Pride characterizes modern life

Nietzsche’s Prophetic Voice Still Speaks

from Per Caritatem by Cynthia R. Nielsen

On a close, non-literal reading of the text, Nietzsche’s madman is not rejoicing in the death of God but is deeply troubled by it. As he says, “We have killed him-you and I. All of us are his murders. But how did we do this? How could we drink up the sea? Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the entire horizon?’” What does Nietzsche mean by horizon, and what happens when the horizon is erased? A horizon carves out a space for vision. Or you might say the horizon creates a space within which we can live because it sets a boundary of sorts for what we can see. So what happens when I “wipe away the entire horizon?” I destroy the very boundaries that define human existence. Again, the madman does not take joy in this situation. Rather, he is describing where we are in history, what we’ve become as a society. We are a people who think we don’t need God; we’ve become, as Nietzsche says explicitly, a prideful people. In fact, pride characterizes modern life (and a good bit of postmodern life as well)...

According to Nietzsche, we’ve become prideful in a number of ways. First of all, we built grander and grander conceptual edifices (what Nietzsche poetically calls, “columbaria”) that lead us away from the forces of life and toward a culture of death. We forget that our metaphors have lowly origins and believe that our columbaria are impenetrable. Having such great confidence in the progress of modern science, we believe that with enough time we can even overcome death. In such an environment, Nietzsche asks, who needs faith? We have denied our finitude, have made ourselves gods; thus, practically speaking God is dead. The madman laments this situation. Do we? Or do we continue by the way we live our lives to confirm Nietzsche’s prophetic judgment? Я виновна, as the Russians say.

On Early and Late Derrida

from Critical Animal by Scu

As the question of the animal intensifies in Derrida's thought we see a continued distance being placed between Derrida and Heidegger, and so often and repeatedly over the question of the animal (from the 1968 The Ends of Man, to his 2001-2002 lectures The Sovereign and the Beast). And if we are to take Derrida at his word, that the most fundamental disavowal for him is the disavowal of the animal, then it should come as no surprise to us that his more political and ethical writings should become more central in his work at the same time that the question of the animal enters his work with a stronger and greater frequency. The argument here isn't just that you can't understand Derrida without understanding his work on animals, though that is part of my argument, it is also that you can't understand the specific shift of his work away from a strong heideggerianism and towards a strong political and ethical focus without understanding the way the question of the animals plays in the economy of Derrida's writing.

Become a member of Healing International

from Temple of Peace akhnaton@templeofpeace.net to tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com
date 22 June 2009 17:45 subject Healing International

You are very warmly invited to become a member of the prestigious Healing International. There are now more than 6700 healers and/or therapists who have already become members of Healing International.

Healing International is an excellent way in which to exchange news, views and ideas on many healing and natural health subjects with like-minded people throughout the world. And, of course, to make many new friends!

To become a member of Healing International, please click below:- http://healinginternational.ning.com/?xgi=c0P7rM0

One of the major challenges for us healers and therapists is that we are all much too fragmented on the internet; Healing International represents all healers and all therapists!!

I shall look forward to seeing you on Healing International With many healing blessings Geoffrey Keyte

A powerful maritime centre of Byzantium

Monemvasia A Byzantine City State
By Haris A. Kalligas

This lavishly illustrated book stands out in its field as the only book currently available on the best-preserved Byzantine city in the Peloponnese – Monemvasia. Haris A. Kalligas, a world authority on Monemvasia’s history and architecture, here explores the city’s foundation, its status as a powerful maritime centre of Byzantium, and its gradual decline after the fall of the Empire.

Founded on a rock off the eastern shore of the Morea in the late sixth century A.D, Monemvasia was populated by the inhabitants of Sparta and was to become an important port. The citizens retained their ancient institutions, while they developed maritime activities, both military and commercial. The eleventh and twelfth centuries were particularly prosperous for the city, and it remained a centre of commercial activity during the last Byzantine period. When the Turks seized Byzantium, Monemvasia came first under papal and then Venetian rule and changing conditions led to its gradual decline. The Venetians handed the city over to the Turks in 1540 and returned in 1690 for a period of 25 years. After a second Ottoman occupation, Monemvasia was the first city to be liberated by the Greeks during the War of Independence in 1821.

Using sources from all periods, along with original material based on research on the architectural and urban history of the city, Monemvasia is a comprehensive study of a unique city – a city within the Byzantine Empire which preserved institutions of municipal autonomy and self government originating from the Roman period. ISBN: 9780415248808 Published June 19 2009 by Routledge.

Donna Haraway's When Species Meet is a strange and frustrating book

The biopolitics of Michael Pollan and Donna Haraway
from Critical Animal by Scu
Most of you, by now, have seen this blog, which asks the question, Michael Pollan or Michel Foucault?

Michael Pollan goes on to contend that without humans eating animals, many domesticated species would die out. So, at the level of the population, we now have a moral imperative to eat and kill animals so that the population does not die. We have to kill in order to make life live (to steal a phrase from Michael Dillon and Julian Reid). However, one might be willing to let Pollan off the hook. He isn't a trained philosopher, and he probably couldn't care less about the question of the biopolitical. Let us turn our attention, now, to someone who should know better.

Donna Haraway's book When Species Meet is a strange and frustrating book for anyone who is serious about questions of animal ethics. It also contains several remarkable similarities to Pollan's An Omnivore's Dilemma (my brother likes to point out that the books end in exactly the same way, with a bunch of professors roasting a pig in California). It is exactly to this pig roast I would now like to turn. Before turning there, I guess I should stay that until her specific turn to discuss animals, Donna Haraway was an essential and keystone philosopher for much of my early theory days. I even sent her a fanboy email once. And I want to say, I still find her writing and style intoxicating.

Even so, let us look at her position on flesh eating in the "parting bites" of WSM. She describes how her friend Gary Lease is a hunter who is incredibly concerned with hunting in ecologically sustainable ways. She further describes "[h]is approach is resolutely tuned to ecological discourses, and he seems tone deaf to the demands individual animals might make as ventriloquized in rights idioms" (pp. 296-297).

Sustainable food growing classes; integral dance of the five elements; chant the rainbow

The Hindu Metro Plus Chennai Travel This is Auroville for you Weve all heard of the universal township Auroville which exists just three hours south of Chennai and celebrated its 40th birthday last year Cofounded by ...

This is Auroville for you
Here’s a beginners’ guide to discovering Auroville
PHOTOS: SEEMA SANGHI FARM STORY Visitors looking around Solitude
We’ve all heard of the universal township, Auroville, which exists just three hours south of Chennai and celebrated its 40th birthday last year. Co-founded by The Mother and Sri Aurobindo, with the purpose of “creating a place where men and women of all countries can live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities”, Auroville’s population consists of 2,000 people from 40 nations.
What we might not know is what one can actually do there, to be a part of this experiment of human unity, without actually moving in. The Auroville website (www.auroville.org) is as bewildering as the place itself, so here’s a brief guide to discover Auroville. Be warned though, that Auroville doesn’t encourage indiscriminate tourism; the Outreach Centre states clearly: “Only people who are genuinely interested in its ideals and projects and willing to participate in the community life are most welcome.”

Getting introduced
A three-day seminar conducted by an Aurovilian during the guest season (November to April) provides a comprehensive first insight into Auroville. The seminar takes you to different communities to meet Aurovilians and presents the ideals and reality of Auroville. Those intending to join Auroville can attend a more in-depth one-week to three-week seminar. Phone: 0413-2623019
Guest Service
Located upstairs at the Solar Kitchen, it offers a wide range of information and guidance. Open from Monday to Friday, 9.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Phone: 0413-262 2704

PUBLIC BUILDINGS
The Visitors Information and Reception Centre Usually the first stop if you’re visiting Auroville. The architecturally brilliant buildings house photographic exhibitions and the Charter. Shop at the various boutiques and bookshops and try delicious home-grown, organic food at the café/restaurant. Get tickets here for the Matrimandir. Open daily from 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
Matrimandir The spiritual and physical centre of Auroville contains the meditation chamber and houses a solid crystal, 70 cm in diameter (supposedly the world’s biggest). The inner chamber is open to visitors only on Sundays, but the tickets (free) must be collected between Monday and Friday. The Solar Kitchen, the popular, inexpensive collective kitchen for Auroville with a solar bowl on its roof, provides energy for cooking. About 600 meals are prepared daily for the community and guests, largely made from vegetables and grains grown organically in and around Auroville.

