Would I be here, if the Sun were a little bigger?
No! Says the Science, as the Sun would have eaten himself by now! 1
Would I be here, if the Sun were slightly smaller?
Science rebuts! As a pale disc in the sky, he could not be my life prop!1
Would I be here, if the Sun were a little farther?
No! No! Cries the Science, as he would be a bit too far to nurture me!2
Would I be here, if the Sun were positioned somewhat closer?
Certainly not! States the Science, and I could not live in a Boiler! 2
Would I be here, if the Earth were a little bigger?
No! Says the Science, as the Earth would have smothered me in a flash!3
Would I be here, if the Earth were slightly smaller?
Science rebuts! As then all the air around me would have taken a walk! 3
Would I be here, if the Moon were positioned halfway down?
Yes! Says the Science, if only, I could morph as a frog! 4
Would I be here, if all the protons were a tad lighter as of now?
No! Shouts the Science, as Sun would be a Red Giant guzzling the Earth by now! 5
Would I be here, if the forces binding the atomic nuclei were weaker?
No! Says the Science, as there would not have been any sunshine and heat! 6
Would I be here, if the forces binding the atomic nuclei were stronger?No! Says the Science, as there would have been only the explosions galore! 7
But the Sun, and the Earth are made to order in size and distance!
The Moon is there sufficiently away and I am safe from his pranks!
The basic forces are just right and precise to suit my well-being!
So, I do say, the world is built for me, it is anthropocentric!
But the truth of the matter is that I am not distinct even from a microbe!From the ultra diminutive Diplococcus to the dinosaur Diplodocus,
All of us are a result of the same Universal Life Principle sans any bias!And again, the basic genetic material is the same for all that is alive!
I am like a drunken guest arrives late to a nice party, hogs all the food, Creates mayhem, throws out other guests, razes properties as I own all!
Being an egocentric, I forget my being is due to a chain of evolutionary accidents!
And aver this Earth is My habitat destined to suit my wants and joys!
In seething volcanic vents, fathoms down the oceans, in caves, deserts, Hot springs, below zero, acid or alkali environs, Life endures all over!
I know not, how versatile and innovative is life: hot-spring-dwelling, Methane breathing or alien universe / dimension, of life I know nothing!
But to me, an egomaniac, only life or habitat worthy is mine,All others are there to satisfy my need, and expendable after their service!
But, I am just a day old in a world of beings years older! ,
When I muse, the truth hits me: I am here because of them and not vice versa!
Note: Those, who are curious about the science behind some of the above statements, may look at the explanations and the reference furnished below.
1 When
the radius of a star increases by a factor of 2, its mass increases
cubically that is by a factor of eight. If the sun is heavier by 5
times, its life would be reduced by a factor of 20. It means, the sun
would have been dead billions of years ago. A sun 10
times lighter would be ten thousand times too faint. It means Earth
would receive very little energy to sustain life forms.Therefore we need stars in a narrow mass range close to that of our sun.
2 The distance between the life- bearing planet and the parent sun is important. Temperatures must lie in a pretty narrow range (especially for the advanced forms of life). In the case of sun, this distance cannot vary by more than 20% this way or that way.
3 Planets must be of right size so that its surface gravity retains its atmosphere. Moon lost its atmosphere due to its small size. Planets should not be too large like Jupiter because the atmosphere is too extensive and exerts a crushing pressure.
4 If the moon were to be only half of its present distance from the earth, the tides on earth would be at least 8 times stronger which means that the continental land masses would have been submerged twice daily and all life on earth would have been mostly amphibious.
5 The proton is the most fundamental constituent of all nuclei and constitutes most of the mass in the universe. It has a mass 1837 times that of the electron and this ratio is constant everywhere in the universe. Suppose the proton happened to be ten percent lighter, then it turns out that the Sun would be twenty percent heavier and as the luminosity of stars is a factor of the fourth or fifth power of their mass (Eddingtons mass-luminosity law), it would be much hotter with a considerably reduced lifetime (that is, the sun would have been now in the super-hot red giant stage burning up everything).
6 We know that the strong or nuclear forces bind the atomic nuclei and release nuclear energy. The Sun (on whose warmth and light, the life is sustained) generates its vast outpourings of energy by converting hydrogen into helium through a series of thermonuclear reactions in its hot interior at a temperature in excess of millions of degrees. Hydrogen is first converted into a heavier isotope, heavy hydrogen with a nucleus consisting of a proton and a neutron. It is a stable nucleus. Now calculation shows that a decrease in the coupling constant of this strong interaction by even 5 % is enough for the binding energy between the neutron and the proton to vanish and consequently make it impossible to exist in nature as a stable nucleus. Thus a small decrease in the nuclear interaction strength would prevent the basic nuclear reaction which is the starting point for the production of all other heavier elements! This also would disable stars (Sun included!)to sustain emitting light and heat essential for life.
