Natural Way of Living

Health is in Your Hands

2012-05-02T22:32:00.000-07:00

In the previous blog “Health is Happiness” we tried to understand the true meaning of health and its relationship with wealth and doctors. Before going further into the topic “Health is in your Hands”, let me share a small experience of mine in this regards. Legendary Yogacharya Sri BKS Iyengar once said in his interview that he was blessed with numerous diseases like Influenza, Tuberculosis, Malaria and Typhoid etc during his childhood. It is this reason why he has chosen the path of Yoga. Doctors declared that Guruji would die in 5 or 6 years and would not even cross his teenage. But destiny has something in store for him. He not only overcame his afflictions but gone on to live past 94 years and still going strong. When I met him in last July during Guru Poornima, I was astonished to see the kind of energy he has even at this age. He is full of energy, very vibrant and electrifying than a teenager. I have seen people of his age but not with so much vigor and vibrancy. Recently I happened to watch a documentary film on Guruji named “Leap of Faith”. After watching the film, I realized that Guruji’s life was nothing but a battle in every path of his life. He used to practice asanas for 10 hours at times. He experimented on his body in many ways. Iyengar method of Yoga is the result of these experiments and the experiences derived out of it.

After overcoming all the issues, Guruji helped lakhs of people who visited him over the years with different ailments through his unique method of Yoga using specific movements, alignments of the body and different types of props for practicing asanas. Apart from that lakhs of others across the world are getting benefited by the Iyengar Yoga Teachers created by Guruji. Guruji not only lighted up his house but passed on the energy to his students who are lightening lakhs of houses across the Globe. The energy is flowing and there is no halt for this energy. Had Guruji not suffered those diseases, we wouldn’t have found a power house called Sri. BKS Iyengar who is lightening the houses of millions with is Knowledge and Wisdom on Yoga. Great people always burn in the fire like an earthen pot to serve the others.

Dr. Manthena Satyanarayana Raju is no different from Guruji BKS Iyengar. He is another karma yogi who is moving up in his path lightening millions of people in Andhra Pradesh and across the world. Fortunately I am one of the rarest people who got an opportunity to get associated with two of these greats. Like Guruji Dr. M.S. Raju also suffered several health issues during his childhood. He made several experiments on his body and experienced several health benefits. He studied the Science of Naturopathy and after an intense research on the subject he designed the path of “Natural Way of Living” and decided to take this wonderful gift of nature to the people of Andhra Pradesh. Over the last 15 years Dr. M.S. Raju has been preaching the benefits of Natural Way of Living travelling all over the state of Andhra Pradesh. He realized many people suffering from various diseases in spite of spending lakhs of rupees on treatment moving from one doctor to another and one hospital to another without any result. For people like them, he designed “Natural Way of Living” where one can improve his health condition without spending a single rupee, sitting at home without going to any doctor or hospital. Dr. Raju’s followers are increasing day by day throughout the World. He is reaching every house hold through his books, TV programs and CDs and DVDs. Unfortunately most of them are in Telugu language. This is why I started writing my blog. My intention was to take his teachings to Non-Telugu speaking people in India. Fortunately, my blog posts are widely appreciated by international viewers as well. When I began my journey into natural way of living, I never imagined I would be like what I am today. I cannot explain in words how do I feel now. Thanks to Dr. Raju and Guruji BKS Iyengar because of whom I am transforming into a healthy person now.

Many like others I was not very serious about my health though I was suffering from several health issues. Only after watching Dr. Raju’s program on weight loss I started his path of Natural way of living. After seriously taking up Guruji BKS Iyengar’s Yoga I realized what complete health is. These two greats are inspiring forces and twin pillars of my life. I not only gained physical health but also mental peace. After joining yoga I realized that I was running after false things and my goal has changed now. My way of looking at things has changed and this I guess is the reason for relieving my mental strain and stress.

Being humans we do get diseases. That’s the nature our body. Being sick is sometimes for good reasons. It makes you realize the importance of health. I was born with ASD (Arterial Septal Disorder). In simple terms it is a case of hole in the artery of my heart. This made my childhood difficult in many ways. I used to get sick every now and then. But when I look back I realize that it was good in one way. It taught me the spirit of fighting hard to survive. I think it helped my natural instincts to rise. When I was undergoing an open heart surgery at the age of 18, I saw people crying with fear while going to the surgery room. I was fearless as I knew that is going to give me a new life. But I was not aware that my life would become sedentary after surgery which is going to hamper my health condition. My life had become a hell after surgery. Though the heart problem was overcome, my immunity system dropped down, became weak and feeble and restricted to sedentary work. I sacrificed all my sports which I used to play before surgery. Increasing weight was another matter of concern for me for very long time. After following Dr. Raju’s TV program on weight loss I began this journey of ‘Natural Way of Living’. Fortunately I came across a book called “light on Yoga” written by Guruji BKS Iyengar and began my yoga journey. (To know how I began my yoga journey follow this link “GuruPoornima with Legedary BKS Iyengar.”) After that my life took a U Turn. Then I joined Iyengar Yoga Institute Hyderabad, studying yoga under the expert guidance of my Guruji Smt. Zarna Mohan.

According to some of the ancient yoga texts diseases are caused due to three reasons:

1. Aadhyaatmika – Sickness caused due to bad karma or actions of the parents and ancestors. The sickness is hereditarily transferred to the heirs through their DNA. If the parents and grand parents ignore their health and succumb to diseases, they not only affect them but also to their future generations. We see many of these cases today. Diabetes, Cancer, Tuberculosis, Asthma, Bronchitis etc and many other diseases are caused hereditarily to plenty of people.

