Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Grieving Bul Bul Couple and the Fearful Eagle


Grieving Bul Bul Couple and the Fearful Eagle


Now that I wake up with the singing birds I never bargained for a painful and monotonous tone of a couple of grieving bul buls.


Not the cheery and chatty three tone musical singing but the high pitched and painful cry of the male bird (probably -the larger one).

Then the mother (probably-smaller) with the wings spread (as to cover the brood) on the palm tree and following me round the garden.

Either telling me or suspecting that I had stolen her young ones.

It was painful for me and I decided to pen this.

My wife told me there was a big eagle hovering round the nests of the bul bul with few young ones.

Next day there was no chirpy chirps.

I knew the inevitable and the rest of the flocks and the babblers too disappeared.


Only these two remained well after their morning calls.


I do not know how long their parental hormones effect the grieving.

I am not going to count the days but be calm and listen to their instinctual bondage calls as long as they grieve with Metta Meditation.


I heard the warning note of the squirrels the other day but took no notice of the eagle.


Today not even the eagle squeaking note heard.

The eagles have a vast range and a big appetite.
I wonder why they do not eat their young?
The animal world is strange.

He must have followed the rest of the flocks of birds for next round of nests (nesting grounds).

How to Test and Validate Your Meditation Master?


How to Test and Validate Your Meditation Master?


Everybody, in this commercial, capitalistic and consumer World of Advertisement is a "Gullible Sucker" or Being Sucked (sick) by a gullible sucker.


Since I have given the secret of success of chocolates as a better substitute than one hour of meditation, almost all meditation masters are using my techniques for their business without paying Royalties to me.


If you have payed the fees and is entering one of these global institutes, the following techniques would help you to Test the Master in real time, place and person.



1. One has to be fully hydrated and has to empty one's bladder soon after entering.



2. Check the ambient temperature using a standard thermometer, if it is below the ambient temperature of the outside world and if you feel like you have to void again in half an hour, the air conditioning is too cosy and is conducive for meditation.


It is the air conditioning that makes your mind at ease not the master.



3. The third is the most damaging, the psychological bragging or indulgence by the master.


This varies from master to master and I decline to specify.



4. The fourth is the lighting.

Just like in a hotel restaurant where the dim and orange (ish) light makes the lovers feel induced and inducted, the lighting that makes one feels that one is inside of "the psychologist consultation room" is another ploy used by the master.


Do not fall to this trap which has a calming influence.



5. Fifth is of your own making.
The de-induction of yourself, "in your own self making" to make you feel a baby, not even a toddler in front of the master.


6. Sixth, the light music that soothes the ear is another ploy. 
Even the birds singing in the background might sooth the novice.

Real meditation has to be in total silence and solitude. 

7. The light medicinal drink that they offer might have feel good chemicals, similar to the chocolate drink.

If you have taken care of the above, now you are ready, to make the testing of the master in style.


Look at his dress and see how masterfully he uses his dress in an imposing manner.
This includes the beard, mustache and the head gear.


Listen to his voice and see whether he uses a device inside his mouth to damp his coarse (what the singers use) voice (makes his voice sound musical).


Look at his eyes to see whether he uses it to impose or calm your interaction.


If imposing, get out of the place that very second, since from that moment he/she will suck all your belongings (including precious time) to the putative institute, in small donations to begin with.


Avoid all medicinal drinks (all having hypnotic effects) including water (you are well hydrated, if you have followed my instructions above) before meditating.

No tea or coffee, too.


Drop the cellphone too.
 
Dropping the cellphone is the biggest inducer of focus of attention in meditation.


Now come to my crunch point.


Avoid chocolate drinks either before or after the session.


Chocolates itself elevate your mood leaps and bounds (not the meditation) in few seconds. 

It has more than 300 micro-ingredients that effect your mood and physiology.


If you an alcoholic (one dose makes fatty change in liver, the regular intake enlarges the liver and still later cirrhosis) the effect of conversion of feel good chemicals from chocolates through the liver enzymes is lost.

The dogs cannot metabolize chocolates and chocolates poison them.

The chocolates does not have growth hormone in them and regular exercise induce extra growth hormone production and  secretion. 

