April 2012 by 16Rounds

www.16ROUNDS.com April 2012

www.16rounds.com

<(previous issue's cover)>

INTRO

THE UNIVERSE A song’s lyrics by Suhotra Swami

The universe is

16Rounds to Samadhi 16Rounds is published: ● To propagate spiritual knowledge and to educate all people in the techniques of spiritual life in order to check the imbalance of values in life and to achieve real unity and peace in the world. ● To bring people closer together for the purpose of teaching a simpler and more natural way of life. ● To expose the faults of materialism. ● To bring about the well-being of all living entities. 16Rounds is an independent magazine compiled, written, and published by a few Hare Krishna monks. It is produced in an attempt to benefit its readers, for our own purification, and for the pleasure of our spiritual grandfather, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder and spiritual guide of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). The first copy is free. Additional copies of the same issue are $10 each. © 2012 16Rounds to Samadhi. All rights reserved.

16Rounds Staff:

woven, over and under, back and forth, out of the fabric of the illusory energy of the Supreme Person. What games do you think you can play here? For as a spider spins its web to catch insects, so the great cosmos has been spread out to capture your mind in the network of samsara: repeated birth and death. Sages of old saw through this deadly fantasy, and proclaimed that spirit is real, while this universe is but a passing dream. However, nowadays scientists consume billions of dollars yearly in a bid to eventually hold this universe in their hands. They hope to conquer space, time, and matter, and thus establish humanity as the only lord of existence. As their first step towards this goal they declared themselves independent of the control of nature’s laws. Nicolas Beardiev, a Russian physicist, was once lecturing to a group of students about the unreality of time. He argued that time is only a product of our minds; therefore, human beings could easily master time through practical application of scientific theories. Suddenly however, he glanced at his watch and exclaimed, “I’m late for an appointment!” Thus he broke off his lecture and left his students dumbfounded. When we say the universe is an illusion we do not mean like professor Beardiev - that cosmic phenomena is dependent upon our mental attitudes. We mean that our minds have been simply hypnotically overwhelmed by the kaleidoscopic, ever-changing, endlessly complicated tapestry of illusory material energy; thus we are simply bewildered and trapped within contradiction.

Science hopes to attain a definite understanding about this material existence or ‘maya’, but maya means eternally indefinite. As Swami Prabhupada has explained, the scientific study of maya is like trying to count the drops of water in a mirage of the ocean. There cannot be, and will not be any arrival at the truth by this process. �

Suhotra Swami (1950 - 2007) He was a monk, a teacher who spent nearly his whole life traveling, teaching, writing books, and touching numberless hearts with his compassion and wisdom. He passed away in the holy land of Mayapur, India, while sitting in his hut in meditation - amazing.

Editor: Mahat Tattva Dasa Mahat has been a monk since 1995 and is currently serving as the president of the Hare Krishna temple in San Diego. Layout: Bhismadeva Dasa Bhismadeva has been a monk since 2008 and is currently living in the ashram at the Hare Krishna temple in San Diego.

Cover graphic: Nick Pritchard Visual artist and creative director at Epitaph Records. www. Metrosea.com. Recently married.

CONTACT: 16rounds@gmail.com www.16ROUNDS.com 1030 Grand Ave. San Diego, CA 92109 Call/text 858-405-5465 facebook.com/16roundstosamadhi ADVERTISE www.16rounds.com/advertise Call/text Mahat at 858-405-5465. SUBSCRIPTIONS 10 issues = $25 www.16rounds.com/subscribe DISCLAIMER: Views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors.

MEANING OF “16ROUNDS” Yoga is a Sanskrit word that means “union” or “linking.” Meditation is a process of yoga by which the spiritual practitioner achieves union with the Divine. The recommended process of meditation for the age we are currently living in is mantra meditation. This process involves chanting of mantras. The Upanishads, the classical spiritual texts of ancient India, say that the best mantra is the Hare Krishna mantra: hare krishna, hare krishna, krishna krishna, hare hare, hare rama, hare rama, rama rama, hare hare. A “Mala” is a set of 108 beads strung on a thread, sort of like a rosary. The spiritual practitioner prayerfully and with great concentration recites/chants the whole mantra once for each bead of the mala. The mala or the string of beads is held in the ﬁst of the right hand and is meant to help us count how many times we chanted the mantra. It also helps engage the sense of touch in the process of meditation. Once we have chanted the mantra 108 times, or once for each bead, we have completed “one round.” Serious practitioners of this spiritual discipline take a vow to chant at least sixteen times round the mala every day; thus the name “16 Rounds.”

PHOTO CREDITS ©1 flickr.com/clotho98 ©2 flickr.com/drsethery ©3 flickr.com/cayusa ©4 flickr.com/benheine ©5 flickr.com/wwworks ©6 flickr.com/noticelj ©7 flickr.com/lsuchick142 ©8 flickr.com/harryharris ©9 flickr.com/vpickering ©10 flickr.com/tambako ©11 flickr.com/hlkljgk ©12 flickr.com/mrtopp ©13 flickr.com/arjuna ©14 flickr.com/unitopia ©15 flickr.com/paperbydesign

www.16rounds.com

SOCIETY

GEO-ENGINEERING & CLIMATE CHANGE Who To Modify, Environment or Humans? By Chand Prasad, Ph.D.

Global

warming poses a number of grave threats to agriculture, including the loss of pollen viability for some crop species at higher temperatures, more extreme unpredictable weather, and coastal flooding. Any serious efforts

to address climate change will necessitate the adoption of organic farming and the rejection of commercial agricultural systems that foster and serve the global meat culture. However, rather than undertaking constructive and fundamental changes aimed at cutting

greenhouse gas emissions, many in the scientific community have counseled an approach known as geoengineering, which is often described as technological interventions in the earth’s climate systems to manipulate our weather and our oceans. Unfortunately, this depiction of geoengineering is misleading, or at best incomplete. Although global warming has been utilized as an argument for increased support and funding for environmental modification technologies, geoengineering is rooted to a large extent in its potential for military applications, which include creating weather disturbances that are destructive to enemy combatant nations. The United States and the Soviet Union conducted some of the earliest geoscale experiments and engineering efforts between 1958 and 1962. These two Cold War combatants were attempting to modify the global environment for military purposes by detonating nuclear bombs in space –

the goal of combating global warming played absolutely no role. The

1958 U.S. Argus project, for instance, involved the use of A-bomb explosions in the Van Allen Belt (magnetic belts protecting the earth from the destructive solar wind’s charged particles) to create an artificial radiation belt, disrupt the near-space environment, and possibly intercept enemy

"GIVEN THAT THE RULE OF LAW IS RETICENT IN THIS AREA, OFFICIALS WERE FREE TO BLAME OZONE DEPLETION ON UNDERARM DEODORANT AND COLOGNE, ATOMIZERS AND ASTHMA MEDICINE DISPENSERS."

www.16rounds.com

SOCIETY

“Project Starfish had a substantially disruptive impact on the Van Allen belt, altering its shape and intensity for approximately 100 years to come.”

