Many people related to the field of education keep talking about VALUE BASED EDUCATION as a panacea to all the problems in the world.

The idea of value based education is probably well intended in case of some of the proponents, but �.

1. The influence of value system of the society (now global values) (which does not come in the purview of any formal education) influences ideas and behavior of the students and every one connected with education tremendously.
2. Common men follow the celebrities in different fields, in the world. The celebrity status is decided by the global value system and the media hype in accordance with it! Today, all of us in the world are suffering with the disease of �individualism, superficiality and pettiness�. Interestingly, it is disguised in glamour, glitter, hype and glorification! We have become caricature of ourselves. We are unable to think and behave conducive to our happiness and that of others.
3. The value system (enlightenment and inclusiveness or otherwise) of the constituent assemblies decide the contents and drafting of the laws.
4. The laws (whether they represent the noble aspirations of the millions or not) and the legal system (whether it provides any kind of assurance, support or solace against being subjected to injustice and/or crimes) influences common man�s (and hence of every one related to the field of education) beliefs and interactions.
5. Our listlessness and emaciation to rise above individualism, pettiness and superficiality and our sectarian and fragmented perspective and thinking (the cause of global problems) are because of getting disconnected from our powerhouse (our true self)! NAMASMARAN can reconnect us with our powerhouse. In other words, this is like watering our roots!
6. In absence of NAMASMARAN, arbitrary teaching of some arbitrary values, become pitiable and utterly ineffective in serving the purpose viz. providing any kind of solution to global or individual problems.
7. One need not believe in this, but think over the issue and verify the empowering and rejuvenating experience of cosmic benevolence of NAMSMARAN and its byproducts.

DR. SHRINIWAS KASHALIKAR

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Items 1 - 13 of 13

public Hospitals
in India

Dr.
Shriniwas
Kashalikar


Since the public services and especially public health services, affect most of us, it is essential to find out the root causes of their deficiency and try to deal with them. This is one of the intellectual measures of stress management and benefits every individual concerned.

The causes of degeneration of quality of public health services in public hospitals in India; is the prevalence of the two concepts on which these institutions work. These concepts are, free medical care and economic dependence of these institutions on the government revenue and donations.

FREE MEDICAL CARE
The free medical care gives rise to parasitism, beggarly tendency, meekness and irresponsibility towards personal and public health amongst the patients.

The free medical care creates a special and extremely favorable situation and golden opportunity for the powerful, rich and famous individuals to exploit the government revenue and tax payers� money.

The free medical care leads to zero returns and subsequent deterioration in the facilities given to patients and employees.

The free medical care associated with perpetual absence of returns leads to unjustifiably low salaries, delay in filling the vacancies, excessive working hours and duties, and delay in promotions.

This state of affairs demoralizes the sincere and dedicated employees and promotes irresponsibility, lethargy, absenteeism, corruption etc.


ECONOMIC DEPENDENCE OF THESE INSTITUTIONS ON THE GOVERNMENT REVENUE AND DONATIONS
The public hospitals are not self-sufficient and do not have any productive/commercial projects to support them. Naturally since there are no returns either from patients or from any other source, for what is spent, the public hospitals are always in loss.

This has lead to inadequate progress in terms of inadequate facilities, inadequate salaries, inadequate employment in terms of number of employees in almost every category, protracted duty hours, worsening working conditions, worsening of staying conditions for the employees and crowding of patients due to huge patients/employee ratio.

All these factors have lead to deterioration of the quality of medical care. In fact because of this a large number of lower middle class and even poor patients turn to private practitioners, consultants and hospitals.

This deterioration can be overcome by trying to make the public hospitals self-sufficient. For this, the concept of free medical care has to be replaced by more just system of payment. This would bring adequate revenue to ensure progress in terms of adequate facilities, adequate salaries, appropriate employment which could ensure normal duty hours, improvement in working conditions, improvement in staying conditions for the employees and preventing excessive and many times [because the services are free] unnecessary crowding of patients.

One may raise the objection that this is difficult to implement in case of very poor, helpless, unsupported patients.

It is very true that no sensitive and sensible individual would think of doing it as well. These patients who are in agonies, in emergencies, or helpless etc. should be made exception and a separate arrangement can be made for them. But in most other cases the problem can be overcome by making provision for payment through �services� or soft loans.

Another way to make the public hospitals self-sufficient is by buttressing them with productive / commercial projects. One can think of more innovative plans as well.

