In the Mumbai edition of TOI today, there is an article on Dharavi achieving herd immunity. 

Population, 1 million, in three square kilometres. Almost everyone has been exposed to the virus. Very very very few have died. The article of course does not report that. My guess is ( based on extrapolation of another report on this a couple of months back) that it is less than five hundred  deaths. Which is as much as any other ailment. Finally, people have to die of something.

The way to develop antibodies to any virus is to get the virus, or to get the vaccine. 

The conclusion should be obvious. At least to me they appear obvious.

The virus is not deadly. There are  news articles highlighting  cases with horrible outcomes, which distort the picture in our minds. If you highlight all road accident cases which result in being wheelchair bound for life, you will stop driving, but what is the probability?

Indians are more immune. In my view, this is due to the fact that we eat fresh food most of the time, and the fact that we are exposed to all kinds of viruses all the time. The latter makes slum dwellers more immune. It is also but common sense that wearing masks and isolating oneself is going to reduce your exposure to all kinds of viruses, and thus your overall immunity.

By definition, any allopathic drugs are harmful, vaccines more so. So vaccines are justified only for extreme ailments like small pox or polio. This point can be debated, as to where to draw the line, but it is definitely not wise to take vaccines for Flu annually. That will end up reducing your overall immunity. But that is exactly where we are heading.

All viruses mutate. The body is used to handling this over millions of years of evolution. But this same argument is being used to say that one needs to take annual covid shots, and, why am I not surprised, bundled with your annual flu shots.

So we will do that, and we are getting more and more into takeaways and processed foods, and soon we will lose our immunity. Then we will be scared of every floating germ out there, and wrap ourselves in bubbles.

While the people in slums will thrive!

RUNNING FROM MORTAILITY

Elixir of immortality,

Where art thou? Thou art sorely missed,

The world is floundering, beyond hope,

Death is in the air, taken wing!

Is the answer to isolate,

Or jab a few poisons in,

Every new threat that percolates,

Is out there, demanding to come in!

When was the world any different?

Were viruses non existent?

Why this worldwide panic then,

Death comes! If not this then something else!

How we wish we could run away,

Seclude ourselves in little caves,

Seal the entrance from death's sway,

But  is not life meant for living?

I would rather see the sun and wind,

Be out there, mix with fellow men,

Let Death approach  when it will,

Let it find me, not when I am hid!

Magic potions do not exist,

But we like to believe they do,

Man in his new found arrogance,

Still cannot escape mortality's reach!

Virus Protocols

New mutation of virus!

The corona virus has mutated and is jumping from person to person through the air, and through all surfaces that people touch!

The vaccine is unfortunately obsolete! It was developed for the old strain!

New rules have been announced by several governments. 

It is no longer safe to touch anything.

It is not safe to breathe.

It is not safe to step out.

It is not safe to meet.

It is not safe to go anywhere.

It is not safe to come from anywhere.

All unhealthy people are at risk.

All healthy people are a risk.

Several companies are developing "isolation pods". These are wooden caskets six feet in length,  three feet in width, and two feet in depth. You need to get into one and go underground. You will be told when to come out. 

All "isolation pods " shall maintain social distancing and be buried six feet apart. 

There are three categories of isolation pods - silver, good  and platinum.

Silver customers will get only a music system. Gold customers will get cable tv connection. Platinum customers will have bigger caskets in which it will be possible to sit up.

Bookings are on, for the caskets! Rush!

Proof that the world is going mad

An article on today's ET says that Britain is thinking about sub-zero interest rates.

Try as I might, I am not able to wrap my head around how negative interest rates work or how they are desirable. 

It is a peculiar situation where we see either asset prices going up , like in the stock markets, or yields dropping, like in the rental real estate market, both of which are two sides of the same coin. 

Stock prices are more and more controlled by money flows, including cross border carry trades. Underlying strength and cash flows of the business seem to be a peripheral consideration.

Bond yields are dropping. Share prices are shooting up. The world is teetering between an unjustified  irrational fear of  covid and an equally unjustified irrational euphoria that vaccines will actually result in better health.

Every VC and PE fund, and the local paanwala , is thinking of an IPO,  to dump their shares on an unsuspecting public while the going is good.

