It is necessary to understand the meaning of the word health,
before entering upon a description of the human body. In health, means body ease.
He is a healthy man whose body is free from all disease; he carries on his
normal activities without fatigue. Such a man should be able with ease to walk
ten to twelve miles a day, and perform ordinary physical labour without getting
tired He can digest ordinary simple food. His mind and his senses are in a
state of harmony and poise. This definition does not include prize fighters and
such like. A man with extraordinary physical strength is not necessarily
healthy. He has merely developed his musculature, possibly at the expense of
something else.
It
is necessary to have enough knowledge of the human body which is expected to
attain the above standard of health.
God
alone knows what kind of education was prevalent in ancient times. Research
workers on the subject may be able to tell us something, but only something,
about it. But all of us have some experience of modern education in this
country. It has no relation with our everyday life. Thus, it leaves us almost
utterly ignorant about our own body. Our knowledge of our own village and our
fields shares a similar fate. We are taught on the other hand, much about thing
that have no bearing on our daily life. I do not mean to say that such
knowledge is of no use. But every thing has its own place. We must first know
enough of our own body, our own house, our village and its surroundings, the
crop that grow there and its history before going on to anything else. General
knowledge broad-based on this primary knowledge, alone can enrich our life.
The
human body is composed of what the ancient philosophers have described as the
five elements. These are earth, water, vacancy, light and air.
All
human activity is carried on by means of the mind aided by the ten senses.
These are the five senses of action, i.e. hands, feet, mouth, anus and the
genitals, and the five senses of perception, i.e. the nose, of taste through
the tongue, of seeing through the eyes and of hearing through the ears.
Thinking is the function of the mind and some people have called the eleventh
sense. In health all the senses and the mind act in perfect co-ordination.
The
inner working of the human machine is wonderful. The human body is the universe
in miniature. That which cannot be found in the body is not found in the
universe. Hence the philosopher's formula, that the universe within reflects
the universe without. It follows therefore that our knowledge of our body could
be perfect we would know the universe. But even the very best of doctors and
hakims and maids have not been able to acquire it. It will not presumptuous for
a layman to aspire to it. No one has yet discovered an instrument which can
give us any information about the human mind. Scientists have given attractive
description of the activities going on within and without the body, but no one
can say what sets the wheel going. Who can explain the why and wherefore of
death or foretell its time? In short, after infinite reading and writing, after
infinite experience, man has come to know how little he knows.
A
happy working of the human machine depends upon the harmonious activity of the
various component parts. If all these work in an orderly manner, the machine
runs smoothly. If even one of the essential part is out of order, it comes to a
stop. For instance, if the digestion is out of order, the whole body becomes
slack. Therefore, he who takes indigestion and constipation lightly does not
know the a-b-c of the rules of health. These two are the root cause of the
innumerable aliments.
The
question that demands our attention next is : what is the use of human body?
Everything in the world can be used and abused. This applies to the body also.
We abuse it when we use it for selfish purposes, for self-indulgence or in
order to harm another. It is put to its right use if we exercise self-restraint
and dedicate our self to the service of the whole world. The human soul is the
part of the universal spirit of God. When all our activities is directed
towards the realization of this link, the body becomes a temple worthy for the
spirit to live in.
The
body has been described as a mine of dirt. Looked at in its proper perspective,
there is no exaggeration in this statement. If the body was nothing else but
this, there could be no point in talking such pains to look after it. But if
this so-called mine of dirt can be put to its proper use, it became our first
duty to cleanse it and keep it in a fit condition. The mines of precious stones
and gold also have the look of ordinary earth on the surface. The knowledge
that there are gold and precious stones underneath, induces men to spread
millions and engage scientific brains in order to get at what lies in those
mines. Similarly, we cannot take too much pains over keeping in a fit condition
the temple of the spirit-the human body.
Man
came into the world in order to pay off the debt owed by him to it, that is to
say, in order to serve God and His creation. Keeping this point of view in
front of him, man acts as a guardian of his body. It becomes his duty to take
such care of his body as to enable it to practice the idea of serving to the
best of its ability.
