World Yoga Day: Yoga is much more than being on a mat-it is life itself.

The practice of yoga has swept the world with an enthusiasm never seen before. Yoga has achieved the status of a mass cultural phenomena, as shown by the fact that there are around 300 million yoga practitioners in the world and it is an 80-billion-dollar market.

Smoking Your Life Away-How To Stem The Drift ?

Fourteen year old John arrived at a new school and tried to make friends by borrowing cigarettes from his father. He would have never anticipated that thirty years later, the damage caused by smoking would be irreversible. During his mid-forties..

The Need to Expand Palliative Care with an Understanding of Yoga and Meditation to Provide Modern Day Integrative Therapy

“The ocean of Spirit has become the little bubble of my soul. Whether floating in birth, or disappearing in death, in the ocean of cosmic awareness the bubble of my life cannot die. I am indestructible...

Broca’s Brain to Buddha’s Brain

That winter was severe and a dismal chill descended upon Boston. Snowstorms blew through almost every day, or least that was what it seemed like. I walked from my home through piles of snow and muddy sleet to catch the early morning red line train to go to ...

The mysterious Universe from Black Hole to Komodo Dragons.

Time, Space and causation are like the glass through which the Absolute is seen… In the Absolute, there is neither time, space, nor causation....

You don’t need technology to live a long life, yoga will do.

I started meditation at the age of six. At that time, sitting for meditation every day meant trying to quiet the millions of thoughts that flooded my mind. Years later, I learned that meditation was much more than sitting down and trying to empty my mind. In fact, the ...

Bengal and Bangladesh face similar challenges

A recent article on the growth of Bangladesh set me thinking. How is it that the two sides of Bengal were as different as chalk from cheese in terms of economic growth?

Why discovery of artificial womb will be monumental

A sheep named Dolly hit the headlines in 1996 when she became the first cloned mammal on this earth. Dolly paved the way for more cloned mammals. This sheep created by scientists in Scotland did not live long but gave birth to six offspring in her lifetime.

by Indranill Basu Ray / physician scientist

Why ‘Modicare’ is not enough to provide quality healthcare to poor Indians

Recently, social media played the Good Samaritan in securing Vimla Devi of Mathura a disability certificate for her husband. As 34-year-old Vimla did not have the money to hire an autorickshaw or a taxi, she carried her disabled husband Badan on her shoulders and ran from

by Indranill Basu Ray / physician scientist

A cardiologist lists 4 medical breakthroughs to watch out for

The aim of all medical research is to improve the quality of healthcare. Different science journals and newspapers present “breakthroughs” to readers and sometimes do make tall claims. Today, while surfing the internet, one stumbles upon diverse information related to health, and ...

by Indranill Basu Ray / physician scientist

How to talk about depression in India

Mental Health has entered the drawing room conversation at last. People are openly discussing now unlike before when issues related to mental health were talked in whispers as one with a mental disorder would be dismissed as mad. In the recent times some well- known ...

by Indranill Basu Ray / physician scientist

Gorakhpur tragedy exposes the rot in India’s healthcare system

The death of children in hospitals is staple news on most days in the country. However, the recent news of around 70 children, including neonates, dying in one week in the pediatric ward of Baba Raghav Das Medical College (BRD Medical College) in Gorakhpur came as a ...

by Indranill Basu Ray / physician scientist

Yoga is more than just hitting the mat

The practice of yoga has swept the world with an enthusiasm never seen before. Yoga has achieved the status of a mass cultural phenomena, evident from the fact that there are around 300 million yoga practitioners in the world and it is an 80-billion-dollar market. ...

by Indranill Basu Ray / physician scientist

India needs a stronger campaign against smoking

14-year-old Ravi arrived at a new college and tried to make friends by stealing cigarettes from his father. He would have never anticipated that 30 years later, the damage caused by smoking would be irreversible....

by Indranill Basu Ray / physician scientist

What you don’t know about health and well-being

Jatasya hi dhruvo mrityur dhruvam janma mrityasya cha, tasmadapariharye arthe na tvam sochitumaharsi
“For the one that is born - death is certain- and certain is birth for the one that has died. The events of the death and rebirth are thus unavoidable, and one should not grieve for them” - Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 27

by Indranill Basu Ray / physician scientist

How meditation can help you develop ‘Buddha’s brain’

That winter was severe and a dismal chill descended upon Boston. Snowstorms blew through almost every day, or least that was what it seemed like. I walked from my home through piles of snow and muddy sleet to catch the early morning red line train to go to Massachusetts ...

by Indranill Basu Ray / physician scientist

NEET is important for medical education, but give it some time

National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is the first landmark attempt; thanks to a Supreme Court judgment, to start a nationalised entrance examination for aspirants to medical colleges in India. The question, then, is why is NEET so controversial? And why has the ...

by Indranill Basu Ray / physician scientist

Is Mamata’s landslide win Bengal’s ‘PTSD’ reaction to communist rule?

Democracy has its limitations. Democracy in a nation with a large band of illiterate, famished have-nots may not always be in tune what is expected to be morally right. West Bengal's election results; with the TMC's landslide victory under Mamata Banerjee, is a notable example ...

by Indranill Basu Ray / physician scientist

The mysterious Universe from black hole to Komodo dragons

"Time, Space and causation are like the glass through which the Absolute is seen… In the Absolute, there is neither time, space, nor causation." - Swami Vivekananda...

by Indranill Basu Ray / physician scientist

Sad how West Bengal continues to languish under corrupt regimes

India remains the largest democracy in the world. The US, a much smaller democracy though a more matured one, boasts of development as the platform for competition amongst political pundits craving for a stint at the White House....

by Indranill Basu Ray / physician scientist

Miracles of yoga that left this heart surgeon stumped

There is no supernatural. We are continually learning new things. There are powers within us which have not yet been developed and they will develop. We shall learn things of ourselves, which will be full of wonders, but none of them will be beyond the natural.
-Thomas A. Edison...

by Indranill Basu Ray / physician scientist

Forget dyeing your hair! Meditation can help you stay young forever

The concepts of life and death as defined in Eastern philosophy are shown to have an uncanny similarity to some aspects of latest research in medicine. Core concepts of birth and death in Eastern philosophy have centered around the concept of having multiple births and lifetimes, finally leading to transcendence from this recurrent cycle of ...

by Indranill Basu Ray / physician scientist

You don’t need technology to live a long life, yoga will do

I started meditation at the age of six. At that time, sitting for meditation every day meant trying to quieten the millions of thoughts that flooded my mind. Years later, I learned that meditation was much more than sitting down and trying to empty my mind....

by Indranill Basu Ray / physician scientist