For Global Peace with Social Justice in a Sustainable Environment

Experiment on nature cure by Mahatma Gandhi, Part-II

Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav

Gandhian Scholar

Gandhi Research Foundation, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India

Contact No.- 09404955338

E-mail- dr.yadav.yogendra@gandhifoundation.net

Experiment on nature cure by Mahatma Gandhi, Part-II

Nature Cure is the system of therapeutics in which surgery and prescription medications are avoided, and preparations such as vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbs are used to treat and prevent disease. It is a method of treating disease using food and exercise and heat to assist the natural healing process. Mahatma Gandhi was a very fond of nature. He knew it very well that nature has given everything to us. All plants, leaves, flowers, fruits have some medicinal property. So he did a lot of experiments on it. He guided to their associates for it. Mahatma Gandhi wrote on nature cure, “I certainly have faith in nature cure but it is not always that we come by the proper cures. I have not yet full faith in Hakimji’s knowledge. Of course, I am keeping well.”56 Mahatma Gandhi wrote on nature cure, “I have your letter. Write about your experiences in Calcutta. Satis Babu has grown weak. Do something for him if you can. Or have you lost touch with nature cure? I am only joking.”57

Mahatma Gandhi wrote on nature cure, “You are right in saying that time is against us. It is a matter of great satisfaction to me that you do not think that our ways of thinking differ. What pleases me, more than anything else, however, is your decision. It is not your dharma to sell ghee. Your dharma consists in curing patients by nature cure or other acceptable treatment. It is good that you will now earn a living in the city practicing nature cure. Says the Bhagavad Gita It is part of a verse and means that even death in the pursuance of one’s own dharma is good. There is only fear in another’s dharma, never profit.”58 Mahatma Gandhi wrote on nature cure, “There is only one point you want answered. We need not give such a deep meaning to nature cure. Only he is entitled to it who has put it into practice in its popular meaning. We cannot all say: “I am the Brahman.” When it is time for you to go to jail God will open a way. Anyway, what I am envisaging for you is not jail-going. So keep yourself immersed in your work.”59

Mahatma Gandhi wrote on nature cure, “I hope your backache has subsided. I would strongly recommend nature cure as a permanent remedy. It consists in strict diet, vapour baths and cold hip-baths. Abdominal mud bandages help considerably. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur has some experience of this treatment. She has tried it herself off and on. She is your neighbor. Do discuss it with her.”60 Mahatma Gandhi wrote on nature cure, “Shri Gidwani does not subscribe to non-violence. He thinks that my advice is contrary to the teachings of Lord Krishna. He thinks, for (to himself) very good reasons, that the Hindus cannot act nonviolently. For equally good reasons he thinks they cannot migrate. But he would like me to advise them to defend themselves by arms. This is like asking a nature-cure physician to prescribe allopathic drugs.”61

Mahatma Gandhi wrote on nature cure, “I should like readers to note that I have not here dealt with fasts undertaken for bodily or spiritual purification. Nature-cure doctors should be consulted for the former. The greatest of sinners can undertake the latter. And for this type of fast we possess a veritable mine of literature. Fasts for spiritual purification have really been forgotten in our day. If they are ever undertaken, they are either purely imitative or merely for the sake of tradition, and we cannot, therefore, derive the benefit from them that we should. Those who want to go in for a satyagrahi fast should certainly possess some personal experience of fasts for spiritual purification. Fasts for ridding the body of impurities are also beneficial. In the end, of course, there is only one basis of the whole idea of fasting, and that is purification.”62

