Disease

ādhyātmikādi maitreya jñātvā tāpa-trayaṁ budhaḥ

ādhyātmikādi maitreya jñātvā tāpa-trayaṁ budhaḥ |
utpanna-jñāna-vairāgyaḥ prāpnoty ātyantikaṁ layam |
ādhyātmiko’pi dvividhaḥ śārīro mānasas tathā |
śārīro bahubhir bhedair bhidyate śrūyatāṁ ca saḥ ||
śiro-roga-pratiśyāya-jvara-śūla-bhagandaraiḥ |
gulmārśaḥ-śvayathu-śvāsa-cchardyādibhir anekadhā ||
tathākṣi-rogātīsāra-kuṣṭhāṅgāmaya-saṁjñitaiḥ |
bhidyate dehajas tāpo mānasaṁ śrotum arhasi ||
kāma-krodha-bhaya-dveṣa-lobha-moha-viṣādajaḥ |
śokāsūyāvamānerṣyā-mātsaryādimayas tathā ||
mānaso’pi dvija-śreṣṭha tāpo bhavati naikadhā |
ity evam ādibhir bhedais tāpo hy ādhyātmikaḥ smṛtaḥ ||
mṛga-pakṣi-manuṣyādyaiḥ piśācoraga-rākṣasaiḥ |
sarīsṛpādyaiś ca nṛṇāṁ jāyate cādhibhautikaḥ ||
śīta-vātoṣṇa-varṣāmbu-vaidyutādi-samudbhavaḥ |
tāpo dvija-vara śreṣṭhaiḥ kathyate cādhidaivikaḥ ||
garbha-janma-jarājñāna-mṛtyu-nārakajaṁ tathā |
duḥkhaṁ sahasraśo bhedair bhidyate muni-sattama ||
(Viṣṇu Purāṇa: 6.5.1–9)

“O Maitreya, having understood the three miseries, [viz.,] ādhyātmikā and so forth, a wise person in whom knowledge (jñāna) and non-attachment (vairāgya) have arisen attains absolute dissolution [i.e., mokṣa]. Ādhyātmikā [misery], furthermore, is twofold: bodily and mental. The bodily [type] is divisible into many divisions. This too should be heared about. Misery produced by the body is divisible in various ways with names such as head diseases, colds, fevers, colic, fistula, splenomegaly, hemorrhoids, intumescence, asthma, vomiting, ophthalmia, dysentery, leprosy, rheumatism, and so forth. The mental [type of ādhyātmikā misery] is [also] befitting to hear of. O best of the twice-born, mental misery too occurs in various ways, such as that produced by lust, anger, fear, enmity, greed, delusion, and dejection, and that constituted of lamentation, detraction [i.e., attributing faults to others’ qualities], disrespect, hostility [i.e., non-forgiveness], envy [i.e., intolerance of another’s excellence], and so forth. In this way, ādhyātmika misery is known by many divisions. The ādhibhautika [misery] of human beings arises from animals, birds, [other] humans, piśācas, serpents, rākṣasas, reptiles, and so forth. Ādhidaivika misery is known by the exalted, O best of the twice born, as that produced by cold, wind, heat, rain, water, lightning, and so forth. O best of the sages, suffering produced by the womb, birth, aging, ignorance, death, and Naraka, is divisible in thousands of divisions.”

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yā dustyajā durmatibhir yā na jīryati jīryataḥ

yā dustyajā durmatibhir yā na jīryati jīryataḥ |
yo’sau prāṇantiko rogas tāṁ tṛṣṇāṁ tyajataḥ sukham ||
(Mahābhārata: 12.168.45)

“Happiness comes from casting off desire, that which is difficult to cast away for the ill-minded, which does not age as a result of aging [i.e., does not wane even as the body becomes decrepit], and which is a fatal disease.”

