Kumbh Mela

The Maha Kumbh is the largest and most significant, held once every 12 years at one of four holy sites—Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik.

The Maha Kumbh Mela is a significant Hindu festival currently taking place in Prayagraj, India, from January 13 to February 26, 2025. This event, held once every 144 years, is anticipated to attract approximately 400 million devotees.

The Kumbh Mela is held every 3 years, rotating between four holy cities. On the other hand, the Maha Kumbh Mela takes place once every 12 years and always takes place in Prayagraj. Usually, The Kumbh Mela follows a 12-year cycle based on the celestial positions of the sun, moon, and Jupiter. When this 12-year cycle occurs 12 times (12 x 12 = 144), the 12th Kumbh Mela is called the Maha Kumbh, which is celebrated in an exceptionally grand grand manner.

There are four types of Kumbh Melas celebrated in India. These include

1.      The Maha Kumbh,

2.      The Ardh Kumbh,

3.      The Purna Kumbh, and

4.      The Magha Kumbh.

The Ardh Kumbh occurs every six years in Prayagraj.

The Purna Kumbh is celebrated every 12 years at Haridwar.
The Magha Kumbh is a smaller event held annually during the Magha month at specific locations.

Each Kumbh Mela holds immense spiritual importance for millions of devotees.

Kumbh Mela, also called KUMBHA MELA, Hindi KUMBH MELA, is the greatest of the Hindu pilgrimage festivals. It is a riverside religious fair held four times every 12 years, rotating between Hardwär on the Ganges, Ujjain on the Sipra, Nasik on the Godavari, and Prayagraj, which lies at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati. Bathing in these rivers during the Kumbh Mela is seen as an act of great merit, cleansing body and soul, and it attracts millions.

The Chinese Buddhist traveller Hsüan-tsang recorded a visit to the Allahabad Kumbh Mela in the 7th century in the company of the emperor Harşavardhana, who distributed alms on the occasion. In the 8th century, the philosopher Sankara established four monasteries, in the north, south, east, and west of India, and encouraged the sadhus (holy men) to meet at the Kumbh Mela for an exchange of views. The informal assembly of ascetics and yogis that took place at the melas (festivals) served as a kind of "parliament of Hinduism" for the discussion of religious doctrine and possible reform and has remained a major attraction for the pilgrim. Sadhus who stay naked the year round, ascetics who practice the most severe physical disciplines, hermits who leave their isolation for these pilgrimages only, teachers who use modern microphones and public-address systems to talk to the crowds, frauds, and true saints of all sects and from all parts of India-gather in camps along the riverbank and are visited by the pilgrims.

Pilgrimages have always been undertaken in India with a sense of possible danger, and though the cholera epidemics, widespread murder, and kidnappings of former Kumbha Melas have now been successfully controlled by the government, tragedies still occur. In 1954, at the Kumbha Mela at Allahabad, more than 500 people were killed in a sudden onrush of crowds toward the bathing area.

The explanation given in the Puranas for the Kumbh Mela is that the gods and the demons fought over the pot (Kumbha) of Amrit (am- rta), the elixir that rose up from their joint churning of the milky ocean. During the battle, drops of the elixir fell on four earthly sites, these being the four sites of the mela. The fair's aspect as a fertility festival is evident in a tradition, said to have been carried out in former days, of dipping pots of grain in the river during this highly auspicious period. The consecrated grain was later sowed with other grain to ensure a good harvest.

The festival has its roots in a Hindu tradition that says the god Vishnu wrested a golden pitcher containing the nectar of immortality from demons. Hindus believe that a few drops fell in the cities of Prayagraj, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar — the four places where the Kumbh festival has been held for centuries.

The festival involves ritual baths by Hindu sadhus (holy men) and pilgrims at the confluence of three sacred rivers: the Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati.

This practice, dating back to at least medieval times, is believed to purify the soul and aid in attaining Moksha, or liberation.

The Uttar Pradesh government has invested over ₹70 billion in infrastructure and sanitation projects to accommodate the massive influx of pilgrims. Efforts include deploying 10,000 sanitation workers and establishing around 150,000 toilets and urinals to maintain cleanliness. Additionally, a 100-bed temporary central hospital has been set up to provide medical services.

