Agantu Rogah: Externally Caused Disorders + Prevention

In the article discussing repression of the urges, we dealt with a large cause of endogenous (internally manifested) disease. In this verse the Astanga Hrdayam delineates some of the exogenous sources of disease and continues by showing the prominent methods of prevention. 

Agantu Rogah

ye bhuta-visavayvagni-ksata-bhangadi-sambhavah
rada dvesa-bhayadyasca te syur-agantavo gadah

“The diseases that arise due to other living entities, toxic substances, polluted air, fire, traumatic injury, fracture, and emotions such as lust, anger, attachments, hatred, fear, and so forth are known as āgantu rogas.” AH Sū 4.31 

Why undergo disease?

The vedas clearly communicate that suffering arises due to avidya, or associating with something we are not (ignore-ance of self). Because we think we are our mind & body, we take their ups and downs to be the reality of who we are. Luckily we are not our imbalances, we are not our emotions, thoughts, or body - but we are operating through them which is why treatment and prevention is important. 

If one has a painful rash that originates from a disease in the blood, one may use ointment to reduce the unpleasant symptoms of disease - but unless the blood is treated, the problem will recur causing distress. Ayurveda aims to treat the outward symptoms stemming from the emotional / physical / mental bodies - but also to create a fertile ground (through clean living + being) for the seed of devotion and self-realization to sprout - eliminating the very source of disease - avidya. 

Suffering manifests through three sources: other living entities, nature, and our own body/mind. In the last article we delineated some internally caused disorders (stemming from the body alone), here we will cover other sources + how to bring vitality into the body through right thinking and living. 

How to minimize agantu rogah? 

tyagah prajnaparadhanam-indriyopasamah smrtih
desa-kalatma-vijnanam sadvrttasyanuvartanam

“Giving up the tendency to ignore our own intelligence (conscience); controlling the senses; being aware of past experiences; being aware of place, time and body constitution one should perform all activities according to principles of sadvrtta (good conduct).” AH Su 4.32

• Intelligence (dhī) is developed via, and depends upon, past memory (smrti) retrieval to discriminate and make the right decisions. Prajñāparādha means to insult / heed the advice of the intellect - and is a result of impaired dhī, dhrti, and smrit - or intellect, patience and memory.

• This impaired state spirals many of us into more and more poor choices which compound into dis-ease. In life, our decisions are only as good as the consciousness in which we make them - hence Ayurveda’s stress on sadvrtta (good conduct + thinking). 

Why do we engage in prajnaparadha? (crimes against intelligence)

This process is explained in the Bhagavad-Gita, a Vedic treatise on the struggles of the living entity, wherein it describes the process of uncontrolled senses ultimately causing disease. 

In a frustrated or angered state our perception of reality becomes warped. We lose the ability to properly access memories that may keep us from acting against our best interest (how many times have we vowed not to do something unhealthy only to do it again and again?). In this state we commit prajnaparadha, or crimes against our internal intelligence - a great cause of disease. 

Vice or Nice? Temporary pleasure often obfuscates the reality.

• First we meditate upon things we may like to enjoy through the senses (ice cream, followers, opposite sex, etc) then some subtle attachment is created, then a craving arises and - when unsatiated - turns into frustration or anger. This happens when we want something, but can’t have it (attachment), or don’t want something, but are forced to accept it (aversion).  Simply put - by allowing the progression of thinking, feeling, willing - we trap ourselves in bad habits. 

• In a frustrated or angered state our perception of reality becomes warped. We lose the ability to properly access memories that may keep us from acting against our best interest (how many times have we vowed not to do something unhealthy only to do it again and again?). In this state we commit prajnaparadha, or crimes against our internal intelligence - a great cause of disease. 

How to overcome this tendency?

"There are principles to regulate attachment and aversion pertaining to the senses and their objects. One should not come under the control of such attachment and aversion, because they are stumbling blocks on the path of self-realization.” Gita

If one desires to overcome the lower nature of vice, which has many faces, one will have to swim upstream (against the natural flow of the senses and modern pressures) until one reaches the great reservoir of self satisfaction (atmaramika). 

Rewire reactions - Stop the cycle of thinking, feeling, willing towards vice / lower habits before it reaches the willing phase. This means we begin to recognize how certain stimuli leads us to a certain thought pattern that ultimately leads to an undesired action - thus it is imperative to catch the progression before it is willingly acted upon, and change the thought pattern to one that establishes us in higher values. 

Regiment daily lifestyle - consistently investing in enriching activities for the mind / body / soul. For most of us, our intensity of spiritual practice is not enough to keep us out of vice. When we don’t invest in all areas of life that we value, we feel dissatisfaction which is a fertile ground for vice to rear its head. Regimenting our lives forms a strong foundation by which to withstand the ups and downs of life - and when we are stressed we begin to reach for things that truly nourish instead of the quick fix. I’ll be sharing a course on this soon - but I’d love to chat if you want to know more.

“Though the embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.”

— GITA

“Only he who has become the master of himself, i.e. the senses, can live for higher purposes. Others without such self mastery shall be strangled by the serpents of sensual indulgence.”

Prevention

Seasonal cleansing 

Many times we fall ill during the junction of two seasons such as the current transition from winter to spring. The abrupt change of the elements shocks our body and the doshas begin to spread, causing flu, colds, insomnia and other disorders. 

The dosas that accumulate during the cold part of the year should be eliminated during the spring - think of ice melting down a mountain face and flowers blooming after a long winter. This should be done quickly during the sandhi (transitional period between two seasons).

Elimination of All Disease 

nityam hitahara-vihara-sevi
samiksyakari visayesv-asaktah
data samah satyaparah ksamavan
aptopasevi ca bhavaty-arogah

“One who always eats only what is beneficial, performs only those activities that are beneficial, is closely observant and mindful of everything, is free from any attachment to sense objects, is munificent, is equally disposed to all, is honest, is patient, and accepts the words of the authorities will be free from all disease.” AH

This is quite a profound statement which includes very high standards of living. If one possesses even one of the above qualities that is a great achievement, what to speak of becoming self-realized (detached from sense objects, equally disposed to all, etc). Let us dive into the first item: 

Eats only what is beneficial… 

Diet is a main pillar of health. Our diet includes anything that comes through our senses (eyes, ears, mouth, etc). As far as nutrition - ayurveda stresses that food be prepared in proper consciousness using right ingredients, right combinations, freshness, proper for the season + level of digestion, etc. Just because an item is considered healthy, doesn’t mean all other factors shouldn’t be considered.The process of the downfall of our consciousness due to lack of sense control can be largely mitigated when one regulates what they eat.

The natural intelligence of our cells allows for complex functions to occur at every moment in our body - blocking disease and promoting vitality of all systems. When we alter nature, we remove its natural intelligence, and thus our cells stop doing intelligent things, causing auto-immune disorders, cancer, etc.

According to the Vedas there are four categories of edibles:

• tamasic: dead food - “prepared more than three hours before being eaten, food that is tasteless, decomposed and putrid, and food consisting of remnants (leftovers, flesh of animals, etc).” 

• rajasic: passionate/dumb food - "too bitter, too sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry and burning… such foods cause distress, misery and disease.”

• sattvic: intelligent food - “increase the duration of life, purify one’s existence and give strength, health, happiness and satisfaction. Such foods are juicy, fatty, wholesome, and pleasing to the heart."

• prasad: transcendental food - sattvic food offered back to God using prayer.