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yāta-yāmaṁ gata-rasaṁ pūti paryuṣitaṁ ca yat

yāta-yāmaṁ gata-rasaṁ pūti paryuṣitaṁ ca yat |
ucchiṣṭam api cāmedhyaṁ bhojanaṁ tāmasa-priyam ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 17.10)

“Foods that are stale [lit., past their time], tasteless, foul-smelling, putrid, left over [i.e., partial eaten by another person], and unofferrable foods [e.g., meat] are dear to a tāmasic person.”

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kaṭv-amla-lavaṇātyuṣṇa-tīkṣṇa-rūkṣa-vidāhinaḥ

kaṭv-amla-lavaṇātyuṣṇa-tīkṣṇa-rūkṣa-vidāhinaḥ |
āhārā rājasasyeṣṭā duḥkha-śokāmaya-pradāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 17.9)

“Foods which are excessively bitter, sour, salty, hot, pungent, astringent, or burning, and which cause discomfort, dejection, and disease are desired by a rājasic person.”

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anabhyāse viṣaṁ śāstram ajīrṇe bhojanaṁ viṣam

anabhyāse viṣaṁ śāstram ajīrṇe bhojanaṁ viṣam |
daridrasya viṣaṁ goṣṭhī vṛddhasya taruṇī viṣam ||
(Cāṇakya-nīti: 4.15)

“Without regular practice, śāstra is poison [because it can lead to delusion]. When undigested, food is poison [because it causes disease]. For a poor person, congregating is poison [because one cannot properly host others], and for an elderly man, a young woman is poison [because he cannot fulfill all her needs].”

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na manuṣye guṇaḥ kaścid anyo dhanavatām api

na manuṣye guṇaḥ kaścid anyo dhanavatām api |
anāturatvād bhadraṁ te mṛta-kalpā hi rogiṇaḥ ||
(Mahābhārata: 5.36.65; Vidura-nīti)

“There is no other quality in a human being, including even affluence, that is more blessed than being healthy [lit., non-diseased]. The sickly are as though already dead.”

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janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-vedanābhir upadrutam

janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-vedanābhir upadrutam |
saṁsāram imam utpannam asāraṁ tyajataḥ sukham ||
(Hitopadeśa: Sandhi, 94)

“Happiness comes from giving up this insubstantial world of saṁsāra which is overrun by birth, death, old age, disease, and sorrow.”

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vyāyāmāt labhate svāsthyaṁ dīrghāyuṣyaṁ balaṁ sukham

vyāyāmāt labhate svāsthyaṁ dīrghāyuṣyaṁ balaṁ sukham |
arogyaṁ paramaṁ bhāgyaṁ svāsthyaṁ sarvārtha-sādhanam ||
(Unknown Source)

“From exercise one attains health, long life, strength, and happiness. Freedom from disease is the greatest fortune. Health is the means to [achieve] all goals.”

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śarīropacayaḥ kāntir gātrāṇāṁ suvibhaktatā

śarīropacayaḥ kāntir gātrāṇāṁ suvibhaktatā |
dīptāgnitvam anālasyaṁ sthiratvaṁ lāghavaṁ mṛjā ||
śrama-klama-pipāsoṣṇa-śītādīnāṁ sāhiṣṇutā |
ārogyaṁ cāpi paramaṁ vyāyāmād upajāyate ||
(Suśruta-saṁhitā: Cikitsā-sthāna, 4.39-40)

“Development of the body, luster, a well-proportioned figure, good digestion, an absence of lethargy, steadiness, lightness, pure skin, tolerance of the fatigue of exertion, thirst, heat, cold, and so on, and full freedom from disease [all] arise from exercise.”

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alaso manda-buddhiś ca

alaso manda-buddhiś ca sukhī ca vyādhi-pīḍitaḥ |
nidrāluḥ kāmukaś caiva ṣaḍ ete śāstra-varjitāḥ ||
(Unknown source)

“The lazy, the dull-witted, the happy-go-lucky, those plagued by disease, the slumberous, and the lustful—these six are excluded by śāstra [i.e., they lack the qualifications needed to follow the teachings given in the śāstra and thus the teachings of the śāstra are not applicable to them; they will not attain the ideals taught in śāstra, and those who wish to attain such ideals should avoid their association].”

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