2. Aadibhautika – Sickness caused by the bad karma or actions of the self. We can call this a life style disorder. They are caused due to bad and unhealthy lifestyles. We see most of these cases in the metro and other growing cities where the lifestyles are against the nature of our body. Sedentary work, lack of physical exert, bad eating and sleeping habits and odd working hours are responsible for this kind of diseases or disorders. This is the most happening issue among the people of current generation. Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, Liver Problems, Kidney Problems, Intestinal Problems, Gall bladder Problems, Lung Problems, Heart Problems, Paralysis, Obesity and you name it and every modern disease is a lifestyle disorder. They are the diseases purchased by our own self.

3. Aadidaivika – Sickness caused by the karma or actions of the past lives. These types of diseases are very rare. These are the diseases caused to one from birth neither hereditary nor lifestyle disorder. For example, kids with hole in arteries or veins of the heart, one with crooked Spine, Type I diabetes and the cases of physical and mental deficiencies by birth.

We can overcome all these health issues if we learn how to keep ourselves healthy and teach the younger generations the importance of good health. Unfortunately, many believe themselves healthy until they fall sick or get prone to a serious disease. Then they cry that the disease has hampered their health. They believe their health was perfect before the disease and it hampered only after the disease. The fact is, as long as the Light called health is there with you, the disease cannot enter your body. It enters only when the light called health is declined. The disease en-roots into the body and slowly sprouts within without any symptoms. The sprout then starts branching inside the body and only then we realize the symptoms. If these symptoms are not taken care of in the early stages then the disease takes a giant form and destroys your life.

Now let us try to understand the causes for declining health condition of our body. People say that untidiness, food, water and environmental pollution are responsible for the declining health standards of the people. But the fact is, it is only 10% of the cause where as the 90% of the cause is our week immunity system. A sound immunity system protects your body from all sorts of trouble. If at all the disease enters your body and grows, it is the failure of your defense mechanism called the immunity system. Who is responsible for the declining immunity system? The parents who gave birth to you? They realized the importance of health and still live healthy. The doctors and hospitals? They are here because you are diseased. Food pollution? Water Pollution? Environmental Pollution? Mental Stain and Tensions? They are only responsible for a fraction. Then who is the culprit of your health? It is you. You are responsible for your ill health. Your health is in your hands. It is not in the hands of your parents, doctors, hospitals or in the hands of your society. It is totally in your hands. You can build it as well as you can ruin it.

Our ancestors realized this secret of health and lived healthy and happy. We are unable to understand this simple fact and ruining our own health. Today, especially the people living in the metro cities, the educated and the rich are unable to understand this very simple secret ‘the health is in our own hands’. Dawn to dusk we are spending our time in studies, earning money, enjoying foods, traveling and leading a luxurious and effortless life. Actually there isn’t any time to live. Then how can we live healthy? We plan everything except health. We plan what we are supposed to study in future. How we are supposed to earn money. When to visit a favorite restaurant for dinner? Where are we supposed to spend our holidays etc? Had we ever planned a single day allotting a time to chew our food well and eat? Cleanse the intestines and bladder? Doing exercises and meditation? Eating well before sunset and sleeping early hours in the night? Had we ever thought what this beautiful vehicle of our life journey called body needs? Are we providing what it needs? If we look after this vehicle then where is the need of taking it to the shed for repairs?

We are responsible for our own ill health. It is therefore, we have to correct our mistakes. If your skin is itching, you cannot scratch others to get rid of the itch. Similarly, if your health is declined, you have to pull your socks up and try to regain total health. Everyone must try to keep the doctors away as much as possible. Because a doctor is needed only when your not healthy. It doesn’t mean that you should not take the help of doctors and hospitals. You need to use them only when required and should not depend on them for anything and everything. Doctors and hospitals are only meant to treat the disease. Their relationship is only with your disease and not you. Their responsibility is over once they treat the disease.

Measures to Improve Health:

Who is a better person to follow when you are looking to improve your health condition than Dr. Mantena Satyanaraya Raju? For the past 15 years Dr. Raju has been doing a wonderful job in promoting health among the people of Andhra Pradesh. You can improve your health condition by following some of these minimum duties of the body.

To run a car in a good condition, you need to fulfill some of its daily needs. You need to provide some water, fuel, engine oil and some air. If you regularly provide these basic needs the car functions properly. Similarly, if you learn and understand the basic needs of the vehicle of our life called the body, then it functions properly just like a car without any difficulty. To ask these minimum needs is the right of our body and to provide them is our duty. The following are some of the basic needs of our body.

1. Air – The most important need of our body is air. One cannot survive more than few seconds if there is no air. Fortunately, the air moves in and out of our body involuntarily without our intervention. Therefore we could lead this much of life. Lungs are the main organs that carry oxygen in and carbon dioxide out of our body. But, keeping in mind of our daily activity we are not utilizing our full capacity of the lungs. Due to non usage, the lungs are losing its functional capacity and collapsing in times of need. If you have an active physical activity in your daily life then the lungs perform well. There is no better way of improving your lungs capacity than Pranayama in Yoga. However, any other physical exert also improves the lung capacity. You need better, wider and expandable lungs for a good healthy life.

