Latin America,
The land of diversity. From the harsh plateaus of Atacama deserts, to the freezing wastes of Andese mountains, and the green wetness of the Amazons, the rippling stipa of the pampas...
The people, black, white, yellow and different shades of brown.. Their festivals and their gods as colourful and diverse as they are.
But behind the carnivals and Miceretas lies the hidden face of Latin America. Poverty and congestion lie not far behind the colourful stage curtains..
For example, Neza-Chalco-Itza in Mexico City is reputed to be the largest slum in the world, with a population density of 80000 per square kilometer. And Peru, Bolivia and Columbia are respectively the top three cocaine producers in the world.
At the other end of the spectrum, Brazil and Mexico are among the largest economies of the world.
Beginning in the 1998, the politics of the Latin American countries took a turn to the left, which the popular media termed the pink tide. Literally beneath its nose, with its anti communist sentiments bordering on paranoia, it was surprising, to say the least, that the US allowed this pink tide to take place.
Or did it??
Since a very long time ago the former Cuban president, Fidel Castro had never minced his words regarding the numerous attempts to kill him. ( 638 according to some sources) But the most interesting thing about these assassination attempts is that at least some of them were executed using biological agents. In other words, US had used biological weapons against Fidel Castro.
Most infamously the CIA used cigars poisoned with botulinum toxin, and also a scuba diving suit infected with tubercle bacilli. But Castro survived all the plots.
The attempts on Fidel Castro are about the only episodes with definitive evidence pointing to US employing bio weapons against Latin America. But lack of good evidence apart, are they the only attempts??
To find the answer, let's travel back in time to 1963 to Dallas, Texas. On November 22nd of that year, in Dealy plaza, Dallas, history was created with the assassination of JFK. Immediately, JFK assassination triggered suspicions of conspiracy. Not the least, because of the gunning down of the alleged assasin Lee Harvey Oswald, by the Texas night club owner Jack Ruby, only two days later.
Jack Ruby was duly arrested and while awaiting trial, in1966, he died from the complications of severely disseminated cancer.
He had cancer in liver, lungs, brain, lymph nodes, pancreas, ribs and vertebrae. In the brain only, there were 8 separate tumors. But he didn't have any in 1964, just two years before.
Dallas deputy Sherriff at that time, Al Maddox, claimed that Ruby had once told him, that he was injected with cancer cells.
Fantasies of a sensationalist?? Possibly, but let's go again to 1964, July.
An eminent orthopaedic surgeon and cancer researcher, Dr.Mary Sherman's brutality murdered mutilated and half burnt body was found in her apartment. Her murder was never solved and probably never will be. But in 1997, a book authored by Ed Haslam, claimed to solve the mystery. The plot summary stating that, Dr.Sherman was working in an undercover project to create a virus which causes cancer. The aim? To kill Fidel Castro.
The book has many scientific flaws and implausible theories. But the fact remains that Dr. Sherman has done research on oncology and also on polio virus.
In both the above incidents, Jack Ruby and Dr. Sherman, the recurring theme is cancer.
Ed Haslam's book has been dismissed as implausible and Jack Ruby's allegations as ravings.
But it is possible that in the light of the above two intriguing incidents in the distant past, new clues may reveal themselves about the use of biological weapons on Latin America.
In 2013, Hugo Chávez, the 64th president of Venezuela, succumbed to cancer. The cancer was first diagnosed in 2011.
Meanwhile in Paraguay, president Fernando Lugo had been diagnosed with Non Hodgkin lymphoma in 2010.
President Christina Fernandez a prominent left wing politician from Argentina, in turn received her diagnosis of thyroid cancer in 2011.
But the situation in Brazil easily suppresses anything. Dilma Rousseff its current left wing president was diagnosed with early stage axillary lymphoma in 2009. Her predecessor, Lula de Silva was diagnosed with malignant tumor of larynx in 2011. Itamar Franco, another past president of Brazil was diagnosed with leukaemia, also in 2011...
Pretty weird? Or should we be asking what's going on?
So obviously, the US didn't just ignore the pink tide. The experiments which possibly began as early as 1960s, ought to have obviously yielded some tangible results by now. And the tangible results may be those diagnoses from 2009 to 2011.
Cancer causing viruses are definitely not fiction. That much we know. For example it is a fairly old discovery that some batches of injectible polio vaccines produced in the US between 1955 and 1961 were contaminated with SV40, a monkey virus. But what is new knowledge is CDC's reluctant acceptance after decades of denial that SV40 is a human polyoma virus. I.e. That it can cause cancer in multiple tissues.
Research data shows that SV40 has been isolated from multiple human cancers. And those researches also indicate a 37% rise in ependymomas, 26% rise in osteogenic sarcomas, 34% rise in bone tumors and a 90% rise in mesotheliomas after exposure to SV40.
