The Day Sita Stopped to Listen: A Story of Prevention and Hope from Rural Nepal!

Sita never thought that a simple health check could change the way she looked at her life!

Sita is a 46-year-old mother from a small village in rural Nepal. Her days usually began before sunrise. 

By the time the first light appeared over the hills, she had already collected water, prepared food for her family, fed the animals, and started thinking about the work waiting for her in the fields.

Like many women in her village, Sita was always busy looking after everyone else.

Her own health could wait.

For years, she had occasionally felt tired and thirsty. Sometimes she would complain of headaches or feel unusually weak after working in the fields. But there was always an explanation.

"It is because I worked too much."

"Maybe I did not sleep well."

"I will be fine tomorrow."

And tomorrow always came.

One morning, a health worker from the nearby health post arrived in the village with a simple message: "Come and check your blood pressure and blood sugar. It will only take a few minutes."

Sita almost ignored the invitation.

She had work to do.

But something made her stop!

She joined a small group of women who had gathered under a tree near the community meeting place. One by one, their blood pressure was checked. Then came the blood sugar test.

When it was Sita's turn, she sat quietly and held out her finger.

The health worker looked at the result and then checked her blood pressure again.

"Sita, you should visit the health post for further evaluation," she told her gently.

Sita looked worried.

"Is something wrong?"

The health worker explained that her blood pressure was high and that her blood sugar was also higher than it should be. She needed further assessment and regular follow-up.

Sita was silent for a moment.

"But I don't feel sick," she said.

That sentence is heard in many villages.

And perhaps that is one of the greatest dangers of diabetes and hypertension.

Sometimes, the body gives us warnings long before we are ready to listen. And sometimes, it gives us no warning at all.

Sita had always believed that serious illness meant pain, fever, or being unable to work.

She had never imagined that a person could have high blood pressure or diabetes and still wake up every morning, walk to the fields, cook for the family, and carry on with life.

The health worker explained that this was exactly why regular screening was important.

Sita went to the health post.

There, she learned that her condition could be managed. She was advised about her diet, physical activity, medication when necessary, and the importance of regular follow-up.

There was no miracle.

There was no overnight transformation.

There was simply a decision.

Sita decided that she would no longer ignore her health.

She began making small changes.

She reduced sugary drinks and unnecessary sweets. She became more careful about the amount of salt she used in cooking. Instead of thinking that exercise had to mean going to a gym - which did not even exist in her village - she understood that walking, working in the fields, and staying physically active could all contribute to a healthier life when combined with appropriate medical advice.

Most importantly, she began attending her follow-up visits.

But Sita's story did not stop with her.

She started talking to her neighbours.

When women gathered to collect water, she spoke about getting their blood pressure checked.

When families met at community gatherings, she reminded them that feeling healthy did not always mean being healthy.

Some listened.

Some laughed.

"Why should I check my blood pressure when I feel perfectly fine?"

Sita would smile.

"I said the same thing."

Slowly, more people began visiting the health post.

An older farmer discovered that his blood pressure was dangerously high.

Another woman learned that she had diabetes.

A man who had never considered himself at risk finally agreed to have his blood pressure checked.

None of them had gone to the health post because they were seriously ill.

They went because someone had encouraged them to check before it was too late!

That is the power of prevention.

In rural Nepal, where families may live far from hospitals and where daily survival often takes priority over preventive healthcare, a blood pressure machine, a simple blood sugar test, and a few minutes of conversation can become much more than medical services.

They can become a second chance!

Sita now tells people in her village:

"Don't wait until your body forces you to stop. Take care of yourself while you are still able to work, laugh, and sit with your family."

Her message is simple.

Her life is proof of it.

Diabetes and hypertension do not always announce themselves loudly. Sometimes they arrive quietly, becoming part of a person's life before that person even knows they are there.

That is why prevention matters.

That is why early detection matters.

And that is why health awareness must reach beyond cities and hospitals, into the villages, the farms, the homes, and the communities where people often put their own health last.

Sita was fortunate that someone asked her to stop for a few minutes.

Perhaps someone in another village is waiting for the same invitation.

So let us take that message to them.

Let us encourage our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, farmers, teachers, and neighbours to know their blood pressure, check their blood sugar, stay active, eat wisely, and seek medical advice when needed.

Because prevention is not only about avoiding disease.

Prevention is about protecting the people we love and giving families more healthy years together.

And sometimes, saving a life begins with something as simple as asking:

"When was the last time you checked your blood pressure?"

Let's not wait for a wake-up call!

Let's create the moment that wakes us up today!

ROSHAN BHANDARI

When the Whistle Screamed..

