Oppie's Orbit
Biography
J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) was an American theoretical physicist. During the Manhattan Project, Oppenheimer was director of the Los Alamos Laboratory and responsible for the research and design of an atomic bomb. He is often known as the “father of the atomic bomb."
By the time the Manhattan Project was launched in the fall of 1942, Oppenheimer was already considered an exceptional theoretical physicist and had become deeply involved in exploring the possibility of an atomic bomb. Throughout the previous year he had been doing research on fast neutrons, calculating how much material might be needed for a bomb and how efficient it might be.
Although Oppenheimer had little managerial experience and some troublesome past associations with Communist causes, General Leslie Groves recognized his exceptional scientific brilliance. Less than three years after Groves selected Oppenheimer to direct weapons development, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, leading to Japan’s unconditional surrender. As director of the Los Alamos Laboratory,
Oppenheimer proved to be an extraordinary choice. Oppenheimer was married to a botanist, Kitty. They had two children, Peter and Toni. More
After the Trinity Test
When interviewed about his immediate reaction to the Trinity Test, Oppenheimer said, "We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says, ‘Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’ I suppose we all felt that one way or another."
The Bhagavad-Gita
The Bhagavad Gita is a primary scripture for Hindus. Although it is a tiny part of the Mahabharata and technically classed as a Smriti text, it is traditionally accorded the rank of an Upanishad. It is meant to help one understand that upholding dharma can be challenging, especially in situations where there is not a clear right or wrong.
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The Story of Arjuna
Yoga retreat in Dahab, Egypt during the 1990's
Yoga in the 90's
"In the 1950s, Richard Hittleman continued what Devi had begun: repackaging yoga as a physical exercise regimen while minimizing the spiritual, meditative parts. Hittleman taught yoga on television and sold many exercise books with his methods. During the 1960s and '70s, when hippies reigned, there was a brief resurgence of interest in the more spiritual aspects of yoga, but those quickly dropped away in the early 1990s, when yoga became a workout for mainstream America. Since then, we think of yoga as "hatha yoga," all exercise with a modicum of spirituality." More