LORD GANESHA'S NAMES

LORD GANESHA AND 

HIS SANSKRIT NAMES

www.boldsky.com - Lord Ganesha is given prime importance among the Panch Devtas. The Panch Devtas are Lord Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti and Surya. In Hindu mythology, Panch Devtas together makes the Brahman (universe), which is supreme and absolute. Lord Ganesha is the son of lord Shiva and the God is given the first honour of worship in Hinduism. Before undertaking anything auspicious Hindus offer prayers to Lord Ganesha. In Hindu families it is a tradition to take 10 Sanskrit names of Lord Ganesha before undertaking any new initiative. So, here are the 10 Sanskrit names of the Lord Ganesha with their meanings. 
1. Sumukh: This represents one who has a beautiful face. The idol of lord Ganesha is considered very beautiful. Though, Ganesha's small eyes signify seriousness. Long nose and his flat long ears reflects his wisdom and intellect because by means of them he listens to the complaints and grievances of his devotees. 2. Ek danta: This means the one who has one tooth. There is a story behind the reason why Ganesha is called 'ek danta'.

3. Kapil: Cow is known as Kapila. The priests believed that as cow gives milk to make life of a man healthy, similarly, Lord Ganesha gives knowledge and wisdom that keeps man happy. 4. Gajakarna: 'Gaja' mean elephant and 'karna' means ears. Ganesha has ears of an elephant and therefore he is known as Gajakarna. 5. Lambodar: Lambodar means the one who has big belly. 6. Vikat: It means ferocious and dreadful. Lord Ganesha stands firmly to defeat all the evils. So, he is also known as Vikat. 7. Vighnanash: Lord Ganesha is believed to be the destroyer of all evil and calamities. Hence, he is known as Vighnanash. 8. Dhoomra Ketu: Dhoomra Ketu means agni or fire. Lord Ganesha destroys all hindrance which comes in the way of mankind.
9. Ganadhyaksha: It means controller or a guru. As Hindu mythology believes that Lord Ganesha controls all human beings, demons, vedas etc. So, he is also known as Ganadhyaksha. 10. Bhalchandra: This mean the one who has moon on his head. Moon signifies the Universe, therefore Ganesha is also known as Bhalchandra.

Lord Ganapati or Ganesha is known to help human beings in their difficulties and He enables man to achieve the success by providing strength and courage. The author of the article, Apoorva Srivastav, explains the reason why Ganesha is called 'ek danta'. The story says, once his mother Parvati went to take a bath. She told Ganesha to stand on the entrance and not allow anyone to enter inside. Then, Lord Parashuram arrived there and he tried to enter the place where Parvati was taking a bath. But when Ganesha objected to this, Parashuram got angry and attacked Ganesha with his weapon. Ganesha then lost one of his teeth and was named "Ek Danta". Ganesha is considered as the Lord who overcomes all obstacles. 

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

The elephant head of Lord Ganesha signifies the highest intelligence, buddhi. It represents the largest brain matter. The trunk of Lord Ganesha signifies the discretionary power. He can pick up a needle from a heap of grass. The large ears of Lord Ganesha signify the importance of hearing - to accept what is good and reject what is not useful to us. The small eyes of Lord Ganesha symbolize concentration and the power to focus our attention on what we should while shutting out the rest. The Vedas of Lord Ganesha signify the importance of knowledge in our lives. ... In the traditional Hindu temple, the worship ceremonies are conducted with an organized set of rituals.  The temple priest usually begins the ceremony by offering a prayer to Lord Ganesha that all obstacles may be removed.

Dr. Hiro Badlani:
“Hinduism - Path of the Ancient Wisdom”
Chapter 52 “Symbols and Icons in Hinduism”
Chapter 53 “Hindu Customs” -  http://hinduismpath.com/

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
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TURMERIC CAN FIGHT MANY DISEASES

TURMERIC: SPRINKLE ON
THIS SPICE FOR GOOD HEALTH

www.chiroeco.com - Turmeric, a yellow spice in the ginger family, is a staple of Asian cuisine. Turmeric powder is dried from the root of the Curcume longa plant. Grown primarily in India, it is exported worldwide. You can eat it fresh or dried. Although turmeric has a peppery flavor, it isn't hot. Research suggests that turmeric may be able to improve or prevent many health conditions. In some instances, this is due to Curcumin, one of turmeric's main ingredients. Curcumin, which gives turmeric its yellow color, has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties.
People in India and China have consumed turmeric for centuries in curry, and have also used it for its medicinal properties. Studies show that people who consumed turmeric had minimal or no side effects. The most common side effect was gastrointestinal issues.

