History, Myth, Science, Technology and Politics

[raagadevan]

Scientist Mayank Vahia hopes to convince people that one does not need to falsify history to feel proud as an Indian

-By Chintan Girish Modi, The Hindu, March 5, 2015

"Two years ago, when the Indian Science Congress was held in Mumbai, there were people presenting papers about how planes were being flown in the Vedic period, and how there is evidence of kings from ancient India having travelled to Mars,” says Vahia [Professor Mayank Vahia, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai]. Having spent 30 years making telescopes, which studied high energy particles reaching the Earth, for space missions launched by the US, Russia and India, he finds it annoying to know that unscientific claims are being passed off as having the backing of science.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/false-historical-claims-make-us-look-like-idiots/article8317649.ece

[raagadevan]

'40-engine' planes, ancient surgery overshadows Indian Science Congress, sparks outrage

Aeroplanes existed in India 7,000 years ago and they travelled from not just one country to another but also to other planets, or so claimed Captain Anand J Bodas in a controversial session at the Indian Science Congress. The retired principal of a pilot training facility attracted criticism from some scientists who said such claims undermined the primacy of empirical evidence on which the 102-year-old Congress was founded. The lecture was presented on the second day of the Congress under the aegis of Mumbai University as part of a session titled 'Ancient Sciences through Sanskrit'.

http://www.firstpost.com/living/talk-of-40-engine-planes-ancient-surgery-overshadows-indian-science-congress-sparks-outrage-2029661.html

[raagadevan]

Indian prime minister claims genetic science existed in ancient times

“We can feel proud of what our country achieved in medical science at one point of time,” the prime minister told a gathering of doctors and other professionals at a hospital in Mumbai on Saturday. “We all read about Karna in the Mahabharata. If we think a little more, we realise that the Mahabharata says Karna was not born from his mother’s womb. This means that genetic science was present at that time. That is why Karna could be born outside his mother’s womb.” Modi went on: “We worship Lord Ganesha. There must have been some plastic surgeon at that time who got an elephant’s head on the body of a human being and began the practice of plastic surgery.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/28/indian-prime-minister-genetic-science-existed-ancient-times

[raagadevan]

Scientists query PM’s Ganesh-surgery link

“Our mythology has made rich contributions to our identity and has an important place in our culture,” said Shuba Tole, a neurobiologist at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. “However, painting it with scientific overtones takes away some of the symbolism and the sheer poetry of the metaphors. I think the Prime Minister could have used other examples from our rich historical past — not mythology — to illustrate our ancient scientific achievements.”

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1141029/jsp/nation/story_18976505.jsp

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Yoga-based cure for cancer on the way: AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik

Yoga-based cure for diseases such as diabetes and cancer is on its way, according to Union Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik. Mr. Naik said a technique for such cure developed by Bengaluru-based Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA) is just about a year away from endorsement from his Ministry.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/its-proven-that-yoga-can-cure-cancer-ayush-minister-of-state-shripad-naik/article8399509.ece?w=alauto

[raagadevan]

Yoga as a ‘cancer cure’ is a claim without basis

"There is no proof yet that yoga can cure cancer,” says the Dean of the Division of Yoga and Life Sciences, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA), Bengaluru, Dr. Raghuram Nagarathna. This contradicts Union Minister of State for AYUSH [Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy] Shripad Yasso Naik’s claim on March 26 in Goa, that the S-VYASA institute has “found a technique of yoga for the prevention and cure of cancer”.

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/yoga-as-a-cancer-cure-is-a-claim-without-basis/article8426991.ece

[raagadevan]

Lord Shiva at the Indian Science Congress (2016)

A paper by Akhilesh K. Pandey touched upon Lord Shiva as Lord of Mount Kailash and his powers of providing purified water to human beings

http://www.livemint.com/Politics/XTh6v7HMSzCPRnUrCogfrK/Lord-Shiva-at-the-Indian-Science-Congress.html

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Indian Science Congress is a circus, won't attend it: Nobel laureate V Ramakrishnan

In a damning charge, scientist Venkatraman Ramakrishnan has slammed the ongoing Indian Science Congress, being held in Mysuru, and called it a 'circus'. The Indian-born Nobel laureate had earlier condemned the Science Congress and said that politics and religious ideologies shouldn't be mixed with science. Speaking to reporters, Ramakrishnan said, "I attended one day (of an earlier Congress) and very little science was discussed. It was a circus. I find that it's an organisation where very little science is discussed. I will never attend a science congress again in my life."

http://www.firstpost.com/india/indian-science-congress-is-a-circus-wont-attend-it-nobel-laureate-v-ramakrishnan-2572268.html

[raagadevan]

"The Jesus Mysteries - Was the 'Original Jesus' a Pagan God?"

Graham Hancock features the book by Timothy Freke & Peter Gandy

"Our conclusion is that the story of Jesus is not the biography of an historical Messiah, but a myth based on perennial Pagan stories. Christianity was not a new and unique revelation but is actually a Jewish adaptation of the ancient Pagan Mystery religion. This is what we have called the ‘Jesus Mysteries Thesis’. It may sound farfetched at first, just as it did initially to us. There is, after all, a great deal of unsubstantiated nonsense written about the ‘real’ Jesus, so any revolutionary theory should be approached with a healthy dose of skepticism. But, although this book makes sensational claims, it is not just fanciful speculation. It is firmly based upon years of meticulous scholarly research and in our book we provide extensive references so that people can check our sources for themselves."

https://grahamhancock.com/jesus-mysteries-freke-gandy/

The complete book:

www.thedivineconspiracy.org/Z5221J.pdf

[raagadevan]

brought forward

[raagadevan]

Brought forward!