So harnessing the power to cause cancer is definitely not fiction.
Cancer is definitely not the only form of biological agent unleashed on south America.
A new virulent strain of HIV which can kill in something like three years was discovered only last year from Cuba. Chance mutation? Or something better than chance? Again its left to speculation.
The Haiti cholera epidemic is another unfortunate event that up to date, has claimed more than 9000 lives. The outbreak started in 2010, after the devastating Haiti earthquake. The strain was identified as originating from south asia. UN officials and the CDC were extremely reluctant to investigate the source. But in 2011, under pressure, the UN relented and discovered that the source of the epidemic was a Nepalese peace keeping force camp.
It could be the poor sanitation and waste disposal of the camp that started the epidemic. But it is equally possible that the virulent cholera strain alien to the latin America was introduced intentionally.
Viruses and diseases against humans is not the only component of biological warfare. Diseases against plant and entomological weapons are also part of the deal.
In 2000, as part of America's war on drugs it formulated a plan to release strains of the fungus 'Fusarium oxysporum' which is herbicidal against coca. The country of focus was Columbia. But the plan had to be pulled out amidst general opposition from regional countries.
As of 2015 US scientists are contemplating the feasibility of dropping certain breeds of caterpillars onto Columbian and Peruvian coca fields.
But the big problem with these agents is that nobody can be sure of their behaviour. After all they are biological organisms. They can easily mutate or even merely adapt into infesting and destroying other crops as well.
So the big brother up north is definitely not going to allow the south be......
Monday, May 16, 2016
Friday, May 6, 2016
The dead who walk...
Haiti, a unique country occupying the eastern part of the island of Hispaniola... Dubbed 'La perle des Antilles' both for its natural beauty and also the vast fortune that it provided to France, it's colonial rulers, Haiti was indeed the wealthiest of French colonies.
Haiti being the only nation in the world established as the result of a successful slave revolt, boasts of having defeated three European super powers. France, Britain and Spain.
But since declaring itself a free nation it has suffered dejection, political isolation, political humiliation and interference from other nations as well as perhaps even bio terrorism.
The Haitian religion or Voodooism is a curious mix of native African religions and Roman Catholicism. And it's got a rich colourful culture with many unique rituals and beliefs. But up until modern times, Haiti was mostly shrouded in mystery and its culture and beliefs were painted in a negative light in the western eye.
In 1915, in response to anti American revolts and threats to the US economic dominance over Haiti, American forces occupied island. That was when strange reports of men (and women) who are raised from death, to be turned into slaves, started to reach the west.
In Haitian Creole, they were called the 'Zombi'.
Haitian legends state that a zombie is a corpse which is reanimated by a wizard that they call 'a bokor'. The zombie thus created is purported to be completely under the control of the bokor.
Reports of such real people who were supposed to have died, but who later walked into their villages, were investigated by researchers. One such notable case is a man named 'Clarivius Narcisse' who was presumed to be dead and buried in 1962. But he returned home 18 years later and claimed that he had been dug up from his grave and forced to work in a sugar cane plantation.
The idea that zombies are really a scientifically explainable phenomenon, had been prevalent from those early times. The most widely circulated theory was that zombies are people who are put into a state of paralysis which resembles death. After that they are buried and the body is later unearthed by the bokor, and revived by another drug. After that the 'dead' man is kept under the absolute control of the bokor by the administration of hallucinogens. The ingredients of the magical concotion are of course kept secret. But they are reputed to contain Puffer fish poison, Datura plant extract, camphor and most gruesomely a newly buried baby's brain.
Wade Davis, one of the proponents insisting on a scientific explanation for the zombies, claims that the active ingredient from the puffer fish, Tetrodotoxin is responsible for the creation of zombies. But this claim had been refuted in 1990s based on results obtained by analytical chemistry.
But although analytical chemistry failed to show positive results for the alleged toxins, the fact remains that the puffer fish poison, Datura etc are definitely used by the bokor.
So can there be a truth in the myth? Is it possible to create a so called zombie by using the above medicines?
Also worth noting is that not just any old person, or even any old bokor can create a zombie. Only the most experienced and the seasoned could do it, and even so, there is no guarantee that you would succeed every time. The same medicines may act differently in the hands of different bokors. So why the big uncertainty??
The puffer fish, is a primarily marine and estuarine fish, which contain the toxin tetrodotoxin. The fish isn't inherently poisonous but the toxin is produced by symbiotic or infective bacteria. So the exact amount of poison in a given puffer fish is difficult to predict. The toxicity varies depending on the species, the geographical locality and the season of the year.
The toxic nature of the Puffer fish is know in other civilizations as well, the Chinese writing about it at around 2000 BC.
But with experience and local knowledge, predicting the toxicity maybe a different matter, thus accounting for the fact that only certain bokors are successful. For example the fish caught in the sea is more poisonous than their counterparts caught in estuaries.
