Monday, September 16, 2019

THE BALANCE OF POWER IN ASIA. TIBET EQUILIBRIUM

TIBET IS THE KEY FOR BALANCE OF POWER IN ASIA. #TIBETEQUILIBRIUM
Tibet is the Key for Balance of Power in Asia. It is not Geometry. It is Geography that Matters. #TibetEquilibrium In my analysis, it is not “Geometry” but it is “Geography” that Matters to secure the Balance of Power in Asia. I coined the phrase “Tibet Equilibrium,” #TibetEquilibrium to signify the importance of the landmass to achieve Power Equilibrium in Asia. Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE Pentagon steps up efforts to counter China’s rising power afp.com
Maritime operations, missile tests, landing exercises: the Pentagon has been sharply stepping up its efforts to counter China’s growing military power, seen increasingly as a threat. a large ship in the water: The US military has been using guided-missile destroyers like this one, the USS John McCain, seen here in a US Navy photo, as it seeks to enforce an international 'freedom of operation' near islands claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea Tibet Equilibrium. Geography Matters. Tibet is the Key for Power Equilibrium in Asia. © James VAZQUEZ The US military has been using guided-missile destroyers like this one, the USS John McCain, seen here in a US Navy photo, as it seeks to enforce an international ‘freedom of operation’ near islands claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea On Friday an American warship approached the Paracel Islands, an island chain claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea, to affirm international “freedom of navigation” in the region. The USS Wayne E. Meyer, a guided-missile destroyer, passed near the islands to contest Beijing’s sweeping claims to the seas around the archipelago, which is also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. The Chinese claim would block “innocent passage” by other countries’ ships and is “not permitted by international law,” a US Seventh Fleet spokeswoman, Commander Reann Mommsen, said. Friday’s was the sixth “freedom of navigation operation” — or FONOPS in naval jargon — this year, a clear acceleration in pace. There were a total of eight in 2017 and 2018 and only six during the entire Obama presidency. On Wednesday, the US Marine Corps announced it had conducted exercises on the Japanese islet of Tori Shima, hundreds of miles south of Tokyo, to practice landings on “hostile” shores and the seizure of landing strips.
a man wearing a suit and tie: Ryan McCarthy is seen on September 12, 2019, at his Senate confirmation hearing to become US secretary of the army, the position formerly held by Defense Secretary Mark Esper Tibet Equilibrium. Geography Matters. Tibet is the Key for Power Equilibrium in Asia. © MARK WILSON Ryan McCarthy is seen on September 12, 2019, at his Senate confirmation hearing to become US secretary of the army, the position formerly held by Defense Secretary Mark EsperThe exercises were clearly designed to highlight the ability of the American military to invade a disputed island and establish a supply base for aerial operations. “This type of raid gives the commanders in the Indo-Pacific region the ability to project power and conduct expeditionary operations in a potentially contested littoral environment,” one of the officers in charge, Commander Anthony Cesaro, said in a statement. Such a forthright description, coming from a Pentagon hardly known for unguarded talk, reflects the fresh impetus Defense Secretary Mark Esper has given to the US policy of “strategic rivalry” with China and Russia. Esper, who chose Asia for his first overseas trip only weeks after being sworn in as Pentagon chief, has made clear that the US wants to rapidly deploy new missiles in Asia — possibly within months — to counter China’s rising military power. – To ‘change the geometry’ – On Thursday, acting US army secretary Ryan McCarthy, speaking in a Senate confirmation hearing, defended the development of such new missiles. He said the new medium-range conventional missiles Washington wants to develop — now that the US is no longer constrained by the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, which the Trump administration abandoned last year — would “change the geometry within Southeast Asia.” “If we can get the appropriate partnerships, expeditionary basing rights with partners within the region,” McCarthy said, “we can change the geometry and basically reverse anti-access, area-denial capabilities that have been invested by near-peer competitors” — jargon for pushing back against sovereignty claims by China and Russia.
a large ship in the background: Sailors stand on the deck of the new Chinese guided-missile destroyer Nanchang as Beijing showed off its growing fleet on April 23, 2019, in the sea off eastern China's Shandong province Tibet is the Key for Balance of Power in Asia. It is not Geometry. It is Geography that Matters. #TibetEquilibrium © Mark Schiefelbein Sailors stand on the deck of the new Chinese guided-missile destroyer Nanchang as Beijing showed off its growing fleet on April 23, 2019 in the sea off eastern China’s Shandong province last month the Pentagon chose the Pacific Ocean for its first test of a conventional medium-range missile since the end of the Cold War — effectively driving a nail into the coffin of the INF treaty, which banned the use of land-based missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (310 to 3,400 miles). And in late August, Washington formally established its Space Command, or Spacecom, a new unified command charged with ensuring US domination in space, where China has been increasingly active. Beijing rattled US military officials in 2007 when it launched a missile that located and then destroyed a Chinese satellite, in a dramatic demonstration of China’s growing ability to militarize space.
Tibet is the Key for Balance of Power in Asia. It is not Geometry. It is Geography that Matters. #TibetEquilibrium

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019. MY REFLECTIONS ON HUMAN NATURE

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 – REMEMBERING THE CONSONANCE AND THE DISSONANCE IN HUMAN NATURE

Wednesday, September 11, 2019. Remembering the consonance and the dissonance in human nature. Tower of Voices, Flight 93 National Memorial Site, Pennsylvania.

