Divine Words of wisdom by Sathya Sai Baba – On Health and healthcare

1. Health confers salvation or liberation, so protect your health

x1983-10-08

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Embodiments of love! All said and done, the summary of Swami’s talk is that health is of primary importance. For what purpose does one require health? It is required for experiencing the bliss of the soul, “atmananda”. One must never forget these two aspects. Man’s health is useless if he cannot experience atmananda. Such bodies which have health and strength, but do not experience bliss of the soul are a burden to the earth. One must realise the truth about oneself and enquire about one’s identity. Of what use is one’s existence when one cannot know the truth about oneself? Therefore one should not try to distinguish the spiritual and worldly experiences but bring them together to realise one’s true nature and to experience the divine bliss. One must develop love that is innate in every human and must never give scope to narrow-mindedness. One’s behaviour must not harm or hurt others for then alone one’s human life is sanctified.

2. Swami on the building up of equipments for better treatment of patients

x1983-10-08

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Patients from all over world are coming to here to get cured. So in order to provide proper facilities for them, a hospital with hundred beds will be established in November. It will have sophisticated set of equipments and instruments to carry out tests for detecting cancer, heart and brain disorders, and specialised x-ray machines- these facilities are not available elsewhere. The hospital with all these facilities will open in November.

3. When Swami can cure why hospitals: Beautiful examples

x1983-10-08

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Hence in order to protect and safeguard health, hospitals have been established here and there. Some may be ensnared by the doubt, “Swami can cure the diseases through His power and miracles, why did He establish the hospitals?” “Yad bhaavam tad bhavathi” as is the thought so is the manifestation. Some take only vibhuti and get cured as they have implicit faith in Swami; but some have faith in medicines only, so the hospitals are for such people. Not only that, people can rid themselves of minor ailments by visiting these hospitals and save their precious time. These hospitals are put up because if person has cold or cough he need not put up his hands in prayer to Swami saying “O Saibaba! Cure my cold. O Saibaba! Cure my cough.” Instead he can go to the doctor and get medicine for the ailments. One need not pray Swami for such insignificant things. One must ask for the fruit that the tree bears. One must ask for divine thoughts from the tree called ‘God’. Why ask for coffee powder from a wish fulfilling tree?! These hospitals have been established so that people can get cured of minor ailments without taking such trivial things to God. Through the medium of hospitals, people must be taught about spirituality as there is a close relevance between them.

4. Sugar is the root cause for Cancer

x1983-10-08

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Till date no doctor has been able to fathom the reason for the occurrence of cancer. One can know the cause upon pondering on it properly. Some might say that eating beetle leaves causes cancer; some say that smoking cigarettes and beedis causes cancer, yet others say that pollution causes cancer—all these contribute to cancer but are not the primary reason for causing cancer. When deeply enquired one finds that the real reason for occurrence of cancer is –sugar! Commercial sugar is made out of many chemicals. Powder of the bones is one of them. This content gets lodged in any part of the body causing a particular block. Blood has two types of cells namely the red blood cells and the white blood cells. Clogging of the white blood corpuscles at a particular point is the spot for cancer. This condition is called as “Lukoma”. This is the most important ingredient of cancer. In this lukoma the primary disadvantage of sugar, the chemical, adds up. Doctors today say that people who eat beetle leaves or those that smoke get cancer. But aren’t there many who do not do either but are still affected by cancer? The pollutants in air, water and in food only aid the cancer, but the primary cause for its occurrence is sugar. In olden days, the sugar was not decorated with such false make-ups. People used to use jaggery or powdered jaggery and were never affected by such diseases. But today everything is polluted and is artificial. Resorting to dubious ways to amass wealth and mint money, people are inviting such dangerous diseases. What for is the money when man himself is not there? Isn’t man more important than wealth?

