How spirituality shaped Mahatma Gandhi (Book Review)

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Title: Gandhi: A Spiritual Biography; Author: Arvind Sharma; Publisher: Hachette India; Pages: 252; Price: Rs.550

More than 400 published biographies exist on Mahatma Gandhi, undoubtedly one of the greatest figures in modern history. But this work is different; it captures the spiritual side of a man who played probably the most important role in helping India to become a free nation. The weapons he used were unique: truth and non-violence. This, author Arvind Sharma says, was part of his innate spirituality.

For Gandhi, morality and religion were synonymous. He made it amply clear that what he wanted to achieve was self-realization, "to see God face to face, to attain Moksha". His earliest influences came from Hindu lore. His parents were devout worshippers of the god Vishnu. It was part of this influence that Gandhi learnt to repeat the name of Rama - a Vishnu 'avatar' -- to get rid of his fear of ghosts and spirits!

But Gandhi was no Hindu fanatic. He respected all religions equally. The New Testament made a definite impression on him. Theosophy made a deeper impact. He battled for Muslims. He was a true religious pluralist. But "if he did not find Christianity perfect, neither did he find Hinduism to be so". It was his faith in spirituality that clearly gave him the courage to act the way he did on so many occasions, even when it looked as if he was treading a lonely path.

Gandhi would say that the thread of life was in the hands of God. But unlike most Hindus he did not believe in idols. At the same time he worshipped the Bhagavad Gita - calling it his "mother" in later life. Even Nathuram Godse saw Gandhi as a saint - but a saint gone wrong and deserving to die.

The book has one gaping hole. There is surprisingly no reference to Paramhansa Yogananda, an iconic Indian saint whose "Autobiography of a Yogi" (published in 1946) is still considered a spiritual classic. Yogananda moved to the US in 1920 and for three decades preached Kriya Yoga and meditation to tens of thousands. On a short trip to India, he spent time with Gandhi at Wardha and taught the Mahatma and his aides Kriya Yoga. It was probably the only yoga Gandhi learnt. A self-realized guru, Yogananda called Gandhi a saint. I am surprised how Sharma overlooked this important spiritual chapter in Gandhi's life in an otherwise informed book.

(29.01.2014 - M.R. Narayan Swamy is the Executive Editor of IANS. He can be reached on narayan.swamy@ians.in)

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How spirituality shaped Mahatma Gandhi (Book Review)

Does God Watch The Super Bowl? Sports And Spirituality Linked For Fans

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Sports Fan Insider

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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) Sports and spirituality are strong partners, in the quest for perfect alignment of muscle movement with competitive purpose, and goal reaching over adversity. When it comes to who wins a contest, however, is seeking divine intervention in line with theology? More importantly, does God support your team?

Perhaps Seahawks fans offered better prayers in the NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers. Perhaps Broncos fans will pray more fervently for a win in Sundays Super Bowl.

While the San Francisco 49ers were advancing to the penultimate game of the season, the Public Religion Research Institute was surveying Americans about sports and God. The results: 20 percent of Americans believe God plays a role in sports.

Just ask Tim Tebow, Kurt Warner, or Reggie White, and youll get affirmation that God is part of their game, but when they bow in the end zone, are they offering prayers of thanks for the win, or thanks for the process?

Theologically, the 80 percent who dont believe that God plays a role in sports may be on the right side of their religion, according to Dr. John White, professor of practical theology and director of sports ministry at Baylor University.

When we pray to win, our prayer for victory is also a prayer for our opponents defeat. Net effect: Our prayers are at the expense of others, White said.

Whats worse, for believers, is that praying about the Super Bowl might even be a sin.

White said, For the Christian tradition, this is egoism a vice that grates against the chief virtue of love.

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Does God Watch The Super Bowl? Sports And Spirituality Linked For Fans

Kerbal Space Program – Stratosphere LLC Episode 1 – Single Launch Space Station – Video

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Kerbal Space Program - Stratosphere LLC Episode 1 - Single Launch Space Station
Jebediah is BACK! He pulled the wool over the eyes of the government who shut his last program down because a few Kerbals died or some nonsense... In Episode...

