Science.... discarding it ?!

It is painful to see the crop of people who distort the reality...distort the cultural values...
no morals... no ethics... no long term perspective.... criticising the ancient values is the only agenda....
We boast ourselves as 'scientifically well developed'...
we believe if  the so called scientists   are working on 'teleportation' ....  but we never want to believe that our ancient rishis practiced it.
we believe if some country talks about virtual world... we never believe 'trishanku swarga'...
we believe  tissue cultures or stem cells ... but we never believe how the kauravas are  born ..how dronacharya was born....
we believe in sperm donation... but we never believe how pandavas born...
we believe atom bomb or neutron bomb.... but we never believe brahmastra existed in india long back...
we believe that we can make laser light that can melt even the thickest iron sheets... but we never believe that Lord shiva used it long back...
our ancient people exactly calculated when the eclipses can occur, when the rains would come etc... but we spend crores of rupees on environmental institutes... and everybody knows how their predictions are (despite the boasted scientific equipment)..
if Einstein says E=MC2 and energy can not be destroyed-it only changes its form, everyone applauds... we are never prepared to accept that in Bhagavadgeetha, Lord Krishna told 'Ninam chindanti sastrani..." and also the form of energy, vishnu is changing his avataras to maintain the universe in equilibrium... the creating part is 'brahma'-maintaing part is-vishu while the destruction (as a preparation for new creation ) - shiva.. three roles worked in perfect harmony.
we believe that americans can make stinger weapons... but we never try to accept that even before ramayana, indians know to use 'sabda bhedi'...
so on... a big list to make here.
but  criticizing the mythology is becoming a fashion...without understanding it...   we say that the science never existed... without completely understanding it.. we speak negative things about it.  we  believe 'stephan covey' and similar genre who sell 'personality development'... but we never try to understand the  'Bhagavadgeeta' which is the best book available on personality development...and 'sundara kanda" is the best  treatise on communication skills... and Udyoga parvam is the best treatise on international politics and a guide for ambassadors ?
Some speaker  in a  TV channel was  commenting that he has never seen God.. so he never  believes the existence of God... whether he believes or  not will be his personal choice...it is not an universal fact. I wanted to ask  him, whether he has ever personally  seen  Ronald Reagon or Einstein or Karl Marx except in photos or videos.... we believe our videos and pictures as the proof that those people existed... we call it as science... but we never believe if something is written in 'tala patras' or vedas.... and discard them as old or rubbish... and the more vigorously a person discards them, the more scientifically he is projected....!
Is the relativity of time that makes things believable ? is it the materialistic proof that makes the things believable ?
How do you believe that a  remote control can operate a TV ? how do you believe a space scientist can communicate with the space ship thousands of miles away ? if we know about infra red rays only we can believe remote control.(if we don't know about it, we would have thought it is a miracle or some thing). but they became a common thing now... without understanding Infrared waves, we use remote... without the knowledge of  radio-frequencies, we use cell phone or FM radio... they became a part of our life. Can you make a  2-year old kid to understand infrared rays..though he uses TV remote? No...to understand the science, you expect a minimum background knowledge...and maturity. Till then, the true knowledge about the things will be obscure even if we continue to use them as a part of our life.
The ancient science is a similar one. we adopted certain cultures and ethical values. To understand it, we need certain level of basic knowledge and maturity coupled with wisdom. Till then it is obscure.  And, God is not there somewhere outside, but he is in every one of us...we can find it only with practiced introspection.... Without that inclination to explore,  is discarding our culture and values  is called vignana ? the real vignana will be trying to explore the hidden treasures of our  ancient wisdom and apply them to help the people  in coping with the present day complexities. It requires energy.. logic.. capacity to understand the ancient literature in depth...by applying our present day science.  
As long as we lack it, we continue to discard or disregard  the  ancient culture, values, ethics and morals;  and promote cheap gimmicks as true science, under the cover of rejecting some baseless superstitions. 

