Voice and Vision Received Over the Cosmos

by Sri Ajit Haldar

It is common knowledge that humans, if not equipped with efficient audio and visual aids, can clearly listen to voices (including spoken words, songs and musical sound) coming only from the vicinity and distinctly see objects existing only in the immediate proximity. Development in modern technology has offered us smart devices like digital computers, mobile phones, hand-held iPads and tablets which have made it possible for people separated by great distances to communicate interactively. Smartphones and iPads bring the browsing power of the internet and telecom facility to one’s palmtop.  Using Skype video-links, one can have the pleasure of seeing pictures of family members and friends (who may be living in another part of the world) flashed on a computer screen. Added to this, one can engage in a face to face chat with them through Skype. One should also take note of radio signals sent out by cosmic galaxies and their capture by the gigantic radio telescopes.  Messages in the form of electrical pulses originating in the far away galaxies and signals transmitted say, from the Magalayan space probe  are received over the cosmos and used for scientific study.

The reception of speech and image signals from remote places, however, is not a recent phenomenon.  It did happen in the mythological era and is found recorded in scriptural literature.   We read in the Mahabharata that Sanjaya (the court reporter to Dhritarashtra, the Kaurav king), gives a running commentary events occurring at the Kurukhetra battlefield quite a distance away from where Sanjaya is stationed.  The battle site was located beyond the normal visible range of Sanjaya’s human eyes and the threshold distance of his audibility. One wonders how it was possible for Sanjaya to report on the events at the battle site.  Sanjaya received a divine blessing, so thus gained the ability to provide commentary of the track of events taking place in Kurushetra.  The author believes that the human designers were similarly blessed and by receiving the grace of God, technologists were inspired and empowered to design a range of sophisticated tele-communicating devices. God’s bliss is showered on all humanity, all the time.  Hence the assertion that innovators of advanced technical devices received divine support is justified.

‘Cosmos’, the last word in the title above, has been used to suggest divine intervention that enables humans to design gadgets that now make it easy to link people from  near and far regions.   A short note on the term ‘cosmos’ will help the reader appreciate the theme of this article better.

The expression ‘Cosmos’ in common parlance represents the sky i.e. the heavens above proclaiming the glory of God, the creator of our world and other celestial objects. The dictionary gives the  meaning of  ‘Cosmos’ as ’the physical Universe considered as an orderly system which contains all the matters existing in space and from which originates all the events that have been happening  in the universe from the beginning of time’. Space and Time are the two concepts of Cosmos which are much relevant to the theme of this article.  The human achievement of contacting distantly located people within a very short time with the help of communication satellites appears to suggest that humans have solved the riddle of conquering space and time to a great measure.

Walking along any high street of a city or town, one cannot fail to notice the familiar sight of a person holding a mobile phone close to his/her ear, talking into the mobile, while simultaneously moving along the street.  That walker is perhaps communicating with a friend and exchanging greetings.  One may probably spot another person on the street using a smart phone, talking and simultaneously receiving video pictures.  What one is noticing is that voice and vision of people and of sites coming from distant places are being received over space instantaneously.

By using the World Wide Web on the Internet we can read e-paper on a computer screen, the text gives news reports from different parts of the world with added still pictures and often videos of events. Similar to relishing Sanjaya’s commentary of the Kuru-Pandava battle, we enjoyed the telecast of the World Cup Football final between two opposing teams taking place in a different continent.  Through Skype and other media we can now enjoy both the sound and sight of people and view of distant places of the world in the comfort of our lounge.

Concluding Remarks

The widespread use of mobile phones, smart phones, iPads, computers means that communicating electronically (by e-mailing) with people located at distant places and establishing video contacts have become a reality. In many ways the internet supporting the World Wide Web has made access to a vast world of knowledge, very easy.   Online search engines and sources like Wikipedia are helping to make the effort of acquiring knowledge a pleasurable experience.

It is relevant to mention that Sacchidananda Society has rightly chosen the Zee Bangla and the Aastha TV channels for transmission of the recorded discourses of Sri Sri Babathakur.  Devotees will derive immense spiritual benefit by listening to the voice and gaining a vision of the Divine Master on the TV screen.

Many years ago Professor McLuhan coined the phrase ‘Media is the Message’.  The Professor was a visionary and his prediction has been truly vindicated by the success of a wide range of social media such as Facebook and Twitter.  These two and a few other similar social networks are very effective in providing at high speeds, messages to inform, educate and entertain a huge number of followers residing all over the world.  Voice and vision signals received over space have thus succeeded in linking communities spread across the globe and fostering harmony among diverse bodies of people.