Jeevem Sharadah Shatam
'Jeevem Sharadah Shatam' (Lord! Grant me 100 years of lifespan) — reflects the desire in Ayurveda for a healthy human life of 100 years. But today this possibility looks like a day-dream. If at all someone manages to cross 100 years, he is looked upon with wonder. But in ancient times this type of longevity was very common. It was common because of the then existing life style patterns, food habits and the environment which combined to ensure that the body remained healthy, robust and disease free.
An anecdote goes that once a centenarian in Beijing, China was asked the secret of his long life. The old man replied — "There are three simple rules that I observe in my daily life and which have enabled me to live this long. First, I never fill my mind with thoughts which cause agitation. I patronize only those thoughts which can keep my mind and heart composed and restful. Second, I never eat food that causes dullness or generates systemic disorders. Nor do I eat more than what is necessary. Third, I take deep breath. I inhale deep upto my navel and then exhale; I never take half breaths."
Certainly, the above three pearls of wisdom given by the wise old man are useful for all of us. If we look closely, we will find that we do exactly the opposite: (i) We surround ourselves with negative thoughts and thus fill ourselves with tension and anxiety; (ii) We generally like spicy and fried foods and eat them liberally to satisfy our taste buds; (iii) Our normal breathing is rapid and superficial.
A special feature of human life is that God has granted us a fixed span of life, and this in turn depends on a fixed number of breaths. Being habituated to rapid and superficial breathing, we ourselves invite trouble and reduce our longevity, because superficial breaths do not allow oxygen to penetrate deep into lungs. In rapid breathing a person makes 14–15 inhalations per minute, while in deep breathing the number of inhalations is reduced to 10–12. Work consumes 12–13 breaths, and when we are angry we spend 24–28 breaths. That is why a person who gets angry quickly also tires soon, whereas a cool and composed person does not tire easily.
In the Bhagavad Gita (6th chapter, 17th verse) Lord Krishna enlightens Arjun about the life style of a yogi: "Yuktāhāravihārasya yuktachestasya karmasu, Yuktswapnāwabodhasya yogo bhawati duhkhahā." — The yoga that destroys all suffering is attained only by the one with right food and right conduct, the one with right endeavour in karma and the one with right cycle of sleep and waking.
Param Poojya Gurudev has given 18 sutras for the Yug Nirman resolve. Out of these, three sutras help keep the body healthy and mind pure: (i) we will treat our body as the temple of God and by self-control and discipline keep it disease free; (ii) we will practice swādhyāya and satsang (self-learning and right company) to insulate the mind from ill thoughts; and (iii) we will regularly practice the four restraints — over self, finance, time and thought.
"But he who has been earnest in the love of knowledge and of true wisdom, and has exercised his intellect more than any other part of him, must have thoughts immortal and divine." — Plato
"Forcing a project to completion, you ruin what was almost right. Content with an ordinary life, you can show all people the way back to their own true nature."