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012

As decided by the "The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet" , the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the year  2012 was awarded jointly to John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka for the discovery that the mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent. (The prize was announced today (8th October, 2012) in a press release by Nobel Foundation).  

Their observations challenge the dogma that the specialised cell is irreversibly committed to its fate. Based on his experiments in  egg cell of frog, John B. Gurdon discovered in 1962 that the specialisation of cells is reversible. In 2006,Shinya Yamanaka discovered  that intact mature cells in mice could be reprogrammed to become immature stem cells by introducing only a few genes.  Their surprizing findings carry several applications in medicine, like using the reprogrammed cells to understand the disease processes as well as to develop therapeutic strategies using pleuripotent cells.

((click on the image for larger view).)

The following is the press release of the Nobel Foundation (The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine - Press Release". Nobelprize.org. 8 Oct 2012 http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2012/press.html)

Press Release : 
***
The Nobel Prize recognizes two scientists who discovered that mature, specialised cells can be reprogrammed to become immature cells capable of developing into all tissues of the body. Their findings have revolutionised our understanding of how cells and organisms develop.

John B. Gurdon discovered in 1962 that the specialisation of cells is reversible. In a classic experiment, he replaced the immature cell nucleus in an egg cell of a frog with the nucleus from a mature intestinal cell. This modified egg cell developed into a normal tadpole. The DNA of the mature cell still had all the information needed to develop all cells in the frog.

Shinya Yamanaka discovered more than 40 years later, in 2006, how intact mature cells in mice could be reprogrammed to become immature stem cells. Surprisingly, by introducing only a few genes, he could reprogram mature cells to become pluripotent stem cells, i.e. immature cells that are able to develop into all types of cells in the body.

These groundbreaking discoveries have completely changed our view of the development and cellular specialisation. We now understand that the mature cell does not have to be confined forever to its specialised state. Textbooks have been rewritten and new research fields have been established. By reprogramming human cells, scientists have created new opportunities to study diseases and develop methods for diagnosis and therapy.

Life – a journey towards increasing specialisation
All of us developed from fertilized egg cells. During the first days after conception, the embryo consists of immature cells, each of which is capable of developing into all the cell types that form the adult organism. Such cells are called pluripotent stem cells. With further development of the embryo, these cells give rise to nerve cells, muscle cells, liver cells and all other cell types - each of them specialised to carry out a specific task in the adult body. This journey from immature to specialised cell was previously considered to be unidirectional. It was thought that the cell changes in such a way during maturation that it would no longer be possible for it to return to an immature, pluripotent stage.


Frogs jump backwards in development
John B. Gurdon challenged the dogma that the specialised cell is irreversibly committed to its fate. He hypothesised that its genome might still contain all the information needed to drive its development into all the different cell types of an organism. In 1962, he tested this hypothesis by replacing the cell nucleus of a frog's egg cell with a nucleus from a mature, specialised cell derived from the intestine of a tadpole. The egg developed into a fully functional, cloned tadpole and subsequent repeats of the experiment yielded adult frogs. The nucleus of the mature cell had not lost its capacity to drive development to a fully functional organism.

Gurdon's landmark discovery was initially met with scepticism but became accepted when it had been confirmed by other scientists. It initiated intense research and the technique was further developed, leading eventually to the cloning of mammals. Gurdon's research taught us that the nucleus of a mature, specialized cell can be returned to an immature, pluripotent state. But his experiment involved the removal of cell nuclei with pipettes followed by their introduction into other cells. Would it ever be possible to turn an intact cell back into a pluripotent stem cell?


A roundtrip journey – mature cells return to a stem cell state


Shinya Yamanaka was able to answer this question in a scientific breakthrough more than 40 years after Gurdon´s discovery. His research concerned embryonal stem cells, i.e. pluripotent stem cells that are isolated from the embryo and cultured in the laboratory. Such stem cells were initially isolated from mice by Martin Evans (Nobel Prize 2007) and Yamanaka tried to find the genes that kept them immature. When several of these genes had been identified, he tested whether any of them could reprogram mature cells to become pluripotent stem cells.


