Astrocytes found to bridge gap between global brain activity and localized circuits.

Global network activity in the brain modulates local neural circuitry via calcium signaling in non-neuronal cells called astrocytes , according to research led by Hajime Hirase of the RIKEN Brain Science Institute. The finding clarifies the link between two important processes in the brain.

Activity in large-scale brain networks is thought to modulate changes in neuronal connectivity, so-called ‘synaptic plasticity’, in the cerebral cortex. The neurotransmitter acetylcholine regulates global brain activity associated with attention and awareness, and is involved in plasticity.

To investigate how these processes are linked, Hirase and his colleagues simultaneously stimulated the whiskers of mice and the nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM), a basal forebrain structure containing neurons that synthesize acetylcholine and project widely to the cortex. Using electrodes and an imaging technique called two-photon microscopy, performed through a ‘cranial window', they monitored the responses of cells in the barrel cortex, which receives inputs from the whiskers.

Recordings from the electrodes showed that repeated co-stimulation of the whiskers and NBM induced plasticity in the barrel cortex. This plasticity depended on two types of receptors—muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) and N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptors (NMDARs). Two-photon imaging microscopy further revealed that activation of the mAChRs during co-stimulation elevated the concentration of calcium ions within astrocytes of the barrel cortex.

The researchers repeated these experiments in mutant mice lacking the receptor that controls the release of calcium ions in astrocytes. Since co-stimulation of whiskers and NBM did not induce plasticity in the mutants, Hirase and colleagues concluded that calcium signaling in astrocytes acts as a ‘gate’ linking the changes in global brain state induced by acetylcholine to activity in local cortical circuits.

Furthermore, the researchers found that stimulation of the NBM led to an increase in the extracellular concentration of the amino acid D-serine in the normal, but not the mutant, mice. D-serine is secreted by astrocytes and activates NMDARs. Hirase’s team had previously shown that astrocytes are electrically silent in living rodents even in the presence of neural activity2. The new findings showed that the biochemical, as opposed to electrical, activation of astrocytes induces them to release the transmitter that modulates synaptic plasticity in the neuronal circuitry.

“Our study is probably the first to show that calcium signaling in astrocytes is related to neuronal circuit plasticity in living animals,” says Hirase. “We are now studying if this type of calcium signaling occurs in all parts of an astrocyte or is restricted to some parts of the cell.”

More information: Takata, N., Mishima, T., Hisatsune, C., Nagai, T., Ebisui, E., Mikoshiba, K. & Hirase, H. Astrocyte calcium signaling transforms cholinergic modulation to cortical plasticity in vivo. The Journal of Neuroscience 31, 18155–18165 (2011). http://www.jneuros … .abstract%20

Mishima, T. & Hirase, H. In vivo intracellular recording suggests that gray matter astrocytes in mature cerebral cortex and hippocampus are electrophysiologically homogeneous. The Journal of Neuroscience 30, 3093–3100 (2010). http://www.jneuros … 093.abstract

Provided by RIKEN

"Astrocytes found to bridge gap between global brain activity and localized circuits." May 11th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-astrocytes-bridge-gap-global-brain.html

Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek

Saving This Life

“If one could achieve success without the sanction of the Lord then no medical practitioner would fail to cure a patient. Despite the most advanced treatment of a suffering patient by the most up-to-date medical practitioner, there is death, and even in the most hopeless case, without medical treatment, a patient is cured astonishingly. Therefore the conclusion is that God's sanction is the immediate cause for all happenings, good or bad.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.14.9 Purport) For all we know, we’ve had only this one life. The memory of the experiences within this life isn’t complete either, as we don’t remember emerging from the womb nor being unable to crawl or walk. These experiences are accepted on the authority of the parents, but nevertheless, once there is conscious thought and the ability to plan the future, the natural inclination is towards protecting the vital force within the body, for maintaining the ability to live. Forgotten in this mindset, however, is the hand of the divine, by whose influence life and death take place. No adjustment in either direction can guarantee a prolonged life or an immediate death. Thus the sanction of the divine master is the primary cause for outcomes, putting Him in a superior and worshipable position. Typically, the focus is not on bringing about death at a specific time, for we first try our best to save our life or the lives of others. But an infamous king a long time ago saw exactly how difficult it can be to force death. His five-year old son made the mistake of worshiping Lord Vishnu, the Supreme Lord in His manifestation as an opulent and beautiful four-armed figure. Vishnu is the personal aspect of God; from that feature one can stay connected in a mood of worship known as bhakti-yoga, which is devotion. For devotion to be strong, there has to be some sort of attachment to the attributes of the Personality of Godhead; hence requiring the attributes to be attractive. “Having obtained the mercy of his spiritual master, who reveals to the disciple the injunctions of Vedic scriptures, the devotee should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the particular personal form of the Lord the devotee finds most attractive.”  (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 11.3.48) In the gradual progression towards bhava, or transcendental ecstasy, the devoted soul finds a non-different expansion of Vishnu they prefer and then dedicates their life to worshiping Him. There are choices available because there are natural tendencies within every person. Some will be automatically attracted to Shri Krishna, who is considered the original personality, the source of even Vishnu Himself. Krishna’s name says that He is all-attractive, and both the mental and physical portraits created from the descriptions found in sacred texts like the Shrimad Bhagavatam and Mahabharata support that assertion. Nevertheless, some devoted souls will be more attracted to Lord Rama and His entourage. Rama is the same Krishna, the same Vishnu, but in a slightly different manifestation and with a series of acts and behavioral traits discussed and documented in the famous Ramayana poem and its derivative literatures. The devotion to any one of these Vishnu forms can occur spontaneously, as it did with Goswami Tulsidas. In his entire life, he had nothing but his devotion to Lord Rama. “Rama” was the first word the famous poet said as a child and it continued to be the word he would repeat up until the time of his death. Nothing could break that devotion, and no other form of Godhead could give the poet the same pleasure, though he never treated any of the other various Vishnu forms as lesser in importance. Though a Rama-bhakta, from Tulsidas you will find heartwarming poetry praising Lord Krishna, Lord Vishnu as Bindu Madhava, andNarasimhadeva as well. “In the course of traversing the universal creation of Brahma, some fortunate soul may receive the seed of bhakti-lata, the creeper of devotional service. This is all by the grace of guru and Krishna.” (Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya 19.151) Narasimhadeva relates to the five-year old son of that famous king. The boy was named Prahlada, and he had spontaneous devotion to Vishnu from the time of birth. The seed of the creeper of devotional service is planted by the spiritual master, who is sent by Krishna Himself. For Prahlada, the spiritual master was Narada Muni, who strangely enough provided instruction to the boy’s mother while she was pregnant with him. If there is any doubt as to the power of the holy name and its ability to positively affect consciousness, take the example of Prahlada and know for certain that the divine message from the spiritual realm can break through any boundary and influence even those we believe to be lacking a developed consciousness. Hiranyakashipu took Vishnu to be his number one enemy, someone only purported to be God by the foolish people of the world. Thinking himself to be the master of his fate and the fate of others, the king tried to kill Prahlada in so many ways. Should have been easy work, no? Prahlada was just a boy, so how could he protect himself? During the attacks instigated by his father the devoted soul thought of Vishnu and was thus saved each and every time. Throwing him off a cliff, placing him in a raging fire, feeding him to a pack of snakes, and leaving him at the bottom of the ocean could not kill Prahlada. The boy wasn’t a Houdini-type magician either; Vishnu just protected him every time. In the end, it would be Hiranyakashipu to lose his life. Though he had so many boons previously granted to him that made him immune to seemingly every type of attack, Vishnu appeared on the scene at just the right time and place and in the perfect form to do away with the king; keeping the boons intact. Thus from that one series of incidents we see that with the divine sanction birth and death take place, and not otherwise. Through patterns we may appear to get a grasp on what can influence birth and death, but even then it is the laws of nature instituted by the Supreme Person which allow the predictable patterns to take effect. With respect to protecting our own life, the natural inclination is to try our best to seek out top of the line medical treatment. Just read a newspaper or internet news site on any given day. There are always stories on how to prolong your life through eating certain foods or avoiding specific kinds of behavior. But forgotten in this analysis is the divine sanction. If someone could be successful completely without the aid of the heavenly father, then there would be a way to absolutely stop death. Yet we know that this is not possible. We can look at it another way. There is the push by health experts and well-meaning politicians to get people to seek preventive care. That is, they urge citizens to visit the doctor regularly. And to support that practice, they insist on every person having health insurance, which is either purchased individually or provided by the government through a national health insurance system. The problem is that the underlying assumption is flawed. People that have health insurance die. In fact, it is a one hundred percent success rate in that area. Or flipping it around, there is a one hundred percent failure rate with respect to health insurance saving lives. Even when describing the effectiveness of certain treatments, the analysis is given in terms of a survival rate spanning a certain number of years. You can’t say that any treatment is one hundred percent effective because eventually every patient must die. Surely you can be healthier if you can pay for your medical treatment when you need it, but the idea that you will automatically die if you don’t have health insurance is ludicrous, as is the idea that doctors are universally correct in their treatment methodologies. If you went to the doctor every single day for your entire life and you did whatever they said, would you live forever? The answer is ‘No’. You could detect cancer at the earliest stages, recognize illnesses and follow the proper treatment, and even keep track of your risk factors, but never will you be able to stop death. The end of life is concomitant with its beginning. As the sanction from the Supreme Lord is required for either extending or ending life, He naturally becomes the object of appreciation. If the life we have must end anyway, why not spend it worshiping the person who is in control? From that worship followed in the highest mood of devotion you actually gain intelligence about birth and death and how it repeats in a cycle. Just from the proper type of worship you reach a point where the artificial prolonging of life is no longer desired. As the spirit soul is eternal, the devotee asks only to be allowed to continue their devotional efforts in life after life, wherever they may end up. As Narasimhadeva showed with Prahlada, the Supreme Personality of Godhead comes to the rescue of the surrendered souls and grants them that highest benediction of achieving a consciousness that is eternally pure. In Closing: So many possessions you have got, But death to come, like it or not. To extend stay within body you can try, With healthy routine many days to pass by. But without divine sanction nothing possible, To thwart His influence is impossible. His son Prahlada Hiranyakashipu tried to kill, But after so many attempts the boy living still. Then Supreme Lord to king painful death gave, Not even Brahma’s boons the ruler could save. From that incident most important lesson take, Follow devotion to God for life fruitful to make.

