India's UN Resolution on Yoga Gets Record Backing of 130 Countries

http://www.outlookindia.com/news/article/Indias-UN-Resolution-on-Yoga-Gets-Record-Backing-of-130-Countries/867944

In an overwhelming response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for commemorating an International Day of Yoga, about 130 countries have joined as co-sponsors to an India-led UN General Assembly resolution recognising yoga's benefits.

The draft resolution for an 'International Day of Yoga' was prepared by India and informal consultations
were convened last month by the Indian mission in the UN General Assembly where views on the topic
were expressed by other delegations.

The draft resolution, known as the 'L Document,' was finalised with 130 countries co-sponsoring it, an all-time record for a resolution of such kind.

The draft resolution, expected to come up for adoption in the General Assembly on December 10, would recognise that "yoga provides a holistic approach to health and well-being," echoing Modi's remarks in his maiden address to the 193-member body in September.

Modi had asked world leaders to adopt an International Yoga Day, saying that by changing lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help us deal with climate change.

"Yoga embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfillment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well being," he had said.

The resolution would also proclaim June 21 as the 'International Day of Yoga'.

It would recognise that wider dissemination of information about the benefits of practising yoga would be beneficial for the health of the world population and invite all member and observer states, organizations of the United Nations system and other international and regional bodies to observe the International Day in order to raise awareness of the benefits of practising yoga.

It would also note the importance of individuals and populations making healthier choices and following
lifestyle patterns that foster good health.

The resolution would underscore that global health is a long-term development objective that requires 

closer international cooperation through the exchange of best practices aimed at building better 

individual lifestyles devoid of excesses of all kinds.

Significantly, overwhelming support for the Modi's initiative is reflected in the various key nations that have come on board to co-sponsor the resolution including the five permanent members of the Security Council China, France, Russia, UK and the United States.

Several Asian, European and Latin American countries and nearly 60 per cent of African nations are

also co-sponsors including Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brazil, Canada, Central African Republic, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, South Korea, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Syria, Thailand, the UAE, and Vietnam.

Noting that Yoga is "an invaluable gift of our ancient tradition," Modi had said in the UN General Assembly that yoga is not about exercise "but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature."

Yoga is the 5,000-year-old Indian physical, mental and spiritual practice that aim to transform body and

mind.

"By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help us deal with climate change," 

he had said.

Barelvi cleric to go on indefinite fast to save cows!

BAREILLY: Cow protection activists across the country and abroad have an unexpected supporter in the form of Sunni cleric from the house of Barelvis, Maulana Tauqeer Raza. He has called for closure of meat factories and threatened to go on a fast-unto-death at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi if this is not done. 

Terming the meat factories as the biggest killers of cows in the country, the Maulana told TOI, "Islam states that the milk of a cow is like 'amrit' (nector) but it's meat is 'zeher' (poison) but look the factories exporting meat. They are not even sparing the Neelgai (blue bull) which is being captured from forests and slaughtered at these meat factories. Even the calves are not spared by unscrupulous meat exporters who do not care that in their bid to meet the target of exporting meat, they are destroying the future generation of this animal." 

Pressing for closure of meat factories, Tauqeer Raza said he feels stopping the slaughtering of cows would reduce price of milk by half and "preserve our cattle wealth which is vanishing fast with the mushrooming of meat exporting units feeding the markets of countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and China". 

He said it is a wrong notion that Muslims in India consume cow meat because it is prohibited by Shariat, which explicitly states that it should not be consumed as it is full of diseases. "But for filling the coffers of a handful of people, day is not far when cow milk would become history and we will be telling our future generations as to how milk tasted like." 

When asked what made him take up the issue of cow slaughter, the cleric said, "This region (Bareilly -Rohilkhand) has become notorious as red meat corridor of the country with almost daily seizures of cattle for illegal slaughtering in the meat factories at Rampur, Moradabad, Sambhal, Bijnore and Meerut. Initially, I thought that the matter should be raised by some Hindu organization to which I would lend my support. 

"But then I realized, that there is a general perception that Muslims are the ones who slaughter and consume meat which I wanted to remove from the minds of people who are, perhaps, oblivious to the fact that a majority of meat producing and exporting factories in India are owned by Hindus. Among them, many of the community which doesn't even consume onion and garlic and are strict vegetarians," he claimed. 

