Ayurveda-Indian Medicine
Ayurveda originated in India long back in pre-vedic period. Rigveda and Atharva-veda ( 5000 years B.C.), the earliest documented ancient Indian knowledge have references on health and diseases.
Does the word Ayurveda mean "Science of Life"?.
It deals elaborately with measures for healthful living during the entire span of life and its various phases. Besides, dealing with principles for maintenance of health, it has also developed a wide range of therapeutic measures to combat illness. These principles of positive health and therapeutic measures relate to physical, mental, social and spiritual welfare of human beings. Thus Ayurveda becomes one of the oldest systems of health care dealing with both the preventive and curative aspects of life in a most comprehensive way.
During its early period, it was perhaps the only system of overall healthcare and medicine which served well the people in such crucial areas as health, sickness, life and death modern era Then followed a long period of medieval history marked by unsettled political conditions and several invasions from outside the country when Ayurveda faced utter neglect. Its growth was stunted, its teaching and training were stopped from being spread and its monopoly in practice or utilization was eroded greatly by the officially supported systems. Ayurveda barely survived because of its native roots and also because the official systems of medicine could not reach everywhere particularly in widely scattered and difficult rural areas.
The political situation of the country was destined to change in favour of freedom from foreign rule. With the awakening of nationalism and movement for freedom the Indian cultural values and way of life (including health care and sickness cure systems) surfaced again. The patriotic zeal of the people, their leaders and benevolence of the rulers of princely States initiated the revival of Ayurvedic system of medicine even before the country got its freedom After, the country became free in 1947, the movement for revival gained additional momentum. The first Health Ministers? Conference resolved that Ayurveda should be developed and put to use for providing medicare to the people. In due course of time this system got official recognition and became a part of the National Health network of the country..
Ayurveda is also considered as "Science of life". This probably makes it the earliest medical science having a positive concept of health to be achieved through a blending of physical, mental, social moral and spiritual welfare.
Ayurveda deals elaborately with measures of healthful living during the entire span of life and its various phases. Besides dealing with principles for maintenance of health, it has also developed a wide range of therapeutic measures to combat illness. These principles of positive health and therapeutic measures related to physical, mental, social and spiritual welfare of human beings. Thus Ayurveda became one of the oldest system of medicine dealing with both the preventive and curative aspects of life in a most comprehensive way.
According to Ayurveda, all objects in the universe including human body are composed of five basic elements (Panchamahabhutas) namely, earth, water, fire, air and vacuum The growth and development of the body matrix depends on its nutrition, i.e., on food. The food, in turn, is composed of the above five elements, which replenish or nourish the like elements of the body after the action of bio-fire (Agni). The tissues of the body are the structural whereas humours are physiological entities, derived from different combinations and permutations of Panchamahabhutas.
Health or sickness depends on the presence or absence of a balanced state of the total body matrix including the balance between its different constituents Both the intrinsic and extrinsic factors can cause disturbance in the natural equilibrium giving rise to disease. This loss of equilibrium can happen by dietary indiscrimination, undesirable habits and non-observance of rules of healthy living. Seasonal abnormalities, improper exercise or erratic application of sense organs and incompatible actions of the body and mind can also result in creating disturbance of the existing normal balance. The treatment consists of restoring the balance of disturbed body-mind matrix through regulating diet, correcting life-routine and behaviour, administration of drugs and resorting to preventive Panchkarma and Rasayana therapy.
In Ayuveda, diagnosis is always done of the patient as a whole. The physician takes a careful note of the patient?s internal physiological characteristics and mental disposition. He also studies such other factors as the affected bodily tissues, humours, the site at which the disease is located, patient?s resistance and vitality, his daily routine, dietary habits, the gravity of clinical conditions, condition of digestion and details of personal, social, economic and environmental situation of the patient. The diagnosis also involves the following examinations:
1.General physical examination
2.Pulse examination
3.Urine examination
4.Examination of the faeces
5.Examination of tongue and eyes
6.Examination of skin and ear including tactile and auditory functions
Treatment of the disease consists in avoiding causative factors responsible for disequilibrium of the body matrix or of any of its constituent parts through the use of Panchkarma procedures, medicines, suitable diet, activity and regimen for restoring the balance and strengthening the body mechanisms to prevent or minimize future occurrence of the disease.
For successful administration of a treatment four things are essential.
These are:
1.The physician
2.The medicaments
3.The nursing personnel
4.The patient
The physician comes first in order of importance. He must possess technical skill, scientific knowledge, purity and human understanding. The physician should use his knowledge with humility, wisdom and in the service of humanity. Next in importance comes food and drugs. These are supposed to be of high quality,grown and prepared following approved procedures and should be available adequately. The third component of every successful treatment is the role of nursing personnel who should have good knowledge of nursing, must know the skills of their art and be affectionate, sympathetic, intelligent, neat & clean and resourceful. The fourth component is the patient himself who should be cooperative and obedient to follow instructions of the physician, able to describe ailments and ready to provide all that may be needed for treatment.
The treatment of disease can broadly be classified as
1.Purification Treatment
2.Palliative Treatment
3.Prescription of diet and activity
4.Avoidance of disease causing and aggravating factors
5.Psychotherapy
6.Rejuvenation medicines
In Ayurveda, regulation of diet as therapy has great importance. This is because it considers human body as the product of food. An individual?s mental and spiritual development as well as his temperament is influenced by the quality of food consumed by him. Thus, food is basic to all the metabolic transformations and life activities. Lack of nutrients in the food leads to a variety of disease conditions.
India has moved forwards in advocating global usefulness of Ayurveda contemporary scenario of health care through global net works. As a result many foreign countries have began looking to India for understanding Ayurveda and incorporating it through education, research and practice to meet the overwhelming desire of people all over the world to access alternative Medicine.
After the treatment is over, do not fail to visit the famous Navagragha temples of Tamilnadu which are found in a close cluster around Kumbakonam in south Tamil Nadu! Nowhere in India do we find all the navagragha temples in such close proxmity from each other, so that it is very easy to complete the Navagragha Tour in about three days. Contact TTDC for further information!
