XBK Chat (unofficial archive)

hanuman · Joined: 23 Jun 2004 Posts: 174

New Orleans, Louisiana (aka NOLA by the citizens ) is, by the minute being conveted into a swamp. Currently 80 % of the city is submerged and the water level on the streets is expected to reach 9-15 feet by this evening.
For thousands stranded, there are no supplies of potable water and food.
I feel that positive thoughts sent to the souls can give them some comfort until practical emergency aid arrives.
In 1992, I rode out the storm which was going to directly hit NO. FORTUNATELY, by a leap of faith, it did not directly hit the city of NO and there were no major after effects as there are in the city at the moment.

At this time, the sick and disabled who were and cannot easily evacuate the flooded city need not only food and water, they need positive thoughts to create a tranquil atmosphere in a very physically unpleasant situation.

Thoughts have power. Every positive thought counts.
We cannot compartmentalize the situation in NOLA and the other parts of the Gulf Coast as simply Karma and Drama Exclamation

_________________
Om Shanti,
To my brothers and sisters.

Love to you all,
Errol bhai

hanuman · Joined: 23 Jun 2004 Posts: 174

At this critical moment, I would rather not speak of the deep personal connection between myself and NOLA. It is one of the cities in the US which will have a special place in my heart. Smile

Though I extend special positive thoughts to similar crises on a global scale, special thoughts are extended to the faculty and staff of my alma mater and former employer, Tulane University. Special thoughts are also extended to the faculty, staff and students of the other following universities: University of New Orleans, LSU Medical Center, Loyola University and Xavier University. I cannot forget the dojo of my sensie, Mr. Mikami, senior instructor of the Japan Karate Association. Mr. Mikami's dojo is located in the suburb of Metaire, close to NOLA. He was a professor of physical education at Tulane and maintained a karate club on campus. Sensie Mikami was my chief examiner for my shodan, first degree black belt examination. I recalled training many evenings under his watchful eyes, as I completed my final preparations for my shodan examination. It is my wish that all faculty, students and staff were able to evacuate the city and are in safe areas. In fact, news reports have been indicating that Tulane University students were evacuated on Thursday and Friday of last week.
This morning I tried to access the Tulane University web site. I wanted to electronically hold the hands of all my friends at NOLA, faculty, staff, students and martial artists. Smile

The Tulane websites were not active. Sad

I still extend good wishes, by thoughts, to all the folks of NOLA. Smile

There used to be a Gita parshala out side of NOLA, which was managed by a sister, whose family owned a motel. It is my wish that the family, Raj yogis, and any other souls in that area have been saved from the after effects of Katrina. I paid visits to that center in 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1986. When I would drive from Tuskegee, Alabama or Atlanta, Georgia to San Antonio, Texas I would always spend a night at the Louisiana center.
_________________
Om Shanti,
To my brothers and sisters.

Love to you all,
Errol bhai

hanuman · Joined: 23 Jun 2004 Posts: 174

If I were still living in NOLA, I would have stored away in my apartment an inflatable boat, kayak or even a small hovercraft! I would also have handy a survival kit. Why? NOLA is below sea level. When in NOLA, you are in a way looking up at the Atlantic Ocean. I used to live in the Ware House District close to the Convention Center. I always enjoyed weekend walks along the river bank. There were favorite spots where I would stop and meditate. I like to meditate in natural settings.
One evening in the summer of 1994, my soul mate and I were returning from work at Tulane University. She was at the wheel. There was a sudden down pour. Many streets were immediately converted into shallow rivers. My soul mate is a skilled driver. Though the car stalled a few times, she drove us safely home through steeets which were shallow streams. At the up town campus of Tulane University on St. Charles Avenue, it is not unusual to paddle around the campus in a kayak or canoe, following a heavy down pour!
I plan within the next few months to have two mountain bikes in our apartment. I would advise any one living in the US to have a mountain bike. If any nuclear devices are detonated in the city where a person lives, the use of a bike would provide the fastest means of escaping the foci of the nuclear strike.
_________________
Om Shanti,
To my brothers and sisters.

