NATIONAL10 [RELIGION (Spotlight Weelky)]

Spiritual Treatment

The use of yoga to deal with the problem of drug addiction is showing signs of success

By AKSHAY SHARMA

Narendra Nath Bhattarai, who describes his post-retirement pleasure as teaching yoga, is in the front line in the battle against drug abuse. A master of the ancient practice, Bhattarai says, "Yog is pronounced as Yoga as Ram is pronounced as Rama."

He is a yoga ëguru' at Asar Sudhar Kendra, a residential camp for the treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts. "The belief that once an addict always an addict is wrong," is the theme of the camp, which Nepal Police on the June 15, 1997.

A man performing yoga : healthy behavior

Bhattarai studied in Calcutta during the Rana era. He came back trained as a stenographer and a journalist in 1951. He worked as a stenographer in the Foreign Ministry. He was appointed as a member of Nepal's first parliament during the B.P. Koirala government.

The camp's rehabilitation program includes a strict daily routine. Guards are posted to prevent the people from escaping. Asked how many people have managed to come out of their diseased habits, Bhattarai says, "Studies show that people who went through the rehabilitation program have had good results in life. Thirty to 35 percent of the patients have succeeded in quitting drugs while 60 to 65 percent have relapsed."

The objective of Asar is to give new life to a very sensitive part of society that fallen into drug addiction. The objective behind Asar's new approach is to turn misguided youths into respectable citizens. The Police Family Women's Association has been running the program from September 17, 1997.

"The process of rehabilitating drug addicts was initiated by the CRC (Community Research Center) from 1991 to 1992. They picked up people suffering from drug abuse. People in prison for drug-related crimes are dealt by the Richmond Fellowship," Bhattarai says.

"Teenagers suffer the brunt of the disease. But there are seven or eight people in the 30-40 age group. The highest age we have had is 56 years. Professors, teachers, doctors have gone through rehabilitation."

The admission procedures at Asar follow a prescribed norm and it takes up to 18 months to fully cure a drug addict. An addict is usually kept at the center for six months. Visitors are not allowed for the first 30 days. After that, family members can visit from 10 am to 5 pm every Friday.

In order to maintain the discipline needed to continue the rehabilitation program, the center takes stern action against those who violate the camp's rules or those who try to run away. Admission is granted if the applicant passes the medical tests.

An admission fee of Rs 15,500 includes lodging-fooding and study expenses for three months at the rate of Rs 4,000 per month, Rs 2, 000 for medical treatment, and Rs 1,500 for the camp uniform. After that, a monthly fee of Rs 4,000 is charged.

"We teach students how important they are and make them aware of what they could do to make their lives merrier, which is the theoretical aspect," Bhattarai says. "We stress physical aspects like sports and exercise to keep the mind in tune to deal with this theoretical aspect."

Asked how he sees the western approach towards yoga, Bhattarai says, "The West has created a virtual heaven as you get everything you could ever possibly want. But there is no inner peace. Eastern philosophy is older than western philosophy. Some people have discovered yog but others have managed to exploit yog into places like massage parlors in Thamel.

"His Majesty the King's heart specialist has done many bypass surgeries through the help of yog. He wrote, ë It is ironic when eastern civilization has to copy western civilization.' He has also written that calcium clogged in blood vessels can be removed through yog."

What is it like to be in the camp? "When addicts are brought here, they have to wake up at six in the morning for exercises. They are not used to the discipline they are suppose to observe at the camp," Bhattarai says.

He is troubled by the misuse of funds by some INGOs and NGOs. "This has been a setback to our program. We have to survive on the meager amount that gets filtered to us."

Bhattarai says he feels utmost joy when he sees people who have been cured of drug addiction. " I don't go to temples. I consider what I am doing my religion."