We’ve been engaging with the basics of Ayurveda trying to grasp a bit about the foundations upon which the ancient wisdom is based. In this series let us look at a multidimensional definition of Health as offered by one school of thought in this body of wisdom. This envelops the ‘spiritual’ in addition to the fundamentals laid down in the previous posts.

Ancient Ayurveda lays down that the ‘more a person realizes their Divine nature the healthier they are’. What is someone’s Divine nature? The Vedas postulate that ‘order and reason exist in life’. Life given to us is divine and our goal is to realize our inner nature that ascribes to this sense of Divinity. And in this process of unraveling oneself and ultimately awakening to the realization is aided by a responsible Ayurvedic doctor. The prime mover in this adventure of life is ‘Optimism’ and ‘Love’ is the preferred medication. Once a person is sound in both body and mind he finds a purpose in his career. He enters into fulfilling spiritual relationships and lives in a state of grace. The body then becomes more relaxed, the mind more calm and alert; and one becomes more personable in relationships. Yet the most profound developments take place inwardly; Divinity grows within. Gradually one also begins to see the Divinity in others and all of life.

In the quest of the Ayurvedic doctor to bring back the lost balance to the patient’s body, the spiritual can’t be seen but only felt. On enabling a deeply metaphysical medicative experience in the process the Ayurveda system far surpasses the mundane ailment-specific medication to which all of us often succumb to.