Love, power and a sound mind

What do you really, really need?

This may be pretty hard reading for many, as I am going to ask you deep questions on your life.

What do you base your esteem on?

Is it on your body, or perhaps your mind? Your skin colour, your hair, your clothes, the place where you stay, your family background or your grades in school? Or on your possessions?

It is natural for us to base our esteem on ‘self’. After all these things are what we can experience using our natural senses.

Is there a better reality on which to base your esteem on? Something super- natural?

You may well ask what is the problem with basing our esteem on ‘self’?

After all, you have been born in this family, privileged to get this education, worked hard to reach where you are presently, so naturally you ask the question: should I not be proud of my accomplishments?

Ask yourself, is this going to last? Will your hair last, or your health, or your wealth? Your fancy car?

Is there a better way, a more satisfying measure?

Yes, and for that you need to ask yourself the hard question: What is my real need?

What do I really, really need?

Is it recognition from people, name, fame and money?

Or is there something more deeper, more satisfying, and more lasting than these?

Jesus said in Mathew 6:19
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Mat 6:19-21 TNIV

Treasure:

What is taught to us by Jesus here?

Treasure is precious
We are preoccupied with it
Presently on Earth: it is affected by Moth, rust, or can be stolen
Protect it by all means
Provide happiness – temporary
Perpetual- anxiety and worry

So what is the advice given by Jesus?

Store your treasure in heaven!

What is your treasure?

What do you spend your time, energy and attention on?

What makes me do what I do? What is the method I use? What is the result?

Mat 23:5
“Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long;

Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next.

Mat 23:5 MSG

Eg: Why do you wear clothes? For others? To get attention/honour?

It is as if everything most people do is motivated by some sort of fear or guilt.

Fear in you is made use of by merchants.

Fear of ‘others’

What is your NEED?

When you dont get what you need, you satisfy yourself with substitutes. Then you never look for original.

What is my central need?

Unconditional love.

From childhood, the child looks for it and does not get it. Parents who have no idea cannot give what they do not have.

Ultimately it concludes that it is not going to get it, so start looking for substitutes like approval, recognition, honor from people. Then it will never look for the truth once it is satisfied with substitutes.

It is these substitutes that kill.

Fakes look like the original, but they do not deliver what you really need.

What is the result?

You start pretending that you have got the real thing:

Pretensions:

What you are inside and outside are both pretensions

Putting on a mask

Many types of people

Identity struggles result as the result of pretensions which have gone on for decades.

Children pretend to be what they are not because parents demand, do not allow them to be true.

Exaggerating.

Result of pretension? IF YOUR INSIDE AND OUTSIDE ARE NOT THE SAME YOU WILL END UP MENTAL.

Luk 5:36 Jesus then told them these sayings: No one uses a new piece of cloth to patch old clothes. The patch would shrink and make the hole even bigger.

Many breakdowns come because of continued pretensions. Trust is broken.

Why did you pretend? What others will think?

What happens in conflicts: Cumulative effect of pretensions

Remedial measures:

What does man do naturally?

Keep a distance so I won’t be affected. If I come closer there will be pain.

Inability to love the unlovable.

Why they are unlovable?

Trace the reason backward

1 John 4:7-8 NIV Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Love is from God:

The Living God is the only one source of unconditional Love, also called agape love.

[In the world: I love you means I want to make use of you]

Man when separated from God. has no unconditional love:

Jesus said:

And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren’t willing to receive from me the life you say you want.

I’m not interested in crowd approval. And do you know why? Because I know you and your crowds. I know that love, especially God’s love, is not on your working agenda.

I came with the authority of my Father, and you either dismiss me or avoid me. If another came, acting self-important, you would welcome him with open arms.

How do you expect to get anywhere with God when you spend all your time jockeying for position with each other, ranking your rivals and ignoring God?

Joh 5:40-44 MSG

So how can we love unconditionally? We cannot.

Man in the natural is without unconditional love

Unless we believe in Jesus, and become a source of unconditional love.

When we do not accept this unconditional love, what happens? The inner vacuum remains.

This vacuum inside is called lust. We want to fill the vacuum by fulfilling our lust. It never gets full.

What is the result?