Yamanaka and his co-workers introduced these genes, in different combinations, into mature cells from connective tissue, fibroblasts, and examined the results under the microscope. They finally found a combination that worked, and the recipe was surprisingly simple. By introducing four genes together, they could reprogram their fibroblasts into immature stem cells!


The resulting induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) could develop into mature cell types such as fibroblasts, nerve cells and gut cells. The discovery that intact, mature cells could be reprogrammed into pluripotent stem cells was published in 2006 and was immediately considered a major breakthrough.

From surprising discovery to medical use

The discoveries of Gurdon and Yamanaka have shown that specialised cells can turn back the developmental clock under certain circumstances. Although their genome undergoes modifications during development, these modifications are not irreversible. We have obtained a new view of the development of cells and organisms.

Research during recent years has shown that iPS cells can give rise to all the different cell types of the body. These discoveries have also provided new tools for scientists around the world and led to remarkable progress in many areas of medicine. iPS cells can also be prepared from human cells.

For instance, skin cells can be obtained from patients with various diseases, reprogrammed, and examined in the laboratory to determine how they differ from cells of healthy individuals. Such cells constitute invaluable tools for understanding disease mechanisms and so provide new opportunities to develop medical therapies.

About the scientists : 

Sir John B. Gurdon was born in 1933 in Dippenhall, UK. He received his Doctorate from the University of Oxford in 1960 and was a postdoctoral fellow at California Institute of Technology. He joined Cambridge University, UK, in 1972 and has served as Professor of Cell Biology and Master of Magdalene College. Gurdon is currently at the Gurdon Institute in Cambridge.

Shinya Yamanaka was born in Osaka, Japan in 1962. He obtained his MD in 1987 at Kobe University and trained as an orthopaedic surgeon before switching to basic research. Yamanaka received his PhD at Osaka City University in 1993, after which he worked at the Gladstone Institute in San Francisco and Nara Institute of Science and Technology in Japan. Yamanaka is currently Professor at Kyoto University and also affiliated with the Gladstone Institute.

***

Nobel Prize winners 2012 from DS Murty

Happy teachers day...

Happy teachers day...

when several students are saying  this to me...

I felt glad... at the same time, I also felt little guilty..

Are we really able to deliver the desired level of inspiration to the student community.

I still remember my childhood teachers...not that I have a good memory, but it is because of the way they inspired me.

But, now a days, most students are ignoring the teachers as soon as they pass the subjects.. most of the time, we find fault that the students are changing and teacher-student relationships are going down. But is it completely true ?

I feel that a student need not remember us… but he should remember what we teach, till eternity.

I feel that we, the teachers are also students, in an incessant learning process, but little ahead of our students, so that we will be able to guide them to understand in a simple way. I feel that I am a facilitator, rather than a teacher for my students. I also learn while teaching them.

If a student misses a class, I feel the same way a mother feels when her baby goes out for playing without eating food or drinking milk. I enquire several times for their absence. One of the students mentioned to me that, they are habitually becoming absent because several teachers don’t bother if a class is cancelled…nobody ever asked them why they are mass bunking the classes..the students are happy… and the teachers are also happy. One of the teachers mentioned to me that, if the class is not held as the students mass bunked, they should consider the class is held and go ahead with rest of the schedule. Is it correct ? if we keep a glass of milk ready for our kid… and if he does not drink it, will we leave him, presuming that he drank milk and it is not our responsibility to see that he really consumes it. Is our responsibility ending just by preparing a glass of milk? Shouldn’t we ensure that it is actually consumed by our kid. If students behave in an irresponsible way, it is the teacher’s responsibility to motivate them towards good behavior. The teacher should set an example to the students. Definitely some borderline students will change and lead others to change too.