Hi, I'm Maya! Today, I'm going to tell you the story of my life in my village, 'Tari', located in Pyuthan- a remote, mid-western hilly district of Nepal. The wind in Tari has a voice. It whispers through the ancient pines and rustles the leaves of the maize fields that cling to our hillsides. For most of my life, its song was the only one I knew. But for a while, a different, quieter sound filled our home- the weary sigh of my 'Aama' (mother)!

It wasn't anything dramatic at first. She’d dismiss it! "It’s just a headache, Maya. The firewood is heavy." Or, "I’m just tired, my daughter. It’s the damp weather." We, in the villages of Pyuthan, are strong. We carry doko (a type of traditional Nepali bamboo-wooven basket) heavier than ourselves, we walk miles for water, and we endure. So, when Aama started getting short of breath on the climb back from the spring, we thought it was just age. When she complained of a dull throbbing at the back of her head, we brewed her chiya (tea) with ginger.

We were stitching a wound with a thread of ignorance!

The crisis came on a Tuesday, as sharp and sudden as a winter hailstorm. I was outside, mending a fishing net, when I heard a thud from inside. I found her on the mud-plastered floor, one hand clutching her chest, the other clawing at the air. Her face was ashen, beaded with a cold sweat. She couldn't speak, only gasp. My heart didn't just beat; it tried to escape my chest.

"Baa!" I screamed for my father. Together, we half-carried, half-dragged her, our breaths ragged clouds in the cool air, down the stony path to the village health post. That short walk felt longer than the journey to Kathmandu, the capital city.

The village's health post was a simple building, but in that moment, it was a fortress. The community health worker, Sarita Didi, and the visiting auxiliary health worker, Ramesh Dai, moved with a calm urgency I will forever be grateful for. They laid Aama down, wrapped a cuff around her arm, and their faces tightened. I heard words I didn't understand: "Blood pressure… dangerously high… hypertensive crisis!"

They gave her a medicine that dissolved under her tongue. Slowly, the terrifying gasps subsided into ragged breaths, and then into an exhausted sleep. She had been saved from a stroke, from death itself, by minutes and by proximity!

The real healing began the next day. Aama was weak but alive. Ramesh Dai sat with us, my father and me, on the wooden bench outside the health post. He didn't use complicated words.

"Your mother's body," he said, his voice gentle but firm, "is like a pressure cooker on a fire that is too high for too long. The fire is the salt, the oily foods, the worry. The whistle that finally screamed was this attack. We were lucky it screamed here, and not alone at home."

He called it "Uchcha Raktachap"- meaning 'High Blood Pressure' in Nepali. It wasn't a ghost or bad luck; it was a silent, manageable condition! He drew pictures for us- of a heart straining, of narrow pipes clogging with fat. He explained the tablets, not as magic, but as helpers that would keep the pressure cooker's fire at a safe level.

The counseling was a revolution in our little home! We learned that our beloved, comforting foods were the problem. The generous pinch of salt in the dal (pulses), the ghee we lavished on our rotis (chapati), the pickles preserved in salt that were a winter staple, the fatty buffalo meat on festivals- they were all quietly building a wall inside Aama's arteries.

Change is hard in a village where tradition is the deepest root. My father, at first, grumbled. "What is food without salt? It is like life without joy." But seeing Aama's pale face was argument enough.

So, we began. I became the family's "Salt Police." I started using less than half the salt we used before, learning to lean on the flavors of fresh turmeric, garlic, and cilantro. We swapped our regular tea for lemon tea. We boiled vegetables instead of frying them. We walked together every evening, not for work, but for our hearts. Aama, initially reluctant, started looking forward to these walks. We would stop and talk to neighbors, the very hills that had witnessed her struggle now became her sanctuary.

The tablets were non-negotiable. Every morning, with her chiya, she took her little white pill. It became a ritual, as sacred as her morning prayers.

Months passed. The color returned to Aama's cheeks. The weary sighs were replaced by her laughter, a sound I realized I had missed dearly. The wind in the pines once again sang a sweeter song.

But my journey wasn't over. I couldn't forget the fear, the ignorance that had almost cost us everything. If this "silent killer" was in my home, it was in others, too!

I started talking. At the water spring, I’d tell the aunties, "My Aama got sick from too much salt. We are controlling now." I accompanied Sarita Didi on her home visits, not as a health worker, but as a daughter who had seen the monster's face. I told our story- the thud, the frantic run, the words "hypertensive crisis." I made it real.

We organized a small 'sabha' (local gathering) at the health post. Ramesh Dai spoke, but so did I. I held up our salt container and a bowl of fresh lemons. "This one," I said, pointing to the salt, "almost took my mother. This one," I said, holding up a lemon, "helps keep her with me."

It wasn't a complex medical seminar! It was a story! A human story from a daughter of Tari!

