OLD MACHINERY’S ALUMINUM GEAR NOT RESULT OF NATURAL FORCES

300 MILLION YEAR OLD 
MACHINERY FOUND IN RUSSIA

www.utaot.com - Last year The Voice of Russia and other Russian sources were reporting that a 300 million year old piece of aluminum machinery had been found in Vladivostok. Experts said a gear rail appears to be manufactured and not the result of natural forces. According to Yulia Zamanskaya, when a resident of Vladivostok was lighting the fire during a cold winter evening, he found a rail-shaped metal detail which was pressed in one of the pieces of coal that the man used to heat his home.
Mesmerized by his discovery, the responsible citizen decided to seek help from the scientists of Primorye region. After the metal object was studied by the leading experts the man was shocked to learn about the assumed age of his discovery. The metal detail was supposedly 300 million years old and yet the scientists suggest that it was not created by nature but was rather manufactured by someone.

The question of who might have made an aluminum gear in the dawn of time remains unanswered. The find was very much like a toothed metal rail, created artificially. It was like parts are often used in microscopes, various technical and electronic devices says writer Natalia Ostrowski at KP UA Daily. The metal detail which was recently found by Vladivostok resident is yet another discovery which perplexed the scientists. 
The coal in which the metal object was pressed was delivered to Primorye from Chernogorodskiy mines of Khakasia region. Knowing that the coal deposits of this region date 300 million years back, Russian experts inferred that the metal detail found in these deposits must be an age-mate of the coal.

It has been several months since this news was known and there are still many different opinions. Some say it's all a fraud, others speak of ancient terrestrial civilizations and others about alien extra-terrestrial visits. The truth is there are several mysteries that defy scientific knowledge around artifacts that are too old to have been made ​​by a human being. For example, one question that interests Russian scientists is whether the aluminum alloy is of Earthly origin. The presence of 2 percent of magnesium in the alloy might well be evidence of some past, unknown civilization on Earth. Nonetheless, further testing is needed to confirm this hypothesis, say experts. Nowadays, finding a strange artifact in coal dated hundreds million years before the current era (B.C.E) is not very rare to happen. In 1851 the workers in one of the Massachusetts mines extracted a zinc silver-incrusted vase from a block of unmined coal which dated approximately 500 million years ago. In 1912 American scientists from Oklahoma discovered an iron pot which was pressed into a piece of coal aged 312 million years old. The alloys were artificial and constructed by intelligent beings, said the experts. All of these discoveries not only puzzled the experts but also undermined the most fundamental doctrines of modern science. The so-called Western science has its roots in disapproving tendencies and all facts that can challenge their "state of things already known" are seen as something very amazing or totally denied as they challenge their scientific and cultural bases. For example, during the British rule in India, the heirs of the wise Vedic civilization developed a kind of inferiority complex, which adversely affected his own quest to discover the facts about the glorious past of India. (Editor's note).

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Many of us tend to believe that the views about history that we find in modern text-books are proven truths on par with the laws of physics. ... Our culture’s dominant view of history - which is still largely rooted in colonial preconceptions - is not a scientific truth but largely a Eurocentric bias that often has little hard evidence to support it. We ignore the eastern achievements in science, like the mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology and medicine in the Vedas. We have created a view of history that makes larger and older civilizations like India and China into little more than footnotes to events in Europe or the Middle East. Our historical time lines have not expanded much beyond the time frame or location of Biblical chronologies. Though our current species is now scientifically speaking more than 150,000 years old, our social sciences are still largely working on a 5,000 year historical time line, with a bias towards Europe and the Middle East that ignores the greater portion of humanity, its achievements and its historical records.

Śrīla Bhakti Bhavan Vishnu Mahārāja :
“Science of the Sacred” - Dr. David Frawley 
http://gosai.com/ashrama/swami-bb-vishnu
http://gosai.com/writings/science-of-the-sacred

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

BREAST MILK VARIES FOR MALES, FEMALES

A NEW STUDY TIES FETAL 
SEX TO MILK PRODUCTION

http://news.discovery.com - Nursing monkeys make different milk for male and female offspring, a finding that has direct implications for understanding previously unknown variations in human breast milk, researchers said. Males and females respond differently to cortisol, a hormone found in mothers’ milk but not in formula, said Katie Hinde, with Harvard University’s Department of Human Evolution. 
“There is this prevailing myth that mother’s milk is standard,” Hinde told reporters at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Chicago on Friday. “There’s evidence that mothers are producing different biological recipes of milk for sons and daughters and the magnitude of this effect varies across their reproductive careers,” Hinde told Discovery News.

