HEALTH

HEALTH & DISEASE
by Dr.K.S.Sastry

The qualities of a healthy person are divine in nature: Universal love, tolerance, brotherly feeling, mutual understanding and mutual help.

The Human being is a living, thinking and feeling unit capable of expressing itself. A healthy person is one who has a balanced mind, and balanced speech, and always thinks of doing good. He will have no feeling of extremes. He will have good habits as given by the seers of ancient times. The qualities of a healthy person are divine in nature: Universal love, tolerance, brotherly feeling, mutual understanding and mutual help. He is always inclined to get himself engaged in good work, group service, and initiations and is spiritually elevated. He tries to attain purity of life, radiation, magnetism and healing. Daily routine becomes a duty and does not require special effort.

A mentally unsound person suffers from selfishness, aggrandisement, hatred, jealousy, vengeance, angularities, misunderstanding, and pride. He may also be an atheist and think it is to early to know about the gooded, always tries to fulfil his desires. Mind and intellect are involved in daily routine. So disease becomes a form of mental activity.

Disease exists in the person, but can’t exist without the knowledge of the person. He knows the feelings and sufferings. Ancient seers have defined disease as the product of Man’s past, inheritance. “Disease” is also described as divine, and purificatory in effect. It throws out the evil part of the constitution and maintains the internals in order. Therefore, the cause of the disease exists in the individual only. All about disease is disharmony and lack of alignment, resulting in uncontrolled and ill-regulated emotions.

Health is wealth. A healthy person is not aware of any part of his body so long as he performs the functions in the normal way. It is only when he does not feel ease, there is said to be disease. The word disease is nothing but the opposite of ‘ease’. So it is not necessarily limited to the body only. There is a lot of machinery at work inside unseen for man to move, to speak, to eat, to digest, etc., Health, therefore, not only covers the physical functions, but also the natural state of mind. Mental health is of paramount importance for any person. If the mind is healthy, all the functions and the parts of the body would be healthy. If the mind is unhealthy the person cannot be happy, cannot function properly. Deviation from the natural state occurs. Mental health excludes, fear, anger, Jealousy, malice, fault-finding, suspicion, and doubt. Distortion of the mind develops extremes of feelings, like aristocracy, anger, irritation, grief, brooding, secrecy, jealousy etc., Mind is the seat of all diseases. If a person appears neat, clean and well-dressed, it does not mean he is healthy. He may have temperamental inequalities or disturbance of the mind and lack of poise. Any deviation in the mental sphere finds its reflection on the physical plane. The system of Homoeopathy as founded by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann is really a boon to rectify disease effected constitutions from the deepest planes of Consciousness upto the Physical state and is capable of cancelling the deviation in the mental and intellectual planes and restoring health - both physical and mental.

1. Mrs. E. Krishnamacharya releasing the first copy of Mihira at a function held at Kalabharathi in Visakhapatnam on August 26, 1998. Mr M.R.L. Rao, editor-in-chief of Mihira is looking on.

2. Speakers on the dais. (L to R)
Dr. D. Venkateswara Rao, Mr. D.V.R. Murthy, Prof. T. Padma, Prof. T.R. Dutta, Mr Bruyninckx Guy and Dr. I. Srinivas.

Disease! WHERE DOES IT EXIST?
by K. S. Sastry.

Any biological entity is governed by three principles of nature-matter, force and consciousness. Matter is physical body.Force is the energy. Consciousness is Pragna or Life force. Force is the power to make a person move. It is the steering, conducting and executive force. Life force governs will. love, intellect understanding, judgement etc. If the consciousness expands itself into force and the force galvanises into matter in proper direction and rhythm, there is health. Then all the functions of the mind and body are performed in a fitting way. If there is any distortion either in the manner or rhythm of the consciousness flowing into force and the force into matter, i. e., when the consciousness is conditioned by forces and the forces is conditioned by matter, the physical activity of the person is crippled which is called disease. It means there is no proper coordination between the body and the subtler forces at work in the constitution, i. e., force and consciousness. Any distortion reflects its effect in any one or more of the planes. Man has been given the choice to avail of these faculties rightly or wrongly. If the choice is made wrongly, the energy generated will be diminished resulting in corresponding diminishing quality of functions. So health is the result of even distribution of vital force or prana, otherwise ill-health. The choice is left in the hands of the human being, as the required keys of wisdom are gifted to him by nature.