The active ingredient in Puffer fish, tetrodotoxin, can kill in 17 minutes. But death can take up to 4 to 6 hours most commonly. The victim although completely paralyzed, remains in a lucid state until shortly before death. Some victims go into a coma. If the victim survives for 24 hours he usually fully recovers within 2 to 3 days.
According to the legends the presumably dead victim is buried and later dug up and revived by the bokor. Camphor is supposed to be one of the ingredients used for revival. It is interesting to note that camphor, obtained from plants of Lamiaceae family, especially rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), may contain caffeic acid and rosmarinic acid, whic have acetyle choline esterase inhibitors. And although not sufficiently investigated, acetyl choline esterase inhibitors are proposed as anti toxins for tetrodotoxin.
The legends do not stop there and go on to say that powerful medicines are repeatedly given to the zombies to maintain submission.
One such drug is supposed to be obtained from a plant of the genus Datura. Datura is a known hallucinogen with anticholinergic activity.
But here also the toxicity changes among individual plants, from leaf to leaf, from the age of the plant and flowering etc. So to use Datura safely and obtain the desired effects at the same time one has to be extremely experienced.
Another ingredient which is supposed to be used in the making of a zombie is the brain of a recently buried baby. This is the one ingredient which had been subjected to least scientific scrutiny. The infant brain having known chemical difference from the adult brain may indeed be used for its chemical properties.. Or on the other hand, this addition could well be in order to add a touch of mysticism.
Most probably there are yet still more active ingredients which we have never heard about. A secret handed down from one generation of bokors to the other, but eventually as most other ancient magic, dying slowly and getting lost and forgotten in history.
But on the other hand, as some historians tend to argue, the myth of the zombies is just what it is... a myth, conveying the story of Haiti's slavery in metaphorical language..
As usual, we may never know....
Haiti being the only nation in the world established as the result of a successful slave revolt, boasts of having defeated three European super powers. France, Britain and Spain.
But since declaring itself a free nation it has suffered dejection, political isolation, political humiliation and interference from other nations as well as perhaps even bio terrorism.
The Haitian religion or Voodooism is a curious mix of native African religions and Roman Catholicism. And it's got a rich colourful culture with many unique rituals and beliefs. But up until modern times, Haiti was mostly shrouded in mystery and its culture and beliefs were painted in a negative light in the western eye.
In 1915, in response to anti American revolts and threats to the US economic dominance over Haiti, American forces occupied island. That was when strange reports of men (and women) who are raised from death, to be turned into slaves, started to reach the west.
In Haitian Creole, they were called the 'Zombi'.
Haitian legends state that a zombie is a corpse which is reanimated by a wizard that they call 'a bokor'. The zombie thus created is purported to be completely under the control of the bokor.
Reports of such real people who were supposed to have died, but who later walked into their villages, were investigated by researchers. One such notable case is a man named 'Clarivius Narcisse' who was presumed to be dead and buried in 1962. But he returned home 18 years later and claimed that he had been dug up from his grave and forced to work in a sugar cane plantation.
The idea that zombies are really a scientifically explainable phenomenon, had been prevalent from those early times. The most widely circulated theory was that zombies are people who are put into a state of paralysis which resembles death. After that they are buried and the body is later unearthed by the bokor, and revived by another drug. After that the 'dead' man is kept under the absolute control of the bokor by the administration of hallucinogens. The ingredients of the magical concotion are of course kept secret. But they are reputed to contain Puffer fish poison, Datura plant extract, camphor and most gruesomely a newly buried baby's brain.
Wade Davis, one of the proponents insisting on a scientific explanation for the zombies, claims that the active ingredient from the puffer fish, Tetrodotoxin is responsible for the creation of zombies. But this claim had been refuted in 1990s based on results obtained by analytical chemistry.
But although analytical chemistry failed to show positive results for the alleged toxins, the fact remains that the puffer fish poison, Datura etc are definitely used by the bokor.
So can there be a truth in the myth? Is it possible to create a so called zombie by using the above medicines?
Also worth noting is that not just any old person, or even any old bokor can create a zombie. Only the most experienced and the seasoned could do it, and even so, there is no guarantee that you would succeed every time. The same medicines may act differently in the hands of different bokors. So why the big uncertainty??
The puffer fish, is a primarily marine and estuarine fish, which contain the toxin tetrodotoxin. The fish isn't inherently poisonous but the toxin is produced by symbiotic or infective bacteria. So the exact amount of poison in a given puffer fish is difficult to predict. The toxicity varies depending on the species, the geographical locality and the season of the year.
The toxic nature of the Puffer fish is know in other civilizations as well, the Chinese writing about it at around 2000 BC.
But with experience and local knowledge, predicting the toxicity maybe a different matter, thus accounting for the fact that only certain bokors are successful. For example the fish caught in the sea is more poisonous than their counterparts caught in estuaries.
