Air

This fifth element is as important as the four already discussed in the foregoing pages. The human body which is composed of the five elements cannot do without any one of them. Therefore no one should be afraid of air. Generally, wherever our people go, they make devices to keep out the sun and the air and thus jeopardize their health. If one cultivates the habit of living in the open in the midst of plenty of fresh air, right from childhood; the body will become hardened and he or she will never suffer from cold in the head and the like ailments.

Key to Health, p. 83

Q. It has been said that Nature Cure can be applied to every disease. If so, can it cure short or long-sightedness, cataract and other eye diseases? Can one avoid spectacles? Can hernia, tonsils etc. which need the surgeon's knife be cured by Nature Cure?

A. I know that the claim attributed to Nature Cure has been made by its exponents. I do not count myself among them. This much, however, can be safely claimed. Disease springs from a wilful or ignorant breach of the laws of Nature. It follows, therefore, that timely return to those laws should mean restoration. A person who has tried Nature beyond endurance, must either suffer the punishment inflicted by Nature or in order to avoid it, seek the assistance of the physician or the surgeon as the case may be. Every submission to merited punishment strengthens the mind of man, every avoidance saps it.

Harijan, 15-9-'46