the sanctuary either to beg the storm God’s protection for their journey or to give thanks for safe arrival. Though the Israelites did not emerge until several centurise after the Ashkelon figurine was made, they may probably derived from the same cultural stock as the Canaanites. As Canaanite Ashkelon prospered, its army grew strong. Historians have long knowen that around 1650 B.C. of mysterious group of warriors called the Hyksos invaded the Nile Delta and ruled it for a century. No one knew
The Chola kings had expanded the empire from kalinga to Kanyakumari. In fact, king Rajaraja had conquered the northern half of Sri Lanka, Lakshawdeep and Maldives through expedition across the sea. Records trade emissaries visited Cambodia (Kampuchea) and China during the 10th to packed around the edges of the screen. The folklore on fairies and nature spirits has always advised against looking straight at them best they disappear in fright. Perhaps there are things going on all the time we could learn to see by simply looking out of the corners of our eyes. One of the oldest and most persistent of occult ideas is that all bodies are surrounded by an energy cloud or an aura. This is described as a colourful emanation. The aura of Lord Krusha said to have enveloped the universe! Buddha's follower believed that in his life time his aura enveloped an entire city.
But very few people see this spectral haze. In 1939, a Russian electrician and his wife (Semyon and Valentina Kirlian) built an instrument - a method for the conversion of non-electrical properties of the object being photographed into electrical ones... with a direct transfer of charges from the object to the photographic plate, thus electrical aura was produced; for nearly 30 years or so Kirlians have photographed a galaxy of patterns emanating from leaves, fruits, whol plants, small animals and every part of human body. The films which were made with this technique in Russia showed quite clearly that these displays change all the time apparently in tune with the chage of health and state of mind of the subject being photographed and that every alternation of the haze around the body is of the kind long described by those sensitive people who see it all with their own eyes.
Thelma Moss and Ken Johnson at the university of california who built their own high voltage, high - frequency apparatus have tried photographing subjects under various conditions and found they could produce changes in brightness when doing yoga breathing exercises or going into transcendental meditation. By introducing an optical attachment which made it possible for the subject to see his own corona it was found that this feedback training enabled him to bring the flare under conscious control. During these experiments there was purely accidental discovery- emotion has a great deal to do with the quality of emission; an attractive female phtographer got brighter than usual coronas from all the usual male subjects.
William Tiller of Stanford University believes that the somatic system is supplemented by at least one other. (of the body, not of the mind) He calls the combination the human ensemble and suggests that the most reasonable approach yet made to an interpretation of this complex, is the yogic philosophy of the seven principles. In the west this system of thought is best known through Theosophy, amovement started in 1875 by the extra ordinary Madame Blavatsky, whose esoteric knowledge of Vedic literature has been popularized by Annie Besant.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
The first level of substance is that of the familiar somatic system which operates on the Einsteinian space-time frame, the second is the etheric level which is said to be in habited by the etheric double that is unable to leave the body and is primarily concerned with health and the absorption and distribution of energy. The chakras are apparently located at this level and so, if this is where acupuncture operates, then this is where the new bio plasmic or energy body belongs. This level forms a bridvge between the first or physical and the third or astral level. After clinical death something of the memory and personality survive as bioplasma in the etheric double, until this too disappears at some time afterwards.
Astral body is said to be little more than a vehicle for the mind (which is found on the next three levels) and the spirit (that exists on the seventh plane). Science seems to be getting a toehold on levels two and three. Levels four to seven will need very long time for science to commence exploration into. The astral area on level three is also difficult to get to grips with, but it is an exciting one to explore, because this is where life in come form must take refuse for some length of time. There is the evidence of astral travelling, which suggests very strongly that this area has an objective reality and probably can be examined.
So these cosmic and mystical experiences involve the feelings of at-oneness with every thing. It is obvious that in all these experience I ceases to exist and seems to become part of the All. Yet there are no simple answers. A mechanism based only on earth's natural rhythms allows almost anything to happen, and in man there are inexhaustible inherent possibilities to finally explain all cosmic abnormalities. May be one day in future man will invent a necroscope which would make the dead visible and available for scientific inspection!
Life feeds on life and this produces a cyclical effect in which the atoms that make up a particular piece of living matter may find themselves giving on endlessly from one living form to another. Green plants produce life from soil, water and the energy of the sun. They may draw their raw materials directly from non-living matter, but then the plant is eaten by a catepillar, who gets picked off by a passing sparrow, which falls prey to a hawk, that dies of frostbite and is consumed by scavenging beetles... and so on. Once caught up in the net work of living matter, atoms tend to find themselves trapped there by a sort of organic momentum that carries them through countless life cycles that may last for hundreds of years. Biologists call this continuing process atomic vortex of life. Scientific attempts to assess the possibility of a universal language of life began early in 20th century in India with the inspired work of Jagadhish chandra Bose. Further in 1966 Backster found that plants attached to an instrument designed to measure electrical resistance were producing measurable responses in certain situations.
Now students every where are toying with the consequences of loving, talking to, praying over caressing or just looking admiringly at plants. Navigation is bedeviled by the fact that the earth's magnetic field is riddled with local deviations and irregularities. These faults have been very carefully plotted and the most persistent of them have become quite notorious. One of these lies off the Bahama Islands, another in the English country of sussey and a thir near Prescott in Arizona. There are thousands of these weak spots all over the planet and each of them occupies a precise geographical location, nearly always with a long history of demons, monsters and mayhem. To occultists, such places are gateways in the etheric envelope of earth through which beings from other realities seep into our lives. The vatican in the Middle Ages ordered priests to buil new churches wherever possible on the sites of old temples, because the tradition of sacred places is one that is deeply engraved and based largely on observations of abnormal manifestations which may date back thousands of years.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
Unusual occurrences, it is found, take place according to a cycle of definite time span, when plotted against cosmic events, they correspond precisely to interactions of solar and lunar influences producing unusually large fluctuations in the earth's magnetic field, and placing additional strains on the existing spots.
Some people believe that personality is based on two opposing forces the conscious ego and the unconscious id, and that conflict between them was responsible for neuroses. It may be possible by self-training of bio feed back to reconcile the opposing factions by bringing the un conscions force, often through the signals hidden in dreams, to the attention of the
We read from Gita and learn that we have to work, constantly work with all our power; to put our whole mind in the work, whatever it is, that we are doing. At the same time, we must not be attached. That is to say, we must not be drawn away from the work by anything else; love, affection, worldly pleasures still, we must be able to quit work when ever we like. Secret of success is to pay as must attention to the means as to the end.
Happiness is not the end if means adopted to obtain happiness are going to nag your conscience. We forget that it is the cause that produces the effect; the effect cannot come by itself; and unless the causes are exact, proper, and powerful, the effect will not be produced.We want to enjoy the pleasures of life; and they eat into our vitals. We want to get everything from nature, but we find in the long run that nuture takes everything from us depletes us and casts us aside. If we reserve into ourselves the power of detaching from everything, however beloved, however much the soul might yearn for it, however great the pangs of misery you feel if you were going to leave it; still, reserve the power of leaving it whenever you want. I'm working hard to gain this power. The weak have no place here, in this life or in anyother life. Weakness leads to misery-physical and mental. The great fact is strength is life; weakness is death. Mental strength is felicity, life eternal, immortal; weakness is constant misery.
Great thinkers of the world know this strength came from 'Vedas'- to Indians - (Vyas, Vivekanand, and many more)- W. J. MacgGee wrote (Author of Asia the Cradle of Humanity) India must be held the cradle of humanity) India must be held the cradle of humanity, the nursery of the world's religions; all right thinking men must hope that the debt of this will be paid in full measure. Christopher Ishwerwood wrote. Vivekanand is the story of a phenomenon. I will say that rather than calling him holyman, mystic, saint, or avatar. A phemomenon is always a fact, an object of experience. He is the one who is not afraid recognise the marvellous no matter where he finds it, he is highly ususual human being: a Julius Cacsar, a Catherine of Slenna, and Leonardo da Vinci. Sylivia Levi wrote- India has left idelible imprints on one fourth of the human race in the course of a long succession of centuries. She has the right to reclaim her place amongst the great nations summarising and symbolizing the spirit of humanity. India has propasated her beliefs, her tales, and her civilization from icy regions to be hot regions of the world. Mark Twain wrote : India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, grandmother of legend, and great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.
World now knows India through Geeta- Because Vivekanand quoted abandontly from Gita - It is talked about work work and work; retire - to discover and bring in, retrieval act of retrieving retriever - One that retrieves. Chocolatey or chocolaty Labrador - Chocolate coal Harley Devidson with your Chocolatey labrador retriever - lucky man you are holding laws of the nature in abeyance. And spread of Americal is only from California to the New York Island, and from the Redword Forest to the Cult Stream waters - you may discover and bring in America with the help of your retriever - We have no objection, but do it in style and patience!
Recessive means tending to go back - expressed only when the determining gene is in the homozygous condition [having the two genes at corresponding loci on homologons chromosomes identical for one or more loci; - developed in response or organisms of the same species.] Showing recessive traits; this has also given rise to genetic fallacy i.e. the fallacy of confusing questions of validity and logical order with questions of origin and temporal (relating to time as opposed to eternity); particular time-space> when the universe was created the time count started for lesser space objects including Earth.
Locally speaking, the area is like state defined more by the boundaries a faith than the limits of geography - spiritual dominion overcomes the space marked by temporal jurisdiction (relating to earthly life.) We don't know the veuristic purpose of life. Common sense is aquired during the passage of life. Life / Time equation matures the common sense. It tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness. As we get older the idea of time fascinates us. We don't possess historical memory to guide our soul. The memory of darkness; there must be some relation with for dreams to these two eternities!
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
There are no sharp vivid words, there are no images, the scenes of the dreams are unrelated to the present reality but they blend well-myth and reality; there is every thing-magic, irony and wit-except the common link. You are there in the dream not real you, it is your secret other or a memory-away yourself. Under the present circumstances, whether one is educated or not spiritual practices must continue with love of God.
To receive knowledge from within own's soul, capacity defers from individual to individual that should not deter anyone from seeking knowledge. It will be the good practice to consult tested friends to clear doubts of any kind. For many centuries the Vedas were part of the oral tradition, and were only written down much later as art of writing became known. The upnisadas are literally “sitting hear”-of pupil and teacher. Texts contain mainly philosophical motters, dating from the most recent Vedik period. Mythological writings were philosophical musings, meditative musings thought fully abstracted. All these various forms of literature, “Says Graham Grin, ‘‘every person who cloes introspection realises what he has achieved on this earth and how his life as a writer will come to an end. This is the experienoe of the knowledge of self and this is the realisation of Lard. Though this does not fit into the the Christian philosophy, the Lord creates his effects without getting annoyed. Any wealth that is achieved is temprary and does not last for long time. And hence one should not be attaced to such things. Even an ordinary person who does introspection realises this truth.
It is not necessary to be a successful scientist, an expert of philosophy a poet or a brilliant writer to understand these principles. When the references are not wiped out after not having attadment; the speech becomes rich with references. No sign of having less education is seen. Even a person who listens to him gets a feeling that the speaker is a great philosopher and pandit. The bright rememberence in the 4 glorious light of the self is the key to it. Even after studying 10 scriptures (Dashagranthi-these are 10 granthan i. e. scriptures of Rugveda viz Sanhita, Brahman,
“Primary conciseness” in all living things, is purely the oretical. But it is the kind of path that evolution often takes. It is seldom that a need is allowed to exist for very long without nature taking some steps to meet it. Life and death blend almost imperceptibly into each other and, with life extending its limits all the time, it becomes clear that there are degree on death and that most of these are reversible. Death comes to seem less permanent and more like a temporary affliction. Children persist in crediting all objects with life and the ability to inter.
Presumably with practice these figures can be improved; and that practice needs to be lifelong-self-satisfaction, enhanced confidence and may be 0.01 percent retardation in aging process. This proloyed life is further used only & practice deeper meditation. Many Zen monks in Japan are practicing transcendental meditation for centuries. They haven’t much helped themselves, leave alone other human beings. Lyall waston, biologist, narrated a story of a certain colonel Townesend who deliberately stopped breating for so long in front of a played of examining doctors in London that they certified him dead and all went home. He did it again the following day. This is a case of suspended animation. Students in Judia also learn conscious control over hormolly unconscionx processes. A french cardiologist who came to Judia with a portable electro-cardiograph found several subject who could stop their hearts on demand.
It is found that even rats can be taught by in strumental training techniques to control their heart rate. How heart beats are stopped on demand-a stimulux to the vagus nerve which carries instructions from the hindbrain to the heart seems to be produced by what the yogis call the technique, which involves building up increased pressure in the chest by in haling deeply and bending sharply forwards. Birds in Tundra region go in natural hibernation, and now artificial hibernation is becoming possible for humans. In Japan brain surgery is done at the hedgehog level (the hedgehog stabilizes at about 60c) of 60c. In 1967, Jame Bedford of California bad his body permanent by frozen at liquid nitrogen’s temperature of - 1960C and since that time at least ten others have followed him into deep freeze under the auspices of cryonics societies, whose motto is “Never say die’’. These bodies in lambo in their cold cocoons pose awesome problems for both biology and the law-wrote by all Watson in 1974.
Only in clinical death all external signs of life (consciousness, reflexes, respiration and cardiac activity) are absent, but the organization as a whole is not yet dead; the metabolic process of its tissues still proceed, and under definite conditions it is possible to restore all its functions. Human species, like all others, have typical and fixed life span. Average life expectency in Vedic times could not have been move than forty or so, yet there were those who lived for eighty or more. Those who lived long were regarded as supernatural and they set the thought - process going.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
They created “Yoga” people held them in high esteem; and perhaps believed that yogas offered them longivity. Priology sees this as a circular rather than a lenear pattern and describes it as a series of changes or a life cycle. At any given point on this cycle there is a definite chance that an individual can die, but as the circle turns the level of probability increases. A man of seventy is about three times as likely to die during his next year as a man of thirty and about fifty times as likely as boy of ten. This is what we call ageing. The process of dying is therefore not confined to old age, but something that starts right at the beginning of a life cycle and follows it all the way, passing through a series of recognizable and definable stages.
Word Jugglery doe’s not take one very for: Infinite time cannot be considered as present. It is only for a super personality of Godhead eternal nowhess exist eternal nowwess is not applied to natural life; but the faith in supreme power in any from can works miracles. Then you are touched by that eternal truth and you can help yours self to achieve peace of mind when you are disturbed. Your faith creates that effect; you are the conveyor yourself; that faith produces spirituality. Some call it scientific spirituality and sate that it was pioneered by sages like Patanjali, Adi Shankaracharya and so on it started as unscientific way (accidently) 10 million years back, may be more. Vokanoes were eruptive every now and then, but life that was born in the vicinity preferred stay around. Only accidently those who could manage to walk out of path of lava when they understood the presigns of eruption saved themselves and moved away for good. Spirituality was born out of that awareness of finding safely and moving from fear of death. It won’t be avast statement in say that Initial God was born out of fear of death it was a sort of fight back against the inevitable. Fight back on the other have evolutionary physical reflex to pull away. But it was obvious that psychological battle against a strange longing to surrender to the danger had begun.
Death is no cause for fear. In case of these primates and domestic animals, lack of interest was probably the appropriate biological respect-and the latest research suggests that they may be irhgt.Intellect and intelligence - share the same meaning in different intensityj. May & suggest - Integrity - this word suggestes honesty, virtue and moral soundness.
Tao- leT the path of virtuour conduct as conceived by Confucians. Taoism - this clinese mystical philosophy was traditionally founded by Lao-tzu in the 6th century B.C. Chincre merged the teachings of Buddha as well and gave more strees on mystirism. Tao in Chinse means “The way of Life”, though it is attributed to old philosopher Lao-tzu, he may never have existed (Chinese Tao - leT is way”). It was possibly compiled about 3rd century B.C. The unrelated and depenerate system of magic usurped its name gathering deitiev by the hundred from all quarters. It was more negative in tenure than Buddhism.
That knowledge of the field of activities and of the knower of activities is described by various sages in various Vedic writings. It is especially presented in Vedanta-sütra with all reasoning as to cause and effect. Vyása is the author of the Vedánta-sütra. He has explained the duality in its all aspects. His father Paráùara was equally great sage. He wrote: aham tvam ca tathanye... We-you, I and the various other living entities-are all transcendental, although in material bodies. The higher and lower natures exist due to ignorance and are being manifested in an infinite number of living entities. In the Katha Upanishad a distinction between the soul, the supersoul and the body is made. There are many great sages who have explained this, and Parashara is considered principal among them.
The Taittiriya Upanishad, which is a branch of Yajur Veda describes nature, the living entity and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is stated in this upaniúad (2.9), brahma puccham pratishtha. There is a manifestation of the Supreme Lord's energy known as anna-maya, dependence upon food for existence. This is a materialistic realization of the Supreme. Then, in práïa-maya, after realiging the Supreme Absolute Truth in food, one can realize the Absolute Truth in the living symptoms of life forms. In Dnyána-maya, relization extends beyond the living symptons to the point of thinking, feeling and willing. Then there is Brahma realization, called Vijnyana-maya, in which the living entity's mind and life symptoms are distingunished from the living entity.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
The next and supreme stage is ananda-maya, realization of the all-blissful nature-these five stages are named brahma puccham. The Vedanta-sütra also discribes the Supreme by Saying,ananda-mayo' bhyását: the Supreme Personality of God-head is by nature full of joy. To enjoy his transcendental bliss, He expands into Vijnyana-maya, práïa-maya, jnyána-maya and anna-maya. One has to search for this truth in the Vedánta sütra, or Brahma-sütra.
If you haven't committed sin in your life, you are as good as God, but I'm a man. I'm a suppliant sinner seeking forgiveness; I don't wish to be like a priest upraised to the heavens, asking to be washed of my sins, suppliant arms. Instead I must do something that will please people around me. It's like pleasing God. But that is a difficult task. People are hand to be pleased. May be, as Krushna advises Arjuna, and says: Those who worship me, must surrender all actions to me, meditating on me with single pointed yoga, with minds on me, I rescue before long from the ocean of death-bound existence. I would prefer this Moksha where fear of death vanishes, lust for enjoyment vanishes, and this kind of revelation is bliss. Is it possible, it may not be, to practise a kind of meditation that will answer all questions about God without asking; will the being who is the self-luminous god with out a second, who presides over all the cause beginning with time and ending with the individual soul; and who had been incomprehensible because of the limitations of their own intellect, to me it seems not possible.
I cannot meditate. What science call hematology is the study of death in its all aspects? Science states that there are two phases of death: somatic or clinical death, when there is a cessation of vital functions of body (i.e. circulation, respiration and brain functions). As long as the circulation of oxygenated blood is maintained to the brainstem, life exists, failing which death takes place. brain-stem death is irreversible. Molecular or cellular death occurs when there is a death of cells and tissues individually. Beyond this science has no knowledge, but Vedic (Vedic) science takes over from here. It doesn't say how to avoid death, but to ignore it is possible. When you wish to achieve great things in life, Veda say, you must live as though you were never going to die- your mind, with the help from the soul makes it happen. Even if you fall, you will rise again. Human being's greatest glory is in ‘never falling’, but in rising every time they/we fall.
There is one popular proverb: Fear of death is worse than death itself- some thoughtful man said, It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens - Vedic Sages Just did that when they wanted. In a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this earth. Ancient sages have consecrated it far above our power but as long as humanity survives we need to dedicate to whatever is unfinished; we need to highly resolve that their efforts won't be in vain. They said, this earth is under God, and He too worries dedicatively.
