SPIRITUALISM – TIME AND LIFE – SPIRITUAL INTERACTIONS


SPIRITUALISM – TIME AND LIFE – SPIRITUAL INTERACTIONS :

 

LORD GAUTAMA BUDDHA HAD OBSERVED THAT WHATEVER IS BORN, PRODUCED, OR CONDITIONED CONTAINS WITHIN ITSELF THE NATURE OF ITS OWN DISSOLUTION. LIFE IS CONDITIONED TO EXPERIENCE CHANGE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF TIME AND LIVING THINGS ARE BORN TO EXPERIENCE DISSOLUTION AT THE END OF THEIR LIFETIME.

Gautama Buddha had observed that whatever is born, produced, conditioned, contains within itself the nature of its own dissolution. The greatest miracle is that of explaining the truth and to make man realize it. What is the Truth? To know the truth about Life, we have to understand the influence of Time. Individual living entities exist during their own LifeTime while the vital principle that animates all Life remains imperishable, immortal, eternal, and unchanging. Time is defined as the duration in which things are considered as happening in the past, present, or future. Time is the measurement of duration, the period between two events during which something exists, happens, or acts. This concept of Time demands that we must make a fundamental distinction between static and dynamic events. Static is the term used to describe a body, mass, or force that is at rest or in equilibrium and hence it is inactive, stationary, not moving, or progressing. Life is a dynamic event in which the object called the living thing exists by a tendency towards change or productive activity. Life requires the presence of a vital, energetic, animating principle that maintains the equilibrium called existence while responding to a flow of events that measure the duration of the existence of that living thing. In my view, Death is also a dynamic event and it is not a static event as the change called Death inevitably flows to cause Rebirth. The flow of Life  must be synchronized with the flow of Time for both of them to proceed until Eternity. I describe Spiritualism and Spirituality as the potency that generates Peace, Harmony, and Tranquility in the Time and Life Interactions to provide the Living Experience that is dependent upon Peace, Harmony, and Tranquility. To know this, we may have to know about  the Cyclical Changes of Matter, and the Cyclical Flow of Time. Chemistry is the Science that would give us the understanding of Living Matter and the Cyclical Changes that are caused by Chemical Reactions. In the study of Life, Chemistry is the Science that describes the nature of ‘Spiritual Interactions’. The ‘Spiritual Interactions’ between Time and Matter  establish, support, and preserve the existence of Life on this planet Earth.

MATTER – CHEMICAL ELEMENTS AND CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS :

 

HENNING BRAND(c. 1630-c. 1710), GERMAN ALCHEMIST WHO DISCOVERED PHOSPHORUS DURING c.1669 or 1674. I WOULD DESCRIBE CHEMISTRY AS THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL INTERACTIONS.

 

ROBERT BOYLE (1627-1691)THE FATHER OF MODERN CHEMISTRY. Anglo-Irish Physicist and Chemist who separated the Science of Chemistry from Alchemy. He gave the first precise definitions of a Chemical Element, a Chemical Reaction, and Chemical Analysis. He discovered Boyle’s Law(Gas Laws).

All ‘Matter’ is composed of fundamental materials called Chemical Elements. A substance that cannot be decomposed into simpler substances by ordinary chemical processes is by definition an Element. There are about 88 ‘naturally’ occurring Elements, and about 20 Elements are used in measurable amounts by most living organisms. Phosphorus is an essential Element to all Life as it is a component of DNA and RNA that make up the genetic material of all cells and control reproduction of both the cell and the organism. Phosphorus  is part of the energy storage and utilization system at the cellular level. In addition, Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Iron, Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Cobalt, Cadmium, Copper, Manganese, Zinc, Molybdenum, Boron, Sodium, Chlorine, Fluorine, Iodine, Sulfur, and Chromium are all essential to one form of life or another. Elements can combine with one another to form a wide variety of more complex substances called Chemical Compounds. A Chemical Compound is a substance in which two or more Elements are joined by Chemical Bonds. A Chemical Compound can be created or broken down by means of a Chemical Reaction but not by mechanical or physical separation techniques. It helps to make the distinction between Mixture and Compound. Most naturally occurring Matter represents Physical Mixtures of Chemical Compounds that could be separated using simple physical techniques. While the number of known Elements is small, the number of possible Compounds is almost ‘infinite’; perhaps a million or more Chemical Compounds are known to exist. When two or more Elements combine to form a Compound, they lose their separate identities, and the product called Chemical Compound has characteristics quite different from those of the constituent Elements. For example, the Common Salt or Sodium Chloride is a combination of the highly reactive metallic element Sodium(Na) and the poisonous gas Chlorine(Cl). The unique taste and flavor imparted by Salt cannot be discovered by studying the physical and chemical properties of Sodium or Chlorine. Elements in Compounds always are combined in definite proportion. For instance, a molecule of Water is always made up of two Hydrogen(H) atoms and one Oxygen(O) atom. Again, I would like to pay attention to the fact of two gaseous elements, Hydrogen, and Oxygen with quite different physical and chemical properties can combine to form the Compound Water which has altogether different properties from either Hydrogen or Oxygen. The simple, pure, original, and sweet taste imparted by Fresh Water cannot be discovered in its constituent Elements. I have mentioned that the Element Phosphorus is basic to all Life. Phosphorus is discovered in c.1674 by Hennig Brand. It is an extremely poisonous, yellow to white, waxy, solid substance. When exposed to air, Phosphorus ignites spontaneously. Some of the commercial uses of Phosphorus include the making of detergents, toxic nerve gases and explosives. We have to learn to make the distinction between Chemical Elements and Chemical Compounds and apply this understanding to know the nature of relationship between things. Calcium Phosphate is the principal material found in bones and teeth. Adenosine Triphosphate or ATP is the fundamental energy source in living things. It is very understandable that all Matter is composed of units called Atoms and the physical structure of Atom is well-known. We have to be very careful and avoid deriving understanding about Life and Living Matter from the descriptive knowledge derived from Quantum Physics. To understand the nature of living experience, we need Chemical Molecules and Chemical Compounds whose qualities and characteristics may not be discovered from the study of Nuclear Physics. The phenomenon of creating and breaking down Chemical Compounds in living organisms is known as Metabolism. A Chemical Compound’s smallest units are, Molecules, and Ions. A Molecule can exist in the free state and still retain the characteristics of the Element or Compound; a Molecule can be formed by an Element when it consists of one Atom, or two, or more similar Atoms; a Molecule can be formed by a Compound when it consists of two or more different Atoms. The term ‘Ion’ is used to describe an Atom or Molecule bearing an electric charge as a result of having a number of negative electrons unequal to the number of positive protons in its nuclei. ‘Ionization’ is the process that describes the formation of ‘Ions’ from neutral Atoms or Molecules. ‘Ions’ that are positively charged are known as ‘Cations’, and that are negatively charged are known as ‘Anions’. Simple ‘Ions’ consist of a single charged Atom; double, triple, or even higher positive or negative charges are possible. Oxidation of Hydrogen removes its single electron and gives H+ or cationic Hydrogen which contains no electrons and it has a nucleus which is composed of one proton. This cationic Hydrogen plays a particularly important role in the Acid-Base Chemistry of the human organism with many reactions exchanging protons between soluble molecules. The internal environment of a living cell includes Hydrogen, Potassium, Sodium, Magnesium, Calcium, Chloride, Sulfate, Phosphate and several organic acid ‘Ions’. The chemical events collectively called ‘Metabolism’ require the concentration of Hydrogen Ions and electrolytes to remain within narrow limits in the tissue cells and in the fluid which bathes them. The term ‘pH’ or ‘Acidity’ is a measure of the Hydrogen Ion concentration and a reading level of 7 indicates ‘Neutral’. Human life is possible only if the Hydrogen Ion concentration of body fluid is kept within a narrow range. In health, a blood Hydrogen Ion concentration of 36 – 44 nmol/Liter or pH level of 7.37 – 7.45 is maintained by several closely integrated but widely differing mechanisms.

THE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS AND CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE :

 

HENRY CAVENDISH(1731-1810), British Chemist and Physicist noted for his discovery of Hydrogen, a gaseous Element during 1766. French Chemist Lavoisier named the gas Hydrogen in 1783. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and it is the major fuel in fusion reactions of the Sun. However, this gas in its free state is very rare in our planet Earth.

 

Hydrogen, the most abundant Element in the universe is present in its diatomic, molecular form. Hydrogen is important for the formation of Stars. In this photo image, NGC 604, a giant region of ionized Hydrogen in the Triangulum Galaxy is seen.

 

Hydrogen makes up most of the mass( over 90%)of the universe and about 75 % of natural Matter by number of Atoms.Naturally occurring atomic Hydrogen is rare on Earth because Hydrogen readily forms covalent Compounds with most Elements. Hydrogen is present in the Water Molecule and in most Organic Compounds found in living organisms. Hydrogen forms a vast variety of Compounds with Carbon that are called Hydrocarbons.