2. Water – After Air, water plays a second vital role in our health. You need to realize that 71% of our body weight is due to water. Everyday 2 liters of water is utilized by the body in excreting the toxins from the body in the form of urine and sweat. You need to maintain the water levels intact in order to keep your inner environment healthy. Many people don’t realize this and do not maintain enough water levels in the body. Even if they do, they drink in the form of cool drinks, beer, buttermilk etc and think they are maintaining enough water in them. But they forget these are food items and not water. You need water to cleanse your body; not the soft drinks, sodas and juices. The body has to digest and cleanse these drinks and extract water from it. It may be helpful to some extent but it may not do the same as water does. Water is directly absorbed into the blood immediately and serves the need. If you serve 6 liters of water in Dr.Mantena’s way, then you lead a very healthy life. If you follow this, half your diseases or problems disappear.

3. Food – Food is the third most important element of our health. Everyone does eat food but the food that gives pleasure to the tongue but not the food that is useful to the body. We are utilizing the stomach filling it for a minimum of 3 times a day and hardly doing any physical activity. We are eating, wandering and working restlessly throughout the day and night. We are not leaving the body alone even when it is sick and not in a position to eat and digest the food. Ignoring all the symptoms of the body stuffing the stomach has become a routine. We have forgotten the ancient ways of Lankanam - fasting till recovery during fever and other sickness and regular fasts every now and then during a month to provide rest to the body. We have forgotten the ancient mantra – eat less and live more. Yogis in the past rightly said, Eka-bhukte sada yogi, Dwi-bhukte sada bhogi and Tri-bhukte sada Rogi; which means, the one who eats once a day leads a long life like a yogi, who eats twice lives like a bhogi - an enjoyer, who eats thrice lives like a rogi – the diseased. My Yoga teacher Smt. Zarna Mohan says, one has to enjoy food but with regulation to live healthy. Follow this simple mantra and that is enough.

4. Exercise – Physical exercise is very important part of life. As Guruji BKS Iyengar says, if you want to be healthy, you need to purchase health by spending your sweat. How truly said by the great Maestro? Apart from fingers working on computers, books and files we are not moving our body. Guruji in his book tree of life on yoga said, today a modern man wakes up from a cushion bed to find a bed coffee or tea and lands on sofa for reading news paper, He falls on dining table for breakfast, dining table to car seat for office, car seat to office chair for work and the reverse in return. He begins and ends his day on the seat. How is he supposed to get health? When anyone is asked to do some exercise, he says that he has no time for that. What a pity. How ignorant he is? Why does anyone forget that by the time he is full of time to exercise, the body is no more capable of doing it? The water once spilt into the soil cannot come back. Therefore, you need to extract your time now before it’s too late.

5. Rest – Rest is very useful part of our life. You need to rest the body externally and internally. External rest is given by providing a nice, deep and ample sleep in the nights. Since humans are day predators, the dharma of our body is to work in the day and sleep at night. But the lifestyles of metro cities are opposite to this. Due to night schedules of their work many people in the cities are suffering from sleeping disorders like insomnia and sleeplessness. You need to avoid these lifestyles as much as possible to stay healthy. Internal rest can be provided by eating less, regular fasting and doing lankanams – fasting unto recovery during sickness. 70% of daily energy is utilized by the body in eating food, digesting the eaten food, converting them to glucose and supplying the converted glucose to the body cells. If you do regular fast, the body saves this energy and utilizes in cleansing and repairing the body. We discussed all these in the previous posts. So I don’t feel necessary to elaborate on this.

6. Excretion of the Waste - The body excretes the wastes and toxins of the body in the form of urine, sweat and stool. Most part of the waste is excreted through stool. We always think of filling the stomach but never pay attention in cleansing our intestines until we get intestinal problems like irritable bowel syndrome, burning sensation and blood spilling through anus, piles, hemorrhoids, fishers etc. Follow Dr. Raju’s Natural way of living, keep your bowels moving freely and overcome all these problems with ease and lead a healthy life.

If you take care of these 6 basic needs of the body you always remain healthy, your immunity system boosts up and protects you from all sorts of diseases and disorders. We might have committed mistakes in the past but let us pledge not to commit the same again and change our lifestyle and follow the Natural Way of Living from here on.

I hope you enjoyed this update. Keep watching the space for more updates.

Mantena Satyanarayana Raju Vijayawada Ashram Opening Ceremony

2012-03-29T20:14:00.018-07:00

Good news for all the followers of Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju’s Natural Way of Living and all the aspirants of good health. The dream project of Dr. Raju at Vijayawada finally taken shape and started its operations from January 2012. Vijayawada’s Mantena Satyanarayana Raju Nature Cure Hospital is one of the world’s biggest hospitals of its kind with the entire modern infrastructure. Though the operations of the Ashram were started in January 2012 itself, the Ashram was not officially inaugurated as the operations were not fully on due to miscellaneous work under construction. Once the sundry work is completed Dr. M.S. Raju decided to inaugurate the Ashram on the auspicious day of Ugadi, the new year of Telugu speaking people on 23^rd of March 2012.

The hospital is located at a very picturesque location of Venkata Palem Village of Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India few kilometers away from Vijayawada Town at the banks of Krishna River.