The Maha Kumbh Mela is not only a religious gathering but also a cultural spectacle, symbolizing the victory of gods over demons. It stands as one of the world's largest peaceful congregations, reflecting the profound spiritual heritage of India.

The Maha Kumbh Mela has its origins in the ancient Hindu tale of the Samudra Manthan, or the Churning of the Ocean. According to mythology, the gods and demons churned the ocean to obtain Amrit, the nectar of immortality.

The Maha Kumbh Mela will span 44 days in 2025, marking its significance in Hindu spirituality and culture. Historical Attendance Records: The 2013 Maha Kumbh Mela drew an unprecedented 10 crore (100 million) attendees, showcasing its massive scale and influence.

With the commencement of Kumbh Mela, the first of the ritual baths were conducted, in which sadhu akhadaas took the first dip after an elaborate procession to the river. Shri Panchayati Akhara Mahanirvani and Shri Shambhu Panchayati Atal Akhara were the first ones to take the Amrit snan. Thirteen akhadaas are participating in the Maha Kumbh. After the sadhus, or holy men, thousands of devotees took the dip in the sangam (confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati) at Prayagraj.

 

Magnet and Magnetism-( Mystery)

 

Magnet and Magnetism

A small magnet can pick up metal objects such as paper clips and nails. A magnet seems to have some mysterious pulling power. Even if you lay a piece of paper over the nails, the magnet pulls them. This pulling power is called magnetism.

People first noticed magnetism thousands of years ago. They discovered that pieces of a certain kind of black rock had a strange force, which came to be called magnetism. No one knows just how the name was chosen. There is a story that the force was named for a shepherd called Magnes, who discovered that the iron nails in his sandals were pulled strongly when he stood on a large black stone. Another story is that the name came from a place called Magnesia, in Asia Minor, where this kind of stone was first found. There are fanciful stories, too, from ancient times about iron statues held in mid-air by magnets, and about magnetic mountains that could pull the nails out of wooden ships that sailed too near.

After a while, people discovered some useful facts about black rock or magnet. They found that when a long, thin piece was hung up by thread it would swing around and stop in a north-and-south position. The same end of the piece always pointed toward the north. This meant that such a magnet could be used as a compass.

Sailors began to use such compasses to guide their ships when the moon or stars could not be seen. The magnetic rock became known as lodestone, meaning "leading stone." To make a compass, a sailor took a sliver of lodestone and laid it on a piece of wood floating in a tub of water. This made it possible for the lodestone to turn freely into the north-south position.

There are other important facts about magnetism that you can easily find out for yourself. Lay a bar magnet on a pile of tacks and then pick it up. The tacks will cling to the bar mainly near its two ends. These two places, where the force is strong, are called the poles of the magnet. When the bar is used as a compass, one end swings to the north. The pole at this end of the bar is called the north pole.

One big question remains: Just what are the little unit magnets found in iron and steel and a few other materials? More than a century ago, the French scientist A. M. Ampère had the idea that these little magnets might be caused by tiny electric currents flowing inside the molecules of the material. Scientists already knew that magnetic fields could be produced by electric currents, and Ampère's idea proved to be right.

 It is now known that the currents that cause the unit magnets come from the movement of electrons inside the atoms of certain materials. Some of the magnetism comes from the circling of electrons around the center of the atom. But the main part is due to the spinning of an electron around its axis; each electron has a spin much like that of a toy top.

In most atoms, all these electron motions just cancel out, and so the material is non-magnetic. In a few kinds of atoms, including iron, the magnetic effects of the circling and spinning do not quite cancel out. What is left over makes these materials magnetic.

The story of the unit magnets is not quite finished. Unit magnets are not atoms or electrons, but special groups of atoms. In a material such as iron, the atoms gather in clusters. When they do this, all the little atom magnets in the group line up in the same direction. Such a cluster is called a magnetic domain. Domains are usually a few thousandths of an inch across and may contain millions of billions of atoms. Each domain acts like a little magnet. It is the unit magnet that Ampère first thought about. In an ordinary, unmagnetized piece of iron or steel, the tiny domains face in all directions and their effects cancel out. But if the material is put in a strong magnetic field, two things happen. The domains swing around, little by little, in the direction of the field. As they come into line, they may also grow bigger by taking over some atoms from the other domains, which then shrink in size. When a great many domains have been well lined up in one direction, the whole piece of iron or steel becomes a magnet.

