Desi Totkay and Coronavirus

The world is a diverse place; people of different ages, different education level and different maturity level co-exist at the same time; and most importantly, not all have the same number of resources at their disposals.

Before medical science – for centuries – people relied on herbs and home remedies consisting items of daily usage; like different kinds of fruits and vegetables. Along with the home remedies, spiritual healing played an important role in people’s lives. And ironically, our ancestors lived a longer and healthier life than our advanced generation.

We need to understand one thing; more than the source, it’s the human intuition that plays a significant role. We human beings are equipped with a very mystic power of belief; this belief could be objective or subjective. When we take a Panadol for headache - more than the tablet itself - it’s our instinct that makes us believe in the ability of the medicine. You take some other tablet and label it as Panadol, it will work for the majority. It’s all psychological effect.

Let me give you another example. Imagine you are sitting on a chair and there is a snake beneath it and you aren’t aware. You got up and came back to sit on the same chair over and over again with no issues; now you are sitting and someone notices the snake and alert you; now your consciousness will be subdued by fear. The same person, who came back and forth to sit on the chair in the presence of the snake, now will not be able to even get up and run. It’s not the snake; it’s the fear controlling the person.

The same effect applies medically. You will hardly feel any symptom until you are diagnosed. And once diagnosed, fear will subdue your instinct and take away your ability to fight the disease effectively. That is the reason why people who don’t heavily rely on medicines often feel healthier. You take a perfectly fine person to a hospital for a checkup and he will come short on many levels which apparently make the person deem sick but actually it isn’t. Our body is never meant to be in a perfect shape free from all diseases. Our immune system gets stronger by fighting the diseases. The idler we keep our immune system, the weaker it gets and loses ability to fight; and hence even a small disease becomes lethal for us. So we should allow our immune system to fight off nonlethal diseases naturally.

Now back to the actual topic; there is an everlasting debate whether modern science is more effective or non-contemporary methods. And mostly educated people either mock or look down upon non-contemporary methods; for example using Sana Maki, Kalongi, Lemon, Honey etc. I know these remedies or similar other remedies aren’t direct cures of Corona but these are effective in building a strong immune system which indirectly is beneficial in the fight against Corona. I won’t get into the details because I am no expert but as per my limited knowledge, science isn’t perfect either and in continuous developing stage. There is a reason why majority of findings and studies are called ‘Theories’ because even the experts are aware that there is always space for more. Sometimes even the whole study is falsified in later research.

Even the most sophisticated medicines are not 100% reliable and there is always a substantial amount or risks involved for developing side effects especially if the treatment goes sideways. Home remedies and herbals are less lethal in this regard.

We need to acknowledge that we are now in attacking position in this war against Coronavirus. Not only Pakistan but the entire world can’t tolerate lockdowns anymore. Even the countries worst hit have eased restrictions because it is not feasible for everyone – even a majority – to stay at homes for a longer period; I won’t get into the details but that’s a fact. Even the richest Arab countries have been jolted by the crisis and can’t afford to keep people in homes anymore.

Think of it this way; if an enemy attacks an unprepared military zone where soldiers are just wandering unequipped unaware of the imminent threat, what would be the course of action? The attacked soldiers will run towards cover to initially take a defensive position to grasp over the situation. Once they get hold of their consciousness, now they will get equipped to take more of an attacking position.

We are all the soldiers in this war against the virus. We took the defensive approach to minimize the damage and to build up a plan of action. There is no other way than taking the attacking position now. What do soldiers need to fight a battle? A weapon, physical strength and shield. Our weapon is a vaccine which we don’t have. So what does a soldier do without a weapon? He fights with his strength and blocks the enemy’s attacks using shield. What is our strength in this battle? Our immune system. What is our shield? Mask, hygiene and other precautionary measures. So along with emphasizing on our shields, we need to strengthen people too; because taking defense round the clock is not constructive anymore.

And how do we strengthen immune system? It’s all up to the individual. As I mentioned in the beginning, it’s all about belief. Be it a tablet or an herb or a verse of Quran; the effectiveness of the source is directly proportional to your belief and confidence in that source. Strengthen yourself by any means comfortable to you but do it with positive intuitions. And ofcourse, before adopting any source, a little research and expert consultation should be preferred.

Battles are not won by fear, weapons alone are not vital to win a battle; it’s your strength, your determination and a strong grip over your emotions and most importantly, your belief. My suggestion would be to put your belief in the Higher power rather than the terrestrial resources. Remember, it was the firm belief and sheer persistence that lead a troop of 313 soldiers to victory against the enemy troop of thousands.