The Weaver Bird

 The weaver bird built in our house ...

Remember the famous poem 'The Weaver Bird' by Kofi Awoonor that talks about both alienation and alignment. It explores the themes of imposition and the search for belonging in the wake of historical and cultural upheaval. 

                        

               Nest of a Baya Weaver 

We are just through the favourite Puja of the Bengalees, Durga pujo. Following Kojagari Lokkhi (Lakshmi) pujo, we are now preparing  for the upcoming Kali pujo. Not just among  Bengalees, but across India, Maa is worshipped in so many avatars; but in life, the abuse that a woman regularly and increasingly faces now across the nation sometimes make these celebrations look so shallow. How and why the perpetrators are getting bolder by the day are some of the other disturbing thoughts that cloud my vision as I feel good about Shreya Ghosal's reportedly performed protest song against this abuse at her recent concert in Kolkata, India. I feel sad but also hopeful on learning about muted observance at some mandaps in Kolkata to press for justice over the heinous RG Kar incident. 

Goddess Durga is the embodiment of female energy that encapsulates the power to both create and destroy.

As I pay ode to that creative energy, I thought of dedicating today's blog on our feathered friends rather than the humans for more reasons than one. A male bird who single-handedly and painstakingly creates beautiful and thoughtful nests. An enlightening example of male musing.

I may have seen and/or read about them earlier but somehow didn't get captivated by them till I saw one near the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) site within the lush foliage of Aarey colony, Mumbai, India. I am talking about the fascinating nests of the Baya Weaver birds. This was many years ago, 2014 to be precise. BNHS held a one-day workshop on environmental journalism. 

Over a decade later, I still get mesmerized by their nests. Recently, when my good friend and a noted nature photographer Suhasini Ahluwalia Mehta sent me a picture of the nest, I started writing this blog. From May to September is their breeding season. 

"The Baya Weaver Birds are widespread, social, gregarious birds nesting in colonies. They have a stout conical bill and short, square tail. The chatters interspersed with whistles is an easy way to detect the nesting sites of Baya weaver birds", informs freelance botanist Dr. Sweedle Cerejo-Shivkar, when I spoke to her while writing this blog. 

I was particularly hooked as much on learning upon their repeated efforts to create a home for their partners as was floored by the shape and space of their elaborate nest. It is said to be plastered with dung inside that works as a temperature controller. I had also heard about fireflies being used to light up their abodes.

The nest building activity starts in the monsoon when nesting material is abundant. "The grass and palm fronds are pulled apart into thin long fragments. Hundreds of trips are made back and forth from the plant material site to the ongoing nest building site.

The long nest is their signature and makes them popular. There are 2 parts of the nest – globular egg chamber and elongated tube at the lower side. The interiors of the egg chamber are plastered with mud and dung", observes Mumbai-based Cerejo-Shivkar, 40. 

After completing the upper globular part of the nest, the male makes the chatter and flutters their wings. This is an invitation for the female to inspect the nest. If liked, the nest is completed to bring in their babies.  

Usually a male Baya Weaver bird makes more than one nest (two or three at the most) in one breeding season. But a lot depends on the success of finding a mate, adds Cerejo-Shivkar.

Incidentally, the abandoned nests aren’t reused by the Baya Weavers, but yes Indian Silverbills do use them. Silverbills do build their nest of grasses but do not miss an opportunity to use abandoned nests of Baya Weavers. Why, you may wonder.

"Indian Silverbills use the same material as the Bayas. They are known to use the abandoned nest or rob/steal grass fragments from the Baya's nest", observes Cerejo-Shivkar.

Afterthought 

Some people have the habit of collecting nature's gifts like shells, corals, abandoned nests etc. as home decor. Is it advisable?

Not only abandoned nest, but anything built in nature with natural materials should be left untouched, since it will be reused or decomposed to become one with nature again, feels some nature enthusiasts. Some others would perhaps still pick up a shell or a pebble. When children gets excited over discovering a coral or an oyster shell and insists to take it as a keepsake, I feel it could nurture a bond with nature. But then...

Ideally, perhaps, it is better to bring only photographs back from nature that will treasure our memories for good. Nothing else. And ofcourse, do observe nature and teach your little ones too. There is so much to learn. 

      

   Nesting of Baya Weavers on Toddy Palms

     

#GoddessDurga#BNHS#BayaWeaver#IndianSilverbill#KofiAwoonor#SudeshnaChatterjee 

Why Consciousness matters?