Countless people are behind the successful completion of this project. But the Pioneer of this wonderful project is the famous industrialist Mr. Gokaraju Gangaraju who is the Chairman of Laila Group of Industries, Nizam Sugars, Delta Sugars and Delta Paper Mills etc. Dr. M.S. Raju during his convention thanked each and every person involved in this project for their support, love and trust on him. He said Mr. Gokaraju Gangaraju is the prime factor for this prestigious project by the banks of river Krishna. He donated 18 acres of fertile lands for the purpose of this project. He helped Matena Satyanarayana Raju Charitable Trust in getting bank loans worth 12.5 crores for the purpose of the hospital from State Bank of India and Canara Bank on his personal surety. He also sponsored the Staff Quarters for the employees of the Ashram which is under construction. He always stands upfront in all the social welfare activities in Vijaywada. Apart from this he has donated lands to various institutions like Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living, Subash Patri’s Pyramid Meditation Center, ISKON Temple, Aqua devils health club and an institution for Vedic studies etc.

I am an ardent fan, follower and a disciple of Dr. MS. Raju for quite some time now. I have been writing a blog on his ‘Natural Way of Living and Mantena’s Kitchen’ on internet since 2009 with an intention to take his teachings to non-Telugu speaking people. I never imagined the blog I started to kill my spare time would gain such popularity among the internet users and the followers of Dr. M.S. Raju all over the world. The funniest part is that I never met Dr. Raju before. I knew him through his programs on TV and his books and CD’s. There was a great transformation in my life because of Dr. Raju. Some of my friends and family members insisted me to meet and tell him about my transformation. But I never seriously thought of meeting him in person, though I had a wish some where in the corner of my heart. Moreover, it was not really important to meet him in person. There was already an etheric bonding between us. It was clear in my mind, if it is there in my destiny, then I will meet him for sure.

Two Important dates of my Life:

I will never forget 15^th of July 2011 and 22^nd of March 2012. These two dates have great importance in my life and they are associated with Dr. M.S. Raju. 15^th July 2011 was the day I met the Legendary Yoga Guru BKS Iyengar. I never imagined or even dreamt of meeting the Legend. Just like Dr. Raju I knew him through his books, CD’s and Videos on internet and TV. I practiced yoga through his book Light on Yoga which transformed my life. I am an Eka Lavya disciple for two of these great gurus. Please follow the link for details Guru Poornima with Legendary BKS Iyengar for details. My psychological connection was already established with them. Physical connection was left to the matter of time. Dr. Raju is directly or indirectly responsible for my association with Guruji BKS Iyengar. I had no interest in Yoga before and didn’t even know Guruji BKS Iyengar before joining Yoga. Had I not followed Dr. M.S. Raju’s Natural Way of Living I wouldn’t have developed interest in Yoga and spirituality. When I met Guruji I thanked Dr. Raju within my heart.

22^nd March 2012 is the day I met Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju in Vijayawada Ashram thanks to Mr. Sridhar Reddy the Mentor of NLS Yahoo Group. On 17^th of March 2012, I received a message in my facebook from Mr. Sridhar Reddy providing information on the inauguration of Dr. MS. Rajus’ Vijayawada Ashram and an invitation to attend the ceremony. Though he was in my contact list for quite sometime we never had a direct conversation on facebook. Neither I nor he ever directly communicated through messages in facebook or by phone. This was the first time he left a message in my inbox. I left my mobile number to enquire few more details about the ceremony. He called me up next morning and provided all the necessary information. So Mr. Sridhar Reddy has become the established compound element in my meeting with Dr. MS. Raju. It would be unfair, if I don’t thank him for the pain he took in taking us to the Ashram and all the hospitality we received out there. He is a very kind gentleman. We never met or spoken before. This was our first meeting but he never made us feel new or uncomfortable. He treated us like his old friends known for very long time. Thank you Sridhar garu for all the kind and unforgettable hospitality.

Journey to Vijayawada:

The day finally has arrived. I booked bus tickets to Vijayawada from Hyderabad along with one of my friend Krishna Mohan and my brother-in-law Mohan on 21^st March 2012. Mr. Tirupati Reddy the Mentor of Yahoo NLS Group arrived from Dubai to attend the ceremony also accompanied us in the journey.

We boarded the bus at around 10-30 PM at Hyderabad on 21^st March 2012 and reached Vijayawada at 4-30 AM in the morning. Mr. Sridhar picked us from the bus station in the early hours of the morning and took us to his home nearby. We then had our showers, freshen up and had a small session of yoga practice.

My Experiences in the Ashram:

We then traveled to Dr. Raju’s Ashram in his car at around 7-30 AM. It was a breakfast time out there. We visited the dining hall and had some fine breakfast. We had half boiled sprouts, raw sprouts and some fruits in our breakfast. It was really delicious and nutritious for me and for all the followers of Dr. Raju as they are used to eat recipes without the seven elements of taste viz., Masala, Oil, Salt, Sugar, Ghee, Red Chilly and Tamarind. It was a new experience to my friend and brother-in-law. Though it was their first time eating food without those elements of taste, they had no complaints.

After breakfast we met Dr. MS. Raju who was busy making arrangements for the ceremony. Mr. Sridhar Reddy then introduced us to the Doctor. He said this is Mr. Ram Godar from Hyderabad, an Eka Lavya Shishyudu (disciple) who is writing blogs on your teachings on internet for quite some time. Dr. Raju smiled in his usual self and said Santosham (happy). Dr. Raju then enquired about our accommodation and moved away for making arrangements.