5. We need to take foods which give strength: All Vitamins and proteins are needed for body

x1983-10-08

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Life sustaining food that is nourishing and nutritious must be eaten. But in this world under the influence of modern civilized lifestyle, people are eating food that is devoid of innate nourishment. This body requires proteins and vitamins A, B, C, D and E etc. One vitamin gives good sight to the eyes, one gives strength to the blood, one vitamin sustains the bones but for all this proteins are a must. It is called “protein” because it protects. One can sustain oneself longer if one has more of protein. Of all the food items the ones that contains more protein is the food that is uncooked and available naturally. A variety of pulses like green gram etc are used extensively even by the foreigners. Soya beans are also one of the grains that are used. Ground nut is called as ‘Indian soya beans’! It is rich in protein. What does one do with the pulses? One uses it in making sambar and rasam by cooking it thoroughly thereby depleting it of its life force and eating the same. For example the green gram or the Lobia beans – give more protein when they are eaten after being soaked in water. But man, being a victim to his palate and taste, eats it after cooking it with tamarind, oil, salt, etc and a result depriving him of the nourishment naturally available in them. Fruits too contain vitamins. Vegetables, too, give a lot of strength.

6. To maintain good health we need to maintain good diet: Weight loss is a must for maintaining good health

x1983-10-08

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A person has blood pressure. In the wake of the blood pressure, this person becomes a victim of diabetes. In the medical parlance it can be said that the blood pressure and diabetics are twins- one follows the other. It is a peculiar thing that when medicine for diabetes is taken blood pressure increases and when medicine for blood pressure is taken, diabetes increases. These two are a pair of opposites. These cannot be treated with medicines alone. With medicines the blood pressure and diabetes can be kept in limits temporarily. These ailments are hard to get rid of once they creep in. These diseases, like the power of kundalini, might appear contained for a while. So what should be done to completely eradicate these diseases? The solution is: diet control. When one keeps restrain on food intake, one does not need any medicines. One must reduce one’s weight. The reason being, one eats food; this body is like a mound which is not capable of activating itself, it is purely inert, inanimate object. One might raise the doubt that if the body is truly inert and inanimate, how is it growing? Certainly, even the inert objects grow! For example, if one sweeps the house and collects the dust in a pit, after a month the dirt in the pit would grow to a mound. The dust collected in the pit grew in size! How did it happen? The dust put in the pit every day made the dust grow into a heap. Similarly ‘the pit’ that is this inanimate and inert body, upon being fed with the dust of ‘idly, dosa, upma, sambar, rice’ on a daily basis will grow too. If the body is not fed for a week it will reduce in size. Therefore this body can be likened to a tyre- when air is pumped it inflates and when air is removed it deflates. But there is no danger if the tyre is deflated. On the other hand if the tyre is inflated continuously there is the danger of its bursting. Hence it is better to be on the lower side and be in proper limits.

7. What is food and what kind of food is good for body

x1983-10-08

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What is the real meaning of ‘Aahara’ food? Grains, vegetables and fruits are considered as food. No! Everything in this world is food!! The one that experiences and enjoys the food is also food! In summary, it is the food that enjoys food! Man’s body is food. This body, that is itself food, is part taking something else which is food. An animal is a type of food. This animal eats some other animal as its food. Therefore, since food is eating food, care should be taken that the food suitable to the particular type of food is given to it. It is sheer ignorance to think, ‘I am man and am eating food’. One’s body is food for some other being. The other being is food to some other entity. So when one observes keenly, one can conclude that all is food. However it is necessary that food be of Sathwic nature. Sathwic food is the one that is earned with Sathwic thoughts; it is the food that is earned through righteous means.

8. Why Swami established hospitals in rural areas and not in cities

x1996-07-19

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There are people from villages who do not know about health and suffer when afflicted by illness. Therefore in order to help such people Swami has established hospitals, not in towns or cities but, in villages. The innocent villagers require such services. The villagers do not know about the disease they are suffering from and in their ignorance they worsen the illness thereby losing their lives to it. There are no people who would perform tests to reveal about the illness in the villages. Villagers too have diabetes but eat sweet puddings and sweets thereby increasing the disorder. People of surrounding villages are benefited by the hospital in Whitefield. All medicines are free of cost. Everything is available to them freely without any expenditure.

9. Health is the real wealth

x1983-10-08

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Therefore this material wealth is not important. It is the wealth of goodness and good qualities that are important. Wealth with a person devoid of good qualities will only be put to bad use. Therefore one must realise that health is more important than wealth. This health is for making good the human birth. The fulfilment of human birth is getting back to the destination from where the journey started. What is man’s destination? It is the Atma that is the destination of man. Man must sanctify this body through good deeds, service to others and through sacred practices till he reaches his destination.

