ayus and vedaAyurveda (Sanskrit: आयुर्वेद; Āyurveda, "the knowledge for long life") or ayurvedic medicine is a Hindu system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic periodin India, i.e., in the mid-second millennium BCE. The Suśruta Saṃhitā and the Charaka Saṃhitā, encyclopedias of medicine compiled from various sources from the mid-first millennium BCE to about 500 CE, are among the foundational works of Ayurveda. Over the following centuries, ayurvedic practitioners developed a number of medicinal preparations and surgical procedures for the treatment of various ailments.[5] Current practices derived (or reportedly derived) from Ayurvedic medicine are regarded as part of complementary and alternative medicine.
Safety concerns have been raised about Ayurveda, with two U.S. studies finding about 20 percent of Ayurvedic Indian-manufactured patent medicines contained toxic levels of heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic. Other concerns include the use of herbs containing toxic compounds and the lack of quality control in Ayurvedic facilities. Approach
The three doṣas and the 5 elements from which they are composed. At an early period, Ayurveda adopted the physics of the "five elements" (Devanāgarī: [महा] पञ्चभूत); earth (Pṛthvī), water (Jala), fire (Agni), air (Vāyu) and space (Ākāśa) that compose the universe, including the human body. Ayurveda describes seven types of tissues of the body, known as the saptadhātu (Devanāgarī: सप्तधातु). They are plasma (rasa dhātu), blood (rakta dhātu), flesh (māṃsa dhātu), adipose (medha dhātu), bone (asthi dhātu), marrow and nervous (majja dhātu), and reproductive (semen or female reproductive tissue) (śukra dhātu). Ayurvedic literature deals elaborately with measures of healthful living during the entire span of life and its various phases. Ayurveda stresses a balance of three elemental energies or humors: Vāyu / vāta (air & space – "wind"), pitta (fire & water – "bile") andkapha (water & earth – "phlegm"). According to ayurvedic medical theory, these three substances — doṣas (Devanāgarī: दोष)—are important for health, because when they exist in equal quantities, the body will be healthy, and when they are not in equal amounts, the body will be unhealthy in various ways. One ayurvedic theory asserts that each human possesses a unique combination of doṣas that define that person's temperament and characteristics. Another view, also present in the ancient literature, asserts that humoral equality is identical to health, and that persons with preponderances of humours are proportionately unhealthy, and that this is not their natural temperament. In ayurveda, unlike the Sāṅkhya philosophical system, there are 20 fundamental qualities, guṇa (Devanāgarī: गुण, meaning qualities) inherent in all substances. While surgery and surgical instruments were employed from a very early period, Ayurvedic theory asserts that building a healthy metabolic system, attaining good digestion, and proper excretion lead to vitality. Ayurveda also focuses on exercise, yoga, and meditation.
The practice of panchakarma (Devanāgarī: पंचकर्म) is a therapeutic way of eliminating toxic elements from the body. As early as the Mahābhārata, ayurveda was called "the science of eight components" (Skt. aṣṭāṅga, Devanāgarī: अष्टांग), a classification that became canonical for ayurveda. They are: Internal medicine (Kāya-cikitsā) Paediatrics (Kaumārabhṛtyam) Surgery (Śalya-cikitsā) Opthalmology and ENT (Śālākya tantra) Psychiatry has been called Bhūta vidyā .[3] Toxicology (Agadatantram) Prevention of diseases and improving immunity and rejuvenation (rasayana) Fertility therapies to improve health of progeny (Vajikaranam) In Hindu mythology, the origin of ayurvedic medicine is attributed to Dhanvantari, the physician of the gods. Practices
Several philosophers in India combined religion and traditional medicine—notable examples being that of Hinduism and ayurveda. Shown in the image is the philosopher Nagarjuna—known chiefly for his doctrine of the Madhyamaka (middle path)—who wrote medical works The Hundred Prescriptions and The Precious Collection, among others.
Balance
Hinduism and Buddhism have been an influence on the development of many of ayurveda's central ideas – particularly its fascination with balance, known in Buddhism as Madhyathmaka (Devanāgarī: माध्यात्मिक). Balance is emphasized; suppressing natural urges is seen to be unhealthy, and doing so claimed to lead to illness. However, people are cautioned to stay within the limits of reasonable balance and measure. For example, emphasis is placed on moderation of food intake, sleep, sexual intercourse.
Diagnosis
Ayurvedic practitioners approach diagnosis by using all five senses.[18] Hearing is used to observe the condition of breathing and speech.[10] The study of the lethal points or marman marma is of special importance.[11] Ayurvedic doctors regard physical and mental existence together with personality as a unit, each element having the capacity to influence the others. One of the fundamental aspects of ayurvedic medicine is to take this into account during diagnosis and therapy.