Another thing is the methodology… we should use the technological advances to facilitate our teaching methods. With the emergence of powerpoint presentations, a new trend has emerged. Power point is not for reading out the slides in the class room. It is for facilitating our teaching process with points for memorizing and graphics/animations for more visual explanation of the concept. But it is being thoroughly misused by several teachers. Teachers are mechanically typing the powerpoints… or even worse, some teachers ask their postgraduates to ‘prepare’ the slides and directly read them in the class room, without even checking once. The students automatically develop lighter opinion of such teachers and think that they can download such slides by themselves. It promotes absenteeism. Some senior professors criticize the new generation teachers for using power point for the same reason. Another hidden reason might be, they can not learn doing powerpoint with a big learning curve. They satisfy themselves by telling repeatedly that the powerpoint is for the people who can not teach well. Both (mechanical reading of slides as well as completely rejecting the power point) are extreme views. We should use the technology to optimize our presentations. We should supplement our class with the slides. We should not substitute the teaching process with mechanical reading of the overcrowded slides…!

Coming to the concept…we should encourage problem based learning. Some of the students mentioned to me that though they like microbiology (or for that fact, any other subject) well… but by the time, they learn about the actual clinical importance of a particular organism, they are overwhelmed and exhausted with elaborate description of all the biochemical reactions of the organism. Such data may be necessary for a PG student… but is it necessary in depth, for an undergraduate student. We should concentrate upon the clinical importance and other practical issues which will really help them in patient care. In this regard, even the examination system needs to be changed. At least some questions to be focused on clinical implications. I wondered when one of a senior examiner asked students in viva about the width of a tapeworm segment…diameter of pinworm… length of female schistosoma and things like that…is it practicable to remember thousands of such numerical values. And what purpose do they serve. Some examiners like asking about outdated tests. We should redesign the curriculum to suit the needs of the present day health care system which is very complex. Are we ready for the change ? !

How much we are learning after ‘passing’ MD or MS ? I observed that some of the faculty telling the PGs that passing exams should be the only goal… and they can learn the subject after passing. Is it real? Can it happen? When they are not learning properly while doing PG, they may not learn any further after passing PG. Instead, they start behaving as if they know everything and mask their ignorance with arrogance so that nobody can approach them easily. The ego prevents us from learning any further. Then we start focusing on materialistic things like –discussing with colleagues about shopping lists, real estate, share market, current politics, future increments/promotions, casual leaves etc. We internally start feeling happy if a class is cancelled… but externally, say that the students are becoming irregular….!***

‘THE SHIP IS MORE THAN THE CREW’

– RUDYARD KLIPPING

Majority of People

Spend an inordinate amount of time and thought

On their own affairs,

Associates watching one another anxiously

To make sure the other isn’t paid larger salary,

Doesn’t own a bigger car,

Doesn’t take a longer vacation,

The trouble is obviously

They aren’t committed to their job.

That is what ails civilization.

They don’t care a damn for the ship,

So long as they get

What they think is coming to them

In rank, wages, shore leaves, pensions etc.

WHO CARES FOR THE SHIP ?

(Read about : Abraham Lincoln’s letter to his son’s teacher : click here)

The Present

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs.His bed was next to the room’s only window.
The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.
The men talked for hours on end.
They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their
involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.
Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window could sit up,
he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.
The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods
where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity
and color of the world outside.
The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans
played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young
lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.
As the man by the window described all this in exquisite details, the
man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine
this picturesque scene.
One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man could not hear the band, he could see it in his mind’s eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Days, weeks and months passed.
One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only
to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep.
She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away
As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be
moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.
Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his
first look at the realworld outside.He strained to slowly turn to look
out the window beside the bed.It faced a blank wall.
The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased
roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.
The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.
She said, ‘Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.’

Epilogue:
There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can’t buy.

‘Today is a gift, that is why it is called The Present".