On Wednesday, September 11, 2019, the 17th Anniversary of 911 attacks on the United States, I reflect upon the consonance and dissonance in human nature. The serenity and nobility of the site in Pennsylvania depict the dimension of consonance and the crash of Flight 93 depicts the dimension of dissonance when the world and man are viewed as the works of God.

I define the United States using its national motto which proclaims, "In God We Trust." For we trust in God, it is rational to claim that man is constituted as a Spiritual Being in God's own image. 

I have a great problem in accounting for man's evil thoughts and actions that cause pain and suffering. The wickedness of man got exposed on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. For God's creation is perfect, there can never be two opposing or self-contradicting dimensions of human nature. Man's spiritual nature reveals the consonance, the resonance of God's nature in His work. How does the dissonance intrude into the world? How can the man be estranged, separated, or alienated from his own true or original nature?

Wednesday, September 11, 2019. Remembering the consonance and the dissonance in human nature. Reflections at Flight 93 National Memorial Site, Pennsylvania.
In my analysis, the prophecy of Isaiah has come true. Man is cursed to suffer. There can be no healing without conversion by the Spirit.

 Wednesday, September 11, 2019. Remembering the consonance and the dissonance in human nature. Reflections at Flight 93 National Memorial Site.

Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE

https://bhavanajagat.com/2016/09/11/remembering-september-11-2001-can-terror-define-man/
TOWER OF VOICES – FLIGHT 93 NATIONAL MEMORIAL
Clipped from: https://www.nps.gov/flni/getinvolved/tower-of-voices.htm

[cWednesday, September 11, 2019. Remembering the consonance and the dissonance in human nature. Reflections at Flight 93 National Memorial Site in Pennsylvania.

The Tower of Voices is conceived as a monumental, ninety-three feet tall musical instrument holding forty wind chimes, representing the forty passengers and crew members. The intent is to create a set of forty tones (voices) that can connote through consonance the serenity and nobility of the site while also through dissonance recalling the event that consecrated the site.
Artwork courtesy of bioLinia and Paul Murdoch Architects.

Wednesday, September 11, 2019. Remembering the consonance and the dissonance in human nature. Reflections at Flight 93 National Memorial Site in Pennsylvania.

The wind chimes inside the Tower of Voices. The chimes will be constructed of polished aluminum tubes ranging 8-16 inches in diameter and approximately five to ten feet in length. The size of each chime is dependent on the musical note and associated frequency that it is intended to produce.
Artwork courtesy of bioLinia and Paul Murdoch Architects.

Overview

The Tower of Voices serves as both a visual and audible reminder of the heroism of the forty passengers and crew of United Flight 93. On September 09, 2018 Flight 93 National Memorial will host a dedication event to complete the final phase of construction and complete the permanent memorial.


The tower is conceived as a monumental, ninety-three feet tall musical instrument holding forty wind chimes, representing the forty passengers and crew members. It is intended to be a landmark feature near the memorial entrance, visible from US Route 30/Lincoln Highway. The Tower of Voices will provide a living memorial in sound to remember the forty through their ongoing voices.
The tower project will be constructed from 2017 to 2018 with a dedication of the project on September 9, 2018. Funding for the design and construction of the project is provided through private donations to the National Park Foundation and the Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial.

Uniqueness of Design

There are no other chime structures like this in the world. The shape and orientation of the tower are designed to optimize airflow through the tower walls to reach the interior chime chamber. The chime system is designed using music theory to identify a mathematically developed range of frequencies needed to produce a distinct musical note associated with each chime. The applied music theory allows the sound produced by individual chimes to be musically compatible with the sound produced by the other chimes in the tower. The intent is to create a set of forty tones (voices) that can connote through consonance the serenity and nobility of the site while also through dissonance recalling the event that consecrated the site.

Design Features

The tower is approximately ninety-three feet tall from the base to the top with some height variations. The Tower cross-section is a "C" shape with a fifteen-foot outside diameter and eleven foot inside diameter. The "C" shape allows sound to reflect outwardly from the open side in a fan-shaped pattern. The chimes will be suspended a minimum of twenty feet above the main plaza and will be suspended from the interior walls of the tower up to the top.

The tower walls will be constructed of precast concrete segments linked by connectors. The chimes will be constructed of polished aluminum tubes ranging eight to sixteen inches in diameter and approximately five to ten feet in length. The size of each chime is dependent on the musical note and associated frequency that it is intended to produce. Chimes of this size and magnitude do not currently exist in the world. The chimes are wind activated and will have internal strikers attached to sails projecting from the bottom of each chime.

Surrounding Landscape

The tower is located on an oval concrete plaza that is built on top of an earth mound to create an area more prominent on the landscape. The plaza includes two curved concrete benches facing the opening of the tower.

The tower is surrounded by concentric rings of white pines and deciduous plantings. The concentric plantings may be interpreted as resonating "sound waves" from the Tower, alluding to the auditory qualities of the chimes housed within. A direct paved path leads to the tower from the parking lot. A longer, meandering crushed stone path winds through the trees and allows visitors an alternative approach to the tower. All other landscaped areas of the project will be planted with a native wildflower seed mix similar to other landscaped areas of the park.

 Wednesday, September 11, 2019. Remembering the consonance and the dissonance in human nature. Reflections at Flight 93 National Memorial Site in Pennsylvania.

