There are many millions of universes. Yasya prabha prabhavato jagad-anda-koti kotisu asesa-vasudhadi bhinnam [Brahma-Samhita, 5.40]. And in each and every universe there are so many planets, asesa, you cannot count—unlimited—in one universe, and there are millions of universes. What is your material knowledge? What do you know? You are trying to go to the moon planet. That is also you committing mistake. And what about the millions of universes?
Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.28.21
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Nairobi, November 1, 1975
httpv://youtu.be/17jymDn0W6U
video: The Known Universe by AMNH
ScienceDaily – Universe Measured More Accurately Than Ever Before: New Results Pin Down Distance to Galaxy Next Door
ScienceDaily.com | Mar. 4, 2013 — After nearly a decade of careful observations an international team of astronomers has measured the distance to our neighbouring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, more accurately than ever before. This new measurement also improves our knowledge of the rate of expansion of the Universe — the Hubble Constant — and is a crucial step towards understanding the nature of the mysterious dark energy that is causing the expansion to accelerate. The team used telescopes at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile as well as others around the globe.
These results appear in the 7 March 2013 issue of the journal Nature. Astronomers survey the scale of the Universe by first measuring the distances to close-by objects and then using them as standard candles [1] to pin down distances further and further out into the cosmos. But this chain is only as accurate as its weakest link. Up to now finding an accurate distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), one of the nearest galaxies to the Milky Way, has proved elusive. As stars in this galaxy are used to fix the distance scale for more remote galaxies, it is crucially important. But careful observations of a rare class of double star have now allowed a team of astronomers to deduce a much more precise value for the LMC distance: 163 000 light-years. Full Article at ScienceDaily
My dear King, I have thus far described the diameter of the universe [fifty crores of yojanas, or four billion miles] and its general characteristics, according to the estimations of learned scholars. (SB 5.21.1)
Note: That makes the universe less than one light day across. How could the LMC be 163,000 light years away? This is obviously Maya.
The only explanation is that the foolish scientists hate Krishna so much that they deride Him, even though they never heard of Him or the Srimad-Bhagavatam!!
Scientists need to stop cheating, put on wigs, and sell books. Otherwise, they will spend huge amounts of our money on projects like the Voyager spacecraft, only to have it hit the innermost wall of dirt that surrounds our 4 billion mile universe.
Hahahaha,
You cultists are so funny. Even when facts smack you in the face, you still believe in fairy tales.
Ha Ha Ha Wait till Yamadutas come calling on you michael sandoval, then we’ll
see who has the last laugh. Ha Ha Ha.
HARE KRSNA.
michael sandoval says: Hahahaha, You cultists are so funny. Even when facts smack you in the face, you still believe in fairy tales.
Sadaputa Prabhu, our foremost devotee scientist, says that there are no conflicts between our religious scriptures and modern science. For more information, please read his books:
http://store.krishna.com/Search.bok?custom1=sadaputa
That’s right, there is no contradiction. As a matter of fact, the Hubble telescope recently spotted a giant interplanetary eagle attacking the Rahu head. Luckily for Rahu, Narada Muni was flying by (he has great timing) and he bonked the eagle on the head with his vina. WHAT A SCENE! It was more exciting than Hiranyaksa knocking the club out of Lord Boar’s hoof!
One never knows at which point the Supreme Lord has inserted some false material calculation into His Scriptures while proclaiming it to be true. Just to weed out the weak hearted baboons who don’t want to be part of His Bhakti Cult.
Hey, some people would rather become “astronuts” to be liberated from their miserable material fantasies. Free will is King. Have at it you nutty baboons.
mahasana dasa says: That’s right, there is no contradiction. As a matter of fact, the Hubble telescope recently spotted a giant interplanetary eagle attacking the Rahu head. Luckily for Rahu, Narada Muni was flying by (he has great timing) and he bonked the eagle on the head with his vina. WHAT A SCENE! It was more exciting than Hiranyaksa knocking the club out of Lord Boar’s hoof!
