Baba
How to avoid sickness
Namaskar,
The body is essentially a sealed unit that has distinct orifices (mouth, nose, eyes etc) that come in contact with the atmosphere. When a sick person comes in your close proximity, then you may come in contact with their germs etc. Many diseases and illnesses are transmitted this way. For instance, if a physically ill person coughs, or sneezes, drools, or even breathes, then those germs and bacteria can enter into your system.
Doing half-bath regularly during the day—or even immediately after coming in contact with a sick person—cleanses all those orifices. The mouth, nose, and eyes are rinsed and cleaned. That strengthens the body’s defense mechanisms and helps fend off viruses and diseases. Hygiene is the first step in disease prevention.
That is why nowadays doctors and healthcare professionals do not recommend shaking hands with others; and, they recommend regularly washing the hands. Rinsing the eyes, mouth, and face are also helpful in disease prevention, but this is not publicly encouraged on a mass scale because some females wear makeup. So this is looked upon as inconvenient for the general society. But those healthcare professionals know that rinsing the eyes, mouth, and nose and splashing water on the face is very good for health and hygiene.
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Baba’s teachings of vyápaka shaoca are ideal for disease prevention and several steps ahead of the general hygienic recommendations given to the public.
Increases concentration, alertness
While all are aware about the step by step process for doing half bath, the exact system is detailed under the next subheading. Here first are some of the established and proven benefits of vyapak shaoca.
1. Half-bath increases concentration, alertness, and overall freshness.
2. The human body generates heat and when it becomes overheated then various anatomical and biological systems cannot function properly. For instance, when the head is heated one feels tired and groggy. Applying cold water during half-bath stimulates circulation and aids in the overall functioning of the body.
3. Half-bath greatly enhances the exchange of blood. The cold water of half-bath causes contractions of the blood vessels thereby accelerating circulation and sending the blood faster back to the core vital organs (heart & lungs etc) for oxygenation. By this more rapid cycle, the body is effectively nourished with fresh blood.
4. Half-bath increases circulation by cooling the body in applied areas.
5. By doing half-bath, fresh blood supply goes to the core region from where the major organs are nourished; moreover, that fresh blood helps facilitate the digestive process etc.
6. Half-bath helps prevent negative dreams. By doing half-bath before sleep that also aids in digestion as the body rests and proper digestion helps prevent negative dreams as it does not allow the lower cakras to get overheated.
7. Half-bath helps in multiple types of bodily disorders and diseases like indigestion / dyspepsia, skin diseases, hemorrhoids, hernia, asthma, females disease, tuberculosis etc as outlined in Yaogika Cikitsá (Yogic Treatments).
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8. Half-bath extends one's longevity as it is an aspect of the 'Secrets for a Long Life.'
How to do this properly
Ananda Marga Caryacarya states, "Method of doing Vya’paka Shaoca: At first wash your genital organs; then hands up to elbows and legs up to knees; then, taking a mouthful of water, splash water on the eyes and face at least twelve times. Finally wash the ears and the neck." (1)
According to Ananda Marga teachings, vya’paka Shaoca is a comprehensive process:
(a) Wash the pubic region—and the best way to do this is not to have any covering there.
(b) Then the limbs are washed from elbow to hand and knee to foot.
(c) Best is washing the entire area from the pubic region to the toes is highly beneficial. That means the entire leg is doused in water. This is easy to do in a house or jagrti, though may not always be possible when traveling.
(d) Wash the nasal ducts having water go in one nostril and out the other. A neti pot can be helpful.
(e) Fill the mouth with water and then with the eyes open, splash water on the eyes and face at least 12 times. Better is to do 14 or 15 times just in case you lose count.
(f) Apply water to the ears, neck and crown cakra (top of the head).
(g) Dry oneself with a clean towel.
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Generous amount of water
In the summertime or hot season it is best to do vyápaka shaoca with cold water, and in the winter or cold season the water should be to some degree cold or for elderly people if they wish then they may use lukewarm water.
