Health defies definition. Modern medical science cannot sum up what health is; only this much is said: absence of disease is health. It is like defining a flower in relation to thorns. Why is health not defined? Because health comes from the innermost being of an individual. The Hindi word Swasthya means rooted in the innermost being.
The ripples of disease touching a physical body reach the inner realms. Therefore, not just the outer physical body, but also the inner body needs treatment.
Health has the same root as wholeness. Health has a wide scope — much more than mere physical and mental. Meditation upon the innermost being is the way to wholeness.
Food has always been the basis to lead a healthy life. The curative and preventive properties of foods should be studied, not just the calories they can provide.
Sages Charak and Vagabhatta, the top doctors of Ayurveda, stated that food must be eaten keeping these three basic principles in mind: 1. HitaBhuk, 2. RitaBhuk, and 3. MitaBhuk
Hitbhuk: Do not eat the food, which is not good for your stomach; avoid the food you cannot digest. When you eat for the taste of your tongue, you spoil your stomach and you fall sick.
Mitbhuk: Eat frugally/moderately. Do not fill your stomach totally with food; fill it up 50 per cent with food, 25 per cent with water, and keep 25 per cent empty. Chew your food well. Eat at regular time.
Ritbhuk: Ritbhuk means eat to suit the season. In a cold season, avoid ice cream. Drink hot milk when it is cold. The fruits and vegetables that come in a particular season should be eaten in that season. No canned food!
Every single plant is a remedy if you know its use. Onion, garlic, and coriander are great medicinal herbs. Study their properties.
Treat your body with respect.
What You Eat Affects Mind. “As the most subtle form of matter, the mind receives nourishment from the food that we eat.” (From Building a Noble World by Shiv R. Jhawar, p. 101)
Treat yourself to a great physical, mental, and spiritual heath!
Shreeja Mohatta Jhawar is a partner in Think Unlike Events where she organises creative and life-style transforming workshops. She is also a freelance writer, web and graphics designer as well as a social activist who runs ‘Kritagya,’ a group aiming to serve old and destitute people.