Health and healing, part 2

There has been a lot of controversy in the news these days about the H1N1 virus, commonly referred to as the Swine Flu.

First has been the recurring controversy about "fear mongering". I won't go into that controversy here, but rather will just ackowledge it and add those two lines of wisdom found in all the Sacred Scriptures in the world:

• "The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom."
• "He who fears God fears nothing else, and he who does not fear God fears all else."

It is worth noting that fear is defined as a mild discomfort, as opposed to terror which is a paralyzing fear. I shall elaborate on this more in my next post.

For now, the controversy I wish to examine is the recognition that this virus, H1N1 (remember, I started talking about that), seems to spread more readily amongst Aborignal Canadians than in most other populations in Canada. Also, it seems to spread more quickly on the reserves than in the cities.

Why would this be?

Although a few have argued that this is due to genetics, this seems unlikely. Others have cited the living conditions on the reserves, which may be more likely. The living conditions in cities, however, seem more likely to conduce to the spread of a virus like the flu, so I am wondering if there is another factor, equally appalling as the endemic poverty on the reserves, but a bit more subtle.

In the Baha'i Writings, there is an interesting quote found in the statement "One Common Faith". They speak of "the negation of the ood that evil represents", pointing out that what is commonly thought of as "evil" is in actuality an absence of that which is good. It has no tangible existence, but is "severely crippling in its effect". This, in case you have missed the connection, is the basis of posi-genesis.

But to give you the full quote, and how it applies here: "...the negation of the good that evil represents, as with darkness, ignorance or disease, is serverely crippling in its effect." Please note the inclusion of "disease".

The parallel is that the lefthand column is the absence, and the righthand column is the existence:

• evil --> good
• darkness --> light
• ignorance --> knowledge
• disease --> health

How often have we thought of disease and health in the same manner as darkness and light?

In a Tablet to a physician, Baha'u'llah wrote, "Do not neglect medical treatment when it is necessary, but leave it off when health has been restored. Treat disease through diet, by preference, refraining from the use of drugs; and if you find what is required in a single herb, do not resort to a compound medicament. ... Abstain from drugs when the health is good, but administer them when necessary."

According to 'Abdu'l-Baha, the Bab said that, "the people of Baha must develop the science of medicine to such a high degree that they will heal illnesses by means of foods."

So what does this have to do with H1N1?

I am wondering if anyone has looked at the effect that diet has on the body's tendency to fall prey to severe illnesses? The modern diet on many reserves, in many poverty stricken areas in the world, and amongst the lower income people in "developed" countries, is sadly deficient.

We need only look at the various farming subsidies that enable, for example, corn-based products, such as chips and other forms of junk food, to be cheaper than simple vegetables to see a reason for why people's diet may not be providing as much nutrition for health as is needed.

I do not have an answer to this dilemma, nor am I claiming that this is the singular reason, but it bears investigating, in my own estimation.

Perhaps if we could learn to build health, than the issue of disease would not be as much of a concern as it currently is.