By: Shawn Miller

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Kerbal Space Program - Stratosphere LLC Episode 1 - Single Launch Space Station - Video

Let’s Play Space Engineers – Episode 73: Space Station Project Part 3 – Video

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Let #39;s Play Space Engineers - Episode 73: Space Station Project Part 3
On this episode of Space Engineers, we start a new project where we build a Space Station. This time I setup a few beacons to give me points on where I can/c...

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Let's Play Space Engineers - Episode 73: Space Station Project Part 3 - Video

Call of Duty: Ghosts – Hardcore Team Deathmatch on Whiteout – XBOX ONE – W/Commentary – Video

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Call of Duty: Ghosts - Hardcore Team Deathmatch on Whiteout - XBOX ONE - W/Commentary
See The Full Call of Duty Ghosts Series Here: http://goo.gl/hJVF5k Catch The Next CoD Ghosts Episode: Tomorrow Call of Duty Ghosts: Hardcore Team Deathmatch ...

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Call of Duty: Ghosts - Hardcore Team Deathmatch on Whiteout - XBOX ONE - W/Commentary - Video

Stem-cell Research on International Space Station Could Lead to New Cancer Therapies – Video

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Stem-cell Research on International Space Station Could Lead to New Cancer Therapies
Stem-cell research scheduled to take place aboard the International Space Station could lead to new cancer therapies, says Roland Kaunas, associate professor...

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Stem-cell Research on International Space Station Could Lead to New Cancer Therapies - Video

Space Station Astronaut Rick Mastracchio to Speak with SPACE.com Friday

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NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio has been living and working on the International Space Station since November. On Friday (Jan. 31), the veteran astronaut will speak with SPACE.com about his life in space, the 2013 Olympic Games and the upcoming Super Bowl from his post on the orbiting laboratory.

Mastracchio will connect with SPACE.com at 10:45 a.m. EST (1545 GMT) Friday, and the conversation will be streamed live. We'll find out what it's like to watch sports in space and if there are any friendly international rivalries that might crop up because of the upcoming Olympic Games. We'll also ask what team Mastracchio is cheering for in the Super Bowl. You can watch the cosmic conversation live via NASA TV.

But we also want questions from you, readers! What do you want to ask an astronaut floating through space more than 200 miles (322 kilometers) above the surface of Earth? We'll have about 10 minutes to ask Mastracchio questions, but we'll use some of that time to fit in as many reader questions as possible. Leave your questions in the comments below this story, or send them to Staff Writer Miriam Kramer via Twitter using @mirikramer or @SPACEdotcom. [See Amazing Photos from Rick Mastracchio on the International Space Station]

Mastracchio, 53, hails from Waterbury, Conn., and has flown on three previous space missions with NASA. He joined the space agency in 1987 and was selected for astronaut training in 1996. His first three spaceflights were all short-duration space-shuttle missions to the space station between 2000 and 2010. During those missions, he clocked nearly 40 days in space and ventured into the vacuum of space on six spacewalks.

This will be the second time a SPACE.com staff member has spoken with Mastracchio in a little more than a month. Managing Editor Tariq Malik chatted with Mastracchio on Dec. 13, 2013, about spacewalking and what it's like to be in space for Christmas.

Over the Christmas season, Mastracchio and fellow NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins completed two successful spacewalks to install a space ammonia pump module on the outside of the station, fixing a problem with the orbiting outpost's critical cooling system. Mastracchio now has 51 hours and 28 minutes of spacewalking time under his belt.

Mastracchio is set to fly back to Earth with fellow crew members Koichi Wakata, of Japan, and cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin in May of this year. They are currently joined by Hopkins and cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazanskiy, who round out the Expedition 38 crew.

What do you want to ask Mastracchio? Leave your suggestions in the comments below.

Cosmic Quiz: Do You Know the International Space St...

The International Space Station is the largest structure in space ever built by humans. Let's see how much you know about the basics of this science laboratory in the sky.

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Space Station Astronaut Rick Mastracchio to Speak with SPACE.com Friday

UrtheCast’s Eye on the Space Station Can Finally See

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Scott Larson just survived a particularly stressful month during which the equipment he sent to the International Space Station sat in limbo.

