Life And Philosophy

Understanding Near-death Experiences: Can They be Simulated?

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Tue, 17 May 2011 12:08:00 +0000

Do Near-Death Experiences (NDE) provide evidence for the survival of the self beyond the physical function of the brain, especially when neuro-scientist say that scientists can induce out-of-body experiences?

Many people who have recovered from life-threatening injuries have said they experienced their lives flashing before their eyes, saw bright lights, left their bodies, or encountered angels or dead loved ones. These phenomena are usually reported after an individual has been pronounced clinically dead, hence the term near-death experience (NDE).

Such out-of-body sensation of near-death experiences are regarded by some people as evidence of an afterlife.

According to conventional science, when people's hearts stop beating and they stop breathing, the brain shuts down and consciousness disappears. Therefore, many in the scientific community regard the experiences as hallucinatory. During cardiac arrest and resuscitation, blood gases such as CO2 rise or fall because of the lack of circulation and breathing. The researchers say that anything that damages the brain's ability to manage impulses— physical brain injury, drugs, CO2 overload and delirium—can produce near-death sensations.

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The Hare and The Tortoise Story: More Management Lessons

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Tue, 17 May 2011 09:45:00 +0000

The famous fable has been retold to illustrate some management lessons.

A vain hare lived in a forest. It always tickled him to think that his friend, the tortoise, could only crawl centimeter by centimeter. Ah, that ugly shell! That must be weighing him down so much, he thought, as he hopped lightly across the field.

Then he noticed the tortoise looking at him without as much as lifting his neck. The hare said derisively, "No wonder your back has ballooned up so much. You ought to be running about, not sleeping all the time!"

The tortoise said nothing, just pulled his head further into himself as if in shame.

The hare said, "Let's have a race. That would put some competitiveness into your lazy head. No, you are not saying 'No'. Whoever reaches that banyan tree first is the winner," he said pointing to a huge Banyan tree with hundreds of roots from the sprawling branches reaching out to the ground. "Instead of sleeping here, you may sleep out there. It will be cooler. Why, you loser! already scared?"

The words stung the tortoise. Any challenge has to be met; you cannot run away...er.. walk away from it. Win or lose, fight you must. The tortoise walked resolutely to the hare. "Say 1-2-3," he said, meeting the hare in the eye.

The hare hopped fast with spring in every jump. The wind blew hard in his face, and it was fun. "Where is that darn tortoise," he thought suddenly, as he swung back to take a look.

The tortoise had barely moved a few feet from where they had started. "This is no fun," thought the hare, "Let me wait till that snail comes closer. All I need is a few more leaps to reach that tree."

The hare then cooled his heels under a walnut tree, and picked up a few nuts. He munched them lazily, waiting for the tortoise to catch up. Presently, he closed his eyes, and before long, sank into a peaceful slumber.

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The Story of Monkey and The Cap Seller : Some Management Lessons

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Mon, 16 May 2011 09:34:00 +0000

Monkeys see, monkeys do. But these monkeys have also graduated from Harvard Business School.

In a village lived a man who made money by selling caps. In summer, the business thrived well, as people would buy caps to shield themselves from the hot sun. As summer ran through most of the year, and the brief winter made its presence only in the early mornings, he ran a fairly brisk business throughout the year.

That day the sun was particularly harsh and its angry rays penetrated the cap he was wearing. Even the bamboo basket on his head in which he had stacked the caps was a poor defence against the sweltering heat. He decided to rest under the canopy of a big banyan tree. He wiped his face with a towel that he always carried on his shoulder. He stretched his legs. "Hardly have I sold a couple of caps today. No wonder the basket was heavy," he muttered.

The leaves on the banyan tree rustled and sent down a cooling breeze that soothed him. Soon he drifted into a peaceful sleep.

An hour later, he stirred and stretched himself. Feeling refreshed, he reached for the basket; but stared and rubbed his eyes in disbelief. The basket was empty. Empty. He looked around. Not a single human soul in sight.

An excited chatter coming from the trees caught his attention. He looked up. More than fifty monkeys were donning the caps and having a frolicky time.

The man got mad.

He picked up a stick and waved it at them. The monkeys bared their teeth menacingly. He pleaded, but they looked away.

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Butt Sanitation: Water or Paper Rolls?

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 07:00:00 +0000

Bidets use green technology and provide increased cleanliness.

It is not a topic that finds place in a polite conversation, but figures in every civilized person’s everyday life. It affects you the moment you step out of familiar environs of your home and particularly, your country. I am talking of cleaning your butts after defecation. An icky, yucky job indeed, but it’s still yours; so you better brace yourself.

Each year, U.S. uses an estimated 36.5 billions rolls of toilet paper that involves cutting of 15 million trees, besides an annual 17.3 terawatts of electricity and energy needed for packaging and transportation, 473,587,500,000 gallons of water to produce the paper and 253,000 tons of chlorine for bleaching purposes.

Toilet paper also constitutes a significant load on the city sewer systems, and water treatment plants. It is also often responsible for clogged pipes.

Indians have always considered water the best purificator and used it for personal hygiene. Lavatories in my mother’s native village in those days were located away from the house and consisted of sanitary pits near which would be kept a pile of earth and dry leaves. Every body was expected to carry a small bucket of water inside to clean oneself and cover their tracks with mud and dry leaves after they used the pit.

Olden Toilets; Source

Once the pits were full, the makeshift roof and door would shift to the next newly dug pit. The old pit would be left as-is for some weeks, after which the village farmers would remove the earth and use it to fertilize their fields.
More pertinent to the topic, how did people clean themselves after the elimination act? They would wash their private parts in the privacy of the lavatories with water, and later wash their feet and hands with soap near the well before entering the main house.

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Brooklyn Bridge: A Saga of Determination

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:19:00 +0000

John and Washington Roebling had several bridges to cross before building the Brooklyn bridge. They decided to take one bridge at a time...

Brooklyn Bridge; Image via Wikipedia

The Brooklyn Bridge, with its majestic stone towers and graceful steel cables, isn't just a beautiful New York City landmark, but also a favored route many thousands of daily commuters use every day. It was the longest suspension bridge in the world from its opening until 1903, and the first steel-wire suspension bridge. It has evoked the most glowing tributes from all, and is a testament to man's ability to rise above the supposed limits of the day and of his determination to stand against the bitterest of criticisms and the most depressing predictions of doom.

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The Mystical Karma

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 12:16:00 +0000

Understanding karma helps to accept life as it comes and move forward. Karma is simply the universal law of cause and effect that says every thought, word and act carries energy into the world and affects our present reality.

Karma means action, but it is also the result of your actions. Karma is the accumulation of past actions. It is the sum of your learning experiences at any point in your life. The law of Karma goes beyond the cause-effect equation of Newton, Action = Reaction, as each action or event is part of a big network of causes and becomes a cause for future reactions or events.