Breast milk calcium content, for example, is higher for females than males.The handful of studies that have looked at variations in human breast milk based on the baby’s gender tend to focus on the constituents of the milk and their concentrations - how much fat, protein, sugar, calcium, etc., but have not accounted for overall milk production, which affects concentrations. There is no data on how breast milk may vary for nursing mixed-gender twins, she added. 
Formulas can copy mothers’ milk food value, but not its hormonal content, Hinde said. Related studies on 1.4 million cows also showed that mothers carrying females produce more milk than those gestating males. 

A new study offers the first evidence that fetal sex can affect the amount of milk cows produce, a finding that could have major economic implications for dairy farmers. The study, co-authored by a Harvard scientist, examined 2.4 million lactations by nearly 1.5 million dairy cows in the United States, finding that cows that gestate daughters produce 1,000 pounds more milk than those that gestate sons. Research shows that female animals personalize milk composition depending on the sex of the future infant. It is thought that women's bodies have similar behavior and that fetal sex would affect the composition of breast milk; this would explain the differences between different human lactations. Wow ... it's an amazing news. How wonderful is mother's body! Whether cows or women, the intelligence cells of the mother's body produces milk with certain composition according to whether a pregnancy will result in a male or a female infant! And after knowing these findings there are still fools who refuse to accept the higher intelligence that created these material bodies with such wonderful biological characteristics, and continue to think that everything happened by blind chance or random cosmic explosion that appeared by chance out of nowhere. How can we say that these wonderful activities and properties of our material body have come to be without a high intelligence behind these facts? Our spiritual masters have taught us that this sort of conclusion is due to a poor fund of knowledge. Therefore, One must conclude that the wonderful creation of the universe operates under the direction of God, who with His transcendental intelligence makes appear, grow and dissolve all things in due time. (Editor's note).

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

The living beings are parts and parcels of the Lord, and He impregnates the vast material creation with seeds of spiritual sparks, and thus the creative energies are set in motion to enact so many wonderful creations. An atheist may argue that God is no more expert than a watchmaker, but of course God is greater because He can create machines in duplicate male and female forms. The male and female forms of different types of machineries go on producing innumerable similar machines without God's further attention. If a man could manufacture such a set of machines that could produce other machines without his attention, then he could approach the intelligence of God. But that is not possible, for each machine has to be handled individually. Therefore, no one can create as well as God. Another name for God is asamaurdhva, which means that no one is equal to or greater than Him.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāna) - Canto 1: Creation
Chapter 1: “Questions by the Sages” - Verse 1
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase - http://vedabase.com/en/sb/1/1/1

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

NITYANANDA TRAYODASI 2014

CELEBRATING APPEARANCE DAY
OF SRI NITYANANDA PRABHU

www.harekrsna.com - Today, Feb. 12 is the celebration of Sri Nityananda Trayodasi. It is the appearance anniversary of Lord Nityananda and Hindus and Vaishnava devotees around the world are celebrating it. Nityananda Prabhu appeared as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's principal associate for spreading the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord. He appeared in 1474 in the village of Ekachakra, now in West Bengal. He especially spread the holy name of Krishna throughout Bengal. 
His beauty was so enchanting and He was so full of ecstatic love for Krishna that, wherever He moved, crowds of people would follow and become lovers of God. Lord Nityananda, whose name means "eternally blissful", is considered an incarnation of Krishna's principal expansion, Balarama. Nityananda Prabhu and Lord Caitanya are traditionally worshipped together, as are Krishna and Balarama.

Nityananda Trayodasi usually occurs in February. The devotees fast until noon, being immersed in the pastimes of Nityananda. After performing abhiseka for the Gaura Nitai Deities, a lively kirtan and sumptuous feast are offered in Nityananda's honor, for the Lord's pleasure. Thus, the Vaishnava devotees enjoy a sumptuous feast in honour of Lord Nityananda. 
Throughout the Caitanya-caritamrta, we read of Nityananda's ecstatic sankirtan pastimes throughout Bengal and Orissa, where he sometimes traveled alone as an avadhuta preacher, and sometimes as the companion of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His traveling party. Together, Lord Caitanya and Nityananda Prabhu enjoyed many ecstatic prasadam (food offered to God with devotion) pastimes, and Nityananda was renowned for enthusiastically consuming immense quantities of Krsna prasadam.

