Dharma In The Times Of Corona Virus – Part 2

Hahaha here is a good question from Whatsapp: is the corona virus an RSS agent??? because it seems to promote Sanathana Dharma!

Some dharmic customs practised for tens of thousands of years in Hindu homes:

1. eating with barehands
2. brushing with neem twigs
3. rinsing/cleaning not with toilet paper but water
4. ablution before entering homes and temples. until very recently we had this habit in all our homes. leave the chappals outside, no footwear within home, and washing foot before entering home. most Hindu temples, atleast the ancient ones, boast of their own temple tanks where devotees would take a dip before entering the holy places. temples by seaside and riverside had natural waterbodies where the devotees took a dip. even today this is true of India. lakhs of pilgrims take a dip everyday in river Ganga  before visiting the Kashi-Hardwar temples and visitors to those like Rameshwaram take a dip in the sea
5. vegetarian food habits mostly. even the worst non vegetarian Hindus in India cannot eat 10% of meat like a westerner or arab or Indian muslims/christians having inherited very poor appetites when it comes to meat ingesting
6. mopping the floors with cow dung, spraying of cow urine. the cow excreta being natural anti-bacterial – even today this is the scene in rural India.

   

7. maintaining bodily distance of 3 foot even at home among family members. only now it is common to see daughters hug fathers etc. never in my growing-up days.
8. ‘namaste’ the universal greeting which is also a yoga by itself. just join your palms in unison in front of your chest for a few minutes. see the vibration that reaches your brain from palms
9. school punishments of hindus and punishments to kids by parents always used to be what is patented today as ‘brain yoga’ by americans sadly. i have done even 108 for Lord Ganesha as prayers for my school exam grades. just do one and see today. catch your ears with crossed hands, do situps with knees bent lowering the pelvic to floor level. now that is brain yoga. this stimulates brain activity in kids
10. ‘food is therapy’ for hindus. our vegetarian food is laden with natural medicinal properties. for instance we add banana stem and banana flowers to our menu every week. banana stem is a natural kidney/colon cleanser that prevents stone formation. likewise every vegetable and green we have takes care of specific internal organs . most ailments/diseases like jaundice, measles etc used to be treated with greens and herbs. when i was in primary school i got measles or chickenpox. i was asked to lie separately (what you may call quarantine today) in neem leaves mat and fed neem water and neem balls. no medication. i was fine in 3-5 days to go back to school. next one week, shower with neem water.
11. this our Hindu culture is not flourishing for nothing for over 10,000 years. we are the only continuous surviving civilization in the entire world – the only native people to have bet all odds and surviving and flourishing to this day. we can live with ridicule by others who are good at nothing but talk big. we seek nobody’s approval. today my breakfast was dosa (lentils (urad dal) and rice pancake) with coconut chutney grounded with chickpeas and green chili. Lunch was snakeguard stew with lentils (channa dal and moong dal) with coconut-jeera (cumin) milk with a dash of ginger along with handpound brown rice. Plus ofcourse curds (a cup of unsweetened yoghurt but Indian curd is slightly different from western yoghurt). Dinner was whole wheat roti with the same snakeguard left over stew. midmorning snack: jackfruit slices. no coffee. evening masala chai (tea) with natural spices like bayleaf, cinnamon, cardamom etc., powdered. i know i eat richest food but the one that still comes cheapest in the world laden with natural proteins and vitamins and minerals. unfortunately, it is most underrated. we eat all vegetables and fruits : from bitterguard to snakeguard to beetroots to cabbage to carrots to cauliflower to peas and beans and raw bananas, yam, okra, greens like spinach, pudina (mint), coriander, etc., etc. we eat in general what we call ‘satwik’ food – this is what defines us hindus. this food can influence our emotional and intelligence levels cutting out aggression and infections and sharpening our brains. we hindus literally have gourmet meals at home. so sad, some call it ‘curry’ in the most derogatory way. needless to say, we add turmeric powder and curry leaves to all our dishes

    

12. hindu way of life focuses on liberation (mukthi) of the soul from birth cycle over material wellbeing and acquisitions. that is why the abrahamic races were invaders. hindu kings never had such an agenda because our goals and purpose of life is not that of abrahamics. our kings sought renunciation never acquisition. after what happened to China, it is time for the world to pause and take stock of things. what is this race for. to where really.
13. women in India were given proper rest during menstruation times. in fact were used to be quarantined for three days. ever since we women are denying ourselves this much needed rest in the name of social equality and feminism, our reproductive health has started suffering and the fertility rates have been drastically affected. hindu women (including me) wear toe rings in the second toe. this directly connects the nerve to the uterus and keeps our monthly cycle regular. same for the anklets. women’s biological needs are different from men’s and we have to respect the same
14. see the yogic postures and mudras (palm/finger postures) – all these are designed to activate our dormant/lazy nerve endings to keep us fresh and active and disease free.

    

    if you take the traditional dance forms of India like the Bharat Natyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Manipuri etc., they all incorporate the mudras and yogic postures in their dance moves. the best fitness for anyone is a combination of our Yoga with one of the traditional dances that have amazing footwork.

15. ayurveda: the natural medicinal system of India that produced those like Sushrutha, the world’s first ever plastic surgeon millennia before. absolutely no side effects. there are even cancer patients resorting to ayurveda when everything else fails. for autism, psoriasis, joint pains, etc., ayurvedic is proven best.
16. lastly cremation: hindus cremate the dead while the rest of the world buries. after cremation, entire house is washed out. no cooking in the household when there is death in the family. any hindu who attends any death cannot enter home without a shower. in earlier days, the bathroom therefore used to be outside the house premises for this reason. after attending death, hindus enter their own homes through backdoors mostly, take a shower, wash their clothes and only then mix with others. now we don’t have backdoors in urban living, yet the showering ritual on attending deaths continues. no food or drinks in the place where the dead lie strictly – not just no cooking. we burn even the deceased’s last clothes, bedding etc or throw them out. similarly quarantine of new mothers for 40 days after a birth in the family.
17. real health and hygiene is this: cow dung mopping and cremating the dead and not serving food and drinks in death and regular ablutions before entering our home and washing feet. why should we be ashamed of eating with hands or using a water faucet in our toilets instead of toilet paper. is the US/Europe the gold standard that we all have to abide by without critical review.