A Guide to Health Part 3

Most doctors admit that 99% of human beings eat more than is needed.

Indeed, this is a fact of everyday experience, and does not require to be proclaimed by any doctor. There is no fear at all of men ruining their health by eating _too little_; and the great need is for a reduction in the quant.i.ty of food that we generally take.

As said above, it is of the utmost importance to masticate the food thoroughly well. By so doing, we shall be able to extract the maximum of nutriment from the minimum of food. Experienced persons point out that the faeces of a man whose food is wholesome, and who does not eat too much, will be small in quant.i.ty, quite solid and smooth, dark in colour, and free from all foul smell. The man who does not have such faeces should understand that he has eaten too much of unwholesome food, and has failed to masticate it well. Also, if a man does not get sleep at night, or if his sleep be troubled by dreams, and if his tongue be dirty in the morning, he should know that he has been guilty of excessive eating. And if he has to get up several times at night to make water, it means that he has taken too much liquid food at night. By these and other tests, every man can arrive at the exact quant.i.ty of food that is needed for him. Many men suffer from foul breath, which shows that their food has not been well digested. In many cases, again, too much eating gives rise to pimples on the face, and in the nose; and many people suffer from wind in the stomach. The root of all these troubles is, to put it plainly, that we have converted our stomach into a latrine, and we carry this latrine about with us. When we consider the matter in a sober light, we cannot help feeling an unmixed contempt for ourselves.

If we want to avoid the sin of over-eating, we should take a vow never to have anything to do with feasts of all kinds. Of course, we should feed those who come to us as guests, but only so as not to violate the laws of health. Do we ever think of inviting our friends to clean their teeth with us, or to take a gla.s.s of water? Is not eating as strictly a matter of health as these things? Why, then, should we make so much fuss about it? We have become such gluttons by habit that our tongues are ever craving for abnormal sensations. Hence we think it a sacred duty to cram our guests with rich food, and we cherish the hope that they will do likewise for us, when their turn comes! If, an hour after eating, we ask a clean-bodied friend to smell our mouth, and if he should tell us his exact feelings, we should have to hide our heads in utter shame! But some people are so shameless that they take purgatives soon after eating, that they might be able to eat still more or they even vomit out what they have eaten in order to sit down again to the feast at once!

Since even the best of us are more or less guilty of over-eating, our wise forefathers have prescribed frequent fasts as a religious duty.

Indeed, merely from the point of view of health, it will be highly beneficial to fast at least once a fortnight. Many pious Hindus take only one meal a day during the rainy season. This is a practice based upon the soundest hygienic principles. For, when the air is damp and the sky cloudy, the digestive organs are weaker than usual, and hence there should be a reduction in the quant.i.ty of food.

And now we will consider how may meals we may take in the day.

Numberless people in India are content with only two meals. Those who do hard labour take three meals, but a system of four meals has arisen after the invention of English medicines! Of late, several societies have been formed in England and in America in order to exhort the people to take only two meals a day. They say that we should not take a breakfast early in the morning, since our sleep itself serves the purpose of the breakfast. As soon as we get up in the morning we should prepare to work rather than to eat. We should take our meal only after working for three hours. Those who hold these views take only two meals a day, and do not even take tea in the interval. An experienced doctor by name Deway has written an excellent book on Fasting, in which he has shown the benefits of dispensing with the breakfast. I can also say from my experience that there is absolutely no need to eat more than twice, for a man who has pa.s.sed the period of youth, and whose body has attained its fullest growth.

CHAPTER VII

EXERCISE

Exercise is as much of a vital necessity for man as air, water and food, in the sense that no man who does not take exercise regularly, can be perfectly healthy. By "exercise" we do not mean merely walking, or games like hockey, football, and cricket; we include under the term all physical and mental activity. Exercise, even as food, is as essential to the mind as to the body. The mind is much weakened by want of exercise as the body, and a feeble mind is, indeed, a form of disease. An athlete, for instance, who is an expert in wrestling, cannot be regarded as a really _healthy_ man, unless his mind is equally efficient. As already explained, "a sound mind in a sound body" alone const.i.tutes true health.

Which, then, are those exercises which keep the body and the mind equally efficient? Indeed, Nature has so arranged it that we can be engaged in physical as well as mental work at the same time. The vast majority of men on earth live by field-labour. The farmer has to do strenuous bodily exercise at any cost, for he has to work for 8 or 10 hours, or sometimes even more, in order to earn his bread and clothing.

