The GOLDEN FOUNTAIN 
The Complete Guide To Urine Therapy 
Coen van der kroon 
U rine therapy -the drinking and external· application of one's own urine 
as a healing agent -is an ancient Eastern tradition which is gaining 
popularity in the West. Devotees , who include the acress Sarah Miles, 
claim that it is the oldest of natural remedies and swear by its health-enhanc­
ing properties . The venerable former prime minister of India, Morarji Desai -
who was 99 and in excellent health the author met him in 1994 -was open 
about the fact that he drank a glassful of his own urine every day. It was while he was in India in 1990 that Coen van der Kroon was first given 
the opportunity to experience the therapy's healing benfits first -hand, follow­
ing an accident. Afterwards , he embarked on a long journey around the world 
to research into its history, uses and efficacy. The Golden Fountain , the most 
complete book to date on urine therapy, is the result of those wide -ranging 
investigations. The author tackles his subject with sensitivity and conviction . He provides a 
comprehensive overview of urine therapy's history throughout the world, 
together with detailed case histories and a user-friendly guide to its practical 
application in relation to specific ailments. Swami Pragyamurti Saraswati , a strong advocate of urine therapy who teach­
es in London, has written an authoritative foreword to the book, while individ­
ual accounts from people who have tried it and found it beneficial add a fasci­
nating personal touch. As an intriguing do-it-yourself home treatment , urine therapy is often the sub­
ject of lively debate, but there's one thing that everyone agrees upon-it's 
absolutely free ! Coen van der Kroon 
oreword by Swami Pragyamurti Saraswati TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Foreword by Swami Pragyamurti Saraswati 9 
Introduction 11 
t. GETTING THE TASTE: An Introduction to Urine Therapy 
4.1 My Introduction to Urine Therapy 1 
4.2 A Brief Introduction to the Principles of Urine Therapy 8 
f2' THE WATER OF LIFE: The History of Urine Therapy in the West r The t..Se of Urine in Ancient Europe 13 
.2 Medical t..Se of Urine in the Last Centuries 16 
.3 20th Century Developments of Urine Therapy 18 
"2.4 Recent Research, Practice and Literature -4 
a. NECTAR OF IMMORTALITY: The History of Urine Therapy in the East 
3.1 Urine Therapy within Hindu Tradition 29 
3.2 Medical t..Se of Urine within Buddhist Tradition 38 
4. GOING WITH THE FLOW: The Application of Urine Therapy 
4.1 Introductory Remarks 43 
' 4.2 The First Sip 44 
4.3\ Internal Applications 45 
Contents vii 4.4 External Applications 
4.5 Warnings and Guidelines 
4.6 The Influence of Food 
4. 7 Answers to Frequently Asked Questions 
A NATURAL PHARMACY: Medical and Scientific Aspects of Urine Therapy 51' 
5 
59 
61 
In Search of an Explanation 69 
I Several Hypotheses 72.1 5. 5.1 
5.2. 5.3 
5.4 Some Individual Substances Found in Urine 81 1 
References 84 ' 
6. 6.1 
6.2. 6.3 A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION: Personal Experiences with Urine Therapy 
Reports from Urine Therapists 
Some Personal Stories 
Immunity-Related Diseases: Cancer, Allergies, AIDS 
7. THE WATER OF AUSPICIOUSNESS: Shivambu Kalpa Vidhi 
7.1 Intrpduction to the Indian text 
7.2. · The Entire Document on Urine Therapy from the Damar Tantra 
Bibliography 
INDEX 1 -Diseases 
INDEX 2 -General 
Further Information and Useful Addresses i 
I 
88i 
92. 103 
114 
114 
12.7 
135 
138 FOREWORD 
by Swami Pragyamurti Saraswati 
When I was first asked to write a foreword to this 
book, I was delighted -delighted just to be asked 
and delighted to be able to contribute something 
to a subject which has been very dear to my heart 
and an important part of my life for some years. And then I sat down and read the manuscript of 
this book, and I realised that this is probably the 
most complete book on Urine Therapy to be pub­
lished and therefore there was virtually nothing for 
me to add! Furthermore, it is being published in 
Britain and will be readily available here. Those of 
you already interested in the subject will doubtless 
be familiar with rummaging through dusty piles of 
books from India or trying to order something a 
little more up-to-date from the USA! The history of Amaroli - the lovely Indian name 
for Urine Therapy- in itself makes for fascinating 
reading and will surely encourage those who may 
feel that they are about to embark on something 
little known and distinctly odd. It belongs to all of 
us and is as old as time. And you can be completely 
reassured by the detailed medical and scientific in­
formation given in these pages, and the clear in­
structions for the various practices of Amaroli. I 
would like to ~hank Coen van der Kroon for his 
extensive and painstaking research, which makes • the book so valuable. As a student and teacher of Yoga, I first came 
across Amaroli in some of the ancient yogic texts, 
where it is advised as a sadhana or spiritual prac­
tice, rather than a therapy or cure for various ail­
ments. But I must confess that my first flirtation 
with it was short and not very sweet! However, 
about eight years ago the subject reappeared and I 
started again, this time without any doubts or hesi­
tation. And yes, it works! I apply fresh urine daily all 
over my skin and I also drink it two or three times 
a day. I have also experimented with only taking it 
once a day and with drinking the entire day's sup­
ply, according to my instinctive feelings about my 
needs. The first benefits I noticed concerned my 
skin and my greatly increased energy. And that first 
winter I didn't get a single cold, whereas in the past 
I had spent months coughing and sniffing. This lead 
me to think that the urine must be having a posi­
tive effect on my immune system, and I continued 
to experiment with my consumption of the Golden 
Nectar. Eventually I introduced Amaroli to some of the 
students in the Yoga classes I teach for people liv­
ing with HIV and AIDS, and was amazed at the 
Foreword ix open-mindedness and enthusiasm with which they 
greeted it. Since then, many people are now using 
their urine to great effect, from clearing up skin 
infections to increasing their T -cells. Students tell 
me that for the first time they feel that they them­
selves are holding the answers to their health and 
happiness, instead of sitting around waiting for the 
miracle drug to be invented. It is .this spiritual dimension to Amaroli that I 
believe to be the most important. By drinking your 
own urine-thought by many to be disgusting, and 
if you are HIV +, then lethal as well -a miraculous 
transformation takes place. Your attitude to your­
self changes; you start to really care for yourself, to love yourself. And this is the first vital step towards 
self-healing, in the fullest sense of the term. The practice of Amaroli will continue to spread 
through word of mouth and with the help of excel­
lent books such as this, so I wish you a lot of pleas­
ure and inspiration in reading this book. After all, 
there is no money to be made from people who 
manufacture their own medication, particular to 
the needs of their body and spirit.' HARI OM TAT SAT. Swami Pragyamurti Saraswati, 
London, 26th November 1994. INTRODUCTION 
We all know that drinking urine is healthy and 
strengthening, yet most of us have forgotten this. After all, we have all done it for nine months. Be­
fore it is born, every child floats in amniotic fluid, 
which consists primarily of urine from the foetus 
and stimulates our growth. We drink this fluid and 
then we urinate. We breathe it in and, in doing so, 
our lungs grow and develop. We are born, and sud­
denly we consider it to be dirty. And so we stop ... ? Nevertheless, I and many others have begun 
again. I start every day by drinking a glass of morn­
ing urine. "Because it is healthy," is my answer to 
the regularly asked question, "Why?". At first, most 
people think I am joking. We have all been taught 
that urine is dirty. How could urine be healthy, let 
alone help cure illnesses? Well, not everything we 
have learned is based on the truth. Urine is not dirty. In fact, we can safely drink it 
and rub it into our skin. This assertion raises many 
questions, and rightly so. Why is urine healthy, and why does it have such 
a healing effect on every possible illness? In order 
to answer these questions, we must first consider 
the concepts of health and healing. Many people think that the word 'healing' indi­
cates how we can get rid of a physical ailment or 
' illness as quickly as possible. We are cured if a drink 
