"Science is what you know. Philosophy is what you don't know"

Do you know Science takes its origin from the Latin word 'scientia' which means 'knowledge' or 'knowing'. "Scindo" is its verbal root, meaning 'split'. 'Chyati' is the word in Sanskrit, which comes from the same root, meaning 'he cuts off'. In Greek 'schizo' means, 'I split'. In English, 'rescind' means the same. In other languages French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian,.., the the word corresponding to 'Science' also carries the same meaning.

Science is a concerted human effort to understand the world and how it works. Nature
and its phenomenon stands as a wonder. We see with the naked eye that it exists. Johannes Kepler who is best known scientist for planetary motion considered that his three laws of planetary motion as 'heavenly harmonies'that reflected God's design for the universe. This reveals that Scientists accept there is a Creator for Nature and Nature , in its essence, reflects the Omnipotent and the Omnipresent.

Knowledge in Science is gained through research. Scientists collect data from the observable physical evidence and simulate the natural phenomenon under controlled conditions and explain what and how things work.

Let us look into some capsule news about well known Scientists which are not so much
come to light:-

1.
Vegetarians in the West were known as Pythagoreans. Pythagoras (580-520BC) whose theorem on right angled triangle is a lesson every school student learns, practiced one of the first known diets known as vegetarianism. Till the late 19th century, vegetarians in the West were known as 'Pythagoreans'

2. Hippocrates (460-377BC) was the first physician to describe the symptoms of pneumonia and epilepsy in children.

3.
Eratosthenes (276-194BC) was the first to calculate the Earth's circumference. He also calculated the length of the year as 365.25 days and invented the leap year.

4.
Sushruta, a surgeon of ancient India in the 5th century BC, is considered as the father of plastic surgery. Health according to Sushruta is a state of physical and mental well being , preserved by four bodily humours, good nutrition, proper elimination of waste products, and pleasant harmony of body and mind.

5.
Galileo was kept under house arrest until his death as he got into trouble with the church for his book 'Dialogue'. By 1638 he became totally blind and in 1642, he died in the prison @ Florence in 1642.

6.
Louis Pasteur is regarded as the father of modern bacteriology. "Pasteurisation" which is a mild and short treatment to kill microorganism, is credited with his name.

7. Upon Graham Bell's death on August2, 1922, all telephones through the United States 'stilled their ringing for one minute', in tribute to the great scientist.

8.
Edison did not learn to talk till he was four years of age. He started asking " WHY " to explain about every thing he encountered. Edison(1847-1931), always asked that question throughout his life.

9.
Albert Einstein declined the offer for the post of the second president of Israel in 1952.

10.;">Hardy-Ramanujan Number Hardy had to visit Ramanujan (1887-1920) when the latter was admitted in a hospital in England. Hardy travelled by a Taxi with the Reg.No:1729. He remarked to Ramanujan that the Taxi had a dull number. Ramanujan immediately reacted and observed that 1729 is the smallest number which can be expressed as the sum of two cubes viz 1729 = 1cube+12cubes = 9cubes+10cubes.

11.
Professor Eliot of Presidency College, Madras looked at the small boy present in his class in 1903 and asked him how old was he. 'Thirteen' was his reply. Eliot asked his 'name' and the boy's reply was ' Chandrasekhara Venkataraman' more popularly later known as C.V.Raman.

12. Homi J.Bhabba inventor of ' Bhabba scattering' phenomenon died in a pane crash at Mont Blank in 1966. Atomic Research Center was renamed as " Bhabha Atomic Research Center" after his death. bhaba Scattering is one of the most straight forward pieces of evidence supporting special theory of relativity.

Not so familiar Quotes:-

12.(1879-1955)
'Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love'- 'Albert Einstein'

13. 'Scientists are religious men because of their faith in the orderliness of the Universe' - 'Albert Einstein'


14. 'Religion, Arts, Science ennoble man's life , lift it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leads an Individual towards real freedom' - 'Albert Einstein'

15. 'How on Earth can you ever explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love' - 'Albert Einstein'

16. 'Immanuel Kant':- 'Science is organised knowledge. Wisdom is organised life.

17.'Science is what you know; Philosophy is what you do not know'-'Bertrand Russel'


pn

DEEPAVALI GREETINGS

Sacred & Prosperous 'Ganga-Showers' at Dawn
Entire Family Glittering In New Clothes
Burst of Crackers Amazing You Loud
Beauty of Fire-Works Bewildering to New Heights
Sweets,that too many,Affording You A Taste of Exquisite Pleasure
Rows of Wonderful Lights Cheering You Straight&Bright
Soothing Good Wishes Pouring from Dear&Near
Deepavali Brings to You Sparkles of Joys In More Ways Than One

WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY DEEPAVALI !!

