Living in the society means the life of struggles. Man builds family, establishes relations. gives and takes love, and lets others realize his existence. He prefers peculiarities. He leads a happy life.

 

This all goes on until all his desires are fulfilled. The moment one tries to disturb the set up or to prevent the activities, his love and affection turns into anger, agitation and hatred.

 

These days the human life has gone so mechanical that with a single link shattered, the whole machine ceases to work. His coming to a standstill even for a few moments, brings a sudden pause and disturbance in the life of those related to him.

 

Even a minor sparkling causes a violent scandle taking the whole society in its grip. It affects the common life. Directly or indirectly it hinders the daily routine.

 

One, with his mind affected by violence, cannot justify his ownself. In the modern society only he is recognized who is non-violent.

 

Timur Lang (AD 1398) asked Ahmed. ‘You being a poet, tell me the price of these slaves.

 

“Five hundred golden coins each.

Well, tell me the price of myself you would fix.

 

“Twentyfive golden coins.”

 

Timur Lang naturally got angry to hear this. He burst ou,

 

‘O nonsense, twentyfive golden coins is the price of my clothes alone.

 

Right you are. I also have done the same by fixing twentyfive golden coins as the price of your clothes alone. Said Ahmed in reply.

 

“Then, is there no value given to me?’

 

No sir, there is no value given to you. The one who is cruel and violent, cannot be given any value.

 

The tendency of violence is directly related with our daily routine work. We do the way we think, and our way of thinking is directly influenced by the food we take.

 

Food occupies a very important place in our life. More Important than this is the process of breathing. The cessation of breathing means ceasing the life. The same is the fact about food to some extent. Of course, life can prolong without food for some days. Those on fast one can go on without food for some more time. Those having much control over their will power, also do not feel disturbed.

 

The preparation of meals is classified in accordance with the season throughout the year. The meals are prescribed according to the four weathers. i.e., winter, summer, spring and autumn. The meals are prepared heavy, light, easily digestible or fried, matching the season, for a natural digestion.

 

The body also has daily changes according to the seasons. The seasons throughout the year bring visible changes, likewise, the body shows daily changes in the morning, in the midday and in the evening, and accordingly we change our breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. The dishes are prepared with that change in view. Our sages and ascetics have given us dietetic codes, prescribed the items accordingly for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

 

Now, the scientists and the physicians also are busy with the same type of researches. Every physician prescribes daily items of diet for his patient. He has suggestion of balanced diet for even those who have generally a sound health. for their body to extract necessary energy, strength and calories.

 

Calories, as much as necessitated by the body, are allright: the excess of calories gets deposited in the body and after all is harmful. The quantity of calories. therefore, is prescribed according to one’s nature of daily routine. The more physical labour one has to do, the more quantity of calories he will be needing: whereas he will be needing less quantity of calories who has to do mental labour.

 

Food shows direct affect upon our daily activities. Excess of malignant or Tamasika food brings malignant activities in our body. The pure or Sattvika food is. therefore suggested for celibacy; it keeps the mind in sound state and the flow of thoughts in a smooth order.

 

Likewise, the three qualities, namely Sattva or pure, Rajas or rich and Tamas or malignant, also take effect from the quality and variety of food. So is the case with the tendency of activities.

 

Various chemicals in the brain come up of the food: these are necessary for proper working of the body. Some of these chemicals are very essential for the body: while some are also harmful for the body and even for the brain, because these influence the way of thinking. We should, therefore not take the food which may shed bad effect on our flow of thinking. Food, producing such chemicals, should not be taken.

 

An analysis of the chemicals in food lets us know the scarcity and the excess of chemicals in this variety departmentwise. The analysis lets us know: which food produces which chemical and how much: what the utility of the chemical produced is; and the absence of which chemical causes the inactivity of which cell and the nonfluency of which nerve.

 

Which limb loses its working capacity and which limb is diversely affected, this all is the subject of study of the modern scientists. They tell us the lack of which vitamin leads to which complication, which vitamin is produced by which type of food, and which drug substitutes which chemical in the body when food is not allowable.

