TRANSLATOR

EVOLUTION OF LIFE ON EARTH

About 4600 million years ago, the planet earth was formed from dust and gas. It was full of poisonous gases with no food to eat and hence with no living things. It seems as per theory, that every living thing came out of a common ancestor that lived long ago. Though living things have different genes, they have all inherited the same genetic code to make those genes work.
Evolution is a theory that living things change from generation to generation with a change in the genetic composition with time and change in climatic conditions. The ingredients in the formation of life are water, carbon dioxide, methane and ammonia. Lighting or ultraviolet radiation might have changed these chemicals into amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins, which constitute living things, mainly. Evolution theory was first given by Charles Darwin and others in 1850s. According to Darwinsm, the natural selection is the mechanism of evolution. Living things slowly changed and evolved into different species over millions of years.
About 3800 million years ago, first life appeared consisting of primitive single-celled organisms. 3300 million years back, the first simple plants, algae apeared in oceans. About 700 million years ago first water animals such as worms, jelly fish (multicellular animals) appeared. 450 million years back first fish (first vertebrate) appeared in the oceans. 410 million years ago first plants appeared on land. About 230 million years back early dinosaurs moved on earth. 60 million years ago the first large mammals emerged. About 14 million years ago, early apes appeared. During the period of 10000 years to 1.8 million years back, early modern man emerged in Africa.
No one has seen prehistoric animals such as dinosaurs. But we know about them sufficiently from their fossils, resulting from their bones burried in mud or sand million years ago and then turned to rock by natural chemical process.
A large part of life cannot be seen with naked eye. It can only be viewed through a microscope. Besides plants, animals and bacteria, fungi (mushrooms and toadstools) is another type of life, looking like plants, but grow by absorbing food instead of by using sunlight.
All living things are connected to each other. Plants get energy from sunlight. Animals eat these plants as their livelihood. Some animals eat each other and live. When animals and plants die, bacteria and fungi break them down. And recycling starts. This process is ecology.

LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE

To our present knowledge, life is available only on Earth. The planet earth along with its atmosphere and oceans and climate provide great facilities for the creation of life. The aspect whether there is life anywhere in the universe is under consideration by astronomers and scientists.
Earth is a planet in the solar system and revolves around the Sun, which is only an average star. There are billions of stars in the universe, some are bigger and more aged than the sun. Some of these stars have planets circling them. AT least some of them might be having similar conditions as on earth which support emergence of life. The universe contains about 100,000 million galaxies and many of them contain about 100,000 million stars. But it is difficult to examine the availability of life on such planets, with limited scope from earth. Such planets are several thousand light years from earth. ( one light year is the distance travelled by light in one year at the rate of 300,000 kilometers per second). As such it is at present impossible for us to examine the possibility of life in other places, even if life exists in other places in the universe. If life exists in planets having superior life period, they should be definitely superior beings than us.
Astronomers and scientists are for years busily engaged in the search for extra terrestrial intelligence (SETI) since 1960. Atrophysisists and radio astronomers are trying to intercept signals from extra terrestrial beings using powerful radio telescopes. Some believe that they have come into contact with aliens. They say that these extra galactic creatures are already among us, and we are unable to prove the same due to our limited understanding and resources.
There are several appearances of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) since a long time. There are even instances that even aeroplanes also followed to investigate them, but they could not match their speed. There are also reports from several human beings that they were taken into the UFOs and they were tested and then left back on earth. Even lie detector tests were performed on such reporters and the results were positive. Some assume that these flying sausers carry extra terrestrial aliens who are far superior to us in technoligy. Only we have to wait and see with some hope of extra terrestrial beings to come into contact with us in the near future, with our developement in technology.

