Nature Cure

This book will help understand the methods used by Naturopathy which was given a new definition in India by Dr. Jussawalla several decades ago. There are valuable tips on how to lead a healthy life. You can see why Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Morarji Desai, Meena Kumari and several other well-known personalities resorted to Nature Cure.

The book may help you decide whether you need allopathy for immediate relief or if it is a better bet to change your lifestyle completely and remove the cause of the disease from the root. You will get to know the therapeutic uses of water, sunlight, air, massage, other Naturopathic methods, the right diet, the benefits of fasting, the virtues of vegetarianism, the importance of regular exercise, the value of sleep, the need for fellowship and a mind at peace with itself, the effects of colours, herbs, minerals, vitamins, even the zodiac, the harm from Genetically Modified foods, and so on.

You can also decide if you need to be vaccinated as the dangers of vaccination are being hotly discussed all over the world now This book will open a window to the latest research on health, nutrition and fitness sourced from the most authentic and - sometimes -- even irreverent health gurus who oppose mainstream beliefs with sound empirical knowledge.

Rajendar Menen is a senior journalist who has been published in many countries. He has launched and edited journals and authored thousands of articles and several books. He has extensively covered the Indian street for media organisations around the world and his last book --Karma Sutra-Adventures Of A Street Bum -- received international acclaim. Rajendar is also a fitness buff. He is a devotee of The Tibetan Rites and follows the principles of Nature Cure. Deeply influenced by Osho and Sri Aurobindo, he borrows heavily from their wisdom in an attempt to live with awareness and gratitude. Finally, 'all life is yoga'!

The awareness that health is dependent upon habits that we control makes us the first generation in history that to a large extent determines its own destiny.

Yogis have long understood that the mind and body are thoroughly interwoven, each affecting the other. The mind and body are not in fact separate and distinct but are interdependent components of the whole person. Throughout the ages, the Yogis have taught methods for creating balance. They have long understood that what we think affects the way we feel, and that what we eat, drink and do to our bodies affects the way we think. There can be no separation of function, except for the enlightened adept who has transcended the limitations of the body/mind by assiduous practice of meditation.

- Chris Kilham, Take Charge of Your Health: The Mind/Body Relationship

I began reading about health and nutrition very early in life. As a schoolboy, I kept wondering why people fell ill. And whenever I fell ill, I took the prescribed medication to get well. I was too young, ignorant and scared to question the need for medication. But the big question - why does the human body go off the rails so often? --- remained, hovering over me like a heavy load. And, of course, I didn't want to fall ill ever again!

As I grew up, became a journalist and travelled the world, I kept with my search for an answer. I read possibly every book on the subject, met with medical professionals, sadhus, saints, sants, sanyasis, yogis, mendicants, gurus, babas, godmen, alternate therapists, medicine men, shamans, tantriks, miracle men, gypsies, nomads, Bedouins, quacks, intellectuals, and anyone with even a slight slant on the causes and cure of disease.

I also experimented with myself, sometimes with disastrous consequences. I fasted for days on end eschewing even water, adopted auto-urine therapy, checked out the virtues of distilled cow urine, ate different foods, went on all sorts of diets, tried various forms of alternate therapy, did yoga, ran and walked miles, dipped into martial arts, weight training and other mercies regimens, and pushed my body, mind and soul to the extreme.

I lived dangerously.

After decades of research and lifestyle changes, there are a few answers.

For one, you are what you eat. Most diseases are born of auto-intoxication. Watch what you put into your body. Everybody's pro/trite is different. So before you decide what is good for you, a little experimentation is necessary. Eat a little less than your stomach can hold, eat on time, eat natural, seasonal, organic, unprocessed food; which means you junk everything that is packed, bottled or even re-heated. Have a wide spectrum of foods focussing on fruits, nuts and vegetables, and after you binge (you are only human), just remember to fast when you feel that you have had it till there!

Exercise is vital. The human body is made for movement. If you don't use it, you lose it.

Organise your life around a healthy schedule with moderation as the key. We all have our vices and we are all different; no one is smaller or greater than the other. Adorn your day with awareness.

Live in gratitude and love. Enjoy the fellowship of fellow travellers, birds, animals, flowers, trees, the sun, the moon, the wind, water and the stars. After all, we are a part of the cosmos.

Allow your body to heal when you fall ill. The body knows whet to do and sends the appropriate signals. Heed them. The human body is made for health and not ill-health. Body intelligence is nature's intelligence. Respect it.

In sickness, look for options that are not particularly aggressive or intrusive. The human body is a miracle and works in mysterious ways. It can heal on its own. You need to bite the 'bullet' only in dire circumstances. Take adequate most and relaxation. Do not try to change the world; it is unnecessary stress. Start by changing yourself and you will see how difficult-and worthwhile - it is.

Live with acceptance, in celebration and joy.

Bear no grudges, and trash negativity. Forget, forgive, and ask for forgiveness. Save your soul. 'Allow the highest aspiration to organise your life’ (The Mother).

Each patient aeries his own doctor inside him.

Dr Jussawalla who, in a sense, pioneered 'modern' naturopathy in India was a visionary. India has a rich legacy of natural healing, but it was Dr. Jussawalla who married the latest knowledge with appropriate gadgetry. Natural therapists were earlier scattered, went unrecognised, worked hr oblivion, and their home grown remedies were rarely documented. There were no systems in place. They had no credible voice and were often dubbed quacks and easily dismissed. It was Dr Jussawalla who gave Nature Cure a respectable, educated, influential and urbane voice. He was the Indian face, the poster boy of a movement that would soon spread all over the world and give conventional medicine a run for its money, (I any this deliberately as medicare has become one of the biggest businesses in the world grossing billions of dollars annually!)

Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Morarji Desoi and several other statesmen and people of stature came to Dr Jussawalla to heal their tired bodies. The word spread, and as India awoke to freedom, the Nature Cure Movement spearheaded by him took a new pedigree.

Dr. Jussawalla was inclusive in his approach. He wanted all the systems of medicine to work together; this way one could easily dip into the other's pharmacopoeia for the right cure. He now the merits in allopathy and knew that it could be a life saver. He was against the taking of life to adorn the palate, and was strident in his opposition to vaccination. He was on several government bodies and made his views known unequivocally.

In 1989, at the age of 82, he was presented the Dhanvantrl Award, the first naturopath to receive the prestigious mood.

This book is a tribute to Dr. Jussawalla and the Nature Cure Movement I begin with Dr. Jusswalla's life and times for a young audience that may not know him, look at his methods, trace the origins of the Nature Cure movement globally, dwell on the latest, cutting-edge findings, and ponder, finally, the possibility of a ‘disease-free’ man in the future.

The book is filled with contemporary research culled from every available source

I hope it will benefit the reader.