The active ingredient in Puffer fish, tetrodotoxin, can kill in 17 minutes. But death can take up to 4 to 6 hours most commonly. The victim although completely paralyzed, remains in a lucid state until shortly before death. Some victims go into a coma. If the victim survives for 24 hours he usually fully recovers within 2 to 3 days.
According to the legends the presumably dead victim is buried and later dug up and revived by the bokor. Camphor is supposed to be one of the ingredients used for revival. It is interesting to note that camphor, obtained from plants of Lamiaceae family, especially rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), may contain caffeic acid and rosmarinic acid, whic have acetyle choline esterase inhibitors. And although not sufficiently investigated, acetyl choline esterase inhibitors are proposed as anti toxins for tetrodotoxin.
The legends do not stop there and go on to say that powerful medicines are repeatedly given to the zombies to maintain submission.
One such drug is supposed to be obtained from a plant of the genus Datura. Datura is a known hallucinogen with anticholinergic activity.
But here also the toxicity changes among individual plants, from leaf to leaf, from the age of the plant and flowering etc. So to use Datura safely and obtain the desired effects at the same time one has to be extremely experienced.
Another ingredient which is supposed to be used in the making of a zombie is the brain of a recently buried baby. This is the one ingredient which had been subjected to least scientific scrutiny. The infant brain having known chemical difference from the adult brain may indeed be used for its chemical properties.. Or on the other hand, this addition could well be in order to add a touch of mysticism.
Most probably there are yet still more active ingredients which we have never heard about. A secret handed down from one generation of bokors to the other, but eventually as most other ancient magic, dying slowly and getting lost and forgotten in history.
But on the other hand, as some historians tend to argue, the myth of the zombies is just what it is... a myth, conveying the story of Haiti's slavery in metaphorical language..
As usual, we may never know....
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
The steel from Serendib.
Damascus, an ancient city with a history running back almost 6000 years before Christ... A city of magic and romance, where civilizations met, displayed their wares, traded, haggled, clashed their swords and sometimes mingled. Damascus is a city which had seen innumerable wars and battles. It had seen the rise and fall of many empires. It had embraced numerous gods only to forget them in due time and worship new gods.
And one legend which still abounds about this city in the near East, is its swords. The Damascus swords had been and still continues to be an object of much speculation. The legendary swords with their blades with the well known rippling pattern, resembling that of flowing water or soft rippling fabric, was a legend.... a mystery..
Stories were abound about the sharpness and the plasticity of the blade. Legends has it that the sword could cut with precision through the barrel of a rifle and through a hair falling across it's blade. It could go through many a battle and slash through bone and flesh and still retain its sharpness. Legends has it that the blade of Saladin himself was of Damascus steel.
The secret of Damascus sword lies in the steel that was used to forge it.
And the story begins many miles due east, in southern India and especially in a small island that they called Serendib.
"..the finest steel for Damascus blades came from Serendib.."
Sri Lanka, as 'Serendib' is better known now, started exporting high quality steel somewhere in the 1st century AD, the production reaching its zenith during the 9th century AD. But how did the ancient Sri Lankans make such fine steel?
The iron age started in Sri Lanka in 1000BC. Little by little Sri Lankans learned to smelt iron from iron containing ores. Initially they used bloomeries, which produced only low carbon high impurity iron of unremarkable quality. But later on they progressed on to use blast furnaces where the stream of air was supplied by bellows.
In Sigiriya, sri Lanka, remains of such ancient blast furnaces have been found. The bellows were made of animal skin and placed in clay containers and an operator work them to keep a constant supply of air.
Blast furnaces developed all over the world and could be defined as the climax of the iron age. Better quality iron with a higher percentage of carbon could be produced this way.
But in Sri Lanka, unlike other areas, high carbon, low impurity steel was being produced even before they had perfected the blast furnace!! So what is the secret?
The discovery was made in a perfectly providential manner in 1988. That year the then reigning government of Sri Lanka embarked on a hydroelectric project centered in the Walawe river basin in Southern Sri Lanka. It involved the construction of 'Samanalawewa Dam' across the Walawe river. The area was not a known archeological site, but an initial field survey revealed a unique archeological discovery.
It was an iron smelting furnace located on the western slopes of the hills, facing south west. Further research revealed almost 80 such sites. Surveys suggested that at one time there could have been almost 3000 smelters in this area.
The furnaces were unique in the true meaning of the word. They were not bloomeries and neither were they blast furnaces.
In fact they were wind driven, actually monsoon wind driven furnaces.
From June to September, monsoon winds sweep inwards to the island from the vast expanse of the Indian ocean. These furnaces took the natural advantage of the monsoon winds to supply a continuous stream of air.
