Mens sana in corpore sano. ( A sound mind in a sound body.)
—Juvenal (Satires, X. 356)
The first qualification expected in a chela is "perfect physical health." Why should this be so? What has health of the body to do with the internal governance of the person, his devotion and his line of life's meditations? This much is certain that he who becomes reckless of his health cannot aspire to chelaship. The rule is like other rules, binding upon the aspirant in all normal cases.
Medical men attribute ill-health to a germ, a virus infection, a malfunctioning of the organs, etc., and each decade adds to the long list of health-destroying bodies. Ill-health signifies that one set of lives in the body wages war, hinders work, obstructs channels of communication or consumes a larger amount of energy than its usual quota. This necessarily sets up an imbalance, and the process of adjustment entails a strain and an expending of the person's vitality which may leave him exhausted and starve other centres of activity which have perforce to be depleted of that vitality. In acute cases, the fatigue thus generated becomes so overpowering that the mind is thrown into a semi-dazed condition, and but too often becomes so engrossed in its own misery that it loses all inclination to take up another's burden. It is not unusual to find that ill-health forces attention to itself and sometimes the pain becomes unbearable to such an extent that it fully engrosses the mind. In those moments it becomes noticeable that the lower desires are for the time being pushed back, but so too are the higher aspirations and the discriminating faculty.
The preservation of health depends in a large measure upon whether one can control the inferior potencies, can discriminate as to food, behaviour and emotions, and can build habits which will keep the lives of one's physical and mental make-up in balance. This demands an excellence in the art of living, an adjustment of desires and forces in the psychic and physical natures so that an equipoise is maintained on level as on broken ground. The adjustment has to be instantaneous, the watchfulness acutely sensitive. Yet, the chief question must always remain: Why do we desire health? Some covet it so that their passions and urges can be exercised unhampered; others want it because they are obsessed by the outer appearance of their faces and bodies; others still, so that they can enjoy a full life of ease and pleasure. Each of these tries to preserve health and in so doing each invites lives which make the body gross and, though outwardly without blemish, so full of the earthly elements as to hamper and in certain circumstances inhibit the movements of the Soul. The use of certain drugs, injections, serums and whatnot may ruin the chances of the Soul for an incarnation. Our physicians have yet to learn the effect of essences on human bodies.
A healthy organism may suffer a setback owing to numerous causes. Psychic upsets may be produced by scenes, sounds, odours, memories; emotional upheavals by jealousy, pride, anger, lust. Insatiable craving for undesirable things; the imbibing of foul psychic or physical atmosphere; the overdoing or neglect of functions, duties and ascetic practices; the coming under the influence of persons whose magnetism clashes with that of the aspirant—these and similar causes bring about a malaise, a lowering in the first instance of the tonal quality or the tensile strength of the instruments which the soul is constrained to use for this incarnation at least. Then of course there are ills brought forward from previous lives as well as those to which a person is heir through atavism and heredity. Physical tendencies, lives and energies which bear our stamp of usage in previous lives return to us. They are chicken coming home to roost and which demand their liberty from the defiling touch which the desires and divagations of humans have placed upon them.
Pain and uneasiness are the destroyers of meditation. So is any urge of the body for sleep or rest. These can set up a persistent clamour which may become sufficiently strong to drown all other voices; and till the man has learnt to withdraw himself into the Silence, the attention is compelled to focus itself on the one absorbing centre of pain. H.P.B. showed in her own life that intense physical pain, mental torture and the anguish of friends turning into traitors can be lived through and not allowed to divert a man from the chosen fields of duty. The Voice of the Silence admonishes the pupil thus: "Both action and inaction may find room in thee; thy body agitated, thy mind tranquil, thy soul as limpid as a mountain lake." However, that is a stage to be devoutly wished for. Till then, for the student, his safety lies in preventing ill-health. Karma alone can decide how much of bodily infirmities can be released from the storehouse of past Karma so as to become a necessary teacher, a force which through the resistance that it offers will help develop that aspect of the spiritual force which will dominate pain and neutralize its distraction.