10. Vegetables are produced with Drainage water

x1983-10-08

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There are other things too that Swami would like to bring to one’s notice though one knows about them. In villages and cities the drainage water flows in open sewage lines. On either side of these sewage lines people grow vegetables. With the help of pumps they water those plants with the drainage water. Due to this the vegetables become big in size. Eating the vegetables, that grown and sustained by the drainage water, is the reason for human ailments and diseases. People living in cities are more prone to diseases than those living in the villages. The city dwelling people are deprived of pure air, pure water, and pure food to eat. People are attracted by the external appearance but are not bothered by the inner quality. The fertilizers that are used are highly poisonous and harmful. That is the reason why there is an increase in the cancer cases and complaints of the heart.

11 .Swami speaks on BP and diabetes: Why Diet prescribed for sugar patients

x1996-06-20

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A small illustration to highlight the point: since it is the hospital day today, it is imperative to talk about matters pertaining to health. Swami has talked about blood pressure and diabetes. People consider these ailments as common. This is a very mistaken notion as these diseases are very dangerous. Both the diseases affect the heart. One of these enlarges the insides of the heart and the other tends to enlarge the surroundings of the heart. Both these diseases, in essence, enlarge the heart and involve the blood. The heart becomes hardened in case of high blood sugar and there is no proper blood circulation. What is the cause for high sugar levels in blood? There is an antidote in the body called as insulin which needs to be secreted in proper quantities in order to maintain ideal levels of sugar in the body. But in diabetics the insulin levels is low. That is the reason why the diabetic patient is given insulin injections. The sugar levels in the blood must be maintained at certain levels; low sugar or high sugar levels pose a problem. Either an increase or decrease in sugar levels makes one unconscious. In order to check the sugar levels in blood, doctors advise the patients to switch to foods like wheat and jowar. Why do the doctors place a restriction on the patient’s diet? It is a way of controlling the diet intake. Every food item that is eaten is converted into glucose inside the body. This glucose is sweet, in fact every substance that is eaten is glucose, implies is sweet. This sweetness is present in rice as well as wheat. The people of south India are accustomed to eating rice as staple food and hence they take rice in larger portions. Eating rice in larger portions increases the glucose levels in the blood. Therefore in order to reduce the food intake they are advised to switch to wheat. Since they are not accustomed to eating wheat, they consume it in smaller portions thereby reducing the sugar levels in the blood. The sugar level is not reduced merely by eating wheat. People of North India eat dozens of chapattis made of wheat. But even in them the blood sugar levels are on an increase. If eating wheat reduces sugar levels in blood, then how come the people of North India too are prone to diabetes? They are accustomed to eating wheat so they eat it in larger portions. How can their diet be controlled? They are advised to eat rice. They would eat less of rice since they are not accustomed to eating rice, thereby leading to a decrease in sugar content in the blood. In reality, there is no major difference in rice and wheat; the starch content in one is 85% and in the other it is 78%. Therefore when one reduces the quantity of food intake, then there is a possibility to control this disease. Whatever be the food, if it is taken within limits, one is bound to be healthy. “Ati tindi mati haani! Mitha tindi ati haayi!!” meaning food eaten in excess causes mental derangement, whereas limited food intake bestows joy and health.

12. Heart cannot function properly if the body gets unfit

x1983-10-08

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There is the heart. It can only pump and supply to its capacity and cannot supply beyond its capacity. People usually enquire about the capacity of the machine in terms of horse-power. While choosing a machine for a particular task, one only chooses that which meets his requirements. With a low horse-power capacity machine, it’s not possible to extract yields of a higher capacity machine. Hence the fields dry up, and one has to go without food leading to frail life. So in God’s creation, the heart is created with the required horse-power capacity that is needed by the body. The heart cannot function when it is used to build the body beyond its means and capacity. The ailments of the heart are on the rise. What can the heart do if one wants to build one’s body like a boulder? This particular disease is rampant even among the educated; not only the educated but also the doctors, who specialise in the ailments of the heart, are prone to the diseases of the heart. The informed doctors too are falling prey to the disease. The doctors profess, “Health is wealth” but neglect their own health. Therefore even when afflicted with diseases, one can protect one’s health by restraining the food intake.

