VII. EXPERIMENTS IN
EARTH AND WATER TREATMENT
With the growing simplicity of my life, my dislike for
medicines steadily increased. While practising in Durban,
I suffered for some time from debility and rheumatic
inflammation. Dr. P. J. Mehta, who had come to see me,
gave me treatment, and I got well. After that, up to the
time when I returned to India, I do not remember having
suffered from any ailment to speak of.
But I used to be troubled with constipation and
frequent headaches, while at Johannesburg. I kept myself
fit with occasional laxatives and a well-regulated diet.
But I could hardly call myself healthy, and always
wondered when I should get free from incubus of these
laxative medicines.
About this time I read of the formation of a 'No
Breakfast Association' in Manchester. The argument of the
promoters was that Englishmen ate too often and too much,
that their doctors' bills were heavy because they ate
until midnight, and that they should at least give up
breakfast, if they wanted to improve this state of
affairs. Though all these things could not be said of me,
I felt that the argument did partly apply in my case. I
used to have three square meals daily in addition to
afternoon tea. I was never a spare eater and enjoyed as
many delicacies as could be had with a vegetarian and
spiceless diet. I scarcely ever got up before six or
seven. I therefore argued that, if I also dropped the
morning breakfast, I might become free from headaches. So
I tried the experiment. For a few days it was rather
hard, but the headaches entirely disappeared. This led me
to conclude that I was eating more than I needed.
But the change was far from relieving me of
constipation. I tried Kuhne's hipbaths, which gave some
relief but did not completely cure me. In the meantime
the German who had a vegetarian restaurant, or some other
friend, I forget who, placed in my hands Just's Return
of Nature. In this book I read about earth
treatment. The author also advocated fresh fruit and nuts
as the natural diet of man. I did not at once take to the
exclusive fruit diet, but immediately began experiments
in earth treatment, and with wonderful results. The
treatment consisted in applying to the abdomen a bandage
of clean earth moistened with cold water and spread like
a poultice on fine linen. This I applied at bed time,
removing it during the night or in the morning, whenever,
I happened to wake up. It proved a radical cure. Since
then I have tried the treatment on myself and my friends
and never had reason to regret it. In India I have not
been able to try this treatment with equal confidence.
For one thing. I have never had time to settle down in
one place to conduct the experiments. But my faith in the
earth and water treatment remains practically the same as
before. Even today I give myself the earth treatment to a
certain extent and recommend it to my co-workers,
whenever occasion arises.
Though I have had two serious illnesses in my life, I
believe that man has little need to drug himself. 999
cases out of a thousand can be brought round by means of
a well-regulated diet, water and earth treatment and
similar household remedies. He who runs to the doctor, vaidya
or hakim for every little aliment, and swallows
all kinds of vegetable and mineral drugs, not only
curtails his life, but, by becoming the slave of his body
instead of remaining its master, loses self-control, and
ceases to be a man.
Let no one discount these observations because they
are being written in a sickbed. I know the reasons for my
illnesses. I am fully conscious that I alone am
responsible for them, and it is because of that
consciousnes that I have not lost patience. In fact I
have thanked God for them as lessons and successfully
resisted the temptation of taking numerous drugs. I know
my obstinacy often tries my doctors, but they kindly bear
with me and do not give me up.
However, I must not digress. Before proceeding
further, I should give the reader a word of warning.
Those who purchase Just's book on the strength of this
chapter should not take everything in it to be gospel
truth. A writer almost always presents one aspect of a
case, whereas every case can be seen from no less than
seven points of view, all of which are probably correct
by themselves, but not correct at the same time and in
the same circumstances. And then many books are written
with a view to gaining customers and earning name and
fame. Let those, therefore, who read such books as these
do so with discernment, and take experiments set forth,
or let them read the books with patience and digest them
thoroughly before acting upon them.
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