And efficient labour is impossible unless the mind is also in good condition. He has to attend to all the many details of cultivation; he must have a good knowledge of soils and seasons, and perhaps also of the movements of the sun, the moon, and the stars. Even the ablest men will be beaten by the farmer in these matters. He knows the state of his immediate surroundings thoroughly well, he can find the directions by looking at the stars in the night, and tell a great many things from the ways of birds and beasts. He knows, for instance, that rain is about to fall when a particular cla.s.s of birds gather together, and begin to make noise. He knows as much of the earth and the sky as is necessary for his work. As he has to bring up his children, he must know something of _Dharma Sastra_. Since he lives under the broad open sky, he easily realises the greatness of G.o.d.

Of course, all men cannot be farmers, nor is this book written for them.

We have however, described the life of the farmer, as we are convinced that it is the _natural life_ for man. To the extent to which we deviate from these natural conditions must we suffer in health. From the farmer's life we learn that we should work for at least 8 hours a day, and it should involve mental work as well.

Merchants and others leading a sedentary life have indeed, to do some mental work, but their work is too one-sided and too inadequate to be called _exercise_.

For such people the wise men of the West have devised games like cricket and football, and such minor games as are played at parties and festive gatherings. As for mental work the reading of such books as involve no mental strain is prescribed. No doubt these games do give exercise to the body, but it is a question if they are equally beneficial to the mind. How many of the best players of football and cricket are men of superior mental powers? What have we seen of the mental equipment of those Indian Princes who have earned a distinction as players? On the other hand, how many of the ablest men care to play these games? We can affirm from our experience that there are very few players among those who are gifted with great mental powers. The people of England are extremely fond of games, but their own poet, Kipling, speaks very disparagingly of the mental capacity of the players.

Here in India, however, we have chosen quite a different path! Our men do arduous mental work, but give little or no exercise to the body.

Their bodies are enfeebled by excessive mental strain, and they fall a prey to serious diseases; and just when the world expects to benefit by their work, they bid it eternal farewell! Our work should be neither exclusively physical nor exclusively mental, nor such as ministers merely to the pleasure of the moment. The ideal kind of exercise is that which gives vigour to the body as well as to the mind; only such exercise can keep a man truly healthy, and such a man is the farmer.

But what shall he do who is no farmer? The exercise which games like the cricket give is too inadequate, and something else has to be devised.

The best thing for ordinary men would be to keep a small garden near the house, and work in it for a few hours every day. Some may ask, "What can we do if the house we live in be not our own?" This is a foolish question to ask, for, whoever may be the owner of the house, he cannot object to his ground being improved by digging and cultivation. And we shall have the satisfaction of feeling that we have helped to keep somebody else's ground neat and clean. Those who do not find time for such exercise or who may not like it, may resort to walking, which is the next best exercise. Truly has this been described as the Queen of all exercises. The main reason why our _Sadhus_ and _Fakirs_ are strong as a cla.s.s is that they go about from one end of the country to the other only on foot. Th.o.r.eau, the great American writer, has said many remarkable things on walking as an exercise. He says that the writings of those who keep indoors and never go out into the open air, will be as weak as their bodies. Referring to his own experience, he says that all his best works were written when he was walking the most. He was such an inveterate walker that four or five hours a day was quite an ordinary thing with him! Our pa.s.sion for exercise should become so strong that we cannot bring ourselves to dispense with it on any account. We hardly realise how weak and futile is our mental work when unaccompanied by hard physical exercise. Walking gives movement to every portion of the body, and ensures vigorous circulation of the blood; for, when we walk fast, fresh air is inhaled into the lungs. Then there is the inestimable joy that natural objects give us, the joy that comes from a contemplation of the beauties of nature. It is, of course, useless to walk along lanes and streets, or to take the same path every day. We should go out into the fields and forests where we can have a taste of Nature. Walking a mile or two is no walking at all; at least ten or twelve miles are necessary for exercise. Those who cannot walk so much every day can at least do so on Sundays. Once a man who was suffering from indigestion went to the doctor to take medicine. He was advised to walk a little every day, but he pleaded that he was too weak to walk at all. Then the doctor took him into his carriage for a drive. On the way he deliberately dropped his whip, and the sick man, out of courtesy, got down to take it. The doctor, however, drove on without waiting for him, and the poor man had to trudge behind the carriage. When the doctor was satisfied that he had walked long enough, he took him into the carriage again, and explained that it was a device adopted to make him walk. As the man had begun to feel hungry by this time, he realised the value of the doctor's advice, and forgot the affair of the whip. He then went home and had a hearty meal. Let those who are suffering from indigestion and kindred diseases try for themselves, and they will at once realise the value of walking as an exercise.

