WORLD WON'T END ON DECEMBER 21: NASA SCIENTISTS

NASA SAYS WORLD WON'T END
IN 2012 DESPITE MAYAN CALENDAR

http://profit.ndtv.com - Quashing the 'doomsday' rumours, top NASA scientists have assured that the world won't end on December 21, 2012. “The world will not end in 2012. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012,” NASA said on its website. The 'doomsday story' started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth, scientists said. 
This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012 and linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012 - hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012, they said. 
“Just as the calendar you have on your kitchen wall does not cease to exist after December 31, the Mayan calendar does not cease to exist on December 21, 2012,” NASA said.

“This date is the end of the Mayan long-count period but then - just as your calendar begins again on January 1 - another long-count period begins for the Mayan calendar,” NASA said. Scientists also clarified that the rumour of a planet or brown dwarf called Nibiru or Planet X or Eris approaching the Earth and threatening our planet with widespread destruction is just an “Internet hoax”. “Nibiru and other stories about wayward planets are an Internet hoax. 
There is no factual basis for these claims. If Nibiru or Planet X were real and headed for an encounter with the Earth in 2012, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye,” scientists said. “Obviously, it does not exist. Eris is real, but it is a dwarf planet similar to Pluto that will remain in the outer solar system; the closest it can come to Earth is about 4 billion miles,” they said. NASA astronomers are carrying out a study called the Spaceguard Survey to find any large near-Earth asteroids long before they hit.

We’re less than a month away from the so-called end of the world, but NASA says you don’t have anything to worry about. The US Space agency specified that the Mayan calendar does not end in December 2012. Just as your desk calendar ends on Dec. 31 and world keeps going on, the same goes for the Mayan calendar, NASA explained. Just before you run out of pages doesn’t mean life as we know it will cease to exist. The science experts also dispel a few other online rumours associated with the end of 2012. The planets are not going to align, there is no predicted blackout for this December and the Earth’s rotation isn’t going to change directions. According to the Vedic point of view there is still a long time for the dissolution of the universe. We are living in the Kali yuga, the present age of quarrel and hypocrisy, of which only 5,000 of 432,000 years have passed.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

There are four ages, namely Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga, Dvapara-yuga, and Kali-yuga, which comprise a divya-yuga, one set of the four yugas. Let’s remember that Satya-yuga lasts 1,728,000 years, Treta-yuga 1,296,000 years, Dvapara-yuga 864,000 years, and Kali-yuga 432,000 years. That is a total of 4,320,000 years. A day of Brahma, called a kalpa, lasts for 1,000 of these cycles, and is thus 4,320,000,000 solar years. There are 14 Manus in each day of Brahma. Each Manu is said to exist for one manvantara, which is a period of time lasting 71 divya-yugas. Therefore, each Manu exists for roughly 306,720,000 years. Additionally, Brahma lives for 100 years, composed of 365 of such days in a year. Let’s remember also that we are talking about beings who do not live in the same dimension as we do, and are thus free from the same influences of time and matter with which we must contend.

Stephen Knapp (Śrīpad Nandanandana dasa) :
“The Avataras of God”
http://www.stephen-knapp.com  -  http://www.stephenknapp.info/
http://www.stephen-knapp.com/avataras_of_god.htm

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
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IS LAUGHTER THE BEST MEDICINE?

CAN LAUGHING EACH DAY
KEEP THE DOCTOR AWAY?

http://health.yahoo.net - Need a good laugh? Here’s one to tickle your funnybone: giggling keeps your heart stronger, might lower your blood sugar levels and even enhances your friendships. Researchers studying the health benefits of laughter agree: unlike stress and worry, laughing doesn’t hurt us, physically or emotionally—and it may very well cure what ails us. Nor does it take long for our systems to respond to something funny. Less than half a second, in fact, is all the time our brains need to see or hear a joke, “get” it, and tell our bodies that it’s time to smile or laugh. Laughter truly is as spontaneous as we’ve always believed it to be. Joking around may not heal every ailment, but the health benefits of a good laugh are far-reaching. 
Here are a few: You can laugh your way to a healthier heart. Researchers first linked laughter to healthy blood vessels in 2005, when they showed two movies to volunteers and found that when watching a funny movie, brachial artery flow increased 22 percent. 

