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Ayurveda
is the ancient Indian medical science,
the origin of which can be traced back
to more than 5000 years. The source of
Ayurveda are the vedas , the oldest
available classics.
Ayurveda
is a Sanskrit word, derived from two
roots: ayur, which means life, and veda,
which mean knowledge. It is fair to say
that Ayurveda is the science of life.
Ayurveda
is a science dealing not only with
treatment of some diseases but is a
complete way of life. It is only system
of medicine which incorporates
suggestions and remedies for both
healthy and diseased people. Centuries
before the World Health Organization
recognized that health is not merely the
physical well being and just the absence
of disease, ayurveda was dealing with
the mental, physical and social well
being of an individual.
The Body
According to Ayurveda every individual
is made up of five elements, namely
Prithvi or earth
Apa or water
Tejas or fire
ayu or air
Akash or space
The structural aspect of the body is
made up of these five elements, but the
functional aspect of the body is
governed by three biological humors.
Ether and air combine to form what is
known in Ayurveda as the Vata dosha.
Vata governs the principle of movement
and therefore can be seen as the force
which directs nerve impulses,
circulation, respiration, and
elimination. Fire and water combine to
form the Pitta dosha. The Pitta dosha
governs the process of transformation or
metabolism. The digestion of food in our
body is an example of Pitta function.
Pitta is also responsible for metabolism
in the organ and tissue systems as well
as cellular metabolism. Finally, the
water and earth combine to form the
Kapha dosha.
There are
seven body types: mono-types (vata,
pitta or kapha predominant), dual types
(vata-pitta, pitta-kapha or, kapha-vata),
and equal types, (vata, pitta and kapha
in equal proportions). Every individual
has a unique combination of these three
doshas. To understand the uniqueness of
every individual is the very basis of
ayurveda.
The Mind
Ayurveda classifies human temperaments
into three basic qualities: satvic,
rajasic and tamasic. Satvic qualities
imply purity and clarity of perception
which are responsible for goodness and
happiness. Rajas is responsible for all
movements, and activities. It leads to
the life of sensual enjoyment, pleasure
and pain, effort and restlessness. Tamas
is darkness, inertia, heaviness and
materialistic attitudes. There is a
constant interplay of these three gunas
(qualities) in the individual
consciousness, but the relative
predominance of either satva, rajas, or
tamas is responsible for individual
psychological constitution.
The Disease
Process
According to Ayurveda, health is a state
of balance between the body, mind and
consciousness. Within the body, Ayurveda
recognizes the three doshas( bodily
humors) vata, pitta and kapha; seven
dhatus(tissues), blood, plasma, fat,
muscle, bone, nerve, and reproductive;
three malas(wastes), feces, urine and
sweat; and agni, the energy of
metabolism. Disease is a condition of
disharmony in any of these factors. The
root cause of imbalance, or disease, is
an aggravation of dosha,
vata-pitta-kapha.
Conclusion
Ayurveda is the system of medicine
incorporating centuries of wisdom in it.
The emphasis here is on ways to promote
health rather than just treat disease.
The beauty of the system is that every
individual is unique rather than being
just another case of particular disease.
It is one of the few systems of medicine
taking mental, emotional and spiritual
well being into account. All the
suggestions and remedies prescribed are
totally in conjunction with nature.
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