Microwave test - an eye opener

Very interesting !!!!

Is it time to act ?

 

Below is a Science fair project presented by a girl in a secondary school in Sussex.  In it she took filtered water and divided it into two parts.  The first part she heated to boiling in a pan on the stove, and the second part she heated to boiling in a microwave. Then after cooling she used the water to water two identical plants to see if there would be any difference in the growth between the normal boiled water and the water boiled in a microwave.  She was thinking that the structure or energy of the water may be compromised by microwave.  As it turned out, even she was amazed at the difference, after the experiment which was repeated by her class mates a number of times and had the same result. It has been known for some years that the problem with microwaved anything is not the radiation people used to worry about, it's how it corrupts the DNA in the food so the body can not recognize it. Microwaves don't work different ways on different substances. Whatever you put into the microwave suffers the same destructive process. Microwaves agitate the molecules to move faster and faster. This movement causes friction which denatures the original make-up of the substance. It results in destroyed vitamins, minerals, proteins and generates the new stuff called radiolytic compounds, things that are not found in nature. So the body wraps it in fat cells to protect itself from the dead food or it eliminates it fast. Think of all the Mothers heating up milk in these 'Safe' appliances. What about the nurse in Canadathat warmed up blood for a transfusion patient and accidentally killed him when the blood went in dead. But the makers say it's safe. But proof is in the pictures of living plants dying!!! FORENSIC RESEARCH DOCUMENT  Prepared By: William P. Kopp  A. R. E. C. Research Operations  TO61-7R10/10-77F05  RELEASE PRIORITY: CLASS I ROO1a   Ten Reasons to dispose off your Microwave Oven

 

 

From the conclusions of the Swiss, Russian and German scientific clinical studies, we can no longer ignore the microwave oven sitting in our kitchens. Based on this research, one can conclude this article with the following: 

1). Continually eating food processed from a microwave oven causes long term - permanent - brain damage by 'shorting out' electrical impulses in the brain [de-polarizing or de-magnetizing the brain tissue]. 

2). The human body cannot metabolize [break down] the unknown by-products created in microwaved food. 

3). Male and female hormone production is shut down and/or altered by continually eating microwaved foods. 

4). The effects of microwaved food by-products are residual [long term, permanent] within the human body. 

5). Minerals, vitamins, and nutrients of all microwaved food is reduced or altered so that the human body gets little or no benefit, or the human body absorbs altered compounds that cannot be broken down. 

6). The minerals in vegetables are altered into cancerous free radicals when cooked in microwave ovens. 

7). Microwaved foods cause stomach and intestinal cancerous growths [tumours]. This may explain the rapidly increased rate of colon cancer in UK and America . 

8). The prolonged eating of microwaved foods causes cancerous cells to increase in human blood. 

9).. Continual ingestion of microwaved food causes immune system deficiencies through lymph gland and blood serum alterations. 

10). Eating microwaved food causes loss of memory, concentration, emotional instability, and a decrease of intelligence.

