Even though I grew up reading Ayurvedic, yogic, and tantric scriptures expounding on health, yoga, and alchemy, my own health was never good. For the greater part of my life, as a patient with asthma, I was allergic to pollen. I don’t remember a change of season when I didn’t fall sick. I was living proof of modern medicine’s belief that allergies could only be treated temporarily. I had given up my asthma medication with the help of a controlled diet. Yet, every year, at the dawn of spring, my asthma would get worse, and I would start gobbling up cough syrups and cold and flu tablets. With a red nose, heavy head, and a wheezing chest, I would increase my inhaler dosage and lose most of my appetite.
My body needed rest, but time was perhaps the one thing I could not afford. My projects, teams, and clients needed me every day, across five different time zones, and the immense stress at work left me gasping for breath. Exercising at the gym, playing badminton, eating organic food, and taking supplements only helped a little. The fact remained that whenever the seasons changed, I fell sick. I would notice those who remained mostly healthy, regardless of the pressure at work or the challenges they endured at home. Many of these healthy people even ate unhealthily, yet they remained mostly fit. I seriously wondered: ‘What is the secret to their health?’ There is no secret, really. In accordance with Ayurveda, I came to the conclusion that each one of us is truly different, and some of us are more prone to certain diseases than others. I accepted the fact that asthma was my way of life.
A few years later, however, I renounced the material world and went to the Himalayas to begin my life as a monk. I stayed in the woods and caves for nearly thirteen months. While there, I didn’t even contract a common cold, let alone any major ailments or asthma. Surviving on one frugal meal a day—and sometimes just on snow—when I emerged from my hut many months later after intense meditation, I felt fitter and stronger than ever before. I meditated in open fields during spring and in caves during winter, yet there was no sign of any allergy.
I had never felt this before: being completely free of any physical ailments for months at a stretch. This experience challenged my earlier conclusion. I figured that it’s never too late to take control of your well-being and, no matter what your genetic disposition, you can attain near-perfect health. Having said that, I observed that we, as a human race, fall ill more frequently and for longer durations than any other species. The animals we have tamed also fall sick more often than their wild counterparts.
I reflected on my perfect health in the Himalayas and concluded that there were many factors contributing to my well-being there. I realized that living in harmony with nature and adopting some of the yogic principles were primary reasons why I did not fall sick at all. I examined the truths of Ayurvedic and yogic scriptures in a new light. Ayurvedic concoctions, yogasanas, or tantric practices alone were not sufficient to cure my illness; the key was to combine all of them. Most notably, leading a simple life in the most natural way was what truly worked. While in the woods, I was in constant touch with Mother Nature, and her incredible healing powers brought about profound changes in my body and mind.
I understand that many of us can’t afford to leave the hustle and bustle of the town even for a day, let alone go away and live in the woods for months. It is for this reason that I have written this book. This is what is remarkable about Ayurveda and yoga: you do not have to live in the woods or in the Himalayas to be in touch with nature. An entire cosmos exists within you. You do not have to be as flexible as a rubber doll either, because I won’t be asking you to assume any complicated postures. You just need the willingness to understand health in its entirety, and the discipline to take control of your physical and emotional well-being.
Our body is the finest, in fact, the only medium for experiencing all pleasures and sorrows. In Ayurveda, as in yoga and tantra, the health of an individual is not just the state of their physical body but an aggregate of the body, senses, mind, and soul. Your immune system is directly impacted by your state of mind. The more positive and happy you are, the stronger your immunity.
According to Ayurveda, health and disease have the same source. When various entities (covered later in this book) are in harmony, it translates into health. And when they are in disequilibrium, they cause disorders. Your body is merely the seat of your consciousness. If your consciousness is afflicted, it will surely—without exception—result in physical disorders too. Mental afflictions create diseases in the physical body and physical diseases, in turn, disturb the state of mind.
More often than not, an unhealthy mental state is the cause of illness—particularly in adults. You can treat the disease in the physical body, but that’s merely treating the symptom. Such a disease will recur. For example, you can take anti-allergy medication to avoid hay fever, but it will come back every year. To remain disease-free, it is important to have a healthy mind and a healthy body; they complement each other. Attaining a healthy body and a healthy mind is the core philosophy of Ayurveda.
The modern system of medicine is mostly symptom-driven. If I have a headache, it’ll tell me to take a painkiller. Ayurveda, on the other hand, does not believe in treating symptoms alone. It advocates understanding the patient and treating the cause of the symptom, not the symptom itself. To achieve this, the ancient scriptures take a far more holistic approach to health by considering our lifestyle combined with our natural tendencies, which vary from person to person. In other words, it understands that one man’s medicine could be another man’s poison. Yogurt, for example, may aid digestion in some people but cause indigestion in others.
Further, just focusing on your physical health by way of better diet and exercise is only a fraction of the solution. The important part is taking care of your mental and emotional health. How you respond to what life throws at you affects your health in the most significant manner. You cannot choose your parents, your siblings, your country of birth, and so forth. You cannot change your boss, your spouse, your children, or your friends. The economy, the country, and the state of society are largely beyond your control. You may have a few, if any, practical choices in these. You can, however, choose how you feel about those elements of your life and how you respond to them. The way you look at anything and the manner in which you accept or react are the two most important – if not the only – factors that determine your overall well-being. If you can either change your perspective or your response towards what you find disturbing, ninety percent of the job is done. The remaining ten percent is simply about body fitness. Yogic wisdom helps you gain mental equilibrium and Ayurveda, physical well-being.
Yogic texts propose that just as bliss is the natural state of the mind, health is the natural state of the body. When your mind returns to its natural state, you experience peace naturally. Similarly, when your body is in its natural state – with the various constituents of your body, such as humors (dosha), tissues (dhatu), digestive fire (agni), and energy flow (vayu) in balance – you are disease-free; you are healthy. Any thought disturbing your mental balance is a negative thought, even if it concerns God. Conversely, any thought bringing you peace is a positive thought. The more you fill your mind with positive thoughts, the better your mental state will be. This naturally results in better physical health.
The Sanskrit word for health is svasthya; it means self-dependence or a sound state of the body and mind. If examined further, it refers to your natural state: 'sva' means natural, and 'sthya' means state or place. Ayurveda aims to restore your natural state, your balance, so you may be free of mental and physical afflictions.
I’ve had patients successfully cure ulcers, cancers, migraines, obesity, hypertension, allergies, depression, and many other ailments by following the principles I share with you in this book. I am not suggesting that Ayurveda is a panacea; no system of medicine is. However, when you combine the principles of Ayurveda with yogic thought, you make a giant leap in your understanding of the human body and its well-being. In this book, I introduce you to a holistic system of health and wellness.
My goal is not to provide you with herbal remedies, as I do not intend to treat symptoms. Additionally, I am not a medical professional but rather a meditation specialist and a tantric practitioner. There are many Ayurvedic doctors available for medical consultation. However, once you adopt the principles and practices that I am sharing here, you may not need to see a doctor again. For a healthy and long life, ancient yogic thought offers one of the most insightful, complete, and scientific perspectives available to you.
I promise that by the time you finish reading this book, you will look upon your body and your health in a new way. You will learn how to take better care of yourself and will know how to lead a healthier life in our present world—a world where we have all the comforts, yet we are restless. We have organic breakfast on the table but no time to eat it; we have the most comfortable mattresses but little sleep. The key to wholesome living and well-being is entirely in your hands. You alone can take control of your physical and emotional health. Let me show you how.