Scientists know that disturbing a steel magnet or heating it can make it lose its magnetism. The reason is that such treatment lets some of the domains get out of their lined-up positions. If a piece of iron is heated until it glows dull red, then it cannot be magnetized at all.

 

Gordius Knot

Sham Misri

The people of Phrygia, an ancient country of Asia Minor, were advised by the gods to choose as king the first man they met on the way to Jupiter's temple. It so happened that the farmer a peasant Gordius passed by, driving a wagon, and hailed as king to his great amazement, he dedicated his wagon to the god Jupiter.

Now Gordius is remembered for the knot by which he fixed his wagon to the temple. So cleverly was it tied that no end could be observed in the cord, and it came to be predicted that whoever could untie the Gordian knot would win the whole empire of Asia.

When Alexander the Great happened to pass that way in his conquering sweep across Asia Minor. He tried to undo the knot but was unable to solve the puzzle. Anxiously, but excitedly he drew his sword and slashed the knot in two. This daring act impressed his soldiers, who already considered Alexander as the future conqueror of Asia. We now speak of any problem solved in a drastic way as a Gordian knot.

 

When God Indra committed a sin

(Divine Play of Lord Siva)

Indra, the chief of the gods, sinned disrespecting his Guru Bṛhaspati. Angered, Bṛhaspati left, leading to a decline in Indra's majesty. To apologize, Indra sought forgiveness and found a temporary Guru, Viswarupa, who betrayed him. Upon realizing this, Indra killed Viswarupa, incurring the sin of Brahmin murder. To free himself, the sin was distributed among trees, earth, water, and women. Indra regained his splendour but faced revenge from Viswarupa's father, Tvashta, who created Vritrasura to destroy him.

Defeated by Vritrasura, Indra sought help from Vishnu, who advised using a weapon made from the sage Dadhichi's backbone. After receiving the weapon, Indra killed Vritrasura but again incurred the sin of Brahmin murder.

Indra hid in a lotus stalk, leaving Swarga-loka in despair. After killing Vritrasura, Indra was again seized by the sin of killing a Brahmin. Overwhelmed by misery and guilt, he concealed himself in the fibre of a lotus stalk in a pool to escape his torment. During this time, Swarga-loka suffered in his absence.

The Devas, under Brhaspati’s guidance, persuaded Indra to return. With Brhaspati’s help, Indra visited sacred shrines to cleanse his sins.

In the Katampa Forest, Indra discovered a divine Shivalinga. Performing puja with golden lotuses miraculously provided by a sacred pool, Indra was blessed by Lord Shiva. Shiva forgave his sins and granted him the fruit of eternal Moksha for yearly worship during Chitra Purnima. Filled with joy and gratitude, Indra prostrated before Shiva and regained his divine grace.

CAN ANIMALS RECOGNIZE EACH OTHER?

 CAN ANIMALS RECOGNIZE EACH OTHER?

Apes are supposed to be among the most intelligent of animals, yet they have no better "language" than other animals. They make many sounds and expressions of the face to communicate their feelings of anger or hunger or joy, but they have nothing like the words of human speech. Unlike human beings who have to learn how to talk, apes and other animals know their "language" by instinct. They will make the right kind of cries and sounds and expressions even if they have never seen another animal like themselves before.

Animals speak with each other, that is, pass on certain messages by signs and sounds that appear to be true. If we mean, can they talk to each other as we do, the answer is no.

In human beings, all communication is not using words. We have expressions to indicate anger, a shrug of the shoulder to indicate indifference, nodding and shaking the head, gestures with hands, and so on. Many animals make noises and signs to do the same thing.

