Jun 9, 2009, 08.00am IST
G S TRIPATHI.
Donors are exalted, but not so the acceptors. However, if there were no acceptors, there could not be any donors. One cannot exist without the other. Donation for a charitable purpose is considered as noble.
The donor is considered as a person of great virtue and the acceptor is expected to receive in humility. If someone accepts some thing for a noble cause, then the acceptor is as important as the donor. Acceptance of an award by a worthy person is considered as a privilege and honour for the donor. In executing such a noble deed, the donor elevates himself in the eyes of the people.
In Indic mythology we have several instances showing the Lord as an acceptor. In the Vamana incarnation Lord Vishnu took the form of a dwarf to accept charity from the Demon King Bali. As a result, the donor was exalted and King Bali was elevated from the demonic form to a godly form.
God is both the greatest donor and acceptor. He gives everything. He also accepts everything, both prayers as well as scolding. Poet Khankhana Sri Abdul Rahim prays: "Oh Lord, Ratnakara ^ abode of treasure, the ocean ^ is your residence; Goddess Lakshmi is your wife; You are the Lord of the Universe; what can i offer to you? The gopis have stolen your heart. Therefore, i can only give you my mind and heart. Please accept it." In the Bhagavad Gita the Lord himself proclaims that He accepts with utmost satisfaction whatever, a leaf or a flower or a fruit or water, the devotee offers in complete devotion and surrender to Him.
Acceptance strengthens relationships. One can find a simile in science. A sodium chloride molecule is formed when the sodium atom donates an electron, which is accepted by the chlorine atom. Thus with this mutual give and take, these form a strong bond. This is further illustrated in the following.
Impure semiconductors control modern electronics. Depending on the nature, the impurities can be classified into donors and acceptors. A donor impurity can donate an extra electron to the host crystal. Similarly an acceptor impurity accepts an electron from the system; as a result a hole is created at the place from where the electron is accepted by the acceptor impurity. Thus a semiconductor would be either electron-rich or hole-rich, depending on whether the donor concentration or the acceptor concentration is more. Both types are needed for electronic devices and play equally important roles. Thus the role of acceptors is no less significant than that of the donors.
Indeed, sometimes acceptors are more important since many of the modern materials have hole conductivity, due mainly to acceptors, rather than the electronic conductivity. According to Nobel laureates Walter Brattain and Nevil Mott, Indian scientist Jagdish Chandra Bose anticipated the importance of such donors and acceptors, much before their understanding.
Every action has its importance, every role has its usefulness and there is always a mutual inevitable relationship between two contrasting things. Perhaps this is the law of nature that a proper balance be maintained amongst different perceptions. This is true in life and so, as well, in matter. Indeed Jagdish Bose was one of the first modern scientists who perceived this basic unity between life and matter. Superior or inferior action is a relative concept. Alexander Pope said it well: "Honour and shame from no condition rise/ Act well thy part, there all the honour lies."
The writer teaches physics and materials science at Berhampur University.
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