WHAT YOU BELIEVE IS WHAT YOU SEE.

Little Billu was wide awake and was staring at the artificial stars and the moon on his ceiling. He could not sleep that night as the excitement over his grandpa's visit was still lingering in his little heart. His grandpa had got him lots of toys that day, but even before he could play with them,mummy had asked Billu to go to bed early. He loved his grandpa and wished he could spend more time with him. The voices outside the bedroom were so clear and Billu's heart ached to be a part of those voices. Just then, the voices grew louder and Billu realised that they were nearing the bedroom. As the lights were switched on, Billu jumped out of bed and hugged his grandpa. He knew that his grandpa would sleep with him.

Billu got onto the bed quickly and was waiting for his grandpa to finish his prayer. Grandpa winked at Billu after finishing his prayer and got into bed. "Story! Story! Story?" little Billu demanded and Grandpa read him a story from a book:

Once upon a time, there was a well-educated man who announced to his friends that he would not believe in the existence of God! He said that he would never believe anything,which he could not understand.

An old farmer overheard the remark,turned to the young man and said,"As I went into town today, I passed a field where some sheep were feeding. Do you believe that?"

"Yes", said the young man."Not far away from the sheep some cows were also grazing. Do you believe that?"

"Yes", was the reply! "Not far from the cows were some pigs eating grass. Do you believe that?"

"Yes", "All right, now you listen to this", said the farmer."The grass the sheep ate turned into hair. The grass the pigs ate turned into bristles. The grass seeds that the chickens eat turn into feathers. Do you believe that?"

"Yes", the young man said."Do you understand it?"

"No", admitted the young man. "Young man", said the farmer."if you live long, you will find that there are a good many things which you believe without understanding. God is one of them".

Billu smiled and slept peacefully in the cosy arms of his Grandpa.

Next day morning Billu could not spend time with Grandpa and left for school with a longing heart. But when he returned, he was in for a pleasant surprise. His Grandpa has arranged for a small picnic and away he went, along with his parents to a beach resort. After spending a lot of time in the beach the family sat together for dinner. Grandpa started talking about his next book: "On Belief and God!" But, daddy didn't seem too interested in it. Daddy quickly finished his dinner and commented, "I will not believe in the imaginary God. I believe only in things that I see, hear and understand". Grandpa just smiled, he did not answer. Instead he asked Billu to tell everyone a story. Billu got excited and narrated Grandpa's latest story without skipping a beat. Daddy stood up and said, "I don't understand how the same grass changes into hair, wool, bristles or feathers, but I do see it. I believe it because I see it. I can now understand it with science. So, it again comes back to my belief on things that I see and hear. What I see and hear is what I believe. I don't want to understand everything, but I need to see or hear to believe in something. So I don't believe in God! I have never seen him or heard his voice".

Grandpa was silent. He again had an 'all-knowing smile' on his lips. After helping mummy set all things right, Grandpa invited Daddy for a walk. Billu understood that his Daddy has won the argument, but he did not want his Grandpa to lose. He knew that Grandpa was taking Daddy out to talk more on this. Billu stayed back indoors for a minute, he knelt down and prayed. He then jumped up and ran out to catch up with Grandpa.

Grandpa walked slowly and was waiting for Daddy to complete his call on his mobile. After the call got over Grandpa asked Daddy, "Imagine if I gather a motley crowd and utter the word 'cell' and ask them what I was referring to, what do you think they would answer?" Daddy thought over it answered, "They would definitely tell that you were referring to a cell phone", Grandpa looked at Daddy in the eye and smiled. Daddy started thinking again and said, "Well, it could have also been a 'battery cell' or to 'sell a product'. Grandpa said, "It could have also been perceived as a 'bacterial cell' or as a 'prison cell', right?" Daddy nodded.

"But why were you so confident when you said I was referring to a cell phone?" Grandpa enquired. Daddy said, "That's because I thought that you were referring to the cell phone". Grandpa nodded. Daddy added, "The context in which the word was spoken also matters and in the current context I believe you spoke about the cell phone".

Daddy was sporting a victorious smile as he sat down on the shore of the beach. Grandpa sat next to him and said, "Son, have you ever wondered why two different people see an elephant and a mouse in the same shapeless cloud?" Daddy said, "It depends on their perception as to what they think the cloud looks like". "Exactly!" affirmed as he stood up. He continued, "See son, the act of seeing and hearing when understood deeply will reveal you the truth. You told me that you will believe only things that you hear, but did you know that you only hear what you believed you heard? The act of seeing is coordination between your eye and your mind. The eye presents the picture and the mind attributes a meaning to it. This attributed meaning is what you see. Your belief system pre-programs your mind and this directly is responsible for your perception and the context you are referring to. So, your belief is the base. If my mind is pre-programmed with 'fullness', I will see a half-filled water bottle; but if my mind is pre-programmed with 'emptiness', I will see the same water bottle as a half-empty bottle".

"When I asked you what will people perceive when I say 'cell', you were very sure that everyone will perceive it as a cell phone. You claim that in this context this was applicable. But if I had asked the same question in the same situation to a school goer, he would have heard it as a 'bacterial cell'. A shop-keeper would have heard it as 'sell' and a jail warden would have perceived it as a 'Prison cell'. So don't you realise that there is something deeper than a context or a situation?" the Grandpa enquired. 

Daddy just blinked. Grandpa continued, "You need not accept my view now, but think over it. You will understand that beliefs drive you. So the fact is: What You Believe Is What You See and What You Believe Is What You Hear".

"Son, I believe God created everything and so I am able to see God's hand in everything. You believe that everything has a scientific tint to it and you are able to see it. On a larger scale, this is exactly what al religious doctrines tell us: Believe and you shall see".

Daddy looked up and smiled. His smile was his affirmation. Billu did not understand anything that was going on. But he understood that Grandpa has won the discussion. Billu believed his Grandpa would win, and he saw what he believed in.

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C.S. Chakravarthy

H. No. 12-13-302, St. No. 9, 

Lane. No. 1, Flat. No. 203,

Satya Classic, Tarnaka,

Secunderabad- 500 017,

Telangana State.

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Comments of Chennai Floods, 2015.

Chennai is inundated but the water is not potable. There's no power or mobile connectivity. No newspapers. No essentials whatsoever. People have been dislocated and the damage to property and loss incurred is unaccountable. Daily wage earners have lost their jobs. Over 250 people have lost their lives. It is widely believed that a natural disaster such as the floods in Chennai lead to an inevitable loss of life and property. The rainfall in Chennai and adjoining districts this year has broken a hundred year record. But should the magnitude of rainfall in 2015 have come as a surprise? Chennai. Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts are not unfamiliar to heavy rains and cyclones during the north-east monsoon months. Heavy rains during the month of November are a way of life for the people of coastal Tamil Nadu. Therefore, can it be called a disaster? If yes, appropriate preparedness could have been minimised it enormously. The most relevant question therefore is - what was the administrative preparedness for such disasters? What lessons have we learnt from the tsunami of 2004 and a series of cyclones experienced by the state recently? 