Evolution suggests that, soul of man has its metabolism and rejects things it does not relish; unless condition is like some Catholic and Islamic faithful whose brains are washed esoterically where soul refuses to entry. It does not hurt to worship in a temple which is quite unconscious, for, out of it grows an inner development in yourself and sometimes a relationship of real value.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
Story of Dhruva and Shantanu: Water was useful and how to benefit from it. Dhruva (polestar), he realized, was steady in the sky, and was a desirable guardian in the study of other celestial bodies. Moon (Soma) was a help in the study of astrology. Mountains (Dhara) were under study and so were winds and fire. Dawn (pratyusa) inspired them and rejuvenated them. Perhaps gods descended on Earch to give away the secrets of universal phenomena. Splendor (prabhása) was creeping upon these ancient áryans, perhaps unnoticed. This prabhása was present physically in Mahabhaárata in the person of Bhishma. (Eighth Vasu): King Pratipa of the house of Kuru thought he had been married for many years, had no children. He left the affairs of the government to his wife and counselors, and wandered away to seek solitude on the banks of the River Ganga (Ganges). His change of diet perhaps, made him sexually viable. When he returned to his kingdom his wife bore him a son. They called him Ùantanu. - As if he had qualities of a touchtone to improve lives of other people in his company. Shantanu too was a wanderer. In his wanderings for hunting in the forest, the mountains or the riverside pastures he was getting to know the land he would be ruling when king Pratipa dies.
He came across a beautiful girl along the river side- she could have been from the upper reaches of the river, or a nymph (they, typified by their association with water and trees- End of the ice age:... during the great floods, girls who could stay put on high mountain trees and survive, and then, as water starts receding come down and swim to the dry land; sometimes the time-element involved would betray them for belonging to superior race, or coming down from heaven). Ùantanu fell in love with this girl, her name was Ganga and he married her. The first seven sons that were born to her were secretly sent away to learn the art of survival that she had learnt herself, not trusting the way of Palace Life. Santanu insisted that their 8th son be left with him. She promised to return the 8th son to the King when he grows and left the palace never to return again in the settlements on the blanks of the rivers. Ùantanu, many years later, set off in the direction of the upper reaches of the river Gaògá. He saw some youth swimming in the water skillfully in a deep whirlpool in the middle of the stream. His mother Gaògá was nearby. She introduced her son Gaògádatta to his farther and allowed the King to take him back to the palace; Gangadatta or as he later on came to be known as Bhèúma was the offspring of different clans.
His young days he spent at his mother's place. Because of the out-breeding he was better off; as propagation of genes was to the advantage of physical and mental developments. On the bank of the Gaògá a culture of the particular group was now merging with the culture of other settlements on the River Banks. Then there was Yamuná River bank settlement to which Vyasa's mother Satyavati belonged. Digging in the historical times to draw parallel, to compare notes is the healthy exercise, and must be undertaken frequently.
This Greek cult is 6th century B.C. and is associated with the name of ORPHEUS. He was a poet and musician who charm the God of death with his lyre to rescue his wife Eurydice. Devotees preach purity, asceticism and atonement for sin. They believed in an afterlife. The cult influenced Pythagoras and Plato. Of course country lies in the way of Aryan nomadic walk from Mesopotemia (Iraq) to India.
They displayed very fine penetration and profound spirituality. Dr. Radhakrishnan commented on the upaniúadas, the Brahmasütra and the Bhagavad Gètá he describes Shankaracharya as follows: With his acute feeling of the immeasurable world, his stirring gaze into the abysmal mysteries of spirit, his unswerving resolve to say neither more or less than what could be proved, Shankara stands out as a heroic figure of the first rank in the some what motley crowd of the religious thinkers of his time.
This helps to understand the Eternal Riddle of Death, agreed Emerson. Ralph Waldo 1803-1882 Am. essayist & poet, whose famous lines are They reckon ill who leave me out, when me they fly I am the wings, I am the doubter and the doubt, and I the hymn the Brahmin sings in answer to the question who can explain the infinite in words?- Maugham has used this quote. The character in Razor's Edge peses the problem in the following manner-you who are so liberal, who know the world, who've read so much, science, philosoph literature- do your in you heart of hearts believe in incarnation? The answer is My dear friend, if I did not believe in it life would have no meaning for me. And what is the goal?
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
Liberation from the bondage of rebirth: Maugham seems to have caught the central idea of advaita with great precision and indirectly supports the conviction of the universality of appeal of the doctrine. Shankara's advaita brought back the individual to the centre stage and allowed him to work out his destiny. Fritz Capra's Taw physics, works of Hegel and Bradly and F.W. Thomas were influenced by doctrine. Thomas is right when he says, Shankara's doctrine is essentially a world idea, not linked to a particular people or to any theory of a divinely ordered state. Going back to Vedas it is observed that the universality of mankind and the sanctity of the earth in which man lives is recuring theme in the Vedas and reached it came of expression in the Vedas. Earth is the mother and the son is of the earth. The philosophy of Shankara advaitá teaches that there is only one truth called ``Reality The journey that philosophy traversed before arriving at this conclusion is a pretty long one. In Vedic period, they were at the most flashes of intuitive knowledge of the Vedic Sages. The tendency to reduce the one to the many and inversely to elevate the many to the one is seen in the statement: The one Truth is known in many ways, are all working towards a unity principle.
Promulgation of esoteric cogilations established by Rugveda and by other Vedas is seen shifting in articulation; though the decantations remained extemporaneous. In the course of their speculation regarding the ultimate truth, the upaniùadas throw up a number of possibilities. In Kenopaniúad there is an indication that the search has to be carried much beyond that which is ordinarily comprehensible.
It is not an object, it is both physical and mental, it is sharing not gathering, and it is also away changing. Thomas Aquinas regarded Aristotle as the principal philosopher. His cosmological arguments are based on the observation of the world. When you see a phenomenon which has no cause, such an uncaused cause is what is understood as God. This argument creates a possibility for God. In the Western world when the societies were organized for the application of technology and good social order and rule it became necessary to create God or recognize his existence. Kant on the contrary disagreed with Aquinas; he could make way for an understanding of God based on faith, rather than reason. He considered moral experience more important, in particular the idea of virtue and happiness. Western theistic religions have tended to go beyond reason and claim to have seen the action of God in particular events, which may be called miracles. Hume has examined the idea of miracles. He defines miracle as a violation of the laws of nature hence if water does not put off fire is a miracle; ordinary wood is not consumed by fire is a miracle; fish comes out of water and Breathes like land animals in miracle; man flies in the air like birds do is miracle. Take Hume in the space now and he will see miracles there.
By what are generally called laws of nature according to Newtonian physics, black hole in the middle of a galaxy is a miracle, because a blackhole is violation. Hume may have agreed. In fact, it is merely an extreme case, which suggests that physics needs to be modified to take it into account... Mystical experience and religious sense of are reflected in many common human experiences: falling in love, looking at a beautiful scene, being moved by music.In Christian terminology to say : Hence I am God Almighty sounds both blasphemous and lunatic Biologist Lyall watson won't agree and will disregard these connotations; for he too felt that as a biologist above inference is the closest a biologist can get to proving God and immortality at one stroke. Lyall Watson has almost succeeded in collecting a ragbag of biological loose ends together to create a patchwork pattern towards establishing an objective natural history of the supernatural. Atomic physics now recognizes that, if something cannot be measured, then the question of whether or not it exists is meaningless.
Schrodinger wrote in 1944: The earliest records date back 3000 years or more. From the great upanishadas the recognition ATMAN: BRHAMAN (the personal self eqals the omnipresent, all comprehending eternal self) was in Indian thought considered to represent the quintescence of deepest insight into the happenings of the world. The striving of all the scholars of Vedanta was, after having learnt to pronounce with their lips' really to assimilate in their minds this grandest of all thoughts. Josephson too believes that Vedanta has scientific explanation for laws of the mind and thought process and their correlation to the quantum field in physics, which deals with creation and destruction of particles at atomic and molecular levels.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
Josephson, a Nobel Laureate, was justly honoured for his seminal contribution in solid state physics. That led to the development of sophisticated instruments in such fields as infra-red astronomy, two temperature physics, communication, computer and even i cerebral and neural medicines. He found the links of all these in Vedanta. This highlights the fact Vedic thinking covered not only existing world then but fathomed the entire universed leaving references for all that is being discovered, invented and would unfold further contexts for future work in these fields. Those westerners who cannot see this are only accepting their limitations of intellect into scientific inquiries of their chosen fields.
Atom, its nucleus and revolving electrons-was what discussed by Oppenheimer in 1954. This almost shocked the Newton's theories and constant laws of nature. Electron does not stay where you found it at the last instance, yet it has no speed of its own. It does not remain stationary nor does it move! It is sotiny it does not have mass for all the practicle purpose.
Human mind too does not have mass and it does not exist physically. But mind expresses itself through a physical system made up of the brain, the nervous system and all the physical activities (incluidng speech) that it controls. It is a non-physical reality. Francis Crick says that the brain is machine made up of nerve cells and neurones; it also takes on the functions of mind of thinking through problems. He orgues that the brain has awareness neurones, which are the Document.
From Puranas when you enter the realms of Ramayana and Mahabharata the language is beautiful and one is ravished by the beauty; the period flavoured history of 7500 BC to 3500 BC. One can smell the great floods of 6500 BCE; Wwich converted fresh water lake into Black Sea. Climb door the great ladders of mellennias; you cann't miss the iridescene of human character as was developing against the corecell of Basic instincts. Kala, the inexorable lord of time, appeared to bow down and pay his respect to Ram and Krushna. They given enough impetus to study old facts and develop your own conclusions. Learning to take old material becomes easier as if Ram and Krushna appear in person and fill your whole soul and phyche. I'm trying to give it a new interpretation in the light of new scientific facts, astronomical insight and modern outlook. Offering a fresh and novel viewpoint is not necessary as the story has maintained its transcendental value through the ages. There is neither materialistic suggestion nor mystical are they are essential Gods not merely to worship but to follow them for the strength of character and admirable morality. The legacy of this historical narration belongs to us, the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the removse and sorrow, the mighty heroes and ordinary folles the weather kept on changing as the time passed.
Ancient sages suggested that life and death blend almost imperceptibly into each other and, with life extending its limits all the time, it becomes clear that there are degrees of death and that most (or perhaps even all) of these are reversible. Death comes to seem less permanent and more like a tempory affliction. Sages taught us to be as innocent as children. Regardless of their origins, children persist in crediting all objects with life and the ability to interact and the latest research suggests that they may well be right. Those ancient sages realized that there are direct physical accompaniments to certain mental mental processes.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
Mind plays active part in these exercises. The unknown has always fascinated the human mind. Ancient sages used mind as effective search engines. They developed many sciences, astrology may not be 100% science but it does provide guide lines. Something more on the part of astrologer is involved here; his intuitive links with the cosmos, his experience and application in interpreting the meaning in regard to context, and his commitment to the subject. Old sage was thorough in this unrecognized procedings. Today half witted students of astrology misinteprete his interpretations, on the other hand graphology today has made more progress as science compared to astrology. Their value as esoteric aids cann't be denied. The difficult job will be to restore a sense of values to an irresponsible, lazy reading public.
Perhaps being short on knowledge and long on ingenuity may help to understand the situation a little, and being short on ingenuity and long on knowledge may improve your understanding more than earlier condition, then why not try a little longer on knowledge and ingenuity so both may be complimentary to one another! They considered themselves superior to other human races. They were feudal lords and for them other humans belonged to lowly families. Members of these lowly families had to vow homage and ealty. On the contrary tribes of Aryans when they accepted culture and people from other class they taught the discipline of Dharma. Moral order and righteousness was stressed vehemently. All the knowledge of sciences was linked with Oece&. There were no vassals and no slaves. Ramayana Mahabharat societies freely practiced polygamy and polyandry. Those hunters who could not chase game, and were not skillful with bow and arrow adopted ploys to come near their hunts without alarming. They did not use hunting horn like more versatile hunters. One can see example of this in Africa. Bushmen in Africa move behind ostrich tying small twigs on their foreheads to steal their eggs.
Today science, astrophysics, cosmology is proving the point and memory channels and deepened. Expansion theory pushes old galaxies away and new ones appear on the scene exerting their influence. This runs parallel with the thinking process of ancient sages who visualized some concepts and derived some conclusions, travelling from darkness to light of knowledge ``lecemees cee p³eesefleie&ce³e. But while doing so don't allow any emotion to get stronger and take your control; remain polite, remain spiritual. Let the credit of good rest with the God.
Development of intuition, reading of good and bad omens watching trends in Nature and in the sky: Ancient sages warned against the unpropitions signs, they advised in advance plan of retribution to be guide by; more importantly they impressed upon the observance of the moral order and the fulfilment of all its obligations to be able to perform the tasks set by fate as they should be treated more gravely and life itself. This character building morality standards bestowed power in blessings and curses. Thus it has been spoken; thus shall it be.
Ancient sciences talked about rebirth, as a chance for human beings to improve upon thier moral character and finally achieve salvation (go beyond the cycle of birth and death).
Common man found solace in the idea and to a certain extent became tearless as the tress deal of cards was available. People were also prepared to conciliate with the idea of death. With the idea of rebirth there is a suggestion that death must have been familiar. Ancient sages told us that death is a new beginning. Some who remain conscious to the end go through transformative experiences. Their moods show on their faces as they die. Biologist researchers have made notes in their diaries. There are also psychokinetic effects on record. When Thomas A. Edison died the clocks belonging to two of his associates stopped at the time of his death; his own grand father clock stopped only a few minutes later (may be due to the effect of pendulum action that stores additional energy of motion). There are cases which indicated that bargains were struck between patient and apparition.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
Many American mothers waited to die till they saw or heard about their sons fight physical basis of mind, and it may be possible to discover the physical location of soul through the non-physical processes of conscionsness! Crick refuses to believe that the soul and mind survive the death of the body. Crick was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1962 for his part in the discovery of DNA. If these awareness neurones are identified, they may be recognised as the physical basis of mind, in exactly the same way that DNA is the phisical and chemical basis of life. Also there is a difference that must be taken into account. The discovery of conscionsness neurones would not actually explain why people have the thoughts they have it would only show the physical basis that enables them to have thoughts in the first place. With these newly developed mental tools when we look at the thoughts of Vedik Sages. A feeling creeps in our mind that all these modern mental tools fall short of fathoming depth of those thoughts. It is only modern physicists we are tracing back their thoughts in Vedik scriptures and identifying the roots. They were not prematured, irrational, irrelevant, menaingless thoughts. Moral sesibility was of high order incomprehensible labyrith of metaphor and allegory in the vedic tradition is becoming traverseable.
The concept was for all humanity - Sanatana Dharma-Eternal or Universal Righteousness. Chronology: Early Vedic Period (12000-9500 BCE), Later, Vedic Period (9500-7500 BCE), Rámáyana-7000 BC - Sutra in Sruti firm 6000 BC. Mahabharat-4500 BCE-Purana and philosophical Sütra in smrutifim - 3500 BC - Aranyaka Upanishad -2500 BR-1500 BC, Later versions of Epics reformulated taking into consideration dynamic bearing of Sanatan Dharma. 1000-500 BCE; 500 BCE-500 AD-This period revised the Darshane, Upanishade, Mimamsa, Vädanta.
The revision can be attributed to the philosophers of the caliber of Vasishta and Vyasa and also Kapil Yadnyvalkya, in the ancient and post ancient period. Fire the Divine Gift was considered life giver by the ancient sages. Fire changes into water and then into earth, and the earth changes back again into water and fire. Even the sun is new every day, kindled at its rising and quenched at its setting preached He raclitus the Greek. The primal unity itself is in constant motion and change; its creation is destruction, its destruction creation. From fire into water, the fire is lost in a new form of existence. Everything is changed into its opposite and everything, therefore, is a union of opposite qualities. Nothing remains permanent by virtue of its qualities. Everything both is and is not; the universal process is a transition from one condition to its opposite and, in this sense, everything unites opposites within itself. Such opposite alone makes the world possible. The cosmic process is in accordance with fixed measure; and there is a order in seemigly disorder.
The cosmos consists of numberless atoms of various shapes, sizes and motions, impringing on one another for different directions and forming, as a results of the in impact a vortex. The whirling motion extends further and farther, and multitudes of worlds are formed. Fiery atoms, which are distributed over the entire living organism, account for the heat of living bodies; when these firey items (atoms) further split,... and still further... ever God Himself wonders their smallness, He sends them to human beings with blessing and element of initial fire and man got his soul. This soul in a man gave him energy and insight to go in search of knowledge. Man's soul went ahead with the cosmological and metaphysical speculations... There was no stopping; universe began letting man if no its secrets. Nature ones its existence to the interplay of the ideal world and matter; as a ray of light, in passing through a prism, is broken into many rays, so the idea that thought has created, is broken into many objects by matter. Some thoughts were mythical garb, some technical all were running in the pursuit of truth. More they searched deeper in soul more enlightened they were and they thanked God for His special gift.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
Adi Shankacharya wrote: For all living creatures, a human birth is indeed rare : much more difficult it is to attain full manhood; rarer than this is a sáttwic attitude if life. Even after gaining all these rare chances, to have steadfastness on the path of spiritual activity as explained in Vedic literature is yet rarer; much more so to have a correct knowledge of the deep significances of the scriptures. The aim of religion for a man is to live a life of righteousness. But other thinkers, (all free to voice their opinions) had different opinons, yet to make people read what they had to say they used the style and words of Upanishads as a subterfuse.
How soever we look at it, it is obvious that there was a fundamental living unit, like a concept of a cell, small, unseen, but expanding; a thought was expanding the similary way. Unknowingly it was following the method of physico-mathematical sciences in all its complexity. Some had doubt that such an approach will have no connection with reality and conclusions will stay away from real things. In nature, there are no material points, no absolutely rigid bodies, and no ideal fluids. Yet within certain limits the approach leads to practical results. Manhas, not without reason, been called an epitome of the universe. His body, by which his mind is also affected, being a part of the material system, is subject to all the laws of inanimate matter. He rises, by imperceptible degrees, to the animal, and, slowly to the rational life, and has the principles that belong to all. Perhaps, he has picked up his instincts from the cosmos. They act as invisible guide and lead us blindfold in the way we should take in some extreme situations. Our minds are kept sharpened by this invisible instinct. These instincts link us to Almighty God and make us rational at the same time.
Ontological argument for the existence of God needs to be based upon the meaning of the term God. This meaning is conceived by the intellect of a man. This may be considered proof enough that God is all pervading. Teleology is the study of evidences of design in nature, hence teleological argument suggest that what ever is evident in nature there is a purposeful design and fulfilment is made through the energy of God, which creates the cycle of cause and effect and can only exist in equilibrium dynamically. It implies that God and everything that exists are interchangeable terms; they are identical which is termed as pantheism.
Because things are always changing, there will come time in the future when nothing that exists now will remain. Things that were in nature in JewefokeÀ period are not same today.
Yet, if you read in Rugveda - 10.29: None knoweth whence creation has arisen, and whether He has or has not produced it. He who surveys it in the highest heavens, he only knows, or perhaps he knows not. This hesitancy to claim superiority and exclusiveness of thoughts, beliefts, and practices, has minimized dogmatism in the Hindu religion. Universal brotherhood and the love of mankind has been the living ideal of Hindus throughout the ages. Less thought was given to the chronological placement of sages, so they can be placed wherever individual likes to place them in accordance with his thoughts. All were great, all were equal all were small! This very belief led India to provide shelter to Zoroastrians when Persia was conquered by the Arabs. Hinduism is always ready to inquire, investigate, and assimilate new experiences and insights. It has great capacity for absorbing ideas and adapting to new conditions. In this modern age a new attitude towards social issues was developed with a distinction between religions life and social practices.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
Christianity as religion has no such capacity. It attacked and outcast scientists, and burned even saints during 'inquisition'- with little regard for individual rights. But scientists, physiciste, astronomers pressed for the knowledge for benefit of the mankind like religion if has its inherent defects. It is orgned that there is no real progress; a civilization that kills multitudes in mass warfare, that pollutes the land and oceans with ever larger quantities of debris and destroys the dignity of individuals by subjecting them to forced mechanized existence can hardly be called an advance over the simple hunting and gathering and agricultural existence of Aryans.