When a mother hen makes a loud noise or crouches down, all her chicks understand this as a warning of danger. When a horse neighs or paws the ground, the other horses "get the message." Some animals can follow very slight signs or signals given by other animals. When a bird merely flies up to a branch to look around, the other birds don't move. But if a bird flies up in a certain way, they can tell it's about to fly off and they may follow.

Dogs communicate in many ways. They not only bark, but they howl, growl, snarl, and whine. They lift a paw or bare their teeth. Other dogs can understand what these sounds and actions mean.

Animals communicate with each other not only with sounds and movements but with smell. Most animals that live in herds depend on their smell to keep together. And, of course, we know how dogs recognize each other by smell.

Birds learn their way of singing, at least in part. That's why a sparrow brought up among canaries will try to sing like one. It has been learning the wrong "language"!

The sound of wolves howling in the night for 10 hours is a frightening sound for some, calming for others. The wolf sounds are isolated, so there are no other background sounds here, just pure wolf howling. Great to scare away other pesky animals.

 

Giraffe’s Stiff Long Neck has just 7 Vertebrae!

12/14/2024

Giraffes love humans, yes, giraffes are friendly. These creatures tend to have gentle personalities and aren't a species that would actively attack a human being. Giraffes are the world's tallest mammals and are not usually aggressive. The females can however be aggressive while protecting their calf.

Giraffes have aroused man's curiosity since the earliest times. The ancient Egyptians and Greeks believed that giraffes were a mixture of the leopard and the camel, and they called the giraffe "a camelopard."

The giraffe is the tallest of all living animals, but scientists cannot explain how it got its long neck. A famous French zoologist, Jean Baptiste de Lamarck, had a theory that at one time the giraffe's neck was much shorter than it now is. He thought that the neck grew to its present length because of the animal's habit of reaching for the tender leaves in the upper branches of trees. But scientists in general don't accept de Lamarck's theory.

Strangely enough, the body of a giraffe is no larger than that of the average horse. Its tremendous height, which may reach 6 meters, comes mostly from its legs and neck. The neck of a giraffe has only seven vertebrae, which is what the human neck has. But each vertebra is extremely long. Because of this, a giraffe always has a stiff neck. If it wants to take a drink from the ground, it has to spread its legs far apart to be able to reach down!

The strange shape and build of the giraffe is perfectly suited to enable it to obtain its food. A giraffe eats only plants, so its great height enables it to reach the leaves on trees which grow in the African savanna where there is little grass.

A giraffe's tongue is often eighteen inches long, and it can use it so skillfully that it can pick the smallest leaves off thorny plants without being pricked. It also has a long upper lip which helps it pull off many leaves at a time.

The giraffe can protect itself from danger in many ways. First, the colouring of its hide makes it practically invisible when it is feeding in the shadows of trees. It has well-developed ears which are sensitive to the faintest sounds, and it has keen senses of smell and sight. Finally, a giraffe can gallop at more than 30 miles an hour when pursued and can outrun the fastest horse!

When attacked, a giraffe can put up a good fight by kicking out with its hind legs or using its head like a sledge hammer. Even a lion is careful in attacking a giraffe, always approaching it from behind!

Mother giraffes reject their babies, in this case, natural selection might favour the mother that selectively abandons or culls the weakest or youngest of her children to ensure that she can adequately provide for the rest.

The giraffes give birth while standing. Newborn giraffes enter the world in a sort of 'superman' position: front legs and headfirst, followed by their body, and then back legs. Because of the extreme size of their offspring, giraffe mums give birth standing up to not damage their babies' lengthy necks.

The giraffe is unusual in never investigating urine on the ground. What does it mean?

The statement means that giraffes exhibit unique behaviour compared to many other animals when it comes to investigating urine. Most animals use urine as a source of information—sniffing it to identify territory, mating readiness, health, or identity of other animals. However, giraffes do not investigate urine that has been deposited on the ground.

Instead, giraffes engage in different behaviours: they test urine directly from the source by prompting other giraffes to urinate and then sniffing or tasting it. This is particularly observed in male giraffes during the process of assessing a female's reproductive status. The male uses a behaviour called flehmen response, curling back its lips to analyze the pheromones in the urine to determine if the female is in estrus and ready to mate.

