What is My Story?

What Is Your Story? My Unstructured Journey through life.Like that of Michael Singer’s, -was a Surrender Experiment.

Once we got the two shots for COVID-19, we decided to break the COVID-19 quarantine and meet some friends. We decided to meet our common friends at Scranton, Pennsylvania. For the last few years, we have made it a point to meet at least once a year at some common destination. This year it was our close friend’s house in Scranton. During the first week of May 2021, we made a road trip to Scranton. Our friends from New York also joined us for our weekend gathering. We were about five families for the special lunch meeting. Post lunch, we started gossiping. Like in any such gathering, topics covered were not structured or planned. One topic led to another and finally ended up in discussions of extraordinary events in life. When it came to my turn, I mentioned about some extraordinary events that occurred in my early life. Some of these events I have described in a post of August 2014, titled “Fear of Death and Search for God.” In that essay, I had described about my short quest in search of God Realization and how it ended up in some disappointments. I concluded that essay in the following words: “To my great surprise, I found that there was a guiding hand behind all my efforts. I finally realized that it was stupid of me to try to find a Guru, as there was one all the time with me, guiding in all my efforts. There was no way I could have performed any of my acts or achieved any success in life, without his will and help. Finally, I reconciled to the idea that I should not go looking for Gurus anymore. I have decided to do my best in life as and when he shows the way. God willing, I will realize whatever it is that one should realize in life.”??

When I told these earlier experiences of mine, one of the couple who had joined us for lunch recommended, -that I should read two books on this topic and indeed offered me to loan these books. The books that they suggested for me to read were: 1) Apprentice to a Himalayan Master (A Yogi’s Autobiography. 2010), by Madhuranath Ji (Mumtaz Ali Khan) or Sri M. ?2). The Surrender Experiment: My Journey into Life’s Perfection by Michael A. Singer. 2015. As suggested by my friend, I read both these books. The book by Sri M was pretty much like what was earlier written by Swami Yogananda: The Autobiography of a Yogi 1951, with an introduction by Binay R Sen, former Ambassador of India to the USA. Preface for this book was written by Evans Wentz of Jesus College, Oxford, who had met Sri Yukteshwar Giri the guru of Yogananda in Puri, Orissa. Indeed, it had lot more miracles and materializations of past gurus, including the deathless guru of Himalayas, Babaji. I also had read Living with Himalayan Masters by Swami Rama (1978). Yogananda and Sri M shared similar experiences and could almost command the presence of their guru’s by just meditating. But Sri M’s experiences goes beyond one guru. He and his guru even meet Shirdi Saibaba and have discussions. In?my opinion these are gifted individuals with some extraordinary life experiences. As I have mentioned in my previous writings, I too tried in my own simple ways to interact with some living Gurus and finally gave up.

According to the New York times, Singer tells his extraordinary story of what happened when after a deep ?spiritual awakening in his twenties, he decided to no longer let his personal fears and desires dictate his life but to simply surrender to what life had in store. The radical decision to follow life’s flow led Singer to both the pinnacle of success and the brink of disaster. Singer leads readers through a life filled with a seemingly miraculous flow of events.

His book for the first time gave me the needed strength, belief, ?and courage to examine some of the events in my life and trace some parallel experiences. To me, in a small way following the flow as Singer explains without resistance, - took me through a journey that no one could have predicted. I am not going to write a book about my experiences but will elaborate on few events that illustrates how the flow can lead us to different pathways. When met with such a choice, in my case at least I strongly believe that there was an internal force that helped me through, -similar to the voices that Singer mentions in his book. To give a broad picture of my unstructured life, I must start from the very beginning. I was born in Tumkur a small town in the State of Karnataka, India. My father who was a pleader lived with his sister in a joint family set up. From the day one, it was a carefree life with very little responsibility or an iota of desire for any kind of achievements. The days from K through 12 was spent in changing schools and avoiding mathematics at any cost. It is not that I was so ignorant that I could not solve problems, but I was told by my elders that I was no good at mathematics. Therefore, I just believed it and made no attempts to learn any problem solving.

