Minister on Education and Politics

Minister for Higher Education in Karnataka, Aravind Lmbavali, said recently that teacher should not do Politics and if they want to do, let them quit the job and contest election. Fair enough. But, same thing should apply to politicians too. Universities can thrive academically when they are given full autonomy and allowed to manage by academicians only. But, Government do not part with their control and often directly interfere with the affairs of the Universities. Sending political party functionaries who are not educationist at all as University Syndicate members even when the KSU Act stipulates that only "eminent educationist" must be nominated, is a case in point. On the same token as stated by the Minister, if a Minister wants to interfere  or politicians wants to enter university, let them get PhD and then join?!

Never_fall_sick_again.jpg - Gmail

Never_fall_sick_again.jpg - Gmail

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India Pledged!

Dr. Manmohan Singh, India's Prime Minister has sold the honor and freedom of the Country, a traitor who betrayed the Nation, cried many who opposed the Nuclear deal with USA. Dr. Singh is a great academician, did so much to usher in new and fresh impetus to the development of India in the 1990's would not have bargained for such a credit. I was one of those who supported the deal in one of my writing in the very same blog site. I had accused, then, the Left who were opposed to the deal as practicing outmoded ideology, holding power in a few states by deviant means and are coming the way of India's development with an ulterior, sinister, motive. I thought the Left is hobnobbing with China to clinch the deal. I had severe reservation about modern, resurgent China and the way they are competing in the market with cheap goods having weak material that may even harmful to health in the long run.

Energy is vital to development and we are owe fully short of it having relied only on hydroelectric and thermal source .In a fast developing country as India now, the shortage would hamper the pace and may even retrograde. Hence, I was excited about the new prospect of deal with USA in this regard. My understanding was that we would get continuous supply of nuclear material for energy production besides being in the comity of developed nation for mutual exchange of resources.Dependence and Independence both are not a viable option in the present times. We must tag on to Interdependence for mutual support and growth.

Yet, as the facts unfolded in the subsequent days and the suspicious manner with which Indian Government went ahead with the deal cast ominous aspersion on the whole affair.

The 123 Agreement was made to feel by Dr Man Mohan Singh and his team that it is applicable to only USA, it is their internal policy, is now found to be a lie perpetuated on Indian people as the whole deal is administered through that Atomic Power Act Section 123 of the USA. Accordingly, although continuous supply of fuel is assured, it is conditional to we revealing 14 of the 21Power plants that we have to International Atomic Power Organization the high security and secret information on the production and distribution which hitherto a top secret. This puts the country in serious danger for which Dr.Singh and his cronies become responsible. What is more and worse, all our nuclear plants will be subjected to inspection and scan from International Agencies. Further, we can not produce any nuclear weapons or conduct nuclear test. It destroys our freedom and sovereignty in one go. If the Agreement is broken, all the supply will be stopped but the right to scan our installation is retained! Present Indian Government will be responsible for such a treachery , betrayal of Nation and for the secret maneuver and sinister dealings against ones own country. Dr. Man Mohan Singh has become, for the reason best known to him and his boss Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, a traitor.

It is a tragedy that all this bravado is exhibited by the Government at a time it is known that we have all the raw material such as uranium, plutonium, thorium available in plenty in our own land and along with harnessing the enormous solar power available and with interlinking of rivers even more abundant capacity gets generated that are environmental friendly and costs half the thousands of crores less than spent on nuclear energy. Further, the problem of nuclear waste disposal that costs much, much more than installation will also be looming large as USA itself is facing it right now with great risk and hazard to environment and life.

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Reflections on People Behind To-day's News

Terror attacks in Bangalore yesterday is reported in today News Papers. Such attacks have been happening in different part of the country in the last five years. Hardly any culprit is booked and even booked, none punished so far.Terrorist find safe to continue their activity in India! Politics is eating away the truth and good of people and society. The leaders of all political parties react in a predictable way without making any effort at an honest search for truth lest it hurt their party's interest.

