HATHA YOGA/PART 4
CHAPTER 4.
OUR FRIEND, THE VITAL FORCE
Many people make the mistake of considering Disease as an
entity—a real thing—an opponent of Health. This is incorrect. Health is the
natural state of Man, and Disease is simply the absence of Health. If one can
comply with the laws of Nature he cannot be sick. When some law is violated,
abnormal conditions result, and certain symptoms manifest themselves, and to
which symptoms we give the name of some disease. That which we call Disease is
simply the result of Nature's attempt to throw off, or dislodge, the abnormal
condition, in order to resume normal action.
We are so apt to consider, and speak of, Disease as an
entity. We say that "it" attacks us—that "it" seats itself
in an organ— that "it" runs it's course—that "it" is very
malignant—that "it" is quite mild—that "it" persistently
resists all treatment—that "it" yields readily—etc., etc. We speak of
it as if it were an entity possessed of character, disposition and vital
qualities. We consider it as something which takes possession of us and uses
its power for our destruction. We speak of it as we would a wolf in a
sheepfold—a weasel in the chicken roost—a rat in the granary—and go about
fighting it as we would one of the animals above mentioned. We seek to kill it,
or at least to scare it away.
Nature is not fickle or unreliable. Life manifests itself
within the body in pursuance to well established laws, and pursues its way,
slowly, rising until it reaches its zenith, then gradually going down the
decline until the time comes for the body to be thrown off like an old,
well-used garment, when the soul steps out on its mission of further
development. Nature never intended that a man should part with his body until a
ripe old age was attained, and the Yogis know that if Nature's laws are
observed from childhood, the death of a young or middle aged person from
disease would be as rare as is death from accident.
There is within every physical body, a certain vital
force which is constantly doing the best it can for us, notwithstanding the
reckless way in which we violate the cardinal principles of right living. Much
of that which we call disease is but a defensive action of this vital force—a
remedial effect. It is not a downward action but an upward action on the part
of the living organism. The action is abnormal, because the conditions are
abnormal, and the whole recuperative effort of the vital force is exerted
toward the restoration of normal conditions.
The first great principle of the Vital Force is self-preservation. This principle is
ever in evidence, wherever life exists. Under its action the male and female
are attracted—the embryo and infant are provided with nourishment—the mother is
caused to bear heroically the pains of maternity—the parents are impelled to shelter
and protect their offspring under the most adverse circumstances—Why? Because
all this means the instinct of race-preservation.
But the instinct of preservation of
individual life is equally strong. "All that a man hath will he give for
his life," said the writer, and while it is not strictly true of the
developed man, it is sufficiently true to use for the purpose of illustrating
the principle of self-preservation. And this instinct is not of the Intellect,
but is found down among the foundation stones of being. It is an instinct which often overrules
Intellect. It makes a man's legs "run away with him” when he had firmly
resolved to stand in a dangerous position—it causes a shipwrecked man to
violate some of the principles of civilization, causing him to kill and eat his
comrade and drink his blood—it has made wild beasts of men in the terrible
"Black Hole”—and under many and varying conditions it asserts it
supremacy. It is working always for life— more life—for health—more health. And
it often makes us sick in order to make us healthier—brings on a disease in
order to get rid of some foul matter which our carelessness and folly has
allowed to intrude in the system.
This principle of self-preservation on the
part of the Vital Force, also moves us along in the direction of health, as
surely as does the influence within the magnetic needle make it point due
north. We may turn aside, not heeding the impulse, but the urge is always
there. The same instinct is within us, which, in the seed, causes it to put forth
its little shoot, often moving weights a thousand times heavier than itself, in
its effort to get to the sunlight. The same impulse causes the sapling to shoot
upward from the ground. The same principle
causes roots to spread downward and outward. In each case, although the
direction is different, each move is in the right
direction. If we are wounded, the Vital Force begins to heal the wound, doing
the work with wonderful sagacity and precision. If we break a bone, all that
we, or the surgeon may do, is to place the bones into juxtaposition and keep
them there, while the great Vital Force knits the fractured parts together. If
we fall, or our muscles or ligaments are torn, all that we can do is to observe
certain things in the way of attention, and the Vital Force starts in to do its
work, and drawing on the system for the necessary materials, and repairs the
damage.
All physicians know, and their schools teach,
that if a man is in good physical condition, his Vital Force will cause him to
recover from almost any condition excepting when the vital organs are
destroyed. When the physical system has been allowed to run down, recovery is
much more difficult, if, indeed, not impossible, as the efficiency of the Vital
Force is impaired and is compelled to work under adverse conditions. But rest
assured that it is doing the best it can for you, always, under the existing conditions.
If Vital Force cannot do for you all that it aims to do, it will not give up
the attempt as hopeless, but will accommodate itself to circumstances and make
the best of it. Give it a free hand and it will keep you in perfect health—
restrict it by irrational and unnatural methods of living, and it will still
try to pull you through, and will serve you until the end, to the best of its
ability, in spite of your ingratitude and stupidity. It will fight for you to
the finish.
The principle of accommodation is manifested all through
all forms of life. A seed dropped into the crevice of a rock, when it begins to
grow either becomes squeezed into the shape of the rock, or, if it be strong
enough, splits the rock in twain and attains its normal shape. So, in the case
of Man, who manages to live and thrive in all climates, and conditions, the
Vital Force has accommodated itself to the varying conditions, and, where it
could not split the rock, it sent out the sprout in a somewhat distorted shape,
but still alive and hardy.
No
organism can become diseased while the proper conditions for health are
observed. Health is but life under normal conditions, while disease is life
under abnormal conditions. The conditions which caused a man to grow to a healthy,
vigorous manhood are necessary to keep him in
health and vigor. Given the right condition, the Vital Force will do its best
work, but given imperfect conditions the Vital Force will be able to manifest
but imperfectly, and more or less of what we call disease ensues. We are living
in a civilization which has forced a more or less unnatural mode of life upon
us, and the Vital Force finds it hard to do as well for us as it would like. We
do not eat naturally; drink naturally; sleep naturally; breathe naturally; or
dress naturally. We "have done those things which we ought not to have
done, and we have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and
there is no Health within us"—or, we might add, as little health as we can
help.
We have dwelt upon the matter of the friendliness of the
Vital Force, for the reason that it is a matter usually overlooked by those who
have not made a study of it. It forms a part of the Yogi Philosophy of Hatha
Yoga, and the Yogis take it largely into consideration in their lives. They
know that they have a good friend and a strong ally in the Vital Force, and
they allow it to flow freely through them, and try to interfere as little as
possible with its operations. They know that the Vital Force is ever awake to
their well-being and health, and they repose the greatest confidence in it.
Much of the success of Hatha Yoga consists of
methods best calculated to allow the Vital Force to work freely and without
hindrance, and its methods and exercises are largely devoted to that end. To
clear the track of obstructions, and to give the chariot of the Vital Force the
right way on a smooth clear road, is the aim of the Hatha Yogi. Follow his
precepts and it will be well with your body.
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