Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam Baisaran Valley attack kills 26 people. Sadgati to them. They include a Navy officer from Haryana, and Intelligence Bureau officer from Telangana. Two foreign nationals too. Several others were injured.
JD Vance with his family including his wife Usha are in India on a private trip.
Liver. The liver is a vital, large organ in the body located in the upper right abdomen, below the diaphragm and above the stomach. It plays a critical role in metabolism, digestion, detoxification, and nutrient storage, among other functions. The liver processes blood, breaks down nutrients, balances hormones, and metabolizes drugs.
American Independence. American War of Independence. Conflict between the thirteen British North American colonies and Great Britain from 1775 to 1783. Result: Colonies declaring independence from British rule and forming the United States of America. In 1776, the Continental Congress formally declared the colonies independent from Great Britain. The war concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, in which Great Britain recognized the independence of the United States. United States as an independent and sovereign nation.
Steel Frame, Bureaucracy, Civil Services. Hope they would not be swayed by political machinations. They would continue to improve and protect the livelihoods, lives and destinies of people in general and PVM in particular. Hope they remain custodians of functioning democracy and constitution.
Creativity, Innovation. Interconnected processes. Creativity involves generating new ideas, concepts, and approaches – thinking outside the box, exploring new possibilities; innovation is the process of implementing those ideas into practical applications or solutions – turning into a real-world application, product, service, or process that has value; developing and implementing solutions that address a need or problem in a new and effective way. Do we have the agency for creativity and innovation? Willingness, intent; space, possibility, opportunity; ability, and capacity.
Earth Day. Earth. Terra. Only known planet harbouring life. Only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Earth’s crust: 70.8% water; 29.2% land. Earth’s crust consists of slowly moving tectonic plates, which interact to produce mountain ranges, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Earth has a liquid outer core that generates a magnetosphere capable of deflecting most of the destructive solar winds and cosmic radiation.
Earth is rounded into an ellipsoid with a circumference of about 40,000 kilometres. Its dynamic atmosphere has a composition of primarily nitrogen and oxygen. Water vapor is widely present in the atmosphere, forming clouds that cover most of the planet. The water vapor acts as a greenhouse gas and, together with other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2), creates the conditions for both liquid surface water and water vapor to persist via the capturing of energy from the Sun’s light. This process maintains the current average surface temperature of 14.76 °C (58.57 °F), under normal atmospheric pressure. Differences in the amount of captured energy between geographic regions drive atmospheric and ocean currents, producing a global climate system with different climate regions, and a range of weather phenomena such as precipitation, allowing components such as nitrogen to cycle.
Earth orbits the Sun taking about 365.2564 days to complete one revolution. Earth rotates around its own axis in slightly less than a day – in about 23 hours and 56 minutes. Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted with respect to the perpendicular to its orbital plane around the Sun, producing seasons. Earth is orbited by the Moon, which orbits Earth. The Moon’s gravity helps stabilize Earth’s axis, causes tides and gradually slows Earth’s rotation. Tidal locking has made the Moon always face Earth with the same side.
Earth’s age is about 4.5 billion years. During the first billion years, the ocean formed and then life developed within it. Life spread globally and has been altering Earth’s atmosphere and surface, leading to the Great Oxidation Event two billion years ago. Humans emerged 300,000 years ago in Africa and have spread across every continent on Earth. Humans depend on Earth’s biosphere and natural resources for their survival, but have increasingly impacted the planet’s environment. Humanity’s current impact on Earth’s climate and biosphere is unsustainable, threatening the lives and livelihood of humans and many other forms of life, and causing widespread extinctions.
Chemical reactions led to the first of self-replicating molecules about four billion years ago. A half billion years later, the last common ancestor of all current life arose. The evolution of photosynthesis allowed the Sun’s energy to be harvested directly by life forms. There have been at least five major mass extinctions and many minor ones. Mammalian life has diversified over the past 66 Mys, and several million years ago, an African ape species gained the ability to stand upright. This facilitated tool use and encouraged communication that provided the nutrition and stimulation needed for a larger brain, which led to the evolution of humans. The development of agriculture, and then civilization, led to humans having an influence on Earth and the nature and quantity of other life forms that continues to this day.