However Tauqeer Raza accepted that maximum number of such factories are located in Uttar Pradesh owing to state government's policy of granting indiscriminate licences. The jails of UP are full of people who are referred to as pashu taskar (cattle smugglers) whereas the fact remains that they are acting as conduits of factory owners who exceed their daily quota of animal for slaughtering from 500 a day to somewhere around 2,600. 

In this connection, the cleric said he would hand over a memorandum addressed to the CM and PM on Thursday and if action is not taken, he will sit on an indefinite fast at Jantar Mantar. 

Welcoming the decision, regional convenor, People for Animals (PFA), Dheeraj Yadav said, "It will be immensely beneficial for those waging the campaign against cow slaughter and will send a strong message among the masses that the cow is venerated by both Hindu and Muslims alike." 

What Makes Marwaris Successful in Business?

http://profit.ndtv.com/news/your-money/article-what-makes-marwaris-successful-in-business-697204?pfrom=home-business


New Delhi: From musty establishments in the dusty lanes of Kolkata's Burra Bazaar to towering office blocks in the financial nerve center of the country, Mumbai, the Marwari community plays a crucial role in turning the wheels of the country's economy as innovators, entrepreneurs and business leaders.

Their extraordinary success forms the primary subject for Thomas A Timberg in his book 'The Marwaris: From Jagat Seth to the Birlas'.

Speaking at a recent panel discussion here with author Gurcharan Das, Mr Timberg attempted to answer the fundamental question that cropped up: What makes the Marwaris so successful as a business community?

"One of the reasons they are so successful, I think, is because of their ability to adapt to situations. A flexibility of mind is surely an important trait responsible for their extraordinary success" he said.

"The answer also probably lies in the fact the commercial communities in general, and Marwaris in particular, have successfully implemented attitudes, skills and support systems," he added.

Elaborating further, Gurcharan Das enumerated a few characteristic traits which he attributed to the community.

"Their entrepreneurial instinct, credibility as businessmen and their community spirit are big factors in their success," he said.

He also highlighted their risk-taking ability.

"The business world rewards those who take risks. The incredible achievements of the Marwaris have often been credited to their extraordinary risk-taking ability."

Mr Das discussed the pitfalls of the socialist era and how that led to stagnation in the growth of the market and saw a downturn in the fortunes of business communities as a whole.

"Competition is the school in which companies learn to perfect their skills. By closing the economy and discouraging competition, socialism made Indian business houses complacent and insensitive to customer needs. They lost the incentive to improve their products and acquire marketing skills."

In his book, Mr Timberg chronicles the journey of a community that, from the desert sands of Rajasthan, slowly spread out to all the corners of the country, and eventually achieved phenomenal success in their trade.

Touching on this aspect, Mr Das writes in his foreword to the book, "With their enormous appetite for risk, the Marwaris controlled much of India's inland trade by the end of the First World War. Gradually they turned to industry after the war, and by 1970 they controlled much of the nation's private industrial assets, and by 2011 the Marwaris accounted for a quarter of the Indians on the Forbes list of billionaires."

The book is part of a series edited by Gurcharan Das about Indian businesses. The previous books include 'Arthashastra', 'East India Company' and 'Money in Ancient India' among others.

How one should behave with women?

(na stiyam avajanita...) One should not insult women folk nor one should have too much reliance upon them; one should not confide secrets to them nor one should authorize them indiscriminately. One should not indulge in sexual intercourse with a wife during her menses. One should not indulge in sexual intercourse with a woman who is not friendly or has not passionate desire or is passionately attached to somebody else or is married to someone else. (Charaka Samhita, Sutrasthana, 8.22)

Wherever women are respected in such places godly people live (Manu smrti, 3.56)

Women other than wife must be seen as mother - matravat para daresu (Chanakya neeti, 10)

One should not allow oneself to sit on the same seat even with one's own mother, sister or daughter, for the senses are so strong that even though one is very advanced in knowledge, he may be attracted by sex. (Srimad Bhagavatam, 9.19.17)

There are two classes of women created by Brahma. One class are chaste women and the other class unchaste women called as kulata ja̅ti. (Narada Pancharatra, 1.14.117)

Chaste women and men should be careful and reject association with such class of people (asat sanga tyagi yei vaisnava achara) (Cahitanya Caritamta, Madhya lila, 22.87)

He who avoids women on the six forbidden nights and on eight others, is equal chastity to a brahmaca̅ri although he is in gṛhastha ashrama.

