vivekananda kendra newsletter may 2012

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Echoes of EcoEyes of the Wolf and Voice of the Mountain In this issue:

Eyes of the wolf and Voice ofthe Mountain

The Happenings I

The Happenings-II

The Happenings-III

From our Publications

Visions of Wisdom: Education

The Universe is Her heart; the earthis Her loins; the space betweenearth and sky is Her navel; theasterisms are Her Thighs; theMaharaloka is Her neck; the

Janarloka is Her face The fire iswithin her Face; day and night arelike her two wings; the mountainsare Her bones; the rivers are Her

veins, and the trees are the hairs ofHer body. O King ! youth virginity,and old age are Her best gaits, thetwo twilight are Her clothings; theMoon is the mind of the Mother of

the Universe.-Sri Devi Bhagavata

Hymn to the Cosmic Gaia

May, 2012 Vivekananda Kendra- nardep Newsletter Vol:4 No:3

Service to humanity is the highest form of worship Swami Vivekananda

Deep experience is often what gets aperson started along a deep ecologicalpath. Aldo Leopold, in his book ASand County Almanac provides astriking example of this. For Leopold,the experience was of sufficientintensity to trigger a total reorientationin his lifes work as a wildlife managerand ecologist. In the 1920s, he hadbeen appointed by the US governmentto develop a rational, scientific policy

for eradicating the wolf from the entireUnited States. The justification for thisintervention was that wolves competedwith sport hunters for deer, so thatfewer wolves would mean more deerfor the hunters.

As a wildlife manager of those times,Leopold adhered to the unquestioningbelief that humans were superior to therest of nature, and were thus morallyjustified in manipulating it as much aswas required in order to maximise

human welfare.

One morning, Leopold was out withsome friends on a walk in themountains. Being hunters, they carriedtheir rifles with them, in case they got achance to kill some wolves. It gotaround to lunch time and they sat downon a cliff overlooking a turbulent river.Soon they saw what appeared to besome deer fording the torrent, but theysoon realised that it was a pack ofwolves. They took up their rifles and

began to shoot excitedly in to the pack,but with little accuracy. Eventually anold wolf was down by the side of theriver

Leopold rushed down to gloat at herdeath. What met him was a fiercegreen fire dying in the wolfs eyes. Hewrites in a chapter entitled ThinkingLike a Mountain that: there wassomething new to me in those eyes,something known only to her and tothe mountain. I thought that becausefewer wolves meant more deer, thatno wolves would mean huntersparadise. But after seeing the green

fire die, I sensed that neither the wolfnor the mountain agreed with such aview.

Perhaps it is possible to understandwhat Leopold means when he saysthat the wolf disagreed with such aview, but how could a lifeless, inertmountain possibly agree or disagreewith anything? What could Leopoldhave experienced in that pivotalmoment in his life? Clearly, he is usingthe word mountain as a metaphor for

the wild ecosystem in which theincident took place, the ecosystem asan entirety, as a living presence, withits deer, its wolves and other animals,its clouds, soils and streams. For thefirst time in his life he felt completely atone with this wide, ecological reality.The mind which saw nature as a deadmachine, there for human use,vanished. In its place was the pristinerecognition of the vast being of livingnature, of what we now call Gaia.

[An excerpt from Stephan Hardingslecture: What is Deep Ecology?]


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This Month This month

Green Health Home at Vivekanandapuram functioned for 5 days andtreated 113 patients.

Echoes of Eco - Newsletter, Vivekananda Kendra nardep, May 2012, Vol. 4 No: 3

If we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair. We'd never have a friendship. We'dnever go into business, because we'd be cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've got to jump off

cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down. Ray Bradbury (1920-2012)

Azolla Training and intensiveworkshop:

Workshop on Azolla Cultivation washeld at Vivekananda Kendra nardep at the TRC, Kalluvillaion 26

th

Smt.Premlatha was the resourceperson.

Societal Award-2012 :a brief atyoutube.com

We are happy to inform our readersthat NRDC has come out with a briefand comprehensive video clip on theAzolla broad spectrum feed pelletsand backyard cultivation technology.