At high school I tried my best to avoid mathematics, but I could not do so. I had to get some private tutorials to pass the exams. In college, I selected Chemistry, Botany and Zoology (CBZ) and avoided mathematics. Yet because of my carefree nature and lack of any desire to make progress in education, I failed in chemistry. I should add here that many members of our joint family had failed in the two-year college finals, so it was no ‘big deal’ failing in the intermediate exams. Unfortunately, I had to take the exams again and spend a whole year at home not doing anything constructive. In those days we had only two-year college in Tumkur. Once I passed my college exams, I had to find a four-year college to complete my degree courses. Then a miracle occurred. The two-year college ?in Tumkur, was made to a First Grade College. However, this was?a new experience for the faculty as well, - to teach the same courses (CBZ) that we learnt last two years, for an advanced degree. ?I was able to complete my BSc degree in Tumkur. Once I completed the degree course, the question of what to do further came up. Since I come from a family of lawyers, the first choice was a degree in law. I applied for admission at Law College, Bangalore.

During that summer my cousin (Later Father-in-law) TNR who had studied at the India Institute of Science, Bangalore, took me to the campus and introduced me to the HOD of Genetics department,- Dr M.K. Subramanyam (MKS). Dr MKS told me that Genetics is a dying subject, and I should pursue my post graduate studies in the emerging field of Entomology. At that time, another cousin Shama Rao (HKS) who was working towards his PhD in Agricultural College in Poona, got me admission in the Department of Zoology, Poona University. The department was well known for Embryology but since I was advised by the famous professor MKS that I should study Entomology, I opted for Entomology. There was no trained entomologist in the department. As it happened in Tumkur, -the faculty had to learn to teach entomology for the first batch of entomologists. Thus, starting from Tumkur, my unstructured education continued. Once I got out of Poona, I was confronted with the same problem as before. What next? Again, I met Dr MKS at the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) for advice. He suggested that I should join a newly formed Commonwealth Institute of Biological Control (CIBC) and learn newer aspects of applied entomology. I joined CIBC as junior assistant scientist.

This organization was run by Dr V. Prabhakar Rao with special grants from international funding agencies under a commonwealth cooperative research program. Me and my associate a botanist (now famous professor in Delhi University Dr P.S, Ganapathy) were given office spaces (a wooden stool and a bench) in the garage of the building and were asked to fish out the sugarcane borers from the sugarcane stem for research. The researcher who oversaw this project was none other than the daughter of Dr. V.P. Rao. She just was a college graduate and had no post graduate degree. Anyway, the only remarkable thing that I can remember and keep telling after half a century is that I was responsible for introducing ladybird beetles to the USA. I used to collect them in the foothills of the Himalayas in Dalhousie breed them in the laboratory and ship them to the USDA laboratory at Beltsville, Maryland. Now I live in Maryland after my retirement from the University of Minnesota, and one of these days should visit this laboratory. I was not very happy about my learning experience at the CIBC and therefore, resigned from my job. At the suggestion of some friends, I applied for Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) an intelligence gathering government agency. I attended an interview in Hyderabad and was selected seeing some of my sports certificates. In Tumkur days, I was the President of our Football team. At the Poona University I used to go to the University sports events to watch and if they were short of a player, they would ask me to join them. Though I was no good a sportsperson I had certificates of participation in Soccer, Hocky and Tennis. These certificates impressed the interviewers. Anyway, I did not join the training program for the intelligence post.