Woman is compared to fire, and man is compared to a butter pot (The butter melts instantly in association with fire). Therefore a man should avoid associating even with his own daughter in a secluded place. Similarly, he should also avoid association with other women. One should associate with women only for important business and not otherwise. (Srimad Bhagavatam, 7.12.9)

World's First 'Old Age Home' for Bovines in Kerala

Guruvayur:  Revered by devotees of Lord Krishna, cows and bulls past their prime are being looked after at an 'old age home' by a temple in Guruvayur.

"It is a very old practice among devotees to offer cows and bulls for fullfilment of their vows to Lord Krishna, considering 'his association' with them," T V Chandramohan, Chairman of Guruvayur Devaswom Management Committee (GDMC), which manage the temples, said.

He said most cows and bulls were donated years back and are very old now and not producing milk. As religion prohibits slaughter of cows and bulls, it is the temple management's duty to take care of them till their death.

So the animals were shifted to the old age home for bovines at Vengad, he said.

The management has earmarked Rs. 72 lakh for renovation, improvement and repairs of the home in Malappuram district. 

The running expenses annually comes to around 2.5 crore, Chandramohan said.

There are a total of 1,055 cows and bulls, devoted to the presiding deity by worshippers over a period of time, now shifted to the "Gokulam" (cowshed) at Vengad, about 60 km from Guruvayur, spread over 96 acres, Chief Veterinarian of the cowshed Dr V Suma said.

The aim was to use the facility as a "care station" for aged and unwell cows without any emphasis on milk production, which is only about 40 litres per day, as they were at the fag end of their lactation period, she said.

Though there may be several takers for the aged animals, especially from butchers and meat exporters, the management does not want to sell them, considering the "religious ethics as it will be equivalent to defeating the objective of devotees who offered the cows to Lord Krishna", she said.

"The proposal is to set up a most modern old age home for the animals", she said.

Besides Vengad, there are two cowsheds under GDMC - one at Guruvayur and another at nearby Kaaveed - where a total of 45 milch-cows are being grown, Suma said.

On an average 13 cows die per month at Vengad, mainly due to age-related diseases. Milch cows at Kaaveed and Guruvayur would be shifted to Vengad once they become old or unwell. 

The 'old age home' is perhaps the first of its kind in the world as aged cows and bulls are sent to slaughter houses in other parts of the world, according to doctors of Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University.

Devaswom Executive Engineer K Sumathi said that as part of renovation, more paddocks would be set up. Though there were iron fences around the paddocks, dogs and foxes entered there through fence holes and attacked the animals, she said.

"Staff of the Gokulam are afraid of walking alone in the paddocks as dogs in groups of 12 and 13 encroached the paddocks", Suma said.

Burial of carcasses of bovines also pose a problem now following protests from people in nearby areas, who complain of environmental and atmospheric pollution.

An electrical incinerator was installed, but necessary equipment was not fitted with it and there is no power connection as yet and hence even its trial run was not conducted, Suma said.

Cow-dung pits and flurry pits would also be modernised and improved so that the animals do not slip into them accidentally. Hygienic conditions and the sanitary facilities would also be improved as part of the renovation. 

The Gokulam at Vengad was inaugurated in 1984 by the then Chief Minister of Kerala late K Karunakaran, who was an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna.

Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system

Ekadashi fasting has been an ancient practice. Of course, it is spiritually beneficial while there lies a hidden material benefit for the body too.

https://news.usc.edu/63669/fasting-triggers-stem-cell-regeneration-of-damaged-old-immune-system/

In the first evidence of a natural intervention triggering stem cell-based regeneration of an organ or system, a study in the June 5 issue of the Cell Stem Cell shows that cycles of prolonged fasting not only protect against immune system damage — a major side effect of chemotherapy — but also induce immune system regeneration, shifting stem cells from a dormant state to a state of self-renewal.

In both mice and a Phase 1 human clinical trial involving patients receiving chemotherapy, long periods of not eating significantly lowered white blood cell counts. In mice, fasting cycles then “flipped a regenerative switch,” changing the signaling pathways for hematopoietic stem cells, which are responsible for the generation of blood and immune systems, the research showed.

