Read a thought provoking article on a study that says that people of European descent have developed a "huge batch of potentially harmful genetic mutations" in the last 5000 years than anytime in the past. (the article is reproduced at the end of this article). One of the reasons attributed to this is the advancement in medical treatment that saves many a person with bad or defective genes so that he lives long enough to pass on the defective gene to the next generation. This explanation is plausible for the recent times, say for the last century when medical science had made greater strides. How could this hold good for a period of 5000 years when medical science was not at all advanced as it is now?
In this context what I am going to say may not be liked by many people. But I would like to say it with the noble intention of why people must suffer at the first place and whether there are ways to avert such happenings.
To start with, we have to probe why such a quick deterioration happened in the last 5000 years. Did such a thing happen with other populations, say the much larger Indian and Chinese populations?
In fact Indian population had been more robust in the past than it is made out now (about the past). Ayur veda was available for quite long in the past and people followed a variety of means such as disciplined life, devotion, donation, worship, sacrifices, food control, physical work besides Ayur veda or nature cures, to lead a healthy and disease free life. It must be noted that the longest living man of Britain as of today had attributed his disease free long life to a potion he took from an Indian doctor when he was serving the British army in India. (news report:- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2227099/The-secret-living-110-years-Britains-oldest-man-says-magic-potion-India.html )
Mr. Dean, The longest living man of Britain.
There was a great emphasis on healthy living such that when a person catches some debilitating disease it was considered better to die in a pyre than to fight that disease. A popular instance is that of Calanus alias Kalyana who helped Alexander. http://www.livius.org/caa-can/calanus/calanus.html His voluntary death in a pyre when he fell sick tells about the popular notion prevalent in India at that time that it is better to die by fire than to endure a disease.
The most important reason attributed to such a mentality is that it was considered that catching a disease – that too a debilitating one – is an indication that the person had committed a grave sin in a past life. Purva janma krutham paapam vyaadhi rUpENa peeditham – is the adage that tells that one's sins of the past lives come back to him in the form of diseases. So when a person was down with a disease, he will move into a repentance mood. Such a notion in the Hindu society formed a basis for inculcating morality and ethics in the people. Though a strict code of ethics was followed in India for Ages in food and life style, equal importance was given to morality in personal life and adherence to dharmic code of conduct.
These were missing in the regions to the west of Indus in olden days, say 5000 years ago. There is a narration in Mahabharata in Karna parva wherein Karna tells about a region called Aratta. The Sumerian literature talks about Aratta and also the female Goddess of that place called Inanna. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inanna). It was Inanna's decree that no woman must be a virgin at the time of her marriage. Her temple became the place for what was called sacred prostitution. This cult spread throughout Europe and was there until Greeks and Romans put a stop to it. But by then the population got so used to going easy on sex and marriage relationships. Today that cult is being explained with all sorts of justifications by even quoting Hindu and Buddhist features which are actually mis-interpretations.
The important cross reference for the Inanna cult is found in the narration of Karna on what he saw in his travels to many places including Aratta. To quote from that chapter (Mahabharatha 8-45)
"In former days a chaste woman was abducted by robbers hailing from Aratta. Sinfully was she violated by them, upon which she cursed them, saying, Since ye have sinfully violated a helpless girl who am not without a husband, therefore, the women of your families shall all become unchaste. Ye lowest of men, never shall ye escape from the consequences of this dreadful sin' It is for this, O Shalya, that the sisters' sons of the Arattas, and not their own sons, become their heirs."This clearly refers to the Inanna cult. This cult must have been the precursor of illicit and out of marriage relationships which seemed to be widespread in the Middle East and southern Europe. Take a look at the Code of Assura c.1075 BCE in this link:- http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/1075assyriancode.asp
Most of what is mentioned in this link pertains to extra marital affairs. Such a thing was impossible in the Hindu society. In ancient India, a man may have married many women but not another man's wife. Ramayana and Mahabharata occurred mainly because married woman was harmed with sexual intentions. Even Thiruvalluvar devotes a chapter on the dharma of 'not eying another man's wife'. In the case of women, it was complete loyalty to the husband.
Man - woman relationship is very important and must be guided not just by emotions but by brains due to its impact on progeny. The prohibition on same Gotra marriage in Hindu society must be viewed from this angle. Any violation of moral code in man- woman behaviour is bound to impact what is going to be passed on to the next generation. Arjuna's refusal to go on war with the Kauravas at the last minute was more guided by his concern for what would happen to the war widows as they would become easy lays for other men. Such was the intense thought and concern given to the probable impact of immoral ways of sexual relationship.
The purport behind this guarded behaviour is precisely that the diseases that occur due to violation of Dharma would not occur. Jupiter was the indicator of Dharma, fertility and disease free progeny. It must be noted that the diseases mentioned in the study are all related to Jupiter's significances namely reproduction, cell multiplication and fat accumulation. Such disease would not occur if one follows a code of conduct of fidelity and single marriage.
