The concept we call "supernatural" emerged in Western culture in the late Middle Ages. Philosophers of the time were observing that natural phenomena consistently follow "laws" intrinsic to nature. The word "supernatural" originally referred to an occurrence that violates known laws of nature. Of course, that leaves open the possibility that nature has laws we don't know about.

In time, "supernatural" came to refer to an occurrence in which an unseen force or intelligence willfully interferes with the laws of nature and causes something to happen that shouldn't happen naturally. It can also refer to existence outside the natural world, a place where one is not bound by gravity, entropy, linear time, whatever.

A few days ago I found a post by blogger Sujato called "Buddhism and the Supernatural," who argues "The very notion of 'Supernatural' is one that, it seems to me, arises from Western philosophical assumptions." I'm not sure I agree with that entirely, but on reflection it does seem there are "assumptions" at work, cultural or otherwise, in what we choose to label "natural" and "supernatural."

Buddhism on the whole doesn't require belief in unseen beings somehow guiding or disrupting natural events. Some schools of Buddhism actively discourage such beliefs, although plenty of Buddhists believe in them, anyway. On the other hand, vajrayana appears to have turned such beliefs into upaya -- skillful means for realization. But I would say that even in vajrayana belief in unseen spirits or forces is the vehicle, not the destination.

The dharma brings forth a proposition -- there is something to be realized or discovered or woken up to, to which most of us are oblivious. And this something is not reachable by intellect alone, or the Buddha could have simply explained it to us. Instead, he left us with a path of practice so we can wake up ourselves.

Is this "something" supernatural? Or is it something natural that usually eludes the scope of our senses and intellect? Or is it something to which the concepts of natural and supernatural do not apply?

The degree to which this something is invested with "supernatural" aspects varies from school to school. In some sutras, awakened beings exhibit what most of us would recognize as supernatural powers. Should we understand this literally or allegorically? Or some other way?

Zen, which is something of an outlier in these matters, fiercely extols the ordinary. Master Bankei said, "My miracle is that when I'm hungry, I eat, and when I am tired, I sleep." But I'd say that often we sort experiences into "ordinary" and "extraordinary" based on those assumptions mentioned above. And sometimes we can be utterly oblivious to very ordinary things.

Take, for example, gravity. I have read that before Sir Isaac Newton worked out his theory of gravity there was no English word for "gravity" as a physical phenomenon. Newton corresponded about his work with his friend Edmond Halley, and in some of this correspondence words didn't exist for what they were talking about. They were discussing something that had always existed but which was so taken for granted, no one fully realized it.

Sure, people before Newton had observed that stuff falls, but Newton was the one who perceived that this stuff-falling-thing was a force, a natural law. We've all conceptualized gravity differently ever since. Newton's story of realizing the truth of gravity when an apple fell on his head probably was a fabrication. But there may have been a moment when some awareness came over him and he realized for the first time there was something he'd been overlooking that needed to be understood.

Until we have that moment, what is it we're not seeing?

Believing in ghosts and hobgoblins may be a form of ignorance, but so is assuming that our brains and senses are presenting us with absolute reality. It is because of the way our senses take in data, the way our brains organize that data, and the way culture has conditioned our conceptual assumptions that the world appears to us as it does. What are we not seeing? What's right in front of us that's outside of our awareness? And by what criteria do we judge it to be "natural" or "supernatural"?

V.SURYANARAYANA

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The crazy Supreme court decision lifting the stay on 4% muslim quota in Andhra is a major step to another partition

Hello friends,

can you help me?

I need some data for my research project. I need the data for "life expectancy" for each of the 28 Indian states. Does somebody know where to get it for free and fast (best via internet)? Time is running for me, so I need the data in few days and I am not in India, so I can't buy sth. there or request sth. via post.

I searched in the internet and all I found was data on major states. But I also need the life expectancy (best not older then 2002) as well from Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, etc.

Can someone help me with this challenging task?

Thanks a lot in advance.

ArunKumar

I have opened this thread to discuss trends in the post-nineteenth century Hindu intellectual tradition.



1. Since the Hindu intellectual tradition is 'experiential' and inherently different from (monotheist-derived) ideologies, does it even make sense to speak of an Hindu intellectual tradition? Are the so-called western standards and stupendously elaborate theories truly bankrupt (as many suspect that they are), and thus it is a fools errand to expect Hindu output along the same lines?



2. Do Indian anti-colonial social analysis (eg RM, Balagangadhara), anti-colonial geopolitical analysis (Sandhya Jain), and Indian sociopolitical analysis (Kanchan Gupta, Arun Shourie) have the potential to morph into full-blown counterparts and alternatives to the hallowed western pretenders? Do the nouveau Indian historical analyses have such potential or is it merely enough to demolish the Thapars and Witzels?



3. Why are the seculars pressing the point of the supposed intellectual bankruptcy of Hindutva? Is it merely an abusive tactic?



4. Is heathenism a valid resurgence plank among the formerly colonized?



5. Have certain Hindutva intellectual traditions been appropriated and thus silenced as evidences of positive Hindutva creativity for the youth?