Now, when I walk through the village, I see small changes. An aunty tells me she's started adding less salt to her curry. A dai (brother) says he's trying to walk more. The health post's blood pressure machine, once gathering dust, now has a small queue every Tuesday!

Aama is my living proof. Her life is my message. The fight against 'High Blood Pressure' isn't fought in big hospitals with fancy machines alone! It is fought in our kitchens, on our footpaths, and in our hearts. It is fought by choosing a lemon over a pinch of salt, a walk over a worry, and awareness over fear. And in Tari, we are finally learning to listen, not just to the wind, but to the quiet whispers of our own hearts!

 "Sarah's Wake-Up Call: A Story of Prevention and Hope"

                                                          

Sarah never saw it coming...

Sarah was a vibrant 32-year-old mother of two, with always something to juggle between her career and kids, and everything in between. Like so many of us, she thought she was invincible-until the day she wasn't.  

It was on one afternoon when Sarah was picking her kids up from school that she suddenly felt light-headed and dizzy; her vision suddenly blurred, and her heart pounding in her chest. She passed it off as stress, yet deep within herself, she knew this wasn't right.  

 

A few days later, and at her husband's insistence, Sarah visited her doctor. It was a diagnosis that sent her reeling: hypertension, almost to the point of severe, and the beginning stages of type 2 diabetes. Her doctor showed her just how all those years of ignoring her health, grabbing meals at irregular times when she could, and living on sweetened snacks had finally caught up with her.

 

"I can't believe this is happening to me," Sarah said, tears welling up in her eyes. "I thought I was too young for this."

 

Her doctor’s response was simple but powerful: "Sarah, it's never too early or too late to take control of your health. You have the power to change your future."

 

That moment was Sarah’s wake-up call. She realized she had been given a second chance—a chance to be there for her children, to watch them grow, and to live a life free from the chains of chronic illness.

 

And Sarah didn't waste any more time. So she started making small changes: switching out soda for water, adding in fruits and vegetables into her meals, setting aside time each day to walk. It wasn't easy, but with each passing day she felt stronger, more alive!!

 

As the weeks turned into months, Sarah’s blood pressure stabilized, and her blood sugar levels improved. Her energy returned, and with it, a new sense of purpose. Sarah knew she couldn’t keep this journey to herself.

 

She began sharing her story online, writing about her struggles and triumphs, and encouraging others to get checked, to make those small but life-changing choices. Sarah’s blog became a beacon of hope for many—a reminder that prevention is possible and that early detection can save lives!!

 

"If my story can help even one person take action, then it’s all worth it," Sarah wrote in her latest post.

 

………… Inspiring? Right? Yes, We need to be inspired by stories like Sarah’s!!

Through our work, let’s together aim to spread messages that promote a healthy lifestyle and raise awareness about the prevention and early detection of diabetes and hypertension!!

 

Let's make sure no one has to wait for a wake-up call. Together, we can change lives!!

ROSHAN BHANDARI

‘What lessons should we learn from the Covid-19 pandemic?’

-Dr. Roshan Bhandari

"...I'm so sorry! We attempted to revive him for about thirty minutes without success.-I clearly recall counseling one of the patients' wives, who was waiting outside the COVID-ICU with the rest of the family at almost midnight after receiving the phone call on the patient's CPR after cardiac arrest. The patient had a severe COVID-19 infection and other co-morbidities, which required more than a week of mechanical breathing. During my early years as an ICU house officer, it was my first interaction with the death of Covid-19. As soon as I told someone of the patient's passing, the corridor erupted in tears and anguish. Someone very dear to them had passed away. I heard the patient's wife sobbing during the panic and saying something that still causes me to feel profound importance and regret every time I think about it: "How many times I had forewarned him not to go around in the crowd without a proper mask! We wouldn't be forced to endure this tragedy if he had carefully considered my comments. It should go without saying that saving a life with a straightforward and efficient preventative health care approach is more valuable than anything else!

According to World Health Organization (WHO) data, the Covid-19 pandemic has killed more over three million people globally and caused more than 100 million cases, making it the worst disease outbreak in recorded history. Our mother earth continues to be entwined under the wrath of nebulous challenges and chaos of this crisis even as governments, international agencies, scientists, healthcare professionals, essential workers, and every individual throughout the world persistently struggle to combat the pandemic. However, just as a rainbow cannot form without rain, the rain of this worldwide anxiety has provided the human civilization with many of the century's most important lessons.

