Influence of nanoparticles on nutrient absorption

 by Biomechanism 

Nanoparticles are everywhere. From cosmetics and clothes, to soda and snacks. But as versatile as they are, nanoparticles also have a downside, say researchers at Binghamton University and Cornell University in a recent paper published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. These tiny particles, even in low doses, could have a big impact on our long-term health.

According to lead author of the article, Gretchen Mahler, assistant professor of bioengineering at Binghamton University, much of the existing research on the safety of nanoparticles has been on the direct health effects. But what Mahler, Michael L. Shuler of Cornell University and a team of researchers really wanted to know was what happens when someone gets constant exposure in small doses – the kind you’d get if you were taken a drug or supplement that included nanoparticles in some form.

“We thought that the best way to measure the more subtle effects of this kind of intake was to monitor the reaction of intestinal cells,” said Mahler. “And we did this in two ways – in vitro, through human intestinal-lining cells that we had cultured in the lab; and in vivo, through the intestinal linings of live chickens. Both sets of results pointed to the same thing – that exposure to nanoparticles influences the absorption of nutrients into the bloodstream.”

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This figure shows 50 nm carboxylated polystyrene nanoparticles (green) interacting with a cell culture model of the intestinal epithelium (red). Oral exposure to these particles was shown to affect iron transport. Credit: Nature Nanotechnology

The uptake of iron, an essential nutrient, was of particular interest due to the way it is absorbed and processed through the intestines. The way Mahler and the team tested this was to use polystyrene nanoparticles because of its easily traceable fluorescent properties.

“What we found was that for brief exposures, iron absorption dropped by about 50 percent,” said Mahler. “But when we extended that period of time, absorption actually increased by about 200 percent. It was very clear – nanoparticles definitely affects iron uptake and transport.”

While acute oral exposure caused disruptions to intestinal iron transport, chronic exposure caused a remodeling of the intestinal villi – the tiny, finger-like projections that are vital to the intestine’s ability to absorb nutrients – making them larger and broader, thus allowing iron to enter the bloodstream much faster.

“The intestinal cells are a gateway that ingested nanoparticles must go through to get to the body,” said Mahler. “We monitored iron absorption both in vivo and in vitro and found that the polystyrene nanoparticles affected the absorption process and caused a physiological response.”

The next step for Mahler and the team is to take a look at whether similar disruptions in nutrient absorption could be possible in other inorganic elements such as calcium, copper and zinc. Also on the research agenda is the reaction of other nutrients such as fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. And chickens and their intestines will definitely be part of this next phase of the study.

“The gastrointestinal tract of chickens have very similar features to that of humans,” said Mahler. “We can learn a great deal from the way chicken tissue works which means we can make better predictions about how humans will react.”

And humans certainly consume enough nanoparticles – about 100 trillion of them every day. Their ultra-small size and amazing qualities makes them increasingly common in food and pharmaceutical products. Although the impact of chronic exposure remains somewhat unknown, the ingestion of dietary particles is thought to promote a range of diseases, including Crohn’s disease.

With so many nanomaterials under development and with so much yet to be learned about nanoparticle toxicity and potential human tissue reactivity, Mahler and the team are hoping that their work, particularly the in vitro model, will provide an effective low-cost screening tool.

Paintings

Nuclear clock to be most accurate

THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Share on print A proposed new time-keeping system tied to the orbiting of a neutron around an atomic nucleus could have such unprecedented accuracy that it neither gains nor loses 1/20th of a second in 14 billion years - the age of the Universe. “This is nearly 100 times more accurate than the best atomic clocks we have now,” says one of the researchers, Scientia Professor Victor Flambaum, who is Head of Theoretical Physics in the University of New South Wales School of Physics. “It would allow scientists to test fundamental physical theories at unprecedented levels of precision and provide an unmatched tool for applied physics research.” In a paper to be published in the journal Physical Review Letters - with US researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Nevada - Flambaum and UNSW colleague Dr Vladimir Dzuba report that their proposed single-ion clock would be accurate to 19 decimal places. The exquisite accuracy of atomic clocks is widely used in applications ranging from GPS navigation systems and high-bandwidth data transfer to tests of fundamental physics and system synchronisation in particle accelerators.  “With these clocks currently pushing up against significant accuracy limitations, a next-generation system is desired to explore the realms of extreme measurement precision and further diversified applications unreachable by atomic clocks,” says Professor Flambaum. “Atomic clocks use the orbiting electrons of an atom as the clock pendulum. But we have shown that by using lasers to orient the electrons in a very specific way, one can use the orbiting neutron of an atomic nucleus as the clock pendulum, making a so-called nuclear clock with unparalleled accuracy.” Because the neutron is held so tightly to the nucleus, its oscillation rate is almost completely unaffected by any external perturbations, unlike those of an atomic clock’s electrons, which are much more loosely bound.  Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