7 If the nuclear interaction were even 2% stronger than what is now, it would cause two protons to form a nucleus (called diproton). Now Paulis exclusion principle prohibits two protons from forming a nucleus unless their spins are pointing opposite to each other, in which case, the interaction will have to be 2% Stronger for them to bind. Once the diproton is stable, the basic nuclear interaction in stars will no longer be slow and steady one which form deuterium and which sustains them for aeons but a highly explosive one.
Acknowledgement: All the above notes are extracted from this beautiful book, Introduction To Astrobiology,
Co-authored by my close friend and fellow IIScian, Prof. C. Sivaram,
Head of the Dept. of Theoretical Physics, Indian Institute of
Astrophysics, Bangalore. It was published by Universities Press (India)
in 2004 and distributed by Orient Longman.Actually, this book is the inspiration behind the above poem.Note: This poem is also displayed in my Sulekha site: http://kartha-pes.sulekha.com
2 The distance between the life- bearing planet and the parent sun is important. Temperatures must lie in a pretty narrow range (especially for the advanced forms of life). In the case of sun, this distance cannot vary by more than 20% this way or that way.
3 Planets must be of right size so that its surface gravity retains its atmosphere. Moon lost its atmosphere due to its small size. Planets should not be too large like Jupiter because the atmosphere is too extensive and exerts a crushing pressure.
4 If the moon were to be only half of its present distance from the earth, the tides on earth would be at least 8 times stronger which means that the continental land masses would have been submerged twice daily and all life on earth would have been mostly amphibious.
5 The proton is the most fundamental constituent of all nuclei and constitutes most of the mass in the universe. It has a mass 1837 times that of the electron and this ratio is constant everywhere in the universe. Suppose the proton happened to be ten percent lighter, then it turns out that the Sun would be twenty percent heavier and as the luminosity of stars is a factor of the fourth or fifth power of their mass (Eddingtons mass-luminosity law), it would be much hotter with a considerably reduced lifetime (that is, the sun would have been now in the super-hot red giant stage burning up everything).
6 We know that the strong or nuclear forces bind the atomic nuclei and release nuclear energy. The Sun (on whose warmth and light, the life is sustained) generates its vast outpourings of energy by converting hydrogen into helium through a series of thermonuclear reactions in its hot interior at a temperature in excess of millions of degrees. Hydrogen is first converted into a heavier isotope, heavy hydrogen with a nucleus consisting of a proton and a neutron. It is a stable nucleus. Now calculation shows that a decrease in the coupling constant of this strong interaction by even 5 % is enough for the binding energy between the neutron and the proton to vanish and consequently make it impossible to exist in nature as a stable nucleus. Thus a small decrease in the nuclear interaction strength would prevent the basic nuclear reaction which is the starting point for the production of all other heavier elements! This also would disable stars (Sun included!)to sustain emitting light and heat essential for life.
7 If the nuclear interaction were even 2% stronger than what is now, it would cause two protons to form a nucleus (called diproton). Now Paulis exclusion principle prohibits two protons from forming a nucleus unless their spins are pointing opposite to each other, in which case, the interaction will have to be 2% Stronger for them to bind. Once the diproton is stable, the basic nuclear interaction in stars will no longer be slow and steady one which form deuterium and which sustains them for aeons but a highly explosive one.
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written by P. Desikan, 2007-10-17 08:43:29
Dear Sarangetta,
May I call you that? It is just possible that I am elder to you by a few years, but the relationship through Medha has become special.
Thank you for taking time over my question and giving me such beautifully considered responses.I agree with your explanation of the lines in your lovely poem to which I drew your attention.
The typical or average self-centred man is indeed depicted very ably as the narrator of your poem.
And it is very true that sanatanic knowledge available to us through our rishis does not at all discount evolution.
I agree with you too that living species change themselves and evolve when the dynamics of their environment changes beyond what they can endure and what allows them to survive in their existing form.
I would like to add only this rider.
While the changes in environment are often beyond the control/knowledge of the living species existing in the environment and may sometimes be caused in slight degree by the species themselves, I would like to think that the superconsciousness which is in control of both has the entire picture available to it always, and is also directing it always.
You will of course be aware of vedic texts testifying to such ability on the part of the para being. This is like macro managers also knowing the rules of and directing micro management with or without delegation, which in human terms would appear wasteful and meaningless. But the evaluation norms are so different, are they not?
I lovingly reciprocate your kind Pooja greetings.
Warm regards. Partha
May I call you that? It is just possible that I am elder to you by a few years, but the relationship through Medha has become special.
Thank you for taking time over my question and giving me such beautifully considered responses.I agree with your explanation of the lines in your lovely poem to which I drew your attention.
