Longevity_and_Energy_Levels
Revised on
A.C.Sekhar
20 July 2003
When
somebody reaches old age and still remain active (In India about 70 and
over) quite a number of people ask for secrets of survival for a such a long
time, and still be active in spite of many adverse circumstances through which they would have passed during
their lives and particularly if they have no hereditary history of long lives in their families. Are there any real secrets at all as many
people imagine? There may not be a single reason but there may be several
factors that
contribute to long life of any person or even inanimate objects..
Some may be obviously known and some may remain unknown, and perhaps some may not be for open
discussions or explanations. However among many factors there seem to be one or two which indeed have real contribution
for long life and which can also be
explained in terms of modern health
sciences. One should always keep fully occupied and strive for enjoyment and happiness
particularly amongst people much younger to oneself. Like physical exercises ,food, medicines
etc, involvement with younger generation
brings the body and mind to a higher
level of energy found in younger generation and the apparent age diminishing
forces come into action and thus increase the normal expected age! In
scientific jargon
enjoyment or happiness or a suitable environment is a tool for increasing the level of energy in
human beings, in all living creatures,
and in fact in the entire creation Three types of tools for different
levels /stages of such enjoyment,
happiness or environment can be recognized.
- Tools of enjoyment
through physical senses : (Bhautic)
By taste, by sight, by hearing, by smell, by touch etc. By this, one can
attain the joys of worldly matters and worldly issues only This is subjective materialism
2.
Tools of enjoyment through words and deeds : (Adhyatmic) Bhajans, songs, words
of praise of
meritorious and worthy;
Open appreciation of all that is good and condemnation of all that is bad.
Helping the deserving; Looking after the
needy; Charity; Cleaning the environment. This is objective
materialism
3
Tools of
enjoyment through God-Vision: (Divik) Self-realization,;
Feeling of Divinity Bliss; Under
this state, one goes beyond the
worldly life; beyond the commonly
understood systems of interaction
between
any , for the common pleasures and enjoyment. This type of joy or enjoyment
cannot be
described or conveyed
by one to another, but can be felt or experienced individually, Some of
Nature’s activities beyond human control also
fall under this category.
The age of the human body
or any object or any system cannot be simply synchronized to the number of
circles which the earth takes to go round the sun but the forces of the above tools
should also be considered.. Soon after
the birth the human body or any object continuously adjusts itself and protects
itself against odds to maintain the expectancy of life and as also determined
by hereditary and environmental factors.
There are some common
beliefs which are put out as reasons for long life .Often one mentions leading
a life of high principles, regular habits etc.
But there are many cases in History in which people of very regular and
principled life died fairly young and people with irregular habits and other
types of sufferings
lived fairly long. This
does not mean that one can easily lead any unprincipled life with careless and
bad habits. It seems definitely advisable to have some principles, not too
rigid but with clear and wider horizons. One may have any number of principles
but they should serve only as “guides” to follow always and particularly when
one comes at cross roads. The principles may have expandable boundaries and
horizons without affecting the basic foundations of the same. Usually such
principles are developed either from ones own experiences of the past or from
knowledge gained from
different external sources. It becomes doubtful if any principles can be framed
on any universal all-time considerations because of the possibility of
occurrence of circumstances hitherto unknown or unexpected. Hence there is a
need of adjustability of the principles within the frame work of the basic
logic, i.e. foundation , in order to maintain appropriate levels of energy for long life.
The Mind also can guide and keep under
control the above considered pleasures and enjoyments; or change the
environment to elevate the energy from one level to another, through constant
analysis, practice, and developing a
capacity to reject the unwanted or inappropriate, what is considered as bad and
unsuitable.. Though in the ultimate, in the Hindu way of life as per the Advita, philosophy one
should not distinguish between bad and good, between right and wrong, between brightness and darkness, with reference to a particular space and
time, in a different situation the
‘discrimination’ which is said to be an important characteristic of human beings should be able to resolve what is acceptable and what is to be
rejected.. What is acceptable at one particular space and time may not be so at
other situations. Thus the capacity of discrimination can also be considered as
a factor to contribute to longevity. There should also be an aim or purpose or goal of life and no effort should be spared to achieve the
same. There should always be a balance of strength of mind, body and soul, the
trinity of human elements.