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INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF YAGYA RESEARCH (2018), 1(1), 01-08 ISSN: 2581-4885 VOLUME 1 ISSUE 1 PUBLISHED BY DEV SANSKRITI VISHWAVIDYALAYA, HARIDWAR, INDIA 0 OPEN ACCESS ONLINE JOUNRAL INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF YAGYA RESEARCH (2018), 1(1), 01-08 ISSN: 2581-4885 Impact of Yagya on Particulate Matters Mamta Saxena1*, Brijesh Kumar2 and Sarika Matharu3 1Adviser, Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Lodhi Road, Delhi 2CEO, Hyphen Technologies Pvt. Ltd, Najafgarh, Delhi 3Member, Divine India Youth Association, Gurgaon, Haryana *Corresponding author: Mamta Saxena. Email: [email protected] Abstract. Particulate Matters (PM) is a result of air air pollution generated SO2 and NO2 level along with pollution and associated with health hazards. Studies biological air pollutants such as microorganisms. The support mild or strong association of PM with lung present study examined the Yagya's effect on air PM. diseases including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, The present study, conducted two indoor case study cognitive diseases, newborn mortality rate, etc. experiments to find the effect of Yagya on PM in Particles of size < 2.5µM are declared as health hazard indoor environment in December 2017. The study as they penetrate deep into lungs and lodge themselves showed trend of decrease of PM 2.5, PM 10, and CO2 there. Ineffective clearance of this PM results in a after performing Yagya inside the residences of 2 case chronic, low-grade inflammatory response leading to studies. The present study introduced Vedic various disease. Current efforts to control PM are technique-Yagya as a solution to reduce indoor air scarce and demanded to find solutions which can pollutants specifically PM and CO2, and laid the prevent or control the increasing PM levels. Ancient foundation for further research. texts including Vedas and Upanishads mentioned a technique called Yagya, which has application to Keywords. Particulate Matter, Yagya, hazards, Air purify the environment specifically polluted air. pollution, CO2 Preliminary evidences suggested that Yagya reduces PUBLISHED BY DEV SANSKRITI VISHWAVIDYALAYA, HARIDWAR, INDIA 1 INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF YAGYA RESEARCH (2018), 1(1), 01-08 ISSN: 2581-4885 Introduction The latest estimate from the WHO reported that in In 1979, the American Journal of 2012, approximately 3.7 million people died from Epidemiology devoted an entire issue to a review of the outdoor urban and rural sources (7). The cause of health effects of particulate air pollution. The authors, deaths was broken down as follows: stroke (40 %), well known British epidemiologists, concluded that ischemic heart disease (40 %); chronic obstructive there was no evidence for negative health effects from pulmonary disease (COPD) (11 %), lung cancer (6 %) particulate pollution at levels seen in the United States and acute lower respiratory infections in children (1). Yet, less than 30 years later, the Environmental (3 %). These figures are based not only on a greater Protection Agency reported “Inhalation of fine understanding of the diseases caused by poor air particles is causally associated with premature death at quality, but also on more accurate exposure assessment concentrations near those experienced by most that utilizes sophisticated measurement and modeling Americans on a daily basis” (2). technology. The overall mortality estimates have more than doubled recently and it reveals that the vast The ever increasing Particulate Matter (PM) levels majority of deaths stem from cardiovascular disease. around the world including India, especially in Delhi, have raised serious concerns. Particulate matter are fine In a recent study (8), authors have strongly advocated particles, which remain suspended in the air for a long for an integrated approach to air quality and climate time and enter our lungs through inhalation. The fine policies. Similarly, another study (9) strongly suggests particles of size < 2.5µM are declared as health hazard that PM effects have no threshold within the studied as they penetrate deep into lungs and lodge themselves range of ambient concentrations, which can occur at there. Ineffective clearance of this PM from the levels close to PM2.5 background concentrations airways could cause particle retention in lung tissues, following mostly linear concentration–response resulting in a chronic, low-grade inflammatory function. Now the evidence is well-established for response that may be pathogenetically important in outdoor exposure to air pollution with reduced lung both the exacerbation, as well as, the progression of function, heightened severity of symptoms in lung disease (3). individuals with asthmatics, COPD and ischemic heart disease which includes heart attacks (9,10). They have Recent studies indicate that PM can probably cause also recommended that translating the correct scientific oxidative injury to the airways, leading to evidence into realistic, bold and effective policies has inflammation, remodeling, and increased risk of