For any city to survive the current disaster in Chennai, the fundamentals should be in place. In the present case, these fundamentals were bypassed and deviated from, i.e., the basic infrastructure, especially drainage. If that had been taken care of, the state would have saved such a huge economic loss. This wasn't the case with Chennai and so everyone suffered and paid for the establishment's inefficiency. Isn't this wrong? Geographically, Chennai is actually placed very uniquely and it is a blessing. We have three water-ways, something very few other places can boast of. We have the Cooum river which takes of Central Chennai, the Adyar which caters to the south and kosasthalaiyar running through the north. And then there is the Buckingham Canal which cuts across all three. It is the most fantastic macro drainage system for a city. Unfortunately, these major drainage systems are in a pretty bad shape due to heavy encroachment, reduction of bed-width by more than two-thirds, heavily silt and sludge deposits and formation of heavy sand bars at the mouth of the rivers. In addition to these major drainage systems, there are medium drainage systems. At the moment, it is difficult to trace these medium canals. Indeed, most of Chennai's prided IT corridor on old Mahabalipuram road is situated on the flood plains of Pallikaranai wetlands. And finally, there are the storm water drains constructed by the government which are today heavily clogged because of garbage and so narrow that they cannot even manage if there is persistent rain of one centimetre every hour. Put together, all these networks comprehensively failed to carry water during the recent rains and that is why I state that the city's most important 'fundamentals' have failed.

The Chembarambakkam reservoir overflow is not the only reason for the flooding. Adyar river is fed by 25 other tanks. On the night of 02nd December, 2015 only 30,000 cusecs of water was released from Chembarambakkam, but near Siadapet the river was carrying over 50,000 cusecs. Still, it was less than the river's original carrying capacity of 72,000 cusecs and much less to the flow of 60,000 cusecs in 2005. Then why was there so much damage this time around? Obviously because of the enormous scale of encroachments during the last ten years. Isn't Chennai a man-made disaster then?

The floods in Chennai are certainly part of the larger changing weather patterns across the globe and similar to the Uttarakhand floods, and the floods in Orissa, Mumbai, Copenhagen and, more recently the UK. This is due to the changing weather and climate patterns of the northern hemisphere, largely due to 'developmental activities' undertaken by industrial countries. In the pre-industrial era, the concentration of carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere was only about 240 ppm. But at present, it is at 350-400 ppm. Thus the increase in global temperatures. This rise in temperature is because of larger industrial activity like construction, automobile emissions, thermal power stations, cement industries, glass industries, etc., especially in developed countries. Rapid industrial activity has contributed to the global rise in temperatures, which has resulted in the melting of ice in the Earth's polar regions. And finally, the mismatch between the evaporation and precipitation rates of water in the atmosphere leads to so numerous many complexities visible in the form of climate change.

Post the industrial revolution the atmospheric temperature is increasing day by day and, consequently, oceanic evaporation and precipitation rates are increasing, leading to heavy rains and floods, or severe drought. This will also result in the increase of flies, insects, weeds, reptiles, mosquitoes and other unwanted components of the ecosystem, something we see in abundance in Chennai today. Severe drought and dry weather, always likely to come soon enough after the rains, will be seen. The consequences will be water scarcity which is as capable of causing untold harm as excess of water, though a deluge makes for more compelling visuals in newspapers and on television. We need to restrict our industrial, automobile, thermal power and urban expansion activities if we are to make any difference to our atmosphere. Only if we preserve our forests, our treasured flaura and fauna can we hope to bring the planet's climate back to sustainable levels.

What we are facing today are the consequences of thermal power generation, cement industries, glass, paper industries, port, road, mining, deforestation, reverse coastal management with tourism activities, rapid urbanisation, slum dwellers, population explosion, hydrocarbon industries, unscientific agricultural practices, household instruments and equipments and unscientific waste management, etc. Unless we rein in some of them, there is no way to control the change in the atmosphere. Chennai floods are not exactly a man-made calamity but part of this global phenomenon. It is not a localised problem as many argue it to be. Countries like the US and China most of Europe are the major contributors to global warming through gaseous emissions like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides. This has resulted in a sharp rise in temperatures and we should not blame state and national governments for it. 

Developed countries are exploiting the natural resources of developing countries in Asia to produce commodities consumed in quantities disproportionate to the finite volume of our planet's resources. Despite this knowledge, developed countries are not responding to international agreements and protocols on global warming generously enough. Irrespective of what city administrations do, these extreme weather patterns will continue to cause havoc in cities like Chennai and the world.

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C.S. Chakravarthy

H. No. 12-13-302, St. No. 9,

Lane. No. 1, Flat. No. 203,

Satya Classic Apartments,

Tarnaka, Secunderabad- 500 017,

Telangana State, India.

E-mail: chakkuresearchscholar13@gmail.com

Cell: 09985732397.

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THE IMMEDIACY OF LOSS AND AMNESIA AFTER.c

Narratives of disasters are are virtually summoned by the urgency and intensity of the event. They convey the immediacy of the loss, the helplessness and the range of destruction. It is as if the narrative turns from noun to verb,from an act of reflection to an act of doing. Such narratives are dramatic, hurried but often avoid major issues countering on the disaster. The recent description of the Chennai rains shares this predictability. I want to begin by creating a distance to assemble a perspective. One is reminded of a Franz Katka story, probably the only one he wrote in India. It is about a village near a forest which decided to hold a sacrifice. On a full moon day, the village square was decked in wreaths and food. The Brahman priest came out to perform the sacred rituals. when a tiger came and ate the priest. The villagers were undaunted and decided to go ahead with the rituals on the next full moon, but again the tiger ate the priest. This happened on one more occasion and the villagers met to discuss the crisis. Ar the meeting, the village idiot came up with a brilliant solution. He suggested that the tiger's act has to have a theory of man-made causation locating responsibility of different levels.
Legend has it that the village idiot later became a World Bank consultant. The narratives of the Chennai rains have shades of the Katka story. They make the rains sound inevitable,an act of God, a message from nature, but few speculate on the man-made nature of many of these disasters. As a result, the newspapers tell two different stories: one about the Paris talks on sustainability and climate change, and the second on the Chennai rains. There is no sense of connection. Otherwise, the drama would have escalated. Imagine if Prime Minister Narendra Modi had gone to Paris and submitted a Bill for climate change asking the rich countries to pay for Chennai and Uttarakhand.
This one act would have changed the Paris Conference from its stereotyped scripts and made the world sit up. Thinking that such disasters are man-made, let the affluent West get away with its depredations of nature. The new political economy of disasters has to have a theory of man-made causation locating responsibility at different levels. It is not just Western society, our State and our systems of governance have to be analysed in terms of a disaster perspective - the old "3R model" of relief, rescue, rehabilitation with a wider model of responsibility which starts long before a disaster and continues long after. As the political sociologist Chadrika Parmar put it in her essay on the multi hazard state, disasters from flood to cyclone, drought, famine are part of the everyday facts of governance. The old 3R model merely talked of rescue but little of state presence of responsibility in the first parts of a disaster. Disasters completely transform the notions of governance and the evaluation of state competence. The lack of preparedness of the state in handling this calamity was obvious. One,in fact, wishes the critique were more systematic, but the media often handles the Jayalalithaa administration with kid gloves.
What is heartening is not the performace of the state, but the role of civil society of individuals at every level. The word often used is resilience, but resilience is a polysemic. The courage of the ordinary survivor - in the Orissa cyclone of 1999 or the victims of the Chennai 2015 - remarkable. What differentiates them are the different networks that come into play. In fact, when one looked at studies of Gujarat earthquake, Parmer has pointed out that ordinary people suffered but were hard at work, at rescue and relief, without complaint. One must be careful here in creating an ideal of resilience which might be exaggerated. What is impressive is stories of courage, resilience and stoicism.
Yet what worries one is not resilience, which is welcome, but the nature of memory after disasters. Memories tend to be shortsighted and states drift away in indifference. Public policy often becomes an act of amnesia. Disasters narratives often point out to what they call the domain of amnesia. After a bit of acrimony and a touch of nitpicking, society and state settle down to a period of normalcy, as if nothing had happened, as if pain and suffering belonged to a parallel life. There is little follow up, no real attempt to use repair to create reform. It is almost as if amnesia is the preferred state and the only memory one has is a few anecdotes. It is time disasters are linked to development and climate change, otherwise we are guaranteeing the reproduction of such tragedies. The sadness is what we need in policy and planning: a society that cares. Heroism is a desperate answer of a society that cannot plan or think about its future. A caring society may be more humane than a purely heroic one. One is not denying the creativity and power of improvisation. One is enthralled by series of amphibian seeps first used in World War II returning to perform rescue functions during the devastation. The radio, especially FM, was used in a creatively desperate way to send messages about being marooned. Suddenly the radio, which had been suffering from benign neglect as a secondary toy, acquired a new life. The FM radio virtually played the role of a substitute telephone with FM companies organising volunteers to affected areas. Yet the innovation of civil society and the heroism of individuals and the community hid the fact that the state had failed to respond. One saw little of the functionaries of the state or political parties. It was as if they had decided that there was little that was political. Party protest and concerns of the vulnerable behave like two different worlds and even disasters fail to make them meet. 
What one needs now is a civil society audit of the disaster and the evaluation of responses to it. One has to have narratives of lives and livelihoods lost, homes destroyed and the nature of state response. Democracy has to come alive to make disasters a part of the institutional rules of the game. Otherwise, all one adds is a cynical selfishness which does little to minimise suffering.
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C.S. Chakravarthy
H. No. 12-13-301, St.No. 9,
Lane. No. 1, Flat.No. 203,
Satya Classic Apartments, 
Tarnaka, Secunderabad- 500 017,
Telangana State, India.
E-mail: chakkuresearchscholar13@gmail.com
Cell: 09985732397.
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REASON AND FAITH.

