To work without fatigue is a universal desire of mankind. Some people can work hard with little fatigue; others tire easily. In the absence of any other cause, it is often assumed that persons who have abundant energy must have been born strong; and that those who suffer from fatigue must have been born weak. There is some truth in this theory, that our normal energy level is the result of hereditary or congenital causes that have trailed us since birth. But when we begin to understand the total being that is man, we realise that he is no simple physical organism. Within him are many powers whose potential he employs in greater or lesser degree in accommodating himself to the conditions of the world. Their potential is vastly greater than the average person thinks.
Man learns to work with whatever energy is at his command, usually without understanding whence it comes. He only knows that when he becomes fatigued he wants to rest or to have something to eat or drink, because these measures give him some relief. It is generally true that a tired person feels better after eating or resting; but as the body grows older, a time comes when no amount of food or rest restores strength. Clearly, something happens to the body that causes the material sources of life to fail us. Hence we should analyse and understand the physiology of the body, that we may know how it recuperates, and from what sources it derives energy and strength.
The most commonly thought of source of bodily energy is food, which consists of solids and liquids. When they are taken into the stomach, the bodily machine breaks them down into simpler chemical substances, and finally into energy. Solids can be converted into liquids, liquids into gas, and gas into energy. Therefore all food, whether solid or liquid, is essentially energy. Fatigue means that too much bodily energy has been spent; it must be restored, and nourishing food is one source of energy replacement.
God created in nature an abundant variety of edible vegetables, fruits, grains, and other foods, everything necessary for man. Man cannot bring forth even a grain of wheat, much less a new plant or fruit. Only God can do this. He has to originate the species first. Man can only modify what already exists, as Luther Burbank did.
Extract from the book “Divine Romance” by Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda.
