Bharat Darshan Asks You to Look Before You Leap. What is Prudence?
Prudence has a role in all the concerns of life. The right end, whether that be the goal of personal happiness or the common good of society, or the performance of one’s duties, cannot be achieved unless the means to it are rightly chosen. Prudence can be acquired through learning to take sufficient counsel and to deliberate enough before taking any action. The habit of prudent action can be gained by a remembrance of the past experience, by the understanding of what is present, and providing for the future by resolving thoughts and making decisions and commanding their execution.
Lord Hanuman’s Leap – Prudence is Indispensable to Good Human Life
Bharat Darshan Asks You to Look Before You Leap. The virtue of Prudence.
The Indian epic poem of ‘RAMAYANA‘ describes life journey of Lord Rama, the Prince of the Ayodhya Kingdom who was exiled to live in the forest. The story narrates the abduction of His wife, Princess Sita. While searching the forest to find Sita, Lord Rama befriends the ‘VANARA’ or Monkey Forces of Kishkindha Kingdom. The Vanara King Sugriva in an effort to find Sita dispatched his forces in all directions with very strict orders to report back within a month. The search party that proceeded southwards eventually reach the southern sea-shore at the end of their appointed time for reporting back to the King. While they were feeling anxious about their delayed mission, they receive a vital clue about Sita held captive in the island kingdom of Lanka ruled by the demon King Ravana. The search party now gets fearful about the course of action they have to choose. They seek counsel from the eldest member of their party. They decide against returning home with secondhand information about Princess Sita’s whereabouts. After due deliberation, they choose to physically verify the accuracy of the information about Princess Sita’s presence in the island. The action that they selected requires crossing the sea, entering an enemy kingdom, searching diligently tightly guarded places, and returning safely crossing the sea one more time. In the context of this story, as there is no land bridge to reach the island, the safest way to get there is to jump across the sea in one leap. The party’s elder leader recommends entrusting Hanuman with this difficult and challenging mission. The choice of Hanuman is prudent because of His strength, courage, intelligence, and other special abilities like changing of body size at His discretion.
The story describes that Hanuman stood on a hill by the name of Mahendra to gain advantage for the proposed leap. He looks at the sea and directs His mind towards the island of Lanka. He is sure about His devotion to Lord Rama and He is certain about His desire to fulfil Lord Rama’s purpose. He said to Himself: “I shall search and find Sita. I shall fly in the sky and cross the sea.” However, He undertakes this mission with a sense of absolute modesty and humility. He offers worship and prayers to God and to all creation before He leaps into the sky with a roar of triumph. With that leap, Hanuman’s role in the story of Ramayana reaches heroic proportions and continues to be very exalted till the end of the story.
The Quality of Prudence
Bharat Darshan Asks You to Look Before You Leap. What is Prudence?
The quality of prudence is most concerned with action. Prudence is a product of experience and a possession of reason. The maxims of prudence are counsel, deliberation, and judgment. A prudent man knows how to deliberate or calculate well about things to be done. He evaluates the negative as well as the positive consequences of his actions. Prudence also shapes the character of the person. Use of unjust or dishonest means to achieve the end or goal set for oneself is not prudence. ‘ One cannot have prudence unless one has the moral virtues; since prudence is the right reason about things to be done, to which end man is rightly disposed by moral virtue’. The choice of the best means is as important as the election of the right end. The clever thief who plans and executes a successful robbery exhibits no prudence but its counterfeit called cunning. The rightness of the means requires not merely that they are adapted to an end, but that the end itself be right.
Bharat Darshan Asks You to Look Before You Leap. What is Prudence?
Prudence has a role in all the concerns of life. The right end, whether that be the goal of personal happiness or the common good of society, or the performance of one’s duties, cannot be achieved unless the means to it are rightly chosen. Prudence can be acquired through learning to take sufficient counsel and to deliberate enough before taking any action. The habit of prudent action can be gained by a remembrance of the past experience, by the understanding of what is present, and providing for the future by resolving thoughts and making decisions and commanding their execution.
A Prayer to Lord Hanuman
Bharat Darshan Asks You to Look Before You Leap. What is Prudence?
Having known that my human body is deficient of intelligence, I call upon Pavan Kumar (Son of Wind God or Vayu) asking Him to grant me strength, intelligence, and true knowledge to dissolve all of my blemishes which cause pain and misery.
Bharat Darshan Asks You to Look Before You Leap. What is Prudence?
In his final book titled ‘Brief Answers to the Big Questions’, physicist Stephen Hawking states that ‘There is no God’ without further validating his statement. In my analysis, man has to first define himself for man’s existence as a living thing has both Subjective and Objective evidence. The fact of man’s existence can be verified and can be proven beyond reasonable doubt. ‘What is Man’? is the Big Question that demands an answer.
There is No God Theory of Stephen Hawking.
Attempting to answer the question “How do we shape the future?” in the book’s final chapter, the scientist writes: “Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet.”
When we indeed look up the stars, man finds some amusement in knowing that he would never ever know more than the little answer provided by the nursery rhyme called “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” For example, man will never be able to account for the variations in the orbital spin displayed by various celestial objects. No two celestial objects share the same kind of rotational spin.
There is no God Theory of Stephen Hawking.
Once the living thing called a man is defined, the issue of God’s existence requires no further explanation.
There is no God — that’s the conclusion of the celebrated physicist Stephen Hawking, whose final book is published Tuesday.
The book, which was completed by his family after his death, presents answers to the questions that Hawking said he received most during his time on Earth.
Other bombshells the British scientist left his readers with include the belief that alien life is out there, artificial intelligence could outsmart humans and time travel can’t be ruled out.
Hawking, considered one of the most brilliant scientists of his generation, died in March at the age of 76.
“There is no God. No one directs the universe,” he writes in “Brief Answers to the Big Questions.”
“For centuries, it was believed that disabled people like me were living under a curse that was inflicted by God,” he adds. “I prefer to think that everything can be explained another way, by the laws of nature.”
Hawking suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disorder also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, for most of his adult life.
The scientist died while still working on the book, which his family and colleagues finished with the help of his vast personal archives.
‘Increasingly looking inward’
While Hawking spoke of his lack of belief in God during his life, several of his other answers are more surprising.
“There are forms of intelligent life out there,” he writes. “We need to be wary of answering back until we have developed a bit further.”
And he leaves open the possibility of other phenomena.
“Travel back in time can’t be ruled out according to our present understanding,” he says. He also predicts that “within the next hundred years we will be able to travel to anywhere in the Solar System.”
“He realized that people specifically wanted his answers to these questions,” the scientist’s daughter, Lucy Hawking, who helped complete the book, told CNN.
Hawking saw the world on the brink of a “vast transformative change” when he died, she noted, adding: “He’s asking us not to go into the future blindly. How good is the track record of the human race in using advances in technology for the good of ordinary people?”
In remarks prepared by Hawking and played at the launch of the book in London on Monday, the scientist also turned his attention to the world he was leaving behind.
“With Brexit and Trump now exerting new forces in relation to immigration and the development of education, we are witnessing a global revolt against experts, and that includes scientists,” Hawking said.
Hawking had been a critic of the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union and called Donald Trump a “demagogue” in 2016.
His greatest concern, his daughter said, “is how divided we’ve become,” adding: “He makes this comment about how we seem to have lost the ability to look outward, and we are increasingly looking inward to ourselves.”
Hawking’s final message to readers, though, is a hopeful one.
Attempting to answer the question “How do we shape the future?” in the book’s final chapter, the scientist writes: “Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet.”
BREAKING THE SOUND BARRIER – THE MYSTICAL EFFECTS OF SOUND ENERGY
Breaking the Sound Barrier. The Mystical Effects of Sound Energy.
On October 14, 1947, U.S. Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager becomes the first person to fly faster than the Speed of Sound.
I take this opportunity to reflect upon the Mystical Effects of Sound Energy. In various human traditions of this world, the Sound Energy is glorified as God’s chosen medium of Energy/Power/Force to physically manifest His presence in the Immanent Realm.
In my analysis, Sound Energy could be used to prevent the harmful consequences of “STRESS” and stress-related health conditions. The Man exists on the surface of Earth partaking the Speed of Earth with blissful unawareness of his own Speed. For Man’s mortal existence transcends the Sound Barrier, Man must explore the Mysteries of Sound Energy.
U.S. Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager becomes the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound.
Yeager, born in Myra, West Virginia, in 1923, was a combat fighter during World War II and flew 64 missions over Europe. He shot down 13 German planes and was himself shot down over France, but he escaped capture with the assistance of the French Underground. After the war, he was among several volunteers chosen to test-fly the experimental X-1 rocket plane, built by the Bell Aircraft Company to explore the possibility of supersonic flight.
For years, many aviators believed that man was not meant to fly faster than the speed of sound, theorizing that transonic drag rise would tear any aircraft apart. All that changed on October 14, 1947, when Yeager flew the X-1 over Rogers Dry Lake in Southern California. The X-1 was lifted to an altitude of 25,000 feet by a B-29 aircraft and then released through the bomb bay, rocketing to 40,000 feet and exceeding 662 miles per hour (the sound barrier at that altitude). The rocket plane, nicknamed “Glamorous Glennis,” was designed with thin, unswept wings and a streamlined fuselage modeled after a .50-caliber bullet.
Because of the secrecy of the project, Bell and Yeager’s achievement was not announced until June 1948. Yeager continued to serve as a test pilot, and in 1953 he flew 1,650 miles per hour in an X-1A rocket plane. He retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1975 with the rank of brigadier general.
CREATIVE USES FOR SOUND ENERGY
Breaking the Sound Barrier. The Mystical Effects of Sound Energy.
