Ayurveda and environment

            Ayurveda and environment

             

Ayurveda is one of the most comprehensive healing systems in the world, dealing integrally with body, mind and spirit. The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India.The Susruta Saṃhita and the Charaka Saṃhita are among the initial compilation works on Ayurveda. [1]

Ayurveda considers that the whole universe is made up of five essential elements-Building blocks that all life forms contain (pancha mahabhutas). These are akasha

(ether), vayu (air), teja (fire), aap (water) and prithvi

(earth). These five elements exist at all scales of life and in both organic and inorganic matters of the universe. Ayurvedic  theory asserts that each human possesses a unique combination of doṣas that define that person's temperament and characteristics. These three substances — doṣas 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. .. In biological system, such as humans, elements are coded into three (tridosha) forces,which govern all life processes (kapha, pitta and vata).Each of the doshas is composed

of one or two elements.

 Vata is composed of space and air,

Pitta of fire, and

kapha of water and earth.

The tridosha regulates every physiological and psychological process in the living organism.A harmonious state of the three doshas creates balance and health; an imbalance, in the form of excess (vriddhi) or deficiency (kshaya), manifests as a sign or symptom of disease.[2] Thus one can conclude that even our treatment system find its roots in nature and its abiotic and biotic components.

references:1. http://www.keralaayurvedics.com/ayurveda-history/books/charaka-samhita-by-acharya-charaka-ancient-ayurveda-books.html

                                                                2. Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine:A Comparative Overview by         Bhushan Patwardhan1, Dnyaneshwar Warude, P. Pushpangadan and Narendra Bhatt  (Lad V. The human constitution. In: Ayurveda: The Science of Self-Healing. Wilmot: Lotus Press, 1985, 26–36.)