They say we’re all made of stardust…….
Posted to EarthSky Facebook by Fotograf Göran Strand. Visit Göran on Facebook
Swedish astrophotographer Göran Strand calls this photo Children of the Sun.
You can buy Göran’s photos as prints in his webshop.
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Source….www.earthsky.org
Natarajan
Strange stories, superstitions, curious rituals, deep beliefs, undying faith, age old anecdotes – all these and more abound in places of worship in India.
Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Hindu, Jewish – we have people of every faith and belief, shrines dedicated to monks and pirs, and temples that have stood the test of time – because we are the spiritual hub of the world.
We worship the forces of nature and animals of course. But, when the fancy takes us, we also elevate our politicians and movie stars to God-like status. We have a temple dedicated to the country itself and another to a mysterious soldier who haunts the Himalayas. While other gods may be placated with flowers and candles, some of ours demand liquor and noodles too. And, given that this is the 21st century, they don’t say no to offerings of clocks and aeroplanes either. Or turn away Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg!
Read on and be amazed by the wonder that is India – here are 15 of the most unusual places of worship in the country.
When Facebook was going through difficult times, Steve Jobs advised Mark Zuckerberg to visit an Indian temple, saying he found spiritual solace and guidance there. It was the Kainchi Dham Ashram of Nainital, Uttarakhand. It is believed that Jobs got the idea of creating Apple at this very place. The ashram was built in honour of Baba Neem Karoli or Baba Neeb Karori who is considered to be a reincarnation of Lord Hanuman. Taking Jobs’ suggestion, Zuckerberg did visit the ashram. But the humble place does not flaunt its celebrity status. Other than Jobs and Zuckerberg, Julia Roberts is also known to have visited the ashram.
Harbhajan Singh, a.k.a Major “Baba” Harbhajan Singh, was an Indian army soldier who lost his life in 1967 near the Nathu La pass in Sikkim. In remembrance of the “Hero of Nathu La”, army men have constructed a shrine close to the Indo-China border. Many soldiers in the area believe that his spirit protects them.
Legend has it that Harbhajan Singh himself helped the search party find his body after his death. Then he talked to one of his colleagues through a dream and told him to build a shrine in his memory. Some soldiers also believe that the Baba warns soldiers about any impending attacks. Many such tales of supernatural sightings and events revolve around this temple.
Found on Grand Trunk Road, near Kalyana Village between Ambala and Kurukshetra in Haryana, this dargah (shrine to a Muslim saint) is dedicated to the Nau Gaja Peer (nine yards tall pir or holy man), better known as the “highway god”. Two things make this shrine unique – the large number of clocks inside and a very long grave.
Hundreds of devotees, especially truck drivers, offer clocks at the shrine to ensure a safe journey and a timely arrival. It is said that many years ago, a truck driver’s vehicle used to break down every time he passed the dargah. One day, he offered a clock there, and could complete his journey on time. The practice started since then.
People claim that Syed Ibrahim Badshah, or Baba Naugaja Peer was a 9 yards tall saint. That is equal to about 8 meters. Hence the long tomb. About 50 clocks are offered in a day, and all the clocks are tuned to the same time. Some clocks are also given back as prasad to people who offer them.
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. The Paradesi Synagogue, located in Kochi, Kerala, was constructed in 1567 by the Jewish community of Cochin. It is only one of the seven synagogues in Old Cochin area that is still in use.
The place is known among travellers for its 250-year-old handmade Chinese porcelain tiles. The floor is paved with 1,100 of these tiles. Every horizontal row has tiles with the same design, and there are four different designs. So the first row is identical to the fifth, the second to the sixth, and so on. Every tile is said to be unique in some way.
Copper plates from the 4th century are among many other valuable antiques found in the synagogue. They have inscriptions in Malayalam that talk of the privileges granted to the residents of the area by the erstwhile Cochin king. The inscriptions are written in mirror image writing.
This partially submerged church looks more like stranded ship. It was built on the banks of Hemavathi River near Hassan in Karnataka, where there used to be a village long ago. When the village got relocated upstream after the construction of the Gorur dam, this church was left behind. The dam waters started flooding and the church was submerged. It has been 200 years since it was constructed, and 25 years since it has been submerged. But the ruins still stand tall. Every year during the monsoons, the church gets submerged, and is visible completely only during summers.
