Article on illnesses that worsen in cold weather

What are the common illnesses that could occur in cold weather? 

What could be done about them?  

Find out in this medical educational article...

http://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/health/simple-tips-to-ward-off-cold-weather-illnesses-flu-pneumonia-asthma-eczema

Film conversations: PK

Please note that there would be spoilers ahead.  If you are one of those who hasn't seen the film yet, desist from reading this article now.

First of all, PK is no 3 Idiots.  In fact, it comes across as a tad contrived, as it struggles to combine 'alienhood' with religion rather unconvincingly.  The Hirani trademarks are all there: a serious issue tackled in a lighthearted vein, a particular kind of music (love is a waste of time reminds one of zoobi doobi), and the final hyper-emotional resolution; apart from the regulars such as Boman Irani and Parikshith Sahni.  Yet, PK fails to match up to the novelty and charm that 3 Idiots brought to screens.  If anything, it appears to be formulaic in its attempt to recreate the same magic.

As far as the story goes, Anushka Sharma's character is happily bicycling around the deserted streets of Belgium, when she bumps into Sushant Singh Rajput's character.  Promptly, within a few minutes of meeting him, she is singing paeans of undying love with him.  The fact that he is Pakistani has got nothing to do with the story of the film; Muslim - yes, Pakistani - no.  This just comes across as another instance of our filmwalas giving needless importance to Pakistan - maybe it sells well.

To come back to the story, PK, the alien has already landed and is finding life tough in India as he grapples with the languages, people's attitudes, money, and yes, clothes, which he borrows from amorous couples who are doing their in thing in 'magic cars'.  

A misunderstanding separates the Belgian lovers, and the girl ends up befriending the alien in Delhi.  It so happens that the alien has already lost his remote-control necklace, which he is desperate to find so he can return home to his own planet whose people are exactly the same as us, except that they have pointy ears and roam around in the buff.

The alien also realises during his sojourn on planet earth, that God is omnipotent and can help him find his pendant.  He ends up propitiating every god in the area, cutting across religious lines, in his own bungling ways.  He discovers, during this process, that there are different kinds of gods, belonging to different sets of people, managed by different sets of 'managers'.  

His critique of the futility of religious exigencies sets him off on a collision course with a Hindu Baba, who has a 'direct line' with God, which helps him offer solutions to his bhaktas' problems.  Of course, he is just a fraud out to make a killing with the generous donations made by his multitudes of bhaktas, which he collects in a huge box, ostensibly to build a temple.  Needless to say, his scheming ways are exposed in a live television debate in the end, the Belgian lovers are reunited, and the alien returns home with a heart heavy with unrequited love.  He, however, brings his friends back as the film ends, for another tour of planet earth.  PK 2 perhaps?

Now for the theme of the film.  If 3 Idiots was about the education system, PK is about religion.  It pokes fun at the - mostly Hindu - traditions and rituals, godmen, and the people who fall for these rituals and godmen, blindly.  It has become fashionable to pan Hindu Babas these days in the media and films, as they are easy targets, owing to the antics of a few colourful real life Babas who have been in the limelight due to their less than divine activities.  

Oh my God did it in the recent past.  Hollywood has also pitched in with Jimi Mistry's The Guru, and Mike Myers' The Love Guru.  Perhaps the realisation that the freedom of expression and magnanimous outlook inherent in Hinduism - barring a few effigy-burning activities - allows these filmmakers to take these liberties.   

  

At the same time, one can see why the Hindu organisations are upset about the content of the film, as it largely targets the gods and practices of Hindu religion.  If the target were to be gods, messengers and practices of certain other religions, the outcome for the film and its makers may well have been 'all is not well'.  Ask Salman Rushdie.  Or Taslima Nasrin, for that matter. 

The film only makes a fleeting attempt to mitigate the anti-Hindu-ritual-godmen theme by showing a few villagers being converted by a pastor in the background, and a woman denouncing the targeting of school girls by Islamist terrorists.  Sorry, makers of PK, we can see through your wishy-washy attempts to cover up your anti-Hindu bias.   

The thing is, as Hindu Bollywood watchers, we have witnessed this sort of denigration of majority religion over the years and have largely taken things in our stride.  But now this preferential bashing is rankling us, as we realise that Sanatana Dharma is under attack from all quarters today: pseudoseculars, leftists, rationalists, evangelists, abrahamists, proselytisers, urban naxals, wokeists, and colonial supremacists are all out to ridicule it to suit their own agenda.  That there are very few countries in the world where Hindus are in the majority, and even those populations are being targeted for conversions to other faiths, which will result in the total annihilation of Sanatanic religions, matters little to pseudoseculars who make this sort of content and play in to the hands of anti-Hindu forces.   