The universe is a dynamic web of interrelated events. The nature of the web is determined by the nature of the constituting parts and their mutual interrelations. Every action, physical, emotional or mental is "seeded" in the cosmic memory ("Akasha") and leaves an imprint in the individual's subconscious mind. This subconscious imprint is called samskara. Being a seed, karma does not sprout immediately after it is sown. At the right time, the fruit of the action will "ripen". Some karmas trigger a very quick reaction, others need a longer time to trigger, and the sequence of the triggered reactions is not necessarily the same as the sequence of the triggering actions.

Karmic results must be stored and cleared out, either good or bad. If there's a deficit, it must be paid; if it is an asset, it must be reaped. They are never lost, and they transmigrate from one birth to the next, leaving their imprints on our subconscious and giving birth to circumstances similar to those that generated them. In other words, reap as you sow.

Karma comes in various flavors.

As the action doesn't always produce an immediate reaction, the fruits containing the seeds are stored. This is the Sanchita (stored) karma. This can spill over into the next life too, and shows itself in the character of a man, in his aptitudes, capacities, inclinations and desires.
That portion of the Sanchita karma which influences human life in the present incarnation is called Prarabdha. Prarabdha karma is the past karma that is responsible for the present body and must be worked out in the present life.
Kriyamana Karma: daily, instant karma created in this life that is worked off immediately. These are debts that are created and repaid immediately.

Karma is not vindictive, but a great teacher. Karma is intended to be "educational", in which you are assigned karmas as lessons from which to learn. Or you may even, if you evolve to a certain point as a being, you may choose certain conditions yourself as a means of learning. We are all here to learn lessons as spiritual beings and the lessons help us grow into greater levels of love, tolerance, forgiveness and responsibility.

Law of Karma neither preaches fatalism nor tells you not to exercise free will. Even though free will depend on karma, you can still exert free will and make intelligent choices in life. Even if a particular situation is the result of "bad" karma and you have to suffer the reactions, how you choose to react to the situation is your free will, and the choices you make in dealing with it can make a big difference to how these reactions will manifest. Thus the human beings build their own destiny through their actions, thoughts and intentions. With our conscious and subconscious mind and belief system, we create the "reality" in which we live, manifesting that enigmatic power called maya shakti, through which we see the world not the way it is, but the way we want it, consciously or otherwise. Everybody gets exactly what they deserve. There is a perfect justice, even when our limited human understanding fails to see it so.

Generally speaking, the ordinary human being supports passively and unconsciously the consequences of his karmas. In this state of consciousness, he/she unconsciously generates other karmas, which trigger corresponding reactions, and so on. Apparently, this vicious circle has no end. Thankfully, the Yoga tradition puts forth clearly that the human being has the power and the right to change his destiny and find an exit from this vicious circle.

Krishna, preaching Arjuna, on the mysteries of karma on the battle in Mahabharata

Krishna preaching to Arjuna

Yoga talks of performing the worldly action with a detached state of mind so that even the action performed becomes non-action and absolves you from its consequences. The term "non-action" refers to action done in a special state of consciousness where you move in harmony with the Cosmic Laws. Bhagavad Gita says that if you perform an action without arrogating to yourself the ownership of the action and consecrating the fruit of the action to the Supreme Being without expecting any reward or result from them, you open yourself toward the Cosmic Harmony and allow the Eternal Consciousness to perform these actions through you as a tool.

You should not refrain from action, but perform nishkama karma - karma done without kama or desire. There is no place for indolence or indifferent work; it is kaizen work. The work you do is a form of meditation and attunes you with the Supreme Being.

To me, the concept of karma can be understood only when you realize that you are a cog in the wheel of life in the universe. Or is it a fly sitting on one of the cogs which can simply sit anywhere on the cog? A fly does its role, and perhaps falls onto other cogs but cannot dictate with any degree of certainty the direction in which the wheel will move. Too many parameters that is outside its manipulation.

Read also

Bhagavad Gita and Business Management

Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers

The Power of Gratitude

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 21:57:00 +0000

Feeling gratitude energizes you and enables you to cope up with stressful situations. You will feel more relaxed, sleep better and feel better.

Gratitude is defined most simply as "the condition of being thankful." Gratitude is a positive emotion, which had hitherto been the realm of philosophers and religious leaders, has now become a subject of a more scientific approach.

All religions describe gratitude as a morally beneficial emotional state that encourages reciprocal kindness. When you receive kindness from unexpected quarters, you feel connected to the rest of the humanity by invisible strands.

To be grateful means to allow oneself to be placed in the position of a recipient—to feel indebted and to be aware of one's dependence on others. Often we assume that we are totally responsible for all the good that come our way. After all, we deserved it and have earned it. We take things for granted. Acknowledging gratitude even to oneself is burdensome for many.

Source

But a grateful person is a little more humble. As grateful persons, we recognize that we could not be who we are or where we are in life, without others contribution. Our lives have become enriched by the contributions of our family members, friends and even strangers.

Even our mere existence is owing to the marvellously structured human gene that carries all the necessary knowledge and experience needed for creating us. The "creation" of the universe itself is an incredible tale of disordered, dispersed, and lifeless atoms and molecules coming together to form extremely complex molecules such as proteins, DNA, and RNA, from which millions of different living species gradually emerged. When we awaken to the truth of the incredible interconnectedness between all life forms, we are spontaneously filled with joy and appreciation.

In recent years, many scientists examined the links between gratitude and good health. Prof. Robert Emmons, Professor of Psychology at UC Davis, conducted several experiments to unlock the puzzle of how faith and gratitude might promote happiness, and concluded that gratitude plays a significant role in a person's sense of well-being.

Gratitude flows when you break out of the self-centered point of view, with its expectations, and appreciate that through the labors of an inconceivably large number of people, you have been given the miracle of your life, with all the goodness in it today.

Please take the time to watch this wonderful video:

How many times a day do we sink into disappointment, frustration, or sadness because others haven't met our expectations? Most of us notice what goes wrong more often than what goes right. We become upset when things don't happen the way we wish them to happen. We focus on how life lets us down, ignoring the myriad gifts we receive all the time. We act like a child who becomes upset at not finding the toy he had set his heart upon for Christmas, though a pile of other gifts are lying there unopened.

Thankfully, gratitude can be cultivated. It simply takes practice.

Practicing Gratitude

Sitting comfortably, with eyes closed, take a few moments to bring attention to your breath using any meditation technique you are familiar with. When you feel settled, ask yourself this series of questions:

What have I received today?

Reflect on as many things as you can recall. The motivation of those who gave you something is not important. The mere fact that you benefited from some one's actions is all that is needed to cultivate gratitude. Did you appreciate any of these as they happened?

