Waiting for the word of the Master,
Watching the Hidden Light;
Listening to catch His orders
In the very midst of the fight;
Seeing His slightest signal
Across the heads of the throng;
Hearing His faintest whisper
Above earth’s loudest song.
- From “At the feet of the Master” by Alcyone (Jiddu Krishnamurthy)
A.O Hume, the founder of Indian National Congress, a well read English man got interested in the occult science. He was an active member of Theosophy Movement for sometime. Theosophy tries to explain the natural laws behind the occult science or "miracles". The Movement is said to be guided by the evolved souls called "Masters" from Himalayas. I am not going to get into discussion about proofs of whether there REALLY are any such Masters in Himalayas or not and if we can "see" them etc
The current article of interest is a letter written by one such Master KH to A.O Hume.
In his letter, A.O Hume proposes to start an organization with scientists interested in occult science and asks the Himalayan Masters to guide them. The proposition put forward by AO Hume is very practical and the questions he puts across are the ones most of us ask like Who are they? What are they doing? What is the practical use of what they are doing? Why is India in such poverty if there is such knowledge with it etc Given below are some paras of interest, from the reply of the Master to Mr. Hume.
Dear Sir,
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But you know, as any man who has read history, that patriots may burst their hearts in vain if circumstances are against them. Sometimes, it has happened that no human power, not even the fury and force of the loftiest patriotism, has been able to bend an iron destiny aside from its fixed course, and nations have gone out like torches dropped into water in the engulfing blackness of ruin. Thus, we who have the sense of our country’s fall though not the power to lift her up at once, can not do as we would either as to general affairs or this particular one. ..Think of us as demi-gods and my explanation will not satisfy you; view us as simple men — perhaps a little wiser as the result of special study — and it ought to answer your objection.
You ask us to teach you true Science, the occult aspect of the known side of nature: and this you think can be as easily done as asked. You do not seem to realize the tremendous difficulties in the way of imparting even the rudiments of our Science to those who have been trained in the familiar methods of yours. You do not see that the more you have of the one the less capable you are of intuitively comprehending the other, for a man can only think in his worn grooves, and unless he has the courage to fill up these and make new ones for himself he must perforce travel on the old lines.
Allow me a few instances.
In conformity with exact modern Science you would define but one cosmic energy, and see no difference between the energy expended by the traveller who pushes aside the bush that obstructs his path, and the scientific experimenter who expends an equal amount of energy in setting a pendulum in motion! We do. For we know there is a world of difference between the two. The one uselessly dissipates or scatters force, the other concentrates and stores it. And here please understand that I do not refer to the relative utility of the two as one might imagine; but only to the fact, that in the one case, there is but brute force flung out without any transmutation of that brute energy into the higher potential form of spiritual dynamics, and, in the other there is just that. Please do not consider me vaguely metaphysical. The idea I wish to convey is, that the result of the highest intellection in the scientifically occupied brain is the evolution of a sublimated form of spiritual energy, which, in the cosmic action, is productive of illimitable results, while the automatically acting brain holds or stores up in itself only a certain quantum of brute force that is unfruitful of benefit for the individual or humanity. The human brain is an exhaustless generator of the most refined quality of cosmic force, out of the low, brute energy of nature; and the complete adept has made himself a centre from which irradiate potentialities that beget correlations upon correlations through Aeons to come. This is the key to the mystery of his being able to project into and materialise in the visible world the forms that his imagination has constructed out of inert cosmic matter in the invisible world. The adept does not create anything new, but only utilises and manipulates materials which nature has in store around him; a material which throughout eternities has passed through all the forms; he has but to choose the one he wants and recall it into objective existence. Would not this sound to one of your “learned” biologists like a madman’s dream?
But will you permit me to sketch for you still more clearly the difference between the modes of — physical called exact — often out of mere politeness — and metaphysical sciences? The latter, as you know, being incapable of verification before mixed audiences, is classed by Mr. Tyndall with the fictions of poetry. The realistic science of fact, on the other hand, is utterly prosaic. Now for us poor and unknown philanthropists, no fact of either of these sciences is interesting except in the degree of its potentiality of moral results, and in the ratio of its usefulness to mankind.