gets rid of the common cold, a pill makes the head­
ache disappear or an aspirin suppresses the flu. However, healing, like life in general, is not so 
simple. Our body is not the only significant factor 
-emotions, thoughts and spirituality also influence 
our health. True health is created when a person is 
in physical, emotional, mental and spiritual har­
mony. Only then does our life force flow through 
us, and we can proceed vigorously through life. This 
basic truth is usually ignored in our scientifically­
oriented society. In the book Urine Therapy: It May Save Your Life!, 
Dr. Beatrice Bartnett clarifies this principle by com­
paring it to a rose: We can observe the magnificent 
form, see the radiant colours· and even smell the 
fresh and delicate ·scent. This rose is beautiful be­
cause it is alive. Without its life force, the rose would 
be a mere compilation of molecules, nothing more 
than leaves and petals. We would not see any radi­
ant colours or smell any delicate scents. The differ­
ence illustrated here is known as 'life'. Everything 
around us is full of life: people, animals, plants and 
even minerals. Urine also contains life. It is a liquid full of energy, 
full of life, a fluid that supports and strengthens the 
Introduction xi life force already present, and regenerates lost life 
force. However, urine is not a miracle drug. As men­
tioned above, health is also dependent upon ~ther 
factors: nourishment, surroundings, and emotwnal 
and mental 'hygiene'. Urine therapy has proved to 
be a fantastic and versatile aid in the process of 
healing and becoming whole. It purifies and resto_res 
the body and has a revitalising effect on the spmt 
and state of mind. It also stimulates independence 
and freedom: if it works for you, you always have 
your own doctor and medicine at your side, free of 
charge. It is no wonder that many people who use 
urine therapy consider it to be a gift from the gods. However much urine therapy may seem to be 
unorthodox and perhaps revolutionary, it does not 
introduce anything new or originaL Urine therapy 
has been practised for thousands of years and h~s 
merely fallen a bit into obscurity. But all that rs 
changing. Some time ago, my attention was drawn to two 
articles in two Dutch national newspapers dealing 
with research on yogis (holy men) in India who 
drink their own urine. (This is, incidentally, a good 
example of a tradition in which urine therapy has 
been practised for thousands of years.) The news­
paper reports dealt with research into_ the effects ?f 
a stress-reducing hormone, melatonme, found m 
urine. Both articles were based on the reputable 
English weekly journal The New Scientist. A quote 
from one of these articles: 
"Tense? A glass of morning urine apparently does 
wonders. But it must be drunk every day. That 
xii Introduction advice is not from _some urine-reader, it is from M. 
Mills and T. Faunce of the University of Newcastle 
in Australia." After reading this article, I contacted the editorial 
staff of the newspaper and they were interested in 
an interview. Of course anybody who drinks his 
own urine is (still) a sensation in a 'civilised' coun­
try like the Netherlands where we are su~posed to 
be beyond medieval beliefs and charlatamsm. T?e 
interviewer was somewhat surprised when I drs­
played a series of facts and literature _demonstr~t­
ing that drinking urine is neither a medreval practrce 
nor charlatanism -and that the effects go much 
further than the mere reduction of stress. Urine 
therapy has been practised for millennia, and is s~ill 
being practised, not only in 'exotic' countries hke 
India but in the United States and Europe as well, 
and has proved to achieve positive results with all 
sorts of ailments, from warts and eczema to cancer 
and AIDS. The newspaper interview resulted in numerous 
reactions from the media; since then I have appeared 
a number of times on Dutch television and radio. Since these various programmes have been aired, I 
have received many reactions. Many people wanted 
to know specifically how urine therapy could be 
applied; some had immediately begun and alr~ady 
reported positive results. Others had questiOns 
about how they could get over the psychological 
barrier in order to be able to drink urine, and 
whether it was not terribly disgusting. And again 
others were curious as to why I started urine therapy 
and from where it originates. 1. GETTING THE TASTE: 
An Introduction to Urine Therapy 
1.1 My Introduction to Urine 
Therapy 
Many years ago I read an article in the American 
weekly Time in which it was reported that an In­
dian politican drank a glass of his own urine every 
day. I found this hard to believe- the thoug);lt filled 
me with disgust. I never would have guessed that 
some years later I myself would become so deeply 
involved in the practice of drinking urine. During 
my quest for information on the backgro)Jnd and 
application of urine therapy, this man's image 
changed for me from a bizarre man in a maga­
zine to a man whom I visited during my last trip to 
India. The man I am referring to is Morarji Desai, former 
prime minister of India. For years he spoke, in his 
position as prime minister, about the miraculous 
therapy which kept him fit and healthy in spite of 
his advanced age (then almost ninety years old). When I visited him in the spring of 1994, Morarji 
Desai was ninety-nine years old and still in good 
health. He drank a glass of urine every day, and 
massaged and washed himself with it. His skin still 
looked remarkably radiant and soft. This is how the story in the magazine many years ago literally 
and figuratively came to life for me. It was also in India where I was first introduced 
to urine therapy, although the first book I read there 
on this subject was written by an Englishman. I 
found this book in the library of a monastery in the 
Himalayas. It is called The Water .of Life and was 
The former Prime Minister of India, Morarji Desa( was a 
strong propagator of urine therapy. Here, his pulse Is being 
checked by a friend of his, a urine therapist. MorarJi Desai 
died in March 1995, at the age of 100. When I visited him 
one year before he was still in good health. An Introduction to Urine Therapy 1 written in the 1940's by J.W Armstrong. The book 
revealed an intriguing fact: by drinking your own 
urine and massaging yourself with it, you can re­
main or become perfectly healthy and can recover 
from the simplest of ailments to the most serious 
of illnesses. This certainly raised my eyebrows. For 
years I had been interested in alternative medicine, 
but this miraculous story opened new doors for me. Double doors, that is: besides an enthusiastic inte­
rest, I also had a considerable dose of skepticism. How did this book find its way into my hands? I 
often ask myself this question. An initially unpleas­
ant experience caused me to get acquainted with 
urine therapy. The story goes as follows. Five years ago, I decided to go to India for a few 
months. I was finished with my studies, and the 
adventure beckoned. I went to a small monastery 
('ashram') in the Himalayas founded by an Indian 
saint by the name of Babaji of Haidakhan. It was a 
remote monastery, and one has to walk the last fif­
teen kilometres through a riverbed to reach it. At 
first it felt like I had travelled to the end of the world, 
even though the monastery was named 'the Cen­
tre of the World'. Daily life at the ashram consisted for the most 
part of hard labour: working in the fields, building, 
lifting and carrying heavy stones from the riverbed, 
and all of this at temperatures between 30° and 40o 
Celsius. On the second day of my stay there, I had a pain­
ful accident which would ultimately lead me to 
urine therapy. While we were pulling a cart up the 
side of a mountain, a large stone was knocked loose 
from a wall and fell one metre onto my left foot. 2 Getting the Taste Because I was wearing leather sandals, luckily only 
my middle toe was seriously injured. I later discov­
ered that it had been broken. At that moment I 
could see that the flesh, including my tuC.tlail, had 
been ripped off from the upperside of my toe to 
the bone. An Indian man helped me, and without a 
moment's hesitation tore off a piece of his shirt 
and bandaged my toe in order to stop the heavy 
bleeding. Back in the monastery, a nurse treated the wound 
with antiseptic cream andre-bandaged my toe. Al­
though the wound was treated and re-bandaged 
The temple of the Babaji-Ashram in Haidakhan, a little 
village in the foothills of the Himalayas. daily, the pain increased and the toe appeared to 
