Kidnapped by Taliban - Book review

The first time we meet, we are friends. 

The next time we meet, we are brothers.

                   - Afghan proverb

Kidnapped by Taliban is the story of an Indian American doctor who has a lot of similarities with myself.



Dr. Dilip Joseph, like myself is a malayali from the state of Kerala in India. He lived there for 15 years and moved to the US accompanying his father who came to the beautiful state of California to study theology. Later, Dilip's father returns to India to be the pastor of a church in Kerala. Like myself, Dilip had great academic grades and both of us went to Cambridge University for graduate studies. And, we both are doctors.The similarities end there.

Dilip embarks on a career of service, philanthropy and service to the less fortunate people. He is moved by his deep sense of compassion and a burden for people in a far away land who do not share his value system or his language. He begins a tenure as the medical director of an NGO which helps build education, primary schools and health care in rural Afghanistan. Amidst the toils of  the Taliban insurgency, he makes several long trips to Afghanistan. It is on one of these trips that he gets abducted by a group of Afghan tribesmen who intend to sell him to Pakistani Taliban, who instead wants to use him as a bargaining chip and for extortion.


The story would have been just like any other Hollywood blockbuster comprising of kidnap, rescue, tragedy, courage and the eventual triumph of the free soul, except that the author dwells into the details of his interaction with the captors. He constantly reminds us that the Afghan people are caring, compassionate people. He quotes the above Afghan proverb quite often to remind us that they are genuine human beings who treat a stranger as a brother.

But I cannot but wonder how he was able to pull himself up to say that, except for the fact that I understand what makes him believe it. Christ, who he considers his life's savior, wants us to love our enemies. Dilip lives it to the letter. He talks about his interaction with his captors, especially a young 19 year old man, who surprisingly asked him very personal questions. Towards the end of his interaction, this kidnapper, sincerely asks Dilip if he can come with him to the US so that he too can enjoy the freedom and the love. Such is Dilip's witnessing that a kidnapper is moved by his affection and compassion and requests him to be adopted into a land against which he is fighting a brutal war.



Eventually, Dilip is saved four days later by the US Seals, although in the process a brave marine was killed by gunshot. The marine happened to live in a town just ten minutes from where I live now. Dilip is not afraid to go back to the country of Afghanistan despite this intensely nerve wracking experience. He vouches to live upto the sacrifice of his countryman and his own belief that his small work will eventually help move the nation of Afghanistan out of the bondage of terrorism and savagery.

Overall, a beautiful read with some intense suspense and funny anecdotes, Kidnapped by Taliban is a must read for anyone who wants to know the land of Afghanistan and its people. As an additional bonus, you may end up discovering a physician who lives true to his core beliefs and is willing to sacrifice all that he has to fulfill it.

Photo courtesy: CBS News

ആരോഗ്യ ശ്രീമാന്മാർ: ഇവരെ എങ്ങനെ തിരിച്ചറിയാം?

സോളാർ മുതൽ നിഷാം വരെ എല്ലാ വിധത്തിലുമുള്ള തട്ടിപ്പുകൾക്ക്‌ നല്ല വളക്കൂറുള്ള മണ്ണാണ് കേരളം. ഇതിനിടയിൽക്കൂടി അധികമാരും ശ്രദ്ധിക്കാത്ത ഒരു തട്ടിപ്പും നടക്കുന്നുണ്ട്. ഈ തട്ടിപ്പാണ് ഏറ്റവും വൃത്തികെട്ട വിധത്തിലുള്ള തട്ടിപ്പ് - ആരോഗ്യ തട്ടിപ്പ്.  മറ്റുള്ള തട്ടിപ്പുകൾ കാശ് അധികമുള്ളവരെ അലട്ടുമ്പോൾ, ആരോഗ്യ തട്ടിപ്പ് സമൂഹത്തിലെ ഏറ്റവും ബലഹീനരായ വ്യക്തികളെ ബാധിക്കുന്നു. ഒരാശ്രയവും ഇല്ലാതിരിക്കുന്ന ക്യാൻസർ ബാധിതരാണ് ഇതിൽ ഒട്ടു മിക്കവരും. ഒരു ക്യാൻസർ ഡോക്ടർ എന്ന നിലക്ക് വളരെയതികം ആരോഗ്യ തട്ടിപ്പുകൾ ഞാൻ കാണുനുണ്ട്.

