Synonyms for disease in Ayurveda:
Roga, vyadhi, dukha, and abadha are synonyms for the word disease (all of which mean pain or sorrow)
Papma: arises as a result of sins
Amaya: arises as a result of indigestion
Vikara: associated with disturbed structure or functions of various organs
Jvara: associated with fever and irritability of the mind
Yakshma: associated with wasting
Atanka: associated with unbearable state
Primary Values:
Sattva: refers to the ongoing attainment of greater degrees of purity, harmony, balance, and goodness in one’s life
Dharma: refers to an individual’s recognition of inherent lawfulness in the universe, assuming personal responsibility, and taking charge of one’s own life in the world
Ayurvedic specialties:
1. Kayachikitsa: internal medicine
2. Shalyatantra: surgery
3. Shalakyatantra: otolaryngology, opthalmology
4. Kaumarabhritya: obstetrics, gynecology, and pediatrics
5. Agadatantra: toxicology
6. Bhutavidya: psychiatry
7. Rasayana: anti-aging and rejuvenation
8. Vajikarana: reproductive and aphrodisiac medicine
Darshana: philosophical system, religious system, or worldview
Rishis: sages, often enlightened
Guru: teacher or master
Chela: student or disciple
Mantra: a chant or hymn, often associated with the Vedas
Brahman: the universal absolute
Atman: the individual spirit
Agni: (digestive) fire; brings about maximal nutrition in body, mind, and spirit; emphasizes transformation and digestion in the broadest sense
Satmya: purity, health, and wholesomeness
Shuddha: continuing efforts towards maintaining purity
Dhatus: tissues (as pertaining to the body)
Upadhatus: secondary tissues
Dhara kalas: tissue membranes
Srotas: channels of circulation
Malas: waste products
Prana: is considered the life force (also known as Qi in Traditional Chinese Medicine); subjectively experienced as the will to live
Pranayama: a system of intentional and conscious breath regulation and expansion to facilitate the absorption of prana into the lungs and bloodstream
Tejas: considered the flame of life, closely allied to agni; emphasizes transformations and digestion of sensory impressons and thoughts (intelligence) on all levels in the person
Ojas: the body’s vital essence that is manifest by and contained in a particular way; means vigor and strength, and denotes imunity and resistance to developing disease
Six major astika darshana schools of Indian philosophy (Ayurveda draws on these):
1. Sankhya: provides a nontheistic creation sequence by outlining the evolution and manifestation of the spirit and consciousness into matter; forms the framework of the Ayurvedic worldview
2. Yoga: developed by Indian sage Patanjali; contains a more theistic base and describes an eightfold path characterized by introspection, meditation, self-discipline, and aspects of renunciation and asceticism; aims to gradually liberate the human spirit from its bondage to the material world
3. Nyaya: a monotheistic system describing a logical approach to apprehending the world by using reason; emphasizes epistemological methodologies, tools of logic and inquiry, and deductive strategies; holds that logic is a real way to find truth, and in turn, salvation
4. Vaisheshika: describes a complex system of categories and classifications of substances, their action potentials, and their properties or attributes; sets forth propositions and uses inductive inference to examine the structure of the material world; proposes nine causative substances as comprising the entire universe: ether, air, fire, water, earth, soul, mind, time, and direction
5. Purva-Mimamsa: espoused the philosophical tenets of realism and pluralism and eschewed what it regarded as idealistic conceptualizations; role of sacrifice is emphasized
6. Uttara-Mimamsa or Vedanta: spiritually oriented system emphasizing the essential spiritual/consciousness base of all reality (Brahman), human misperception, and ways that the individual and the Ultimate may become reestablished
The three doshas:
Vata: connotes movement
Pitta: connotes transformation
Kapha: suggests consolidation and inertia
Fundamental values in the Vedas, supported by Ayurveda:
