Padamshika krama
It is sequential regimen to adopt good habits and discard bad habits. This is prescribed for promotion of health and expedite recovery from disease state. This is specifically intended to prevent remission or recurrence of disease.
Description
उचितादहिताद्धीमान् क्रमशो विरमेन्नरः| हितं क्रमेण सेवेत क्रमश्चात्रोपदिश्यते||३६||
प्रक्षेपापचये ताभ्यां क्रमः पादांशिको भवेत्| एकान्तरं ततश्चोर्ध्वं द्व्यन्तरं त्र्यन्तरं तथा||३७||
क्रमेणापचिता दोषाः क्रमेणोपचिता गुणाः| सन्तो यान्त्यपुनर्भावमप्रकम्प्या भवन्ति च||३८||
An intelligent person should gradually wean himself away from unwholesome/unhealthy practices (to which he is addicted) and adopt wholesome ones in the proper sequence. The schedule for the same is given below.
On the first day one should give up a quarter of the unwholesome practice (still maintaining three-fourth of it) and correspondingly adopt a quarter of wholesome. On the second day, half of the unwholesome practice should be given up and half of the wholesome one should be adopted; this is to be continued for the third day also. On the fourth day, three-fourth of the unwholesome practice should be given up and three-fourth of the wholesome one should be adopted. This process should be continued on the fifth and sixth day also. The process of giving up of the unwholesome practice and adoption of the wholesome practice is completed fully on the seventh day.
By slowly and gradually giving up unwholesome practices and by increasing the wholesome practices in proper sequence, the unwholesome practices do not reoccur and the wholesome practices are fully adopted. [Cha. Su. 7/36-38]