Utilizing the purifying properties of mud is an ancient practice that continues in India to this day. Taking the earth element from the panchamahabhut or “five great elements”, it cleanses skin and boosts metabolism.
History of Ayurveda
Translated from Sanskrit as the “Science of Life”, Ayurveda was first mentioned in the verses of the Rig Veda, the first of the Vedas or Hindu sacred texts. Here there is reference to panchamahabhut (the five basic elements of the entire creation), and the three doshas or primary forces of prana or vata (air), agni or pitta (fire) and soma or kapha (water and earth) as comprising the basic principles of Ayurveda. However, there is much more detail in an upaveda (subsection) of the Atharva, the fourth Veda, written some time during 3,000 to 2,000 BC. Here, Ayurveda is documented more specifically: it is described as knowledge of self-healing or holistic healing, with the idea that everything is interrelated, yet still unique. The texts stated that if Ayurveda was applied on an individual basis in people’s everyday lives using diet, massage, oils, herbs and exercise, practitioners could be healthy and disease-free.
Wellness treatment being administered at the luxury spa at Amanbagh.
Taking the pulse is one of the first indicators in Ayurvedic diagnosis.
Around the turn of the first millennium BC the treatise known as the Charaka Samhita, the most referred Ayurvedic text on internal medicine, appeared. Believed to have been written by the great sage-physician Charaka, it explained the logic and philosophy of Ayurvedic medicine. Written in the form of a symposium wherein groups of Ayurvedic scholars take up a series of topics for discussion, it is written in verse in keeping with the Vedic oral tradition of conserving knowledge. It therefore seems likely that Ayurveda had been in existence for many hundreds, if not thousands, of years beforehand.
A spiritual ascetic or sadhu attends to a supplicant.
Yoga is recommended along with Ayurveda for total wellbeing.
A traditional Indian welcome.
Around the same time, the Sushruta Samhita appeared. It comprised knowledge about prosthetic surgery to replace limbs, cosmetic surgery, caesarian operations and even brain surgery. Sushruta is famous for his innovation of cosmetic surgery on the nose known as rhinoplasty, an interesting fact as he lived two centuries before Hippocrates, the Greek father of Western medicine. Around 500 AD, Vagbhata compiled the third major treatise on Ayurveda, Astanga Hridaya. It contained knowledge from both previous books, but also new information on diseases and cures. It is the text of choice for many practicing Ayurvedic physicians because it is a precise condensation of the two earlier texts.
There were, of course, many other useful reference texts, and it is documented that Ayurveda became entrenched in Indian life between 1,000 BC and 800 AD. Both Hindus and Buddhists maintained the academic progress of Ayurveda, and also ensured that the science was made as publicly available as possible. Medicinal herbs were planted, hospitals were formed, and the art of nursing (as described by Charaka) was widely systematized. But it wasn’t until the Buddhist period (323 BC to 642 AD) that Ayurveda began to be exported outside India’s shores. During this time Buddhist missionaries and monks took knowledge of Ayurveda, along with other aspects of Indian culture, to Europe (Rome and Greece), the Middle East (Baghdad) and China. Closer to home, the neighboring countries of Sri Lanka, Tibet, Thailand, Burma and Indonesia all accepted its teachings. In fact, its influence can still be seen in many of their healing systems: Acupressure, for example, is a direct descendent of marma massage.
In India, Ayurveda’s heyday was probably from the 6th century to the 10th century AD: During this time, many universities and teaching hospitals were founded to cater to students from all over the world, and there are numerous references to the efficacy of the Indian system of medicine. But by the 12th century, Ayurveda’s influence began to wane. Waves of Muslim invaders in northern India from the 10th to the 12th centuries burned books, destroyed hospitals and libraries, and slaughtered Hindu sages and Buddhist monks as infidels. They brought with them their own hakims or Unani doctors (a form of medicine formulated by Arabian physicians, see pages 36–37) — so the system fell into decline.
Early Ayurvedic texts were engraved on palm leaf manuscripts.
Ayurvedic physician in Kerala.
This was further exacerbated by the arrival of the British. The East India Company denied state patronage to Ayurveda, closed down existing schools and government medical colleges, and substituted it with Western medicine. Of course, at a local level, Ayurveda continued to be practiced, but it wasn’t until Indian Independence that official initiatives were taken to revitalize indigenous medical forms — and Ayurveda once again began to rise.
What is Ayurveda?
Ayurveda advocates that each person is born with a basic constitution or genetic make-up called prakruti in Sanskrit. If there is a changing nature or situation in the body during one’s life (vikruti), imbalance occurs. This may pass over time or may become a disease. The aims of Ayurveda are ayus (“long life”) and arogya (“diseaselessness“) with ultimate spiritual goals. Health is achieved by balancing what are known as the bodily humors or doshas at all levels, according to an individual’s constitution, lifestyle and nature. There are many similar holistic medical systems in other communities, including the Chinese, American Indians, Africans and South Americans.
Diagnosis
Before any Ayurvedic treatment is prescribed, patients first of all undertake a consultation with an Ayurvedic physician to ascertain their body type and present health status. “Body type is the variation in percentage of vatha, pitta and kapha (air, fire and water) in our body,” explains Ayurvedic physician Dr Yogesh. “Based on the present dosha state or vikruti, suitable therapies, oils, medications, advice or more may be prescribed.”
Most Ayurvedic physicians point out that Ayurvedic treatments vary from place to place, doctor to doctor and according to the nature of the client/doctor relationship. This makes it confusing to many, and difficult to analyze, research and compare with other medical systems. “However, the purpose is always the same,” explains Dr Renja Raphel, “Each body has its own defined constitution from birth to death that is affected by many different things. We doctors try to bring the body back to equilibrium: we find out what is lacking and modify it, we add things and we request changes in diets, climates, stress levels, lifestyle habits and more.” He goes on to add that the body has the power to help itself; Ayurveda simply helps it with the healing process.
Shirodhara or the pouring of medicated oil on to the forehead or “third eye” is one of Ayurveda’s best known therapies outside India.
A student of the Vedas seeks understanding through a copy of one of the treatises in Sanskrit.
The use of agarabathi or incense sticks to promote clean air is an