ragadirogan sathathanushakthan
asheshakaya prasrethanaseshan
Oulsukhyamoharathidhan jaghanayo
apoorvavaidhya namosthuthasmai
(Ashtanga Hridhayam 1.1)
I
pray respect to the 'apoorva vaidhya', the father of healing or the god
of good health, who protect us from all ‘rogas’
or ailments caused by 'ragas'
or psychological dualities of mind, which can affect the whole body and causes
restlessness, stress, and diseases.
Psychology
of Health and Diseases
Diseases can be classified into four
main classes viz psychologic, infectious, metabolic and genetic. Ancient Indian
Acharya’s and rishis have long identified that psychological
problems probably accounts for majority of our diseases. The above quote is
from the classic Ayurvedic text Ashtanga
Hridayam written by Vagbhata Acharya which says that our psychological
feelings caused by the dualities in mind such as love & hate, attachment
& detachment, generosity & greed, pride & envy, etc. can affect our
physical body and are responsible for most of our ailments. Same thought can
also be seen all across Bhagavat Gita.
maatra sparshaastu kaundheya seethoshna
sukhadukhadaa
(Bhagavat Gita 2:14)
In
Bhagavat Gita Krishna says to Arjuna that 'one feels heat and cold or
happiness and sadness due to the interactions of our 5 senses with the external
world’. Our ancestors thousands of years ago have written about the role of
senses, mind and psyche in diseases. Indian philosophy gives prime importance
to controlling mind to have good health, longevity and attain moksha or oneness with god. Yoga or yogasana (physical exercises), pranayama
(breath exercise) and dhyana (meditation)
are prescribed as ways to achieve this. Charaka in his
classic Ayurvedic text says that the body and mind are complementary,
exchange energy and effect each other, just like how heat is transferred when
hot oil is poured into cold vessel.
sharira manaso yoga parasparamanu
vrijeth
adhara adheya bhavenaad thajya
ghadayoriva
(Charaka
Samhita)
Aging and Longevity
Aging
and associated conditions itself are not a disease. Typical characteristics of
aging we recognize are wrinkling of the skin, graying of the hair, baldness,
etc. These characteristics of aging sets in at different ages in different
individuals. Mental, physical, environmental and genetic factors contribute to
these individual variations. In scientific terms, normal aging occurs due to oxidation and
per-oxidation of various macro molecules within our body. As you age the skin
becomes more wrinkled because it loses its elasticity mostly due to damages to
membrane macromolecules such as proteins and lipids which make up the body
structure. We can compare this to a car, a well maintained car can last a long
time while a race car with rough use won't last a season.
Aging and longevity are two aspects in life everyone is always
concerned with. People are trying various chemicals and or herbal preparations,
without even knowing whether they will ever work, to look young and live
longer. Modern science says our average life expectancy is about 70-80 years
now, while our ancient rishis and Acharya’s have already
established that we can live for 100 years.
kurvenevaha karmani jijivisheshatham
samaha
(Isavashya Upanishad -2)
Isavashya Upanishad proclaims
that one can aspire to live for 100 years, if we follow our Dharma and Karma.
Most of us are at a loss when it comes to our body, without a clue, how to do
the maintenance of our body for a healthy and long life. Fortunately, ancient Indian
literature has a wealth of information about good health and practices. In fact
jara chikitsa or geriatric science, is a major part of classic Ayurveda. Probably our western style
education made us ignore these information and left them in the dust bin. It is
our duty to get them back to practice.
Health
and Fitness
In our society today we are all
leading a fast paced life to achieve material wealth and success, often
ignoring our health. We tend to forget that health is our most important
wealth. By middle age when we realize this fact often many our bad habits have already
contributed to our poor health. We spend a lot of money and time to maintain
our fancy car but not to protect and maintain our own body. Strangely, modern
science and western medicine which is supposed to provide clear directions fall
short. The so called pundits keep changing their mind about what is good and
what is not for good health. Media and information overload also contribute to
such fallacy.
Presently, we believe that vigorous
exercise is good to keep fit and trim. Running marathon appears to be a fad
these days. Aerobics and similar hyper exercises seems to be the norm to be
healthy these days. Even 'yoga'
is being taught as vigorous physical exercise these days, without knowing its
original intend and purpose. Media also extol these in vain. I believe,
rigorous physical exercise is antithesis to good health and longevity. Don't
get me wrong, I am not saying we don't need exercise but we need a balanced
physical and mental regimen. I don't see anywhere in ancient Indian literature that
mentions the virtues of vigorous exercise. On the contrary, there are
innumerable mentions about the importance of balance of body & mind and how
to do that. Current scientific literature also supports this view, although the
media and the pundits are yet to catch up.
sidhyasidho samobhootva
samathvm yoga uchyate
(Bhagavat Gita 2:48)
In Bhagavat Gita Krishna says
that balance of body and mind is yoga. Krishna also says that those who
do unscientific and senseless torturing of their body, are ignorant and are not
my favorite.
Karshayanta sareerastham
bhootagraamamachetasa
Maamchaivaanta sareerastham
taanvidhyaasura nishchayaan
(Bhagavat Gita 17:6)
There is an inverse correlation
between heart rate and life expectancy in most mammals. Average adult human
heart rate is about 70 beats per minute. The number of heartbeats per life time
is a constant among mammals, despite a 40 fold difference in life span or
500,000 fold difference in body weight. Lowering the heart rate of humans from
70 to 60 increases life expectancy by over 12 years (European heart journal
supplement 2003, R. Ferrari). Scientific studies have shown that increasing the
heart rate is a risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The
vigorous exercise most of us do in the name of good health increases heart
rate. In contrast, asanas (yogic postures), pranayama (breath
exercises) and dhyana (meditation) helps to lower heart rate and slowdown
breathing. All these are techniques for good health and longevity prescribed in
many of our ancient texts, including the well-known Yogasutra written by
Pathanjali thousands of years ago. The purpose of a fruitful exercise
regimen should be to stimulate the whole body and not to give a workout to your
heart or burn calories.
adi vyayamatah kaso jvarachardisca
jayate
hrithayati uparodesca idi vyayama
lakshanam
(Charaka Samhita 7.33)
Charaka has mentioned over
2000 years ago that vigorous or over exercise can cause head ache, fever, and
even heart attack in his famous text on Ayurveda. He compares
over exercise to a lion trying to drag an elephant. A wise person should do
exercise in moderation.
Food for thought, mind and body
Food is another
important factor for good health, what you put in is what you get out. Ancient Indian
literature suggests the importance of a balanced diet and over eating. There is
also a wealth of information about choice of food in our ancient literature. Many
Ayurvedic texts goes in detail about
medicinal plants, preparation and use for various conditions. A good example
now validated by scientific studies is ‘curcumin’ from turmeric with
anti-cancer properties. Another example is the beneficial effects of coconut
and coconut oil, including as a strong antioxidant protecting the body from
effects of aging.