When there is quarrel between religion and religion, one is sure to find out, if one observes closely, that the feud ensures, not because of religion, but because the people have become irreligious--they have forgotten the essential truths of their religion or at best they have not the ardour and the intensity to follow them in practice. When the whole mind is bent upon realising the truths of any religion, - and without that religion can hardly be brought into our life - we cannot have the surplus energy to look into the affairs of others and not to speak of, to have the readiness to fight with them, because they are on the false track. No religion is so bad but gives an ample opportunity to make one's life better to help one--to go Godward and thereby kill the hunger of the world for wars and battle, feuds and quarrels, national or international, directly or indirectly. So the religious quarrel is an expression which contradicts itself. We must seek the cause elsewhere.

As between religion and religion, similar strife arises within a religion when it is in a downward way towards degradation. Within a short time of the passing away of Buddha, his religion split up, till at last we find so many schools of Buddhism at the present day, which differ as widely from each other, as two different religions, and who knows if in the debris, the real words of the Master have not been well-nigh lost.

Christ was one individual who gave out his message to the world, for the regeneration of humanity, but now we find so many hundreds of sects in Christianity, so many interpretations and interpolation about the words of the great Master, while somebody will have the impudence enough to doubt the historicity of the Saviour himself. The fact is, in order to understand a man or a prophet, we must be one like him. The farther we fall off from him, the greater the difference and the keener the strife on that. When the sun is up high in the sky, it exposes and burns up many of the impurities of the earth which gather again in the darkness of the night. Nearer religion we live, the less animosity between different sects and religions, but after some time we oust religion altogether and plunge into internecine struggle in the sacred name of God and term it our religious zeal. No religion requires any external protection, if its internal life is all right and without that religion will defeat the real purpose for which it stands.

It is interesting to see how religion declines and how gradually we fall away from religion without our notice. Religion demands that we must have faith because it goes much farther than reason can approach. In religion, to solve the problems of that unexplored land we have to tread the ground, where the light of reason is too faint to illumine our path, where only faith can sustain us. This has been the shelter for all credulity in the world and all mischiefs that are done in the name of religion. This has been the point, where every man that raises any questions or doubts can easily be thwarted or any man can be attempted to swallow any pill that any miracle or mystery-monger likes. Nobody denies that the ways of God are mysterious, but every mystery is not the work of God. We forget that we are to pass through the sea of intellectual doubt, before we can reach the safe shore of faith, which will be its own security. 'If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, "Remove hence to yonder place"; and it shall be removed'. How true the words are! But how few are those, who can have that tremendous faith? The result is many simply waver between doubt and credulity and run the risk of either being scorched for life, or falling into a quagmire, from which there is no rise again. We forget that only after a long struggle, we can have that reason which can be trusted or that faith which is true,--and that not before our lower self has altogether been burnt. Till then, there is no shame in having recourse to either--very often to put our faith into the anvil of reason or to let our reason be winged with faith. For both faith which is in fear of reason, and reason, which has no strength for action, come to nought. But blessed are those persons, who come in contact with men, whom to obey means to go forward, to trust means to be strong, to love means to be invincible. The pity is such persons, though not scarce are very rare in the world. So the rest of humanity have to plod through chimerian darkness in land, where for a long time there is no trusted guide or safe light, excepting his sincerity of the struggle. 

Without due balance between reason and faith, we cannot very often understand the spirit of the Scriptures and words of sages and prophets, and so we fight with the letter and write hundred of useless commentaries on a simple piece of advice that dropped from the lips of a master but went straight into the heart of his disciple without the help of a linguist. Sometimes our heart is torn away to give up a custom, which had some use in one time, but no longer serves any purpose because it has become a part and parcel of a religion due to the sanction of time. All these happen because we have not a reason, which can penetrate into the nature of things or a faith which can get over the weakness of mind. Possessed of child-like faith, any chance is sufficient for us, because that itself has got a flow of life, which breaks down all opposition, but without that faith turns into bigotry and meaningless superstition, as rationalism very often ends in a theism. Both are sources of great danger to the society as well as religion itself. 
From theory, when we go to practice, we meet with greater difficulties, internal as well as external. A false sense of religion sometimes makes us weak in mind and spirit, curbs our activity and unconsciously we hug into our bosom a sort of 'pious imbecility' in the name of religion and shamelessly go to the extent of even gloating over it. When we really feel even to a slight extent that 'we are He' or a 'part of He' we find a strength within, which defies the whole universe and once we leap up to an ethereal height, where even joy cannot reach us, not to speak of woes. Far behind we leave this world with its daily round of deceitful pleasure and heartbreaking pains and when we come back, we are altogether fresh beings, bathed in a new shore, and talk things, which others understand not but gapingly wonder at.
We make the same mistake about prayer. Prayer does not mean imploring to a tyrant Jupiter, who at any moment is ready to throw the thunderbolt upon us, prayer does not signify to beg for drops of Manna, to be dropped from heaven, it does not indicate to vie with one another how to be more and more sleepish, how to make a more and more parade of our weakness and sins, real or assumed, but true prayer means the assertion of our rights as inheritors of Immortal Bliss, as sons and daughters of an affectionate father or a loving mother. If we have strayed away, it is a maya. The more we forget that, the better for us. So a healthy form of prayer proceeds not so much from weakness, as from strength--it is not a piteous cry to escape from the clutches of Satan to whom we are eternal victims, but a bold attempt to defy and suppress him...
And when we fail even in action and practice, religion to us becomes a bundle of superstition and creeping fears. We miss to keep a healthy outlook over life. We spend our whole energy to find out what is auspicious or inauspicious, whether our destiny is ruled by a Zeus in the star or a man in the moon, whether we should bow before God or prostrate before Him--we feel that we are inviting the deadliest wrath of heaven by a single instance of oversight in the observance of the minutest detail of an unimportant religious formula--all these because our heart is away, our love for God is not so strong that it can drown all petty considerations that make us falter at every step; because we have not the vigour enough to rise up and knock at the gate till it is opened and so with vengeance we dip into the stinking ditch, there to wallow and roll and spread the contagion on all sides. When the mind is weak we swallow everything that is given in the name of religion, we become easy prey to charlatans and cheats, we bind down society with all sorts of fetters and make a frantic effort to preserve the form where the substance is gone, to make a show of the crust where the kernel is dried up and every religion says it is the best in the world.
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A MORAL GYMNASIUM.

