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Most important question of your life
This article focuses on the experiences of foreign students from 34 countries whom the author taught during the last few decades. These students admitted that Misfortune in Family such as the death of the father, or mother, or earning member, or fatal disease, or accident has taught them to believe Why Health is the Best Form of Wealth, not Gold, Money, Land and Building. Coronavirus has made it unquestionable.
During my long period of teaching life, I have always asked the same questions to both domestic and foreign students every batch in the 1st class. Trainees generally come from Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Bhutan, Mongolia, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, Fiji, Bangladesh, Laos, Maldives, Tanzania, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kongo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Mozambique, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, South Africa, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Cuba and India etc.
What is the best form of wealth in life?
A lion’s share of the students and trainees has always replied that it is gold and currency; a small group has told it is bank balance; a still smaller group has replied it is land; still, a thinner group has told a good partner of life. Strangely enough, only a tiny group has taken the courage to tell that “health is the best form of wealth in life.”
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Yes, none of this smallest young group of trainees has been suffering from any personal health problem now. What transpired them to pick up health as the best form of wealth? I divide them into five groups and report my interactions with them. My 30 years’ interaction is condensed here today as if all students belong to a cross-section point of time:
Why health is the best form of wealth in life?
Responses by Young Students/ Trainees from Various Countries
1st group replied: Sir, when I was in primary school, my father suffered a fatal accident in Tanzania, and was confined to home, lost the job. Before that, we were a very happy family with one sister, one brother and our mother. So, my mother began to work in a voluntary organization. We for the first time understood the meaning of good health. Sir, money is important for survival in this mundane world. But money is not all. Health is the best gift of Almighty Nature God.
2nd group responded: My father had a big business in Thailand. We are 2 sisters, 1 brother, our mother, and grandparents. My father used to enjoy family, business and lavish life. He never cared for health, never did Yoga and exercise. When we three siblings were about to enter college life, our father suffered neural disorder. Doctor asked him to take rest and under medication for the rest of his life. He was then 45 years. All of a sudden, our happy family tag vanished, darkness grasped us all. Our brother and housewife mother took the challenge of continuing the business. We survived, but for the first time understood that health is the best wealth.
3rd group answered: Sir, we come from a rural region in Sri Lanka. We had huge landed property and family fishery. We are one brother, one sister, mother, father and aged grandparents. Both of us were admitted to urban boarding schools by father. Our mother used to enjoy too much food, and she was becoming too weighty. She did not listen to anybody. All of a sudden, she has detected a fatal orthopedic problems in both knees. In fact, she became bedridden forever. There was nobody to look after the family. So, misfortune fell upon my sister’s life. She could not join college, I was lucky. Now we understand that even if we have a million-dollar, we can not enjoy unless we have good health. I now believe I don’t need huge riches, I just need good health. I know, I like all living creatures that will die, today or tomorrow. But I want to lead a normal life. Our family began to practice Yoga and balanced food since then. We are now under the guidance of a Yoga Centre.
4th group responded: Sir, we are one sister, one brother, parents and grandmother. Father is a government officer in Delhi, India. My sister is five years senior to me. She was always guided by Bollywood fashionable models, her best energy was spent for remaining slim, bony. She spent a lot on fashionable ladies’ items such as lipsticks, nail polish, dresses, shoes etc. She used to eat a lot of fast food, chips, etc. Most of the time, particularly at night, she used to remain busy with her mobile phone. She did not listen to her mother; father was always too busy with official responsibility; grandmother was a bit at her side. I was too junior to be a party to this. After completing her college, she began to suffer from various health ailments. The doctor told me that she had been suffering from various nutritional and nerve-related disorders. Her liver was also not going well. She gradually became a patient of depression. I was also shocked. After prolong counseling, the doctor suggested we all to begin Yoga courses. This is the first time that I came to know the value of health. Now my sister is gradually improving. She is now 30 years. She has entirely changed her wrong course of life. She is still confined to home. It is too late but still, we have a ray of hope.
Finally, the 5th group retorted: Sir, we are a family of four members- parents, sister and brother. My father is a university professor in Computer Science in Bangalore, India. He is an idealistic type of person, practiced Yoga from his early village life, used to homemade food. My sister used to follow my father but I did not like this type of disciplined life. I suffered a lot due to a bad friend circle. From the school level, I began drinking with my spoiled rich friends. My result in high school was a shock to my father. Sometimes, I used to think I should commit suicide. My relatives loved my sister a lot, her school results were really top class, she got admission in the best government college. My mother took me to the Yoga Therapy Centre. She also started to practice Yoga at higher ages to motivate me. Sir, I lost one year, but I have survived due to my mother and Yoga. I completed post-graduation, got a government job and joined the course here in India. Now I cannot be misguided any further: health- both mental and physical- is the only source of wealth.
Learning by Doing
In almost all these years, a large proportion of trainees from various countries became my fans and continue to keep in touch. They still discuss with me via email their family health problems and food habits. Life is the best gift of Almighty Nature. Most people on Earth do not know why they are born, what is their duty, what is life. Most people in our surroundings just do not know the name of Erwin Schrodinger. How will they know his greatest book, What is Life? Neither have any of them read one of the greatest books written on Earth, The Conquest of Happiness by Bertrand Russell. They think they will live forever; most of them suffer from extreme ego on their riches and accidental good health. They never try to learn the purpose of life and the role of body- mind- soul and Transcendental Wisdom.
Health is Wealth
The simplest proofs of why health is the only form of wealth are as follows. First, if you have millions of dollars, but you are not physically fit to enjoy foods, traveling and dresses, money becomes a source of unhappiness for you. Second, if you have millions of dollars, but you can not enjoy sports, music and drinks, money becomes a source of sadness. Fourth, if you are a man with millions of dollars and with a sick body, you will get many women to marry you but nobody loves. Finally, if you do not have much money but perfectly good health, you can work hard honestly to earn your livelihood and enjoy the beauties of Nature. You can eat foods of your choice, travel as per your preferences, drink as you like, find a good girl to love and marry. You can sleep well and live long.