Classical  economic theory holds that we all need to spend money , and consumption drives growth. That was anyway an unsustainable model with the flaw lying in the definition itself. Now we have a situation where a certain set of the population is earning the same as before, with jobs that are virtual and spending less in the real economy since they are shut up inside the prisons created by their own minds, while another section, the one that works in the real economy, is losing jobs in real life and having to learn how to deal with virtual life with even schooling going online.

Where will this end? Like during the buildup to the 2008 crash , no one wants to get off the merry go round so as not to miss out on all the fun, till it comes to a sudden crash. The current situation is similar, though there is nothing merry about this round!

Lovely times indeed ☹️

A few points to remember as 2020 draws to a close

1. It is considered acceptable to bare any part of your body except the mouth and nose

2. Humans think they are plants. They are breathing in their own exhaust inside the mask, presumably to recycle the air

3. The moral rules of Social distancing are the same as temperence.

Everyone preaches it, no one really follows it, but everyone pretends that they are following it

4. Those who have never touched alcohol all their lives are rubbing themselves with it all day

5. Those who bother least about masks and about social distancing , like the agitating sardarjis, seem to be healthier and more aggressive than ever

6. Panic can cause peculiar forms of blindness, where people fail to see the obvious.

7. Wallowing in mass misery gives a peculiar feeling of comfort

8. Extreme phobia triggered by calculated misinformation portents to be the New Normal

9. Extreme hope generated by dubious interventions are the path to Recovery

10. Mass hypnosis actually exists 

The Covid scare is unjustified

All sample studies indicate that 25 percent to fifty percent of the population have antibodies. This means they have been exposed to the virus without showing  symptoms and without their own knowledge.

The total deaths as a percentage of "exposed" people is infinitesimally low. This proves beyond doubt that all of us should just go out and get the virus. But they are obfuscating, using bad logic, and using extremely deceptive arguments to still say that we need to try to prevent the virus from coming to us.

It is almost impossible to prevent. Most people who got it, I am sure , tried social distancing, masks, etc.

It reduces immunity to all the germs out there , if you do not practice "exposure"

Lack of deep bresthing is a crime against the body and against nature.

Vaccine will not help. Tomorrow, there will be newer and newer strains of the virus coming up.

Like any allopathic drugs , vaccines are harmful and should be taken only for deadly illnesses, not for viruses which keep mutating, and there are millions of them out there.

It is futile to wear masks, but people do it because it gives them a feeling that they are at least doing something.

Rules for Health Part 2

RULES FOR HEALTH, PART 2

 

Thy Food is thy medicine, thy medicine is poison

 

Humans are omnivores with the physiology of herbivores. Our alimentary canals are deigned like those of grass eaters, with long lengths to digest the roughage. Meat-eating animals  on the other hand, have short digestive passages, since meat putrefies faster and needs to be pushed quickly out of the system.

 

However, as we evolved from being monkeys collecting food from the trees to hunting on the plains, man developed the ability to digest meat. Pastoral peoples developed the ability to digest milk; not all races have milk as part of the diet. Eskimoes subsisted mainly on a diet of raw meat. Hot regions gravitated towards more spices in their food, and colder places towards bland food.

 

People fail to appreciate the importance of food in our overall well-being. The modern tendency of counting "calories" and "nutrients" has completely obliterated the wisdom of knowing what is healthy.

 

Food is a mechanism to transfer "vital energy" from one organism to another. The Indians gave this vital energy the name "prana" and the Chinese called it "Chi". Like electricity that powers a machine, the prana powers the body of all living beings, courses through it, and gives it life.  The sages of ancient cultures like India and China recognized the need to cultivate prana. The entire science of Wellness, from time immemorial,  is geared towards nurturing and enhancing prana or chi. This includes the rules of daily regimen (called 'dinacharya' in Ayurveda), sleep, diet, medicine, exercise, and even the arts like martial arts, dance, music, etc.

 

Western medicine views food in terms of reductionist paradigms like calories, vitamins, etc. The entire science of nutrition taught in colleges today, and the "medicine" that doctors study is devoid of any understanding of prana, which is what sustains us. Which is why it is unlikely that any good advice on health will emerge from the allopathic medical body of knowledge. Once in a while, they do get something right, but that is more out of luck than any real understanding.

 

 

Humans and "food" have evolved together for thousands of years. The body has learnt to recognize "whole foods" and "natural foods" and is in a position to digest and assimilate the nutrients contained in them.

