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Wednesday, February 26, 2014

ALL RELIGIONS ARE NOT THE SAME

By Stephen Knapp

Some people ask, “Aren’t all religions the same?” No. Every religion is different. Many preachers, mainly Hindu preachers who have vested interest of building their empires propagate the idea that all religions are the same. So any religions will give the same result. But this is not the fact.

Hindus respect other religions. It is not difficult for them to see various levels of spiritual truth in other spiritual paths. But all religions take their practitioners to different levels of philosophical understanding, spiritual knowledge, levels of consciousness, and different abilities to perceive spiritual Truth. So all religions are not the same. This is why members of some religions are more congenial and respectful toward members of other religions, while some members of particular religions are not respectful toward those that are different, are quick to call them infidels and other derogatory names, and say that they are going to hell, or tell them that they need to convert in order to be “saved”. This is certainly due to a different perspective and a lack of understanding that we all worship the same Supreme Being, though in different ways or expressions. Thus, religions can be compared to the difference between an abridged dictionary and one that is unabridged. They both contain the same knowledge, but one is more complete than the other. If you are going to have a dictionary, you might want to get the best one available, and that would be the unabridged dictionary, or the one that is most complete in its knowledge. And that is like the Vedic spiritual texts, which compiles a library of texts for those who want to understand the intricacies of spiritual knowledge.
Photo: ALL RELIGIONS ARE NOT THE SAME

By Stephen Knapp

Some people ask, “Aren’t all religions the same?” No. Every religion is different. Many preachers, mainly Hindu preachers who have vested interest of building their empires propagate the idea that all religions are the same. So any religions will give the same result. But this is not the fact.

Hindus respect other religions. It is not difficult for them to see various levels of spiritual truth in other spiritual paths. But all religions take their practitioners to different levels of philosophical understanding, spiritual knowledge, levels of consciousness, and different abilities to perceive spiritual Truth. So all religions are not the same. This is why members of some religions are more congenial and respectful toward members of other religions, while some members of particular religions are not respectful toward those that are different, are quick to call them infidels and other derogatory names, and say that they are going to hell, or tell them that they need to convert in order to be “saved”. This is certainly due to a different perspective and a lack of understanding that we all worship the same Supreme Being, though in different ways or expressions. Thus, religions can be compared to the difference between an abridged dictionary and one that is unabridged. They both contain the same knowledge, but one is more complete than the other. If you are going to have a dictionary, you might want to get the best one available, and that would be the unabridged dictionary, or the one that is most complete in its knowledge. And that is like the Vedic spiritual texts, which compiles a library of texts for those who want to understand the intricacies of spiritual knowledge.
20

Computer to aid cancer treatment

DTKUTOO_Tumour_shutterstock
The computer model could act as a first-line assessment of potential treatments, without side effects for the patient.
Image: DTKUTOO/Shutterstock
THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE    
A University of Adelaide PhD student has developed a computer model for simulating cancer tumour growth and treatment which is attracting interest from around the world as a first-line assessment of potential treatments.
The first of its kind in the world, the model simulates the growth of tumour from single cells and the effect of cancer treatments such as radiation at the nanoscale level.
“Unlike other cancer models, this model simulates the tumour growth and effects of various treatments, right through to the probability of survival of cells and whether they have been destroyed by the treatment,” says Michael Douglass, PhD student in the University’s School of Chemistry and Physics.
The research, supervised by Associate Professor Eva Bezak, School of Chemistry and Physics and Chief Physicist, Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) and Dr Scott Penfold, Medical Physics Co-ordinator in the School, is currently focussed on radiotherapy.
“We model individual radiation particle interactions on scales smaller than the size of a water molecule,” says Mr Douglass, who is also a medical physicist in the Department of Medical Physics at the RAH. We simulate the resultant biological damage to each cell in the tumour and how the cell repairs its DNA after being exposed to radiation.”
The model is now being used to study new cancer treatment techniques such as the use of gold-nanoparticles to reduce the radiation dose needed to destroy tumours, and so reduce or eliminate acute radiation side-effects.
“Targeting and destroying an individual cancer cell in the human body is a bit like spotting a fly from several kilometres away,” says Mr Douglass. “Since we can’t see it, the only way to ensure the fly has been killed is to use a highly destructive nuclear weapon which results in huge collateral damage.  When the fly starts to reproduce and becomes a huge swarm, then we can see it and take more precise action, but by that time the condition has become quite serious in terms of tumour growth and spread of the cancer.”
“The beauty of this model is that we can investigate the actions of new treatments such as gold nano-particle therapy to see what happens when we can’t look at it experimentally. The processes are happening on such a small scale that computer modelling is the only way of understanding how they are working. 
“We can use the model to investigate what will happen with any therapy so we can verify it as a potential treatment and then, if it’s looking promising, go ahead with clinical trials.”
Over the next year, the model will be further developed in many international collaborations including Loma Linda University Medical Centre in the United States to study the effects of proton radiotherapy. It has also attracted the interest of NASA to study the effects of cosmic radiation on astronauts. 
The model’s algorithms also will be released to researchers around the world this year.
Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

Chanakya pandit's Niti Sastra

Avoid him who talks sweetly before you but tries to ruin you behind your back, for he is like a pitcher of poison with milk on top.

Do not put your trust in a bad companion nor even trust an ordinary friend, for if he should get angry with you, he may bring all your secrets to light.

(NS 2.5-6)

We are indebted

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Eleventh Canto, Fifth Chapter, verse 41, in which Karabhājana Muni addresses Mahārāja Nimi as follows: "My dear King, if someone gives up his occupational duties as they are prescribed for the different varṇas and āśramas, but takes complete shelter, surrendering himself unto the lotus feet of the Lord, such a person is no more a debtor, nor has he any obligation to perform the different kinds of activities we render to the great sages, ancestors, living entities and family and society members. Nor has he any need to bother executing the five kinds of yajñās [sacrifices] for becoming free from sinful contamination. Simply by discharging devotional service, he is freed from all kinds of obligations." The purport is that as soon as a man takes his birth, he is immediately indebted to so many sources. He is indebted to the great sages because he profits by reading their authoritative scriptures and books. For example, we take advantage of the books written by Vyāsadeva. Vyāsadeva has left for us all the Vedas. Before Vyāsadeva's writing, the Vedic literature was simply heard, and the disciples would learn the mantras quickly by hearing and not by reading. Later on, Vyāsadeva thought it wise to write down the Vedas, because in this age people are short-memoried and unable to remember all the instructions given by the spiritual master. Therefore, he left all the Vedic knowledge in the form of books, such as the Purāṇas, Vedānta, Mahābhārata and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

There are many other sages, like Śańkarācārya, Gautama Muni and Nārada Muni, to whom we are indebted because we take advantage of their knowledge. Similarly, we are obliged to our forefathers, because we take our birth in a particular family, where we take all advantages and inherit property. Therefore, we are indebted to the forefathers and have to offer them piṇḍa (prasāda) after they are dead. Similarly, to the people in general we are also indebted, as well as to our relatives, friends and even animals such as cows and dogs who render us so much service.

