Report: Global Holistic Health Summit
Bangalore, India
January 12 -17, 2003

Our Journey to India to attend the Global Holistic Health Summit "Holistic and Integrated Medicine for the 21st Century"

- by Helen Moss

After a thirty- hour trip on four different planes, we finally arrived at Bangalore. The trip was with the Royal Jordanian Airlines and the experience of going half way around the world in an airplane where you are apparently one of the only two people who are white Americans with Jewish names is disconcerting. We waited as long as 4-5 hours in the airport in Amman, Jordan with not one other soul in a luxurious waiting room. The beautiful luxury stores in the airport were without customers, and there was no hustle and bustle that we usually experience abroad. In fact we were escorted from one side of the airport to another. Their security systems are not as obvious as ours, but there nonetheless. We didn't have to show are passports on boarding, only our tickets, which I thought was strange. They were far more interested in looking for explosives in our personal belongings. On the leg between Amman, Jordan and Bombay we were the only people in the first class cabin. In the first leg though, the 10½ hour leg between New York to Amman, Jordan, the first class was filled with businessmen. The airplane food between Jordan and Bombay was middle-eastern and quite good the stewardess herself was very gracious in making us feel at home, unlike the first leg of the journey where the stewardesses and the helpers were rather distant and perhaps a little resentful.

When we arrived at Bangalore Airport there were a lot more people, but it was a quiet bustle which seemed unlike most airports abroad. Although everybody appeared to speak English I don't think that many people understood us because we speak so quickly. I soon had to learn to slow down because no one will tell you that they don't speak English well. Since we are guests in foreign countries I have to remember that and try to understand people and their opinion of us from their point of view. We tend to believe that we are the center of the world. However, we did not feel any hostility or resentment about our being American here in India as we have in some countries we have visited.

The taxi ride from the airport to the hotel was a harrowing experience similar to Rome (only worse if that is possible) - there are no traffic lights and no traffic cops in sight. The vehicular traffic is on the left side of the road as in England. Nobody yells at one another as in NY, but they use their horns at least twice a minute. It seems like a lot more. I saw few women drivers. The cabs are small and the cab ride which was of some distance cost us a dollar and a half. We were deposited at the doorsteps of the LeMeridian Hotel and were greeted immediately by several hotel, who were engaging and helpful, but we saw very few people in the hotel lobby. We met a young Indian from Cox and Cables which is the travel agency that was taking care of the guests at this Global Holistic Health Summit and he provided free transportation around the city the entire week.

When we went to register for the conference at the Grand Ashock Hotel, which was built in 1967 and was undergoing a facelift, there was some question if we had paid our registration fees and I got rather disturbed. The Indian woman in charge, who was a doctor, sensed it and she said "Please Mrs. Moss, I will take care of it, don't worry about it, we will get it straightened out later." She gave me all of our tickets without hesitation. In the US we wouldn't have gotten one foot into the door without proof of payment of those fees. There seems to be more trust here. Things were always taken care of later without any inconvenience or disturbance to us, which was refreshing. As a result I never got excited if something didn't occur immediately. They are very calm people, the Indians. As a result, we relaxed. The Jordanians, however, were tense and excitable when things did not go well, but the Indians were the opposite. Perhaps it was because of the threat of war and terrorism in Jordan

Comparing this Conference with the Integrative Cancer Care Conference in Washington D.C. in 2001.

