The 8 Therapists of Nature
Eight natural therapists are available to you. These are: Air, Sleep, Thoughts, Exercise, Sun, Fasting, Water and Food.
Don’t be surprised. Understand your body, its nature and keep your body healthy. You have 8 therapists given by the God. Use their services appropriately. Illness and ailments won’t affect you and you will attain the first and the most important happiness of your life – ‘A Healthy Body’.
Nature and human body are congenital companions. It is a universally accepted fact that a human takes birth and grows in the cradle of nature, plays and gets absorbed in its extensive courtyard.
The body is constructed of 5 natural elements – Earth, Water, Fire, Ether and Air. These elements continuously provides wellness to the human beings. It is a strange law of nature that the 5 elements used to construct a human body can also be used for naturally treating it.
Cooperation and appropriate use of the 8 naturally available therapists helps us to attain healthy body as it should be. These therapists are: Air, Sleep, Thoughts, Exercise, Sun, Fasting, Water and Food. These therapists are discussed in brief below:
- Air: It is well known that Air is the most important element in human life. According to Vedas, Air is nectar and is in the form of vital breath. Intake of the morning fresh Air purifies the components and sub-components in the body and makes them robust, makes us intelligent and physically strong, strengthens eyes and auditory senses, helps us control the senses and gives peace. Intake of the gentle morning breeze that disseminates fragrances of flowers, spiritually elevates your mind, gives happiness to mind and one experiences joy. Combination of Pure Air, Pure Water, Pure Earth, Pure Light and Pure Food is known as ‘Panchamrut’ (पंचामृत – Five Nectars). Intake of fresh morning Air coupled with morning walk is an infallible medicine for several illness and ailments. This is also important for maintaining body, mind, vitality, celibacy, sanctity, happiness, vim, luster, strength, ability, perpetual youthfulness and perpetual glee. Intake of morning breath is also known as ‘Brahm vela ka amrutpaan’ (ब्रह्म वेला का अमृत पान – Consumption of the early morning nectar)
- Food: Body and food have a close mutual relationship. Each person should consume Satvik food, since it is beneficial to all the components and systems of human body.Humans should eat food in meager quantities. Food in such measure is useful for retaining good health. One should eat quantities that can get easily digested.Heavy food is more harmful. One should eat when one is really hungry. This gives expected gains. One should consume food peacefully. Pure and Satvik food nourishes body, expedites strength, provides satisfaction, lively and lustrous courage, increases mental and digestive strengths. The essential 7 minerals are generated in the body due to food. Maharshi Charak, who was the master of Ayurved has written that ‘Body is made from food that we intake’. Chhaandogyoponishad (one of the Upanishads) mentions that Pure Food purifies the Satva which leads to transparency and certitude of intellect. Transparent and certitude intellect helps one to easily attain salvation.Once upon a time an Iranian king asked his best doctor (hakeem): ‘How much quantity of food must be eaten in a day and night?’ The doctor answered: ‘Six Dirhams’ (that is 31 tolas which is roughly equal to 362 grams). The king further asked: ‘What could happen with such less food?’. The doctor answered: ‘One should not eat more than this for nourishing the body. Anything eaten more is to carry extra weight and loose the age’.
- Water: Water is very important for preserving and securing health. Drinking water immediately after waking up is beneficial to health. It is written that ‘Drinking 8 mouthfuls of water before the sunrise everyday, frees one from illness and agedness and one can live more than 100 years’. It is more beneficial to drink fresh water from a well or water stored in a copper vessel. Water should be consumed before and after 1 hour of food intake. One should consume a minimum of 2.3 liters of water daily. This helps in smooth blood circulation.
