Why do honest individuals seem to have such bad luck?

 An approach to life's most urgent challenges that is both scientific and Vedic!

Every time, this science about the truth of karma—the cycle of good and bad reactions—astonishes us. Every action we take has a corresponding reaction that occurs either immediately or in the future.     

This science can be explained with the help of an example. When a farmer harvests a field, he or she finds that some of the grains are of good quality while others are not. When the farmer gets low-quality grains, he puts them in the grain silo, where they settle in the pit's bottom. The farmer returns good grade grains to the grain silo the next season if there are any.

When the farmer opens the bottom lid, however, he finds that he is receiving the poor-quality grains from the previous season, followed by the good-quality grains from this season. This is due to the fact that the lower-quality grains from the previous season have accumulated towards the bottom of the pit, where they will emerge first, followed by the higher-quality grains.

Similarly, we can see that in this world, we experience happiness and misery, which may be described by karma principles. There are rules that regulate how this cosmic manifestation operates, just as there are rules that govern how a state or country operates. We haven't witnessed anyone's deeds in an eternity, so claiming that a nice person is having bad emotions for no apparent reason, or vice versa, is unjust. We must understand that we are eternal beings with a soul that reincarnates as a result of our activities in this mortal world.

Re-incarnation, Out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences, and past-life recollections have been accepted as actual truths by science, and many people around the world have experienced and believe in these phenomena.

Karma has three meanings: activity that creates a reaction that helps us develop in the future, reaction to that material activity, and acts that follow the scriptures. The Bible is seen as a legal document that provides direction for living our lives, or as a life guideline. The manual of life, i.e. the Scriptures, advises us on how to set up and use the device, just as a television manual instructs us on how to set up and use the device. Whyshould we put our faith in the Bible? It's possible that it's only a mental construct with no scientific basis. We can see, however, that Scriptures provide evidence for many things—for example, the science of Embryology was explained thousands of years ago in Vedic texts, the predictions of various incarnations such as Lord Buddha and other rulers such as Emperor Chandragupta are explicitly given in the scriptures, Ayurveda and the purity of Cow dung, and many other concepts that Science has recently discovered were mentioned in the scriptures thousands of years ago.

As a result, we must seek a trustworthy source in order to receive real knowledge. For example, if someone wants to be a Doctor or a Lawyer, he chooses an acceptable institution of Law or Medicine, acquires knowledge from authorised books and recognised teachers, sits for the exam, gains some practical experience, and is finally accredited as a Professional. Similarly, if we wish to learn about the Absolute Truth, which cannot be defined or conceived by our existing limited senses, we must look for legitimate sources or lines of disciplic succession who can pass on the full knowledge.

As a result, the sensible question of where we might have this true comprehension of the soul arises.

The Bhagavad-Gita is the most well-known scripture on self-realization and how to live a perfect life. Great leaders, philosophers, scientists, university professors, theologians, and others use this old Vedic literature to overcome their ignorance-based difficulties.

The soul passes into a new body at death, as mentioned in Chapter 2, Verse 13, when a person matures from boyhood to youth to old age, and a sober person is not confounded by this shift. A gross body made up of Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether, as well as a subtle body made up of Mind, Intelligence, and False Ego, are described in the Bhagavad-gita. Above these two lies the soul, which is impenetrable and unbreakable to these forces. It is everlasting, unchanging, and through the symptom of consciousness, it supports the entire material body. The growth of divine traits, which are the most critical necessities of our contemporary world scenario, is one of the benefits of having this vast information. Pleasure, satisfaction, happiness, peace, and love are qualities that emerge in a person with these divine properties and spiritual inclinations. This leads to global brotherhood, which can only be realised if we acknowledge and accept the fact that underlying every skin colour, race, and religion is a soul that is unique and linked to God's one holy source. Knowledge of the Soul also helps with keeping a positive outlook on life and dealing with worries, grief, fear, sadness, distress, and negative thoughts. Because divine knowledge may be utilised to cut the ropes of ignorance, this naturally solves the problem of becoming imprisoned in the cycle of acts and reactions.

As a result, in order to better our existence, we should make every effort to delve further into this transcendental science of life's secrets.

https://www.theindiansun.com.au/2021/01/04/why-bad-things-happen-to-good-people/

 

 

Are COVID-19 vaccines effective against the Delta variant?

Australia is having a major challenge with the Delta variant of concern right now. And it’s understandable some people are feeling uncertain about getting a COVID-19 vaccine when available.

Dr. S.S. Vasan, COVID-19 project leader at CSIRO, answers some common questions about the Delta variant and vaccine effectiveness. Last year, Dr. Vasan led the preclinical trials of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine at our Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) in Geelong. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Vasan has been closely monitoring new variants of concern of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and researching whether vaccines will work against them. In conversation with Dr. Vasan.

■ What is a SARS-CoV-2 variant?

Simply put, when the virus changes from its original genetic makeup, we call it a variant.

