Woah! … the title sounds heavy, isn’t it? However, after a lot of
dilly-dallying in my mind, I was convinced that that’s apt of a heading name.
We call an action a mistake when it bears results we rather
wouldn’t want to occur; and, also sometimes, we call an action a mistake when
we have strong premonition that it would turn out to be, well, a mistake! The
premonition in the latter case arises out of the extent to which we twist the
proven ways of doing something.
It’s us – the Indians, who are twisting some of the utmost
common time-tested practices of our ancient scientists, the Indian sages!
Come to think of it, sages explained every vital aspect of
living to common people of India. Their instructions are a classic example of
using abstraction to make understanding easy. They conveyed essential What,
How, Why to simple-minded householders. Their instructions were so much proven
that they never had to take back any of them – ever! Common simple-minded
people were intelligent in following their instructions as it is and reap full
benefits.
Some of the examples are:
Wake-up
and start your day before sunrise;
Drink water on empty stomach in the
morning;
Sit in cross-legged position while
eating food;
Do not
drink water immediately after having food;
Do not suppress the urge to sneeze,
yawn, cough, break wind, …;
Do not
keep the head in North direction while sleeping;
and countless more!
These instructions constituted rich knowledge heritage of
India until many turbulences that India faced subsequently and got robbed of
this intrinsic knowledge; and we, the Indians, adapted to the new ways that crept
in to our daily lives owing to the advent of foreign cultures, and adopted
significant twists in the most basic ways of living life! There are so many
things in which Indians have forsaken old proven ways and acquired some
experimental new ways in their lives.
I care for writing a series of articles on some of these
proven ways that we have turned our back on; and, here as the first one I have
chosen – Toilet!
Indian Toilet:
Most distinguishing aspect of Indian style of toilet is the way
one sits on it. One squats such that the entire body rests only on feet, and
thighs press into the abdomen. This is also how a child would naturally sit,
let’s say, while playing in sand on a seabeach. However, under the superficial
distinction of physical posture the deeper aspect is the natural comfort that
body’s digestive system experiences in this position to relieve itself of the
accumulated waste!
Since we (modern Indians) believe mainly in modern science,
an obvious question we ask is “any scientific evidence?”; and, to assuage our
doubts the answer is – yes, there are. There is evidence that squatting, like
in Indian style of toilet, leads to easy defecation whereas sitting, as in
western style of toilet, necessitates excessive effort.
Sikirov D. Comparison of straining during defecation in three
positions: results and implications for human health. Dig Dis Sci. 2003;48:1201–5
Ted Talk: The answer to your health
is in your poop by Melissa Ramos
There are numerous other studies around the squatting body
posture during defecation; and, its comparative healthier effects.
For innumerable years Indians have been squatting to relieve
themselves. Alas! Nowadays the influence of western toilet has increased to
such an extent that it’s not only become the default option in hotels, builder homes,
restaurants etc., the conversion from Indian to western style toilet is
taking place even in many houses – completely in ignorance!
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