Introduction to Ayurveda, part one

Ayurveda is rooted in ancient India; thought by many historians and scholars to be the oldest healing system on our planet.

'Ayuh' means life, and 'veda' means 'knowledge'.

Ayurveda focuses on the nature, scope and purpose of life, to include the metaphysical reality.

Ayurveda defines life as the conjunction/union of body, mind and spirit found in the Cosmic Consciousness and embracing all of Creation.

Ayurveda tells us that the purpose of life is to realize the creation - both internally and externally - and to express this creation in our daily life.

The purpose of Ayurveda is to heal and to maintain the quality and longevity of life. It is an art - the art of daily living - and has evolved from practical, philosophical and spiritual illumination, rooted in Creation. To those interested, it offers a profound understanding of each individual's unique body, mind and consciousness. This is the true foundation of health and happiness.

Traditional Western medicine, herbal therapies, surgery, energy-work, and many others, all have their roots in Ayurveda. Because of its broad scope, combined with length of development - over the course of many hundreds of years - Ayurveda embraces all health care disciplines and weaves them into an integrated treatment plan for each individual. This ancient approach includes surgery procedures, psychological or spiritual counseling, rejuvenation of the body, mind and soul, and much more, fully encompassing all these treatments and coordinating them appropriately.

This is why Ayurveda is called a 'living science', because it incorporates modern developments and techniques along with ancient wisdom. Many modern medical regimens are too specialized to design a plan that includes elimination of the cause(s), treatment of the condition, rebuilding of the body and the continueing support of a rejuvenation program; whereas Ayurveda is uniquely capable of suggesting a treatment regimen appropriate to each individual.

During Britian's occupation of India it introduced Western medicine, considering it superior to any other form of medical treatment; even suppressing and banning/out-lawing the practice of Ayurveda in some cases. Many Indians followed these new laws and adopted Western medicine, succumbing to the lure of quick fixes, pill popping, and a shot for everything - like their Western counterparts - avoiding personal responsibility for their own health.

Today, Indians are returning to their traditional and historical means of health and well-being - just as many Westerners are also embracing these ancient and highly effective approaches.

Western medicine tends to suppress symptoms and does not help to prevent problems from recurring. Western medicine is extremely helpful for acute conditions and trauma, it tends to overlook the importance of individual response to the streses and conditions of DAILY life and living. Western medicine focuses on specialization - a concept that does not exist in Ayurveda; for Ayurveda focuses on more than just an organ or system, but on the entire and whole (holistic) person.

Ayurveda - like all healing systems - has a basic foundation. For Ayurveda this is the Shad Darshan ("six seeings", or 'Six Philosophies'). This 'seeing' is both internal and external - which explains Ayurveda's dual approach of science and energy-work, or external and internal healing techniques.

The knowledge of Ayurveda, developed by ancient rishes/sages, come to us through the sutras (meaning, "suture", or 'threads, strings, verses'), and the Atharva Veda (one of the four principal Vedas). Recognized today as a primary text on Ayurveda is the Charaka Samhita ('Charaka' was a noted Ayurvedic practitioner, 'samhita' is a methological collection of texts or verses.)

Written on or around 400 CE, the Charaka Samhita is the oldest Sanskrit Ayurvedic text known to exist; being so concise as to contain even the five subdoshas of Vata.

Second to this valuable work is the Sushruta Samhita, written by Rishi Nagarjuna. It contains detailed information on surgery, blood conditions, and the five Pitta subdoshas. Other notable works are the Ashtanga Hridayam and the Ashtanga Sangraha, both written by Rishi Vagbhata in the 6th c CE. ('Ashtanga' means eight-limbed, and 'hridayam' means "nourishing, heart-healing"; 'sangraha' is "solidarity, upliftment, well-being". Respectively, these texts are "Eight-Limbed Heart-Healing", and "Eight-Limbed Well-Being".)

From mythology we learn that Brahma, the primal creator, taught Ayurveda to Prajapati, who then passed it on to the Ashvin Twins. In turn, they taught Indra, who passed the knowledge to Atreya (6th c BCE). He is said to have taught Agnivesa (15th c BCe), who wrote a major and often cited Ayurvedic text which no longer exists in its entirety.

The six roots of Ayurveda - the Shad Darshan - are also the six systems of Indian Philosophy. Listed below is the philosophy and its lineage founder:
-Sankhya / Kapila,
-Nyaya / Gautama,
-Vaisheshika / Kanada,
-Mimamsa / Jaimini,
-Yoga / Gorakhnath, and
-Vedanta / Badarayana.

Three of these systems - Sankhya, Nyaya, Vaisheshika - predominantly focus on the material world. The other three - Yoga, Mimamsa, Vedanta - observe the inner reality. Again, the darshan/sight of both inner and outer bodymind are taken into account in Ayurvedic healing techniques.
Combined, the six create a 'whole' and so total approach to health and well-being - on every level of being.

Om Peace!
Yogini Valarie