Index-Contents

How

To Live

HUNDRED YEARS

Sri Swami Sivananda

Published by

THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY

P.O. SHIVANANDANAGAR-249 192

Distt. Tehri-Garhwal, Uttarakhand, Himalayas, India

www.Sivanandaonline.org, www.dishq.org

PUBLISHERS' NOTE

In this remarkable little volume, Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj has, as a skilful doctor, an expert Yogi, an ace psychologist, and a Perfect Sage, laid down several medical, Yogic, Vedantic, psychological, scientific, Ayurvedic and Naturopathic methods for becoming a Centenarian. For all those who are earnestly seeking for perfect health and a very long life, this work will be highly inspiring, informative and valuable.

—THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY

PREFACE

Gerontology is an ancient science! Since time immemorial Man has sought ways and means to conquer death; because, he is immortal. There is an innate urge in him to express that immortality, and to experience that-immortality here and now.

The Isavasya Upanishad enjoins upon man the duty to try to live for a hundred years, performing right actions.

The Rishis had in their forest-research-laboratories discovered various methods of prolonging life—Pranayama, Asanas like Sirshasana and Sarvangasana, prayer, Havan, certain herbs, and Kaya Kalpa. They discovered that those living beings which breathed slowly, with less number of breaths per minute, lived longer, and that suspension of breathing led to hibernation and prolongation of life! They prescribed Pranayama for long life.

But, let us never forget that long life in itself is not an undiluted blessing! Health, strength and vitality are not unalloyed blessings in themselves. It depends upon how they are utilised. Life should not mean prolongation of the miseries of old age, a gradual decay, a living death. Life should be so lived as to keep you in full vigour till the hundredth birthday. Even this will not do, is not enough. Till that day, you must lead the divine life, a life of selfless service to humanity, in such a manner that on your hundredth birthday people will still pray whole-heartedly to the Lord that you will live for another century.

Spiritual dedication, dedication to a noble humanitarian cause, is one of the most important factors in the prolongation of life. Other factors are: equal wear-out of all the vital organs of the body (without one decaying faster), absence of chronic diseases, warm-hearted love towards fellow-men, especially to the younger generation, zealous interest in some useful occupation and a will to live, and live for a mission.

At the same time, there must be a willingness to accept the inevitable changes that occur as age advances. Dr. Crampton, a noted geriatrician, says: "If a man has sense enough to realise that in many different ways he is not what he was ten years ago, and acts accordingly, he is way ahead of the game. Know your limitations-adapt yourself to them-and enjoy your privileges to the utmost. And, that is very sound advice.

Be cheerful. Be child-like. Be youthful in your eagerness to know and to do. Rest in God and know that the soul is birthless, deathless, ageless. Above all, meditate regularly and know that you are the Immortal Atman. You will be blessed with health and long life.

May you all become centenarians and benefactors of humanity.

May God bless you all!

INTRODUCTORY NOTES

How to live 100 years?

"Plain living and high thinking" is the answer.

The question and answer both consist of five words only; but it is very difficult to practise. Simple and plain things appear so in the beginning are very hard for practice. The tendency of man is always towards high living and low thinking. A man be-comes as he thinks. 'A sound mind in a sound body'. If the thinking is sound, body remains sound. Evil thoughts exert a very bad influence on body of self and others also. They do harm to the thinker and the thought; so we should preserve our-selves from evil thoughts and always cherish noble thoughts.

Plain Living: Plain living means natural living i.e., living according to the rules of nature. Our body consists of five natural elements, the earth, the water, the sun, the air and the sky. Full use of these elements keeps the body in good order.

The Earth: We live on this earth. Magnetic currents pass through this earth. So, as far as possible, we should walk bare-footed, to be in contact with the earth. The earth has the property of taking away most deadly poisons. The earth has the property of taking away even the poison of snake-bite. In olden times when there was no soap, people were using soft earth for cleansing the teeth, the body and the hair. After bath they were applying Bhasma all over the body and it has been found that the people of old generation are long-lived and better in health than the people of the present generation. Also natural living is cheap. We do not require any money for the earth. Only little exertion is needed.

The Water: The water also plays an important part in keeping the body in good order. The first thing, as soon as we get up in the morning, is the water which we require for cleaning our mouth. Secondly we want water for drinking which cleans our internal organs. The third is that we want water for bath. Cold-water-bath in the morning is more invigorating and gives us more energy. As far as practicable we should not take water with meals. Water should be taken one hour before or two hours after meals. For better health enema of water may be taken, every week or whenever required. Water can be used as a curative agent, in the form of hot, cold packs. When the pain is bearable cold wet pack and when the pain is unbearable hot wet packs should be used.

In rainy season water becomes muddy; so it should be filtered and one whole lemon should be put in a three-gallons-pot for an hour and then that water should be used for drinking purposes. If we require water immediately we should put 2 drops of lemon-juice in 3 gallons-water-pot.

Air: The air is most important of all the elements of which this body is composed. In the morning air there is one and half times of oxygen than the air at any other time. So morning walk or running is most essential. A brisk walk is much better if running is not possible. We must spend most of our time in the open air, as far as practicable. Those persons who have to work in the open air are more healthy than the people whose work is inside the rooms. Open air drill and games are more beneficial than physical exercises taken inside the house. People of old generations are long-lived because their work was of-ten in the open air, because there were no factories and mills.

The Sun: Sun-bath in the morning sun for 10 to 20 minutes supplies us with much energy and purifies the body. Work in the open air outside is good but it is not possible for all when in this age of machines, most of the work goes on in mills, factories and offices. In old times there were open air schools. Most people were living in huts or houses which had roofs of tiles. In the olden times living was more natural. Now it has become most artificial. Nowadays house-problem has become very acute and most people have to live in crowded houses which are neither airy nor sunny. Surya Namaskars done in the open air are very useful to health.

Exercise: Exercise is a necessary food for long life. Surya Namaskara is the most useful exercise. It is based on the principle of Asanas and Pranayama. People of old generation were practising this exercise. It gives physical and spiritual benefits.

It can be done both by men and women. Out-door games are also good. Indian games do not require much apparatus, while European games are more costly. For children and boys running is a good exercise. For old people morning and evening walk is a good exercise. Any kind of regular exercise is necessary.

Food: Food is of great importance in keeping good health. Best food is roots and fruits. Rishis who lived long, were living on roots and fruits. Natural sun-cooked fruits are very good for health and also are Sattvic. Now they are very costly and are not within the reach of all when even cereals are very dear. Germinated cereals contain more vitamins than milled cereals. In the absence of any vegetables, germinated food grains also serve the purpose of vegetables.

Amongst cooked food, food prepared in a cooker contain more vitamin than those prepared in direct fire. Poor men can take advantage of cheap vegetables and fruits. Too hot and too cold drinks should be avoided.

Milk and Its Products: Cow's milk is useful from baby to an oldest man. It is a perfect food. Now it has become very dear and many cannot afford the same. In the beginning of the 20th century milk was cheap and within the reach of all people, the poor and the rich alike. Now only the rich can afford milk, curd, ghee, etc. Ghee has already disappeared from the meals of the poor and middle class men. Artificial Ghee has taken its place.

Buttermilk is as good as milk. So, middle class men can take advantage of butter milk. From medical and health point of view, cow's milk is the best. Fresh milched milk is the best, but this is not possible for all now. So once boiled milk should be used.

Vegetables and Fruits: They are also most necessary for good health. Our meal really should contain} 1/4 of cereals and 3/4, of fruits and vegetables. These also have become dear, so, cheap leafy vegetables may be used. Vegetable salads are very good. If this is not done vegetable should be boiled in air-tight vessels or in a cooker.

Amongst vegetables spinach, lettuce, etc. are good. Amongst fruit-vegetables carrots, radish, tomatoes are within the reach of many people. Among cheap fruits, bananas, lemons are good.

Amongst dried fruits, dates, raisins, are good and also cheaper. So cheaper fruits may be used with advantage.

Good Habits: Good habits are also of great use in keeping up health. 'Early to bed and early to rise' makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise'. For night-duty people the habit of getting up at 4 a.m. and going to bed at 10 p.m. is not possible, but those persons who have no night-duty also get up after sunrise and stay awake till late at night. The habit of morning walk is also necessary for those who have to remain often in close quarters. Food also should be taken at regular times as far as possible. It should be well masticated and should not be gulped hurriedly. Hot drink, such as tea, coffee, cocoa are not necessary for the climate of our country, except for people who live in hilly countries.

Good Conduct: Good conduct is as necessary as food. We should be kind to each other and ever ready to help others as we are the sons of the same Almighty Father God who rules the whole universe. "A man becomes as he thinks". We should always cherish good thoughts. Evil thoughts, not only do harm to others, but they harm us, also. So we should never wish ill of others. We should not hurt feelings of others by harsh talk or unnecessarily criticising others. "To err is human." Here in this world none is perfect, so we should forgive any wrong done to us, thinking that the same is due to ignorance on the part of the other man. We should bring home the wrong to him in loving manner. If we behave unjustly towards any one, do wrong to others or deprive one of any of the things or articles, which do not belong to us, our mind naturally becomes uneasy and this has an evil effect on our health, as our own conscience pricks us. So we should be more careful about others' things.

The feelings of anger is also very harmful, so we should try to control our mind, under unfavourable circumstances. In the same way the fear of any untoward happening is not conducive to health. Anxieties and worries, undermine both the body and the mind. We should have forethought but as far as possible should not give place to anxieties in our mind.

Idleness also is bad for health. An empty mind is devil's workshop. So we should always engage ourselves in some work or other, private or public. Overwork is also not good. Enough rest is also necessary. Rest means, change of work. For rest we should have light and interesting work, or some good hobbies or reading of some good books, from which we can learn something. Library is the people's university. We can gather much useful knowledge by reading good books. Gardening, evening walk, or good talk with friends are entertainments of a better kind, than cinema or cards.

Brahmacharya: Brahmacharya plays a most important role in keeping us healthy and giving long life. It gives power and strength. Much stress was laid on Brahmacharya in olden times. Now it is mostly neglected. All great men practised Brahmacharya; they were pure in thought and deed. For a man who leads a life of a householder it is necessary that he should practise Brahmacharya up to 25 years and then he should marry. After marriage also much self-control is necessary. The cinemas and the cheap third class literature which is being produced in large quantities is a great hindrance to Brahmacharya. Old was gold. Now everything is imitation only.

Prayer: Lastly we should pray to God who is protecting us at every moment of our life. We should pray to God for His Grace at least in the morning as soon as we get up and at bed-time, if we do not find time during the day owing to heavy work for earning our livelihood and household and social du-ties. More things are wrought by prayer than a man dreams of. So, prayer is as essential as food. We should never forget God under any circumstances, either good or bad. Unfavourable circumstances are due to our faults, either in this life or in previous birth. We alone are responsible for them and not God. In short, plain living and high thinking is the watch-word of Long Life.

THE RIGVEDIC PRAYER FOR A LONG LIFE

सविता पश्चातस्वीता पुरस्तात

सविता न सवतु सर्वताती

सविता नो रास्ता दीर्घमायुः- ऋगवेद

The Creator is above, the Creator is below, the Creator is behind, the Creator is in front. May the Creator give us sound health and comforts. May the Creator bestow on us a long life!

—Rigveda, X. 36-14.

ISA UPANISHAD ON 100 YEARS OF LIFE

कुर्वत्रेवेह कर्माणि जिजी विषैछत समां !

ऐव त्वयि नान्येथेतोस्ति न कर्म लिप्यते नरे !!

Kurvanneveha karmani jijeevishet shatam samah;

Evam tvayi nanyatheto'sti na karma lipyate nare.

Performing verily works in this world, one should wish to live a hundred years. Thus, it is right for thee and not otherwise than this. Action will not bind that man.

This is the second Mantra of the lsavasya Upanishad. It lays down the right rule for works. It indicates the spirit which should govern the works in this world. When continually one performs works in this divine, selfless, detached spirit, one is bound to be liberated from the effects of Karma, from the results of -action. Performing such liberating works, one should live hundred years. The second part of the first line takes for granted, recognises the fact, that hundred years constitute the normal span of man's life on earth. Full hundred years one should live.

"Jijeevishet" means should wish to live. "Shatam Samaah" means a hundred years. Continually doing good and liberating actions, and not otherwise, one should wish to live a hundred years.

This Upanishadic statement is a call to a vigorous hundred-year-life. Leading an idle easy-going life will not do. A hundred years one should not vegetate, but live. And live to-wards perfection, Moksha.

The normal measure of a hundred years life, one should live. One should do religious rites daily. One should do constant selfless, disinterested service to humanity with Atma-Bhava. Only then, will one get purification of heart (Chitta-Suddhi) and obtain Atma-Jnana.

MAHA MRITYUNJAYA MANTRA FOR LONG LIFE

IIमहामृतुजयमंत्र: II

ॐ त्रयबंक यजामहे सुगन्धि पुष्टिवर्धनम II

उर्वारुकमिव बांधनानम्रत्यों मूर्छियामामृतात II

Om tryambakam yajaamahe

Sugandhim pushtivardhanam;

Urvaarukamiva bhandhanaat

Mrityormuksheeya maamritaat.

MEANING

We worship the three-eyed One (Lord Siva) who is fragrant and who nourishes well all beings; may He liberate us from death for the sake of Immortality even as the cucumber is severed from its bondage (to the creeper).

BENEFITS

1. This Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra is a life-giving Mantra. In these days, when life is very complex and accidents are an everyday affair, this Mantra, wards off deaths by snake-bite, lightning, motor-accidents, fire-accidents, cycle-accidents, waterJ2 accidents, air-accidents and accidents of all descriptions. Be-sides, it has a great curative effect. Again, diseases pronounced incurable by doctors are cured by this Mantra, when chanted with sincerity, faith and devotion. It is a weapon against disease. It is a Mantra to conquer death.

2. It is also a Moksha Mantra. It is Lord Siva's Mantra. It bestows long life (Deergha Ayus), peace (Santi), wealth (Aisvarya), prosperity (Pushti), satisfaction (Tushti) and Immortality (Moksha).

3. On your birthday, repeat one lakh of this Mantra or at least 50,000; perform Haven and feed Sadhus, the poor and the sick. This will bestow on you long life, peace and prosperity.

Hari Om Tat Sat.

SURYA STOTRAM FOR LONGEVITY

I always adore Surya, the beautiful lord of the world, the immortal, the quintessence of Vedanta, the auspicious, the ab-solute knowledge filled with Brahman, the lord of the gods, ever pure, the one true consciousness of the world, the lord of Indra, the gods and men, the preceptor of the gods, the crest-jewel of the three worlds, the very heart of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, the giver of light.

EVERY MORNING DOSE FOR 100 YEARS LIFE

Take equal parts of fresh lemon juice, fresh ginger juice, and honey. The quantity of all the three be one ounce. Take this juice every morning on empty stomach. Apart from yielding a number of most beneficial results, it will prolong life. It is an essential morning dose for all who desire to live a hundred years.

SURYA NAMASKAR FOR A 100 YEARS LIFE

This exercise is called Surya Namaskar because it is practised in the early morning hours facing the Sun. Sun is considered to be the deity for health and long life. So in ancient days they practised this exercise daily as routine in their daily spiritual practices. One should practise it at least 12 times by repeating 12 Names of the Lord, Sun. This exercise is a combined process of Yoga Asanas and breathing. It reduces abdominal fat, brings flexibility to the spine and limbs and Increases breathing capacity; it is easier to practise Asana after doing Surya Namaskar.

Technique and breathing Position No. 1. Face the sun. Fold the hands. Keep the legs together and stand erect.

Position No. 2. Inhale and raise the hands. Bend back-wards.

Position No. 3. Exhale and bend forwards till the hands are in level with the feet. Bring the head down and touch the knee. In the beginning, knees may be bent slightly to get the head to the knees. After some practice knees should be straightened up and the head should be brought down to the knees.

Position No. 4. Inhale and take the right leg away from the body. Keep the hands and left foot firm on the ground raising the head up. Left knee should be between the hands.

Position No. 5. Inhale and hold the air inside. Take the left leg away from the body and raise both knees from the ground. Now rest on the hands and keep the body in a straight line from head to foot.

Position No. 6. Exhale and bring the body down to the floor. In this position the whole body should not touch the ground. This position is known as Sashtanga Namaskar or eight curved prostration. Only 8 portions of the body come in contact with floor; viz., two feet, two knees, two hands, chest and forehead. Abdominal region is raised and, if possible, the nose also kept away from the floor, touching with forehead only.

Position No. 7. Inhale and bend backward as much as possible giving the spine maximum bending.

Position No. 8. Exhale and lift the body. Keep the feet and heels flat on the ground.

Position No. 9. Inhale and bring the right foot along with the level of hands, left foot and knee should touch the ground. Look up giving a slight bend to the spine. (Same positon as No. 4)

Position No. 10. Exhale and bring the left leg forward. Keep the knees straight and bring the head down to the knees as in third position. (Same position as No. 3)

Position No. 11. Inhale and bend backward. Raise the hands along with the head as in position No. 2.

Position No. 12. Exhale and leave the hands down and re-lax.

The above 12 positions make one full-round of Surya Namaskar. Repeat it 12 times daily

RISHI CHYAVANA, ASHWINI KUMARAS AND

THE PERPETUATION OF YOUTHHOOD

Those devoted to the Science of Ayurveda and followers of this great science look upon Maharshi Chyavana with great respect and adoration. It was he who invented the unrivalled, unprecedented tonic Chyavanaprash for the good of humanity. This tonic is one of the excellent gifts of Rishi Chyavana unto mankind.

Once Maharshi Chyavana practised severe unbroken penance for a long time. At one stage he found that his body was weak due to great penance. His desire for penance was still fresh in him. So he thought of finding out some method by which he could improve his health. With this object in view he invoked the divine Ashwini Kumaras.

Pleased with the invocation of the Rishi the Ashwini Kumaras appeared before the Rishi and enquired him of the reason for his summoning them. The Rishi paid homage to the Kumaras and said, "0 Divine healers! I did great penance and acquired great mental powers but my body is weak. Kindly pre-scribe for me some such medicine by taking which my body will resume its original strength and may live long to pursue the purpose of my life."

Hearing this the Ashwinis after deep thought replied, "0 great one of excellent virtues and unrivalled penance, we shall give you a prescription for a rare tonic. By this the entire humanity will be benefited. This medicine will acquire world-fame and will be famous by your name. By taking this medicine your body will be rejuvenated in thirty days. You will be filled with new vigour and vitality. You will be free from old age." So saying the Kumaras disappeared.

The time for the preparation of this Rasayana is winter and spring seasons. During these seasons the medicines will be fresh and highly beneficial in their effects. Fresh Myrobalan forms the prominent ingredient in Chyavanaprash. This keeps the three humours in equilibrium. Pure sugar, pure honey, ghee, Vamasaksheri, Pippali, cardamom, Nagkesar, Darusita, Kishmish, Ashtavarga, Dashamoola, sandal etc., form the important ingredients in this tonic. This is a wonderful preventive tonic. It wards off number of diseases. It keeps the person in good health. It is very useful in Asthma, difficulty in breathing, bronchitis and consumption. It wards off debility and builds the body wonderfully.

Maharshi Chyavana prepared this tonic as per the instructions of the Ashwinis. After administering the medicine on him-self the great Rishi regained his health. He became a youth once again.