This romantically oppealing argument holds only in respect to Vedik, Upaniúadic order of Hindu religion. Other primitive tribes permitted far less individual freedom than does modern society. Their wars were committed with far less moral justification than modern ones. Ordinary people were subjected to hard labour just to stay alive.
Yet progress of the modern world achieved a lot for the mankind the secretispassion- Einstein wrotes: There exists a passion for comprehension just as there exists a passion for music. That passion is rather common in children, but gets lost in most people later on. Without this passion, there would be neither mathematics nor natural science; Because we enjoy comprehending, i.e., reducing phenomena by the proces of logic to something already known on (apparently) evident. While recognizing máyá to be identical with Brahman, Shankara refused to concede máyá, the incomprehensible power of the ultimate Reality.
Kashmiri Shaivism, also known as the Pratyabhidnya meaning cognition- school of Shaivism, considers the supreme Lord, called ùiva or Maheshvara, as the ultimate Reality, which is immanent as well as transcendent. As a conscious and active principle, the individual self is identical with the supreme Lor. Due to maya the individual self forgets its divine nature, becomes liable to limitation and bondage, and thinks itself to be different from the Supreme Lord. Thus man's salvation lies in his clear recognition of his identity with the Supreme Lord. In Káùmiri ùaivism we find a type of religious thought which synthesizes pluralism, dualism, and the Buddhist doctrine of Shunya, and develops a nondualist philosophy which is both sublime and constructive.
To an ordinary intelligence Lord Siva appears as a destroyer; wise consider Him as the redeemer of the souls. The creation, in the bigger perspective, sustains itself by a delicate balance between the opposing forces of good and evil. At the end of a cycle of creation, when this balance is disturbed and the sustenance of life becomes impossible, Lord Siva dissolves the universe for the creation of the next cycle so that un-liberated souls will have another opportunity to liberate themselves from bondage with the physical world. What happens to the individual is paid and sufferings in the physical world become bearable, or change their forms and don’t appear threatening any more. It observed that physics never stands still.
The principal features of the Bohr Theory were confirmed by many experiments in the nineteen-twenties, but it became increasingly clear that the theory was not complete. In an atomic spectrum some of the lines are brighter than others. While theory's subsequent refinements predicted the positions of many of them.
Today's physics has just realized that power and encountered difficulties in accessing this power. Sir Arthur Eddington write in- Now Pathways in Science- Nowadays we count electrons one by one in a Geiger counter, as we count the stars one by one on a photographic plate. In what sense can an electron be called more unobservable than a star? I am not sure whether I ought to say that I have seen an electron; but I have just the same doubt whether I have seen a star. If I have seen one, I have seen the other. I have seen a small disc of light surrounded by diffraction rings which has not the least resemblance to what a star is supposed to be; but the name star is given to the object in the physical world which has hundreds of years ago started a chain of causation which has resulted in this particular light pattern. Similarly in a Wilson expansion chamber I have seen a trail not in the least resembling what an electron is supposed to be; but the name electron is given to the object in the physical world which has caused this trail to appear...
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
David Hume writes on Natural Religion thus: Now if we survey the universe, so far as it falls under our knowledge, it bears a great resemblance to an animal or organized body, and seems actuated with a like principle of life and motion. A continual circulation of matter in it produces no disorder; a continual waste in every part is incessantly repaired; the closest sympathy is perceived throughout the entire system; and each part or member, in performing its proper offices, operates both to its own preservation and to that of the whole. The world, therefore, I inter, is an animal, and the Deity is the soul of the world, actuating it, and actuated by it. The truth is becoming simpler logically and what is logically simple cannot have proper definition.
The law of nature reflecting matter is grounded upon this principle, that matter is an inert, in active substance, which does not act, but is acted upon; and law of necessity must be grounded upon the supposition, that an intelligent being is an inert, inactive substance, which does not act but is acted upon. Rational beings, in proportion as they are wise and good, will act according to the best motives; and every rational being, who does otherwise, abuses his liberty. The most perfect being always infallibly acts according to the best motives. The law becomes complicated as the rational being's deliberate action searches for the motive before the action, plans for the motive, or invents the motive after the action; the by-laws will be going through computations permutations in series. Now it will be necessary to define the limits of man's consciousness - the end results... pseudo humanism.
It was necessary for the society to make the laws either to reward or punish as per individual human behavior; yet the motive of reward or punishment was not of sufficient strength to produce obedience to the law. Animal instinct in man surfaced whenever it was convenient for him dealing with non human this instinct was good but dealing with fellow human being this very instinct was bad. This implies a fault in the lawgiver; but there can be no fault in the transgressor, who acts mechanically by the force of motive. This is the area of human behavior when spirituality comes into play God is strong and all performing and he is kind; so it is the moral duty of strong man to be kind. Men do not make the matter they work upon its various kinds, and qualities belonging to each kind, are the work of God. The laws of nature, to which it is subject, are the work of God. The motions of the atmosphere and of the sea, the heat and cold of the air, the rain and wind, which are useful instruments in most human operations, are in God's power. God allows them to be used most of the times. This is a proof of his kindness. As God finds sagacious brutish winds, brutish heat waves, brutish cold-waves, he has difficulties in controlling them immediately; cosmic influence prevails on earth planet.
Children under age are governed much in the same way as the most sagacious human brutes. The opening of their intellectual and moral powers, which may be much aided by proper instruction and example, is that which makes them, by degrees, capable of moral government. It would be great folly and presumption in us to pretend to know all the ways in which the government of the Supreme Being is carried on, and his purposes accomplished by men, acting freely, and having different or opposite purposes in their view. For, as the heavens are high above the earth, so are God's thoughts above our thoughts, and His ways above our ways.
It has been made a question among philosophers, whether, in every instance, determination to obey, command or request is the necessary consequence of the constitution of the person, and the circumstances in which he is placed?
This deals with the field of philosophical notion of liberty and necessity. Whether this notion of moral liberty be conceivable or not, every man must judge for himself. In common life, when men speak of what is, or is not, in a man's power, they attend only to the external and visible effects, which only can be perceived and which only can affect us. In many propositions which we express universally, there is an exception necessarily implied, and therefore always understood... God himself is necessarily excepted. There is a trace of weakness in human reason, which makes men prone, when they leave one extreme, to rush into the opposite; and thus philosophy, even its in fancy, may lead men from idolatry and polytheism, into atheism.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
This concept of religion was not understood in its correct perspective. He wanted his disciples to grow strog and stand unshaken and spread the knowledge of Vedas to all mankind. Vyás pragmented Vedas for easy assimilation and they came to his disciples finely tuned, it was the wish of God that they fathom more. Today's unmanageably vast human knowledge finds it roots in Vedas and their variations. Mind of today's man does not know the number or name of stars and systems revealed by telescope; this possibility was suggested in those ancient times when these sages tooked at the sky with their naked eyes. Physics found a universe in the atom, and biology found a microcosm in the call; this was also unvisibly visible to the eyes of soul of those ancient sages! Theology of recognized major religions crumbled and Hinduism's mythological and ethical doctrines are now talking to modern physicts, anthopologists, archeologists and philosophers. Vyasa is coming back to life.
Will durant wrote, Philosophy itself, which had once summoned all sciences to its aid in making a coherent image of the world and an alluring picture of the good, found its task of co-ordination too stupendous for its courage, ran away from all these battlefronts of truth, and hid itself in recondite and narrow lanes, timidly secure from the issues and responsibilities of life. The gap between life and knowledge is growing wider and wider. The history perhaps is repeating- Casting back the suspions eye of knowledge into those ancient times cenecegveer when lived; we regret to realise that in the midst of unprecedented learning popular ignorance flourished the situation in the advanced world is axactly the same!
Frank Thilly writes that the interplay between Greek religion and philosophy is complicated by the fact that Greek religion has two major aspects: Its first aspect, it is the anthropomorphic religion (thought of as having a human form or human attributes; they too had anthropomorphic deities) of the gods of Olympus, made familiar by the Homeric epics in which the gods exhibit human passions and a concern for the affairs of men. What thilly the philosopher cannot see, temple going Hindu can see through and identity the missing links in Greek religion. Olympus suggests that ancesters of Greeks of 9th century BC had vague idea of ß, and long forgotten history of eary áryans through Rámáyan and Mahábhárat. ``Deesce efuebHeefle (efueHed 60-to anoint, to cover), Greeks carried the sign of ß on their phyche, but did not know what it was.
Even the second aspect of Greek religion was associated with the mystery cults; obviously this was through the influence of Yoga Sadhana. All that refining developments were possible because Greek culture and philosophy was growing under the invisible shadow of Hindu Ancient sages. To the philosopher Thilly, the development of the concept of Zeus, who is supreme among the gods, illustrates the interpenetration of phiolosophic and religious ideas. This was not merely interpenetration of philosophic and religions ideas.
God works in a mysterious way and examples are found all over the world immeterial of the beliefs and traditions of various human societies. One event was recorded when king CyrusII (ca585-ca529 B.C. the Great) was ruling in Persia during ca-550-529 B.C.; his favorite court dancer took ill. No physician could cure her of her severe headache. She then decided to end her life by taking poison. Grapes were kept for rotting in barrel for several months. She drank the brew in the presence of king Syrus. But in stead of dieing she was cured of her headache for good. Scottish Philosopher Thomos Reid (1710-1796) wrote in his Essays on the Active Power of the Human Mind-He had heard of a physician who gave spiders in a medicine to a dropsical patient, (hydropisis) disease related to water in body, with an intention to poison him and thus kill him. But instead, this medicine cured the patient. There must be many more untold stories.
But the progress upwards is painful, and the philosopher is literally dragged out of the cave and into the sunlight. It takes time to adjust the eyes, to see clearly, to look at the sun. Seeing physical reality is initially painful and confusing-Englightenment is a gradual and difficult process; it can seem irrelevant to those stil besotted by the picture show deep in the cave. Plato's conviction is that once reality itself is perceived, nothing can ever be quite the same again, and that perception remains the source of wisdom. However, before giving his analogy intepretation of the cave he says : Heaven knows whether it is true; but this is how it appears to me. Christianity is still in the 21st century is living in the shadow of the cross. They will not understand what religion really is unless they come out of that shadow. Plato in the Heaven may be thinking the same.
It is wrong to thik that these are the only engines man can use to find the truth. May be we cannot prove fallaciousness of these faculties; and when we don't think the God exists, we cannot think either that God will give us new faculties to sit in judgment upon the old. It is safely believed that we are born under a necessity of trusting them. But the miracle of God does not remain far away. When we contemplate a noble character, though but in ancient history, it gives a lively and pleasant emotion to the spirits; it warms the heart, and invigorates the whole frame. Life the beams of the sun, it enlivens the face of the nature, and diffuses heat and light aroung. In the constitution of our nature we must see the wisdom of God it is in the moral sense, the moral faculty, conscience. There is alight within our eyes, ears, heart to direct our hural conduct. It is then the duty of individual to follow the train of reasoning and it in sight so the load voice of the passions do not down the calm and still voice of reasoning which retains the touch of the wisdom of God. Truth has an affinity with the human understanding, which error has not. And right priciples of conduct have an affinity with a candid mind, which wrong principles have not.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
Whatever philosophy does to explain an idea, proposed explanations are better than others. The relevance of a proposed explanation, then, corresponds exactly to the cogency of the argument by which the fact to be explained is inferred from the proposed explanation. Any acceptable explanation must be relevant, but not all stories that are relevatn in this sense are acceptable explanations. There are other criteria for deciding the worth or acceptability of proposed explanations. Science is supposed to be concerned with facts, and yet in its further reaches we find it apparently committed to lightly speculative notions far removed from the possibility of direct experience.
Earlier Alexander had tried to conquer the soul of the East before he died in 323 BC. He had dreamed of spreading Greek culture through the Orient in the wake of his victorirus armies. His Hallenic empire provided an economic basis. But he had underrated the inertia, and resistance of the oriental mind, and the mass and depth of the Oriental culture. It was only a youthful fancy to suppose that so immature and unstable a civilization as that of Greece could be imposed upon a civilization immeasurably more widespread and rooted in the most venerable traditions.
Will Durant wrote. The quantity of Asia proved too much for the quality of Greece. Alexander himself, in the hour of his triumph, was conquered by the soul of the East. He introduced into Europe the Oriental notion of the divion right of kings. The Romans, coming to deposit Hellas in 146 BCE found the Greece's philosophic field was divided. Rome mostly has philosophy of Zeno's school and Epicureanism was talked stoically (like Heine's Englishman taking his pleasures sadly).
The division of the faculties of the human mind into understanding and will is very ancient. Vedik sages take us into ancient time of 12000 BC., even before this time human mind was recognized. For human species to survive into unfriendly surrounding mind was playing vital role.
Man started mastering the various situations where, earlier he was falling an easy victim. His mind was evolving. Ancient sages through meditation became aware of man's power-tool; readily available though not attached to his body. It was a double edge weapon. By natural selection it had divisions under standing and will. One was comprehending all speculative; the other was all active powers. Moment ancient sages realised this, they saw the danger of misuse of this extra-terrestrial limb!
For the ancient sages evolving mind simple ideas were got, either by sensation, or by reflection; that is, by their external senses, or by consciousness of the operations of their own minds. By observing, by their senses, various changes in object around them, they collected a possibility in the object to be changed, and in another a posibility of making that change power of mind was realised, and they must have hit upon the idea of probing inward to get clear understanding of that power of mind. Deep meditation soon followed... they learnt the art of joining the forces of intellect and mind. The deep emply space they wer probing was soul; they were soon to realise that it was the replica of outer space beyond the limits of sky above, a tiny particle of that Hejceelcee. There were some of the lines; real prediction was far from the theory. There was a confusion of the pattern of electrons around the nucleus. What was true for hydrogen was found wrong in case of helium. Reasoning needed to be rearranged in new quantum theory; and there was more mis-understanding than simple explanation. This physical excercise in advanced quantum theory compares well with concept of Ùiva the destroyer.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
Breaking free from the chains that limit his vision and turning to look up towards the mouth of the cave, the philosopher starts to perceive things as they really are, rather than the shadows they cast on the wall of the cave. But the progress upwards is painful, and the philosopher is literally dragged out of the cave and into the sunlight. It takes time to adjust the eyes, to see clearly, to look at the sun.
Seeing physical reality is initially painful and confusing-Englightenment is a gradual and difficult process; it can seem irrelevant to those stil besotted by the picture show deep in the cave. Plato's conviction is that once reality itself is perceived, nothing can ever be quite the same again, and that perception remains the source of wisdom. However, before giving his analogy intepretation of the cave he says: Heaven knows whether it is true; but this is how it appears to me. Christianity is still in the 21st century is living in the shadow of the cross. They will not understand what religion really is unless they come out of that shadow. Plato in the Heaven may be thinking the same.
Western philosophy deals with soul slightly differently. Through Greeks they reason out that man is the microcosm and the final goal of nature, merely by the possession of reason. The soul of man resembles the plant soul in that it controls the lower vital functions like common sense, imagination, memory, desire and like! The human soul also possesses the power of conceptual though; reason is then, potentially, whatever the soul and conceives or thinks. Without explaining further one may conclude that soal is same what we generally call 'mind today. Perception, imagination, and memory are connected with the body and perish with it so soul is only gift of nature and has perished with the body. The remains are like that of any other biological organism.
The newly born human infant is like that of tiger, or lion cub, and should behave like that his ancesturs behaved gather, hunt and gets hunted. There would no science, no philosophy, no man made world. Long practice of meditation offered a sixth sense to those ancient sages, and increased their goal-efficiency without increasing their health; their aim was sound resounding mind and not the sound health. They could fly across the sky as if their legs were replaced by nuclear-powered air cushioned vehicles! There was no vainglory in their achievements. There is nothing wrong in this reasoning.
The perfect action of reason as such constitutes intellectual efficiency or dionoetic virtue, the virtue of wisdom or insight; the perfect action of the emotional impulsive functions of the soul, which moral virtue are held in check- i.e. temperance, courage, liberality, and there are some more spheres of action by raional and righteons attitude to bestow upon disciples only the right paths for the all enooping good of the humankind. This imbnes highest good for man, the sages preducted, self realization, to love and gratify the part of Supreme in him.
For a common man the highest happiness is speculative activity, an activity which takes the form of contemplation. The life of contemplation is the highest, the most continuous, the most pleasant, the most self-sufficient, and the most intrinsically worth-while way of life. And this is when he realizes that he is not a mere human being, he enjoys such a life not in virtue of his humanity, but in virtue of some divine element in him. Ancient Sage knew little more. No doubt, the thing of most worth is happiness, but not at the cost of character, virtue, self-discipline, duty, and the subordination of particular interest to universal ends.
Disinterested goodness and rectitude is the glory of the Divine Nature, without which he might be an object of fear or hope, but not of true devotion. And it is the image of this divine attribute in the human character that is the glory of man. Although wise men have concluded that virtue is the only road to happiness, this conclusion is founded chiefly upon the natural respect men have for virtue, and the good or happiness that is intrinsic to it and arises from the love of it. Road to duty may be plain, but road to happiness, if that be supposed the only end our nature leads us to pursue, would be found dark and intricate, therefore not to be trodden without fear, and care, and perplexity...
Here in Indian philosophy, along the Upaniúadic wisdom, Cárváka admits the existence of four elements earth, water, fire and air; he rejects the ether, because it is not perceived but inferred.
Similarly soul and God and the Hereafter are rejected. Consciousness is regarded as a mere product of matter; it is believed that Matter secretes mind as liver secretes bile! The so-called soul is simply the conscions living body. God is not necessary to account for the world. Out of four different materialistic schools, one identifies the soul with the gross body (sthula Shavira); another with the senses (indriya); another with vital breaths (prana) and the last with the mental organ (manas). Shantara says that the materialist maintains the view that consciousness arises out of the material body associated with vital breaths.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Vedas/Philosophy/ and the religion for Man
The argument is, of course wrong, but Caravakas were free to maintain their opinions. In dreams, consciousness is seen without the living body is a fact experienced; also in dreamless sleep the living body is seen without consciousness is experienced. The body is a mere instrument for the manifestation of consciousness and cannot be regarded as its cause. If consciousness is a property of matter, then like other material properties it should be known by all in the same manner and should not be private. But consciousness is intimately private and conscionsness of an individual cannot be shared by others. Again, if the existence of the soul surving death cannot be demonstrated, its non-existence too cannot be demonstrated... Road to happiness is only possible for man to pursue, howsoever dark and intricate, because man is not merely a biological animal, but also a psychological and a moral creature, a rational and a self-conscions person capable of realizing the values, need not fall down to the level of the beast. He can transform the animal pleasure into human pleasure by means of urbanity, self-control, culture and spiritual discipline.
Abraham gave Jews their religion. Moses later gave them Ten Commandments. Jews did not look at their religion philosophically until the Middle Ages. Barbarian Arabs had driven them out of their land of Promise. The different tendencies of Arabian thought had great influence, which in turn reflected in Jewish philosophy of the Middle Ages. Avicebron (Solomonibn Gebird), who lived in Spain during the eleventh century, offered a compendium of Neoplatonism in his book called Fons vitac, became widely known among the teaching class of Europe. The greatest Jewish philosopher of the period was Moses Maimonides of Cordova (Mose ben Maimum, 1135-1204), a follower of Aristotelianism and author of Guide for the Perplexed (Moreh Nebuchim).
He turns to Jewish revelation for knowledge of the divine, upholding the doctrine of creation out of nothing and the notion of an all-wise providence in human affairs. He defined soul as the acquired active intellect-AA1; and in that sense it is immortal. Both Christians and Jews denied the Aristotle view that the universe was eternal. Thus they stayed away from Hinduism too... The Middle Ages were over.