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

SUICIDE PREVENTION AND GOD-CONNECTION

SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE-WORLD SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY

Image result for september 10 suicide prevention day




SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – SEPTEMBER IS SUICIDE AWARENESS MONTH: SEVEN DIMENSIONS OF HUMAN BEING. THESE ARE, 1.MAN IS A CREATED BEING, AND MAN IS CONSTITUTED AS 2. PHYSICAL, MORTAL BEING, 3. MENTAL BEING, 4. SOCIAL BEING, 5. MORAL BEING, 6. SPIRITUAL BEING AND 7. RATIONAL BEING.

September 10 is observed as World ‘Suicide Prevention Day’ and September is ‘Suicide Awareness Month’. To promote Suicide Awareness, I would like to promote awareness of the Seven Dimensions of Human Being. These dimensions are 1. Man is a Created Being, and man is constituted as 2. Physical, Mortal Being, 3. Mental Being, 4. Social Being, 5. Moral Being, 6. Spiritual Being, and 7. Rational Being.


SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – SEPTEMBER IS SUICIDE AWARENESS MONTH. SPIRITUALITY IS ABOUT FORMULATING INTERPERSONAL, AND INTRAPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS BASED UPON SHARED FEELINGS OF TRUST, RESPECT, AND COMMITMENT. SPIRIT OR SOUL IS THE VITAL, ANIMATING PRINCIPLE THAT OPERATES ALL LIVING SYSTEMS.

Spirit or Soul is the vital, animating principle that operates all living systems. Spirituality is about formulating interpersonal, and intrapersonal relationships based upon shared feelings of trust, respect, and commitment.

MAN’S PHYSICAL EXISTENCE:


Spirituality Science–September is Suicide Awareness Month. The subjective reality of man’s physical existence is conditioned by his physical, mental, social, moral, spiritual, and rational well-being.
If a man is viewed as a multicellular organism, we may have to ask ourselves the following question. Who or What is the Subject that lives because of the living functions of trillions of individual, independent cells? Man has to explore the biological basis for his existence in nature. The subjective and objective reality of man’s physical existence is conditioned by his physical, mental, social, moral, spiritual, and rational well-being.
MENTAL HEALTH – THE MIND-BODY CONNECTION:

SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – SEPTEMBER IS SUICIDE AWARENESS MONTH. MENTAL HEALTH IS ABOUT FORMULATING HARMONIOUS SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS. SPIRIT OR SOUL IS THE OPERATING PRINCIPLE THAT DEVELOPS FUNCTIONAL HARMONY BETWEEN VARIOUS CELLS, TISSUES, ORGANS, AND ORGAN SYSTEMS OF HUMAN ORGANISM.

Mental health is an important component of total positive health when health is defined as not the mere absence of disease, but as a state of man’s physical, mental, social, moral, spiritual, and rational well-being. Physical conditions and ailments affect mental well-being.
Mental health and well-being could have important consequences affecting the physical, and social well-being of the man and may even threaten his ability to maintain the biological integrity to survive as a human organism. Mental health is defined as the capacity in an individual to form harmonious relations with others and to participate in or contribute constructively to changes in the social environment.

A living organism has a tendency to maintain normal internal stability by coordinated responses that automatically compensate for environmental changes. Claude Bernard had explained this concept of ‘milieu Interieur’ as that of “all the vital mechanisms, varied as they are, have only one object; that of preserving constant the conditions of life.” This concept of homeostasis, maintenance of stability and equilibrium is applicable to man’s existence within a social group. A living thing maintains its individuality while being a member of a social group.
Mental equilibrium and mental tranquility are needed to maintain internal stability and for developing harmonious relationships with others present in the social environment. The different constituent parts of one’s personality should work in harmony so that an individual faces life situations rationally, successfully, and happily. The aim of the positive mental health care is to strengthen and develop well-integrated personality by influencing the behavioral pattern of the individual so that psychological situations are controlled by the individual in a logical, and rational manner. The individual while facing challenging life situations must arrive at solutions without disrupting the physical, mental, or social well-being.

Mental health comprises the well-being of the intellectual and the emotional components of the mind. The intellectual breakdown of the individual deprives him of logical and rational thinking. The decisions taken will be faulty if the individual is not capable of logical and rational thinking. Such faulty decisions tend to affect an individual’s well-being. The intellectual breakdown is always accompanied by an emotional breakdown. Emotional imbalance affects an individual’s reactions. The individual may show an inability to cope with life situations. The inability to withstand the strain and stress of life situations could affect the physical well-being of the individual. The aim of this presentation is to understand the nature of man’s essence and existence in the physical world and to use that information to prevent the problem of suicide.

STRESS AND STRESS RESISTANCE:


Spirituality Science–September is Suicide Awareness Month. A person with a well-integrated personality acquires high resistance against stress and will be able to react healthily while confronting unwholesome life situations.

Resistance against mental and emotional breakdown is built up by the autonomic process of integration of personality. It is the normal process of the growth of personality within the group environs. An individual with a well-integrated personality acquires high resistance against difficult situations. The individual will be able to react healthily while confronting unwholesome life situations.