(A collection from my emails, shared by my friends)

Abraham Lincoln’s letter to his son’s teacher

Abraham Lincoln’s letter to his son’s  teacher
(Some critics refute the authorship. But it is an inspiring advice one must read - Murty)


Respected Teacher,

My son will have to learn I know that all men are not just, all men are not true.
But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero; that for every selfish politician, there is a dedicated leader.

Teach him that for every enemy there is a friend. It will take time, I know; but teach him, if you can, that a dollar earned is far more valuable than five found.

Teach him to learn to lose and also to enjoy  winning. Steer him away from envy, if you can.
Teach him the secret of quite laughter.
Let him learn early that the bullies are the easiest to tick.

Teach him, if you can, the wonder of books.. but also give him quiet time to ponder over the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun, and flowers on a green hill –side.

In school teach him it is far more honourable to fail than to cheat.

Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if every one tells him they are wrong.

Teach him to be gentle with gentle people and tough with the tough.

Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when every one is getting on the bandwagon.

Teach him to listen to all men but teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through.

Teach him, if you can, how to laugh when he is sad.
Teach him there is no shame in tears.
Teach him to scoff at cynics and to beware of too much sweetness.
Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to the highest bidders; but never to put a price tag on his heart and soul.

Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob… and to stand and fight if he thinks he’s right.
Treat him gently; but do not cuddle him because only the test of fire makes fine steel
Let him have the courage to be impatient, let him have the patience to be brave.

Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself because then he will always have sublime faith in mankind.

This is a big order; but see what you can do.
He is such a fine little fellow,
my son.
Abraham Lincoln.

Common sense …or..Lack of It…!

Common sense …or..Lack of It…!

I was returning to Tirupati after attending an usual “emergency” meeting at Hyderabad.. emergency not about the topic of discussion, but we were called at a very short notice. ..! I have reached Kachiguda station after passing through several traffic jams and fortunately could catch Venkatadri express. The compartment was full by the time I got in to my coach. Mine is upper berth. The ‘co-passengers’ are chatting vigorously. One gentleman and three ladies with two kids. By listening ‘accidentally’ to their conversation (which is loud enough to be heard even from the next compartment..!), I became aware that they didn’t have a confirmed ticket at all, but occupied the berths of the passengers who are supposed to board at a different station. They are planning to ‘convince’ the TC…. two kids and three ladies with a huge luggage is enough reason for anybody to show sympathy. The TC came. He promised that he will try to help them if the ‘original’ passengers doesn’t board in the next station.

After TC left, they opened their food boxes and started feeding children around (8 or 9 yrs). They enjoyed playing with food than consuming it. In few minutes, I realized that I will be safe only if I can go on to the upper berth as fast as I can. I got to the upper berth and started reading some book. After few moments, I felt the horrible ‘aroma’ of some non-vegetarian food. They are talking loudly and enjoying the food, while, on the other side the spirits of the dead birds are dancing before my eyes. I took ‘vicks’ from my bag and stuffed enough material to block both my nostrils. It helped to some extent. Their enjoyment continued, while I slowly drifted to sleep.

At around 11.00PM, the ‘original’ passengers boarded the train. They also got convinced with the problem explained by the existing passengers. They decided to share the berths and the left-over bones. Now, the disturbance got doubled. It was about 12.30 am. They are still talking loudly. I looked down at them. The gentleman asked me, “Why are you looking like that. Shall I switch off the light”. I told them, ‘just please talk softly if you don’t get sleep’. He seemed to understand my ‘problem’. They were quiet for some time. They arranged themselves in various positions on the available berths and in the free space between them. I thought that the problem is over and my sleep returned. It didn’t last long anyway.

At about 2.30AM, again I woke up when a loud noise disturbed me. The people below are discussing their childhood experiences with the train journeys and laughing loudly. One girl is excitedly telling how she escaped from TC and traveled the whole distance without a ticket. Another man is telling that he had found some unclaimed bag underneath his berth, and called the railway police to check whether it contained any bomb. He added that, they just kicked the bag out of the train into the darkness. The twist is, after sometime, the passenger from the upper berth got down and frantically searched for his luggage. After listening to it, I became alert. I visually checked for the presence of my bag. It is safe.

