患了中風，腦部的微血管,會慢慢的破裂，遇到這種情形，千萬別慌, 患者無論在什麼地方不管是浴室、臥房或客廳），千萬不可搬動他。
因為，如果移動，會加速微血管的破裂所以要先原地把患者扶起坐穩止防止再摔倒，這時開始（放血）.
家中如有專為注射用的針，當然最好,如果沒有，就拿縫衣用的銅針，或是大頭針，用火燒一下消毒，就在患者的十個手指頭尖兒.
（沒有固定穴道，大約距離手指甲一分之處）上去刺，要刺出血來萬一血不出來，可用手擠），等十個手指頭都流出血來每指一滴大約幾分鐘之後，患者就自然清.
如果嘴也歪了，就拉他的耳朵，把耳朵拉紅,在兩耳的耳垂兒的部位，各刺兩針，也各流血兩滴，幾分鐘以後，嘴就恢復原狀了。
等患者一切恢復正常感覺沒有異狀時再送醫，就一定可以轉危為安，否則，若是急著抬上救護車送醫，經一路的顛跛震動恐怕還沒到醫院，他腦部微血管，差不多已經都破裂了。萬一能夠吉人天相，保全老命，能像孫院長，容得勉強行動，那要靠祖上的陰了。放血救命法，是住在新竹的中醫師夏伯挺先生告訴我的。
且是經自己親身實驗。
敢說百分之百有效.
大概是民國六十八年我在台中逢甲學院任教，有天上午，我正在上課，一位老師跑到我的教室上氣不接下氣的說：劉老師快來，主任中風了；我立刻跑到三樓，看到陳幅添主任，氣色不正，語意模，嘴也歪了，很明顯的是中風了。立即請工讀生到校門外的西藥房，買來一支注射用的針頭，就在陳主任十個手指頭上直刺。
等十個手指尖兒都見血了（豆粒似的一滴），大約幾分鐘以後，陳主任的氣色就變過來了，兩眼也有神了，只有嘴還歪著，我就拉搓他的耳朵，使之充血，等把耳朵拉紅就在右耳垂之處，各刺兩針，兩耳垂都流出兩滴血來，奇蹟出現了,大約不到三五分鐘，他的嘴形，恢復正常了，說話也清清楚楚了。
讓他靜坐陣子，喝了一杯熱茶，才扶他下樓，開車送到惠華醫院，打一罐點滴，休息了一夜，第二天就出院回學校上課了。一切照常工作，毫無後遺症。反觀一般腦中風患者，都是送醫院治療時，經過一路震盪血管急速破裂，以致多數患者一病不起，所腦中風，在死因排行榜上高居第二位，其最幸運者，也僅能保住老命，而落得終身殘廢。
這是一個多麼可怕的病症。如果大家都能記住這（放血救命)的方法，立刻施救，在短短時間它能起死回生，而且保證百分之百的正常。
這個急救法，希望大家告訴大家.
那腦中風，在死因排行榜上，就可以除名了。
閱後傳知他人，功德無量
Friday, June 30, 2006
Avoid eating chicken wings frequently
I got this from forwarded email...
AVOID Eating Chicken WINGS frequently - Especially Ladies
Avoid eating chicken wings frequently - ladies especially A true story... !
A friend of mine recently had a growth in her womb and she underwent an operation to remove the cyst. The cyst removed was filled with a dark coloured blood. She thought that she wouldrecover after the surgery but she was terribly wrong.
A relapse occurred just a few months later. Distressed, she rushed down to her gynecologist for a consultation. During her consultation, her doctor asked her a question that puzzled her.
He ask if she was a frequent consumer of chicken wings and she replied yes wondering! how, he knew of her eating habits.
You see, the truth is in this modern day and age, chickens are injected with steroids to accelerate their growth so that the needs of this society can be met.
This need is none other then the need for food. Chickens that are injected with steroids are usually given the shot at the neck or the wings.
Therefore, it is in this places that the highest concentration of steroids exist. These steroids have terrifying effects on the body as it accelerates growth.
It has an even more dangerous effect in the presence of female hormones, this leads to women being! more prone to the growth of a cyst in the womb. Therefore, I advise the people out there to watch their diets and to lower their frequency of consuming chicken wings!
People who receive this email, please forward it to your friends and loved ones.
AVOID Eating Chicken WINGS frequently - Especially Ladies
Avoid eating chicken wings frequently - ladies especially A true story... !
A friend of mine recently had a growth in her womb and she underwent an operation to remove the cyst. The cyst removed was filled with a dark coloured blood. She thought that she wouldrecover after the surgery but she was terribly wrong.
A relapse occurred just a few months later. Distressed, she rushed down to her gynecologist for a consultation. During her consultation, her doctor asked her a question that puzzled her.
He ask if she was a frequent consumer of chicken wings and she replied yes wondering! how, he knew of her eating habits.
You see, the truth is in this modern day and age, chickens are injected with steroids to accelerate their growth so that the needs of this society can be met.
This need is none other then the need for food. Chickens that are injected with steroids are usually given the shot at the neck or the wings.
Therefore, it is in this places that the highest concentration of steroids exist. These steroids have terrifying effects on the body as it accelerates growth.
It has an even more dangerous effect in the presence of female hormones, this leads to women being! more prone to the growth of a cyst in the womb. Therefore, I advise the people out there to watch their diets and to lower their frequency of consuming chicken wings!
People who receive this email, please forward it to your friends and loved ones.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
The Buddha Medicine
"The Buddha Medicine"
By Bhikkhu U. Dhammajiva
Edited by: Swedish novice Dhammasami (Samuel Nordius)
"Glad at heart, I pay homage to the supreme sage- the giver of blissful peace, the grate ocean of virtue, the physician for the samsaric ills of beings, the sun that dispel the pitchy darkness of false views!" – Lo-wáda Sangarava, 15th century Sinhalese poem
In Burmese meditation-centers, as in monasteries in most Theravada-Buddhist countries, you often find a peculiar kind of medicine: Yellow Myrobalan nuts (in Pali: Hritaki, in Latin: Terminalia Chebula) pickled in cow’s urine. The Burmese people calls it Pheya-se, ‘The Buddha Medicine’, since it’s based on a recipe found in the oldest Buddhist texts, the Pali Tipitaka. It’s considered to be a panacea for many diseases. But does it really follow the original concept of the Buddha’s recommendation to use muttam (urine) as medicine? That is what I intend to clarify in this article by refering to four of the oldest Buddhist scriptures: 1.) The Vinaya-Pitaka, the ancient collection of Buddhist monastic rules. 2.) The Sutta Pitaka, the ancient collection of the Buddha’s discourses. 3.) The so-called ‘Commentary’ and ‘Sub-commentary’, texts written by bhikkhus(Buddhist monks) in the centuries following the Buddha’s death to clarify the meaning of the texts found in the two collections first mentioned.
