I WAS THERE

A beautiful message about Father.


http://www.passionup.com/fun/fun4528.htm?e=louiseungro@hotmail.com&f=froggiemad1@cox.net&h=bb08c6204ace9eec&mp=1&confirm=1

Safe Driving in India

http://driving-india.blogspot.com/http://driving-india.blogspot.com/

JIn SSBN chinese NUclear Sub

There has been the photographs of Google earth showing two docked submarines in a chinese nuke base. But what is intriguing is this clear photogrph of two subs with their 12 launchers clearly visbile. This could be taken only from inside the base. Why then the chinese are releasing this photo?

The sub seems to be noisy as per its above the water look. Well below the water capablity is another matter.

Gen Liu Yan don is slowly increasing the missile depth of its forces with DF 31 A ICBM which can hit mainland USA.DF 11, DF 15 DF 4 are already deployed.

China is actively pursuing the Iranian oil and gas as India has withdrwn from the IPI pipeline by offerring to Pakistan to increase the Gas quantity from Iran which can make it financially viable by diverting the gas from pakistan to china via Gwadar land route! India is going to loose out as with Myanmar gas as also Bangladesh gas. I think USA and China are working in tandem in this especially in indo/us nuke deal as it will help china to have a non/nuclear India on its border like non nuclear North Korea.

South Asia - Unleashing India’s Innovation

South Asia - Unleashing India’s Innovation

Mental health day/Dysthemia/10th 0ct

MENTAL HEALTH OF CARERS.(10th oct October)

Normally as the 10th october approaches, one sees articles about Depression and how the
mental health of modern generation is affected especaily among the software professionals due to stress
and modern lifestyle. Ofcourse various advices are given by psychiatrists and mental health professionals.

As a carer i thought it is my duty to inform younger generation of carers about various problems
one faces in caring a MENTALLYILL patient.They know them and are coping. But they may not know about Dysthemia.

. How to detect and COPE with this dreaded condition?.
Have you ever suggested to your other half an"evening out" and bang comes the Brahmasthra (Tomahawk!)" How could you think of an evening out when our child is sufffering so much?. " Same is the casewith movies, sex, holidays, marriage reception of a friend's child, or a game of bridge or anything pleasurable to the humans;the missile comes back " How could you think of ......when our child is suffering so much? This denial of anything pleasurable has got a name DYSTHYMIA . It creeps slowly destroying all pleasurable activities in ones family life.Later the discease itself becomes a virtue of SELFSACRIFICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" FEEL GUILTY MAN' is the MANTRA. When I am sacrificing all pleasures for the sake of our child how could you smile,laugh and eat good food
,playgames.watch favourite TVshow and even gossip with friends.This sometimes takes the extreme form where evenreading newspaper or a book becomes a sin. Listening to Music becomes impossible
with music system under the control of the patient. Those who are in the first episode of an adolescent child are normally in the age group of 35 to 45 years and so are worst affected and completely destroying all their family life. Please take immediate steps to prevent it and the key is to fight this with pleasurable activities without feeling GUILTY .It is imperative and vital that the carers have a happy family life including active sexlife for the sake of their own health . Please go to Movies,restaurants,dramas or anyhting you enjoy and keep your
SANITY for the sake of your ward.Buying another TV/IPOD is a good investment.
Keep away from your ward for sometime without
feeling GUILTY. The healthier you are , your child gets loving caring persons
more in her/his life which is the MOST IMPORTANT THING in their life.

Human rights guidelines for Pharma Multi National companies

UN INDEPENDENT EXPERT LAUNCHES DRAFT HUMAN RIGHTS GUIDELINES FORPHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES
The UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoymentof the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health,Paul Hunt, today launched for public consultation a draft HumanRights Guidelines for Pharmaceutical Companies in relation to Accessto Medicines."Almost 2 billion people lack access to essential medicines," theSpecial Rapporteur said. "Improving access to existing medicinescould save 10 million lives each year. Access to medicines ischaracterised by profound global inequity as 15% of the world'spopulation consumes over 90% of the world's pharmaceuticals", theSpecial Rapporteur explained.Access to medicines is a central feature of the right to the highestattainable standard of health. States have primary responsibility forenhancing access to medicines, as set out in the expert's report tothe UN General Assembly last year (13 September 2006, A/61/338). TheSpecial Rapporteur routinely questions Governments about theirnational medicines policies and implementation plans."Pharmaceutical companies have a profound impact - both positive andnegative - on Governments' ability to realise the right to thehighest attainable standard of health. It is time to identify whatpharmaceutical companies should do to help realize the human right tomedicine. How can we expect pharmaceutical companies to respect humanrights if we fail to explain what they are expected to do?" he added.Consisting of some 50 provisions, the draft Guidelines were launchedtoday at the University of Toronto, Canada. They are available for
comment until 31 December 2007."The draft Guidelines are designed to help pharmaceutical companies,as well as those monitoring their activities. I look forward tofinalising the Guidelines in 2008", Professor Hunt concluded.
The Special Rapporteur is an independent expert appointed by the thenUnited Nations Commission on Human Rights to help States, and others,promote and protect the right to the highest attainable standard ofhealth.The draft Guidelines, and other initiatives of the SpecialRapporteur, can be found at www2.essex.ac.uk/human_rights_centre/rth/For further information on the mandate of the Special Rapporteur andcopies of his reports, please go tohttp://www.ohchr.org/english/issues/health/right/index.htm

Indo/US nuke deal, view from AEC scientist

The following points raised by a retired AEC scientist is worth a read with respect


The Nuclear DEAL?
1. The Indo US Cooperation on the Civilian Nuclear Program and the Agreement is now being called a 'deal', which, in common 'parlance' is not considered a polite word and our Prime Minister is being targeted as if he has made some underhand 'deal' with the US; some political parties including ones supporting the Government are doubting the integrity of the PM; it is a matter of National shame.
2. With his team from the MEA and DAE the PM has spent so much time and effort to bring the agreement to this stage / shape.
3. The opposition is talking of the Hyde Act, that if India carries out a Nuclear Test in future, all cooperation will stop. We do not even know if at all and when, in the distant future, a test/s will be required by the nation / scientists. Circumstances may be different and may be favourable, political alignment may be different; as of now we are in a self imposed moratorium, and correctly so.
4. The whole agreement is on the civilian nuclear program; our weapon's program will continue as it always has been, with our own reactors, reprocessing plants, enrichment plants and heavy water plants. We are not going to be giving the design and technology to any one; why, then are we pointing out that the US will not give these technologies as part of the civilian agreement?
5. About past tests and our strengths - we have been isolated with sanctions since 1974. The DAE scientists, engineers and technologists took up the challenge and after more than thirty years' efforts have brought the nation to this stage of strength and pride that all other developed nations, not only the US but also other developed nations including the Russian Federation and the so called Eastern Block, have extended a hand for us to join them and we, after working and negotiating so hard, do not want to shake hands!
6. Are we conveying our arrogance? No other country, not even those who have been signatories to the NPT have been given such a chance.
7. Due to sanctions, we lived in isolation however, we put in efforts and spent resources to develop equipment, material and systems which are available at a relatively nominal cost. Of course, we are not complaining, we are all happy and proud that we, scientists and technologists were given the chance by the country to prove ourselves; if required we can and will do it again. But is it required? Especially, when we have achieved our objective and the world has recognised so?
8. We are proud of this because 30 years is a long period in the life of an individual (nearly all of one's productive working life) but for the life of a nation this is small.
9. At this stage, if we do not proceed further with the agreement (and not 'deal'), the world will not pardon us and the future isolation / sanctions may be more severe. Can we afford this when we are on the path of economic progress? India's international image will take a severe beating and our principles and our strategic strength will suffer; of course, our neighbours will only be too happy!
10. If ever we have to conduct a nuclear test in the distant future, we will weigh the consequences as we did in 1974, and again, in 1998 and decide; no country can dictate and the situation will be no different! We believe citizens of India should awaken and force all our politicians to support this agreement ; we must seize the opportunity help India attain leadership In addition to voting for the Taj Mahal as one of the seven wonders of the world, here is an opportunity for us to make INDIA, the wonder of the world!


A K Anand Retired from BARC in 2001 as Director Reactor Projects Group and Director Technical Coordination and International Relations Group

Universal religion

this speach by swami vivekananda is realy interesting for its insight. a must for all

Clash of cultures/ an Arab american view

Please paste the following link in your browser to view the talk by Arab American lady psychologist. Interesting talk about islam,Jews,secularism



http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ai=214&ar=1050wmv&ak=nul

Vanjikottai Valiban - Kannum kannum kalandhu....

Wives's role in Infosys creation

The following story by Mrs.Sudha Murthy wife of chairman emeritus Mr.Narayan Murthy is realy revealing for the role wives played in the creation of the world' best software company.

Sudha Murthy, wife of Mentor, Infosys Narayanamurthy, talking about her life and the story of how Infosys was born:

It was in Pune that I met Narayana Murty through my friend Prasanna who is now the Wipro chief, who was also training in Telco. Most of the books that Prasanna lent me had Murty's name on them, which meant that I had a preconceived image of the man. Contrary to expectation, Murty was shy, bespectacled and an introvert.

When he invited us for dinner, I was a bit taken aback as I thought the young man was making a very fast move. I refused since I was the only girl in the group. But Murty was relentless and we all decided to meet for dinner the next day at 7.30 p.m. at Green Fields hotel on the Main Road, Pune. The next day I went there at 7 o clock since I had to go to the tailor near the hotel. And what do I see? Mr. Murty waiting in front of the hotel and it was only seven. Till today, Murty maintains that I had mentioned (consciously!) that I would be going to the tailor at 7 so that I could meet him...And I maintain that I did not say any such thing consciously or unconsciously because I did not think of Murty as anything other than a friend at that stage. We have agreed to disagree on this matter. Soon, we became friends. Our conversations were filled with Murty's experiences abroad and the books that he has read.
My friends insisted that Murty was trying to impress me because he was interested in me. I kept denying it till one fine day, after dinner Murty said, " I want to tell you something". I knew this was it. It was coming. He said, "I am 5' 4" tall. I come from a lower middle class family. I can never become rich in my life and I can never give you any riches. You are beautiful, bright, intelligent and you can get anyone you want. But will you marry me?" I asked Murty to give me some time for an answer.

My father didn't want me to marry a wannabe politician,(a communist at that) who didn't have a steady job and wanted to build an orphanage... When I went to Hubli I told my parents about Murty and his proposal. My mother was positive since Murty was also from Karnataka, seemed intelligent and comes from a good family. But my
father asked: What's his job, his salary, his qualifications etc? Murty was working as a research assistant and was earning less than me. He was willing to go dutch with me on our outings. My parents agreed to meet Murty in Pune on a particular day at 10 a. m sharp. Murty did not turn up. How can I trust a man to take care of my daughter if he cannot keep an appointment, asked my father. At 12 noon Murty turned up in a bright red shirt! He had gone on work to Bombay, was stuck in a traffic jam on the ghats, so he hired a taxi (though it was very expensive for him) to meet his would-be father-in-law. Father was unimpressed. My father asked him what he wanted to become in life. Murty said he wanted to become a politician in the communist party and wanted to open an orphanage. My father gave his verdict. NO. I don't want my daughter to marry somebody who wants to become a communist and then open an orphanage when he himself didn't have money to support his family.