Although we always hoped for stability, we were never fully ready for the reversal. We became aware of the need to create early warning systems and maintain a stockpile ready for a future disaster after the pandemic. The epidemic put our ability to bounce back to the test. Anyhow, we succeeded in demonstrating our tenacity! We had to stop doing our everyday chores, deal with hunger, and plunge into a sea of sadness and loneliness. We did, however, completely utilize the reserve of our innate resilience. The entire universe came to a stop. We deliberately slowed down. We no longer traveled unless absolutely necessary, and many were compelled to work from home. Nevertheless, we acknowledged the strength of silence and seized the chance to take care of ourselves. We learnt how to engage in things that the majority of us have always neglected while juggling our hectic, modern schedules, such as yoga, indoor gardening, reading, entertainment with good music, and so forth. We learned to coexist with nature and understood that when the world gets smaller, nature still allows us to live comfortably. Even after the world has stopped, nature is still alive and well. We demonstrated that self-care goes beyond self-indulgence and has many positive effects on us. It also teaches the next generation that self-care is something to develop and sustain throughout one's life.

As a result of a variety of problems—financial crisis, loneliness, bereavement, etc.—we must learn to consider mental health seriously. We discovered that mental and physical wellness must always coexist. We must realize that our health is more valuable than anything materialistic. Only when one is healthier does one get wealthier! The adage "age is just a number" took on new significance as a result of the pandemic! We should be focused on preventing chronic health disorders by adopting a healthy lifestyle, including appropriate nutrition, restorative sleep, physical activity, and a healthy weight, despite the fact that age impacts one's risk of severe sickness with Covid-19. Changes in lifestyle can enhance general health, which immediately lowers the chance of Covid-19 illness's severity and fatality. Nowadays, deeper concerns are raised about the straightforward but very successful areas of preventative public health including correct mask use as effective tools, sanitization, hand-washing, social seclusion, etc. Every day, we will need to fight as hard for the advancement of healthy habits and awareness as we do for the construction of high-tech hospitals and significant institutions.

During this pandemic, we have sparked numerous medical revolutions, and we now need to learn how to effectively adapt to them. While other medications are undergoing testing, vaccinations have already begun to spread throughout many areas. There is no question that we must recognize vaccines as effective tools in the fight against this pandemic. Technology and community are both crucial. Technology and the idea of digital health care have undergone revolutionary change. Thus, the advantages of telemedicine ought to be beyond question. We must also take into account the fact that some misconceptions and bogus conspiracy theories that dominate digital platforms might be fatal, causing turmoil and unwarranted anxiety among the general people. We should have recognized by now that communities and families matter more than we realized while dealing with this pandemic. Humans are brittle creatures, therefore being a part of a family and community gives us strength. We have seen the devoted work and efforts of every vital worker, including those engaged in global agriculture, healthcare, grocery and supply delivery, and other industries. We should be extremely grateful for the heroes' heroic efforts! We occasionally need to be reminded of the value of kindness and love. We ought to be compassionate with one another. On the other hand, we should not ignore the covid-19 pandemic's darker side, which is "Wealth Inequality." Despite widespread global advocacy efforts in this area, it cannot be denied that those with low socioeconomic position are more likely to face major hazards from delayed medical attention and interventions. As a doctor working at a tertiary care facility in a developing country, I have repeatedly seen these deplorable conditions myself and through other individuals. It is therefore imperative that we acknowledge this truth and work together to address the core causes of the gap. Only with our combined voices and efforts can it come to an end!

We learn from life every day and keep learning new things. There is good in every evil, according to an old proverb. To sum up, we should learn to live, love, care, respect, and help from this terrible Covid-19 pandemic!

What I learnt from JENESYS- JAPAN!!!

ROSHAN BHANDARI

I cannot define in words my happiness to describe my recent visit (January 21-29, 2019) to Japan as a Nepali delegate for JENESYS BATCH 2-Health and Medicine! The overall development, advancements in health and every field, the landscapes, the culture & food, the work ethics and hospitality of Japanese people, and the heavenly experience of home-stay mesmerized everybody! Besides, the visit taught us the norms and values of friendship & love regardless of the geographical and political boundaries! There was always a huge support from our ever-hard-working and humble Japanese Coordinators to make our trip a success! Never did they get tired of their responsibilities! The love among all different delegates cum friends from different SAARC nations was splendid! 

Wearing the traditional JAPANESE DRESS- KIMONO

With the Lovely Home-stay Family 

 

Delegates after dinner with some coordinators 

With the respected professor Moji at Nagasaki University

    I would particularly like to specify a few important things out of many things that I witnessed in Japan:

Health: Preventive medicine is given significant importance by the government.

Education: The Playway method of learning is emphasized so that all children learn by doing.

Bravery: The A-bomb destruction was turned around into an opportunity for rejuvenation

Infrastructure: planned urbanization with all facilities, well-maintained traffic, and yes, the forthcoming Olympics in TOKYO is being seen as an opportunity for resurrecting the society.

