[Posted October 26, 2007]

Spaced Out

Hansadutta das

Bush: "China's sending who to the moon?" Condi: "Hu's not going." Bush: "What? Condi, get some intelligence in here pronto. If everybody in China is on their way to the moon right now, I wanna know what they're up to. We can't have them looking down on America. And get me God on line 1."

Economist October 12, 2007 -

Ni hao, Moon

China launches a rocket and aims for the moon.

HU JINTAO, China's Communist Party leader, could hardly have asked for such perfect timing. Or maybe he did. Scarcely had the party finished its ritual "election" of him for another five years, than a Chinese rocket on Wednesday October 24th propelled a satellite on China's–and the developing world's–first foray to the moon.

Mr Hu must have watched the launch from Xichang in south-western China with bated breath. Only last month, Japan became the first Asian nation to send a satellite to orbit the moon. China had wanted to send its satellite, Chang'e I, up in April but unspecified technical difficulties prevented that. The delay provided a chance for the launch to coincide with Mr Hu's political triumph (never in any doubt). Failure this time might even have put China behind India, which is hoping to launch a similar orbiter next year.... go to story

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In God We Trust

Shopping Advisory - how not to get cheated A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

So-called scientists, Russian and American, for so many years they're trying to go to the moon planet, nearest planet. But here is no shelter. Actually, I do not know whether they have gone, but why they are coming back? Let them remain there, construct house there, there is everything. If there is no such possibility, why these rascals are going there? Practically, if it is full of dust only, why these rascals are going to see the dust every time? [laughter] Ask these rascals that "What benefit? You're spending so much money and going to the moon planet and touching, 'Now my flag is on the dust,' [laughter] and go back with little pebbles, 'Oh, we have gone.'" more

Penal colonies in outer space

All of us are insignificant. Even this planet Earth is insignificant. It is just a speck on which we are sitting and floating in outer space. Scientists want to go into outerspace, but everyone is already in outer space. Bob Dylan once sang, "We sit here stranded, all trying our best to deny it." We are just sitting on this planet. In order to delude ourselves, we are very busy traveling around the planet, going nowhere.

This material world is called durga, which means prison. Every one of us is in prison. At one time, criminals were sent to Alcatraz Island so that they could not come into the mainstream of society and cause disturbance. Similarly, this planet and other planets–the moon, Mars, Mercury and the sun–are called dvipa, which means island. This planet is an island in the ocean of space.

Scientists are trying to get off this island by rocket ships, but even if they could get off this earthly island and go to the moon, Krishna says abrahma-bhuvanal lokah punar avartino'rjuna:

From the topmost planet within this universe down to the lowest, all of them are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. Bhagavad-gita 8.16

Science is attempting to escape the laws of God, but it is not possible. Everywhere there is birth, old age, disease and death.

Sri Guru and Gauranga