The word "Ayurveda" is widely used these days whether it's related to diet, herbs, massage,
healing, or recipes. I wrote this blog post with the intent to give a general
introduction to Ayurveda and how it identifies ailments, and recommends
healing methods. My hope is that by reading this post, readers will get a
basic understanding of Ayurveda and its philosophy.
"Ayurveda is one of the oldest healing systems of the world"
Ayurveda is one of the world's oldest healing systems developed in the Indian
subcontinent at least a few thousand years ago.
The word Ayurveda means "The knowledge of life". The word Ayurveda comes from
two Sanskrit words - Ayuh(आयु) means Life and Veda (वेद)
means Knowledge. The exact source and the origin of Ayurveda is unclear, as
the transmission of knowledge of Ayurveda in the ancient times has been done
only in an oral form for centuries. However, Ayurveda was believed to have
existed at least a few thousand years before the first mention of it
in Agnivesh Tantra (6th century B.C.).
"Ayurveda is influenced by six main Indian philosophies"
Ayurveda incorporates six systems of Indian philosophies which are called
Shad Darshan. These six systems even to this date influence most of the Indian culture,
traditions, religion, and the way people think and conduct in their day to
day matters.
- Sankhya - This philosophy deals with the evolution of everything and truth of life.
- Nyaya - Philosophy of logic.
- Vaisheshika - Philosophy about the aspects of concrete reality.
- Mimamsa - Philosophy of attaining freedom through performance of duty.
- Yoga - Practical discipline for knowing the self.
- Vedanta - Profound knowledge about the nature of God.
"According to Ayurveda, every individual life is a microcosm of the Cosmos (macrocosm)"
The basic principle of Ayurveda is that the entire cosmos or universe is part
of one singular absolute (Yat Pinde, Tat Brahmande / यत पिंडे तत ब्रह्माण्डे). Everything that occurs in the external universe (macrocosm) also appears
in the internal cosmos of the human body (microcosm).
The knowledge contained in Ayurveda deals with the purpose of a life, its
scope, and its nature. It is a medical science whose purpose is to heal and
maintain the longevity of life. The knowledge contained in it evolved from
practical, philosophical, and spiritual insights that were rooted deeply in
the understanding of the Creation.
Through its unique approach, it provides a deep understanding of each
individual's unique physical body, mind, and consciousness.
"Ayurveda has the knowledge to heal the body, mind, and the spirit"
Ayurveda provides very specific science and practices for various aspects of
the human body and mind. In general, it is divided into eight branches, called
Ashtanga Ayurveda:
- Kaaya Chikista - Science of Internal Medicine
- Shalya Tantra - Science of Surgery
- Shalakya Tantra - Science of Ears, Nose, Throat, and Eyes
- Kaumara Bhritya - Science of Paediatrics
- Aagada Tantra - Science of Toxicology
- Vajikarana - Science of Genetics
- Rasayana - Science of Longevity and Health through Food
- Bhuta Vaidya - Science of Psychiatry and Spiritual healing
"Everything we consume as food contributes towards the development and maintenance of our body tissues"
Everything that we consume as food contributes towards the development and
maintenance of all the tissues of our body. When we consume food, it undergoes
the process of digestion in the stomach, small intestine, and colon. In long
chain of transformations this food is converted into body tissues. Ayurveda
classifies the constitution of human body into seven types of tissues, called
Sapta Dhatu
(Sapta = seven; Dhatu = Tissues):
- Rasa - Plasma (serum, white blood cells, lymphatic system) - Digestive System
- Rakta - Red blood cells [Blood] - Circulation
- Mamsa - Muscle - Movement
- Medha - Adipose Tissue/Fat - Lubrication
- Asthi - Bones and Cartilage - Support
- Majja - Bone marrow, nerve tissue, connective tissue - Generation of blood cells
- Shukra - Male reproductive tissue; Artava - Female reproductive tissue.