By that time, my cousin (TNR) who had introduced me to IISC, suggested that I should apply for a Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) fellowship to work towards a PhD degree in Food Sciences at Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore. My unstructured education continued for another four years at CFTRI. My mentor and HOD of Infestation and Pesticide Control (IPC) Division ?was a microbiologist. I was given a project to develop an insect repellant for stored grain pests using the food preference of stored grain pests. I did publish two are three articles during this time. But I was frustrated because I was not even able to get registered for a PhD program. University of Mysore would not recognize my post graduate degrees from Poona. Poona University was not willing to recognize CFTRI as an educational degree giving institution. Although my CISR fellowship was meant for a degree program, I was not able to pursue my research towards that goal. I tried to get a transfer to Regional Research Laboratory (RRL) at Hyderabad. I met Dr Naidu, HOD of the Toxicology program. He had a senior researcher by name Dr Osmani who had number of students working towards their PhD. I was also assigned to her. I was not very much impressed by the type of work they were doing. All students were working on the same topic,- effect pesticides on the heart beet of cockroach. It somehow did not impress me.

Just the thoughts that I also can pursue research towards PhD came from my friend PS Ganapathy, who was my colleague at CIBC. He was at that time trying for admission to various US Universities. His close friend H. G. Sharath Chandra (Present Chair of IBAB, Bangalore) had already left for the USA (1962) for higher studies at the University of California, Berkeley. I had a second-class degree from Mysore university and couple of degrees from the University of Poona. At that time getting admission to an US University without a first-class degree was unthinkable. I also did not want to take graduate admission tests. Thus began my quest for getting admission to a?PhD program in the USA. Since I had worked with grain science technology division, I wanted to specialize in stored product insects and return to CFTRI, Mysore, for my future research career. At that time the only school that offered courses in grain science and milling technology was at the Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas. From 1959 to 1965 I wrote letters continuously to one professor at KSU, - Professor Donald A Wilbur, considered father of ‘stored grain pests. Now K State has established an endowed fellowship in his name,-“Stored Product-Protection.” They also have published a history of Stored-Product Entomology at Kansas State University (100 Years).

In the six years period minor miracles occurred that facilitated my acceptance at the KSU. Two things that accelerated the process was a recommendation from a former student Dr Lallan Rai, who was a student of Prof. Wilbur. The other was promise by my close friends to support my education in the USA [(Dr (late) Mruthyunjaya (MJ), Dr K. A Ranganath and Dr Patrick Tauro.]

Professor Wilbur sent me an admission letter but did not promise any studentship. I was disappointed as I did not have any funds to spend on my education. All that I had was the funds to buy a one-way ticket. Those days Government only gave eight dollars in exchange. ?Despite this situation, I took a chance and wrote to Prof Wilbur that my friends have agreed to support my education at K State. He was very much impressed by this gesture from my friends and decided to offer me USD 180 as monthly stipend. He was also impressed by the fact that I had expressed my desire to return and serve at CFTRI, Mysore. In view of this expressed purpose, I was totally exempted from taking any courses in Entomology and allowed to take courses in Grain Sciences.

Hear I should write about a small miracle. As a test for competence, all foreign students in the Entomology were advised to take a five-credit course in Biochemistry the first semester. I was not aware of this. The course was taught by Prof. R K Burkhard. He was a very tough teacher and hardly anyone would get an ‘A’ in his class.?Luckily for me, he went on a sabbatical that semester and the course was taught by a new faculty who was quite liberal. I got an ‘A’ in biochemistry and that surprised our faculty, and I was considered a very smart student.

By this time, you have got some idea of how unstructured my education was. Changing schools at every opportunity to avoid learning in the K though 12 classes, avoiding mathematics, failing in chemistry during the two-year college program and wasting an entire year to retake the chemistry. Two-year college becoming a four-year degree college. Joining law college and giving it up at the ?advice of the ?famous scientist from IISC to join the emerging field of Entomology. Since the new four-year degree courses were taught by the same faculty who taught the two-year courses there was not much of new higher education. Similar thing happened at the University of Poona. Opting for Entomology a brand-new program and lack of qualified faculty to teach this new emerging field. Work experience at the CIBC and CFTRI which again were not complementary. All these frustrations drove me out of country to change the scene. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, I did well in the first semester and found out that taking classes and getting good grades was not that difficult. But when it came to research it was altogether a different story. Prof Wilbur had no PhD degree. He was a great teacher and had established himself as a tenured professor in the Department of Entomology. Now I had to develop enough research material to get a PhD degree in three years. Just before, I left India I had met a scientist at CFRTI (Dr Srivastava) who had advised me that I should use all the emerging analytical tools and technologies to get my data for the PhD degree. I also was introduced to Biochemistry 101 by Dr P. R. Krishnaswamy, who had just joined CFTRI as a Pool Officer (Post Doc). He used to offer lectures to some of us during weekends. He had already sown the seeds for future explorations in biological chemistry.