To understand Life, we have to know about Hydrogen as it is the fuel that Sun expends in its role as the Cosmic source of Energy that supports the biological existence of all terrestrial organisms. Man exists on the surface of planet Earth not on account of the merit of his physical, or mental work and effort. Man has no direct access to this source of energy produced from Hydrogen fuel. If Hydrogen is important to support the existence of Life, we have to understand the nature of ‘Spiritual Interactions’. Secondly, Hydrogen is important as it is required to form the Water Molecule. However, Oxygen, a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas, is the most abundant Element at the surface of the Earth. In the terrestrial environment, Oxygen accounts for about half of the mass of the Earth’s crust, 89% of the mass of the oceans, and 23% of the mass of the atmosphere or 21% of its volume. Oxygen makes up about two-thirds of the human body. It is a vital substance which supports vital functions. Among Chemical Elements used by human body, Oxygen has the highest electronegativity and electron affinity. Oxygen can form ‘Anion’ with a double negative charge by accepting electrons from a donor like Hydrogen. Most of the Earth’s rocks and soils are principally compounds of Oxygen with Silicon and other metals. It is well understood that most organisms depend on Oxygen to sustain their biological processes. Biological Oxidation-Reduction Reactions are ultimately the sources of energy for the higher plants and animals. While speaking about the importance of Oxygen in the biosphere, we must recognize that Oxygen is responsible for natural decomposition of all organic material. Waste products from the activity of the living organisms, dead plants and animals decompose or oxidized through the agency of microorganisms. Thus,  Oxygen plays a key role both in its support of important processes of Life and Death. Organic decay and decomposition is of fundamental importance for Life to renew itself and to be reborn and to cause rebirth. The study of ‘Spiritual Interactions’ must include the study of Life and Death.

 

Joseph Priestley and Karl Scheel were the first to isolate the gaseous Element during 1773-74 which was named by Antoine Laurent Lavoisier as Oxygen. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas, and is the most abundant Element found on planet Earth.

  

Oxygen makes up about 90% of Water, two-thirds of the human body, and 20% by volume of Air. Normal atmospheric Oxygen is a diatomic Molecule.

The common Chemical Reaction in which Oxygen unites with another substance is called Oxidation.Combustion or rapid oxidation, the burning of s substance may generate light and heat. The process called Oxidation need not involve the generation of light and heat. Oxygen itself does not burn. The Respiration of plants and animals is a form of Oxidation that is essential to the liberation of the energy stored in such food materials as Carbohydrates, Fats, and Proteins. Oxygen is necessary to sustain Metabolism which primarily involves the Oxidation-Reduction Chemical Reactions. If the Oxygen concentration were to drop to about half its value in the atmosphere, humans could no longer survive. The loss of Oxygen is critical as the human body has no means of storing Oxygen. Because the human body stores no Oxygen, any interference with breathing and ventilation that lasts more than a few minutes can cause Death.

Dr. Daniel Rutherford(1749-1819), Professor of Medicine & Botany, Edinburgh University, Scotland, discovered Nitrogen in 1772. Joseph Priestley and Henry Cavendish in England, and Carl W. Scheele in Sweden also get credit for the discovery of Nitrogen. The French Chemist Antoine Lavoisier proved that it is an Element.

Adenosine Tri Phosphate or ATP is a Nucleotide; the monomeric unit of Nucleic Acid,contains a Purine or Nitrogenous base called Adenosine, a Sugar called Ribose and three Phosphate groups.In most Chemical Reactions of all cells in which transfer of energy occurs, the nucleotide ATP is involved. It functions as a Coenzyme in many enzyme-catalyzed reactions and helps in the performance of chemical, electrical, and osmotic work in animals, plants, and microorganisms.

Cyclic Adenosine Mono Phosphate or cAMP is formed from ATP by the catalytic action of the enzyme Adenyl Cyclase. It controls many important functions in the cell including the ability of the cell to generate electrical impulses and is called “Second Messenger.”It is responsible for the intracellular mediation of hormonal effects on various cellular processes; e.g., Lipid Metabolism, Membrane Transport by opening Ion Channels, and Cell Reproduction.

All living organisms need organic nitrogen compounds such as Proteins, Vitamins like Thiamine and Riboflavin. In nature, Nitrogen from the air is ‘fixed’ by some bacteria and plants. It is then made available to all organisms through ‘Nitrogen Cycle’.

Plants incorporate Carbon into Carbohydrates and other complex organic molecules by means of Photosynthesis. During Respiration or Cellular Oxidation, living organisms combine Oxygen with portions of Carbohydrate molecule, releasing Carbon in the form of Carbon dioxide and water.

ANTOINE LAURENT LAVOISIER(1743-1794), French Chemist and Physicist. He discovered the Composition of Water Molecule and of various other Organic Compounds.

Water Molecule looks very simple and yet it plays a mysterious role inside all living cells. It is essential to Life and its propagation. Its Spiritual nature is revealed by its pure, original, and sweet taste it imparts apart from its role as a Chemical Compound. It is the main mode of transport of many Elements that are needed by the living organisms. Water is the Agent that leaches Nutrient Elements and Compounds from rocks and soils and makes them available for use by plants ,and animals.

SUN THE COSMIC SOURCE OF ENERGY SHINES ALL THE TIME. IT IS APPARENTLY AN UNCHANGING EVENT. HOW DOES MAN MEASURE HIS TIME?

The Flow of Time is measured as the duration or the interval between two events; Time exists for man and other living organisms as the measure of the period of duration from Sunrise to Sunset that causes an environmental change; the alternating periods of Light(DAY) and Darkness(NIGHT). Earth’s Rotational Spin transforms the instant called ‘FUTURE’ into an instant called ‘PAST’ without giving man any choice to know the instant called ‘PRESENT’. Earth’s Revolution brings Seasons that man experiences at regular and constant intervals of Time while man simply exists on the surface of planet Earth with no physical experience of Earth’s Motions through Space.

The Biological Clock: Every Living System behaves as if it contains a highly dependable ‘CLOCK’. It is a self-sustained internal timing mechanism that controls the ability of an organism to synchronize its existence with events in its internal and external environment.Such Time-Dependent variability in Function is called a Biological Rhythm.

The Water Cycle or Hydrologic Cycle is necessary to the operation of all Nutrient Cycles. The energy for the transportation of Water Molecules is provided by the Sun and it is the Fundamental Basis for all other Time-Life Spiritual Interactions.

The Carbon Cycle clearly illustrates the complexity of relationships involved in the processes of Recycling Nutrient Elements in Nature. Life depends on the interwoven and interdependent relationships of green plants and animals, supplemented by the activities of bacteria, and the constant transport of nutrients within the Ecosystem and within organisms.

Photosynthesis and Respiration are complementary functions and drive the Oxygen Cycle.Oxygen is necessary to sustain Metabolism. Oxygen is also important and is responsible for natural decomposition of organic material, waste products of Metabolism, oxidative decomposition of dead plants and animals through the agency of microorganisms.

All living organisms participate in the Nitrogen Cycle. It includes the processes and Chemical Reactions involved in producing organic Nitrogen from inorganic Nitrogen and subsequently breaking down organic Nitrogen back to the inorganic form.

Phosphorus recycles more slowly than other Nutrient Elements. Phosphates are taken up by the roots of green plants and used in organic synthesis. They are passed to animals through ‘Food Chains’. Ultimately, Phosphates are released to soil through bacterial and fungal decomposition after the death of an animal.

We need to make the distinction between the Chemical Element Phosphorus and Phosphate the Chemical Compound that supports Life. The Phosphate mineral found in the rocks may have taken millions of years before it became available to plant Life.

Life depends on the interwoven and interdependent relationships between living organisms and the environment. No organism leads a truly independent existence of its own. Each organism lives by either consuming other organisms or the products from other organisms. In a Biological Community, Life and Death have a relationship which has a Spiritual Basis.

SCIENCE, RATIONAL AND IRRATIONAL BELIEF – THE EXPERIENCE OF REALITY AND ULTIMATE REALITY


"The Blue Marble" is a famous photog...

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A POUND OF FOOLISHNESS   IS BETTER THAN A PENNY OF WISDOM :   

 

   

 

  

What is Reality? The Golden Gate Bridge is real, Pacific Ocean is real, Sun is real. The Sunset is not real. Can man experience the Reality? How would Reality impact man's existence?

 

The social scientist Bruno Latour, from France’s “Institut d’ Etudes Politiques de Paris” was in New Delhi, India and spoke about what it means to be modern with Deep K Datta-Ray of Times of India. In essence, I support his view and there is a need for a new approach; the use of irrational belief and not that of scientific rational belief.

CAN SCIENCE PROVIDE EXPERIENCE OF REALITY?          

 

   

 

  

Pencil in Water Illusion. Can Science influence the nature of Perception? The Perception of bent Pencil is caused by the properties of Light rays. Science can only explain the reason for this Optical Illusion. Science has no Power to eliminate the Illusion. The only way man can experience the Reality of this Pencil would be that of changing the State of Pencil's Conditioned Existence. It is easy to remove the Pencil from Water and experience the Reality. But, can Man remove himself from his State of Conditioned Existence and experience Reality?

 

It would be totally irrational to believe that Science could provide the experience called Reality. Science is not POWER/FORCE/ENERGY which operates in the natural world. Science provides information to understand things and it has no power or force to influence things. Science may reveal understanding of the nature of Reality and such revelation could be of no use  in the context of human existence on planet Earth as man lives because of illusional experience of the world and the universe in which he exists.

