December 2004 Zushi Retreat

Total Health According to Hindu Tradition
A talk by Swami Medhasnanada

The subject of today's discourse is total health, or you may say holistic health, according to Hindu Tradition. Now what is health? Generally we understand by health a strong and disease free body. In the Oxford Dictionary I saw that health is also a state of being well and free from illness. So you see this definition has two parts. The state of being well - one should feel that I am well; this is a mental condition. And at the same time the physical condition is - free from illness. So, health is not merely physical, it is also mental. Because we know very well from our experience that if the body is well but the mind is not well and peaceful, then we cannot say that I am enjoying a state of being well.

About being free from illness, we know from our experience that there is not only physical illness, but also mental illness. There are many mental illnesses such as mental strain, tension, frustration. Other examples of mental illness are, strong emotions of anger, greed and lust. So health as two aspects - physical aspect and mental aspect. And there is a very close relationship between these two aspects of health.

Though there is a fad to become healthy, take healthy food, do all sorts of things to improve our health, but in fact very few people can really be called healthy. We can understand it from the effects of having a good health. If one really is healthy, one must have a sense of peace, one must enjoy. Peace and joy are the two natural outcome of good health. But if you observe yourself and observe others, you will see that inspite of taking so much care of our body by exercises, taking good food, doing yoga, going to the gym, reading health magazines; inspite of spending so much energy and time and money on these things, we do not get joy and peace.

The main reason for this state is that we really do not understand what health means. Our idea about health is very narrow and one sided. That is why we cannot really get joy and peace inspite of having a disease free and strong body. So far the western idea of health used to give sole emphasis to the body for making the body healthy and curing the diseases. But only recently they tried to understand that just by treating the body, the disease cannot be treated. In fact behind many diseases of the body there is a role of a sick mind. The diseases which have a mental origin are called psycho-somatic diseases. For example, high blood pressure or heart disease, diabetes, stomach ulcers. Even for cancer they say there is a role of a sick mind. Unless the health of the mind is taken care of, the physical body cannot be really strong, stout and disease free. Studies show that sometimes we imagine a disease, and then we actually suffer from the disease. The disease originates first in the mind and then it is expressed physically. Or in some cases, though the ailment is not of a serious nature, but through our imagination and worries we give it a greater propensity.

In the process of curing too, the mind has a great role. Again studies show that for cancer patients who have been operated upon and given some therapies (for example chemotherapy), the effects on different patients are different depending on their mental conditions. A cancer patient who is optimistic, who has a strong mind and who has faith in the treatment, has a much less chance of a relapse of cancer as compared to a patient who is mentally weak and who is afraid of a relapse.

It is also interesting to note that the doctors who treat, in their case also the mind has a role. A doctor who has a greater will power that with my medicine let the patient be cured will cure a patient better than a doctor who has no will power, who only depends on medicines. From my own experience I know that I feel more comfortable with a doctor who is confident ("I am giving this medicine, you surely will be cured") than a doctor who does not have so much confidence ("I am giving this medicine, well you can try it"). Hearing the latter type of doctor, a patient will also feel shaky and think, maybe I will be cured, maybe not.

Medicines have a role in curing a patient. But the will power of the patient and the will power of the doctor also have a tremendous role in curing the patient. So for having and enjoying good health, one must understand and appreciate the role of a healthy mind. Only by taking healthy food, taking healthy drinks, by doing exercises, we cannot maintain good health. We must take care of our mind, we must try to develop a healthy mind to become really healthy.

I told you that there is a great relationship between the body and mind. If the body is weak and sick, there is a tendency that the mind will also be weak and sick. If the mind is sick and weak then the body also appears to be sick and weak. On the other hand, if the body is strong, it may not be that the mind also is strong. Then again, if the mind is strong it is not necessary that the body will be strong. These are two dimensions, levels of our personality having a great relationship with each other. So the lesson is this - we have to try to make both our mind and body strong and healthy. Only the health of either the body or the mind is not sufficient.

We have to consider how to make our body strong and how to make our mind strong. According to Hindu Tradition, when we try to make our mind strong and healthy, we discover that still another level, dimension, aspect of our personality exists which also needs to be taken care of. That is the spirit, the soul. Even though the western medical practitioners and thinkers emphasize the need of mental and physical development for good health, still they cannot appreciate that unless the spirit is taken care of, unless we manifest the source of our personality, that is the soul, there cannot be a sound and strong mind. In fact the method of treatment of psychiatrists is not very dependable and steady. This is because they do not recognize the role of the soul and spirit. They do not recognize that our mind and personality have a deeper connection with the soul. And that the soul is the substratum of our personality.

It will be easier for you to understand if I put it in this way: the body is the covering of the mind and the mind is the covering of the soul. And what guides us and nourishes us, what protects us, what really gives us our strength is not the body, not the mind but the soul, the spirit the atman.  So, if we really want peace and joy through health then we must consider the simultaneous development and manifestation of all three aspects of our personality - body, mind and soul.