I am going to compare this conference to the Comprehensive Cancer Care Conference in Washington D.C. a year ago which is all Americans, both presenters and attendees with allopathic medical professionals attending (Western Medicine). Here, there were extremely few, if any, American mainstream medical professionals that I could see attending the conference. At the Washington Conference, most major cancer centers in the U.S. attended, and there were 1,100 attendees. This conference was attended by people from 45 different countries with 400 attendees. I would say 55% of the attendees were male, as opposed to the conference in the US where I found that maybe only 20% - 25% of the attendees were male. This leads me to believe that this holistic medicine is taken much more seriously in India and in this part of the World than in the US. I don't mean to sound sexist here but the reality is that when men show up it means that in the medical profession which is still dominated and run by men, in spite of the fact that many women work in the profession, the men are the decision makers. Women, I have found are the caregivers. In western medicine I find that there is a big difference between the two. It is the men who run the show and make the administrative decisions, and the women who run the day-to-day patient care. Women are support staff, lower paid, and the ones who are most concerned in America with the comfort and well being of the patient. The allopathic doctor in the US abdicates that role. The allopathic doctor in the US is removed emotionally from the patient while the nurses and other healthcare professionals display a much greater concern for the healing of the patient. The Western medical doctor attacks and "treats" the disease while the other health care professionals tend to the well-being of the patient, alleviating pain and suffering which does not equate to "treatment" according to the doctor. It is my opinion based on personal experience that to alleviate pain and suffering and attend to the healing, you must deal with the well-being of the patient. However, if alleviating "pain and suffering" in the allopathic doctor's opinion does not attack the disease, he or she tends to ignore it. "Attack the disease as if it were unrelated to the individual patient." Science based medicine has eliminated this connection between the patient and their healing. That is not just my opinion but the reining opinion of both conferences. I was disappointed that no important U.S. medical centers were represented in India, but am heartened that they are beginning to recognize some of their shortcomings by their attendance at the Washington Conference.

England spending one billion dollars to train doctors in integrative medicine.

There were people from 45 different nations, but I saw few people from Europe. We met people from Sweden, very few. We met several people from the United Kingdom. The UK is doing some things now to give people choices in England. One of the speakers I though was quite good, Dr. Fielding, from the Prince of Wales Foundation, stated that in England they are spending a billion dollars to integrate medicine, the eastern and western medicine, to give patients greater choices. All medical students must learn about alternative medicine as well as allopathic medicine. Homeopathy is common in the United Kingdom, (the Royal Family is tended to by homeopathic doctors) so that advantages of integrative medicine have become recognized more quickly there than in the U.S. In the US the National Institute of Health has allocated one hundred million dollars for research in integrative medicine, big difference.

Conference recognizes the tremendous advances in science and technology but challenges its humanism

The title of this summit is the "Global Holistic Health Summit, holistic and integrated medicine for the 21st century." This conference recognized the tremendous advances in science and technology. That advance in science and technology has brought about a revolution in health sciences. However, it was stated that in the midst of vastly increased opportunities for enhancing human welfare we all face a predicament. While human achievements are soaring high, humanism is waning. According to the message here is that the health practitioners have forgotten to feel. They just think they feel. There is an awakening around the world, the urgent necessity for integrating the ancient time- tested deeper emerging insights evolving man, with the up surging knowledge of modern science. Holistic medicine, which is what this Conference is about, is neither a new discipline nor a mix of different systems of medicines, nor the prerogative of a single system of medicine, but an approach that the practitioner in any system of medicine should take. It is the promotion of health in the context of the prevention of illness - A multi-dimensional approach toward the physical, mental, social, and spiritual aspects of health. It is teamwork and experimental elements in the healing transformation and specific responses to the unique needs of the individual patient. In short, the approach should be attention to the part with awareness of the whole.

It is the contention of holistic and especially "Eastern" medicine that disharmony is the root meaning of illness. In the organic systems, if the elements and their capacity for bonds are not fulfilled, instability results in ill health. Disease is a manifestation of a lifestyle that has failed. In disease and ill health the disharmony has to be identified before wellness can occur permanently. In other words, you can remove the cancer but what caused the cancer in the beginning? How can the patient working with the doctor prevent it from returning? I thought it was most interesting that the theme was "Informed Lifestyles of Patients, Informed Health Care by Doctors and Informed Networking by the Stakeholders of the Health Delivery System will work together to make the various Health Care Systems appropriate, accessible, acceptable, accountable and affordable. At the same time will bring about an improvement in their quality to the maximum extent and to the maximum number of people." This theme was developed by the chairman of the conference, who was Doctor R. M. Varma. Some people might skeptically say that this is "The Impossible Dream."