 

One is tempted to ask, why not make a film about an Imam who indoctrinates young men into radicalism in a madrasa?  Why not expose the hollow claims made by evangelists as they go about converting swathes of tribals and dalits?  Why not express horror at the practice of self-flagellation undertaken during certain festivals, or, on the other hand, compulsory fasting for a month?  Why not poke fun at the attires of those men whose religion compels them to wear turbans and carry knives in their pockets, or for that matter, those women who have to cover themselves from head to foot like a bank vault?  Why not poke fun at someone who believes that a big old man in a funny red costume slides down a narrow chimney to leave them gifts under a tree?  Why not cry in disbelief as the nuns of a certain faith starve themselves with the intention of willfully casting away the body?  Why not stand up for the millions of innocent birds and animals that are slaughtered by followers of certain religions so that they could have a grand feast on their 'holy' days?  

The list could go on and on.

Nevertheless, having said all that, looking only at the Hindu faith, there are a number of deadwood practices that need to be consigned to the dustbin.  Sati, dowry, child marriage, untouchability, madey snana, and the Gadhimai festival are but a few examples that have been around for a long time, and should be eliminated immediately.  And this film attempts to expose a few of these and similar practices, while it leaves the implication of this exposure unsaid: that the soul, the atma, the Kingdom of God, the rooh, the source of nirvana or mukti, is actually within us.  That, instead of the showy, superstitious practices of religion, we need to be living a life of love, truth and spirituality, which would eventually bring us lasting peace.  

Banning the film, taking protests to the streets, or vandalising theatres will get us nowhere.  Also, I do believe in free speech and free artistic expression of our existence, but I only expect it to be fair and impartial.  The thing about rationalists and pseudoseculars is that they confine themselves to debunking myths and rituals of one religion: Hinduism.  They never elaborate upon similar practices from other faiths listed above.  Why not?

As far as the film is concerned, I am afraid, 'ye wrong number hai' does not quite measure up to 'all izz well'.


Image source: http://im.rediff.com/movies/2014/oct/17tweet-pk.jpg

Article on alcohol addiction

How much alcohol is too much? 

What are units of alcohol?  

Are you alcohol dependent?

Find out in this medical educational article...

http://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/health/alcohol-know-your-limits-and-the-dangers-of-habitual-drinking

Find videos on alcohol addiction here: https://dgvpawar.blogspot.com/2020/07/alcohol-how-much-is-enough.html

If you put your 'ghar' in order, there is no need for 'wapsi'

Let me be quite categorical right at the beginning that I denounce all types of religious conversions.  Whether it is Hindu to Christian, Hindu to Muslim, Christian to Muslim, Hindu to Buddhism, or, for that matter, the recent spate of 're-conversion' ceremonies, they are all unacceptable.  When we know that all religions at their core teach the same message, and all are but different paths to the same God, then all conversions end up being meaningless activities.

I see the recent 'ghar wapsi' programs as a response to the centuries of illegitimate proselytizing activities carried out by the followers of the two Abrahamic religions - by coercion, inducements and advertisements of their religions.  By no means are these 'ghar wapsi' programs a justifiable reaction to evangelisation.  They are a desperate measure to counter the more organised and well-funded proselytizing activities, and come many years too late.  If only the successive governments since Independence had paid attention to the covert activities carried out in religious, educational, medical and outreach establishments, and monitored their funding sources, and curbed all types of conversions, then the recent events would not have occurred.

It is the festering of the situation and the free hand allowed to religious minority groups to act covertly while maintaining a facade of social service, that has resulted in this situation.  Surely, there is unlikely to be any other country in the world where missionaries have been given - since the days of the colonial occupation by the Dutch, French, Portuguese and the British - and are still given - in the name of political correctness and minority appeasement - all the freedom in the world to influence gullible people into leaving the faith of the majority of the population of the country.

Recently, a Christian guest columnist has written an article in the Outlook magazine about the increase in the religious activities and re-conversion programs that have occurred since the BJP government came to power.  He pretty much denied conversion activities undertaken by Christian organisations because, as he says, not a single Christian has been found guilty of conversion since five decades.  Well, how would they be found guilty, if governments turn a blind eye to their activities and gullible people continue to believe in the divinity of their missionary activities?

Further, he quotes the example of Ashoka who sent his own kith and kin to spread Buddhism outside India, and from more recent times, Mata Amritanandamayi and Satya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi, who he says, receive their money from rich patrons abroad.  Aside from the fact that neither of these religious leaders have ever undertaken any evangelical activities, let us also look at few of the messages given by them to their followers (emphasis added):

Mata Amritanandamayi

‘Our lives should be of some benefit to the world. We should sincerely love and console at least one life, for at least a moment, without any expectations.' 