The times began to find fault with the old traditions, theological systems, the authoritarian religion. It was only the thinking class of Christians, Jews who revolted against the authority and tradition; common man stayed put but couldn't be ignored. Science was probing into the secrets of the Nature; universe and modern physics was probing into cosmic principles. Metaphysics, theology and natural science could not yield to western thought universal and necessary knowledge. The idea of God remained far away from Westerns' so called rational sciences. Ancient Vedic Sages believed the orginal thought came from God. There could have been no knowledge, no connected world of experience without such original concept of thought of Vedic Sages.
This thought alone helped producing/developing a unified and unifying conscionsness or self conscionsness and the synthetic unity of appreception (mental perception) followed. The mind to develope rationally to perceive in ways of space and time and to think in the universal terms, even to go beyond and probe cosmos; this also induces insight to see through the understanding knowledge of supersensible in meta-physics. This thought from God, of God, and for the understanding of God is all pervading; Sages made it their business to go out to understand it. They meditated for hrs, some for days, and some for months. It is believed they drank from their brain the juices that oozed out.
God himself made this possible It was to be probed and accepted- 1) That the world has a beginning in time, and that it has no beginning in time, or is eternal; that it is limited in space, and that it is unlimited in space. 2) that bodies are infinitely divisible, and that they are not infinitely divisible, that they are made of simple parts, or atoms, which cannot be further divided; 3) that there is freedom in the world, and that everything in the world takes place according to the laws of nature; 4) that there exists an absolutely necessary being, as cause of it; and that there is no such being, as the cause of it.
The central connection of the philosophy of the as if is that the concepts and theories achieved by mathematics and the natural sciences, by economic and political theory and jurisprudence, by ethics, esthetics and philosophy, are conveniet fictions, devised by the human mind. Sensations are the starting point of all logical activity and at the same time the terminus to which they must run. Charles S. Peirce wrote : In order to ascertain the meaning of an intellectual conception S. Peirce wrote : In order to ascertain the meaning of an intellectual conception one should consider what practical consequences might conceivably result by necessity from the truth of that conception... Metaphysics, which includes both epistemology (science of knowledge) and on tology (Science of being and reality) is an observational science... Peirce (1839-1914) Am. physicist, math; & logician is ranked among germinal thinkers like Socrates, St. Augustine, whose fertile minds reached out in many directions and provided the leading ideas for later more systematic western philosophers.
Logical positivism has, in the course of its brief development, undegone many radical transformations. It has investigated both the formal and the empirical aspects of knowledge.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Indology/philosophy/Roots in Vedas
Society is a reality over and above its individual members. It is real in the sense that it can exert its power over them, imposing laws on them (like cevegmce=efle). To a greater extent rules and regulations are for their mutual benefits with the suggeston that they can band together to do things beyond the abilities of any one individual or family. Religions issues arise out of the fundamental questions about life - like what can I know for certain? Why is there anything rather than nothing?, what is life for?, what should I do? Indian concept of Reality also Buddhist view that the self has not permanent reality, but is a conventional notion used to describe our constantly changing ideas, experiences and responses; explores the mind exceedingly well with fascinating results. Indian approach is now in thing in the modern research in the West. Aesthetics links with other areas of philosophy.
Writing in the USA in the 1950s both the theologian Paul Tillich and philosopher Susanne Langer spoke of art as symbol as pointing beyond itself to some other transcendent reality. This links aesthetics with the philosophy of religion. Religions truths were conveyed by symbols, as they pointed to that which was beyond ordinary experience.] One of the greatest images in the history Western philosophy is Plato's analogy of the cave.
Breaking free from the chains that limit his vision and turning to look up towards the mouth of the cave, the philosopher starts to perceive things as they really are, rather than the shadows they cast on the wall of the cave. But the progress upwards is painful, and the philosopher is literally dragged out of the cave and into the sunlight. It takes time to adjust the eyes, to see clearly, to look at the sun. Seeing physical reality is initially painful and confusing-Englightenment is a gradual and difficult process; it can seem irrelevant to those stil besotted by the picture show deep in the cave. Plato's conviction is that once reality itself is perceived, nothing can ever be quite the same again, and that perception remains the source of wisdom.
However, before giving his analogy intepretation of the cave he says : Heaven knows whether it is true; but this is how it appears to me. Christianity is still in the 21st century is living in the shadow of the cross. They will not understand what religion really is unless they come out of that shadow. Plato in the Heaven may be thinking the same.
A unique occurrence (i.e. some previously unobserved event in a distant galaxy) is not called a miracle. It does not so much violate a law of nature as offer a spur to science to workout why it has occurred. It lacks the sense of personal relevance and purpose required for it to be a miracle. Philosophers and scientists tend to think, to search around in the mental jungle for ideas, concepts, theories and evidence; hence their problem in locating the self. By contrast, those who practice meditation, who still the mind until it is gently focused on a single point, become aware of something very different. The self becomes empty, becomes nothing and everything at the same moment. There is no self. The self continues its everchanging patterns of thought, feeling and response.
For scientists, a theory which may be deemed in adequate on the basis of lack of evidence, may kind that subsequent evidence of a very different kind can make it again a theory of choice. In this way, a theory survives when it adopts to new situations yielding new evidence. Theories may have to adopt in order to survive... a kind of natural selection in the scientific world (Darwin's approach now comes from the present. Jonathan weiner wrote The Beak of the Finch after studying several song birds on one of the Gala pagos Islands. He was at it for twenty years. He observed that in times of drought only those finches with longest beaks could succeed in getting the toughest seeds, and therefore survived to breed.
At the same time, DNA studies of blood from various finches corresponded to their physical abilities and characteristics.When man does not find explanation for some phenomenon in nature, it is a miracle created by God. Science has explained many such miracles. Modern physics seeks to find images, in dealing with mystical cosmology, by which to express events (including that of the Big Bang) so unlike anything experienced on Earth. Physicists feel they find it easy to follow the lines of Vedanta in dealing with comology. When ancient Sages dealt with cosmology, (modern term) to them it was the word of God that came to them through meditation, soul searching exercise. To the modern physicists these are termed as imaginative leaps beyond evidence, and are required to form new paradigns within which detailed work and calculation can subsequently find its place. There is a place for intuition too in this exercise. Like an eye which sees everything other than itself, intuition may underpin much of the scientific endeavour without ever itself featuring directly. There is recent example of false and excess sentiments towards Christianity, or false concept of religiosity which results in false sense of picty and tenderness. In October 1994 the British government launched a campaign to vaccinate all children against rubella (German measles).
This caused problems for Catholics, since the rubella vaccine was originally developed from a dead foetus. The ethical arguments show the clash between natural law and utilitarian concerns. At first, two Catholic schools opted out of vaccination on grounds that: absolute respect for human life requires the condemnation of direct abortion and a refusal to benefit from the products of an evil action. i.e. if the original abortion was wrong in itself, then no amount of good coming from it subsequently can make it right. However, the Catholic Bishops finally provided escape route- If you benefit from a result of an action, that does not in itself imply that you approve of it.
Every determination of the understanding, with regard to what is true or false, is judgement. Man thinks, he is conscious that he judges them to be true propositions; and his consciousness males all oth arguments unnecessory with regard to the operations of his own mind. He ought to judge this way, or he ought not to judge this way-Johnson (Dr.) in his Dictionary, explains the word ought to signify, being obliged by duty; this appears to be better explication. The word has a concern for moral relation; it uses the faculties of seeing and listening and testing. By seeing we judge of visible objects; by taste, another part of our fabric, we judge edible, inediable may be medicinal objects. In am combine effect we judge of abstract truths; and by that part of our fabric which we call the moral faculty we judge of virtue and vice. God's understanding of truth, wisdom, virtue and vice are infinite therefore, He is the only judge, the ultimate judge.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Indology/philosophy/Roots in Vedas
Epistemology is defined as the theory of knowledge. German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)'s successors, Kantians, developed his epistemology further. The task of unification of its principles, the solution of the problems following from the dualism between the intelligible and phenomenal worlds, knowledge and faith, and the removal of the inconsistencies introduced by the notion of the thing-in-itself; ‘Realism’ as a constructive epistemological position asserts that the object of knowledge is distinct from and independent of the act of awareness; the object of awarenesss, when we are aware of, is precisely what is would be, if we were not aware. In his Status of Sense -data Moore says, A vast number of sensibles exist at any moment, which are not being experienced at all, this applies to only ordinary sense perception. Peirce's account of cognition is semiotic or theory of signs. He advocated a correspondence theory of truth: proposition is true in so far as there is a correspondence between the proposition, considered as a sign, and the object to which the proposition refers. The pursuit of truth is one of progressive approximation to an ideal truth. If the investigatons are carried far enough everything is knowable even though it is impossible to know everything. As knowledge progresses, we come to know more ane more with ever-increasing certitude, though we can never know anything with absolute certainly.
No number is large enough to express the relation between the amount of what rests unknown and the amount of the known. Yet, there are two variable here. 1) All knowledge starts with the senses. 2) All knowledge starts with the mind. Could data of the knowledge come to us through our senses, may be only certainties come through that which is known by mind.
What Western philosophy taught during the past two centuries helped Indians to understand and probe more into Vedic scriptures and learn more and benefit from it. Philosophy existed with Aryans since the thought came to ancient Sages. It is the characteristic of phylosophy that it goes back to where most other subjects begin and then prob still further back in its inquiries. There are problems which drise (enduring problems) from life and thought. It is one of the attractions of philosophy that it connects thinkers of otherwise different historical ages and finds in them the same fundamental problems.
The natural and Supernatural are two orders within the Reality... when the humanist admits the ultimateness of values, he is implicitly accepting the spiritual view of the universe... Humanism is concerned with value; religion relatives value to Reality and human life to the ultimate background against which it is set... There is no conflict between Religion and Reasonable Humanism. The inner feeling of the relation between God and man is bound to issue in the Service of Humanity.
Plato's conviction is that once reality itself is perceived, nothing can ever be quite the same again, and that perception remains the source of wisdom. However, before giving his analogy intepretation of the cave he says : Heaven knows whether it is true; but this is how it appears to me. Christianity is still in the 21st century is living in the shadow of the cross. They will not understand what religion really is unless they come out of that shadow. Plato in the Heaven may be thinking the same.
When a man, on one occasion, consults his real happiness in things not inconsistent with his duty, though in opposition to the solicitation of appetite or passion; and when on another occasion, without any selfish consideration, he does what is right and honorable, because it is so; in both these cases he acts reasonably; every man approves of his conduct, and calls it reasonable, or according to reason. These are judgements of the senses. They have always been called accounted such, by those whose minds are not tinctured by philosophical theories. The first principles of all the sciences, must be the immediate dictates of our natural faculties; nor is it possible that we should have any other evidence of their truth. In astronomy and in optics, in which such wonderful discoveries have been made, that the unlearned can hardly believe them to be within the reach of human capacity, the first principles are phenomena, attested solely by that little organ, the human eye. If we dis believe it report, the whole of those two noble fatrics of science falls to pieces like the vision of the night.
It is impossible to brush aside the evidence of the messengers of God. It is illogical to think, that we have a right only to believe in the testimony of our sense perception and not to place our trust in the genuineness of mystical experience. Agreed but it is necessary to keep our sense perception in sight.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Indology/philosophy/Roots in Vedas
Even philosophical intellectuals could not build Christian faith on the scholostical theory. Scholasticism as a completely rationalized theology failed. Perhaps it was the overrationalization of faith; it lacked the practical expression of the religions life. An attempt was made to enter into other-than-intellectual relations with God. That appeared to be mystical line of thought. Monks had opened the school of mystics in France at Paris. God, according to the mystics, is not reached by logic, but by mystical comtemplation and it is the function of theology, they beleived, to state how to achieve the salvation. They forced themselves to believe that Faith not only transcends knowledge, but contraclicts it. Human mind had almost cust its wing.
In the world of Arbs, In 632 the followers of Mohammed, in their Zeal to convert all unbelievers to the teachings of Islam, had set out to conquer the world; by the year 711 Syria, Egypt, Persia, Africa, and Spain were in their hands. In Syria the scholars of the new militant religion became acquainted with the Aristotelian philosophy. Western Europe first became acquainted with the Aristotelian writings through translations from the Arabian texts, and through the systems and commentaries of Arabian philosophers who interpreted Aristotle in the spirit of Neoplatonism.
Aristotle came to the Arabian scholars in the Neoplatonic dress in which his later commentators had clothed him; there were also Pseudo Aristotelian books of Neoplatonic origin which masqueraded under the name of Aristotle. Consequently, the Arabian scholars found little difficulty in interpreting the Peripatetic philosophy in terms of the emanation theory of Neoplatonism. With the help of this literature the scholars of Islam succeeded in placing their religion on a philosophical basis and in creating a scholastic system; the purpose of their science was to bring the teachings of the Koran into harmony with reason, and thus to rationalize the faith.
In the West philosophy of Thomas Reid was known as common sense philosophy. In the 19th century the most important opposition to materialism came from Royer-Collard (1763-18450, Victor Cousin (1792-1867), and T. Jouffroy (1796-1842). Cousin offered an eclectic system (selecting what appears to be the best) with a spiritualistic keynote, which showed the influence of Reid, and this was one of the leading forces in French education. Spencer wrote that explanation is a relative matter, and the basic principles of explanation are inexplicable. The most general cognition which we can attain cannot be subsuned under a more general one, and cannot, therefore, be understood, interpreted, or explained. Explanation must eventually bring us to the inexplicable; and the deepest truth which we can attain, must be unaccountable.
Thinking being a process of relating, no thought can ever express more than relations. It can express more only if it maddens you and taks you away from the influence of unreality; your mind to travels beyond the ordinary perception and inference. The knowledge surpasses the limits of finite, and approaches. The Absolute, the first cause- this is what happened to many a Sages of Vedic period.
Group of thinkers, which include intuitionists, idealists, and romanticists, agrees that the intellect or the discursive understanding cannot comprehend the meaning of reality, and discovers another source of knowledge in other functions of the human mind. French philosopher Henri-Louis Bergson (1859-1941) draws the sharp distinction between intelligence and intuition, science and philosophy. This is based on his dualistically tinged metaphysics mind or consciousness is an essential free force, which is memory itself, this creative force piles up the past on the past and at every moment of duration draws on the past to organige something new. This he calls a real creation. Consciousness is present in all living matter; life is nothing but consciousness using matter for its purposes. The animal performs voluntary movements by generating the infinite simal spark which sets off the potential energy stored up in the physiological system. By 1940 another French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre developed existentialism position in Being and Nothingness. His version of existentialism was secular and a theistic rather than theological. He was indebted to Nietzsche for his atheistic formula: God is dead. His anti-intellectualism reflects the influence of Nietzche both in form and substance.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Indology/philosophy/Roots in Vedas
However, it is sufficient to observe, that human minds, by which their thoughts and sentiments are exchanged, and their souls mingle together, as it were, is common to the whole species from infancy. A dog is faithful to his master, but is not capable of either giving testimony, or making a promise. Life is a continuous adaptation of internal or physiological, to enternal or environmental relations. The organism not only receives impressions but undergoes changes in consequence, which enable it to react upon subsequent changes of the external world in a specific way. There is reciprocal action between internal and external events. The organism cannot maintain itself unless it evolves a system of inner relations corresponding to the external ones. The most perfect life would be that in which there is complete adaptation, or harmony, between internal and external relations... There is a space-time element; it is an infinite, continuous matrix, which is point-instants or bare events. The whole of space-time and every part or region of it is characterized by pervasive features or categories.
The categories of identity, diversity, existence, relation, substance, causality, quantity, intensity, and motion are fundamental properties of space- time and do not one their necessity and universality to mind it not directed painstakingly and proper study in depth. They are both empirically discoverable, and also they have non-empirical characters of things. Through the centuries science aimed to describe the facts, to find and learn about consciousness, to discover the connections among the not further-analyzable elements of sensation and to recognize these connections instead of seeking to explain them by metaphysical assumptions.
A unique occurrence (i.e. some previously unobserved event in a distant galaxy) is not called a miracle. It does not so much violate a law of nature as offer a spur to science to workout why it has occurred. It lacks the sense of personal relevance and purpose required for it to be a miracle. Philosophers and scientists tend to think, to search around in the mental jungle for ideas, concepts, theories and evidence. Hence their problem in locating the self; by contrast, those who practice meditation, who still the mind until it is gently to Pleased with Kunti's hospitality, the sage Durvasas gives her a boon by virtue of which she can have a child by invoking any god of her choice. Out of curiosity, she contemplates Surya, the sun-god, and Karna is born though she is unmarried. Face with an embarrassing situation, she gets rid of the child by setting him afloat in a river.Though forewarned by Surya about Indra's plan to take away from him his protective cuirass and earning to save Arjuna, Karna does not hesitate to part with them when Indra approaches him with the request. His reputation as a generous donor is more important to him than his life. What Indra persuaes him to accept in return is a poor substitute and this too is expended for killing Ghatotkacha.
Karna fights only Arjuna because he has assured Kunti that either he or Arjuna would survive. He spares the other Pandava brothers, even after overpowering them though he could have dealt a severe blow to the enemy by killing Yudhisthira. Karna is more concerned with his word of honour and considerations of fair play than the likely consequences of fair play than the likely consequeces of his action. Not for Karna the benefit of divine wisdom in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Such enlightement is meant for Arjuna. Karna's arch rival, who progresses from the crisis of a bewildered conscience to liberation and victory. As for Karna, he is destined to drift helplessly from one tangled web of tragic consciousness to another, to his ultimate doom.
Karna learns it from the redoubtable Parasurama by claiming to be a Brahmin and invites his wrath when is is exposed as 'sutaputra'. Parasurama curses him that he will forget his skill when he will need it the most. But the innate gallantry of the irrepressible Karna and his martial mettle come to the fore at the tournament organised by Drona to test the proficiency of the Kaurava and Pandava princes, at the end of their training. Derided as an intruder, he boldly challenges Arjuna's invincibility and even demonstrates his expertise. But his call for a duel is frustrated when the question of his lineage comes up. Sensing his discomfiture, Duryodhana seizes the opportunity to befriend him by declaring him the king of Anga and thereby raising his status. Karna's overwhelming sense of gratitude to his new-found friend blinds him to his faults and even makes him an accomplice in some of his pernicious designs.
NAVRATRA or nine auspicious nights signifies the basic principle of yoga that energies should involute back to the primal source to rejuvenate the individual form, which is the human body. This return brings out the union of the microcosmic individual, Pinda, and the macrocosmic consciousness, Brahmanda, passing through the entire cyclic process of creation because time and space are self-perpetuating.
In Navratra, Nav means nine and Ratra means night. In Indian philosophy the number nine is closely associated with the process of creation in the cosmic time cycle. The entire cosmic cycle consists of three phases-creation, preservation and dissolution. Each of these three parts split into triads (3x3=9) brings the numerical order to nine. Adi Sankaracharya in the 8th century AD clearly indicated the significance of number nine in the Soundaryalahiri, 11th sloka: The four Siva chakras and five Sakti chakras create the nine Mula-Prakratis or basic manifestations, because they represent the source substance of the whole cosmos. These nine cosmic wombs or Nava-Yoni have a parallel nine categories of nature in the macrocosm. This nine-fold division is projected in nine apertures of the body-two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, mouth, genitals and anus, nine psychic centres, nine planets, nine divisions of time - ghatika, yama, ahoratra, vara, tithi, paksha, masa, ritu, nine gems, nine moods or Navras and nine forms of Goddess Durga or Tripurasundari worshipped during Navratras.
