EBOLA VIRUS OUTBREAK

HOW IS THAT THE MICROSCOPIC
EBOLA VIRUS KILLS THOUSANDS?

www.washingtonpost.com - The fear of Ebola has spread faster in America than the virus itself. Ebola has infected the American psyche, forcing us to do risk analysis of a pathogen we know little about. This is different from the flu scares of recent years, because this virus is novel here, and we have no cultural memory of what we are supposed to do, or think, or believe, when Ebola is on the loose. 
People have to wonder: How contagious is this virus - really? Is there something different and more pernicious about this particular strain of Ebola? The experts can’t answer such questions with certainty. Ebola has been known to science only since 1976. As an exotic disease that until this year affected only Africans in rural villages, Ebola hasn’t been studied as closely as, say, influenza or HIV.

The virus has its quirks: Some people infected with Ebola never get sick at all. Some who become sick shed massive amounts of virus - they’re “super-shedders” - but others do not. Fever is typically the first symptom of Ebola virus disease, but sometimes it’s a lagging indicator or never appears at all. The virus is mutating, like all viruses, and could conceivably - this is a very remote possibility - change its mode of transmission, a fact that has been much hyped in recent weeks by those with an alarmist frame of mind. 
Yet for all these uncertainties, the Ebola emergency in the United States has in a key respect played out exactly as epidemiologists would have expected: The people who have gotten infected, both of them at a Dallas hospital, had close contact with an extremely sick person. The incubation period of Ebola, from infection to symptoms, is generally considered to be between two and 21 days.

These days, different websites are saying that the Ebola outbreak is a hoax. They say that all of this is a massive lie and manipulative effort by the US government for ulterior motives. Others even affirm that the illness is being created by the own Red Cross vaccinations. What is the truth? The World Health Organization explains that Ebola virus particles occupy an infected person’s blood and other bodily fluids, which can enter another person through the eyes, mucous membranes, scratches on the skin or from a hypodermic needle — not from from the air or from insects. The bodies of people who have died of the disease are highly infectious. Without protective equipment, being within three feet of a patient for long periods of time is less risky, but not advisable. In small West African villages, the close personal attention given to sick or dead family members can easily spread the disease. According to WHO, officially listing the United States as having three cases (Duncan, Pham and Vinson) and one death (Duncan), while Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea have had 9,191 cases and 4,546 deaths. Being surrounded by daily doubt, deceit, anguish and suffering, we are always afraid of death because we are not sure what we will be or where we will go in the afterlife. We must involve the Supreme Lord in our daily chores, tell others about Him and chant His holy names; in this way we can let go of our fears by trusting that God will take care of us. (Editor's note).

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Each life is meant for us to learn more about ourselves, and about who we are. Death is not simply a matter of getting old or sick and then dying. Natural death happens when you have finished doing what you were meant to do in this life. You may have wanted to do more or not, but when you have done what you were meant to do, you will move on. Nature will arrange it that you will leave this realm. Each life is like a classroom wherein you learn a certain amount, and go through a certain number of lessons or tests. Then you graduate to the next class. We can learn willingly or unwillingly. We can cooperate or be uncooperative. We can repeatedly keep going through it until we learn all of the necessary lessons to go on to the next level. That is our choice. And if you have failed any of the tests, don't worry. You'll have the chance to try it again.

Dr Stephen Knapp (Śrīpad Nandanandana dasa) :
“Facing Death: Welcoming the Afterlife”
“Dispelling The Fear of Death”
http://www.stephen-knapp.com/dispelling_the_fear_of_death.htm
http://www.stephen-knapp.com  -  http://www.stephenknapp.info/

Published by dasavatara das - “Vedic Views on World News”
http://www.vedicviews-worldnews.blogspot.com.ar/

VENEZUELANS MOURNS LATE PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ

HUGO CHAVEZ, VENEZUELAN
PRESIDENT, DIES AT AGE 58

www.cbsnews.com - Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela for the last 14 years, died Tuesday following his treatment for cancer. His death was announced by the country's vice president Nicolas Maduro, ending a months-long period of speculation surrounding his health - a period often marked by secrecy and rumor. He was 58. The popular but controversial leader had won his fourth presidential term in 2012 but was never sworn in due to his failing health.
The career military officer-turned-politician won friends and enemies as he launched poverty-fighting programs, nationalized key industries and forged alliances with other leftist leaders in Latin America - particularly the Castro brothers in Cuba. The Associated Press reported that Maduro will serve as interim president and that elections will be called within 30 days, Foreign Minister Elias Jaua told the Telesur network.

Just hours before Chavez' death was announced, Venezuelan Vice President and Chavez chosen successor Nicolas Maduro suggested the fatal cancer may have been introduced by "enemies" and declared two U.S. diplomats persona non grata accusing them of trying to organize government opposition among the Venezuelan military. Chavez's political development took him from social democracy to what he called "Socialism of the 21st Century." 
His opponents, mostly from the upper-middle class and the wealthy, accused him of becoming a dictator in the mold of his mentor, Fidel Castro, who Chavez once described as being like a father to him. Chavez supported Latin American and Caribbean cooperation and developed close ties with Evo Morales in Bolivia, Rafael Correa in Ecuador and Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, in addition to Fidel and then Raul Castro in Cuba.

