A manual on the natural care of the eye with exercises to improve eyesight & treat various eye disorders. Also includes letters by Sri Aurobindo on yogic vision
This book, which is a comprehensive manual on the natural care of the eye, starts from the concept that eyesight is intricately connected to the mind and explains how good habits of eye care and mental relaxation can keep the eyes rested and refreshed. It then suggests simple but effective exercises to improve eyesight and treat various eye disorders. There are also chapters on the discoveries of Dr W. H. Bates and the physiology of the eye, as well as case histories, question-and-answer sections, and some letters by Sri Aurobindo on eyesight and yogic vision.
Function of the Eye:—The eye is one of the sense organs and the act of seeing is passive. Things are seen just as they are felt, or heard, or tasted, without effort or volition on the part of the subject. What we see through the eyes is simply the mind's interpretation of the retinal image.
Seeing is a complex process depending on five factors—object of seeing, organ of sight, sense function, interpretation of mind and attention of mind. The eye without the mind will mechanically photograph the image but will not interpret it. The mind without the eye can imagine the images previously seen, but will not tell you what you are seeing. Correct seeing must be a perfectly co-ordinated action between mind and eye.
Cause of Defective Eyesight:—The cause of defective eyesight is staring or making an effort to see. By an effort to see, the natural function of the eye is disturbed. If the eye stares at a distant object myopia is produced; and if the eye stares at a near point, hypermetropia is produced. It is a false belief that reading fine print causes myopia; in fact myopia is benefited by reading fine print. The cause of most of the other eye troubles is also the habit of staring.
Poor health and bad sexual habits are also supposed to be the cause of myopia but this is not so. These things can increase the strain if it already exists in the person or can produce a tendency to strain. Many persons having bad health or having bad sexual habits do not suffer from myopia or other eye diseases. There are many others who have very good health and lead sane lives and yet suffer from myopia or other eye diseases.
Treatment:—The remedy is not to avoid either near work or distant vision, but to get rid of the mental strain which underlies the imperfect functioning of the eye at both points; and it has been demonstrated in thousands of cases that this can always be done. The eyes are made to see with, and if when they are open they do not see, it is because they are under such a strain and have such a great error of refraction that they cannot see. The eyes should be trained to focus correctly by central fixation, and to use themselves properly.
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