The growth hormones is a feel good hormone and it works through the liver.

If you an alcoholic the conversion of growth hormone in the liver to good byproducts is lost completely.

That is one reason one should stop drinking.

If you are a regular drinker abstinence may cause withdrawal effects and the withdrawal should be monitored by one who has experience treating alcoholics.

The problem is most of the doctors are alcoholics.

In other words meditation is not a substitute for treatment of alcoholism (proper medical supervision is mandatory).

Meditation is not a treatment for alcoholism.




I hope you got the message and if you are not getting any benefit from five minutes of the masters techniques, you are unlikely to get anything after an hour except aches and pains of your joints due to abnormal Yogi position you are force to adopt.


This is why I say, my five minutes Metta Meditation (visit my blog posts) has many benefits.


Mind you I refuse to teach (Linux, gadgematics, pathology) anything NOW except how to look after the birds who visit our garden, even infrequently (migratory).

No meditation instructions and teaching from me. 

I believe even preparation for meditation itself has great impact on you (it induces the feel good factors!).

Meditation and its Perspective


There are many misconceptions related to meditation and meditation practises. 

First and foremost the English word meditation is most inappropriate for the Pali word“Bavana”. 

The meaning is the development of mind or mental culture.

As much as there is no English synonym for “Maithri” there is no proper term in English that closely approximate its meaning.

Second misconception is that “Vipassana Bavana” is the most appropriate Bavana Practice. 

If that is so, the voluminous “Vissudhi Magga” is a colossal waste of an intellectual exercise. 


Samatha Bavana” has a unique place for those who merit its value. 


To borrow a phrase from Ven. Ajahn Brahmavanso Samatha and Vipassana are two sides of the same coin one leads to tranquility and other yields insight and the two are inseparable in highest meditative states.


Third misconception is that the “Bavana” is not for the layman.

 
Fourthly, for its practice solitude of the forest or a hermitage is a prerequisite. 

For the initiated any desirable place and time without hindrances would suffice.


Fifthly, it is therapeutic (medical parlance) and has commercial value. 


For example it is recommended by some misconceived advocates for blood pressure treatment. It may be of some benefit if properly guided to alleviate blood pressure fluctuations associated with emotionally predisposed but not for essential hypertension for which the cause is unknown and the medical treatment though very effective is empirical.


Sixth misconception is that the practice of “Bavana” helps the learning capacity. 

There are many other good techniques for learning and memory enhancement.  


Bavana” should be a tool for concentration and getting rid of undesirable mental accompaniments associated with bad learning practises for students with difficulties in grasping learning material. 


One who has practiced Bavana and adept at it, learning becomes an easy task due to their ability to avoid distractions and concentrate on the task at hand.


Seventh misconception is that the Lord Buddha discovered it.  


Bavana” had been in practice in the East for many centuries and it is believed that even the Red Indians Chiefs and Aborigines practiced, one or other form of it. 


What Lord Buddha did was to refine its use for emancipation of suffering of never ending “Samsara”. 

It is therapeutic in its meaning within the context of cessation of “Bava” and “Vibhava Thanha”.


Eighth misconception is that a weekend course in “Bavana”would entitle a person to come back to his or her office and convert the uninitiated and start preaching about its benefits. 

 
 “Bavana” certainly has no commercial value but its aesthetic values permeate through all para-psychology.


Ninth misconception is that it is a practice suitable for any uninitiated. 


Certainly it is not. 


I think a meditation master with at least 10 years experience is a requirement for the novice.

It would only benefit one with Sila, Samadhi and Panngha.


Finally Bavana” is the only way (Ekayana Maggo) for emancipation as extolled and expounded by the Lord Buddha.



It should be practiced with diligence.


There are lots of good books including colossal Visuddhi Magga on meditation for one who is interested in meditation practice to read.  
It is not a reading exercise but a practice one needs to learn from a mature meditation master (teacher and a guide). 
The selection of a correct guide has to be done clinically, accurately and precisely. 

Buddha was the best guide and one has to remember it needs years of practice and one cannot learn it in a half a day workshop on meditation.


Uppamado Amatha Padham!

Below is a claim of a Meditation Center;

Even here, there is a caveat!

In small print they ask for donations.

