Monthly Archives: December 2005

“Those who seek to achieve things should show no mercy.”– Kautilya, Indian Philosopher, 3rd Century B.C.

I spent several years in India among the people of that country. I am well acquainted with the concept of karma and dharma. What is more important, I am familiar with it from the point of view of the culture of where they originated. Though I find that much of the Vedic texts have value, and the land, its people and culture are filled with treasures beyond our wildest imaginings, I find, however, for those outside of the belief system of Sanatana Dharma – or as it is called in the West, Hinduism, that the concept of karma becomes too often used as an excuse.

That is never more true than those who fancy themselves to be Witches….

This is a topic that is very near and dear to my heart. I have been studying Ayurveda for a few years now, and have done so because I am a very firm believer in it’s value to the world at large. The Vedic scholars of India made these contributions to the world thousands of years ago, and it is arguably the oldest form of indigenous healing on the planet. Certainly it is one of the most well documented and complex modalities in existence.

Behind the cut is an article from the Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones / Wall Street Journal is a client of mine, so I feel ok reprinting it here. All credit has been cited. At any rate, this is an issue of ever increasing importance. As Indigenous knowledge and remedies gain popularity and more marketshare, corporations, the pharmaceutical industry in particular, is trying to ‘patent’ these things that have been around for millenia. They then try to pawn them off as “inovation”, while turning around and charging the very people that they took these things from for the “privelege” of using what was their heritage to begin with. This is what has been termed ‘ biopiracy’. Please read the article, It’s pretty fascinating.

Crossposted to

India to WTO: Help Us Protect Herbs, Tea, Yoga