Introduction
India may have been among the first to develop an institutionally-based, organized system of medical provision (Wujastyk: 1998). Ayurveda’s mythological origins are from before the period of written documentation, and thus accurate dating of its origins remains uncertain. While the first documents (including the Rig Veda, which contains some of the earliest Indian medical content) began appearing around the middle of the fourth millennium B.C. in the area of interest, there are few written documents describing medical systems of the era in existence. However, the Vedas- a group of religious and philosophical writings associated with Hinduism- are among some of the earliest written texts known today, suggesting that Ayurveda may be among the oldest systematized forms of medicine.
The Mythical Origins of Ayurveda
As the story goes according to the Vedas, Ayurveda was born from a convocation of rishis, or enlightened sages, who were becoming progressively more concerned about the increasing ubiquity of ill health in their world. The origins of disease held by Ayurvedic philosophy are that man’s vitality and knowledge was equal to that of God’s in the beginning of time. Much like Adam and Eve, the sages at the beginning of time enjoyed a life of unlimited longevity in a paradise of sorts, devoid of diseases and unhappiness of any sort. However, legend holds that those who were financially blessed began to eat more, drink more, and generally their habits gave way to a spirit of acquisition, and thus greed was born. This nature of overindulgence (or under-indulgence) in any one thing upset the balance necessary for the happy, healthful lives that were led previously, and the bodies of humans began to fail as a result. Successive generations enjoyed shorter life spans, culture gave way to characteristics of lust, hatred, cruelty, fear, and the like, and virtue was greatly deprived. It is thus that deviating from the path of righteousness gave rise to the beginnings of disease, and as such, the treatment of diseases necessitates a wide variety of cures for the mind, the soul, the body, and more. There are many versions of the particular origins of Ayurveda, but most agree that Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe, conceived of the four Vedas by capturing the knowledge they contain and passing this knowledge on to enlightened sages or deities. These sages of the Vedic ages were believed to be intimately involved with the divine, and as such, their wisdom reflected such divine understanding. From the wisdom of these sages was Ayurveda born, divinely incepted and conceived. Precisely who these sages are is an area of some dispute, since the knowledge of Ayurveda existed first as an oral tradition and no written records exist to prove or disprove the theories.
Famous Ayurvedic Practitioners and Literature
As per its divine origins, Ayurveda is inextricably linked to both Buddhism and Hinduism and is thus necessarily intertwined with religious and philosophical teachings. A few disciples of these sages became famous practitioners of Ayurveda and consequently wrote some of the earliest compilations of Ayurvedic philosophy and methods. The earliest of the three main treatises, the Charaka Samhita, was written by a man known as Charaka. Charaka was said to have lived in the 3rd or 2nd century BC, during which time he compiled the work of teachers and students regarding Ayurvedic practices and philosophies. The Charaka Samhita was not the first treatise of Ayurveda ever written, but it was universally accepted as superior in quality, clarity, and comprehensiveness which lent these writings their prestige. This volume discusses in detail the root causes of disease, diagnoses and treatments, anatomy and physiology, panchakarma, and non-surgical methods of Ayurveda.
(A depiction of early Ayurvedic surgical techniques)
The Sushruta Samhita, which came after the Charaka Samhita, is a redaction of the major concepts of Ayurveda written in Sanskrit, dating back to the 3rd or 4th century AD. This text was compiled by Sushruta, a prominent Ayurvedic practitioner who specialized in surgery and who invented innovative surgical techniques, some modern adaptations of which- like rhinoplasty- are still in use today (Ninivaggi: 2008). The contents of the Sushruta Samhita include descriptions of illnesses, detailed examinations of human anatomy, medicinal plants and their properties, preparation of minerals, and surgical techniques. Ashtanga Hridaya, the most recent of the three main historic Ayurvedic texts, was written in the fifth century AD. This treatise holds within it a systematized text of human illnesses that focuses on the physiological features of the body, having less to do with spirituality. It is divided into eight main disciplines: general bodily treatment, pediatrics, psychiatry, treatments for above the neck, surgery, toxicology, rejuvenation therapy, and aphrodisiac therapy. Like the other two texts, Ashtanga Hridaya Samhita is written in the form of simple poetic verses in Sanskrit (supposedly, the use of poetry in these texts was to aid the students in their memorization and understandings of the content). It also includes an exhaustive exploration of the etiology of illness, hygiene, and the influence of seasons and time on one’s health. Another well-known Ayurvedic practitioner, Dhanvantari, was actually deified by the people of his time and became known as the physician to the gods. He was glorified as an avatar (in the Hindu tradition, an avatar is a deity who has descended from the heavens to earth) for his skilled surgery, according to the standards of the time, and his innovations in herbal treatments. As a result, he was often regarded as the father of Ayurvedic practice.