In this way, we are indebted to the devas, to the forefathers, to the sages, to the animals and to society in general. It is our duty to repay them all by proper discharge of service. But by the one stroke of devotional service, if someone gives up all obligations and simply surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is no longer a debtor, nor obliged to any other source of benefit.
Photo: We are indebted

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Eleventh Canto, Fifth Chapter, verse 41, in which Karabhājana Muni addresses Mahārāja Nimi as follows: "My dear King, if someone gives up his occupational duties as they are prescribed for the different varṇas and āśramas, but takes complete shelter, surrendering himself unto the lotus feet of the Lord, such a person is no more a debtor, nor has he any obligation to perform the different kinds of activities we render to the great sages, ancestors, living entities and family and society members. Nor has he any need to bother executing the five kinds of yajñās [sacrifices] for becoming free from sinful contamination. Simply by discharging devotional service, he is freed from all kinds of obligations." The purport is that as soon as a man takes his birth, he is immediately indebted to so many sources. He is indebted to the great sages because he profits by reading their authoritative scriptures and books. For example, we take advantage of the books written by Vyāsadeva. Vyāsadeva has left for us all the Vedas. Before Vyāsadeva's writing, the Vedic literature was simply heard, and the disciples would learn the mantras quickly by hearing and not by reading. Later on, Vyāsadeva thought it wise to write down the Vedas, because in this age people are short-memoried and unable to remember all the instructions given by the spiritual master. Therefore, he left all the Vedic knowledge in the form of books, such as the Purāṇas, Vedānta, Mahābhārata and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

There are many other sages, like Śańkarācārya, Gautama Muni and Nārada Muni, to whom we are indebted because we take advantage of their knowledge. Similarly, we are obliged to our forefathers, because we take our birth in a particular family, where we take all advantages and inherit property. Therefore, we are indebted to the forefathers and have to offer them piṇḍa (prasāda) after they are dead. Similarly, to the people in general we are also indebted, as well as to our relatives, friends and even animals such as cows and dogs who render us so much service.

In this way, we are indebted to the devas, to the forefathers, to the sages, to the animals and to society in general. It is our duty to repay them all by proper discharge of service. But by the one stroke of devotional service, if someone gives up all obligations and simply surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is no longer a debtor, nor obliged to any other source of benefit.
4

Vedic Arabs and Vedic Druids?

Arabia was not free from the influence of the followers of Vedic Dharma (the Aryans) – the people who migrated after Mahabharata war nearly to all corners of the world. Some of them reached the tract where they found speeding horses of good breed. They named it Arvansthan meaning the land and abode of horses because arvan is the Sanskrit word for ‘horse’ of good quality. Gradually Arvansthan changed to Arvasthan then to Arbansthan and later to Arabstan. In due course and over a number of years it got shortened to Arab. When the English became powerful in the world they anglicized it to Arabia.

Another section of the migrants who happened to be more learned in the Vedic scriptures reached the Isles of Britain (Brittany) and came to be known as Druids which again is a distortion of the Sanskrit word Dravid which is derived from two Sanskrit roots dra meaning a ‘seer’ and vid meaning the learned and knowing. The Dravida of yore were highly cultivated people well versed in all branches of Vedic literature, learning and practices. The Druids of England practice even to this day many a Vedic ritual. “The Asiatic origin of the Druids has long been an acknowledged point in the world of antiquities.

Reuben Burrow, author 'A Proof that the Hindoos had the Binomial Theorem', Asiatic Researches vol. ii: 388-395; First published 1790, the great practical astronomer of India, was the first person, who after a strict examination and comparison of their mythological superstitions and their periods directly affirmed them to be a race of emigrant Indian philosophers. Again: “These priests (the Druids), Brahmins of India spread themselves widely through the northern regions of Asia even to Siberia itself, and gradually mingling with the great body of Celtic tribes (Kolotaya people to the south of Kashmir) pushed their journey to the extremity of Europe and finally established the Druid that is the Brahmin system of superstition in ancient Britain – This I contend was the first Oriental colony settled in these (British) islands.”

(source: The Hindu - By Krishna Vallabh Paliwal and Brahm Datt Bharti p. 46 - 47).

Thomas Maurice (1754-1824) who was inspired to address in one of the volumes of his 'Indian Antiquities' the issue it raised of the relationship between Druids and Brahmins. Introducing 'A Dissertation on the Indian Origin of the Druids and on the Striking Affinity which the Religious Rites and Ceremonies, Anciently Practiced in the British Islands, bore to those of the Brahmins', Thomas Maurice referred to Burrow's earlier work as having established the fact that the genesis of Druidry was found in Asia (Maurice 1812: iv-v).
Vedic Arabs and Vedic Druids?

Arabia was not free from the influence of the followers of Vedic Dharma (the Aryans) – the people who migrated after Mahabharata war nearly to all corners of the world.  Some of them reached the tract where they found speeding horses of good breed. They named it Arvansthan meaning the land and abode of horses because arvan is the Sanskrit word for ‘horse’ of good quality. Gradually Arvansthan changed to Arvasthan then to Arbansthan and later to Arabstan. In due course and over a number of years it got shortened to Arab. When the English became powerful in the world they anglicized it to Arabia.    

Another section of the migrants who happened to be more learned in the Vedic scriptures reached the Isles of Britain (Brittany) and came to be known as Druids which again is a distortion of the Sanskrit word Dravid which is derived from two Sanskrit roots dra meaning a ‘seer’ and vid meaning the learned and knowing. The Dravida of yore were highly cultivated people well versed in all branches of Vedic literature, learning and practices. The Druids of England practice even to this day many a Vedic ritual. “The Asiatic origin of the Druids has long been an acknowledged point in the world of antiquities. 

Reuben Burrow, author 'A Proof that the Hindoos had the Binomial Theorem', Asiatic Researches vol. ii: 388-395; First published 1790, the great practical astronomer of India, was the first person, who after a strict examination and comparison of their mythological superstitions and their periods directly affirmed them to be a race of emigrant Indian philosophers. Again: “These priests (the Druids), Brahmins of India spread themselves widely through the northern regions of Asia even to Siberia itself, and gradually mingling with the great body of Celtic tribes (Kolotaya people to the south of Kashmir) pushed their journey to the extremity of Europe and finally established the Druid that is the Brahmin system of superstition in ancient Britain – This I contend was the first Oriental colony settled in these (British) islands.”

(source: The Hindu - By Krishna Vallabh Paliwal and Brahm Datt Bharti  p. 46 - 47).

Thomas Maurice (1754-1824) who was inspired to address in one of the volumes of his 'Indian Antiquities' the issue it raised of the relationship between Druids and Brahmins. Introducing 'A Dissertation on the Indian Origin of the Druids and on the Striking Affinity which the Religious Rites and Ceremonies, Anciently Practiced in the British Islands, bore to those of the Brahmins', Thomas Maurice referred to Burrow's earlier work as having established the fact that the genesis of Druidry was found in Asia (Maurice 1812: iv-v).

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

சரிவு

வ. அ. இராசரத்தினம் 













 'அங்கிட்டு ஒசக்கத் தெரியிற உச்சி மலைக்கேறி பள்ளத்தில் எறங்கினா லுணுகலை வந்திடுங்க. சங்கு ஊதக்க பொறப்பட்டா தேத்தண்ணிக்கு அங்க போயிடலாங்க' என்றான் என் வழிகாட்டியான தோட்டத் தொழிலாளி.

 எனக்கு லுணுகலைக்குப் போகவேண்டிய அவசியத்தேவை ஏதுமே கிடையாது. மலைமுகட்டில் நான் தங்கியிருந்த அரசாங்க பங்களாவில் இருந்து யன்னல் வழியாக வெளியே பார்த்தால் தூரத்திலே முகில் படிந்து கம்பீரமாகத் தோற்றமளிக்கும் 'றோபெரிக்' குன்றுகள். அக்குன்றுகட்கும் என் இருப்பிடத்திற்கும் இடையே வரைவரையாய், மடிப்பு மடிப்பாய், படிப்படியாய் இறங்கிச் செல்லும் சரிவுகளிற் குத்திட்டு நிற்கும் தேயிலைச் செடிகள், அச்செடிகளில் மொய்க்கும் வண்ணாத்திப் பூச்சிகளாய்த் தோன்றும் கொழுந்துக்காரிகள், எல்லாமே அழகாய்த்தான் இருப்போம் என்று வரிந்து கட்டிக்கொண்டவை போலத் தோன்றும் மலை நாட்டின் அழகை இரசிக்கவென்று நீண்ட இடைக்காலத்தின் பின் நான் வதுளைப் பக்கமாக வந்திருந்தேன். உல்லாசப்பிரயாணி!