ஒற்றைத் தலைவலிக்கான காரணங்கள்

ஒற்றைத் தலைவலி ஏற்பட முக்கியக் காரணம் அதிகமான மன அழுத்தம் தான். ஒற்றைத் தலைவலி உள்ளவர்கள் மிகுந்த கண்டிப்புடனும், வளைந்து கொடுக்காமலும் இருப்பார்கள். ஒற்றைத் தலைவலிக்கு வயிறு மற்றும் பார்வையுடனும் தொடர்பு இருக்கிறது. எனவே வயிற்றைச் சுத்தமாக வைத்துக் கொள்வதும், பார்வைத் திறனை அவ்வப்போது பரிசோதித்து தகுந்த நிவர்த்திகளைச் செய்து கொள்வதும் அவசியம். குறைவான சர்க்கரை அளவு, ஒவ்வாமை, சில மருந்துகளை அதிகமாக எடுத்துக் கொள்வது, சத்துக் குறைபாடு, அதிகப்படியான வேலை, சரியான தூக்கம், ஓய்வு இல்லாமை, அதிகப்படியான குடிப் பழக்கம், புகைப் பழக்கம், அதீத பாலுணர்வு இச்சை போன்றவையும் ஒற்றைத் தலைவலிக்குக் காரணமாக அமைகின்றன. இடைவிடாத தலைவலி, வாந்தி, உடல் வலி, கண் மங்குதல், வயிறுப் பிரச்சினைகள் ஆகியவை ஒற்றைத் தலைவலியின் அறிகுறிகளாக இருக்கின்றன. மேலே குறிப்பிட்டவாறு பல்வேறு காரணங்களால் ஒற்றைத் தலைவலி ஏற்படுகிறது. எனவே எந்தக் காரணத்தால் தங்களுக்கு ஒற்றைத் தலைவலி ஏற்பட்டிருக்கும் என்று கண்டறிந்து தீர்வு காண முயல வேண்டும். எலுமிச்சைத் தோலை நன்கு காய வைத்து அரைத்து நெற்றியில் பற்றுப் போடுவது ஒற்றைத் தலைவலிக்கு நல்ல பலனைத் தரும்.

Gambling not an addiction say University of Sydney researchers

(L-R) Dr Alex Blaszczynski and Dr Fadi Anjoul from the Gambling Treatment Clinic.

Many people talk of problem gambling as an 'addiction' but work coming out of the University of Sydney's Gambling Treatment Clinic suggests that this may not be the case.

"The idea of gambling addiction is widespread, but inaccurate," says the clinic's Education and Training Officer, Dr Fadi Anjoul, who has treated problem gamblers for the past 15 years.

As Responsible Gambling Awareness Week (14 to 20 May, 2012) begins, thoughts turn to the best ways of helping problem gamblers.

Dr Anjoul notes that problem gambling has been consistently grouped with drug and alcohol addiction, but notes symptoms such as tolerance or withdrawal, which are central features of addiction, are rarely seen in gamblers.

"Problem gambling is better thought of as a misguided obsession," Dr Anjoul states, "which means we are dealing with habitual and poorly informed choices rather than biological processes that are beyond individual control."

The difference has important implications for treatment. Poorly informed choices and behaviours can be treated with what is known as cognitive therapy, which helps people understand the story of their gambling, of how they ended up where they are, and to change how they think about their involvement with gambling.

Dr Anjoul has developed an innovative brand of cognitive therapy that generally results in much better outcomes than traditional therapies based on the disease or addiction model of gambling.

"Traditional therapies tend to focus on ways to help people deal with their urges when they occur," notes Dr Anjoul, "and show high rates of relapse after therapy ends. However, with the model we are working with, we often find that by the end of treatment, people are experiencing very few urges."

"The results we are getting so far at the Gambling Treatment Clinic with the new cognitive therapy are extremely exciting," states Professor Alex Blaszczynski, Head of the University's School of Psychology and a world-renowned expert on problem gambling, who hopes to assist Dr Anjoul with promoting training based on this new treatment.

"It is early days but at this point it appears we are seeing better treatment outcomes and much lower relapse rates than have been found elsewhere."

The Gambling Treatment Clinic, which is funded through the NSW Government Responsible Gambling Fund, has locations at Parramatta, Lidcombe, Campbelltown, as well as at the University of Sydney's Camperdown Campus.