We have uploaded the video-clippingat VK-nardep youtube channel. Youcan view this video clipping as well asother documentaries of our channelat the following URL:

http://www.youtube.com/user/VK

NARDEP

Scientific

temper for

Children

Water was tested from 14 wells inKanyakumari Dist programme of Central

Ground Water Board, Chennai.

Two students from Gandhigram RuralInstitute, Gandhigram, Dindigul have done

Internship for Eight weeks at TRC Kalluvillaifrom 2

ndApril to 25

thMay as part of their

MBA Rural Project Management

On 29th

of this month at the NationalConsultation on Development,

Construction and Dissemination ofAppropriate Technologies organized byBMTPC, New Delhi, at the Gulmohar Hall,India Habitat Centre. Shri.G.Vasudeo gavea power point presentation onDissemination and Field Level Applicationof Appropriate Building materials andConstruction technologies Improvementand removal of shortcomings andconstraints. 50 participants attended theevent.

Every summer at VK-nardep, camps

are organized for children forinculcating scientific temper. Childrenwho attend these camps getrewarding experience of listening toinspiring lectures, daily schedules ofdisciplined yet fun-filled life, yogasessions, mountain trekking andmuch more. This month two camps

were held for children. The first

camp was organized from 3rd to 7th

and 108 students attended it. The

second camp was from 9th to 13thand 64 children attended it.

Participants were given the book oninculcating scientific temper that waspublished recently by VK-nardep. (SeeOur Publication section for moredetails.) The resource persons were:Dr.Umaiyoorbhagan, Sis.Saraswati,Shri.G.Vasudeo, Dr.Usha Raja Nandini,Shri.V.Ramakrishnan,Shri.N.Subramania Pillai,

Shri.V.Ramakrishnan andDr.Kamalasanan Pillai

This Month

Networking

Activities

Family Camp in progress Members ofthe VK-nardep family enjoying the natural

setting of J.C.Bose Nursery.

This Month


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Echoes of Eco - Newsletter, Vivekananda Kendra nardep, May 2012 Vol. 4 No: 3

Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It'smore fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.The best scientist is open to

experience and begins with romance - the idea that anything is possible.-Ray Bradbury (1920-2012)

Family camp participants enjoying an

interactive session with Sister Saraswati.

Refresher course for Family Members of theVivekananda Kendra - NARDEP was held at TRC,Kalluvilai. The camp was a memorable event forall participants. The camp was held from 28

thof

April to 1st

of May. 49 persons attended the campas families. The resource persons wereShri.V.Ramakrishnan, Sis.V.Saraswathi, andDr.Umaiyoor Bhagan.

South Indian Level Paramparia Bone Fracture Treatmentworkshop was held successfully by Dr.V.Ganapathy and histeam on 8

thand 9

that TRC, Kalluvillai. 275 physicians,

students and others attended the workshop.

Happenings: This month

At scientific temper summer camp students enjoying

their session with nature

Traditional Physician scholars at the dias

A practical demonstration getting documented

A fixed model 1 cum Shakti Surabhi plant wasconstructed at Muthukulathur, Ramnad Dist.in themonth of May.

At the Certificate course on Wind Mill Operation andMaintenance held at Cape Renewable Energy ResearachCentre, Levengipuram, Tirunelvei Dist. on 6

thwhich was

organized by Cape Institute of Technology Shri.V.Ramakrishnangave a lecture on Wind Mill Operation. 50 students attended thesession.

Workshop on Kitchen Waste (Shakti Surabhi) Biogas Plant withDST, Core Support was held at TRC, Kalluvilai on 26

th. 2 persons

attended the programme. Shri.V.Ramakrishnan was the resourceperson.

At the Trainers Training programme on Waste to Energy,sponsored by AICTE, New Delhi held at K.S.R. College ofEngineering, Tiruchengode, on 29th, Shri.V.Ramakrishnan gavea power point presentation on Shakti Surabhi Bio-methanationplant 75 participants attended the session

Happenings: This month

Renewable Energy This Month


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Love what you do and do what you love.Dont listen to anyone else who tells you not to do it. You do what you want, what you love.

Imagination should be the center of your life.-Ray Bradbury (1920-2012)

Eco-village is a concept developed by MaharashtraGovernment for the development of village throughsustainable development model. In its quest for apractical model of eco-technologies, the governmentof Maharashtra after studying the VK-nardepGramodaya model, decided to send villagepanchayat presidents and Gramasevaks for studyingeco-technologies at TRC Kalluvillai. Though theemphasis was on farming, they also learnt about allthe aspects of eco-technologies including cost-

effective construction, water, energy and medicine.

