Basics of Ayurveda for Modern Man
Mainstream medicine prevalent in today’s world has taken precedence over other medical practices developed in the history of mankind because modern man believes that mainstream medicine has answers to all human ailments due to the amount of recent research in the various areas of Modern Medicine especially, Pharmacology and Pathology. Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry(to an extent) are areas that have been established both in Modern Medicine and older Medical Sciences like Ayurveda. Although modern day illnesses differ from the illnesses of the olden times, the ancient Pathological findings and remedies still hold. Ancient wisdom and practices in the area of Pharmacology also have relevance to modern-day man.
Through this article, I would like to delve into the basis and reasoning of the fundamental concepts of Ayurvedic medicine and explain why it is still valid to study and apply the principles of this ancient science in the modern times. Through this and my subsequent articles, I would like to attempt to dispel the common myth that Ayurveda cannot be understood by modern man and that the basis of treatment is only based on herbs and wellness-spas. The common doubt in the minds of modern man about Ayurveda is about the mode of measurements. Although measurements in ancient Ayurveda were through intuitive means, I would like to talk about how modern techniques can supplement the ancient Ayurvedic wisdom to decrease human mortality.
To understand Ayurveda, we need to understand and respect the Spiritual basis of the science. In modern world, man talks about Spirituality and Science as two separate streams — one that is obscure and indeterminate and the other that is methodical and tangible. The beauty of the Universe we see around us lies in the amount of knowledge we still don’t understand. Ancient seers had, through their intuitive grasp of the axiomatic principles of the Universe and life on earth, developed an unimaginably great level of percipience that we tend to ignore today in the modern times.
The two ancient texts that were written between 5000 B.C to 2000 B.C (the dates differ in different sources) — the Sushruta Samhita and Charaka Samhita along with Ashtanga Hrudaya, a treatise written by a Buddhist physician named Vagbhata between 4000 AD and 5000 A.D, form the foundations of Ayurveda. All these texts are written in Sanskrit verses and have English translations today. These texts(samhita) have volumes (sthana) and chapters that deal with various areas of medicine ranging from anatomy, physiology, surgery, pathology(bodily and mental ailments), pharmacology and medicine, treatment methods etc.
Unlike Modern Medicine, Ayurveda is holistic. What it means to be holistic is that the cause and effect of mental and physical ailments are said to be connected and are dealt with together during prevention and treatment. The reason this is so, is that what affects the mind affects the body and vice versa. To understand this further, we need to know about the concepts of Prakriti and Purusha as expounded by the Vedas and the Upanishads (that are ancient Hindu texts). Although the complex concepts of Prakriti and Purusha have diversified over time, in Ayurveda they have understandable definitions.
Purusha is that constant and unchangeable witness to creation that is beyond all attributes. All beings (living and non-living) in this Universe rest in this unchanging witness called the chetana or awareness. However, Purusha is different from Brahman(the all-pervading) but that discussion is beyond the subject scope of this article. Prakriti manifests itself as the primal creative or natural force that is the psychosomatic constitution or the mind-body type of individuals (Prakriti is the context of both living and non-living). Prakriti in the material world is that which determines one’s nature, physical and psychological character, constitution, temper and disposition.
Energy and Matter in this Universe have been known from ancient times to be composed of five elements — Earth, Air, Water, Fire and Ether. Many ancient cultures in Persia, Greece, Babylonia, Japan, Tibet, India, China etc have independently named these as Classical Elements. In Ayurveda, Prakriti is defined as the natural proportion of these elements. On the physical level, Prakriti is a mix of three doshas (Vata, Pitta and Kapha) and on the mental level, it is a mix of three gunas(Tamas, Rajas and Sattva). The complex nature and properties of the “mind” that is a spiritual concept is beyond the scope of this article.
Vata Dosha comprises of Ether and Air elements and exhibits as certain characteristics and properties of Ether and Air. Pitta Dosha comprises of fire and water elements and exhibits the qualities of these elements. Similarly Kapha Dosha comprises of water and earth elements and exhibits the in-born characteristics of these basic elements.
An individual born in this world is said to have an innate nature or Prakriti (a mix of the three doshas) that is determined during his or her conception (precisely at the time of the fusion of sperm and ovum). The Prakriti or innate nature of a person does not change during his or her lifetime. Prakriti is your genetically inherited physical and emotional qualities. It is determined by the quality of sperm and ovum, time/season of fertilization, nutrition of mother and health of uterus.
What changes during the lifespan of an individual is the balance of the tridoshas, also on the mental level, the balance of the trigunas. The passage of time always causes the balance of the tridoshas and trigunas to change. However, if an excessive imbalance of one or more doshas and gunas occurs over a long period of time, it causes illnesses and diseases in human body and mind.
The root cause of all illnesses is said to be due to three main reasons — 1. Prajnaparadha (mistake of the intellect) 2. Asatmayendriyartha samyoga (or wrong use of senses) 3. Kala (Change in environmental, climatic or age factors). When treating illnesses in Ayurveda, practitioners recommend correcting the above three influences by espousing wisdom and techniques to balance the trigunas and the tridoshas. An Ayurvedic practitioner, through patient interaction, examination and touch finds out the Vikruti (or prominent imbalance of the dosha elements) that dominates a person with certain illnesses and corrects that imbalance through Ayurvedic herbs, yoga, diet, life-style, Ayurvedic treatments like the “Panchakarma”, colour therapy, massage therapy, oils, scents etc.
Sushruta is considered the father of Surgery and his principles are adopted in modern surgery. However in the modern ages, Ayurveda has done no work in the area of surgery (I will talk about surgical techniques in Ayurveda another time). Hence modern man would benefit by bringing in a mix of Ayurveda and Modern medicine to enhance his or her longevity. Following only one of these areas and shunning the other as either outdated or excessively intrusive is not going to help. For drastic illnesses, Ayurveda can in fact do so less compared to modern medicine and at the same time, modern medicine and pharmaceutical practices have plagued the modern world due to the changing directives of physicians and the modern medical community of what is considered good or bad for the body and mind and the corruption of the money-minting pharmaceutical and insurance industry.
For human beings to place faith in physicians, care-giving and transparency should be the priority of the medical community. Modern medicine doctors should be more available and transparent and Alternative medicine (a term in modern age for all ancient medical practices) practitioners should be more transparent and knowledgeable.
My next article will delve deeper into what the Tri-doshas are, how they are characterized, how Prakriti and Vikruti are determined and how treatment is chosen based on Prakriti and Vikruti of a person.