“We could not predict that prolonged fasting would have such a remarkable effect in promoting stem cell-based regeneration of the hematopoietic system,” said corresponding author Valter Longo, Edna M. Jones Professor of Gerontology and the Biological Sciences at the USC Davis School of Gerontology and director of the USC Longevity Institute. Longo has a joint appointment at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.The study has major implications for healthier aging, in which immune system decline contributes to increased susceptibility to disease as people age. By outlining how prolonged fasting cycles — periods of no food for two to four days at a time over the course of six months — kill older and damaged immune cells and generate new ones, the research also has implications for chemotherapy tolerance and for those with a wide range of immune system deficiencies, including autoimmunity disorders.

“When you starve, the system tries to save energy, and one of the things it can do to save energy is to recycle a lot of the immune cells that are not needed, especially those that may be damaged,” Longo said. “What we started noticing in both our human work and animal work is that the white blood cell count goes down with prolonged fasting. Then when you re-feed, the blood cells come back. So we started thinking, well, where does it come from?”

Fasting cycles

Prolonged fasting forces the body to use stores of glucose, fat and ketones, but it also breaks down a significant portion of white blood cells. Longo likens the effect to lightening a plane of excess cargo.

During each cycle of fasting, this depletion of white blood cells induces changes that trigger stem cell-based regeneration of new immune system cells. In particular, prolonged fasting reduced the enzyme PKA, an effect previously discovered by the Longo team to extend longevity in simple organisms and which has been linked in other research to the regulation of stem cell self-renewal and pluripotency — that is, the potential for one cell to develop into many different cell types. Prolonged fasting also lowered levels of IGF-1, a growth-factor hormone that Longo and others have linked to aging, tumor progression and cancer risk.

“PKA is the key gene that needs to shut down in order for these stem cells to switch into regenerative mode. It gives the OK for stem cells to go ahead and begin proliferating and rebuild the entire system,” explained Longo, noting the potential of clinical applications that mimic the effects of prolonged fasting to rejuvenate the immune system. “And the good news is that the body got rid of the parts of the system that might be damaged or old, the inefficient parts, during the fasting. Now, if you start with a system heavily damaged by chemotherapy or aging, fasting cycles can generate, literally, a new immune system.”

Prolonged fasting also protected against toxicity in a pilot clinical trial in which a small group of patients fasted for a 72-hour period prior to chemotherapy, extending Longo’s influential pastresearch.

“While chemotherapy saves lives, it causes significant collateral damage to the immune system. The results of this study suggest that fasting may mitigate some of the harmful effects of chemotherapy,” said co-author Tanya Dorff, assistant professor of clinical medicine at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital. “More clinical studies are needed, and any such dietary intervention should be undertaken only under the guidance of a physician.”

“We are investigating the possibility that these effects are applicable to many different systems and organs, not just the immune system,” said Longo, whose lab is in the process of conducting further research on controlled dietary interventions and stem cell regeneration in both animal and clinical studies.

The study was supported by the National Institute of Aging of the National Institutes of Health (grant numbers AG20642, AG025135, P01AG34906). The clinical trial was supported by the V Foundation and the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (P30CA014089).

Chia Wei-Cheng of USC Davis was first author of the study. Gregor Adams, Xiaoying Zhou and Ben Lam of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC; Laura Perin and Stefano Da Sacco of the Saban Research Institute at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; Min Wei of USC Davis; Mario Mirisola of the University of Palermo; Dorff and David Quinn of the Keck School of Medicine of USC; and John Kopchick of Ohio University were co-authors of the study.