Love to you all,
Errol bhai

hanuman · Joined: 23 Jun 2004 Posts: 174

I do not want to give any one man math or shri-math on self defence.
I'll only relate my personal experience.
In NOLA, as part of the culture, folks will have their firearms in their cars and on their person. Exclamation

In NOLA I would sometimes attend jazz performances and would be walking home late at night. If any one approached me and pulled a weapon with the intention of using it against me, I would surely finish the attacker(s) off, even with my bare hands Exclamation

I'll tell them Om Shanti, when their souls are departing their bodies.

Once in NYC, I was assisting one of my lokik sisters with her university assignment. I was there until 1:30 AM. When I'm that late at my sisters' residence, I would call a taxi to transport me home. Sometimes, I would walk to Flatbush Avenue and catch public transportation. I did that for almost 2 years and no one bothered me. May be the thugs I was a crazy guy and thought it best not to mess with me. Evil or Very Mad

That early morning, I decided to walk, instead of listening to my inner voice. As I walked down Albermale to get to Flatbush, I could sense that some one was following me, with out looking behind me. A hunch back Hispanic male with Crow make up (Hallowen like mascara ) was foliowing me with his pitbull Exclamation

When he sensed that I was aware of his presence he disappeared in the shadows of the street. I reached Flatbush and was waiting for a minivan. Two males, one tall and one short walked by and kept staring at me. By haragi, I detected that they intended to attack me. A few minutes they pretended to walk by in the opposite direction. They tried to surprise me. My state of haragi had already alerted me of their so called surprise. They were thrown off guard. I was able to use the road traffic to create a barrier and buy some time as I took off my watch and prepared myself to engage them. They closed the distance but kept some distance. They were scared. One demanded that I give up my bag. I heard myself shouting No to them. I was getting into a state of mind in which I feel very calm and relaxed and in which I could counter any attack or attack in a pre-emptive manner i.e. killing mode. One thug pulled a pistol and pointed it at my head. I maintained my cool and threw the bag at one of them. One thug caught the bag and they escaped. Their pistol had saved them! If he had used a knife, it would have been his life! A few months later both were captured by the police. They were given light sentences. I was angry that they were given light sentences. I told the deputy DA, that if they had knives or any other non-firearm weapons I would have killed them both. The deputy DA could only smile. I felt he smiled because the person giving him that information was a soft spoken teacher.
In Guyana, while working as a veterinary officer, thugs broke into my home while I was at work. They knew I had no fixed schedule and did a hurried job. I was alerted, by neighbours, as I arrived home that there was a suspect at the back yard. I attacked the suspect, restrained him and walked him down to the police station. I almost broke his hands and fingers with my bare hands! It was a few days before a national karate competition in which I was one of the competitors. With comfort from BD, I slept comfortably in the apartment that night. However, I was always alert and I kept some weapons handy.
During the 1986/87 Thallium Poisoning epidemic in Guyana I faced many dangers. During my first decade plus in gyan, I had dismissed the oriental martial arts as violence. I also underwent mandatory military training in the Guyana jungles as a requirement for my university scholarship. In spite of my small arms training, the government refused to issue me a fire arm permit. They claimed that I was a dangerous person. Evil or Very Mad

They even tried to prevent me from owning a tranquilizing rifle, a necessary tool for any zoo/wild life veterinarian. I ditched the idea that the martial arts are violent and re-commenced the study of karate. It's only the clay doves and punching bags which do not shoot back or strike back.
Haragi is an intuitive skill developed by a martial artist due to many years of dedicated training.
_________________
Om Shanti,
To my brothers and sisters.

