About Ayurveda

There is a French way of saying that a man is what he eats. This idea is present in almost every Indian language too. Indians believe that a man's disposition, general health or the lack of it, physical appearance, are all a result of the kind of food eaten and they look to alter the diet to effect better health.

The basis for this idea comes from the ancient Indian medical science of Ayurveda. Ayurveda means the science of healthy living. It has influenced every aspect of life and practically every community in India.

ORIGIN

How and when the science came into being is difficult to say. The main body of Ayurveda is said to be part of the Atharva Veda. (There are four Vedic texts, the Rig Veda, the oldest amongst them dating to 2500 BC.) According to mythology, Brahma, the creator, is said to have imparted the knowledge of medicine to Prajapati Daksha. Daksha, in turn, taught the twins, Ashwinikumaras. Ashwinikumaras took the knowledge to Lord Indra, the King of Heavens. Indra deputed Dhanwantri to take this science to the mortals. Therefore, when the gods and demons, in search of the elixir of life, churned the ocean, Dhanwantri came out of it holding the bowl of nectar in his hands.

Until the story of Dhanwantri, it is all from the realm of mythology, but giving it the touch of the real is the compendium left behind by Dhanwantri's student Sushruta. Sushruta was a surgeon and his text gives instructions even on caesarean operations! His text is called the Sushruta Samhita. Charaka was another bright doctor of yore who wrote the text on general medicine called the Charaka Samhita. The treatment followed today is based on the truth in these two treatises.

THE FIVE ELEMENTS

According to ancient Indian philosophy, everything in this universe is composed of five elements. The human body is also made up of the five elements and the soul. These five elements are: Prithvi or earth, Apa or water, Tejas or fire, Vayu or air, Akash or space.

These are called the pancha (five) bhutas. Just as in nature the five elements exist in a balance, in human beings too they exist in a certain balance. When this balance is upset, there could be flood, cyclone, earthquakes, or other disasters. Within the body, they come to be known as diseases. DHATUS, THE BASIC TISSUES

Of course these are generalization, a thorough diagnosis involves a lot more. One has to take into account the dhatus. Dhatus are the basic tissues, which maintain and nourish the body. They are seven in number, namely, rasa (food juices), rakta (blood), mamsa (muscles), medas (fatty tissue), asthi (bone), majja (bone marrow), and shukra (semen). The dhatus too needs to be in balance. There are other components called the mala, which are the wastes produced by different metabolic activities.

FOOD HABITS ADVOCATED BY AYURVEDA

Most cures in Ayurveda are effected through the administration of food items and the withdrawal of some. Herbs, flowers, and leaves are also used to make medicines that have a special effect on the human body. An earache, for example, is not treated as a pain with an analgesic; it is treated with the modifications in diet to bring the Vata element into balance. Naturally, then, food too has been analyzed in detail in Ayurveda. They are also categorized based on the Pancha bhuta combination. That which is sweet is a combination of earth and water; e.g., wheat, sugar, milk, rice, dates. That which is sour is a combination of earth and fire; e.g., yogurt, lemon, tamarind. Salty stuff means water and fire; e.g., sea salt, rock salt, and kelp. When fire and air come together, it is pungent; e.g., onion, radish, ginger, chilly. That which is bitter is a combination of air and ether; e.g., bitter melon. Astringents are a combination of air and earth; e.g., plantain, apples. Food is also categorized based on the heat it generates in the body after consumption. Some foods act as coolants. Those that taste bitter generally do. Sour, salty, and pungent generally produce heat. The understanding of food in all its aspects is called rasa. Raw foods and juices are magnificent in that they are cleansing and energizing.

SPROUTS AS IDEAL FOOD

Sprouts are especially wonderful because they contain large amounts of enzymes and nourishment, which help with digestion, and assimilation of nutrients. Some of the spicier sprouts help to destroy and eliminate toxins in the system known as ama in Ayurveda. Fenugreek sprouts can even help in cases of seminal debility. In general, raw food is very cold and hard to digest in the Vedic sense as it releases its prana or nourishing life-giving energy in the upper portion of the body between the mouth and the stomach. This gives quick, short-term energy, but not long-term tissue building nourishment.

OTHER FOOD GRAINS

Well-cooked grains, beans, and vegetables release their prana in the colon. This provides long-term tissue building energy. However, these energies cannot be released from complex carbohydrates without the assistance of enzymes. A clean intestinal tract is also essential for proper absorption. Triphala (the three fruits), used in Ayurveda, is one of the best colon cleansers because it strengthens and tones the muscle action of the colon. It does not cause laxative dependency by doing the work for the colon. Ayurvedic cooking uses certain herbs and spices to help stimulate the body to produce its own digestive enzymes.

BRANCHES OF AYURVEDA

Therapeutics, surgical knowledge, treatment of diseases of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, oral cavity and throat, knowledge of mental diseases and diseases of supernatural origin, knowledge of infantile disorders and care of young children, toxicology, knowledge of tonics and processes of arresting process of mental and physical decay and the knowledge of virilifics are the eight branches in Ayurveda.