 பதினைந்து ஆண்டுகட்கு முன்னே சொல்லில் வடிக்க முடியாத மெல்லிசையின் நுண்ணிழையாய் உடலின் வேட்கையோ, தசையின் பிடுங்கலோ இன்றிப் பின்னிப் படர்ந்த வாலிபக்கனவுகளின் செழுமை வாய்ந்த பின்னணியாய்த் திகழ்ந்த மலைநாடு இன்றைக்கும் மெருகு குலையாத அதே அழகோடு.....

 நான்தான் நடுத்தரவயதினனாகி விட்டேன். ஆனால் அழகிற்கும் முதுமையுண்டா? என்றைக்கும் அவள் நித்ய கன்னிதானா?

 அக்கன்னிக் கட்டழகைப் பருகும் வெறியில் நான் கடந்த நான்கு நாட்களாக எங்கெல்லாமோ பகல் முழுவதும் சுற்றினேன். காடாய் அடர்ந்து சித்திரை மாதத்து வெய்யிலிலே விகசிக்கும் வண்ணமலர்கள், வழுக்கும் கற்பாறைகளின் சரிவிலே மலைநாட்டின் அழகே உருகிச் சொட்டுவது போன்று சலசலத்துக் கொட்டும் மலையருவிகள் எல்லாமே என் மனதுட் போதையை ஊட்டின. அப்போதையிற் தான் நான் இன்று லுணுகலைக்குப் புறப்பட்டேன்.

 வழிகாட்டி முன்னே நடந்தான்.

 மடுள் சீமைக்குன்றுகளிலே மதுரையை வளைத்து அரவமாய் வளைந்து வதுளைக்குச் செல்லும் பிரதான பாதையிலே சிறிது தூரம் நடந்து பின் தோட்டத்துக் குறுகிய பாதையிலே ஏறத்தொடங்கினோம்.

 'போயிடலாங்க. அந்தப் பக்கம் பணிவுதானுங்க' என்று வேலு தேற்றினான்.

 'சரி நட' என்று சொல்லிவிட்டு நான் அவன் பின்னால் ஏறத்தொடங்கினேன்.

 வழியிலே தேயிலைச் செடிகளைத் தாக்கும் கிருமிகட்கு மருந்து பீச்சியடிக்கும் தொழிலாளர்கள், தங்கள் தோளிற் கிடந்த இயந்திரத்தைக் கீழே இறக்கி வைத்து, அதன் கொள்கலத்தில் கரைத்த மருந்தை ஊற்றிக்கொண்டிருந்தார்கள். அவர்களில் ஒருத்தன் கேட்டான். 'எங்கபோறா வேலு?'

 'ஐயா பட்டிப்பளைக்குச் செல்லணுமாம்' என்றான் வேலு பெருமிதத்தோடு.

 'ஆமாம் வெத்தில வெச்சிரிக்கியா?'

 'ஏண்டா சவத்துப்பயலே. வேலைக்கு வரக்குள்ள வெத்தில இல்லாம வருவியா?'

 'சும்மா போய்யா. ஓங்கிட்ட இருந்தா கொடுங்களேன்'

 என் வழிகாட்டி வெற்றிலைப் பொட்டலத்தை அவிழ்த்தான். அவர்கள் நால்வரும் வெற்றிலை போட்டுக்கொண்டார்கள். பின்னால் வந்து கொண்டிருந்த நான் அவர்களை அணிமியதும் 'வெத்தில போடுங்க ஐயா' என்றான் வேலு. நான் உல்லாசப் பிரயாணி. வேலு எனக்கு வழிகாட்டி. வேலைக்காரனல்லன். எனினும் வெற்றிலை போடுவது எனக்குப் பழக்கப்பட்ட விவகாரமல்ல. அதிலும் அதிகாலையில் நான் வெத்திலை போட்டதே கிடையாது. ஆயினும் நான் என் வழிகாட்டியின் வேண்டுகோளை ஏற்று மலை ஏறினேன்.

 'இதெல்லாம் தமிழ்ப் பிளாசுதானுங்க' என்றான் வழிகாட்டி என்னைத் திரும்பிப் பார்த்துக்கொண்டே. யாரோ அந்தக் காலத்துத் 'தமிழ்துரை தவளம்பலஸ்' என்று தமிழும் ஆங்கிலமுமாய்க் கலந்து தன் தோட்டத்திற்குச் சூட்டிய பெயர்' இன்று எல்லார் வாயிலும் 'தமிழ்ப்பிளாஸ்' ஆகிவிட்ட இலக்கண விவகாரத்தில் ஈடுபட எனக்கு நேரமில்லை. மலையுச்சியிற் சாம்பற் புகாராய்ப் படர்ந்த முகிற்திரை கீழிறங்கி ஒரு கணம் எங்களைப் போர்த்து மூடிப்பின் விலகிக் கொண்டு செல்லும் அற்புதத்தைத் திரும்பி நின்று நான் பார்த்துக்கொண்டிருந்தேன். கீழே கீழே இறங்கிச் செல்லும் முகிற்திரையை காலைச் சூரியனின் செங்கிரணங்கள் தூர்தியடிப்பதைப் போலத் தோன்றியது எனக்கு.

 நான் களைத்து விட்டேன் என்று வேலு எண்ணிக்கொண்டான் போலும். 'சத்து நேரத்தில உச்சிக்குப் போயிடலாம்' வேலுதான் என்முன்னால் இப்போதும் சென்றுகொண்டிருந்தான். இப்போது குறுக்கு வழியில் ஆயினும் அவனுக்குப் பழக்கமான பாதையிற் தேயிலைப் புதர்களினூடே அவன் விறுவிறென்று நடந்தான். பச்சைப் பாக்கின் கிறக்கத்தில் நானும் அவனைப் பின் தொடர்ந்து இருவரும் மலை உச்சியை அடைந்துவிட்டோம்.

 மலையேறி வந்ததில் உடம்பெல்லாம் வியர்த்துக்கொட்டினாலும் இதமான குளுமை என் உடலைப் புல்லரிக்கச் செய்தது. உச்சியில் 'ட' வாய்வளைந்த கீழ் நோக்கிச் செல்லும் பாதையின் அருகே கடல் மட்டத்திலிருந்து ஐயாயிரத்துச் சில்லறை அடி என்பதைத் தெரிவித்துக்கொண்டிருக்கும் விளம்பரப் பலகை. அதன் அருகே நீட்டிநிற்கும் வேலாயுதத்தை உள்ளடக்கிய சின்னஞ்சிறிய கோயில்.

 'முருகன் கோயிலுங்க' என்று சொல்லிக் கையெடுத்துக் கும்பிட்டான் வேலு. நானும் சேவித்துக் கொண்டே திரும்பிப் பார்த்தேன்.

 நான் புறப்பட்டு வந்த இடமான அரசாங்க விடுதி இரண்டு மலை மடிப்புகளின் கீழே தீப்பெட்டிகளை அடுக்கிச் சிறுவர் கட்டிய பொம்மை வீட்டைப் போன்று சின்னஞ் சிறியதாய் தோன்றிற்று. வதுளை வீதியில் உருளும் வண்டுகளைப் போல மோட்டார் வண்டிகள் சென்று கொண்டிருந்தன. எனினும் பள்ளத்தாக்கு முழுமையையும் போர்த்து மூடியிருந்த மரகதப் பசுமை மட்டும் மாற்றம் ஏதுமே இன்றிக் கட்டுக்குலையமல் கண்களை வசீகரிக்க இடையிடையே காலையிள வெய்யிலின் பொன்னொளி பட்டு ஜ்வலிக்கும் மலை வீழருவிகள் கண்ணொளியைப் பறித்தன. 'உண்மையாகவே முருகன் அழகுத் தெய்வந்தான்! இந்தக் கண்கொள்ளா அழகை இரசிப்பதற்குச் சரியான மேட்டிற்தான் வந்து குடியிருக்கிறான்' என்று எண்ணியபோது என் உள்ளம் விம்மி நின்றது.

