Indian subcontinent is rightly proud of its cultural heritage of about thousands of years. It is the very place where one of the oldest Cultures, The Aryan Culture, originated and flourished and stood as a Light house of knowledge and prosperity for the entire world. Recent findings about Aryan culture reveal the mesmerizing collection of knowledge it was bestowed with and the impeccable application of that knowledge for well beings of not only humanity but also flora and fauna. One such endowment of Ancient Aryan Culture is Ayurveda, आयुर्वेद.
Ayurveda is the oldest known medical science to humanity. It is the traditional Hindu system of medicine (incorporated in Atharva Veda (अथर्ववेद), the last of the four legendary Vedas), which is based on the idea of balance in bodily systems and uses diet, herbal treatment, and yogic breathing for well being of the body.
Ayurveda is based on Five Main Pillars, also called ‘Pancha-Mahabhootas’ (पंच महाभूते) (Vital Elements) as per the Hindu mythology, which are – Prithvi (पृथ्वी)(Earth), Jal (जल )(Water), Agni (अग्नी )(Fire), Vayu (वायु )(Air) and Akash (आकाश )(Space). As per Hindu beliefs, anything in this world, any living or non living entity, is made up of these five elements. Each of the Mahaboota or vital element has its own set of properties and behavior based on these properties. The Earth signifies Stability and Mass; it is dense and tends to downwards. Water, on the contrary, is signified by Mobility and Movement in spite of its viscous nature, but again has mass and downward movement. Unlike Water, Fire is known to be Hot and poignant; it possesses property of Metamorphism. Air or Gas signifies Lightness in weight and is known for ability to move in all directions. Space is any open or closed enclosure and is known for its hollowness.
Our human body is made up of these Five Vital Elements and proportions of these elements in individual’s body are decisive factors for the individual’s ‘Prakrutee’(प्रकृती ) (nature of health). Proportions of these Vital Elements keep on changing continuously, as a function of four factors, Diet, Life-Style, Seasonal changes and Mind. Ayurveda is science of studying the impacts of these four factors on one’s body (rather proportions of Vital Elements in the body) and trying to maintain a balanced optimum equilibrium – Sound and Well Being of a person.
Ayurveda has identified Three Major Prakrutee or natures of health, each dominated by either one or two of the Vital Elements viz. ‘Kaf (कफ) Prakrutee’ (dominated by Earth and Water Elements), ‘Pitta (पित्त ) Prakrutee’ (dominated by Fire Element) and ‘Vaat (वात ) Prakrutee’ (dominated by Air and Space Elements). Effects of earlier stated four factors which affect the Vital Elements are studied with respect to each of the above Prakrutee. In diet, foods are classified under these three categories. Foods are prescribed to a person based on his/her Prakrutee and will help balance his/her equilibrium. Similar classifications are done with Life Style and Seasonal Changes. This way Ayurveda suggests minimum possible external medicines and instead suggests a prescribed combination of diet and life style, thereby taking person close to nature.
Ayurveda is world’s first and probably only medical science, which studies the link between mind and health. It has identified Mind as a factor that can affect Body’s equilibrium and hence a vital component in treatment. Mind, as per Ayurveda is ‘Chanchal’ (चंचल ) or volatile in nature and hence keeping one’s mind under control is an art. Ayurveda helps a person achieve this control of mind by various exercises and changes in diets. According to a popular belief, healthy mind resides in a healthy body. So, Ayurveda helps to keep both the mind and body healthy.
‘Ayurvedica’lly prescribed way of life brings a person close to mother nature and helps him/her in unequivocal surrender to the all-pervading great power, which some people call God. Ayurveda helps us in identifying our ultimate destiny, traversing path to reach that destiny and lead to a euphoric life with that destiny.
(There might be a natural question that Why an important topic like Ayurveda under the heading 'Lionize the Trivial', so as the blog name means, it is identifying the importance of Trivial things and giving credit to those. Intention to include Ayurveda here is to emphasize the importance of the fact that Even simple changes in Diet and Life Style can lead to a better and healthy life. One doesn't always need to undergo big changes for that, but simple and Trivial changes can also prove fruitful)
(P.S. - I am extremely Thankful to Dr. Nikhil Mehta for letting me understand about The valuable Treasure of Ayurveda. Being a person from Indian Subcontinent, I knew about Ayurveda but I never knew about Fascinating Power of Ayurveda, till I attended a course 'Introduction To Ayurveda', conducted by Dr. Nikhil Mehta. It is my pleasure to share the the epitome from that course as this post and I hope that it will benefit all those who read it. Dr. Nikhil Mehta can be reached at-Jeevaka Ayurveda)
Ayurveda is the oldest known medical science to humanity. It is the traditional Hindu system of medicine (incorporated in Atharva Veda (अथर्ववेद), the last of the four legendary Vedas), which is based on the idea of balance in bodily systems and uses diet, herbal treatment, and yogic breathing for well being of the body.
