Day 31: July 12, 2006
Today was a pretty astonishing day. We started off the day with a lecture at the SDR Law College in Mangalore. We did not know it at the time, but the college, along with many other schools at all levels, including high level professional colleges and hospitals, is run by a truly remarkable man named Hegade, the founder of a temple which people give money to and he gives it back to the society in the form of hospitals, colleges, schools, etc. That meant nothing to us at the time but would shortly. All we knew was that we were being invited to deliver a lecture to the students and many of the faculty at a law college and so, naturally, we accepted with pleasure. The amazing Dr. B.M. Hegde has friends and admirers everywhere and so we were invited to deliver this address to the law college.

This was a particularly good venue since the Codex problem is economic but the Codex solution is legal.

We were welcomed by the number 3 student in the class, a stunningly beautiful Moslem women dressed in the long dark robes of her culture and a headscarf totally covering her hair. She presented Dr. Hegda, Bert and me with a bouquet of flowers and a sweet smile. The students were standing when we entered and only took their seats when we took ours. Men sat on the right as we faced them, women on the left but in the front row sat both men and women sat in chairs on both sides of the room. I am sure there was a reason for that but we don’t know what it is. The women wore either Moslem robes (a few), saris (many) or shalwars (most). These short sleeved, loose fitting dresses have a scarf which is always worn at the neck, though in different ways, and a pair of loose fitting trousers. The colors, patterns, beading, diversity and beauty of these garments was absolutely riveting for someone like be who loves textiles. But the attention given to us was even more riveting. (The guys were dressed in tee shirts or dress shirts and pants, just in the US.)

Dr. Hegde introduced us and then Bert talked, as he often does, about the Principles of War in their application to the global war for health and health freedom. I began my talk by noting that they, the future lawyers of India, had surely died and gone to lawyer heaven because Codex provided them the opportunity to protect people and get paid for it! I told them that the various constituencies devoted to various issues raised by Codex would be increasingly involved in following the Codex 2 step so that their businesses would be protected from Codex by creating a better standard and then by seeing to it that it was enacted as law.

After the lecture, we received the thanks of another student and we had coffee in the office of the Principle, or Dean, of the Law School. When I presented him with the Codex materials contained in the Codex eBook he was fascinated. When I presented him with the Codex White Paper on What Codex Actually Requires from Member Nations he was activated. He called the International Law Professor in and asked him to review the documents I presented to him. Our international strategy made excellent sense to him and he agreed that he and his school would carry it forward in India. That’s when we learned something fascinating about India: a constitutional amendment was passed in 2002, I believe, which protects the natural medicines of India. This will have a significant role in the future of Codex here in India.

Next we were taken to a herbarium run by an Ayruvedic company called “Alva”. They have created a teaching and meditation area where every Ayurvedic plant is cultivated and used only for teaching purposes. The medicinal plants are grown elsewhere: these plants are for inspiration and education. The residents of the Old Age home on the premises are asked to walk the paths of the herbarium each day and they do. So do the visitors like us who can admire and learn. We did both.

We met the pharmacist, saw the store rooms and saw the traditional processing rooms where the herbs are ground or cut, stewed, brewed, steeped, decanted, roasted, boiled, broiled, buried, etc., all according to the ancient scriptures. It was a truly impressive visit. Nothing was air conditioned. When I was basically dissolving in the jungle humidity, our hosts brought us “tender coconut” with the top sliced off and a straw inserted. The coconut water, high in electrolytes, perfectly sterile and sweetly refreshing, was a life saver.

Then off to the Ayurvedic hospital where we saw the ancient practices being used. From room to room we went (all un air conditioned) where all of the techniques were in active use. Diagnostic procedures like ultra sound were, too. The hospital was quiet, dignified and calm. There were no medicinal odors and although there were a great many people about, there was a serene sense that was very different from a Western Hospital.

We were asked to visit a new Ayurvedic and Homeopathic Medical School where we were introduced to the Chairman but did not spend much time talking to him. Our guide was an Ayurvedic pediatrician who generously took a great deal of time with us. The Chairman asked us to come back in January which we will certainly do.