“The 1958 U.S. Argus project, for instance, involved the use of A-bomb explosions in the Van Allen Belt.”

missiles. Project Argus, and later high altitude nuclear tests by the U.S. and the Soviet Union that followed, culminated in the 1962 Starfish Prime H-bomb space detonations that created an artificial electromagnetic radiation belt that remained for 10 years. Project Starfish had a substantially disruptive impact on the Van Allen belt, altering its shape and intensity for approximately 100 years to come. Geo-weaponry projects also included the 1962 U.S. military use of electronic beams to ionize and de-ionize areas of the atmosphere to generate artificial lightening, as well as a Canadian project that entailed launching satellites into the earth’s ionosphere to chemically simulate plasma (an example of which is lightening). In response to the destructive impacts of these activities, the United Nations General Assembly approved the 1976 Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques. However, the United Nations left a debilitating loophole – the convention did not prohibit peaceful projects such as pure research, solar energy projects, or industrial resource development. This omission allowed countries to simply re-label or restate the objectives of their geowarfare projects as, for instance, weather research aimed at increasing food production in the North American plains or in Russia. Governments have been conducting atmospheric modificationexperiments for decades by adding chemicals to the earth’s atmosphere such as barium azide, barium chlorate, barium nitrate, barium perchlorate and barium perox-

ide. These combustible substances are harmful to the ozone layer, as is the atmospheric nuclear bomb testing by the U.S., U.K. and the Soviet Union between 1945 and 1963. There are no enforcement mechanisms for requiring the dissemination of research / information on the environmental impacts of geo-weaponry experiments, and there is no legal framework for requiring the informed consent of the public. Given that the rule of law is reticent in this area, officials were free to blame ozone depletion on underarm deodorant and cologne, atomizers and asthma medicine dispensers. In this way, governments could sidestep issues associated with the military’s goal of controlling the weather as a weapon and its harmful impact on the ozone layer.

Geoengineering methods that seek to prevent or restrain temperature increases often have harmful side effects or are counterproductive. For example, one method that has thus far not been effective in small trials is ocean fertilization, achieved by depositing large quantities of iron filings into the ocean to increase the growth of phytoplankton, which then absorb carbon from the air. Two particularly costly methods involve dimming the sunlight by using rockets to launch mirrors into space between the sun and the earth, and pumping sea salt into the sky to generate increased cloud cover. These techniques could substantially alter rain and snow patterns, thereby causing droughts in large parts of Africa and India. Ocean fertilization could kill fish and other sea life on a large scale, and lead to increased emissions of other greenhouse gases such as methane. Pumping sulfur aerosols into the stratosphere (in imitation of volcanoes) is yet another harmful geoengineering technique. In this case, the objective is to create a haze of sulfur particles that remain tem-

porarily suspended in the stratosphere, where they reflect and scatter sunlight away from the earth. This technique could lead to enlarged ozone holes as well as recurring droughts affecting some of the world's poorest in Africa and Asia. Moreover, the use of sky-borne sulfates is not a "one-time solution" – the sulfur haze would dissipate as the particles wash out, suggesting that humanity would be trapped in a cycle of repeatedly spraying aerosols into the stratosphere.

Environmental modification techniques have become increasingly sophisticated, possibly allowing the military to steer the jet stream, cause droughts or floods, and change the direction or alter the intensity of hurricanes, monsoons, and tornadoes. The U.S. Army and Navy deployed a massive array of transmitters known as the High Active Auroral Research Project (HAARP) in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, near Gacona, Alaska. This weapon of mass destruction, capable of selectively destabilizing agricultural and ecological systems of entire regions, is estimated to contain 180 transmission towers in grid formation, although it may be undergoing expansion. If the true objective is indeed to counteract global warming, then it is important to undertake a fundamental reordering of agricultural production systems, based on the correct understanding of cow protection. As long as the meat culture remains a driving force within human society, it will be exceedingly difficult to counter climate change, as expanding livestock production leads to higher emissions of greenhouse gases, as well as deforestation and hence a reduced ability to absorb greenhouse gases. Livestock is a key contributor to global environmental problems such as land and water degradation. More-

www.16rounds.com

Cont'd on pg. 7 ›››

SOCIETY tion’s attempts to score will be thwarted. No doubt the official will be collectively “BOOOoooed” at various times for his inability to properly engage his senses in the observation of events. And if there is a particularly dynamic individual on court, “MVP” might become the chorus of the day. Each of these different mantras is invoked circumstantially, based on the situation and the desired outcome.

Perhaps, though, my verbiage has been unfairly applied? I believe I was supposed to say 'gear' or 'jersey' or 'apparel' rather than 'robes'. Robes sounds a bit cultish. 'Idol' too. That's a heavy word; 'ball' is easier on the ears and mind. And parishioners, or rather fans, certainly don't 'chant’. They cheer, and drink beer, not 'tonic'. ©2

THE MOST ENTHUSIASTIC MEMBERS OF THE CONGREGATION ARE NOW JUMPING UP AND DOWN, SHOUTING, “OOOHHHHHH,”

SUPER BOWL BLUES Analyzing The World’s Greatest Sales Pitch

By Devin James O’Rourke

Thousands have assembled. They walk in throngs towards the gathering place, all donning the same colored robes. A tonic is being drunk by all, and foods eaten only at festival times like this are being heartily indulged in. The ether is buzzing with a chatter that carries an heir of hope and enthusiasm about the day’s ceremonies. Some have anxious faces, others’ demeanors are stoic and grave, propounding the importance of the gathering. Now in the center of the multitudes one man is

"Our world has become a degraded place where people’s most basic, animalistic desires are cultivated to fuel the fire of a corporate, consumption based culture designed to aggregate as much of society’s resources into as few hands as possible." standing in robes distinctly different from all the rest, and in his hands he holds the Idol. Upon seeing It, the chanting begins; it is sporadic at first, with gesticulations barely decipherable above the buzz. Soon though, everyone becomes aware that the moment has arrived, and each individual understands it is time to act as One.

www.16rounds.com

The most enthusiastic members of the congregation are now jumping up and down, shouting, “OOOHHHHHH,” which reverberates an undulant quality. As if having waited for this fervor to develop, representatives of the two denominations now walk to stand on opposite sides of the man with the Idol, and he acknowledges their readiness by lowering

the icon using a single hand.

At this move the “OOOHHHHHHH” builds to a climactic frenzy. Every parishioner amongst the 20,000 assembled is meditating with every fiber of their being and hoping that the vibration of this incantation wills their desire into being; however, suddenly the idol flies upward! Tossed above the

representatives’ heads, each now leaps to claim that most coveted object.

Tip-off of course, is just the beginning of a basketball game. Dozens of times throughout the day, the masses will begin to chant in unison. At certain intervals, “D-FENSE” will be thundered in the dome with the hope that the opposi-

"The similarities between sport fandom and organized religion are striking. Consider the vocabulary associated with both: faith, devotion, worship, ritual, dedication, sacrifice, commitment, spirit, prayer, suffering, festival, and celebration." That's Daniel Wann speaking this time, not me. He's a leading sports psychologist. Though the comparison might be uncomfortable for some, how we relate to sports and God are in many ways the same, as Wann and co-authors point out in the book, Sport Fans: The Psychology and Social Impact of Spectators.

The parallels of praise and play became clear to me on a recent trip to India. Amongst a crowd of 300,000 who had gathered for the spiritual New Year, I immediately recalled a few weeks prior when I had been at the site of 2012's Super Bowl. Hundreds of thousands of people had traveled from every part of the world and descended upon Middle America during the weekend of February 5th 2012. Parking spots were going for $200 a spot that day, while entrance into Lucas Oil Stadium for

SOCIETY five hours and Harvard for a year were pricing out evenly.

Quarterbacks, Eli and Brady, were back on the slate to toss it out. America had watched once before as the putzy, unassuming, almost shmuckish Eli had smited the Ubermensch Brady in his quest for world domination. Many biblical scholars have noted David wouldn't stand a chance against Goliath if the big guy had a second chance; so, it was expected Eli and his Giants could look forward to a thorough trouncing at the hands of Brady and his Patriots this go round. There was little expectation from anyone but Giants fans that the game would be much to watch.

Indeed, the Super Bowl itself is historically a lopsided affair; so, the wisest watchers do so from the comfort of their favorite drinking establishment - their house or otherwise. Factually, the greatest value in entertain-

ment is available to the stay at home Super Bowl viewer. When, where and how else can one enjoy a $220 million production for free? Not the game of course - the commercials!