Particular medical conditions that studies have shown turmeric can help or prevent include: Alzheimer's. Turmeric's anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties may help to block the production of the IL-2 protein, which destroys the nerve's protective coating. Arthritis. Turmeric’s anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties help relieve joint pain. Cancer. Curcumin initiates the self-destruction of cancer cells and prevents their growth. It may help to prevent or treat breast, prostate, colon, lung, skin and colorectal cancers as well as leukemia. 
Cardiovascular disease. Turmeric can lower your cholesterol levels, which helps to prevent heart disease. Indigestion. Curcumin stimulates your gallbladder to make bile, which may improve digestion. Liver disease. Consuming turmeric can increase your liver's enzyme production, which helps to detoxify your blood and eliminate toxins. Also, as an antibacterial agent, turmeric can help to heal skin injuries.

The turmeric, known as ‘Haldi’ in Hindi, is an essential ingredient in Indian cuisine also has substantial health benefits and medicinal properties. It is considered the golden spice of India. The author of the article, Ms. Karen Appold - a medical writer in Royersford, Pennsylvania, USA - explains that studies show that turmeric may also help with a host of other health conditions. For example, it may help: to relieve osteoarthritis symptoms, to prevent atherosclerosis, to treat uveitis, an eye inflammation, people with ulcerative colitis to remain in remission. In addition to consuming this spice in foods, you can also take it as a supplement, she says. According to old Indian custom, the threshold of the houses is applied with turmeric water. The turmeric prevents many insects, ants, and termites from entering the houses.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

The turmeric spice was a major part in Indian culinary dating back to 3000 B.C. The turmeric plant requires hot climate with light soil. The hot and humid climate of India suits the growth of tropical turmeric plant. In Sanskrit, turmeric is known as “Haridra”. Turmeric was not only used in Indian delicacies but was also used extensively in Ayurveda, an ancient Indian medical system of preventive health care. Turmeric was not known to the western world until the medieval period. In 13th century, the Arabian traders introduced turmeric to Europe. Turmeric was then known as “Indian Saffron”. Turmeric is used in Indian rites and rituals. Turmeric mixed in water is poured on the idols of Gods and Goddesses in the temples as a part of ritual ablution, ‘Abhishekam’. The dried turmeric root is considered as symbol of purity, prosperity, and fertility

.

"Turmeric Spice"
"The Golden Spice of Life - Turmeric in India"
Ramdev Food Products Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.turmeric.co.in
http://www.turmeric.co.in/turmeric_india.htm

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
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AUSTRALIA AND INDIA, GENETIC LINKS

ANCIENT MIGRATION: GENES 

LINK AUSTRALIA WITH INDIA

www.bbc.co.uk - Australia experienced a wave of migration from India about 4,000 years ago, a genetic study suggests. It was thought the continent had been largely isolated after the first humans arrived about 40,000 years ago until the Europeans moved in in the 1800s. But DNA from Aboriginal Australians revealed there had been some movement from India during this period. The researchers believe the Indian migrants may have introduced the dingo to Australia. 
In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they say that the fossil record suggests the wild dogs arrived in Australia at around the same time. They also suggest that Indians may have brought stone tools called microliths to their new home. To study the early origins of Australia's population, the team compared genetic material from Aboriginal Australians with DNA from people in New Guinea, South East Asia and India.

By looking at specific locations, called genetic markers, within the DNA sequences, the researchers were able to track the genes to see who was most closely related to whom. They found an ancient genetic association between New Guineans and Australians, which dates to about 35,000 to 45,000 years ago. At that time, Australia and New Guinea were a single land mass, called Sahul, and this tallies with the period when the first humans arrived. But the researchers also found a substantial amount of gene flow between India and Australia.
Prof. Mark Stoneking, from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, said: "We have a pretty clear signal from looking at a large number of genetic markers from all across the genome that there was contact between India and Australia somewhere around 4,000 to 5,000 years ago." "Our results show that there were indeed people that made a genetic contribution to Australians from India," Prof Stoneking explained.