May I not ask then without being taxed with a vain “display of science” what have the laws of Faraday, Tyndall, or others to do with philanthropy in their abstract relations with humanity viewed as an integral whole? What care they for MAN as an isolated atom of this great and harmonious Whole, even though they may sometimes be of practical use to him?
Cosmic energy is something eternal and incessant, matter is indestructible, and there stand the scientific facts. Doubt them and you are an ignoramus; deny them, a dangerous lunatic, a bigot; pretend to improve upon the theories — an impertinent charlatan. And yet even these scientific facts never suggested any proof to the world of experimenters, that nature consciously prefers that matter should be indestructible under organic rather than under inorganic forms; and that she works slowly but incessantly towards the realisation of this object — the evolution of conscious life out of inert material. Hence their ignorance about the scattering and concretion of cosmic energy in its metaphysical aspects; their division about Darwin’s theories; their uncertainty about the degree of conscious life in separate elements; and, as a necessity, the scornful rejection of every phenomenon outside their own stated conditions and the very idea of worlds of semi-intelligent if not intellectual forces at work in hidden corners of nature.
To give you another practical illustration. We see a vast difference between the qualities of two equal amounts of energy expended by two men, of whom one, let us suppose, is on his way to his daily quiet work, and another on his way to denounce a fellow creature at the police station, while the men of science see none.
And we — not they — see a specific difference between the energy in the motion of the wind and that of a revolving wheel. And why? Because every thought of man upon being evolved passes into the inner world and becomes an active entity by associating itself – coalescing, we might term it — with an elemental; that is to say with one of the semi-intelligent forces of the kingdoms. It survives as an active intelligence, a creature of the mind’s begetting, for a longer or shorter period proportionate with the original intensity of the cerebral action which generated it. Thus, a good thought is perpetuated as an active beneficent power; an evil one as a maleficent demon. And so man is continually peopling his current in space with a world of his own, crowded with the offsprings of his fancies, desires, impulses, and passions, a current which reacts upon any sensitive or and nervous organisation which comes in contact with it in proportion to its dynamic intensity. The Buddhist calls this his “Skandha,” the Hindu gives it the name of “Karma”; the Adept evolves these shapes consciously, other men throw them off unconsciously.
Still less does exact science perceive that while the building ant, the busy bee, the nidifacient bird accumulate, each in their own humble way as much cosmic energy in its potential form as a Haydn, a Plato, or a ploughman turning his furrow, in theirs; the hunter who kills game for his pleasure or profit, or the positivist who applies his intellect to proving that + x + = -, are wasting and scattering energy no less than the tiger which springs upon its prey. They all rob nature instead of enriching her, and will all in the degree of their intelligence find themselves accountable.
Exact experimental Science has nothing to do with morality, virtue, philanthropy, therefore can make no claim upon our help, until it blends itself with the metaphysics. Being but a cold classification of facts outside man, and existing before and after him, her domain of usefulness ceases for us at the outer boundary of these facts; Therefore as our sphere lies entirely outside hers — as far as the path of Uranus is outside the earth’s — we distinctly refuse to be broken on any wheel of her construction. The philosophical but transcendental (hence absurd?) notion of the mediaeval theosophists that the final progress of human labour aided by the incessant discoveries of man, must one day culminate in a process, which in imitation of the sun’s energy — in its capacity of a direct motor — shall result in the evolution of nutritious food out of inorganic matter — is unthinkable for men of science. Were the sun, the great nourishing father of our planetary System, to hatch granite chickens out of a boulder “under test conditions” tomorrow, they (the men of Science) would accept it as a scientific fact, without wasting a regret that the fowls were not alive so as to feed the hungry and the starving. But let a Shaberon cross the Himalayas in a time of famine, and multiply sacks of rice for the perishing multitudes — as he could — and your magistrates and collectors would probably lodge him in jail, to make him confess what granary he had robbed. This is exact science and your realistic world. ………………….You cause a waste of cosmic energy by tons, to accumulate hardly a few ounces in your volumes — to speak figuratively.