6. Are the Indian youth intellectually restless and looking for an intellectual outlet? Is this the reason for constant media, secular, and western demonization of hindutva intellectual output?







Please post more questions and answers.....

Pak cricket has been rocked by bans and fines and scandals. These men sold their country down the drain, en block. Whole team is unreliable, all players are unreliable.



If they could sell their country, can they be expected to be loyal to IPL? NO.

Mob politics reached Rajya Sabha as this bill passed it and here is what it may bring in it's passage thru Lok Sabha:

Congress on its part may have to live with the fact that desertion by SP and RJD as UPA supporters will mean a loss of 26 MPs. It will bring it close to the majority mark and leave it groping for free-floating individuals like Jaya Prada, Jaswant Singh, Digvijay Singh, small parties like JD(S) and its own allies like Trinamool Congress.



The party brass seems to have taken a decision that it can indulge in counter brinkmanship with allies who too need Congress in view of crucial battles in Bengal and Tamil Nadu.



Though survival may not be a real threat, it does leave the ruling benches with the task of managing numbers ahead of every crucial bill, particularly those relating to finance.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india...665233.cms

[center]Singapore denounces pastor for ridiculing Buddhists



Posted March 6, 2010





Feb 9,2010

Reuters.com

[url="http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6180MY20100209"][color="#576389"]Source Link[/color][/url]

[/center]SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - Singapore has warned a Christian pastor that his online videos are offensive to Buddhists and Taoists, underlining the city-state's concerns that religion is a potential faultline for its multicultural society.



Pastor Rony Tan, of Lighthouse Evangelism, apologized and pulled the video clips off the internet after being visited by the government's Internal Security Department on Monday, the pastor and the government said on their websites.



The Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday Tan's comments were "highly inappropriate and unacceptable," and could "give rise to tension and conflict between the Buddhist/Taoist and Christian communities."



The clips are no longer available online, but the Straits Times said they involved ridiculing beliefs, including Buddhist concepts of rebirth, karma and nirvana, drawing laughter from Tan's audience.



Singpore's move comes after rising religious tensions in neighboring Malaysia, where churches and mosques have been hit by arson and vandalism in recent weeks amid a row over the use of the word "Allah" by Christians.



Singapore last week arrested three youths aged between 17 and 18 for posting remarks on Facebook that have been deemed to be racist, local media reported.



They are likely to be charged under the Sedition Act, under which anyone found guilty of promoting feelings of ill will or hostility against other races or religions faces fines of up to S$5,000 ($3,520) as well as the possibility of being jailed for up to three years.



Singapore, which saw deadly racial riots in the 1950s and 1960s, is a base for many multinational companies which value its stability, infrastructure and proximity to fast-growing Asian markets.



Buddhists and Taoists account for half of Singapore's nearly 5 million population. Muslims and Christians account for 15 percent each.



Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a speech last August that religious and racial tensions were the country's biggest potential social faultlines.



(Reporting by Nopporn Wong-Anan; Editing by Neil Chatterjee)

You must have heard the phrase about Indologists love for Hindus/India is akin to pedophile's love for children.

Wendy Doniger's epitomizes that and much more.



[url="http://www.dailypioneer.com/239869/Online-campaign-seeks-ban-on-Doniger%E2%80%99s-book-on-Hindu-history.html"]Pioneer article[/url]

Quote:Online campaign seeks ban on Doniger’s book on Hindu history



PNS | New Delhi



An online campaign has been launched to demand the withdrawal of Wendy Doniger’s book, ‘Hindus: An Alternative History’ on the grounds that the book was “rife with numerous errors..perhaps intended to mislead students of Indian and Hindu history”.



The petitioners have asked the publishers to apologise for the publication of the “factually incorrect and offensive book”.



They further added, “The Hindus: An Alternative History is rife with numerous errors in its historical facts and Sanskrit translations. These errors and misrepresentations are bound and perhaps intended to mislead students of Indian and Hindu history.”



The petitioners claimed that Doniger had analysed the “revered Hindu Gods and Goddesses using her widely discredited psychosexual Freudian theories that modern, humanistic psychology has deemed limiting. These interpretations are presented as hard facts and not as speculations.”



Doniger, according to them, has made various faulty assumptions about the tradition in order to arrive ‘at her particular spin’. In the process, the beliefs, traditions and interpretations of practising Hindus were simply ignored or bypassed without the unsuspecting reader knowing this to be the case, they said.



The petitioners have charged that the book was “clumsily written, each chapter is a shocking and appalling series of anecdotes which denigrate, distort and misrepresent Hinduism and the history of India and Hindus. Doniger uses selective quotations from obscure and non-original, peripheral and ignorant references with a bizarre emphasis on sexuality and eroticism.”



They have taken umbrage to a reference where, in their view the author says that in Rigveda 10.62, it is implied that a woman may find her own brother in her bed! “The hymn has no such suggestion. It is offensive to suggest that the sacred text of Hindus has kinky sex in it,” they said.