Getting Into a Gym: 'Exercise!' 'Please exercise daily'. 'Exercise is what you need'.

This is the most frequently and widely 'prescribed' advice given by medical practitioners to deal with life-style diseases caused by sedentary habits, overeating and stress. More and more studies conducted by researchers substantiate the need for this advice. Doing physical exercises is thus getting widely accepted as a necessity for the present day life-style, and not just for the youth who do it for building their muscles and biceps. No wonder in most public places, especially in big cities and towns, such as parks, roadside pavements, beaches and so on, one sees, in mornings and evenings, people dressed in sportswear, in groups or individually, often with an earphone attached to an MP3 player or mobile.

Those who do not find going to open spaces feasible or for other reasons, often become members of local gymnasium. 'Gyming' is what they call their act of exercising their bodies there - using various equipments and special techniques.

While setting up or becoming a member of a gym requires some space, expenditure and planning, there is another kind of gym which is much more easily accessible but is rarely recognised as such. This 'gym' is the world we live in - with all its complexities, challenges and experiences. Swami Vivekananda called this a 'moral gymnasium'. In his nine-volume Complete Works, Swamiji refers to it in various contexts and ways such as:

1. We only help ourselves in this gymnasium of the world. (CW, 1.106).
2. The world is a grand moral gymnasium wherein we have all to take exercise so as to become stronger and stronger spiritually. (CW, 1.80).
3. The world is neither good nor evil. It is the Lord's world. It is beyond both good and evil, perfect in itself. His will is going on, showing all these different pictures; and it will go on without beginning and without end. It is a great gymnasium in which you and I, and millions of souls must come and get exercises, and make ourselves strong and perfect. This is what it is for. (CW, 4.207).
4. God has not fallen into a ditch for you and me to help Him out by building a hospital or something of that sort. He allows you to work. He allows you to exercise your muscles in this great gymnasium, not in order to help Him but that you may help yourself. Do you think even an ant will die for want of your help? Most errant blasphemy! (CW, 5.245).
5. This world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong. (CW, 5.410).
6. Work of your free will, not from duty. We have no duty. This world is just a gymnasium in which we play; our life is an eternal holiday. (CW, 7.49).
7. Thank God for giving me this world as a moral gymnasium to help your development, but never imagine you can help the world. Be grateful to him who curses you, for he gives you a mirror to show what cursing is, also a chance to practice self-restraint; so bless him and be glad. Without exercise, power cannot come out; without the mirror, we cannot see ourselves. (CW, 7.69).
8. This universe is simply a gymnasium in which the soul is taking exercise; and after these exercises we become gods. (CW, 5.308).

In other words, we are all gyming! Not in a man-made gymnasium to cure or manage a life-style disease but in God'd gymnasium -- thus the very act of living is a kind of exercise. We are all born in a gym! And whole life is an exercise to regain our lost sense of true identity and eternity.

What Happens In a Gym?--Anyone who has been to a gym knows one thing for sure -- it is place to exercise. And generally every gym will have equipments such as dumb-bells, weights, skipping ropes, and so on. Now-a-days, the concept of multi-gym is catching up. A multi-gym is a fairly large-sized machine on which one can do several different fitness exercises, or a room in which several different exercise machines can be used.
Swami Vivekananda himself believed in doing physical exercises. The visitors to Swamiji's room in Belur Math can see the dumb-bells, generally covered with a piece of cloth, which Swamiji would use. A firm believer in developing physical strength, Swamiji urged everyone to be strong:
What I want is muscles of iron and nerves of steel, inside which dwells a mind of the same material as that of which the thunderbolt is made. (CW, 5.117).
And especially to the youth, he thundered them to be strong! He said,
We speak of many parrot-like, but never do them; speaking and not doing has become a habit with us. What is the cause of that? Physical weakness. This sort of weak brain is not able to do anything; we must strengthen it. First of all, our young men must be strong. Religion will come afterwards. Be strong, my young friends; that is my advice to you. You will be nearer to Heaven through football than through the study of the Gita. These are bold words; but I have to say them, for I love you. I know where the shoe pinches. (CW, 3.242).
But the nature of strength is not only physical but something deeper; one needs moral and spiritual strength without which one remains incomplete as a human being. As Swamiji explains:
We also know that the greatest power is lodged in the fine, not the course. We see a man take up a huge weight, we see his muscles swell, and all over his body we see signs of exertion, and we think the muscles are powerful things. But it is the thin thread-like things, the nerves, which bring power to the muscles; the amount one of these threads is cut off from reaching the muscles, they are not able to work at all. These tiny nerves bring the power from something still finer, and that again in its turn brings it from something finer still - thought, and so on. (CW, 2.16).
How does one develop moral and spiritual strength? By doing moral and spiritual exercises. All through our lives, we make certain choices which represent our moral and spiritual inclinations and the result of these choices is what we call our lives.
Now let us look at a gym. In a gym, one uses the equipments and machinery in order to 'bring out' the physical strength and shape up the muscles. When we use the dumb-bells, we become strong, and not the dumb-bells that become strong. They remain what they are--just dumb-bells. So also, the world--or life experiences that we undergo--is a gym 'in which the soul is taking exercise; and after these exercises we become gods'. This is the purpose of life's journey--to 'become gods'.
Godliness is what man essentially seeks in life. By 'godliness' is meant the manifestation of the inner potential which is essentially divine by nature. It is not material but divine. Hence it is not subject to what matter is subjected to--decay, death and destruction. We are not matter but Pure Consciousness presently intertwined with matter.
To rediscover his lost divine entity, that is the purpose of human life. Man is born, suffers and dies. But if he has learnt his lessons he will not return. What are the lessons? That this world is only a gymnasium for the soul to exercise and manifest its real nature. Says Swami Vivekananda,
It (this world) is like chronic rheumatism: you drive it from the head, and it goes to the body; you drive it from there, and it goes to the feet. Reformers arise and preach that learning, wealth and culture should not be in the hands of a select few; and they do their best to make them accessible to all. These may bring more happiness to some, but, perhaps as culture comes, physical happiness lessens. The knowledge of happiness brings the knowledge of unhappiness. Which way then shall we go? The least amount of material prosperity that we enjoy is causing the same amount of misery elsewhere. This is the law. The young, perhaps, do not see it clearly, but those who have lived long enough and those who have struggled enough will understand it. And this is Maya. These things are going on, day and night, and to find a solution of this problem is impossible. Why should it be so? It is impossible to answer this, because the question cannot be logically formulated. There is neither how nor why in fact; we only know that it is and that we cannot help it. (CW, 2.94).
Doing good to the world is very good. But can we do much good to the world? Have we done much good these hundreds of years that we have been struggling--have we increased the sum total of the happiness in the world? Thousands of means have been created every day to conduce to the happiness of the world, and this has been going on for hundreds and thousands of years...Is the sum total of the happiness in the world today more than what it was a century ago? It cannot be. Each wave that rises in the ocean must be at the expense of a hollow somewhere. If one nation becomes rich and powerful, it must be at the expense of another nation somewhere. (CW, 4.205).
Look at the sum total of good and evil in this world. Has it changed? Ages have passed, and practical religion has worked for ages. The world thought that each time the problem would be solved. It is always the same problem. At best it changes its form...It trades consumption and nerve-disease for twenty thousand shops. ...A hundred years ago man walked on foot or bought horses. Now he is happy because he rides the railroad; but he is unhappy because he has to work more and earn more. Every machine that saves labour puts more stress upon labour. (CW, 4.241).
So, what is the purpose of work? 'The work against evil is more educational than actual, however big we may talk'. (CW, 3.214). When we work for others, they may or may not benefit but we are surely benefitted--spiritually speaking. By all the works and experiences that we undergo we get more educated and wiser as to real nature of the Self and of the world. 'Gymnasium' remains what it is. We become strong which is what leads to Self-knowledge. 'This Self cannot be attained by the weak', says the Mundaka Upanishad. We become strong but the gymnasium of life continues to exist and function for others to come, exercise and become free.
Spirituality lies in understanding this and spiritual life is the art of putting this understanding into practice. The nearer we reach the goal of this 'exercising', the more we develop detachment, calmness, purity, generosity and love. And when one is done with one's gyming, one knows 'what needs to be known', the ever fulfilled and blissful Atman within. That state beyond death and sorrow is our state or being, the Eternal Essence of Existence, the Atman.
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C.S. Chakravarthy
H. No. 12-13-302, St. No. 9,
Lane. No. 1, Flat. No. 203,
Satya Classic Apartments,
Tarnaka, Secunderabad- 500 017,
Telangana State, India.
E-mail: chakkuresearchscholar13@gmail.com
Cell: 09985732397.
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RUN WOMAN RUN.

