Brahmānanda: Fasting is one way of eliminating the disease without taking medicine.
Prabhupāda: Yes. There is a Indian proverb that "Disease and unwanted guest, if you don't give food, they will go away." If some guest has come whom you do not want, don't give him food. Then he will go away. (laughter) Similarly, disease, if you fast, it will go away. (break) . . .another story: prahareṇa dhanañjaya. One gentleman had eight or nine daughters and son-in-law. So when they came, he was giving them good food and shelter, everything. So then they saw, "We are very comfortably living at father-in-law's expense," so they did not want to go. The father-in-law saw, "It is very dangerous that these all the son-in-laws are not going."
Then he began to . . . First day he did not supply salt. So one son-in-law say, "Oh, they are now disrespectful. They have not given salt." So one went away. And next day, something else, something else, something else, shortened, shortened. So those who were intelligent, they went away. The last one, he was not going. Then his brother-in-laws thought that "Give him good beating." Then he went away. Prahareṇa dhanañjaya. Others, those who were intelligent, they, when they thought that "Now there is disrespectful dealing, they are not giving everything," so they gradually . . . The last one, he was a rascal. He was beaten severely; then he went away.