 நான் மெய்மறந்து நிற்கையில் இந்தப் பாதையால தானுங்க ஏறங்கிப் போகணும்' என்று கிழக்குத் திக்கைக் காட்டினான் வேலு. நான் அவன் காட்டிய திக்கிற் பார்த்தேன். அத்திக்கிற் தேயிலைச் செடிகளைக் காணவில்லை. செங்குத்தான சரிவாக இருப்பதும் புலப்பட்டது. மேலும் மலையைப் போர்த்துநின்ற மரகதப் பசுமையினூடே திட்டுத் திட்டாகக் கன்னங்கரிய கற்பார்படந்து வெறிச்சோடிக் கிடந்தது. அடிவாரத்திலே கித்துள் மரங்கள் தோகை விரித்த மயிலாகச் செழித்துத் தோன்றின.

 கித்துள் மரங்கள் தோன்றும் இடந்தான் என் இலக்காக இருக்கும் என்று எண்ணிக் கொண்டே 'அந்த ஊர் தான் லுணுகலையா? என்று கேட்டேன் நான்.

 'இல்லீங்க அந்த லெக்கிலே நீட்டுக்கும் போனாக் கொஞ்சத் தூரந்தானுங்க' என்றான் வேலு.

 'அப்போ புறப்படலாமே'

 'கொஞ்சம் நில்லுங்க ஐயா'என்ற வேலு தான் கையோடு கொண்டு வந்த சவர்க்காரத்தைப் பக்கத்துக் கற்சுவரில்; சொட்டிக் கொண்டிருந்த நீரிற் குழைத்து நுரையை என் பாதங்களில் கணுக்காலில் - முழங்கால்வரையும் பூசினான். அதற்கும் மேலால் யாழ்ப்பாணத்துத் தீன் புகையிலையும் நீரில் நனைத்துப் பூசியபடியே 'வழியெல்லாம் பில்லுக்காடுங்க. அட்டை ரொம்ப இருக்கும். சவுக்காரத்திற்கும் போயிலைக்கும் வராதுங்க' என்றான்.

 'அட்டைதானே கடிச்சாச் சாகமாட்டேனே' என்றேன் நான் சிரித்துக் கொண்டே.

 என் கால்கட்குப் பாதுகாப்புத் தேடிய வேலு, அதே பாதுகாப்பைத் தன் கால்கட்கும் அலட்சியத்தோடு செய்து கொண்டு மலைச்சரிவில் இறங்கி நடக்கத் தொடங்கினான்.

 நிர்மானுஷ;யமான மலைக்காட்டுப் பாதையில் நான் அவனைப் பின் தொடர்ந்தேன்.


 மலையில் ஏறுவதைவிட இறங்குவது தான் சிரமமாகத் தோன்றினாலும் நான் உற்சாகமாகவே நடந்தேன். மனதிலே போதை. நான் உல்லாசப் பிரயாணி!

 காலைச் சூரியனின் ஊசிக் கிரணங்கள் என் அங்க வஸ்திரத்தைப் பிரிமுண்டாசாகக் கட்டியிருந்த சிகைத்தலையிற் துணிபடாத இடத்திலே சுள்ளென்றடித்துக் கொண்டிருந்தன. நான் நடந்துகொண்டே இருந்தேன்.

 அரை மணித்தியால நடையின் பின்னர் செங்குத்தான இறக்கம் சற்று நிமிர்ந்து சமதரையாகி விட்டதாய்த் தோன்றிற்று. இரு மருங்கிலும் மார்புயரம் வளர்ந்திருக்கும் காட்டுப் புற்களின் நடுவே மனிதச் சுவடுகளின் தழுவலினால் வழுக்கலாகி விட்ட கற்களின் முதுகிலே, ஒற்றையடிப் பாதையில் நாங்கள் நடக்கத் தொடங்கிய போது மலை நாட்டிற் தன் படுவனாக வளர்ந்திருந்த பலாமரங்களிலிருந்த கனிகள் வீழ்ந்து கல்லிற் சிதறி நசுங்கின. மந்திக் குரங்குகள் மரத்துக்கு மரந்தாவின. காலிற் சதங்கையைக் கட்டிக் கொண்டு ஆடும் நர்த்தகியின் கலீரோடு பக்கத்திலே கானாறு குதித்துக் கும்மாளமிட்டு ஓடியது. குறும்பலவிலீசரின் குற்றாலத்தைச் சூசிப்பிக்கும்படியான அந்தச் சூழலில் என்னையறியாமலேயே என் உதடுகள் திரிகூடராசப் பக்கவிராயனின் குறவஞ்சியடிகளை முணுமுணுத்தன.

 'இனிமேல் ஒரு நாடு இருக்குங்க' என்றான் வேலு.

 தேயிலைத் தோட்டங்கட்குப் பக்கத்தில் உள்ள சிங்களக் கிராமங்களை நாடு என்று சொல்வது எனக்குத் தெரியும். எனவே 'இவ்வூருக்குப் பேரென்ன?' என்றேன் நான்.

 நாடுதானுங்க. இங்கிட்டிருந்து நம்மூருக்குத் தான் சாமானத்துக்கெல்லாம் வாறாங்க' என்றான் வேலு.

 ஊர்ப்பெயர் அவனுக்குத் தெரியவில்லை என்று நான் ஊகித்துக் கொண்டேன். பேர் எதற்கு? றோசாப்பூவை என்ன பெயரிட்டு அழைத்தாற்தான் என்ன? மணமாகுன்றிவிடும்? நான் மேலே நடந்தேன்.

 இடையிடையே மரவள்ளித் தோட்டங்கள் தென்பட்டன. அவற்றிடையே ஓரிரண்டு கோப்பிச் செடிகள். அவற்றிற்கும் மேலால் நிழல் கவித்து நிற்கும் பலாமரங்கள்.

 எங்கள் ஒற்றையடிப் பாதை சற்று சரிவாகி முன்னால் நீண்டு வளைந்து செல்கிறது. நாங்கள் நடந்து கொண்டேயிருந்தோம்.

 பாதையின் அருகே மலையிடுக்கில் மாட்டப் பெற்ற அர்த்த மூங்கிற் பிளவு வழியே ஸ்படிகமாய் ஒழுகும் தண்ணீரில் மலைநாட்டு இளம் மங்கையொருத்தி தலை முழுகிக்கொண்டிருந்தாள். நீண்டு கறுத்துக் கிடக்கும் அளகபாரம் என்ற மேகக் கற்றை அந்திச் செவ்வானமாய் மின்னும் அவள் முதுகிற் படிந்து மறைக்க பின்காட்டி நின்ற அப்பெண், எங்கள் காலடி ஓசை கேட்டுத் திரும்பிப் பார்த்தாள். வெடு வெடுக்கும் வைகறையின் குளுமையில் வெண்பனி தோய்ந்து இளநகை காட்டி நிற்கும் காட்டு ரோஜாப் பூப்போன்ற அவள் முகம் ஒழுகும் தண்ணீரிடையே பளிச்சிட்டது.

 மார்புக்கு மேலே நனைந்து உடலோடொட்டிக் கிடந்த ஆடைக்குள்ளிருந்து, இருளிலே விடலிடுக்குகளின் வழியாகப் புறங்கையிற் பீறிப்பாயும் விளக்கொளியின் கனிந்த செம்மையாய் அவள் நிறம் பளிச்சிட அவ்வொளிக்குத் திருஷ;டிக் கழிவாய் இரு பொட்டுக் கருமை... மின் வெட்டுத்தான்!

 மறுபடியும் திரும்பி ஒழுகும் நீரிற் தலையைக் கொடுத்துக்கொண்டாள்.