EDUCATION
Convergence This innovative environmental education centre offers experiential environmental programmes for anyone interested in making their world a better place. Visit: www.thepointogconvergence.org
LEAP The Learning Experience Auroville Program offers a range of courses - sustainable food growing classes; integral dance of the five elements; chant the rainbow, and many others. Visit: www.leap-auroville.com

GUEST HOUSES ( www.aurovilleguesthouses.org)
There are about 40 guesthouses of varying comfort; some have a minimum-stay requirement.
Quiet Healing Centre A “special kind of hotel” on the beach envisioned by The Mother where people could ‘recharge and heal’. Therapies used here ‘honour and strive to work in harmony with the body’s own deep wisdom’. Phone: 0413-2622329
Gaia’s Garden Focusses on ecology and education. It is a well-maintained guesthouse with an ‘aspiration for beauty.’ Phone: 0413-2622739
Youth Camp For people of all ages, with an easygoing multi-cultural atmosphere. Orients guests on the activities of Auroville and interacts with neighbouring villages. Phone: 0413-2622357

FARM STAYS
Only for those with a serious interest in experiencing farm life and learning skills. Accommodation varies from capsules (pyramid-shaped hut raised on pillars) to brick rooms. Often, the payment is respect, a lot of hard work and a small donation.
Annapurna The largest Auroville farm of 135 acres, grows rice, varagu, rosella, millet, firewood crops and uses solar and diesel power. Also an active research centre for ecological farming and has a local seed stock. Basic accommodation for volunteer farm workers. Contact: tomas@auroville.org.in
Buddha Garden Has vegetables, orchards, forest and 65 chickens. Guiding principles: health and well-being and to grow food with love and awareness. Provides a place where people can share this process and learn what it means to tread lightly on the earth. Visit: www.buddhagarden.org
Solitude Farm Restaurant Founded by Krishna in 1996, Solitude tries to be wholly sustainable through its food production. Says Krishna: “Solitude is about harmony, both environmental and social, and sustainability in all facets of life.” Experience organic food, lovingly grown, harvested and prepared. You can taste the freshness of the grains, vegetables and fruits with each bite. American chef Cody creates a global menu of Italian, Mexican, Thai and Israeli food, including a unique pasta made from traditional millets, vegetable wraps and ragi dosa (staple food in this area before the introduction of rice). Relax under trees and enjoy the peaceful, green farm atmosphere. Reservation is a must. Phone: 0413-2622068
SEEMA SANGHI

Host families say they receive more from the experience than they give

from Sara Wilson sara@freshair.org to tusarnmohapatra@gmail.com date 29 May 2009 00:21 subject Please help a child this summer Hi Tusar

I thought you would be interested in helping out The Fresh Air Fund by posting a mention of this exciting news on Marketime. The Fresh Air Fund received a tremendous offer by some very generous donors. Any gift given from now until June 30th will be matched dollar-for-dollar. We are so excited and thought you could help by posting a mention, tweet, or by putting up one of our new banners on your site. I've set up this news release which explains everything, so please feel free to use any of the images, logos, videos, banners, buttons, etc: http://freshairfund-newsrelease.com

We are also still in need of hosts for this summer. Host families open their hearts and home to a child to give a fresh air experience that these children never forget. Please let me know if you are able to post and if you could send me the link that would be fantastic. Thank you so much, Sara

--Sara Wilson, The Fresh Air Fund sara@freshair.org www.freshair.org

Auroville’s growth as an ecocity has slowed to a crawl

Cities Can Save the Earth
Richard Register May 12, 2009 Editor: John Feffer
Foreign Policy In Focus www.fpif.org
The climate crisis won’t be solved by changing light bulbs and inflating your tires more, planting a tree and driving a little less. It’s going to require a truly fundamental shift in how we build our cities and live in them.

The key to changing our cities involves the car. Cars dominate cities in the rich countries, and they are increasingly swamping poor countries as well. Big auto companies, are rapidly building car factories and highways in China and India. Many cities, like Berkeley, California where I lived for 30 years, don’t have a single pedestrian street — and their citizens don’t even notice how completely given over to the car their towns are. Only one out of 10 people on the planet actually drives cars, but drivers are causing a vastly disproportionate share of planetary damage through the automobile-sprawl pattern of development.

The concepts behind the ecocity are fairly simple. They involve a shift in development toward centers of high diversity:

• Switch to a pedestrian and transit-oriented infrastructure, with ecocity architecture built around compact centers designed for pedestrians and transit;
• Roll back sprawl development while vigorously restoring nature and agriculture;
• Integrate renewable energy systems while using non-toxic materials and technologies and promoting recycling.

A major difficulty in moving toward ecocities is that cars have influenced urban design for 100 years. Many of us caught in this infrastructure find it extremely difficult to get around in anything but the car. The distances are just too great for bicycles, the densities just too low to allow efficient, affordable transit...

A Good Start
Ecocities have their antecedents in the Garden City movement in the first half of the 20th century and in the critiques by Lewis Mumford of the rapidly spreading city of cars. The cultural flux of modernist, can-do thinking after the World War II laid the conceptual groundwork for the modern ecocity.
Three cities — Auroville, Arcosanti, and Curitiba — set the parameters of the ecocity. In Auroville, India, Mirra Alfassa, a devotee of the revolutionary mystic Sri Aurobindo, founded an international experiment in living and thinking in 1968. Their philosophical idea was to further human evolution toward higher consciousness, partially through the building of an international city where everyone was citizen of the world, dedicated to peace and an exploration of human enlightenment and higher fulfillment. Auroville soon became famous as a city restoring the forests and regenerating the degraded landscape near Pondicherry, India.

At the same time Paolo Soleri, an architect, philosopher, and student of Frank Lloyd Wright, was thinking through his vision of the compact ecological city. He envisioned a city much more three-dimensional than the flat, automobile-dominated giants spreading out rapidly at the time. He pointed out the paradox that a compact city rising tall from its foundations — which didn’t have cars and highways or need the oceans of gasoline for everyday functioning — was actually far smaller and more efficient in terms of energy, land, and time. He dubbed his idea of cities with much smaller ecological footprints “arcology,” the synthesis of architecture and ecology. He set out to build an example in the high desert city of Arcosanti, located halfway between Phoenix and Flagstaff in Arizona.

Curitiba, in Brazil, was an already-existing city that moved in an ecological direction. Mayor Jaime Lerner, with a team of architects and planners, began shaping the city around transit-oriented compact development. They planned five long arms of tall buildings to reach out from a city center, where dozens of city blocks had become pedestrian streets. Streets dedicated to busses and emergency vehicles only served these arms of high-density development. With this pedestrian and transit-oriented basic form, the city went on to grow around open spaces preserved as public parks. The city planted millions of trees in denuded former ranching land, instituted stringent recycling including trading groceries for garbage in poor areas, and built inspiring libraries called “lighthouses of learning” in the city’s neighborhoods that rose up five or six stories. In general, this visionary leadership released a torrent of creative innovation with an ecocity base unlike anything before.

These innovations haven't realized their potential. Auroville’s growth as an ecocity, despite significant support from the Indian government and official UN endorsement as an international city, has slowed to a crawl. Arcosanti, in contrast, has received relatively little support from government, foundations, and the general public, and it too hasn't really gotten off the ground. Curitiba is today overrun by cars despite its early leading ecocity role.

Humanity failed to heed the lessons these pioneers offered. What we could have done by creative initiative we now must do out of necessity. Oil is running short, the climate is changing, and species are disappearing: We can no longer indulge in isolated experiments. We must redesign every city, and soon.