DIGG

THE EMERGENCE OF MAN

As far as our knowledge is concerned the only place where the life exists is the planet Earth, revloving around the Sun.
The universe was created about 15000 million years back in a big bang. About 6000 millions years ago, our galaxy known as Milky Way was formed along with some other galaxies. The solar system (Sun and planets) were formed about 5000 million years ago. Sun is only an average star among the billions of stars in the ever expanding universe. First micro organism emerged in the depths of oceans on earth about 4000 million years ago. Life on earth is mainly a carbon based life. 30 million years ago, the man-like ape known as hominoid existed in Egypt. After many trasformations, the emergence of modern man took place in the dominant human species in Europe and Asia as Homo neanderthalensis about 250000 years ago. Around 30000 years back, they were driven to extinction by Homo sapiens from Africa, who came into existence between 200000-140000 years ago.
DNA analysis of the Neanderthal remains shows that they cannot be the ancestors of modern man. But the DNA research shows that the modern man has descended from a human population living in Africa between 200000 to 140000 years ago.
All modern humans are genetically similar. But due to the atmospheric and climatic conditions they lived in, different races are formed.

THE BIG BANG AND THE UNIVERSE

According to the astronomers and cosmologists, time and space began with a mighty cosmic explosion known as 'the big bang'. Although this name might not sound serious enough for the origin of the world, the theory is solid and most scientists support it. But we will never know exactly what happened at the dawn of the universe.
I give below some salient features of big bang theory.
At the moment of big bang the radius of the universe is almost zero. After
10 to the power -43 seconds (a negligible period of time ), the radius of the universe is less than 10 to the power -50 centimeter (which is also negligible).
THIS CREATES THE IMPRESSION THAT SOME SUPERNATURAL FORCE (MAY BE GOD), CREATED THE UNIVERSE FROM NOTHING (EMPTINESS). After 10 to the power -35 seconds the universe has grown and its temperature is 10 to the power 27 degrees celsius. one second after the big bang, the universe is an undifferentiated mass of matter and energy. Its temperature is 10 to the power 10 degrees celcius. 200 seconds after the big bang Helium and other light elements are created through nuclear fusion. 800,000 years after, the universe becomes transparent. Matter releases radiation, later to be discovered in the form of microwave radiation in cosmic background radiation. 1000million years after big bang, birth of the proto-galaxies took places. Most of these remain outside the range of our instruments. After 3000 million years, evidence of quasars and some radio galaxies took place. 8000 million years marked the birth of most galaxies including the Milky Way ( our galaxy). Birth of Sun and planets took place after 9000 million years. First life on Earth was created after 13000 million years after the big bang. This is all about the origin of the universe as per the big bang theory.

THE GREEN HOUSE EFFECT - DANGER TO HUMANITY

The green house has received a great deal of attention in recent years. As it is often mentioned in newspapers, magazines and T V reports - sometimes as 'global warming' - most people are not sure exactly what it is, or whether it is good or bad thing. The green house effect is a term for the warming influence of the atmosphere, which may be termed as most dangerous to the existence of human life on Earth.
The origin of the problem lie with rapid industrialisation, the clearance of tropical forests, and the burning of more and more petrolium, natural gas, coal and other fossil fuels. All these processes will increase the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This has increased by about 60 times than it was in
1860. Besides this, the increase of methane or ozone gases ( ozone hole is also growing on the upper layers of atmosphere) account for about 15% of human destruction. All these, results in warming up the atmosphere.
The forests that can be used to consume large amount of carbon dioxide and supply oxygen are shrinking at an alarming rate. The cold oceans can also store large amounts of CO2. But the warming of the atmosphere will also warm the oceans, thereby reducing the capacity of oceans to store CO2.
A rise of 2 - 3 degrees of celsius would have the most serious consequences in the polar regions, where it would cause the glaciers to melt. As a result of the green house effect (global warming), the ice caps melt and the seas rise, flooding cities, towns and farms, while blistering heat waves and devastating #f26522
floods ravage the land.
Little progress has been made in reducing the build-up of green house gases such as carbon dioxide, ozone, methane , water vapour etc., in the atmoshere. So far the results of international conferences and conventions have been disappointing. If the same process continues, it may result in great damage to human life on Earth.
About 50% of world populatdion is near the sea shore. If the sea level rises due to negligence of controlling green house effect, there is every possibility that 50% of population will become homeless. However there are plans to construct floating buildings and floating roads on the sea water, Also there are plans to manufacture cars that can move on earth as well as inside the sea water.
Most of the ice is located at Greenland and Antarctica. If this melts ocean levels are likely to rise considerably. Cities like London, Newyork, Losangeles, Sydney, Tokyo, Hongkong, Bombay, and Rio De Janeiro etc. are likely to be submerged in ocean water. Besides most of the coastal areas of India, Bangladesh, East coast of U S A  will be flooded by ocean water, rendering the residents of coastal areas homeless.