Ecc 2:10-11 NIV I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. 11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

Man without love has three major problems [present in every one]:

Loneliness: Nobody cares for me, nobody understands me.
Insecurity
Inferiority: I am nobody, I want to become somebody

To fill the vacuum you are looking for love from People

You accumulate honor, acceptance…but do not get Love

Then what does man do? Try to save yourself…

Use self-salvation measures: SIN

From Sin into Sin

Pretension: to save your image you tell a lie

Proving yourself

Promotion:

Power: competition destroys love, creates hatred

Comparison: To climb the ladder [Anything you cannot compare?]

Compromises result

Class struggle

These methods can make you successful, and are addictive. They can destroy.

He wanted love, tried all self-salvation ways, ended up getting Hatred.

Luk 9:24 NIV
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.

The result?

Luk 9:25 What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you?

What are you looking for?

Unconditional Love

Success: Efficiency, Achievement

How is it measured? eg: Houses, Cars.

By statistics alone. The world says: No numbers, no success.

Relationships:

How do you define a good child?

Is it by success? Can you love your child for who and what he is?

In the Kingdom of God’s evaluation is not on Success but on your Faithfulness

Four areas of faithfulness:

In Little
In Money
With someone else’s goods
Serving one Master

Jesus said in Luke 16:10-13 He who is faithful in the least is also faithful in much. And he who is unjust in the least is also unjust in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust the true riches to you? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who shall give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Your real need is Unconditional Love

Have you ever felt the need of your Soul?

As the deer pants, my soul longs.

Even if you are successful to the nth degree, if the needs of your soul are not met, everything is a waste

When you enter in a crisis, you may realize this need.

Restored relationship with me is your need, is the counsel of your Creator.

He alone can give you unconditional love, as He demonstrated in Jesus Christ.

We are taught by the evil one that our need is more ‘things’.

We say he or she is doing very well, but inner life is miserable. Is this ‘doing well’?

Are we not brainwashed by the World?

A teaching which no one will accept, a teaching of Jesus:

Luk 12:15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

If you think abundance is the basis, you will be greedy for more.

Luk 12:13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

That could be our prayer request. Praying to God to answer ‘our’ prayers. Jesus says “who gave me this job?”.

What is His job?

Find the lost, save the sinners.

We think Jesus answers our prayer requests for marriage, job, education, marriage?

Unanswered prayers based on lust are answered by the one who gave you that lust, by the evil one. That is why people confuse the evil one with God. They think God is a desire fulfilling genie.

Whom do we believe?

God says this is not the life…World says this is the life.

What is Sin? Not believing in God

Holy Spirit convicts you of Sin: John 16:9
about sin, because people do not believe in me;

Root of Sin: my right is for myself

What is the basis of our prayer requests?

Don’t think those who are uneducated are living unhappy lives.

Why did God call a certain rich man [in the parable mentioned in Like 12] a fool?

If abundance of possessions is the basis of life, why was his life gone?

Luk 12:20-21 NIV
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

God calling someone a fool…is a severe judgment.

Do we realise that we all are dead? We are born dead, living dead, going to eternal death. It is mere existence. Protoplasmic activity. Man separated from God has protoplasmic activity for 70 to 80 years. Like the severed tail of a lizard which moves but has no real life. Movements we make are mere activity. We will all go to our death.

John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

At Creation, when God created Adam:

Gen 2:7 Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

The presence of God in man as a Spirit was life.

After the Fall, Man became mere flesh. Life is not there.

Unless we realise that, we won’t feel the need for abundant life.

When Jesus Christ came, He said ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’. A parallel way to eternal life.

How can man get eternal life?

John 5:24 Jesus was very clear: “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

I must believe the whole Gospel. Gospel literally means News that is too good to be true.

Interpretation of John 5:24 is….

1Jn 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.

We must be ‘born again’.

What does it mean?

How are you born again?

1Peter 1:23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

How?

Hearing the Word of God produces faith, you get convicted by the Spirit of your real nature, your need for forgiveness, and that you are loved unconditionally and forgiven by God in Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:11 And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Unless you are born of water and the Spirit you cannot enter the Kingdom of God:

John 3:5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.

Not by any act that you do. Salvation is not by works. It is by Faith.

It is only then that your real need, your deepest desire is met, by the One who created you and loves you beyond measure.

So I base my ‘value’ on the fact that God loves me so much that He has sent His Son Jesus to die for my sins, restore me into a loving relationship with Himself, and give me eternal life. This value will never fade away, and no one can take it away from me. I will be foolish to base my value on my self-esteem [my body, mind or possessions]. I can boast only of ‘Christ esteem’ as Andrew Wommack puts it.

