Eating non-foods on the way to immortality

Abstract

Within āyurveda we find many references to food exclusions and inclusions. A diet must balance the humors to prevent and cure disease. Medicines are also non-food items that are ingested according to strict rules of consumption, often mixed with honey and ghee to make to them palatable. In the alchemical tradition we find more non-food items, such metals, gemstones, and animal products, ingested as part of a longevity regime. I discuss three non-food items taken internally to rejuvenate the body. The first is water. In alchemy we find water taken as an internally purificatory substance in which the practitioner first purges in order to heighten the effectiveness of water. They then drink water in various seated or standing positions at certain times of the day. The second substance of inquiry is diamonds. These and other gems are categorized into three genders and must be taken as medicine only by patients whose gender corresponds to that of the diamond. The processed gems are added to mercurial elixirs to attain a perfect body (dehasiddhi). Finally, I discuss usage of cannabis both to liberate one from diseases such as leprosy, bile, spleen pain an others and attain dehasiddhi. Like diamonds, cannabis is mixed with other substances, though mercury is rarely among them. The ingestion of these non-food substances, especially for the goal of dehasiddhi tell us much about the desires for youth and longevity and the pains one will go to for the attainment of youth.