A new study states the existence of a genetic contribution to Australians from India about 4,000 years ago. Researchers compared the DNA of Aboriginal Australians with Indians' genetic material. They looked at fossils and other archaeological discoveries that date to this period and concluded that changes in tool technology and new animals could possibly be attributed to the new migrants. The genetic data could not establish the route the Indians would have taken to reach the Australian continent, but it was evidence that Australia was not as cut off as had been assumed, Prof Mark Stoneking explained. Archaeological evidences confirm that since 4,500 B.C. or earlier, people moved from India to the west, and there was a lot of contact between India and Egypt, Sumeria, Mesopotamia, and others.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

This was also (around 4000 to 5000 B.C. or earlier) when the Vedic culture was spreading throughout the world, either because of reasons of trade, migration, or because some of the degenerated tribes were driven out of the Indian region. Some of the first tribes to have left India may include the Prithu-Parthavas (who later became the Parthians), the Druhyus (who became the Druids), the Alinas (Hellenes or ancient Greeks), the Simyus (Sirmios or ancient Albanians), the Cinas (Chinese), and others. ... These were some of the earliest of Aryans who created the most ancient form of Indo-European society. They took with them their Vedic customs, language, rituals, etc., all of which gradually changed with time due to their lack of seriously following the Vedic traditions, or because of their loss of close contact with the orthodox homeland.

Stephen Knapp (Śrīpad Nandanandana dasa) :
"Death of the Aryan Invasion Theory"
http://www.stephen-knapp.com  -  http://www.stephenknapp.info/
http://www.stephen-knapp.com/death_of_the_aryan_invasion_theory.htm

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
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HINDU PRIEST JAILED IN US FOR VISA FRAUD

HINDU RELIGIOUS LEADER 

JAILED IN US FOR VISA FRAUD

http://www.indiatvnews.com - (Washington) A Hindu from India who had established a temple in Milwaukee city of the US state of Wisconsin, has been jailed for 37 months for religious visa fraud and would be deported to his native country after serving his sentence. A Milwaukee court gave its sentencing order after it found Sagarsen Haldar, aka Gopal Hari Das, who is the founder, president, CEO and spiritual leader of Gaudiya Vaisnava Society (GVS), guilty of fraudulently obtaining religious worker visas - known as R-1 visas - for Indian nationals in exchange for substantial cash payments. 
According to evidence at trial, Haldar conspired to sponsor more than two dozen Indian nationals to enter the US under R-1 visas. Typically, the R-1 applications falsely stated that the individuals were religious workers from India who planned to be priests and perform religious work at the GVS temple in Milwaukee, the court was told.

In fact, the Indian nationals had no religious training or experience, and they had no intention of being priests or performing religious work once they arrived in the United States, it was told. In the scheme, Haldar charged Indian nationals as much as USD 30,000 each in exchange for his assistance to fraudulently obtain R-1 visas. The fraudulent priests typically made substantial cash payments to Haldar and his associates in India, and were indebted to him for the balance once they arrived in the US. They worked at convenience stores in Milwaukee, drove taxi cabs and paid Haldar from what they earned. 
"This country's immigration system is not for sale, and those who think they can exploit the system for personal gain will pay the price for their crimes," said Gary Hartwig, special agent in charge for HSI Chicago. 32-year-old Haldar would be deported to India after serving his sentence.

Sagarsen Haldar, aka Gopal Hari Das, spiritual leader of Gaudiya Vaisnava Society (GVS) in Milwaukee, USA,  was charged in June 2010 after Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) special agents arrested him at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago as he arrived in the United States from India. A search of Haldar's luggage revealed that he was transporting identification documents - including passports and other Indian identification documents - bearing the names and photographs of other Indian nationals. Haldar used the GVS temple as a front for an elaborate religious visa fraud scheme. "Visa fraud not only undermines the integrity of our legal immigration process, it also poses a significant security vulnerability," said Hartwig, a US special agent. So long you are a conditioned soul, out of four defects, one of the defects is cheating propensity, vipralipsa. 