In what will no doubt one day be known as the ‘trojan horse’ of capitalism, advertisers have created an environment inside the commercial minutes of the Super Bowl where people eagerly want to be marketed to. It’s a dream scenario for the corporate schemers of the world, as viewers actually anticipate with glee the many sales pitches they are going to receive that evening. The game is, for many, secondary to catching the thirty second spots that were billing this year at $3.5 million. Of course, what’s a few hundred million to four billion? According to the World Bank that is more than the GDP of fifty countries, including Fiji, Greenland and

Liberia. Four billion dollars is approximately how much the NFL gains in TV contract revenue each year. $1.9 billion of those dollars every year until 2021 will come from Disney's ESPN, which holds the rights to Monday Night Football. Naturally, ESPN offered a break down of the Super Bowl ads following the big game. Here's how some of the articles read: "Advertisers this year are playing it very safe," said Tim Calkins, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University. "They're running spots that are clearly designed to appeal to a broad audience and not to offend."

An ad for domain namehosting site GoDaddy showed race car driver Danica Patrick and fitness expert Jillian Michaels body painting a nude woman. An ad for clothing retailer H&M featured soccer star David Beckham in blackand-white in his new line of undies. And online florist Teleflora and automaker Kia both used Victoria Secret model Adriana Lima in their Super Bowl ads. Eight years ago Janette Jackson famously exposed her bare chest during a Super Bowl Halftime performance. CBS took a ton of slack for the incident though it was said to be unintentional. This year it's a PG move to push your product by having a few women painting each others naked bodies with the company name on the screen.

IN WHAT WILL NO DOUBT ONE DAY BE KNOWN AS THE ‘TROJAN HORSE’ OF CAPITALISM, ADVERTISERS HAVE CREATED AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE PEOPLE EAGERLY WANT TO BE MARKETED TO.

If you're going to have a Nation of 300,000,000 people believe that spending $38,000 a year on prisoners, $8,000 dollars a year on school kids and more than every other country combined on guns and bombs is what it means to live free... you need a whole lot of bread and circus for them to eat. So there’s a huge market for this slight of Big Brothers hand, and the NFL has asserted themselves as the master of ceremonies.

Our world has become a degraded place where people’s most basic, animalistic desires are cultivated to fuel the fire of a corporate, consumption based culture designed to aggregate as much of society’s resources into as few hands as possible. Branded zombies enslaved to our senses, the Super Bowl is proof we now wittingly ask to be told what to want, how to want, why to want. Indeed that is the only way we can enjoy something. Personalities such as Tom Brady and Eli Manning are vaunted for worship as it’s convenient, and they're names and faces get slathered all over the preferred poison of the day. According to a 2010 study in The Wall Street Journal, of the 174 minutes an average NFL broadcast runs, 11 minutes of that time is accounted for by the actual playing of the game. The study is quick to point out sixty percent of the remaining time goes towards commercials. By dangling a very tiny carrot marketers are getting us to pull a very big plow. Srila Prabhupada, founder of the Hare Krishna movement, described America’s situation once in a lecture to a large crowd in San Diego. “There were great empires like the Roman, Greek, and later on the Mogul empire, the British empire... Only name is there now. Nothing is remaining. So I came to your country, America... despite all your opulences, you are becoming confused and frustrated. I hear that out of three, one man is a patient of a psychiatrist. Why? Why you are so unhappy?” He answers his own question in his commentary to the 12th text of the 4th chapter of Bhagavad-gita As It Is. “In this world human society is mad after temporary things... Whatever we enjoy with the gross senses are temporary, but permanent enjoyment is transcendental.” So yes, I may have gone to the Super Bowl on Sunday. But on Monday I had a hang-

over, I spent $8,000 to watch my team lose, and my wife was upset at me because I missed my daughter’s dance recital to party with my friends in a city eleven hours from home. This is the nature of temporary happiness. What goes up must come down; the enjoyment is concomitant with suffering. This ‘UP down JOY!’ distress is the combustion that drives our economy forward, and we are the unfortunate and suffering pistons of this equation. Simply watch a few minutes of any broadcast, or listen to a radio advert, and you will simultaneously be asked to eat at an extravagant restaurant and lose fifteen pounds; you might be asked to take advantage of five dollar pizzas and ask your doctor about a prescription to the newest miracle antacid, or to buy this new car so you can move to New York, and park it for $700 a month.

How did this circus of consumerism called the Super Bowl remind me of a spiritual festival in India? Well, as I mentioned, there were lots of people. And they were all screaming. And they were all jumping, and eating. At the festival, we also celebrated great personalities like Srila Prabhupada, who freely gave the world knowledge that could liberate them from the entangling allurements of material culture. Speaking of free, all the food, which consisted of five to seven course gourmet feasts twice a day, was free for the entirety of the five day festival. In addition, world renowned musicians were playing for hours, and inviting any and all to come join them in celebrating life through sound and rhythm.

Of course when I say world, I mean the world outside of the one where Bud is king; in this world Visa is nowhere to be found, so everywhere one can be free to enjoy. �

GEOENGINEERING Con'd from pg. 6 over, livestock generates more greenhouse gas emissions than even petroleum-based transportation systems. Livestock consumes approximately 30% of the planet's land surface, a figure that includes both permanent pastureland as well as the global arable land used for producing animal feed. The global livestock sector is expanding more rapidly than any other component of agriculture, and reliable projections indicate that substantial future growth in meat production lies ahead. Rising meat production is a major driver of deforestation, as forests are cleared in order to create new pastures for expanding cattle herds. Forests perform a vital function by absorbing carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas), implying that the destruction of forests tends to accelerate global warming.

An important step towards reversing climate change is the principle of cow protection, which will automatically control the growth of the cattle population. The key to this principle is to engage and employ bulls to work the land, implying that cows are bred only to the point where the bovine population meets the demand for draft power, rather than the demand for the byproducts, e.g., milk. In sharp contrast, raising cows for the purpose of producing milk is an egregious error—the cow will not produce milk unless it has calves, and since half will be male, the result is an excess bovine population that is costly to support. Farming practices that do not engage the bulls will essentially condemn them to the slaughterhouse, since

www.16rounds.com

Cont'd on pg. 9 ›››

PHILOSOPHY

TRANSITORY TRUTHS The Material Science Paradigm By Benjamin Saikin

You may

talk about survival of the fittest, but what if this entire earth planet is actually food for some gigantic space being that is far beyond human contemplation and only makes its appearance once a day according to its lifespan; a routine that coincides with the great mass extinction events throughout the course of global history. Who knows? Why not? The point is, we cannot know. Therefore, what of lasting value is to be gained by the knowledge borne from the ascending process of scientific inquiry? The answer is absolutely nothing, and it is for two prime reasons.

First, the sad and oft ignored fact is that knowledge acquired via the standard scientific method can never be conclusively verified. Why can’t it be verified? Because there will always be phenomenon which exist beyond the scope of human sensory perception. Even as instruments and techniques advance, they will never become capable of experiencing all phenomenon; the senses and their extensions can never be omniscient. Therefore, new data beyond the limits of our senses and instruments can swoop in at any moment and blow up the established consensus. Due to this limitation, we can never be certain that what we understand currently is the final word in any particular field of study. The history of any pursuit of

NEW DATA BEYOND THE LIMITS OF OUR SENSES AND INSTRUMENTS

www.16rounds.com

knowledge is littered with examples of knowledge heralded as truth, only to be relegated to the rubbish bin of scientific thought six months, a decade, or a century later. What this means is that there is always the possibility that any conclusion based on science - based on empirical sense perception - is wrong, and perhaps not merely wrong, but completely and utterly wrong.

