Awake!, March 22, 1963
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The Family Peacemaker—Do You Use It?
Our Marvelous Eyes
Is Yoga Something for Christians?
From Cotton to Clothing
MARCH 22, 1963
THE MISSION OF THIS JOURNAL
News sources that ore able to keep you owake to the vital Issues of our times must be unfettered by censorship and selfish interests. “Awake!” has no fetters. It recognizes facts, faces facts, is free to publish facts. It is not bound by political ambitions or obligations; it is unhampered by advertisers whose taes must nat be trodden on; it is unprejudiced by traditional creeds. This journal keeps itself free that it may speak freely to yau. But it doe5..riot abuse its freedom. It maintains integrity ta truth.
“Awake!” uses the regular news channels, but is not dependent on them, its own correspondents are an all continents, in scores of nations. From the four corners of the earth their uncensored, on^the-scenes reports come to you through these columns. This journal’s viewpoint is nat narrow, but is international. It is read in many nations, in many languages, by persons of all ages. Through its pages many fields of knowledge pass in review—government, commerce, religion, history, geography, science, social conditions, natural wonders—why, its coverage is as broad as the earth and as high as the heavens.
“Awake!" pledges itself to righteous principles, to exposing hidden foe^ and subtle dangers, to championing freedom far all, to comforting mourners and strengthening those disheartened by the failures of a delinquent world, reflecting sure hope for the establishment of a righteous New World.
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CONTENTS
Lovers of Pleasure
The Family Peacemaker—Do You Use It? 5
Greatly Confused
Our Marvelous Eyes—Evidence of Divine
Wisdom
South of Buenos Aires
Is Yoga Something for Christians ?
Trees for the Use of Man
Dangers of Hypnosis
From Cotton to Clothing
“Your Word Is Truth”
A Sea of Reeds or the Red Sea ?
Watching the World
Voluma XLIV
Brooklyn, N.Y,, March 22, 1963
Number 6
IMAGINE how dull your life would be if you had no pleasures to bring you sparkling moments of enjoyment! Every day would be drab and uninteresting. Time would seem to drag. But when there are pleasurable activities to anticipate, each day can be interesting and satisfying. The tedium of doing the same things day after day is broken. But as people differ in their interests so they differ in what they consider as pleasures.
What you may find pleasure in is not necessarily what someone else considers to be enjoyable. Sports, for example, might be a source of keen enjoyment for you, but for another person they are no source of pleasure whatsoever. There are other things that he regards as far more enjoyable. Some persons are so keenly interested in their daily work that they find pleasure in their jobs, but others dislike their jobs and anxiously look forward to quitting time, when they can enjoy the pleasures they plan for the evening or weekend. Whatever may be a person’s interests, the pleasures he enjoys add much to his life.
Enjoyment of pleasure is normal and not to be regarded with disdain. The abnormal view of pleasures taken by reli-
gious ascetics is out of harmony with the Word of God. The Scriptures do not teach that asceticism is meritorious in the sight of God or that it
person to a higher spiritual state, it stresses faith and good works as being pleasing to God. Wholesome pleasures are not condemned by it. Rather than condemn all pleasures, it associates ascetic views with men who fall away from the faith and who follow the practice of “forbidding to marry, commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be partaken of with thanksgiving by those who have faith and accurately know the truth.” (1 Tim. 4:3) When God created man he purposed that man should find enjoyment in life, otherwise he would not have given man the ability to feel pleasure. There is a limit, however, to how much you ought to pursue pleasure.
While avoiding the ascetic extreme of self-denial of wholesome pleasures, you should not go to the other extreme of giving them a place of priority in your life. This has become a common practice in the world. People foolishly place their love for pleasure ahead of everything else, even ahead of love for God. Foretelling this, the Bible said that people would be “lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God.” (2 Tim. 3:4) Are you certain that you have not gone to that extreme?
How does the amount of time you give to the pursuit of pleasure compare with what you give to God? In the course of a week do you give as much time to studying the Word of God, to worshiping him and to serving him as you do to watching television? When you are encouraged to study God’s Word and to attend Bible talks, do you claim to be too busy, although you are able to spend time for entertainment? Are you unwilling to take some time away from such pleasures and devote it to learning what is in God’s Word? Would not such unwillingness be evidence of greater love for pleasure than for God?
There is much fine counsel in the Scriptures about eating, drinking and moral behavior. These are fleshly pleasures that can easily get out of hand, with more importance being given to them than they are worthy of receiving. The person who disregards God’s counsel about them has made a god of his physical senses. Persons like him are “animalistic men, not having spirituality.” (Jude 19) “Their finish is destruction, and their god is their belly, and their glory consists in their shame, and they have their minds upon things on the earth.” (Phil. 3:19) Their minds are not on the heavenly Father and his good counsel for man but entirely on earthly things. Senselessly they have made sensual gratification their chief love. A people who were notorious for this were the ancient Romans.
Roman nobles set a bad example for the people in being excessive lovers of pleasures. Regarding them the historian John Lord states: “Their distinguishing vices were meanness and servility, the pursuit of money by every artifice, the absence of honor, and unblushing sensuality.”1 A similar description is provided by the1 apostle Paul, who lived in the days Of those sensual people. He said: “Having come to be past all moral sens a- they gave themselves over to loose condv to work uncleanness of every sort with greediness.” (Eph. 4: 19) The shamefully degraded life of those people well illustrates the degenerating effect excessive love for pleasure has upon mind, body and spirit.
Christians of the first century succeeded in shielding themselves from the pernicious influence of the Roman world by maintaining strong love for God. Because of that love they obeyed his wholesome moral laws and kept their minds on him and on his upbuilding Word. They found the greatest pleasure in doing the will of God.
Although the world today is following the pleasure-mad course taken by the Romans, you can be like the early Christians and govern your course by strong love for God and his Word. Realize that fleshly pleasures are fleeting, bringing only temporary enjoyment, but love of God brings lasting benefits. Because the world lacks that love, trials can be expected to come upon you for exercising it, but by enduring them you prove your love for God and win his approval. “Happy is the man that keeps on enduring trial, because on becoming approved he will receive the crown of life, which Jehovah promised to those who continue loving him.”—Jas. 1:12.
