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Opinion
Health of Nations
by J.
Ajithkumar
When Adam
Smith wrote the classic work ‘Wealth of Nations’, he never
anticipated the health of nations to become an important factor at all.
But the advent of something like HIV, which in itself is not a killer
but an enabler, has changed everything. The sociological, economical and
even psychological impact of AID syndrome on the collective will of
individuals, communities and even nations is something unimaginable a
few decades ago. Just like 11/9, which changed the whole concept of
terrorism and security within USA, the lurking fear of a situation in
which we are defenseless even against common cold has changed the common
man. There is no guarantee for even the wealthiest nation to survive the
twenty first century if they fail to take care of the health of its
people and the nation as such. And there is no fool proof way to do that
even if one has the abundance of wealth.
The AID
syndrome has the unique feature of attacking the wealthiest and poorest
with equal impunity. Though they are at the extreme ends of the wealth
line, quite surprisingly their characteristics almost match when it
comes to values and morals. If for the poor it is because they have
nothing more to lose, for the filthy rich it is because they do not care
about anything. In the process both end up with identical results from
wine, women and wealth. The latest curse of God in the form of AIDS has
specifically targeted these two sections of the society in almost all
nations. While WHO succeeds in getting statistics from the poor sections
in all countries, they are totally in dark about the richest in rich
countries. If one can get the accurate overall data, it is sure to point
to another syndrome of having maximum incidence of AIDS in filthy rich
countries.
Health of Physique
Whenever we talk about physical health the first picture that comes to
our mind is that of the outstanding ‘black’ achievers in the track and
field events. Be it America or Europe, the color of athletes at the very
top are invariably black. But does it mean that Africans are the
healthiest and most likely to survive the onslaught of AIDS? This is
definitely not the case. The whole continent of Africa is under
extinction if there is no sufficient help from the world community. True
or not, AIDS originated in Africa and it questions the way of living
that exist in that continent. It may the cradle of civilization, but
something has definitely gone wrong. Did the mixing of bloods create the
problem? Or is it the mistake of missionaries who tricked the innocent
natives to ape them in lifestyle? Only an impartial study by an African
scientist can get us the answer.
Yet another factor that would test the physique in its war against AIDS
is the inherent strength of immune systems of different races and
communities. We often tend to make a mistake while judging the health of
muscular Africans vis-ŕ-vis skeletal Asians. Mahatma Gandhi could go
without food for 21 long days whereas any of those muscular athletes
will die or commit suicide in 15 days time. What is it that makes the
difference? One of the key factors is definitely the fact that
Vegetarianism is more natural than non-Vegetarianism. Nature is supreme
and it supports natural processes much more than unnatural ones. The
fate of communities and cultures that eulogize and encourage
non-Vegetarianism will definitely be put to test by the natural forces
that have unleashed AIDS on humanity. We should not be surprised if none
of the meat eaters survive to witness the twenty second century.
Health of Mind
There is a famous saying that highlights the importance of character in
comparison to wealth. If wealth is lost nothing is lost, if health is
lost something is lost but if character is lost then everything is lost.
The character we are referring to here is precisely the health of our
minds. If soul, mind and body make up each living being, the hierarchy
of relevance to our existence must be in the same order too. While our
souls are something beyond our own control, the other two are definitely
within our control to a large extent. Our mind can control our body but
not vice versa. The way to control our mind is by way of training the
mind itself. Many great personalities have demonstrated in our midst
that it is possible to tame and control our minds. By sheer
determination and perseverance, great minds have come to reside in not
so great bodies. The case of Sree Ramakrishna and Mahatma Gandhi proves
this point beyond any doubt.
When we look for ways to tone up our mind, we should first get clarity
on what constitutes a healthy mind. We perceive our mind in the form of
our thoughts, actions and words. Only a healthy mind can generate
healthy thoughts that can lead to healthy actions. Man is yet to
discover a scientific method of controlling the mind. But we always knew
that our value system and culture have tremendous control on our own
minds. The chances of a learned and cultured man committing a heinous
crime are very remote (though not zero). So what we can do to improve
the health of our nation is to target our children and youth for
developing the right values. An open mind receptive to all ideas from
world over with a firm footing on our proven family values and culture
is what can take our nation forward. Health of mind can achieve far more
than what we can achieve with the wealth we can accumulate.
Health of any nation is a collective characteristic of the people who
make it up. Heritage India has always emphasized the importance and
freedom of human mind for centuries. Our culture, religion and even the
concept of God is centered around this uniqueness. It will be no
boasting or arrogance if we ourselves come to a conclusion that one of
the very few nations that will succeed in taking on the AIDS juggernaut
will be India. It should also be borne in mind that it will be possible
not because of our large number but because of culture and heritage. The
inherent strength of our cultural values have withstood so many
epidemics, invasions, holocausts and natural disasters that another
Maurya or Gupta like empire after Kalinga war is a distinct possibility
in twenty second century.
December 17, 2006
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Opinion
The Week of December 17, 2006
India: The Shining, The Suffering and The
Pampered by Dr. Subhash Kapila
Modus Operandi of Empires by Gaurang Bhatt, MD
China: Balancing Power Relations in South and
South-East Asia
by Col. Rahul K. Bhonsle
Special Economic Zones: Boon or Disaster? by
Ramesh Menon
Manmohan Singh's Dangerous Declaration of 2006
by V. Sundaram
Health of Nations by J. Ajithkumar
Is there non-discriminatory Rule of Law in India?
by V. Sundaram
In Their Right Minds by Linda Light
Ethnic Issue Overtakes Nepal's Class War? by
Rita Manchanda
Looking Ahead in Gujarat by Manjari Sewak
Look Who's Talking! by Manisha Parekh
World Brotherhood: Love and Peace through
Poetry by Shernaz Wadia
Science, Arts and Literature for Human Culture
by TA Ramesh
River from the Land of Mystique Spells Doom
by VK Joshi
Keeping Thyroids in Order by Fehmida Zakeer
HIV/AIDS Bill -Pushing the Legal Envelop by
Kajal Bhardwaj
Papiya Ghosh: From JS to an End by Dr. Amitabh
Mitra
Hope for Battered Women by Marlinelza B. de
Oliveira
Homework for Men by Mini Sharma
The Perversity of Periyarana by V. Sundaram
A Shadow from Past Life a Story by Manasi Dutt
Romancing the Desert by Attreyee Roy Chowdhury
A Rebel of Innocence - 3 by Ashwini Ahuja
Roads in Chennai by Glory Sasikala Franklin
My God, What Have You Done! by Dhiraj
Bhimji Raniga
Sensationalism and the Media by Rajesh Talwar
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