The science of acoustics deals with nature, properties, generation, propagation, and reception of sound waves. The sound is defined as a vibration, a mechanical disturbance from a state of equilibrium that propagates by wave motion through an elastic medium. In gases and liquids, sound propagates as longitudinal, compression waves. In solids, sound propagates as transverse, shear waves. Sound waves behave in many ways as light waves do. A sound is a form of energy like light. Light is an electromagnetic wave. Unlike light, sound cannot exist in a vacuum. Acoustics is important in the fields of speech and hearing, the production of music, in warfare, in research, in exploration, in medical diagnosis and therapy. Sonar is an acronym for sound navigation and ranging. Sonar is used in detection and location of submerged objects like submarines by using acoustical echo.
Breaking the Sound Barrier. The Mystical Effects of Sound Energy.
Ultrasonics describe the study of all sound like waves whose frequency is above the range of normal human hearing. Ultrasound is widely used in industry and in medicine. Pulses of ultrasound could be used to shatter kidney stones and gallstones. Ultrasonic drills and saws are useful in surgery and dentistry. Ultrasonic transducers have come to be widely used in medical imaging and have become a common diagnostic tool in pregnancy and for screening medical conditions that affect children. The technique of studying heart motions by ultrasonic means is known as echocardiography. In modern life, we use sound energy in several creative ways.
THE WORLD IS FULL OF SOUNDS:
Breaking the Sound Barrier. The Mystical Effects of Sound Energy.
We encounter a great variety of sounds in our daily life. All natural phenomena such as thunder, rain, waterfall, surf, and gusts of wind generate their unique sounds which could be pleasing as well as frightening. Across the animal kingdom, the sound is used for detecting danger, navigation, predation, communication, and for relaxation. Animals possess special structures for production and reception of sounds. The sounds produced could be mechanical or vocal. The special vocal organs could also produce speech and song. Mammals can also produce sounds with parts of the body that are specialized for other purposes. We can produce sound by tapping the floor or by clapping the hands. Many animals are highly vocal and can produce species-specific sounds. By understanding the sound reception mechanisms used by animals, we can also protect ourselves. Snakes have no reception for sounds propagated through the air as they do not have external ears. But they recognize the sound vibrations that are propagated through the ground. Snakes often bite when they are stressed. During Operation Eagle 1971 in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the War of Bangladesh Liberation, I had allowed a large group of snakes to move under my legs by remaining still and not provoking them with any attempt to move. I had trained soldiers to protect themselves from snake bites. For example, we can easily alert others by shouting and announcing the presence of a snake while standing still and get help to avoid a snake bite. Humans have developed Culture and technology such as radio, telephone, and music that allows them to generate, record, transmit, and broadcast sounds. We should further explore the potential uses for sound energy. In ancient India, thoughts were propagated from person to person using the ‘oral tradition’ which involves the use of sound energy as a tool of human communication.
THE BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF SOUND
Breaking the Sound Barrier. The Mystical effects of Sound Energy.
A sudden, loud sound could disorient a person. High-intensity sounds and exposure to noise could cause irritation, anxiety, fear, sleep deprivation, stress-reaction, and hearing loss. It could also cause permanent damage to the sense organs of hearing. High-order explosives produce a supersonic high-pressure blast wave that could cause severe primary blast injuries in several organs like brain and lungs. Humans appreciate the value of sound as a tool for obtaining relaxation, rejuvenation of spirit and for mental amusement and entertainment. The soothing effects of sound can provide us with mental comfort, help in the healing and recovery process. Indian traditions claim that sound could be used as a medicine and the sound could exert medicinal effects taking advantage of the mind-body connection. Sound undoubtedly can affect our physiological responses to stress. The sound could act as a stressor and as a stress reducer.
THE MYSTICAL EFFECTS OF SOUND
Breaking the Sound Barrier. The Mystical effects of Sound Energy.
A ‘mantra’ can be defined as a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that are considered capable of creating transformation. The vocal sounds of the ‘mantra’ have inherent meaning independent of the understanding of the person uttering them. The incantor need not know the meaning of the words employed and it makes no difference to the mantric action. When we take prescribed medications, most of us do not understand the chemical formulas of the active ingredients and the pharmacological basis for their medicinal action. The vocal sounds of ‘mantra’ could still work even when we do not know the reason as to how it works. Many of the modern medications are derived from plants, herbs, and compounds that were traditionally used for curing illness. Indian tradition advocates the efficacy of vocal sounds in providing relief from physical problems that afflict us. In Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 7, verse 8, Lord Krishna states that He is the light of the sun and the moon and that He is the sound in the ether. Light energy and sound energy are aspects of the various energy manifestations of an Eternal, Original, and Primeval Person described as ‘PURUSHA’, the LORD God Creator. Our earthly existence is made possible by our Cosmic Connection with the material energies that we exploit to sustain and support our living functions. The sound is a unique natural phenomenon of our earthly existence and because of its uniqueness, it could be described as a creative energy. In the entire universe that we know and have explored, planet Earth is the only place where the sound is generated, the sound is propagated, and the sound is recognized by living entities with anatomical organs and structures that are designed for that purpose.
THE ATTRIBUTES OF ‘KALI YUGA’ – THE AGE OF STRESS:
Breaking the Sound Barrier. The Mystical effects of Sound Energy.
A person with a well-integrated personality acquires high resistance against stress and will be able to react healthily while confronting unwholesome life situations.
The Sanskrit word ‘KALI’ means fermented or contaminated water. While freshwater contributes to good health, and vitality, polluted water would induce stress and strain and leads to an illness that manifests as strife, discord, quarrel, or contention. One of the attributes of Kali Yuga is the importance attached to wealth acquisition. Money and acquisition of money have become significant “STRESSORS” in our lives. Money related problems are among top concerns playing a role in anxious or depressed moods. As avarice, greed, and wrath have become common, there is no contentment, nor discernment, and nor mental composure. As men are tormented by worries, the use of prescription drugs such as tranquilizers has become very common. Various methods have been developed to cope with psychogenic or internal stress including the use of psychotherapy. Unhealthy coping with stress is leading people to activities such as smoking, drinking, gambling, compulsive eating, and the use of mood-altering drugs and chemical substances. Such unhealthy coping mechanisms to deal with stress can trigger more conflicts both at home and in society.
AN ‘ELIXIR’ TO DESTROY THE POLLUTING EFFECTS OF STRESS
Breaking the Sound Barrier. The Mystical effects of Sound Energy.
The creative power of sound could be used to counteract the contaminating influence of the age of KALI. The sixteen words of the HARE RAMA Mantra is first attested in the ‘Kali santaranopanisad'( KALI SANTARANA UPANISHAD) which is associated with the Krishna Yajur Veda. Creator Brahma had instructed sage Narada about the efficacy of this Mantra. The mere uttering of the words of HARI, RAMA, and KRISHNA is enough. A person does not require a Guru or a teacher to instruct the mantra. No fee is expected to obtain the knowledge of this mantra. A person is not expected to change his religion or observe any specific religious rituals as a part of using the mantra. There is no set time or duration for repeating the words of the mantra. The words could be used individually or the precedence of the words could be rearranged. All the words are of a great potency. A person requires no previous qualification or training to use the mantra. There are no rites of initiation. It is unlike the practice of YOGA or MEDITATION. The person need not be in a temple or any other secluded place. The mantra could be used while fully engaged in the routine activities of life. The words could be repeated either out loud, softly to oneself, or internally within the mind. The mind hears the sounds of the words irrespective of the manner used to utter them. The Upanishad further states :
Breaking the Sound Barrier. The Mystical effects of Sound Energy.
“Iti sodasakam namnam Kali-kalmasa-nasanam
natah parataropayah Sarva Vedeshu drusyate.”
The sixteen words of ‘HARE RAMA MAHA MANTRA’ are specially meant for counteracting the polluting effects of the age of KALI. After searching through all the Vedic literature, one cannot find a better method.
I am not surprised to read about the mystical effects of sounds that could transform our lives and protect us from STRESS. I had personal experience of withstanding the physical stress imposed by the sun’s scorching heat in the open deserts during military exercises. We had used nothing more than a little shade provided by thorny bushes or the camouflage net that we use to conceal our presence. The shade would at the most reduce the heat by a couple of degrees and yet the psychological relief it provides us so immense and it enables us to resist heat the entire day. I spent time evaluating people and witness their ability to withstand a great variety of physical, chemical, biotic, and environmental stressors. The sixteen words of Hare Krishna Mantra have the potential to destroy the evil effects of stress by increasing our stress tolerance, by inducing stress resistance and protect our biological existence.
Humans appreciate the value of sound as a tool for obtaining relaxation, rejuvenation of spirit, for mental amusement and entertainment. The soothing effects of sound can provide us with mental comfort, help in the healing and recovery process. Indian traditions claim that vocal sounds could be used as a medicine and the sounds could exert medicinal effects by taking advantage of the mind-body connection. Sound can undoubtedly affect our physiological response to stress. A person can become stress-resistant by simply chanting, or repeating the words Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare, Hare; Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama, Rama, Hare, Hare. This magical formula or Mantra could be said at any time of the day or night and does not demand any prior preparation. It could be used while the person is fully engaged in other physical activities and does not require any special skills or talents like singing abilities. The words could be repeated in total silence and the chanter recites these words to himself and mentally recognizes and hears these sounds.
Breaking the Sound Barrier. The Mystical effects of Sound Energy.
2018 NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY REVEALS THE POWER OF CREATION
2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry reveals the Power of Creation.
· Sir Gregory P. Winter, born 1951 in Leicester, UK. PhD 1976. University of Cambridge, UK. Research Leader Emeritus, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK
· Frances H. Arnold, born 1956 in Pittsburgh, USA. PhD 1985, University of California, Berkeley, USA. Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA
· Sir Gregory P. Winter, born 1951 in Leicester, UK. PhD 1976. University of Cambridge, UK. Research Leader Emeritus, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences issued a statement in support of their decision to award the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry:
‘They harnessed the power of evolution’
“The power of evolution is revealed through the diversity of life. The 2018 Nobel Laureates in Chemistry have taken control of evolution and used it for purposes that bring the greatest benefit to humankind. Enzymes produced through directed evolution are used to manufacture everything from biofuels to pharmaceuticals. Antibodies evolved using a method called phage display can combat autoimmune diseases and in some cases cure metastatic cancer. Since the first seeds of life arose around 3.7 billion years ago, almost every crevice on Earth has filled with different organisms. Life has spread to hot springs, deep oceans and dry deserts, all because evolution has solved a number of chemical problems. Life’s chemical tools – proteins – have been optimized, changed and renewed, creating incredible diversity. This year’s Nobel Laureates in Chemistry have been inspired by the power of evolution and used the same principles – genetic change and selection – to develop proteins that solve mankind’s chemical problems.”
