Coronavirus Pandemic Disease: The Role of Universal Peace Education in Its Remedy

HEALTH, 29 Jun 2020

Surya Nath Prasad, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service

Secret of health is to be fit physically, vitally, mentally, intellectually and spiritually to survive. For details about the health, the readers may refer to the paper on the theme: “Education for Survival” submitted by the author of these lines Dr. Surya Nath Prasad at the Third World Congress of the International Association of Educators for World Peace held from November23-27, 1982 at Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA, this paper was published in two issues of University News (a Journal of Association of Indian Universities), Vol. XXI, No. 10, May 15, 1983 and No. 11, June 1, 1983.

However, health for a few or even for many is a danger for them also unless all would not be able to attain health. Like illness, health is also infectious in good sense. Hence there is a wish and prayer for health, happiness and peace not for a few or many but for all cited in ancient Indian holy book: Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad as:

“May all be happy,
May all be free from diseases.
May all attain welfare,
May none be in grief.
Om peace, peace, peace”

But haves and have-nots both are neither happy, nor free from diseases, nor attaining welfare, nor are free from grief, and there is violence on the earth, beneath the earth and above the earth.

The peoples of the whole world have been in the grip of poverty and inequality, and violence and war, and now they are facing to be the deadly Coronavirus pandemic disease, and currently there is no medicine or vaccine to cure this novel disease except to keep themselves in isolation from others and regular practice of cleanliness to prevent from this deadly disease. No doubt, in future the people may face other deadly unknown infectious diseases having no medicines unless we, particularly the medical fraternity include the complete specific courses on Hygiene in medical sciences, and government education departments in all the nation-states introduce the general courses on hygiene (elementary physiology and hygiene, and everyday science)   in all the grades of education facilitating for all children to be in schools considering education as investment in nations and world building. Here one may refer to the article of this author on the topic: “Hygiene and Peace”. The author of these lines had an opportunity to address the audience of physician doctors on the theme of ‘Hygiene and Peace’ at Madrid, Spain on 7^th May, 1999 organized by Lama Gangchen World Peace Foundation, Milan, Italy. His Holiness Lama Gangchen Rinpoche recently died on 18 April 2020 due to Coronavirus disease.

In his speech, this author told the participant doctors that Hygiene stands for preservation of health, prevention from diseases and cure of diseases. But courses in medical sciences are manly based on cure of diseases. If the rest two principles of hygiene, viz. preservation of health and prevention from diseases would have also been included in the courses of medical sciences, there would not be any disease or infectious diseases or even Coronavirus disease. And people everywhere would be totally free from any diseases.

Here I have to cite the example of Lord Rama under whose good governance; people were free from physical, mental and spiritual diseases. Therefore, in all the nation-states, persons who are involved in governance of their governments must follow the principles of good governance of Lord Rama.

I n fact, health, holiness and happiness have the same origin that is education. According to Hitopdesha, “Education gives rise to self-discipline, self-discipline brings abilities, with abilities comes wealth, (prosperity), wealth promotes social service and social service brings happiness and peace.” Truly, a few men’s or women’s to be healthy is a danger for them to be victims of diseases including infectious diseases, even pandemic Coronavirus disease.

But education was not and is not man-making; hence it destroyed those to whom it reached and it destroyed those to whom it was denied, and still it destroys those to whom it reaches and to whom it is denied.

The reason was and is that education was and is neither for all (people) nor in all the five elements (body, vitality, mind, intellect and spirit, which are universally inherent in every man and woman everywhere without any discrimination).

Hence we all are handicapped, some physically, some vitally, some mentally, some intellectually and some spiritually, and many are handicapped in all the five bodies. Being handicapped we all exploit each other’s ignorance which leads to violence, not only towards others, but towards our own near and dear, and sometimes towards ourselves also. And also we all suffer with deficiencies which give birth to the variety of diseases due to lack of ignorance about our own five bodies, viz. physical, vital, mental, intellectual and spiritual, and their proper nourishment.