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Prabhupada: The thing is that one who is cheating you, he will cheat in twelve rupees, also he will cheat in fifty rupees.

Aksayananda: Yes, I know.
Prabhupada: He knows how to cheat you.
Aksayananda: Yes, they’re expert.
(...) 

Prabhupada: Cheating is one of the qualifications of the conditioned soul. ... Vipralipsa, vipralipsa. Bhrama, pramada, vipralipsa, karunatmika. So cheating is a qualification of the conditioned soul. Everyone is expert in cheating more or less. That is qualification. People take pride, “Oh, I have cheated. I am so expert that I have cheated.” When the lawyers make some agreement between the two lawyers, simply think “How I can cheat you?. How can I cheat you?” That’s all. The more one lawyer is expert in cheating, he is big lawyer. ... This is the world. Vañcaka-vañci. Whole world is going on, my Guru Maharaja used to say that one is cheater, another is cheated.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
Room Conversation in Vrindavana 
September 6, 1976 - 760906rc.vrn 
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
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MASSIVE LOSS OF LIFE IN BRAZIL NIGHTCLUB FIRE

AT LEAST 245 KILLED

IN BRAZIL NIGHTCLUB FIRE

www.cbsnews.com - A fire swept through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing at least 245 people and leaving at least 200 injured, police and firefighters said. Police Maj. Cleberson Braida told local news media that the 245 bodies were brought for identification to a gymnasium in the city of Santa Maria. That toll would make it one of the deadliest nightclub fires more than a decade. The cause of the fire is not yet known, officials said.
Civil Police and regional government spokesman Marcelo Arigoni told Radio Gaucha earlier that the total number of victims is still unclear and there may be hundreds injured. The newspaper Diario de Santa Maria reported that the fire started at around 2 a.m. at the Boate Kiss club in the city at the southern tip of Brazil, near the borders with Argentina and Uruguay. Santa Maria is a university city with a population of around a quarter of a million.

The death toll was expected to climb as firefighters continued to pull bodies from the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, said Col. Adilomar Silva, the regional coordinator of civil defense. Most of those killed appeared to have died of smoke inhalation. Hundreds are believed to have been injured, though an exact count was not immediately available. Many people were trampled in the panic to leave the club. Rodrigo Moura, whom the paper identified as a security guard at the club, said it was at its maximum capacity of between 1,000 and 2,000, and partygoers were pushing and shoving to escape.
Ezekiel Corte Real, 23, was quoted by the paper as saying that he helped people to escape. "I just got out because I'm very strong," he said. "Sad Sunday", tweeted Tarso Genro, the governor of the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. He said all possible action was being taken and that he would be in the city later in the day.

A fire swept through a popular nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing at least 245 people. The blaze broke out during a weekend when students were celebrating the end of summer. Students at many Brazilian universities return to school on Monday. There was a pyrotechnics show going on inside the club when the fire started. Authorities stopped short of blaming it for the blaze, saying the cause was still under investigation. The incident called to mind a 2003 nightclub fire in Rhode Island where pyrotechnics used by the heavy metal band Great White ignited a blaze that killed more than 90 people. Pyrotechnics were also involved in a 2004 night club fire in Argentina that killed 194 people and a 2009 explosion at a night club in Russia that left more than 100 dead. Unfortunately, there is danger in this world at every step and therefore, one can never know when some tragedy will strike.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

It is clearly explained that all planets in the material world - beginning from Brahmaloka down to the hellish planets - are unfit places for a devotee. padam padam yad vipadām na teshām. A place where there is danger at every step is certainly not a comfortable place. The Lord therefore says in Bhagavad-gītā (8.16): ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāh / punar āvartino 'rjuna / mām upetya tu kaunteya / punar janma na vidyate - "From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kuntī, never takes birth again." Thus there is no profit, even if one is promoted to the highest planet in the material universe, Brahmaloka. However, if one is somehow or other promoted to the abode of the Lord, he never returns to the material world.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa) SB 4.30.18
Canto 4: Creation of the Fourth Order
Chapter 30: The Activities of the Pracetās
Verse 18 - Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network 