ഇതിൽ ഏറ്റവും പ്രധാനപ്പെട്ട തട്ടിപ്പുകൾ എങ്ങനെ തിരിച്ചറിയാം എന്നുള്ളതാണ് ഈ കുറിപ്പിന്റെ ലക്‌ഷ്യം.

താഴെ പറയുന്ന കാര്യങ്ങൾ ആരോഗ്യ ശ്രീമാന്മാർ പറയുന്നുണ്ടെങ്കിൽ തട്ടിപ്പിലെക്കാണോ നിങ്ങളെ നയിക്കുന്നതെന്ന് ഒന്ന് ചിന്തിക്കുന്നത് നന്നായിരിക്കും.

1. ഒരൊറ്റ ഗുളികയോ, ഔഷധമോ, ഒറ്റമൂലിയോ കഴിച്ചാൽ മതി, എല്ലാ അസുഖങ്ങളും മാറും.
ഇങ്ങനെ ഔഷധമുണ്ടെങ്കിൽ അതെപ്പോഴേ അമേരിക്കക്കാർ പേറ്റന്റ്‌ ചെയ്തു കൊണ്ട് പോയിരിക്കും. ആ കണ്ടു പിടിത്തത്തിന് ഒരു നോബൽ സമ്മാനവും ലഭിച്ചിരിക്കും. അഥവാ ആരോഗ്യ ശ്രീമാൻ പറയുന്നത് ശരിയാണെന്ന് വച്ചിരിന്നാലും, ഒരു കാര്യം ആലോചിക്കൂ. ഇങ്ങനെ ഒരു മരുന്നുണ്ടായിട്ടു അത് ലോകത്തിലെ എല്ലാ ജനങ്ങൾക്കും കൊടുക്കാത്തത് അക്ക്രമമല്ലേ?

2. അനുഭവ സാക്ഷ്യങ്ങൾ: അർബുധങ്ങൽ പല വിധം. ഒരാളുടെ അനുഭവം വേറെ ഒരാൾക്ക് ബാധകമായിരിക്കുകയില്ല. മാത്രവുമല്ല, പല രോഗങ്ങളും, ക്യാൻസർ ഉൾപെടെ, തന്നെ താനേ സുഖപ്പെടും. അത് മനസിലാക്കുവാൻ ഒരു രോഗിക്ക് സാധിക്കുകയില്ല. ചുരുക്കം ചില അനുഭവ സാക്ഷ്യങ്ങളിൽ വിശ്വസിക്കാതെ, വളരെയതികം ആളുകളുടെ അനുഭവത്തിൽ വിശ്വസിക്കൂ (clinical trials).

3. എളുപ്പവഴി: ചില ആരോഗ്യ ശ്രീമാന്മാർ എളുപ്പത്തിൽ രോഗം മാറുവാനുള്ള വഴി കാണിച്ചു തരും. എല്ലാവർക്കും എല്ലായ്പ്പോഴും ഇഷ്ടമുള്ള കാര്യമാണ് എളുപ്പവഴി. ഈ വിധത്തിലുള്ള തട്ടിപ്പ് ഏറ്റവും കാണുന്നത് വണ്ണം കുറയ്ക്കുന്ന മരുന്നുകളിലാണ്. പിന്നെയുമുണ്ട് - പുരുഷന്മാരുടെ പൌരുഷം കൂട്ടുന്ന വിദ്യയും ഇത്തരക്കാരുടെ കയ്യിലുണ്ട്.

