Celebrating independence for the individual

Everyone wishes for independence. It is a natural demand of all people all over the world. It is a proud moment for a people or a society when they declare independence or earn it through struggle.

For nearly two centuries India was ruled by the British. While the country achieved independence in 1947, what about the people? Imagine the country as a body. The people within are like the mind. The ruler is the soul. When all of these live together harmoniously and in the interest of the natural law, then life goes on well. In such an ideal scenario, positive living can be practised with satisfaction, joy, prosperity and health. India’s various states lost control to invaders over centuries, not because the invaders were more powerful, but because of sabotage within. Some people went against natural law and tried to gain control with the help of invaders, and thus, we lost our independence to outside governments.

The individual faces the same problem. One part is the body including the senses. Another part, the mind, controls the senses, but may also try to control every decision. When the mind succeeds in manipulating the senses, then the body and mind essentially go against the soul. The soul is the universal, ethical program that works in sync with all existence. If this betrayal occurs then the individual faces the possibility of losing control and true independence.

There are certain principles of the cosmos. They are not bound by any time since they are the basic rules of the cosmic program and are everlasting. The cosmic program is the true ‘ruler’ or ‘independent entity’. The individual’s mind and senses need to serve or follow this ruler, and not any other. This cosmic entity can decide when to enter a body and also when to leave. This program cannot be controlled by outside means. This force, also called praan, works according to those cosmic laws and nature’s rules. 

The cosmic principle is to keep balance between body, mind and soul at the individual level. The soul corresponds to the natural or legitimate ruler of the body i.e. positive, praanic energy. But when the senses and mind deviate from the policy of living in sync with positive praanic energy, a divide occurs in the being. That division allows an ‘outsider’, a negative or destructive thought, to take over the body or affect it in parts. The result is a disease – physical or non-physical.

Reflecting on this concept or theory, we can conclude that health is a harmony between body, mind and soul and disease is the imbalance or a fight between them. Independence, or the individual being free and able to express the cosmic program is founded on this harmony. To re-establish independence for the individual, the requirement is health. For this, we need a health system that has been developed not only to deal with symptoms of a disease, but with the original cause as well. A system with a long-term view of human health and evolution. The only system available today that achieves this aim is Ayurveda. A science that offers individual independence and does not have side effects because it has a holistic approach. Ayurvedic medicines are designed to do no harm. Ayurveda is aimed at removing disease, increasing health, promoting evolution and longevity and most of all, it improves the quality of life. 

So how do the senses go out of balance in the first place? To make life beautiful we have a number of primary requirements – food, fresh air and water, a good community of people and a society that allows one to have a natural life in accordance with cosmic principles. 

The tongue’s function is to taste and the responsibility to understand and partake in food. It is vital that food is suitable for the body, for temperament and it also needs to be digested well to provide energy. But the senses also have a ‘mind’ of their own. As a result, the tongue gets attracted to food that tastes delicious, or that has been liked by the eyes or ears. Perhaps it is affected by an advertisement or decoration of the food or by someone appreciating the food. Then, it starts consuming that food beyond normal proportions and the laws that govern digestion are broken. Similarly, the eyes are supposed to bring images and information objectively, but they end up adding ideas from memory and the mind’s biases. Thus, the mind begins to get involved in physiological imbalances. This cycle ends up in dependency on a restricted diet, medicines, therapies and psychological counselling to cure the disease or deal with unwanted mental states. In brief, behaviour that has been misguided by the senses becomes the root or cause of every unhealthy condition. 

Ayurveda is not merely a science of administering herbs, drugs or some therapies. It has eight branches of healthcare. All these are directed at bringing harmony to the individual through various techniques and knowledge systems. It also incorporates Yoga and Praanayam to help bring the senses into normalcy.

Ayurveda helps develop trust and contact the cosmic entity through the individual soul. When one is in balanced condition, fear of all kinds is reduced and trust in life increases. These are part of achieving complete health and the basis for true independence at the level of the individual – a goal that we must have, particularly when we just celebrated the Independence Day.

The author is an authority on Ayurveda and spiritual science and is founder of Atmasantulana Village, a world-renowned holistic healing centre. If you have any query then email it to us on ayurveda@dnaindia.net