Is yoga necessary for peace and progress in society?

Yoga means balance, harmony and unity. Universal balance, Harmony of body, mind
and soul and Unity of the individual consciousness with the cosmic consciousness. The
ancient science of Yoga, readily equips humans to reinstate world peace, environmental
sustainability, as well as harmony between individuals, communities, religions and
nations. In modern times, Yoga has unfortunately come to mean only physical exercise
or posture, however that is only one aspect of this ancient science, the others are
neglected. The word Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Yog’ meaning union.
Yoga is that single universal principle which balances the entire universe. All elements,
visible and invisible, as well as all stars, moons and sun systems, are entirely sustained
by the balancing principle of Yoga. How old is Yoga?
There is much evidence to attest to the age of Yoga. Over ten thousand years ago in the
era of Lord Rama, the great Sage Valmiki wrote the renowned epic the Ramayana, in
which is described the glory of Yoga. Also in that epic, many historic events were
recorded, one of those being the construction of a bridge between India and Sri Lanka
by Hanuman and other devotees of Lord Rama. Recent satellite photos taken by NASA
clearly show from space remnants of a man-made bridge, submerged in the ocean
between Sri Lanka and India, and scientists have dated this bridge at 1.75 million years
old.
The origin of Yoga is explained in the Vedas, the oldest written scriptures known to
man. In these, it is said, Ananta Brahmand Sahastra Suryas – this universe is endless –
and the Vedas declare that within it are thousands of solar systems. We humans exist in
just one of these. The word Ananta means endless and the Vedas call this endless
universe Mahakasha – the great void of nothingness. Within Mahakasha is
consciousness – Chaitanya – Cosmic Consciousness. This Cosmic Consciousness,
Hiranayagarbha can be likened to the ‘golden-womb of mother consciousness, and it is
this ‘Yog’ or Yoga (the uniting or mother principle) that nourishes and sustains all of life.
In the beginning nothing was existent in Mahakasha, only the dormant potential for life
- the principles of Universal Consciousness and Universal Energy. These two principles
are always co-existent, there is never one without the other, but in order to manifest or
create a third is required and that creative willpower is known as Iccha Shakti. Iccha
Shakti is the divine will and all that happens in this universe is attributable to it. The
cosmic Self began to act and express itself – Svayambhu. Svayambhu is He who creates
Himself, “I am one and now I will multiply” and at the moment of this awakening the
original sound of the universe began to resonate, and that is Om. The Vedas declare,
Nada Rupa Parabrahma – the form of the Supreme is sound. Other religions also
recognize this and in the Bible it is said, “In the beginning was the word, and that word
was God”.
Is world peace possible with the nuclear weapon? Though national and
regional conflicts and international terrorism remain rife, since 1945 the
world has not been subjected to truly pan-regional or trans-continental
war. Here, four experts in international security debate the role nuclear
arsenals may have played in curbing large-scale conflict. When have
nuclear weapons come closest to destabilizing world peace – and how
close to the brink of nuclear war did the world come? Benoît Pelopidas:
“How close was it?” is a misleading question if asked alone. One also
needs to ask: how controllable was it? Indeed, some proponents of
nuclear deterrence claim that you need to get close enough to the
‘nuclear abysses for the deterrent effect to kick in. But is that true? And
can we control how close we get? A critical moment commonly cited in
this regard was the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. And that was not fully
controllable: the caution of Soviet premier Khrushchev and US president
Kennedy alone cannot explain its peaceful outcome, given the limits of
their control over their nuclear arsenals, the limits of safety of the
weapons, and other factors. The evidence shows we have been lucky.
Though the scholarly and policy worlds pay lip service to this finding,
they still do not act and plan as if they take it seriously. Secrecy means
that we know very little about cases of near use of nuclear weapons. It’s
very likely we overestimate how safe we have been. Malcolm Craig:
There are a number of other examples of times when this has happened.
For example, during the first year of the Korean War (1950–53),
President Harry Truman’s bluster and outbursts from General Douglas
MacArthur provoked international fears about perceived American
willingness to use atomic weapons. Perhaps the most interesting
example was the November 1983 Able Archer incident, in which a Nato
communications exercise was perceived by some in Moscow as
preparation for an actual offensive. In this case, nuclear weapons,
paranoia and faulty intelligence-gathering could have (a big ‘could have’)
led to nuclear war. Simon J Moody: In my judgement, the closest nuclear
weapons have come to destabilizing world peace was during the first
decade of the Cold War, from the late 1940s, when the United States
had nuclear superiority. If decision-makers had heeded the arguments
for nuclear release – to support outnumbered UN forces during the
Korean War, or to help relieve the beleaguered French garrison at Dien
Bien Phu in Vietnam in 1954 – then today’s situation, in which the non-
use of nuclear weapons is seen as normal, might never have been
established. It is the taboo nature of nuclear weapons use that helps to
stabilize weapons of such appalling power within an anarchic
international system.

Does reservation system reflect to our right

to equality?
Article 335 of the Constitution deals with the claims of the members of the Scheduled Castes and the
Scheduled Tribes shall be taken into consideration, consistently with the maintenance of efficiency of
administration, in the making of appointments to services and posts in connection with the affairs of the
Union or of a State.