With the passing of Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez, at age 58, a chapter on one of the most controversial modern leaders in Latin America has come to a close. Chavez loudly opposed the United States and claimed capitalism was destroying the world and tried to transform Venezuela into a socialist state. Despite criticism that his government has received, there is no doubt that Chavez was an exceedingly popular leader, especially among poor and working class Venezuelans. Since our life in this material world is very short, we must strive to occupy our minds with God issues and our future spiritual life because at any time - even if you don't want it - we will be forced to leave here.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Our duration of life is not very long, and there is no certainty of when we shall be ordered to leave everything for the next stage. ... A living being is eternal by constitution. He is, so to speak, in the whirlpool of birth and death due to his contact with material energy. Freed from such material energy, a living entity is liberated and is eligible to return home, back to Godhead. Those who want to live forever without changing their material bodies should not waste valuable time with topics other than those relating to Lord Krishna and His devotees. ... Every human being dislikes meeting death, but he does not know how to get rid of death. The surest remedy for avoiding death is to accustom oneself to hearing the nectarean pastimes of the Lord as they are systematically narrated in the text of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It is advised herein, therefore, that any human being who desires freedom from death should take to this course of life as recommended by the rishis headed by Śaunaka.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda : 
“The Śrīmad Bhāgavatam”
Purport in Canto 1, Chapter 16:
“How Parīkshit Received the Age of Kali” - Texts 6 - 8.
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase 2003 (Folio)

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
http://www.vedicviews-worldnews.blogspot.com.ar/

BOY, 4, FALLS THREE STORIES, LANDS ON FEET

4-YEAR-OLD FALLS OUT OF THIRD 
STORY WINDOW, LANDS ON HIS FEET

http://shine.yahoo.com - When parents think about child proofing their homes, they're usually focused on keeping cabinets locked and storing sharp objects or dangerous chemicals out of reach. So when Jessica Hayes of Aurora, Colorado, was spring cleaning recently, she says says that she didn't think of the potential for danger when she pushed her couch out of the way, against the wall and under a window in her third-story apartment. While she was shampooing the carpets and her mom was helping out in the kitchen, her 4-year-old son, Dylan, climbed up on the couch to chat with a downstairs neighbor through the window. As he leaned against the flimsy screen, it gave way and he fell three stories, landing on the rock-covered ground below. He spent about 20 hours in the hospital, wearing a neck brace as a precaution, but doctors released him, saying he had barely a scratch on him.

He's not even traumatized by the event, though he does caution other kids to "not open windows." His mom, on the other hand, was so shaken up by the event that she's moved out of the third-floor apartment and is living with a relative. says that she feels "beyond lucky" that Dylan survived the 30-plus-foot fall. "There had to have been angels watching over him," his grandmother, Kelli Hayes, agreed.

Another similar case: Last month in Bahia Blanca (Argentina), the driver of a car ran over two teenagers and miraculously they emerged unscathed. According to the grandmother of one of them "Thank God they are fine. A little sore and impressed, but they are well. They are of a smaller city, Trelew, and came to walk here. When they crossed the traffic light it was red, possibly it changed when they were crossing. God put his hand and nothing happened. So you have to believe that there is something greater than ourselves," she told reporters.

A Colorado (USA) mother said her 4-year-old son survived a three-story fall with only minor injuries, landing on his feet. Jessica Hayes of Aurora said her son, Dylan, climbed atop her couch to talk to her downstairs neighbors through the window and fell through the screen. "I was terrified," she said. "I didn't know what I was going to see when I got down to the ground floor." However, the mother said she was shocked and relieved to discover Dylan had landed on his feet on the rocks below. "I feel beyond lucky. There must have been something watching over Dylan that day," she said. As Argentine teenagers who suffered no damage despite having been run over by a car, and many other cases in the world, this story shows that life and death are not dependent on us. 

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

It is stated, māre krishna rākhe ke, rākhe krishna māre ke:  If Krishna protects someone, no one can kill him, and if Krishna wants to kill someone, no one can save him. ... 

Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is omnipotent, and if He wants to kill someone, no one can save that person. Similarly, if He wants to save someone, no one can kill him. 
(Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda - “Śrīmad Bhāgavatam” 11.1.4 - “Krishna Book” - Chapter 72 - Bhaktivedanta VedaBase)

“Whatever is done by the Lord is for good,” the prime minister told the King, “If Hari protects, nobody can kill him and if Hari wants to kill then nobody can protect him,” he added. 

(Śrīla Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Mahārāja - “Golden Saying” - “God is Gracing Us in All Circumstances” - Feb 10, 2003 - Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya Math)

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
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