Today, February 12 marks Nityananda Trayodasi, the celebration of the appearance day of Lord Nityananda. Nityananda prabhu is the most intimate associate of Lord Caitanya. Nitai-Gaura are worshipped together much like Krsna and Balarama. While devotees fast till noon, the day is spent recounting the special glories of Lord Nityananda, or Nitai as He is sometimes known, and in vigorous kirtana. In Krishna temples there is a ritual bathing of Gaura Nitai deities. Lord Nityananda is an avadhuta: one who is not bound by social customs. He acts in pure devotion to Lord Caitanya in the mood of His servant and He is considered more merciful than Lord Caitanya because He is so eager to deliver the mercy of God. If anyone can please Nitai even in the smallest way, then that person will receive a spiritual grace that will transform his life. Our spiritual teachers have taught us that the Sankirtan movement was initiated by Sri Nityananda Prabhu and Haridas Thakur, and fully developed in the West by Srila Prabhupada. Sankirtan opens the doors of spiritual love, universal love, freeing ourselves from prejudices and differences; the spirit of sankirtan should motivate us to deliver the message of the Lord to all kinds of people, for all are our brothers and the love of God is the powerful torch that can burn the powerful attachments that exist in the hearts of all us. (Editor's note).

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Nityananda Prabhu, who is identical with Lord Balarama, the first expansion of Krishna, is considered to be the original guru for all of mankind. Thus, soon after their initial meeting, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu tried to honor Nityananda Prabhu with a Vyasa-puja worship ceremony befitting a great spiritual master. However, Nityananda Prabhu protested and grabbed all of the worship articles from Mahaprabhu and worshiped Him instead. … After Chaitanya Mahaprabhu took on the renounced order of life, sannyasa, to spread the sankirtana movement of the congregational chanting of Krishna's holy names, the two brothers moved to Jagannath Puri, on the east coast of India. There, Mahaprabhu left Nityananda and proceeded on a tour of South India that was to last for two years. ... In 1511, Mahaprabhu requested Nityananda, His most reliable sankirtana commander, to return to Bengal. When Nityananda Prabhu first returned to Bengal, He began His mission in Panihati, a village north of Calcutta. For several months He preached and gathered followers in this area, until thousands chanted and danced in ecstasy under His supervision.

Sripad Satyaraja Dasa (Steven J. Rosen)
“Lord Nityananda”
“Sri Pancha-tattva: The Five Features of God”
http://books.google.com.ar/books?id=ve-nAAAACAAJ&redir_esc=y
http://www.sjrosen.com/

Published by dasavatara das - “Vedic Views on World News”
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BASANTA PANCHAMI OR SARASWATI PUJA

REMEMBERING SARASWATI
THE GODDESS OF LEARNING

www.thehimalayantimes.com - Shreepanchami has taken place last week. It is also known as Basanta Panchami or Saraswati Puja, is a remarkable day for every student. Every college has its own way of celebrating it, and the celebration depends upon the students, “Usually interested students raise funds and organise a special puja. However, many times it may not be celebrated in the college if the festival falls during winter vacation,” as per Bishista Shree Bhattarai, Lecturer at Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus, Ghantaghar, informs. Every festive celebration has its special significance. Saraswati Puja too has its value in Nepali culture. Sharmila Dahal, a BBS graduate from Kavre Multiple Campus, Banepa regards this day to remember and worship the Goddess of Knowledge. “It is a special day where one can start his/her learning process,” she opines.

While some students are very serious about their studies, there are those who neglect it. And a festival like Shreepanchami helps those students to remember and respect their books and educational materials, points out Anish Maharjan, a BSc CSIT Ist Year student at Prime College, Khusibu. To this Sajina Nepali, an MSc Ist Year student at Golden Gate College, adds, “If you respect your books, then the books will also respect you in return. Nonetheless, the celebration is important as it teaches us to respect things that are useful to us. In general, this festival urges students to practice respect which is valuable and is required in one’s entire lifetime.” However, it is not right to wait for this day to take care of their educational materials. “Students must always take care of their books and notebooks,” advises Anish Maharjan who feels, “Remembering Goddess Saraswati helps us to gain confidence while studying during examinations.”

