Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Basis of Ayurveda

The origin of Ayurveda: The history of Ayurveda goes back to a long time - the age of the Holy books, Vedas. Ayurveda is considered to be the oldest and most holistic medical system available on the present world. According to the ancient mythology, the knowledge and teachings of Ayurveda was taught by Lord Brahma, the Creator of this Universe. There are four types of Vedas – Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda. These Vedas were written almost 5000 years ago. Amongst all these four, the Atharva Veda consists of the medical knowledge that is based on the principle of Ayurveda.

Before the introduction of writing, this form of ancient wisdom of healing was considered to be a part of the spiritual tradition, ‘Sanatana Dharma’ or Universal Religion or Vedic Religion. After the birth of writing, the famous sage VedaVyasa, the shaktavesha avatar or incarnation of Lord Vishnu, recorded the complete knowledge of Ayurveda, along with the more directly spiritual insights of self realization into a body of scriptural literature called the Vedas and the Vedic literatures.

Ayurveda or the science of life, as the name suggests, can be applied to each and every living being. Remember, Vedic science attributed life to more things than we usually do today- the things like air, wind, fire, the earth, planets and stars were all believed to possess conscience like living beings. So, the fundamental principle of Ayurveda is that the whole universe belonged to/is a part of one singular absolute.

According to the Ayurvedic school of thought, the five elements of nature combine in pairs to give rise to three dynamic forces called the “Doshas”. The word ‘dosha’ means something that undergoes change and comes from ‘dus’, the English equivalent to ‘dys’ like dysfunction and dystrophy. In this context, the term ‘dosha’ can mean a fault, flaw or mistake – a disobedience of the cosmic rhythm. These doshas are moving continuously in an energetic and vibrant balance, one with the others is essential for the life to go on naturally. Hence, in Ayurveda, dosha is considered to be the governing principle as all living things in nature are characterized by the dosha.

The three doshas that I spoke about earlier are
• Vata (formed by the combination of the elements – Air and Ether)
• Pitta (formed by the combination of the elements – Water and Fire)
• Kapha (formed by the combination of the elements – Water and Earth)

Vata – As discussed, the dosha vata is a combination of the elements, Air and Ether or space. How active or strong this dosha is, depends on the proportions of ether and air. The amount of space influences the ability of air to gain momentum. If there is a huge amount of space available, air can gain momentum and become extremely powerful. Vata can be described as “wind, to move, flow, direct the processes of, or command.” It is vata that facilitates the other two doshas, pitta and kalpa, to be expressive. The actions related to vata are – drying, cooling, light, agitating and moving.

The responsibility of vata is to regulate the natural processes like breathing, blinking, moving of the muscles and tissues of the body, monitoring the heart beats, the movement of cytoplasm and cell membranes and all the expansion and contractions of the body. It also monitors feelings and sensations like fear, anxiety, pain, nervousness, freshness and tremors. The primary point of location of this dosha is supposed to be the colon; however, it is also believed to dwell in the skin, bones, large intestine, ears, hips, thighs and pelvic cavity.

Pitta – Pitta is formed by the combination of water and fire. Since both of these elements are extremely powerful, they cannot change each other; rather, they regulate each other and play a very important role in the process of life.

The responsibility of Pitta is to monitor the natural practices like digestion, absorption, nutrition, metabolic rate, body temperature, and coloring of the skin, the gleam of the eyes, intelligence and intellect. It is supposed to stimulate feelings like hate, anger and jealousy; it is believed to dwell in the small intestine, stomach, blood, sweat glands and eyes.

Kapha – The last of the three, Kapha is the conceptual equilibrium of water and earth. It is the force of structure and lubrication and can be defined as the most inspiring dosha of our body. This dosha is responsible for providing the material for physical structure and lubricates the joints. Moreover, it heals injuries, gives moisture to the skin, offers strength, vitality and stability; supports and enhances memory, gives immunity and supplies lots of energy to the heart and lungs. Kapha is believed to stimulate feelings and emotions like greed and envy and is also expressed in tendencies toward calmness, forgiveness, and love. It resides primarily in the chest.

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