Introduction
Human life is full of events, from birth to the end of our life we come across a number of events. We experience successes & defeats; we celebrate birthdays & parties, marriages and anniversaries. Sometimes we also have to face sad events. With some minor differences almost all of us have the same experiences. One more thing is common to all of us and that is the ‘occurrence of diseases’.
The occurrence of diseases in our life is almost uncontrolled. None of us likes the idea of being ill, but still whether we like it or not we are left with no choice but to suffer from these diseases.
All our life we always have to struggle to keep our selves fit. Is it possible for us to lead a disease free life? Is there anything that will help us to control the occurrence of diseases in our life and help us to maintain our health? The answer to all these questions is YES! It is definitely possible to lead a disease free life, and we can almost eliminate the occurrence of diseases from our life. AYURVEDA is the answer! Numerous People have been using this science of life and enjoying the disease free long life upto hundred years and even more..!
Let us try to know more about this promising and interesting science of Life i.e. Ayurveda.
What is Ayurveda?
Ayurveda, the traditional Indian system of medicine has brought true health, happiness and well being to millions of individuals throughout the ages. This ancient art of healing has been practiced continuously for over 5,000 years and was the mainstream medicine in ancient times. It went through a difficult time in between but now has once again captured attention of all health concerned individuals’ world over.
Ayurveda is basically a fully developed medical science, having cure for almost all diseases known and unknown to mankind. Its holistic approach, philosophy of life, its in-depth understanding of nature, and natural way of treating diseases makes it unique. Ayurvedic sages have addressed almost all problems of today’s age and have recommended solutions with a different approach, which are natural and are aimed at restoring the harmony of the body.
Ayurvedic treatments are safe and natural because the principles of Ayurveda are based on deep understanding of natural phenomena in the outer world and the inner body.
Like all other medical sciences the safety is ensured only when Ayurvedic treatments are taken from properly trained and qualified physicians and also when the formulations are prepared as per original Ayurvedic texts.
Ayurvedic Physicians prefer to call Ayurveda as a way of life! Because it not only describes the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, it also tells us how to lead a healthy life. In short, it is a Life Style Option for well being!
Ayurveda is the only medical science in this universe, which is useful even when we are not ill. All other medical sciences come into picture only when we fall ill. Whereas Ayurveda can be equally helpful even when we are fit and fine. Ayurveda is a complete science of Health that is useful in all walks of life starting from birth, neonates, infants, child hood, youth, old age etc and even life before and after death.
Ayurveda is a Sanskrit word made up of two parts Ayu and Veda. Ayu means life and Veda means Knowledge. In other words, Ayurveda means a science comprising complete Knowledge about all aspects of life. To maintain the health of all and to cure the patients suffering from diseases is the motto of Ayurveda.
Now a days the diseases are treated symptomatically with a superficial approach with almost no or very little attention for its complete cure, whereas Ayurveda believes in total & permanent cure of diseases.
For many people the image of Ayurveda is limited to use of only Herbal or home/kitchen remedies, traditional medicine giving a completely different picture of Ayurveda. Whereas Ayurveda is a more serious medical science, which strongly emphasizes on the diagnosis, examination, analyzing the causes of disease, diet, medicinal properties, the dose (exact qty), frequency of the medicine and the medium with which it should be consumed. These factors are very crucial in achieving complete cure. It has described a totally different way of treating diseases called as Panchakarma, which no other system of medicine has described.
Panchakarma
The word Panchakarma comes from classical Ayurvedic texts and means literally “five therapies”. These are the subtly harmonizing purification procedures that dissolve metabolic waste products and toxins generated due to the environmental ill effects from the body’s tissues in a gentle and effective way and eliminate them from the body. These extremely pleasant relaxing treatments enliven the bodies own self-healing powers bringing about a profound and lasting rejuvenation.
Ayurveda-in a Nut-Shell
- Ancient Indian system of medicine, which is in practice since 5000 years.
- More than medicine it is a science of life or a way of life.
- Useful to anybody and everybody all over the world irrespective of any country, religion, caste or creed.
- Ayurveda has a natural way of treating diseases, holistic approach.
- No side effects.
- Ayurvedic system relies on making the body strong and pure from inside rather than relying completely on external medicines.
- Ayurvedic system awakens the divine healer inside the body, rather than treating only the diseases.
- Ayurvedic practices restore the balance and harmony of the individual, resulting in self-healing, good health and longevity.
- Panchakarma – the specialty of Ayurveda are extremely pleasant relaxing treatments that cure the disease completely and permanently.
Dr. Abhay Kulkarni M.D(Ayurveda), PhD (Scholar) may be reached at [email protected]. Dr. Kulkami has a vast clinical experience of over a decade in the field of Ayurveda. The Ayushree Ayurvedic Hospital & Research Centre is located at 34, Parabnagar Near Swami Samartha Kendra Indiranagar, Nashik 422009.