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GATORADE TO DROP BVO AFTER CONSUMER COMPLAINTS

GATORADE PULLS INGREDIENT 

LINKED TO FLAME RETARDANT

www.chicagotribune.com - Responding to consumer concerns, PepsiCo announced Friday that it will remove brominated vegetable oil, an emulsifier, from citrus-flavored Gatorade sold in the U.S. Mississippi teenager Sarah Kavanagh launched an online petition in November that drew recent media attention, but the company said earlier customer complaints had sparked the reformulation. 
"While our products are safe, we are making this change because we know that some consumers have a negative perception of BVO in Gatorade, despite (it) being permitted for use in North American and Latin American countries," Gatorade spokeswoman Molly Carter said. "We began working on an alternative ingredient to BVO for the few Gatorade flavors that contain BVO, more than a year ago." "When I went to Change.org to start my petition, I thought it might get a lot of support because no one wants to gulp down flame retardant, especially from a drink they associate with being healthy," Kavanagh said.

Some countries, including those in the European Union and Japan, do not allow the use of brominated vegetable oil in food. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's last review of the chemical, conducted in the 1970s, called for more toxicological testing that was never performed, and it remains a legal dietary ingredient. Studies on BVO have suggested the chemical can build up in fatty tissues and cause reproductive and behavioral problems in rodents. 
A 2011 article in Scientific American noted that a few patients who binged on soda "have needed medical attention for skin lesions, memory loss and nerve disorders, all symptoms of overexposure to bromine." Carter said the company spent the year making sure the new Gatorade formulation "would not affect taste or functionality." Carter said BVO will be replaced with sucrose acetate isobutyrate, or SAIB, "one of the flavor emulsifiers we use internationally."

PepsiCo announced that it would no longer use an ingredient in Gatorade after consumers complained. The ingredient, brominated vegetable oil, which was used in citrus versions of the sports drink, was the object of a petition started on Change.org by Sarah Kavanaugh, a 15-year-old from Mississippi, USA, who became concerned about the ingredient after reading about it online. Studies have suggested there are possible side effects, including neurological disorders and altered thyroid hormones. "Companies like Gatorade can no longer sit back as thousands of consumers are asking for a change - they're compelled to do something about it," said Pulin Modi, senior campaigner at Change.org. A healthy life is manifested internally and externally. The simple life and high thoughts are the true values of life.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Real life is gratitude toward the supreme truth. A life of truth is really the only thing that we miss. Foods that are full of chemicals, insecticides and other artificial things definitely have undesirable effects. A natural life is one that unites all the elements and maintains them in total harmony, achieving an integral well-being. Such as: Eating natural foods. Preparing the kitchen with love. Eliminating artificial coloring, preservatives, and products. Strengthening our natural defenses with inner and outer cleanliness. Dressing in natural fiber such as cotton. Constructing our homes with natural elements such as adobe, bamboo, straw, and non-poisonous paints. Avoiding jarring noises that hurt our meditative and intellectual capacity. Combatting exploitation dressed up as science and medicine.

Casa de la Sabiduría - House of Wisdom
"Ecology - Natural Way of Life"
http://casadelasabiduria.org/
http://www.houseofwisdom.org/
http://www.houseofwisdom.org/english/advices_eco_natural.htm

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TWO YEARS AFTER TAHRIR SQUARE

EGYPT OPPOSITION IN CLASHES

ON REVOLUTION ANNIVERSARY

www.bbc.co.uk - Egyptian opposition supporters are gathering in central Cairo to mark two years since the start of the uprising that swept Hosni Mubarak from power. Police clashed with opponents of President Mohammed Morsi who are now converging on Tahrir Square. There are clashes in Alexandria and Suez. In Ismailia protesters set fire to the Muslim Brotherhood's party HQ. Critics accuse Mr Morsi of betraying the revolution. He denies this and has appealed for calm. An appeals court recently overturned Mr Mubarak's life sentence over the deaths of protesters and ordered a retrial. The 84-year-old former leader remains in detention at a military hospital.
Opposition supporters began converging on Tahrir Square on Friday morning. Some protesters have erected checkpoints to verify the identities of people passing through. Others have set up an exhibition of photographs of those killed in protests over the past two years.