Anti-blood-clot device revealed

MONASH UNIVERSITY

Share on print By discovering how a blood clot-busting enzyme is switched on, researchers have unlocked a century-old atomic riddle that could lead to new treatments for clotting and bleeding disorders, and some cancers. In findings published on 9 March 2012 in Cell Reports, Monash University researchers, led by Professor James Whisstock and Associate Professor Paul Coughlin, together with colleagues at the Australian Synchrotron, have shown how the protein plasminogen is converted into plasmin, an enzyme that removes disease-causing clots and clears up damaged tissue. Clinicians currently use drugs called plasminogen activators to generate plasmin in treating heart attack and stroke patients. Further, as plasmin is responsible for breaking down tissue barriers in cancer, a large number of researchers worldwide are developing plasmin inhibitors as anti-cancer therapeutics. Professor Whisstock, from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Monash, said scientists had been trying for nearly a century to understand how plasminogen is activated to plasmin. “Now we can see the atomic details of the plasminogen, we can finally get a detailed picture of how the whole system works and how plasmin is produced,” Professor Whisstock said. Co-lead author, Dr Ruby Law, also of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, said plasminogen displayed unexpected behaviour. “A casual look at the structure would suggest that plasminogen seems to completely guard its activation site. However, we found that one part of plasminogen seems to be very unstable and can transiently pop open a fraction – a little like a child playing a game of 'Peek-a-boo'," Dr Law said. "Proteins in the blood clot bind to this part of the molecule when it is exposed, with the result that plasminogen is trapped in a form that can be converted to plasmin.” Dr Tom Caradoc-Davies, from the Australian Synchrotron, said the extremely intense X-ray crystallography beamline at the Synchrotron made it possible to determine the atomic structure of plasminogen. “Plasminogen only yielded its secrets when exposed to the most focused and powerful X-rays the Synchrotron can currently produce - technology which has only become available in the past few years,” said Dr Caradoc-Davies. Associate Professor Coughlin, of the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases at Monash said that until now, the molecular details of current plasminogen-activating drugs to treat stroke had not been understood. “There are a large number of drugs in current clinical use, or in late stages of development, that function to convert plasminogen to plasmin. Now, we can use our current discoveries to improve the efficacy of these therapeutics,” Professor Coughlin said. According to government statistics, stroke is the second largest cause of death in Australia, claiming more than 11,000 lives in 2008. Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

Mamta Sharma's fabulous dance

Mamta Sharma of Maruti creations, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada who specializes in event decorations,wall murals portraying another side of her talent by performing "Morni Bagan Mein" at the Shri Shirdi Sai Baba mandir and Sai Aastha foundation, Fund raiser at Mirage banquet hall on March 10, 2012.

Cracking brain memory code

(Medical Xpress) -- Despite a century of research, memory encoding in the brain has remained mysterious. Neuronal synaptic connection strengths are involved, but synaptic components are short-lived while memories last lifetimes. This suggests synaptic information is encoded and hard-wired at a deeper, finer-grained molecular scale.

In an article in the March 8 issue of the journal PLoS Computational Biology, physicists Travis Craddock and Jack Tuszynski of the University of Alberta, and anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff of the University of Arizona demonstrate a plausible mechanism for encoding synaptic memory in microtubules, major components of the structural cytoskeleton within neurons.

