January 2020

1. From the Founder's Desk Vol: IX No: 1; January 2020
DearFriends,
I was very much saddened to know that
Pejawar Swamiji has left for his heavenly
abode. Lakhs of people paid their tributes
to this Vishwa Santha who was an epitome
of kindness and knowledge.He
made history by being the only
seer among the seers of the
Ashta mutts of Udupi to have
performed five biennial
Paryayas. He was also known for
his patriotism and social
s e r v i c e . H e s t r i v e d fo r
'Samarasya' and initiated visits
to Dalit colonies in Mysore and other parts of the state in
order to send a message against untouchability and
bringHinduunity.
Poojya Swamiji visited our house during his last
chaturmasyainMysoreinthemonthofSeptember2019
andblessedusall.
We at Vijay Foundation too pay our Bhakthi Poorvaka
Namanatothisgreatsoul.
I got an opportunity to participate in “Geet Gaata
Chal:Doctors’ Musical Nite on 8th December 2019 at
Kalamandira, Mysore. It was an wonderful event and I
congratulate all the musicians and organisers responsible
fortheevent.
Music can be a source of pleasure and contentment, but
there are many other psychological benefits as well.
Music has a direct effect on our hormones. If you listen to
music you enjoy, it decreases levels of the hormone
cortisol in your body, counteracting the effects chronic
stress. Stress causes 60% of all illnesses and diseases, so
lowerlevelsofstressmeanhigherchancesofoverallwell‐
being.
I am also thankful to the Geet Gaata Chal team for
felicitating meontheoccasion.
Everyday, on an average, we consume 1 kg of food, 2 litres
of water and 12 kgs of air. Although we are all concerned
about the quality of food we eat and the purity of water
we drink, we are unaware of the harmful effects of the air
we breathe. In this issue we have an article “Quality of
Air:QualityofLife”onAirPollution.
I wish you a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous
Makara Sankranthi
Hopeyouwillfindthisissueinteresting.
B.R.Pai

2. 2
(contd...3)
Air pollution in India has increased rapidly due to
population growth, increase in the numbers of
vehicles, use of fuels , bad transportation systems ,
poor land use pattern, industrialization, and above
all, ineffective environmental regulations. Sulphur
Dioxide, Nitrogen Dioxide, Particulate Matter are
some of the pollutants which contribute to
environmentalpollution. ManymajorIndiancities,
including Mumbai, Pune and Kolkata, grapple with
air pollution. However, India's air pollution crisis is
largely due to the noxious, winter air quality in
DelhiandsomecitiesinnorthandcentralIndia.
WhatisAirPollution?
The Earth is surrounded by a blanket of air (made
up of various gases) called the atmosphere. The
atmosphere helps protect the Earth and allow life
to exist. Without it, we would be burned by the
intense heat of the sun during the day or frozen by
theverylowtemperaturesatnight.
Any additional gas, particles or odours that are
introduced into the air (either by nature or human
activity) to distort this natural balance and cause
harm to living things can be called air pollution.
The air in our atmosphere is mostly made up of two
gases that are essential for life on Earth: nitrogen
and oxygen. However, the air also contains smaller
amounts of many other gases and particles. Things
that pollute the air are called pollutants. Air Quality
Index (AQI)tracksfivemajorairpollutants:
1.Groundlevelozone
2.Carbonmonoxide
3.Sulfurdioxide
4.Nitrogendioxide
5.Airborneparticles,oraerosols
Ground level ozone and airborne particles are the
two air pollutants that pose the greatest risk to
humanhealth.
IndoorAirPollution:
Indoor air pollution is more dangerous by five to ten
times as compared to outdoor air pollution. When
we mop the floor at home with a chemical cleaning
agent, we are inhaling volatile organic compounds
(VOCs)releasedbyit.
The sources behind indoor air pollution are different
and as they are invisible, people are unaware about
it.
Tobacco smoke, formaldehyde present in
deodorants and body sprays, incense sticks,
furniture, dust from carpets, cooking gas emissions,
heaters and fireplaces, bacterial growth such as
fungus and mold, air fresheners, dandruff found on
the fur of pets, cleaningagents, disinfectants, paints,
varnish, etc, also cause the particulate matter (PM)
toincreaseindoors
ImpactonHealth
The health effects of air pollution are serious – one
third of deaths from stroke, lung cancer and heart
disease are due to air pollution. This is having an
equivalent effect to that of smoking tobacco, and
muchhigherthan,say,theeffectsofeatingtoomuch
salt.
Our physical and psychological well‐being is affected
differently by the kind of air pollution we are
Quality of Air and Quality of Life