Holistic Conference tries to justify the "integration" of both western and eastern medicine

Let me mention briefly about the kinds of people who attended, including the presenters. When I attended the conference in Washington, the Comprehensive Cancer Care Conference, there was a lot of tension in the air. You had mainstream and you had alternative meeting together and in that situation, there was an awful lot of disharmony and tension as well as skepticism. You could feel the stress. At this conference there was no stress, you only have one side, the holistic professionals who attended here, and these people seem enlightened by what they see around the world. However, they, too, were struggling in their attempt to rationalize and justify the "integration" of both western and eastern medicine. The presenter from Israel, Dr. Stephen Fulder, in his paper on Vitalism (click here for pdf of presentation) addressed it directly and warned that it would not be easy, that the holistic doctors are in danger of giving up the humanism and focus on the individual if they co-opt their practice by embracing "integrative" which he thinks would become more allopathic. While the western medical professionals spurn eastern medicine because it is not scientifically based (trials, etc.), this doctor warned that by adopting practices that standardize treatment, the patient again loses.

The presenters realize that the allopathic doctor does not for the most part--the people who run the medical communities around the world who are allopathic-- do not recognize holistic medicine. However, there is a change occurring; there is an openness that was not there before and it makes "integration" a stronger possibility. Because of this trend, there was an enthusiasm among the many practitioners who attended this conference. I think that in some cases, these healers felt vindicated. The people themselves that we met, the healers, the people who had clinics around the world, and the clinics were very small, maybe only taking 3 people or 5 people at a time, were very kind, sensitive people who were interested in healing while facing seemingly insurmountable problems because most of their patients were poor and without hospitalization. There could not be a profit motive for becoming a doctor with most of them. These healers were people of modest means.

Typical Day at the Conference which includes artistic performances

There was another thing that was so different from the conference in the US in that there was what we might call entertainment. But it is entertainment that fits in the "Mind, Body, Spirit" aspect of Holistic medicine. Music, which some people may call "Music Therapy", was an integral part of the conference program. It is a form of meditation.

The Conference was opened by the chief minister of India, a man by the name of S.M. Christna, who addressed and welcomed the group. This was the second conference, the first one occurring in 1989. After his short introduction we all went to tea. We all go to tea at least twice a day here. There was much networking. But then something else happened. There was a cultural program sponsored by the Embassy group of India that presented a dance that featured a single performer dancing in circles by twirling and spinning. It was professional and very beautifully done with the various kinds of lights. The dancer's costume consisted of flowing white robes with a hint of green. The light in which she was spinning reflected different colors, which was very beautiful. She had very long hair that also swirled round and round with the Indian music that lasted about 20-25 minutes. She continued to spin the entire time. It was hypnotic, riveting, and relaxing. The planning of the conference included mind and spirit as exemplified with music and art alongside the papers from the health professionals. A violinist who has played at Carnegie Hall, an American from San Francisco, performed music by Bach with a background of Indian music. Yoga was available every morning. However, I was not familiar with the meditation concept of mind/body medicine. I have a lot to learn. However, I do recognize the concept of "music therapy."

There was also a man, a huge man, an Australian, who stood up and played a guitar and with his big, booming voice had us doing some singing and breathing exercises once or twice a day. Everyone, regardless of our ages or my feeling that this was not particularly dignified, participated about 5-8 minutes and it relaxed us in preparation for the rest of the daily program and the dinner that occurred afterwards.

The evening social gatherings added to the spirit of the Conference - much networking

The dinner sponsored the first night was outside around a swimming pool and displayed exquisite Indian food. I noticed that no liquid refreshments were served with meals because these medical practitioners believe that liquids eaten with the meal dilute the digestive juices. There was no alcohol at any function. However, when tea time occurred, (I happen to love green Chinese tea) I can tell you that you cannot find any green Chinese tea. Here it is all black tea, and coffee. Surprisingly the coffee was delicious. It is grown in southern India.

The networking is amazing here. Maybe because we had so little time to be with one other that we dropped the small talk and just dove right in and introduced ourselves and stated why we were here. It was people meeting people. We met a man and his wife who have a health center in India where the most they can accommodate for detoxification and renewal of health is three people. That is what I find here, the practice of medicine in India; the holistic medical doctors do not have large clinics. It is very one on one and very family oriented and very personally oriented. When he looks at you, he looks at you. I mean he looks at you as a person and trying to divine your health just by talking to you. I felt my health was being divined just by talking to this one man who was so calm. What I notice is the inner calmness that they have, they appear to be unflappable.