Satya Sai Baba

'I have come to light the lamp of Love in your hearts, to see that it shines day by day with added luster. I have not come on behalf of any exclusive religion. I have not come on a mission of publicity for a sect or creed or cause, nor have I come to collect followers for a doctrine. I have no plan to attract disciples or devotees into my fold or any fold. I have come to tell you of this unitary faith, this spiritual principle, this path of Love, this virtue of Love, this duty of Love, this obligation of Love.' 

The writer then goes on to quote the example of ISKCON, which seeks followers in the West through the 'Hare Krishna' movement.  True, ISKCON, rather narrowly focuses on one godhead, Krishna, but even this organisation has the following message on its website (emphasis added):

‘Krishna is eternal, all-knowing, omnipresent, all-powerful, and all-attractive. He is the seed-giving father of all living beings, and He is the sustaining energy of the entire cosmic creation. He is the same God as The Father Allah, Buddha and Jehovah.’

Let us now consider what the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), a Christian organisation based in the US, which funds at least two missionary health organisations in India, has as its mission statement:

'As a convention of churches, our missional vision is to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every person in the world and to make disciples of all the nations.'

Also consider this excerpt from a story from the International Mission Board (SBC) website:

'Despite the challenges, the number of churches and believers is growing in Bangalore. [The missionary] works to train and disciple nationals, teaching them to plant churches and spread the Gospel through storytelling. His wife works with the people of the slums, mainly widows, women and children, to share the Good News through Bible study groups and showing the JESUS film.'

And,

'Pray for the lost of Bangalore. Ask that the strongholds of Hinduism and Islam will be broken so more can hear the Gospel message. Pray that existing churches will have a renewed vision and burden for evangelism and the lost in their city. Ask that God will raise up a new generation of leaders and believers for the churches of Bangalore.'

Which of the above philosophies is mature, all-inclusive and universal in nature? Which of them is bigoted, divisive and fundamental in nature? I will leave it to you to decide.

The 'ghar wapsi' and re-conversion programs launched by the VHP are wrong. They are a flawed response to the conversion problem; they are like tackling a problem with another problem. Besides, they go against the very core tenet of Sanatana Dharma, which considers every soul to be an expression of the universal God, and every faith to be a legitimate search for the same One God. I have written about this in another article recently. 

Instead, if we are really serious about curbing conversions and religious exploitation, we should be focusing on what is actually needed: uplifting the status of Dalits, improving healthcare, reducing poverty, spreading the message of oneness, monitoring the activities and funding sources of evangelical organisations, and bringing about laws which require prospective converts to prove that they are changing their faith out of their own will and without influence of any kind.

Article/quote sources:
http://www.outlookindia.com/article/Left-To-The-Lord/292918 
http://www.amritapuri.org/
http://www.sathyasai.org/
http://iskcon.org/philosophy#.VJu9vsAs
http://www.sbc.net/aboutus/missionvision.asp
http://imb.org/updates/storyview.aspx?StoryID=10080

Image sources: 

http://s2.firstpost.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ghar-wapsi-PTI.jpg
http://freeindia.org/biographies/ashoka/ashoka.jpg
http://archaeologyonline.net/sites/default/files/imported/indology/preaching-at-hindu-festival.jpg
http://www.allindiamission.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/DSC08521.jpg

Article on anemia in India

Medical educational article on anemia in India...

http://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/india/india-touching-commanding-heights-but-why-are-we-looking-pale

Article on Mediterranean diet and health benefits

Medical educational article on the benefits of consuming food items from the Mediterranean diet...

http://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/health/why-mediterranean-diet-is-good-for-your-heart-and-brain

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Article on suicides in India (including helplines)

What factors increase the risk of suicide?  

What is the state of suicide management and mental health in general in India?  

What help is available for those contemplating suicide?

Find out in this medical educational article...

https://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/health/suicides-the-state-of-mental-health-care-in-india

Watch suicide prevention advice in three languages here:

English: https://youtu.be/08i4_FGRmB8

Hindi: https://youtu.be/2w346GDm79w

Kannada: https://youtu.be/Qjg98TRvt-A

Humour: Because Even a Mosquito Can Make You An Eunuch!

Lighthearted take on the perils of living in a mosquito infested world...

Because Even a Mosquito Can Make You An Eunuch!

Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Aedes_Albopictus.jpg/1200px-Aedes_Albopictus.jpg

Article on ADHD in Boloji.com

Medical educational article on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder...

ADHD: Energetic Tots & Exasperated Moms!

Child abuse article on Boloji.com

What is child abuse?

How common is it?

What can be done to prevent it?

Find out in this medical educational article...

(Also note the 'Comments' section just below the article with my response to a reader's comment).

Child Abuse: Tackling The Social Malady

Image source: https://c.pxhere.com/photos/98/35/holi_india_children_color_culture_tradition_festival_indian-763322.jpg!d

Satire: Real Action for the Price of Reel Action

Satirical take on the perils of movie gazing in a brat-infested movie hall (published on boloji.com)...