Saraswati Puja or Basanta Panchami is a day to pay homage to the Goddess of Learning. During this day it is common to see throngs of students visiting temples of Saraswati early in the morning. They worship books, notebooks, pens and musical instruments. They even write on the walls of temple to get the Goddess' blessings. While many children start writing their first letters on this day, most of the educational institutions, too, celebrate the day together with their students. Educational researchers think that this festival is a source of psychological support to the students, along with providing hope, it motivates them to study. However, beyond worship Goddess Saraswati for her relationship with art and education, our spiritual teachers have taught us to worship the feminine energy from the more elevated svarupa shakti Srimati Radharani and Hladini Shakti the creator of all love, its many expansions as Laksmi, the goddess of fortune, Durga, Kali and Parvati, who have significant power over the material world, to all women, wives and daughters, who traditionally have been worshiped in the Hindu family. All of them are our mothers, and especially the female devotees who helped establish the mission of Srila Prabhupada in the West are the mothers of the Hare Krishna movement and they have always sought the welfare of sannyasis, brahmacharis and brahmacharinis. Therefore, be inconsiderate and ungrateful to them is just a signal of the fact that we have understood very little of the Vaishnava culture. (Editor's note).

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Saraswati sits elegantly on a lotus flower, playing a stringed musical instrument known as veena. In her right hand she holds a book, signifying her status as goddess of learning. She is also regarded to be the goddess of wisdom and speech. Artists and learning students venerate this goddess. She always appears graceful and serene. In her character and attributes, she is associated with ancient river Saraswati, ascribing both purity and fertility.

Dr. Hiro Badlani:

"Hinduism - Path of the Ancient Wisdom"

Chapter 27: "Goddesses in Hinduism:

The Icons of Female Power"  -  http://hinduismpath.com/

http://hinduismpath.com/book-contents/chapter-27/

Sri Saraswati Devi is none other than Vidya Lakshmi, who grants her worshippers this eternal knowledge. With the grace of this Goddess, even a complete illiterate can be transformed into a pandit, a wise person of eternal knowledge.

Dr Stephen Knapp (Śrīpad Nandanandana dasa) :

"Lakshmi, The Goddess of Fortune"

http://www.stephen-knapp.com/lakshmi_goddess_of_fortune.htm

http://www.stephen-knapp.com/books_by_stephen_knapp.htm

Published by dasavatara das - “Vedic Views on World News”
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ADHD IS A FICTITIOUS DISEASE

BEFORE HIS DEATH, FATHER OF ADHD
ADMITTED IT WAS A FICTITIOUS DISEASE

www.naturalnews.com - If you or someone you know has a child that has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), chances are the child is actually just fine. At least this is what the “father” of ADHD, Leon Eisenberg, would presumably say if he were still alive. On his death bed, this psychiatrist and autism pioneer admitted that ADHD is essentially a “fictitious disease,” which means that millions of young children today are being needlessly prescribed severe mind-altering drugs that will set them up for a life of drug addiction and failure. 
“ADHD is fraud intended to justify starting children on a life of drug addiction,” said Dr. Edward C. Hamlyn, from the Royal College of General Practitioners. Adding to this sentiment, psychiatrists Peter Breggin and Sami Timimi, both of whom oppose pathologizing the symptoms of ADHD, say that ADHD is more of a social construct than it is an objective “disorder.”