As you reflect on what you have been given today, you will likely see that, if anything, you owe the world an insurmountable debt. This insight is more than merely humbling; you may find yourself feeling a deeper sense of gratitude and a natural desire to be generous in serving others.

What have I given today?

Go through the day's events once again, but notice this time what you have given to others. You may find that you have similarly contributed to the well-being of many people and made a positive difference to the planet.

What difficulties and troubles did I cause today?

Do not ignore events even if they are insignificant. It may bring up feelings of remorse, but its primary purpose is the awareness of grief our actions bring on others. In general, we usually brush these actions aside as an accident, something we didn't mean to do. When we see our mean behavior without pretences, we will see the grace others have shown that made our life possible.

The most common method Robert Emmons used in his research was to ask people to keep a “Gratitude Journal” where they could write something they feel grateful for. These studies conducted in 2003 found that writing the journal 4 times a week, for as little as 3 weeks, was often enough to create a meaningful difference in one level of happiness. Another exercise was to write a “Gratitude Letter” to a person who has exerted a positive influence on one’s life but whom we have not properly thanked in the past.

Not only were these people who kept weekly written records of gratitude happier, but they slept longer, exercised more frequently, had fewer health complaints, and generally felt better about their lives when compared with those who were asked to record only their complaints.

Girls Dedicated to Temple Service: Devadasis and The Ancient Indian Fine Arts

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 15:27:00 +0000

In ancient India, temples were cultural centers where artists performed their art in front of a live audience who congregated in the temple precincts in the evenings. Art for the common man. You didn't have to be rich to attend concerts. Music and dance were considered divine arts that would help a common man experience God. Musicians would sing compositions in praise of God and stories from the epics would be recited as musical discourses. This would create an environment of devotion, love and tranquility.

In these temples, prayers are offered six times a day and sixteen offerings or services, which are known as 'Shodasopachara' are made to the deities. Apart from instrumental music, dance was also offered in the ancient days during some of these prayers. As normal housewives were home-bound and would not be permitted to dance especially in public, it was customary to invoke the services of 'devdasis', who were women ritualistically married to the gods and had undertaken to serve them. Some of them were attached to royal courts, where they would perform on special occasions.

It was a tradition waiting to be misused. Though the women were intended to serve God and lead celibate lives, they were exploited by priests and the royalty for sexual favors. Many people, driven by poverty (and religious beliefs), offered their girls for this service.

Source: Wikipedia

Temple dancers from the 1920s and 30's; Source: Flicker Celeste33

Raja Raja Cholan who ruled south India from 985 AD to 1014 AD built the famous and the tallest Brihadeeswarar temple. Devadasi system flourished during his time.

Brihadeeshwara temple; Wikipedia

There were about 400 women dancers then, and they lived as a community outside the village and were called Thalichery Pendugal. The families of nattuvanars (male dance teachers and conductors) from the temples of Pandanallur, Thiruvidaimarudur, Vazhuvoor, Vaideeswaran Koil, etc, used to live there.

Silappadikaram, one of the five epics of Tamil literature mentions Madhavi, a courtesan well versed in the art of music and dance.

Devadasis nurtured dance and music and have preserved the art for posterity. Bharata Natyam is mainly a renewal of 'Sathir', the dance form that the temple dancers practised.

Though the devadasis had a fairly decent lives during earlier times, their condition detriorated slowly. They wer considered more as prostitutes than as respectable artistes. During the British rule, the custom of dedicating devadasis to temples was abolished by the Devadasi Act of 1929. Many educated and influential Indians from the upper caste strove hard to take these art forms from the temple, compiled them under various names and forms, and popularised it. As a result, music and – more so – dance became more acceptable to upper caste Brahmins, and many came forward to learn it.

Bharata natyam; Source: Flickr

Of the many artistes from devadasi families who struggled to free themselves from the devadasi stigma and propagated art are well known personalities like Balasaraswati(dance), M.S. Subbulakshmi (music), Veena Dhanam and Bangalore Nagaratnamma (music).

The legendary M S Subbulakshmi (M S refers to mother's name: Madurai Shanmugavadivu)

Despite the ban on Devadasi system, devadasis still exist in several parts of the country. Read how devadasis live in the present and how they continue to be exploited.

How to Turn Adversity Into an Opportunity

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 15:32:00 +0000

All misfortune is but a stepping stone to fortune. Embrace life and accept whatever adversities come your way.

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. Sir Winston Churchill

What do you do when things go wrong – do you throw up your hands and blame every one else – God, friends, your neighbors, parents, your dog, luck, or whoever comes to your mind? Or, do you take up the responsibility, persevere and fight for your dreams? Successful leaders see adversity as a challenge, renew their commitment and start all over again, turning the obstacles into an opportunity. They do not merely survive the adversity, they thrive in it, like the kites that soar against the wind.

Here's a story that drives in this lesson.

A farmer had a mule in his farm. The mule was an adventurous one; so one night, he set about exploring the farm and accidentally fell into a little-used, deep well. He brayed so loud that his master came out. Discouraged by the formidable job of rescuing the heavy animal from the well, the farmer braced himself to let the animal die. It occurred to him, however, that he'd be forced to listen all night to the irksome noise his mule would make, so he decided to fill up the well and shut up the mule. When the first load of mud fell on the mule, the mule simply shook and cleared himself of the mud and continued to bray. The irritated farmer kept shoveling the mud, and the mule came up higher and higher, standing tall on the shovelled mud and in no time, much to farmer's surprise, he jumped out safe.

From adversity comes strength.

If you run away from adversity and use drugs, alcohol, relationships, work, sex or eating, you are using adversity as an excuse, not as an opportunity. If you face adversity squarely in the eyes, you gain courage, endurance and coping skills to face the adversities in life.

Real life examples: Aimee Mullins and Sudha Chandran

American actress, athlete and model, Aimee Mullins was born with no fibula bones and had her legs amputated below the knees when she just a year old. With her prosthetic legs, Aimee Mullins took part in a race against able bodied athletes and participated in Paralympics in 1964.

In the following video Aimee tells of a study from the 1960s in which students were labeled as successes or failures. The intent was to measure the impact of perceptions of ability on student performance. The students were presented to Teachers with reversed labels and the teachers set their expectations from students accordingly. Over the course of the study, students with high expectations met them, and students with low expectations performed true to the expectation set on them.

Sudha Chandran is an Indian actress and dancer, who lost one of her legs in an accident when she was 16. Like Aimee, Sudha Chandran too never let her physical conditions dilute her ambitions. Mayuri is a film based on her life story in which she has acted as the protagonist.

It is not what happens to you that matters, it is how you react to it and what you do with it that matters. And you can turn every setback into a training tool.

