http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6994415.stm The Indian government has withdrawn a controversial report submitted in court earlier this week which questioned the existence of the Hindu god Ram. The report was withdrawn after huge protests by opposition parties. The report was presented to the Supreme Court on Wednesday in connection with a case against a proposed shipping canal project between India and Sri Lanka. Hindu hardliners say the project will destroy what they say is a bridge built by Ram and his army of monkeys. Scientists and archaeologists say the Ram Setu (Lord Ram's bridge) - or Adam's Bridge as it is sometimes called - is a natural formation of sand and stones. No evidence In their report submitted to the court, the government and the Archaeological Survey of India questioned the belief, saying it was solely based on the Hindu mythological epic Ramayana. They said there was no scientific evidence to prove that the events described in Ramayana ever took place or that the characters depicted in the epic were real. Hindu activists say the bridge was built by Lord Ram's monkey army to travel to Sri Lanka and has religious significance. In the last two days, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched a scathing attack on the government for questioning the "faith of the million". Worried about the adverse reaction from the majority Hindu population of the country, the Congress Party-led government has now done a U-turn and withdrawn the statement submitted in court. The government asked the court for three months to try and sort out the issue. Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam, appearing on behalf of the government, said they would set up a mechanism to hear concerns expressed by those opposed to the canal project. The court adjourned the matter for three months saying they would take up the case again in January. In the meantime, the court has said that dredging work for the canal could continue, but Ram's Bridge should not be touched Road blocks On Wednesday, Hindu hard-line organisations blocked roads across India to protest against the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project. Commuters in the capital, Delhi, were stuck in traffic jams for hours as Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) and Bajrang Dal blocked roads at various places. Road blocks were also held in Bhopal, the capital of the central state of Madhya Pradesh, on the Delhi-Agra highway and on the Jaipur-Agra highway. Train services were disrupted in many places across northern India. The canal project proposes to link the Palk Strait with the Gulf of Mannar between India and Sri Lanka by dredging a canal through the shallow sea. This is expected to provide a continuous navigable sea route around the Indian peninsula. Once complete, the canal will reduce the travel time for ships by hundreds of miles and is expected to boost the economic and industrial development of the region.
Its prob. coincidental...if it was really of archaeological value...or there was some kind of evidence of human use/manipulation of the "bridge", I'm sure the archaeological survey of India wouldn't say that it was alright to tear it down. Just because they want to remove the "bridge" doesn't particularly mean they don't think Ram is real... it is dangerous to mix religion and archaeology. Doesn't the bridge from the Ramayana have rocks that have Ram's name carved on them...?
It's hard to credit that so called intelligent people believe the literal truth of mythology. The problem is that in holding such beliefs, you just move even further away from any semblance of reality.
Removing the bridge will lead to the rise in the sea level. This will make many of the coastal areas in India sink. The corrupt indian government does not understand and they are driven by their desire to get commissions on this project. The parties like bharatiya janata party do not understand this either. That bridge is protecting the Indian coast.
See ...I think that is a more reasonable reason to keep the "bridge" then.... if someone can find a way to show its existance as a break water in a calm, reasonable manner, perhaps then people would be more inclined to listen then someone being over dramatic....saying that denies or preserves the veritability of the Ramayana. It makes them look like crazies instead of rational people.
"Mythology" is a modern word. I do not believe in mytholoy. Either everything is real or nothing is real, there is no in between.
OK - lets say it's sad to see people taking what is unreal for reality. If you believe the literal truth of Ramayana or other ancient stories, you belive in unreality. To say either everything is real or nothing is real is unreal is untrue. Many imaginary things are not real in the sense of having no concrete existence in the world.
That is your opinion BBB, and it is still just an opinion, however the scriptures are neither fantasy, myth, nor opinion. To base your life on believing the opinions of atheistic schollars is spiritual suicide, and that is my well-researched opinion. You don't have to agree, yet I tell you that life is way too grand and fantastic to shrink it to mere atoms and illusions. I can believe all is false, but to even understand that statement, you need to do deep study and research some scriptures, and not rely on skeptics inventions, and narrow-minded wisdom. The wisdom of God is far superior to the wisdom of a billion scientists on this ignorant planet.