3. 3
exposed to. There are many organs and bodily functions
thatcanbeharmed,theconsequencesincluding:
 Respiratorydiseases
 Cardiovasculardamage
 Fatigue,headachesandanxiety
 Irritationoftheeyes,noseandthroat
 Damagetoreproductiveorgans
 Harmtotheliver,spleenandblood
 Nervoussystemdamage.
Urbanpopulationsaremoreexposedtosuffertheeffects
of air pollution and, in this context, people who are
already ill are particularly vulnerable, as are children and
theelderly.
Keeping the air quality as clan as possible in our home as
well as in our area is our responsibility too. Studies says
that vehicular pollution contributes to 65%. By using
public transport or by using car pools, we reduce it to
some extent. By quitting or smoking less we can lessen
burden of home pollution. Planting trees, using solar
energy are some of the practices we can adopt that help
tokeepourairclean.
Secondhand Smoke
Secondhand smoke, a combination of the tobacco
smoke exhaled by a smoker and the smoke emitted
fromtheburningendofacigarette,cigar,orpipe,is
classified as a Group A carcinogen by the
Environmental Protection Agency. It contains more
than 4,000 hazardous chemicals known to
generate cancer and heart disease which has been
proven to kill over 41,000 young nonsmoking
adults and more than 400 infants on a yearly basis,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Six ways to reduce
Indoor Air Pollution
1. Don't smoke indoors or near children, but
ensuretheyremainsupervised
2. Use cleaner fuels and technologies to cook, heat
and light your home ‐ choose electricity, natural
gas, liquefied petroleum gas, biogas or solar stoves
orovens
3. Use ultra‐low emission stoves with processed
solid fuels (wood pellets) if cleaner options are not
available
4. Always cook in a well‐ventilated area, or outside
ifit'shardtoventilateyourkitchenorcookingarea
5. Avoid using kerosene lamps or stoves for
cookingorlighting
6. Don't burn candles or use air fresheners, which
addtoxicchemicalstotheair

4. 4
Visit of Mysore Book Club Members
Mysore Book Club members led by Mrs.Shubha
Sanjay Urs visited the Foundation on 9th December
2019.
Mrs.Shubha Sanjay Urs introduced Dr.B.R.Pai to the
members. Dr.Pai welcomed the members and shared
his experience of reading and collecting books.
Members were surprised to know that Dr. Pai has
more than 15000 books in his personal library. Dr. Pai
mentioned that “reading books” was one of the
contributingfactorstowardshissuccess.
Dr. Pai also explained them how he had transformed
from Engineer to Doctor. In his young age, he was
very poor tolerance to modern medicine which
forced him to learn to adopt alternative therapies. On
the lighter side he observed that for many prevention
is better than cure but in my case prevention is the
onlycure.
Members of the book club enjoyed the serene
atmosphere of the Himalayan Salt Crystal cave. Dr. Pai
narrated them the difficulties he faced to establish this
caveinMysore.
They also visited the Energy Medicine Center and
experienced the Chakra Healing Chambers, Blood
Circulatory Massager, Trampoline, Hot Bed, Spine
Massager etc. They were also informed about the
Structured Water Units. The book club members will
surelyplanonemorevisittothefacility.
Written & Edited by: Arun B.R. & S.Venkateshan