Ram currency!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2730121.stm

Dutch give nod to 'guru currency' More than 100 Dutch shops accept 'raams' By Danielle Rossingh  BBC News Online business reporter A new "currency" issued by a group founded by Beatles guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi may be used and has not violated Dutch law, the Dutch central bank has said. The Global Country of World Peace, set up by the Indian mystic, issued the brightly coloured notes of one, five and 10 "raam" last October. Since then, more than 100 Dutch shops, some of them part of big department store chains, in 30 villages and cities have accepted the notes.  The raam is a key element... to promote a balanced world economy, reduce poverty and create world peace Benjamin Feldman, 'Minister of Finance' of the Maharishi movement A spokesman for the Dutch Central Bank told BBC News Online the bank was keeping a close eye on the raam, although he added that the Maharishi movement had done everything according to the law. "The raam can be used as long as the notes are not used as legal tender and it stays within a closed-off circuit of users," he said. Raam roll-out The raam is also circulating as the currency of Maharishi Vedic City in the US state of Iowa together with the US dollar, while raam-based bonds are being offered in 35 American states. Benjamin Feldman, 'Minister of Finance' of the Maharishi movement, told BBC News Online the raam could be used to battle poverty and create world peace.  We have a lot of clients in the movement - but so far, only one person has actually paid with [raams] Dutch shopkeeper He said governments could use the raam to start up agricultural and other development projects around the world. "There are 1.5 billion people living in extreme poverty and currencies like the US dollar are not available to most of them. The raam can be used to build new houses, roads, schools and health clinics," Mr Feldman said. And after a few good crop seasons, and with export of produce, the raam could then be exchanged for any other, hard, currency or even taken out of circulation, Mr Feldman argued. He added the raam was introduced in a relatively rich nation like the Netherlands, "because developing countries can use that as an inspiration." The movement plans a roll-out of the currency "in the European Union and in all continents". Opticians take the raam In the Netherlands, the raam notes are accepted in Dutch shops at a fixed rate of 10 euros per raam. "There are now about 100,000 raam notes in circulation. That is not a lot but we are keeping a close eye on it because it must never lead to confusion for the public," the Dutch central bank spokesman said. Pearle Opticians in the southern Dutch town of Roermond started accepting the raam notes three weeks ago. "We have a lot of clients in the movement and we did it as a service to them. But so far, only one person has actually paid with it," a Pearle shop manager said. Shopkeepers can exchange their raam notes at the Fortis Bank branch in Roermond. The Beatles Mr Maharishi introduced his "transcendental meditation" methods to the West more than 40 years ago. Since then, he has built up a following of about six million people. His most famous followers were the Beatles, who travelled to India in 1968 to meditate with him.

‘Cow protection, better breeding on priority list’

Additionally, he announced to launch, in cooperation with other ministries, “Pradhan Man-tri Gram Sinchayee Yojana”.

Apart from two ambitious schemes to provide irrigation and insurance to farmers, Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh Wednesday identified “cow protection” and “Indian cow breed improvement” as his priority areas while stressing that GM crops should be allowed only in extremely necessary cases.

“Countries like Brazil and Australia have taken Indian breeds of cows and developed improved breeds, while we are trying to bring foreign breeds of cows. I have asked officials to devise a programme towards breed improvement of indigenous cows,” Radha Mohan Singh said. He also emphasised on cow protection saying, “we will make all efforts towards cow protection and preservation.” The minister suggested only in extreme cases he would allow it. “GM technology will be allowed when it is very necessary,” Singh said.

The Minister declared his intention to launch two sche-mes towards enhancing irrigation coverage and providing “farm income insurance” to shield farmers. Additionally, he announced to launch, in cooperation with other ministries, “Pradhan Man-tri Gram Sinchayee Yojana”.

While saying that he will continue with the existing mechanism to determine Minimum Support Price, he said that he will strive to “ensure farmers get a minimum of 50 per cent profits over the cost of production” in the long-term.

Vedic History

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/indus-valley-script-vedic-history-naga-stone/1/331040.html

In a startling development Mahesh Keshavam, Gangadhar Yadav and Akbar Patel have announced that they've deciphered the Indus Valley script. Their task was made simple by the discovery of an Indian equivalent of the Rosetta Stone. For those who don't know, the Rosetta Stone, an ancient Pharaonic-Egypt decree discovered in the 18th century, helped decipher the ancient Egyptian script.

The Indian equivalent of the Rosetta Stone, called the Naga Stone by the trio who discovered it, has a message from a king who lived many millennia ago, inscribed in three different scripts. One of these is the ancient Brahmi script, which as we all know, has been deciphered already.

"We discovered the Naga Stone in Nagaland, and hence the name,� explained Mahesh. "It appears to be a message from a local ruler, prescribing that a certain festival celebration be followed strictly. It has the same message in three different scripts, one of which is Brahmi, which we can read. Since the message is the same across the other scripts, it was a simple job of matching words to decipher the other scripts.�

Interestingly, all three scripts including Brahmi can be identified as Indus Valley scripts since they contain symbols commonly found in Indus Valley seals. The Indus script (which is a hieroglyphic script, like that of Mandarin) has largely been found to be inscribed on small seals that were probably used for trade and, some say, for inspirational quotes as well.