Ayurveda is based on Five Main Pillars, also called ‘Pancha-Mahabhootas’ (पंच महाभूते) (Vital Elements) as per the Hindu mythology, which are – Prithvi (पृथ्वी)(Earth), Jal (जल )(Water), Agni (अग्नी )(Fire), Vayu (वायु )(Air) and Akash (आकाश )(Space). As per Hindu beliefs, anything in this world, any living or non living entity, is made up of these five elements. Each of the Mahaboota or vital element has its own set of properties and behavior based on these properties. The Earth signifies Stability and Mass; it is dense and tends to downwards. Water, on the contrary, is signified by Mobility and Movement in spite of its viscous nature, but again has mass and downward movement. Unlike Water, Fire is known to be Hot and poignant; it possesses property of Metamorphism. Air or Gas signifies Lightness in weight and is known for ability to move in all directions. Space is any open or closed enclosure and is known for its hollowness.
Our human body is made up of these Five Vital Elements and proportions of these elements in individual’s body are decisive factors for the individual’s ‘Prakrutee’(प्रकृती ) (nature of health). Proportions of these Vital Elements keep on changing continuously, as a function of four factors, Diet, Life-Style, Seasonal changes and Mind. Ayurveda is science of studying the impacts of these four factors on one’s body (rather proportions of Vital Elements in the body) and trying to maintain a balanced optimum equilibrium – Sound and Well Being of a person.
Ayurveda has identified Three Major Prakrutee or natures of health, each dominated by either one or two of the Vital Elements viz. ‘Kaf (कफ) Prakrutee’ (dominated by Earth and Water Elements), ‘Pitta (पित्त ) Prakrutee’ (dominated by Fire Element) and ‘Vaat (वात ) Prakrutee’ (dominated by Air and Space Elements). Effects of earlier stated four factors which affect the Vital Elements are studied with respect to each of the above Prakrutee. In diet, foods are classified under these three categories. Foods are prescribed to a person based on his/her Prakrutee and will help balance his/her equilibrium. Similar classifications are done with Life Style and Seasonal Changes. This way Ayurveda suggests minimum possible external medicines and instead suggests a prescribed combination of diet and life style, thereby taking person close to nature.
Ayurveda is world’s first and probably only medical science, which studies the link between mind and health. It has identified Mind as a factor that can affect Body’s equilibrium and hence a vital component in treatment. Mind, as per Ayurveda is ‘Chanchal’ (चंचल ) or volatile in nature and hence keeping one’s mind under control is an art. Ayurveda helps a person achieve this control of mind by various exercises and changes in diets. According to a popular belief, healthy mind resides in a healthy body. So, Ayurveda helps to keep both the mind and body healthy.
‘Ayurvedica’lly prescribed way of life brings a person close to mother nature and helps him/her in unequivocal surrender to the all-pervading great power, which some people call God. Ayurveda helps us in identifying our ultimate destiny, traversing path to reach that destiny and lead to a euphoric life with that destiny.
(There might be a natural question that Why an important topic like Ayurveda under the heading 'Lionize the Trivial', so as the blog name means, it is identifying the importance of Trivial things and giving credit to those. Intention to include Ayurveda here is to emphasize the importance of the fact that Even simple changes in Diet and Life Style can lead to a better and healthy life. One doesn't always need to undergo big changes for that, but simple and Trivial changes can also prove fruitful)
(P.S. - I am extremely Thankful to Dr. Nikhil Mehta for letting me understand about The valuable Treasure of Ayurveda. Being a person from Indian Subcontinent, I knew about Ayurveda but I never knew about Fascinating Power of Ayurveda, till I attended a course 'Introduction To Ayurveda', conducted by Dr. Nikhil Mehta. It is my pleasure to share the the epitome from that course as this post and I hope that it will benefit all those who read it. Dr. Nikhil Mehta can be reached at-Jeevaka Ayurveda)
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