Gandhi on Health & Fitness

I watched “Gandhi” the other night, again, and was inspired to write a post in tribute to the beautiful, little man, with a mind devoted to peace, love and humanity and possessing the heart of a warrior.

“….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.”

All the great prophets and spiritual leaders are very clear in their belief that creating an optimal state of health and fitness is a primary responsibility for each of us so as to create the energy needed to live a life of harmony, continual growth and contribution. Gandhi was no different.  He had plenty to say on diet, hydration and exercise. In his own life he provided a very real example of the effects on health with his own fasts. In his historic Calcutta fast Gandhi used a, fast to the death, threat as a means of stopping the Hindu-Muslim violence uprising. http://www.globalwebpost.com/farooqm/study_res/gandhi/gandhi_fast.html

Gandhi knew very well the fact that quality, balanced food intake was irreplaceable fuel for the physical action of life. He stated it irrefutable that 99.9% of men and women in the world eat merely to please the palate. Gandhi is often associated with strict vegetarianism. For 6 years he was exactly that. Not taking into account the accumulative effects that diet could have, his health forced him to make a change in 1917, and recognize the need for adequate protein in his diet. He said, “In year 1917, as a result of my ignorance, I was laid down with severe dysentery. I was reduced to a skeleton, but I stubbornly refused to take any medicine and with equal stubbornness refused to take milk or buttermilk. But I could not build up my body and pick up sufficient strength to leave the bed. Gandhi believed that he who is able to control the palate, will easily be able to control the other senses, and that there should be an odium attached to those who slavishly pander to the palate.

“modern education….  has no relation with our everyday life. Thus, it leaves us almost utterly ignorant about our own body. ”

Much has remained the same since Gandhi’s time, and much of what he lived and promoted have fallen to the wayside. Almost 100 years ago he was commenting on the need for individual health management. Today many are still starving, most are malnourished, a sub-species of obesity has formed, and the majority of the population apply minimal effort, if that, to their health and fitness.  His quote, “The modern generation is delicate, weak and much pampered”, has only multiplied in quality and quantity in time.

“No matter what amount of work one has, one should always find some time for exercise, just as one does for one’s meals. It is my humble opinion that, far from taking away from one’s capacity for work, it adds to it.”

Gandhi was very clear on his opinion of physical labor as part of life and believed, “… a man should be able with ease to walk ten to twelve miles a day, and perform ordinary physical labour without getting tired.”

“Exercise is as much of vital necessity for man as air, water and food, in the sense that no man who does not take exercise regularly can be perfectly healthy. Exercise, as is food, is as essential to the mind as the body. The mind is as much weakened by want of exercise as the body, and a feeble mind is, indeed, a form of disease. A sound mind in a sound body alone constitutes true health.”

Gandhi’s health advice stressed the need of adequate hydration for health and performance, recommending, at least 9 cups of pure water per daily.

‘”…everyone should carry his drinking water with him. Many orthodox Hindus in India do not drink water whilst traveling on account of religious prejudices. Surely, the enlightened can do for the sake of health. What the unenlightened do in the name of religion”

As you can see the game has not changed that much. Whether coming from Aristotle, Hippocrates, Buddha, Morihei Ueshiba, Gandhi, Jack Lalanne, or a Blue Collar Zen master it is acknowledged that health and fitness is an integral pillar in life that has no replacement, and if ignored detracts from our life performance and thusly our happiness and harmony. Make the commitment to yourself, and honor your obligation to God and mankind to be your best by taking charge of your health and fitness.