A healthy mind and ability to be molded in an integrated personality depends upon several factors including the physical, social, and psychological environment in which the individual is growing. It also depends upon the cultural patterns and attitudes handed down from one generation to the next. From a very young age, integration of the personality proceeds along with intellectual development and emotional molding. Children must be given a better chance to develop integrated personalities with resistance against stress.

Stress stimuli generate a chain of psycho-physical reactions strong enough to cause manifest effects. Personalities can be divided into 5 types according to their ability to resist strain and stress to master a given difficult life situation without a physical or mental breakdown. The same psychogenic stimulus may not cause a similar reaction in all individuals. Each person reacts in a different manner according to the level of preformed stress resistance.

GROUP I: Highly stress-resistant. These persons have a high level of preformed resistance. They also have the ability to develop resistance within a short time when exposed to stress stimuli. This group comprises of people with well-integrated personalities with dominant will power and power of endurance. They carry out the task even while under great stress without experiencing any negative consequences. They successfully master a stressful and difficult situation. These individuals live in good positive health and may not have a preexisting disease condition or a predisposition to such disease conditions that may undermine the physical and mental aspects of their health and well-being.

GROUP II: These persons have an average amount of preformed stress resistance. They overcome the stressful situation partially. In the attempt to master the stressful situation and to achieve success the person may suffer from precipitation of internal conditions such as hypertension, coronary artery disease and so on when other predisposing factors are also existing. However, the individual completes the task while facing a stressful stimulus. These persons perform better if they maintain good positive health.

GROUP III: These are persons with very low preformed stress resistance. They still have the ability to develop resistance on exposure to a prolonged stressful situation. While performing the task in a stressful situation, they may display psycho-somatic symptoms of overt stress syndrome.

GROUP IV: These are persons with no preformed stress resistance. They have a very low ability to create resistance upon exposure to a stressful stimulus. These individuals are more likely to abandon the task which may have exposed them to a stressful experience. They would try to escape from stress rather than attempting to create resistance to stress stimuli. If they cannot escape, the lack of stress resistance is manifested in a variety of bizarre symptoms.

GROUP V: These are persons who are non-resistant to stress. They have no preformed stress resistance. They are not capable of favorably reacting to situations producing stress. Their biological existence could be threatened if they are exposed to a stressful situation. They may manifest an overt psychiatric illness apart from the inability to perform a task that could generate the stress reaction. Such individuals must be recognized in their childhood and they must be provided the proper environment and psychological counseling.
The part played by stress varies in different individuals according to their basic personalities. The factors that impact the role of stress include environmental influences, community with its varied backgrounds of culture patterns and life habits. Pre-existent resistance against stress reduces the requirement of immediate psycho-physical response. If the problem of suicide is viewed as a stress reaction, the prevention of suicide would require promoting the idea of stress resistance.
THE PROBLEM OF SUICIDE:

A man’s right to life is a well-recognized principle. Very often, the law would defend a man’s right to life and would condone the act of killing if it is purely intended for purposes of self-defense. Does a man have the right to kill himself or renounce his life? Suicide is condemned by various societies. Major religions like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam oppose the practice of suicide. Attempts to commit suicide are punishable by law in several countries. In the East, some cultural traditions have glorified acts of self-immolation or of renouncing life to resist the enemy or to defend personal dignity, honor, or as an extreme measure of self-preservation.


Spirituality Science–September is Suicide Awareness Month. To defend her true nature, to preserve her essence, to resist the violation of her personal dignity and honor, Rani Padmini of Chittorgarh, India had courageously responded to a difficult and challenging life situation by an act of self-immolation. Her physical being was destroyed by fire which she had willingly embraced and yet her spirit has survived. She declared victory over Death and she lives as an immortal person in the hearts of Indians and gives them a sense of Pride and Identity.
In the West, attitudes have been slowly changing. The law may permit euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide under very special circumstances that affect the quality of life of an individual.

THE PROBLEM OF SUICIDE IN THE ARMED FORCES:


Spirituality Science–September is Suicide Awareness Month. While serving as Medical Officer of the Indian Army Medical Corps, I provided Comprehensive Health Care to troops and their families. The concept of Fitness to Fight includes both Physical Fitness and Mental Fitness. The goal is to keep troops Fighting Fit at all times and under all conditions that may impose physical, psychological, social, or biological Stress. Indian Tradition has always paid attention to the well-being of all aspects of health and it includes Moral well-being and spiritual well-being of man. During years I had served, the incidence of Suicidal Death in Indian Armed Forces was minimal.
To members of the Armed Forces, the problem of suicide is of special significance. The Armed Forces as a military establishment have a very challenging and difficult duty to perform. It has to conserve man-power, keep up the morale of its troops, and retain its fighting abilities and capacities at all times, both during peace and during the war. In ethical, and moral terms, Armed Forces believe in the act of killing and accepts the inevitability of causing deaths during the conduct of military operations. Armed Forces also actively prepares its members to overcome the fear of death and willingly exposes its members to the risks of getting killed both for the purposes of training and during actual combat situations.
A soldier is not expected to kill himself to escape from the stress of his military duty and at the same time, he must retain a very high level of motivation to kill the enemy and be willing to get killed in the performance of his task.
Armed Forces selects its members with due care and chooses people with preformed stress resistance and further uses training as a tool to build up the stress resistance level of its members. The qualities of valor, duty, and honor define the essence and the Spirit of Service. Armed Forces members must exist to display their essence.
I participated in the military operations that were conducted in the Chittagong Hill Tracts during the India-Pakistan War of 1971. I encouraged men to overcome stress and promoted the value of stress resistance. Kindly refer to my blog post titled ‘The Victory over Death – The Psychology of Warfare.