Thank you God!

Have a lovely day.

Intelligent and Honest Indian: Not possible?

India shining:

This article touched my heart.

Don’t take bribes. Bribes blind perfectly good eyes and twist the speech of good people.

(Exodus 23:8)

    First Rank in State in Secondary School Examination
        First Rank in University in Plus Two
        First Rank in IIT Entrance Examination
        First Rank in All India IIT Computer Science
        First Rank in IAS Entrance Examination
        First Rank in IAS Training Institute

On passing out from IIT Chennai Mr. Narayanaswamy was offered scholarship by the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology , USA .. He who came from a middle class family believed that he had a moral obligation to give something in return for the lakhs of rupees the government spent on him as an IIT student. He had the intelligence and conviction to realize that this money came also from the poorest of the poor – who pay up the excise duty on textiles when they buy cloth, who pay up customs, excise and sales tax on diesel when they travel in a bus, and in numerous other ways indirectly pay the government. So he decided to join IAS hoping he could do something for the people of this country. How many young men have the will power to resist such an offer from USA ? Narayanaswamy did never look at IAS as a black money spinner as his later life bears testimony to this fact.

After a decade of meritorious service in IAS, today, Narayanaswamy is being forced out of the IAS profession. Do you know why?

A real estate agent wanted to fill up a paddy field which is banned under law. An application came up before Narayanaswamy who was sub collector the, for an exemption from this rule for this plot of land. Upon visiting the site he found that the complaint from 60 poor families that they will face water logging due to the waste water from a nearby Government Medical College if this paddy field was filled up was correct. Narayanswamy came under intense political pressure but he did what was right – refused permission for filling up the paddy field. That was his first confrontation with politicians.

Soon after his marriage his father-in-law closed down a public road to build compound wall for his plot of land. People approached Narayanaswamy with complaint.

When talking with his own father-in-law did not help, he removed the obstructing wall with police help. The result, his marriage broke up.

As district Collector he raided the house of a liquor baron who had defaulted Rupees 11 crores payment to government and carried out revenue recovery. A Minister directly telephoned him and ordered to return the forfeited articles to the house of the liquor baron. Narayanswamy politely replied that it is difficult. The minister replied that Narayanaswamy will suffer.

In his district it was a practice to collect crores of rupees for earthen bunds meant for poor farmers, but which were never constructed. A bill for rupees 8 crores came up before Narayanaswamy. He inspected the bund. He found it very weak and said that he will pass the bill after the rainy season to ensure that the bund served the purpose. As expected the earthen bund was too weak to stand the rain and it disappeared in the rain. But he created a lot of enemies for saving 8 crores public money. The net result of all such unholy activities was that he was asked to go on leave by the government. Later such an illustrious officer was posted as “State Co-Ordinator, Quality Improvement Programme for Schools”. This is what the politician will do to a honest officer with backbone – post him in the most powerless position to teach him a lesson. Since he found that nothing can be achieved for the people if he continued with the State Service he opted for central service. But that too was denied on some technical ground.

What will you do when you have a brilliant computer career anywhere in the world you choose with the backing of several advanced technical papers too published in international journals to your credit?

When you are powerless to do anything for the people, why should you waste your life as the Co-Ordinator for a Schools Programme?

Mr. Narayanaswamy is on the verge of leaving IAS to go to Paris to take up a well paid United Nations assignment. The politicians can laugh thinking another obstacle has been removed. But it is the helpless people of this country who will lose – not Narayanaswamy. But you have the power to support capable and honest bureaucra ts like Narayaswamy, G.R.Khairnar and Alphons Kannamthanam who have suffered a lot under self seeking politicians who rule us. You have even the power to replace such politicians with these kind of people dedicated to the country. The question is will you do the little you can do NOW? At least a vote or word in support of such personalities?

THINK ABOUT IT GUYS…!!!
PLEASE SHARE…!

Minding my own business!

Its my business!

What it usually means is: “Who are you to tell me how to mind my own business”

You hear it when you correct someone whom you feel is not minding his or her business the way you want it.

Of course, no one has the ‘right’ to interfere in someone else’s business! Are you God or something??

This made me wonder: What is God’s business?

Today morning in Goa I turned on e-sword and this verse popped right out into my heart:

Psa 11:7

GOD’s business is putting things right; he loves getting the lines straight, Setting us straight. Once we’re standing tall, we can look him straight in the eye.

Wow!

