Neem - A Natural and Magical saviour from Covid-19!!

        Neem is a wonderful medicinal plant of India, which is being used for several thousand years in Siddha and Ayurveda treatments without causing any side effects.

        The usage of neem in Indian traditional medicines and in Indian culture, traditions can be dated as early as 9000 BCE. 

        Most of the Indian homes have neem tree in their garden, it can also be seen to have abundantly grown in streets and in many places in India. Every parts of neem plant is beneficial and is used for different purposes, such as medicine for humans, for agriculture, dental care etc. That's why it plays vital role in Indian traditions and rituals, Tamil new year celebration is incomplete without these neem leaves and neem flowers. For more information about Tamil new year and the usage of neem flowers, reach out to,

https://divinediyaas.blogspot.com/2021/04/happy-tamil-new-year-chithirai-thirunaal.html

         Now, Neem is also being used to treat and to get cure from Coronavirus, its mutated variants.

        In my previous posts, I have mentioned about medicinal properties of neem, it's usage against coronavirus and it's mutated variants. 

https://divinediyaas.blogspot.com/2021/04/how-to-stop-transmission-of-covid-19.html

https://divinediyaas.blogspot.com/2021/05/why-to-go-natural-ways-to-cure-from-coronavirus.html

        I have seen many people in social media sharing about their experience of getting cured from coronavirus by using these neem leaves at home. Usage of Indian traditional remedies has saved them from becoming serious and hospital admission. 

As I have mentioned about covid-19 home remedies in my previous posts, inhaling herbal steam has helped many people to control the virus spread  in the body and helped them to cure from the coronavirus quickly and thereby the problem of breathlessness, low oxygen levels were avoided....

Those who were practising Surya Namskaram, Pranayama and consuming herbal concoctions at home aren't much affected by this virus. Brahmari Pranayam helps to increase the lungs capacity, maintains oxygen level in the body and most importantly, it naturally generates nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide plays important role in human body, to fight against viruses...

            The nitric oxide (NO), is a compound with antiviral properties that fights against Coronavirus and helps to maintain oxygen levels in the body... For more information about Nitric oxide and about this Pranayama, reach out to 

https://divinediyaas.blogspot.com/2021/04/how-does-pranayama-fights-against-coronavirus.html

        This neem tree has dense leaves. During, spring small white flowers will blossom and during monsoon, small green colour fruits will appear then it changes to yellow colour.  Inside the fruit, there will be only one seed, from which neem oil is extracted. Neem oil is widely used in India, as mosquito repellent, as pesticide in agriculture etc....

Herbal steam:

        Steam with either one of the leaves such as, Neem leaves, Tulsi leaves (Holy basil), Karporavalli leaves (Mexican Mint / Cuban Oregano in English) will send anti virals into your body, more specifically anti viral will be sent to your lungs. Anti virals job is to kill / weaken the virus.

        As anti virals are directly sent to the lungs, it stops the coronavirus from attacking the lungs. Breathlessness is caused due to the major attack of coronavirus in the lungs, so if the attack in lungs is stopped / controlled, then the natural immunity of human body will automatically kills this virus, serious health issues will be avoided and thereby it helps our body to recover faster...

        Herbal Steam is the equivalent to sanitising your lungs from the virus. We have to sanitise / clean our self from both internally and externally to prevent from this virus attack.

Inhaling steam of these leaves will send antivirals inside your body that helps to break down the virus, which in turn stops the virus from being replicated or mutated inside your body. Replication / mutation of virus makes it more stronger and thus makes us sick. So, stopping it's replication will make the virus weaker and it can be killed by natural immunity of body alone.

        Neem contains certain complex organic chemical compounds like azadirachitin, triterpenes, limonoids, nonterpenoids, hexanortriterpenoids, pentattriterpenoids etc.

    Most households in India have Neem leaves hanged at their main door and neem leaves infused water is used as sanitiser....

        In the beginning of monsoon month i.e Aadi masam (July / August), every south indian women will tie fresh neem leaves at their main door. The reason is, during this monsoon season, there are chances of viruses, germs to spread. Thus, to prevent themselves from the transmission of any air borne diseases, fungus, germs and viruses, neem leaves will be tied at the main of the every household. 