Wow! Such clever sarcasm! “Mahasana Dasa” and Michael Sandoval may have found some seeming pockmarks on the moon!
Therefore, I guess we should all just go back to trying to have illicit sex while numb on alcohol/pot, and being frustrated/getting VD, never mind the fact that if it wasn’t for Srila Prabhupada saving us, we’d all be dead by now!
Someone pointed out that the last comment I posted here had no basis in truth, and they were right. I badly misinterpreted some quotes I remember Srila Prabhupada making about contradictions in sastra.
Personally, I don’t believe that astronomers can make accurate measurements of distances based on theories of the behavior of light. The problem is not science itself, which is generally a reliable method to determine the nature of material phenomenon, but with the cheating propensity of the men who engage in science with ulterior motive in order to prove their theoretical hypothesis at all costs.
As soon as one false postulate becomes accepted, it is then used in future equations to “prove” future hypotheses, and the next thing you know we are talking about “light years” when in reality there may not even be such a thing.
Trust but verify.
mark says: Personally, I don’t believe that astronomers can make accurate measurements of distances based on theories of the behavior of light.
The only measuring tool that they have for the most distant objects is redshift. However, a couple of examples will prove that this measurement technique is not reliable.
One time, when I was talking with Sadaputa Prabhu face-to-face, he told me about a double star with a halo of gasses that surrounded both stars. The halo proved that they were actually orbiting each other, and were, therefore, the same distance from us even though their respective redshifts were vastly different. He said that this example alone proves that the scientist’s redshift distance measuring technique is not reliable, and that a redshift may be caused by other factors.
Here’s another example of redshift theory’s inability to accurately measure distance:
http://www.angelfire.com/az/BIGBANGisWRONG/wheresquasars.html
According to the above article, quasars, even though their redshifts indicate that they are the most distant objects in the universe, are actually a type of nearby, unusually dim star, near enough to be evenly distributed in the sky like the other nearby stars.
From http://www.metaresearch.org/cosmology/QuasarsNearVersusFar.asp :
This is yet another example of the rascal so-called scientist’s trying to ram an unproven theory down our collective throats by repeating it over and over again as an established fact, similar to what they are trying to do with their preposterous evolution theory!
Yes, that is what I was taught in Astronomy 101 in college. And even then I had my doubts, but since I wasn’t planning to become an astronomer, I just repeated what I was taught and got an A.
Modern telescopes are impressive I must admit.
Among the scores of occasions where Srila Prabhupada denies that modern scientists could possibly have gone to the moon, he ONCE conceded that they may have made it there.
Prabhupāda: “Rocket, rocket. You have not very nice rocket running at the speed of eighteen thousand miles or twenty-five thousand miles per hour. But you may go. If you don’t take, if you don’t get shelter in some planet… Just as they’re going in the moon planet, but do not get shelter and come back, similarly, supposing they are getting shelter, but that shelter is not very secure. They again come back. So without shelter, how long you can fly in the sky? The sky is unlimited. You can fly on your sputnik or capsules, but if you don’t get the shelter in some planet, then again you come back to your place.”
Lecture, The Nectar of Devotion — Vrndavana, October 20, 1972
But then, a couple months later he again expresses his usual doubt, gives an alternate theory, and then gives another version of concession that they may have made it to the moon while giving them very little credit for their effort.