If there is a distortion in the flow of consciousness into force and force into matter, physical functions get impaired and mental activity is disturbed. Unusual symptoms like vexation, debility, tiresomeness, excitement, oddities in behaviour, false impressions, weeping and aughing, sleeplessness, irritation, anger, moodiness, different food habits hatred, jealousy, malice, envy irritability, aristocracy. suspicion, violent nature, stiffness in attitude, thieving tendencies, forgetfulness, inability to decide things, etc. get generated in the person. Then he forgets himself and he behaves in a confused manner. So no disease can exist without the knowledge of the person and at the same time disease cannot be different from the constitution. In other words the person knows the existence of the disease and can be expressed by him only. So disease appearing in any part of the body cannot be considered independent of the constitution.

Disease first takes its hold in the mental and vital planes of the constitution. It bring out a significant change in the thinking and behaviours pattern of the person. Treatment should be based on the symptoms mental and vital - and not physical. Treating the disease at physical level cannot ensure complete cure. On the other hand, the disease of the inner order assumes serious proportions by such treatment. For example, if a heart patient or asthmatic patient in course of treatment through any system gets a skin disease, the main disease remains unchanged or ameliorated. If that skin disease is created with stronger medicines, the skin disease may disappear and the main disease gets aggravated and we may have to face serious consequences at times. The mind is the set of all diseases is an agreed fact. One has to keep his mind and other higher planes of consciousness pure and there should be no possibility of any inimical force to enter. Such an inimical force establishes itself in the constitution and disturbs the natural state of functioning and spreads its wings to all the functional system in the constitution. With the evil influence of the inimical force, sensorium, mind and intellect undergo remarkable change to the darker side and obstruct the rhythm of the functional system which produces disagreeable change in the system which are called symptoms.

So health covers not only the physical functions of the body but also natural state of the mind. Any deviation in the mental sphere finds its reflection on the physical plane. So rectification should start at the mental level only. Hence disease exists on the vital and mental planes, but not in parts of the body. Therefore the system of Homoeopathy includes study of the sequence of man.

Origin of disease
By Dr. K S Sastry

Wise are those who can understand what health is, because only the healthy can experience the happiness of life. Wealth, good food and vocations are all meaningful only to those who enjoy sound health. Therefore, sound health is a primary prerequisite for humanity.

Though Nature has gifted health equally to all human beings, man by the play of his own intelligence has invited various kinds of ill-health. In the Creator’s view, all human beings are blessed with happiness. But, man by dint of his own intelligence has spoiled his own happiness. Differences in the thinking of individuals have led them to suffer from ill-health. The Law of Balance is always maintained despite man’s ignorance. When there is a disturbance in Balance, the Nature pushes man in order to maintain equilibrium. On account of his own thinking which resulted in the disturbance in the mental plane, man suffers from physical ailments.

In the process of fulfilling his desires man falls into the trap of unnecessary competition, and lack of adjustment and reconciliation. Man leads a life of disappointment and dejection. At this point the constitution of the individual gets disturbed. Uncongineal thoughts which have taken deep roots in the psyche of man, drive man away from natural norms of life such as purity of thought, happiness, peace of mind, etc.,

When the psychic state of a man is disturbed, the intellect suffers. The person is subjected to overstimulation and inner tensions. He becomes selfish, narrow minded, suspicious and revengeful. At this stage his love for others, his judgement and his understanding also get affected. The mind and the sensorium work in their own ways. This is the beginning of disease. This type of psychic state has been pointed out as a disease condition. First Dr. Samuel Hahnemann visualised the origin of disease on these lines and propounded a system of medicine, known as homeopathy. Inspite of being a renowned doctor of Allopathy, Dr. Hahnemann took-up to homeopathy and gave the world a new gift for curing disease.

Commenting on the science of homeopathy, Dr. Grimmer writes : Homeopathy is something beyond all material things, it reaches into other planes, it reaches up to the mental stage, enters into the spiritual side of life and that is why homeopathy is vital. That is why it cures. That is why it wipes out the inherent conditions.

