Musings

Monday, October 17, 2005

Scientific fool?

Just came across this at - http://vedicschool.com/ivi/about/aycertif.php

"I'm not trying to prove anything, by the way.
I'm a scientist and I know what constitutes proof.
But the reason I call myself by my childhood name is to
remind myself that a scientist must also be absolutely like a child.

If he sees a thing, he must say that he sees it,
Whether it was what he thought he was going to see or not.
See first, think later, then test. But always see first.
Otherwise you will only see what you were expecting.
Most scientists forget that. ...

the other reason I call myself Wonko the Sane
is so that people will think I am a fool.
That allows me to say what I see when I see it.

You can't possibly be a scientist if you mind people thinking that you're a fool."

- Douglas Adams Hitchhikers trilogy:

Kshetradam - IV

Phew....it has been so long...I guess, there isn't much to tell either -
Part IV says that we reached Thiruvanaikkaval at around 8:00 PM, had the darshan of Akhilandeshwari and Jambunathar. This was my second visit to the divine couple at Thiruvanaikkaval. Can you imagine that we took half an hour within Trichy to reach Thiruvanaikkaval? On our way we saw akhanda kaveri. Seeing both arasalaru and akhanda kaveri on the same day was a beautiful experience. We also saw lot of people walking towards Samayapuram. It was aadi maasam and hence a lot of women had prayed to walk to samayapuram for the devi's darshan. Back at Thiruvanaikkaval, Akhilandeshwari was a beauty, as always. The temple was closing doors and we just about managed to get the glimpse of ambal. It was so dark and so late that I could not see any of the carvings! :-( Just saw huge prakaaram and lots and lots of pillars. Jambunathar's sanctum sanctorum is a very small place - something like a pigeon hole. There is a window having nine holes which people are requested not to obstruct - I suppose this is for Nandi!!! Also, there is a famous tale of the Lord becoming his consort and vice-versa on a particular day. Even to this day, the Lord is dressed up as ambA on a particular day. The story is mythical and one can search about it. We left Trichy by rockfort to Chennai to reach at about 4:00 or so in the morning. Wonderful trip for a day altogether. I can still feel the heat, the arasalaru breeze, the lovely paddy fields - every moment of it!