Shine india monthly magazine Published this article  Health is not just about the absence of disease but rather the presence of youthful enthusiasm and an ability to learn at every stage in life. It encourages one to be on – and stay on – a path of happiness and fulfilment. The Upanishads describe sukha or happiness as a state where all our senses – sight smell touch sound and taste – are all aligned with one another. Dukha on the other hand is a state where the senses are not aligned and is naturally the lack of happiness. Each of us has experienced this the body in one place the mind in another and the senses distraught. This lack of alignment is what the modern world calls stress. In Ayurvedic terms health can be translated as swasthya a state where the swa (the self) is stha (centred). In other words health is synonymous with the state of being centred with all senses aligned – or as Mahatma Gandhi described it a confluence of thought speech and action and no conflict between them. Yoga for one guides us to health on the path of shanti or peace and the yoga texts teach us that swasthya is step one to both inner and outer peace.  The world today is fatter than what it was just 10 years ago and yet the dangers of hunger loom over us just as much as they did years ago. Globally we are facing what is called as the double burden of malnourishment. On the one hand is a population that eats so much that they could die because of the excesses and on the other hand is a population that doesnt have access to 3 square meals a day shine india monthly magazine English buy.

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