For my thesis work I was to study the biology of a wheat borer by name?Rhizopertha. My professor’s suggestion was to determine the loss of weight from feeding of lesser grain borer. I carefully weighed single kernel of wheat to determine the loss of weight in the kernel due to feeding by the larvae and adults. This part was not at all interesting. I had to find something more exciting but had no real guidance as to how to go about it. My thesis title was Biology Behavior and Frass Analysis of Lesser grain Borer, -Rhyzopertha Dominica (F). I do not even have a copy of my thesis as I left Kansas before submitting the final copy, -my mentor submitted the final copy. All that I was left with was a copy of the dissertation abstract(Vol. XXX (4), 1969. Order No. 69-13, 858). Interestingly the frass analysis included ?determining glucose, uric acid, starch, damaged starch, amino acids (automated analyzer), nitrogen, lipids (Gas Chromatography), and volatile components by IR spectral analysis. The first post-doctoral fellowship that I accepted was with Dr Larry Keeley at Texas A & M University, Department of Entomology. He was an insect physiologist and he hired me to isolate and purify virions from polyhedrosis virus of cotton for use as biological control agent for cotton worms. After isolating the virus and characterizing ( Electron microscopy) I moved to the University of Minnesota and joined Prof. Phillip Harein, an extension entomologist. At this laboratory I was to isolate fungal toxins from stored grains for further studies. In both the places the individuals who hired me had on knowledge of the subject that I was supposed to be working for them.

After these two fellowships I moved to Minneapolis and joined the then famous Pharmacology group to do research on drug metabolizing enzymes. I also learnt new methodologies and we published our first article?on isolation of aflatoxin by a homemade high pressure liquid chromatograph and did the mass spectral characterization of these toxins. I also did some work on pesticide metabolism by P450 enzymes. We studied the effect of fungal toxins in an animal model. Just at this time I found an opportunity to head an analytical laboratory for Dr. James G White an electron microscopist. I was hired as an assistant scientist to follow his work on ultrastructure physiology pathology of platelets with biochemical studies. He already had published several hundred articles on blood platelets. I worked with him for four decades and together we published over 1000 research articles related to blood platelets. You can find all the articles listed in my book on platelets ( Manual of blood platelet physiology and pharmacology. Ed: Gundu H.R. Rao, Jaypee Medical Publishers, New Delhi, India 2019). Just like I did not get structured education I did not get structured research training as well. Come to think of it, I really do not know how I managed at all. All that I can say is just like Singer I followed the ‘flow’ and did not hesitate in participating in the ?adventure of a life full of new experience. It did not matter whether I was qualified or not.