H.D Devegowda, JDS supremo and former Prime Minister says, while appealing for peace, that anti-socials are there in all communities and hence should not accuse any one. He could have waited and found out who is involved. Instead he wants to preempt the possible blame to such people of a community because he is nurturing them as vote bank. Thereby,he exposed his filthy mind and evil designs! P.R.Ramesh a Congress leader and a former Mayor of Bangalore city has even more queer remark to make. He says the attack is done by the ruling BJP to stall the BBMP, the City Council, Election as the attack is in the area where Congress
has a hold! Is this the way to show concern for the heinous attacks on people, much less earnestly expose and punish the guilty.

Crime not punished immediately and harshly perpetuates crime even harder.Self-interest of leaders and their party is destroying the fabric of Indian society.

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Vote You Must

Yet another election has come in the State of Karnataka, yet another opportunity to vote and yet another let down for the people of the State? There is a general waning of enthusiasm especially among the intelligentsia that is turning almost cynical. Look at the corruption in public offices, rampant casteism and social inequality that is eating the vitals of the country, they say. Are they not the biggest blot on the progress achieved so far, and the progress can not be attributed to the efforts of our elected representative either. They get elected and , most of them, to make wealth for themselves and their kin. Look at the their own statement of declaration of their assets, it has increased from hundreds to thousands of percent ever since they occupied the political position. Even the best of people or party we thought we have elected earlier were not better subsequently, they were also involved in the same task of using public office for their private profit. Most of the present contestant and aspirants are so poor in quality,- what with rowdies, real estate owners, 'filthy' rich people and people with criminal records canvassing with armed guards - that it is indeed disheartening. Why is this exercise of voting, why should we indulge in such futility. This is the song of many young, bright and educated people that I have heard of late. Yet, what is the alternative? Suffer the crooks or wait for a saviour like Mahatma Gandhi or a avatar?

Mahatmas, great souls,are often a symptom, an expression of the raising consciousness of the people at large. Our awareness of the malady should percolate into action and make that consciousness work. We must vote and monitor those representative to get the change that we want through the people we have elected. Otherwise, crooked people get elected as there is a greater chance of they getting elected if we do not vote and thereby we get marginalised even more. Choose the best or the least worst among the candidates contesting and vote. Better still, get few people in the constituency, arrive at a consensus on the most urgent and immediate needs of the area and present to and get a commitment from the contestants on resolving those problems when elected and say that it will be monitored. Vigilance is the price of democracy and when maintained constantly, it pays rich dividend. There is no end to take fresher and fresher initiative for the good of self and society. Let us take yet another initiative this time in voting the right candidate

Marriage and Conflicts

We have been reading of late marital conflicts and disharmony leading to grievous consequences including murder and suicide in the highly educated. It is hazardous to make generalization when individual cases are involved as each case is unique and consist of constellation of factors specific to situation which only a professional inquiry would unravel. However, factors that go into successful and disastrous marriages can be understood in general terms that would be beneficial to us.

Suicide is often considered as aggression turned inward on the self, where as the homicide, aggression turned outward on another person. Both may have some common characteristics in normal condition as distinguished from abnormalities. Often,helplessness, hopelessness and a feeling of personal inadequacy underlie these maladies. We find individuals involved suffer from alienation, separation from ones own people and a lack of social support system.

We must realize that after all marriage is a social contract/event and must attend to such consideration. In fact, any successful marriage rests on four major pillars : biological, psychological, social and religious/spiritual. A lacuna in any one pillar has the potentiality of endangering the marriage itself. Adequate sexual desire and competency is the biological foundation. Psychological understanding of each other needs and aspiration with inclination to regard the other as other is and not as what one wants other to be, a genuine love and respect for each other, is the psychological foundation of marriage. Social support especially from the people who brought us up, the parents, relatives, friends and neighborhoods are a great cushion for our problems and prospects. Religious compatibility or at best, a spiritual understanding of life and world that is characterised by an understanding that there is something much greater and fulfilling in life than people, relationships, possessions and status alone. All these come handy in the time of crisis.

