health is not everything but everything is nothing without health

8/11/2019 Health is Not Everything but Everything is Nothing Without Health

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TRANSLATED FROM: PRIMORSKE NOVICE, NOVA GORICA, SLOVENIA 19.6.2010

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NOVA GORICA

That Swamiji should explain how to attainand maintain health could be expected,

considering the title of the lecture Yoga inDaily Life - the Healthy Way of Living.However, those of us who heard him for thefirst time, could not have guessed that thewords coming from the mouthof the charismatic, orangeclad, world known Ambassa-dor of Peace would be sosimple and at the same timeso very convincing.

Health is the first happiness

Everyone probably agreesthat health is man!s first hap-piness, as Swamiji expoundsor our greatest treasure asis usually said in our parts.The Indian spiritual masterexplained that the first medi-cal system was brought to ourplanet by god Danmantrialong with Ayurveda!s mes-sage. Ayurveda is a scienceand wisdom of life. Danman-tri!s message was that everyindividual can be his ownphysician.

And that is the essence of it all, should wefail to take care of our health, we will loosehappiness, as well as wealth. Our health is

mostly influenced by the food we eat, ourway of thinking, our relationship towardsourselves and the world, and the influenceof the environment.

What we eat and how we eat is of the ut-most importance. It is not just a matter offilling the stomach, or of eating delicious

food. Our healthand our attitudewill be such asthe food we eat.That is why it isso importantthat the food we

eat is healthy.

It goes withoutsaying thatSwamiji is not infavour of eatingmeat. He rec-ommends thatonce a year, weshould go on aspecial detoxify-ing three-weekdiet consistingof only fruitsand vegetables(raw or

cooked), but without potatoes and bananas.During this diet it is advisable to practiceasanas (physical exercises). With a smile,Swamiji remarked that it could be said thisa rejuvenation diet.

Health is not everything, but everythingis nothing without health!Health is not everything, but everything is nothing without health! With this thought, attributedto a Western scientist, the Indian spiritual master and author of the system Yoga in Daily Life,His Holiness Vishwaguru Mahamandaleshwar Paramhans Swami Maheshwaranda, simply ca!edSwamiji by his disciples, opened his lecture on Wednesday in a completely sold"out Slovene Na"tional Theater in Nova Gorica.


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Positive thinking

The way of thinking has aspecial place in Yoga. Our mindis like an elephant. It can also beas a di"cultmonkey. Youmust realizethat the worstpollution ismentalpollution.Modernpsychologyteaches that

with negativethinking we

are actuallypollutingourselves.

Furthermore,how we actalso plays animportant rolein our health.It costs us nothing to be kind,polite and respectful towardsothers. As we behave to others,

so they will treat us, he said. Healso warned about our treatmentof nature: A tree should never becut down without need, it wouldbe better to protect it. Withmodern technology, highbuildings can be built in a veryshort amount of time, but it isimpossible to force a tree to growquickly to an equivalent height.

As an American Indian once said:

When the last fish dies, and thelast tree is chopped down, Ohwhite man, only then will yourealize that you cannot eat yourdollars. Hence, respect our treesand be kind to forests. Let us berespectful and humble to ourplanet. We should leave itunsoiled to our descendants, justas we have received it from ourancestors.

Gift of time

Swamiji also brought to ourattention the shortage of timethat is a#icting our society. I

came to you, too$er you mytime, as youseem to havenone heexclaimed to theevident approvalof the assembledlisteners. Hethen continued:The day has 24hours. Eight of

these you havereserved for

work. I can tellyou that ifeveryone inSlovenia worked8 full hours,

without frequentco$ee breaks and privatetelephone calls, the economy

would be in excellent shape.

Eight hours are set aside forsleeping, which is very importantfor our health, body anddigestion. Of the remaining eighthours, one could be used forpersonal hygiene, another forcooking and half an hour foreating. At most one hour will bespent shopping. An hour or two,

you should spend with yourfamily: talk with each other andbe happy. We should be aware of

how much the environment andatmosphere in which we liveinfluences our health. After allthis, three hours are left over andthese we should use for ourselves.

This time could be used for yogaexercises, prayer, meditation,relaxation ... If all of you, presenthere today, were to practice Yogathree hour daily, Nova Gorica

would soon be named the

healthiest of cities.

Willpower and discipline

Without need, not even ashoe is pulled on, says an oldSlovene expression. Likewise,Swamiji has pointed out that allof the above requires discipline.It is up to you to decide whetheryou want to be healthy. If theanswer is positive, you need to be

very disciplined about the foodyou eat. When I arrived inEurope, 40 years ago, there wasno talk of organic food, as allfood was organic. At that time,

very few people drank bottledwater, as water in streams, rivers

and lakes was clean. See howmuch pollution has been createdin such a short time.

Swamiji arrived in Europe in

1970 and chose Vienna as his

permanent place of residence.

