Scientists discovered that an Ancient Vedic Fire Ritual has Positive Impact on Environment:
A
4,000 year old fire ritual conducted in the remote village in Kerala in
April 2011 has a positive impact on the atmosphere, soil and other
environment effects, according to scientists who are now ready with
their findings.
The
“Athirathram” ritual held on April 4— 15 at Panjal village in Thrissur
district was the focus of a detailed study by a team of scientists led
by Prof V P N Nampoori, former director of the International School of
Photonics, Cochin University of Science and Technology.The scientists
had focused on the fire ritual’s scientific dimensions and impact on the
atmosphere, soil and its micro—organisms and other potential
environmental effects.
The
yagna seems to have accelerated the process of seed germination and
also the microbial presence in air, water and soil in and around the
region of the fire ritual is vastly diminished, according to a statement
released by the Varthathe Trust, who organised the ritual. The team had
planted three types of seeds — cowpea, green gram and Bengal gram — on
all four sides of the ritual venue at varying distances. They found that
the growth was better in case of pots kept closer to the fire altar.
This
effect, the study says, was more pronounced in the case of Bengal gram
with growth about 2,000 times faster than in other places. According to
Nampoori, sound is a vibration and continuous positive vibrations
through chanting, accelerates the process of germination. “The findings
would not only help dispel superstitious notions associated with Vedic
rituals but also help in continuation of such tradition for the
betterment of nature and the environment,” says Nampoori. He added that
further research on the phenomenon were on which could prove that some
bio—amplifier generated in the atmosphere because of the ritual, had a
selective effect on Bengal gram. The study focused on counting bacterial
colonies at three locations — within the yagnashala, 500 metres and 1.5
kilometres from the yagnasala. Microbial analysis made before, during
and four days after the yagna revealed that the air in the vicinity of
the yagnashala was pure and had very low count of microbe colonies.
The
research team also found that microbial activities in the soil and
water around the yagnashala were remarkably less compared to normal
ground.The “Athirathram” ritual which literally means “building up of
the fireplace and performed overnight” and usually held to propagate
universal peace and harmony, was first documented 35 years ago by
US—based Indologist Frits Staal.
Staal,
currently Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and South and Southeast
Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley had in 1975
organised and recorded the ritual in detail with the help of grants and
donations from the Universities of Havard, Berkely and Finland”s
Helsinki University.The research team conducted tests near the fire
altars of the 1918 and 1956 Athirathram, still preserved in the
backyards of Namboothiri homes, reveal that the bricks continue to be
free of microbial presence. “It’s an indication that the effect of the
ritual is long—lasting. Studies are on to find out if other positive
changes on the atmosphere are transitional or permanent,” say
researchers.An analysis conducted on the dimensions of temperature from
the flames of the pravargya by Prof A K Saxena, head of photonics
division, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore, found that the
fire ball that formed during the ritual had a particular wavelength with
an unusually high intensity similar to what is observed in typical
laser beams at about 3,870 degree centigrade. It may be possible to have
stimulated emission at this wavelength (700 nm) and gain from plasma
recombination. It needs to be studied further, he says. The members of
the team of scientists’ team at the Panjal Athirathram 2011 included
experts from various disciplines and included Dr Rajalakshmy
Subrahmanian (Cusat), Dr Parvathi Menon (M G College,
Thiruvanathapuram), Dr Maya R Nair (Pattambi Government College), Prof
Saxena ( Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore) and Prof. Rao
(Andhra University).
The
scientific team members were supported by Zarina (Research Scholar,
CUSAT), Ramkumar (Biotechnologist), Asulabha (Biotechnologist) and a
number of postgraduate, graduate and school students.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/article2103881.ece
0 comments:
Post a Comment