Charaka Samhita Says:

“Asya prayogat chyavanah suvriddhobhoot punaryuva." "By the use of this Rishi Chyavana, though old, once again re-gained his youth."—Charaka Samhita, 1. 72

By the use of this wonderful drug Chyavana never be-came old. By the spreading of the knowledge of this wonderful tonic Chyavana did a great service to humanity. A detailed description of this tonic can be had from Charaka Samhita.

CONTENTS

A HERBAL PREPARATION

FOR LONG LIFE

Chyavanaprash is one of the best rejuvenators among Ayurvedic medicines. It contains many herbal ingredients and hence is easily assimilable.

The most prominent herb in this preparation is the Indian Gooseberry, Known as Amla in Hindi. This fruit is very rich in vitamin c. it contains as much vitamin as is contained in two small oranges. It is very effective in curing many diseases. The fresh fruit is diuretic, laxative and cooling.

Amla is good for removing indigestion. It removes excessive salivation, biliousness, constipation, seminal and other weaknesses of men and women. It gives luster and beauty to the skin.

Some of the other ingredients that are used in preparing this rejuvenator are Haritha Dhatriphalam (Emblica officinalis), pure ghee, pure honey, sugar, Vamsa Ksheeree (Banbus Arundinacia), Ashtavarg (Jivak, Rishbak, Meda, Mahameda, Kakoli, Ksheerakakoli, Riddhi and Briddhi), Dasamoola (Ten roots), Karkatasanghi (Pitacia Ente Gerima), red Sandalwood powder, Korangi (Shelser Cardamom), Dharusita (Cinnamon Bark) and Somavali (Coculus Cordifolius). Sixty other rare herbs found in the Himalayas are used along with the above.

It is needless here to give the preparation of this wonderful drug, as it contains many herbs and as the preparation is also cumbersome from the point of view of the patient who is in urgent need of it. In India it is prepared on a wide scale by many Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Works and it is convenient to use the ready-made medicine as it is easily available in all parts of India. Unless one gets proper practical training in the preparation of these herbal medicines under an efficient and learned manufacturer, one should not attempt preparing these.

Chyavanaprash cures many diseases of chest and stomach also. It is highly useful, especially in winter, when there is much tendency to cold, cough, asthma, weak digestion, etc.

This can be taken in any season as it is rather a herbal tonic than a medicine. It is one of the best body and brain tonic of Ayurveda.

It can be safely used by children, women and invalids, or old men. It is useful in the cases of all persons. Its taste is good. Even while you are enjoying a state of perfect health, you can use it as it is a rejuvenator.

Many use Chyavanaprash in winter, and thus prolong their lives till a considerable age.

Chyavanaprash is an efficacious tonic for all wasting dis-eases like tuberculosis. In the first stage of consumption when there is a little weakness this can be used advantageously. It arrests the growth of the disease and even cures it, if it is in an elementary stage. It is highly useful in convalescence. It develops the brain-power and tones up the vocal system. It cures all ailments of the lungs, and the urinary system.

It can be best taken on an empty stomach in the early morning with a little milk. For an adult, one teaspoonful is to be taken in the morning followed by quarter seer of warm fresh milk. When using this medicine take 'Drakshasav', one tea-spoonful after each meal, if one's condition is too weak.

Poor men who cannot afford to have this may not be dis-heartened. They can take the juice of fresh Amla daily when they are available and at other times they can take a teaspoonful of dried Amla powder. It is also equally useful and efficacious. It can be taken with honey or sugar.

Chyavanaprash is quite sufficient to give health, strength and long life. Among the various medicines of Ayurvedic, this may be called as an Elixir of Life.

HUNDRED YEARS AS MAN'S NORMAL

DURATION OF LIFE

"That one may attain to the age of one hundred years or more, is no visionary statement. According to psychological and natural laws, the duration of human life should be at least five times the period necessary to reach full growth. This is a prevailing law which is exemplified in the brute creation. The horse grows about four years and lives to about 12 to 14; the camel grows for eight years and lives to about 40. Man grows for about 20 to 25 years,—if accidents could be excluded,—his normal duration of life should not be less than one hundred years," so says Milton Severen of the West.

Just compare this to the period of life declared by the Srutis, Puranas and the Sastras of the Hindus and the period of Studentship and Brahmacharya is alone full 25 years. Srutis or sacred texts declare full life or the age of one hundred years for a man.

This you can attain by establishment of Brahmacharya. And so Patanjali Maharshi, the author of Raja Yoga or Ashtanga Yoga, says: "Brahmachatya-Pratishthayam Veerya Labha". It is on the mere attainment or establishment of Achara that you may be able to attain full age, even if you are devoid of all other qualities, by the establishment of Achara only. Achara is character- building. You must have good character. Other-wise you will lose your Brahmacharya or Veerya—the vital energy— and thereby attain premature death.

There are instances of men who have attained longevity and intellectual powers despite their loose immoral ways. Obviously this is due to'their Prarabdha. But they would have been still more powerful and brilliant had they possessed a good character and continence as well.

WHY GROW OLD?

(Scientific Researches for Postponing the Physical Process of Ageing in Man) Advances in medical knowledge have given new impetus to research aimed at postponing the physical process of ageing in man. At the several American Universities, studies are being conducted on how body-cells age, why they fail to stay active and productive into late years. Dr. Edward L. Bortz, President of the American Medical Association, believes man's average life span, measured against that of animals, should be 150 years instead of the present life expectancy of 68 years.

Researchers want to find out why man is not living up to his expectations. Is it an accumulation of his experiences, both physical and emotional, that makes his age? A newly-established Institute of Human Nutrition at Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois) is attacking this problem from the diet angle to see whether what man eats and drinks contributes to ageing.

Metabolic Disorders

The Fels Research Institute for the study of Human Development at Antioch College (Yellow Springs, Ohio), is studying the effects on the human body of man's experiences from birth to maturity, Columbia University (New York City) is concentrating on heredity and environment.

A clue to what ageing might be was noted recently by Dr. Andrew C. Ivy of the University of Illinois. Degeneration, he thinks, is a group of changes in which abnormal materials collect in and between the cell-walls of the human body. They might be due to metabolic disorders of the cells arising from la-tent weaknesses or external factors, or both.

Effect of Diet

Dr. I.A. Landis of George Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri) is investigating a calcium-binding protein that appears to control cell-growth and can become both overactive or underactive. In the cell-ageing process, this substance be-comes overactive, binding too much calcium.

Dr. C. Ward Crompton of New York City points out that yearly, millions of people die of chronic diseases, and that preventive medicine must step in. A sample of what he has in mind are tests at the University of Minnesota. There 500 men be-tween 18 and 54 have volunteered for a ten-years study of factors which lead to hardening of the arteries and high blood pressure. Seven researchers in physiological hygiene under world famous physiologist Dr. Ancel Keys hope to find whether physical activity on diet can prevent or delay degenerative diseases.

Worry and Tension

Special attention also is being focussed on the effects of worry and tensions, found capable of turning youngsters into criminals. In all instances which Dr. David Abrahamsen investigated in New York City, he found that the family backgroung of criminals was tension, hostility, resentment and nagging. These conditions not only bred criminals, but illness as well—trouble with heart, skin, respiration or digestion and in turn possible origins of degenerative diseases.

Thirty years from now the number of age-disabled per-sons between 60 and 75 is expected to be double that of today. But through present research in geriatrics, the study of old age, many of them may be able to contribute to society more of their useful fund of wisdom and experience.

A CALL TO ABUNDANT ENERGY

AND LONG LIFE

Health, and not disease, is your natural heritage. You are the children of that Anaamaya or diseaseless Purusha, the Eternal Brahman or the Absolute. Claim your birth right now, this very second and become healthy, strong, robust, and sinewy, with abundant vigour, energy, a high standard of vitality and with an expectation of a hundred years of life.

Disease and short life is due to ignorance and lack of knowledge of natural laws. You violate the laws of health through your egoism, passion and self-assertive nature. You behave like a playful urchin, and yet Mother Nature who is all merciful and kind, who is ever bountiful, puts up patiently with all your misbehaviour and wrong-doing and helps you in a variety of ways, bestowing on you her choicest blessings. Gain a thorough knowledge of the laws of perfect health, and abide by them; you will live a hundred years.

Science and Prolongation of Life

Many brilliant investigators in the mystery of life and death are still baffled as to this cause of decline and decay of the body. Life is kept up by the reproduction of human cells. A cell is a mass of protoplasm containing nucleus. Man is made up of different groups and species of cells which perform different mechanism. These cells are constantly broken down and renewed. A time comes when cells lose their power of reproduction. Now man begins to age. At one time it was said that every part of the body is wholly renewed every seven years but now it is said that the period is only about a year and half.

There are various kinds of tissues, viz., muscular tissue, nervous tissue, etc. There are different kinds of systems, viz., the digestive or alimentary system which consists of mouth, pharynx, gullet, stomach, small and large intestines; the circu-latory system which consists of heart, the arteries and veins; the lymphatic system which consists of lacteals, lymphatis and lymphatic glands; the muscular system; the integumentary sys-tem which consists of skin or the epidermis, the cuticle or dermis, the sweat glands secrete sweat and the sebaceous glands which secrete sebum or fat; the urinar system which consists of kidneys, the bladder, the urethras; the reproductive system which consists of reproductive organ in males and the uterus and ovaries in females and the endocrine system which consists of the thyroid and parathyroid in the neck, pernials and pituitary glands in the brain and the adrenals. Metabolism is the sum-total of the anabolic (constructive) and katabolic (destructive) changes that go on in the tissues of the body.

One scientist believes that the secret of death is the blood system. He treats the blood with a chemical preparation. An-other scientist believes that the seat of life is the thyroid gland. He therefore replaces a worn-out thyroid gland with a new young virile gland from a chimpanzee. Another scientist holds that the senility is due to dissipation affecting some major glands of the human body. Many weak, prematurely decrepit people are transformed into healthy men and women by the ad-ministration of extracts of these glands by injection or by mouth. These modern miracles happen every day. But they only restore diseased people to health; they don't prolong life beyond the normal span or solve the riddle of eternal youth. They will not even enable a healthy man of eighty to reach the age of hundred. That man will still die from the mysterious pro-cess of degeneration of cells which is called "old age".

Rejuvenation when the patient is elderly and the human machine, the most magical of all machines, is wearing out, has only a temporary effect, as a bottle of whisky that stimulates a tired man. Relapse quickly follows. The eyes, bright for a short time become dull once more. The brain works vigorously for a brief period only. Afterwards weakness reasserts itself. The whole organism relapses into a state of greater decrepitude than before; it has been called on to work beyond its strength and capacity by the forced stimulation of the artificially treated glands. If scientists could discover the secret of persuading the cells which compose the human body to renew themselves even in old age as they do in youth there would be no practical limits of human life.

Beauty, gracefulness, strength and adamantine hardness indicate that you are in possession of a perfect body. As food is only a mass of energy, the body can be kept from any other source, such as Sun, Cosmic Prana, Will, etc. Hatha Yogic Kriyas and meditation entirely renovate the system and give new strength, vigour, and vitality to the cells. Yogis know how to absorb the energy and utilise it for the economic aid to nature in the preservation of the body. They possess the power to bear extreme cold and heat, the power to live without food and drink (drawing the energy from their pure, strong and irresistible will). Vayubhakshanam is another way of maintaining the body by swallowing or taking in the air. The body becomes indestructible. Nothing can injure it. There is no more disease, death or pain for that Yogi.

YOGIC WAY OF INCREASING

THE SPAN OF LIFE

According to Yoga, man's life is constituted of so many breaths. The number of respiration per minute is fifteen. If you can reduce the number of breaths by the practice of Kumbhaka or retention of breath, or stop the breath through Khechari Mudra you can increase your span of life.

Yogi Chang Dev who came on the back of a tiger to see Jnana Dev, the Yogi of Alandi, in Maharashtra, lived for hundreds of years. Whenever Lord Yama, the God of death, appeared before him, he took his Prana into the Sushumna and entered into Samadhi. He thus defied the god of death. Yogis attain the Siddhi to die at their own will (Iccha Mrityu).

VEDANTIC METHODS FOR

A HUNDRED YEAR LIFE

Thou art divine. Live up to it. Feel and realise thy Divine Nature. Thou art the master of destiny. Do not be discouraged when sorrows, diseases, difficulties and tribulations manifest in the daily battle of life.

Draw up courage and spiritual strength from within. There is a vast inexhaustible magazine of power and knowledge within. Learn the ways to tap the source. Dive deep within. Sit down. Plunge in the sacred waters of immortality, the Holy Triveni within. You will be quite refreshed, renovated and vivified when you go to the Divine Source and realise: "I am the Immortal Self."

Do not murmur. Do not grumble when troubles and sorrows descend upon you. Every difficulty is an opportunity for you to develop your will and to grow strong. Welcome it. Difficulties strengthen your will, augment your power of endurance and turn your mind towards God. Face them with a smile. In your weakness lies your real strength. Thou art invincible. Nothing can harm you. Conquer the difficulties one by one. Build up positive virtuous qualities. Tread the spiritual path and realise: "I am the Immortal Self."

Face everything with a smiling, cheerful countenance. Understand His mysterious ways. He is thy Immortal Friend. Re-peat the following formulae mentally several times daily. Meditate on the meaning. Chronic incurable diseases that are declared hopeless by a board of eminent doctors can be cured by this method. This is an unfailing, infallible divine remedy. Sometimes you will have to wait patiently for results. Auto-suggestion is only an off-shoot of Vedanta. The formula of this school, viz., "Through the Grace of God, I am becoming better and better day by day, in every way" is only a Vedantic assertion and affirmation.

Sing now, feel and assert:

Ananda Svarupoham

I am an embodiment of happiness

I am Bliss in Essence

Anamayoham, I am diseaseless Atman

I am all-health

I am neither body nor mind

I am the embodiment of Arogyam

No disease can enter my body

My will is pure and irresistible

I am deathless and immortal

People say: "One apple a day keeps the doctor away." This is costly. This is doubtful. I say: "Live in the spirit of the above formulae. This alone can keep the doctors away.

This is dead cheap. This is a sure sovereign specific and a sheet-anchor and a cure-all. Doctor's bills and worry can be saved. This will give you Self-realisation as well. Believe me. Give up doubting. I assure you. Thou art not this perishable body. Rejoice in Sat-Chit-Ananda and free yourself from dis-ease and death!

LENGTHENING LIFE BY BRAHMACHARYA

Preservation of the creative energy of man leads to perfection of the body, rejuvenation and longevity. If the spermatic secretion in man is continuous, it must either be expelled or re-absorbed. As a result of the most patient and ceaseless scientific investigations, whenever the seminal secretions are conserved and thereby reabsorbed into the system, it goes to-wards enriching the blood and strengthening the brain. "The conservation of this element is essential to strengthen the body, vigour of mind and keenness of intellect," teaches Dr. Dio Lewis.

"All waste of spermatic secretions, whether voluntary or involuntary, is a direct waste of life-force. It is almost universally conceded that the choicest elements of the blood enter into the composition of the spermatic secretions. If these conclusions are correct, then it follows that a chaste life is essential to man's well-being." This has been written by Dr. E.P. Miller.

Brahmacharya is the basis for the attainment of Kaya Siddhi. Complete celibacy must be observed. This is of para-mount importance. By the practice of Yoga the semen be-comes transmuted into Ojas-Sakti. All the cells are vivified or galvanised by the power of Ojas.

The Practice of Brahmacharya, Pranayama, Sirshasana and other Hatha Yogic Kriyas and meditation, entirely renovates the system and gives new strength, vigour and vitality to the cells. The Yogi will have a perfect body. There will be charm and grace in his movements. He can live as long as he likes (Iccha Mrityu). That is the reason why Lord Krishna says to Arjuna. "Tasmat Yogee Bhava-Arjuna"—therefore become a Yogi.

If a Yogi acquires Kaya-Siddhi or perfection of his body, all diseases and tendencies to disease will vanish. He will not be affected by the pairs of opposites like heat and cold. There will be diminution or disappearance of excretions. The craving of hunger and thirst vanishes. He may take very little food or completely abandon food. Pain of any sort disappears. He may experience some pleasant feelings in place of heat, cold and pain. The Siddhis—Anima, Mahima, Laghima come under Kaya-Siddhi.

CHARACTER-BUILDING FOR LONGEVITY

It is on the mere attainment or establishment of Achara that you may be able to attain full age and eternal happiness. You can attain full age even if you are devoid of all other qualities, by the establishment of Achara only. Achara is character-building. You must have good character, otherwise you will lose your Brahmacharya or Veerya—the vital energy—and thereby attain premature death. Srutis declare full life or age of one hundred years for a man. This you can attain only by the establishment of Brahmacharya.

You have to remember one thing more. The secret of longevity may be based chiefly upon discretion in the choice of food and drink, temperance, sobriety, chastity and a hopeful optimistic outlook on life and so, gluttons, drunkards, the idle, the dissipated or the lazy cannot reasonably hope to attain full age.

SPIRITUAL THERAPEUTICS FOR LONGEVITY

Anger generates poison in the blood and heat in the blood, brain, liver and the whole body; it produces fever, depression, etc.

Hatred causes nervous weakness, uneasiness, restless-ness, cough, fever, loss of blood, indigestion, etc.

Fear causes low blood-pressure and weakness, destroys red blood-cells, makes the face pale, affects the heart, liver and stomach and produces indigestion, diarrhoea or constipation and impotency.

Renunciation removes a host of ailments, such as dyspepsia, rheumatism, diabetes, diseases of the liver and intestines and blood-pressure, strengthens the heart, brain and nerves.

Pure love produces joy, peace of mind, harmonious functioning of the bodily organs, increases the blood qualitatively and quantitatively, and turns the mind towards God.

Truth strengthens the heart and mind, brings peace of mind, happiness, inner calmness and spiritual strength. It creates fearlessness.

Meditation is a wonderful tonic which tones all systems and organs, renovates the cells, removes diseases, checks the development of diseases and prolongs life beyond expectation.

Elimination of anger, hatred and fear constitute the psychological technique for the prolonging of life, for keeping death at a distance. The cultivation of renunciation, the development of love, abiding by truth and practice of meditation constitute the spiritual therapeutics for a hundred years life.

SHADOW-GAZING FOR LONGEVITY

The invocation of shadow gives the objects seen as well as unseen. Undoubtedly a man becomes pure by its very sight. The shadow can also answer any question you may desire to ask. The Yogic practitioner who is able to know whether his undertakings will be crowned with success or not. Those Yogis who have realised the benefits of concentration fully have declared: "In a clear sun-lit sky behold with a steady gaze your own reflection; whenever this is seen for a single second in the sky, you behold God at once in the sky." He who daily sees his shadow in the sky will acquire longevity. He will never meet with accidental death. When the shadow is seen fully reflected, when the Yogic practitioner gets victory and success, he conquers Prana and goes everywhere. The practice is simple enough. One realises the fruits in a short time. Some have realised the fruits in one or two weeks. When the sun rises, stand in such a way that your body casts a shadow upon the ground and you are able to see it without difficulty. Then steadily fix your gaze on the neck of the shadow for some time and then look up into the sky, it is very auspicious. The shadow will answer any question for you. If you do not get the shadow continue the practice till you get it. You can practise this in the moonlight also.

EXERCISES FOR ARRESTING OLD AGE

With advancing age toxicity is inevitable. If that is arrested, humanly speaking, illness due to advancing age can be arrested.

