On the meaning of health 1
The WHO has a very ambitious definition of health: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” And this was stated in 1948 and we can safely say it was very ahead of its time. In fact it remains very ahead of our current times and this is very obvious for everyone who spends a couple of minutes to reflect on it.
Essentially the WHO has fully endorsed the most holistic view of “health”, completely equating it to “well-being”. Now the interesting part is that well-being is a subjective reality. Someone may feel totally peaceful and happy - subjectively “well” - despite some physical, mental and, for that matter, apparent social ailment. And of course lots of people who seem to be “healthy” are not subjectively “well” in the above sense. This is not a mere semantic dissection. We spend our lives in the purposeful search of the elusive well-being. But how long and deep have we truly reflected on what it means, in general and for our own selves ?…
In Sahaj terminology, the definition of health translates very well to the balance between left and right powers of our subtle system, as well as integration with the larger collective which is a quality of the 5th chakra - the Vishuddhi. Our physical body and cognition has to do with the right side, our psychological persona with the left side and the evolutionary and integrative self with the central channel. It also explains and gives solutions to the deviations and disintegrating tendencies and actions we may have. This occurs when we cannot see all the sides at the same time and we identify with one aspect or another, or one problem or another and so on.
What the WHO definition does not say is how to have a balanced approach in pursuing all the aspects of health simultaneously. When we pay a lot of attention to our body and cognition we start moving towards the right channel, movement which comes with its own imbalanced consequences. When we identify more with the affective and relational side we move towards the left and eventually have to face the issues that come due to that. When we pursue social “success” above all else we often neglect both our left and right, etc. So, how to do it ?
The only way to achieve this is to ascend and reach a state where the evolutionary movement strengthens both the left and the right internally, automatically. There the well-being is created by innately following that which is good for us and for everyone else. And it is maintained by having the awareness and tools to attend to very small subtle imbalances and correct them before they become serious and surface as physical, mental or social troubles. Akin to driving a car - tiny continuous adjustments of direction are required in order to keep a straight line….There is no other way to get there, otherwise we risk being in a never ending sequence of veering from left to right, from one edge of the road to another, or just going totally off on one side and then having to get out of the ditch…
Luckily our beautiful inner mechanism is made just for this - middle of the road smooth driving. We have to cultivate our higher awareness after Self Realization and soon enough we can easily feel what adjustments are needed and apply them in time. And after a while we will do that almost automatically, without feeling that we are putting in any “effort” - and we truly enjoy well-being at that point.