Wisely avoid the world’s folly of loving pleasure more than God. Do not put the enjoyment of fleshly desires ahead of obedience to his righteous commandments. Do not permit such pleasures to make such demands on your time that you have little or nothing left to give to the even more pleasurable and lastingly beneficial service of God and to the study of his written Word. Follow Jesus’ counsel: “Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness. -Matt. 6:33.
What is it? How effective is it?
USBANDS, if you come home from work tired and hungry, and there is no meal ready for you, how do you handle
the situation? Will it bring peace to the family? Wives, after you have worked hard all day cleaning the house, what is your reaction if your husband walks across your clean floor in his dirty boots? Will peace continue in the family? Instead, you may have an evening of words and ill-feelings, perhaps even tears. From little troubles like these spring bigger problems, causing heartaches, divided homes, delinquent children, and often divorce. It is obvious that a family peacemaker is needed to avoid such calamity.
Yes, there is at least one in every Christian home, and at times in homes not claiming to be Christian. The family peacemaker is the Bible. 'Oh! That old-fashioned book? That’s out of date to solve the problems of this twentieth century/ someone will say. But consult it for1 a moment with an unprejudiced mind.
First, it informs us that marriage originated with Jehovah, the God of the Bible. He performed the first marriage when he brought Eve to Adam. He blessed them and gave them everything they neede^ materially and spiritually, to live togethe. in peace. But when this marriage faced a test, woman failed her husband, man failed his wife, and both of them failed their heavenly Father. God, though, had not failed them; they were the ones that failed to follow his counsel. But God has preserved his counsel for us in his Word, the family peacemaker. Can it really help in maintaining peace in the family in these days? Turn to the Bible and see.
"Let wives be in subjection to their husbands as to the Lord, because a husband is head of his wife as the Christ also is head of the congregation, he being a savior of this body. In fact, as the congregation is in subjection to the Christ, so let wives also be to their husbands in everything.” 'Oh!’ say the wives, 'why pick on us? Don’t the men have their weaknesses too?’ Listen to Paul’s further words: "Husbands, continue loving your wives, just .as the Christ also loved the congregation and delivered up himself for it ... In this way husbands ought to be loving their wives as their own bodtes. He who loves his wife loves himself, for no man ever hated his own flesh/’—Eph. 5:22-33.
The family peacemaker comes right to the heart of the matter and points out the outstanding weakness of each; for wives, being in subjection to their husbands, keeping their place in the home; for husbands, continuing to love their wives, not taking them for granted. How could this help in the problems mentioned above? Let us see.
Bow It Works
A husband coming home at regular times has the right to expect his wife to have his meals ready for him, and the wife has the duty to see they are ready on time. But there are days when things seem to go wrong all day, so the meal may not be ready, and often due to no fault of the wife. What will the husband do? If he loves his wife as much as his own body, will he shout at her or beat her? No! Appreciating the fact that his wife is probably disheartened about the situation herself, the loving husband will encourage her, and be patient and wait. This action on the husband's part draws them closer together rather than dividing them. It brings peace to the home, when so easily there could have been trouble. The family peacemaker is not out of date.
Would the family peacemaker work if the husband’s meals were often late? Yes, for it says: “Husbands, continue loving your wives/’ You won her love, so she became your wife. When you were courting you would have done anything for her, even patiently teaching her things she wanted to learn, to win her affection. It worked then. Will it not also work now? Sit down together and teach her how to plan and schedule her housework, washing, shopping and other jobs, if she is having difficulty getting everything done. Take an interest in what she does in the home. When she does well, commend her in a kind and loving way, remembering that she is one flesh with you.
Often little things do the most to make her happy. For example, when did you last bring her flowers, or some other small present, something she really likes? Never stop courting her. That is how you won her, and it is a good way to keep her love. In this way you will make it easier for her to conquer the weakness of womankind, which is failure to be in subjection to their husband and head.
Womanly Subjection—
What Does It Mean?
Does this mean a wife is the slave of her husband? No, how could she be if they are one flesh? Then how is she in subjection to her husband? If a human body had two heads and each one wanted to control it, would that body have a peaceful existence? Likewise, when a man and woman marry and become one flesh, there can be only one head if there is to be peace. The Creator himself puts, that responsibility on man, as is shown at 1 Corinthians 11:3: “The head of every man is the Christ; in turn the head of a woman is the man.”
Does this mean that when some problem arises in the family the wife is not allowed to express her opinion on the matter? No, she has the right to express herself, and her husband would do well to listen to her. Her thoughts can help him make a wise decision, to the peace and benefit of the entire family. But it is the husband’s responsibility to make the decision, and the wife shows her subjection by accepting and carrying it out. Love on the part of the wife will make it easier for her to show such submissiveness. The family peacemaker says: “Love never fails.” So “clothe yourselves with love, for it is a perfect bond of union.” (1 Cor. 13:8; Col. 3:14) Let your love of each other grow stronger as the years go by, and there will be peace in your family.
Husbandly Love—How Can It Be Shown?
As head of the house husbands must be careful how they exercise their headship.
It is not done by walking across the clean floor in dirty boots. That will not win your wife’s respect. You cannot expect peace in your family when you do things that do not encourage peace. Why not change your boots as you come into the house? This builds peace in the family, as is stated in the “golden rule” of the family peacemaker. “All things, therefore, that you want men to do to you, you also must likewise do to them.” (Matt. 7:12) Wives, on the other hand, do not become so houseproud that your husband cannot be comfortable in the home, that he goes out every night. Order things in your home so that they contribute to the peace of the family rather than taking it away.