Watching a movie that caused mental stress had the opposite effect, slowing blood flow about 35 percent. Laughing will help your heart, but a healthy heart also will help you laugh more easily. Michael Miller, MD, director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center, conducted both the 2005 study and more recent research that found individuals with heart disease laughed less than healthier people - and affirming that not only laughter but an ongoing sense of humor may keep heart attacks at bay. 
“The ability to laugh - either naturally or as learned behavior - may have important implications in societies such as the US where heart disease remains the number one killer,” he said. The fact is, laughing is a physical act - not just an emotion - whose physical nature helps laughers find a stimulus pleasurable, or funny. Laughing is good for your blood sugar. Laughing makes you smarter. Laughter attunes people to each other.

Not everyone is funny - or chuckles easily - by nature. But even if you have to fake it, laughter can boost your health. Lisa Collier Cool explains that a researcher at Vanderbilt University, Maciej Buchowski, found that 10-15 minutes of laughing burned off 50 calories, while another laughter scientist, William Fry, said that one minute of robust laughter sent his heart rate to the same level as 10 minutes on a rowing machine. She also mentions that Ron Berk, PhD, retired psychologist from Johns Hopkins Medical School, began telling jokes in class and noticed his students performed better in exams. In this material world there are many reasons to be sad. But there are many more reasons to be happy, grateful, and to do something wonderful in this world.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Smile. Because you are spirit soul. Smile because you are eternal. Smile because God is in your heart. Smile because you can chant the Holy Names. Smile because you can go to the temple and do service. ... Smile because Krishna loves you. ... Smile because you can make yourself useful in helping others. Smile because your life is a chance to make others smile. Their smile is a flower and every flower is a smile of God. And if you smile for God your smile becomes like a flower to attract people to God. So don’t show your stone face, in South America we say, don’t show your wood face, don’t show your negativity. ... Be joyful, be thankful. And laugh about yourself. But really, have a good laugh, I mean a real thundering laughter, laugh about this silly guy who gets angry, who eats too much, who likes to hide behind other peoples faults, who has a big ego although he is a little nobody.

Śrīla Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti Mahārāja :
Vrinda Sunday Chats
Chat from Berlin,Germany, August 9, 2009.
http://vrindachats.blogspot.com.ar/
http://vrindachats.blogspot.com/2009/08/august-92009.html

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
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TOBACCO COMPANIES ORDERED TO ADMIT LIES

TOBACCO COMPANIES ORDERED TO PUBLICLY
ADMIT DECEPTION ON SMOKING DANGERS

http://edition.cnn.com - Tobacco companies have been ordered by a federal judge to publicly admit, through advertisements and package warnings, that they deceived American consumers for decades about the dangers of smoking. Federal Judge Gladys Kessler issued her ruling Tuesday in one of the last legal steps settling liability in the long-running government prosecution of cigarette makers. “By ensuring that consumers know that [tobacco companies] have misled the public in the past on the issue of secondhand smoke in addition to putting forth the fact that a scientific consensus on this subject exists,” said Kessler, “defendants will be less likely to attempt to argue in the future that such a consensus does not exist.”
Several other lawsuits over cigarette labeling are pending in federal court, part of a two-decade federal and state effort to force tobacco companies to limit their advertising, and settle billions of dollars in state and private class-action claims over the health dangers of smoking. 

The judge, six years ago, concluded that tobacco companies were guilty of racketeering, and had ordered them to put tougher warning labels and other language in their marketing. The litigation had been tied up for years over the wording of such labels, but Kessler said Tuesday the language pushed by the Justice Department was factual. “Corrective statements” were ordered to be placed on five different areas, including: “Smoking is highly addictive. Nicotine is the addictive drug in tobacco” and “When you smoke, the nicotine actually changes the brain - that's why quitting is so hard.” 
Another mandated message says: “A Federal Court has ruled that the Defendant tobacco companies deliberately deceived the American public about designing cigarettes to enhance the delivery of nicotine, and has ordered those companies to make this statement. Here is the truth: Smoking kills, on average, 1200 Americans. Everyday.” Other areas deal with second-hand smoke dangers, and the false benefits of so-called “low tar” and “mild” cigarettes marketed by some companies.

