Guest guest Posted February 12, 2003 Report Share Posted February 12, 2003 Friends always ask me 'why I am always going to India'. The serious reasons are for the incredibly rich spiritual heritage that encompasses you. The Devi which manifests everywhere in everything. Sometimes for them this is a little beyond their understanding. So i joke with them. So many Americans these days are worrying themselves to death over long term health care and diminishing pension funds. >From my personal perspective some are desparate for this War as a way 'to kickstart our economy'. My philosophy is really if you spend a lot of time traveling in India ( especially in the Himilayas on public transport) you really don't have to worry about this because eventually it will kill you. This almost became a 'reality' for me in September 2001 when on yatra i 'fell off a high cliff' at Tapovan above Gangotri at 14,000 feet. It truly was one of those 'death experiences' that many people describe but by grace of Guru and MAA I survived with no upper body damage but a shattered hip, a broken foot and ripped groin muscles. I owe my life to the Nepalese porters who happened by and carried me down piggyback to Gammuch. From there i rode a pony to Gangotri and several days later ended up in the Government Hospital in Rohtak where I had my hip surgery. So this morning i saw this article in HPI. I have always had my suspicions about the 'bottled water' in India. <begin quoted material> 4. India's Bottled Water Contains High Levels of Pesticides Source: http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/asia/story/0,4386,170189- 1044568740,00.html? NEW DELHI, INDIA, February 6, 2003: Popular brands of bottled water sold in India contain pesticide residues that can cause cancer or disorders of the nervous system, a study has found. Seventeen brands in and around New Delhi were taken for testing by the city's non-government Center for Science and Environment (CSE). Using methods approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for pesticide detection in drinking water, CSE found that all except one contained residues of chemicals such as lindane, DDT, chlorpyrifos and malathion. Many of these chemicals are banned in several countries, including India. Only Evian, imported from France, was clean. These popular brands exceed safety limits set by the EU by more than 100 times. According to the CSE report, the source of the pesticide residues is the polluted groundwater used to manufacture the bottled water. It said the water treatment processes used by the manufacturers are either ineffective or only a part of the raw water is processed. India's bottled water industry, worth US$209,511,800 and growing at 40 per cent a year, insists that it meets the quality norms set by India's Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for drinking water. The federal government has ordered a high-level probe into the report and wants the investigating body to report its findings in three weeks. <end quoted material> On a serious note I truly love India. I was 21 when i first went and lived there and have been going back for the past 32 years. I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to go. It will change your life, nothing will ever be the same. From a Western perspective you will learn that it is a place which you can't control. Once you are 'over that'just surrender to it. It is magic. The DEVI in all her forms is all pervasive. Of course 'she is everywhere' it just took India to make me understand that. f Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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