Yogi Ramacharaka

“ Let him realize that the Spirit within him is a spark from the Divine Flame—a drop from the Ocean of Spirit—a ray from the Central Sun. Let him realize that he is an eternal being—always growing, developing and unfolding. Always moving toward the great goal, the exact nature of which man, in his present state, is unable to grasp with his imperfect mental vision. The urge is always onward and upward. We are all a part of that great Life which is manifesting itself in an infinitude of infinitude of forms and shapes. ”

“ The general principles of the Grand Breath may be summed up in the old Hindu saying: "Blessed is the Yogi who can breathe through his bones." This exercise will fill the entire system with prana, and the student will emerge from it with every bone, muscle, nerve, cell, tissue, organ and part energized and attuned by the prana and the rhythm of the breath. It is a general house-cleaning of the system, and he who practices it carefully will feel as if he had been given a new body, freshly created, from the crown of his head to the tips of his toes. We will let the exercise speak for itself. ”

“ As we said at the conclusion of the preceding chapter, Hunger and Appetite are two entirely different attributes of the human body. Hunger is the normal demand for food—Appetite the abnormal craving. Hunger is like the rosy hue upon the cheek of the healthy child—Appetite is like the rouged face of the woman of fashion. ”

“ But, alas! the Intellect does not keep to its own work, for as soon as it begins to be conscious of itself it begins to meddle with the duties of the Instinctive Mind, and overriding the instinct of the latter, it forces all sort of unnatural modes of living upon the body, and seems to try to get as far away from nature as possible. It is like a boy freed from the parental restraint, who goes as far contrary to the parents' example and advice as possible—just to show that he is independent. ”

“ The Western Physical Culture enthusiast develops his body for his body's sake, often believing that the body is He. The Yogi develops the body knowing it to be but an instrument for the use of the real part of himself, and solely that he may perfect the instrument to the end that it be used in the work of Soul growth. The Physical Culturist contents himself with mere mechanical movements and exercises for developing the muscles. The Yogi throws Mind into the task, and develops not only the muscle but every organ, cell, and part of his body as well. ”

“ OUR FRIEND, THE VITAL FORCE
Many people make the mistake of considering Disease as an entity—a real thing—an opponent of Health. This is incorrect. Health is the natural state of Man, and Disease is simply the absence of Health, If one can comply with the laws of Nature he cannot be sick. When some law is violated, abnormal conditions result, and certain symptoms manifest themselves, and to which symptoms we give the name of some disease. That which we call Disease is simply the result of Nature's attempt to throw off, or dislodge, the abnormal condition, in order to resume normal action. ”

“ If one has acquired an idea of the real nature of man, and his place in the universe, he will be more likely to drop into this childlike rest than will the average man or woman. He feels so perfectly at home in the universe, and has that calm confidence and trust in the overruling power, that he, like the child relaxes his body and takes the tension off his mind, and gradually drops off into a peaceful sleep. ”

“ Your bodies are filled with all sorts of poisonous substances which Nature has not been able to eliminate and throw off through the kidneys and skin, because you have shut off her water supply. No wonder your colons are filled with impacted waste matter, which is poisoning your system, and which Nature has been unable to pass off in the regular way because you did not give her water with which to flush her sewers. No wonder that your saliva and gastric juices are deficient—how do you suppose Nature can manufacture them without sufficient water? ”

“ So much importance does the Yogi attach to the proper use of drinking water, that he considers it one of the first principles of health. He knows that a large percentage of sick people are sick because of their lack of the fluids which the body requires. Just as the plant needs water, as well as the food derived from the soil and air, to bring it to healthy maturity, so does man require the proper amount of fluids to keep him in health, or to bring him again to health in case he has lost it. ”

“ In the child, natural hunger is more or less replaced by acquired appetites, the degree depending largely upon the amount of wealth its parents possess—the greater the wealth, the greater the acquirement of false appetite. And as it grows older, it loses all recollection of what real Hunger means. In fact, people speak of Hunger as a distressing thing, rather than as a natural instinct. Sometimes men go out camping, and the open air, exercise, and natural life gives them again a taste of real hunger, and they eat like school boys and with a relish they have not known for years. ”

