CELEBRATING YOUTH

"Born anew, new sun each morn

New hopes and heights every new dawn

Such is the sparkle that lights up the day

And so is our youth, and so they say”

The youth of a nation is not just the muscle but also often a breath of fresh wind that showcases the mundane in a magical light. The world has always been here and always will be, but our perspective can make it look new and different and

this perspective is the true power of youth. When fearless, the youth of the world can bring about change that few would expect and it is this gripping fear that anchors down our youth and hence, us. So what exactly is this fear and who has put it into our world? What keeps the youth from being all that they could be? Today we know that stress levels and depression is extremely high in the youth and this is not only shameful, it also cripples our progress as a country as well as mankind in general. What exactly is the reason behind these issues? this is what we tried to explore this August.

On 12th and 13th August, we (The Department of Community Medicine) at Vardhman Mahavir Medical College (Safdarjung Hospital), New Delhi, celebrated the United Nations International Youth Day, in collaboration with the ‘Indian Association For Adolescent Health’. This year, the theme for this annual global event was ‘Youth Civic Engagement’. We hosted multiple inter-college events conforming with the theme and also tried to explore certain medical issues of today’s youth.

The idea was spontaneously conceived, almost out of no where, and it got together each one of us here to help it become a reality. At first, it was just a bunch of first year post graduate students fiddling with an idea that seemed too difficult to chase in the short span of time that they had. Then, some undergraduate students got interested. “Let us do it.” That is the spirit of youth. It is almost poetic that youth got together to attain something seemingly uphill, to showcase the power of youth.

However, no seed ever germinated without the cool water and warm earth nurturing it and no plant ever becomes a tree without standing tall in the harshest of sun. And so, the seniors ( and I mean seniors as well as the faculty ) carefully helped the idea materialise.

With a lot of team work, a lot of institutions were included and events held. Both medical colleges and non medical institutes got together under one roof to express the various concerns of today's youth via art, photography and the spoken word.

On 12th of August, we had a photography as well as poster making competition. While the photography competition highlighted the ‘Role of Junk Food in Adolescent Obesity’, the poster making competition was an open invitation for participants to express ‘The Power of Youth’ or ‘The issues faced By Today’s Youth’. There were also literary events. A debate competition was organised to compare the role of youth in their health versus the role of the government in promoting the same. In the extempore competition, different participants had different topics, all relevant to today’s youth. All these events witnessed enthusiastic participation by students from various colleges across Delhi and with each participant, the audience could appreciate the various aspects to the multi-factorial issues that revolve around youth.

Since youth is what the children are made into, our program also included a school for underprivileged children. The posters they made emphasised on how junk food was affecting the health of the youth and many children participated. On 13th, we had the opportunity to directly communicate with the children after the extempore competition, which had various youth related topics.

As the event concluded, we realised we made so many new memories for so many people. The beauty of practising ‘public health’ is the impact that it has on the root of an issue. Many gigantic issues can be easily resolved if only seemingly trivial and at times overtly simple, grass root level interventions are devised and implemented and this event was one such small yet significant step.

In youth we learn, in age we understand and since we shall never be as young as we are right now, it makes ‘now’ the perfect time to realise what youth is all about.

ANCIENT ADVANCES

SCIENCE IN THE ANCIENT INDIAN TEXTS:

Sanskrit texts not only describe advanced technology, but also guide as to how to make the machines and operate them. No wonder scientists from across the globe have been interested in learning Sanskrit.
Ramayana describes double decker cylindrical vimanas and also mentions visiting the moon:

"The Ramayana, does have a highly detailed story in it of a trip to the moon in a Vihmana (or "Astra"), and in fact details a battle on the moon with an "Asvin" airship. This is a small bit of evidence of anti-gravity and aerospace technology used by Indians."
(Read here.)

"Gurkha flying in his swift and powerful Vimana hurled against the three cities of the Vrishis and Andhakas a single projectile charged with all the power of the Universe. An incandescent column of smoke and fire, as brilliant as ten thousands suns, rose in all its splendor. It was the unknown weapon, the Iron Thunderbolt, a gigantic messenger of death which reduced to ashesthe entire race of the Vrishnis and Andhakas.