ADHD was never actually proven to exist as a verifiable disease, despite the fact that Eisenberg and many others profited handsomely from its widespread diagnosis. And modern psychiatry continues to profit as well, helping also to fill the coffers of the pharmaceutical industry by getting children addicted early to dangerous psychostimulant drugs like Ritalin (methylphenidate) and Adderall (amphetamine, dextroamphetamine mixed salts). The purpose all along for pathologizing ADHD symptoms, of course, was to generate more profits for the drug industry. 
According to the citizen watchdog group Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHRI), roughly 20 million American children today are taking dangerous, but expensive, psychiatric drugs for made-up behavioral conditions like ADHD. And another one million or so children have been blatantly and admittedly misdiagnosed with phony behavioral conditions for which psychiatric medications are being prescribed.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was merely a theory. According to this article, Leon Eisenberg, a 87-year-old doctor, confessed on his deathbed that he and his colleagues invented ADHD. “Remember, there are two ways drug companies can make money: Invent new drugs, and invent new diseases already invented drugs can treat,” writes Dr. Jay Parkinson. “In the past decade or so, Big Pharma has created no less than 10 new novel drugs per year,” he adds, noting that many of the people who have been told they suffer from ADHD actually suffer from “the consequence of bad design,” meaning a conventional social and educational system that is unable and unwilling to recognize unique individuality. Our spiritual masters have warned about the industry remedies and the creation of false diseases, so we should support the Conscious Doctors network. The world needs more conscious doctors, nurses and health workers to carry out their professional medical activities with higher spiritual consciousness. We must spread this message and promote the creation of Ayurveda and Naturopathy clinics where they can help to provide the health to the physical body along with spiritual education than mankind needs today. (Editor's note).

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

The organization of Conscious Doctors is one of friendship and exchange of medical experiences between doctors with the purpose of purifying professional medical activities by supporting spiritual consciousness. As a result, conscious doctors will have a forum that will allow greater understanding and improve the practice of a holistic system of treatment, such as: Ayurveda (Oriental medicine), naturopathy, chiropractics, homeopathy, bioenergetics, acupuncture, etc. Thus, the spiritually conscious medical professional, with proven results, will become as distant as possible from the ignorant allopathy system that only attacks the symptoms of ailments without regard to the causes that create them. ... The Conscious doctor always recommends that people seek refuge in God, to see that all the bodily and mental sufferings are reactions from our wrong doings in this and past lives; that they are little bells to wake us up to the reality that we should not live away from His Will.

Śrīla Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti Mahārāja :
“Conscious Doctors”
The Vedic Wisdom Online
http://medicosconscientes.net/
http://www.vedic-wisdom.org/
http://bhaktipedia.org/espanol/index.php?n=sabidurias_vedicas.medicos_concientes

 

Published by dasavatara das - “Vedic Views on World News”
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FORCES OF NATURE REVEAL THE MIND OF GOD

SCIENTIST FINDS EVIDENCE
OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD

http://mysticablog.wordpress.com - For scientific minds, religious subjects may seem ridiculous. But when they are considered by a scientist, it feels unusual. Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku claims to have created a theory that may point to the existence of God. The information created uproar in the scientific community. Michio Kaku is considered one of the most important scientists of today – one of the developers of the revolutionary String Theory, which is highly respected around the world.
To come to his conclusions, the physicist made use of what he calls “primitive semi – radius tachyons”. Tachyons are theoretical particles capable to “unstick” the Universe matter or vacuum space between matter particles, leaving everything free from the influences of the surrounding universe.

Most physicists think that faster-than-light particles cannot exist because they are not consistent with the known laws of physics. Although the technology to detect the true tachyon particles is still far from being achieved and despite theoretical arguments against the existence of faster-than-light particle, experiments have been conducted to search for them. After conducting the tests, Kaku came to the conclusion that we live in a “Matrix”. “I have concluded that we are in a world made by rules created by an intelligence”, he affirmed.
“Believe me; everything that we call chance today won’t make sense anymore.” And he added: “To me it is clear that we exist in a plan which is governed by rules that were created, shaped by a universal intelligence and not by chance.”

Dr. Michio Kaku is a very well-known theoretical physicist and also an acclaimed writer who has had more than 70 articles published in professional physics journals such as Physical Review. His research seemed to have led him to recognize that there are other ‘forces’ that controls the world and it cannot be explained. In several occasions, Kaku made connections between science and religion, questioned what is behind all theories about the creation of the world and reflected on the existence of eternal life, and the “God of Order.” He has said, “I work in something called String Theory which makes the statement that we are reading the mind of God. It’s based on music or little vibrating strings thus giving us particles that we see in nature. The laws of chemistry that we struggled with in high school would be the melodies that you can play on these vibrating strings. The Universe would be a symphony of these vibrating strings” In one of his declarations in video Dr. Kaku says that “God must be a mathematician.” Spiritually advanced cultures used of the principles of mathematics to advance towards God realization. A common belief among ancient cultures was that the laws of numbers have not only a practical significance, but also a mystical and religious significance. For example, at the heart of the Pythagorean world view was a unity of religious principles and mathematical propositions. Our spiritual masters have taught us that “wisdom” is more than the mere “exercise of intelligence.” Unfortunately, modern man's worship of intelligence does not allow him to realize the superiority of “love” over “reason.” (Editor's note).