We then moved to Dr. Raju’s house in the second block which is his temporary residence to meet his wife Dr. Vishala Raju. This was my first time to see her. She was looking beautiful and very simple in white clad saree, with a soft spoken voice like her husband. It is rightly said, there is a woman behind every successful man. There is no doubt she is the mentor behind all the success of Dr. Raju. She always worked behind the scene for the success of Dr. Raju. NLS Yahoo group members were having a meeting with the madam, so we decided to have a look around the Ashram and moved out.

I along with my friends walked through the banks of river Krishna, where every arrangement is being made to enjoy the nature. Few beautiful kuteers (huts) were built reminding the architecture of Vedic times of the past. We had great time enjoying the river and the atmosphere out there. When we were moving all over the ashram taking pictures, we noticed Dr. MS. Raju working in the fiery hot Sun directing the volunteers and workers. He was personally looking after each and every minute work that was going on out there. In the mean time, he came across us and asked, “Hmmmm! How do you find the ashram? Are you enjoying?” We said, yes sir, we loved it. After a short conversation he again left saying we shall meet again later as you are supposed to stay.

We then walked into the Library which was made with dry grass. It looks like the replica of Schools or Libraries in the Vedic periods. It was so cool inside without any fan, air-cooler or air-conditioner. The Vijayawada temperature was unbearable to us. The moment we entered the Library room we felt a sigh of relief.

My Association with NLS Yahoo Group Members:

Mr. Sridhar and company joined us at the Library after their meeting with Vishala madam. Mr. Sridhar then introduced to some of the NLS Yahoo group members, some of whom have come all the way from Pune, Bangalore etc. I was surprised to know that Mr. J.K. Mehta from Pune, Mr. Nivas from Bangalore already knew me through my blogs. Mehta Ji was really excited to find me there and I also enjoyed his company very much. Mr. Tirupati Reddy and Sridhar Reddy knew me through one of their fellow member Smt. Archana Kolla from USA with whom I used to interact in facebook from time to time. Anyway it was a great association exchanging information and knowledge on various aspects of Dr. Raju’s Natural Way of Living. We missed Archana this time. Hope to meet you in near future with more mentors and moderators of Yahoo Group.

After some chit chat we decided to go for lunch. We had phulkas, brown rice, couple of varieties of salads and fruits. After lunch we got an opportunity to meet Mr. Venkatapathy Raju, the elder brother of Dr. MS. Raju. It is said that the entire administration and management work is looked after by Mr. Venkatapathy Raju. Dr. MS. Raju is the programmer and Venkatapathy Raju is the executor of all their works. It was heartening to see such a bonding between two brothers. One of the dignitaries in his speech said that in Aryan times, Lord Sri Ram had the younger brother Lakshman as his right hand but Dr. MS. Raju has the elder brother Mr. Venkatapathy Raju as his right hand.

We then walked into the kitchen room. On walking through we found "Welcome to Healthy Kitchen" written on the entrance doors of the Kitchen room. There was a big hall to cut vegetables and fruits, separate store rooms for storing grains, pulses, vegetables and fruits, well equipped grinders, juicers and chapati makers etc essential for making mass meals. The entire premise was maintained very clean, tidy and hygienic. Lot of activities were going on at the time. Group of women was making preparations for the dinner, some were preparing sweets for the inauguration ceremony, some were preparing carriages for patients who cannot walk to the dining hall, some were making chapatis or rotis etc.

We later decided to take a nap for sometime. Since our rooms were not yet finalized we decided to take rest in the kuteers (huts) built by the side of river Krishna. After couple of hours of rest we moved to Yoga hall where arrangements were being made for the ceremony next morning. We also helped our hands in making arrangements and decoration till 7-30 PM. We then had our dinner containing different varieties of fruits. At around 8-30 PM we were allotted the VIP suite with central A/c on the fifth floor of Prithvi Bhavan. The suite was really beautiful with a picturesque view of lush green agricultural fields to the end of our sight from the balcony. We then gone to bed at around 9-30 PM.

Amazing utilization of Man Power:

We woke up early at 4 AM in the morning and followed the daily routine of drinking 1.5 liters of water and cleaning the bowels by 4-30 AM. At around 4-45 AM, when I looked out from the balcony the entrance gate was neatly decorated with flowers and banana leaves and branches. Mr. Venkatapathy Raju was personally looking after the decoration work. I then picked my digi-cam and walked down-stairs to have some pictures. When I came out of the building, I realized hundreds of volunteers and workers had worked the entire night without sleep to make the ceremony a grand success.

The opening ceremony was few hours away and still there was lot of work to be done. Hundreds of volunteers and workers were putting their all out effort to finish their task. I had never seen so many volunteers working on a single platform with a single motto of serving the cause of Dr. MS. Raju. Since it was a prestigious project of Dr. Raju, no body wanted to leave any stone unturned. It was not an easy task as all the decorations are made with natural fruits, vegetables, plants, flowers and leaves in a vast area of the Ashram. The traditional village atmosphere of Ugadi festival, the new year of Telugu people was clearly seen. No artificial items of decoration were utilized. By the time of the Muhurat of inauguration every thing was complete and ready.

I experienced the true utilization of man power for the first time in such a large scale. The work was so brilliantly distributed and conducted, all kudos to the entire staff, volunteers and workers of Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju Aarogyaalayam, Vijayawada.