During my tenure at the Department of Pathology, Medical School, University of Minnesota, I was fortunate to interact with a variety of researchers. Dr White and ?I were the recipients of National Institute of Health research grants for more than three decades. I made sure I participated in one or more of international scientific conference every year. I was able to establish contact with national and international scientists working in the allied areas of science. In the 80s I started taking short sabbatical leave of absence from the University of Minnesota. The first sabbatical was with John W Eaton, a molecular anthropologist. We obtained a travel grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1980 to visit India. We visited 21 laboratories in India exploring opportunities to develop bilateral research programs. The second sabbatical was with Professor Neville Crawford, ?HOD Biochemistry, Royal College of Surgeons (RCS:1880), Nuffield College of Surgery, Lincoln Inn Fields, London. It also housed Institute of Basic Medical Research, University of London. ?RCS provided a platform for foreign medical graduates to prepare for their examination for Fellowship to RCS as Fellows. The next sabbatical was at the King’s College, Department of Surgery and Pharmacology at Denmark Hill in South London. The fourth sabbatical was at Thrombosis Research Institute, Chelsea, London. In both these institutes I worked with Professor Sir (late) Vijay Kakkar, Professor of Vascular surgery. After his demise, I had the honor to write his biography at the invitation of Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. The fifth sabbatical was to work at the Institute of Human Physiology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy. I spent a summer teaching Platelet Morphology, Physiology, and Pharmacology at the invitation of Professor(Late) Gabriella Doni.

Kakkar, Vijay VirBiography, Oxford National Biography.

(1937–2016)

• Gundu H.R. Rao
• https://doi.org/10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.111547
• Published online:?09 January 2020

?By this time, I was ready to move my activities to India. I was invited by Dr. Khalilullah, Professor of Cardiology, G. B Pant Hospital, New Delhi. He sponsored my application to a United Nation sponsored special program called, “TOKTEN” (Transfer of Knowledge Through Expatriate Nationals). I visited India in 1990, 1991, 1992. During these visits I spent time at the following institutions, G. B Pant Hospitals, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Escort Heart Institute, New Delhi. Post Graduate Institute (PGI), Chandigarh, PGI, Lucknow and PGI Chennai. I also spent some time at the Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology, Manipal Heart Foundation, Bangalore and Sri Chitra Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum. ?In 1993 I obtained a grant from the International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis (ISTH) to organize a workshop in India on Thrombosis and Hemostasis. The amount I received was USD10,000. I used these funds to start a professional society in Minnesota: South Asian Society on Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis (www.sast.org). I organized international conferences in various cities in India from 1994 to 2010 ( History of SASAT). SASAT sponsored publication of ten books on this topic. After my retirement from the University, I dissolved SASAT and moved to Maryland to spend time with my daughter and grandchildren. I also started spending several months in India to develop IT supported, web-enabled integrated healthcare and medical devices.

In 1990 I had an opportunity to invest in a technology company. My cousin and myself purchased used equipment from Sam Pitroda, the IT wizard. We moved them ?to ?a site in Electronic city, Bangalore. I am the founder-Director of Karnataka Hybrid Micro Devices (KHMD www.khmdl.com). I also started couple of other companies, AayuSmart and Indus Biomedical Associates in Bangalore to support my activities. During my tenure at the University of Minnesota, I was adviser for many biomedical companies including 3M, St Jude’s Medical, ?Medtronic Inc, Surmodics, ATS Medical Inc, Boston Scientific, PlaCor Inc, QuestStar Inc, SUBC Inc etc. Furthermore, I was the recipient of NIH grants for the development of medical devices. IBM ?and SUBC Inc of Rochester, Minnesota, were my collaborators. We developed a devise for rapid detection of bacteria in blood bags. We also developed a devise to monitor platelet activation. At the same time we tried to buy a patented technology to manufacture glucometer strips in India from Quest Star Medical, Eden Prairie, I had arranged a meeting between Arthur ?Kydd of Quest Star and the chairman, MD of KHMD ( Professor Dwarkadasa). Our negotiations failed. Therefore, we decided to develop our own glucometer at the KHMD. We hired Mr Antony Aneel ?Joseph to work on this project. He did develop a working prototype but was not approved by the then MD of KHMD. Despite this set back, Aneel and I developed proposal to the Indian Council of Medical research to develop a noninvasive glucometer using near infra-red sensors. The proposal was funded, and we filed for an Indian Patent (2756/CHE/2012A). The proposal was sponsored by the National Defense Research Foundation (NDRF) of DRDO, Bangalore. I was invited to join NDRF as an adviser for Medical Devise Development group and elected as Fellow of Indian Institutes of Engineers (IIE), Bangalore.

