Holika Dahan (Fire) – Each year Holi is celebrated in India with full of fun and excitement. Holika Dahan also plays an important role into it. It is said that Holika fire is burnt to destroy all the evil from the human society. As per Hindu mythology, Holika was sister of Hiranyakashipu (King). Prahlad was son of the King. Prahalad worshipped lord Vishnu, but King wanted his son and whole of his kingdom to worship him. So, the King decided to kill his son. His sister Holika was gifted with blessing that she wont be burned in fire. So, she decided to take Prahlad along with her in fire. Fate had something else for her and she got burnt while Prahlad was saved by blessing from Lord Vishnu. And thus the name Holika dahan has been popular since many decades.
Stories apart, below message has been viral on social media -
Message 1:
Burning camphor in Holika fire will help kill the deadly H1N1 virus. Don't forget to burn a packet of camphor while offering prayers at the Holi fire."
Message 2:
Kapur (Camphor) and Elaichi (Cardomon) – the natural weapon in our arsenal to kill Swine Flu virus. Carry them during this Holika Dahan puja and burn them in the fire. Since, Holi is celebrated throughout the country, this exercise will help us in destroying the Swine flu virus in the air (upto 70%). * Issued in public interest:)
Message 3:
According to naturopathy expert Om Prakash Anand, who has written more that 20 books on naturopathy, 'giloi' (a plant which grows with support of neem tree), camphor, chiraita-kutki and loban have antibacterial properties, and burning them can help kill the viruses.
"In olden times, people used to conduct `havans' at their houses regularly and burn these items. These help in killing deadly infections, thus purifying the air. Burning camphor combined with other above-mentioned items can help kill the H1N1 virus," he claimed.
The message trending on the social media seems to have left an impact on the locals, as many have already bought camphor packets, while others are planning to burn it in Holika fire on Thursday.
The message says, "Burning camphor in Holika fire will help kill the deadly H1N1 virus. Don't forget to burn a packet of camphor while offering prayers at the Holi fire."
Our Analysis: These messages started spreading on social media in Holi of march 2015. As per news published in Times of India, burning camphor in fire has lot of benefits to nature.
Time of India article for reference –
Among hindus in India, there is famous tradition of doing Hawan. Yogis and rishis from thousands of years have been doing this as a part of their culture. Many organizations have been telling people the importance of havan in our day to day life. Dhyan foundation is one of the good foundations under the guidance of Yogi Ashwini which helps to make people aware the importance of vedic havans. They have done a lot research in modern day Vedic Hawan for purification of nature. Read here to know more - http://www.dhyanfoundation.com/workshops/vedic-havan.php
Conclusion – If we burn cardamom and camphor in holika dahan then it can lead to large scale purification of nature which is similar to Hawan process. There is no scientific proof available for H1N1 virus killing by this kind of burning of cardamom. But one thing is for sure that our nature can be purified using them. This news cannot be termed as fake news.
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