Let's get together
Let me first point out that we at the
Arya Vaidya Pharmacy in Coimbatore,
enjoy reading your magazine and find
it very useful and informative. We are
regular subscribers. Down To Earth
(Vol 4, No 15) carried an article called
"Tribal rights to the fore" about
arogyapdcha and the Kani tribals. We
welcome your comments on such
issues.
The Arya Vaidya Pharmacy has
always been careful about preserving
the rights of tribals. We have undertaken the task of educating them on
more efficient ways of collecting herbs
and a large number of them have been
interacting with us for over four
decades. The print media can sometimes convey negative impressions, but
your magazine has the potential to do a
lot of productive and constructive
work. If there is anyone interested in
the kind of developmental work that we
undertake, please do let me know.
P R KRISHNA KUMAR
Managing Director
The Arya Vaidya Pharmacy
(Coimbatore) Limited
Coimbatore - 641018...
It's all in the mind
This is with reference to your Editor's
Page (Down To Earth, Vol 4, No 18).
Spirituality is a branch of science and
our ancestors, the yogis, saints and
siddhas of yore were actually scientists.
They possessed knowledge on human
anatomy and the structure of the atom.
Meditation is a technique bringing the
body and the mind together. Using EEG
or electro -encephalography, scientists
have discovered that different conditions of the braiii result in the emission
of electrical waves of various
frequencies.
When the brain is active, it emits
beta waves with a frequency of 14-40
cycles per second (cps). When one is
asleep, alpha (eight- 13 cps) and theta
(four-seven cps) waves are emitted. The
frequency of the brain's electrical discharge reduces drastically in a comatose
state. Delta waves (one-43 cps) are discharged. These low frequencies give the
mind total rest and can help cure many
diseases. I have observed many patients
attaining these low frequencies through
meditation, and getting cured of their
ailments.
A PONRAJ
Coimbatore...
You can do it too
Your Editor's Page (Down To Earth,
Vol 4, No 21) made interesting reading.
I would like to make some observations
on the subject. In my opinion, mainstream, or establishment science at first
Yi@ewed the environmentalist movement
as one that was retrogressive and hostile to development. The movement
was later seen as being exotic and
activist. Today, however, it has been
accepted and is also considered relevant
by the scientific community. This
change which has occurred abroad in a
span of 50 years' will occur in India -
like many other things - after a time
lag, in 10 to 15 years time. The bias
against the movement is actually
diminishing.
Your organisation's role as a watchdog of science and technology, and its
stand on pollution, may have left an
impression among Indian scientists.
But as you rightly pointed out, the
Indian scientific c6mmunity remains a
closed society, rather inward-looking. If
not shed its links, it should at least
make its association with its mentors
abroad equitable. There should be an
urge to venture and engage in more
original research.
AJAY PATWARDHAN...
Stop it, Mitsubishi!
Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is
pleased to announce the Third Annual
Haiku Project, a call for people around
the world to express their support for
the Earth's forests through poetry,
drawing or any other medium of art.
The project is specifically designed to
pressurise Mitsubishi Corporation, the
world's worst corporate destroyer of
forests, to adopt ecologically sound
practices. Haiku, a Japanese form of
poetry comprises three lines of five,
seven and five syllables each, and is a
particularly appropriate format for students to voice their feelings. Haiku has
traditionally been employed to comment on nature, and its brevity promotes clarity of thought and expression.
Mitsubishi runs enormous logging
operations scattered across the globe,
right from Malaysia and the Amazon,
to Siberia, Canada and the us. Millions
of hectares of forests are destroyed
every year by or for members of the
Mitsubishi corporate family. The project provides a forum for people of all
nationalities, ages and walks of life to
creatively and forcefully tell Mitsubishi
that they care deeply about the world's
forests. RAN works to protect the
world's rainforests and their inhabits through educating, organising
campaigns at the grassroot level and
direct non-violent action.
.Recent public pressure, including
lAt year's Haiku Project - which
invited over 15,000 responses -
appears to be having some effect on the
company. Following extensive publicity
of the corporation's environmental
misconduct, Mitsubishi Motors and
Mitsubishi Electric formed a group to
look into the possibility of reducing the
use of wood and joined the Future 500
group. In addition, Mitsubishi
Corporation sold its controversial
Malaysian logging operations.
We urge educators to encourage
their students to express their support
for a greener planet through their creativity. Poetry and craftwork can be sent
to RAN'S offices. Contributions could
also be sent directly to:
Minoro Makihara,
President, Mitsubishi Corporation,
6-3, Marunouchi 2-chome,
Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo 100,
Japan
RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK
450 Sansome street #700,
San Francisco CA 9411
California, USA...
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