Gue, a small village in the Spiti valley of Himachal Pradesh, is home to a 500-year-old mummified body of monk Sangha Tenzin. It is in excellent condition with hair and teeth preserved, and probably the only mummy in India to have undergone natural mummification.
Natural mummification is a very difficult process. A person’s body is made to react in such a way that body fats and fluids reduce at a constant rate and organs that are prone to decaying are reduced in size. One has to follow a special diet when preparing for death.
Legend says that monk Sangha Tenzin asked his followers to mummify him when the town was infested with scorpions. Once his spirit left his body, a rainbow appeared and the scorpions vanished. The mummy is kept inside a glass case.
Located in Ujjain city of Madhya Pradesh, this temple is known for the many liquor stalls nearby. A typical offering basket here contains coconuts, flowers, and a 140 ml bottle of liquor. The devotees hand over the bottle to the priest who then pours half of it into a bowl and places it near the mouth of the idol. The bottles are then returned back to the devotees.
Some years ago, there was an interest in the fact the liquor disappears very fast into the deity’s mouth. However, a state sponsored research into the mystery did not yield any results. With the view of ensuring that devotees purchase liquor at the appropriate cost and are not cheated by non-licensed vendors, the government of Madhya Pradesh had even set up two liquor counters outside the temple from April 1 this year.
Referred to as the “hawai jahaz gurdwara” or the “aeroplane gurdwara” by locals, this gurudwara (Sikh shrine) is located in Talhan village in Jalandhar district of Punjab. It is famous for special offerings of toy aeroplanes, as devotees believe that praying there increases their chance of going abroad. The toy aeroplanes are sold in nearby shops and most visitors purchase and offer them in the temple. It is unclear how this trend started.
Bharat Mata Temple, Uttar Pradesh – Where the Country Is the Goddess
Located inside the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth campus in Varanasi, this is the only temple in the country that is dedicated to Mother India. The deity in here is a huge map of undivided India, carved out of marble. It symbolises the entire country with its mountains, plains and oceans. The temple was constructed by Babu Shiv Prasad Gupt before the partition of the country and was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1936.
The Om Banna temple – better known as the Bullet Baba temple – is located along National Highway 65 in Pali district, about 50km from Jodhpur. No idols, no pictures; the deity in this temple is a 350cc Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle.
Legend says that about two decades ago, on Dec. 2, 1988, a villager named Om Singh Rathore lost his life after an accident on the highway. The police took away his motorcycle that had fallen into a nearby ditch. But the next morning, it was reported that the bike could not be found at the police station. It was at the accident spot instead. Villagers claim that the bike was again taken back and tied with chains at the police station. But it was back at the accident spot again. This continued after every attempt and the story of the mysterious bike soon spread far and wide.
Today, an elevated concrete shrine with a bust of Rathore has been constructed at that spot. Behind it, the motorcycle stands enclosed in a glass case. Almost everyone who crosses the highway stops at the temple to pray for a safe journey – some out of curiosity, others out of devotion.
The Om Banna temple – better known as the Bullet Baba temple – is located along National Highway 65 in Pali district, about 50km from Jodhpur. No idols, no pictures; the deity in this temple is a 350cc Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle.
Legend says that about two decades ago, on Dec. 2, 1988, a villager named Om Singh Rathore lost his life after an accident on the highway. The police took away his motorcycle that had fallen into a nearby ditch. But the next morning, it was reported that the bike could not be found at the police station. It was at the accident spot instead. Villagers claim that the bike was again taken back and tied with chains at the police station. But it was back at the accident spot again. This continued after every attempt and the story of the mysterious bike soon spread far and wide.
Today, an elevated concrete shrine with a bust of Rathore has been constructed at that spot. Behind it, the motorcycle stands enclosed in a glass case. Almost everyone who crosses the highway stops at the temple to pray for a safe journey – some out of curiosity, others out of devotion.
The Chilkur Balaji Temple is one of the oldest temples near Hyderabad. It is located near the banks of Osman Sagar Lake. A majority of devotees who visit this temple have just one wish – they want a visa to travel abroad. That’s the reason why Chilkur Balaji is also referred to as ‘Visa’ Balaji.
