Anything happening To You?

Bore Gowda and Veere Gowda were two poor farmers, living in the same village. They both owned small holdings of agricultural lands on the outskirts of the village. A fence of wild bushes (called "Beli" in Kannada) separated the two lands. Over a period of time, a growth of "Soapnut bushes" ("Seege Mele" in Kannada) developed in the fence. It was not intentionally planted by either of them. The seeds of the nearby bush were carried by heavy winds and hence the growth appeared on its own. A dispute arose between the two farmers as to who should be the rightful owner of this soapnut harvest. The problem could have been easily solved by sharing the crop. Their family members advised them that it is not worth a fight in the court, but they would not listen to them. The annual yield of the crop was valued at Two hundred Rupees.  Vanity stood between the two neighbours and they filed a case in the court against each other, each claiming that the fence belonged to him. 

For those who have not heard of Soapnut, it is a fruit of a thorny wild bush with a fruit somewhat similar to the tamarind fruit. While tamarind is edible and much sought after, Soapnut is not edible. In Kannada language it is called as "Seegekaayi". "Seege" is the name of the bush and its fruit (Kaayi in Kannada) is hence called "Seegekaayi". This nut was powdered and used to get rid of the extra oil when people of the earlier generation took their favourite "Oil bath". Seegekayi has the ability to wash off the excess oil on the body. This quality has led to the proverbial "Enne-Seegekaayi" relationship. Any enmity between two persons or groups was being referred to as "Enne-Seegekaayi" sambandha or "Oil-Soapnut" relationship. Modern bath soaps have replaced the Seegekayi powder, but it is still used in villages. 

Veere Gowda spent Five Hundred Rupees and got an order from the court in his favour. Bore Gowda appealed against the order, spent One Thousand Rupees, and got an injunction preventing Veere Gowda from harvesting the crop. The case went on and on with both farmers losing money in the bargain. Chenna and Chenni, son and daughter of Veere Gowda and Bore Gowda respectively, were in love and wanted to get married. But the "Enne-Seegekaayi" relationship between their fathers prevented their plans. 

***** 

The patient was really very patient in his overall approach. Reading of Bhagavadgita from time to time had made him realise that his body does not truly belong to him. (Please click here to understand as to who "Owns Your Body"). He was quite aware that at some stage or the other, surgeons had a unfettered right over the body. Slowly but steadily, the time for surgeons to exercise their right over his body duly arrived. There was indeed some dispute about the actual time to exercise the right, but not the right itself. The diagnostic laboratory head and a primary set of doctors passed a decree that the time has indeed come now. The patient knew fully well that any appeal would be useless and submitted himself to the repercussions.  

The date for surgery was finalised after carefully considering various factors. The patient was given detailed instructions as to how to prepare for the surgery. The undisputed fact that he himself had no role during the surgery was of no consequence. The only thing he had to do was to go to the venue and lie down on the surgical table. Even for that, he did not need much efforts as half a dozen able bodied guys were around him to take care in case he tried to change his mind at the last minute. He knew that the words "Feasting" and "Fasting" were two words used together on many occasions. He had not understood why it was so. Once the detailed instructions for surgery were received, all his doubts were cleared. The days of feasting were behind him and he could now look forward for a bright and prosperous "Fasting" future. 

The patient studied the voluminous literature given as "Instructions for surgery". He actually felt that had he been equally serious about studying like this in his school days, he would have certainly passed with higher grades. He took a print out of the instructions as he was more comfortable with paper and pen than with pick and click. All instructions were equally important, but he highlighted some as he considered them as more important than others. He felt very lucky as he was not really required to fast, but it was only that the usual food items were substituted by a bouquet of various tablets. The combination of various tablets, pills and capsules, of different colour, size and odour, reminded him of the "Gad-bad" ice-cream (a sumptuous mix of various flavours of ice-cream) he generously used to relish in his younger days. 

The instructions required that the stomach was absolutely empty at the time of surgery. All thoughts, whether good or bad, were to be banished from the stomach. Of course, they could be kept in the mind. No food since the previous midnight and no water since early morning on the surgery day. Though food was permitted till 12 PM (midnight), he did not feel it appropriate to keep an alarm and gulp some food just before midnight. There were no instructions to suck out the gas in the stomach. Even the surgeons knew that air was something on which no one could exercise any control. 

