FOSSIL OF TODAY OR A CHAMPION OF TOMORROW

Thomas Szasz, the famous American psychiatrist writes “Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one’s self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily; and why older persons, especially if vain or important, cannot learn at all.”

Powerful words, truly transformational and that’s why I salute the brave thinkers among us. Remember how vociferously the surgeons doing cholecystectomy and hernia repair by open technique objected to the introduction of laparoscopic surgery? Remember how they cautioned that we were unnecessarily trying to complicate simple surgeries? Where are those open surgery advocates and stalwarts today? In the pages of history, and may their souls rest in peace! The very act of learning something new disrupts the way you’ve always seen things-and the way you’ve always been. A fresh idea pushes you out of your comfort zone and threatens the very foundations you’ve built your view of the world on.

That’s scary for nearly everyone and truly frightening for the vast majority! So rather than experience any form of discomfort of rowing in the turbulent waters of the unknown, most people regress – and return to their ‘Safe Harbor of The Known’. It feels better, seems safer and infinitely more cushy and comfortable. But, in truth, it’s not.

The problem is that refusing to learn and grow is the beginning of the end. Life is all about making tomorrow better than today. The progressive mind of a professional is obsessed with the idea of stepping into your next level of excellence with every passing hour. To cling to the thoughts and ways of performing that you’ve always known is to resign yourself to being average and mediocre. You are no more playing the game but being a mere spectator.

Neuroscientists will tell you that a single new piece of learning actually changes the very nature of your brain. The circuitry shifts. And the wiring expands. But in order to reach these new lands, we must lose sight of the shore-even for just a little while. Dare to be a Columbus or a Vasco de Gama and explore the unknown. And that takes guts. And there in lies professional leadership!

‘I know that’, ‘that is what works best for me’; ‘I have been doing that since ages’ are the utterances of a professional on the verge of retirement, a living fossil. He/she is on a slow and steady spiral downhill course and deserves only your sympathy, not your attention and admiration. The persons, who tell you that they are still learning and are not yet satisfied with their results and are sure something better can be offered, should be closely followed for they are the champions of tomorrow!

So, as we, along with countless others, look east with absolute awe and admiration towards the resilience and fortitude of the brave men and women who have dared to leave the beaten track and found one of their own to champion the world, what have you decided to become, a fossil of today or a champion of tomorrow?

ANTI AGING …..IT IS NO MORE A MYTH

Can you imagine living a healthy life well into your 120s? That could be a reality sooner rather than later. We all want to live a much longer, much healthier life. We want our friends, parents, and children to live long and in vigor. Aging saps our strength and ability to enjoy life, cripples us, and eventually kills us. Tens of millions die from medical conditions caused by aging each and every year. Serious scientific efforts are presently underway to understand and intervene in the aging process - not just to prevent frailty and disease, but to also repair and reverse the root causes of aging. And this is the cutting edge of research today.

The theory is that if the aging process is slowed down, then all the diseases and pathology associated with aging can be slowed down as well. Scientists believe that this can be achieved because all of our cells contain a DNA blueprint that could keep our bodies functioning correctly forever. In the decades ahead researchers will assemble new biotechnologies that can defeat aging, restore the old to health and vigor, and prevent the young from ever suffering the ravages of age. But how can we achieve this goal?

• Step 1: Stop Damaging Health
• Step 2: Adopt a Better Diet and Lifestyle
• Step 3: Support and Advocate Longevity Science

Step 1: Stop Damaging Health

Tobacco in any form – smoked, chewed or sniffed, is harmful to longevity and so are all the recreational drugs. Any beverage beyond the levels of moderation and a sedentary life style are totally unacceptable for maintaining a healthy life.

