Kumarappa OnlineStudy Special Lecture
Achieving Health and
Economic Self-
Reliance : A Gandhian
Approach
Dr. Babu Joseph
What can we do to achieve health self-reliance in order to achieve economic self-reliance? None of the statements in this presentation may be new; therefore, this is just an attempt to re-evaluate what we all know. Health self-reliance means being able to maintain one's own health without depending on anyone else. If the means for that do not incur financial burdens, then economic self-reliance on health field can also be ensured. The most important thing for this is to live in accordance with the laws of health or the laws of nature as much as possible. This is the surest way to ensure immunity and lead a healthy life.
However, before discussing the laws of nature, our responsibility to protect nature is paramount. So, let's examine what we can do about it. In what ways do we contribute towards the destruction of nature ? It is a common knowledge that we destroy nature by cutting down trees, encroaching on forests, demolishing mountains, breaking rocks, and encroaching on the seashore. We also destroy backwaters, mangroves, and swamps; through urbanization with excessive concrete buildings and other construction works. The spread of toxic gases caused by vehicles, factories, waste burning, and comforts like air conditioning is another significant threat. Additionally, the overuse of plastic, chemical toxins spread through food waste and agriculture, and chemical pollution of land, water, and air through the discharge of medical waste are all pressing concerns.
Furthermore, overeating, pollution from food waste, excessive use of water and electricity, and the loss caused by carelessness in spending electricity and water are all issues that need to be addressed.The careless disposal of food waste, instead of recycling it usefully, can lead to its consumption by stray animals like dogs. This not only results in an increase in their numbers but also adversely affects their health, causing severe diseases, including rabies. The increasing incidence of people being attacked and bitten by them, and subsequently getting affected by rabies, has become a notable consequence of our own mistake in recent times.The situation where wild animals leave the forest and pose a challenge to human life due to the inconvenience of forest life is another concern. Lastly, the current situation where climate change is making human life difficult is something that humans need to think about.
If the responsibilities of the individual and the responsibilities of the society led by the governments are not fulfilled seriously and any kind of destruction of nature cannot be avoided, then good health will be impossible for humans and self-reliant life will be unattainable.
Make the best use of Natural Resources for Health and Economic self reliance
Sunlight:
Science acknowledges that sunlight is a cost-free natural resource that is useful for maintaining human health and ensuring immunity to diseases. Sunlight is a natural resource that is most helpful in producing vitamin 'D' and thereby improving calcium metabolism, improving all physical functions by accelerating metabolic processes and above all, keeping our immune system alert. Its moderate use is an easy way to achieve health self-reliance without causing financial burden.
Air:
Air is another natural resource that can help us in all these areas of health, immunity, and treatment, provided that we can avoid pollution and ensure the availability of clean air. If we can increase the oxygen levels and ensure that the removal of carbon dioxide is done effectively, we can avoid toxicity in the blood and body through air and other means. This reduces oxidation levels, avoiding the spread of free radicals due to toxic accumulation.
Breathing exercises, or pranayama, can be learned and practiced throughout life without much financial burden, helping maintain lung health and overall well-being.Health of the lungs is one of the most important aspects for ensuring human health and strength. Therefore, it is very important to maintain its health, that is, muscle strength and functionality. One of the things that helps in this and can be practiced throughout our life without financial cost is regular practice of breathing exercises or pranayama techniques in the language of yoga.Their scientific study and moderate practice is another easy way to achieve health self-reliance without financial cost.
Water:
Ensuring clean water availability is crucial for health. Given our responsibility to prevent water pollution, access to pure water is vital for maintaining good health.
We need to drink enough water according to thirst regularly to fulfill our bodily functions, especially excretory functions. However, drinking too much water is not beneficial. Similarly, naturopathy teaches us that moderate external water applications can be used beneficially for the treatment of various diseases.
Moderate water applications at different temperatures will awaken the nerves in the body and make them more active and functional, increase blood circulation, improve the health of the organs, and promote excretion. For these reasons, we can see that water is another natural resource that helps us for achieving health self-reliance without involving any cost.
Vital Economy Theory:
It is very important to maintain moderation in everything we rely on for health, immunity, and treatment, including water, air, sunlight, and food.
The same principles as Gandhi's principles of non-violence and thrift without waste should be adopted in the use of natural resources and body energy.Wastefulness is destructive, while thrift is constructive.