Major tobacco companies who spent decades denying they lied to the US public about the dangers of cigarettes must spend their own money on a public advertising campaign saying they did lie, a federal judge ruled. According to the ruling, one of the statements says: “Tobacco companies intentionally designed cigarettes to make them more addictive.” Another says: “All cigarettes cause cancer, lung disease, heart attacks, and premature death.” Tobacco companies have to admit that they deceived all people around the world - not just Americans - by misleading advertising campaigns about the dreadful dangers of smoking, only to become super-billionaire without considering the damage they have done to the people.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Working in advertising is a big responsibility.  It is therefore essential that this profession should be run with consciousness and involve the truth. ... In fact, the principles of advertising such as suggestion and creativity can be put at the service of ecology, health, education, culture.  These themes are so important to mankind that never the work of publicists can be ignored. ... Advertising should show these facts to people, and free them of mental conditioning and pollution to which they have been subjected by the advertising with a bad conscience. The Spoon Revolution is an example that it is possible to cure the disease with the same machinery that caused it.  Conscious advertising and conscious commerce are not a problem.  The publisher has an important social function, so he is prompted to put forward campaigns for the common good.

Śrīla Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti Mahārāja :
“Conscious Advertising” - “Vedic Wisdom Collection”
http://www.sabiduriavedica.org/sv.php?id=109_81
http://bhaktipedia.org/espanol/index.php?n=sabidurias_vedicas.publicidad_conciente

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
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AN OLD AGE HOME FOR THE GODS

NEGLECTED DEITIES FROM SACRED
GROVES TAKEN TO AMEDA TEMPLE

www.thehindu.com - A century ago, around 25,000 sacred groves were believed to exist in Kerala, but now the numbers have dwindled to about 2,000. With 90 per cent of such groves disappearing from the face of land, it is a bad omen for the State ecologically. With the vanishing groves, the pond ecosystem that feeds the groundwater table and biodiversity of an area too disappears. 
Nobody wants a sacred grove on their part of the inherited land that would lower the salability of the property. It is either sold to non-Hindus or the grove is taken to another place where they will be happy after the observing the prescribed rituals. What happens when there is no one to look after them and the sacred groves (Sarpakavu) are left in the lurch? Ameda Temple is one of the temples that “accepts” the snake spirits of the sacred groves from places that the land owners are unable to maintain. “We try to talk to the land owners about preserving the ecosystem of the land.” 

“But most of the times the share of the land that has to be divided among the family would be small and the presence of the sacred grove would further lower the share. This brings them to us to conjure the spirits of their grove to join the Ameda temple groves,” said Vasudevan Namboothiri, one of the priests of the Ameda Mangalam, the family that runs the temple. “If the area has more space, we advise people to tend to the grove. But we do take it up when people from other religious communities approach us,” said Mr. Namboothiri, who has taken voluntary retirement after a long stint at Hindustan Newsprint in Velloor. 
With fast diminishing sacred groves, the down fall of society is imminent because it was the most natural way to preserve biodiversity, said N. C. Induchoodan, convener of the Project for Conservation of Sacred Groves in Kerala and the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Munnar. Only if people feel for nature and try to foresee a future for their children by preserving the ecology, rather than securing future for them through a better bank balance, can the sacred groves be maintained, said Dr. Induchoodan.

Ameda Temple is home to deities shifted out of neglected sacred groves (Sarpakavu). They are kept around a tree on the Ameda Temple premises near Kochi, a city in the Indian State of Kerala. Ameda Temple has the shrines dedicated to the Nagaraja and Nagayakshi along with the main deity known as Saptamathrukkal. “We are guided by astrological predictions in these rituals and sometimes if the spirits do not want to leave the place, no ritual or prayers can help,” said Mr. Namboothiri. The priests at Ameda had in a year invoked the spirits of about a hundred sacred groves to Ameda. “And these rituals have been on the rise for the last two decades. Earlier, it was just one or two such rituals in a year”, explained Mr. Vasudevan Namboothiri, one of the priests of Ameda Mangalam. Sacred groves should be cared for, worshiped and respected. The ones which still survive today are a reminder of the old Vedic culture.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Vrajbhumi, the region around Vrindavan, always had a very good environmental balance, following the traditional pattern of Hindu India. This balance was achieved through the relationship between human settlements, forests and water resources. Between the villages there would be three types of forest patches: forest sanctuaries, dense woodland and sacred groves. ... These groves were usually composed of fruit trees and were maintained by the village as places for religious observance, festivals and recreation. A typical pastime was Julan, swinging from a seat suspended from the branches of a tree. Most recreation, such as dancing or singing, had to do with religious festivals like rasalila, the circle dance of Krishna. This commemorates Sri Krishna's dancing with the cowherd girls during the full-moon night of the autumn season in the sacred groves on the banks of the Yamuna river.