4. പൂർണമായും പ്രകൃതിധത്തം: ഇങ്ങനെ വിശേഷിപ്പിക്കുന്ന products പ്രത്യേകം ശ്രദ്ധിക്കണം. പല പ്രകൃതിധത്തമായ products-ലും ചില വിഷാംശങ്ങൾ അധികമായി ഉണ്ടാകാം. അത് കൊണ്ട്, ഈ products വ്യക്തമായി study ചെയ്തിട്ടുള്ളതാണോ എന്ന് പരിശോധിക്കണം.

5. അത്ഭുത രോഗശാന്തി: പല ആരോഗ്യ ശ്രീമാന്മാരും അത്ഭുത രോഗശാന്തി അവകാശപ്പെടും. ഒരു പ്രശ്നമേയുള്ളു - അത് വേറെയൊരു expert-നെ കൊണ്ട് തെളിയിച്ചിട്ടില്ല. മാത്രവുമല്ല അത് പത്രത്തിലെ പരസ്യമായിട്ടാണ് നാം കാണുന്നത്. യഥാർത്ഥ അത്ഭുത രോഗശാന്തിക്ക് തീര്ച്ചയായും ന്യൂസ്‌ വാല്യൂ ഉണ്ട്. അങ്ങനെ ഒരു സംഭവം നടന്നാൽ അത് തീർച്ചയായും ന്യുസിലും ടീവിയിലും നാം കാണും. പത്രത്തിലെ പരസ്യത്തിലൂടല്ല.

6. ശാസ്ത്രത്തെ കുറ്റം പറയും: ഇങ്ങനെയുള്ള ആരോഗ്യ ശ്രീമാന്മാർ ശാസ്ത്രത്തെ കുറ്റം പറയും. മരുന്ന് മാഫിയയും, ഡോക്ടർമാരും, അമേരിക്കയും പിന്നെ ഉമ്മൻ ചാണ്ടിയുമൊക്കെ അവരുടെ firing range-ൽ ഉണ്ടാകും. ശാസ്ത്രത്തെ ശാസ്ത്രീയമായി നേരിടുവാൻ അവർക്ക് ധൈര്യമില്ല.

ഇങ്ങനെയൊക്കെയാണെങ്കിലും ജനം പിന്നെയും ഈ വിദ്വാന്മാരുടെ പിന്നാലെ പോകും. അത് എന്ത് കൊണ്ട്?

1. അവർ നന്നായി communicate ചെയ്യും. ഇന്നത്തെ doctors വളരെ poor communicators ആണ്. ഒരു പക്ഷെ അവർക്ക് സമയമില്ലായിരിക്കും, ഒരു പക്ഷെ അവർക്ക് താല്ല്പ്പര്യമില്ലായിരിക്കും. എന്താണെങ്കിലും, ഈ വിദ്വാന്മാർ ഇത് മുതലെടുക്കും.

2. അവർ ഇപ്പോഴും ജനങ്ങളുടെ കൂടെ കാണും. എന്താവശ്യമുണ്ടെങ്കിലും ഈ ശ്രീമാന്മാർ available  ആയിരിക്കും, accessible ആയിരിക്കും.

3. അവരുടെ ചികിത്സക്ക് ചെലവ് കുറവാണ്. ഗുണത്തെ പറ്റി അങ്ങേയറ്റം പൊക്കി പറയും. ഒരു side effects-ഉം ഉണ്ടാവില്ല.

4. അവരുടെ മരുന്ന് കഴിച്ചാൽ മറ്റെല്ലാം പഥ്യം. അപ്പോൾ വിശ്വാസം കൂടും.
മേല്പറഞ്ഞ കാരണങ്ങൾ ചിലത് മാത്രം.

അനേക രോഗികളെ പറ്റിക്കുന്ന ഇത്തരം ആരോഗ്യ ശ്രീമാന്മാരെ സൂക്ഷിക്കുക. അങ്ങനെയുള്ള വിദ്വാന്മാരിൽ നിന്നും രക്ഷപെടുവാൻ ഇത് ഉപകരിക്കട്ടെ.    

Full disclosure: I am a cancer doctor. I am a proponent of holistic, compassionate and scientific medicine.