Many women have been active athletes in school and college. They may have played kho kho, throw ball, volley ball or basket ball. Some may have played tennis, karate or swimming. If nothing else, they surely would have cycled to school, tutions or dance class. But once out of college and into marriage and children, they become sedentary. Health and fitness takes a back seat.

In the earlier days, taking care of children and doing household chores kept the women active and healthy. But in the modern world, the opportunities to stay fit has reduced drastically. And for working women, between packing lunches and preparing presentations, there is just no time  to exercise. As a result, there is an increasing occurrence of conditions like osteoporosis, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetics, coronary heart diseases and certain cancers. WHO has issued a warning that a sedentary lifestyle could very well be among the ten leading causes of death and disability in the world.

It is important therefore to take control of our own health in order to be there for our loved ones. And running is one way of doing it. It is a simple and efficient form of exercise for women. Jogging can be a great stress buster and also burns a lot of calories. Other spin offs are healthier diets and sleep patterns and a tremendous feel-good factor. Anyone who is reasonably healthy can start running. There is no expressive equipment needed.

All that you require is a decent pair of shoes and suitable clothes. And it always works if you would find other women to form a running group. Having peers will help you stay committed and focussed on your new fitness regimen. It is time to be bold and take charge of your life and put your best foot forward.

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SREYAS AND PREYAS.

The paths of Sreyas and Preyas clearly point to the goals they lead to, namely moksha and worldly aspirations respectively. Vedanta teaches the way to distinguish the real from the unreal by explaining the truth about the Absolute Brahman as that which always exists and hence is not subject to change. But the world, with its infinite variety and charms and attractions, enthrals the jivatmas easily into believing these as real and wishing to possess these. Vidhura blends such Vedanta truths with the tenets of Dharma Sastra to make Dhritarashtra realise his own failings that have deprived him of any peace of mind.

The Isa Vasya Upanishad states that the entire creation and the universe belong to God. "In the heart of all things, of whatever there is in the universe, dwells the Lord. He alone is the reality. Wherefore, renouncing vain appearances, rejoice in Him. Covet no man's wealth". What better explicit advice for individual happiness than to internalise this mantra as an inner experience and realise that whatever one thinks is his possession is actually sourced from God?

If whatever exists is the wealth of God, it automatically is not any individual's possession - neither yours nor the belonging of others. There is no higher principle than the Lord and the existences in the world are held together by Him even as the gems are by the string. A flower garland is supported by the thread which is hidden. God is behind the entire creation as the material and efficient cause of the world. He is the abiding force in every aspect of creation. Vidhura states: "Taking the wealth of others, covering another's wife and forgetting the good deeds of others are the causes for mental unrest in a person".

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RITES, PENANCE, CHARITY.

Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that even when doing what is prescribed by the Vedas, the three qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas come into play. A man may resort to performance of rites, penance or charity. In each of these spheres of action the three qualities operate and Krishna explains how this happens.
He begins by talking about food. The  Chandogya Upanishad says that when one eats pure food, one gets a good memory and a clear mind. Eating an excess of spicy food will result in one acquiring rajasic qualities like anger and impatience. Eating spoilt food or eating that which is not offered to God will result in a person acquiring tamasic qualities.
Regarding rites, a sattvic rite is done to please God. Performing rites to show off one's wealth or status or in a competitive spirit is a rajasic performance of rites. To perform rites without any belief in them, or without honouring those who help in the performance of the rites.
Penance too is of three types. Sattvic penance can be mental, oral or physical. Mental penance would be dhyana; oral would be chanting His names; physical would be to go pilgrimages or to prostrate before one's preceptor. Shortening a penance and seeking benefits through penance would make it rajasic.
Doing penance that is beyond one's means or doing it as a challenge to soemone is tamasic. Charity done at the right place and time and without expecting anything in return is sattvic. Rajasic charity is giving without enthusiasm.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------C.S. Chakravarthy
H. No. 12-13-302, St. No. 9,
Lane. No. 1, Flat. No. 203,
Satya Classic Apartments,
Tarnaka, Secunderabad- 500 017
Telangana State, India.
E-mail: chakkuresearchscholar13@gmail.com
Cell: 09985732397.
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PARIS UNDER ATTACK - A CRY FOR PEACE.

Once again terrorism has reared its ugly head, this time in Paris. As usual, it is innocent people who die - they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. And as the whole world is plunged in grief, one wonder why these things happen. 