Prabhupāda: “Oh yes. Why not? The body… Just like in the water, the bodies of the aquatics are different, but you can see them. Why not? If, if, if it is not visible, how you are seeing the Moon planet? You are seeing the Moon planet. So it is visible. Not invisible. Our point is that these people… First of all, whether they are going to the Moon planet, that is doubtful. At least, I am doubtful. Because we get information from the śāstra , that there is a planet which is called Rāhu. That is very near to Moon. And that Rāhu sometimes comes in front of the Moon planet, and that is called candragrahāṇa. Moon, lunar eclipse. So that, that Rāhu planet is dark. So they might be going to this Rāhu planet, not to the Moon planet. Maybe. Because that is very near. Moon planet is heavenly planet. Heavenly planet. There, there demigods, they live. So we get this information. Or just like if somebody comes to the, this earthly planet and drops in the Arabian desert, he may conclude that this, is desert. But there is Europe, America and nice cities, and nice bungalows. But he has no chance to see them. So these people are going. They had no chance. Maybe they are also diverting them to the deserted portion of the Moon. They are also intelligent. That “These people are coming from Earthly planet unauthorized. So let them diverted to the deserted portion.” There are so many things. So therefore… Because if Moon planet is heavenly planet, they’re more intelligent than you. If you have got some machine to reach there, they have got some machine to divert you. Why not think like that? That “These rascals are coming here without any immigration license. Let them be diverted to the deserted portion and disappointed they’ll go back.”
The Nectar of Devotion — Bombay, December 28, 1972
Srila Prabhupada tends to say different things at different times, depending upon his audience. For example, he might be very critical of spirit souls in women’s bodies in the company of his sannyasi disciples, but speak in a completely different way if one of his female disciples was present or especially if he was speaking with one of them directly.
Another example is the way he spoke to that infamous group of psychotic “I wanna be a guru like you, Srila Prabhupada” rascals on May 28, 1977. But his final written, signed order on the subject, on July 9, 1977, was quite different.
As for the moon issue, any child with a 30x telescope can see from his own backyard that the entire surface of the moon is simply a barren wasteland!
Also, after watching the movie, The Dish, I realized that to fake the manned moon landings was completely impossible! Besides, after more than 40 years, not even one of the thousands of people who worked on the Apollo lunar missions, even on his/her deathbed, has claimed that the missions were faked! And now that they’ve taken high resolution pictures of the Apollo landing sites, which clearly show the meandering footpaths of the lunar astronauts, no one but a complete madman could possibly still believe that man didn’t walk on the moon!
Show me even one person, who claims that the moon is further away from the sun, who has been able to use his “superior knowledge” to predict the exact date and time of a total eclipse of the sun! It’s never happened and it never will!
You are insane if you think that the heavenly planet known as the Moon or Candra loka is a barren wasteland.
http://www.salagram.net/eclipses-page.htm
In the Vedic literature it is often mentioned that Rahu causes solar and lunar eclipses by passing in front of the Sun or Moon. To many people, this seems to blatantly contradict the modern explanation of eclipses which holds that a solar eclipse is caused by the passage of the moon in front of the Sun and a lunar eclipse is caused by the Moon’s passage through the Earth’s shadow. However, the actual situation is somewhat more complicated than this simple analysis assumes.
The reason for this is that the Surya-siddhanta presents an explanation of eclipses that agrees with the modern explanation but also brings Rahu into the picture. This work explicitly assumes that eclipses are caused by the passage of the Moon in front of the Sun or into the Earth’s shadow. It describes calculations based on this model that make it possible to predict the occurrence of both lunar and solar eclipses and compute the degree to which the disc of the Sun or Moon will be obscured. At the same time, rules are also given for calculating the position of Rahu and another, similar planet named Ketu. It turns out that either Rahu or Ketu will always be lined up in the direction of any solar or lunar eclipse.
http://www.salagram.net/nodes.gif
In Chapter One (Richard L. Thompson – Sadaputa dasa – 1989. “Vedic Cosmography & Astronomy”.) we have already described how the astronomical siddhantas define the orbit of Rahu and Ketu, and a similar definition is given for Ketu. The positions assigned to Rahu and Ketu correspond to the ascending and descending nodes of the Moon – the points where the orbit of the Moon (projected onto the celestial sphere) intersects the ecliptic, or the orbit of the Sun. These nodal points rotate around the ecliptic from east to west, with a period of about 18.6 years. One of them must always point in the direction of an eclipse, since the Moon can pass in front of the Sun or in the Earth’s shadow only if the Sun, Moon and the Earth lie in a straight line. Thus, by placing Rahu and Ketu at the nodal points of the Moon, the Surya-siddhanta conforms both with the modern theory of eclipses and the Vedic explanation involving Rahu and Ketu.
