The biggest Myth of all Time - Reality..!

I am sure you might have heard many people saying ‘F#@# Reality.’ You might have even read quotes of various famous authors, phycologists and scientists on reality, its definition and its very doubtful existence. When I say doubtful, please bear with me till the end of this very blog because I know no matter how ridiculous it will sound but I will try my level best to explain you why Einstein and many others feels that ‘Reality is a myth.’ On topic of reality Einstein quoted ‘Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.’ So what exactly is reality and why we feel what we feel as real, if it is not? Confused by my statement? Let me put it in laymen term, if we go by bookish definition, Reality is simply can be described as a state of things as they actually exist. So everything that we see with open eyes is real. Everything that can be physically touched or can be heard is real. But is it so or Reality is actually a myth, an illusion? 

When I was a kid, I heard a very beautiful story of creation of our ‘Brahmand’ (Universe). How there was nothing before, no heaven, no earth and no space but only Vishnu (and probably Shiva). And then one day Vishnu decided to create this Universe but as he was very tired and probably want to sleep again, he created Brahma. A lotus got sprung out from Lord Vishnu’s naval and in the middle, Brahma was sitting waiting for his creator’s order. Vishnu spoke ’Create the World’ and so did he obliged and created this ‘Brahmand’. There was also a theory which illustrates the existence of multiverse or so quoted in Puranas as ‘Umpteen Brahmands within a Brahmand’ but more on that later. Like I was saying, this simple story of creation which is a cornerstone of Hindu mythology’s creation story is termed as the most ‘Scientific explanation for the creation of Universe by any myth’ by Carl Sagan and Fritjof Capra (re known Science writers). So before proceeding further with the idea of reality as an illusion, I would like to tell you why such writers came to this conclusion. When a female gets pregnant and a seed is formed inside her womb it is the umbilical cord which connects a developing embryo to its placenta and does play the most important role in the birth and development of a child’s body inside fetus. As it is written ‘a lotus sprung out from Vishnu’s naval and Brahma was sitting in the middle of it.’ Since, naval is the part of body where umbilical cord is connected which is solely responsible for the development of child’s body; this creation story of Brahma in Hindu mythology is not just an illusionary concept but a very scientific one. Moreover, Hindu Puranas and Upnishads mentions how cosmos undergo through almost infinite number of births and deaths by Brahma (who creates it), Vishnu (who preserves it) and Shiva (who destroys it) and the timescales corresponding to those of modern scientific cosmology which can closely determines the age of (last) big bang, would make even a skeptical agree that it cannot be neglected as mere mythology and there is some truth to it. However, we are not here to discuss the age of cosmos but the very own existence of reality, so let us move to that topic.

How do we define what’s real and what’s not? Simply by touching it, right? If it feels real, we say it is real. Anything which we can touch, smell, feel, hear, taste or can sense through our sensory organs is real. Now speaking of the dream, whatever we see in dream feels every bit of real. And as we woke up, everything seems to be confusing and we instantly know that something was not right in our dream. Even in our dream our sensory organs works just fine. We can feel the sensation of burning, pain, we can touch things which are nothing but just projection of our sub-conscious mind, we can smell flowers, we can taste food but as we open our eyes everything that we feel real in our dream becomes illusion. So, what if even now our sensory organs are just playing with us? Even at this very point of time, when you think you are reading this blog is nothing but just an illusion of your mind, a very persistent one indeed.

If we dig into the various mythologies of the world, we will notice different words for describing reality as an illusion for example Hindus calls it as Maya (From which I think Mayans derived their name), Buddism (Having common ancestry with Hinduism) calls Reality as a myth and paves the way to Nirvana or enlightenment. Greeks firmly believes in the very existence of confusion and chaos that surrounds us in the form of what we perceive as real. This could be found in the works of Parmenides (525 CE) and then later on, the same philosophy was proposed by Plato (423 CE). Out of numerous theories and philosophies that Plato gave, his Theory of Forms suggests that reality is nothing but just an illusion. Just like the shadows which one sees in the caves but are not actually real. In simpler terms if I ask you to imagine a table at my home, you would imagine a table in your mind even without knowing or having any idea how it actually looks like. Because it might not have four legs like you imagined instead it could have one leg at the center only. Even Werner Heisenberg (Reknown for his uncertainty principle) quoted ‘’I think that modern physics has definitely decided in favor of Plato. In fact the smallest units of matter are not physical objects in the ordinary sense; they are forms, ideas which can be expressed unambiguously only in mathematical language.’’

