CHAPTER VII : Harmony With Body – Understanding Sanyama And Svasthya

HUMAN VALUES AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

LECTURE NOTES

UNIT –II : CHAPTER VII 

CHAPTER VII : Harmony With Body – Understanding Sanyama And Svasthya

Our Body – A Self-Organized Unit:

            The human body is a self-organized unit with a highly sophisticated mechanism. It is made up of several organs such as the heart, lungs etc. and various glands, all of which work in a close co-ordination.

            The body is made up of cells and each cell of the body has a role to play in the overall working of the body. Each cell is Self-organized and participates in the Self- organization of the body as a whole.

            All the activities in the body keep the body fit for the use of “I”.

Harmony of the “I” with the Body:

The harmony of “I” with the body is:

                      i.             In the form of Sanyama (Self-Regulation) on part of “I
                 ii.  In the form of Svasthya (Health) on part of the Body

        

     

         

Sanyama (Self-Regulation):

           

            It is the feeling of responsibility in the Self (“I”) for nurturing, protection and right utilization of the Body.

 
   Once I realize that the Body is my instrument and that the body needs nutrition, protection from the environment and proper utilization to work as an efficient tool for the right purpose, I naturally develop a feeling of responsibility towards my Body. This feeling of responsibility developed in “I” is Sanyama.

            When I live with Sanyama, there is harmony among the different parts of the Body and the Body becomes my useful instrument.

Svasthya (Health):

            It is the condition of the body where every part of the body is properly performing its expected function. This leads to harmony within the body, and the body become perfectly fit for use by the “I”. 

            There is a strong coupling between “I” and the “Body”. Disharmony in any one of them adversely affects the other.

For example:

        i.            If I am in disharmony (anger/stress/despair etc.), it starts affecting the “Body” adversely leading to psychosomatic diseases like allergies, diabetes, hypertension etc.

      ii.            Similarly, if there is any strong disturbance in the Body in the form of severe pain, illness etc., it distracts “I” from its normal functions.

Hence Sanyama is vital for Svasthya. If there is Sanyama, a good health can be ensured. If there is no Sanyama, a good health can be lost.

Our state today (due to lack of Sanyama):

·      Lack of responsibility towards body

Reasons: busy life styles, eating at odd hours, eating junk food, reduced physical work or labour, craving for pleasant body sensations like tasty food, drinks etc.

Result: falling sick repeatedly

·      Tendency for medication to suppress ailment

              Reasons: 

•            Our sickness is a signal of some disorder in our body. But instead of attending to it, we try to suppress it through medication and then forget about it.

•    Hospitals and sophisticated equipments are providing diagnosis and cure and are not concentrating on prevention of diseases. Instead of using simple, common medication, we are ending up consuming a lot of harmful substances in the name of medicines which are intoxicating our body.

·      Polluted air, water, food ….

              Reasons:  Air pollution is being caused by industries, vehicles etc. Water is being polluted by industrial effluents, sewage etc. Various industrial effluents, chemical fertilizers, pesticides etc. are polluting the soil and by consuming the yield of crops grown in such soil, all kinds of toxic contents are entering our body through our food.

The way out / Solution to our present state

Our present life style and our conditionings are not very conducive to keep our body fit and therefore it is important to understand Sanyama and Swasthya correctly.

Program to take care of the body

   1.      To understand and live with Sanyama:

·   It implies that the “Self” takes the responsibility for proper nurturing, protection and right utilization of the body.

·   It also implies that the “Self” should understand that the body is an instrument and has a limited life span and undergoes a pattern of growth and decay.

·   The “Self” should also understand the right purpose for which this instrument has to be used.

   2.      To understand the self-organization of the body and ensure overall health of the body in the following ways:

Nurturing of the Body (Posana / Poshan):

Posana / Poshan involves providing proper food (Ahar), air, water etc. to the body.

The selection of food (Ahar) should be such that it gives required nutrients and energy to the body following the program below:

·   Ingestion: This involves taking the food into the mouth and chewing it well for easy digestion.

·   Digestion: Digestion starts after swallowing the food. Digestion also depends on proper rest and exercise of the body. Food consumed should be at proper intervals and with proper posture and right quantity.

·   Excretion: After digestion, the necessary nutrients are absorbed by the body and the unnecessary or undigested part needs to be thrown out or excreted.

If any of the above three activities are not performed properly, it affects the body adversely and causes several health problems.

Protection of the Body (Sanrakshana):

This involves the selection of proper clothes and shelter for protecting the body from extreme climatic conditions and to provide the right amount of exposure of the body to air, water, sunlight etc. to ensure proper functioning of the body.

To ensure the health of the Body, we need to take care of the following:

           i.Ahara – Vihara (Food – Upkeep)

The selection of food (Ahar) should be such that it gives required nutrients and energy to the body. For proper upkeep of the body, the body should be given rest from time to time. We must ensure proper time, posture and ways to work and to rest. And provide hygienic working conditions to upkeep our body.

               ii.   Shrama – Vyayama (Physical labour – Exercise)

Requisite amounts of physical labour and exercise are essential to keep the body fit and healthy.

             iii.   Asana – Pranayama ( Yogasana – Pranayam)

    Yogasanas are well designed exercises involving specific postures to keep the body    healthy and Pranayama involves exercises involving regulation of breathing. Together they ensure the synergy between the Self and the Body.

             iv.   Ausadhi – Chikitsa (Medicine – Treatment)

Whenever the body gets hurt or experiences any kind of disorder, we should remember that the body has a tendency heal itself and come back to normal state. We can attend to such problems by simple ways like going without food for some time or having a restricted diet etc. if the body needs further treatment, then the ailment should be properly interpreted and attended to. The medicines used for treatment should not give rise to other complications in future.

Right Utilization of the Body (Sadupayoga)

It is normally believed that our body is an instrument for sensory enjoyment. This is a wrong notion. We also use our body to exploit others and to exploit Nature as well.

For e.g.: fighting, sealing, quarrelling etc.

Human Body should be used only for the right behaviour and right work. Otherwise it leads to disharmony in the Self which has adverse affects on the Body.

We should arrange for appropriate equipments/ physical facilities which help the right utilization of the body and avoid excess physical labour.

Correct Appraisal of our Physical Needs

The correct appraisal of needs constitute the first step towards ensuring prosperity.

The following diagram shows that the Physical Facilities required for nurturing, protection and right utilization of the body are limited.

By understanding the need for Physical Facilities under the above three heads namely food, clothing, shelter and instruments, we can evaluate whether we have more than required. We have a common misconception today that “Our needs are unlimited”. We are getting confused between the needs of the Self and the needs of the Body and are assuming that the needs of the body are unlimited.

In Nature, the availability of facilities like water, oxygen etc. is more than our needs. Once we realize that the needs of our Body are limited and can be easily fulfilled, there emerges a possibility of prosperity in our minds.