The time is about 5.00 am. The coffee vendors and Newspaper vendors entered the scene. The gentleman in the lower berth purchased a news paper, which is filled with positive praising stories about a corrupt politician and his corporate son..! I wondered, why they are wasting their time and money in one go, by buying and reading such nonsense. May be, they are thinking about me in the reverse or may even be sympathetic to me for missing such ‘good’ stuff.

With the first light of the day, all the other people like beggars and physically handicapped people entered the couch, singing some devotional songs with the peak of their voice and some are ‘cleaning’ the compartment, pushing the dust and waste papers from one side to the other.

I descended from the upper berth, got fresh up and had a healthy coffee, free from cholesterol and milk..!

Eventually the train approached Tirupati. The pleasant view of the hills removed all the tiredness due to lack of sleep and I became refreshed with the wonderful morning view of the distant hills. I used my mobile to take some pics and I can share few of the good ones here.

(click on the photos for a larger view)

తెలుగు భాషా దినోత్సవం..!

నేడు తెలుగు భాషా దినోత్సవం..!

(ఫోటో పై క్లిక్ చేయండి )

శ్రీ కృష్ణాష్టమి శుభాకాంక్షలు ..!

శ్రీ కృష్ణాష్టమి శుభాకాంక్షలు ..!

యదిహాస్తి తదన్యత్ర యన్నేహాస్తి నతత్ క్వచిత్....
మహా భారతం గురించి ప్రాచుర్యం పొందిన మాట ఇది. ఇందులో ఉన్న విషయాలు ప్రపంచంలో వున్నాయి.. ఇందులో లేని విషయాలు ఎక్కడా లేవు అని దీనర్థము. అలాంటి మహాభారతానికి మూలస్తంభం లాంటిది కృష్ణుని పాత్ర.

నేను మెడిసిన్ లో చేరిన కొత్తలో చిన్నపాటి రాగింగ్ అయింది. సీనియర్లు "నీకు ఏ దేవుడంటే ఇష్తం.. రాముడా కృష్ణుడా " అని అడిగారు. కృష్ణుడు అని చెప్పాను. వాళ్ళు నవ్వడం మొదలు పెట్టారు.. చాలా మంది భార్యలున్న కృష్ణుడు ఎందుకు నచ్చాడు.. అని అడిగారు. నాకు విపరీతమైన కోపం వచ్చింది. ఒక చిన్న సైజు ప్రసంగమొకటి చేసాను. అ తర్వాత నన్ను వాళ్ళు ఇంకేమీ అడగలేదు...

ఆ మాటల సారాంశం :

కృష్ణుడు ఒక తత్వవేత్త. ఒక కర్మ వాది. వ్యక్తిత్వ వికాస గ్రంధాలలో ఎన్ని యుగాలైనా ముందు వుండేది భగవద్గీత. ఒక నాయకుడు ఎలా ఉండాలో, ఎలాంటి ప్రణాళికలు విజయానికి మార్గం చూపిస్తాయో చెప్పాడు. చిన్నప్పటి నుంచి కష్టాలకు ఎదురు నిలిచాడు. చెరసాలలో పుట్టాడు. వర్షపు రాత్రి నదిని దాటుకుని యశోద వద్దకు చేరాడు. తనను చంపడానికి వచ్చిన పూతనను, శకటాసురుడిని.. ఇలా అనేక మంది రాక్షసులిని అంతమొందించాడు. గోవర్ధన గిరిని పైకెత్తి ఇంద్రుని అహంకారం నుంచి యాదవులనందరినీ రక్షించాడు. కాళీయ సర్పాన్ని నియంత్రించాడు. ఇలా ప్రతి సమస్యకు పరిష్కారం చూపుతూ కర్తవ్య దీక్షలో వున్నాడు. తనపై పడిన నీలాప నిందలను సమర్ధంగా ఎదుర్కొన్నాడు. తనను విమర్శించిన వారే పూజించేలా విజయాలను సాధించాడు.