Love to you all,
Errol bhai

hanuman · Joined: 23 Jun 2004 Posts: 174

Brothers and Sisters,

It's not just having the mountain bike and/or inflatable. The evacuees must be able to have their senses attuned to Nature and get the hell out of the city long before the disaster strikes and anarchy begins.
A water filter, phyto food powders and clean water should also be part of the survival kit. It's a good idea to be armed.
During the 1986/87, Thallium Poisoning Epidemic In Guyana, I precognized that I would have been poisoned. In fact I was warned two decades ago by a psychic that there would be an assassination effort against me. The warning was also indicated in my astrology profile.
Several months prior to a medical testing and symptoms, I had purchased and secretly stockpiled large doses of Prussian Blue the antidote of choice against thallium poisoning. Cool

When I was medically diagnosed with the toxicosis and the antidote was unavailable in the chemists' shops. I had quantities stockpiled and ready for use Exclamation

_________________
Om Shanti,
To my brothers and sisters.

Love to you all,
Errol bhai

catlady · Joined: 01 Feb 2005 Posts: 26 Location: USA

As someone who has lived through several significant earthquakes, I have noticed that overall people are usually better behaved at times of natural disaster. They have often risked their own lives to save others, such as in the collapse of the double decker freeway in Oakland in 1989. I find it interesting that there has been so much violence in New Orleans since the hurricane. Perhaps they are acting out against the authorities or is the culture that different?
_________________
Catlady

hanuman · Joined: 23 Jun 2004 Posts: 174

Papaya,

The Spiritual Laws, as cold blooded as it seems also apply to the crisis in New Orleans. That does not exempt the people of NOLA compassion and all the help they need!
When the element of water is part of the equation of a catastrophy, the ends products of such a complex equation are varied and complicated.
Apart from the fact that humans are terrestrial, there is the issue of the modification of the water chemistry when there is a mix of toxic petrochemicals, pathogenic microbes and displaced aquatic and semi-aquatic predators; reptiles, sharks, etc.
For more than 50 yrs, it was known by the federal government that NOLA and surrounding areas was a sinking bowl. It has been sinking 4 ft every 100 years and 25 square miles of land each year has been covered permanently with water. The Feds kept on turning their faces in the other direction as the Oil and Gas Industry continued to make the situation worse by extracting more oil from the area.
I could have been living in NOLA at the time of Katrina. Based on my karma all the conditions were right for me to do so. Due to the depressed business of the Petrochemical industry in the early 1990, many nice homes were left by the fleeing oil executives. House could be bought at great deals. A few minutes after I had defended my MSPH thesis in 1993, my examiners offered me the opportunity to pursue a Doctor of Science degree at Tulane. There was a chance that I would have been offered a professorship at Tulane. NOLA was very seductive and life for me was great!!! Laughing

I was in the doctoral program for a year. During that time, my astrological profile advised me to refocus my career in the direction of veterinary medicine. Internally, my spirit was also urging me to return to the veterinary path. In the spring of 1994, I presented a paper on my research at an international toxicology conference. I met professors from a Mid-Western university. They were impressed with my research and I was offered a scholarship by that university to specialize in toxicology and pathology. I accepted the offer and moved to the Mid-West. Many of my professors from Tulane were not pleased that I was leaving Tulane and NOLA. I also felt that it was academic incest for me to seek a faculty appointment at my alma mater, after my training was completed. Smile

That was one major reason why I did not return to NOLA, THOUGH I KNEW THAT LIFE WOULD BE GREAT. The pollution and the sinking sink or sinking bowl phenomenon always worried me.

CATLADY,
In NOLA, folks, even the poorest of the poor will stock up on supplies and ride out the storm. They had been doing that for many decades. The devasting after effects of Katrina were not EMPHASIZED. Folks were not forcefully evacuated PRIOR to the storm. Many, especially the disadvantaged, thought they would be able to ride out the storm and life would be back to normal, including no flooding. This time, it was a category 5. The levees were constructed to with stand a category 3 storm. Some were not able to leave. They were dependent on the public transportation system. After a few days, surrounded by water, they ran out of supplies. There are no opened shops and no emergency aid. If a person breaks into a closed shop for water, food or juice, is that looting?
It should not be, when the food will decay if not consumed and the person is starving.
_________________
Om Shanti,
To my brothers and sisters.

Love to you all,
Errol bhai

catlady · Joined: 01 Feb 2005 Posts: 26 Location: USA

No, Hanuman, I do not consider it a serious offense to take food and water to survive. I was commenting more on the amount of violence, which I think is largely due to misplaced anger at the poor handling of the disaster by the authorities.