Ranchor Prime (Śripad Ranchor Dasa) :
“Hinduism & Ecology”
Chapter Three: “Forest Splendour”
Friends of Vrindavan (FOV) - WWF
http://www.fov.org.uk/hinduism/hinduism.html
http://www.fov.org.uk/aims/aims.html

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
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'DUMB WAYS TO DIE' VIDEO GOES VIRAL

MELBOURNE METRO TRAINS SAFETY
CAMPAIGN TURNS INTERNET SENSATION

www.iol.co.za - A catchy tune, some cute animated figures and a giggle at blood on the train tracks has delivered almost 12 million YouTube hits for an Australian passenger safety message called Dumb Ways to Die. “It's distracting. It's wonderful. We're thrilled. It's been a huge hit for us,” Melbourne's Metro Trains spokeswoman Leah Waymark said Wednesday. “Getting young people thinking perhaps thinking twice before they do something dumb, that's a great outcome.” 
John Mescall, creative director at advertising agency McCann Worldgroup's Melbourne office, said the key to producing the nation's fastest-trending internet hit ever was sneaking up on those the safety message was intended to reach. “If it looks and smells and tastes like an ad, it won't get shared,” he said. “You need a good title. Dumb Ways to Die! Who wouldn't click on that? If we'd called it How to Behave Around Trains, you'd be looking at just 100 000 shares.” 

Mescall put the rip-roaring success down to breaking the taboo and being funny about death. “I think a part of us needs to do that,” he said. “It's like laughing at the thing that's hiding in the corner that's going to get us all in the end.” - Sapa-dpa.  The brains behind the clip, John Mescall, says he has been taken back by the response. He says YouTube has told him it is one of the most successfully shared files on mobile devices. ''From the beginning we planned to make it very shareable, but look you can never plan for something to be the biggest viral campaign in the world,” he said. The song can also be downloaded from iTunes. It has become an unexpected hit in several Asian countries including Taiwan, Vietnam and Singapore. 
Ms Waymark says while the popularity of the video has been overwhelming, she says the importance of the message should not be lost. “To have young people singing about safety around trains is just a terrific outcome for us,” she said. The video has knocked off Rihanna's Diamonds and Psy's Gangnam Style to be number one on the Viral Video Chart.

It's hard not to like “Dumb Ways To Die”, the cute, three-minute animation that this week became Australia's fastest spreading viral advertisement and which promotes safety around trains. It features a bunch of colourful, pill-shaped figures, each demonstrating a ludicrous way to kill oneself - taking one's helmet off in space, using one's private parts as piranha bait, scratching a drug dealer's new car. At the song's final verse we get the message: that possibly the dumbest ways to die are by being too close to the edge of a train station platform, driving around the boom gates at a level crossing, or running across the tracks between the platforms. Humour is importantat because “young people often see themselves as being indestructible so shock images of body bags don't work,” said Leah Waymark, the Melbourne's Metro Trains spokeswoman. Why do we like doing activities that are risky for us? To escape from these harmful behaviours we should have a greater commitment to our inner self and the Supreme.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

The average lifetime of a human being consists of many days and nights, so major scares are bound to come up every now and then, incidents which bring a person to the verge of death or some other major calamity. Some things such as accidents and natural disasters are more or less unavoidable, but other scares come about through choices that are made. ... but how do people react to these near-death experiences if they do occur? ... Why do we repeatedly perform activities that we know are bad for us? ... Harmful behavior can only be eradicated if we have a higher engagement. ... The problem is that the activities which best stimulate the senses are often those which are the most harmful. So what can be done? The Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, tell us that the living entities need a higher engagement, something which transcends all other activities. ... This discipline is known as Bhakti-yoga, or devotional service.