 என் இரசிகத்தன்மை என்ற பலவீனத்தையோ, அல்லது பலவீனம் என்ற இரசிகத்தன்மையையோ வேலு அவதானித்துக்கொண்டான் போலும்.

 'கள்ளு விக்கிற சிங்களப் பொண்ணு ஐயா' என்றான் வேலு.

 என் உல்லாசப் பிரயாண மயக்கிலும், அழகுக் கிறுக்கிலும் என்ன பேசுகிறேன் என்று தெரியாமலே 'கித்துள்கள்ளா? நான் ஒருமுறையும் குடிக்கவில்லை. இன்றைக்குக் குடித்துப் பார்க்க வேண்டும்' என்றேன்.

 வேலு அவளோடு சிங்களத்திற் பேச்சுக் கொடுத்தான். பிறகு என்னிடம் 'நாம அவ வீட்டுக்குப் போவோம் ஐயா. வாங்க' என்று முன்செல்ல நான் அவனைத் தொடர்ந்தேன்.

 நாங்கள் சற்றுத்தூரம் நடந்து ஒரு குடிசையை அடைந்தோம். புல்வேய்ந்த கூரை. குடிசை முன்றலில் ஒருசில வண்ணப் பூச்செடிகளிலே அழகு கொலுவிருந்தது.

 குடிசைக்குள்ளே பலகைக் கதிரையில் ஒரு கிழவன். அப்பெண்ணின் தந்தையாக இருக்கலாம். அவன் பக்கத்தில் எச்சிற்படிக்கம் ஒன்று. வெற்றிலையை மென்று 'புளிச்'சென்று அவ்வெச்சிற்படிக்கத்திற் துப்பியவாறே அவன் இருந்தான்.

 வேலு அக்கிழவனோடு பேச்சுக்கொடுக்க நான் அக்கட்டிலில் அமர்ந்து கொண்டேன். படை படையாய் அழுக்கேறியகட்டில் மெத்தையில் தென்னந்தும்புகள் பீறலின் வழியாய் வெளியே துருத்திக்கொண்டிருந்தன. ஆயினும் அவ்வழுக்கு மெத்தை எனக்கு ஹம்சதூளிகா மஞ்சமாய் - கிறங்க வைக்கும் மல்லிகையின் நறுமணம் பொருந்தியதாய்......

 நான் தேவலோகத்தில் இருக்கிறேன். தேவலோகத்து ரம்பை கிண்ணம் நிறைந்த சோமபானத்துடன் என் முன்னால் நிற்கிறாள். சோமபானத்தை மாந்தியதும் நித்ய இளமை பெற்றுவிட்ட அமரனாக, ரம்பையின் மென்னுடலைத் தழுவி.....

 ஓசை கேட்டுத்திரும்பியபோது எப்படியோ அங்கு வந்து உடை மாற்றிக் கொண்டும் விட்ட அப்பெண் என்னிடம் கித்துள் கள் நிறைந்த கிளாசை நீட்டுகிறாள். நான் வாங்கிக் கொள்கிறேன்.

 புதிய அனுபவம்!

 ஓன்று, இரண்டு.

 இனித்துக்கிடக்கிறது.

 மூன்றாவது கிளாஸ்!

 நான் கை நீட்டி வாங்குகிறேன். அவள் சிரிக்கிறாள். கொல்லும் சிரிப்பு! அந்த விழிகள் போதுமே ஆளை விழுங்க.

 நானும் சிரிக்கிறேன்.

 'தெக்காய் பனஹாய் மாத்தயா'

 நான் காசைக்கொடுக்கிறேன். அவள் அதை வாங்கிக் கொண்டு சிரிக்கிறாள்.
 வேலு எழுந்து நடக்கிறான். ஆகவே அவன் பின்னால் நானும் நடக்கிறேன்.
 படலையடியிற் தரித்து மீண்டும் அவளைப் பார்க்கிறேன். அதே சிரிப்போடு அவள் நிற்கிறாள்.
 வேலு வேகமாக முன்னே செல்கிறான். அவன் பின்னால் நான் இப்போது பறக்கிறேன்.

 புதிய பானத்தின் மகத்துவம்! மனதில் ஓராயிரம் எண்ணங்கள்.
 சுமார் ஒன்றரை மைல் நடந்து லுணுகலைக் கடை வீதியை அடைந்தோம். என் கற்பனைகளும், கனவுகளும், என் கூடவே வந்திருக்கின்றன. நான் உல்லாசப் பிரயாணி!

 கடைத் தெருவின் இரைச்சலில் நான் என் பிரயாண போதையிற் கிறங்கிக் கற்பனைகளில் மிதந்துகொண்டிருக்கிறேன். பெட்டிக் கடையில் தாம்பூலந்தரித்;து, சிகரட் புகைத்தது எல்லாமே கனவுலகத்தில் நடந்தவை போலத்தான்.

 அப்போது பஸ் ஒன்று வந்து கடைத்தெருவில் நிற்கிறது. அதிலிருந்து பிரயாணிகள் இறங்கித் தேனீர்க் கடைக்குட் செல்கிறார்கள். அது வதுளையிலிருந்து மட்டக்களப்புக்குச் செல்லும் வண்டி. அதுகூட எனக்கு அழகாகத் தான் தோன்றுகிறது.

 யாரோ என் தோளைத் தொடுவதை நான் உணர்கிறேன். திரும்பிப் பார்க்கிறேன். எங்களூரவர் ஒருவர்! பஸ்ஸில் வந்தவராயிருக்கலாம்.

 என் முன்னால் எனது கிராமம் முழுவதுமே வந்து நிற்பதைப் போன்றிருந்தது. எனக்கு வியர்த்துக்கொட்டுகிறது. என் பிரயாணப் போதை, கனவு மயக்கம், அழகுக் கிறக்கம் எல்லாமே நீர்க்குமிழ்களாக 'டப்'பென்று உடைந்து அழிகின்றன. என்கிராமமே என்னை ஓர் வெறியமான – காமியாகப் பார்த்து விட்டதைப் போன்ற உணர்வு. வழியிலே நான் சந்தித்த எப்பாவமும் அறியாத சிங்களப்பெண் இப்போது சாதாரணப் பெண்ணாகவே தோன்றுவாளா? ஊரிலே தம்வாழ்வுக்காக என்னையே நம்பியிருக்கும் என் மனைவியினதம் குழந்தைகளினதும் கலங்கிய கண்களை, என் ஊரவரின் முகத்திற் காண்கின்றேன்.

 'என்ன தம்பி இந்தப் பக்கம்' என்கிறார் ஊரவர்.

 இதற்குள் பஸ் ஹார்ண் அடித்து விட்டது. அவர் அதில் ஏறிக்கொண்டார். பஸ்சும் புறப்பட்டு விட்டது! பசறை செல்லும் அடுத்த பஸ்சிலேயே நானும் ஏறிவிட்டேன்.

 என் தங்குமிடத்தை அடைந்ததும் உடனேயே ஊருக்கும் புறப்பட்டுவிட்டேன். இரண்டு வாரங்களைக் கழிக்க என்று வந்தவன் இப்படித் திடுதிடுப்பென்று புறப்பட்டமைக்குக் காரணந்தெரியாமல் என் விருந்தினர்கள் ஆச்சரியப்பட்டார்கள்.

