Ron asked me to post a note letting you all know that he is temporarily incapacitated due to a leg injury he acquired in India. He hasn't been able to get to an internet connection to read or post any articles. He is healing nicely and should be more mobile soon. He expects to be online more regularly upon his return to the States in mid-April. ~ K
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People are responsible for the worst spate of extinctions since the dinosaur era and must make unprecedented efforts to reach a goal of slowing losses by 2010, warns a new United Nations report. Habitats ranging from coral reefs to tropical rainforests face mounting threats from pollution, expanding cities, deforestation, introduction of invasive species and global warming, says the report, issued Monday at the start of a U.N. meeting on biological diversity in Brazil. "In effect, we are currently responsible for the sixth major extinction event in the history of Earth, and the greatest since the dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago," says the "Global Biodiversity Outlook 2" report." ...   more »

A few weeks ago I met an interesting person, a first-time visitor to Auroville. Her name was Annie Eagleton, from England.. She had stopped at Auroville on her way to participate in an international service program in a small village in Nepal. ..

Here's her initial article, recounting her personal experiences and impressions of Auroville ...   more »

I just received an email from Rod Hempsell, author of "Essays for the New Millennium," suggesting a dialogue about "Why should we asume that there is a direct relationship between quantum effects, dissipative structures, microtubules, etc. and consciousness?" I suggested we conduct the conversation here on SCIY and offered to post an article to which we can respond via comments.

Here's the article, a slightly edited version of my previously posted article on "Quantum Consciousness." ...   more »

The term "Hindutva" (sometimes spelled "Hinduvta") has been used in some recent SCIY posts. I just looked it up in Wikipedia and discovered how little I knew about its history, provenance, and relation to past and current Indian politics. Here's the full text, including many informative links: ...   more »

The following text is the first part of the introductory chapter of Sri Aurobindo's book: Synthesis of Yoga. It is copyrighted by Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, India. I highly recommend reading it for those interested in getting a sense of Sri Aurobindo's unique writing style and his profound scholarship in the deep meaning and purpose of India's spiritual traditions. ...   more »

Aurelio, an Aurovilian friend and member of the Verite community, just stopped by the online connection desk at Verite's Integral Learning Center, where I'm now posting this article. He said that he was unexpectedly leaving tonight for South Africa, where a new Auroville community is forming. Fortunately, he'll be back on April 20, so I'll be able to see him before I leave for California on April 26. He gave me their new website, located at:
http://www.auroville-africa.org/index.html

It sounds like another remarkable connection happening between Auroville and the world. Here's the introduction to the website: ...   more »

Rajiv Malhotra "... is a former telecom entrepreneur who took early retirement to pursue a wide range of spiritual and intellectual interests, including rediscovery and direct experiences as per the Hindu-Buddhist traditions. He is also interested in facilitating an expansion of the American education system to incorporate non-Western wisdom and culture so as to bring about a truly global renaissance for all humanity. "The Infinity Foundation, based in Princeton, New Jersey, is engaged in making grants in the areas of compassion and wisdom. ..."   more »

Seth Lloyd is the kind of guy you'd like to have a beer with. Between gulps, the MIT prof will impart the details of how the universe really works. And if you order another, he'll give you a summary of one of the most mind-boggling ideas emerging in science today. His new book, Programming the Universe, is a plainspoken tale of how the universe is - tell me if you've heard this before - one very large quantum computer.   more »

Here is the piece I mentioned by Sri Aurobindo on Hinduism. If you read it, I think you'll see why I mentioned it; i.e., that it offers a view of 'religion'/spirituality which is as wide as any and allows for no category of humanity which is despised and excluded from salvation for their beliefs. For the Hindu, the Truth is infinite and universal and therefore, cannot be locked up in some limited sectarian formula. How pleasing to the soul to read something which makes so much sense. ...   more »