The soul of a nerd

For some reason - maybe its a Sunday morning thing - I just remembered this amazing "sermon" by Neil de Grasse Tyson, about what it means to have a cosmic perspective on life. Perhaps it is the recent events in Mumbai that have me seeking a broader perspective. It was, after all, in Bombay that I discovered the cosmos, learning to restore and build telescopes, and training them on the cosmos, peering up through the city's well-lit and dusty skies from the roof of the Institute of Science, a stone's throw away from the Gateway of India and the Taj hotel. Perhaps my memory of those nights has been triggered by reading about the solidarity rally last week at the Taj, where the sight of lights coming on in the Taj carried such significance - for I'm sure we complained more than once about the damn lights at these hotels and monuments which stayed on all night, polluting the city's nocturnal sky for us amateur urban astronomers! Whatever the reason, I'm glad I found this video again. And to Tyson, all I can say is "amen"!