So, what is my life story? The road map that got me where I am today. Of course, why would anyone be interested in reading my story anyway? As I have mentioned in another essay I sometimes feel like an imposter. On the other hand, I feel the urge to write it so that there may be many others, who are frustrated, do not know how to go about selecting their options, who do not want to make the next move, -for all such individuals I would like to give a few words of encouragement. As mentioned early on ?in this blog, I had zero interest in learning, zero encouragement in early life and had no great dreams. I just followed the suggestions, advise of others all the time. As mentioned, many a times, my education was not structured. Having said that, I must mention that at the CFTRI I had the opportunity to interact with a multidisciplinary staff, attend weekly seminars on a verity of topics, and get some exposure to biochemistry and other disciplines. Since I had to work ?most of the time with my seniors who had no expertise in the areas of research that I was to do for them, I had to run around and learn enough to cope up with the minimum knowledge to survive day to day. At the University of Minnesota, I got an opportunity to meet and interact with a multidisciplinary staff as a faculty member of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. In 1980 I and Dr John Eaton visited India under a National Science Foundation (NSF) Travel Grant. We visited 21 different laboratories and gave lectures to promote our department and to seek collaborative opportunities. In fact, one of the young investigator that we met during this visit now is an established distinguished scientist (Dr Undurti Das) in Seattle, Washington. We were able to establish contacts at CMC Vellore, PGI, Chennai, PGI Chandigarh, PGI Lucknow, CDRI, Lucknow, ?IISc Bangalore, KEM Mumbai and Malaria Institute, New Delhi. My sabbatical at Royal College of Surgeons, Kings College London, Thrombosis Research Institute, London, and the University of Padua helped me develop international contacts and establish collaborative research projects.

An unexpected grant from the ISTH helped me develop a professional society (www.sasat.org) and organize international conferences in various cities in India. We were able to expand our collaborative activity and publish more than ten books on cardiometabolic diseases under the aegis of SASAT. As part of this effort, I served as the adviser to the presidents of North American Thrombosis Forum (natfonline.org) and International Union of Angiology (France) www.angiology.org. My activities related to SASAT, NATF and IUA introduced me to national and international experts in multiple disciplines. These contacts helped me to a great extent in recruiting articles for the books that I was able to put together. The research grants from the NIH for medical devise development gave me courage to explore this exciting area of emerging technology. My visits to Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) encouraged me to develop interest in biomaterial sciences, sensors, ?biomedical research, and tissue engineering. I recruited Dr Thomas Chandy ?from SCTIMST to work with us at the University of Minnesota. My adventure continued even after my retirement from the University (2012). I spent four months every year in India trying to develop IT-supported, web-enabled Integrated Healthcare.

In the year 1999, I developed a chronic unidentified fever and chill. Despite all the advanced diagnostic capabilities we had at the U of M, no real diagnosis was made as to the cause of this chronic low-grade inflammation and frequent episodes of fever. Due to the stress, I also developed hypertension and type-2 diabetes. Steve Jobs founder of Apple, mentioned once, “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” He further states, that “Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking that you have something to lose. There is no reason not to follow your heart. I have?been more productive since that time than any time prior to that time (See the list of books published).

Even though I did not have a structured education or research training, I was able to lead a productive life. It was not the fault of teachers, educational institutions, or the research guides. It was a strange twist with the destiny. My destiny dictated a way of life that followed some unseen force or a guide that led me in this pathway. Having said that I must give credit to everyone who helped me through this journey. Despite an unstructured professional journey, the accomplishments that I achieved was the result of unique opportunities that came in my way and the very many players that influenced my progress in life. Friends and relatives who encouraged and guided me at every step contributed significantly for my professional success. Unexpected opportunities like startup of a four-year college in Tumkur, advice a famous professor from IISC, Bangalore, obtaining admission at the Poona University without my own effort, joining CIBC in Bangalore, working at the CFTRI with a CSIR fellowship. Moving to the USA, continuing in Entomology specialization, slow transformation to research in biomedical sciences, -working as a faculty of Pathology, Anesthesiology, Biomedical Engineering, and the Heart Institute at the University of Minnesota, helped me develop a multidisciplinary research capabilities. Continuous funding from the prestigious National Institutes of Health, USA for more than three decades gave us a unique opportunity to do some applied research in atherothrombosis and acute vascular events.