New ideas change your brain cells

A new University of British Columbia study identifies an important molecular change that occurs in the brain when we learn and remember.
Published this month in Nature Neuroscience, the research shows that learning stimulates our brain cells in a manner that causes a small fatty acid to attach to delta-catenin, a protein in the brain. This biochemical modification is essential in producing the changes in brain cell connectivity associated with learning, the study finds.
In animal models, the scientists found almost twice the amount of modified delta-catenin in the brain after learning about new environments. While delta-catenin has previously been linked to learning, this study is the first to describe the protein's role in the molecular mechanism behind memory formation.
"More work is needed, but this discovery gives us a much better understanding of the tools our brains use to learn and remember, and provides insight into how these processes become disrupted in neurological diseases," says co-author Shernaz Bamji, an associate professor in UBC's Life Sciences Institute.
It may also provide an explanation for some mental disabilities, the researchers say. People born without the gene have a severe form of mental retardation called Cri-du-chat syndrome, a rare genetic disorder named for the high-pitched cat-like cry of affected infants. Disruption of the delta-catenin gene has also been observed in some patients with schizophrenia.
"Brain activity can change both the structure of this protein, as well as its function," says Stefano Brigidi, first author of the article and a PhD candidate Bamji's laboratory. "When we introduced a mutation that blocked the biochemical modification that occurs in healthy subjects, we abolished the structural changes in brain's cells that are known to be important for memory formation."thanks http://medicalxpress.com/

DRINK WATER ON EMPTY STOMACH

It is popular in Japan today to drink water immediately after waking up every morning. Furthermore, scientific tests have proven its value. We publish below a description of use of water for our readers. For old and serious diseases as well as modern illnesses the water treatment had been found successful by a Japanese medical society as a 100% cure for the following diseases:

Headache, body ache, heart system, arthritis, fast heart beat, epilepsy, excess fatness, bronchitis asthma, TB, meningitis, kidney and urine diseases, vomiting, gastritis, diarrhea, piles, diabetes, constipation, all eye diseases, womb, cancer and menstrual disorders, ear nose and throat diseases.

METHOD OF TREATMENT
1. As you wake up in the morning before brushing teeth, drink 4 x 160ml glasses of water

2. Brush and clean the mouth but do not eat or drink anything for 45 minute

3.. After 45 minutes you may eat and drink as normal.

4. After 15 minutes of breakfast, lunch and dinner do not eat or drink anything for 2 hours

5. Those who are old or sick and are unable to drink 4 glasses of water at the beginning may commence by taking little water and gradually increase it to 4 glasses per day.

6. The above method of treatment will cure diseases of the sick and others can enjoy a healthy life.

The following list gives the number of days of treatment required to cure/control/reduce main diseases:
1. High Blood Pressure (30 days)
2. Gastric (10 days)
3. Diabetes (30 days)
4. Constipation (10 days)
5. Cancer (180 days)
6. TB (90 days)
7. Arthritis patients should follow the above treatment only for 3 days in the 1st week, and from 2nd week onwards – daily..

This treatment method has no side effects, however at the commencement of treatment you may have to urinate a few times.
It is better if we continue this and make this procedure as a routine work in our life. Drink Water and Stay healthy and Active.

This makes sense .. The Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals not cold water. Maybe it is time we adopt their drinking habit while eating!!! Nothing to lose, everything to gain...

For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you.
It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion.

Once this 'sludge' reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine.
Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.

A serious note about heart attacks:

• Women should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting,
• Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line.
• You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack.
• Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms.
• 60% of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up.
• Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive...
A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this mail sends it to everyone they know, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.
Please be a true friend and send this article to all your friends you care about.

PLEASE DON'T IGNORE SHARE IT. THIS MIGHT SAVE SOMEONE'S LIFE.
Photo: DRINK WATER ON EMPTY STOMACH

It is popular in Japan today to drink water immediately after waking up every morning. Furthermore, scientific tests have proven its value. We publish below a description of use of water for our readers. For old and serious diseases as well as modern illnesses the water treatment had been found successful by a Japanese medical society as a 100% cure for the following diseases:

Headache, body ache, heart system, arthritis, fast heart beat, epilepsy, excess fatness, bronchitis asthma, TB, meningitis, kidney and urine diseases, vomiting, gastritis, diarrhea, piles, diabetes, constipation, all eye diseases, womb, cancer and menstrual disorders, ear nose and throat diseases.

METHOD OF TREATMENT
1. As you wake up in the morning before brushing teeth, drink 4 x 160ml glasses of water

2. Brush and clean the mouth but do not eat or drink anything for 45 minute

3.. After 45 minutes you may eat and drink as normal.

4. After 15 minutes of breakfast, lunch and dinner do not eat or drink anything for 2 hours

5. Those who are old or sick and are unable to drink 4 glasses of water at the beginning may commence by taking little water and gradually increase it to 4 glasses per day.

6. The above method of treatment will cure diseases of the sick and others can enjoy a healthy life.

The following list gives the number of days of treatment required to cure/control/reduce main diseases:
1. High Blood Pressure (30 days)
2. Gastric (10 days)
3. Diabetes (30 days)
4. Constipation (10 days)
5. Cancer (180 days)
6. TB (90 days)
7. Arthritis patients should follow the above treatment only for 3 days in the 1st week, and from 2nd week onwards – daily..

This treatment method has no side effects, however at the commencement of treatment you may have to urinate a few times.
It is better if we continue this and make this procedure as a routine work in our life. Drink Water and Stay healthy and Active.

This makes sense .. The Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals not cold water. Maybe it is time we adopt their drinking habit while eating!!! Nothing to lose, everything to gain...

For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you.
It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion.

Once this 'sludge' reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine.
Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.

A serious note about heart attacks:

• Women should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting,
• Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line.
• You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack.
• Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms.
• 60% of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up.
• Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive...
A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this mail sends it to everyone they know, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.
Please be a true friend and send this article to all your friends you care about.

PLEASE DON'T IGNORE SHARE IT. THIS MIGHT SAVE SOMEONE'S LIFE.

JOIN US FOR MORE http://www.facebook.com/thenaturesfarmacy

Uncrackable Voynich manuscript

Uncrackable Code or Great Written Hoax? Progress in its Deciphering

(Circa 1404 – 1438)

Why scholars can’t resist the uncrackable Voynich manuscript

A mysterious illustrated manuscript book written in what long appeared to be an indecipherable text, has been the subject of much research and speculation for centuries. However, its author, script and language remain unknown, and for centuries it was believed that the manuscript might have been intentionally meaningless. The mysteries involved with this manuscript have resulted in various videos of which the following appeared to be the best in February 2014:

Studying it has been called ‘academic suicide,’ but an astonishing range of researchers have fallen under a mysterious document’s spellThe manuscript was discovered in 1912, but its contents remain a mystery.


