Ayurveda - The First World Medicine

Áyurveda (pronounced Aa-yer-vay-da), said to
be a world medicine, is the most holistic or comprehensive
medical system available. Before the
arrival of writing, the ancient wisdom of healing,
prevention, and longevity was a part of the spiritual
tradition of a universal religion. Healers gathered
from the world over, bringing their medical
knowledge to India. Veda Vyasa, the famous sage,
preserved the complete knowledge of Áyurveda
in writing, along with the more spiritual insights
of ethics, virtue, and Self-Realization. Others say
Áyurveda was passed down from God to his angels,
and finally to humans.
The methods used to find this knowledge of
herbs, foods, aromas, gems, colors, yoga, mantras,
lifestyle, and surgery are fascinating and varied.
The sage, physicians/surgeons of the time were the
same sages or seers, deeply devoted holy people,
who saw health as an integral part of spiritual life.
It is said that they received their training of
Áyurveda through direct cognition during meditation.
That is, the knowledge of the use of the various
methods of healing, prevention, longevity, and
surgery came through Divine revelation; guessing
or animal testing was unnecessary. These revelations
were transcribed from oral tradition into written
form, interspersed with aspects of mortal life
and spirituality.
Originally four main books of Vedic spirituality
existed. Topics included health, astrology, spiritual
business, government, military, poetry, and
ethical living. These are known as the Vedas: ¼ik,
Sama, Yajur, and Atharva. Áyurveda was used
along with Vedic astrology (called Jyotißh, that is,
one’s “inner light”). Eventually, Áyurveda was
organized into its own compact system of health
and considered a branch of Atharva Veda. This
upaveda/branch dealt with the healing aspects of
spirituality; although, it did not directly treat spiritual
development. Passages related to Áyurveda
from the various Vedas were combined into separate
books dealing only with Áyurveda. Among
the Veda’s 10,572 hymns are discussions of
the three constitutions (doßhas): air (Váyu), fire
(Pitta), and water (Kapha). Topics comprised organ
transplants, artificial limbs, and the use of herbs
to heal diseases of the mind and body and to foster
longevity. Within the Atharva Veda’s 5,977 hymns
are discussions of anatomy, physiology, and surgery.
There were two schools of Áyurveda at the time
of Átreya, the school of physicians and the school
of surgeons. These two schools transformed
Áyurveda into a scientifically verifiable and classifiable
medical system. Through research and testing,
they dispelled the doubts of the more practical
and scientific minded, removing the aura of
mystery that surrounded Divine




Reference on Medicinal plants Part I
Reference on Ayurveda treatments, Principles, Yoga , physiology and Health Articles

Reference on Indian medicinal plants and its treatments.