Titanic Worms

By Visvamrtra dasa

Surprisingly, the man who discovered the sunken wreckage of the
Titanic declares a different discovery to be his greatest claim to
fame. Bob Ballard says his most significant ocean-floor-finding is
not the legendary passenger ship, but instead massive tube worms
that silently inhabit the bottom of the sea.

Ballard, it turns out, accidently uncovered these six-foot long
worms while leading an expedition off the coast of the Galapagos
Islands of Charles Darwin fame. The huge worms dwell 8,000 feet
below the surface of the ocean, where they live in total darkness,
thriving by a process called chemosynthesis, or deriving life
energy from chemicals. Whereas plants synthesize sunlight to
produce energy (photosynthesis), in a previously unknown process
these worms draw their life-sustaining energy directly from the
earth. Discovering these worms and their means of surviving at
these depths has rocked the boats of biology and chemistry, and
required standard textbooks to be revised to encompass these
findings.

Beyond a basic interest in the discovery, I found the interview
with Ballard to be an excellent confirmation of Srila Prabhupada’s
Vedic teachings. One definition of knowledge is “acquaintance with
truth or fact”. Real knowledge must explain the nature of things
as they are, rather than simply speculate on how they might be. It
never fails to amaze me how so much information is presented as
fact, when it is in reality an “authority’s” guesswork. It is an
observation made via imperfect senses and then speculated on via
limited intelligence—but nevertheless it is presented as “fact”
and “truth”.

Information based on imperfect sources will always need revision,
because only perfect knowledge is free from defects. But one can
never have perfect knowledge from imperfect sources.
The ancient Vedas offer inquisitive minds a source of eternal,
unchanging knowledge. Discoveries such as Ballard’s are
anticipated by the student of the Vedas, because the Vedas explain
that life exists everywhere. The the living force (atma) is
present everywhere, and the physical body is manifested from the
five elements, namely, earth, water, fire, air, and ether. Since
these elements are available everywhere, the atma can draw upon
them to form a physical body anywhere in the universe. As such,
the Vedas describe how there are 8,400,000 different species of
life, which are the number of various combinations of these
elements. Some of these species have bodies suitable for living in
environments that scientists would not conceive as possible,
because they are limited by the idea that matter can produce life
only in very limited circumstances. But Ballard’s tube Worms are a
shining example of how life can exist anywhere, because life
creates the body, rather than the body creating life.

The more I witness the follies of the modern scientist the more my
faith grows in Srila Prabhupada and the Vedas. I prefer to accept
knowledge from a person of impeccable character who has
demonstrated his realization of the Absolute Truth, rather than
rely on “highly educated” sources who are constantly revising
their knowledge claims and who are so flawed in character. When it
comes to reliable information, i prefer to have “cash-in-hand” as
opposed to the meaningless “post-dated check”.

National Treasure

By Raghu G

Many less developed countries in Asia and Africa have increasingly come to embrace their National Treasures such as wildlife parks or magnificent temples of yore. Although these sites may have commercial prospects, these governments recognize the greater economic benefit gained through tourism by protecting the original charm of these places. Such preservation also enhances the cultural history of these nations.

Vrindavan is India’s Disneyland of Vedic Times, and Vrndavana’s Keshi Ghat is the Gateway to that Magic Kingdom, heralded for generations in tales, poetry, paintings and, more recently, photos of its mystic wonder. It is the entrance to the charmed land of Vrindavan. But presently, plans are underway to degrade the grandeur of Vrindavan by constructing a traffic bridge right in front of Kesi Ghat. Imagine putting an ugly commercial bridge in front of Disneyland’s Magic Kingdom Castle! Or Agra’s Taj Mahal! Or the Eiffel Tower!

Many devotees are opposing this construction for many reasons, religious, cultural, etc., but one important objection can actually be made on economic grounds. This is a good approach because the bridge is being built in the name of commerce. So to appeal the issue from an economic angle is perhaps the most convincing argument against it.

For decades, Vrindavan has enjoyed a steadily increasing flow of tourism. Such tourism brings foreign currency and long term investment. All of this depends on Vrindavan’s draw as a unique pilgrimage site. In fact, it has been the prime source of Vrindavan’s economic development for the last few decades. The growth of the tourism industry has proven more reliable than any other regional economic investment program over the past 50 years.

India’s economy is booming today, yet to find a economic program surpassing the success of Vrindavan’s is difficult to find. Remember, Vrindavan has 5,000 years of history to market, along with 5,000 temples, many of architectural splendor. At the same time, the expanding interest in Vaishnavism is another source of increasing interest in Vrndavan.

Much of the planning of this bridge has been pinned to the old sectarian
sub-plots of Muslim or other anti-Hindu prejudices, but such notions distract
from the broader issue of the extraordinary opportunities Vrindavan offers.
The world’s appetite for India’s ancient histories is growing dramatically, and all things associated with the personality of Krishna are gaining from this and taking an ever larger share of this fast developing market. What a shame to destroy the mystique of Vrindavan’s ambiance just as it is moving center stage to these global developments!

Vrindavan’s international standing exceeds the local nature so typical of
India’s other communal conflicts. The historical reach and cultural treasure
trove that is Vrindavan, lends itself to that exclusive club more reflective of World Wonders like those of the Great Pyramids of Egypt or the Vatican of Rome. Imagine Italy undermining the beauty of the Vatican with similar traffic bridge—it is absurd. And doing such a thing in Vrndavan should seem equally absurd.

So the construction of this bridge needs to be stopped in the interest of India’s heritage, and also for the economic benefit of the area. But opposition to this bridge can be seen as a starting point for even greater plans to promote the glory of India’s spiritual heritage. Even something as simple as a policy of formal recognition would be an important step forward. It is critical to strengthen the protections for these irreplaceable sites. But for the immediate future, let’s return Keshi Ghat to its former glory as a step in preserving the ancient treasures of Asia.