God is really great. We humans have such a limited understanding of things and a limited capacity to argue or even comprehend others arguments... it is a wonder we even try. All this is a play like chess but one being is playing with itself. Narayana plays, narayana wins and narayana loses. You are nothing but tools in his pleasure.
Yet yogic masters such as Sri Aurobindo, who one assumes didn't get their opinions from 'atheistic scholars' also say these tales are mythology. Maybe you need to do a bit more research. Get out of the fundamentalist mindset..............why should the opinions of 'theistic scholars' be more valid than anyone else's? Maybe a lot of them are not particularly intelligent, and even brainwashed by stuff their tradition won't allow them to look at with a critical eye. 'Spritual suicide' would be impossible wouldn't it? That is if you think the spirit is immortal..
Spiritual suicide for me means to reject spiritual wisdom and rely only on worldly wisdom for enlightment. The "fundametal mindset' for me is reality, like atoms and energy we can't see, is for Einstein, and physicists. A lot of theistic schollars are not very intelligent, but intelligence is not exclusive of the athesitic comunity either. Some find quick refuge in fables, because they are weak or lazy, or find it comfortable to share fables with others, yet those are not the strong ones, but the ones that can easily be convinced otherwise, and who would welcome a Godless universe with open arms. Those who worked hard to solidify their beliefs you will find impossible to convince them there is no God in heaven, as it would be to convince Einstein that E does not=Mc2.
Science is not based on wisdom or opinions, its based on knowledge thats observable phenomena and capable of being experimented for its validity by other researchers working under the same conditions.
when one practices a yoga or sadhana , that yogi or sadhak understands that spirituality also works the same way. Wisdom is not needed, only realization of truth.
Just like I cannot understand how astronomers can tell that there are planets circling a star million of miles away with a simple telescope, atheists cannot understand that theists also have 'proof' that the average person cannot understand. Without proof there is no belief, only hopeful faith; but when proof comes, that faith is solidified, exactly as a scientists experiment or discovery. "Only the ignorant say that the analitical study of the universe and religious devotion to God are different; since both paths shall meet at the same end" The Bhagavad Gita.
There are different kinds of proofs in this world; if you meditate or chant for hours, for instance, you may feel different than if you watch commercials on tv. The difference in how you feel is that "proof"--- in other words a personal feeling. Others may attain powers or psychic visions, and all that can qualify as proof also. Of course one who never fasts, mediates or chants may speculate on the waste and emptiness on all that, but that is his loss. Personal experience is what sadhana is about, and not gathering evidence for the skeptics to agree. Everyone must experience and learn about himself, and to know for certain that the world we perceive with our material senses is not all that there is, and that the sensations coming from the five senses, is not the only source of knowledge and experiences. Just like with the experiences of the senses, unless you have experienced yourself something extranatural, no proof or description can take you there. "Proof" to others is not real proof when it comes to spiritual development. .
I have myself experienced things in meditation which are hard to explain. Without a doubt they make me wonder, believe there could be something beyond our five senses. But truthfully I do not know. I am not sure those experiences can be relied upon to the same degree as empirical sciences. The experiences you guys are interupting as solid, which solidified your faith are perhaps more shakey than you will accept.
Almost everyone would have to agree that direct experience is far above dictated knowledge. For instance, I can read for two years about Spain and even talk to someone on line for that long asking for more information, but until I have visited personally, and travelled around the country for a while, I will not know for sure how it feels to be there. I really do not know how empirical evidence that can only be discussed, ever be superior to the personal and direct.
practising yoga is not the same as holding onto ridiculous and clearly mythic belief systems as though they were historic fact. one cannot verify the authenticity of ancient stories through doing yoga.