STRANGE COINCIDENCES

When we closely observe differnnt lives and events, we find strange coincidences that come under unknown mysteries. Few example are given below.
Similar Assasins:
An assasin named Claude Volbonne murdered Baron Rodemire de Tarazone of France in 1872. 21 years earlier Baron's father had also been murdered by a Claude Volbonne. The two assasins were not related.
Franz Richter Times Two:
Franz Richter a 19 year old volunteer in The Austrian Transport Corps following world war 1, was admitted to the hospital suffering from pneumonia. In the same hospital there was another patient named Franz Richter, also 19 year old, also suffering from pneumonia, and also a volunteer in the Transport Corps. Both men were born in Silesia.
Heart to Heart:
John and Mowforth were twins. "What happened to one," their sister said, "usually happened to the other. On the evening of May 22, 1975, each experienced severe chest pains and was rushed ( unknown to the other or their families) to the hospital-- one in Bristol and the other in Windsor, 70 or 80 miles away as the crow flies. Each man died of a heart attack shortly after arrival."
A Shared Fate:
A man riding a moped was killed by a taxi in Bermuda in 1975, exactly a year after his brother had been killed-- on the same street, by the same taxi driver carring the same passinger, and on the same moped.
Wanda Marie Jhonson times two:
Both Wonda Maries were born on the same day, June 15,1953; both moved from Washington, D.C., to Prince Georges Country; both have two children delivered in the same hospital, and both own two-door Ford Granadas; the 11-digit serial numbers on their cars are the same except for the last three digits.
... And Dogs Named Toy :
Identical twin boys born in Ohio some 40 year ago were adopted by different families shortly after birth. In 1979 after 39 years apart they were united. It was discovered that each was named James; that each had had law-enforcement training; that each liked mechanical drawing and carpentry. Each married a women named Linda, had a son-- one named James Alan and the other named James Allan -- had diversed, and then married a second wife, named Betty. Both had had dogs named Toy. Also both favoured the same St. Petersburg, Florida vacation Beach.
Clocking out :
An ornate clock belonging to King Louis XIV of France stopped at the precise moment of his death, 7.45 A.M., on September 1, 1715, and has never run since.
There is need to examine the secret behind these strange coincidences . An astrological survey was made on this aspect long ago. If astrology is true, the life of two different persons born to different parents at the same time at the same place or nearby place, should tally. Numerous examples were tallied and were published in Scientific American. The same were published in the Astrological Magazine.
If that is the case, it looks as if the events of our lives are prearranged, as a result of our Karma in the past birth, and is dependant on the planets position in the sky at the time of our birth. But this is not totally correct as per the Saints of India. Since the planets positions at our birth are as per our past Karma, and the Karma was done by us only, we have got the ability to nullify the evil and enhance good of the planets by utilising our spiritual resources. (Please also refer my posts on ASTROLOGY AND THOUGHT POWER).