CHAPTER VIII

DRESS

Dress is also a matter of health to a certain extent. European ladies, for instance, have such queer notions of beauty that their dress is contrived with a view to straitening the waist and the feet, which, in its turn, leads to several diseases. The feet of Chinese women are deliberately straitened to such an extent that they are smaller even than the feet of our little children, and, as a result, their health is injured. These two instances show how the health may be affected by the nature of the dress. But the choice of our dress does not rest always in our hands, for we have perforce to adopt the manners of our elders. The chief object of dress has been forgotten, and it has come to be regarded as indicative of a man's religion, country, race and profession. In this state of things, it is very difficult to discuss the question of dress strictly from the point of view of health, but such a discussion must necessarily do us good. Under the term dress, we include all such things as boots and shoes, as well as jewellery and the like.

What is the chief object of dress? Man in his primitive state had no dress at all; he went about naked, and exposing almost the whole body.

His skin was firm and strong, he was able to stand sun and shower, and never once suffered from cold and kindred ailments. As has already been explained, we inhale the air not only through the nostrils, but also through the numberless pores of the skin. So when we cover the body with clothing, we are preventing this natural function of the skin. But when the people of the colder countries grew more and more indolent, they began to feel the need to cover their bodies. They were no longer able to stand the cold, and the use of dress came into being, until at length it came to be looked upon not merely as a necessity, but as an ornament.

Subsequently it has also come to be regarded as an indication of country, race etc.

In fact, Nature herself has provided an excellent covering for us in our skin. The idea that the body looks unseemly in undress is absurd, for the very best pictures are those that display the naked body. When we cover up the most ordinary parts of our body, it is as though we felt ashamed of them in their natural condition, and as though we found fault with Nature's own arrangement. We think it a duty to go on multiplying the trappings and ornaments for our body, as we grow richer and richer.

We 'adorn' our body in all sorts of hideous ways, and pride ourselves on our handsomeness! If our eyes were not blinded by foolish habit, we should see that the body looks most handsome only in its nakedness, as it enjoys its best health only in that condition. Dress, indeed, detracts from the natural beauty of the body. But, not content with dress alone, man began to wear jewels also. This is mere madness, for it is hard to understand how these jewels can add an iota to the body's natural beauty. But women have gone beyond all bounds of sense or decency in this matter. They are not ashamed to wear anklets which are so heavy that they can hardly lift their feet, or to pierce their nose and ears hideously for putting on rings, or to stud their wrists and fingers with rings and bracelets of several kinds. These ornaments only serve to help the acc.u.mulation of dirt in the body; there is indeed no limit to the dirt on the nose and ears. We mistake this filthiness for beauty, and throw money away to secure it; and we do not even shrink from putting our lives at the mercy of thieves. There is no limit to the pains we take to satisfy the silly notions of vanity that we have so sedulously cultivated. Women, indeed, have become so infatuated that they are not prepared to remove the ear-ring even if the ears are diseased; even if the hand is swollen and suffering from frightful pain, they would not remove the bracelets; and they are unwilling to remove the ring from a swollen finger, since they imagine that their beauty would suffer by so doing!

A thorough reform in dress is by no means an easy matter, but it is surely possible for all of us to renounce our jewels and all superfluous clothing. We may keep some few things for the sake of convention, and throw off all the rest. Those who are free from the superst.i.tion that dress is an ornament can surely effect many changes in their dress, and keep themselves in good health.

Now-a-days the notion has gained ground that European dress is necessary for maintaining our decency and prestige! This is not the place to discuss this question in detail. Here it will be enough to point out that, although the dress of Europeans might be good enough for the cold countries of Europe, it is hopelessly unsuited to India. Indian dress, alone, can be good for Indians, whether they be Hindu or Musalman. Our dress being loose and open, air is not shut out; and being white for the most part, it does not absorb the heat. Black dress feels hot, since all the sun's rays are absorbed into it, and, in its turn, into the body.

The practice of covering the head with the turban has become quite common with us. Nevertheless we should try to keep the head bare as far as possible. To grow the hair, and to dress it by combing and brushing, parting in the middle and so on, is nothing short of barbarous. Dust and dirt, as well as nits and lice, acc.u.mulate in the hair, and if a boil were to arise on the head, it cannot be properly treated. Especially for those who use a turban, it would be stupid to grow the hair.