"An Anatomy of Anger":

This treatise talks about the psychological aspects about anger which always goes as a characteristic feature of an individual. We can not draw any line or call for common denominators to measure the aspects of anger with respect to an individual too. However the psychological aspects of anger is taken up for an overview in this essay.

(1)It can be easily understood that one's anger wields no power to alter the stand taken by the opponent. But, at the same time, it can rouse the temper of the outside source. Naturally the conditions imposed by both the angry parties will widen the already strained relationship between them.

(2) There is always scope available for a person to change his bad or unfavorable attitudes and correct himself observably in the eyes of the public. Such a change brought about by himself will receive appreciation from others. But if such an improvement is brought about by the conditional moves of the opponent and mainly due to his anger, no one will acclaim it. Further the change in the behavior of oneself brought by the anger of the other person will not last long. Instead if one can correct the other by soft counsel and persuasion, it would fetch him accredition and the result will also stand for long.

(3)We can not ignore the circumstances that may be a root cause for a person to commit the ills. Had there been a better background conditions prevailing, one might not do anything amiss. An individual can liberally view that the same offense could have been done by him also. He or she should thank God for not having encountered any mishaps that could have posed threats for them to behave angrily or commit sins.

(4)There is another way to take stock of a situation. A person need not become angry at all just because the other person is inimical. His inner conscience is aware of the fact how far his conduct is subject to criticism or ridicule. He can also presume that the other person may be angry for some wrong not done by him. He can also realize heart of hearts that the sins or wrongs actually done by him and that were not got exposed to others, were much more grave and unpardonable.

(5)In short, everyone is sailing at some fault levels or other. There it becomes imperative not to throw stones when one is living in a glass house.

(6)Sometimes there can prevail a superimposing situation in which a person has evolved himself to be beyond a normal human being and that he never commits any sin or wrong. The question that comes in mind is that can such a person become angry at others or at others' wrong doings? This question becomes redundant especially in him as he has already won over the angry elements and has become a lovable and an affectionate person. He will not get angry, instead will always approach the wrong doer with a feeling of apple of one's eyes and try to correct him to the extent possible.

(7)To sum up, 'ANGER' is an emotional state that may range from minor irritation to intense range. The physical effects of anger are well known like increased B.P., heart rates, and levels of adrenaline. A person's anger will be reflected in his body language, facial expression and at times in public acts of aggression.



(8) Anger is one of the seven cardinal sins. It becomes a predominant feeling behaviorally, cognitively and physiologically. To become angry is a conscious choice for thwarting the threat immediately from the outside sources. Sudden and intense anger is not healthy. Subdued and a deliberate anger will act as a warning sign for the bad behaviour of the opponents. Suppression of anger will lead to psychological problems. It will be wise to sprinkle water when the milk is about to boil. The milk does not get split but at the same time it is seen carefully that the milk gets boiled to the extent necessary. Attitudes of this nature is a developed trait and it will be considered as a blessing if a person has it naturally.

pn

' Navarathri Celebrations 2008'

'Navarathri Celebrations 2008'

Navarathri began on Tuesday, the 30th September this year. White House Association decided to have a central function on all days from 1st October. I was called upon to perform a small Puja at the specially erected shamiana in the evening to mark the beginning of the celebrations. Shamiana had a grand look and with many rows of chairs to accommodate as many as 500 persons and more, the set up had the semblance of an auditorium. The items included film and devotional songs, fancy dress competition, skits, mimicry, speeches, Block wise competitions and so on. There were food stalls and exhibition sales put up by vendors which all gave a Temple - Festival look.
The convener of the function had included my name for giving a speech on the evening of 8th October which I came to know on that day only. I was tossing for a while which topic to speak and soon it dawned on me to speak on an appropriate subject for the occasion, namely about ‘ Goddess Sakthi ‘. I wish to give the gist of what I spoke :-