Quote ends.
About purpose of Theosophy KH says
"You can do immense good by helping to give the Western nations a secure basis upon which to reconstruct their crumbling faith. What they need is the evidence that Asiatic psychology alone supplies. Give this and you will confer happiness of mind on thousands. The era of blind faith is gone; that of enquiry is here. Enquiry that only unmasks error, without discovering anything upon which the soul can build, will but make iconoclasts. Iconoclasm from its very destructiveness can give nothing, it can only raze. But man can not rest satisfied with bare negation. Agnosticism is but a temporary halt.
This is the moment to guide the recurrent impulse which must soon come, and which will push the age toward extreme atheism, or drag it back to extreme sacerdotalism, .. The age is revelling at a debauch of phenomena. The same marvels that the spiritualists quote in opposition to the dogmas of eternal perdition and atonement, the catholics swarm to witness as the strongest proof of their faith in miracles. The skeptics make game of both. All are blind and there is no one to lead them! You and your colleagues may help furnish the materials for a needed universal religious philosophy; one impregnable to scientific assault because itself the finality of absolute science; and, a religion, that is indeed worthy of the name, since it includes the relations of man physical to man psychical, and of the two to all that is above and below them. Is not this worth a slight sacrifice? And if after reflection you should decide to enter this new career, let it be known that your Society is no miracle-mongering or banqueting club, nor specially given to the study of phenomenalism. Its chief aim is to extirpate current superstitions and skepticism, and, from long sealed ancient fountains to draw the proof that man may shape his own future destiny, and know for a certainty that he can live hereafter, if he only wills; and that all “phenomena” are but manifestations of natural law, to try to comprehend which is the duty of every intelligent being.
……………………………………………………………..
The entire letter can be found at http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/mahatma/ml-khaoh.htm
We come across number of higher education institutions named xxxx Institute of Science and Technology. Ever wondered what is the difference between the two? At a gathering of mostly IT people the question was asked and was met with silence. I was among the crowd and frankly, I was not myself very sure 
Given that I was attending a class on “The Super Science of Gayatri” I couldnt find a relevant answer. The ensuing talk was highly enlightening, atleast for me.
Science has to do with the study, discovery of something new and postulating new theories. Technology has to do with using Science, to develop instruments that use the found scientific principles for our convenience. Mantra is said to be the Science of Sound. Yes, it is a “science” which means it is in itself not directly practically useful. It takes a Mantra - drasta, a seer or a sage who has realized the mantra, a technician who knows how to practically use and apply the words and the sound to get the desired result. Just imagine, no electricity can be produced by just repeating V = IR !! One must study it, understand it and realized the properties of V, I and R and their inter-relations as a first essential step. It is the Science of Electricity. Then comes making the circuits, adjusting the parameters to make a generator or a motor..or whatever. Every where it is the same electricity, in a silicon chip to a huge power-plant.
Similarly “Gayatri” is said to be the underlying current of life in the entire universe. The whole solar system and our earth thive on the energy of the Sun. It is due to the Sun that the plants are rotating in fixed orbits around it. It is due to Sun we have day and night, the seasons, the water cycle, plants making food through photo synthesis. Sun is declared to be the ONLY source of energy by the seers. The Suns energy is called Savithri. Every other form of energy is either directly or indirectly derived from it. But where does Sun which is just one of the zillions of stars get its energy from? It is the principle of Gayatri. As per Advaita each of us or everthing in the world is part of the same Absolute, like the tiny cells on a huge body. The same principle of Gayatri that sustains the Sun and through Sun all of us, is present in each one of us !!