THE REALITY OF EARTH’S MOTION :     

 

     

    

 

    

    

Science can explain the Motions of planet Earth. Science can not provide the experience of the Speed of planet Earth’s Motions. The Reality of Earth’s Motions is known and is understood. But, man exists only if this Reality is not directly experienced. The physical and mental experience of the Speed of Earth, the Angular Speed, and the Linear Speed would not permit man’s physical existence on the surface of planet Earth.

The speed of earth’s motion can be described in two ways; 1. The Angular Speed: The earth rotates 360 degrees in 24 hours and the speed is 1,000miles/hour. 2. The Linear Speed: The distance earth travels is 584 million miles per year. The Linear Speed of earth is 66, 660 miles/hour. 

Science may explain the fact of the speed of a point on the surface of the earth but can not force man to experience the Reality of that Speed. Man exists on the surface of the earth without ever experiencing the Reality. There is no physical experience of this basic Reality. There is no direct mental experience of this fundamental Reality. Man may intellectually visualize this Reality by understanding the facts explained by Science. If the human brain and body is constantly engaged by the fact of earth’s motions, the Reality of earth’s Angular Speed and Linear Speed, man would immediately experience a mental breakdown and would not be able to function as a living organism. Just think about the sense of fear, anxiety generated by a brief event like earthquake. The Subjective Reality of man’s Physical Existence on the surface of earth is sustained, is supported, and is protected by a Fundamental Force called Gravitation. Because of the operation of Gravitational Force man is virtually saved from any experience of Earth’s motions. Man only experiences the environmental changes caused by Earth’s motions. Further, this Subjective Reality of man’s Physical Existence is governed by a FORCE/POWER/ENERGY that causes an illusionary experience of Sun’s movement across the sky. Science would explain the Reality of Sun’s motion at a speed of 155 miles/second. But, man exists on the surface of earth with no physical or mental experience of Sun’s true or real motion. What man experiences is the apparent motion of Sun and experiences Sunrise and Sunset. Science may explain the Reality and teach us the fact of Sun shining with brightness all the time. Man has invented stories and has created folk tales about Sun’s Journey in the Sky. The Reality described by Science does not govern human existence. The biological activities, the Biological Rhythms( Circadian/Diurnal/Solar Rhythms) are synchronized with the experience of ILLUSION and not that of Scientific Reality.

BIOLOGICAL CLOCK AND MAN’S LIFE JOURNEY  :

  

  

  

 

      

 

     

 

  

Man's existence on the surface of planet Earth and the duration of his life's journey is measured by the internal Biological Clock. The time duration is measured by the alternating periods of Light and Darkness, the experience of Day and Night, the experience of Sunrise and Sunset which drives the Biological Rhythm. In Reality, the Sun is shining with brightness at all times during the entire length of man's life journey. Man gets no chance to experience that Reality and the Biological Clock is not influenced by that Reality of Sun shining at all the hours of man's earthly existence.

 

Man can not exist on the surface of physical earth if he has direct body or mental experience of the Reality explained by rational Scientific Belief. The very nature of human existence in this vast universe can not be rationally understood. There is no evidence to suggest that Life could be discovered in other parts of our universe. There is no chance that man could find an opportunity to leave the Solar System and find a Home in a different part of the universe. Man has no control over the structure and organization of the universe. Man has no choice other than that of accepting the conditioned nature of his energy dependent existence with no other place to call as Home. Rational beliefs have no role and do not define the status of man in nature and in the universe. It is more likely that man’s existence could be supported by an irrational belief in Ultimate Reality, which operates the POWER/FORCE/ENERGY which delivers MERCY/GRACE/COMPASSION to spread a veil of ILLUSION to defend man from the direct physical or mental experience of Reality of the Universe in which man lives.

Man can only exist in this Universe if he does not directly experience the Reality of this Universe. Man's earthly existence is defended by ILLUSION and Science has no Power to provide man a chance to experience Reality which is hidden by the ILLUSION.

 

 

Dr. R. Rudra Narasimham, B.Sc., M.B.B.S.,

Kurnool Medical College, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India,

M.B.B.S., Class of April, 1970.

‘The only shibboleth the West has is science’

Apr 4, 2011, 12.00am IST, Times of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/The-only-shibboleth-the-West-has-is-science/articleshow/7857996.cms?intenttarget=no

The social scientist Bruno Latour , from France’s Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), was in New Delhi and spoke about what it means to be modern with Deep K Datta-Ray .

Why do you argue that Western Europe has never been modern?

The only shibboleth the West has is science. It is the premise of modernity and it defines itself as a rationality capable of, indeed requiring separation from politics, religion and really, society. Modernisation is to work towards this.

A move away from the pre-modern, which is a period of embroilment and entanglement of everything but when one looks at the practice of science in a laboratory, as i did, this division is revealed as false.

Scientists are very much entangled in their culture and this culture is not pristine, untouched by other cultures and practices. The real history of Europe therefore is one of a constant interaction, a mixing of peoples, various cultures and the material.

What does this mean for our understanding of what the modern world actually is, how institutions thought of as quintessentially modern function?

There’s very little on how today’s world actually functions. Instead there is the official story of modernisation. Meanwhile, there is a prominent discourse in India about modernisation.

My argument is that the baseline for understanding modernity requires interrogation, which destabilises expectations of what a modernising society should do.

Traditionally, the moderns criticised the supposedly archaic, symbolised by the East. Everyone wanted to become modern – but my work demonstrates that being modern was never as clear as presumed. So, when India begins to modernise what happens?

There is a double instability – of an uncertain baseline and then what happens when that is implemented in a society far away and especially in an institutional setting and in an area so close to the state such as governance. So there has to be more work on this.

This is especially important because there are so many more people here, it is possible to have institutions of a different complexion altogether, of alternative ways instituted here. India is a reservoir of alternative interpretations of what the global is and these ways of viewing the world need to be exposed.

Could it also be said that the idea of a universalising ‘modern’ rationality is not necessarily European but became dominant in Europe?

For that there has to be more work on the non-western world. Regardless of place, there have to be thicker descriptions of practice, of what the modern world actually is, how do banks work for instance, because all we have is utopian description of how modernity functions. The dream of utopia killed descriptive work because the focus was on a universalising rationality, not how rationality actually plays out in practice. It should be clear that i’m not saying the East is somehow different, exotic. If one looks at the works of Newton to Einstein they were never scientists in the way modernity understands the term.

What are the implications of this type of work on politics?

Well, politics cannot keep to the scientific ideal quite simply because science in practice meant our moving from the country to the city and getting progressively disconnected from nature. But now one cannot discuss anything without thinking of the whole. Science was supposed to take us out of the cosmos and into a universalising rationality but that has produced all sorts of problems which are being corrected today by new approaches which are reminiscent of the non-modern, such as the politics of nature. This is a cosmological approach, one that ties in everything to make a decision.

TIME AND THE CONCEPT OF UNCHANGING REALITY


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UNDERSTANDING TIME AND THE CONCEPT OF UNCHANGING REALITY :

 

 

  

         

 

Earth's Rotational Spin provides the experience of Time by causing changes in the environment which Man perceives as Day and Night. This cyclical change of alternating periods of Light and Darkness is synchronized with Man's Biological Rhythms.

Time is defined as the period or interval between two events or during which something exists, happens, or acts; the duration is a measurable interval. Indian thinkers have described ‘Time’ or ‘KAALA’ as a Power or a Force that is eternal suggesting that ‘Time’ existed before the formation of this created universe, Time operates during the existence of this created universe, and Time remains after the total dissolution of this created universe. ‘Things in Nature change with Time’. Does Time exert a force entirely of its own to change things in Nature? If Time is viewed as a Power or Force, who controls this Force and what are the Laws that operate this Force     

 

The Subjective Reality of Man's physical existence is operated by the Biological Clock which may have a plan for Dissolution.

Everything that is born, everything that has come into existence, and everything that is conditioned arrives with its own plan for dissolution. Whosoever had arrived on this planet Earth, is sure to depart. Time operates this plan for dissolution. Time has the power to cause dissolution of the animate as well as the inanimate world and the physical universe. Whatever qualities, or attributes such as material wealth, social status, social position, and physical state of well-being that man cherishes and desires most would be dissolved and would be rendered useless by the effects of Time. Humans lack the material, and the biological abilities to transform their physical beings into sources of perpetual enjoyment. Time with its Power of Dissolution would eventually compel us to investigate and to explore the concept of Absolute and Unchanging Reality. This Subjective Reality of Man’s existence on this planet Earth which is a member of the Solar System would be dissolved by the influence of Time. The dissolution of Sun and the Solar System would not result in the dissolution of this universe that we currently know and understand. When man has been dissolved, the conditioned reality of this physical universe will continue and remains as before as earth and sun do not describe the total reality of this conditioned universe.

THE PERCEPTION OF CHANGE AND HUMAN CONCEPTS ABOUT TIME      

 

The Moving Train and the Perception of changing landscape. Photo Credit:Indyeahforever.