The Rug Veda clearly says that before creation began everything was shrouded in the darkness of night and from that darkness creation came about. The same idea is reflected in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. These nine nights occur on equinoxes or equal nights when the sun is vertically overhead at the equator or centre. Hence the human body also attains equilibrium with nature and meditation and worship of Saki with Beej mantras revitalises the body.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Indology/philosophy/Roots in Vedas
There is a fundamental difference between psychology and yoga. Psychology focuses on changing or rearranging images in the film. Yoga focuses on becoming aware of the light that makes the film visible. Then, interestingly enough, the film begins to change on its own to reveal more light. The world seems to revolve around increasing consumption and competitive living. But the real source of happiness lies within us; we have to learn to look inside ourselves. People often complain their mind wanders when they sit down to meditate. If your mind wanders, let it go. But notice that between any two trains of thought there is a gap, a pause in the minds chattering. These madhyas, these gaps, are the critical moments in the practice of meditation.
These madhya are the moments when you are aware of yourself and your environment. These moments are when you can choose to return your awareness to your breathing or your mantra. Our reationship with our mind shapes the quality of our life. Our individual identity is shaped by our thoughts and feelings, especially our habitual feelings. All kinds of thoughts and feelings are constantly clamouring for attention. How we respond to them shapes our destiny.
Thought the Vedas are fundamentally religious texts their contents are supposed to encrust a core of history. The number of allusions to Saraswati in the Rug Veda far outnumber those to other rivers, a fact that corroborates the all-important position assigned to her in the Vedic pantheon. For instance, in the Rug Veda she is praised as the Mother among rivers, the Goddess Saraswati-Ambitame Naditame Devitame Saraswati (RV II.41.16). Saraswati was also revered as Haraohati in the parallelly evolving culture that flourished in Iran under the stewardship of Zarathustra. The precincts of Saraswati were home to a large population belonging to an avowedly pastoral society given to religious persuasions. The Manu samhita describes the land between Saraswati and Drishadwati, created by the gods as the land of Brahmin (MS II.17-8). But before the end of the early Vedic period, the Saraswati began to ebb away from public consciousness, and in the Panchavimsa Brahmana we come across a clear reference to her disappearance.
Simultaneously pansion of Aryan race in India. As the eminent historian Romila Thapar writes: The Saraswati disappeared into the desert in north-eastern Rajasthan and the Sutlej and the Yamuna seem to have changed course. Such major changes would certainly have affected settlement and migration, and this may in part explain in movement into the Doab.
Much evidence has been gathered on the Saraswati in recent years. She seems to have been massive, up to five miles across in her heyday, flowing through Hanumangarh in Rajasthan to Marot in Pakisthan as divulged by satellite photography. The river seems to have changed course at least four times, in her lifespan, each time shifting to a more westerly alignment. The Post Graduate Research Institute, Deccan College has worked out the changing routes of the rive in detail. About 4000 BC. Hanumangarh during the Indus civilisation and in the fourth and final stage she flowed westward from Samargarh to merge with the Indus, thereby losing her independent identity. The Indus Valley. A 350 km land survey conducted in 1985 by V. S. Wakankar from Adibadri to Somnath has yielded over 160 more sites on the dried-up course of the river.
Mahabharat and its eternal appeal: Vyasa's characterisation of Karna, subtly unfold through it the darker issues of human concern and complex facets of psycho-spiritual reality. Though caught in the vicious grip of a fortuitous combination of circumstances, Karna stands out as a heroic figure of sacrifice.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Indology/philosophy/Roots in Vedas
Physicist Paul Davies states that science also assumes the laws of Nature to be omniscient, omniscient and eternal. All of these attributes are precisely the same attributes the enlightened religious mind ascribes to God! Science, it seems has turned full circle. Unlike the scientific mind, spiritual mind requires no instrument other than itself to understand and acknowledge the existence of God. The religious meditative person sees with inner vision, an intuitive capacity almost entirely absent in the pure empiricist. With soul seeking meditation inner eye opens and sees which no power telelscope in the world can expect to see. That is why Supreme Personality of God-head is easily accepted by Hindu Religion; therefore under the vast canopy of Indian philosophy all people can take refuse in unavoidable juxtaposition of events in life. It clearly explains that use of intellect only is not sufficient to comprehend divinity, nor act of just being kind would be enough activity. So many gods, so many creeds, all this said world needs, because it is never known what is cooking in the pot of destiny.
The cosmic connection is established through mind to the soul, there is no direct link with the brain. That is why when scientists dissected the brain of Albert Einstein they did not find what they hoped to find! They expected that the cortex of his brain might be thinner, with the cells dealing with higher cognitive functions packed closer together - or that they might find higher ratio of non-neuron cells, providing a more benign environment for the neurous which process thought. It proved impossible to make conclusive comparisons with other brains. So signals to brain through mind of an enlightened soul will not change brain's cell pattern visibly.
It has to be the result of paranormal phenomenon; only that can decypher cosmic connection. Outwardly it may appear that these successful scientists harder they practise, lukier they get. It is a false notion that people are born with innate talent, it may turn out to be superfluous it is not backed by the enough hard work to achieve some success in the fielf of one's choice. biological researchers are still probing the brain and psychologist are probing mind. Other religions which, refuse to understand Hinduism have to learn that petulance is not sarcasm, and that insolence is not invective. The principles of logic metaphysics are true simply because we never allow them to be anything else. No matter how sophisticated human are, human feelings remain on Primitive Standard Time. But poise and control come with knowledge. The strange is fearful; the unknown brings apprehension, and with understanding comes control; with familiarity, confort.
British poet and critic; with Mathew Arnold (1822-88) wrote about middle class culture in England. He gave them designation of philistines- a priggish individual in this class was guided by material rather than intellectual or artistic values. and Lord Macaulay was considered the great apostle of this class. Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859) - Eng-hist., author and statesman. He introduced English in India to produce middle class as was found in England; However, he under-estimated the intellect and highly alert minds of Indian populance, particularly Hindus who had the blessings of ancient sages, including Vyas. Tilak accepted and defeated the English aristocratic class in all the disciplines of the then known Branches of knowledge. Indian philosophy appeared cold to the Westerners in the beginning, they pressume Indian philosophy was a western product. When some of thier philosophers turned it in ward and churned it got sufficiently warm; them could go the steps as the ancient sages and were thoroughly enlightened. They realized it was more than 3000 years deep. History of western philosophy is no more than a series of footnotes to Plato's philosophy. Indian philosophy is not a theory but an activity.
It renders a three dimensional education; it teaches to review the current ideas and beliefs in the present time and render advanced interpretation in the future time frame. Discovering new facts upset old theories. This is the interpretation of mecegêcebLeve as is known from old Hindu Scriptures. The new facts come out in the form of new theories, new inventions and applications. Sage Agasti drank the whole sea, to expose the Demegjepe who were hiding there. He in fact churned the thoughts regorously to bare the facts hidden within.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Indology/philosophy/Roots in Vedas
It is the mind, and mind alone that needs to be controlled, and for that it has to go through systematic training to finally gain triumph over matter. Normal phenomena won't stand a chance; it has to be paranormal phenomenon. It was very early in the study of improving meditation that ancient Sages developed ``Yoga They perfected the various aspects and faculties of Yoga-knowledge as science. It is only in the past few years that scientists have separated the chanatans from the genuine practioners of the ancient science, and conducted impartial and extensive research in Vedas.
Now they known that yogic phenomena are either due mechanisms like 1) conditioning or hyphosis, or 2) subjective awareness of the changes in the internal organs and feedback of this information to the nervous system (Bio feed back). Yogic practice rests heavily on the biofeedback technique. Also the human beings Biorhythm and Bioclock are yet another aspect of the mind's control over the body.
Researchers found that certain neurons in the brains of experimental animals possessed receptors which could bind drugs like morphine. Each drung fits into a receptor like a key fits into a lock; i.e. every drug has a specific receptor of its own. It is possible that particular form of `³eesie' can distill out the creativity - unleashing components. There are two brain chemicals 1) N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and choline which change in level when people receive damage to the brain. With the improved concentrations of these chemicals gives boost to the working of your mind. To a greater extent ³eesie may be working towards this. NAA is found only in neurons and is thought to contribute to brain's healthy function. Choline is present in nerve cell membranes. So when mind functions in a healthy way cognitive functions gain vitality; because the fluctuation of these chemicals remain controlled and mind becoms more generative.
Today medical Science has advanced further. Russian neurologist Dr. Natalya Bekhtereva achieved success in the study of the physiology of the human brain. By inserting extremely fine gold needles in various sections of the brain she could locate the error-producing activity and thus proved that error is due to the activity of a certain group of cells which kept silent during correct answers. So even American neuro-surgeons are showing interest in locating mat functionly cells in the brain; it may be possible mechanically to remove any part of the brain or to erase a memory matrix without any fatal consequences. Dr. Natalya Bekhtereva was awarded the prestigions warren Ma Culloch Award of the American Society for Cybernetics for the year 1974 for her achievements.
There is also on record one more theory of time advanced by J.W. Dunne, British Aircaft Designer, mathematician and philosopher. In his An Experiment with Time (1927) and later books he has tried to explain that contents of time are as real as those of space; he built around this hypothesis a mathematical theory of a 4-dimensional space-time which individual observe in sleep and could, but for habit, observe when awake. He induced his friends to keep bedside notebooks for instant records of dreams. There is a chance that some may dream of future events as time maintains continuety with cosmictime. Nothing is further known about this man. Catholic religion and western educational faculties keep away from Oriental occultism! By 1840 Westerners were combining original different inflectional forms. A sort of syncretism was taking place, i.e., the combination of different forms of belief and practice had started; even the fusion of more than two inflectional forms appeared to be normal. This attempt to unite and harmonize esp. without critical examination or logical unity was the sign of faith. Original different inflectional forms came from the thinking of ancient Sages. This is self educational. Man's rational faculty is developing; even a common man becomes capable of on rational judgment.
Thinking, consulting and applying the judgement is derived from the right to life; and the practice will enhance the rational being's survival. One German philosopher wrote- As I flounder through, perhaps, absurd vicissitudes. Yes, but I am proceeding and acting clumsily almost ineffectually... I don't know where I'm reaching; whether am I reaching! Yet you can't survive if you live by hearsay and faith, you have to go where you will live by sight- then only your pilgrimage will progress.
The view that everything must, or should, be left to natural laws of evolution was advocated by Eng. philos Herbert Spencer, it was popularly known as Spencerianism. He first used the phrase Survival of the fittest in regard to economic man. He opposed any state interference such as Relief for poor, or free education, holding that it tended to perpetuate the survival of the unfit. Darwin used the phrase in connection with Natural Selection. There is also the optimistic view that progress is not an accident but a natural law, at work everywhere through an evolution developed a theory of the inevitable eclipse, already begun, of the Western world, after a period Caesarism. All this was known to Ancient Sages and they wrote their ``Scriptures which cover more topics than what is known to the Western World today.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Indology/philosophy/Roots in Vedas
Surrealism was thought of by the Westerners by 1924 after the 1st World War. It was the artistic aspect of the general autibourgeois protest movement; [Marked by a concern for material interests and respectability and a tendency toward mediocrity]; [mediocrity moderate ability and value] In Mahabharat discrete ideas and percepts are linked to one another which helps to understand the same as the record of human nature and perceptions in a historical form. There are number of assumptive beliefs about writings of J³eeme, However, there is one common thread there is no absence of concurrence in time, the state of writing is asynehronous; and the lessen to learn from Mahabharat will continue as long as human race survives. Human race will not end; such a life could not have been created for this sort of suffering. British poet John Keats lived only 26 years (1795-1821). In a letter he wrote: Is there another life? Shall I awake and find this entire dream? There must be, we cannot be created for this sort of suffering.
Nathaniel Hawthorue U.S. novelist and wrier (1804-1864) said about the death: as we sometimes congratulate ourselves at the moment of waking from a troubled dream; it may be so the moment after death! There is a cosmic connection. In this respect even theory of relativity broadly differs from the Indian point of view. Some deep soul searching is amiss. American auther and philosopher Arther Kyostlar wrote: Judaism is one God religion, Christianity again is one God religion and - and then Russian Communism was NonGod, non-religion way of living! They believed their principles were right and were considered beyond criticism. Both Kyoshar and commnist ideology missed the vital points. In the context of relativity communism was misconcept of one human being and lost ground with the passage of time.
Judaism's time frame was 3000 B.C. and no more relevant because not being dynamic in nature it stagneted and so is true in the case of Christianity. They don't have business to claim to be right and good at any place and in different time frame. No single geographical area of the world monopolizes the good breed of men. Great men slip into the history but their deeds are remembered. When Western philosopher went through ancient Sanskrut scriptures those helped them to maintain an emotional equilibrium and gave them insight into all human condition.
Whatever Islam tried to achieve, good intentions did not work. There was total confusion about the metaphysical beliefs. The rigid projects, howsoever systematic they may appear, won't work unless dealing with people Hexibility and accommodation of human values is honoured. Lofty ideals are always crushed by the powerful vested interests. The authoritarianism raised its ugly head within few years of Prophet's death. Ruthless suppression of dissent became the order of the day throughout the spread of Islam and finally against the lawful rule dissedents resorted to terrorism; which grew and spread through out the world. Previleged Arabs adopted the policy of discrimination against the non-Arabs. The principles of Islam were thoroughly bitten. Christianity survived under the shadow of the cross, though shadow is disappearing as the truth of eternity dawns. Prophet Mohammad could not create shadow and hence Islam is labouring under the self destructing fire of terrorism.
Christians enjoy the bliss of scientific breed. Still the faith of the masses is misplaced in religion. Only the scientists, biologists, physists, astronomers have started to realize that empirical and pragmatic realm of science falling short of knowing the ultimate truth. They are still not able to answer all the questions of the universe, its functioning and its creation. All are missing a vital point, the need to appeal to a transcendental God. Mathematical regularities in the workings of the universe are known to these scientists and so they can make accurate predictions. But the existence of these laws as the governing force of the universe is the metaphysical mystery as the existence of God. As physics Nobel Prize I am reate Richard Feynman commented, In the case of physics, we have double trouble. We come upon these laws but there is nowhere for them. Yet we apply them to the universe, so the problem of where the laws are is doubly confusing. These are philosophical questions I cannot answer. If God created universe, then who created God? There is logical or practical solution, though an actual one must exist in reality. The scientific theory is seriously flawed because it cannot accommodate the natural laws anywhere within the borders of the universe; and they cannot be positioned outside the universe, because in the opinion of science, there is no outside...
This is where an appeal to a transcendental God comes into picture. Spiritual mind perceives that there is much more to the universe than meets the human eye. The acting of God's will has been construed by scientists to be the acting of natural laws. They believe in the conscious mind of God; otherwise there is no expl 'Þ'amyloidosis away from our ancient sages and improved their logevity. In the year 2000/01 scientist in the U.S. have uncovered new information about a gene in yeast that they think could one day be used to increase the lifespan of humans. The gene is called silent information regulator, or SIR2. In yeast cells it controls longevity by silencing, or turning off, whole sections of the yeast genome. In human beings it is a conserve gene. It has this activity which connects metabolic rate to genome silencing. The connection between ageing and metabolism rate is universal.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Indology/philosophy/Roots in Vedas
Death is an inherent part of an organism's life cycle. Although each species may live for a certain length of time, the biology of death is not completely understood. According to some gerontologists there animals who have high rate of metabolism age earlier and die sooner. May fly lives only for one day, a man lives for 75 years and a tortise lives for 200 years, it has much lower rate of metabolic activities.
Some believed in Vedic rites and believed to gain the pleasures, and enjoyments and liberation when they performed them. There were others who had no faith in vedic rites and their outcome. Some thinkers had developed new idea of internal sacrifice, which came to be known as %eeve³e%e (sacrifice of knowledge) in contrast with the sascrifice of material things. These were Vedantins and Buddha chose to go along with them. As the time went on the authority of the the scriptures lost its hold on the people. There arose many free and independent thinkers who propounded new systems of religions and philosophical speculation. Even for advocates of Vedic sacrifices offering of milk products, and cooked sweet dishes as substitute for animals became acceptable. There was confusion among the thinkers of that time-Vedantic monism declaring the existence of only one self removed the belief in God for some; where as some over induged in Vedic rites to gain highest reward of the actions. The conception of God is possible only when there is the notion of both the wroshipper and the worshipped.
Now learning Yoga became necessary to be sitted for a longer time without loosing concentration of mind. This was being practised in the country long before the advent of the Buddha. There was a high degree of moral standard, the key-note of which was ye´ïe®e³e&, the root of all spiritual advancement. The freedom of thought prevailing in his days helped Buddha to liberate completely from every bondage of authority. Buddha knew his limitations. There are things that cannot be expressed by words, but are only to be realized by oneself. There are also truths that are too profound and difficult to be understood. With regard to such questions, even when pressed very hard, he would keep silent; and his disciples would construe his silence as the highest truth. This did not do any harm to anyone.
Meditation was nothing but mental Paralax, that was the angle subtended at the Caosmos. Today austrophysicists, cosmologist have successfully determined the distance of distant objects by the annual parallax method: Parallax is the small angle subtended at the star by two different viewing directions, from two places of known distance. When this is known, the results can be obtained by a simple trignometrical relation. As largest practical base distance, the radius of the earth's orbit round the sun is used. The stars' positions are measured over a gap of six month to get diamepically opposite positions on the earth's orbit. Average of many such measurements is used in calculation. The reciprocal of parallax (in ax-seconds) gives the distance of star in parsecs unit (1 parsec = 3.26 light years). Other methods used are spectroscopist, photometric, dynamical parallax etc. Galaxies, for their vast distances, can hardly be accommodated in these methods. For them, the expansion law of Edwin P. Hubble is used, which found the distance of a galaxy as far as 500 crore light years away.
The other aspect of divinity in man is his passion for moral perfection. Agnostic thinks that any reality of God is not known and is not knowable. Where as gnostic tends to have faith in various cults; the man in the west is turning agnostic, whereas Hindu does not mind believing Christian cult, the difference is he can believe in several gods. It may be said that western agnostics have passion for truth, yet because of his materialist bend of mind, he won't pursue the truth. The are inspiring cosmic creations and the passion for truth are regarded as natural modifications of man's evolutionary faculty. These are well understood in Hinduism and propogated offering liberty to ask questions and not blindly believe, this gives rise to religious tendencies in man in Hinduism. Man learnt in the course of time that his struggle for existence became more and more rewarding as more and more factual knowledge of causation in nature is gained. This it is in this world that the notion of ultimate fulfilment resulting in an un paralle led blissful state] - heavenly bliss or cees#e was founded in India - its roots are in Mahabharata. Many ancient sages followed asceticism-extreme condition-it was a pentitence and a form of meditation to help mind's concentratin. It was not advised for the common masses.
Aryans realized that end of great flood,-end of ice age- formed scab-land and rendered inhabitable. Ultima Thule was the name where Aryans had settled well before the flood. Destiny showed that it was not their final abode; the name still exist in its distorted form; and location as known to the Greeks and Romans is most northerly part of the known world before the continent shift. It was north of Britain, perhaps the shotlands, Iceland or Norway.
The idea of imagining thousand petalled lotuses on the top of the skull does not sound extirely unreasonable; it is now well-known that plants are unique in being able to synthesize their own organic molecules, or food, from carbon dioxide and water light energy by the process known as phto synthesis. That precisely why the plant kingdom is so extremely diverse with over 400,000 species now known, and are found in every conceivable habital, including inside the human body in the form of intestinal flora.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Indology/philosophy/Roots in Vedas
Vedic Sages yet imagined a giant tree called ``Ashvattha- the roots are pointing upward as if towards ye´ïe. It appears these were second thoughts of meditating ancient sages; second thoughts are best and intuitive. They shade of half light of forgetfulness. They could virtually walk their feet off and be in spaces and cosmic history hung in the air. Their thoughts could be transmuted into readable and viewable montage of action by their disciples. Whatever the distance the messages poured down within hearing; they kept at it and wished away from regular worldly things. This is what Vedanta calls Transcendental or pure consciousness. Upanishadic texts Brhma Vidapnoti Param afford the true insight of this philosophy.