Results of Mis-education and Non-education

Mis-education for a Few Privileged Rich and Non-education for Many Deprived Poor have given birth to high speed explosion in population everywhere leading to en-masse poverty, which badly creating Pollution and that spreading deadly bacterial and viral infectious diseases including Coronavirus pandemic disease now having no vaccine immediately available to cure.

Explosion in Population

Explosion population denotes sudden increase in a large number of people in the nation-states inclusive in the world. The author of these lines recalls his memory when he wrote a paper on the theme: “Indian Population: A Survey” published in SANSAR (The World, Varanasi, India) on July 06, 1967, and found in the year 1967, the population of India was 51.89 Crores, and the population of the world was 346.31 Crores. This author, visualizing the rate of high speed in increase of population, delivered a Talk on the theme: “Family Planning: A Demand of the Era”, which was broadcasted on All India Radio Allahabad, Lucknow, Varanasi and Rampur at 8 p.m. on 8 July 1968. And now we find the Indian population is 136 Crores, and the world’s population is 777.77 Crores in 2019.  These figures indicate the increase in population is more than double in 52 years of time.

En-masse Poverty

Explosion in population everywhere has promoted en-masse poverty. The author of these lines indicated and highlighted how the gravity of the high speed in increase of population would lead to more severe poverty all over the world  in his Presidential Speech on the theme: Education for   Eradication of Poverty for Peace at the Eighth Indian National Convention of IAEWP at the Government College of Education, Ujjain, M. P., India on 22 June, 1996  organized on the eve of International Year for the Eradication of Poverty, (Speech published in International Educator, Vol. 11, No. 3, 1996). Dr. Prasad reported that according to the United Nations Statistics there were 1.1 billion poor people in the world, and number was increasing, and he told, in India half of 900 million populations in grinding poverty, and nearly25 percent are still below the poverty line. According to the most recent estimates, in 2015, 10 percent of the world’s population or 734 million people lived on less than $1.90 a day. That’s down from nearly 36 percent or 1.9 billion people in 1990.  Source: Poverty Overview – World Bank Group, https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview

Here I should put a question: how the poor very low-earn people can manage proper food for them and their dependents to keep their physical body healthy and free from any diseases – bacterial or viral.

Pollution

The increase in poverty means increase in large number of poor people who have created severe pollution everywhere. The human force has created and destroyed life on earth. Human plays a vital role in the degradation of the environment. In pollution, there are contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change or effect. The major forms of pollution are food, air, water, fire and space.  Survival of human beings depends on un-polluted food, air, water, fire and space. For more details in this regard, readers may refer to the Presidential Speech on the theme: Education for Environment and Peace delivered by the author of these lines Dr. Surya Nath Prasad at the Euro-Asian Congress, Giresun, Turkey on 2 August 1997, Published by Lund University, Malmo, Sweden in 1998, Distributed by U. S. Department of Education (ERIC) and Available in National Library of Australia to borrow. One may refer to the brief of his speech published in Transcend Media Service on 30 N0vember 2015, its link is: https://www.transcend.org/tms/2015/11/edcation-for-environment-and-peace/

Diseases

Pollution has been spreading deadly infectious diseases including Coronavirus pandemic disease now having no vaccine immediately available to cure.

Apart from violence of killings, genocides and assassinations, the people of the whole world had also to suffer with the cruel violence of epidemic and pandemic viral diseases in which many human lives were lost. There were 20 of the worst epidemics and pandemics, dating to prehistoric to modern times, which took several lives, and they were:

1. Prehistoric epidemic: Circa 3000 B.C. – About 5,000 years ago, an epidemic wiped out a prehistoric villagein China
2. Plague of Athens: 430 B.C.: Some estimates put the death toll as high as 100,000 people
3. Antonine Plague: A.D. 165-180: killed over 5 million people in the Roman Empire
4. Plague of Cyprian: A.D. 250-271: killed 5,000 people a day in Rome alone
5. Plague of Justinian: A.D. 541-542: Some estimates suggest that up to 10% of the world’s population died
6. The Black Death: 1346-1353: wiped out over half of Europe’s population
7. Cocoliztli epidemic: 1545-1548:  cocoliztli epidemic was a form of viral hemorrhagic fever that killed 15 million inhabitants of Mexico and Central America.
8. American Plagues: 16th century: 90% of the indigenous population in the Western Hemisphere was killed off.
9. Great Plague of London: 1665-1666: about 100,000 people, including 15% of the population of London, had died.
10. Great Plague of Marseille: 1720-1723: 100,000 people died in Marseille and surrounding areas. It’s estimated that up to 30% of the population of Marseille may have perished.
11. Russian plague: 1770-1772: 100,000 people died
12. Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic: 1793: more than 5,000 people had died
13. Flu pandemic: 1889-1890: In just a few months, the disease spanned the globe, killing 1 million people. It took just five weeks for the epidemic to reach peak mortality. The earliest cases were reported in Russia. The virus spread rapidly throughout St. Petersburg before it quickly made its way throughout Europe and the rest of the world, despite the fact that air travel didn’t exist yet.
14. American polio epidemic: 1916: A polio epidemic that started in New York City caused 27,000 cases and 6,000 deaths in the United States. Worldwide Salk vaccinations have greatly reduced the disease, although it is not yet completely eradicated.
15. Spanish Flu: 1918-1920: An estimated 500 million people from the South Seas to the North Pole fell victim to Spanish Flu.
16. Asian Flu: 1957-1958: The Asian Flu pandemic was another global showing for influenza. With its roots in China, the disease claimed more than 1 million lives. The total death toll was more than 1.1 million worldwide, with 116,000 deaths occurring in the United States.
17. AIDS pandemic and epidemic: 1981-present day: AIDS has claimed an estimated 35 million lives since it was first identified
18. H1N1 Swine Flu pandemic: 2009-2010:The 2009 swine flu pandemic was caused by a new strain of H1N1 that originated in Mexico in the spring of 2009 before spreading to the rest of the world. In one year, the virus infected as many as 1.4 billion people across the globe and killed between 151,700 and 575,400 people, according to the CDC.
19. West African Ebola epidemic: 2014-2016: Ebola ravaged West Africa between 2014 and 2016, with 28,600 reported cases and 11,325 deaths.
20. Zika Virus epidemic: 2015-present day: The impact of the recent Zika epidemic in South America and Central America won’t be known for several years. In the meantime, scientists face a race against time to bring the virus under control. The Zika virus is usually spread through mosquitoes of the Aedesgenus, although it can also be sexually transmitted in humans.

Source: 20 of the Worst Epidemics and Pandemics in History by Owen Jarus – Live Science Contributor, All about History March 20, 2020

21. And now, the people of the whole world are suffering from and fearing of Coronavirus Pandemic Disease. And globally on 15 May 2020, according to World Health Organization, Coronavirus Pandemic confirmed cases are 4,307,287 and number of deaths is 295,101. Highest cases of Coronavirus Pandemic by country, territory, or area are 1,361,522 in United States of America, 252,245 in Russian Federation, 229,709 in The United Kingdom, 228,691 in Spain, 222,104 in Italy, 188,974 in Brazil, 172,239 in Germany, 143,114 in Turkey, 138,609 in France, 114,533 in Iran (Islamic Republic of), 84,469 in China, 78,003 in India.

However, the knowledge and practice of Universal Peace Education will minimize the number of population, which will eradicate the poverty, and this will reduce the pollution, that will help the people to be free from all types of diseases including Coronavirus disease.

 Role of Universal Peace Education in Remedy of Coronavirus Pandemic Disease

The parents give biological birth to the mankind, and the education gives the second birth to the mankind for humanity. But all educational systems everywhere in the past and present have been mostly inhuman, nonhuman, and antihuman, and in future this trend will continue being it was and is neither for all people nor in all the elements which constitute every man and woman. Swami Vivekanand also observed, and said, “…it is not a man-making education….” “…fifty years of such education has not produced one original man….” In ancient times A Greek philosopher walked around searching for a man in broad daylight, but he was carrying a lantern in his hand. Everybody was surprised and asked him what was doing. He said, “I am searching for a man and I could not find him without a lantern.” The group said, “We are all men.” He replied, “I am sorry, I am looking for a man who is full of love for everybody, full of scholarship, full of compassion, and is real human being.” All of them know that they would not meet the conditions set forth by the philosopher.

