Traditional Instructions

How to Read This Page

This page is a documentary guide to what traditional texts and later practitioners say. It is not a recommendation to begin the practice. Keep these distinctions in view:

• Text is not evidence. A historical instruction can be important to a tradition without being a clinically tested health recommendation.
• Health questions belong with clinicians. Active infections, kidney disease, pregnancy, and medications can change individual risk.
• Do not delay care. Traditional claims should never replace diagnosis, prescribed treatment, or advice from a qualified healthcare professional.
• Follow the attribution. “The text says” and “practitioners report” identify beliefs and testimony—not established outcomes.

The Method Described in the Damar Tantra

According to the Damar Tantra, the fundamental practice is straightforward:

1. Timing

The traditional time is Brahma Muhurta — approximately 3:00-5:00 AM, the most spiritually auspicious period. In modern practice, first thing in the morning is acceptable.

2. Collection

The text directs the practitioner to face east and use a vessel, naming earthenware as preferable. Later practitioners often substitute glass or food-grade stainless steel.

The text specifies midstream collection. It compares the first and last portions to "the mouth and tail of the serpent" — let them pass. The middle stream is the portion to collect. Similar collection language in a medical context does not make the traditional practice medically validated.

3. Drinking

The text says the collected urine is consumed immediately and "quite willingly and cheerfully." This describes the source; it is not an instruction from this site.

For those who wish, recite the traditional mantras:

4. After Drinking

Later practitioner literature describes waiting before eating or drinking and placing meditation after consumption. These timing claims have not been clinically validated.

A Modern Staged Protocol in Practitioner Literature

Some modern practitioner guides describe a gradual four-stage approach. It is reproduced here to document that literature, not as a protocol to follow:

Week 1: Preparation

• Dietary preparation and avoidance of alcohol or heavily processed food
• Attention to ordinary hydration
• Reading source texts and practitioner materials
• Setting a spiritual intention

Week 2: External Use Only

• External application before internal use
• Observation of the body's response
• Gradual exposure intended to reduce aversion

Week 3: First Taste

• A progression from drops to a small amount
• Attention to physical and psychological reactions

Week 4 and Beyond

• Increasing amounts and establishing a daily routine
• Continued dietary restrictions

Dietary Rules in the Tradition

The Damar Tantra is specific about diet during practice. Foods to avoid:

• Pungent foods (hot spices, raw onion, garlic)
• Salty foods
• Sour foods
• Heavy, starchy foods
• Alcohol
• Processed foods (modern addition)
• Medications when possible (consult your doctor)

Foods the tradition favors:

• Light, easily digestible meals
• Fresh fruits and vegetables
• Whole grains (in moderation)
• Clean water in abundance
• Sattvic foods in general

Traditional authors connect diet with the character of urine. That belief should not be restated as “crafting medicine”: urine composition varies, and a dietary change does not establish safety or therapeutic effect.

External Applications

The Damar Tantra describes extensive external use of Shivambu:

Skin Massage

For external application, the text specifies aged urine — collected and stored until reduced to one-fourth of its original volume through evaporation. This concentrate is then used for full-body massage.

Modern practitioner accounts also describe fresh or diluted urine for localized external use. Those accounts do not establish safety, particularly on broken skin.

Nasal Application

"If in the early morning the practitioner nasalizes his own Shivambu, the ailments arising out of Kapha, Pitta, and Vata will vanish." (Verse 85)

This corresponds to the Ayurvedic practice of nasya (nasal administration). A few drops in each nostril.

Ear Drops

Traditional texts mention warm urine drops for ear conditions.

Eye Wash

Some traditional sources describe urine as an eye wash. This site does not recommend putting urine or other non-sterile material in the eyes; eye symptoms require advice from a qualified healthcare professional.

Historical Accounts of Fasting

The most intensive protocol described in practitioner literature is theurine fast. John W. Armstrong attributed his recovery from tuberculosis to a 45-day fast involving urine and water; this is his testimony, not a clinically verified outcome.

What Armstrong Described

According to Armstrong and traditional sources:

• Consuming urine and water while abstaining from food
• Re-consuming urine passed during the fast
• Massaging the body with urine at intervals
• Published accounts ranging from 5 to 45 days

The Purification Process

Morarji Desai described what happens during a urine fast:

"If you drink all your urine (urine fast), in just a few days the body becomes purified. By the third day your urine is without any color or any smell or any taste and it will be pure almost like water."

Caution

Prolonged fasting can cause serious harm, including dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. This site does not recommend undertaking the protocol described above. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Healthadvises discussing fasting or detox programs with a healthcare professional, especially for people with medical conditions.

Seasonal Adjustments

The Damar Tantra provides specific herbal combinations for each season. This reflects the Ayurvedic understanding that our bodies' needs change with the seasons:

Spring (March-April)

Haritaki with honey and dry ginger

Summer (May-June)

Haritaki and pepper with unrefined sugar

Monsoon (July-August)

Haritaki, rock salt, and pepper root

Autumn (September-October)

Haritaki, crystal sugar, and Bibhitaki

Early Winter (November-December)

Dry ginger, Amla, and Haritaki

Late Winter (January-February)

Pepper, Haritaki, and dry ginger

These combinations are recorded here as traditional instructions, not as validated treatment recommendations.

Common Questions

Does it taste bad?

It depends on your diet. With clean eating and adequate hydration, urine is mild — slightly salty at most. Heavy foods, dehydration, and medications make it stronger. Sarah Miles described it as tasting "like every lavatory you've ever smelt" — but she was also honest that "you couldn't do it if you had a bad lifestyle."

Is it safe?

This site cannot establish that urine consumption is safe. Urine composition varies, infections and medications can affect it, and historical use is not a substitute for controlled safety evidence.

How much should I drink?

Traditional texts and practitioner literature describe amounts that vary by protocol, including use of morning urine. Those descriptions are documented here as history and tradition, not as a dosage recommendation.

Can I continue taking medications?

Medicines and their metabolites may be excreted in urine. Discuss individual risks with the prescribing clinician or another qualified healthcare professional.

Final Note

Traditional sources frame Shivambu as a long-term spiritual discipline rather than a casual experiment. Their timelines and promised benefits are traditional claims, not established medical outcomes.

Readers exploring the tradition should approach its texts with care, distinguish belief from evidence, and seek qualified medical advice before making health decisions.