The Supreme Being atom of other substances as well as outside: The appearance of the supreme Being in the world is only a revelation out of his own gracious will, and his personality so revealed is not invested with physical conditions and is unlimited. There is no truth if any prophet says he saw God, and God commanded him to guide his people on earth. No one can prove the presence of God by reasoning and radical thought- The though regarding the antiGod can be well-compared with the imaginary presence of anti-matter. The universe is really one and there is no conflicting or opposition power. So that if there be a God who understands and is responsible for anything, He must be responsible for everything, and the God of this earth is the God of the whole heavens and that there is none other; that his power and influence extend to the remotest confines of space from eternity to eternity, and that in that majestic and one Reality however little we as yet apprehend in nature, we and every part of the material, and of mental and spiritual universe too, live and move and have our being. Thus on this concept there is agreement between the East and the West. The one outstanding feature in the gradual toning down of the spirit of antagonism between the two branches of human knowledge is the unconscious orientation of Occidental thinking to the Indian conception of the highest truth of life.
It has been found that the space between the stars contains minute particles of elements like Calcium, Titanium and probably Hydrogen, Oxygen and Carbon. The amount of such disparsed matter is estimated to be about ten times the amount of matter condensed in all the stars in the sky. Most of the stars started as balls of Hydrogen which go on gravitating and become more condensed. The energy contained in those balls is provided by the tranformation of Hydrogen into more complex atoms. Carbon takes a very important part in this process. The inner part of the ball gets heated and makes its debut as a red giant. Science explains how stars are created, but the cause of existence of life in this universe science is still unclear. H An anti-particle is a sub-atomic particle that has the same mass as another particle and equal but opposite values of some other property or properties. For example, positron is the anti-particle of electron having a positive charge. Similarly, anti-proton has the negative charge.
Anti-matter is postulated to consist of matter made up of anti-particles. For example, anti-hydrogen would consist of an anti-proton with an orbiting positron! If galaxies of anti-matter stars exist, their spectra would not differ from that of galaxies of matter stars. Thus, we have no way to distinguish between two kinds of galaxies-except when anti-matter from one comes in contact with matter from another. Mutual annihilation would then occur with the release of an immense amount of energy. No anti-matter has been detected in the Universe. Indian born Dr. J. Sri Ram worked in USA as biochemist. In 1973 only he had made significant progress in unravelling the mystery of the ageing. He called it a disease and named it Amyloidosis. Amyloid is a waxy translucent sustance consisting of protein in combination with polysaccharides that is deposited in animal organs, hence amyloidosis is a condition characterized by the deposition of amyloid in bodily organs and tissues. Amyloid infiltrates the organs of the body, gradually displacing healthy cells, which causes death. Though there is no specific news on further research on this line, medical science is busy decythering DNA code and remaking DNA charts. And they are positive that human life by the year 2500 will be 150 years. Perhaps, mental exercises like Yoga must have kept them active.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Indology/philosophy/Roots in Vedas
The Rajasuya- A great sacrifice to the gods together with a great banquet and distribution of gifts, mainly to the Brahmans and to subjected rulers. The Rajasuya was held by a sovereign ruler on the occasion of his aspergation (the Indians sprinkled water from the sacred rivers on their kings in the same way that European kings were anointed), thus confirming his sovereignty. Rakshasa - A mythical demonic being. The rakshasas are the demons of the night; they eat meat, partly human flesh. They are found at burial grounds and like to disrupt sacrifices to the gods. They are hostile to humans. The Aims of Existence - The lives of the ancient Indians had three guiding principles. Dharma (the moral order) is the sum of all religious and secular duties regarding sanctity, legality and generally accepted morals. Artha (profit) means material prosperity and success in social and financial affairs. Kama (delight) is that which satisfies physical and spiritual needs and cravings. It was only later that a fourth goal, Moksa (salvation) was added; in fact, it is merely another aspect of Dharma.
The Castes - There were four of them in ancient India. The highest was that of the Brahmans, the priests and spiritual intellectuals. The Kshatriyas were warriors, aristocrats and secular rulers. The Vaishyas were crafts men, traers, healers and entrepreneurs in general. The Shudras were labourers, peasant farmers, journeymen- in short, the dependent working class. Those without a caste were the untouchables, the outcasts. The Upanishads - Literally sitting near - of pupil and teacher. Texts containing mainly philosophical matters, dating from the most recent Vedic period; the Vedic texts (Vedas) - The oldest documents in ancient Indian literature, chiefly religious philosophical verses. They appear to date from soon after the middle of the third millennium BC. They are not a unified work of literature, but comprise collections of hymns, poems, odes and prose passages, all of which were of practical significance and were used regularly in the religious life of the ancient Indians. For many centuries the Vedas were part of the oral tradition, like all other ancient Indian literature, and were only written down much later, long after the Indians began to use writing.
The oldest gods of the Vedas are deified natural forces and phenomena, such as the skygod Jaush, the fire-god Agni, the sun-god Surya, the earth-goddess Prithivi, the wind-god Vaju and the water-god Varuna. Vishnu and Shiva, later to be mighty deities, are still minor gods in the Vedas. Liturgy: rite prescribed for public worship; Benedictine monk or nun who follows the rules of St. Benedict and carries out liturgical worship. Saint Benedict: Benedict of Nursia (480-547) Italian, founder of Benedictine order. One such Benedictine monk, born in France as Henri le Saux came to India 1948 and stayed here until he died in1973. He wrote a book: Ascent to the depth of the Heart - It was his spiritual diary. He was profoundly impressed by Hinduism, particularly by the Vedic philosophy. He met his Guru in Ramana Maharshi - he was cannonized as ‘swami’ (1910-1973) though he remained a catholic till the end of his life. His remarkable spiritual experiences testify to the fact that theological differences evaporate when spiritual relization dawns. It is well known, Shri Ram Krishna Paramahansa has no theological problem when, in the course of his sadhana, he encourtered Jesus Christ; (Perhaps to convey to him that spiritually he belonged thee).
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Indology/philosophy/Roots in Vedas
M. SESHAGIRI SASTRI. MADRAS, Sept. 1884. Wrote: (Comparing Notes-Madhu S Vichare)
I studied while young Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Sanskrit for many years, and, after finishing my collegiate course of studies, learnt Kanarese, Malayalam, Hindustani, Bengali and Uriya. Having seen my taste for linguistic study, my teacher, Mr. E. Thompson, the late Principal of the Presidency College, recommended to me a comparative study of the languages, and I carried out the advice. This comparative method gave a fresh impetus to my study of languages and made the otherwise uninteresting and barren investigation of words and grammatical forms of languages very pleasant and fruitful. He recommended me also to learn Latin and Greek, and in my study of those languages he rendered me much assistance for which I have to thank him for ever. By means of this peculiar study I was able to discover many facts concerning the languages, I studied, which had remained in deep obscurity, to assign proper derivations to difficult words, and to explain grammatical formations by sound philological laws. I have thus gathered materials for an etymological dictionary of each of the languages I studied, and a comparative grammar of each family of those languages; and all these works are in preparation. Before "publishing them I wished to communicate to the reading public the new laws and rules which I have discovered in the Aryan and' Dravidian languages and be benefited by the criticism of competent scholars. With this view I have written a series of volumes which treat the Aryan and Dravidian languages alternately and of which this is the first.
The method I have followed in treating of the subject is my own and is in keeping with the analytical scheme of my investigations. Each word mentioned in a Group must be traced directly to the word from which it is derived, and ultimately connected with the principal word which heads the Group. But, in some cases, I have provisionally included words in one Group, and they may be referred to another with equal propriety. The different Groups which are headed by different words may be blended into one on account of the alliance of the representative words which may be proved hereafter. In the same way one Group may be separated into more Groups owing to the errors I may have committed in put ting some words in a particular Group. In deriving words from a primitive source I have conceived forms which do not now exist, though they might have been in use formerly; but I have not marked them and have left the readers to know them and treat them as such. Those who make the distinction cannot bear the fact in mind that such forms will not be mentioned in the Index which will appear at the end of this volume. The results of my investigations may be imperfect, and, in some cases, erroneous, owing to the incomprehensiveness of my knowledge of the Aryan languages, which is confined to Sanskrit, Greek, Latin and Anglo-Saxon.
But I have been emboldened to put them before the public by a conviction which I have myself derived and which was strengthened by the agreement of some of my learned friends in my views and theories notwithstanding their novelty. With regard to the languages treated in this book, it is to be remarked that Sanskrit being the oldest of the Aryan languages occupies a prominent position and next come Greek and Latin and other languages.
In Sanskrit too we must recognize a threefold division according to the three stages of the language. The first stage may be called primitive, the second, derivative, and the third, corruptive. The Vedic Sanskrit occupies the first stage and has passed the agglutinative character and assumed the inflexion. We have no record of the language in its agglutinative character. The second stage is occupied by the Classical Sanskrit III which there is a greater change than seen in the Vedic Sanskrit. The last stage is to be assigned to Prakruta which has undergone a greater modification than the previous two have done. But the present classification of .Sanskrit into the three kinds is not coterminous with the above three stages, but arbitrarily created by Panini and his predecessors who separated the Classical from the Vedic, and by Vararuci, Hemachandra and others who differentiated the Prakrutic languages from the Classical Sanskrit. These three languages are therefore overlapping each other. But as no living language in the world can remain without undergoing any modification, the Vedic Sanskrit which was a living language at one time, began to pass from its primitive stage to the derivative and corruptive stages; for in the Vedas themselves we see traces of mutations and corruptions. The Classical Sanskrit also exhibits f great deal of those modifications and corruption of which constitute the peculiar feature of the Prakrutic languages. Take, for instance, the three allied forms gṛbhnami, gṛhnami, ghinnami, the first of which is primitive; the second, derivative, because of the change of ‘bh’ into ‘h’; and the third, Prakrutic on account of the corruption of the word grubhnami by the insertion of ‘i’ for the vowel (properly a consonant) ‘ṛ’, the doubling of ‘n’ and the amalgamation of the aspirate ‘h’ with the initial ‘g’. The first two occur in the Vedas and the last in the Classical Sanskrit.
The form ‘opiṣe’ which is a Prakrutic corruption of aavapase (aa prefix, vap, ‘to sow’) occurs in the Rug. Veda. The words vaushaṭ and vashat (for vahshat), and vaṭ, a contraction of vashaṭ, all meaning ‘may he carry’, are Prakrutic in their forms. A right understanding of these three stages is necessary for scientific investigations. But in the Dravidian languages, which have been the spoken languages of Southern India for nearly twenty-four centuries, no such distinctions have come into existence.
With regard to the Dravidian languages, which are generally considered as belonging to the Turanian family, I would observe that I am not acquainted with many of the languages of the so-called family. The word Turanian is a negative term and means at most that the languages to which it is applied are not Aryan. In spite of the prevailing opinion of Dravidian scholars,. I have brought the Dravidian languages within the pale of the Aryan family, and have succeeded, to a great extent, in connecting their vocables with those of the Aryan languages and their vernacular daughters, and in explaining their grammatical structure by reference to those of the latter languages, and hope that those scholars whose opinion differs from mine will begin to agree with me when they read my etymological dictionaries and comparative grammars. The Dravidian languages cannot, however entirely be traced to the Classical Sanskrit to which they are related rather as younger sisters, but to the Vedic Sanskrit only; and in their philological importance they are greater than Latin, Persian and many other languages. As regards the religion, archeology, philosophy and history of Southern India, they are as important as Sanskrit itse1f and perhaps more.
They are older than any classical language except Sanskrit, Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and to them we must look for a thorough knowledge of the intercourse which the Western nations had with the Hindus in Southern India and the mutual influence thus exerted. The subject is treated at full1ength in the Second Volume which is also in the Press. In writing these volumes, the principal resources are derived from my own original investigations. I have published in the beginning of this volume a list of the names of authors to whom I am variously indebted for the valuable information received from their works. Foremost of them is Professors Bopp, Max: Muller and Whitney, the study of '" whose works suggested to me the method of my investigations and whom I regard as my teachers. I have to thank Dr. Oppert, Professor of Sanskrit in the Presidency College and my collaborator in the field of Philology, for his sympathy with, and his interest in, my linguistic researches. In conclusion, I have to thank Dr. Duncan, the Principal of the Presidency College, for the special access he allowed me to the books of the College Library. M. SESHAGIRI SASTRI. MADRAS, Sept. 1884.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Indology/philosophy/Roots in Vedas
The germs that help cattle eat grass and gorillas gorge on leaves may have been the secret weapon that let mammals populate the planet, researchers reported. Two teams of researchers reported on the bacteria living in and on the bodies of humans and other animals, and found they are surprisingly well-adapted to their hosts so well that they may have helped different species evolve. Not only have the microbes evolved with us, but perhaps animals that have made good use of bacteria have been able to evolve further, one team of US researchers said. Jeffrey Gordon of Washington University in St Louis and colleagues looked at the droppings of 60 different species of mammals and found meat-eaters, plant-eaters and omnivores such as humans each have their own unique set of gut bacteria.
The earthquake in China's Sichuan province was the result of a continuing collision between India and Asia. India, once a giant island before crashing into the underside of Asia; continues to slide north at a geologically quick pace of two inches a year. The tectonic stresses push up the Himalaya Mountains
DNA from an extinct species has been used to induce a functional response in another living organism," new technique typically divides the genus Homo into various classifications according to the shape of key facial features - "flat-faced", "protruding faced" and so on. Reconciling these diverse classifications from a tiny number of specimens spanning millions of years has led to lots of claims and counter-claims, as well as much confusion in the general public, about how we came to be here. We are direct linear descendants of Habilis. On the other hand, the Neanderthals are declared "chronological variants inside a single biological heritage," in other words, evolutionary cousins but still a separate species from us.
Akhenaton wasn't the manliest pharaoh, even though he fathered at least a half -dozen children. In fact, his form was quite feminine. And he was a bit of an egghead. So concludes a Yale University physician who analyzed images of Akhenaton for an annual conference at the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine on the deaths of historic figures. The female form was due to a genetic mutation that caused the pharaoh's body to convert more male hormones to female hormones than needed, Irwin Braverman believes. Akhenaton, best known for introducing a revolutionary form of monotheism to ancient Egypt, reigned in the mid-1300s BC. He was married to Nefertiti, and Tutankhamen, also known as King Tut, may have been his son or half brother.
Astronomers have uncovered part of the missing matter in the universe; a discovery which they claim will help in understanding the evolution of the cosmic web in the future. Ten years ago, scientists predicted about half of the missing "ordinary" or normal matter made of atoms exists in the form of low density gas, filling vast spaces between galaxies. Now, an international team has discovered its hottest parts, using the European Space Agency's orbiting observatory.
The fusion projects use laser beams that will generate temperatures of 100 million° Celsius within the fuel in just a fraction of a second - about 10 times hotter than the middle of the sun. The pressures generated by atoms exploding from its surface would then crush the 2mm pellet to a hundredth of its size in a billionth of a second. Moses said: “At one point the surface of the fuel will be moving inwards at 1 million miles per hour until it is 100 times denser than lead.” Under such conditions the hydrogen atoms that make up the fuel are ripped apart, creating plasma of electrons and hydrogen nuclei. As they interact and fuse into helium some of their mass is destroyed, releasing energy in the form of heat, light and radiation.
There are now signs of a tiny shift back towards greener conditions in parts of the Sahara, apparently because of global warming, The study of ancient pollen, spores and aquatic organisms in sediments in Lake Yoa in northern Chad showed the region gradually shifted from savannah 6,000 years towards the arid conditions that took over about 2,700 years ago.
"The hypothesis (of a sudden shift) was astonishing but it was still taken up," said Stefan Kropelin of the University of Cologne in Germany, lead author of the study with scientists in Belgium, Canada, the United States, Sweden and France. A gradual drying, blamed on shifts in monsoon rains linked to shifts in the power of the sun, meant large amounts of dust started blowing in the region about 4,300 years ago.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Indology/ Drawing Parallels/ Comparing Notes
Britain's enigmatic Stonehenge served as a burial ground from its earliest beginnings and for several hundred years thereafter, new research indicates. New dating of cremated remains shows burials occurred as early as 3000 BC when the first ditches around the monument were being built, researchers said. Those burials continued for at least 500 years, when the giant stones that mark the mysterious circle were being erected; they said. "It's now clear that burials were a major component of Stonehenge in all its main stages," said Mike Parker Pearson, archaeology professor at the University of Sheffield in England and head of the Stonehenge Riverside Archaeological Project. In the past many archaeologists had thought that burials at Stonehenge continued for only about a century, the researchers said. "Stonehenge was a place of burial from its beginning to its zenith in the mid-third millennium BC. The cremation burial dating to Stonehenge's sarsen stones phase is likely just one of many from this later period of the monument's use and demonstrates that it was still very much a domain of the dead," Parker Pearson said in a statement.
The research was supported by the National Geographic Society, which discusses Stonehenge in its June magazine and will feature the new burial data Sunday on National Geographic Channel The researchers said the earliest cremation burial was a small group of bones and teeth found in pits called the Aubrey Holes and dated to 3030-2880 BC, about the time with the first ditch-and bank monument was being built. Remains from the surrounding ditch included an adult dated to 2930-2870 BC, and the most recent cremation, Parker Pearson said, comes from the ditch's northern side and was of a 25year-old woman. It dated to 2570 2340 BC, around the time the first arrangements of large sarsen stones appeared at Stonehenge. According to Parker Pearson's team, this is the first time any of the cremation burials from Stonehenge have been radiocarbon dated. The burials dated by the group were excavated in the 1950s and have been kept at the nearby Salisbury Museum. In the 1920s an additional 49 cremation burials were dug up at Stonehenge, but all were reburied because they were thought to be of no scientific value, the researchers said. They estimate that up to 240 people were buried within Stonehenge, all as cremation deposits. Team member Andrew Chamberlain suggested that that the burials represent the natural deaths of a single elite family and its descendants, perhaps a ruling dynasty.
Astronomers claim to have found evidence that there is nothing special about the Sun; a finding which adds weight to the idea that life could be common in the universe. An international team, led by planetary scientists from the Australian National University, compared the sun - which hosts a life bearing planet - to other stars to reach their conclusion. "Our research goes further than previous work which only looked at single properties such as mass or iron content. We looked at 11 properties that could plausibly be connected with life and did an analysis of these properties. "We found that the upshot is that there doesn't seem to be anything special about the sun. It seems to be a random star that was blindly pulled out of the bag of all stars," according to the leader of the team, Jose Robles.
Scientists have come up with a controversial theory which suggests that huge comet impacts wiped out North America's large mammals 13,000 years ago. According to a report in National Geographic News, the hypothesis proposes that an onslaught of extraterrestrial bodies caused the mass extinction known as the 'Younger Dryas event' and triggered a period of climatic cooling.
Microbes found living 1.6 km below the seabed: Microbes have been found living at a record depth of 1.6km beneath the Atlantic seabed in a hint that life might also evolve underground on other planets, scientists said. The discovery of prokaryotic microbes in searing hot sediments under the seabed off Newfoundland, Canada, doubles the previous depth record of 842 meters, according to experts in Wales and France writing in the journal Science. "This is the deepest, oldest and hottest marine sediments that prokaryotic life has been found in," said John Parks, a professor at the University of Wales. The microbes were found at 1,626 meters below the seafloor in sediments 111 million years old and at temperatures of 60 to 100°Celsius, the report said.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Indology/ Drawing Parallels/ Comparing Notes
Examples of the act of construing out of ignorance, though intention is good: From the Western intellectuals – (1)
Will Durant, American historian,
(1885-1981): "India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's languages; she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother, through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all". “Perhaps in return for conquest, arrogance and spoliation, India will teach us the tolerance and gentleness of the mature mind, the quiet content of the unacquisitive soul, the calm of the understanding spirit,
Sir William Jones, Jurist,
(1746-1794): “…The Sanskrit language is of wonderful structure, more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin and more exquisitely refined than either. “...a stronger affinity that could possibly have been produced by accident; so strong, indeed, that no philologer could examine them all three, without first believing them to have sprung from some common source...”