Toxicity due to advancing age can be arrested by combining the following methods:

Vipareeta Karani, not less than one hour both morning and evening.

Sarasvati Chalana, not less than 45 minutes, both morning and evening. Sarasvati Chalana is to be immediately followed by Bhastrika.

And Bandhatraya in the following order: first, Sarasvati Chalana, second Jalandhara Bandha, third, Uddiyana Bandha and fourth Mulabandha.

If the above be combined with Kevala Kumbhaka, old age onset can be arrested.

YOGIC SECRET OF CONQUERING DEATH

The person who is an adept in controlling the function of the three Nadis, Ida, Pingala and Sushumna, and who can still the Prana in Sushumna, cleanses the mind, and he alone can cheat or transcend time, Kaala or death.

The person who has thus stilled the Prana in Sushumna should attempt to lead it towards Brahmarandhra and then he will experience Samadhi or the super conscious State. The Yogi knows the time of his death. He takes his Prana to Sushumna, leads it to Brahmarandhra and defies time or death.

Time or Death is called Kaala. Too many events are linked by time; hence, He is called so--Kalayati iti Kaalah. Birth and death are within time. To go beyond time is to go beyond birth and death, to attain Immortality.

The two Nadis, the Sun or Pingala and the Moon or Ida, determine the day and night for all beings. When they are functioning, day and night are passing one after another, life gets exhausted thereby. Every time you exhale, you lose four angulas (inches) of breath; you inhale eight angulas whereas you exhale twelve angulas. In mortals, mainly the Chandra Nadi functions. By checking the flow through Chandra Nadi one can live longer. By controlling the flow through both the Nadis, Ida and Pingala, one lives for a very long time.

Sushumna is the eater of time. This is the greatest Yogic secret. By confining the breath to Sushumna, one enjoys sound health and infinitely prolongs life. By leading the breath along the Sushumna to the crown of the head, one attains Immortality, drinks Amrita, Nectar.

When you detect Death, restrain your breath in Sushumna, Death will run away from you. That is how you should get over death and enjoy good health and prolong life indefinitely.

HOW TO BECOME A CENTENARIAN?

Do not worry. Never be in a hurry. Do not eat what you call quick lunches. Take nutritious food. Sleep seven hours a day. Never fool with doctors and do not go into a drug-store except to get a stamp or to consult the directory. When you reach the age of ninety years, you may do as you please.

Wear loose collars, because tight collars present obstacles to the free circulation of the blood through the thyroid gland. Take large quantities of milk, this being the extract of various glands. Remain as much as possible in the open air and especially in the sunshine, and take plenty of exercise, taking care to breathe deeply and regularly. Take a bath daily and in addition once a week or every two weeks take a Turkish or vapour bath. Wear porous clothing, light head-dress and low shoes. Go early to bed and rise early. "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." Sleep in a very dark, very quiet room and with a window open, and do not sleep less than six or more than seven and a half hours. Give up alcohol. Be temperate in the use of tea or coffee. Avoid places that are overheated, especially by stress, and badly ventilated.

SOME SECRETS OF LONGEVITY

You have to remember: The secrets of longevity may be based chiefly upon discretion in the choice of food and drink, temperance, sobriety, chastity, and a hopeful optimistic outlook on life; and so gluttons, drunkards, the idle, the dissipated or the lazy, cannot reasonably hope to attain full age.

A PRESCRIPTION FOR THE PERFECTION OF

THE BODY

Rishi Vagbhata has prescribed a treatment in his Ashtanga Hridaya, Chapter 39, verse 28 to 32 for attaining Kaya Siddhi. Here is a translation of his method of Kaya Kalpa treatment:

"Cut the top of a healthy growing 'Palasha tree' (Bhutes Frondosa) and insert into the hollow made in the Palasha stem upto a depth of two cubits the pulp of fresh Amla fruits (Emblica phyllanthus) and tie round the stem upto the bottom "boob" grass and cover it up with mud taken from a lotus pond; and then let the humidity dry up by setting fire to the stem in a heap of dungcakes in a place excluded from draught.

"The 'Amla' fruit pulp so dried up is to be taken with honey and butter by a man to his heart's content, and boiled milk is to be taken after it to his heart's desire. This treatment is to be pursued for a month. Those things are to be avoided carefully which are prescribed for avoidance in such practice, and cold water should not be touched even with the hand.

"Then after the expiry of the eleventh day, the hair, teeth, and nails begin to fall off; and after some days the man regains his old form, possessing imperishable strength equal to that of an elephant. With improved muscles, strength, intellect and vitality he lives a thousand years".

Some Ayurvedic physicians say that the treatment is in-tended for middle-aged men, and according to the text, the patient has to be kept in a room surrounded by double rooms of verandas, one after the other, the arches of which have to be enclosed with bricks except for passages on either side, which have to be covered with Pardas (curtain) and small light holes for the access of light. The room has, otherwise to be excluded completely from the entry of sun, heat or draught of air, and an even temperature has to be maintained day and night.

The wrinkles on his face will disappear and he will look very young with lustrous face. He will be able to read without glasses in dim light of the ghee-fed wick, which is the sole lamp kept in the chamber of treatment. The treatment is carried on for 45 days. Several other unusual and extraordinary results will emerge. The body is perfected.

LONGEVITY AND TRANSFORMATION

OF BODY

IN INDIAN MEDICINE

This is an age of science. This is an age of scientific discoveries and inventions. Life is under great tension. Rivalry and competition are intense. Man exerts more. There is a great tension on his brain and nerves. He is under great excitement. He is restless. There is undue strain on his nerves and brain. He gets exhausted quickly. There is great struggle in the daily battle of Life.

Ayurveda shows you the way to attain a high standard of health, vim, vigour, vitality and longevity. It solves the riddle of old age. It helps you to preserve the youth. It gives a scientific description of the process of rejuvenation, Kaya Kalpa.

Chyavana and other sages of yore who had a broken and debilitated constitution on account of old age renewed their vigour of life and lived for countless years by undergoing Kaya Kalpa treatment.

He prepared a confection out of various herbs and took it. That herbal preparation is known by the name Chyavanaprash. This is still used by the people of India.

Mandavya Rishi who lived in the Vindhya Mountains took an Elixir. He got perpetual youth through the use of drugs.

The Sankrit word 'Kaya' means body and `Kalpa' means transformation or rejuvenation. Kaya Kalpa is that form of treat-ment which restores the aged and debilitated body to its pristine youth and vigour, re-establishes the full potentialities of the senses and gives good health. Kaya Kalpa adds new life to years and new years to life.

Scientists also are attempting to find out the Elixir of life which will combat against decay and produce vigour and youth in the old and conquer the fear of death.

Kaya Kalpa restores the natural balance to Vatha, Pitta and Kapha, brings the functions of Saptadhatus to a normal condition and cures many incurable diseases. Kaya Kalpa should be conducted under the expert guidance of very competent Ayurvedic physician.

The life-long accumulation of various poisons in the sys-tem causes decay, old age and death. Therefore one should take recourse to Pancha Karmas for purifying the body before he begins Kaya Kalpa treatment. The Pancha Karmas are; 1. Nasya Karma (nasal purge), 2. Vamana Karma (emitics), 3. Virechana Karma (purgatives), 4. Niropa Vasti (clearing Enemata), 5. Anuvasana Vasti (soothing Enemata).

FORMS OF KALPA TREATMENT

Kuti Pravesika Kalpa: One remains in a dark cell. He lives on a black cow's milk alone. He should not take a shave. He should not touch cold water. He lives in seclusion. He is cut off from friends and society. This gives complete rejuvenation.

Aja Kalpa: This is rejuvenation through goat's milk. The goat should yield 4 pounds of milk. Salt, chillies, tea and coffee are forbidden. This Kalpa cures definitely diabetes, dyspepsia, asthma, rheumatism and debility.

Ghrita Kalpa: Pure cow's ghee is taken in cow's milk every morning for two months in winter.

Harad Kalpa: Harad is Hareetaki or myrobalan. One big Harad (Terminalia chebula) is taken in the morning for 41 days.

Somalata Kalpa: This process is a difficult, delicate and drastic one. The patient becomes unconscious for some days. The skin peels off. He comes back to consciousness and be-comes a blooming youth.

Bodhi Kalpa: One regains lost memory. This is highly beneficial for all brain workers, professors, lawyers and doctors, students and scholars. No Pancha Karma is necessary. This is very easy. It can be taken for a week or more. Give up oil, chillies, sour things, ice, tea, etc.

Kesha Kalpa: Grey hair becomes black through this Kalpa. There is no Pancha Karma or food restriction. It should be taken under the supervision of an experienced Ayurvedic physician. It causes vomiting.

THE REJUVENATION TECHNIQUES

OF HINDU RISHIS

From time immemorial the Hindu Rishis succeeded in de-vising means to discover remedies which can help one to attain astounding longevity retaining all the physical and mental powers intact till the last breath. Kaya Kalpa Chikitsa aims at rejuvenation of physical and mental powers and the attainment of longevity.

The body is a boat to cross the ocean of phenomenal existence. It behoves therefore, that it should be kept strong and healthy. That is the reason why many said, "Sareeram Adyam Khalu Dharma Sadhanam.”“This body is the foremost means for practising Dharma."

With the advent of Kaya Kalpa treatment taken by the Founder of the Baranas Hindu Unversity, Pundit Madan Mohan Malaviyaji, many people developed a fad for Kaya-Kalpa. There is much exaggeration regarding the results of this treat-ment.

A man who has not lived a life of discipline, who has not led a well-regulated life is not likely to get success in this treat-ment. Kaya-Kalpa treatment is certainly not meant for all. It is meant only for those sincere thirsty aspirants who are struggling hard to attain Self-realisation in this very birth and those who have dedicated their lives to the service of Humanity.

It is a great mistake to take recourse to Kaya-Kalpa treat-ment for a mere sense-life. This science of Kaya-Kalpa treat-ment has been evolved by the Rishis of yore on a distinct spiritual basis. Exclusive materialistic life, without ethical discipline, self-restraint and spiritual ideal, has entirely ruined the people. Food, sleep, fear and copulation are common in beasts and human beings; but that which differentiates man from beast is the power of discrimination and Vichara Sakti.

Herbal remedies are prepared by special methods. The subject is put on a special diet. He lives in a specially constructed cottage which contains all requisites for the treatment. Kuti Prabasick Rasayana imposes such restrictions, whereas Batatap form of Rasayana does not impose any such restriction.

Mercury plays an important role in the Rasayana Therapy of Ayurveda. Mercury is Sivabeeja. Mercury aided by special vehicles of "Nurpana" bestows youthful vigour. Mercury that is subjected to eighteen processes of purification confers strength, vitality and long life and wards off the infirmities of old age. Signs of youth health and beauty reappear, if the treat-ment becomes successful. Grey hairs become black. Eye-sight improves.

What is wanted now is a spiritual Kaya-Kalpa which can purge the world of sinfulness and restlessness and restore its youthful purity and peace and establish the Kingdom of God among men. Spiritual Kaya-Kalpa is far superior to physical Kaya-Kalpa. Spiritual Kaya-Kalpa can be obtained through regular silent meditation. Yogis drink the nectar of Immortality. Glory to the Rishis of yore who discovered this sublime science of Kaya-Kalpa. May their blessings be upon all!

YOGA AND REJUVENATION THROUGH

KAYA-KALPA

The process of Rejuvenation through the administration of Kaya-Kalpa according to the method of Yogis and Rishis and Ayurveda is not to be confounded with that of the Western method adopted by scientists and doctors, where the object is purely on the physical basis.

The process of rejuvenation through Kaya-Kalpa is in the keeping of the Great Tapasvins. Kaya-Kalpa is the real elixir of life by which the Rasayanas make the body immortal.

They can keep the body strong and healthy as long as they like. The body is an instrument with which we try to attain the goal of life. Suppose a man desires to practise Yoga. He dies before he attains the highest Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Then he takes up another body and starts again the Yogic practices. He dies again before he makes any substantial progress. In this manner much time is lost in dying and being born again.

Therefore, if the body is rendered strong and healthy, if birth and death can be got rid of, you will have ample time to do Yoga Sadhana and you will attain the goal of life in one birth. This is the theory of Rasayanas. They teach to immortalise the body, first by means of Kaya-Kalpa made out of herbs or mercury or sulphur, Neem or Amalaka fruits, in order to achieve the goal of Yoga in this very life.

The body is the mould prepared by the mind for its operations. It is the mind that manufactures the body. This physical sheath is thrown out at death and the mind puts on another new sheath in the next birth, just as a man puts on new cloth by throwing out the worn-out garment. The mind can draw any amount of power from the universal store-house of energy. If the mind can manufacture another new body in the next birth, why can it not do it just here and now, without dissolving this present body, by renewing the cells which make up this human body? This is the theory of Rasayanas. This theory is quite correct, sound, logical and tenable.

REJUVENATION THROUGH MILK

TREATMENT

(Dugdha Kayakalpa)

Salutations and adorations to the two Aswini Kumaras, the Divine Physicians and Lord Dhanwantari (Avatara of Vishnu Bhagavan) the expounder of Ayurvedic system of treat-ment.

Dhanwantari, the Divine Physician of mankind, has said:

Achyuta-ananta-govinda-naamoccharana-bheshajaat, Nashyanti sakala rogaah satyam satyam vadamyaham.

"The repetition of the Divine Names of the Lord, Achyuta, Ananta and Govinda cures all diseases. I speak the Truth".

Such is the power of the Divine Names. But for people who are not endowed with that living, dynamic faith in God and His Names, he further gave to humanity the system of treat-ment called the Ayurveda. For the treatment of chronic dis-eases you have got what is called Kaya-Kalpa. Kaya Kalpa is of different types.

Kaya Kalpa means bringing in of new life in the body which is suffering from chronic diseases or old age. It means also renewed health, vigour and vitality. Yogis used to live hundreds of years by means of Kaya Kalpa.

Another meaning of Kaya Kalpa is entering a new body al-together. This is done by Yogis by Parakayapravesha also by entering other bodies giving up the present one. This is not possible for all but is reserved for adepts in that branch of Yoga.

Here I shall explain briefly the Dugdha Kaya Kalpa or rejuvenation by milk-treatment. You should not read this out of mere curiosity. Each one of you should try this seriously and spread this knowledge to your friends also.

For bringing about a radical change in one's health, to effect cure of chronic diseases we get details of various Kaya Kalpas. The pre-eminent among them is the Dugdha Kaya Kalpa. For this you require pure cow's milk freshly drawn. Through this Kaya Kalpa you get good health and long life. Our ancient Rishis took recourse to these Kaya Kalpas to have long life, not for enjoying the pleasures of the senses indefinitely, but for keeping themselves fit for doing service to humanity and continuing their devotional practices for Self-realisation.

The Dugdha (milk) Kaya Kalpa can be done both with cow's milk as well as with goat's milk. They are effective in curing the three kinds of diseases arising out of Vatha, Pitta and Kapha (wind, bile and phlegm). These three are considered to be the root-cause of all diseases. A particular disease can be traced to any one of these causes. Gomutra Kalpa is used to cure the diseases born of poisoning. This is done with the help of mainly cow's urine.

The method of milk-treatment described below should be practised for 30 days. You will be free from many a vexing disease. Complete restraint should be effected in matters of sex, taking onions, chillies, and other irritating foodstuffs for the entire Kaya Kalpa period. This Kalpa is effective in headaches, fevers, consumption, dysentery and constipation. It will bestow on you good health, youth and Tejas (brilliance in your face).

The suitable time for undertaking this treatment is after winter or before summer. The spring season is particularly favourable, for this part of the year is neither too hot nor too cold.

The commencement of the treatment should be done in Uttarayana when the sun is in the Northern Solstice and the bright fortnight of the month (Shukla Paksha). Special care should be taken to see that during your period of treatment you should not do any physical exercise or work involving physical exertion.

Before commencing your treatment you should cleanse your bowels well by a good purgative preferably by Triphala powder or purified Hareetaki (myrobalan). This will remove all the accumulated dirt in the system.

Pure fresh cow's milk plays the vital part in this treatment. Take 9 chhataks (45 tolas) of cow's milk in a brass vessel well coated with lead. Add to it 15 tolas of juice of bitter gourd. If you cannot get bitter gourd juice you can add 6 Mashas of Triphala powder or 9 Mashas of Trikatuchoorna. Trikatuchoorna is pow-der of dried ginger, pepper and Pipal (long pepper). This is mixed in equal quantities of 3 tolas each. Every time the three powders should be mixed fresh. Triphala or Trikatuchoorna can be had from any good Ayurveda store. Mix the powder in cow's milk. Heat the milk in gentle fire. Reduce it to half a seer (8 Chhataks). Then allow the milk to cool. Add one tola of sugar-candy. On the first day take this milk only. You should not take any other food. If you feel like taking anything later in the day towards evening you can take some fruit-juice either of orange or Mosumbi.

On the second day have 13 Chhataks of milk. Mix one-third quantity of bitter gourd juice. If you add Trikatu or Triphala add one Masha extra every day. Heat the milk as before. Allow it to cool. Add sugar-candy like the previous day and take the milk.

Thus you should continue for one full month. You can in-crease 4 Chhataks of milk every day and one-third quantity of milk should be the juice of bitter gourd or one Masha more of Triphala powder every day for the whole month. A tabular state-ment showing the quantity of milk and juice or powder referred to above is given below for your ready reference:

Thus on the 30th day you will take 7 seers 13 Chhataks of milk and 2 seers and 9 Chhataks of juice of gourd. If you add Triphala powder the quantity on the 30th day would be 2 tolas and 3 Mashas; and if it is Trikatu powder the quantity on the 30th day would be 3 tolas and 2 Mashas.

Sugar-candy powder can be added to suit your taste. The quantity of milk reduced after heating on the 30th day should be 14 Chhataks less, that is, in every 9 Chhataks you should reduce by heating the quantity of one Chhatak.

During the treatment you should observe celibacy. You should avoid physical or mental exertion. You should not keep long vigils at night. You should speak less. In the intervals you should take only juice of orange or Mosumbi. Buffalo's milk should not be used in this Kalpa.

This can cure chronic diseases. This is good in cases of tuberculosis, piles, impurity in blood, etc. Have faith and carry out the instructions faithfully if you want to have permanent cure. This is a wonderful cure—Kaya Kalpa. Have faith and do it yourself. After all, the treatment is not very difficult; neither the quantity of milk is too little in the beginning or too much in the end. Have perfect faith.

Repeat the Names of the Lord incessantly. This is the first and foremost remedy. Have faith in His Names. You will be cured of all diseases.

May you all attain good health, long life, peace, plenty and prosperity!

NEEM TREATMENT FOR

A HUNDRED YEAR LIFE

It is an admitted fact that herbs possess curative effect to a very high degree. The benefits of Indian herbs are known throughout the world. Herbal treatment is unparalleled in effect. Among herbs Neem occupies a very distinctive position.

It is beyond the power of words to describe the curative effect of this wonderful tree. Every part of this tree is useful. From very ancient times we have heard the glory of this tree. It is capable of destroying to the root many incurable diseases. Leaves, flowers and bark of this tree are highly useful. These act unfailingly in giving the maximum benefit to the patient and make the treatment successful.

People of good health derive the maximum benefit of this treatment as a recuperative tonic. The rules enjoined in the observance of this Kalpa have to be strictly adhered to ensure the maximum result. Care should be taken to see that nothing is done by the patient which will go against his interests, i.e., he should be careful in following the rules relating to the treatment. March, April, October and November are the months highly beneficial in undertaking this Kalpa. Both men and women can derive the maximum benefit by undertaking the Neem treat-ment. Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday are favourable in commencing the treatment for men. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday are days suitable for women.

