Gandhi was a free-thinking individual. He reexamined each concept. When modern medicine is used to support unhealthy habits, he thinks it is the devil’s invention. Our bodies’ unpleasant reactions to food, alcohol, or bad habits are a warning to develop healthier habits, but instead of doing so, we turn to drugs to treat the symptoms and lose faith in our bodies’ natural ability to cure itself. Gandhi’s book “Keys to Health” is among his most well-known works and highlights the significance of his views on health.
It is important to comprehend what the term “health” signifies, which is “body ease.” A healthy man is one who can go about his daily duties without feeling worn out and whose body is free from sickness. Gandhi asserts that understanding one’s body, which the majority of people lack, is essential. According to him, the human body is made up of five elements: Earth, Water, Vacancy, Light, and Air, as defined by ancient philosophers. He continues by saying that the proper operation of the human body depends on the cooperation of its many sections.
We are surrounded on all sides by the first element, air, without which we cannot survive. Gandhi advises people who have trouble breathing to practise breathing exercises. He also stresses the value of clearing one’s nose and sleeping outside. The second element, water, is a basic requirement for life and should be pure. It is the municipality’s duty to provide clean water and to keep the sewage and drainage system in good working order. Another popular treatment is hydrotherapy, particularly “Kuhne’s book on Nature Cure.” Earth is the third element, and it can be used to treat illnesses naturally, such as boils, constipation, and scorpion stings with mud poultices.
Sunbathing is one of the many uses for the other element, light, which humans obtain from the sun. The last opening, also known as Akash (ETHER), promotes health maintenance and recovery.
According to Gandhi, practising Brahmacharya results in a long and healthy life. It is a way of living that results in the realisation of God. Through practising sensory restriction, the realisation is attained. He continues, “Victory is certain to ensue if there is determination to dominate the thinking and the action.” The worst of all is perhaps being enslaved by one’s animality.
Gandhi joined the Vegetarian Society in England during his vacation there. He started there with his own dietetic experiments, where he struggled. Additionally, he founded a vegetarian club in the English community of Bayswater. He proposes that everyone in the nation should focus their efforts on the pandemic hotspots that they travel to. Instead of becoming overwhelmed by this enormous issue, one should attend to the tasks that come their way and donors should make generous donations to better society.
Gandhi added, “One must not live in order to eat, drink, and be merry, but eat, drink, and use one’s body as a temple of God and a tool for the service of man.” Gandhi also suggested that the Government turn the local bars into eateries to provide clean and healthy refreshments. There should be leisure booths where worn-out employees can rest and purchase affordable, wholesome refreshments to keep them away from vices.
On October 2, 2010, hundreds of New Yorkers and visitors from other countries met in Macus Garvey Park in Harlem, Manhattan, for the Mahatma Gandhi Health and Peace Walk, a public health effort. The organisation draws on Mahatma Gandhi’s advice to walk frequently in order to maintain one’s health and combat the global obesity pandemic as well as diabetes and heart issues.