Monday, December 27, 2010
The Mahabharata... Fact or Fiction?
Besides its epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kauravas and the Pandavas, the Mahabharata (whether absolute fact or utter fiction) contains much philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" (right action, purpose, pleasure, and liberation). Among the principal works and stories that are a part of the Mahabharata are: the Bhagavad Gita (a sacred text outlining the key tenets of Hinduism), the story of Damayanti, an abbreviated version of the Ramayana, and the Rishyasringa, often considered as works in their own right.
The works of the Mahabharata was originally attributed to the scribe Vyasa. However, this lengthy, ongoing poem of mythical madness was most likely composed by several writers between the 8th century BCE and the 4th century CE (a mere estimation of the time frame). Perhaps this is why many people still question if it was fictional, factual, or a mixture of both fiction and fact; blah! To read more about it via the elaborate version, visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabharata
The reason why such a subject lands on this myths, legends, and folklore blog, is because the Mahabharata is a story of gods, demigods and men. Many people believe that the demigods and gods in this ancient manuscript were actually ancient astronauts who battled among each other for possession of this lovely blue planet known as Earth. In the past, I re-typed and/or copied a short story that covered this very same subject, and it was entitled "Ancient Star Wars." And you can find it here: http://www.perpendicularity.org/star-wars.html [link is no longer active]
Did the writings within the Mahabharata provide grammatical evidence of atomic warfare that occurred in our distant past? After reading the short story about ancient star wars, the weapons described in the Mahabharata didn't sound so primitive after all. It is an interesting concept to think about, to say the very least. Who knows for sure? Sometimes you're better off just using your creative imagination while leaving the rest for the pseudo-scientific creatures of today to pretend that they can unravel such things from ancient history... As the last part of the title asks: Fact or fiction??? Yeah, go get 'em, fellow brainiacs of ultimate knowledge and know-how... Either way, it sounds like this place has been under conflict from the very start. Cheers! Ha-ha!
---End of Post 'The Mahabharata... Fact or Fiction?'
Semi-related Post: "Beowulf - Fact or Fiction?"
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Interbreeding Species of Ancient Humans
I must say, though, when it comes to macro-evolution theories, their concepts of speciation do seem to be quite asinine, to say the least!
I once wrote about a related subject, here: "Theory of Evolution: Where is the Missing Link between Homo erectus & Homo sapiens" [Link is temporarily inactive.]
Monday, December 20, 2010
...Other Sacred Rocks & Stones
This area also has several dolmens, and are generally thought to have been tombs... I'll provide an image of one below, for an example:
Easter Island Statues: Some of these sacred stone heads weigh up to 6 tons each. Rows of these mysterious statues face out towards the sea from Easter Island in the Southern Pacific. It is amazing enough that they carved so many, but most of the astonishment arises when thinking about how they moved such large stones/rocks around...and why??? The purpose for these stones is not certain, but many believe that they represent their ancestors.
Related pictorial link, featuring ancient, sacred rocks & stones: "The Lost City of the Incas," http://www.perpendicularity.org/machu-picchu.html. [Link is no longer active]
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Is Silicon-based life possible?
I asked this question, with silicon being the base for another possible life-form, because that seems to be the most popular suggestion out of all the elements we know about. Personally, I'm more curious about there being life based on other elements that we don't know about or haven't discovered - that is possibly out there, in ample amounts, somewhere in the universe.
Instead of me typing a bunch of subjective opinions that I generally enjoy doing, mainly on other websites and blogs of mine, I'll just provide a couple resources that are not supporting the theory of silicon-based life, but their reasons may provide even more questions and possibilities, depending on your imagination.
Resources:
1) Conceivably, some strange life-forms might be built from silicone-like substances were it not for an apparently fatal flaw in silicon's biological credentials. This is its powerful affinity for oxygen. When carbon is oxidized during the respiratory process of a terrestrial organism, it becomes the gas carbon dioxide – a waste material that is easy for a creature to remove from its body. The oxidation of silicon, however, yields a solid because, immediately upon formation, silicon dioxide organizes itself into a lattice in which each silicon atom is surrounded by four oxygens. Disposing of such a substance would pose a major respiratory challenge.
