Integration of Scientific Knowledge and Revelation in Said Nursi by Dr.Necati Aydin
In his youth, Nursi was amazed by scientific knowledge and thought it served as a stairway to the truth and understanding of God. Therefore, he passionately dedicated his time to studying science, even memorizing some textbooks. However, he later recognized that scientific knowledge was taking him away from God. After carefully reviewing the problem, which took 30 years, he realized that the problem was not with pure scientific knowledge. Instead, the problem is that the
The Canvas Above
The sky above you is a canvas on which many different scenes are painted. You open your eyes to a breathtaking sunrise and rest as the sun sets, casting its beautiful colors on the sky, resulting in a magnificent sunset. On some days, fluffy clumps of clouds adorn the sky, and on other days there is only gray sky leading to rainfall. On a cloud-clear day, far away from city lights, you would see sparkling jewels in the night sky. All of this happens in what we call the s
Sea Slimes
Imagine spending your holiday on a seashore. With the sun shining bright and a cool breeze sweeping past your hair as you walk carefree with no work stress, you spot a beautiful, almost transparent, slimy umbrella-like animal swimming, gliding smoothly just a few meters away. Well, that is a Jellyfish! They are beautiful, elegant, almost see-through marine animals resembling gelatinous umbrellas with long threads called tentacles attached to their bodies. They look so un
Scientific Discoveries Help Us to Understand Existence and God’s Presence
On July 12, 2022, dazzling and spectacular full-colour images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope were released from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. This is an incredible achievement rightly called by NASA ‘the dawn of a new era in astronomy. According to experts, the images were taken at different wavelengths over a period that totalled 12.5 hours. Space analysts say the James Webb Space Telescope has offered a window to peep in
Seeking the True Source of the Latte
We all love sipping a caffé latte on a cold rainy day with a slice of chocolate cake by the side. But have you ever wondered about the source of the latte or milk from which the coffee beverage derives its name? Does it come from the cow? Really? Let me take you on a journey of unlearning and relearning the true source of milk. Cows are one of the several domesticated cattle that are raised for milk, meat, and hides. They belong to the order Artiodactyls of the Bovidae
Your Home in the Universe
Look up! You might recognize your home. Your home and mine, in this beautiful, expanding universe, is the Milky Way Galaxy (MWG). From Earth, we see it only as a band of light stretching across the horizon. To understand why, imagine spending your entire life in a room, and never leaving it. Would you know how your house looks like? No. The same applies to the MWG. However, thanks to the abilities of the human brain which led to the advancement in astronomical technology
The Majestic Land Mammals
On our way back from Dehradun last summer, we spotted an elephant standing on the banks of Ganga, spewing water all over his body using its trunk, perhaps trying to beat the heat. Due to hilly terrains, elephants in this region bend their forelegs and slide down the hill to get to the river. According to local eyewitnesses, the sight is both exciting and frightening. Located in the northern part of India, Chidiyapur and its surrounding area are known for wild elephants.
Oh, to be a Fish
Close your eyes and imagine a dark blue sky with a pinch of light far away, colorful species of the marine underworld, and beautiful coral reefs. This is what a fish’s view is like for the most part. Oh, to be a fish. Fish can live in all aquatic habitats, rocky shores, coral reefs, kelp forests, rivers and streams, lakes, and ponds, under ice, in the deep sea, and in other environments of fresh, salt, and brackish water. For balance and movement, fish use their fins.