        In my childhood days, when I get severe cold and nasal congestion, my mom asks me to do one miracle remedy using turmeric roots. All my cold and congestion will go off like a magic after this doing remedy. That magic remedy is, Inhaling turmeric smoke!!

Turmeric smoke inhalation:

        Take a turmeric root and keep the tip or a small part of the root in the flame of diya (it is mandatory to use sesame seeds oil or castor oil in diya for this purpose). It takes for sometime for the tip of the turmeric root to catch fire. Once it catches fire, then take it out from the flame, tip will be burnt and black in colour. The burnt turmeric root releases a herbal medicinal smoke and this smoke is very good to treat cold, flu and congestion. 

        Inhale this smoke until it subsidies, again keep the root in diya flame to burn more and then inhale the smoke. Repeat this process, depending upon your capacity or max 10 minutes, not more than that for a single sitting. This turmeric smoke inhalation works like charm and within some time you will be relieved from all your cold, flu and congestion will be gone. 

[ Note: This method will cause slight irritation in the nose. So, after this treatment, apply some moisturiser like ghee / coconut oil on your nose.]

        Thus, all the natural traditional remedies using Indian herbs and plants are TRULY MEDICINAL in nature. A true medicine is the one which cures the diseases, without causing any side effects or without affecting the natural functionality of the body. In this way, Neem and turmeric are the BEST medicines for coronavirus. 

Neem and Turmeric are also used in herbal concoctions / Kadha / Kashayam, to fight against coronavirus.

[Note:  Pregnant women should refrain from consuming the herbal  concoctions using neem leaves ]

        Each part of the neem tree such as leaves, neem seed, neem oil and neem cake are traditionally used by Indians for millenniums for its unique medicinal properties and also for insect and fungi control. It is also used in various Siddha and Ayurveda treatments to cure certain diseases.

        You can see many neem trees that are grown abundantly in South India, the soil of neem trees has millions of microbes. 

IVERMECTIN:

        In my previous post, I have mentioned the miracle work of Ivermectin drug, which drastically helped many covid infected patients to recover faster, without any side effects. There are many countries and states that used this inexpensive drug Ivermectin and significantly brought down the coronavirus infected cases. 

        The cities where Ivermectin is used saw a steep fall in covid deaths and infections. For more information about Ivermectin, reach out to the post below,

 

https://divinediyaas.blogspot.com/2021/06/ivermectin-miracle-drug-to-stop-covid-19.html

        Ivermectin is produced from a genus called 'Streptomyces bacterium', which is largely found in the roots of Indian Neem tree. So, Ivermectin is nothing but a strain of Neem roots. 

The strain of neem tree root is being used in Ivermectin, which helps to stop the virus from mutating itself and eventually kills the virus. 

        Thus, neem is either directly used (through Indian remedies) or indirectly used (through Ivermectin), to fight against coronavirus and it's mutated variants...

        Ivermectin, natural immunity levels of the body, Ayurveda and Siddha medicines such as Neem, Turmeric, Tulasi are the only way to stop Covid-19 and to get cure from covid, it's variants.... 

        All the ancient Indians had brushed their teeth with neem twig. Its bitter tase formats the taste of the tongue and removes germs. Neem leaves hanged at door, will ward off air borne viruses and germs. Neem infused water is used as sanitiser, also sprinkled in house and in lawn to get rid off mosquitos. Concoctions made using neem leaves / flowers is cure for cold and flu...

Thus, Neem is REALLY a natural and magical saviour from all the natural viruses, germs and from the DEADLY LAB MADE VIRUSES!!!

- Aarthi Thiyagarajan

Dhanwanthri - God of Ayurveda

Dhanwanthri - God of Ayurveda

             Dhanwanthri - the divine God of Ayurveda, also called as 'God of Health and Medicine', vedic physician of devas (Heavenly Gods), granter of long life and immortality. According to Sanatana Dharma, worshiping Lord Dhanwanthri brings sound health and relieves from all health related problems. In the old sculptures, it is mentioned that he will negate the effects of all kinds of poisons and snakebites. 

           He is the one who introduced powerful, complete healing system of medicine know as 'Ayurveda' to the world. People worships Sri Dhanwanthri for healthy, happy and disease free living, he is empowered to heal every soul and living being of this universe. It is believed that to get cure from a disease, people will worship him first before starting any kind of treatment / therapy, this is still in practice in South India. 

