Books
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You
are your own healer For the past decade Deepak Chopra, M.D. has been at the forefront of a major trend in holistic healing. Since the early 1980s Chopra has successfully combined his impeccable credentials as a practising endocrinologist with his exploration of mind/body medicine and dramatically influenced many in traditional medical circles, helping to bring the enormous benefits of holistic medicine to the general public's attention. Chopra created a paradigm for exploring the healing process - a model he calls Quantum Healing. He recalls, "As doctors we are taught to prescribe tranquilizers for people who are feeling anxious to promote tranquility. We give sleeping pills to people with insomnia. Quantum Healing looks past all the wonder drugs and modern technology to a natural way of healing which speaks to an integration of mind and body." Rather
than turn his back on his conventional training, he extended his
practice to bring together the best of ancient wisdom and modern
science. In 1984, he helped to introduce Ayurvedic medicine to the
United States, and within a year he established an Ayurvedic Health
Centre of Stress Management and Behavioral Medicine in Lancaster,
Massachusetts. He was also the founding President of the American
Association of Ayurvedic Medicine. Chopra combines ancient mind/body wisdom with current anti-aging research to show that the effects of aging are largely preventable. By changing your perception of aging and by being aware of your body and how it processes intelligence and experience you will change how you age. Today Chopra lectures around the world making presentations to major corporations and organizations such as the World Health Organization in Geneva, the United Nations, and London's Royal Society of Medicine, as well as a number of major U.S. medical institutions. Here
he talks to Veronica M. Hay The way you think, the way you behave, the way you eat, can influence your life by 30 to 50 years. Most people believe that aging is universal but there are biological organisms that never age. Most people believe that aging is painful and we know that pain is from diseases that are preventable, not from aging. People have to change their concepts of aging and I am not asking them to do so based on some fanciful notion but on scientific fact. When they change that, then their perception of aging will change and it will become clear to them to grow old and to become wiser, to become more creative, to become the springboard for creativity and affluence. Once your perception of the whole phenonenom changes, your reality will change because reality is nothing other than your perception of it. You
have stated that if we could effectively trigger the intention not
to age, the body would carry it out automatically. Could you explain
that? If you can wiggle your toes with the mere flicker of an intention, why can't you reset your biological clock? The reason most people can't do it is because, first, they never thought of it and secondly they think that certain things are easier to do than other things. For example, it is easier to wiggle the toes than reset the biological clock, but that is just a belief that is rooted in superstition. If we could understand that the human body is a network of information and energy, then we would see that the same principles apply everywhere in the body. That is just what I was about to say, something as profound as stopping the aging process, or actually reversing the aging process, one would think would have to be implanted at a deep level for it to work. No, it's the same mechanism. It's just that we have been indoctrinated into believing that some things are easier, some things are more difficult. Expectations determine outcome, always! You
have also said that our bodies are our experiences transformed into
physical expression, in other words our bodies are the outpouring
of our belief system? And
we can change our interpretation or experience of the world at any
time. Because
the body is the end product of intelligence and how that intelligence
shapes your reality will shape the reality of the body. The body
is a field of ideas and it is a field of interpretations and when
you change your experience of your own identity to a spiritual being,
the body expresses the physical manifestation of that spiritual
reality.
Yes.
I think that is a very important component, to have passion, to
have a dream, to have a purpose in life. And there are three components
to that purpose, one is to find out who you really are, to discover
God, the second is to serve other human beings, because we are here
to do that and the third is to express your unique talents and when
you are expressing your unique talents you lose track of time. The only way you can do that is when you know that part of yourself that is in fact, forever. There is a part of yourself that is not subject to change, it is the silent witness behind the scenes. That is essentially your spirit, the spirit being an abstract but real force. It is as real as gravity. It is as real as time. It is incomprehensible. It is mysterious but it is powerful and it is eternal. It is without beginning, without ending. It has no dimensionality, it's spaceless, timeless, dimensionless, eternal, forever. When you can get in touch with that part of yourself, then you will in fact see that present moment existence, even an entire lifetime is nothing other than a flicker in eternity, a parenthesis in eternity, a little flash of a firefly in the middle of the night in the context of eternity. What happens with that knowledge, with that experience, is that you begin to experience mortality as quantified immortality, you begin to see time as quantified eternity and when you see it against the backdrop of who you really are, then the anxiety of daily existence disappears. So one ceases to be troubled by as well as influenced by the trivial things of daily existence, the little hassles that create stress in most people. So it becomes much more joyful and you realize that the present moment is as it should be, there is no other way. It
is the culmination of all other moments and it is the centre point
of eternity. So you pay attention to what is in every moment. And
when you do that, then you realize that the presence of God is everywhere.