On deep introspection, one comes to the understanding that there are things which are beyond human understanding. As we wonder, why would God, whom we understand to be love, compassion, kindness and forgiveness, allow such dastardly and violent acts? Some might even wonder if there is a God at all, or whether what we have been told about God is true.

When most of the problems of the world can be solved easily with love and compassion, it seems that a set of people have lost their faith in these divine qualities, and have sunk lower in the scale of consciousness, and have taken to hate and violence.

History tells us that hatred and violence never made anyone benefit, but love has healing powers. Whether we look at the lives of Jesus, Moses, Krishna, Buddha or Zarathustra, we realise that they did not become who they were, or have such a huge following, by being violent. They became who they were because of their unconditional love, for their wisdom, for their forgiveness, for their kindness and compassion, which are qualities totally lacking in those resorting to violence and terror.

In terms of the level of consciousness, it must be said that somewhere the world has lost its balance and we desperately need to restore balance and harmony...beginning with ourselves. Every thought of hate or anger or violence that we think, every negative thought that every human being has, on a day-to-day basis, adds to the collective universal consciousness. If we predominantly think love, and act out of love, we will see love. But it looks like too many of us are in the grip of negative emotions - fear, anger, apathy, guilt, desire, nursing, grudges, insecurity - and this has affected the collective consciousness in such a way that hate and violence is the energy signature coming out of the objective consciousness.

Each and every one of us needs to think, speak and act with love and only love, and this will enable collective consciousness to work for common benefit. We live in a vibrational universe, one that responds to our vibrations, and if were to believe the law of attraction, and we see acts of violence, it must be true that at some level the world is vibrating with negative emotions, and we are unknowingly inviting these things into our consciousness. 

It has been often said that even one evolved, compassionate soul is equal to a thousand unawakened souls. If this is so, then it is our duty to rise in love, and act with love. This will fill universal consciousness with so much love that there would be no place left any longer for hate and violence.

Apart from grieving and condemning acts of violence, and then going to make a conscious decision today, to be more loving, kinder, more forgiving, more compassionate, as this will go a long way in bringing about world peace and harmony.

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SANCTUARIES OF LOVE.

"The family that prays together, stays together", Mother Teresa used to often remind people. In a fast moving world, oriented towards maximum comfort and pleasure, where most things are treated as disposable, the very concept of traditional family is facing an unprecedented challenge. While the situation is knotty in Western countries, it is slowly beginning to affect the middle classes in India too.

The theme of the World Meeting of Families held in 2015 was, "Love is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive". The motto of this Congress was 'called together from all over the world in celebration of the family, the sanctuary of love and life". For Christians, this sanctuary of love is inseparable from one's faith. Pope Francis, who presided over the concluding ceremony of this world meeting in Philadelphia on 27th September, 2015 said in October 2013 that: "the family which experiences the joy of faith communicates it naturally...family is the salt of the earth and the light of the world, it is the haven of society..." Mother Teresa, therefore, insisted on that faith being expressed through daily prayers in families to strengthen the bond of love.

All this does not mean that Christian families do not experience problems and that faith automatically brings in love to end conflict between family members.

What it means is that while it is completely human to have conflicts on the inter-personal relationship front, faith and love provide a broader and deeper dimension. While these conflicts, caused by deep personal hurt and pain, could appear enormous on their own, seen in the light of faith and love they are actually trivial.

Faith can certainly bring alive the words of Jesus to forgive the other 'not seven times but up to seventy times seven'.

His example of showing love in forgiving the enemies who crucified him by praying even as he breathed his last - "...forgive them for they know not what they are doing" - can be practiced in one's life only with firm faith. I never forget what I once heard in my theology class forty years ago: "How insignificant many of these conflicts appear when you contemplate them in view of eternal life". How true indeed!

A family is, indeed, "the sanctuary of love". It is there that we learn our first lesson about love without boundaries that love overcomes all inadequacies and, literally, turns us 'blind' to the faults of our loved ones. When love is allowed to grow and prosper, it produces the joy which cannot be bought for any price in a supermarket of disposable commodities. In love, according to Jesus, "one is ready to lay down one's life for one's friend".

For, as the Bible teaches, "God is love" and, therefore, like God it is eternal, unbreakable by any human agency, especially in a family.---Father Dominic Emmanuel, a founder member of Parliament of Religion, can be contacted at frdominic@gmail.com

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C.S. Chakravarthy 

H. No. 12-13-302, St. No. 9,

Lane. No. 1, Flat. No. 203,

Satya Classic Apartments,

Tarnaka, Secunderabad- 500 017

Telangana State, India.

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SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ON INDIA.

The Great Nation.

• Our sacred motherland is a land of religion and philosophy - the birth place of spiritual giants - the land of renunciation, where and where alone, from the most ancient to the most modern times, there has been the highest ideal of life open to man. (CW 3.137).
• This is the theme of Indian life-work, the burden of her eternal songs, the backbone of her existence, the foundation of her being. The raison d' etre of her very existence the specialisation of the human race. (CW 4.315).
• This is the land from whence, like tidal waves, spirituality and philosophy have again and again rushed out and deluged the world, and this is the land from whence once more such tides must proceed in order to bring life and vigour into the decaying races of mankind. It is the same India which has withstood the shocks of centuries, of hundreds of foreign invasions, of hundreds of upheavals of manners and customs. It is the same land which stands firmer than any rock in the world, with its undying vigour, indestructible life. Its life is of the same nature as the soul, without beginning and without end, immortal; and we are the children of such a country. (CW 3.285).
• This nation still lives; the raison d' etre is it still holds to God, to the treasure - house of religion and spirituality. (CW 3.148). 

Causes of Degradation and Solution.

• I consider that the great national sin is the neglect of the masses, and that is one of the causes of our downfall. No amount of politics would be of any avail until the masses in India are once more well educated, well fed, and well cared for. (CW 5.222-223). 
• In India there are two great evils. Trampling on the women, and grinding the poor through caste restrictions. (CW 6.335).
• Without Shakti (Power) there is no regeneration for the world. Why is it that our country is the weakest and the most backward of all countries? because Shakti is held in dishonour there. (CW 7.484).
• Can you better the condition of your women? Then there will be hope for your well-being. Otherwise you will remain as backward as you are now. (CW 5.26).
• No man, no nation, my son, can hate others and live; India's doom was sealed the very day the invented the word mlechchha and stopped from communion with others. (CW 5.52).
• The one thing that is at the root of all evils in India is the condition of the poor...The only service to be done for oue lower classes is to give them education, to develop their lost individuality...They are to be given ideas: their eyes are to be opened to what is going on in the world around them; and then they will work out their own salvation. Every nation, every man, and every woman must work out their own salvation. Give them ideas that is the only help they require, and then the rest must follow as the effect. (CW 4.362).
• The chief cause of India's ruin has been the monopolising of the whole education and intelligence of the land, by dint of pride and royal authority, among a handful of men. If we are to rise again, we shall have to do it in the same way, i.e., by spreading education among the masses. (CW 4.482).

'Make India Great' - Call to the Nation. 