Reality is like Money (Currency). Money (Currency) is just a paper with some value depending on its market value. But consider a scenario where market crashes completely. Now that money in your wallet which costs you 10 hours of your daily labor is nothing but just a valueless paper. Reality is like money only, where we act as ‘Market’ and consider Currency (with value) as ‘reality’ which is nothing but ‘Just a Paper’. Not just our age old philosophies and religious texts talk about reality as an illusion but many physicists and scientists were searching for an explainable theory which could justify these claims. So, they came up with a new theory and called it Simulated-Reality. Those who have seen Matrix (Movie) will find this term familiar. This theory hypothesis suggests that reality could be simulated and to such a degree that it becomes indistinguishable from the ‘true’ reality which means it could contain conscious minds which may or may not be fully aware that they are living inside a simulation. Hindus use to believe in the karmic cycle of life. People do things, good or bad, and when they die Yumraj judge them and put them in heaven and hell depending upon their deeds. A soul get pass through various ‘Yonis’ and then finally when it enters in a human body it strives for Moksha which is the final enlightenment. Everything is pre-written and everything happens under God’s will. This is preciously what simulated- reality is all about. You are nothing but a like a computer program, designed to perform certain task by the programmer (God). Your soul is like a code which passes from one program (body) to another. Since, we are being programed to do certain tasks, everything might be pre-written. And there is no end to our Karmic cycle until and unless one’s code (soul) is completely destroyed by the programmer which we think of as enlightenment or Moksha.

Zhuangzi, a Chinese philosopher from 4th century BC, came up with a very interesting theory which questions the distinction between reality and dream. He called it ‘Butterfly Dream’. This went as follows: Once Zhuangzi dreamt he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering around, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He didn't know he was Zhuangzi. Suddenly he woke up and there he was, solid and unmistakable Zhuangzi. But he didn't know if he was Zhuangzi who had dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was Zhuangzi. Between Zhuangzi and a butterfly there must be some distinction! This is called the Transformation of Things. So, in case if you are dreaming many of your views and beliefs about the world are incorrect or you might be dreaming your entire life, in which case everything you perceive as ‘Real’ is an ‘Illusion’ albeit a very persistent one.

So, we have read different myths related to the concept of reality as an illusion, various philosophers promoting the same and a fascinating Oscar awarded movie which very beautifully describes this concept in the form of humans living in the Matrix. All pointing to Einstein’s famous quote ‘Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.’ We can never actually know if, we truly are living in a real world or everything we perceive as real is nothing but just an illusion. An atom consists of 99.99999…% free space. Still we can see each other, touch each other and feel each other. Human civilization can never be able to reach its Zenith and will fall before realizing that who or what made us. But till then it would be better for us to consider everything as real and enjoy these little and precious moments with our loved ones, because

‘Reality may be an illusion’…But… ‘Feeling of being loved is real.’  
 

Interstellar - More than just a Space Odyssey ..!

So Finally, I saw Interstellar which was termed as the most complicated yet the greatest space story ever told by Hollywood. Directed by the most visionary director Hollywood ever produced. But before going into what I seen in Christopher Nolan’s yet another master-piece, I want to take you all a little back in time. I guess Nolan’s first creation which I saw was The Prestige. Although, I came to know the director’s name only after the Dark Knight, like most of the people did. The prestige, a movie whose crux revolves around the rivalry between the two greatest magicians of all time that ends by putting one of them in dead bed. But was the Prestige just an another sci-fi served in the very gorgeous plate of rivalry between the two magicians or was it more than that?

Let’s go back to few years in the past before Prestige happened.  Nolan introduced us with a new beginning of the most craved superhero of all time. A man in bat-suit, disguised as a billionaire playboy who is not just beating criminals for vengeance because some random crook took away his parents life but because he actually believes that one day, in a city full of terrors, goons and pricks, a day would come when love prevails over darkness. When you don’t require the need of Batman and a white Knight will rise. Many critics appreciated his attempts to give Batman what he always deserves in big screens, Respect. Many thought it to be the greatest of his creations but Nolan wants more. In 2008, comes his greatest ever creation which was not only loved by critics but made fans literary jump out of there seats. It made him an international celebrity. Many would say that the movie was so good because of the joker’s second to none performance but I firmly believe that no other director has the guts to make heath perform in such a manner. No it was not just about marvelous heath’s performance or the most bad-ass Batman (yet) portrayal by christen bale, it was also because the movie was touched by Nolan. But again the question arises was the movie just about a vengeful superhero, crazy villains or just a sci-fi served in the very gorgeous plate of moral obligations. Was it?

Let’s fly further into the future. In 2010, Nolan again satiated the critics by creating Inception in their very mind. It was termed as a milestone in the world of sci-fi movies loved equally by both critics and fans. I literary crossed my fingers when it was nominated for academy awards for the best movie. But like the Dark Knight missed the opportunity, so does inception. I really don’t know much about criticism but that movie deserves it. And to my surprise, Nolan was not even nominated for the ‘Best Achievement in Directing’ award. But again the question was same a palatable sci-fi dish or more than that?

Like they used to say if you tasted good days of your fortune, you will soon get to see the fall or suffer it for a while at least, so that your passion can not be fade away and make you burn again. I mean this is how winners are made. When Nolan introduces his audiences the defining chapter of his Dark Knight saga, they came out of theaters a little disappointed. No Joker, No colossal bane as depicted in comics, overall nothing new to serve. Of course, except the Selena Kyle, John Blake (a.k.a Robin) and a very different version of Lazarus pit with what we are familiar with from DC universe. Dark Knight Rises was as good as Batman begins but cannot be compared to its second part and therefore, audiences were not happy with Nolan. But like Alfred said to his master Bruce ‘Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.’ And so it took Nolan two years to redeem himself and define a new milestone in the space odyssey by giving Interstellar.