His system of Yoga in Daily Life,

which he developed expressly

for Westerners is practiced in

35.000 locations all over theworld, including Slovenia. In the

past 20 years, over 50,000

people have started to practice

in the organization of one or

the other of the eleven local

societies of Yoga in Daily Life in

Slovenia. Primorska was no

exception. Koper was first to

establish a society (1992), which

was followed by Nova Gorica

and Popetre. Yoga in Daily life is

thus practiced in Koper, Izola,

Lucija, Piran, !kofije, Nova

Gorica, Tolmin, Postojna, Idrija,

Se"ana, Ajdov#!ina, Ilirska

Bistrica, Pivka and Kozina.

The system Yoga in Daily Life is

a science of body, mind and

consciousness. Its goal is

physical, mental, social and

spiritual health, care for the

environment and all creatures,

world peace, respect and

understanding between

religions, nations and cultures,

as well as spiritual development

and God realization. The mostimportant spiritual principle of

Yoga is Ahimsa - non-aggression

in thought, words or actions.

This is the motivation, for

Swamijis work on World Peace.


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16 years of Yoga in Nova Gorica

Alongside the Yoga Union of Slovenia,Swamijis visit was prepared by the Yoga in DailyLife Nova Gorica society

which is active in thePrimorska region for already16 years. As explained to us byits president, Du%an &kulj,more than 3000 people havesince participated in Yogaclasses. The responsibilityfor this, can be attributed to

Angelca &kulj, the mother ofDu%an &kulj. After meetingHis Holiness Swamiji at aseminar in Hungary, I was so

taken that I decided tointroduce Yoga classes inNova Gorica. And wemanaged. To start out, theKoper society sent us twoYoga teachers, remembersMrs. &kulj. Soon, Nova Gorica had their owninstructors and a society was formally established.

The number of regular practitioners slowly grewfrom the initial 8 to the current satisfying 300.Regular practice is

organized every dayat two locations inNova Gorica, at theMedical Center Vidat Komberk andthe CentralKindergarten inNova Gorica.Practice isorganized in seven

groups which beginat 17h and 19h. Free

classes are heldoutdoors, startingat the end of theschool year.Beginning this year,special attention is

given to thestudents of the

Nova Gorica Grammar School. Aware of thestressful period leading to exams, we very much

wished to help them. We prepared a short anti'stress therapy under the English'language slogan dont be depressed,be in deep rest. Schoolmanagement responded favourablyand practice rooms were madeavailable twice a week. We are veryhappy with the response of thestudents comments &kulj

Yoga really has much to offer

Despite her 82 years, Angelca &kuljstill practices daily. Well, due tohealth problems, I am no longer able

to do the physical exercises, however,I take two hour each day formeditation and pranayama, thebreathing exercises. I can true saythat Yoga gives you much personalhappiness, harmony and a di$erent

outlook on life. Although illness has dealt me aheavy blow, I can truly say that I am happycommented the satisfied oldest member of Yoga inDaily Life Nova Gorica.

Free lessons outdoors

Yoga in Daily Life Nova Gorica is veryactive in summer months, as we arenow in the fourth year of providingfree Yoga classes outdoors. In otherparts of Slovenia, such lessons aremostly held in parks (at seaside townseven on beaches), whereas NovaGorica practitioners meet everySaturday in July and August in theplayground of the CentralKindergarten (in case of bad weather,in the kindergarten sports hall). Lastyear, 270 people participated in theseprograms over a total of 9 days. We

expect a similar response this year. Webegin practice at 7h in the morning, toavoid the summer heat explainedDu#an !kulj.


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BACK TO NATURE

Before the lecture, Swamiji answered a fewquestions exclusively for Primorske novice.

Where do you see the deficiencies in todays way ofliving?

Missing is education on ethic values, which arevery much needed by the young generation. Theyoung have nowhere to learn such values, as thesecannot be obtained from watching TV or browsingthe internet. This is why they feel more or less lost.

Who should transmit these values? Parents?

Of course, the problem is that parents shouldlearn these values first, if they are to educate their

children in this spirit.

How can Yoga help people deal with their stressfuldaily lives?

Yoga is a gentle exercise meant for peoplesbodies, mind, intellect and consciousness. It is a

very sophisticated system of ancient wisdom,which helps us in modern life. How? Practice ofYoga, which has a calming influence, can help usattain harmony of body, mind and soul. This isexactly what we are all seeking, is that not so?

What are your views on the current economiccrisis?

This crisis had to comeabout, as there is simplytoo much production inthe world, and lessconsumption. Wheneverthis happens, the result iscompetition. Incompetition, money isalways lost.

What can individuals andsociety do to remedy this?

Every individual shouldstrive to become one withnature, to work withnature and within nature,to do agriculture. Weshould learn severalprofessions and take to theland. People have manytalents, not just one.

health is not everything but everything is nothing without health

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