Administrative works: Well-planned with proper decentralization of power and work.

Environment: No air or noise pollution. A lesson to learn that we can develop the infrastructure without affecting the environment, or with proper care of the environment.

   Japan made me very fascinated by the love, hospitality of the people and Japanese culture! Japan has always been one of the beautiful countries in the world, be it in natural beauty or the advancement in technologies! Besides, the people are equally hardworking, humble, and we got to learn so much of humanity, benevolence, and punctuality from the Japanese people. In a nutshell, the lessons and the rejoicing memories that I have earned from my JAPAN visit are worth a million! 

      And yes, I miss my little Japanese mate- 'Sichan'! 

Fresher Challenges

Being a good teacher is as tough as walking on a razor’s edge

Being a teacher is the easiest of things we can do as many would think. They say teaching is the first thing to opt for when one is still not decided about his / her career path. There is an easy access to teaching and one needs to have just a willingness to do it. Want it, and it is available in schools that you find in every other street in your own community. This is partly true, especially for those who teach just for the shake of teaching or make it a stepping stone to make a bigger leap into the career of their choice. It is, however, not as easy as it sounds if you want to adopt it as the profession of your life.

Being a good teacher is increasingly becoming tough. It is even tougher when it comes to teaching the modern day teenagers. There are new confrontations in classrooms every day and most of these confrontations concern not projects and assignments but behavioral anomalies. Most of the modern day students are adamant and aggressive. Ranging from upper primary to undergraduate level, students are intolerant of teacher’s authority. They don’t entertain it when their teacher tells them what to do, and what not? They take it as interference in their freedom to learn. They prefer to be left free to do whatever they choose to even during the lectures. Some don’t even value the presence of teachers in their class and continue to display their disrespectful attitude towards the teachers. They don’t show any respect that their teachers ethically deserve.  Instead, they misbehave with them. They view teachers merely as people who have been hired to assist them, and who live on the money paid by them. Anything, as simple as inquiring about assignments or chiding for disturbing the class, can trigger a verbal exchange between the teacher and the student. Consequently, the teacher has to suffer insult and humiliation

Impatience and disobedience are the most visible behavioral deviations in modern day students. They have lost the patience of listening to their teachers. Time and again, they get diverted and you should keep reminding them.  Even a forty or forty-five-minute lecture is too long for them to sit through. They begin to show the signs of disinterest shortly after the teacher has started the delivery and it is clearly visible in their body language. Their facial expressions and emotive reactions clearly reveal that they are not enjoying what you are delivering to them. One of the most common and immediate reactions to this is they start dozing off right through the lecture. Some others react by creating distractions such as using their cell phones under their desks, whispering to each other and passing cheats to communicate with one another.

Today’s students want shortcuts. They have no patience in listening to hour long lectures to derive a short conclusion at the end. They don’t want to read the voluminous textbooks to find answers to a couple of questions they are confused about. They want readymade solutions to everything without having to work hard. Unlike students in the past who went to schools and colleges to gain knowledge, students in modern days go there to pass their tests. Even students pursuing their graduation courses want exam capsules. They are worried more about their grades than the amount of knowledge and skills their courses are likely to offer them. Self-studies and research oriented readings are rare even among university students.   

Amidst these odds and difficulties, being an effective teacher is challenging. As the saying goes “An mediocre teacher tells, a good teacher displays and a successful teacher motivates”, it’s even tougher to become a motivator. With the advent of new pedagogical dimensions, teaching has now gained a new definition. If a teacher fails to keep pace with these changing contexts, he/she is likely to fail. Unlike in the past, only being academically sound does not attribute to being a good and successful teacher today. Teaching has gone beyond the text books in terms of both form and content. Syllabus and the text books are now only the means but not the ends. So, only teachers who can transcend this traditional boundary and teach their students the values of life are likely to get better appreciation, and this is easier said than done.

Modern day classrooms are not merely the groups of passive listeners. They are neither the groups of inquisitive knowledge mongers and creative enthusiasts. They appear to be more like a group of troublemakers who care more about their rights than their duties. Having to cope up with such aggressive and irresponsible mass of youths, teaching has been as tough as walking on a razor’s edge. A modern day teacher, therefore, has to play a number of roles at the same time. He/she is a teacher, friend, psychiatrist, counselor, actor, joker and most importantly a good human being, the last of which is sometimes the most difficult of all.

Durga Gautam

Buddhanagar, Kathmandu

The Walk

AUTHOR: ANNONYMUS

Let me tell you about a ‘walk’ or say, a series of ‘routined-walks’. It might sound simple but deep in my heart somewhere, it still rules! Let me take you to when it all started.