The Medical School is still under construction so we could only climb to the 5th floor because the other floors are being added on top of each floor below. I am sure if the building had been constructed to 20 floors the Chairman would have been in a meeting on the top floor and we would have had to climb every one of them. As it was, we only had the one outside the building to the entry hall and then 5 other flights of stairs. No air conditioning. Incredible heat. Total humidity.

Believe me, if we are in India then, January could not come too soon with its cooler temperatures as far as I am concerned!

Day 32: July 13, 2006

We started off the day with a quick breakfast at the Mangalore Club. It was raining, really, really raining.

Our driver said that he would be happy to take us shopping. I suggested that perhaps we could visit a temple and he happily obliged. First he took us to a private Catholic college where we drove right on past the “Do not enter” sign. I asked him about it but he just smiled, nodded his head from side to side in the South Indian gesture that means, variously, “yes”, “no”, “don’t worry about it” or whatever else is convenient at the moment.

The purpose for our visit became apparent: Joe, our driver, wanted very much for us to see a magnificent European-style cathedral with amazing murals on the walls and ceilings. Since he had crosses in the front of the car, I assume that he is a Christian. He said that his church is not this one and smiled a lot when I tried to make more conversation about it. That happened a lot, though, no matter what the topic, so I have no idea if we were communicating or not.

Next he took us to a large Hindu Temple Complex and guided us into the temple itself. We had already taken off our shoes at the entrance to the complex, guarded by two enormous elephant statues which were painted and gilded. Inside a magnificent and enormous bull welcomed us.

Hindu rituals are dramatic and beautiful. We were able to see very clearly what happened at each shrine within the central temple. Even the inside of the temple enclosure, however, was partly outdoors so the rain was a heavy factor. No cameras inside, but no umbrellas, either.

The big surprise inside the temple was the music: a traditional drummer was beating the right hand drum head of a horizontal drum with a stick and the left hand head with his hand (which is very traditional). But the musician accompanying him was playing a saxophone and he was wailing! After making the circuit of the temple, I stood and listened for a while. He and the drummer dug the fact that an obviously non local person was listening and plunged into an amazing improvisation while smiling as broadly as humanly possible the whole time. It was amazing.

Then, in the pouring monsoon rain, we were walking from place to place in the temple when a man in (soaked) dress shirt and trousers came up and asked where we were from. We told him and he said that he would show us around. He took us into buildings like the wedding hall and up to the top of the highest building in the complex to show us Mangalore and the temple compound. We found out that he manages the maintenance which is required for this huge compound with crews of volunteers and that he felt that since we had come from so far away, he should show us hospitality.

He took us around and then asked if we would like to have some lunch. We thought the temple must have a restaurant so we said yes. He took us into the dining hall where people are fed after they make their devotions. They sit on floor mats and volunteers come by with pots and ladles and dish out food onto their plates which they then eat with their right hand (never the left). Some rice with sauce and a dollop of veggies served on banana leaves (auspicious in traditional thought and antiseptic according to modern science) comprises the meal. We ate the same (sitting at a table, though) and when we left we were given sweets in little bags that marked the Shri Gokarnanatha Kshetra temple.

Its story of the temple is simple and beautiful: it was founded by a man who was troubled that the lowest cast members had no place to worship since they could not enter temples. He built a temple for all people without regard to cast and now anyone can come and worship — and they do. It is a wonderful place, even in the rain.

Day 33: July 14

Dr. Hegde made arrangements for us to go to Dharmastalla, 50 km away (less than 1 hour’s drive on a highway) but we had to be up and out of the hotel really early for a 12:30 appointment. The reason? We had to travel the Mangalore-Bangalore road which is, as far as either Bert or I am aware, simply the worst road in the universe. I was terrified. Bert was terrified. The driver was unexpressive so I have no idea what he was feeling. Rules of the road mean absolutely nothing and the road is rutted and filled with craters like none you have ever seen if you have not been there. Nothing like it exists anywhere we have ever been. It took a couple of terrifying hours to get to a turn off where the road became (mercifully) unremarkable.

Then we drove a bit and came to a staggeringly huge temple set on a huge piece of land with numerous shrines. Wandering around the grounds were three elephants. One of them, the bull, came up to us and gently touched each of us on the top of our heads with the tip of his trunk (which is considered to be a blessing since Lord Ganesha, the elephant headed deity, is considered to be the remover of all obstacles and strongly associated with healing).