Real Action for the Price of Reel Action

Article on philanthropic trends in India

Here I analyse the notion of nishkama seva - selfless service that is extolled in our scriptures and carried out by certain NGOs in today's India.

This article marks my debut on mapsofindia.com/my-india...

https://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/society/philanthropy-trends-in-india-how-relevant-is-it-today

Image source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwWrgbp_zP9ua-QOHseQj5OAWLapwHGMuD4pyLDryuH2P-Pr7U6WOejjXCquwhKwuTPslQta_567kTU0V6ovAhOcdwbCYfnyopSCY7nRWheNnQcjcJtIAbB6p9mp-BA0XYymqizXG_6Y/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/NGO.jpg

Article on heart health

Medical educational article on heart health and its maintenance...

https://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/health/is-your-heart-safe-learn-from-the-rural-folk-ways-to-keep-it-fit

Article on 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan' and communicable diseases

What does Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan aim to achieve?

What should be done to make it a success?

I discuss in this article...

https://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/health/swachh-bharat-abhiyan-will-it-help-reduce-the-incidence-of-communicable-diseases

Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d7/Swachh_Bharat_Abhiyan_logo.jpg/220px-Swachh_Bharat_Abhiyan_logo.jpg

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The Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti issue

So yet another minister has put her foot in the mouth.

It is a meaningless comment to begin with.  Even though her rhyming skills are good - Ramzada and haramzada - the very concept of haramzada is flawed within Sanatana Dharma.

Following another faith is certainly not haram for a religion which espouses the concept of Vasudhaiva kutumbakam.  The philosophers and seers of Sanatana Dharma have all propounded that all faiths are but different roads to the same destination - the One God.  

It is grating and worrying to note that a person who is addressed as a Sadhvi should be so blatant about expressing her radical thought, as well as exposing her judgmental attitude towards followers of other faiths.  

This, and a few other insensitive remarks by other ministers, have given an ideal opportunity for the pseudo-secularists, Congresswalas and the leftists to pounce upon the government.

It is rich that Congress should be accusing the Prime Minister of 'culpable silence'.  Where does that leave Manmohan Singh then?

To reiterate, everybody is welcome to live in Bharatvarsh, everybody is welcome to partake of its riches, everybody is free to follow their own religious and cultural beliefs; as long as they do not indulge in criminal, anti-state, fundamentalist, or faith conversion-related activities.

I disown the Sadhvi's statement.


Image source: http://iloksabha.in/img/gallery/full-image/uttar-pradesh/niranjan-jyoti.png

Book conversations: Aavarana

S L Bhyrappa's reputation as one of the luminaries of Kannada literature was enough enticement for me to pick this one up.  And I wasn't disappointed.

Combining facts, research, history, religion and drama, Bhyrappa weaves a complex story of a husband and wife coming to terms with the differences between them.

The title, Aavarana, which means 'to conceal', pertains not only to the main protagonist's travails as a censored wife and writer, but also to the uncomfortable historical truth that is often curtailed by pseudo-secularists and vote-bank politicians.

At one level this is also a woman's tale of a search for identity and self-fulfilment, in an environment of fundamentalism and intolerance.  At the same time, Bhyrappa manages to include a crash course in history of Hindu-Muslim interactions, going back to the period when temples all across India were desecrated and vandalised by bigoted rulers.

The story starts in Hampi, where amongst the ruins, the husband and wife team of historical journalists ponder upon the glory and the subsequent devastation that befell Hampi.  The husband, a Muslim, tends to attribute the reason to bickering local kings of differing sects within Hinduism - a view that is shared by an intrepid professor and founder of a neo-liberal movement that proposes that all notions of fundamentalist actions of Muslim kings of yore are a figment of the right wing's imagination.

Our heroine, Lakshmi, is not so sure about this.  Although she is part of the same movement, she has her own doubts, which are fully confirmed when she stumbles upon her deceased father's collection of literature.  After being estranged from his daughter as she had married a Muslim man, he would have engaged himself in a deep study of local history; in particular that pertaining to the oppression and tyranny of Muslim rule in India - so much so that his accumulated knowledge and evidence puts even scholars to shame.

Lakshmi then starts her own reading of her father's evidence and finds horrifying details confirming his and her own suspicions.  In particular, she is drawn to the destruction of the Kashi Vishwanatha Temple at Varanasi by Aurangzeb and even visits the site to find that a large mosque has been built in the place of the original temple, using the same stones that were once part of the temple.

As more and more evidence is unearthed, she becomes more and more convinced about her father's conclusions and even confronts the liberal professor in one the conferences organised by him to drive home the point that fundamentalism was not the cause for temple destruction.