Step 2: Adopt a Better Diet and Lifestyle

If we do not forget to take our car for servicing periodically then why do we forget to visit your physician? This is particularly true for doctors themselves, and they have, over the years, proven to be the most careless. Fortunately, it's neither difficult nor expensive to use diet and lifestyle to live a longer life. Fast food catered by the multinational food chains are making you fast disappear from this earth, and hence their name. It is best to avoid them and stick to home cooked nutritious diet. Fruits as God have sent them, instead of packaged fruit drinks and beverages and regular balanced diet will prevent you from getting overweight. A  calorie restricted diet, daily exercises, brisk walking and some health supplements are what we can do at our end, but some steps need active interventions by the government and the society like reducing carbon emissions and increasing the green belt. Instead of spending our retired life in busy metropolitan cities, choosing quieter and cleaner suburbs or rural housings with appropriate health back-up may go a long way in increasing longevity.

Step 3: Support and Advocate Longevity Science

Today with newer science we can envisage how aging should be repaired and reversed. Aging will one day be cured, just like any other medical condition, but will that be soon enough and will we still alive, healthy, and active to see it. A revolution in biotechnology is presently underway, the Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS) but right now they do not have much to show.

Naturally the first question in longevity science, that comes to our mind is – why do we get old? What is the cause of ageing? Scientists have today trimmed down the list of causes to the following eight:

·         Accumulating AGEs

·         Buildup of Amyloid Between Cells

·         The Failing Adaptive Immune System

·         The Failing Innate Immune System

·         Declining Lysosomal Function

·         Mitochondrial DNA Damage

·         Nuclear DNA Damage

·         Buildup of Senescent Cells

The US Food and Drug Administration recently gave the go-ahead for clinical trials to be conducted on the world’s first anti-aging drug Metformin, used widely for treating Type 2 Diabetes.  

The drug has already been proven to extend animal lifespan, and the FDA has resultantly decided that trials should be conducted to see if it has the same effect on humans. Furthermore, anecdotal evidence was found last year by researchers at Cardiff University, who observed that patients with diabetes taking metformin were living longer than others who were not diabetic, in spite of diabetics having an average life expectancy that’s eight years shorter. Metformin is believed to have life-extending possibilities for humans because of its ability to increase the number of oxygen molecules released into a cell. This process is believed to boost cell robustness and longevity.

You might feel that Anti aging science is very noble and so must face no opposition from any quarter. Unfortunately that is not the case. It means different things to different people and all these interest groups have their own axe to grind.

• For the scientific community, anti-aging research refers exclusively to slowing, preventing, or reversing the aging process. There is, as of 2015, no proven medical technology that allows this goal to be accomplished in humans nor is there any currently available method (short of waiting for people to die) to accurately measure the effects of an alleged anti-aging therapy.

• In the medical and more reputable business community, anti-aging medicine means early detection, prevention, and reversal of age-related diseases. This is quite different from tackling the aging process itself, and a wide array of strategies and therapies are currently available which goes into the various health corporate check-up packages.

• The wider business community - including a great many fraudulent and frivolous ventures - views "anti-aging" as a valuable brand and a cunning way to increase sales. At the worse end of the scale, this leads to snake oil and tiger bone salesmen, "anti-aging" creams that scream hoarse to make skin look younger and free of wrinkles and age blemishes! If I choose to be very charitable with them then their concept “to look and feel younger in some way" - has no bearing on how long you live or how healthy you actually are.

So Anti-aging is both a valuable brand and important science that all these groups are attempting to control or profit from it and in many cases their aims are at odds with one another. Scientists feel, quite rightly, that the noise and nonsense coming from the anti-aging marketplace is damaging the prospects for serious, scientific anti-aging research. If people are under the impression that anti-aging means high-priced cream from Revlon marketed to the gullible and brand-aware, no government is going to give funding for a serious proposal in aging research. Government too are silently scared that if the longevity really increases exponentially then the pensioner hands may outnumber productive hands, as has already happened in many developing countries. It is getting more and more interesting, isn’t it! 

KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM

Wisdom and knowledge, both recurring themes in Bhagwat Geeta, are related but not synonymous. The dictionary defines wisdom as “the ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting.”  Knowledge, on the other hand, is “information gained through experience, reasoning, or acquaintance.” Knowledge can exist without wisdom, but not the other way around. One can be knowledgeable without being wise. Knowledge is knowing how to use a gun; wisdom is knowing when to use it and when to keep it holstered. Wisdom is the fitting application of knowledge. Knowledge understands the light has turned red; wisdom applies the brakes. Knowledge sees the quicksand; wisdom walks around it. Knowledge memorizes the Vedas and the Upanishads, wisdom utilizes the essence of these scriptures to enrich the life of one’s own other’s!

Knowledge is merely having clarity of facts and truths, while wisdom is the practical ability to make consistently good decisions in life. We often use words we think we understand, until someone asks us to define them. Then we are faced with the startling realization that we're—well, not quite sure; not definite; well, it's kind of like this; or God, I think I need a dictionary. Even then, sometimes, the dictionary just doesn't quite fill the bill. We read the definition and find that something is still missing. And that's the way with wisdom.

Lord Alfred Tennyson has very rightly said that "Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers". Knowledge is gathered from learning and education, while most say that wisdom is gathered from day-to-day experiences and is a state of being wise. But who wants to be wise today? People want to be other things instead - practical, successful, rich, respected - that don't involve wisdom, which is reserved for old people, the wise gray heads of society. And yet the way someone's life turns out depends on making wise choices. Every culture that values consciousness also values wisdom. T.S. Eliot lamented "Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?" And that is so true today. Google is the answer to all our quests in life and this source of information diarrhea has deluged the traditional source of knowledge, and wisdom appears to be hit even worse! We are gradually loosing the passion for solving problems but instead looking for the solved answers on the internet!

Wisdom and knowledge are linked. Wisdom is enhanced by knowledge and the ability to acquire knowledge effectively. But wisdom is also the ability to use knowledge in a practical and productive manner. Knowledge is often considered to be "externally generated," meaning that it comes primarily from outside sources, such as books, classroom lectures, videos, etc. On the other hand, wisdom is deemed to come primarily from "internal sources," meaning one's own introspective thinking, analysis, and judgment. Wisdom cannot be acquired and applied without knowledge, but knowledge isn't necessarily guided or enhanced by wisdom. An example of applying knowledge can be found in the development of nuclear bombs, which were the end result of thousands or perhaps millions of steps. Following this development, the decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki is sometimes understood as being wise, under the notion that these acts shortened World War II and thus saved thousands or even millions of lives. In terms of knowledge, the end result (the atom bomb being made) is obvious, but in terms of whether applying that knowledge was wise or not is still unclear and subject to intense debate.

Contrary to the popular belief, the wise do not always preach……though they are infinitely more capable of doing so. As Oliver Wendell Holmes in The Poet at the Breakfast-Table says "It is the province of knowledge to speak and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen” Wise people have accurate, perceptive insights into human behavior and understand how things work. They are observers of human nature, are master psychologists with excellent emotional intelligence. They have learned what they know from real life experience, not from academic study. They generally keep what they know to themselves, but are willing to share what they know with certain individuals. They are available to give advice to open-minded learners. They have a talent for asking questions that lead to new understanding. Are conscious of themselves, and can communicate what they know when they choose to. Knowledge is knowing the indication of a surgical procedure, but wisdom is when choosing not to operate even when indicated, because the risk associated with surgery may be more the risks associated with the disease.

So how does a person acquire wisdom? It develops from life-long, child-like curiosity and a playful spirit. Wise people are happy rather than hostile, no matter how badly life has treated them. You gain wisdom when you ask questions, explore, want to know how thing work, and learn valuable lessons from rough experiences.  The application of knowledge is often a matter of finding or knowing the right facts, meaning that there is a distinct difference between the "right" and "wrong" facts. In contrast, wisdom often requires much more than facts to perceive and choose the "right" action or to avoid the "wrong" action. The factors involved may include speculation, feelings, and moral or ethical values. In this general sense, applying knowledge tends to be a much simpler process.