Dr. Kim Jobst, Editor of The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine

The first day which was Monday, one of the keynote speakers was Dr. Kim Jobst, from England, who gave an excellent presentation which the other speakers should use as an example of excellence. His thesis was that disease and health are commonly thought of as distinct opposites (click here to read his presentation). "It is possible, however, to see things in an entirely different way; one which is provocative but has far reaching consequences for health, social policy, industrial development and politics. It is a viewpoint from which both health and disease may be seen to be facets of healthy functioning, each necessary for the other and each giving rise to the other. From such a perspective, disease may be seen to be a manifestation of health; the healthy response of an organism striving to maintain physical, psychological, and spiritual equilibrium…In many cases, perhaps all, people get ill because there is something going 'wrong' in their lives. This could occur in a whole range of ways-relationships, environment, food, or job. From the perspective of disease as a manifestation of health, however, disease is seen to be a meaningful state that can inform health workers how to "help patients to heal themselves." I have a reprint of his paper.

Importance of Diet

On Tuesday, January 14, 2003 it was a very interesting day. The presenters talked of the importance of western medicine, especially as it related to surgery, diabetes, and other things that we cannot do without today. However, when the patient faces eastern medicine, it is called the "business of being" which includes personal interviews that stress information gathering and the discussion of diet. Diet is foremost in every one of these medications; diet is in the diagnosis. The doctors themselves are knowledgeable of the details of "food as medicine" with a strong belief that diet will heal. The eastern doctors do not relegate the discussion of diet to a "dietitian" as they do in Western medicine.

Need for regulation and standardization of herbs and supplements

There was a speaker by the name of Horst Rachelbacher, who was a businessman who founded Alvada Beauty products, which is "natural" beauty products. He talked about the contamination of the environment and the difficulty of finding herbs that are not contaminated. Another speaker talked about the fact that there has to be some regulation or standardization of herbs and supplements.

Western doctors will change only when the consumer demands it

Every speaker stated that the consumer is demanding change from their doctors to recognize the individual patient's unique needs. Western doctors will change when the consumer demands it but not until then, according to some speakers.

One speaker said that you have a choice. You can either go to a holistic doctor or to a Western doctor, at least in India, but not in the US. However, the ideal is to have it all in one--a western doctor trained in alternative medicine. Yet, there is another side to the coin. What we are looking at here is practicality. In other words, you can't have a western doctor who learns all about the alternatives without the alternative medicine doctor really understanding western medicine and the science based method

Importance of scientific studies

They also talked about the importance of doing scientific studies of alternative methods. In third world countries, there is no money available to do this. However, another problem in using scientific studies for some therapies such as acupuncture, when acupuncture is as much an art in the hands of an experienced acupuncturist as opposed to one who is trained in the basics. How do you say acupuncture does this and that when there may be 150 ways of practicing acupuncture? You have good acupuncturists and you have acupuncturists who are not especially good.

Western medicine is more toxic than eastern medicine

The safety issue was raised. The speakers made it very clear that western medicine is more toxic than eastern medicine.

Examination by an Indian holistic doctor

I made an appointment for an examination with a holistic doctor who has a clinic here in India to come up with some kind of diagnosis for the fact that I still have weakness. The examination took 1 hour and 15 minutes. Different from the western doctor, no blood pressure taken although he told me that with my body type, low blood pressure is common as well as being rather cold (hands and feet). I will tell you what he did. He listened very carefully to my history. I had his attention for that hour and fifteen minutes. He told me that I had an allergy to milk and all milk products and that I was to go off of anything with milk. He was not the first doctor, but the third holistic doctor, who told me the same thing about my digestive problems. When I think about it I felt that his diagnosis was corroborating Dr. Frackelton's in Cleveland, the preventive medicine doctor who is more clinical and more western, not quite as much hands on, and Master Bowen-in Lee in Boston where I am going after India for a week of therapy. I did not think that he was as good as Master Bo-in Lee who used all my medical records and had new blood tests done along with the techniques of Eastern medicine. I feel more confidence in and comfortable with integrative medical techniques rather than just Western or Eastern medicine.