Mahatma Gandhi wrote on nature cure, “Do give, within reasonable limits, the time required by homoeopathy to cure you. I have heard much about the water at Hajira, but do not know about Deolali. Hajira may possibly agree with you. Everything else failing, you can try nature cure. But we should first meet and have a brief discussion.”63 Mahatma Gandhi wrote on nature cure, “These chapters are written in order to introduce the reader to this most important branch of therapeutics and tell him how I have made use of these methods in my own life. The subject has been touched upon in the foregoing chapters. It will be dealt with in some detail here. The science of natural therapeutics is based on a use, in the treatment of disease, of the same five elements which constitute the human body. To refresh the reader’s memory, these are earth, water, ether, light and air. It is my effort to point out how they can be utilized for health purposes. Up till the year 1901, although I did not rush to doctors whenever I happened to get ill, I did use their remedies to a certain extent. I used to take fruit-salt for constipation. The late Dr. Pranjivan Mehta who had come to Natal introduced me to certain drugs to remove general lassitude. This led me to read literature on the uses of drugs. Add to this a little more knowledge I gained by a certain amount of work I had put in at a cottage hospital in Natal. This enabled me to carry on for some time, but none of the drugs did me any good in the end. Headaches and loss of a sense of general well-being persisted.1 I was very dissatisfied with this state of things and what little faith I had in medicines began to fade. All through this interval my experiments in dietetics were continued. I had great faith in nature-cure methods, but there was nobody to help me with practical guidance in their use. With the help of whatever knowledge I could gather by reading a little of nature-cure literature, I tried to treat myself by diet regulation. My habit of going out for long walks also stood me in good stead, and thanks to that habit I did not have actually to take to bed. While I was thus managing to keep going somehow, Mr. Polak handed me Just’s book, called Return to Nature. He did not follow Just’s instructions himself, except that he tried to regulate his diet more or less according to Just’s teaching. But knowing me as he did, he thought I would like the book. Just lays great emphasis on the use of earth. I felt that I ought to give it a trial. For constipation, just advises cold mud-poultices on the lower abdomen. I made a mud-poultice by mixing clean, dry earth with water, packed it in a piece of thin cloth and kept it on the abdomen throughout the night. The result was most satisfactory. I had a natural well-formed motion the next morning and from that day onwards I have hardly ever touched fruit-salt. Occasionally I feel the need of a purgative and take less than a dessert-spoonful of castor oil early in the morning. The mud-poultice should be three inches broad, six inches long and half an inch thick. Just claims that mud can cure man bitten by a poisonous snake. He would pack wet earth all round the body. I mention this for what it is worth. I would like to put down here what I have tested and proved for myself. It is my experience that a mud-poultice applied to the head, relieves headache in most cases. I have tried it in hundreds of cases. Headache may be due to several causes, but whatever the cause, as a general rule, an application of mud-poultice relieves it for the time being. Mud-poultices cure ordinary boils. I have applied mud to discharging abscesses as well. For these cases I prepare the poultice by packing the mud in a clean piece of cloth dipped in potassium permanganate lotion, and apply it to the abscess after washing clean with permanganate lotion. In the majority of cases this treatment results in complete cure. I do not remember a single case in which it has failed me. Mud application immediately relieves the pain of a wasp sting. I have used it in many cases of scorpion sting, though with much less success. Scorpions have become a nuisance in Sevagram. We have tried all the known treatments for scorpion sting, but none has proved infallible. I can say this that the results of mud application are not inferior to those of any other form of treatment.”64

The joy, prosperity and activities of human being depend on health to much extent. According to the definition of, "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely absence of disease or infirmity." Virtually this is already mentioned in Ayurveda. Mahatma Gandhi wrote on nature cure, “In high fever, an application of mud-poultice on the head and abdomen is very useful. Although it does not always bring down the temperature, it does invariably soothe the patient and make him feel better, so that the patients themselves ask for these applications. I have used it in several cases of typhoid fever. The fever no doubt runs its own course but mud applications seem to relieve restlessness and abate the suffering. We have had about ten cases of typhoid fever in Sevagram with complete recovery in every case, so that the inmates of the Ashram are no longer afraid of typhoid fever. I have not used any drugs in the treatment of these cases. I have made use of other nature-cure methods besides mud-poultices, but about those in their own place. In Sevagram we have made free use of hot mud-poultices as a substitute for antiphlogistine. A little mustard oil and salt is added to the mud and it is heated sufficiently long to ensure sterilization. I have not told the reader what kind of earth should be used for mud-poultices. In the beginning I used to procure sweet-smelling clean, red earth. It emits a delicate smell when it is mixed with water. But this kind of earth is not easy to obtain. In a city like Bombay it is a problem to get any kind of earth. It is safe to use soft alluvial clay, which is neither gritty nor sticky. One should never use earth taken from manured soil. Earth should be dried, pounded and passed through a fine sieve. If there is any doubt as to its cleanliness, it should be well heated and thus sterilized. Mud used as a poultice on a clean surface need not be thrown away after use. It can be used again and again after drying it in the sun or on fire and pounding and sieving it. I am not aware that mud-poultice made out of the same earth again and again as described above, is any the less efficacious. I have myself used it in this way and did not find it any the less efficacious for repeated use. Some friends, who regularly use mud-poultices, tell me that mud from the Jumna banks is particularly good for this purpose.