One objection that may be raised to the explanation given in the Surya-siddhanta seems to be a cheap compromise between the Vedic account of eclipses (which many will regard as mythological) and the modern account (which many will regard as an import into India from the Greeks). It is true that Rahu and Ketu seem to play a rather superfluous role in the eclipse calculations given in the Surya-siddhanta. However, there are reasons for supposing that these planet do not appear in these calculations as a mere decoration.
+——————————————————————————+
¦8th Pisces ¦9th Aries ¦10th Taurus ¦11th Gemini ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ Rahu D 14°51′ ¦ Saturn Rx 2°47’¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
+——————-+—————————————+——————¦
¦7th Aquarius ¦ ¦12th Cancer ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ Jupiter D 24°13’¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ Rasi Chart ¦ ¦
+——————-¦ for +——————¦
¦6th Capricorn ¦ Solar eclipse 4th Dec 2002 ¦1st Leo ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ Ascendant 12°36’¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
+——————-+—————————————+——————¦
¦5th Sagittarius ¦ Ketu D 14°51′ ¦3rd Libra ¦2nd Virgo ¦
¦ ¦ Sun 18°10′ ¦ Mars 7°56′ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ Moon 19°09′ ¦ Venus 9°21′ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ Mercury 29°18′ ¦ ¦ ¦
+——————————————————————————+
Here’s a practical example of the Sun, the Moon and Ketu (on this occassion) being the source of the eclipse in the 4th house of Capricorn, and Rahu in Taurus in the 10th house. Some eclipses involve Rahu, some involve his severed body Ketu. Here, below is a practical example of how the Sun and the Moon are about to be afflicted by Rahu in this chart for London, England for the morning of the 11th August 1999, Total Solar eclipse – Sun and Moon and Rahu with Mercury in the 11th house.
+——————————————————————————+
¦7th Pisces ¦8th Aries ¦9th Taurus ¦10th Gemini ¦
¦ ¦ Jupiter 10°50’¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ Saturn 23°01’¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
+——————-+—————————————+——————¦
¦6th Aquarius ¦ ¦ Mercury 6°17’¦
¦ ¦ ¦ Rahu D 19°11’¦
¦ ¦ ¦ Moon 23°33’¦
¦ ¦ Rasi Chart ¦ Sun 24°27’¦
+——————-¦ for +——————¦
¦5th Capricorn ¦ London ¦12th Leo ¦
¦ Ketu D 19°11’¦ 11th August 1999 ¦ Venus Rx 8°20’¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
+——————-+—————————————+——————¦
¦4th Sagittarius ¦3rd Scorpio ¦2nd Libra ¦1st Virgo ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ Mars 22°58’¦ Ascendant 14°26’¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
+——————————————————————————+
The principle reason for this is that the positions of Rahu and Ketu plays an important role in astrology. This means that astrologers need some system of calculation that will tell them where Rahu and Ketu are at any given time. We have argued in Chapter One (Richard L. Thompson – Sadaputa dasa – 1989. “Vedic Cosmography & Astronomy”) that astrology has traditionally played an important role in Vedic culture. From this it follows that some methods for calculating the positions of Rahu and Ketu have traditionally been required in Vedic society. Since we have no evidence that any other method of calculating these positions has ever been used, this can be taken as an indirect indication that the method used in the Surya-siddhanta has coexisted with the Vedic shastras for a very long time.
Of course, by this argument we cannot conclude definitely that this particular method of calculation has always been used. But we can at least be sure that the Vedic society, with its emphasis on astrology and the astronomical timings of religious ceremonies, has always needed more than a mere qualitative story to account for eclipses and other astronomical phenomena.
