Why be Healthy?
Bhagavan Baba, in this Divine discourse, emphasizes the efficacy of moderate food, simple hygienic habits, and repetition of God’s name as the royal road to robust mental and physical health—the pre-requisites needed to witness His Divine play on earth.
There is only one condition that can add joy to life and that is health. It is the greatest piece of good fortune that man can aspire for. To win it and maintain it must therefore be man’s goal. Man must realize that in order to attain the ultimate end of all these hundreds of lives through which the individual has passed, the healthy body is an essential requisite. The heart has to be full of bliss; and, the body has to be tingling with health. Man has lost his heritage of ananda (bliss) today since he has failed to win and maintain physical and mental health.
The Shrutis (Hindu scriptures) declare that health is the very foundation for the super-structure of the purusharthas, the four principal goals of man: dharma (righteousness), artha (material gains), kama (desire), and moksha (liberation). We will have to live in harmony with nature so that we can be healthy in body and mind. The food that is taken to sustain health has to be moderate and satwic (pure). But man’s wants have increased as a result of his senseless catering to the greed of his senses, and so his health has suffered terribly. We have to keep not only our environs and ourselves clean, but also help the people who live therein to lead clean lives.
I must also tell you that many spiritually-minded people mistakenly neglect the body, thinking that it would promote their spiritual progress. They take on various vows and fasts and starve the body of legitimate food. Ignorant people think that this exercise is the upavasa (fasting) mentioned in spiritual literature. Vasa means, ‘staying’ and upa means ‘near,’ so, upavasa originally and truly meant ‘staying near.’ Near whom? Near God. That is to say, upavasa means spending the whole day in the contemplation of God, in the ‘presence’ of divine thoughts, and in divine company.
Food or ahara has also a wider meaning. Ahara is anything taken in. Now, we also take in images, impressions, impulses, and ideas from the external world through our sensory organs that in turn incite our inner enemies—lust, anger, attachment, egoism, hatred, and the rest of that brood. Hence, these items of food that spoil our physical and mental health have also to be watched carefully.
Ill health can also be avoided if we are regular in our food habits. Most people eat much more than is good for them. They waste a good deal more than they consume, and the food itself is poorly and unhygienically prepared, promoting ill health. If everyone is health conscious, and eats only as much as he really needs, there will be enough food in the country for all people.
Technological advances have given rise to various deadly, dangerous, and mysterious diseases worldwide. Some young people seem to consider healthy habits like bathing, brushing the teeth, etc. as outmoded and uncivilized. In the name of fashion, many unsanitary and morbid practices are adopted. Smoking, drinking, sitting long hours in the midst of packed crowds in cinemas, and subjecting oneself to all kinds of shocks and tensions—all lead to chronic damage both to body and mind. Cancer, eosinophilia, tuberculosis, and heart disease—all these have increased as a result of such deleterious habits. Man has to be vigilant about his habits, desires, emotions, the impressions he gathers through his eyes and ears, the books he reads, the films he sees, etc.
Simple living is the best prescription for health. Reduce your wants and turn your thoughts toward the purpose of life, the attainment of mental peace through prayer, japam (repetition of the holy name), dhyanam (meditation), and the study of great scriptures. God’s name is the most reliable and efficient drug. For those who have not yet realized this truth, for those who are not aware that their reality is the atma (self) that cannot be affected by any illness, and for those who therefore have more faith in a doctor, his diagnosis and prescription, the Sathya Sai Hospital has been opened 22 years ago in this area. Faith in God and in one’s own atmic reality can guarantee continued physical and mental health, more than all the drugs in the world. So give up bad company, habits, sights, listening, and activities. Keep the mind free from greed and away from sensual pursuits. Let it always dwell on good thoughts, and be in good company. Keep it in the presence of God, and it will be ever happy and healthy. When the mind is healthy, the body will be happy and healthy. They are both intertwined, like the horse and carriage.
Develop health, both in body and mind. I am urging you to do this for you have yet to witness and delight over many more leelas (divine plays) and mahimas (miracles) of Swami—far surpassing those you have witnessed so far—and many more wonders, victories, and triumphs among mankind. You can thrill and be in ecstasy witnessing them. So, guard yourself well and carefully, and maintain good health and joyful hearts.
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, Nov. 1978