The Predictability of Magnets and Life by Nadine Kamal
Why does a magnet attract iron? The standard scientific explanation is that “Magnets attract iron due to the influence of their magnetic field upon the iron. … When exposed to the magnetic field, the atoms begin to align their electrons with the flow of the magnetic field, which makes the iron magnetized as well. This, in turn, creates an attraction between the two magnetized objects.” But this explanation does not really tell us why magnets attract iron, it
The Problem of Post-Modern Analysis and 5D Thinking
Post-modernism is characterized by multiple features. One of the fundamental features of post-modernism is that it has erected a discourse wherein meaning; the underlying medium to reach value and purpose, has been vigorously reduced to imaginary function. In the simplest description, meaning has no relevant place in the post-modern actional world. The post-modern critique deprecates and delinks the actional world from any sort of metaphysical or spiritual function. Inst
Wishing Upon A Shooting Star
They say make a wish when you see a shooting star, and it shall be granted. The truth is, those shooting stars are chunks of larger space rocks that burn up upon entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Scientifically, they are known as meteors. Their parent bodies could be meteoroids (rocks), which are smaller fragments of asteroids, or comets (icy bodies mixed with some rocks and dust). When meteors do not completely burn, they survive and make their way to land on Earth a
Webs of Steel
Have you ever noticed fine threads hanging from the ceiling in a remote corner of your home or a small spider landing on top of your work desk? Spiders are fantastic creatures. Their webs are more common during the monsoon season but did you know that they are actually stronger than steel? There are 40,000 species of spiders on Plant Earth, everywhere except Antarctica. They belong to the kingdom Animalia and to the class Arachnida and order Araneae. These arthropods hav
The Industrious Ants
The other day, while kneading dough to make Indian bread, I noticed a black ant that seemed to have detected the spilled honey on the slab of our kitchen. I smiled at the ant and continued my work. By the time I was finished, there was a long trail of ants, some heading and others returning from the location. Each of them was bumping its head into the other as they were marching. As I bowed to have a closer look at them, they began dispersing, and in no time the trail di
Honeybees and their Golden Syrup
The other day, while watering plants in my backyard, I spotted some honeybees humming around our Passionfruit flowers. This was the first bloom of the Passionfruit vine we planted recently. As I observed them for a while, I noticed they have already built a hive concealed in the depths of one of the trees nearby. The honeybees were the tiny ones, known as dwarf honey bees or Apisflorea. The delicious honey they are designed to produce makes them more welcoming as opposed
The Surreal Snow
Thousands of tourists visit the mountains every year, not only to explore the scenic beauty that high altitudes have to offer but also to experience snowfall. Just like rain and hailstones, snow too falls from the sky; but unlike the former, snow is more appealing to people mostly because of the element of fun associated with it, be it through the social activities of building a snow man, having a snowball fight, sliding down the hill on a sled, etc. Even more fasc
Which One is More Valuable: a Banana or a BMW? by Dr.Necati Aydin
Which One is More Valuable: a Banana or a BMW? The answer seems obvious if we look at it from a market value perspective. You can buy a banana for a dollar or less, but a BMW will cost you thousands of dollars. In this article, I would like to offer an alternative perspective through which one can view a single banana as more valuable than all the BMW cars in the market. Let us start with value. What is value? How do we determine the value of anything? The Merriam-
See you at the Peak
While waiting in the queue to check-in my luggage at the airline counter, I heard a young boy say “Burj Khalifa is not the tallest building- it’s Mount Everest!”. Although his expression was true, Burj Khalifa is a man-made tower while Mount Everest is a divine gift. Did you know that Mount Everest was not known to the western world until 1852? Did you know that it is about 60 million years old? Let’s look at Mount Everest from the 5D approach. Mount Everest was
Creatures in The Underwater World: The Mariana Snailfish
The underwater world is just as mesmerizing and insanely beautiful as the world above it. We all love spending our vacations on beaches or on cruises discovering scenic routes. Sea diving is now gaining popularity amongst adventurous people due to the allure of discovering the hidden depths of the sea. But, have you ever wondered how deep the seas and oceans can be and how creatures survive in the deepest part of the ocean- right at its bed- where it is extremely dark an
Salutations to the Moon
On some days, I disappear, on other days I am in my brightest phase. On yet other days, I am smiling upside down, and sometimes I look thin, faint, and curved. I am your natural satellite! The moon! Yes, humans make artificial satellites, but I was made by an All-Wise creator who knew how much humans on the miraculous blue dot would need me. The moon, the Earth's companion, is made of rock and metal —just like the Earth and the other rocky planets ( Mercury, Ve