Colorful personalities

This is Wednesday night:

What a Day! I can't even wait for tomorrow morning to record this. First of all I must mention the party last night. It reminded me of parties that I used to read about in "Women's Wear Daily," where famous dress designers come together with their eccentricities and their well-dressed women. The people attending here have the most unusual, unique personalities. One little mustached man, called "Romeo," who seemed to know everyone, but no one knew exactly what he did except underwrite part of the conference. He said he wanted to come to Ohio. I don't think he knows where Ohio is. Outspoken, funny, they look all kinds of ways-- short, tall, and eccentrically dressed. There were very rich businessmen who have sold their businesses and are now doing good things and live in New York or Tibet, and the laughter and the friendliness was just unbelievable. They were all sincere and open, and I cannot believe the countries. There's no France, no Germany, no Russia, no South America. However there were people from England, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. You've got countries like Thailand, and Sri Lanka and other countries we read about where people are murdered by terrorists and violence is common. But I didn't see anybody from Africa although they had big workshops on AIDS. Everybody spoke English. It seems as if everybody has a sense of humor, I heard a story about a workshop that was called "Chi Reflexology". Well, everybody wanted to know what in the world was Chi Reflexology. I did not attend but my new-found friend said to me that what this gentlemen did was that he takes the power points or touch points on the feet and he was working away and the audience was watching diligently and he was pushing this point and he was pushing that point and then all of a sudden his hands started waving around, waving around and waving around until all of a sudden he stood up and said "You know what? I don't have any idea what happened here, I don't know what I was doing, I don't even know what happened, but isn't it wonderful!" and my friend said everybody was shocked because they were all taking this seriously. Then today when one of the organizers was talking, he mentioned the really important, reputable speakers and then laughed and said you know we have a lot of things represented here even some wacky things. It spread around the Conference about this Chi Reflexology fiasco. Yes, something wacky sneaked into the Conference, but everybody knew it was wacky after they saw it. Yet, it was the fact the Chi Reflexology was at least given, maybe not equal time, but some time. There was something on past-life regression, but I just couldn't attend it because all I could remember is reading in the Plain Dealer that on this past life regression somebody died. I mean some child died so I didn't even want to go to it. I was clouded by that article in the news media about a year ago.

Deepak Chopra

Today, Richard and I heard the best speaker I have ever heard. I have never seen such presence and brilliance. I had heard about him and I had seen his books but had never read any. Because of the hype I had a suspicion that he was just a bunch of ballyhoo. He talked for 2½ hours. Now you have to be a pretty good speaker to hold someone for 2½ hours. It was Deepak Chopra who has an amazing talent and even brilliance. What he has done is bring the eastern medical focus of mind/body/spirit into the realm of science and health. Without being confrontational, was able to criticize religion and the medical professionals. But even then, to put it into words, people tend to take a critique personally as though you have attacked "My" religion. I am going to get the videotape of his speech. He is probably the only person who can say what he says without offending anybody. He has you mesmerized. If you respect a really keen intellect with charisma, this is the man. This is the man I would like to see come to Cleveland.

Friendly

After the Chopra talk, there was much mingling and exchange of cards. It seemed as if the entire conference, everybody in attendance at the conference today, made friends with people they had not talked to before. I think I have met everybody here at this conference. I think we have exchanged cards with everyone. It is so different than the one in Arlington, VA. The Arlington, VA conference was that you didn't meet anybody even though you had every major cancer center represented there. You really didn't meet the other people. You didn't have dialog with the other people. It was strictly the speakers and questions and answers. The talk today brought together the 500 people who were present.

Lane Labs

Lane Labs showed two products. Now Lang Labs I am familiar with because they produce a supplement called MGN3 which is a bio-grain made up of Shitake mushroom enzyme and a special kind of grain that the first studies show increase the T3, T4 killer cells. Another was a "marker", a kit whereby with a blood test you can see whether your cancer is growing. I went up to Dr. Lane afterwards and said "Why aren't we doing this in the states?" and he looked at me "You know because the hospitals have millions of dollars in their scanning equipment." The reason third world countries are so interested in it is because they don't have all of that scanning equipment. One time, my oncologist in Cleveland said to me that the immune system has nothing to do with my cancer spreading or returning. I can't believe that. I'm still in kind of a state of shock from that comment.

