Balance is the Key

Apr 7

There is a couplet in Ramcharitmanas written by Goswami Tulsidas:

क्षिति, जल, पावक, गगन, समीरा ।
पंच रचित अति अधम शरीरा ॥

which literally means that this mortal body is made of five elements i.e. earth, water, fire, sky and air.

In Indian philosophy these five elements are considered to be the direct or indirect cause and result of vast cosmic and supernatural planets in the universe. These are present in varying amounts in all the things produced by nature in the universe, but in the end, all things get merged into these.

So we should not have ego of anything because the ultimate destiny of this mortal body is to merge into those five elements.

I don't like to talk as a religious or philosophical person. My purpose for writing this article is concern for health. Yes, health. Let's see how.

Basically all these five basic elements should remain in certain quantity in our body. The proportion of these five elements is considered to be as under:
Earth: 12
Water: 72
Fire:       4
Sky:        6
Air:         6

When there is a slight imbalance in these or due to error or increase or decrease in any one element, there is disturbance in other elements, as a result of which, the body becomes prone to diseases. Then what to do to strike a balance. Let's discuss one by one-

Earth:
Normally what we do is to give more emphasis on earth element, i.e. to eat this and that. Pizzas, burgers, fast food etc on one occasion, and chicken chilly and mughlai mutton on the other. And sometimes there is no occasion, just time pass, but we keep the tongue and teeth busy.

We forget that there are four other elements too pleading for their space in our body. But overeating leaves very less room for them. The result is obesity, high cholesterol, triglyceride and what not!

An experiment on rats has shown that the rats who were given less food, lived more. This applies to humans too. So eat less and live more.

Water:
The largest ingredient is water, but extra food consume its space9. And most of the time, we forget to drink water due to our busy life. It's better to keep a bottle of water with you wherever you are, and sip slowly enjoying its taste in sedentary state. Drinking hastily while standing should be avoided.

Fire:
Sun provides energy to universe. So sun bathing is the most appropriate thing. Even early morning walk would suffice. Sunlight provides energy and vitamin D to keep us going without any bone deficiency.

Air:
In addition to pranayam techniques, there should be conscious breathing through noses everytime, while walking, working, cooking, seeing TV or talking. Abdominal breathing, which is parasympathetic, should be preferred. Take long deep breath. Small breath should be avoided. A tortoise lives upto 300 years, because it breathes only 3 to 4 times per minute.

Sky:
Last, but not the least. Sky is limitless and this element in the body balances the other four elements. The space created for this element ensures happiness and energy. And this space is created by eating less than hunger. For this, the best option available is fasting, either weekly, fortnightly, monthly or intermittently depending upon our own physical state.

So if we include these five basic elements in our diet, there may be no case of indigestion, cholesterol, triglycerides, stress, strain, insomnia or any other diseases.

Remember, balance is the key to health, life, success and everything.