Non-Violence And Health

Deccan Herald

A component of training in non-violence is health.

We give the word 'health' a narrow meaning - a good state of the body, free from any disorder. This is not its proper understanding. But even if we leave out the mental and emotional dimensions of health, physical health itself has a profound relation with violence and non-violence. Nowadays, it is an important subject of scientific study.

Malfunctioning of the liver gives rise to the instinct for violence. Hyperacidity gives rise to bad thoughts and feelings. A low percentage of glucose in the blood rouses the killing instinct including suicide. Again, the violent instinct is aroused by an imbalance in the nervous system or in the secretions of the endocrine gland.

People look after their bodies in order to keep them healthy and free from disease, which is not a bad thing. However, it is equally necessary to direct attention to the effects the major organs have on people's minds and dispositions. Modern medical science requires people to undergo several tests, but rarely do people go in for tests aimed at ascertaining the proper functioning of the various endocrine glands like the thyroid, the pituitary and the adrenal. Their tests are essential for preventing violence.
Napoleon lost the battle at Waterloo. People wondered how a superb warrior with a dream of world conquest met with defeat. An examination of his brain revealed that his pituitary gland had stopped functioning when he took the decision of going to battle at Waterloo, which prevented him from taking the right decision.

Training in the right ways of eating and keeping healthy is very important. A method, commanding universal attention, for imbibing non-violence can be found if only scientists take deep interest in it. Since the concept of training in non-violence was put forward, two conferences have been held on the subject and the attention of the people in the world has begun to be drawn towards it. We have restricted the scope of the discussion of non-violence to the domain of war and peace. But in fact it permeates living behaviour. Everyman confronts moments of violence and non-violence. Let us go to the root of the matter. The dream of building a non-violent society can come true if we begin our programme of training in non-violence with the triple training in following a proper dietary regime, principles of healthy living and emotional balance.