Interstellar is not just about a space odyssey which needed to be made to save the mankind from the plight. It was more than that. Just like any of his past creations the message was clear. But yes to science fanatics like us, it may not be clearly visible but you can see it partly, hidden beneath the surface, if you scratch it with a thought. A man, who promises his daughter, that he will come back for her no matter what. Yes you get it right. If you look closely all of his past creations, The Prestige, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, Memento (still on my list) and Interstellar they all revolve around love. Not a kind of love we utterly familiar with but we cannot simply ignore the facts that why envy started off between Angier and Borden at the first place (Love for Wife and kid) in The Prestige or why a vengeful kid becomes greatest super-hero of all time with no super powers at all (love for parents) in The Dark Knight Trilogy. Why the most glorified criminal of fictional world created mind prison for her own wife’s memory (Again Love for wife) in Inception or why a father crosses distance between stars, space, time and dimensions just to reach out to her daughter to fulfill the promise he made to her. Interstellar is not just a sci-fi movie served in the very gorgeous plate of Inter-galactic, multi-time dimensional saga that ends with loads of concepts but it was also about a deep, irrefutable and undeniable love of a father towards her daughter.  It was like any of his other past creations simply brilliant and ineffable.

'Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.’

Little things that make us Patriotic...!

Like most of the kids, I also grew up watching Desh Bhakti Films and wanted so bad to do something better for our country. Well I guess, working in an IT is not really a dream come true. But long gone are those days, when we used to stand on this glorious day in a queue and salute to the National Flag. Long gone are those days, when as soon as we get to hear patriotic songs our nerves get filled with patriotic rage, a feeling that can’t be described in mere words. Well, at least some of us felt the same while others just waited in long queue to get toffee packets. Long gone are those days, when we used to tell the class that why we want to become like Gandhi or Subhas Chandra Bose and so thus the days, when we used to hear their stories of truth and bravery.  As the time passes, we grew. We grew to become something which society forced us into and forgot about the sacrifices, that these National Heroes made for the betterment of our society, for our freedom and for generations to come. We forgot the principles by which they lived, the ideologies which they propounded, drops of blood which they shed for their countrymen.  

Today, India is going to celebrate its 68^th Independence Day. We have witnessed and achieved so many things in the last 68 years of freedom that even if I start writing one year’s accomplishment, I will exhaust myself by writing and you will go tired of reading. Any way you can get that on Google and I am not the PM who will quote his government’s triumphs and success. What I really want is to direct your attention for a moment from your messed up lives to a really small issue that happened over a past year. Well I would rather highlight these so called small issues than to talk of Pakistan’s cease fire violations, China’s invasion on Indian soil or INS Kolkata for if that matters. Because it is these small issues that are holding us back, keeping us into the shackles of chain. Last year we fought for an issue with WhatsApp. The issue was to include Indian Flag in WhatsApp emoticons. Does any one of you remember? Well this year, I have seen couple of people updating their status ridiculing the use of Indian Flag for WhatsApp profile pic. This seemingly small incident describes the drift in people’s thought process. Do not think of it only in a patriotic way but it rather emphasis more on how we are inclining towards pessimistic thinking than towards the optimistic approach (On the brighter side, we are still getting the forwarded message that ’’Our national anthem is chosen as the best national anthem by UNESCO’’).  Let’s figure it out how, shall we.

So, people started ridiculing the idea of putting National flag as their WhatsApp profile picture. The same people who were fighting the WhatsApp last year, to include Indian flag in their emoticons.  Some Budhijeevis think that by doing it people are nothing but showing off. When the right time comes, they won’t give a damn about their country. They can hardly stand for 52 secs when National Anthem play on TV, then what does this little thing will make difference?  That’s where people usually get wrong. Little things do make difference. I am in a no position to criticize anybody but yes, one should start entertaining such thoughts.  We are so much confused right now, that we stop looking towards the brighter side of anything.  We look for the conspiracy in spreading of AIDS, look for illuminaties, striving to solve the mystery of darker side of the Moon rather than enjoying its moonlight. We are surrounded by Mud. Mud, which is holding us back from achieving, what we can truly achieve. This Mud shackles are created by our own filth. But we need to cast off these shackles.

If anyone wants to show his patriotism by using his WhatsApp profile picture, let him. Not all of us can be soldiers.  People started celebrating Independence Week now, Let them. Don’t mock them or make them look like a stupid by saying it will achieve nothing. Let them share Freedom fighters pics, let them spread their ideologies, let them share their stories.  Even I used to think that people get patriotic only two times either when there is a match between India and Pakistan or during Independence Day. But no, we love our country and we think for it every day.  We want to change it to a better place. So, stop ridiculing and start embracing such thoughts. We belong to a very beautiful country with a glorious history. Fight for those who are underprivileged, stand for values that are morally right. You may not achieve greatness like them but think of Greatness as nothing but just a fragmentation of a feeble mind.