When the aspirant desires physical health, he desires it for a purpose. He wants to lead a dedicated life. To make that dedication effective, there can be no trifling with such things, manners, environment, as raise barriers and thwart progress. The health which is desirable is not that of someone of muscular build or of the athlete which demands an all-exclusive attention, but rather a serenity in well-being which becomes ingrained in the person and which having reached its level remains there with hardly any extra effort, thus leaving his energies and attention free for employment elsewhere.
The maintaining of health depends on numerous factors, some of which can be summarized thus:
The careful selection of foods and drinks, dividing them into sattvic, rajasic and tamasic (see Chapter XVII of the Gita).
Living in places which afford fresh, clean air and which provide surroundings conducive to health of mind and of body.
Taking care to provide the appropriate recreation, the donning of clothes which suit the occasion and the demands of caution against conditions of weather.
The periodical and effective cleansing of the whole bodily system (the observing of silence and fasting are only two of several methods) and the maintaining of a healthy system for eliminating waste matter.
The keeping of the skin and breathing system unclogged and undamaged by avoiding excesses or hamful practices of a psycho-physiological nature.
The adopting of a few ascetic rules and the practising of restraint in matters connected with food, sleep, etc.
The keeping in check of emotions, desires, passions and cravings which have a directly injurious effect on certain organs of the body.
A working knowledge of polarities, of sympathies and antipathies which work in and upon the human body, and a recognition of the effects felt on the body by the phases of the moon.
An appreciation of the effects caused on the body by: (a) minerals, (b) herbs and plants, (c) water and water-contents of fruits, etc., and (d) meats, skins and furs of animals.
The effects of the exhalations of humans, animals and places, and the power of talismans, charms and hypnotic influences.
The understanding of hazards to the brain and other parts of the body through certain drinks and drugs.
The influence of the seasons as also of certain personal cycles.
The effects of sound and colour on the lives which make up the organism, the recognition of dangers that lurk in crowded places.
These are but a few out of several factors which each student has to study for himself. Yet, the chief consideration must always be for the entity who is the dweller within the body. It is for him that the mansion is prepared for an incarnation. That mansion can be filled with objets d'art or with things which while away the idle hours, or again with those aids which the Soul may use to exalt itself. Health must therefore be sought not for enjoyment, not for the ease which it confers, nor for longevity where the thread of a useless life is stretched with hardly any chance for soul achievement. Perfect physical health is desirable only for the purpose of providing a ready tool to the masterhand of Soul. Service even in the ordinary worldly sense demands that the instruments to be used are such as are fit for attaining the maximum output and efficiency. How much more then must our responsibility be to see that we give the Soul instruments and vehicles which are the best that we can provide or make!
So what do we do? Everyone knows the planet is in bad shape, but most people are resigned to passivity. Changing course, they reason, would require economic sacrifice and provoke stiff resistance from corporations and consumers alike, so why bother? It's easier to ignore the gathering storm clouds and hope the problem magically takes care of itself. Such fatalism is not only dangerous but mistaken....The Global Green Deal is no silver bullet. It can, however, buy us time to make the more deep-seated changes—in our often excessive appetites, in our curious belief that humans are the centre of the universe, in our sheer numbers—that will be necessary to repair our relationship with our environment.
None of this will happen without an aroused citizenry. But a Global Green Deal is in the common interest, and it is a slogan easily grasped by the media and the public. Moreover, it should appeal across political, class and national boundaries, for it should stimulate both jobs and business throughout the world in the name of a universal value: leaving our children a livable planet. The history of environmentalism is largely the story of ordinary people pushing for change while governments, corporations and other established interests reluctantly follow behind. It's time to repeat that history on behalf of a Global Green Deal.
—Mark Hertsgaard