Read Also
Brooklyn Bridge: A Saga of Determination
Setting and Achieving Goals
Time Management: How to Delegate Work
The Power of Forgiveness: Part 1
How To Practice Forgiveness: Part 2
Why Do We Get Angry?
Anger Management: Some Suggestions
Innovation Strategies: Part 1

Free Markets and Globalization

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 14:04:00 +0000

Reduction in trading barriers has helped developing countries attract investment and improve growth prospects; yet it has benefited only a small percentage of the population and has led to a huge chasm between haves and have-nots.

Technological innovations have facilitated the growth of free market and a globalized world. The free market is now played on an international arena where the game rules are shaped by powerful nations and corporations, who use international financial institutions and trade agreements to dismantle the barriers to free trade every country erects to protect its resources and the vulnerable section of its population.

In his bestselling books 'Confessions of an Economic Hit Man' and the recent 'The Secret History of the American Empire', author John Perkins tells the gripping tale of how he had, as an 'economic hit man', or EHM, helped the US to control global economy by using foreign aid as a strategic weapon. The lending agencies like World Bank and IMF, hand-in-glove with the super powers, lay stringent conditions for granting loans known as “Structural Adjustment Programs”, which require developing nations to privatize natural resources and downsize public social welfare programs like education, water, and health care.

Reduction in trading barriers has helped developing countries attract investment and improve growth prospects; yet, it has benefited only a small percentage of the population and has led to a huge chasm between haves and have-nots. Forced liberalization of the capital markets of East Asia led to the 1997-8 crisis. Similar stories exist elsewhere in Argentina, Ethiopia, Kenya, etc.

The hidden fists behind the free markets support even dictatorships, so long as they can bring “stability” necessary for trade. The most glaring examples of super power interference are the ones witnessed in the case of Iran in the early 50’s and Iraq in early 90’s.

The slashing of government funding to biomedical research institutions make the life saving drugs for AIDS, cancer, TB, and malaria out of reach for the poor. Usurping of forests and tribal homelands to build dams and mine minerals throttles the web of local economies, and destroys local community and its culture. In India, thousands of tribal children in Orissa, Maharashtra and Rajasthan remain malnourished, because the public distribution system for food has been dismantled to create markets for agribusiness.

In the 60’s and 70’s in India, the agricultural research funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation and agencies like the World Bank and IMF ushered in ‘Green Revolution’ through introducing high yield hybrids of rice and wheat that required imported irrigation pumps, diesel, fertilizers and pesticides; degraded the soil; and caused depletion of underground water. This ruined the livelihoods of poor farmers who, incidentally, had little access to financial institutions.

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How Tibet Struggles to Keep Its Cultural Identity Alive

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:21:00 +0000

Tibet has had a chequered history where it was independent sometimes and under Chinese rule at other times. Its people are fiercely conscious of their rich cultural heritage, and wouldn't like to lose this identity under the communist rule of People's Republic of china. As of now, it is part of China as an autonomous region.

Despite being an autonomus region, Tibetans found themselves repressed by the ruling Beijing. They rose against the Chinese yoke, but the uprising was quelled by China, and the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, fled to India along with thousands of other exiles and set up an exile government at Dharamshala at Himachal Pradesh in India.

For several decades in the past, many Tibetans have been leaving Tibet risking their lives. Many parents send their young children out of China on a dangerous journey hoping they can rebuild their cultural links and learn Tibetan language, music and other art forms. This story is told in detail in the following articles:

How Tibet Struggles to Keep Its Cultural Identity Alive: Part One
How Tibet Struggles to Keep Its Cultural Identity Alive: Part Two
How Tibet Struggles to Keep Its Cultural Identity Alive: Part Three

Parenting An Autistic Child

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Wed, 12 May 2010 16:50:00 +0000

Whatever the causes of autism be – childhood vaccines, genetic predisposition, trauma during child birth – it is a brain function disorder that affects the nerve fibers that link different parts of the brain and the way the brain cells communicate and integrate sensory and motor activities in the brain.

Credits: http://library.thinkquest.org/trio/TTQ02171/AutismChart.htm

Autism is a developmental disability that involves delays and impairment in social skills, language, and behavior. Autism is a spectrum disorder (ASD), meaning its symptoms and the severity span a wide range, and no two persons are affected the same way. At the higher end of the spectrum, you may find children having difficulties with even gross motor skill such as holding or controlling their heads. At the lower end of the spectrum are those diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. These children have normal speech, but have social and behavioral problems.

It's pretty hard on parents to discover that their children are autistic. But the earlier they get out of the grieving stage to a more proactive phase, the better it is for them as well as the child, since early intervention improves the efficacy of the treatment. So, it is important that parents learn to recognize the symptoms of autism if it occurs in their children.

Almost since birth, babies come equipped with some basic social skills. They get comforted, if they have any discomfort, when a human lifts and comforts them. Not so the children with ASDs. Parents may notice that the child does not make eye-to-eye contact and smile. The child is comfortable only if people they are familiar with approach them.

An autistic child may or may not make as much babbling sounds as normal babies. The parents may notice that the child does not hear, yet are sometimes very receptive to certain distant sounds, say music.

In the following video,Dr. David Hill explains some of the earliest signs that can alert you to the possibility of autism even in infancy. The child takes more interest in objects than in people, and seems to be in a world of his own. How a child reacts while you and your child are jointly watching an object of interest should provide a clue. Other symptoms that could raise a red flag are the child not reacting to his name or a particularly large size of head.

There are classic symptoms of repetitive body movements that are fairly well known, such as rocking back and forth, spinning, head banging, hand flapping, repeating words and stacking up objects. The term "stimming", a short for self-stimulatory behavior, describes this behavior. People with autism stim to help themselves manage anxiety, fear, anger and sensory overload (explained below under the heading 'sensory difficulties').

Watch the curly-headed cutie in the following video showing repetitive behavior, and make sure you read the accompanying notes in Youtube.

Let's go through various symptoms of autism:

* Verbal Communication

The impaired social skills show themselves in small ways. Firstly, they may be more interested in playing with objects than with kids of their own age. Secondly, they are not eager to communicate. Normal children are able to say single words by the time they are 16-18 months. Children with ASD may find it difficult, as they are unable to connect what is being said to them with the object that is being pointed to. Some may speak haltingly, some may not speak at all. They may echo the words spoken to them, sometimes out of context.

* Non-verbal Communication

Children with ASD cannot make sense of facial expressions and gestures. They cannot understand if they make other people angry, unhappy or irritated.

* Lack of Imagination

You may have observed normal children use their imagination and pretend play. They may use substitutes for real things. An autistic child may not be able to do this. Often, they are not attracted by toys because they lack the imagination to think out situations and role play.

Children with ASD are peaceful when following regular routines and may become upset in unfamiliar surroundings. They dislike trying new foods for the same reason.