This is important because:
A] it would inculcate a sense of responsibility towards one�s own health, towards public funds, towards public services, amongst everyone including the patients.
B] it would generate the sense of accountability, satisfaction and fulfillment amongst the employees
C] It would ensure optimal progress in medical care especially in terms of holistic approach
D] It would improve the lives of patients as well as employees
E] It would make the revenue hitherto squandered on free medical care available for other developmental work thereby facilitating national progress.
F] it would reduce the corruption born of out of injustice
G] it would reduce the crowding and degeneration of private medical care.

DR. SHRINIWAS KASHALIKAR

CHARITY AND SWADHARMA
DR. SHRINIWAS KASHALIKAR

Most of us usually accept that it is good to be charitable.

Because most of us agree that being callous, crude and indifferent to the needs of other people is the lowest stage of development of mind. This stage neither allows us to grow from within and manage any form of stress healthily, nor does it ensure any development of the society.

Being kind to others is a higher stage. Kindness to others is actually enriching and fulfilling to self in as much as it benefits many people around us. This is why most of the religions have upheld charity.

Indian concept of DHARMA or actually SWADHARMA goes beyond the concept of charity or rather evolves and refines the concept of charity.

DHARMA is a highly refined and appropriate solution proactively allocated duty to different individuals; at different stages of life; according different personal and social relationships, different seasons and different auspicious days!

DHARMA is not a matter of individual�s feelings, fancies, idiosyncrasies, whims or choice but it is inseparable from an individual�s life; as a matter of fulfilling various responsibilities and obligations. These obligations or responsibilities are somewhat akin to loans or debts called RUNA. Thus there are PITRU RUNA (debt of father), MATRU RUNA (debt of mother), and SAMAJ RUNA (debt of society) etc. Naturally there is a concept of �repaying these loans�.

This repayment of loans or fulfillment of social obligations is called DHARMA. Thus there is PUTRA DHARMA (the sacred obligations of a son), MATRU DHARMA (sacred obligations of a mother), PITRU DHARMA (sacred obligation of a father), RAJA DHARMA (sacred obligation or responsibilities of a king) etc. This concept of obligations and their fulfillment used to be prevalent in the different stages of life such as student stage (BRAHMACHARYASHRAMA), married family person�s stage (GRUHASTHASHRAMA), retired stage (VANAPRASTHASHRAMA) and stage of renouncement or renunciation (SANYASASRHAMA) and were referred to as ASHRAMAS.

Thus a student is expected to observe celibacy and study. This is obviously a wise thing if one considers the menace of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases and the problems of unmarried mothers.

The GRUHASTHA or family person had the sacred duty of offering hospitality to a guest (ATITHI) and hence it was said that ATITHI DEVO BHAVA which means a guest is to be treated like God.

The stage of retired life and the stage of renunciation were also characterized by consultative sacred duties.

The importance the concept of DHARMA is that it does not give rise inflation of condescending attitude and ego on the one hand and destruction of self esteem and humiliation on the other; as it usually does in case of charity.

The concept of DHARMA is akin to the role a cell in maintenance of internal environment i. e. homeostasis. Thus just as a cell participates in homeostasis in subservience to health of an organism, similarly an individual participates in social homeostasis in subservience to the health of the society.

Since the fabric of the Indian society has changed almost completely the revival of the old concept exactly in the same form does not seem possible and feasible.

But at the same time it is possible to extract the essence of the concept of DHARMA and practice it. Thus the saints say that it is possible by practice of Namasmaran to develop global perspective, global thinking, global policies and globally beneficial administration and implementation.

This is very important and urgent because; charity in itself; being a crude; though egalitarian and commendable response; does not reach and act on the roots of the social and political evils in the form of perspectives, policies, plans, administrative machinery, laws, rules, conventions etc., which if neglected or deliberately concealed, keep on nurturing the evils unabatedly.

Moreover; charity is not sufficient or in fact proves to be counterproductive in terms of emotional black mailing and cheating, tax evasion and vested interests of political and economic nature by harboring and empowering the social evils responsible for a variety of social maladies. This is why charity even if it is sincere; can not give emotional gratification to discerning individuals, who find themselves suffocated in absence of charity and cheated by practicing charity!

This scenario of failure of �charity� in every way is evident in the queues in front of public hospitals, many restaurants, temples etc in India.

At one stage of the development of society these signs of diseased (exploited) society; could have been inevitable. Charity in those times could have been the only way or solution; for individual gratification and social relief.

But today, by understanding our DHARMA i.e. SWADHARMA, and practicing its essence through Namasmaran or any other method, we can rectify our cognition, affect and conation. This can be explained by taking examples.

By practicing NAMASMARAN, a doctor would work for the advent of holistic medicine, a lawyer for laws for holistic education, an educationist for the development of holistic education (which nurtures cognitive, affective, psychomotor and productive domain of a child) and so on, in terms of policy making, planning and implementation and can effectively manage the most important, vital and burning problems such as child labor, begging, slums, pavement dwelling, diseases, pollution etc.