Thus, the statement highlights how giraffes differ from many other species in their approach to using chemical cues for communication and reproduction.

The male gathers the urine in his mouth with his tongue and then frequently performs flehmen to assess her oestrous status. Estrous is a recurring period of sexual receptivity and fertility.

Male giraffes will headbutt females in the bladder until they pee. They then drink the urine, tasting it to determine whether the female is ovulating.

Male giraffes practice “neck sparring,” violently swinging their necks into each other to assert dominance, so the hypothesis formed that males with longer necks may have been more reproductively successful. But, more recently, biologists have proposed that neck length may instead be driven by females' foraging behaviour.

To find which of them are willing to mate, the males smell their urine. If things look promising, the male follows the female around until she stands still, indicating that the time is right. Finally, the male mounts the female from the rear and copulates with her.

Giraffe gestation, or length of pregnancy, isn't an exact science. Giraffe pregnancies typically range between 14 and 16 months, which can make planning for the birth a bit of a guessing game.

Many young giraffes, called calves, die from lion attacks during their first year of life. Once a giraffe reaches adulthood its height is often enough to protect it from lions. Adult giraffes, however, must still be careful of lions when they are bending down to drink water or rest. Usually, giraffes drink or rest in shifts so that at least one giraffe is always on the lookout for approaching predators.

A strange question arises as to why the female giraffe kicks off the newborn soon after birth.

The answer seems that the mother giraffe knows that lions and leopards love giraffe meat. So, unless the baby giraffe quickly learns to stand and run with the pack – it will have no chance of survival.

Shiva and the Fisherman

 Shiva and the Fisherwoman

A long time ago, Lord Shiva, the great god of wisdom, was teaching his wife, Uma, the secrets of the sacred Vedas. But Uma was not paying close attention. She was distracted and did not listen carefully. This upset Shiva, and he said, “Since you did not listen, you must learn your lesson. I curse you to be born as a fisherwoman in a humble fishing village.”

Uma felt sad and begged for forgiveness. Shiva, being kind, said, “Don’t worry, my dear. I will come to find you, and we will be together again.”

The Mischief of Ganesha and Muruga

Shiva and Uma’s sons, Ganesha and Muruga, were upset when they heard about the curse. They thought the Vedas had caused all the trouble. So, Ganesha took the sacred Vedas and threw them into the sea! Muruga also tossed an important book into the waves.

This made Shiva angry, and he said, “You both must learn not to act without thinking! Ganesha, since you love animals so much, you will stay here and guard my temple. And Muruga, you will be born as a boy who cannot speak until the time is right.”

Shiva also cursed his loyal bull, Nandi, who had let the boys into the teaching room. “You, Nandi, will become a shark in the sea and trouble the fishermen until I come to save them.”

A Baby Found in the Village

Meanwhile, in a small fishing village, the chief of the fishermen and his wife found a baby under a big tree near the sea. They had no children of their own, so they adopted the baby girl. They named her Meenakshi. She grew up to be very kind and beautiful, just like Uma in her new life.

The Mighty Shark

In the sea, Nandi, who had become a giant shark, caused a lot of trouble. He broke the fishermen’s boats and scared everyone. The village chief announced, “Whoever can catch this shark will marry my daughter, Meenakshi.”

Shiva Comes to the Rescue

Hearing this, Lord Shiva disguised himself as a fisherman and came to the village. “I can catch the shark,” he said confidently. The chief agreed, and Shiva went out to sea with his net.

With one throw, Shiva caught the giant shark! The villagers cheered, and the chief happily gave Meenakshi’s hand in marriage to the brave fisherman. During the wedding, Shiva and Meenakshi revealed their true forms as Lord Shiva and Goddess Uma. The villagers were amazed and bowed to the divine couple.

Everything Restored

Shiva freed Nandi from the curse, and he returned to his normal form as a gentle bull. The Vedas and the sacred books reappeared from the sea. Shiva explained the teachings of the Vedas to Uma again, and this time, she listened with great care.

Shiva and Uma blessed the fishermen and promised to protect them always.

And so, everyone learned an important lesson: always listen carefully, act thoughtfully, and trust in love and forgiveness.