What is Ayurveda?
Posted by bmhegde on 1
Ayurveda (Ayu(Sanskrit)=life; vid or veda= wisdom or science) is the science of life practised time out of mind in India. It is a holistic science that deals with man in his environment and the strong inbuilt repair mechanism (immune system) that nature endows man with. Its main thrust is to preserve health; the latter being the birth right of every human being. “Swasthasya swastha rakshitham” –“keep the well healthy” as long as possible is the fundamental principle of Ayurveda. It is basically a wellness concept in contrast to modern medicine, which is an illness concept. Whereas the modern whole body scanner would, per force, declare everyone unwell, the philosophy of Ayurveda is that man is healthy unless proved otherwise. Disease, in the Ayurvedic concept, is only an accident. Human body usually has the in-built capacity to correct most, if not all, the deviations. In the unlikely event of the repair mechanism failing only, does the doctor need to intervene.
The other salient feature of Ayurveda is that it classifies human beings into three genetico-constitutional types-vaata, pitta, and kapha. The classification takes into account the person’s phenotypical features, his mental make up, as also his genetic background to some extent. This classification permits better matching of groups for controlled studies in medical research. The description of the genetic features starting from the chromosomes and genes to their manifestations is quite exhaustive in Ayurveda and goes back thousands of years in history.
Body’s immune system and its vital role in health is the main thrust in Ayurveda. The major periodic management method, panchakarma-the five procedures, helps rejuvenate the immune system to keep the man healthy. Yoga, mainly praanaayaama-control over breathing that makes the mind tranquil, is another important health preserving technique in Ayurveda. Modern quantum physics agrees with the new concept of “mode locking,” whereby the most dominant rhythm in the body, breathing, controls all other rhythms. Both the circadian and ultradian rhythms are under the control of our breathing. The only rhythm in the human system that is outside the twenty-four hour cycle, the infradian rhythm, is the menstrual cycle in a woman. The latter gets its stimulus from the moon’s gravitational force on the cortical cells.1
The importance of diet in health is another area where Ayurveda scores over our modern medical thinking. While the science of nutrition in modern medicine is only incremental, Ayurveda looks at food as an integral part of health and prescribes foods for different seasons, human types, as also emotional changes. The stress is on moderation in food intake. The food preparation is also given due importance stressing the need to take fresh fruits and vegetables as the main part of human diet, a fact now being recognized in modern medicine also.
Ayurvedic surgery and the need for the practitioner to have a very detailed knowledge of human anatomy are other areas to note. Shushruta, the father of surgery, used to do major surgical operations in his time around 400 BC. He had described nearly 127 surgical instruments, some of which are used even by modern surgeons. Rhinoplasty, first described by Shushruta, is useful even today. It was the commonest surgery in those days since the punishment for adultery was cutting off the man’s nose.
Herbal drug therapy is another area of interest in Ayurveda. Whereas modern medicine relies on the extracts of the plants (like alkaloids), Ayurveda believes in the whole plant product for therapy. This is very useful if one realizes the harm done by the reductionst science in therapeutics. Consequently, Ayurvedic drugs rarely have side effects. Herbs are described for various illnesses and the details of their harvesting are also taken care of in Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia. Plants are grouped together based on their photodynamicity. The drug preparations are described in detail.2
The description of diseases, their pathology and symptomatology and, even the minutiae of human physiology, are so exhaustively studied that it needs to be seen to be believed. One or two examples are in order. The accurate description of myocardial ischaemic pain is unbelievable in its detail. The physiology of the heart’s action in both sucking blood into the atria and its systolic pumping get recorded very well. The pivotal role that the human mind plays in health and disease is no where better appreciated than in Ayurveda. The only disease that mankind has been able to eradicate, smallpox, was achieved through vaccination whose origin was in Ayurveda. This authenticated Edward Jenner’s anecdotal experience with James Phipps. T.Z.Holwell FRCP.FRS studied the Indian system of vaccination for twenty long years in The Bengall and reported back to the Royal College in 1747.3
Here, then, is a system of medical care, which concentrates more on preserving health and treating diseases only when the need arises. As it is not technology based this could be a very good adjuvant to modern medicine except for emergency care. A judicious mix of the two systems could bring down medical care delivery costs to make most people access care all over the world. The emergency needs are about ten per cent of the sick population and the majority of ninety per cent could be helped using Ayurvedic inexpensive methods. Time has come for all of us to give this suggestion a serious thought for doing most good to most people most of the time. The gold mine of data in this system should be audited using modern scientific methods of enquiry as suggested in the article. Since there is a demand for prioritization of the complementary systems of medicine for evaluation here is the suggestion to try the time tested system in vogue in India for time out of mind.
References
1) Hegde BM. Modern Medicine and Quantum Physics. Kuwait. Med. J 2003; 35:1-3.
2) Valiathan MS. The legacy of Caraka. 2003. Orient Longman’s Chennai, India.
3) Hegde BM. Vaccination in India J. Assoc. Physi. India 1998; 46: 472-473.