1. Dharma: destiny, purpose, duty, oblications, immanent cosmic lawfulness, justice, and righteousness in life; one’s life work or mission
2. Artha: possessions; refers to the necessary material accumulations that one acquires in order to live with a reasonable degree of comfort
3. Kama: pleasure; the experience that derives from the capacity of desire and relates to the natural propensity of attraction to objects that will satisfy needs, reduce tension, yield wholesome pleasure or enjoyment
4. Moksha: liberation; the central and primary goal under which the other three are subsumed; refers to the gradual process of becoming freed from inordinate desires through the exercise of proper discrimination of a hierarchy of vlaues; in the Vedic sense, it means to regain consciousness of the unity of the individual spirit (atman) and the universal absolute (Brahman)
Upshaya: refers to Ayurvedas two basic principles of treatment
1. Samanya: “like increases like”, or “like attracts like”; this principle relates to the interconectedness of all aspects of the world; factors, substances, qualities, or attributes of a specific type exert similar effects on the object to which they are applied
2. Vishesha: “opposites balance and so cure each other”; relates to the idea of balance and imbalance- the idea is to restore balance through applying qualities opposite to those manifesting in the imbalanced condition, especially related to material phenomena such as physical body, foods, and herbs
Gurvadi gunas: ten pairs of opposing attributes that characterize the essential properties of virtually all substances
1. Shita/ushna: cold/hot
2. Snigdha/ruksha: wet or oily/dry
3. Guru/laghu: heavy/light
4. Sthula/sukshma: gross/sublte
5. Sandra/drava: dense/liquid
6. Sthira/chala: stable or static/mobile
7. Manda/tikshna: dull/sharp and penetrating
8. Mridu/kathina: soft/hard
9. Slakshna/khara: smooth or slimy/rough
10. Picchila or avila/sishada: sticky or cloudy/clear
Sapta Dhatus: the seven bodily tissues
1. Rasa: plasma
2. Rakta: blood
3. Mamsa: muscle
4. Meda: fat
5. Asthi: bone
6. Majja: marrow and nerve
7. Shukra: reproductive
Roga, vyadhi, dukha, and abadha are synonyms for the word disease (all of which mean pain or sorrow)
Papma: arises as a result of sins
Amaya: arises as a result of indigestion
Vikara: associated with disturbed structure or functions of various organs
Jvara: associated with fever and irritability of the mind
Yakshma: associated with wasting
Atanka: associated with unbearable state
Primary Values:
Sattva: refers to the ongoing attainment of greater degrees of purity, harmony, balance, and goodness in one’s life
Dharma: refers to an individual’s recognition of inherent lawfulness in the universe, assuming personal responsibility, and taking charge of one’s own life in the world
Ayurvedic specialties:
1. Kayachikitsa: internal medicine
2. Shalyatantra: surgery
3. Shalakyatantra: otolaryngology, opthalmology
4. Kaumarabhritya: obstetrics, gynecology, and pediatrics
5. Agadatantra: toxicology
6. Bhutavidya: psychiatry
7. Rasayana: anti-aging and rejuvenation
8. Vajikarana: reproductive and aphrodisiac medicine
Darshana: philosophical system, religious system, or worldview
Rishis: sages, often enlightened
Guru: teacher or master
Chela: student or disciple
Mantra: a chant or hymn, often associated with the Vedas
Brahman: the universal absolute
Atman: the individual spirit
Agni: (digestive) fire; brings about maximal nutrition in body, mind, and spirit; emphasizes transformation and digestion in the broadest sense
Satmya: purity, health, and wholesomeness
Shuddha: continuing efforts towards maintaining purity
Dhatus: tissues (as pertaining to the body)
Upadhatus: secondary tissues
Dhara kalas: tissue membranes
Srotas: channels of circulation
Malas: waste products
Prana: is considered the life force (also known as Qi in Traditional Chinese Medicine); subjectively experienced as the will to live
Pranayama: a system of intentional and conscious breath regulation and expansion to facilitate the absorption of prana into the lungs and bloodstream
Tejas: considered the flame of life, closely allied to agni; emphasizes transformations and digestion of sensory impressons and thoughts (intelligence) on all levels in the person