*****

Bore Gowda diligently followed up the progress of the case, though actually it was not much, by regular visits to the lawyer's office and court halls. He was required to pay some fee at each visit or else even his presence would not be acknowledged. He sold his small and meagre assets from time to time, pawned his wife's only gold chain, and used the money in his pursuit of justice. He refused to do small chores at home when his wife asked him to, reminding her that he had to attend the court case. But the lawyer and his clerk made him to do the same chores at their houses, which he did not mind. Family was denied use of vegetables as they were to be given to the advocate and his clerk. 

Bore Gowda finally lost the case. He could not face the family members now. He overheard a conversation between two farmers that DDT (Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloro-Ethane) powder was not a strong pesticide for worms attacking crops, but Falidol is very strong and useful. It can even kill human beings if swallowed by mistake. He went to a farmers co-operative society, purchased Falidol and mixed with some food items and took it home. He called his wife and nine children with great love and affection. 

"Come, all of you. I have not spent time with you due to court cases. Today, we will all happily eat together"

"Oh, it is such a good day!"

"Yes. Eat well and happily"

Hungry since two days, family members grabbed the items and ate hurriedly. Bore Gowda was looking at them with tear-filled eyes. 

"Are you enjoying the food?"

"yes, very much"

"Anything happening to you?"

"yes"

"What"

"Hunger"

Bore Gowda fainted. Family members continued to eat the remaining food.

*****

The patient duly reached the venue of the surgery at the appointed time. After all the formalities and some more medication, he was wheeled into the Surgical Room. 

The next things he realised was after four hours. He was no longer in the Operation Room now. He was in the Observation Room (name of which he came to know the day after) surrounded by a fresh set of hospital staff. There were wires all around his body and needle pricks in many places. He was happy he was the centre of attraction. 

One of the Doctors (patient did not really know, but thought so as the person was having a Stethoscope around his neck, like the proverbial Snake on Lord Shiva's neck) was asking some questions now.

"How are you feeling now?"

He was taught to say "I am fine, Sir. Thank you", sixty years ago when he was in school. Things had indeed changed over the years. He remembered that his grandson had taught him to say "I am Good" in response to such questions.  

"I am Good" (I was never bad, he reasoned)
"Do you have any pain?"

"No"

"Dizziness?"

"No"

"Nausea"

"No"

"Anything unusual anywhere in the body?"

"No. I don't feel anything"

"Anything happening to you?"

"Yes"

"What is it?"

"Hunger"

After nearly 24 hours since last meal, the only thing he really felt was hunger. Naturally. 

*****

Bore Gowda episode is from a Kannada Film "Naadinaa Bhagya" (Land's Destiny), released in 1970, some fifty five years ago. R Nagendra Rao, a big name in the Kannada film industry was the director and his son R N Sudarshan was the hero. Dr Rajkumar had a guest role in the film. The theme revolves around how trivial disputes destroy peace and families in villages.

For the record, knowing that Bore Gowda would do something undesirable, the hero of the film, Anand took care to substitute the Falidol bottle with Sugar syrup at the society. The family survives, all villagers learn their lessons and live happily ever after. 

As far as the patient was concerned, he was allowed to eat some sandwiches and drink some apple juice. 

*****

You can indeed enjoy long drawn court cases. And surgical operations as well. Only requirement is that you should be in good frame of mind. Or out of your mind.

Hitting The "Pause" Button

We indulge in many activities in our daily lives. Some are just routine activities, some are downright unnecessary and could be dispensed with altogether, while some others are really very important indeed. At least considered important at that time, though we may laugh at them ourselves sometime later. Some of these activities are the ones that should be done at a stretch and completed once a beginning has been made. Or else, we may have to do them all over again from the beginning. Then there are some other activities that can be stopped at any stage, or some identifiable stage, and then can be continued later on from where they were left off. There may be many a trivial things that  may be found unnecessary later on and could be totally dispensed with or abandoned altogether on a review. 