Mr. Peter Amata: Integrative Medicine in North America: A National Model

Mr. Amata operates a health clinic in northern Pennsylvania, Clarks Summit, PA. It is called Inner Harmony Wellness Center. It is out-patient only. The website is www.innerharmonywellness.com.

He told Richard and me later that he tried very hard to interest the mainstream doctors in learning about and integrating his clinic, but he was rebuffed and continues to be rebuffed. However, he has a robust and successful clinic. It is a business model. The reason for its success is that the general public wants options and is aware of the benefits of alternative medicine, and this clinic is presenting just that. He does not receive referrals from mainstream doctors for patients. I think that we should visit this place as it is not far from Cleveland.

Soukya - Spa/health center

Today visited a new health/spa/resort. We went to Soukya, a health resort/spa for healing and holistic medicine, that has just opened outside of Bangalore. The man who has done this is the man who put this entire holistic seminar together as well as the last one in 1989, Dr. Isaac Mathai, was the person who developed Soukya. This young man, who is in his early 40's, raised money and convinced Dr. Kim Jobst to organize the Holistic Health Summit. Our visit to Soukya was to show off an Ayurvedic new spa which offers three kinds of evaluation: Holistic Health Evaluation; Homeopathic Evaluation; and Ayurvedic Evaluation and four different treatment packages: De-stress Program; detoxification, Ayurvedic program and last, a rejuvenation program. I believe that what he has done here was developed with great sincerity and with considerable financial risk. It is expensive by Indian standards. We were treated to an impressive and serious inaugural ceremony and dedication in the evening which lasted 2 hours. We sat there and I felt that we were witnessing a wedding ceremony. Special guests, family, friends, and people who had supported the idea as well as government officials were introduced and spoke. The entertainment was also very special and beautiful. You could see their tremendous love and respect for this young man who has put together two seminars, brought people from all over the world in alternative medicine to make these presentations and developed an ideal health spa incorporating holistic medicine. Soukya exemplifies the Ayurvedic philosophy and policy of spending time and listening to each patient before coming up with the diagnosis and treatment which is unique to each individual. It was very impressive.

Focus on Prevention rather than treatment of Disease

Taken into its entirety, the Conference focused more on prevention of disease rather than the treatment of disease. The philosophy was to strengthen the mind/body/spirit to ward off disease. Disease is the result of imbalance in a life style that opens up the body to disease.

Two and a half years ago when I was confronted with my disease, I chose a course, the only one presented to me. However, if I knew then what I do today, I would have been presented with options and it is very possible that I would not have chosen the course that I did. I would have done what J. Krishnamurti said in his book, "Life Ahead" which I read 40 years ago - "Think outside the box - question all establishments, whether that be government or religious and yes, that would include the medical establishments, all of them.

Last Day before Leaving India

Now here we are in the airport in Bangalore, ready to take off to Bombay at the end of our trip. What an experience! Last night we had the final party to the closing of the holistic summit. I cannot believe the friendships we made, the wonderful people that we met and the warmth of this entire conference, so much different than that in the US. The last speaker of the day, early in the morning, stood out; he was the aborigine from Australia who actually challenged Maslow's Theories of Hierarchy. He said that his people had been driven into the sea, their culture destroyed. He said that they have the lowest life expectancy in the world. "Maslow," he said, "forgot the important thing in his hierarchy - the will to live." His people lost their will to survive when their culture was destroyed.

The last evening ended up with a banquet and dancing, and I have never seen so many Indians dance to Motown. It was so much fun. Richard and I have an idea on how our foundation can make a difference in introducing to Northeast Ohio integrated medicine, by introducing some of the speakers that we heard here in India in such a way that it does not offend. Say for instance that you believe in alternative medicine and you really shove it and at the same time insult western medicine without really giving credit to western medicine, it would turn off the audience, they will shut their minds. Our purpose is to open up the minds of the medical profession in Northeast Ohio. Make them feel that they would like to know more. The entire philosophy of integrated medicine, Chopra can explain it and explain the many positive things about the many different kinds of medicine. He could also answer any kind of question from the medical profession no matter how difficult. We also think that Dr.Kim Jobst, the man who put this conference together and has done a paper with Dr. Whitehouse at University Hospitals, would coordinate this and could also be a potential speaker. If we wanted it larger, it would be the man from Israel and the Aborigine. All these speakers bring back to medicine its soul which has been lost : the doctor as healer, not technician, treating the body as a whole through preventative medicine.

