Very nice. Must be fake

 I was probably amongst the worst gardeners in the world. I would inadvertently destroy the plants while trying to take care of them.

I couldn't understand what was wrong, until a friend with a beautiful garden inspired me and explained that it was my over enthusiasm that was killing off my plants.

I have since learnt that plants are like children. They can be both strong and yet fragile. They need just the right amount of care, too little and they are in trouble and too much and they are in serious trouble.

Plants need food, water and sunlight, too little or too much and they wilt and then usually perish.

Yet each species has its own requirements and if we want to care for them we need to understand them. So it is with children, each one is different and has to be handled to some extent in a general manner and to a greater extent differently. 

One day during a lunch get-together, a friend was leaning back against the sideboard and inadvertently on the blooming Anthurium plant. I cautioned my friend that were he to lean back any further, he would damage the plant . He quickly apologised, saying, "Sorry, the plant looks so beautiful, I thought it was fake." He immediately became respectful of the plants when he learnt that all the plants were real.

I realised, we humans are just like plants, the fakes look so perfect we have little or no respect for them. While the genuine may possess flaws it appears rich.

Fake people have to learn the art of flaunting whatever little they have, or even conjure up what they do not possess. I would estimate that half of all education, marketing and consulting businesses go towards creating a fake reality in an attempt to fool others.

We can fake perfection, but in life there is nothing that is perfect and the imperfections are what provide character and meaning.

Sometimes miracles do occur. However whenever we jump to that opinion, 'too good to be true', maybe it is a good time to pause and re-examine the basis of our opinion.

Purple Allamanda

Purple Allamanda (Allamanda Blanchetii)

Just as we step out of our door, right in front of us is this beautiful Purple Allamanda climber.
A perennial flowering plant native to South America is an easy to grow climber.
It comes in 20 colours.


Every part of the plant is poisonous and should be kept out of reach of children.
If one plucks it the white latex sap that oozes out can cause severe irritation.

Beauty can often be dangerous.
It is classic case of toxic beauty. To be admired but from a distance.

Private Poetry - Trespassers Welcome

Hand washing is useless, unless ..

With the rapid spread of the highly contagious CCP virus (COVID-19), medical experts have told us we must wash hands more often.

It is a very good suggestion not only now but always to maintain hand hygiene even in routine course, if we wish to stop the spread of disease.

A friend sent me a BBC news report that shocked researchers, that what we thought are clean hands in Britain are actually quite dirty. The report prepared by hygiene experts from Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL) and the [London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) report that.

25% of British people have faecal matter on their hands, 14% of bank notes and 10% of Credit cards have faecal matter and hence, lots of germs because of not washing hands. 

In general 11% of Britishers have hands so contaminated that the level of harmful germs is higher than that of a dirty toilet bowl. 

Horrified, I wanted to find out why this was so. 

My research shows the primary reason is that most Britishers believe that they live in very clean environments, so they really do not need to wash their hands.

Further investigation by me revealed that the way we wash our hands is also important.

I found this very good illustration by Taylor LJ which I am sharing with you. 

Remember washing hands is useless, if we are not doing it right.

Be hygienic, be safe, be healthy.

We are Human, not God.

Modernity has given us much to feel happy about, really?

Material  comforts may have increased tremendously but so has emotional sickness.  The mind wavers and wanders aimlessly and the spirit lies deep asleep in darkness.

Science and technology have delivered to humanity great gifts of physical health and material prosperity. Unfortunately, prosperity tends to make us arrogant and disrespectful. We forget we are human and come to believe we are gods.

When we believe we are like gods, we can either blossom into the Divine or we can regress into darkness. Generally speaking we have been disrespectful not only of ourselves, but also of Humanity and Creation. 

We live unnaturally, disrespecting, destroying, consuming or damaging everything we can in nature just for the heck of it.

The law of Karma applies to everyone. Simply put,  'Whatever goes around comes around'. 