Next Steps
There are several ways to begin turning our cities into ecocities. First, there is ecocity mapping. This amounts to mapping your city plan so you have a clearer sense of your centers of most vitality. The map shows where to increase density and diversity of development, which is in those centers, and where to best open up the landscape for such features as restored creeks, expanded community gardens, and parks, which is often in the areas farthest from those centers.

The ecocity general plan, like any other general plan, lays out policies for developing and maintaining the city’s physical expression and functionality. Those policies have to also include specific reference to financial investment; if the city doesn't allocate money for the transition, its plan is just symbolic window dressing. If no serious money is spent, no serious progress will be made...

There are many other tools to create ecocities. Car-free-by-contract housing, for example, encourages building apartments and condominiums with no car parking provided because residents don’t need or want cars. Any policy that establishes and expands the pedestrian environment is a tool for building ecocities. Such policies can be used to shape buildings that utilize the sun’s energy, eliminating the necessity of having to pay for a car to get access to the city’s benefits, or help restore natural landscapes. Such tools produce pioneering transit systems that fit low-energy infrastructure, like that in Curitiba, and provide free public transportation, like that in downtown Portland. They are the wave of the future — if we are smart enough to get to that future in one piece. Richard Register, the founding president of Urban Ecology and founder and current president of Ecocity Builders, convened the First International Ecocity Conference in 1990. He is the author of Ecocities: Building Cities in Balance with Nature and is a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus.

He aspired and housed the nascent demi-god

He stood erect, a God like form and force
Her animal experiment began,Crowding with conscious creatures her world-scheme;But to the outward only they were alive,Only they replied to touches and surfacesAnd to the prick of need that drove their lives.

Animals are driven by that quality of Nature - Rajas, by which there is “the first light of conscious mind but buddhi or intelligent Will is absent,” says Sri Aurobindo in The Essays on Gita. This is why there is intelligence in them but they are not conscious of it and hence they reply to ‘touches and surfaces and the prick of need” which drives their lives and hence in the luminous words of Sri Aurobindo,

Absorbed they lived in the passion of the scene,But knew not who they were or why they lived:Life had for them no aim save Nature’s joyAnd the stimulus and delight of outer things;They worked for the body’s wants, they craved no more,Content to breathe, to feel, to sense, to act,Identified with the spirit’s outward shell.

The Mother says that there is an intelligence which acts and organizes animals but they are not conscious of it. Hence they are absorbed in the events happening at the present moment but there is aimlessness to animal existence. That is why sometimes we hear people yell in frustration “Don’t be like an animal!” There is in them the delight in outer things, and they are satisfied if their bodily needs are met and they are contented to just “breathe, feel, sense, act” as they are always identified with their “outward shell”.

The veiled spectator watching from their depthsFixed not his inward eye upon himselfNor turned to find the author of the plot,He saw the drama only and the stage.

The lines above describe so evocatively the animal or man dominated by his lower nature. The “veiled spectator” refers to that capacity in us to detach from the act and watch the drama unfold as the witness, without participating or getting involved in the drama. However, in the animal, the spectator is veiled and hence it does not turn inwards to “find the author of the plot” and just sees the “drama and the stage”. The animal does not ponder on the deep secrets of the laws of Nature, nor is in them a thirst for Truth, but they are content to hunt, “sniff the winds, or sloth inert in sunshine and soft air”

A formless yearning passions in man’s heart,A cry is in his blood for happier things:Else could he roam on a free sunlit soilWith the childlike pain-forgetting mind of beastsOr live happy, unmoved, like flowers and trees(“Savitri”, Book 2, Canto 4)

However, in man there is a yearning and aspiration to rise above his lower Nature and he seeks to release himself from the chains and bonds which restrain him, if this was not in him he would be like a beast roaming around aimlessly not reflecting or feeling the “touch of the soul within” and be like the beasts in their “childlike pain-forgetting mind” or happy and immobile like the flowers and trees. He also has the capacity to rise to greatness and explore his hidden realms and become a “mind, a spirit and self “

The animal’s thoughtless joy is left behind,Care and reflection burden his daily walk:He has risen to greatness and to discontent,He is awake to the Invisible.Insatiate seeker, he has all to learn:He has exhausted now life’s surface acts,His being’s hidden realms remain to explore.He becomes a mind, he becomes a spirit and self;In his fragile tenement he grows Nature’s lord. (“Savitri” Book 2 , Canto 4)

A spiritual evolution, an evolution of consciousness in Matter is a constant developing self-formation till the form can reveal the indwelling Spirit, is then the key-note, the central significant motive of the terrestrial existence.(“The Life Divine”, Sri Aurobindo)

The very form of man is thus capable of manifesting the Spirit says The Mother as the upright position is itself symbolic of this capacity to manifest the Spirit. There is a Tamil song in which the poet says “Oh Lord this form itself is created to worship and manifest thee”. Hands held together in prayer seem to at once connect us with deeper feelings of love and togetherness. This human physical form is most appropriate to express the Spirit. If we compare man to the higher living being we will fall short as we have a lot of imperfections but in the words of The Mother,

“…if we put ourselves in the place of the animals which immediately precede him in the evolution, we see that he is endowed with possibilities and powers which the others are quite incapable of expressing. The mere fact of having the ambition, the desire, the will to know the laws of Nature and to master them sufficiently to be able to adapt them to his needs and change them to a certain extent, is something impossible, unthinkable for any animal.”

“You may tell me that I don’t usually speak very kindly about man (laughter), but that’s because he usually thinks too kindly of himself !”

“If we compare him with other products of Nature, unquestionably he is at the top of the ladder.”

In the prone obscure beginnings of the raceThe human grew in the bowed apelike man.He stood erect, a Godlike form and force,And a soul’s thoughts looked out from earthborn eyes;Man stood erect, a Godlike form and force,And a soul’s thoughts looked out from earthborn eyes;Man stood erect, he wore the thinker’s brow:He looked at the heaven and saw his comrade stars;A vision came of beauty and greater birthSlowly emerging from the heart’s chapel of lightAnd moved in a white lucent air of dreams.He saw his being’s unrealized vastnesses,He aspired and housed the nascent demi-god (“Savitri”, Book 7, Canto 2 )

Recently, we saw a remake of the old classic, “The Planet of the Apes” on television, in which an astronaut is sucked into a bizarre planet in the distant future where intelligent talking apes are the dominant species and the humans are treated brutally and oppressed. Apparently, the advertisement for this movie said “Somewhere in the universe there must be something better than man". The humans and apes in this movie have similar capability in intellect and speech but it is the ape’s physical strength, which makes them dominate the planet and treat the humans as slaves. It was a fascinating movie. One highlight was the advice given by a philosophical wise ape to the commander-in-chief. Which went something like this ….

“You have no idea what these humans are capable of, we have physical strength but his technology and ingenuity are no comparison to our physical strength. Be careful of the power of the human and what he is capable of.”

It reminds me of what Sri Aurobindo once told a sadhak…..if only we knew of what lies beyond this mental state we would leave everything this very instant and chase after it. In conclusion, let us reflect on these words of The Mother…..

Can we hope that this body which is our present means of earthly manifestation, will have the possibility of transforming itself progressively into something which will be able to express a higher life, or will it be necessary to give up this form entirely to enter into another which does not yet exist on Earth?

That is the problem. It is a very interesting problem. If you will reflect on it, it will lead you to a little more light.