Dharmastalla has a dining hall that seats 11,000 people at a time after they have finished their devotions! The kitchens are beyond huge and spotlessly clean with modern equipment to ensure sanitation. We were fed lunch (which was delicious) and taken to see a hospital run by the temple which uses only Naturopathic techniques, some of which are not found in the US and some of which are. It was a fascinating experience because of the patients: they were glowing with appreciation and a sense of being in control of their lives and health. We met patients who were doctors and business people, nurses and others who were patients there and they were uniformly glowing with joy at their treatments! Fees are determined by accommodation level. Treatments are all included in your accommodations. The most expensive room is about $25/day and includes a small bungalow where your treatments are conducted in private. Otherwise, your treatments are carried out in the special areas of the hospital for each type of treatment..

The doctors were deeply dedicated and deeply knowledgeable and were a pleasure to talk to about their art and science. It is a hospital without drugs but with spectacular results.

Then we left for the college of naturopathy run by the temple, too. (By the way, the Medical and Law Colleges we lectured at in Mangalore are among the many, many facilities run by this temple which has created an empire of good!)

We were given a tour of the Naturopathic Medical College and then Bert and I lectured to the senior class (who had been waiting patiently in their seats for over two hours because our tour was behind schedule (and kept getting “behinder” as more people wanted to talk to us and show us things and talk to us).

The same attentive, receptive faces greeted us followed by excellent questions. Something is very, very different in these schools compared to our own!

Day 34: July 15, 2006

Today was a travel day: Mangalore to Chennai. Once we got to the airport in Chennai, we were met by an IT specialist whom we have become fast friends, P. Venkatesan. Venkat, as he is known, devoted his time while we were there to taking exquisite care of our every need and is a delightful person as well. He took us to the Raga Dental College and Hospital immediately upon our arrival where we addressed the faculty and students on the Codex issues which impacts every one of them as people who eat and professionals dealing with health.

Dentists in India are licensed, as they are in the US, to write drug prescriptions or recommend natural options for dental and whole person health so the issues were more apropos for them than one might first think. They have a clear understanding of the relationship between nutrition and dentition and were eager to learn about Codex.

We asked Dr. S. Ramachandran, MDS the Principal [Dean] of the school about mercury fillings and received a really interesting reply. In India, only low class, cheap and poor quality dentists use mercury fillings. Good dentists with good reputations would never use such a toxic substance! Isn’t that fascinating?

Then we were taken to visit Dr. C. V. Krishnaswami, MD, one of the world’s leading diabetologists and his lovely wife, Dr. Preema Krishaswami, an OB-GYN specialist. Together they have been doing exceptional work using natural medicines and run a free diabetes clinic for 500 children where they look after their lives, not just their diabetes. The food, school, clothing, insulin care, emotional lives and every other aspect of these young people’s lives comes under the watchful and caring eyes and hands (and financial support) of these two remarkable persons. Their treatment is free for life.

We talked natural medicine, of course, but we also talked about the underlying value system which guides it, a philosophy of wholeness and interdependency. We also talked about NeuroBioFeedback and Frequency Medicine and other topics very, very dear to our hearts while we learned about the innovations Dr. CVK, as he is known, has instituted here in India. For example, although the official dogma in India is that every single pregnant woman who develops elevated blood sugar MUST be put on insulin during her pregnancy to prevent macrosomia (a baby who is born too big) and other major health problems for mother and baby, Dr. CVK has discovered that if pregnant women with elevated blood sugar are instead given Vitamin B6, they have normal, healthy babies and do not develop problems associated with diabetes. Dr. Preema has delivered the babies and documented their health and that of the mothers. He laments, predictably, that in spite of superb evidence, the medical community goes on putting mothers with gestational diabetes (as the elevated blood sugar is still called) on insulin with predictably problematic results. Under Codex, of course, such use of the natural, non-toxic, safe and inexpensive vitamin would be forbidden in a country which harmonized to its Vitamin and Mineral Guideline, as the US wants to do.