• Come, be men! Come out of your narrow holes and have a look abroad. See how nations are on the march! Do you love man? Do you love your country? Then come, let us struggle for higher and better things; look not back, no, not even if you see the dearest and nearest cry. Look not back, but forward! (CW 5.10).
• India wants the sacrifice of at least a thousand of her young men - men, mind, and not brutes. (CW 5.10).
• Who feels there for the two hundred millions of men and women sunken forever in poverty and ignorance? Where is the way out? Who feels for them? They cannot find light or education. Who will bring the light to them - who will travel from door to door bringing education to them? Let these people be your God - think of them, work for them, pray for them incessantly - the Lord will show you the way. Him I call a Mahatman (great soul) whose heart bleeds for the poor, otherwise he is a Duratman (wicked soul). Let us unite our wills in continued prayer for their good. We may die unknown, unpitied, unbewailed, without accomplishing anything - but not one thought will be lost. It will take effect, sooner or later. My heart is too full to express my feeling; you know it, you can imagine it. So long as the millions live in hunger and ignorance, I hold every man a traitor who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them! (CW 5.58).
• India will be raised, not with the power of the flesh, but with the power of the spirit; not with the flag of destruction, but with the flag of peace and love, the garb of the sanyassin; not by the power of wealth, but by the power of the begging bowl. (CW 4.352).
• But mark you, if you give up that spirituality, leaving it aside to go after the materialising civilisation of the west, the result will be that in three generations you will be an extinct race; because the backbone of the nation will be broken, the foundation upon which the national edifice has been built will be undermined, and the result will be annihilated all round. (CW 3.153).
• Let foreigners come and flood the land with their armies, never mind. Up, India, and conquer the world with your spirtuality! (CW 3.227).
• Who will give the world light? Sacrifice in the past has been the Law, it will be, alas, for ages to come. The earth's bravest and best will have to sacrifice themselves for the good of many, for the welfare of all. Buddhas by the hundred are necessary with eternal love and pity. (CW 7.501).
• If you are really my children, you will fear nothing, stop at nothing. You will be like lions. We must rouse India and the whole world. No cowardice. I will take no nay. Do you understand? Be true unto death! (CW 5.62).
• Give up jealousy and conceit. Learn to work unitedly for others. This is the great need of our country. (CW 5.79).
• Feel, therefore, my would-be reformers, my would-be patriots! Do you feel? Do you feel that millions and millions of the descendants of gods and of sages have become next-door neighbours to brutes? Do you feel that millions are starving today, and millions have been starving for ages? Do you feel that ignorance has come over the land as a dark cloud? Does it make you restless? Does it make you sleepless? Has it gone into your blood, coursing through your veins, becoming consonant with your heartbeats? Has it made you almost mad? Are you seized with that one idea of the misery of ruin, and have you forgotten all about your name, your fame, your wives, your children, your property, even your own bodies? Have you done that? That is the first step to become a patriot, the very first step. (CW 3.225).
• The national ideals of India are RENUNCIATION and SERVICE. Intensify her in those channels, and the rest will take care of itself. (CW 5.228).

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C.S. Chakravarthy

H. No. 12-13-302, St. No. 9,

Lane. No. 1, Flat. No. 203,

Satya Classic Apartments,

Tarnaka, Secunderabad- 500 017,

Telangana State, India.

E-mail: chakkuresearchscholar13@gmail.com

Cell: 09985732397.

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DENGUE FEVER INFORMATION.

What you need to know as parents?

Brief introduction of Dengue illness: Dengue fever is a disease caused by a family of viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes. It is an acute illness of sudden onset that usually follows a simple course with symptoms such as headache, fever, exhaustion, severe joint and muscle pain, swollen glands (lymphadenopathy), and rash. The presence (the 'dengue triad') of fever, rash, and headache (and other pains) is particularly characteristic of dengue. The World Health Organisation estimates that 2.5 billion people (two fifths the world's population), risk contracting dengue, and that there may be as many as 50 million cases of dengue fever every year. It is caused by one of four serotypes of Dengue virus, it is possible to get dengue fever multiple times. However, an attack of dengue produces immunity for a lifetime to that particular serotype to which the patient was exposed.

Is Dengue illness always fatal and life threatening?--No! Most of the time, the child suffers from high fever, headache, body ache, rash for about three to five days and then starts improving without going into complications. In less than 5 percent of cases there can be severe disease which can lead to low platelets in blood leading to risk of bleeding, fall in blood pressure, fluid accumulation in chest and abdomen and rarely even fatal liver damage.

How are we at risk of contracting Dengue illnesses?--The virus is not contagious and cannot be spread directly from person to person by touching or coughing. There must be a person-to-mosquito-to-another-person pathway. Dengue viruses are mainly transmitted by the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes; and invasive, domestic species with tropical and sub-tropical worldwide distribution. The mosquitoes that transmit Dengue live among humans and breed in discarded tyres, flower pots, old oil drums, and water storage containers close to human dwellings. Unlike the mosquitoes that cause malaria, Dengue mosquitoes bite during the day. The virus is not contagious and cannot be spread directly from person to person by touching or coughing. There must be a person-to-mosquito-to-another-person-pathway.

How soon after exposure do symptoms appear?--The time between the bite of a mosquito carrying dengue virus and the start of symptoms averages 4 to 6 days, with a range of 3 to 14 days.

When should I suspect Dengue illness in my family members?--During the mosquito breeding season (from July to November), children with symptoms of high fever with head ache and body ache should be shown to a child specialist for any possibility of Dengue illness. The symptoms for initial 2 or 3 days are same as in a regular Dengue fever with high fever, head aches, body aches, etc. However from third or fourth day of illness when the fever begins to settle down and rash starts appearing, platelets in blood start falling leading to risk of bleeding. Moreover, leaking of body fluids outside blood vessels starts leading to fall in blood pressure, fluid accumulation in chest and abdomen and rarely even fatal lever damage.
What is the diagnostic test for Dengue illness?--There is serological blood test for dengue fever which, if done after fifth day of onset of fever is reasonably accurate in diagnosing Dengue illness.
What is the treatment for dengue fever?--Because dengue fever is caused by a virus, there is no specific medicine or antibiotic to treat it. For typical dengue, the treatment is purely concerned with relief of the symptoms (symptomatic). Mild cases (more than 90 percent are mild illnesses) need only rest, plenty of liquids, fever control and general observation at home. Those children who have high fever with poor oral intake and weakness, may require intra-venous fluids and more close observation.
When does a child need referral to a higher medical center?-- Every child with Dengue illness need not be admitted in highly equipped health care facility. However, if a child develops more severe illness (less than 10 percent cases), in the form of rapid fall in pletelets in blood, bleeding gums, black stools, swelling over face, breathing difficulty, distension of abdomen or cold hands and feet with falling blood pressures, such children need specialised care in a hospital where facilities for more closed monitoring and treatment are available. 
How will I know whether the hospital providing care is well equipped to manage children with severe dengue illness?--Children with severe dengue illness are at higher rick of developing complications like kidney or liver failure, fall in blood pressure and contracting new infections. Those hospitals where facilities for providing mechanical ventilation, managing children's kidney or liver related problems and sound infection control practices are available, the results will be far better. Even in severe dengue illness, if managed in a well-equipped hospital, with experienced team of doctors, results are very good and death rate is less than 5 percent.
How to avoid dengue illness?--There are not yet any vaccines to prevent infection with dengue virus and the most effective protective measures are those that avoid mosquito bites (wearing mosquito repellent creams and lotions, spraying pesticides, and avoiding water logging). When infected, early recognition and prompt supportive treatment in a well equipped medical facility can substantially lower the risk of developing severe disease.
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C.S. Chakravarthy
H. No. 12-13-302, St. No. 9,
Lane. No. 1, Flat. No. 203,
Satya Classic Apartments, 
Tarnaka, Secunderabad- 500 017
Telangana State, India.
E-mail: chakkuresearchscholar13@gmail.com
Cell: 09985732397.
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A TIME OF RECKONING.

