Cow Urine Has Medicinal Properties?
Experiment By Mr. Virendra Jain, Indore
By Mr. Neeraj Mishra
There's a long queue in front of Virendra Jain's house in Indore every morning. When their turn comes, the people receive small bottles of cow urine and ark, a brown paste. Jain is no doctor, ayurvedacharya or a therapist distributing healing potions, only a businessman with immense faith in the medicinal utility of cow urine.
It has now become a routine for Jain to Jain to buy 50 litres of urine from dairies every day, filter it by distillation and then distribute it to the throng at his door 0 the hopefuls with a range of ailments from gastro-intestinal disorders to cancer. The story goes back three years to the time when Jain's mother lay lay dying of cancer, the doctors having given up all hope. In desperation, Jain started treating her with cow urine and some commonly available ayurvedic drugs made from the liquid. His mother survived, and the cancer disappeared completely. An overwhelmed Jain made propagation of cow urine a mission. He opened the Gosmavardhan Kendra in the city three years ago, and has since inspired 129 others all over country.
There are claims that 50,000people have benefited from Jain's purified cow urine and ark, a mixture of milk, curd, ghee, urine and dung. Another 5,000 run their own centres based on advice that Jain dispenses freely. A keen observer, Jain has noted how cow urine can be used to treat various ailments. While doctors would advise caution as these prescriptions are untested, Jain suggests that those suffering from blocked arteries should use urine with an ayurvedic capsule called Cardorid, while urinary disorder patients are given Urosil and those who suffer from eczema are prescribed Puroderm. For other diseases like diabetes, ulcers and enlarged spleen, urine might be given with honey and common salt.
It appears a whole industry revolves around cow urine in conjunction with ayurvedic preparations. With such intense interest in the beneficial impact of urine therapy, Jain has researched the subject well. "Cow urine contains nitrogen, sulphur, copper, carbolic acid, ammonia gas, iron and 24 different types of salts which make up for the deficiencies in the human body," he explains. "That may be the reason it can cure such a vast range of diseases." Jain has even convinced important visitors like Union ministers Sunder Lal Patwa and Digvijay Singh into taking cow urine. Jagdishchandra Nema of Ujjain, an AIDS patient whose wife succumbed to the same disease, is visibly better today and has gained weight. Jain claims this is because Nema has been undergoing urine therapy for 18 months.
Jain says the secret lies in mixing the ark in the right proportions. "It takes people time to get used to the idea of drinking urine along with a raw-tasting paste, but once past that its benefits allow people to continue," says Jain. However, doctors are unsure about the benefits. "Not enough research has been done in the field, and though cow products have been used in manufacturing ayurvedic medicines, no one knows which composition works," says Dr. S. K. Bajpai, joint director in the state Health Department.
It's quite obvious that Jain is only perpetuating a tradition that has an important place in Indian society. The native Zebru, though physically weaker compared to the Jersey and other western breeds, is a revered animal. For long dung has been used as manure and pesticides. Its favorable impact on ginger cropping and rice cultivation has been researched and proved beyond doubt. A mixture of neem leaves and cow urine is also considers a very useful pesticide. Susruta wrote a treatise on urine therapy in his book on Ayurveda, and Charaka gave it top priority in his Samhita.
The University of Kuopio in Finland is doing an impact assessment of cow urine on allergies induced by animal allergens. The study being conducted by its department of microbiology has so far reported that cow urine might be useful in treating tuberculosis caused by animal allergens. If indeed cow urine is as useful as Jain and others have found it to be, then further research needs to be done in this country as well.
-----------------------------------------------------
Mail to : Ahimsa Foundation
www.jainsamaj.org
R891