Inauguration Ceremony:

The inauguration of Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju Aarogyaalayam was held on 23^rd of March 2012 at 9-30 AM on the auspicious day of Ugadi – the new year of Telugu speaking people. Mr. Murthy Raju garu, the freedom fighter and ex MLA is 94 years young and a follower of Natural way of living for the last 60 years was the chief guest of honor for the occasion. He was personally received at the entrance by Raju brothers with great respect. Mr. Murthy Raju cut the ribbons and opened the Mantena Satyanarayana Raju Aarogyaalayam at 9-30 AM, Prithvi Bhavan at 9-40 AM and Yoga hall at 9-45 AM amidst Vedic mantra chanting and applauds from the crowd.

Speaking on the occasion Dr. Raju said that Mr. Murthy Raju has been following the Natural Way of Living for the past 60 years. Even at this age of 94 he has a clear sight and sound. He still reads on his own and needs no hearing aid to listen. Nature Cure and Natural Way of Living has a great importance in his life. It was under his term as a Minister, Naturopathy was recognized as a Medical Science by the Government of Andhra Pradesh and India. He basically belonged to a big Zamindar family of West Godavari District. He received 1800 plus acres of land from his parents. But today he had no single land on his name. He donated everything he had for the development of schools, colleges and hospitals. He established more than hundred schools but no school, hospital or trust is named after him. They are all named after the great national leaders of India. Such a great donor he is. Dr. M.S. Raju used to meet him occasionally and inform him about his work on Naturopathy from time to time. Inspired by Dr. M.S. Raju’s effort and selfless services to the society Mr. Murthy Raju requested Mr. Gokaraju Gangaraju to provide some land to establish a nature cure hospital. Mr. Gokaraju Gangaraju respectfully obeyed his request and visited Dr. Raju personally and offered the land in Vijayawada for the establishment. Dr. M.S. Raju was then working in Jubilee hills area of Hyderabad. Initially Dr. M.S. Raju was reluctant to leave the city like Hyderabad and relocate at some other place. But after visiting the place and watching the site near Krishna River, he felt this is the ideal place for Nature Cure Hospital and shifted his base to Vijayawada. This was how the journey began.

Later, Dr. MS. Raju thanked each and every individual responsible for the establishment of this prestigious project. He explained about the challenges during the construction of this project and how they overcome those challenges. He also provided information on the treatment, infrastructure, atmosphere and other details of the Ashram.

At the end of the ceremony two books written by the members of NLS Yahoo Group under the guidance of Dr. Vishala Raju has been launched.

Vijaywada Ashram at a Glance:

The hospital consists of five blocks of five storied building each. Dr. Raju has named each building after the pancha maha bhootaas or five elements of nature which are the main source of human survival. The first block is Prithvi Bhavan – the element of Earth, second block is Jal Bhavan – The element of Water, The third block is Vaayu Bhavan – the element of Air, the fourth block is Tej Bhavan – the element of Fire and the fifth block is Aakash Bhavan – the element of ether or space. Naming of the blocks itself conveys a strong message of health. Imbalance in any of these elements of nature in our body leads to diseases or disorders. You visit here to correct these imbalances of five elements of nature through various methods of treatment. As you all know that nature cure treatment doesn’t contain any sort of medicines. Diseases are cured and healed through natural processes utilizing these five elements of nature.

I must say that Vijayawada Ashram of Dr. MS Raju is a fusion of state of the art modern technology and ancient medical science of naturopathy. If you look at the administration work it is at par with corporate entities. On the other hand the appearance of the ashram and treatment methodology is of the ancient India.

Prithvi Bhavan is completed and fully functional at the moment. 90% of the work at Jal Bhavan is completed and is partially functional. The work is still on in Vaayu Bhavan, Tej Bhavan and Aakash Bhavan. The work is stagnant in most part of these three blocks due to scarcity of funds.

Donations:

People willing to donate voluntarily to this great cause of serving the mankind can contact: Mr. SSN Raju on his Mobile - +91 9848 659 333

The donors can be availed within a year for two members of his family or nominated persons. The stay is free and can be availed immediately without waiting. The charges are applicable for the treatment and other therapies.

Ordinary family rooms for 7 days for people donating Rs. 50,000

Ordinary family rooms for 15 days for people donating Rs. 1, 00,000

Ordinary family rooms for 30 days with nature view for people donating Rs. 2,00,000

Deluxe rooms with river view for 30 days for people donating Rs. 3, 00,000

Air conditioned rooms on 3^rd and 4^th floor for 30 days for people donating Rs. 4,00,000

1000 sq ft suite rooms for 30 days for people donating Rs. 10, 00,000 and above.

Note: The rooms are named after the people donating Rs. 2, 00,000 and above.

Treatment Details:

Different types of natural therapies are used to treat the patients using mud, sand, water, sun, air etc. The hospital is equipped all the ultra modern equipments and instruments to be utilized in the therapies. At the end of the day we got an opportunity to see the treatment rooms all equipped with the latest therapy equipments of world standards.

Apart from Accommodation, food, therapies and treatment; yoga and meditation classes for patients are undertaken during morning and evening hours of the day.

Treatment Expenditure Chart:

Many of my readers requested to provide information on treatment details in the past. Since I had no direct communication with the members of Dr. Raju’s Ashram, I couldn’t provide them the details before. In this blog I tried my best to provide all the necessary information related to the Ashram; courtesy Mr. Sridhar Reddy, Mentor NLS Yahoo Group and the staff of Dr. Mantena Satyanarayaraju Aarogyaalayam, Vijayawada.

