In plain words
It will do to paint the doors and thresholds yellow, won't it! so they say. But those cannot destroy germs, can they!
In ancient times health and happiness, these two alone, were the goals of life
For our ancestors, in every little matter and in every act they did, there was some purpose, an inner meaning, a sanctity. In the old days we people of Bhārata used to smear on (apply) kuṅkuma and turmeric. Once I even wrote a song about this:
Face powder arrived and deceived us; turmeric is gone; what times have come, O people! What times have come! The necklaces of gold coins are gone; deceiving chains have come; what times have come, people! What times have come!
When women put on turmeric, the whole face turned golden. Not even a trace of hair would grow there. Moreover, such was the power of turmeric and kuṅkuma that they acted as anti septic and kept any germs from entering the nose and the mouth. Things have changed today, and diseases like eosinophilia, asthma and wheezing are coming, precisely because we do not use them. Germs are all getting inside.
In those days health and happiness, these two alone, were the goals of life. Only when there is health does happiness come. If we go on in this way, the many traditions and customs of the culture of Bhārata, in all the things we do in daily life, are only helpful, never harmful.