Krishna'sMercy.org - Jai Shri Krishna :
“Dangerous Behavior” - Posted on July 17, 2010
http://www.krishnasmercy.org/dotnetnuke/
http://krishnasmercy.wordpress.com/2010/07/17/dangerous-behavior/

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
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PHONY DENTIST TOOK ADVANTAGE OF IMMIGRANTS

UNLICENSED DENTIST IN FLORIDA
PREYED ON UNDOCUMENT IMMIGRANTS

http://miami.cbslocal.com - A fake or without an active license dentist, already under investigation for practicing medicine without a license, is now accused of treated a woman for her toothache and then kissing her buttocks after an injection, according to a Hollywood Police report.
The allegations against John Collazos, 47, stem from an incident in November 2010. After a two year search, Collazos was arrested by Davie (Florida - USA) Police in September 2012 for practicing medicine without a license and battery. Police said four victims have been identified and this is an on-going investigation. Police say the 2010 incident occurred in an apartment on Fillmore Street.
Collazos allegedly performed dental work from a makeshift office inside the unit. The unidentified victim told police that she went to Collazos to get treatment for a toothache. She told police that Collazos put some sort of paste in her mouth, but she told him it did nothing to alleviate the pain. 

Collazos then allegedly told the victim that he needed inject her with medication in the buttocks. While her pants were down, the alleged victim said Collazos kissed her buttocks and touched her privates. According to the report, the woman told her sister what had happened, and her sister urged her to call police. Police say by the time they arrived, Collazos had fled through a back door. Davie Police Captain Dale Engle said, “Back in July, we had a female come forward, hesitantly, but she was concerned about her immigration status, but she was was referred to this individual through an acquaintance. When she came on one of the visits, he made some sexually overt comments and ultimately touched her inappropriately, so she did finally come forward.” 
Police investigators believe there could possibly be more suspects and want anyone who may have been to this man's “practice” to come forward. Police had been investigating Collazos when he had a practice in the City of Hollywood, but before police could arrest him, he packed up and fled towards Davie city.

Police from Davie, Florida (USA) issued a search warrant and arrested the alleged unlicensed dentist, 47-year-old John Collazos. He owned and operated a dental supply company out of the warehouse and also performed dental services in the back of the warehouse. Collazos preyed on undocumented immigrants, and when one woman went to him to have some dental work done, he allegedly made ​​indecent proposals. This phony or without an active license dentist has been charged with four counts of practicing dentistry without a license, four counts of using dental equipment and one count of battery. In this age of Kali yuga the inclination to deceive others is one of the most prevailing defects of the conditioned soul.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

This is called samsāra-dāvānala. Even in ordinary transactions between two people, there is invariably cheating because the conditioned soul is defective in four ways - he is illusioned, he commits mistakes, his knowledge is imperfect, and he has a propensity to cheat. Unless one is liberated from material conditioning, these four defects must be there. Consequently every man has a cheating propensity, which is employed in business or money transactions. ... One may profess a high philosophy, but when one is in need of money, he becomes a cheater. ... Unless one can find a person transcendental to the four basic defects, one should not accept advice and become a victim of the material condition. The best process is to take the advice and instructions of Śrī Krishna or His bona fide representative. In this way one can be happy in this life and the next.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam - Canto 5: “The Creative Impetus”
Chapter 14: “The Material World as the Great Forest of Enjoyment”
Verse 26 - Bhaktivedanta VedaBase

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
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GERMAN EXPERT CALLS FOR ACTIONS AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE

4 DEGREES MORE, THERE WILL BE RISK OF
CROSSING TIPPING POINTS IN EARTH SYSTEM

www.nzweek.com - A German expert called for strengthened actions against global warming Friday, days before the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Doha next week. “With the current pledges made by countries and their measures, we are on the course of 3.5 or 4 degrees Celsius warming towards the end of the century,” said professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, director of Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). “We have to avoid that,” urged Schellnhuber, who is also the Chairman of German Advisory Council on Global Change, an advisory body for German federal government. “A four-degree-Celsius-increase world would be one of unprecedented heat waves, severe drought, and major floods in many regions, with serious impacts on ecosystems and associated services,” warned a report conducted by PIK and Berlin-based Climate Analytics for the World Bank. 
In Copenhagen Climate Change Conference 2009, the target of global warming by 2100 was set at below 2 degrees Celsius, compared with the level in the pre-industrialization time. 