You have only to consciously embrace it in your attention. And that's
what creates joyfulness. You have to know the reality and the reality
is that we are eternal. How
does living in the present moment contribute to agelessness?
Meditation lowers biological age. How?
What about the power of love in healing or agelessness, someone
else's love or the love of our own self? Your
approach to medicine is based on Ayurveda, which comes from India.
How do you describe it?
What will medicine look like in the future? Coining
lines, creating images, characters of a time gone by It
is the characters that make up a story.The imagery of characters
that Jagath Kumarasinghe invokes to build each cameo to a finish
is profound and one is left with the conclusion - that of course
this would be true. The book in its totality is a reflection on the colonial era that one is left to let one's imagination wander as to what Kider Chetty Street would have been in British times. To think like the author 'the migrant winged ones' have spread their wings and we are left with a new populace at Kider Chetty Street - as the writer would postulate, where sun shades, sun hats and summer dresses would have been the norm. He speaks of shoes made of cowhyde for his little niece the mermaid - a history retold of how this comes about; The eloquence of the gait of the girl is equated to that of a flat footed duck - not leaving out the sound the tread makes "quack quack". The humour that runs through the pages both satirical and subtle is fun indeed. I have been one who has burst forth into happy laughter at the coining of the lines which I often found a paradox. The simplicity of relationship of the characters and the absence of guile and intrigue is refreshing. Above all, the work is original in style and content. The touch of mysticism in descriptive lines lends a rarity to the book and am reminded of the great work of Nobel Laureate Andre Andric, a one time ‘Slav' ambassador to Germany during World War ll. The interactions of Serbians, Bosnians and Croats on a bridge over river Drina draws a similarity in Kider Chetty Street in solidarity between a peoples irrespective of their differences. This was at the time of the Osto Hungarian and Ottoman empires. In like vein we should return to Kider Chetty Street a system as propounded in some measure by the book which is indeed a good read. A guide
for life through spirituality sans authority The late Balangoda Ananda Maithri Thera who lived upto 100 years and over, once said that every time stressful challenges starkly stared at him, he would smile and be joyous. The challenges in life he said, were delightful opportunities for self purification; they were opportunities to burn up the false sense of ego built by us and to see the light within. Vimalaji
herself says this in her book Exploring Freedom (Page 69) Vimalaji's influence on the life of our author - sadhaka, a sister fellow traveller of mine in the true spiritual sense of the phrase, has been phenomenal. Being a rebel against the accepted enslaving norms of tradition and orthodoxy, a deep probing within and outside seem to have taken place. The uniquences of Vimalaji lay in functioning as a catalyst in the author - sadhaka's life without herself adorning the ochre cloaks of a Guru in the process. Vimalaji's patient and penetrating gaze into the life of the author - sadhaka, no doubt contributed to the relaxation of a tortured mind. Relaxation is the natural state of our beings. It is the play and effect of the outside world which inhibits our mind and its activities. Vimalaji's loving letters soothed and softened the sensitive but rebellious mind of the author - sadhaka, and set her firmly on the path of inspired spiritual enquiry. The significance of Vimala Amiratham lies in the unveiling of the sustained step-by-step guidance on the part of the agent of divinity, out of compassion for the sincere aspirant to ennoble the latter's life. Vimalaji refuses to give this phenomenon the traditional nomenclature of Guru-Shisya relationship. At page 44 of the book, her explanation in general terms is given. "When an enquirer has exhausted his or her rational resources and realises that his efforts are counter-productive, humility dawns in the heart. A willingness to entrust psychic-life in the hands of an enlightened being grows mature. He becomes a Shisya or worthy of learning. Life Universal brings about a meeting between him and such a being. Interaction between their mutual presence, dialogue and sharing life results in dispelling basic ignorance and lighting up his being from within." According to Vimalaji, life brings together a passionate searching, dedicated yet learning mind and the transformed, enlightened and mature being together to reach a divinely inspired consummation. Our author - sadhaka has blossomed into an extraordinary sadhaka, to attract the compassion and love of Vimalaji though the latter has never considered herself fitting into the role of an Indian traditional guru. Tradition had given a vertical