Many of you who learned Physics understand the term Speed and Velocity. A person riding in a train or any other moving object could perceive a change that is caused by the motion. The nature of this perception depends upon the Speed or Velocity of that moving object. If the person jumps out of the train, the change that he has been perceiving immediately stops. There would be no changing landscape. If the speed of the train is increased, the perception of change also alters and at very high speeds man actually loses the ability of visual perception. The visual image becomes a blur. If man is viewing a Motion Picture, his visual ability to view the Picture could be destroyed by simply increasing the speed of the Projector. Any given point on the surface of the Earth moves with the Speed of the Earth. Earth is moving at a great speed and man has no ability to perceive this motion or the speed. Man perceives a change in his environment and calls it day and night. We run our lives by numbers on clocks and calendars. The clocks and calendars create the illusion that we live in a world of mathematically measured segments of time. Time is looked upon as a flow like a river. Sir Issac Newton(1687) stated that the flow of Time is absolute; “It flows equably without relation to anything external.” In 1905 while postulating the Theory of Relativity, Albert Einstein had observed that Time is not absolute and the measurement of Time is affected by the motion of the observer. The Relativity of Time becomes significant only at great speeds. Gravity affects both Light and Time. Gravity bends both Space and Light. Time is affected by the gravitational field of each celestial body. Time is unique to any one spot in the universe. If you and me do not exist at the same spot in the universe, our experience of Time is conditioned by the place or the position of that particular spot in the universe. Thus, the experience of Time on this planet is an illusionary experience and is not an absolute experience.

‘KAALA CHAKRA’ OR THE CYCLICAL FLOW OF TIME :    

     

 

The Cyclical Flow of Time brings Cyclical Changes at expected Time intervals. Life exists because of the Cyclical Flow of Time.

 Herman Minkowski, a mathematician, added Time as the Fourth Dimension of Three Dimensional Space. Time is seen as a Dimension as it gives meaning to events and the order in which they occur. Physicists describe Time and Space as the building blocks of this universe. Biologists see Time in the internal clocks that keep all living entities in sync with Nature. Human existence and the existence of all other living entities depend upon this illusionary experience of Time. Life exists and operates only if Time flows in a cyclical manner just like a wheel that moves, rotates on an axle or axis. Man needs this experience of day and night during his entire life journey. Man needs the changing Seasons with its cyclical regularity. Just imagine the consequences to human existence if Spring Season does not arrive at the Time it is expected. You have correctly pointed out that planet Earth is not at the same location or place in Space as Time flows. Last year, we had experienced the Spring Season while Earth existed at an entirely different location and we look forward for the arrival of a new Spring Season in spite of the Change in the position. In spite of Changes in location or position, in relative terms, the Spring Season is the Unchanging Reality of the Conditioned State of Human Existence. Because of the Conditioned nature of Human Existence, Man always looks forward, and hopes that Time would flow in a cyclical manner bringing cyclical changes. Biologists describe Life in terms of Life Cycles. All living functions have a rhythmic or cyclical quality. The exchange of gases during a cycle called Respiration involves the cyclical events of Inspiration and Expiration. The vital functions sustained by Circulation demands cyclical flow of Blood. The Individual and his State or Condition of Individuality remains existing as an Unchanging Reality as long as he experiences the cyclical changes in his bodily functions and in the environment in which he exists. I am that Unchanging Reality, the Reality of my Identity and my Individuality remains unchanged as my physical body experiences cyclical changes in its substance and in the environment where it exists. My phenotype or morphological appearance or outward appearance undergoes a constant change and this change is synchronized with the cyclical change called alternating periods of Day and Night. The Biological Clock precisely measures this Time interval or duration of my existence relative to the illusionary change; in Reality, the Sun is shining with all His brightness at all times with no significant change that I can perceive.

THE GOD CONNECTION :

 

 

  

    

 

 

 

  

   

 

 

Face Recognition Technology helps in the identification of an Individual. Under the influence of Time, the outward appearance undergoes changes all the time during Life's Journey and yet the Identity and the Individuality survives the Time's Power of Dissolution.

 My Identity and my Individuality is the Unchanging Reality of my conditioned state of human existence. I had explored the Nature of this Unchanging Identity and Individuality. This Unchanging Reality of Identity and Individuality exists during the Time interval or duration of my God Connection. I know that Time existed before my creation, Time is operating during my existence as a created being, and Time would continue to operate after my physical dissolution. Time with its great power of Dissolution could not change my perception about my Unchanging Identity and Individuality because of my God Connection. It is rational, it is logical, and it is reasonable to reflect upon Absolute and Unchanging Reality as long as I maintain my Identity and Individuality which can not be changed or altered by the flow of Time.

http://bhavanajagat.wordpress.com/2010/01/07/the-ushering-of-the-new-year-the-perception-of-change/

Dr. R. Rudra Narasimham,
Kurnool Medical College, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India,
M.B.B.S., Class of April, 1970.

From: Srinivasa Rao Kankipati.

Lovely story and nice response. The story holds a great truth in it. The truth is that change is the law of nature. The universe, which means the aggregate of all things in it, is changing right from the moment of the Big Bang. I woudnt say that change is constant. Even the rate of change may be varying. Swami Sivananda penned a beautiful poem titled:”Even This Shall Pass” and some other philosophical essays and poems. All these were contained in a book authored by him, which he sent to me free when I wrote a letter to him in my student days but told him that I cannot pay the cost.

I believe that death which is inevitable for everything is only a result of unavoidable change. As far as I can analyse, the only law governing the universe is the law of (maybe changing) change.
Even though we think that the earth is returning to the same position in space year after year, astronomers tell us that its relative position is changing. We never go back to the same point.

In this light, I dont think there is anything that can be called permanent. As we can easily see from a train when we travel, the near landscape recedes in the opposite direction, but it seems to move relative to the far landscape, which assumes the character of being permanent. But after some travel, we find that the farther landscape also has changed, as against landscape which is even farther away. After some more travel the distant hills and dales at the farthest distance also vanish.  
So we are changing, everything is changing, but we falsely hypothesise that it is all against the background of something that does not change. I believe that all change is perceived vis-a-vis something that changes in a slower manner, not vis-a-vis something that remains permanent. To crave for something permanent is madness and a wild exercise of a feverish imagination.

My own definition of civilisation is the construction of something which is less impermanent with the help of things which are more impermanent. All civilisations will eventually crumble. There is nothing permanent.

In this context, imagining a permanent god who will receive us into his kingdom permanently after our cycle of births and deaths is also illusory. With a person’s death, nothing more is heard from him. He has existed only once in the universe and it is just not true that his mind (as Buddhists propound) or his soul (as Hindus propound) will go on to take up another body, until finally God receives the mind and soul.

When a man dies, …
THE END!

On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 8:30 AM, Rajaram Bojji wrote:

Truth, simple but so difficult to assimilate because, the question, “So, what next ?” arises.
The King could have been captured and beheaded too. Yes that too will pass. Bit it gives a chance to the chance of the saying that may be, even the improbable horse may fly after all!

More often than not our own fear defeats us by painting bleak pictures of failure much before actual occurrence .

While doing tunneling, after making all the pep talk to workers and engineers facing repeated collapses, I used to sleep the night in frustration and depression, which you can share with no one. Get up in the morning and with a gusto start with the saying ” don’t worry , the horse will fly” ( reminding one self of another story when a man promises a King to save own beheading for a few days, that he would make King’s horse fly and before he was required to fly the horse some enemy King beheads the King and releases him from prison)… wear a smile and go back to the job.

Yes, as another American writer has said, the only thing you learn from living and observing life is that life goes on.

Story of a King

Once a King called upon all of his wise men and asked them “Is there a mantra or suggestion which works in every situation, in every circumstance, in every place and in every time. Something which can help me when none of you is available to advise me. Tell me is there any mantra?” All wise men got puzzled by King’s question. One answer for all questions? Something that works everywhere, in every situation? In every joy, every sorrow, every defeat and every victory? They thought and thought.

After a lengthy discussion, an old man suggested something which appealed to all of them. They went to the king and gave him something written on paper. But the condition was that king was not to see it out of curiosity. Only in extreme danger, when the King finds himself alone and there seems to be no way, only then he’ll have to see it. The King put the papers under his diamond ring.

After a few days, the neighbors attacked the kingdom. It was a collective surprise attack of the King’s enemies. King and his army fought bravely but lost the battle. King had to flee on his horse. The enemies were following him. His horse took him far away in the jungle. He could hear many troops of horses following him and the noise was coming closer and closer. Suddenly the King found himself standing at the end of the road – that road was not going anywhere. Underneath there was a rocky valley a thousand feet deep. If he jumped into it, he would be finished. And he could not return because it was a small road. The sound of enemy’s horses was approaching fast. King became restless. There seemed to be no way…

Then suddenly he saw the diamond in his ring shining in the sun, and he remembered the message hidden in the ring. He opened the diamond and read the message. The message was very small but very great. The message was – “This too will pass.”

The King read it. Again read it. Suddenly something struck him- Yes! It too will pass. Only a few days ago, I was enjoying my kingdom. I was the mightiest of all the Kings. Yet today, the Kingdom and all his pleasures have gone. I am here trying to escape from enemies. However when those days of luxuries have gone, this day of danger too will pass. Calm come on his face. He kept standing there. The place where he was standing was full of natural beauty. He had never known that such a beautiful place was also a part of his Kingdom. The revelation of the message had a great effect on him. He relaxed and forgot about those following him.