In an English translation of the Mahakkhandhaka (a text in Mahavagga found in the Vinaya-Pitaka) the Buddha says:
"The religious life has decomposing urine as medicine for its resource. Thus you must endeavor to live all your life. Ghee, butter, oil, honey, and molasses are extra allowances. "
An alternative translation says;
"Going forth [into the Holy Life] has fermented urine as its support. For the rest of your life you are to endeavor at that. The extra allowances are; Ghee, fresh butter, oil, honey, sugar. "
There are four such necessary supports/resources listed in the Vinaya Pitaka. In Pali, the language of the oldest Buddhist texts, they are called "the Four Requisites", considered to be an absolute minimum for the bhikkhusto be able to live the Holy Life in line with the Buddha’s teaching. The above mentioned item, fermented urine, is the fourth of these resources. All the four must be taught to the newly ordained bhikkhu in the ordination hall immediately after his higher ordination ceremony. It’s the responsibility of the preceptor to make sure that all young bhikkhus knows them according to the following prescription of the Buddha.
"I prescribe, O bhikkhus, that he who confers the higher ordination (on a bhikkhu), tells him the four resources."
These are all the four resources listed in the Vinaya-Pitaka:
1. Robes: robes made of rags taken from a dust heap as a resource
2. Alms food: morsels of food given in alms as a resource
3. Dwellings: a dwelling at the foot of a tree as a resource
4. Medicines: decomposing urine as medicine as a resource
These four requisites/resources the Buddha described as being indispensable or the bare minimum. Accordingly a Buddhist monk must endeavor to live all his bhikkhu life dependent only on them. He who is contented and satisfied with whatever comes across along with these bare minimums is always phrased in the community, as well as in the Commentary, as having contentment with whatever four requisites he has. Whatever extra things he comes across beyond these four items is just a result of his past good deeds, but they are usually also allowed for the bhikkhus. As the founder of the Order, and therefore its first bhikkhu, the Buddha assured all the bhikkhus that the prescribed bare minimums are quite abundant. Besides, they were, at that time, free to find wherever a bhikkhu would go.
In the Vinaya Pitaka, the books of monastic discipline, this medicine (urine) is mentioned in several places. At one occasion, for example, the Buddha recommend the yellow Myrobalan fruits pickled in urine for a monk who was sick with jaundice (probably anaemia) to be taken orally:
"O, monks! I allow that urine and yellow Myrobalan be drunk."
At another occasion the Buddha included urine as an ingredient in a mixture to be used as an antidote for poisonous snake bites. The other ingredients are excrement, soil and hot ash. This quote is from the Vinaya Pitaka:
"For snake bite a medicine may be made of the four great filthy things: excrement, urine, ash and clay. If there is someone present to make these things allowable, one should have him/her make them allowable. If not, one may take them for oneself and consume them."
The Commentary adds that this medicine is not only for snake bites but also for any other poisonous animal bite.
Now, let’s have a look at the second ancient collection of Buddhist texts, the Sutta Pitaka. According to the Ariyavaüsa Sutta in Anguttara Nikaya the Buddha phrases four requisites of noble clans (or lineages of traditions) in nine terms:
"Bhikkhus, these four [requisites] belong to the noble clan, were recognized by those gone by, were honored from the past, recognized by the clan, was not confusing in the past and will not confuse in the future and are not blamed by recluses, brahmins and the wise. What four?"
The following four items are then listed:
1. Robes
2. Alms foods,
3. Dwellings and
4 . (delight in development of) Meditation.
In the two different lists so far mentioned the first one (quoted from the Vinaya Pitaka) says that the four requisites for a monk are 1. robes, 2. alms foods, 3. dwellings and 3. medicines. In the second list (which is quoted from the Sutta Pitaka) the first three are identical to the first list while the forth item in the first list, medicines, has been replaced by (delight in development of) meditation.
The Commentary to the Ariyavaüsa Sutta says that even though the list, as it appeares in the Sutta Pitaka, drops the forth item given in the Vinaya Pitaka (medicines) that item should be included in the second item of the Sutta (alms food). Furthermore, confirming the same idea, the forth item, (delight in development of) meditation, is specified as "contentment with whatever four requisites comes" in the same Commentary. It says:
"Among these four belonging to the Noble clan the first three items, inclusive of thirteen austerities, are elaborated in the Vinaya pitaka while the item of (delight in development of) meditation is elaborated in the rest of the two baskets (pitakas or collections of Buddhist texts)."
To summarize, in the Sutta Pitaka you find only the first three of these four requisites, with no urine or medicines mentioned, but the Commentary says that the forth should be included in the list, in the alms food so that all should be in completion to make delight in development of meditation possible.
Hence decomposing urine as medicine can claim for all the above mentioned attributes, that is: urine was "recognized as a medicine by those gone by, those honored from the past; that it was recognized by the clan; it was not confusing in the past and it will not confuse in the future; and it’s not blamed by recluses, Brahmins and the wise."
I would like to quote another translation of the same Sutta which goes as follows:
"O monks, these four noble lineages pristine [including decomposing urine as medicine], of long standing, traditional, ancient, unadulterated and never before adulterated, which are not being adulterated and which will not be adulterated, not despised by wise ascetics and Brahmins."
The authors of this translation added a footnote saying that in ancient Sri Lanka this was a very popular Buddhist discourse among people of all walks of life and that it became the inspiration for an annual festival. In traditional Sinhalese translations, as in Burmese and Thai ones, the medicine mentioned in the text has been taken to be cow’s urine or, more specifically, Myrobalan fruits pickledin cow’s urine. Owing to this translation some of the attributions of this medicine mentioned by the Buddha doesn’t appeared to be very convincing or practical since it would sometimes be hard for a bhikkhu to find both the Myrobalan fruit and cow’s urine. However, in recent English translations we get some new practical sense to this medicine.
Let me add here that it’s not only in Buddhism that we find urine as a medicine but also in other denominations such as Christianity (in The Holy Bible), Hinduism (in Damar Tantra) and, some claims, in Islam too (in The Holy Koran). These traditions, however, have a somewhat different interpretation than the Buddhist texts on how to use the medicine.
I can think of two reasons for why the usage of urine as medicine resurfaced again contemporaneously in many traditions in our time. The first is the increasing number of complications in the prevailing allopathic or chemotherapeutic treatments of diseases which has made an increasing number of people interested in alternative medicines. The second is the general trend of searching for more holistic health systems, even ancient ones based on different religious lines. Whatever the reasons may be the urine-method has its own intriguing nature and might, I believe, still find a growing group of followers.
A closer look at this therapy, under the current trend, irrespective of creed, one finds a vast number of convincing testimonies and subjective evidences on the benefits of the medicine. Buddhism can contribute in its own way with its canonical and historical references on this subject – provided that its ideas are presented in correct translations! So far we’ve traced some quotations from the Vinaya Pitaka with relevant information prescribed to bhikkhus. However, I think that the commentarial text has interfered in a questionable and imperfect manner. In the traditional Buddhist countries, such as Sri Lanka, Burma or Thailand, no efforts have been made in resent history to get a clear idea of how the medicine was intended to be used, or how it was used at the time of the Buddha.
The increasing amount of literature on the subject, with testimonies and evidences from the other sources, made me think twice and urged me to renew the way I read the quoted passages in the Buddhist canonical sources. I went back to the original scriptures, untouched by the prevalent traditional translations. When investigating the Sutta Pitaka with this inquisitive pragmatic approach I came across the following quotation in the Majjima Nikaya (the Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha), Sutta number 46 called Dhamma Samadana Sutta:
"Bhikkhu, a man would come along suffering from jaundice and he is told: ‘Friend, there is a drink made out of putrid urine, with various kinds of medicines put in it. If you desire – drink.’ When drinking it would not be agreeable to sight, smell or taste but drinking it you will get over your illness. He reflects about it and drinks it. It would not be agreeable to sight, smell or taste, yet he would get over that illness. I say this observance of the Teaching is comparable to this, as it is now unpleasant and brings pleasant results in the future."
