Ayurveda & Health - Caring for Body, Mind & Soul - Entire cosmos has originated from the basic substances - The Panchmahabhutas (Sky, Air, Fire, Water & Earth). Ayurveda - The world's oldest science of healing, is the Divine-largess to humanity, for health and beauty care, is derived from the four principle Vedas: the Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and the Atharva Veda. It is not an alternative but the original science of healing, known to this world, which originated in the Indian subcontinent about 5000 years ago. Ayurveda is derived from two words, ayu (age & life) & veda (encyclopedia) and 'Charak Samhita' (An ancient Ayurvedic epic), expands upon this definition, telling us that ayu is the "combination of the body, sense organs, mind and soul", the factors responsible for preventing decay.
Ayurveda was based perfectly on empirical observations & practice rather than philosophy alone. The traditional medicines used in Ayurveda are of herbal, mineral & animal origin whose efficacy has already been proven, scientifically now. The "Perfect Health Philosophy" of Ayurveda believes and proposes that he who is in the habit of taking balanced & suitable food comprising of all essential nutritional elements, leads a perfect and happy life. The entire system of Ayurvedic treatment is based on correcting & balancing of Tridoshas (The three humors or the blemishes or the metabolic components of the body), Sapta-Dhatus (The seven physical elements of the body or the vital components) and Malas (The end product of elimination or the bodily excretas), which when get excited or vitiated, due to exogenous or endogenous causes including deficiency of nutritional ingredients, result in the impairment of body functions or disease. It may be trite but certainly a true remark that "we start dying the day we are born". The decay and degeneration, causing discomfort, disorder, disease or debility and ultimately culminating in death of the organism, are a part and parcel of our biological being. Charak Samhita signifies "Only that, which can bring about a cure, is a true medicine and only that who can relieve his patients of their ailments is the true physician" (Sutrasthanam, Chapter-I, Verse 134). Even an acute poison can become an excellent drug if it is properly processed & administered and on the other hand, even the most outstanding drug, if not properly processed & administered, becomes an acute poison.
Health & Ayurveda : At its simplest, HEALTH is the absence of physical and mental diseases. W.H.O. makes the description more wider by adding that "All people should have the opportunity to fulfil their genetic potential". This includes the ability to grow and develop physically and mentally without the impediments of inadequate nutrition or environment contamination, and to be protected as much as possible against infectious diseases.
Ayurveda had made this concept of Health even more wider (centuries ago) by describing Health as the perfect state of well-being of the organism when it functions optimally without evidence of disease or abnormality besides the balanceing of Physical, Physiological, Psychological, Sentimental & Spiritual functionings of living body.
According to Ayurveda, Debility can be described as generalized weakness and lack of energy, vigour or strength, which may be caused by various Physical or Physiological disorders. And when associated with Psychological, Sentimental or Spiritual-disorders, it also represents a lack of desire or ambition and loss of power or sensation along with non-specific symptoms like fatigability, insomnia, drowsiness, lethargy, unwanted anxiety, loss of appetite, lack of interest in personal or family matters etc.. All the cheerful pleasures of nature's greatest, priceless gift of Human life are solely dependent on the perfect state of Health. And in today's scientific & mechanical era of Space-age, the load of work & problems is increasing every moment which is getting burdensome & tiresome day by day, leading ultimately towards a dull life associated with unwanted debilities.
The fundamental concept of Ayurveda, emphasizes that a perfectly balanced diet containing all essential nutrients plays a vital role in maintaining a perfect state of Health. The basis of a good diet is variety because none of a single food contains all nutrients essential for Health. Ayurveda has stored in its vast treasure, a wide range of herbal formulations to supplement the nutritional deficiencies for maintaining a perfect state of health and fulfill the desires of Longevity.
Interestingly, without forgetting the principles of nature and theories of natural constitution, Ayurveda suggests innumerous recipes to supplement the body with such essential nutritional ingredients available from nature's own resources for the cure of or protection from diseases, because the basic motive of Ayurveda is to treat & cure the ailing & suffering, and maintain the health of healthy human beings. Truly speaking, treating with Ayurveda means worshiping the nature.
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