1. STRESS
AND
ADVERTISEMENTS
DR.
SRHINIWAS
KASHALIKAR

2. One of the major stressors; in our society is; aggressive,
attractive, stupefyingly vulgar, erratically bizarre, and
most importantly atrociously misleading and deceptive,
advertising spree and hype; on print and electronic
media; of products and people hazardous and harmful to
the individual and universal welfare.
Whether we are involved in controlling, conceiving,
creating and telecasting; these ill conceived, ill informed,
ill intentioned and ill informing advertisements; or we are
victims of these advertisements; in either case; we are
bound to undergo pathological STRESS; and ruin
ourselves and others.
When we are shamelessly and unabashedly obsessed by
our petty pursuits; we get blinded to the most vital
principles; viz. individual and universal blossoming.
Because we get blinded to such a sublime principle; we
create laws, policies, rules and administrative system;
which promote manufacture, promotion, and use of
products, which are detrimental to individual and
universal health and well being.
Alternatively; because as we are blind; we use and make
publicity by word of mouth; of the products detrimental
to individual and universal health and well being.

3. The case in point is advertisements of disinfectants,
washing powders, washing bars and toilet soaps; where
the illusory fear of germs; is conceived and spread
through the media systematically; and the advocating and
creating the hype of even the policies, plans and
programs; to benefit the manufacture, marketing and sale
of these products.
There are blatant claims; anywhere from 90 to 99 percent
disinfection, when no one knows the number of
organisms; before and after the use of a particular
disinfectant.
But we; because of our callousness and pettiness or
blindness, ignorance, indolence and non-receptivity to
wisdom; either conceive and create or believe and fall
prey to; such advertisements! Thus our callousness
and/or gullibility come together to spread the “STRESS”
of advertisements in general; and “STRESS of GERMS”
and “GERMS of STRESS”!
Actually the medical science is in total agreement on the
fact that the “germ theory”, which proposed that the
germ is a singular cause of infective and infectious
diseases; is far from being completely true.

4. The mass of germs, which include; viruses, bacteria,
ricketssiae, fungi, protozoa and so on; constitutes;
according some authorities; approximately 100 times the
mass of human beings. In other words; they are
ubiquitous. We are surrounded in and out by them!
Moreover the germs are not always harmful. There are
symbiotic (beneficially dependent on each other),
commensals (harmlessly coexisting together) and
saprophytes (living on dead tissues), which are harmless
and/or useful germs. Even those germs, which can infect
and harm us (referred to as virulent or pathogenic); do so;
only when our immune system i.e. body resistance is
relatively inefficient and/or their number is excessively
increased, in very short time so that we can not resist.
By overproduction, deceitful advertisements; and sale; of
the soaps, disinfectants, and germicides; we are
destroying the natural oil (sebum) and useful organisms
in our skin, thus rendering our skin dry and lusterless and
vulnerable to infections; and rendering our sewage and
sullage (the silt washed down); detrimental to the fertility
of our soil.
Once upon a time; we (if required) used (and very rightly
so) fruits such as lemon, ritha, gram flour, milk, honey

5. and such natural products for body cleaning and neem,
cow urine and such natural and harmless products for
disinfection.
Thirty nine years ago I bought; a toilet soap and used it
with great (idiotic) pride! But ever since, for last thirty
nine years; I have been feeling very happy (and wisely
so); in not using toilet soap for either bath or washing
face; barring in few exceptional circumstances!
As a rule, I take bath (which has ten different health
benefits, according to one of the greatest scholars of all
times; Yajnavalkya); twice a day, instead of once! I am
happy to share with the readers, that; excepting once,
(due to reduction in my body resistance due to metabolic
problems) I have never suffered with fungal infection of
skin or bad body odor.
Without any cosmetic efforts, my hair and skin do not
look weary, lusterless, older or more wrinkled than friends
of my age.
What is true about disinfectants, soap and germicides; is
also true for tooth pastes.