Arthur Schopenhauer, German Philosopher
(1788-1860): "In the whole world there is no study so beneficial and as elevating as that of the Upanishads. It has been the solace of my life–it will be the solace of my death." “It is the most rewarding and the most elevating book which can be possible in the world. “I believe that the influence of the Sanskrit literature will penetrate not less deeply than did the revival of Greek literature in the fifteenth century.”
Ken Wilber, American Philosopher and Author,
(b-1949): “Larry [Warchowski] is just about a philosophically/spiritually well read as anyone you're likely to find, and The Matrix films are a stunning tribute to that fact. Larry said that when he found Ken's work," It was like Schopenhauer discovering the Upanishads."
The Encyclopaedia Britannica says: "Man must have an original cradle land whence the peopling of the earth was brought about by migration. As to man’s cradle land, there have been many theories but the weight of evidence is in favour of Indo-Malaysia.” "If there is a country on earth which can justly claim the honour of having been the cradle of the Human race or at least the scene of primitive civilization the successive developments of which carried into all parts of the ancient world and even beyond, the blessings of knowledge which is the second life of man, that country is assuredly India.
Friedrich Mejer: •“It will no longer remain to be doubted that •the priests of Egypt and the sages of Greece •have drawn directly from the original well of India, •that it is to the banks of the Ganges and the Indus •that our hearts feel drawn as [if] by some hidden urge.”
A true researcher, Westerner or Easterner, needs to go beyond 3rd millennium BCE, to understand wherefrom the word “Hinduism” came; how Sanskrit words are abundantly found in English and European languages; Why Norse and Danish Mythologies have common threads with Hindu Puraanas, and there are many areas where common links are obvious. Egyptian word “Pharos” is from Puru, (name of ancient Aryan king), King Ramsey is the corruption of Rama; Gothic has many Sanskrit words – Original thought of Vedas was in Scandinavia…
Madhu S vichare
[edit] Indology/ Drawing Parallels/ Comparing Notes
Examples of the act of construing out of ignorance, though intention is good:
From the Western intellectuals – (2)
John Archibald Wheeler, Theoretical Physicist, who coined “Black Hole” (b-1911):
“I like to think that someone will trace how the deepest thinking of India made its way to Greece and from there to the philosophy of our times.”
Guy Sorman, author of “Genius of India”:
“Temporal notions in Europe were overturned by an India rooted in eternity. The Bible had been the yardstick for me assuring time, But the infinitely vast time cycles of India suggested that the world was much older than anything the Bible spoke of. It seems as if the Indian mind was better prepared for the chronological mutations of Darwinian evolution and astrophysics.”
Jean-Sylvain Bailly, French Astronomer, (1736-1793):
“The motion of the stars calculated by the Hindus before some 4500 years vary not even by a single minute from the tables of Cassine and Meyer (usedinthe19-thcentury). …The Hindu systems of astronomy are by far the oldest and that from which the Egyptians, Greek, Romans and- even the Jews derived from the Hindus their knowledge.”
Dr. David Frawley, American Teacher, Doctor, Author, Speaker, Historian,
“India possesses a great indigenous civilization dating back to 700BC, such as recent archaeological discoveries at Mehrgarh clearly reveal. It had the most extensive urban culture in the world in the third millennium BCE with the many cities of the Indus and Sarasvati rivers. When the Sarasvati river of Vedic fame dried up in the second millennium BCE, the culture shifted east to the more certain river of the Gangetic plain, which became the dominant region of the subcontinent. Gone is the old idea of the Aryan invasion and an outside basis of Indian culture. In its place is the continuity of a civilization and its literature going back to the earliest period of history. Unfortunately, over the first fifty years since Independence, India has not discovered its real roots. Its intellectuals have mimicked Western trends in thought. They have forgotten their own profound modern-sages-like Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo who projected modern and futuristic views of the Indian tradition. While Westerners come to India seeking spiritual knowledge, Indian intellectuals look to the West with an adulation that is often blind, not obsequious.” (Sarasvati could not have dried up which drew its waters from Himalayan glacier; common sense tells us that all rivers would have dried up when glaciers disappear.)
How did Noah's Ark manage to stay afloat? Estimates of the number of species on earth are surging into apparently hull busting millions as biologists find new life almost everywhere they look, from African swamps to Antarctica. The ever-widening menagerie is a paradox when an expanding human population, pollution and climate change threaten what United Nations' studies say is the worst spate of extinctions since the dinosaurs were wiped out 65 million years ago.
Today the phrase “Noah’s Ark” merely suggests the evolutionary principle; it draws parallel with the Puraanic story of “Manu and the Fish”. The floods of 7500 BCE (Before Common Era) created havoc in Europe, and many a stories came forth from various tribes of people affected by the floods. One branch of Aryans selected eastward route and finally after a few decades landed in India as mixed tribes to settle down in the Indus Valley.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Science in Vedas/Vedas time frame/And Sanskrit Roots in European Languages
J. Robert Oppenheimer, American nuclear physicist (1904-1967): "If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst into the sky that would be like the splendour of the Mighty One. . . . Now
I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. Oppenheimer "the father of the atomic bomb" quoting from the Hindu scripture Bhagavad-Gita upon witnessing the mushroom cloud resulting from the detonation of the world’s first atomic bomb in New Mexico, U.S.A., on July 16, 1945. “Access to the Vedas is the greatest privilege this century may claim over all previous centuries.
Victor Cousin, French Philosopher (1792-1867): When we read the poetical and philosophical monuments of the East– above all, those of India, which are beginning to spread in Europe–
We discover there many a truth, and truths so profound, and which make such a contrast with the meanness of the results at which European genius has sometimes stopped, that we are constrained to bend the knee before the philosophy of the East, and to see in this cradle of the human race the native land of the highest philosophy.“
Hu Shih,
Former Ambassador of China to USA (1891-1962): "India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.”
Dr. Arnold Joseph Toynbee, British Historian,
(1889-1975): "It is already becoming clear that a chapter which had a Western beginning will have to have an Indian ending, if it is not to end in the self-destruction of the human race. At this supremely dangerous moment in human history, the only way of salvation for mankind is the Indian way."
Albert Einstein
(1879 -1955): “When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seems so superfluous.” "We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.
Will Durant, American historian,
(1885-1981): "India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's languages; she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother, through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all". “Perhaps in return for conquest, arrogance and spoliation, India will teach us the tolerance and gentleness of the mature mind, the quiet content of the unacquisitive soul, the calm of the understanding spirit,
Sir William Jones, Jurist,
(1746-1794): “…The Sanskrit language is of wonderful structure, more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin and more exquisitely refined than either. “...a stronger affinity that could possibly have been produced by accident; so strong, indeed, that no philologer could examine them all three, without first believing them to have sprung from some common source...”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Philosopher,
(1803-1882): "I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad-Gita. It was the first of books; it was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us.“ “The Indian teaching, through its clouds of legends, has yet a simple and grand religion, like a queenly countenance seen through arichveil. It teaches to speak truth, love others, and to dispose trifles. The East is grand-and makes Europe appear the land of trifles...all is soul and the soul is Vishnu...cheerful and noble is the genius of this cosmogony”. “When India was explored, and the wonderful riches of Indian theological literature found, that dispelled once and for all, the dream about Christianity being the sole revelation. -Nature makes a Brahmin of me presently.”
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Origin of Vedas/ Puraanas/and Sanskrit roots in other languages of the world
George Harrison, Beatles,
(1943 -2001): "For every human there is a quest of India the answer to why I am here, who am I, where did I come from, where am I going. For me that became the most important thing in my life. Everything else is secondary." "Here everybody is vibrating on a material level, which is nowhere. Over there [India], they have this great feeling of something else that's just spiritual going on.
Lin Yutang, Chinese writer,
(1895-1976): “India was China’s teacher in religion and imaginative literature, and world’s teacher in Trigonometry, quadratic equations, grammar, phonetics, Arabian Nights, animal fables, chess as well as in philosophy, and she inspired Boccasccio, Goethe, Schopenhauer and Emerson."
Voltaire, Author and Philosopher,
(1694-1778): "It does not behoove us, who were only savages and barbarians when these Indian and Chinese peoples were civilized and learned, to dispute their antiquity."
Aldous Huxley, English novelist
(1894-1963): “The (Bhagavad) Gita is one of the clearest and most comprehensive summaries of the perennial philosophy ever to have been done. Hence its enduring value, not only for the Indians, but also for all mankind. It is perhaps the most systematic spiritual statement of the perennial philosophy.
Dalai Lama, (b-1935): “Hindus and Buddhists, we are two sons of the same mother.”
Rudyard Kipling,
(1865-1936): “Now it is not good for the Christian's health to hustle the Hindu brown. For the Christian riles and the Hindu smiles and we are the Christian down; And the end of the fight is a tombstone while with the name of the late deceased and the epitaph drear, ‘A fool lies here who tried to hustle the east’".
Guy Sorman, author of “Genius of India”:
“Temporal notions in Europe were overturned by an India rooted in eternity. The Bible had been the yardstick for me assuring time, But the infinitely vast time cycles of India suggested that the world was much older than anything the Bible spoke of. It seems as if the Indian mind was better prepared for the chronological mutations of Darwinian evolution and astrophysics.”
Adam Smith, Father of economics, and author of “Wealth of Nations”: (1723-1790)
"The difference between the genius of the British constitution which protects and governs North America, and that of the mercantile company [British East India Company] which oppresses and domineers in the East Indies [India], cannot perhaps be better illustrated than by the different state of those countries."
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Indology/ Drawing Parallels/ Comparing Notes
David Brooks wrote: In 1996, Tom Wolfe wrote a brilliant essay called Sorry, But Your Soul Just Died, in which he captured the militant materialism of some modern scientists. To these self-confident researchers, the idea that the spirit might exist apart from the body is just ridiculous. Human beings are "hard-wired" to do this or that. Religion is an accident. In this materialist view; people perceive God's existence because their brains have evolved to confabulate (confer) belief systems. You put a magnetic helmet around their heads and they will begin to think they are having a spiritual epiphany. Wolfe understood the central assertion contained in this kind of thinking: Everything is material and "the soul is dead". He anticipated the way the genetic and neuroscience revolutions would affect public debate. They would kick off another fundamental argument over whether God exists. Lo and behold, over the past decade, a new group of assertive atheists has done battle with defenders of faith. The atheism debate is a textbook example of how a scientific revolution can change public culture.
Just as The Origin of Species reshaped social thinking, just as Einstein's theory of relativity affected art, so the revolution in neuroscience is having an effect on how people see the world. And yet my guess is that the atheism debate is going to be a sideshow. The cognitive revolution is not going to end up undermining faith in God; it's going to end up challenging faith in the Bible. Over the past several years, the momentum has shifted away from hardcore materialism. The brain seems less like a cold machine. Instead, meaning, belief and consciousness seem to emerge mysteriously from idiosyncratic networks of neural firings. Those squishy things called emotions play a gigantic role in all forms of thinking. Love is vital to brain development. Researchers now spend a lot of time trying to understand universal moral intuitions. Genes are not merely selfish, it appears. Instead, people seem to have deep instincts for fairness, empathy and attachment.
Scientists have more respect for elevated spiritual states. Andrew Newberg of the University of Pennsylvania has shown that transcendent experiences can actually be identified and measured in the brain. The mind seems to have the ability to transcend itself and merge with a larger presence that feels more real. This new wave of research will not seep into the public realm in the form of militant atheism. Instead it will lead to what you might call neural Buddhism. If you survey the literature (books by Newberg, Daniel J Siegel, Michael S Gazzaniga, Jonathan Haidt, Antonio Damasio and Marc D Hauser are recommended if you want to get up to speed), you can see that certain beliefs will spread into the wider discussion. First, the self is not a fixed entity but a dynamic process of relationships. Second, underneath the patina of different religions, people around the world have common moral intuitions. Third, people are equipped to experience the sacred, to have moments of elevated experience when they transcend boundaries and overflow with love. Fourth, God can best be conceived as the nature one experiences at those moments, the unknowable total of all there is. In their arguments with Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, the faithful have been defending the existence of God.
That was the easy debate. The real challenge is going to come from people who feel the existence of the sacred, but who think that particular religions are just cultural artifacts built on top of universal human traits. It's going to come from scientists whose beliefs overlap a bit with Buddhism. In unexpected ways, science and mysticism are joining hands and reinforcing each other. That's bound to lead to new movements that emphasize self-transcendence but put little stock in divine law. Orthodox believers are going to have to defend particular doctrines and particular biblical teachings. They're going to have to defend the idea of a personal God. I'm not qualified to take sides, believe me. I'm just trying to anticipate which way the debate is headed. We're in the middle of a scientific revolution. It's going to have big cultural effects.
The ancient city of Aizanoi in Turkey might have housed the world's first stock exchange. Reports said Aizanoi, located in the city of Kutahya, housed a round building that might have served as a functional stock exchange. "There was a round building (Macellum) which was used as food market in the second part of the second century AD. This area was excavated in 1971 and on its partly repaired walls hung a copy of the price lists of the emperor Diocletian, which he prepared so as to bring down inflation," said Ismail Tanriverdi, sub-governor of Aizanoi. "For example, a physically strong slave would be the same price as two donkeys and one horse was worth three slaves," explained Tanriverdi.
Scientists have discovered a process of "reverse evolution" among tiny fish species living in Lake Washington, a finding that is being linked to a pollution control effort in the United States. The study showed that evolutionary process was taking place in relative warp speed reverse in the case of the three spine stickleback fish, which live in Lake Washington. Thanks to a $140 million cleanup effort in the mid-l960s today the lake's transparency has reached a depth of 10 feet. Lacking the cover of darkness they once enjoyed, about half of the lake sticklebacks have evolved to become fully armored with bony plates protecting their bodies from head to tail. Experts at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre found that while in the late 1960s, only 6 % of sticklebacks were completely plated, today 49% are fully plated and 35% are partially plated.
The story began in 1924 when famed British banker-turned-adventurer Frederick Mitchell-Hedges, then on a search for the lost continent of Atlantis in the Central American jungle, turned up a sculpted human skull carved in a block of translucent quartz crystal. His daughter, who toured the world with it until her death at 100 in 2007, claimed experiencing strange sensations on touching it and having dreams of ancient Mayan rituals at night. Dubbed the "Skull of Doom" due to its supposed supernatural power to bring misfortune, the artifact, Mitchell-Hedges said, was close to 3,600 years old. Subsequently other crystal skulls turned up, some finding their way into prized museum collections, others privately owned - and all giving rise to speculation on their origins and use.
'M of the artifacts that have been looked for have never been proven to exist or have been proven to have the powers that have been ascribed to them," Lucas added. "But there are a lot of people who believe in it." But over the past decade experts voiced growing doubts over the Aztec origin of the crystal skulls, one of which is in the British Museum, another at Washington's Smithsonian Institute. And last month, a Paris museum acknowledged its own star exhibit crystal skull was not what it was cracked up to be. One of only a dozen such skulls known to exist, the Quai Branly museum's piece was acquired in 1878 from another Indiana Jones-type explorer, Alphonse Pinart, as an Aztec masterpiece believed to be hundreds of years old, the remnant of an ancient and mysterious Civilization. The museum now says that rather than dating from the Aztec period, it was probably made in the 19th century.
From May 20 the Paris skull goes on view to coincide with the world release of the fourth installment in Harrison Ford's archaeologist's adventures. Legend has it that the Paris skull represents the Aztecs' Mictlantecuhtli, who reigned over the land of the deceased, Mictlan. Reuniting all 12 existing skulls plus a supposed to-exist 13th could prevent the earth from tipping over, according to fable. The Quai Branly said results of an analysis of its skull in 2007-2008 by the country's C2RMF research and restoration centre "seem to indicate that it was made late in the 19th century." The London skull was examined twice, in 1996 and 2004, and both studies tended to prove it was a fake, though the final conclusions have not been made public. But though no crystal skull yet found at archeological digs has proved to be authentic, the 12 located around the world continue to arouse interest and speculation.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Science in Vedas/Vedas time frame/And Sanskrit Roots in European Languages
A team of archeologists from the Yazd Cultural Heritage Centre (YCHC) in Iran has discovered the Achaemenid era predecessor of the city of Yazd. Covering some 500 hectares, the ancient city is located about 12km away from the modern city of Yazd, YCHC director Mohammad-Hassan Khademzadeh said. The team has unearthed ruins of the city as well as shards, ancient kilns, and masses of kilns' clinkers and pieces of glass, he added.
A giant Texas sinkhole that formed last week is now a lake big enough to become the home of an alligator. Area residents believe the reptile was washed into the 600-foot-diameter crater by water from surrounding swamps. Ground water is seeping into the hole, and its exposed walls are about 30 feet high, the Houston Chronicle reported. Sightings of an alligator in the sinkhole were confirmed when a Texas Railroad Commission worker snapped photographs. Danny Diaz, a Texas Parks and Wildlife game warden, said a patch of crude oil floating on the east side of the crater might irritate the alligator's skin, but the reptile is using the water on the other side. "It's not really safe for anyone to climb down into that hole now to get anything out," said Diaz, pointing to stress cracks in the ground that encircle the hole.
Oslo: Greenhouse gases are at higher levels in the atmosphere than at any time in at least 8, 00,000 years, according to a study of Antarctic ice that extends evidence that mankind is disrupting the climate. Carbon dioxide and methane trapped in tiny bubbles of air in ancient ice down to 3,200 meters below the surface of Antarctica add 150,000 years of data to climate records stretching back 650,000 years from shallower ice drilling.' "We can firmly say that to day's concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane are 28 and 124 % higher respectively than at any time during the last 800,000 years," said Thomas Stocker, an author of the report at the University of Berne on Wednesday. Before the Industrial Revolution, levels of greenhouse gases were guided mainly by long-term shifts in the earth's orbit around the sun that have plunged the planet into ice ages and back again eight times in the past 8,00,000 years. The UN Climate Panel last year blamed human activities, led by burning of fossil fuels that release heat-trapping gases, for modern global warming that may disrupt water and food supplies with ever more droughts, floods and heat waves. "The driving forces now are very much different from the driving forces in the past when there was only natural variation," Stocker said of the study in the journal Nature by scientists in Switzerland, France and Germany.
The experts, working on the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica, drilled down almost to bedrock in Antarctica. They recovered layers of ice formed by compressed snow, which can be counted much like the rings on trees. Stocker said Chinese and Australian scientists were examining possibilities for drilling in parts of Antarctica with even deeper ice, in some places 4,500 meters thick, that could yield atmospheric records dating back 1.5 million years. The study also found big natural shifts in carbon dioxide levels. "We find very conspicuous natural oscillations of carbon dioxide 770,000 years ago that bear the fingerprint of abrupt climate change during ice ages," Stocker said. And the Nature report also set a new record low for carbon dioxide at 172 parts per million (ppm) in the atmosphere about 667,000 years ago, about 10 ppm below the previous known low and giving an ancient natural range of 172 to about 300 ppm. The study suggested that the low might be a sign that the oceans once soaked up more carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide levels are now at about 380 ppm.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Science in Vedas/Vedas time frame/And Sanskrit Roots in European Languages
Finns (phiha means angry but wicked man), who introduced a birch-tree sweetener for gum, have found that the habit of chewing sticky lumps dates back thousands of years. Last month, students in western Finland found a piece of Stone Age birch-bark tar, believed to have been used for chewing and to fix broken arrowheads or clay dishes, archaeologists said. "Most likely the lump was used as an antique kind of chewing gum," said Sami Viljamaa, an archaeologist who led the dig near Oulu, (Aulanam - Lake) north of Helsinki (helihi -the sun; sina – a period of “No Moon” night when the small part of Moon is visible at certain latitudes). "But its main purpose was to fix things." Viljamaa said the piece of Neolithic gum was found among artifacts in a Stone Age village at the Kierikki (Kairavaḥ - Moon-lit-Night) Stone Age Center. "It's somewhere between 5,500 and 6,000 years old," he said. The ancient Finnish habit of chewing gum surged in the 1980s when scientists discovered that gum containing xylitol prevented tooth decay.