Some other doctors had also noted that inherited traits are embedded on some subtle strata of the life force and the living organism and can be wiped out only by similarly subtle potentised homoeopathic drugs. Thus, homeopathy which cures mental and physical ailments has become one of the life saving medical systems of the world.

Your Health - Our Pleasure
THE HIDDEN TREASURE
by A. Sitaram, U.S.A.

Make it a point always to imagine that you absorb Prana or healthy magnetism from the food that you take in and store it up in your brain and nervous system. This is an important yogic secret of health.

Chew your food thoroughly and take your own time to eat. Some say count upto 32 for each mouthful until you are habituated to thoroughly masticate your food. This is very important. Whenever you eat make this possible. It means less work for your stomach and less pain for your body. It also means better health. Eating is an art. Learn the art.

Do not fast one day and consume double the quantity of food the very next day. You cannot accomplish anything by doing so. As such a task places heavy strain upon you stomach and will prove detrimental to your health.

Your success in life depends upon your physical health. Without health nobody can be happy in this world and nothing great can be accomplished. Health of mind comes only with health of body. These two go hand in hand always. If the latter suffers to some extent, there is corresponding depression in the former. In short, it is upon health and health alone you can depend for the development of even spiritual magnetism, spiritual powers and in short your all round development.

And what is disease? Disease is a condition of filth. Disease, is in other words , Dis-Ease - lack of health - ill health. If you are in ill health, it may be that you have breathed too little, eaten too much, exercised too little or worried too much. It may be that you have failed to keep yourself as clean in various ways as you ought to have done. The consequence of one or more of these causes is the accumulation of filth in your system. You should hasten to remove the cause of the causes. You can now diagnose your own case. You can now understand the root cause of your ill health as you are the best judge of yourself. Your first duty now is to avoid further accumulation of filth-Unless you do this, you cannot hope to progress in health. Now, we will discuss some of the aspects of regulation.

Eat to live. Do not live to eat :

As you know, one man’s meat is another man’s poison. So we do not force upon you any diet. It rests upon you to solve this problem yourself to suit your own case.

Vegetarian food is most conducive to health and spiritual development . Also fruit juice, milk and pure water are the best. Avoid stimulants as far as possible. Avoid flesh as animal passions and appetites are apt to be excited. The yogis of India prefer always a non-animal food consisting of fruits, grains, cereals, nuts, herbs, roots of plants and vegetables that grow in sunshine. They also prefer milk, butter, ghee, and profuse quantity of pure water.

If your system of diet is contrary to the above, it is good if you adapt yourself to this change by degrees. Do not change your accustomed diet too suddenly as it will tell upon your health. The change should always be gradual and smooth. Many people eat too much at a time and that is why they are poor not only in health but in the purse as well.

It is a good principle to fill only half of the stomach with solid food and a quarter with liquids - milk or fruit juices. By this the process digestion becomes easier.

Masticate every morsel of food as slowly as possible. This will aid digestion immensely. If food is half chewed and taken in swiftly, it will interfere with the digestive process and leads to all sorts of stomach troubles. Make it a point always to imagine that you absorb Prana or healthy magnetism from the food that you take in and store it up in your brain and nervous system. This is an important yogic secret of health. In the early stages, you can use the mantra of Gayatri before and while eating food.

For you who wish to be strong and healthy, milk can be recommended. Milk is the most perfect food for it contains most of the elements of perfect food in right proportions. Milk is a flesh grower. Drink milk if you would be healthy. My dear brother, it is far cheaper than medicine. Drink it boiled or not boiled , it does not matter.

Butter and ghee, the products of milk can be taken. You must know how to drink milk though it is a little science in itself. To get full benefit from milk diet, you must drink cow milk very very slowly. Sip it . The smaller the sip , the better. Milk is a wonderful beautifier and builder of flesh and strength. Remember now, sip milk. Never gulp it. The Rishis say “eat the liquid and drink the solid”.

We advocate a diet consisting of vegetables , cereals, oils, fruits and nuts along with cow milk , butter and ghee. It is the diet on which the majority of mankind thrives and it is the diet favourably endorsed by the medical fraternity and trainers whose performance has never been equalled.

