Showing posts with label Rang de Basanti. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rang de Basanti. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

A Vedic interpretation of floods



Dr KK Aggarwal

According to the 100th monkey phenomenon, 1% of the collective consciousness of people decides what 99% will do. It only takes 1% of the society, which is the critical mass required for anything to materialize or happen.

If 1% of the society thinks positively about any issue in a particular direction, it happens. “Rang de Basanti” was not just a very successful movie, it had a profound impact on the society and secured justice in the high-profile Jessica Lall murder case.

If 1% of the city meditates, the crime rate goes down.

If 1% of people wish you well, good things will happen to you. The classical example of the effect of mass prayer on a person’s health is the case of Amitabh Bachchan. The entire country prayed as one for his recovery after he met with a near-fatal accident during the shooting of his film “Coolie”.

But the reverse is also true, if 1% of the society is disturbed, there is unrest in society, natural disasters occur.

Many parts of the country are reeling under floods as they did last year and also in the years gone by. This year too, heavy rains have caused devastating floods, which have claimed lives and destroyed homes.

Is it the effect of disturbed mind of the collective consciousness of the people?

The moon’s effect on the earth is seen in the form of ocean tides due to gravitational pull. The greatest difference between high and low tide is around New Moon (amavasya) and Full Moon (purnima).  The effect of the full moon on the ocean is seen as high tide; in the human body, it is believed to affect our behavior and well-being, called as the “lunar effect”.

At the micro levels, this occurs in the rivers, ponds and the human mind.

The high tide reflects as the turbulent or disturbed state of the human mind or what can be called as internal tide. In turn, this becomes evident has unrest in the society.

There is a traditional Vedic saying, “Yatha pinde tatha brahmande, yatha brahmande tatha pinde”, which means “As is the individual, so is the universe, as is the universe, so is the individual”.

I am a student of Vedic knowledge and this is my perception and interpretation of how many situations and events occurring in the society can be explained by our ancient Vedas.

If the high tides of the ocean affect our mind, the collective consciousness of the people can also affect the ocean.

Modern medicine may not agree with this, but the recent increase in natural calamities like floods is an indication for us all to remain calm and control our emotions.

The collective consciousness of the people decides the dharma of the society.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, “We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.”


Dr KK Aggarwal
Padma Shri Awardee
President Elect Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania   (CMAAO)
Group Editor-in-Chief IJCP Publications
President Heart Care Foundation of India
Past National President IMA

Monday, April 22, 2019

Time to fight for the rights of mentally challenged people


The Indian Medical Association (IMA) and Indian Psychiatric Society have condemned the title and poster of a soon to be released film “Mental Hai Kya”. They have also asked the producer of the film to withdraw the trailer and also change the title and content, if it has any such provocative sequence, dialogues or songs. The film is a dark comedy centered on the lives of its two protagonists, both of whom show suicidal tendencies.

The title of a recent film “PK” may be an oblique reference to “somebody who is drunk”. Films like “Munna Bhai MBBS”, “Gabbar is Back” had also projected the medical profession in a bad taste.

Under Section 92 (a, f) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act “whoever intentionally insults or intimidates with intent to humiliate a person with disability in any place within public view shall be punishable with a jail term of not less than six months, which may extend to five years, with fine.”

Films are usually a reflection of our society and portray the changing times. They do create awareness about relevant prevailing issues and often bring about much-needed change. “Rang de Basanti” was one such film.

While artistes have the right to freedom of expression, no profession or illness or disease should be shown in poor light.

To remove the stigma, the medical profession has changed the terminologies from prostitute to commercial sex worker; physically handicapped to differently abled; penis to the male organ; vagina to the female organ; retarded to mentally challenged; addicted to dependent; hinjra to transgender etc.

Mental illnesses still have a stigma attached to them. For this reason, people still hesitate to share that they have a mental illness and are reluctant to seek professional help.

The phrase “pagal hai kya” is used every now and then in daily conversation. This is because the public is generally ignorant about mental health issues. If the film is successful, “Mental Hai Kya” may well become a part of common parlance or everyday speech.



Dr KK Aggarwal
Padma Shri Awardee
President Elect Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania   (CMAAO)
Group Editor-in-Chief IJCP Publications
President Heart Care Foundation of India
Past National President IMA