Before commencement of the treatment bowels should be cleared by a purgative. The observance of the following rules will be highly useful.

Live in seclusion. Speak slowly, moderately. Maintain celibacy. Remain in well-ventilated rooms. Rise up from bed early morning. General rules of. Health and hygiene should be adhered to.

Neem Kalpa can be successfully carried out within 31 days. Take one Masha of combined Trivarga (leaves, flowers and bark of neem). Mix them all. Paste it well with water. Make pills. The pills are to be taken with fresh water drawn from well or river. Similarly in the evening prepare pills of weight one Masha and take them with fresh water. Three hours later take pure cow's milk half a seer. Take milk at least 3 times daily. In this Kaya Kalpa food of all descriptions should be given up. Mix a small quantity of Trikatu powder (Soont, Kali Mirch, Pippal) with milk before taking. This helps digestion and increases strength.

On the second day add 4 rattis of leaves, flowers and bark of neem. Thus the quantity has to be increased 4 rattis daily. The following table will give you an idea of the quantity of medicine to be taken.

1st day Morning and evening 1 Masha

2nd day Morning and evening 1 ½ Mashas

7th. day Morning and evening 4 Mashas

15th day Morning and evening 8 Mashas

20th day Morning and evening 10 ½ Mashas

31st day Morning and evening 16 Mashas

On the 32nd day the quantity of the pill should be reduced by one Masha and thus every day one Masha is to be reduced. On the 45th day the size of the pill comes to one Masha. Thus the course of treatment comes to an end and the patient feels great strength, vigour and vitality.

The patient will do well to keep some green leaves of neem under the pillow. This removes the heat in the system. This rejuvenates the entire nervous system.

Put 15 leaves of neem in one glass of water and keep it covered near your bed at bed-time. On waking from bed at 5 a.m. filter it and drink the water. This is known as Ushapana also. This cleanses the bowels and bladder. It removes the defects of phlegm and bile. After Ushapana one should go for stroll in the early morning. The lungs are cleared. The heat in the system is reduced. On return from walk take rest for half an hour and practise mild Pranayama or deep breathing exercises.

During the course of treatment on account of little heat in the system you may feel weak, you may suffer from a little sleeplessness, a little whirling of the head, etc. But these will not last long and they will pass away. Be not moved by such experiences. You should maintain mental equilibrium and not al-low yourself to be led away by emotions.

The effect of neem is cooling, and lightness of body. It is highly effective in curing skin-diseases. It removes phlegm, wind and bile.

It is helpful in cough, all fevers, loss of appetite, thirst, diabetes, leprosy, etc. The oil of neem is very useful in all skin dis-eases, worms in teeth, infectious diseases.

Even the Western scientists have accepted the fact that of all medicines which help to cleanse the system neem finds the first place.

Soon after the treatment the patient should take care to see that he takes no such thing which gives rise to the disease once again. This is very, very important. Once the Kalpa is successfully undertaken the patient gets immunity from the dis-ease for pretty long time.

BUTTER-MILK TREATMENT FOR

A HUNDRED-YEAR LIFE

(Takra Kalpa)

Takra Kalpa treatment is not merely a cure for diseases. It also bestows long life on the individual. Butter-milk contains in itself all the strength-giving elements which could otherwise be had only from a number of other edible articles of daily life. It gives more strength and energy than ordinary articles of diet. It contains very important vitamins useful for the building up of body cells.

In the chapter on dietetics in Ayurveda we find a full description of butter-milk as an important part of our food.

The person who takes butter-milk never falls sick. It destroys all kinds of diseases. It does not allow diseases to enter the system. Just as nectar is prescribed for Gods in heaven even so here in this world butter-milk is prescribed for men as a means for maintaining healthy life. He is ever happy.

In Kalpa Kosha we find a beautiful description of Takra Kalpa for a happy and diseaseless life.

This Kalpa is useful in dreadful diseases contacted by heredity. In short it is useful in all diseases. It should be administered with a thorough knowledge of the Pathyas (do's) and Apathyas (don'ts).

We find Chandrasamputi, Amritakaran and many other varieties of Butter-milk treatment. But the following method is very useful. It is easy to practise and is highly fruitful.

This Kalpa is undertaken for 40 days. There are various methods of preparing curd and butter-milk. The most easy and useful method is described here.

For the purpose of making curd, cow's milk is the best.

Cow's milk is itself a Rasayana (tonic). Prepare curd out of pure cow's milk. Add one part of water in 3 parts of curd. Take butter from one half of curd. Add the other half and make the butter-milk. Prepare curd in the early morning and keep it for one full day. On the second day the curd is fit for use. Do not use old curd. The curd that is kept unused for 48 hours be-comes unfit for use in Kalpa. It is even harmful. Do not preserve curd or butter-milk in brass or copper vessels. It is highly injurious to health.

Before commencing Takra Kalpa clear your bowels with Pancha Karma (Vamana, Virechana, Nasya, Niruham and Anuvasan). By this not only the bowels but even the senses are purified.

Keep up the vow of Brahmacharya. Continue the Kalpa for 40 days. Take bath in the early morning. At sunrise take 10 Chhataks (50 tolas) of butter-milk. Take an equal quantity at sunset also. The next day increase it by 2 Chhataks i.e. 11 Chhataks at sunrise and 11 Chhataks at sunset. Thus increase 2 Chhataks daily.

If you find it difficult to take simple butter-milk as it is, you can add a small quantity of fried Jira, asafoetida mixed with a little Saindhva Namak, well powdered.

On 41st day onward reduce 4 Chhataks every day until you come again to 1 seer and 4 Chhataks.

On the completion of Kalpa you should not commence your usual diet at once. Do not take salt and chillies for some days. In the beginning take only fruit-juice, Palak, Louki, Parval and green vegetables. Then take milk and then gradually the usual diet. This Kalpa is not advisalbe in Varsha and Sarad Ritus (Rain and winter).

If the butter-milk is light it is useful in stopping motions. If it is sour in taste, it does not increase bile. It helps digestion. It improves digestion, strength, and removes the evil effects of Vaata, Pitta, Kapha, etc.

In cold season it improves digestion and removes bad taste. It improves the movement of Nadis and makes it normal.

BRAHMI TREATMENT FOR HUNDRED

YEARS' LIFE

Brahmi is one of the beautiful creeper herbs found in the Himalayan regions. This is available in plenty in winter.

During Vasanta-Greeshma Ritus (February to April) it flowers. In rainy season it is almost extinct. In the dictionary of herbs, Brahmi is known as Somavati or Sarasvati. This is found in places which are moist, on the wet sandy mountain regions.

This should be collected in Sisira Ritu and Vasanta Ritu (seasons) when it is full with beneficial juice. The leaves should be collected from clean places in fresh airy regions. Impure and unholy places should be avoided in collecting Brahmi leaves.

Wonderful are the characteristic qualities of Brahmi. It develops bodily as well as mental faculties. It increases life and checks degeneration.

It develops intelligence and improves memory. It is effective in leprosy, leucoderma. It is very cooling in effect. It is good in cleansing the bowels. Its taste is bitter. It improves intellecual faculties. It increases life.

It makes the voice fine. It purifies urine. It is useful in blood impurities. Apasmar (Mirigi), loss of memory, in wet dreams, menstrual disorders, nervous debility, children's diseases, pneumonia, etc. In children's diseases— pneumonia and cough—it should be pasted and applied to the neck.

Even the Westerners have done great researches over Brahmi. It is known there as Gratiola Monniera Hydrocotyle Asiatica. They are of the opinion that this should not be dried in the sun. If it is dried in the sun it loses some of its vital qualities.

In Brahmi Kalpa fresh Brahmi is to be used. Fresh Brahmi abounds in wonderful life-giving strength and various beneficial qualities. It transforms a man immediately. Brahmi Kalpa is undertaken for 31 days. The person undergoing the Kalpa should first of all clear his bowels. The next day after bath and other cleansings he should take 6 Mashas (y2 tole of Brahmi leaves, roots, branches) and grind it very nicely. This is very effective. The paste should be as fine as possible.

Take half at sunrise. The remaining half (3 Mashas) should be taken at sunset. Three hours later you should take cow's milk half a seer or as much as you can digest. You can in-crease the quantity according to your capacity. While heating the milk put 6 Mashas of fresh Brahmi leaves and boil it well. Cool it and take it. In case pure cow's milk is not available, goat's milk can be taken. After 3 or 4 days if there is difficulty in digesting the milk you can add a small quantity of dried ginger and pippal (both powdered well).

During the Kalpa period take nothing prepared out of grains. Nothing other than milk should be taken. Have the senses under perfect control. Devote more time to prayer and meditation. If you want to take rest lie on your left side. The rule is:

Care should be taken to see that the milk is freshly drawn every morning. The quantity of Brahmi should be increased in the following order, the entire course of treatment is for 45 days.

1^st day 3 Mashas both morning and evening.

2^nd day M mashas both morning and evening.

3^rd day 5 Mashas both morning and evening.

7^th day 9 Mashas both morning and evening.

15^th day 17 Mashas both morning and evening.

21^st day 23 Mashas both morning and evening.

31^st day 33 Mashas both morning and evening.

From the 32nd day onward reduce 2 Mashas each time and on the 45th day the quantity of Brahmi leaves taken will be 3 Mashas morning and evening as on the first day of the Kalpa.

On the completion of Kalpa, food should be gradually in-creased. First fruit-juice should be taken. Then green gram and then old rice and easily digestible article of diet should be taken before taking to the full normal diet. During the period following the treatment you should avoid onion, oils, chillies, tamarind (sour articles), etc.

AYURVEDIC TREATMENT FOR HUNDRED

YEARS' LIFE

In the Ayurvedic system Rasayana treatment is pre-scribed for keeping death at a distance and attaining longevity. This system has become a neglected science at the present moment. According to this treatment, old age is a disease. This needs to be treated. Accidental deaths can be avoided.

Life can be continued indefinitely through Rasayana treat-ment. Rasayana is the science of removing old age and dis-eases which do not yield to ordinary treatment, prolonging life and rejuvenating it.

Whatever promotes longevity, retentive memory, health, vitality, is called Rasayana. It.is called Rasayana because it has a beneficial effect on the "Rasas" and other elements of the body. It strengthens the metabolic system, improves the blood and consequently the whole body.

Mandavya Muni who resided in Vindhya Mountains attained long life and Siddhis by herbs. So did Chyavana Rishi through the reputed Chyavanaprash. Those which help people to attain longevity are called Rasayanas.

Rasayana treatment is done through sulphur, mercury, Nux Vomica seeds, Neem, Hareetaki and Amlaka.

The Rasayanas can immortalise the physical body. The Rasayanas keep the physical body healthy and strong for a long time in order to achieve the goal or Self-realisation in this very life. If the body is kept healthy and strong for a long time, the Yogic students have much time to attain the goal. Much time will not be lost in dying and being born again. This is the theory of Rasayanas.

Three distinct processes are described in Ayurveda to attain longevity and rejuvenation. They are 'Rasaraj Rasayana' termed Mercury which has first and foremost place among the ancient therapeutics. 'Rasayana' herbs and 'Achar Rasayana'.

Ekosau rasarajah sariram-ajaram amaram kurute': The only thing that can make the body ever young and immortal is the blessed Rasaraj.

Longevity is also attained through 'Rasayana' herbs such as Soma, Nila, Nari, Padma, Hareetaki and Amla. Amla and Hareetaki tone the body, give immense strength and virility and make it immune from many diseases. The patient is kept indoor (Kuti-preveshika) or outdoor (Vata-atapita).

'Achar Rasayana' or rejuvenation and longevity through the practice of Yama, Niyama or right conduct (Ahimsa, Satyam, Brahmacharya, etc.,) is another kind of treatment by the Yogins and Sages.

According to Sushruta the Rasayana treatment should be performed on the subject either in youth or in the middle age. It will not bestow the desired results, if it is performed when old age or decrepitude has already set in.

NATUROPATHIC SECRETS OF HUNDRED

YEARS' LIVING

Disease is not a condition that ought to frighten us; it is not brought about by agencies outside ourselves. Disease is the result of the kickings of life. Health alone exists. From birth till death it is only health, it is only life that makes a man live.

Even disease is only a sign of health—it is the reaction of life to the entry of foreign matter into the system. Life's cleansing process is called disease. It takes various forms. But essentially all diseases are the same; there are not many diseases there is only one disease—and that is dis-ease or no-ease, i.e., the struggle of life to get rid of foreign matter.

To get rid of dis-ease, therefore, one ought to help the Vital Power in oneself to get rid of the foreign matter. Disease (or rather the symptoms that manifest on account of this effort on the part of Life to get rid of the foreign matter in the body) ought not to be suppressed with toxic drugs which the Allopathic doctors give. Leave Nature to get rid of the foreign matter in her own way. Do all that lies in your power to aid the vital power to carry on this work unhindered. First and fore-most comes fasting.

Digestion of food is one of the greatest charges on vital economy. If you put food into the stomach during disease, then the vital power which is engaged in the work of cleansing the system of the foreign matter is diverted from its function and made to digest the food! This results in worsening the condition. Leave the vital power to attend to the cleaning process. Do not eat during disease. Then the vital power will rapidly get rid of the foreign matter within.

Nature gives priority to assimilation more than to elimination. Elimination can wait (of course, at the cost of health); but assimilation cannot wait even for a moment. As soon as the food reaches the stomach the process must get into full swing. The vital Power will have to drop its cleansing auto-intoxication and worsen the disease. The scientists' argument in favour of a patient being allowed to eat even during illness is that food is necessary to maintain life. Just the reverse is the truth! Food does not maintain life; it is Life that eats food, produces the energy necessary for digestion and elimination. Life lives by itself. Food is necessary for life to build and to repair the body; food is not necessary to maintain life! This has to be clearly grasped by all. Then you will clearly understand why, during illness, you have to fast; for, by fasting you conserve the Vital Power, you prevent its expenditure on the digestion and assimilation of food and thus release it entirely to attend to the work of elimination of foreign matter.

Then comes dieting. Food must be Sattvic and should be taken only in order to sustain the body; for the maintenance of this body only a very small quantity of food is required. That is our need. Nature, our kind mother, has, however, provided for a little more in us to digest more food than Life needs to sustain the body. A man's digestive capacity is a little more than what is needed to digest the food that Life needs. One can safely take up to this digestive limit without falling sick. To go beyond this digestive limit is to court disease; for, then, you put into the sys-tem more food than it can digest. The surplus food is then a burden which Life has to get rid of. The surplus food ferments in the stomach; it produces various toxic gases—and Life has to eliminate all these through its processes called disease.

He is a Yogi who eats just what is sufficient to fulfil Life's need. He will enjoy a Sattvic frame of mind; he will have peace; he will enjoy radiant health and long life.

He is a Bhogi who eats up to his digestive capacity. He, too, does not overstep the limit and, therefore, he enjoys good health and long life. He is Rajasic in temperament. He is prone to indulge in sense-pleasures. When the digestive limit is exceeded, then man becomes a Rogi, a sick man, Tamasic in temperament, virtually a living corpse.

Sattvic food nourishes the body and helps life. Fruits, vegetables, whole cereals, nuts and green leafy vegetables and milk—these are all Sattvic food-stuffs. They have an intrinsic food-value. They are the food. They do not need the aeroplane carriers, viz., the condiments, chillies, salt and tamarind. It is because man kills the vital essence in the food that he eats, he has to use the appetisers which act as aeroplanes to carry the food inside the stomach. These stimulants, and tea, coffee and other soft and alcoholic drinks irritate the nerves and entire sys-tem and drinks are harbingers of diseases, of evil thoughts of immortality.

Appetisers are used by people in order to thrust inside food which is not demanded by the Life-Fire within. The Life-Fire is God Himself, the Vaisvanara Fire. Man should wait for the appearance of this God within and then offer Him food. Nowadays people do not wait for hunger. They mistake the cravings of the palate for hunger. They mistake appetite for hunger. They have never experienced the joy of hunger. Hunger, as it is the form of the Lord, is indescribable in its nature, even as God. One has to experience it to know what it is; it can-not be told. But some sort of a hint can be given about hunger in order to help you to understand it when it really comes.

First, there should be evacuation of the previous meal's waste-products; in other words, all the processes— digestion, assimilation and elimination—connected with the previous meal ought to have been completed. After this evacuation of the bowels you will feel a peculiar lightness of the body. You will feel happy and light. You will want to work. You will have clarity of mind and intellect. If this is not felt, then it means that there is still waste-matter within. After this feeling of lightness has be-gun to be felt, you should work. You must serve if you are to de-serve your meal. The stomach will then begin to shrink. All the vital power will then be available for work. You will feel joyful to work. Then slowly hunger will manifest itself. You will experience the moving up of wind from the stomach. This will be clean wind, odourless. This is a sign that hunger has come. After some time, you can take your food. Hunger, when it comes, will not make you crave for food; it is not like the ravenous appetite which will make you grab at food and swallow it. Hunger, on the other hand, will be a pleasant demand of the Life within for food to repair and to build the body.

When you have only appetite you will not relish your food. You will want food that satisfies the palate only! You cannot enjoy the sweetness of natural food; you will find it insipid and tasteless. But, when you have real hunger, then you will find the natural food very sweet; you will enjoy the natural sweetness of food.

Eat slowly. Masticate well. Starches have to be digested in the mouth itself. Do not take food that will tempt you to swallow. Especially, the habit of eating Halwa, Puri, Parotta, etc., is very injurious. Halwa makes you swallow food that you ought to masticate well. Condiments and chillies make you over eat. These are, therefore, very harmful and should be avoided.

The habit of taking tea and coffee should also be given up. Tea, coffee and such other drinks are not food; they are only stimulants. They whip up your own vital power and enable you to drain it. You feel an unnatural energy and you are tempted to use it. They do not add to the store of your energy. They deplete it. Therefore, you gradually lose your vital power.

You should know when to stop eating. Nature has its own signs. You will get wind from the stomach. The wind this time will have the odour of the most prominent item in your diet. This wind is the sign: "it is enough for me". You must get up at once. To eat after this is to overload the stomach and court trouble.

Therefore, the first rule as regards eating is—wait for hunger.

Secondly, you should take care not to destroy the vital essence that is present in the food that you eat. You need not at all care what vitamins you are taking and which are absent in the food you eat. But you should at the same time realise that salts and vitamins are the most essential parts of the food. These two are the cleansing agents. They help in the elimination of the end-products. It is not the assimilation that is of greater importance; but it is elimination that should be taken greater care of. If the elimination is satisfactory, then there will be no foreign matter in the system, there will be no congestion, there will be no auto-intoxication, and the vital power can concentrate all its forces for the elimination of waste-products. Vitamins and natural salts help this elimination. Every article of food that you take contains the Vitamin necessary for its digestion and elimination of its waste-products. Do not bother about which vitamins are present in which food as if you are taking all the vitamins that science has named for us. Take care that you take the foodstuff with its natural vitamins. This you can ensure if you take fresh foodstuffs. Fruits, vegetables and green leaves are best from this point of view. They are rich in vitamins. Especially the vegetables and fruits that have absorbed greater sun-light are more abundant in vitamin-content.