Remember, husbands, your wife married you because she loved you and wanted your companionship. Now that she is your wife, give her the love and companionship for which she married you. Make her feel she needs you and life could not be the same without you. When she needs you to help her with some little job in the home, be willing to do it, however small it may be in your eyes. Learn to see things from her viewpoint. This is important, because you as the head have to make decisions for both. Your wife will be more willing in accepting and carrying out those decisions if she knows you have considered them from her point of view as well as your own. Wise words in the family peacemaker counsel: “Let each one keep seeking, not his own advantage, but that of the other person.” (1 Cor. 10:24) Many would be the peaceful, happy families if all would consider these simple words.
You, both strangers once, desired to live together as one unit because a wonderful love grew up between you. The love that drew you together can also help to keep you together as one peaceful, happy unit. The family peacemaker shows how, “Love is long-suffering and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, does not get puffed up, does not behave indecently, does not look for its own interests, does not become provoked. It does not keep account of the injury. It does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” (1 Cor. 13:4-8) What a happy home is the one where love is shown
Such love, the kind that is a perfect bond of union, the kind that never fails, draws its strength from God, who is the Source of love. (1 John 4:8) Enduring love for one’s marriage mate, and for others in the family, is dependent on deep-seated love for God. Lasting peace in the household comes after one has come to be at peace with God. So those who seek stability and contentment in their homes must first seek God, studying his Word, praying for his guidance, applying his counsel and associating with others who do the same. Doing so, they will be able to meet the problems of family life with success. The husband will show abiding love for his wife and win her respect by godly conduct. The wife will manifest endearing submissive-ncss to her husband. Together they will avoid the pitfalls to happiness—because they follow the counsel of the family peacemaker, God’s Word the Bible.
GREATLY CONFUSED
“Communism is the cult of those who think man created God, and not the other way around.'’ —Dorothy Thompson.
YES, marvelous is the word to use in describing our eyes. Truly they give reason for wonder and astonishment and present powerful evidence of divine wisdom. By means of them we are able to take in a continual flow of visual impressions, of light and shadow, of colors, of movement, and even of distance.
More than that, our eyes automatically accommodate themselves to varying degrees of light, in fact, are able to perceive a range as wide as represented by the numbers from one to ten billion. They can also accommodate to differences in space, from a few inches to infinity. Nor would we overlook the ability of our eyes to express a great variety of emotions. And the marvel of marvels is how all this is perceived by the mind and recorded on the brain!
Only divine wisdom can account for these things, even as it alone can account for the ability of the human embryo to produce in only ter of month living cameras out of a little salt, protein, fat, sugar and water. And what cameras!
a mat
es oss SECTION SHOWING 3 COATS
Two beautifully formed, tiny spherelike motion-picture cameras that are perfectly coordinated and that can take color pictures in three dimensions. And what an advantage it is that we have two eyes! Thereby we have not only a margin of safety and a wide range of vision but also depth of vision. Although having two eyes, we do not see double; no, we have what is termed * ‘single binocular vision.”
Three Coats or Walls
These wonderful eyes of ours are not quite perfect spheres, being slightly longer from front to back than from side to side. In adults the average eye is about one inch in diameter. Aside from the fact that the eye of a woman is 2 percent smaller than the eye of a man, eyes of people generally are the same size regardless of the size of their bodies. Eyes that seem rather large most likely are either more exposed by the eyelids or protrude farther from their protecting orbit.
The eyeball is a sphere, the walls of which consist of three distinct layers or coats and the contents of which are about 95 percent liquid. Of its three coats, the outer one gives the eye its shape and furnishes protection, the intermediate coat serves chiefly to provide nutrition, and the inmost coat, or layer, contains the all-important sight cells.
The eye’s outer coat is termed the sclera, meaning “hard,” part of which we see as the white of the eye. It is well named, for it consists of bundles of tissue of extreme density, being among the toughest tissues in the human body, serving well both to protect the eye and to give it its shape. It is so ruggedly built that it might be likened to a concrete pillbox with a heavy plate-glass window in front that has steel shutters to protect the window and a Venetian blind inside to control the amount of light entering.
The “plate-glass window” of our illustration is the cornea, meaning “horny.” It is a circular transparent area about a half inch in diameter in the front center of the eyeball and accounting for one-sixth of the outer coat, the sclera accounting for the rest The cornea permits light to enter the eye, and through it we can see the colorful iris and the pupil. The cornea is slightly raised above the surrounding sclera as the glass of a watch is raised above the surrounding watchcase. The curvature of the cornea is of the greatest importance in the ability of the eye to focus. While rarely perfect, only when the cornea is seriously lacking in symmetry does it become one of the two causes of astigmatism, the other being a faulty lens.
The tiny blood vessels in the surrounding sclera stop short when they come to the cornea. Surely this is evidence of divine wisdom, as otherwise the cornea would not be perfectly transparent. Incidentally, this explains why it is possible to transplant the cornea from one person’s eyes to another’s. Due to the unique structure of the cornea, especially its main, hard, hornlike layer, the age or health of the donor is not important, nor even the condition of his own sight, so long as the cornea itself is clear and healthy.
The Second Coat
The second coat consists of three distinct parts: iris, ciliary bodies and choroid. As noted previously, the iris can be seen through the cornea or window of the eye, and it is well named, as iris means “rainbow,” and it is the only part of the eye that gives it color and variety. The iris abounds in blood vessels and has an opening in the center, the pupil. Yes, the pupil is simply a hole in the iris that looks black because the inside of the eye is dark.
For changing the size of the pupil the iris has two sets of muscles that react automatically to light. One of these is a circular or sphincter-like set of muscles for decreasing the size of the pupil, and the other is a radiating set of muscles, like the spokes of a wagon wheel, for increasing the pupil’s size.
muscles of IRIS
Joined to the iris on each side is a ciliary body. Each has a muscle that adjusts the lens for near or distant focusing, and it also has some seventy folds. Then, joined to the ciliary bodies on each side is the choroid, meaning skinlike. It completes the second coat, accounts for two-thirds of it and abounds in blood vessels.
