AYUR VEDIC MEDICINE

This talk was an introduction to Ayur Vedic medicine (AV) as the whole field is vast and impossible to cover in a single evening. Mr Cresswell has studied it for some years in both Britain and India.

It is obvious to many that AV is currently enjoying something of a revival both in India and in the West with articles appearing every week in the local and national press. But in the last fifteen years, this worldwide interest has been generated largely by the efforts of a number of international authors, like Dr. Deepak Chopra, who has written extensively on the subject with such books as Perfect Health, Creating Health and Quantum Healing. Other books you might have read are those by Dr. Vasant Ladd, Dr. Robert Svaboda, Dr. Hari Sharma and of course Maharishi Mahesh Yogi of Transcendental Meditation fame.

Although this system of self-healing has been in existence for thousands of years and continues to maintain the health and well-being of all those living in the Indian sub-continent, it is still by and large disregarded by Western science especially here in the UK. The House of Lords will not recognize the validity of AV until more scientific research is published on the benefits of AV therapeutic treatment. Nonetheless, there is now some serious work being conducted into AV at a number of research centres around the world, particularly in Germany and the USA.

Ayurveda is a Sanskrit word, derived from two roots:- Ayur meaning Life, and Veda meaning Knowledge or Wisdom; the nearest to a literal translation in English is Biology. The Vedas are a collection of hymns consisting of four main books, which are perhaps the oldest human record of sacred knowledge. Written in Sanskrit, it preserves the mantric as well as Brahmana value of the text. This aspect is preserved through an oral tradition of the Vedic pundits, which are, in order of importance, the Rk Veda, knowledge of verse; the Sama Veda, knowledge of chant, i.e. the way it must be sung; the Yajur Veda, knowledge of sacrifice; and Arthava Veda, knowledge of magical formulas. In this context AV is believed to be one of the oldest, most complete medical systems in the world. It belongs to the Upa-Vedas or supporting Vedas and is traditionally linked with the Rk Veda, the most important and without doubt the oldest of the Vedas; although a more detailed account of AV is to be found in the younger Arthava-veda as it includes anatomical and pathological descriptions and treatments of various diseases.

The history of AV can be divided into four main periods: Pre-vedic, Vedic, Medieval and Modern.

AV, the science of long life therefore has its roots in the ancient Vedic tradition of India which until it was codified by two great physicians Charaka and Sushruta around 300 BCE, was kept alive through an oral tradition from when the extensive Harrapan (bronze age) civilization flourished alongside the Aryan culture in the Indus valley. These two classic texts are known as the Charaka and Sushruta Samhita and form the basis upon which AV is still taught today.

Following the Vedic period we enter upon the variegated scene of systematic and scientific compilation known as the Samhita period where little was added that was considered original except in the field of Pharmacology. Mercury, for example, and other metals were introduced as a treatment, which must be earliest known practice of Chemotherapy.

During the medieval period between 323 BCE and 642 CE, AV was well maintained by Hindus (and later Muslims), but it also tasted the best fruits of Buddhism. In the third century Mahindar, the brother of King Ashoka the ruler of the Muraya empire, embraced Buddhism and actively promoted AV in central Asia and Sri Lanka. The Buddhist universities of Taxasila and Nalanda were established during the fourth century and flourished for about 600 years. These two universities became the centres of learning and Charaka, the Hindu equivalent of Hippocrates, began his classic work on AV, which has six sections and 184 chapters and deals specifically with pathology, anatomy, embryology and toxicology, with a final section of specialized knowledge. The Charaka Samhita mainly deals with Internal Medicine, a work that includes chapters on physiology, paediatrics, aetiology and pathology. These two important works appeared at about the end of the golden age Indian culture. Eventually both treatises plus many other texts were integrated into one complete work, the Astanga Hrdayam, by the eminent physician Vagbhata.

In the twelfth century, Madhav wrote a great medical treatise specializing in the diagnosis of disease, whose work is held in great esteem even to this day. In the 16th century, Sarangdhara systematized the whole AV Materia Medica at a time when Unani, a combination of Greek and AV medicine, as well as European and other systems of medicine began to infiltrate India. When the moghuls invaded in the 10th century they killed many Buddhist monks as infidels, destroyed the universities and burned their libraries. A few survivors however managed to escape to Tibet and Nepal, and as a result many rare and original AV text survived the holocaust. Then it was the turn of the British Raj who throughout the 19th century almost brought about the final collapse of Indian arts and sciences. They systematically closed down all the AV hospitals in favour of western allopathic practice, dismissing AV as mere mumbo-jumbo. Nonetheless AV continued to flourish but only in the more remote rural areas of India reducing it to a humble folk-medicine for only for the poor.

By the close of the 20th century a great revival of AV had already begun with post-graduate courses being offered at a number of prestigious universities throughout India. The Central Council for Research in Indian Medicine came into being in 1969 and the Government of India established a National Institute of AV at Jaipur in 1976. AV is now taught in many countries including West Germany, Japan, Australia and the USA. The World Health Organisation has recognized AD as a valid traditional system of healing.