By Ruth GrahamHERE IS WHAT is known about the Voynich manuscript, a mysterious document that has bedeviled scholars and top cryptographers for more than a century: It consists of 246 pages of handwritten script and illustrations. It was discovered in an Italian monastery by a Lithuanian bookseller named Wilfrid Voynich in 1912.
Here is what is not known: Just about everything else. The greatest code breakers of the last 100 years have failed to decipher the Voynich manuscript’s ornate script, or even agree on whether it says anything at all. Experts have theorized that it was written in Europe, Asia, or South America; they have speculated that it was created by Leonardo da Vinci, by 13th-century philosopher Roger Bacon, or Wilfrid Voynich himself. When it comes to code breaking, “The Voynich is the Mount Everest of the genre and the K2 at the same time,” said Nick Pelling, a British computer programmer who wrote a 2006 book about the manuscript and maintains a website about historical cyphers.
Today, the manuscript is kept at Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, where, according to staff, it is one of the library’s most frequently requested objects. Now that the library has put high-resolution scans of the pages online, the Internet turns up almost limitless chatter about the manuscript, much of it crackpot.
What is perhaps most striking about this unscalable peak, however, is how many different serious academic specialists have brought all the resources of their disciplines to try to climb it. Linguists have puzzled over the script, physicists have used computerized models to analyze its patterns, chemists have analyzed its parchment, and historians have traced its ownership through the centuries. Last month the Voynich landed in the news when a retired botanist and a retired Department of Defense information technologist proposed a new theory based in botany: Arthur Tucker and Rexford Talbert identified 37 of the manuscript’s 303 botanical illustrations as plants that could be found in a 16th-century botanical garden in central Mexico, and argued that the manuscript was written primarily in an extinct dialect of the Aztec language Nahuatl. Last week came another claim: Stephen Bax, a British applied linguist,announced he had translated 10 of its words.
Both of the new theories have been greeted with skepticism by longtime Voynich observers. “The temptation is always to fragment it, to look at a piece in isolation and say, ‘Ta da!’” Pelling said. “They get heavily invested in one tiny detail, and their enthusiasm for that detail wants them to shut their eyes to everything else.”
The fact that a botanist, an information technologist, and a linguist have published new theories on the manuscript within just a few weeks attests to the Voynich’s remarkable intellectual pull—and offers a fascinating illustration of what happens when you try to solve a puzzle with very different sets of tools.
That’s true even if the puzzle turns out to have no real answer at all—if the Voynich manuscript is, as some suspect, a hoax or a pure curiosity, perhaps even created to build this kind of feverish interest without giving up its secrets. Either way, whether the Voynich’s ability to draw disparate scholars to a common mystery came about accidentally or deliberately, it’s hard to deny that it is devilishly good at its job.
***The mysterious document was discovered in an Italian monastery by a Lithuanian bookseller named Wilfrid Voynich.
THE VOYNICH OFFERS more than just an uncrackable written code: Colorful illustrations depict fantastical plants, astronomical diagrams, and groups of naked women in bathtubs. You could embrace the book as a linguistic brainteaser, an antiquarian book novelty, a guide to a lost theory of the natural world, or a portfolio of outsider art.
Extraordinary as it is, the manuscript had largely disappeared from public record before Wilfrid Voynich’s discovery, though a rough history of its ownership can now be tracked back to the 17th century. (This history is contested, naturally.) A letter Voynich said he found with the manuscript traces the book’s ownership to Johannes Marcus Marci, a 17th-century scientist. Marci addressed the letter to Father Kircher, a Jesuit language expert, and pleaded for help deciphering it: “Such Sphinxes as these obey no-one but their master, Kircher.”
Based on information in the letter, Voynich suspected Roger Bacon was the author, which would have placed its origins in the 13th century. In 2009, however, scientists performed radiocarbon dating on scraps of the manuscript at the behest of a documentary film crew, and found that the bound collection of vellum pages dates back to the first half of the 15th century. This satisfied most so-called Voynichologists that it was not a later forgery—though not all of them, of course. Some say a 16th-century trickster could have bought a sheaf of old vellum in order to make his forgery look old.http://kateshrewsday.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/screen-shot-2013-05-30-at-21-52-38.png
The most important contemporary question about the manuscript is whether its text is “real” or not. Broadly speaking, there are three possibilities: It was written in a so-far undiscovered language; it was written in a code corresponding to a known language; or it’s a hoax written in a gibberish fake language. Few serious Voynichologists these days believe the script is written in an undiscovered “real” language, because it does not obey the rules of any other known languages: For example, one particular character appears only in the first lines of paragraphs. Most attention has focused on the notion that the manuscript is a cypher for a known language. Pelling, for example, believes it’s most likely a 15th-century “encyphered book of secrets,” similar to the handbooks of magic and medicine that would become popular in Italy in the 16th century. Over the years, people have guessed that the manuscript is written in coded Chinese, Welsh, Hebrew, or German.
This is one place that quantitatively minded scholars come in. Last summer, a physicist at the University of Manchester named Marcelo Montemurro coauthored a paper that used information theory to find that words are distributed within the manuscript in a complex pattern that mirrors real languages, and would have been extremely difficult to generate by hand in the 15th century. “The likelihood that it’s fake is not zero,” Montemurro said, “but it’s much less than before.”
Gordon Rugg, however, a respected British psychologist and computer scientist who wrote about the Voynich in his 2013 book, “Blind Spot: Why We Fail to See the Solution Right in Front of Us,” sees a case for the third possibility—and is not convinced by Montemurro and his coauthor’s findings. “They just say there are nonrandom parts, but everyone has known that,” Rugg said. “That’s been known for a long time.” In 2004, he published a bombshell paper in the journal Cryptologia claiming that the manuscript could be a hoax, a notion that had previously been dismissed because the text patterns were deemed too complicated to be faked. By using a table and grille—a simple chart of characters, and a paper with a rectangular hole cut out of it—Rugg was able to produce gibberish text that mimicked the complex, nonrandom patterns of a real language.
Part of Rugg’s belief in the hoax comes from the simple lack of strong evidence that it’s a code. “After 90 years of looking for a code and failing to find one, it would have had to be an astonishing code,” he said. “So you’ve got a choice between a very simple hoax that you could do in a couple of months, or an incredibly sophisticated code that’s several centuries ahead of its time.”
Rugg’s prime suspect is Edward Kelley, a con artist in the circle of Queen Elizabeth I who is known to have created a language he called Enochian. But Kelley is far from the only possibility. Andreas Schinner, an Austrian theoretical physicist who published a 2007 paper supporting Rugg’s hoax theory, speculates that the manuscript could have been created as a strange work of art, a philosophical experiment, or that the author could be an “a ‘savant,’ an autistic monk, who subconsciously followed a strange mathematical algorithm in his head.” Others have proposed that the author could have been a mentally ill person, or a quack mystic who could attract customers by claiming to be the only person to interpret the mysterious manuscript.
 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Voynich_Manuscript_(25).jpg/300px-Voynich_Manuscript_(25).jpg
***
THERE HAS ALWAYS been something slightly disreputable about studying the Voynich. Tucker and Talbert write in their new paper that studying it is considered “academic suicide.” Pelling goes farther, calling it “kryptonite.” As early as 1929, the historian Lynn Thorndike dismissed “occult” efforts to decipher the manuscript in favor of reading the volumes of historic scientific manuscript that are written in plain Latin. When Rugg published his paper in 2004, it was the first work on the subject to be published in a peer-reviewed journal in almost 50 years.
This is partly because thoughtful studies of the manuscript necessarily draw from different fields. “If you publish in a journal, there are boundaries you’re supposed to observe,” Pelling said. “It’s difficult to find a journal that fits those boundaries when what you’re studying goes across the boundaries.” He sees the Voynich as an indictment of the way many academic disciplines have fragmented over the course of the last century into smaller and smaller expertises. Pelling believes the answer to the manuscript will come from the field of intellectual history, whose practitioners look at historical evidence from a big-picture perspective, rather than the small-bore analysis of, say, botanists and statisticians.http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/236x/ae/08/6d/ae086d799b886b178b00c216963ffcad.jpg
As for Tucker and Talbert’s new paper proposing a Mexican Voynich, many of the world’s far-flung Voynich obsessives remain unimpressed. “The Tucker paper is just the same as so many other people’s Voynich theories,” Pelling said. Online, he blasted the authors’ “historical naivety and overhopeful botano-centricity.” Rugg is equally skeptical. “They didn’t do any of their homework,” he said. “It’s horribly easy to come up with an idea that looks plausible from within the confines of your own idea. But if you ignore the reasons that idea has been wiped off the board because of the ideas in another discipline, you’re going to end up looking unfortunate.” That is the major problem with the paper, many critics say: It only explains a small portion of the manuscript. If the manuscript was crafted by a native Mexican, asks René Zandbergen, a German space engineer and proprietor of a respected Voynich website, then why does it include a European zodiac design?
In this view, Tucker and Talbert fell into a familiar trap: They took the massively complicated manuscript, and extrapolated a sweeping conclusion from the sliver of clues that fit their hypothesis, while ignoring the many parts of the manuscript that don’t fit. Schinner compares it to the story of the blind men trying to describe an elephant, and who come up with vastly different hypotheses by feeling the trunk, the tusks, and the leg. “It is always bad scientific practice to totally ignore evidence contradicting [one’s] own position,” he wrote in an e-mail.An illustration that appears to depict bathing women.
Schinner’s comparison suggests something else, too: In a way, whether the Voynich is someone’s organic creation or a hoax is almost beside the point. It is either a natural-born elephant, or one specifically engineered to confound and delight the “blind men” who have been obsessed with it for more than a century. Either way, it has withstood an astonishing amount of intellectual firepower from many directions. And in a world of specialists working in their own silos, the simple fact that it has fostered so many cross-disciplinary conversations—not to mention so much fun—makes it valuable.
That doesn’t mean that Voynichologists don’t long for, and expect, a solution to this seemingly unsolvable riddle. They are, after all, an optimistic bunch. “In my opinion, it could happen any time,” Zandbergen said. “It could happen tomorrow.”