That is an amazing God.

He is interested in my business.

His business is putting things right in my business!

I see two possible responses to this business thing:

I may wonder and give thanks, or I may resist Him, depending on my assumptions about this ‘God’.

If my idea of God is that He is all knowing, He is loving me unconditionally and accepts me for who I am, and desires the best for me, then I would obviously say ‘Wow, thank you Lord, for minding my business’

On the other hand, if I feel that I know best how to mind my own business, I will obviously resist with all my heart any attempt by anybody to tell me what to do, because in my own eyes, ‘I am god’

That’s why it is said that Theology [study of God] is at the beginning of wisdom, and indeed Theology can set your life and your business right.

I can witness to that fact everyday in my life, my marriage and my business. I can say that God has straightened out a lot of the knots that I had tied up, and is still in the business of straightening me out, and boy, am I glad! 🙂

My desire for you my dear reader, is that you can say this too, if you are not already 🙂

Foundry and CNC Factory visit

We homeschoolers got to see a real Foundry where molten metal alloy is made into valves, thanks to Biren Karani, himself the father of a 14 year old homeschooler, on the 7^th of February 2013.

My daughter Grace wrote a report below, since I was not present that day. You will also find below reports by other Homeschooling kids and parents too!

^ A worker gave us a chance to help him and to learn. Here they are making the core, which they will put inside the molds to make the valves hollow.

^ These are metals burning in the furnace. The temperature was 1600 degrees Celsius!

^ And this is the container in which the metals were put. It is made of graphite so that it doesn’t melt easily.

^ The hot metal alloy as it is put into the mold.

^ Here’s the end product of the whole process. They need to remove the core which they had put inside to make it hollow.

The room in which all this was taking place wasn’t very big, it was, in fact, like a godown. It was hot and had a furnace at one end. The furnace was three feet deep and there was a pipeline underground through which air could flow and control the flames. They make the valves out of an alloy of 4 metals- copper, tin, lead, and zinc. It was a good learning experience for us who had no clue as to how these valves were made. We got to watch, practice, and learn all in one. The workers were all friendly and willing to entertain us, and have us help around. What’s more, as we were waiting for the valves to cool in their molds, we got to step into a thermocol factory just next door!

This is what Aravinda wrote:

Last week we had a little field trip for the homeschoolers in Mumbai. I was kind of watching Mathew‘s blog waiting for him to post as he usually does for the field trips. Meanwhile, even though I won’t do justice to all the fascinating things we saw, I thought I should just post my bit.

We had quite an eye opening visit to a foundry in Goregaon where they were actually pouring hot metal into moulds made of sand and turning out pipes and other plumbing fixtures. Incredible! I hardly imagined that today in 2013 real live foundries were working this way. Each and every mould is made for each part – once the metal cools, they break the mould and take the sand back to the pile to make another one. While we waited for the metal to cool we also peeked a few doors down at a thermocol factory. It is actually somewhat frightening to think about how all these things are made, how crowded and poorly ventilated these places are, and how ill-prepared they are for any mishap. The workers are really operating under risky conditions – not even basic protective goggles, masks, proper shoes, let alone more specialized safety gear. And those living near the factories also deal with the daily pollution and risk of any accident like what happened in Bhopal.

From there we proceeded to Andheri to see some other factories – who could ever imagine so many factories could be tucked away in these buildings? We saw metal work done in a more modern, computer-controlled process. We saw the factory where they make thosedrills used to dig up roads. And then an “injection plastic” workshop where they were making fevicol tubes. And a couple more all crammed into this building, Mumbai style.

Enormous thanks to Sejal and Biren who contacted the respective foundry and factory personnel to arrange these visits. The staff at each place were so patient with all of us, and allowed the children to handle various parts and even the machines in some cases.

I should also thank Mathew and Vinita who helped coordinate and guided me by phone as we were searching through the winding back lanes of Goregaon for the foundry, and Shanthi who gave us a ride from Goregaon to Andheri and then from Andheri to Kanjur Marg. Though it is not very easy for many of the homeschoolers in Mumbai, spread out across the big city, to meet regularly for group activities, programs like this remind us how much fun it is to get together and we are more motivated to do it again soon.

This is what Khiyali a home/unschooler kid wrote:

The Foundry and Factory homeschool field trip- According to a kid. (Namely Khiyali)

Children pack sand into boxes to make molds for pouring metal.