My participation in multidisciplinary research helped me to establish contact with pioneering researchers like, Earl Bakken (Medtronic’s Inc), Walton Lillehei (St Jude’s Medical), Professor Nelson Goldberg (cGMP -researcher), John W. Eaton (Molecular Anthropologist), Marion W Anders (Pharmacologist), and my mentor, Regents Professor (Late) James G. White. Unexpected support from the United Nations Development Program helped me visit India as a Senior consultant to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), under a unique exchange program called Transfer of Knowledge and Technology by Expatriate Nationals (TOKTEN). I visited India three years in a row for 12-weeks-time to explore possible bilateral collaborations. These visits gave me a tremendous opportunity to establish contacts in medical community. When I obtained a seed grant from the ISTH, it helped me to establish a professional society (www.sasat.org) and organize international conferences in various cities in India. The contacts that I developed during this period in India and abroad, helped me to put together comprehensive?monographs on topics of interest in -cardiometabolic diseases. At the beginning of this essay I wrote, “Like that of Michael Singer’s, - my journey through life was a Surrender Experiment.” In a way it was more than that, in the sense, several individuals and events contributed to my overall success. It was indeed not my success really. That is the reason I feel at times that I am an imposter (see imposter syndrome) and should not take any credit for the successes in my life.

Finally, I would like to close this personal essay with a note from Steve Jobs’ ; He said in his Stanford commencement address in 2005, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma- which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown on your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

‘We need to talk’: ways to prevent collaborations breaking down’ Nature:15th June 2021

Forget ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’-today’s science is all about collaboration,

?argues a?Nature?editorial Research collaborations are the lifeblood of science.

Rao, GHR: Handbook of Platelet Physiology and Pharmacology, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, 1999. ISBN # 0-7923-8538-1.

Rao, GHR, V.J. Kakkar: Coronary Artery Disease in South Asians: Epidemiology, Risk Factors, Prevention. Jaypee Medical Publishers, New Delhi, India, 2001.ISBN # 81-7179-811-X.

Rao, GHR, S. Thanikachalam: Coronary Artery Disease: Risk Factors, Pathophysiology and Prevention. Jaypee Medical Publishers, New Delhi, India. 2005.ISBN # 81-8061-450-6.

Rao, GHR, L Jagannathan, T Eastlund: Handbook of Blood Banking and Transfusion Medicine, Jaypee Medical Publishers, New Delhi, India, 2006.ISBN # 81-8061-718-1.

V. Mohan, Rao GHR: ?Diabetes Mellitus (Type-2): Epidemiology, Risk Management and Prevention. Jaypee Medical Publishers, New Delhi, India. 2007. ISBN # 81-8061-936-2.

Rao, GHR, E Kalidoki, W. Leong. ?J Fareed:?Management of Antithrombolytic and Thrombolytic Therapy. Kontentworkx, India. 2014. ISBN # 978-93-83988-01-3.

Rao, GHR, Reddy M: Handbook of Biotechnology, Bioengineering and Biomedical applications. NDRF (DRDO), Institution of Engineers, Bangalore. 2015.

Rao, GHR: Handbook of Coronary Artery Disease. MacMillan Medical Communications, Springer Healthcare, New Delhi, 2017. ISBN # 978-93-80780-96-2.