Lakshmi also puts these ideas across in the form of a novel, the story of which runs parallel to the main story.  Not only that, it has parallels with her own story - the way she was made to convert to Islam after marriage, change her name, wear burkha, asked to stop working by her in-laws, and finally when she realised that her husband was not so liberal minded after all.  The Hindu prince in her story, who is captured by the invading Muslim army, is sold as a slave, raped, castrated, made to serve as a eunuch in the zenana.  He finally discovers that his wife has been made a prostitute in another zenana.

Inevitably, Lakshmi drifts apart from her husband and son, who are naturally unable to accept her theory of fundamentalism.  She also faces arrest for publishing a blasphemous book that would flare up communal tensions.

There are many font types throughout the book, which change each time Lakshmi goes into the flashback mode, or when her fictional story is narrated.  Translating from any regional language is a challenge, and Balakrishna has risen well to it.  He manages to convey the angst and the complexity of the original story in Kannada very well.

The book ends with an exhaustive list of evidence, ostensibly collected by her father, but in actuality that which the author himself would have perused before writing this book.  One has to marvel at the depth and extent of research that Bhyrappa has undertaken to get the historical facts accurate - even though this has been contested by his critics.

With a story that may be construed as 'blasphemous' by some, one wonders as to how the author, unlike his protagonist Lakshmi, managed to escape from a communal backlash at the time the original Kannada version was published.  But one has to admire Bhyrappa for the guts and gumption shown by him in telling the truth as it is and not cowering in the face of 'political correctness'.

Now is there any equally gutsy producer who can take up the challenge and come up with a film adaptation of Aavarana?  Given the extent of pseudosecularism, I won't be holding my breath.

Image source: http://www.rupapublications.co.in/sites/default/files/styles/img_style_202x266/public/books/Aavarana.jpg

Post-26/11 security: what's that?

We never learn.  Or seem to care.

On the anniversary of 26/11, one of the TV news channels brought to light the lapse security arrangements at the site of the attacks.  The report showed boats streaming in to the exact spot where the terrorists from our friendly neighbouring country landed.  A local fisherman confirmed that anybody was free to dock their boats here without any scrutiny.

The reporter then entered the crowded CST train station and left a bag there unattended.  Again, nobody noticed it or questioned her about it.

What have we achieved since 26/11?

Okay, we hanged Kasab.  But what did we learn or gain from detaining him for so long, apart from feeding him biryanis?  At the very least, couldn't we have put him in front of the world and got him to reveal the entire modus operandi of the attack: the way it was planned in his country and the people behind it?  

Maintaining security is like trimming nails.  The nails keep growing and you have to trim them regularly and even out the rough edges.  Likewise, security arrangements have to be put in place, monitored, and updated on a regular basis.  This is clearly not happening anywhere in our country.

Basically anybody can waltz in from any of the hostile countries surrounding ours, recce areas, and carry out attacks at will.  There have been umpteen examples of this in the past, and one fears, we will see more of them as things stand now.

Sure, community participation in security management is also a must, along with government initiatives.  But it is up to the state to initiate it in the first place.  Just closing the doors after the horse has bolted is not useful in any way.  Prevention, here too, is better than cure - or disaster management in this case.

Our heartfelt condolences to the victims of 26/11 and their families.

Ministers please wake up and secure the land!

Image source: https://im.rediff.com/news/2019/nov/26mumbai-attack1.jpg

Humble weddings

At last, in a land starved of good tidings from the political arena, here is some heart-warming news.  A minister in the Karnataka cabinet got his daughter married in a humble mass-marriage ceremony.  

There was no ostentatious show of wealth, pomposity, grandeur, going underwater to tie the knot, marrying on a plane, or any of the other type of tomfoolery the rich and the famous indulge in to showcase their wealth and status.

Some get married thrice; once each in style of the different faiths.  Do they also have to divorce thrice in the future?  Just a thought.  But jokes apart, in these days where marriages are falling apart within the first anniversary, with some resulting in bitter court disputes, one wonders if the event requires such a grand celebratory beginning in the first place.  Why can't the same money be used more meaningfully; as in securing the children's future or helping the poor?

Coming back to this particular wedding, there was no theme party; no reception in front of a heritage building; no division of food stalls into continental, Chinese, Thai, South Indian, Mongolian, or Arctic; no wasting of uneaten food; and there was no dancing to Sheila ki jawani... or Chikni Chameli...

Boring?  No, utterly sensible.  And meaningful.

The other couples in the mass-wedding - from poor socioeconomic backgrounds - were given cows as gifts to encourage cattle rearing and self-reliance; there were couples from different religions married according to their faith; the meal served was basic; and the event was even blessed by the visit of the chief minister.  