Provided by University of Sydney

"Gambling not an addiction say University of Sydney researchers." May 14th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-gambling-addiction-university-sydney.html

Comment:Gambling, and other focal obsessive compulsive disorders, are similar to addictions in that addiction only occurs if there is a focal obsessive compulsive element.  Alcohol addiction, for instance, if left to only the physical symptoms will gradually abate as the amount of alcohol required to satisfy the physical addiction gradually diminishes.  It is only when a focal obsessive compulsive element (with the drug/habit being the focus) is added do we get addiction.

If a heroin addict (for instance) only ever took the amount of heroin required to stave off withdrawal then the amount required would gradually diminish as the body returns to its natural equilibriums state.

Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek

shirdi ke sai baba.wmv

பேஸ்புக்கில் புத்தம் புதிய வசதி அறிமுகம்

பல மில்லியன் மக்களின் மனங்களை வென்ற சமூக இணையத்தளமான பேஸ்புக் தொடர்ந்து முன்னிலையில் காணப்படுகின்றது. இந்த முதலிடத்தை தக்கவைத்து மேலும் அதிகளவான பயனர்களை தன்னகப்படுத்தும் முயற்சியில் இடைவிடாது செயற்பட்டு பல வசதிகளை பயனர்களுக்காக அறிமுகப்படுத்திக் கொண்டிருக்கின்றது. அதன் அடிப்படையில் கோப்புகளை பரிமாற்றும் வசதியினை தற்போது மேம்படுத்தி வழங்க முன்வந்துள்ளது. அதாவது இதுவரை காலமும் தனித்தனியாகவே கோப்புக்களை பரிமாற்றக்கூடிய வசதி காணப்பட்டது. ஆனால் தற்போது கோப்புக்களை கூட்டாக பரிமாற்றக்கூடிய வசதியை அறிமுகப்படுத்தியுள்ளது. இதன் மூலம் 25 MB அளவுடைய கோப்புக்களை தரவேற்றம் செய்து நண்பர்களிடையே பரிமாற்றம் செய்து கொள்ள முடியும். எனினும் பாதுகாப்புக் கருதி சில வகையான கோப்புக்களை மட்டுமே இவ்வாறு தரவேற்றம் செய்ய முடியும் என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

சிகரெட்டில் 4 ஆயிரம் நச்சு பொருட்கள்

நாளுக்கு நாள் சிகரெட் புகைப்பவர்களின் எண்ணிக்கை அதிகரித்துக் கொண்டே வருகின்றது. இந்த பழக்கம் பல்வேறு நோய்களுக்கு காரணியாக அமைகின்றது. சிகரெட், பீடி புகையில் 4 ஆயிரம் நச்சு ரசாயனங்கள் உள்ளன. மெழுகு வண்ணபூச்சு, அசிடிக் ஆசிட்சினிகள், மீத்தேன், சாக்கடை வாயு, காட்மியம் பேட்டரி தொழிற்சாலை சுரப்பி, வாகன புகை, மெத்தனால் ராக்கெட் எண்ணை, நிக்கோஷன் பூச்சி கொல்லி, ஆர்சனிக் நஞ்சு அம்மோனியா சோப்புதூள் உள்ளிட்ட 4 ஆயிரம் ரசாயனங்கள் கலந்து தயாரிக்கப்படுகிறது. இதில் 200 வகையான நச்சு பொருட்கள் புற்றுநோயை உண்டாக்க கூடியது. கருவுற்ற பெண்கள் அருகில் புகை பிடிப்பதால் தாயும், கருப்பையில் வளரும் சிசுவும் பாதிப்புக்கு உள்ளாகின்றனர். சிகரெட் புகைப்பதால் மூளைகட்டி, மூளை வலிப்பு, பக்கவாதம், மார்பக புற்று நோய் நெஞ்சக நோய்கள், ஆஸ்துமா உள்பட பல நோய்கள் ஏற்படுகிறது. இந்த பழக்கத்தை கைவிடுவதற்கு, மிகவும் உறுதியுடன் இருங்கள். கைவிடுவதற்கு ஒரு திகதியை நிர்ணயித்து கொண்டு அதை கண்டிப்பாக கடைபிடியுங்கள். புகை பழக்கத்தை தூண்டும் புகையிலை பொருட்கள், தீ மூட்டிகள், தீப்பெட்டிகள் மற்றும் சாம்பல் தட்டுகள் போன்றவற்றை தூக்கி வீசுங்கள். உங்கள் குடும்பத்தினரிடம் புகை பிடிப்பதை கைவிட ஒத்துழைப்பு கொடுக்க வேண்டும் என்று கேட்டு கொள்ளுங்கள். உங்களை புகை பிடிக்க தூண்டும் சந்தர்ப்பங்களை கண்டறிந்து அவற்றை தவிர்த்து விடுங்கள்.