 

The vitamins are also a type of chemicals. These, in a calculated quality and proportion, are fed to the body orally or through injection or ointment or breathing system.

 

The scientists of these days expose the effects of these chemicals through their researches and inventions. The tendency coming up in the mind of a certain person depends upon the chemical process at the time concerned. Lack of sugar in the body leads to a tendency of cruelty, the scientists think like this.

 

In this age of science the first thing man has to do is to get out of tension, which, however, he has not been able to. This also is mainly because of our food. Mental tension, puzzle, worry, fear, anger and all that come up of our impure food.

 

Scientists state the shortage of triptophane and cerotonin as the cause of mental tension. Sufficiency of these chemicals brings fearlessness. Calmness and tolerance and stability amongst events and accidents. He does not get anger for a minor reason.

 

A detailed study results into our knowledge that most of the diseases and worries are caused by our food. All types of food leave their direct effect on our body, on the limbs keeping it active, which themselves are active because of the chemicals produced by that food.

 

Historians also justify the theory of dietetics. We know that the ancient rulers used to provide meat and wine to the soldiers of their army to creat malignant tendency in them. Served with pure food, they would have not been able to fight, instead they would have been obsessed by mercy, love, affection and compassion.

 

It was perhaps for this reason that the tradition of sacrifice was started in every platoon so that the soldiers could see themselves as to how the beasts sacrificed try to escape the death blow, and, they could bring the soldiers of the enemy under the same type of death-blow. The sages and ascetics, however, preferred for them the vegetarian food to be given so that the Sattvika quality could be retained in them.

 

For maintaining non-violence also, diet control is very much necessary. The harmful chemicals in the food get deposited in the body; it is, therefore essential for us to take such food as would not produce harmful chemicals and, on the other hand, would make already deposited harmful chemicals emitted in due course.

 

This can simply be done by fasting, so that the deposit of harmful chemicals is thrown out and further income of the same is checked. A weekly fast, therefore, is very essential for the body mentally and emotionally.

 

The dietetics of the nature of our food should be based upon the following principles: Food should be aimed at soundness of the body. Qualitywise the food should upkeep the mental purity. It should retain the purity of emotional thought.

 

Keeping these three principles in view we shall experience a natural change in our way of thinking. leading us to be cautious about food, we would, then, avoid taking the food which might pollute our mentality. or might suppress our pure thinking, or might be harmful for the health of our body.

 

Once we are capable of observing these principles we shall have control upon the harmful elements.

 

Violence is directly related with the postures. Do we try to find out the reason behind the tension in our life? It is the incessant mental labour that leaves no chance for physical labour, hence the domination of tension upon our mind, body, brain, thinking and mentality.

 

Ancient literature abounds in the references to Yogic postures. Their modernized edition is now needed. We should pay the same importance to the body as to the brain. For the constant use of brain, the use of body should not be shattered. or else our mental tension will grow much more.

 

Our life has gone so mechanical that we like to use. as we are doing too, every facility more freely: hence we think of nothing but of the upkeep of the body. We have never tried to think of the health of our mind and brain.

 

We hear the news of this robust man or that wrestler. as having made up a world record or that he is able to overcome anyone in wrestling. But he immediately loses patience as soon as he comes to know of the death or accidant of one of his relatives. At such a news, even the greatest players lose their balance, because they lack emotional firmness. They are strong from the view-point of games or bodily beauty, but from the view point of mind and emotion they are deseased. Soundness of mind and emotion will, of course, make them capable enough to easily bear such a shock.

 

Change in emotion and mentality is possible by practising the postures. We may have studied yoga which prescribes many postures. Every type of problems has its solution in those postures.

 

To purify blood circulation the body-brought-up-side- down posture, called ‘sirshasana’, is one. For controlling our nervous system and glands also, these postures are useful. The tendency of violence will itself turn into the tendency of non-violence when we shall practise these postures and take balanced diet in a proportionate quantity.