                                         ‘’ Soora so pehchaniye, jo lare deen ke hait
                                         Purja Purja kat mare, Kabhun na chhade khait’’

‘’ Brave is he who fights for the underprivileged. He sacrifices himself slain to pieces, but does not give up the hearth’’

Ashoka's Cult Of The 9 Unknown Men..!

The number 9 keeps on surprising human beings since the dawn of civilization. Mystified by the mathematical explanation of the last numerical number, we humans are always intrigued to know Why the number 9 is often comes up in mythology. If we go into the different mythologies we find that, Hindus have ‘9 Devtas’, In Chinese mythology the number 9 represents Dragon; Symbol of Power, In Norse (Thor, Odin) mythology 9 world’s together form World Tree (Yaggdrasil), Enemies of Egypt were ‘9 bows’, Greeks have ‘9 Muses’ and Europeans have ‘9 worthies.’ Some of you might know why we so called Hindus, who actually are the decedents of Vedic cultured civilization, so prone towards the number 9. But certainly, I don’t want to take you to the depths of mysterious number 9, but would like to tell you about the lore and myth associated with ‘9 Unknown Men’ and their ‘Cult of brotherhood.’

 For thousands of years we people are aware of or at least heard of numerous cults that cultivated the history of mankind, time to time and forged it as per their needs. Bringing down the empires, creating worldwide chaos, stabilizing and destabilizing the economies, with one sole purpose ‘For Greater Human Good.’ Call them illuminates, skull and bones, free masons, German Rosicrucian’s, or the Indian brotherhood of the 9 unknown.

As per the legends say, the brotherhood of the 9 unknown was formed by one of the greatest ruler of India, King Ashoka and is one of the oldest brotherhood known to mankind. Approximately, 2200 years old this brotherhood is one of the first to be recorded in history and is bounded by the oath to keep all the secrets away from the mankind and further to help the different governments or influential personalities, whenever they feel it is necessary for the well being of the societies. They possess Secret knowledge far superior than known to mankind related with virtually everything. From advance weapon technology (Yes, it existed during that time and time before), psychological warfare techniques, alchemy, chemical engineering and bio engineering techniques, and who knows what else. Actually, the myth of the unknown 9 comes in highlight again in 1920s when Tablot Mundy wrote a fictional novel on this. According to him it was half myth and half fantasy. But history has numerous incidents and events which may provide proof to the existence of this brotherhood. 

In ancient times whenever temples were ransacked due to foreign invasions, they got huge supplies of Gold from unknown sources. I mean if we look at the facts that for thousands of years India has never invaded another foreign country and has little number of gold mines, than how come our temples have such huge amount of gold deposits? All such events thread to the very existence of the 9 Unknown. From great Indian scientists like J.C. Bose and C.V. Raman to Pope Sylvester (ii) , all are believed to be in contact with this brotherhood. I cannot account the events where both of the Indian scientists were involved with the unknown 9 because most of their knowledge itself comes from these brotherhood members.  However, Pope Sylvester (900 AD) is said to possess a bronze metallic head which can answer yes or no to the questions put on politics or the general position of Christianity. Before coming to the possession of such metallic head (Which might have worked on the principle of binary coding) he voyaged to India and told his trust worthies that he met an old sage in India who calls himself as a member of an ancient cult who gave him knowledge about metallurgy and help him build such thing. This magic head is destroyed when pope died and so does the knowledge to build such head died with him too.  French writer Jacolliot who was of 19^th century also wrote about the unknown 9 and to make it all more intriguing, he refers to certain techniques which were unimaginable in 1860 for eg the liberation of energy, sterilization by radiation, and psychological warfare. Yersin, one of the Pasteur and de Roux's closest collaborator was entrusted with certain biological secrets when he visited Madras in 1890, and following instructions he received was able to prepare a serum against Cholera and the Plague. 

            

 So, one way or another all these incidents from the past surely link to some unknown knowledge that might have culminated in India. Even Hitler who calls himself true Aryan (and yes the German Nazi symbol is nothing but Swastika symbol) used to believe in this cult of brotherhood. And many believes that the main reason of Hitler to send expedition in Tibet on 1938-39 was to find the surviving members of this cult and to gain the possession of the unfathomable knowledge which they possess. They were told to search for a place which was called as Agartha by the locals and Sambhal by the Hindus. This underground city ruled by the members of 9 and controls the world. Having possession of knowledge beyond man’s imagination a person can do whatever he wants and whenever he wants (This sounded more likely to Luminaties) And so whoever shall possess that knowledge will ultimately rule the world. It was all described in details by the Berger and Ernst Schafer, members of the expedition.