Over the next 1.1 billion years, solar luminosity will increase by 10%, and over the next 3.5 billion years by 40%. Earth’s increasing surface temperature will accelerate the inorganic carbon cycle, possibly reducing CO2 concentration to levels lethally low for current plants (10 ppm for C4 photosynthesis) in approximately 100–900 million years. A lack of vegetation would result in the loss of oxygen in the atmosphere, making current animal life impossible. Due to the increased luminosity, Earth’s mean temperature may reach 100 °C (212 °F) in 1.5 billion years, and all ocean water will evaporate and be lost to space, which may trigger a runaway greenhouse effect, within an estimated 1.6 to 3 billion years. Even if the Sun were stable and eternal, a significant fraction of the water in the modern oceans would descend into the mantle, due to reduced steam venting from mid-ocean ridges as the core of the Earth slowly cools.
Earth’s land covers 29.2% of the crust – 149 million square km – four continental landmasses – Africa-Eurasia, America (landmass), Antarctica, and Australia (landmass); and islands. These landmasses are further broken down and grouped into the continents. The terrain of the land surface varies greatly and consists of mountains, deserts, plains, plateaus, and other landforms. The elevation of the land surface varies from a low point of −418 m at the Dead Sea, to a maximum altitude of 8,848 m at the top of Mount Everest.
Originating from earlier primates in Eastern Africa 300,000 years ago, humans have since been migrating and with the advent of agriculture in the 10th millennium BC increasingly settling Earth’s land. In the 20th century, Antarctica had been the last continent to see a first and until today limited human presence. Human population today is more than seven billion. Majority live in south to eastern Asia. 90% inhabit only the Northern Hemisphere.
Most of Earth’s land has been territorially claimed since the 19th century by sovereign countries separated by political borders. 205 such states exist today with only parts of Antarctica and a few small regions remaining unclaimed. Earth’s resources have been exploited by humans. Metals and other elements are extracted by mining. Earth’s biosphere produces many useful biological products for humans, including food, wood, pharmaceuticals, oxygen, and the recycling of organic waste. The land-based ecosystem depends upon topsoil and fresh water, and the oceanic ecosystem depends on dissolved nutrients washed down from the land. Earth’s total arable land is 10.7% (15 km2) of the ice-free land surface, with 2% being permanent cropland, probably irrigated. 39 million km2 forest and woodlands; 12 million km2 shrub and grassland; 40 million km2 pasture and grazing land.
Human activities have been increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, altering Earth’s energy budget and climate. Global temperatures are warmer than the preindustrial baseline, contributing to the melting of glaciers, rising sea levels, increased risk of drought and wildfires, and migration of species to colder areas.
Of the nine identified planetary boundaries, five have been crossed: Biosphere integrity, climate change, chemical pollution, destruction of wild habitats and the nitrogen cycle. No country is able to meet basic needs of its population without transgressing planetary boundaries. It might still be possible to provide all basic physical needs globally within sustainable levels of resource use.
Pope. Holy Father. His Holiness Pope Francis rests on Easter Monday. Born Jorge Marion Bergoglio, 88 [17 Dec 1936 – 21 Apr 2025]. Head of the Catholics, about 50% Christians in the world, since 2013. Sovereign of the Vatican City State. Christianity is the largest religious group in the world – some 32%, followed by Islam – 25%; Hindu – 15%; Buddhists – 7%; unaffiliated – 15%. Next Pope would be elected by 100+ cardinal-electors by two-thirds majority through secret ballot.
Cardinal Bergoglio was known for humility, social justice commitment and simple living. Pope Francis, elected on 13 March 2013, chose not to live in the official Papal residence, Apostolic Palace. Pope Francis renewed efforts to work for the poor and reduce poverty. He renewed calls for a universal basic income and higher taxes on the rich. He has said famously: Marxists and Christians have a common mission. He was outspoken against wars. 2019 Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, signed by Pope Francis and Ahmed el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, inspired to declare International Day of Human Fraternity. Plurality and the diversity of religions, colour, sex, race, and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings. His final remarks in his spiritual testament include: May the Lord grant a fitting reward to all those who have loved me and who continue to pray for me. The suffering that has marked the final part of my life, I offer to the Lord, for peace in the world and for fraternity among peoples.
Can we show no bias in research, intelligence gathering? Can we care about Earth, PVM?
Yes, we can. If we coexist, flowing. With humility, simple living. In N? sakaaraatmayoga for 7L.