Study of the principles, behaviour and properties of Gayatri is the “Science of Gayatri” The universe or nature is in perfect balance. The whole universe is said to pulsate to a particular rythm. And so do we with our inhalation and exhalation, !! Even Sun pulsates with a cycle of 12 years. Even the galaxies are not exempt! Just imagine the huge galaxies with some assumed galactic center some where, rotating around it. We wouldnt even be a speck of dust!
Gayatri is the science of breath or life.But Science is only restricted to the 5 senses. As per our current definition it cannot even probe into thoughts, death, aging or many other aspects of human existance. While it can say that the initial germ cells in the embryo develop into both somatic and reproductive cells, one cannot probe about the force that guides them. So from the speck of dust’s prespective it would be a Super-Science, a Maha Vignan. After so much of exertion, if we are able to understand, appreciate the properties, postulates of the seers, it is just half the story! The practicals, lab sessions are still there !!! That is the Tantra - the technology. Mantra is the Science and Tantra, the Technology of using it. (Tantra is usually associated with a lot of negative activities, like black magic etc. But it can also be used for equally positive activities, just like the atomic energy. )
The Tantra or practical ways of using Gayatri for postive energy are the Gayatri Jap, Gayatri Yagna. Tantra is something which EVERYONE can use. Everyone can just toggle the switch and get the light. There would be an electrician who would know the circuits in the house to fix minor issues in the practical use. Then there would be an electrical engg who would be working at the generation and transmission stations. There alsowould be a scientist working on the viable alternate sources of electricity. Only the scientist NEEDs to KNOW the TRUE electricity, even before it comes into existances, the cause that created. Even an illiterate can switch on the light and use the blub. He need not know anything about electricity, so to speak. Similarly, theTantra is for the masses, the Jap Anustan and the Yagna. They are practical ways of USING the principle of Gayatri. If someone just reads a book on electricity or repeats V = IR, there would be no current. Similarly, mindlessly repeating the Mantra would not be much useful. When done in a methodical way, with concentration, the Jap and Yagna would give measurable practicle results.
There is a university Dev Sanskruthi Viswa vidyalaya(DSVV) to study and investigate the same which i found encouraging.
PS: Do met me know your views on the subject. Hope to share more on how mantras can be called Science of Sound soon…
“The world is illusionary or Maya. It is akin to a dream” So say the enlightened. It has always puzzled me. If our whole life is unreal, then, what is real? what is the so called ABSOLUTE TRUTH? The only practical touchstone for me till now has been, “truth is something that is not subject to conditions” The Truth does not change subject to religion, nationality, gender, time etc. If some statement or act meets this requirement, it is closer or on the way to the final truth. Rest all is just faith, convenience, rituals or accumulation of habits of different cultures/religions. They do not matter ( except to be socially acceptable) and are always optional,in pursuit of the Absolute. Ofcourse this is my own humble opinion!
Back to the reality vs dream…Our dreams in sleep are caused by the impressions created on our mind in wakeful state. All those sub-conscious thoughts, fears, aspirations, emotions are experienced as dream when the intellectual, logical and controlling mind is at rest. We dream all kinds of absurd dreams and never question them. They seem perfectly plausible while in it. Only when you are awake you laugh at the absurdities and silliness of the whole dream.
If our daily grind is a dream, then what is the wakeful state. Also, it is possible to know that it is a dream when we are still in a dream? How would it feel to do so? As i continue to draw parallels between the normal dream-wakeful state of ours vs the normal(asleep)-enlightened(awakened)state of souls…I started wondering..why are OUR dreams not in OUR control???? If we can know it is a dream while dreaming and know to dream well, probably we would have ALL sweet dreams and no nightmares. Similarly, if this life is just a dream…whose dream is it? who is in control?
I found some amazing answers in “Advaita Bodha Deepika”, a book published by Ramana-ashram(Note) Your life is YOUR dream and only YOU are in control !!! Each of us!!! That itself is not very earth shattering revealation. We must have read/heard many times “Aham Brahmasmi” or”so aham” - I AM THAT or I AM BRAHMAN (creator) It is like E= mc2 !!! Ok, even if i accept it to be correct, how do i understand or derive it my self and reach the same conclusion first hand? This book Advaita Bodha Deepika is hardly 150-200 pages helps us do just that! It is in form of Q & A between a guru and an unrelenting disciple, who had many Qs mostly similar to ours, which made it an interesting read. What is more captivating is the simplicity and clarity of the Guru’s answers, logically consistant all through and with good examples to make the abstract concepts clear!