Representatives from nearly 200 countries will gather at Doha next week for the 18th Conference of Parties to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. “We have technical means for the goal of 2 degrees Celsius, we have probably even the money for doing that, but we do not have the political will so far,” said Schellnhuber. At the Climate Change Conference 2011 in Durban, South Africa, parties agreed to start from 2013 the second commitment period of Kyoto Protocol, the only legally binding treaty for emission reduction currently. A protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under the Convention applicable to all parties, was also decided to be set no later than 2015 and to be implemented from 2020. 
The following two climate change negotiations this year in Bonn, Germany and Bangkok, Thailand, however, failed to see progress in agreement on climate protection. Developed and developing countries could not reach consensus either on the length of the second commitment period or even the principle to which should be respected in the new legal instrument set to come into force from 2020.

According a report for the World Bank in Berlin, a 4-degree warmer world must be, avoided. “If we cannot solve this problem today, we will solve it in ten years, but in ten years, it will be too late,” said professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, “you cannot negotiate with nature, while we are quarreling, nature will just march on.” The poorest in the world are those that will be hit hardest, making development without climate policy almost impossible, the researchers conclude. By taking from nature without thanking the Supreme Creator or giving back by performing selfless acts, we reap nature’s reactions, such as floods, droughts, famines and unbearable weather conditions especially for the poorest.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

We can save the earth from further deterioration only when we can understand the root cause of the present environmental disaster. Scientists may explain the crisis from their logical perspectives but we, spiritualists, have our own definite views. ... The earth is the source of all essentials of livelihood for all the living beings here. Therefore, the Vedas refer to this planet as 'Mother Earth'. Even as recently as five thousand years ago, the earth produced grains like wheat and rice without the soil being tilled. Every wave of the ocean deposited pearls at the shore and valuable minerals were visible on the uppermost surface of the mountains because most people who lived at that time were pious. The earth caters to everyone's needs, but today we suffer because of our greed for the enjoyment of our senses and for wealth. Our sensual appetite has degraded to such an extent that human society has been reduced to an animalistic society.

Śrīla Bhakti Swarup Tirtha Mahārāja :
"Only God Can Save This Earth"
Discourse at Maryland University, USA
Gaudiya Vaishnava Association
http://www.gva.in/index.php

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
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RELAX, THE WORLD WON'T END NEXT MONTH: EXPERT

THE “END OF THE WORLD” MAYA STONE
RECOUNTS LIFE AND BATTLES OF A RULER

www.brisbanetimes.com.au - Relax doomsayers, the Maya people did not really mark their calendar for the end of the world on December 21, 2012. As tourists book hotels rooms in Mexico's Maya Riviera and Guatemalan resorts ahead of next month's fateful date, experts are busy debunking the doomsday myth. The apocalyptic prophecy that has inspired authors and filmmakers never appears in the tall T-shaped stone calendar that was carved by the Maya around the year 669 in southeastern Mexico. In reality, the stone recounts the life and battles of a ruler from that era, experts say. Plus, the last date on the calendar is actually December 23, 2012, not the 21st, and it merely marks the end of a cycle. 
So no need to build giant arks, because the terrible floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions depicted in the Hollywood blockbuster 2012 were not prophesied by the Mayas. “The Mayas had a cyclical idea of time. They were not preoccupied with the end of the world,” Mexican archaeologist Jose Romero said. The stone, known as Monument 6, was located in El Tortuguero, an archaeological site that was discovered in 1915. 

Broken in six pieces, the different fragments are exhibited in US and Mexican museums, including Tabasco's Carlos Pellicer Camara Anthropology Museum and New York's Metropolitan Museum. “The last inscription refers to December 23, 2012, but the central theme of Monument 6 is not the date, it's not the prophecies or the end of the world. It's the story of (then ruler) Bahlam Ajaw,” Romero said. The final date represents the end of a cycle in the Mayan long count calendar that began in the year 3114 before Christ. It is the completion of 13 baak t'uunes, a unit of time equivalent to 144,000 days. 
“It is not the end of the Mayan long count calendar, which is endless. It's the beginning of a new cycle, that's all,” said Mexican historian Erick Velasquez. Though the Maya made prophecies, they looked at events in the near future and were related to day-to-day concerns like rain, droughts, or harvests. The belief that the calendar foresees the end of the world comes from Judeo-Christian interpretations, the experts said.