Day 35: July 16 2006

We began the day by going with Venkat to a remarkable Hindu temple in Chennai. We had to go early in the morning because the sun beats down on the paving stones and they become so hot that you cannot walk on them after 8:30 AM or so since the custom is to take off your shoes at the entrance to the temple compound. The tower of the temple can be seen for a long distance and is composed of colorful carvings of the gods and goddesses in their various encounters and adverntures. The temple was originally built where a Portugese-built church is now but was moved when the Portuguese demanded the temple’s site for their church . So the temple was moved piece by piece – and it is made of stone — to its present site. It is a large compound with many shrines to the various Hindu deities.

Outside the temple entrance not only is there a covered stall with lots of shoe racks where you remove your shoes, but stalls with ropes of flowers and devotional materials like the closed lotus bud. When I admired it, Venkat bought one for me (as well as a rope of jasmine flowers for my hair which smelled like heaven all day long). The vendor rubbed the closed petals with a few drops of water, blew on them, rubbed them some more and in his hand suddenly was a magnificent, fully opened pink lotus flower which he handed to me with a smile. I carried the lotus blossom for the rest of the day and wore the jasmine garland. It was a lovely experience.

The temple was an exceptional experience which I will never forget and if I ever figure out how to mount my digital photos on the website you will be able to share this experience with us visually. Right now I have not yet figured out how to do that!

We were told that because there was not much time, tonight we would lecture, but to only a few people, although they would be very, very influential. In fact, this small gathering of people is called the Engineer’s Club and consists of highly influential people including a former very senior Defense Analyst, trade specialists, influential physicians, writers, etc., but the numbers would be small because the lead time available to organize the meeting was short.

When time came to go to the meeting hall (which was NOT air conditioned), the room, which held approximately 50 people was filled to overflowing with people standing on the sides of the room and stuffed into every available corner. We told them about the war facing health and health freedom. They listened and promised their involvement and help. It was a wonderful meeting, I can assure you! There was a trade expert (who has promised to be our “Codex bulldog” in India) who stood up and said that the provisions of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement (SPSA) make it clear that our Codex 2 Step Strategy is absolutely correct and said that each of us should be working to protect India’s food supply from Genetically Modified foods, pesticides, etc. using this strategy. Of course, having him say that to this audience of his highly placed friends and colleagues was thrilling. We can say it all we want (and do), but having our international strategy vetted in this way by a trade specialist was priceless.

It also makes it clear (yet again) that the negative press we have been getting which insists that our international strategy is wrong is without basis.

After this fantastic lecture we went back to our hotel room where Dr. Preema came to help me wrap a sari which I wore to the Chennai Club, founded by the British during their control of India. The service, food and conversation were delightful. Both of these doctors are true healers, not just technicians. Dr. CVK has agreed to head the efforts of the Natural Solutions Foundation in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. We are indeed honored and grateful.

Day 36: July 17, 2006

We said goodbye to our new Chennai friends and took a plane for Mumbai (which used to be called Bombay). Whatever name you give it, it is a bustling, crowded, teeming city filled with auto rickshaws which scuttle like beetles on any side of the street they please, darting in and out of traffic, motorbikes doing highly improbable things with fantastic loads of cargo on them and cars, more cars and more cars again. Every one honks all the time, it seems. Eventually we got from this most crowded city to the world’s oldest Yoga Institute. Founded in 1918 by Shri Yogendraji, the Yoga Institute, Santacruz, Mumbai, is “the oldest organized Yoga Centre in the World”. We entered a 1 square acre of serenity, shade, trees, vines, shrubs and other plants set on curing pathways amid simple, clean buildings housing a lecture hall, offices, dormitory rooms and a bookshop. But the surprise is that it is right in the middle of Bombay! The walls cut off the sight (but not the sound) of surrounding Mumbai but those sounds and traffic intensity (as well as the time intensity that Mumbai is famous for) disappear as if by magic. Outside the gate is tumult. Inside is serenity. And that serenity is embodied by the director (and the heart) of the Institute, Smt. Hansaji J. Yogendra, wife of the founder’s son and President of the Institute, Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra. One thousand students a month come to this remarkable place to learn and to integrate what they have learned so that they can live a healthy life focusing on simple, clean food and conscious awareness of living a balanced life.

We were offered a simple room with a private bath and shower and a celing fan over its bunk beds or, if we preferred, an air conditioned room in the nearby home of a student of the center, India’s first woman jet plane pilot. We preferred! I cannot describe the combination of heat and humidity. It was certainly like nothing I had ever experienced before, not even in Mangalore!