THE PREVALENCE OF SUICIDE:

Suicide has become much more common and it ranks as the second or third most common cause of death during adolescence. Suicide is also most pronounced in the older age. The rate of suicide is greatest between the ages of 35 and 75 years with a peak at about the age of 55 years. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, in the year 2007, suicide was the third leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 24. Among ages 65 and older, of every 100,000 people, 14.3 died by suicide in the year 2007. This figure is higher than the national average of 11.3 suicides per 100,000 people in the general population.

THE WARNING SIGNS OF SUICIDE:

Suicide constitutes the greatest risk in manic-depressive psychosis. During depression, or mania, the psychotic individual shows no insight into the abnormal nature of his mood. Depression is a major symptom of neurosis. Attacks of depression are characterized by signs that the person has deep feelings of melancholia( sadness ). The sufferer typically looks unhappy, he feels hopeless and worthless, considers his life a torment. The depressed individual may experience a desire to punish himself by self-destruction and may directly or indirectly express such feelings or thoughts.

The American Society for Suicide Prevention posted these warning signs of suicide, and signs of depression :- Unrelenting low mood, pessimism, hopelessness, desperation, anxiety, psychic pain, inner tension, withdrawal, sleep problems, increased alcohol or other drug use, recent impulsiveness & taking unnecessary risks, threatening suicide or expression of a strong desire or wish to die, making a plan, giving away prized possessions, sudden or impulsive purchase of a firearm, obtaining other means of killing oneself such as poisons or medications, unexpected rage or anger. Changes in attitude, personal behavior could be always discovered and the individual who is at the risk of taking his life could be helped by simple observation.

THE CAUSES OF SUICIDE:

Current research and thinking on suicide tend to view biological, psychological, social-structural, and social-situational factors as interacting with each other. Sociological theories of suicide usually emphasize importance of either the social structure or the social situations, and the cultural pressures that individuals face. Psychological theories emphasize personality and cognitive factors.

THE SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY OF SUICIDE:

Spirituality Science – September is Suicide Awareness Month. EMILE DURKHEIM (April 1858 to November 1917 ) is considered to be the founder of the French School of Sociology.
Emile Durkheim in his paper ‘Le Suicide’ published in 1897, had tried to explain the apparent and purely individual decision to renounce life as a product of social forces or ‘social functionalism’. He had introduced the term ‘anomie’ or anomy. Suicide results from the breakdown of social standards that people need to regulate their behavior. A failed society produces in its members a sense of futility, lack of purpose, emotional emptiness, and despair. Anomie is a condition of relative normlessness of a society or social group. It may also mean a state of mind of a person who has no standards or sense of continuity or obligation to maintain his social bonds.

THE PERSONALITY THEORY OF SUICIDE:

The desire to escape depression is the most frequently cited motivation to explain suicide. A personality factor could be involved in persons who believe that suicide constitutes a solution to the problems that they may be facing. The suicide victim’s ideas, beliefs, and ways of thinking have a causal relationship with an underlying personality. The way people view their problems can produce a greater or lesser tendency to depression and suicide.

THE QUEST FOR AUTHENTIC EXISTENCE:


Spirituality Science – September is Suicide Awareness Month. Philosopher, Nobel Laureate Jean-Paul Sartre recommended the quest for authentic existence. He claimed that Suicide is absurd; it is absurd to get rid of what man is (etre-en-soi) as the true subjectivity of man (etre-pour-soi)disappears at the same time.

The Existentialists suggest that a person must find a situation in which he finds his true significance. In his Existentialist book, ‘Being and Nothingness’, philosopher and Nobel laureate Jean-Paul Sartre divides the being( the existing reality ) into two categories. One category is called being-in-itself (etre-en-soi ) and it may describe the essence of the man, the sum of the intrinsic properties without which a thing would cease to be what it is. The second category is being-for-itself ( etre-pour-soi ) which comprises the being that has thoughts, feelings, and consciousness. The being-for-itself exists only when it is supported by the being-in-itself. Existentialists view man in terms of his existing thoughts and actions rather than in terms of his essence. According to Sartre, man’s own existence is always attempting to overcome a radical estrangement between man as the object of scientific study or man himself(etre-en-soi ) and the subjectivity man knows in his thoughts and consciousness(etre-pour-soi ). A man’s life in the world and his social transactions often conceal his true subjectivity. A sense of authentic existence is given to each person when he realizes his true subjectivity as a being that is conscious. Sartre claimed that suicide is a final act of absurdity. Suicide is absurd; for in getting rid of what man is(etre-en-soi ), the true subjectivity of man(etre-pour-soi) also disappears at the same time.

THE PREVENTION OF SUICIDE:

There is no single approach that could be expected to succeed in substantially reducing the incidence of suicide. However, it will not be incorrect to claim that suicide is 100 percent preventable. The act of killing oneself or the action called suicide is totally preventable even when suicidal thoughts may not be preventable. If an individual’s mind is engaged in suicidal thoughts, it may not be possible to prevent those thoughts as the thoughts have already originated. I may succeed in preventing the individual from acting upon his suicidal thoughts. As long as a man knows his thoughts, and would not let his thoughts overwhelm him, man can lead a normal life even when the mind engages in ideas or thoughts about suicide.