Presently Obesity camp is under progress. The camp starts at 1^st to 30^th of every month. The rates provided below are for 30 days per person. The treatment cost includes your accommodation, food and treatment. The food includes seasonal fruits, sprouts, juices etc in breakfast, Brown Rice, Chapatis, Vegetable Salads, fruits etc in Lunch and Chapatis and fruits at night. However, the diet varies patient to patient depending on his problem and treatment.

In Bodhan Ashram at Nizamabad they used to conduct 8 days, 15 days and 30 days camps. I am not aware of these short camps here. You can contact at the below numbers for any such queries.

30 Days Obesity Camp at Vijayawada
SNO.	Room Type	No. Of Beds	Cost of Treatment (Non - A/c Rooms)	Cost of Treatment (A/c Rooms)
1	Family Room	4	Rs. 12,000	21,000
2	Couple Room	2	Rs. 15,000	24,000
3	Single Room	1	NA	36,000

Accommodation:

There are total 98 rooms and 224 beds in Prithvi Bhavan with all kinds of facilities for the convenience of the patients.

Details of Accommodation in Prithvi Bhavan:

Details of Rooms in the East (River side View) A/c Rooms
Floor	Room Type	No. of Beds	No. of Rooms	Total Beds
First	Family	4	2	8
	Couples	2	8	16
	Single	1	2	2
Second	Family	4	2	8
	Couples	2	8	16
	Single	1	2	2
Third	Family	4	2	8
	Couples	2	8	16
	Single	1	2	2
Fourth	Family	4	2	8
	Couples	2	8	16
	Single	1	2	2
Fifth	Central A/c Rooms for VIP’s
Fifth	Couples	2	6	12
Total	Family	4	8	32
	Couples	2	38	76
	Single	1	8	8
			Grand Total:	116
Terrace	Beautiful place to enjoy the sight on swinging chairs for peace of mind.

Details of Rooms in the West (Farm side View) Non A/c Rooms
Floor	Room Type	No. of Beds	No. of Rooms	Total Beds
First	Family	4	2	8
First	Couples	2	8	16
Second	Family	4	2	8
Second	Couples	2	8	16
Third	Family	4	2	8
Third	Couples	2	8	16
Fourth	Family	4	2	8
Fourth	Couples	2	8	16
Fifth	Central A/c Rooms for VIP’s
Fifth	Couples	2	3	6
Total	Family	4	8	32
	Couples	2	38	76
			Grand Total	108
Terrace	Beautiful place to enjoy the sight on swinging chairs for peace of mind.

Address:

Manthena Satyanarayana Raju Aarogyaalayam

Amaravathi Kara Katta Road

Thulluru Mandal

Guntur District – 522503

Andhra Pradesh

India

Contact No. for Enquiry: +91 9848 621 111

Note:

Once the patient is admitted in the hospital, he/she is not allowed to go out of the Ashram premises. Even the visitors are not allowed to enter the premises during the term of the camp. Visitors are allowed only up to the specially built up visitors area by the banks of river Krishna. This is done to stop the flow of outside eatables into the Ashram premises.

I tried my best to provide detailed and correct information to the best of my information and knowledge. Any discrepancies are please forgiven. This is it for now. Keep watching the space for more updates.

Health is Happiness

2012-02-05T20:53:00.001-08:00

Health is happiness! How many of us truly understand this statement? Understanding a mere meaning of the word is not enough. You have to understand the real essence of the word ‘health is happiness’. Before going into details, I would like to share a short story associated with health. One day in my yoga class, we were discussing about ‘Aparigraha’ one of the 5 yamas (yamas are a set of standard universal moral principles) suggested by Maharshi Patanjali. According to Sage Patanjali, Aparigraha means that one should not hoard or collect things that one does not really need. In other words, you should not gather or collect things more than required if you want to lead a pain free life. A lady named Smt. Rajeshwari asked me a question. Sir, does that include money too? I said, yes! It does! She queried again. Okay, let us assume that we are earning enough for survival and are being happy within it. But what if, you get any of the serious health problems like heart attack or cancer? These kinds of diseases require lakhs of rupees for treatment and how one can remain happy without money to treat them? That was really a good question. Maharshi Patanjali has shown many ways to overcome this problem in his Yoga Sutras. I wanted to answer this question in a simple way as any one would understand it easily. I would have struggled to answer her question convincingly had I not referred Dr. M.S. Raju’s health journals time and again. Smt. Rajeshwari’s question is the backbone for this blog ‘Health is Happiness’ and I am quite obliged to her.