In my analysis, the above statement is factually incorrect for it lacks scientific validity. 1. The Diversity of Life reveals the power of Creation. Every living organism exists as an Individual with Individuality without any choice. Even genetically identical clones live as Individuals with Individuality. 2. Enzymes are never produced through “directed evolution.” Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution describes the evolutionary process as a series of random, purposeless, unguided events. He does not subscribe to the notion of any divine or human agency directing the mechanism called Natural Selection. The organisms have no ability to choose or select specific kinds of mutations to modify protein synthesis as and when they need.
2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry reveals the Power of Creation.
Man’s ability to invent new techniques for Protein Synthesis is commendable. Such new inventions are possible as the Chemical Elements display qualities or attributes such as imperishable, immutable, immortal, indestructible, unborn, and even uncreated. Since 3.7 billion years, the Living, Corporeal Matter or Substance called Protoplasm or Cytoplasm has essentially retained its basic Chemical Composition without any change. Life does not evolve for the Chemical Elements do not evolve and do not change their characteristics under the influence of ‘Time’.
2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry reveals the Power of Creation.
2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry reveals the Power of Creation.
Chemical Compounds are formed as defined by Proust’s Law of Definite Proportions. Life on planet Earth is possible for the Chemical Compounds retain the same characteristics without getting influenced by ‘Time’. For example, Water Molecule, the most important of all biomolecules always contains two elements of Hydrogen and one element of Oxygen combined together in the same ratio.
Most Living Functions often termed as Metabolism involve Oxidation-Reduction Chemical Reactions which also cause dissolution, decay, degeneration, and death of all living things. In other words, the Chemical Reactions operating Life and Death are of the same kind. I coined the phrase ‘Whole Mendelism’ to refute Darwinism, Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. I ask my readers to correctly interpret the Chemical Basis of Life. Chemical Elements, Chemical Compounds, and Chemical Reactions that support Life remain the same while Living Things are born and die.
2018 Nobel Prize for Medicine. My Thoughts on the Molecular Basis for the Defense of Human Existence.
American James Allison and Japan’s Tasuku Honjo have won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine for a pioneering approach to cancer treatment.
The Nobel committee said the pair’s research — which harnesses the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells — amounted to a “landmark in our fight against cancer.” The approach, known as immune checkpoint theory, had “revolutionized cancer treatment and has fundamentally changed the way we view how cancer can be managed,” the committee said.
2018 Nobel Prize for Medicine. My Thoughts on the Molecular Basis for the Defense of Human Existence.
Image copyright SPL
Two scientists who discovered how to fight cancer using the body’s immune system have won the 2018 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine.
The work, by Professor James P Allison from the US and Professor Tasuku Honjo from Japan, has led to treatments for advanced, deadly skin cancer.
Immune checkpoint therapy has revolutionized cancer treatment, said the prize-giving Swedish Academy.
Experts say it has proved to be “strikingly effective”.
Prof Allison, of the University of Texas, and Prof Honjo, of Kyoto University, will share the Nobel prize sum of nine million Swedish kronor – about $1.01 million or 870,000 euros.
Accepting the prize, Tasuku Honjo told reporters: “I want to continue my research … so that this immune therapy will save more cancer patients than ever.”
Prof Allison said: “It’s a great, emotional privilege to meet cancer patients who’ve been successfully treated with immune checkpoint blockade. They are living proof of the power of basic science, of following our urge to learn and to understand how things work.”
Treating the untreatable
Our immune system protects us from disease, but it has built-in safeguards to stop it from attacking our own tissue.
2018 Nobel Prize for Medicine. My Thoughts on the Molecular Basis for the Defense of Human Existence.
Image copyright. Kyoto University. Image caption. Professor Tasuku Honjo and his team at Kyoto University
Some cancers can take advantage of those “brakes” and dodge the attack too.
Allison and Honjo, now both in their 70s, discovered a way to unleash our immune cells to attack tumors by turning off proteins that put the brakes on.
And that led to the development of new drugs which now offer hope to patients with advanced and previously untreatable cancer.
Immune checkpoint therapy is being used by the NHS to treat people with the most serious form of skin cancer, melanoma.
It doesn’t work for everyone, but for some patients it appears to have worked incredibly well, getting rid of the tumor entirely, even after it had started to spread around the body.
Such remarkable results had never been seen before for patients like these.
2018 Nobel Prize for Medicine. My Thoughts on the Molecular Basis for the Defense of Human Existence.
Image copyright. Getty Images. Image caption. Professor James P Allison
Doctors have also been using the treatment to help some people with advanced lung cancer.
Prof Charles Swanton, from Cancer Research UK, congratulated the prize winners, saying: “Thanks to this groundbreaking work, our own immune system’s innate power against cancer has been realized and harnessed into treatments that continue to save the lives of patients. For cancers such as advanced melanoma, lung, and kidney, these immune-boosting drugs have transformed the outlook for many patients who had run out of options.
“The booming field of immunotherapy that these discoveries have precipitated is still relatively in its infancy, so it’s exciting to consider how this research will progress in the future and what new opportunities will arise.”
Medicine is the first of the Nobel Prizes awarded each year.
Previous winners
2017- Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael Young for unravelling how bodies keep a circadian rhythm or body clock
2016 – Yoshinori Ohsumi for discovering how cells remain healthy by recycling waste.
2015 – William C Campbell, Satoshi mura and Youyou Tu for anti-parasite drug discoveries.
2014 – John O’Keeffe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser for discovering the brain’s navigating system.
2013 – James Rothman, Randy Schekman, and Thomas Sudhof for their discovery of how cells precisely transport material.
2012 – Two pioneers of stem cell research – John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka – were awarded the Nobel after changing adult cells into stem cells.
2011 – Bruce Butler, Jules Hoffmann and Ralph Steinman shared the prize after revolutionizing the understanding of how the body fights infection.
2010 – Robert Edwards for devising the fertility treatment IVF which led to the first “test tube baby” in July 1978.
2009 – Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider and Jack Szostak for finding the telomeres at the ends of chromosomes.
MY THOUGHTS ON THE MOLECULAR BASIS FOR THE DEFENSE OF HUMAN EXISTENCE
Antibody Molecule helps in the study of the Molecular Basis for the Defense of Human Existence.
The Molecular Basis for the Defense of Human Existence. Man’s Unity with LORD God Creator can be learned from the study of Immunology. Each Antibody molecule bears two identical binding sites consisting of six b-Loops.
My ‘Theory of Man’ describes the Man as a Created Being. Man’s physical existence in the natural world in good health or ill-health always demands Man’s Unity (Sanskrit. ASMI) with LORD God Creator (Sanskrit. Brahman) for Man is constituted as a Spiritual Being. Man, the Rational Being is inclined to investigate the basis for the reality of his own existence. The reasoning for my statements is derived from the study of Immunology.
THE DEFENSE OF HUMAN EXISTENCE
The Study of Immune System helps in understanding the Molecular Basis for the Defense of Human Existence.
THE MOLECULAR BASIS FOR THE DEFENSE OF HUMAN EXISTENCE. NATURE OF HUMAN IDENTITY AND INDIVIDUALITY IS REVEALED BY HUMAN DEFENSE MECHANISMS.
An individual exists in the natural world by his biological abilities to defend his continued existence as an independent entity. This essay explores the physiological aspects of human existence and the defensive mechanisms that sustain this existence and the molecules which define and shape our INDIVIDUALISM. I had earlier described the Cultural aspects of INDIVIDUALISM while describing the Indian Identity. The term immunity describes the natural defensive mechanisms that give an individual the ability to recognize foreign proteins and foreign substances and neutralize or degrade them with or without injury to the individual’s own tissues. Immunology is the branch of science concerned with the body’s response to foreign agents and substances.
FUNCTIONS OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM
The Functions of the Immune System relate to the role played by unique protein molecules in the Defense of Human Existence.
THE MOLECULAR BASIS FOR THE DEFENSE OF HUMAN EXISTENCE. ORGANS, CELLS, AND PROTEIN MOLECULES OF IMMUNE SYSTEM REPRESENT A CREATIVE MECHANISM TO OPPOSE, NEUTRALIZE, AND DESTROY FOREIGN INVADERS.
The immune system responds to invasion by the foreign organisms and their toxic products. This immune response is also described as active immunity. In the natural world, an infant is defended by molecules transferred passively across the placenta from the mother’s circulation during the fetal stage of development. The infant after birth may also receive passively protein molecules from mother when breastfed. This passive immunity defends the baby for several months and the baby further survives by developing its own immune system. Another major function of the immune system is the removal of damaged or dying cells. The immune system is also able to recognize and eliminate abnormal or mutant cells that frequently arise within the body. Using a system that is described as immune surveillance, the body recognizes and disposes of such abnormal cells which could result in the incidence of certain types of cancer. The immune system plays a vital role in protecting the body from bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites and helps to prevent certain types of cancer.