STAY INFORMED AND STAY CONNECTED:


Spirituality Science–September is Suicide Awareness Month. Suicide is totally preventable if a man seeks information about his ‘essence'(true or real Self) and the connection, bonding, partnership, relationship, association, or ‘yoking’ with an external agency that supports his existence.

To help prevent suicide, I would like to keep the man informed by sharing the following information, and the man must reflect upon the nature of ‘connection’ that sustains man’s existence in the physical world.

EXISTENCE PRECEDES ESSENCE :

Existence is the state of being in the world of actuality. The essence is the most significant part of a thing’s nature, the sum of the intrinsic properties without which a thing would cease to be what it is.

What is the fundamental nature or quality that is important or essential to define the true substance of the man? To understand human essence, a human being must be defined as a physical, mental, social, moral, spiritual, and rational being. The subjective reality of man’s existence precedes and defines man’s essence. Existence is the first priority and must be preserved if a man wants to define his nature or essence. To defend human existence, the physical, the mental, the social, the moral, the spiritual, and the rational well-being of man must be defended.
As I have mentioned before, Indian tradition honors the man who may define his moral, or spiritual essence by putting an end to his physical existence. That is the only exception to the rule.
The rule is; human existence does not depend upon the contents of man’s thoughts, feelings, desires, emotions, self-pride or ego. Man must always strive to rationally understand and evaluate his thoughts, feelings, desires, moods, emotions, and self-pride and should not act upon them to compromise his existence which is truly independent of such factors that impact human life. If I think that I must live for two hundred years, the thoughts about a long life span would not change the basis for my biological existence. Similarly, if I think that I must kill myself, the suicidal thought does not alter the basis for my biological existence. Suicidal thoughts do not describe human essence. A stress-resistant individual would have the ability to investigate and reflect upon his suicidal thoughts and trace the reason for such thoughts. Stress is a problem that is associated with identity and individuality. The human person is a multicellular organism and man must know as to how the human organism establishes its identity and its individuality. While man seeks to define his essence in terms of his identity, the organism seeks to identify the Individual for whose existence the cells perform functions to support.

IDENTITY AND INDIVIDUALITY – TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN:


Spirituality Science – September is Suicide Awareness Month. If Essence describes one facet of the coin, Existence describes the second face of the same coin.

Spirituality Science – September is Suicide Awareness Month. If Identity is described by one side of the coin, Individuality is described by the second side of the same coin.
Mental health is related to the understanding of identity and individuality. We need to understand as to how identity and individuality are established in the multicellular human organism.

My mind may define my identity in one manner and my human organism may establish my identity in a different manner. My mind may seek my identity from my thoughts, intellectual information & knowledge, emotions, and false ego. These four aspects of mental activities or functions are named in the Indian tradition as Manas, Buddhi, Chitta, and Ahamkara. These four mental activities are together named as Mano Chatushtayam or AntaHkaranam. Indian tradition asks people to recognize that the true identity of the individual does not pertain to these four aspects of human brain activities.

The attempts by man to establish his identity on the basis of his morphological appearance, anthropometric data, biometric information, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, language or nation/ place of origin have no biological relevance in terms of supporting the existence of that human individual.

Man exists as long as he has the ability to defend his individuality and maintains the integrity of the various physiological/metabolic activities that support the vital functions that impart the quality or condition called Life and keeps the organism living. In the human organism, this functional unity is maintained by an anatomical structure called Brain Stem. Man lives as an individual while the functions of the Brain Stem are intact and the man dies if the functional activity is not found in the Brain Stem. Man can seek any kind of identity if he could maintain the individuality that the Brain Stem supports.

Man is free to change his morphological appearance, can change his sexual identity, can change occupation, speak a different language, change his place of residence, practice a different religion or no religion, and can change the nature of his personal relationships with others while he maintains his individuality as a living organism. A man must be always conscious of his individuality which demands that he exists as a distinct entity from his mind and its mental activities.

A man could be aware of the presence of suicidal thoughts engaged by his mind and yet maintain his separation from those thoughts. A man who seeks to exist as an individual will have no problem in resisting his thoughts, feelings, emotions, and mood changes. Such mental activities would not overwhelm or overpower the person.

The problem of stress does not go away. However, man can become stress-resistant. Such stress resistance from psychogenic stimuli is the key for prevention of suicide. The man who is facing challenging life situations represents just one side of the coin, and on the second side is represented the man who maintains his individuality as a human organism. This separation of identity from individuality gives us the scope to make people stress-resistant and to avoid the psychological compulsions of suicidal thoughts. When this separation is established, a man would not act in ways that could harm him in body or mind. To promote mental health, to prevent the consequences of mental disease, we need to give the tools to people to understand and define individuality and identity as two separate aspects of the same coin.

THE ‘SELF’ AND THE ‘KNOWING-SELF’:

SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE–THE ART OF SELF-DISCIPLINE AND SUICIDE PREVENTION. THE CONCEPT OF SELF AND THE KNOWING-SELF WILL HELP TO PRACTICE SELF-RESTRAINT, SELF-CONTROL, AND SELF-DISCIPLINE.

