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What Ayurveda means?

Ayurveda means literally the 'science (Veda) of longevity' and it is deemed as "Medicine of Gods". It was originally a Hindu medical system and had its beginnings more than two and half thousand years ago in the sixth century before the present era (or if you prefer BC.).

Ayurveda soon developed outside of the strictly Hindu community and was taken up and adapted by Buddhists and other religious groups. It has survived until the present day and is in fact undergoing a renaissance both in India and throughout the western world, which sees it as a necessary compliment to the Clinical model.

Ayurveda developed at about the same time as Buddhism and Hinduism and replaced earlier ideas on disease and Healing that were written down in religious texts such as the Atharva Veda.

Until Ayurveda came on the scene, disease was usually explained in terms of possession by various demonic disease entities. This earlier 'system' was perhaps successful because disease was less frequent. But with the growth of cities and a more settled way of life, new diseases arose and as a response a new medical system was needed.

Ayurveda is basically a humoural medical system that maintains that there are three essential humours which cause disease if they become imbalanced. These three humours are usually translated in English as Wind, Bile and Phlegm. Occasionally in the surgical tradition a fourth humour - blood - was added. Surgery and physical Ayurveda became two separate traditions, surgery being more important amongst the Buddhists, who for one reason or another are less hung up about ritual purity and contact with taboo bodily products such as blood.

According to Ayurvedic medicine most people are born in a state of equipoise but quickly loose it, either through bad diet, bad treatment or moving away from the physical location most conducive to their natural constitution and temperament. Everyone is recommended to discover for themselves what the optimum conditions for them might be and to try to keep themselves on an even keel.

The primary method for returning and maintaining the humours to a state of equipoise is diet. There are general recommendations of diet such as always eating hot food in the cold season etc. etc. However, more serious illness must be treated by a qualified Ayurvedic physicians, who has undergone at least seven years of training. He or she will recommended a more finely tuned diet as well as special therapeutic techniques to attempt to redress serious imbalances of the humours.

There is an ancient story, recorded also in the medical texts that explains the advent of these new diseases in mythological terms. It is called the Myth of Daksha's sacrifice. In this story, the god Shiva in revenge for not being invited to Daksha's wedding sacrifice, sacrifices Daksha! Sometimes it is said that Shiva was angry because Daksha's feast was an incestuous wedding sacrifice. In the ensuing chaos the following diseases were engendered: gulma (tumours), prameha (diabetes), kushtha (leprosy), unmada (insanity), apasmara (epilepsy), raktapitta (haemorrhage) and rajayakshma (consumption).

Medicine has a long association with the way of the warrior. Shiva, the god blamed for spreading so many new diseases is often associated with war. Another warrior god called Indra, is said to be have given 'the science of longevity' - Âyurveda to humanity in order to rid them of these same diseases. So one god gives another takes away. In fact Shiva and Indra are very closely related, like two sides of the same coin. Perhaps it shouldn't surprise us that those who are most skilled at inflicting pain are also the very ones to remove it again. (Plato says a similar thing in the Republic)

The warrior god Indra has an earthly son called Arjuna. Arjuna is the archetypal martial artist and participated in the long and bloody war that according to Indian tradition marks the beginning of human history. His story is told in the epic poem the Mahabharata. In one very suggestive episode, Arjuna is forced to hide his identity and is able through his physical skill to hide his masculinity and assume the form of a eunuch.

This episode has always reminded me of the supposed ability of some male martial artists to raise their testicles into their abdomen and thus protect them from injury. But be warned, although Arjuna eventually recovered his masculinity his was permanently barred from assuming the role of King. [As a Eunuch Arjuna taught dancing - another important link with Martial Arts]

Another more obvious, connection between Âyurveda and the martial arts comes through its doctrine of vital points. It is perhaps more well known that Indian sexology describes a system of erogenous zones (candrakalas in Sanskrit) or points of arousal. These points are enumerated in texts such as the Kama Sutra and Ananga Ranga, erotic texts which take many of their source ideas from the medical tradition. However perhaps less well known is the counterpoint to the erogenous zones ; these are the points of vulnerability or marmas.

Sushruta, who was an ancient surgeon who lived about 2000 years ago, identified about 140 marmas and some of these have been matched with corresponding pressure points in jujitsu and other martial arts.

Martial arts tradition has it that Buddhist missionaries travelling from Indian in the first few centuries of our era took with them some early forms of martial arts, ideas that became the precursors of the Chinese and Far Eastern variations.

There is therefore a direct link between the surgeon Sushruta, whose work was widely studied by Buddhists and the highly developed system of pressure points and meridians. The terms may have changed but the underlying concepts of Ayurveda and the fighting arts of Asia are surprisingly similar.