get worse and worse. With a serious wound in the 
tropics, it is definitely a good idea to seek proper 
care. An infection can have upleasant consequences, 
and wounds heal quite slowly. After a week, I 
started to worry because my condition worsened, 
and people started warning me about possible com­
plications, such as gangrene. At that time I happened to be talking with a 
woman, also Dutch, who advised me to wind a cloth 
soaked in my own urine around my toe. My initial 
reaction was disgust -urine is dirty, so how could 
it help heal a wound? Even so, I later felt that I 
should at least try it -the situation could not get 
any worse. In addition, this woman had in the 
meantime told me more about urine therapy, and 
she had also given me the book The Water of Life 
from the library at the monastery. I finally plucked 
up the courage to try it. The following day while I was reading this book 
(with a cloth soaked in my own urine wrapped 
around my toe), I oscillated between my aversion 
to urine and the persuasive contents of the book I 
was reading. It was stated in the book that, by drinking your 
own urine.and massaging yourself with it, you could 
cure various wounds, ailments and illnesses. In the 
first half of this century, Armstrong, the author of 
the book, promoted the use of urine therapy. Al­
though his doctors had offered him little hope of 
recovering, Armstrong cured himself of tuberculo­
sis with the help of urine ·therapy. Thereafter he 
began helping and advising others. He successfully 
treated hundreds of patients, many of whom were suffering from life-threatening illnesses such as tu­
berculosis and cancer. Armstrong recorded the re­
sults of these treatments. The Water of Li{e i-;.~~ since 
become a standard work in the application of urine 
therapy, both here in the West as well as in India. At that time however I still could not imagine 
that I could drink my own urine without a strong 
aversion, and yet I had a feeling that what was 
written in that book was true. Quite apart from 
my intuition, I also have a fairly academically in­
clined mind, and the combination of the two stimu­
lated me at least to research and test this whole 
business thoroughly! The experience with my toe was what really per­
suaded me to do this. After three days the wound 
was completely clean, the swelling was gone and 
the pain considerably reduced. On the fourth day, 
radiant, new, pink skin appeared under the wound 
tissue. A few days thereafter, the wound was al­
most completely healed and a new nail had even 
started to grow. It was obvious that something quite 
unusual had happened here: in a tropical climate, it 
normally takes at least three weeks under the most 
favourable conditions for such a deep wound to 
close up and heal. Within a week, the combination 
of my own experience and reading that book had 
won me over. I was keen to know more! But where could I learn more? Who knew about 
this therapy in our Western culture? Research and 
university libraries did not yield any information. The year following my return from India, I drank 
my urine in the morning from time to time, but 
there were also times when I thought, "What am I 
doing this for? Could I be going too far in my belief 
An Introduction to Urine Therapy 3 and trust in something so bizarre?" Whenever I 
caught a cold or the flu, I fasted for a day or two on 
urine and water, and quickly felt better, but, even 
then, I would question whether this also would 
have happened without drinking my urine. A year later I was travelling in the United States. While shopping at a bookstore specialising in spiri­
tual awareness and alternative medicine, I suddenly 
came across a small, blue book entitled The Mira­
cles of Urine Therapy. I was pleasantly surprised! I 
had been looking for this book without even know­
ing it existed. It was a recently published work by 
a Swiss-American natural doctor who had even es­
tablished a Water of Life Institute in America. The 
book contained practical information about urine 
therapy, as well as texts from various cultures and 
religions which show that the origin of this therapy 
is centuries old, both in the Far East and here in the 
West. My trip to the United States had been worth­
while, if only for this discovery. Back in the Netherlands, I plunged into my re­
search on urine therapy with renewed enthusiasm. I 
contacted the Water of Life Institute in the United 
States and received more information from them, 
specifically on the scientific background of urine 
therapy. From this information I learned, for instance, 
that many separate components of urine are used in 
cosmetic products, without our being aware of it. Soon after this, I came across a cosmetic product 
in which urea was processed. Apart from water, urea 
is th:e main component of urine, so you can i~ag­
ine that this provided a wonderful topic for convers­
ation: you often 'use' urine without even being 
aware of it. 4 Getting the Taste As a result of the increasing number of questions 
I received each time I told my story, I decided to 
start giving lectures. Several people in the audience 
related their own experiences with urine therapy, 
once again a sign that it was not as obscure as I had 
initially assumed. Many people knew it was once 
used for chillblains and for disinfecting wounds. For most of the audience, though,· all t.his was 
completely new. For them, the first question was 
always: "If urine is a waste product, isn't it un­
healthy to drink it?" Since then I have found that 
my most important task has been to break down 
this psychological barrier. Urine is not dirty. Urine 
is, in fact, a clean substance: it is sterile, consists 
for the most part of water and for the remaining 
part of harmless and often even beneficial sub­
stances. I began to enjoy telling people about this 's'h'oc­
king' therapy and seeing the various reactions, 
which ranged from total disgust to instant enthu­
siasm. Several times, people were so keen on the 
idea that they immediately began the next morn­
ing. Others believe in it, but cannot bring them­
selves to take even a sip of it. Whatever the reaction, 
though, the topic of conversation often leads to a 
good laugh, in itself very healthy. I decided to return to India in order to look for peo­
ple who worked with urine therapy. After staying · 
for a few weeks in the same monastery I had vis-1 
ited earlier, I went to New Delhi in the hope of 
finding more literature on this subject in a small 
bookstore I knew of there. After digging around in 
enormous, chaotic piles of books, I was delighted to see the owner appear with two books on urine 
therapy, one of which had recently been published 
by someone in Bombay. Considering that I already 
had an address there, it seemed clear that this was 
to be my next port of call. I also had an address in Baroda, and so I made a 
stopover there on my way to Bombay. Indian cities 
are large, chaotic and swarming with people. The 
inhabitants often do not know the names of the 
streets and the thousands of alleys in the city-and 
this also goes for the rikshaw- and taxi-drivers. It 
took me two full days of rambling around in this 
city devoid of tourists in order to find the address I 
was seeking. On top of that, when I finally got 
there, the door of the house was locked. A crowd 
quickly gathered around to find out what I, a West­
ern foreigner, was doing there. In the broken Eng­
lish conversation that followed with the 
'street-elders', I finally had to acknowledge that my 
efforts had been in vain: the man I sought, who 
offered advice on urine therapy, was travelling at 
that time and I could not find out when he would 
be back. I therefore decided to move on to Bombay, a day's 
travelling by train, where I had much more suc­
cess. I met with three enthusiastic urine therapists, 
including the founder and chairman of the Water 
of Life Foundation India, Dr. GK. Thakkar. Dr. 
·Thakkar was also a lawyer and tax consultant. These were his original two professions, but, 
throughout .the years, the number of people that 
came to him for advice on the subject of urine 
therapy had steadily grown. Three professions are 
stated on his business card: lawyer, tax consultant and urine therapist, a combination which would 
certainly perplex people in the West! Dr. Thakkar sees his 'patients' at his office in one 
of the busy, overcrowded streets of Bombay. At the 
end of the day he receives patients with all sorts of 
complaints, from the common cold to cancer. They 
get free advice and consultations from him while 
he works on complicated tax papers. Dr. Thakkar 
BA.ll B D.Sc. (MAJ. 
