Typed by Kunio Takahashi (Kodokan)

April 7, 2006 (Friday)
Putting Body and Soul Together inChennai.

The Spirit of Krishnamurti

Touched at Last.
Apple shapes at higher risk of heartdiseases than pear shapes.

チェンナイで身も心も一つ。
やっとクリシュナムルチの心（霊）に出会う。

Obesity has caught on in India.
It has caught on in China. Overweight is ugly but obesity is a disease. I’m a little
overweight but not obese. So, I need exercise to diminish the chances of gout
re-attack. 3.5million diabetics in India, obesity is a major cause of diabetes. It’s nolonger an American phenomenon; it’s a global disease. It’s a growing threat for future
economic giants like China and India.
INDIA TODAY put Girth of a Nation on cover, alarmed over the obesity becoming afat Tsunami. It says 45% at males and 55% of females in Delhi are obese. And here’s
another scary truth: nearly 40 percent adults or urban children are obese and chances
are almost 80 percent will grow up to be obese.
My driver guide, Selvam, is a nice, slender Tamil male. Good heart, poor English.
To make matters worse, he talks too much. I followed the map to catch up on hisspoken messages with heavy Indian or Tamil accents. Hopping on and off his car, I
sweated a lot. A good healthy sweat for a man in need of exercise. Of all the tourist
spots in central Chennai, Kapaleeswara Temple was the most impressive and culturally
shocking – insect-skinny hands of beggars, the lowest people of the caste system.
Hinduism and caste die hard.
Selvam, proud Tamil nationalist, says India is a Hindu country. BJP, the rulingparty is Hindu. The militarily strong Tamil speakers are staunch anti-communists.
Chauvinism and blood-line are deeply in bedded in Chennai (formerly Madras) Indians.
That’s why Sonia Gandhi, leader of Congress Party, is out of favor with many
xenophobic Indians, just because of her Italian blood.
A though occurred. None of the beggars, including skinny mothers carrying babies
in their hands, was overweight or obese. My chauffer says, “Rich and fat people go tohospital, and poor and skinny people never go to hospital. For they are immune todisease and need no doctor.” In order words, I thought they can afford to be hungry
enough to try harder to survive.
3Typed by Kunio Takahashi (Kodokan)

Chennai, despite its clean image of growing economy, IT in particular, remains
over-populated, over-vehicled and over-congested. Christians, Jews or any otherreligious cults are eager to take center stage. Islam is a distant second. Very few
Buddhists. Many Buddhists are in turbulent Colombo run by the militant Tamil Tigers.
King Ashoka patronized Gautama Buddha and Buddhism flourished in India. Thereused to be bloody feuds between Hindus and Buddhists prior to that. The Hindu
religion as an old religion fought back. Back to the old stillness. A haiku occurred.
An old pond.
Gautama jumps.
Splash! … stillness.
I felt empty all along without having a chance to visit the Krishnamurti Foundationand see Ms. Ahalya Chari on the recommendation of Mr. Aftab Seth, because nobody inthe hotel or outside knew anything about him having once lived in Madras, much less hisown school. Happiness came when Selvam took me to the biggest bookstore in town
Landmark. Because a clerk gave me all sorts of information on his birth place andFoundation from the flap of the books I bought. “J. Krishnamurti, a life” and“Exploration into Insight.” Light came on.
These books would make a bed-side read for tonight. Following the written
directions, we went to the Foundation, Vasanta Vihar, 64 Greenways Road.
Wow! What a beautiful garden. I entered the temple carpeted by straw mats allover. Came an elderly-looking woman, Ahalya Chari (85) to greet me. Being one of J.
Krishnamurti’s disciples, her eyes glared as she talked about her old mentor. We
chatted for about an hour about the great philosopher and his whereabouts. She
suggested strongly and with her impeccable English that I stay with her and hercolleagues as long as possible while I’m in Chennai. Why not! Putting body and soul
together, I put mind and spirit together.

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