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.
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Peace! Aum! Amen! Inshallah! #livingandbeing #ayurveda