Nature works on two principles – one, constructive and two, destructive. Both of them have their own functions to perform. For continuation of life both are necessary. This composite constructive-destructive system should be looked at from the point of view that everything in nature may die one day, but, maybe, to come to life again through correction.
A human being, for instance, is composed of certain elements and forces which can work in equilibrium at the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual planes. When these elements and the forces are in a harmonious vibration, we call the condition health.The state of being healthy is so common and so ordinary that we do not feel we are a number of systems bound together. Crudely speaking, health is a state of the body in which we find ourselves in a condition that makes us miss to notice that we are certain body parts held together. As long as there is no pain, for instance, in the stomach, you never have the feeling that you have a stomach. This is true with any other organ. In other words, health provides us with a blissful condition, a condition that makes us feel oblivious to the presence of a body in us, a body with many organs finely stitched together.
The destructive principle of nature comes into force, if the equilibrium of the elements and forces gets disturbed. The resultant condition is called disease. Again, crudely speaking, disease is a condition during which you are constantly made to remember that you are a bundle of organs dumped together.
Why does the equilibrium get disturbed? Reasons could be myriad. The chief among them is faulty living. The resulting disease may get a different name and the degree of severity of the disease may also be different. But most times the reason for the disease is the same – faulty living, especially, faulty diet. Faulty diet may mean under-eating certain things or/and overeating certain other things. It may mean eating things in a bad combination. As a result, imbalance sets in which in its turn may invite a disease.
If the cause is the same, how is it that the disease is not the same? A human body is composed of various systems working in a harmonious manner. Let us suppose that the body is like a chain consisting of many links. When the chain comes under strain, the weakest link gives in and a crack develops. Similarly, owing to the faulty living, a particular body system comes under strain and warns us of the disturbance – maybe, immediately or maybe, after a long time.
A living being is such a wonderful machine it is its own mechanic. It not only warns the owner about the disturbed state of the body, but also repairs every system that has gone into the making of the machine. From this point of view a disease is to be looked at as a call for resetting the systems into a harmonious blending. By implication, it helps the body correct itself by removing the imbalance. So a naturopath advises his patient not to stop a running nose, for instance. Let the unnecessary thing go out. Let the body clean itself. Let the body repair itself.
Sometimes we reason that what we eat is eaten by others in the house too, but none of the others suffers from the disease we suffer from. Here, we should remember that our weakest system may not be the weakest of the others. Each person is a unique one. We may suffer from a condition today. Others may take a little more time to suffer, maybe, from another condition caused by a different system.
Let us remember that the birth place of every disease is our kitchen. The food or the food combination a school going child consumes may cause him or her suffer from a running nose, a college going student from asthma, an office attending adult from a heart condition. We are what we eat, according to naturopathy.
Does it mean every health condition is a diet related disorder (DRD)? If the common cold is not an allergic manifestation, it is true it is a virus disease. What about a heart condition? Scientists have not yet agreed upon any germs causing a heart attack! There is no better reason to offer – better than DRD – in case of diabetes too. Same is true with heart burning, pain in the stomach or abdomen, ulcers and cancers.
A human being is as much a part of nature as anything else on this earth is. As Ayurveda says we are made of Akash, air, water, light and earth. As long as the proportion of these elements is maintained, the human machine works smoothly. A human body contains 68% water and 38% matter. Do we maintain this proportion even after the intake of food and water? Don’t we consume a very dangerously small quantity of water? Is it not the reason for as ordinary as a condition like constipation or as unthought-of as low blood pressure?
An old man may complain of a urine problem – a scanty, narrow stream and inability to control the bladder – the so-called incontinence. It is first a problem with Akash – space. Let the man make adequate room for his urethra – the urine carrying canal – to pass through the ageing prostrate gland. An early morning cold water bath – for a thoroughly cleansing blood circulation system followed by consumption of a little quantity of turmeric powder – an effective and powerful anti-inflammatory agent -in the morning on an empty stomach will play the trick.
A keen observation, a little imagination and a lot of faith in Mother Nature – call her God, alternatively – are what one requires to enjoy health. Why faith in God? If one has got complete faith in God, before eating one would not dare to change the shape of the food that He has provided for us to enjoy!