 

Fruits and Vegetables are the primary food sources for humans which are most healthy. Among vegetables, some are recognized to be especially beneficial like green leafy vegetables, and carrots.  Grains came much later on the evolutionary timeline; in fact grains were initially used only to feed animals. They entered the human diet only about 6000 years ago. They are not very good for health in terms of nutrients, but they have a lot of slow burning calories which helps in sustenance. With increasing population pressures and with man moving to agriculture grains became a staple. From a health perspective, the use of grains in the diet needs to be minimized.

 

 

Salt is absolutely essential to the human diet. Land-locked people without access to the sea used to specially import salt, since they recognized it as necessary for the human body. Salt has about 80 trace elements which are necessary for the human body, in proportions that are ideally suited for digestion and assimilation. The story of salt is a very good example of how processed foods have helped to destroy our health.

 

What we are told is salt, is today nothing but processed NaCl, with all the minerals and trace elements removed. To add insult to injury they say they are adding iodine! And of course they add other chemicals to make it free-flowing, look white, etc. So what is the table salt you buy, is it salt at all? It is effectively something that looks like salt, tastes like salt, has some great properties that don't belong to salt (it is not hygroscopic for example, and is thus free flowing; is very very white), but what exactly is it? It is salt with all the beneficial trace minerals stripped out, and some artificial chemicals pumped in. We still think it is salt because we are all products of a reductionist educational system which teaches us that salt means NaCl – Sodium Chloride, something that can be manufactured in a test tube if you combine sodium and chlorine together!  And we are then schooled to believe that "pure" NaCl is good; the natural kind has too many "contaminants"; that the added artificial iodine (which is anyway useless) is "needed" for us; that manufactured salt is "standardized", and so on, and we are indoctrinated into believing that what we need is salt manufactured in a factory, and not the natural variety.

 

So when we say we are eating salt, what we mean is we are eating a chemical that is called salt, not salt at all. But through some magic of the thought process, we think that the chemical slop that we are eating is better than the original! Hail modern science!

 

Salt is just one example, at the most basic level, of processed food.

 

Similar are the stories with

 

"refined" oils,

 

"pasteurized" milk,

 

"white" sugar,

 

food with "added nutrients",

 

"fortified" foods,

 

 "vitamins" in a tablet form,

 

children's "health" drinks,

 

breakfast cereals,

 

 ready to eat foods,

 

any food that lasts for months,

 

 "irradiated" food,

 

 biscuits,

 

 two-minutes-for-cooking wonder foods,

 

foods that last for a long time without spoiling,

 

foods with added preservatives,

 

foods with added chemicals in order to imbue them with various good "qualities",

 

 

 any food that is advertised as good for you (remember advertising needs money, and money can never be made selling you a commodity, it needs to be made by selling you something "special" which by definition is bad for health),

 

zero-calorie alternatives,

 

"sugar-free" alternatives,

 

And a host of other abominations. We can write a separate article on each one of them, but it will only be an increasing tirade of litanies against the modern food industry.

 

All the above foods have lost their prana. They do not enhance health, they destroy it.

 

Rather than go the negative route, proving why each of the above is not good, it is better to go the positive route and see what is good for health. That is a shorter and more direct route, and is better for clarity and understanding.

 

We shall do that in the next part of this series.

 

Meanwhile, you can empty your pantry of all the "foods" listed above. You did that, and there is nothing left in the pantry? Ha Ha, we are off to a good start then.

 

Have a great weekend.

 

Dinesh Gopalan

25 July, 2020

 

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. But perhaps that is why you may do well to listen to me. When it comes to health, never listen to doctors is the right principle to follow.

 

(Posted to my blog http://www.dineshgopalan.com  )

 

Link to earlier articles in this series:

 

Rules for Health Part 1: https://www.dineshgopalan.com/2020/07/rules-for-health-part-1.html

 

 

Rules for Health Part 1

Rules for health are quite simple.

 

1. Sleep, get enough of it

 

2. Dinacharya (Daily Regimen):

 

2.1. have an oil bath at least once a week. Along with bath, do jalneti.

 

2.2 get fresh air and sunlight into your life. Avoid AC as far as possible. Step out without a mask and breathe deeply. Wear masks only where it is mandated.

 

2.3 . Corona is a flu, period. You will get it, develop the antibodies, and will be immune. Same as for all things out there. Ignore the fear and the panic around, a fearful mind and masks will make your body less immune. There is a small chance you will die of corona, welcome it, life is nothing without some uncertainty.