This is problematic because in addition to the possibility that the fact of a given conclusion might be wrong, we have the compounded problem of having no means to ascertain the consequences of following the prescriptions of such “conclusions”. In other words, we don’t know how our actions will reverberate as individuals, as a society, or as one species on a planet full of other species - think global warming, Thalidomide, Chernobyl. The second problem with such knowledge is perhaps more devastating because it destroys the foundation of peaceful coexistence with each other and with our external environment. The pursuit of knowledge through a reducible, or ascending mechanistic approach, condemns society to an unavoidably pessimistic view of reality because - taken to its only logical

conclusion - it means that all phenomenon are predetermined by complex but quantifiable interactions of matter. In this view, reality is nothing more than a choreographed dance of constituent components whose outcome is determined by the mathematics inherent to the system. Put simply, everything that exists is nothing more than a complex computer program. Any serious thinker, who champions the mechanistic view of reality, must come to this conclusion. If they do not, it means that they have introduced some non-material element into their model of objective reality. Almost no such thinker will do this. The heart of the philosophy borne of atheistic, scientific thought is that all reality is predetermined.

Why is this important? Because it means that individual choice and free will do not exist in any form. The mechanistic approach leads to this conclusion because we can understand that any “decision” we make is the process of brain chemistry at a given instant. But that particular arrangement of brain chemistry exists at this moment because of conditions in the previous moment, and those conditions exist because of the conditions of a prior moment. Each progression occurs due to the

WHAT IF THIS ENTIRE EARTH PLANET IS ACTUALLY FOOD FOR SOME GIGANTIC SPACE BEING THAT IS FAR BEYOND HUMAN CONTEMPLATION interactions of matter based on physical laws that are not subject to deviation. Therefore, according to this line of thinking, we can trace all current events, back to some original event, which then advance exactly according to the laws of the physical world. This includes our decisions and actions. Even physical processes that are seemingly random – or contain a random

element (think electron position within an atomic orbital) - still lead to this conclusion, because this randomness is not subject to any non-material control. Therefore it is merely an unpredictable, but constant factor in the algorithm of existence. Assuming one reality, there is no free will. Even if you posit multiple realities, it makes no difference to the existence of free

PHILOSOPHY will in this one. The one we cohabit.

If this is so, what hope is there? This line of thinking may lead us to soaring technological achievements, but even as it does it creates a gaping hole in the fabric of our very humanness. How can a people or a society that thoroughly believes all processes are determined by the interactions of reducible matter, exist with any lawfulness, compassion, or truth?

The answer is that it cannot. In this view, all human interactions are subject to the laws of icy materialism, the mere products of chemistry. As this philosophy continues to exclude non-material explanations for the phenomena we experience, the space for such virtues in human existence become smaller, and must ultimately vanish. We are beginning to see such erosion, and as time progresses, it will continue relentlessly. After all, how can we argue with the cold mechanical workings of predetermined nature? A criminal is destined to be a criminal; a poor man is bound to his poverty; a racist is hardwired to hate. These ideas are as unpalatable as they are disturbing. Our visceral urge to rebel against this rigid view of reality is de facto evidence that our emotions, thoughts, and feelings are not governed solely by the predetermination of matter.

So what is the use of this knowledge? We understand that it can never be definitively verified; the consequences are always unknowable, and the result of such thinking leads to despair and hopelessness. Why waste time with this sort of thinking? Better to contemplate deeply and try to understand the rational and prudent case for introducing non-material elements into our understanding of reality. The particulars… are another discussion. For now, let us think carefully about how the mechanistic view of reality leads to an incomplete and wanting explanation of our existence and our future. It ultimately has no permanent value – but then again, it does lead to cars, flat panel TV’s, and the Internet. The question is, is this a fair bargain? �

GEO-ENGINEERING Continued from pg. 7

they will have no economic value other than their meat. If cows are bred only to the point where the bovine population meets the demand for draft power rather than the demand for meat, the result will be a substantially smaller cattle population and net reductions in greenhouse gas.

Organically cultivated farmland functions as a carbon sink by removing the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, from the atmosphere and fixing it as beneficial organic matter in the soil. Organic farming relies on composting and cover crops, which have the advantage of increasing the quantity of carbon-rich organic matter in the soil. Increases in organic matter are associated with increases in the sequestration of atmospheric carbon. The planet's soils hold more than twice as much carbon as its vegetation. The soil's carbon content can be further increased through reduced tillage, as well as greater use of cover crops and crop residues. Conventional agriculture depletes the soil's organic matter, tending to worsen climate change. Compared to conventional agriculture, organic farming produces less greenhouse gas, in part because of its lower energy intensity. Industrialized agriculture,

in which vast amounts of land are plowed, planted, and harvested using diesel or gasoline powered farm machinery in place of human and animal labor, is not a sustainable substitute for cow protection. Intensive animal agriculture, a production model that is being steadily adopted throughout the world, is a vast user of fossil fuel, mainly for the production of feed. For example, in the U.S., one ton of oil (2000 pounds or 6.75 barrels) is required to produce one steer weighing 1250 pounds. One acre of corn production in the U.S. requires approximately 140 gallons of oil, and if the corn goes to livestock, only about one-fifth of the protein is returned as food, and fourfifths of it is lost. The adoption of new seed varieties has intensified the dependence on petroleum-based chemical inputs. Natural gas is an ingredient for manufacturing the chemical fertilizers that support high crop yields in modern agriculture, while oil is a raw material for producing pesticides. Heavy reliance on these inputs increases the carbon footprint of conventional agriculture. Geoengineering is attractive to individuals that have no understanding of spiritual science, and yet at Cont'd on pg. 13 ›››

www.16rounds.com

COVER STORY

THIS GUY LOOKS UNUSUAL. LET ME REPORT HIM. 10

www.16rounds.com

COVER STORY

SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY REPORTING Does More Policing Equal More Freedom? By Mahat Tattva Dasa

Early in the

month of March, 2012, the State of West Virginia published a peculiar mobile phone application - one that you can use to report to Homeland Security, and other governmental policing institutions, any activity that you consider “suspicious.” The app is free and can be downloaded, among other places, from the Apple’s app store. Thanks to this app, now American citizens can discreetly take pictures of other Americans and report them to the officials. Reactions to this app have been mixed. Some Americans find the introduction of the app liberating while others think it will compromise American liberty.

Personally I am not a pacifist as I do think that force and violence have their place in civilized societies. Force and violence can be used and misused. Certain purely immoral and plain wrong elements can at times only be dealt with violence. Sometimes the only way to protect the innocent is by use of force. I am all for locking up the incorrigible criminals. I do think that those who are habituated to

violating the innocent in favor of personal profits should not be allowed unrestricted freedom of movement and expression. So force and violence have their pure, pristine, good form. However, maintaining a clear distinction between the good force and the bad, unwanted force can often prove to be a difficult task. I have some serious concerns about this new mobile phone application.

THE LAW

To ensure that all citizens are treated equally, societies usually establish a law system. The problem with this is that the law needs to be very comprehensive in order to cover all possibilities, even the minutest ones, of injustice. However, as such law is enacted, it tends to become stiff, not flexible. Thus the court of law is not a court of justice - it is simply the court of law. The lawyers are the folks who don’t fight for justice, but for the interpretation of the law. Just recently I heard a joke where a person asked a lawyer how much is two plus two. The lawyer answered, “How much do you want it to be?” Conclusion is that the law does not equal justice and that it tends to be stiff. For this reason everyone, and I do mean everyone, sooner or later, brakes the law and in many instances such

breakage of law is human and just. The problem is that such occurrences could be interpreted as unjust. Thus to place the power of policing in the hands of nearly all the citizens, considering that nowadays almost everyone has a mobile phone, can easily be more of a nuisance, a freedom constrictor, rather than a freedom protecting element.

CAGES WE DON’T SEE

Every society needs to be governed. Without governance the strong hurt the weak, making it impossible to have social harmony. So I am all for governance. However, I am only for governance by people who are pure and purged of all materialistic motivations. For the life of me I cannot trust governing individuals who are not spiritually accomplished. If they are not spiritually accomplished, they must have a material concept of life which necessitates the understanding that the self is matter and that therefore material accomplishments are of the highest personal interest. This understanding gives individuals the psychological right to be abusive materialists of varying degrees.