Wisdom is the ability to use the best means at the best time to accomplish the best ends. It is not merely a matter of information or knowledge but of skillful and practical application of the truth to the ordinary events of life. It is awareness to be sensitive to this situation, to this person, uninfluenced by any corruption of the past. The knowledgeable but unwise hold out a false sense of happiness rooted in money, possessions, and status, and tell us that the best way to avoid the painful side of life is to devote hours to various distractions. But the world's wisdom traditions teach something very different, that there is a level of the mind where the potential for creativity, intelligence, peace, and joy is unlimited. 

AN URGENT NEED TO RELOOK AT OUR EDUCATION POLICY

Education is what remains with us once we have forgotten everything that was taught in classes and written in books. The books and the classes are just the vehicle of education and not prime beneficiary, our children should be the beneficiaries, and yet the system lays so much importance to the vehicle and so little to the beneficiaries. The fact that higher education is in deep and profound crisis is undeniable. Higher education is fast becoming a commodity by its very nature and is being limited to a package. No wonder the process of commoditization of education is going hand in hand with the process of its destruction. By this faulty process, creating students with open and inquisitive minds is fast disappearing.

Books and the internet are only sources of information. When this information is processed by a good teacher, made simple to grasp and easy to understand for the young and impressionable minds, what they get in turn is knowledge. Then in the children utilize this knowledge in their day to day life, season this knowledge with values they imbibe from their homes, their schools and the society, then what they acquire is wisdom. Wisdom, once acquired, is never lost. This entire journey from information to wisdom is what we call education!

So today, when we find students burdened with books and notes from their colleges, tuition and coaching classes on one hand and with the Frankenstein expectations of over-ambitious parents on the other, it is not surprising to see that they have no idea about the world around them. They are continuously trying to learn a package of things, which they memorize and reproduce in the examinations. In this vicious way we are only ensuring a complete destruction of their creative minds. But the very purpose of education was just the opposite of this, and today we seem to be absolutely oblivious of this big picture!

Remember how as children we would go outside the lines with our crayons while filling colours in our drawing copy. While to the Gurus of yesteryears that was creativity of the young mind, not ready to be confined by lines drawn by someone else, in today’s grammar it is indiscipline and dirty! The main objective of education - to open up the minds, is failing miserably by compelling every child to chase the same standard format of perfection. And now this malady, something that began very early at the school-level, has permeated the higher education system as well. Our education system is proceeding fundamentally in a direction opposite to one that was committed to by stalwarts like Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda and Prof. Ashutosh Mukherjee.

We must have a system that produces the intellectuals of free India, and not of the colonial order. We need young men and women, who are committed to the building of the nation and not yet another horde of clerks to run our offices. And for this we have to redefine our goals of higher education.

Whether one considers higher education to be a commodity or a human right is often determined these days by one’s philosophical, ethical, political, or economic outlook.  There are divergent views on this issue which spark polarization and fierce controversy.  In many western countries higher education was treated as a right for many years and some countries are still trying to maintain this tradition although it places an increasingly large financial burden on their governments.  The reality is that, today, higher education has become a commodity which is for sale.  Post dated certificates, diplomas and degrees are now saleable items of high value and they are in great demand in the national and global marketplace.  Developed countries create vast income by exporting education and cunning investors in India have realized that education sells like hot cakes!

The main drivers of this commodification or commercialization of higher education are scarce public funds, the knowledge-based economy, the prevalence of information and communications technology, and globalization.  Many governments are now unable to fund post-secondary (tertiary) education and they are now charging their students expensive tuition fees.  Austerity measures imposed by governments in these harsh economic times have led to deep cuts in higher education budgets. This is the reason why we see a mushrooming of private Medical Colleges, Dental Colleges, Engineering colleges and Law colleges.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, passed on December 10, 1948, declares in Article 26 that “Everyone has the right to education” and further declares that higher education “shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.” To this, because of our peculiar social milieu and our commitment to upliftment of the backward and disenfranchised, we have added the rider of reservation. Since higher education is a right, governments must do everything in their power to facilitate it and make it accessible to working-class and lower middle-class students.  Higher education is a public good which empowers individuals and communities to understand, relate to, and improve their existence.  It is an avenue for individual, social and economic development.  In the interests of preserving democracy and equality of opportunity in higher education, governments need to prioritize the provision of higher education for students in the lower socioeconomic brackets.

