In ancient times, our ancestors wore wooden khadau (sandal) in the feet.

The thought of our ancestors was completely scientific even after wearing wooden stands on the feet.

Did you know ?

Samveda is smallest of 4 Vedas.

There are 1875 mantras in Samveda out of which most are of Rigveda.

Few are from Atharva Veda and Yajurveda.

There are about 1000 shakhas in it like Jaiminiye, Kaumuthiye and much more.

Many Sages, saints and gurus have said that Shlokas of Samveda are coded and if they will be extracted, Samveda will become much larger in size in terms of number of Shlokas

Even Krishna has said "In Vedas, I'm Saamveda." The Shlokas in Samveda are related to Music, Medicine, art and much more.

Facts:

Few Mantras in Samveda are so strong that chanting them in proper way can cure your diseases.

There are few Mantras which assert the Scientific acumen of Vedic Sages. For example, one such Mantra talks that Moon doesn't have its own light and it reflects the light of sun.

The Shlokas talk in detail about Raag, musical instruments, Musical sounds, and such more.

The Shlokas are used in Yagna and have immense energy which can be used effectively.

Thanks

River Saraswati, Rigveda, Mahabharata and Our Civilization.

Saraswati has been a point of discussion when we look at the antiquity of civilization.

It has been concluded that gradually drying Saraswati led to outward migrations at regular interval in past thousands of years,

result of which there are many ancient civilization in western Asia having Vedic and Sanatana roots.

Let's take a look at some facts and try to understand our civilization.

River Saraswati was completely dried up by 1500 BCE - 2000 BCE.

Archeological evidence of Harappan establishment are during that time.

There has been many Researchers working on hydrogeological study of the Saraswati River bed and when we combine the research of all these studies, we find that:

River Saraswati completely dried up in 2000 BCE.

It was drying up and was on support of few other local rivers showing herself at few places during 3000 BCE - 4000 BCE

It was flowing at some places beautifully while became invisible at few places,

but met with other rivers near West of Gujarat during 4000 BCE - 6000 BCE.

It was flowing as perennial river supported by heavy monsoon during 10,000 to 13,000 BCE

It was most grand River of the Indian subcontinent with span of few kilometres

"Brahmins are not a privileged caste""
By Kanchi Paramacharya.

It is alleged that Brahmins created the dharmasastras for their own benefit. You will realise that this charge is utterly baseless if you appreciate the fact that these sastras impose on them the most stringent rules of life.

If anyone criticises a judge he will be charged with contempt of court. People who call themselves democrats and socialists have managed for themselves special allowances, special railway passes, etc, that the common people are not entitled to.

In contrast, the Brahmins who have preserved the dharmasastras have bound themselves to vigorous discipline, roasted themselves, as it were, in the oven of ritual practices. If the Brahmin's purity is affected by someone he punishes himself by bathing and fasting.

The Brahmin must be conversant with the fourteen branches of the Vedic lore. He must be proficient even in Gandharva-veda or music and must be acquainted with agricultural science, construction of houses, etc. At the same time he must give instructions in these subjects to pupils

|| Duties of Brahmins ||

Based on the discourses of Mahaperiyava Swamigal, this thread deals with the duties of Brahmins. The duties propounded in this thread must be practised even by the office-going Brahmins.

It is upto Brahmins to take whatever steps they think fit to promote Vedic learning.

Everyday they must perform Brahmayajña (ब्रह्मयज्ञ) which is one of the five great sacrifices (mahayajñas).

The Brahma (ब्रह्म) in Brahmayajña means the Vedas. The power of the mantras must be preserved in us as an eternal reality.

It must burn bright like a lamp that is never extinguished. For this reason it is necessary that we perform Brahmayajña.

We must offer oblations to the presiding seers (ऋषि) of our Vedic recension.

Failing that, the least we can do is perform the Gayatri-japa every day.

Gayatri is the essence of the Vedas, their substance. To qualify to chant it, you must be initiated into it by a Guru.

The Gayatri you thus learn must be mentally repeated at least a thousand times every day.

Those who complain that women have no right to perform sacrifices on their own must remember that men too have no right to the same without a wife.

If they know this truth they would not make the allegation that Hindu shaastras looked down upon women.

A man can perform sacrifices only with his wife. He does them for the well-being of all mankind and for his own inner purity.

It is for this purpose that, after the samavartana following the completion of his student-bachelorhood, he goes through the samskaar called marriage.

Marriage or vivaaha is known as "सहधर्मचारिणीसमप्रयोग". It means (roughly) union with a wife together with whom a man practises dharma.

The clear implication is that carnal pleasure is not its chief purpose, but the pursuit of Dharma.