The Retina
The third or inmost coat of the eye is the retina, the “net,” semitransparent and of a purplish hue. It is by all odds the most marvelous part of our marvelous eyes, giving a most striking evidence of divine wisdom. Though of a maximum thickness of but a sixty-fourth of an inch, .4 mm., it consists of ten distinct layers.
In one of these layers are found 137 million light-sensitive cells. Yes, there are 137 million of these in the retina, which, according to one authority, “is about the size of a postage stamp and not much thicker”! Where these arc the thickest, from 1 ^0,000 to 160,000 of them are found in a . are millimeter, or in an area about this size:D. In fact, it has been estimated that if these cells were as large as a dot of the letter “i” or a period, they would cover an area of ninety square feet!
Each of these receptor cells consists of (Ive parts, including an outer layer, an inner layer and a nucleus. Tiny nerve lines lead from these and condense to form upward of a million lines. These, in turn, unite to make up the optic nerve that connects the eye with the brain. Where these nerve lines leave the eye is the eye’s “blindspot,” the lines themselves being insensitive to sight, even as a telephone wire of itself cannot pick up sound. Near this blindspot is the eye’s visual center, where sight is most acute, which spot is not even as large as the head of a pin!
Of the 137 million cells seven million are cone cells and the rest rod cells, the two having distinctive shapes and serving distinctive purposes. The cone cells are receptors for bright light and colors; the rods, for diminished light and peripheral vision, it being with them that we catch sight of things out of the corner of our eyes. Barnyard fowls have only or practically only cone cells and so must go to roost when it gets dark, while owls, which have only or practically only rod cells, avoid the bright daytime and venture forth only when it gets dark. The human eye, with its great number of both cells, has the widest range of vision. The fact that the rod cells are not sensitive to colors
III II 11 no doubt accounts for 1 l| j the fact that in the • I II f f twilight color distinc-iaye/of1 htiSa tions seem- to disap. pear.
The visual mechanism appears to work something like this: Light strikes a chemical in the receptor cells, which, in turn, creates another chemical, “deep purple,” and which, although lasting but a millionth of a second, triggers a nerve impulse that is sent to the brain. According to Dr. George Wold of Harvard University’s biological laboratories, “none of the mechanisms of excitation, whether of nerves, muscles or sense organs, [are] really understood.”
The Eye's Refractive Bodies
A refractive body is something transparent that offers resistance to light, slowing it down. A vacuum offers no resistance, air offers very little, water more (33 percent), glass 50 percent or more depending upon its nature Sind thickness, A and diamonds
' m o s t o f a 11.
* When a ray of
lig'lit strikes such a body at any I J other than a right an-
gle the light ray is bent. Put a stick partway in the water and view it obliquely and it will seem to be bent where it strikes the water, due to the water bending the light rays. To the extent that light rays strike the eye at an angle they have to be bent to be focused on the visual center of the eye.
The chief refractive body of the eye is the lens2 which is suspended toward the front of the eyeball or sphere of the eye and is about the size of an aspirin tablet It is biconvex, that is, convex on both sides, and has the ability to bend, which greatly increases its focusing power, as also does the fact that its cells are more dense at its center than at its edges—two characteristics no man-made lens could possibly have. According to one theory, when we strain to see, the ciliary muscles automatically bend the lens, but as soon as we relax our efforts the lens has an elastic covering or capsule that automatically returns the lens to normal. Any opacity or cloudiness of the lens is termed a cataract.
In the space between the eye’s window, the cornea, and the lens, about an eighth of an inch, is found the iris, as we have seen, and a saltwater solution, termed the aqueous body, which bathes the lens. It is continually renewed, and there is a means for drawing off its surplus. When this drawing off is interfered with, pressure within the eye mounts, resulting in painful glaucoma, a major cause of blindness.
The space between the lens and the retina at the back of the eyeball is filled with a gelatinous mass considerably thicker in consistency than the aqueous body. It accounts for four-fifths of the mass of the eyeball and is encased In a special transparent membrane. One of its chief purposes may be said to be to keep the eyeball from collapsing. Though when submerged in water it cannot be seen, it contains an extremely delicate meshwork. Moving spots that are occasionally seen floating before one’s eyes are “ghost” blood cells floating around in this mass known as the vitreous humor. When, due to malnutrition or undue eyestrain caused by poor illumination or reading fine print, the eyeball becomes elongated, nearsightedness results, according to the generally accepted opinion. When there is a shortening of the eyeball, farsightedness. Farsightedness also results when the lens, because of age, has lost some of its ability to bend.
Normal vision is termed 20/20 vision." This does not mean that one has good eyesight if he has this but merely that his sight is that of the average person, being able to see at twenty feet what the average person is able to see at twenty feet. A 20/40 vision means that one can see at twenty feet only what the average person can at forty feet; this, however, is not 50 percent vision but actually 83 percent of normal. Having 20/200 vision Is considered being legally blind.
The Eyes' Appendages or Auxiliaries
For its proper functioning the eye is dependent upon a number of other organs or structures. For one thing, the eyeball is sealed in by a membrane known as the conjunctiva (conjunc.ti'va). It covers the exposed part of the eye and folds back to form the inner surface of the upper and lower eyelids. It contains many tiny nerves that make themselves felt when a speck gets in one of our eyes. Where the conjunctiva lines the eyelids, it is opaque and filled with blood vessels. Where it lines the white of our eyes, it is much thinner and transparent and has few blood vessels; and it contains no blood vessels where it lines the cornea—again evidence of divine wisdom. Injury or disease may cause it to give the eye a bloodshot appearance. Inflammation of it is termed conjunctivitis, which in a serious form is known as trachoma.
The eyeball is cushioned in very soft fat in a cone-shaped orbit and is placed in it in such a way as to give it at once maximum protection and maximum range of vision. In each orbit are seven muscles: the “elevator” muscle for the upper eyelid that enables us to wink, and three pairs of muscles fastened to the eyeball and the orbit that enable the eye to move sideways, up and down, obliquely and in a circular fashion. These pairs of muscles work in various combinations, and the two sets, for the two eyes, are perfectly coordinated, which is one of the reasons why single binocular vision is possible.