Excessive exposure to sunlight, incorrect practice of pranayama, and prolonged water applications are destructive. Excessive exercise and incorrect yoga practice, overeating, over indulgence in sex, and even excessive greed and luxury are destructive.
Similarly a moderate use and thrift of body energy or life force (Vitality) is very important for health, immunity, and better treatment results. Excessive use of body energy in any form, including alcohol abuse, smoking, drug abuse, and chemical applications including medicines, are all destructive. Over exposure to sunlight, water, any other treatment methodologies or health practices including over exercise are destructive.
Over eating and prolonged under nourishment in the name of natural life is also destructive.Incidentally it is worth mentioning that even those who follow natural life and naturopathy also often commit these mistakes and suffer punishment due to their overzealousness in this regard. This overzealousness is also the reason for the recent depravity faced in the name of acupuncture and similar other things.
Agriculture:
An answer needs to be found whether the Green Revolution was ultimately beneficial or harmful to humans. If the social consciousness created in its name led to the generalization of chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides, then the role it played in poisoning food, soil, water, and air needs to be considered.
We need to study whether there was only one way to increase yields, or whether the money, subsidies, energy, and propaganda methods invested in the Green Revolution could have been replaced by organic and natural farming. Can we think of promoting kitchen gardens, small-scale and large scale farming to instill the culture of agriculture among the people at large, ensuring that the farmers be considered as the topmost class citizens in the world, at least in our country and even the bureaucrats and administrators are relegated to second place? Can Lal Bahadur Shastri's mantra of "Jai Kisan" be turned into a slogan for the entire world?
Along with increasing milk production, a subsidy system needs to be created that improves its distribution and ensures its moderate availability to the poor people and needy children. Otherwise, the poor will fall ill due to malnutrition and the milk produced will not be fully utilized and will have to be forcibly converted into by-products like yogurt, butter, cheese and endless damaging value added products like sugared sweets in large quantity. All these has to be consumed by the rich section of the society that they too will become increasingly ill.
The message that toxins transmitted through food destroy the purpose of eating should be instilled in the people, and poisoning of any food including egg, fish and meat products should be avoided, as is the case in vegetable and fruit farming. When we talk about farmer safety, we should also include those who produce any kind of food.
Food:
There is a question prevalent in society whether we should eat the food necessary to live healthily or live to eat.Up to the age of 25, we can consider the age of maximum growth. After that, it is enough to eat food necessary to maintain the healthy body that we have achieved up to that point. With regard to food, income proportional to expenditure can be made a standard. In short, it is enough to eat proportional to the expenditure due to labour.
Things are happening almost the opposite way. Eating food, which is a natural resource, without enough labour, causes obesity and related diseases. It eliminates a resource that should be available to others. Underweighted people also become sick by overeating.
People with poor digestion and metabolic disorders eat excessively due to habit, disease, or psychological reasons. They do not digest or benefit from them. However, as the food consumed is in excess there is a wastage of resources. In addition,the body uses up the reserve energy stored, to process the food one eats. This can lead to fatigue or overall health deterioration. The person may also reach a state of being in a state of not feeling well even after eating.
People who are suffering from emaciation or muscle atrophy should not continue to eat over and over again, but should receive the necessary treatment to resolve digestive and metabolic disorders, resolve those problems, and then eat nutritious food in moderation.
Thinking that it is okay to spend a little more electricity because you are wealthy, not turning off the switch on time, not closing the water tap even when you are not collecting water, especially the public tap in hotels, and workplaces, and wasting food at home or at parties are also taken as silly or simple by the civilized society.All of these can only be considered antisocial,anti-natural or anti- environmental actions that lead to resource depletion.
Food waste among the civilized people is in an unbearable act. Our society has become an uncivilized society that misinterprets and teaches wrong nutrition theory. Modern nutrition science has reached a point where a maid in Delhi used her meager income to buy her little child a cola drink daily that Sachin, the all-time icon of Indian cricket, appeared in an advertisement shown drinking the same cola commenting that it is his source of energy.
The modern youth is being sacrificed in a luxury food culture devoid of any nutritional value by being caught in the circle of advertising. The terror of giving free fortified rice, biryani and fried rice to school children is going on as an unquestionable favour though foolishness,without any hesitation, hiding the fact that real nutrition can only be obtained through natural resources and means. Let us not forget that our society is full of modern nutritionists who are acting as wholesale nutrition experts is also contributing proportionally in the increase in diseases.