Ladies and Gentlemen,
1)“Vande Vandhaneeyanam Vandhyam Vachamadheeswareem
Kamithasesha Kalyanakalana Kalpavallikam” (Prayer to Goddess Saraswathi
2)” Khsheerasagara Sanchatham Vishnoho Pathneem Dhayamayeem
Lakhmeem Sadhaprapadhyeham Sarvasampath Samudhyathe” ( Prayer to Goddess Lakshmi
3)” Sarvamangala Mangalye Sive Sarvartha Sadhike
Saranye Thriyambighe Gowri Narayani Namosthuthe” ( Prayer to goddess Durga )
After singing the slokas , I started like this :-
‘Let me begin my talk by asking a question from the 'simple laws of motion'. What happens when we clap with both our hands? The answer is simple, “ Sabhda or Sound’ is produced. My next question to you all, “What happens to the Sound”? Does it die ?. It does not die. It stays in the atmosphere or rather I would say it dwells there. Sound and small motions always happen together. For example, as you drop a pin, the motion of the pin starts downwards and as and when it hits or touches the ground, a noise is produced and heard if the ambience is ‘pin drop silence like’. As the sound is generated, actions follow good or bad, depending upon the nature of the sound. Should noble thoughts prevail in the atmosphere, the cause can be attributed to a particular sound. In other words, we can instill good thoughts in people, by creating certain sounds. That is why TV Channels or A.I.R. telecast or broad cast ‘Suprabatham’ like “ Kousalya Supraja Rama Poorva ……” , very early in the morning. We all have assembled here to celebrate Navarathri and we sing devotional music, children appear in the stage dressed as ‘ lord Krishna , Ganesa, or Gopikas which stimulate our thinking on the Almighty. Goddess Sakthi is the chief presiding deity during Navarathri. Why we celebrate for nine days for Devi where as we celebrate one day only for the Trinity Gods. To answer this, I have to take you all to ‘ Devimahatmiyam’ which narrates about the innumerable hard ships caused by the nine Asuras or Demons namely (1)Madhu, (2) Kaidaban, (3)Mahishasuran, (4)Dhoomralochan, (5)Chandan, (6)Mundan, (7)Sumban, (8)Nisumban and (9)Rakthabheejan. They were causing a reign of terror in the Sapthalokas. Devas including the Trinity Gods faught with the Asuras but failed because the demons had obtained boons not to be killed by any gods, etc. Lord Siva realized this and came to a conclusion that ‘Goddess Sakthi’ alone could destroy them. He, being an 'Ardhanari' shook off his other half and released 'Goddess Sakthi’ from him. Other Devas followed suit and released their better halves from them. All the Sakthis generated like this in the form of a “Jyothi” fused together and the result was “Parasakthi” or a very powerful ‘Jyothiswaroopam’ appeared. Since the Devas who were men could not bring out their respective valour to destroy the Demons, now they wished the ‘Parasakthi’ to take a feminine form (opposite form of men) to kill the Asuras. That is why Goddess Kali or Gowri avatar was in a woman form. Parasakthi killed all the nine Demons. 'Mahishasura Mardhini', her one of the names , is after she destroyed the asura Mahishasuran.
This form of Jyothi answers another question why we celebrate Navarathri in night. The splendor of jyothi or Light can be appreciated in night only as the saying goes “Ghanndhakareshu eva Deepa Dharsanam” ( Light only dispels the pitch darkness). Sun God gives light in the days and Jyothi for the night. Since Devi killed nine Asuras after waging a war for nine days, Devas wished to celebrate her victory by praying her for nine days. Nava in Navarathri means nine and Rathri refers to the worship in the nine nights.

Goddess Sakthi is also called as Bhagavathi, Eswari, Parameswari, Kali or Maha Kali, Mookambigai, Ambal, ThirupuraSundari, Akilandeswari and so on. Let us now see what the roles of Goddess Sakthi are:-
Lalitha Sahasranamavali describes the roles vividly, from the very first nama viz ‘Sri Mata’. She is responsible for Srishti, Sthithi and Samhara. The second mama ‘Sri Maharagni’ means Protecor like a queen seated on a golden Throne and the third one “Srimat Simhaneswari” – she being seated on a throne of Lions indicate her role of destruction.
She is also called as “Panchakrityaparayana” which means she is in charge of FIVE roles. The first three I had just mentioned. What are the fourth and fifth?
The 270 namavali describes Sakthi as ‘Thirodhanakari” which means she is invincible. She creates the Maya. We live in a world of Maya which means we don’t really understand what is right or wrong. We create bonds and break them too. We buy something to possess at one time and later discord them. Today we boast of Lap Tops and tomorrow we desire Palm Tops. I refer all these just to bring home the power of ‘Maya or Illusion ‘.
The life will not be interesting without the effect of Maya. The changes in behavior, values, the ‘Kama, krodha, mathas’ are all remind us the “maya sakthi” and we march on in the midst of good and bad.