As per the concepts of Advaita, each of us is the Self or Wittness, the changeless, formless Supreme blissful Self. But this Self is covered by the Ego - I, and with the forgetfulness of Self, the delirium, the Illusion or Maya sets in. Along with it comes the entire samsara, the karma and the cycles of birth and death, happiness and sorrow.
A very common example given in numerous scriptures is that of a rope being mistaken for a snake during to darkenss (Ignorance). This is called “Super Imposition” in Advaitha parlance. Superimposition is to mistake something which is, for something which is not - like a rope for a snake, a post for a thief and a mirage for water, the appearance of a false thing on a real is superimposition.
Disciple goes on to ask how one Self is fragmented into many and how can Maya create such a realistic world. If dream is caused by impressions of mind in wakeful state what is this world caused by? etc. I shall share the interesting dialogues and concepts for discussion.
Note::The cover page says that this is one of the very rare books about which Ramana Maharshi has spoken highly about. Itseems the book was reviewed in his presence and he has approved the contents. This caught my attention. For one, Ramana Maharshi spoke so very less, often only answering questions, that too of genuine seekers only. He did not give any consolidated discourse-like theory about his path of Advaitha and Self-enquiry. His life was his message! However much about Advaitha was originally written by Sri Shankarachararya and many others, which are a heavy read, atleast for me! I found this book, which is in the form of Q & A between a disciple and Guru particularly interesting and engaging.
Yes, I have taken the road less traveled! I quit my job to take care of my 3+ year old son, Vasisht.
Me doing so when he is almost independent has raised many a brows! Why now when he has started going to school? Yeah! earlier would have been better, but then, on second thoughts i feel he needs me now more than anytime. 3-5 is the age when they tend to make emotional bonds and learn about the world with all their whys and hows. He is thoroughly enjoying and tells everybody gleefully how all days are holidays for him..he would start, “sun, mon, tues…sat…and end it with a big HOLIDAYS!! The glow on his face when he says “No office!Holiday” every morning to his dad is worth it.
so here i am, a full time mom after being a techie for 9 yrs and i am enjoying too.
Hope to read alot and write more often, provided i get to steal sometime during his noon nap
I thank Freedom unbound for his comments on my prev post quoting our dear vivekananda and hence prodding me to think a bit and consolidate my stand on the subject.
When i first read the quote by V, momentariliy i thought V was agaisnt astrology and did not believe in it. He seems to be saying astrology is not true. It was a surprise as it goes against what i read else where. But then as i read and re-read the entire speech (link provided below) clarity emerged. What he said did not in the least contradict with what i read many other individuals of great stature say about astrology.
Stars do effect humans. The future events can very well be predicted by the stars. But it only holds good for those “meek and weaklings” who do not have the courage to change it. It says “Given one does not do something drastic and goes with the tide, that is where he will land” But one can as well swim against the tide and reach where he decides to go and not be passively lead by the winds and waves.
Astrology is like a map. It gives a snapshot of the past karmas and the future that is before you as a result of those karmas. But the “present moment” is still the deciding factor. By doing the correct thing now, you can change the future! It is like weather predictions! You see a low pressure build up, calculate the speed and say when it is going to touch the shore etc, but it is only a probability till it happens!
Vivekananda urges us to rise above the influcence of those stars, take the reins in the journey of life and make our own destiny. This can happen only when man learns to be selfless. It is said that astrology does not work for enlightened souls Ex:Ramana Maharshi etc. Even if a very good astrologer looks at his chart and predicts as per generic rules of astrology, he may come up with wrong readings. Say, if we ask him which profession the person would take up in life..etc. He may say sth which will not be valid. It is not because astrology is wrong, but because astrology no longer works for enlightened souls who have known the Self. After all, what is a mere planet or even a star before the entire universe/cosmos and its creator. It would just be a pebble or even a grain of sand!!!