 

2.4 Walk. Preferably in the sun.

 

 

3. DIETARY RULES

 

3.1. Have food . Processed factory sludge is not good.

 

3.2 eat only those things that spoil but eat them before they spoil. Manufactured goods with long shelf life are not food.

 

3.3 buy only what grows, this includes vegetables, fruits, rice, dal, etc. Maggi does not grow. Biscuits and ready to eat foods don't either.

 

3.4 cook, or buy from the local auntie-ji who cooks at home. Eat fresh food within hours of cooking.

 

3 5. Let your diet consist predominantly of whole foods.

 

3.6 gradually reduce meat in the diet. Once that is done, gradually reduce the grains specially rice and wheat this is a long term multi year prescription.

 

3.7 ensure the stomach is at least half empty at all times, even after a full meal.

 

3.8 eat light at night, or not at all.

 

3.9 do intermittent fasting.

 

3.10 avoid or reduce: white sugar , pasteurised milk, refined oil, processed salt

 

3.11 have instead jaggery, organic milk or no milk at all, cold pressed oil, and raw sea salt or Himalayan rock salt. ( To be continued)

TODAY I PLEDGE

To step out boldly into fresh air, without any impediments

To breathe freely God given air, and partake in his bounty of light and freedom,

To give up all fear of fellow men and irrational things,

To keep myself strong to withstand what comes my way,

To not be fearful of everything floating in the air,

To face the world with equanimity,

To accept that total safety is a mirage,

And to live life to the fullest,

This I pledge to follow today, and everyday till the day I die

Dinesh Gopalan 

24 July, 2020

Time to lie low

Just saw an  article on likely bank NPA's in the near future, due to covid related economic devastation.

 There are a lot of worms in the woodwork, ready to pop out. This is true across the world. 

The markets meanwhile have been defying the laws of economics, common sense, and gravity. A lot of this has to do with liquidity that is being pumped into the system being diverted to assets , rather than to real production.

There is a high probability of some kind of collapse in the markets, in the next few months. Continuous QE's will result in a shock sometime, covid could be that catalyst. 

The central banks' response of more QE  to all economic problems nowadays , is being copied by the people for  the covid problem: mask the problem, don't know solution, waiting for a miracle vaccine which will worsen  the organism's health further,  and pray! And do nothing to improve the health of the organism anyway.

The world is living on vain hopes and prayers. Nature's law is merciless, but just.  Any organism that ignores the fundamental principles of health, and goes against immutable natural laws, will face the consequences. This applies as much to economies as to individuals.

My prescription for the near foreseeable future:

Lie low. Shift investments to debt bearing zero credit risk, yield is immaterial. Consider buying some gold. Eat well, sleep well, exercise, step out into the sun, be happy. And you don't have to bother with the mask, really

Meeting a Visitor

I am just imagining a scenario in a typical apartment complex nowadays

Visitor arrives to meet resident

Visitor stopped at gate

Visitor steps out wearing cloth mask, fibreglass visor, and plastic raincoat

Visitor's car sent to car wash

Visitor sent to fumigation room

Visitor walks thru fumigation room

Guard waits with temperature gun

Guard Points gun at visitor and shoots

Meanwhile, the resident

Wears mask, wears visor, wears full length plastic raincoat, picks up stick

Fumigates self, mask, visor, and stick

Looks around to see if no neighbours are close by

Uses stick to press lift buttons

Goes to main gate to meet visitor

Stays four feet away and greets visitor warmly 

Visitor steps back two feet since his doctor has told him six feet distance is needed 

Meeting is conducted, and concludes

Visitor steps into car, leaves

Resident goes back , but does not enter house immediately

His wife opens the door, rushes back, and locks herself in. Resident discards plastic raincoat, rubs hand with with sanitiser kept at main door, and walks to bathroom on his toes to ensure minimum contact with the floor.

Keeps rubbing himself with soap till half the bar disdolves, as advised by health ministry

Then rushes to his room and locks himself up

Both he and his wife heave a sigh of relief for having concluded this adventure without any mishap

( Posted to my blog 

http://www.dineshgopalan.com )

Hum Honge Kamayab for Covid times

A special motivational song to keep everyone motivated in these difficult times.

