Ayurvedic Medicine with a Touch of Mysticism

Alternatives
Ayurveda

Ayurveda or Ayurvedic medicine is an ancient system of healthcare that is native to India. It is one of the most popular alternative medicines all over the world. The word ‘Ayurveda’ is a compound of two Sanskrit words ‘ayus’ meaning ‘life’ and ‘veda’ which refers to a system of ‘knowledge’. Thus, ‘Ayurveda’ is often defined as ‘knowledge of life’.

Ayurveda is also one among the few traditional systems of medicine which include a sophisticated system of surgery (known as ‘shalya-chikitsa’ in Sanskrit). It owes its inception to Dhanvantari, the physician attending to the mythological Hindu Gods. The earliest recordings of Ayurveda are around 2nd millennium BC. According to the ancient Hindu texts, the first exponent of Ayurveda was Bharadvaja, who learned it directly from Indra, the God in heaven. Bharadvaja in turn taught Ayurveda to a group of sages, who then passed down different aspects of this knowledge to their students.

Tradition shows that Ayurveda was first described in text form by Agnivesha, in his book the ‘Agnivesh tantra’. The book was later re-written by Charaka, and came to be known as the ‘Charaka Samhita’. Another early text on Ayurveda is the Sushruta Samhita. These texts were used as textual material in the ancient Universities of Takshashila and Nalanda. The texts are believed to be based on a holistic approach rooted in the philosophy of the Vedas and Vedic culture.

Ayurveda is based on the theory that the body is made of five elements - earth, water, air, fire and space. Whenever an imbalance between these elements occurs in the body, it translates into illnesses. Ayurveda mainly concentrates on – diet, yoga, hygiene and Ayurvedic medicines.

Ayurvedic medicines essentially try to work at restoring the constitution of a human body. By constitution we mean the person’s relation to the environment, within and without and his/her inherent ability to resist illnesses and recover from them. In Ayurveda, the constitution is called ‘Prakriti’– which denotes the way in which the body functions physically and psychologically. ‘Prakriti’ is influenced by the body’s digestive and waste discarding abilities.

There is also something known as a ‘dosha’, in Ayurveda. ‘Dosha’ constitutes of three essential elements that influence the functioning of ‘Prakriti’. This further controls the activities of the body. These three ‘doshas’ are – ‘vatta’ (wind), ‘pitta’(bile) and ‘kapha’ (phlegm). Each ‘dosha’ is governed by a combination of the five essential elements. Each ‘dosha’ has a relation to the bodily functions. These ‘doshas’ can get imbalanced (kupit) due to certain factors.

Every individual has his/ her own balance of ‘dosha’ on the basis of personality and body type, but there would be one prominent ‘dosha’ in every human body. In fact, ‘dosha’ is constantly being formed and reformed by the bodily activities. An imbalance in ‘dosha’ is mainly caused due to unhealthy lifestyle such as – lack of sleep, lack of physical and mental exercises and poor diet.

An Ayurvedic doctor will essentially try to ascertain the primary ‘dosha’ in a person by asking questions about the person’s lifestyle, past illnesses, examining the eyes, teeth, skin and weight and finally checking for the pulse. Interestingly, each ‘dosha’ is known to have its unique pulse in a human body.

In Ayurvedic treatment, the physician expects the patient to be fully involved during the treatment. This would include changing one’s lifestyle, eating habits, inculcating healthy habits etc.

An Ayurvedic treatment would basically include:

• Removing impurities from one’s body.

• Decreasing symptoms through yoga, breathing exercises, meditation and special diet.

• Eliminating worry and finding harmony with the universe through various activities.

• Reducing psychological and physical problems through therapy and massages.

Ayurvedic medicines are made of (various parts of) plants and mineral. These ingredients are rarely used in the raw form. Often, they are purified before being used for medicinal purposes.

Ayurvedic medicines aim to restore the balance between all the elements within the human body.

• Ayurveda works on some basic tenets:

• All living and non-living beings are interconnected with the universe.

• All humans are born in a state of balance between themselves and the universe.

• All human beings are a part of the universe.

• For a healthy body and mind, being in touch with nature is imperative.

• When a person is not at ease with nature, this imbalance creates illnesses in the human body.

• During the course of life, this balance gets disrupted and affects a person emotionally, physically and spiritually.

According to Charaka, a great sage and Ayurveda practitioner "life" itself is defined as the "combination of the body, sense organs, mind and soul, the factor responsible for preventing decay and death, which sustains the body over time, and guides the processes of rebirth".