I was born in one of the remote villages of Nepal, an isolated village with no transportation, communication, electricity, hospital and school. It was a beautiful small village. Although most of the people were uneducated, they had a conscience that their children should be taught. The nearest government school was one and half hour walk to another village where all of my friends went to study. But, my mother wanted me to send to private school. So, I was sent to my maternal uncle’s home as a private school was just some 20 steps away from there. His home was also a cozy place as the warmth of love could be felt from every member of the family. I was never alone there as a cousin of my age was always with me to play. No matter how much love and care I get there, you know, home is always home. I always missed my home.

However, there was a good part; I hadn’t had to miss my home for long- not more than 6 days. We had a public holiday every Saturday. I used to go home on Friday after school with Rajan dai. He was the only other person to study in that school from my village. His house was some 10 meters away from mine. Unfortunately, he left the school too later. Then, I was on my own and alone all the way to my home every Friday. It was not an easy journey, however, I managed it.

My parents used to ask me, “Don’t you fear walking alone to home?” I used say, “No. I am used to it.” But, I lied.

I still vividly remember the two hour long walk across some lonely places like a dreadful nightmare. To walk across three villages before I reached my village wasn’t the hard part but, to pass those dreadful lonely places (between those villages) was. There were three of them. Those three places had eerie silence, lots of trees (which blocked most of the sunlight) and no houses.

Every time, before crossing those places, I used to wait for some minutes hoping some people might have work to next village. Unfortunately, this good luck used to occur rarely. Then, I was on my own. I just used to run as fast as I can, trying not to think anything. I used to have a strong feeling that something is following me but would never look back. My heart used to palpitate as if it was going to explode out of my chest. And, with in no time, I used to reach next village. Again, the same process on other two dreadful places, run as fast as you can so that whatever is following you would not be able to catch you. Finally, I used to reach my village. A very happy feeling used to fill my heart.

I passed through this situation every Friday for 4 years, every time, with a determination that I wouldn’t fear and be brave. However, it never taught me how to be brave. But, it gave me the motivation that after every dreadful gloomy place   there comes a home if you can manage to run (walk) through.

Buddha: Birth, Karma and Our Dharma

Author: Ankit Dhakal "Sandeept"

On the birth of Siddhartha Gautam

About 2600 years ago, on the night of Baishakh Poornima, at Lumbini, Mother Mayadevi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautam. In different times of the history, the Holy Land of Lumbini belonged to different nations. In modern times, it is within the territory of Nepal. This should not, however mean that the Buddha was a Nepali. He was not a citizen of any modern country. Making him a citizen is unfair- historically as well as morally[1].

This is an era of science and technology. Everything is evaluated according to facts and evidences. Had the culture, art and writings of the Buddha Era not been proved, the Buddha might have been declared a myth. But evidences until now have shown all the paths of the Buddha's journey. The historians have also agreed upon the fact that Lumbini was his birthplace. On the other hand, they have not been able to actually pointed out the year of his birth. That's exactly what we need to discover. The accuracy in dates will certainly bring up accurate historical data.

The actual problem is this: It's been 28 years since the "Master Plan" on development of Lumbini has come into action. The slow work means it has not been completed year. In his twenty-ninth year, even Siddhartha had realised that he needed to seek for the truth. Why haven't we been able to look for the truth? Ways have already been shown by the Buddha, after all.

On the Karma of Siddhartha and the Buddha

Siddhartha is said to have a life of comfort. If he felt the emotional comfort he needed is doubtable. His mother had passed away while he was still an infant and his father could not give him enough time. The only comfortable presence would be of Mother Prajapati. The physical comfort must have been adequate as Raja Shuddhodhan had built up three palaces to meet the needs according to the weather. They did not touch Siddhartha, though. This is one story which shows how Siddhartha behaved:

Every year, Raja Shuddhodhan ploughed fields at the beginning of ropaain (rice cultivation). Siddhartha too was taken on his sixth birthday. Instead of getting involved in the feast, he sat under a tree looking silently at the ants around him. A little farther, he saw a lizard eating them up. As he watched with interest, a snake swallowed the lizard. In no time, a hawk pounced upon the snake and took it away. It was the first time, nature had generated curiosity in him. Why did the food cycle go in the way it did? He started questioning himself. He did not care for any comfort though they were easily provided. That was when the three palaces had been built but Siddhartha always craved to return to the nature. Once out of the palace, he saw an old, a sick and a dead[2]. That inspired him to go back to the nature where he would discover the truth of our lives. And became known to the world as the Buddha.