We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall overcome some day

Oh, deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome some day

We'll walk out in the sun

We'll walk out in the sun

We'll walk out in the sun some day

 

We'll go meet all our friends

We'll go meet all our friends

We'll go meet all our friends some day

 

 

We'll feel the wind in our face

We'll feel the wind in our face

We'll feel the wind in our face some day

 

We are waiting for the germs

We are waiting for the germs

We are waiting for the germs to go away

We shall all be free
We shall all be free
We shall all be free some day

We are not afraid
We are not afraid
We are not afraid some day

We are not alone
We are not alone
We are not alone some day

The whole wide world around
The whole wide world around
The whole wide world around some day

We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall overcome some day    

ओय क्या कर रहा है तू ?

ओय क्या कर रहा है तू ?

- डिशवॉशर ऑर्डर कर रहा हूं, आजकल काम   वाली  को आने से रोक दिया।

और ?

- आय रोबो भी 

वह क्या है?

- पोचा करने वाली मशीन ! 

अचानक क्या हो गया ?

- यार क्या बताऊं एक्सरसाइज करने के लिए टाइम ही नही मिलता , इन सब चीजें आ जाएगी तो तोड़ा टाइम मिलेगा 

ओ ,, कुछ समझ में नहीं आ रहा ... लेकिन खैर, और बता 

- वह चलने वाली मशीन है ना, क्या कहते हैं उसे  .... ट्रेडमिल! वह भी ले रहा हूं , और रुखने वाली साइकिल 

रूखने वाली साइकिल?

- हां वह क्या कहते हैं उसे ... Stationary bicycle

अच्छा, बाहर सड़क में नहीं  चल सकते हो क्या?

- नहीं

क्यों?

- कारोना फैली हुई है।

अच्छा । तो बाहर कब आएगा ?

- पता नहीं 

ठीक है, घर में बैठे रह .. happy cycling, stay safe!

Bye!!

दिनेश गोपालन 

२० जुलाई २०२०

ओय बाहर आ!

ओय बाहर आ! 

 नहीं आ सकता! 

 क्यों नहीं? 

 कॉरोना! 

 ठीक है कल आ जा । 

 नहीं आ सकता। 

 क्यों? 

 कोरॉना ! 

 तो कब आ सकता है? 

 पता नहीं!

 क्यों?

 मैं सेफ नहीं हूं! 

 तो कौन सेफ है? 

 जो पॉजिटिव है! 

 तो पॉजिटिव कैसे बन सकते हो? 

 बाहर आने से! 

 तो आ जाना

 नहीं। ज़िन्दगी भर मैं बाहर नहीं आऊंगा! आज कॉरॉना फैला है, कल और कुच्छ आएगा! 

 ओह! मुझे कुछ समझ में नहीं आया, लेकिन खैर कोइ नई,,, stay safe! 

 Bye!!!

 दिनेश गोपालन १९ जुलाई २०२०

THE CHRONOLOGY OF DISEASE

PART A

1. Everyone eats well, sleeps well, exercises, shits well, and is happy

2. Everyone is healthy

3. Life takes over. Everyone loses sleep, eats junk food, stops moving, shuts themselves in a closed office, has constipation, and lots of tensions.

4. Immunity is compromised.

5. Take medicines, suppress the symptoms

6. The medicines further screw up the system

7. Immunity is further compromised.

8. Take more medicines.

9. Immunity plummets.

9. Every flu out there gets you

10. Take vaccines

11. Vaccines kill whatever immunity is left

12. Take more medicines

13. Unable to sleep well , eat well, move well, shit well, or be happy

14. Go back to step 3. Repeat loop.

PART B

1. Shit hits the fan! Flu virus run amock.

2. No resistance left. Hide!

3. Those who are fine cannot step out too! They may be carriers!

4. Their immunity also drops.

5. Herd immunity is destroyed.

6. To come out , everyone needs a vaccine!

7. Those who don't hide, or take the vaccine are a threat to the others!

8. Force everyone to take vaccine!

9. Everyone's immunity drops.

10. Herd is happy .

11. Go back to step B1. Repeat loop.

PART C

1. No one has any immunity.

2. There are a thousand vaccines for a thousand illnesses.

3. Everyone is forced to take more vaccines, and more medicines.

4. Those who don't cannot get school admissions, cannot get jobs, and cannot travel.

5. Go back to step C1. Repeat loop.

The herd is happy.

THE END

Corona - To shelter or not to shelter?