We can reflect on it just now. Posted by Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore at 7:10 PM

Unlike Gandhi, Sri Aurobindo has not been so profuse and open in denouncing technology

India
Shyamala A. Narayan The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Jan 1980; vol. 15: pp. 87 - 101.
...Chaitanya and Mira: Two Plays 197 Sri Aurobindo Ashram ( Pondicherry) pa Rs40.00...Short Stories in the Background of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda...Chaitanya and Mira: Two Plays 197 Sri Aurobindo Ashram (Pondicherry) pa Rs40.00... Check item Full Text (PDF) References Table of Contents MatchMaker

Editorial From Rights to Duties
Journal of Human Values, Oct 1998; vol. 4: pp. 131 - 132.
...correct sequence-from duties as cause to rights as effect. Sri Aurobindo says, 'no such general thing as duty exi~sts' .2 But...and moral purification to- wards spiritual preparation. Sri Aurobindo also adds in the same breath that duties `are of great... Check item Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

Wilber's Integral Philosophy: A Summary and Critique
Daryl S. Paulson Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Jul 2008; vol. 48: pp. 364 - 388.
...Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press. Aurobindo. (1976). The synthesis of yoga. Pondicherry, India: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press. Beck, D.E...synthesis of yoga. Pondicherry, India: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press. Beck, D. E., & Cowen... Check item Abstract Full Text (PDF) References Table of Contents MatchMaker

Indian Writing in English: An Introduction
C.D. Narasimhaiah The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Jan 1970; vol. 5: pp. 3 - 15.
...of arts and sciences as Sri Aurobindo. He also had what T. S...fashioned, according to Aurobindo, to 'serve the greater...light. It is as though Aurobindo is ready to reverse Keats...dawn co-exist and jostle. Sri Aurobindo no doubt sees... Check item Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

Evolution, Religion, Science and the Creative Spirit
Raja Ramanna Journal of Human Values, Apr 2000; vol. 6: pp. 51 - 56.
...many aspects of animal behaviour. Sri Aurobindo offers a deeper psycho-spiritual...God. There may be real hope in Sri Aurobindo's description of existence in terms...question just as in the Rigveda. Sri Aurobindo deeply analyzed the creative spirit... Check item Abstract Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

India
Shyamala A. Narayan The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Jan 1997; vol. 32: pp. 41 - 72.
...pp21-9 [see Criticism: General]. Aurobindo, Sri Sri Aurobindo and the Poets of...evaluation of the Romantic poets. - 'Sri Aurobindo's Poetics' R.K. Singh Indian Response...Hour of God: Selected Writings of Sri Aurobindo comp with intro Manoj Das x+336pp... Check item Full Text (PDF) References Table of Contents MatchMaker

Book Reviews : Arun Wakhlu, Managing from the Heart: Un folding Spirit in People and Organizations. New Delhi: Response Books, 1999, 240 pp. Rs. 245
S. Elankumaran Journal of Human Values, Apr 2001; vol. 7: pp. 98 - 102.
...prerequisite for long-term survival and excellence. RANJAN MITTER MCHV IIM Calcutta NOTE 1. Sri Aurobindo, The Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo (Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram), Vol. 25, 217- 18. Arun Wakhlu, Managing from the Heart: Un- folding Spirit...
Check item Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

Traditional Indian Personality Concepts and the Unrealised Potential for Paradigm Shift
Radha Krishna Naidu Psychology & Developing Societies, Mar 1994; vol. 6: pp. 71 - 85.
...Aurobindo. (1965). Isha Upanishad. Pondicherry : Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Sri Krishna Prem. (1969). The Yoga of the Bhagvad Gita...AUROBINDO. (1965). Isha Upanishad. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram. SRI KRISHNA PREM. (1969). The Yoga of the Bhagvad Gita... Check item Abstract Full Text (PDF) References Table of Contents MatchMaker

Rising Technology and Falling Ethics?
S.K. Chakraborty Journal of Human Values, Apr 1997; vol. 3: pp. 103 - 118.
...noble living. We will now explore Sri Aurobindo's thoughts on a few fundamental...science and scientific know- ledge. Sri Aurobindo goes to the very root of the theme...bottomline is that both Tagore and Sri Aurobindo assert the primacy of a conscious... Check item Abstract Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

Book Reviews : Rukmini Bhaya Nair, Technobrat. New Delhi: Harper Collins India, 1997, 313 pp. Rs 395. D.L. Johnson, Indian Thought: Between Tradition and the Culture of Technology. New Delhi: D.K. Printworld, 1995, 140 pp. Rs 160
S.K. Chakraborty Journal of Human Values, Apr 1999; vol. 5: pp. 77 - 80.
...sure of what he is trying to say. For, unlike Gandhi, Sri Aurobindo has not been so profuse and open in denouncing technol...own characteristically profound and controlled style Sri Aurobindo has posed the modern problem as one of a long-term choice... Check item Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

Library Automation and Networking Software in India: an overview
Anil Singh Information Development, Mar 2003; vol. 19: pp. 51 - 56.
...Educational Research and Training (NCERT), Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi-110016 (India). rathoreas...Iceland, Singapore, Malaysia, India and Sri Lanka. It is a complete, integrated...Educational Research and Training (NCERT), Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi - 110016 (India... Check item Abstract Full Text (PDF) References Table of Contents MatchMaker

Science, Culture and Conflict in India
Dhirendra Sharma Cultural Dynamics, Jul 2000; vol. 12: pp. 164 - 181.
...some 5000 years ago), and Sri Aurobindo (18721950), the commentator...later life. He founded an Aurobindo Ashram movement along...avoid commenting on them. Aurobindo extensively commented...the Universal Mother! Sri Aurobindo writes in his... Check item Abstract Full Text (PDF) References Table of Contents MatchMaker

Routes to Reality: Scientific and Rishi Approaches
Subhash Sharma Journal of Human Values, Apr 2001; vol. 7: pp. 75 - 83.
...ultimate intuition of rishis such as Sri Aurobindo has given us deep insights to the...transcendental or 'supra- mental' (to use Sri Aurobindo's expression) view to reality is...power of the word or the mantra. Sri Aurobindo has provided us a pathway for... Check item Abstract Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

India
Shyamala A. Narayan The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Jan 1999; vol. 34: pp. 37 - 66.
...Thomas The Quest 12(1) pp39-43. Aurobindo, Sri Beyond Man: The Life and Work of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother George Van Vrekhem...pp23-7. `The Mystic as Critic: Sri Aurobindo's Critical Methods' Sachidananda... Check item Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

Managing the Earth-System: The Millennial Choice before the World's Policy-makers
S.K. Chakraborty Journal of Human Values, Apr 1995; vol. 1: pp. 37 - 48.
...whatever be its apparent features. Sri Aurobindo expresses this principle in the...1980), Vol. 1. i. 27, p. 30. 9. Sri Aurobindo; RightAttitude in Work (Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Society, 1991), p. 33. 10. Swami... Check item Abstract Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

Indian Literature in English Translation: An Introduction
G.N. Devy The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Jan 1993; vol. 28: pp. 123 - 138.
...awarded to an Indian author so far. Sri Aurobindo, Tagore, and Gandhi were at the...Hindi poet to translate. As for Sri Aurobindo, he was at home in various languages...translators too. Among them are: Sri Aurobindo, R.C. Dutt, Rabindranath Tagore... Check item Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

India
Shyamala A. Narayan The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Jan 1991; vol. 26: pp. 87 - 111.
...Discourse apropos of a Phrase in Sri Aurobindo's Savithri' R.Y. Deshpande Mother...Discourse apropos of a Phrase in Sri Aurobindo's Savithri' R. Y. Deshpande Mother...Mother India ed K. D. Sethna, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Pondicherry 605002... Check item Full Text (PDF) References Table of Contents MatchMaker

India
John Ferguson and Nissim EzekielThe Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Jan 1966; vol. 1: pp. 43 - 54.
...Ahmedabad. Ghose, Aurobindo. The Significance of Indian Art. Sri Aurobindo Ashram...been abstracted from Sri Aurobindo's work left unfinished...Ahmedabad. Ghose, Aurobindo. The Significance of Indian Art. Sri Aurobindo Ashram... Check item Full Text (PDF) References Table of Contents MatchMaker

Book Reviews : D.P. Chattopadhyaya, Science Technology Philosophy and Culture. PHISPC Monograph Series on History of Philosophy, Science and Culture in India, 1996, XLVIII + 323 pp. Rs 390 (Distributed by Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, New Delhi)
C. Panduranga Bhatta Journal of Human Values, Apr 1999; vol. 5: pp. 80 - 84.
...true today. Having recourse to Sri Aurobindo's theory of involution-evolution...later restores the practical aspect of Sri Aurobindo's reservation to a certain degree...slighted the warnings of men like Sri Aurobindo and Gandhi (pp. 116-17). For him... Check item Full Text (PDF) Table of Contents MatchMaker

The Ethics of Managing Corporate Identity
Bengt Gustavsson Journal of Human Values, Apr 2005; vol. 11: pp. 9 - 29.
...Management Review, 14(1), 20- 39 . Aurobindo (1998), The Human Cycle ( Pondicherry:Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication Department...The Human Cycle (Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication Department... Check item Abstract Full Text (PDF) References Table of Contents MatchMaker

One of the problems in India is the waste management, which is to say, they have none

musings... Monday, April 20, 2009
Earthday celebrations in Auroville, and a commentary on the weather...

iGoogle tells me it is currently 99 degrees in Pondicherry, with a humidity of 42%. With a humidity that low, it can be called a dry day. True story. iGoogle also tells me that it is currently 39 degrees in Colorado Springs, with a 54% humidity. I question the validity of the humidity reading, but i do not question the temperature at all. Consequently, i am melting into a puddle of goop, much like the paper pulp we played with in English class today.