In the West there is also a long tradition ascribing solar and lunar eclipses to the action of some celestial beings of a demonic nature. There these beings have also been associated with the nodes of the Moon, and they are known as the head and tail of the dragon. The story of this eclipse-dragon may help give us some indication of how little we really know about history. Figure 16 (Richard L. Thompson – Sadaputa dasa – 1989. “Vedic Cosmography & Astronomy” page 98.) is a medieval Islamic picture showing an angel severing the head of the eclipse-dragon. (This is reminiscent of the story of the decapitation of Rahu by Lord Vishnu) Figure 17 (Richard L. Thompson – Sadaputa dasa – 1989. “Vedic Cosmography & Astronomy” page 99.) is a strikingly similar picture showing St George, the patron saint of England, slaying a dragon. Unless this is a complete coincidence, it would seem that the story of the eclipse-dragon was somehow woven into the iconography of early Christianity without any indication of its significance being preserved. (St. George is said to have been born in Asia Minor in about A.D. 300. but there is apparently no information indicating how he came to be connected with a dragon (Chambers R. 1967. The Book of Days, page 539.) Unfortunately, our knowledge of the ancient history of this story is practically nonexistent.(Richard L. Thompson – Sadaputa dasa – 1989. “Vedic Cosmography & Astronomy” pages 97-101.)
TRANSLATION – SB 5:24:3.
After hearing from the sun and moon demigods about Rähu’s attack, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viñëu, engages His disc, known as the Sudarçana cakra, to protect them. The Sudarçana cakra is the Lord’s most beloved devotee and is favoured by the Lord. The intense heat of its effulgence, meant for killing non-Vaiñëavas, is unbearable to Rähu, and he therefore flees in fear of it. During the time Rähu disturbs the sun or moon, there occurs what people commonly know as an eclipse.
.
PURPORT:
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viñëu, is always the protector of His devotees, who are also known as demigods. The controlling demigods are most obedient to Lord Viñëu, although they also want material sense enjoyment, and that is why they are called demigods, or almost godly. Although Rähu attempts to attack both the sun and the moon, they are protected by Lord Viñëu. Being very afraid of Lord Viñëu’s cakra, Rähu cannot stay in front of the sun or moon for more than a muhürta (forty-eight minutes). The phenomenon that occurs when Rähu blocks the light of the sun or moon is called an eclipse. (A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Srimad Bhagavatam 5:24:3. purport.)
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In the eighth canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam there it “…describes how the demons, being enchanted by the beauty of the Mohiné form, agreed to hand over the container of nectar to Mohinédevé, who tactfully delivered it to the demigods.
When the demons got possession of the container of nectar, an extraordinarily beautiful young woman appeared before them. All the demons became captivated by the young woman’s beauty and became attached to Her. Now, because the demons were fighting among themselves to possess the nectar, they selected this beautiful woman as a mediator to settle their quarrel. Taking advantage of their weakness in this regard, Mohiné, the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, got the demons to promise that whatever decision She might give, they would not refuse to accept it. When the demons made this promise, the beautiful woman, Mohiné-mürti, had the demigods and demons sit in different lines so that She could distribute the nectar. She knew that the demons were quite unfit to drink the nectar. Therefore, by cheating them She distributed all the nectar to the demigods. When the demons saw this cheating of Mohiné-mürti, they remained silent. But one demon, named Rähu, dressed himself like a demigod and sat down in the line of the demigods. He sat beside the sun and the moon. When the Supreme Personality of Godhead understood how Rähu was cheating, He immediately cut off the demon’s head. Rähu, however, had already tasted the nectar, and therefore although his head was severed, he remained alive. After the demigods finished drinking the nectar, the Supreme Personality of Godhead assumed His own form. Çukadeva Gosvämé ends this chapter by describing how powerful is the chanting of the holy names, pastimes and paraphernalia of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Srimad Bhagavatam 8:9th chapter Summary.)
