Introduction
- The word Ayurveda derived from AYU and VEDA. AYU means life VEDA means science or knowledge. Ayurveda means the science of life. The earliest codified document on Ayurveda is Charaka Samhita.
- Charaka mentions that deals with advantage and disadvantage as well as happy and unhappy states of life along with what is good and bad for life, its measurement and the life itself (Charaka Sutra 1 - 4)". It is amply clear that Ayurveda is not only a system of medicine but also a way of life for complete positive health and spiritual attainments.
- Ayurveda believes that positive health is the basis for attaining four cherished goals of life (chaturvidh purushartha) viz., Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha. All these four goals cannot be achieved without sound positive health.
Positive health is defined as
- Dosha Dhatu samya (well balanced metabolism)
- Prasanna Atma, Indriya, Manah (happy state of the soul, senses and the mind). Senses here mean the five organs of perception Gyanendriya viz., smell, taste, sight, touch, and hearing coupled with the organs of action – Karmendriya viz., mouth, hands, foot and organs of excretion and reproduction.
Fundamentals
Life is the union of body, sense organs, mind and soul.
The seven Dhatus are Rasa (chyle or nutrient fluid), Rakta (blood), Mansa (muscle tissue), Medas (fats), Asthi (bone, connective tissue), Majja (bone marrow) and Shukra (reproductive elements).
The three main excretions are purisha (faeces), mutra (urine) and sweda (sweat).
The three dosha are vata, pitta & kapha.
Any disturbance in this equilibrium causes malfunction and results in disease.
Disequilibrium in these measures lead to disease. Although absolute equilibrium of dhatu (basic tissues) is always not possible e.g. kapha invariably gets vitiated in the first part of the day and night, immediately after taking meals and in childhood, but a slight disturbance in the equilibrium of dhatu (basic tissues) does not cause any distinct uneasiness or vikara, hence in the case of natural disbalance of equilibrium of dhatus (basic tissues) does not cause any distinct uneasiness in the body and as such can be regarded as a normal condition. In other words equilibrium of dhatus (basic tissues) even includes conditions where there is minimal deviation from normalcy due to natural reasons.