When the Buddha discovered the cause and cessation of suffering, like a common person, he debated with himself, "Should I preach what I've discovered? What if no one believes me?" He thought he should give it a try. His first preached his thoughts to five people at Kushinagar. His voice might have been soft; he might have preached in local dialect in the simplest way. That was probably why he had a huge number of followers. Gautam Buddha is the chief inspiration to the Buddhists all around the world.

One does not become great by their birth, but by their deeds (karma). Siddhartha was born as a warrior. He should have battled all his life. But he preached peace. I bow to the Buddha who became great with his karma; not by his birth.

Our Dharma

To me, right deed is the Dharma. It was Siddhartha's Dharma to discover the truth behind our suffering. Buddha's Dharma was to teach what he knew. Would we have discusses the Buddha had he not done what he should have done? But our Dharma is not just to discuss the life of Buddha. Our Dharma is to practice what he preached. To preserve his path and messages should be our Dharma. Only then we can really respect him.

[Footnotes:

1. Great people are known by their Karma. Only those inspired by right Karma are respected by all, wherever they might have taken birth.

There has been a craze to make Buddha a Nepali. Photoshopped citizenship of the Buddha can be seen in the social media. Not only it is a mockery to the history, it is also an immoral trend. We have politicised the Buddha to conceal our inefficiency. Buddha's teaching are cying alone on in the cornered shelves of libraries.

2. Buddha's stories say that Siddhartha saw three men- an elderly, an ill and a corpse in three consequtive days. Did he actually see one person? Maybe on the first day, he saw an old man and got curious. On the second day, he might have discovered that the old man was sick. The man might have died before Siddhartha saw him the third day. He might have perceived that people suffered. And he might have set a quest to discover the ways to end suffering.]

A similar article has been published here in Nepali.

Democracy or Aristodemocracy?

Author: Ankit Dhakal (Sandeept)*

“Might is Right", the proverb goes. It was true then(when the proverb was invented), and it is true till date. From then till now, only the way of attaining might has changed and nothing else.

A mighty Emperor one would be in the past if he ruled a vast area of land with the help of his warlords and terror of weapon. He would do anything to remain in the power. He would be worshiped; people would bow their heads in front of him. Following his orders would be a compulsion; if not you might be killed in no time. All his foolish wishes had to be fulfilled; after all he had the might and he was the right. On this regard, I remember the stories of Akbar and Birbal. Akbar was a wise king, but like every other kings he had pride of his might and made his subjects do whatever he wished. Birbal, the wise often stopped him from doing so but he too used to fall in dilemma when the king used to order things like bull’s milk and building castle in the air. The stories of Akbar and Birbal may not be actual histories. A historical example of Surendra and Junge may be relevant here. Because Junge(Jung Bahadur Rana-Junge was what Surendra called him!) wanted to gain powers taking the advantage of perssuation over Surendra, he jumped into Trishuli with a horse, and jumped into a dry well . (It is also said that he jumped off the top of Dharahara with an umbrella!) Later on, when he gained his might what he did to Surendra and his children is a bitter part of history: even innocent people suffered his tyranny.

The etymology of the word “Democracy” leads us to the “rule of the people” in Greek. Democracy was practiced in Athens in the ancient times which spread to Europe with varying forms. Rome and Sparta had their own type of democracy but the main essence was that they worked in unison to the thoughts of people called citizens. To say that they followed modern democratic norms would be a mistake. The “citizens” were originally those who dwelt in the city minus the women, the slaves and the tradesmen. What we get as citizens were the rich men called ‘elites’. So, when we talk of democracy, aristocracy automatically comes into the scene.

In modern times, democracy and aristocracy(the rule of the elites) are used antonymously. This is the illusion that people have been suffering from in the developing and under-developed countries. The definition of citizen has changed and all the adults democratically cast votes to their representatives but they are ruled under aristocracy. In almost all the countries following democracy, one can become candidate in the elections easily but the winner is, in most of the cases, one who can spend money—actually distribute money among the people. Political parties that have strong support of the industrialists and capitalists usually win the elections. It is because the aid from the rich-class people can be used in campaigns to create vote-banks. Communists call this capitalism, I call this aristodemocracy—the democracy in which the elites are a little higher in status than the people of other economic classes. I am not sure if such a rule exists in the developed countries but Sir Charles Waldstein had given the term “aristodemocracy” in his book of the same name. However, the book explains vastly on the military strategies required to establish peace in the world. (The ideas seem contrasting, don't they?)

The sixteenth US President Abraham Lincoln said, “Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people.” The people elect their representatives and expect that the popular needs are fulfilled through them. When the representatives of people like parliamentarians are elected by the people on the ground of their abilities, it is certain that they will do something for the development of at least their constituency. But if they are elected by the favor of elites, the “people’s representatives” are enslaved; resulting increased corruption, class-conflict and anarchy.