Apologies for the typos. The six steps to identify fraud are obtained from the FDA website for consumers. http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm341344.htm

Thank-you's

I'm watching the Oscars. It's quite impressive how people express their gratitude in the small time they are allotted. Some people like the director of Ida, a polish movie, had to take thrice the time and was almost pushed out with the customary "that's enough" music. But he persisted. He probably had too many people to thank.

Anyway, coming back to the point of this post. If I am awarded the highest award possible in my field (the Nobel or the Lasker), who will I thank? 

What about you? If you just received the highest acclaim in your field, who will you thank on stage? The answer to this question will bring out your true inner circle. 

What say you?

Social media exposes our gullibility

This is a message that has been widely circulating in whatsapp and Facebook. It's a bogus news. Hopefully the following report from American Cancer Society will help clarify this. 

http://m.cancer.org/aboutus/howwehelpyou/microwaving-plastic

What's interesting about this circulating bogus news is that most of what is written will have factual inaccuracies. For instance, there is no American doctors association. :) For the reader, one simple step to verify these information would be to google out the facts in the spams. For instance, search American doctors association. If there is a verified website, search for the information in that website. Simple right? 

Internet has exposed our gullibility. It doesn't matter if you are highly educated or not, we are all gullible to propaganda. 

In a larger perspective, this is what is being misused by dictators and religious bigots. A simple example is the anti-semitism spread by Hitler's propoganda apparatus. 

So, next time you see a fancy information on Facebook or whatsapp, verify the source. Or be prepared to be taken for a ride. 

Missing In Action

War destroys cities, villages and nations. But more than that war destroys real people. Men and women with families, children and loved ones. We always think of the collateral damage - the mother who mourns the loss of a child, the father who bears the brunt of an amputation, the child who just lost a few years of schooling, the refugees who have nothing but the nature to provide for their food and shelter. One group of people who we often do not remember are the soliders of war. The ones who actually are sent to fight - by unscrupulous dictators or great leaders. Men and women who live to remember the trauma of the battlefield. Men and women who are Missing In Action or are captured as Prisoners Of War.

In my life as a care giver of veterans of world war II through the recent invasion of Iraq, what I see are real men (rarely women) who have huge scars of battle in their mind and body. Beautiful people who lost their innocence in the fields of Europe and the middle East. Some went to save the world from dictators, some went to win a cold war played out in a 'wasteland'. What if we did not have war, what if these could be averted by nations united against hatred and bigotry. A dream that may never be fulfilled. But in the waning years of my youth, I hold tight to my right to dream and my right to see innocence in the scars of war.
 

MIA or POW - You are not forgotten!

His great love

https://maxlucado.com

Guest post by Max Lucado, one of my favorite christian writers. 

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God has a heart for hurting parents. Should we be surprised? After all, God himself is a father.

What parental emotion has God not felt? Are you separated from your child? So was God. Is someone mistreating your child? They mocked and bullied his. Is someone taking advantage of your children? The Son of God was set up by false testimony and betrayed by a greedy follower. Are you forced to watch while your child suffers? God watched his son on the cross.

Do you find yourself wanting to spare your child from all the hurt in the world? God did. Romans8:32 says, but because of his great love for us,” he did not spare his own Son but gave him for us all. So with Jesus, God will surely give us all things.” All things– including courage and hope!

People of the cross

The World has just gone into a new phase of evil. To this day and age, all kinds of evil existed - murder, rape, incest, torture, violence, riot, everything. With the insanely gruesome murder of 21 Egyptian Christians at the hands of a stateless, faceless group of cowards, what has then changed? In each of our living rooms, we are witnesses to the persecution. We cannot turn our head or mute our iPod, for the evil has now crossed oceans and reached our home. People may say that once upon a time, the hunted were hunters. But that does not justify the current spell of evil. It is another matter of fact that those who persecuted may never see the doors of the very place they desired to go, after their own eventual death.