       Ayurveda = Ayur (Life) + Veda (knowledge ) Knowledge of life.

         Ayurveda is not only a medicinal science, it also determines person's physical, physiological and mental characteristics and also common aliments. It aims at a balance between body, mind and soul, it helps us to stay vital, to heal, energize and turn back to the body clocks.

           In Ayurveda, disease is an imbalance between body, mind and soul. This way it treats the root cause of the problem, rather than a particular part / organ of the body. Same disease / aliment will be different for each people based upon on their mind and soul, so ayurveda deals with different therapy for every person, not the same treatment / tablet for a particular illness. Ayurveda can even explain what you will like to eat, what colors you are attracted to etc based on the doshas (Dosha - a biological energy found thorough out the body). That's the power of Ayurveda, literally it's a god's gift to human beings, indeed Sri Dhanwanthri's Gift !!!

          Every year birthday of God Dhanwanthri is celebrated in India, now it's been comparatively reduced as the knowledge about the God Dhanwanthri is not passed to the next generation. 

       Two days before Diwali, Krishna Paksha Trayodashi (13th Tithi of Krishna paksha) is celebrated as 'Dhantrayodashi', the day when the Lord 'Dhanwanthri' arose while churning the cosmic milky ocean. 

 To know more about Samudra Manthan, look at 

https://divinediyaas.blogspot.com/2018/02/maha-shivaratri-part-1.html

            After Samudra Manthan happened, Goddess Lakshmi (God of Wealth and Consort of Vishnu) emerged from the ocean followed by Lord 'Dhanwanthri', an incarnation of Vishnu with four hands, holding Conch, Sudarshana chakra, Amrta Kalash (Nectar Pot of immortality) and a Leech (Jalauka) in his left hand.

             Leech plays an important role in Ayurvedic treatment. In Ancient times around 5000 BCE, it is used to remove the impure blood from our body, to cure certain diseases,  it is also used for vaccination.  When no one in the world aware of the vaccination, it has been followed widely in India for immunization against diseases,  later it spread across countries about the knowledge of vaccination and immunization. In Ayurveda, an unique Leech therapy is followed, written in Sushruta Samhita.

      Lord Dhanwanthri is the one who trained Sushruta sage, the first surgeon in the world. Sushruta, known as father of Indian surgery, was the foremost disciple of God Dhanwanthri. He taught him the science of Ayurveda and began practice of surgeries in Vedic age. About 5000 years ago, he has written, the famous ancient book of medicinal surgeries called Sushruta Samhita, it was written in sanskrit about Ayurvedic therapies, treatments and medicines.

Sushruta Samhita and Plastic Surgery

     In Sushruta Samhita, Surgical procedures, training and instruments were explained in detail, use of medicinal herbs and  prevention is also mentioned in this book. This book deals with every surgeries such as Caesarian surgery, cataract, brain surgery, fractures and even plastic surgery. Later, it has been translated into different languages and traveled across the globe.

English Translated Sushruta Samhita

       According to Charaka Samhita, knowledge of Ayurveda is eternal and is revealed to the people in each cycle of universe creation. It was written by Charaka, he is also one of the disciple of Lord Dhanwantri along with Sushruta. Charaka Samhita is an ancient medicial text book talks about Nutrition and Diet, Teamwork of Physician, nurse, patient and medicine, herbal concoction, anatomy, sensory response, pharmaceutical and toxicology and pathology.

       Both Sushruta and Charaka samhita were written by these sages on the banks of Saraswati river where Ayurveda flourished widely during Saraswathi civilization.

      People who have frequent health issues, incurable medical problem worships Sri Dhanwanthri, the divine Doctor and get his blessings. Also people who are going to practice as doctors, worship him first, get his blessings and then join the course to study.

   There are few temples in India (Kerala and Tamil Nadu), where God Dhanwanthri is still worshiped. 