The immune system is very important and it is also very sensitive. The system’s very ability to recognize foreign substances may often result in undesirable reactions. Millions of people suffer on account of hypersensitivity or allergic reactions to fairly harmless substances present in the environment. Many individuals suffer on account of their sensitivity to proteins found in the foods such as milk, eggs, fish, wheat(gluten), and nuts that we consume. Sometimes, the immune system is misdirected and initiates an immune response against the body’s own cells or tissues producing a condition known as an autoimmune disease. While an immune system could cause some problems, we take full advantage of the system to defend ourselves from serious infectious diseases such as smallpox,polio,rabies, diphtheria, whooping-cough, measles, rubella, mumps, tetanus, typhoid, cholera, tuberculosis, hepatitis B, influenza and others by using vaccines and inoculations. Millions of lives are protected by routine use of vaccines and inoculations which help the body to become resistant to these infectious agents. We also use foreign proteins to protect the lives of people in times of a severe life-threatening crisis. We use blood, plasma, and sera( containing immunoglobulins secreted by animals) with utmost care to tide over an emergency. I used foreign immunoglobulins to treat snakebite victims and tetanus cases. The foreign proteins elicit a minor immune response and the situation is carefully monitored.
By being careless and reckless, and by polluting our food, water, air, and soil with dangerous chemicals, we damage our very sensitive immune system and this is contributing to a higher incidence of immune-related health problems in the population.
TYPES OF IMMUNE RESPONSE
Man’s Intelligence, mental work, and mental memory are not the “First Line of Defense.”
The Molecular Basis for the Defense of Human Existence. The Fundamental Basis of Human Existence is not that of Man’s Intelligence, Mental Memory and Mental Functions.
The immune system defends human existence with a variety of cells and by the protein molecules known as immunoglobulins or antibodies produced by the immune function capable cells. The ability to recognize foreignness, specificity of the response, and the memory of the prior immune response are the key characteristics of immune defense. The immune system must be able to recognize the foreign agents and foreign materials in order to locate and destroy them. Specificity means that immunity to one foreign substance or organism does not provide resistance to another type of organism. Memory is the ability of the individual to develop an accelerated, enhanced, and long-lasting immunity after the initial attack by an infectious disease. The memory function described in Immunology should not be confused with the mental faculty called Memory. The body defends itself through two types of mechanisms which work together to protect our existence. 1. Humoral Immunity:- this involves the production of protein molecules described as immunoglobulins or antibodies.2. Cell-mediated Immunity:- It does not involve secretion of antibodies but requires direct physical contact with the foreign substance or agent. It also involves the use of other protein molecules which assist in the defense mechanisms.
HUMORAL IMMUNITY
The recognition of Self and Non-Self at the molecular level is the fundamental basis for human existence.
THE MOLECULAR BASIS FOR DEFENSE OF HUMAN EXISTENCE. HUMORAL IMMUNITY INVOLVES DEPLOYMENT OF UNIQUE PROTEIN MOLECULES TO COUNTERACT WITH FOREIGN PROTEIN MOLECULES.
The cells known as Lymphocytes or B cells are produced in the bone marrow and circulate in our blood and are distributed to the various lymphoid tissues in the body, such as the lymph nodes, spleen, tonsils, and Peyer’s Patches (Lymphoid Follicles) that line the small intestine. When stimulated by an infectious organism, production of lymphocytes increases and the lymphocytes are carried to the site of infection. Depending upon the site of infection, the lymph nodes of that region often swell up and are found packed with lymphocytes. The B cells produce chemical substances known as antibodies. These are protein molecules which are specifically generated against specific organisms. The foreign substance is described as antigen. The antibodies that are generated recognize their antigens with high affinity and extreme selectivity. The interaction of an antigen with its specific antibody involves only small areas on the antigen’s surface; these areas are known as antigenic determinants. Protein molecules are very potent antigens as they have several antigenic determinants. Many carbohydrates are also antigenic because they have antigenic determinants. The antibodies circulate in the blood. The simplest, most prevalent means by which the immune system defends the body against bacteria and viruses is by a combination of a specific antibody with the antigenic determinants on the surface of the invading organism. This interaction between antibodies and antigens produces an aggregate of cells called as an agglutination. The body has wandering scavenger cells known as Macrophages. The clumps of agglutinated cells are engulfed and digested by the macrophages. Antibodies also bind to toxic molecules given off by invading microorganisms and this reaction produces large, insoluble aggregates known as precipitates. These precipitates are also removed by macrophages. The virus after entering the body survives by its ability to invade or enter cells. Antibodies prevent the ability of the virus to infect cells by covering up and blocking the attachment sites of the virus.
CELL-MEDIATED IMMUNITY
Immunity and Immune Response involves the deployment of unique protein molecules.
THE MOLECULAR BASIS FOR THE DEFENSE OF HUMAN EXISTENCE. INTERACTION OF CELLS AND UNIQUE PROTEIN MOLECULES OF IMMUNE SYSTEM DEFINES MAN’S IDENTITY ON MOLECULAR BASIS.
There is another distinct type of Lymphocytes known as T lymphocytes or T cells. T cells originate in the THYMUS and become localized in lymphoid organs. The immunity associated with T cells does not involve secretion of antibodies but through their direct contact with their targets or by the effects of secreted molecules known as lymphokines which help other cells to make the direct contact. There are four kinds of T cells. 1. The cytotoxic T cells or Natural Killer cells or NK cells defend the body by destroying infected, foreign or cancerous cells. The other three kinds of T cells regulate immune responses by secreting messenger proteins known as lymphokines. 2. Helper T cells enable the other T cells and most B cells to perform their functions. The Helper T cells are destroyed by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) patients resulting in a depressed immune response that allows infection by a variety of microorganisms and the growth of some types of cancerous tumors. AIDS patients are very vulnerable to fatal infections. 3. Suppressor T cells dampen the immune response of the B and T cells. 4. The fourth kind of T cell is involved in certain kinds of hypersensitivity reactions. In a normal healthy individual, there is a balanced ratio of these four kinds of T cells to provide an efficient immune system for defense against all foreign substances. Macrophages and White blood cells known as neutrophils have the ability to engulf and digest particulate matter by the process of phagocytosis. They eliminate many foreign organisms and particulate materials that enter the body. The ability of NK cells to kill or destroy some cancerous or tumor cells is enhanced by two lymphokines known as gamma interferon and interleukin-1. Another lymphokine known as interleukin-2 activates the Lymphokine Activated Killer Cells or LAK cells which also have the ability to kill a variety of human tumor cells. Activated T cells also secrete a lymphokine known as Transfer Factor which is able to cause normal lymphocytes to release lymphokines or otherwise become activated and thus to destroy other cells. Transfer Factor stimulates the lymphocytes to develop normal immunity.
The Cytotoxic T cells destroy other cells by interacting with antigens present on the surfaces of the cell. They are involved in the attacks on tissues and organs grafted or introduced into the body, viral antigens found on infected cells and on chemicals that have entered the body and found attached to cells. T cells are involved in skin reactions resulting from contact with molecules found in poisonous plants like Poison Ivy, Poison Sumac, and Poison Oak.
ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION AND CELL-MEDIATED IMMUNITY
Identity and Individuality are determined by unique protein molecules of the human body.
THE MOLECULAR BASIS FOR THE DEFENSE OF HUMAN EXISTENCE. ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION AND IMMUNOLOGY. MOLECULES OF HISTOCOMPATIBILITY LEUKOCYTE ANTIGEN (HLA) SYSTEM
T cells are involved in the rejection of transplanted tissues and organs. The chances of successful organ transplantation are improved by carefully matching the tissue or Histocompatibility Leukocyte Antigens known as the HLA system of the donor with those of the recipient. The protein molecules of the HLA Complex establish the identity of our body, its tissues, and various organs. They work to preserve the identity of the individual and to exclude the introduction or grafting of foreign material into the body. Even after careful matching, and selection of suitable donors, transplanted tissues or organs are usually maintained by using drugs that cause immunosuppression by which the normal immune response of the recipient against the donated organ is prevented.
BIOLOGICAL EXISTENCE
A normal, healthy immune system is vital to defend our biological existence. Immunodeficiency diseases, depressed or compromised immune system conditions such as associated with corticosteroid therapy, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or exposure to certain types of toxic chemicals, and autoimmune diseases impose a heavy burden and threaten our existence. Medical interventions and treatment may help us but the quality of life is invariably compromised. A functioning immune system is important to defend our existence.
MOLECULAR INDIVIDUALISM
Immunology helps in understanding the Molecular Basis for Man’s Identity and Individuality.
The Molecular Basis for the Defense of Human Existence. Man exists as Individual with Individuality as his existence involves defensive mechanisms operated by independent, individual cells, and protein molecules which exhibit Cellular Autonomy. The cell is the lowest common denominator of all life. While the cell is functionally independent or autonomous or self-governing, it displays the abilities characterized by Mutal Assistance, Cooperation, Tolerance, and Functional Subservience to provide some benefit to the Individual who lives in the physical world.
The unique protein molecules that we deploy to establish our identity, and to defend our existence exhibit individualism at a molecular level. Molecules can exhibit a surprising degree of individuality. In experiments that examine the physical behavior of single molecules, researchers at Stanford University have discovered that when identical polymers, long, flexible, spaghetti-like molecules that are found in everything from plastics to living cells( the strands of DNA and other protein molecules)- they UNFOLD in a variety of ways even when exposed to the same conditions. Nobel Laureate Dr Steven Chu, former Professor of Physics, and Applied Physics at Stanford( former United States Secretary of Energy) has stated that: We discovered it because we have developed the ability to visualize and manipulate single molecules. ONLY BY LOOKING AT INDIVIDUAL ANIMALS CAN YOU GET A TRUE SENSE OF THE DIVERSITY OF SPECIES. He had researched biological Physics and Polymer Physics at single molecular level. He made use of individual molecules of DNA to study Polymer Dynamics.
The Theory of Evolution fails to account for our Molecular Individualism. Our body is unique and does not display any affinity for foreign substances and proteins and is actually involved in degrading or destroying such invasion by foreign agents and their products. The body has no evolutionary preferences and the vigorous response of the immune system has no bearing upon any presumed evolutionary connections between species. We need to look at each human individual to truly understand the nature of our Human Diversity. When we look at the genetic code, the DNA molecules that operate this code, we can understand the nature of our Molecular Individualism. A man comes into existence as an Individual and he exists an individual according to the Law of Individuality.