The place became popular about two decades ago. Some software professionals whose visa request had been rejected earlier, got their visas to travel to the US after praying at the temple. According to reports, about 70,000 to 100,000 devotees can be seen in the temple when it opens on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Typically, a visa aspirant visits before the interview. Once the visa is successfully obtained, he/she goes back once again.
This temple is also known for the fact that it does not accept any money from the devotees. The only fee people have to pay is for parking their vehicles, and that is how the temple sustains itself.
Chinese Kali Temple, Kolkata – Of Noodles and Fried Rice
Located in Kolkata’s Tangra area, the Chinese Kali Temple is a symbol of cross-cultural assimilation. It was built about 60 years ago by Chinese devotees who had been living in the city for a long time to run their businesses. Prasad for the goddess here includes delicacies like noodles, fried rice, chop suey, and more. Many Chinese people of Indian origin from around the world, visit this place almost every year. Most of the people in the area are Buddhists and some are Christians, but many of them have faith in the Hindu Kali goddess.
A community in Ramanagar district of Karnataka decided to show their love for dogs by making a temple where man’s best friend is worshipped. People here believe that the dog has the power to stop all wrongdoings and set things right. The temple houses two idols representing the animal, and it is situated next to the temple of the village deity. Villagers believe that the dogs and the deity together will protect them from all harm.
Located 30 km from Bikaner, in a small town of Deshnoke, the Karni Mata Temple is better known as the Temple of Rats. It is famous for being home to about 20,000 black rats that are worshipped in the temple. The holy rats are called Kabbas. According to folklore, after the death of Karni Mata’s son, the God of death allowed the reincarnation of all her sons as rats. Devotees consider it highly honourable to eat prasad nibbled by one of the rats. There are some white rats too, which are considered special and are believed to be the manifestations of Karni Mata herself and her four sons.
Like most snake temples, this famous Nagaraja temple is located in an open space within a forest in Alappuzha district of Kerala. The largest such temple in the state, it has more than 30,000 images of snakes along the paths and among the trees leading to the premises. Most devotees bring in new snake images as offerings for the temple, and women seeking fertility often come to worship as it is believed that the Lord here has unbelievable powers and blesses all the childless couples to beget a child. Locals believe that it is not rare for the same serpent to appear at the same spot for a number of days continuously and people pray in close proximity to them. –
Source….Tanaya Singh in http://www.the betterindia.com
Natarajan
Hundreds of millions of flowers bloomed in the Atacama Desert in Chile this year, linked to 2015’s ongoing strong El Niño.
View larger. | Flowers in the Atacama, November 1, 2015. Photo by Yuri Beletsky.
Earlier this week, we began hearing about the amazing desierto florido (desert in bloom) taking place in the Atacama, in Chile. It corresponds to the ongoing strong El Niño, which is a periodic warming of Pacific Ocean waters off the northern Chile’s coast. The El Niño caused more rainfall than usual over the Atacama, which caused hundreds of millions of flowers to germinate and bloom. Yuri Beletsky – who has contributed other beautiful photos of the Atacama to EarthSky – captured this image. He wrote:
Pretty amazing we still see flowers in the desert! I was driving down from the mountain and was astonished by the amount of flowers we still can see – it’s been almost a month (!) after the their normal season. Here is an image taken just with my cell phone. This year is truly exceptional here in Chile due to El Niño phenomenon.
We’ve got lots of clouds, high humidity, and no wonder the desert is full of life now.
I hope you’ll enjoy it!
Thank you, Yuri!
Just as El Niño is cyclical, so the unusual flower blooms in the Atacama are known to come and go about every five to seven years. That’s according to Pedro León Lobos, a botanist with Chile’s Institute of Agriculture and Livestock Research (IRA), in an interview with National Geographic published earlier this week.
By the way, Chile is prone to frequent earthquakes, and the Acacama Desert is north of Coquimbo, Chile, where a strong 6.8-magnitude quake struck earlier today (November 7, 2015).
Bottom line: 2015 featured an unusually prolific bloom of flowers in the Atacama Desert in Chile, tied to this year’s El Niño.
Source….www.earthsky.org
Natarajan
Just yesterday, on November 4, 2015, a devastating accident rocked South Sudan as a cargo plane full of passengers crashed shortly after takeoff. When investigators and rescue workers arrived on the scene, they knew that there was little hope of finding survivors in the charred, twisted wreckage.
But just as they were about to give up all hope, they made a miraculous discovery.
