Ayurveda- A True Solace for Healthy Life, Needs Global Recognition

Dating back around 3000 years ago, a natural system of medicine came into existence as 'Ayurveda'- the term (Ayur) is derived from the Sanskrit word that means life whereas (Veda) is the science or knowledge, giving the term a holistic mean as 'Knowledge of Life' or 'Science of Life'. We can find many descriptions on health diseases in the fourth Vedic scripture called 'Atharva Veda' and Ayurveda is believed to be its supplementary subject that lays emphasis over the inter-connectivity between mind, body and spirit to lead a healthy life.

The most earliest document that was codified is believed to be the 'Charaka Samhita' which is a comprehensive text on ancient Indian medicine that highlights the importance of diet, hygiene, prevention of diseases through the use of natural substances and so on. This stream was descended and extended by the sage Atreya, a renowned scholar of Ayurveda. Whereas, 'Shushruta Samhita' which is a collection of texts based on medicine and surgery in Sanskrit, is another codified document that is said to be descended and propagated by Dhanvantri (a Hindu God of Medicine and an incarnation of Lord Vishnu). Legend has it- Dhanvantri incarnated himself as the king of Varanasi and propagated the culture of Ayurvedic medicine to a group of physician including Shushruta. 

Ayurveda works on three kinds of elemental 'Doshas' (a pattern of energy that flows around our body that governs our thought-process and behaviour). The key schema on which the theory of Ayurveda is based revolves around the concept that a good health exists only when there is a balance between the three fundamental bodily 'Doshas' called - Vata, Pita and Kapha. As the concept holds, the human body is composed of Dhatus (tissues), Malas (waste) and Doshas (bio-materials). The seven Dhatus that exists within our body are- Rasa (plasma), Rakta (blood), Mamsa (muscles), Meda (fat), Asthi (Bone), Majja (Marrow) and Shukra (semen). 

The historical division that Ayurveda considers for bodily substances like any other discipline of medicine is categorised into five classical elements called as 'Panchamhabhuta' - Earth, water, fire, air and ether. Besides this, our body contains twenty 'Gunas' (qualities and characteristics)- Heavy/light, cold/hot, greasy/dry, dull/sharp, static/kinetic, soft/hard, non-slimy/slimy, smooth/coarse, minute/gross and viscous/liquid. Ayurveda, primarily gives impetus on the holistic approach of the physical, mental and personal existence and believes that each of the existences has its influence over the other. The state of balance (Samyatva) of Doshas provides a good health while the imbalance one (Vismatva) results in the outbreak of diseases within the body.

The contemporary Ayurveda encourages body's vitality through a healthy metabolic system, maintaining a good digestion and excretion, and vehemently focuses on the practices like exercise, Yoga and Meditation. 

Plant-based treatments in Ayurveda are mainly derived from roots, leaves, and fruits bark and seeds. Herbal spices such as turmeric, cumin, coriander, fennel, mint, asafetida (hing), black pepper, dried powdered ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne are among the most potent Ayurvedic spices that offer a variety of health benefits, including improved digestion and mental health!

Turmeric acts as a natural anti-inflammatory substance, a powerful anti-oxidant that also holds the claim to have anti-cancer effects and helps in the treatment of several skin infections; cumin aids in digestion and boosts the immune system; garlic helps in improving the cholesterol level resulting in reducing the risk of heart diseases; cinnamon has an anti-viral-cum-bacterial-cum-fungal properties,  reducing blood sugar level and acts as a digestive comfort.

But, the use of certain hard minerals like sulphur, arsenic, lead and copper sulphate has raised a cause of concern over the reliability of Ayurveda as a medicinal backup in few parts of the world. New York city has banned the sale of three Indian herbal products that contains lead, arsenic and mercury. Still Ayurveda is considered as a descent, valuable and conventional approach to treat most of the diseases.

A few years back, my father suffered from an ailment in the lower rectum part of his body which was highly painful and hard to bear. The swollen part escalated with time and there was no real cure except surgery as per the practitioners. Eventually, he had to rely on Ayurvedic medicine, which had a slow yet gradual and effective process in healing. That miraculously worked well and he has a healthy life now!

In his own words, he described Ayurveda as a tool that treats the ailment through the method of root-cause-based analysis. This root-cause analysis relies on four stages:

a) identification of the possible causal factors 

b) then the root cause of those factors 

c) then identifying the points of failure for those factors

d) and finally, determining solutions to address those failures in the treatment of the disease.

The cause of the pandemic 2020 due to SARS-CoV-2 witnessed a great demand for Ayurvedic treatments in India particularly. The pandemic forced many of us to bring a change in our lifestyles and habits. In a research report way back in the year 2018, the Ayurveda market in India had a net worth value of $300 billion and is expected to reach INR 710.87 billion by the end of the year 2024. 

Approximately, 78 percent of the Indian households relied on ayurvedic products compared to the use of only 67 percent in the year 2015. 

Increased awareness regarding the importance of a healthy lifestyle, inclination towards a more chemical-free natural products as well as favorable initiatives carried by the Indian government has led to the expansion of the Ayurvedic practices and services across the country.

Kerala, the southern Indian coastal state is known as the 'Cradle of Ayurveda'. It boasts nearly 1400 Ayurveda-associated industries with a total turnover of $37 million in the year 2016. It accounts for around 10 percent of the Indian herbal market and industry with a net worth of $578 million.

During COVID pandemic in the year 2020, the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had backed the role of Ayurvedic medicine in the improvement of body immunity. The research on COVID-19 came out with the fact that the immuno-suppressed-cum-compromised body were becoming the main hunger spots of the virus, that replicates rapidly, killing the entire immune system within days and cause high inflammation in the lungs leading to congestion, pneumonia and death in most of the critical cases.

As a contemporary discipline of health science, Ayurveda deserves the universal recognition not only because it is the science of longevity and self-actualisation but also, because it provides a direction to live a sustainable life in harmony with nature by preserving and enhancing the wellness of the health, body and mind.

By- Rashmi Singh

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