The typical or average self-centred man is indeed depicted very ably as the narrator of your poem.
And it is very true that sanatanic knowledge available to us through our rishis does not at all discount evolution.
I agree with you too that living species change themselves and evolve when the dynamics of their environment changes beyond what they can endure and what allows them to survive in their existing form.
I would like to add only this rider.
While the changes in environment are often beyond the control/knowledge of the living species existing in the environment and may sometimes be caused in slight degree by the species themselves, I would like to think that the superconsciousness which is in control of both has the entire picture available to it always, and is also directing it always.
You will of course be aware of vedic texts testifying to such ability on the part of the para being. This is like macro managers also knowing the rules of and directing micro management with or without delegation, which in human terms would appear wasteful and meaningless. But the evaluation norms are so different, are they not?
I lovingly reciprocate your kind Pooja greetings.
Warm regards. Partha
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written by Dr.P.E.S.Kartha, 2007-10-17 02:13:22
Dear Partha,
Let me begin with profuse apologies for this unduly late reply to your encouraging remarks. I do hope you may forgive me for such unjustifiable sluggishness.
Coming to your feedback, you have raised an important issue (as quoted below) that calls for an involved response. However, let me attempt to answer in a simple and brief mode.
The key word around which you have formed your response is ‘evolutionary accidents’. Let us summarily glance at its significance.
Two issues are involved here.
First issue is about the way science and Sanathana Dharma look at the origin of man. Science says it is through a series of evolutionary steps. In scriptural symbolism (e.g. Dasavathara), Sanathana Dharma nearly matches the ‘scientific’ evolutionary steps and in the Spiritual domain, it, conceptually goes ahead of the science-propped evolution. My contention here is that the type of life one gets every time is being a function of the positive or negative nature of his/her Karmic Balance Sheet, the being spiritually and in turn physically evolves, de-evolves or re-evolves as per the consolidated results of the action until then. One’s actions are influenced by myriad permutations/combinations of inherent (Carried over from the previous chain of lives) and acquired factors. That means, the phase of emerging into human shape is just a passing phase and just a link in a long chain. It is important only to one’s self to enhance one’s spiritual entity and not at all important to the world in general or to other species.
The second issue is about our understanding of evolution as a part of the whole. Evolution becomes operational if the environment where the habitat of a species exists. As a corollary, evolution becomes nonexistent if the environment is static. When the environmental changes are beyond its control and/or pose as threats to its existence, then the species changes its structure through mutation, modification or additions to its genetic structure. An environmental change cannot be called planned and is part of the action-reaction chain based on the theory of chaos. The key aspect here is the implication of non-planned sequence of events that so happened more or less accidentally. Hence the present culmination of evolutionary process unto man is based on chance-events. This is one reason why I mentioned man is an evolutionary accident. Moreover, if one looks at the various stages of evolutionary chain that ended up in man, one finds many indications of probability playing a role too!
As a last point, ‘the hero’ in the poem who speaks in first person can be any one, that is, you, I, he, she, or any one of them standing in for the mammalian species homo sapiens. I used the ego-sounding term ‘I’ to represent just that, that is the self-centred nature of the humankind.
With Prayer, love and Pooja Greetings,
Kartha
Let me begin with profuse apologies for this unduly late reply to your encouraging remarks. I do hope you may forgive me for such unjustifiable sluggishness.
Coming to your feedback, you have raised an important issue (as quoted below) that calls for an involved response. However, let me attempt to answer in a simple and brief mode.
But let me verify for myself your point of view on an important question of whether life itself with all its ramifications was intended or whether it evolved 'accidentally'.
The hero of your poem says
1.Being an egocentric, I forget my being is due to a chain of evolutionary accidents!
2.All of us are a result of the same Universal Life Principle sans any bias!And again, the basic genetic material is the same for all that is alive!
What is your own view, Dr. Kartha?
The key word around which you have formed your response is ‘evolutionary accidents’. Let us summarily glance at its significance.
Two issues are involved here.
First issue is about the way science and Sanathana Dharma look at the origin of man. Science says it is through a series of evolutionary steps. In scriptural symbolism (e.g. Dasavathara), Sanathana Dharma nearly matches the ‘scientific’ evolutionary steps and in the Spiritual domain, it, conceptually goes ahead of the science-propped evolution. My contention here is that the type of life one gets every time is being a function of the positive or negative nature of his/her Karmic Balance Sheet, the being spiritually and in turn physically evolves, de-evolves or re-evolves as per the consolidated results of the action until then. One’s actions are influenced by myriad permutations/combinations of inherent (Carried over from the previous chain of lives) and acquired factors. That means, the phase of emerging into human shape is just a passing phase and just a link in a long chain. It is important only to one’s self to enhance one’s spiritual entity and not at all important to the world in general or to other species.