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“O King, as the demigods and demons sat facing east in an arena fully decorated with flower garlands and lamps and fragrant with the smoke of incense, that woman, dressed in a most beautiful sari, Her ankle bells tinkling, entered the arena, walking very slowly because of Her big, low hips. Her eyes were restless due to youthful pride, Her breasts were like water jugs, Her thighs resembled the trunks of elephants, and She carried a waterpot in Her hand.” S.B 8:9:17.
.
“Her attractive nose and cheeks and Her ears, adorned with golden earrings, made Her face very beautiful. As She moved, Her sari’s border on Her breasts moved slightly aside. When the demigods and demons saw these beautiful features of Mohiné-mürti, who was glancing at them and slightly smiling, they were all completely enchanted.” S.B. 8:9:18.
.
“Demons are by nature crooked like snakes. Therefore, to distribute a share of the nectar to them was not at all feasible, since this would be as dangerous as supplying milk to a snake. Considering this, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who never falls down, did not deliver a share of nectar to the demons.” S.B. 8:9:19.
.
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead as Mohiné-mürti, the master of the universe, arranged separate lines of sitting places and seated the demigods and demons according to their positions.”
S.B 8:9:20.
.
“Taking the container of nectar in Her hands, She first approached the demons, satisfied them with sweet words and thus cheated them of their share of the nectar. Then She administered the nectar to the demigods, who were sitting at a distant place, to make them free from invalidity, old age and death.” S.B. 8:9:21.
..
“O King, since the demons had promised to accept whatever the woman did, whether just or unjust, now, to keep this promise, to show their equilibrium and to save themselves from fighting with a woman, they remained silent.” S.B 8:9:22.
.
“The demons had developed affection for Mohiné-mürti and a kind of faith in Her, and they were afraid of disturbing their relationship. Therefore they showed respect and honour to Her words and did not say anything that might disturb their friendship with Her.” S.B 8:9:23.
.
“Rähu, the demon who causes eclipses of the sun and moon, covered himself with the dress of a demigod and thus entered the assembly of the demigods and drank nectar without being detected by anyone, even by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The moon and the sun, however, because of permanent animosity toward Rähu, understood the situation. Thus Rähu was detected.” S.B 8:9:24.
..
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, using His disc, which was sharp like a razor, at once cut off Rähu’s head. When Rähu’s head was severed from his body, the body, being untouched by the nectar, could not survive.” S.B 8:9:25.
.
“Rähu’s head, however, having been touched by the nectar, became immortal. Thus Lord Brahmä accepted Rähu’s head as one of the planets. Since Rähu is an eternal enemy of the moon and the sun, he always tries to attack them on the nights of the full moon and the dark moon.” S.B 8:9:26.
.
Those of you who are able to cast a Vedic Astrological chart can experiment with this phenomenon yourself on the tithis when and eclipse is due – what happens is exactly as is said in the shastra – Rahu enters the house where the Sun and Moon are situated, and then comes between the Sun and the Moon. If you cast your charts or easier look on a computer screen that shows the movements of Rahu one can clearly see him come into position in what people call the penumbra and then after the penumbra he has clearly entered the penumbra, and the umbral period is experienced, then he exits via the penumbral shadow of the other side and the eclipse is thus concluded and Rahu head’s off (no pun intended) into another House/Graha.
+——————————————————————————+
¦7th Pisces ¦8th Aries ¦9th Taurus ¦10th Gemini ¦
¦ ¦ Jupiter 10°50’¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ Saturn 23°01’¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
+——————-+—————————————+——————¦
¦6th Aquarius ¦ ¦ Mercury 6°17’¦
¦ ¦ ¦ Rahu D 19°11’¦
¦ ¦ ¦ Moon 23°33’¦
¦ ¦ Rasi Chart ¦ Sun 24°27’¦
+——————-¦ for +——————¦
¦5th Capricorn ¦ London ¦12th Leo ¦
¦ Ketu D 19°11’¦ ¦ Venus Rx 8°20’¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
+——————-+—————————————+——————¦
¦4th Sagittarius ¦3rd Scorpio ¦2nd Libra ¦1st Virgo ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ Mars 22°58’¦ Ascendant 14°26’¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
+——————————————————————————+
Here is a practical example of how the Sun and the Moon are about to be afflicted by Rahu in this chart for London, England for the morning of the 11th August 1999. A similar story will be there for all destinations in the path of the eclipse.