The Commentary to this Sutta says:
"[The Pali word] Putimuttan means just ‘urine’. So it’s said, that even if a person is golden in color his body is described as repulsive in the scriptures. Even? born the very same day the vine called Galocilata is also called Patilata (literary: repulsive creeper). Even so, extracted in that very moment, the young (or fresh) urine is called just puti (usually translated as ‘putrid’ or ‘fermented’)."
The Sub-commentary continues to explain:
"[The Pali word] Putimuttan means urine which is repulsive in nature. Tarunan means fresh or young; as it flows out it is warm?. From that urine the early part of the flow is meant here. The urine flowing out from the genital? remains warm due to the body temperature."
These details indicate that the prevailing translations of the Vinaya Pitaka might be incorrect. The Commentary and Sub-commentary leads us to a more practical and pragmatic end, supported by the direct translation of the Dhamma Samadana Sutta. Yet they’re often interpreted as meaning only putrid urine from a cow.
Just by consulting the relevant Commentary and its Sub-commentary all doubts regarding the real meaning can be cleared out. They state that urine – to be specific: one’s own urine – would not be agreeable to sight, smell or taste and accordingly has puti as an adjectival prefix. It is puti not because it is rotten or fermented but because its intrinsic nature is repulsive to the senses. If the common translations are changed in line with this interpretation the basic idea of using urine as a medicine becomes more palatable and, not to diminish, quite agreeable with the current research and literature on the subject.
It’s also interesting to note that the medicine mentioned in the Dhamma Samadana Sutta (one’s own urine mixed up with other herbal medicine) is recommended to any individual who’s suffering from jaundice rather than to a just to the bhikkhus as is otherwise the case in the Vinaya Pitaka. This tells that the medicine was not seen as just a ‘last choice’ but as a truly effective remedy.
Conclusive remarks
In the light of this information we should look again at the very first quotation in this essay. The main theme so far is that repulsive urine as medicine, which is the last of the four requisites for bhikkhus, is considered to be the absolute minimum of medicine that a bhikkhu will need through out his life.
The Pali term Putimuttabhesajja is a compounded term made out of at least three pali roots; puti, muttaand bhesajja. As we’ve already seen this word has been translated as:
1.) Decomposing urine as medicine. Or as: 2.) Fermented urine as support.
The word puti literally means either decomposing or fermented, sometimes translated as rancid or putrefied. Muttam means urine, sometimes translated as cows’ urine, and occasionally as ammonia. Bhesajjammeans medicine.
In the Vinaya Pitaka, whether with the consultation of its Commentary or not, there is little chance to find out what kind of urine is meant because neither the Vinaya nor its Commentary adds any further light on the subject. In the Sutta Pitaka, on the other hand, especially in MN. Sutta No 46 and its relevant Commentary and Sub-commentary, there’s enough evidence to suggest a more pragmatic meaning than that commonly accepted today. "It would not be agreeable to sight, smell or taste" suggests that the adjective putidoes not mean any decomposition, fermentation or putrefaction but that urine is naturally disagreeable to sight, smell or taste – a statement most people would agree with. The original recommendation may not have meant any decomposition, fermentation or putrefaction at all, as the translators’ has interpreted it so far. Nor do the scriptures in any way indicate that it was cow’s urine that the Buddha originally referred to.
The Sub-commentary says: "As urine pass out from the genital it is warm due to the body heat". There is not a word or clue justifying the assumption that cows’ urine is meant.
The interpretation I prefer, on the other hand, is quite in line with the Commentary and the Sub-commentary to the above mentioned Sutta and with the contemporary idea of using one’s own urine. Hence the translation to the first quotations could be rectified as follows:
"The religious life has your own (repulsive) urine as medicine for its resource. Thus you must endeavor to live all your life. Ghee, butter, oil, honey, and molasses are extra allowances."
Or: "Going forth [into the Holy Life] has your own (repulsive) urine as its support. For the rest of your life you are to endeavor at that. The extra allowances are; Ghee, fresh butter, oil, honey, sugar."
Likewise, all other quotations could be corrected accordingly. This should give a radical new approach to the prescription given by the Buddha. It certainly does give a new hope for a healthier lifestyle – not only for the bhikkhus but for all who seek to live a more independent kind of life.
By Bhikkhu U. Dhammajiva
Edited by: Swedish novice Dhammasami (Samuel Nordius)
"Glad at heart, I pay homage to the supreme sage- the giver of blissful peace, the grate ocean of virtue, the physician for the samsaric ills of beings, the sun that dispel the pitchy darkness of false views!" – Lo-wáda Sangarava, 15th century Sinhalese poem
In Burmese meditation-centers, as in monasteries in most Theravada-Buddhist countries, you often find a peculiar kind of medicine: Yellow Myrobalan nuts (in Pali: Hritaki, in Latin: Terminalia Chebula) pickled in cow’s urine. The Burmese people calls it Pheya-se, ‘The Buddha Medicine’, since it’s based on a recipe found in the oldest Buddhist texts, the Pali Tipitaka. It’s considered to be a panacea for many diseases. But does it really follow the original concept of the Buddha’s recommendation to use muttam (urine) as medicine? That is what I intend to clarify in this article by refering to four of the oldest Buddhist scriptures: 1.) The Vinaya-Pitaka, the ancient collection of Buddhist monastic rules. 2.) The Sutta Pitaka, the ancient collection of the Buddha’s discourses. 3.) The so-called ‘Commentary’ and ‘Sub-commentary’, texts written by bhikkhus(Buddhist monks) in the centuries following the Buddha’s death to clarify the meaning of the texts found in the two collections first mentioned.
In an English translation of the Mahakkhandhaka (a text in Mahavagga found in the Vinaya-Pitaka) the Buddha says:
"The religious life has decomposing urine as medicine for its resource. Thus you must endeavor to live all your life. Ghee, butter, oil, honey, and molasses are extra allowances. "
An alternative translation says;
"Going forth [into the Holy Life] has fermented urine as its support. For the rest of your life you are to endeavor at that. The extra allowances are; Ghee, fresh butter, oil, honey, sugar. "
There are four such necessary supports/resources listed in the Vinaya Pitaka. In Pali, the language of the oldest Buddhist texts, they are called "the Four Requisites", considered to be an absolute minimum for the bhikkhusto be able to live the Holy Life in line with the Buddha’s teaching. The above mentioned item, fermented urine, is the fourth of these resources. All the four must be taught to the newly ordained bhikkhu in the ordination hall immediately after his higher ordination ceremony. It’s the responsibility of the preceptor to make sure that all young bhikkhus knows them according to the following prescription of the Buddha.
"I prescribe, O bhikkhus, that he who confers the higher ordination (on a bhikkhu), tells him the four resources."
