Longest Solar Eclipse in 2010 - Matter of Science or Faith

It was a day of Science vs Superstition. A matter of science or faith.The spectacle of the millennium.

What a Godly sight it was, simply divine.I was fortunate enough to observe it for a few minutes, managed to catch hold of the special glasses needed for viewing it from some colleagues in office. Could not observe the diamond ring but that did not reduce its beauty, it was just so awesome. South India was privileged to have been bestowed with proper visibility, me again fortunate to be located in Bangalore. I was elated because as being told in news, the next solar eclipse can be seen only in 3040, more than a 1000 years from now. In this life, I did not miss it :) Hope get to watch in other lifetime as well.

Ok lets come to the debatable part of the eclipse. I was motivated to write this post after viewing a discussion on CNN-IBN which was captioned Superstition vs Faith. Quite an interesting topic!

So many Myths that people do not have any basis to follow

1) Do not go out during Eclipse ( I observed many people taking leave today in office or Working from home :D felt it to be quite absurd, also in Haridwar hundreds of people took a dip in the holy waters, how contradictory)

2) Pregnant ladies should not observe the Eclipse ( No scientific basis)

3) We should not eat or cook during Eclipse because there are harmful rays in the atmosphere when the fact is Eclipse rays are the same as normal sunlight rays :P  ( What about the grains and vegetables in the field exposed to eclipse? No wonder office cafeteria was 90% empty, was quite surprised to see that though. I on the other hand had my lunch :) Could not resist the hunger pangs )

4) Eclipse is inauspicious , so do not make any important decisions today or do not start any good work today ( very debatable, can't say more :D)

Bharat Bhushan, a famous astrologer and also a participant in this discussion rightly quoted that "Astrology was being misinterpreted by half-knowing people". He also said that Blind faith is an individuals' prerogative. Changes like the eclipse mark the change in the dynamics of nature's energy spectra.The kundlis and the zodiac signs predictions that we see are astrological but these very predictions constitute a very insignificant part of the field of Astrology

Eclipse is just a simple geometry in space. People buy lot of things from astrology, predictions. But actually  there is nothing auspicious or inauspicious about an eclipse. An eclipse day is just like any other day, sun cannot be looked at directly on any day just like you need protective glasses to observe an eclipse as well.

“Nations, like stars, are entitled to eclipse. All is well, provided the light returns and the eclipse does not become endless night. Dawn and resurrection are synonymous. The reappearance of the light is the same as the survival of the soul.”  Victor Hugo

My wish for all is that any eclipsing phases in your life pass away soon. Just as the moon can cover the sun only for a certain a amount of time and not obscure it for eternity, so also the darkness in your life not remain forever :)