As a Christian, what must be my response to the evil that seems to percolate into our homes, and eat into our existence. Should I respond with anger? Should I respond with prayer, with lobbying and cries for arms and ammunition and more war? I will leave that to the arm chair critics, and the rulers and leaders of the world. For the ordinary human being out there, let me frame a brief response that may help them take these visuals with  courage, hope and peace.

1. Our hope: The book of Revelations in the Bible is portrayed as a series of prophecies on the direction this world will take, when God decides to eventually take back the fallen world. A verse in that book offers me peace and solace, and unexpectedly some hope. Let me share it with you.

"...and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Revelations 20:4

Is Bible talking about people like those 21 Egyptian Christians who were beheaded for being "people of the Cross"? I would like to think it is - and if so, it offers me incredible peace deep within to know that their souls are with Jesus and they will live and reign with Christ a thousand years. Their blood, which was seen mixing with the waters of the sea, is washed by the blameless, sinless blood of Jesus and their reward is an eternity with their creator.

2. Our response: One of Jesus' greatest commands carries great importance in this era. Matthew 5:43-44 says "You have heard that it was said, 'you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy."But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.…".

Although it is easy for me to say this, having never faced persecution, this is what we must resolve to do. In our immediate context, while we may be tempted to show some bitterness or anger at our neighbors who believe in other world views, we must resist it wholeheartedly, for that is what Jesus commands us to do. 

Famous scholar Nabeel Qureshi puts it down quite well - "We need a call to action, not more sentiment. Our brothers are dying. This world needs the Gospel. What will you do? Our brothers died for Jesus because they lived for Jesus. We are at risk of doing neither, a fate far worse than theirs." I believe that this call to action comes through compassionate giving, service and more love.

He's with Jesus!

"... my father was a mathematics professor, he's now with Jesus..."

I heard the above statement from a person when he was describing his father. It came so natural to his conversation that it made me wonder for a while that his father was with a relative in a different city. We often hear the phrase 'faith in action', now this was a case of 'Hope in action'!

No, I can't ... No, I won't

Let me share a very interesting observation on parenting which I read in a book titled "David and Goliath" by Malcolm Gladwell. 

Several not-so-wealthy parents have said the phrase "No, I can't" when their children have demanded things from them that they could not afford. Wealthy parents have it the hard way. Their children know that the phrase no, I can't" means nothing, since it's not that they can't. They do have the money. It's that they won't. So wealthier parents should learn to say "no, I won't". And, that's the hardest part of parenting for rich parents. 

Parenting graph is not like the following image:

Instead, it's more like the below image:

The rich parent does not have it that easy. It's not a straight line association. It's a curved line. But the good thing is that it is at least not as bad as it is for the poor parent who will find it difficult to support their child in this quite affluent flashy world.  

A study on SIN

For a malayalam version of the following study, click on the link below:

http://youtu.be/TUxbMybVeDQ

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Sin implies that you have missed the mark. What God intended of you, has been made imperfect. In that sense, all of us have sinned or are sinning. Without an understanding of God or the absolute truth, there is no concept of sin. So, this study presupposes that you believe there is a God and he wants you to lead a blameless life.

He says to Abraham, and therefore to you - 

"I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless." Genesis 17:1

But we find that it is almost impossible to be blameless. We are fallen people and it is only natural for us to be imperfect. But God wants you and I to be perfect.

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48. 

In this passage, God wants you to love your enemies. In that he wants us to be perfect, just like how he loves us. But we will fall short of this expectation. Only God can love perfectly. 

At the same time, God knows that we are imperfect. 

Romans 3:23 says "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."

It's like a father telling his son never to watch TV, at the same time knowing that when the father is not there at home, his son would certainly watch it. I am writing from personal experience here. Same way, God wants us to be perfect, but he knows we will be imperfect. A catch 22 situation! 