Resolving Conflict between Science and Religion by Perceiving Two Dimensions of Beings through Two Perspectives by Dr.Necati Aydin
In this article, I will use four key concepts in Nursi’s life and writing: mana-i harfi (other indicative), mana-i ismi (self-referential), niyaah (intention), and nazaar (reflective perspective) to suggest a solution to the age-old conflict between science and religion. In his book, Masnawi-i Nuriyah , Nursi states that it took him 40 years of life and 30 years of learning to come up with these four concepts. In fact, one might argue that Nursi spent the first half of
The Hanging Homes
One rainy day, after the storm calmed down and the sky was clear, I went on the terrace to enjoy the weather. An exquisite nest hanging on the branch of a tree in our neighborhood caught my eye. On another branch of the tree were its owners perching and chirping as if they were making their presence known, guarding their valuable home from predators. The nest was tear-shaped with an entrance at the bottom carefully weaved with twigs and grass strands. To my surprise the
Shaheen: The King of the Skies
The Shaheen falcon ( Falco peregrinus peregrinator ) belongs to the family Falconidae . It is a subspecies of the Peregrine falcon ( Falco peregrinus ) which is known to hunt down its prey at a whopping speed of over 320 km/h (approximately 200 mph). Mainly found in the Indian subcontinent, the Shaheen falcon is also known as the black Shaheen or Indian peregrine falcon. To catch its prey, it flies high then dives down at a very high speed- a characteristic feature that
A Universe in You
On a moonless night, look up, and tell me what you see. The bejeweled sky with stars must have intrigued you to learn how it came to be, and who made it the way it is. Well, all stars were born in a "stars nursery" in space known as a Nebula . And believe it or not, you are in fact made of stardust! Let us now understand Nebulae using a 5D Thinking perspective. Nebulae are made of dust and gases—mostly hydrogen and helium. Although the dust and gases are spread o
Dehabitualization of Language (Bilal A. Malik is expert at Alternative Perspective and Global Concern (ap-gc.net). He can be mailed at gazibilal@ymail.com)
Let me begin with a beautiful Prophetic expression, “speak beneficial or keep silent”. We all talk. And, we all talk differently. We act and interact through the medium of “talk” or call it language. We talk conversations, we talk discourses, we talk narratives, we talk meanings and we talk ideas. Does all this “talking” happen in isolation? No, surely, it doesn’t. There are talks, talks and talks all around. Everything related to talk including text : cont
Pitter-Patter
While sipping your hot cocoa on a cold winter evening, or enjoying a piece of fruit on a tropical island, you hear a tapping on the window, which then becomes a pitter-patter sound. You move towards the window, draw aside the curtains, and observe those beautiful raindrops greeting you with a smile in droplet from. Without rain, water mediums would dry out, fertile land would wither, plants would die, and ultimately humans too, ending life on Earth. To further understand
The Sun as a Sign
Believe it or not, we depend on a star to live. The Sun, the closest star to us, is placed at a distance where if changed by merely 1%, life on Earth would end. Due to its perfectly placed position in space and with respect to the Earth, we are able to live and thrive. For deeper understanding and appreciation, let us have a five-dimensional reflection on the sun: Our Sun is a yellow dwarf star, a hot ball of glowing gases at the heart of our Solar System. It is m
"Three Days to See" (Reading Helen Keller’s essay through a 5D thinking perspective) By Dr Necati Aydin
"Only the deaf appreciate hearing, only the blind realize the manifold blessings that lie in sight. Particularly does this observation apply to those who have lost sight and hearing in adult life. But those who have never suffered impairment of sight or hearing seldom make the fullest use of these blessed faculties. Their eyes and ears take in all sights and sounds hazily, without concentration and with little appreciation. Now and then I have tested my seeing frie
Reading Nursi’s Story with High School Students through a 5D Thinking Approach By Husamettin Ates and Dr.Necati Aydin
A group of high-school students in Kastamonu* were not happy with their teachers because they were not mentioning God at all in their teaching. It was as if teachers were instructed to teach assuming there was no creator and even if there was, He had no place in the school. With these concerns in mind, the students visited the exiled scholar, Said Nursi, for learning about God and asked the following: "Tell us about our Creator, our teachers do not speak of God." They we
A Tale of the Kachumbar Salad by Saba Irshad Ansari
Cold nights and warm afternoons, sprouting trees and the sweet scent of blooming flowers, animals returning from their hiatus and the euphony of chirping birds, all of this marks the setting in of the spring. It seems as if the earth has dressed itself up in a thick verdure blanket to exhibit its joie de vivre to celebrate the arrival of the spring season and to mark the end of the grey winter days. This is a sight that is cherished by all, especially by those who have b
Robots and Autonomous Cars: Metaphors of Life by Dr.Yunus Cengel
