Namasté to all...Peace, love, prayers and wisdom to all, victims, families, witnesses, etc...I deeply sympathise with those who have been afflictedby these cataclysms, in America as well as in India, those who have been in the recent past (tsunami) and who will be in the future... My statement might sound shocking to some, but, as a non-American who has lived in Europe, Africa, America and Asia, I am always surprised by the reaction of the majority of Westerners to this kind of catastrophies in which they have collectively consciously or not, through their lifestyle, beliefs and behavior, a great part of responsibility...Yet, as a continent, America (North and South) houses some of the wisest people still alive on Earth.. I am refering to Native American wise souls. They have survived like the few remaining indigenous people on the planet, extermination, forced removal and/or integration, humiliation and so on... However, despite all, they have managed to keeep their wisdom intact, alive and inspiring.. If any of the average American people (and most people in the world) could take the time and have the humbleness to listen and learn, they would find out, without waiting for the dominant religions' representatives to tell them about "the Day of Doom" or "Armageddon", that what is currently happening all over the planet at an increasing frequency, has been forecasted a very long time ago indeed by those wise Native men and Women, in most tribes and parts of the continent, I am thinking most particularly about the Hopis and their prophecies...These people, like all Natives people on Earth, learn at a very young age to honor and respect their natural environment, the natural cycles of the Earth, their bodies, themselves and one another...We all could learn so much from them, be it in America, Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia...These are the people who should be called forth as leaders and guides in this age of turmoil..Yet, the prevailing and fast spreading mindset of greed, arrogance, ignorance and destruction (both of the self and of nature,which is one and the same thing) under the guise of so-called "democracy", "economic growth", or or "development" has led to the multiplication of these disasters and to the vanishing of forests, pollution of air and water and to the disappearance of countless species, all which are nothing but the reflection and manifestations of the spiritual, moral, mental and physical sickness of humanity at large. If any of these negative and tragic events could have a positive impact, it would be the raise of global awareness, solidarity, compassion and its subsequent effect, transformation...We are indeed living in very challenging and exciting times... And we ought to seize this opportunity for upliftment and re-humanization of our "species", one of many, and of re- evaluation of its role on this planet, which should not be one of dominion over the forces and elements of nature but one of cooperation and co-creation with them...Thanks for Mr Chopra (and his daughter) for being one of the cataliysts of such change, and for reminding us the infinite power of prayer, of balance and of awareness as well as to encourage us to respect and to honor the beauty and wisdom of nature, of our higher selves.... LOVE

In a way it doesn`t matter what we do or do not do. Katrina is President Bush`s God`s response to attacking Iraq for it`s oil. The great equalizer will always bring balance.

It doesn't seem to be much of an equalizer when Bush is still sleeping comfortably...

Isis - I was thinking of the Native Americans too. About how they moved from place to place, a sort of a dance with nature, so they could avoid calamaties. I don't agree with you that their culture is intact. The damage done to their culture is irreparable. What we see and experience at the pow-wows is probably just the tip of the lost iceberg.

Well, I don't think the comparision is relavant. It just looks as if Mumbai has learnt from it's past worst booldy riot experiences.