If the brotherhood of the unknown 9 is just a myth why an English writer Talbot Mundy would writes about Indian ancient brotherhood? In his book he wrote that these 9 members were in possession of 9 books on 9 different topics. These topics were propaganda, physiology, microbiology, alchemy, communication, gravity, cosmology, light and sociology. He detailed everything so preciously that it becomes hard for everyone to digest it as mere a fantasy. What if this fictional novel has some roots in reality? What if these 9 unknown members have founded a way to live forever, youth fountain or nectar and are still present among us. What if they died long ago and whenever one dies another takes his place and so the cult of unknown 9 is still flourishing. What if Hitler, Talbot Mundy, Pop Sylvester, JC bose, CV raman, Yersin, Jacolliot were actually met to one of these members? The brotherhood of the unknown 9, Just a myth or a mystery waiting to be resolved.

        ‘’The true delight is in the finding out rather than in the knowing’’ – Isaac Asimov   

Mount Kailash.. The Indian Ancient Pyramid.

Kailash Mountain is the only mountain which is sacred in four different religions Hindu, Buddha, Jain and Bon. In Buddha and Jain religion, the mountain is known as Axis Mundi, which means the axis of the universe. In Bon religion which basically dominates in the entire region of Tibet, the mountain is associated with the myth of a Buddha sorcerer named, Milerapa and a Bon sorcerer named, Naro Bon Chung ( I will come to that story later). While in Hindu mythology the mountain is associated with the God of the Gods, Trikaal Darshi Shiva. The mountain is also known to be earthly manifestation of  Mount Meru or Sumeru and is further considered as the door to the civilization of the Gods, Sambhala. But of all the lore and legends which surmounts this mystic mountain, what keeps on intriguing archaeologists and myth researchers for centuries is its geography and structure which resembles to pyramid in shape.

Kailash Mountain is geographically far too perfect to be considered as a natural rock formation. It looked like a vast cathedral in shape, the sides of the mountain are perpendicular and four sheer faces marking the cardinal points of the compass, the strata is horizontal, the layers of stone varies slightly in color and the dividing lines showing up clear and distinct. More to that It has complete solitary location, with no neighboring mountains. With such exceptional and interesting physical appearance, this idea of considering it as an ancient pyramid is not new but goes back to the timeless epic of Ramayana. Many questions keep on emanating in the minds of researchers. What if the holiest mountain was once an ancient pyramid? What if all the myth surrounding the mount kailash of different religions is true? It is believed that Giza Pyramids were built by the Egyptians for their Gods and act as median between them and their so called Gods and so were the pyramids of other civilizations of the world like Mayan pyramid Chicken- Itza or Tikal and many others too. Now, if we consider the lore and legends associated with the Mount Kailash, we will find striking similarities. Let us start with Hindu mythology first.  

Mount Kailash is considered as the abode of Shiva, God of the Gods. According to a legend, when Ravana tried to cross Mount Kailash by his Pushpak Vimaan (which runs surprisingly on mercury) on his way back to lanka from Himalayas, and failed to do so. He asked Nandi (a shiva gan ) why he can not fly across the Mount Kailash. Nandi told him that Shiva did not allow anyone to cross this mountain. Now, let us consider that pushpak Viman was actually some sort of aircraft and further if we consider Mount Kailash as a pyramid, full of pyramid power  which can cause electromagnetic disturbances, this legend may be true. Not in a Godly manner, but scientifically speaking, it might have happened. Then again, Shiva is popularly known as Trikaal Darshi, one who can see past, present and Future. Now many scientists believes that the very basic structure of time machine would be like that of Pyramid. Many are researching on pyramid power and Time travel. So, what if Shiva know how to harness pyramid power and how to use it for time travel? Or for that matter, How to know what's going to happen in near future and thus named as Trikaal Darshi. He was the finest Yogi, the greatest tantrik and who knows, may be the greatest scientist of ancient times too. One who knows everything, one who sees everything. 

Now, coming to the myth of Bon and Buddha religion which dominates in the entire Tibet region, the myth around the mount Kailash goes like this. Once, a Buddha sorcerer named, Milerapa challenged the Bon sorcerer named Naro Bon chung. There was a fierce super human battle, but both the sorcerers turned out to be equally powerful. So they decided to race each other to the top of Mount Kailash. Now, what is interesting is that one of them uses some kind of magic drum to reach the top while the other won by using rays of the sun. What does this sounds like, if we take it literary? Did one of these legendary figures used a spacecraft and the other some form of  teleportation? Many theorist believes that Pyramid power can cause teleportation and many new researches are already found in this field. Some even considers pyramids as teleportation machines. While some believes that there is a huge Glass pyramid at the bottom of Bermuda Triangle which causes electromagnetic disturbances in the environment and is may be responsible for the teleportation of the lost ships and flights. But all that is still myth and nothing solid is found yet.

As per the legends of Sambhala, the civilization of the Gods goes, Bons believes that if one do 108 Khoras (circumambulation) of Mount Kailash, one attains Moksha and the doors of Sambhala will get open for him. May be Sambhala is some regional name given to alien world? May be Bon and Buddha sorcerers were nothing but highly advanced aliens? May be pyramid Kailash can actually teleport us into their world? Who knows, what more mysticism Mount Kailash holds other than just being a sacred mountain. Many German Nazis used to believe that Tibet holds the key to a civilization of superhuman beings who exceeds us in terms of knowledge and power and were once even tried to find them. They called it True Aryan Race while others call them The Unknown Nine. But more to that latter, till then I only intend to say...
''Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known'' - Carl Sagan.   

