Seeking a healthy life? We all pursue some kind of discipline to live happy and healthy. With this answer, crops up another question, are we really, even trying to be healthy? The most answers I have honestly received is “NO”. Why so? Because there are innumerable verities and principles we have gathered as information and saved them as Videos, notes, messages in our digital diaries, that we often open to see other stuff, frequently. We are often ready to compromise on health when it comes to living a life, because our sensory organs are captivated and are in total possession of our mind. Mind wants to enjoy always, and hence entices all the organs to suit their own comfort and fulfilment. So, for most of us, our mind is a cruel dictator and we are the slaves. This paragraph was not supposed to be a part of this article; however, a little mental exercise would stimulate your mind for further talks, else it would once again capture your attention to your mobiles, tabs or TV or some junk or beverages, lying beside you! So once again as a question to yourself, do you really seek a healthy life? If yes, let’s read a bit more.
Healthy life’s definition:
“When one can sustain happiness for all the time, in all the ways and in all the respects; that is Physically, mentally and spiritually, one leads a healthy life”
Let us talk about being physically happy at first: In Gujarati there is a proverb “Pehlu (First) sukh (Happiness) te (Is/Being) jate (Self) Narya (Healthy).
Physical health is a vast topic to describe, discuss and keep concluding on various aspects of physical strength. Certainly, I would focus on the grey area of problems of the body. It all begins in your mind, and goes to your tongue and once again the taste buds’ messages the mind as feedback on how it felt about a Pav bhaji that was just kept in a mouth by the gentlemen who talks a lot about good health. The mind does the data entry of everything you consume and sets reminders. It reminds you every time you pass by the pav-bhaji joint and you have a watering mouth. However, continuing on story pav – bhaji and our body. All the process till now took nanoseconds, Now the Pav bhaji enters the stomach, which is a J shaped organ, which digests the food with digestive fluids and enzymes. Poor organs cannot taste the pav bhaji. All the leisure and pleasure are enjoyed by the tongue and the real relaxation is felt by the mind. Going further the digestive juices and enzymes break down the food to get on to the small intestine and post that the Pav-bhaji is out and all the nutrients (if at all, it has some in it) are absorbed by the organs.
How did you find the journey of pav-bhaji or for that matter it is for all that you eat and drink, the mind makes the most out of it.
Imagine, you eat everything in the name of taste and aesthetics of the food, unaware about its contents, especially the process it goes through before reaching your plate. The Rich feel that food prepared in multi-starred restaurants is made with utmost care and maintained hygiene. A middle- Class person is the most confused soul. He is actually richer than the rich and poorer than the poor, so he makes his way sometimes to 4–5-star restaurants, trying to keep up with the joneses, thinking the rich only consume healthy food, and it is affordable sometimes to us. He also sneaks out to small-time restaurants or street food, just because he has to frequently take his family and friends out. He also thinks that street food sometimes would not make much difference to the health. He thinks health allows cheating sometimes.
Poor people consume whatever is affordable. The available food to them is also a form of trying to keep up with the joneses. All -in – all, everyone here is hypnotised by the mind to consume something that can simulate and pamper the mind and satisfy the ego within.
Aren’t we all experiencing this in our life? No one actually knows what to eat, how much to eat, when to eat, how to eat. There are so many amazing facts with the answers of all these questions. The fasting practice in Jainism is a methodology of consuming food and thereby keeping your body healthy, your mind under your control and your spiritualism on the high. Jainism theory of eating is only post Sunrise and before the sunset. This gives enough time to your organs to rest and relinquish in harmony to the requirements of the body. There prevails a fasting known as ‘Ayambil’. The Jain scholars, since many lakhs’ years have discovered the seasons and the changes in atmosphere and gifted them with the ‘Ayambil Tapa’ or also known as ‘Navpad Aradhana’ during a typical Ritu Sandhi kaal (Seasonal Junction). As the atmosphere changes, even your body does. Our body needs acclimatisation. The ‘Ayambil Tapa’ is a Penance of 9 days during those seasonal junctions twice a year. Once between Vasant Ritu (Spring) and Grishma Ritu (Summer) and secondly between Varsha Ritu (Rainy) and Sharad Ritu (Winter).
What is Ayambil Fasting?
Jains, during the stipulated time in accordance to their belief, do Ayambil tapa. It is nine days of penance or fasting. It is similar to the intermittent fasting in current time, prescribed to many by the dieticians and doctors. During these 9 days, you can eat food only once in 24 hours and that too in between 8 am and 5.30 pm. You can drink boiled and cooled water from 8 am to 6pm only.
The Food that you consume once in a day will not contain any of the following:
Non- Veg
Vegetables or Fruits
Sugar or Ordinary salt
Jaggery or any sweet
Milk or Milk content items like Curd, ghee, buttermilk, butter, cheese
Honey
All-purpose flour
Oil of any kind
Fried items
Spices like Turmeric, Chilli powder, Cumin Powder etc (except Black Pepper and Dried Ginger Powder, Rock salt), No Cloves, Cardamom, etc
It will have soups and main course without any items mentioned above. Preparations from all types of Lentils, Pulses, Food Grains and flours of Wheat, Rice, Bajra (Millets), Jowar, Nachani (Ragi).
Benefits of Ayambil:
Due to changes in weather, there is an imbalance in the body with regards to Vata (Gases; Governs Mobility) Pitta (digestive juices) and Kaph (lubricating material – Cough). Ayambil does detoxification of your body and reduces the carbon footprints. It prepares your body for the next season and hence the one who follows Ayambil during this seasonal junction can easily enjoy the season without getting sick. Ayambil boosts your immunity, once completed. It is one of the best skin cares that no creams or lotions or modern potions cannot do. Since it is a Penance, it not only rejuvenates the body, but also helps getting stronger spiritually. There are many life changing instances available in the past and in the current era from the benefits of Ayambil Tapa. If you want to try Ayambil Tapa, do not worry about food and its preparations, just search for the nearest Jain temple and most of the temples have arrangements for Ayambil food in their premises, with proper hygiene and no charges.
So, rejuvenate your soul with Ayambil, and as you win over your taste buds with determination your mind definitely comes to your control.
The writer is a Real Estate Expert with more than 27 Years of work experience. A Jain by religion, he is an Artist by heart. With his vivid experience in diverse fields Nikhil steers to provide professional real estate, religious, philosophical guidance which is not only fruitful but helps spreading positivity.