Just writes that clean earth may be eaten in order to overcome constipation. Five to ten grams is the maximum dose. The rationale is said to be this. Earth is not digested. It acts as roughage and must pass out. The peristalsis thus stimulated pushes out the faecal matter as well. I have not tried it myself. Therefore those who wish to do so should try it on their own responsibility. I am inclined to think that a trial or two is not likely to harm anyone.

Hydrotherapy is a well-known and ancient form of therapy. Many books have been written on the subject, but in my opinion the form of hydrotherapy suggested by Kuhne2 is simple and effective. Kuhne’s book on nature cure is very popular in India. It has been translated in several languages of India. Andhra has the greatest number of Kuhne’s followers. He has written a good deal about diet as well, but here I wish to confine myself to his experiments in hydrotherapy. Hip-bath and sitz-bath1 are the most important of Kuhne’s contribution to hydrotherapy. He has devised a special tub for use though one can do without it. Any tub thirty to thirty-six inches long according to the patient’s height generally serves the purpose. Experience will indicate the proper size. The tub should be filled with fresh cold water so that it does not overflow when the patient sits in it. In summer the water may be iced, if it is not cold enough to give a gentle shock to the patient. Generally water kept in earthen jars overnight answers the purpose. Water can also be cooled by putting a piece of cloth on the surface of the water and then fanning it vigorously. The tub should be kept against the bathroom wall and a plank put in the tub to serve as back rest. The patient should sit in the tub keeping his feet outside. Portions of the body outside water should be kept well covered so that the patient does not feel cold. After the patient is comfortably seated in the tub, gentle friction should be applied to his abdomen with a soft towel. This bath can be taken for five to thirty minutes. When it is over, the body should be rubbed dry and the patient put to bed. Hip-bath brings down the temperature in high fever, and given in the manner described above, it never does any harm, and may do much good. It relieves constipation and improves digestion. The patient feels fresh and active after it. In cases of constipation, Kuhne advises a brisk walk for half an hour immediately after the bath. It should never be given on a full stomach. I have tried hip-baths on a fairly large scale. They have proved efficacious in more than 75 cases out of 100. In cases of hyperpyrexia, if the patient’s condition permits of his being seated in the tub, the temperature immediately invariably falls at least by two to three degrees, and the onset of delirium is averted.”65