The feet also are common agents of disease. The feet of those who wear boots and shoes grow dirty, and begin to exude a lot of stinking perspiration. So great is the stink that those who are sensitive to smells will hardly be able to stand by the side of one who is removing his shoes and socks. Our common names for the shoe speak of it as the "protector of the feet" and the "enemy of the thorn" showing that shoes should be worn only when we have to walk along a th.o.r.n.y path, or over very cold or hot ground, and that only the soles should be covered, and not the entire feet. And this purpose is served excellently well by the _sandal_. Some people who are accustomed to the use of shoes often suffer from headaches, of pain in the feet, or weakness of the body. Let them try the experiment of walking with bare feet, and then they will at once find out the benefit of keeping the feet bare, and free from sweat by exposure to the air.

CHAPTER IX

s.e.xUAL RELATIONS

I would specially request those who have carefully read through the book so far to read through this chapter with even greater care, and ponder well over its subject-matter. There are still several more chapters to be written, and they will, of course, be found useful in their own way.

But not one of them is nearly as important as this. As I have already said, there is not a single matter mentioned in this book which is not based on my personal experience, or which I do not believe to be strictly true.

Many are the keys to health, and they are all quite essential; but the one thing needful, above all others, is _Brahmacharya_. Of course, pure air, pure water, and wholesome food do contribute to health. But how can we be healthy if we expend all the health that we acquire? How can we help being paupers if we spend all the money that we earn? There can be no doubt that men and women can never be virile or strong unless they observe true _Brahmacharya_.

What do we mean by _Brahmacharya_? We mean by it that men and women should refrain from enjoying each other. That is to say, they should not touch each other with a carnal thought, they should not think of it even in their dreams. Their mutual glances should be free from all suggestion of carnality. The hidden strength that G.o.d has given us should be conserved by rigid self-discipline, and transmitted into energy and power,--not merely of body, but also of mind and soul.

But what is the spectacle that we actually see around us? Men and women, old and young, without exception, are seen entangled in the coils of sensuality. Blinded by l.u.s.t, they lose all sense of right and wrong.

I have myself seen even boys and girls behaving like mad men under its fatal influence. I too have behaved likewise under similar influences, and it could not well be otherwise. For the sake of a momentary pleasure, we sacrifice in an instant all the stock of vitality that we have acc.u.mulated. The infatuation over, we find ourselves in a miserable condition. The next morning, we feel hopelessly weak and tired, and the mind refuses to do its work. Then, we try to remedy the mischief by taking all sorts of 'nervine tonics' and put ourselves under the doctor's mercy for repairing the waste, and for recovering the capacity for enjoyment. So the days pa.s.s and the years, until at length old age comes upon us, and finds us utterly emasculated in body and in mind.

But the law of Nature is just the reverse of this. The older we grow, the keener should grow our intellect also; the longer we live, the greater should be our capacity to transmit the fruits of our acc.u.mulated experience to our fellowmen. And such is indeed the case with those who have been true _Brahmacharies_. They know no fear of death, and they do not forget good even in the hour of death; nor do they indulge in vain complaints. They die with a smile on their lips, and boldly face the day of judgment. They are the true men and women; and of them alone can it be said that they have conserved their health.

We hardly realise the fact that incontinence is the root-cause of all the vanity, anger, fear and jealousy in the world. If our mind is not under our control, if we behave once or more every day more foolishly than even little children, what sins may we not commit consciously or unconsciously? How can we pause to think of the consequences of our actions, however vile or sinful they may be?

But you may ask, "Who has ever seen a true _Brahmachary_ in this sense?

If all men should turn _Brahmacharies_, would not humanity be extinct, and the whole world go to rack and ruin?" We will leave aside the religious aspect of this question, and discuss it simply from the secular point of view. To my mind, these questions only bespeak our weakness and our cowardliness. We have not the strength of will to observe _Brahmacharya_, and, therefore, set about finding pretexts for evading our duty. The race of true _Brahmacharies_ is by no means extinct; but, if they were to be had merely for the asking, of what value would _Brahmacharya_ be? Thousands of hardy labourers have to go and dig deep into the bowels of the earth in search of diamonds, and at length they get perhaps merely a handful of them out of heaps and heaps of rock. How much greater, then, should be the labour involved in the discovery of the infinitely more precious diamond of a _Brahmachary_? If the observance of _Brahmacharya_ should mean the ruin of the world, why should we regret it? Are we G.o.d that we should be so anxious about its future? He who created it will surely see to its preservation. It is none of our business to enquire if other people practise _Brahmacharya_ or not. When we turn merchant or lawyer or doctor, do we ever pause to consider what the fate of the world would be if all men were to do likewise? The true _Brahmachary_ will, in the long run, discover for himself answers to such questions.