Our greatest human adventure is the evolution of consciousness. We are in this life to enlarge the soul, liberate the spirit, and light up the brain - Tom Robbins

                      Dr.Tony Nader     

 Truly, the higher you raise your consciousness level, the better your life turns out to be. Why? Because everything emerges from consciousness.  

Hi, this is yours truly, Sudeshna Chatterjee, back with one of the most intellectually stimulating interviews that I ever did. Meet Dr.Tony Nader. 

A Lebanese neuroscientist, researcher, author, Vedic scholar and the hand-picked successor of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Dr.Tony Nader spoke at length why consciousness should matter and how easily we could raise its bar through scientifically validated simple vedic practices or technologies of consciousness like Transcendental Meditation (TM)  and TM-Sidhi programme. The practice triggers immediate and increasing coherence in an individual's cognitive functioning. This normalises and consequently promotes peak performances in the physical and mental functioning of an individual. It can be learnt in just three days and can be practiced by anyone and anywhere. It makes you experience an expansion of your inner being- you understand how at soul, we are all one. Therefore we are inter-connected. Something like what noted educationist Dr. Maya Shahani told me how at the deeper level, all the seas are inter-connected. This sense of unity and oneness makes you think with compassion and clarity and consequently behave cordially. Of course differences between human beings will still be there, but it will simmer on the surface. The dominant factor in the relationship will be the connection that is shared at the core. People automatically will be less antagonistic, so much required in today's time when diplomacy cannot scale down the escalations of war and social violence. "Extensive scientific research has found out that these technologies of consciousness create a measurable influence of peace throughout society. Solutions, then, can be drafted from the most profound level," deduces Dr. Nader. At the individual level, the programme significantly reduces post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression and cardiovascular risk factors. Accidents, suicides, sickness, terrorism, war, crime - every negative marker gets radically reduced. 

Nice way to embrace a new year. A better you is definitely on the cards if you absorb the TM programme. It also balances out Karma as we get into closer relation with ourselves. Currently over 10,000 masters and practitioners from across the globe (139 nations) just completed a fortnight of collective meditation (TM and allied programmes) at the world's largest meditation hall, Kanha Shanti Vanam,Telangana, India to help the world heal from the scars of violence by spreading peace and cordiality and also an effort to set up a permanent assembly of practitioners to keep our world at harmony with everyone including our environment. 

Thanks to the programme, consciousness gets the much-deserved highlight. Last month, when I had an hour-long video interview with Dr.Tony Nader, I could grasp the full force of consciousness which is both the fulcrum and the elixir to our existence. "I am, therefore I exist", says Dr Nader while explaining why despite being loved by all or being very wealthy comes to naught if you don't have consciousness because everything emerges from it. Consciousness is  all-encompassing. It is the primary shield of being. It is the building block of creation that manifests in every organism including inanimate objects though at a relatively rudimentary level. Simply put, it is in our awareness, alertness, wakefulness, sleepiness... It is our ability to analyse, align, discriminate, dissuade. Every decision and behaviour of ours is consequent to our consciousness, high or low.  In fact, every being like trees, animals and even machines have consciousness. Mr. Mo Gawdat (former chief business officer for Google X) pointed out in an interview with Dr. Tony Nader (available on YouTube) that machines enriched with Artificial Intelligence (AI) would supersede humans in six months. But when I questioned Dr. Nader on this, he said, "so far machines have consciousness in a very limited way. They can calculate faster and now have greater intelligence. But, it is a practical, analytical kind of intelligence which is different from consciousness though can be related. However, since everything emerges from consciousness, machines too will have some consciousness. Since, mechanical sensing is much more organised, complex and complicated than a tree, so its consciousness could be higher than a tree but not as yet to a human being. I have done research and found out that the structure of human physiology is like the structure of Vedanta. Hence, it allows us to experience consciousness at a higher level. We are very profound. But we have to raise our consciousness because if it does not rise, machines will take over and we will become their pets." Yes, it is possible to be under the dictates of machines if humans keep fighting with each other, think in a restricted manner, do not think of the well-being of others etc, because they have a narrow and limited consciousness, explains Dr.Nader. Herein lies the relevance and significance of  Dr.Nader's attempt to hold a  permanent assembly of meditators for the stability of the world.  