Living today has brought lots of freedom, intimacy, inquisitiveness, adventure and individual responsibility in personal affairs all of which are essential ingredients of fulfilling life. Yet, there is a gnawing loneliness and separation amidst plenty. Reaching out to the other is either superficial or, if it is solid and deep, it is for too little. They are alienated from people, situations, personal history and their identity is carved out of very little in real terms, in terms of fulfillment and satisfaction. As much as we need to know our uniqueness and develop it for self growth and satisfaction, it is also part of our existence to reach out to others especially to those who are in need of it. The meaning we derive out of it for our living weathers any personal crisis.

In times of crisis it always pays to share our sorrows with our significant others and to view the crisis differently and at a higher plane than we are accustomed or 'pushed' into. Life is hugely vaster in terms of greater fulfillment that we need not be bogged down by any unfavourable circumstances. Consultation with experienced , professional/qualified Counsellor or a Clinical Psychologist would greatly help too.

ಸರ್ಕಾರದಿಂದ ಉನ್ನತ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣದ ಅವನತಿ

ಎಂ.ಎಸ್ .ತಿಮ್ಮಪ್ಪ
ವಿಶ್ರಾಂತ ಕುಲಪತಿ
ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ವಿಶ್ವ ವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ .

ಈಗ ಕೆಲವು ವರ್ಷಗಳಿಂದ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಉನ್ನತ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣವನ್ನು ಅವನತಿಯ ಹಾದಿಯತ್ತ ಕೊಂಡೊಯ್ಯುತ್ತಿದೆ .ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಉನ್ನತ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣದ ಗುಣಮಟ್ಟ ಹೆಚ್ಹಿಸಲೆಂದೇ ೨೦೦೦ ದಲ್ಲಿ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಾಜ್ಯ ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯಗಳ ಖಾಯಿದೆ ತಂದರು .ಅದರ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯದ ಸಿಂಡಿಕೇಟ್ ಮತ್ತು ಅಕಾಡೆಮಿಕ್ ಕೌನ್ಸಿಲ್ ಗೆ ಚುನಾವಣೆಯನ್ನು ತಪ್ಪಿಸಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರವೇ "ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ತಜ್ಞ "ರನ್ನು ನಾಮ ನಿರ್ದೈಏಶಿಸಲು ತೀರ್ಮಾನಿಸಿತು. ಆದರೆ ೨೦೦೪-೨೦೦೫ ರಲ್ಲಿ ಧರ್ಮ ಸಿಂಗ್ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಮಂತ್ರಿ ಹಾಗು ಡಿ.ಮಂಜುನಾಥ್ ಉನ್ನತ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಮಂತ್ರಿ ಆದಾಗ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ತಜ್ಞರೂ ಅಲ್ಲದ, ಆಳುವ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಪದಾಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳನ್ನು ಕಳುಹಿಸಿತು . ತೀವ್ರ ವಿರೋಧ ವ್ಯಕ್ತವಾಯಿತು . ಹೈಕೋರ್ಟ್ ವಿರೋಧ ಸಮ್ಮತಿಸಿತು. ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಪಟ್ಟಿಯನ್ನು ವಾಪಾಸು ಪಡೆಯುವ ಔದಾರ್ಯ ತೋರಿತು .ಆದರೆ ಮುಂದಿನ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಮಂತ್ರಿ ಕುಮಾರಸ್ವಾಮಿ, ಉನ್ನತ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಮಂತ್ರಿ
ಶಂಕರಮೂರ್ತಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠರು ಹಾಗಿರಲಿ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಬಂಧ ಪಟ್ಟಿರದವರನ್ನು ಕಳುಹಿಸಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿತು .

ವಿಶ್ವ ವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯಗಳ ಕುಲಾಧಿಪತಿಗಳು ,ರಾಜ್ಯದ ರಾಜ್ಯಪಾಲರು ,ಉನ್ನತ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಅವನತಿಯ ಹಾದಿ ಹಿಡಿಯಲು ತಮ್ಮಕೊಡಿಗೆಯನ್ನೂ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ .ಹಿಂದಿನ ರಾಜ್ಯಪಾಲರದ ಚತುರ್ವೇದಿ ಅವರು ನಿವೃತ್ತ ಸರ್ಕಾರಿ ಐಎ ಎಸ್ ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳನ್ನು ಕುಲಪತಿ ಆಯ್ಕೆಶೋಧನಾ ಸಮಿತಿಗೆ ಸೇರಿಸಿದರು .ಅಷ್ಟೆ ಅಲ್ಲ ,ಅವರನ್ನು ಸಮಿತಿಯ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷ ರನ್ನಾಗಿಯೂ ಮಾಡಿದರು .ನಿವೃತ್ತ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಕಾರ್ಯದರ್ಷಿ ಶಂಕರನರಾಯಣನ್ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಮುಕ್ತ ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ ಕುಲಪತಿ ಶೂಧನ ಸಮಿತಿ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷರಾಗಿದ್ದರು .ಈಗಿನ ರಾಜ್ಯಪಾಲ ರಾಮೇಶ್ವರ ಥಾಕೂರ್ ಅವರೂ ಇದನ್ನು ಮುಂದುವರಿಸಿದರು .ಚಿರಂಜೀವಿಸಿಂಗ್ ಹಂಪಿ ವಿಶ್ವ ವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ ಕುಲಪತಿ ಶೂಧನ ಸಮಿತಿ ಥೆರೆಸ ಭಟ್ತಚಾರ್ಯ ಅವರನ್ನು ಮಹಿಳಾ ವಿಶ್ವ ವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ ಕುಲಪತಿ ಷೋ ಧನ ಸಮಿತಿ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷರು ಗಳನ್ನಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿದರು .ಈ ರಾಜ್ಯಪಾಲರು ಇನ್ನೂ ಒಂದು ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ ಮುಂದಿಟ್ಟರು .ಮೈಸೂರು ವಿಶ್ವ ವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯಕ್ಕೆ ಶೋಧನಾ ಸಮಿತಿ ಶಿಫಾರಸು ಮಾಡಿದ ಮೂರರಲ್ಲಿ ವೊಬ್ಬರನ್ನು ಆಯ್ಕೆಮಾಡುವ ಬದಲು ಮೂವರನ್ನೂ ಸಂಧರ್ಶನ ಮಾಡಿ ಮೂವರನ್ನೂ ತಿರಸ್ಕರಿಸಿದರು . ಇದೊಂದು ಎಲ್ಲೂ ಕಂಡರಿಯದ ಸಂಗತಿ .ಮೂವರನ್ನು ಶಿಪಾರಸು ಮಾಡಿದ ಶೂಧನ ಸಮಿತಿ ಸದಸ್ಯರಾದವರು ಹೆಸರಾಂತ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ತಜ್ಞರು :ಡಾ .ಚಂದ್ರಶೇಕರ ಶೆಟ್ಟಿ ,ರಾಜೀವ ಗಾಂಧೀ ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನಗಳ ವಿಶ್ವ ವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯದ ನಿವೃತ್ತ ಕುಲಪತಿ ,ಇದರ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷರು, ಡಾ .ಗೋಒವರ್ಧನ ಮೆಹ್ತಾ ,ಭಾರತೀಯ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಯ ಹಿಂದಿನ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಕರು ,ಡಾ ಎ .ಎಂ .ಪತ್ಹಾನ್ ,ಕುಲಪತಿ ,ಮೌಲಾನ ಅಜ್ಯಾದ್ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಮುಕ್ತ ಕೇಂದ್ರೀಯ ವಿಶ್ವ ವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ ಮತ್ತು ಡಾ .ಬಿ .ಎಸ್ .ಶರ್ಮ, ಕೋಟ ಮುಕ್ತ ವಿಶ್ವ ವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯದ ವಿಶ್ರಾಂತ ಕುಲಪತಿ .ಇವರುಗಳು ಕುಲಪತಿ ಸ್ಥಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಆಯ್ದ ಮೂವರೂ ಹಿರಿಯ ಪ್ರಾದ್ಯಾಪಕರೆ : ಡಾ .ಚಂದ್ರ ಶೇಖರ್ ,ಇತಿಹಾಸ ಪ್ರಾದ್ಯಾಪಕ ,ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ವಿಶ್ವ ವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ , ಡಾ .ಅಬ್ದುಲ್ ರಹಮಾನ್ ,ಜೀವ ತಂತ್ರ ಜ್ಞಾನ ಪ್ರಾದ್ಯಾಪಕರು ,ಕುವೆಂಪು ವಿಶ್ವ ವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ ಮತ್ತು ಡಾ .ರಂಗಪ್ಪ ,ರಸಾಯನ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರ ಪ್ರಾದ್ಯಾಪಕರು ,ಮೈಸೂರು ವಿಶ್ವ ವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ . ಖಾಯಿದೆ ಹೇಳುವ ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ನ್ಯಾಯವೂ ಈ ಹೆಸರುಗಳು ಪ್ರತಿಬಿಮ್ಹಿಸುತ್ತದೆ .ಈ ಮೂವರಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾರಾದರೂ ವೊಬ್ಬರನ್ನು ಕುಲಾಧಿಪತಿಗಳು ಆಯ್ಕೆ ಮಾಡ ಬಹುದಿತ್ತು .ಸಂಧರ್ಶಿಸಿ ,ಯಾವುದೇ ಕಾರಣ ಕೊಡದೆ ಮೂವರನ್ನೂ ತಿರಸ್ಕರಿಸಿರುವುದು ರಾಜ್ಯಪಾಲರ ನಿರಂಕುಶ ಪ್ರಭುತ್ವದ ಚಲಾವಣೆ .

ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಇಂತಹ ಅತಂತ್ರ ಕ್ರಮ ಗಳಿಂದ ಹಲವಾರು ವಿಶ್ವ ವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ತಿನ್ಗಲಾನು ಗಟ್ಟಲೆ ಖಾಯಂ ಕುಲಪತಿ ಇಲ್ಲ ದಂತಾಗಿದೆ .ಬೆನ್ಗಲೂರು ವಿಶ್ವ ವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ,ಬಿಜಾಪುರ ಮಹಿಳಾ ವಿಶ್ವ ವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ ದಲ್ಲಿ ಕುಲಪತಿ ಇಲ್ಲದೆ ಮೂರುವರೆ ತಿಂಗಳ ಮೇಲಾಗಿತ್ತು .ಈಗ ಕಳೆದ ಐದು ತಿಂಗಳಿಂದ ಮೈಸೂರು ವಿಶ್ವ ವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ ದಲ್ಲಿ ಕುಲಪತಿ ಇಲ್ಲ .ಕುಲಪತಿ ಸ್ಥಾನ ಖಾಲಿ ಆಗುವದು ನಾಲ್ಕು ವರ್ಷ ಮುಂಚಯೆ ತಿಳಿದಿರುತ್ತೆ .ಆದರೂ ಈ ದುರ್ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆ ! ಕುಲಪತಿ ಸ್ಥಾನಕ್ಕೆ ತಜ್ನರ ಸಮಿತಿ ಶಿಪಾರಸು ಮಾಡಿದವರನ್ನು ಸಂಧರ್ಶಿಸಿ ಯಾರೊಬ್ಬರನ್ನೂ ಆಯ್ಕೆ ಮಾಡದೆ ತಿರಸ್ಕರಿಸುವುದು ಎಂದೆಂದೂ ನಡೆದಿಲ್ಲ . ಇದು ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಶದ ಸಾರ್ವ ಜನಿಕ ಆಡಳಿತ ದಲ್ಲಿ ಅರ್ಹತೆ ಇಲ್ಲದ ಅಧಿಕಾರ ಚಲಾವಣೆ ಗೆ ಒಂದು ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಟ ನಿಧರ್ಶನ .

ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಇಂತಹ ದುರ್ನಧತೆ ಗೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ರಂಗ ಪ್ರತಿ ಭಟ್ಹಿಸಿ ಉನ್ನತ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣಕ್ಕೆ ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟು ಹಾನಿ ಆಗುವದನ್ನು ತಡೆಯ ಬೇಕಾಗಿದೆ . ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ರಂಗ ದಲ್ಲಿರುವವರು ಈ ಅನಿಷ್ಟ ಗಳಿಗೆ ಪಾಲು ದಾರ ರಾಗಿರುವವರನ್ನೂ ಬಯಲಿಗೆ ತರ ಬೇಕಾಗಿದೆ .

