Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
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Renaissance of Ayurveda
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treasures, not only for the sake of India, but for the sake of
the whole universe at large.
Ayurveda has immense potentialities. Even today it is
used by 80 per cent of the population in India. Ayurvedic
drugs are cheap, easy to obtain and administer and are more
effective, too.
Look at the marvels of Ayurveda!
Bhasmas even in the smallest quantity work wonders and
cure incurable diseases.
Kaya Kalpa is another marvel of Ayurvedic science.
Nadi Vijnana is a third wonder.
Diagnosis of diseases through facial and eye expressions,
odours, sounds, etc., is astounding. Finding of incurability or
otherwise of diseases through Til oil examination is also
wonderful.
Doctrines of Tridoshas, Mahabhutas, Rasa, Vipaka,
Veerya, Prabhava, etc., are thought provoking.
The Ayurvedic system is still alive after centuries of
vicissitudes. Even now there are institutions, doing wonderful
work; this clearly indicates that it has a vitality and natural
root in India. All that is required is proper encouragement.
What is necessary for the growth of Ayurveda at the
present moment is standardisation of quality, methods of
administration, ways of manufacturing and the degree of
potency.
The establishment of an All-India Ayurvedic University is
an important constructive work in India. It should be taken
up by the State at once.
The Ayurvedic Pandits, all workers in the science,
sympathisers and lovers of Ayurveda must co-operate,
collaborate, co-ordinate to organise themselves and help in
the establishment of this University.
This will bring about uniformity in Ayurvedic education
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Chapter II
A YU RVEDIC ETH IC S
According to Charaka the fruits of extremely wicked
deeds cannot be checked by the normal efforts of good
conduct. The fruits of all ordinary actions can be checked by
good conduct, the administration of proper medicines and
the like.
You may have fallen ill according to the effects of your
ordinary Karma; but if you take due care, you may avoid such
effects and may still be in good health.
Charaka does not speak of the immutability of ripe
Karmas. He says that the effects of all Karmas excepting
those which are extremely strong, can be modified or
combated by good conduct, efforts and' the observance of the
ordinary daily duties of life.
He says that a man must carefully judge and anticipate
the utility of his actions before he begins to do it. He must
judge whether the action will be good for him or not. If the
effects are beneficial for him, he ought to do it. If they are
harmful, he should not do it.
Our ultimate standard of good actions lies in seeking our
own good. To achieve this, the mind and the senses should be
disciplined properly and kept under proper control.
He further adds that the proper means of keeping the
mind in the virtuous path consists in avoiding too much
thinking, in not thinking of revolting objects and keeping the
mind ever busy or active.
Atma Hita or Self-good which is the end of all our
actions is that which bestows us pleasure, comfort, peace of
mind and longevity. Right conduct leads to the health and
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Chapter III
D O C T R IN E OF VATHA-PITTA-KAPHAS
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Vatha
Vatha is the most important of the three Doshas as it
performs the most useful functions. It is the first of the three
primal constituents of the living body. It upholds the
constituents of the body, such as blood, flesh, marrow, fat,
etc. Mind is checked from all undesirable objects. All the
parts of the body are pierced by Vatha. The foetus in the
womb is affected by Vatha.
Vatha is that secretion of the alimentary canal which
converts food into assimilable materials.
Pitta
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make the system foul, the Mala, and those which purify the
body and sustain it. They are the Prasada.
It is Vayu, Pitta and Kapha that are primarily responsible
for all kinds of morbidities of the body. For that reason they
are called Doshas. But these three (Vayu, Pitta and Kapha)
are also body constituents, i.e., Dhatus so long as they do not
exceed their proper measure. They are called Mala-dhatus.
Now Mala-dhatus and Prasada-dhatus must cooperate with
one another in sustaining the body. The Mala-dhatus must
function properly for sending out the waste products of the
body. The Prasada-dhatus must function for building up the
tissues etc., of the body. Thus Vayu, Pitta and Kapha are very
valuable. It is Vayu that contributes energy (Utsaha),
inhalation and exhalation (Uchvasa and Nishvasa), bodily
and mental movements (Cheshta) and ejective forces (Vegapravartana). Pitta helps the body by bringing about digestion,
giving the necessary amount of heat, helping the function of
sight, developing imagination (Medha), power of
understanding (Dhee), courage (Sourya) and giving softness
to the body. Kapha gives steadiness and smoothness and is
helpful for uniting the joints etc. Balhana, the commentator
on Sushruta, one of the classical authorities on Ayurveda,
says that Vayu is to be identified with Rajoguna, Pitta with
Sattva Guna and Kapha with Tamoguna. Of all these, it is the
Pitta which corresponds to the Sattva Guna that is most
powerful. Susruta says that Pitta is the fire in the body and
that there is no other fire than Pitta. It is situated between
the stomach (Amasaya) and the smaller intestines
(Pakvasaya) and it cooks all food and drink; it separates the
chyle on the one hand, the excreta and urine on the other.
Though it is situated in one place, it gets up proper activities
in other parts of the body. It does many functions and so has
many namesit cooks and so is Pachaka. It gives redness to
the blood and is, therefore, called Ranjaka. It serves
intellectual purposes in the heart and so is called Sadhaka; it
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