And if you really do that then it is really what is called holistic health, perfect health or total health. But without doing that, if you consider only one aspect, take care of only one aspect, you become one sided. And you do not get the benefit of total, holistic, perfect health. This is the first thing which we should understand. First is understanding, then acting and then what is necessary is patience. You cannot expect the result overnight. So understanding is necessary, and if you only understand intellectually you cannot get the results unless you act, unless you  practice it.

Recently I visited Okinawa. There I met an elderly Indian gentleman who came to attend my talk. He was about seventy years old. Before my talk started, he came to me and told me frankly, "Swamiji, recently I do not have so much interest in religion. Till I was sixty, I heard a lot of spiritual discourses, read many religious books, but I did not see any effect, any change in myself. Sometimes I am confused by listening to different religious discourses. So, now I have lost the interest in spiritual discourses." I told him - the real problem with you is that though you have heard a lot, you did not try to practice even a little. There are some persons who listen a lot to spiritual discourses, who read a lot of religious books but with no result. The real reason as Sri Ramakrishna says in the Gospel is that they never practice. The example he gave is someone may hear about milk, someone may even see milk. But unless you drink milk, and not drink only for one day, unless you drink it regularly, you cannot get the benefit of drinking milk. You can never be strong. That is a problem with many persons. With some of our devotees also. It is said that even an ounce of practice is better than reading and listening to tons of religious books and talks. So understanding, and then practicing. It is so important to practice.

Now let us discuss how we can make our physical body strong and disease free. One important thing is food. Our systems are so different that everyone has to observe one's system and choose the food accordingly. What is nectar to one maybe poison to another. Not only that, when you grow older, the effect of a particular food on your health may also change.

To give one example from my own life, since my childhood, my mother would force me to drink milk because there is a strong belief that drinking milk will make the child strong. I did not like it, but because my mother used to force me, I did not have any alternative and so would drink it. When I grew a bit older, I felt that it is good for health and so I would drink it willingly. Then after coming to Japan, still the habit of drinking milk continued. But about four years ago, I experienced a lot of uneasiness in my body. Even while sitting for meditation, I would feel uneasy in my stomach lungs etc. I felt very uncomfortable. I naturally rushed to a doctor. I was examined but they could not find anything serious. Then I was trying to think what is the problem. I thought of experimenting with my food habits. I tried different ways. One way was to see what is the effect of stopping the drinking of milk. After two three days, it was a shock for me to realize that it was milk which was creating the problem. It was a shock because for so many years my understanding was that milk is so good for health, it is a complete drink as they say, and it was this milk which was responsible for so many uncomfortable feelings in my body.

This is a great lesson. If suddenly you develop some problem in the body, first try to observe if there is something in your day to day food habits or other habits behind that problem. Many times in my case I have tried to observe if there is anything in my daily routine which is responsible for any physical discomfort, and in some cases I could find that some habit or practice or movement or food was responsible for the physical discomfort. Let us not rush to a doctor. Let us first examine our day to day practices, habits, movements and food.

Now, it is not good just to take delicious foods. We should try to consider whether it is good for our health. Then again, sometimes we think that fresh vegetables are good for health. But there should be a limit. Sometimes some fresh vegetables have ingredients which are difficult to digest. You should always try to consider and analyze. You read from some health magazine or see some program on the TV and you get biased by that. That is not good. Whether that particular food or that way of taking that food is good for your system or not - you have to think about that. I am not just saying for you, the same thing is true for the health of your children and family members. Same thing about taking vitamin tablets. Whether really your system needs vitamin tablets, or how much it needs them has to be considered. 

Then again one has to take food at regular times. This is very important. We have a body clock. If we take food at regular times, the body will give an alarm to you that it is time for food. So, the body is ready to receive and digest the food. I once visited a doctor. He was a very senior doctor, he was my father's teacher (my father was also a doctor). This doctor said to me, do you know what makes the health of prisoners so good? The quality of the food which they get in prison is not so good. But what makes their body strong? The reason is that they take food only at appointed times. The time of taking food is very regular for them. Then it is better to take a little rest after taking food. Do not rush out for other things immediately after taking food.

Another very important point is, when you take food your mind should be calm and quiet. Your mind should be cheerful. Suppose you are very angry or the mind is very disturbed, it is better not to take food at that time. If you are angry and you take food, that food will turn into poison and will adversely effect your health. So the tradition of saying a grace before food is a wonderful tradition. It not only has a spiritual effect, but it also has a psychological and physical effect. The Hindu tradition of chanting Brahamarpanam, the Christian tradition, and according to strict Buddhism the little longer passage have a tremendous impact.