Looking at ancient and modern history, we see that the few who govern, unless they are spiritually accomplished, tend

www.16rounds.com

COVER STORY SNITCHES

to be strongly attached to the power which comes with governance. I can hardly recall any government who renounced governance at the bidding of the governed people when the government did not deserve to govern any more. They all tried to protect their positions, often even by brute force. Thus the few, the government, by using police and army, physically hurt the many, the majority and the governed. The many cannot be controlled by brute force forever. They can only be kept in cages they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see. So the way the few govern and

www.16rounds.com

control the many is by presenting themselves to the many as their well-wishers and protectors. The app under discussion accomplishes just that: It tells the many that the few are their guardian angels ready to go any lengths for the safety of the many. Thus the many become obedient to the few.

If the few have the wielding power of enforcement invested by the many, who is deputed to monitor and punish the few should they break the laws? Not that only the many should be made to follow the law diligently; the few who are elected for the purpose of serving the many should have an even

higher standard of integrity to maintain because their influence is entrusted by the people for their own welfare.

THE MANY POLICE THEMSELVES

A few can never control the many. The few need help of the many to control the many. Production of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Suspicious Activity Reportingâ&#x20AC;? application beautifully serves this purpose. Once the many are accustomed to police the many, even if the many notice when the governing few become unjust and immoral, individuals of the many will fear contradicting the laws established

by the few in the favor of the few because they may be abused by the others among the many whom may not be willing to contradict the abusive few. We have seen this in the communist regime-controlled countries of the not too far past. George Orwell extensively wrote about this danger in his work 1984. I remember flying shortly after the disastrous 9/11 incident from India, returning from a spiritual pilgrimage trip back to the States. After being jammed packed in the tiny economy seat for nearly twenty hours, we finally landed at an airport in the States. Once we were off

COVER STORY the plane and in a terminal, I put my suitcase down and started to walk, stretch my legs and thus save my life. I was moving away by ten yards or so, back and forth from my suitcase, just to be interrupted by a freaked out American patriot’s yelling. He was literally yelling at me, threatening to call police if I didn’t stay tight with my heavy suitcase. Security is fine, but this was much more than security - it was paranoia.

“Terror, terrorist, terrorism, Muslims, Al-Qaeda, blah, blah, blah...” these are the mantras emanated from the main stream media sources, keeping the many afraid of the many, submissive to and trusting the few. Long live the paranoia.

PRIVACY VIOLATION

The following is a comment, by a reader (www. popsci.com/users/ednylaw), to an online article about this app.

Seems to me this has constitutional violations written all over it. While private parties are not subject to 4th Amendment requirements, I can see how this (though probably not with the current Supreme Court, but at least in some of the circuit courts) may lead to a private party being treated as a state actor, thus subjecting them to constitutional requirements. This app is tantamount to police enlisting the help of private citizens to

get around warrant requirements. I feel as though we're getting closer and closer to a police state.

THE FAR-OUT ALTERNATIVE

Our society’s secularity has so drastically divorced itself from even the most basic spiritual elements and values that my proposed alternative will, to many, sound too far out. If I had a chance to constitute a state, I would make sure that certain Vedic elements be enforced. One Vedic requirement for anyone taking the position of governance is the compulsory and complete renunciation of the governmental post and all of one’s material property by the age of fifty. In Vedic times, people in governing positions would at the age of fifty take to the life of renunciation. They would leave everything, and I mean everything, to become wandering mendicants. Thus they would perfect their lives by renouncing material attachments and completely engaging themselves in spiritual cultivation and propagation of spiritual values. Since the rulers knew they could not hold on to their material assets, throughout their political term they would not bother becoming attached to the material assets and would thus feel free to fully give themselves in service to the populace.

COMMENT I have more concerns about the “Suspicious Activity Reporting” application, but I would love to hear your comments. I am quite democratic when it comes to communication and viewsexchange. I think it is very important to look at the same object from different people’s perspectives. Thus your comments are much appreciated. To comment, please go to www.16rounds. com.

GEO-ENGINEERING Continued from pg. 9

the same time do not trust human institutions to cope with global warming. Edward Teller, the godfather of modern geoengineering and self-proclaimed father of the H-bomb, was pessimistic about human nature and optimistic about technology. In his view, geoengineering is a technological

solution to global warming that does not necessitate reforms in human institutions or changes in human nature. However, advocates of technological ‘solutions’, such as Edward Teller, fail to consider that human nature and human institutions actually govern the development and application of technol-

ogy. Spiritual science is not the governing factor. Despite his distrust of human nature, Teller contributed to the invention of the H-bomb, and he placed this weapon of mass destruction in the hands of humans. These activities are contradictory and demonic. Lord Krishna stated that “the demonic engage in unbeneficial, horriCont'd on pg. 15 ›››

In the iTune’s store, on the page where the application is being distributed, there are three comments right now. They all seem to share similar concerns. Here they are:

Invasion of privacy (by JordanBalla93): Just another way for government to spy on you!!! Don't download!!!

Disgusting (by Anon96): This is disgusting. Just another way for the police to spy on you. We live in the USSR now? (by WV American): As a West Virginian I am deeply embarrassed by this app. Governor Earl Ray Tomblin and Division of Homeland Security Director Jimmy Gianato clearly intend to foster a Soviet-style informant culture in our state, and I'm sure other states will then follow like sheep. This app is disgusting and disgraceful and contrary to American values. I call on Apple to pull it from circulation immediately. �

www.16rounds.com

PHILOSOPHY

THE PERFECT ENEMY Closer Than You Think By Jessica Robins

actually motivated by selfdoubt and a fear of looking less than perfect, rather than by a sense of duty to work for a higher purpose. Paris thirsts to enjoy the recognition of her work—she wants prestige.

Do you

f i n d yourself procrastinating to start your projects because you worry about how they will turn out? Do you find yourself when you’re in an audience that is asked a question you silently shout the answer in your head because you’re too afraid to say aloud something that would be perceived as wrong? Do you set unrealistic goals for yourself and then beat yourself up if you can’t reach them? Are you quick to criticize others, yet make excuses for yourself why you make mistakes? Do you take constructive criticism defensively? Are you disappointed by and/or fear failure? Paris Perfectionist answered yes to all these questions. Paris is a clothing designer for a modeling company. She takes very great pride in her work. In fact, her great attention to detail provides for excellent production. However, there are unseen costs to her wellbeing and to the well-being of those around her.

THE STRUGGLE FOR PERFECTION

“Paris, what do you think about this local fashion show, should we help with this production?” Paris’ boss asked.

“Ummm…” Paris searched for the words she felt her boss wanted to hear. Paris wanted to live up to the expectations of her boss. “I think it would be great, let’s do it!” Paris said with a plastered smile, knowing full well the stress she was going to be up against in the following weeks in her pursuit to put on a perfect performance. Paris never liked to make mistakes. In fact,

PARIS PERFECTIONIST ANSWERED YES TO ALL THE QUESTIONS. PARIS IS A CLOTHING DESIGNER FOR A MODELING COMPANY. SHE TAKES GREAT PRIDE IN HER WORK. she feared perceived failure more than anything.

Paris began to dream up elaborate designs and envisioned a magnificent and what we would consider to be “over-the-top” plan. As she despairingly consulted with her friend about the magnitude of the job, her friend suggested she contract some other designers to help her.