At least one site from 'Samanala wewa' was from as far back as the 3rd century BC. It can be definitely stated that steel of highest quality with low impurities and high carbon percentage was being produced by the 1st century AD. And that is the earliest evidence of high quality steel from south Asia, according to Dr. Jill Julef.
The furnaces were easy to work, because unlike blast furnaces, they required comparatively little man power. So they were cost and energy efficient.
The technical details of the furnaces are also impressive and suggest the broad technical knowledge possessed by the ancient engineers.
Wind, close to the ground level blowing uphill, would reach maximum velocities at the crest, where the furnaces were located. The front wall of the furnace acts as a barrier and splits the stream of air into two layers. The stream that flows up over the top of the furnace roof creates an area of low pressure, which effects the lower layer of air to be sucked into the furnace through the tuyere at the front.
The maximum efficacy of the furnace, depends on the laminar airflow along the tuyere. The airflow has to be in the transition zone between laminar to turbulent. To make sure that this requirement is met, the physical variable called the Reynolds number has to be within a certain range. If we are modern day physicists with complex computation devices we would have to use certain complicated equations to find out the right tuyere diameter and angle to give the appropriate flow speeds assuming that the monsoon wind speeds are more or less fixed.
But more than 2000 years ago the ancient Sri Lankan craftsmen also knew the diameter and the angle which was optimal. It is extraordinary that the modern calculated values of those variables and the actual measurements taken in the field, match together beautifully...
Actual working replicas of the furnaces made by archeologists had been so efficacious that they are presumed to have produced about 10 tons of steel each year.
The carbon source for thus produced steel came from plant material incorporated whilst being produced. This was also different from the more widespread practice of using charcoal as a source for carbon.
Investigations into Damascus steel conducted as recently as 2006 have revealed the presence of carbon nanotubes encasing cementile nanowires. Some specialists claim that this unique nanowire and tube arrangements may have arisen due to the use of plant material for a carbon source.
Steel production in sri Lanka reached its zenith by the 9th century AD. Its reputation as an exporter of the finest steel in the world was well documented in the Islamic world.
But this unique method of steel production seems to have disappeared from the Sri Lankan history by the 11th century AD. This archeological fact may be accounted for by the gradual decline of the ancient rajarata civilization which culminated in the invasion and the subsequent carnage of Kalinga Maga in 1215....
Damascus steel continued to be produced from the steel from south India. But after about 1700 AD, the craft declined until it became another one of the lost arts of the ancient world....
And one legend which still abounds about this city in the near East, is its swords. The Damascus swords had been and still continues to be an object of much speculation. The legendary swords with their blades with the well known rippling pattern, resembling that of flowing water or soft rippling fabric, was a legend.... a mystery..
Stories were abound about the sharpness and the plasticity of the blade. Legends has it that the sword could cut with precision through the barrel of a rifle and through a hair falling across it's blade. It could go through many a battle and slash through bone and flesh and still retain its sharpness. Legends has it that the blade of Saladin himself was of Damascus steel.
The secret of Damascus sword lies in the steel that was used to forge it.
And the story begins many miles due east, in southern India and especially in a small island that they called Serendib.
"..the finest steel for Damascus blades came from Serendib.."
Sri Lanka, as 'Serendib' is better known now, started exporting high quality steel somewhere in the 1st century AD, the production reaching its zenith during the 9th century AD. But how did the ancient Sri Lankans make such fine steel?
The iron age started in Sri Lanka in 1000BC. Little by little Sri Lankans learned to smelt iron from iron containing ores. Initially they used bloomeries, which produced only low carbon high impurity iron of unremarkable quality. But later on they progressed on to use blast furnaces where the stream of air was supplied by bellows.
In Sigiriya, sri Lanka, remains of such ancient blast furnaces have been found. The bellows were made of animal skin and placed in clay containers and an operator work them to keep a constant supply of air.
Blast furnaces developed all over the world and could be defined as the climax of the iron age. Better quality iron with a higher percentage of carbon could be produced this way.
But in Sri Lanka, unlike other areas, high carbon, low impurity steel was being produced even before they had perfected the blast furnace!! So what is the secret?
The discovery was made in a perfectly providential manner in 1988. That year the then reigning government of Sri Lanka embarked on a hydroelectric project centered in the Walawe river basin in Southern Sri Lanka. It involved the construction of 'Samanalawewa Dam' across the Walawe river. The area was not a known archeological site, but an initial field survey revealed a unique archeological discovery.
It was an iron smelting furnace located on the western slopes of the hills, facing south west. Further research revealed almost 80 such sites. Surveys suggested that at one time there could have been almost 3000 smelters in this area.
The furnaces were unique in the true meaning of the word. They were not bloomeries and neither were they blast furnaces.
In fact they were wind driven, actually monsoon wind driven furnaces.