These are all the four resources listed in the Vinaya-Pitaka:
1. Robes: robes made of rags taken from a dust heap as a resource
2. Alms food: morsels of food given in alms as a resource
3. Dwellings: a dwelling at the foot of a tree as a resource
4. Medicines: decomposing urine as medicine as a resource
These four requisites/resources the Buddha described as being indispensable or the bare minimum. Accordingly a Buddhist monk must endeavor to live all his bhikkhu life dependent only on them. He who is contented and satisfied with whatever comes across along with these bare minimums is always phrased in the community, as well as in the Commentary, as having contentment with whatever four requisites he has. Whatever extra things he comes across beyond these four items is just a result of his past good deeds, but they are usually also allowed for the bhikkhus. As the founder of the Order, and therefore its first bhikkhu, the Buddha assured all the bhikkhus that the prescribed bare minimums are quite abundant. Besides, they were, at that time, free to find wherever a bhikkhu would go.
In the Vinaya Pitaka, the books of monastic discipline, this medicine (urine) is mentioned in several places. At one occasion, for example, the Buddha recommend the yellow Myrobalan fruits pickled in urine for a monk who was sick with jaundice (probably anaemia) to be taken orally:
"O, monks! I allow that urine and yellow Myrobalan be drunk."
At another occasion the Buddha included urine as an ingredient in a mixture to be used as an antidote for poisonous snake bites. The other ingredients are excrement, soil and hot ash. This quote is from the Vinaya Pitaka:
"For snake bite a medicine may be made of the four great filthy things: excrement, urine, ash and clay. If there is someone present to make these things allowable, one should have him/her make them allowable. If not, one may take them for oneself and consume them."
The Commentary adds that this medicine is not only for snake bites but also for any other poisonous animal bite.
Now, let’s have a look at the second ancient collection of Buddhist texts, the Sutta Pitaka. According to the Ariyavaüsa Sutta in Anguttara Nikaya the Buddha phrases four requisites of noble clans (or lineages of traditions) in nine terms:
"Bhikkhus, these four [requisites] belong to the noble clan, were recognized by those gone by, were honored from the past, recognized by the clan, was not confusing in the past and will not confuse in the future and are not blamed by recluses, brahmins and the wise. What four?"
The following four items are then listed:
1. Robes
2. Alms foods,
3. Dwellings and
4 . (delight in development of) Meditation.
In the two different lists so far mentioned the first one (quoted from the Vinaya Pitaka) says that the four requisites for a monk are 1. robes, 2. alms foods, 3. dwellings and 3. medicines. In the second list (which is quoted from the Sutta Pitaka) the first three are identical to the first list while the forth item in the first list, medicines, has been replaced by (delight in development of) meditation.
The Commentary to the Ariyavaüsa Sutta says that even though the list, as it appeares in the Sutta Pitaka, drops the forth item given in the Vinaya Pitaka (medicines) that item should be included in the second item of the Sutta (alms food). Furthermore, confirming the same idea, the forth item, (delight in development of) meditation, is specified as "contentment with whatever four requisites comes" in the same Commentary. It says:
"Among these four belonging to the Noble clan the first three items, inclusive of thirteen austerities, are elaborated in the Vinaya pitaka while the item of (delight in development of) meditation is elaborated in the rest of the two baskets (pitakas or collections of Buddhist texts)."
To summarize, in the Sutta Pitaka you find only the first three of these four requisites, with no urine or medicines mentioned, but the Commentary says that the forth should be included in the list, in the alms food so that all should be in completion to make delight in development of meditation possible.
Hence decomposing urine as medicine can claim for all the above mentioned attributes, that is: urine was "recognized as a medicine by those gone by, those honored from the past; that it was recognized by the clan; it was not confusing in the past and it will not confuse in the future; and it’s not blamed by recluses, Brahmins and the wise."
I would like to quote another translation of the same Sutta which goes as follows:
"O monks, these four noble lineages pristine [including decomposing urine as medicine], of long standing, traditional, ancient, unadulterated and never before adulterated, which are not being adulterated and which will not be adulterated, not despised by wise ascetics and Brahmins."
The authors of this translation added a footnote saying that in ancient Sri Lanka this was a very popular Buddhist discourse among people of all walks of life and that it became the inspiration for an annual festival. In traditional Sinhalese translations, as in Burmese and Thai ones, the medicine mentioned in the text has been taken to be cow’s urine or, more specifically, Myrobalan fruits pickledin cow’s urine. Owing to this translation some of the attributions of this medicine mentioned by the Buddha doesn’t appeared to be very convincing or practical since it would sometimes be hard for a bhikkhu to find both the Myrobalan fruit and cow’s urine. However, in recent English translations we get some new practical sense to this medicine.
Let me add here that it’s not only in Buddhism that we find urine as a medicine but also in other denominations such as Christianity (in The Holy Bible), Hinduism (in Damar Tantra) and, some claims, in Islam too (in The Holy Koran). These traditions, however, have a somewhat different interpretation than the Buddhist texts on how to use the medicine.
I can think of two reasons for why the usage of urine as medicine resurfaced again contemporaneously in many traditions in our time. The first is the increasing number of complications in the prevailing allopathic or chemotherapeutic treatments of diseases which has made an increasing number of people interested in alternative medicines. The second is the general trend of searching for more holistic health systems, even ancient ones based on different religious lines. Whatever the reasons may be the urine-method has its own intriguing nature and might, I believe, still find a growing group of followers.
A closer look at this therapy, under the current trend, irrespective of creed, one finds a vast number of convincing testimonies and subjective evidences on the benefits of the medicine. Buddhism can contribute in its own way with its canonical and historical references on this subject – provided that its ideas are presented in correct translations! So far we’ve traced some quotations from the Vinaya Pitaka with relevant information prescribed to bhikkhus. However, I think that the commentarial text has interfered in a questionable and imperfect manner. In the traditional Buddhist countries, such as Sri Lanka, Burma or Thailand, no efforts have been made in resent history to get a clear idea of how the medicine was intended to be used, or how it was used at the time of the Buddha.
The increasing amount of literature on the subject, with testimonies and evidences from the other sources, made me think twice and urged me to renew the way I read the quoted passages in the Buddhist canonical sources. I went back to the original scriptures, untouched by the prevalent traditional translations. When investigating the Sutta Pitaka with this inquisitive pragmatic approach I came across the following quotation in the Majjima Nikaya (the Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha), Sutta number 46 called Dhamma Samadana Sutta:
"Bhikkhu, a man would come along suffering from jaundice and he is told: ‘Friend, there is a drink made out of putrid urine, with various kinds of medicines put in it. If you desire – drink.’ When drinking it would not be agreeable to sight, smell or taste but drinking it you will get over your illness. He reflects about it and drinks it. It would not be agreeable to sight, smell or taste, yet he would get over that illness. I say this observance of the Teaching is comparable to this, as it is now unpleasant and brings pleasant results in the future."
The Commentary to this Sutta says:
"[The Pali word] Putimuttan means just ‘urine’. So it’s said, that even if a person is golden in color his body is described as repulsive in the scriptures. Even? born the very same day the vine called Galocilata is also called Patilata (literary: repulsive creeper). Even so, extracted in that very moment, the young (or fresh) urine is called just puti (usually translated as ‘putrid’ or ‘fermented’)."