His startup, the Canada-based UrtheCast, created special still and video cameras able to withstand space radiation and extreme temperatures in order to record earth from space in high resolution. The cameras arrived at the space station last fall, and after an eight-hour spacewalk on Dec. 27, they were installed. Only they didnt appear to work right, Larson says.

Courtesy UrtheCastUrtheCast High Resolution CameraSo the cameras were taken down. A station-related issue was fixed over several days, and the equipment was finally mounted during a six-hour spacewalk on Tuesday. There have been a lot of tense moments, says Larson, whose company raised $68 million for the project. Its space, and stuff happens in space, and you never quite know. There are always technical issues in any kind of engineering project. But because there are people out there, they can fix them. Thats been a huge asset.

From here on, UrtheCast hopes for smooth travels as the space station orbits the earth 16 times every day. The nearly 70-employee company will spend several weeks calibrating the cameras, which will send their first image back to earth in February. We hope its spectacular, we dont know what its going to be, Larson says.

Once initial tests are wrapped up, UrtheCast expects to start selling space imagery to clients in farming, urban planning, media, and other industries at the end of the second quarter. The company has already signed distribution agreements for $21 million annually, according to Larson, and will also begin streaming images onto the Web in the third quarterin effect challenging Google Earth with a free video-imaging service.

A 4.5-foot-long camera will record 90-second videos 150 times a day as the station circles the planet, Larson says, while a second camera will continuously snap still photos. Together, the stills will cover a 47.3-kilometer-wide swath of the planet and generate 2.5 terabytes of data a day, the equivalent of about 270 full-length movies. UrtheCasts engineers will condense and post the visuals to the companys website within a few hours.

I think everyone in the world will want to come to the website at least once, Larson says.

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UrtheCast's Eye on the Space Station Can Finally See

Say cheese! Space station cameras now looking at us in high-def. (+video)

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After four spacewalks and a series of glitches, the International Space Station now sports a pair of cameras pointing at Earth.

The fourth spacewalk from Expedition 38, performed by Commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy, wrapped up the installation of two high-definition cameras that experienced connectivity issues last month. A spacewalk on Dec. 27 tried to resolve the issue, but ongoing technical problems kept them from finishing.

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After exitingthe Pirs docking compartment, the men headed to the Zvezda service module, where they installed a high-resolution video camera and a medium resolution still camera to capture Earth imagery. The high-res camera checked out, but the medium-resolution camera again experienced telemetry issues.

Dr. Kotov and Dr. Ryazanskiy also retrieved scientific gear outside the stations Russian segment.

Their spacewalk lasted for 6 hours and 8 minutes, wrapping up at 3:08 p.m. EST yesterday (Jan. 27). The spacewalk a month before lasted two hours longer, clocking in at 8 hours and 7 minutes. Though they failed to complete the cameras' installation, they did set the record for the longest Russian spacewalk. The previous record-holders were Expedition 36 Flight Engineers Fyodor Yurchikhin and Alexander Misurkin, who conducted a 7 hour and 29 minute excursion on Aug. 16.

On Dec. 27, Kotov and Ryazanskiy installed the cameras, but then had to remove them when Russian flight controllers on the ground reported that they could not receive necessary telemetry information.

The cameras are part of a commercial agreement between a Canadian firm and the Russian Federal Space Agency. Their goal is to provide views of Earth from the ISS for Internet-based subscribers. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation notes that the still camera has a resolution of five square meters, and the video camera has a resolution of one square meter.

The spacewalkers also retrieved a cassette container attached to Pirs, part of a materials exposure experiment. They then removed a worksite interface adapter attached to a portable data grapple fixture on the Zarya cargo module. The adapter removal work should ensure that future operations with the Canadarm2 robotic arm will not be impeded.

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Say cheese! Space station cameras now looking at us in high-def. (+video)

Florida Space Day Taking Place on March 12, 2014

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL (January 28, 2014) - Representatives from Florida's aerospace industry will visit Tallahassee on March12, 2014, to participate in Florida Space Day and share with legislators the opportunities the industry brings to Florida and the nation's space program.

Former NASA astronaut Bob Crippen (image attached), pilot of the first orbital test flight of the Shuttle program and former NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Director, will be making scheduled appearances throughout the event. Space-related exhibits will be available on the third floor Rotunda of the Capitol.