The practice of stopping activities at some point and resuming from there later on has existed for a long long time, probably from the times man has started thinking rationally. However, advent of computers and watching recorded programs on television appears to have given a definite term for this. "To hit the "Pause" button" is a very popular usage in today's world. It is clearer than the term "To put on the back burner", since things put on the back burner continue to simmer, albeit low, and need to be attended to within a definite time frame, unless they are taken off once and for all. 

While all this is applicable for various activities in our lives, what about life itself? Can it be "paused" and restarted after sometime? It is a very interesting question indeed. We know about certain medical terms like "CPR". Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is an emergency procedure that is used when someone's breathing or heartbeat stops. Definite steps are taken for chest compressions and rescue breaths to revive the person. But there are many examples when a person who is declared dead comes back to life and lives for quite sometime, and many times for several years. There are reports of dead bodies being carried for burial or cremation coming to life and making the people around run away in fear. Is it indeed a possibility of hitting a "pause button" for life itself? 

*****

The use of anaesthesia during surgical procedures cannot be called as hitting a pause button, as in such cases there is no real pause in the patient's life. The only result is that the patient on the operation table has a pause in his own knowledge of things that are happening to him as well as to others around him. A real pause is one where the person is actually certified as dead and yet resumes living after some time span. For the same reason, persons in coma for several months and years as well are not on a pause. 

There was a report of a brain surgery conducted in 2019 in Texas, USA where a patient was administered anaesthesia for a brain surgery. She was brought back to consciousness once the surgeons cut through her skull and reached the brain. She was given an iPad on which she could identify a number of colours, numbers, animals and other objects and answer the questions of the surgeons. Depending on the answers and if she made a mistake, surgeons would decide which areas of the brain are to be attended to during the surgery. This could be a hair raising experience for the readers, but it was live streamed on Facebook. Now there are many more reports of similar surgical interventions. But all these cannot be called as examples of hitting a "pause" button.

*****

The real hitting of "Pause" button in life are of those where the soul leaves the body, and being able to see things from a vantage point above, then travelling down a tunnel or a canyon undergoing a review of life sometimes, and sometimes accompanied by a guide. Such living or reliving of events from points of feeling both pain and joy they brought for others. Then the soul reenters the body and continues the journey of life in the same body from which it had moved away for a short span of time. 

Tales of such experiences are accepted by people who believe in the separation of soul and body, and also that soul is eternal, and it changes bodies from time to time. There have been many such stories we all have heard from time to time. There are indeed many examples where young boy or girl have claimed that their house is elsewhere, and when taken to those places as per description given by him, even recognised the relatives from the past lives. "Sonar Kella" (Golden Fort) is a 1971 mystery novel by noted Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray on such a subject. He also made a film based on this in 1974. The story revolves around a boy born in Bengal who claims his real house is in a place surrounded by Peacocks, Forts, and Camels. Finally the place he describes is identified as Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. "Reincarnation of Peter Proud" is a Hollywood movie made in 1975 on a similar theme of reincarnation. There are many Hindi films on the theme of reincarnation starting from "Madhumati" and "Karz", among others. 

Reincarnation is certainly different from hitting a "Pause", but is mentioned here as examples of believing in soul being eternal and taking many births. This is only to supplement the fact that during a "Pause" the soul leaves the body and reenters the same body after sometime. 

*****

Dr Raymond A Moody Jr is an American philosopher, psychiatrist and Physician who has done a lot of work on cases of "Pause" in life. His learning accomplishments are indeed remarkable. He got a PhD in Philosophy in 1969, studied Psychology later on and obtained a PhD in that subject as well. To add to these, he studied medicine and has a MS degree in medicine. His website lifeafterlife.com gives volumes of information about "Life after Life" or hitting a "Pause" in life. 

Dr Moody names such experiences as "NDE" or "Near Death Experience". He has visited a number of persons who had such experiences, interviewed them, made extensive notes and published many books, starting from "Life After Life" in 1975. It is said that he himself had such an experience in 1991. He is presently 80 years old and continues his work in this field. There are, of course, some controversies about his work.

*****

Life, Life after a pause in Life, and Life after Life are all very exciting subjeccts for those who are indeed interested in Life!