Mahatma Gandhi wrote on nature cure, “The rationale of the hip-bath according to Kuhne is this: Whatever the apparent cause of fever, the real cause in every case is one and the same, i.e., accumulation of waste matter in the intestines. The heat generated by the putrefaction of this waste matter is manifested in the form of fever and several other ailments. Hip-bath brings down this internal fever so that fever and other ailments which are the external manifestations thereof subside automatically. How far this reasoning is correct, I cannot say. It is for experts to do so. Although the medical profession has taken up some things from nature-cure methods, on the whole they have given a cold shoulder to naturopathy. In my opinion both the parties are to be blamed for this state of affairs. The medical profession has got into the habit of confining themselves to whatever is included in their own curriculum. They present an attitude of indifference, if not that of contempt, for anything that lies outside their groove. On the other hand, the naturecurists nurse a feeling of grievance against the medicos and, in spite of their very limited scientific knowledge, they make tall claims. They lack the spirit of organization. Each one is self-satisfied and works by himself instead of all pooling their resources for the advancement of their system. No one tries to work out in a scientific spirit all the implications and possibilities of the system. No one tries to cultivate humility (if it is possible to cultivate humility). I have not said all this in order to belittle the work of the naturopaths. As a lay co-worker, I wish them to see things in their true colour so that they may make improvements wherever possible. It is my conviction that so long as some dynamic personality, from among the naturopaths themselves, does not come forward with the zeal of missionary, things will continue as they are. Orthodox medicine has its own science, medical unions and teaching institutions. It has to a certain measure of success. The medical profession should not be expected to put faith, all of a sudden, in things which are yet to be fully tested and scientifically proved. In the mean time the public should know that the specialty of nature-cure methods lies in the fact that being natural, they can be safely practiced by laymen. If a man suffering from headache wets a piece of cloth in cold water and wraps it round his head, it can do no harm. The addition of earth to cold water enhances the utility of the cold pack. Now about the sitz or friction-bath. The organ of reproduction is one of the most sensitive parts of the body. There is something illusive about the sensitiveness of the glans penis and the foreskin. Anyway, I know not how to describe it. Kuhne has made use of this knowledge for therapeutic purposes. He advises application of gentle friction to the outer end of the external sexual organ by means of a soft wet piece of cloth, while cold water is being poured. In the case of the male the glans penis should be covered with the foreskin before applying friction. The method advised by Kuhne is this: A stool should be placed in a tub of cold water so that the seat is just about the level of water in the tub. The patient should sit on the stool with his feet outside the tub and apply gentle friction to the sexual organ which just touches the surface of the water in the tub. This friction should never cause pain. On the contrary the patient should find it pleasant and feel rested and peaceful at the end of the bath. Whatever the ailment, the sitz-bath makes the patient feel better for the time being. Kuhne places sitz-baths higher than hip-baths. I have had much less experience of the former than of the latter. The blame, I think, lies mostly with me. I have been lax. Those whom I advised sitz-baths, have not been patient with the experiment, so that I cannot express an opinion on the efficacy of these baths, based on personal experience. It is worth a trial by everyone. If there is any difficulty about finding a tub, it is possible to pour water from a jug or a lota and take the friction-bath. It is bound to make the patient feel rested and peaceful. As a general rule people pay scant attention to the cleansing of the sexual organ. The friction-bath will easily achieve that end. Unless one is particularly careful, dirt accumulates between the foreskin and the glans penis. This must be removed. Insistence on keeping the sexual organ clean and patiently following the treatment outlined above will make the observance of brahmacharya comparatively easier. It will result in making the local nerve endings less sensitive and unwanted seminal emissions less likely. To say the least it is very unclean to allow seminal emissions to occur. Greater insistence on cleanliness should and will cause a feeling of revulsion against the process and make one much more particular than otherwise in taking all the precautions to avoid them. Having dealt with the two Kuhne baths, a few words about wet-sheet packs will not be out of place. It is very useful in pyrexia and insomnia. The method of giving wet-sheet packs is this: Spread three or four thick broad woolen blankets on a cot and on top of them a thick cotton sheet dipped in cold water with the water wrung out. The patient lies flat on the wet sheet with his head resting on a pillow outside the sheet. The wet sheet and the blankets are wrapped round the patient covering the whole body except the head which is covered with a damp towel treated after the manner of the wet sheet. The sheet and the blankets are wrapped round the patient, so that outside air cannot get inside. Though the patient feels a gentle shock when first laid in the wet-sheet pack, he finds it pleasant afterwards. In a minute or two he begins to feel warm. Unless the fever has become chronic, in about five minutes it begins to come down with sweating. In resistant cases I have kept the patient wrapped in the wet-sheet pack up to half an hour. This has finally resulted in sweating. Sometimes there is no sweating but the patient goes off to sleep. In that case he should not be awakened. The sleep indicates that the wet-sheet pack has produced a soothing effect and he is quite comfortable. The temperature invariably falls at least by one or two degrees as a result of the wet-sheet pack. It was over thirty years ago that my second son1 suffered from double pneumonia and high fever resulting in delirium. I had a medical friend advising me as to his condition. I would not, much to his sorrow, try his prescription. But I tried water cure. I used to put him in wet-sheet packs when fever shot up very high. After six or seven days the temperature went down. So far as I remember I gave him orange juice also, but nothing else. Typhoid supervened. It lasted 42 days. There was no treatment beyond simple nursing. I gave him milk and water for food. He had daily sponges. He was completely cured and is today the strongest and healthiest of all my four sons. At least this much might be said of the treatment that he was none the worse for it.”66