It is indeed a rare breed of politicians - this particular minister is apparently not the first to do such a thing - that has the maturity and humility to undertake such a step.  In doing so he has set an example for all of us.  Hopefully he won't be the last politician to do so.  May his tribe increase!

I condemn ostentatious gatherings in this video made in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic: https://youtu.be/VmqTaWFwXIs

News source: 'Just wedding, no bling-bling', Prathima Nandakumar, The Week, 24 November 2014

Image source: https://starofmysore.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/mass-marriage.jpg

Book recommendation: Many Lives, Many Masters

As with a few other landmark books, this is a book recommendation, not a review.  It is a true story about a doctor; a psychiatrist, who is also the author of the book and his therapy sessions with a single patient.  He undertakes past-life regression therapy in a desperate bid to rid her of her anxiety, which has not responded to conventional medication or behaviour therapy.  What he uncovers in the process is unprecedented, extraordinary and life changing.  It certainly cures the patient of her anxiety completely.

It is important to consider a few salient points of this story as it has a bearing on the message conveyed by the story.  Both the patient and the doctor are White Americans, they are Christians by faith, but not very religious.  They had no prior idea about anything to do with reincarnation, karma, Vedanta, or anything to do with Hindu philosophy, per se.

Yet, what is revealed during the past-life sessions is nothing short of extraordinary, and confirms the very principles of Advaita, which is the core of Hindu philosophical teaching.  Karma and its after-effects; the debt that one has to repay in the next birth, and the whole phenomenon of reincarnation is reiterated, vindicated and given a stamp of authority through the experiences of these two individuals.  

The patient describes more than 80 previous birth experiences, and each time she dies, she is transported to an ethereal place of light where she meets other souls and the masters.  The masters are higher, more evolved spirits who guide the other souls through their inter-birth sojourn and towards their next birth in the karmic cycle.  In between the lifetimes, the masters use the patient as a medium to communicate directly with the doctor and in the process reveal several life/death secrets:

• "We have debts that must be paid", they say.  "You progress by paying your debts".  [The karmic theory].
• "There are seven planes...seven through which we must pass before we are returned". 
• They also talk about the soul's progress through harmony and balance, love and wisdom, progress toward a mystical and ecstatic connection with God.  [God realisation as described by Upanishads].

Needless to say, there has been much criticism of the contents of the book by sceptics who are either too logically oriented to accept spiritual matters, or by those who can't digest the fact that the tenets of some other faith other than their's has been given credence in the doctor's work.  

In the preface, the doctor does explain his dilemma as to whether or not to share his extraordinary experience with the world and expose himself to rigorous scientific scrutiny by his own peers and the subsequent ridicule that is sure to ensue.  However, he later felt compelled to share his experiences with everyone.  As he puts it, "I knew that no possible consequence I might face could prove to be as devastating as not sharing the knowledge I had gained about immortality and the true meaning of life".  

Ultimately, as with any spiritual experience, it comes down to a matter of faith.  Or actually experiencing the whole thing yourself.  

Combine this with the other books on the subject of past lives and souls: Life Between Lives by Michael Newton, and The Laws Of The Spirit World by Khorshed Bhavnagri, and you will realise how western scientific thought is reaffirming and aligning itself with the universal truth that has been propounded by Sanatana Dharma since ages.

Image source: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-62n8IrJ2ufA/UP4OLu4eM0I/AAAAAAAAV48/_6FZsKUPdTY/s1600/Many-Lives-Many-Masters.jpg

Saints' convention denounces conversions

It was heartening to note that, finally, a group of saints and heads of prominent religious institutions and matths met to discuss religious conversions.

In the premises of Siddaganga Matth, as reported by Deccan Herald, seers of matths such as Adichunchanagiri Matth, Sutturu Matth, Pejawar Matth, Siddaganga Matth, Sri Sri Ravishankar and Sri Veerendra Heggade convened to discuss the issue.

It is high time that the issue of covert evangelisation in the name of public service is brought out into the open, debated and steps are taken to root it out.

Evangelising religious institutions use various methods to carry out their activities; influencing children in the numerous schools and colleges set up by their organisations, influencing patients and relatives caught in stressful situations in hospitals set up ostensibly for providing cheap treatment.

There are several other methods, and I can  only refer the reader to the wonderful work done by Sri Arun Shourie, who has published many well researched books on the subject.  Most notable and revealing of his works is Harvesting our Souls: Missionaries, Their Designs, Their Claims.  This is a landmark book, an eye opener in many ways, that every Indian interested in exposing the claims made by proselytisers and help prevent gullible people from falling prey to their ideologies, should read and understand.

Haven't prominent philosophers and thinkers said that all paths lead to the one and the same God?  Haven't they said that the outward manifestations of religions may differ, but the core message is always the same  Why then, does the need for denouncing one religion and enticing people to join your fold arise?  Isn't it a fundamentalist notion to say, 'mine is the only true path; rest are demonic; therefore you should leave your path and join mine'?  

