Since the beginning of civilization man has wanted to understand and explore his environment – some 250 years ago he discovered and developed leading to industrial revolution – geared by the trade and empire monies from the colonies the European Countries and then North America embarked on a journey of making machines – huge ones at that which would gouge the earth’s womb for coal, petroleum and minerals. The vicious cycle of more from more began – and here we stand.
The second ritual of the day bathing too is polluting to the Gaia! The foaming agents – Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate; the coloring agents to make our soaps appealing to the eye; the perfumes added to make bathing a pleasurable experience. The bathing gels contain silica, perfumes and detergents too which add to our daily contribution of pollution to our environment. Imagine – each one of those drains in your locality pours gallons of bactericides, fungicides, detergents, perfumes, coloring agents and other chemicals like vitamins, etc to this toxic soup – where does it all go? Into the rivers, lakes and seas – causing eutrophication of these water bodies – there will come a time that they will be loaded with nutrients and weed plants, totally choked of all life as everynight the weedplants take up all the dissolved oxygen in the water killing the fauna in the waterbody. Then, No fishing and angling for you!
How did we wash ourselves 250 years ago? Don’t we have those options even today – yes the soaps and gels are a quick, hassle-free commodity we have become addicted to – but do we care of the world that we are to hand over to our children?
Bathing is meant to be sacred and healing – a time when we connect with ourselves in body, mind and soul. The use of rose petals softens the skin, arrowroot, fuller’s earth, chickpea flour cleanses the moist skin by a scrubbing action, addition of milk, honey and turmeric to the water of the paste used to mask and scrub – kills germs, moisturizes, gives the skin the essential proteins and fats. The use of aritha (soapnut) is prevalent even today. Thereafter a grounding and soothing warm oil massage in the warmth of the sun would relieve tired muscles and the wonderful smells delight the mind. The finishing touches to the bath were the application of scented oils and sandalwood paste.
Does today’s bath do following for us? Improve our energy levels and clarity of mind? Does it really remove the daily grime, sweat and environmental pollutants? Does it balance our emotions and relax our mind? Don’t we zip through our baths, hardly ever practice deep breathing? Do we enjoy a laidback evening with nothing but the flame of a lamp and fragrance of an incense stick or an aromatherapy lamp?
Polluting the Earth and Ourselves – in a hurry. To achieve? The Fulfilling Life We Are Missing?