The Sixth role of Goddesss Sakthi is “Anugraha” which means she blesses her devotees to have the long awaited bliss or emancipation. After all every one wishes to have a peaceful end and we pray to her for the grace or some percent of her looks on us.

Now let me touch upon briefly about the forms of prayer. “ The Five Finger Prayer” get the name as we fold our both the hands and bring the hands in front of our chest.

FIVE FINGER PRAYER

1. Your thumb is nearest to you.
So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you.
They are the easiest to remember.TO PRAY FOR OUR LOVED ONES AS A "SWEET DUTY"

2. The next finger is the pointing finger.
Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal.
This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. KEEP THEM IN YOUR PRAYERS.

3.The next finger is the tallest finger, which reminds our leaders.
Pray for the national leaders, leaders in business and industry,and administrators.
These people shape our nation and guide public opinion.THEY NEED GOD'S GUIDANCE.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger.Surprising to many is fact that this is our weakest finger; as any piano teacher will testify.It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain.THEY NEED YOUR PRAYERS DAY AND NIGHT.

5. And lastly comes our little finger; the smallest finger of all.Which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you" Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself.

By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective. YOU'LL BE ABLE TO PRAY FOR YOURSELF MORE EFFECTIVELY.

Upasana is serious form of prayer for which the mind needs training. I can give a simple example how to train the mind. If I show and ask you all to say the colour of a Tennis Ball, promptly your reply will be"Greenor more precisely parrot green. In case I , on the other hand, say the colour as 'Red'. you will all simply shout at me and say I have gone mad. Instead I will now ask you to imagine he colour of the tennis ball to be red. All of you will think the ball to be red, In short, you will trin your mind or make it accept to view the ball as if it were red. Upasana needs hard training and forms part of rigorous prayer.

Goddess Sakthi gets satisfied in a simple prayer and in the kaliyuga, the simplest form of prayer is ' Namasangeerthanam', Recite a few names and perceive the forms of Devi like ' Karuna Lakshmi, Karunya Lakshmi, Dhana Lakhmi, Dhanya Lakshmi, Veera Lakshmi, Veerya Lakshmi, Aiswarya Lakshmi, Ashta Lakshmi, Gaja Lakshmi, ,Jaya Lakshmi, Vijaya Lakshmi, Maha Lakshmi, Santhana Lakshmi, Sowbhagya Lakshmi, Rajarajeswari, Jagadhambige, Jagan Mata.....etc.


Visit to Sakthi Peetams like Kanchi Kamakshi, Kasi Visalakshi, Madurai Meenakshi, Nagai Neelayadhakshi, Srigeri Saradambal will make us realize her power and grace.

Goddess Sakthi, as the name denotes, is personification of Energy. We breathe energy and eat for developing physical strength. ' The Will to Live ' and having a clear conscience can be easily be termed as the by-product of the devotion and prayers. The potential energy which is a form of reserve strength which helps us to perform actions in a dynamic way are all different forms of Sakthi or Energy. In short we live or our life exists due to the her grace.

Salutations to Goddess Sakthi and it gives me a moment of joy to speak on this topic on the occasion of Navarathri". unquote.

There was a good round of applause when I finished my speech and got down from the rostrum or shamiana.

In the Block wise Competition which was held on the vijayadasami day, we from Block B1 enacted a ' Phil Harmonica Kitchen Orchestra'. As many as 12 people from our Block wore garlands of vegetables like beens, gourds. Men were in whites and women in blue bolour dress. I gave an introduction that we specialise in presenting organic archestra using Pumpkins, Melons, Gourds, Drumsticks, Pototos, Tomotos, etc, etc. We come from Sweedon, Stockholm on an invitation from WHA. Since we find vegetables cost very high, we can not afford. Instead we use novel, ingenious methods to present the organic orchestra. Our instruments are all kitchen utensils like pots, cups and spoons, and each one will give a different set of tunes. My wife acted as the chief Chef and conducted the Phil harmonica kitchen orchestra. We played symphony and exclusive orchestra. The audience appreciated the novelty in it though we did not win any prize.

Thus ended the Navarathri Celebrations at White House. We had good fun from 7p.m to 10p.m. The Dandia dance was the highlight on Mahanavami Night.