It is in these lines that vivekananda says “Let stars come, what harm is there? If a star disturbs my life, it would not be worth a cent.”
Astrology is a double edged weapon and there is certain danger when certain weak minded people peep into the future and get shaky. Then there would be swarms of selfish people who can make a living by taking undue advantage of them. The world is the creation of the mind! By believing that something wrong is going to happen to them subconsciosly, they will really make it happen. Instead it would be better they dont believe in the prediction, give their complete worth to what they want to achieve and more often than not they would get it!
It might be in this context that Vivekenanda says as a rule of thumb: “This I lay down as the first essential in all I teach: anything that brings spiritual, mental, or physical weakness, touch it not with the toes of your feet.”
This reminds me about a discussion i had with our dear friend VT. I was saying that alcohol is not good for health and causes many a problems and it is better banned entirely. He said that there is nth wrong in boozing and alcohol is infact good for health (i guess when taken occassionally) etc….May be i can say astrology is sth like alcohol …..good when taken under prescibtion from an expert …in limited quantities and only when required… ummm :o))
I have time and again heard about astrologers suggest wearing some stone or doing some puja during unfavourable times. I always wondered if it is possible or logical. Indian Astrology has 12 planets/houses and a lord presiding each planet/house. There are certain rules based on which they predict the events. They say it is science and a good astrologer can predict the events with great accuracy looking at the chart. But when asked for remittance from bad times, the same astrologer would also suggest some remedial puja or havan.
On one hand they say - “This is going to happen, bcos it is WRITTEN in your chart”
Then they say “Do this to avoid that event from happening”
That intrigues me. Either their chart reading is wrong or the remedy is a hogwash! I had been digging and discussing the same for sometime.
I happened to meet our family priest during a puja we conducted at home and asked him the same question. ” How is it possible to avoid the after effects of a wrong doing by doing a puja or havan” and i loved his response. He said ” Suppose a student did something wrong at the school and came home. He knows that the principal is going to get him the next day. There is no way to avoid it. The act is already done and he knows the not-so-good after effect is waiting for him next day. The awareness of the wrong doing has come after doing the act! What would an intelligent boy do?”
He continued, “Suppose he puts some effort to convince his father and he takes along his father to the school next day in his support while walking into the principal’s room!”
Nothing has changed! The act has not changed in the past and the principals anger has not changed.
But obviously, the principal cannot vent it his anger on the boy in his fathers presence, the way he would have done if he had been alone! He would have to tone down his anger or reaction.
That is what doing puja or worshipping the lord of the house would do ! The planet is displeased and is waiting for some bad news/event (This is the result of bad karma done earlier, either in the same birth or previous) When you go and get into the good books of the lord who rules that planet, that planet has to tone down it’s displeasure in his bosses presence! So while it cannot be completely avoided or made favourable..it can definitely be toned down.
The illustration was interesting and apt though the basics logic is not yet complete.
The relationship between lord of the planet (say, subrahmanya, who himself is an assumed entity) and the planet (Saturn). How doing a particular puja or saying a stotra/mantra pleases the so called assumed entity “subrahmanya” and what kind of control he has on the planet by being “lord”. All this is based on the hypothesis that “the location and movement of a planet can predict someone’s life” which itself is scientifically questionable.
But I have come across number of instances where astrologers have predicted some unprobable event and it happened: While we can see that astrology is working, we dont know the “why and how” . The laws of gravity existed even before
Astrology is a riddle where there is ample material and equations to predict the event based on scientifically correct location of planets, but there is still not enough “scientific” proof of reason for the intellect. It may be because of lack of a generic fit-all equation that can be verified with different sets of measured inputs and predicted vs actually measured outputs. Whether it is science or art or myth is a point of debate and shall continue to be so till we unravel a few more mysteries of the cosmos.