To detect variants, we compare the virus genomes against the original or reference isolate called ‘Wuhan-Hu-1’ and see what’s changed.

Even a single mutation technically makes it a ‘variant’. Viruses like SARS-CoV-2 need to make copies of themselves in order to survive. When they make those copies, sometimes the copies might have errors. Imagine using a photocopier to make a copy of a copy of a copy and so on. Eventually, some letters might look a little different where the ink has smudged, or part of the copy is missing, or new letters have even been added in somehow.

Because mutations are especially frequent for RNA viruses like SARS-CoV-2, we’re looking at tens of thousands of variants. But most of them are not concerning—only a handful are currently of interest or concern (more on this below).

■ How much more contagious is Delta than previous SARS-CoV-2 variants?

The Delta variant of concern is the most important to date.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is increasing evidence of greater transmissibility and secondary attack rate (disease spreading to those close to the person who’s infected).

The Delta variant has spread to at least 135 countries, including Australia.

■ And what is Delta Plus?

Some Delta isolates have a mutation called K417N, which is also present in the Beta and Gamma variants of concern. Some media outlets have dubbed this ‘Delta Plus’. Scientists are studying this mutation’s impact on vaccines and antibody therapies.

■ Is Delta more deadly?

The WHO says this variant of concern has an increased risk of hospitalization. This is unsurprising because increased transmissibility could go hand-in-hand with case severity until most of the world’s population is vaccinated.

A study from February to June in Canada, yet to be peer-reviewed, compared non-variants of concern with Delta. It found people infected with the Delta variant were:

§  105% more likely to be hospitalized

§  241% more likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit

§  121% more likely to die from the disease.

For the other three variants of concern, these values were 52%, 89% and 51% respectively. This shows the Delta is the most problematic variant of concern to date.

■ Does Delta affect younger people more?

We’re starting to see this, but comprehensive evidence will take time.

One of the largest studies of its kind in India, yet to be peer-reviewed, showed that mortality increased by almost 40% in the second wave. This was particularly in the younger patients of age less than 45 years.

It’s especially sad to see media reports of younger people in Australia dying of COVID-19. This is why vaccinations are so important to protect our entire population.

■ Are the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines effective against the Delta variant?

Yes, both vaccines are effective against the Delta variant. A peer-reviewed study in The New England Journal of Medicine showed that after two doses:

A pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 85.3 to 90.1% effective against symptomatic disease caused by Delta

Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is 61.3 to 71.8% effective against symptomatic disease caused by Delta

If you get infected after you’re vaccinated, it is likely to be mild rather than severe disease. Therefore, vaccination is absolutely worth it – both to protect yourself and to reduce transmission to our family and community.

■ If you’re waiting for your second dose, will your first vaccine provide any protection against Delta?

Absolutely! The New England Journal of Medicine paper reported 25.2 to 35.7% effectiveness after one dose of either vaccine against the Delta variant.

So even one dose of Pfizer or AstraZeneca will give you some protection against Delta. And set you on the path to getting even better protection from your second dose.

■ Do variants happen in populations where the disease is spreading fast?

The more a virus is able to replicate and spread in a population, the greater the likelihood of mutations of consequence. Where the environment permits highly transmissible variants, we also expect disease severity to go up.

But if we halt transmission, we can suppress the spread of variants. This is why vaccinations and lockdowns are an essential part of pandemic response. They drive transmission down and drive the virus evolution towards less severe disease outcomes.

“We don’t yet have a SARS-CoV-2 variant of high consequence that significantly reduces the effectiveness of prevention or medical countermeasures. Hopefully, most people will be vaccinated before we face that situation. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is one of the best protections we currently have”

■ What is a ‘variant of concern’ and a ‘variant of interest’?

National ‘concern about a variant’ of SARS-CoV-2 is often justified. But that doesn’t necessarily make it a ‘variant of concern’ to the WHO and the rest of the world.

The definitions we use in Australia are consistent with the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the WHO.

§  Definition of ‘variant of interest’ (sometimes called a ‘variant under investigation)

§  Changes to receptor binding (the way the virus attaches to cells)

§  Reduced antibody neutralization

§  Reduced efficacy of treatments

§  Potential diagnostic impact

§  A predicted increase in transmissibility or disease severity.

§  These four variants—Eta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda—are of interest. This is one step below concern.

§  A ‘variant of concern’ has a greater impact across all these measures:

§  Changes to receptor binding, often targeted by vaccines

§  Significantly reduced antibody neutralization

§  Reduced vaccine or treatment effectiveness

§  Diagnostic detection failures

§  Evidence of increased transmissibility and more severe disease (in terms of hospitalizations or deaths).

Out of tens of thousands of variants, only four are currently of concern to the WHO: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta.

There is one step higher than a variant of concern—called a ‘variant of high consequence’. Thankfully, we don’t yet have one for SARS-CoV-2.

