Ayurveda is the art-science of health care, from India. It has been preserved, developed and now being globalized. The founder of Ayurveda Lord Dhanvantari – manifested from the ocean, with Amrit (elixir of immortality) in one hand and Amrita (the plant-Tinospora cordifolia) in the other. From such an antiquity, India’s quest for healthy life style has centered around Nature and her rhythms. India’s seminal contribution to the world of science is not only the discovery of zero and the decimal system, it has also been in the field of health-giving foods, medicinal plants, animal products and minerals. The world is waking up to the vast pharmacopoeia of Ayurveda.
Ayurveda, like Vedas, has existed and has been committed to memory in India since prehistoric times. Ayurveda is the world’s oldest, most time-honored and holistic medical science. No comprehensive approach to healthcare can be complete without it! All of the world’s great medical traditions are deeply rooted in the 5,000-year-old practice of Ayurveda. Thousands of years before Hippocrates, Ayurvedic physicians were sewing up wounds, removing kidney stones and performing Caesarian sections and even plastic surgery! The Ayurvedic tradition of natural medicine has helped millions of people for the last 50 centuries and readily reveals to us secrets of healthy living through natural diet and lifestyle. Ayurveda shows us how to balance our life in harmony with nature’s rhythms and emphasizes the importance of tranquility of mind.
Ayurveda means literally “science of life”. It is a science, or way of knowledge about life, its powers and its resources. Yet Ayurveda is not a science artificially imposed upon living beings. Its basis is not found in mere chemistry, or in a mechanistic and materialistic view of the human body. Ayurveda is based upon a profound understanding of movement of the vital force and its manifestation within our entire psychophysical system.
As such, Ayurveda presents a striking alternative to the biochemical model of modern medicine, the limitations of which are becoming increasingly evident through time. We are not simply an accident or a design of chemistry but an expression of a living consciousness that is universal in nature. Reclaiming that connection with life as a whole is real basis of healing, not manipulating the life force with drugs, however useful they may be. While Western medicine focuses on identifying external pathogens and controlling disease from the outside, Ayurveda concentrates on the living individual and controlling disease through balancing the life-force within the person. We can no longer simply try to change our environment for health or happiness, as if manipulating the outer will make us feel better on an inner level. We must learn how to develop and improve ourselves and our own internal resources, including not only how we eat and exercise, but also how we breathe and how we think. Ayurveda shows us how to do this and provides us with the knowledge and methods to facilitate the process.
As the traditional medicine of the subcontinent of India, Ayurveda reflects the profound spiritual culture of the region. It is an integral part of Vedic sciences that includes Yoga, Vedanta, and Vedic Astrology. It brings us the entire culture, spiritual and natural wisdom of the Himalayan region with knowledge of how the great yogis and seers cultivated their bodies and mind, and interact with their environment, thus reaching the very source of creation in cosmic mind. This ancient and oriental Ayurveda is now spreading worldwide as one of the most important and innovative systems of mind-body medicine available today. Ayurveda is recognized by WHO (world health organization) as one of the most important medical tradition in the world, necessary for global health.
The current crises in health care, brought about by over reliance on chemical, mechanical and artificial treatment modalities, now demands the return of natural, life and soul affirmative system such as Ayurveda. Western medicine has become so expensive that it has drained out both our personal and national resources. Last year the United States spent more than $2.3 trillion on healthcare. Unless we re-learn the art of self-healing, we will be drowned in drugs, medical testing and chronic diseases that not only leave us unhealthy but also financially insecure. This new movement to self-healing is bound to be one of the most important developments in culture and in health care for the coming century.
However, Ayurveda is not only a system of medicine in the conventional sense of a methodology for treating diseases. It is a way of life that teaches us how to maintain health and improve both our energy and our awareness-how to live life to our full human and spiritual potential. Ayurveda shows us not only how to eliminate disease but how to promote longevity so that we can realize our goal in life, which not just gaining material happiness but achieving profound spiritual realization. Ayurveda remains linked to spiritual view of humanity and contain methods for connecting us to the greater universe that lies both within and around us.