The after-affects of this Iron Thunderbolt have an ominously recognizable ring. Apparently, those killed by it were so burnt that their corpses were unidentifiable. The survivors fared little better, as it caused their hair and nails to fall out."

This is clear cut description of nuclear warfare and radiation poisoning. Certain sites still have elevated levels of radiation and manifest as birth defects and cancer.

The Samara Sutradhara is a scientific treatise dealing with the construction, take-off, cruising, normal and forced landings, and possible collisions with birds

Exerpts from Samarangana Sutradhara state: Strong and durable must the body of the Vihmana ... Inside one must put the mercury engine with its iron heating apparatus underneath... The movements of the Vimana are such that it can vertically ascend, vertically descend, move slanting forwards and backwards.

Ancient Indians flew around in these vehicles, all over Asia, and even, apparently, to South America.
In fact this site questions if Easter Island was an Indian Airbase.

The Vaimānika Śāstra ( वैमानिक शास्त्र, lit. "shastra on the topic of Vimanas"; sometimes also rendered Vimanika, Vymanika, Vyamanika) is an early 20th-century Sanskrit text on aerospace technology. It makes the claim that the vimānas mentioned in ancient Sanskrit epics were advanced aerodynamic flying vehicles, similar to a rocket.

The existence of the text was revealed in 1952 by G. R. Josyer.

Video

The Vaimanika Sastra, written by Bharadvajya, using even older texts found as his source, deals with the operation of Vimanas and included information on the steering, precautions for long flights, protection of the airships from storms and lightning and how to switch the drive to "solar energy" from a free energy source which sounds like "anti-gravity." The Vaimanika Sastra describes three types of aircraft in texts and diagrams. It includes fire resistant apparatuses and construction materials (of 16 types) which absorb light and heat.

Ancient nuclear warfare:

A heavy layer of radioactive ash in Rajasthan, India, covers a three-square mile area, ten miles west ofJodhpur. There is a very high rate of birth defects and cancer in the area and very high levels of radiation have been registered.

Scientists have unearthed sites in the Indus Valley where evidence shows an atomic blast dating back thousands of years, from 8,000 to 12,000 years, destroyed most of the buildings and probably a half-million people. One researcher estimates that the nuclear bomb used was about the size of the ones dropped on Japan in 1945.  

Video

Modern application:

Shivkur Bapuji Talpade, a Sanskrit scholar, flew an unmanned aircraft, eight years before the Wright brothers flew in 1903, He built his aircraft entirely from the rich treasury of India’s Vedas. His demonstration flight took place before a large audience in the Chowpathy beach of Bombay. The historian Evan Koshtka, has described Talpade as the ‘first creator of an aircraft’.

Robert Oppenheimer inventor of the atom bomb was well known for studying ancient Indian texts and famously quoted from the Gita saying, ‘I have become Death, Destroyer of Worlds'
(See the first video)

Starting in 1930's, Hitler used to send expeditions to India and Tibet for acquiring scientific data.

Only a few years ago, the Chinese discovered some Sanskrit documents in Lhasa, Tibet and sent them to the University of Chandigarh for translation. The document contains directions for building interstellar spaceships

Read here.

Dr. Ruth Reyna says Their method of propulsion was "anti- gravitational" and was based upon a system analogous to that of "laghima"

According to Hindu Yogis, it is this "laghima" which enables a person to levitate and is “The power to decrease the weight of the physical body to that of a feather. We can float in the air with the physical body, thanks to this power.” - Samael Aun Weor

Dr. Reyna said the ancient Indians could send men onto any planet. The manuscripts were also said to reveal the secret of "antima"; "the cap of invisibility" and "garima"; "how to become as heavy as a mountain of lead."

This reminds of the Ramayana quoting Anagad, after placing his foot firmly, challenged Ravana to move it, which he couldn't.

It is just amazing how much information is stored in ancient texts!

YANTRA GYAN

SRI YANTRA

The #sri #yantra is one of the most powerful yantras/contraptions/machines whatever it is you'd call them...