Severe space weather events often coincide with the appearance of sunspots, which are indicators of particularly intense magnetic fields at the sun’s surface.
The chaotic motion of charged particles in the upper atmosphere of the sun creates magnetic fields that writhe, twist and turn, and occasionally snap and reconfigure themselves in what is known as a “reconnection”. These reconnection events are violent, and can fling out billions of tonness of plasma in a “coronal mass ejection” (CME).
If flung towards the Earth, the plasma ball will accelerate as it travels through space and its intense magnetic field will soon interact with the planet’s magnetic field, the magnetosphere. Depending on the relative orientation of the two fields, several things can happen. If the fields are oriented in the same direction, they slip round one another. In the worst case scenario, though, when the field of a particularly energetic CME opposes the Earth’s field, things get much more dramatic. “The Earth can’t cope with the plasma,” says James Green, head of NASA’s planetary division. “The CME just opens up the magnetosphere like a can-opener, and matter squirts in.”
The sun’s activity waxes and wanes every 11 years or so, with the appearance of sunspots following the same cycle. This period isn’t consistent, however. Sometimes the interval between sunspot maxima is as short as nine years, other times as long as 14 years. At the moment the sun appears calm. “We’re in the equivalent of an idyllic summer’s day. The sun is quiet and benign, the quietest it has been for 100 years,” says Mike Hapgood, who chairs the European Space Agency’s space weather team, “but it could turn the other way.” The next solar maximum is expected in 2012.
The most serious space weather event in history happened in 1859. It is known as the Carrington event, after the British amateur astronomer Richard Carrington, who was the first to note its cause: “two patches of intensely bright and white light” emanating from a large group of sunspots. The Carrington event comprised eight days of severe space weather.
There were eyewitness accounts of stunning auroras, even at equatorial latitudes. The world’s telegraph networks experienced severe disruptions, and Victorian magnetometers were driven off the scale.
Though a solar outburst could conceivably be more powerful, “we haven’t found an example of anything worse than a Carrington event”, says James Green, head of NASA’s planetary division and an expert on the events of 1859. “From a scientific perspective, that would be the one that we’d want to survive.” However, the prognosis from the NAS analysis is that, thanks to our technological prowess, many of us may not.
The world will, most probably, yawn at the prospect of a devastating solar storm until it happens. Kintner says his students show a “deep indifference” when he lectures on the impact of space weather. But if policy-makers show a similar indifference in the face of the latest NAS report, it could cost tens of millions of lives, Kappenman reckons. “It could conceivably be the worst natural disaster possible,” he says.
The report outlines the worst case scenario for the
So what should be done? No one knows yet - the report is meant to spark that conversation. Baker is worried, though, that the odds are stacked against that conversation really getting started. As the NAS report notes, it is terribly difficult to inspire people to prepare for a potential crisis that has never happened before and may not happen for decades to come. “It takes a lot of effort to educate policy-makers, and that is especially true with these low-frequency events,” he says.
We should learn the lessons of hurricane Katrina, though, and realise that “unlikely” doesn’t mean “won’t happen”. Especially when the stakes are so high. The fact is, it could come in the next three or four years - and with devastating effects. “The Carrington event happened during a mediocre, ho-hum solar cycle,” Kintner says. “It came out of nowhere, so we just don’t know when something like that is going to happen again.”
The full article can be read at http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20127001.300-space-storm-alert-90-seconds-from-catastrophe.html?full=true
My Musings: This may not be “End of the world”. Unprecedented Calamity, yes! But definitely not “The end”
On alighter note…The issues mentioned in the report are US oriented for whom having no medical facilities, no communication, no GPS, no petrol, the taps running dry, no electricity for room heaters or coolers….almost means end of world. But it would be like living in a typical Indian village ..simple normal life.
What matters is whether the soil would still be conducive to grow sth edible and whether the water would be drinkable (not to mention, the air!)…as long as that is possible, rest all can wait..it is only a matter of time before new and better technologies come up