the potential to reduce air pollution so that it does not sensitization (4). Exposure to a wide range of air pose a damaging and costly toll on public health. pollutants gives rise to oxidative stress within the lung, and this appears to initiate responses that are A study examined 10,565 births at Sir Ganga Ram particularly dangerous to susceptible members of the Hospital, Delhi, India to assess the link between air population. One of these responses is the influx of pollution and birth outcomes between 2007 and 2012 in inflammatory cells to the lung. In the absence of any the Indian capital (11). For this, maternal and neonatal invading organisms to kill, these free radicals attack data was gathered and linked to air pollution data — local tissue components and cause cell injury (5). Thus, based on distance to the nearest air quality monitoring there is now compelling evidence that chronic and station. The study was conducted to assess if there were acute exposure to ambient fine particulate matter any gaps in the information maintained by city (PM2.5) air pollution increases cardiopulmonary hospitals for environmental public health tracking. It mortality. However, the role of PM2.5 in the etiology concluded that information related to the mother’s of lung cancer is less clear, particularly at socio-economic position, substance abuse, exposure to concentrations that prevail in developed countries and second-hand tobacco smoke and nutritional status were in never-smokers (6). crucial to identifying environmental factors, and were linked to the health of the baby and the mother. PUBLISHED BY DEV SANSKRITI VISHWAVIDYALAYA, HARIDWAR, INDIA 2 INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF YAGYA RESEARCH (2018), 1(1), 01-08 ISSN: 2581-4885 Surprisingly, the study threw up another unexpected to find the effect of Yagya on PM in indoor and alarming trend that Delhi’s toxic air is shrinking environment in December 2017. The two sites of the newborns with the air not only adversely affecting the study of residents were at Najafgarh, Delhi and at growth of the fetus, but also, resulting in premature Gurgaon, Haryana. births. Materials and Methods Harmful effects have been shown for low birth weight, Yagya procedure and Yagya material small for gestational age and preterm birth (12,13). A Yagya was performed as per the procedure given in the small number of studies have investigated book Sankshipt Gayatri Hawan Vidhi (23) and referred traffic-related air pollution exposure at participants’ from a web page http://www.yagyaopathy.com. For the residential address as a novel risk factor for type 2 experiments we used 100gm hawan samagri, 100 gm diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Although not conclusive, pure cow ghee and 500 gm mango wood as samidha. results suggest an association between risk of T2DM Special herbal preparation (hawan samagri) for air and exposure to PM (10,14,15). However, evidence is purifying was adopted from the description as stronger for NO2 and distance to road (16) that the mentioned elsewhere and herbs were obtained from deleterious effects of PM air pollution may extend to Khari Baoli, Delhi and were made powdered. For the brain have only recently been discovered and making the air purifying special hawan samagri, its research in this area is currently limited and results two parts were mixed with one part of common inconclusive (17). For example, a study of women (68– purpose hawan samagri, which was obtained from 79 years old) who lived for more than 20 years in the Shantikunj Pharmacy, Shantikunj, Haridwar. Of this, same residence showed a significant reduction in mild 100 grams were taken for the experiment. Oblations cognitive function (associated with a high risk of were given in an inverted shaped copper kund in rooms progression to Alzheimer’s Disease) in those who were of size 9 feet by 10 feet. Around 3 participants were 74 years old or younger and lived within 50 meter to there during Yagya experiment. The Yagya was the next busy road with a traffic density of more than conducted with 24 ahuties through Gayatri Mantra and 10,000 cars per day (14). However, no effect in 3 ahuties with Mahamrityunjaya mantra. The total cognitive function was found for PM10 concentrations. duration of experiment was around 25 minutes. Current efforts to control PM are scarce. Indoor Measurement of particulate matters and CO2, environment of houses suffer a lot due to external temperature and humidity increasing PM. There is an imperative need to find Measurement of the PM 2.5, PM 10, CO2, temperature solutions which can prevent or control the increasing were taken using digital sampler (Airveda, Ghaziabad, PM levels. Uttar Pradesh, India; model no. PM2510 CTH). Ancient texts including Vedas and Upanishads Case study 1 experiment procedure mentioned a technique called Yagya to purify the The first indoor study was conducted at Najafgarh in environment specifically polluted air. Yagya is a Delhi. The air concentrations of PM 2.5, PM 10, CO2, process in which herbs are sacrificed in fire with temperature and humidity were recorded using digital rhythmic chanting of mantras (18-20).