Ironically, today, I have opened many orphanages something, which Murty wanted to do 25 years ago. By this time I realized I had developed a liking towards Murty, which could only be termed as love. I wanted to marry Murty because he is an honest man. He proposed to me highlighting the negatives in his life. I promised my father that I would not marry Murty without his blessings though at the same time, I cannot marry anybody else. My father said he would agree if Murty promised to take up a steady job. But Murty refused saying he will not do things in life because somebody wanted him to. So, I was caught between the two most important people in my life. The stalemate continued for three years during which our courtship took us to every restaurant and cinema hall in Pune. In those days, Murty was always broke. Moreover, he didn't earn much to manage. Ironically today, he manages Infosys Technologies Ltd, one of the world's most reputed companies. He always owed me money. We used to go for dinner and he would say, I don't have money with me, you pay my share, I will return it to you later. For three years I maintained a book on Murty's debt to me. No, he never returned the money and I finally tore it up after my wedding. The amount was a little over Rs. 4000.

During this interim period Murty quit his job as research assistant and started his own software business. Now, I had to pay his salary too! Towards the late 70s computers were entering India in a big way. During the fag end of 1977 Murty decided to take up a job as General Manager at Patni Computers in Bombay. But before he joined the company he wanted to marry me since he was to go on training to the US after joining. My father gave in as he was happy Murty had a decent job, now. We were married in Murty's house in Bangalore on February 10, 1978 with only our two families present. I got my first silk sari. The wedding expenses came to only Rs. 800(US$ 17) with Murty and I pooling in Rs. 400 each. I went to the US with Murty after marriage. Murty encouraged me to see America on my own because I loved traveling. I toured America for three months on backpack and had interesting experiences, which will remain fresh in my mind forever. Like the time when I was taken into custody by the New York police because they thought I was an Italian trafficking drugs in Harlem . Or the time when I spent the night at the bottom of the Grand Canyon with an old couple. Murty panicked because he couldn't get a response from my hotel room even at midnight. He thought I was either killed or kidnapped.

In 1981 Murty wanted to start INFOSYS. He had a vision and zero capital... initially I was very apprehensive about Murty getting into business. We did not have any business background. Moreover we were living a comfortable life in Bombay with a regular paycheck and I didn't want to rock the boat. But Murty was passionate about creating good quality software. I decided to support him. Typical of Murty, he just had a dream and no money. So I gave him Rs. 10,000, which I had saved for a rainy day, without his knowledge and told him, "This is all I have". Take it. I give you three years sabbatical leave. I will take care of the financial needs of our house. You go and
chase your dreams without any worry.

But you have only three years! Murty and his six colleagues started Infosys in 1981,with enormous interest and hard work. In 1982 I left Telco and moved to Pune with Murty. We bought a small house on loan, which also became the Infosys office. I was a clerk-cum-cook-cum-programmer. I also took up a job as Senior Systems Analyst with Walchand group of Industries to support the house. In 1983 Infosys got their first client, MICO, in Bangalore. Murty moved to Bangalore and stayed with his mother while I went to Hubli to deliver my second child, Rohan. Ten days after my son was born, Murty left for the US on project work. I saw him only after a year, as I was unable to join Murty in the US because my son had infantile eczema, an allergy to vaccinations. So for more than a year I did not step outside our home for fear of my son contracting an infection. It was only after Rohan got all his vaccinations that I came to Bangalore where we rented a small house in Jayanagar and rented another house as Infosys headquarters. My father presented Murty a scooter to commute. I once again became a cook, programmer, clerk, secretary, office assistant et al. Nandan Nilekani (MD of Infosys) and his wife Rohini stayed with us. While Rohini baby sat my son, I wrote
programmes for Infosys. There was no car, no phone, just two kids and a bunch of us working hard, juggling our lives and having fun while Infosys was taking shape. It was not only me but the wives of other partners too who gave their unstinted support. We all knew that our men were trying to build something good. It was like a big joint family, taking care and looking out for one another.

I still remember Sudha Gopalakrishna looking after my daughter Akshata with all care and love while Kumari Shibulal cooked for all of us. Murty made it very clear that it would either be me or him working at Infosys. Never the two of us together... I was involved with Infosys initially. Nandan Nilekani suggested I should be on the Board but Murty said he did not want a husband and wife team at Infosys. I was shocked since I had the relevant experience and technical qualifications. He said, "Sudha, if you want to work with Infosys, I will withdraw, happily". I was pained to know that I will not be involved in the company my husband was building and that I would have to give up a job that I am qualified to do and love doing.

It took me a couple of days to grasp the reason behind Murty's request. I realized that to make Infosys a success one had to give one's 100 percent. One had to be focused on it alone with no other distractions. If the two of us had to give 100 percent to Infosys then what would happen to our home and our children? One of us had to take care of our home while the other took care of Infosys. I opted to be a homemaker, after all Infosys was Murty's dream. It was a big sacrifice but it was one that had to be made. Even today, Murty says, "Sudha, I stepped on your career to make mine". You are responsible for my success. I might have given up my career for my husband's sake. But that does not make me a doormat... Many think that I have been made the sacrificial lamb at Narayana Murty's altar of success.

A few women journalists have even accused me of setting a wrong example by giving up my dreams to make my husbands a reality. Isn't freedom about living your life the way you want it? What is right for one person might be wrong for another. It is up to the individual to make a choice that is effective in her life. I feel that when a woman gives up her right to choose for herself is when she crosses over from being an individual to a doormat. Murty's dreams encompassed not only himself but also a generation of people. It was about founding something worthy, exemplary and honorable. It was about creation and distribution of wealth. His dreams were grander than my career plans, in all aspects. So, when I had to choose between Murty's career and mine, I opted for what I thought was a right choice. We had a home and two little children. Measles, mumps, fractures; PTA meetings, wants and needs of growing children do not care much for grandiose dreams. They just needed to be attended to. Somebody had to take care of it all. Somebody had to stay back to create a home base that would be fertile for healthy growth, happiness, and more dreams to dream. I became that somebody willingly.

I can confidently say that if I had had a dream like Infosys, Murty would have given me his unstinted support. The roles would have been reversed. We are not bound by the archaic rules of marriage. I cook for him but I don't wait up to serve dinner like a traditional wife. So, he has no hassles about heating up the food and having his dinner. He does not intrude into my time especially when I am writing my novels. He does not interfere in my work at the running of Infosys. I teach Computer Science to MBA and MCA students at Christ College for a few hours every week and I earn around Rs. 50,000 a year. I value this financial independence greatly though there is no need for me to pursue a teaching career. Murty respects that. I travel all over the world without Murty because he hates travelling. We trust each other implicitly. We have another understanding too. While he earns the money, I spend it, mostly through the charity. Philanthropy is a profession and an art... The Infosys Foundation was born in 1997 with the sole objective of uplifting the less privileged sections of society.

In the past three years we have build hospitals, orphanages, rehabilitation centres, school buildings, science centres and more than 3500 libraries. Our work is mainly in the rural areas amongst women and children. I am one of the trustees and our activities span six states including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Orissa, Chandigarh and Maharashtra. I travel to around 800 villages constantly. Infosys Foundation has a minimal staff of three trustees and three office members. We all work very hard to achieve our goals and that is the reason why Infosys Foundation has a distinct identity. Every year we donate around Rs. 5-6 crore (Rs. 50 - 60 million). We run Infosys Foundation the way Murty runs Infosys in a professional and scientific way.

Philanthropy is a profession and an art. It can be used or misused. We slowly want to increase the donations and we dream of a time when Infosys Foundation could donate large amounts of money. Every year we receive more than 10,000 applications for donations. Everyday I receive more than 120 calls. Amongst these, there are those who genuinely need help and there are hood winkers too. I receive letters asking me to donate Rs. five lakh to someone because five lakh is, like peanuts to Infosys. Some people write to us asking for free Infosys shares. Over the years I have learnt to differentiate the wheat from the chaff, though I still give a patient hearing to all the cases. Sometimes I feel I have lost the ability to trust people. I have become shrewder to avoid being conned. It saddens me to realize that even as a person is talking to me I try to analyze them: Has he come here for any donation? Why is he praising my work or enquiring about my health, does he wants some money from me? Eight out of ten times I am right. They do want my money. But I feel bad for the other two whom I suspected. I think that is the price that I have to pay for the position that I am in now.

The greatest difficulty in having money is teaching your children the value of it and trying to keep them on a straight one is a difficult task. Even today I think twice if I have to spend Rs10 on an auto when I can walk up to my house. I cannot expect my children to do the same. They have seen money from the time they were born. But we can lead by example. When they see Murty wash his own plate after eating and clean the two toilets in the house everyday they realize that no work is demeaning irrespective of how rich you are. I don't have a maid at home because I don't see the need for one. When children see both parents working hard, living a simple life, most of the time they tend to follow. This doesn't mean we expect our children to live an austere life. My children buy what they want and go where they want but they have to follow certain rules. They will have to show me a bill for whatever they buy. My daughter can buy five new outfits but she has to give away five old ones. My son can go out with his friends for lunch or dinner but if he wants to go to a five star hotel, we discourage it. Or we accompany him. So far my children haven't given me any heartbreak. They are good children. My eldest daughter is studying abroad, whereas my son is studying in Bangalore. They don't use their father's name in vain.

If asked, they only say that his name is Murty and that he works for Infosys. They don't want to be recognized and appreciated because of their father or me but for themselves. I don't feel guilty about having money for we have worked hard for it. But I don' t feel comfortable flaunting it. It is a conscious decision on our part to live a simple, so called middle class life. We live in the same Two-bedroom, sparsely furnished house before INFOSYS became a succeed. Our only extravagance is buying books and CDs. My house has no lockers for I have no jewels. I wear a stone earring, which I bought in Mumbai for Rs100. I don't even wear my mangalsutra until I attend some family functions or I am with my mother-in-law. I am not fond of jewellery or saris. Five years ago, I went to Kashi where tradition demands that you give up something and I gave up shopping. Since then I haven't bought myself a sari or gone shopping. It is my friends who gift me with saris. Murty bought me a sari a long time ago. It was not to my taste and I told him to refrain from buying saris for me in the future.

I am no good at selecting men's clothes either. It is my daughter who does the shopping for us. I still have the same sofa at home, which my daughter wants to change. However, we have indulged ourselves with each one having their own music system and computer. I don't carry a purse and neither does Murty most of the time. I do tell him to keep some small change with him but he doesn't. I borrow money from my secretary or my driver if I need cash. They know my habit so they always carry extra cash with them.
But I settle the accounts every evening. Murty and I are very comfortable with our lifestyle and we don' t see the need to change it now that we have money. Murty and I are two opposites that complement each other... Murty is sensitive and romantic in his own way. He always gifts me books addressed to From Me to You. Or to the person I most admire etc. We both love books. We are both complete opposites. I am an extrovert and he is an introvert. I love watching movies and listening to classical music. Murty loves listening to English classical music. I go out for movies with my students and secretary every other week. I am still young at heart. I really enjoyed watching "Kaho Na Pyaar Hai" and I am an Hrithik Roshan fan. It has been more than 20 years since Murty and I went for a movie. My daughter once gave us a surprise by booking tickets for "Titanic". Since I had a prior engagement that day, Murty went for the movie with his secretary Pandu.

I love traveling whereas Murty loves spending time at home. Friends
come and go with the share prices... Even in my dreams, I did not expect Infosys to grow like the way it has. I don't think even Murty envisioned this phenomenal success, at least not in 1981. After Infosys went public in 1993, we became what people would call as rich, moneyed people. I was shocked to see what was happening to Infosys and to us. Suddenly you see and hear about so much money. Your name and photo is splashed in the papers. People talk about you. It was all new to me. Suddenly I have people walking up to me saying, oh we where such good friends, we had a meal 25 years ago, they claim to have been present at our wedding (which is an utter life because only my family was present at my wedding). I don' t even know all these people who claim to know Murty and me so well. But that doesn't mean I don't have true friends.