   

Metamorphosis Of Indian Politics; ‘Modi’fication By ‘Modi’ –

What was called as political suicide by the Congress party’s president marked the beginning of something that changed the course of Indian political history. It not only bring an end to the dynasty politics which was going on since pre-colonial period but also put an end to the debate that 2014 elections were ‘’Communalism Vs Secularism Forces.’’  Effete leaders saw their debacle and were forced to accept their defeat. What was previously termed as ‘’Modi’s Wave’’ soon transformed into ’Modi’s Tsunami’ and ransacked the fictitious believes of prominent leaders.

It was all started back in the 90’s when Modi was fighting for his own survival in BJP’s government and was then saved by the prominent BJP leaders Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi. This seems to be contradicting the fact that when BJP’s president Raj Nath Singh was nominating Modi as BJP’s PM candidate, both Advani and M.M Joshi were against him. It was the high time when Modi (Who was like Arjun) needed a Sarthi like Krishna in a battle of Kurukshetra (Elections 2014) but both Lal ‘Krishna’ Advani and ‘Murli Manohar’ Joshi were seemed to be standing on the other side of the table. Although in various speeches and TV interviews, Modi never complained against them and always called them as his Guru. On the other hand, Amit Shah (From nowhere) came out as the new political Chankya which Modi badly needed during these elections and helped him sweeping the seats of UP. Almost an impossible task. Who could have imagined that a boy who used to sell tea in Indian Railways would someday become India’s 16^th PM candidate and would win the elections with outpouring majority?

Election 2014 was unlike any other elections people saw. It was not only because a person who was continuously defamed by the ruling government for being a zealot, for ‘Gujarat’s Riots’ and for his dictatorship won with magical numbers but also because for the very first time youth seemed to be interested in politics more than ever. Call it for a Selfie or whatever, both facebook and twitter accounts were brimming with people, posting their pictures with voting mark on their finger.  Modi was already India’s PM in social sites and now the same youth who run these social sites, made him India’s 16^th PM. Even the’ votebank politics’ playing parties like BSP, MNC, CPI and others scored zero. Most of the people would still argue that it was due to the incumbency of the ruling government that congress met with such dreadful results but I personally think, if it was not for Modi, there was no way any party could have achieved what BJP able to achieve. Congress have scored zero in seven states and mauled over in almost every other constituency, failing to score even more than 10 seats in any state. There was a Modi Leher (you may call it Tsunami now) and there was no denial to that.

Coming to the parties manifesto and promises, even if BJP would be able to deliver half of them people would again vote for Modi. This is what happened in states like Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. People considered whatever little happened after congress government as development and voted for BJP in state elections. Precisely this could be the case of tomorrow. Who knows? As far as AAP is considered, the party has lost its focus. Bring back the focus, bring back the non corrupt people and stop playing votebank and caste politics in the shroud of secularism, then may be one day you will find your seats in every corner of India. I personally think there is no future for AAP not after what they did in Delhi. White House has already paid his greetings to the new PM and so does Terrosistan. Let’s see, how the man whom India followed so blindly will help in bringing ‘’Achhe Din’’ in India.   

Ekshringa..The First Unicorn..!

