HIGHER SECONDARY DEPARTMENT
APOCALYPSE – 2012
What is really going to happen on December 21st, 2012? Is Earth going to be destroyed? Life on Earth initiated through electricity, in particular, a lightning. Over the years, living beings have left a prolific legacy on Earth and still are continuing to do so.
While some of the greatest minds on Earth have been thinking different ways to make money, a handful of them have been wondering the continuity of life. Yes, scientists have estimated to be more precise about the end of Earth.
The Mayans, who lived millions of years ago on the foothills of one of the wonders of the world, Macchu Picchu have strongly influenced the thought of Apocalypse in the minds of present day scientists. However, the greatest Astro-Physicist of all times, Stephen Hawking, has postulated the on course collision of a Black Hole with Earth. An interesting aspect of the Black Hole is that, it is filled with an enigmatic substance called dark matter. It can also be considered as a natural time machine, wherein, an object once pulled into the Black Hole cannot be found again and leaves no trail behind!
R. Bhaarath
XI Science
CHANGE THEY SAY IS THE NEED OF THE HOUR! WHAT THEN IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE APPROACH TO BRING ABOUT A LASTING CHANGE IN THE WORLD AROUND US?
“Brother’s and sister’s of America” these words uttered by Swami Vivekananda could change the world in its own way, when one man’s lone thoughts could change so much and make such a lasting impact, can’t each and every one of us be the master of our own world at least? Sure, maybe if we learn to master our mind, our world is already at our feet. But to conquer our mind is a whole different story.
In other words the key to change is to conquer our mind and the key to conquer our mind is to have the right attitude to life and to be optimistic, though not absurdly so. And how hard can it be for all of us with 6 senses to have the right mind set when Helen Keller, a woman devoid of three vital senses could be so intent on changing her fate?
So it all comes down to this, life is a game of cards and you are dealt with what fate feels you deserve. And I can assure you that she doesn’t play fair and she surely doesn’t play favourites but she does leave it up to us to do what we please with our hand. In other words, we have the power to change our fate. The ability to be the change that we wish to see in the world is still there, rooted deep within us and all that we need to do now is to start with the man in the mirror.
Indeed we must start with ourselves and see the errors in our ways that we are generally so oblivious to. Knowing our faults and regretting them is the first step to making a change, the next being our level of determination to correct them and the third and final step, the toughest of all is the test of our will power. How hard we work at making the change and how consistent we are in our effort. The best way to make a lasting change therefore lies in changing ourselves and then lending out a helping hand to the others who are left behind.
As we begin our journey towards self-betterment and act to stop the continuous pricking of our conscience the world around us begins to change. Our positive energy radiates around us, and the vibrant aura attracts others with similar aura’s all the while lifting up those who are struggling with themselves. For conquering ourselves and following our heart gives the world one more ideal person and also teaches someone out there just the right lesson.
Yes, not all of us may realize the change we make in someone else’s life, the influence that we have created in our own little world. One such person who made his life worth it even in its short span was Kiran, a heart patient, and a dying one at that. At 23 he was vibrant and an obvious target of envy. But as I had earlier said, fate never plays fair and even though he had everything he needed, his years were numbered. This did not stand in his way as he strived to make this world a better one for the animals he so dearly loved. He and his group of friends were saving up to start their own pet society when his heart began to fail him. His days on the roads and beaches became longer ones in the hospital room and though he tried hard to keep the ones he loved happy, it simply was not to be.
Sometime during his long stay in one of those white wards of the hospital, he was joined by a teen. Initial pity towards the younger boy turned into dark humour as kiran learnt that the boy was a suffering drug addict and it was drugs that had taken the toll on his health. For a long time, kiran listened to the various people who were advising the boy to give up on the slow poison and when he finally got the chance, his conversation became one, the kid would not forget even in his grey old days.
“Ironic isn’t it?” kiran had said out of the blue. The boy merely ignored him and continued to stare up at the ceiling
Seeing his roommate’s (if he could be called that) lack of interest kiran continued. “Destiny is one thing I fail to understand. To think that both of us, I with all my love for life and you, desperate to throw it away are both here in this little white world……” he trailed off as the words choked him
“What do you know about my life?” the boy barked at kiran
“You still have a chance at it and that’s all I need to know” was kiran’s sombre reply
“You talk so much but if you were in my place, in my world where it’s dark and lonely, you would still be here” the boy snapped
“If only I was in your place” kiran had said with a wishful look in his eyes, before lapsing back into silence.
Exactly one day before the boy was due to return home, kiran bid adieu to this world. The change had been made, the lesson had been learnt. The young boy volunteered to a rehabilitation centre, recovered and over due time, opened his own service centre to prevent drug abuse and also to offer a helpline and counsel the depressed kids before they took a turn for the worse. The second change that kiran had influenced was in his own doting sister who after suffering the trauma of losing her loved one went on to become a heart surgeon who with the passing of time opened her own heart foundation. His friends too went on to open the pet society that they had dreamed up together and the clinch lies in the fact that all three institutions were named after Kiran.
Thus we have seen that the fact remains, there are times when we don’t truly know our contribution, to the change that we bring about and there are other times when we make a conscious effort to change the world around us. But all I can say is that, change is the crying need of the hour, for if nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies.
XII Science