Flat Earth Theory - Completely Flattened

BY: RAJASEKHARA DASA BRAHMACHARI

Feb 25, 2016 — INDIA (SUN) —

A refutation of Mayesvara's article entitled "Srimad Bhagavatam and the Horizontal Plane of Bhu-mandala".

The so-called evidence to support Mayesvara's 'Flat Earth' theory are based on very bad science, such as the Suez Canal speculation and the claim that NASA photos of Earth are all doctored. It is surprising that someone who claims to understand Vedic science would support their theory with wholly unscientific evidence. Obviously Mayesvara has no genuine scientific understanding judging by the evidence he is presenting in support of his 'Flat Earth' speculation. In fact he appears to be an intellectual midget posing as some kind of spiritual colossus with his concocted version of Shrimad Bhagavatam 'As It Is'. This is simply a deceitful trick to influence innocent minds that his version of the Bhagavatam is somehow bona-fide and on the same level as Shrila Prabhupada's Bhagavad-gita As Is Is.

Mayesvara's first piece of evidence in support of his 'Flat Earth' theory is the 'lock-less Suez Canal', which is perhaps the only canal out of many millions in the world where locks are not required. The scientific explanation is very simple. There are no locks on the Suez Canal because the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Oman, both have the same mean sea level and the land in between is a flat desert plain without hills and just a few meters above sea leval. Therefore, the Suez Canal does not require locks because the water level between the two oceans is constant. On the other hand, the Panama Canal requires locks because the mean water level of the Atlantic Ocean is 20cm higher than the Pacific Ocean and without locks, there would be a very strong current of water flowing down the canal towards the Pacific making it dangerous for shipping to navigate. (This also proves the Earth is not flat). The tides also have opposite phases on the two sides of Panama, so there would also be major tidal currents running through the canals course. Secondly, the Panama Canal has to cross mountainous terrain which rises above 26 meters and thus locks are required to lift the canal over this terrain as digging such a deep and lengthy channel is impractical. Consequently, Mayesvara's contention that there are no locks on the Suez Canal because the Earth is 'flat' is foolish and really very poor science.

Mayesvara's second evidence in support of his 'Flat Earth' theory is based on what he claims to be a NASA hoax. Mayesvara claims that NASA doctors all their Earth photos in order to propagate a hoax that the Earth is a round globe. Why on Earth would they do that? Mayesvara does not provide any tangible reason for NASA to adulterate the photos as it serves no purpose. However, I say forget NASA, what about the Indian Space Mission (ISRO) & their photographs of the Earth. What about the Chinese & Japanese Space Missions, what to speak of the Russians, who were the first to put a man in Earth's orbit. You can only 'orbit' an 'orb', not a flat plain. The Russians say the Earth is a round globe. All these countries, India, Japan, China, and Russia, have sent probes to the moon. No one has reported a 'Flat Earth'. On the contrary, they have all agreed that the Earth is a round globe. What about all the countries that have also launched satellites into Earth's 'orbit' including; Britain, Germany, France, Brazil and even North Korea, to name just some. There are communications satellites, navigation satellites, weather satellites, research satellites and a space station. Satellite orbits vary greatly, depending on the purpose of the satellite, including low Earth orbit, polar orbit, and geostationary orbit. Many have photographed the Earth and no country has said that the Earth is a flat plain. They are in fact unanimous that the Earth is a round globe. The International Space Station is manned by Russians and recently a British astronaut has joined the station. He has sent back innumerable photos independently of NASA, all featuring a round globular Earth. Contrary to Mayesvara's claim, there is no flat plain that is 72,000 miles long anywhere to be seen. 72,000 miles is almost one fourth the way to the Moon. Not even the millions of airline pilots flying to every point on the compass have ever reported such an incredible phenomena as a 'Flat Earth' that is 72,000 miles long. The airline industry navigates the entire Earth based on the Earth being a round globe, otherwise they could never circumnavigate the entire globe as they do every day if the Earth was flat. Their planes would simply go off course and never reach their destination.

However, not even considering the clear scientific evidences presented here that completely nullifies Mayesvara's 'Flat Earth' evidence. My presentation on Bhu-mandala is exclusively based on Shrila Prabhupada's teachings and the proper understanding of the 5th canto. I have provided a quotation to support my presentation of a globular round Earth. Morning Walk. December 9, 1973, Los Angeles - In Vedic literature it is bhü-gola, jagad-andha. These words are there. We can see also it is round, jagad- andha.. The universe is round. And Goloka. Or Bhü-gola. Bhü-gola, the earth is round. So in the Vedic literatures... Therefore their knowledge is also imperfect because they do not refer to the Vedic literature's. It is already there. Bhü-gola. Bhü means the earth; gola means round. It is already there. And the geography's called, according to Sanskrit, it is called Bhü-gola. Long, long ago, before Galileo. Mayesvara is an expert word juggler but is exposed when he tries to twist Shrila Prabhupada's words when Mayesvara says regarding the above quote, "Bhu-gola is just another name for Bhu-mandala meaning the Earth circle or Earth sphere. Bhu-mandala is the great horizontal plane that is circular in shape (like a roundabout, not a ball)". Unfortunately, Mayesvara has nor realized that Shrila Prabhupada has referenced Galileo in his quote, and Galileo is referring only to our round Earth, and therefore, so is Shrila Prabhpada, otherwise no need to mention Galileo. Galileo has absolutely no idea about Bhu-mandala. Although some like to claim that I 'cherry pick' quotes that suit my agenda, this is not the case. Shrila Prabhupada's statement is clear and he is talking about the round globular Earth and not the Bhu-mandala plain, because he mentions Galileo. I have included at the end of this paper a slew of quotes from Shrila Prabhupada that support the round globular Earth conception.