Special attention is to be given to apply a generous amount of water. That does not mean that water should be wasted, but at the same time rubbing just a few drops of water on the limbs etc will never suffice. Rather, to properly do vyapak shaoca, one may need several liters of water. More can be said about this, but at the very least we should all understand that without proper amounts of water the necessary cooling process can never occur. So half-bath is not just about superficially rinsing the skin but cooling also.
Helps in longevity
Here below are two of Baba’s beautiful teachings about vyápaka shaoca and Sixteen Points.
Baba says, "If you follow Sixteen Points, your longevity will be greater." (2)
Ananda Marga philosophy says, "...The complete seeds of welfare in all the spheres—physical, mental, moral, social and spiritual—are embedded in the Sixteen Points. Hence be firm on the Sixteen Points." (3)
As sadhakas of Ananda Marga, we have Baba’s special blessing as He has imparted to us all the great secrets for living a dharmic life: full of peace, joy, and supreme ideation.
The seed component of Baba’s grand formula for ideal human existence is Sixteen Points. True Ananda Margii benefits from following these exclusive and sacred guidelines. On no other path of life can such gems and jewels be found. These are unique to Ananda Marga. All the while it is our ongoing endeavour to develop greater and greater precision and naturalness in following these Sixteen Points.
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Conclusion
Baba’s teachings of vyápaka shaoca are ideal for disease prevention, increased concentration, alertness, overall freshness, and confer so many other health benefits.
Namaskar,
In Him,
Shivam Sundaram
~ In-depth study ~
When and why to perform
Vyápaka shaoca is to be done at a minimum before and after food, before meditation, before asanas, and before and after sleep.
Ananda Marga philosophy says, "Before morning and evening sadhana, either do vyápaka shaoca or take full bath."
Ananda Marga philosophy says, "Before and after meals, and before sleep, do vyápaka shaoca with cold water. If it is very cold, use lukewarm water."
Ananda Marga philosophy says, "Before practising asanas, do vyápaka shaoca or take a full bath. Vyápaka shaoca must also be done before daily meditation; if asanas are done with daily meditation then it is not necessary to do vyápaka shaoca separately."
Ananda Marga philosophy says, "Before taking food and before going to sleep, do vya’paka shaoca with cold water, or in cold weather, with lukewarm water."
All these above guidelines come from Caryacarya part II and part III.
Vyápaka shaoca helps in rejuvenation
By the above description it is quite clear that Baba’s special process of vyápaka shaoca has a regenerative effect on the body. For this reason Baba has given the special name: ‘Vyapak Shaoca’.
The first term ‘vyápaka’ means thorough, detailed, complete, enhanced etc. And the 2nd term shaoca is commonly defined as cleanliness—when in fact it is much more than that. Because in His famous discourses on yama and niyama, Baba uses 5 pages to describe the overall process of shaoca.
By all this, it is clear that vyapak shaoca is a special restorative and purifying process for the entire body. Yet for lack of proper translation, the oversimplified English phrase ‘half-bath’ has been given as the translation of vyápaka shaoca. But clearly the half-bath phrase fails to capture the real spirit or essence of vyápaka shaoca. That is why many sadhakas feel that a new and better English name should be given—thereby correcting the translated term that was haphazardly applied by various in-charges etc.
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Till then, simply using the Sanskrit phrase vyápaka shaoca is more apt. Just as the Sanskrit terms sadhana, mantra, upavasa etc far exceed their English counterparts: meditation, incantation, and fasting.
Ananda Marga ideology says, "There is no proper English word for the Sanskrit word ‘mantra’. We use the word ‘incantation’ for mantra, but it is not a proper word for the Sanskrit term." (4)
And regarding the word upavasa Baba again points out the deficit of the corresponding word in English.
Baba says, "‘Upavasa’—on these days of fasting, what are all spiritual aspirants to do? Mentally they should live near their Lord...these days are known as ‘upava’sa’. The word ‘fasting’ does not represent the proper sense or proper spirit." (5)
Likewise the overly-simplified, insufficient sounding term ‘half bath’ is unable to carry the spirit of vyápaka shaoca.
References
1. Caryacarya - 2, chapter 2, Point #4
2. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 5, Devotion and the Realm of Intellectuality
3. Ananda Vanii #45
4. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 23, Oṋḿkára and Iśt́a Mantra
5. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 6, Upavása
* * *
The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.