* Sensory difficulties

We combine our senses – sight, sound, smell, touch, taste and balance in order to make sense of our environment. Certain environments can overstimulate an autistic child, and they may have difficulty in receiving simultaneous information from more than one sense. They may be over-sensitive (hypersensitive) or under-sensitive (hyposensitive) to certain types of sound, touch, taste of food, light, color or smell. They may lack awareness of temperature or pain.

* Difficulties with motor skills

A child with ASD lacks fine-motor skills like eye-hand coordination. Motor skills and control depend upon the coordination of brain, joints, and nervous system. What we take for granted in normal children such as transferring objects from hand to hand or using thumb and forefinger to grasp objects such as beads, and threading them become great achievements and feats worthy of celebration for autistic children and their parents.

The following video summarizes all this excellently.

Reference

http://autism.healingthresholds.com/therapy/sensory-integration
http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/autism-symptoms
http://www.disorderdirectory.com/autism

Niyamgiri Hills -- Home for Dongria Kondh Tribes, or Nature-destroying Bauxite Company?

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Wed, 12 May 2010 16:33:00 +0000

Source: OneWorld South Asia Home

The Niyamgiri Hills, rising to a height of more than four thousand feet, form a mountain range in the Eastern Indian state of Orissa and are home to Dongria Kondh tribe.

The hilltop is considered sacred by the tribes as they believe that Niyam Raja (literally, the King of Law), or the Universal Lawgiver, resides there. Rising to a height of more than four thousand feet, the hills are the source of two rivers, namely Vamshadhara and Nagavali. The self reliant tribes share their space with wild animals and grow paddy, pulses and fruit trees.

This sylvan land is now the site of clash between the indigenous population and a British mining company called Vedanta Resources. The mining company has acquired over 1,000 acres of land through questionable means. Its plan is to mine over 1 million tonnes of bauxite a year from here. The mining of bauxite will degrade the soil and make it uncultivable. Bauxite is an essential element of the eco-system, as it helps the soil hold water and helps feed the perennial river streams that irrigate large areas of farmland in southeast Orissa. Once the bauxite is gone, the streams will go dry too. The massive deforestation on the slopes that the mining may demand will destroy the biodiversity-rich rain forests.

Finding the local population gullible, the unscrupulous Company neither paid them adequate compensation nor took care of protecting the environment. The ash spewed out by the alumina refinery has affected the vegetation as well as the health of people living there, thus driving some of the local people into armed rebellion. Such armed resistance is met by police with its own brand of brutality and shootings under the excuse of Maoist threat. Groups such as Survival International, Amnesty and ActionAid have charged the company with exploiting natural resources and violating the rights of indigenous population. Against this backdrop of protests by the local population and environmentalists, the Company's high-profile investors, including the Pension Fund of Norway and the Church of England have recently given up their shareholding in Vedanta. The British government has also condemned the Company's behavior.

I was touched by the following video. It left me wondering what right we have to destroy such a beauty, such ancient culture and such innocence.

Reference

http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=388836
http://www.fragranceoftheeast.org/
http://www.banktrack.org/show/dodgydeals/bauxite_mine_niyamgiri_hills
http://southasia.oneworld.net/opinioncomment/the-worth-of-nature (Excellent reference)

Love Market in Vietnam

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Sun, 09 May 2010 16:27:00 +0000

First love is special. It's the first leaf that sprouts in spring after long months of winter. It's the first flutter embalmed in the heart long after the love that caused it doesn't culminate in marriage.

Yes, in most rural communities love has to wait for the approval of family elders and community leaders and more often than not, it's forced to take a bow.

But what if you can meet your old flame and share a few moments with her/him without pangs of guilt an let your partner do the same. Yes, such a rendezvous can happen and does happen. At least in the village of Khau Vai in Ha Giang province of North Vietnam.

Credits: Vietnam Spirit Travel

The market perched on top of a bow-shaped hill 350 km north of Hanoi is opened only once a year, a time eagerly awaited by lovers of all ages. Legend has it that a certain Giay girl from Ha Giang province fell in love with a Nung boy from the neighbouring province of Cao Bang. The tribe the girl belonged to didn't approve the alliance and a bloody conflict ensued between the two tribes. Seeing the tragic end to their love, the two lovers decided to part ways but made a secret pact to meet once a year on the 27th day of the third lunar month in Khau Vai.

Ever since, cupid-struck people from various ethnic minority groups from the neighboring mountainous districts congregate in the town that wears a romantic look, with guys playing love songs on their pipes and giggling girls applauding them. Inhibitions are shed. Wines flow down the streets. The panoramic view of the vast horizon stretching beyond the greens add to the mood.

Credits: Imageshack

Girls texting their lovers; Credits: Daylife

A man lies on ground drunk at the Khau Vai 'love market'; Credit: Dan Tri International

Wait for lovers at Love Market on May 10,2010; Credits: Dan Tri International

Past memories are recounted, current life experiences are shared, and the lovers part promising to return next year. Even unmarried girls come, hoping the sanctity of romantic love would help them find their soul mates.

What started a hundred years back is getting increasingly popular, reflecting the humanity's search for true love.

Bishnoi - A Community in Rajasthan For Whom Eco-Preservation Is A Religion

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Fri, 07 May 2010 14:03:00 +0000

People should co-exist with Nature and connect with the land its creatures, as they represent the same universal spirit that permeates all living things. To foster the connection between Nature and humans, the Hindu seers honored the rivers and mountains as homes of deities. Most native communities of the world, be they Native Americans or Africans, live in harmony with Nature.

Yet these beliefs erode with time, with industrialization and with consequent changes in lifestyle. So these beliefs need to be re-examined and reinforced to fit in with contemporary needs.

The Bishnois, a community in Rajasthan, show it is possible for us to live in harmony with nature. Their 'guru' or preceptor is Jambaji, born in 1451 in one of the warrior sects of Rajasthan. His teachings are based on 29 (bish: twenty, noi: nine) principles that include 'karuna' or compassion for all living beings. Bishnois do not cut or lop green trees; instead they use dried cow dung as fuel. They do not cremate their dead as Hindus normally do, because it involves the use of firewood; instead, they bury them. Agriculture is the mainstay of the people; they also carve wood during the time they are not busy on their fields. The required wood comes from trees that have have fallen during storms. Each Bishnoi family creates a tank in their field to provide water for black bucks and antelopes in the arid summer months. They maintain groves for the animals to graze and birds to feed. Solar energy is used to extract underground water to irrigate the groves. The region where they live is a desert (Thar desert), and these groves help to recharge rain water in the aquifers in the desert.

In this award-winning photograph by Himanshu Vyas from Hindustan Times that won IFRA Gold Award for News Photography, a Bishnoi woman is suckling a fawn.

Mud Fridge at Gud Bishnoi village; Credits: slarson91 at Flickr

Credits: Book ur holidays

You can see the efforts of villagers have paid off. If you visit a Bishnoi village (called Guda Bishnoi), you can find a small artificial lake, where migratory birds, blackbucks and chinkaras abound.