Indian philosophers arrived at their conclusions using a methodology known as Darshanas (literally, points of view) – a rational approach by which the truth is made self-evident through the identification, classification and evaluation of natural phenomena and relationships by means of acute observation, conceptual knowledge and intuitive speculation. Samkhya is just one of six systems of Indian philosophy known collectively as the Sad Darshanas, or six viewpoints, which asserts that there are two ultimate realities, one absolute the other relative, all of which may be interpreted in six different ways. These are Nyaya, Vaisheika, Samkhya, Yoga, Karma Mimamsa and Vedanta. Although AV draws mainly on Samkhya it also borrows much from Nyaya and Vaisheika philosophies which are based on rationalization and logic, and form an integral part of AV diagnosis and disease management. The Samkhya system is based on work by Ishvarakrsna called Samkhya Karika which dates from about the 4th century CE and is the oldest extant text still available. However, his work was based on a much earlier text written by the great sage Kapila who lived sometime in the 5th century BCE.

The word Samkhya has a variety of meanings, one of which relates to the concept of number and attempts to enumerate the various stages of cosmic evolution, as well as the need to discriminate between Purusha - absolute pure intelligence – and Prakriti – relative material existence.

Woven into Prakriti are three fundamental forces (literally, strands) which carry out the process of evolution from microscopic to the macroscopic levels. These are called the Tri-gunas which operate at every level of creation. The three gunas, when in a state of imbalance have a formative influence on the ego and imprint themselves more or less strongly on one's personality according to their strength at the time. So that Sattwa reveals by its pure light the essence of Purusha and binds one to knowledge and clear perception, Rajas is responsible for activity and desire and binds one to anger and greed. Tamas is ignorance and inertia and binds one to delusion and darkness.

It is here at the finest subjective level of creation that we locate the three inner organs of the human psyche, namely, Intellect, Ego and Mind, which exist in an unbreakable relationship with one another. The intellect, or Buddhi, lies at the heart of the decision-making process with the power to discriminate and imparts a direct awareness of the self – i.e. the sense of I-am or Ego, also known as Ahamkara, the organ that shapes our personality.

Manas, or mind, is the sense organ of inner perception from which develop the five organs of perception known as the Gyanindryas. These are the sense of hearing, touch, sight, taste and smell, allowing us to appreciate the primary essences of the objective material world in which we live. These are Sound, Texture, Form, Flavour and Odour. These five essences or tanmatras are the finest material expressions of nature and exist on the borderline between consciousness and matter and are directly associated not only with the five senses, but at the same time evolve into the five basic elements; the Pancha Mahabhutas, or building blocks of creation that forms the material basis of the objective universe including the human body. These are Space, Air, Fire, Water and Earth and can be equated with the various states of matter so that Earth represents the solid state; Water the liquid state; Air the gaseous state; Fire or the power to transform any substance through agency of heat; and Space the field in which all matter exists. Each element in turn is characterised by a range of qualities.

According to Charaka we experience everything through 10 contrasting pairs of qualities (see Table). Each pair represents two extremes of a continuum and therefore relative to each other. So that the quality of Heaviness is contrasted with the quality of Lightness, both being part of the continuum of Weight. This qualitative approach is fundamental to AV analysis since it can pin-point precisely what measures can be taken to restore health. The relationship between each pair of qualities is the basis of two of AV's fundamental rules. First, that Like increases with Like; second, that the quality decreases its opposite. For example, heat adds a dry quality to bread, but can turn butter to a liquid.

AV physicians see people in terms of their qualities and use this as a reliable diagnostic tool when determining the health or otherwise of the patient. However, in terms of human physiology, these five elements along with their respective qualities combine in such a way as to create three important principles or bio-energies. These bio-energies govern all living systems and are called the Tri-Dosha principle. which is a unique feature of AV.

The first Dosha, or Bio-energy, to emerge results from the coupling of two elements, Space and Air, which together form the principle of Activity, known as Vata, with the inherent qualities of change, instability and movement. In physiology this controls nerve function, respiration, the catabolic processes and all movement of the limbs etc.

The next coupling is Fire and Water to produce the principle of Transformation called Pitta and responsible for all the metabolic processes in the body including temperature, digestion, thirst and hunger.

The last combination is that of Water and Earth responsible for the cohesive structure known as Kapha, that which binds and includes the mucus membrane, synovial fluid and the lubrication of the joints, growth and strength; the bricks and mortar of the body, if you like.

This three in one theory of the Tri-doshas and their particular qualities allows the physician to identify each individual's unique body type and treat them accordingly. The ratio of the doshas in your constitution and the qualities expressed by it, will of course, be determined by your genetic inheritance, your social and natural environment, diet, lifestyle as well as your current state of health. Everyone has a specific balance of these doshas that is naturally set from the time they were born. But due to prolonged periods of poor diet and incorrect life-style this natural balance gets disturbed and over time lead to an imbalance which if ignored and not treated early can develop into a medical disorder.

People whose disposition is largely Vata are prone to restlessness and are often aprehensive; those showing characteristics of Pitta are quick and competitive; while those who are mostly Kapha can be slower and steadier.

At the beginning of the talk, a set of questions was distributed to each member of the audience, and these were to be answered individually to determine each person’s unique psycho-somatic type. At the end of the session Paul then went round the room and successfully identified each person’s constitutional type by mere observation. The great majority had considerable amounts of Pitta, indicating an alert and attentive audience, which was borne out by the subsequent questions.

Paul Cresswell