After a few minutes he realized that the noise of the horses and the enemy coming was receding. They moved into some other part of the mountains and were not on that path. The King was very brave. He reorganized his army and fought again. He defeated the enemy and regained his lost empire. When he returned to his empire after victory, he was received with much fan fare at the door. The whole capital was rejoicing in the victory. Everyone was in a festive mood. Flowers were being thrown on the King from every house, from every corner. People were dancing and singing. For a moment King said to himself, “I am one of the bravest and greatest Kings. It is not easy to defeat me..”

With all the reception and celebration he saw an ego emerging in him. Suddenly the diamond of his ring flashed in the sunlight and reminded him of the message. He opened it and read it again: “This too will pass”. He became silent. His face went through a total change – from the egoist he moved to a state of utter humbleness.

If this too is going to pass, it is not yours. The defeat was not yours, the victory is not yours. You are just a watcher. Everything passes by. We are witness of all this. We are the perceiver. Life comes and goes. Happiness comes and goes. Sorrow comes and goes.

Now as you have read this story, just sit silently and evaluate your own life… Think of the moments of joy and victory in your life. Think of the moment of sorrow and defeat. Are they permanent? They all come and pass away. Life just passes away. There were friends in the past. They have gone. There are friends today. They too will go. There will be new friends tomorrow. They too will go. There were enemies in the past. They have gone. There may be enemies in the present. They too will go. There will be new enemies tomorrow and they too will go.

There is nothing permanent in this world. Everything changes except the law of change. Think over it from your own perspective.

 

You have seen all the changes. You have survived all setbacks, all defeats and all sorrows. All have passed away. If there are problems in the present, they too will pass away. Because nothing remains forever. Joy and sorrow are the two faces of the same coin. They both will pass away. 

 

Who are you in reality? Know your real face. Your face is not your true face. It will change with the time. However, there is something in you, which will not change… It will remain unchanged. What is that unchangeable? It is nothing but your true self. You are just a witness of change.

THE CREATION OF DAY AND NIGHT – A SYNCHRONIZED EXISTENCE


MAN’S EXPERIENCE OF LIFE IN NATURAL WORLD  :
 
 

                                                                                                     VITRUVIAN MAN, C. 1492 – LEONARDO DA VINCI   

THE BEGINNING – THE STORY OF CREATION :   

The First Book of Moses called GENESIS, Chapter 1, verse 4 :"And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness."

 

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

   

The Holy Bible, The Old Testament, Book of Genesis, Chapter 1( verses 1,3,4,5,14 and 15) describes the creation of day and night.   

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.   

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.   

God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.   

God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day.   

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.”   

A SIGN TO MARK SEASON – THE SUMMER SOLSTICE :   

The First Book of Moses called GENESIS, Chapter 1, verse 14: Then God said,"Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years;"

 

In the northern hemisphere, at the Summer Solstice, the day is the year’s longest. It marks the first day of the season of summer. During the year 2008, the Summer Solstice occurred on Friday, June 20 at 7.59 P.M. On this day, the Sun is farthest north from the Earth’s Equator.   

SYNCHRONIZATION OF EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT OF LIVING ORGANISMS :   

The Biological Clock – Every living system studied behaves as if it contains a highly dependable clock. The specialized properties of this clock suggest that it involves some unique biological mechanism indissociable from life itself.   

The Biological Clock is a self-sustained internal timing mechanism that controls cyclic patterns, or rhythms, of a living organism. All organisms have this ability to synchronize their existence to events in both their internal or external environment. Because of this internal timing, certain physiological and behavioural events vary in intensity. Such time-dependent variability is expressed as a rhythm, or oscillation, with a frequency equal to that of the underlying biological clock. Biological clocks time the Solar day, the period of the Earth’s rotation relative to the Sun.    

The Biological Rhythm – Biological Rhythms represent the periodic biological fluctuation in an organism that corresponds to and is in response to periodic environmental change. The most important example of such environmental change is that of the cyclical variations in the relative position of the Earth to the Sun and the immediate effect of this variation is that of night alternating with day or the change from darkness to light. Biological Rhythms that occur once a day are called Circadian(Latin circa:”about,” di: “day,”), Solar day, diel, daily, diurnal(day-active), or nychthemeral rhythm. Circadian rhythms are the most pervasive rhythms regulating many events for every day in the lives of most living organisms. Circadian rhythms are synchronized to an external time-giving stimulus. The external stimulus that is important for most living organisms is that of Sun rise and Sun set, the daily light-dark cycle determined by Earth’s rotation.   

  

Biological Clock is an internal-timing mechanism to synchronize biological functions.

 

 DAY-ACTIVE OR DIURNAL RHYTHM IN MAN :   

Within the 24-hour cycle(circadian), a person usually sleeps approximately 8 hours and is awake 16 hours. In man, the daily alteration of sleep and wakefulness is accompanied by many changes, including activities of the nervous and endocrine systems and the liver and kidneys. Daily variations occur in body temperature, in heart and respiratory rates, and in blood pressure and composition of the blood.There are daily variations in chemical syntheses and in cell divisions.   

During the wakeful hours, mental and physical functions are most active and tissue-cell growth increases. During sleep, voluntary muscle activities nearly disappear and there is a decrease in metabolic rate, respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure. The activity of digestive system increases during the resting period, but that of the urinary system decreases. Hormones secreted by the body, such as the stimulant epinephrine(adrenaline) are released in maximal amounts about two hours before awakening so that the body is prepared for activity.   

If a person tries to break the circadian rhythm by ignoring sleep for a number of days, psychological disorders begin to arise.   

THE LAWS OF NATURE :   

Diverse aspects of human physiology and behaviour show that human existence is synchronized with the Laws of Nature. When we live in accordance with the law, we get a chance to know the provider of the law.   

A PRAYER TO THE DIVINE LIGHT( GAYATRI MANTRA) :   

A Prayer to Divine Light - The Creation of Day and Night reveals a purpose and design to support existence of Life on planet Earth.

 

Om, Bhur Buvaha Suvaha   

Tat Savithur Varenyam   

Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi   

Dhiyo Yonaha Prachodayath.   

We contemplate the glory of Light illuminating the three worlds: the physical(the gross), the mental(the subtle), and the spiritual(the causal), we pray for the divine Light to illumine and guide our minds.   

Please view related blog post titled ‘Defining Indian Identity – The Light Bulb Connection’  

http://bhavanajagat.wordpress.com/2007/06/02/defining-indian-identity-the-light-bulb-connection/  

Dr. R. Rudra Narasimham,  

Kurnool Medical College, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India,  

M.B.B.S.,  Class of  April, 1970. 

THE USHERING OF THE NEW YEAR – THE PERCEPTION OF CHANGE


Lunar Eclipse

Image via Wikipedia

ONCE IN A ‘BLUE MOON‘ – WELCOME TO NEW YEAR   :    

Once in a 'Blue Moon', we encounter a second Full Moon on New Year's Eve.

 

The sensory perception about Moon depends upon the place where we exist on this planet Earth. The visual experience of Moon is not the same, it is not absolute and is only relative.

 

In the United States, on New Year’s Eve, we had a ‘Blue Moon’ to ring in the Year 2010. As the saying goes, the Blue Moon is a rare event. In any given season, we encounter three Full Moons. Blue Moon is defined as the third Full Moon in a season with four Full Moons. It is also easy to define a Blue Moon as the second Full Moon in a given month. A Full Moon occurs every 29.5 days and most years have 12 Full Moons. An extra Full Moon in a month is described as a Blue Moon. The name has nothing to do with the color of our celestial neighbor. The first Full Moon of the month occurred on December 2nd. On Thursday, December 31, the New Year’s Eve, the Full Moon appeared for the second time. An extra Full Moon occurs every 2.5 years. New Year’s Eve Blue Moons are rarer occuring every 19 years. The last time was in 1990, and the next Full Moon comes on New Year’s Eve again in 2028.     

A partial Lunar Eclipse on New Year's Eve was visible in the East and not in the Americas.

 

While the United States ushered the New Year with a Blue Moon and in the Eastern Hemisphere, people celebrated the arrival of the New Year with a partial Lunar Eclipse when part of the Moon entered the Earth’s shadow. This Eclipse was not visible in the Americas. As to how we recognize the arrival of New Year depends upon the place where we live on this planet Earth. This New Year’s Blue Moon is unique to the place where we live.    

THE PERCEPTION OF CHANGE  :    

The experience of time on this planet Earth is an illusionary experience and is not an ‘absolute’ experience. In New York City, at Times Square thousands of people gathered on the New Year’s Eve to watch the “Ball” drop to ring in the New Year.    

The Magical Moment in Times Square. The JOY of ushering the New Year.

 

The future does not exist except in our expectation. The expectation that the Ball would drop at a precise moment is the anticipated future. The future gets transformed into the past in an instant when the Ball drops down. The past does not exist except in our memory. The present represents that instant in the future and past continuum. The New Year has arrived at the middle of the night not because of a perceptible ‘Change’ in the environment. The ‘Change’ is recognized by the use of a clock and the Ball in Times Square drops by perceiving the ‘Change’ in the clock’s time. Time is perceived by the ‘Change’ it brings. Man has invented calendars and clocks to affix numbers to the passage of time. The most a clock can give is the time an instant ago and not even the time ‘now’.    

In Indian Tradition, it is dawn that ushers a New Day and a New Year.