The second issue is about our understanding of evolution as a part of the whole. Evolution becomes operational if the environment where the habitat of a species exists. As a corollary, evolution becomes nonexistent if the environment is static. When the environmental changes are beyond its control and/or pose as threats to its existence, then the species changes its structure through mutation, modification or additions to its genetic structure. An environmental change cannot be called planned and is part of the action-reaction chain based on the theory of chaos. The key aspect here is the implication of non-planned sequence of events that so happened more or less accidentally. Hence the present culmination of evolutionary process unto man is based on chance-events. This is one reason why I mentioned man is an evolutionary accident. Moreover, if one looks at the various stages of evolutionary chain that ended up in man, one finds many indications of probability playing a role too!
As a last point, ‘the hero’ in the poem who speaks in first person can be any one, that is, you, I, he, she, or any one of them standing in for the mammalian species homo sapiens. I used the ego-sounding term ‘I’ to represent just that, that is the self-centred nature of the humankind.
With Prayer, love and Pooja Greetings,
Kartha
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written by Dwai, 2007-10-15 20:08:17
Dear Friends,
Please do not quote anything using double quotes. Use the tags instead (see the buttons in the taskbar above)
Please do not quote anything using double quotes. Use the tags instead (see the buttons in the taskbar above)
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written by narensomu, 2007-10-14 22:21:49
Dr. Kartha
My comment has vanished and only the title remains...
I had mentioned about a TV program on whaling-big or small we humans try to use/abuse all other beings!
I had tried to paste your lines and I think the comment does not allow copy paste...
I like the lines about the made to order Sun and Moon and those about the basic forces just being right...
Our arrogance probably stems from Western view points that say all other creatures were created for man...
Regards
Regards
My comment has vanished and only the title remains...
I had mentioned about a TV program on whaling-big or small we humans try to use/abuse all other beings!
I had tried to paste your lines and I think the comment does not allow copy paste...
I like the lines about the made to order Sun and Moon and those about the basic forces just being right...
Our arrogance probably stems from Western view points that say all other creatures were created for man...
Regards
Regards
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written by Dwai, 2007-10-14 14:06:21
Dear Dr. Kartha,
A beautiful poem indeed!
I found the lines
most interesting and thought provoking (as well as the rest of the poem of course). So then that raises the philosophical question -- what is the purpose of life, what is the purpose of all srishthi?
The religiously devout would like to have us believe that "God created everything and he created man at the top of the food-chain". Is it just happenstance or is there a deeper, more profound understanding in that?
A beautiful poem indeed!
I found the lines
am like a drunken guest arrives late to a nice party, hogs all the food, Creates mayhem, throws out other guests, razes properties as I own all!
Being an egocentric, I forget my being is due to a chain of evolutionary accidents!
And aver this Earth is My habitat destined to suit my wants and joys!
most interesting and thought provoking (as well as the rest of the poem of course). So then that raises the philosophical question -- what is the purpose of life, what is the purpose of all srishthi?
The religiously devout would like to have us believe that "God created everything and he created man at the top of the food-chain". Is it just happenstance or is there a deeper, more profound understanding in that?
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written by P. Desikan, 2007-10-14 10:06:03
Brilliant as usual, Doctor sahib.
But let me verify for myself your point of view on an important question of whether life itself with all its ramifications was intended or whether it evolved 'accidentally'.
The hero of your poem says
1.Being an egocentric, I forget my being is due to a chain of evolutionary accidents!
2.All of us are a result of the same Universal Life Principle sans any bias!And again, the basic genetic material is the same for all that is alive!
What is your own view, Dr. Kartha?
Regards. Partha.
But let me verify for myself your point of view on an important question of whether life itself with all its ramifications was intended or whether it evolved 'accidentally'.
The hero of your poem says
1.Being an egocentric, I forget my being is due to a chain of evolutionary accidents!
2.All of us are a result of the same Universal Life Principle sans any bias!And again, the basic genetic material is the same for all that is alive!
What is your own view, Dr. Kartha?
Regards. Partha.
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Wonderful poem (as I've already said in your Sulekha version)
And great discussions too...
Indeed, when I start explaining the concept/process of 'Moksha' to Americans (or for that matter anyone else, including myself!), I sometimes get the question 'Why if the merger with Brahman is the goal, did separation occurr at all?'
Difficuly to logically explain that one!
And so we have the beautiful Vedic passages about the Brahman (Purusha earlier??) being alone & so full of bliss that he/she/it split or subdivided into the various forms /names /categories we know as the Brahmanda...the World...
Bliss...the ultimate goal! (Not sensory pleasure, but beyond...)
Happy Navrathri to all.