I do have genuine friends, a handful, who have been with me for a very long time. My equation with these people has not changed and vice versa. I am also very close to Narayana Murty's family, especially my sister-in-law Kamala Murty, a school teacher, who is more of a dear friend to me. I have discovered that these are the few relationships and friendships that don't fluctuate depending on the price of Infosys shares. Have I lost my identity as a woman, in Murty's shadow?... No. I might be Mrs. Narayana Murty. I might be Akshata and Rohan's mother. I might be the trustee of Infosys Foundation. But I am still Sudha. I play different roles like all women. That doesn't mean we don't have our own identity. Women have that extra quality of adaptability and learn to fit into different shoes. But we are our own selves still. And we have to exact our freedom by making the right choices in our lives, dictated by us and not by the world.

Sudha Murthy

Amazon Rainforest Relaxation Video

A very very soothing music

Mother's day/ a cry of anguish from two mothers

A cry of anguish from two Mothers having schizophrenic daughters


Tomorrow is world Mother’s day. Today I got a call from a mother who has not seen her daughter for the last two months though the daughter lives only one furlong from her house. She just wanted to know how her daughter is faring away from her. She just wanted to hear her voice. She just wanted to know whether her daughter is happy with the food she is getting. Is she sleeping? Is her bed linen washed and changed? I just scolded her back!
The whole purpose of this exercise is to keep her daughter away from her and remove her DEPENDENCE ON HER! The very fact that the institution has not called her back shows that they are succeeding. She must be happy with it. I told her the story of the crow and how they just prick their young ones with their beak so that they fly away once they grow big enough to be on their own and prick everytime they come back to the NEST. That is Ok with normal children said the mother, but my only daughter doesnot even know how to ask for food. She may just sleep away even if no food is given. I replied that they wake up the children and they have to eat on the table. But said the mother my daughter will only eat the omlette if cooked in a particular way. Her bread has to be deep roasted. Her water has to have ice cubes. I tried to counteract her that actually she has not loved her daughter but just made her more dependent on herself! She said may be. I asked her not to disturb the institution with her calls as asked by them. She reluctantly agreed. But the call in the night from her husband asking me to find out about the condition of their daughter surreptiously from the Jesuit father said it all. I did not succeed.
The institution is a centre run by a dedicated Jesuit priest who has given his life for the mentallyill and how to make them STAND ON THEIR OWN FEET .He follows a procedure called NLP(Neurological linguistic programming) along with love, care and discipline. I came to this city to put my only daughter(suffering from schizophrenia) in this institution. But my wife will not agree. She said she is already 63 and she wants her daughter with her till she death and eat from her hand till they can cook. My daughter though schizophrenic is clever and gets her food of taste everyday. She will make all sort of faces even if the dish had little excess sugar or salt and she will never say that she liked this food even once. We know she liked it because she will empty the dish bowl without leaving anything for us if she liked the dish or it will be full!!My wife combs her hair everyday, gives her change of clothes everyday, and I have to take her to the restaurant in case she demands it. Her sanitary pads and other saliva stains on the pillow cover she changes religiously everyday. Whenever I suggest even indirectly about institutionalization, her stock reply TILL I DIE I WANT TO SERVE MY OWN FLESH AND BLOOD”. In India we know what will happen to her after our death with no proper”GUARDIANSHIP RIGHTS” “AFFORDABLE LONG RANGE HOMES “,”RESPITE HOMES etc. I could not argue back about removing DEPENDENCE on us the parents.
The cry of anguish of these INDIAN MOTHERS of mentallyill. Will anyone hear? I heard it is International mother's day tomorrow














The mothers just look with hope at the future like the monkey above. They pray as the lady with lamp at the Mountain with RED TOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Harmony with animals

These are some of the images which i saw in a site. They are realy Breathtaking. Humans and animals can create beauty together. Then harmony evolves.

F22 RAPTOR OR IS IT DEVIL IN FLIGHT?

This image of FIFTH GENERATION F22 RAPTOR IN FLIGHT ( of the USAF) looks awesome and may evoke terror in the mind of pilots sitting in the cockpit of their third generation fighters.

The vietnamese brought down the awesome B52 bombers by using only their naked eye and prisms during the vietnam war.

Indian Airforce pilots have always used ingenuity and courage in tackling the threats from enemy aircrafts which may be superior machines in their time but we the IAF will do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Common foods and their actions/uses

• apples Protects your heart prevents constipation Blocks diarrheaI mproves lung capacityCushions joints

apricots Combats cancerControls blood pressureSaves your eyesightShields against Alzheimer'sSlows aging process
artichokesAids digestionLowers cholesterolProtects your heartStabilizes blood sugarGuards against liver disease
avocados Battles diabetesLowers cholesterolHelps stops strokesControls blood pressureSmoothes skin
bananasProtects your heartQuiets a coughStrengthens bonesControls blood pressureBlocks diarrhea
beans Prevents constipationHelps hemorrhoidsLowers cholesterolCombats cancerStabilizes blood sugar
beets
Controls blood pressureCombats cancerStrengthens bonesProtects your heartAids weight loss
blueberriesCombats cancerProtects your heartStabilizes blood sugarBoosts memoryPrevents constipation
broccoliStrengthens bonesSaves eyesightCombats cancerProtects your heartControls blood pressure
cabbageCombats cancerPrevents constipationPromotes weight lossProtects your heartHelps hemorrhoids
cantaloupeSaves eyesightControls blood pressureLowers cholesterolCombats cancerSupports immune system
carrots Saves eyesightProtects your heartPrevents constipationCombats cancerPromotes weight loss
cauliflower Protects against Prostate CancerCombats Breast CancerStrengthens bonesBanishes bruisesGuards against heart disease
cherries Protects your heartCombats CancerEnds insomniaSlows aging processShields against Alzheimer's
chestnuts Promotes weight lossProtects your heartLowers cholesterolCombats CancerControls blood pressure
chili peppers Aids digestionSoothes sore throatClears sinusesCombats CancerBoosts immune system
figs Promotes weight lossHelps stops strokesLowers cholesterolCombats CancerControls blood pressure
fish Protects your heartBoosts memoryProtects your heartCombats CancerSupports immune system
flax Aids digestionBattles diabetesProtects your heartImproves mental healthBoosts immune system
garlic Lowers cholesterolControls blood pressureCombats cancerkills bacteriaFights fungus grapefruit Protects against heart attacksPromotes Weight lossHelps stops strokesCombats Prostate CancerLowers cholesterol
grapes saves eyesightConquers kidney stonesCombats cancerEnhances blood flowProtects your heart
green tea Combats cancerProtects your heartHelps stops strokesPromotes Weight lossKills bacteria
honey Heals woundsAids digestionGuards against ulcersIncreases energyFights allergies lemons Combats cancerProtects your heartControls blood pressureSmoothes skinStops scurvy limes Combats cancerProtects your heartControls blood pressureSmoothes skinStops scurvy mangoes Combats cancerBoosts memoryRegulates thyroidaids digestionShields against Alzheimer's
mushrooms Controls blood pressureLowers cholesterolKills bacteriaCombats cancerStrengthens bones
oats Lowers cholesterolCombats cancerBattles diabetesprevents constipationSmoothes skin olive oil Protects your heartPromotes Weight lossCombats cancerBattles diabetesSmoothes skin
onions Reduce risk of heart attackCombats cancerKills bacteriaLowers cholesterolFights fungus
orangesSupports immune systemsCombats cancerProtects your heartStraightens respiration peaches prevents constipationCombats cancerHelps stops strokesaids digestionHelps hemorrhoids
peanuts Protects against heart diseasePromotes Weight lossCombats Prostate CancerLowers cholesterol
Aggravatesdiverticulitis
pineapple Strengthens bonesRelieves coldsAids digestionDissolves wartsBlocks diarrhea prunes Slows aging processprevents constipationboosts memoryLowers cholesterolProtects against heart disease
rice Protects your heartBattles diabetesConquers kidney stonesCombats cancerHelps stops strokes
strawberries Combats cancerProtects your heartboosts memoryCalms stress sweet
potatoes Saves your eyesightLifts moodCombats cancerStrengthens bones
tomatoes Protects prostateCombats cancerLowers cholesterolProtects your heart
walnuts Lowers cholesterolCombats cancerboosts memoryLifts moodProtects against heart disease
water Promotes Weight lossCombats cancerConquers kidney stonesSmoothes skin watermelon Protects prostatePromotes Weight lossLowers cholesterolHelps stops strokesControls blood pressure
wheat germ Combats Colon Cancerprevents constipationLowers cholesterolHelps stops strokesimproves digestion
wheat bran Combats Colon Cancerprevents constipationLowers cholesterolHelps stops strokesimproves digestion
yogurt Guards against ulcersStrengthens bonesLowers cholesterolSupports immune systemsAids digestion

AFZAL GURU, GUATONOMO BAY,MYANMAR

What is the connection between Afzal guru and Gauatonomo Bay and Myanmar? Everyone knows that Afzal guru was prosecuted in Indian lower court/High court/ supremecourt with access to his family, best of lawyers and then convicted and given death sentence as the offence committed by him as the rarest of rare cases in which nearly 9 Indian parliament guards lost their lives inspite of its mission not succeding .
Moazzam Begg, one of the nine British citizens caught in Kunduz in Afghanistan in 2002 as they were getting training for terrorism with the consent of then ruling Taliban. This British citizen never had ACCES TO FAMILY, LAWYERS and was kept in solitary confinement in Gautonomo bay from 2002 till 2007 and also underwent torture to gather information about his terrorism activities. This Begg is addressing the European Parliament on behalf of Afzal guru. Why? Because President Abdul Kalam is likely to visit Europe and may be asked to address the EU parliament. George Galloway,Jeremy gorbyn, roger godstiff,John macdonnell , all British MPs who get support from predominately pakistani muslim immigrant constituency are spearheading this mercy for Afzal guru but more important EQUATING THE CONDITIONS IN GAUTONOMAO BAY TO INDIAN JUDICIAL SYSTEM . What a laugh?
Now we have 34 Myanmarese Prisoners from Karen community and Arakans who have been doing not only gunrunning and DRUG SMUGGLING in the guise of FREEDOM FIGHTING against myanmarese military junta. Now suddenly an organisation under the leadership of veteran Freedom fighter Lakshmi sehgal has come up called SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE FOR BURMA'S FREEDOM FIGHTERS(SCBFF) Sehgal 's name being used by the interested partied like Ashok Mitra a former finance minister of Marxist government. This organisation wants these gunrunners/drug peddlers to be released because MYANMAR HAS STRUCK A GAS DEAL WITH CHINA!!!!!!What a laugh?

People may wonder what is the connection between AFZAL GURU AND SCBFF? The case of Afzal guru is being faught in European parliament (which recently passed a kashmiri resolution against pakistan viewpoint) is by an organisation BASED IN UK called SOUTH ASIAN SOLIDARITY GROUP. Both the groups (SCBFF AND SASG)are REPRESENTED BY COMMON LAWYER NANDITA HAKSAR AND may be Sujatha Bhadra.

They also criticise Bush and therein lies another link. FUNDING BY GEORGE SOROS!!!!!!!!!!!!

A forgotten convocation address to JNU students in 1972 /BALRAJ SAHNI

As a Tamilian, i was influenced by THIRUKURAL and will be always proud of that epic. Later various books and novels and articles influnced me.
1)Dale carnegies How to stop worrying and start living
2) Hemingways " for whom the bell tolls"
3)Fredrick forsyth's " the day of the jackal"
4)Mary ellen Walsh "Schizophrenia/ straight talk for family and friends"

Later various articles and films also influenced me. But the letter by Sardar Bhagat singh from his jail cell to his father was a master piece. Then again the last will and testament of Nathuram Godse who killed the Mahathma Gandhi is another writing which showed how though he was a killer, he loved his country dearly. The following speach by Balraj sahni who was a fellow traveller( as per the jargon of that time) shows his rustic insight into the problems of that time and how relevant are they even today especially on English . The bold highlights are by me.