To quote a note from Karma Vipaka which tells about which disease is caused by what karma, blood cancer is caused by illicit relationship with a widow. This can be expanded in today's world to include rape and extra marital affairs and any kind of violation outside marriage bond. This karma is Jupiter related – that means connected with morality. When immoral ways are followed, they have to be cleansed by disease. The genetic defect that causes blood cancer gets into the person due to the karma he carries along.
Yet another medical issue of the people of the west is that they are more prone to auto immune diseases. Sun is the factor which is related to this. Until 3000 years ago, there was worship of Omphalos (Om- Phallus = Shiva linga) throughout Europe. https://www.google.co.in/search?q=Omphalos&hl=en&tbo=u&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=FK-3UNq6EonKrAfX24HABw&ved=0CEAQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=612
(Hill of Tara in Ireland – Shiva linga wrongly understood)
Omphalos from Greece.
Like this many linga features can be seen throughout Europe which was completely lost by the time Roman domination started and was subsequently forgotten and even twisted after Christianity spread across Europe.
The loss of worship of this God is the prime factor for immune deficiency.
Yet another common ailment among the European – Americans is the lack of pigmentation and skin problems arising out of lack of or irritation due to sun light. Any skin related problem is connected with Mercury. The worship of Vishnu is the remedy for this.
Such worship was present in olden days wherever mankind lived. Mahabharata and Srimad Bhagavatham explain the worship of Hindu Gods everywhere on the earth. If not all Gods, Shiva, Vishnu and Dharma (moral code) must be revered if man wants to lead a disease free and peaceful life. With newer revelations of science on human life, I hope this awareness gains momentum at least within India if not throughout the globe.
-Jayasree
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From
http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/28/15518402-study-shows-surge-of-bad-disease-genes-in-europeans
Study shows surge of bad disease genes in Europeans
By Maggie Fox, NBC News
A scan of all the mutations in the human gene map shows something surprising – people of European descent are evolving fast, and not for the better.The study finds that in the past 5,000 years, European-Americans have developed a huge batch of potentially harmful genetic mutations – many more than African-Americans.
The study, published in the journal Nature, may help explain why so many people develop diseases even though they don't have common genetic mutations. It can also help explain why different people have so many different reactions to the same drug, said Joshua Akey of the University of Washington in Seattle who led the study.
It likely has to do with population explosion, Akey said. European populations expanded after the Ice Age ended and prosperous agricultural societies emerged. "The number of mutations that exist is directly attributable to the population growth that happened in the last 5,000 years," Akey told NBC News.
"The things that allowed us to go from millions to billions of has also been the same process that has been pumping in all these new mutations."
Akey and colleagues at genetics institutions across the country examined the gene sequences of more than 6,500 people – more than 4,200 European-Americans and 2,200 African-Americans. They were looking for small changes in the genetic code called single nucleotide variants – one-letter differences in the genetic code of A,C, T and G.
They found "an enormous excess of rare variants" in the European-Americans. And 73 percent of these mutations only appeared in the human genome in the past 5,000 to 10,000 years. Most were mutations that are known to weaken proteins, Akey said, and most of these harmful mutations were also in the people of European descent.
Now researchers are working to see which of these mutations might be associated with diseases. But many are in known disease-causing genes, such as the LAMC1 gene associated with premature ovarian failure, LRP1, which is linked with both Alzheimer's disease and obesity and the CPE gene linked to hardening of the arteries.
Most are rare mutations – meaning they only affect a few people. "Some genes might be more disease-causing than other genes," Akey said.
It may explain why it's been so hard to find clear genetic links to many diseases. "We have been looking for disease risk where it isn't,' he said. "The last five to 10 years have been dominated by looking for common genetic variations that dominate common diseases. There is a lot of disease risk that is unexplained. Maybe there are classes of mutations that haven't been looked at."
The findings could explain why some people can smoke for a lifetime and never get lung cancer or heart disease, while someone else might suffer a heart attack despite having healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
It definitely shows evolution in action, Akey said. "It's just the process of evolution playing out in real time," he said. "The dramatic population expansions that occurred over the past couple thousand years had a profound consequence on our genetic variability."
Genetic mutations usually occur by accident – they are just mistakes that get made when DNA gets copied. They become important to evolution when they affect a person's ability to survive and have children. The expansion of civilization, and the ability of societies to care for people who are less fit, was probably a factor in allowing these mutations to spring up, Akey said. "I think that is undoubtedly true," he said.
Some of the genes identified in the scan also affect peoples' response to drugs. That could explain why some people are helped, for example, by a cholesterol-lowering drug while others may not be. There wouldn't have been much "selective pressure" on these genes before the modern drug era, but that doesn't mean the genes were not influenced by something else. "It turns out that genes involved in adverse drug responses also have different biological roles," Akey said – for instance, detoxifying certain foods.
There may even be more evolution in the future, Akey predicted. One example – phenylketonuria or PKU. It's caused by a mutation in a gene that breaks down an amino acid called phenylalanine. People with PKU mutations must eat a strict, low-protein diet or they can develop seizures and mental retardation.
Now newborns are routinely tested for PKU so they can start the diet immediately and avoid any brain damage. Akey said because these kids can now grow up and lead normal lives, they will likely start having children and the gene may become more common in the population.