2018 Nobel Prize for Medicine will help us to develop a ‘Theory of Man’ by the study of unique protein molecules that play an important role in the defense of human survival. The Physical Being called Man needs the support of Spirit, Soul, or a Divine Agency to bring Unity between the cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems providing the structural and functional basis for Man’s existence.
WHAT IS PERSPECTIVISM? MY CONCEPT OF THE WHOLE PERSPECTIVISM
What is Perspectivism? My concept of The Whole Perspectivism.
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche(1844 to 1900), German philosopher shaped the history of 20th-century philosophy, theology, and psychology. He is considered to be the most influential philosophers who ever lived.
Nietzsche is considered to be the most influential philosophers who ever lived. He is considered to be German language’s most brilliant prose writer. In the words of Sigmund Freud, “Nietzsche had a more penetrating understanding of himself than any man who ever lived or was ever likely to live.” Apart from his critiques of traditional religion, philosophy, and morality, Nietzsche shared a concept called ‘Perspectivism’. The word ‘perspective’ is stated as the relationship or proportion of the parts of a ‘Whole’, regarded from a particular standpoint or point in time. It describes a specific point of view in understanding or judging things or events, especially one that shows them in their true relationship to one another. Perspective requires the ability to see things in a true relationship.
What is Perspectivism? My concept of The Whole Perspectivism.
John Godfrey Saxe(1816-1887) provides a perspective in his famous poem “Indian Legend.”
What is Perspectivism? My concept of The Whole Perspectivism.
John Godfrey Saxe in his famous poem ‘Indian Legend’ provides a perspective on human limitations to acquire knowledge by direct observation. It would be like that of Six Blind Men examining the Reality called Elephant using the powers of their direct observation. Each person comes to his own conclusion about the nature of Reality.
John Godfrey Saxe describes the problem of knowing the reality using the human powers of observation and compares it to the conclusions arrived by the Six Blind Men who had examined a huge Elephant:
“It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind).
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.”
MY CONCEPT OF THE WHOLE PERSPECTIVISM
What is Perspectivism? My concept of The Whole Perspectivism.
What is Reality? What is Illusion? What is your Perspective?
My opinion, my view, or perspective is preceded by the fact of my physical existence on the surface of planet Earth. My perspective may have to always include the reality of my relationship with planet Earth. I am blissfully unaware of the Speed of Earth’s Motion. My intellectual awareness of Earth’s Motion cannot overcome the Power of Illusion caused by the Fundamental Force known as Gravitation.
What is Perspectivism? My concept of The Whole Perspectivism.
Perspectivism is a concept which holds that knowledge is always perspectival, or knowledge demands perception of a range of information, facts, or experience. Nietzsche claims that there are no immaculate perceptions.
Nietzsche will not be able to make a similar claim about the impossibility of certain kinds of perception. I claim that in the “Immaculate Perception” of the LORD God Creator, man exists not because of his perception of Reality but with the assistance of Illusionary Experience.
In Nietzsche’s opinion, knowledge from no point of view is as incoherent a notion as seeing from no particular vantage point. Nietzsche’s Perspectivism denies the possibility of an all-inclusive perspective which could contain all others. Particularly, there can be no all-inclusive perspective on reality that could make reality available as it is in itself. Nietzsche further explains his Perspectivism and concludes that the concept of such an all-inclusive perspective is as incoherent as the concept of seeing an object from every possible vantage point simultaneously. Man cannot avoid the issue of the problems of perspective and man has to reconcile with the problem caused by the absence of an all-inclusive perspective about the nature of Truth and Reality.
I approach the problem of human perspective from a different direction. Firstly, man’s cognitive ability called perception is always preceded by the fact of man’s existence. There is no existence without the influence called Illusion that blocks aspects of man’s perception of reality. The experience called illusion conditions the fundamental basis of human existence on the surface of planet Earth. The Grand illusion defends existence from the danger of reality and the consequences of experiencing the reality of Earth and the universe in which man exists.
In my analysis, it will be possible to formulate an “all-inclusive” perspective on Illusion even while human beings have a problem to share an “all-inclusive” perspective on Truth and Reality. I am using the term “Whole Perspectivism” to describe an all-inclusive perspective on the reality of human existence that demands both Illusion and Reality. For a man, there is no Self-Realization or God-Realization without the support of Illusion that blocks the direct sensory experience of man’s direct relationship with planet Earth.
What is Perspectivism? My concept of The Whole Perspectivism.
I am sharing the concept of ‘Whole Perspectivism’ to claim that man cannot know or experience the Reality of Earth’s Speed even by using his power of imagination. At a fundamental level, all kinds of human perspectives demand underlying support for human existence conditioned by the powerful influence of illusion.
SEPTEMBER 13, 2018 – A PRAYER TO LORD GANESH FOR SUCCESS WITH HUMILITY
September 13, 2018. A Prayer to Lord Ganesh for Success with Humility.
September 13, 2018. A Prayer to Lord Ganesh for Success with Humility.
September 13, 2018. A Prayer to Lord Ganesh for Success with Humility.
Lord Ganesh is unique amongst all deities. He has a human form with the head of an Asian elephant. Like the elephant which can grasp objects with its trunk, the entire realm of knowledge is in His grasp. In brilliance, He outshines Sun(Surya) and His radiant appearance can illuminate the entire universe. His body is so huge, it can accommodate the entire creation. He is worshipped to remove obstacles. He removes obstacles when we contemplate actions that promote our well-being and brings us the goodwill of others and the actions should have no evil design or purpose. Lord Ganesh removes obstacles and paves the way for accomplishment and success in human endeavors. The notion that success is the result of divine sanction rather than being entirely due to the personal effort would let us reach
our goals with a sense of modesty and humility. The primary goals for man have been described as Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. Dharma(right conduct)is not only a goal but also is the way. The other three goals should only be reached following the way of Dharma. To prepare for the journey on the path of Dharma, the traveller finds direction from a sense of humility. The radiant and immense personality of Ganesh endows us with humility. Having reached the goals of Artha(personal wealth, social status and position), and Kama(fulfilment of desires, progeny and family), we inevitably encounter with the consequences of the powerful effects of time. The following verse from ‘ Bhaja Govindam’ sets us on a mission to seek the fourth goal of human existence.
September 13, 2018. A Prayer to Lord Ganesh for Success with Humility.
The fear that time would dissolve everything we possess would help us to overcome arrogance that may be associated with acquiring wealth, family and being youthful in age. Sooner or later, we set our sights for the fourth goal and it will not be very easy to visualize the final destination. To achieve Moksha or Mukti, to reach the shore of liberation and conclude the journey across the ocean of Samsara, a person endowed with humility would be able to say the following prayer and get the needed help. Human existence is permanently bound to the illusionary sensory experience of Sunrise and Sunset. Sun shines with all His radiance all the time. The living entities exist in an illusionary state which helps them to mark their existence by the alternating periods of light and darkness. We do not have the biological ability to detect the spin of the Earth and we have synchronized our existence with Sunrise and Sunset and this biological rhythm, known as Solar Rhythm, Circadian Rhythm, or Diurnal Rhythm, manages several of our biological functions. It is not easy to comprehend the Ultimate Reality when the existence is synchronized with an illusion. Time’s Power of Dissolution would eventually compel us to investigate and to explore the concept of Absolute and Unchanging Reality. A prayer to Lord Ganesh would endow us with the humility that we need to achieve the four primary goals and gives us success in life.
SEPTEMBER 08, 2018 – INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY TRIBUTE TO THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda.
On Saturday, September 08, 2018, International Literacy Day, I pay my tribute to the Seventeen Great Masters of Nalanda Buddhist Monastery. I invite my readers to know about these great teachers and their contributions to the Literacy Traditions of Humanity.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda.
International Literacy Day is a holiday which is celebrated annually on September 8th. The purpose of this day is to raise the world’s awareness of literacy issues that are faced by people all over the world and to endorse campaigns that help increase literacy for all people. It was originally established by UNESCO – the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization – in 1965.
To combat worldwide issues of illiteracy, UNESCO proclaimed September 8th as International Literacy Day in 1965. The purpose of this observational day was not only to combat illiteracy but also to promote literacy as a tool that could empower individuals as well as whole communities. It is from these humble beginnings that International Literacy Day has bloomed into a tool that could help millions of people around the globe.
As of 2016, about 775 million adults lack even the most basic, minimum literacy skills all over the world. This means that about 1 in 5 adults in the world – or about 20 % of all people – are not literate. Of that 20%, about 66% of those are women. About 75 million of the world’s children are not in school or have dropped out before they have finished. However, thanks to the efforts of UNESCO & World Literacy Day, more and more people are becoming literate and about 4 billion people are currently literate, as of now.
International Literacy Day Customs & Traditions
Every year, UNESCO issues a theme for the celebration of International Literacy Day. For instance, in 2011, the theme was “Literacy & Peace,” in 2013, the theme was “Literacy for the 21st Century” and in 2015, the theme was “Literacy and Sustainable Societies.”
UNESCO and its partners use these themes to highlight the programs which it and its partners use to tackle various parts of the literacy issues in the world. As a result of some of these programs, attention is often raised in the media about literacy issues. Especially on the Internet where the hashtag #literacyday has been trending for the last few years.
International Mother Language Day
International Mother Language Day is an annual worldwide observance that falls on February 21st. This day not only celebrates language diversity all over the world but also remembers the killing of four students on February 21, 1952. These students were killed because they campaigned to officially use their mother language in Bangladesh.
History of International Mother Language Day
International Mother Language Day was originally a social movement that started to defend a person’s right to speak and write in one’s mother language. February 21st was picked as the date because that is when students who were attending the University of Dhaka, Jagannath University and Dhaka Medical College were murdered by police while they were demonstrating for the right to speak in their mother tongue – Bengali. This started a social movement that began to snowball over the next few decades.
