Health, Happiness, and Spirituality in Numbers by Peeyush Bhargava M.D
I have been practicing Yoga for as long as I remember, and in the last decade I have focused on Ayurveda. In this brief article I have tried to summarize classical indian teachings on various aspects of life using a template of numbers from 0 to 9. These observations are based mostly on ancient wisdom and intuition rather than reasoning or evidence. In my free time I provide ayurvedic lifestyle and herbal consultations, and am interested in studying related phenomemon using imaging techniques.
0. Zero represents a cycle / circle. Everything in nature goes in cycles. Day and nights go in cycles; seasons come and go in cycles. Change is the only constant. All that comes into existence has to go into oblivion at some point in time. All that is born has to die. That’s an absolute truth. This also means that nothing is permament even a corpse decomposes indicating that there is change even after death. Psychologically this is very helpful as it tells us that the existing bad (or good) state of affairs will eventually change. So, be patient during tough times and prepare for the trough during good times.
1. GOD is one. He is the Supreme Being, who keeps everything in balance. He is the intelligence which keeps the circle going. We may call him by different names, we may practice different rituals to appease him, we may have different religions and mythologies, but he is ONE. He is the beauty of a flower and the pity of a beggar. He is the glow in the eyes of a child and he is the darkness seen by the blind. He is the hunger in the predator and he is the fear in the prey. My soul, without which this body is useless, is a part of him in me. When my circle completes, the soul will leave my body to become one with him…and that will be heavenly.
2. Number two represents the opposites seen everywhere in this physical world: hot/cold, good/bad, light/ dark, light/ heavy, male/female, yin/yang, day/ night etc. God is said to exist in the transition between the opposites – path of moderation. Ayurveda (Indian herbal medicine) is based on twenty qualities (10 pairs of opposites : dry-moist, light-heavy, hot-cold, rough-smooth, dense-flowing, hard-soft, fixed-mobile, dull-sharp, gross-subtle, and clear-cloudy) which are attributed to the five elements and the three energies. It recognizes each persons individual balance according to which the lifestyle changes and herbs are prescribed (presonalized preventative medicine).
3. Number three denotes the three doshas in the body: Vata (energy of movement), Pitta (energy of transformation), and Kapha (energy of mass/inertia), when in balance (one’s own constitutional balance) keep the body healthy and their imbalance causes disease. They also correspond physically to derivatives of embryologic foregut (kapha), midgut (pitta) and hindgut (vata). Everyone has their own balance of these three energies (innate constitution) which is established at the time of conception. As long as our lifestyle is conducive to our constitution we are in good health.
4. Number four represents fourfold purpose of live: Dharma (work), Arth (material), Kaam (physical), Moksha (spiritual). Dharma – to do well/ work honestly in ones’ profession. Arth – to earn money by legal means and to enjoy the comforts money can buy. Kaam – to enjoy the pleasures of the physical body. Moksha – work to free ourselves from the bondage of birth and death. Four also signifies the determinants of happiness: We are all seeking happiness in our lives. The one thing that is common to all is that we all want to be happy. But can we generalize the determinants of happiness? A common Indian saying goes like this: Health, Affluence, Dedicated spouse, and obedient child are (in that order) the most important determinants of happiness. So, the most important source of happiness is a healthy body. Most of us are born healthy but during life, health is not guaranteed. We have to make an effort towards health maintenance, based on current evidence, personal experience, and common wisdom. It seems logical that modern medicine should focus on prevention of disease rather than treatment. Because of this misplaced priority of modern medicine, we are stuck with chronic incurable diseases whose incidence is increasing.
5. Number five represents the five elements we are all made up of: ether (space), air, fire, water, and earth. This is likely the order in which they evolved and the order in which corresponding energy chakras are located in the body (see # 7) and on the tips of fingers (mudras). Every element/energy tries to go to its source, so everything solid falls on the ground (we call that gravity). Everything liquid flows to lower grounds, trying to go to the sea (its parent/ source). Fire rises up to try to reach for the sun (source of all fire). Gases mix immediately with the surrounding air. Ether is vacuum which is occupied by everything else and so it’s so hard to artificially create it on earth. Number 5 also represents the five senses which feed the brain (eyes, ears, skin, nose, and tongue).
6. Number six represents 6 pillars of health: Eating, Sleeping, Exercise, Cleanliness, Discipline, and Behavior. Alternative systems of medicine (innate to almost all ancient cultures) prescribe a lifestyle during health and disease for both prevention and cure, respectively. Living with nature, in balance with the rhythms/ cycles of nature is considered healthy. Get up early in the morning when the sunrises and to sleep early after sunset. Daytime is when the nature provides us with light and energy to do all that we want, and night time is when we sleep to restore our functions and balance: logic as simple as that. We are physiologically wired to be in tune with the nature. When we continue to disturb this balance, we fall sick.
7. Number seven represents the chakras or energy centers in the body: Mooladhaar (earth element), Swadhishthaan (water element), Manipur (fire element), Anahat (air element), Vishuddhi (ether element), Agya (bodily intelligence), Sahasra (universal intelligence). Kundalini yoga activates the dormant energy in the mooladhaar chakra and channelizes it up the other chakras. Seven also represents the dhatoo types (tissues) in the body: Rus (plasma), Rakta (blood), Mamas (muscle), Meda (fat), Asthi (bone), Majja (marrow), Shukra-Aartav (sperm-ova). They are formed in this order during the process of digestion and assimilation. When Vata / Pitta / or Kapha go out of balance they move outside the gastrointestinal tract and localize in one of the dhatoos creating illness. Ayurvedic treatment balances the three energies and Panchkarma brings the out of balance energy back to the gastrointestinal tract for its proper elimination.
8. Number eight represents the 8 fold path of Aashtang Yoga: Yam (nonviolence, truthfulness, no stealing, discipline/celibacy, material detatchment), Niyam (physical purification – defecation/ urination/ bath, self contentment, meditation, self study, religious studies), Aasan (physical postures), Pranayaam (breathing exercises), Pratyahaar (control over senses), Dhaarna (union of senses with the mind), Dhyaan (union of mind with the soul), and Samaadhi (union of soul with the supreme). Yoga (pronounced as YOG) is a spiritual path leading to the union of self with the supreme (nirvana/ freedom of the soul from the bondage of birth-death cycle). On that spiritual path the devoted aspirant does get blessed with good health and that why yoga (understood by some as just Aasans / postures) has become so popular in the western world. Physical postures are just a part of what is a personal, private and a spiritual practice.
9. Number Nine represents the nine celestial bodies according to Vedic astrology: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Rahu, and Ketu. A navaratna (9 stone) pendant or ring has one stone for each celestial body and brings positive energy from that body: Sun – Ruby, Moon - pearl, Mercury - emerald, Venus - diamond, Mars – red coral, Jupiter – yellow sapphire, Saturn – blue sapphire, Rahu – hessonite, and Ketu – cat’s eye. Nine completes the circle of numbers and is also a magical number. Any number when added to nine does not lose its numerological identity [9 + 6 = 15 (1 + 5 = 6)]. Any number multiplied to nine yields only a nine [9 x 569 = 5121 (5 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 9)]. Mantras are spoken in the multiples of nine and a rosary has 27 (2+7=9) or 108 (1+0+8=9) beads.
By : Peeyush Bhargava M.D
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