***a Tribute To Pioneers Of Science! Poem by RAJ NANDY

A TRIBUTE TO PIONEERS
OF SCIENCE!

The Polish astronomer Copernicus, @
First wrote about the heliocentric system
of our universe!
But was wise enough not to publish his
find,
For the Pope with rage would have gone
blind!
Declaring Copernicus to be a heretic,
Silencing him for life, before he could
even speak!
So when Giordano Bruno did exclaim,
That Copernicus was right and proclaimed, -
That there were other universe and many
more suns, -
That ours were not the only one!
Poor Bruno’s problems had then begun!
The church declared that Bruno was a heretic,
And burnt him at the stakes so that he could
never speak!
Today he is considered to be the ‘first martyr’
of our scientific endeavor!
Revered and respected and viewed with favor!
Let us also remember Galileo, the scientist of
the 17th century,
Who with his ‘spy glass’ – the telescope,
Peered into the heaven’s unseen mysteries!
Observing the sun spots and craters on the
Moon,
Jupiter’s satellites and the stars of the Milky
Way Galaxy;
More than the naked eyes could ever see!
He dared to uphold the doctrine declared
heretical by the church, -
That heliocentric doctrine of Copernicus!
In June 1633 was sentenced to imprisonment
for life!
But his friend Pope Urban VIII gave him a new
lease of life,
Returning him to his villa outside Florence, -
in peace to survive!
Four hundred years after his death, Galileo was
rehabilitated and now stands tall, -
One can find his statute inside the Vatican walls!

What appeared like science fiction to our earlier
generations,
Has gradually turned into reality beyond our
dreams and expectations!
But let me caution you that this poem is only
a Prelude,
For my next one on ‘Parallel Universe’, -
to be better understood!
-Raj Nandy
09 Dec 09
New Delhi

@ COPERNICUS (1473-1543) – Polish Astronomer & Scientist
declared that the Sun was in the center of our universe & the Earth
rotated around the Sun. This was contrary to Potlemy’s Geocentric
System of the universe upheld by the Church & the world! This
Revolutionary doctrine was upheld by the Philosopher & Scientist –
BRUNO, who was burned at the stakes on 17th Feb 1600!
Galileo was freed and permitted to live in his villa outside Florence by
The Pope in Dec 1642, after 06 months of imprisonment! Now Galileo
has been rehabilitated by the Vatican! Bruno had spoken about other
universes, other worlds and other Suns, he did not have any telescope
to help him! Now Scientists speak of Parallel Universe & Multiverse!
String Theory has led them to such scientific speculations!
********ALL COPY RIGHTS RESERVED BY RAJ NANDY*****