IV. 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 granery-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 tody, 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 hut 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 arc 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," saith 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, 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 arc 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 arc largely devoted to that
end. To clear the track of obstructions, and to give the chariot of the Vital
Force the right of 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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