The Sub-commentary continues to explain:
"[The Pali word] Putimuttan means urine which is repulsive in nature. Tarunan means fresh or young; as it flows out it is warm?. From that urine the early part of the flow is meant here. The urine flowing out from the genital? remains warm due to the body temperature."
These details indicate that the prevailing translations of the Vinaya Pitaka might be incorrect. The Commentary and Sub-commentary leads us to a more practical and pragmatic end, supported by the direct translation of the Dhamma Samadana Sutta. Yet they’re often interpreted as meaning only putrid urine from a cow.
Just by consulting the relevant Commentary and its Sub-commentary all doubts regarding the real meaning can be cleared out. They state that urine – to be specific: one’s own urine – would not be agreeable to sight, smell or taste and accordingly has puti as an adjectival prefix. It is puti not because it is rotten or fermented but because its intrinsic nature is repulsive to the senses. If the common translations are changed in line with this interpretation the basic idea of using urine as a medicine becomes more palatable and, not to diminish, quite agreeable with the current research and literature on the subject.
It’s also interesting to note that the medicine mentioned in the Dhamma Samadana Sutta (one’s own urine mixed up with other herbal medicine) is recommended to any individual who’s suffering from jaundice rather than to a just to the bhikkhus as is otherwise the case in the Vinaya Pitaka. This tells that the medicine was not seen as just a ‘last choice’ but as a truly effective remedy.
Conclusive remarks
In the light of this information we should look again at the very first quotation in this essay. The main theme so far is that repulsive urine as medicine, which is the last of the four requisites for bhikkhus, is considered to be the absolute minimum of medicine that a bhikkhu will need through out his life.
The Pali term Putimuttabhesajja is a compounded term made out of at least three pali roots; puti, muttaand bhesajja. As we’ve already seen this word has been translated as:
1.) Decomposing urine as medicine. Or as: 2.) Fermented urine as support.
The word puti literally means either decomposing or fermented, sometimes translated as rancid or putrefied. Muttam means urine, sometimes translated as cows’ urine, and occasionally as ammonia. Bhesajjammeans medicine.
In the Vinaya Pitaka, whether with the consultation of its Commentary or not, there is little chance to find out what kind of urine is meant because neither the Vinaya nor its Commentary adds any further light on the subject. In the Sutta Pitaka, on the other hand, especially in MN. Sutta No 46 and its relevant Commentary and Sub-commentary, there’s enough evidence to suggest a more pragmatic meaning than that commonly accepted today. "It would not be agreeable to sight, smell or taste" suggests that the adjective putidoes not mean any decomposition, fermentation or putrefaction but that urine is naturally disagreeable to sight, smell or taste – a statement most people would agree with. The original recommendation may not have meant any decomposition, fermentation or putrefaction at all, as the translators’ has interpreted it so far. Nor do the scriptures in any way indicate that it was cow’s urine that the Buddha originally referred to.
The Sub-commentary says: "As urine pass out from the genital it is warm due to the body heat". There is not a word or clue justifying the assumption that cows’ urine is meant.
The interpretation I prefer, on the other hand, is quite in line with the Commentary and the Sub-commentary to the above mentioned Sutta and with the contemporary idea of using one’s own urine. Hence the translation to the first quotations could be rectified as follows:
"The religious life has your own (repulsive) urine as medicine for its resource. Thus you must endeavor to live all your life. Ghee, butter, oil, honey, and molasses are extra allowances."
Or: "Going forth [into the Holy Life] has your own (repulsive) urine as its support. For the rest of your life you are to endeavor at that. The extra allowances are; Ghee, fresh butter, oil, honey, sugar."
Likewise, all other quotations could be corrected accordingly. This should give a radical new approach to the prescription given by the Buddha. It certainly does give a new hope for a healthier lifestyle – not only for the bhikkhus but for all who seek to live a more independent kind of life.
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Sai on Diabetes
INTERVIEW WITH SAI ON HEALTH
February 18, 1999 (Thursday) 7:00-8:30 A.M.
Swami: (Looking at N.R.) "What is the treatment for Diabetes?"
N.R.: First diet, then exercise, next pills, and Insulin last, Swami.
Swami: Insulin is not good. It can lower blood sugar very quickly. Then the patient can get sweating and decreased BP and can go even into coma. It is best to avoid Insulin. Tablets are OK.
Swami: What is the cause of Diabetes?
N.R.: Pancreas is the problem, Swami.
Swami: Pancreas is not the real problem. It is mainly wrong diet and lack of exercise. People in South India eat excess rice. People in North India eat excess wheat (chapathis). Both rice and wheat can increase blood sugar very quickly within half an hour after eating. That is why people in South India should eat less rice and people in North, less wheat. Because people in South do not like wheat much, they should eat chapathis. That way,they dont overeat rice. Similarly, people in North should eat rice. That way they do not overeat, because they don't like rice that much.
On the other hand, if you eat corn or ragi (a type of grain grown in South India), blood sugar will rise slowly over 2 to 3 hours. That is healthy. Body can manage such slow increase very well. For those who eat grains like corn or ragi, Diabetes is not a problem.
People should not eat as their tongue dictates. There are 48,000 taste buds in the tongue. Improperly used, they can cause sugar craving and lead to Diabetes. Senses have to be controlled for good health. Similarly, eyes are to be used properly for the health of the body and mind. Sunlight illumines the different cells of the retina of the eye. If the eyes are not controlled to see only good things, they can create craving to see bad things, which in turn brings bad health. So, senses have to be regulated properly for good health. There is some genetic cause also for Diabetes.
N.R.: Yes, Swami. Latest research also is confirming this. Is there anything that Swami doesnt know!
Swami: How is your mother ?
N.R.: Her Diabetes is better, but she has Arthritis.
Swami: What is her blood sugar ?
N.R.: She checks it herself, Swami.
Swami: You are the doctor and you dont even check your own mother! These doctors nowadays dont treat Diabetes properly. Best thing is diet control and exercise. For Diabetes, green leafy vegetables are good except cauliflower. Cabbage is good. All fruits with black seeds like apples, pears, grapes, watermelon etc. are good except custard apple (as it has too much sugar). Papaya is very good. All roots, especially potatoes, have to be avoided.
Swami: (Looking at Gadhias son) "What are you doing?"
Gadhias son: Research for new medicines for treatment of Diabetes, Swami.
Swami: Best thing is diet and exercise.
Swami: (Looking at Dr. Ravi) "What is the cause of heart disease?"
Ravi: Increased cholesterol, increased blood pressure...
Swami: No, it is "hurry, worry, curry". Too much hurry causes worry and stress - not good for heart! See Swami, no health problem! Avoid too much oil in the foods (curry). Eating garlic every day can reduce cholesterol. Almonds without peel can also reduce cholesterol. Soak them in water overnight, remove the peel, and eat in early morning.
Venkat: Isnt garlic rajasic food, Swami? Is it not bad for spirituality?
Swami: Body health first; these gunas (qualities) and spiritual health come next. Without healthy body, you cannot proceed on spiritual path.
One Devotee: How to control blood pressure, Swami?
Swami: Reduce salt. Less salt, less BP; more salt, more BP. If your BP is already low, you can add some salt to your diet to bring it to normal level.
Venkat: Nowadays, there is a new disease frequently diagnosed as
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Patients complain that they dont have any energy to do anything. What is the cause, Swami?