A Purpose for Living

I was thinking of Dr. Berger and his mission to improve the health of the people of Cleveland. During the Conference we constantly heard of the importance of diet to preventative medicine. The Center for Mind/Body Health in Washington D.C. offers a course in "Food as Medicine." The key to good health, to improve people's health is to improve their diet. The aborigine, Kakkib Li'Dthia Warrawee'a who also spoke about "Foolish is the Doctor Who Despises the Knowledge Acquired by the Ancients", stated something that I thought could be equated to the young men in the inner city of Cleveland who have a destructive lifestyle and that is that people must have a purpose to live. They must have hope in a better future, otherwise their behavior is self-destructive. They have to know and believe that life would be better in the future if they changed their life-styles. He said the aborigines lost that and therefore have the highest death rate of any race in the world. If people are to have long and productive lives, they have to believe that life is worth living, not just for the moment.

Side-trip to Mysore

To finally end the week, the last day we took a trip to Mysore, three hours south of Bangalore. We hired an excellent guide, a driver and a Toyota air-conditioned SUV. It was perfect that it happened at the end of the trip not the first part of the trip. The first part of the trip, a week before, we felt very insecure, very apprehensive because we did not know the people. We didn't know if our safety was in jeopardy. At the end week we were feeling very comfortable with the people, feeling safe in the country with the politeness of the Indian people and their softness and their spirit. We became open to the Indian people as we would like to see Americans open up their minds more to consider the value of integrative medicine.

The fact that in the great palace at Mysore, 99% of the people visiting the palace were Indians who were appreciative of their heritage was a tremendous positive. I was amazed by the upkeep of the palaces in the historical places and the history. The guide gave us the complete history of the Maharaja, who was Muslim and ruled until 1799. The 40 years that he reigned, what he did, and how the English came in was told with eloquence. He also gave us history lessons on the place, of the English rule and the history. It was much better than what I had read in the guide book. He said, "We Indians don't want to dwell on the bad things; we only want to take with us and concentrate on the good things that the English did for the country. They did not destroy our culture, they did not destroy our people."

This is so different than many of the countries we have been in. When we were in China, I felt the entire history of China before the communist time was obliterated. We just knew about what happened since 1949. Here the beauty of the women in their dignity, the people and the way they dressed expressed their history.

We also stopped at a cattle auction that only occurs once a year and there were hundreds and hundreds of cattle for sale. The guide explained that people treat the cattle better than they do their own bodies. They bath the cattle every single day even though they do not bathe themselves every day. They clean the cattle and take them to doctors because the cattle is their livelihood. We were real curious because the men here all crowded around looking at me because they see women in sari's with long black hair and there I was with my short gray hair, and they weren't used to it. I was dressed in casual but mannish clothes and they were amused that I had a "pretty' face. The guide said "a very pretty face." I won't forget him soon. They were not threatening, just curious and very respectful, but I had a whole group surrounding me. They also couldn't understand why we would want to take pictures of them and not the animals since they thought the animals were so much more interesting, so much better than themselves.

The Indian food was quite good although my stomach is a little queasy. So is Richard's at the end of the week, and we were going to take one of those pills (I forget what they are) but I buried them in the suitcase so we're going home on the plane just a little queasy. My stomach settled on the plane when the stewardess recommended camomile tea. She swore by it. I think we are very, very tired. The jet-lag and the time change got us much more than we thought it would. We probably didn't rest as much as we should have, but this last day we absorbed so much thanks to this fantastic guide. The fact that he explained so much of the country and Mysore has made us think seriously of taking a 3-week tour of India that he would arrange in September or early October. The Great Festival would be going on and the weather would be good. I asked Richard why he wanted to do it this year. He said "…because I am 74 and you are 66." Thanks a lot!