Further evidence of a round globular Earth can be found throughout the Vedic shastras. In the Surya-siddhanta compiled by Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami, there is no 'Flat Earth' mentioned anywhere. On the contrary, the Surya-siddhanta provides the measurement for the round Earth's circumference (4,967 yojanas) and diameter (1,581 yojanas), thus proving that according to Surya-siddhanta the Earth is a round globe and completely different from the 500,000,000 yojana diameter horizontal plane of Bhumandala. The Surya-siddhanta's conclusion that the Earth is a globe is supported by both the Aryabhatiya of Aryabhata and the Siddhanta-siromani of Varahamira, two of the most important works on Vedic astronomy. Shrila Prabhupada has stated that Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami was one of the foremost astronomers in the world.Mayesvara's statements that the Earth is flat contradicts the conclusions of Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami, that the Earth is round (Bhu-gola). Rather than quote from demons and what he sees on You-Tube, Mayesvara should concentrate on bona-fide shastric souces of information

The 5th canto of Shrimad Bhagavatam describes the Bhu-mandala in two dimensions, the Earthly dimension that is visible to humans and the celestial dimension that is visible to the demigods and siddhas. Most readers get confused and equate the celestial description and its dimensions with the visible Earth's dimensions, which creates confusion. There are two parallel commentaries intertwined as per Vedic tradition, to keep the text as procise as possible. Only those who are actually advanced in spiritual realization can determine the difference. Room conversation.July 5, 1977 in Vrindavana: Bhakti-prema: "Earth is round and flat both, together." Prabhupäda: "Yes." In conclusion I will quote from our esteemed god-brother Sadaputa prabhu - ''Although the Bhagavatam doesn't explicitly describe the Earth as a globe, it does so indirectly. For example, it points out that night prevails diametrically opposite to a point where it is day. Likewise, the sun sets at a point opposite where it rises. Therefore, the Bhagavatam does not present the naive view that the Earth is flat''.

3 simple evidences for school-children proving the Earth is a Globe

1) The sky over the northern hemisphere is not the same as the sky over the southern hemisphere. If the Earth was flat, then at any given time we would all see the same stars, but we don't. In the southern hemisphere the Pole Star is not visible and instead one can see the Southern Cross, which is not visible from the northern hemisphere.

2) It has always been obvious to sailors that the Earth is round. If you sail towards something tall, like a mountain, you will see the top of the mountain appearing over the horizon well before the rest of the mountain appears in full.

3) Eratosthenes, a famous astronomer from Egypt discovered that at noon in one Egyptian city, the Sun was directly overhead, whereas in a different city the Sun did not rise quite so high at noon. Eratosthenes knew the distance between the two cities, he measured how high in the sky the Sun rose in each city at noon, then did some trigonometry and realized that the Earth must be a globe and not flat as was supposed by the ancient Egyptians.

Shrila Prabhupada's Quotes on the round globular Earth

"There is a control… Just like here, in this planet, when you go up, you see it is ball, but in this ball there are so many controlling deities here also. President Johnson, prime minister of India, this and that and so many things. But when you go up you see just like a ball. So when you come here you find" (Lectures, Bhagavad-gita 2.12, Bhagavad-gita 2.12, New York, March 9, 1966)

"And again, if you start your plane in sunlight, in the morning, in daylight, so in the morning, and go to the western side, you will find never night. You will find never night, always light, always light. Sometimes we have got experience. We start from a place, say, at ten o'clock, and going western side. Then, after few hours, we see it is still ten o'clock, and the light is there. This is our practical experience." (Lectures, Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.16.17, Los Angeles, January 12, 1974)

"All the planets and the universes, they are egg shaped. Therefore they are called anda, jagad-aṇḍa, brahmanda." (Lecture, Bhagavad-gita As It Is, 13.8-12, Bombay, September 30, 1973)

Prabhupāda: "Jagad-anda. Jagad-anda means universe. Brahmanda or jagad-anda. Anda. Anda means it is egg-shaped, round, egg-shaped. Therefore it is called anda, brahmanda. Bhu-gola. Gola means round. I have heard that before the science, the people were under the impression that this world is square. Is it not?"Devotees: "Flat."Prabhupada: "Flat. Flat, yes. But in the Vedic sastra, millions of years ago it is mentioned: bhu-gola. Gola means round. Just see. And these rascals say that formerly people were not so intelligent. They are intelligent because they are thinking that this world is flat. And those who have spoken millions of years ago, "It is round," they will have less intelligence. Just see. Bhu, gola. Gola means round. Bhu-gola. Similarly, jagad-anda. Abda means round, just like egg. Anda means egg. Jagad-anda. This universe is egg-shaped. And we can see also, the sky is round. This is the wall of this universe." (Lecture, Bhagavad-gita As It Is, 1.43, London, July 30, 1973)

| The Sun | News | Editorials | Features | Sun Blogs | Classifieds | Events | Recipes | PodCasts |

| About | Submit an Article | Contact Us | Advertise | HareKrsna.com |

Copyright 2005, 2016, HareKrsna.com. All rights reserved.