The reason is that we have learnt to be Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists,, and people of other faiths. We have learnt to be Americans, Russians, Chinese, Indians, and persons of other nations. We have learnt that we are blacks, whites and persons of other races. We have learnt to be doctors, engineers, lawyers, teachers, and other professionals. And also we have learnt that we are husband and wife, father and son, brother and sister, and other relations. But in all of these learning, man (humanity is missing.

Therefore, we have to learn to be man (human) for physically, vitally, mentally, intellectually and spiritually healthy. For this, we have to grow man (humanity) in ourselves. It is said that time period to grow healthy is a year for grains, 10 years for a tree and 100 years for a man (human).

Hence the author of these lines has been continuously studying the global concept of man and education and their interwoven relations for the last five decades since 1970. Dr. Prasad founded Peace Education: An International Journal in 1975 on the eve of UN International Year of Women with the purpose of providing international platform for dialogue on health and peace being distributed  free of cost throughout the world by its founder, editor, and publisher Surya Nath Prasad, the author of these lines. And Dr Prasad has developed the concept of Universal Peace Education referring to the books and articles on the man (Human), viz. Man, The Unknown by Alexis Carrel, Has Man A Future? By Bertrand Russell, The Spiritual Crisis of Man by Paul Brunton, The Religion of Man by Rabindranath Tagore, Man and Indian Society by K. Damodaran, The Concept of Man edited By S. Radhakrishnan and P. T. Raju, and The Chapters in this book, viz. The Concept of Man in Greek Thought by John Wild, The Concept of Man in Jewish Thought by A. J. Heschel, The Concept of Man in Chinese Thought by W. t. Chan, The Concept of Man in Indian Thought by P. T. Raju, The Concept of Man in Christian Thought by Ernst Benz, The Concept of Man in Islamic Thought by Ibrahim Madkour, The Concept of Man in Marxist Thought by M. B. Mitin; and definitions of education of great thinkers like Swami Vivekanand, Pestalozzi, Dewy, Mahatma Gandhi, and a small but a very great ancient Indian book Taittiriyopanishad, which deals with man – human (inclusive of his and her creator God) and education (for his and her integral manifestation).

For more details about Universal Peace Education of the author of these lines, one may refer to his Chapter on the theme: Universal Peace Education: Concept, Meaning and Practice included in the book: Pour une éducation à la paix dans un monde violent (For Peace Education in a Violent World) Edited by Obrillant Damus, Christoph Wulf, Joseph P. Saint-Fleur, Denis Jeffrey, and  Published by L’Harmattan, 2017: Paris, France https://translate.google.co.in/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.editions-harmattan.fr/index.asp%3Fnavig%3Dcatalogue%26obj%3Dlivre%26no%3D58155&prev=search  This Chapter was written on request of one of the editors of the book Dr. Christoph Wulf, Vice President, German Commission for UNESCO, Professor of Education, Free University, Berlin, Germany.

The Man (Human) and the Universal Peace Education: Every man and woman everywhere without any discrimination is made of five elements, viz. earth, air, water, fire and space. These five elements are in scattered form in universe, but all these five elements are in consolidated form in every man and woman, this is why a man or a woman is called miniature universe. These five elements have corresponding meaning like earth-body, air-vitality, water-mind, fire-intellect and space-spirit. And the universal peace education helps every man and woman for perpetual integral manifestation of these five elements throughout his and her life to be healthy and peaceful. In other words, universal peace education is for preservation of health, prevention from diseases, and cure of diseases of every man and woman. Thus every man and woman has five bodies, viz. physical, vital, mental, intellectual and spiritual. And each body needs particular nourishing fresh food and quantity to grow healthy and to prevent from diseases, and also the diseased body of man or woman requires the compensatory food to be cured.