From June to September, monsoon winds sweep inwards to the island from the vast expanse of the Indian ocean. These furnaces took the natural advantage of the monsoon winds to supply a continuous stream of air.
At least one site from 'Samanala wewa' was from as far back as the 3rd century BC. It can be definitely stated that steel of highest quality with low impurities and high carbon percentage was being produced by the 1st century AD. And that is the earliest evidence of high quality steel from south Asia, according to Dr. Jill Julef.
The furnaces were easy to work, because unlike blast furnaces, they required comparatively little man power. So they were cost and energy efficient.
The technical details of the furnaces are also impressive and suggest the broad technical knowledge possessed by the ancient engineers.
Wind, close to the ground level blowing uphill, would reach maximum velocities at the crest, where the furnaces were located. The front wall of the furnace acts as a barrier and splits the stream of air into two layers. The stream that flows up over the top of the furnace roof creates an area of low pressure, which effects the lower layer of air to be sucked into the furnace through the tuyere at the front.
The maximum efficacy of the furnace, depends on the laminar airflow along the tuyere. The airflow has to be in the transition zone between laminar to turbulent. To make sure that this requirement is met, the physical variable called the Reynolds number has to be within a certain range. If we are modern day physicists with complex computation devices we would have to use certain complicated equations to find out the right tuyere diameter and angle to give the appropriate flow speeds assuming that the monsoon wind speeds are more or less fixed.
But more than 2000 years ago the ancient Sri Lankan craftsmen also knew the diameter and the angle which was optimal. It is extraordinary that the modern calculated values of those variables and the actual measurements taken in the field, match together beautifully...
Actual working replicas of the furnaces made by archeologists had been so efficacious that they are presumed to have produced about 10 tons of steel each year.
The carbon source for thus produced steel came from plant material incorporated whilst being produced. This was also different from the more widespread practice of using charcoal as a source for carbon.
Investigations into Damascus steel conducted as recently as 2006 have revealed the presence of carbon nanotubes encasing cementile nanowires. Some specialists claim that this unique nanowire and tube arrangements may have arisen due to the use of plant material for a carbon source.
Steel production in sri Lanka reached its zenith by the 9th century AD. Its reputation as an exporter of the finest steel in the world was well documented in the Islamic world.
But this unique method of steel production seems to have disappeared from the Sri Lankan history by the 11th century AD. This archeological fact may be accounted for by the gradual decline of the ancient rajarata civilization which culminated in the invasion and the subsequent carnage of Kalinga Maga in 1215....
Damascus steel continued to be produced from the steel from south India. But after about 1700 AD, the craft declined until it became another one of the lost arts of the ancient world....
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Buddhism; The philosophy that became a religion.
Buddhism, a philosophy which has its roots in Asia and yet with its unique world view and simplicity continues to attract many followers from around the globe each year; A personification of tranquillity and peace; Saffron robes and calmness.....
The philosophy was born around 2500 years ago in India, 6th century BC. How did it evolve and change over the past 2500 years and is it even the same teaching still?
The story begins in 6th century BC India, an era which could be described as a kind of a religious and philosophical renaissance in India. The Ganges basin where the civilization centred on was undergoing major socio cultural changes. The prevalent Brahminic social divisions and norm codes which severely discriminated the people of so called lower social strata, were beginning to be seen as oppressive. Especially the people of the ruling class who were still considered inferior to Brahmins were beginning to rebel. People were starting to think and question. In what might be called an explosion of knowledge, and innovation, new philosophies came into being. Sources claim that there were 62 religions in the Ganges basin.
Into this melee of spiritualism and philosophy was born a certain child.... destined to be the future lord Buddha.
He probably grew up learning the Vedic teachings of Brahmins. And unlike many he probably sought the meaning of what he was taught. And he probably had a lot of questions, particularly about god. Who is god? Where is he? How does he work his magic? Is it better to love him or fear him?
And he probably didn't get any satisfactory answers..
Living the life of a nobleman he was probably exposed to various learned men. Men who were not Brahmins but philosophers in their own right. Being of unusually curious disposition his interviews with them probably opened our young man's mind to other possibilities.
And so he started his quest to find answers. With time, his questions grew more defined and the requirements of his answers grew more refined. I won't dwell much on how the prince left his castle to find answers and the adventures he had, because adventures they obviously were.. But eventually he found his answers, and Buddhism which is undeniably a great philosophy was born.
Within a short time of its birth, Buddhism spread far and wide. One reason of course was Lord Buddha's emphasis on spreading his teachings far and wide. But in its own right, Buddhism was an attractive philosophy, both to the masses and the nobility. It was new, it was simple, it was different and it didn't rely on an unknown, unseen deity. It gave a new vision that you are responsible for your own fate and that you can as well change it. And most attractively, Buddhism defied the social stratification and discrimination made widespread by Brahmins.