( posted to my blog: http://www.dineshgopalan.com )

1.     Immunology 101: Exposure generates immunity.

a.     The body is a colony of co-existing germs, trillions of them. Germs are necessary to our existence – bad germs are taken care of by the body's immune system which handles the load is unless it is too high or the germ is too deadly. The day our body stops handling what is out there, we are dead. It is  moot, whether, the day we decide to stop handling anything out there and hide in our homes, we are already dead.

 

2.     There is a cost to being too gentle, there is a cost to being too kind.

 

a.     When we go out and face things, we become tough and strong. When we shelter behind closed doors, and masks, we become weak. That is because exposure is key.

 

b.     The contradiction here, is, how far do I get exposed. Should I walk into battle as a sixteen-year old armed with a machete – the Red Indians would have said yes. Should I go out as a child wherever I want, without informing my parents, and get exposed to all kinds of people - our parents and grandparents would not have bothered, the paranoid parents of today would die of shock if their child is missing for ten minutes.  Different times call for different approaches, but you will agree with me that any extreme is not correct.

 

The other extreme is to not step out at all. You will then not die of accidents, not die of diseases (ha ha ha, that's what you think)… You will not do so many bad things nor have so many bad outcomes because you are not doing anything at all.

 

There is an old person in the house who is weak. She is susceptible to every virus out there. So the only way to keep her from getting that virus is for no one in the family to step out, stop all life, in fact it is good if no one in the family breathes! You know and I know that that is not an option. But then the world is behaving as if it is!  Why is it not an option? Because by not stepping out at all, we are all making out immunity weak, and we are making ourselves more susceptible to all diseases out there.  Let us agree in this case that complete disregard for safety is not good, but complete protection is not possible and more detrimental than the result that is trying to be achieved?

 

The germs are there in the air all around us. We need to develop and maintain a strong immune system, so that our body fights them and develops the required antibodies.

 

There are millions of flus and viruses and germs out there, our body takes care of them all without even our knowledge. Once in a while, a very very deadly one comes along like small pox, and you go take a vaccine for it. Like all allopathic drugs, vaccines are harmful, in fact more harmful than the normal drugs. Not taking a vaccine for even small pox is one extreme. Taking a vaccine annually for flu is the other extreme, like it is encouraged to do in the US nowadays.  So what is the mid-ground? I propose that it is to take vaccines only for the rarest of the rare cases, and extremely deadly illnesses.  By following any other option, you are weakening your own immunity, and it is a never-ending race to the bottom.

 

 

           

3.     How deadly is Corona virus? Not very deadly at all, not even close to what it is being made out to be. The fatality rate as a percentage of total population is very low, in the region of 0.2 percent (this is ballpark, too much accuracy is not required, since the points I am making are broad). You may of course disagree that 0.2 is "very low", or you may look up and tell me it is 0.4 – that is fine.  

 

4.     Most people will get the virus. Unlike other flus, this one is an extremely fast spreader. So from the government's point of view, it will swamp available infrastructure. From a personal point of view, this should make no difference.

 

 

5.     A lot of percentage statistics being thrown around are needlessly alarmist, since they are of fatalities / no. of people tested. This is not a good benchmark, since nine out of ten people will not even show symptoms.

 

6.     It is highly debatable whether asymptomatic people will transmit the virus.

 

 

7.     It is almost certain that children and younger folks will not die of it.

 

8.     Older folks with "comorbidities" will succumb in greater numbers. But then, that is as it should be. They will succumb to anything in greater numbers, when our turn comes, we will too.

 

 

9.     From a personal point of view, what is the best strategy? Given the above facts, it is best to go out and get the virus, let the body fight it, and develop the required antibodies. This requires you to not wear a mask, not use sanitizer, not isolate, and be out there.

 

The alternate option is to do all the above , wear a mask, sanitize, etc. Why would you want to do that, considering the following:

            In any case, there is no guarantee that it won't spread to your near and dear ones. This virus is almost impossible to control, it slips t very easily through all these measures

 

            For a low-guarantee outcome, you will be compromising your own immunity by reducing your own exposure. If it is for a very brief period, that is fine. But, for how long will you do this? Till the vaccine comes? Which is till when? Till next year? Even when the vaccine comes, are you sure you want to take it (remember it has its side effects like all allopathic drugs, vaccines are deadlier in side effects) for every flu out there? For every variant of corona? For every future flu out there? For every variant of every future flu? With each shot reducing your own immunity in the process? Is that the path you want to head towards?