Akbar said, "What we have discovered is that there was not one uniform Indus Valley script. There were many, each differing from the other quite a degree, even if some of the symbols were similar. In fact, one of the scripts is even written right to left!�

It is a common view among linguistic experts that there should be one standard Indus Valley script. It seemed logical as everything within the Indus Valley civilisation seemed to be rigidly standardised, from the dimensions of the bricks used in construction to the broad layouts for cities. It appears that the linguistic experts were wrong. Different regions did use different scripts. But was the language common?

"Yes, the language was common even though the scripts were different,� said Mahesh. "And the language was Sanskrit.� At the look of surprise on my face, Gangadhar stepped in. "You know,� explained Gangadhar, "the practice of using the Devanagiri script for the Sanskrit language is a relatively recent phenomenon. In ancient times, many other scripts were used, including the Brahmi script. In fact, ancient manuscripts have been found in Kerala wherein Sanskrit had been written in the Malayalam script. So the idea of using different scripts for the same language is not new in India. Of course, originally, Sanskrit had no native script and was primarily an oral language.�

But this obviously raises questions about the version of history taught to us. We are taught that the Indus Valley people were Dravidians who were indigenous Indians. They were, apparently, overrun by Sanskrit-speaking Aryan invaders and pushed to the south. So how can the script of a defeated people be used for the language of the victors?

"If you read the message on the Naga Stone itself,� said Akbar, "your doubts will be cleared. There was no so-called Aryan invasion. Unbiased historians have always marvelled at this strange dichotomy in ancient Indian history-the Indus Valley civilisation, the largest, most urban and richest civilisation of its time, purportedly left behind no literature or markers of high culture; whereas the so-called Aryan invaders from Central Asia, who didn't build any great cities and were apparently barbaric warriors, left behind the largest body of literature when compared to any other people of the ancient world. The only logical explanation is that the Indus Valley civilisation and the Vedic-erroneously called Aryan-civilisation were one and the same.�

"In India, the study of history is unfortunately heavily politicised, with left- and right-wing ideologues making arguments based on their ideological positions rather than facts,� said Gangadhar. "They both, sadly, allow their ideological leanings to cloud their thinking. Therefore, today, we have to turn to Westerners or non-professional Indian historians who are still untouched by the politics that plagues our history departments, to find unbiased interpretations of our history which are based on facts. Most Western historians have already junked the Aryan Invasion Theory as colonial-era, European myth-making.�

But the convincing proof is the Naga Stone itself. The message written on it is unambiguous. The local ruler of that time, Vasuki, said that the ancient Naga celebration of Panchami must be followed since it had come down to his people (whom he called Vedic people) from an ancient 10,000-year-old tradition from Sangam and Dwarka. Since the stone itself is at least 3,000 years old, it makes the 'mother cultures' of Sangam and Dwarka more than 13,000 years old, that is, before the end of the last great ice age.

But where were Sangam and Dwarka? "We believe that Sangam refers to an ancient Tamil civilisation and Dwarka to an ancient Gujarati one,� said Akbar. "It would seem that the British writer, Graham Hancock, was right. He had postulated that there were many ancient civilisations spread across the world before the end of the last great ice age, when the sea levels were a lot lower. Two of those civilisations were based in India -one off the coast of modern Tamil Nadu and another off the coast of modern Gujarat. These civilisations were destroyed when the ice age ended and the sea levels rose. The survivors escaped to the north and established what we call the Vedic civilisation. So, according to Graham Hancock, the ancient Vedic civilisation descended from an even more ancient Tamil and Gujarati civilisation. The Naga Stone has just confirmed this theory.� Clearly, our history books need some rewriting!

- Amish Tripathi is the author of The Shiva Trilogy

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/indus-valley-script-vedic-history-naga-stone/1/331040.html

Tipu Sultan's ring has Lord Ram's name on it!

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/tipus-ring-to-be-auctioned/article6002224.ece?homepage=true

It is through the private commerce of the auction house that many a precious relic of India’s history has come to light.

On May 22, a remarkable artifact that illuminates a watershed moment in India’s history will be auctioned by the leading London auction house Christie’s — and presumably thereafter vanish forever from the public eye.

