Bengal Gram (Cáná, Cholá)
One property of gram leaves is that they are rich in calcium. During teething, children often suffer from diarrhoea because all the calcium in their diet goes into teeth formation. In the rainy season also, children sometimes suffer from diarrhoea because the rainwater does not contain many minerals. If a child develops diarrhoea and becomes emaciated due to lack of calcium, gram leaves will restore his or her health. The leaves should be ground into a liquid, which will turn red, and this juice should be taken. Also, if a nursing mother dies, the baby can be fed boiled gram leaves as a substitute for mothers milk. This will prevent the health of the baby deteriorating.
Gram husk makes a good cattle feed. Milk giving animals relish gram husk mixed with mustard oil cake (sarśe khal).
Health rules for women
(1) Body and clothing must be kept neat and clean.
(2) After urinating use water or cleanse yourself by some other means.
(3) Pay attention to the regular clearing of the bowels.
(4) Do not sleep on a soft bed.
(5) When taking a bath, all parts of the body, in particular the armpits and groin, should be cleaned properly. Soap, oil, and comb should be used every day. The body hair should never be cut, especially in the armpit and pubic region.
(6) Before morning and evening sádhaná, either do vyápaka shaoca or take full bath.
(7) Before and after meals, and before sleep, do vyápaka shaoca with cold water. If it is very cold, use lukewarm water.
(8) Drink a sufficient quantity of water every day, but do not drink too much at any one time.
(9) Sleeping during the day and staying awake at night are to be avoided.
(10) All intoxicants are támasika and are to be discarded like poison.
Caryácarya Part 3, 6th edition
For males:
(1) Immediately upon reaching adolescence (in India, one reaches adolescence in between the ages of twelve and fourteen), males should start using Kaopiina (laungot́á) and should pull back the foreskin of the penis.
(2) The foreskin should be pulled back and the area washed and kept clean.
(3) Never indulge in bad practices, such as masturbation, etc.
For females:
(1) Women must make it a habit to spend some time outdoors every day in the open air and the sunshine.
(2) The best room of the house should be used for giving birth.
What we have to avoid during menstruation?
During the period of menstruation:
(a) Women must not bend forward to lift heavy loads and utensils.
(b) They must not touch any adult male.
(c) They should not blow conch shells or sing loudly.
(d) They should not remain in close proximity to fire.
(e) They should eat nutritious and easily-digestible food.
(f) They should not exert themselves excessively.
Minimum how many days women should take rest after childbirth?
If mothers are not healthy themselves, their children cannot remain healthy. So, a mother who has the welfare of her children uppermost in her mind should keep a careful watch on her own health. A woman should be allowed to rest and abstain from all sorts of household chores for at least twenty-one days after childbirth.
(g) Ashokaśaśt́hii and Ashokáśt́amii observances1
On the Ashokaśaśt́hii day every menstruating woman should take in one gulp six mung or máśakalái seeds along with six ashoka flowers or buds. They should be taken either in a ripe banana or with water or milk. Similarly, on the Ashokáśt́amii day, eight mung or másakalái seeds and eight Ashoka flowers or buds should be taken.
Married women and widows should also observe Ashokaśaśt́hii and Ashokáśt́amii vows. On other śaśt́hii days they should eat fruits and roots instead of rice and bread during the day, and in the evening must never eat rice or similar preparations.
What kind of food we need to give children till age of 5 and above?
For children: The main diet for children who are under five years of age is milk, fruits and roots. It is not proper, under any circumstances, to offer non-vegetarian food to children who are under five years of age. When they have reached the age of five, food containing sugar, starch and fatty substances can be given in increasing amounts. Alkaline food is the most beneficial for children.
It is also good to give lime-water2 (after the lime sediments have settled) to children from time to time.
It is particularly beneficial for children to spend some time every day in the fresh air and sunshine.
1965, Jamalpur
Footnotes
[1] Where the items to be taken on these days are not easily obtainable, the women of that place are not required to take them.
[2] I.e., mineral lime.
Reference
Some Important Crops; February 1988, Calcutta
Published in Ideal Farming Part 2
General Health Rules, 1965, Jamalpur
Published in Ananda Marga Caryácarya Part 3