Eventually, this social movement was picked up by a Bengali named Rafiqul Islam that was living in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. He decided to send a letter to the United Nation to ask for a day to be established that would preserve and protect the languages of the world. In his letter, he stated that February 21st should be the day on which it is celebrated in honor of the killings in Dhaka. This would eventually lead to the proposal of resolution A/RES/61/266.
Finally, in 1999, the United Nations General Assembly passed resolution A/RES/61/266. This resolution set February 21st as International Mother Language Day and called on all member states to promote this observational holiday as a way to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by people all over the world.
International Mother Language Day Customs & Traditions
Officially, UNESCO and many of its partners promote a number of linguistic and cultural diversity events on International Mother Language Day. Many universities all over the world will host a mother language day and some governments will issue a proclamation on this day. In Bangladesh, people lay flowers at the martyr’s monument known as Shaheed Minar. Also, there are various awards and prizes for the literacy competitions that promote multiculturalism and multilingualism are held on this day.
DALAI LAMA LAUDS NALANDA PRIESTS FOR LOGICAL BUDDHIST TEACHINGS
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda.
Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.(Photo: IANS)
Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on Monday praised the seventeen pandits (priests) of Nalanda for their logical way of teaching Buddhism and said he himself is one of their biggest admirers.
“The only complete and detailed explanation of the ancient Nalanda teaching has persevered in the Tibetan language which is the reason that the Chinese people who are interested in learning Buddhism, are learning the Tibetan language,” he said.
He said the ancestors of Tibetan people had well preserved this knowledge for thousands of years, which enabled Tibetans to expertise in promoting the knowledge in the Tibetan language.
“It is the duty of Tibetan people to continue the practical teachings of those ancestors while at the same time take pride in possessing such vast and profound knowledge passed by them,” he said.
He said he respects all kinds of religious beliefs which only teach love and compassion as the ultimate source of human happiness.
He cited an example of how humans are born out of love and how they survive on love. He emphasised that the masters of Nalanda encourage its followers to approach their teaching with logic and reason rather than following it blindly. Thus, people should experiment and research on the teachings of those masters in light of reason, he added.
He urged the Tibetan people to preserve the rich Tibetan language as it has the potential to serve all the sentient beings on earth. He assured the people that he would live for hundred years to serve humanity and especially to lead the cause of Tibet under his guidance.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA
I am pleased to share an article titled ‘The Seventeen Pandits of Nalanda Monastery’ by Professor James Blumenthal Ph.D. who gives a brief account of Nalanda University and its great influence upon Tibetan Buddhism. I pay my respectful tribute to Professor Blumenthal who passed away on October 09, 2015. May LORD GOD bless his soul.
Rudranarasimham Rebbapragada
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-4162, USA
THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA – CENTER OF BUDDHIST LEARNING IN ANCIENT INDIA:
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. Acharya Nagarjuna.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA. ACHARYA NAGARJUNA.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. ACHARYA NAGARJUNA.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA. ACHARYA NAGARJUNA.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. ARYADEVA.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA. ARYADEVA.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. ASANGA.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA. ASANGA.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. VASUBANDHU.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA. VASUBANDHU.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. Dignaga.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA. DIGNAGA.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. Dharmakirti.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA – DHARMAKIRTI.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. Guna Prabha and Shakya Prabha.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA. GUNA PRABHA AND HIS DISCIPLE SHAKYA PRABHA.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. Buddhapalita.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA. BUDDHAPALITA.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. Bhavaviveka.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT TEACHERS OF NALANDA. BHAVAVIVEKA.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. Bhavaviveka.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA. ACHARYA BHAVAVIVEKA.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. Chandrakirti.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA. CHANDRAKIRTI.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. Padmasambhava, Shantarakshita.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA. SHANTARAKSHITA.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. Shantarakshita.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA. SHANTARAKSHITA.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. Kamalashila, Bhavanakrama.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA. KAMALASHILA.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. Kamalashila, Bhavanakrama.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA. KAMALASHILA. BHAVANAKRAMA – THREE STAGES OF MEDITATION.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. Haribhadra.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA. HARIBHADRA.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. Vimuktisena.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA. VIMUKTISENA.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. Shantideva.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA. SHANTIDEVA.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. Atisha.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA. ATISHA.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda. Atisha.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT TEACHERS OF NALANDA. ATISHA.
THE SEVENTEEN PANDITS OF NALANDA MONASTERY
BY JAMES BLUMENTHAL, INFO-BUDDHISM.COM
Posted on October 8th, 2015
Oregon, USA — Nalanda Monastic University was the greatest center of Buddhist learning in India’s glorious past. With upwards of 30,000 monks and nuns including 2,000 teachers living, studying and practicing there during its heyday, Nalanda was unmatched.
Established during the Gupta Dynasty in the late 5th to early 6th century C.E. under the patronage of the Gupta king Shakraditra, the institution survived for six hundred years, through the Pala Dynasty, until ultimately being destroyed in 1203 by Turkish Muslim invaders. In 1204 the last throne-holder (abbot) of Nalanda, Shakyashribhadra, fled to Tibet. In the intervening centuries, however, many of India’s greatest Buddhist masters trained and taught at Nalanda.
Nalanda’s renown as a center for higher learning spread far. It attracted students from as far away as Greece, Persia, China and Tibet. Although Buddhism was naturally the central focus of study, other subjects including astronomy, medicine (Ayurveda), grammar, metaphysics, logic, philosophy of language, classical Hindu philosophy, non-Indian philosophy and so forth were all regularly studied. Chinese pilgrims who visited Nalanda in the 7th century C.E. give detailed accounts of the physical premises and activities in their travelogues. For example, they describe three nine-story buildings comprising the library that housed millions of titles in hundreds of thousands of volumes on a vast variety of topics!
Much like the large Gelug monasteries of Sera, Drepung and Ganden, living quarters were divided according to regions of the world from which the monks and nuns came. There are clear records of a well-populated Tibet Vihara at Nalanda during the later period. In fact, history reveals that at one point there was a Tibetan gatekeeper at Nalanda. The gatekeepers were traditionally the top scholars/debaters at the institution. Their job was to stand “guard” at the gate and defeat in debate any non-Buddhist who proposed to challenge the scholarship and ideas of the institution. If they could not defeat the gatekeeper in debate, they would not be allowed further into the monastery.
The Seventeen Pandits of Nalanda Monastery refers to a grouping of seventeen of the most important and influential Mahayana Buddhist masters from India’s past. His Holiness the Dalai Lama frequently refers to himself as a follower of the lineage of the seventeen Nalanda masters today. He even wrote an exquisite poem in praise of the seventeen.
So who were they? Historically speaking, this particular grouping of Indian masters seems to have become prominent quite recently and to be based on attributions of lam-rim (stages of the path) lineages in Tibet. A likely predecessor to this grouping is an Indian reference to the Six Ornaments of the Southern Continent (i.e., India) and the Two Excellent Ones. These eight form the core of the seventeen.
The Six Ornaments first include Nagarjuna (c. 2nd century C.E.), the revealer of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras and the systematizer and founder of the Middle Way (Madhyamaka) school of Buddhist philosophy. The most famous treatise of his six texts of reasoning is The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way, probably the single most analyzed, commented upon and discussed philosophical treatise in Buddhism’s history.
The second of the six ornaments is Aryadeva (c. 3rd century C.E.) who is sometimes referred to as Nagarjuna’s heart disciple and sometimes simply as his first authoritative commentator. Like Nagarjuna, Aryadeva is universally revered as an authoritative voice for all subsequent Middle Way commentators and is most well-known for his treatise The Four Hundred Stanzas.
Aryadeva was born as the son of a Sinhalese king and is considered the co – founder of Mahayana philosophy
In addition to the two Middle Way school masters, included among the six ornaments are the two earliest masters from the Mind-Only school (Yogachara/Chittamatra): Asanga (300–390 C.E.), the founder, and his disciple and half-brother, Vasubandhu (c. 4th century C.E.) one of the system’s earliest and most authoritative commentators. In addition to his own treatises, Asanga is also famous, according to tradition, for retrieving the five Maitreya Buddha texts¹ directly from Maitreya in his pure land, Tushita. With regards to Vasubandhu, before becoming a leading exponent of the Mind-Only school, he wrote a famous treatise from the perspective of the Great Exposition school (Vaibhashika) entitled The Treasure of Knowledge (Abhidharmakosha) which is utilized extensively in Tibetan scholastic studies. Traditionally, seven years is dedicated to the study of this text in the Gelug geshe curriculum.
Two additional Mind-Only school proponents round out the six ornaments: Dignaga (6th century C.E.) and Dharmakirti (600–660 C.E.). The two are most famous as the groundbreakers in Buddhist logic and epistemology. Specifically, they wrote philosophical treatises on the contents and means of accruing valid knowledge. They argued that from the Buddhist perspective there were two sources of valid knowledge: logical inference and direct perception. Much of their writings were detailed elaborations on these topics.
The Two Excellent Ones refers to the two great Vinaya masters: Gunaprabha (c. 9th century C.E.) andShakyaprabha. Gunaprabha was a disciple of Vasubandhu’s and is most famous for his treatise, the Vinaya Sutra. Shakyaprabha was a disciple of Shantarakshita (also among the seventeen) and the other major teacher of vinaya among the seventeen. He is particularly associated Mulasarvastivada-vinaya line which has been followed in Tibet since the time of the early Dharma King, Ralpachen (born c. 806 C.E.). His teacher Shantarakshita began this ordination lineage in Tibet when he ordained the first seven Tibetan monks and founded Samye Monastery.
Beyond the Six Ornaments and Two Excellent Ones, are nine additional Indian Buddhist masters, each of whom profoundly impacted the shapes of Indian and/or Tibetan Buddhism for centuries.