Swami: It is not a disease of "no energy". It is low energy. Nobody can live with no energy.
Venkat: Is there any cause like bacteria or virus?
Swami: No cause like that. It is low energy because these people
waste a lot of energy through bad and polluted thoughts, improper and indiscriminate use of senses. Thus, their energy is drained out and they feel chronic fatigue. If they can replace their polluted thoughts with good thoughts and divert their senses towards the Divine, thus, thinking good, seeing good, hearing good, and doing good, they can recover the lost energy and can get well.
* * * OM TATH SATH * * *
February 18, 1999 (Thursday) 7:00-8:30 A.M.
Swami: (Looking at N.R.) "What is the treatment for Diabetes?"
N.R.: First diet, then exercise, next pills, and Insulin last, Swami.
Swami: Insulin is not good. It can lower blood sugar very quickly. Then the patient can get sweating and decreased BP and can go even into coma. It is best to avoid Insulin. Tablets are OK.
Swami: What is the cause of Diabetes?
N.R.: Pancreas is the problem, Swami.
Swami: Pancreas is not the real problem. It is mainly wrong diet and lack of exercise. People in South India eat excess rice. People in North India eat excess wheat (chapathis). Both rice and wheat can increase blood sugar very quickly within half an hour after eating. That is why people in South India should eat less rice and people in North, less wheat. Because people in South do not like wheat much, they should eat chapathis. That way,they dont overeat rice. Similarly, people in North should eat rice. That way they do not overeat, because they don't like rice that much.
On the other hand, if you eat corn or ragi (a type of grain grown in South India), blood sugar will rise slowly over 2 to 3 hours. That is healthy. Body can manage such slow increase very well. For those who eat grains like corn or ragi, Diabetes is not a problem.
People should not eat as their tongue dictates. There are 48,000 taste buds in the tongue. Improperly used, they can cause sugar craving and lead to Diabetes. Senses have to be controlled for good health. Similarly, eyes are to be used properly for the health of the body and mind. Sunlight illumines the different cells of the retina of the eye. If the eyes are not controlled to see only good things, they can create craving to see bad things, which in turn brings bad health. So, senses have to be regulated properly for good health. There is some genetic cause also for Diabetes.
N.R.: Yes, Swami. Latest research also is confirming this. Is there anything that Swami doesnt know!
Swami: How is your mother ?
N.R.: Her Diabetes is better, but she has Arthritis.
Swami: What is her blood sugar ?
N.R.: She checks it herself, Swami.
Swami: You are the doctor and you dont even check your own mother! These doctors nowadays dont treat Diabetes properly. Best thing is diet control and exercise. For Diabetes, green leafy vegetables are good except cauliflower. Cabbage is good. All fruits with black seeds like apples, pears, grapes, watermelon etc. are good except custard apple (as it has too much sugar). Papaya is very good. All roots, especially potatoes, have to be avoided.
Swami: (Looking at Gadhias son) "What are you doing?"
Gadhias son: Research for new medicines for treatment of Diabetes, Swami.
Swami: Best thing is diet and exercise.
Swami: (Looking at Dr. Ravi) "What is the cause of heart disease?"
Ravi: Increased cholesterol, increased blood pressure...
Swami: No, it is "hurry, worry, curry". Too much hurry causes worry and stress - not good for heart! See Swami, no health problem! Avoid too much oil in the foods (curry). Eating garlic every day can reduce cholesterol. Almonds without peel can also reduce cholesterol. Soak them in water overnight, remove the peel, and eat in early morning.
Venkat: Isnt garlic rajasic food, Swami? Is it not bad for spirituality?
Swami: Body health first; these gunas (qualities) and spiritual health come next. Without healthy body, you cannot proceed on spiritual path.
One Devotee: How to control blood pressure, Swami?
Swami: Reduce salt. Less salt, less BP; more salt, more BP. If your BP is already low, you can add some salt to your diet to bring it to normal level.
Venkat: Nowadays, there is a new disease frequently diagnosed as
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Patients complain that they dont have any energy to do anything. What is the cause, Swami?
Swami: It is not a disease of "no energy". It is low energy. Nobody can live with no energy.
Venkat: Is there any cause like bacteria or virus?
Swami: No cause like that. It is low energy because these people
waste a lot of energy through bad and polluted thoughts, improper and indiscriminate use of senses. Thus, their energy is drained out and they feel chronic fatigue. If they can replace their polluted thoughts with good thoughts and divert their senses towards the Divine, thus, thinking good, seeing good, hearing good, and doing good, they can recover the lost energy and can get well.
* * * OM TATH SATH * * *
Love your arteries, eat your vegetables
If you love your arteries, eat your vegetables. So say researchers who found that mice fed a vegetable-rich diet cut their risk for atherosclerosis -- hardening of the arteries -- by 38 percent. "There is some epidemiological evidence that people who eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, probably more than five servings a day, have a lower risk of coronary heart disease than people who don't," added led researcher Michael Adams, a professor of pathology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C. However, "there are a lot of problems with epidemiological [population-based] studies, a lot of factors that can't be controlled for," he said. For instance, "those who eat a lot of fruits and vegetables are healthier in other ways," such as exercising more, he said, reports Forbes.
Researchers looked at the effects of a 30-percent vegetable diet compared to a non-vegetable diet in a group of mice bred to quickly develop atherosclerosis, the formation of plague on blood vessel walls that causes decreased blow flow. "Although the pathways involved remain uncertain, the results indicate that a diet rich in green and yellow vegetables inhibits the development of hardening of the arteries and may reduce the risk of heart disease," said head researcher Michael Adams, D.V.M. Data also revealed the mice on the vegetable diet had a 37-percent decrease in an indicator of inflammation, which is connected to atherosclerosis development.
Adams noted, "While everyone knows that eating more vegetables is supposed to be good for you, no one had shown before that it can actually inhibit the development of atherosclerosis." He added, "This suggests how a diet high in vegetables may help prevent heart attacks and strokes," informs Ivan hoe.
Researchers looked at the effects of a 30-percent vegetable diet compared to a non-vegetable diet in a group of mice bred to quickly develop atherosclerosis, the formation of plague on blood vessel walls that causes decreased blow flow. "Although the pathways involved remain uncertain, the results indicate that a diet rich in green and yellow vegetables inhibits the development of hardening of the arteries and may reduce the risk of heart disease," said head researcher Michael Adams, D.V.M. Data also revealed the mice on the vegetable diet had a 37-percent decrease in an indicator of inflammation, which is connected to atherosclerosis development.
Adams noted, "While everyone knows that eating more vegetables is supposed to be good for you, no one had shown before that it can actually inhibit the development of atherosclerosis." He added, "This suggests how a diet high in vegetables may help prevent heart attacks and strokes," informs Ivan hoe.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Sai Baba on food n health
Sai Baba has often spoken about the effect of food on our health. He has referred to it mostly in a general way, telling us to eat Sathwic foods that are fresh and pure, and that are not too spicy or tasty.
He once said: "The Gita(the Indian religious scripture) defines the nature and tastes of the three types of food eaten by man. The food that promotes love, virtue, strength, happines and cordiality is Sathwic; that which influences, arouses, intoxicates and heightens hunger and thirst is Rajasic; the food that depresses, disrupts and causes disease is Thamasic."
