INTIMACY WITH UNIVERSAL NATURE

(Friendship with Universal Nature)

Real friendship and intimacy with the natural world is the need of the hour, not only for give and take but also for the perfect understanding to survive.

When we, the present humankind take so much trouble, make such an effort to generate friendship between ourselves, we could extend the same to the raw natural world around us. Intimacy and friendship are the attributes of such nature, which opens the closed doors of ignorance inside us to the light of the new dawn.

The Universe around us, is a world of lightness and happiness. It is there to give us eternal youth and eternal life, if only we could let the spirit of intimacy and friendship rule our senses.

Is it not taking us too long to understand that hate and dislike, are the distorted version of pure intimacy and friendship ? Nature around us is in need of our / the humanity’s friendship and intimacy to help us live forever.

Let us start our campaign for intimacy and friendship with the insignificantly small part of Nature called WEEDS.

Page - 93

Dendrophthoe falcata (Linn.f.) Etting.

(Loranthus falcatus Linn.f.)

Of the family Loranthaceae

This cooling-bitter-astringent weed grows throughout India on various trees and shrubs, as parasite, popularly known as:

Vrukshadani

in Sanskrit,

Banda

in Hindi,

Pulluri, Pulluruvi

in Tamil,

Malanga

in Oriya,

Baramanda

in Bengali,

Vanda

in Marwari,

Amut

in Punjabi,

Ittikkanni

in Malayalam

Bandahulu

in Kannada,

Jiddu

in Telugu,

Mistletoe

in English.

, This here is a stem parasite with smooth, gray bark; leaves sometimes opposite and sometimes otherwise, thick, variable in shape from ovate to linear-oblong, mid-rib distinct, secondary nerves mostly invisible; flowers orange-red or scarlet in short spreading, stout, axillary racemes, calyx present, often as a rim, flowers bisexual; fruits ovoid or oblong berries crowned by cupshaped calyx.

The whole of this plant or weed is useful in vitiated conditions of KAPHA & PITTA, wounds, strangury, T.B., swelling, asthma, renal and vesicle calculi, menstrual disorder; and it is a beauty-tonic etc.

Page - 94

p-95.jpg

Dendrophthoe falcata Loranthaceae

Page - 95

p-96.jpg

Desmodium gangeticum Fabaceae

Page - 96

Desmodium gangeticum (Linn.) DC.

Of the family Fabaceae

The above-mentioned weed is popularly known as:

Prushniparni, Prushakparni

in Sanskrit,

Salapan, Salaban

in Hindi,

Orila

in Tamil,

Shazhaparni, Bidariganda

in Oriya,

Orila

in Malayalam,

Nariyalavona

in Kannada,

Gitanaram

in Telugu.

This weed grows throughout the Indian plains, upto 3,000 ft elevation. It is an erect, diffusely branched under shrub, about a meter & half in height at the maximum with a sturdy small stem and many prostrate branches provided with soft gray hairs; leaves unifoliate, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, membranous and mottled with gray patches; flowers white, purple or lilac in elongate lax, terminal or axillary racemes; fruits moniliform, 7-8 jointed glabrescent pods joints of pods sparsely pubescent with hooked hairs, joints separating when ripe into indehiscent one-seeded segments; seeds compressed reniform.

Mostly the root parts of this bitter-sweet-thermogenic weed has the medicinal properties to help in acute cases of Vata.

The juices or tonic prepared from the roots of this plant can be helpful in curing indigestion, dysentery, fever, cold related complications, painful urination, mind and body weaknesses, loss of appetite and distressed central nervous system.

We have to keep our digestive system in perfect order to prevent all the complications, which causes unending suffering.

Page - 97