Since the time being, unicorns remain a subject of myths and fiction. But what if I told you that unicorns or should I say the first unicorn may not be entirely fictional. Before going further into deep, let me try to explain you what unicorns, the so called mystical creatures look like.
Let me ask you this, what image comes in your mind hearing the word Unicorn? A white horse, divine and magical, has one horn about 5-10 inches right between the two eyes over head. Let me surprise you a little bit. This image is not the only image portrayal of unicorns. An image of white one horned horse that comes to your mind is neither completely biblical nor Greek. Ctesias of Cnidus first wrote about them as wild asses, having a horn of 27 inches in size, fleet of foot, white colored, red and black. Although, this was the first ever recorded description of unicorns as white horses with big horns but it was not entirely their first depiction in history.
Unicorns in many religious myths are described as different animals. Egyptians used to worship a one horned creature which resembles to goat. While in China we have a similar lore of a beast name Qilin or the Chinese unicorn which looks like some kind of hybrid deer. Likewise we have ‘’Kirin’’ in Japanese version and ‘’Aurochs as Re’em’’ in Hebrew’s bible. The common traits between all the unicorns from different religions are almost same except that from India.
Till now we know that even if Unicorns were present at some point of time, they must be some sort of animals. Wild untamed beast or peace loving creature, mystical and definitely, divine. But in India there is different lore. While excavating Indus valley civilizations (Many researchers believe that it was built along the banks of Saraswati River which now dried up) seals with unicorn images were found. In the seals, there exist an animal which looks more like a bull or Onyx with a big long one horn exactly between his two eyes over head. These unicorn images were later on taken as spiritual depictions of Vishnu and not upon as portrayal of actual animals roaming at that time. But how come a civilization which was more than four thousand years old came up with an image of one horned animal so called unicorns. To answer that, we need to go to further depths into the Mahabharat.
In the longest epic Mahabharata, one finds the depiction of unicorn as Ek-shringa. The story of Ek-shringa is like this. Once in Treta Yug Sage Vibhandaka was in his penance and wanted to attain unlimited powers through it. Indra feared it and so he sent apsara Urvashi to disturb his penance. Enchanted by her beauty sage lost his penance and got seduced by apsara. From their reunion, Urvashi begets a child who strangely was born with a horn on his head. The child was thus named Rishyashringa also referred to as Ekshringa or one horned. It was this Rishi who performed Putra-Kameshti yajna for Dasharath. After this yajna Dasharath was blessed with Ram, Bharat, Lakshman and Shatrughan. As he was full of wisdom, brought rains to the gates of King Lomapada (Another lore of him marrying to Shanta, the only elder sister of Ram) and played crucial role for bringing Ram and Lakshman (Avatars of Vishnu) on earth, maybe he was given outmost respect and be treated with God like status during that time. Later on, may be much lore was created by his name and he attained a symbol of divinity and purity. May be this is how lore of Unicorns started paving their way in the history and mythical books. Because in every instance that mankind ever found regarding Unicorns, they are depicted as bringer of good fortune, wealth and good omens. May be Ekshringa was responsible for the lore of Unicorns.
 (Note:-In many references mostly after the excavation of Indus valley civilization’s seals Krishna was referred to as symbol for unicorn)  
May be mystical rishi Ekshringa was a normal human sage who suffered from Cutaneous horns which are nothing but keratinous skin tumors with the appearance of horns, or sometimes that of wood or coral. At present one can see hundreds of such acute cases of Cutaneous horns if one try to go through Wikipedia or Google. Call it images depicted on Indus valley civilization seals. Call it various other religious accounts or call it mere imagination of human being. May be the story of Unicorns is not that fictional after all. May be there is some reality to it. As with myth we have umpteen opportunities.
‘’Absence of evidence is not evidence of Absence’’ – Carl Sagan.                      

Was Trojan War a Hoax or The Indian Epic Mahabharat..?

It was a Sunday morning and I was discussing about my favorite film Troy with my room mate Abhiram. I was telling him how I much I liked that epic story revolving around great Trojan war that happened in Greece around 1500-1300 B.C ( Correct date can't be traced ). I was moved by the characters in it and especially the performances of stars. But what I was going to learn about Trojan war on that very day was a whole different angle to view this epic war. Abhiram told me that he find some similarities among Trojan War and Mahabharat. I was surprised at first but when he told me some points which he observed, establish some kind of relationship between the two epics. I only want to make you people aware of certain similarities that truly exists between the two highly debatable epics. Some I found while researching, while some are based on observations.