BALRAJ SAHNI'S CONVOCATION ADDRESS TO JNU STUDENTS IN 1972.

About twenty years ago, the Calcutta Film Journalists' Association decided to honour the late Bimal Roy, the maker of Do Bigha Zameen and us, his colleagues. It was a simple but tasteful ceremony. Many good speeches were made, but the listeners were waiting anxiously to hear Bimal Roy. We were all sitting on the floor, and I was next to Bimal Da. I could see that as his turn approached he became increasingly nervous and restless. And when his turn came he got up, folded his hands and said, “Whatever I have to my I say if in my films. I have nothing more to say,” and sat down.There is a lot in what Bimal Da did, and at this moment my greatest temptation is to follow his example. The fact that I am not doing so is due solely to the profound regard I have for the name which this august institution bears; and the regard I have for yet another person, Shri P.C. Joshi, who is associated with your university. I owe to him some of the greatest moments of my life, a debt which I can never repay. That is why when I received an invitation to speak on this occasion, I found it impossible to refuse. If you had invited me to sweep your doorstep I would have felt equally happy and honoured. Perhaps that service would have been more equal to my merit.Please do not misunderstand me. I am not trying to be modest. Whatever I said was from my heart and whatever I shall say further on will also be from my heart, whether you find it agreeable and in accordance with the tradition and spirit of such occasions or otherwise. As you may know, I have been out of touch with the academic world for more than a quarter of a century. I have never addressed a University Convocation before.It would not be out of place to mention that the severance of my contact with your world has not been voluntary. It has been due to the special conditions of film making in our country. Our little film world either offers the actor too little work, forcing him to eat his heart out in idleness; or gives him too much --so much that he gets cut off from all other currents of life. Not only does he sacrifice the pleasures of normal family life, but he also has to ignore his intellectual and spiritual needs. In the last twenty-five years have worked in more than one hundred and twenty five films. In the same period a contemporary European or American actor would have done thirty or thirty-five. From this you can imagine what a large part of my life lies buried in strips of celluloid. A vast number of books which I should have read I have not been able to read. So many events I should have taken part in have passed me by. Sometimes I feel terribly left behind. And the frustration increases when I ask myself how many of these one hundred and twenty-five films had anything significant in them? How many have any claim to be remembered? Perhaps a few. They could be counted on the fingers of one hand. And even they have either been forgotten already or will be, quite soon.That is why I said I was not being modest. I was only giving a warning, so that in the event of my disappointing you, you should be able to forgive me. Bimal Roy was right. The artist's domain is his work. So, since I must speak, I must confine myself to my own experience to what I have observed and felt, and wish to communicate. To go outside that would be pompous and foolish.I'd like to tell you about an incident which took place in my college days and which I have never been able to forget. It has left a permanent impression on my mind.I was going by bus from Rawalpindi to Kashmir with my family to enjoy the summer vacation. Half-way through we were halted because a big chunk of the road had been swept away by a landslide caused by rain the previous night. We joined the long queues of buses and cars on either side of the landside. Impatiently we waited for the road to clear. It was a difficulty job for the P.W.D. and it took some days before they could cut a passage through. During all this time the passengers and the drivers of vehicles made a difficult situation even more difficult by their impatience and constant demonstration. Even the villagers nearby got fed up with the high-handed behaviour of the city-walas.One morning the overseer declared the road open. The green- flag was waved to the drivers. But we saw a strange sight. No driver was willing to be the first to cross. They just. stood and stared at each other from either side. No doubt the road was a make-shift one and even dangerous. A mountain on one side, and a deep gorge and the river below. Both were forbidding. The overseer had made a careful inspection and had opened the road with a full sense of responsibility. But nobody was prepared to trust his judgment, although these very people had, till yesterday, I accused him and his department of laziness and incompetence. Half an hour passed by in dumb silence. Nobody moved.Suddenly we saw a small green sports car approaching. An Englishman was driving it; sitting all by himself. He was a bit surprised to see so many parked vehicles and the crowd there. I was rather conspicuous, wearing my smart jacket and trousers. "What's happened?" he asked me.I told him the whole story. He laughed loudly, blew the horn and went straight ahead, crossing the dangerous portion without the least hesitation.And now the pendulum swung the other way. Every body was so eager to cross that they got into each other's way and created a new-confusion for some time. The noise of hundreds of engines and hundreds of horns was unbearable.That day I saw with my own eyes the difference in attitudes between a man brought up in a free country and a man brought up in an enslaved one. A free man has the power to think, decide, and act for himself. But the slave loses that power. He always borrows his thinking from others, wavers in his decisions, and more often than not only takes the trodden path.I learnt a lesson from this incident, which has been valuable to me. I made it a test for my own life. In the course of my life, whenever I have been able to make my own crucial decisions, I have been happy. I have felt the breath 'of freedom on my face. I have called myself a free man. My spirit has soared high and I have enjoyed life because I have felt there is meaning to life.But, to be frank, such occasions have been too few. More often, than not I had lost courage at the crucial moment, and taken shelter under the wisdom of other people. I had taken the safer path. I made decisions which were expected of me by my family, by the bourgeois class to which I belonged, and the set of values upheld by them. I thought one way but acted in another. For this reason, afterwards I have felt rotten.Some decisions have proved ruinous in terms of human happiness. Whenever I lost courage, my life became a meaningless burden.I told you about an Englishman. 1 think that in itself is symptomatic of the sense of inferiority that I felt at that time. I could have given you the example of Sardar Bhagat Singh who went to the gallows the same year. I could have given you the example of Mahatma Gandhi who always had the courage to decide for himself. I remember how my college professors and the wise respectable people of my home town shook their heads over the folly of Mahatma Gandhi, who thought he could defeat the most powerful empire on earth with his utopian principles of truth and non-violence. I think less than one per cent of the people of my city dreamt that they would see India free in their lifetime. But Mahatma Gandhi had faith in himself, in his country, and his people. Some of you may have seen a painting of Gandhiji done by Nandlal Bose. It is the picture of a man who has the courage to think and act for himself.During my college days I was not influenced by Bhagat Singh or Mahatma Gandhi. I was doing my M.A. in English literature from the most magnificent educational institution in the Punjab-the Government College in Lahore. Only the very best students were admitted to that college. After independence my fellow students have achieved the highest positions in India and Pakistan, both in the government and society. But, to gain admission to this college we had to give a written undertaking that we would take no interest in any political movement-which at that time meant the freedom movement.This year we are celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of our independence. But can we honestly say that we have got rid of our slavish mentality--our inferiority complex?Can we claim that at the personal, social, or institutional level, our thinking, our decisions, or even our actions are our own and not borrowed? Are we really free in the spiritual sense? Can we dare to think and act for ourselves, or do we merely pretend to do so-merely make a superficial show of independence.I should like to draw your attention to the film industry to which I belong. I know a great many of our films are such that the very mention of them would raise a laugh among you. In the eyes of educated intelligent people, Hindi films are nothing but a tamasha. Their stories are childish, unreal, and illogical. But their worst fault, you will agree with me, is that their plots, their technique, their songs and dances, betray blind, unimaginative, and unabashed copying of films from the west. There have been Hindi films which have been copied in every detail from some foreign film. No wonder that you young people laugh at us, even though some of you may dream of becoming stars yourselves.It is not easy for me to laugh at Hindi films. I earn my bread from them. They have brought me plenty of fame and wealth. To some extent at least, I owe to Hindi films the high honour which you have given me today.When I was a student like you, our teachers, both English and Non-English, tried to convince us in diverse ways that the fine arts were a prerogative of white people. Great films, great drama, great acting, great painting, etc., were only possible in Europe and America. The Indian people, their language and culture, were as yet too crude and backward for real artistic expression. We used to feel bitter about this and we resented it outwardly: but inwardly we could not help accepting this judgment.The picture has changed vastly since then. After independence India has made a tremendous recovery in every branch of the arts. In the field of film making, names like Satyajit Ray and Bimal Roy stand out as international personalities. Many of our artistes, cameramen and technicians compare with the best anywhere in the world. Before independence we hardly made ten or fifteen films worth the name. Today we are the biggest film producing country in the world. Not only are our films immensely popular with the masses in our own country, but also in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, the Eastern Republics of the Soviet Union; Egypt, and other Arab countries in the Far East and many African countries. We have broken the monopoly of Hollywood in this field.Even from the aspect of social responsibility, our Indian films have not yet degenerated to the low level to which some of the western countries have descended. The film producer in India has not yet exploited sex and crime for the sake of profit to the extent that his American counterpart has been doing for years and years-thus creating a serious social problem for that country.But all these assets are negated by our one overwhelming fault-that we are imitators and copyists. This one fault makes us the laughing stock of intelligent people everywhere. We make films according to borrowed, outdated formulas. We do not have the courage to strike out on our own, to get to grips with the reality of our own country, to present it convincingly and according to our own genius.I say this not only in relation to the usual Hindi or Tamil box office films. I make this complaint against our so-called progressive and experimental films also, whether they be in Bengali, Hindi, or Malayalam. I do not lag behind anyone else in admiring the work of Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Sukhdev, Basu Bhattacharjee, or Rajinder Singh Bedi. I know they are highly and deservingly respected;but even then I cannot help saying that the winds of fashion in Italy, France, Sweden, Poland, or Czechoslovakia have an immediate effect on their work. They do break new ground, but only after someone else has broken it.In the literary world, in which I have considerable interest, I see the same picture. Our novelists, story writers, and poets are carried away with the greatest of ease by the currents of fashion in Europe, although Europe, with the exception of the Soviet Union perhaps, is not yet even aware of Indian writing. For example, in my own province of the Punjab there is a wave of protest among young poets against the existing social order. Their poetry exhorts the people to rebel against it, to shatter it and build a better world free from corruption, injustice, and exploitation. One cannot but endorse that spirit wholeheartedly, because, without question, the present social order needs changing.The content of this poetry is most admirable, but the form is not indigenous. It is borrowed from the west. The west has discarded meter and rhyme, so our Punjabi poet must also discard it. He must also use involved and ultra-radical imagery. The result is that the sound and fury remains only on paper, confined to small, mutually admiring literary circles. The people, the workers and the peasants who are being exhorted to revolution, cannot make head or tail of this kind of poetry. It just leaves them cold and per The content of this poetry is most admirable, but the form is not indigenous. It is borrowed from the west. The west has discarded meter and rhyme, so our Punjabi poet must also discard it. He must also use involved and ultra-radical imagery. The result is that the sound and fury remains only on paper, confined to small, mutually admiring literary circles. The people, the workers and the peasants who are being exhorted to revolution, cannot make head or tail of this kind of poetry. It just leaves them cold and perplexed. I don't think I am wrong if I say that other Indian languages too are in the grip of "new wave" poetry.I know next to nothing about painting. I can't judge a good one from a bad one. But I have noticed that in this sphere also our painters conform to current fashions abroad. Very few have the courage to swim against the tide.And what about the academic world? I invite you to I look into the mirror. If you laugh at Hindi films, maybe you are tempted to laugh at yourselves.This year my own province honoured me by nominating me to the senate of Guru Nanak university. When the invitation to attend the first meeting came, I happened to be in the Punjab, wandering around in some villages near Preet Nagar-the cultural centre founded by our great writer S. Gurbakhsh Singh. During the evening's gossip I told my villager friends that I was to go to Amritsar to attend this meeting and if anyone wanted a lift in my car he was welcome. At this one of the company said, "Here among us you go about dressed in tehmat-kurta, peasant fashion; but tomorrow you will put on your suit and become Sahib Bahadur again." "Why," I said laughingly, "if you want I will go dressed just like this." "You will never dare," another one said. "Our sarpanch Sahib here removes his tehmat and puts on a pyjama whenever he has to go to the city on official work. He has to do it, otherwise, he says, he is not respected. How can yon go peasant-fashion to such a big university?" A jawan who had come home on leave for the rice sowing added, "Our sarpanch is a coward. In cities even girls go about wearing lungis these days. Why should he not be respected?"The gossip went on, and, as if to accept their challenge, I did make my appearance in the Senate meeting in tehmat-kurta. The sensation I created was beyond my expectation. The officer-perhaps, professor-who was handing out the gowns in the vestibule could not recognize me at first. When he did he could not hide his amusement, "Mr Sahni, with the tehmat you should have worn khosas-not shoes," he said, while putting the gown over my shoulders. "I shall be careful next time," I said apologetically and moved on. But a moment later I asked myself, was it not bad manners for the professor to notice or comment on my dress? Why did I not point this out to him? T felt peeved' over my slow-wittedness.After the meeting we went over to meet the students. Their amusement was even greater and more eloquent. Many of them could not help laughing at the fact that I was wearing shoes with a tehmat. That they were wearing chappals with trousers seemed nothing extraordinary to them.You must wonder why I am wasting your time narrating such trivial incidents. But look at it from the point of view of the Punjabi peasant. We are all full of admiration for his contribution to the green revolution. He is the backbone of our armed forces. How must he feel when his dress or his way of life is treated as a matter of amusement?It is well-known in the Punjab that as soon as a village lad receives college education he becomes indifferent to the village. He begins to consider himself superior and different, as if belonging to a separate world altogether. His one ambition is to somehow leave the