Can being spiritual keep you healthier?

Bharat (India) has been the land of saints and spirituality for thousands of years. Innumerable texts (in form of shlokas/hymns) have been written in Sanskrit (the mother of all languages), the oldest ones we can see today were written on stone walls, inscribed on metals and even preserved on tree leaves. The spiritual knowledge of Sanatana Dharma was not limited to Bharat, but it travelled and spread its wisdom in countries around the world. We can find followers of ancient practices like yoga, pranayama and sadhana in many countries around the world.

Recent centuries of foreign invasions and colonization has shaken the spiritual roots and beliefs of Indian public. The loss of tremendous amount of written knowledge as well as strategic abolishment and wiping out of cultural heritage by the invaders continued till Bharat finally became independent in 1947. The generations born in independent India have been victims of the whitewashing, repackaging and marketing of our culture by others and know very less about the rich and deep-rooted spiritual practices which they call superstition due to ignorance. It’s time for us to finally recognize the goodness of spirituality which has already been well recognized around the world.

Spirituality can be as simple as “being present in the moment” or “doing each task consciously”. Sanskrit terms referring to physical and mental health in ancient Hindu scriptures and teachings include ārogyam (good health), nirāmaya (freedom from disease or illness), swāsthyam (sound state of body/mind), shubha (to shine, be splendid, and look beautiful; eminent, good, virtuous). The term ārogyam means “good health” (both physical and mental health). The term swāsthyam represents well-being.

While physical practices like yoga and pranayama boost our immunity and keep diseases at bay; meditation is known to prevent mental health issues while Spiritual values like being thankful and grateful everyday also go a long way to protect our mind from issues like anxiety and depression.

According to Koenig (2021), spirituality is, “a personal search toward understanding questions about life, its meaning, and its relationships to sacredness or transcendence that may or may not lead to the development of religious practices or formation of religious communities.”

Some of the spiritual practices followed in Bharat:

Reading spiritual texts: Teachings of universal well-being, kindness, charity are engraved in ancient texts in the form of Sanskrit shlokas/hymns for easy learning of holistic ways of life.

Mantra Chanting: A mantra is a sacred word, sound or phrase. The use of mantras is ancient, with many scholars suggesting origins that predate the Vedic period in India (c. 1500 – 500 BCE). Some even consider mantras to be older than language itself.

Deepdaan/oil lamp lighting: Lighting Diya/Deepak at sunrise/sunset and on special occasions to fill the mind and the house with positivity.

Yoga: Yoga is a physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in ancient India. First codified by the sage Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras around 400 C.E, the practice was in fact handed down from teacher to student long before this text arose.

Pranayama: Conscious and/or controlled breathing practices devised in ancient Bharat. Pranayama is a system of techniques used to harness and manipulate universal energy known as prana. It is an integral aspect of yoga, often incorporated into asana practice or used as a preliminary step for meditation.

Dhyan/meditation: To concentrate and create a spiritual connection by looking into oneself. Meditation is attention and awareness training. It is widely used as a spiritual practice in Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism and yoga.

Let me try and list the various possible positive effects of spiritual practices on health;