In the era of Privatization today institutions and teachers have become providers and students have become consumers in the growing higher education commodity market.  This has changed the nature of teacher-student relationships in a negative way and medical colleges are no exceptions.  The marketplace has also changed the value we place on different subjects and forms of knowledge.  Knowledge and skills are being taught more and more for instrumental reasons such as getting specific jobs.  Private companies are becoming more and more involved in the funding and curricula of higher education.  In this context only knowledge and skills relating directly to the marketplace will be taught.  Critical areas will be neglected and genuine education will suffer.  Already, more and more students are abandoning the humanities as getting a job is easier with a professional degree.

Some of the ideals of education have been forgotten, such as the upliftment of the masses, and concern relative to social and ethical issues. Governments must find creative ways to protect equality of opportunity for all students in higher education.  Teachers must inspire the weakest student in their class and remind him time and time again that he or she is precious and has a sacred purpose to fulfill in this world. Parents too must do their bit and every time I hear about yet another young man or woman committing suicide in the coaching factories of Kota I see yet another set of grief stricken parents who have miserably lost out in the exciting and gratifying game of parenting.

MY GENE POOL….WHY AM I PROUD OF IT?

I am very proud of my gene pool and like many others from my Alma mater, I too believe that I have been a witness to a golden era, which will perhaps never come back. I know, this is what seniority does to you, makes you nostalgic and brings out the good old stories from your cerebral library. So here is one such story I have heard from my seniors.

A senior colleague of mine, who is senior to me by quite a few years and has been holding the post of the Head of the Department in a premier medical institution for over a decade now, was the topper of the Combined Pre-medical Test (CPMT) of his year of admission. He did not belong to Lucknow, but as every topper would do, he chose to join King George’s Medical College. He came from a very modest background and though in those good old days their tuition fee was Rs. 16.00 and the mess bill was around Rs. 40.00 even that was a burden on his family! To top it, he needed books and clothes and as there was no mess service on Saturday evening, and he did not have the money to eat out……. he would simply fast! This process continued for about a month but soon he came to the conclusion that this was impractical and as there was a Medical College in his native city, he wrote an application to the Principal of our Institution and requested for a transfer to his native city.

Now, the story takes a twist. What do you think was the response of our Principal, who besides being the Head of the Institution with all its academic, social and administrative responsibilities was also the Head of the largest department of the College? Do you think that the high and mighty had the time for a nervous and aggrieved freshman? He surely did. What struck him was why should the topper of CPMT choose to leave his institute and opt for something lesser? What is bothering him? Why is he not feeling at home in his institution? Fortunately, the Principal’s son too got selected through the CPMT that year and so was in the same class as my senior colleague. He made some enquiries about him and came to know that the CPMT marks were no fluke, this fellow was truly brilliant in studies and extremely polite and soft spoken. So he did the next expected thing, called him to his Principal’s office.

He made my senior colleague sit comfortably and read his application, which was in front of him. In very few words he reminded him about the glorious traditions of our institution and how blessed he was being a member of our family. Then asked him why he wanted to give up this family without giving it a chance. With moist eyes my senior told him the truth, his family background and how it was very difficult for his father to run two establishments, one at home for his siblings and one in Lucknow for him. In his deep and concerned voice the Principal asked him if this was the only reason for his request. And when my senior said yes, he curtly told him that it was not a good enough reason and he would have to stay in our college. He granted him full scholarship i.e. exemption of tuition fee as long as he would study in the college, book allowance for all semesters for purchase of dissectors, manuals, books and stationeries, and finally told him that every Saturday afternoon after college he will have to come home with his son, so that they both can study together. He reminded him that just as he had a father back home, in the campus he, the Principal, was responsible for his wellbeing and will remain his father. He then folded the transfer application and returned it to my senior and asked him to rush back to his class.