What is health? Many of us understand and believe that being free of diseases is health. But that is not the fact. Though you might have diagnosed negative of any disease or disorder as of now but are you sure that you might get the same result after a year and so? Are you sure that you might live disease free life rest of your life? Guruji BKS Iyengar always wanted to live moving his limbs, being dependent on his own body and mind till the last breath of his life. Last December Guruji has completed 94 years and yet he is so electrifying and energetic than any other young man. Guruji used to say quite often, ‘health never comes easy. You have to purchase health by spending your sweat.’ He did it with the medium of yoga. His childhood was filled with diseases and disorders, which he overcame through the practice of yoga. He dedicated his entire life in practicing and teaching yoga. It needed a strong will power, dedication, disciplined effort and tireless practice to achieve the destination Guruji has achieved. How many of us have that kind of zeal in our approach towards health? Doctors declared that Guruji might hardly survive 18 years of his life. He not only overcame his diseases but also made sure that not even a symptom of disease come closer to his life. This is health. You might be diagnosed negative now but any chance of diagnosing positive of any disease in future cannot be termed health. Like Guruji, if you had overcome the present diseases and made sure that you might not get diseased in future, then you can say that you are healthy. When every cell of your body is functioning at its full capacity cooperating with each and every organ and tissue of your body pleasantly, then it can be said healthy. A vital body, clean and shining skin, glowing eyes, well shaped muscular body tightly covering the bones, pleasant breath, good hunger, pleasant sleep, pleasant bowel movements on day to day basis and when the mouth, saliva, sweat, stool and urine doesn’t stink, free and flexible movement of your limbs etc are some of the symptoms of good health. These symptoms are enough to the animals to lead a healthy life. Humans have got something called the ‘Mind’ which will never rest in peace. If there is no peace of mind, there is no health as majority of health problems are due to mental strain. A man with sound body and mind is only supposed to possess a complete health. There are diagnostic tools and instruments to figure out the diseases and disorders related to the physical body. Instruments and tools to diagnose the mental diseases and disorders are not yet invented. It is diagnosed completely on the basis of certain symptoms and behavior of a person. More importantly people are reluctant to come forward in open to discuss about their mental problems. Instead, they are not ready to accept they got any issue with their mind. When we talk of health, we always think about physical body. The main reason is that mind is very powerful than the body in terms of resistance, adaptability and conductivity. Therefore we see more physical problems than mental problems. Guruji succeeded in getting complete robust health by conquering the mind, body and the soul through practice of yoga. There are many ways to gain complete health but the first prerequisite is to understand the true essence of health and its relationship with wealth and doctors.

The Relationship between Health, Wealth and Doctors: “Prevention is better than cure”. Is it not better to prevent the diseases than curing after being diseased? Your health becomes patchy once you fail to prevent the disease from reaching you. Even if it is cured, there is every possibility of recurrence. After all patch is a patch. Neither the money nor the doctors play a big role in your health. We have to blame ourselves for deteriorating our own health. Instead of ensuring our health by spending the sweat as Guruji said, we are insuring our health by spending the money. It’s like burning the hand and applying the lotion. You obviously need money, but only to build your health by eating nutritious food and for learning some healthy practices like yoga, gym, sports and other activities that promote health. Similarly, you need doctors only when you get a serious issue with your health unlike every now and then. Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju says, ‘there is lot to be learned from animals.’ Which doctors and hospitals they approach to maintain their health? They are living healthy and happy without any of these things. But we humans forgotten this very basic principle of health and neglecting our own health by eating and drinking all sorts of junk believing that there are doctors and medicines to cure them if anything happens and saving money for such treatments. We are destroying the health with our own hands. In fact, there is no connection of your health with money, doctors and hospitals as long as you are ensuring health and not insuring it. It is therefore, healthy people like Guruji BKS Iyengar and Dr. Raju don’t visit the doctors and hospitals. I would like to mention about Anil Ambani here. It is needless to say that Anil Ambani is one of the top billionaires of India. If money has a role to play in building health, why would a billionaire like Anil Ambani sweat it out for 2-3 hours a day jogging and working out in the gym every day? One has to clearly understand that money and doctors have a role to play only in curing the disease but not in building the health. The relationship of money and doctor is only with the disease not with patient. Diseases come to unhealthy people and these people make their visits to the doctor. Doctors after scrutinizing disease of the patients treat them as per their experience and knowledge. In return you pay money for the services rendered by them in curing the disease. The relationship of money, doctor and disease ends there. You will not visit the doctor unless you feel sick again. It is therefore, whether poor or rich pray the Almighty God to protect him from all troubles and diseases and keep him away from doctors and hospitals. For this he don’t mind to walk miles on bare foot climbing hills and rocks and donate lakhs of rupees to the temples in the name of God. If the money and doctors had any role to play in building one’s health, he would have prayed the Almighty God for sending him to the hospitals again and again. Instead of making donations to the temples, he would have enjoyed paying hospital bills. Unfortunately, the doctor-disease relationship has been replaced by doctor-patient relationship. The relationship has become so strong that they are feeling proud to say that Dr. X, Y or Z is their family doctor. Having no family doctor has become a crime these days.

In fact, doctors know very well that a patient’s health is not in their hands and hospitals as well. Unfortunately, people aren’t realizing this fact. They are living in the misconception that health is in the hands of doctors and hospitals and living in misunderstanding that a bank balance of 4-5 lakhs or the purchase of insurance policies would help their cause. Health never comes by someone giving; neither is it an object to receive. Moreover, it is not at all be purchased by wealth.

If health was in the hands of doctors, hospitals and money, why the doctors fail to provide health to their own family members? Is any doctor able to provide complete health to his faithful wife? Is he able to provide health to his children at least or to his parents who helped him become a doctor? No! They are not! Moreover, they are suffering from BP, Diabetes, Joint pains, Liver, Lungs and Heart ailments etc. There also some doctors who are specialists in Diabetes treating hundreds of patients a day, suffering from Diabetes. When there is no guarantee of their own health and their family’s health, how can they guarantee your health? Therefore, health is not the thing given by doctors. Doctors only relieve you from the diseases.

No one in the World likes to visit a doctor. That means one would remain happy as long as he is away from doctors. And only those who are healthy remain away from doctors. I hope you understood the real meaning of health by now. Even if a single person realizes the real meaning of “Health is happiness”, I assume that my effort of writing this blog is fulfilled. In my next update we try to know “On whose hands is the health?” Keep watching the space for updates.