“But then it will be their show, not mine!” Paris whined. She wanted all the credit for the work. Feeling her friend to be downplaying her abilities and talent by such a suggestion, she defensively argued why she didn’t need to ask for anyone’s help. “If I can’t do

www.16rounds.com

it perfectly by myself, why even bother!” Paris retorted as she proceeded to slam the door shut behind her. You see, perfectionists base their self-worth on external achievement—often with this type of all-or-nothing mentality, i.e. “If I can’t do it perfectly, why even bother?” In other words, perfectionists feel they have no value in life unless they are perceived as materially successful. And to admit needing help would be to admit failure to a perfectionist. Paris feels it is what she can personally achieve that matters rather than working together as a team with others to create a sense of harmony with a larger group. Paris is

As Paris was walking home she thought over what her friend had advised. “She must think I’m not good enough, I need to work harder!” Paris demanded of herself. To have aspirations is good, but she was solely on a quest to prove her superiority to others. As she continued up the stairs to her apartment, her upper lip cringed as she saw her next door neighbors talking and laughing with one another. “How could he be interested in someone like that?” Paris sneered. She was always quick to criticize others due to a lack of inner fulfillment. Perfectionists easily point out the faults in others in order to feel better about their own shortcomings. Paris suffered from low selfesteem so she tended to gossip quite frequently. People

who actually have self-confidence speak of their ideals and values in life, not of the faults of others. Several days later, Paris had only slept a handful of hours attempting to organize everything just perfectly and she now found herself procrastinating. She was distraught and exhausted. She had no real enthusiasm to continue on as the deadline grew closer. Paris had utterly isolated herself from everyone around her due to her need for perfection, and now with no one around to help, she began incessantly worrying about the outcome of her performance. “I have a reputation to uphold; what will people think if I miss my deadline?” she ruminated.

The next day at work Paris’ boss asked her how everything was coming along. Some of her other co-workers happened to be close by so instead of honestly explaining the situation, her eyes darted back and forth and she managed to blurt out, “Uh, everything is going perfect, just great!” It was always the same pattern for poor miss perfectionist, time after time. The desire for perfection, unrealistic and over-the-top goals, the self-recrimination, frustration, hostility and resentment towards oth-

AS PARIS WAS WALKING HOME SHE THOUGHT OVER WHAT HER FRIEND HAD ADVISED. TO HAVE ASPIRATIONS IS GOOD, BUT SHE WAS SOLELY ON A QUEST TO PROVE HER SUPERIORITY TO OTHERS.

PHILOSOPHY perior, unchanging nature. Real happiness can only be found on the level of the soul. Any amount of material success, honor, or praise that Paris could seemingly take pleasure in can last for a short time only. Why? Because failure, mistakes, and disapproval are an inherent part of life—in fact, we learn and develop character from them. Thus, to base our value as individuals on the material perfection of our life is like trying to build our self-worth on a foundation of sand.

THE SANDCASTLE COMES CRASHING DOWN - THE REAL ENEMY TO PARIS’ HAPPINESS AND SELF-SATISFACTION ARE NOT HER INABILITIES OR “FAILURES,” BUT A FUNDAMENTAL MISCONCEPTION. ers, the isolation, and the lies to uphold an artificial image left Paris feeling utterly miserable! Paris made so many excuses for herself about why she wasn’t absolutely perfect: “I should have been more focused”, “there’s not enough time in a day”, “I’m not smart or talented enough”, et cetera.

THE SANDCASTLES COME CRASHING DOWN The real enemy to Paris’ happiness and self-satisfaction are not her inabilities or “failures,” but the fundamental misconception she maintains about whom she is and what determines happiness. Krishna, in the Bhagavadgita, describes the physical body as merely a vehicle for the real self—the eternal soul—which is of a su-

Krishna explains that in order to achieve genuine, steady happiness during our everyday activities, we must perform the yoga of work—karma yoga. Karma is ordinary material work, but when done in yoga, or linked up to the Truth of one’s spiritual essence, then one’s work becomes perfect no matter whether materially good or bad results come about. Therefore, karma yoga occurs when we perform our work out of duty, because it ought to be done and without attachment to success or failure. Instead, work is performed with a higher spiritual vision in mind. Real perfection in life is to find inner, spiritual fulfillment rather than external perfection.

ing something pleasant nor lament upon obtaining something unpleasant. Such persons are truly happy because they are never bewildered by the dualities of life. However, when we work for the results of our activities, as Paris did, then we are prone to much misery. If we work for results such as money, fame, adoration, or superiority and do not get them to the degree that we desire, then we suffer much anxiety and disappointment. Conversely, if we do get them, then we become attached and fear their loss. On either side there is great stress. As a result of spiritual cultivation, a natural alleviation of these commonplace miseries occur. Thus, karmayoga is an essential part in combating the plague of perfectionism and in achieving equanimity of mind. �

GEO-ENGINEERING

ou're not as wonderful as your mama told you, and the way to grow up is to realize that. Growing up, in other words, means making mistakes. Only it's not enough to make mistakes: you have to feel them. Those moments of excruciating shame when you really screw up? Cherish them. -Jane Austen

he true friend wants you to be happy, but being happy and feeling good about yourself are not the same thing. Being happy means becoming a better person, and becoming a better person means having your mistakes pointed out to you in a way you can't ignore. -Jane Austen

Continued from pg. 13

ble works meant to destroy the world…” (Bhagavad-gita, 16.9); thereby, anticipating the development of nuclear weapons, according to Srila Prabhupada.

Global warming and geoengineering represent a convergence of demonic characteristics—(a) the tendency toward animal killing / meat eating, which is very prominent amongst the demonic while also being an important contributor to climate change (b) the tendency toward unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world, e.g. geoengineering, which is a weapon of mass destruction that has been advertised as a solution to global warming / the meat culture. � References for this article are available upon request.

Those who are properly executing karma yoga possess equanimity while performing their everyday duties. In other words, they neither rejoice upon achiev-

www.16rounds.com

OPEN MIC

AS EASY AS THE CAULIFLOWER Horror & Satire By Janice Gunn

“Billions of dollars could be saved in the meat industry if the consciousness of farm animals could be reduced to that of simpler living organisms.” -Dr. Ainstig, Phd.

“I don’t

understand it, doctor, what you did to his lobes?” Luz asked. She struggled with English, her second language. She was holding in her hands a pair of plastic covered ankles. “You won’t understand,” said the doctor. ”You know, if this would

happen in your country, America…”

“I know,” he raised his voice high to mimic hers; “our ass would be in jail.”

They put the shrouded body on a pile of branches. Suddenly Luz caught a stern, angry glance from the doctor. “You’re a nurse. You’re not

qualified to understand the frontal lobes. It’s doctorate work. Don’t even ask.” His face looked hot and red. “I warn you again, Luz. You stay the hell out of it.”

Dr. Ainstig had saved the wood to dry out since spring. He set it ablaze with a lighter from his pocket.

THE UNIQUE FRONTIER

Consciousness, according to the doctor, is a biological function governed by subtle changes in the energy passing through synapses and chemicals in the brain. It can be analyzed, as in biology, it can be treated, as in medical psychiatry, or it can be changed, as in biopsychic augmentation, his unique frontier. It was the big slaughterhouses in America that first inspired him. His father managed “the kill floor.” Day in, day out, they lifted a hundred, a thousand, a million writhing animals by their hind ankles secured with a chain. The throats were slit so the blood could drain out by the pumping animals’ hearts. The animal died. But when?

“BILLIONS OF DOLLARS COULD BE SAVED IN THE MEAT INDUSTRY IF CONSCIOUSNESS COULD BE REDUCED IN FARM ANIMALS TO THAT OF SIMPLER LIVING ORGANISMS,” HE EXPLAINED TO LUZ.

www.16rounds.com

Little Ainstig was horrified. He was a little boy in such a ghastly scene. Daddy wanted him to appreciate it, not be a sissy. A thought grew in his child’s mind, like a drop of blood spreads on fine cloth. What makes the creatures breathe? What

WHY THE GHASTLY SCENE? COULDN'T MEAT BE OBTAINED IN AN EASIER WAY, LIKE CAULIFLOWER? makes a big bull alive? Why the ghastly scene? Couldn’t meat be obtained in an easier way, like cauliflower?

In his maturity Ainstig took up experimenting with animals. Later he got an international contract to do humans. Only a human subject could communicate his subjective experience of consciousness during the course of the experiment.

