“Life (ayu) is the combination (samyoga) of body, senses, mind and reincarnating soul. Ayurveda is the most sacred science of life, beneficial to humans both in this world and the world beyond.”
―Charaka
Ayurveda is an ancient system of medicine from India. The word “Ayurveda” comes from Sanskrit, and is made up of two parts - “Ayuhu” meaning Longevity or life, and “Veda” meaning Truth or Science.
I had not until recently understood that longevity is not just a measure of the number of years lived, but it is indeed an opportunity to become conscious and live the truth of our life. I was deeply touched by this definition, which was so beautifully described by Dr. John Douillard in a Course on Empowered Ageing using Ayurvedic Wisdom and Modern Science.
So, Ayurveda could be understood as a system of science to live our lives in sync with the natural rhythms of seasons, and day-night cycle. Ayurveda addresses how we eat, when we eat, what we eat - all these aspects now come under Circadian Medicine, well researched by the Western Medicine now.
“When the diet is wrong, medicine is of no use. When diet is correct, medicine is of no use.”
―Ayurvedic proverb
According to this great system, it takes a while for a human being to let the truth of life express itself. And our body is like an instrument that can be tuned to perceive our life’s ultimate truth. The goal of Ayurveda is to refine this body, mind and intellect to perceive subtle energy and consciousness that is within us, pervades us, is transmitted from us and received from the universe. We are all part of this flow of consciousness.
“Ayurveda is the science of life and it has a very basic, simple kind of approach, which is that we are part of the universe and the universe is intelligent and the human body is part of the cosmic body.”
―Deepak Chopra
This refinement is possible by a step by step process to bring the body and mind into balance and to shed all the unwanted emotional patterns of behaviour. It is this mind of ours that impacts our body physiologically and affects our ability to connect, to digest, to then align with the rhythms of nature.
Ayurveda enables us to live a healthy life with a healthy body, mind and intellect capable of perceiving subtle energy, so we can experience the inner joy that awaits all of us.
References -
Course material - Empowered Ageing using Ayurvedia Wisdom and Modern Science by Dr. John Douillard
Indic Academy sources on the science of Ayurveda
Web sources like Ayurvedum.com
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