Advocate. Tax Consultant 
Urine Therapist 
Chairman 
WATER OF 
LIFE 
FOUNDATION 
(INDIA) 
377-8. J. Shonkorshet Rood 
Bomboy-400 002. Indio 
Phone: (002) 290168/ 253278 
Business card of Dr. Thakkar. An Introduction to Urine Therapy 5 himself suffered from amoebic dysentery and 
eczema for twenty years before he was introduced 
to urine therapy five years ago. Like most other In­
dian urine therapists with whom I have spoken or 
corresponded, Dr. Thakkar talks about urine 
therapy as if it w~re a gift from God. He has since 
given lectures at various international conferences 
on natural medicine. ~hen I visited him, he invited 
me to attend his consultations for a few days, which 
I of course did with much interest and pleasure. I also found some more books on urine therapy in a 
bookstore in Bombay. The amount of information 
and literature I collected had thus grown consider­
ably after my visit to this bookstore. Together with 
the copies of newspaper clippings and a list of all 
the urine therapists in India which I had collected, 
I now had access to the most important written 
information available on this subject. It was a suc­
cessful expedition- not only from a research point 
of view, but also because my regular use of urine 
therapy helped me to remain healthy for the whole 
trip in India without the usual pills and injections 
Westerners are normally advised to take. Satisfied with my research, I concluded my sec­
ond adventure in India, and in the spring of 1992 I 
returned to the Netherlands. A few weeks after my return, I 'achieved' a new 
success. People around me told me that my hair had 
become fuller and that the bald patch at the back 
of my head had practically disappeared. I had not 
noticed it yet, but I then realised that my experi­
ment had yielded good results: The fact is, at the 
beginning of my trip to India, I had begun massag-
6 Getting the Taste ing four-day old urine into my scalp and had main­
tained this fairly consistently during my six-week 
tour. I was curious to see if this would have any 
effect, but to be honest, I did not believe too much 
in this treatment. This experience, however, added 
to my faith in the regenerative powers of urine. A little later, in the summer of 1992, I was ap­
proached a number of times by the media, which 
resulted in a few interviews on television, radio and 
in the newspapers. More and more people asked me 
for advice; others telephoned me to relate their own 
experiences. I got in touch with Carmen Thomas, a 
woman who worked on German radio (WDR); she 
had done a programme four years earlier about urine 
therapy. Since then, she had been receiving dozens 
of letters every week with experiences, stories and 
positive reactions. She also recently published a book 
in Germany about the many applications of urine, 
Ein ganz besonderer Saft-Urin ('A Very Special Juice 
-Urine'), which in the meantime has become an 
absolute bestseller. In her book, Carmen Thomas discusses the vari­
ous ways urine was formerly used, specifically in 
Germany, and is still used today. Just one example 
is the use of urine as a remedy for illnesses. The 
book contains dozens of personal stories from peo­
ple in Germany who have somehow or other either 
benefited from the use of urine or have been cured 
of their illness or ailments. But that is not all. The 
other possible uses of urine are also addressed. For 
example, urine was often used in the manufactu­
ring and care of textiles and as an aid in the paint­
ing of fabrics. Urine was also used as a detergent in 
ancient Rome, and much later in Germany, urine was collected for the village or city laundries by the 
so-called 'Seck-Hannes', which literally translated 
means 'Piss-Hans'. Urine was also used in a variety 
of other branches: for hardening iron, baking bread, 
making cheese and treating leather, to mention a 
few. 1ST ALL INDIA CONFERENCE 
ON lJRINE THERAPY 
The invitation for the Shivambu Kalpa (Urine Therapy) 
conference in Goa, India, in 1993. At one point I heard that a conference on urine 
therapy would be held in India. : The First All India 
Conference on Urine Therapy. I immediately felt that 
I simply had to be there. In February 1993, I arrived 
in India and travelled on to Goa, where the confer­
ence would take place. The location turned out to 
be a beautiful temple complex in the middle of an 
exotic landscape. Some two hundred people from 
India were present, including doctors, urine thera­
pists who had been working with urine for more 
than twenty years, people who were being or had 
been treated, and those who simply wanted to 
know more. At the conference a great deal of attention was 
given to the experiences people had gained in treat­
ing themselves or others. At the same time, how­
ever, it seemed there was not enough documented 
material on all these experiences, and that this 
would be necessary in the future for more scienti­
fic research. A number of people questioned the re­
liability of the literature on urine therapy. After all, 
the literature is full of 'miraculous recoveries', but 
cases in which urine therapy does not work seem 
to be omitted. It is important to develop a more scientifically 
grounded approach. Even though I am personally 
convinced of the positive effects of urine therapy 
and have seen very impressive results, I consider it 
important to present an honest and complete sum­
mary of what is presently known to those who have 
not yet experienced it-certainly those in our mod­
ern, scientific society who first need 'hard evidence' 
before they are willing to risk trying something new. At any rate, the conference in Goa set things in 
An Introduction to Urine Therapy 7 motion, and plans were made to organise an inter­
national event. And it really seems that all around 
the world interest in this simple and effective 
therapy is rapidly growing. In the meantime, I will continue working enth­
usiastically to promote and make this exceptional 
therapy known. To be honest, I also see it as a gift 
from God (or whatever you choose to call it) that I 
am able to work with urine therapy. 1.2 A Brief Introduction to the 
Principles of Urine Therapy 
Before going on to the chapters which discuss the 
history and application of urine therapy, I shall 
briefly discuss the composition of urine, what urine 
therapy is and how it works. So, what does urine consist of? 95% of urine is wa­
ter, 2lh% consists of urea and the remaining 2lh% 
is a mixture of minerals, salt, hormones and en­
zymes. Only urea, the substance after which urine 
is named, can be poisonous when present in very 
large amounts in the blood. However, this is irrel­
evant in the practice of drinking urine, as urine is 
not immediately put back in the bloodstream. In 
the small amounts urea gets back into the body, it 
is purifying, clears up excess mucus and has a 
number of specific, very useful effects which will 
be discussed later in this book. Furthermore, urine 
is entirely sterile after secretion and has an anti­
septic effect. 8 Getting the Taste We are talking here about urine from the point 
of view of somebody who follows a reasonably 
healthy diet, and who does not use drugs or 
allopathic medicines. Urine therapy is a method 
based upon the principle of 'natural cycles'. As long 
as we do not interfere chemically with the body's 
natural cycle, the body produces urine which is per-' 
fectly suitable for re-cycling. If you ingest a great 
deal of chemical substances -and these days all 
kinds of processed food contain chemicals- part Qf 
this will end up in the urine, in which case the com­
position of the urine changes. Normally, however, 
urine is a healthy substance which contains healthy, 
harmless components. Urine therapy is a natural medicine. Natural medi­
cines work with natural and harmless therapies, and 
focus on the whole person. Natural medicines also 
focus on stimulating the self"regulating power of 
the body and encouraging personal responsibility 
for health and well-being. The ancient Greek doc­
tor Hippocrates (circa 500 B.C. ), one of the found­
ers of Western medicine, often referred to this 
self-regulating power of the human organism. In the medical world, this power was later referred 
to as vix medicatrix naturae ('the healing power of 
nature'). In the past few decades, the medical world has 
regularly been confronted with illnesses and 
symptoms which are related to a failing defense or 
immune system. The self-healing power and the 
immune system are related. Nowadays many doc­
tors acknowledge the importance of research on the 
immune system and the mechanisms of self-heal-ing. This has led to new approaches within medi­
cal science and urine therapy could provide very 
interesting areas of research as far as this field is 
concerned. Urine therapy is indeed natural and harmless and 
can thus be regarded as belonging to the realms of 
r:tatural medicine. Those who practice this therapy 
Everything consists of natural cycles. Whatever leaves our 