Mahabharat is the greatest and the longest poem known to mankind ( basically, Hindus ) was written by Ved Vyas  and was dated even back to 3000 B.C . Others believed it was fought around 1500-1200 BC . On the other hand Trojan War was described by homer in his poem '' Iliad.''  So, to start with both are originated in poem form. The Mahabharat was fought for the very reason as told by Krishna '' Dharm ki Sthapana ke liye.'' It was gruesomely fought between two parties for the throne of ''Hastinapur.'' Likewise, Trojan war was fought between Greece ( Headed by Agamemnon, Menelaus spartan king, Great warrior Achilles and his Myrmidons army, Odysseus etc ) and The Great Troy ( Ruled by Priam, His beloved son and great warrior prince Hector, and his incompetent brother Paris ). Mahabharat was fought because of rivarly created partially by a women named Drupadi. It was Draupadi that cause rivarly between the two parties ( although, Hastinapur Throne was bigger reason of the war i.e Power and Land ). On the same way in Trojan war a women named Helen causes trouble between the two parties. It was said that she was the most beautiful women crafted by the Greek Goddess of  beauty, Aphrodite itself. Spartan King Menelaus invited prince Hector and Paris to a party. Party was organised because of the alliance so formed between the two great forces, Sparta and Trojans. This is where prince Paris got enchanted by the very beauty of Helen and took her with him on his return to the Troy. This troubled the great obnoxious King Menelaus. Menelaus went to Agamemnon, who was the king of all Greece and asked for vengeance. Agamemnon gathered the army and marched towards Troy. So, in a way Trojan War too was started because of a women ( Here again the prime reason was land acquisition and power as Agamemnon wanted Troy under his command from a very long time ). The great King Menelaus can be compared to Yudhister who loses his wife in gamble to another party's prince. Here, The coward little prince of Troy Paris can be compared with Duryodhana of Mahabharat. The king of Troy Priam was very old and brave and he has 100 sons. Dhritrastra, King of Hastinapur also has 100 sons called as Kauravs. Prince Hector was bold, a great warrior and a loyal servant to his motherland Troy, just like Bhisma of the great Mahabharat. It was said that without defeating Hector, walls of Troy can't be made to fall. Just like it was said that without defeating Bhism, one can't sit over the Hastinapur's Throne. Mahabharat speaks of great warrior Arjun as Indra's ( Hindu God of Thunder, lightening and Rain ) son, on the same way Achilles, great warrior of Greece was the son of Zeus ( Greek God of thunder and lightening ). Achilles is the only one who can defeat Hector but he didn't fight wars for kings. He fight for himself. So, he needed to be convinced. This was done by Odysseus. Likewise, in Mahabharat. It was impossible to defeat Bhism without making Arjun to fight who was again, convinced by Krishna, God himself ( Although, Odysseus was not treated as God in Greek mythology, but he truly shown the traits of great manipulator and master orator like that of Krishna ). Now, this is where it get's confusing. As if now you think Odysseus shows traits of Krishna and Achilles that of Arjun. Prepare yourself for the unusual as Achilles also shows traits of Krishna. How come ? Let's see. Achilles was greek demigod and was invulnerable with the exception of his knees. Likewise Krishna was invulnerable with the exception of his foot ( Guess it was his sole ). He died because of Arrow on his foot and Krishna died due to the same way ( only stories of both deaths were different ). Achilles has an invincible army. Best of the Best. A Myrmidons army. Krishna too has his TriNarayani Sena, who was the best and never defeated. Although, Myrmidons army fought with Achilles against Troy, unlike Trinarayani Sena of Krishna fought for enemies. And again Unlike Krishna, Achilles fought the great war. This shows that Achilles has both the traits of Krishna and Arjun. Achilles didn't want to fight the war, but it was the death of his beloved cousin Patroclus that filled him with rage just like Arjun got furious over his son's death Abhimanyu. Again there is partial similarities in both Patroclus and Abhimanyu. Both were great warriors and fought bravely. Patroclus wanted to fought in his big brother's Armour. Say, he wanted to be recognized and worshiped like Achilles. Or may be he worshiped Achilles and wanted to make him proud. Just like Abhimanyu tried to enter Chakravyuh which can't be penetrated except by the Arjun himself. So, it seems like  Abhimanyu too wanted the same thing from his father as Patroclus wanted from his big brother. Again both were quite young and got killed in war. Here, Chakravyuh of Mahabharat can be compared to Big impeachable walls of Troy. Achilles ( Arjun of Mahabharat ) defeated Hector of Troy ( Bhisma of Hastinapur) and with the fall of Hector ( Bhisma ), it became easy for Greece ( Say army of Pandavas ) to get into Troy. The whole war was live told to king Priam by his follower as he was too old and blinded by his arrogance for his impeachable big walls just like Sanjaya told Kurukshetra war live to King Dhritrastra, who was again blinded by his fatherly loved for his fool son Duryodhan and ambition to sit in Hastinapur's throne. The war favored the Greece and the Troy was defeated. Just like the war was won by Pandavs and Hastinapur's army was defeated. Although, the whole Troy story was just a war story while Mahabharat laid foundations to Bhagwat Gita. So, in a way it was not just another war, but it led to enlightenment of mankind by the Lord Krishna ( Avatar of God Vishnu) himself.

So, in short :-

Mahabharat                                                        Trojan War
1) Dhritrastra was blind (symbolically) King        1) Priam was old and blind ( symbolically) King
2) Dhritrastra has 100 sons                                 2) Priam has 100 sons
3) Throne of Hastinapur was reason of war         3) Troy's throne was prime reason
4) Women named Draupadi was involved           4) Women named Helen was involved
5) Yudhistir lost her wife to Duryodhan               5) Menelaus lost his wife to Paris
6) Has Great Warrior Arjun                                6) Has great warrior Achilles
7) Has loyal servant to nation Bhisma                  7) Has loyal servant to nation as Hector
8) Arjun was son of God of lightening Indra         8) Achilles was son of Zeus ( greek god of lightening )
9) Krishna was invulnerable except for foot          9) Achilles was invulnerable except for knees
10) Krishna has Trinarayani sena ( The Best one) 10) Achilles has Myrmidons army ( the best )
11) Hastinapur was defeated as Bhism falls           11) Troy was perished as Hector falls
12) Chakravyuh was impenetrable                        12) Troy walls can't fall
13) Abhimanyu was there                                     13) Patroclus was there
14) Pandavs won the war ( attacked the throne)    14) Greece won the war ( who attacked the throne)
15) Written in Poem form by Ved Vyas                 15) Written in Poem form by Homer
  
I have already stated various similarities between both the Epics. It was believed that Mahabharat war was not only fought between Kauravs and Pandavas but was joined by many allies of both parties. Some of them includes greece, spartans, egyptians and many more foreigners. What if one of the Epics is fake? What if some Greek warrior went back to Greece and told a great story of a great war, which was changed with time to a complete different story with some similarities and became Trojan War. What if some random traveler visited India from a foreign land and told this fascinating war story to one of our kings and he decided to write it down as a Indian war story. Archaeologists have already found remains of sunken Dwarka city. This was believed to be oldest civilization dated back to 7500 B.C. They have also found out remains of Troy city which dated back to 15-1300 BC. Which story is real and which is implanted by the very imaginations of the ruling king ?. I left to you.