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Rapid Responses: Rapid Responses published:
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(un) importance of new year day
- vasanth kumar cherukumalli (19 December 2004)
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Intend to think outside the box
- Rekha Chandran (23 December 2004)
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1226 Tsunami: Third world countries or is it "Thirst countries"?
- THHG KOH, Prasana Kumar (31 December 2004)
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Can the 'sixth sense' of animals warn - and save us - from future Tsunami?
- Alexander H Russell (3 January 2005)
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Actions and Intentions
- Galal E Farag (19 January 2005)
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vasanth kumar cherukumalli, Medical Director Heritage hospital.Hyderabad.500082 India
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Dear Sir The author has very well emphasised the insignificance of the new year eve.It is more important to live every day of our life joyfully.We can experience this only if start loving people around us and enjoy the happiness of everyone in this planet.So our intention should be to love all and the action towards this is to feel responsibility for all the things that happen around us yours sincerely
Competing interests: None declared |
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Rekha Chandran, Resident, Internal Medicine John H Stroger Hospital, Chicago, USA
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The author's observation regarding multitalented people in the medical field is very astute. It is fairly common for multifaceted personalities to transform over the years in medical training. They become bland creatures who are unable to sustain any interesting conversation outside the same fraternity.
Instead of lamenting the loss of hitherto admired talents, doctors should not just 'intend' to leave the medical field , but actively expand their horizons by looking around for innovative opportunities that can combine medical knowledge with other qualities. Such decisions would require the ability to think outside the box, which sadly is a quality strongly discouraged in our protocol bound way of life. Foresight combined with an awareness of possibilities in other fields such as engineering, law etc will provide multitalented doctors a chance to salvage some fading glory.
Competing interests: None declared |
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THHG KOH, neonatologist The Townsville Hospital, Prasana Kumar
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Dear Editor, On the eve of 2004 we are writing this note in balmy, peaceful tropical Townsville by the Great Barrier Reef. The Townsville City Council has decided to cancel this evening's New Year Eve fireworks celebration and donate the A$35,000 to aid agencies for the tsunami victims (the death rate currently stands at 145,000 and rising with the hour). It is heartening to observe that, after some initial hesitation, the world community is now pouring aids into the affected countries. When 911 happened with 6559 deaths (ref 1) three TV channels were immediately dedicated to continuous broadcasting of a new terrorism. In striking contrast, another form of global terrorism from mother nature, the 1226 (December the 26th)Tsunami, initially attracted short coverages in the main evening news. Our new year's resoluation is to again remind ourselves that the tears shed for each child or adult lost are the same whether it is in the developed world or in the Third world. As stated in the 12th century Chinese classic "Tales from the Water Margin" all men are brothers or must the Third world continue to thirst for not only clean waters but for human compassion? Yours sincerely, Guan Koh (neonatologist)
1) http://vikingphoenix.com/news/stn/2003/911casualties.htm 2) http://english.qianlong.com/7778/2003-4-2/207@739734.htm Competing interests: None declared |
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Alexander H Russell, Writer/artist/philosopher WC1N 1PE
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Can the 'sixth sense' of animals warn - and save us - from future Tsunami ? Recent news reports state that Sri Lankan wildlife conservationists have said the huge waves that killed over 25,000 people along the Indian Ocean island's coast seemingly missed wildlife, with apparently no dead animals found: "No elephants are dead, not even a dead hare or rabbit. I think animals can sense disaster. They have a sixth sense. They know when things are happening," H.D. Ratnayake, deputy director of Sri Lanka's Wildlife Department, said Wednesday. The waves washed floodwaters up to 2 miles inland at Yala National Park in the ravaged southeast, Sri Lanka's biggest wildlife reserve and home to hundreds of wild elephants and several leopards. "There has been a lot of anecdotal evidence about dogs barking or birds migrating before volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. But it has not been proven," said Matthew van Lierop, an animal behaviour specialist at Johannesburg Zoo: "There have been no specific studies because you can't really test it in a lab or field setting," he told Reuters. Other authorities concurred with this assessment: "Wildlife seem to be able to pick up certain phenomenon, especially birds ... there are many reports of birds detecting impending disasters," said Clive Walker, who has written several books on African wildlife..." So-called 'sixth sense' – akin to 'near death experience' (NDE) and 'out of body experience' (OBE) - cannot be explained by commonsense, biology, psychology or theology but maybe by ontology – the study of our being in the world – and in the case of NDE/OBE – being out the world. The 'sixth sense' could be nominated as 'Invasive Body Experience' (IBE): the experience of attuning to distant sensations coming towards one. We know animals experience this sixth-sense 'IBE' – as well as some more 'developed' human-animals: (human beings living closer to their primordial instinct rather than their post-modern intellect). Yet so many 'senseless' human beings are cut-off from their primordial 'sixth sense' through 'intellectualising' (analysing) and 'rationalizing' and forgetting their primordial instinctive being and subconscious sensationing powers. Martin Heidegger gets close to the primordial ontology of 'sixth sense' with his imagings