Rao GHR: Blood Platelet Morphology, Physiology and Pharmacology of Blood Platelets. Jaypee Medical Publishers, New Delhi, India 2020. ISBN # 978-93-5270-202-2.

Rao GHR: Clinical Handbook of ??Coronary Artery Disease. Jaypee Medical Publishers. New Delhi, India. 2020. 978-9389-188-301.

V. Mohan, Shekar MA and Rao GHR: Current Trends in Diabetes: Focus on South Asians. Jaypee Medical Publishers, New Delhi, 2021. ISBN # 978-93-90020-17-1.

?Rao GHR: Managing Editor; Special Landmark Issue: Cardiometabolic Diseases (Frontiers in Biosciences: https://www.bioscience.org), CURRENT PROJECT.

?Acknowledgements:

?When I started writing this essay, I just wondered whether I really thanked all the individuals, who played an important role in the extraordinary journey of my life. Anyway, it is better to mention their names and offer my sincere thanks now. As far as the members of my family, I must thank my cousins, Dr. TNR and Dr. HKS for their constant help and continued encouragement and my wife Yashoda who has stood by my side all through my adventurous journey. Dr MKS of IISC, Dr. Leela Mulherkar of Poona University, Dr. P. S Ganapathy of CIBC, Dr. S. K Majumder, Dr P. R. Krishnaswamy of CFTRI and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. Those who helped in my post graduate efforts include, Dr Lallan Rai of American Cyanamide, India, Dr. Mruthyunjaya, Dr. K.A. Ranganath, Dr Patrick Tauro and Prof. (Late) Donald A. Wilbur of KSU.

During my post-doctoral years, Prof. Larry Kelley (Entomology) of Texas A & M University, Professor Phillip Harein of University of Minnesota (Entomology), St. Paul, MN. Prof. Marion Anders of Department of Pharmacology. At the Medical School, U of M, Twin Cities, Prof. (Late) James G White, Dr John W Eaton, Dr Jon Gerrard, and Dr Ellis Benson. For my international activities, Dr Shiv Kumar Sarin, Dr. Khalilullah of G. B. Pant Hospitals, UN Development Program/CSIR (TOKTEN), India, National Science Foundation (Travel Grant), USA. For my international collaborative activities and sabbaticals, - Neville Crawford, HOD Biochemistry, Royal College of?Surgeons, London, Prof. (Late) Vijay Kakkar, Professor of Surgery, King’s College London, ?Dr Gabriella Doni, Professor of Human Physiology, University of Padua, Padua.

For my professional society (www.sasat.org) activities, International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis (ISTH), Dr Dipika Mohanty, IIH, Mumbai, DR Naresh Trehan, Escort Heart Institute, New Delhi, ?Dr S. S Iyengar, Cardiologist, St Johns Medical, Bangalore, Dr S. Thanikachalam, HOD Cardiology, Sri Ramachandra Medical Collee, Chennai, Dr Raju, HOD Care Hospitals, Hyderabad, Dr C. N Manjunath, Director, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology, Bangalore. For SASATR international activities, -Professor Jawed Fareed, Department of Pharmacology/Pathology, Loyola University, Chicago. Prof. Samuel Goldhaber, North American Thrombosis Forum (Harvard Campus), ?International Union of Angiology, Paris, France, Dr Ravi Kasliwal, the current President, SASAT, India. For medical device development activities, Medtronic Inc. St Jude Inc, PlaCor Inc., ATS Medical (Dr Pederson), 3M, Boston Scientific, SUBc, Inc. ( Dr. Dan Ericson), IBM Rochester. STTR Grants from NIH. For IT healthcare activities in India, Dr. Dwarkadasa, Suresh Kamath, Naveen Shenoi, Anil Joseph Antony, Dr Mallikarjun Reddy (NDRF/DRDO), and the major IT companies of Bangalore and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Gundu H. R. Rao, Emeritus Professor, Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota. 12500 Park Potomac Ave, Unit 306N, Potomac, MD 20854. June 22, 2021.

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