In honor of Earthday, and as a way of doing something with the load of scrap paper in our classroom, we made home-made paper today by mixing paper bits with water over the weekend, and mixing it with a hand-held blender before putting the goop onto little round screens and pressing it down into something resembling paper. The result will be lumpy and slightly gray, as we used paper with mostly black print on it, but it was good fun to make, and a nice way to spend the afternoon. We have two weeks of school left, so it's totally time to spend our energy doing art projects in English class. No more grammar for me.

Auroville had a big Earthday celebration on Saturday. In the morning I went with some of the students from the school to pick up trash in the cashew fields. We filled half a dozen bags in an hour or so. Big bags. Lots of trash. Also lots of sun. Joy oh joy. When we finished, the kids asked "Will we pick up trash next weekend too?" to which i had to say, "No." Two weeks in a row of picking up trash at nine am in the morning is enough for me, and the kids will have ample opportunity to clean up their environment without the assistance of me on a Saturday morning. One of the problems in India is the waste management, which is to say, they have none. And dumping your trash on the road side is sort of the standard method of disposal. It's not particularly sanitary.

Later in the day on Saturday there was a concert that i started to help set up, but then i was viciously attacked by a rogue piece of metal that fell down from the grid at the auditorium, and so i was out for the count. I have a gouge by my right eye, but two days later it's looking quite nice, and i don't think it will scar. The way to assure that is to keep it cleaned and covered, of course, and so i will spend the next eleven days with a band-aid next to my eye. It will be the source of many questions, i'm sure.

The Earthday concert was good hippy fun. It was "world music" which is code for "hippy love the earth-mother music." As i say, good hippy fun. I really enjoyed the show, especially because it was a live show. I really will miss all the free concerts i'm able to attend here. Cover charge? What's that? It's pretty neat. Before the concert, there was a delicious vegan dinner at the Visitor's Center, which i enjoyed. They had an almond fig cake that was delicious.

And now it's Monday evening, and windy outside. Hopefully the wind is blowing in a storm, or at least circulating some of that ridiculously hot air. 99 degrees. Ugh. Sleeping tonight should be hot. be well. om shanti shanti shanti Posted by sally at 5:49 AM

Marc speaking about the Earth Days in Auroville

From the Earth to our soul Written by Marlenka & Mas Friday, 17 April 2009

Today's news features an excerpt of an interview with Marc speaking about the Earth Days in Auroville. The Earth Day, celebrated over the world April 22, is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. It is held annually during both spring in the northern hemisphere and autumn in the southern hemisphere. Mentioned also in the news: a live jazz concert coming up, tango class and practice every week and, guest speakers to be heard at Savitri Bhavan. AurovilleRadio

All kinds of sports at Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education in Puducherry

Features: Magazine Literary Review Life Metro Plus Open Page Education Plus Book Review Business SciTech NXg Friday Review Cinema Plus Young World Property Plus Quest Metro Plus Bangalore Chennai Hyderabad Queen of the sea
Adventurous Chaitanya Datla won the NGC’s docu-reality series “Mission Navy”
Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P. RIDING THE HIGH WAVES Chaitanya Datla The Hindu Tuesday, Apr 07, 2009 Metro Plus Chennai

Life was monotonous for the HR executive, until she decided to seek some adventure. And, Chaitanya Datla went on to challenge her physical, mental and emotional limits to emerge the winner of the National Geographic Channel’s “Mission Nav y: Lehron Ke Sartaj”.
“There were 50,000 civilians who applied for this docu-reality series. Finally, five were chosen. It was not easy, and I had to work really hard for this,” says the 28-year-old, who is said to be the first woman to sail on an Indian Navy warship.
“It’s not about being a man or a woman, but about being an individual who perseveres his / her dreams," she says. “I’ve always had a fascination for adventure and armed forces. I also participated in NGC’s ‘Mission Udaan’ three years ago, reaching the finals.

When I read about Nat Geo’s project, I just applied, and one thing led to another,” says this winner, who had to undergo physical tests, run races, take on stress interviews, underwater rescue missions and tasks, and also do a 10-metre jump!
We had training in the Naval Academy in Goa for three days. Our day would begin at 5 a.m. and goes on till 10.30 p.m.” I have evolved
“Sometimes it was like hell, but I enjoyed every bit of it. Each day was unique, and there was always something new to learn,” says Chaitanya, who sailed for six days and had to jump from a chopper, “do a lot of stunts and firing stuff”.

“It sounds tough, I know, but I thank my school, Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education in Puducherry. It gave me a chance to try all kinds of sports. I also thank my parents and office for the support.”
The aim of National Geographic Channel was to give the common people a chance, just as the naval force gives viewers a glimpse of the Navy... SHILPA SEBASTIAN R.

I changed my entire lifestyle and my house is now solar-powered

Auroville takes out green rally
1 Mar 2009, 0257 hrs IST, Bosco Dominique, TNN PUDUCHERRY:

Electric cycles, motorbikes and cars took off in a convoy from the solar kitchen at Auroville on Saturday evening in a bid to raise awareness about climate change. As the rally touched major landmarks in the town from Darkali and international zone to Savitri Bhavan and Aurodam, the scores of participants drew curious stares and encouraging cheers.

“The response has been terrific. There’s been so much enthusiasm. What started as a little movement on environment-friendly transportation has gained momentum. We propose to make the event an annual feature,”

said Luigi Zanzi of L’avenir d’Auroville, one of the organisers of the event, told The Times of India. Participants included Aurovillians and residents from neighbouring regions. Manoj from Kerala, who made Auroville his home 14 years ago and works as a web developer, bought an electric cycle for Rs 24,000 a month back, though regular cycles cost less than half that.

“It is an investment based on a philosohy of caring for the world and sustainable development. The price doesn’t matter,”

he said. Manoj said research on utilization of renewable energy required great investment and added that he was proud to be among the pioneers patronising eco-friendly projects.

“I changed my entire lifestyle and my house is now solar-powered,”

he said. Another participant Pashi Kapoor, who owns a Reva electric car, settled in Auroville in the late 1960s.

“The rally is an occasion to reaffirm our commitment to preserving and protecting our environment. It is unfortunate that a serious issue like degradation of environment is given little prominence. Campaigns like this rally will enlighten the public,”

Kapoor said. Akash Heimlich and Auro Sukrit, who were inspired by former US vice president and environmentalist Al Gore’s film on the environment ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, established an electronic cycle and motorcycle manufacturing unit, ‘EVFuture’ in Auroville. “We have launched trial versions of 15 different types of electronic motorcycles and 30 electronic cycles. The response is terrific and most of our clientele participated in the rally,” Heimlich said.

Five hundred runners took part in the Auroville Marathon 2009

Racing On Through
Written by Radio Team Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Sunday the 17th of February almost five hundred runners took part in the Auroville Marathon 2009. They came from Auroville, from all over India, and from abroad. Frederick, one of the first Aurovilians, run the half-marathon of 21 kilometers. In the interview he tells Auroville Radio about the marathon's organization and how he had to go into his inner consciousness to forget the weight of the years and just run! To download the news click here.