13. God resides in stomach, so what kind of food we need to ingest it with

x1983-10-08

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Stomach is the centre for all the different parts of the body. The stomach digests whatever is put in it and supplies the essence of it to all the organs. Hence the power of digestion of the stomach is God given and is likened to the sacred fire. “Aham vaishva naro bhootva” meaning, “I am present in beings as the fire of digestion” God resides in man as the digestive force and this runs and governs all the life processes in the body. What kind of food must be offered to the God who resides in the beings? The food offered must be the one created by God but not those that are made by man. When food that is in its natural state, which is created by God, is given to the stomach, it will digest it properly and give health to all the parts of the body.

14. What kind of food must be offered to the God who resides in the stomach as the digestive power

x1992-09-27

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Each part, each system in the human body is sustained by specific life giving cells. There are certain factors that limit the functioning of a body part. The elements in the stomach must maintain the fine balance and be present in the required proportions. Man is subjected to illness if the elements are imbalanced. In the body, the organs and parts might appear different. The head may be considered as located above, on top; but the reason for the headache is not the head but the stomach. Similarly the cause for the ailments of different parts of the body lies in the stomach. The stomach digests whatever is put in it and supplies the essence of it to all the organs. Hence the power of digestion of the stomach is God given and is likened to the sacred fire. “Aham vaishva naro bhootva” meaning, “I am present in beings as the fire of digestion” God resides in man as the digestive force and this runs and governs all the life processes in the body. What kind of food must be offered to the God who resides in the beings? The food offered must be the one created by God but not those that are made by man. When food that is in its natural state, which is created by God, is given to the stomach, it will digest it properly and give health to all the parts of the body. What is the real meaning of ‘aahara’ food? Grains, vegetables and fruits are considered as food. No! Everything in this world is food!! The one that experiences and enjoys the food is also food! In summary, it is the food that enjoys food! Man’s body is food. This body, that is itself food, is part taking something else which is food. An animal is a type of food.

15. We need to keep up good health to experience Eternal bliss

x1983-10-08

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It is a wrong notion that people consider health in relation to worldly existence. One also believes that health is of primary importance in the worldly transactions. For what purpose is the worldly existence? It is for the spiritual existence. Without the goal of spiritual life, the physical existence is meaningless. Protecting and preserving health is for experiencing the atmananda, the ultimate bliss and not for mere worldly existence.

16. Even to attain liberation one needs to have good health: With an analogy

x1988-11-09

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Health is necessary in order to discharge one’s responsibilities in terms of dharma, artha, kama and moksha- the four Purushardhas. The dharma, artha and kama are the wealth pertaining to the physical world. Moksha, liberation, is a wealth of the world beyond the physical world. In any world liberation is the important one. Kaivalya or liberation is man’s destiny, goal and the very secret of his existence. One might amass wealth in abundance, have position of authority and multitude pleasures to enjoy – all these are futile when one cannot reach one’s destiny and goal. One might have many delicious and tasty food items prepared in one’s home, but eating and relishing them is the goal of preparing them. The food that cannot be part taken and relished is considered useless. Dharma, righteousness, artha, money and kama desire are similar to the food items prepared. The main goal or destiny of these is the Moksha, liberation. In this world life, man tends to follow many paths in discharging his responsibilities.

17. Giving life is the aim of our hospital

x2001-01-19

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From this day this hospital is open for people of all countries, of all cross sections of the society and will offer free treatment without any reservations. The hospital is even ready to take loans to serve the poor; this hospital is not set up for financial gains. The main aim of the hospital is to give free quality treatment and save lives.

18. Hospitals are not meant to make money; Serve the poor

x2001-01-19

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The hospitals must not be built with an aim to earn crores of money. Of what use are the crores earned when one has to return empty handed to the grave? The crores thus earned must be utilised for the benefit of the poor and the doctors must dedicate themselves to the service of the humanity. “Paropakaaraya punyaaya papaya parapeedanam” serving others is merit and harming others is sin; therefore one must indulge in service.