கை தட்டுவதன் இரகசியம்

கை தட்டி ரசித்து சிரிப்பதன் மூலம் எந்த நோயும் அண்டாமல் நம்மை பாதுகாக்க முடியும் என்று மருத்துவர்கள் தெரிவித்துள்ளனர். இதய நோய் உள்பட எல்லா நோய்களுக்கும் காரணமாக இருப்பது நம் மனம் தான். அதனால் தான் எண்ணம் போல் வாழ்வு அமையும் என்று கூறியுள்ளனர். எதற்கும் உணர்ச்சி வசப்படாமல் அனைத்தையும் சாதாரணமாக எடுத்துக்கிற நிலை வந்தால் உடம்பை எந்த நோயும் நெருங்காது என்கின்றனர் மருத்துவர்கள். வெற்றி தான் மகிழ்ச்சியின் திறவுகோல் என்பதை விட மகிழ்ச்சியாக இருப்பது தான் வெற்றி என்று எண்ண வேண்டும். இதற்கு நன்றாக மனது விட்டு சிரிப்பதும், கை தட்டி ரசிப்பதும் அவசியம் என்கின்றனர் உளவியல் மருத்துவர்கள். கை தட்டுவதே ஒரு சிகிச்சை தான். கை தட்டும் போது அக்குபிரஷர் ட்ரீட்மென்ட் நடக்கிறது. மூளையும் பிற உறுப்புகளும் உற்சாகமா இயங்குகிறது என்கிறனர் மருத்துவர்கள். மனிதர்களின் கைகளில் உள்ள நரம்புகள், இதயம், சிறுநீரகம், லிவர், நுரையீரல் போன்றவற்றுடன் தொடர்பு கொண்டுள்ளது. இரண்டு கைகளையும் இணைத்து தட்டுவதன் மூலம் நரம்புகள் தூண்டப்படுகின்றன. இதனால் பல வித நோய்கள் ஏற்படுவது கட்டுப்படுத்தப்படுகிறது. நம் உடம்பில் உள்ள ரத்த நாளங்கள் வெறும் 2 மில்லிமீட்டர் குறுக்களவு கொண்டவை. டென்ஷன் ஆகும்போது அட்ரினலின், கார்ட்டிசால் ஹார்மோன்கள் அதிகமா சுரந்து அந்த நாளங்களில் அடைப்பை ஏற்படுத்திடும். இந்த சுரப்பை கட்டுப்படுத்தும் சக்தி இயல்பாவே நம் உடலில் இருக்கிறது. சீரான உணவு, முறையான உடற்பயிற்சி, கெட்ட பழக்கங்கள் இல்லாத நல்ல வாழ்க்கை முறை தேவை. மனசு மகிழ்ச்சியா இருந்தா, என்டார்பின், மெலட்டோனின், செரட்டோனின் ஹார்மோன்களும், ஹெச்.டி.எல்ங்கிற நல்ல கொழுப்புகளும் உருவாகும். 99 சதவீதம் அடைப்பு இருந்தாக்கூட தானா கரைஞ்சிடும். இது கற்பனையில்லை. மருத்துவ உண்மை என்று உறுதியாகச் சொல்கின்றனர் மருத்துவர்கள். தினசரி காலையில் 20 நிமிடங்களுக்கு கை தட்டுங்கள் உங்களுக்கு எந்த நோய் இருந்தாலும் குணமாகும் என்று உறுதியாகச் சொல்கின்றனர் மருத்துவர்கள்.

“Manorangini”(மனோரஞ்ஜிதம்)

மலர்களில் அதிக வாசனை உள்ள மலர் மனோரஞ்சிதமாகத் தான் இருக்கும்..நுகர்ந்தவுடன் என்று கூட இல்லை, அது இருக்கும் இடத்திலிருந்து சுமார் 50 மீ தொலைவு வரை மணம்பரப்பும். தூரத்திலிருந்தே அதன் மணம் உங்களை ஈர்க்கும். அப்பப்பா..என்ன மணம்..என்ன மணம். உள்ளத்தைக் கிறங்க அடிக்கிறதே.Common name: Ylang Ylang Vine, Climbing lang-lang, Tail grape, Ilang-ilang • Hindi: Hari champa हरी चम्पा, Madanmast मदनमस्त, Manorangini मनोरंगिनी • Manipuri: চীনী চম্প্ৰা Chini champra • Oriya: Kalomuro • Bengali: Kanthalichampa কাঁঠালী চাঁপা • Kannada: Manoranjanihu balli • Marathi: हिरवा चाफा Hirva chapha • Tamil: மனோரஞ்ஜிதம்Manoranjitham

