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Principles of Ayurveda
An individual comprises of a bundle of 'spirits' is the premise on which the philosophy of Ayurveda is based. Through the Satwa or subjective consciousness, the spirit expresses itself, through the sense organs and mind. The physical body, an embodiment of the spirit and mind is created from the five great elements (Pancha) (maha) (bhutas) – together called the Panchamahabhutas.
Ayurveda states everything in this life is composed of the Panchamahabhutas – earth (prithvi), water (jal), fire (agni or tej), air (vayu) and ether or space (akash). Omnipresent, they are mixed in an infinite variety of relative proportions with each form of matter. The universe is a composition of all these elements. Ayurveda comprehends body, mind and spirit and likewise has specific working procedure for each.
Within the human being, akash – space, corresponds to spaces within the body (mouth, nostrils, abdomen etc.); vayu – air, denotes the movement (essentially muscular); agni – fire, controls the functioning of enzymes (intelligence, digestive system, metabolism); jal – water, is in all body fluids (as plasma, saliva, digestive juices); and prithvi manifests itself in the solid structure of the body (bones, teeth, flesh, hair).
The Panchmahabhutas serve the foundation of diagnosis and treatment in Ayurveda. They serve a most valuable theory for physicians to detect and successfully treat the body and mind.
The physical condition and health of the body are governed by the Bhutas that combine into "tridoshas" or bioenergetic forces. The three gunas (Rajas or activity, Tamas or inertia and Satwa which balances the first two) or psychic forces determine the mental and spiritual health. Ayurveda is thus a holistic system of optimum health care that educates to balance the energies.
The Tridoshas (tri meaning three and doshas being the basic physical energies) are the primary and essential factors that govern the entire human body. Each dosha is a combination of any two of the five bhutas( Panchmahabhutas ) that cannot be detected by the senses. Called Vata, Pitta and Kapha in Sanskrit, these are responsible for all the physiological and psychological processes within the body and mind. These are the dynamic forces that determine growth and decay. Physical characteristics, mental capacity and emotional tendency of a human being can be explained in terms of the tridoshas.
Ayurvedic science lays more emphasis on the maintenance and promotion of total health - mental and physical.. The daily schedule described in Ayurveda exerts positive effect on the health of individuals.
The three forces comprised in the body are:
1.Vata, air and space - rules mental mobility
2.Pitta, fire and water - governs digestion and assimilation on all levels from food to ideas
3.Kapha, earth and water - governs form and substance and responsible for weight, cohesion and stability.
These three are responsible for proper health and harmony in the body. The imbalance in the equilibrium of these three results in diseases. The basic concept of Ayurveda is to bring back the harmony or equilibrium in physiological limits by administration of specific diets and drugs.
Each dosha too has an inherent ability to regulate and balance itself from the antagonistic qualities that arise. If the doshas are in a state of equilibrium, one remains healthy. Any imbalance within the three results in disease.
The three doshas within a person constantly fluctuate due to the doshic qualities of specific lifestyle and environment constituting time and season. They are the different aspects of the same energy present in an infinite variety of combinations resulting in the overlapping and interrelating of their qualities.
A myth always associated with Ayurveda is its slow acting therapy. It could definitely be slow in comparison to allopathic drugs but if accurately diagnosed with precise measures, the results could be instant. |