village and run to a city. Is this not a slur on the academic world?I agree that all places are not alike. I know perfectly well that no complex against the native dress exists in Tamil Nadu or Bengal. Anyone from a peasant to a professor can go about in a dhoti on any occasion. But I submit that the habit of borrowed and idealized thinking is present over there too. It is present everywhere, in some form or degree. Even twenty-five years after independence we are blissfully carrying on with the same system of education which was designed by Macaulay and Co. to breed clerks and mental slaves. Slaves who would be incapable of thinking independently of their British masters; slaves who would admire everything about the masters, even while hating them; slaves who would consider it an honour to be standing by the side, of the masters, to speak the language of the masters, to dress like the masters, to sing and dance like the masters; slaves, who would hate their own people and would be available .to preach the gospel of hatred among their own people. Can we then be surprised if the large majority of students in universities are losing faith in this system of education?Let me go back to trivialities again. Ten years ago, if you asked a fashionable student in Delhi to wear a kurta with trousers he would have laughed at you. Today, by the grace of the hippies and the Hare Rama Hare Krishna cult, not only has the kurta-trousers combination become legitimate, but even the word kurta has changed to guru-shirt. The sitar became a star instrument with us only after the Americans gave a big welcome to Ravi Shankar, just as fifty years ago Tagore became Gurudev all over India only after he received the Nobel Prize from Sweden.Can you dare to ask a college student to shave his head, moustache, and beard when the fashion is to put the barbers out of business? But if tomorrow under the influence of Yoga the students of Europe begin to shave their heads arid faces, I can assure you that you will begin to see a crop of shaven skulls all over Connaught Circus the next day. Yoga has to get a certificate from Europe before it can influence the home of its birth.Let me give another example-a less trivial one.I work in Hindi films, but it is an open secret that the songs and dialogues of these Hindi films are mostly written in Urdu. Eminent Urdu writers and poets-Krishan Chandar, Rajinder Singh Bedi, K. A. Abbas, Gulshan Nanda Sahir Ludhianwi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, and Kaifi Azmi are associated with this work.Now, if a film written in Urdu can be called a Hindi film, it is logical to conclude that Hindi and Urdu are one and, the same language. But no, our British masters declared them two separate languages in their time. Therefore, even twenty-five years after independence, our government,: our universities, and our intellectuals insist on treating them as two separate and independent languages. Pakistan radio goes on ruining the beauty of this language by thrusting into it as many Persian and Arabic words as possible; and All India Radio knocks it out of all shape by pouring the entire Sanskrit dictionary into it. In this way they carry out the wish of the Master, to separate the inseparable. Can anything be more absurd than that? If the British told us that white was black, would we go on calling white black for ever and ever? My film colleague Johnny Walker remarked the other day, "They should not announce 'Ab Hindi mein samachar suniye' they should say, 'Ab Samachar mein Hindi suniye.'I have discussed this funny situation with many Hindi and Urdu writers-the so-called progressive as well as non progressive; I have tried to convince them of the urgency to do some fresh thinking on the subject. But so far it has been like striking one's head against a stone wall. We film people call it the "ignorance of the learned." Are we wrong?Lastly, I would like to tell you about a hunch I have, even at the risk of boring you. A hunch is something you can't help having. It just comes. Ultimately it may prove right or wrong. May be mine is wrong. But there it is. It may even prove right-who knows?Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru has admitted in his autobiography that our freedom movement, led by the Indian National Congress, was always dominated by the propertied classes-the capitalists and landlords. It was logical, therefore, that these very classes should hold the reigns of power even after independence. Today it is obvious to everyone that in the last twenty-five years the rich have been growing 'richer' and the poor have been growing poorer. Pandit Nehru wanted to change this state of affairs, but he couldn't. I don't blame him, because he had to face very heavy odds all along. Today our Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, pledges herself to take the country towards the goal of socialism. How far she will be successful, I can't say. Politics is not my line. For our present purposes it is enough if you agree with me that in today's India the propertied classes dominate the government as well as society.I think you will also agree that the British used the English language with remarkable success for strengthening their imperial hold on our country.Now, which language in your opinion would their successors, the present rulers of India, choose to strengthen their own domination? Rashtrabhasha Hindi? By heavens, no. My hunch is that their interests too are served by English and English alone. But since they have to keep up a show of patriotism they make a lot of noise about Rashtrabhasha Hindi so that the mind of the public remains diverted.Men of property may believe in a thousand different gods, but they worship only one-the God of profit. From the point of view of profit the advantages of retaining English to the capitalist class in this period of rapid industrialization and technological revolution are obvious. But the social advantages are even greater. From that point of view English is a God sent gift to our ruling classes.Why? For the simple reason that the English language is beyond the reach of the toiling millions of our country. In olden times Sanskrit and Persian were beyond the reach of the toiling masses. That is why the rulers of those times had given them the status of state language. Through Sanskrit and Persian the masses were made to feel ignorant, inferior, uncivilized, and unfit to rule themselves. Sanskrit and Persian helped to enslave their minds, and when the mind is enslaved bondage is eternal.It suits our present ruling classes to preserve and maintain the social order that they have inherited from the British. They have a privileged position; but they cannot admit it openly. That is why a lot of hoo-haw is made about Hindi as the Rashtrabhasha. They know very well that this Sanskrit-laden, artificial language, deprived of all modern scientific and technical terms, is too weak and insipid to challenge the supremacy of English. It will always remain a show piece, and what is more, a convenient tool to keep the masses fighting among themselves. We film people get a regular flow of fan mail from young people studying in schools and colleges. I get my share of it and these letters reveal quite clearly what a storehouse of torture the English language is to the vast majority of Indian students. How abysmally low the levels of teaching and learning have reached! That is why, I am told preferential treatment is being given to boys and girls who come from public schools i.e. schools to which only the children of privileged classes can go.It is not necessary for me to comment on the efforts being made to strengthen English in every sphere of life, despite assurances to the contrary. They are all too obvious. It is admitted that English is too alien and hence too difficult to learn for the average Indian. And yet, it helps the capitalists and industrialists to consolidate their position on an all-India scale. That one consideration is more important than any other. According to them whatever serves their interest automatically serves national interest too. They are hopeful that in the not too distant future the people themselves will endorse their stand-that English should retain its present status for ever.This was my hunch and I confided it one day to a friend of mine who is a labour leader. I told him that if we are serious about doing away with capitalism and bringing in socialism, we have to help the working class to consolidate itself on an all-India scale with the same energy as the capitalist class is doing. We have to help the working class achieve a leading role in society. And that can only be done by breaking the domination of English and replacing it with a people's language.My friend listened to me carefully and largely agreed with me. "You have analyzed the situation very well," he said, "but what is the remedy?""The remedy is to retain the English script and kick out the English language," I replied."But how?""A rough and ready type of Hindustani is used by the working masses all over India. They make practical use of it by discarding all academic and grammatical flourishes. In this type of Hindustani, "Larka bhi jata hei" and "Larki bhi jata hei." There is an atmosphere of rare freedom in this patois and even the intellectuals indulge in it when they want to relax. And actually this is in the best tradition of Hindustani. This is how it was born, made progress, and acquired currency all over India. In the old days it was contemptuously called Urdu-or the language of the camps or bazaars.Today in this bazaari Hindustani the word university becomes univrasti-a much better word than vishwa vidyalaya, lantern becomes laltain, the chasis of a car becomes chesi, spanner becomes pana, i.e. anything and everything is possible. The string with which the soldier cleans his rifle is called "pullthrough" in English. In Roman Hindustani it becomes fultroo–a beautiful word. "Barn-door" is the term the Hollywood lights man uses for a particular type of two blade' cover. The Bombay film worker has changed it to bandar, an excellent transformation. This Hindustani has untold and unlimited possibilities. It can absorb the international scientific and technological vocabulary with the greatest of ease. It can take words from every source and enrich itself. One has no need to run only to the Sanskrit dictionary.""But why the Roman script?" my friend asked."Because no one has any prejudice against it," I said. "It is the only script which has already gained all-India currency. In north, south, east and west, you can see shop signs and film poster in this script. We use this script for writing addresses on envelopes and post cards. The army has been using it for the last thirty years at least."My friend, the labour leader, kept silent for some time. Then he smiled indulgently and said, "Comrade, Europe also experimented with Esperanto. A great intellectual like Bernard Shaw tried his best to popularize the Basic English. But all these schemes failed miserably, for the simple reason that languages cannot be evolved mechanically; they grow spontaneously."I was deeply shocked. I said, "Comrade, Esperanto is just that Rashtrabhasha which the Hindi Pandits are manufacturing in their studies, from the pages of some Sanskrit dictionary. I am talking of the language which is growing all round you, through the action of the people."But I couldn't convince him. I gave more arguments, including the one that Netaji Subhash Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru were both strong advocates of Roman Hindustani, but that too failed to convince him. The question is not whether the comrade or I was right. Perhaps, I was wrong. Perhaps, my thinking was utopian, or "mechanical"-as he called it. As I said before, you can never say whether a hunch is going to be right or wrong. But the fun lies in having it, because to have a hunch is a sign of independent thinking. The comrade should have been able to appreciate that, but he couldn't, because it was difficult for him to get out of the grooves of orthodox thinking.No country can progress unless it becomes conscious of its being-its mind and body. It has to learn to exercise its own muscles. It has to learn to find out and solve its own problems in its own way. But whichever way I turn I find that even after twenty-five years of independence, we are like a bird which has been let out of its cage after a prolonged imprisonment-unable to know what to do with its freedom. It has wings, but is afraid to fly into the open air. It longs to remain within defined limits, as in the cage.Individually and collectively, we resemble Walter Mitty. Our inner lives are different from our outer lives. Our thoughts and actions are poles apart. We want to change this state of affairs, but we lack the courage to do anything different from what we have been doing all along-or different from what others expect us to do.I am sure there must be some police officers in this country who in their hearts want to be regarded as friends rather than enemies of the public. They must be aware that in England the behaviour of the police towards the public is polite and helpful. But the tradition in which they have been trained is not the one which the British set for their own country but the one which they set for their colonies. So, the policeman is helpless. According to this colonial tradition, it is his duty to strike terror into anyone who enters his office, to be as obstructive and unhelpful as possible. This is the tradition which pervades every government office, from the chaparasi to the minister.One of our young and enterprising producers made an experimental film and approached the Government for tax exemption. The minister concerned was being sworn into office the next day. He invited the producer to attend the ceremony, after which he would meet him and discuss the matter. The producer went, impressed by the informality with which the minister had treated him. As the minister was being sworn in, promising to serve the people truly, faithfully, and honestly, his secretary started explaining to the young producer how much he would have to pay in black money to the minister and how much to the others if he wanted the tax exemption.The producer got so shocked and angry that he wanted to put this scene in his next film. But his financiers had already suffered a loss with the first one. They told him categorically not to make an ass of himself. In any case, if he had insisted in making an ass of himself the censors would never have passed the film, because it is an unwritten law that no policeman or minister is corrupt in our country.But there is something which strikes me as being even funnier. Those same people who scream against ministers every day cannot themselves hold a single function without some minister inaugurating it, or presiding over it, or being the chief guest. Sometimes the minister is the chief guest and a film star is the president, or else the film star is the chief guest and the minister is the president. Some big personality has to be there, because it is the age old colonial tradition.During the last war, I spent four years in England as a Hindustani announcer at the B.B.C. During those four years of extreme crisis I never even once set my eyes on a member of the British cabinet, including Prime Minister Churchill. But since independence I have seen nothing else but ministers in India, all over the place.When Gandhiji went to the Round Table Conference in 1930, he remarked to British journalists that the Indian people regarded the guns and bullets of their empire in the same way as their children regarded the crackers and phatakas on Diwali day. He could make that claim because he had driven the fear of the British out of Indian minds. He had taught them to ignore and boycott the British officers instead of kowtowing to them.Similarly, if we want socialism in our country we have firstly to drive out the fear of money, position, and power from the minds of our people. Are we doing anything in that direction? In our society today who is respected most -the man with talent or the man with money? Who is admired most-the man with talent or the man with power? Can we ever hope to usher in socialism under such conditions? Before socialism can come we have to create an atmosphere in which possession of wealth and riches should invite disrespect rather than respect. We have to create an atmosphere in which the highest respect is given to labour whether it be physical or mental; to talent, to skill, to art, and to inventiveness. This requires, new thinking; and the courage to discard old ways of thinking. Are we anywhere near this revolution of the mind?Perhaps, today we need a messiah to give us the courage to abandon our slavishness and to create values befitting the human beings of a free and independent country so that we may have the courage to link our destinies to the ones being ruled, and not the rulers-to the exploited and not to the exploiters.A great saint of the Punjab, Guru Arjun Dev, said,Jan ki tehl sanbhaionhah janUthan bithan jan kaisangaJan char raj mukh mathai laagiAasa pooran anant taranga.It is my earnest hope and prayer that you, graduates of Jawaharlal Nehru University may succeed where I and so many others of my generation have failed.