On the 8th of October 1983, Baba gave a discourse in which he was much more specific as to what types of food are injurious to our health. The following excerpt from this discourse are taken from the Sathya Sai Newsletter of Arizona, USA, with their kind permission.
"In this world of ours, man is given to experience wealth beyond description. But, out of all the possible types of wealth, it is one's health which is found to be the most valuable possession. In fact it is said that 'Health is wealth.' Without good health , one cannot succeed in even the smallest of ventures. One can have immense wealth and power, but without health these are of no consequence; only with health can one use wealth and authority for some good purpose. But it is a mistake to feel that one's health confers lasting happiness. For what is the purpose of worldly existence? That you might reach something beyond. Unless you have that distant goal set before you, this worldly existence is meaningless. So why do you need to safeguard your health? Not for your worldly existence, but for the sake of experiencing the Atmananda (bliss of realization of the divinity within). And in order to protect your health, you must follow a certain code of conduct."
"Now, in this creation, the different types of life forms have been classified into 8,400,000 species. Out of these 8,400,000 species 8,399,999 types tend to eat food which is not cooked. They eat instead food which is natural and available in their environment. This food which is available to them in nature, does not seem to change them. So you find that these 8,399,999 species of life forms are enjoying peak health. Of course, it does happen that, because of climatic variations and factors which are beyond our control, some of these life forms do also come to grief. But it is man alone who is subject to the most health related trouble. Any number of human diseases are on the increase. The reason is that man does not like to partake of food as God created it. He is the victim of his tongue, which wants to be satisfied in terms of taste, and so his own likes and dislikes come in the way of what he should eat. Man seeks to change the foods available in nature to suit his tastes, thereby putting an end to the very essence of life contained in them. Because he is exterminating the life-giving forces in the food available to him, he is increasingly subjecting himself to disease. So it follows, again, that if man were to eat foods in their natural state, he certainly would not be so subject to disease."
"Now, it is common knowledge that each body, each system, has the governing factors. All these factors should be present in a proper way - anything less or more is bound to put you into disorder. If you want to know the cause of headaches, it is not the head that is at fault. It is the stomach! This is so regarding all the different organs: the stomach is the key point. The stomach digest whatever is given to it and supplies the essence of it to all the organs. This power of digestion given to the stomach is a God given thing. In fact God resides in a Being as this digestive force, which is what governs all the life processes in the body. In order to revere this aspect of God, what is it that you should offer? This God should be given that which is His own creation, not what is made by man. So, if you give to your stomach whatever is available in the natural state, as given to you by God, everything will be fine."
"We tend to eat too much, which leads us to mental disturbance. A limit should be placed on the food that we take. If that limit is exceeded, we are bound to suffer. Food is a necessity, but it should be in the quantity required for sustenance of the body. Exceed that limit, and disorders come your way. Take for instance the heart, which has a certain capacity to pump blood to the rest of the body. It cannot exceed this optimum point. The body requires a certain horsepower for this heart, and that is what God has given it. So, when you build your body beyond the limits of the hearts capabilities, the heart can't function. That is why there is an increase in heart disease."
"The main idea behind all this is that you should limit the amount of food you take. Whatever the food type, if you eat it in moderation all will be well. Food in excess leads to mental disturbance, but food in limited amounts will give you happiness. Eat so that your hunger may be satiated and your body sustained, and not so that your body is enlarged. Every opportunity is available to us, if we only take care of our food habits. Perhaps certain circumstances beyond your control could lead you to distress, but otherwise there is no reason for you to be subjected to disease. If you wish to live longer, to be of service to society, to experience divinity for longer, then keep your food under check."
"In addition, the types of food that you eat should be nutritious. In this world of today, you eat that which has absolutely no innate power to sustain you. For the upkeep of the body you need protein and vitamins of every kind. One vitamin gives you good eyesight; one purifies the blood; a third strengthens the bones. And for all these, proteins are vital. In fact, protein means 'that which protects you'. And food which is not cooked contains the largest amount of protein. Take for instance, the different types of legumes, like mung and dhal. Even foreigners tend to use these - for example, the soybean. Here, the protein content is great. Now, the way to eat peas, beans or lentils, is to soak them in water and let them sprout. In this way they come to you in all their richness. But,because we are victims of our tongue, tastes, whims and fancies, what do we do? Boil them, and further change them by adding oil and various other ingredients. In the process, we deprive them of their basic contents, and deprive ourselves of what they can give us."
"For another example, take fruits which have nothing but vitamins,and vegetables which can give you any amount of strength. What these give us today could be called artificial vitamins. In the old days, the common practice was to give plants manure in its natural state in the form of cow dung. The resulting vegetables might have been small, but they were rich in content. Today, vegetables are oversized, and they lack their former flavour. What is the reason? Plants are now fed with artificial manure, and they really do not have the innate strength which ought to be there. As a result, there is an increase in the number of cancer cases and heart complaints."
"To this day, no doctor has come up with a solution for the problem of cancer. The cause of all this cancer is something worth knowing. Now, some might say that cancer is a direct result of smoking cigarettes. Others might say that air pollution is the cause. These factors might be contributing in a small way, but they are not the primary cause of cancer. The main cause of cancer is refined sugar. The reason for this is that in the refining of sugar, a lot of chemicals are added. And one of these processing chemicals is the powder of bone, which, when you eat the sugar, may get lodged in any part of the body and create problems."
"In what form was sugar eaten in the good old times? Not in this artificial, synthetic one, but as wholesome jaggery(an unrefined brown sugar). Today you find the artificial creeping into everything that you eat - all merely for the sake of money. Now, if your life span is cut short, who is going to finally enjoy all this money? So try to adopt that path whereby you will truly realize yourself. Emperors, mighty and valorous ones, have all gone, leaving behind their wealth. Don't forget your goal, your identity; safeguard your body."
"It is not this material wealth which is important. It is one's own good qualities which are real wealth. Without these attributes, wealth can give you nothing. So here again, 'Rather than wealth, take care of your health, ' it has been said. And what beyond health? What is the fulfillment that you must seek? To get back whence you have come. Atma(the divinity within) is your destination. Until the time that you reach this destination, spend your time, spend your body, spend all that you have in good deeds and doing good to others."
"Embodiments of Love, what is the sum and substance of all that I have been talking to you about? First, health is of paramount importance. Second, for what purpose, for whose sake? So that you might experience the ananda(bliss) of the Atma. Now, you might have health all right, but still not experience this atmananda. What use then, having this health? Certain people who cannot experience atmananda have good health nevertheless. What type of people are they? It has been said very well that these people are those who tend to reduce the world food supply, and are merely a burden to the herd."
"Try to understand who you are, your own reality. If you can't understand who you are, what is the use of your living in this world? So don't make a distinction between that which is this world and that which is beyond this world. Bring the two together, and understand that you have to realize your own true nature and experience the divine ananda(bliss). And, whatever is given to man, try to further it. Love. Don't allow any room for pettiness or narrow outlook. Try to conduct yourself in such a way as not to injure others. Only then will you be sanctifying your existence."
