Dr. Dinshaw K. Mehta – Feel N Cure

Introduction

Dr. Dinshaw K Mehta was born on 5th June in 1903
He achieved perfection in hunting, physical culture, muscle control, scientific weight lifting and other athletics.
From 1920-21 he started developing techniques of Naturopathy based on modern world
He cured himself, family and friends from malaria without using drugs.
In 1929 he started Nature cure clinic at Tadiwala road Pune and became pioneer of Nature cure in India.
He started with only a cold water tap and a simple tub and developed the clinic within one year.
Mahatma Gandhi heard of Dinshaw Mehta and started referring patients to him.
He managed to become Gandhiji’s personal Nature cure physician.
Gandhiji performed 21 days fast in his guidance.
He used to believe that, “The purpose of life is perfection”.
Dr. Dinsah K Mehta is not a ordinary personality.
His contribution to the spread of naturopathy played a vital role as it coincide with the freedom struggle, a struggle base on the principles of truth and non violence.
Most of the stalwarts of the freedom struggle visited and taken treatment under his care.

His Sanitorium

Dr. Dinshaw K Mehta was an eminent naturopath who practiced naturopathy at the institution, nature cure clinic and sanitorium later known as BAPU BHAVAN (NIN) in Pune Maharashtra and become the pioneer of nature cure in India.
At this place he practiced nature cure from 1929-1953.
In modern time starting with a galvanized tub and a cold water tub as his only equipment , he built up a full fledge well equipped institution within a year.

Types of Therapy

He practiced 9 main therapies of Naturopathy

Fasting
Diet
Heliotherapy
Hydrotherapy
Electrotherapy
Kineto-therapy
Mud therapy
Medicinal therapy

For the modern man, who lacks the time for slow cure of naturopathy, he introduced combination therapy – combining naturopathy with modern system of medicine. Through this system he helped the patient to eliminate the after effects of the allopathy medicine which were foreign matters of the body, without the help of nature cure that elimination takes a long time and in some cases they do not get eliminate at all. He also use combination therapy for pre-surgical and post-surgical care in case of surgical operations. It helps patients to avoid complication during the operation and to have faster recovery after operation.
In case of all types of illness Dr. Dinshaw lays great stress on helping the body create its own medicine through his own immunological system. He explained that “learning by nature” is not curing through nature. They are very positive laws working on every cell which aims at not only the cure and the prevention towards higher health. The cure is obtained not by reactions to the medicine introduced but to increase the vitality and health of the diseased cells to be improved with the help of methods and treatments.

Dr. Dinshaw K Mehta’s meeting with Gandhiji

He first met Gandhiji in January 1932, became his personal nature cure physician and a close confidential personality
Mahatma Gandhi used to correspond with Dr. Dinshaw Mehta for medical advice to his visitors and friends.
Later Gandhiji frequently stayed and took treatment at Pune institute between 1944 and 1946 and made his home whenever he visited Pune during this period.
He managed 21 days of fast to Gandhiji and many other shorter ones: Cured him of malignant malaria without anti-malarial drugs and treated him till the end of his life in January 1948.

Gandhiji after 90 days of treatment at this sanitorium (between 21st august 1945 to 18th November 1945) and improved health and gained 61 Ibs in weight.
Then he remarked, “I shall now live for 120 years”.
Nature cure has been accepted as an effective method of treatment for incurrable diseases in our country. It is due to Dr. Dinsah’s ceaseless work and contribution.
During this period Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, who become first health minister of Independent India and many other who accompanied Gandhi took treatment from Dr. Dinshaw Mehta
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who later become first Home Minister of Independent India took nature cure treatment along with Gandhiji.
In recognition of services rendered by Dr. Dinshaw Mehta and as a place of national prominence because of its association with Mahatma Gandhi and all other freedom fighter, BAPU BHAVAN was given to the Government of India by servants of God’s society.
With the aim of making it a Naturopathy university, it was made the head-quarters of NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NATUROPATHY (NIN) in 1975.

Fundamental Laws of Health

Through this institution he cured many people suffering from chronic diseases and taught many others to manage their incurable disease on the basis of 5 fundamental laws of health
The 5 fundamental laws of health, which Dr. Dinshaw calls, ‘a gift of nature to humanity’
Book 5 fundamental laws of health was published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay
All these laws are vital to the human health and have often being referred to by Dr. Dinshaw as “gift of nature to humanity “.when these laws are used in the right way they can improve their health, irrespective of the fact they are in the state of ill health or average health.
According to Dr. Dinshaw nature cure is the way of life for cure and prevention of disease by encouraging natural curative reactions inherent in each and every cell through methods and treatment based upon the 5 fundamental laws which governs health.

The 5 fundamental laws of health

Law of elimination
Law of nutrition
Law of circulation
Law of relaxation
Law of emotions

Law of Elimination

The expulsion of waste matter from the body is called as Elimination.
This law is inherent in every human cell.
The part of the food that is not utilized by the body needs to be properly eliminated otherwise, it becomes a feeding ground for the disease processes produced within or introduced from outside through infections
This law is very important when one is suffering from acute or sub acute disease condition.
This law must be emphasized if the disease is to be cured through the laws of health inherent in every cell and no medicines or only physiological medicines are used.
Physiological medicines are those which become part of the body like vitamins, enzymes and hormones.

5 types of waste matter

There are 5 types of waste matter that need to be eliminated:

Catabolic waste matter
Waste matter of undigested and unassimilated food
Waste matter due to infective live foreign bodies like various germs and parasites
Waste matter due to foreign substances which are dead
Medicinal waste matter

Catabolic waste matter

The process of breakdown of complex molecules in living organisms to form simpler ones, together with the release of energy.
It is a destructive metabolism
Catabolic waste matter gets generated within the body due to catabolism which goes on even when the body is at complete rest without any external movement.
All these waste matter must find a way out of the body. Otherwise, it can get locked up and may even choke some organs and make its working inefficient.
That can become the beginning of some acute conditions
Leading to chronic conditions

Waste matter of undigested and unassimilated food

The food that has not been digested or assimilated needs to find its way out of the alimentary tract through the eliminative processes working after assimilation.