The shaastras do not ask a man to pursue dharma all by himself but require him to take a helpmate for it.

The wife is called "dharma-patni", "सहधर्मचारिणी", thus underlining her connection with dharma, and not with kama or sensual pleasure.

This is the proof of the high esteem in which the shaastras hold women. The celibate-student and the ascetic alike follow the dharma of their respective aashramas (stages of life) not in association with anyone else.

Today is the 130th anniversary of the #WoundedKneeMassacre. On December 29, 1890, the 7th Cavalry surrounded a peaceful encampment of Lakota with Hotchkiss guns and slaughtered ~300. They were mostly women and children.

Those killed at Wounded Knee were led by Mniconjou Chief Spotted Elk, who was ill. Many were followers of Hunkpapa Chief Sitting Bull who was assassinated 14 days prior. They were invited to seek refuge with Oglala Chief Red Cloud at Pine Ridge. They were hungry, tired & cold.

The soldiers weren’t satisfied with gunning down the encampment. They chased down those who escaped, including little children & their grandmothers, for miles. Some ran all the way back to the Cheyenne River Reservation, through the night in the freezing cold, with bullet wounds.

Charles Eastman, the 1st western educated Oceti Sakowin (Dakota Sioux) physician, was at Pine Ridge during the #WoundedKneeMassacre. It was right after Christmas. A banner hanging over the wounded said, ‘Peace on Earth.’ The horrors Dr. Eastman saw that day changed him forever.

Those massacred at Wounded Knee were callously thrown into a mass grave. Soldiers proudly posed for photos with their corpses. They were awarded Medals of Honor for their part in the slaughter. Those Medals have never been rescinded, despite public outcry.

In 1937, a trucker got frustrated waiting for his cargo to be unloaded. He later sold his company for $1.1 billion.

Here’s the story of how Malcom McLean made a billion dollars and which startup could be following in his footsteps. (Inspired by our episode with @laurabehrenswu)

In the early 1950s, the shipping industry was a dying business.

New York’s docks were handling half as much domestic cargo in the early 1950s as they had been in the depressed 1930s.

In thirty years, no one had invested significant money in coastal shipping.

Why?

As McLean found out, loading ships was difficult and slow.

A truck or train would deliver items to the port. Each item was unloaded separately, recorded, and carried to storage.

When a ship was ready, each item was taken from storage, counted again, and hauled on-board.

The cost of this labor was significant. As one expert at the time explained:

“A four-thousand-mile voyage for a shipment might consume 50 percent of its costs in covering just the two ten-mile movements through two ports.”

Yet, despite the industry’s issues, it felt little pressure to change.

Foreigners were barred from operating domestically. Cartels ran international routes. And gov. subsidies eased the pain of labor costs.

Reshaping the industry needed an outsider.

Enter Malcolm McLean.

Paul Warburg attended as the American representative, at the Treaty of Versailles conference, where his brother Max was on the German side of the bargaining table…. Before World War II, Max Warburg served on the board of directors of I.G. Farben, the giant German chemical firm.

Would you like to live in a UFO? Well in 1968 you could, thanks to Finnish architect Matti Suuronen. He created the Futuro House and for a while it was a worldwide sensation!

Let's take a look around...

The Futuro was a round prefabricated house initially designed as a ski chalet. Quick to build and easy to heat it reflected the optimism of the times.

Inside the spacious Futuro were all the 1960s mod cons: a central cooker/heater, reclining chairs, funky furniture and cool, crisp lines. Did it have shagpile carpets? Of course it did!

The Futuro was made of fibreglass- reinforced polyester and was light enough to be towed to any location. You literally moved house.

But its futuristic design caused an immediate backlash: Futuro houses were banned from many municipalities by zoning regulations because they didn't 'blend in' with the environment. Production was halted in the mid 1970s.

On this day in 1878, Pamela Colman Smith was born. Although you may not have heard this artist's name, you will have almost definitely seen her work: among many other achievements, Smith illustrated the famous Waite-Smith tarot deck.

Smith's most famous illustrations in the tarot deck appear everywhere, and are synonymous with tarot. But there was much more to this artist, illustrator, writer and occultist than her tarot deck.

Early in her career, Smith illustrated works of WB Yeats, and travelled with the Lyceum theatre group. She also wrote and illustrated her own books, including books about Jamaican folklore.

While juggling all this, Smith also found the time to hold open houses for artists, and be active in the Suffrage Atelier, a collective of illustrators contributing work to further the cause of women's suffrage - this is an illustration she made for the cause.

In 1907, Smith became the first painter to exhibit at Alfred Stieglitz's Gallery 291, becoming the first painter to show at a gallery which had previously been devoted to photography. Her show was successful, and she showed twice more.