No person is privileged. The idea of privilege is brutal and tyrannical. No man or woman is superior to another. No person is privileged to any one of elements – either physical or vital or mental or intellectual or spiritual – or a few or all. Hence, peace education based on five elements of man and woman is utterly against all privileges, as all men and women are equally endowed with these five elements, and being so powerful in these five treasure within to be healthy and peaceful for forming his or her own appearance as per his or her own will.

Universal Peace Education is a cosmopolitan Discipline because it is the study of common five elements viz. body, vitality, mind, intellect and spirit universally inherent in every man and woman without any discrimination, and also the similar human beings everywhere. They have the similar basic human needs of food, clothing, shelter, education and health. They have common feelings of happiness and sorrow. Their basic physical structure, mental make-up, moral needs and spiritual aspirations are the same the world over. The cycle of birth, growth, childhood and youth, of sickness, old age and death, of love and friendship are the same for all men and women. We all share a common origin and common destiny: the human race is one. Homo sapiens are everywhere the same. As such, the world would be based on communication of minds and hearts: homo-noia, of one mind. Universal peace education is the life-long process for awakening about these five elements and means for integral manifestation of these elements continuously in all men and women everywhere through the mutual help and cooperation of different agencies of this universal peace education, viz.  family (parents), school (teachers), religious institutions (preachers), nation-state (rulers or servants of people as their elected representatives for good governance and political leaders), united nations (representatives of the nation-states).

One may draw the conclusion about the suffering and misery of mankind is utter ignorance about him or her being composed of ecological five elements within and their relation with similar ecological elements outside in the universe, and non-availability of education based on their five elements.

Prof. Prasad’s universal peace education is manifestation of the seeds of integral culture of body, vitality, mind, intellect, and spirit. These elements constitute every man and woman without any discrimination of race, caste, creed, language, nationality and other differences. And this education would continue perpetually till the end of life of every man and woman unfolding integrally the treasure of physical, vital, mental, intellectual and spiritual cultures within leading them to be healthy, peaceful and nonviolent. Another meaning of man is that man (male and female both) is made of five elements, viz. earth, air, water, fire and space. These elements are in scattered form in the universe, but these are in consolidated form in man (male and female both). Hence man is called a miniature universe. In this sense, man is full ecology or he or she is in ecological form. Therefore man’s inside ecological disturbance disturbs outside ecology, and also outside ecological imbalance disturbs ecology inside of man.  Therefore ecology inside and outside of man and woman should be nourished and maintained in terms of purity for all the elements to sustain healthy life ecologically leading to health and nonviolence, in other words, free from diseases and all forms of violence.

However, both the five elements of man and woman have corresponding meaning as stated below in Table 1.

Table 1 – Elements in Man and Women

Elements in Man and Woman and their Corresponding Meaning:

Earth                                                                                           Body                                                                                                                                                            Air                                                                                                 Vitality

Water                                                                                             Mind

Fire                                                                                                Intellect

Space                                                                                             Spirit

And only this type of peace education can lead to culture of peace by unfolding integrated self culture, and failure or partial unfoldment of these elements of culture in man and woman can lead to culture of corruption, war, intolerance, oppression, exploitation, terrorism and other forms of violence including physical and mental diseases.  The following Table 2 shows the weakness, sickness, violence, nonviolence, health and peace as per non-unfoldment, partial unfoldment, and full unfoldment of elements in man and woman.

TABLE 2

Showing Elements or Sheaths in Man and the outcomes of their Non-Unfoldment, Partial Unfoldment and Full-Unfoldment