These could be in 2D or 3D

#ancient #temples of #India basically applied this #sacred #geometry or #yantra #gyan in their architecture thus making these temples powerful.  If you notice carefully, a yantra in 3D resembles the shrines of a temple...

It's so amazing that the ancient Indians had so much knowledge and such in-depth understanding of the universe!

Coming back to sri yantra, it is basically a yantra for manifestation.
'SRI' is synonymous for ' #Lakshmi ' , the Hindu representation of the #goddess of #abundance.  Often mistaken as the Goddess of #dhan or (material) #wealth, most of us have forgotten that abundance is not just gold or money bills but health, wealth, knowledge, understanding, family, friends, job etc... Even our experiences, sweet or bitter, are a gift of abundance that enrich our lives.

The sri yantra helps us increase our abundance and helps us manifest our deepest desires.

Most commonly these yantras are available in metal (2D) or in crystal (3D) form. Believers purchase them and use them often during the auspicious festival of #Diwali although they may be used any time (best used daily) after a proper initiation. The initiation could be done on the 8th day of the waxing phase. Sundays and Fridays are preferred for initiation of sri yantra . 

It is important to 'centre' or 'ground' a yantra before using it. This can be done a night prior to the day you choose for initiation. This may be done by thoroughly cleaning the yantra under cold running water, burrying it in salt, keeping it in sun on the day of initiation, or all of these. The #Lakshmi #Mantra (or any text you consider holy) should be spoken aloud again and again while focussing on the yantra (preferably 108 times).

*Remember INTENT is the most important. What mantra you say or holy text you use is only as effective as the intent you put into it. THIS is the key where most of us lack. Remember, words are magic, but only because WE use them with an intent, without which they would mean less, if at all...

The "option" of NOTA

NOTA

Of the many glorious achievements of ADR, a slightly doubted one is the introduction of NOTA.

The 'None of the Above' option was introduced in the EVM after a favourable supreme court ruling directing the ECI to do so.  Naturally, the latest addition created a buzz. While on one hand, 'gurus' argue that the NOTA option empowers the voters to exhibit their will while maintaining their privacy, some say that NOTA is an utter waste.

So what is NOTA?

Until recently, a voter had various options in front of him as he looked at the EVM. He had the right to choose the candidate of choice while maintaining his privacy.
However, if in case none of the candidates appeased him, he had to either choose 'the best bad option' or compromise his privacy by declaring his wish to not vote under 'Rule 49-O' according to which the voters wish to not cast a vote shall be disclosed to the official at the booth and who shall thus require to remark upon it on form 17A.
This, although "solves the purpose of not voting" hampers the privacy of the voter.
A third option also existed before the advent of EVM in which the voter would simply stamp against all candidates.


The question, however, is how does a null vote affect us? Does 'sending a message that the voter is not happy with any candidate' a help in running a democracy? Is it not a tremendous fruit less waste of the huge process of conducting elections?

While no candidate is tailor made for all voters, it must be remembered that if a voter has some ideals that are tangential to those of all the candidates, then may be that voter should have participated as a candidate if not to win, to at least be able to make his perspective public as perhaps a lot more voters opting for a null vote had similar issues.
Simply voting null is a waste of the power to choose.
The introduction of NOTA in 2013 seems to make a futile process even easier.
It not only sends a message that a voter is dissatisfied with all the candidates, it can also be extrapolated in its impact as 'I don't care who is elected' as null vote will not help decide who wins.
NOTA is a false power. It is akin to a glorified exit from the process of choosing the government. If I choose to vote NOTA, I also automatically choose to unhappily accept who ever wins the election.
Thus NOTA is similar to 'surrender without a smile.'
What, in my point of view, would be a better option is to not surrender. Elections are held with the motive of making a stable government and while good government is a rosy dream we all wish for, no government/ unstable government is worse. Thus it is the responsibility of each and every voter to asses the options and choose what seems best or else, to stand against them all as a candidate and present his own ideas to the public . After all, democracy is all about empowering the tiny finger of a single citizen to create ripples with far reaching consequences.

-Kriti Gangwar