In democratic countries, mightier are those who get popular votes off their abilities; they gain majority and they are the tyrants over minorities. In aristodemocratic countries, the mightier are those who get popular votes with the help of the rich-class; the minority group rules the majority group taking advantage over their inability to make apt decisions and choices. This should be impossible according to the modern democratic norms but its going on here, on the land from which I am writing this essay.

How can aristodemocracy be defeated? I am not sure there is an absolute answer to this question. Which place is there which does not have the gap between the haves and the have-nots? You might think of the USA, Obama’s country at an instant but the depictions of slum-like places in New York(Manhattan?) in movies and accounts of many tourists have showed that poor are always the poor. Another country that clicks into everyone’s mind is the UK, the kingdom of Queen Elizabeth, but I have heard a personal account of the poors’ life in slums of England from a young Bangla-originated Englishman, Sabirul Islam. There is always a great possibility that monetary resources are exploited by the election candidates. Therefore, he only way of turning over aristodemocracy  is to increase the political awareness among people or make it clear that the winner is the one who can use money to their advantage. 

If we want the citizens to be aware, when citizens vote for their representatives, they should be careful that the candidate is not under the influence of aristocrats and anarchists. Mass media and social media can be useful in raising awareness among the ordinary people and in helping them select the correct representatives. But the most essential need is that the leaders should be loyal to all the citizens; not only to the elite-class but also to the poor class.

*The article was first published on khichadi-literature.blogspot.com by the author in 2014.

My United Nations-A Vision for the Future

*Author: Roshan Bhandari

I vividly remember my childhood days when my grandfather used to narrate the famous story of a farmer and his always-quarreling sons! The farmer, to teach them a lesson, when gave a single, separate piece of stick to each of the sons, they could break those easily while when he provided those sticks in a bundle, none could break. “Unity is strength!” my grandfather used to exclaim. And yes! To the level of my understanding, this is the ‘unity’ where-upon has lied every hopes, success of the United Nations(UN) and the same will carry and materialize the strong pillars of all visions in the future!

We know, the UN‘s security council with the motto “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war” is working day and night to maintain the international peace. Meanwhile, what it still needs is cent percent generous co-operations from all other members i.e. it longs for the ‘non-selfish unity’ to freely carry out ‘Conflict prevention and Peacemaking’, Peacekeeping, Peace-building, ‘Women peace and security’ and combat terrorism and organized crimes like drug trafficking, flesh trade etc. Similarly, the Human Rights Commission urges for the same unity so that it can work more strongly whether for child rights, labour rights or women empowerment and so forth. Similarly, whether it is to end hunger, poverty in all forms everywhere or to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts or to ensure equitable quality education or healthy lives i.e. to achieve all the post-2015 developmental agendas, an intensive-unified effort is a must.

In a nutshell, despite the requirement of funds, manpower etc for every agendas, the basic fruitful outcomes of all lies in the optimum ‘unity and support’. Therefore, in the days to come, the UN should and will advance to more strengthened, coordinated and intensified ‘cold war-free’ unity to achieve all, if not most, goals in time.

*This article was submitted as one of the competing essays on UNITED NATIONS' website for an essay competition few months back by the author!

Science and Technology Article

LUX/LZ Dark Matter Experiment & Neutron Calibration

Author:  Madan K. Sharma Timalsina

The LUX Dark Matter Experiment has performed the most sensitive direct search for weakly-interacting massive dark matter particles (so-called WIMPs). The successor experiment LZ will also be located underground at SURF (Sanford Underground Research Facility) in Lead/SD. The LZ central detector will not only be an order of magnitude larger than the existing LUX inner detector, but its sensitivity for direct dark matter searches will be 100 times better than LUX. If WIMPs exist, they could interact in the cryogenic liquid xenon of the detector's core by bouncing into a xenon nucleus, which will then recoil and produce scintillation light and electric charge. The ratio of the directly detected scintillation light and the delayed charge detection is characteristic of such a nuclear recoil, and differs significantly from an electron recoil produced by undesired background reactions. However, the precise knowledge of the critical ratio value, for which the electron recoil-dominated regime transitions into the nuclear recoil dominated regime, is key.

Dedicated neutron calibration sources, such as DD-generator guns, AmLi and AmBe neutron sources, and a new mono-energetic Y/Be neutron source, are essential tools for precisely mapping the nuclear recoil region. That way, it can be demonstrated what a possible WIMP detection would look like in the LUX/LZ detectors.

The precise neutron fluxes of the various neutron calibration sources have to be measured before the actual deployments of the sources are performed, to assess the detection efficiency in the detector.

A new neutron monitor system, utilizing He-3 proportional counter tubes, is being developed within the framework of the LUX/LZ project.