So it is not good that as soon as you are free for food, you immediately start taking it. It is better that you chant the prayer with a little bit of concentration, with a little bit of attention and try to understand the meaning of the prayer you are saying. It will have an effect. How? First, this discipline has a spiritual effect that you remember God, you get connected with God through this prayer.

What is the difference between a dog and us? If you give food to a dog, the dog will immediately rush to take it with a gusto. We are human beings. The difference is this that the dog will not discriminate what sort of food it is taking, it will simply take it; and it does not want transformation. The dog is born as a dog and it will die as a dog. But human beings are different. Though in one sense we are born as an animal being, but through our discipline, we can become god. It is said that three things are similar between human beings and animal beings - food, rest and sexual pleasure. In that sense the human beings are the same. What makes the difference? The difference is the capacity to think - what is good and what is bad. And then practicing what is good. So, the difference between animals and humans is discrimination, conscience. So, we must try to take food with discrimination. So behind our every act, we must have a thought - why am I doing this? It should not be just out of a matter of habit. No. Let me try to analyze why should I do it, why am I doing it, what is the purpose. And how I can do it better. This continuous thinking and discrimination and analysis is very important if we really want to transform ourselves.

So, as I just mentioned, when we say a prayer before food, it has a spiritual effect. Then second, mental effect. Because when you say the prayer with some concentration and attention, we detach ourselves from our previous thoughts and actions. That helps us tremendously to make our minds calm and quiet. It is a great training. This moment, we do something with concentration. The next moment we should be able to detach ourselves from it and apply our minds to something else. This way we can really practice attachment and detachment.

Then, the third is physical effect. When our mind is calm and quiet in that way, without thinking about any other things, including the work we had done just before food, then our body is prepared for taking food. We have detached ourselves from the work which we were doing by praying to God. This is the best way to make the body prepared for accepting food which is so important for our health.

Another important point is to take your food with cheerfulness. I remember an incident, it has been published in a book - Life in Indian Monasteries by Swami Bhaskaranandaji of our Seattle Center. The books is about how monks live in monasteries, how they pass their days. It has many beautiful incidents. One of the incidents is related to this. There was a devotee who used to live with his family very close to one of our branch centers. One day, while the monks were taking their supper, suddenly that devotee appeared in their dining room. The monks were a bit surprised as to why he had come suddenly. The monks asked him what happened? He said, "I had a small argument with my wife. Everyday, during the times of meals, we hear a lot of laughing and giggling and other jovial sounds coming from the monastery. So, my wife says that those monks must be taking very delicious food. That makes them happy. And so they chat and laugh. But I said no, that is not the reason. I know they take simple food. But they are very cheerful and so they behave like that. My wife did not agree and so we had an argument. So, I wanted to observe by myself. So, to check, I came." The monks laughed again heartily and asked the devotee to come in and sit down and see what they eat. The food was very simple. The devotee said, "No, I do not need to sit down. I can see from your plates what you are eating. I will go back". Then the devotee went back, told everything to his wife and from that time, not only did the wife stop criticizing the monks, but she also prepared some sweetmeats and asked her husband to serve the monks as she realized how austere the food was which the monks were taking.

So what is important is cheerfulness. What is more important than the type of food you take is the mental attitude you have while taking food. So, if you are taking food with some other people, it is better not to discuss anything serious during this time. I also tell our devotees here, if you have something serious to discuss, please do not discuss during lunch or supper. During meals just indulge in light talks.

This is more or less about food. Now, exercise. It is very important to do some regular exercise. Just by taking food, your health will not be sound. Swami Vivekananda and Swami Brahmananda would always advice the young monks to do some physical exercise. Even when Swamiji was in the USA, he would write letters to his brother disciples to take care of their food, water and also to do some physical exercise. Even during his last days, Swamiji used to exercise. Swami Brahmanandaji was always in a very high spiritual mood. Even he, whenever he would travel, would have dumb bells carried along for him. His attendant would carry the dumb bells. So there is not contradiction between spiritual life and sound physical health.

It is often seen that when a people get sick, then they start physical exercise. Not before that. For example somebody develops heart problems or diabetes. He will go to a doctor. The doctor will advise him to walk. Then he will start walking. But is not prevention better than the disease? In Hindu Tradition in fact, a great science has been developed so that disease can be prevented. Of course there are cures for diseases. But more important than that is how to prevent diseases. How to prevent the problems of old age. The great science of Hatha Yoga has been invented and developed and practiced. Because for spiritual realization, the body is important. One has to be free from disease and be healthy because overnight you cannot get spiritual realization. You need long practice, and for that long practice, a disease free and strong body is important. That is the reason. Not for enjoyment. Remember that this Yoga has not been invented for secular enjoyments. It was invented for spiritual illumination.