Microtubules are cylindrical hexagonal lattice polymers of the protein tubulin, comprising 15 percent of total brain protein. Microtubules define neuronal architecture, regulate synapses, and are suggested to process information via interactive bit-like states of tubulin. But any semblance of a common code connecting microtubules to synaptic activity has been missing. Until now.

The standard experimental model for neuronal memory is long term potentiation (LTP) in which brief pre-synaptic excitation results in prolonged post-synaptic sensitivity. An essential player in LTP is the hexagonal enzyme calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). Upon pre-synaptic excitation, calcium ions entering post-synaptic neurons cause the snowflake-shaped CaMKII to transform, extending sets of 6 leg-like kinase domains above and below a central domain, the activated CaMKII resembling a double-sided insect. Each kinase domain can phosphorylate a substrate, and thus encode one bit of synaptic information. Ordered arrays of bits are termed bytes, and 6 kinase domains on one side of each CaMKII can thus phosphorylate and encode calcium-mediated synaptic inputs as 6-bit bytes. But where is the intra-neuronal substrate for memory encoding by CaMKII phosphorylation? Enter microtubules.

Using molecular modeling, Craddock et al reveal a perfect match among spatial dimensions, geometry and electrostatic binding of the insect-like CaMKII, and hexagonal lattices of tubulin proteins in microtubules. They show how CaMKII kinase domains can collectively bind and phosphorylate 6-bit bytes, resulting in hexagonally-based patterns of phosphorylated tubulins in microtubules. Craddock et al calculate enormous information capacity at low energy cost, demonstrate microtubule-associated protein logic gates, and show how patterns of phosphorylated tubulins in microtubules can control neuronal functions by triggering axonal firings, regulating synapses, and traversing scale.

Microtubules and CaMKII are ubiquitous in eukaryotic biology, extremely rich in brain neurons, and capable of connecting membrane and cytoskeletal levels of information processing. Decoding and stimulating microtubules could enable therapeutic intervention in a host of pathological processes, for example Alzheimer’s disease in which microtubule disruption plays a key role, and brain injury in which microtubule activities can repair neurons and synapses.

Hameroff, senior author on the study, said: “Many neuroscience papers conclude by claiming their findings may help understand how the brain works, and treat Alzheimer’s, brain injury and various neurological and psychiatric disorders. This study may actually do that. We may have a glimpse of the brain’s biomolecular code for memory.”

More information: Craddock TJA, Tuszynski JA, Hameroff S (2012) Cytoskeletal signaling: Is memory encoded in microtubule lattices by CaMKII phosphorylation? PLoS Computational Biology, doi10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002421

Provided by University of Arizona

"Cracking brain memory code." March 9th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-brain-memory-code.html

Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek

Suffer Not Any Pain

“They pray to God to grant them blessings: ‘May You garner fame and return victorious. May You not lose a single hair while bathing.’” (Janaki Mangala, 29) īsa manāi asīsahiṃ jaya jasu pāvahu | nhāta khasai jani bāra gaharū jani lāvahu || The influence of yogamaya is so strong that even while in the presence of the Supreme Lord others are overcome with fear and concern over the future. In His spiritual manifestation as the eldest son of King Dasharatha, Lord Rama was so much loved and adored that the residents of the town prayed to God for His welfare as He embarked on a journey with Vishvamitra, the exalted sage residing in the forest. Rama and His younger brother Lakshmana were not yet twelve years of age according to the time elapsed from their appearance in the world, and yet they were called upon to protect Vishvamitra from hideous creatures who fought unfairly. Rama stayed true to His role as protector, and the residents, ignoring His tremendous fighting ability, prayed that He and His brother may return home safely, and especially victorious. They prayed that not a single head of hair would be lost while He would bathe. What is the significance of this prayer? Why such a strange request made to God? The idea is that they didn’t want Rama to get hurt. Losing a single hair while bathing in a lake is as trivial a loss as you’ll find, but this fact was given attention because the residents of Ayodhya did not want any harm done to their beloved Rama and Lakshmana. The Lord’s sweet smile, the beautiful hue of His skin, which was similar to the dark-blue raincloud or the blue lotus that springs forth upon the sight of the sun, and His overall demeanor enchanted everyone. His brother Lakshmana was like a twin, with the only difference seen in his fair skin color. Isha is a word that addresses God’s position as the controller. The term Ishvara is also often used, which means the chief controller. The prayer by the residents who watched Rama depart shows that they did not know He was God. Isn’t ignorance a bad thing? If we can’t identify someone properly, how can we interact with them in a meaningful way? Complete knowledge of another’s standing isn’t always helpful. For instance, if one of our friends or family members becomes famous or wealthy, should we then treat them differently? In these instances the more we can forget about their external stature, the better the relationship will be. The same concept holds in the dealings with the Supreme Lord. His position as the most beautiful, renounced, wise, strong, wealthy, and famous is only worth knowing for those who originally believe that mortal men can hold this superior position. If you already believe in God, you are better off dealing with Rama under the sway of yogamaya, which is His direct energy responsible for clouding the vision of the surrendered souls. Through yogamaya, Rama’s mother Kausalya thinks He is helpless. King Dasharatha holds the strongest parental affection for the Lord. Even Rama’s eternal companions like Lakshmana and Sita, who both know how great Rama is and how He can defeat anyone in battle, still have concern for His welfare, not wanting Him to suffer in any way. It is this concern that makes these personalities ideal candidates for receiving Rama’s association. Why would someone want to be around enemies? If you know that someone doesn’t like you, has no idea what makes you tick, and has reached erroneous conclusions about your position in life, would you enjoy spending long stretches of time with them? If, on the other hand, you had someone who cared about you so much that even if you were already taken care of they would never stop loving you, wouldn’t that person’s association be the most enjoyable to you? Shri Rama was a descendant of the Raghu dynasty, which aside from having a reputation for piety was successful in its protection of the innocent. Therefore the concerned residents first asked God to make Rama successful in His mission. He was sent to protect Vishvamitra, and they knew that if He could do this His fame would increase at the same time. They didn’t curse the sage for taking Him to the forest or even the Rakshasas for causing such disturbances. The evil elements of society will always be there. Appeasement, diplomacy, and psychological warfare can only do so much. In some instances, the last resort of danda, or force, is the only worthwhile option. When it is time for stiff punishment, the deliverer of justice must not be meek. He cannot be merciful either. The warrior must come strong or not come at all. The night-rangers scouring the forests looking to destroy the fire sacrifices of the sages did not play by the rules of warfare. They would hide their hideous forms until the last minute, thus lulling the sages into a false sense of security. Shri Rama and Lakshmana would have to defend Vishvamitra from these demons, and they would have to let their arrows fly without concern for the well-being of the attackers. The prayers offered by the residents were very sincere as well. They wanted nothing for themselves. This is the natural sentiment of the spirit soul, which exists in all living body types. Only in the human species, however, can that loving spirit be consciously directed towards a particular area. You’ll see that during awards ceremonies the winners spend most of the time thanking other people that helped them. It is seen that most people prefer praising others over talking themselves up. It is said that a true hero doesn’t speak