Ruth Graham, a writer in New Hampshire, is a regular contributor to Ideas.

The compassionate mind

"The compassionate mind is very important. Fear, anger, jealousy are based on a self-centered attitude. By developing a sense of caring for others’ well-being your heart automatically opens and that brings transparency, straightforwardness and honesty, which leads to friendship. We are social animals, and one individual’s survival relies entirely on the rest of the community."

Dalai Lama

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Sunday, February 23, 2014

Delusions: why they seem real

The University of Adelaide    New research from the University of Adelaide has delved into the reasons why some people are unable to break free of their delusions, despite overwhelming evidence explaining the delusion isn't real.
In a new paper published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, University of Adelaide philosopher Professor Philip Gerrans says dreams and delusions have a common link – they are associated with faulty "reality testing" in the brain's higher order cognitive systems.
"Normally this 'reality testing' in the brain monitors a 'story telling' system which generates a narrative of people's experience," Professor Gerrans says.
"A simple example of normal reality testing is the person who gets a headache, immediately thinks they might have a brain tumour, then dismisses that thought and moves on.  Their story episode 'I might have brain cancer' gets tested and quickly rejected.
"In someone who has problems with reality testing, that story might persist and may even be elaborated and translated into action.  Such people can experience immense mental health difficulties, even to the point of becoming a threat to themselves or to others," he says.
In his paper, Professor Gerrans discusses delusions triggered by feelings of familiarity and unfamiliarity, such as the "Capgras delusion" – the delusion of "doubles".  One example is of a man who, after serious head injury following a motor vehicle accident, returned home from the hospital after a year only to state repeatedly that his family had been replaced by impostors.
"His family looked familiar but didn’t feel familiar, and the story in his head made sense of that feeling.  It didn't matter how much people tried to point out that his family was the same, in his mind they had been completely replaced by impostors," Professor Gerrans says.
He says in the "Fregoli delusion", people think they're being followed by a familiar person in disguise as a way of coping with a feeling of familiarity evoked by seeing a stranger.
"People also experience feelings of familiarity and unfamiliarity in déjà vu – a sense that a new place is strangely familiar, and the reverse, jamais vu – a sense of extreme unfamiliarity evoked by a familiar place.  However, such feelings do not lead to delusion in people whose reality testing is intact."
Professor Gerrans says better understanding this reality testing system could help to improve outcomes for people living with such difficulties.
"Trying to treat someone experiencing these delusions by telling them the truth is not necessarily going to help, so new strategies need to be developed to assist them.  Ultimately, that's the aim of this work – to help explain the nature of reality testing in order to help people find a way of working through or around their delusions so that the delusions no longer adversely affect their lives."
Professor Gerrans's new book, The Measure of Madness. Philosophy and Cognitive Neuropsychiatry (MIT Press), will be published this year.
What's the difference between a dream, a delusion and an hallucination?  Professor Gerrans explains:
Dream: The images, sensations and thoughts we experience during sleep.  In dreams we simply have experiences, we don't have beliefs about experience because "reality testing" systems are not active.
Delusion: An irrational belief at odds with reality maintained in the face of obvious contrary evidence and logical argument.
Hallucination: The apparent perception of an object not actually present.
Déjà vu: The feeling that you have previously experienced a situation which is in fact unfamiliar.  Caused by an erroneous "sense of familiarity".
Jamais vu: The feeling that a familiar situation has not been experienced before.  Caused by fleeting loss of the "sense of familiarity".
Reality Testing: The ability to determine whether a thought or perception accurately represents reality.  Largely absent in dreams, compromised in delusion.
Editor's note: original news release can be found here.

Stopping cancer cells

 The University of Western Australia      
By awakening the immune system's ability to kill mutated cells, researchers think they have found a way to prevent the spread of cancer cells.
Image: Jovan Vitanovski/Shutterstock
An international research team has found a way to awaken the immune system's ability to kill spreading cancer cells.
The key finding published in Nature is that the spread of cancer cells can be markedly reduced by targeting the biochemical activity of TAM receptors.
The finding came from studying natural killer cells, a type of blood cell that can induce the death of cancer cells.
Co-author, Research Professor Wally Langdon from The University of Western Australia School of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine said it was found that mice without healthy versions of another protein called Cbl-b had natural killer cells that had a heightened ability to prevent the spread of cancer cells.
"It was then discovered that the Cbl-b protein regulates the activity of TAM receptors, and therefore the anti-cancer effect seen in Cbl-b mutant mice might be mediated through its effects on TAM receptors," Professor Langdon said.
To test this possibility the team developed a new drug, a highly selective TAM inhibitor that blocked the receptors. It was found that treating mice with the TAM inhibitor significantly reduced the spread of melanoma and breast cancer cells.
"These findings reveal that a drug such as the TAM inhibitor can awaken the immune system's ability to kill spreading cancer cells, therefore providing an additional approach to enhance cancer treatment," Professor Langdon said.
Editor's note: Original news release can be found here.

Man vs. Woman......!! Human Brain Analysis

1. MULTITASKING:
Women - Multiple process
Women's brains designed to concentrate multiple task at a time.
Women can Watch a TV and Talk over phone and cook.
Men - Single Process
Men's brains designed to concentrate only one work at a time. Men can not watch TV and talk over the phone at the same time. they stop the TV while Talking. They can either watch TV or talk over the phone or cook.

2. LANGUAGE:
Women can easily learn many languages. But can not find solutions to problems. Men can not easily learn languages, they can easily solve problems. That's why in average a 3 years old girl has three times higher vocabulary than a 3 year old boy.

3. ANALYTICAL SKILLS:
Men's brains has a lot of space for handling the analytical process. They can analyze and find the solution for a process and design a map of a building easily. But If a complex map is viewed by women, they can not understand it. Women can not understand the details of a map easily, For them it is just a dump of lines on a paper.

4. CAR DRIVING.
While driving a car, mans analytical spaces are used in his brain. He can drive a car fast as possible. If he sees an object at long distance, immediately his brain classifies the object (bus or van or car) direction and speed of the object and he drives accordingly. Where woman take a long time to recognize the object direction/ speed. Mans single process mind stops the audio in the car (if any), then concentrates only on driving.

5. LYING
When men lie to women face to face, they get caught easily. Woman's super natural brain observes facial expression 70%, body language 20% and words coming from the mouth 10%. Men's brain does not have this. Women easily lie to men face to face.
So guys, do not lie face to face.

6. PROBLEMS SOLVING
If a man have a lot of problems, his brain clearly classifies the problems and puts them in individual rooms in the brain and then finds the solution one by one. You can see many guys looking at the sky for a long time. If a woman has a lot of problems, her brain can not classify the problems. she wants some one to hear that. After telling everything to a person she goes happily to bed. She does not worry about the problems being solved or not.

7. WHAT THEY WANT
Men want status, success, solutions, big process, etc... But Women want relationship, friends, family, etc...

8. UNHAPPINESS
If women are unhappy with their relations, they can not concentrate on their work. If men are unhappy with their work, they can not concentrate on the relations.

9. SPEECH
Women use indirect language in speech. But Men use direct language.

10. HANDLING EMOTION
Women talk a lot without thinking. Men act a lot without thinking.