Our,.eyelids with their eyelashes are a great help also. They protect our eyes against harm from too much light, too much heat, dirt and bad weather. Their inner surfaces abound in tiny glands that emit a waxlike substance that serves to
MARCH 22, 1963
lubricate the eye and keep the lids from sticking to it. And logically, since the upper eyelid moves so much more than the lower, the upper has more of these tiny glands.
The eyelids also help distribute the tears that lubricate, nourish and keep moist the outer surface of the eye and that also have somewhat of a germ-killing power. They are supplied by tiny glands located at the upper outside part of each eye and are drained off at the lower nasal side of the eye. Helping also to protect the eyes are the eyebrows.
PATH OF OPTIC NERVES TO BRAIN
Many and various kinds of nerves serve the eyes for sensation, for voluntary and for involuntary movements. It is said that eight of the twelve cratiial or head nerves arc involved in some way or another in our seeing, the second of these, the optic nerve, actually a twin, being given entirely to sight. The optic nerves lead to the rear halves of the brain, to the subdivisions known as the occipital lobes. The left half of the optic nerve of each eye leads to the left lobe and the right half of the optic nerve of each eye leads to the right lobe. This crossing over of one half of the optic nerve of each eye to the other side is believed to have some relationship with the coordination of the images of the two eyes. Further, this serves as a safeguard, for neither eye is dependent upon just one lobe nor is either lobe dependent upon just one eye.
In common with all the rest of the body, the eyes and their appendages have their share of the various blood vessels; those of the eyes being especially remarkable for their delicate walls, their loose connection to surrounding tissue and the way they bend. Within the eye arc visible internal blood vessels, this being the only part of the body where this is so. This is at times of great help in diagnosing a patient.
Evidence of Divine Wisdom
Truly the eyes are a marvel of marvels and produce a wealth of evidence of divine wisdom. They simply cannot be accounted for by the senseless ones who say in their hearts, 4‘There is no Jehovah.” The more acquainted we become with them, the more evidence we see of the wisdom of the Creator: in their structure, their coordination, in their automatic accommodations and adjustments and in their reception of light and impressions of space, color and movement.—Ps. 14:1.
The greatest of all marvels is the sense of vision in our brains. The eye is like a camera, amazingly so. (Man in inventing the camera unconsciously imitated the eye, human wisdom discovering the principles that guided divine wisdom in creating the eye.) The eye takes motion pictures. What we see in our minds is not the outside objects we are looking at but the picture that is being taken by the receptor cells and sent to the brain—a continuous picture automatically and instantaneously developed. Yes, that picture is actually in our brain, and that is so regardless of its size! More than that, it is all being recorded for future reference!
No question about it, a wise king of long ago knew whereof he spoke when he said, ‘The seeing eye—Jehovah himself has made it?—Prov. 20:12.
THE South American continent is associated in the minds of the majority with a tropical climate, extensive green plateaus and dense jungles, where fauna of every kind thrive in a climate that is ideal for them. Perhaps to some, South America summons a vision of the steaming Equator or the Amazon jungle, abounding with fruits that are the tropical delight of its inhabitants. That is a true picture—at least for the part of South America that fits the description—but not for all of South America, nor for all the countries that go to form this huge triangle-shaped continent.
Let us not forget that "South” does not only mean south of the frozen wastes of the North Pole, escaping, as it were, from the regions that inherit their cold winters from the North Pole, “South” also means getting closer to the South Pole, a place in the world that boasts its own frozen deserts and exports its own cold winters to its neighbors.
Argentina is one of its close neighbors.
Argentina is situated in the part of the hemisphere that has the greatest climatic changes and, as a consequence, does not present the totally tropical picture that is so often associated with South America. It is true that in the 1,072,700 square miles that make up the nation’s territory there are places that are hot and tropical; in fact, Argentina has the hottest point recorded on the continent, in the Santiago del Estero Province situated in the north of Argentina. And yet, this same country, whose 20,956,000 inhabitants are scattered from the northern frontier touching Bolivia to the very doors of the South Pole, has the coldest spot recorded on. the continent. While speaking of superlatives in topography and climate, we might say that Argentina has the highest mountain on the continent and in the hemisphere, Mount
Aconcagua, which towers 22,834 feet above sea level. And for good measure, let us mention the lowest place on the continent, Salinas Grandes, in the Valdes Peninsula in Argentine territory, which is 131 feet below sea level. '
View of the Capital
The city of Buenos
Aires, capital of the nation, has a summer climate much like that of New York, hot and humid. But, despite the sometimes oppressive humidity, more than one third of the inhabitants of the country have chosen to live in Buenos Aires and greater Buenos Aires. The city proper has 3,703,000 inhabitants, but there are close to 8,000,000 people in all of greater Buenos Aires. We are happy to say that in this populous area there are many zealous, active witnesses of Jehovah organized into seventy congregations.
A curious characteristic of the city is that its dwellers have not formed national or racial groups such as observed in many big cities of the world that have many nationalities represented. This highly commercial city, whose port handles boats from all over the world, has no solidly Italian or Spanish districts or other districts comprised exclusively of other nationalities. In a short time after coming to this country to live the people become Argentines.
One of the things that accelerates the integration process is the local custom of eating abundantly and well. No matter from what country you may have come or what eating habits you may have had, you soon 'do as the Romans.’ You find yourself just as lost as your neighbors if your meal does not include some cut of beef. You find yourself consuming the big delicious steaks with the same frequency and zest as they do, and it could be added that you will find yourself just as concerned as they are when the price of meat goes up, as it has been doing steadily. Another eating attraction in Buenos Aires is pizza, an Italian tomato pie with cheese topping. There are many, many pizzerias in the city where it is sold- On Saturday night there is generally a line waiting for tables in these places because the city comes out in force to consume tons of it! At home the favorite food is asada, which means choice beef cuts roasted over an open fire. The present financial situation, however, has cut down some on the quantity that families can afford, but by no means has it wiped out the custom. That is fortunate, because it is so easy to get used to eating steaks and asado.