Build Your Own House!
Written by Radio Team Tuesday, 10 February 2009

With a background in carpentry and now architecture, Regina built her own house using mostly sustainable products like mud, coconut fiber, red earth, stone, and bamboo. Are you worried about earthquakes or termites attacking your house? From the first layer of red earth to the woven roof, Regina will tell you how she built her own house. Listen to the following program for Regina's step-by-step guide to build your own earth-sourced house. Regina also offers personal consultation to dedicated builders. To download this program click here.

"Auroville Clinic"
Written by Radio Team Thursday, 05 February 2009
At the second information/discussion meeting on the New Healthcare Project for Auroville, the Integral Health Services Team (Francesca, Jocelyn, Manfred, Veronica, Dr. Ruslan and Dr. Sumeet) presented plans for it. Planned services include a lab, x-ray facilities, ultrasound, pharmacy, consultation rooms and inpatient beds. Although the presentation was not as well attended as expected, questions revealing strong interest in this project were asked; some were awnsered. To download the recording click here, and to download the Powerpoint Presentation please click here.

National Junior Championship
Written by Radio Team Tuesday, 27 January 2009

Improbable meeting from 3 from AurovilleRadio's team: Tuesday the news features an interview with Ayesha from Red Earth Riding School. Being the daughter of one of the organizers and also competing in this tournament, she speaks about the annual tournament which takes place this year until the 3rd of February. It will host the National Junior Championship.Also find an announcement about a puppet show and a German/Indian Jazz Exchange taking place Thursday 29th of January . To download the news click here.

Organic Farming
Written by Elaine Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Herbert from Siddhartha Farm is here since 1993. After he arrived he started to work with agriculture which was hardly developed at that time. Promoting organic cultures he started Siddhartha Farm where he is trying to develop his ideals of a city producing its own needs. If you want to know more about it click here and listen.

Collisions among disparate peoples shaped the modern world through conquest, epidemics, and genocide

January 27, 2009 Geography and Emergence
The Broadest Pattern of Human History By Jared Diamond

As world travel developed in recent centuries from 1492 onward, it quickly became obvious that peoples with very different economies, technologies, and political organizations coexisted in the modern world. At one extreme were the large Iron Age states occupying much of Europe, Asia (except Siberia), and North Africa, plus the smaller Iron Age states of West Africa. Comparable in political organization, but lacking in iron technology, were the Inca Empire of the Andes and the Aztec state of Mexico.

The range of societies continued through the Neolithic settled chiefdoms of other parts of the Americas and Polynesia, with some of those societies (such as Polynesian Hawaii and the Mississippian civilization of Indian North America) verging on the level of states. The list went on to the Neolithic tribal farming societies of New Guinea and the remainder of the New World and concluded with the hunter-gatherers of the Arctic, Australia, and scattered areas of the Americas, Africa, and Asia.

This snapshot of the diverse world as of 1492 was subsequently illuminated by archaeologists, who obtained in effect a series of snapshots at earlier times. It then became clear that the geographic differences among human societies as of 1492 resulted from differences, extending back over at least 10,000 years, in the dates of first appearance of developments such as stone tool grinding, metallurgy, pottery, and plant and animal domestication. For example, mass production of copper tools, which was beginning to be widespread in the Andes in the centuries before 1492, was already spreading in parts of Eurasia 5,000 years before that. The stone technology of the Tasmanians, when first encountered by literate observers in 1642, was simpler than that of Upper Paleolithic Europe tens of thousands of years earlier.

The collisions among these disparate peoples shaped the modern world through conquest, epidemics, and genocide. These collisions set up reverberations that have still not died down after many centuries and that are being played out in some of the most troubled areas of the world today (such as South Africa and the former Soviet Union).

In the present essay, I shall explore the hypothesis that these differences between human societies resulted not from differences between the peoples themselves, but from effects of environment and geography - that is, from contrasts between the real estate that different peoples inherited. Two caveats are necessary at the outset, since many people may initially consider this topic an unfit one for polite discussion.

• First, this whole subject stinks of racism, because nineteenth-century Europeans explained the observed geographic differences in complexity of human societies in terms of supposed parallel differences among peoples in their mental abilities.

Despite much effort to document these supposed differences, no sound supporting evidence has been forthcoming. Available evidence even supports the reverse conclusion. Read More: HereJARED DIAMOND is Professor of Geography at UCLA. He is the author of the recently published Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel: the Fates of Human Societies. Dr. Diamond is also the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship - "Genius Award".

***

Jan 27, 2009 The Relational Reinterpretation Hypothesis Anno 1840
from Shared Symbolic Storage by Michael

Last year Penn, Holyoak, and Povinelli published a quite controversial article called "Darwin's mistake: Explaining the discontinuity between human and nonhuman minds." In it they argued that what is special about human cognition is our innate analogical ability, an ability to reinterpret sensory and cognitve data in terms of abstract relational terms.

The system enabling "higher order, abstract, role-governed, relational reasoning” is grafted on top of our primate cognitive system and explains why our cognitive capacities are so widely different from that of other animals.

The main tenet of this proposal is shared by many researchers, as seen, for example, in Anette Karmilof-Smith's (1992) concept of "Representational Redescription" Hypothesis or Jean Mandler's (2004) "perceptual meaning analysis"
"as the central, attentive process that redescribes attended perceptual information into a simpler and conceptual (accessible) form."

Interestingly, I just found a similar proposal in John Pringle Nichol's "Views of the Architecture of the Heavens" from 1840, although I am quite sure that similar views can be traced much farther back in time :
"We are bound by the inherent necessities of our Being to search for the explanation of every fact or phenomenon, through its relations with some actual order, present or past" (281). being. 8:20 PM 8:48 PM

Methods of food production that are organic, regenerative, healthy and humane

Home > Journals & Media > Journals > Annapurna Times, an occasional newsletter reporting on genetic conservation, crop breeding, land reclamation, ecological accounting research, community life and other latest development of the Annapurna Farm in Auroville. Mission Statement

Within the context of producing food for the experimental, international township of Auroville, the stewards of Annapurna aim to discover, develop, demonstrate and document methods of food production that are organic, regenerative, healthy and humane. We emphasize the utilization of traditional techniques and the conservation of indigenous biodiversity.

Annapurna Times 2009.pdf . NEWPrevious newsletters 2005 (.pdf) 2003 (.pdf) 2002 2001 2000 Contact us: Annapurna Farm Bharat Nivas P.O. Auroville Tamil Nadu 605 101 South India
Phone: 948 6009 329 Email: mailto:brooks@auroville.org.i tomas@auroville.org.in From 15. July 2003 onwards the Annapurna farm newsletter is offered in pfd.file only.

Volunteers to help plant the grasses are most welcome

Matrimandir Update
Written by Marlenka Friday, 08 December 2006
Narad talks about his experiences with the Mother and how the Matrimandir Gardens came into being, from the first time She talked about the concept up to the present time. Narad first came in 1961, to the Ashram. He was in close contact with Mother. Her vision of creating a beautiful garden for the Matrimandir, which would be as important as the Matrimandir itself, she entrusted to Narad to manifest. Presently, with the completion of Matrimandir just around the corner, Narad wants to see the many and varied grasses get planted at its base that he has brought from America. Compost making is in processs, weeding is going on and volunteers to help plant the grasses are most welcome. You can download the recording here.