6. There are claims; that there is 90 to 99 percent
disinfection within few minutes. How can one measure
the quantity and/or count the number of different
varieties of germs and/or identify and confirm their
harmful nature (virulence or pathhogenicity) or otherwise;
before and after the use of tooth paste?
But we; either conceive and create such deceptive and
misleading advertisements; or blindly “see” some
mercenary voluptuous models brushing and grinning to
show teeth; and embracing each other unabashedly; and
begin to brush with the same tooth paste!
I also used to get influenced by such gimmicks and hence
brush teeth with some popular and hyped tooth paste;
only to show that I was “modern, progressive and
advanced”! This was also because foreign ideologies and
ways of life were hailed and hyped as superior; and being
Hindu and Indian was inculcated (directly and indirectly
and knowingly and unknowingly) to be retrogressive,
primitive, unscientific, lowly and backward!
But today, I am pleasantly disillusioned. I do not any
more think that daily brushing with some hyped tooth
paste; is essential! I use tooth powder and/or tooth paste
of my choice (ayurvedic) and rub my teeth and gums in a

7. prayerful attitude and with great happiness and self
esteem!
To my great satisfaction, I don’t have halitosis (bad
mouth odor) and I do not have any tooth problems; for
last at least 20 years!
Like disinfectants, soaps and germicides and tooth
pastes, there is propaganda of products depending upon
the season and situation.
Thus spread of germs through water is hyped during
monsoon. It is true that water borne diseases are common
in rainy season. But they are common due to scarcity of
water during summer also; and not merely due to
contamination of drinking water; by sewage and sullage;
as often occurs; during rainy season. In any case the
solution is to improve safe water supply and not telecast
hysterical advertisements and spread the dread of water
blatantly threatening the people with the fear of diseases
and coaxing them to buy water filters and/or mineral
water bottles.
We are either deliberately cheating and harming the
people; or are abysmally ignorant about the truth (and
ignorant about our ignorance) underlying the claims; of

8. killing a specific organism such as swine flu, specific
percentage of killing such as 99 percent, specific stoppage
of hair fall such as 98 percent, specific stoppage of
splitting of hair such as 97 percent, and specific
certification of a particular product about its efficacy by
some medical or dental association with respect to the
content, dependability, guarantee and basis such
certification such as double blind clinical trials!
Can we “see the truth” and defeat the “stress of germs”
and “germs of stress” caused by us? Can we rise above
our cruelty or indolence; and defeat wrong policies, plans
and programs; promoting overproduction, propaganda,
hype and inadvertent and indiscriminate use; of
potentially harmful disinfectants, soaps, germicides, tooth
pastes, water filters and mineral water?
Yes! We can!
As regards the “stress of germs”; we can take certain
simple precautionary measures, such as drinking
sufficient water in morning, eating two leaves of neem,
tulasi (holy basil) and bel each; taking juice of aloe Vera
(korphad i.e. kumari) and tinospora cordifolia (gulvel i.e.
guduchi), eating Chyavanaprash 1 teaspoon daily,
drinking a cup of cow milk with turmeric (halad), dry

9. ginger (sunth) and honey (madh), doing Kapalbhati i.e.
active abdominal expiration without discomfort; (while
making sure that we don't have trauma, surgery, hernia of
any kind and pregnancy and any other wound on
abdominal or related regions), taking bath, changing
clothes and washing hands; at least twice a day, applying
a drop of cow ghee, anu tail, shadbindu tail or
panchendriya vardhan tail in both nostrils, taking a
capsule of multivitamin and B complex alternate day,
avoiding lifts (elevators) and crowded places and centrally
air conditioned places such as railway stations; and
cinema halls, theatres, and malls respectively; to reduce
the chances of infections, taking decoction of jaggery,
pepper (kali mirch) and ginger (or adding it to tea) if we
are suffering from cough and cold, and thereby get fair
degree of protection, though; no one, including the
advertisers of various products mentioned above, can give
any guarantee!
But over and above all, we can conquer all these varieties
of STRESS through Total Stress Management (the core of
which is NAMASMARAN) on the top priority basis,
getting its universal and eternal empowerment and
enlightenment, seeing the truth; and responding wisely,
fearlessly and appropriately!