..
The planetary positions on the zodiac will be exactly the same for 11:30 UT in London and 19:30 Malaysian time (+8 UT) in KL. Only the lagna and house positions of the planets will change. This change of house is of course always going on according to lagna movement. Throughout that day (before, during and after the eclipse), Rahu and Sun will be continuously switching. Sometimes they will be together in the same house, sometimes one house apart (whichever method of house division we employ).
mark says: You are insane if you think that the heavenly planet known as the Moon or Candra loka is a barren wasteland.
I don’t think that we really disagree on anything, so why be so truculent?
I’m not saying that there is no such thing as a heavenly planet known as Candra Loka, but that’s not where the Apollo astronauts were trying to go. They were trying to go to the barren wasteland that any child can see through a 30x telescope in his own backyard, and that’s exactly where they went!
Do you, Bhakta Mark Prabhu, have the spiritual vision necessary to see Candra Loka when you look at the moon through a telescope?
I remember Sadaputa Prabhu telling me in person that the calculations in the Surya Siddhanta are basically the same calculations that modern astronomers use, and that the calculations assume that the distances quoted by modern astronomers, such as the sun being approximately 93,000,000 miles away and the moon being approximately 250,000 miles away, are correct.
And yes, Rahu and Ketu correspond to the moon’s North and South Nodes respectively. According the Western astrologers/astronomers, these nodes are simply the intersections of the planes of the moon’s orbit around the earth and the earth’s orbit around the sun. According to them, they are not solid objects that an astronaut can land on, but have the same sort of astrological significance as the sun, moon and planets.
Also, when the sun, the moon and one of the nodes line up, there is an eclipse.
Why make things so complicated?
Dear Pratyatosa das,
I said you are insane if you think what you said, because you are such and outspoken proponent of Gaudiya Vaisnavism but simultaneously are willing to deny simple tenets in Istagosti.
An istagotshi is the place to do whatever you can to prove the sastra, and if you can’t you probably shouldn’t speak.
If you are going to preach to scientists and need to compromise a bit just to keep them in the conversation, that is admirable and OK by me. But you really should not try to hoist that stuff onto devotees on internet istagosthis.
Perhaps you should create a public website to preach to karmi scientists and have a rule that you are the head preacher and everyone needs to follow your lead, or their posts will be moderated. Srila Prabhupada named 3 disciples to preach to scientists, and we know he used preaching technique (lying/pretending) in order to string someone along until he could zing them. I can appreciate that, but this is definitely not the place.
I have never looked through a telescope. And when I look at the moon, I see the beautiful effulgent Candraloka.
Will you need to actually see Lord Caitanya make a mango tree grow in 5 minutes in order to believe he can do it?
From the way you talk, I am not sure if you understand the nature of illusiona created by demons and demigods. Maybe you don’t actually accept all the stories of illusions, including illusory weapons on the battle field, Brahma hiding cowherd boys, Indra changing his form, and instead honestly think they are just “allegories”, because heck you can’t do it, you don’t “know” anyone who can do these things, so why believe it?
Illusions are not shimmery visions that suddenly pop when you get near them, as is the common misperception. They are “real’ to all of your senses, you can kick the tires, and will believe it is what it seems to be.
This is Kali Yuga and obviously there is a mass illusion cursed upon the 99.8% of faithless souls on this planet.
Candradeva can lift his finger and say a mantra and the faithless will see and even EXPERIENCE exactly what he wants them to, with no time limit to the illusion.