Eat whatever agrees with you. Do not eat what does not agree with your system. Seek variety in food. Then you are in a position to get enough of all the elements required for your nourishment. But eat no more than what is absolutely required. Nourish properly your brain and body. If you daily work calls for lifting heavy loads and hustling about, you require more fat producing foods than lighter foods. If your work is of a sedentary nature, fat foods may sparingly be used. Each kind of food must be considered upon its own individual merits.

Generally people eat too much rather than too little. In this respect study yourself and your requirements. By observing carefully what diet agrees with you and what does not, noting gain or loss of weight and also noting gain or loss of strength, you can easily find out what food is best suited to yourself.
If you carefully study the nature of food eaten by the people of various nations of the world, you will see that nearly every class of people have their own special diet. This is largely due to climatic influences. Also different nations have different temperaments and this again has a bearing upon what they eat. This is equally true of individuals of each nation.

In short, select food that your climate, season , temperament and your experience have taught you best. Chew your food thoroughly and take your own time to eat. Some say count upto 32 for each mouthful until you are habituated to thoroughly masticate your food. This is very important. Whenever you eat make this possible. It means less work for your stomach and less pain for your body. It also means better health. Eating is an art. Learn the art.

Fasting :

Fasting is refraining from eating. This is an important factor in retaining and obtaining good health. All religions in the world advise people to fast on some day or other. If you can judicially practice this you can have better results in this line. When fasting, determine that you will not let one morsel of food pass through your lips. Do not eat until the fast is over. Fasting often cleanses and purifies ones body. You can undertake a cure of stomach trouble by mere fasting. Many times you can avoid going to a doctor or taking medicine.

If you have decided to fast, as a beginner you are not expected to choose a long fast. Your first fast should cover two meals say breakfast and lunch. For supper you should eat some light food such as fruits. During fasting, make sure you drink pure water in plenty. You should drink at least 1.2 litres of water and it will flush the body and will carry away much of the accumulated filth.

After the first fast, you may eat some light food on the following day, of course, chewing every morsel as thoroughly as possible. Then on the third day repeat the fast missing breakfast and dinner again. If you ,by this time, have failed to overcome your stomach trouble, continue the fast for a longer period. Do not fast one day and consume double the quantity of food the very next day. You cannot accomplish anything by doing so. As such a task places heavy strain upon you stomach and will prove detrimental to your health.

In chronic stomach troubles it is advisable to fast on alternate days until you effect cure thereby. But if occasionally you are troubled with a little ache or pain, know that it is a danger signal to you. Analyse it carefully. Find out the cause and determine to remove the cause and do it at once. Many times you may need a doctor at this juncture. Sometimes with proper advice if you can fast for an entire day, you can bring about a cure. If you succeed in this, then you have done a little miracle. In this manner you will thereafter be comparatively free from the many aches and ills to which your body is so often the heir.

Your Health - Our Pleasure 2
THE HIDDEN TREASURE
by A. Sitaram, U.S.A

It might be stated as a basic generalisation that most physical troubles have their seat in the emotions. The most common causes are fear, worry, despair, constant introspection, morbid emotional suppression, hatred, conflict, temper, prolonged irritation, frustrated sex life, self pity, inner tensions and emotional starvation.

One of the lessons which everyone has to learn is awareness of their physical limitations. That which is possible is carried forward and the impossible is not attempted. Strain accomplishes nothing. It decreases the quantity and quality of our labours. Let things wait.

Breathing Exercises

Sit in an easy erect posture keeping the spinal column straight and eyes well to the front letting the hands rest on the upper parts of the leg. Breathe deeply and slowly. Instead of breathing through both nostrils, press the right nostril closed with the thumb and inhale through the left nostril. Retain the breath as long as you can. Then remove the thumb and close the left nostril with the ring finger and then exhale through the right nostril as slowly as possible. Then without changing the fingers, inhale through the right nostril. Changing the fingers, exhale through the left. Then inhale through the right and so on, alternating the nostrils as mentioned above, closing the nostril with the thumb or ring finger. This is one of the oldest forms of yogic breathing and it is quite important.