Mahatma Gandhi wrote on nature cure, “Wet-sheet packs are also useful in the treatment of prickly heat, urticaria, other forms of skin irritation, measles, smallpox, etc. I have tried them on a fairly large scale for these ailments. For smallpox and measles cases, I added enough potassium permanganate to the water to give it a light pink colour. The sheet used for these patients should afterwards be sterilized by soaking it in boiling water and leaving it in it till it cools down sufficiently and then washed with soap and water. In cases where circulation has become sluggish, the leg muscles feel sore and there is a peculiar ache and feeling of discomfort in the legs, an ice massage does a lot of good. This treatment is more effective in summer months. Massaging a weak patient with ice in winter might prove a risky affair. Now a few words about the therapeutics of hot water. An intelligent use of hot water gives relief in many cases. Application of iodine is a very popular remedy for all sorts of injuries and the like. Application of hot water will prove equally effective in most of these cases. Tincture of iodine is applied on swollen and bruised areas. Hot water fomentations are likely to give equal relief, if not more. Again, iodine drops are used in cases of earache. Irrigation of the ear with warm water is likely to relieve the pain in most of these cases. The use of iodine is attended with certain risks. The patient may have allergy towards the drug. Iodine mistaken for something else and taken internally might prove disastrous. But there is no risk whatever in using hot water. Boiling water is as good a disinfectant as tincture of iodine. I do not mean to belittle the usefulness of iodine or suggest that hot water can replace it in all cases. Iodine is one of the few drugs which I regard most useful and necessary, but it is an expensive thing. The poor cannot afford to buy it and moreover its use cannot be safely entrusted to everybody. But water is available everywhere. We may not despise its therapeutic value because it is obtained so easily. Knowledge of common household remedies often proves a godsend in many a crisis. In cases of scorpion-stings where all remedies have failed, immersion of the part in hot water has been found to relieve the pain to a certain extent. A shivering fit or a rigor can be made to subside by putting buckets of hot boiling water all round the patient who is well wrapped up or by saturating the atmosphere of the room with steam by some other device. A rubber hot-water bag is the most useful thing, but it is not to be found in every household. A glass bottle with a well-fitting cork, filled with hot water and wrapped in a piece of cloth, serves the same purpose. Care should be taken to choose bottles that will not crack on hot water being poured into them. Steam is a more valuable therapeutic agent. It can be used to make the patient sweat. Steam-baths are most useful in cases of rheumatism and other joint-pains.”67

Mahatma Gandhi wrote on nature cure, “The easiest as well as the oldest method of taking steam bath is this: Spread a blanket or two on a sparsely but tightly woven cot and put one or two covered vessels full with boiling water under it. Make the patient lie flat on the cot and cover him up in such a- way that the ends of the covering blankets touch the ground and thus prevent the steam from escaping, and the outside air from getting in. After arranging everything as above, the lid from the vessels containing boiling water is removed and steam soon gets on to the patient lying between the blankets. It may be necessary to change the water once or twice. Usually in India people keep an angithi under pots to keep the water boiling. This ensures continuous discharge of steam, but is attended with risk of accidents. A single spark might set fire to the blankets or to the cot and endanger the patient’s life. Therefore it is advisable to use the method described by me even though it might seem slow and tedious. Some people add neem leaves or other herbs to the water used for generating steam. I do not know if such an addition increases the efficiency of steam. The object is to induce sweat and that is attained by mere steam. In cases of cold feet or aching of legs, the patient should be made to sit with his feet and legs immersed up to the knees in as hot water as he can bear. A little mustard powder can be added to the water. The foot-bath should not last for more than fifteen minutes. This treatment improves the local circulation and gives immediate relief. In cases of common cold and sore throat a steam kettle which is very much like an ordinary tea kettle with a long nozzle can be used for applying steam to the nose or throat. A rubber tube of required length can be attached to any ordinary kettle for this purpose.