- Fasting: Scriptures have well-founded the importance of fasting. Fasting helps the progress of body, mind and spirit. Fasting destroys the ‘Tridoshas’ (3 doshas – Vata dosha, Kapha dosha and Pita dosha). It helps digest the residual food in the intestines and the body feels light and healthy. Fasting is necessary from the health viewpoint. The spiritual strength increases from fasting. It is said that if one duly fasts twice in a month the bodily characteristics becomes fully ‘Satvik’. One who have no practice of fasting should eat once in any one day of every week and then over a period of time should vow to fast the whole day. On the fasting day one should involve in auspicious activities like listening to best hymns of God (Bhajans), reading spiritual texts, performing introspection, etc. A fasting person must highly concentrate on spiritual thoughts, discuss spiritual topics and get counselling from spiritually elevated people. Such a fasting, results in healthy mind and healthy body.
- Sun: The sun is the source of all the forces that protects and sustains life. The Sun is the basis of life of all mobile and immobile living beings. We would have not existed even for a moment without Sun. The Sun rays have high importance in our lives. Several disease producing microbes are destroyed when Sun rays touches our body.The Sun deeply effects the mind and body of a human being. According to the opinion of doctors, exposing the body to Sun rays can relieve of all kinds of diseases. Yajurved (यजुर्वेद) states that the Sun is the spirit and light within all living beings and matter, therefore it is called ‘Surya’ (सूर्य). The Sun is considered as ‘The Giver of Life’ in the vedas.Sunlight destroys the forces that generates diseases and ailments. Atharvaved (अथर्ववेद) describes the following with regard to attain health: ‘O! Creatures, Let your life not be destroyed and let your breathing be never stopped. Let the Sun – the Lord and the spiritual motivator of all – lift you high with its vast, extensive and strengthening rays – and sustain the force of life in your body.’
- Exercise: According to the opinion of Ayurved, Exercise develops the body, eliminates the tiredness within the body parts, helps get good sleep, removes fickle-mindedness, sets the digestive fire aflame, eliminates laziness and increases facial glow and physical beauty. An expert teacher of Ayurved, ‘Vaan’ has written: ‘Exercise peps up the body, increases the strength to do work and sets the digestive fire aflame. Also, appropriate Exercise even digests the heavy food (which is against the body’s natural capacity) and laxity in the body will not creep in fast. Exercise is an absolute must to attain happiness, health and beauty in life. With the strength of virtue and Exercise one can lead a celibate life – which is the righteous way to live life.
- Thoughts: Some or the other great purpose is hidden in the power of Thought. Therefore we should keep our Thoughts pure and sanctified. Health is directly affected by Thoughts. Determination and Satvik Thoughts is important to eliminate the mental ailments from its roots. Contaminated Thoughts perverts the mind leading to mental ailments and unhealthy body. Proper Satvik Thoughts in mind is a positive strength of life. Therefore human beings should resort to the power of Thoughts to attain good health
- Sleep: Appropriate Sleep is also equally as important as Air, Water, Sun, Food, Exercise, Fasting and Thoughts for protecting your health. It is mentioned somewhere: ‘Sleeping at the right time in the night balances the systems in our body, removes laziness, increases glow, strength and enthusiasm and sets the digestive fire aflame. A deep sleep is very important for good health. Sleep peacefully by recalling Satvik thoughts at night. Wear loose clothes while sleeping. A Satvik sleep is important for an excellent health. Sleeping during the day attracts different kinds of ailments.’Sleeping at appropriate time has the following benefits:
- Regular sleep removes tiredness.
- Acquire vigor for new day’s work
- Retains strength as you age
- Protects you from bad dreams, bodily weakness, ailments of head, laziness, less urination and blood disorders.
- Mind and senses gets rest.
- Before sleeping, remove all mourning, worries and fears from the mind and desire for happiness, satisfaction and patience. You will observe a great difference within yourself in the morning.
With proper and appropriate use of aforementioned 8 therapists of nature, a human being can attain healthy, prosperous, comfortable, blissful and long life.
(From May’2014 issue, Nikhil Mantra Vigyan Magazine, pg 37)
