no The Law of the Rhythmic Breath" 



In the well-poised, symmetrical, harmonious life, 

 Prithivi and Apas are the predominant Tattvas. 

 In temperature, Prithivi is next to Tejas, and Apas 

 is the coolest of the Tattvas, exercising a restraint 

 jupon the two heating forces, as does Vdyu in a 

 lesser degree. The craving for water when over- 

 heated is perfectly natural and can be gratified with 

 benefit only, if the water be taken at a rational tem- 

 perature; that is, cool, but not iced. A kasha, says 

 Rama Prasad, " has a state which neither cools nor 

 heats. This state is, therefore, the most dangerous 

 of all; and, if prolonged, causes debility, disease, 

 and death." 



The lowering or raising of the body's normal 

 temperature, a condition always watched with keen- 

 est anxiety by physician and nurse, is one of the 

 first symptoms of disturbance in the balance of the 

 Tattvas. If, for example, Tejas flows too long, 

 it is robbing Prithivi, which follows it, of part of 

 its assigned period of activity, and the temperature 

 of the body rises above normal heat; and, in like 

 manner, every Tattva which exceeds its regular 

 period prevents its successor from setting in when 

 it should ; and as every one has its assigned field of 

 activity, some organ where it is supreme, some 

 elemental need which only that Tattva can supply, 

 discord, disorder, and disease quickly manifest 

 themselves. This is the real office of pain, not dis- 

 ciplinary but beneficent; to give man immediate 