 

10.  You will agree it is not an open and shut case that everyone should wear masks and shelter in place. Maybe you don't agree. Fine, you will agree there is at least a case that exists for not doing these things?  

 

Then why is society forcing me to wear a mask when I do not want to? Why is it forcing me to stay at home when I do not wish to? To protect me! Or the old people! Or all of us! I am not, firstly, convinced of the necessity or wisdom to try to do so, and, secondly, given the nature of this virus, I think it will not work anyway.

 

11.  All the arguments that I have advanced are from the individual perspective. What should the government do, in this situation? Well, this article is not intended to address that. This article is purely about what I would do as an individual.

 

12.  On balance, my response to the virus is that, given the risks posed by the virus, the costs of avoiding it, and the impossibility of trying to avoid it in any case, I have decided that as an individual the best option for me is to not wear a mask, not use sanitizer, and not restrict my own movements. I have been following that prescription form Day 1. This has nothing to do with my personal level of immunity, or lack of it, it is what I think everyone should be doing.

 

 

You are of course free to make your own choice, the facts are out there, but you may choose to give a different weightage to each factor.

 

13.  What is your preferred response to the virus and why?

 

Disclaimer: I am neither a doctor, nor an immunologist, nor a politician. Which is good, since it looks like they are out to destroy the world as we know it.

 

 

Dinesh Gopalan

16 July, 2020

PS: Some of my friends have told me that these constant rants of mine, with respect to Corona,  against the mad mad world is getting tiresome, so I am not going to post anything on this topic from now on. Such pious resolutions never last, but I will try my level best!

Rules for Health: Part I

Rules for health, are quite simple. 1. Sleep, get enough of it 2. Dinacharya (Daily Regimen): 2.1. have an oil bath at least once a week. Along with bath, do jalneti. 2.2 get fresh air and sunlight into your life. Avoid AC as far as possible. Step out without a mask and breathe deeply. Wear masks only where it is mandated. 2.3 . Corona is a flu, period. You will get it, develop the antibodies, and will be immune. Same as for all things out there. Ignore the fear and the panic around, a fearful mind and masks will make your body less immune. There is a small chance you will die of corona, welcome it, life is nothing without some uncertainty. 2.4 Walk. Preferably in the sun. 3. DIETARY RULES 3.1. Have food . Processed factory sludge is not good. 3.2 eat only those things that spoil but eat them before they spoil. Manufactured goods with long shelf life are not food. 3.3 buy only what grows, this includes vegetables, fruits, rice, dal, etc. Maggi does not grow. Biscuits and ready to eat foods don't either. 3.4 cook, or buy from the local auntie-ji who cooks at home. Eat fresh food within hours of cooking. 3 5. Let your diet consist predominantly of whole foods. 3.6 gradually reduce meat in the diet. Once that is done, gradually reduce the grains specially rice and wheat this is a long term multi year prescription. 3.7 ensure the stomach is at least half empty at all times, even after a full meal. 3.8 eat light at night, or not at all. 3.9 do intermittent fasting. 3.10 avoid or reduce: white sugar , pasteurised milk, refined oil, processed salt 3.11 have instead jaggery, organic milk or no milk at all, cold pressed oil, and raw sea salt or Himalayan rock salt. ( To be continued)

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON THE CORONA

We are afraid of germs, of the air we breathe, of fellow human beings, of stepping out -  all the things that keep us alive.

 

We now revel in fear, mistrust, paranoia, defensiveness, exclusion, isolation – all the things that kill us from within.

 

We have given away our freedom to choose, to the government. The government has taken away our freedom to move freely, breathe without impediment, and step out – all in the guise of protecting us.

 

All governments justify their excesses by saying that it is for the benefit of the populace.

 

My personal freedoms are being taken away in the name of protecting the weaker among us – in the process, they ensure that I become weak too.

 

There are two schools of thought about vaccines – first, that they are good; second, that they are bad. Which is fine. What is dangerous is the third school of thought that is sought to be imposed – that, if I don't get vaccinated, I am a threat to the others. Never mind if I think it is harmful for health, not only for me, but for all of us.  Like vaccines, ditto with masks.

 

Someone has ensured that worldwide, people are shit scared, and hiding from an invisible bogey-man. First, comes the fear. Then, the obedience. Lastly comes control. We are being primed.