Meditation is the latest money spinner.

Four Ways to Authenticate a Genuine Buddhist Teacher


Many students in the Bodhi Path Buddhist Centers have asked me to explain how to find a good meditation teacher. As this is an important question and something that many people are curious about, here is a brief explanation. 
Good meditation teachers are usually people who live very simply. 'Living simply' means someone who has renounced everything and lives free of the many things that may burden most people's lives. He or she will likely stay in a quiet, isolated place such as a cave or small hut in the mountains. For the most part, great meditators are not people who are known widely as highly ranked spiritual teachers. Instead, they have spent many years of their lives in retreat, and when not in retreat are completely stable in their daily meditation practice. Even figuring out where to look for such a great meditator is not easy. You can begin to search for them by inquiring from Buddhist people who know meditators, and then you should analyze how they live. If someone is not really accomplished in meditation, they will not be able to live for long in such conditions.
Teachers who travel regularly may not be the best meditation teachers. While one cannot generalize, the mind of someone who travels regularly is likely preoccupied by many things. This happens because of what one sees and experiences in one's daily life, even ordinary things like big supermarkets and malls. Add to that the more exceptional experiences like having devotees invite one to many events, and it is not difficult to understand that such a mind may already be distracted. While this is not true 100% of the time, in most cases it is. And a person with a distracted mind will not be a good meditation teacher. Therefore finding someone who lives in an isolated setting and is dedicated to meditation is already putting you on the right path to find an appropriate meditation teacher. 

The following guidelines will make this more clear.

When you set out to examine a teacher, you will see that there are four kinds. These four kinds of teachers can be categorized according to two things: their scholarly understanding of dharma, and their mastery of essential instructions. Essential instructions are the key to unlock the heart of the teachings. 
Each practice has a key that is not openly explained, and it is held by those few serious practitioners who were taught it by a long line of the most experienced meditators. 
Some teachers are scholars who have no essential instructions. 
Then there are teachers who have key instructions but no scholarly training or ability. 
There are also teachers who are both key holders and scholars. 
The fourth type of teacher is one who has no key or scholarly training. Among the four, only the last needs to be completely avoided.
Of course, each type of teacher can benefit you in a specific way. If you only follow the dharma that is explained in a scholarly way, that is good. To only follow key instructions without scholarly training is very good. If you follow both the scholarly training and the key instructions, that is supremely good. It perhaps goes without saying that having neither scholarly access to the dharma nor key instructions does zero good! 
But in any case, to reach the goal you need the key.

For a general audience in need of the most basic introduction, the type of teacher who is only trained as a scholar is very good. For very advanced practitioners engaging in intense practice, the teacher who only holds key instructions is excellent. Finally, the combined scholar/keyholder is perfectly suited for any type or level of student. The fourth type of teacher, the one with neither scholarly training nor key instructions, is perfect for nobody.

Ironically, it is also the type of teacher that many may be tempted to follow. 

You might wonder how it is possible to judge if someone is truly learned, or if they are a great meditator who holds the essential instructions. To start to determine if someone is learned, you can begin by looking into this person's background - check their scholarly training and qualifications. Do some research in the community where that person was trained or teaches to make sure they have the training and qualifications they claim. A thorough investigation of their background is the best way to know if they are qualified or not.

Unfortunately it is impossible to determine if someone is a great meditator, so looking for a meditation teacher is a different thing altogether. You can find information out about the person to see if he or she spent many years in retreat or not, if he or she lives in a way that embodies renunciation. One thing is for sure - if someone is claiming to be a great meditation teacher, or claiming to be enlightened, that person is not at all reliable.

Anyone who consistently claims greatness, who tries to control his or her students strongly by claiming that is the nature of samaya, who tries to tell you that if you don't obey their commands you will go to hell, who is clearly trying to collect money, should not be trusted. 
 To learn dharma perfectly from the right teacher you must drop your ordinary concepts and learn to look with new eyes. You cannot search for a meditation teacher the same way you look for something like a good brand of toothpaste. Following the best advertising campaign will not lead to the right teacher. If you judge according to such things as status, wealth, or number of followers you will not find the right meditation teacher.