much, which shows that the chivalrous and brave fight out of duty and not out of the desire to earn fame. Selflessness is a  byproduct of a saintly demeanor, which is acquired through following the highest system of maintenance, known as bhagavata-dharma. The residents of Ayodhya followed bhagavata-dharma, though they may not have known it. They did pray to God often, but not for their own benefit. They performed their regulative tasks as a matter of duty, not out of any desire for personal upliftment. What could someone who has the divine vision of Rama in front of them ever want anyway? If I am in the company of the most merciful, the person who is most beloved and kind in return, why should I worry about any other kind of reward? “May Indra protect you on the East, may Yama protect you on the South and Varuna on the West and Kuvera on the North.” (Sita Devi speaking to Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 16.24) These kinds of prayers would be regularly directed towards Rama during His time on earth. Many years later, after Rama would return home, He would be summoned to the royal palace around the time that it was announced He would succeed His father on the throne. At the time, Rama had already proven His immeasurable strength and His ability to stay safe through danger. Nevertheless, right before He left home, Rama’s wife Sita prayed to the different presiding deities of the material creation to protect her husband. Many thousands of years later, the same Rama would appear in Vrindavana as Lord Krishna, the delight of Maharaja Nanda and mother Yashoda. The evil element at the time was concentrated in the neighboring town of Mathura, where the leader Kamsa was intent on killing Krishna. He once sent a powerful witch to Vrindavana to try to find baby Krishna and kill Him. Like the night-rangers in the forest harassing Vishvamitra, Putana changed her form into a beautiful woman that wouldn’t look conspicuous in the holy land of Vrindavana. Putana was able to sneak into Krishna’s room and place Him on her lap. She came in with poison smeared on her breasts, so she was ready to kill the Lord by breastfeeding Him. Krishna granted her wish to temporarily act as a mother by kindly sucking milk from her breast. The problem for her, however, was that Krishna sucked the very life out of her. As she struggled to remain alive in the last moments, her original, hideous form revealed itself. The witch was so gigantic that after she was killed, her tumbling to the ground created a loud thud. Hearing this, the cowherd women of Vrindavana came upon the scene and saw baby Krishna innocently crawling on the witch’s corpse. They couldn’t believe the hideous scene so they quickly picked up the young child and smothered Him with affection. Mother Yashoda then offered so many prayers to the Supreme Lord to protect her young son Krishna. She did not know that the person she was addressing,Lord Vishnu, was the very same Krishna standing in front of her. This innocent and heartfelt prayer was thoroughly enjoyed by Krishna, for there was no personal motivation on Yashoda’s part. Rama and Lakshmana would not be harmed during their time with Vishvamitra. Shri Rama’s company is always beneficial, even to those He punishes. He would do away with several powerful Rakshasas, and also liberate Ahalya, the wife of the sage Gautama. But best of all, Rama would return home with a beautiful new wife named Sita. Through Vishvamitra’s request for protection, Rama would coincidentally make His way to the town of Tirahuta, where a self-choice ceremony was taking place to determine the marriage arrangements for the daughter of King Janaka. The contest in Janaka’s kingdom was simple, but difficult at the same time. There was an enormously heavy bow belonging to Lord Shiva placed in the sacrificial arena. So many kings from around the world tried to lift it, but none of them could. Seeing Rama’s beautiful and enchanting appearance, the onlookers in Tirahuta prayed to God to have Rama win the contest. Again, the prayer was not needed since Rama is the most powerful. Yet, just as in the case of the residents of Ayodhya, the well-wishers in Janaka’s kingdom did not know that Rama was God. Through pure love they worried for His well-being and also Sita’s. With a sincerity of purpose, they would gain the fruit of their eyes by seeing Rama lift the bow and marry the goddess of fortune. The prayers offered by the residents of Ayodhya would eventually be granted. Rama would have to leave their company once more, this time for fourteen years. That was a long time of separation, but eventually He would return home triumphant and then happily take the helm as their leader. That same sweetheart holding the bow in His hands and standing on guard to protect the innocent can stay with us at all times through the chanting of His names: “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. The saints pray to always have the opportunity to recite the holy names and to make sure that as many people in the world as possible can do the same. As the prayers are offered in pure love, the Supreme Lord answers them. In Closing: Shri Rama, Dasharatha’s son of beautiful charm, Though off You go, may there be no harm. May victory in Your efforts you gain, So that upon return glorious will be Your fame. May no harm come upon You in the forest, You and Lakshmana by the sage be always blessed. That You don’t suffer at all we pray, While bathing let all of Your hair on head stay. From the forest the Rakshasas do You chase, For Your triumphant return we cannot wait.