■ Will we need booster shots to keep up with the variants? If so, how soon?

Research is ongoing on this topic, called ‘vaccine matching’. If we take both doses of either vaccine, we should be okay for at least a year, based on neutralization efficacy studies to date.

New guidelines will emerge based on how the virus evolves, and how the vaccines are performing.

 

■ What about other variants of concern—do the vaccines work against those too?

Some variants like the D614G (dubbed the G-strain) attract a lot of media attention. But they don’t necessarily affect vaccines, as my team was the first to demonstrate last year.

Others like Beta affect many first-generation vaccines. There are also newer vaccines, such as the Indian Institute of Science’s warm vaccine Mynvax, which withstood all four variants of concern in our laboratory tests.

So we do have positive news. We don’t yet have a SARS-CoV-2 a variant of high consequence that significantly reduces the effectiveness of prevention or medical countermeasures.

Hopefully, most people will be vaccinated before we face that situation. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is one of the best protections we currently have.

But you’ll be safe knowing the vaccines available in Australia are effective at protecting against severe disease from the Delta variant.

The Best Places to Live for Indians in Melbourne

New regional travel vouchers ready for release

The latest round of the popular Regional Travel Voucher The scheme opens on Tuesday, giving 50,000 Victorians the chance to secure a $200 ticket to support trips across the state.

Acting Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Jaala Pulford said the third round of the scheme will build on the success of previous releases, including the most recent when an allocation of 40,000 vouchers was exhausted inside 15 minutes.

“We are thrilled that so many people are able to explore our regional cities, towns, hinterlands, and coastal areas, and that they are voting with their keyboards to secure these sought-after vouchers. The third round of the regional scheme will boost visits for the period straight after Easter, which already looks like a bumper time for people to discover new parts of Victoria,” said Pulford.

The new allocation, to go online at 10am on 30 March, will bring the total number of vouchers released in the regional and metropolitan travel schemes to 200,000, providing a significant boost to local economies and bolstering employment in vital tourism and hospitality businesses.

Victorians have made 14,000 claims to date for round two travel and preliminary data shows continued enthusiasm for Victoria’s coastal regions – including the Mornington Peninsula, Bass Coast, Surf Coast, East Gippsland and Colac-Otway shires. Vouchers in the second round can be claimed for travel until 1 April.

More than 52,000 vouchers were redeemed in the first round of travel in December and January, with visitors to regional Victoria spending an estimated $85 million at an average of $1,700 per trip. The average length of stay was five nights.

Underlining the ongoing benefits of the scheme, four out of five visitors said that they would want to return again to the region where they had traveled.

This third round of 50,000 vouchers will be redeemable for travel between 6 April and 31 May. Successful applicants will submit a claim for eligible expenses after their travel, ensuring immediate benefits for tourism and accommodation operators across the state.

To qualify for the scheme, you must be a Victorian resident over the age of 18, and spend at least $400 on paid accommodation, experiences, tours or attractions in regional Victoria, the Yarra and Dandenong Ranges or the Mornington Peninsula.

Vouchers will be limited to one per household for the regional scheme and a minimum two-night stay is required in paid accommodation such as hotels and motels, serviced apartments, caravan parks, camping sites, farm stays and private holiday rentals.

For more information on the voucher scheme and to apply, go to vic.gov.au/regional-travel-voucher-scheme

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While moving from India to Australia , the principal stop for some, individuals is Melbourne. Melbourne is the capital of Victoria and second biggest city in Australia. Regardless of whether you in the long run expect to proceed onward, you may end up remaining in Melbourne for a long while. How would you know where you should live? Probably the most amazing aspect of about this city is that it is so assorted. Excellent Yarra stream streams in the middle of the city,a incredible mix of old(tram) and the new(high rise building) definitely going to entrance you.? This is what you need to think about the best places to live for Indians visiting Melbourne:

Point Cook – This is generally a neighborhood, with bunches of incredible spots to live, eat, and shop. In the course of the most recent twenty years, it has developed from a tiny zone with under 600 occupants, to right around 15,000 starting at the last evaluation. It is a best in class zone!

Dandenong – This is quite possibly the most well known objection for Indians moving to Melbourne. There is a flourishing Indian populace here as of now, guaranteeing that new transfers from India will feel comfortable.

Footscray – One of Melbourne's most youthful territories, Footscray is generally a mechanical zone, with a lot of spots to live and a lot of admittance to different pieces of Melbourne, so you are never cut off from city life.

Southbank(close to city) – Southbank, on the edge of the stream, is one of the more slick rural areas of Melbourne. It is directly close to the CBD, settling on it the ideal decision for the individuals who are likely going to be working here of the city.

Docklands (near city)– This rural area is likewise near the focal business region, and is additionally near the water. The city has placed huge work into making this both a social and authentic suburb, and with speedy admittance to the focal point of the city, it is perhaps the best spot to live for Indians in Melbourne.

https://www.theindiansun.com.au/