bodies, is taken in again in one way or the other. Urine 
therapy is nothing but a health-promoting variety of this sys­
tem of natural cycles. believe that it has an intensely positive effect on the 
self-healing power of the human body. As said before, urine therapy is based upon the 
existence of a natural cycle. Some cycles take place 
more quickly than others, but the cycle in general 
is the foundation of all life. If we let nature run her 
course, there will be no waste, and a disturbed equi­
librium will always come back into balance. Just as 
we are capable of disturbing a natural equilibrium, 
we can also do our part in helping nature recover 
her balance. In order to support such a recovering 
of balance, we are equipped with a wonderful, natu­
ral 'house pharmacy': our own urine provides us 
with a swift and safe method for using the powers 
of the natural cycle. What exactly are the effects of urine therapy? We 
come back to and comprehensively deal with this 
question in Chapter 5, including the most recent 
scientific information on urine therapy. Briefly, if 
urine is ingested and rubbed into the skin, it puri­
fies blood and tissues, provides useful nutrients and 
sends the body a signal about what is in or out of 
balance. The effects of intensive application of urine 
therapy in which a person fasts exclusively on urine 
and water are described by Armstrong in his book 
The Water of Life as follows: 
//Urine, on being taken into the body, is ft"lteredi it 
becomes purer and purer even in the course of one 
day's living upon it, plus tap-water, if required. First, it cleanses, then frees from obstruction and 
ft·nally rebuilds the vital organs and passages after 
they have been wasted by the ravages of disease. An Introduction to Urine Therapy 9 In fact it rebuilds not only the lungs, pancreas, liver, 
brain, heart, etc., but also repairs the linings of 
brain and bowel and other linings, as has been 
demonstrated in the case of many 'killing' diseases, 
such as consumption of the intestines and the worst 
form of colitis. In fine, it accomplishes what fasting 
merely on water or fruit juices (as some naturopaths 
advocate) can never achieve." (From: The Water of Life, J.W Armstrong, Health 
Science Press, London 1971, p. 26) 
Armstrong uses natural metaphors in order to il­
lustrate the effects of urine therapy. Nature knows 
how to take care of herself; there is much to learn 
from her. In order to remain in balance, she makes 
use of an economically and ecologically perfect sys­
tem called recycling, in which nothing is wasted. For example, leaves fall from the trees in autumn. The leaves decay, and the remains slowly sink into 
the earth. The tree feeds on these same substances 
the next season. If we let the fallen leaves remain 
on the ground instead of raking them away, the 
trees yield a larger and better crop the next season. The cycle of water is another example. The sun 
evaporates water, and this consequently forms 
clouds. Some time later the clouds release water, 
usually in the form of rain or snow. Back on the 
ground, water cleanses the earth and serves as a 
nutrient, until it returns to a reservoir and is evapo­
rated again. Similar cycles also exist within ourselves. Our 
blood has its own cycle; the heart pumps it through 
the body. The most important function of blood is 
to transport oxygen and nutrients to every cell in 
10 Getting the Taste the body, and it passes through the liver and kid­
neys on its way. One of the liver's most important functions 
is detoxification of the blood. The liver removes 
A natural cycle: trees grow best when they feed on their own 
fallen leaves. poisonous substances from the blood and either 
stores them or secretes them into the gall-bladder. In the latter case, the poisonous substances end up 
as bile in the intestinal canal. They then leave the 
body in the form of defecation. After the blood is 
detoxified by the liver, it flows to the kidneys. This 
is, of course, a simplified explanation. The kidneys' most important function consists 
of balancing out all elements in the blood. They 
remove all superfluous vital substances from the 
blood, and filter out a surplus of water. This water 
and the vital substances consequently form urine. For example, at any given moment, the body can 
absorb only a certain amount of vitamin C. Any 
surplus vitamin C in the bloodstream is at that 
moment unusable and consumes energy; after all, 
it has to be transported. This is why the body 
removes the surplus of vitamin C through the 
kidneys. A second example: In order to activate an enz­
yme, a second co-enzyme is necessary. This co-en­
zyme is usually a mineral or vitamin brought into 
the body with our food. The co-enzyme activates 
and transpcJrts the enzymes to the proper location 
in the body. Even if our body produces more than 
enough enzymes, it cannot function optimally if 
our food does not contain enough nutrients, and 
thus co-enzymes. In order to save energy and bring 
the blood into balance, the kidneys remove unused 
enzymes from the blood. The same goes for hor­
mones, minerals and other substances. It is clear that 
urine is full of vital elements, which can hardly be 
called waste products. The harmful waste products which nonethe-less can be found in urine are often the result of 
unhealthy eating and drinking habits. This includes 
consuming products which contain chemica·! additives and radiation, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine 
or indigestible fats. As previously mentioned, it 
toilet re·use through 
massage 
A schematic and simplified representation of the excretion 
system of the human body: liver, lungs and skin excrete the 
toxic substances from the body; the kidneys filter superfluous 
substances from the blood. In this way the kidneys guarantee 
an optimal equilibrium of the elements the blood is composed 
of Taking these substances into the body again, e.g. by 
drinking urine or massaging it into the skin, creates the pos­
sibility to use them once again. In this way we just make use 
of a natural cycle, offered to us by our own bodies. An Introduction to Urine Therapy 11 is therefore advisable to follow a healthy and 
non-toxic diet while applying urine therapy. If you 
do so, your urine will also remain healthy and non­
toxic. After all, no substance which has not earlier 
been consumed will appear in the urine. This does 
not mean that consuming toxic products excludes 
the use of urine therapy, but it may make it less 
effective. If a pathological process is in progress, the body 
may produce poisonous substances. If these sub­
stances, or part of these, end up in the urine, drink­
ing urine can have a homoeopathic or isopathic 
effect. These substances are not foreign to the body, 
and can fulfil an important role in restoring the 
natural balance. This usually concerns relatively 
small amounts, unless the kidneys, bladder or uri­
nary passages are inflamed, in which case some cau­
tion is required. In those cases urine therapy can be 
applied by placing a few drops of urine on or under· 
the tongue or by means of a homoeopathic dilu­
tion. You can read all about the practical applica­
tions of urine therapy- possibilities and limitations 
-in Chapter 4 of this book. To repeat, the liver detoxifies the blood and se­
cretes the waste products in the intestinal canal. The kidneys, as mentioned above, keep the vital 
substances and the water level in balance. So urine is actually filtered blood. When fresh, it 
merely contains substances and elements found in 
the bloodstream. Substances which at one point 
were an integral part of your blood, and therefore 
of yourself, shortly thereafter become your urine. So, actually, you are ingesting nothing more or less 
than yourself. 12 Getting the Taste 2. THE WATER OF LIFE: 
The History of Urine Therapy in the West 
2.1 The Use of Urine in Ancient 
Europe 
Urine therapy is the most primitive, original and 
simple form of homoeopathy or isopathy. Although 
this natural healing method is still widely used in 
India, urine therapy is not only an Eastern tradi­
tion. In fact the use of urine as medicine in one 
form or another can be found in many medical tradi-
1 tioris of people or tribes which are still in close con­
tact with nature. I recently heard a story from a 
native North American who told that he ha:; used 
urine therapy his whole life in order to purify his 
body and soul periodically. He had learned this from 
his parents and grandparents. Gypsies and Eskimos 
still use urine as medicine. Eskimo women often 
use urine as shampoo; it gives hair extra body and a 
beautiful shine. Also many people in the modern Western world 
of Europe and America are familiar with the use of 
urine in treating warts, chillblained hands and feet, 
and as a disinfectant for minor wounds. The use of urine is thus also rooted in the European 
tradition. Doctors in ancient Greece reportedly used urine for healing wounds. In book 28 of his Natura/is 
Historia ('Natural History'), the Roman author C. 