LIFE AFTER DEATH

I am more impressed by the chapter "The Resurrection of Sri Yukteswar" from the book "Autobiography of a Yogi". I give below some of the quotations from the book regarding the life after death.
Sri Yukteswar appeared to Sri Paramhansa Yogananda on 19-06-1936 duly creating his material body from cosmic atoms, and revealed several secrets of life after death. Some extracts are given below.
"God encased the human soul sucessively in three bodies--the idea or causal body; the subtle astral body, the seat of man's mental and emotional natures; and the gross material body. On earth a man is equipped with his physical senses. An astral person works through his consciousness and feelings and a body made of lifetrons. A causal-bodied being remains in the blissful realm of ideas.
Soon after death in this world man leaves his physical body and enters the astral universe. His life period on the astral planet is dependant on his material karma that draws him back to the terrestrial realm at a calculated time. Until he comes out of material karma, this proces of rebirth and redeath continues. once he comes out of the karma of this world, he settles down in the astral world for a considerable time.
"There are many astral worlds teaming with astral beings. The inhabitants use astral vehicles, or masses of light to travel from one planet to another."
"The astral universe is infinitely beautiful, clean, pure and orderly.--Weeds,bacteria, insects, snakes are absent.--The astral spheres maintain an even temperarure of eternal spring."
"The astral beings dematerialise and materialise their forms at will. All astral beings are free to assume any form and can easily commune together. Astral persons through fiats of their cosmically attuned will, bring offspring into being in significantly patterned astral forms."
" In most cases the astral body is an exact counterpart of the last physical form. An astral person meets a multitude of relatives, fathers, mothers, wives husbands, children and friends acquired during different incarnations on earth."
"By intuition astral persons pierce the veil and observe human activities, but man cannot view the astral spheres unless his sixth sense is somewhat developed. Thousands of earth dwellers have momentarily glimsed an astral being or an astral world."
"Communication among all astral world residents is effected entirely by telepathy and astral television. -- Spoken and written word -- are unknown in astral realms.-- Astral world inhabitants are sustained principally by cosmic light. Astral world dwellers consume fruits and vegetables and drink a nectar that flows from glorious fountains of light and in astral brooks and rivers."
On a similar way when an astral being meets his astral death, he carries his astral karma to the causal world. Rebirth and re-death takes place in the astral world many times until his astral karma is exhausted, and he settles down in causal world.
"So long as the soul of man is encased in one, two, or three body containers sealed tightly with the corks of ignorance and desires, he cannot merge with the sea of Spirit. When the gross physical receptacle is destroyed by the hammer of death. the other two coverings -astral and causal- still remain to prevent the soul from consciously joining the Omnipresent Life. When desirelessness is attained through wisdom, its power disintegrates the two remaining vessels. The tiny human soul emerges free atlast; it is one with the Measureless Amplitude."

SPONTANEOUS HUMAN COMBUSTION

Spontaneous Human Combustion is a well documented phenomenon in which a human body ignites and burns without any known contact with any external source of fire. In some cases the damage is slight and in other cases the victim is reduced to ashes. And in some of the strangest cases nearby objects escape relatively unscathed. The chair or bed in which the victim was sitting or lying, and even the clothes on the charred body, may be undamaged or slightly singed. Often, too, a single foot, a leg or tips of some fingers remain in tact, although the rest of the body is consumed.
Cases of Spantaneous Human Cumbustion (S H C) began to appear in medical reports as far back as 17 th. century, and in a span of four centuries more than 200 such incidents have been reported.
I too happened to read one such incident in a newspaper during my lifetime. Few examples of such incidents are given below.
A former actress Mrs. Olga Worth Stephens, age 75, of Dallas, Texas, was sitting in parked car in October 1964, when witnesses saw her burst into flames. She was fatally burnt before anyone could come to her rescue. Firemen said that the automobile was not damaged and contained nothing that could have started the fire.
Two constables found the burned corpse of a woman in the village Manner, near Dinapore, India in 1907. The two men carried the corpse, still smoldering inside unscorched clothes, to the District Magistrate's office. The Indian press said that the officers had seen no signs of fire in the room where the body was.
Several resarchers put forward several mundane causes for seemingly inexplicable fires. But none of these hypotheses could really account for spontaneous human combustion. Static electricity seems to be a good candidate for starting these fires, no matter what might fuel them thereafter. The human body can according to the Fire protection Manual of the National Fire Protection Association, accumulate a static charge of several thousand volts. Some people have been known to build up far greater charges, occationally generating upto 30000 volts. Ordinarily this electricity is harmlessly discharged through hair, but in certain volatile situations, such as factories for combustible materials or hospitals operating rooms using gaseous anesthetics, these people can spark of explotions. But these exploaions have never been known to burn one person to ashes, leaving the room and the furnishings undamaged.
Spantaneous Human Combustion still remains as a mystery unexplained.