Further it is Hinduism which propagates Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the whole world is a family), and Sarve Janah Sukhinobhavantu (may all be happy), and in its core emphasises the importance of soul and spirituality - both of universal relevance.  Isn't this a mature, universal, and all-inclusive philosophy worth emulating and preserving?

But, ironically, this very large-hearted and egalitarian outlook of Hinduism has put it at risk of being targeted by proselytisers and opportunists, whose agenda, it seems, comprise nothing short of world domination and India as a fully converted nation.

One hopes that the outcome of the convention is taken seriously by the government and thorough checks and audits are carried out on evangelising institutions, including the substantial foreign funds that they receive to carry out their clandestine activities.  

One also hopes that the seers and pontiffs of matths all across India, take this issue seriously, denounce casteism, educate people in the community and help reduce socioeconomic factors contributing to conversions.  

News & image source: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/441015/seers-raise-concern-over-religious.html

Film conversations: Bang Bang!

Expectations!  They seem to be directly proportional to the eventual disappointment.

  

So it is with Bang Bang!

There was so much going for this!  And so little have they achieved with it!

The hype was unbelievable.  When the promos and songs first arrived on YouTube, record numbers watched them in no time.  Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif!  What chemistry, they said!  Full of action, they said!  Remake, but better than Knight and Day, they said!  If only!  If only they had remained faithful to the original story, script and screenplay, without indulging themselves too much.  In doing so, the story keeps going somewhat off-track; it makes sense only in parts – or because you have already seen Knight and Day.

The action scenes - surprisingly and disappointingly - are not slick.  They are not even convincing.  They are not a patch on the action scenes seen in Krrish 3 or Dhoom 3.   And that is a shame, because they had the towering presence of Hrithik Roshan going for them, and yet managed to rake up dud sequences. 

Predictably Katrina Kaif plays a Canadian settled in India – how many times will they justify her accent by making her an NRI?  She lives with her Dadi in an unrealistic setting in the north.  So do Hrithik’s parents – in a large country house, all by themselves, with no domestic help – in a place that is helpfully named Ghar.  Danny plays the predictable villain, and Javed Jaffrey, rather unpredictably, plays his side-kick who promptly gets bumped off in the middle.  However it was good to see Deepti Naval on screen again after a long gap, even though in a small role. 

It was the songs that got us going.  And they are the saving grace of the film.  Them and Hrithik Roshan.  The songs are tailor-made for him, as he mesmerises you with effortless moves with his superbly toned body.  He has the reverse-Madhuri Dixit effect on the audiences.  When she used to dance, she easily overshadowed the leading man; now Hrithik is doing the same to his leading ladies.  You simply cannot take your eyes off him when he is…well, on a song!  He is simply the most well-rounded actor we have right now.

The producer and director are lucky to have had a hit with this one.  And it is barely a hit, considering that at one stage, it was expected to cross 50 crores in the first week itself and over-all 300 crores.  It managed only 27.54 crores in the first week and is struggling to reach 180 crores in India as of now (source: bollywoodhungama.com). 

Watch it only for Hrithik! 

Update (July 2020): Since this film, I have lost count of the number of foreign reaction-makers on YouTube that have gushed over Hrithik in the title track, Bang Bang.  Arguably, Hrithik has single-handedly steered a largely indifferent western/foreign audience towards paying attention to what Bollywood/Indian cinema has to offer.  

As far as I am concerned, he is the only star-kid that deserves his place in the limelight; the rest can take a walk!  

Image sources: 
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/90/Bang_Bang_(2014_Film).jpg

https://nishitak.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/hrithikroshan-3b.jpg

Unwanted neighbours and visitors

The differences are stark. 

Democratic state, as opposed to a theocratic state.

One with unprecedented economic ascendancy, other with the exact opposite.

In our country syncretism is largely upheld and minority numbers are increasing if anything; on their side radicalism has entrenched itself firmly and people of other religion have been hounded, converted, persecuted or chased away.

Yet the said state and its militia-terrorist nexus expect red carpets to be laid out as they approach a disputed territory to incite divisions.  Like a recalcitrant brat, impervious to frequent clips around the ear, this epicentre of global terrorism always expects to be treated equally and even royally!  It expects the world to treat it “on par” with its neighbour.  Ever since we have managed to exorcise ourselves from our horrid conjoined twin, it has made numerous attempts to seek attention, cry foul, throw tantrums, and, if all else fails, to covertly decimate its older brother. 