That evening we were invited to address the students. They sat on mats on the floor, men to the right of us and women to the left of us. There were about 165 people in the audience. During our 90 minute talk there was not one of them that was not fixed and focused on us. No fidgeting, no murmuring. Their quality of attention was absolutely astounding. We talked about their ability to heal themselves, the importance of taking control of their lives, using the traditional Indian diet for a nutritional base, NOT the fast death, fast food of the high status US and we talked about Codex in depth. They got it. Bigtime.

During our time there, we were able to meet with their doctors who practice natural medicine (including a psychiatrist who was eager to learn more). So we talked a good deal of shop talk, for obvious reasons. But we also talked about how to develop India’s awareness of the Codex threat and what people and politicians can do about it.

Day 37: July 18, 2006

Although we are being hosted by the Yoga Institute, we slept in Captain Sudamini’s air conditioned flat. Not only did we enjoy her company greatly, but we also got to have coffee in the morning (forbidden at the Yoga Institute) and met her mother, recuperating from a knee replacement surgery 1 month before.

Then back to the Yoga Institute for a 7:30 lecture to a new group of students who come there before rushing off to work. Mumbai is a city that rushes so the quiet tranquility of this oasis of calm is remarkable.

Following that, we had a day of meetings with people who come to the Yoga Institute for personal reasons but stay connected with it. They include politicians, media people, businessmen, scientists, physicians, etc., and they all wanted to have deep conversations about Codex, health and health freedom. We spent the day sowing seeds and will only know which ones germinate and what they look like as time unfolds.

But in the HOT, HOT afternoon sun the Captain asked me if I wanted to go to the market with her. Since I am always up for a new cultural experience (ALWAYS), I said yes and happily hopped into her car with her. It turned out that we were to have dinner at her house that evening with her brother, another captain (of an ore cargo ship, though) and her mom so she was off in search of vegetables for dinner (the family is vegetarian). She told me that the custom is that just about everyone purchases their veggies fresh on the day they intend to use them. So off we hastened to a series of street stalls lined with people selling the most astonishing variety of the freshest-looking vegetables I have ever seen this side of a farm. There were so many shoppers and so many stalls that it was impossible to decide where to look, let alone where to shop, at least for me.

The Captain, as she is known by everyone, knew right where to go: where she has a relationship with the vendor. And she picked the freshest, most succulent produce from the huge piles, chatting with the vendor all the while. She told me that, come evening, it would get crowded (!) and said that the market was empty now. I asked where you could put any more people and she laughed and said that by evening, when most people shopped, the stalls would have stalls in front of them. Then she put me and the kitchen worker who had accompanied us from the Yoga Center into an auto rickshaw since she had to drive in another direction to take care of errands.

I must have been that scared at some time in my life but I cannot remember it! We did, however, arrive back at the Institute without mishap, although I have no idea how.

We met with 8 journalists between returning to the Institute and dinner! None of them had ever heard of Codex but each of them promised that their papers and publications would do significant articles on it.

Then off to a home cooked, traditional Indian meal and conversation with two Captains and their mother.

Day 38: July 19, 2006

Today we arrived at the Yoga Institute at 7:00 AM to pack up our things and get our pictures taken for the article which will be written by the journalist from one of the major Indian newspapers whom we met yesterday. The photographer was not there to meet us and we eventually had to ask the person at the Yoga Institute who does their photography to take that responsibility which she of course did. Waiting for us when we arrived, however, was a sage who simply goes by the title of “Dada” (which means “Father” pr “Elder Brother” in various Indian languages). He has a PhD in Pharmacological Science and ran a company which made antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals for years. Now he realizes that these compounds have very limited use and has given up his business. Instead, he says, “I tell. I do not teach because in order to teach the student must be willing to learn. Instead, I tell and whatever happens with the information is not my concern”. Dada is an elderly gentleman with clear eyes and firm skin, spring in his step and keen wit whose “telling” centers around the simplicity of a happy life: simple food, simple relations, simple property. Not unfamiliar teachings, but still very profound ones. I asked him why he had come to the Yoga Institute today and he said, “To meet you.” We were floored and deeply honored.