The roads leading from Tahrir Square to several nearby government buildings and foreign embassies have been blocked by concrete walls since last November. Demonstrators tried to dismantle one of them on Thursday night, but a new wall was built to block entry to the Cabinet headquarters. The unrest continued overnight. On Friday, Nile TV reported worsening clashes outside the interior ministry near Tahrir Square. The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Tahrir Square says there are now large numbers of protesters there, but that the violence is restricted to a small corner of it, where teenagers are throwing stones at the parliament building. 
At least 25 people have been injured in clashes in Cairo since Thursday. Smaller rallies are taking place in other cities, including Alexandria, Ismailia, Suez and Port Said. Clashes were reported in at least two locations in Alexandria, with police firing tear gas and protesters burning tyres.

In the middle of a deep economic crisis, President Morsi has urged Egyptians to mark the anniversary in a 'peaceful and civilised way', but opposition groups continue to accuse him and his Muslim Brotherhood backers of betraying the goals of the revolution. Two years ago, on 25th January 2011, it began with a big dream: Millions of people went into the Cairo streets with the aim of toppling the dictatorial Mubarak regime and establishing a democracy in Egypt. But today, according to Professor Elie Podeh, the situation can be described in six words: disappointment, disillusionment, dissatisfaction, despair, distress and distrust. As much as the hopes for a change were big, so was the disappointment. There are problems and disturbances everywhere, so we should inquire about the cause of them and find out a solution to our miserable material life. 

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Sanatana Gosvami, who had been a wealthy minister in the Mohammedan government in India, presented himself to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and asked, ke ami, kene amaya jare tapa-traya: "Who am I? And why am I suffering the threefold miseries?" This is intelligence. We are constantly undergoing some sort of distress, whether caused by the body and mind, inflicted by other living entities, or brought about by natural disturbances. We don't want all these miseries, but they are forced upon us. So when one accepts a spiritual master, the first question should be, "Why am I suffering?" ... Asking about the ultimate cause of our suffering is called brahma-jijnasa, inquiry into the Absolute Truth. As it is said in the beginning of the Vedanta-sutra, athato brahma-jijnasa: "Having gotten the human form of life, one should inquire into Brahman, the Absolute Truth."

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
“The Journey of Self-Discovery” 
"The Self and Its Bodies"
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
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QUITTING SMOKING PROLONGS LIFE AT ANY AGE

SMOKERS HAVE SHORTER LIFE 

EXPECTANCY THAN NONSMOKERS

www.latimes.com - It's never too late to quit smoking, and researchers have new data to prove it. Even at the age of 64, kicking the habit can add four years to a person's life, while quitting by age 34 can increase life expectancy by a decade, according to a study published online Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine. 
After analyzing health data from more than 200,000 Americans, researchers calculated that current smokers were three times more likely to die during the course of the study compared with people who had never smoked. For the most part, their deaths were caused by smoking-related ailments, including heart and lung disease. Overall, their odds of surviving to age 80 were half as good as for never-smokers. But the study, one of two large-scale surveys in the journal providing updated information on smoking and mortality, saw significant benefits for those who quit.

Giving up smoking between the ages of 35 and 44 was associated with a gain of nine years of life, and those who quit between 45 and 54 lived an extra six years. "The good news is, because the risks are so big, the benefits of quitting are quite substantial," said study leader Prabhat Jha, an epidemiologist and director of the Center for Global Health Research, based in Toronto. While the U.S. smoking rate has declined to 19.3% among adults, there are still an estimated 45.3 million smokers in this country. Cigarette use is responsible for about 443,000 U.S. deaths each year, the CDC says. 
The two papers did not draw distinctions between people who smoked a pack a day and those who might smoke just a few cigarettes a day, said Dr. Steven Schroeder, director of the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center at UC San Francisco. The message needs to get out to young and old smokers alike, he said: "There's a ray of hope. It's never too late to quit."

