To enjoy good health is to have received, and be able to relish one of the greatest gifts in life. The first wealth is health; the second - the mind that is under our control. We see today less and less people who can pride themselves on being healthy, physically, emotionally and mentally.
Life without health is truly no-life, or at the best, life wherein freedom of a person is greatly limited and curtailed. When we are sick or unhealthy, it becomes difficult to give to others, thus depriving ourselves of one of the greatest joys of life, that of giving; when we are unwell we are the ones that have to constantly receive, and be taken care of.
However, we can be the authors of our health if we were to align ourselves with Mother Nature. Even for spiritual life, in order to penetrate the hidden depth of the vast ocean of life and spirit, we need the highest standard of health.
Why are then witnessing such a decline in human health in spite of the progress of our science, and specially medicine? Our living reality has changed dramatically over the period of past few centuries and more so in the past couple of decades, and our communion and relationship with Mother Nature has deteriorated to its lowest level. Yet there is a hope. Millions of people across the globe are waking up to the power of many traditional systems of health and spirituality, one of the most important and prevalent being – the tradition of Yoga.
Our health is the result of making choices. Many of our choices whether for better or worse, were made in our previous lives.
What governs health?
Swami Sivananda says, “The whole universe from the mightiest sun to the tiniest atom is controlled by law. There is a perfect order in the whole creation. The sun rises at the proper time and sets at the proper time. The stars and planets revolve in an orderly manner. They are all governed by the laws. There are laws on the mental plane too. There are laws of health which govern our being.”
All these laws and many others are all manifestations of the great law called Dharma. Dharma is the law of sustenance and integration. It comes from the Sanskrit root “dhr” which means “to hold together”.
In this vast universe, human being, which has to a great degree free will, and can choose the best actions from his or her existent potential, breaks and violates all laws. The animals, birds, trees, wind, rain and the whole of nature never break the law.
In Ayurveda (the traditional Indian medicine) there is an excellent term that explains how diseases arise. They are caused by what is known is in Ayurveda known as prajnāparādha. Prajnā means “discernment, intelligence, wisdom” and aparādhaḥ means “offence, a fault, crime”. The term is often translated as “the crimes against the wisdom”.
If we smoke and do not exercise, if we take recreational drugs and eat inappropriately and irregularly, snacking on sweets or salty chips, eat more or less than we need, or we don’t dress properly according to the weather, if don’t take care of our emotions and thoughts – these sorts of “crimes”,
The Power of Rejuvenation Through Yoga
“Health is wealth. Peace of mind is happiness. Yoga shows the way.”
Swami Vishnudevananda