Once upon a time, some 5,000-10,000 years ago, there lived an ancient people who inquired into the world in which they lived. They looked to the skies and saw the celestial lights, and wondered in awe about their origin and meaning. They looked around at the world and wondered, "why am I here and what is the meaning of my life"? They knew the world around them was fraught with challenges and potential dangers, and they asked, how can I stay safe and healthy?
These people were among
the earth's oldest human inhabitants, and they lived in the land known today as
India. To answer their questions, the wisest and most learned of the clan went
forth to seek explanations from the Gods. These wise men and women were known
as rishis, the ones who had the gift to attune themselves to the ways of the
Gods. As they meditated deeply, the Gods came to them, and answers were given.
They learned about astrology and astronomy, about health, about air, fire and
water, and they learned about ritual. This knowledge was passed down through
generations with songs and chants, and then it was written down in the oldest
of books now existing on the planet: the Vedas.
The wisdom of the Vedas
is vast. The knowledge pertaining to health is known as Ayurveda, or the
science of life. The knowledge of Ayurveda was given to the rishis so that they
might know how to stay physically and emotionally healthy, in order to pursue
their deeper spiritual goals.
The Vedic teachings
thrived in India, and Ayurveda thrived as well, for several millennia.
Scholars, philosophers, and doctors journeyed from afar to India to study, and
each took pieces of this knowledge home with them. It was a golden age of
increasing understanding and deepening spirituality.
Then, between 700 and
1000AD, India was invaded by the Middle East. The Muslims went on anti-Hindu
crusades and destroyed many of the ancient books. The knowledge of Ayurveda
began to slip away. In the 1800s the British invaded India, destroying what was
left. Schools were closed and books were destroyed, until Ayurveda vanished
into the corners of society. In place of the Ayurvedic schools, western medical
schools were established.
It wasn't until 1947,
when India gained her independence, that strong interest in Ayurveda was
renewed. At this point, scholars and spiritual teachers tried to pick up the
pieces of this profound science. Schools re-opened and began to train Ayurvedic
physicians. By the early 1990s there were several hundred small Ayurvedic
schools in India.
Even so, India is a
vast country, and the number of Ayurvedic practitioners relative to the
population is very small. As of today, Ayurveda remains subordinated to the
western-influenced health care system.
In the West, a great
interest in the science of Ayurveda began to emerge as westerners started to
question the tenets of their own health care system. In the mid-1980s, profound
writers like Dr. Deepak Chopra and Dr. Vasant Lad, along with Dr. David Frawley
and the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, began to enlighten readers and listeners about
this ancient wisdom. Interest mushroomed, and now we see the very first
Ayurvedic Colleges opening in the United States, offering formal study of this
ancient knowledge.
Ayurveda is a science
that is, first and foremost, about creating harmony with one's environment.
Ayurveda teaches us that when we live in harmony we shall be healthy, and that
disease is the normal expression of living out of harmony. Hence, Ayurveda is a
health care discipline that begins by asking us to look inside of ourselves so
that we may discover how we are living out of harmony. Only then can we make
the life changes necessary for healing to take place.
In this way, Ayurveda
gives us back both responsibility for our well being as well as the power to
create our state of health. Ayurveda teaches us that we are all unique
individuals and that each individual's path toward perfect health is equally
unique. Ayurveda is not a dogma of "how to"; rather it is a system
that illuminates our unique journey and helps to guide us to our destination.
Ayurveda utilizes diet,
herbs, aromas, colors, meditation and yoga, along with special cleansing
techniques known as Pancha Karma, to assist each person in his or her process.
Most importantly, however, Ayurveda helps each person to look at their
lifestyle and discover areas that are disharmonious, while at the same time
empowering greater harmony. Ayurveda says that where there is harmony, there is
health.