Law of Karma states, every action will produce consequences related to that action. If we disrespect we will be disrespected, if we destroy we will be destroyed.

Life as we humans know, has almost come to a total standstill, thanks to the latest crisis.

But this has happened before. But this has happened before. We have to remember each time it happens that,

In a conflict between Humans and  Nature, Nature always wins.

In cooperation between Humans and Nature, Humans always win. 

_____________________

About Gurvinder Singh

Post a comment on my website
Engage with Gurvinder Singh
Podcast

Facebook - Twitter - linkedin - SikhNet - Instagram - SoundCloud

Interesting Links:
How the modern world makes us mentally ill - The School of Life 

Sat Sri Akal - Namaste

Coronavirus pandemic, has made many people realise that unnecessary physical contact will have adverse consequences. People have begun to greet one another with the world famous 'Namaste' or 'Sat Sri Akal'.  
The wise have learnt that in addition to physical, there are also psychological and spiritual consequences of unnecessary physical contact.

People across the world, have reduced the shaking of hands, embracing and kissing when they meet, choosing instead to using the greeting, Namaste or Sat Sri Akal, etc.

What is the meaning of Namaste or Sat Sri Akal and the bowing with the folding of hands?

Based on Sanatana Dharma (eternal order),  most Indians believe that every soul is part of that one divine soul. Also known as 'Prana' the all pervasive life force and energy that is omnipresent.

'Namaste' or Sat Sri Akal, simply means my soul recognises yours and therefore honours divinity. Those who greet in this manner acknowledge the divinity in everyone and all things.

This greeting by the Sikhs, Buddhists and Hindus when they meet another soul is performed with bowed head, palms touching,  fingers pointing upwards and the thumbs near the chest, to convey that with my entire being, that is my soul, mind and body, I humbly acknowledge the divine in you.

The Buddhists often do not utter anything. 
The Hindu will usually say 'Namaste', In Sanskrit 'Namaḥa' means  'respect',  'humble greeting’ or 'high regard' whereas 'te' means 'to you'.

The greeting of the Sikh's 'Sat Sri Akal' reminds themselves 
and the other that we are all part of that One divine existence, and timeless, present in every being. 

Namaskar and Namaskaram, Sat Kartar are alternate choice of greeting words. 

'Sikh' means the 'student or seeker'. A seeker is not bound by ideology or rituals. The Sikh greeting of Sat Sri Akal differs from the traditional Namaste, to reestablish the fact that the path of the Sikh is to awaken and realise the Divine.

Sat Sri Akal.

Everything is One. How we treat one person is, how we treat the whole universe. When we respect the individual, we respect not only ourselves, but we respect all of Creation.

_____________________

About Gurvinder Singh

Post a comment on my website
Engage with Gurvinder Singh
Podcast

Facebook - Twitter - linkedin - SikhNet - Instagram - SoundCloud

An ion generator to keep us safe, from Coronavirus and unhealthy air.

Many readers ask, 'How can one keep safe in this atmosphere?'

I am not an expert, but I have friends who are. So here is what my research revealed.

The best way to reduce a fatality is to prevent infection. Since infection takes place where the virus is present, there are few precautions one can take to limit exposure to the virus. 

1. Avoid environments where groups of people particularly strangers converge, like places of worship, entertainment, study, play, etc.
2. Avoid environments where strangers transit, like airports, trains, restaurants etc.
3. Minimise physical contact in general.

Most of us already know this. However there is something we can do to keep our selves safe, remain healthy in our homes, offices, waiting rooms, hospital wards, classrooms etc. That is live, work and play in an environment that is rich in negative ions and also boost our immunity. 

**What are negative ions?**

Ions are electrically charged atoms or molecules because they have gained or lost electrons. Negative ions are molecules that have  gained one or more additional electrons.