Famous olden temple of Lord Dhanwanthri is at 

Nelluvaya Dhanwanthri temple, Thrissur, Kerala

Sri Ranganathaswamy temple, Srirangam, Trichy, Tamil nadu

Dhanwanthri Mantra

" Om Nama Bhagavate Vasudevaya

Dhanvantaraye Amrita - Kalasha Hastaaya

Sarva - amaya Vinashaaya Trailokya Naathaya

Dhanvantri Maha - Vishnave Namaha "

"Om shankha chakram jalaukam

dadhad amruta ghatam charu dorbhi chaturbhih 

sukshma svachh ati hridyam sukha pari vilasanam

maulim ambhoja netram

kalam bhodojo valangam kati tata vilasan

charu petam baradhyam

vande dhanwantrim tam nikhila gada vanam

praudha devagni leelam"

 Dhanwanthri Homam

         The Divine doctor, God of Ayurveda , Sri Dhanwanthri can also be worshiped by performing Dhanwanthri Homam at home individually or along with Gruhapravesham (house warming cermony), for good health of family members, happy and peaceful living.

   This homam is best for,

•  to get relief from all health related problems, physical / mental aliments, cures any type of illness 
• increase body strength. 
• Sri Dhanwanthri blesses one with longevity
• Removes any troubles on your way

Ayurvedic doshas

            Ayurveda is the oldest complete healthcare system of healing, it is based on the principle that body is made up of 5 elements and their related properties - Ether, Water, Air, Fire and Earth. All that exists in Universe, exists within us. All the human beings have all these elements in different proportions in the body and when Prana, the energetic equivalent of breath, mixes with these five elements, doshas (Biological energies) are formed, making a person fall in one of these categories 

1. Vata - Air + Ether
2. Pitta - Fire + Water
3. Kapha - Water + Earth

Vata:

           Vata governs Movement and Communication.

The qualities of Vata are light, dry, airy, quick and cold. They are thin and either tall or short. When vata people are in balance, they are creative and easy adaptable. When vata people are in out of balance, they will suffer from fear and anxiety.

Pitta:

       Pitta governs Digestion and Transformation.

The qualities of pitta are Hot, sharp, sour, pungent and acidic. They have athletic build and good digestion. When pitta people are in balance, intelligent and sharp. When pitta people are out of balance, they will be short tempered, aggressive and prone to rashes.

Kapha:

        Kapha governs Cohesiveness, structure and Lubrication.

The qualities of kapha are slow, steady, oily, sharp and cold. When Kapha people are in balance, they are loving, warm, intelligent and grounded. When out of balance, they will be lethargic, depressed and heavy.

           Today most of the doctors prescribe probiotics for the patients. Probiotics are good bacterias, which is live microorganism, good for the digestive system. Gut health is crucial for the body, maintaining right balance of these microorganism is vital for physical and mental health and immunity. Ayurveda identified this 5000 years ago and asked us to have fermented food such as Curd, Idli, dosa, Koozh, vella appam, pickles and chutneys. In Indian climate, fermentation occurs naturally without the use of artificial yeast. Even today, South Indian people daily eat these fermented foods like Idli, Dosa, Appams for breakfast, adding curd in the lunch, drinking Koozh during Summer etc. In every meal, Indians add at least one such fermented food in their diet and that's the reason for the Indians to be healthy and balanced. 

Thali, A Complete Lunch Meal with Curd in the last

Typical South Indian Breakfast

            
          Stress, unhealthy diet, lifestyle, weather, strained relationships, emotions, environment and even time of the day influences the balance that exists between person's dosha.
        Ayurveda seeks to negate the effect and strike the balance back into equilibrium. To deal with the illness, imbalanced doshas and stress, there are certain treatments followed in Ayurveda. One such important and effective treatment is Abhayangam (Ayurvedic Oil Massage) 

Abhayanga 

        Abhayanga - It is a healing massage treatment ending with traditional bathing ritual. Ayurveda states that daily full body oil massage restores the balance between three doshas.

           This full body oil massage is usually practiced on wooden table known as Dhroni, traditionally the table will be made of medicinal woods such as Neem, Tamarind etc. It is an effective therapy for conditioning the body. 

         Ayurvedic oil massage is performed in the morning before you bathe. sesame oil is best for full body oil massage. Ayurveda recommends oil massage to be an integral part of daily routine for overall health and well being. 

           Abhayanga nourishes the body, pacifies the dosha, relieves fatigue, provides stamina, promotes sleep, enhances the complexion, increases mental alertness, increases stamina, lubrication of joints, toning of muscles and increased circulation of vital fluids. 

        Ayurvedic oil massage helps the skin, the largest organ in the body and penetrates into the skin made of seven layers.