Just like a good meditation teacher, someone who wants to be a good meditator must also renounce attachment to worldly life. 
A meditator should live simply, without too many responsibilities, and without ambition. In order to focus, you must be willing to renounce. 
They are hard to be found in this busy world.


Science In Action

Science In Action
Scientific Jargon

To appreciate the nature of matter from direct observation (concrete operational thinking -Piaget's psychoanalysis) to conceptual thinking (formal operational thinking) scientists use modeling and jargon words.

The approach of a biologist (investigating of biological phenomena) is to develop a  microscope to visualize the small particles that cannot be seen by the naked eye.

This is what Hook did (not Dr.Hook).

The microscope has its own limitations by nature of the optics (lenses) utilized. When one comes to a level where the resolution of the microscope was a handicap scientist with curiosity (in the last century) developed the electron microscope. The electron microscope actually gives a negative image of a sub-cellular structure somewhat similar to a negative of a photographic image before printing. This static pictures taken as serial images in different planes of cutting (tissues have to be cut to very thin sections by embedding into plastic resins) have to be interpreted in a functional way for us to understand the three dimensional impressions ( in a way the human eye can visualize images) of sub-cellular material and at this point the thinking process of the mind takes over the interpretation of the observable but grossly enlarged (out of proportion to the real state of the matter) image. 

The image (physical) and impression (thought process) has to merge at some point of our thinking to make meaning out of the non-sensible static image.

There is a big difference between a cartoon and a image of a electron microscope. Even a child could understand the pun involved in the cartoon but to understand the image of an electron microscopic  it has to be interpreted and made into a plane picture perceptible to the eye.

Some degree of imagination and thinking has to be utilized to understand the reality at microscopic level. This process of transformation into conceptual image develops over time and in some probably it is developed only rudimentary.

From concrete operational (direct experience) thinking  to formal (acceptable to science and teaching of science) operational thinking is a very big step in psychological development.

What is amazing is that children (and many adults too) do not shed their direct experience (and their thinking with it) when the conceptual development is progressing in their development (which has inherent variability).

This is a handicap (in a way blessing in disguise) the children from the age of  8 to 16 years undergo and overcome.

Bombarding with factual knowledge at this stage of development is a serious problem from the point of view of the child. 


It is believed that conceptual development occurs at the age of 16 and many do not develop this even at 30 years of age and even then function at a very rudimentary stage.

There is another barrier that is associated with psychological development. 

It is the language itself. 
The language and grammatical structure did not evolve in parallel with science (and its development).

Language development and acquisition pre-dated the development of science by more than 2000 years. 

It is only in the last hundred years that the Language of Science started integrating  with the standard languages of the West. 
Scientific terms that emerged in the West were not kind to Eastern languages and if not for the Pali Language (specially Abhidhamma terminology) teaching Science would have been much more difficult.

Unfortunately the people who started translating scientific terminology went in tangents to the tenent of Pali which was meant for different purpose. 

By doing this they not only destroyed Sinhala and also distorted the proper interpretation of Pali Language with a strong bias on ethical and moral principles based on soteriology (salvation from bondage of Sansara, the repeated cycle of birth).

The end result is that we are producing poor quality scientific thinkers and educators.


Add to this in the last thirty years the Computer Languages took some bearing in the modern world. 

It is called the binary language taking its roots from the property of electricity so that the computer terms can be converted to machine language.

Unfortunately there is a trend in this country where people with limited understanding of computing (but with commercial interest) try to translate computer language into ordinary Sinhala. 


This attempt is going to be a total failure by all standards.

I should make some observations as a Linux Convert (considering that the any stealing including computer software as a form of crime not acceptable in five precepts). In a computer shop in Kandy recently, some school going children were making complaints to the shop assistant as regard to a CD they have purchased. They were unable to install the said software package without the password which they had to get from a Colombo address by telephone. I was inquisitive because this was in Sinhala but my gut feelings were that this was a pirated version. I was right. The perpetrator has copied an entire package and had the audacity to suppress (that also possibly a pirated password) the password file and place his own graphic interface in Sinhala with a alphanumeric (English) number of his own as  a password. This is cheating at three levels to make a few bucks from poor school children not literate in English.

I told those young boys you better learn Computing in English by doing that you would probably improve your English too.  