Allen darman's love for willy/ADHD/ alternate therapy

The following post by allen Darman who loves his son dearly is very useful if one believes in alternate therapy.

ALLEN DARMAN's ideas on ADHD as he believes his son's recovery is through his method.







Dear group: The material below regards concepts and ideas that I taught my sonWilly when he was thirteen years old. I made every attempt whentalking to Willy to not unnecessarily complicate what he needed tolearn about his body and his brain in order to heal himself. In allinstances I tried to word everything that I told my son in as simple amanner as I could. This copy, and other "lessons to Willy" that will follow in the weeksto come, is the most important copy that I have ever written in myentire life. Some day copy such as this may be recognized for what ittruly is; the beginning of the end of the conventional medical modelfor ADHD, bipolar disorder, and a whole host of other "garbagepsychiatric labels" as well. If a thirteen year old child can learn how to cure himself naturallyfrom an ADHD diagnosis, serious bipolar symptoms, a severe readingdisability, and a lack of general health... who needs the doctors andtheir toxic drugs any more? The copy below represents "a decent conceptual road map" for otherpersons to follow if they wish to recover from ADHD or bipolardisorder naturally (and so much else). Allen Darman How To Cure Yourself of ADHD and Bipolar Disorder; "The Big Picture" Willy, this is going to be the longest and most important lesson thatI am going to give you, such that you can cure what you have, which isan ADHD diagnosis, bipolar symptoms, and a lack of general health. In this lesson I am going to explain to you in as simple terms as Ican how your body and your brain work, and what chemistry in involvedin them working as well. I am also going to explain to you why yourbody and brain don't always work as well as they should. Lastly, I amgoing to explain to you "the conceptual essence" of what you need toknow in order to heal yourself. In later lessons I will go into more specifics on many of the topicsthat I am going to bring up today. I just can't cover all of thismaterial at once; it would be far too much for anyone to remember. Willy, the crucial key to overcoming either ADHD or bipolar symptomsis to understand what illnesses such as these are really all about.Knowledge is power in regard to correcting either ADHD or bipolardisorder symptoms. With an adequate amount of knowledge, you cancompletely cure yourself of either or both of these "garbagediagnostic labels". ADHD and bipolar disorder are not just "brain illnesses", as thedoctors would have us believe. You have a whole body illness, not justa brain illness. This is a concept that is crucial for you to realizein order for you to be cured. Yes, your brain is certainly affected. And it is not working nearly aswell as it should. However, this is not the whole story. The brain isthe master organ in the body. It is the organ that affects your mood,your thoughts, your perception, your behavior, and your ability tolearn and retain information. The brain is the only organ that wehumans can easily measure its ability to perform well, or its lackthereof. If your brain is running at substantially less than itspotential to perform, this is usually obvious, both to you, and topeople around you. However, if any of your other organs are running atsubstantially less than their potential to perform, this lack offunction is often hidden, and you might not even know that you have it. Can you tell when your brain does not work quite right? (The answerwas "Yes".) Can you tell if your thyroid gland, your adrenal glands, your liver,or your pancreas are not working quite right? ("No.") This is one way that conventional medical doctors continue to get awaywith calling ADHD and bipolar disorder "mental illnesses" or "brainillnesses", and the general public does not realize how so wrong thesedoctors are. If your brain is not working quite right because its chemistry isbelow par in some way, the chemistry of all of the other organs inyour body are also below par in some way as well. These other organshave names such as the thyroid gland, the adrenal glands, the liver,and the pancreas. I will teach you a little bit about these organs andglands over time. However, you don't need to know hardly anythingabout them at all in order to cure yourself of what you have. CuringADHD or bipolar disorder is not that complex. I guarantee you that youwill be really surprised at how simple it is. I would like to tell you one other reason that many illnesses getdiagnosed as "mental illnesses", rather than the whole body illnessesthat they are. The brain is a very nutrient dependent organ, and ituses, and uses up, a surprising amount of the nutrient chemistry thatyou take into your body. On average, a human brain weighs only about two and a half percent ofthe weight of a human being. Science tells us that the brain usesabout 25% of the oxygen that we breathe. Science also tells us thatour brain uses about 15% of the glucose that our entire body uses.(Glucose is a simple sugar that all of the cells in our bodies rely onfor energy.) And science tells us that the brain also uses, and usesup, roughly 20% to 25% of the essential nutrients from all of the foodthat we eat. All this nutrient use comes from a small organ that isonly two and a half percent of our body weight, assuming that we areabout average. The brain is the master organ of the body. As such, it is a very busyorgan, and it does a great deal. According to science, our brain usesup a great deal of our nutrient intake. And when we are under a higherdegree of stress than normal, or our brain is performing a lot ofmental tasks of any sort for long periods of time, this brain will useup even more nutrients than it normally does. (This last point is justplain common sense.) From the standpoint of simple logic, if a person is seriously nutrientdeficient, or is even borderline nutrient deficient, such deficienciesare likely to show up in what is arguably the most nutrient dependentorgan in their body; the brain. This is another reason that doctorscontinue to get away with all of their diagnostic labels of variousbrain illnesses. No mental illness whatsoever is just a brain illness;all mental illnesses are whole body illnesses, without exception. Willy, do you remember what your test results were way back in thefall of 1997 in regard to your mineral and amino acid levels? (Analternative doctor by the name of Dr. Charles Gant had Willy's mineraland amino acid levels tested via RBC in September of 1997, when Willywas six years old. The testing laboratory was Metametrix.) Yes, you were low "across the board" in your amino acid levels. Andyou were low "across the board" in your mineral levels, with theexception of copper, which was very high. Nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and amino acids are essentialfor the proper function of every cell and every organ in your body. Ifyou don't have enough nutrients, all of your cells, and all of yourorgans, will not be able to work quite right. This includes the organcalled your brain, and it includes every other organ in your body as well. You have not been taking in and/or absorbing enough essentialnutrients for many years. As a result of this, you have low levels ofmany essential nutrients in your body, and in all of its organs, toinclude your brain. Treating low levels of essential nutrients in yourbody requires the use of nutritional supplements. And perhaps needlessto say at this point, treating low levels of essential nutrients inyour body by being prescribed, and then taking, toxic drugs is nuts. No drug in the world can cure any nutrient deficiency. And you have alot of nutrient deficiencies, as the test results that you had yearsago clearly showed. Nothing has changed from 1997 to now (this wasbeing said in 2004), because nothing has been done to fix yournutrient deficiencies. You probably have as many nutrient deficienciesnow as you did when you were younger. Isn't this obvious to you?(Willy answered "Yes" to this question. He knew that he was seriouslynutrient deficient. We had been discussing natural health topics foryears. However, as a non-custodial father, I was unable to do anythingto help my son, until he asked me to do so at the age of thirteen.) This should be one of your health goals, and it should be a goal thatyou apply to yourself for the rest of your life; to never be nutrientdeficient of any essential nutrient inside yourself, as much as it ispractical or possible. Another health goal that you should have forthe rest of your life should to be to never have an excess of anyessential nutrient, if at all possible, such that this excess iscausing a problem to your body, or it is unhealthy for it in any way.However, nutrient excesses are a very small part of your currentnutrient situation. Willy, copper may be the only nutrient excess thatyou have at this point in time. You are likely to be nutrientdeficient in everything else; you are like to be deficient in theentire essential nutrient range with the exception of copper. In order for you to be able to get more essential nutrients into yourbody, without losing too many of these nutrients in your poop the nextday, you must understand how your GI tract works. (GI tract means"gastrointestinal tract", and I often just shorten this to the word"gut".) You must also learn how to recognize when your gut does notwork, such that it is not able to digest your foods and/or absorbessential nutrients well. And once you recognize that your gut doesnot work, you must learn how to fix this by yourself at home. It is not just what you eat, or what you take in supplement form, thatcounts as far as your health is concerned. It is what digested andabsorbed into your body that counts as far as your health, and yourhealth recovery, is concerned. Your gut has to be able to digest thefoods that you eat well, or you can lose a good deal of the nutritionthat you take in your mouth. And your gut also has to be able toabsorb nutrients into the body. Neither digestion nor absorption are agiven; much can go wrong here, and I will teach you how to correct forthis over time. If your gut does not either digest or absorb well,many essential nutrients just get pooped into the toilet a day or twolater. Besides the problem of your body being way too low in essentialnutrients, you have a second major chemical problem as well. Your bodyis way too high in toxins, most of which are created in your gut. Forthe rest of your life, you should learn whatever you need to learn,and then apply this knowledge to yourself, in order to keep the amountof toxins in your body as low as you possibly can. And never forgetthat most of the problematic toxins that are hurting you are usuallyones that are being created in your own gut. I will go into moredetail on this in another lesson. Increasing your nutrient status, correcting your digestive status,correcting your absorptive status, and reducing toxins produced inyour gut are all issues that are rather easily correctable by youyourself, once you know what you are doing. In fact, you are the verybest person to correct any nutrient, allergic, or toxic issue insideyour body. You can do a better job at these tasks than any doctor inthe world, no matter how many medical degrees they may have. It isyour diet, your gut, and your body, after all. You need (1) learn toeat the "right foods", (2) learn how to take care of your digestivestatus, (3) learn how to take care of your absorptive status, and (4)learn how to decrease the amount of toxins in your body in order torecover your health. And I can teach all of this to you, but you haveto do the work to get the job done. I cannot take care of your bodyWilly, only you can. Willy, the bottom line of your lack of health and wellness is that allof your organs and glands are simply starving for enough essentialnutrients in which to work right. And all of your organs and glandsare exposed to too many toxic substances as well. Think of them as allbeing poisoned to some degree. Organs and glands that are starving forthe nutrients that they need to run on, while being poisoned by toxinsin your body at the same time, obviously cannot work right. This isthe case with you, just as it was the case with me, until I learnedabout this stuff and got better years ago. You have already learned how to "not cure" what you have; by usingdoctors and their toxic drugs (lesson #2). Now let us talk about the other side of the coin; how to cure what youhave by using nutrients, by using other natural measures, and by using"just plain common sense". Before I begin teaching you how to cure yourself, I need to teach youa little bit about the chemistry of the human body, and how the humanbody works in a practical everyday sense. Willy, the chemistry of the human body is not that hard to understand.Any teenager can learn enough about the chemistry of their own bodyand their own brain, such that they can learn how to effect profoundlypositive biochemical change in both. Despite the fact that you may besomewhat learning impaired, and you cannot read very well at themoment, you definitely have what it takes to learn what I am going toteach you. (Willy was thirteen years old when this was said to him.) Do you remember the point that I made the other day in regard to "ifyou understand a single human cell, in a very big way you alreadyunderstand the entire human body", as far as your chemical correctionand your health recovery is concerned? (Willy