Although a technological wonder, a state-of-the-art robot with artificial intelligence is a life-like but lifeless entity. It is an inanimate high-tech gadget. Some robots look and act like humans and mimic them so well that we may have a hard time differentiating those lifeless so-called ‘humanoids’ from live humans. What sets robots (and other smart devices) apart from ordinary inanimate entities is that they are a combination of precision hardware and sophisticate
The Absence of Existence by Dr.Yunus Cengel
As the story – often attributed to young Einstein – goes, a professor challenged his students with this question: "Did God create everything that exists?" A student bravely replied, "Yes, He did". “God created everything?” the professor asked. “Yes sir,” the student replied. The professor responded, "If God created everything, then He created evil, since evil exists. Evil is what evil does, and so God must be evil.” The student couldn't respond to that re
Autonomous Factories and the Cell by Dr.Yunus Cengel
To develop a better perspective of living and non-living cells and a better understanding of life, consider a fully automated modern factory manned entirely with industrial robots and equipped with smart machines, with no human beings on the production floor. The facility utilizes the internet of things (IoT) and big data, and there is continual real-time communication and information flow among all machinery and equipment, including robot-to-robot, machine-to-machine an
A Magic Cookbook in the Kitchen by Dr.Yunus Cengel
As a thought experiment, imagine entering a kitchen with a detailed cookbook and a dinner table with a variety of dishes prepared in accordance with the recipes in the book. How plausible is it to think that the cookbook , which is made of paper and ink, prepared all the dishes and served them on table, like a grand chef with intent, knowledge, and skill? Let us suppose that when a certain dish like a pizza is to be prepared, the book opens by itself and the pages are s
Alice in Wonderland: Blueprints of Actullay Building A House by Dr.Yunus Cengel
Seeing a seed sprouting and a full-fledged plant rising in the air as inscribed on its DNA is no different than observing the rise of a house at a construction site as specified by the blueprints or architectural drawings, complete with plumbing, electrical wiring, painting, and landscaping, as the onsite construction materials around diminish but with no workers, engineers, cranes, and trucks visible. As reasonable beings, we will have to infer in this case that the
Brain-TV Analogy by Prof.Dr.Yunus Cengel
The claim “brain is the mind and mind is the brain” is not evidence based; it merely reflects a superficial view rooted in the materialistic ideology. It’s unconvincing to ascribe the intelligent sequence of conscious and coherent thoughts of human beings to random firings of billions of unconscious neurons. This thesis is equivalent to saying, “This is the best explanation I can offer as long as our thinking is limited by physical matter and we have nothing else
McDonald’s and Apple Tree (Life) Prof.Dr.Yunus Çengel
When the kid in us craves for a McDonald’s hamburger, we can walk into any restaurant with the golden arc, and get the same hamburger and fries that we are used to getting at the McDonalds’s in our hometown. And we feel right at home no matter where in the world the McDonalds’s we just entered is. Normally we would just enjoy our meal in the restaurant and return home, but this time we feel very observant and are in the mood for some philosophical thinking. Well, w
McDonald’s and Apple Tree (Life) Prof.Dr.Yunus Çengel May 2020
When the kid in us craves for a McDonald’s hamburger, we can walk into any restaurant with the golden arc, and get the same hamburger and fries that we are used to getting at the McDonalds’s in our hometown. And we feel right at home no matter where in the world the McDonalds’s we just entered is. Normally we would just enjoy our meal in the restaurant and return home, but this time we feel very observant and are in the mood for some philosophical thinking. Wel
Pondering on the Importance of Oxygen during the Pandemic
Pondering on the Importance of Oxygen during the Pandemic Out of the many things that we take for granted in our lives is free atmospheric oxygen- a colorless, tasteless, and odorless “chemical element that constitutes 21 percent of the Earth’s atmosphere, that is capable of combining with all elements except some noble gases, that is active in physiological processes of almost all known organisms, and that is involved especially in combustion.” [i] The atomic nu
Habitualization: An Impediment
We all have heard about Newton’s Apple Incident. Yes, I’m referring to Newton’s observation of a falling apple when he was sitting in a garden. This observation stimulated Newton to ponder upon the question that why apples fall down and why don’t they fall in the upward direction. Newton’s contemplative observation of an otherwise habitualized phenomenon eventually led him to discover the miraculous gravitational force. I mentioned this legend for a purpose. Th
Using Phenomenology to Derive Lessons from a Driving Experience by Dr.Necati Aydin
I would like to reflect on key phenomenological concepts and the Husserlian phenomenological approach using a metaphor of a driving experience. I will then extend my reflection using the Nursian mana-i harfi approach. I hope this will help formulate a comparison between Husserlian phenomenology and the Nursian mana-i harfi approach. I think it is worth making such a comparison because the main pillar of both approaches is the human self. It seems to me that they both bel