Science and Spirituality

Spirituality does not negate any accepted form of living by the society of any time. In fact it is part - indeed a greater part - and parcel of any life. Reality or anything that exist - animate or inanimate - has both spirit and matter and hence we need to study both the part to understand any reality. Mundaka Upanishad speaks of two types of education - dve vidye, para-apara-spiritual and material in consonance with two part of reality ( MU 1.1.4 ). The material consists of earth,water,fire,air,space,mind,intellect and ego,according to Bhagavadgita ( 7.4 ) that covers all the branches of knowledge in the universities of today, the Science studies Matter.The spiritual refers to the imperishable part of reality ( MU 1.1.5 ). The Science and Spirituality, each has its own distinct purpose,Science conquers death and Spirituality experiences immortality according to Isha Upanishad ( 10-11 ). It even says that if you know only science/matter - apara vidya - which is now abbreviated as avidya , you are a blinding fool - andham tamah. If you know only spirituality - para vidya - which is abbreviated as just vidya, you are a even more blinding fool ( IU 9. ). Hence, it advocates the study of both, veda ubhayam saha ( IU 11. ), the lower(material) and higher(spiritual) knowledge as some calls it. What is more,all that exist - matter and spirit, animate and inanimate - are all connected like pearls are strung on a thread, says Bhagavadgita ( 7.7 ).

The modern science,dealing with matter,has travelled enough to recognize the presence and the need of spirituality, starting from Fritz Capra ( Tao of Physics ) and Deepak Chopra ( Ageless Body Timeless Mind ) to Peter Russell (From Science to God ) and Mani Bhoumick ( Code Name God ). Sir Arthur Eddington, a great Physicist, puts it very tellingly:" Matter is mostly ghostly empty space". " To be precise " says Peter Russell " it is 99.9999999 percent empty space". Hans Peter Durr is even more blunt: "Matter is not made of matter"! Unless we understand that empty space,the home of all potentialities and possibilities, we can hardly say that we have known reality.

Spirituality can not be known by the methodology adapted to know the matter. In fact, it can not be 'known' in the sense we normally use that term,it has to be experienced only and, what is more, it involves a process of becoming what we want to 'know', Brahmavid brahmaiva bhavati, knowing Brahman/Reality is to be Brahman, says the Vedas. Those who entered spiritual domain have demonstrated with their experience of peace,harmony, joy and efficiency. Then,how do we access the spiritual domain in us, as well as, in all that exist? Historically, the access to spirituality has been the task of religion.But, today all established/institutionalised religion has developed its own vested interest and quite a lot of them do everything except kindling spirituality of people! Spirituality is too serious, urgent and need to be brought to the daily living that it can not be left in the hands of religion alone to fend it. There are various techniques of getting access to spiritual domain,especially in the Ancient Indian(Eastern )Thought such as the eight parts of Patanjali Yoga or four steps of Buddha Dhyana that need to be studied and incorporated into our educational system to make our student holistic in knowledge - akhanda jnana, and total in being.

Spirituality does not negate life. In fact it enlivens life. My own foray into spirituality as a scientist as well as practitioner, including what necessitated it, is narrated in http://groups.msn.com/www-drthimmappa-com

What Heals and Ails in Healing System !

What heals the patient: treatment,doctors,regimens or patient him/herself or all of them ?