If a person fails to manifest his bodily self, he is bound to be physically weak and sick, and there would be no chance for him to survive, and if the number of such persons is more, the human progeny may be doubted for the people being lack of bodily manifestation would be physically weak. Due to lack of vital unfoldment, man would suffer with the problems of gas, acidity and cough which affect his other selves also. Mental non-unfoldment makes man unstable. Man becomes dull due to lack of intellectual unfoldment. Failure of spiritual manifestation leads to man spiritually non-awakened who becomes victim of blind faith. If a man fails to manifest all his five sheaths integrally, he becomes victim of violence of illness, corruption, oppression and exploitation which lead to him or her to the state of peacelessness. Partially unfolded sheaths/elements in man and woman lead him/her to physical ailments, vital disorders, mental conceitedness, intellectual arrogance, spiritual rigidity, conservatism, dogmatism and orthodoxy. And finally, partially unfolded sheaths/elements make men and women agitated, aggressive, corrupt, oppressors and exploiters and above all violent, and they are very tyrannical for themselves and others. But in the condition of fully unfolded sheaths/elements, man/woman becomes physically healthy and strong, vitally sound, mentally stable, intellectually sharp and spiritually awakened to be altruist, catholic or global. And if all the five sheaths are manifested integrally, man or woman will neither be oppressor and exploiter nor oppressed and exploited. He or she will be fully healthy, non-corrupt, non-aggressive, non-violent, tolerant, altruist, peaceful and fully healthy. And perpetual integral manifestation of these five elements helped a few exceptional persons due to their own efforts and sacrifices to be lord like Buddha and Shri Krishna, Prophets like Jesus and Muhammad, and saints like Sri Ramkrishna and Vivekananda and like other highly enlightened spiritual persons in different parts of the world.

Two-fold Concept of Universal Peace Education

However, Prof. Prasad’s Universal Peace Education based on five elements of man and woman will be for all leaving none, but in two-fold: first, integral peace education, and second, compensatory peace education.

Integral peace education

Integral peace education will be for coming generations who are supposed their five elements which constitute them are non-corrupt, un-crippled, and raw, pure and very prone to be manifested integrally, if they have opportunity and facility to be unfolded. They are able to unfold the treasure of integrated cultures inherent within themselves leading them to be just, peaceful and nonviolent, and physically, vitally, mentally, intellectually and spiritually healthy.

Every man and woman has 9 doors in their physical body that require being in order to keep rest four bodies healthy. They need nourishing and nutritive balanced food every day to grow their physical body healthy. Food includes all types of grains, foods that contain animal and vegetable proteins, green vegetables, green salads, juicy fruits, dry fruits, curd and milk. In addition to what to eat, how much to eat, how many times to eat, and how to eat should be kept in mind by every one for better hygiene. Every male and female adult should inhale 5,000 liter air daily to grow their vital body healthy. To keep their mental body healthy, they should drink 5 liter water daily. Heat and warm is needed to keep intellectual body healthy. For this, exposure of physical body before the rising sun is a must for 15 to 30 minutes daily. To keep spiritual body healthy, every man and woman should practice fellow-feeling, feeling of oneness and meditation of non-thinking for 30 minutes daily. This life-long process of universal peace education enables every man and woman to preserve their sustainable health and peace, to prevent them from any diseases or violence, and help them to be cured if they become victim of any diseases or violence by any chance or mistakes.

Compensatory universal peace education

Compensatory peace education will be for today’s crippled and sick generation. We are all crippled and sick in this world. Some are crippled and sick physically, some vitally, some mentally, some intellectually, some spiritually, and many are crippled  and sick in all parts of their body. In this sense, haves and have-nots both everywhere, though having enough resources and lack of resources respectively, but due to ignorance about themselves, are suffering from physical, vital, mental, intellectual and spiritual ailments. Though being handicapped and sick, we all are exploiting each other’s weaknesses by committing violence on others or on our own selves through ending our lives by doing suicide or being mentally sick or mad. Hence we all need compensatory peace education for recovery of our integral physical, vital, mental, intellectual and spiritual health.

If all the five elements, viz. earth, air, water, fire, and space within every man and woman are sick of bacterial or viral diseases including corona viral disease, all these outside pure and un-polluted elements in the universe work as medicines to cure them.