replied "Yes".) And do you remember the three basic classes of chemicals that affectall cell function in every form of life? ("Yes.") What are they? Nutrients, allergens, and toxins, of course. Any chemical substancethat influences any and every single cell in your body can becategorized into either a nutrient, which means a substance your cellsneed, an allergen, which means an allergic substance, or a toxin,which means a poison as far as your cells are concerned. It is important for you to remember that these three basic chemicalclasses of nutrients, allergens, and toxins affect all cell functionin every form of life, to include every single cell in a human being. Nutrients, in a reasonable quantity, are good for your cells, if notactually needed by them in order to survive. Allergens and toxins areboth bad for your cells as far as their health or their function isconcerned. In the simplest of terms, to get better from what you have, and toregain your health, you only have to ask yourself one simple question;what is my nutrient, allergic, and toxic equation? and then learn howto fix this equation when it is not up to par. Fixing this equationmeans boosting your nutrient status until it is functional andhealthy, and lowering the level of allergens and toxins in yourself asmuch as you possibly can. If you learn how to correct your nutrient, allergic, and toxicequation, you will become healthy and you will completely walk awayfrom whatever brain illness the doctors may have labeled you with. Andif you learn how to correct your nutrient, allergic, and toxicequation very well, you can achieve a level of health and wellnessthat is way beyond the norm. This I know for a fact, from both my ownrecovery from over thirty years of bipolar symptoms, and from my manytrials in the last half dozen years or so as "a guinea pig for the world". It is time for us to talk about the chemical class called nutrients alittle more. Nutrients are essential to life itself. That is why they are calledessential nutrients, and there are roughly 90 of them. A level of zeroof even one essential nutrient means death; it means that you will diebecause you don't have any of it. That is how important essentialnutrients are; as I said a moment ago they are essential to life itself. It is wise for you to consider the entire essential nutrient range asbeing essential to both your physical and your mental health. Now it is going to get a little more complicated. I need to take thechemical class of essential nutrients and subdivide it into fourdifferent sub-classes of essential nutrients. This is all stuff thatyou need to learn and to understand if you are going to get better. The four sub-classes of nutrients, from the largest amount in yourbody to the smallest, are (a) amino acids, (b) essential fatty acids(these are essential nutrient fats), (c) minerals, and (d) vitamins. Water represents roughly 70% of the weight of an average human being. If one could take all of the water out of an average human being, theremainder by weight is roughly 70% amino acids, 20% by weight of fats,5% by weight of minerals, and a small percentage by weight ofvitamins. There are also a small percentage of toxins in the humanbody as well. I am going to use some words that you may not be familiar with, but Iwill try to make this as simple as I can. The functional chemistry of the body can be divided into three basicclasses of substances. The three basic classes of functional chemistryin the body are called (1) neurotransmitters, (2) hormones, and (3)enzymes. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers involved in brain function,and there are roughly 100 of them that are known at this time. Hormones are regulating chemicals secreted by various organs in yourbody, such as the thyroid gland, the adrenal glands, and the pancreas. And enzymes are chemical catalysts that help certain chemicalreactions in the body to occur. Don't let these big words confuse you. The only thing that you reallyneed to know about neurotransmitters, hormones, and enzymes in yourbody in order to cure yourself is that they are all made out ofessential nutrients. In an accurate conceptual sense,neurotransmitters, hormones, and enzymes can simply be consideredcollections of various amino acid molecules that may have used avitamin molecule or a mineral molecule in order for them to be formedin the body or the brain. You don't need to know hardly anything aboutneurotransmitters, hormones, and enzymes in order to become wellWilly, but you do need to know about, and learn how to use, theirnutrient precursors in a practical sense. For you to be healthy, you need to be taking in enough essentialnutrients to build whatever neurotransmitters, hormones, and enzymesthat your body and brain may need in order to function properlywithout having any problems. Neurotransmitters, hormones, and enzymesdon't last forever in the body or any of its organs, to include thebrain, which is an organ as well. And neurotransmitters, hormones, andenzymes are constantly being used, and used up, in your body and yourbrain as you go about your day. When these body and brain chemicals are used up, you want to haveenough nutrient chemistry on hand in your body in order for it to makenew neurotransmitters, hormones, and enzymes when it needs to. This isjust common sense. If you don't have enough nutrient chemistry in your body and brain,this is where problems arise. Your body or brain may need to make upmore neurotransmitters, hormones, and enzymes, but it can easily fallshort in the nutrient department in which to do so. You need to learn how to adequately fuel yourself with essentialnutrients daily, such that you don't run short of the raw material tobuild whatever your body and brain may need to function as theyshould. This is a large portion of the proper cure of either ADHD orbipolar disorder; you need to learn how to properly fuel yourself withessential nutrients, as much as it is practical or possible to do so. Do you remember what the four kinds of essential nutrients are? Yes, amino acids, minerals, essential fatty acids, and vitamins. The essential nutrients that you have already learned about areresponsible for the production of every single neurotransmitter,hormone, and enzyme in your body. The chemical building blocks ofevery single neurotransmitter, hormone, and enzyme in your body areall essential nutrients. What this means is that if you have a low level of any one of the 90or so essential nutrients, you are most certainly low in regard towhatever neurotransmitter, hormone, or enzyme that these essentialnutrients manufacture in your body. This also means that if you learn how to increase the level of all ofthe essential nutrients inside your body, you will be automaticallyincreasing all of your neurotransmitter, hormone, and enzyme levels aswell. The body and the brain automatically know what to do in regard toproducing whatever they may need to produce, assuming that they aregiven an adequate supply of all of the raw material that they need towork with. This raw material is essential nutrients. The body andbrain build whatever chemistry that they need to build from chemicalscalled essential nutrients. Some essential nutrient levels can be corrected rather quickly withina matter of days to a matter of weeks by the use of nutritionalsupplements. This statement applies to some vitamins, and the aminoacid class of nutrients. However, some essential nutrient levels,especially in the mineral class, can take months and months in orderto correct their low levels safely inside of you. You just can't take "all at once" an adequate amount of a number ofessential nutrients in supplement form in order to fix a low level ofsome of these nutrients inside of your body right away. Trying tocorrect many of the essential nutrient deficiencies that you havequickly is both unwise and unhealthy. Correcting many essentialnutrient deficiencies in a safe and healthy manner takes time. Willy, think of yourself as a deep well of water, and one that iscurrently very low. Perhaps there was a drought in the summer months,and this well has run nearly dry. And you only have a garden hose tofill this deep well up. It is going to take time to fill up the well,using only a garden hose in which to do so. And it is going to takeyou some time to increase the levels of many of the essentialnutrients inside your body. If you keep putting inside yourself on a daily basis a little more ofwhatever essential nutrients you may be lacking in, than your bodyuses up and excretes out in your poop and your pee, you will beincreasing the levels of these essential nutrients inside of yourbody. Doing such over a period of time can, and does, eventuallyincrease these essential nutrient levels to the point where you willno longer be functionally deficient in these nutrient substances at all. I can give you all of the supplements that you need in order tocorrect your nutrient deficiencies, and in order for you to healyourself. I have spent the last seven years of my life learning "thehard way" what I am going to teach you over the next handful of monthsor so. I can make your learning process a heck of a lot easier for youthan mine was for me. However, as a non-custodial father, I can't bethere at home to guide you. You will have to apply the supplementsthat I will give you, and the healing knowledge that I can teach you,to yourself. Let us go back to the brain and talk about the specifics of thebrain's nutritional needs a little more. Do you remember when I talkedabout neurotransmitters, and told you that they are one of the threeclasses of functional chemistry in the body, along with hormones andenzymes? And do you remember that I told you that there are roughly100 known neurotransmitters that are known at this time? ("Yes.") What do you think that these neurotransmitters are all made of? Yes,they are made out of nutrients. It may interest you to know that outof the 100 or so known neurotransmitters at this time, 99 of them areprimarily composed of amino acids. Science actually knows whatspecific amino acids make what specific neurotransmitters. Many ofthese neurotransmitters also use scientifically known and specificvitamin and mineral nutrient cofactors in order to be produced. (Thissame idea holds true for hormones; 95% of hormones are amino acids,and science knows their specifics, as well as the specifics of theirvitamin and mineral cofactors as well. No wonder conventional medicinehas to totally ignore amino acids in health or healing; for theyobsolete so many drugs.) You don't need to even know the names of hardly any of these 100neurotransmitters in order to get better from what you have, but youshould know a little bit about a few of them. I will go into thislater. Two important things that you have to know to get better fromwhat you have are (1) increasing your neurotransmitter levels involvesincreasing your essential nutrient levels, and (2) amino acids areparticularly important in regard to increasing the neurotransmitterlevels in your brain, as 99 out of 100 neurotransmitters are primarilymade out of amino acids, with a vitamin or mineral molecule needed intheir production most of the time. A person can have a relatively high level of neurotransmitters, theycan have an average level of neurotransmitters, and they can have arelatively low level of neurotransmitters. There is a very bigdifference in how you feel mood-wise and otherwise depending on therelative general level of neurotransmitters that you have. When myneurotransmitter levels are relatively high, I feel good, I can handlea lot of stress without complaint, and I can do a lot of mental workwithout feeling really tired and worn out. When my neurotransmitterlevels are average, I feel average, I can handle an average amount ofstress, and I can do an average amount of work. And when myneurotransmitter levels are low, I don't have a lot of energy, eithermentally or physically, and my ability to handle stress and to domental work is very impaired. And when my neurotransmitter levels arevery low, I am depressed, and I just want to stay in bed, watch TV,and sleep a lot. The good news that I have for you is that it is amazingly easy toboost all of your neurotransmitter levels. All you have to do is boosttheir nutrient precursors, or "nutrient building blocks", in yourbody, such that these nutrients are available to your brain. Orally taking broad based free form amino acid supplements, along withthe vitamin and mineral range, can, and does, broadly increase someone's neurotransmitter levels, with one exception. This exception isthe single missing neurotransmitter that amino acids do not make. Thisexception is a major neurotransmitter called acetylcholine, and itcomes from choline, a member of the B vitamin family. In the fall of 1997 I found that the best way to increase theacetylcholine level in my brain was to take a supplement calledphosphatidyl choline, along with an accessory nutrient calledL-carnitine. Taking these two supplements had a profoundly positiveeffect on me, and they will have a profoundly positive effect on youas well. I will go into this more in another lesson. In regard to boosting your neurotransmitter levels, the two mainthings that I want you to understand are: (1) whenever you are taking broad based free form amino acids tobroadly increase your neurotransmitter levels, you also want to takeat least a B complex vitamin and some vitamin C at the same time, ifnot the entire vitamin and mineral family as well, in order to makesure that you have whatever nutrient cofactors