“ To the Yogi understanding Man should eat to live—not live to eat.
The Yogi is an epicure, rather than a gourmand, for while eating the plainest food he has cultivated and encouraged his natural and normal taste so that his hunger imparts to these simple viands a relish sought after, but not obtained, by those who hunt after rich and expensive triumphs of the chef. While eating for Nourishment as his main object, he manages to make his food yield him a pleasure unknown to his brother who scorns the simple fare. ”

“ You do not wish your rooms to be like a cellar into which the sun never shines. Open your windows in the early morning, and let the rays of the sun, either direct or reflected, beat into the room, and you will find an atmos­phere of health, strength and vitality gradually pervading your home, replacing the old atmosphere of disease, weakness and lack of life. ”

“ We have no wish to force arbitrary rules upon our students. Man must grow into grow into a more rational method of eating, rather than have it forced upon him suddenly. It is hard for one to adopt a non-meat diet, if he has been used to animal flesh all his life, and it is equally difficult for one to take up an uncooked dietary list, if he has been eating cooked dishes all his life. All we ask of you is to think a little on the subject and to trust your own instinct regarding the choice of food, giving yourself as great a variety as possible. ”

“ Nature is not fickle or unreliable. Life manifests itself within the body in pursuance to well established laws, and pursues its way, slowly, rising until it reaches its zenith, then gradually going down the decline until the time comes for the body to be thrown off like an old, well-used garment, when the soul steps out on its mission of further development. ”

“ In the present modes of life which man has seen fit to adopt, in his evolution, but from which he will return to first principles sooner or later, it is impossible to live a wholly natural life, and physical existence must be more or less abnormal as a consequence. But nature's instinct of self-preservation and accommodation is great, and it manages to get along very well with a considerable of a handicap, and does its work much better than one would expect considering the absurd and insane living habits and practices of civilized man. ”

“ But still anything in the way of exercise is better than nothing. But we protest against that form of Physical Culture which has for its object the enlargement of certain muscles, and the performance of the feats of the "strong men." All this is unnatural. The perfect system of physical culture is that one which tends to produce a uniform development of the entire body—the employment of all the muscles—the nourishment of every part, and which adds as much interest as possible to the exercise, and which keeps its pupils out in the open air. ”

“ Think of the vast worlds around us, the millions of suns, each surrounded with its group of planets like our earth, only in many cases much larger. Get an idea of the immensity of space and of time; consider the extent of Life in all its forms in all these worlds and then realize the position of the earth and of yourself a mere insect upon a speck of dirt. ”

“ The blood, when properly exposed to the air in the lungs, not only has its impurities consumed, and parts with its noxious carbonic acid gas, but it also takes up and absorbs a certain quantity of oxygen which it carries to all parts of the body, where it is needed in order that Nature may perform her processes properly. When the oxygen comes in contact with the blood, it unites with the hæmoglobin of the blood and is carried to every cell, tissue, muscle and organ, which it invigorates and strengthens, replacing the worn-out cells and tissue by new materials which Nature converts to her use. ”

“ The Yogi has conquered appetite, and allows Hunger to manifest through him. He enjoys every mouthful of food, even to the crust of dry bread, and obtains nourishment and pleasure from it. He eats it in a manner unknown to most of you, which will be described a little further on, and so far from being a half-starved anchorite, he is a well-fed, properly nourished enjoyer of the feast, for he has possessed himself of that most piquant of all sauces—Hunger. ”

“ I feel the influx of Prana—I feel it coursing all through my system, from my head to my feet, invigorating my entire body. I love the sunlight, and get all its benefits."
Practice this whenever you get an opportunity, and then you will gradually begin to realize what a good thing you have been missing all these years while you have been running away from the sun. Do not unduly expose yourself to the mid-summer sun, on hot days, particularly about noon. But, winter and summer, the early morning rays will not hurt you. Learn to love the sunlight and all that it stands for. ”

“ It is quite true that the Yogi is not a gross eater, nor is he inclined to rich and fancy dishes. On the contrary, he smiles at the folly of such things, and goes to his plain and nourishing meal, knowing that he will obtain there full nourishment without the waste and harmful matter contained in the more elaborate dishes of his brother who is ignorant of the real meaning of food.
A maxim of Hatha Yoga is: "It is not what a man eats, but the amount that he assimilates, that nourishes him." ”