Hygiene. Hygiene is a central practice of ayurvedic medicine. Hygienic living involves regular bathing, cleansing of teeth, skin care, and eye washing. Treatments. Head massage is used to apply oils. Ayurveda stresses the use of plant-based medicines and treatments. Hundreds of plant-based medicines are employed, includingcardamom and cinnamon. Some animal products may also be used, for example milk, bones, and gallstones. In addition, fats are used both for consumption and for external use. Minerals, including sulfur, arsenic, lead, copper sulfate and gold are also consumed as prescribed. This practice of adding minerals to herbal medicine is known as rasa shastra. In some cases, alcohol was used as a narcotic for the patient undergoing an operation. The advent of Islam introduced opium as a narcotic. Both oil and tar were used to stop bleeding. Traumatic bleeding was said to be stopped by four different methods: ligation of the blood vessel; cauterisation by heat; using different herbal or animal preparations locally which could facilitate clotting; and different medical preparations which could constrict the bleeding or oozing vessels. Various oils could be used in a number of ways, including regular consumption as a part of food, anointing, smearing, head massage, and prescribed application to infected areas. Srotas. Ensuring the proper functions of channels (srotas) that transport fluids from one point to another is a vital goal of ayurvedic medicine, because the lack of healthy srotas is thought to cause rheumatism, epilepsy, autism, paralysis, convulsions, and insanity. Practitioners induce sweating and prescribe steam-based treatments as a means to open up the channels and dilute the doshas that cause the blockages and lead to disease. History
The mantra Om mani padme hum written on rocks. Chanting mantras has been a feature of ayurveda since the Atharvaveda, the vedic spiritual text, was compiled.
One view of the early history of ayurveda asserts that around 1500 BC, ayurveda's fundamental and applied principles got organized and enunciated. In this historical construction, Ayurveda traces its origins to the Vedas, Atharvaveda in particular, and is connected to Hindu religion. Atharvaveda (one of the four most ancient books of Indian knowledge, wisdom and culture) contains 114 hymns or formulations for the treatment of diseases. Ayurveda originated in and developed from these hymns. In this sense, ayurveda is considered by some to have divine origin. Indian medicine has a long history, and is one of the oldest organised systems of medicine. Its earliest concepts are set out in the sacred writings called the Vedas, especially in the metrical passages of the Atharvaveda, which may possibly date as far back as the 2nd millennium BC. According to a later writer, the system of medicine was received by Dhanvantari from Brahma, and Dhanvantari was deified as the god of medicine. In later times his status was gradually reduced, until he was credited with having been an earthly king[10] named Divodasa. Cataract in human eye – magnified view seen on examination with a slit lamp. Cataract surgery was known to the physician Sushruta in the early centuries of the first millennium AD, and was performed with a special tool called the jabamukhi salaka, a curved needle used to loosen the obstructing phlegm and push it out of the field of vision. The eye would later be soaked with warm butter and then bandaged. Underwood & Rhodes (2008) hold that this early phase of traditional Indian medicine identified "fever (takman), cough, consumption, diarrhea, dropsy, abscesses, seizures, tumours, and skin diseases (including leprosy)". Treatment of complex ailments, including angina pectoris,diabetes, hypertension, and stones, also ensued during this period. Plastic surgery,couching (a form of cataract surgery), puncturing to release fluids in the abdomen, extraction of foreign elements, treatment of anal fistulas, treating fractures, amputations, cesarean sections, and stitching of wounds were known. The use of herbs and surgical instruments became widespread. The Charaka Samhita text is arguably the principal classic reference. It gives emphasis to the triune nature of each person: body care, mental regulation, and spiritual/consciousness refinement. Other early works of ayurveda include the Charaka Samhita, attributed to Charaka. The earliest surviving excavated written material which contains references to the works of Sushruta is the Bower Manuscript, dated to the 6th century AD. The Bower manuscript is of special interest to historians due to the presence of Indian medicine and its concepts in Central Asia. Vagbhata, the son of a senior doctor by the name of Simhagupta, also compiled his works on traditional medicine. Early ayurveda had a school of physicians and a school of surgeons. Tradition holds that the text Agnivesh tantra, written by the sage Agnivesh, a student of the sage Bharadwaja, influenced the writings of ayurveda. The Chinese pilgrim Fa Hsien (ca. 337–422 AD) wrote about the health care system of the Gupta empire (320–550) and described the institutional approach of Indian medicine, also visible in the works of Charaka, who mentions a clinic and how it should be equipped.Madhava (fl. 700), Sarngadhara (fl. 1300), and Bhavamisra (fl. 1500) compiled works on Indian medicine. The medical works of both Sushruta and Charaka were translated into the Arabic language during the Abbasid Caliphate (ca. 750). These Arabic works made their way into Europe via intermediaries. In Italy, the Branca family of Sicily and Gaspare Tagliacozzi (Bologna) became familiar with the techniques of Sushruta. British physicians traveled to India to see rhinoplasty being performed by native methods. Reports on Indian rhinoplasty were published in the Gentleman's Magazine in 1794. Joseph Constantine Carpue spent 20 years in India studying local plastic surgery methods. Carpue was able to perform the first major surgery in the western world in 1815. Instruments described in the Sushruta Samhita were further modified in the Western World. Initiate Ayurveda™
Anjani Helen Gregoriou m: +61 (0)423 550 668 e: initiate.ayurveda@gmail.com w: www.InitiateAyurveda.Com a: Coogee, 2000 NSW Australia |
|