At the feet of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo

15 March 1935

MYSELF: Mother Divine, I hear that Sri Aurobindo’s eye has become red from overwork. I am very sorry that I have been writing every day for my health. Until he is a little better I won’t write any more.

About my food, it is true that I don’t eat much because I am afraid about my liver trouble; so I don’t eat sometimes even if I feel hungry, and there is always nervousness due to fear of getting fat. Anyhow, if it is necessary I will take more food.

SRI AUROBINDO: Don’t stop writing. Your letters are short and will not interfere; besides my eye is better and white, I have to be careful about it, it does not need complete rest.

To suppress hunger like that is not good, it very often creates disorder — I doubt whether fatness and thinness of a healthy kind depends on the amount of food taken — there are people who eat well and remain thin and others who take only one meal a day and remain fat. By underfeeding (taking less than the body really needs) one may get emaciated, but that is not a healthy state. The doctors say it depends mostly on the working of certain glands. Anyhow the important thing is now to get the nervous strength back.

As for the liver also, eating little does not help, very often it makes the liver sluggish so that it works less well. What is recommended for liver trouble is to avoid greasy food and much eating of sweets and that is also one way of avoiding fat. But to eat too little is not good — it may be necessary in some stomach or intestine illness, but not for the ordinary liver trouble. What about taking a walk (for exercise and fresh air) daily?

(15.3.35)