OORUKKU 4 PERU (O4P) AWARD WINNING TAMIL SHORT FILM BY GANESH KUMAR MOHA...

                            Winner of BEST FILM award in Avtar International Film fest 2012"


Greenhorns film presents 'OORUKKU 4 PERU' (4 Buddies every city) is a short film about 4 Bangalore based software engineers' involvement in a forgery scheme (which happened really in many places across the nation) due to their greed and their learning in hard way. Its a funny satire on quick money making schemes and uncontrollable desire on money. 

A 30 minute tamil short film from the makers of 536 and Ramasamy. ENTERTAINMENT GUARANTEED!!

Story-Screenplay-Dialogues-Direction: Ganesh Kumar Mohan
Music: Balamurali Balu
Cinematography: Manish Murthy and Anand CJ
Editing and Sound design: Abhinav Sundar Nayak
Lyrics: Mohan Sundar
Associates: Manivannan, Mohan Sundar, Kotti, Sureshkumar
Guest Cinematographers: KB Prabu and Rajavel

CAST: Venkat Sundar, Yeskay, Yashwant, Manoj, Sai, Vigneeshwaran, Shrabani Das etc.

Contact production house: greenhornsfilms@gmail.com
Postproduction house at nayakcinema@gmail.com

Very important information for users of social networks like FACEBOOK.

At the moment the three main campaigns of virus posted on Facebook are:
"Change the color of your profile in the Face," "Look who visited you" and "Take the timeline of your profile."
These applications, when clicked, can infect the user in two ways.
1st one is that asks you to install the application.
... In this case, the virus can pass through you, but do not get your password.
* To get rid of it, you need to avoid installing the above applications or uninstall the applications if already installed.
2nd, and more dangerous, is that prompts the user to install a browser plug-in. "If installed, the plugin reads your passwords."

______________
Portugues
As trés principais campanhas de vírus divulgadas no Facebook nesse momento são:
“Mude a Cor do seu perfil no Face” , “Veja quem te visitou” e " Tira o timeline do teu perfil ".
Esses aplicativos, ao serem clicados, conseguem infectar o usuário de duas maneiras.

1ª delas é a que pede para vc instalar o aplicativo.
... Nesse caso, o vírus consegue se passar por vc, mas não obtém sua senha.
*Para se livrar dele, é preciso desinstalar o app.
 2ª, e mais perigosa, é a que solicita ao usuário a instalação de um plug-in no navegador. “Se instalado, o plug-in lê as suas senhas”.
_______________
Criolo
ATENSON..Si bo odja “Mude a Cor do seu perfil no Face” , “Veja quem te visitou” e " Tira o timeline do teu perfil ". Ka bo klika na kés link pamodi És É VIRUS.

Thank you for your attention and cooperation against infection of the virus and I wish you good navigation on the Net !

Best,
Cipriano

Holey Optochip! The One-Trillion-Bits-Per-Second Chip is Here

By Clay Dillow

IBM's Holey Optochip IBM

The high data loads of the future--and even the present--require that optical communications platforms continue to get faster, leaner, and cheaper. At the Optical Fiber Communication Conference in Los Angeles today, IBM will report on a prototype optical chip it has developed that has hit a significant milestone in optical data transfer: one terabit--that’s one trillion bits--per second.

That’s like downloading 500 HD movies at once, a speed matching the bandwidth consumed by 100,000 users at today’s average high-speed Web rates. It’s important to note that this a parallel optics chip technology, not a long-range fiber optic serial communications technology, so it’s not going to instantaneously boost the speed at which data traverses the oceans. But between computers on a local network (between different servers in a data center, for instance) this technology could provide some pretty searing speeds.

The chip itself gets its name from the fact that there are 48 tiny holes bored through a standard silicon CMOS chip that connects on the back side with 24 receiver and 24 transmitter channels. These channels allow a whole lot of data to move through the chip in both directions simultaneously, allowing for these terabit-per-second transfer speeds.

What’s more, in proper IBM fashion the chip isn’t some kind of behind-the-glass prototype never destined for commercial production. The company claims it achieves these record data speeds with excellent power efficiency--that a 100-watt light bulb could power 20 of the optical modules. They are also constructed from off-the-shelf, commercially available components. But there’s no word yet on when, exactly, this manufacturer-friendly optical device might begin taking advantage of those economies of scale and deliver the next-generation of cloud computing and data center technologies.

[IBM]

SATURN : Remedies for Planets

Please note these are the remedies for weak, afflicted and debilitated planets and proper guidance from proper astrologer should be considered before doing any remedies.