I do think that there should have been a forced evacuation before the storm, and transportation provided for those who had none or wished to take buses. I think people should have not had to make the decision about leaving pets behind to fend for themselves. But the emergency response was poorly managed, and so people suffered.

I don't think there is anything intrinsically different about the people in New Orleans. I certainly don't think that the majority of people became worse behaved, simply that it was noticable that crime didn't appear to decrease after this disaster as it did after so many others, and that caused vulnerable people to be even more victimized.
_________________
Catlady

hanuman · Joined: 23 Jun 2004 Posts: 174

I have been listening to reports in which survivors have been giving some extremely sad and heart breaking experiences. Many state that the National Guard and NOLA police were also looting. I'm not suprised. In NOLA, cops are sometimes the rogues Exclamation

In some instances, the police were taking away food and water from starving survivors in NOLA. In one case a husband and wife were taken into custody for transporting ice and water to take care of their ill grand child Exclamation

NOLA is a combat zone and the security seem to be doing minimal amounts of rescue and maximum amounts of military dictatory activities.
China recently had a tidal wave in which whole communities were evacuated and not a single person persihed. Cuba has been conducting successful evacuations in which the mortality rates were extremely low.
I feel that the stand down attitude and actions of the Feds, similar to 9/11, is clearly an act of ecological warfare against citizens of the US Twisted Evil

_________________
Om Shanti,
To my brothers and sisters.

Love to you all,
Errol bhai

hanuman · Joined: 23 Jun 2004 Posts: 174

Papaya,
The issue of the "haves" and" have nots" is the sore point of discrimination in the US OF A. It's not so much about black and white or white and red; it's ALL ABOUT THE GREEN, THE ALMIGHTY US$.
The "have nots" are considered to be economically irrelevant!
Some animals would have gotten much better treatment than the poorest of the poor in NOLA. Arabian studs or brood mares would have been rescued with the finest high technology hardware, I feel. The FEMA director's only qualifications for his job were a lawyer for an Arabian horse Association and a friend of Mr. Bush!

I am also concerned for the suffering animals, both free ranging and domestic. Many friends have asked me the following question: A vet without a pet or pets? The major reason for me not having pets is because of crisis situations like the one in NOLA. Pet owners will become emotionally tied up with thier animals. In the times of crises, the pets become another source of stress for the owner.

Your question on karma is great. Many "victims" in many instances try to avoid the question you asked. Often times, events in their lives will repeat themselves to stare them in the face and ask them that same question. I feel that the healing among the ethnic groups will not be complete, unless the victimized ask and answer three basic question:
What did I do to my current oppressor in the past to be receiving such bitter karmic fruits?
Why has such bitter experience manifested itself?
How can I transform the bitter karmic experiences into golden opportunities of material and spiritual advancement, while forgiving the oppressors?
_________________
Om Shanti,
To my brothers and sisters.

Love to you all,
Errol bhai

hanuman · Joined: 23 Jun 2004 Posts: 174

Papaya,

Karma is, indeed, a very interesting subject. It is even more interesting when applied to the NOLA culture. An extreme grave mistake of the evacuees will be, returning to NOLA when the silt settles and the city is cleaned up. NOLA is a sinking saucer Idea

. I agree with Dr. Gary Null's suggestion. The evacuees should seek compensation and use the funds to settle in a more geologically safe region of the US.

Most NOLA evacuees will never heed that type of advice. For instance, the ladies of NOLA are extremely attached to their lokik mothers. If you marry or settle down with NOLA lady, make up your mind to spend the rest of your life in NOLA. She will not relocate to another city and leave her mom. Smile

I do strongly feel that the NOLA FOLKS SHOULD RELOCATE THE CITY OUTSIDE AND FAR AWAY FROM THE SINKING SAUCER. If the greeder developers wish, they can have the city rebuild on the sinking saucer and they will have to deal with many future category 4 and 5 tropical storms. Cool

_________________
Om Shanti,
To my brothers and sisters.

Love to you all,
Errol bhai