Actually it is not surprising if you consider the above differences; envy was always going to make its presence felt, which then makes the brat do these things.  Truly, the predominant colour of that nation as been well chosen – green: the colour of envy.  The brat has to get what the older brother has just got, if not it is going to create a fuss.  If it is beyond the reach of its capability, such as sending space-crafts to moon and Mars, or economic prosperity driven by an able leader, it would make sure that it would at least spoil the party for the other – through ceasefire violations, as we have seen recently. 

But we do share an ambivalent relationship with this country.  On the one hand, tennis players unite to win doubles tournaments, and films stars and singers of that country are ‘palanquined’ into ours as though they are god’s best creations.  On the other hand, each time there is a border skirmish, a hilltop war, or a terrorist attack, we cry foul, pin blame on them immediately (often rightly), and deride these attacks in our cinema. 

When a tennis player married a cricketer from the other side, news reports showed men from the other side dancing ecstatically to drum beats, with some even suggesting that we should bow down to them as we, being the ladkiwale, should be subservient to the more superior ladkewale.  It was like suggesting that your ladki has chose our ladka over the millions of men in your country; there must be something superior about us!  Some even suggested that she should play for her sasural country henceforth!  Actually they were exposing their own entrenched patriarchal and anti-feminine cultural mindset by saying all this.  But what happened after all that chest-thumping?  The ladki, now the bahu of that country, continues to play for our country – in short skirts, and with male partners to boot – something which occasionally causes a religious leader to throw a fit. 

Coming back to our imported celebrities, how many of them have actually criticized their country for inciting violence through cross-border ceasefire, or through covert terrorist attacks? 

How many of them have openly condemned 26/11?

Did any of them say that the terrorists, their countryman, was wrong in carrying out those attacks?

How many acknowledge the wide gulf that exists between the socioeconomic situations of the two countries.  How many are grateful to a country, its society and its people, who have accepted them after overlooking all of these?  Like free-loaders, they enjoy the fruits that come their way, and maintain aloofness whenever their parent country unleashes another of its brazen plans. 

 In a misguided sense of secularism and largesse, we tend to overlook all of these and go all out to please them.  We end up giving needless importance to a rogue nation that just needs to be left alone.  Even those people who raise a voice against this are silenced, and even boycotted.  A singer, who has ‘ole ole’d a lot in the past, doesn't seem to be getting any work these days; probably because he openly questioned the need for importing celebrities from that country. 

Forget the celebrities.  What about the ordinary people from that country, who come here with their passports and then chuck them to get lost among the multitudes?  The number of people who have overstayed their welcome, or who have totally disappeared once on this side of the border, is staggering.  Is it not possible that at least some of these have contacts with, or indeed, are themselves terrorists?  It’s Sarfarosh all over again.

Forget even the people of that country for a while.  These days our cities are attracting students and workers from all across the globe.  Most of them, if not all, seem to revel in their audacity, which is unleashed as soon as they see the soft nature of our people and the lax implementation of our law.  Recently there was a rampage by a group of students from a North African country – the kind of thing that we would never dream of doing when in a foreign country.  Should we put it down to cultural differences, religious differences, or something else?  

This just goes to show that there needs to be some kind of a screening process before foreign elements are allowed into the country; thorough vigilance of their actions is necessary, which may involve something more than just registering at the local police station; if they resort to violence or crime of any sort, they need to be deported. 

As things stand now, we seem to be allowing far too many indiscriminately without any kind of background check.  Our leaders and law enforcers are slumbering as infiltrators disappear into the local population.  If this is not checked, we may soon end up with a very real problem – in addition to communal clashes, strikes, rapes and murders – that of the rogue foreign immigrant.  We need to learn from other countries’ examples.  The UK, which had allowed a very similar immigration to occur on a mass scale in the 1950s and ’60s, is now faced with a problem that it is unable to solve.  Most of the descendants of the immigrants of that time are now UK citizens, but their loyalties are split, and in some cases, are even anti-British.  It is worth noting that the London Tube bombers were the so-called ‘home grown’ terrorists – descendants of immigrants.  There are ghetto areas in many of UK’s cities, which are considered to ‘no-go’ areas that you would do well to avoid.

The point is this.  You are welcome to come to our country.  You are welcome to stay and make use of the facilities here – whether academic, economic, or other.  We believe in the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – the whole world is one family; one humanity.  But once you are here, do not show off, do not act high and mighty, do not degrade our culture/religion/nationality, do not expect special favours, do not overstay your welcome, and certainly do not indulge in covert anti-state activities.  In the meantime authorities all over – law enforcers, policy makers, ministers, educationists, employers, film producers, music directors – please be more vigilant and keep an eye open for misdemeanour from your foreign recruits.  

If not it would have to be A Wednesday all over again!  

Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Indo_Bangladesh_Border%2C_Dakshin_Denajpur.jpg/220px-Indo_Bangladesh_Border%2C_Dakshin_Denajpur.jpg