19. Cooked food leads to perennial amount of diseases

x1983-10-08

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In Bhagavad Gita it is stated that, “Mamaivamsho, jeeval

Therefore in order to preserve and protect one’s health one must control one’s habits, behaviour and food intake. There are many lakhs of living beings in this world. It has been quoted that there are eighty four lakhs of living beings. But the number indicates the classes or species of living beings and does not indicate the number of lives. Out of them, eighty three lakhs ninety nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine species eat food that is not cooked. They eat food that is natural and available in the world. They eat the food that is available naturally without making any changes to it. Hence the eighty three lakhs ninety nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine types of living beings experience and enjoy good health. However under the influence of some conditions like the climate and due to their own carelessness some of the species are subjected to diseases. It is man alone who is plagued with many diseases!! Many new diseases are rampant in man. The reason for such rampant diseases is the aversion of man for the naturally occurring food that is God’s creation. Man is a victim of his tongue and strives to satisfy the taste buds based on his likes and dislikes. He is killing the life force that is present in naturally occurring food by cooking it. By eating food that is devoid of life force, man is weakening his own life force thereby being subjected to many illnesses. Had man taken to eating the food that is available in its natural state, he wouldn’t have been subjected to diseases.

oke, jeeva bhootas sanatanaha!” Every particle, every human being and every being is my manifestation. All creation is my manifestation. As every being is a spark of the divine, it implies that man too is the manifestation of the divine. Calling man as temporary and transient is not appropriate as he is the manifestation of the divine.

20. Importance and working of human body

x1983-10-08

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It is a wrong notion that people consider health in relation to worldly existence. One also believes that health is of primary importance in the worldly transactions. For what purpose is the worldly existence? It is for the spiritual existence. Without the goal of spiritual life, the physical existence is meaningless. Protecting and preserving health is for experiencing the atmananda, the ultimate bliss and not for mere worldly existence. Therefore in order to preserve one’s health one must keep tabs on the food intake, habits and conduct. There are many lakhs of living beings in this world. It has been quoted that there are eighty four lakhs of living beings. But the number indicates the classes or species of living beings and does not indicate the number of lives. Out of them, eighty three lakhs ninety nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine species eat food that is not cooked. They eat food that is natural and available in the world. They eat the food that is available naturally without making any changes to it. Hence the eighty three lakhs ninety nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine types of living beings experience and enjoy good health. However under the influence of some conditions like the climate and due to their own carelessness some of the species are subjected to diseases. It is man alone who is plagued with many diseases!! Many new diseases are rampant in man. The reason for such rampant diseases is the aversion of man for the naturally occurring food that is God’s creation. Man is a victim of his tongue and strives to satisfy the taste buds based on his likes and dislikes. He is killing the life force that is present in naturally occurring food by cooking it. By eating food that is devoid of life force, man is weakening his own life force thereby being subjected to many illnesses. Had man taken to eating the food that is available in its natural state, he wouldn’t have been subjected to diseases. Each part, each system in the human body is sustained by specific life giving cells. There are certain factors that limit the functioning of a body part. The elements in the stomach must maintain the fine balance and be present in the required proportions. Man is subjected to illness if the elements are imbalanced. In the body, the organs and parts might appear different. The head may be considered as located above, on top; but the reason for the headache is not the head but the stomach. Similarly the cause for the ailments of different parts of the body lies in the stomach. The stomach digests whatever is put in it and supplies the essence of it to all the organs. Hence the power of digestion of the stomach is God given and is likened to the sacred fire. “Aham vaishva naro bhootva” meaning, “I am present in beings as the fire of digestion” God resides in man as the digestive force and this runs and governs all the life processes in the body. What kind of food must be offered to the God who resides in the beings? The food offered must be the one created by God but not those that are made by man. When food that is in its natural state, which is created by God, is given to the stomach, it will digest it properly and give health to all the parts of the body. What is the real meaning of ‘aahara’ food? Grains, vegetables and fruits are considered as food. No! Everything in this world is food!! The one that experiences and enjoys the food is also food! In summary, it is the food that enjoys food! Man’s body is food. This body, that is itself food, is part taking something else which is food. An animal is a type of food. This animal eats some other animal as its food. Therefore, since food is eating food, care should be taken that the food suitable to the particular type of food is given to it. It is sheer ignorance to think that man is eating food. One’s body is food for some other being. The other being is food to some other entity. So when one observes keenly, one can conclude that all is food. However it is necessary that food be of Sathwic nature. Sathwic food is the one that is earned with Sathwic thoughts; it is the food that is earned through righteous means.