of 'attunement' (Stimmung): that 'mooding scape' which is 'tuned-in' to a coming 'event' (Ereignis). The Ereignis on the Horizon here being the Tsunami. Whilst it is very difficult to 'prove' psychologically and scientifically that 'sixth sense' exists it has been empirically observed in the actions of animals moving to higher grounds just before a Tsunami approaches. Therefore animal observation studies are urgently needed. Instincting and Sensationing 'tunes' one's 'attunement' toward listening to the approaching Tsunami which automatically attunes others who switch on their 'sixth sense' antennae towards the seascape that is sending in the Tsunami. For a very few human animals - but for many other animals - 'attunement' is a collective 'mooding' initiated directly from 'instinct' which is a primordial knowledge of nature. The 'intellect' has no 'sixth sense' and cannot sense danger – whilst instinct – the antenna of the 'sixth sense' is a primordial form of radar. The Tsunami which instigates and initiates the menacing mood of the animals is not 'in them', as it were, but in an approaching aura that comes over the region or scape that sets the scene of the threatening 'mooding-sensation': here the Tsunami: an awesome atmosphere of an approaching threat that many animals seem to attune to – whilst most humans are out-of-tune with. Regarding the Tsunami: the 'intellect' will give you the 'how' and the 'why' – but only the 'sense' (instinct) can tell you the 'when'. Dr. Phil Cummins, seismologist at GeoScience Australia in Canberra, had warned the world that this Asian Tsunami was on the cards over a year ago and had asked for a Tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean. In September 2004, Dr. Cummins published a paper summarising his case for a Tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean. Dr Cummins told The Sunday Times he did not resent anyone for not heeding his call earlier: "No one thought that this could happen so soon," he said. "They were listening and waiting for me to make a stronger case. The problem was there were no historical accounts of a tsunami affecting the entire Indian Ocean Basin . . . or I hadn't found them yet." The International Co-ordinating Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific (ITSU) seems too slow and out of tune. Is there some study that could be set up to see whether animals' sensitivities could be harnessed to monitor the approach of a Tsunami, earths quakes, etc? Similarly could dolphins be trained to relay information concerning under sea seismic activity? With the threat of any further Tsunami we urgently need to start sensationing (sensing) again – and this may one day save us from ffurther natural disasters. As we are largely under-developed in the area of 'sensationing' maybe more 'developed' animals like elephants and dolphins could teach us how to 'sense' and thus help us in this urgent area of research? References: Tsunami Adds to belief in Animals' "Sixth Sense": Reuters Report by Ed Stoddard, 30th December 2004. How did it all go so wrong? The Sunday Times Australia - 1st Jan 2005. Competing interests: None declared |
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Galal E Farag, Doctor North Manchester General Hospital M8 5RB
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Dear Sir The author has outlined various aspects of how actions and intentions interact. However, the process could be more complicated when the nature of the motive behind any action is taken into account. The hadith, the speech of Prophet Muhammad (May Allah blesses him and grants him peace) is one of the most decisive genre of Muslim religious literature. The hadith collection of Al-Bukhari (one of the most distinguished Islamic scholars, AD 810 -870), entitled al-Jami‘ al-Sahih (‘The Sound Comprehensive Collection’), is considered to be the most reliable of all the hadith collections of Islam. I refer to the hadith narrated by ‘Umar bin Al-khattab’, a close companion to Prophet Muhammad (May Allah blesses him and grants him peace): I heard Allah’s Messenger (May Allah blesses him and grants him peace) saying; “The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrates for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration will be for what he emigrated for.” This was the first hadith Bukhari recorded in his book. The hadîth is addressing all of our voluntary actions, since everything we do has some sort of intention behind it. This hadith implies a general principle: one is rewarded for his deeds according to his real intentions and not according to his actual actions which might be good in themselves but were motivated by an ill intention, pointing out that all actions that are devoid of the proper intention are vain . That intention refers to the motive and the purpose you have in mind for doing any action. Intention does not signify a certain sentence or phrase which you may say before embarking on a certain action. Actions begin with an intention. Intention gives you direction. Intention also allows you to quantify and to guide your actions. What actions do you need to take? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What sacrifices (new year’s resolutions if you like) will you need to make? Time, economic, or perhaps emotional. Always, check your intentions. You may need to modify them. Be flexible. Check your intentions for sincerity. First things first. Prioritize. Learn to think in terms of one year, five years, and fifteen years from now. "Say, Verily my prayer, my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for God, the Lord of the Worlds." (Qur'an 6:162). All our actions should be acts of worship. Sincerity ensures that your intentions and actions are only for the sake of God. Our actions must not be tainted by our own desires. The work you're doing doesn't have worldly returns. Don't expect any worldly returns. If you always expect things and are waiting for things, you'll never get work done. You will never get the recognition you deserve. All actions are only to gain pleasure from God. By ensuring our intentions are purely for God, we free ourselves from expectations of worldly rewards and most importantly from fear. Don't expect acknowledgement, wealth, anything. Reference: 1. Khan M. M. The translation of the Meanings of Sahih Al-Bukhari. Arabic – English. Volume 1 . Darussalam publications, Riyadh – Saudi Arabia, 1997. Competing interests: None declared |
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