Then, you have to be very careful in the cooking of vegetables. Eating them raw is the wisest. If you have to cook them, then merely steam-boil them. Even if you use water to boil them, take care not to use too much water, using too much water naturally means straining the water and throwing it away along with the most essential parts of the vegetables. The vegetables should never be fried, nor should too much spice be added to them.

In the case of rice, wheat and other cereals, the evil habit of polishing them should be given up. Each household should have its own Chakki (a small pounder for rice and wheat). This will not remove the most essential part of the grains as the ma-chine does; it will only remove the chaff.

You may eat only when you are hungry, and you may take fresh things, and with their vital essence in them. That is not all. You must ensure that the vegetables that you take are rich in nutrition and vitamins. You have to pay attention to the soil on which the foodstuffs grow. That soil should not have been artificially manured. Chemical manures might produce good-looking foodstuffs in abundance; but they cannot produce foodstuffs which are abundant in nutrition and vitamins.

The best way to ensure this is to live near the land on which you grow your food. Nature has so arranged that man takes what the plant yields and gives back in the form of excreta, urine, and the exhaled air the plant's food. Thus, there is a continuous cycle. If this cycle is maintained, there is no depletion of the health, of either the man or the soil. Nowadays, people crowd in big cities. They obtain their food from the villages, but do not give back the soil from which their food comes. The best manure for the soil is the excreta of people who live on natural food and in the natural way. That soil will yield man's food, rich in vitamins and nourishing elements.

If these three conditions are fulfilled, then you enjoy perfect health and you will never suffer from disease.

Another very important point to remember always is: keep your mind healthy; fill it with healthy ideas; think sublime thought; remember God always. It is Life that lives in the body; it is Life that maintains the body with the help of food; it is Life that eats food; it is Life that produces diseases also when it has to kick out foreign matter from the system. Thus Life or the Vital Power derives its Sakti from God. Therefore, you can keep it in a vigorous condition if you think of God, link Prana with God and link mind with God. Mind is the link between God and Prana. Sometimes evil tendencies in the mind will manifest themselves out. Even when you are living externally according to nature, if your mind is impure, you may suddenly become the victim of some disease. Therefore, keep the mind pure.

Do not be afraid of disease. Disease is a blessing in dis-guise. Disease is a sign of life within. It indicates that there is enough Vital Power within to revolt against the accumulation of foreign matter. Some people are afraid of approaching their kith and kin suffering from infectious diseases T.B., Cholera, Typhoid, Small-pox, etc. This is wrong. They have the wrong notion that they will catch the disease if they go near the patient. Thus, they lose a golden opportunity of serving the suffering patient. It is a great loss.

Diseases are not caught like that. When you’re vital power is at a low ebb, your power of resistance is very low, when your own system is full of foreign matter, then and then alone will you be subjected to disease, whether or not you serve a sick man. If you are healthy, if you are clean within and if you keep your surroundings also clean and healthy, then you need not be afraid of catching any infection.

The fear of infection is due to the wrong notion that dis-eases are caused by germs passing from the sick man to the healthy man. It is not so. Diseases are not caused by imported germs. In many cases there is no germ at all in the system at the time of the attack, but the germs are produced by the dis-ease. This shows that the germs are nature's agents to cleanse the system of the foreign matter. Germs are friends. If they are not produced in your own system, and if they are from the suffering man, they will do no harm to you unless there is filth within your own body. If you have healthy cells in your system by natural living, then the invading germs too, will be converted into healthy cells, or thrown out. Therefore, banish fear of infection, but build up your own vital power, your own power of resistance by promoting health and guarding against the accumulation of waste matter.

When you wish to attend on a person suffering from infectious disease of a virulent type, e.g., smallpox, leprosy, T.B., etc., attend on him when you are empty in stomach. Do not take any food (or wait for a few hours after taking food), clear the bowels also. Then serve the patient. The Vital Power having been relieved of the need to digest, assimilate and eliminate your food, will then be active and will prevent any foul matter emanating from the patient from getting entry into your system. After the service, have a good wash; wash your clothes also and then take rest after taking your food, if you had not already done so before attending on the patient. Then do not go near the patient till the next day. Thus, there can be two sets of nurses, one attending on the patient in the morning hours, i.e., before taking food, and the other in afternoon hours, after the food had been fully digested. The patient can be very well looked after without any danger to those who attend on him.

Further, diseases like smallpox are a true blessing. Small-pox, specially, means a thorough spring-cleaning of the entire system. Even if, during the smallpox attack there are other forms of foreign matter in the system, smallpox cleanses them all. It is said that even diseases like syphilis are got rid of after a smallpox attack. When the Vital Power rises in antagonism against a powerful foreign matter like the smallpox, and when it wins its victory, in this process itself several minor diseases are got rid of. Therefore, after a person survives an attack of small-pox he leads a very healthy life. Therefore, banish this germphobia and this fear-complex. Live the life natural and you will be a proof against disease and attain highest longevity.

In health as well as in disease you should use common sense in dealing with this body which is made up of the five elements—the five elements that are available in abundance out-side—water, air, earth, etc. Water has very good use. Nature Cure therefore lays great emphasis on baths and packs. A wet pack is really a boon. When applied around the abdomen it will vitalise the abdominal organs. It will promote digestion and elimination. It will tone up the abdominal muscles, and the walls of the stomach are made to function properly. Then disease will be allayed to a great extent. There have been cases where palpitation of the heart has been cured by the mere application of wet pack around the abdomen.

The principle is this. When there is extra heat in the sys-tem, the destructive metabolism (when nature wants to throw foreign matter) the wet pack helps to draw the extra heat away from the system. Thus the expulsion of the foreign matter from the system is greatly helpful. The gases, liquids and other forms of foreign matter get disposed of very easily, smoothly and rapidly; and the normal functioning of the inner mechanism is restored.

If there is internal heat and this heat is not felt on the sur-face of the body, then a stimulating wet pack is indicated. This will produce a heat-reaction. In both cases, the body-heat is evenly distributed, circulation promoted throughout the body, thus helping elimination through the blood stream of the foreign matter in the system.

Wet Pack: Take a long piece of cloth. Dip it in water. Squeeze the water out of the cloth. Then fold it lengthwise into four. Tie it around the abdomen tightly. Fasten the cloth with safety pins.

Stimulating Wet Pack: The process is similar to the Wet Pack; but here the squeezing out of water will be thorough. The cloth will have very little water in it. This stimulates heat and dis-tributes it evenly. To achieve marked results, you can tie a woollen cloth around the wet pack.

The wet pack can be used even in the case of pneumonia; in cases like this the wet pack will be broadened so as to include the chest also. Like this the wet pack can be applied to all parts of the body. Severe headache can be cured instantly by the wet pack.

Bath: Another potent device is the bath. The hip bath is a real boon. Sit in a tub of water so that only your hip and the abdomen are inside the water; both the trunk and the head above, and the legs ought to be outside the water level, dry. You can, with a small handkerchief massage your abdomen also with a light pressure.

Then there is the spine bath. Lie down in a long tub of water. The water should be only 1X" or 2" in depth. It should just wet the back, the water level should be midway between the chest and the back. This is a great tonic to the nervous system. All the nerves have their roots in the spinal column. By toning up the spinal column you are actually rejuvenating your nervous system. When your nervous system is toned up, all your glands will begin to function properly and bestow on you perfect health.

The duration of these baths and the temperature at which the water should be applied depends on the age and the power of resistance of the patient and the nature of the symptoms. Once the general rule is grasped the particular case will suggest itself.

In the case of people who are not able to stand the cold bath, whose reactive power is too low, and when even a cold bath might mean whipping up of the vital power into sudden activity, it is advisable to resort to the warm bath.

Enema: Another important cleansing method in Nature Cure system is the enema. Enema ought to be judiciously used so that it will induce the normal bowel-movement to be re-stored. This can be done by observing the following three rules:

1) Do not use much water; use as little quantity of water as possible.

2) Do not keep the can at a height more than three feet from the level of anus.

3) Do not add any irritant like soap, glycerine, etc., to the water used. Plain water will do. If need be, you add some organic vegetable juices, butter-milk or milk.

The water may be cold or lukewarm depending, as in the case of the bath, on the stage of the disease, the vital power of the patient, etc.

The natural way of living, therefore, ensures a very long life, a perfect Sattvic frame of mind which is highly conducive to Sadhana, to control the senses, observance of Brahmacharya, and through these to the attainment of the summum bonum of human life.

THE ATTAINMENT OF LONGEVITY

He who drinks and has no thirst

Or eats and has no hunger

He who does not take any exercise

Suffers illness and dies young.

He who wastes much the vital fluid

He who uses tobacco

He who takes heavy dinners

Suffers illness and dies young.

He who drinks butter-milk

He who eats tomatoes and lemons

He who walks three miles daily

Is healthy and attains longevity.

He who is moderate in everything

He who basks in the sun

He who takes cold bath

Is healthy and attains longevity.

He who is ever busy

He who talks little

He who drinks water in the early morning

Is healthy and attains long life.

He who fasts and meditates

He who eats to live

He who takes to Nature-cure,

Is healthy and attains immortality.

He who takes spinach or palak

He who gets up when he is still hungry

He who observes silence during eating

Is healthy and attains a very long life.

INCREASE THE DURATION OF LIFE

Observe the laws of health,

Attend to the rules of hygiene,

Prevention is better than cure.

Nip the malady in its bud.

Masticate the food thoroughly,

Have a balanced diet,

Take moderate food

Avoid late supper at night.

Run in the open air,

Do Danda and Kasrat.

Avoid liquor and intoxicant

Have simple living and high thinking.

Diseases are the destroyers of health,

Health is the means for attaining longevity,

Keep the body healthy and strong,

Qualify yourself as your own doctor.

Sariram Adyam Khalu Dhanna Sadhanam,

Have a knowledge of the diseases and symptoms,

And ward off the troubles and diseases.

Lead a life of ease and happiness,

Nurse the sick for getting Chitta-Suddhi,

And attain Eternal Bliss and Immortality.

Fast once in a month,

Give up salt on Sundays,

Keep the bowels open,

Get help from nature.

Go to bed early,

Rise up early,

Pray fervently,

Meditate regularly.

LONGEVITY POSSIBLE FOR

BLOOD-PRESSURE PATIENTS

Are you one out of about every five adults who has high blood-pressure or hardening of the arteries? If you are, there is no need to worry yourself into bed. Many people with one or both of these conditions can count living useful lives, if they take sensible precautions.

Medical research has brought about almost revolutionary changes in the treatment and management of both these conditions. Patients who would have been condemned twenty years ago to a useless life in bed are now advised to live normally. The wise physician today would no more prescribe an invalid's routine for the average patient than he would recommend getting a job as a long-shore-man. More than any other disease, hypertension (high blood-pressure) varies with the patient and the treatment should fit the person. Actually, high blood pressure is not a disease at all, but a sign that some-thing is wrong, like headache or fever that accompanies a cold.

The majority of people with high blood-pressure can do more for themselves than can be accomplished by surgery or drugs, although consultation with the family physician is always important. "What is your blood-pressure" should be a solemn warning, rather than a taunt, for irritability can be the boundary-line between good and bad health. A good tip is to keep clear of friction and worry if you can.

Dr. Page has listed a few general rules, although they can-not be applied to everyone. Walk—never run upstairs. Quit anything before you get overtired—Relax or nap twice a day (say, a half-hour before lunch and an hour before dinner). If possible quit work a little early and exercise outdoors for an hour (but avoid competitive sports; don't be in a golf game longer than you should). Go to bed well before midnight. Keep your weight normal. Argue and worry as little as possible.

There are many who think the higher the pressure, the greater the risk of damage. Science disagrees. The only important question is whether pressure that is above normal de-pends on the person. Anyone who tries to forecast his future by comparing blood-pressure readings at different times is wasting emotional energy and probably boosting his pressure.

The danger in hypertension, according to Dr. Page, is that persistent high blood-pressure sets up a chain of events which cause hardening or scarring of the artery walls, and eventually to the closing of some of the blood-vessels. This condition, known to medical men as arteriosclerosis, is the main cause of death among hypertension patients, for it can lead to serious heart-attack, a fatal stroke or impairment of the kidneys. Cut-ting off the blood-supply to vital tissues is as serious as depriving a plant of water. But not all sufferers from high blood-pressure develop arteriosclerosis, and among those who do, there is a variation in degree, rate of progress and intensity. Some patients are not affected for decades.

A Businessman was tuned down for life insurance be-cause of his high blood-pressure. Eleven years later he was found in excellent health. His blood-pressure was reduced, al-though he was still uninsurable, and his life expectancy was better than that of many insurance executives. Over half a century ago the blood-pressure of a young boy was discovered to be elevated at the age of 17. Despite this he went into business and stayed in it until he was 65, when he was compelled to re-tire by company rules. At seventy he died of a stroke. During the last 53 years of his life he had no headaches or other symptoms until a month before his death, although his blood-pressure in the eight years before he died was very high.

There is a great difference in the degree of hypertension in individuals and its rate of progress. A 34-year old mother of two children had been in good health until she was bothered with occasional headaches when she woke up. Her doctor found her blood pressure was up, gave her medicines to relieve the headaches and advised her to lose weight. She renounced pastries and other items and to her husband's amazement kept the pledge.

Fifteen years later when she was re-examined, following an attach of influenza, her heart was slightly enlarged and her blood-pressure still above normal. Otherwise she was in good health. It was not until she was 56 that her blood-pressure caused trouble. She awakened one morning unable to talk. The right side of her face drooped and she could not move her right arm or leg. After treatment she recovered from the stroke and was living normally when last seen by her doctor.

The situation was different with a 45-years old lawyer who thought he was in fine shape but received a jolt when his application for additional life insurance was turned down because of high blood-pressure. His own doctor found the disease serious and recommended a sympathectomy operation. The patient refused, saying it was impossible to spend seven weeks in hospital at that time, although he did agree to change his diet. Six months later he was experiencing severe disabling headaches, shortness of breath after climbing stairs, swollen ankles and tightness in his chest after excitement. This time he allowed his doctor to send him to hospital, but despite medication and a diet low in salt, he died within a month.

An honest physician could not say that this patient might have lived as long as the first. But in hypertension, as in other diseases, there is a presumption that a human being—like an automobile—will enjoy more mileage if regularly inspected and intelligently cared for.

The indisputable fact is that most patients with elevated blood-pressure live for many years without difficulty, under proper care.

A SURE REMEDY FOR BECOMING

A CENTENARIAN

Life is very complex nowadays. People have become luxurious. They have no control over their senses. Their habits are very irregular.

The problem of food itself has become very difficult and tiresome. They cannot find time enough to devote themselves for Self-culture and thoughts of God or Atman.

But a sincere Sadhaka can find his own time and place for Sadhana. Here is a short and sure recipe for becoming a centenarian. Kindly follow it with zeal and enthusiasm. You need not repent. Both Bhukti and Mukti will be yours if you simply adhere to it tenaciously.

The regular and systematic practice of Sirshasana, Sarvangasana, Halasana and Paschimottanasana, Surya Namaskar and of Pranayama will without doubt bestow health and longevity on you. Meditation will put you in touch with the eternal fountain of health and long life.

Repetition of the Lord's Name (Japa) is a potent tonic which will enable you to live for a hundred years or more. There is no tonic that is more powerful than an intense zeal to selflessly serve humanity till the last breath. This will quickly earn for you the Lord's Grace which means health and long life.

Give up wrong thinking. Conserve and preserve physical and mental energy. Speak measured words. Repeat daily Mahamrityunjaya Mantra as much as you can. You will have no accidents in life. In the cities you come across many accidents. You will have no unnatural death.

Even if you have erred in the past, correct yourself for the future. Control anger, lust, greed and hatred. The Upanishads declare that it is the duty of man to strive to live for hundred years or even more in order to serve humanity and attain the goal of life, God-realisation in this very life.

May God bless you all with a long life for the service of humanity. May you all attain Self-realisation in this birth?

A HEALTHY LIFE OF HUNDRED YEARS

"Om Jivema Sharadah Shatam" (Yajurveda)

ॐ जीवेम शरदः शतम" (यजुर्वेद)

This voice of the Veda echoes the man's aspiration of living a hundred years for experiencing the fullest development of his senses and organs of action, and leading an ideal life of radiant health, spiritual aspiration and exalted state of conscious-ness. This Vedic Hymn is in the form of prayer giving expression to the inmost desire of man.

Even in this Iron Age there are several great souls, who are in search of eternal life in spirit, and who have attained hundred years as enjoined by the Vedas through the observance of great vows such as Non-violence, Truth, and Brahmacharya. They are also engaged in the service of humanity. There are great souls perfected in the practice of Yama and Niyama, whose age is difficult to ascertain.

In this present age those who are entangled in the worldly life, their average maximum age is 65 years only. The reason is that India is a hot country and at the same time it lacks in nutritional food. It is rarely that one can find a man of hundred years of age in the householder's life. Even such a man is found to be debilitated in body and mind. The main reason is this that they have not observed the laws of Samyama and Niyama (abstinence and observance) as enjoined in the scriptures.

Those wise souls who conduct themselves according to the laws of Ayurveda Scripture of Lord Dhanvantari, who keep themselves healthy through the practice of Yama and Niyama and who have concentrated their intellectual and mental energy through sublime thinking, they, the ideal among men, enjoy a healthy Vedic life of hundred years. The Ayurveda of Bhagavan Dhanvantari inspires man to attain a glorious healthy life of hundred years:

"A wise man should always take care of his health for the sustenance of Dharma (merit), Artha (wealth), Kama (enjoy-ment) and Moksha (liberation) because the diseases rob what is best in life by destroying the body." (Charaka Sutra 16).

A Daily Routine for Long Life

For healthy body and long life every person should get up at four o'clock in the morning and practise prayer and meditation . . . this develops mental and spiritual purity and the senses too become free from diseases through Sattva.

One should get up at 4 a.m. daily in Brahmamuhurta, then practise meditation for an hour, keeping the mind free from all worries, and then he should start other obligatory actions for purifying his body.

Usha Pan (Drinking water in the morning)

After meditation drink pure water as described below. Keep half a seer of pure water in a copper vessel or any polished vessel well covered, near your bed at night. Drink that water early in the morning after your meditation. This removes constipation and several other diseases; this also increases eye-sight and memory-power.

Walking in Pure Air

After Usha Pan, go for a walk in the cool fragrant air of the morning for one or two miles on a path that goes through green, luxuriant trees. Repairing to a good spot you should sit in Padmasana (lotus pose) and practise Pranayama for 15 minutes. Breathing exercises in pure air fill the lungs with cool fresh air which purifies blood and strengthens the heart. Coming back from walk answer the call of nature and take rest for twenty minutes, during this time you can clean your teeth by sticks of Neem or Babul tree, or use a good tooth-powder.

Asanas and Exercises

Among various Asanas Paschimottanasana, Halasana, Sirshasana, Sarvangasana, Mayurasana, etc. are very effective for miraculous increase of vitality and health.

Even most chronic diseases, declared hopeless by the doctors have been cured successfully. There is no doubt that Asana and Pranayama are valuable contributions to long life and health.