పాండవుల తరపున రాయబారం చేసి కురుక్షేత్ర సంగ్రామం ఆపు చేయడానికి ప్రయత్నిచాడు. మూర్ఖులైన కౌరవులు తనని బంధించడానికి ప్రయత్నిస్తే, విశ్వరూపాన్ని ప్రదర్శించాడు. కురుక్షేత్ర సంగ్రామ ప్రారంభంలో విషాదానికి, ఆందోళనకు లోనైన అర్జునినికి కర్తవ్య బోధ చేసి భగవద్గీత రూపంలో ఆ కౌన్సెలింగ్ అంతా సమస్త మానవాళికి అందించాడు. ఏ సమస్యనైనా ఎదుర్కునే ధైర్యాన్ని, మానసిక స్థైర్యాన్ని తనకు భగవద్గీత ఇస్తుందని మహాత్మా గాంధీ పలు సార్లు చెప్పారు. వివేకానంద స్వామి కూడా చాలా సందర్భాలలో భగవద్గీతను ఉదహరిస్తారు. స్తిత ప్రజ్ఞత , నిర్ణయాధికారం, కర్తవ్య దీక్ష , మనో విశ్లేషణ ... ఇలా ఎన్ని గుణాలను చెప్పుకున్నా అన్నీ పరిపూర్ణం గా ఆచరించి చూపిన అవతార పురుషుడు. భారత యుద్దంలో అభిమన్యుడు మరణించి అందరూ దుఖిస్తుంటే కూడా , కర్తవ్య దీక్షను.. మరునాడు ఆచరించవలసిన యుద్ద వ్యూహాన్ని ప్రణాళిక చేస్తూ.. మానసిక స్పందనలు, బాధలు కర్తవ్య దీక్ష నుంచి దారి మరల్చకూడదని బోధించాడు. కేవలం ఏడు అక్షౌహుణి ల (1.53 millions approx) సైన్యంతో పదకొండు అక్షౌహుణి ల (2.4 millions approx) సైన్యాన్నిజయించ గలగడానికి ఆ నిర్ణయాధికారము... ప్రణాళిక కారణం. అదే స్తిత ప్రజ్ఞతను తన నిర్యాణం సమయంలోనూ చూపించాడు.

గీతా మకరందం సమస్త మానవాళికి ఆ భగవంతుడు అందించిన గొప్ప వరం.


శ్రీకృష్ణావతారం నుంచి అరుదైన కొన్ని అద్భుత దృశ్యాలు : గీతోపదేశం , శ్రీకృష్ణ నిర్యాణం.

గీతోపదేశం :



శ్రీకృష్ణ నిర్యాణం:

Sunrise : Sirivennela..!

(Click on the photo for larger view)

(Meaning in English) :

the Veena of Eastern side and on the strings of morning sun...becoming the sounds of woken up birds on the stage of blue skies.. when the rythm of that spelt twitter sound has become the initiator of world.. By making it the holy message of universal act..

(Extract from : Vidhata talapuna... song from Sirivennela.. lyric by Seetarama Sastry.. who else can write like that ?)


Song here from youtube :

Clouds and the Lord

The clouds ... of our wishes...
reaching God of Seven Hills. The Lord of the entire Universe...!

click here to see the album

The photos taken at Alipiri at the footsteps of Tirumala on 18th August 2011 at 9.00 AM, just after a moderate shower. A series of seven photos to show the clouds gradually vanishing... and the Galigopuram emerges from behind .

Is it not that... all our wishes vanish for the sight of God... and seeing God will remain as the only wish.

(Wolrd Photography Day : 19th Aug 2011)