But if truth be said Buddhism was more of a philosophy than a religion. For one thing, there was no deity that you could pray to when in distress. No god to look up, to perform miracles and help you. You were virtually responsible for your own salvation. And the philosophy and the world view was definitely not understood by everyone.
So with time and with the introduction of more attractive religions Buddhism ceased to be the fast spreading philosophy readily embraced by the masses, that it used to be.
But in a certain island nation just south of the southern most tip of the Indian sub continent, it survived. In Sri Lanka, there was the right mix of political and social backgrounds to sustain Buddhism. It was embraced by the royalty. The royal patronage through the centuries guaranteed the safety of Buddhism. Also the fiercely patriotic islanders defied invasions and made sure their culture survived.
But did it really survive? Did Buddhism remain as pure and untainted as we imagine it to be??
Overtime, most obviously practices changed and rituals were established. The philosophy was converted to what would appeal to masses... a religion!!
Rituals like worshipping came into being. Buddhist monks became more focused on literature and gave rise to literary masterpieces which although excellent in an aesthetic sense did little to the teaching of the philosophy. And now... we sri Lankans still have Buddhism... the edited version. We have the religion Buddhism of which we are faithful followers..
The edited version of Buddhism is unique in that it seems to have adopted exactly the rituals that lord Buddha condemned 2500 years ago; the self same rituals that were plentiful in other theistic religions.
For example, Buddhists worship statues of lord Buddha and the 'Bo' trees, "ficus religiosa". Various theologians may try to justify the practice, but there's no denying that lord Buddha himself condemned the practice.
Maybe the primitive impulses of the people always, always revert to safety and protection seeking when concerning things that they consider religious. Maybe that's what happened to Buddhism too.
This may explain the ritual of chanting Buddhist scripture with the hope that it will bring prosperity, good fortune, protection and health.. Scriptures contain the various teachings of Buddhism. So in my opinion, the scriptures deserve to be studied, learned and understood. And to chant them like some magic spells expecting things to happen is to severely degrade their true value.
The same can be said about the practice of tying threads supposed to be sanctified by chanting scriptures to them. I may be wrong but i can't find any evidence of lord Buddha ever having tied such a thread on some disciple as blessing. The practice probably evolved later on with some influence from concurrent practices in Hinduism.
As in any religion, Buddhism also has much to say about death. And one of the main occasions that Buddhists seek out the temple is on the death of a loved one. The current belief is that by doing an alms giving and having the Buddhist priests chant specific scripture, you can add merit to the after life of the diseased person. That is, provided he is born in some low birth where he expects merit. I don't intend to do an in-depth dissertation on the topic. There are theologians who have and will argue to and against this concept time and time again. But once again all i can say is, i can't find any stories of lord Buddha going to some contemporary citizen's funeral to give merit to the afterlife. But I do know that in Hinduism, when someone dies his or her relatives do rituals to help the departed soul attain salvation. No conclusions once again.
Sometimes during the 13th and the 14th century, Sri Lanka saw a renaissance of literature. Under the patronage of learned and scholarly kings, many Buddhists theologians created literary masterpieces. The "jathaka stories" written during the 13th century, supposedly describing the various previous births of lord Buddha is one such masterpiece. But from some point in history these stories started to be taken as facts. Obviously these stories were fables with some moral lesson in them. They were good teaching material to encultivate morals in the people. So the priests often started to base their sermons on these stories. This of course was a good and effective practice and certainly did appeal to the masses. But i can't help wondering if the great doctrine became shadowed due to this diversion. After all Buddhism is not about just storytelling!!
On the other hand, priests with poetic and musical inclinations started to compose their sermons in poetic form and sing them...
Is it too late to salvage the great doctrine? We definitely can't change the rituals. But maybe when enough people start to question, a new generation of truth seekers might be born. A generation trying to salvage the truth from all the misleading decorations. And maybe one of them will succeed!!
The philosophy was born around 2500 years ago in India, 6th century BC. How did it evolve and change over the past 2500 years and is it even the same teaching still?
The story begins in 6th century BC India, an era which could be described as a kind of a religious and philosophical renaissance in India. The Ganges basin where the civilization centred on was undergoing major socio cultural changes. The prevalent Brahminic social divisions and norm codes which severely discriminated the people of so called lower social strata, were beginning to be seen as oppressive. Especially the people of the ruling class who were still considered inferior to Brahmins were beginning to rebel. People were starting to think and question. In what might be called an explosion of knowledge, and innovation, new philosophies came into being. Sources claim that there were 62 religions in the Ganges basin.
Into this melee of spiritualism and philosophy was born a certain child.... destined to be the future lord Buddha.
He probably grew up learning the Vedic teachings of Brahmins. And unlike many he probably sought the meaning of what he was taught. And he probably had a lot of questions, particularly about god. Who is god? Where is he? How does he work his magic? Is it better to love him or fear him?
