Health, Aging and Longevity in Ancient Indian Literature

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.