Remedies for Saturn


· Saturn yantra.

· Chant mantra “Om Sun Shaneshcharaye Namah” 108 times.

· Fast on Saturday.

· Donate black clothes/ black gram (chickpea)/ black sesame/ 
  leather shoes/ salt/ mustard oil/ iron/ land for farming/ utensils/ 
  grains.

· Feed crows with mustard oil on a chapati.

· Offer mustard oil to Shani Deity.

· Avoid all black clothes & black things.

· Do not eat meat or have liquor, tobacco, sexual activity on every 
  Saturday.

Finishing The Race

“This new rope also was short by a measurement of two fingers, and when another rope was joined to it, it was still two fingers too short. As many ropes as she joined, all of them failed; their shortness could not be overcome.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.9.16) Because of how we currently view the nature of action, it is assumed that the path towards success in spiritual life involves piling various achievements on top of one another. “Start small and then build your way towards the final goal. Cram enough activity to accumulate numerous spiritual merits and you’ll eventually reach the topmost realm of the spiritual sky, where birth and death no longer take place.” Such a miserable cycle is not desired by one who is aware of it. The ignorant, though taking their paltry enjoyment to be blissful, are automatically harmed by being unaware of the ultimate goal and the supreme happiness it brings. Yet despite the best effort, no quantitative accumulation of merits can bring the Supreme Lord into one’s company, or more importantly, under one’s control. Rather, when sincerity is there, when the motivation is completely pure, the controller of this and every other land agrees to allow the surrendered soul to think that He is under their sway. Thus the emotional reservoirs can spill over from both sides and flood the situation with transcendental sweetness. What do we mean by building upon activities to reach a final goal? You can take running a marathon as an example to see the principles. The marathon runner has a goal to fulfill. They want to complete the race of 26.2 miles while keeping at least a running pace throughout. The serious runner will keep an eye on time, but for most of the participants just saying that you finished a marathon is good enough. After all, the person not accustomed to running will have a difficult time completing a single mile. Even the runners in the race don’t practice the entire 26.2 miles. They likely train to do half that distance on a semi-regular basis, knowing that on the day of the race the adrenaline will help push them across the finish line. To run in a marathon requires training and a commitment to both physical and mental well-being. The runner needs to be in shape, ready to run long distances. They have to know how to prepare their bodies for a long-distance race. This means understanding how much to eat and when prior to the race. Also, they must know how to pace themselves and not exhaust their reservoir of energy before reaching the finish line. Each one of these regulations can be considered a building block. Then, on the day of the race, the runner further builds smaller blocks by dissecting the race. “Finish one mile at a time and don’t think about the entire length. If you follow this procedure, eventually you can reach the finish line.” The same pattern applies to basically every fruitive venture. In school, complete each year starting from the first grade and eventually make your way to graduation after twelve years. This is how goals are achieved. The larger the goal, the larger the number of smaller building blocks required for completion. In the big picture, the spirit soul, which is the essence of identity, has an ultimate purpose to fulfill. Only in the human form is there the ability to uncover that purpose. Therefore the Vedas consider the human birth to be the most auspicious. The intelligence of the human being is not best used to create a devastating bomb that can destroy the world or build an aircraft capable of flying into outer space. Inventing a gadget to receive and place telephone calls to people around the world also isn’t the best use of the brainpower of the human being. The reason the human being has a higher purpose to fulfill is that the enjoyment derived from mechanical advancement is more or less the same as what is available to the animals. A human being may drive in their fancy sports car to an expensive restaurant that serves the finest steaks, but the animals lacking intelligence have the same ability to eat. Tigers eat the flesh of other animals without spending a dime. The human being has intelligence to go beyond the basic needs of eating, sleeping, mating and defending. Religion ideally fulfills this purpose. Not the religion just inherited as a formality from the parents or a faith accepted one day and then rejected the next, a bona fide discipline of spirituality is presented and understood as a science, where specific laws that can’t be violated are taught. The laws are already in effect, but cognizance of them allows the worker to operate within their guidelines, avoiding the painful reactions that come from going against the stringent influence of nature. “As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.”  (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.13) A young child may not know how gravity works, but if you let go of something from your hand, it will fall to the ground. If you are on a perch somewhere, if you jump off, you will drop to the ground. Therefore knowledge of gravity can be very helpful, for it will enable you to avoid dangerous behavior. In a similar manner, knowledge of the transmigration of the soul, how it travels through different body types from life to life, enables the human being to take the necessary steps to avoid that cycle, to put a permanent end to it. The samsara-chakra, or spinning wheel of material existence, is like an amusement park ride that one doesn’t have to patronize. Rather, as soon as the desire to reject that ride is broadcast, the spirit soul gets a better destination. The real purpose of religion is to break free of the cycle of birth and death and find a more ideal destination. The natural instinct would be to follow the same pattern of using building blocks to reach the final goal. “Whatever steps are required, I will do and then hopefully reach the final point.” But things aren’t quite so simple. You can’t just put in a certain amount of time and then be guaranteed of success. Granted, the building blocks are there, but the purpose is to shift consciousness, to purify it. That stark change can take place within an instant, or it can be so elusive that many lifetimes spent in spiritual practice won’t turn the mind. If the pathways to success are so varied, why even put forth the effort? Under the bona fide principles presented by an instructor who knows the ins and outs of the students, the progress can happen very quickly. More specifically, if there is sincerity in purpose, the object of that service will ensure success. An example of this was seen with mother Yashoda, who one day tried to tie her son to a mortar as punishment for His bad behavior. What Yashoda didn’t know was that her son was the Supreme Lord, Shri Krishna, appearing on earth in the spiritual guise of a tiny, adorable child. The jewel of Vrindavana enchanted everyone in the town, and He especially evoked the parental loving affection of Yashoda and Nanda Maharaja. On one occasion, the naughty Krishna broke a pot of yogurt that was in the process of being churned into butter. He did so in protest to His mother having gotten up for a second to tend to affairs in the kitchen. Knowing that He did something bad, Krishna ran from the scene, taking His butter with Him, but leaving a trail on the floor to give away His location. The good mother chased after her son playfully with a whipping stick in her hand. Finally catching hold of Him, seeing that He had tears in His eyes, she decided she would tie Him to a mortar. This would serve two purposes. It would act as a mild punishment and it would ensure that He wouldn’t run off to a neighboring home out of fear. There was one slight problem. The rope that mother Yashoda used to tie Krishna came up two finger widths short. No problem, right? Just add an adjoining rope to increase the length? Yet with every rope she added, the end result was always the same. Just a bit short. Shri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, cannot be bound unless He agrees to it. He cannot be captured by the mind no matter how much meditation has taken place, how many pious credits have been accumulated, or how long the person has studied Vedanta, which is the ultimate system of knowledge. Krishna did eventually get tied to the mortar. This is because the mother’s efforts were sincere. She was not interested in yoga, though through thinking of her son in a mood of love she had achieved an end sought by every yogi. She did not want to study Vedanta, though through her behavior she showed that she knew who the Absolute Truth was and how to establish a relationship with Him. She did not want to purposefully give up the fruits of her labor for a higher cause, though she worked day and night to please the Supreme Lord, who had appeared in Vrindavana as her son. Shri Krishna makes the sincere efforts of the devotee fruitful. The laws of material science don’t apply to Him. Putting two ropes together always increases the length of the new rope, but in Krishna’s case, the new rope can be the same length as the previous one. The contradictions to the laws of time and space exist only with the Supreme Lord and His spiritual realm, which is the destination for the pious souls who are committed to bhakti and granted success by the beneficiary of their activity, that sweetheart butter-thief who innocently played with mother Yashoda. In Closing: One upon another do you build, At end have accumulation’s hill. Success in life this pattern follows, Methodically reach desired end allows. Do your training and take right pace, So that you’ll complete marathon race. In bhakti the pattern is not the same, Devotional spirit only way for Krishna to gain. Yashoda tried to tie naughty son to mortar, But never worked until Krishna gave the order.

Sai Katha (Hindi) - Ramnavami Ke Din Urs Manana