Luz never spoke of it but there were ten different persons that had stayed at The Ranch. There was the nice secretary from Managua. She left with not so much as a scar near her hairline. There was a young man from Belize who needed the compensation check to bail his brother out of jail. He left with no scar. The frontal lobes, right and left, were the doctor’s focus. He could make a magnetic resonance analysis and then treat the subject with sonic or magnetic waves, or pharmaceuticals, followed by electroencephalography. He could illicit a variety of affects and data. There were too many laws against it in the States.

But the boys from the jungle… Luz’s eyes became wet and her body tense remembering them. They

each were ill affected by the experiments. Some wandered off; others the doctor himself drove off with in the jeep. Of the ten so far, only three left the ranch in good condition. Luz became anxious. Would the doctor ever come to the conclusion?

“Billions of dollars could be saved in the meat industry if consciousness could be reduced in farm animals to that of simpler living organisms,” he explained to Luz whenever she needed to hear it again.

GANESH’S GIFT

A month passed and then a jeep pulled up the muddy road in front of The Ranch. It was Ganesh Gupta. The driver brought his bags in.

life, consciousness. If it can be a good science discovery for him, then he will have understanding of building blocks of all the life things,” she chimed. “So you sign here.”

Ganesh appeared astonished by her words. He signed the contract immediately. “It is quite an honor for me to participate, madam, so I feel I must share with you some gift. I am just now thinking that an esteemed research worker such as you would take interest in this classic book from my home country, India.” It was a copy of the Bhaga-

“I am here to see the doctor?” His face radiated innocence. “Tu?” Luz countered. She sighed.

She showed him to the guest room and brought the contract, as the doctor required.

“Of course you must know. You would not decide to come here if you did not know. Doctor is making a great research work to discover a mysteriousness of

OPEN MIC vad-gita in Spanish.

The next morning Luz served breakfast to Ganesh. “I enjoy very much to read this book, the Bhagavad-gita. Muchas gracias,” she said. “I am very glad,” said Ganesh.

“For example, it says, ‘for one who is born, death is certain, and for one who is dead, birth is certain.’ So it is circle?”

and smiled. “Good morning to you, Mr. Gupta.” Luz poured a cup of coffee for him to take back to his office. “Ganesh!” Luz whispered, “Do you know why you were brought here?”

“It is to conduct research that the doctor wishes to utilize me. Isn’t that correct?” Luz cleared the breakfast

“Very good,” replied Ganesh, “I am happy for you, madam.”

“Madam, is it not wonderful that you have learned all this? My grandfather told us these things back in my village when I was a boy.”

They came to a clear mineral water spout of every blue green color in nature, tumbling down a rock gorge into a languid pond of milky turquoise. “Beautiful!” said Ganesh,

“You come from India and you never read it?” asked Luz, surprised.

A few weeks went by, Luz and Ganesh became friends. No experiment was conducted. One day she served breakfast to Ganesh and quoted the Gita to him in Spanish. “If I read it very correctly, it say to me the energy we call ‘life’ is not something what people can manufacture. It is immutable. The “you” is eternal. Is that right?”

“Oh madam, this is all very high thinking.”

“Si, si. I think your book also say the existence of consciousness can’t be proof by experimentation. How can consciousness see itself?” “Madam, it is a very deep, wise subject matter.”

They stopped talking while the doctor walked in

“Yes, Madam Luz, it is highly respected. Divyam means divine and transcendental. So not to worry, madam, no one can defile it.” “Ah, Krishna? That you cannot describe. He is as blue as this heavenly pool, and a million times more sublime. Why, He is magnificent to behold and at the same time you cannot behold Him at all,” Ganesh smiled a big smile, “Oh, and Sri Krishna loves cows.”

“No,” said Ganesh. “I only just now received a copy from a woman in the Managua airport on my way to your, this beautiful The Ranch. In this way I made a gift of it to you, madam.”

A LUCKY DELAY

“Your Gita explain me that the soul cannot be seen by microscope. It cannot be touched by material senses of the human…”

“Tell me, who is Krishna?”

“You studied it in India?”

“It is a favorite book of Mahatma Gandhi. That I know. In school I have studied only computer software.” explained Ganesh. “Madam, I came to your, this beautiful ranch, to participate in experiments and I shall use the payment to open a computer firm in Managua City.”

“Yes, madam,” replied Ganesh, “but it is no trouble. I am very pleased with the beans and vegetables you prepare.”

“Hmmm,” Luz smiled, but she began to cry.

IT WAS THE BIG SLAUGHTERHOUSES IN AMERICA THAT FIRST INSPIRED HIM. HIS FATHER MANAGED “THE KILL FLOOR.” dishes into the sink. One broke.

Ganesh looked puzzled. “Madam, what is the delay? When will we begin?”

“Still we wait for your compensation, Ganesh, approved from Los Monsantos. Come in mail, pronto.” Ganesh was so keen on being helpful. Luz felt a little hopeful for him but she did not know why. Somehow Ganesh seemed invincible.

NO ONE CAN DEFILE IT

“Your book, Ganesh, says an individual soul is unbreakable, insoluble, everlasting, and can’t be burned or dried.” Luz spoke words from the Gita. Ganesh listened while they hiked a jungle trail near The Ranch.

breathless.

“Si,” said Luz. “Each times I see this waterfall I am much blessed.” ‘Thank you for showing me your beautiful Ranch waterfall, Madam,” said Ganesh.

As soon as she heard him mention “Ranch” Luz’s stomach tightened. “Ay, Ganesh, why do you refuse the meat I cook? Do animals, too, have a soul?”

“Ganesh, I something important to tell you. You listen me now.” She whispered, “The doctor going to hurt you, Ganesh, the experiments have hurt, maybe kill, seven persons. I know this.”

“Oh madam, don’t cry. In the name of science, and for want of finance to begin my computer firm in Managua City, I wish to take such opportunity of risk to promote the cause of modern mankind.” “No! Ganesh! You don’ understand. Out of ten subjects seven missing… maybe dead! Oh, I afraid for you, I afraid! You must leave. Call for the jeep.”

“Madam, you don’t understand. I am prepared to further the cause of modern science. Every man should make a very good sacrifice for the progress and better-

ment...”

“Ganesh, you are fool! Listen me now. The doctor is mad man!” Luz eyes widened until nearly all the white was showing. “Madam! Perhaps we are having a misunderstanding based on cultural differences. Are you unfamiliar with the good doctor’s experiments? Is there something specifically you have misunderstood?” “Listen me, you idiot! Ainstig wants to change the animals so they cannot think or protect themselves; he calls it, ‘reduce instinct for selfdefense.’ Not that only. He has colleague who is trying to stop the methane gas they produce, which very much causes the global warming.” “He wants to eliminate from the cows their natural tendency to make gas?” Ganesh asked incredulously. “Si. And doctor wants to make cows with the genes of our Costa Rica tree sloth.”

“No. This cannot be possible.” “Yes! He says complex consciousness is a result of many years of bio- evolution. He wants it to devolve in livestock. Grow them like the cauliflowers.”

Ganesh sat puzzled. Luz saw Ainstig down the hill, walking on a long gravel driveway. He was headed to the mail box in his jeans and blue technician’s smock. “Oh, there’s he, looking for the letter from the Monsantos…”

“In my culture, the cow is sacred,” Ganesh gasped, “The Gita says she has a soul in her body just like you or I. She is regarded as mother because we benefit from

her milk. We do not take her blood! Luz, I am surprised, but very grateful, that you informed me about the nature of this thing.”

Ganesh was indignant. “This man’s ideas are simply hideous to me.” He stood up on a rock and proclaimed, “I, Ganesh Gupta, do hereby declare: I will have nothing to do with this! This is scientific demonism. I will tear up my contract!” Luz begged him to come down from the rock lest the doctor might see him. Suddenly Ganesh pulled out his iPhone and called the Managua County Sheriff’s Office.