that these broad basedfree form amino acids may need to produce whatever neurotransmitterthat they may be involved in making, and... (2) whenever you are taking broad based free form amino acids tobroadly increase your neurotransmitter levels, you should alwaysconsider, if not always take, both phosphatidyl choline andL-carnitine at the same time to cover the single neurotransmitter thatamino acids don't make; acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is a majorneurotransmitter, and its level controls the rate of firing in yourbrain. Believe me; you don't want to run real low of acetylcholine. Ifyou do run real low of this major neurotransmitter, hyperactivity (orhypomania) is a very likely end result. Being hyperactive in yourbrain is not a good thing. It is not wise to boost neurotransmitters in an incomplete andunbalanced fashion, with some exceptions, and these I will go intolater. It is far wiser to boost all of your neurotransmitter levels,in as balanced a fashion as you possibly can. Your body and brain willtell you if you have done a good job in this regard, simply by how youfeel brain-wise and otherwise. I am not going to go into any more specifics on increasing yourneurotransmitter levels in this lesson. This is all material foranother lesson. However, I did want to give you an idea of whatessential nutrients can change your neurotransmitter levels in yourbrain, and how to go about using these essential nutrients to boostyour neurotransmitter levels in a general sense. The same principles that we just discussed a few minutes ago in regardto boosting all of your neurotransmitter levels apply to boosting allof the hormone and enzyme levels in the body as well. Broadlyincreasing the levels of nutrient precursor substances in a person'sbody will broadly increase a person's hormone and enzyme levels as well. And don't worry at all about getting your levels of neurotransmitters,hormones, and enzymes too high. Your body knows how to handlenutrients, and it can make whatever adjustments it may need to. Yourbody will only make whatever neurotransmitters, hormones, and enzymesthat it can use or that it needs. And the wisdom of the body knows howto correct for a fairly wide range of essential nutrient intake.Normal and healthy human chemistry is a fairly big and easy target tohit, it is just that there are a lot of substances involved. Do you remember the general rule of health correction that wediscussed the other day? This general rule, one that is comprised of four basic principles, isas follows: "(a) Properly maximize your nutrient status, and (b) whatever thatentails (identify and correct any common malabsorptive issues that youmay have), while (c) minimizing your toxic load (especially fromtoxins generated in your own gut), and while (d) minimizing yourallergic exposure (especially to foods) at the same time." It is not hard to deal with the first principle of the general rule ofhealth correction that I keep talking about, which is (a) properlymaximize your nutrient status. It is pretty easy to learn how toincrease the level of all of the essential nutrients inside your body.All you need to do is supplement yourself with the entire nutrientrange in a safe and balanced fashion in order to do so. What I amtelling you in this regard should be obvious; if you increase yournutrient intake "across the board", you should be increasing yournutrient status, and whatever these nutrients may make in your bodyand brain, "across the board" as well. In fact, it is so easy to increase the levels of all of the essentialnutrients in your body that it is totally nuts that conventionalmedicine is completely ignoring all of this stuff when treatingpersons that are broadly nutrient deficient, as you clearly are. Unfortunately, there is "one big catch" in regard to increasing all ofthe essential nutrient levels in your body. This catch involves item(b) in the general rule of health correction that I keep talkingabout. Item (b) states that you should be able to identify and correctany common malabsorptive issue that you may have. And take my word forit Willy; you have a number of common malabsorptive issues, such ascandida, which is a yeast in your gut, hidden food allergies, a lackof digestive enzymes, and the like. Malabsorptive issues such as thisare crippling both your mental and physical health. In future lessonsI will teach you about all of these malabsorptive issues, both inregard to how to identify them in yourself, and how to correct them inyourself as well. Why can't you just "eat your way to wellness" without usingnutritional supplements? Conventional doctors either claim or infer that the food we eat hasenough essential nutrients in it. They also claim or infer that we donot need nutritional supplements, and that many nutritionalsupplements are not very good for us. These attitudes all beg thequestion of "can you get better simply by eating more good qualityfood?" I would like to answer this question for you today. Willy, you cannot become well by just eating more food, or even moreof what is considered "good food", in order to treat serious andmultiple essential nutrient deficiencies in yourself. And this is abig part of what has caused your ADHD diagnosis and your bipolarsymptoms; you have serious and multiple essential nutrientdeficiencies inside yourself. To cure yourself, you will need to learnhow to safely use whatever nutritional supplements may be necessary inorder to fix a serious and broad state of essential nutrientdeficiency inside yourself. Why can't you just eat your way to wellness without using nutritionalsupplements? One reason is that the foods that we have access to todayare far too lacking in many essential nutrients in order to be able toheal you. In part, this is due to food processing. If it is not freshmeat, fresh fowl, or fresh fish, or it is not sold in the producedepartment, it is a processed food. Processed food is any food thathas gone through a factory of some sort, and is sold in a box, a bag,a bottle, or a can. Most foods sold in a grocery store are processedfoods, and they are not that healthy for you. Why are processed foods not healthy for you? One reason is that some food processing methods strip roughly 90% ofthe mineral content out of whatever food is being processed. Anotherreason is that processed food has often been heated or cooked in someway. Heating foods up over 120 degrees or so, or cooking foods at evenhigher temperatures, destroys some essential nutrients. Thisespecially applies to the water soluble vitamins of vitamins B complexand vitamin C. Cooking food at home also destroys the enzyme contentof foods as well. Raw food is loaded with various kinds of enzymes,and these enzymes are important to your overall state of health.Enzymes are heat sensitive, just as many B vitamins and vitamin C are;and cooking destroys them all. A diet of all cooked food, and no raw food whatsoever, is a veryunhealthy diet. If you eat such a diet for a long time, you are almostguaranteed to get very sick, if not die an early death. A fellow namedPottinger proved this. He proved that cooked food intake is unhealthywith generations of cats. The cats eating all cooked food just gotsicker and sicker from generation to generation vs. a control groupthat was fed uncooked food and remained healthy. Any time that you eat a meal of all cooked foods you should take thewater soluble vitamins of B complex and C, and at least considertaking some digestive enzymes as well. This is simply common sense; toadd to your food some of the obvious things that either foodprocessing or the cooking process has taken away, so that such foodsare somewhat healthier for you and your body can utilize them a littlebetter. Another reason that you "cannot eat your way to wellness" is that mostfoods in America are very deficient in essential nutrients due to thefact that the topsoil in the U.S. is some of the most depleted in theworld. For example, a carrot today has only about 15% of the mineralcontent that a carrot had 50 years ago. This is because the soil thatthis carrot was grown on lacked in its mineral contents as well. Thisis simply the result of the fact that the crops grown in years pasthave taken many different minerals out of the soil, and these mineralsin the soil were never adequately replaced. One result of this situation regarding depleted topsoils in the U.S.is that mineral deficiencies in the American populace as a whole aregetting worse decade after decade. Broad essential mineraldeficiencies are getting to be the norm in America; far more childrentoday have broad essential mineral deficiencies than not. In addition to depleted nutrient content, most foods today are lacedwith a myriad of toxins. Pesticides, herbicides, and exposure toenvironmental toxins in our soil, water, and air seriously compromisethe "health quality" of the great majority of food that is grown inAmerica. Willy, you should try to eat organically grown food as muchas possible, to avoid the very toxic substances that are put on ourfood by traditional farming methods. Many people about my age (50 or so) realize that our parents'generation, the WWII generation, was both stronger and healthier thanours. And most people my age also realize that children today are farless healthy than we are. Many of us in our 50's can rather readilysee a substantial decline from generation to generation in regard tooverall human health. The foods that we eat, and their essentialnutrient content, has to be a major part of this substantial declinein health from one generation to the next. Greater exposure to a widerrange of toxins in our drinking water, in the foods we eat, and in ourenvironment have to also be major contributors to this substantialdecline in health from one generation to the next as well. As a some examples in regard to the above, autism, ADHD, childhoodbipolar disorder, childhood depression, and childhood obesity ratesall over the U.S. are going though the roof. In every single statethese rates are increasing, and increasing exponentially. Far morechildren today in America are seriously compromised health-wise thanthere ever were before. Very few children were seriously compromised health-wise, eithermentally or physically, when I went to through grade school and highschool in the fifties and sixties. Being seriously health compromisedas a child in the fifties and sixties was fairly rare; now it is quitecommon. Unfortunately, what is the conventional medical model doing to addressthis rather obvious decline in children's health from one generationto the next? They are ignoring virtually every nutritional and toxicfactor whatsoever in these seriously health compromised kids, andsimply prescribing them lots of drugs. Doctors are even prescribingvery powerful and brain damaging anti-psychotic, anti-depressive, andanti-anxiety medications to children as young as three and four yearsold. Willy, this is totally nuts. You were a victim of this crazymedical practice yourself, when a doctor prescribed you Ritalin at theage of seven years old. Son, you should try to always eat as healthy as possible and as bestthat you can. Other than what I have already said about foods, I amnot going to go into foods any more today. We will cover food issuesand food choices in another lesson. No matter what I say about food, either now or later, the followingstatement is true; foods, no matter how good they may be, cannotadequately correct many of the serious essential nutrient deficienciesthat you have; only the use of nutritional supplements can. I willteach you how to properly and safely apply nutritional supplements toyourself in another lesson. I'd like to conclude the lesson for today with an overview of the bigpicture as far as most "mental" or physical health correction isconcerned. For the rest of your life, if you do not feel very well for whateverreason, or if you feel noticeably worse than you did a day or twobefore, or if you have developed any serious "mental", physical, ordegenerative health problem of any sort and you do not know the causeof this, you should always consider the following four questions. Youshould consider these four questions on a daily basis when it feelsnecessary for you to do so, as things can change so quickly in regardto both your functional nutrient status, and the status of your gut. The following four questions are very important in regard to both yourphysical and your mental health: (a) Do your cells have enough of all 90 or so essential nutrients tofunction properly? (b) Are your cells overexposed to toxins of any sort or sourcewhatsoever, to include toxins generated in your own gut, such thattheir performance is impaired? (c) Are your cells overexposed to allergic substances, especially fromfood that you may have eaten, such that their performance is impaired? (d) Is your GI tract (gut) overexposed to too many allergic foods, oris it overexposed to too many toxins in your gut, such that itsabsorptive ability is seriously impaired? Willy, these four questions, dealt with by you at home and answeredproperly, will completely cure your ADHD diagnosis, your bipolarsymptoms, and your lack of general health. Son, you have learned more today than any doctor that went to anyconventional medical school in the U.S. is taught about the basics ofthe human body in regard to curing what you have. It is not that hardto cure yourself. And don't be afraid of making mistakes. Mistakes canbe lessons too. It is only a matter of time before you will get thingsright. You can do this Willy. I know that you can. Allen Darman