This is how he nurtured the gene pool!

WHO SHOULD BE OUR NEXT PRESIDENT?

Have you ever given it a thought as to who should be the next President, after Pronob da leaves office at the end of this term or the next term? I have and here are my criteria.

1. He should not be from politics. 

2. He / She should be inspirational - a role model like Kalam. 
3. He / she should be of impeccable integrity 

4. He / she should have excelled in his/her chosen field.
5. As India is a young country he should not be very old
6. He should have an international presence and recognition... not like Pratibha Patil. 

7. His image should convey the image of the new aspirational India.
8. He / she should be linguistically blessed with proficiency in English and Hindi 

9. He / she should have excellent man management skills and an open mind without prejudices.
10. He / she should not be afraid to swim against the tide if that is good for the nation.

Now that I have given you the 10 commandments give me your choice. I have narrowed down my choice to three, but I will tell you only after hearing your choices.

Don't bother about who will be politically correct. Tell me who is your choice? By rattling down my criteria of an ideal President I am not fixated on one name. What I have done is encouraged you to make your choice of the first citizen of this country who will encourage one and all and be an embodiment of an ideal Indian. He should be a person who will make us all proud of being an Indian.

So, let us hear from you. Share this with other discussion groups so that we start discussing in a mega scale. Remember, if you choose to remain silent a not so deserving President may be thrust upon us........ it has been done in the past. So speak up and make your voices heard. This is democracy of 21st. century and your e-participation matters.

This is a blog which I posted in 8 discussion groups and waited for a response for the next 72 hours. I managed to collect just over 200 responses.  I told you that I have my three choices and I will tell you after I hear your responses, so these were my three choices:

1. Ratan Tata – He fits almost hand in gloves with all my ten commandments. An honest businessman whose heart bleeds for the country, he showed his mettle after 26/11 when he not only assisted in the rehabilitation of all his own employees in the Taj, but also showed exemplary social responsibility towards all those who were affected including people working at other unfortunate sites and the policemen, the firemen and the general public. Radia tapes failed to dent his reputation of an upright and emotional patriot, with his heart in the right place and when I analyze all your responses he remains the most popular choice.

2. Rahul Dravid – I sincerely believed I will be the only person rooting for a President as young as him, but you surprised me. This only goes to prove that goodness of his heart shines through for all to see. A thorough gentleman, an achiever extraordinaire, one who is ready to do anything for the team, and yet raise his voice against any wrong without any fear, Rahul is an outstanding orator and a man of vision. His Bradman Oration a couple of years ago and his Pataudi Oration a couple of days back has shown how fearlessly he can swim against the tide of deceit and fraud all alone, without bothering if others will support him.

3. Kailash Satyarthi – He was my third choice, but I must admit he is not very high in your list. I think he is a brave crusader who was discovered by the world much earlier than he was discovered by us, and we can undo the wrong and give a very big boost to his crusade against child labour by making him our President. After all how many countries have chosen a Nobel laureate to be their President!

While you all were with me on Ratan Tata and Rahul Dravid, the third person of your choice was N.R. Narayana Moorthy. I think he will make an excellent President for he satisfies all our ten commandments and is much more. I respect your choice. The fourth person in your list was the Metro Man E. Shridharan. With Konkan Railway and Delhi Metro among his conquests, this wizard of engineering and management surely stands out truly Presidential! Kailash Satyarthi was your fifth choice.

A lot of you have quite justifiably been skeptical and opined that politics and not talent will be the criteria for selection and suggested mostly Lal Krishna Advani and Mohan Bhagwat’s name. This may well be true but by your responses it is clear that they are not your choices. So at least this microcosm of literati is thinking in the right direction.