HEALTH IS WEALTH

healthysoch : Health is not mere absence of disease, it is a state of physical, mental, social, spiritual,
environmental and financial well-being. All aspects of health are not defined in allopathy.
During MBBS, medical students are taught more about the physical health. Social and mental
health are covered only in few lectures. Community health is a separate subject but never given
its due importance. Spiritual health is not defined at all and financial health is hardly covered.
Yet, in day-to-day practice it is the social, financial, spiritual and community health, which are
most important during patient-doctor communication. It is incorporated in the four basic
purposes: dharma, artha, kama and moksha.

Dharma and artha together form the basis of karma, which is righteous earning. You are what
your deep rooted desires are. Most of the diseases today can be traced to a particular emotion,
positive or negative. Anger and jealousy are related with heart attack, fear with blood pressure,
greed and possessiveness with heart failure. Unless the mind is healthy, one cannot be free of
diseases.

The best description of health comes from Ayurveda. In Sanskrit, health means swasthya, which
means establishment in the self. One is established in the self when there is a union of mind,
body and soul. Most symbols of health are established around a shaft with two snakes and two
wings. The shaft represents the body, two snakes represent the duality of mind and the two
wings represent the freedom of soul.

Sushrut Samhita, in Chapter 15 Shloka 10, defines the Ayurvedic person as under:
Samadosha, samagnischa,
Samadhatumalkriyah,
Prasannatmendriyamanah,
Swastha iti abhidhiyate.

From an Ayurvedic point of view, for a person to be healthy, he/she must have balanced doshas,
balanced agni, balanced dhatus, normal functioning of malkriyas and mind, body, spirit and
indriya full of bliss and happiness.

Human body is made up of structures (Kapha), which have two basic functions to perform;
metabolism (pitta) and movement (vata). Vata, pitta and kapha are called doshas in Ayurveda.

Samana dosha means balance of structures, metabolism and movement functions in the body.
Agni in Ayurveda is said to be in balance when a person has normal tejas and a good appetite.
Ayurveda describes seven Dhatus: rasa, Rakta, Mamsa, Medha, Asthi, Majja, Shukra and they are
required to be in balance. They are equivalent to various tissues in the human body.
Ayurveda necessitates proper functioning of natural urges like urination, stool, sweating and
breathing and that is what balance in Malakriya means.

Ayurveda says, for a person to be healthy, he/she has to be mentally and spiritually healthy,
which will only happen when his or her Indriyas are cheerful, full of bliss and devoid of any
negativities. For Indriyas to be in balance, one has to learn to control over the lust cum desires,
greed and ego. This can be done by learning regular pranayama, learning the do’s and don’ts in
life, living in a disciplined atmosphere and learning to live in the present.

Regular pranayama shifts one from sympathetic to parasympathetic mode, balances the mind and
thoughts and helps in removing negative thoughts from the mind. One can follow the yama and
niyama of yoga sutras of Patanjali or do’s and don’ts taught by various religious gurus, leaders
and principles of naturopathy. Living in the present means conscious or meditative living. This
involves either learning meditation 20 min twice a day or learning subtle mental exercises like
mind–body relaxation, yogic shavasana, self–hypnotic exercises, etc.

According to Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, a person who eats thrice a day is a rogi, twice a day is a
bhogi and once a day is yogi. The take home message is: To live more, one has to eat less.
Swar yoga defines the importance of respiration and longevity. According to this yoga shastra,
everybody has a fixed number of breaths to be taken during the life span.

Lesser the number a person takes in a minute more is the life. It also forms the basis of
pranayama which is nothing but longer and deeper breathing with reduced respiratory rate. To
be healthy, one can remember to follow the principle of moderation and variety in diet and
exercise, regular pranayama and meditation and positive thinking.

The author of this article Dr KK Aggarwal, Padma Shri Awardee