AS EASY AS THE CAULIFLOWER

For hours Ganesh and Luz hid in the jungle. Morning passed, the jungle grew moist and hot. Then a rumble of noise came from the sound of road vehicles. A little later came a few blasts of gunshots. From down at the waterfall they spotted military jeeps surrounding The Ranch. Luz cried. “What happened to the doctor?” she grabbed Ganesh and shook him, “He die? He shoot at the police?”

“The sheriff said not to come near yet,” Ganesh cautioned.

As the sun lanced the jungle with its last rays, they glimpsed military men lifting a body by the shoulders and two ankles. They loaded it on a stretcher and into a van. Luz nearly dropped to the ground seeing the dead Dr. Ainstig. Cautiously Ganesh and Luz made their Cont'd on pg. 19 ›››

"What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage." -Bhagavad-gita As It Is 2.69 ©13

www.16rounds.com

LIFESTYLE

AROMATHERAPY What You Smell Can Keep You Well By Sara Bock

Have you

www.16rounds.com

ever walked into a place with a horrid smell and felt your face curl up in distaste, your stomach curdle, and your entire feeling of well-being diminish until you leave the room? Alternatively, have you noticed that places with pleasant smells like a rose garden, or lavender bush increase your mental satisfaction and sense of peacefulness? That which we smell can certainly influence our mental, emotional, and even physical well-being. Incense, sage, and essential oils have long been used therapeutically and spiritually, dating back six thousand years ago. Ancient Egyptians burned incense from aromatic woods and herbs to honor their gods, believing that certain smells would elevate the consciousness and promote tranquility. Egyptians even utilized essential oils such as frankincense and myrrh in the mummification process. Ancient Greek,

Roman, Chinese, and Indian cultures also used aromas for healing purposes. Hypocrites, known as the Father of Medicine, believed that a daily aromatic bath and scented massage would promote good health. During the 19th century however, when modern medical science flourished, uses of scents for healing diminished. In the 1920’s, French chemist Rene Maurice Gatefosse revived this practice, coining the term “Aromatherapy”. Aromatherapy refers to the use of aromas for healing purposes. India was one culture that never lost its practice of aromatherapy, which is sometimes included in Ayurvedic treatment. Ayurveda refers to the ancient science of natural, holistic healing originating in India, but currently practiced around the world. According to Ayurvedic philosophy, that which the senses absorb on a daily basis impacts one’s overall health and well-being. Ayurvedic treatment thus prescribes

various sense therapies (taste, sound, color, and aroma therapies) as part of treatment. When the senses receive input that is in harmony with one’s unique physical constitution, good health will result. Alternatively, the input of sounds, smells, tastes, and sights that are disharmonious to an individual can lead to disease or sickness. For some people, for example, a walk in nature can be soothing and healing, whereas spending a day surrounded by traffic, bright lights, and the hustle and bustle of the city can be draining and stressful. What is harmonious for one however, may be disharmonious for another. The science of aromatherapy involves discovering the scents that bring each individual into his or her unique balance, as that which we inhale directly affects our subtle bodies, specifically the chakras (energy centers), and nadis (channels for the flow of consciousness). Aromatherapy

not

practiced with artificially produced smells, but with natural, essential, aromatic oils found in plants - in their flowers (rose for example), roots (ginger), leaves (mint), and bark (cinnamon). Essential oils can be smelled, or digested internally. They can be found as ingredients in soaps, lotions, air fresheners, incense, and other common household and beauty care products. Essential oils in their pure and original form are very strong, and can burn or cause irritation to the body, and should thus be diluted before use. Essential oils can be diluted into massage oil (1 drop of essential oil to 1 TBSP of base oil), into water in a spray bottle to create a homemade air freshener, or added to a vaporizer for steam therapy. Essential oils can alternatively be purchased in already diluted forms which can be directly applied to the skin. Following are some general guidelines for choosing scents best suited to your

personal needs. When vata (air) is out of balance in the body, and one feels ungrounded, anxious, weak, or confused, warming, sweet, and spicy aromas are recommended such as cinnamon, lavender, and camphor. When pitta (fire) is out of balance and one feels irritated, angry, passionate, and hot, cooling oils are indicated such as rose and sandalwood. When kapha (earth/ water) is out of balance, and one feels lethargic, sluggish, and heavy, warming and stimulating oils are recommended such as cinnamon, patchouli, wintergreen, and sage.

If you are feeling depressed, try using patchouli, wintergreen, and rosemary scents to help you feel uplifted. To increase calmness and reduce fear and anxiety, try lavender and sandalwood. Fever can be brought down by the cooling properties of rose, jasmine, sandalwood, and basil. Pain can be eased with the aromas of wintergreen, camphor, cinnamon, and mint. Calamus purifies negative energies, while lavender soothes symptoms of PMS and aids in restful sleep. The scent of rose increases love, compassion, and feelings of devotion, while saffron increases faith and forgiveness, and can also be useful in the treatment of cancer and AIDS. Wintergreen is antiinflammatory, and is helpful in easing pain, arthritis and headaches. Next time you are feeling out of balance, physically, mentally, or emotionally, reach for an appropriate essential oil to help bring you back into harmony. Or add aromatherapy to your daily routine to increase an overall sense of well-being. Namaste. �

AS EASY AS THE CAULIFLOWER Continued from pg. 17 way to The Ranch where they were detained and taken to Managua.

Luz was questioned extensively in Managua. “Ainstig, he did cutting edge scientific exploration of agricultural mutation. Americans will be angry with us for killing him. He wanted to produce cows as easy as the cauliflower,” Luz explained over and over again to a variety of Nicaraguan officials. They listened to her story with pity and let her go. Meanwhile, Ganesh was asked to attend several media interviews. “Mr. Gupta, you have helped to protect the people of our country from the newly discovered threat of biopsychic augmentation. How does it feel to be a national hero? Have you anything to tell us?”

“Thank you very much, sir. I should like to urge the good people of your, this beautiful Nicaragua, to consider very carefully the effect of modern science upon your country. I honor and respect the achievements of modern technology and science. Especially in bio-technology and medicine so many advancements are made. No longer does a blind man necessarily have to remain blind; no longer does a lame man have to be so with the use of modern prosthetics. Physical suffering appears to have decreased for human kind across the globe. “Ironically, while we advanced our own comforts, we have simultaneously created hell for the animals. I have seen from the hill top how your jungles have been cleared and tens of thousands of cattle stand in the open fields waiting to be processed into fast food for man. “I have smelled the stench of your slaughter houses as I traveled on the highway to your Managua. I have seen run-off and ground contamination from the limitless

gallons of spilled blood. And now I realize that by chance I came into the association of a man whose base greed and nasty culture produced in him such insanity that he wished to manipulate the brain of innocent animals and retard them. Even he wished to try his plan on men. But that was where his madness had to come to an end. To take the life of another human being is most objectionable. “From a spiritual perspective, our precious human life is a crossroads between the life of a man and the life of an animal. An animal cannot make a decision based on rational thought; he can only act on the instinct given him by nature. A human can consider, if I am cut, I bleed; if the animal is cut, he also bleeds. If I get injury, I suffer; if an animal is given injury, he suffers. If I am to be killed, I will feel tremendous fear; if an animal is to be killed, he will make every attempt to defend himself. By this reasoning a human being should naturally conclude that the animal is akin to his own brother. Finer sentiments and respect for all natural created beings should awaken in him if he is to call himself a human.

Thank you very much for your kind attention in this matter. If I have at all saved you from the threat of biopsychic augmentation, then as my reward I make a request of you. The experience of human consciousness gives a valuable opportunity to awaken to the intricate, personal relationships we share among forms of sentience, realizing it to be both sacred and inviolable. In your, this beautiful country of Nicaragua, please declare disobedience to the perversity of technological science.” �