Read more, here: http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/S/siliconlife.html
2) Silicon biochemistry: The most commonly proposed basis for an alternative biochemical system is the silicon atom, since silicon has many chemical properties similar to carbon and is in the same periodic table group, the carbon group. Like carbon, silicon can create molecules that are sufficiently large to carry biological information. However, silicon has several drawbacks as a carbon alternative. Silicon, unlike carbon, lacks the ability to form chemical bonds with diverse types of atoms, which permits the chemical versatility necessary for metabolism.
Read more about this and other exotic element-based biochemistries, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothetical_types_of_biochemistry
Okay, now back to the original query, "Is Silicon-based life possible?" This concept has been applied to many fantasy and sci-fi flicks. For example, the original Star Trek series, episode 26, had a show that featured a silicon-based being. This particular show was called "Devil in the Dark." The Horta (a silicon-based life-form) is discovered by miners on Janus VI and every 50,000 years, all the Horta die except for one individual who survives to look after the eggs of the next generation. Anyway, the point is, on a planet with a totally different chemistry and available elements (many elements that could possibly be unknown to us), it is a plausible theory that life may not necessarily have to be limited to the carbon-based category.
Conclusion:
I suppose that I could have changed the title of this post to "Does all life have to be carbon-based?" and it would have had the same effect. Hell, forget about the silicon-based life theories and the doubts therein. Just think about the possibility of all the other exotic elements that we may not even be aware of, that could exist deep within the cosmos. When it comes to the marvels of life itself, the mystery in what makes life possible, and the amazingly stupendous amounts of various types of life that we do know about on this beautiful planet, I'd say that anything could be possible elsewhere...
---End of Post "Is Silicon-based life possible?"
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Incas - Sky Gods
Inti was the Incan sun god, the ruler of the daytime. This may have been the most important god of the Incas, as far as daily living is concerned, for very apparent reasons (we all need the sun, ya know...).
Mama Kilya, also known as Mama Quilla, was the moon goddess and ruler of the night. One could say that the Incas looked at Inti as the divine male and Mama Kilya as the divine female. Also, they represented Inti with gold and Mama Quilla with silver.
Illapu, also known as Illapa, was the Incan thunder god. Illapu was also known as the provider of rain, and they often prayed for such things, since rain is a necessary thing, duh...
I just read in a mythology book that mentioned some deity called "Chuichu." It said that the Incas believed in a rainbow god that was a two-headed dragon-like deity called Chuichu. They knew that the rainbow somehow related to the sun or the sun's rays, but due to the lack of understanding back then, which is understandable, they couldn't figure it out - so why not just label it as a god, since it is simpler to blame it on a god-like being, ya know...
Additional Link: Incas - Aliens & Ancient Astronauts [Link is no longer active]
---End of Post "Incas - Sky Gods"
Monday, December 13, 2010
Sacred Ayers Rock - Uluru
As with most subjects that deal with ancient times & history, the Sacred Ayers Rock comes with many myths & legends. For example: The sacred Uluru is in the middle of the Simpson Desert. Even though it appears to just be a giant land mass in the middle of a desert, the Aborigines think of it as a symbol of all creation. There is an Aborigine legend that Uluru was once an ocean, but after a great battle at its shores, it rose up in revolt at the bloodshed, forming the great blood-colored rock that you often see glow red, during sunset, like I mentioned before.
Every feature on Ayers Rock has a special meaning to these people, such as: a pair of holes are the eyes of an ancestor; a mark down the side is the blood of the "venomous snake people," shed in a battle, and on and on and on... As you can see, I'm stopping right there and I'm not about to get into all the myths, legends, and folklore that spawned from the Uluru - as this post would become too large.
Australian Aboriginal Proverb: "We are all visitors to this time, this place... Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love and then we return home."
At any rate, I just wanted to drop down a couple images of this sacred, massive chunk of a rock formation, as it is still very interesting to look at...
---Side Note: If you're interested in traveling and/or taking a vacation near this sacred rock formation, visit: http://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/