But, he has a solution to this issue - Sacrifice his own blameless, sinless son, for my sins. Once we believe in him, we are made perfect IN HIS DEATH & RESURRECTION. In short, we are made perfect in his image. In the allegory of the father, son and the TV, one solution is for the father to sacrifice his own TV viewing experience and to sell it once and for all. Then the son would be blameless. The solution to such a problem has to be drastic and sacrificial. I know it's a bad example. But I hope it makes things clearer, about the catch 22 issue that we just read about.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Cor 12:9

"For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." Hebrews 10:14

Nonetheless, we cannot continue to sin. Christians (*not by birth, but by belief) are expected to be sin-less and sin-less and sin-less. In other words, Jesus expects us to mature in our christian living and devotion so that we become less full of sin each day we live. You can drain a man of his blood, but not all his blood. He will die. When you live, you can live with a lot of blood, or you can live with less blood. You cannot exist without blood. In a similar way, although we cannot ever be sinless, God wants us to sin less and less each day of our existence. 

Coming to the point of this study - What can we glean from the Genesis 3 narration of the first sin? Satan is a predictable person, he does the same things now as he did then. Knowing his ways and patterns may help us to stay away from a dangerous mistake.

As my pastor recently preached on this passage, Genesis began with the perfect "In the beginning..." and ended with death "in a coffin in Egypt". No other holy book will so blatantly showcase real humans and their struggles. Which is one other reason I believe in Bible. Therefore, let's look at Genesis to understand Satan's ways of making people sin. 

1. Satan relentlessly attacks the reliability of God's word. A half-truth is the biggest lie, you never know which is true, which is lie. Satan tells Eve, "Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?". This was a classic half-truth - God did not say that - he said do not eat from a particular tree. He gave them the right to eat from all other tree. And, he said you will die if you eat from that tree. Adam and Eve did not die literally, but their walk with God died, forever. Satan attacks the reliability of God's word. Did God really say that you have to love your enemies? You can love all except one right? Are you falling for this oft-repeated trick?

Sometime flight is better than fight. Don't fight these thoughts, just run away from them. 

2. Satan only needs to plant a small seed of unbelief to make you grow in sin. Every mammoth tree that you see began from a seed. Most of our sins starts with that small sin. Here Satan introduces a doubt to Eve - "you will not surely die". A small seed of unbelief that eventually led them out of the garden of Eden. 

3. Anytime we add to God's word, we diminish it. Legalism in church is a typical example. Don't do that, do  this, don't do that etc. Is it wrong not to draw a cross every time the priest looks at you from the altar? Is it wrong to not wear a headscarf when you pray? Is it wrong to wear an ornament to church? Is it wrong to share the communion with people who are not baptized as adults? Eve introduces a word to God's word. She said, God said "you must not touch it". God never said that you must not touch it. He just said do not eat from the tree. This may seem a silly example. The point of this comment was to give you an illustration of the dangers of legalism in church. Anytime we add to God's word, we diminish it. 

4. Satan denies sin's consequences and promotes its imaginary benefits. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God...". What a way of selling a product! Satan must be the first salesman in planet Earth. He sold the imaginary benefits. It's like selling a refrigerator to an Eskimo. We sometimes hear, "it's ok to buy some more land, it's OK to hoard gold and jewels, God gave you the prosperity for YOU to enjoy, you will need it when you are old, or when your child needs to go to medical school in a private medical college". Satan denies sin's consequences and promotes its imaginary benefits. In this illustration, we feel that God may not punish us for not taking heed to his command of caring for the poor and needy, and he permits riches and prosperity. We feel that the money may be of use to us when we are old or for our child. What if the child goes into drugs and alcohol and never graduates high school? Don't fall for his tricks and sales pitches. 

God's laws are not restrictive, they are instructive. They help us lead fruitful lives and be a blessing. They save us from destruction. Sin restricts, obedience liberates. 

May God help you to understand Satan's tricks and help you walk away from it in bold affirmation of his grace and mercy. 

This study was based on Pastor Rock Dillaman's exposition on Genesis 3:1. All the four points above are obtained from his talk. You may access his version at www.acac.net. 

When I retire...

...I will be a librarian. A society is judged as advanced by how much it values learning and reading. One easy way to analyze that is to look at the libraries in a city. How well it is stocked and more importantly, is it being used. By that measure, we Indians lag behind the rest of the world. 