Three batches of village peoples representativescame to TRC Kalluvillai. The first batch with 39persons (from 16

thto 18

th), the second batch with 37

persons (from 21st

to 23rd

) and third batch with 38persons (from 25

thto 27

th) got exposure to various

eco-technologies at Technology Resource Centre atKalluvillai. They visited the Gramodaya Park for RightLiving at Vivekanandapuram and a few places to seethe implemented technologies.

The resource persons were Shri.G.Vasudeo

Shri.V.Ramakrishnan, Sis.V.Saraswathi andDr.Kamalasanan Pillai

This Month


Eco-village trainees got awareness about not onlyfarming technologies but also cost-effective buildingtechnologies.

Eco-village participants learning about Bio-

Methanation plant technology.

Joy of creation in the hands-on training manifests in

the face of the participants of eco-village training.

An eager participant interacting with Er.Ramakrishnanabout the biogas technology at the eco-villagetraining workshop for panchayat members.

"We the rustling leaves have a voice that answers the storms, but who areyou so silent?"

" I am a mere flower".Tagore


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Ture and


It doesn't matter what you do, so long as you change something from the way it was before youtouched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away. The difference betweenthe man who just cuts lawns and a real gardener is in the touching. The lawn-cutter might just as

well not have been there at all; the gardener will be there a lifetime. Ray Bradbury (1920-2012)

From our

Publications

The author is herself anexperienced teacher whohas years of teachingservice. She has used allher experience in creatingthis manual which helpsthe students as well asteachers imbibe throughsimple experimentsscientific principles behindthese experiments. Ahands-on-experiencewhich is the basis ofhealthy scientific study isthe basis of the book. It isthis aspect which makesthis book an usable guideto students of varied ages:

from primary to highschool levels.

What the book presents is aparticipatory and interactiveapproach to science education.

There is no command and obeystructure here but students observenature and record their findingsand observations and discuss withteacher their discoveries. Such anapproach makes the students lovescience for the sake of truth andbeauty rather than marks.

Teachers guide forinculcating scientific temper

to students (Tamil)

"To develop scientific temper" is oneof the fundamental duties of theIndian citizens, according to theConstitution of India. Yet scienceeducation in India has always beenwanting in quality. While India does

boast of one of worlds highestnumber of science and technologygraduates, in terms of innovations,discoveries and scientific outputIndia lags behind many othercountries which do not have thesame number of scientific graduatesas India has. So there is somethingfundamentally wrong with Indianscience education as it prevailstoday. Given the need for scientificsolutions to problems facing thesociety educationists need to look at

the fundamental aspects of thisproblem that India faces.

The book is richly illustrated with linedrawings that clearly show how toconduct these simple experimentsstep by step. The nook also explainsto teachers how students should bepsychologically motivated to receivescience education. Scientific temperis not restricted to science studentsalone. But all students irrespective ofwhether they later choose science orart or humanities will benefit byinculcating a scientific temper at early

age. This book is a noble attempttowards creating that culture. Thebook is published on the occasion ofMahaveer Jayanti. In a way this is asymbolic homage to those Jainmonks who did great contributions tosciences like Mathematics and logic.

Teachers Guide for InculcatingScientific Temper to Students(Tamil) Author: Dr.A.Usha RajaNandini; VK-nardep Publication:2012; Pages: 80 Chapters: 7

One of the major ailments of Indianscience education at the school levelis the bifurcation of theory and

practice. This is actually a coloniallegacy. History has recorded howJ.C.Bose had to struggle with Britishauthorities to establish a lab forunder-graduate physics students.Deprived of practical science atschool level actually kills the spirit ofscience.

The officialdom can always come withexcuses like lack of funds andresources for setting up qualityscience labs at primary and middleschool levels. Here the book offersthe solution of simple cost-effectiveexperiments and field observations.These by themselves cost nothing butgo a great deal in enhancing scienceeducation.