Thus Prof. Prasad’s universal peace education is for making and sustaining people healthy with all their five bodies to be healthy and peaceful; preventing them from being victims of diseases or violence and curing them if they become victim of diseases or violence. Therefore it is for all people leaving none and in all the five elements. And it is free of charge for everybody everywhere. Expenditure on universal peace education is not “expenditure”, but it is an “investment”, investment in human resource development, and in long run not only the particular society, but all society of the world will get heavy returns for centuries while the cost of ignorance about universal peace education can be very high for every society. Perpetual universal peace education is not only necessary for all and in all but essential for disease-free healthy and peaceful society. For more details in this regard, one may refer to my article Access to Peace Education published in Online Encyclopedia of Peace Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, 2008.

It is pertinent to mention here in the interest of the readers and participants of the Global Energy Parliament 2020 on the theme: “New Normal for the Post-Covid World” that the author of these lines Dr. Surya Nath Prasad organized IAEWP Second World Congress in the campus of Banaras Hindu University (from December 29, 1978 to January 2, 1979) as a Organizing Chairman of the Congress on the first elements of man (human) i.e. Earth – Body with the theme: Education and World Hunger (Educational Remedy of World Hunger), and he delivered his Presidential Speech on the theme: Food for Peace through Education. The Proceeding of the Congress has been published in the book form by Mittal Publications, New Delhi. And now he advises the enlightened, resourceful and interested persons, governments, the United Nations and the NGOs to organize the international conferences on the other four elements, viz. Air – vitality, Water – Mind, Fire – Intellect and Space – Spirit for dialogue and fruitful recommendations in the interest and benefit for all including the organizers.

Methodology of Universal Peace Education

Prof. Prasad’s methodology of universal peace education will be mathetics (the science of learning), not pedagogy (the science of teaching- as practiced in the current peace education). Because nobody teaches anybody, but we all learn from each other. Prof. Prasad always compares a peace educator or a teacher with a doctor. A doctor operates a wound of a patient, puts some medicines and makes the bandage, that’s all. But no doctor can enter into the process of   healing of the wound of the patient. The healing of the wound will take it own course.  However, the importance of the doctor does not diminish. He/she must be specialized and trained in operation, knowledgeable in proper medicines and skilled in bandages. Similarly a peace educator or a teacher arranges the things through variety of methods, techniques, devices and audio-visual aids so that learning in the learners may occur. But no peace educator or a teacher can enter in to the process of earning of the learners. Learning will take it own course. Here also, the importance of the peace educator or the teacher does not minimize. He/she is supposed to be well-educated in the concept and meaning of man in global perspective through the knowledge and practice of variety of disciplines and well-trained in various methods and techniques of learning with specialization in audio-visual aids.

Efforts of WHO and Other Researchers for Remedy of Coronavirus Disease

It is good news, praiseworthy effort, and helpful and beneficial advices of World Health Organization (WHO) to all the governments of the different nation-states and peoples of the whole world about taking the healthy foods and sufficient pure water.  According to World Health Organization,

“Eating a healthy diet is very important during the COVID-19 pandemic. What we eat and drink can affect our body’s ability to prevent, fight and recover from infections.

While no foods or dietary supplements can prevent or cure COVID-19 infection, healthy diets are important for supporting immune systems. Good nutrition can also reduce the likelihood of developing other health problems, including obesity, heart disease, diabetes and some types of cancer.

For babies, a healthy diet means exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months, with the introduction of nutritious and safe foods to complement breast milk from age 6 months to 2 years and beyond. For young children, a healthy and balanced diet is essential for growth and development. For older people, it can help to ensure healthier and more active lives.”

For maintaining healthy diet, WHO has advised:  “Eat a variety of food, including fruits and vegetables.

• Every day, eat a mix of whole grains like wheat, maize and rice, legumes like lentils and beans, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, with some foods from animal sources (e.g. meat, fish, eggs and milk).
• Choose wholegrain foods like unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat and brown rice when you can; they are rich in valuable fiber and can help you feel full for longer.
• For snacks, choose raw vegetables, fresh fruit, and unsalted nuts.”

Now the author of these lines Dr. Prasad wishes to tell about the report of The Guardian which enlightens us that

“Coronavirus has been detected on particles of air pollution by scientists investigating whether this could enable it to be carried over longer distances and increase the number of people infected.  …

The Italian scientists used standard techniques to collect outdoor air pollution samples at one urban and one industrial site in Bergamo province and identified a gene highly specific to Covid-19 in multiple samples. The detection was confirmed by blind testing at an independent laboratory.