The living human being could be divided into two categories. One category could be called ‘SELF’ that may be compared to Sartre’s being-in-itself or etre-en-soi. The ‘SELF’ represents man’s state of existence as the physical, mental, and social being. Both Rene Descartes and Jean-Paul Sartre divide man into two categories; 1. a physical or inert substance that has no thoughts, feelings, or consciousness, and 2. the mind that has thoughts, feelings, and is a conscious entity. Sartre further named the second as the Being-for-itself or etre-pour-soi which is capable of making decisions and giving man the freedom to act according to his free will. I do not subscribe to the views held by Descartes or Sartre and I would not seek separation of mind and body into two distinct categories. Man is a multicellular organism; the body cannot exist without a mind/brain and the mind/brain cannot exist without a body which has vital organs like lungs, heart, liver, and kidneys. The body and the mind/brain have to function together. I have also stated my view about consciousness. 
Please visit the page titled, “I AM CONSCIOUSNESS, THEREFORE I AM”
I AM CONSCIOUSNESS THEREFORE I AM

Consciousness is not an exclusive psychological function. Consciousness is a biological function that is shared by all living cells which display the attributes such as recognition, sensitiveness, coordination, cooperation, functional awareness, and awareness of the external and internal environment and condition.

The category that I call ‘SELF’ represents the physical self with various organs and tissues and the mental self which represents mental activities associated with thinking, intellect/knowledge, emotions, feelings, moods, and ego or self-pride. The ‘SELF’ may describe the essence or nature, or identity of the man in terms of the man’s own mental awareness and other people in his environment. The second category that I describe could be called the ‘KNOWING-SELF’. The ‘Knowing-Self’ is aware or conscious of its state and fact of biological existence. It may not always be aware of its external environment. A man who is in a state of sound sleep, a man who is under the influence of drugs, chemicals, or pharmacological agents like anesthetics, or a person with a head injury loses some components of the function called consciousness. However, a man at all times of his living condition is conscious of his internal condition/environment, maintains the state of equilibrium or homeostasis, and supports the vital functions that define his individuality as an organism. The category called the ‘Knowing-Self’ is related to the individuality and in the multicellular human organism this function is served by the Reticular Formation of the Brain Stem which gives the person the ‘Capacity for Consciousness’. Man needs the ‘Capacity for Consciousness’ to compose the ‘Contents of Consciousness’. In the absence of the ‘Capacity for Consciousness’, man has no ‘Contents of Consciousness’ and could be declared dead if the function called ‘Capacity for Consciousness’ could not be sustained.

The ‘Capacity for Consciousness’ is essential for man’s biological existence. The ‘Capacity for Consciousness’ is required for a man to exist as a moral, spiritual, and rational being. Man exists with an intrinsic ability to discern right from wrong and exists because of his spiritual nature which gives him the ability to acquire and manipulate energy for his various metabolic, living functions. The category called ‘Self’ may experience all the difficult, and challenging situations posed by life, and the category called the ‘Knowing-Self’ is not subject to these sensory or mental experiences that impact the ‘Self’.

THE GOD CONNECTION:

Man must recognize that his biological existence depends upon energy acquisition. Man lives energy-dependent existence and must acquire energy from external sources right from the beginning of his life journey from the moment of conception. Man does not acquire this energy because of his intellectual effort, or acquired knowledge. The ‘egg cell’ that is fertilized is conscious of its energy dependence and it implants itself into the tissues of the mother who may not be mentally aware of this process called implantation by which the human embryo starts deriving its energy from its mother. This embryo grows and develops into a complex, multicellular organism and continues to derive energy from external sources. This ‘CONNECTION’ between the energy-seeker and the energy-provider could be called ‘GOD CONNECTION’.

Man has no ability to establish this kind of energy acquisition for his survival. If Sun is viewed as the source of extraterrestrial or Cosmic Power, the Solar Energy is trapped by chloroplasts found in the cells of all green plants. This energy is further made available to man by presence of intracellular organelles called mitochondria which are described as the powerhouses of the cells. Man has no direct control on the nature of this ‘Connection’ and its operation. The man simply exists as there is a Provider for his energy requirements.
In good health or ill-health, under all circumstances and conditions, and during all the stages of his mortal existence, man needs this grace, mercy, and compassion to keep himself alive. This is a supernatural mechanism or a ‘God Connection’ that supports man while he leads his energy-dependent existence. Man who experiences this compassion, mercy, and grace that is sustaining his life would derive a sense of joy and experiences the condition called true happiness. A man who has discovered true happiness cannot experience a mood called depression.
It is really hard to kill oneself while the man is connected to a source of Happiness. Man must experience this sense of Joy and Happiness and realize its uplifting power to alter any depressed feeling or mood. If pain is an inevitable aspect of human life, compassion is also an inescapable aspect of human existence. If pain is true, compassion is also equally true. I invite people to find Compassion, Mercy, and the Grace of the Divine Providence in their lives. It would be irrational or absurd to break the God Connection by the act called Suicide.

Rudranarasimham, Rebbapragada
BHAVANAJAGAT.ORG

Image result for september 10 suicide prevention day

Monday, September 9, 2019

2019 PILGRIMAGE TO MOUNT KAILASH, TIBET

Image result for mount kailash pilgrimage 2019


BLESSINGS FOR PEACE. PILGRIMAGE TO MOUNT KAILASH, TIBET FROM JUNE TO SEPTEMBER 2019

A 24-day grueling trek to Mount

 Kailash in Tibet


Radhika SanthanamSeptember 08, 2019.






