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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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