Okay, first we went to a metal foundry, which was pretty fun, because they let us make, or at least help make*, some molds for the metal. For some reason they made the molds out of sand. Never thought sand would be a match for the molten metal they were going to pour in afterward! But it did seem to be, because the metal came out fine. The sand stuff was a lot of fun. They also made ‘cores’ (also out of sand!) to put in the molds to make hollow places in the finished product. They let us help with one of those, too. I think some kids started putting sand in another core-mold (I also put some), and so the man helped us finish that one, too. We were trying to copy what he had done, on the second core.

The factories were a lot more boring though. All we did there was watch and collect bits of interestingly shaped bits of metal and plastic, plus empty fevicol tubes. Also we fooled around a bit**, in the corridors between factory rooms.
I guess that’s pretty much it.

*but we probably did ~ maybe 80% of it. Not 10-20% like you might imagine.
**actually a lot.

And here is Gillian’s report:

Firstly, want to say a huge thank you to Sejal and Biren for organising the entire visit, inspite of their busy schedules, first to the foundry, thermocol factory and then to the injection/fevicol/some kind of block printing — have forgotten what those machines were called. The patience and grace with which each worker answered all the kids questions throughout the day was admirable

The entire day — all the visits were extremely fascinating, mind-blowing actually. To watch the entire process of how moulds are made from the furnace to the finished mould was an experience worth going through. I felt like a child all over again!! One just cannot imagine the kind of creativity and intelligence God has invested in us humans!!

The thermocol making process too seemed very simple in terms of the process but the ingenuity was wow!!

Even to observe the way the fevicol tubes were being processed from a solid small piece to a hollow tube …. gosh, we have so much to learn. Its never too late!!!

Thanks also to Mathew and Vinita for keeping us informed of the various outings and for taking such an active role in making these trips possible.

Thanks to Yohaan too for taking some really superb pictures.

Cheers!

Kayaking and Sailing at Marine Drive

Seeing the Queen’s necklace extending from Malabar Hill all the way to Cuffe parade along Marine Drive while rowing and windsurfing on the gentle Arabian Sea is an unbelievable experience!

Thanks to Raj and Supriya for providing us this wonderful opportunity.

Malavika their older daughter is a National Windsurfing champion. This was her Birthday treat to her homeschooling friends.

We assembled at the Club, and changed into our swimming costumes. It is advisable to wear water proof clothing, and the club provides bright orange life vests too.

The beach is right in front of the club. A short walk and we were at the sea side.

Malavika explained the basics of rowing and kayaking, and then we set out into the sea!

There were single and double kayaks. It is fun and also a great way to exercise.

After rowing for some time, Raj gave us some food for the sea gulls which were soon crowding around us in the deep sea. Seeing the mass of sea gulls was exciting and in the excitement Maahir jumped out of his Kayak into the sea. Malavika tried to pull him out of the water and her Kayak also capsized. Anyway the water was chest deep and they both managed to clamber on to their Kayaks.

After rowing around and exploring the sea, we returned to the shore.

By then everyone was really hungry and there was lovely breakfast served at the Club.

We had Idli, Medu Vada, Sandwich, Papaya pickle, Fritters, Coffee, Coke, Dosa and juice.

A lot of sea gulls also were around, as also crows, to eat whatever we offered them.

After breakfast we set out to the beach with a football, and played football and tag.

We also saw some strange characters on the beach like this old man with his spying glass!

Malavika then brought her Sailing equipment and we all gathered to see how she assembled it.

The black water at Marine Drive Girgaum Chowpatty

Raj Joshi the sailor

Two enthusiastic Kayakers

Far away from the rat race and the city’s hurry and worry, Raj enjoys sailing in the bay of Bombay

Malavika the sailor with the other kids on Kayaks

Two satisfied Kayakers

After Kayaking to their hearts content, the children walk back along the beach. Wonder when people will stop throwing garbage into the sea though.

At the end of the day I could rest back contented and satisfied with all that I had done today J

Homeschooler’s Pharma Factory Visit

Some of us Homeschoolers from Mumbai got an opportunity to visit a Pharmaceutical Factory and see how Injections, Tablets, Capsules and other life saving drugs are manufactured.

In January 2013, after I [as a Medical Doctor] got an invite from Neon Pharma to see their Factory in Palghar, I mentioned that as I am part of Swashikshan the National body of homeschoolers in India, I would like to bring some Homeschooling kids along to see the factory. The Management agreed not only to us seeing their Factory, but also to make arrangements for our transport in an AC bus and also meals!