The despair of the poor and the dependence of the others sectors caused by all the above are incompatible with health self-reliance and economic self-reliance. Just as the farmer says that the quality of the soil has been lost, the scientist says that the food does not have the old quality, and the dairy scientist says that the milk does not have the old quality, the quality of the air and the human beings and the babies born are also decreasing in the same way.
The increasing incidence of autism and others point to this. However, modern society is foolishly interested in hybrids and genetically modified products.
We are losing the health and economic security due to scarcity of organically grown food on virgin land,non-toxic milk, fish and meat . We must prevent this from being lost. At the same time, we must regain health and economic self-reliance by creating a society that gives top priority to the farmer.
Fasting:
There are some sayings in our society. "Fasting is the Supreme Remedy"
[Langhanam paramaushadham].
Definition of Fasting:
"Fasting can be defined as total rest- physical, physiological, sensory and mental rest, that includes voluntary total abstinence from all kinds of food solid or liquid that demands digestion, except water for a definite purpose and period "(Dr. Babu Joseph)
On fasting the body, internal organs, five senses and mind are at rest. Then the entire focus of the life force-the healing power within-the vitality can be fully directed towards elimination of toxins and repair of damages. Time and opportunity are available without any other interference to identify what repair is needed, in which part and to carry out the necessary work. The opportunity is available to excrete dead cells, oxidants, unwanted free radicals and toxic compounds and to do the necessary repair.
As the saying goes, ‘Stitch in time saves Nine’, if you start fasting on time, you can certainly achieve the cure in minimum time. As time goes by, long fasting or intermittent fasting becomes necessary.The first fasting should be done under the supervision of an experienced doctor who knows all the aspects of fasting.Fasting can be used as the cheapest and most effective treatment.Fasting also helps in activating immunity by keeping the body free from toxins.
Other magnitudes of fasting:
By learning to avoid the food that a person cannot easily avoid and wants the most, it helps in acquiring the ability to sacrifice and forgive everything else. It gives the ability to control the mind and make a firm determination to reach the intended goal.
That is how Gandhiji, without taking any other weapons against the empire on which the sun never sets, took the strongest weapon of patience and expelled them.Fasting is a safe path to achieve health self-sufficiency and economic self-sufficiency.
The path of patience of fasting can also be useful for personality formation. Gandhiji observed short fasts many times to correct his own mistakes as well as the mistakes of others. Gandhiji, who learned about fasting and natural living in 1901, was able to become a person who was useful to himself and society. The National Institute of Naturopathy, Pune, now known as Bapu Bhavan, was the naturopathic sanatorium run by Dr. Dinsha Mehta in Pune, where Gandhiji stayed for 156 days on 11 occasions between 1944 and 1947.
Exercise & Yoga:
Various forms of exercise provide more benefits to a person than one can expect. Similarly, yoga methods that should be practiced calmly with mindfulness and breath control will provide unique benefits to the body and mind. It will also help in personality development. Yoga is a health path that helps us to take our hands and lead us to health and self-reliance without any cost.
Sleep:
Good sleep is most essential for maintaining health of everyone, especially the senior citizens. Sleep is the best opportunity to resolve the physical expenses of daily life.Sleep as much as possible at night, up to 8 hours, and start the daily routine refreshed.This is what is scientifically suggested through the principles of Circadian Rhythm and Sleep Rhythm. ‘Early to Bed and Early to Rise - Makes an Individual Healthy, Wealthy and Wise’ is a very meaningful advice.
Treatment:
The treatment sector is one of the areas that is most hindering health and economic self-sufficiency. Gandhiji was not against any treatment system. The Gandhian approach was to provide the most appropriate and cost-effective treatment at the right time.
Allopathy, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, and Naturopathy all these were accepted by Gandhiji. In the books Gandhi wrote on Nature cure it is said that one should utilize the medicinal plants in one's home garden along with water, soil, massage, fasting, and diet. What Gandhiji liked and propagated the most was nature cure.
But today's lab and radiological test systems that make a doctor's skills irrelevant , and the methods of applying chemical medicines that cause severe financial hardship are not nonviolent or Gandhian. Changing faces of Ayurveda, Homeopathy, and Naturopathy, which are undergoing drastic transformation, are not in tune with Gandhi's ways. They will never lead us to health and economic self-reliance.Any medical science should be non exploitative ,non-violent, safe cure, result oriented and effective. Only that can lead to our health and economic self-reliance that Gandhiji desired.
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