Most commonly practiced healing system to day is of course the so called Allopathy or the Western Medicine. On the one end, there are people,like Dr.B.M.Hegde,a Fellow of the Royal Society, who say that the system is harmful and in fact, as he quotes from the report in a Medical Journal, there were lesser deaths in the Hospital when the doctors went on strike for days than when they were treating! At the other end it is said that it is the only scientific and by far the most successful system available today especially through the highly advanced surgical procedures ,and drugs, a most necessary evil!.More than 80% of Indians can not afford this medical system is a different matter! Most believe that there is hardly any better alternative to this system. The so called alternative medical system such as Ayurveda,Sidda,Unani,Yoga, Homeopathy,Acupressure and so on, are woefully short of scientific respectability as there is hardly any new research,discovery and expansion going on in those systems and they rely mostly on ancient treatises only as authority, even when some researches are undertaken, it is very poor in experimental control(no 'double blind' technique used,for instance) having essentially pre and post measures only while drawing conclusion. The counter from the Alternative Medicine Practitioner has not been very strong,it is based mostly on accusing the opponent's system rather than revealing justifications from their own system! For instance, the Alternative Practitioner argue that the Allopathic treatment is based on their experimentation with animals and thereby tend to neglect the effect of uniquely human factors in the origin,development and therapy of the disorders;the drugs they are using, though may have positive effect, it is short lived, have deleterious side effects and in the long term destroys the body reserves and capabilities.It appears to be a very valid criticism.Consciousness/awareness,one of the unique features of humans, is one of the important variable in most of the alternative medical system,especially in Yoga,you can not expect the Western model of science (such as 'double blind') to fit in here.It also appears that there is a lot of vested interest operating in the medical research and its outcome to day. I am one of those who believe that there can not be any Western or Eastern, Allopathy or Homeopathy; anything that works better must be taken from whatever the system and there should be only one System of Medical Education.

These warring Systems apart, I am often besieged by certain elements that aids the healing process common to any or all systems of medical practice and it is often most neglected by all systems.Observe the most popular doctors,in the sense that in them people have great trust and with whom patients are known to get better soon,safe and with lesser cost.I have observed some of them-all of them were called "good" doctors- and struck by some similarities in all of them which I think can be a pointer to any system of medical practice.

HOLISTIC : Body functions as a whole, disturbances in any one system,say cardiovascular system, will affect not only all other system of the body, but also get affected by all other systems of the body in origin,development and healing of disease processes.Yet, we do not recognise it often,partly because of super specialisation where specialist of one system rarely attends and monitor the other systems and partly because of our system of education itself which has been very divisive in knowledge construction. Furthermore,not only the systems within the body functions as a whole but also the body itself a part of of a total system such as family,sociocultural environment and atmosphere and all of them affect each other continuously; this is even more rarely recognised by the medical practitioners.I know one of those"good" doctor who actively probed patients to find out the background,present preoccupations, family environment and the place of living ,and his dispensation,-be it in diagnosis,understanding pathology or in planning treatment,-reflected the 'global' situation of the patient. His success in accurate diagnosis and treatment may be attributed to these skills of the doctor. I also know of a doctor,a neurophysician,who goes only by symptoms ,never asks about anything else and prescribed one drug for each of the symptoms.It was some two decades ago. The patient was a 65 year old lady,had giddiness, peripheral neuritis,lower abdominal pain,headache and ringing in the ear and mild and prolonged fever.He prescribed seven drugs and told us that each drug is for each of those symptoms and the extra is for possible complications! She developed additional problems, when doctor was contacted, he neither reduced or altered but introduced some more drugs for additional problems! We gave up,consulted one of those"good" General Practitioner,she was free from all the symptoms in just six weeks.

