Acharya Balkrishna

Vedas are considered as a message from God and Ayurveda has also generated form the Vedas. Ayurveda is as old as the Vedas. The “Rig Veda”, which is the oldest repository of human knowledge, has described about 67 plants. Other Vedas, namely, Sam, Yajur and Atharv are also replete with references to various aspects of Ayurveda, including the description of drugs and their therapeutic properties. Medicinal plants are also described in the Saimta, Upnishida and Purana texts.
Ayurveda is an all-embracing system of medical teachings which includes a number of different historical layers and interpretations. This makes hard to pick one simple set of ideas and call it as “Ayurveda”.
The main aim of Ayurveda is to promote health, prevention and treatment of chronic and dreadful diseases. For protection, various sages focused on formula derived from various herbs that can give immediate relief to the human being. According to Ayurveda no ailment can be exclusively physical or psychological. Physical illness affects psychologically and psychological diseases impact living beings physically. For this reason, Ayurveda considers all diseases as psycho-somatic and treat is articulated accordingly.

An Ayurveda practitioner not only treats a person, based on physical symptoms but he also treats them keeping in consideration the condition of spiritual, psychological and physiological tendencies. In addition, energetic forces, body tissues, and waste products are also considered for treatment of a patient. Hence, Ayurveda is not only a symptomatic treatment but also a systemic one that leads human to attainment of complete health. Each medicine in Ayurveda acts as a rejuvenator. Immunity enhancing medicines and dietary regimen is a gift of Ayurveda to Mankind.

Along with medicinal treatment, a detailed description of a healthy daily regimen like waking up early, drinking water on an empty stomach, bowel movements, cleaning the teeth; body massage,yoga, pranayam, selection of clothes and importance of wearing ornaments all are described in Ayurveda. Similarly, the detailed description of night regimen including sleeping early, diet, time of dinner and conduct are also given in Ayurveda. Ayurveda also elaborates behavior, diet, lifestyle and clothing during different seasons. Adapting seasonal regimen helps to keep the health better and prevent disease. To achieve complete healthy and happy life, Ayurveda also emphasize religious and moral duties, the moderate pursuit of wealth, avoiding unnecessary desire and striving for liberation.

Ayurveda not only includes ways of life, good conduct, moral values and behavior, but also gives precautions for breaking the code of conduct, attitude and behavior. Concept like socialism, nationalism, spiritualism and globalism makes Ayurveda a comprehensive science. Ayurveda guides a person to lead a disciplined and bountiful life with prescribed activities like prevention from immoral conduct. Ayurveda also covers the general behaviour in the life, whom to befriend, whom to avoid, how to speak and how much to speak, and how to lead a natural life. Ayurveda teaches us to lead a life free of ego, helps the people in their suffering and sharing joy and sorrow with others. Thus, Ayurveda is a way of life, and a complete science and philosophy.

New texts were continually being composed, new paradigms were explored, and influences from many other areas of Indian discourse were introduced into Ayurveda. Indeed, the practice of Ayurveda has been criticized unjustly by certain historians and members of competing medical systems for its rigorous adherence to antiquated prescriptions and paradigms. These critics are not aware of the vitality in the history of Ayurveda, largely because nearly all the textually of ancient Ayurveda scriptures remains unknown and unstudied by the larger public.

Since there are developments within Ayurveda during its long and varied history, the addition of new theories and practices of established ones, their interrelations and the interweaving of medical thought with constantly mutating religious, political, and cultural climates, form a rich and complicated pattern of medical and social history. But all the development does not mean that Ayurveda has lost its relevance in the present times.

In the present scenario, with increasing complexity of life,  new and dreadful diseases, we need to explore more the ancient scriptures. We still find the persons who are refused treatment with the modern system due to non-availability of a cure. Iyt is often seen that these prople then they move to the traditional methods. The research and developmental actives in the field of medical science are still proving the established facts and knowledge described in the Ayurveda. They are not proving Ayurveda but they are re-establishing Ayurveda. With all these efforts we are sure that Indian tradition of medicine will soon recognized all over the world.