Ayurveda Wisdom Series-1

What is Ayurveda?

Ayu is the Sanskrit term for Life and Veda means wisdom. In a nutshell, it is an art and science about ‘how to live a healthy and happy life’ that too in a natural way.

What is the wisdom in it?

As seen and thought by many, it is not just a massage science or a herbal medicine alone. Ayurveda deals with many other aspects of life which can directly or indirectly influence our health and well being.

Ayurveda has two aims. One is to preserve and promote positive health and the other is to treat diseased person (note that it is not just treating the disease). Hence, it is useful for both healthy and the sick.

Ayurveda teaches about healthy eating, food, cooking, sleep habits, sexual life, pregnancy care, child care, healthy daily routine, seasonal regimen, rejuvenation, natural urges and such many factors for a healthy life and positive health.

On the other hand it also teaches about diseases, their causes, features, herbo-mineral medicines, cleansing procedures, rejuvenating procedures, diet advices, lifestyle advices and so on for a sick person.

A Glance into its History…

Ayurveda was originated in the Himalayas, snow covered mountains in the northern border of India, before 5000 years or more. It is believed to be a divine science given to mankind for the prevention of diseases and betterment of health. Since then, it was the only health care system available for many years and gradually different systems of medicines evolved with or without the influence of Ayurveda.

Ayurveda is mainly based on Atharvaveda and we find such healing practices being mentioned in other Veda's and other classical texts of Hindu tradition. Probably it was gradually developed by various sages and other herbal healers from villages/forests during those periods and was compiled by various scholars like Charaka, Sushruta, Vagbhata to become a systematic science of healing in the due course.

Somewhere in the mid eras of Ayurvedic propagation, it was suppressed due to colonisation, restrictions on practice, disbelieves and social stigmas and gradually disappeared from public usage. That was when probably, Kerala, a state of India, preserved Ayurveda as a family tradition and developed it by innovations and modifications up to date. Hence, the name ‘Kerala Ayurveda’ is very popular in today’s Ayurvedic world.

Ayurveda Now...

After Indian independence, gradually Ayurveda regained its popularity and developed into an institutional form by the formation of Indian Medical Central Council Act in 1970. Ayurveda underwent standardization and modifications from then to reach the present status.

Ayurveda is gaining popularity and presence at the global level. Now, there are many opportunities to study Ayurveda and become a professional in teaching, training, hospitals, clinics, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, spas and so on based on Ayurvedic certificate or graduation courses. Many universities and colleges in India and abroad, are offering various courses in Ayurveda.