Negative ions are abundant in nature, and in the air. They are released into the environment in many ways, which include,

* Ultra Violet rays of sunlight, 

* Negative ions are abundant  near waterbodies where water particles collides with objects and other water particles as is the case of waterfalls, rivers, streams and beaches, 

* During thunderstorms from lightening and rain,

* Plants and trees also emit a large quantum of negative ions. 

This is why we feel so refreshed when we go outdoors to these places and experience these situations. We breathe in the abundance of negative ions, and also they permeate through our skin. It is like inhaling ions harmless to our bodies but deadly for enemies of our bodies. I shall explain shortly. 

My friend, the brilliant scientist and prolific innovator and mentor,  Dr. Rajendra Jagdale is one of the 'go to person' for any doubts I have about science, technology, and life.  

Dr. Jagdale is Director General & CEO of Pune based Science and Technology Park (STP). To verify what I had learnt, I discussed the Coronavirus crisis with him to discover,'How to create a safe environment for people to live and work in?'

Dr. Jaagdale informed me that several years ago, with support of  their parent organisation Govt of India's Ministry of Science and Technology,  STP had supported the design, and development of a world class performing negative ion generator  which they called 'Scitech Airon Air Purifier' which provided a very high quality indoor environment, which is 99.7% free of viruses, germs, fungi and allergens. 

Manifold more effective than other air purifiers, this technology was developed and rigorously tested by STP post the SARS and MERS epidemics of past. 

The product is bit clunky. But it is meant to be functional, not glitzy and there is a strong demand for the Scitech Airon Air Purifier.

What exactly is the Scitech Airon Air Purifier developed by STP?

This compact equipment produces 100 million negative ions per second that saturate the room or hall where installed with negative ions. 

The negative ions destroy germs, virus and dust particles in the air, on objects, walls and floor present in an indoor environment, like an office, home, waiting rooms, hospital wards, etc. It also removes foul odours. The Scitech Airon Air Purifier offers protection not only from viruses and germs, it also minimises the possibility of asthma and bronchitics, and other breathing disorders. The inhaling and permitting of negative ions produces health benefits for 20 to 30 days, even after leaving the ion atmosphere. 

Negative ion generation is not a new technology but it has been perfected by STP and designed to be medically effective and economically viable. 

The superiority of the Scitech Airon Air Purifier  over other available ion generators is, it does not produce harmful Ozone, a by-product when using negative ion generators.

Scientists and medical experts have already begun installing them in various places particularly in isolation wards in hospitals and other quarantine locations. This prevents transmission of virus to otherwise healthy people and health workers from infected persons present in the same shared space.

How do negative ions in the environment make us healthier and safer?

The nervous system of the human body is also an electrical system which enables us to think and feel. All the 37.2 trillion cells in our body use ions to function.

Each resting cell is negatively charged on the inside and positive on the outside. Thus allowing current to flow, across cells and in the whole body. The nature of our modern mainly urban indoor living and working environment exposes us to very high levels of positive electrical charge such as in dust and smoke particles, bacteria, fungi and viruses, etc.  This huge excess of positive ions disturbs the functioning of the human body and makes us unhealthy and even ill.

_____________________

This information, is simply too valuable to the public excuse any delay from my side in sharing with my readers. To learn more or purchase the product just click on the link Scitech Airon Air Purifier.

STP is a non profit autonomous government organisation functioning as a part of Govt of India's Ministry of Science and Technology, which promotes, research, innovation and works ceaselessly to make our world a better place.

____________________

Interesting Links

Ions, inactivate and eliminate 99.9% of viruses where installed - Sharp Corporation, Japan

How the human body uses electricity?

Will Coronavirus COVID-19, kill me?  - Guru Wonder

How likely are you (yes, you) to die from the Covid-19 virus?

Fear does not stop death - Guru Wonder

India fights Coronavirus - Guru Wonder

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) - World Health Organisation

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) - World Health Organisation

Negative Air Ions and Their Effects on Human Health and Air Quality Improvement -  Shu-Ye Jiang, Ali Ma, and Srinivasan Ramachandran

Air ioniser -Wikipedia