Plinius Secundus discusses the medicinal use of 
urine in the treatment of wounds, dog and snake 
bites, skin diseases, eye infections, burns and scars. Although only a few sources in Western history can 
be found which discuss the use of urine as medi­
cine, a number of sources describe other possible 
applications of urine. A number of examples are 
discussed below. Urine was used in ancient Rome for washing and 
dying textiles. Urine was centrally collected by so­
called laundries, as it is an excellent detergent and 
cleanser. Large stone jugs for collecting urine were 
placed on street corners. Urine was so important 
during the time of the Roman Empire that, accord­
ing to the author Suetonius, Emperor Vespasian lev­
ied taxes on every drop collected in public toilets 
and the urine-jars. Urine was therefore a commod­
ity, and the emperor Vespasian wanted to get his 
share of this lucrative business. The 'urine-traders' 
thought the urine tax was unf<>ir: the work they 
performed was oppressive because the old urine 
stank so badly. Vespasian was not interested in their 
objections. //Money does not stink" (pecunia non olet) 
was his answer to their complaints, and is the 
The History of Urine Therapy in the West 13 origin of this well-known expression. Even today · 
in Paris, a public urinal is known as a Vespasienne. It is actually quite logical that urine was used in 
the laundering industry. Chemical research has 
demonstrated that when urine (particularly the 
ammonia found in urine) is mixed with fat, a 
white soap is spontaneously created. This partly 
explains why urine is so effective in keeping skin 
and hair clean and healthy, without the use of soap 
or shampoo. Urine has also been used in the textile industry 
in Northern Europe; particularly as detergent. I have 
already referred to the collecting of urine by city 
laundries in German villages and cities. Another 
interesting example can be found in Tilburg, The 
Netherlands where a statue by the name of 'The 
Bottle-Pisser' is displayed. A short history of the 
name 'The Bottle-Pisser' is given on the back side 
of a postcard of this statue: 
'Til burg formerly had a farming population, which 
lived in poverty. In the Middle Age.s; the Tilburg 
farmer starteflspinning wool from his own sheep 
and wove it on a homemade loom in his living room. He kept part of the wool for his family and sold 
the rest. In this wav the wool industrv which made 
Til burg great, became a domestic industry. Later, 
small factories were established where wage 
labourers worked for a few cents per hour. The 
material was refined in a particular way, known 
as splashing and milling Ammonia, found in urine, 
was necessary in order to mill and paint the wool. And so the labourers were paid to bring their own 
urine to work. Some labourers received a payment 
14 The Water of Life of up to thirty to forty guilders annually for their 
urine. It is said that Monday's urine was not 
acceptable, due to the high percentage of alcohol it 
contained. And so the Tilburg population was 
named 'Bottle-Pissers. "' Statue of a so-called 'Bottle-Pisser' from the Dutch city of 
Til burg Yet another use for urine can be found in the Celtic 
culture of the Druids. The older Druids periodically 
went into a trance in order to be able to perform 
their rituals. To do so, they made use of so-called 
'magic mushrooms', mushrooms which induced a 
hallucinatory state. However, these mushrooms 
also contained poisonous substances which could 
inhibit the hallucinatory process and cause dam­
age to the liver. They therefore had young men eat 
the mushrooms first so their livers could filter out 
the mushrooms' poisonous substances. The hallu­
cinatory substances, in themselves not poisonous, 
remained in the blood and were urinated out of the 
body some time later. The older Druids then drank 
the urine, and in this way safely reached an altered 
state of consciousness! This tradition was also known by the Finno-Ugric 
tribes in Siberia. In the book Plants of the Gods, a 
passage on the hallucinogenic mushroom 'amanita 
muscaria' (Fly Agaric) includes a reference to drink­
ing urine: 
/'These Siberian mushroom users had no other 
intoxicantS; until the Russians introduced alcohol. They dried the mushrooms in the sun and ingested 
them either alone or as an extract in water/ reindeer 
milk/ or the juice of several sweet plants. When the 
mushroom was swallowed as a solid/ it was first 
moistened in the mouth1 or a woman rolled it in 
her mouth into a moistened pellet for the men to 
swallow. The ceremonial use of the Fly Agaric 
developed a ritualistic practice of urine-drinking 
since these tribesmen learned that the psychoactive 
principles of the mushroom pass through the body unmetabolized or in the form of still active 
metabolites -most unusual for hallucinogenic 
compounds in plants. An early account/ referring 
to the Koryakl reported that 11they pour water on 
some of these mushrooms and boil them. They then 
drink the liquor1 which intoxicates them; the poorer 
sort1 who cannot afford to lay in a store of the 
mushrooms/ post themselves on these occasions 
round the huts of the rich and watch the opportunity 
of the guests coming down to make water and then 
hold a wooden bowl to receive the urine/ which they 
drink off greedilv as having still some virtue of 
the mushroom in it1 and by this wav they also get 
drunk.1111 
(From: Plants of the Gods; Their Sacred Healing and 
Hallucinogenic Powers, Evans Schultes, R. & 
Hofmann, A., Healing Arts Press, Rochester 
Vermont 1992, p. 83) 
George Andrews mentions in his book Drugs and 
Magic (1975) that the reindeer hunters of the Mid­
dle Anadyr, Siberia, used Fly Agaric mushrooms and 
when there was a shortage of the mushrooms they 
would drink cupfuls of each other's urine without 
inhibition to prolong the effect. The History of Urine Therapy in the West 15 2.2 Medical Use of Urine in the 
Last Centuries 
Throughout history, urine has played a part in the 
alchemist tradition. Nowadays urine still plays a 
role in the preparation and use of medicines pro­
duced on an alchemical basis. The well-known 
Dutch aurologist and alchemist Jelle Veeman has 
spoken many times about the significance of urine 
in this context. The following fragment illustrates 
the use of urine by so-called alchemists: 
//Phosphorus was discovered in 1669, by Brandt, a Hamburg chemist who was looking for the 
philosophers' stone. He believed that the metal 
could be transm-uted into gold by mixing it with 
the extract of urine. Uing this method, he obtained 
a luminous substance that burned with an intensity 
such as had never been seen before. For a long time 
phosphorus was obtained by vigorously heating the 
residue of evaporating urine in an earth retort the 
neck of which was submerged in water. Today it is 
extracted from the bones of animals, which contaitt 
phosphoric acid and lime. /1 
(From: Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Esquivel, 
Anchor Books Doubleday, New York 1992) 
'Manneke Pis', a playful symbol of urine in Europe. ~ 
16 The Water of Life Since approximately 1700, a number of sources ex­
plicitly refer to the healing effect of urine. A den­
tist in Paris in the eighteenth century praised urine 
as an extremely valuable mouthwash, and French 
and German doctors used cow-urine in the eight­
eenth century to control and cure jaundice, rheu­
matic disorders, gout, dropsy, sciatica and asthma. Johann Heinrich Zedler is·quoted in the Crossen 
Vollstiindigen Universallexikon (1747), in which he 
offers the folloyving tips concerning the use of urine 
as medicine: 
"Useful substances can be found in human as well 
as animal urine ... Human urine has strengthening 
and curative characteristics concerning many 
deficiencies: 
"For example, a mixtuh~ of potato-and sulphur­
powder, mixed with heated, old urine helps against 
hair loss. One should rub this mixture into the 
scalp; this slows down loss of hair (calfs gall can 
be added if necessary). "One can best heal injuries to the eyes with honey 