Smokers lose at least one decade of life expectancy over non-smokers on average according to a new study. Kicking the smoking habit can add years of life even in one's 60s, new research in the New England Journal of Medicine shows. Younger smokers can gain a whole decade by quitting. We all know that quitting smoking is not easy and most of the time you’ll be unsuccessful. Studies have found that many smokers make five to seven attempts to quit smoking before quitting successfully. With that in mind it is important to keep trying to quit and taking every opportunity to make a renewed attempt to quit. As Amina Khan, author of the article, says: "It's never too late to quit smoking."

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

My father told me when he was young, nobody had any idea that cigarettes were bad.  It was fashionable to smoke cigarettes.  One movie star always had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.  The way he did it the whole of America was trying to imitate.  He was such a sex symbol and such a handsome heroic person.  His style became the fashion. ... but he died of cancer of the lips.  One of the most famous singers would sing while smoking a cigarette.  How can you smoke when you are singing!  It was amazing ... he died of cancer of the lungs only when he was forty.  So doctors began coming out and saying, ‘Cigarettes are going to kill you.  Stop Smoking!’  When that message came out cigarette smoking became more popular among the young people.  Because they are trying to prove to themselves, “I am daring. I am fearless.  I don’t care if I am risking my life.  I am going to do it to be cool.  Yes I know it will kill me.”  It’s so foolish.  It’s just the example of mentality of material existence.  We are not willing to listen to good advice.

Śrīla Radhanath Swami Mahārāja : 
“Listen To Good Advice”
http://www.radhanath-swami.net/
http://radhanathswami.info/archives
http://radhanathswami.info/knowledge/listen-good-advice-radhanath-swami#more-814

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WHEN WANTING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HAVING

WANTING STUFF IS MORE 

PLEASURABLE THAN HAVING IT

http://blogs.psychcentral.com - Wondering why your appetite for more “things” seems insatiable? A study to be published in the June 2013 Journal of Consumer Research confirms that people tend to find greater pleasure in wanting things vs. having things. “Thinking about acquisition provides momentary happiness boosts to materialistic people, and because they tend to think about acquisition a lot, such thoughts have the potential to provide frequent mood boosts. But the positive emotions associated with acquisition are short-lived,” said study author Marsha L. Richins. She continued, “Materialists are more likely to overspend and have credit problems, possibly because they believe that acquisitions will increase their happiness and change their lives in meaningful ways.” In other words, lusting after that new flat screen is pretty exciting. After purchasing, it morphs into “the TV.”

Most people in the age of consumerism can probably relate. When you hype yourself up for a new toy, the let down is sure to follow. People in pursuit of shiny objects tend to visualize those objects in certain ways. Big, bright, glistening pictures dance around in the their minds, enhancing the thrill of the pursuit. The cycle: We amp ourselves up in pursuit of “stuff.”  We acquire said stuff. We then feel let down or empty, or not nearly as fulfilled as we imagined when convincing ourselves we needed the stuff. So, we look for more stuff! Sometimes we are willing to go deeply into debt to get all the stuff, as if we were addicted. 
Why do we subject ourselves to this cycle again and again? This is where it gets interesting. It involves more than seeing the simple pattern or even understanding how it manifests in the mind. Here we need to delve into why people seek fulfillment in things that do not fulfill and then do it again and again and again.

Materialists tend to buy more than other consumers and are more willing to go into debt because they believe that buying things will make them happier. But does acquisition actually make them happier? "After the TV is set up and working, adjustments are made to the internal mental imagery. The internal images of “the TV in the living room” dull down, become smaller and lose their internal glisten. Good-bye pleasure. Time to look for the next temporary high. Sometimes the string of temporary consumer highs is expensive and debt begins to pile up. This is where problems develop," explains Mike Bundrant, the author of the article. The intensity of the illusory happiness drives materialistic experiences before making a purchase, and such pleasure vanishes when the desired object is achieved.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

There are endless possibilities for material enjoyment in the dreamland, and there are as many outlets for devotional service, or bhakti-yoga. In this highest discipline the temporary pleasure turns into ananda, or bliss. Instead of disturbing the mind, the various aspects to the material creation help to fuel the enthusiasm to please Krishna, who always reciprocates the devotee’s offerings. Sometimes He’ll remove obstacles that weren’t foreseen, keeping the devoted soul under His wing, protecting them like a pet child. The outlook of the individual then changes as well, as the eyes are said to be anointed with the salve of devotional love. Sort of like putting on rose colored glasses, seeing with the Krishna vision enables one to use everything around them properly and thus remain immune to the effects of the dreamland.