The journey to Mount Kailash is not for the faint-hearted, but it still draws thousands of pilgrims every year.

Inline image
Inline image
Inline image
Inline image
Inline image
Inline image
Every year, faith inspires thousands of Indians to undertake the grueling trek to Mount Kailash in Tibet. Those who choose the 24-day pilgrimage organized by the External Affairs Ministry enter Tibet either through the Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand or the Nathu La Pass in Sikkim.
At the snow-covered Lipulekh Pass on a chilly August morning, we watched one of the 18 batches of yatris (pilgrims) cross over to India after completing the pilgrimage. At the same time, the next batch entered Tibet. On a rainy afternoon, we spoke to some of the yatris (pilgrims) — a young baba, an officer from the armed forces, a doctor, a homemaker, and many retired men and women — at Yama Dwar, the gateway to the abode of Shiva. This is where the parikrama, or circumambulation, of Mount Kailash, begins. It is believed that the virtues and sins of all those who cross this territory are evaluated by Lord Shiva.
On another day, we found pilgrims resting near the north face of Mount Kailash. The wispy clouds covering the mountain had floated away as soon as we reached the spot, giving us a spectacular view of the sacred peak. We also sat with the yatris (pilgrims) on the banks of the azure blue Manasarovar lake as they performed a havan.
The External Affairs Ministry’s yatra package, for those aged between 18 and 70, began on June 8 and ends on September 8. Private tour operators also organize the yatra. The pilgrimage involves trekking in inhospitable conditions at very high altitudes. “But it is worth it,” said a 70-year-old yatri (pilgrim) from Bengaluru.
(Images & Text: Radhika Santhanam)













Sunday, September 8, 2019

NIXON AND FORD. BACKSTABBERS OF THE TIBETAN NATION

BACKSTABBERS OF THE TIBETAN NATION. THE DOOMED PRESIDENCY OF NIXON AND FORD


The doomed presidency of Nixon and Ford. Doomed for not playing the 'Tibet Card'.

The doomed Presidency of Nixon and Ford. Doomed for not playing the 'Tibet Card'.

The doomed Presidency of Nixon and Ford. Doomed for not playing the 'Tibet Card'.

The doomed Presidency of Nixon and Ford stands in Ann Arbor. Doomed for not playing the 'Tibet Card'.

The doomed Presidency of Nixon and Ford. Doomed for not playing the 'Tibet Card'.

The doomed Presidency of Nixon and Ford. Backstabbers of Tibetan Nation.

September 08, 1974. President Ford grants pardon to President Nixon. The doomed presidency of Nixon and Ford. Doomed for not playing the 'Tibet Card'.

On September 08, 1974, President Gerald R. Ford grants unconditional pardon to Richard M Nixon, 37th President of the United States of America. I served in Special Frontier Force during the presidency of Nixon and Ford. I live in Ann Arbor, Michigan where I have the opportunity to visit Gerald R. Ford's Presidential Library on the University of Michigan Campus. 

The doomed Presidency of Nixon and Ford. Nixon and Kissinger treacherous actions in the Vietnam War cannot be pardoned.

In my opinion, President Ford's pardon may not include Nixon's Vietnam Treason. I cannot grant pardon to Nixon for he had never admitted his crime of Betrayal, Treachery in the conduct of the Vietnam War. I still recognize Nixon and Ford as Backstabbers of the Tibetan Nation. Their Presidency doomed for they failed to play the 'Tibetan Card'.
 
Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-4162 USA
 

Nixon and Ford attending the funeral function of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The doomed Presidency of Nixon and Ford.

This Day in History: Ford pardons Nixon

 
 

  •  
The Watergate scandal erupted after it was revealed that Nixon and his aides had engaged in illegal activities during his reelection campaign–and then attempted to cover up evidence of wrongdoing. With impeachment proceedings underway against him in Congress, Nixon bowed to public pressure and became the first American president to resign. At noon on August 9, Nixon officially ended his term, departing with his family in a helicopter from the White House lawn. Minutes later, Vice President Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States in the East Room of the White House. After taking the oath of office, President Ford spoke to the nation in a television address, declaring, "My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over."
 
Ford, the first president who came to the office through appointment rather than election, had replaced Spiro Agnew as vice president only eight months before. In a political scandal independent of the Nixon administration's wrongdoings in the Watergate affair, Agnew had been forced to resign in disgrace after he was charged with income tax evasion and political corruption. Exactly one month after Nixon announced his resignation, Ford issued the former president a "full, free and absolute" pardon for any crimes he committed while in office. The pardon was widely condemned at the time.
 
Decades later, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation presented its 2001 Profile in Courage Award to Gerald Ford for his 1974 pardon of Nixon. In pardoning Nixon, said the foundation, Ford placed his love of country ahead of his own political future and brought needed closure to the divisive Watergate affair. Ford left politics after losing the 1976 presidential election to Democrat Jimmy Carter. Ford died on December 26, 2006, at the age of 93.

The doomed presidency of Nixon and Ford. September 08, 1974. Doomed for not playing the 'Tibet Card'.
September 08, 1974. President Ford grants pardon to President Nixon. The doomed Presidency of Nixon and Ford. Doomed for not playing the 'Tibet Card'.