Then there is no time for starting exercises. Any time, at any age, even in old age, this can be started. Now this physical exercise has two main forms. One is stretching, the other is jogging. If possible combine these two. If not possible, atleast do one type. Many monks including myself do regular yoga exercises and brisk walking.

There is another misconception - sometimes people think that for work, they have to do so much walking. Or the housewives think that they are working, cleaning, cooking; they are going for marketing. Is it not sufficient exercise? It is not exercise at all! That is exercise which is done with a free mind. To benefit from walking, you have to walk for the sake of walking. So we must allot some time for exercise in our daily routine. Remember it again and again - only food and rest are not enough. Exercise is like oiling a machine. For keeping an instrument in a good shape, oiling is necessary. The body is exactly like that. If we exercise only once a week, or if the times for exercising are irregular, we will not derive any benefit from it. As far as possible, it should be done regularly and at appointed times. And even ten or fifteen minutes will be good if you do it regularly and at fixed times.

Next is mental health. What is mental health? When you are morally strong, when you are emotionally balanced and when you have a strong will power. If you have these three things then we can say that you have a healthy mind. If a person is morally weak or if he is emotionally disbalanced or if he has no will power then such a person's mind is sick.

Morally weak means that we have the well known six defects - kama(lust), krodha(anger), lobha(greed), moha(delusion), mada(vanity), matsarya(jealousy). These are the six impurities. We have to clean our mind from these impurities. That means if we have so much anger, hatred, jealousy, pride then our mind cannot be healthy. We may have a good and strong body, but if our mind is full of anger, jealousy, pride, greed can we enjoy peace, can we enjoy real joy? Impossible.

Then emotional disbalance. We very easily get overwhelmed. Someone praises us, we get so inflated. Someone  blames us, we become so sad and angry. Again on success, we get very happy and on failure we become so disappointed. Continuously we are effected, we are overwhelmed by these types of things. This means that we are emotionally disbalanced. The person who I love so much today, the next day I will hate him so much. Then there is strong liking and strong disliking. There are some person who are not moderate. Either they will like something very much or they will hate something very much. There is nothing in between. This shows that such persons are emotionally disbalanced. It is very difficult for such persons to live with other people. They always pick up quarrels with others. They are very selfish, narrow. They find faults with others. Such people can never get peace and joy.

It is very important to have emotions. One must have emotions. These are necessary for our life. They make our life interesting and joyful. But at the same time we must be careful that they are not too much. What is devotion? It is an emotion channelized to God. So we must know how to channelize our emotions. Then it becomes a tremendous help to us and to others. Love for humanity, love for God, love for the country, love for the society what is it? It is emotion after all. But channelized in a positive way. So emotion channelized in a negative way is our greatest obstacle. And emotion channelized in a positive way becomes our great help and elevates us, transforms us to higher life.

Now how to control our emotions and channelize them in a positive way? The most important way is to develop our brain. To develop our logic. Our power of discrimination, power of reasoning. This is very important. By using our brain we should try to control and channelize our emotions. Some of the emotional devotees turn into fanatics and are responsible for so much trouble, so much fighting in the name of religion. Fanatic devotees. That is why it is said, you must control your heart by your brain. Combine head and heart.

Finally we have to take care of our spiritual health. We can really become moral only by becoming spiritual. A moral life without the foundation of a spiritual life is really very shaky and superficial. It can break anytime. Our moral life is actually based on social and legal and government pressure. I wonder that if there were no pressures from the society and the government, the society would have been converted into a jungle. So that is why when we become really spiritual then only we can become moral. In fact, only a realized soul, only a spiritual person can really be a moral person.

When can we really become free from greed, free from jealousy, free from pride? Only when we become spiritual. Only when we see the same Atman in everyone. Only when we see the same God in everyone. Then only we can become free from greed, free from jealousy, free from pride. Who will become jealous, who will become proud if a person sees himself in everyone? Then if one thinks of oneself as an agent of God, as an instrument of God, how can he become proud?

So that is why, without a sound mental health, a sound physical health is not possible. And without spiritual health, mental health is not really possible. In that way, we have to work on all these three level. Real health, holistic health, total health is spiritual development, mental development and physical development. And when we develop ourselves spiritually, another purpose is also served. That is Self Realization, realization of the Self, realization of God.  And if we do that, then we get real peace and joy. And as I said, the real effect of holistic health is peace and joy.

So we should try to understand that physical health is important but it is not an end, it is a means. And at the same time it has its limitations. However we take care of the body, it is not going to last permanently. We cannot stop disease, we cannot stop old age, we cannot stop death. We must understand these limitations of the body. We must understand both the utility and the limitations of the body. So understanding it, we should take care of the body and at the same time we should take care of our mental health and finally we should take care of our spiritual health. Only by practicing in this way we can have a total, perfect and holistic health. And we can enjoy the effect of health which is peace and joy.

Om shanti, shanti, shanti.
Hari Om.