Disease is not the enemy — it is nature’s warning, a well-wisher that signals some disorder within our body, some filth that has accumulated and now needs to be expelled. Illness should be understood as the body’s natural cleansing process. But sadly, instead of respecting this message, we do the opposite — we suppress the illness with toxic medicines and antibiotics. What we consider “treatment” is often just halting the body’s own healing power.
Those who understand the language of nature do not see illnesses as enemies but as friends — as opportunities to purify the body. As the great Greek physician Hippocrates once said — ‘Give me a fever, and I will cure all diseases.’ This means that when fever comes, it is trying to protect us — to expel the inner toxins.
Hippocrates is known as the ‘Father of Medicine.’ Though he used the word ‘disease,’ what he actually meant was that when a high fever or any illness appears, it is here to purify our body. The body expels the toxic and unnecessary elements accumulated inside — known as foreign matter. Once these are expelled, the body regains health.
Not just Hippocrates, another famous physician also said based on his experience —
“Fever is the fire that nature itself generates within us so that it can burn and destroy the filth that entered the body due to our own mistakes. We should allow this fire to burn until it finishes cleaning — if we extinguish it midway, it may leave behind partially burned dirt like ‘coal’ inside, which can later cause more serious problems. But remember — this fire should not harm the body, it should only burn the toxins.”
This clearly means — whenever high fever occurs, it is a sign that the body is engaged in self-purification. Our role is to assist this natural process, not hinder it with toxic medications.
So if fever rises above 103°F and becomes difficult to bear, it should be reduced slowly using natural remedies like mud and water. But take care not to bring it down abruptly, as doing so can cause more severe and complicated symptoms.
We must clearly understand that except for hereditary (genetic) diseases, the real cause of most other illnesses is the accumulation of toxins in the body due to improper diet and lifestyle. These toxins aren’t visible directly, but our body gives us signals — like headaches, confusion, fatigue, laziness, and nausea. These symptoms are warnings, indicating that a ‘toxic thief’ has entered our ‘body-house’ — and now needs to be thrown out.
In this process, we must take an active role and use natural methods for detox — like fasting, natural diet, mud, water, rest, and yoga. But when we fall into the illusion of allopathic medicines, we suppress these warning signs.
Modern pharmaceutical education teaches us to stop this natural cleansing process — to treat it as an enemy. And so, we suppress these symptoms using toxic drugs. This traps the dirt that was supposed to be expelled, inside the body, and leads to a permanent toxic state — which later becomes the root of major diseases.
If we understand the nature of illness with a fair, calm, and serious mind, it becomes clear that apart from sudden illnesses, no disease happens overnight. In fact, foreign and toxic substances gradually accumulate within the body over time. When this exceeds our tolerance, nature itself initiates a purification process to protect us.
Therefore, the goal should not be to just suppress the symptoms — we must identify the real cause and work toward eliminating the accumulated toxins. Suppressing symptoms with drugs is not a real solution — the real solution is to support the body in its natural cleansing.
These examples make it clear that all acute diseases actually work as selfless healers for us. They automatically activate the body’s cleansing system. You must have observed — when you have a cold or flu, it’s not an enemy, but a natural way of removing internal dirt through the nose and mouth.
Now, once again, it is necessary to understand disease in a holistic sense. In reality, disease is not an enemy — it is a natural process to eliminate accumulated and harmful elements (foreign matter) from the body. The severity of disease depends on how much toxin is in the body and its nature.
Rather than getting caught up in the different names of diseases, we should focus on understanding their Two primary stages:
Stage 1: The onset of blockages and impurities in the body
In the first stage of disease, waste matter like stool or urine starts getting blocked in the body. This isn’t limited to intestines — it can happen in the blood, nerves, cells, or any part of the body. In simple words, this is “constipation,” but not limited to the stomach — it refers to any blockage or obstruction anywhere in the body.
When the body cannot remove this blockage, the accumulated toxin starts causing inflammation, swelling, and other disease symptoms. When this toxin mixes into the blood, it becomes more dangerous. Gradually it forms into solid, granular deposits — medically known as uric acid or urate crystals.
Formation of such toxic crystals is serious — when these crystals cluster, they block the body’s tiniest blood vessels — the capillaries.
Capillaries supply blood to every cell of the body. They are so fine that they reach even the smallest organs and tissues. They connect arteries and veins — acting as the body’s microcirculation network.
Now imagine — when these capillaries are blocked, the spread of disease in any part of the body becomes inevitable.