* * *
== Section 2: Important Teaching ==
Marriages based on lust are doomed
Ananda Marga ideology says, “Now when a man gets the chance to enjoy the physico-psychic pleasures, he doesn’t find any interest in physical pleasure, because physical pleasure is not only crude in quality, but also of very temporary nature. It lasts for a short span. On the psychic level, man is the dominating living being. He does something new, he wants to do something new, to get more psychic pleasures, and he invents so many things and engages himself in psychic pursuits. These things cannot be done by animals or even by other developed creatures, and here lies the speciality of human beings.” (1)
Reference
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 12, Beyond Temporary Experience
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Defining characteristic of society
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "What is society, what makes it up? What is Samaj?" 'Samanam ejati iti samajah...'Here 'moving together' does not mean march or double march, here 'moving together' means that all portions of society, all portions of the collective body, should have the spirit to move ahead." (1)
Note: In His above teaching Baba guides us that the term society has a specific meaning. Society is not simply a collection of people like a crowd - each with their own individual aims and motives. Nor is society, any group of people moving swiftly in a particular direction. Rather, society is formed when the entire collective moves according to an ideological vision, where none lag behind and all are encouraged to progress.
Reference
1. Prout in a Nutshell-3, Saḿgacchadhvaḿ
== Section: Important Teaching ==
How absolute knowledge dwarfs worldly knowledge
Ananda Marga philosophy says, “Common people usually live their lives according to absolute knowledge and become noble and great. That is why we see people like Kabir and Ramakrishna, who even without formal schooling, were highly regarded by tens of thousands of people. In fact, it is doubtful whether learned scholars could bring about even a small fraction of the spiritual progress these great people brought to society…”
“Social progress is achieved to some extent through relative knowledge, but here also there is a great possibility of conflict between relative knowledge and absolute knowledge. Relative knowledge often encourages divisive ideas and the propagation of narrow sentiments such as casteism, nationalism, communalism, provincialism, etc., by extolling the greatness of caste, community, creed, colour, etc. It often tends to suppress other castes, communities, creeds, etc., or wants to annihilate them completely. On the other hand, absolute knowledge teaches human beings that the Dharma of all humans is one and the same. The Supreme Entity is the Universal Father. All the human beings of the world are brothers and sisters. All are equal – no one is low, no one is high. (1)
Reference
1. Tattva Kaomudii - 2, Prápta Vákya and Ápta Vákya
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Quality of people 3500 years ago
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "Lord Krsna came about 3500 years ago, when the war of the Mahabharata took place. People's individual qualities then had not taken a collective shape. People did not know the art of living collectively...they fought among themselves because they had no collective sense. Lord Krsna thought that if He combined all there would be collective spirit in the true sense of the term. Then alone all human faculties would get expanded. He tried to make people understand, but they did not understand, because there was no collective spirit in them...to synthesize them all Lord Krsna was born. Lord Krsna wanted to bring about a social synthesis, the seed of which was sown by Lord Shiva." (1)
Note: There are many things in the world which cannot be solved individually. It needs collective support. In any society where there is collective spirit then they can do a great job. That is the central idea of the above teaching.
Reference
1. Discourses on the Mahabharat, The Meaning of the Name
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "Lord Krsna came about 3500 years ago, when the war of the Mahabharata took place. People's individual qualities then had not taken a collective shape. People did not know the art of living collectively...they fought among themselves because they had no collective sense. Lord Krsna thought that if He combined all there would be collective spirit in the true sense of the term. Then alone all human faculties would get expanded. He tried to make people understand, but they did not understand, because there was no collective spirit in them...to synthesize them all Lord Krsna was born. Lord Krsna wanted to bring about a social synthesis, the seed of which was sown by Lord Shiva." (1)
Note: There are many things in the world which cannot be solved individually. It needs collective support. In any society where there is collective spirit then they can do a great job. That is the central idea of the above teaching.
Reference
1. Discourses on the Mahabharat, The Meaning of the Name
== Section 4: Links ==
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