By the practice of exercise old age is warded off, there is increase in intelligence, longevity, power and lustre. The dis-eases do not assail the practitioner all on a sudden. One should practise physical exercises with a cool and composed mind, and should stop his practice when the body starts perspiring. After exercise give some rest to the body and then massage the body with oil. It is healthy. This can be done in all seasons with great benefit, except in summer. Then take bath with pure water, better in cool and fresh water of running streams or rivers for such bath promotes health and destroys skin-dis-eases. Baths in the holy rivers enjoined by the scriptures are conducive to mental and spiritual strength also. In case when the body is ill, in a general morbid condition of health, one can take bath with warm water. Never pour hot water on your head. This weakens the nerves of the head, with the result one suffers from impertinent cold and cough, and also the hair on the head turns grey. While taking bath the body should be rubbed well. When the pores of the body are thus cleansed of dirt, one enjoys radiant health.

After bath one should engage himself in prayers, chanting of the Stotras, study of scriptures and other religious practices at least for twenty minutes daily. This conduces to inner mental purity while bath gives physical purity. The practice of purity within and without, is highly beneficial for health and ideal life. After morning meditation one should take light diet e.g., milk, fruits, dry fruits, butter-milk, etc. He can take tonics like Chyavanaprash, Amritprash, Badampak, Muslipak, etc., pre-pared in accordance with Ayurvedic methods. These should be taken with milk or honey. These Ayurvedic tonics can bestow a hundred years of healthy life. Tradition goes that Maharshi Chyavana regained his youth by the use of Chyavanaprash, his old age gave way to radiant youth. The efficacy of this miraculous tonic was introduced to Chyavana Rishi by the honoured physicians of gods, Ashwini Kumaras. Such tonics are highly beneficial for attaining long life.

Daily Duty: According to the means of livelihood one should daily engage himself in some work that is within his mental and physical capacity. It is by exertion only that this body and all the senses connected with it are strengthened, blood circulation is enhanced. One gets increased appetite and power of assimilation. The body remains free from diseases. It is essential that one should exert daily for maintaining health of the body and mind. Without exertion the body soon decays through diseases.

Food: Every living being has to eat for maintaining life. Good food only sustains life in this body. The consciousness in the individual owes its manifestation to the power of the food only. Even through mind intellect and reason it is the subtle force of food that functions. Men desirous of living hundred years of life, must necessarily plan out his food. Maharshi Charaka says:

It is healthy to take only those articles of food that do not affect health, do not produce diseases, and are ever helpful for radiant health.

The Gita also declares: The foods which increase life, purity, strength, health, joy and cheerfulness (good appetite), which are savoury and oleaginous, substantial and agreeable are dear to the Sattvic. (Gita XVII-8).

All have agreed to the importance of balanced diet for maintaining good health. Overeating and impure food have been considered very injurious to health by Maharshi Charaka. Many get various diseases due to their ignorance of laws relating to food or violation of those laws. Health is intimately related to food. Overeating or much eating does not add to one's strength rather reduces it. Overeating weakens appetite and power of assimilation due to which man suffers from chronic diseases. Overeating is known as unbalanced eating which causes several diseases; stomach ache, constipation, loss of appetite, liver troubles, appendicitis, urinary troubles, heart troubles, etc. Those objects that increase much fat in the body should be used less. With the increase of fat one suffers from obesity, while walking one has irregular breathing, he gets more heart palpitation, and frequent urination. Therefore, one should be abstemious in these: cashew-nuts, almonds, walnuts, curd, cheese, butter, potato, urad, rice, oil, dalda, ghee and its preparations. It is seen among the youth of today that inspite of their rich diet, their health goes on deteriorating. The main cause is that they waste much of their seminal energy through lack of self-control, uncontrolled senses, their licentious nature, their indulgence to vulgar cinemas and theatres, addiction to tobacco, beedi, cigarette, tea, meat-eating, opium, Ganja, Bhang and other intoxicants and also company of licentious ladies. It is important that the senses must be well protected from all such evils and one should be devoted to the vow of truth, non-violence and purity. It is by the observance of these three great vows alone that man can attain a healthy long life of hundred years.

Method of Eating: Take food always in seclusion, keeping silent throughout, with a mind well composed. To start with remember God and offer 5 spoons of food in fire; again if you have any guest offer him food nicely and then take your own. The food should be kept in a pure vessel. Masticate properly whatever you eat. First take sweet things, then saline or saltish . . . Water can be taken in the middle or at the end of the food. Water should not be taken frequently, this produces indigestion and wind. Warm water with food is beneficial. This removes wind. After food clean your mouth and also wash your teeth well. Do not allow any particle of food sticking in between the teeth. That becomes the abode of bacteria and produces tooth-ache or other tooth-diseases. After cleaning the mouth well you should take four pieces of ginger with salt, this digests the food quickly. Chewing betel leaf, well prepared with lime, etc., is also very good. After food one should lie down in bed on one's left side or he should walk a hundred steps; this strengthens gastric fire. Keep one day fast in every fifteen days; you can fast on Ekadasi, Amavasya and Purnima. This is beneficial from the religious point of view also. Those who have to do more of mental work should take nutritious food such as wheat, milk, butter, honey, almond, cashew-nuts, tomato-juice, apple, grape, pomegranate, orange, spinach, gourd, bitter gourd (karela), parwal, etc. Fresh vegetables and fruits should be used abundantly. Goat's milk is very conducive to health. For men of manual labour wheat, gram, rice, arhar, mung, urad, ghee, curd, potato, cabbage, ground-nut (mungfali), linseed oil (Til oil) etc. are good body-builders. Vegetarians have more power and mental development than the non-vegetarians. Non-vegetarians suffer from various diseases such as heart-trouble, mental diseases, blood-pressure, heart-palpitation, asthma, etc. By vegetarian diet one remains healthy always and cultivate Sattva or purity (some people are of this opinion).

Food According to Season

Food for Summer Season: For physical health and mental strength, one should take food earlier in the morning as well as in the evening. In this season one does not feel much appetite. The body is restless due to heat. Therefore one should take light, easily digestible food according to one's digestive strength. Such food as rice, Mung, Masur, Arhar, butter-milk, milk, lassi, honey, lemon, tomato, fruits, green vegetables, sugarcane-juice, cucumber (kakari), mosambee, pomegranate, Santra or orange, mint, green Dhania, Karela, Parwal, gourd or louki, are very beneficial.

In summer season, duration of day is longest; sleeping in the day is also beneficial for health.

Avoid in the Summer Season: Too much salt, sour or hot food, stale food, exercise, walking in the night, meat and liquor, and sex-indulgence.

Brahmi Rasayana is healthy tonic for the season. Take one tola of it twice morning and evening followed by one pao of milk (1/4 seer). During the day you can take Brahmi Sherbet. This keeps the body cool and removes thirst.

Food for the Rainy season: Due to cloudy weather, gastric fire in the body is weak. Wind being strong in the body de-sire for food is less. Therefore, one should take light, easily assimilable diet, such as wheat, Dalia, thin wheat-bread, Mung kichari, ghee, honey, acidic food, ginger, onion, green chillies, asafoetida, cloves, karela, parval, ladies' finger, lemon (kagji nimbu), mango, apple, grape, etc.

Avoid in the Rainy Season: Curd, stale food or food kept overnight, food that causes wind, river-water, walking in the sun or in the day, sex-indulgence, keeping awake in the night—these are specially harmful.

Tonic for the Rainy Season: Angurasava should be taken two teaspoonfuls after food. It removes many diseases and nourishes the body. Milk should be taken morning and evening mixed with a teaspoonful of Trikata Churna. This removes foul wind and increases gastric fire.

Food in Winter Season: The food should be specially nutritious and healthy because gastric fire is very strong in this season. Foods such as rice, wheat, Arhar, Urad, barley, papad, cabbage, Gourd (lauki), Karela, tomato, fruit-juice, coconut, apple, pear, milk preparations etc., are specially healthy.

Rubbing the body with Til oil and taking bath with warm water is specially beneficial in winter season.

Avoid in the Winter Season: Stale curd, brinjal, wind-producing vegetables—these are harmful to health.

Tonic in Winter Season: Chyavanaprash combined with Ashta Varga should be taken one tola each time morning and evening followed by one pao (y4 seer) of milk continuously for forty days. This is conducive to mental strength and Brahmacharya.

Food for Night: Night-food should be light, easily assimilable more liquid in nature. After food, drink a little milk. This di-gests the food quickly. Taking milk after the night-meal removes constipation. One should take food two or three hours before going to bed. Sleeping just after food mostly causes wet dreams and also troubled sleep. One should a sleep after praying to the Lord or remembering Him.

Kalpa for Longevity: The method of Kalpa is well-known from ancient times for its efficacy in removing all diseases and bestowing long life and radiant health. These are a few important Kalpas: Milk Kalpa, Takra Kalpa (butter-milk), Neem Kalpa, Honey Kalpa, Mango Kalpa, Triphala Kalpa, etc. These can be practised for long life. In Summer Season one can take to Takra Kalpa or Neem Kalpa, in Rainy Season Triphala Kalpa or Mango Kalpa, in Winter Season Milk Kalpa or Honey Kalpa. This planning is highly beneficial for health. Some of the Kalpas have already been described previously. (For further details see my book "Practice of Ayurveda".)

Those desirous of a life of hundred years must practise the above-mentioned Kalpa Sadhana. For the effective practice of Kalpa Sadhana one should select a beautiful spot in healthy climatic condition. Those who have practised Kalpa with maximum observance of Yama and Niyama have regained not only radiant health but strength, virility and fresh youth also.

The Permanent Effect of Kalpa Siddhi: Kalpa Sadhana produces everlasting effect on the body. The subtle energy of the materials used in this Sadhana such as pure Cow's Milk, honey, butter-milk, etc., enters into the seven Dhatus such as blood, flesh, etc., of the practitioner and produces miraculous effect which lasts for several years. It is due to this energy that even terrible diseases like phthisis or T.B., Leprosy, Asthma, Cancer, Paralysis, etc., are destroyed from the very root. In ancient times Rishis and celestial beings prolonged their lives up to thousands of years through these Kalpas, and engaged themselves in Tapascharya and spiritual Sadhanas. They even attained immortality. Even today the glory of Kalpas is not hid-den from view. What is needed is our resolute practice of Kalpa attended with Yama and Niyama.

लोका: समस्ता सुखिनो भवन्तु !

May all be happy?

RADIANT HEALTH THROUGH YOGA

"Health is Wealth". Good health is greatest asset for you. Without good health you can hardly expect success in any walk of life. Even for spiritual pursuits, good health is prerequisite. Without good health you cannot penetrate the hidden depths of the vast ocean of life within and attain the final beatitude of life. Without good health you cannot wage war with the turbulent senses and boisterous mind.

Hatha Yoga is a Divine Blessing for attaining good health. Body and mind are instruments which the practice of Hatha Yoga keeps sound, strong and full of energy. It is a unique armour of defence to battle the opposing forces in the material and spiritual field. By its practice you can annihilate Adhi-Vyadhi and attain radiant health and God-realisation.

Hatha Yoga is a perfectly practical system of self-culture. You can attain harmonious development of your body, mind, intellect and soul by the practice of Yoga. It is an exact science. Hatha Yoga deals with a system of Yogic exercises of the Indian Rishis and Yogins of yore based on scientific principles. There is no vague doctrine here. It imparts to every practitioner definite practical knowledge, fine health, longevity, strength, vim and vitality. You can acquire absolute control over the whole of nature by the practice of Yoga. It will help you to attain ethical perfection, perfect concentration of the mind and unfold various psychic powers. Yoga brings message of hope to the forlorn, joy to the depressed, strength to the weak and knowledge to the ignorant. Yoga is the secret master-key that un-locks the realm of Elysian bliss and deep abiding peace.

Component of Hatha Yoga: Shat-Kriyas, Asanas, Pranayama, Mudras, Bandhas, and exercises in concentration and meditation, constitute Hatha Yoga, which leads to the awakening of Kundalini Sakti and ultimate union with God in Samadhi. Shat-Kriyas are preliminary purification processes. Asanas pertain to the physical body, and the nerve-centres. They render the body firm and steady and eradicate physical ailments and inertia. Pranayama aims at the control of the vital breath. Bandhas pertain to the Prana. That which binds Prana is a Bandha. They do not allow the Prana to move upwards and the Apana to move downwards. They bind and unite the Prana with Apana and send the united Prana-Apana along the Sushumna Nadi. Mudras concern the mind. They represent seals. Mudra means a seal. They seal the mind with the Soul or Atman. They do not allow the mind to wander outside towards objects. They direct the externalising mind towards Atman in the chambers of the heart and fix it there. A combination of these is essential.

Amongst all Asanas Sirshasana and Sarvangasana are essential and main Asanas.

Sirshasana: Place a four-folded blanket on the ground. Sit on your knees. Make a finger-lock by interweaving the fingers of both your hands; and place it on the blanket. Keep the top of your head between the hands close to the finger-lock. Raise the body, slowly till the feet are erect. Practise it by the side of a wall till you get the balance. The benefits derived from this are incalculable. Memory is improved. Eyes and ears are nourished and strengthened. A type of chronic constipation produced by intra- abdominal pressure is also cured. It helps you maintain Brahmacharya. Ojas Sakti is generated. Your face will shine with lustre.

Sarvangasana: Spread the blanket on the ground. Lie down on your back. Slowly raise the legs. Lift the trunk, hips and legs quite vertically. Rest the elbows on the ground firmly and support the back with both hands. Press the chin against the chest. Breathe slowly and concentrate on the thyroid gland. This Asana is very good body-builder. It massages the thyroid gland. A healthy thyroid ensures good health and long life, a prolonged youth. The spinal roots draw abundant supply of blood. It removes dyspepsia, constipation, appendicitis, other gastro-intestinal disorders and varicose vein. A course of Sirsha-Sarvanga Asana powerfully rejuvenates the entire sys-tem.

Of course there are other Asanas e.g., Halasana, Matsyasana, Paschimottanasana, Bhujangasana, Salabhasana, Dhanurasana, Ardhamatsyendrasana, Mayurasana, Padahasthasana, Trikonasana, Chakrasana, Savasana, etc., which rejuvenate and energise particular internal organs most effectively.

Pranayama: Prana is the universal principle of energy or force. It is the vital force. It is through the power of Prana that the ears hear, the eyes see, the skin feels, the tongue tastes, the nose smells, the brain and the intellect do their functions. The smile in a young lady, the melody in the music, the power in the emphatic words of an orator, the charm in the speech of one's beloved are all due to the Prana, the vital force. It is Prana that is responsible for the processes of digestion, excretion and secretion.

Prana is expended by thinking, willing, acting, moving, talking, writing, etc. A healthy man has abundance of Prana or nerve-force or vitality. The Prana is supplied by food, water, air, solar energy. The supply of Prana is taken up by the nervous system. The Prana is absorbed by breathing. The excess of. Prana is stored up in the brain and nerve-centres. When the seminal energy sublimates or transforms, it supplies abundance of Prana to the system. It is stored up in the brain in the form of Ojas.

Pranayama is the control of the Prana and the vital force of the body. It is regulation of the breath. This is a most important step. The aim of Pranayama is the control of Prana. Pranayama begins with the regulation of breath for having control over the life-currents through the control of breath. Breath is the external manifestation of the gross Prana. A correct habit of breathing must be established by the regular practice of Pranayama. In ordinary worldly persons the breathing is irregular.

Pranayama, though it concerns the breath only, gives good exercise also to the various internal organs and the whole body. Pranayama removes all sorts of diseases, improves health, energises digestion, invigorates the nerves, removes passion and awakens Kundalini Sakti (Spiritual Divine Power). It bestows good health and steady mind. A Pranayama practitioner will have a light body, free from diseases, a very fair complexion, a melodious voice.

He who practises Pranayama will have good appetite, cheerfulness, a handsome figure, great strength, courage, enthusiasm, a high standard of health, vigour and vitality and good concentration of the mind. This system of Yoga is highly suitable for people in the West or East, men, women and children.

There is an intimate connection between the mind, Prana and semen. If one controls the seminal energy, the mind and Prana are also controlled. If the mind and the Prana are both controlled, one gets liberation from the wheel of birth and death, and attains Divine Knowledge, Immortality, Peace and Bliss.

Pranayama removes all sorts of diseases, improves health, energises digestion, invigorates the nerves and awakens the hidden powers in man. In the science of Yoga, there are many wonderful exercises suitable to different types of people. Many have derived incalculable benefits through the practice of Pranayama, breathing exercises for a short period. People are unnecessarily alarmed of the dangers in the Pranayama. There is absolutely no danger at all. The practice should be done in a systematic manner after having a thorough knowledge of the science and the technique.

Kapalabhati: It is an exercise for cleansing the skull. Kapala means "Skull" and Bhati means "to shine". This exercise makes the skull shine.

Sit on Padmasana or Siddhasana. Close the eyes. Per-form Rechaka and Puraka rapidly. This should be practised vigorously. One will get perspiration profusely. This is a good exercise for the lungs also. Those who are well-versed in Kapalabhati can do Bhastrika very easily. Rechaka should be done forcibly by contracting the abdominal muscles. Do 20 expulsions for a round and gradually increase the number to 120. In Kapalabhati there is no Kumbhaka. Kapalabhati cleanses the respiratory system and the nasal passages. It removes the spasm in bronchial tubes. Consequently asthma is relieved and also cured in course of time. The apices of the lungs get proper oxygenation. Consumption is cured. Impurities of the blood are thrown out. The circulatory and respiratory systems are toned up to a considerable degree.

Kapalabhati is regarded as one of the Shat-Kriyas or preliminary purificatory practices essential for one who intends to take to the practice of Pranayama seriously. The others are: Neti, Dhauti, Nauli, Bhasti, and Trataka. Even the aspirant who wishes to practise a few rounds of Pranayama as part of his daily Sadhana would do well to start the Pranayama after a few rounds of Kapalabhati.

Sukha Purvaka Pranayama: Sit on Padmasana. Close your eyes. Close the right nostril with the thumb. Draw in air very slowly through the left nostril. Now close your left nostril also with the right ring and little fingers, and retain the breath as long as you comfortably can. Then, very, very slowly exhale through the right nostril after removing the right thumb. Again draw in air through the right nostril, retain it as long as you can after closing both the nostrils and exhale through the left nostril after removing the little and ring fingers. This is one Pranayama. Repeat the Pranava or your lshta Mantra during Kumbhaka.

In the beginning, for a few days do only Puraka (inhalation) and Rechaka (exhalation). After some practice, you can combine Kumbhaka (retention) also. To start with, practise Kumbhaka only for 10 seconds and then gradually increase the period. First you can do 5 Pranayamas in the morning and evening. After some practice you can do 10 Pranayamas. Gradually increase the number to 20 in the morning and evening. The ratio for Puraka, Kumbhaka and Rechaka is 1:4:2. Do not at-tempt at this in the beginning; after some practice this ratio will come automatically.

By the practice of this Pranayama the body becomes strong and healthy. The practitioner becomes very handsome and his voice becomes very sweet and melodious. He is freed from all sorts of diseases. He fully gets established in Brahmacharya. Appetite becomes keen. Nadis are purified.

The mind becomes one-pointed. Rajas and Tamas are destroyed. The mind is prepared for intense Dharana and Dhyana. An advanced Yogi acquires Siddhis and Riddhis.

Ujjayi: Sit on Padma or Siddhasana. Close the mouth. In-hale slowly through both the nostrils in a smooth, uniform manner till the lungs become full. During inhalation a mild uniform sound is produced. Close both the nostrils and perform Jalandhara, by pressing the chin against the chest. Retain the breath as long as you can and then exhale very slowly through the left nostril.

