THE BEST INTRODUCTION TO AYUREDA CAN BE BEGIN FROM
IN AN EXCELLENT EXTRACT FROM Mr. Dr. VASANT LAD OF THE AYURVEDIC
INSTITUTE
"Ayurveda is considered by many scholars to be the oldest
healing science. Ayurveda is a Sanskrit word which means "The Science of Life."
Ayurvedic knowledge originated in India more than 5,000 years ago and is often
called the "Mother of All Healing". It stems from the ancient Vedic culture and
was taught for many thousands of years in an oral tradition from accomplished
masters to their disciples. Some of this knowledge was set to print a few
thousnad years ago, but much of it is inaccessible. The principles of many, if
not all, natural healing systems now familiar in the West, Such as Homeopathy
and Polarity Therapy, have their roots in Ayurveda. Ayurveda places great
emphasis on prevention and encourages maintaining health by paying close
attention to balance in one’s life through right thinking, diet, lifestyle and
herbs. Knowledge of Ayurveda enables one to understand how to create balance of
body, mind and consciousness according to one’s own individual constitution and
how t make lifestyle changes to bring about and maintain this balance."
The basic difference between Ayurveda and Western
allopathic medicine according to Mr. Dr. Vasant Lad is important to understand
Western allopathic medicine currently tends to focus on symptomatology and
disease, and primarily uses drugs and surgery to rid the body of pathogens or
diseased tissue. Many lives have been saved by this approach. In fact, surgery
is encompassed by Ayurveda. However, drugs, because of their toxicity, often
weaken the body. Ayurvedic does not focus on disease. Rather, Ayurvedic
maintains that all life must be supported by energy in balance. When there is
minimal stress and the flow of energy within a person is balanced, the body’s
natural defense system will be strong and can more easily defend against
disease.
It must be emphasized that Ayurveda is not a substitute
for Western allopathic medicine. There are many instances when the disease
process and acute conditions can best be treated with drugs or surgery. Ayurveda
can be used in conjunction with Western medicine to make a person stronger and
less likely to be afflicted with disease and/or to rebuild the body after being
treated with drugs or surgery.
In summary, Ayurveda addresses all aspects of life—the
body, mind and spirit. It recognize that each of us is unique each responds
differently to the many aspects of life, each possesses different strengths and
weaknesses. Through insight, understanding and experience Ayurveda presents a
vast "database" of the relationship between causes and their affects, both
immediate and subtle, for each unique individual.
Remember that your progress toward balance and
proportional to how well you stick to the guidelines of diet and lifestyle. Old
habits sometime die-hard and your changes may be very gradual but, to achieve
progress, the changes need to be made. You are in charge of your own rate of
change. If you wish to learn more about Ayurveda, we give below bibliography. We
highly recommended Dr. Lad’s Ayurveda: The Science of Self-Healing for a
conceptual understanding of vata, Pitta, and Kapha. For guidelines and
explanations about the Ayurvedic approach to food and healing we also-recommend
Uash Lad and Dr. Lad’s cookbook, Ayurvedic Cooking for self Healing.
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