But how can men engrossed by the cares of the material world put these ideas into practice? What shall the married people do? What shall they do who have children? And what shall be done by those people who cannot control their l.u.s.t? The best solution for all such difficulties has already been given. We should keep this ideal constantly before us, and try to approximate to it more and more to the utmost of our capacity.

When little children are taught to write the letters of the alphabet, we show them the perfect shapes of the letters, and they try to reproduce them as best they can. Just in the same way, if we steadily work up to the ideal of _Brahmacharya_, we may ultimately succeed in realising it.

What if we have married already? The law of Nature is that _Brahmacharya_ may be broken only when the husband and wife feel a strong desire for a child. Those who, remembering this law, violate _Brahmacharya_ once in four or five years cannot be said to be slaves to l.u.s.t, nor can they appreciably lose their stock of vitality. But, alas, how rare are those men and women who yield to the s.e.xual craving merely for the sake of an offspring! The vast majority, who may be numbered in thousands, turn to s.e.xual enjoyment merely to satisfy their carnal pa.s.sion, with the result that children are born to them quite against their will. In the madness of s.e.xual pa.s.sion, we give no thought to the consequences of our acts. In this respect, men are even more to blame than women. The man is blinded so much by his l.u.s.t that he never cares to remember that his wife is weak and incapable of rearing a child. In the West indeed, people have trespa.s.sed even against the claims of common decency. They indulge in s.e.xual pleasures, and devise measures in order to evade the responsibilities of parenthood. Many books have been written on this subject, and a regular trade is being carried on in providing the means of preventing conception. We are as yet free from this sin, but we do not shrink from imposing the heavy burden of maternity on our women, and we are not concerned even to find that our children are weak, impotent and imbecile. Every time we get children, we bless Providence, and so seek to hide from ourselves the wickedness of our acts. Should we not rather deem it a sign of G.o.d's anger to have children who are weak, sensual, crippled and impotent? Is it a matter for joy that mere boys and girls should have children? Is it not rather a curse of G.o.d? We all know that the premature fruit of a too young plant weakens the parent, and so we try all means of delaying the appearance of fruit. But we sing hymns of praise and thanks-giving to G.o.d when a child is born of a boy-father and a girl-mother! Could anything be more dreadful? Do we think that the world is going to be saved by the countless swarms of such impotent children endlessly multiplying in India or elsewhere in the world? Verily we are, in this respect, far worse than even the lower animals; for, the bull and the cow are brought together solely with the object of having a calf. Man and woman should regard it as sacred duty to keep apart from the moment of conception up to the time when the child has ceased to suck its mother's breast. But we go on in our merry fashion blissfully forgetful of this sacred obligation. This incurable disease enfeebles our mind and leads us to an early grave, after making us drag a miserable existence for a short while. Married people should understand the true function of marriage, and should not violate the law of _Brahmacharya_ except with a view to having a child for the continuation of the race.

But this is so difficult under our present conditions of life. Our diet, our ways of life, our common talk, and our environments are all equally calculated to rouse and keep alive our sensual appet.i.te; and sensuality is like a poison, eating into our vitals. Some people may doubt the possibility of our being able to free ourselves from this bondage. This book is written not for those who go about with such doubtings of heart, but only for those who are really in earnest, and who have the courage to take active steps for their improvement. Those who are quite content with their present abject condition may even be offended to read all this; but I hope this will be of some service to those who are heartily disgusted with their own miserable existence.

From all that has been said, it follows that those who are still unmarried should try to remain so; but, if they cannot help marrying, they should do so as late as possible. Young men, for instance, should take a vow to remain unmarried till the age of 25 or 30. We shall not explain here all the benefits other than physical that result from this; but those who want to enjoy them can do so for themselves.

My request to those parents who may read these pages is that they should not tie a mill-stone round the necks of their sons by marrying them in their teens. They should look also to the welfare of their sons, and not only to their own interests. They should throw aside all silly notions of caste-pride or 'respectability', and cease to indulge in such heartless practices. Let them, rather, if they are true well-wishers of their children, look to their physical, mental and moral improvements.

What greater disservice can they do to their sons than compelling them to enter upon a married life, with all its tremendous responsibilities and cares, even while they are mere boys?