A heavy gold ring worn by 18th century ruler Tipu Sultan during his last campaign against the British in 1799 will be sold as part of the ‘Raglan Collection: Wellington, Waterloo & The Crimea.’

Unusually, the 41.2 gm oval ring has the name of the Hindu God Rama in raised Devanagari inscribed on it.

It was taken off the finger of the dead ruler by the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, as his personal spoil of war after the Battle of Seringapatam in 1799.

The ring then found its way into the hands of another military family, that of FitzRoy Somerset, the 1st Baron Raglan. A famous soldier of the early 19th century, he joined Duke Wellington’s service in 1808 and rose to become his right-hand man for the next 40 years. He fought in major campaigns under Duke Wellington, including Waterloo and in the Crimea.

FitzRoy Somerset married the Duke’s favourite niece Emily Wellesley-Pole who was in possession of the ring, a gift from her uncle.

The ring has been valued at £10,000 to £15,000 and is part of the private collection of Fitzroy John Somerset, the great great grandson of the 1st Baron Raglan. The collection contains items that have been the possession of the family from 1858, including historical medals, arms and armour, militaria, pictures, furniture, silver, books, Indian weapons and works of art, as well as a selection of art.

Though a small object of personal use, the ring with its inscription awakens the spirit of the unusual 18th ruler who was its owner.

He sought out what was modern and transformatory for the time, putting it to use in his paramount objective of defeating the British.

Russia bans GMOs

Russia Completely Bans GMOs

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev recently announced that Russia will no longer import GMO products, stating that the nation has enough space, and enough resources to produce organic food.

If the Americans like to eat GMO products, let them eat it then. We don’t need to do that; we have enough space and opportunities to produce organic food.” – Medvedev

Russia has been considering joining the long list (and continually growing) of anti-GMO countries  for quite some time now. It does so after a group of Russian scientists urged the government to consider at least a 10-year moratorium on GMOs to thoroughly study their influence on human health.

“It is necessary to ban GMOs, to impose moratorium (on) it for 10 years. While GMOs will be prohibited, we can plan experiments, tests, or maybe even new methods of research could be developed. It has been proven that not only in Russia, but also in many other countries in the world, GMOs are dangerous. Methods of obtaining the GMOs are not perfect, therefore, at this stage, all GMOs are dangerous. Consumption and use of GMOs obtained in such way can lead to tumors, cancers and obesity among animals. Bio-technologies certainly should be developed, but GMOs should be stopped. We should stop it from spreading. ” – Irina Ermakova, VP of Russia’s National Association for Genetic Safety

(RIA Novosti/Ekaterina Shtukina)

A number of scientists worldwide have clearly outlined the potential dangers associated with consuming GMOs. I recently published an article titled “10 Scientific Studies Proving GMOs Can Be Harmful To Human Health,” you can read that in fullhere.  These are just a select few out of hundreds of studies that are now available in the public domain, it seems that they continue to surface year after year.

Russia completely banning GMOs, such a large, developed nation is a big step forward in creating more awareness with regards to GMOs. Ask yourself, why have so many nations banned GMOs and the pesticides that go with them? It’s because evidence points to the fact that they are not safe, they are young, and we just don’t know enough about them to safely consume them. They just aren’t necessary, so why produce them?

Within the past few years, awareness regarding GMOs has skyrocketed. Activism has played a large role in waking up a large portion of Earths population with regards to GMOs. People are starting to ask questions and seek answers. In doing so, we are all coming to the same conclusion as Russia recently came to.

In February, the State Duma introduced a bill banning the cultivation of GMO food products. President Putin ordered that Russian citizens be protected from GMOs.  The States Agricultural Committee has supported the ban recommendation  from the Russian parliament, and the resolution will come into full effect in July 2014.

This just goes to show what we can do when we come together and demand change and share information on a global scale. Change is happening, and we are waking up to new concepts of our reality every day. GMOs are only the beginning, we have many things to rid our planet of that do not resonate with us and are clearly unnecessary. We are all starting to see through the false justifications for the necessity of GMOs, no longer are we so easily persuaded, no longer do we believe everything we hear and everything we’re presented with. Lets keep it going!

For more CE articles on GMOs, click here.

For more CE articles on glyphosate, click here.

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