There are many nationalities represented in the country, Italian and Spanish dominating. The people are amiable and express their thoughts very openly, be it over politics, football or the horse races.
Region of “Big Feet”
But to the south of Buenos Aires, where the climate becomes colder, there extends a vast territory that is not totally known to the majority of the inhabitants of the country. This region has features that are completely different from the tropical regions in appearance and activity.
The region that is worthy of special mention is that which extends to the south of the thirty-eighth parallel, generally called the Patagonia. This vast territory that stretches down to the very doors of the South Pole is sparsely populated, and a description of its terrain and climate helps one to appreciate why the people of this country would rather go “north” from this place. The general impression of the land is one of desolation, to such a degree that when the well-known English naturalist Darwin visited it more than a century ago he called it la tierra malditai which means cursed earth. Since then the climate remains the same, of course, but much progress has been made that has given new life to its pioneer-spirited dwellers. The mineral discoveries, especially petroleum, have been responsible for the material betterment of the region and of the country. The oil wells in Comodoro Rivadavia on the eastern coast of the Patagonia have made the country virtually independent as far as fuel needs are concerned.
The name Patagonia was given to this place by the Portuguese navigator Hernando de Magellan. He called it Patagonia for the inhabitants of the region who had big feet, or at least appeared to have big feet. In Spanish, patagones means big feet. What happened was that the natives wrapped their feet in crude sandals made of animal skins in such a way that they left huge foot impressions in the earth— hence the name. Of course, the part that Magellan saw was the southernmost extreme of the region and its inhabitants. But there are parts of the Patagonia that are more attractive.
COMING IN THE NEXT ISSUE
Church Responsibility in Our Critical Times,
• Parents Can Be Cruel.
* Poisonous Mushrooms and Edible Toadstools.
• No Common Market for Britain.
The western border of the Patagonia is mountainous, with the Andean mountain range dominating the whole panorama. Majestic peaks, ice deposits and glacial formations deck the terrain. Without really being very high, this mountain range is savage. Abundant rains that are brought by western winds have given birth to numerous rivers and snow-capped peaks. In the Andean Patagonia there are spectacular glaciers, among which is the Moreno Glacier, a huge mass of ice that is "T 'Mit twenty-eight miles long, with points re fling some two hundred feet high.
Some Cheerful Features
But not all is wasteland in this region. Coming from the Andes toward the center of the Patagonia, still fairly well north, one finds the Province of Rio Negro. In its beautiful valleys lies the richest fruitgrowing region of the country. There are no tropical fruits, as we have left them behind miles ago; but there is an abundance of apples, pears and grapes, much of which fruit goes toward being one of Argentina’s major exports.
Another cheerful feature of the Patagonia is what many call the ‘Switzerland of South America,’ Bariloche. The numerous lakes and forests that bless this winter ski resort form a chorus of beauty that make its scenery comparable to the Swiss Alps; in fact, many Swiss and Germans have chosen this place as their home. In travel agencies in the city of Buenos Aires it would be easy to confuse travel posters of Bariloche with those of Switzerland.
But aside from these and a few other cheerful features, found mostly in the northern part of the region, the Patagonia is a barren inhospitable desert. Those who visit it remember mainly the cold winds that constantly chastise the earth and the few men who dwell on it. Among the few representatives of the vegetable kingdom found in this part of South America are the clumps of tough grass that spot the area. There are few cows in the whole region. ‘Well, what do people eat?' might ask a beef-loving Buenos Aires resident They eat mutton, because the type of grass found here can support sheep. So the Buenos Aires people who visit this region usually return telling about the cold, the inhospitable winds, the lack of vegetation, but they always tell how tired they are of eating mutton. They miss their steaks.
To complete the account of the colder side of South America, or, rather, the colder end, let us replace your vision of the noisy parrots of the hot northern jungles with their more sedate counterpart, the “well-dressed” penguins. Non-fliers but excellent swimmers, they consume enormous quantities of fish. These inhabitants of the southernmost tip of South America, flocked together in their “formal” dress, add a final wintry touch to this long continent. Here in this famous Tierra del Fuego that Magellan saw, things are as different from the northern extreme of South America as they are far from it. We are 4,750 long miles from the tropics. There is a world of difference in climate, topography and customs. So if you want to visit all of South America you will need to bring your overcoat.
and comes from a Sanskrit root yujj meaning “joining” or “union.” Yoga is thus the yoking of the mind to the Hindu
bringing about what is called “Union—or Man-God.”3
4GQtudy Yoga, Chris-0 tians Told,” was the heading to an article in the London Daily Express, reporting on the 1961 meeting in New Delhi of the World Council of Churches. “Christians should take up oriental meditation, the system of Yoga and the ‘disciplined will' of Eastern teachers, said U Ba
Hmyin, a Baptist leader preaching at the opening
from Burma, service of the
World Council of Churches.”1 Moreover, a Roman Catholic monk suggests yoga as an approach to Christian prayer.2 Besides such clerical urgings to take up yoga, there is now a flood of books on the theme of yoga for ‘health and dynamic psychological powers.’
These books not only urge Christians to take up yoga but they make such emphatic declarations as: “The true Christian way of life is Yoga. . . . Yoga does not conflict with Christian teachings.”3 Since such claims are being made, it is timely to ask, Is yoga something for Christians? It will be well to examine yoga and its objectives and look at them in the light of God’s Word, the Holy Bible.
