From the Editor’s Desk (July 2016)

With the last edition, we completed the exploration of The Mother’s symbol and the means of its manifestation upon earth, in its myriad forms and forces. We begin the next half of this year with a view towards exploring the well being of the human personality at once at the receiving end of the play of varied forces and at the same time endowed with possibilities of transcending the limited being, growing into a greater Light, Love and Life; the personality is ideally transformed into one that facilitates the perfect manifestation of this higher principle or the Divine will. If the transformed and perfected integral personality is the end, then our journey on earth is hopefully a progression of a less than perfect personality towards this more complete state, and every day and every experience presents opportunities towards this progression. Needed is a state of consciousness that would want this, or better still, aspires towards this as the needed and necessary, as the only natural state to be in. Demanded, a conscious consent to the perfectioning of the being in all its planes and elements, including the physical, the vital, and the mental. The being, as it appears, is neither a physical being or a vital being or a mental being. Rather, all of these parts and planes operate in the being and result in the making of the personality. The integral psychology prescribes that these planes of the being consist of the outer as well as the inner – such as the outer physical and the inner physical, the outer mental and the inner mental – subjected to an interplay of forces in the being, and as a result,  determining the make up of the being’s personality and governing its state of being and therefore, its state of health. The Mother has given us clear directions on this, as in these words, “Good health is the exterior expression of an inner harmony. We must be proud if we are in good health and not despise it.”

The overarching theme we have chosen for the next many months is, “Integral Health”. Health may refer to a positive state of physical, mental and social well-being. The Ayurvedic term for health is “Swastha” – a state of being rooted in one’s self.  This “self” refers to “the consciousness of the soul-principle operating on the various outer planes: physical, vital and mental and also in communion with the cosmic consciousness.” (Basu, 2000). The Mother points out that our state of health depends exclusively on the state of our consciousness, “…our body is an instrument of our consciousness and this consciousness can act directly on it and obtain what it wants from it.” There is more to health then we simply know or even, choose to fathom, it seems.

In our first issue on this overarching theme of Integral Health, we cast our glance on the physical aspect of health, “Physical Culture”. Physical culture includes all those aspects that contribute to the development of a sound and balanced physical being. This issue takes a peek at exercises and their use to the body.  Are exercises to be carried out as mere outlets of our outpouring energy? Are they for entertainment, or for passing time, or for the building of muscle strength and muscle power? Or is there something more to it? Let us find out.