The first study on the stone was published by a German researcher in 1978. Since then, various archaeologists have examined its significance and agree that it refers to the December 23 date and not December 21 as stated commercially. Mexican historian Velasquez warned against giving too much weight to Monument 6, noting that it is just one of more than 5000 stones from the Mayan culture that have been studied. The earth still has a few years left, even in eyes of the ancient Maya: Some stones refer to the year 7000. Therefore, from the point of view of Science, Astronomy, Mayan Prophecy or even the ancient Hindu Astrology and Vedantic Cosmology there appears to be little reason  to be concerned that the world will end in one month.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Vedantic cosmology describes that the universe is maintained for a specific period before it is wound up. At the beginning of each cycle of creation of the universe, Lord Brahma, the first created cosmic living being is born. A day of Brahma is called a kalpa and one kalpa consists of a thousand cycles of four yugas, or ages, called Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali. The same number comprises one night of Brahma and he lives one hundred such years and then dies. Satyayuga lasts 1,728,000 years; Tretayuga lasts 1,296,000 years; Dvaparayuga lasts 864,000 years; and Kaliyuga lasts 432,000 years. Thus one hundred years of Lord Brahma equal 311 trillion and 40 billion earth years. According to Vedantic cosmology, our universe starts with the birth of Lord Brahma and he is at present a little more than 50 Brahma-years old. Thus our present universe started about 155.522 trillion (155.522 x 10^12) years ago and will end in 155.518 trillion (155.518 x 10^12) years and just after that a new cycle of creation will begin again.

T.D. Singh, Ph.D. - Śrīla Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Mahārāja :
“Hinduism and Science”
“Universe - A Brief Overview of its Origin, Maintenance, and Dissolution”
Science and Scientist - Bhaktivedanta Institute Newsletter
January - March 2008 - scienceandscientist.org
http://www.krishnascience.com  -  http://www.bhaktisvarupadamodara.com/

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
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THANKSGIVING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

TODAY THANKSGIVING CELEBRATIONS,
FESTIVE DAY TO THANK GOD AND OTHERS

www.boldsky.com - Thanksgiving is not just the festival of America but there is more to it than it being called just a “Harvest Festival”. It is said that contentment is the greatest happiness in life so it is always right to thank all those who have been responsible for what we are today. Thanksgiving is the festival of remembering people who sacrificed their lives for our well being. It gives great pleasure to people when their work is recognized. When a person is expressed by two beautiful words “Thank You”, it will motivate him to help more and for the one who thanks others will get the satisfaction of recognizing the other person's favor. 
It is said that the two words are the top of all virtues in the world. According to the traditional significance of thanksgiving, the festival is mainly celebrated to thank God for the good harvest he has given and is praised through various hymns and prayers. Here some significances of Thanksgiving: 

Family Bonding: The main significance of Thanksgiving is that it is the festival of bondage between family members. The children are told various stories by the elders of the family. They are thought family values and respect to elders. Special recipes are prepared and are rejoiced together with dance and other amusements. Cooking meal: On the festive day, the family enjoys home cooked delicious food, in contrast with the other festivals where canned food are bought from restaurants. Family values and festive traditions: The family members dance, sing, cook, play games and do various activities together. It is the day of fun and joy as well as the day to imbibe values and festive traditions in small ones.  
Meaning of life: Thanksgiving is the day where elders in the family teach children on how to lead life and the importance of living. The elders educate their young ones on how to shape their future living. Thanking day: It is not only the day to thank the almighty but also the day to thank parents and elders who have been there in every ups and downs of life. It is important for kids to know that thanksgiving day is not just a national holiday but has so much significance added to it that makes it the most celebrated festival worldwide.

