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It’s Saturday. I’ve been fasting for over twenty-four hours. My last meal was back on Wednesday evening. However, my statement is truthfully a lie.
The Fast: Body To Spirit & Back
Camron Karsten2007-04-27 22:09:06
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it. We all know the phrase-turned bumper sticker, refrigerator magnet and IKEA print poster: Be the change you wish to see in the world.
The small Hindu man who lived in the deserts of Gujarati lived this principal more fully then any other man. He was the ideal figure for the precepts he stood
for as far as non-violence and the power of change. And so, as a practice for the people as well as himself, Gandhi commenced a daily fast once a week—the second purpose of fasting: political protest.
Turning Inward
It is not often easy to convince someone to change his or her habits for the good of all sentient beings by starving yourself to death. In the first place, those who are committing the disagreeable act are doing so out of their own will, whether it’s harming one person or multiple beings. Therefore, what would they care if another person starved? Principally, fasting is performed under the accords of the practitioner desiring not external change, but internal transformation.
The body is constantly bombarded by action, sensation and work in one form or another. From time to time it’s beneficial for physical and mental health to eliminate as much stimulation as possible in order to rest and cleanse itself of its collected work. Here is where fasting’s role comes to play when practiced with the best intentions.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “The best of all medicines is resting and fasting.” A fast is an ideal method for this
practice and Gandhi understood its power. Therefore, once a week, apart from the political attributes, he would allow his body absolute rest for one whole day, fasting and going so far as to prohibit speech. He cleansed himself, purifying his mind and body by washing away its accumulated toxins, which in turn renewed his strength. As he broke his fast and eased back into the intake of food, he sipped orange juice with a relaxed and clean internal system. The thin frail-looking
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See photographs from:
France Gallery