      

         Sesame oil is best for oil massage. To cure different type of illness, specific herbs infused oil is used for the massage. Few examples are Karpooradhi thailam, Pinda thailam, Puli thailam, Kumkumadi thailam, Ksheerabala thailam, Nalpamaradhi thailam etc. Each herbal oil is prepared according to the process mentioned in the medicinal books. Prescribed quantity of fresh herbal paste, flowers , base oil(Thailam) are used in correct proportion, followed by heating, filtering and preserved in glass containers. 

     These herbs are medicinal plant's parts such as flowers, leaves, roots, seeds, bark etc. They are also used for herbal concoction, lotion and treatment.

Ayurvedic herbs

          Turmeric, King of Spices, is one of the renowned spice in every south indian's kitchen. Turmeric is an important spice added to almost every south Indian dishes prepared. It aids digestion, by helping to break down the fats during digestion process. God Dhanwantri, prepared many medicinal pastes, Kashayam (Medicinal drink), oinments and lotions using turmeric. It has numerous values, revealed by god himself. Dhanwantri was credited with the discovery of Turmeric and its magical properties. 

         India produces the whole world crop of  turmeric, as it grows only in warm and humid climate.

          Turmeric has great healing power, it is used to purify the blood, treating skin aliments, healing wounds and bruises, treating heart, lung and liver diseases, arthritis, cancer, gastro intestinal disorder, Alzheimer disease etc. It is a super medicine without any side effects.

         Fresh turmeric roots have medicinal values than the powdered turmeric. Peel the fresh turmeric root and grate it. This can be made to paste along with freshly grated coconut or can be added as it is to the curries for rich flavor and to get maximum benefits. It acts as antioxidant and having great anti inflammatory properties. For cold and cough, fresh turmeric and black pepper powder mixed in warm milk, will be taken in the night.

        It is also tridoshic, its heating quality balances vata and kapha, and its bitter taste balances pitta. 

Kasturi Manjal / Wild turmeric

             There is another type of turmeric called as Kasturi Manjal, Wild turmeric in English. The difference between Kasturi Manjal (Wild turmeric) and Pasu Manjal (Fresh Turmeric) is, Kasturi Majal is used as cosmetic, it is not edible. It is applied on skin, gives more fragrance than fresh turmeric and doesn't stain on the skin like the edible turmeric and yellow color is also little lighter than the Fresh turmeric. Indian women uses this turmeric on face and body for glowing skin and for its anti ageing property, this is in practice from 5000 BCE. 

Cardamon, Cinnamon, Tulsi, Vacha / Vasambu, Aloe Vera, Black pepper, Cumin, Shatavari, Ashwagandha, Amalaki and many more medicinal spices, herbs and plants are used in Ayurveda. Will put a separate and detailed post about Ayurvedic herbs and spices.

          World's first university Takshashila and Nalanda had Ayurveda as a course and spread ayurvedic knowledge to different parts of the world, around 4000 BCE. People from different countries got educated in these universtities, realized the importance of ayurveda and carried it to their countries, to help their people. Ancient India is the Mother of Ayurveda, still in India Ayurveda is been practiced (especially in Kerala and Tamil Nadu) for all kinds of illness.

      In ancient Egypt, Indian herbs and spices were used widely as medicines, lotions and treating diseases. Aloe vera, fennel, castor oil, cinnamon, raw garlic, cloves, cumin, coriander, cardamon, pepper, honey were used in Egyptian medicine and it was mentioned in their ancient papyrus medicinal books. 

        

       Cinnamon, is one such important herb used by Egyptians in the mummification process, to help the body to be more of a  lifelike appearance i.e to preserve the body. Cinnamon is cultivated only in India and Sri Lanka (In Ancient times, Sri Lanka was also part of Bharat, India) and from India it has been exported to various countries. 

            Even today, Ayurvedic medicines are best for certain diseases, no modern medicines can beat Ayurveda. Need proof ???  Papaya leave juice is the best to improve blood platelet count, mixture of Bitter gourd and Amla (Gooseberry) juice for Diabetics, Turmeric herbal concoction for cold, Dhanwantram Thailam for post pregnancy body ache , Chyawanprash for immunity booster and much more. 

          Indian spices have good demand in the world's market till today, that's the specialty of Indian Land, Land of Moksha, the divine land and  Mother of all civilization !!!

- Aarthi Thiyagarajan