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Mathematics has only recently risen to attempt to usurp the throne of Godhead. Ironically, it originally came into use in human society within the context of spiritual pursuit. ... In ancient India, mathematics served as a bridge between understanding material reality and the spiritual conception. Vedic mathematics differs profoundly from Greek mathematics in that knowledge for its own sake (for its aesthetic satisfaction) did not appeal to the Indian mind. The mathematics of the Vedas lacks the cold, clear, geometric precision of the West; rather, it is cloaked in the poetic language which so distinguishes the East. Vedic mathematicians strongly felt that every discipline must have a purpose, and believed that the ultimate goal of life was to achieve self-realization and love of God and thereby be released from the cycle of birth and death.

Śrīla Bhakti Bhavan Vishnu Mahārāja :
“Mathematics and the Spiritual Dimension>”
http://gosai.com/ashrama/swami-bb-vishnu
http://www.vedicsciences.net/articles/vedic-mathematics.html#Vedic-Math6
http://gosai.com/writings/mathematics-and-the-spiritual-dimension

Published by dasavatara das - “Vedic Views on World News”
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THAIPUSAM FESTIVAL WAS CELEBRATED

THOUSANDS OF DEVOTEES TAKE PART

IN PROCESSION TO MARK THAIPUSAM

www.channelnewsasia.com - Devotees thronged the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple in Little India on Thursday to celebrate the Hindu festival Thaipusam, one of the most spiritual and important events in the Hindu calendar, which took place on Friday.  Thousands of devotees gathered at the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple at Serangoon Road to begin their procession to the Thendayuthapani Temple at Tank Road. One of Singapore's oldest temples, this Perumal Temple is the starting point of the annual Thaipusam procession. 
Thaipusam is an auspicious day for the many devotees who take up specific vows and fulfil them. They include not just Indians but also people of other races who carry kavadis and milk pots. Devotees carry various types of "kavadi" to seek blessings from the Hindu warrior god Murugan.

During a temple visit, Second Home Affairs Minister S Iswaran said: "I just met a Chinese gentleman who is here to support his colleague who will be carrying a kavadi, and he has been doing this every year: "So I think this epitomises the way we do things in Singapore. We come together as a community across different ethnic and religious groups in order to celebrate a specific custom or cultural aspect. And I think we should continue to be committed to that and celebrate that." 
As large crowds were expected at Little India, the Public Order Act proclamation has been in effect in the area. As in past years, hundreds of volunteers, including road marshals and security personnel, also helped out in the procession, ended at 11pm on Friday. The alcohol ban in Little India takes effect from 6pm on Thursday to 6am on Monday.

Thaipusam is celebrated in the month of January and commemorates the immortal dance of Lord Shiva. Thaipusam is a full-moon festival in honour of Lord Murugan (aka Lord Subramaniam), son of Shiva and Parvati, who represents the triumph of good over evil.  This festival recalls the day that Parvati gave Murugan the vel, a magical weapon that destroys all wickedness, sins and banishes negativity from the soul. Today, Shaivite pilgrims from all over India and abroad congregate to venerate Lord Murugan. Each pilgrim takes an offering, called a kavadi, meaning "sacrifice at each step", to remind them of their previous sin and their personal vow to Lord Murugan. In an extreme act of personal penance and homage to Murugan, a devotee may volunteer to be hooked up to a huge wooden or metal structure. Before that, the volunteer has to undergo a whole month of inner cleansing, with a strict vegetarian diet, celibacy and spiritual nourishment to give him strength. On the day of Thapusam, with the help of the frantic drumming and the chanting by the crowds, the devotee enters a deep trance to make the pain disappear, and then spears and hooks are pushed through his flesh. The Vaishnava devotees also perform penance or tapasyas to increase devotion to Krishna. For example, during the month of Kartik, devotees give up different types of food, eat just once a day, stay continuously singing, and try with all their might be more and more close to the level of consciousness that have been exhibited by pure devotees. Other forms of devotional tapasya are the parikramas made in the saints dhams in India, where you accept many drawbacks to purify the conscience. Other kind of austerity is sankirtana tapasya, or the distribution of Krishna consciousness in all times and places. Our teachers have taught us that “Without tapasya, no success is possible in spiritual life.”. (Editor's note).

