In the age of so-called modern science, as man becomes a slave of physical comforts and goes away from Nature, he is becoming a victim of new and dangerous diseases like cancer, AIDS etc. As ambitions have increased in his life, tension and worry have become part of his life. It is now common to see people suffering from high blood pressure, sleeplessness, heart trouble, diabetes etc. As competition increases at national and international level in business and commerce, people do not eat, sleep or remain awake at proper time. Their families are also breaking up. They neither get the affection of father, mother, brother or sister nor are they able to enjoy family life among their wives and children. To free himself from the pressure of his personal life, a man spends time in clubs and hotels, drinks and smokes and returns late at night. People are spoiling their health in. polluted atmosphere brought about by modern life-styles.

To have a healthy life one should follow the principles of Nature and should be disciplined in his daily life, while eating, sleeping and waking. With regard to this Yogiraj Shri Krishna has said in Geeta :

Similarly, if man violates the rules of Nature, he is punished by Nature and becomes sick.

The growing inflation and high prices, adulterated and unnatural food are responsible for destroying the health of people. But the most dangerous and harmful factor is the modern medical system in which poisonous and strong medicines and injections are given which give temporary relief but because of which diseases increase day by day.

When a person is caught in the vicious circle of modern life and modern medicine and sees no way to get out of this frightening problem, and when he has exhausted all his money and strength in fighting his disease, he turns to God and Nature Cure. Ram Nam and Nature Cure are not only a system of curing diseases but they also form a simple way of living. The common man is again attracted by this system of treatment and sees a ray of hope in it. Keeping this in mind, it has been felt that there is a need for a book about Nature Cure treatment which gives guidance to the common man. In the present book all the main methods of Nature Cure treatment are given. Besides these, knowledge is also given about Yogasan, pranayam, food and daily life. Among Mahatma Gandhi's constructive works was "Be Your Own Doctor". It is hoped that this book would inspire the reader to realise this dream. The readers may take full advantage of the knowledge given in this book and not only protect their health but also of their families and friends.

I am glad that my Hindi book entitled "Prakritik Ayurvigyan" is now being published in English. It has been very popular all over the country.

I must thank Shri Suresh Gupta for the careful and intelligent adaptation of the Book and to Shri H.C. Pant for his active co-operation.

It is possible that there are some printing errors in a book of this nature and size. I request the readers to inform me about them so that they can be corrected in the next edition of this book.

The science of Naturopathy or Nature Cure is as old as Nature itself. It is oldest of all the prevailing systems of medicine and thus it can be called the mother of other systems. All important aspects of Nature Cure are given in Vedas, such as fasting and treatment by water.

After Vedic period came Pauranic period, in which also the system of Nature Cure prevailed. Raja Dileep had undergone Milk Kalp and had lived in forest. The infertile queens of King Dasharath had undergone Fruit Kalp and had eaten only one kind of fruit after which they gave birth to children. In the beginning, no system of medicine used to be in practice. Whenever people became unwell they fasted to regain health. The use of medicines started with the period of Ravan.

Ravan led a life of indulgence. He used to drink alcoholic drinks and could not follow the rules of Nature Cure like fasting. Therefore, he ordered vaidyas that they search a way by which on falling sick one did not have to fast. The vaidyas searched and brought medicinal herbs which on being boiled in water produced a concoction which acted as medicine to cure various diseases. There- after medicines began to be used even by the general public. Treatment with medicines was very simple, and therefore, it became popular among the people. But the use of medicines was a wrong way for treating sick persons. Therefore, the general health of the people began to go down. Today, the main cause of bad health of people is the extensive use of medicine.

It is written in the Buddhist book, "Mahavagga" that once Lord Buddha was going from Shravasti to Rajgrih. During the journey, he stayed at a Sangh, called "Kaland". There, one day, a Buddhist monk was bitten by a snake. Lord Buddha was informed about this incident. He told the monks: "I order you that to destroy poison use smooth .earth, cow dung, urine and ash." From this incidence, which is two and a half thousand years old, we know that in India since ancient times earth has been used to cure diseases. Similarly, Lord Buddha had advised a monk named "Pilidakhab", when he fell ill, to take steam bath and to take bath with hot water. If we look at history we find that in ancient times there were neither medicines nor doctors as we have at present. Even then the people led a happy and long life. It was a period when people naturally remained healthy. They were not weak and unhealthy as people are these days. They were physically, mentally and spiritually strong. They lived in harmony with Nature. Their bond with Nature was never broken. They were born in the womb of Nature, they were brought up in Nature, they attained a long life and in the end happily merged with Nature.

From this very period some religious traditions were established in our country, such as going on pilgrimage to holy places, observance of Kalp Vas, fasts, satvik food, taking of saltless food once a week, repetition of Ramnam and worship of Ether, Air, Sun, Water and Earth. These religious traditions were found very necessary to maintain good health. In ancient times as the people lived a natural life they seldom fell ill, and if some one fell ill, because he had violated any rule of Nature, then he undertook fast and got well.

In Nature Cure yoga asans have a special place. Yogic asans have also been practised in our country since ancient times. There are many asans. Our Rishis have invented these asans thousands of years ago after extensive experiments for the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of humanity. These days, asans are generally used to cure diseases. Many incurable and chronic diseases are cured by Asans. However, if someone practises these yogic Asans along with yogic kriyas, he would never fall ill and would attain a very long life.