Krishna's Mercy.org - Jai Shri Krishna :
“Virtual Reality”
Written by: Keshava - Published on Aug 16, 2012
http://www.krishnasmercy.org/dotnetnuke/
http://www.krishnasmercy.org/dotnetnuke/News/Blog/tabid/57/EntryId/1238/Virtual-Reality.aspx

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

MORE ECO-CONSCIOUSNESS AT KUMBH MELA

KUMBH MELA: WORLD'S BIGGEST 

HOLY GATHERING AIMS GREEN

http://blogs.wsj.com - The Kumbh Mela, the largest religious gathering on Earth, began Monday in Allahabad, a city in northern India's Uttar Pradesh state. Between 80 and 100 million Hindus are expected to take part in the 55-day festival, bathing at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna, sacred rivers believed to cleanse sin and enable devotees to escape the cycle of death and rebirth. Environmentalists and religious leaders, concerned about the impact of such vast numbers of pilgrims camping on 20 square miles of floodplain, are hoping to appeal to the religious consciences of the visitors and encourage them to become more eco-conscious. 
For the first time at a Kumbh Mela, which takes place every three years, there is a "Green Camp" for pilgrims. The camp is backed by India's newly formed Green Pilgrimage Network, which aims to protect pilgrimage sites and make them more environmentally sustainable.

"We started with the concept that we should make this the green Kumbh Mela," said Chidanand Saraswati, a Hindu swami, or holy man, who is leading the eco-friendly camp - Global Sangam - on the banks of the Ganges. "Hindus have always cared for the environment but people have started to forget because of population growth and lack of resources," said the swami, who is also leader of the Parmarth Niketan an ashram in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. "But when they see their leaders and their gurus going in the green direction, they will follow," he told The Wall Street Journal's India Real Time.
The camp is using recyclable steel plates and utensils instead of plastic. It also has eco toilets, filtered drinking water instead of plastic bottles and will organize litter picking collections and tree planting along the banks of the sacred river. The local government and the High Court in Allahabad have also banned the use of plastic bags at the festival for the first time.

In order to raise awareness of the plight of the rivers at the Triveni Sangam (three river confluence), Kusum Vyas, founder and president of a U.S.-based environmental group called Living Planet Foundation said: “The rising population, illegal sand mining and dams cause a lot of stress on the environment and the rivers are the biggest casualties.” ... “It’s a lack of awareness, there has never been a campaign from the bottom up to educate people,” Ms. Vyas added. The Mela administration, led by the Commissioner of Allahabad,  has installed 35,000 individual toilets at the site, up from just over 20,000 at Allahabad’s last Kumbh Mela in 2001, when a total of 80 million gathered at the Allahabad confluence, where Hindus believe a mythical river, Saraswati, intersects with the Ganges and Yamuna, explains the author of the article, Joanna Sugden, a freelance journalist.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

The Indic environmental ethos declares that all aspects and phenomena of nature belong together and are bound in a physical as well as metaphysical relationship, and views life as a gift of togetherness and of mutual accommodation and assistance in a universe teeming with interdependent constituents. Agenda 21 has to be implemented with this sense of spirituality, morality and universality if religion is to play a significant role in creating and sustaining a momentum for ecological conservation in the hearts and minds of men, women and children. The Indic approach to the environment is even today a part of the living legacy of India. That legacy often seems to be embattled and imperilled all around, and yet it is endowed with an uncanny and time-tested resilience. In that resilience, there is hope and promise for India and the rest of the world.

H. E. Dr Laxmi Mall Singhvi
Former President of the World Congress on Human Rights
“The East is green” - August 1996.
http://www.ourplanet.com/imgversn/82/singhvi.html
http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Nature_Worship.htm

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