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Thaipusam is a festival to celebrate two important events in Hindu mythology. The first is the anniversary when Lord Murugan received the Vel (spear) from His Mother, Goddess Parvathi. The second event is the day that God Shiva danced the ananda tandava and revealed His form of Nataraja to the devas, sages and priests gathered at the hallowed Shiva temple of Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu. Thus Thaipusam is celebrated in both Shiva and Murugan temples, though Thaipusam is more popular as a Murugan festival. Thaipusam is a one day festival which usually falls on the last week of January or beginning of February. The Vel (spear) that Lord Murugan received from his Mother is a symbol of purification. According to the myth, the Vel was given to Lord Murugan to vanquish three asuras that were terrorizing Earth and the Heavens at the time. The asuras were Surapadman, Singamugan and Tarakasura. The three of them represent the forces of fear, hatred, greed and arrogance. The Vel, a symbol of light and wisdom was used by Lord Murugan to rid the world of the three asuras and bring peace and balance back to the Heavens and Earth. Thus the Vel is the protecting and purifying force of Lord Murugan and Thaipusam is a celebration of these forces.

Hinduism (The forgotten facts)
“Thaipusam”
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hinduism-The-forgotten-facts/302372529875249?fref=ts

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
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IS THERE AN AFTERLIFE?

DOES DEATH EXIST? 
NEW THEORY SAYS ‘NO’

www.independent.co.uk - It’s a question pondered by philosophers, scientists and the devout since the dawn of time: is there an afterlife? While the religious would argue that life on earth is a mere warm up for an eternity spent in heaven or hell, and many scientists would dismiss the concept for lack of proof - one expert claims he has definitive evidence to confirm once and for all that there is indeed life after death. The answer, Professor Robert Lanza says, lies in quantum physics – specifically the theory of biocentrism. 
The evidence lies in the idea that the concept of death is a mere figment of our consciousness. Biocentrism explains that the universe only exists because of an individual’s consciousness of it - essentially life and biology are central to reality, which in turn creates the universe; the universe itself does not create life.

The same applies to the concepts of space and time, which Professor Lanza, from Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina, describes as “simply tools of the mind”. He explains that with this theory in mind, the concept of death as we know it is “cannot exist in any real sense” as there are no true boundaries by which to define it. Essentially, the idea of dying is something we have long been taught to accept, but in reality it just exists in our minds. 
Professor Lanza says biocentrism is similar to the idea of parallel universes - a concept hypothesised by theoretical physicists. In much the same way as everything that could possibly happen is speculated to be occurring all at once across multiple universes, he says that once we begin to question our preconceived concepts of time and consciousness, the alternatives are huge and could alter the way we think about the world in a way not seen since the 15th century’s “flat earth” debate. 

We believe in death because we have been told we will die. As we associate ourselves with the body, and we know that bodies die, almost all of us fear death. But a new scientific theory suggests that death is not the terminal event we think. Scientists are beginning to realize that an infinite number of realities may exist outside our old classical way of thinking. Professor Robert Lanza claims the theory of biocentrism teaches that death as we know it is an illusion created by our consciousness. “Life is an adventure that transcends our ordinary linear way of thinking. ... when we die, our life becomes a “perennial flower that returns to bloom in the multiverse (meta-universe),” said Professor Lanza. Immortality has always concerned both men and demigods and demons. In the past, the demigods and the demons churned the Ocean of Milk using Mandara Mountain as a churning rod to obtain the nectar of immortality. However, this material brahmana of fourteen worlds, including heaven, is non-eternal. At the time of universal dissolution, all the material universes are destroyed, along with the demigods. The Vedic scriptures give knowledge by which we may become immortal: No more birth, no more death, no more old age, no more disease. The famous stanza of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says: “Lead me from the unreal to the real / Lead me from darkness to light / Lead me from death to immortality”. But only the Vaisnavas know about the positive and progressive immortality. (Editor's note).