Akash is a difficult word to translate as are indeed all the other four elements so-called. For pani is not mere water in the original, nor vayu wind, or earth, or light. Akash is ether least of all. Perhaps the nearest equivalent is emptiness taken in its literal sense. And it is horribly inexpressive of the original. All the five in the original are as living as life. If, however, we take ether as the nearest equivalent for akash, we must say that we know very little about ether itself and akash much less. Our knowledge of its therapeutic uses is still more limited. Akash might be taken for the empty space surrounding the earth and the atmosphere round it. On a clear day, on looking up, one sees a beautiful mauve blue canopy which is known as the akash or sky. So far as we are concerned, this sky or the ether is limitless. We are surrounded by it on every side, and there is no nook or corner without it. Generally we imagine that the sky is something resting upon the high it is the blue canopy above us. But the sky is as much above us as below and all around us. We move round and round with the earth. Therefore the akash is round and everybody is within it. It is an envelope whose outermost surface is measureless. The lower strata of the akash for a number of miles are filled with air. But for this man would become suffocated in spite of the emptiness. True, we cannot see the air, but we can feel it when in motion. Sky or the ether is the abode of the atmosphere. One can pump out air, say, from an empty bottle and create a vacuum, but who can pump out the vacuum itself? That is akash. This akash we have to make use of to maintain or to regain health. Air being most essential to sustain life, nature has made it omnipresent. But the omnipresence of air is only relative. It is not limitless in reality. Scientists tell us that after a certain number of miles above the earth there is no air. It is said that earthly creatures cannot exist outside this atmosphere. This statement may or may not be true. All that we are concerned with here is that akash extends beyond the atmosphere. Some day the scientists might prove that what we call ether is also something which fills the empty space akash. Then we will have to discover a new name for the empty space that holds neither air nor the ether. Be that as it may, the mystery of this empty space all around us is most intriguing. We cannot solve it unless we can solve the mystery of God Himself. This much might be said that the more we utilize this great element akash the healthier we will be. The first lesson to be learnt is this that we should not put any partitions between ourselves and the sky the infinite which is very near and yet very far away. If our bodies could be in contact with the sky Arogyani Chavi adds: “We do fill the sky but because it is infinite any number of people can be accommodated in It.” without the intervention of houses, roofs and even clothes, we are likely to enjoy the maximum amount of health. This is not possible for everyone. But all can and should accept the validity of the statement and adapt life accordingly. To the extent that we are able to approach the state in practice, we will enjoy contentment and peace of mind. This train of thought taken to the extreme leads us to a condition where even the body becomes an obstacle separating man from the infinite. To understand this truth is to become indifferent to the dissolution of the body. For, to lose oneself in the infinite is to find one. The body thus ceases to be a vehicle for self-indulgence. Man will make use of his body for the realization of this unity with the infinite. In the course of the attempt he will discover that he is part of and one with all the life that surrounds him. This must mean service of mankind and through it finding God. To return from the high flight, this train of thought will make the thinker keep his surroundings as open as possible. He will not fill the house with unnecessary furniture, and will use the minimum of clothes that are necessary. Many households are so packed with all sorts of unnecessary decorations and furniture which one can very well do without, that a simple living man will feel suffocated in those surroundings. They are nothing but means of harbouring dust, bacteria and insects. Here in the house where I am under detention, I feel quite lost. The heavy furniture, chairs, tables, sofas, bedsteads, innumerable looking-glasses, all get on my nerves. The expensive carpets on the floors collect large amount of dust and act as a breeding place for insect life. One day the carpet in one of the rooms was taken out for dusting. It was not one man’s work. Six men spent the afternoon in doing the job. They must have removed at least ten pounds of dust. When the carpet was put back in its place it had a new feel about it. These carpets cannot be taken out and dusted every day. Such treatment will wear out the carpets and greatly increase the expenditure of labour. But this is by the way. What I meant to say is that my desire to be in tune with the infinite has saved me from many complications in life. It led not merely to simplicity of household and dress but all round simplicity in the mode of my life. In a nutshell, and in the language of the subject under discussion, I have gone on creating more and more contact with akash. With the increase in the contact went improvement in health. I had more contentment and peace of mind and the desire for belongings almost disappeared. He who will establish contact with the infinite possesses nothing and yet possesses everything. In the ultimate analysis, man owns that of which he can make legitimate use and which he can assimilate. If everybody followed this rule, there would be room enough for all and there would be neither want nor overcrowding.”68