One of the trees you will find in the groves is Prosopis cineraria (locally called Khejari). The reason why the Khejri tree is revered is because it has immense value. The tree enriches nitrogen in the soil. The villagers mix its bark with flour for its nutritive value.

The love of Bishnois for Khejri tree is phenomenal and has an interesting history behind it. In 1730 AD, Jodhpur king, Maharaja Abhay Singh, wanted to build a palace, and his army set out to cut trees to burn lime for the construction work. They were amazed to find so many khejri trees in the midst of the arid desert.They raised the axe to cut them, only to find themselves besieged by the villagers who offered their bodies as shields for the trees. Heading the protest was a brave woman called Amrita Devi, who bravely embraced death. Her teenaged daughters gave up their lives too. The entire community followed and rose as one and offered their heads. About 363 were killed by the axe, and the king, astounded by their courage, halted further cutting and declared the Khejarli region off limits for logging and hunting.

This incident has had far reaching consequences. Mahatma Gandhi, it is said, derived inspiration for his non-cooperation movement called 'satyagraha' from the Khejarli massacre. Another beneficial consequence came through the 'Chipko Movement' ('Chipko' means 'sticking' or 'hugging'). In the 1970's, the Government was indiscriminately felling trees in the Himalayan region ('Uttarakhand'). Sunderlal Bahuguna, a Gandhian follower, banded groups of rural women who would hug the trees in an effort to prevent their chopping. The Government had to yield and abandon its deforestation activities.

Chipko Movement; Credit:Hindu

In 1996, Nihal Chand Bishnoi, a young Bishnoi, sacrificed his life for protecting wild animals. His story was documented into a film Willing to Sacrifice that won the Best Environment Film at the 5th International Festival of Films.

All this show that a band of committed people can transform society and make Governments bend.

References:

http://www.nativeplanet.org/indigenous/cultures/india/bishnoi/bishnoi.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipko_Movement

Power, Politics and Rape

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:00:00 +0000

Violence affects the lives of millions of women worldwide. The United Nations Development Fund for Women reports that one out of every three women worldwide is physically or sexually abused in her lifetime. It could take many forms, from female feticide, domestic violence and honor killings to rape as a weapon of war. You can see that in Northern Yemen, in Colombia, in Congo, in Sri Lanka …women get abused all the time, in war and in peace.

Trampling women’s rights is as old as civilization. Rape and sexual abuse is perhaps the only crime which stigmatizes the victim, not its perpetrator. And the most degrading things about rape is that the burden of proof of crime rests with the victim and she is subject to a second rape during the court proceedings.
That’s why despite being left thoroughly shaken, very few women choose to talk about rape or report it. The family, instead of perceiving the violated woman as a victim who needs protection, sees her as someone who debased the family honor that must be redeemed somehow, may be by marrying the rapist.

Psychologists and feminists have held that rape is an exercise of power and its perpetrator revels in the masochistic pleasure derived by subjugating the defenceless. It’s deplorable that when rape and that epitome of power called politics walk hand-in-hand, their symbiotic relationship results in an imbroglio, which can never serve the interests of the hapless victims.

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Free Lunch in Schools For Universal Education

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:39:00 +0000

United Nations declared its Millennium Development Goal as Universal Primary Education, an objective it wants to achieve globally by 2015. Factors that work against universal education in India is certainly not any lack of awareness about the importance of education. Even the most illiterate person is painfully aware that lack of education has been the reason for his poverty, and to rise in the social ladder (who doesn't want to?) he has to educate his children. Then why doesn't he simply educate them? Because, often he is heavily dependent on their earnings to clear his loans that he may have taken in times of emergency, such as conducting marriage of his daughter, tiding over crises such as failing crops, etc. So he is forced to send his children to work. Though the Indian law prohibits the employment of children in factories, you'll still find them working in restaurants, gas refuelling stations or cottage industries.

According to available statistics, about 20% of Indian children between the ages of six and 14 are not enrolled in school. But that's not all. Most of them are first-generation learners. Many simply enroll, but don't attend regularly and drop out of schools early. There are varied reasons for this such as poor quality of teaching that fails to understand, empathize and take into account the reality of the social background the children come from. And even with the best of teaching, you may not be able to assimilate what's taught in the classrooms on an empty stomach.

Realizing this, the Supreme Court ordered the state governments in 2001 to provide free meals for all primary school children aged 10 and under. The amended Constitution recognizes the Right to Education. There may be many a slip between the lip and the cup, yet a few tiny drops trickle down and provide succor to children.

Many states in India provide free lunch in schools. Statistical figures show this has motivated more parents to send their children to schools despite financial hardships and has reduced the number of drop-outs.

Can You Be Frank Always

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:18:00 +0000

Her face flushing with excitement, my friend rushed towards me after her maiden music concert at the local temple. “Tell me frankly, how was it?” I looked at her, wondering what to say. Could I tell her that her performance was mediocre, and that she was off-key while singing many of the compositions? Her eyes seemed to entreat, “Don’t say it wasn’t good, PLEASE.” I said smoothly, “You’re doing great Leela. It was wonderful!!” “Hope I didn’t go off-tune,” she asked pointedly, a bit more composed now.

I pressed her shoulders and smiled. “Come on, relax. That was your first concert. There’ll be more opportunities for improvement,” I said. Still, I didn’t answer her question directly.

Was I being smarmy and dishonest? After all, my friend had told me to be frank. Actually, I felt that I should voice my frank opinion later at a more opportune time when my friend would be more receptive to any criticism. I was afraid my intention of making her a better singer could possibly be thwarted by any untimely criticism; it might probably only make her sulky.

I am reminded of an ad for a toothpaste that used to appear in the television (Indian) a few years back. Two friends are out on a picnic with their wives. While one of the couples is having a great time, the other is not. So the woman having a fun time asks the other if anything was amiss. Yes, you guessed it; it was bad breath that had nauseated the wife. Quick comes the advice : Don't say anything. Just replace his usual toothpaste with the advertised product. And pat, the distanced couple is shown cooing in the next shot.

When we criticize, we assume a very responsible role —the authority to judge and validate other’s achievements. The person at the receiving end is disarmed and vulnerable; our negative judgment can catapult their own insecurities to the surface and push their defensive buttons. Even if they pretend not to be upset, in all probability, they are; for, who doesn’t want to feel good about themselves? Their first reaction will be to question our competence, and even if that attribute passes the test, they’d still feel bad about their fate or bad luck that had led to the misfortune of having to listen to harsh, or possibly inappropriate, criticism.

Is such a stand unjustified? Not necessarily. Indeed, there are people who spurt out "truths" out of hurt, jealousy, or malice, and not out of concern for their welfare. Such criticism would lead to all-round negativity.