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

A barren conception of mere “deathlessness” cannot afford us any knowledge of a positive thing, but only freedom from the negative side. ... How can one become immortal? One must search out his intrinsic location in the universal order. It will not do to attempt to solve only the negative side of life which is full of suffering-birth, death, infirmity, and disease. We should know that there exists a conception of life worth living for. This positive side has been almost totally neglected in most general religious views. For instance, the Buddhist theory is that after liberation, nothing remains. And the Shankarite monist theory of liberation is to lose one's individuality by “becoming one” with the non-differentiated aspect of the Absolute. But in Vaishnavism, immortality is a positive, dynamic existence. Above the non-differentiated Brahman aspect of the absolute, the transcendental variegated experience begins. Situated there in the spiritual plane is the positive Kingdom of God.

Śrīla Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Mahārāja :
“Sri Sri Prapanna-jivanamrtam”
“Life-Nectar of the Surrendered Souls
Positive and Progressive Immortality”
http://bvml.org/SBRSM/SSPJ/index.htm
Bhaktivedanta Memorial Library

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

EPIPHANY - THREE KINGS DAY 2014

EPIPHANY 2014: THREE KINGS DAY
MARKS END CHRISTIAN CELEBRATIONS

- Today, Jan. 6 is the celebration of Epiphany. Epiphany, also known as Three Kings Day is a Christian celebration marking the end of the 12 days of Christmas. It is a traditional feast that celebrates the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ. Christians believe the twelve days of Christmas ends with the “Feast of Epiphany” which is also known as “The Manifestation of God."
Epiphany is celebrated in many different ways across the globe, however, Italy has a deep tradition that is a definite kid favorite. For example, in Italy, the night before Epiphany, also known as a twelfth night, is known to most children as a night when the good witch, known as the Befana.

In Italy, it is said that Befana arrives on her broomstick and brings sweets, chocolates, fresh fruit and treats to the children have been good and coal to those who have not. Usually the children leave socks out so the Befana will fill them with the gifts. According to Biblical study the Three Kings, or better known as the Three Wise Men, (Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar) followed a bright star to Bethlehem that had been prophesized hundreds of years beforehand that was to lead them to the future King of Israel. 
Upon their arrival the Kings found a newborn child who they believe is a promised Savior of all who believe in God, for this child is Son of God, Jesus Christ. The Kings brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Today, January 6 marks the second-oldest Christian feast day after Easter and it is a holy day for Catholics. Also known as “Little Christmas,” the Feast of the Epiphany is a day of religious observance for many Christians around the world. This day, the 12th Day of Christmas, commemorates the visitation of the wise men (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazzar) to the son of God born as a man,Jesus Christ. Across the globe, many people leave their Christmas tree up until the Feast of the Epiphany. Pope Francis celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany Mass today. The prayer service commemorates the arrival of three wise men in Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus. The pope greeted pilgrims in St. Peter's Square as part of the Three Kings Day celebration. According to the Christian scriptures, the three wise men to travel to see the baby Jesus and presented Him with gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Those were gifts usually offered according to Oriental etiquette; by presenting them, they honored the new-born babe as king. In this story there is a clear parallel to baby Krishna who was also presented with gifts that included sandalwood and perfumes - about three thousand years earlier in Vrindavana, India. Gold existed in India. Although incense and myrrh came from Arabia, they were doubtless imported also to India. It was perfectly natural for the rishis from India offer the traditional gifts of gold, incense and myrrh. (Editor's note).

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

The native land of the three saints has frequently been placed in the Arabian area or, as the attribute of origin ‘from the East’ rather leads one to expect, in the Indo-Iranian region. The Indian thesis of their origin is nowadays steadily gaining adherents. ... But where did the Magi come from? What is East, seen from Jerusalem? ... Indian wisdom was proverbial. Persian historians praised that wisdom. They went to India 'in search of the tree of wisdom'. India was the country where wisdom had been of a high order since earliest times. The sages of India, called 'rishis', have always and even into our days formed a 'social cast superior to all others in the land'. ... Vedic custom is to offer presents to a newly born child. See SB 10.5.10, etc. Later, during anna-prasana samskara (rite of passage, “first grains”) at six months of age, children are offered various items like rice, gold, coins and books to choose from and thus show their inclinations in future life.

Vedic Knowledge Online - Vedic Connections 
“Ancient Vedic World - Christianity”
“3 Wise Men of Bible were from India”
http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz
http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz/connections/Christianity.php#6

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