Getty Images
Getty Images
Getty Images
They found a one-year-old girl crying underneath the wreckage. She’s one of two reported survivors, and volunteers were completely floored by the tiny child’s will to live. The other survivor ultimately succumbed to injuries sustained in the crash, but somehow, this brave little one made it.
Getty Images
Getty Images
She is expected to make a full recovery.
(via Mashable)
This child truly is a tiny miracle. Officials and volunteers who responded to the crash signed on for the recovery mission with heavy hearts, but this discovery proved to be a glimmer of hope. We’re sending our thoughts to the people of South Sudan as they recover from this tragedy, and to little Nyalou as she heals.
Source..Madeline Distasio……www.viralnova.com
Natarajan
Among the qualities that make up a flawless character, love, patience, forbearance, steadfastness, and charity are the highest and noblest. The hundred little deeds that we indulge in every day harden into habits; these habits shape the intelligence and mould our outlook and life. One’s present is but the result of one’s past and the habits formed during that long period. But whatever be the nature of the character that one has inherited, it can certainly be modified. Nobody’s wickedness is incorrigible. Wasn’t robber Angulimala, turned into a kindhearted person by Lord Buddha? Didn’t thief Rathnakara become Sage Valmiki? By conscious effort, habits can be changed and character refined. People always have within them, the capacity to challenge their evil propensities and to change their habits. By selfless service, renunciation, devotion and prayer, old habits that bind people to earth can be discarded and new habits that will take them along the divine path be instilled.
Today people are wasting a big portion of their precious lives by indulging in flimsy gossip and watching scenes of violence and cruelty. Many are unaware that time sanctified by service offers high rewards to themselves as well as to those they serve. All acts of service are not equally sanctifying or uniform in the benefits they confer. When service is undertaken by power-hungry people, or under compulsion or by imitative urges, it results in more harm than good. A sincere aspirant undertaking service must avoid egotism(ahamkara), exhibitionism (adambara) and favouritism(abhimana). Before embarking on a service project, introspect and examine whether your heart is full of selfless love, humility and compassion, whether your head is full of intelligent understanding and knowledge of the problem and its solution, whether your hands are eager to offer the healing touch, and whether you can gladly spare and share time, energy and skill to help those in dire need.
Unbridled freedom is destructive of dharma, and it also harms the woman herself. Mixing in society without any discrimination produces ruinous results. Of course there were educated women in the past, but they never gave up theirdharma, they never forgot the goal of Atmic dharma. Education must be built on the basis of discrimination. Sulabha, Savitri, Anasuya, Gargi, Nalayani, and other such models of chastity, and devotees of the Lord like Meera or yoginislike Chudala, were born in this country of God (Bharatha-desa); they strengthened dharma by their adherence to it. It is through the examples of such great and holy women, with their character and conduct inspired by devotion and spiritual wisdom, that even today simplicity, humility, and devotion shine in the hearts of most Indian women. Today, women should draw inspiration from them and efforts must be made to live as they did in the past.
A Documentary telecast on the National Geographic channel in a show called ‘India’s Megakitchens’, focusing on the functioning of some of India’s mammoth kitchens.
~
Sri Sai Sansthan Prasadalaya Is A Free Kitchen In Shirdi, Maharashtra. It Is Spread Across 4 Roof Tops With 73 Solar Dishes, Making It The Largest Solar-Powered Kitchen In India. The Solar Dishes Fuel The Preparation Of Nearly 40,000 Meals Each Day And The Concentrated Heat From All These Dishes Create 2800 kgs Of Steam In A Single Day! As per the Ministry of Non- Conventional Energy Sources, New Delhi, this has been identified as the world’s largest solar heating cooking system.
In 2013, it bagged an ISO 22000-2005 certification for food safety where an organization in the food chain must demonstrate its ability to control safety hazards to ensure that food is safe during consumption.
Source….www.youtube.com
Natarajan
கடவுளிடம் ஒரு விவசாயி கடுமையாகச் சண்டைக்குப் போனான்.
”உனக்குப் பயிர்களைப் பற்றி என்ன
தெரியும்? நீ நினைத்தபோது மழையை
அனுப்புகிறாய். தப்பான சமயத்தில் காற்றை
வீசுகிறாய். உன்னால் பெரிய தொந்தரவாக இருக்கிறது.