Arguably the most galling fact about the massacre in Paris on 13th November, 2015 is this: French intelligence agencies have not only expected it, but they had also taken measures to face it. Speaking to the conservative daily Le Figaro, counter-terrorism experts claimed that a terror attack on this scale and intensity was indeed the 'ultimate scenario' they had envisaged. Drawing on experiences of other countries that had experienced terror attacks in recent years, notably Spain and Russia, they were certain that sooner than later there would be a strike far more lethal than the cold-blooded murder of the journalists of Charlie Hebdo and of others in a Jewish mall in January, 2015.

Even more prescient is what Marc Trevedic, a former Judge in-charge of anti-terror cases, had to tell he the newspaper. When he was compelled to quit his job in Paris, against his wishes, he had warned that men who belonged to the Daech organisation - a synonym for ISIS - have both the ambition and the means to attack France with greater vigour than in the past. Horrible carnages await us, he declared, carnages worse than any other that have been perpetrated so far. And Trevedic went on to add: "The darkest days are ahead of us".

According to French counter-terrorism experts, as many as 571 French jihadists who fought with ISIS in Syria and returned to France were 'time bombs'. From June 2011 onwards, the police has organised mock exercises in Paris that involved three major attacks and two incidents of mass kidnappings. The special task force had scanned some 200 public places which could be vulnerable. They included not only buildings that housed the offices and residences of the President and the Prime Minister and the Senate and the National Assembly but also a number of concert halls. That this massive effort proved futile should have generated much adverse comment in the media. But that did not happen. What one heard instead was effusive praise for the swift response of the police to rush succour to the victims. The response of the public was equally impressive. After initial moments of panic, people followed police instructions to the tee with the utmost calm.

The first reactions of the habitually fractious media commentators revealed a 'republican solidarity' that they have rarely shown in the past. All were unanimous in saying that the terrorists had plumbed the depths of barbarism. Not since World War II had violence been witnessed on such a scale. In January, 2015, the terrorists had aimed at specific targets. This time however the killings were random though the choice of places where they occurred left no one in doubt about the intent of the killers: a concert hall, restaurants, a football stadium.

Here is where Parisians gather for entertainment and conviviality. The message the terrorists sent could not have been clearer: henceforth the French would be threatened as they go about living their daily life or pursue their simple pleasures. The instant expressions of sympathy for the victims and of solidarity with the people of France from world leaders - including Prime Minister Narendra Modi - doubtless drove home the message that France is not alone in the struggle to counter the most heinous menace of our times: jihadi terrorism.

Ways to wage the struggle are however not quiet clear. An editorial in the left-wing daily Liberation said all the right things in the right tone: French society must be armed with enough courage to confront the killers, to show vigilance at all times and to demonstrate its indestructible will to face the horror within the framework of legal principles. All this is fine as far as it goes but 13th November's massacre calls for translating lofty sentiments into co-ordinated action worldwide to eradicate terrorism of every stripe. The massacre, it is clear, was, in the immediate context, a riposte to France's role in Syria. That role, shared by other western powers, is neither fish nor fowl.

You cannot battle the forces of the Islamic State and simultaneously seek a regime change in Damascus. You cannot fight jihadi terror and continue to cosy up to countries that finance, arm and train terror groups. In a wider context, you cannot refer to 'root causes' - the Crusades, colonialism, neo-colonialism, capitalism and so forth - to go soft on a barbarism that is hell bent on the destruction of free societies.

Those causes - that also include the alienation, frustration and anger of Muslim youth born and bred in Europe - must surely be addressed. But this is bound to be a complex and long drawn out process. The priority right now is to strike hard wherever and whenever terror raises its monstrous head. That demands unity within countries and sustained co-operation between them. A failure on both counts would unleash a tidal wave against European Muslims which can only benefit extreme right-wing parties. That, in turn, would further radicalise Muslim youth. The spectre of a bloody civil war will then haunt not only the Old Continent - which has just welcomed thousands of Muslim refugees - but wherever the jihadis have spread their tentacles. The time of reckoning is here and now.

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C.S. Chakravarthy

H. No. 12-13-302, St. No. 9,

Lane. No. 1, Flat. No. 203,

Satya Classic Apartments,

Tarnaka, Secunderabad- 500 017

Telangana State, India.

E-mail: chakkuresearchscholar13@gmail.com

Cell: 09985732397.

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THYROID CARE IN HOMEOPATHY.

The human body is a well oiled mechanism and all the functions are well ordained. There are a group of endocrine glands in the body that produce hormones which help in achieving this objective. The thyroid gland is one which produces two hormones Triiodothyronine or T3 and Thyroxine or T4 which are accelerators of various organs of the body and set the speed at which they run. Whether it is the heartbeat, respiratory rate, the amount of perspiration from the skin cells or the female hormones that need to influence the production of ovum or for that matter consumption of oxygen and production of heat; these hormones directs the organs how fast or how slow they need to function. But under some circumstances this equillibrium goes awry.

Hyperthyroidism is a condition in which the gland is influenced to work more than it should leading to increased production of T3 and T4 and which lead to rapid haertbeat, muscle weakness, trembling hands, irritability, anxiety and gradually loss of weight. Though there is no certain reason why this condition should occur but it can be due to an auto-immune response of the body.

Hypothyroidism is a condition in which there is a slowdown of the production of T3 and T4 which then causes sluggishness, fatigue, irritability, mental depression, menstrual irregularities, constipation, dry skin and hair, etc. The pituitary gland which is the master of the "endocrine orchestra" rises to the occasion and pushes the thyroid gland to produce more by insisting on the Thyroid Stimulating Hormone to do the job.

This condition can also occur due to an auto-immune response or due to decreased activity of the pituitary gland or in conditions like Hashimoto's Thyroiditis wherein the gland is neutralised or there is a leakage of the hormone into the blood circulation or also after delivery. Certain condition when situations like hyperthyroidism are treated can lead to the gland being pushed into reduced activity too. 

The other issue of the thyroid gland can be due to the nodules in the gland. As such they may not visible or palpable and not necessarily deleterious all the time but need to be ruled out as and when they are noticed. A blood test or a scan would be done to rule out any possibility of a condition like cancer. Also like an iodine uptake test wherein the nodules take more of iodine reveals that the nodules are active or on some circumstances there is just a fluid in the areas called as cysts and are drained out.

Homeopathic medicine has remedies for all such occurences. Whether it is the over acting thyroid gland or the remedies like Iodum, Natrum Mur or the slow acting phase of the hypothyroidism when Calca carb and Thyroidin come into play and remedies like Lapis albus, Thuja, Medorrhinum help the cysts away after ascertaining the contents of those

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C.S. Chakravarthy

H. No. 12-13-302, St. No. 9,

Lane. No. 1, Flat. No. 203,

Satya Classic Apartments,

Tarnaka, Secunderabad- 500 017,

Telangana State, India.

E-mail: chakkuresearchscholar13@gmail.com

Cell: 09985732397.

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