Buddhapalita (470–550 C.E.) was one of the great commentators on Nagarjuna’s Madhyamaka thought. He is the earliest Indian Madhyamaka specifically identified as a proponent of the sub-school of Madhyamaka known in Tibet as the Middle Way Consequence school (Prasangika-Madhyamaka). He received this designation in Tibet due to his use of a form of reasoning that drew out the absurd logical consequences of the philosophical rivals of Madhyamakas when he commented on Nagarjuna’s root text on wisdom.
Buddhapalita was subsequently criticized by another Madhyamaka master, Bhavaviveka (500–578 C.E.). He argued that a proper Madhyamaka commentator ought to do more than show the absurdities of other’s views; they also have a responsibility to establish the view of emptiness and to do so with autonomous inferences (svatantranumana). He subsequently became known in Tibet as the “founder” and primary proponent of a sub-school of Madhyamaka known as the Middle Way Autonomy school (Svatantrika-Madhyamaka).
Chandrakirti (600–650 C.E.) is revered by many in Tibet as the founder of the Middle Way Consequence school, often regarded as the highest Buddhist philosophical explanation of reality. He famously came to the defense of Buddhapalita’s use of consequentialist reasoning contra Bhavaviveka’s criticism. In a line of thinking further developed by Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419 CE) they argued that a Madhyamaka philosopher ought not to utilize autonomous inferences because the very use of that sort of reasoning entailed the acceptance of an inherent nature in the subject of the argument. Since the existence of an inherent nature in anything was precisely what Nagarjuna was refuting, the use of autonomous inference seemed like a fatal flaw for a Madhyamaka. Though historical evidence suggests that Chandrakirti’s views likely did not have extensive support in India until the late period there, by the 13th century in Tibet, his views on a proper understanding of Madhyamaka began to dominate the philosophical landscape and continue to today.
Shantarakshita (725–788 C.E.) was a towering figure in late Indian Buddhist philosophy and immensely influential in Tibet. Philosophically, he is famous for integrating the three major lines of Mahayana philosophy into an integrated coherent system. These were the Madhyamaka, the Yogachara and the logico-epistemological thought of Dharmakirti. Beyond India, he spent the last seventeen years of his life in Tibet, ordaining its first monks and serving as abbot of it first monastery. Moreover, probably nobody has exerted a greater influence on Tibetan Buddhism in terms of the way in which Tibetans approach philosophy. Shantarakshita virtually taught Tibetans how to do philosophy during the early dissemination of the Dharma there.
Two of Shantarakshita’s disciples (in addition to Shakyabhadra mentioned above) are also included in the list of seventeen. Kamalashila (c. 8th century C.E.) likewise was an immensely important figure in India and Tibet. Like his teacher, Kamalashila wrote extensively on Madhyamaka and pramana (logic and epistemology) as well as on meditation theory and practice.
His three Stages of Meditation (Bhavanakrama) texts are among the most cited in traditional Tibet expositions on the topics. Moreover, also like his teacher, he spent extensive time in Tibet during the early dissemination. He famously and successfully defended the Indian gradual approach to enlightenment at the Great Debate at Samye (also called the Council of Lhasa) against the instantaneous approach advocated by Hvashang Mohoyen, the Chinese master. Tibetan histories often recount that since that time Tibetan have followed the Indian method.
Haribhadra (700–770 C.E.), the last of Shantarakshita’s disciples included in the group of seventeen, wrote the most famous and commonly utilized of the 21 Indian commentaries on The Ornament of Clear Realizations by Maitreya and the Mahayana path system in general. The other major commentator on The Ornament of Clear Realizations to be included among the seventeen is Vimuktisena (c. 6th century C.E.) whose text Illuminating the Twenty Thousand: A Commentary on the Ornament is likewise extensively cited by subsequent Tibetan authors.
Shantideva (c. 8th century C.E.) composed what is perhaps the most important and influential classic on how to practice in the Mahayana tradition: A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life (Bodhisattvacharyavatara) while a monk at Nalanda. His text on the development of bodhichitta and the practice of the six perfections is revered and studied extensively by all Tibetan traditions. His Holiness the Dalai Lama often refers to his favorite passage in Buddhist literature as coming from the dedication section of this text: “As long as space endures, as long as sentient being remain, may I too remain, to dispel the miseries of the world.”
The final master included among the seventeen was the Bengali scholar-adept Atisha (980–1054 C.E.), who was a critical figure in the later dissemination of Buddhism in Tibet. Like many of the others on this list, Atisha’s impact on the shape of Tibetan Buddhism was immense. His classic, The Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (Bodhipathpradipa) is widely regarded as the root text on the graduated stages of the path presentation found in Tibetan classics like Je Tsongkhapa’s The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (also commonly referred to by the abbreviated Tibetan name, Lamrim Chenmo), Gampopa’s Jeweled Ornament of Liberation and Patrul Rinpoche’s The Words of My Perfect Teacher among others. In addition to the stages of the path teachings, Atisha also introduced the lojong, or mind training, tradition of Mahayana practice in Tibet. Lojong teachings are quintessential Mahayana teachings in that their aim is to eliminate both the self-cherishing attitude and self-grasping by teaching means to cultivate the altruistic compassion of bodhichitta and the direct realization of emptiness. Like the stages of the path teachings, the mind training tradition is one that is embraced by all Tibetan lineages.
Together the seventeen great masters of Nalanda monastery represent the real high points of Indian Mahayana. The inspiration and teachings of these great masters continue to bless practitioners of the Mahayana to the present day.
Notes
¹ The five Maitreya texts are: The Ornament of Clear Realization (Abhisamayalamkara), The Ornament of Mahayana Sutras (Mahayanasutralamkara), Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes (Madhyantavibhaga), Distinguishing Phenomena and the Nature of Phenomena (Dharma-dharmata-vibhaga), and The Sublime Continuum (Uttaratantra).
JAMES BLUMENTHAL, Ph.D. is an associate professor of Buddhist philosophy at Oregon State University and professor of Buddhist Studies at Maitripa College. He is the author of The Ornament of The Middle Way: A Study of the Madhyamika Thought of Shantarakshita along with more than 40 articles in scholarly journals and popular periodicals on various aspects of Buddhist thought and practice. He recently finished work with Geshe Lhundup Sopa on Steps on the Path: Vol. IV, a commentary on the ‘ Shamatha’ chapter of Lamrim Chanmo of Tsongkhapa which is due for publication in the fall.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA UNIVERSITY. ‘SEVENTEEN PANDITS OF NALANDA MONASTERY’ BY PROFESSOR JAMES BLUMENTHAL, Ph.D., OREGON STATE UNIVERSITYOn blogs.oregonstate.edu
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda.
TIBET AWARENESS – THE GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda.
TIBET AWARENESS – GREAT MASTERS OF NALANDA. BUDDHIST CENTER OF LEARNING WHICH FLOURISHED FROM 427 TO 1197 CE. AT NALANDA, BIHAR, INDIA.
September 08, 2018. International Literacy Day Tribute to the Great Masters of Nalanda.
TIBET AWARENESS – SEVENTEEN MASTERS OF NALANDA MONASTIC UNIVERSITY. THIS CENTER OF BUDDHIST LEARNING FLOURISHED FOR 600 YEARS. THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY OF 30,000 MONKS, NUNS INCLUDED 2,000 TEACHERS.
Living Tibetan Spirits invoke the Blessings of Peace and Long Life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
The Dalai Lama speaks on the first day of his four-day teaching at the request of a group from South Asia at the main temple in McLeodganj on Tuesday. Photo: Kamaljeet
Tribune News Service
Dharamshala, September 4
Amid concerns regarding his health, Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama said he would live around 100 years.
“With your prayers and wishes, I assure you I would live around 100 years,” said the Dalai Lama, addressing representatives of three regions of Tibet at Tsuglagkhang, the main temple in Dharamshala, yesterday. “I would serve the humanity,” he said.
Recently, news reports had raised concerns regarding the health of the Dalai Lama and suggesting that he was suffering from prostate cancer. However, later both the Dalai Lama and his personal physician declined the reports.
Tibetans representing Tibet’s three traditional provinces and Tibetans from Kalimpong, Gangtok, Darjeeling and Ravangla offered long life prayers to the Dalai Lama yesterday.
Thanking the participants and organizers for the ceremony, the Dalai Lama praised the 17 pandits of Nalanda for their logical way of teaching the Buddhism.
“The detailed explanation of the ancient Nalanda teachings has only been preserved in the Tibetan language which is why people from China are interested in learning the Buddhism,” said the Dalai Lama.
Speaking of the ancient Nalanda Buddhist teaching, he said the ancestors of Tibetans had well-preserved this knowledge which enabled Tibetans to get expertise in promoting the knowledge in their language. The Dalai Lama said it was the duty of the Tibetans to continue the practical teachings of the ancestors while, at the same time, taking pride in possessing such a vast knowledge.
“I respect all kinds of religious beliefs which only teach love and compassion as the ultimate source of human happiness,” he said.
Meanwhile, drawing the attention of the gathering, the Dalai Lama emphasized that the masters of Nalanda encouraged its followers to approach their teaching with logic and reason rather than following it blindly.
Living Tibetan Spirits invoke the Blessings of Peace and Long Life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Han Chinese and The Tibetans. The Blood Relationship. Han Chinese are like the Teeth. The Tibetans are like the Lips. The Evil, Bloodthirsty Dracula’s Relationship with Tibet.
Han Chinese are like the teeth of ‘The Dracula’. Innocent Tibetans are like the lips of The Dracula’s Bride. Instead of kissing the lips, Han Chinese thirst for the blood of the Tibetans. Indeed, it is a true story about Blood Relationship.
Han Chinese and the Tibetans. The Blood Relationship. Chinese are like the Teeth and the Tibetans are like the Lips. The Evil, Bloodthirsty Dracula’s Relationship with Tibet.
