The 5,000-year-old foundations of Ayurveda precede written history.
Scholars have been constrained in their attempts to trace the evolution of Ayurveda due to a dearth of written evidence.
While the exact historical beginnings of Ayurveda have been lost to time, one thing about this comprehensive, intellectual, and eminently practical system of health science can be asserted with certainty: it is very old.
What are the Vedas, exactly?
Veda in Sanskrit means science, knowledge, or sacred wisdom
India's ancient sages, known as rishis, passed on their knowledge through an oral tradition from generation to generation. The Vedas were created between 1500 and 1200 BCE, when a body of knowledge that had been passed down for thousands of years was finally organised in textual form.
The Vedas are thought to contain all of creation's wisdom. "The Vedic tradition" or "Vedic science" are terms used to describe the philosophy and knowledge found in the Vedas.
There are 4 types of Vedas:
Rig Veda
The Rig Veda describes the ancient seers' important mantras or sacred chants. It is a collection of over a thousand poetry hymns that include many of Ayurveda's fundamental themes.
The Rig Veda, for example, mentions three Vedic gods that rule the universe: Indra, Agni, and Soma, who correspond to the Vata, Pitta, and Kapha doshas, respectively.
The Rig Veda is the Sanskrit language's foundation, and it is claimed to be the key to comprehending how the unmanifest universe manifests as the world of form and phenomenon.
Sama Veda
The Sama Veda is a set of chants or songs that are intended to heal and balance the mind, body, and spirit. The Sama Veda, sometimes known as "the book of song," is designed to be sung rather than read or recited. It also explains which chants are appropriate for different spiritual rites and rituals.
Yajur Veda
The Yajur Veda, or science of action, transforms the rishis' insights into rituals or transformational practises like yoga. One of the primary goals of these initiatives is to promote health and lifespan.
The Yajur Veda is the foundation of our ability to see and register form and phenomena—our ability to know.
Atharva Veda
ATHARVA VEDA is a Hindu scripture.
Supplementary mantras are included in the Atharva Veda for a variety of reasons, including physical and psychological well-being.
The Atharva Veda contains mantras for treating ailments as well as the names of medicinal plants. The Atharva Veda is the most authoritative source of knowledge about the human body and health. While many old Ayurvedic literature allude to "the Vedas" in general, they are usually referring to the Atharva Veda in particular.
Ayurveda is a sub category of Atharva Veda, although it is occasionally referred to as the "fifth" Veda.
There is no one author or one person that wrote Ayurveda, it is thought to be the song of the universe, which was cognised by Vedic seers in their deep states of awareness and meditation, as well as the thousands of years of experience. There's a whole lineage of different Ayurvedic literature called the Samhitas that have been passed down through centuries such as Ashtanga Sangraha, Madhav Nidan, Sharen Dersamhita, Bhaishaija, Ratnavali, Rashharat Nusamucha, and again, they were not written by 1 person but are considered to be compilations of writing by different groups of people through experimentation, experience and validation.
It is also being constantly validated by modern science, giving us the evidence we need to start putting it into practise.
Lord Dhanvantari is considered to be the God of Ayurveda.
The 4 hands express the true meaning of Ayurveda. He nectar in his hand, which symbolizes the science of immortality, as well as key herbs and a leach.
There are 2 main Ayurvedic schools of literature. The school of medicine led by Charaka and one led by Sushruta. The initial books were prepared based on knowledge gathered by Ayurvedic physicians Charaka and Sushruta, and have since been amended and expanded. Both work hand in hand.
SAMHITA CHARAKA
Charaka talks about diseases, pathophysiology, herbs, oval formulations, detoxifications, punch karma, rejuvenation therapies, as well as other themes in Ayurvedic internal medicine. Sushruta is about the surgical school of thought, especially its procedures and the instruments involved.
SAMHITA SUSHRUTA
The Sushruta Samhita focuses on surgical theory and practise, covering surgical procedures, surgical tool cleaning and disinfection, and anaesthesia. It also underlines the importance of doctors putting as much effort into avoiding diseases as they do in treating them, with physical activity being one of these preventative methods.
Sushruta was the first surgeon known to humanity and he talked about using surgical instruments, cleaning them, as well as anesthesia, nasal implants, cataract surgeries, all laid out in sansrkit thousands of years ago. The age of modern medicine is max 200-300 years old. Ayurveda knew about the number of bone in our body, muscles, tendons, ligaments, organs, organ systems, blood and how to carry out surgeries.
Ayureda simply uses different terminology to express what we know today about molecular biology and quantum physics. The human body is understood as a dymanic field of energy constantly participating in the exchange with the universe, starting with the breath, as we breathe out carbon dioxide, which becomes a part of the plants next to you that turn those molecules into energy via photosynthesis. Everything is interconnected and a constant exchange. Energy cannot be created or destroyed only transferee or transformed. Your job is to syn your intellect with cosmic intellect and let it guide you.
The basis of Ayurveda is that consciousness is the organising essence that transcends and generates the reality we observe.
AYURVEDA'S SPIRITUAL FOUNDATIONS
Beyond word and thinking, the underlying reality is a condition of pure consciousness or pure awareness. This is a state of tranquilly, joy, compassion, and liberation.
The purpose of all life is to achieve a condition of pure consciousness.
Because of our commitment to our ego or a limited self-identity, we are trapped in sorrow or sadness.
To put a stop to our suffering, we must recognise that our true nature is not the ego's fear, attachment, wrath, and limitation.
Pure consciousness, which is infinite and beyond space and time, is who we truly are.
Meditation and yoga - the unification of mind, body, and spirit – are the two fundamental disciplines that can help us achieve a state of pure consciousness.
Disturbances in the mind are caused by disturbances or imbalances in the doshas in the body.
Ayurveda is the science of harmonising the body in order to achieve mental calm and a state of pure consciousness.
Ayurveda has eight major categories that were formulated between the years 800 and 600 BCE.
AYURVEDA'S EIGHT BRANCHES
1)Kaya Chikitsa, Internal Medicine
2)Shalakya Tantra: 2 Eyes, Ears, Nose, and Throat
3) Shalya Tantra is the third surgery.
4) Agada Tantra Toxicology
5) Kaumara Bhritya is one of the five paediatricians.
6) Rasayana (Rasayana is a Sanskrit word that means "rejuvenation
7) Vajikarana, number seven, is the goddess of fertility.
8) Bhuta Vidya Psychology
The surgical branch of Ayurveda has been replaced by conventional surgical technologies in modern times. Most Ayurvedic doctors in India have downplayed the psychological aspect of Ayurveda, but it is gaining traction in the West, where mind-body therapy is becoming more popular.
With such a broad history, Ayurveda is a crucial, if not essential, component of today's integrative medicine.
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