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2. CONCEPT OF HEALTH AND YOGA
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the state of Health is defined as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well being and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity. WHO also suggests a fourth dimension- spiritual Health. It is clear from this definition that health and ill-health are not two discrete entities as commonly understood but health should be conceived as a continuous function indicating the state of well being (Figure 1). In the diagram, the 3rd quadrant " the region of ill-health" represents what normally we designate as 'Sickness' Below this, man acts instinctively and is akin to an animal man. * Coming to the first quadrant, the region of 'Normal Alan' the state of normal health is indicated. As one moves along the line further up, he becomes healthier featured by the dormant faculties expressing more vividly in man. This is shown as the region of Super Man, the next region after the human spectrum. In this state, the limitations of normal man namely the strong urges of thirst, hunger, fear and sex are reduced greatly and are fully under control. In the concept of Sri Aurobindo 17 the new faculties of deeper perceptions of the world beyond the five senses emerge in this phase of super human existence. Further growth leads man to unfold even deeper layers of consciousness and widen the spectrum of his knowledge to move towards divinity or perfection. In this march towards perfection, Yoga is a systematic conscious process for accelerating the growth of a human being from his animal level to normalcy, then to super human level and ultimately to divinity. It is a systematic methodology for an all round personality development-physical, mental, intellectual, emotional and spiritual components-of man. Thus, Yoga in its general methodology for the growth of man to divine heights. includes techniques useful for therapeutic applications in making man healthier.
Before we proceed to understand the generation and amplification of illnesses, we present in the next section the Yogic concept of 'Sheaths of human existence'.
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