Ojas: the body’s vital essence that is manifest by and contained in a particular way; means vigor and strength, and denotes imunity and resistance to developing disease
Six major astika darshana schools of Indian philosophy (Ayurveda draws on these):
1. Sankhya: provides a nontheistic creation sequence by outlining the evolution and manifestation of the spirit and consciousness into matter; forms the framework of the Ayurvedic worldview
2. Yoga: developed by Indian sage Patanjali; contains a more theistic base and describes an eightfold path characterized by introspection, meditation, self-discipline, and aspects of renunciation and asceticism; aims to gradually liberate the human spirit from its bondage to the material world
3. Nyaya: a monotheistic system describing a logical approach to apprehending the world by using reason; emphasizes epistemological methodologies, tools of logic and inquiry, and deductive strategies; holds that logic is a real way to find truth, and in turn, salvation
4. Vaisheshika: describes a complex system of categories and classifications of substances, their action potentials, and their properties or attributes; sets forth propositions and uses inductive inference to examine the structure of the material world; proposes nine causative substances as comprising the entire universe: ether, air, fire, water, earth, soul, mind, time, and direction
5. Purva-Mimamsa: espoused the philosophical tenets of realism and pluralism and eschewed what it regarded as idealistic conceptualizations; role of sacrifice is emphasized
6. Uttara-Mimamsa or Vedanta: spiritually oriented system emphasizing the essential spiritual/consciousness base of all reality (Brahman), human misperception, and ways that the individual and the Ultimate may become reestablished
The three doshas:
Vata: connotes movement
Pitta: connotes transformation
Kapha: suggests consolidation and inertia
Fundamental values in the Vedas, supported by Ayurveda:
1. Dharma: destiny, purpose, duty, oblications, immanent cosmic lawfulness, justice, and righteousness in life; one’s life work or mission
2. Artha: possessions; refers to the necessary material accumulations that one acquires in order to live with a reasonable degree of comfort
3. Kama: pleasure; the experience that derives from the capacity of desire and relates to the natural propensity of attraction to objects that will satisfy needs, reduce tension, yield wholesome pleasure or enjoyment
4. Moksha: liberation; the central and primary goal under which the other three are subsumed; refers to the gradual process of becoming freed from inordinate desires through the exercise of proper discrimination of a hierarchy of vlaues; in the Vedic sense, it means to regain consciousness of the unity of the individual spirit (atman) and the universal absolute (Brahman)
Upshaya: refers to Ayurvedas two basic principles of treatment
1. Samanya: “like increases like”, or “like attracts like”; this principle relates to the interconectedness of all aspects of the world; factors, substances, qualities, or attributes of a specific type exert similar effects on the object to which they are applied
2. Vishesha: “opposites balance and so cure each other”; relates to the idea of balance and imbalance- the idea is to restore balance through applying qualities opposite to those manifesting in the imbalanced condition, especially related to material phenomena such as physical body, foods, and herbs
Gurvadi gunas: ten pairs of opposing attributes that characterize the essential properties of virtually all substances
1. Shita/ushna: cold/hot
2. Snigdha/ruksha: wet or oily/dry
3. Guru/laghu: heavy/light
4. Sthula/sukshma: gross/sublte
5. Sandra/drava: dense/liquid
6. Sthira/chala: stable or static/mobile
7. Manda/tikshna: dull/sharp and penetrating
8. Mridu/kathina: soft/hard
9. Slakshna/khara: smooth or slimy/rough
10. Picchila or avila/sishada: sticky or cloudy/clear
Sapta Dhatus: the seven bodily tissues
1. Rasa: plasma
2. Rakta: blood
3. Mamsa: muscle
4. Meda: fat
5. Asthi: bone
6. Majja: marrow and nerve
7. Shukra: reproductive