PATIENT CENTERED : Often, the doctors today are tools and technique centered,diagnosis centered,systems and hospital/clinic procedure centered rather than patient centered.The heavy cost of modern treatment is mostly due to these practices. The scans and imaging techniques is to sort out the problems of doctors in diagnosing the disease,it is none of the business of the patient, but the patient is made to pay for it! Many doctors hardly speak to the patient,listen to him fully and patiently,give respect and regard; within minutes they get to know the symptoms and send the patient for umpteen number of lab tests,scans and x-rays and so on even without any explanation to the patient, let alone justifying it.Doctors do that way because they want to sort out their problem first,not the patient. Patient feels lost and helpless,take negative attitude and that will definitely affect the healing process and may contribute to delay and deviation in treatment effect. It happened more than two decades ago.I had gone to drop my daughter to the school. The Head Mistress of the school invited me profusely to her chamber and started eulogies about a doctor who according to her such a nice and competent fellow that I should consult him for all the health problems of my family.I believed her,it was later I discovered that it is big network racket.I took a relation of mine,an aged lady, to that doctor for her problem of uterus collapse.The doctor spoke to us hardly for few minutes,suddenly invited me alone in front of the lady to a chamber inside and tells me that it could be a cancer and needs several investigation and that I could go and get it done in the lab which he would advice as it is most trustworthy.I said good bye to the doctor asking time to consider his advice but never returned.The patient got completely cured of the ailment in just three months by an alternative medicine practitioner! Another friend of mine,when I was studying in NIMHANS in the 1960's,had an ear infection and the doctor prescribed chloromycetin capsules.The patient told the doctor he never took capsules,it so big that he can not swallow,is it all right if he remove the cover and swallow the powder only.Doctor said "Yes Yes". My friend suffered from allergic reaction for the next six months. Doctor said that he only joked,patient should not have taken that way! Finally, one of those "good" allopathic doctor only advised him for an alternative medicine practitioner and the cure was achieved in just six weeks. For that "good" allopathic doctor patient was more important than the system or self indulgence like the other two doctors!

SELF-RELIANT PATIENT : There appears to be a sort of 'disease-doctor nexus' operating in our lives of today! We have illness, go to doctor and get treated and again we have illness,most of the time similar illness, again go and get treated by the doctor, and it goes on. Patient has become doctor dependant and he likes it,and doctors expects that kind of dependency of patients on them! Is it healing and health promoting?Doctors should aim at preventing diseases in their patients too.Moreover, a notion has been created in which we are made to feel that medical science is so advanced to day that we have an answer for almost all the disorders and even for some where we do not have an answer, we are likely to find it soon. Public simply believes that as it is convenient for them and remain as they are, for, they have nothing to worry,if illness comes, the modern doctors are there to take care of,cost notwithstanding to those many.Take my own case for instance.I am an ENT case,as they say.I had an ear discharge since childhood. My tonsils used to get infected frequently with high fever until I got it operated.I used to have frequent cold. What is more, since several decades, I used to get once every year during the months of November/December a sort of 'Flu",with cold ,high fever,body aches and pain and the condition used to last for three to four weeks with treatment, of course .This is the doctor-patient dependence I am talking about.Once, I woke up to a suggestion of my non-medical family member,took up seriously some minor life style changes and practice of exercises including deep breathing. Now, I am totally free of my annual November visitor since the last five years, and, not just that, I am free of any illness since five years too. I begin to feel for the first time some truth in what a sage has been telling for long that one need not get ill and health is our birth right.A very late realisation for me indeed that too for a person whose research specialisation is Psychophysiology and has been teaching that subject for three decades to my students and make them wonder about the wisdom of the body.The wisdom begin to dawn in myself so late around the age of 65! If only doctors has indulged in making the patient self dependant than doctor dependant we need not suffer that much.

HEALING AS SERVICE : ' Health Practice has become a money making business' many have observed.If money making is the aim, it is better they choose some other profession where they can amass wealth much at a faster rate and legally too than medical profession. Health,Education and Judiciary are the fields where corruption and moneymaking business is lethal and criminal.It is playing with the lives of the people,betraying the trust deposed on them and would leave an un-healing scar on client's lives by the malpractices of those professionals.Those who opt for these profession should dedicate themselves to the work with a spirit of service that is unselfish, bereft of greed and totally client centered.By doing so they reap rich dividend in terms of their well being and human stature. By not doing so, they would suffer untold miseries in their families,in their health and in their relationship with the society-all of course in the long run,there may be temporary,short term benefit, but by the time they realise the catch,it would have been too late: studies have shown this. I know of a Family Doctor who would never take a consultation fee from anybody and the medicine/mixtures he prepares were ridiculously cheap(Rs.two!).He would visit the family when needed at any time of the day and in his own vehicle which was in the 1950's bicycle, later on a two wheeler and finally a car! His selfless service is unparalleled and he was respected and regarded by everyone with such high esteem. He died a very peaceful death.

It is time that we inculcate the above crucial healing factors in educating practitioners of any medical system.