dissolved in the lightly boiled urine from a young 
man. One should wash the eyes as often as possible 
with this fluid. "All kinds of throat inflammation can be helped 
by gargling with urine to which a bit of saffron 
has been added. "Trembling hands and knees can be helped by 
washing and rubbing one's own warm urine into 
the skin directly after one has urinated. "In the beginning stages of dropsy, one should drink one's own morning urine on an empty stomach for 
a prolonged period of time. This also helps against 
jaundice." In his book, Armstrong quotes the English book One 
Thousand Notable Things, which was published in 
England, Scotland and Ireland at the end of the 
eighteenth century. A number of quotations are 
given below: 
"An universal and excellent remedy for all 
distempers inward and outward. Drink your own 
water in the morning nine days together and it cures 
the scurvy, makes the body lightsome and cheerful. "It is good against the dropsy and jaundice, drunk 
as before (stated). "Wash your ears with it warm and it is good 
against deafness, noises and most other ailments 
in the ears. "Wash your eyes with your own water and it cures 
sore eyes and clears and strengthens the sight. "Wash and rub your hands with it and it takes 
away numbness, chaps and sores and makes the 
joints limber. "Wash any green wound with it and it is an 
extraordinary good thing. "Wash any part that itches and it takes it (the 
itch) away. "Wash the fundament and it is good against piles 
and other sores." (From: The Water of Life, J.W Armstrong, Health 
Science Press, London 1971, p. 13.) The History of Urine Therapy in the West 17 This fragment indicates how versatile the applica­
tions of urine were seen to be: from harmless itch­
ing to serious conditions, such as gangrene. Other notable fragments on the application and 
characteristics of urine can be found in the book 
Salmon's English Physician, published in 1695. A 
number of quotations from this book quoted in The 
Water of Life follow below: 
"Urine is taken from human kind and most four­
footed animalsi but the former is that which is 
chiefly used in Physick and Chemi!Hry. It is the 
serum or watery part of the blood, which being 
diverted by the emulgent arteries to the reins is there 
separated, and by the ferment of the parts, 
converted into urine ... Man's or woman's urine is 
hot, dry, dissolving cleansing discussing resists 
putrefactioni used inwardly against obstructions 
of the liver, spleen, gall, as also against the Dropsie, 
jaundice, Stoppage of the terms in women, the 
Plague and a// manner of malign fevers. "Outwardly (applied) it cleanses the skin and 
softens it by washing it therewith, especia//y being 
warm, or new made. Cleanses, heals and dries up 
wounds, though made with poisoned weapons. Cures dandrufr scurr and bathed upon the pulses, 
cools the heat of fevers. Is excellent against 
trembling numbness and the palsy, and bathed 
upon the region of the spleen, urine eases the pains 
thereof 
"The virtues of the volatile salts of urine. It 
powerfu//y absorbs adds and destroys the very root 
of most diseases in human bodies. It opens all 
18 The Water of Life obstructions of .. Reins, Mysentery and Womb, 
purifies the whole mass of Blood and Humors cures ... 
Caclexia ... Rheymatism and Hypo-chondriac 
diseases, and is given with admirable success in 
Epilepsies, Vertigoes, Apoplexies, Convulsions, 
Lythargies, Migraine, palsies, Lameness, Numbness, 
loss of the use of limbs, atrophies, vapors, fits of the 
mother, and most cold and moist diseases of the head, 
brain, nerves, joints and womb. (Leucorrhoea should 
be added to this list.) "It opens obstructions of the reins and urinary 
passages, dissolves tartarous coagulations in those 
parts, breaks and expels stone and gravel. "It is a specific remedy against Dysuria, Ischuria 
and a// obstructions of Urine whatsoever." (From: The Water of Life, J.W Armstrong, Health 
Scienc~ Press, London 1971, p. 13-15.) This fragment also indicates how versatile the au 
thor found the application of urine to be: many dif­
ferent illnesses and ailments are mentioned. Besides, 
he explains that urine is simply a component of the 
blood and that it is purifying and prevents decay 
and putrefaction. 2.3 20th Century Developments of 
Urine Therapy 
Armstrong also quotes an article from a contempo­
rary scholar, Professor Jean Rostand,· which dis­
cusses the biological importance of hormones and the fact that these can be found in large quantities 
in human urine. A passage from this article reads 
as follows: 
11A recent discovery regarding the activity of 
hormones has completely revolutionised their study 
-viz.1 that certain of them filter through the kidney 
to pass out in the urine. Multiple hypophysical 
hormones, the hormones of the adrenal and 
hormones of the sexual gland~ have been found in 
normal urine ... The discovery ofhormone-urinology 
has had far-reaching consequences. Urine provides 
a practically unlimited quantity of basic matter ... 
From the therapeutic point .of view it is possible to 
envisage the use of these human hormones as 
apparently capable of exercising great power over 
the human organism ... " . (From: The Water of Life, J.W Armstrong, Health 
Science Press, London 1971, p. 15.) It is obvious that this man was far ahead of his time: 
scientists have only recently started research on the 
hormonal effects of urine. Later in this book, I shall 
discuss this aspect of urine therapy in more detail. Dr. T. Wilson Deachman, another scholar from 
the beginning of this century, recognised the enor­
moms value of urine and the intelligence of the body 
as a self-healing organism. Apparently other doc­
tors did not listen to him. This is what he wrote 
about urine: 
11As the urine content varies according to the 
pathological state of the patient; its use is indicated 
in all forms of disease except those caused by 
traumatism (broken limbs) or those that are of a mechanical nature. It saves the physician from the 
mistake that is made in selecting the indicated 
remedy from three thousand drugs or mori.! ... What 
cannot be cured by the forces of the bcdy cannot be 
cured by the forces outside the body.11 
(From: The Water of Life, J.W Armstrong, Health 
Science Press, London 1971, p. 156) 
Armstrong quotes another fragment, a report from 
Doctor~ Disease and Health by Cyril Scott about a 
certain Mr. Baxter, who was Armstrong's patient 
for a short period of time: . 11Mr. Baxter1 who lived to a ripe old age, declaring 
that he had cured himself of a cancerous growth by 
applying his own urine in the form of compresse~ 
and by drinking his own urine neat. He further 
declared that he had cured himself of other 
complaints by these simple means. Mr. Baxter 
contended that urine is the finest antiseptic that 
exists, and, having made this discovery/ he formed 
the daily habit of drinking three tumblers full as a 
prophylactic against disease. He maintained that 
if autogenous urine is taken in this way, the more 
innocuous it becomes. He applied it to his eyes as a 
strengthening lotion, and used it, after shaving for 
his complexion. He also advocated its external use 
for wounds, swel/.ings, boil~ etc. 1
' 
(From: The Water of Life, J.W Armstrong, Health 
Science Press, London 1971, p. 17.) Although Armstrong must have been quite pleased 
with this handful of quotations from scholars, he 
realised that the powerful medical world enter­
tained other ideas. Even so, he was exceptionally 
The History of Urine Therapy in the West 19 persistent in his conviction and enthusiasm con­
cerning urine therapy, probably because through 
urine therapy, he cured himself of tuberculosis 
which had been declared 'incurable'. Armstrong began urine therapy after a long and 
agonising journey in which doctor after doctor 
proved unable to cure him of his symptoms. On 
the contrary, his condition only worsened. He de­
cided to try urine therapy for two reasons. First of 
all, a quotation from the Bible stimulated his curi­
osity: "Drink water from your own cistern, flowing wa­