 

In Indian Tradition, the New Year is associated with more perceptible changes in the physical environment. According to Indian calendars, the New Year arrives during the Spring Season, and the New Year’s Day is heralded by the dawn with the Sun rising above the horizon.     

THE HISTORY OF TIME MEASUREMENT  :    

Earth’s rate of spin is the determinant of our day. The speed of the Earth’s rotation can be described in two ways: 1. The Angular or Omega Speed – the Earth rotates 360 degrees in 24 hours, or 15 degrees per hour, or 0.5 degrees of rotation in two minutes. 2. The Linear Speed or Velocity of a point on the surface of the Earth is about 1,000 miles/hour. A clock ( from the Latin Cloca – bell ) is an instrument for measuring time intervals of less than a day as opposed to a Calendar which measures time intervals greater than a day.    

Galileo Galilei ( 1564-1642 ) discovered the pendulum

 

The invention of Pendulum - The History of Time Measurement.

 

Dutch Scientist Christiaan Huygens the inventor of first Pendulum Clock

 

In 1656, Huygens determined the mathematical formula that related pendulum length to time and built the first pendulum driven Clock.

 

The Grandfather Clock - The division of the day into hours, minutes, and seconds helps us to recognize the passage of time. We have no sensory perception of Earth's spin that gives us alternate periods of light and darkness.

 

The day is measured in relation to the time taken for Earth’s rotation that causes perceptible environmental changes. Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens ushered us into the era of precision timekeeping. During 1884, Greenwich in England was adopted as the zero degree longitude. U.S. time zones came into existence in 1883, the global time zones came into use in 1884, and ‘daylight’ savings time came into use in 1915. However, the Earth is an erratic time keeper. The Earth’s rotation is affected by the tides, changing weather patterns, ocean currents, and polar ice variations. The net effect is that it is slowing, losing a few thousandths of a second per century. Half a billion years ago the planet took only 20 hours to make it through the day. In another 200 million years an Earth Day will last 25 hours. Man has acquired the ability to track the motion inside atomic nucleus. Picoseconds describe trillionths of a second, and Femtoseconds describe thousandths of a Picosecond. To give a better perspective, it could be stated that there are more Femtoseconds in one second than there were seconds in the past 31 million years.    

Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 developed the Gregorian Calendar that we use today.

 

The seasons of Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn and the phases of the Moon are used to measure the passage of time of a greater duration than a day. The Babylonians, and the Egyptians had used calendars. The Calendar developed by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 is accurate to a day in every 3,323 years. The Calendar is related to Earth’s orbit around the Sun. Earth’s orbit around the Sun takes about 365 1/4 days. Earth orbits the Sun at a distance of about 93 million miles. Earth travels a distance of about 584 million miles per year at about a speed of 66,660 miles/hour. The Moon rotates on its axis and revolves around the Earth in about 29.5 days  and has helped man to devise the 30 day Lunar Calendar. Moon spins with the same period as its revolution around the Earth and hence the same face of the Moon always points towards the Earth.    

HUMAN CONCEPTS ABOUT TIME  :    

We run our lives by numbers on Clocks and Calendars. The Clocks and Calendars create the illusion that we live in a world of mathematically measured segments of time. Man acquired advanced language abilities to descirbe the past in terms of personal experience. Because of linguistic skills, man is able to communicate his expectations about future and reminisce about past events. Time is lloked upon as a flow like a river.    

Sir Issac Newton ( 1687 ) stated that the Flow of Time is Absolute.

 

Sir Issac Newton claims that the time “flows equably without relation to anything external.” In 1905, while postulating the Theory of Relativity, Albert Einstein had observed that time is not absolute and that the measurement of time is affected by the motion of the observer.    

Albert Einstein stated that Time is not Absolute and is relative to the motion of the observer.

 

The relativity of time becomes significant only at very great speeds. Rapidly moving clocks tick more slowly than clocks at rest. Herman Minkowski, a mathematician, added time as the fourth dimension of three dimensional space. Time is seen as a dimension like height, and width, and it gives meaning to events and the order in which they occur. Gravity affects both time and light. Time is affected by the gravitational field of each celestial body and thus is unique to any one spot in the universe. The physicists tend to view time and space as the building blocks of the universe. However, time is not a substance and it is only a measuring tool. Motion and time are invariably linked. There can be no velocity without the concept of time. While time is not absolute, the speed of light ( 186,282 miles/second ) is absolute. Now, we have the practical ability to actually look at past while living in the present. By looking at light reaching us from a far away Galaxy, or a Supernova, we are looking as it was billions of years ago.    

THE BIOLOGICAL CLOCK :    

The Biological Clock is an Internal Clock that monitors time and brings about changes that affect the body and its functions.

 

A  biologist sees time in the ‘internal clocks’ that keep all living entities in sync with nature. The body’s dominant time cycle is called the ‘Circadian Rhythm’ ( Latin Circa – approximately; and Dies – day or About a Day ). For most of us a normal circadian cycle is 25 hours. A seven day week could be described as a unit of time for the biological rhythms that regulate changes in body chemicals, the response pattern of the immune system, the rise and fall of heart beat and changes in circualtion display this periodicity of functioning. Human body undergoes age related changes in structure and function with the passage of time and it is unrelated to man’s ability to measure time or man’s concepts about time. Aging is a time related biological phenomenon on which man has very little control. The biological clock measures time and the activity of genes is selectively turned on or off. Apart from cell damage due to the products of cell metabolism, effects of physical environment, and biological agents, cells experience senescence. We are predestined to exist as mortal individuals and the human body experiences changes in its structure and function even if we fail to keep track of the passage of time. Humans lack the biological and physiological abilities to transform our physical bodies into sources of perpetual enjoyment. Time has influence over both animate and inanimate world. Apart from human existence, the existence of this created universe is subject to time’s Power of Dissolution. The White Dwarfs, the Brown Dwarfs, the Super Novae offer observable evidence about the effects of time on physical objects and its power to cause change, transformation, and eventually dissolution.    

WHERE ARE WE NOW ?    

Where were we in the year 2009? Where would we exist in the year 2011? In the year 2010, where are we now? Our measurement of time gives the illusionary experience of the material world in which we exist. Our experience of time is illusionary as we do not know as to when time began and we do not know as to when it may cease to exist. Indian thinkers have described time or “KAALA” as eternal and time existed before creation, and would continue to exist after dissolution of creation. During this middle interval, after creation and before its dissolution, time exists in relation to motion. When there is no motion in absolute terms, there would be no time interval that could be measured, and  the stillness arrests the flow of time. Since, time is related to movement, we need a reference point to know our exact position at any given instant. Our position on the surface of the Earth keeps changing as Earth participates in the motions of the Sun as a member of the Milky Way Galaxy. The Sun also revolves around the galactic center at a speed of about 155 miles/second and Earth participates in this motion along with the rest of the Solar System. We need to know the precise location of the Sun in the Milky Way Galaxy at any given time and also know the precise location of the Milky Way Galaxy in the universe in which it exists. Without this information, our experience and understanding of time remains purely a local experience relative to a spot in this universe of unknown dimensions.    

LINEAR  vs  CIRCULAR TIME FLOW  :    

Is past, present, and future are arranged in a straight line? In the West, time is more often viewed as a one-way track. The “monochronic” perception about time in the West could be related to its cultural beliefs such as resurrection which gives a sense of the arrow of time pointing in one direction. In India, time is viewed as a circle and all things are expected to return to a former state of existence. In nature, the seasons repeat themselves, and the living entities follow this pattern of cyclical growth and regeneration. According to the Indian concept of ‘Samsara’, the individual soul is eternal but is trapped in a cyclical existence of birth, death, and rebirth. The Indian concept of  ’Karma’ also very firmly binds the individual soul to its past states of existence and the individual experiences the past in his present existence, and also in all of his future states of existence. The cyclical flow of time would let us experience the past and lets time to repeat itself.    

TIME’S POWER OF DISSOLUTION :    

Indian thinker Adi Shankaracharya has described Time's Power of Dissolution:"Maa kuru dhana, jana, yowvvana garvam, Harati nimeyshaat kaala sarvam, Mayaa maya midam akhilam hitvaa, Brahma padam tvam bravisa viditvaa.

 

 Time exerts a powerful influence over the qualitative aspects of human existence. Whatever qualities or attributes such as material wealth, power, status, and social position that man cherishes and desires most could be dissolved and rendered useless by the effects of time. Indian thinker Adi Shankaracharya has cautioned people to be aware of the powerful force of Illusion called ’MAYA’ and we are asked to avoid the perceptual problems it generates. Since the manifested world and universe gives illusory experience, we need to be careful about the effects of time that tends to dissolve the manifested universe at an individual level and also as a collective human sensory experience. A philosopher had observed that:”Time is the Best Teacher, unfortunately, it kills all its pupils.” Humans have no choice. Time alters our ability to perceive the sensory experience and enjoyment of our physical body. Time with its Power of Dissolution would eventually compel us to investigate and to explore the Concept of Absolute and Unchanging Reality. The Strong Nuclear Force, the Weak Nuclear Force, Electromagnetism, and the Gravitational Force operate the Four Fundamental Interactions and the role of time has not been explained by physicists. Natural scientist Charles Darwin had observed that things in nature change with time. Does time exert a force entirely of its own to change things in nature? If time is viewed as a power or a force, who controls this force and what are the Laws that operate this Force? Indian thinkers are of the opinion that Purusha ( the Divine Soul ), Prakriti ( the material Nature ), and Kaala or Time are eternal and these three entities existed before formation of this created universe, will operate during the existence of this created universe, and eventually remain existing after the total dissolution of the present created universe. The flow of time is eternal, but time is not absolute. Purusha or the Supreme Divine Soul is the ultimate Controller of Energy in all of its forms. The Power of Time to dissolve the creation has no effect on the Creator. All the living entities are created by the Superior Energy of the Supreme Divine Soul, and the individual souls have the ability to exploit energy of an inferior source such as Prakriti ( material Nature ). The physical body experiences dissolution as per a predetermined time ( Kaala Sutra ), and the individual souls alone survive the dissolution of animate and inanimate world and universe.    