Ecocities – Small is Prosperous
Written by Radio Team Saturday, 09 December 2006
This event has been recorded. An interactive presentation given by Richard Register Saturday December 9 at 5:30 PM in the Conference Hall at Town Hall.Richard Register is a well known leader and practicing professional of ‘Ecocity Movement’ worldwide. His organization is known as ‘Ecocity Builders.’He arrives in Auroville after taking part in the 6th International Ecocity Conference in Bangalore. Many books and articles have been published on this theme; the latest is ‘Ecocities: Rebuilding Cities in Balance with Nature.’For further information contact www.ecocitybuilders.org © 2008 AurovilleRadio AurovilleRadio

Hume was right: machines are simply not good metaphors for organisms

Massimo Pigliucci's Amazon Blog « Go to Massimo Pigliucci's full Amazon Blog
The demise of the genetic blueprint metaphor 2:44 PM PST, December 18, 2008

Metaphors are dangerous things. On the one hand, it seems pretty much impossible to avoid using them, especially in rather abstract fields like philosophy and science. On the other hand, they are well known to trick one’s mind into taking the metaphor too literally, thereby creating problems that are not actually reflective of the reality of the natural world, but are only perverse constructs of our own warped understanding of it.

Take the metaphor of living organisms as analogous to complex artifacts, which led William Paley to articulate the most famous argument in favor of Intelligent Design -- an argument that, incidentally, has not changed in its broad philosophical outline since the early 18th century. David Hume -- rather presciently, since he wrote before Paley -- pointed out that the metaphor is flawed. Hume argued that living organisms are not like watches, to use Paley’s analogy. They are not machines that are assembled, but organic beings that develop gradually over time. [...]

Hume was right: machines are simply not good metaphors for organisms, and it is time for stubbornly reductionist biologists to move on and search for better metaphors.

Pick pickles from Auroville

Auroville's very own online store has been officially launched this December 2008 THE AUROVILLE STORE » FOOD » NATURAL FOODS » PICKLES
Producer Title+ Price Buy Now
Naturellement Garlic Pickles Rs.169.00
Prepared in the home-made traditional way with choice ingredients. They are hand made in small batches, using abslolutely no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives. Our garlic pickle is so delicious that it is dangerously addictive! 300g. 6 months shelf life.
Naturellement Lemon Pickles Rs.139.00
Prepared in the home-made traditional way with choice ingredients. They are hand made in small batches, using abslolutely no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives. From organic lemons, our lemon pickle is made the traditional way under the sun. 300g. 12 months shelf life.
Mango Pickles Rs.139.00
Prepared in the home-made traditional way with choice ingredients. They are hand made in small batches, using abslolutely no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives. Made from organic local varieties of mangoes, this product is a must for every mango pickle lover. 300g. 12 months shelf life.
French Mustard Rs.179.00
Prepared in the home-made traditional way with choice ingredients. They are hand made in small batches, using abslolutely no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives. From organic mustard seed made after a french recipe. 300g. 12 months shelf life.
Mango Chutney Rs.139.00
Prepared in the home-made traditional way with choice ingredients. They are hand made in small batches, using abslolutely no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives. Of Anglo-Indian origin, our sweet and sour chutney is the perfect blend of two cultures. 375g. 24months shelf life.

LAUNCH OF THE AUROVILLE STORE Dear world family. Auroville's very own online store has been officially launched this December 2008 during the Deepam festival, a festival of light, as our small offering to bringing a little more light in the world. Now the beautiful products of the Auroville community are just a click away. We ship worldwide and accept various forms of payments including Paypal, major credit cards and bank deposits for those in India.Products made in Auroville are unique and carry the very essence of our prayer for a world of brotherhood and harmony. Take some time to peruse the creations by our various units and many more are coming soon. 8:17 AM 9:59 AM

Aurovillians are innovating in applications of solar technology, design of handicrafts and architecture

Auroville : where material and spiritual innovations flourish
Posted on December 23rd, 2008 by avikroy

This weekend the road trip in southern India was particularly rejuvenating. This trips are part of my practice to immerse myself in the realities of the aspirations , challenges and progress of the people in the Indian countryside. I reached Pondicherry from Bangalore by road on Sunday night . I decided to spend Monday in Auroville , a global city in making whose purpose is to realise human unity.

Auroville never fails to inspire me . It rests deeply on spiritual foundation of creating an environment where citizens of the world live to pursue the truth and give free expression to their inner calling and at the same time be of value to the community of Aurovillian . It balances the call for spiritual seeking and care for progress. This care for progress gets reflected in the material innovations they are supporting and trying to find practical applications. I had stimulating discussions with Aurovillians who are innovating in applications of solar technology, design of handicrafts and architecture. A day well spent in a place which vibrates with a creative and spiritual energy , in the evening i again hit the road to go to the temple town of Madurai. Filed under: Asia, India Avik Roy’s expertise includes business strategy, business modeling, process design and operations management.

The universe isn't chaotic but is full of patterns and structures, coherences and relationships

To Applaud the Large Hadron Collider
by RY Deshpande on Mon 08 Dec 2008 11:14 PM IST Permanent Link Cosmos

And today! Wednesday 10 September 2008! It is a golden day in the annals of physics. It marks the beginning of a new set of experiments planned on a scale that never happened in the long and troubled days of mankind. Their findings are expected to throw light on the commencement and evolution of the universe in which we live. If matter is the foundation of this vast enterprise, then it becomes our natural curiosity also to know what really is there in matter that makes it so attractive, so potentially rich to give rise to this marvel of creation. That also means, possibly, the wonders that are locked in its bosom will be slowly disclosed to us, in the unfolding course of time. Could matter give away its secrets to us? Would it? Perhaps the Large Hadron Collider is but one small step in that mighty direction. It is built into the spirit of man that looks at its own depths and wonders how he arrived on the scene when nothing of the kind exists anywhere else.

The Collider is a huge circular machine, of 9 kilometer diameter, and is housed in a 100-meter deep underground tunnel. Located at CERN, the European Centre for Nuclear Research, near Geneva, it straddles France and Switzerland.

The building of the Collider spread over a period of 14 years with its cost building into $8 billion. At its full power trillions of protons will whiz around the 27 kilometer circumference, 11 245 times a second. The machine will have superconducting magnets operated at 2 K; it will need 10 000 tons of liquid nitrogen and 60 tons of liquid helium. The beams of protons will travel through ultra-high vacuum, emptier than the interplanetary space. The collision of the two proton beams coming from opposite directions will produce temperatures of the order of 100 000 times larger than the temperature in the interior of the sun. Four eyes suitably located will observe the products of the collision. 15 million gigabytes of data will be generated every year. 80,000 computers set all over the world will get busy in processing them. Some 10,000 physicists and engineers from 100 countries are occupied in this super-massive enterprise. It is expected to mark the beginning of a new era of discovery in physics, with the full power of the machine coming into play probably less than a year away.

Collision of the two proton beams will recreate conditions that existed a trillionth of a second after the big bang moment. It is thus hoped to provide clues about the factors that dominated at the time of the birth of the universe. The machine has captured public imagination,—and rightly so. This is wonderful; yet there are quite a few also who are worried about “The X Factor”.

There are others who naively ask in what way the information coming from the scientific investigations is going to serve the cause of humanity. Using so many scientists and putting so much of material into the experiment is a waste—they think. The money spent on it could be used to alleviate the poverty of fellow human beings. The $8 billion spent on the LHC could have been used on feeding or sheltering the people in poor countries. Luckily this instant emotionalism does not touch us in the larger perspective of things. Such statements are not at all new to science, and one just moves on. Science demands experimentation—and the prince is willing to open the treasury. That itself is the great march of civilization, perhaps happening for the first time after the House of Wisdom established by the Abbasids about 1200 years ago. But the sheer magnitude and concentration of effort that are present in our age are absolutely phenomenal. We owe all this greatly to the liberal atmosphere and the free spirit of inquiry that is prevalent today.

Two things that bolster our faith in science are the comprehensibility of the universe and the well-understood laws of nature that will not dupe us on the way, will not betray us mid-stream. Einstein famously said that "the most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible". The universe isn't chaotic but is full of patterns and structures, coherences and relationships. It is to discover these patterns and structures, these coherences and relationships that we are willing to hold out a mighty bit of us. That is the search for truth prompting the scientist as a truth-seeker; that is the search for beauty persuading the scientist as a beauty-admirer. And the beautiful truth is, society is willing to give him that exceptional privilege—and that indeed is the truthful beauty of man.