Botanical name: Artabotrys hexapetalus Family: Annonaceae (sugar apple family)

Synonyms: Annona hexapetala, Artabotrys odoratissimus

Also known by its common name in India as “Manorangini”, Hari Champa has absolutely intoxicating fragrance! This species is native to India and tropical Asia. A medium size climbing shrub 8-10 ft, producing flowers that are greenish in color and fade to yellow with age, and are extremely fragrant. Once picked they are very long lasting and hold their scent for days, if kept in water, permeating an entire room. Flowers have three outer and three inner greenish yellow petals – hence the name hexapetalus. It is a fruity sweet smell – the Manipuri name Chini Champa, meaning sugar champa, is indicative of that. Narrowly elliptical leaves, 6-15 cm long, 2-4.5 cm wide, sre usually 3-4 times as long as wide, acute or almost so at base, short-acuminate at the tip, not glossy. Lateral veins are 8-16 pairs. Fruits are 3-4 cm long when ripe, ovoid and smooth. When young, this climber grows just like a regular shrub but at 5-6 ft, will start to vine. It is not an aggressive vine.

More Than Brahma-Sukha

“The king went and received blessings and then paid so much honor and respect after that. When he saw Rama, he experienced a happiness one hundred times that of Brahman realization.” (Janaki Mangala, Chand 5.2) nṛpa gahe pāya asīsa pāī māna ādara ati kiem̐ | avaloki rāmahi anubhavata manu brahmasukha sauguna kiem̐ || There is happiness when one realizes Brahman, or the all-pervading spirit. With maya, which is not Brahman, there is perpetual misery. The resulting happiness felt only arrives in short bursts and then vanishes very quickly thereafter. The next time the same experience will not bring as much happiness, for the living being gets accustomed to sense satisfaction, in effect raising the threshold for sense pleasure. The concept of a “proper perspective” can only apply in a realm where ignorance reigns supreme. Though the happiness of association with Brahman is everlasting and different from temporary sense pleasure, the source of Brahman is the real reservoir of pleasure. For a famous king a long time ago, the thrill felt from seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead gave him a happiness he never experienced before. How do we know that the senses spoil us into requiring more for gratification? Think about why athletes and celebrities involve themselves in children’s charities and other philanthropic ventures. If you’re worried about performing well in the big game, the mental toil will have an impact on your psyche, on your overall happiness. At the same time, when you see a young child suffering from cancer, your problems don’t seem to be as big. One side is worried about how to succeed in a life where living is taken for granted, while the other side is struggling for existence at a young age. Because of the influence of the senses it is easy to lose sight of the proper perspective. In the larger scheme, even death itself isn’t that big a deal. Sure we don’t know what lays ahead in the future, but the uncertainty of upcoming time doesn’t mean that our existence will cease. The present moment is the culmination of much past thought and struggle. Ten years ago we likely worried about the immediate future, and yet somehow we managed to make it through. Prior to our birth we had no say in the circumstances of our upcoming life, but everything worked itself out anyway. “For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.”  (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.20) The Vedas reveal that everything in life that we know about is temporary in its manifestation. Those who are illusioned by the temporary easily lose perspective, both in the short and long term. That which is permanent, knowledgeable and blissful is the opposite of the material nature. The Vedas refer to this force as Brahman, and its realization is the main objective of the living entity gifted with a human birth. Within a human body the dichotomy between Brahman and maya can be studied. The most mature living entity can follow instruction and guidance to train the senses to cope with hardship. The marathon runner can run for long distances without any discomfort, while the person new to running finds one mile difficult to complete. The difference between the two individuals is in the training of the body. In the larger picture, if the body is trained to rely only on limited sense interaction, the realization of Brahman can be attained. The entire breadth and scope of religion is meant for this connection with Brahman, the understanding that I am a spirit soul, part and parcel of God. Though the ultimate realization may not be disclosed immediately to the sincere spiritualist, the purpose of austerity, sacrifice, and religious practice is the knowledge of the Absolute Truth. From that knowledge comes happiness. And why shouldn’t there be happiness? If I know that I am an eternal spiritual force, will I get distracted with temporary ups and downs? The greatest fear for the mature human being is death, similar to how the ripened fruit on the tree has nothing left to do but fall. With a fear of death gone, so many other fears are eliminated. Absorbing the authorized information of the Vedas, which reveal the process of transmigration of the soul, which is better known as reincarnation, the living being understands that there is no reason to lament the loss of the temporary body. Neither is a temporary gain a cause for excessive celebration. “He who is without attachment, who does not rejoice when he obtains good, nor lament when he obtains evil, is firmly fixed in perfect knowledge.”  (Lord Krishna, Bg. 2.57) Brahman realization is meant to continue uninterrupted. You can know theoretically that you are spirit soul and not body, but practically every activity you are inclined towards from birth follows the realization of maya, which requires no effort. Thus to attain and stay on the Brahman platform is quite difficult. King Janaka a long time ago mastered the art of real yoga to keep the Brahman vision within his mind at all times. He still followed work. He did not become a robot or give up his obligations without cause. Brahman realization can occur through any type of activity, provided it is authorized and the worker keeps the proper vision within the mind. King Janaka had a kingdom to rule over, but he carried out his responsibilities with detachment. He did the work because that was his duty, but he had no concern for the result, success or failure. Through his equipoised condition he realized Brahman. He knew what brahma-sukha, or the happiness of realizing Brahman, felt like. Nevertheless, when he saw one young man in particular, the immediate happiness he felt was like no other. By the very nature of the reaction we can understand that the object viewed was not maya. Thus in the above referenced verse Goswami Tulsidas has affirmed Lord Rama’s position as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. King Janaka saw the eldest son of King Dasharatha enter his kingdom alongside Vishvamitra and Rama’s younger brother Lakshmana. As a good king, Janaka kindly welcomed the arriving party. Their entrance wasn’t as pronounced as the others, but Janaka nevertheless followed protocol. Who were the others that arrived? At the time, Janaka was holding a bow-lifting contest to determine the husband for his daughter Sita Devi. Interestingly enough, when Janaka found Sita as a baby girl one day on the field, he immediately felt tremendous affection for her. He loved her so much that he took her in as his daughter. Again, this happiness was not related to maya, for it did not distract from his religious duties. If anything, having Sita as a daughter only made Janaka more committed to the righteous path. Seeing Rama now Janaka felt a happiness that was one hundred times that of brahma-sukha. The Personality of Godhead has this effect on the pure souls who cherish His company. Janaka didn’t know that Rama was God appearing on earth in the guise of a human being to do the work of the demigods in eliminating the nefarious character Ravana, but he didn’t have to. The purity of the Brahman realization made Janaka eligible for appreciating the transcendental form of the Lord. That form is meant to provide happiness to the observer. The eyes have a purpose. Through fulfilling that purpose they provide a fruit that can be enjoyed. More than anything the eyes exist to gaze upon the sweet, charming, lovely, and beautiful vision of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who so innocently goes about His business, caring for the welfare of His devotees at every step. It should be noted that seeing Rama is not dependent on Brahman realization. The reference to brahma-sukha made by Tulsidas is only for comparison purposes. One seeking the happiness of merging into the spiritual light of Brahman does not get the same happiness that the devotees do. Why did Janaka ever bother with Brahman then? Why didn’t he just go straight for God realization at the start? It is said in the scriptures that one who sincerely follows the devotional path, bhakti-yoga, has already performed so many religious sacrifices and penances. In this way we see that the other methods of yoga do have a purpose. The target aim of the human form of life, the fruit of the eyes, is not reached when personal interaction with Shri Rama is absent, but there are still benefits to be gained with disciplines such as jnana-yoga, karma-yoga and hatha-yoga. If one has the good fortune to hear about bhakti, they should take to it right away, bypassing Brahman realization altogether. Know it for certain that if you have the rare chance to bask in the sweet vision of Shri Rama entering Janakpur to lift Lord Shiva’s bow, you have certainly performed all the necessary rituals and regulations in a previous time. The soul’s reward for pious behavior is the company of the person whom Janaka so delighted in welcoming as a guest. In a short amount of time, that same guest would formally join the king’s family. In Closing: Maya, with her illusory visions deceives, Allows not the eyes the fruit of existence to receive. Brahman is truth, with maya nothing to do, Above karma, victory and defeat too. To feel brahma-sukha is surely a great chore, But know that happiness can have even more. The supreme pleasure of seeing God Janaka felt, Knew brahma-sukha, but this time his heart did melt. Supreme Lord is wherefrom Brahman has come, Follow bhakti and know your ascension done.

Fractal Art Work

Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai Tamil Nadu - Vintage Photograph