This Pranayama can be done even while you are standing. It removes the heat in the head. The practitioner becomes very beautiful. The gastric fire is increased. Asthma, consumption and all sorts of pulmonary diseases are cured. Perform Ujjayi to destroy decay and death.

Bhastrika: Rapid succession of forcible expiration is a characteristic feature of Bhastrika.

Sit on Padmasana or Siddhasana. Keep the body, neck and head erect. Make the palms rest on the knees. Close the mouth. Now inhale and exhale quickly twenty times like the bel-lows of the blacksmith. Constantly dilate and contract the chest. Rapid expulsions of breath should follow one another in rapid succession. You can partially close the glottis. After twenty inhalations and exhalations, have a deep inhalations. Retain the breath as long as you can do and then exhale very, very slowly through the nostrils. Twenty expulsions make one round. You can do three or four rounds in the morning and evening. To begin with have only 10 expulsions for one round and gradually increase the number to 20.

This Pranayama can be done while standing also, by keeping the hands at the hips.

If you experience a slightest giddiness, stop the practice and take a few normal breaths. After each round you can take rest for 2 minutes.

Bhastrika relieves inflammation of the throat, increases gastric fire, destroys phlegm, removes diseases of the nose and chest and eradicates asthma, consumption, etc. It gives good appetite. It enables one to awaken the Kundalini. All dis-oases that arise from the excess of bile, phlegm and wind are removed. It gives sufficient warmth to the body. It purifies Nadis. It is the most beneficial of all Kumbhakas. Bhastrika should be specially practised as it enables the Prana to break through the three Granthis that are located in the Sushumna. The practitioner will always be healthy.

Sitali: Fold the tongue like a tube lengthwise. Protrude it a little away from the lips. Draw in the air through the mouth with the hissing sound Si. Retain the breath as long as you can hold it with comfort. Then exhale slowly through both the nostrils. This can be practised for 10 or 15 minutes even while sitting or standing, or walking.

This Pranayama purifies the blood. It quenches thirst and appeases hunger. It cools the system, and destroys Gulma (chronic dyspepsia), Pliha (inflammation of spleen), various chronic diseases, fever, consumption, indigestion, bilious dis-orders and other diseases. This removes poisons of all sorts from the blood. After a regular practice of this Pranayama for a long period the blood becomes so very pure that even the poi-son of snakes will not affect the body. When you feel thirsty, practise Sitali. You will be immediately relieved of thirst.

It is said that while Suryabheda Pranayama destroys the excess of wind in the system, Ujjayi removes phlegm and Sitali removes bile and Bhastrika removes all kinds of excess of these three humours.

Maha Mudra

Press the anus with left heel and stretch out the right leg. Slowly bend forwards and catch hold of your right toe with the hands. Inhale and retain the breath. Press the chin against the chest and form Jalandhara Bandha. Fix the gaze at the Trikuti. Retain the breath as long as you can comfortably hold. Then slowly raise the head and exhale very, very slowly. The expiration should never be done in a hurry. You can repeat this 4 to 6 times. In the same way do on the other side by pressing the anus with the right heel and catching hold of the left toe.

This cures consumption, haemorrhoids or piles, enlarge4 ment of spleen, indigestion, chronic gastritis, constipation, fever, etc. Life is lengthened. It confers great Siddhis on the practitioner.

This is really Maha Mudra, the great Mudra. The practitioner can digest all kinds of foods; even poison is transformed into nectar by the practitioner.

MAN CAN LIVE FOREVER

(Georgi Gurevich)

Why do we live and die? How long shall we live? Can death be put off, and how long? These questions always troubled people—scientists and non-scientists alike. Pondering over these questions I turned to science and I dug in books and sought the advice of scientists. I always got the conventional answer: 'man can live till he is 150, the natural boundary of life.'

But what is a "natural boundary"? Cannot one live, say, five years beyond this boundary? Or will it be unnatural, and what will happen then? Will death ensue?

Why does death come at all? As many as two hundred answers were found to that question. The organism wears out; all ferments are used up; the vessels calcify; moving albumens are substituted by less moving ones; connective tissues grow out; and the organism is poisoned by intestinal bacteria...

The wearing out of the organism seems to be a rather plausible explanation. Machines, shoes, fabrics all wear out. So, it appears that, like a leather-coat, our body must wear out sooner or later.

But science has established that the human organism has no resemblance to a leather-coat, nor to a machine or rock. It may rather be compared with a river, which flowed a thousand years ago and continues flowing on and on, with its water gone into the sea but still remaining the same. Can anyone say that the river wears out?

And we, human beings, resemble a river. Our life is continuous self-renewal. Albumen molecules are constantly being destroyed and replaced by new ones. It has been estimated that man's blood is fully renewed in about four months’ time. All the atoms in the human body are completely replaced in the course of a few years.

But if man is not a structure but a river-bed—a pro-cess—then all the theories of wearing out of the organism are groundless. All that was polluted, poisoned, worn out in the first years of life has been long discharged from the organism. For fifty years the body can successfully cope with its wearing out, and then this characteristic will start failing. This means that it is not the intestines, the vessels and the heart that are at fault. It is the fault of the pair organism of the human body, i.e., the nervous system.

There is another explanation which is borne out by facts. It is known that the nerve-cells are not renewed throughout man's life. So, with each year there remain less and less nerve-cells in man. The nervous system as a whole becomes weaker.

Have we really got an answer here, or have we just put it off? It seems we have really put it off. The nerve-cells, like other nerves in our body, are not a structure either, but a process. A continuous flow of atoms takes place through them. Some molecules fall apart, others originate. The cells renew themselves many times, and then the self-renewal ceases for some reason or other. Is it because the nervous systems live the longest?

Actually, it is the tree that lives the longest. But wheat, which has no nerves either, lives for only a year. Similarly the amoeba, which also does not have nerves, lives for about half an hour.

Now let us take the opposite view and assume that the nervous system is not the weak but strong link in the organism. (Actually, the nerve-cells live the longest). But it is insufficiently perfect yet. Nerves do not last long.

But that would mean that the animals of the highest species, with the most perfect nervous system, should live the longest.

However, that is not so. A crocodile, tortoise and pike live longer than man.

So we arrive at the conclusion that longevity is not directly dependent on the perfection of the nervous system.

Thus, the question, why does old age set in remains unanswered.

And on reading the two hundred answers over and over again I noticed that they all had a common feature. Everybody giving these answers maintained that life could not last long. And everybody was looking for the weak point, the weakness of which would sooner or later lead to the destruction of the organism (the large intestine, vessels, nerve-cells).

One cannot help asking whether that is the right point to proceed from and whether the human body is really so weak that it cannot live longer than the "natural boundary".

And here we would like to remind our readers that it was one hundred years ago that the famous work by Charles Dar-win, the great English scientist entitled The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection came off the press.

Before Darwin people used to admire nature and say: "Oh, with what great wisdom is nature organised, how much expediency there is in each little blade of grass, in each little bug and spider!" And only Darwin gave an explanation for all this expediency. It is only that which is wise and expedient that is capable of surviving, all that is useless perishes and dies off.

So there appeared the timid idea that, perhaps, old age and death are of some use, perhaps they are good to the animals (good in the Darwinian sense, of course)—not to the individual animal but to the species as a whole.

We know each species—from virus to man exists in the form of generations which gives place to the next generation. Why is this so? Because the change of generations helps the perfection of the species, helps it to adapt itself to life more rap-idly. An animal, as it adapts itself to changing conditions, changes its behaviour and shape of the body. But every engineer knows that he cannot change a design endlessly. There comes a stage when it is better to start all over again.

It is in the offspring that nature starts building all over again, uniting the achievements of father and mother. There appears a better model—the child. But the old model (parents) is older, stronger, bigger. It eats the same food in the same area. So long as father lion brings food to his cubs, he helps them to grow. But when the lion family falls apart, father lion be-comes a handicap to the young ones. Being stronger, he has the greatest part of food to himself. The young ones are unable to chase him away, they cannot compete with him. And it is nature that comes to their aid. It deals with father lion mercilessly and in cold blood. The lion grows old and dies, yielding place to the young.

If the change of generations is really good for the species, nature must take care that the generations succeed each other, that the old gives way to the young.

Zoology provides endless facts corroborating this view. Thus, ephemera live for only a few hours, hatch their eggs, and die. The larva of the ephemera, however, lives for three years.

Wheat dries as soon as its seeds fall out. Why should it not live for another month or two when all the requisite factors—the sun, the soil, the carbonic acid—are present. The plant will not give seeds again. It will exhaust the soil, using up the salts that should go to the next generation. The further existence of the plant is useless and even harmful to the species; and nature puts an end to it—the ear dries up.

But such cessation of life takes place in the case of those animals and plants that bear offspring only once in their life-time.

Birds and animals take care of their offspring. The little ones need their parents after they have come into the world. That is why in the case of animals of higher species (including man) the self-destruction of the organism acquires the masked form of gradual ageing, extended throughout a great number of years. These years are necessary to give the parents a chance to raise all—even the last—of their children.

What is the total number of years allotted to man? He needs 15 to 20 years to grow up. Then he must bring into the world a sufficient number of children, at least so many that two of them would grow up. If their number is less, the species will become extinct. For the sake of these two offsprings, the cod-fish lays 36 million roecorns and birds produce hundreds of younglings. Man—the most sensible, the best adaptable, and the most caring of all animals—has scored a record in his survival. He (i.e., the primitive man) succeeded in preserving two children from eight to ten. It probably took 20 to 30 years to bear ten children. And there were another 15 years to raise the last of them. So the entire period came to 50-65 years.

The conclusions are rather discouraging and, thus, there is no promising "natural boundary" which life strives to attain. There exists but a natural length of time, and only some 50 or 65 years, and not 150. Then the nervous system fails, there comes extinction, self-destruction.

If the self-destruction of the organism is good for the species then there must be some device in the organism which would put an end to life and at the proper time—not too early not too late.

Such 'breakers' that function at the exact time are called, in engineering, time relays. Each animal and each plant has scores of time relays because each timely action needs its own time relay. The seed needs a relay to sprout in spring and not in winter. The leaf needs a relay to get yellow and fall off in autumn and not in spring. The flower needs a relay to flourish and the hungry wolf needs one to go for his prey and another to di-gest his food when he has had his full. Relays are necessary to go to sleep in time and to get up in time.

Each relay has the following operating pattern; there is the object of count (most frequently it is time) and a counter (clock) which at the right time sends a signal to the 'breaker'. This cuts some mechanism in or out.

However, the relay should not be pictured as being purely mechanical, i.e., must at all cost there be a ticking clock, wires and button? Of course, not. The role of counter in the living body may be played by nose, eyes, nerves, glands, or some substance in the blood or in the spleen. It will not be an easy job to locate the relay of old age and death in our body. These are yet only some unripe and controversial ideas. Nevertheless I shall dwell on them here.

The first item to be studied here is the object of count. What does the "clock" of our life count? Is it time—years? No, it is not. Old age comes to different persons at different ages. To some old age comes at 70 while some get old at 35. Perhaps the "clock" counts our offspring? If we have brought in the world a previously-determined number of children, then it will be time to die but then the bachelors and the childless would live longer than others and that would be contrary to the interests of the species.

There is no use in conjecturing. This problem has already been solved by science. The "clock" of our life has been proved to count our troubles—grief, cares, tiredness, illness, etc. There is a folk saying, "grief ages man". The conception under-lying this saying has been corroborated by experiments. Dogs and rats put under adverse conditions and animals frightened or subjected to pain, aged much quicker than others.

Then, perhaps, the secret of longevity is to do away with one's troubles, distress, disappointments, etc. Do all you can to add to your happiness?

All that can make man's life happy is done in the Soviet Union, and the average human life-span is increasing steadily in our country.

In Russia before the Revolution, of ten children born three died at the age of less than a year, two children died before they were nine. In the Soviet Union death of a child occurs rarely. Al-most all people live up to old age in our country. By improving labour and everyday life conditions, by providing medical treat-ment, sanatoria and pensions we prolong the lives of those who are growing old and getting feeble.

Our country has done away with the social "troubles" bred in a class society. Unemployment, starvation, poverty, oppression and rightlessness are unknown in our land.

Moreover, all that is possible is done to do away with troubles that ail the body, namely, infectious diseases, traumas, pains, overwork. One may say that the best possible environ-ment is being created for the Soviet people to live in happiness and joy.

But let us get back to the problem of old age. Where are man's everyday troubles counted? Where is the pointer, indicating the coming of the old age, moving? Science has not found this "clock" yet. We may only give expression to some of our suppositions. It is most probable that the "clock of old age" is located in the brain. It counts our troubles—grief and disappointments—our negative emotions, to use a scientific expression. It is the brain that lies "in charge" of all emotions.

What takes place in the "clock of old age"? What can the "clock" be like?

Most likely, following each trouble, with each "rearrange-ment" of the organism and its adaptation to the changed circumstances, some kind of substance is deposited in the "clock of old age". Possibly, it is a nerve-pigment. When a certain quantity of it has accumulated, the "clock mechanism" functions and sends the signal that it is time to switch on old age and to switch off life.

Thus, when old age is switched on, the destruction of the organism begins.

With the slow development of old age, there occurs in man just an unsetting of regulation. Most likely, blood-pressure increases (hypertension), calcium gets washed out of his bones and deposited in the vessels (sclerosis), some cells gorge upon others (cancer), metabolism is infringed upon, re-sistance to infection becomes lower, and so on and so forth.

All these diseases are known to medical science and doc-tors strive to treat them. But medicine does not succeed in treating old age—the only thing it can do is to prolong it. But it is the effect and not the cause that is treated. And the process of aging continues unchecked.

Nature has not proved gracious to us. It has endowed us with an ardent love of life, but at the same time it has given us a very modest time term—some 60 to 70 years—to enjoy it. And then comes merciless self-destruction.

But having lost hope in the favours of nature, we have gained another active hope—that of obtaining longevity by our own powers.

There is an antidote for every poison. Mines can be cleared, clock-hands may be moved, and even the process of self-destruction may be done away with.

If the role of hands, the role of the apparatus that starts the process of aging, is performed by some substance, then the problem is to reduce its concentration. A small treatment, say an operation or injection, may make the organism young again for a certain number of years. Then a repeated course of treat-ment, and one is young once more!

How long shall we live, having moved back the clock hands? All this will depend on the doctor's skill; if they learn to move the hands faultlessly we shall become some ten years younger, then another ten, remaining middle-aged persons for a hundred, two hundred, a thousands years to come.

I thought about it all last summer. I put down my ideas on paper and was amazed. Is death really a process of self-switching off? Is it possible that our descendent will live a thousand years? It cannot be. I must have made a mistake.

But once I was visited by a mathematician who said: "I need help from science-fiction. We are in the realm of prejudice. We do nothing to get rid of it".

The mathematician considered disease to be the cause of old age. And he suggested to combat old age by constructing a machine which should diagnose the disorders and search for new methods of treatment.

Soon after I met another person, an inventor. He, too, was of the opinion that death was not inevitable. It should be sufficient to perform a surgical operation once every 20 years, and man would remain younger for ever!

Then I came across the following idea in a book written by a science-fiction writer; life in itself always strives towards immortality; by helping it we can prolong life to three hundred years and even more.

Well, the idea is in the air. That means that science is coming closer to it. It is time to get busy.

The ideas conveyed in this article were expressed by me in one of the Soviet youth magazines. Now I am receiving letters from all parts of the country. Some of my correspondents agree with me, others do not. Some introduce corrections, but all of them are of the opinion that death should be fought.

I would be happy to receive from India, through the 'Soviet Land' magazine, letters concerning this article.

Perhaps, scientists throughout the world by joining their efforts would succeed in solving the problem of old age and death. It would be a wonderful co-operation if all countries of the world join in declaring war on death.

(Courtesy, "Soviet Land")

IS THERE A LONG-LIFE SECRET

Somerset Maugham reached for a silver cigarette-box and talked about "Neihans." For the first time this great writer was admitting his debt to Dr. Paul Niehans the 76 year old Swiss exponent of cellular therapy who has treated many of the world's most famous people in their search for a longer life.

"I met him here last year and he said: 'If you come to me I can do you a lot of good.' I believed in him. And he did.

So now Mr. Maugham at 84 plans a world tour at an age when most men see their future in carpet-slippers by the fire!

But he is only one member of an ever-growing queue of celebrated people—so many of them in Britain—who are turning to Niehans in search of longer life.

When Dr. Niehans who treated the late Pope for many years returned recently from Rome he found more than 2500 letters on his desk.

He has treated Germany's Dr. Adenauer. The Duke of Windsor went to see him but changed his mind. The Duchess of Windsor went through with the treatment.

Gloria Swanson and many more international stars have journeyed to his clinic. One British millionaire flew him to Lon-don for private consultations.

"The wish to prolong life is as old as the human race" Dr. Niehans said "It is one of the strongest instincts in the heart of every man and woman, but my purpose is not just to prolong life but to give renewed vitality and youth.

"Sixty," he said, is the critical age, "That is the moment when my cellular therapy gives best results. For women the injections even banish wrinkles. Old age is deferred for ten or more years" says the doctor.

Looking at a Van Dyck painting, the gift of a grateful millionaire in his palatial home near Montreux, he added "When I receive letters from kings and queens and other personalities of such standing, who bare their hearts to me, I send back their letters with my replies, so that they know there is no danger of their secrets ever becoming known.

"I am equally familiar with beggars and millionaires. But I cannot talk of my patients. The word must come from them alone."

Dr. Niehans' techniques are the subject of controversy in Britain and in medical circles throughout the world. Doctors and Scientists who make a study of the tissues (they are called gerontologists) are sceptical of the claims being made for his "cellular therapy." Nevertheless his impressive list of patients continues to grow.

What is cellular therapy? It is the injection into the human body of young living cells from animals. This principle is not new. What is new is the Niehan's way of doing it.

But Dr. Niehans is not the only man hunting for the 'elixir' of life.

Doctors and scientists using the electron microscope and applying delicate biochemical tests are still at the stage of trying to solve the riddle of aging in the human body's tissues and cells.

They seek to learn why tissues like the skin lose their elasticity, why the calcium leaves the old person's bones and app pears in the walls of his arteries and the valves of his heart.

And why, they want to know, do the billions of cells which are the body's building bricks wither, get fatty and pigmented with the passing of the years?

Only by understanding what causes these changes in the cells can the gerontologist scientifically plan how to slow them down or bring them to a stop.

Results of animal experiments are already opening up some exciting prospects. It has been found that if rats are given more food than they actually need to grow and mature they die earlier than similar healthy animals on a smaller diet.

For that and other evidence Dr. Hugh Sinclair, the Oxford Nutritionist warns that overfeeding children makes them mature early and so may shorten their lives.

Further experiments on rats by Dr. R.B. Fisher at Oxford, point to another possible way to lengthen lives. Rats and men normally eat about 17 protein ingredients, called amino-acids of which only ten are essential to life. By feeding white rats on a diet from which unneeded amino-acids were excluded, Dr. Fisher has shown that the animals live much longer than similar rats given a fuller diet.

It may be that man can also add to his years, by picking his proteins more carefully.

In addition to laboratory studies on the fundamental pro-cess of aging, world-wide research is in progress on how to make men and women live longer by preventing and curing the diseases of old age.

For it is agreed by many gerontologists that we do not die from old age itself but from the diseases that accompany it.

Strangely, those diseases are now more prevalent than ever before. But always the quest is for the answer to why some people should live longer than others.

