Ayurveda & India
Why is Ayurveda relevant now
Treatment is personalised to the individual, acknowledging the range in our physiology. Ayurveda offers healing and relief without side effects and provides alternatives to what has been an overuse or inappropriate use of Antibiotics. Ayurveda's core philosophy is to protect, heal and strengthen both the patient and the source of our medicine, Earth. Ayurveda can and does support successful Allopathic (modern medicine) treatment. Ayurveda, Yoga and Vedanta have profound insights and steps to support behavioural change and mental health, a still struggling treatment system in our culture.
How it works
At its core, Ayurveda is the science of cause and effect, based on the interaction of the five elements and their promotion or demotion of digestive fire. Ayurveda has constructed lifestyle habits, use of foods and herbs that with consistent practice support balance of the mind, body, and spirit, this balance being the key to good health. Ayurveda also employs internal cleansing systems to remove stored toxins from the body and increase overall wellbeing and longevity.
A bit of History
Ayurveda is the result of a group of Sages from 10,000 years ago, who wanted to bring the gift of healing to humanity.
Near the banks of the Indus and Saraswati Rivers, what is now Pakistan and North-West India, there thrived from 7,000 BC (possibly earlier) to around 2,000 BC, what is known as the Indus-Saraswati Civilisation or Harappan Civilisation. This makes the Indus-Saraswati Civilisation older than Mesopotamia or Egypt. Here was the wellspring of the Vedas, which included Ayurveda. Ayurveda began as an oral tradition, with written record sometime around 3000 BC. In 2000 BC, due to various environmental changes, the Saraswati River dried up. As a result, the people of the Indus-Saraswati Civilisation migrated all over India, bringing Vedic knowledge and traditions with them. Classical texts include Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita and Ashtanga Hridayam, to name a few. Ayurveda has traditionally been practiced in tandem with Yoga and Vedanta Philosophy. Translated, Ayurveda means life wisdom.
The people of the Indus-Saraswati Civilisation have also been referred to as "The Aryans," this is not wrong. However, aryan is a Sanskrit word to indicate a person of noble thought and action. Aryan has never referred to a race of people, except in the case of Hitler's appropriation of the false Aryan theory. Originally, Max Muller popularised the false theory of the Aryans being a race foreign to India and displacing the native Dravidians as a part of the British smear campaign. The theory of Aryans being a foreign race of invaders has since been refuted.
In 5th century BC, Persia came as the first foreign invader to India. Subsequent invasions were to follow, leading to a 1000 years of enslavement; India only gaining independence as recently as 1947. After the British takeover in the 19th Century, Max muller, a German Sanskrit scholar, was handsomely compensated by the East India Company to translate the Vedas in such a way as to discredit them in the eyes of the Hindu people. This was meant to support justification for rulership by the Britishers, increase receptivity to Christianity and create social divide to advance the British political agenda. India's 1000 year occupation lead to subversion of indigenous knowledge and tradition, contributing to the West's continued misinformation on the history and culture of India.
Sometimes I am asked, "Why, if Ayurveda is so effective, is it not recognised by the World Health Organisation." (March 2022 WHO established a centre for the research and promotion of traditional medicine in India, including Ayurveda.)My opinion is that as India is slowly rising and regaining her feet, so is knowledge of Ayurveda. I expect and hope to see protection and regulation of Ayurveda and formal acknowledgement of this incredible Science, that I believe, can support the efficacy of medicine going forward.
Thank you to Shri Daya Prakash Sinha for promoting correction to a false history.