"Home to more than 500 aerospace companies employing over 30,000 professionals, Florida must continue to retain, grow and diversify the business of space," said Patty Stratton, chair of Florida Space Day 2014. Florida has the third largest space industry in the nation.

This year's event is critical, as the state's space industry continues to expand and change to face the dynamic international marketplace. During Space Day, industry leaders and other aerospace supporters will meet with House and Senate members, as well as the Governor, to discuss the state's $9 billion space industry, and determine the best strategies for leveraging these markets for Florida's benefit in the years ahead.

With Florida's tested capabilities, it is poised to continue capitalizing on emerging aerospace opportunities as well as open new frontiers in exploration and discovery. Home to two of just eight commercially-licensed spaceports in the country, Florida is one of only three states conducting commercial orbital launches.

"Aerospace means business and that translates into high tech, high paying jobs for Florida," said Stratton. "We want Florida to continue its aggressive stance to create a robust atmosphere for space exploration and business."

Florida Space Day participants include Abacus Technology Corp, AECOM Government Technical Service, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, ASRC Aerospace Corporation, Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, Astrotech Space Operations, ATK, Bionetics, The Boeing Company, Blue Origin, Brazil-Florida Chamber of Commerce, Craig Technologies, D3 Air & Space Operations, Delaware North Companies, Dynamac Corporation, Earthrise Space, Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Exelis, Harris Corporation, InDyne Inc, Jacobs, Jacksonville Aviation Authority, LJT & Associates, Lockheed Martin, Millennium Engineering & Integration, QinetiQ North America, Space Coast Launch Services, Space Florida, SpaceX, United Launch Alliance and URS.

To learn more about Florida Space Day 2014, visit http://www.floridaspaceday.com, join us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/FloridaSpaceDay and follow us on Twitter at @FLSpaceDay.

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Florida Space Day Taking Place on March 12, 2014

Former Space Shuttle Commander Flies Virgin Galactic’s Private Spaceship for 1st Time

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Any test pilots hoping to match Rick "CJ" Sturckow's resume must now be feeling seriously discouraged.

The former NASA astronaut, who has four space shuttle missions under his belt, got behind the wheel of Virgin Galactic's private SpaceShipTwo spaceliner for the first time earlier this month, guiding the vehicle through an unpowered "glide flight" in the skies above California's Mojave Air and Space Port.

Friends and colleagues doused Sturckow with water on the runway to celebrate the successful Jan. 17SpaceShipTwotest flight, which marked his first spacecraft landing since bringing the space shuttle Discovery down safely in 2009.

"#SpaceShipTwo is back on the ground after another important glide flight, which proceeded as planned. Good job, team!" Virgin Galactic officials tweeted on Jan. 17.

Sturckow joined Virgin Galactic after a long and storied NASA career. For example, he served as pilot for the space shuttle Endeavour's STS-88 mission in 1998, which was the first shuttle flight to the International Space Station.

Sturckow also piloted Discovery on its STS-105 flight in 2001 and commanded the STS-117 and STS-128 missions, which were flown by the shuttles Atlantis and Discovery in 2007 and 2009, respectively.

The Jan. 17 SpaceShipTwo glide flight came just a week after the vehicle made its third-ever rocket-powered test flight, which saw it set a company altitude record of 71,000 feet (21,641 meters) and accelerate to 1.4 times the speed of sound.

The six-passenger SpaceShipTwo is designed to be lofted to an altitude of about 50,000 feet (15,000 m) by a huge carrier aircraft called WhiteKnightTwo. At that point, the spaceliner is dropped and engages its rocket engine, which blasts the craft onward and upward to suborbital space.

Virgin Galactic expects SpaceShipTwo to become fully operational later this year. Passengers aboard the spaceliner will enjoy a few minutes of weightlessness and see Earth against the blackness of space, company officials say. The current ticket price for a ride aboard the vehicle is $250,000.

In addition to the three rocket-powered test flights, SpaceShipTwo has now successfully completed 29 glide flights. The Jan. 17 test also involved another pilot Pete Siebold, who works for SpaceShipTwo's builder, the aerospace firm Scaled Composites.

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Former Space Shuttle Commander Flies Virgin Galactic's Private Spaceship for 1st Time