Dr. Vladimir Badmaev, Vice President Medical and Scientific Affairs recently visited India and was fascinated by the country’s rich cultural mosaic.
In his own words....
"Although my ten day trip to India, was about business, it was impossible not to soak up the colorful and rich culture of the region. India is an ancient country, but only a close-up and personal encounter with the people and their way of life can give you a sense of how ancient this culture really is.
Consider the special reverence that Indians have for domesticated and wild animals. Cows, bulls, goats, horses and dogs mingle freely with the crowd and road traffic, and nobody is annoyed by this. On the contrary, the incredible congestion on the road seems to be better coordinated with the random presence of animals, popularly referred to as "speed breakers". Not far from the road (and in the backyards) you may see numerous "cobra houses". These termite-built clay structures are inhabited by cobras, but remarkably most people living around find ways to be at peace with snakes and not to destroy their habitats. Almost every, if not every, animal has a special significance in the Indian tradition. The elephant is regarded as a symbol of good luck and if you come close enough to a friendly elephant you may be fortunate to be "blessed" by the animal- (who puts the tip of the trunk on the top of your head).
Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence is still alive and well in India. I could literally "taste" it when I stayed a vegetarian for ten days. Being vegetarian does not essentially mean adopting a diet of salads and remaining hungry. However, it definitely takes experience to be vegetarian without hurting yourself.
On a food note I did not have any stomach problems while trying new foods, and the credit goes (in my opinion) to the morning glass of "Lassi" (Indian sour milk, a source of healthy probiotics), and specially prepared black tea with spices called "Masala tea".
Last but not the least, let me inform the readers that the Bangalore based Sami Chemicals and Extracts, a manufacturer for Sabinsa Corporation in India, is growing in leaps and bounds. The newly completed R&D complex looks like a science fiction lab, with its see-through partitions and state of the art facilities. This operation is devoted to the standardization of herbal extracts, nutritional supplements and specialty fine chemicals, with a focus on developing cost-effective manufacturing processes. Overall this trip to India provided me with a deeper understanding of not only the manufacture of Ayurveda products, but also drove home the meaning of tradition in the birth place of Ayurveda."