Yoga’s origins go so far back into antiquity that they are said to have been lost in the passing centuries. The word first appears in the later Hindu Upanishads
yoga
Objectives and Methods
The words often used to describe the aim of are “self-realization” and “selfknowledge.” For achieving such a goal, there are about ten different types of yoga. One of them, Hatha Yoga, is widely taught throughout Christendom. It is the yoga promoted for health benefits and is described as "a system of mental and physical training with prescribed postures, breathing exercises, meditation and relaxation.”3
The effect of this popular yoga is frankly admitted to be many-sided, health being just one aspect: “Hatha Yoga is really the preparation of mind and body, through health and vitality, for a higher form of Yoga, Raja Yoga, which is the reason it has been called ‘the ladder to Raja Yoga.’3 It is said that the only reason the bodybuilding and mind-disciplining yoga is taught is for the sake of knowing a higher yoga. Thus Webster’s dictionary defines yoga as “the suppression through progressive discipline (as raja-yoga) of all activity of body, mind, and individual will in order that the self may realize its distinction from them and attain liberation from all pain and suffering.”
Though the yoga health books say yoga ’ is not a religion, it is usually admitted that it leads to religion. The motive of the true yogi (one who practices yoga), says Sir John Woodroffe in The Serpent Power, is not merely to obtain dynamic powers but “is essentially a religious one, based on a firm belief in Brahman and inspired by a desire for union with It which is liberation.” One yogi says: “I myself consider Kriya [Yoga] the most effective device of salvation through self-effort ever to be evolved.”4 A yogi who initiated some 100,-000 Westerners3 into a higher yoga says: "Master of his body and mind, the Kr\ Yogi ultimately achieves victory over the 'last enemy/ Death. ... In contrast to the slow, uncertain 'bullock cart’ theological path to God, Kriya Yoga may justly be called the 'airplane’ route.”4
It should also be borne in mind that "the cultivation of suprasensory perception is one of the aims of yoga.”3
Posture and Breathing Exercises
How are extrasensory perception and other yoga objectives attained? First, there is a series of semi-acrobatic postures, many of which are extremely difficult. One yoga-for-health book says about a certain headstanding posture: "This is the posture for those who wish to develop suprasensory powers like telepathic communication and clairvoyance.”3 Another book admits that the yoga health exercises are related to developing ESP: "The awakening of the chakras from their latent condition to consciousness is also the purpose of Hatha Yoga exercises/'5 The chakras are said to be related to the gradual development of ESP by means of the Kundalini power. Kundalini, meaning "coiled one/’ is said to be the goddess of nature and is represented by the symbol of a serpent.
Yoga teaching is that the serpent power, Kundalini, lies at the base of the spine and, when aroused, is made to travel up the spine through six stations, plexuses or chakras, to the residence of the deity Vishnu in the brain. When this serpent power reaches each new chakra or plexus, the yogi is said to experience new kinds of psychic powers, until finally he may arrive, after years of effort, at the "union of Kundalini with Vishnu,” the goal of samadhi, the state of superconsciousness or complete illumination.
Yoga books stress the fact that with yoga one can attain psychic powers without the decline in health experienced by many spirit mediums. The health-building type of yoga is said to offer a "scientific method” of gaining such powers as ESP:
"The advantage of achieving psychic de velopment by the graded scientific method of Raja and Hatha Yoga is that the same experiences [of the spirit mediums] will appear in: their proper sequence under full control of the operator guided and protected by his guru [teacher], and will not be accompanied by physical derangement or loss of health. . . . One by one all the occult centres of the body . . . are awakened, all hidden powers unveiled, all superphysical planes conquered, and man while still man becomes divine."0
Whether for obtaining health or occult powers, breathing exercises go with the postures. The yogis are said to have worked out the most elaborate system of breathing that has ever existed under the sun. It starts with deep breathing and ends up with a complicated type of breathing. One better-health-with-yoga book emphasizes the importance of the breathing exercises by saying: "Its significance has been acknowledged even by the well-known [spirit] medium Eileen Garrett. , . . 'Control of breathing/ she says, 'plays an important part in all my supernormal work.’ ”T
Another reason for the complicated breathing is the yoga teaching that each person has been allotted a definite number of breaths to his life. If he uses these up rapidly by quick breathing, he is said to die sooner. So the yogi tries to slow his breathing down even to the extent of stopping it for long periods.
Concentration and Meditation
Breathing and postures are not all: concentration comes next. The student is taught to concentrate on the extremity of his nose or on the tip of a burning candle. The eyes are half closed as he looks at the burning candle and the gaze is fixed on the flame till tears come into the eyes. Then, with eyes closed, one holds the image as long as possible. This may be followed by gazing at the tip of the nose. The objective is to get the mind a total blank.
The next step is meditation by fixation on one idea for long periods. Such exercises lead to a trance or form of hypnosis. Thus K. T. Behanan, in Yoga, A Scientific Evaluation, says:
'There is one feature which is strikingly common to both hypnosis and yoga. It is well known that hypnosis can be induced by staring steadily at an object or by thinking exclusively of one idea. This monoideism has its parallel in yoga during the meditative period when the yogi aims to eliminate from the mind everything but the thought of the minute object of concentration.”