The Unchanging Ultimate and Absolute Reality is Unmanifested. In the manifested world and universe, everything is subject to change and gets changed, transformed, and eventually dissolved under the influence of time. Lord Rama has existed in this manifested world. But, the name, the two letters of "RA", and "MA" which are manifested in this physical world represent the Unmanifested Truth which is not subject to change and exists beyond the influence of time. Ra+ ma could be viewed like a mathematical formula to represent the Reality called Truth.

 

 ESSENCE AND EXISTENCE  : 

Everything that is born arrives with a plan for its dissolution. In the multicellular human organism, each individual cell has its life span and the human individual has his life span. How is the existence of the individual is established in a multicellular organism? Man may choose to define his essence, and the cells need to function to support the existence of the individual. Man’s identity is just one face of the coin, and the second face of the same coin represents the individuality of that person. Man exists as long as the individuality is maintained. Man is not capable of independent existence. The individuality is sustained because of ‘God Connection’; the Connection that connects the individual who is energy seeker with his energy provider. Man’s intellectual or physical effort is not the basis for this God Connection. As time flows, man lives his life span because of the mercy, compassion, and grace of the Creator, who had caused the existence of this object that has identity and individuality. 

Please view related blog post titled ‘The Perception of Reality-Maya is a Fundamental Force’  

http://bhavanajagat.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/the-perception-of-reality-maya-is-a-fundamental-force/   

Dr. R. Rudra Narasimham,   

Kurnool Medical College, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India,   

M.B.B.S.,  Class of   April, 1970.

THE PERCEPTION OF REALITY – MAYA IS A FUNDAMENTAL FORCE


TRIBUTE TO CAPTAIN. R. R. RAO

"What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the life of others."

 

‘A MILLION HAPPY LANDINGS’ – A LONG AVIATION CAREER   :    

Captain. R. R. Rao, Aviation Consultant, SKYCARE Aviation Society ( India ) as a pilot, General Secretary of the Indian Commercial Pilots Association, a Manager, and as a Flight Instructor, won the hearts of several thousands of pilots, colleagues, and students. His dedication for aviation and his constant drive to improve safety of flight will forever remain his greatest contribution to all pilots and the flying public.    

A   PSALM   OF   LIFE   :    

“Tell me not in mournful numbers,    

Life is but an empty dream!    

For the soul is dead that slumbers,    

And things are not what they seem.”    

( Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807-1882 )    

‘THINGS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM’ – AN ENCOUNTER WITH REALITY AND AN ILLUSION  :    

1948 Single Engine Aircraft - An encounter with Reality and Illusion.

Myself, and my friends, while I was ten years of age, walked eight miles to view a single engine, fixed wing aircraft that had arrived at an airfield in Rajahmundry.

 

Rajahmundry Airport at Madhurapudi.

During 1958, this airfield at Madhurapudi, Rajahmundry was not providing any civil aviation service.

 

During the academic year of 1958-1959, at about ten years of age, I was a 9th Grade ( IV FORM ) student at Danavaipeta Municipal High School, Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, India. Amongst other subjects, I was  studying Physics and the Laws of Physics that operate in the physical world. One day, myself, and a few of my classmates saw a small airplane circling in the sky over Rajahmundry. At that time, we had no Airport in Rajahmundry. The airfield at Madhurapudi had one runway and had no terminal building. It is located 8 miles away from Danavaipeta. Myself, and my friends had spontaneously decided to physically see this aircraft and had walked all the way to the airfield under the hot Sun. Fortunately, the plane had returned and we found it parked on the runway. We found the pilot relaxing under the shade of the plane. Captain. R. R. Rao, my uncle was that pilot. As far as my memory goes, that was my very first time I was meeting him during my life and it was also the last time that I had met him during my life. During that brief and purely chance encounter, he had asked me to climb into the cockpit and had guided me in checking the instrument panels, operate the wing flaps and the tail while explaining a few basic aspects about flying a plane. Apart from this reality of meeting my pilot uncle at Madhurapudi airfield, I had also witnessed for the first time in my life the illusionary phenomenon known as Mirage. Rajahmundry gets very hot but we do not get the right atmospheric conditions to actually witness a highway or a hot road Mirage. I had learned about it in my Science class but the actual sensory experience of this illusion in the natural world is really memorable.    

THE PERCEPTION OF PHYSICAL WORLD  :    

This 'FULL MOON' exists in the sensible, manifested, perceived World. While living upon planet Earth, we perceive the waxing and waning phases of the Moon. The appearance of the Moon changes, but in reality it is one and unchanging. To understand the unchanging reality, we need to understand the problems of Perception.

 

Human perception is the process and experience of gaining sensory information about objects and events of the natural world. The process of perception translates sensory stimulation into organized experience. That mental impression or percept is the joint product of the stimulation and of the process which involves the intuitive and rational parts of the brain. However, a real, physical world exists independent of man’s experience. A real, physical world has existed long before man’s arrival and man’s  physical interaction with the elements of nature. The branches of Physics concerned with electromagnetic energy, optics, and mechanics describe the apparent physical world. When physical energy such as light interacts with the perceiving individual, percepts are formed. The degree of correspondence between percepts and the physical objects or events to which they relate also depends upon certain other external factors beyond human control. There could be a difference between Real World and the ‘Perceived World’. Sometimes, man perceives physical objects or events that may not exist in reality, and yet other times man fails to perceive physical objects or events that may actually exist and the manner in which they really exist. These perceptual problems are not attributable to the sense organs and are not due to inadequate sensory endowment. Apart from the basic Four Fundamental Forces that operate this physical world, there is another Fundamental Force that alters or transforms human perception. The Force of Gravitation gives the man the ability to experience his body weight and like all other objects in the environment, man exists on the face of Earth according to the Laws of Motion and the influence of Gravitation.    

FLYING  AND  PERCEPTUAL APPRECIATION OF REALITY  :    

Flying demands an acute awareness of the physical world. Man interacts with his physical environment using his sense organs of vision, hearing, touch, and smell. To move effectively, we must perceive our own movements to balance ourselves. The eye is by far the most effective organ for sensing. Movement detectors exist in the human brain. The vestibular organs in the inner ears provide us with the sense of balance and equilibrium apart from other kinesthetic sensations from muscles, tendons, and joints. A visual field containing familiar objects provides a stable framework against which relative motion may be judged. For purposes of path recognition and navigation while flying in air, the pilot requires reliable perception of the vertical and horizontal dimensions. Preservation of perceptual constancy for the vertical and horizontal dimensions during the flight are based on the parallel activity of vision and the vestibular sense of balance or equilibrium. Even in flying small aircraft it has been shown that the pilot becomes disoriented unless he preserves visual control of the horizontal dimension. The movement of an airplane produces centrifugal and centripetal forces, particularly as the plane tilts or changes direction, which easily mislead a person’s vestibular( balance ) receptors. For this reason, in high-altitude flying the horizontal line of the surface of the Earth is simulated for the pilot by an optical display unit. When an aircraft takes off to begin the flight, and when it returns to land at the end of the flight, the perception of depth and distance are of critical importance. The perception of depth and distance depends on information transmitted through various sense organs. Sensory cues indicate the distance at which objects in the environment are located from the perceiving individual. Man has the ability to differentiate his own body from the surrounding environment. Man has the ability to perceive his own movement, and also the movement of other objects in his physical environment. But, man has no sensory perception of the reality of the movement of his earthly home in space. Man only recognizes relative motion of objects in his visual field. Just recall the illusion that your train is moving, when in reality, it is really the moving train along that is seen through the window; and the moving train on the adjoining track is falsely accepted as the visual frame of reference.    

PERCEPTUAL  CONSISTENCY  AND  CONSTANCY  :    

The Moon Illusion - Perceptual Consistency and Constancy

The intuitive and rational parts of brain interact to modify sensory information. In these images, the moon is of the same size but is perceived differently.

 

Spatial perception tends to ensure that a person experiences the continually changing circumstances of the environment in which he moves and lives with some degree of stability or constancy. Some degree of selectivity in perception is required for the survival of the individual. The individual gradually learns about the significance of observable ( empirical ) spatial cues. There is a well-known apparent difference in the size of the moon when it is at the horizon and when it is fully risen. The horizon moon, though it is actually further away from the observer, looks larger than it does when it is high in the sky and closer. The retinal images in the eye of the high moon and the horizon moon are about the same, but the perceived size of the moon differs grossly. Indian thinkers have always asserted that ‘TRUTH’ and ‘REALITY’ have the qualities of consistency and constancy and hence are not subject to sensory perceptions which tend to vary because of external influences.    