That’s the fact jack. Believe it or not.
ys
B.Mark
Dear Bhakta Mark Prabhu, I admire the fact that you have so much faith in the Vedic scriptures that you are willing to believe that the Apollo astronauts never actually set foot on the moon. You are definitely superior to me in that way. I admit it. Perhaps, if I keep on faithfully chanting my 16 rounds (1728 Hare Krishna Mantras) every day without fail, I’ll someday be advanced enough to have as much faith as you do.
Ys, Ptd
Pratyatosa das asked “Why make things so complicated?”
I posted a brief article written by a Vaisnava that used Vedic scripture to back up the version of the Bhagavatam that Srila Prabhupada uses to explain eclipses. That article also shows how there is some merit to the western scientific speculation, while incomplete.
You want complicated? Read this webpage listing all of the western scientific advances in Lunar Theory, and note that there is still NO CONCLUSIVE or COMPREHENSIVE theory to predict Lunar motion and activity, but after 2000 years, including the latest 60 years of high tech observations, all they have is “highly accurate” theories which are now used as a basis to…
you got it, theorize more.
Complicate this Pratyatosa das.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_theory
“Lunar theory attempts to account for the motions of the Moon. There are many irregularities (or perturbations) in the Moon’s motion, and many attempts have been made over a long history to account for them. After centuries of being heavily problematic, the lunar motions are nowadays (see Modern developments) modelled to a very high degree of accuracy. Several aspects of lunar theory have accordingly become largely about history. But newly achieved levels of accuracy have also turned lunar theory into a sensitive instrument for new tests of physical theories.
Lunar theory includes:
the background of general theory; including mathematical techniques used to analyze the Moon’s motion and to generate formulae and algorithms for predicting its movements; and also
quantitative formulae, algorithms, and geometrical diagrams that may be used to compute the Moon’s position for a given time; often by the help of tables based on the algorithms.
Lunar theory has a history of over 2000 years of investigation. Its more modern developments have been used over the last three centuries for fundamental scientific and technological purposes, and are still being used in that way.”
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10 MORE PAGES OF THEORY AT THE LINK FOR THOSE WHO ENJOY COMPLICATING THEIR LIFE.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_theory
Pratyastosa, I know for a fact from viewing a preponderance of evidence, that at least some of the so called missions were faked in a studio and in a desert setting. Which is understandable because there was a space race based on propaganda and alot of money was at stake, as well as reputation.
However, at least one or two sets of footage from other missions seemed hard to debunk.
So in those cases, if they made it through the Van Allen belts and into deep space, I refer to Srila Prabhupada’s assertion that the demigods diverted them to Rahu or Ketu, or perhaps an illusory facsimile of Candraloka, or IF they actually made it to Candraloka, the area they were made to land was as Srila Prabhupada said.
If you can understand the near supreme power of demigods, and the actual nature of so-called illusions, then it is very easy to grasp this.
And as far as spiritual vision, I don’t claim to have any particular spiritual vision, except that I believe what Srila Prabhupada and the Bhagavatam says so deeply that when I look at the Moon, I see the same beautiful moon I saw as a child, only know I say I “know” it is Candra loka, the same way if my Father told me he was in a car accident with my sister and she was in the hospital, I would say OK lets go visit her, without first calling the hospital and asking them to email me photos of my sister in the hospital bed.
If you consider that a type of spiritual vision, I guess I can accept that, but don’t try and trick me into claiming to be some kind of super human or anything please.
Dear Bhakta Mark, Prabhu, I envy your child-like sense of wonder that you have somehow managed to hang on to.
Some of the Apollo mission photos/videos were obviously faked in order to have something really, really impressive for cold war propaganda purposes.
But if you watch the movie, The Dish (2000):
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0205873/
…I think that you may understand why I believe that it would have been next to impossible to fake any of the Apollo missions, given the comparatively primitive technology that was available at the time, and given the rag-tag band of quirky Australian scientists who were tracking the Apollo capsules’ every move!