For anyone to examine our criticism rationally and dispassionately, you must win their trust in our judgment and sense of fair play.

Does it mean we should never be frank?

Frankness is a prerequisite for clear and uncomplicated social relationships. Though it may be annoying momentarily, frankness elicits reciprocal truthfulness from others as well. When friends drop their reserve, the friendship deepens. Most people fear conflict and see it as something to avoid. Handled the right way in the right, congenial setting, conflict can be beneficial, because that eventually paves the way for changes to be made - at work and at home.

That's why I love the following prayer and its acute wisdom.

"God give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference."

Taking Banks to Villagers' Doorsteps

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 16:01:00 +0000

The suave ambiance of big-city banks and their clientele are out of tune with the credit needs of rural farmers, daily laborers and petty traders who are often also illiterate. Unaccustomed to systems and procedures, they fall an easy prey to money lenders who charge exorbitant interest rates. The truant rain gods, unpredictable agricultural prices and greedy marketing middle men combine to play such a deadly role that farmers are driven more and more into debilitating debts. In many cases, the innate financial acumen and thriftily saved secret reserves of their wives save the day.

We are not talking of huge savings by women here. It might be just a couple of hundred Rupees — a few dollars — while their most pressing credit needs might be a few thousand Rupees. For a traditional bank to operate in remote areas and meet such needs, the high cost of operation for the low quantum of transactions is a deterrent.

This is where intermediaries are needed between the rural borrower and the financial institutions willing to extend micro-finance. The concept of micro-finance as a tool for rural development was made popular by well-known economist Muhammad Yunus when he started the Grameen (meaning, village) Bank, a micro-finance community development bank in Bangladesh that gave micro-credits to the poor without requiring collateral to engage in small business. It was Yunus' firm conviction that women would be reliable borrowers, successful entrepreneurs if trained, and family benefactors. Muhammad Yunus and the organization he worked for were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

In the micro-finance model, the bank does not deal with individuals but with a group, popularly called self help groups (SHGs). The loan is given to the group and the individuals in turn borrow from the group at a slightly higher rate. Helping the SHGs are several non-government organizations (NGOs) that organize and train the members.

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Can Meditation Make You Happy?

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:33:00 +0000

Matthieu Ricard, the biochemist-turned-Buddhist monk has authored several books, including the recent “Happiness: A Guide To Developing Life’s Most Important Skill”. Matthieu Ricard has participated both as a research collaborator and as a subject. On happiness tests performed on him, he scored -0.45 on a scale where +0.3 indicated depression and -0.3 denoted great happiness. This marks him as “The Happiest Man in the World”.

Matthieu Ricard believes meditation can make a person happy and stress-free.

When a person meditates, the breathing is suspended for 10-60 seconds, comes to a stage where it is neither active nor passive, and there is a subtle and slow breathing called apneustic breathing. This type of breathing is different from normal breathing and stimulates different respiratory drive centers in the brain stem. The mind is in a state of self- aware consciousness that is distinct from waking, sleeping, or dreaming.

Continue reading..-

Can Technology Help Us To Be Happy?

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:53:00 +0000

Pleasure and happiness are fundamental motivators for our lives. We need a certain amount of pleasure or rewards from our daily activities, else the pleasure deficit can cause depression. Babies are known to have stunted growth if they didn’t receive enough physical stroking soon after birth.

Several experiments show how powerful our reward pathways in the brain are. When laboratory rats were trained to stimulate themselves by pushing a lever that would activate the electrodes implanted in reward areas of the brain, they were found to ignore food, water and sex and even swim across dangerous moats and complex mazes just so that they could stimulate their pleasure pathways and they would do this innumerable times until they passed out from hunger or exhaustion.

Neurotransmitters of different chemical nature are involved in pleasure and reward. Scientists have been able to reproduce “happiness” in humans by releasing these chemicals into the pleasure centers of the brain.

Can we then attain happiness with the push of a button?

Rainwater Harvesting

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:23:00 +0000

Rain water harvesting is enjoying a resurgence everywhere; not only does it beat the escalating environmental and economic costs of the current water systems, it is also an excellent way to get pollution-free, iron- and arsenic-free soft water. Its techniques were known even in ancient times. Extensive rain water harvesting prevailed 4000 years ago in Egypt, Italy and Greece where residences had paved courtyards to capture rain water and store in cisterns. As early as the third millennium BC, farming communities in Baluchistan and Kutch impounded rain water and used it for irrigation. Submerged township discovered on the sea bed in the Gulf of Cambay, India, at a depth of 90 metres, show huge water storage tank and public bathing tanks that trace the country's water harvesting culture as far back as 3,000–13,000 years. Even today, you can see many forts and palaces in the arid regions ofRajasthan in India have huge underground tanks which once collected water from rooftops. In the Western Ghats around 130 km from Pune (India), you can find large number of tanks cut into the rocks to provide drinking water to tradesmen who used to travel along this ancient trade route.

A bawri in Rajasthan

Fast urbanization and degradation of communal pastures and forests into barren wastelands have depressed ground water levels in many Asian countries like India,Srilanka, Thailand and Bangladesh. At a time when India is facing drought, it is worthwhile remembering that a wise water management system can avert crises, as several experiments have shown — like for example a tiny village called Neembi in Rajasthan showed that building water harvesting structures like wells and check dams enable farmers to harvest crops despite consecutive years of drought. This had been made possible by the untiring efforts of Rajendra Singh, who won the 2001 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership. What Rajendra Singh did was to revive ancient traditions of community-based water harvesting. Under his leadership, the villagers banded themselves together to build check dams called johads, or renovated other defunct old structures to collect rainwater. Some of the stored water in johads percolated down and recharged the water tables below and the wells in the vicinity got water even during dry spells. In the neighboring villages of Bhaonta-Kolyala, villagers were able to revive a dried up river called Arvari by building a network of interconnected johads that helped to recharge groundwater channels.

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Empowering Rural Women In India

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:22:00 +0000

After a prolonged discussion, the parliamentarians of India passed the Women Reservation Bill in August 2009 which ensures 50% reservation for women in the village panchayats. This has increased the reservation of seats for women in Panchayats from 33% to 50%. Panchayats are village level administrative units that aim to bring government closer to the people so that they can have a say in their own governance. The devolution of administrative power came about because of constitutional amendments in 1993. It is interesting to know that a similar move for 33% seats for women in the country's legislatures is still languishing. How is it that the people in the parliament are willing to support the empowerment of women in the rural sector but not at the higher echelons of power? That's because at the panchayats you have rural women to contend with, and they are not seen as threats to male authority, unlike the urban, educated and often liberated women who compete at state level elections. It'd certainly be dangerous to reserve seats for them!