slant and connotation to the Guru-Shisya relationship. Yet J. Krishnamurti first and now Vimalaji have given a horizontal dimension of sharing, to this same relationship. Modern contemporary religious teachers like Vimalaji have sought to do away with authority and the duality of disciple-teacher relationship. The author- sadhaka having abhorred the slavish ways imposed by society in the name of tradition and orthodoxy, found non-acceptance of authority in the path of spiritual search, a fresh approach compatible with her frame of mind. According to Vimalaji, acceptance of the authority of a guru is incompatible with unconditional freedom. Yet Vimalaji has not completely disowned traditional methods, unlike Krishnamurthi. At page 56 of the book Vimalaji acknowledges the relevance of traditional methods in the appropriate setting thus:- "Many have arrived at the transcendence of conditioned mind through ancient bhakti yoga." Vimalaji's approach in dealing with the author - sadhaka is an education for all of us, in itself, indeed a practical education. An approach dealing with the particular mind-set of the aspirant but without the imposition of authority. The coming together of a Teacher and a sincere aspirant is an event that naturally takes place. Vimala explains thus in her book, "Exploring
Freedom" (Page 42) Our
author - sadhaka has done yeoman service to humanity by laying bare
her personal happenings, in the presence of a spiritually enlightened
mature mind. Yet those happenings and relationships, prove to be
universally relevant to all of us. Such is the beauty of spiritual
enquiry sans authority. Feast
your eyes on a richer wilderness Ravi Samarasinha and Chitral Jayatilake have both been enamoured with wildlife for many years and when they first released their book ‘Wilds of Sri Lanka’ –A visual treat of Yala National Park’, more than a year ago it was a fitting result of their many forays into Yala. As they write in the book their aims were two-fold. “Firstly, we wanted Wilds of Lanka to give the reader a snapshot view of the species observed in a visit to Yala, especially everyone’s favourites: leopards and tusker elephants. Secondly, we hoped to alert the nation to the urgent need for conservation, as the wilds of Lanka are fast disappearing as forests are cleared for village expansion and new cultivations to feed a growing population.” “It
is a gift to have a beautiful mind that can admire nature. But it
is a greater gift to have a heart that wants to protect it,”
Chitral writes in the preface to the book and stresses that conservation
is still uppermost in their minds. Yala though located in one of the most arid parts of Sri Lanka ‘provides a microcosm of the fauna and flora not only of the dry zone lowlands that account for two-thirds of Sri Lanka’s territory but also of the plains of eastern peninsular India’. The book covers all of Yala’s main attractions, the elephants, leopards and birds with each chapter being written by one of the two authors. Ravi Samarasinha who gave up the medical profession to devote his time to wildlife covers his pet subject the leopard and also contributes the main chapter on the park and also one on birds while Chitral has contributed the preface and that on the elephants. The writing is clear, concise and vastly informative. Take for instance this extract from Ravi’s chapter on leopards “The leopard is a highly adapted nocturnal predator, with excellent night vision that far exceeds that of its prey. Its long whiskers and eyebrow hairs assist it to finely judge space in complete darkness, greatly enhancing its ability to stalk prey undetected. The leopard’s classic hunting method consists of a patient stalk, a short, lightning fast dash and a leap onto its prey…..’ There’s much more in the same vein. On elephants, for which Yala originally gained its fame, Chitral writes of the delights of seeing baby elephants at play and indeed there are poignant shots of baby jumbos as of Yala’s well-known tuskers. The pictures capture many moods and tense moments and as any wildlife photographer will tell you photography such as this requires patience and skill. The classic wildlife images one would expect from a coffee-table publication are all there: majestic tuskers, rare birds captured so close-up you can almost count their feathers and lazy leopards, but also some rare ones such as the white elephant that hit the headlines photographed by Ravi at a waterhole in Ketagalwala in June 1999. This is believed to be the first albino elephant to be documented in the wild from Asia but more research is needed to confirm this, the book says. An interesting little ‘Technical data’ chapter gives their own tips on the cameras they use and some hints on how to approach the subject (slowly) and how to minimize camera shake etc. Even if you have visited Yala just once ‘Wild of Lanka’ is a book that will appeal. The defining factor is that its authors have an abiding passion for their subject. -Renuka Sadanandan |
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