பேசாமல்,
இந்த வேலைகளை விவசாயி ஒருத்தனிடம் ஒப்படைத்துவிடேன்!”
என்றான்.
கடவுள் உடனே,
“ அப்படியா? சரி. இனிமேல் வெளிச்சம், மழை, காற்று எல்லாம் உன் கட்டுப்பாட்டிலேயே இருக்கட்டும்” என்று வரம் அருளிவிட்டுப்
போய்விட்டார்.
விவசாயிக்கு சந்தோஷம் பிடிபடவில்லை.
அடுத்த விதைப்பிற்கான பருவம் வந்தது.
”மழையே பெய்” என்றான்.
பெய்தது.
நிறுத்தச் சொன்னபோது,
மழை நின்றது.
ஈரமான நிலத்தை உழுதான்.
தேவையான வேகத்தில் காற்றை வீசச் செய்து, விதையை தூவினான்.
மழை, வெயில், காற்று எல்லாமே அவன் சொன்ன பேச்சைக் கேட்டன.
பயிர் பச்சைப்பசேல் என வளர்ந்தது.
வயல்வெளியைப் பார்க்கவே மிகவும் ரம்மியமாக இருந்தது.
அறுவடைக் காலமும் வந்தது.
விவசாயி ஒரு கதிரை அறுத்தான். அதனை உதிர்த்து, திறந்து பார்த்தான்.
அதிர்ந்தான்.
உள்ளே தானியத்தைக் காணவில்லை, மிகச் சிறிய பதர்தான் இருந்தது.
அடுத்தது, அதற்கடுத்தது என்று ஒவ்வொரு தானியக்கதிராக வெட்டி எடுத்து உடைத்துப் பார்த்தால் ஒன்றிலுமே தானியம் இல்லை.
”ஏ கடவுளே!” என்று கோபத்தோடு கூப்பிட்டான்.
“மழை, வெயில், காற்று எல்லாவற்றையுமே மிகச் சரியான விகிதங்களில்தானே பயன்படுத்தினேன்! ஆனாலும், பயிர்கள் பாழாகிவிட்டதே, ஏன்?” எனக்கேட்டான்.
கடவுள் புன்னகைத்தார்:
“என் கட்டுப்பாட்டில் இருந்தபோது காற்று வேகமாக வீசும். அப்போது பயிர்களெல்லாம், அம்மாவை இறுக்கிக்கொள்ளும் குழந்தைகளைப்போல பூமிக்குள் தங்கள் வேர்களை மிக ஆழமாக அனுப்பிப் பிடித்துக்கொள்ளும்.
மழை குறைந்தால், தண்ணீரைத் தேடி வேர்களை நாலாபக்கமும் அனுப்பும்.
போராட்டம் இருந்தால்தான் தாவரங்கள் தங்களைப் பாதுகாத்துக்கொண்டு, வலுவாக வளரும்.
எல்லாமே வசதியாக
அமைத்துக் கொடுத்ததில் உன் பயிர்களுக்கு சோம்பேறித்தனம் வந்துவிட்டது.
தளதளவென்று வளர்ந்ததே தவிர, ஆரோக்கியமான தானியங்களைக் கொடுக்க அவற்றிற்கு தெரியவில்லை!” என்றார்.
வேண்டாமய்யா, உன் மழையும் காற்றும்! நீயே வைத்துக்கொள்” என்று கடவுளிடமே அவற்றைத் திருப்பித் தந்துவிட்டான் விவசாயி.
பிரச்சினைகள் உங்களைப் போட்டு அழுத்தும்போதுதான், உங்களின் திறமை அதிகரிக்கும்.
இருட்டு என்று ஒரு பிரச்சினை இருந்ததால்தான் மின்விளக்கு கண்டுபிடிக்கப்பட்டது.
பயணம் என்பது பிரச்சினையானபோதுதான் வாகனம் உருவானது.
பிரச்சினைகளே இல்லாமல் இருந்துவிட்டால் நம் மூளையின் திறனை எவ்வாறு அறிவீர்கள்?
எதிர்பாராத திருப்பங்கள்தானே நம் வாழ்க்கையைச் சுவையாக அமைத்துத் தரமுடியும்.
Source….unknown….input from a friend of mine
Natarajan
Take off with Natarajan 