The petition draws attention to a comparison made in the book, likening the Vedic devotee worshipping different Vedic deities with a lying and a philandering boyfriend cheating on his girlfriend(s). “It ignores the fact that in the Rigveda, the Gods are said to be all united, born of one another, and from the same source,” the petitioners pointed out.



The online petitioners have also strongly objected to the comments supposedly taken from an epic that “Dasharatha’s son is certainly ‘lustful’... Rama knows all too well what people said about Dasharatha; when Lakshmana learns that Rama has been exiled, he says, “The king is perverse, old, and addicted to sex, driven by lust.” While contesting the observation, the petition said, “The highly acclaimed and critical edition of Valmiki’s Ramayana records no such statement attributed to Lakshmana. An imagined phrase, ‘kama-sakta’ is mistranslated as ‘addicted to sex’ by the author whereas it normally means ‘filled with desires’. Valmiki uses a phrase ‘samani-madhah’ (trans. Possessed of passion).



The petitioners have listed out several other instances of ‘facutal errors’ and ‘insulting’ accounts of ancient Hindu history in demanding a withdrawal of the book.



BJD MP demands book withdrawal



The controversy over the contents of author Wendy Doniger’s book, ‘The Hindus: An Alternative History’ found an echo in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. BJD member Bhartruhari Mahtab demanded during Zero Hour the withdrawal of the book by its publishers.



Mahtab said the Government should press upon the publishers, Penguin, to withdraw the book. The contents were in bad taste, he claimed, adding that it showed Hindu Gods in poor light. He urged the Central Government to ban the book from circulating in the country and avoid communal tensions. Mahtab also asked the Government to alert the enforcement agencies for prevention of entry/import of the book from other countries.

‘EVMs illegally being used for a decade’- AJAY JAGGA, Lawyer-India



Sanjay Sharma, TNN, Feb 22, 2010, 03.44am IST

CHANDIGARH: The electronic voting machines (EVMs) are being used in violation of the Information Technology Act 2000, a research paper has revealed.



Author of the research paper, advocate Ajay Jagga, told The Times of India, on Sunday that as per IT Act, 2000, a verifiable audit trail has to be provided in case of any electronic record, which is now admissible as evidence as per Evidence Act but in case of electronic voting, the voter does not get any receipt with regard to his voting.



The research paper recently attracted the attention of experts when a conference on “EVMs: How trustworthy?” in Chennai passed a unanimous resolution on February 13 asking Jagga to approach the Election Commission of India (ECI) for bringing the electronic voting procedure in tune with IT Act, 2000.



Jagga said he would soon approach ECI seeking formation of legal committee to remove the illegality or will knock the doors of court.



The lawyer said, “Unless the voter gets a receipt like the one we get in ATM or after the use of debit or credit cards, all electronic transactions including a vote, are illegal.” What is the evidence that the vote cast has really been recorded and that it has been recorded in the manner the voter intended, he asked.



For the purpose and to protect the secrecy of ballot, all such receipts, after the voter has checked his transaction, should be put in a box which should remain with ECI to be produced as evidence in case of a dispute, he said. The government amended the relevant laws in 1989 to equate EVM with ballot and ballot box to facilitate transition from ballot paper to EVM but the IT Act 2000 created a new complication that has to be immediately resolved in the interest of fairness of things, Jagga pointed out.



The lawyer also proved that the machine can be tampered with which has been accepted by the government itself in its letter to withdraw patent applications filed by Electronics Corporation of India and Bharat Electronics Ltd, makers of the machine. The PSUs withdrew their patent applications on the ground that the machine may not be tamper-proof, he said, adding that America and Germany had to return to ballot paper after their machines were found wanting.



http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/...601297.cms



Linked on USA Today 23 Feb. 2010 http://content.usatoday.com/topics/artic...kBeFJ47y/1

The inflationary budget presented by the Finance Minister has rocked and shocked the nation, as with the immediate hike in fuel prices is certainly going to put fuel on the fire and will have a cascading effect on prices of almost all goods as transportation costs will rise. The backlash of the “aam aadmi” is inevitable. The FM has widened the tax slabs, but has not enhanced the exempted limit of Rs. 1.6 lac, which will effect only those, whose income is above Rs. 3 pac per annum, but overall it is just like a coat of sugar on the bitter bill. By any standards it can not be termed as an ideal budget. The benefit of the income tax is not going to affect more than 1% population ie low salary class and low income group because the income tax assessees are less than 4% of the population and most of them are below the income Rs. 2,5 lac, on whom the impact of tax concessions is nil. The budget has nothing to arrest or control the price rise and inflation and the inflationary trends will continue and will have the devastating effect on the aam aadmi. The visible effect of relief of income tax will be wiped out by the indirect taxes like excise duties, as they have been hiked. So it is like putting in one pocket and pulling out more from the other pocket, because the net revenue loss in income tax is of Rs. 26,000 crore and net revenue gain from excise is of 46,500 crore, so the ultimate loss to the people is of Rs. 20,500 crores . The only sweet factor in the budget is for the tiny tots as the toy balloons will become cheaper as they have been fully exempted from central excise duty. Hence the smile is only for the tiny tots due to cheaper toy balloons but not for the parents.