Ayurveda

Ayurveda (आयुर्वेद Sanskrit: ayu—life; veda—knowledge of) or ayurvedic medicine is a comprehensive system of medicine, more than 2,000 years old and based on a holistic approach rooted in Vedic culture. Its conspicuous use of the word veda, or knowledge, reveals its role in early Hinduism and describes its hallowed place in India. Ayurveda also had a tradition of surgery. Two early texts of Ayurveda are the Charaka Samhita and the Sushruta Samhita.

Today

Ayurvedic physicians were traditionally supported by their patients and the communities they worked in, with a minority gaining royal patronage. Under the centralised governments systems established by the Mughals and subsequent British rule in India, many Ayurvedic physicians were paid small stipends by the state. But when the British government in India began to establish hospitals and organised state-wide healthcare institutions, leading eventually to the Indian Medical Service, Ayurveda was not included. In the early 20th century, Ayurvedic physicians began to organise into professional associations and to promote the case for national recognition and funding. This began to become a reality after Indian independence in 1947.

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Today, Ayurveda is gaining lots of interest in the Western countries. Ayurvedic treatments in the West are primarily massage, and dietary and herbal advice, due to the strong regulations surrounding medical practice in Europe and America. Patients are classified by body types, or prakriti, which are determined by proportions of the three doshas. Illness and disease are considered to be a matter of imbalance in the doshas. Treatment is aimed at restoring harmony or balance to the mind-body system.

Related Topics:
Illness - Disease

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In India, Ayurveda is gaining a lot of prominence as an alternative to western medicine. However, the traditional methods of teaching ayurveda - such as undergoing a rigourous study of sanskrit - are being discarded and only diseases and cures are being taught in most Ayurvedic colleges across India. For the next generation of Ayurvedic doctors, this reduces the basic understanding of Ayurveda as a comprehensive system. Also, not being able to comprehend the original Vriddha Trayi in Sanskrit may lead to different interpretations of the ancient texts and possibly to deviations from traditional Ayurveda.

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See History of medicine

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Former NFL player Ricky Williams is currently studying Ayurveda at the California College of Ayurveda. -->

Related Topics:
Ricky Williams - California College of Ayurveda

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