21. All wealth without health is futile

x1983-10-08

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Embodiments of Love!! There are many types of wealth and pleasures to be enjoyed by man in this world. Of all the types of wealth available, health is important. “Arogyame maha bhagyamu!”- Health is wealth! However mighty, one cannot accomplish even the tiniest tasks without health. Health is of paramount importance and necessary in this world and beyond. One might have a lot of money, wealth; one might adorn positions of authority, but without health, one would consider the authority, money, and wealth as useless. The wealth of millionaire can he put to proper use when he considers health, too, as an important asset. Health is necessary in order to discharge one’s responsibilities in terms of dharma, artha, Kama and moksha- the four Purushardhas.

22. You are God; Have faith in yourself

x1996-06-24

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Swami has told many times: Man is God. God does not exist separately. One’s inner voice teaches one continuously- “So……ham”, I am God. The inner voice teaches that one is God repeatedly. But one disregards it. Man follows others but does not believe one self. One who does not believe in himself how can he believe others?? Therefore one must develop first self confidence. Out of self confidence, one must develop self sacrifice. That will lead to self realisation. Therefore, one must first and foremost have faith and belief in oneself. God resides within oneself.

23. What do you mean by God: With beautiful Analogies

x1992-04-04

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What is God? God is matter + energy. Presence of both matter and the energy results in the divine power. The mike as well as the spoken word is essential. A small example to illustrate this: Eyes see. True it’s the eyes that see. But without the sunlight the eyes cannot see. Therefore the eyes recognise an object or a person based on the sunlight. Many think that the eyes are basis for vision, for without eyes what is the use of the light? What is the use of light without the eyes? There are many blind people in this world. The blind cannot see the sun’s brightness and brilliance. Is it not foolishness on part of the blind man to deny the existence of the sun just because the he cannot see it? A blind man may not see the sun but people with eyes have seen the sun. However great a scholar one may be, still one cannot see anything while asleep. The person may have great scholarship; in spite of it he is unable to see the world while asleep. Without any scholarship or wisdom even a foolish person is able to see the world while awake. Hence one does not require scholarship or wisdom to see the world. Therefore, the wisdom eye in one should open then alone can one distinguish between the good and the bad. Divinity is contained in all human beings and in all the limbs of the body and so it is said, “Rasovai saha!”

24. The man behind Ayurveda

x2001-01-19

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In Allopathy too there are some germs that degenerate for some time and later on increase in numbers. There was a person born in Meissen, Germany, who considered Ayurveda as great. His name was Samuel Hahnemann. He was the one who propagated the principles of Ayurveda. He made the prayer/ dictum of Bharath, “Samastha loka sukhino bhavanthu” let the world be peaceful and prosperous, his loadstone and was able to achieve everything. But man today does not strive for the wellness and prosperity of the world.

25. Reasons for diseases and bad health

x1998-07-09

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The other day in a conversation there in Bangalore, he said, “I take bath in the river of life here in Bangalore” Where is this permanent river? There are no rivers in Bangalore. He said, he considered city drainage water as the true river of life. This drainage water flows incessantly. It never gets dried. So, the river there in Bangalore is the drainage water. Because of this life all around, the drainage water, we suffer so much. What is the main reason behind man’s ill- health? Polluted water, polluted food, polluted air. Not only water and food, the mind has also got polluted. Because of this restlessness in the mind, man is becoming unhealthy. We think that many of the diseases are contained in man, that is wrong. In fact, there is no disease that can affect humans. Most of these diseases are psychological and he considers them. 90 percent of the diseases are psychological. All the diseases are because of psychology. Because of too much thinking and worry and anxiety humans suffer from diseases. There was this heart specialist who would always check others heart status. He was always worried about his own heart and ultimately he died due to a heart condition.