The treatments given at present in Nature Cure were well known in India in ancient times though their names were different. For example, "Water Sipping" was known as "Achman", "Sitz Bath" as "Jalsparsh", "Enema" as "Vasti" and "Steam Bath" as "Svedsnan". Similarly, the purpose for which "Sunbath" is taken in modern times was served by "Surya Namaskar". For eye diseases at present "Sun Gazing" technique is used, which is similar to "Tratak". "Air-Cure" of modern times was "Pranayam".

Treatment by fasting is also not new. It is written in Chandyoq Upnishad that a person can easily fast for 15 days, if he drinks plenty of water during fast. Upnishad has also indicated diseases in which fasting is beneficial and how a fast should be broken.

Not only in ancient India but in other parts of the world also treatment by fasting was very common. Thus, Nature Cure in one form or other, was known all over the world. But later on as the influence of medicines and doctors increased, people began to forget Nature Cure. Medicines, especially poisonous medicines, suppress the disease. The people began to believe that these medicines cured their disease in a short time. They were misled in believing so by the doctors or vaidyas who prescribed these medicines. The people did not realise that medicines do not cure diseases, but only suppress them.

Medicines have another attraction besides their claim to cure diseases as if by magic. It is the convenience of taking medicine. A person becomes ill, he goes to a doctor or vaidya, he is given a few pills, he takes them with water and is assured that his disease would be cured. He is not required to do anything else as is the case with Nature Cure treatment in which fasting, enema, various baths, mud packs, etc. are necessary.

The third reason for diminishing use of Nature Cure treatment was the encouragement given to medicines by the government and indifferent attitude of government towards Nature Cure treatment.

The fourth reason for the diminishing influence of Nature Cure is that once people take medicines, they become habituated to it. Their life force becomes so weak that they cannot withstand the rules of Nature Cure treatment.

Besides these four reasons for the downfall of Nature Cure, there are other minor reasons. The modern advertising of medicines to cure various diseases has influenced the masses in believing that a certain medicine produced by a big company would cure their disease. In this way, through radio and TV, medicines have been sold on a large scale for headache, fevers and constipation.

Many centuries before Christ, Hypocrates, who is regarded as the father of Nature Cure, used to ask his patients to take Sun Bath. In Europe, Nature Cure was revived in the eighteenth century, and since then the knowledge about Nature Cure increased day by day. The Western scholars began to realise that allopathy is full of evil practices. They raised their voice against treatment by medicines and again established Naturopathy as a treatment of diseases. The interesting aspect of this development was that those who raised their voice against the use of medicines were some of the top allopathic doctors.

It is true that Nature Cure has been the ancient system of treatment in India, but the credit for its revival goes to Western countries. This cannot be denied.

Birth and Development of Modern Naturopathy

Many influencial people have helped in the revival of Naturopathy. Some of them had spent a large part of their lives in giving treatment to patients with medicines but were not satisfied with the results of their work. Some of them did not have faith in the science of treatment by medicines. The third category of the pioneers of modern Naturopathy was of those who suffered from some disease and experienced the bad results of treatment by medicines, and whose lives were ultimately saved by Naturopathy. In the first category were two prominent allopathic doctors: James Currie and Sir John Floyer. They lived in the eighteenth century.

Dr. Floyer belonged to l.ichfield town in England. In Lichfield, there was a spring, in which farmers bathed to improve their health. On seeing this, Dr. Floyer became interested in the curative power of water.

Dr. James Currie belonged to Liver- pool in England. In 1717 he wrote a book on treatment by water.

Vincenz Preisnitz

Though Dr. James Currie and Dr. Floyer did the pioneering work in reviving Naturopathy during their time it was not adopted for giving treatment to patients. This was first done by Dr. Vinceriz Preisnitz of Germany. That is why, according to some scholars, Dr. Preisnitz was the father of modern Naturopathy.

Silas O. Gleason

The work of Dr. Preisnitz was further propagated by his student, Silas O. Gleason.

James C. Jackson

He is regarded as the first American to introduce Nature Cure in America. He was born in 1811.

Hargarscheu, Bliz, Falke

These three German Naturopaths became very famous. They made tireless efforts to develop Naturopathy.

Johannes Schroth

In the revival of Naturopathy, the place• of Johannes Schroth is similar to that of Vincenz Preisnitz. Schroth was a contemporary of Preisnitz and he also lived near Preisnitz in Germany. But his work was quite independent. He was inspired by a monk to take up Naturopathy. First, he cured an injury in his knee. Later, he treated his mad dogs and horses with great success. After he gained perfection in this system of treatment, he cured many patients. When he gained lot of fame, those who had vested interests in treatment by medicines began to speak ill against him. They caused him much trouble and even got him sent to jail. But, after he came out of jail, the Duke of Wurtemberg was injured in a war in 1849. He healed the wounds of Duke of Wurtemberg in a few days and then his enemies disappeared and he was recognised as a great Naturopath. His system of Naturopathy is known as "Schroth Cure".

Emanual Schroth

Emanual Schroth was the son of Johannes Schroth. He propagated the Schroth Cure and cured many patients with this system of Naturopathy.

Father Sebastian Kennpp

Father Kennpp was a contemporary of Johannes Schroth. He also propagated the system of Naturopathy with great devotion and enthusiasm. He made many' inventions with regard to water treatment. Besides giving water treatment to his patients, Father Kennpp also gave them herbal treatment. He had his own sanatorium which he ran for more than 45 years with great success. Even today, many institutions have been founded after his name. The membership of these institutions is more than 50,000. There is also a "Kennpp Store" in the city of Dusseldorf where herbs, oil, soap and natural foods are displayed and sold. Father Kennpp wrote a book "My Water Cure" which, even now is widely read. He died in 1897 at the age of 75.