Mahatma Gandhi wrote on nature cure, “It follows that one should make it a point to sleep in the open. Sufficient covering should be used to protect oneself against the in clemencies of the weather against cold and dew. In rainy season an umbrella like roof without walls should be used for keeping the rain out. For the rest, the starlit blue canopy should form the roof so that whenever one opens one’s eyes, one can feast them on the ever-changing beautiful panorama of the heavens. One will never tire of the scene and it will not dazzle or hurt one’s eyes. On the contrary, it will have a soothing effect on one. To watch the different starry constellations floating in their majesty is a feast for the eyes. One who establishes contact with the stars as living witnesses to all his thoughts will never allow any evil or impurity to enter his mind and will enjoy peaceful, refreshing sleep. Let us descend from the akash above to the akash within and immediately about us. Thus the skin has millions of pores. If we fill up the empty space within these pores, we simply die. Any clogging of the pores, therefore, must interfere with the even flow of health. Similarly we must not fill up the digestive tract with unnecessary foodstuffs. We should eat only as much as we need and no more. Often one overeats or eats indigestible things without being aware of it. An occasional fast, say once a week or once a fortnight, will enable one to keep the balance even. If one is unable to fast for the whole day, one should miss one or more meals during the day. That nature abhors a vacuum is only partially true. Nature constantly demands a vacuum. The vast space surrounding us is a standing testimony of the truth.

As in the case of the other elements, which have been already dealt with, man cannot do without sunlight. The sun is the source of light and heat. If there was no sun, there would be neither light nor warmth. Unfortunately we do not make full use of sunlight and consequently we are unable to enjoy perfect health. Sun-bath is as useful as ordinary water-bath though the two cannot replace one another. In cases of debility and slow circulation, exposure of the uncovered body to the morning sun acts as an all-round general tonic and accelerates the metabolism. The morning sun has the largest amount of ultra-violet rays which are a most effective component of the sun’s rays. If the patient feels cold, he should lie in the sun covered up and gradually expose more and more of his body as he gets used to it. One can also take sun-bath pacing up and down in the sun without any clothes on, in a private enclosure or in any other place away from public gaze. If such a place is not within easy reach, one can just cover up the private parts by tying up a piece of cloth or a langoti and expose the rest of the body to the sun. I know of many persons who have been benefited by sun-baths. It is a well-known treatment for tuberculosis. Sun-baths or heliotherapy is no longer confined to the sphere of naturopathy. Orthodox medicine has taken it up from naturopathy and developed it further. In cold countries, special glass buildings have been constructed under medical supervision, so that the glass lets in the sun’s rays and at the same time protects patients against the cold. Sun treatment often results in the cure of intractable ulcers. To produce sweating, I have made patients lie in the sun at about 11 a.m., i.e., a little before midday. The experiment has been successful and the patients are soon bathed in sweat. In these cases the head should be protected from the sun by means of a cold mud-poultice. Banana or any other leaves can be used to cover up the head and face and thus further help in keeping the head cool and well protected. The head should never be exposed to strong sunlight.