Since this kind of meditation leads to self-induced hypnosis, the most common posture in yoga is the lotus posture, which is the sitting posture in which the lower limbs are locked together, to guard "against the danger of falling backward or forward during the trance state.”4
During the meditative stage a yoga theory regarding the relationship between health and colors may play a part. One health-by-yoga teacher says:
"Yellow is necessary for the sacrococcygeal plexus [chakra] which is Situated between the anus and the generative organs. It stores this color whenever there is a surplus, . . . White is stored in the prostatic plexus. . . . Red is stored in the solar plexus. . . . Green , . , is stored in the cardiac plexus. . . . Blue , , . is stored in the laryngeal plexus and controls the power of hearing. . , . With the help of these colors in meditation and food, I have seen my students achieve tremendous [health] benefits. These various colors may be ingested into the body by concentrating on the different nerve plexuses where they are stored. . . . Concentration on these plexuses sometimes awakens latent powers and opens the nerve centers for the ascent of the kundalini [serpent] power.”3
In harmony with Yoga theories is the practice of healing by colors and radiations. In fact, one yoga book tells about a radionic-type device manufactured in England: “De la Warr has devised a treatment instrument called the Coloroscope, which actually radiates curative waveforms at the patient. . . . The wave-forms are projected at the patient by using a coloured ray of light as a carrier.”” This same manufacturer, says the yoga book, makes a camera, called the radionic camera, that photographs diseases of patients many miles distant, the only link with the patients being a spot of blood on the instrument. The manufacturer has also published reproductions of "thoughtphotographs,” those taken by telepathy.4
Yoga healing, that is, diagnosing and curing by psychic powers, is often discussed in yoga literature;! and many examples are given by Yogananda in his autobiography/
Many are the other manifestations of the serpent power, so many that only a few can be mentioned. The Yoga Dictionary lists a few of them:
"Knowledge of past and future. . . . Understanding of the significance of sounds made by animals. . . . Knowledge of others’ minds . . . The belief that a great yogi can become invisible at will ... is general in India. . . . Knowledge of the time of death. . . . Various kinds of strength. . . . Knowledge of minutely small, concealed and distant things . . . clairvoyance, . . . psychometry, that is, knowledge of other things connected with the object. . . . There may also be powers as well as vision, such as, for example, control of hunger and thirst by mind-poise on the pit of the throat. . . . Levitation. . . . Clairaudience. . . . Astral travelling,"’1
The powers obtained by yoga are thus basically the same as those possessed by Christendom’s spirit mediums, spiritualists and extrasensory perceivers. By awakening the “serpent power” through yoga one is said to attain “the kingdom of heaven that is only to be found within.”"
Yoga in the Light of the Holy Bible
From the foregoing it is evident to students of the Bible that yoga and its practices are in direct conflict with God’s Word. For one thing, yoga teaches that all religions lead to the kingdom of heaven which is within oneself. But Jesus Christ did not agree that all religions lead to the same goal. Many lead to destruction. (Matt. 7:13, 14) Moreover, the Bible teaches that the kingdom is a real heavenly government, one that will destroy all the nations of this world. (Dan. 2:44) When Jesus said to the unbelieving Pharisees, “The kingdom of God is in your midst,” he meant that the foremost representative of that kingdom, the King himself, Jesus Christ, was in their midst.—Luke 17:21.
Yoga stresses salvation through selfefforts and self-knowledge, but the Bible stresses salvation by means of Jesus Christ and God’s kingdom. Instead of selfknowledge, the Bible counsels the need to take in knowledge of Jehovah God and Jesus Christ, the only kind of knowledge that leads to everlasting life.—John 17:3.
Yoga leads to a blank mind, empty of contents—the very condition that Jesus Christ warns against, since it makes one easy prey for the demons. (Luke 11:24-26) The Christian must keep his mind full of Bible truths so he can resist the wicked spirit forces misleading the world. (Eph. 6:12, 13) Christian meditation is not a tranceinducing fixation of thought on one idea or object, nor is it a lazy rambling state in which the mind is receptive to any idea that comes along, since ideas can be injected by demons. As one demon told a / who used the ouija-board way to automatic writing:
"A good way to begin is to try silent thought about the superconscious as the subject of meditation. You must be able to subdue your mind, quiet it. . . . Allow your mind to wander or just to blank out. . . . Mistakes can be avoided by listening carefully each day at meditation for the inner voice . . . and the help from higher planes.”™
To guard against demon snares, Christian meditation must be guided by the Bible. As you read, pause and add mentally to what has been read. Think about the full meaning of a scripture; how does it apply to your life? Bible meditation is purposeful and safeguards the Christian.
Moreover, the Bible exposes the “serpent power” to be spiritism and to derive from none other than “the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth.” (Rev. 12:9) To guard against being deceived by the Devil and his demons, let the Christian who feels the need for exercise not use yoga as his guide. There are many other exercises, walking being one of the best. Be moderate, realizing that “bodily training is beneficial for a little.”—1 Tim. 4:8.
Yoga is a scientific, methodical way to the practice of spiritism. Despite clerical urgings, it is not for Christians, who must resist the Devil and stick close to Jehovah. —Rev. 22:15.
REFERENCES
i Issue of November 20, 1961.
2 Time, July 11, I960, pp. 69, 70.
* Yosra axd Long Life, by Yogi Gupta, pp, 15, 17, 20, 22, 26, 99, 141-143,
4 Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramhansa Yogananda, pp. 40. 166, 249.
b Yoga and Health, by Selvarajan Yesudlan and Elisabeth Hatch, p. 96.
e The Yoga of Health, Youth and / wy Sir Paul Dukes, pp, 29, 41, 42, 51.
r Forever Young Forever Healthy, by Indra Devi, p. 37,
a The Study and Practice of Yoga, by Harvey Day, p. 95.
9 Y'ocXf Dictionary, by Ernest Wood, pp. 110-121.
io Beyond Doubt, .4 Record of Psychic, Experience, by Mary Le Beau, pseudonym of a woman teacher and psychologist, pp. 144-147,
LOOK around you. How many things can you see right now that are made of wood? No doubt you are able to name a number of things, for in our modern age wood is one of the most widely used raw materials.
Products of the forest appear in man’s life not only in their original
state but in other forms made possible through chemical processes. When identifying items made of wood did you include the telephone receiver in your home, fountain pens and certain automobile accessories, among others? Yes, many such items are made of plastic; however, much of this plastic is a byproduct of wood. Photogr aphic film, cellophane in packaging, rayon cord in tires are not as commonly recognized products of the tree.
Numerous industries engaged in the manufacture of forest products have developed because of the enormous demand for wood. But the use of the tree by man is not limited to wood products alone. Trees provide many eatable products. They play an important role in soil conservation. Trees influence the climate and provide beauty. These are only a few of the diversified uses of the tree by man.
Briefly reflect on some of the benefits received from the tree by man.
Maple Syrup
Crispy waffles covered with butter and maple syrup. How delectable and mellow to the taste buds! Perhaps you have enjoyed mornings with such a meal. Maple syrup made from the sap of a maple tree has a domestic importance all its own.
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