THE  NATURE  OF  ILLUSIONS  :    

Pencil in Water Illusion

Stimulus Distortion Illusion - A visual or optical illusion produced by the refraction or bending of light rays as it passes from one substance to another in which the speed of light is significantly different. A ray of light passing from one transparent medium(Air) to another(Water) is bent at the surface where the air and water meet.Thus the pencil standing in water seems bent.

 

Desert Mirage- The Perception of Reality- MAYA is a Fundamental Force.

Mirage is an illusion that depends on atmospheric conditions.

 

inferior_mirage - An optical illusion produced when the stimulus presented to the senses has been altered by environmental conditions that affect the refractive index of the air.

The vision of a pool of water is created by light passing the layers of hot air above the heated surface of the land. The cooler layers of air are denser and refract the sun's rays at different angles than the less dense strata of heated air. The result is the appearance of water where there is none.

 

Figure and Ground Illusion

This Illusion depends upon the 'Perceiver' and his selection of figure and ground.Illusion of organizational phenomena caused by perceptual distinction between figure and ground.

 

Perceptions accord more often with object’s properties than with the sensory stimulation. Perceptual constancies cause one to perceive the world more correctly than would be expected from sensory stimulation. Illusions are perceptions where perception accords neither with how the sensory receptors are stimulated nor with the characteristics of the objects themselves. Illusions are pervasive phenomena. Such experiences have been regularly and consistently reported by virtually everyone. Illusions are defined as special perceptual experiences in which information arising from “real” external stimuli leads to an incorrect perception or false impression.An illusion is not a simple error in perception. Illusions have features whose nature it is to evoke an incorrect perception. Illusions describe subjective perceptual experience that contradicts objective reality. Some of these false impressions arise from factors beyond an individual’s control. Bending or refraction is a property of light rays. We seek light energy for its ability to provide a realistic experience. When the illumination is insufficient, such as in a dark room, a rope could be misinterpreted as a snake(“Rajju Sarpa Bhranti”). The moment the room is illuminated with light, the darkness is gone, and the misconception is destroyed. Indian traditions encourage individuals to avoid the products or results of an illusionary experience. A rational individual would not chase a mirage to find water. When we use sensitive instruments, we take care to avoid optical errors while recording our observations. Any impression that contradicts the ‘facts of reality’, or fails to report the ‘true’ character of an object or an event should be discarded. The apparent daily motion of the Sun and stars across the sky is an illusion that we experience all through our existence. This illusion is not caused by any of the Four Fundamental Forces that operate in the universe. Gravitation is the universal force of attraction that affects all matter and it could explain the consistency of Earth’s orbit around the Sun. Gravitation is not the force that is mediating the mechanism that gives us alternating periods of darkness and light while the reality of Sun is different.    

Sunrise is an Illusion

Sunrise, Sunset, and the apparent motion of Sun across our sky is an illusion with which we exist all of our lives.

 

MAYA  IS  A  FUNDAMENTAL  FORCE  :    

The most important motion of the Earth is its rotation or spinning on an axis. This is the motion that gives us the experience of alternating days and nights while in reality, the Sun shines brightly all the time.The speed of the earth’s rotation can be described in two ways, the angular speed and the linear speed( of a point on the surface of the Earth). The angular or Omega speed of Earth is 0.00007272 radians per second or about 0.5 degrees of rotation in two minutes. The Linear speed or the Linear velocity on the surface of the Earth is 0.278 miles per second or about 1,000 miles per hour. It is surprisingly a very fast motion. While it spins on its axis, the Earth orbits the Sun at a speed of 18.6 miles per second( 30 Kms/Second ). On an average, Earth travels about 66,660 miles per hour and in a year Earth travels about 584 million miles. Earth also partakes of the Sun’s motion as a member of the Milky Way Galaxy. The Sun revolves around the galactic center at a speed of about 155 miles per second( 250 Kms/Second ). We exist upon this planet Earth with no sensory perception of the physical motions of the Earth.We exist in a universe without knowing the reality of our physical movement and position in a system that is constantly in motion. However, the periodicity of man’s earthly existence depends upon Earth’s spin. Man’s fundamental biological functions are synchronized with the rhythmic phases of environmental changes caused by Earth’s rotation. Apart from ‘Sleep-Wakefulness’ Cycles, man seems to be unable to live without some concept of time. Through conditioning to time, and by way of biological rhythms ( Diurnal Rhythm, Solar Rhythm, or Circadian Rhythm), human physiology provides a biological clock that offers points of reference for temporal orientation. The biological clock induces age related changes. As long as Earth is spinning, it would cause both environmental changes as well as physical changes in our bodies. Since, we do not have the ability to stop the Force/Power/Energy that is causing the rotational spin, we are encouraged to dissociate our sense of ‘Identity’ with our physical body which is subject to physical changes such as old age and death. To perceive is to become aware of a stimulation in the present. The present is only a point along the continuum of becoming an instant when future is transformed into past. As the Earth is constantly spinning beyond man’s control, the instant known as ‘present’ gets transformed into ‘past’. Indian tradition claims that ‘ reality’ could not be an experience of past, present, or future. Reality has to exist in a state that is unchanging and eternal. A Fundamental Force that moves the Earth and contributes to this spin governs man’s earthly existence. Man is virtually ruled and dominated by this Force/Power/Energy which causes the rotation of Earth on its axis. No other planet that we know today exhibits an Earth like spin. The length of day and night is totally different on planet Venus. One day on planet Venus is equal to 243 Earth days. Moon spins with the same speed as it revolves around the Earth, one face always points towards the Earth. The Moon rotates on its axis and revolves around the Earth in 27  1/3 days. Because of the rotation and revolution speed being the same, man never sees the dark side of the Moon. Man celebrates ‘Full Moon’ Days when in reality Moon is never fully lit. Man marks his Lunar Calendar with important events with his limited knowledge about the waxing and waning phases of Moon. Man is literally trapped to exist upon Earth and live in accordance with the changes it brings while it is spinning. These are the trappings of the Fundamental Force which I would like to describe as “MAYA” which provides the man with an illusionary sensory experience of Sunrise and Sunset. The physical world is real. Sun is a real object. Darkness and Light are actual, real visual experiences. But, Sunrise and Sunset, in reality are not actual events in man’s life and existence. The reality of man, the reality of man’s identity does not belong to the material realm where man perceives the physical world in which he exists. “Maya” is also described as “AVIDYA” which contributes to ignorance and it would not let man gain true knowledge of his identity. Man gains true knowledge when he gets away from the trappings of Maya and recognizes that there is no dawn or dusk and he has the same identity of that Light described as “PARAM JYOTI” which shines with constancy and consistency and is the Ultimate Reality.     

Adi Shankaracharya - MAYA is a Fundamental Force.

Man's perception of Reality is changed by the external Force/Power/Energy known as Maya. "MAAYA MAYA MIDAM AKHILAM HITVAA"

 

The only Force/Power/Energy which can help man to overcome “AVIDYA”, the Force that causes the Illusion of Sunrise and Sunset, is the Force that I have described before as “KRUPA”( Krupa - A Force to Preserve Human Existence, published on August 10, 2009). I have described the importance of Gravitational Force in my post titled ‘Earthly Existence – Enjoy the Fragrance’ published on November 20, 2008. Man should realize that he is not the perceiver. He is not the organ of perception. What has been perceived does not describe his true identity or the ‘Real World’. Since its time of origin, the Milky Way Galaxy, the Sun, and Earth have existed in a state of motion. The universe is still expanding, the Galaxies are moving apart and we do not know our precise location in this ever-changing universe. As long as man is attached to his physical body, man would experience the changes in his environment and also in his body that causes old age and death. He need to illuminate his mind with a light that illuminates the three planes of human existence, the physical, the mental, and the causal or spiritual dimensions in a constant and consistent manner.    

Gayatri Maha Mantra - The Perception of Reality

Gayatri Maha Mantra connects the person to the illuminating power of Light, a power that shines constantly and consistently and this illumination is not associated with the property of refraction that contributes to illusions.

 

Lord Rama - The Fundamental Force of "MAYA"

Lord Rama's earthly journey is celebrated according to a calendar which is created by the Force of Maya. The position of Sun, Moon, Planets and Stars that describe the major events of 'RAMAYANA' in reality are not actual positions but are only apparent postions perceived by man. Man needs the Force of "KRUPA" to overcome the trappings of "MAYA".

 

The personality of Rama had an earthly existence. The name of Rama is identified as Eternal Truth. His name is associated with the power to destroy the Force of illusion that causes old age and death.    

Jayatu, Jayatu Mantram, Janma saaphalya Mantram,    

Janana marana chheda klesha vichheda Mantram,    

Sakala nigama Mantram, sarva saastraika mantram,    

Raghupati nija Mantram, Raama Raameti Mantram.    

Please view related blog post titled ‘The Ushering of the New Year – The Perception of Change’ 

http://bhavanajagat.wordpress.com/2010/01/07/the-ushering-of-the-new-year-the-perception-of-change/ 

Dr. R. Rudra Narasimham,   

Kurnool Medical College, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India,   

M.B.B.S.,   Class of   April, 1970.