Water Cure

Water cure

Melbourne. Two weeks ago I was reading through Baba’s health book Yogic Cures & Natural Remedies to find a treatment for one

Margi brother. How many scores of times had I looked at the chapters on digestive disorders? But this time one instruction made me pause: “The patient must drink small amounts of water as frequently as possible-totaling at least four to five liters per day.”

I had tried everything to cure myself. Why hadn’t I tried following that simple directive?

Since then I’ve been drinking a little water, up to half a cup at a time, about every 15 minutes, except during and just after meals. And—Lord have mercy on this body!—it looks like my old friend Dysentery has finally left me.

By now my intestines are probably completely shot. I have absolutely no appetite so I make sure my meals are separated by at least four to five hours.

All in all, my health problems have challenged my practice of con-tentedness. If I can maintain contentedness while I’m this sick, I guess I can maintain it just about anytime, anywhere. Is this part of the meaning of Ananda Marga, the “path of bliss”? Thnt no matter what happens, good or bad, it helps spiritual development?

An itchy test cum education

Four months later. Sydney. 1974. One week ago in New Zealand, I visited my higher authority, Dada Sumitananda. At the time, a little eczema appeared on my nose. He suggested that I fast on herbal teas and pure fruit juices for a few days to clear out the excess toxins. The fast would give the toxins a chance to come out.

Well, they sure did come out—like a parade on Madison Avenue. Now my whole body is covered with the eczema. It itches terribly. Though I look terrible, I continue my normal touring, and also continue the fast.

Two weeks later. Brisbane. The eczema has become worse. It’s now a thick brown cake, cracked and oozing pus. I have to change my clothes at least twice a day. Though I try my best not to scratch, the itch is so great that I unknowingly claw myself. I wear gloves to control my hands during sleep. Sometimes, however, I wake up to find that I’ve unconsciously taken off the gloves and had a good scratch.

Doctors are of no use. From today I’ve stopped even the teas and juices, and now drink only mineral water. Anyway, I don’t have any hunger.

Still my lecture tour continues. I don’t know what the public thinks, because I don’t talk about my condition, and neither do they. In any case, there are still plenty of new people asking to learn meditation and yoga.

It’s all so bizarre.

Three days later. Yesterday, a group of Margis invited me for a day’s outing to a lake. While I was telling stories to the Margis, a drunk suddenly interrupted us, saying, “Man. ah you a Yoogy?”

One brother answered him. “Yes, he is.”

“Then how’s come’s you’s got all that gook all over yur body? Wha kind o’ Yoogy’s got sooo yecchy? Huh? How’s you goin explaain?”

“It’s a test I’m undergoing to strengthen my mind.”

Everybody was silent. The drunk stared at me like his eyes were going to pop out.

“Well I like dat,” he finally said. Coming over to me, he shook my hand, again exclaiming, “I like dat!” Then he walked away with a cheery jaunt.

The Margis also liked dat.

Ten days later. Adelaide. About a week ago the eczema started to get a little better. But the progress was so slow that I finally lost faith, even in the water fast. After one month of fasting I gave it up and started to eat fruits. Within two days I became 50% better. I’m astonished. How could eating help me more than fasting?

One possible answer is that the elimination of toxins was halted when my system switched gears in order to digest food. But a more likely reason, I feel, is that my mind no longer required such an intense disease—enough was enough.

For nearly three months I’ve eaten only fruits and raw vegetables. Still, the eczema did not become more than 75% better. A few days ago I hit another “enough-is-enough” point.

I started eating bread, cooked foods, sweets—everything. Within two days my skin was completely clear (though I still have no appetite).

An Indian Margi, Chandra Prakash of Patna, told me a similar story, which he had rarely mentioned to anyone else.

In 1983 and 1984, at the age of 34, he started feeling a constant pain in his intestines. Whenever he ate even the smallest amount of food, he vomited. This made him stop eating. Finally, for a period of four months, he drank only fruit juices and a little milk.

In the third month he underwent medical analysis. The doctor told him that he had intestinal tuberculosis and prescribed medicine. After 15 days of treatment, Chandra Prakash could no longer stand the intense reaction produced by the medicine. He went to another doctor who told him that the diagnosis of the first doctor was wrong, and that in fact the sickness was cancer of the colon. He said that an operation would have to be performed within three days, and sent the patient to the appropriate section of the hospital.

But the doctor in that section told Chandra Prakash that he would have to wait 6 days before they could perform the operation. In the meantime, further tests were conducted.

On the fifth day, Dada Shraddhananda (who became president of Ananda Marga in 1990) arrived at Chandra Prakash’s house unexpectedly and said, “Somehow I felt you were in trouble, so I came.”

When Dadaji heard that an operation was intended for the following day, he said, “No. You must not undergo that operation. If you do, it will kill you. In fact you have no real illness. You should only have faith in Baba, and you will be cured.”

Accordingly, Chandra Prakash did not go to the hospital. Some days later he heard that the last tests had been inconclusive. A few days after that, he went to Ananda Nagar to attend the semi-annual spiritual festival with Baba. At the end of the festival, as usual. Baba gave a blessing which begins, “May everyone be happy, may everyone be free of illness….”

In the middle of the blessing Chandra Prakash stood up angrily and said. “What You say. Baba! I have been suffering for 2 years, and You say everyone should be healthy!”

Without waiting for the end of the session, he stamped out of the hall and marched over to a foodstall. He purchased six plates of pakora (deep fried potatoes and flour), a plate of milk-sweets, and finished it off with a glass of tea. He then walked back into the hall and announced to his father how he had broken his four months of fasting.

The old man was shocked. A few minutes later, Chandra Prakash ran out of the hall again, this time to vomit. After vomiting, he entered the hall again and announced that he was cured. From that moment he was never again troubled by the slightest digestive ailment.]

32 Besides teaching yoga and meditation throughout the entire period of these fluctuations in my health and appearance, I also helped to organize our first service projects in Australia - a permanent soup kitchen for derelicts, two full-time non-profit food cooperatives, and a kindergarten according to Baba’s neo-humanistic education system. The kindergarten was registered with the Sydney city government under the name" Sunrise School".