These seven Dhatu draw energy from each other and they go through various
transformations in the body. In Ayurveda the health of body and mind is linked
to the quality of the above seven Dhatu which in turn depends on the quality
and energy of the food we consume.
"Everything in the entire cosmos including our body is made up of five fundamental elements"
According to Ayurveda, the entire cosmos and everything in it is made up of
five fundamental elements called "Pancha Maha Bhutas". These elements have distinct attributes and each of the elements is either
subtler or grosser than the other elements. These are the five elements in
reference to a human body -
- Prithvi which means Earth - This is referring to all solid matter in the body.
- Jal which means Water - This is referring to the liquid matter in the body like the secretion of digestive juices in mucous membranes, plasma, and cytoplasm etc.
- Agni which means Fire - This is referring to the digestive fire in the stomach that transforms food into body, and the fire in the brain that manifests as intelligence etc.
- Vaayu wich means Air - This is referring to all the movements -- like the pulsations of heart, expansion/contraction of lungs, movement of the nerve impulses etc.
- Aakash which translates loosely to Ether - This is referring to the space aspects in the body, like the space in nose, mouth, abdomen, thorax, sinuses, respiratory tract etc.
In Ayurveda, each of these five elements is also related to a person's
sensory organs, faculties of action, sensory perceptions, objects of the
senses etc. During the healing of ailments and dis-orders, these connections
between elements and other aspects of the senses are taken into
consideration and appropriate healing approach is suggested. Following are
brief associations between the five elements and various aspects of the
senses:
"Each person has a unique constitution (Prakriti)"
According to Ayurveda, entire universe is an interplay of the energies of
the five elements - Ether, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. Ayurveda groups
these five fundamental elements into three principles that are said to be
present in everything in the cosmos. The three principles/bio-elements are
called doshas or tridoshas. The three doshas are - Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.
Health exists when there is a balance among these three Doshas, and
illnesses are due to an imbalance in one or more of these
bio-elements.
The nature of a person's constitution (prakriti) is given a lot of
importance in Ayurveda. A person's constitution is the unique quality and
quantity of the three doshas present in a person. In Ayurveda it is believed
that a person's Prakriti is fixed at the time of his/her creation and the
three doshas are in inherent balance. A person's Prakriti is determined by
looking into the physical and psychological characteristics of a person like
- body type, height, skin type, skin texture, eye shape, hair shape,
temperate of hands, shape of hands, sleep quality, food preferences, quality
of memory, bowel movements, stress bearing capacity, emotional intelligence
and many other characteristics. Each person contains a certain amount of all
three doshas, but the unique combination and percentage of each of these
doshas makes the prakriti of a person unique.
"When the environment around a person is not optimal to their Prakriti, they develop an imbalance (Vikruti)"
A person is born with a Prakriti, but as it grows from an embryo to a baby,
to an infant, to a child, to a youngster, to an adult and so on, the
environment they are exposed to influences their doshas and also their
physical and psychological characteristics. Environment refers to all the
inputs through the five senses and the lifestyle of a person. When the
environment around a person is not optimal to their inherent nature
(Prakriti), an imbalance in the three doshas (Vikruti) is developed,
resulting in dis-eases and illnesses. An important goal of Ayurveda is to
understand a person’s Vikruti and understand the aspects of a person’s
environment that have contributed to the imbalance.
All Ayurvedic treatments deal with the current nature of the three doshas
and the aim of the treatment is to bring the doshas back to the natural
state of that person. For this reason, Ayurvedic treatments are customized
for each person and general recommendations are not usually made.
This is a basic introduction to Ayurveda and how it approaches the human
body as a microcosm of the whole cosmos, and how it tries to understand the
unique nature of each person to deal with their psychological and physical
ailments.
I hope this article helped you understand the basics of Ayurveda and I also
hope that this might help you with your future interactions with anything
related to Ayurveda.
Please share and comment on this post if you enjoyed reading it.
Peace! Aum (OM)! Amen! Inshallah!
#livingandbeing #ayurveda #living
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