Yet one could be screaming about the kind of costs involved in these truth-beauty pursuits which can no longer be private, not even single or national pursuits. But there is really no paradox. The inherent fuzziness of the Quantum world governed by the Uncertainty Principle means that to the finer and more subtle depths you go the more you pay for things. We have to sharpen our tools. But these are fructuous in more than one way. Witness for instance the Internet that came from such occupations. CERN itself had the privilege of giving us the World Wide Web.

But what are the scientific issues that are associated with the Large Hadron Collider? Could it be that we live in a world other than the simple four dimensional space-time configuration glorified by Relativity? The 10-dimensional manifold as suggested by some theories is summoning us to look into the future. And then are there universes apart from our own universe? that we are not the only in this creation? But more intriguing, and of direct consequence, is the question about the substantiality of matter. The question is: What is it that gives mass to particles? The theory answers it in terms of what is called Higgs boson. It is the Higgs boson that gives mass to particles. This demands not Aristotelian logic but experimental verification. Therefore it is the Hadron Collider that must pass the verdict. The machine has been designed and built, the startup operations have begun and within a few months answers should be forthcoming. We await them with bated breath. There are a few more things also to be settled. In this complexity of the universe what we see is only a small fraction of its totality, the remaining being hidden from our view. The mystery of the dark matter will always keep us ill at ease, lest we get gobbled up by it. The so-called Standard Model that is there with us over the last several years has kept many of these questions open and the experiment has become imperative. So there is that entire anxiety about the results coming from the Large Hadron Collider.

But connected with this praiseworthy gigantic effort there are also a few spurious and dubious aspects and these aspects must be at once dismissed from our minds. We must first realize that the beginning of the universe from the big bang is a scientific theory and it is science which is going to judge it in terms of scientific criteria and parameters. Whether it is going to be upheld or is going to collapse,—well, it is science which will have the say in the matter and nothing else.

There is a hurried tendency of the Vedantic mind connecting the big bang with the bursting of the cosmic egg, brahmāņda. But they are not on a par in several respects. For instance, brahmāņda is not going to collapse if Hadron Collider is going to dismiss the big bang. And then, and more importantly, one is a theory and the other an occult-spiritual experience. They belong to different categories and we must not mix them up. But this mixing-up game was started in a rather bad manner some thirty years ago by Fritjof Capra when his Tao of Physics intriguingly mesmerized both communities, the scientific and the Vedantic...

This is good,—as far as it goes. But never should either of them lose sight of the fundamentals, their fundamentals, of the spiritual and the material. If one is the breathing in and breathing out of the physical in the cosmic process of objectification, the other is the rhythm of the timeless set into the great movements of time. One is mental conceptualization and the other the truth-dynamism set into motion by the Spirit itself. Here our interest is not in mysticism but in physics proper, professional physics. So, as far as the Large Hadron Collider is concerned, let us applaud the startup operation and eagerly wait for the arrival of the Higgs Boson. It is a definite pointer towards what will give materiality to matter, substantiality to substance.
RY Deshpande
Refer also the article Higgs Boson—A Matter of Physics Posted to: Main Page

The core and its connections

About the Earth's Core
By Andrew Alden, See More About: structure of the earth core of the earth geomagnetism

A century ago, science barely knew that the Earth even has a core. Today we are tantalized by the core and its connections with the rest of the planet. Indeed, we're at the start of a golden age of core studies... Our main tool for core research has been earthquake waves, especially those from large events like the 2004 Sumatra quake. The ringing "normal modes," which make the planet pulsate with the sort of motions you see in a large soap bubble, are useful for examining large-scale deep structure.

***

Inner core
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Earth's core)

The inner core of the Earth, its innermost layer as detected by seismological studies, is a primarily solid sphere about 1,220 km (758 mi) in radius, only about 70% that of the Moon. It is believed to consist of an iron-nickel alloy, and it may be hotter than the Sun's surface[1].

The superorganism has castes; Individuals are automatons

The Superorganism from Marginal Revolution by Tyler Cowen
The subtitle is The Beauty, Elegance, and Strangeness of Insect Societies and that is the new book by Bert Hölldobler and Edmund O. Wilson... Here is a New York Times review of the book [By STEVE JONES
Published: November 21, 2008]

Hölldobler and Wilson’s central conceit is that a colony is a single animal raised to a higher level. Each insect is a cell, its castes are organs, its queens are its genitals, the wasps that stung me are an equivalent of an immune system. In the same way, the foragers are eyes and ears, and the colony’s rules of development determine its shape and size. The hive has no brain, but the iron laws of cooperation give the impression of planning. Teamwork pays; in a survey of one piece of Amazonian rain forest, social insects accounted for 80 percent of the total biomass, with ants alone weighing four times as much as all its mammals, birds, lizards, snakes and frogs put together. The world holds as much ant flesh as it does that of humans.

Karl von Frisch, discoverer of the famous waggle dance of the honey bee, said in the 1930s that “the life of bees is like a magic well. The more you draw from it, the more there is to draw.” Plenty of excellent science still springs from that source, and Wilson and Hölldobler gather some classics here. How does an ant work out how far it is back to the nest? Simple: by counting its steps. Glue stilts onto its legs as it sets out and it will pace out into the wilds; take them off and it will walk only part of the way back.

The superorganism has castes, based not on genetic differences but — like our own social classes — on the environment in which they are brought up. Sometimes, a chemical message does the job, but cold and starvation can be just as effective at condemning an individual to a humble life as a worker.

A few simple rules produce what appears to be intelligence, but is in fact entirely mindless. Individuals are automatons. An ant stumbles on a tasty item and brings a piece back to the nest, wandering as it does and leaving a trail of scent. A second ant tracks that pathway back to the source, making random swerves of its own. A third, a fourth, and so on do the same, until soon the busy creatures converge on the shortest possible route, marked by a highway of pheromones. This phenomenon has some useful applications for the social animals who study it. Computer scientists fill their machines with virtual ants and task them with finding their way through a maze, leaving a coded signal as they pass until the fastest route emerges.

Too much time spent on introversion could lead to depression and lack of spontaneity, joy, and gaiety

Discovering one's own golden mean
K. VIJAYARAGHAVAN, ET, 17 Nov 2008

The term ‘golden mean’, according to Chambers dictionary means “moderation, a middle way between extremes.” An ancient Tamil proverb also notes that even the elixir of life (amrita) can become poison, if taken in excess.

Doubtless, life has to be marked by dynamism, extroversion and action but too much of these could also be damaging. Similarly, too much of ‘take it easy’ attitude or even reflection and introspection could lead to stagnation, with life drifting away without any tangible accomplishment.

The ceaseless and excessive dynamism of the warriors of Ulysses (Odysseus) and also their subsequent metamorphosis to lethargy and introversion, as portrayed by Tennyson, would suggest that there should be a golden mean between these extremes.

The ‘middle path’ concept, centred on finding the right ‘golden mean’, for sustained excellence, as applicable to each aspirant, would eventually depend on individual nature and needs. However, certain broad, practical and time-tested concepts in evolving this could serve as guidelines.

Those habituated to a busy bee life in search of fruits — they themselves may not be sure of and pushing themselves to near physical and psychological burn out — would do well to remember that all their activities would become counterproductive unless tempered with moments of needed reflection, solitude, relaxation and meditation.

Similarly the dreamer and one involving himself continually with substantial reflection, analysis and meditative exercises would also be benefited through forays into activities calling for dynamism and physical exercises marked by zest and exhilaration. In fact, too much time spent on such acts of introversion could also become counterproductive, leading to depression and lack of spontaneity, joy, and gaiety.

Research on depressed and schizophrenic patients has revealed that ‘work therapy’ and involvement with dynamic activities often work where passive counselling, analysis and even medication could fail. Indeed, work is worship. The business of life, if it were to be fulfilling, is to get on with it with briskness and natural ease, not cluttered by perceived ideas of excessive introspection, etc.

This natural approach could often prove to be the right sadhana for inner purification. Doubtless, the crux of all true accomplishment lies in discovering for oneself his own workable ‘golden mean’ and to build his dreams on this stable foundation!