November 2005
Monthly Archive
November 30, 2005
Posted by Madhava Gosh under
Science
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We can see by simple empiricism that a bumblebee flies. Common sense tells us it is flying. For those of you have never seen a bumblebee in flight, the above photo is a 2D representation of this flight.
For those who can’t believe anything unless it is in scripture, bumblebee flight is also confirmed there:
She(Radha) addressed the bumblebee, “Your master Krsna is exactly of your quality. You sit down on a flower, and after taking a little honey you immediately fly away and sit in another flower and taste.”
KB 47: Delivery of the Message of Krsna to the Gopis
Despite all this evidence, scientists for years have said that it is impossible for a bumblebee to fly, according to the laws of physics. Well, at last that can be laid to rest, and now even scientists believe they can fly:
“Combining robotic modelling with slow-motion videos of airborne honeybees may have helped researchers explain the curious aerodynamics of bee flight.
Aeronautical engineers had previously “proven” that bees cannot fly. So Michael Dickinson, an insect flight expert and colleagues at Caltech in Pasadena, California, US, decided to investigate the forces actually at work during honeybee flight.
In 1996, Charlie Ellington at Cambridge University, UK, showed how vortices rolling along the leading edge of many insects’ wings were a vital source of lift.
Most flying insects beat their wings in large strokes – typically flapping in arcs of 145° to 165° at a frequency determined by body size – to generate aerodynamic forces sufficient for flight. But this cannot explain how a heavy insect with a short wing beat, such as a bee, generates enough lift to fly…”
Secrets of Bee Flight Revealed – Complete Article
November 28, 2005
Posted by Madhava Gosh under
Thomas Merton
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“The symptoms of a sadhu are that he is tolerant, merciful and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime.”
SB 3.25.21
“Be content that you are not yet a saint, even though you realize that the only thing worth living for is sanctity. Then you will be satisfied to let God lead you to sanctity by paths that you cannot understand. You will travel in darkness in which you will no longer be concerned with yourself and no longer compare yourself to other men. Those who have gone by that way have finally found out that sanctity is in everything and that God is all around them. Having given up all desire to compete with other men, they suddenly wake up and find that the joy of God is everywhere, and they are able to exult in the virtues and goodness of others more than ever they could have done in their own. They are so dazzled by the reflection of God in the souls of the men they live with that they no longer have any power to condemn anything they see in another. Even in the greatest sinners they can see virtues and goodness that no one else can find. As for themselves, if they still consider themselves, they no longer dare to compare themselves with others. The idea has now become unthinkable. But it is no longer a source of suffering and lamentation: they have finally reached the point where they take their own insignificance for granted. They are no longer interested in their external selves.”
From New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton.
New York: New Directions, 1972. P. 59-60
November 27, 2005
November 26, 2005
Posted by Madhava Gosh under
Health,
Jokes
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I have an earache…
2000 B.C. – Here, eat this root.
1000 A.D. – That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer.
1850 A.D. – That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion.
1940 A.D. – That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill.
1985 A.D. – That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic.
2000 A.D. – That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root.
“But it is I who am the ritual, I the sacrifice, the offering to the ancestors, the healing herb, the transcendental chant. I am the butter and the fire and the offering.”
Bhagavad-Gita 9.16
November 25, 2005
New Vrindavan stopped breeding cows on a large scale back in about 1991. Since the principle is life time protection, there are still close to 100 cows here ages 15 years old and older. The above picture is of a cow I would guessestimate to be about 15.
Most people have never even seen an old cow as the males are usually slaughtered between 18-24 months old and the cows slaughtered as soon as they are economically nonviable, which can be as young as 7 years old in the factory farms that produce most of the milk these days.
November 24, 2005
Posted by Madhava Gosh under
Health
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“An ability to ignore information rather than take it in prevents people from being scatterbrained, it has been claimed. New research shows that it is not extra “storage space” in the brain that gives a person a good visual memory. Rather, it is the extent to which the brain refuses to let itself be cluttered with useless information…”
Link to full article.
“When one’s intelligence, mind, faith and refuge are all fixed in the Supreme, then one becomes fully cleansed of misgivings through complete knowledge and thus proceeds straight on the path of liberation.”
Bg 5.17
November 23, 2005
“We are chanting. You can chant with us and practice it, and there is no hard and fast rules and regulation. You can chant anyway, anywhere. Whether you are in the college, whether you’re on the street, whether you are sleeping, lying, or whatever, you can chant. Because God has given you this tongue and you can chant. And this Hare Krsna mantra, a dog or cat cannot chant although he has got the tongue. So you have got the facility. By God’s mercy you have got this facility to chant the holy name of God.”
Lecture at Harvard University — Boston, December 24, 1969
Even in morse code?
…. .- .-. . -.- .-. … -. .-
…. .- .-. . -.- .-. … -. .-
-.- .-. … -. .- -.- .-. … -. .-
…. .- .-. . …. .- .-. .
…. .- .-. . .-. .- — .-
…. .- .-. . .-. .- — .-
.-. .- — .- .-. .- — .-
…. .- .-. . …. .- .-. .
Morse Code Translator
November 22, 2005
Posted by Madhava Gosh under
Poetry,
Sports
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In this world
we walk on the roof of hell,
gazing at flowers.
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View From a New Vrindaban Ridge 