Akash is 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 prithvi earth, or teja light.
Akash is either least of all. Perhaps the nearest equivalent is emptiness taken
in its literal sense. And it is horribly in expressive of the original. All the
five in the original are as living as life. If however we take either 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 either 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 is 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 mile 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 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 that after a certain number of
miles above the earth there is no air. It is said that earthy creatures cannot
exists 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 a sit 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 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 when even
the body becomes an obstacle separating man form 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 oneself. The body thud ceases to be a
vehicle for self-indulgence. Man will make use of his body for 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 surrounding as open as
possible. He will not fill the house with unnecessary furniture and will use
the minimum of clothes that are necessary. Many house holds 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 everyday. Such treatment will wear out
the carpets and greatly increase the expenditure of labour. But this is by way.
What I mean to say is this 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
house hold 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.
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 a 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, he or she can feast them on the ever changing
beautiful panorama of the heavens. He will never tire of the scene and it will
not dazzle or hurt his eyes. On the contrary, it will have a soothing effect on
him. To watch the different starry constellations floating in their majesty is
a least 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 descent from the akash
above 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 in
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
unable to fast for the whole day, one should miss one is more meals during the
day. Nature abhors a vacuum is only partially true. Nature constantly demands a
vacuum. The vast space surrounding us is the standing testimony of the truth.
---- By Mahatma Gandhi
