‘Man is a product of nature’. Wherein ‘Nature’ includes his whole environment. The environment plays a major role in the development of a person’s overall personality. “A sound mind houses in a sound body” is a famous saying. The development of a man’s personality is based on his thoughts, attitudes, character, habits and his personal physical care, i.e. ‘Hygiene’.

‘Hygiene’ is concerned with the maintenance of a person’s health.

‘Health’ means that the body is working efficiently and harmoniously. So we can say that health is indicated in such persons as are-

1. Happy
2. Physically Fit
3. Hopeful and
4. Having a Harmonious Personality

Cleanliness is the basic requirement for the healthy growth and normal, development of an individual. For good health, we have to take care of cleanliness with regard to the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the clothes we wear and last but not the least , cleanliness of the body- both external and internal. John Wesley has rightly said, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”.

In our surroundings today, there are numerous pollutants that are disturbing the ecological balance. Population explosion and a decrease in mortality rate has created a shortage and an increased demand for building up of residential places. For this, we need land and this requirement is fulfilled by the cutting down of trees thus depleting the forest cover and hence greenery over the earth. Increase in population increases a demand for the basic necessities and also the luxury niceties of life. This, in turn, increases the putting up of factories which again depletes the green cover. This causes an increase in pollution of the air through smoke; of the water through waste disposal into water sources by factories and of the land through solid waste disposal into water sources by factories and of the land through solid waste disposal especially disposal of polythene by the people which is choking the earth as well as other pollutants that are causing many incurable diseases like AIDS or infectious diseases that had once been eradicated like Chickenpox and Plague.

These pollutions are affecting the health of people around the world and more directly, the health of our ‘Mother earth’ and her atmosphere. For a release, ‘She’ demands us to become aware of her needs towards cleanliness so that she and her children-Mankind-can survive.

So, hygiene does not only mean a person’s awareness towards his own cleanliness but also the cleanliness of the whole environment.

• Written by Karuna Sapra.
• In category General.
• 12 years ago.

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