Musings Own Thoughts

The Theory of Natural hygiene is the basis of the diet cycles in Ayurveda or the ancient science of medicine. We need to ingest, excrete and assimilate what we eat and drink. Therefore we divide the day into three eight hour cycles for the same. Excretion or detoxification is the key to good health. This starts occurring from 4am to 12 noon. Therefore in this period it is mandatory on our part to consume foods which are easily digested and put no or minimal strain on the digestive system and at the same time make us alert and energetic for the day to begin. This is best done by fruits and fruit juices alone. Fruits consumed on an empty stomach get digested and emptied from the stomach in less than half an hour and give instant energy and alertness to the body. From 12 noon to sunset is the time for ingestion. A meal containing raw vegetable juice, raw salad, sprouted salad and steamed vegetables is an ideal combination. In the evening a repeat dose of fruits along with raw unsalted nu...

Yoga & Orthopedics By Dr. Vispi Jokhi M.S. Orthopedics I would like to share with the reader my journey in the field of Yoga, which began eight years ago and will continue till my innings on earth is over. Yoga or union of mind, body and soul is truly India's gift to the world and today the sad fact is that we seem to be importing Yoga back from the West rather than exporting it. As an Orthopedic Surgeon, physical fitness was certainly high on my priority list, however the hectic life of Mumbai made me look for quick fix solutions. Gymnasiums, free hand exercises, brisk walks, swimming all came into my life, but with limited results. Often they became workouts, which left me tired instead of raising my energy levels. My scripture reading gave me an idea about the ancient system of Hatha Yoga of Patanjali and about the importance of all the eight limbs of Yoga. But my "scientific mind" in its arrogance was under the impression that Yoga was merely a series of contor...

Viveka or Discrimination The most natural thing that we do as soon as we meet a person or a situation in life is form an opinion based on our past experience. This is what we call being judgmental. Is Viveka or discrimination the same as judging or different? It is actually a judgment with a difference. The homo sapiens are blessed with the faculty of discrimination which gives him the power to choose between right and wrong, good and evil. This is the ability to react to sensory stimuli and act to choose what may not seem pleasant in the short term but which leads long term joy. It is correct use or abuse of this faculty which enables him to reach the sublime heights of divinity or plunge into the depths of despair. Most of us live in this world superficially as slaves to our senses and fail to look at ourselves and persons around us as manifestations of the divinity which pervades each and every object. That is the reason why we have connotations like fair, tall, elegant, s...

Responsible Actions by Dr Vispi Jokhi By Dr. Vispi Jokhi August 25, 2006 In the humdrum of daily life we do many things, which seem trivial, innocuous and insignificant but adding them up they can have a Force Multiplier effect. I have no claims to be a preacher but in the spirit of karmayog I try to make every decision on the basis of three questions. Is my action ethical? By this I mean is it morally correct? Is it a truthful, non-violent, unselfish act? Is my action ecological? My action must be least harmful to mother earth. In fact it should conserve mother earth. Is my action empowering? All the changes I bring into my life must enable me enhance me spiritually and take me on the path to freedom. Quoting the first verse of the Isha Upanishad: The Lord is enshrined in the hearts of All. The Lord is the Supreme reality. Rejoice in Him through renunciation. Covet nothing, All belongs to the Lord. Thus working you can live a hundred...

If you judge people, you have no time to love them - Mother Teresa When we see oneself in all and all in oneself we are ready to selflessly love ourselves and all of God's creation. While this is an absolute truth can this be followed in our daily dealings with all that we come across? Our total education and conditioning is to look externally and be judgemental all the time. This leads to all kinds of expectations and desires. When these desires are unfulfilled or someone does not behave in a manner we percieve as correct we tend to react. The reaction ranges from being merely sad to extreme anger and violence in thought word and deed. While the ability to rise in universal love is seen in the Self realised souls like Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa can we too gradually bring about this transformation? I beleive the answer is yes and even if the task is daunting and seemingly unsurmountable it needs to be done. Bit by bit we can tranform ourselves t...

GURU All of us are made in the image of God and pervaded by Him, yet in our daily existence we identify with our name, form and personality as perceived by our senses. The hypnotic spell of the sense objects lull us into a sense of well being and happiness. Very soon we realize that these joys are finite and are almost always followed by sorrows. It is when we face suffering that we suddenly feel the need to seek the help of a power outside us. At such times according to our religious traditions we go to the temples and do the rituals and try to bribe the Gods to fulfill our earthly desires of material objects and gratify our lust for sensual pleasures. We are caught up in the belief that pleasures can be isolated from sorrows and we can happy if all our desires are fulfilled. Our education, upbringing and the equation of happiness with pleasures of the physical body and worldly wealth deludes us into pursuing this path with redoubled vigor. The light of knowledge is within us...