Nowadays, Thanksgiving is not just a festival of the USA but is celebrated and rejoiced all around the globe. According to Anjana, the writer of the article, the main importance of Thanksgiving is that it is the day where family members are together. The relatives who stay away also come down to meet the members of the family and celebrate the oneness with delicious food. The elders narrate their bitter experiences and hardships that they faced to get to what they presently are. It is important for kids to know the idea and significance behind the thanksgiving celebrations as they should be aware of the emotions and sensitivities related to the festival. Not only on Thanksgiving Day we celebrate life, eating and praying together as a family, but every day we should thank God for all the blessings we have received from Him.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

The tendency to want to eliminate humanity’s sources of wisdom and enlightenment and to exclude them, to pretend proposing that God does not exist and that all kind of revelation simply is an invention of the human intellect mixed with lies - this shows atheism. ... Humanity’s experience teaches us that atheism is unbearable. A life without God leads to something psychopathic, to trauma and disease, depressions, chaos and total immorality. ... The suffering of your being will accompany you life after life, until you are ready to bow your head before God and thank Him for everything He has done for you, and until you before Him promise to accept that He has given you your criterion and intelligence to do something wonderful on earth, and not just to rush through the world and exploit its resources and make humanity to cry and bleed through the skimpy  purpose of an atheistic mentality.

Śrīla Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti Mahārāja :
“Conscious Art”
“A culture of Divine Love”
http://bhaktipedia.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php
http://www.vrindanews.com/nectar/conscious_art.html

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

HAPPY TEENS EARN MORE AS ADULTS

HAPPY TEENAGERS MORE LIKELY
TO GROW INTO WEALTHY ADULTS

www.thenewage.co.za - Happy, positive, extroverted teens are more likely than their gloomier, moodier peers to make more money and grow into wealthy adults, according to new research out of the UK. One of the main reasons? Happy and positive young adults tend to envision brighter futures and are more likely to work towards a degree, find work, and get promoted quicker compared to their moodier counterparts, say researchers from the University of Warwick and University College London. 
After analyzing data from 15,000 adolescents in the US, scientists found that those who reported higher life satisfaction went on to make earn “significantly” higher levels of income later in life. For example, a one-point increase in life satisfaction on a five-point scale at the age of 22 translated to a $2,000 increase in higher earnings per annum at the age of 29, the study found. The results of the findings were published November 19 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

“For the general public - and parents in particular - these findings show that the emotional well-being of children and adolescents is key to their future success, yet another reason to ensure we create emotionally healthy home environments,” said study lead author Jan-Emmanuel De Neve. For their study, researchers made comparative notes with siblings, showing that even within the same family, happier, more optimistic, extroverted and less neurotic teens tend to go on to earn higher incomes. 
De Neve said that the study suggests that policies to measure and improve happiness in teenagers will provide benefits in their later lives. “Everybody feels intuitively that the individuals who have a sunny disposition have a larger network and more opportunities seem to come their way, they are more likely to rise in an organisation and become a leader in the group. All these things have indirect ways of ending up in higher earnings and there is a direct effect that goes direct to income,” De Neve explains.

The happier you are as a teenager, the more money you are likely to earn by the time you reach 30, according to a long-term study that tracked the well-being and income of more than 10,000 people. Researchers found that the unhappiest people at age 16 and 18 earned 30% less than average earnings a decade later, whereas the happiest earned around 10% more than average. Society focuses on making money to become happy, but successful in life is not only measured in terms of high-income; relationship between happiness and render selfless and lovely service also work both ways. We should understand, at least at a theoretical level, that we are all spirit souls and the real source of our happiness and inner fulfillment is devotional service to the Lord.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

The first adhikarana of the Vedanta-sutra discusses brahma-jijnasa (inquiry into Brahman). This statement is confirmed by the following statements of Vedic scripture: “The Supreme Personality of Godhead (bhuma) is the source of genuine happiness. Nothing else can bring one actual happiness. Only the Supreme Personality of Godhead can bring one happiness. For this reason one should inquire about the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” - Chandogya Upanishad 7.25.1 ... Sutra 14: “Because the Vedic literatures declare that the anandamaya person is the source of bliss for others, (it should be understood that the anandamaya person is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and not the individual spirit soul).” This is confirmed by the following statement of Taittiriya Upanishad (2.7): “Who is that person, without whom the living entities cannot feel happiness? That is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who delights the individual spirit souls.” This passage explains that the Supreme Brahman is the origin of happiness for the individual spirit souls.

Śrīla Baladeva Vidyabhushana :
“Vedanta Sutra”
http://nitaaiveda.com/All_Scriptures_By_Acharyas/Baladeva_Vidyabhushana/Vedanta_Sutra/Preface.htm
http://gaudiyahistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Baladeva_Vidyabhusana_Sri_Vedanta-sutra.pdf

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