An article by Vaidya Shubhamangala Acharya
We are celebrating Ayurveda day for past nine years under the guidance of ministry of Ayush and our beloved prime minister Sri Narendra Modi. World Ayurveda day is selected on the day of Dhanteras. This is the birth anniversary of lord Dhanvantari who is worshipped as the God of Ayurveda. The first Ayurveda Day was celebrated on 28 October 2016. The theme of ninth Ayurveda day is ‘Ayurveda Innovation for global health”.
Innovation through Ayurveda is essential to combat the global health challenges like:
- Non communicable diseases, anti-microbial resistance, health hazards due to climate change, maintaining geriatric & mental health, nutritional disorders etc.
- To focus on disease prevention and promotion of general well being
- To achieve the vision of sustainable development goals & universal health coverage.
According to WHO, noncommunicable diseases, such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease are collectively responsible for over 70% of all deaths worldwide, i.e. 41 million people. This includes 15 million people dying prematurely, aged between 30 and 69.Over 85% of these premature deaths are in low- and middle-income countries. The rise of these diseases has been driven by five major risk factors:
- Tobacco use
- Physical inactivity
- The harmful use of alcohol
- Unhealthy diets
- Air pollution
These risk factors also further impact mental health issues – almost half of all mental illness begins during adolescence but most cases go undetected and untreated – suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15–19-year-olds.
How can Ayurveda help in these situations?
In a world where the pursuit of health often centres around treating diseases and symptoms, Ayurveda stands as a beacon of wisdom, emphasizing prevention as the cornerstone of well-being. Ayurveda is deeply rooted in the principles of natural healing and emphasizes maintaining a balance between the body, mind, and spirit.
Prevention
One of the fundamental tenets of Ayurveda is preventive healthcare—a proactive approach to maintaining good health and preventing diseases before they manifest. Preventive Ayurveda, as per definition is ‘Swasthasya Swasthya Rakshanam’(charaka samhita), is a holistic and comprehensive approach to well-being, focusing on nurturing health through a balanced lifestyle, proper diet, regular exercise, mental well-being, and spiritual growth.
Ayurveda says “sama dosha samaagnischa samadhatu malakriya prasanna atemendriya manah swastha ityabhideeyate”(Sushruta Samhita) – A person with balanced doshas (basic elements from which our body is formed), dhatus (body tissues like blood, lymph, muscles, bones etc), proper agni (good appetite) and proper excretion of faeces, urine and sweat, healthy and calm soul, senses and mind is to be considered as healthy.
One can lead a healthy life by:
- Following a daily regimen (eg waking up early, regular exercise, oil application to the body etc)
- Seasonal food intake (quantity of food, timing, and number of meals per day etc)
- Practising morally correct behaviour (conduct in public places, in front of elders etc)
- Not suppressing certain bodily urges like flatulence, stools, urine, hunger, thirst etc.
- Suppressing detrimental urges like, excessive desire, anger, fear, jealousy etc.
These principles should be propagated at the global level. Almost all the non-communicable diseases occur due to the mental stress and unhealthy lifestyle. Yoga day is practised in many countries and in a similar manner, Ayurvedic principles should be slowly adopted in school curriculums to keep the children away from the addictions, crime and self-harming behaviours.
A diet regime based on Ayurveda should be introduced according to the natural local environment. Eating locally grown food based on the season helps:
- Reduce transportation emissions (green-house gases)
- Decrease packaging needs
- Provides fresher food with less preservation
- Support for sustainable farming practises
Community engagement helps encourage support for local environmental initiatives.
Treating the disease
When we get to the disease part, Ayurveda deals it in a unique way.
Rogastu dosha vaishamyam dosha saamyam arogata. (Ashtanga hrudaya) – Disease occurs due to the imbalance of doshas in a person’s (shareera) body. Correcting the imbalance in the Doshas is the treatment for that individual. Instead of doing research according to the rules and regulations of the contemporary science, Ayurvedic research on the treatment part should be different. It should be done based on the individual’s constitute (prakruti).
For example, acidity treatment in a vata predominant prakruti person is different from kapha predominant constitute. Instead of medicine-oriented study person-oriented treatment study to be conducted.
If Loka purusha saamya siddantha mentioned in Sushruta Samhita is understood properly and practised globally we can create a better world. This means that the surroundings and a person living in it have a lot in common. The person (Purusha) is a miniature version of the enormous cosmos (Loka). In one way or another, everything in the universe is present in the human body.