They had an agreeing nod but whether they have the tenacity  for such an endeavour is open to question.
 

This shows how backward our education system is?

I am one who believe that Sinhala is not the stream to learn science in a constructive way form my childhood and I need to be proved otherwise by the learned educationalists in the department of education.

If our planners especially the education specialists do not take heed to this scenario our education will be behind by hundred of years (already lagging behind in comparison to Asian neighbours including Korea).

The scientific and computer jargon is a serious handicap to exchange of information.

Quite oblivious to any national needs the scientist take leaps and bounds in introducing new concepts and jargon in this world.

The latest I learned were transcriptome and proteome (two new words in genetics). 

Bit of a hack and a crack at the scientists is worthwhile at this stage of my open communication.

Why the scientists cannot think of some simple terms instead of quantum, quarks, lepton and photon and the like?

Why not use the words like fashion, style, charm, elegance, appeal, quality and the ordinary word like bugs (bed bugs and other bugs)?

Aren't they (scientists) inelegant people?

Only scientific word I love to mention is Chaos especially because we are in chaos in education sense.

Modeling

Modeling is an acceptable way of expressing situations which we cannot observe directly. 

Models help us to understand what we observe and predict what will happen in situations that we cannot observe. Eventually we may become so convinced of the reliability of the model or the security of the model image and that we tend to accept it as total reality without any objection or question. 

The distinction between the model and the reality disappears in our teaching of science and in turn this inhibits the acceptance of new ideas.
The atomic model is a good example and everybody accepts it as a good model and almost certain reality but few thinkers deviated from this mode of thinking and went into talk about quarks and antiparticles and the like.

Our educationists in science also have gone into hibernation after the atomic model and canceling the practicals for the advance level examination (due to inherent inability to hold examinations full proof so that some elements can doctor the results) is one example of this squint eye phenomenon.

It is high time at least from "middle school age" the children are brought up looking for both knowledge and wisdom with open mind rather than "programed minds"of the education department.

Restricting them to free books published by the education department which are probably 30 years outdated is not the panacea for a long term problem of updating and "learning on the go".

Butterfly Effect

Butterfly Effect
I am one who vent an air
Of protest that
When a few butterflies
Flutter their wings
On my side of the world
Would ignite a chain reaction
On the other side of the world
In the far corners of the globe
In the Arctic or the Antarctic
Come it may be
In philosophical sense
With a scientific slant
And in an investigative mind
But not to stir up
The potential political undertones


But when I ask myself the question
How clean is the clean air?
And when I get the answer
That there are 1000 minute particles
Of dust in every cubic metre density
On this planet
But not in the clear looking Iceland
Or the Antarctic
Gets the credit for
Such an accolade
In this contemporary world


When somebody asks me
Are you asking the right question?
Lest you get the wrong answer
Of some sort
By the Coal Power Merchants
Of the modern world
Who continue to discover
The latest technology
To clean my air and breath
Sans how to dispose
The vast amount of ashes and sediment
That get deposited
On this tiny Island Paradise


One who was brought up
With the tradition of zero tolerance
In life and matters of discordance
And purity par excellence
Having forced to go
From macro to micro to nano-tolerance
Of the 21st century macroeconomics
Driving me mad
To go to the outer space
For the safety limits of tolerance
In the Dead Space of my lung
But not the Vital Capacity
Which is fast receding
With time and age



But when I think
Of the virulent fungi
That grow endlessly
In the closed tubes
Of the artificial respiratory tracts
Of the Space Station
I wonder
I could be born again
In another Planet
Outside this Solar System

As an alien being of some sort
Bringing the alien wisdom
To this Island Paradise
Is it a wishful thinking of mine?

4th of September, 2006

Doctors and their Bankers

Doctors and their Bankers
When I was writing going bananas, it hit upon me that there are two categories of (excluding psychiatrists who have the highest incidence of suicide and the pathologists and radiologists who have the lowest incidence of depression) professionals who are prone to depression and alcohol. 

Going by my Professor of Psychiatry (and my failing memory) one category was Bankers.

I must deal with the Bankers of our nation first because it gave me blues for the first time in Colombo. 