Stage 2: Onset of physical weakness
After the body tries to eliminate the toxins (stage one), comes the stage of weakness — the body gradually starts losing strength.
As long as our vital force is capable of expelling toxins, it works hard to do so. But eventually, this force starts to tire and weaken.
This is called “vital force exhaustion.” Now the body can’t respond like before — and toxins begin to accumulate.
The main reason for this decline in vital force is — the long-term accumulation of toxins in the body due to bad lifestyle, poor diet, and bad habits.
People often eat 3–4 times more than needed, and food that is neither nutritious nor digestible. This directly affects the body’s capacity. This is what is meant by:
“Adding neem over bitter gourd!”
Moreover, in today’s lifestyle, especially in offices and shops, people often delay relieving urine and stool — which is extremely harmful. As a result, toxins build up and cannot be expelled.
Ayurveda’s Charaka also says:
“Suppressing the urge to urinate or defecate causes many diseases.”
Our body cannot remain weak for too long. The inner vital force constantly works to keep us alive and balanced. That’s why many people remain seemingly healthy until 30–35 years of age despite bad habits — because their stored vital energy keeps them protected.
But gradually toxins keep building up — from those very habits. Even then, the body tries to maintain balance. But a time comes when the poison becomes too much. Then physical and mental weakness appear, and nervous energy starts decreasing — leading to fatigue, laziness, and depression.
When this weakness occurs, nature chooses one of two paths:
- Either it tries forcefully to eliminate the toxins
- Or, if the toxins are too much, it tries to expel them through disease symptoms
When nature aggressively pushes out the toxins, the symptoms that appear during this process — like high fever, vomiting, diarrhea, skin boils — are what we call Acute Diseases. But modern medicine considers this natural cleansing as a disease attack, and tries to suppress it — even though it’s actually the body’s defense system at work.
When our body is naturally trying to expel toxins, we must support it with natural methods — like fasting, mud therapy, hydrotherapy, and rest. But when we interfere with this process using drugs, the toxins remain inside, and this leads to chronic disease.
Even during this chronic stage, the body occasionally tries to remove toxins. But if every time we suppress these efforts with medication, toxins increase so much that it results in a serious, incurable disease — and eventually, death becomes the only outcome.
We all know — when two things rub against each other, heat is produced — whether inside the body or elsewhere. Like rubbing your palms together — heat is generated in seconds.
Similarly, when nature tries to expel toxins from the body, the cells generate friction — this abnormal heat is what we call fever. This temperature is higher than the body’s normal heat.
So it’s clear — when the body expels dirt, the symptoms seen during that process — like fever, fatigue, or restlessness — are what we call “illness.” So illness is not an enemy, but part of a cleansing process.
Thinking that powerful drugs can reduce fever and eliminate its root cause — the toxins — is a major misconception.
In truth, fever is the body’s natural and effective method to burn and eliminate poison. As mentioned earlier, many traditional systems of medicine, including Ayurveda, consider fever the body’s ultimate purification weapon. Ayurveda says — “Jvaram Langhanam” — meaning fasting, not medicine, should be used during fever.
But when we suppress fever with drugs, we not only block the expulsion of toxins, we add new poison — from the drugs. On top of that, eating heavy food during fever adds to the burden — worsening the condition.
Now you can easily understand — not just fever, but every acute disease — whether dysentery, boils, or inflammation — is a natural effort to remove internal toxins. But when we suppress these symptoms with drugs, we halt the body’s cleansing mid-way. As a result, the root cause — the toxins — remain inside and cause future complications.
So always remember — this process of removing filth from the body is what we call “disease.” And the symptoms seen during this process are what modern medicine calls “illness.”
To understand disease, we must remember the Vedic principle —
“Eko’ham Bahusyam” — “I am one, manifesting in many forms.”
This means disease is one, but its symptoms can be many.
All illnesses arise as different forms of the toxins accumulated due to improper diet and lifestyle.
Moreover, many sensory-related diseases arise when we misuse our senses — either excessively, insufficiently, or not at all. As Acharya Charaka said:
“Improper, insufficient, or excessive use of the senses leads to sensory diseases.”
For example, overuse of hands causes strain and fatigue. Underuse slows blood flow, weakening the limb over time.
This rule applies to all senses and organs — eyes, ears, tongue, skin, and mind.
Balanced and appropriate use of each sense is the foundation of health.
When this balance is disturbed — diseases are born.