The women in the villages have for long been confined to home. Often, the people who stand for elections are the wives of political aspirants who use their wives as proxies. This is made easier by the fact that the reserved seats lapse into the general category at the end of five years. That is, the constituency that was once 'reserved' becomes 'free' and another new constituency qualifies for the 'reserved' designation. The loyal and obedient wives set the stage ready for the entry of their husbands at the end of the term.

The empowerment through reservation hasn't been as great as it could have been, yet it did serve a purpose. Many women who had never seen anything beyond their hearth and home got an opportunity to be present at meetings and meet officials. For once, their husbands had to listen to them, even if to get their agenda done.

The chauvinistic males who in their mistaken magnanimity have made this reservation possible fearing no threat to their own existence are likely to regret in not too distant a future. They have sown seeds some of which at least might grow into big trees. However meek, frail or submissive the rural women look, having to deal with problems on an everyday basis makes them strong. Where ever training and encouragement is provided to them, they have not hesitated to grapple with the issues that affect their lives. For example, when water becomes scarce, women are the ones who trudge miles to fetch water, or stand in long queues for getting the monthly food rations, and so on. So when they become members of panchayat, they raise the issue in the village assembly, talk to other women and organize protests. After all, it's an issue for which they need no explanation or motivation.

Many non-government and government institutions educate the gram (village) panchayat members. The government for its part uses satellite-based training and communication (SATCOM) and a panel of experts to explain administrative procedures and discuss with the participants how to address their pressing problems.

The following videos show one such experiment where the women have brought in change through participation. They have prevented felling of forests, demanded better roads, and so on.

Let's hope the country reserves, as proposed, 33% seats for women in the country's highest legislatures as well.

Why Was Mahatma Gandhi Assassinated?

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:57:00 +0000

At the time of partition, because of the the mass exodus as well as the ongoing war with Kashmir, chaos prevailed in Delhi where huge numbers of refugees were stationed. Many Hindus felt that Gandhi’s insistence on non-violence actually encouraged further violence, since it meant non-retaliation. They were aghast by what they perceived as a callous disregard for the sentiments of millions of refugees, and ominous, but scattered, cries of ‘Let Gandhi die!’ were heard in Birla mansion in Delhi where Gandhi stayed. Meanwhile, Pakistan was demanding that India hand over Rs 55 crore (Rs. 550 million), its remaining share of the cash reserve inherited from the previous British Government. At first, the Indian government had refused to honor its commitment, complaining the Pakistani aggression on Kashmir, but after Gandhi undertook fast unto death on January 13, the government agreed to pay the amount on 15th January.

Read Why Gandhi Was Assassinated

Controlling Anger: How Cognitive Therapy Can be Useful

noreply@blogger.com (Uma Shankari) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:59:00 +0000

My friend can’t stand the mention of her sister-in-law. She has a list of grievances, and every time she recounts it, her eyes would fill up with tears, her voice would quiver with anger, and the physiological state of the body would show all the signs of stress —increased pulse rate, high blood pressure — that were there when the incident occurred the first time.

Anger is an emotional state caused by real or perceived grievances, based on unfulfilled expectations — of self, and of others — and often erroneous assumptions. Many people, like my friend, hold on to anger for really unnecessarily long periods. They think they are “punishing” their adversaries, who may even be unaware that they caused so much grief to the person. They preserve the outrage in their hearts, consider themselves flawless and project the entire problem on the rest of the world.

Anger can make you sick: whereas short bouts of anger can result in body aches, recurring bouts can lead to hemorrhoids, high blood-pressure, digestive disorders, and weakening of the gall bladder and liver.

Anger is a natural, adaptive response to threats — the aggressive feelings allow us to fight and to defend ourselves. A certain amount of anger, therefore, is necessary to our survival. But too much aggression produces stress-related hormones like cortisol that can suppress the immune system, and adrenaline, both of which affect the cardiovascular system adversely.

An angry person deals with his anger in one of the three ways: expressing, suppressing, and calming. It's best to express assertively your feelings, your needs, and the boundaries that should not be stamped upon by anyone, whatever the provocation. Being assertive doesn’t mean being pushy or demanding; it means that you are clear about what you expect from others and are equally ready to accept others similar demands.

You can suppress anger by ceasing to think about it and focusing on something positive. This converts the anger into a more constructive behavior. There is a danger lurking in this: without the outward expression, your anger can turn inward on yourself and affect your health negatively by causing hypertension, high blood pressure, or depression.

People who suppress their anger may unconsciously find an outlet in passive-aggressive behavior. They may get back at people indirectly, without telling them why. They can turn cynical and hostile, constantly putting others down, criticizing everything they do.

Finally, you can calm down inside. This means not just controlling your outward behavior, but also letting the feelings subside through meditation or other similar techniques.

What are the strategies to keep anger at bay?

When angry, we say the first thing that comes to our head without stopping to think of its veracity or its repercussions. To take command of anger, therefore, ask for clarification, listen carefully to what the other person is saying, examine some of your beliefs and expectations, and take time before answering.

Everyday, thousands of thoughts chatter in our mind. Most of the time, these are irrational, negative thoughts about ourselves formed during childhood ('I’m not good at math. I cannot dance') or about others, formed especially when we are emotionally upset ('I’m going to teach her a lesson'). These thoughts have been formed through distorted logic in an emotionally charged atmosphere when our thinking is very exaggerated and dramatic.

The trouble is that these thoughts lie submerged in our sub-conscious minds. The negative thinking, coming from our subconscious, becomes automatic and is the reason for our explosive emotional responses. Emotional control is essentially a matter of un-identifying with or detaching ourselves from our negative emotions.

Cognitive Restructuring or Neuro Linguistic Programming is a psychiatric concept that explains how an angry behavior results from certain thoughts and feelings that precede them. Our moods are driven by what we tell ourselves, and this is usually based on our interpretations of our environment. The key to changing our behavior lies, therefore, in changing our thought process (Replace ‘that &#@!! man is screwing as usual' thought with a more rational ‘Poor man must have a bad day at office'). If we don’t like the way we feel or act, it’s time we simply make changes in the way we think, hence the term "cognitive therapy."

The basic idea behind cognitive therapy is that by changing the way we think, we can change the way we feel and act.

First, we must bring the programmed negative thoughts to a level of conscious awareness. Much of our life is based on perception and not necessarily on truth. We must challenge irrational ideas and thoughts, and refuse to accept any idea unless there is a solid proof. We must dispose off past negative programming and eliminate from self-perception any judgmental labels such as bad, wrong, stupid, clumsy, dumb, inept, untalented, ignorant, etc.

Cognitive Restructuring is a useful tool that helps us evaluate how rational and valid the assumptions on which we base our self image are.

Humor can always be relied on to help unknot a tense situation. We can learn and practice relaxation techniques that can prevent us from tipping over the edge during a particularly stressful situation.