June 2001
This same distrust of people, things and nature goes deeper into a distrust of the body. This has serious repercussions on health. How your body acts or reacts has to be understood. Understanding how your body works is an art
THIS SUMMER I HAVE BEEN MARKETING organically grown mangoes that have been naturally ripened. Their aroma and taste being quite different from chemically treated mangoes, my efforts have been much appreciated. However, in the process of spreading the message of organic farming I tried to get newer sets of people to taste the difference. It came as quite a surprise that even in the building in which I reside, of the 140 flat owners only three wanted to try these special fruits. Of course I had several phone calls from people asking for specifications of the mangoes and querying how they could buy without seeing them first.
I was surprised because there seemed so little trust implicit in these questions. Not many were willing to put down Rs.300 for two dozens of mangoes without getting a quality guarantee first. And knowing the nature of the Indian consumer in particular, I wasn’t inclined to give any guarantee whatsoever.
This also made me realise how lucky I was to be in this field to be able to have such a variety of good wholesome, clean and safe food at my disposal. Yes, I have always been willing to take the risk. If someone was marketing organically grown mangoes I have always been willing to risk a few hundred bucks on them. The worst case scenario would be that I would not get my value’s worth and my money would be wasted. But on the other hand I may get a treat of rare chemical-free king of the fruits — most definitely a risk worth taking.
As I have often observed before, people will spend huge amounts on the most frivolous things. But for food, which develops the very cells that the human body is made of, there is a strange parsimoniousness which is the rule rather than exception. Vegetable and fruit vendors are subject to heavy bargaining down to the last rupee, while the same food laid out in a restaurant is willingly paid for at even ten times the price by the very same heavy bargainers. The priorities of some seemingly educated people never fail to amaze me.
LUCKILY FOR ME I NEVER GET TOO DISHEARTENED because there are always those who enjoy organically grown produce so much that they would never buy any alternative, especially substitutes for organic spice, brown rice or honey. As for the mangoes I have the satisfaction of the thanks of customers who said they hadn’t tasted mangoes like this since their childhood days.
I have said much about the glorious king of fruits in a previous article but it is worth repeating. Mangoes are not fattening, they do not cause pimples and need not be restricted to only one or two per day. Our distrust in life, in ourselves, in people and in nature makes us believe all this. Nature would not in the heat of summer produce a hot fruit. Yes, if eaten after meals mangoes may cause complications. But eaten on an empty stomach, mangoes will keep you absolutely cool and energetic through the whole summer. And its vitamin A will keep your skin clear and cool too.
Back to the distrust issue which is what this article is about. This same distrust of people, things and nature goes deeper into a distrust of the body. This has serious repercussions on health. How the body acts or reacts has to be understood. If there is no trust that the body is acting for the good of the owner i.e. yourself, then every action and reaction is viewed with surprise and alarm. This in turn stimulates active intervention. Such intervention is by way of allopathic medicines because speedy relief is of the essence. It all seems to work to a point. In the long run, however, things get more complicated. Because symptoms may subside but the cause remains buried deep within and may become chronic with all the suppression.
FOR EXAMPLE AN ALLERGIC REACTION SURFACES to inform you that something you have eaten has disagreed with you. A cold comes about to make you take some rest and to throw out unwanted mucus. A fever develops to kill germs and viruses that are threatening to harm the body. But we panic and do all we can to bring that fever down and don’t allow it to do its job. If not fought with from the start even a high fever will do its job and vanish. The body produces interferon when the fever rises to fight its enemies. When I see drugs being taken for bringing down fever I fear the interference because often that is what complicates the problem. And then the poor fever is blamed.
Even blood pressure, hypoglycemia, migraines are all signs trying to make you see and remove the cause, be it physical or emotional. Only when we begin trusting nature can we begin to see our bodies as an extension of the same nature which plans only for perfection. Understanding your own body and how it works is an art that can make you fearless and happy to be alive.
For this you have to be aware and consciously and patiently watch your body work its miracles through what we call disease. If it wasn’t for symptoms that warn us and illness that wards off the problem (if we do not take heed) we would be dead. So begin thinking of your body as a perfect conglomeration of cells to house your soul. And switch to ayurveda and homeopathy when you need help because they do not interfere with the body’s healing processes but enhance them while making you not so uncomfortable. And it is a fact that acute problems when allowed to heal naturally will ensure that no chronic problems occur.