I put the invite up on our Homeschool groups in Facebook, Gmail and sms. Those of us who could make it [since it was a rather short notice of only 3 days this time] gathered at Borivli early morning and embarked on this incredible voyage of discovery.

The Chief Chemist explaining the intricacies of sealing Injection vials in the Factory

We were transported in Ac comfort from Borivali to Palghar and back. The journey took about three hours including a break for Buffet breakfast on the way.

Our AC bus transported us in royal comfort

On reaching the Factory each of us were welcomed with a Red rose and Chocolates. The Plant Manager himself gave us a brief talk, and members of his team gave us an introduction to the history of Neon Pharma and how this plant has grown to its present state.

Royal Welcome

In the Conference room of the Factory, Mr. Jaswant Tolat, Vice President of Neon Pharma introduced the various aspects of Injection and Tablet manufacture, and the need to have extremely stringent quality control during the entire manufacturing and sealing stages.

He showed us the difference between vials and ampoules and the importance of sterility in manufacturing these drugs.

A vial [containing antibiotic] on the left, and an ampoule of water for injection on the right.

After the brief introductions, we were led into the main factory.

Before entering the factory we had to don sterile Aprons, Caps and Shoe covers.

Two eager parents ready to make lifesaving medicines!

Children peering through the double glass into the sterile manufacturing areas.

Even after donning those, we could not enter the manufacturing areas, but have a look through the double sealed glass windows.

We visited different sections of the Factory, each time donning fresh Aprons, caps and shoe covers.

We saw how the clean rooms are designed with graded pressure air locks, so that the final inner most room is the most sterile and at the highest pressure.

Here are two of the youngest participants, budding scientists Nancy and Gabrielle!

Each part of the Factory manufactures a different type of medicine, as per WHO GMP standards.

In other sections we also had to wear face masks and full gowns.

We saw and learnt about

Sterilisation,
Pyrogens,
Steam,
Distilled water for Injections,
Lyophilisation,
Ampoule filling and sealing,
Vial cleaning, filling, Nitrogen purging, sealing, labeling, packaging,
Design of clean rooms
Air locks
Tablet manufacture
Capsule manufacture
Process of manufacturing Cytotoxic anti Cancer drugs
Chemistry lab instruments like Burette, pipette, burners
etc

The Factory demonstrated the practical role of Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and Biology blending together in the real world to help save lives and safeguard our health.

This is what one of the boys wrote:

1.I learned how are injections made.
2.How are powder injections made.
3.I liked the way they explained.
4.I liked the way they explained about the water.
5.How it is boiled at what temperature.
6.The things that we wore,they looked very cute.
7.It would have been boring with few people. More people
more fun.
8.The food was nice.
9.Thank you for all the care.
10.Thank you very very very very much.

This is what Nithya, another home-schooler wrote:

NEON is a company that sells medicine. NEON ships their medicine worldwide. They use many high tech machines to help them. It was founded in June 1982. The NEON laboratories that we visited located far from any big cities in Palghar, Maharashtra. It was an 89km ride from Thane to Palghar. It took us around two and a half hours to go to the labs. Palghar is a seaside city. It’s northwest of Thane.

When you go into the labs you must wear a coat, plastic shoes, and a net for your hair. This is because there should be no contamination from your clothes, shoes, or your hair. . After the plastic shoes and hair caps are used they are disposed. But they simply wash the coats. They do not want any organisms in the pills. When you go into the lab you must pass through an airlock so that no contaminations come in with you. There are air filters inside the labs so that you breath won’t contaminate the bottles of medicine.

They have a whole other lab for their water purifier. The water is taken then filtered. Then they reverse osmoses it. They keep the water moving so that no growth of a microbe will take place. The water is then used to clean their equipment and the coats. The water is also used for other things. Maybe they drink that water who knows.

The company makes a lot of medicine. But I thought what they did best was their injections. They also make cancer pills when they do this they must be very careful not to get it on the coworkers .They also make antibiotics. In that department they must be very careful to make sure that no germs get in the pills. They make powder injections and plain injections. They make a lot of other things but we only got to see a few department.