I was short listed for an interview for the doctor in attendance for the Central Bank. 
Going by the requirements, which I fulfilled adequately I was little surprised (without the retirement of the incumbent) why they had an interview? 
This was in my mind and I decided to raise this issue because the same fate will fall on me. if I decide to join these (yappies) guys.

What depressed me most was that we were asked to come at 11.00 am and were kept there till 3.00 pm. 

Many hours, I spent there kept me reminding that if the Central Bank cannot keep time that it is the last place I should be working. 
However, I decided to wait and did a survey of the last few arrivals (candidates) and realized this is a fake interview and the requirement has been adjusted, to fit a politico's relative.

So I geared up, the ordeal is going to be for the interviewers and certainly not me.

I want privy to what the issues I raised and most of the interviewers were red in their face by the time I finished raising enough queries but politely left the Central Bank without waiting for an outcome.

Few days later Central Bank was blasted and I would have been among the dead (had I been selected) and I gathered the doctor who was to be replaced was injured and had to be reinstated by the C.B.

That was a close call even when I see the Central Bank now, I get blues.
My final analysis the bankers and the doctor (I have all the sympathy) treating them were all but depressed. 

That is the point I need to drive at. Had I joined them in spite of the remuneration I would be depressed by now.

Money does not bring happiness that is what is emerging in the West.

The White Coat Blues, the so called Mood Indigo is prevalent in America and 25% of the first and second year students and majority of the seniors specially when doing clinical work suffer from some form of depression. 

No wonder many of them (read my article on Alcohol the Miracle Cure) consume excess alcohol too. What is worrying is that they deny that they have a problem (depressive or alcohol) and do not get proper advice and treatment. 

If the doctors going to be are not healthy how it is going to improve the standard of health is an open question?

I do not wish to stir a hornet's nest and leave at that with an open ended question but this writing is not over, if I do not project my cyclopic view of all things both normal and abnormal.

The doctors get depressed seeing innocent people sufferings and they go and have a drink and very liberal at that too. They were well trained in their student days. Good liquor is expensive nowadays and they need to do extra hours off duty consultation for pocket full of roses and they get home more depressed than before and go to sleep with a bottle in hand to douche the sorrows. 

This is a vicious cycle and the money earned in this endeavour goes rocket high and they need the banker to help. 
When the money is deposited in the bank the bankers keep on counting them to get the correct commissions and the commissions is always very low compared to the capital in the bank. 
In turn the Bankers get depressed and another vicious cycle ensues.

So do not get the idea of becoming a psychiatrist lest the highest incidence of suicide is among them.

So going bananas is no big deal if one has lot of money.

My vision is always zero growth and not to have any money.

Even then I get depressed so what to do?

This reminds me that there was a MP in the up country who was nick named "What to do MP".

What to do is your business, not mine!

5th May 2006


Injuries and journalists

Injuries
I believe all sportsman especially cricketers (playing five days of test cricket saps and drains one's strength and stamina) should have a diary (logbook) of injuries sustained and this health record should be regularly updated by a panel of medical personal who understand sport injuries.

Some time ago, when I looked into the Oxford's Textbook of Medicine, I found only five pages dealing with sport injuries and this was grossly inadequate. 

In fact most doctors are not taught in depth about sports injuries and their implications to the individual (sportsmen / women).

Jockeys have a logbook why not all sportsman and women?
Before a race, the doctor in attendance has to make an entry to say everything is OK for the jockeys taking part. 

That shows the importance that the horse racing industry places on the individual and jockey's safety.

This is lacking in other sports and some coaches put undue pressure on players to perform when they (players) are actually at break point.

Not only that, sportsmen and women should have a good overall Accident Claim and Compensation Scheme (Insurance Scheme) so that one could claim benefits when out of action due to major injuries. 


They should be paid according to the level of professionalism needed for the game and their ranking (Local and International) in the type of game.

Why sport authorities who spend huge amount of money in propaganda work not looking at this problem is outrageous?

After all sportsmen are human beings and they also have to survive in this competitive world.

They are entertainers who take high risks.

It is easy for the arm chair critics to destroy their career with the pen.









Lemons

 Lemons
The lemon flower is very beautiful but nobody seems to take any notice of it because of its thorns. 

