The Elements: Building Blocks of Life

The creation principle developed five essential
elements—or building blocks that all life forms
contain: ether, air, fire, water, and earth. We can
easily see how life was created from the subtlest
to the grossest matter. From eternity, the subtlest
form of matter is ether. Ether mixing with eternity
creates air, a more observable or experiential element.
As air moves, it eventually creates friction,
which creates heat or fire. Heat produces moisture,
thus creating water, the densest element yet:
if one tries to walk through water, one is slowed
by its density. Finally, water produces the densest
form of matter, earth. The Vedas say that all of the
creation, including humans, is made up of combinations
of all five essential elements. These elements
are the subtlest aspects of human life, finer
than the molecular, atomic, or subatomic levels.
This is the level that Áyurvedic healing works
on. Focusing on the cause of the grosser levels of
life, the denser aspects will be taken care of since
they are made up of these five elements. Just as a
strong foundation supports a strong building, when
the five elements (the foundation of all matter) are
strong and balanced in a person, they will automatically
balance the more material levels.
Thus, Áyurveda does not need to look at isolated
parts of the human anatomy, or at the vitamin,
chemical, or nutritional level of health. It simply
balances the elements, and this balances the
more physical levels. person diagnosed with a duodenal ulcer is an
example of this balancing. Rather than create a
name for a symptom, Áyurveda identifies the illness
as an excess of the fire element. Acid is a byproduct
of heat. Áyurveda will look to see in what
part of the patient’s life overheating occurs. It may
be due to eating excessive fiery foods and spices
like tomatoes and peppers. One’s career may be
causing undue anger (i.e., hot temper). Perhaps the
person drinks alcohol (firewater).
Once the cause is learned, suggestions for reducing
a person’s excessive intake of fire are discussed.
Simultaneously, the patient is advised to
use more of the air and water elements to balance
the heat with coolness (air cools heat, water puts
out the fire). Thus, the holistic approach of
Áyurveda seeks the cause of an illness and restores
balance, using the insight of the elemental creation
of the universe.

The Áyurvedic Body
Personalizing the healing process is a uniqueness
that Áyurveda brings to the holistic field of
health. From the insights of the Vedic sages, we
learn that people are different and need to be individually
treated.
Expanding upon this elemental view, the
Áyurvedic practitioner understands that people are
made up of various combinations of the elements.
Some people have more air in their system; some
people have a more fiery constitution. Others are
predominantly made up of water. Still others are
combinations of fire and air, fire and water, or air
and water. Some people have an equal amount of
all three elements (ether is combined in air and
earth within water).
Thus a more air-predominant individual needs
to take in less air and more fire and water. A water
person already has an excess of water, so there is a
need to reduce the intake of water and to increase
the fire and air elements in the diet and lifestyle.




Reference on Medicinal plants Part I
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Reference on Indian medicinal plants and its treatments.