Healing through psychic breath

The following treatment has been found the best for keeping away harmful diseases and undesired thoughts and worries.
Lie down upon your bed or couch and make yourself perfectly comfortable. Relax every nerve and muscle in your entire body. Breathe through the nostrils only retaining the air in the lungs as far as you can slowly exhale it through the nostrils. Now beginning at the head send your healing thoughts, without moving your lips, through the brain to the eye, nose, mouth, chin, neck, throat, through lungs, heart, stomach, spine, liver, bowels, bladder , hips, upper leg, knees , lower leg, ankle , feet and toes. Rest here for a few minutes.

Picture mentally with eyes closed that you are drawing magnetism through every breath and absorbing and storing in each of the parts mentioned above. Do this when you retain air within you. Beginning at the feet go back mentally to the head in the same way as you came down. You will feel a slight tingling sensation in different parts of the body, something like a mild current of electricity. In some parts it is felt more plainly than in others. This occurs until disease separates itself from the tissues of your body. You can spend approximately 24 minutes every day. The best time is when you retire at night. You will soon find disease and other ailments leaving your body and you will be strong, both mentally and physically. Take this treatment very very slowly and dwell a little longer on any part where disease seems to fasten. Be sure your health is in your own hands .

How to absorb healthy magnetism from nature

During the process of inhaling in Pranayama, exercise your will power calmly and imagine with your eyes closed that you are drawing into your system a large supply of Prana or vital energy, which Master C V V calls “plenty of prana” from the universe around you. Store it up in your solar plexus. The solar plexus is an important psychic centre known to occultists as the central storage battery for magnetism and pranic energy. It can be used at will if you know the technique. It is situated in the region of epigastrium, in the etheric plane on the spinal chord. With each inhalation try to form the mental picture of the inflow of magnetism being carried through your lungs and at once absorbed by your solar plexus. This exercise can be done for 30 minutes just when you get up from your bed. Thus you can mentally picture magnetism of vital energy being absorbed from the water you drink and from the food you take.

How to control emotions

It might be stated as a basic generalisation that most physical troubles have their seat in the emotions. The most common causes are fear, worry, despair, constant introspection, morbid emotional suppression, hatred, conflict, temper, prolonged irritation, frustrated sex life, self pity, inner tensions and emotional starvation. They are dangerous because they can ruin the vitality to a point where one becomes susceptible to disease. The psychological factor combines with some physical weakness and produces difficulties. Resistance fades out and all forms of ill health. infection, and contagious diseases especially influenza become possible.

A period of wild unrest, of broken heartedness, of frustration and futility may lead to complete wrecking of he nervous system , and nervous or mental breakdown. The cure for this loss of mental grip and control is to be found in the simple word ‘acceptance’. Acceptance of a condition which seems at present unavoidable is the simplest way of cure. A constant rebellion against one’s lack of accomplishment and unrealistic plans is also a cause of frequent ill health. The determination to carry out the planned work can result in over work and nervous break down.

One of the lessons which everyone has to learn is awareness of their physical limitations. That which is possible is carried forward and the impossible is not attempted. Strain accomplishes nothing. It decreases the quantity and quality of our labours. Let things wait. Undesirable emotions such as fear, worry, anxiety, hate, anger, jealousy, envy , melancholy, excitement , grief etc., are amenable to the control of the Will. It is able to operate more easily in such cases if deep breathing is practised while the student is willing . The following exercises will be found very effective :

The best time for controlling the emotions is while you retain the air in your lungs during every pranayama. It is then that the physical and mental activities are at stand still , the mind becomes calm and peaceful. Now while retaining the air in your lungs concentrate your whole attention upon your heart or brow centre. Form a mental picture of your undesirable emotions as being carried away out of your body with each exhalation of breath.
It is also good that you repeat mentally in a resolute manner the following mental auto suggestion :

“ I AM STRONG AND POSITIVE”
“ I AM BOLD AND CHEERFUL”
“ I AM FREE FROM ALL WORRY AND ANGER OR ANY UNDESIRABLE MENTAL CONDITION ”
“ I AM HEALTHY”
“ I AM MAGNETIC”

Remember that when you are uttering I AM you are drawing the God into action . Stop the habit of uttering I AM SICK and I AM WEAK. Be positive.