Together we stay strong

Isn't it interesting to see that the snow man in the photo below remains in shape despite the warmth of recent days? It's like friends or family sticking together during the hard times. Meanwhile, there's a small scale blizzard out there. Enjoy winter! 

Lasting reward

A friend recently told me this story. When he was in his fifth year of medical school in rural Africa, he first had access to a computer. He resolved that he would learn "proper typing". The first month was painful. He was slow, late, and inefficient. The lasting reward? He can now type with eyes closed.

There's a golden life lesson in this story - hard work pays!

Cut through the confusion - Take the 91 weeks journey with me

Aging

"Age is just an abstraction, not a straight jacket." Still mine. American movie - 2014. 

As a physician, I have seen numerous instances where men and women look much younger than their stated age. In fact, one of the physical examination description itself says "looks her stated age".  On the contrary during my practice in India, I have seen men and women look older than their actual age, more frequently. It makes me wonder what is it that makes Indians age faster than Americans? There can be several reasons for this - more diseases, more stress, early retirement age, society pressure etc. But I think one big factor is the "mind". The typical Indian man past age sixty starts thinking "who will take care of me when I am old". Whereas the typical American man past sixty is still independent and working hard to maintain social security. And, he probably starts thinking "where should I go after I retire". I think we Indians age faster, all else considered equal. I don't have a clear idea why this is so? What are your thoughts?

Lung vs. breast in women

Lung cancer has overtaken breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths in women in developed countries. Another testament to years of research effort, funded by the deep coffers of charities such as Susan Komen et al. Just another example of what could be achieved with screening, targeted therapy (tamoxifen) and well funded research.

A snow day

Difference between an oncologist and an endocrinologist

In medicine, we are taught that when a patient crashes, don't stand there, do something or anything. 

In oncology, don't do something or anything, just stand there. His cancer will reveal itself. If it's really aggressive, why treat and make him suffer? If his tumor biology is better, there maybe a point in treating at the expense of toxicities. 

In endocrinology, don't do something or anything, just stand there - in fact, why bother standing, take a chair and sit, or maybe even make your bed and lie down. :) 

Hypocrisy in worship and life

Guest author: Max Lucado

Hypocrisy turns people against God, so he has a no-tolerance policy. Let’s take hypocrisy as seriously as God does. For starters, expect no credit for good deeds. None! If no one notices, you aren’t disappointed. If someone does, you give the credit to God. If no one knew of the good you do, would you still do it? If not, you’re doing it to be seen by people.

Give financial gifts in secret. We like to be seen earning money. And we like to be seen giving it. Matthew 6:3 says, “So when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”

Don’t fake spirituality. Nothing nauseates more than a fake, “Praise the Lord,” or a shallow “Hallelujah” or an insincere “Glory be to God.”

Bottom line: Don’t make a theater production out of your faith!

Health and strength, and steal the rest

"I pray only for health and strength, I'll steal the rest" 

A prayer of an absolute hypocrite. May your prayer never be like that.  

Touchdown!

On a Super Bowl Sunday, I'm reminded of the greatest touchdown ever. One that gave victory to everyone. Jesus touching down on earth. 

     John 3:16

Water and fire

യെശയ്യാ 43 : 2. നീ വെള്ളത്തിൽകൂടി കടക്കുമ്പോൾ ഞാൻ നിന്നോടുകൂടി ഇരിക്കും; നീ നദികളിൽകൂടി കടക്കുമ്പോൾ അവ നിന്റെ മീതെ കവികയില്ല; നീ തീയിൽകൂടി നടന്നാൽ വെന്തു പോകയില്ല; അഗ്നിജ്വാല നിന്നെ ദഹിപ്പിക്കയുമില്ല.

Two things that are difficult to control - water and fire. But God assures you that even amidst life's difficult to control circumstances, he will not let it overwhelm you. Do note that he does not say that you won't have to face water and fire (difficult situations). You will still go through them - but it will never drown or burn you.