Despite studying Philosophy in my school days, comprehension of consciousness was lost within the matrix of the human nervous system. It was thought that the complex and yet orderliness of the central nervous system created consciousness because the term, conscious, has a physiological aspect to it. That time, we were not taught about the gems of Vedanta. Western Philosophy was preferred. So, I still remember the cardinal principle of Rene Descartes' philosophy: I think, therefore I am. 

It was only after my interaction with Dr.Tony Nader that I realised the significance of consciousness. 

When he talks, you become alive in the wisdom of words used. Dr.Tony Nader, MD, PhD is a neuroscientist, a world-renowned authority in the field of consciousness studies, and a globally recognised Vedic scholar. He is a medical doctor(Internal Medicine and Psychiatry) and trained at Harvard Medical School. He also holds a PhD in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr.Nader has successfully correlated each aspect of the Vedic literature to a specific area of human physiology, anatomy as well as the cell and the DNA with the conclusion that human physiology is the expression of Veda. This is the subject matter of five of his published books. The practical application of Dr. Nader's discovery has been documented by original research conducted by medical doctors and scientists, which demonstrates the effectiveness of Vedic sounds and Vedic vibrations for the treatment of chronic disorders. Little surprising that Maharishi Mahesh Yogi chose him to be his successor, being a non-Indian and a non-Hindu, and it also speaks volumes for his leadership. Dr. Nader, heads the TM organisations worldwide, giving it a scientific appeal as he urges more people to embrace the peer-reviewed, much validated technologies of consciousness.  He is also Chairman of the Global Union of Scientists for Peace (GUSP). It is a global counter initiative to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and to support alternative, peaceful means of conflict resolution. A forum of scientists, political leaders and scholars from different fields, GUSP is headquartered at Maharishi International university at Fairfield, Iowa, USA. 

This is the second leg of my interview with Dr. Tony Nader where he personally wrote his replies to a few chosen questions.  

1)If your consciousness could talk to you, what would it say? 

 I am you and you are a part of me, know me to be one, I am all there is appearing as many. 

2. If consciousness leads you to awareness at the deepest level, then does Transcendental Meditation leads you to self-realisation without any compromise? Yes/no, please explain briefly. 

Yes absolutely. Transcendental Meditation leads you to your true Self with a big ‘S’. Your true Self and the self of everything and everyone. You get freed from boundaries, you are totality. “Aham Brahmasmi” All this is that. “Sarvam Khalu Idam Bramha” ; this is enlightenment, liberation, Moksha.

3. What is the difference between simple Meditation, Transcendental Meditation and Mindfulness? Does one leads to the other? 

Meditation is a mental process of reflecting, exploring, and fathoming various depths of one’s own mind and its dynamics. Mindfulness is to direct the mind to be aware of various mental and physical activities such as breathing, physical sensations, mental processes, etc. generally in a non-judgemental way. Transcendental Meditation takes you beyond all surface mental activity to a wakeful state of pure awareness, pure being devoid of any thought, feeling, or sensation. It takes you to experience your unbounded Self transcending all limited perspectives. These are different techniques. They can be practiced separately but it is better not to mix them up. When you do one, you do it fully and then you can do the other. Mixing different aspects in the same process can get you confused and not give the best results.

4. Between time and space, which takes precedence and why?  

Space and time are not entities. They are conceptual gaps. Space separates objects co-existing at the same time. Time separates objects that can exist in the same space. Space and time allow the perception of separate relative individual existence and evolution. They are not real in the absolute. They appear real in the relative realm of manifest existence. There is no one without the other. We speak of spacetime.

5. What is the difference between being in power and empowerment? What is your idea about India and empowerment? 

 Being in power is a relative term pointing to access to an outer power that allows one to decide and control one’s or others’ actions and the process of change. Empowerment is to own an internal power that takes responsibility and engages the ability from within to make the changes necessary for evolution. India’s roots and deepest understanding of power emphasises individual and collective responsibility as it highlights in the teachings of Vedanta that consciousness is primary and teaches consciousness-based transcendental technologies. We are all Veda, no matter what belief system or way of life we have. We all have the infinite reservoir of creativity and intelligence ‘Sat Chit Ananda’ within us. All we need is to tap into it and be empowered to do all good for all and none-good to none.

#Vedanta#Consciousness#India#TranscendentalMeditation#MaharishiMaheshYogi#DrTonyNader#DrMayaShahani