அக்கினி குஞ்சு to அக்னிச் சிறகுகள்

To start with, Thank God! Thanks a lot to the unknown person who requested on Sarahah to write about People’s president. Thanks a lot for the motivation.  Would be happy if I come to know who that was because his autobiography was left untouched for months together. For the fact years together. Finally the book seeked me. Just half way through the book and it does take time to assimilate all information. But one of the awesome books read. There are and has always been a thought that ‘Science and Spirituality’ are interlinked. Dr. Kalam’s thoughts give a better perspective to approach in this way. Inspired by this thought process just a comparison of philosophy in Maha Kavi’s words and science on few aspects and definitions/concepts taught in school as a humble tribute to Dr.Kalam. 

அக்கினி குஞ்சு

The world thrives in the concept of Uncertainty. Something that everyone knew but bit difficult to accept. The image in head screws the reality leading to anxiety, messy thoughts and is absolutely okay and is the way of human life. If taken as a lesson rather giving up or self sabotage, an endless learning curve could be the result. Just. The. Cycle. Of. Learn. Unlearn. Relearn. Goes. In. An. Endless. Loop. 

Most of the definitions of science has always spoken about life. Science plays a huge role in trying to give a measurable aspect for all things that seem totally distant and complex. Thanks to writers Indra Soundarrajan and Dan Brown who could beautifully put into readable format that behind science there is spirituality and vice versa and how they strike balance for coexistence. Indeed, for a peaceful coexistence. Many eminent scientists and scholars have accepted this connectivity. Many works support this aspect of coexistence. If above science, it is called supernatural. But when one could relate these too many revelations come out just to amaze humans.

And quantum mechanics is where this can be related on many levels. 

So, starting with Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle. It is one of the most celebrated results of quantum mechanics and states that one (often, but not always) cannot know all things about a particle (as it is defined by it’s wave function) at the same time. This absolutely syncs with Maha Kavi’s lyrics which is in poetic form stating that one doesn’t always get the bigger picture, the act of knowing it all. 

“சொற்பனந்தானோ

பல தோற்ற மயக்கங்களோ

அற்ப மாயைகளோ

உம்முள் ஆழ்ந்த பொருளில்லையோ

கானலின் நீரோ

வெறும் காட்சிப் பிழைதானோ

போனதெல்லாம் கனவினைப்போல்

புதைந்தழிந்தே போனதனால்

நானும் ஓர் கனவோ

இந்த ஞாலமும் பொய்தானோ.”

The next is the beautiful concept of space and time, which gives scope to various planes and how things behave in different conditions and why it is always necessary to know the conditions; The Theory of Relativity of Albert Einstein. Events that occur at the same time for one observer could occur at different times for another. Currently, people call it Time zone. “My time zone is different from yours”. That being said as 

“காலமென்றே ஒரு நினைவும்

காட்சியென்றே பல நினைவும்

கோலமும் பொய்களோ

அங்குக் குணங்களும் பொய்களோ.

காண்பதெல்லாம் மறையுமென்றால்

மறைந்ததெல்லாம் காண்பமன்றோ

நானும் ஓர் கனவோ

இந்த ஞாலமும் பொய்தானோ”

by Maha Kavi. The space, time are different to each atomic particle and likely to disintegrate over time. Both just seems close.

அக்னிச் சிறகுகள்

If the above seem hypothetical, this might help. People’s president Abdul Kalam needs no introduction. His autobiography is absolutely warming and he is someone who says that science is one of the ways to get to know oneself. In Page 45 of the Tamil Version, அக்னிச் சிறகுகள் says it all. But as English would make science definition easier (owning to the prevailing practice) the same lines from Wings of Fire. 

“The lessons on subatomic physics at St. Joseph’s by my physics teachers, Prof. Chinna Durai and Prof. Krishnamurthy, introduced me to the concept of the half-life period and matters related to the radioactive decay of substances. Sivasubramania Iyer, my science teacher at Rameswaram, had never taught me that most subatomic particles are unstable and that they disintegrate after a certainnto other particles. All this I was learning for the first time. 

But when he taught me to strive with diligence because decay is inherent in all compounded things, was he not talking of the same thing? I wonder why some people tend to see science as something which takes man away from God. As I look at it, the path of science can always through the heart. For me, science has always been the path to spiritual enrichment and self-realization.”

There is no better description of t1/2 than the explanation from Dr.Kalam. Anything complex will have to undergo a loss in energy. Some where from naming Einstein, Newton, Edison alone in the list of Scientists, naming Dr.Kalam is a proud feeling (despite respecting all other scientists). Might take years to decipher all that Dr.Kalam has done to man kind. Happy birthday Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam.

Reference: 

Bharathiyar Kavithaigal – Maha Kavi Bharathiyar
The wings of fire/அக்னிச் சிறகுகள்  – Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam 

Wiki pages of 
1. Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle. 

2. Theory of Relativity – Albert Einstein