And he probably didn't get any satisfactory answers..
Living the life of a nobleman he was probably exposed to various learned men. Men who were not Brahmins but philosophers in their own right. Being of unusually curious disposition his interviews with them probably opened our young man's mind to other possibilities.
And so he started his quest to find answers. With time, his questions grew more defined and the requirements of his answers grew more refined. I won't dwell much on how the prince left his castle to find answers and the adventures he had, because adventures they obviously were.. But eventually he found his answers, and Buddhism which is undeniably a great philosophy was born.
Within a short time of its birth, Buddhism spread far and wide. One reason of course was Lord Buddha's emphasis on spreading his teachings far and wide. But in its own right, Buddhism was an attractive philosophy, both to the masses and the nobility. It was new, it was simple, it was different and it didn't rely on an unknown, unseen deity. It gave a new vision that you are responsible for your own fate and that you can as well change it. And most attractively, Buddhism defied the social stratification and discrimination made widespread by Brahmins.
But if truth be said Buddhism was more of a philosophy than a religion. For one thing, there was no deity that you could pray to when in distress. No god to look up, to perform miracles and help you. You were virtually responsible for your own salvation. And the philosophy and the world view was definitely not understood by everyone.
So with time and with the introduction of more attractive religions Buddhism ceased to be the fast spreading philosophy readily embraced by the masses, that it used to be.
But in a certain island nation just south of the southern most tip of the Indian sub continent, it survived. In Sri Lanka, there was the right mix of political and social backgrounds to sustain Buddhism. It was embraced by the royalty. The royal patronage through the centuries guaranteed the safety of Buddhism. Also the fiercely patriotic islanders defied invasions and made sure their culture survived.
But did it really survive? Did Buddhism remain as pure and untainted as we imagine it to be??
Overtime, most obviously practices changed and rituals were established. The philosophy was converted to what would appeal to masses... a religion!!
Rituals like worshipping came into being. Buddhist monks became more focused on literature and gave rise to literary masterpieces which although excellent in an aesthetic sense did little to the teaching of the philosophy. And now... we sri Lankans still have Buddhism... the edited version. We have the religion Buddhism of which we are faithful followers..
The edited version of Buddhism is unique in that it seems to have adopted exactly the rituals that lord Buddha condemned 2500 years ago; the self same rituals that were plentiful in other theistic religions.
For example, Buddhists worship statues of lord Buddha and the 'Bo' trees, "ficus religiosa". Various theologians may try to justify the practice, but there's no denying that lord Buddha himself condemned the practice.
Maybe the primitive impulses of the people always, always revert to safety and protection seeking when concerning things that they consider religious. Maybe that's what happened to Buddhism too.
This may explain the ritual of chanting Buddhist scripture with the hope that it will bring prosperity, good fortune, protection and health.. Scriptures contain the various teachings of Buddhism. So in my opinion, the scriptures deserve to be studied, learned and understood. And to chant them like some magic spells expecting things to happen is to severely degrade their true value.
The same can be said about the practice of tying threads supposed to be sanctified by chanting scriptures to them. I may be wrong but i can't find any evidence of lord Buddha ever having tied such a thread on some disciple as blessing. The practice probably evolved later on with some influence from concurrent practices in Hinduism.
As in any religion, Buddhism also has much to say about death. And one of the main occasions that Buddhists seek out the temple is on the death of a loved one. The current belief is that by doing an alms giving and having the Buddhist priests chant specific scripture, you can add merit to the after life of the diseased person. That is, provided he is born in some low birth where he expects merit. I don't intend to do an in-depth dissertation on the topic. There are theologians who have and will argue to and against this concept time and time again. But once again all i can say is, i can't find any stories of lord Buddha going to some contemporary citizen's funeral to give merit to the afterlife. But I do know that in Hinduism, when someone dies his or her relatives do rituals to help the departed soul attain salvation. No conclusions once again.
Sometimes during the 13th and the 14th century, Sri Lanka saw a renaissance of literature. Under the patronage of learned and scholarly kings, many Buddhists theologians created literary masterpieces. The "jathaka stories" written during the 13th century, supposedly describing the various previous births of lord Buddha is one such masterpiece. But from some point in history these stories started to be taken as facts. Obviously these stories were fables with some moral lesson in them. They were good teaching material to encultivate morals in the people. So the priests often started to base their sermons on these stories. This of course was a good and effective practice and certainly did appeal to the masses. But i can't help wondering if the great doctrine became shadowed due to this diversion. After all Buddhism is not about just storytelling!!
On the other hand, priests with poetic and musical inclinations started to compose their sermons in poetic form and sing them...
Is it too late to salvage the great doctrine? We definitely can't change the rituals. But maybe when enough people start to question, a new generation of truth seekers might be born. A generation trying to salvage the truth from all the misleading decorations. And maybe one of them will succeed!!
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