Leonardo Setti at the University of Bologna in Italy, who led the work, said it was important to investigate if the virus could be carried more widely by air pollution.

“I am a scientist and I am worried when I don’t know,” he said. “If we know, we can find a solution. But if we don’t know, we can only suffer the consequences.”

Two other research groups have suggested air pollution particles could help coronavirus travel further in the air.

A statistical analysis by Setti’s team suggests higher levels of particle pollution could explain higher rates of infection in parts of northern Italy before a lockdown was imposed, an idea supported by another preliminary analysis. The region is one of the most polluted in Europe. …

Prof Jonathan Reid at Bristol University in the UK is researching airborne transmission of coronavirus. “It is perhaps not surprising that while suspended in air, the small droplets could combine with background urban particles and be carried around.”

He said the virus had been detected in tiny droplets collected indoors in China.

Setti said tiny droplets between 0.1 and 1 micron may travel further when coalesced with pollution particles up to 10 microns than on their own. This is because the combined particle is larger and less dense than the droplet and can remain buoyed by the air for longer.

“The pollution particle is like a micro-airplane and the passengers are the droplets,” said Sett. Reid is more cautious: “I think the very small change in the size of the [combined] particles is unlikely to play much of a role.”

Prof Frank Kelly at Imperial College London said the idea of pollution particles carrying the virus further afield was an interesting one. “It is possible, but I would like to see this work repeated by two or three groups.”

It shows that in view of WHO variety of nutritious foods and pure and sufficient water are important during the COVID-19 pandemic. WHO has recognized the foods of two bodies of man (human) viz. body (physical) and mind, and the author of these lines Dr. Prasad hopes that soon in future WHO will recognize the other three bodies of man (human) viz. vital, intellectual and spiritual and will advise their proper foods to sustain their health, prevent them from the diseases, and help them to cure the diseases.

The Guardian repot about the Scientists’ studies and their findings on air pollution promote Coronavirus disease indicate that if polluted air helps in increase of Coronavirus disease, the un-polluted pure water can promote health and remedy the Coronavirus disease.

However, with the hope for recognition of two elements of Man (Human), viz. Fire (Intellect) and Space (Spirit) in near future, three elements of Man (Human) viz. Earth – Body (Food), Water (Mind) and Air (Vitality) – the first two by the WHO and last one by the Scientists – have been identified and recognized for preservation of health, prevention and cure from diseases through their proper knowledge, understanding and use of them.

Wisely Advices to the Elders and Guardians

The elders and guardians – parents, teachers, preachers, and rulers and bureaucrats, judges, lawyers, police, army and persons in authority in the nation-states, and persons working in the United Nations must be enlightened by learning and practicing perpetually the concept of universal peace education based on universally inherent five elements, viz. body, vitality, mind, intellect and spirit in them also to be manifested integrally to be healthy and peaceful, and to set their examples providing means, resources and opportunity to the younger and wards – sons and daughters, students, followers of sects, masses and common people, litigants in disputes, victims and accused, people in danger of natural calamities, and victims of torture, violence and war. And then, all the benefitted, corrected and modified elders and younger generation through knowledge and practice of the universal peace education will help the coming generation to follow them to be the same – the  healthy and peaceful perpetually being instrumental for preservation of health, prevention from diseases and cure of them. .

Therefore, the author of these lines Dr. Prasad advises the United Nations to adopt Universal Peace Education of Dr. Surya Nath Prasad as a policy for all its member nation-states to implement it in educational institutions of their nations for the perpetual benefit of all people everywhere.

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Dr. Surya Nath Prasad, former president & currently executive vice president of International Association of Educators for World Peace (IAEWP), associate professor of education emeritus, former visiting professor, the graduate institute of peace studies, Kyung Hee University, Republic of Korea, founder & editor-in-chief, Peace Education: An International Journal. dr_suryanathprasad@yahoo.co.in

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 29 Jun 2020.

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