Egyptian archaeologists have found what they said could be the oldest human footprint in history in the country's western desert, the Arab country's antiquities' chief said. "This could go back about two million years," said Zahi Hawass, the secretary general of the Egyptian supreme council of antiquities. "It could be the most important discovery in Egypt," he said. Archaeologists found the footprint, imprinted on mud and then hardened into rock, while exploring a prehistoric site in Shiwa (Shiva in search of water for cooling down), a desert oasis. Scientists are using carbon tests on plants found in the rock to determine its exact age, Hawass said. Khaled Saad, the director of prehistory at the council, said that based on the age of the rock where the footprint was found, it could date back even further than the renowned 3million year-old fossil Lucy, the partial skeleton of an ape-man, found in Ethiopia in 1974. Most archaeological interest in Egypt is focused on the time of the pharaohs. Previously, the earliest human archaeological evidence from Egypt dated back around 200,000 years, Saad said.
I have highlighted my views of looking at the old concepts with new insights in view of the new knowledge: The subject of INDOLOGY will be meaningful. Madhu S Vichare.
Anandamurti JI wrote for the “Speaking Tree” (On Religion):
Taraka (Tarkaha or Taaraka) Brahma wants to emancipate living beings, but only those who want liberation get liberation. When you long for liberation, the search leads you to the Sadguru. Every one of us has a fixed role to play. You are a character in a divine drama. The composer of this drama is Taaraka Brahma. An episode in the Mahabharata is instructive in this regard: After battle, the battleground at Kurukṣetra became a cremation ground. At the end of the war some people came there from the Kauravas' side. Among them were women and a few elderly men. Gandhaari, mother of the Kauravas, was also there. Kuntī, mother of the Pandavas, and Krushna, Pandavas' friend, were present as well, along with the visually challenged Dhrutarashtra. Everyone was weeping. Gandhaari had lost hundred sons in the war. Krushna approached Gandhaari and said: "Mother, why are you weeping? Death is a naturallay. One who is born will die. So why cry?" Gandhaari replied: "Yes Krushna, you have come here to console me, but I ask you, behind this great event whose mind was at work? Who was the author of this great plan? Was it not you?" Krushna replied: "Those who have committed injustice and sinned have been punished. What can I do about that?" Gandhaari said to Krushna: "Everything you have said up until now is quite correct. From the worldly point of view, everything that has happened until now is as it should be, because every action must have its reaction. But my point is: You yourself are Taaraka Brahma; your duty is to liberate living beings. You can give liberation to whomsoever you please.
'As Taaraka Brahma you can create and destroy as you wish. In this drama of yours you have created characters who are honest, ideological people. If one does virtuous deeds then one gets liberation. To teach the people you create these kinds of characters. And you also create sinful characters to show how much a person degenerates because of sinful behavior. In this drama, you could have had my hundred sons play roles of righteousness and the Pandavas play roles of unrighteousness, if you had so wished. In that case my hundred sons would have gotten salvation. Now, after having made me cry, you come to console me!" Taaraka Brahma formulates his plan in order to create situations that lend themselves to illustrating values, to create awareness. For instance, if one engages in honest work then one moves towards eternal truth, and if one performs dishonest work then one moves towards untruth. Thereafter comes the other part of the story.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Science in Vedas/Vedas time frame/And Sanskrit Roots in European Languages
Gandhaari said: "Kṛṣṇa, give me permission to curse you". Krushna replied: "Okay, curse me. I give you permission". Gandhaari cursed him: "Just as my entire lineage has been destroyed before my very eyes, may your Yaadava lineage be destroyed before your very eyes as well". "Let it be so", Krushna replied. Remember always that we are only actors in a universal drama. This is not our real identity. Someone may play the role of a king, but he might not even have two handfuls of rice in his house. Someone plays the role of a poor man, but in real life he may be very rich. We ought to remember that we are only playing specific roles in a cosmic drama. Act according to the role given. This is a person's duty. This is a wrong note to end the moral of the “Cosmic Drama” – Man must keep on bettering his lot; learning new things, and keeping himself fit to fight against the odds. He must use his intelligence and apply his mind. Krushna is not coming to salvage your soul; man has to come up to the expectation of the Super Personality of Godhead- it is symbolic, you have to become Krushna.
Uyuni is in Bolivia: On the edge of the world's biggest salt desert, villagers optimistically scrawl "salt for sale" signs on their mud brick homes. In backyards, mountains of the stuff are heaped like year-round snow drifts. But mining salt is no longer the only way to survive in this cold, arid corner of southwestern Bolivia. The Salar de Uyuni is becoming a must-see for adventurous visitors to South America, changing at least some fortunes in the poor village of Colchani. "There's nothing here apart from salt... Tourists used to arrive and they wouldn't buy anything, so we thought, 'How can we improve things?" said Fermin Villca, who now sells ashtrays and llama figurines carved from salt stone. Stretched between distant Andean peaks like a shimmering white carpet, the Salar de Uyuni is home to pink flamingos, 1,000-year-old cacti, rare hummingbirds and hotels built entirely from blocks of salt. Earlier this year, leading travel publisher Rough Guides listed the Salar as one of its top 25 wonders of the world, along side far better-known attractions such as the Taj Mahal, Grand Canyon and Great Wall of China.
A gargantuan explosion ripped apart a star perhaps 150 times more massive than our Sun in a relatively nearby galaxy in the most powerful and brightest supernova ever observed, astronomers said. And there is one such star in our own Milky Way galaxy that appears to be on the brink of dying in just such a supernova. The exploding star's dramatic death may have come in a rare type of supernova reserved for "freakishly massive" stars that astronomers had speculated about but never previously witnessed. The supernova, designated as SN 2006gy, occurred 240 million light years away in a galaxy called NGC 1260, and was studied using observations from NASA's orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory as well as earthbound optical telescopes. The explosion occurred long ago but was detected last year after its light traveled many trillions of kilometers before it could be observed from Earth. "That sounds far away but it's actually quite nearby on the vast scale of the universe," astronomer Nathan Smith of the University of California at Berkeley, who led the research, said. A supernova marks a star's death in a spectacular explosion. Scientists say these events playa crucial role in creating heavy elements through nuclear fusion and synthesis and then expelling them into space, seeding the cosmos with metals.
The travel of Manu and the great Fish, a symbolic story of the Puraana, the event that occurred 10,000 BCE (ca): An event like the one involving Noah's ark is depicted in- almost every ancient civilization or religion: Naunet in Egyptian; Manu in Hindu; Nuwa in Chinese; Ziusudra in Sumerian; Atra-Hasis, Utnapishtim and Xisuthrus in Babylonian; Deucalion in Greek; and Toptlipetlocali in Toltec. Noah is also mentioned often in the Qumran, referred to as the prophet ‘Nuh’. All the names are the corruption of original Sanskrit words used in Vedic rituals by the Āryans.
For many scientists, the evidence that moral reasoning is a result of physical traits that evolve along with everything else is just more evidence against the existence of the soul, or of a God to imbue humans with souls. For many believers, particularly in the US, the findings show the error, even wickedness, of viewing the world in strictly material terms. And they provide for theologians a growing impetus to reconcile the existence of the soul with the growing evidence that humans are not, physically or even mentally, in a class by themselves. The idea that human minds are the product of evolution is "unassailable fact," the journal Nature said this month in an editorial on new findings on the physical basis of moral thought. A headline on the editorial drove the point home: "With all deference to the sensibilities of religious people, the idea that man was created in the image of God can surely be put aside." Or as V S Ramachandran, a brain scientist at the University of California, San Diego, said in an interview, there may be soul in the sense of "the universal spirit of the cosmos," but the soul as it is usually spoken of, "an immaterial spirit that occupies individual brains and that only evolved in humans - all that is complete nonsense." Belief in that kind of soul "is basically superstition," he said.
Greenland was home to a number of Paleo-Eskimo cultures in prehistory, the latest of which disappeared around the year 200 AD. The island seems to have been uninhabited for some eight centuries till Icelandic settlers led by Norwegian Erik the Red found the land when they arrived in 982 AD. They thrived here for 450 years, after which they mysteriously vanished.
The term tetra-pod, from the Greek 'tetrapoda,' (Sanskrit-“totra-vetram”- weapon of Viṣṇu- + pada means feet) refers to vertebrate animals having four feet, legs or leg-like appendages. Amphibians, lizards and mammals are all tetra-pods. The term auto-pod, however, is used to refer to animals whose limbs are subdivided into hands and feet, example: Humans.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Science in Vedas/Vedas time frame/And Sanskrit Roots in European Languages
The researchers therefore believe that the capability of building limbs with fingers and toes existed for a long period of time, but it took a set of environmental triggers to make use of that capability. "Animals in the Late Devonian period (385 to 359 million years ago) acquired limbs with fingers using this primitive design, largely because their ecosystem - the small streams that they lived in - was new," Shubin said "It had the tools, but it needed the opportunity as well." In yet another study on what killed off the beasts of the Ice Age, researchers said that an extraterrestrial object with a three-mile girth might have exploded over southern Canada nearly 13,000 years ago, wiping out an ancient Stone Age culture as well as mega-fauna like mastodons and mammoths. The blast could be to blame for a major cold spell called the Younger Dryas that occurred at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch, a period of time spanning from about 1.8 million years ago to 11,500 years ago.
Research, presented at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in Acapulco, Mexico this week, could shed light on major questions about the mega-fauna extinction, the disappearance of the Clovis people, and an abrupt climate change, Live-science reported. "Based on the distribution of material, it looks like this impact probably occurred in southern Canada near the Great Lakes, over what at that time would have been a major glacier, the Laurentide ice sheet," said one of the presenters, Richard Firestone of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. They couldn't find a distinct crater, suggesting the comet burst in the air rather than slamming into Earth. Even an airburst should leave its mark, so the scientists think the Laurentide Ice Sheet absorbed much of the impact.
A huge flood hundreds of thousands of years ago cut Britain off from the rest of Europe and turned it into an island, according to a new study that offers clues to how England was settled. Using high-resolution sonar waves, researchers mapped the floor of the English Channel and turned up images of an enormous valley tens of kilometers wide and up to 50 meters deep carved into chalk bedrock. The images were similar to an area in the state of Washington where a mega-flood some 15,000 years ago also created a landscape of distinctive land formations - indicating that the same thing happened in Britain, the researchers said. Scientists said the study provides the best evidence yet in the debate seeking to explain how the English Channel formed and cut Britain off from the rest of Europe. "It showed us for the first time the existence of this huge valley in the centre of the English Channel," said Sanjeev Gupta, a researcher at Imperial College London.
Mexican archaeologists using ground-penetrating radar have detected underground chambers they believe contain the remains of Emperor Ahuizotl, who ruled the Aztecs when Columbus landed in the Americas. Ahuizotl (ah-WEE-zoh-tuhl), an empire-builder who extended the Aztecs' reach as far as Guatemala, in South America, was the last emperor to complete his rule before the Spanish Conquest. Accounts written by Spanish priests suggest the said area was used by the Aztecs to cremate and bury their rulers. But no tomb of an Aztec ruler has ever been found. Now, archaeologists said that they have located what appears to be a Six-foot-by-six-foot entryway into a tomb about 15 feet below ground, off Mexico City's Zocalo plaza. The passage is filled with water, rocks and mud, forcing workers to dig delicately. Later this year, they hope to enter the inner chambers - a damp, low-ceilinged space - and discover the ashes of Ahuizotl, who was likely cremated on a funeral pyre in 1502. Because no Aztec royal tomb has ever been found, the archaeologists are literally digging into the unknown. Radar indicates the tomb has up to four chambers, and scientists think they will find a host of elaborate offerings to the gods on the floor. "He must have been buried in solemn ceremony with rich offerings, like vases and ornaments," said Luis Alberto Martos, director of archaeological studies at Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History.
All signs found so far point to Ahuizotl. The site lies directly below a huge, recently discovered stone monolith carved with a representation of Tlaltecuhtli (tlahl-tay-KOO-tlee), the Aztec god of the earth. Depicted as a woman with huge claws, the fearsome Tlaltecuhtli was believed to devour the dead and then give them new life. In the claw of her right foot, the god holds a rabbit and 10 dots, indicating the date "10 Rabbit" - 1502, the year of Ahuizotl's death. "Our hypothesis is precisely that this is probably the tomb of Ahuizotl," said Leonardo Lopez Lujan, the lead government archaeologist on the project. "Imagine it - this wasn't just any high-ranking man. The Aztecs were the most powerful society of their time," Martos said. "That's why Ahuizotl's tomb down there is so important."
The Aztecs is a term used for the Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico that thrived before the advent of Christopher Columbus in the Americas. Aztec culture had rich and complex mythological and religious traditions. For Europeans, the most striking element of the Aztec culture was the practice of human sacrifice which was conducted throughout Mesoamerica prior to the Spanish conquest Greenland was home to a number of Paleo-Eskimo cultures in prehistory, the latest of which disappeared around the year 200 AD. The island seems to have been uninhabited for some eight centuries till Icelandic settlers led by Norwegian Erik the Red found the land when they arrived in 982 AD. They thrived here for 450 years, after which they mysteriously vanished. Archeologists have discovered what they think are ruins of an Aztec pyramid razed by vengeful Spanish conquerors in what is now one of Mexico City's most crime-ridden districts. Construction workers unearthed ancient walls in the busy Iztapalapa neighborhood in June, and government archeologists said on Wednesday that they believe they may be part of the main pyramid of the Aztec city, destroyed by conquistador Hernan Cortes in the 16th century.
In the Gothic Bible, 'þiudans' is used of a king who goes to war:
aiþþau hvas þiudans gaggands stigqan wiþra anþarana þiudan (vipra praana-yukta pinda) du wiganna, niu gasitands faurþis þankeiþ, siaiu mahteigs miþ taihun þusundjom gamotjan þamma miþ twaim tigum þusundjo gaggandin ana sik?
Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
Luke 14:31.
Madhu S Vichare.
[edit] Science in Vedas/Vedas time frame/And Sanskrit Roots in European Languages
'frauja' (Praanaaha) "lord" is also used with no Greek model for the noun in a military context (II Tim 2:4). I'm not sure whether 'reiks' is used anywhere in an explicitly military context.
I am not a linguist but as far as I know they were reiks also when leading a war expedition. Their sacral king, however, was never allowed to leave his own territory when the people was permanently settled, but had to order a reiks (Rushis –wandering Sages) to take command. During the wandering, according to Getica at least, the þiuðans was sacral king and he used 'kings of the army' to lead parts of the united army (like e.g. Cniva as Wolfram suggests) but I do not know their title in Gothic.
The clue to the root of the hypothetical Gothic form though is in Old Norse 'ugla' and especially (Old) Swedish 'uggla'. These show a sound change common to North and East Germanic whereby 'ww' > 'ggw', as described by Wright. In Old Norse, the medial vowel of the suffix has been lost, which is normal, but presumably it would have been present in Gothic (compare 'mawilo' "little girl" San – mahilaa meaning a woman), and the 'w' has been dropped, as always between two consonants. So, I'd reconstruct Gothic *'uggwilo': weak noun, feminine on-stem, i.e. declined like 'mawilo', 'tuggo', etc. One last clue is the Catalan word 'òliba', (San. – Ulooka) which it's been suggested may be derived from the Gothic word for owl
2. örn "eagle" (San. – utkrosha)
Elof Hellquist's Svensk etymologisk ordbok. 6 is especially interesting; both roots are attested in Gothic. This would make a very handy addition to our reconstructed "modern" vocabulary. There
is a Gothic derivative from the same root as 2 recorded, namely 'ara' "eagle", cognate with Old Norse 'ari', but since ON had 'örn' (San. – “ara” one going with speed) there's no reason Gothic couldn't have had both words too.
Ah, no need for embarrassment! I was just thinking of it as an exercise in phonetic reconstruction. In other words, what would a Gothic cognate of (word descended from the same Proto-Germanic
ancestor as) Modern English 'wood' look like? But you're right 'triu' does mean "a tree" (San. – “taru” means tree also wood,) or "a stick". I guess that illustrates another issue in reconstruction: where a word already exists in the same semantic field, how might that have related to the meaning of a hypothetical, reconstructed Gothic cognate? Does that make sense?
In this case, it seems that the better attested early Germanic languages did have a few partly overlapping words in this semantic field, e.g. Old Norse has a word 'viðr' which is cognate with 'wood', as well as a word 'tré' congate with English 'tree'. So there's nothing improbably about supposing Gothic had cognates for both, even though only one, 'triu', is recorded.
The gist is this: initial 'b' in English corresponds to Gothic 'b' (as in Go. 'broþar' : Modern English 'brother' Sanskrit is “Bhaartru”)-- no catch there. I found a comparison chart but it didn't tell me what to do with initial B, medial TH, or final -M, let alone the morpheme -AM, so I'm a little lost right now.
other Indo-European languages (e.g. Latin 2nd declension nouns ending in -um, Greek in -on, Sanskrit in -am).
The 3rd person singular
(he/she/it does/is doing smth) ends in –iþ for the verbs used in the story. "He's sleeping" is 'slepiþ' (from 'slepan' "to sleep" San. Root is “svap” - svapiti). The last sentence is in subjunctive, but you can have a simpler translation.
Some vocabulary you need: early morning – air uhtwon clothes – wasti (Sanskrit – Vastra) F.-jo (that is, feminine jo-stem) staff – hrugga F.-o to push – stigqan to get awake – gawaknan to climb up – ussteigan to look like – wisan galeiks (lit. "to be like") + noun in dative ("he's looking like A." is 'ist galeiks A.'). Don't forget to put the A. ("owl" in our case) in dative.
That is, "I take" is 'nima' (from 'niman' "to take" Sanskrit word “nirgam” means get off, get away from – ni-sru). The 3rd person singular (he/she/it does/is doing smth) ends in –iþ for the verbs used in the story. "He's sleeping" is 'slepiþ' (from 'slepan' "to sleep"). The last sentence is in subjunctive, but you can have a simpler translation.
early morning – air uhtwon; Sanskrit – ushas;
to push – stigqan; Sanskrit – saahasin; to climb up – ussteigan, San. – upari gama;
- kiggwan, OE cíowan, (San. – ‘charvanam”) ON tyggva? 6. däggdjur "mammal"
So you are through with your Aztec torment, unlike me. Everyone saying that Gothic is difficult should be immediately reminded of the existence of Nahuatl. A couple remarks. Ilnâmiqui is "to remember", right? Niquilnâmiqui – þis (or þata) [ik] ga-man? Iirc 'cân' can be both directional and stative. I mean weren't it better to say 'þarei' with 'ainshun ni gaswiltiþ' and 'manna sigis nimiþ'? Is it the 'îchân tônatiuh', the place? An interesting parallel between 'in yâômiqui' and einherjar...
Irish Suibhne geilt living on trees and perhaps also the Nahuatl (Aztec) word for "demon" (= Go. skohsl) – tlâcatecolôtl, lit. "man-owl", used in the Anales de Cuauhtitlan of the gods whom human sacrifices were due to.
Madhu S Vichare.
