FASTING AND ABSTINENCE:

Fasting and Abstinence is not part of the practice, but a lot of practitioners try this to gain better health.  I would like to share the benefit of fasting and abstaining.

FASTING:

THERE ARE A LOT OF REASONS WHY PEOPLE DO FASTING, BUT NO MATTER WHAT THE REASON IS FOR FASTING, IF DONE PROPERLY, IT WILL BE GOOD FOR THE BODY.  When you remove the solid food that you usually take in, it let’s the body organs rest.  The digestive system does not have to work too hard because there is nothing to digest, when this happens the other organs such as the kidney, liver, spleen, heart and even lungs are given a rest, the cholesterol level and sugar normalize.  Try to clean your system first before fasting by taking some form of laxative.  REMEMBER, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO TAKE A LOT OF WATER. (NO SOLID FOOD: PORK, BEEF, CHICKEN,FISH ANY FORM OF SEAFOOD,VEGETABLES OR FRUITS.  ONLY WATER AND WATER DOESN’T NOT INCLUDE AND FORM OF FRUIT JUICE, COFFEE OR TEA.)

HOW DO YOU FAST AND HOW SAFE IS IT FOR AN INDIVIDUAL:

     Again, there are a lot of different ways to fast. The hardest but most effective form is to remove all solid food from your diet;  meats, vegetables and fruits,  the only intake should be plenty of water, not even juices.  Here, the body organs are given a very needed rest period.  DURATION:  I personally think that three to four days would be the maximum, more than 4 days the individual will feel discomfort, then stress comes into play, our worst enemy.  If you start feeling weak or dizzy physically (not psychologically) start going back to your regular diet slowly. Take only one-fourth of your regular diet and slowly work up to your full diet.  If you have difficulty fasting for three to four days, try fasting for one day go back to one-fourth of your regular diet the next day, do this for a week and on the second week you should be able to go for the three day fasting.  This will make your mind and body prepared for the fasting.  Remember your enemy here is your psychological mind, four days of not taking solid food will not kill you but your mind will tell you different.  For people who want to go on a diet, Fasting is not the answer.

ABSTINENCE:

FRUIT DIET:  It is actually  not considered as fasting but more of ABSTINENCE, also  it cleans the body.  Again the body does less work when the body only takes in fruits, no pork, beef, chicken or seafood.  Not really the same result as the first method, but it is still effective to clean your system, and a lot easier to do.  You can do the fruit diet in one week  and extend it to a maximum of two weeks, but be sure to take a variety fruits so the body still gets its needed nutrients.  Remember you are in this diet for a longer period of time.  For diabetics be careful of your sugar intake.

VEGETARIAN DIET:  Also not considered as fasting but still good as a cleansing method for the body.  The body processes and does less work but not as the first and second method.  Again a variety of vegetables is needed so the body gets its needed nutrients (leafy vegetables, root crops and beans).  A two to three week diet is sufficient, but a lot of people, after trying this diet, remains on this particular diet.  There are many forms of this diet, the VEGAN where the person’s only intakes are VEGETABLES (no pork, beef, fish, seafood, milk and eggs),  and the VEGETARIAN where the person’s intake is a combination of vegetables with milk and egg.  If you are after cleansing, the VEGAN diet will be the best one to follow.

PITEDA PEMUSATAN KALIMASADA does not require its practitioners to go on fasting or be on a certain diet, the GURU BESAR enjoys good food (very much).  The only thing that is asked from the practitioner is to avoid pork, although it is not a requirement.  The reason that the GURU BESAR requests this is because if you see the anatomy of a pig and compare it with other animals, the pig’s anatomy resembles the anatomy of a human, even its skin composition is similar to human skin.