This fifth element is as important as the four already discussed in the foregoing pages. The human body which is composed of the five elements cannot do without any one of them. Therefore no one should be afraid of air. Generally, wherever our people go, they make devices to keep out the sun and the air and thus jeopardize their health. If one cultivates the habit of living in the open in the midst of plenty of fresh air, right from childhood, the body will become hardened and one will never suffer from cold in the head and the like ailments. I have said enough about the importance of fresh air in an earlier chapter. There is no occasion, therefore, to repeat here what has already been said.”69

Mahatma Gandhi wrote on nature cure, “I am a votary of nature cure. But the practitioners neither work hard nor go deep into the subject. They do not pursue the science with single-minded devotion. They neither study it themselves nor try to co-ordinate.

There shall be facilities on this land to treat patients by nature-cure methods. Nature cure will include the various methods of mud-pack, treatment with water, such as hip-bath, friction-bath, steam-bath, etc., treatment with light, such as sun-bath, suryanamaskara, moon-bath, watching the stars, utilizing all the lights of the rainbow through the medium of cloth, water, glass bottle, etc., treatment with air such as pranayama, subsisting on air, etc. In the initial stage, use of modern devices like electricity, etc., will be avoided. This is with a view to initially using mechanical aids to the minimum and developing such devices as the villagers can use easily as also exploring their usefulness. Not only will sick persons be treated in this institution, but even normal persons likely to benefit from nature cure will be admitted to it. We should try to give vigour and vitality to the weak. Children will be admitted to the institution with this view, and efforts will be made to build their health according to the laws of nature. Health will be our prime concern. Special emphasis will be placed on preservation and improvement of health. Thus the aim of this institution will be self-reliance in all respects and its message will be universal. It will tend to become an ideal village with facilities for basic education and village industries like khadi, etc. Initially it will certainly require a lot of money but I cannot think of a better use of money than this. A trust should be constituted for this purpose. I had thought of Dinshaw Mehta, Ghanshyamdas, and myself as trustees; Ghanshyamdas added two more Devdas and you. I had of course thought of you but I had no idea how far you could go with this. If I accept your name you should free yourself from all other work and devote yourself to this work. Ghanshyamdas believes in nature cure and he can either attract donations or give one himself. Devdas will fulfil this function by becoming Ghanshyamdas’s representative. I will be the guide—since the whole idea is mine. It can be said that I am a devotee of nature cure for the last fifty years. This venture was conceived with the expectation that Dinshaw could be put in charge of fully implementing the ideas. And I shall like very much your joining this provided you can devote the rest of your life entirely to this work. Meet me at the earliest if you find these ideas good enough.”70

Mahatma Gandhi wrote on nature cure, “You are going not only to have your ears treated but for nature cure in a wider sense. My opinion is that your deafness is closely connected with the state of your mind. Nature cure includes mental activity. In this sense uttering Ramanama, reading the Gita, and so on, is part of nature cure. Perhaps Rajuji’s1 centre will provide this. I have a feeling that Raju looks at nature cure in a spiritual way.”71 Mahatma Gandhi wrote on nature cure, “Dinshaw has sent the draft to Devdas. He wants Bhiwandiwala, who had helped him and who has faith in nature cure, as also Fikriyar Jung, who was Finance Minister to the Nizam and believes in these remedies, to be included among the trustees. I think there is no harm in it. About the rest I have written to Dinshaw.”72 Mahatma Gandhi wrote on nature cure, “You cannot bring him back into your life by grieving over his death or by donning white. You can do so only by leading a simple life by learning nature-cure treatment and vanquishing the enemies1 in the form of anger, etc. Write to me what you are doing and how things are. What does Nimai do? I had a letter from Das recently.”73

Mahatma Gandhi wrote on nature cure, “I have been worrying ever since you fell ill. Both of you should think over the matter. I think both of you can be cured with treatment. The first thing is sufficient rest, some nature cure treatment and proper yogic exercises. Hip-bath plays a very important role in treatment. Try it.”74 Mahatma Gandhi wrote on nature cure, “Kanubhai has told me everything. What I want is that you should leave that place and stay and work with Subramaniam and make your health perfect. If you want to stay at Bhimavaram for a brief period and gain proficiency in nature-cure treatment, do so.”75

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