He once said: "The Gita(the Indian religious scripture) defines the nature and tastes of the three types of food eaten by man. The food that promotes love, virtue, strength, happines and cordiality is Sathwic; that which influences, arouses, intoxicates and heightens hunger and thirst is Rajasic; the food that depresses, disrupts and causes disease is Thamasic."
On the 8th of October 1983, Baba gave a discourse in which he was much more specific as to what types of food are injurious to our health. The following excerpt from this discourse are taken from the Sathya Sai Newsletter of Arizona, USA, with their kind permission.
"In this world of ours, man is given to experience wealth beyond description. But, out of all the possible types of wealth, it is one's health which is found to be the most valuable possession. In fact it is said that 'Health is wealth.' Without good health , one cannot succeed in even the smallest of ventures. One can have immense wealth and power, but without health these are of no consequence; only with health can one use wealth and authority for some good purpose. But it is a mistake to feel that one's health confers lasting happiness. For what is the purpose of worldly existence? That you might reach something beyond. Unless you have that distant goal set before you, this worldly existence is meaningless. So why do you need to safeguard your health? Not for your worldly existence, but for the sake of experiencing the Atmananda (bliss of realization of the divinity within). And in order to protect your health, you must follow a certain code of conduct."
"Now, in this creation, the different types of life forms have been classified into 8,400,000 species. Out of these 8,400,000 species 8,399,999 types tend to eat food which is not cooked. They eat instead food which is natural and available in their environment. This food which is available to them in nature, does not seem to change them. So you find that these 8,399,999 species of life forms are enjoying peak health. Of course, it does happen that, because of climatic variations and factors which are beyond our control, some of these life forms do also come to grief. But it is man alone who is subject to the most health related trouble. Any number of human diseases are on the increase. The reason is that man does not like to partake of food as God created it. He is the victim of his tongue, which wants to be satisfied in terms of taste, and so his own likes and dislikes come in the way of what he should eat. Man seeks to change the foods available in nature to suit his tastes, thereby putting an end to the very essence of life contained in them. Because he is exterminating the life-giving forces in the food available to him, he is increasingly subjecting himself to disease. So it follows, again, that if man were to eat foods in their natural state, he certainly would not be so subject to disease."
"Now, it is common knowledge that each body, each system, has the governing factors. All these factors should be present in a proper way - anything less or more is bound to put you into disorder. If you want to know the cause of headaches, it is not the head that is at fault. It is the stomach! This is so regarding all the different organs: the stomach is the key point. The stomach digest whatever is given to it and supplies the essence of it to all the organs. This power of digestion given to the stomach is a God given thing. In fact God resides in a Being as this digestive force, which is what governs all the life processes in the body. In order to revere this aspect of God, what is it that you should offer? This God should be given that which is His own creation, not what is made by man. So, if you give to your stomach whatever is available in the natural state, as given to you by God, everything will be fine."
"We tend to eat too much, which leads us to mental disturbance. A limit should be placed on the food that we take. If that limit is exceeded, we are bound to suffer. Food is a necessity, but it should be in the quantity required for sustenance of the body. Exceed that limit, and disorders come your way. Take for instance the heart, which has a certain capacity to pump blood to the rest of the body. It cannot exceed this optimum point. The body requires a certain horsepower for this heart, and that is what God has given it. So, when you build your body beyond the limits of the hearts capabilities, the heart can't function. That is why there is an increase in heart disease."
"The main idea behind all this is that you should limit the amount of food you take. Whatever the food type, if you eat it in moderation all will be well. Food in excess leads to mental disturbance, but food in limited amounts will give you happiness. Eat so that your hunger may be satiated and your body sustained, and not so that your body is enlarged. Every opportunity is available to us, if we only take care of our food habits. Perhaps certain circumstances beyond your control could lead you to distress, but otherwise there is no reason for you to be subjected to disease. If you wish to live longer, to be of service to society, to experience divinity for longer, then keep your food under check."
"In addition, the types of food that you eat should be nutritious. In this world of today, you eat that which has absolutely no innate power to sustain you. For the upkeep of the body you need protein and vitamins of every kind. One vitamin gives you good eyesight; one purifies the blood; a third strengthens the bones. And for all these, proteins are vital. In fact, protein means 'that which protects you'. And food which is not cooked contains the largest amount of protein. Take for instance, the different types of legumes, like mung and dhal. Even foreigners tend to use these - for example, the soybean. Here, the protein content is great. Now, the way to eat peas, beans or lentils, is to soak them in water and let them sprout. In this way they come to you in all their richness. But,because we are victims of our tongue, tastes, whims and fancies, what do we do? Boil them, and further change them by adding oil and various other ingredients. In the process, we deprive them of their basic contents, and deprive ourselves of what they can give us."
"For another example, take fruits which have nothing but vitamins,and vegetables which can give you any amount of strength. What these give us today could be called artificial vitamins. In the old days, the common practice was to give plants manure in its natural state in the form of cow dung. The resulting vegetables might have been small, but they were rich in content. Today, vegetables are oversized, and they lack their former flavour. What is the reason? Plants are now fed with artificial manure, and they really do not have the innate strength which ought to be there. As a result, there is an increase in the number of cancer cases and heart complaints."
"To this day, no doctor has come up with a solution for the problem of cancer. The cause of all this cancer is something worth knowing. Now, some might say that cancer is a direct result of smoking cigarettes. Others might say that air pollution is the cause. These factors might be contributing in a small way, but they are not the primary cause of cancer. The main cause of cancer is refined sugar. The reason for this is that in the refining of sugar, a lot of chemicals are added. And one of these processing chemicals is the powder of bone, which, when you eat the sugar, may get lodged in any part of the body and create problems."
"In what form was sugar eaten in the good old times? Not in this artificial, synthetic one, but as wholesome jaggery(an unrefined brown sugar). Today you find the artificial creeping into everything that you eat - all merely for the sake of money. Now, if your life span is cut short, who is going to finally enjoy all this money? So try to adopt that path whereby you will truly realize yourself. Emperors, mighty and valorous ones, have all gone, leaving behind their wealth. Don't forget your goal, your identity; safeguard your body."
"It is not this material wealth which is important. It is one's own good qualities which are real wealth. Without these attributes, wealth can give you nothing. So here again, 'Rather than wealth, take care of your health, ' it has been said. And what beyond health? What is the fulfillment that you must seek? To get back whence you have come. Atma(the divinity within) is your destination. Until the time that you reach this destination, spend your time, spend your body, spend all that you have in good deeds and doing good to others."
"Embodiments of Love, what is the sum and substance of all that I have been talking to you about? First, health is of paramount importance. Second, for what purpose, for whose sake? So that you might experience the ananda(bliss) of the Atma. Now, you might have health all right, but still not experience this atmananda. What use then, having this health? Certain people who cannot experience atmananda have good health nevertheless. What type of people are they? It has been said very well that these people are those who tend to reduce the world food supply, and are merely a burden to the herd."
"Try to understand who you are, your own reality. If you can't understand who you are, what is the use of your living in this world? So don't make a distinction between that which is this world and that which is beyond this world. Bring the two together, and understand that you have to realize your own true nature and experience the divine ananda(bliss). And, whatever is given to man, try to further it. Love. Don't allow any room for pettiness or narrow outlook. Try to conduct yourself in such a way as not to injure others. Only then will you be sanctifying your existence."
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