Data compiled by life assurance officer prove that a plump person's expectation of life is shortened according to the extent to which his weight is above average for his age and height.

Many men and women are therefore, being taught by physicians how to lengthen their lives by cutting down on the carbohydrates in their food.

From observations on London busmen, and post-mortem examinations on thousands of other people, Dr. Jeremy Morris and his colleagues at the medical Council's Social Medicine Unit in London have furnished impressive evidence that taking a moderate amount of physical exercise helps to ward off coronary catastrophies. There is, therefore, now a sound, scientific reason for that week-end game of golf. Present-day transplantation experiments on animals raise more thrilling prospects than did Dr. Serge Voronoff's attempts to graft the reproductive glands of monkeys on to man. Dr. Erich Geiringer in Glasgow has shown that when youthful adrenal glands were trans-planted into aged white rats their life span seemed to be in-creased by about 50 per cent.

It is still not possible except in identical twins, to graft tis-sue from one human being to another, but fascinating animal experiments by Dr. Alan Parks and his team at the National Institute for Medical Research suggest how human beings may be able to extend the life of their glands. Dr. Parkes removed the ovary from a rat, treated it with ordinary glycerine, and put it down in the deep-freeze. When long afterwards he took the gland up again it was not a day older. He grafted it back into the by-now-aged rat from which it was taken and the gland still worked. The same thing happened when testis tissue was taken from a male rat, deep-frozen, and grafted back into the same animal when it had grown older.

(Courtesy 'Health')

PROTECTION OF THE AURA AND

ATTAINING LONG LIFE

Let us try to understand in a simple way some of the functions of the human aura. The aura is generated around the physical body being a part of the astral body and is controlled by the quality of the vibrations coming from the mind.

For example when one is cheerful or happy a type of aura pervades around him which will be pleasing to those in direct contact, but should the same person burst out in a fit of anger another type of aura will manifest itself automatically, thus the auras of ordinary people change according to their mental attitudes as well as their physical health, as one who is in good health will have a stronger aura than otherwise.

The subtle functioning of the aura is largely responsible for the attracting or repelling of people one to the other, as it has been scientifically proved that when people meet whose auras are functioning at similar wavelengths they become friends, whereas, when one meets another whose aura is of a different wavelength they will not be easily attracted to each other.

This subtle aspect of the aura has led psychologists to believe that this mutual attraction due to the magnetism generated, which draws people of similar auras to each other, is responsible for our expression of love on the physical and mental planes.

When, however, we go into the spiritual plane the Yogi, Saint or advanced spiritual aspirant generates a different kind of aura, which neutralises those of ordinary people; as when one has transcended the negative, as well as the Rajasic and Tamasic natures of the mind and is established in deep meditation, one naturally generates pure and higher vibrations, which attract not only those of similar auras, but also those of mixed or weaker auras.

It is here where the aspirant has to guard himself against a downfall in Yoga or spirituality, as those of weaker auras tend to be caught in the magnetism and vibrations of those with stronger auras, and because of this the weaker ones desire to show expression of love or appreciation in the best way they could, which are mainly limited to the material and physical planes, which may bring the aspirant down once more into the lower planes of worldliness.

Whereas when advanced souls meet they may exchange in a detached way objects, but there is largely an exchange of good vibrations, as their purity of thoughts and actions are felt in the meeting of the aura.

Of course to do this at a split second when necessary means that one has to develop a God-consciousness and the awareness of living in the Presence, so at short notice one can close the eyes, do Pranayama, detaching the mind, and men-tally pray, "Oh Lord, protect my body, mind and spirit."

So, 0 Aspirants! Always try to keep the aura of the highest order and thereby you will gain a very, very long life and you can carry on with your Sadhana and ultimately realise God.

LIFE OF SOME OF THE CENTENARIANS

Dr. Dhondo Keshav Karve

Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve was born in a small village in Ratnagiri District on the 18th April, 1858. At Murud, his birth place, he had the first lesson in social service. As a boy, he read the news from the newspapers to the residents who used to gather at the Durgadevi temple in the evening. Shortly after-wards he worked at the counter of a co-operative store started by his teachers. In 1886, he took the initiative in founding the Murud Fund for the welfare of the residents of the area. Later he also provided the impetus for reconstructing the school building at the place.

Having been born in a poor family, he was denied the benefit of even an ordinary education and learnt his alphabet only at the age of 16. But by dint of courage, industry and ability he graduated from the Elphinstone College in his 27th year. Like the great English writer Samuel Johnson, he refused to receive any kind of charity such as free meals which were offered to him, but depended entirely on his own efforts giving private tuitions and leading a life of simplicity.

After graduation he worked in several schools in Bombay as a teacher of Mathematics till 1891, when his services were requisitioned by the Deccan Education Society as a professor of Mathematics in the Fergusson College. He soon got himself enrolled as a life member of the Society. During this period he came to be deeply interested in improving the social conditions of women particularly widows, and as an example to others when he lost his first wife in 1891, he married a widow, although by doing so he subjected himself to all the taunts and humiliations of the community. He founded the Widow Marriage Association in 1892, and with the help of his wife whom he educated, he started the Hindu Widows' Association in 1896, and Widows' Home in 1899.

While doing the work at the Widow Marriage Association Sri Karve began to feel the necessity of providing educational facilities for widows. He founded the Anatha Balikashram in Poona in 1896. Three years later the Ashram was shifted to Hingne where it grew to its present proportions. In 1907 he started the Mahila Vidyalaya for the education of girls. Unlike this Ashram, which was primarily an institution for widows, the Vidyalaya was founded for providing educational facilities for girls and married women also. A pamphlet on Japan's Women's University gave Sri Karve the inspiration to start the Indian Women's University. For nearly a quarter of a century Sri Karve worked for the University with great zeal and vigour.

He travelled throughout India and moved round the world also. He collected funds for the Women's University explaining and doing propaganda for its aims and objects. He was elected Vice-Chancellor of the Women's University in 1932. He has come to be held in the highest esteem and regard not only in the state of Bombay, but throughout India.

He has already received academic honours from four Universities. He was the recipient of the honorary degree of D.Litt. of the Benares University in 1942, LL.D. degree of the Poona University in 1951, D.Litt. of S.N.D.T. Women's University in 1954 and LL.D. of the Bombay University in 1957. In 1955 and 1958 the president of the Indian Republic conferred upon him the title of Padma Vibhusan and Bharat Ratna.

Maharshi Karve is essentially a pioneer and has all the qualities and virtues of a pioneer. A man of great faith and vision, he has the satisfaction of seeing his dream realised in his own life-time. To the present and future generation he will re-main an example of "Plain living and high thinking" and is rightly considered a Rishi of the old type.

His life of a hundred years is crowded with ceaseless activity. To the widows he gave a new hope and new life; to the women he gave the light of education. He took knowledge to the door of the villager and lit the lamp of human equality.

(Courtesy: `Sevika')

Dr. M. Visvesvaraya

On his 88th Birthday, Sri Dr. Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya remarked: "Old age left its card on me quite a long time ago, but I have been saying 'not at home'."

This eminent centenarian was born on 15th September, 1861, in a village in Mysore State and the Dewan of that State, Dr. Visvesvaraya has been responsible for the remarkable progress that Mysore has made in the fields of industry, agriculture and education.

Dr. Visvesvaraya's life is a continuous song of work, hard work and untiring work. He has had no time to grow old! All his time is given away to the service of mankind and thus he remains an eternal youth.

A big volume has been published to commemorate his Birthday Centenary and it lists all of Dr. Visvesvaraya's more remarkable achievements. In a word, he is the spirit behind every marvel that has taken place in the promotion of Mysore's industry, agriculture and education.

He was responsible for starting the Mysore University in 1916. He was the first to bring about the separation of the Executive from the Judiciary in Mysore. During the six-year Dewanship of that State (from 1912 to 1918) he introduced a number of social reforms. Thus he has in him the unique combination of an engineer and statesman. He was also first to point out the advantages of planned economy.

He has given the following as the secret of his long life:

1. Food at regular hours daily.

2. Sleep for six to eight hours on an average.

3. Work-outdoor or office about eight hours.

4. Exercise, in the shape of a long evening walk (3 or 4 miles).

5. The comforts of life.

6. A determination to live long.

M.V. Subbiah

Sri M. V. Subbiah, a cultivator of West Godavari District, is over hundred years, has three sons, two daughters, and twenty-six grand and great grandchildren!

Even at this age he is very active and is able to undertake the tedious journey by train from Andhra Pradesh to the Sivanandashram at Rishikesh.

He is regular in his habits and even today enjoys his meals thrice a day and a good sleep.

His case is perhaps an illustration of the hereditary factor in longevity; his father lived up to 110 years!

Sri Gange Har Maharaj

When I came to Rishikesh in 1924, Sri Gange Har Maharaj was outwardly an old man in appearance; with grey hairs and wrinkled face. He was about 70 years of age then.

Even today, he is very strong and healthy and walks from Swarg Ashram to Rishikesh—a distance of over two miles—even in the hot sun!

His longevity is attributable to Yoga Sadhana; for, he has etc. led an intensely austere life, without any comfort or good food, etc.

107 Years Old Sri Bhimsen

How many people in the Capital today can claim to have witnessed the 1857 War of Independence? And, how many have bought three seers of ghee or 42 seers of milk for one rupee?

There is at least one. He is 107-years-old Bhimsen, passing days with the great-grandson of his brother at a railway quarter near Delhi junction.

A shaggy beard hides most of his face. But his forehead is almost free of wrinkles and you cannot fail to realise that he is remarkably strong for his age. His body does not look time-worn.

Bhimsen has only one complaint. He feels uneasy about the hairs that have grown between his teeth—only one of which has fallen so far. He has visited doctors only to baffle them. They told him they had never heard of hair growing between the teeth. His eyesight remains fairly strong except for a weak-ness of the right eye.

Recipe for Fitness: What keeps Bhimsen so strong? It is his very heavy schedule of physical exercise he keeps daily with religious zeal. It consists of 1500 `dands', 2000 baithaks' and Sirshasana for an hour.

Bhimsen was a renowned wrestler of Agra where he was born and lived until he was 100, and still likes to believe that he is one. He declares: "Give me 15 seers of milk, a can of ghee and a seer of nuts and I will challenge any of your favourite wrestlers."

In his youth, food was cheap and he could afford a rich diet. "In our days we did not have enough money circulating, but plenty of food. How have things become topsy-turvy!" His meals now consist of one seer of milk, Dal and eight Chapatis.

He cannot reveal any secret to account for his long and disease-free life. He does not know whether his remaining a celibate all his life has done the trick.

Bhimsen can recollect every event of his life—how he fought 20 dacoits single-handed, tipped budding wrestlers with tricks "which most of your fighters have never known" and, of course, his visit 23 years ago to Mr. Nehru's house in Allahabad.

How many more years does he wish to live? Bhimsen said with a broad grin: "I do not know. But, I will not give in easily. I will employ all my wrestling tricks to give death a good fight."

(Courtesy "Hindustan Times", 13-7-'56.)

LONGEVITY IN VEDAS

Introduction: From time immemorial the men with the philosophical bent of mind were after finding an answer to two fundamental questions of life and existence, namely—what is the ultimate truth of this magnificent yet baffling creation and how to keep oneself fit bodily and mentally so as to carry out this arduous quest after the ultimate truth.

The latter quest gave birth to many sciences, one of such outcomes being the Science of 'Breath'. The life processes in the body are kept up through subtle Pranas or vital forces. Different vital forces have different functions to do in the body. For maintaining good body and mind these various forces must be kept working harmoniously in co-operation with each other. That means, if an individual intends living a good and long life, he should learn to control these Pranas and keep them working harmoniously with each other.

Of all the various Pranas that are functioning in the body, only two Pranas are capable of being controlled very easily. These are Prana, the vital force that maintains inhalation and Apana, the one that keeps up exhalation. Controlling and harmonising these two Pranas automatically bestow on the individual the ability to control and harmonise other Pranas also.

In the following Mantras the need for practising the Asuneethi or the Science of Breath is explained.

This Mantra is a prayer to Asuneeti, the Law of life-sustenance, for the up-keep of vision, life and bodily enjoyments. From this prayer it is obvious that the following things are possible:

1. Vision can be regained when it has become weak or spoiled.

2. Life which is weakening or dwindling, can be improved and prolonged.

3. The waning energy of the body can again be rejuvenated.

Now Asuneeti means life-sustaining principles which are to be practised if one wants to rejuvenate himself and prolong his life. This science clearly explains the methodical control of inhalation and exhalation which are the vital Asu or Pranas in the bodies of all beings.

This Mantra hints also at the need to adjust our mode of living with the Sun for the sake of seeing many more sunrises as he is the governor and conductor of the Asu or Prana of all beings.

Life-sustenance in all beings is through two processes. One is inhaling, the other is exhaling; of these two Vayus the Prana Vayu provides strength and energy and the Apana Vayu throws out the impurities from the bodies of all beings. Because these two processes remove Doshas or impurities and give the individual strength and energy, the individual lives.

Actually pure air or Vayu is the panacea for all beings of the universe. It gives peace, enlightens the heart giving Bliss and making one diseaseless.

As pure Vayu rejuvenates and helps healing of the ailments of our body, it is the essence of all medicaments. Inhaling this pure Vayu will make the impurities of our body get out in the form of contaminated air. So pure Vayu verily is the representative of the gods. Therefore, one should always inhale this pure Vayu which is the Life juice of every individual and maintain fine health keeping out all diseases.

The individual mind is to be again and again impressed with the great need of maintaining one's body properly so as to perform the duties of and enjoy life properly.

In this Mantra the individual fervently prays for the proper functioning of the various parts of the body.

He should have a powerful speech in order to express himself correctly to others and to command others when there is a need for the same.

Good vision is essential in order to understand and enjoy the world in which he is living.

Without proper flow of the Pranas through the nose the body can never be maintained healthy.

Without good undecaying set of teeth neither the food can be enjoyed properly nor proper health is maintained.

Black hair is the sign of vitality. Grey hair reduces the grace of the body. Without grace in the body, without vitality in it what duty can be performed, what life can be enjoyed?

Similarly only when there is plenty of strength and energy in one's hands, legs and thighs, and when one's feet are firm and steady, then only one can enjoy as well as perform the required duties of life.

Therefore, the individual prays through these Mantras for a firm steady heart, good sight, hearing capacity, teeth, etc. and for strength and energy in his limbs.

He prays for full vitality in his body.

Thereby he wants to enjoy life to its full in an abode of great bliss tolerating even the deadliest of his enemies.

Even after praying and getting a good graceful and healthy body which is full of vitality the individual finds this alone is not sufficient to enjoy life to the fullest. He finds some-thing, some link missing between himself and the enjoyments of life.

And that he finds out to be the mutual amicability between himself and the surroundings. That is the amicability between the world within and the world without himself.

Therefore, he again prays for this unique unifying factor to prevail amongst all and in himself so that there is harmony. There is amicableness between himself and the creatures around him.

But even now the individual finds that the enjoyments of life are far away from him. This time the missing link in the gar-land of happiness is in the performances of duty not only by himself but by one and all around him.

So, he stands up to perform the duties that are expected of himself and through suitable good acts that are beneficial to all, stirs up all learned men to perform duties required of them.

Thereby longevity of life, fame, and joy of all mankind, and its leaders is increased. Peace and joyous living among men and creatures are established.

Now the individual is satisfied. This joy knows no bounds. Now he enjoys life with perfect bliss.

This day we have conquered; today we are very rich in all kinds of material possessions; today let us be free from all our sins, which mar our eternal enjoyments.

This Mantra expresses the fruits of one's struggles and quests after the truth of his own existence and that of the creation. The individual starts searching for the fundamental principles that are governing his evolution understands them and asserts that for real success in life one should maintain one's various faculties pure, powerful, penetrating and guide them with positive aspirations of life.

Then he harnesses these ideas with great faith and diligence. The fruit of all these struggles is perfect mastery over the mind and the various senses of actions, perception and knowledge, a perfect mastery over the elements of nature too.

Now he is beyond all fetters of mundane life and existence. His joy knows no bounds. There is no measure for his richness. Beyond all sins he is. Thus he achieves the pinnacle of one's own glory.

In this ecstatic state the individual expresses his feelings through above Mantra.

When questioned regarding the successes by some sincere devotees he explains about his findings and the method of practice he followed to the end which enabled him to realise the truth and fruits came to him one by one of their own accord and brought him to the present position.

All his bodily ailments release his body from their vile clutches and made free of all sorts of suffering and allowed his mind to gain the mostly needed tranquil.

He expresses with pleasure and thanks his mind which helped him in every respect and state and made him under-stand the secrets of the path which should be followed slowly and sincerely and they know the fruits thereof:

Life processes of all Beings are being carried out by two forces. One builds the organism and maintains it. The other dis-integrates and dissolves the organism. Thus life is maintained through these two forces or Pranas. The first one is termed Prana. The latter is called Apana.

As long as Prana predominates life exists. When Apana takes hold of the body, it disintegrates and ceases.

But for the maintenance of the body both must exist in harmony with each other doing their respective functions.

Hence through this Mantra, the individual prays to both these vital forces in the body Prana and Apana to live and work in harmony in his body thus enabling him to carry on the different functions or activities of life most beneficially. He further explains:

The individual perceives and performs all actions through the five senses, that is, (a) seeing, (b) hearing, (c) speaking, (d) smelling and (e) feeling and the sixth that is the mind.

The individual self-expresses itself directly through these six senses. The seat of the combination of these six senses is the heart.

Unless these senses are perfected, purified and sharpened through proper knowledge and refined feelings these may lead the individual astray and his activities in unwanted consequences. He says, we should try to maintain all our senses and the mind pure, powerful and guide them by proper knowledge and refined feelings, so that there is peace and individual as well as collective progress, among all. He explains about the mind:

In this Mantra the power of purified mind is explained. The individual does all his actions through mind only and expresses himself directly through the mind. This mind, when guided by proper intellect becomes very powerful and capable.

Unless the mind is clear and untainted with base thoughts it will lead the individual astray ending in unwanted consequences.

It is through mind alone all achievements both of this world and the world hereafter are achieved. Mind alone is the cause for bringing people together or rupturing the friendship in them.

Hence we should try to maintain in us, a pure, powerful mind guided by proper intellect, so that there is peace and individual as well as collective progress among men.

Further he tells them to note:

In this Mantra the power of purified speech is explained. The speech is a direct expression of the Self. This speech, when guided by proper knowledge becomes very powerful and penetrating.

Unless the expression is clear and unmingled with malice it will lead to altercations ending with unwanted consequences.

It is through speech alone friendship and enmity are brought forth between individuals.

Hence we should try to maintain in us a powerful, sweet kind clear speech.

Now he explains the other important things which should be used and followed very carefully and sincerely.

In this Mantra the individual extolls the greatness and utility of the Intellect.

Though the mind is doing all actions through the respective senses of action, perception and knowledge, it cannot function properly without the guidance of Intellect or Buddhi.

The intellect is the rudder which steers the ship of mind to its proper destination. It is through this, the mind grows pure and rich in knowledge.

The eminent sages knowing well the value of this Intellect pray and serve i.e., devote themselves to acquire Intellect.

Even those men who have taken the vow of strict celibacy drink as it were Intellect.

To such an Intellect which is even the cause of protection for the Devas, and which is fit to be prayed, worshipped and acquired by all, I pray to live in and guide my mind at all times.

Thank You