Even at the higher secondary levelthe practicals are more marks-oriented than developing a realscientific temper. What kind ofcontribution a student of science cangive to environmental issues, if he orshe grows up dissecting a frog merelyfor the sake of marks? Converselythis books asks students to observelife in its own environment, alive andwell. It makes students observe howinsects communicate with each other

through simple experiments.


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Evolution is the one eternal dynamiclaw and hidden process of the earth-nature. The keyword of the earthsriddle is the gradual evolution of ahidden illimitable consciousness andpower out of the seemingly inert yetfuriously driven force of insensibleNature. Earth-life is one self-chosenhabitation of a great Divinity Thismovement of evolution, of aprogressive self-manifestation of theSpirit in a material universe, has tomake its account at every step with thefact of the involution of consciousnessand force in the form and activity ofmaterial substance. For it proceeds by

an awakening of the involvedconsciousness and force and itsascent from principle to principle, fromgrade to grade, from power to power ofthe secret Spirit, The law of action,the force of action of each grade orpower in its emergence is determined,not by its own free, full and pure law ofnature or vim of energy, but partly bythe material organisation provided for itand partly by its own status, achieveddegree, accomplished fact ofconsciousness which it has been able

to impose upon Matter.But man notonly turns his gaze downward andaround him, when he has reached hishigher level, but upward towards whatis above him and inward towards whatis within him. In him not only thedownward gaze of the universal beingin the evolution has becomeconscious, but its conscious upwardand inward gaze also develops.

What are the qualities of life? Are thephysical senses and intellect aloneenough to understand its mystery?Scientists are looking billions of light-years in space and delving into theendlessly small subatomic regions.Both these extremes are but portalsinto the vast realm of energies,substances, and mind. This newmetaphysics points to consciousnessas a causative agency, a unifyingfactor, behind the cosmos. We arereturning to a view of a more primalliving world where nature has purposeand intelligence, revealing abrotherhood of lives. Knowing our inner

connection with all things deepens ourperspective and forms a moresatisfying ethic. Gradually we arerealizing a basic wisdom: that nothing isseparate from anything else, for cosmicconsciousness is everywhere --including here within us.At the heart ofeverything is that divine Self, providingthe urge to grow beyond outerlimitations. Our true selves keep tellingus to find the wisdom within and listenwith the inner receptive ear. Every oneof us, every being, contains a memory

of all it was for eons in the past, and aforeshadowing of what it will be eons inthe future. All we need is to recognize it-- recall it, bringing it into our everydayconsciousness. But this is no smalltask! We must be collaborators withnature, sharing a great impersonal loveand sympathy for all beings, for trueethics can be based only on spiritualoneness and universal brotherhood.

Understanding Life Understanding

Evolution

Understanding

Existence

Sri AurobindoSeer, Mystic & Poet

Life is fundamentally self-organizing,or autopoietic, activity of our planetand our universe -- the name of thegame, we might say. Universal matterevolves into holarchies of livingsystems, driven by energeticinteractions between great and minuteevents, between the tendencies ofmatter/energy to differentiate andreintegrate at ever new levels oforganization. In this view of life,matter/energy arranges itself intobounded but interacting living systemson galactic and super-galactic scales,as well as more locally on the scale ofour planet, from its entirety to its

microscopic bacterial domains. Fromour present perspective and limitedknowledge, it appears to us thatplanetary life has evolved the mostactive and complex systems. Ourpresent understanding is as though wewere mitochondria in our own cells,trying to understand the organ galaxyand universal body we are part ofwithout being able to see or evenguess very much of what these largerholons are all about. Humanspracticed in looking inward, through

meditation, have revealed a great dealabout the universe, most of which isnot accepted in science, because itcannot be subjected to experimentalmeasurement. However, as scienceprogresses, we find more and moreconfirmation of ancient scientificcosmologies, such as the Vedic.

John Van Mater

(Jr)Nature photographer &

theosophist

-Elisabet SahtourisSystems Biologist

Ive never worked a day in my life. Ive never worked a day in my life. The joy of writing haspropelled me from day to day and year to year. I want you to envy me, my joy. Get out of

here tonight and say: Am I being joyful?-Ray Bradbury (1920-2012)

Vivekananda Kendra nardep, Kanyakumari-629702 Phone:91-4652-246296www.vknardep.org

vivekananda kendra newsletter may 2012

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