DR. SHRINIWAS KASHALIKAR

CONCEPT OF BATH

DR. SHRINIWAS KASHALIKAR

The concept of bath is more profound than is usually considered to be. The bath in neither a mechanical and meaningless ritual of blind religious belief; nor it is a physical procedure that merely involves cleaning the body and simply refreshing the mind.

It has to be appreciated that bath has direct influence on the activities of all the cells of the body through its effects on central nervous system, autonomic nervous system, endocrine system, immune system and metabolic activities.

It is true that the details of the effects are not described in the text- books of physiology as they have are not studied or even thought over adequately.

In addition, there is a tendency amongst researchers to rely on experiments and not accept [or even consider] what appeals to reasoning unless substantiated by experiments, even if it is obvious.

This is somewhat similar to increasing reliance of clinicians on gadgets and investigations. This has prevented us from understanding and appreciating the benefits of bath described in the following shloka.

GUNA DASHAH SNANAPARASYA SADHO
ROOPAM CHA TEJAM CHA BALAM CHA SHAUCHAM
AYUSHYAM AROGYAM ALOLUPATVAM
DUHSWAPNA GHATAHSH CHA TAPAM CHA MEDHA
The meaning is
Oh gentleman! The bath is beneficial in ten different ways.

It improves physical state of existence. It is to be appreciated that ROOPAM does not mean mere appearance. It includes all the physiology. This is why ROOPAM and NAMA are some times compared and contrasted. ROOPAM is everything that is identified by all the terminology [NAMA] in the physiology.

It improves the TEJAM i.e. all the activities that generate energy. In modern parlance this refers to formation of ATP [Adenosine Triphosphate] and CP [Creatine Phosphate].

It improves BALAM. BALAM refers to the actual power, endurance and working capacity of an individual [through efficient formation ATP and CP].

It imparts SHAUCHAM i.e. purity. SHAUCHAM is not merely physical cleanliness of the skin. Bath stimulates the circulation and helps wash away all the waste products likely to be accumulated in and around the cells present in nook and corner of the body.

It gives AYUSHYAM i.e. life. AYUSHYAM is defined as PRAANALAKSHANA VAAYUNAA YOGAH, which means availability and utilization of oxygenation by all the parts of the body. This is achieved through stimulation of central and autonomic nervous systems as well as through their stimulation, stimulation of the respiratory system, cardiovascular system, which are vital in reaching the oxygen to the body cells. But that is not all. It also stimulates the endocrine, immune and metabolic activities.

It improves AROGYAM, which is defined as DHAATUSAAMYAM, which means right proportion of everything in body so as to give power, pleasure, profundity, peace and so on for prolonged time!

It gives ALOLUPATVAM, which means capacity rise above gravitating, enslaving, depressing, and frustrating forces in life. This is important in every sphere of life. In fact ALOLUPATVAM refers to the state of mind which is invincible.

DUSVAPNAGHAATASH means one, which destroys bad dreams or nightmares. Bath can achieve this through achieving a state of alertness by overcoming the unsteady, imbalanced state of mind, which causes bad dreams and nightmares.

TAPAH is of three types [Geeta 17.14, 17.15, 17.16] involving roughly speaking body, intellect and emotions. The TAPAH is also further classified [Geeta 17.17, 17.18, 17.19] into divine, mundane, and devilish. TAPAH means coordinated and controlled activity at an individual level, in the best interest of the universe, which is made easier through bath. Bath taken thrice a day [TRIKAL SNAANA] in itself, is a difficult accomplishment and involves all three types of TAPAH!

MEDHAA means enlightened intelligence. The bath involves not only physical cleanliness but it shifts the level of consciousness. This is particularly important because with such shift in consciousness, the perceptions, desires, aims and actions become increasingly more accurate.
Prayer of Ganga
NAMAAMI GANGE TAVA PAADPANKAJAM
SURAASURAIRVANDITADIVYARUPAM
BHUKTIN CHA MUKTIN CHA DADAASI NITYAM
BHAAAVAANUSAARENA SADAA NARAANAAM

This prayer when recited before actual SNAANA (bath) helps in more than one way. It links us with the river Ganga [who has been worshipped by our ancestors], thereby it links us with the land and our culture and it links us with our history and our forefathers. This very prayer has thus tremendous potential to help us get rid of isolated, alienated, lonely existence.

The diabetics may try bathing thrice a day and verify the beneficial effect of bath on BMR and diabetes.

DR. SHRINIWAS KASHALIKAR