ter from your own well." (The Book of Proverbs 5: 15) 
Secondly, he had childhood memories of his mother 
smearing urine on his face which was swollen from 
a bee sting, and of his grandfather treating animals 
with urine. Armstrong is unclear as to whether this quota­
tion from the Bible should be interpreted as he has, 
but he does claim it to be the source of inspiration 
for his beginning a forty-five day fast based exclu­
sively on urine and water. He combined this fast 
with massaging urine into his skin, based upon 
what he found in another passage in the Bible, the 
Gospel of Matthew 6:17-18: "But when you fast, anoint 
your head and wash your face, ... " He found that fast­
ing was much easier and more pleasant if he also 
massaged himself with (old) urine. After his own successful experience, Armstrong 
treated hundreds of people with urine therapy. Only 
after a number of years, and at the explicit request 
of th'ose he had treated, did he write a book about 
his own experiences and knowledge. This is the 
previously mentioned and praised book The Water 
of Life. This book was and continues to be a great 
20 The Water of Ufe source of inspiration for everyone who works wit 
urine therapy, both in the West and in the East. As mentioned above, Armstrong realised all to 
well that his message was not in keeping with th 
prevailing scientific dogma. Unfortunately, hi 
worthwhile results did not stimulate other doctor 
in England to delve into this subject. Nonetheless, in other countries several attempt 
have been made by doctors to bring urine treat 
ments to a scientific level. They worked with urin 
injections which were first performed with the in 
vent ion of the hypodermic needle and syringe. Thi 
method was applied in Europe as well· as in th 
United States, which is apparent from The Physi 
ological Memoirs of Surgeon-General Hammond, US 
Army (1863) in which reference is made to thi 
method. These days few doctors give urine injec 
tions; only Heilpraktiker (natural doctors) in Ger 
many use this method regularly. They specificall 
consider urine injections to be a worthwhile metho 
of treating illnesses related to allergies. This appli 
cation of urine therapy was recently highlighted o 
a German commercial television broadcasting sta 
tion in which several people with allergies wer 
shown injecting themselves with urine. The medical interest in urine and its component 
increased around the beginning of this century 
particularly in Germany. Experiments were con 
ducted on injecting urine, and the results were posi 
tive. The German physician Dr. Herz was an enthusi 
astic proponent of this method and, in 1930, h 
wrote a book reporting his experiences (Di 
Eigenharnbehandlung, 'Auto-Urine Treatment') Although scientists and clinics were initially inter­
ested in his work, his research came to a halt, since 
the German government at the time tightened the 
reins on scientific research. Even so, a number of 
doctors kept practising this therapy. In the 1940's, doctors in Germany gave urine-en­
emas to children exposed to measles or smallpox. Those treated with urine-enemas came down with 
a milder form of these illnesses. The German phy­
sician Dr. Martin Krebs wrote Der menschliche Harn 
als Heilmittel ('Human Urine as Medicine'), a book 
about the application and results of urine therapy 
with children. Martin Krebs was a fervent follower 
of Dr. Herz. In 1965, Dr. Edam from Germany recommended 
urine therapy as the most effective treatment for 
morning sickness during pregnancy, and advised the 
larger university hospitals to try this method in­
stead of the frequent use of medication. He main­
tained that no side effects had been diagnosed, and 
he hoped more doctors would take an interest in 
this therapy. Scientists also began to research the effectiveness 
of the separate components of urine. Hundreds of 
research reports have been published on the com­
ponent urea, apart from water the main compo­
nent of urine. In Chapter 5, the importance of urea, 
a simple breakdown-product of proteins, regarding 
the effects of urine therapy is discussed in more 
detail. Research has been conducted into the possible 
medicinal effects of urine's individual components, 
such as the hormone specimens obtained from preg­
nant women's urine. Under the motto 'mothers for mothers', urine is collected from pregnant women 
and processed into a hormone product for those 
women who have difficulty getting pregnant. An­
other preparation is also made as a side product from 
this urine and is used for slimming cures. Below are two examples of the results of scien­
tific research on urine substances which have a 
proven curative effect in the case of cancer. The 
discovery of these kind of substances in urine helps 
to bring onto a more scientific level the understand­
ing of the positive effects of urine therapy in treat­
mg cancer. -In the 1960s the Nobel Prize winner Albert Szent­
Gyorgi (who also discovered vitamin C) isolated 
a substance in urine called3-methyl glyoxal.
the-golden-fountain-coen-van-der-kroon-1994.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        The GOLDEN FOUNTAIN 
The Complete Guide To Urine Therapy 
Coen van der kroon 
U rine therapy -the drinking and external· application of one's own urine 
as a healing agent -is an ancient Eastern tradition which is gaining 
popularity in the West. Devotees, who include the acress Sarah Miles, 
claim that it is the oldest of natural remedies and swear by its health-enhanc­
ing properties. The venerable former prime minister of India, Morarji Desai -
who was 99 and in excellent health the author met him in 1994 -was open 
about the fact that he drank a glassful of his own urine every day. It was while he was in India in 1990 that Coen van der Kroon was first given 
the opportunity to experience the therapy's healing benfits first -hand, follow­
ing an accident. Afterwards, he embarked on a long journey around the world 
to research into its history, uses and efficacy. The Golden Fountain, the most 
complete book to date on urine therapy, is the result of those wide -ranging 
investigations. The author tackles his subject with sensitivity and conviction. He provides a 
comprehensive overview of urine therapy's history throughout the world, 
together with detailed case histories and a user-friendly guide to its practical 
application in relation to specific ailments. Swami Pragyamurti Saraswati, a strong advocate of urine therapy who teach­
es in London, has written an authoritative foreword to the book, while individ­
ual accounts from people who have tried it and found it beneficial add a fasci­
nating personal touch. As an intriguing do-it-yourself home treatment, urine therapy is often the sub­
ject of lively debate, but there's one thing that everyone agrees upon-it's 
absolutely free. Coen van der Kroon 
oreword by Swami Pragyamurti Saraswati TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Foreword by Swami Pragyamurti Saraswati 9 
Introduction 11 
t. GETTING THE TASTE: An Introduction to Urine Therapy 
4. 1 My Introduction to Urine Therapy 1 
4. 2 A Brief Introduction to the Principles of Urine Therapy 8 
f2' THE WATER OF LIFE: The History of Urine Therapy in the West r The t. Se of Urine in Ancient Europe 13. 2 Medical t. Se of Urine in the Last Centuries 16. 3 20th Century Developments of Urine Therapy 18 
"2. 4 Recent Research, Practice and Literature -4 
a. NECTAR OF IMMORTALITY: The History of Urine Therapy in the East 
3. 1 Urine Therapy within Hindu Tradition 29 
3.
J.W. Armstrong
Who is the author of the book "The Water of Life"?
95% water, 2% urea, and 2% minerals, hormones, and enzymes
What is the main component of urine, according to the author?
To stimulate the self-healing power of the body
What is the primary focus of urine therapy, according to the author?
Morarji Desai
Who is the former Indian Prime Minister who drank his own urine every day?
The Water of Life
What is the name of the book that Coen van der Kroon read at the monastery in the Himalayas?