China spends big in Tibet to avert a crisis when the Dalai Lama dies
Global Power
China spends big in Tibet to avert a crisis when the Dalai Lama dies
China is increasingly trying to enhance its image by casting itself as the largest nation of Buddhist believers.
by Eric Baculinao and Jason Cumming / Aug.30.2018 / 3:53 AM ET / Updated Aug.30.2018 / 4:09 AM ET
Han Chinese and The Tibetans. The Blood Relationship. Chinese are like the Teeth and the Tibetans are like the Lips. The Evil, Bloodthirsty Dracula’s Relationship with Tibet.
Pilgrims near the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa. Johannes Eisele file / AFP/Getty Images
LHASA, China — China is pouring billions of dollars into Tibet as Beijing seeks to cement its control before the succession struggle that is likely to follow the death of the Dalai Lama.
During a rare Chinese government-organized visit to the region, local officials described a development program that they contend will bring prosperity to the 3.3 million Tibetans who inhabit a vast area roughly double the size of Texas.
The massive infrastructure projects include new airports and highways that cut through the world’s highest mountains, with planned investment totalling $97 billion.
The investment plan aims to protect Tibetan Buddhism’s holy sites while building a sustainable “green economy” that safeguards the fragile environment that is an average elevation of 13,000 feet above sea level.
The roof of the world
Chinese troops marched into Tibet in 1950 in what Beijing officially terms a peaceful liberation. China has long aimed to reduce the influence of the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India.
Han Chinese and The Tibetans. The Blood Relationship. Chinese are like the Teeth and the Tibetans are like the Lips. The Evil, Bloodthirsty Dracula’s Relationship with Tibet.
Source: Natural Earth
Graphic: Jiachuan Wu / NBC News
According to official figures, China has also already spent over $450 million renovating Tibet’s major monasteries and other religious sites since the 1980s. An additional $290 million has been budgeted for the next five years.
The huge investment by China comes as the officially atheist country increasingly tries to enhance its image by casting itself as the largest nation of Buddhist believers. China claims some 300 million Buddhists of various schools, of which Tibetan Buddhism is one.
The effort comes as China faces charges from rights groups and exiles of repressing the Tibetan people. China has ruled Tibet with an iron fist since 1951, a year after its troops marched in.
Han Chinese and the Tibetans. The Blood Relationship. Chinese are like the Teeth. The Tibetans are like the Lips. The Evil, Bloodthirsty Dracula’s Relationship with Tibet.
The Dalai Lama in 2015.Ben Stansall / AFP – Getty Images file
Last month, Vice President Mike Pence said Tibet’s people “have been brutally repressed by the Chinese government.” And in June, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said conditions were “fast deteriorating” in Tibet.
Beijing routinely denies charges of repression, saying that its rule ended serfdom and brought prosperity to what was a backward region and that it fully respects the rights of the Tibetan people.
It insists Tibet has historically been part of its territory since the mid-13th century. Many Tibetans, though, say the region has been effectively independent for most of its history.
While Beijing regards the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist who seeks to split off nearly a quarter of the land mass of the People’s Republic of China, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Tibetan spiritual leader says he only seeks greater rights for Tibetans, including religious freedom and autonomy.
Reincarnation
For supporters of the Dalai Lama, China’s Tibet strategy is “aimed at increasing its control and limiting the personal freedom of the Tibetan people,” said Matteo Mecacci, a former lawmaker in Italy and president of the International Campaign for Tibet.
He called the infrastructure improvements and monastery renovations “superficial.”
Mecacci said Tibetans are “not even allowed to receive teachings from the Dalai Lama.”
Han Chinese and the Tibetans. The Blood Relationship. Chinese are like the Teeth and the Tibetans are like the Lips. The Evil, Bloodthirsty Dracula’s Relationship with Tibet.
A portrait of Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Sera Monastery in Tibet. Eric Baculinao / NBC News
He added, “When it comes to the real practice of Buddhism, China continues to increase restrictions.”
With the Dalai Lama now 83, many Tibetans fear that China will use the succession issue to split Tibetan Buddhism, with a new Dalai Lama named by exiles and another by the government after his death.
(Barry Kerzin, an American monk and the Dalai Lama’s personal physician, told NBC News that he is “perfectly fit.”)
The Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet and went into exile in India in 1959, has repeatedly tussled with China’s ruling Communist Party over who has final authority on the issue of reincarnation.
“The Tibetans and the Han
Chinese are like lips and teeth,
we are linked by blood.”
“The Tibetans and the Han Chinese are like lips and teeth, we are linked by blood.”
Tibetan Buddhism holds that the soul of a senior lama is reincarnated in the body of a child on his death.
China says it must approve the next Dalai Lama, and the Dalai Lama has said his biggest concern is that China will try to name his successor.
Han Chinese and the Tibetans. The Blood Relationship. Chinese are like the Teeth and the Tibetans are like the Lips. The Evil, Bloodthirsty Dracula’s Relationship with Tibet.
The Panchen Lama who was installed by the Chinese government attends an event in 2016.Cui hao / Imaginechina/Getty file
In 1995, after the Dalai Lama named a boy in Tibet as the reincarnation of the previous Panchen Lama, the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism, China put the boy under house arrest and installed another instead.
Many Tibetans are torn between accepting and spurning the Chinese-appointed Panchen Lama.
Palaces and shrines
Explaining the seeming contradictions in China’s policy, Tibet’s foreign affairs deputy chief, Ma Qiang, said that while the Community Party “doesn’t believe in religion,” China’s government was “duty-bound to protect Tibetan Buddhism and restore and preserve its holy sites because that is also what the Tibetan people want so they can exercise their freedom of worship.”
The most iconic landmark to receive Chinese funding is the imposing Potala Palace, the thousand-room residence that overlooks Lhasa. It houses the tombs of all but one of the Dalai Lamas who have died since 1682.
Han Chinese and the Tibetans. The Blood Relationship. Chinese are like the Teeth and the Tibetans are like the Lips. The Evil, Bloodthirsty Dracula’s Relationship with Tibet.
Lhasa’s Potala Palace. iStock / Getty
According to the museum’s deputy director, Gonga Zhaxi, the 13-story palace has undergone two major renovations on which Beijing spent $37 million. Another $4.4 million has been budgeted for the repair of its ornate golden roofs.
To protect its priceless Buddha statues, frescoes and scriptures, a limit has been set of 5,000 pilgrims and tourists per day, and cats have been deployed against the colony of rats, he said.
Other sites that have benefited from Chinese cash include:
The seventh-century Jokhang Temple is Tibet’s holiest shrine as it houses a life-sized statue of Buddha (Jowo Shakyamuni) at the age of 12. The labyrinth of chapels thick with the smoke of incense and prayer candles is visited daily by around 12,000 pilgrims and tourists. Buddha’s statue was the gift of the Chinese Tang dynasty Princess Wencheng when she married Tibetan King Songtsan Gambo around 1,300 years ago. The union is now immortalized in a spectacular open-air opera with a cast of 800. A private production company has invested more than $80 million to promote this narrative of Tibet-China unity. Lhagba, a prominent monk and the site’s management director, said Beijing has spent $14.7 million on major repairs there in the past 10 years.
Beijing has also helped with major renovations at Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery, two of Tibet’s most influential Buddhist academies, with grants of $30 million and $8 million. Thanks to government help, the monks can focus on their studies and need not bother with the monastery’s repairs, according to Awang Ciren, the monastery’s academic head. To increase its enrollment of 480 monks, Beijing is building a new dormitory that can accommodate 170 monks, he added.
In addition, 46,000 monks and nuns are now covered by health insurance and social security, officials said.
And with Beijing’s “preferential” policy and massive budget subsidies, Tibet’s economy has been growing faster than the rest of China.
Some $170 million was spent on environmental projects last year, part of a 23-year plan unveiled in 2009 that’s worth $2 billion.
“In Tibet, we don’t allow the burning of coal, and since 2011, we have stopped approving any new mining projects,” said Luo Jie, Tibet’s environmental protection chief, adding that more than one-third of Tibet’s territory consisted of nature reserves. “We also don’t tolerate river pollution.”
Developing a “green economy” is the future of Tibet, according to economic planning official Jiang Taichang.
Tourism is also an industry that is drawing more focus. Last year, more than 25 million tourists and pilgrims visited Tibet, generating more than $5.5 billion or one-third of Tibet’s income, and their number is expected to rise to 70 million in four years. (The majority of tourists are Chinese, as security has been ratcheted up significantly in the decade since anti-government protests spread through Tibetan areas in 2008 and Tibet remains mostly off-limits to foreigners.)
Han Chinese and the Tibetans. The Blood Relationship. Chinese are like the Teeth and the Tibetans are like the Lips. The Evil, Bloodthirsty Dracula’s Relationship with Tibet.
Monks at Tibet’s Sera Monastery debate Buddhist teachings. Eric Baculinao / NBC News
Lhasa’s special economic zone, built with a $30 million investment from Beijing, is already fully leased out, with 200 enterprises producing a range of products from beer to medicines. A new technology zone and financial district are being planned.
Norbu Thondup, the Beijing-appointed executive vice chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibet’s administrative name, condemned the “sabotage” activities aimed at the “harmony and happiness in today’s Tibet” by groups supporting the Dalai Lama.
He reiterated China’s policy that the “gate is open” if the Dalai Lama abandons the idea of “splitting” Tibet from China.
“The decision is for the Dalai to make,” Thondup said of him returning to his homeland. “The Tibetans and the Han Chinese are like lips and teeth, we are linked by blood.”
But Mecacci, of the International Campaign for Tibet, said it was important for China to engage with the Dalai Lama.
“Only a serious dialogue while the Dalai Lama is alive can provide a lasting political solution in Tibet,” he said. “Finding an agreement with the Tibetans would help China because it’s the right thing to do and because it will help China both domestically and internationally.”
Eric Baculinao reported from Lhasa and Jason Cumming from London.
Han Chinese and the Tibetans. The Blood Relationship. Chinese are like the Teeth and the Tibetans are like the Lips. The Evil, Bloodthirsty Dracula’s Relationship with Tibet.
