Would you imagine drinking lukewarm water kept overnight in a copper vessel after getting up in the morning could assist in smooth bowel movements?
Or taking appropriate doses of a herb called Brahmi (waterhyssop or herb of grace) can reduce stress and help enhance memory? Or herbs and spices such as pepper, ginger, cinnamon and cloves have the power to cure a persistent cough?
These are but a few glimpses into the world of Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of holistic living that evolved over more than two millennia.
To define Ayurveda as a “system of medicine” would do it grave injustice. Ayurveda, which is made up of two words - Ayuh and Veda meaning life and knowledge or science respectively, in totality means the “science of life” and incorporates all aspects of life whether physical, psychological, spiritual or social.
Ayurveda is said to be derived from Atharva Veda, one of the four vedas (ancient Indian scriptures composed around 1500-1200 BC), the other three being Rig, Yajur and Sam Veda.
All Indians can relate to stories of home remedies perfected over centuries instinctively being prescribed by their parents and grandparents for normal ailments.
Suffering from constipation? Take ghrita-kumari (aloe vera). Have bhringaraja (thistles) to arrest hair fall.
Got a wound? Apply turmeric paste and drink hot water mixed with small amount of turmeric to assist the healing process.
Incidentally, this every-day-before-to-bed routine of hot milk with turmeric has been made trendier by the introduction of turmeric latte in many coffee shops.
The most remarkable aspect of Ayurveda is that it is more preventive than curative. Ayurveda focuses on achieving a perfect balance with different constituents of human body and consciousness and with different elements of nature.
Life in Ayurveda is conceived as the union of body, senses, mind and soul. Human body is a conglomeration of three humours (Vata, Pitta and Kapha), seven basic tissues (Rasa-plasma, Rakta-blood cells, Mamsa-muscular tissue, Meda-fatty tissue, Asthi-bony tissue, Majja-bone marrow and Shukra-hormonal and other secretions) and the waste products of the body ie Mala (faeces), Sweda (sweat) and Mutra (urine). Thus, the total body matrix comprises of the humours, the tissues and the waste products of the body.
The growth and decay of this body matrix and its constituents revolve around food which gets processed into humours, tissues and wastes. Ingestion, digestion, absorption, assimilation and metabolism of food have an interplay in health and disease which are significantly affected by psychological mechanisms as well as by bio-fire (Agni).
According to Ayurveda, all objects in the universe, including human body are composed of five basic elements (Panchamahabhutas) namely earth, water, fire, air and vacuum (ether).
There is a balanced condensation of these elements in different proportions to suit the needs and requirements of different structures and functions of the body matrix and its parts.
The growth and development of the body matrix depends on its nutrition, ie, on food. The food, in turn, is composed of these five elements, which replenish or nourish the like elements of the body after the action of bio-fire (Agni). The tissues of the body are the structural entities whereas humours are physiological entities, derived from different permutations and combinations of Panchamahabhutas.
Ayurveda surmises that health or sickness is a factor of the presence or absence of a balanced state of the total body matrix including the balance between its different constituents. Both the intrinsic and extrinsic factors can cause disturbance in the natural equilibrium giving rise to diseases.
This loss of equilibrium can happen by dietary indiscrimination, undesirable habits and non-observance of rules of healthy living. Seasonal abnormalities, improper exercise or erratic application of sense organs and incompatible actions of the body and mind can also result in creating disturbance of the existing normal balance.
The treatment consists of restoring the balance of disturbed body-mind matrix by following proper diet, correcting life-routine and behaviour and administration of drugs.
The eight divisions of Ayurvedic therapeutics, namely Kayachikitsa (internal medicine), Shalya (Surgery), Shalkya (otorhinolaryngology and opthalmology), Kaumr Bhritya (paediatrics, gynaecology and obstetrics), Agad tantra (toxicology), Rasayana (gerentorology), Vajikaran (aphrodisiacs) and Bhoot Vidya (psychiatry) and the principles of treatment Shodhan (purificatory), Shaman (palliative and conservative), Nidan parivarjan (avoidance of causative and precipitating factors of disease) and Pathya Vyavastha (do’s and don’ts regarding diets lifestyle) and governed by the principle of equilibrium and harmony among different constituents and factors.
Thus, in Ayurveda, treatment, either with or without drugs and application of specific rules of diet, activity and mental is intended to bring back the state of equilibrium, ie, health.
Ayurveda is unique in many respects. Besides its focus on harmonious interaction between different elements of human body, consciousness and external environment, it guides people to lead a healthy life, thus minimising need for treatment.
The evolution of this system over more than two thousand years ensures that the fundamental premise remains unchanged. Ayurveda relies upon readily available local products to provide an inexpensive solution to holistic living.
Because of multidimensional and wide range of efficacy of Ayurvedic treatment where certain disease conditions or symptoms become refractory to conventional treatment, a harmonised approach of the Ayurvedic and conventional systems of health care has been found to be complementing each other.
Many conventional health care professionals in India have started using Ayurvedic medicines and practices to supplement their own treatment.
Being holistic and disease eradicative with principles of individualised treatment, conducive to socio-economic conditions of India and with availability of abundance of formulations for any particular disease, use of food items as medicine and lifestyle rules, Ayurveda plays a phenomenal role in catering to the health requirements of people and reducing the stress on conventional medicinal system.
Ayurveda, combined with yoga, another 5 000-year-old tradition from India that combines physical, mental and spiritual pursuits to achieve harmony of the body and mind aims at a holistic solution to human well-being and a sustainable relationship with surroundings.
* Shukla is consul-general of India in Cape Town