The powder for the powder injections are made by different dealers. When NEON receives the powder they examine it for contaminations. They have never found an organism in any vats. When it has been examined they give it a green sticker to show it has no organisms and is ready to be filled into bottles. Then a machine weighs enough powder for each bottle. The weighed amount is then inserted into bottles then packed by hand. When they are being packed they are examined. The water is examined then inserted into a glass bottle and fused shut by the same machine. The bottles then are transferred to a machine that examines the water in the bottle. This machine has nine cameras. If it finds something wrong the machine pushes it of the line. Then all the doctor has to do is break open the bottle and dissolve the powder in the sterilized water then inject.

All in all we had a good time. Thank you Mathew uncle for organizing everything.

This is what Grace my 13 year old homeschooler wrote:

The Pharmaceutical Factory and the homeschoolers

There were 16 of us, a huge bus, and some polite, generous Medical representatives. We were on our way to Neon Pharmaceuticals. When we got there we were seated around a long table and the manager told us about the company as they served us chocolates, biscuits and tea. The dos and don’ts were said and we went in.

Before we got in, we had to wear special disposable masks, plastic footwear, and overcoats. They could not risk contamination! We got to see and learn many interesting things about how injections are made, in what temperatures they are stored and how clean and perfect the work they are doing has to be. If there is any impurity or uncleanness the whole batch would have to be thrown out! Then there was a machine which had several cameras which took pictures of ampules and checked if there was a problem with any one of them. There were two types of injections, powder injectable and liquid injectable.

There was also an oncology building in which they made cancer treatment tablets. The man who was supervising the machine making the tablets had to wear a spacesuit type of outfit so that he does not inhale the dust from the tablets which are meant only for cancer patients.

All the workers working there were given check-ups every 6 months and trained in hygiene. Furthermore, all the ampules were thoroughly washed and sterilized before anything was put into it. It was a very nice and clean company and we were lucky to get to see it.

All in all a most educational trip. We learnt from the staff that other than the Directors children, no children have ever visited this Factory.

This was a great day for Swashikshan our National Body of Homeschooolers, and one more opportunity for Homeschoolers’ to learn from real life.

The greatest education you can give your child

The greatest gift, the most foundational belief and education that you can give your child is the deep assurance, the conviction, the knowledge that they are loved unconditionally.

That they are loved for who they are, and not for what they do or do not do. Sounds too good to be true, right?

Is that really possible, you may well ask?

How can it be, when from childhood, or even infancy, we are conditioned to receive conditional love and acceptance? Isn’t that why we all strive for fame, wealth, recognition? Ask yourself why you do the things you do….. We have believed a lie, and that lie continues to destroy lives today.

The truth, dear reader, is this:

Can parents give this unconditional love to their dear children? Dictionary.com defines unconditional love as; affection with no limits or conditions; complete love

You can, but you as a parent need to know and experience it for yourself. From whom can you get this love, this assurance? There is only one source, the same one who created you in His image and longs to see your love, your joy and life made full.

Unless you have it, experience it, and know that it is true, you cannot give it to your child.

Believing a lie ruins life.

Here are a few examples:

The lie that I have to do something to get acceptance, from parents or from my concept of ‘god’. That is not the truth; it is a LIE, plain and simple.

The Lie that you just evolved somehow from some other life form. That you are the product of blind chance! What happens when you leave food outside for 2 days? Does it improve or perish?

Then there are lies believed by those who believe in God: The lie that ‘God’ allows us to bargain with him for sins committed by us. The Lie that our good deeds will balance our bad deeds. No, for God, even one sin is enough for Him to punish us, or else He would not be just.

Can you imagine a murderer being let off by a Judge because he pleaded that he never committed any traffic offense in his life? A Judge like that, a god like that, what would you call him?

The Truth is better than you can ever imagine, dear reader.

The Truth is that God created you most wonderfully. He loves you just as you are. He loves you because of who He is, not because of who or what you are.
The Truth is that God loves you in spite of your sins, your faults.
The Truth is that God hates sin, but loves the sinner. God will punish sin.
This God who said He loves you; He came and demonstrated this love by paying the price for your sins, by dying for your sins. Because sin is so bad that in God’s eyes sin deserves death.

This is the Truth, dear reader, and not just fiction, definitely not a lie!

Isn’t it time to be sorry for your sins and ask God to save you? You have to ask, ofcourse. And He has forgiven…..how? On the Cross, by the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. All it takes is Faith. Believing the Truth.

Believing the Truth gives you an assurance of Gods unconditional love, and that is the greatest gift you can give your children too. Jesus said you shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you Free.

Have a great life ahead.