 

Human beings are no worse than sheep. They are easily led.

 

It is very amusing how the meanings of things have changed. Virtue now consists of being scared; bravery consists of hiding; and patriotism consists of doing nothing and ensuring that other people hide.

 

The Bhagavad Gita has to be rewritten. Do your duty, Oh Arjuna, by packing your bows, putting your arrows in the cupboard, getting off from the Chariot, and sitting at home. And don't forget your mask! Your Dharma lies in doing nothing, your good karma in not infecting others, and punya consists of convincing others to do the same.

 

Politicians are smart. They have convinced us that they are saving us, while denuding us physically, mentally, and economically.

 

Everyone is busy hiding. From what? For how long? What will hiding achieve? What will be the situation a month from now, three months from now, that does not exist today? For what day of deliverance are we waiting? No one knows.

 

It is the media's dharma to keep sensationalising things, distorting facts, and misinforming us on a sustained basis – to feed into all our negative emotions. The current negative emotions the media is feeding into is Fear.

 

All faith healers, of every religious hue, are waiting for Corona to go away, so that they can start healing people again.

 

Don't listen to experts. Half the times their knowledge is suspect. Half the time, they have other axes to grind. And half the time, they lie. Three halfs add up to one and a half. I know.

 

Whenever you are fed with any information or opinion or advise, always pause and consider – who stands to benefit? This caution applies to advice about Corona too.

 

There is no slavery worse than slavery of the mind, where we willingly suspend our critical thinking faculty, and hand over decision making to "those who know better".

HOW TO KEEP YOUR IMMUNITY STRONG - PART 2

Further to my article yesterday, there is one more topic left to cover, that is Dietary Supplements or Tonics to keep your immunity strong.

 

Ayurveda is wonderful in this respect, and offers several general immunity boosters which anyone can take any time.  Most of the suggestions given below are from Ayurveda:

 

1.     Dasamoola-arishtam: This is a tonic made of ten potent herbs (along with some more stuff). It is a general immunity booster. Being an arishtam, with self generated alcohol, it has been pre-digested, and hence should be taken after food. 30 ml arishtam plus 30 ml water, after food, once a day. The big advantage of most arishtams is that they taste like wine, so it is not at all an unpleasant experience to have some arishtam after meals.

 

2.     Ashwagandha-arishtam: Ashwagandha is also known as the Indian Ginseng. A panacea, highly regarded in Ayurveda, it is great vitality booster. Dosage: same as above, 30 ml with 30 ml water after meals. 

 

 

3.     Chyavanprash. General immunity builder. Being a lehiyam (ghrit / paste) it needs to be taken on an empty stomach.  There is no need to write more about this, since everyone knows about the benefits of Chyawanprash. Beware of buying the more popular commercial brands though. They are cheaper, but their quality is highly suspect.

 

4.     Giloy Juice. Juice of a single plant Amritavalli (Nectar!) highly celebrated in Ayurveda for its innumerable health benefits. One of the benefits is that it is good for people with Diabetes since it reduces blood sugar. My personal experience is it is best to take it along with a bit of honey, to balance out the drop in sugar.

 

5.     Moringa leaf powder and Alfalfa powder are loaded with nutrients. You can have them anytime, either with water or mixing them with your soup or something.

 

6.     Check out Spirulina powder also. Again, loaded with nutrients, great supplement.

 

7.     Narasimha Rasayanam: This is a substitute for Chyawanprash.

 

8.     Tulsi Cinnamon tea.  Tea made from cinnamon powder, and tulsi leaves from your home garden. Can add gud / sugar for taste.

 

9.     And, last but not the least, actually the one thing that everyone should have everyday is Triphala Churna. This is a powder made of three herbs one of which is Amla. This should be had as a herbal tea – bring water to boil, take off the flame, put in some triphala powder, let it steep for a couple of hours, then strain, and have it as a tea.

 

 

There is no need to have all these supplements all the time, or even necessarily to have all of them. But dietary supplementation, once in a while, based on the above, cannot go wrong. At best, it will improve your immunity and keep you healthy; at worst, it will do no harm. Traditional wisdom maintains that the former assertion is true, and I am a great believer in traditional wisdom.

 

While taking supplements, remember to take breaks. Never take any supplement for more than forty days at a stretch. After that, give a longish break before starting again.