04-13-2007, 06:24 PM
To a extent I can see what Narayanan says about true Indian science versus claptrap.
There are many Hindu rituals and practices that go unrecognised and unsung, but have a very sound scientific basis. I have often wondered how the conclusions were arrived at without using the "scientific method" that one gets used to in modern science.
In the early 80s I was surprised to find toilet tissue in UK hospital toilets that had the printed words "Now wash your hands please". This seemed a joke because washing one's hands after crapping is the first thing you are taught in a Hindu household.
Of course there are medical papers that now say that unwashed hands transmit bacteria from YOUR crap to whatever you touch and are transmitted to the hands of others who touch those objects (such as door handles). That is why you are taught to touch your ass with your left hand and to handle clean stuff with your sight hand and by doing that you minimize chances of spread of bateria. The "left hand vs right hand" concept is used in hospitals as well as part of aseptic technique.
As a boy in a brahmin household I and my cousins used to irritate our grandmother who would have a bath and get herself into a state called "Mady" in Kannada. That was a state of cleanliness that was essential both for prayer and for just plain coking in the kitchen. What is never ever made widely known as part of a Hindu narrative is that this technique is almost exactly similar to the sterile/aseptic no-touch techniques used by surgeons in operating theaters.
The concept of "jhoota" i.e not touching your lips or tougue to a spoon or ladle and then dippping it back into a vat that contains food for general use is again a fundamental point is aseptic technique to avoid bacterial contamination.
The idea of removing your shoes and washing your hands and feet before you enter a home or temple has an exact parallel in intensive care units all over the world. You shed you shoes for different footwear, and spray your hands with an antiseptic.
In fact the concept of cleanliness has been carried further in indian households, but is being ignored or forgoten. Toilets in India have always been separate from teh place where you have a bath so that the chances of carrying bacteria from your toilet to a clean area are minimzed. But combined toilets/baths are teh norm in newere houses in India. Will someone please tell architects why they were separate?
There are many Hindu rituals and practices that go unrecognised and unsung, but have a very sound scientific basis. I have often wondered how the conclusions were arrived at without using the "scientific method" that one gets used to in modern science.
In the early 80s I was surprised to find toilet tissue in UK hospital toilets that had the printed words "Now wash your hands please". This seemed a joke because washing one's hands after crapping is the first thing you are taught in a Hindu household.
Of course there are medical papers that now say that unwashed hands transmit bacteria from YOUR crap to whatever you touch and are transmitted to the hands of others who touch those objects (such as door handles). That is why you are taught to touch your ass with your left hand and to handle clean stuff with your sight hand and by doing that you minimize chances of spread of bateria. The "left hand vs right hand" concept is used in hospitals as well as part of aseptic technique.
As a boy in a brahmin household I and my cousins used to irritate our grandmother who would have a bath and get herself into a state called "Mady" in Kannada. That was a state of cleanliness that was essential both for prayer and for just plain coking in the kitchen. What is never ever made widely known as part of a Hindu narrative is that this technique is almost exactly similar to the sterile/aseptic no-touch techniques used by surgeons in operating theaters.
The concept of "jhoota" i.e not touching your lips or tougue to a spoon or ladle and then dippping it back into a vat that contains food for general use is again a fundamental point is aseptic technique to avoid bacterial contamination.
The idea of removing your shoes and washing your hands and feet before you enter a home or temple has an exact parallel in intensive care units all over the world. You shed you shoes for different footwear, and spray your hands with an antiseptic.
In fact the concept of cleanliness has been carried further in indian households, but is being ignored or forgoten. Toilets in India have always been separate from teh place where you have a bath so that the chances of carrying bacteria from your toilet to a clean area are minimzed. But combined toilets/baths are teh norm in newere houses in India. Will someone please tell architects why they were separate?