But come to roses people are fascinated by the flower in spite of the many thorns. 
To me lemon is one of the most neglected trees of our soil. 
It loves the tropical sunny weather and grows very slowly and we have many neglected varieties in our country. 
Unfortunately, we only love oranges that are also the imported varieties.  
It is said we love anything foreign including bird's flu.  
 

History
The versatility of lemon has been recognized since its discovery in India more than 4,000 years ago. Egyptians painted lemons on tomb walls. 

In the late 1700s, the British navy made lemons part of sailors' rations to combat scurvy. 
In the 1850s, a scurvy epidemic during California's Gold Rush created a demand for lemons and soon it became a household plant in the state. 
Today, California's arid, coastal climate makes it one of the world's leading lemon producers.
Several countries pay homage to the fruit with lemon festivals, as does Menton, France, a small town on the French Riviera where lemons grow year round. During the Fete du Citron, a two-week celebration held every February, townspeople create murals, sculptures, and parade floats from lemons.
The lemon tree is one of the oldest cultivated fruit and today lemon trees grow all over the world and like pepper and spices all good things originate in the tropics.
The citrus smell of a lemon is refreshing and invigorating. 

For many people a lemon smell has come to symbolize cleanliness. Most major cleaners on the market today have a lemon or a citrus scented version for consumers to enjoy. 
But in this country the lemon is conveniently forgotten for artificial scents are abundant and imported for a princely sum.
Though the fruit has a sour taste the lemon is actually a mild buffer that can reduce hyperacidity in the stomach. 

Lemon juice and peels have an antiseptic effect and the leaves are used as a skin and hair treatment. Lemons are rich in vitamin C and strengthen natural healing power. 
By acting as an antioxidant lemon protects the cells from free radical damage.
Cleaning kitchen Utensils
Lemon juice is ideal to clean pots and pans. 

Copper utensils can benefit from a lemon juice cleaning.
Worktops
Worktop stains can be removed by allowing lemon juice to sit on the stain for a few minutes. Scrub the area with baking soda and watch the stains disappear. But don't leave the lemon juice sitting for too long it can easily overshoot the intended activity.
Drains
Hot water with a little lemon juice poured down a drain will also freshen the drain.
Bleaching
Lemon juice acts as a natural bleaching agent. 

Put lemon juice onto white linens and clothing and allow them to dry in the sun. 
Stains will be bleached away.
Add to Vinegar
Vinegar can be a great cleaning ingredient, but many people dislike the vinegar smell. Adding lemon juice to vinegar when cleaning can help neutralize the vinegar smell.
Common sense
Lemon juice, vinegar and baking soda are the commonest ingredients (naturally occurring cleansing products) in one's own home but often the most neglected in their use except in cooking and flavouring. The lack of common sense has made us to neglect them. Most importantly none of these products is poisonous (cooking ingredients) and lack of understanding of chemistry and biochemistry is the main reason. What our students learn in the class in science (chemistry to be precise) is open to question without common sense practicality.
Forgetting the Roots
Forgetting our roots and losing common sense is a manifestation of the modern age. 

This is true in my home too. Only when everybody was on holiday in India our pantry had a lemon treatment.
Glancing through the web pages, I have noticed the Westerners have missed an important link of this marvelous fruit has to the miracle drink, the alcohol. 

We Sri-Lankan use it as an antidote for the excess consumption of alcohol. 
The citrate salt of alcohol that is formed in the stomach retards the absorption of alcohol. So our housewives are adept at using this lemon treatment when looking after their inebriated living souls. 
This is something probably the BBC missed in its recent broadcast.
24th of February 2006
Edited on the 26th of April


Lemon Treatment
I have not heard
Any lover saying to
To a lover
My lemon
But of course
Sweet heart

But when the sweetness
Takes a ride
And the bitterness
Take it ascends
I have heard loving souls
Calling each other
"You pumpkins"

Or Potatoes
Years later

But in general
To be successful
In life with endurance
The culinary skills
In the home front
Is not the special ingredient?

The lemon treatment
Is not the extraordinary ingredient?
For the inebriated
Soul mate
For
Bringing back
The reality
Both
The sweetness
The bitterness
And the life in general

26th of April 2006