My Interview

Recently, a few days ago, my friend Irene Roca, editor of The Secret LaRevista interviewed me for the magazine she and me are both associated with for last couple of years. Below is the result of the interview. Rakesh was born in a small city not far from Delhi, where he has lived almost all his life, but for a few years while he was working for a Ph.D. at IIT Kanpur. His formal education was as a scientist, PhD in chemistry and Masters from Delhi University. He has taught both students and teachers in India. He has visited several countries including UK, Germany, Thailand, Malaysia, BanglaDesh, to train teachers in electronic insturmentation for chemists as UNESCO assignments. He has written scientific articles, directed and scripted videos; a series of books, published by Children Book Trust and Vigyan Prasar , an institution promoted by disseminating knowledge of Science and Technology, Government of India. Now he writes about different topics, such as science of life experiences. TS. Tell me, Rakesh, what made you join The Secret La Revista, you are not Catalan, it is not money, may it be popularity, or anything else? RMH. Well, i came to know of The Secret through Irene Roca. I have been writing for a long time, and publishing on the Internet too. In fact I have been publishing on scribd.com for more then seven years, and I had very good response too, till last year I had more then 2.5 million readers, who read

my articles. So i was 'popular' much before i started contributing to LR. But yes, it was through LR that i started knowing about Catalan and many other persons too. I got to read many more poems, about various cultures etc etc. I like to read too, and LR provides me good reading material at one site, that is something i like. TS. Would you like to visit Catalonia someday? RMH. Ohh yes, most definitely. I never knew about it, and now everyday I get to know of some very attractive places. TS. You are Indian, from a country much much bigger than Spain, much more diverse. Do you think then that a visit to Barcelona would be interesting for you? RMH. Yes, India is much much bigger, more diverse and much much more populous. I really do not like crowds, or crowded places. I think Barcelona is not crowded. Language can be a difficulty. But then living in India one gets to learn and comprehend several languages, for example besides Hindi, my mother tongue, i can fairly well understand Urdu and Punjabi, besides I had learned French And German many years ago during my University education. I am told Catalan is closely related to French. So, I believe with a little effort I can learn, Spanish and Catalan too, just enough to survive comfortably. Yes, it would be definitely a very interesting experience for me, particularly in the twilight years of my life. TS. In Catalonia, as well as in other Western countries, some people go to India trying to find their spirituality. What do you think about it? RMH. I think, it is an after effect. You know the climate in most of the western countries was much colder then in India. One had to work hard to keep alive (warm), so not much time for contemplation, as in India, where Sages (sadhus) could contemplate peacefully siting in a comfortable Yoga posture in a remote forest, with hardly any clothes in. So, much spiritual thinking developed in the Indian subcontinent, in the past. Now, the conditions have changed a lot because of technological advances. But old memories take time to fade away. TS. Lately, knowing this search, many gurus are appearing, and many of them with Indian names. What is your opinion? RMH. These Indian persons are clever business man, entrepreneurs. They know how to earn money by fooling the gullible. TS. What interests you most nowadays? RMH. Well, I have a physical handicap now, I cannot walk comfortably even for a km at a stretch. I use most of my time reading on the Internet and enjoying music. I am interested in curing my legs to the state they were about 15 years ago. There was a time, when I could jog half marathon distances daily. Nowadays i spend quite a bit of time doing Yoga. TS. The name of this magazine is The secret. Can you tell me a secret of your life, something nobody knows ? RMH. Hahaha, the secret of my life now is contentment and wisdom. But, then many of my acquaintances, would already be aware of it. Rakesh Mohan Hallen - Irene Roca