“ Nature has provided man with exercise for every muscle and part of his body, in natural work and play. By natural work, we do not mean the work attendant upon some particular form of bodily labour, for a man following one trade only exercises one set of muscles, and is apt to become "muscle-bound," and is in as much need of exercise as the man who sits at his desk all day, with the exception that the man working at his trade usually has the advantage of more out-of-door life.
We consider the modern plans of "Physical Culture" very poor substitutes for out-of-door work and play. ”

“ If you once return to the natural habit of proper mastication, and experience the sensation that comes from proper eating, the abnormal appetites which have been acquired, will fall from you, and natural hunger will return. When natural hunger is with you, the instinct will be very keen in picking out nutritious food for you, and you will feel inclined toward that which will give you just the nourishment you need at any particular time. Man's instinct is a good guide, providing it has not been spoiled by the indulgence in the absurd dishes so common in these days, which create false appetite. ”

“ Get out into the sun once in a while—don't shun the sunny side of the street, except when the weather is very warm indeed, or about noon-time. Take sun-baths occasionally. Get up a few minutes earlier, and stand, sit or lie down in the sun, and let it freshen up your whole body. If you are so situated that you may do so, take off your clothing and let the sun's rays reach your body without the interference of clothing. If you have never tried this, you will scarcely believe how much virtue there is in a sun-bath, and how strong you will feel after it. ”

“ You will remember that the lungs are constantly throwing off the waste matter of the system—the breath is being used as a scavenger of the body, carrying off the waste products, broken down and refuse matter from all parts of the system. The matter thrown off by the lungs is almost as foul as that thrown off by the skin, the kidneys and even the bowels—in fact, if the supply of water given the system is not sufficient, nature makes the lungs do much of the work of the kidneys, in getting rid of the foul poisonous waste products of the body. ”

“ Physical labour without mental activity dwarfs a man's life—and mental labour without some sort of physical activity also dwarfs the man's life. Nature demands the maintaining of the balance—the adoption of the happy medium. The natural, normal life calls for the use of all of man's powers, mental and physical, and the man who is able to so regulate his life that he gets both mental and physical exercise is apt to be the healthiest and happiest. ”

“ Then rise upward in your thought and realize that, though you be but an atom of the mighty whole, you are still a bit of Life itself, a particle of the Spirit; that you are immortal, eternal and indestructible; a necessary part of the Whole, a part which the Whole cannot get along without, a piece needed to fit into the structure of the Whole. Recognize yourself as in touch with all of Life; feel the Life of the Whole throbbing through you ”

“ There is no waste motion or tension; all is in readiness, and when the moment of action comes the prana is hurled into fresh muscles and untired nerves and the action follows the thought like the spark from the electric machine.
The Hatha Yogis do well to use the cat family as an illustration of grace, vitality and repose.
In fact, there can be no great power of quick and effective action unless the ability to relax is also there. People who fidget, fret, and fume, and "stamp" up and down, are not the people who do the best work; they wear themselves out before the hour for action arrives. ”

“ This has gone so far that we know of one so called "health teacher" who puts forth the astounding theory that "Thirst is a Disease," and counsels people against the use of fluids at all, stating that the use of them is unnatural. We will not attempt to argue with such teachings—their folly must be apparent to any one who will look at the natural life habits of man and the lower animals. Let man go back to Nature, and he will see water-drinking all around him, in all forms of life, from the plant up to the highest mammal. ”

“ If we are wounded, the Vital Force begins to heal the wound, doing the work with wonderful sagacity and precision. If we break a bone, all that we, or the surgeon may do, is to place the bones into juxtaposition and keep them there, while the great Vital Force knits the fractured parts together. If we fall, or our muscles or ligaments are torn, all that we can do is to observe certain things in the way of attention, and the Vital Force starts in to do its work, and drawing on the system for the necessary materials, repairs the damage. ”

“ If you are able to get a little time off in the middle of the day, or other times, you will find that a half-hour's relaxation, or even a little "snooze," will do wonders toward refreshing you and enabling you to do better work when you arise. Many of our most successful business and professional men, have learned this secret, and many a time when they are reported as being "very busy for a half-hour" they are really lying on their couches, relaxing, breathing deeply, and giving nature a chance to recuperate. ”