It is imperative to maintain harmony within our bodies while enjoying festivities of life

It always depresses me when people moan about how commercial Christmas is. I love everything about it. The tradition of having this big feast, slap bang in the middle of winter, is an essential thing to look forward to at the end of the year, writes Richard E. Grant.

Indians practice multiple faiths; Holi and Ram Navami are Hindu festivals interspersed with Good Friday and Easter. I have several Christian friends and my maternal uncle is married to a Christian, so he will present me with a cake(eggless).

This will be followed by Muslim friends celebrating Eid and we savour sevayian (a delicacy). Festivals follow festivals and our stomachs seldom get the time to recuperate. Then there is party time, family togetherness, picnics, office staff celebrating birthdays and anniversaries. We are not anti-social people, so keep attending marriage festivities and innumerable birthday bashes. A relative drops in from the US and there is a customary family get-together. The company achieves certain corporate objectives and there is all-round celebration. All of us should feel grateful for the abundance that nature has provided us with; but do we pause to think about our abdominal region?

Ayurveda has imparted this quintessential knowledge that what we partake of determines our health and quality of life. The ancient seer Sushrut says, ‘Food builds and supports the body, improves complexion and general appearance.’

Overeating causes heaviness in the body and makes us sluggish and uncomfortable. Over some time, our metabolic rate gets disturbed and the process of elimination gets disrupted and warped.

Taittareya Upanishad succinctly puts it — ‘Food is the cause of creation, preservation and destruction. Therefore, food is all in all — Anna Brahma. It is life itself. It is God’.

Yet, do we care in this age of junk and packaged food? Do humans care about a wholesome diet? A wholesome diet provides energy (prana) and helps in the restoration of balance. It does not clog the channels (Nadis). Two harmful substances consumed are excessive salt and sugar.

The human body is a sublime gift of God, it sends us important signals — when to fast after feasting!

Amas or toxins are to be necessarily released from the system. This can be done through the method of fasting. Our seers and rishis advocated fasting (during certain festivals and certain days like Ekadashi) to provide adequate space for digestion. Fasting is nature’s method of cleansing the system. It detoxifies the body by throwing out all waste matter and impurities that get accumulated through heavy splurging, improper eating patterns and adopting harmful lifestyles (lack of exercise, smoking and drinking). The body gets diseased through the accumulation of toxic substances and acids. It invades the digestive process.

Fasting once in 15 days is indeed a therapeutic measure as it cleanses our blood and replenishes the depleted vitamins and other important reserves to be stored in the body. To purge the body from all things negative, it would be worthwhile to have plenty of liquids juices.

Good health is man’s inherent nature — ‘A sound body with a sound mind!’ Gandhiji used to take immense care of his body through regular fasting. Of course, in a lighter vein, Sarojini Naidu used to say that it cost a fortune to keep Gandhiji in poverty. Along with fasting, one needs to maintain a schedule of exercise. Long walks, yoga, pranayama and breathing practices like Sudarshan Kriya help in the restoration of balance in the system.

(The writer is the CEO of Chhattisgarh East Railway Ltd. and Chhattisgarh East West Railway Ltd. He is a faculty of the Art of Living; views are personal)