Waste matter due to infective live foreign bodies like various germs and parasites

Infective foreign living bodies which finds their way into the body through air, water or food accidently or stings of insects.
If these foreign organisms find some food in the body to thrive on i.e if there are sufficient media for them to grow in the body, they multiply.
They produce symptoms which are known as acute disease.
Other types of foreign substances like metals, minerals etc find their way into the body.

Waste matter due to foreign substances which are dead

Foreign substances can also enter into the body through means other than natural, a bullet, a knife or a splinter (lifeless bodies)
Then also they create irritation leading to inflammation

Medicinal waste matter

Some medication is generally introduced into the body.
The medication may be for countering or for alleviating painful symptoms.
The substances given in the form of medicines may be such that they cannot become part of the body.
After they have done their work of countering the disease condition or alleviating the pain they along with their byproducts have to be eliminated either in their original form or with the changes they have gone through the body.

With the basic system of medicine called naturopathy, the body is helped to eliminate all types of waste matter.

Law of Nutrition

Nutrition through the right substances of 5 elements has an important role to play in the replenishment and repair of the worn out and broken down body cells and tissues as well as in the building up of the body.
The 2 laws of health, nutrition and elimination have a direct link with matter
Whenever the balance between these 2 laws gets disturbed, disease manifestations arise
They also arise when one breaks the other laws knowingly or in ignorance

Law of circulation

There are different types of circulation, ranging from circulation of the blood to circulation of the finest aspects including the thoughts.
Whatever is taken in by way of nutrition has to be supplied to every cell in the body.
Whatever is absorbed through the consciousness growing into the spiritual planes has to be absorbed be every cell in the body.
How does it happen.
The absorption of the material nutrition as well as the absorption of whatever released through the consciousness as it evolves at human level.
It is through the law of circulation, circulation in every cell of the body.

7 types of circulation

Circulation of solid food
Circulation of liquids
Circulation of gaseous matter
Circulation of life principle or prana
Circulation of mental aspects
Circulation of super-mental aspects and
Circulation of supra- mental aspects

Circulation of solid food

The solid food that is taken in by the mouth has its circulation.
The solid food passes from the mouth into the digestive system and the waste matter passes out.
There is constant circulation within as well as outside the body.
If it stagnates in any part of the digestive system, or if the rhythm of the digestion is disturbed or slow down, the circulation gets disturbed.

Circulation of liquids

5 aspects of circulation of liquids:

Circulation of liquid food or solid food
Lymphatic circulation
Circulation of blood
Circulation of cerebrospinal fluid
Circulation of the secretions of the ductless glands or endocrine organs.

Circulation of gaseous matter

It includes circulation through the blood of the air that one breaths in.
It contains various gases like oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide etc.

Circulation of life principle or prana

It is the vital life principle which keeps the matter alive.
The remaining 3 types of circulation are of the mental, super-mental and supra- mental aspects linked with the matter- solid, liquid and gaseous- taken in or formed within the body as well as the outside matter. Through this aspect, thoughts are circulated through the bloodstream as well as from outside the bloodstream.

Circulation of mental aspects

Mental aspects covers the sub-average human mind and the average human mind.

Circulation of super-mental aspects

Super-mental circulation is beyond the average human ego mind growing unto the super human mind through the right practice for transmutation.

Circulation of supra- mental aspects

Supra- mental circulation is that of the mind growing unto the spiritual mind for the liberation of the soul, to begin with and if possible spiritualization of the human personality, that is the body and the mind, through the right practice for sublimation.

Law of relaxation

Relaxation is necessary in ill-health as well as in average and normal health.
Covers both physical as well as mental aspects.
In case of ill health, relaxation means resting of the body or the diseased part which is fighting the disease processes.
In case of average health, relaxation leads to better nutrition of the cells. Thereby vitalization of the cells occurs.
The process of relaxation is accelerated by acupressure and massage and by different types of hydrotherapy baths.
Other treatments that helps in elimination includes steam baths, hot sheet packs etc.
Improvement of circulation can be achieved through alternate application of hot and cold water or hot or cold air.
Sleep is considered to be most necessary for relaxation.
Yogasanas, particularly the asana known as shavasana are also helpful for physical and in some cases even mental relaxation,

Law of emotions

It is response to some mental stimuli.
It is inherited and also developed
It is the psychological law that governs the human mind

Why laws of health are not followed?

In the present day way of life, whether in developed, developing or underdeveloped countries, even the laws that govern average health are not being followed.
Reason is the ignorance of the laws of health.
Due to this reason, people become victims of the habits they have formed in the way of life they have found themselves in.
The second reason is that due to inertia, people prefer to continue in their own way of life and do not follow the laws for maintaining the average health, even when they have knowledge.
There is a need to impart the right knowledge to all the children from young age as soon as they begin to understand anything about health.
As their ignorance is removed, they will themselves be able to go into the right inertia as they grow towards youth, even if their surroundings are not favorable.
Thereby, the tendencies within them inherited or deeper than inherited can be controlled by them.
(this type of knowledge is sadly lacking in the present day education)

Stamps

India Post issued a set of 12 stamps honoring the contribution of 12 modern masters in the field of traditional Indian systems of medicine and yoga who are from Department of Ayurveda, Yoga, and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH). One of these stamps honoring the great master, Dr. Dinshaw Mehta.