Ayurvedic health management plan combines the key foundations of Ayurveda by stressing prevention and promoting preservation. Ayurveda is not an overnight process – rather it is a way of natural healing and life in harmony with nature. This plan gives the body, time to adjust and heal itself. While it is not humanly possible to do EVERYTHING right every day of you life. But you can improve dramatically by changing just one unhealthy habit. Focus on one habit at a time. Once you start feeling freer and more energetic as a result of your new habit, it will be easier to tackle the next one. Here are few Ayurvedic Feel Good Ideas called as “Achara Rasayana”. These are basically top Ayurvedic Behavioral Rasayanas. Behavioral Rasayanas (Achara Rasayanas) are behaviors that enhance health, happiness and longevity. They provide practical methods to effortlessly improve our ability to choose positive behavior and avoid making mistakes that cause ill-health and unhappiness.
* Speak the sweet truth. There is a saying from Vedic literature that goes, “satyam bruyat, priyam bruyat”, which means, “Speak the sweet truth”. Speaking truth creates Ojas in the body, the biochemical correlates of bliss and health. Speaking lies, on the other hand, creates ama, or impurities. But at the same time you should find pleasant way to convey the truthful message. It is important to find a way to tell the truth without hurting anyone.
* Stay free of anger. Anger is within everyone in seed form. Like a fire with small flame, if you put oil on it, it can flare up. By practicing unconditional forgiveness, you can prevent the seed of anger from becoming an uncontrollable wild fire. In practicing forgiveness, it’s also important to forgive yourself, or that anger will reflect to others. Anger also burns Ojas.
In the Mahabharata, the great Vedic epic that contains the Bhagvad Gita, there is a story of five noble brothers who are in exile. At one point they try to draw water from a stream, only to find that a divine spirit wants them to answer a number of questions first. One of those questions is what is more powerful than fire itself? None of the brothers can answer the question except Dharma, the eldest, who immediately answers, “Anger is more powerful than fire. Anger can destroy the world. That’s why it is important to prevent the seed of anger from flaring up.
* Be respectful to teachers and elders. Teachers and elders can teach us invaluable lessons by sharing their wisdom and experiences. It is easy to read a book to gain knowledge, but it is often difficult to apply that knowledge in daily life. Only wise elders can share such valuable experiences. They are the best guides. And it is when one respects teachers and elders that they will offer their advice freely.
* Gain Vedic knowledge. The Vedas contain pure knowledge, the knowledge of how to enliven pure consciousness and live an enlightened daily life. Listening to Vedic chanting, helps enhance coordination between heart and mind, senses and mind, and aligns our awareness with the laws of nature, so we can live a mistake-free life.
* Follow natural routine of rising before six a.m., and sleeping before ten at night. This allows your body and mind to become attuned with nature’s rhythms, creating maximum clarity and alertness during day and deep rest at night.
* Eat sattvic food such as milk, ghee, yogurt, lassi, dates, mango, walnuts, almonds. All of these foods are sattvic, meaning they are pure and convert easily to Ojas. They are ?Medhya?, supporting physical brain, and enhancing coordinating function of mental functions, such as dhi, dhriti and smruti (learning, retention and recall). When the mind remains strong, it is able to effortlessly command the senses. The mind that rules the senses, rather than the other way round, makes positive choices and engages in positive behaviors. Tamasic foods are opposite of Sattvic – they break down coordination between mind-body and inhibit the experience of pure consciousness. Tamasic food includes alcohol, red meat, leftovers, packaged food, garlic, onions, frozen food, food which have little life force.
One of the failings of modern culture is that it deprives us of the time that we need to take care of ourselves. We are caught in a process of expending energy but not renewing it. The responsibility is ours. Be respectful to your own life and give reverence to the Divine spirit within you.
Follow Ayurveda, Be the master your destiny!