He began to “tell”, as he usually does, and I interjected information about why we had come. His telling turned to learning and he absorbed what we have to say. He, too, will carry the message to his devotes and listeners. We are very, very pleased about that.
When we took our leave of the wonderful people at the Yoga Institute, we left with genuine warmth and a sense of leaving loved ones.

For any of you traveling to Mumbai, please do yourselves a favor and spend some time (more than a day if you can) at this historic and amazing place. Find them at www.Yogainstitute.org, write to them at yogainstitute@rediffmail.com .

Next, off to the Mumbai Domestic Airport and a flight to Delhi. We were picked up by a non-English speaking taxi driver so we could not ask him who the men were who, dressed in orange shirts, shorts and robes, were walking along the side of the road in a narrow, roped off lane, carrying poles decorated with triangular superstructures which were, in turn, decorated with tinsel, colorful fringes and ornaments, tassels and two symbolic buckets at either end. These men were obviously carrying them a very long distance: their feet were, in some cases, bandaged and the bandages were tinted orange. Remember, the heat was India monsoon heat: unremittingly, burning hot, staggeringly humid and intermittently pouring down monsoon rains. Still they walked. Periodically we came to tents and enclosures where more of these superstructures sat and tanker trucks of water were obviously provided for these men. One of these areas also had a huge tent where, as we drove past, we could see dancing and other activities taking place inside.

When we got the Swati Deluxe Hotel (booked for us by the good people here) we asked the clerk about the men and learned that they were devotees of the Lord Shiva and this was one of their festivals. They carry these structures more than 100 miles in two days, walking every step of the way. You have to see this kind of devotion to believe it! We spent the rest of the day making the necessary phone calls to set up the appointments for the meetings we expect to have here with decision makers.

The hotel restaurant (100% “veg” as they say) is a mall-style fast food court called “Shudh” in the next building: down the steps past the guard, turn left, walk about 10 steps and go up identical steps past an identical guard. Inside, there is American rock music blaring and about 6 fast food places:
One for drinks (called “Slurp”), one for North Indian food, one for South Indian food, one for Chinese food, one for “Snacky Bites” (e.g., pizza, vegetarian burgers and pasta). We ate dinner from there (thanks to room service we were spared the noise) and ventured there for the breakfast buffet. It sure is fast food, but at least the Indian part is delicious!

Day 39: July 20, 2006

We were successful in setting up an appointment with the Indian Codex Delegate. During the last Codex meeting in Geneva, you may remember that the Indian Delegate was the one voice of health reason very often. I had introduced myself to her and presented her with our materials which she did not have time to read as we raced down the hall together in the Conference Center. However, when I asked if we could call on her in Delhi, she graciously invited us to do just that. So we did.

What we learned was fascinating: India has, in essence, initiated the Codex Two Step, the process by which a country creates a better standard or guideline than the one that Codex presents and then enacts a law to make that standard or guideline the law of that land. Then the country is free from WTO sanctions. Now some in the health freedom movement still say this is not accurate (and they say so in a pretty nasty, defamatory way, by the way). But they will come around since they are, as India knows, wrong. Dead wrong.

We discussed how the Natural Solutions Foundation can help India by building the international health coalition. She invited us to continue to be in communication with her and expressed gratitude for our visit. We, on the other hand, were not only grateful for her time, but thrilled to have the confirmation from a major player on the world scene of our strategy. India has already enacted many of the pro-health strategies which Codex, and specifically the US, opposes year after weary year. “Since we were talking about it at Codex”, said the Indian Codex Delegate, “We thought we had better do something about it so we enacted these laws here. We already have required labeling for GM foods, QUID labeling” and other health-friendly laws which Codex is still talking about.

India, by the way, only uses research done here in India to base its public health policy upon: I presume that is because of the depth of corruption to which US and other Western countries have allowed their research to sink. Think about that.

Good for India (and good for Indians, too.)

I told her that we were deeply honored by having Prof. Dr. B. M. Hegde head the Natural Solutions Foundation – India and that we would be brining pro health freedom issues before the Indian people. She welcomed that, too, and told us that she would be pleased if we would tell her about issues that we had information on or that they might have missed.

You can bet we will continue to be in close touch with the Indian Codex team!

For dinner we went to a hotel with a traditional Punjabi “Dhaba”, a roadside truck food stand, inside the hotel itself (so it was air conditioned) and had a fantastic traditional dinner.