The Sushruta Samhita, which came after the Charaka Samhita, is a redaction of the major concepts of Ayurveda written in Sanskrit, dating back to the 3rd or 4th century AD. This text was compiled by Sushruta, a prominent Ayurvedic practitioner who specialized in surgery and who invented innovative surgical techniques, some modern adaptations of which- like rhinoplasty- are still in use today (Ninivaggi: 2008). The contents of the Sushruta Samhita include descriptions of illnesses, detailed examinations of human anatomy, medicinal plants and their properties, preparation of minerals, and surgical techniques. Ashtanga Hridaya, the most recent of the three main historic Ayurvedic texts, was written in the fifth century AD. This treatise holds within it a systematized text of human illnesses that focuses on the physiological features of the body, having less to do with spirituality. It is divided into eight main disciplines: general bodily treatment, pediatrics, psychiatry, treatments for above the neck, surgery, toxicology, rejuvenation therapy, and aphrodisiac therapy. Like the other two texts, Ashtanga Hridaya Samhita is written in the form of simple poetic verses in Sanskrit (supposedly, the use of poetry in these texts was to aid the students in their memorization and understandings of the content). It also includes an exhaustive exploration of the etiology of illness, hygiene, and the influence of seasons and time on one’s health. Another well-known Ayurvedic practitioner, Dhanvantari, was actually deified by the people of his time and became known as the physician to the gods. He was glorified as an avatar (in the Hindu tradition, an avatar is a deity who has descended from the heavens to earth) for his skilled surgery, according to the standards of the time, and his innovations in herbal treatments. As a result, he was often regarded as the father of Ayurvedic practice.
The Golden Age of Ayurveda
Ayurveda has its roots in thousands of years of medical pluralism in India, and as such, it encompasses a wide variety of kinds of treatments and is quite holistic as a result. It is thus that Ayurveda could be utilized by many different cultures and peoples over time. For example, when Buddhism was born in the sixth century B.C., many Ayurvedic practitioners became Buddhist monks. As Buddhism gained popularity and began to disseminate, the practice of Ayurveda did so too; the monks chronicled Ayurveda’s development in India and later abroad, and was thus instrumental in its propagation. After King Ashoka became the emperor of the Maurya kingdom of northern India in 200 B.C., Ayurveda became widely practiced in India due to the king’s staunch support. India, and similarly Ayurveda, then entered a Golden Age in which trade and education flourished until the twelfth century A.D. when Muslim forces penetrated and ruled India until about 18th century. While the Muslim Unani Tibb (Greek-based) medicine prevailed, this era is considered one of consolidation of Ayurvedic medicine- innovative developments continued to be made, but were generally given much less importance as a way to respect the dominant Muslim healing system.
(Examples of ancient Indian surgical tools)
Ayurveda in the 19th and 20th Centuries
British colonialism heavily influenced Ayurveda’s development (or lack thereof). During India’s colonial era (from the 1750s to 1947), Ayurveda suffered greatly due to its active suppression by the British. By the year 1833, the British East India Company had closed nearly all existing Ayurvedic training facilities in existence. British medical schools were erected, and Western medicine rose to hegemonic status. As a result, the system became extremely disordered by varying standards of quality and conflicting practices and opinions; experts in the various eight disciplines of Ayurveda lost touch and even began to be in conflict with one another as their practices developed differentially. Much important clinical and theoretical knowledge was also lost due to this active suppression. When independence was gained in 1947, however, a surge of national pride served as the catalyst of its full revival. After gaining independence from the British, there was a national resurging interest in traditional Indian culture. 1946 saw a formal governmental recognition and reacceptance of Ayurveda as a legitimate system of medicine, and the government even devoted an entire branch to oversee its organization and regulation. In 1971, Ayurveda was incorporated into India’s official state healthcare system. Since then, many schools devoted to teaching Ayurveda have been constructed, and Ayurveda enjoys widespread popularity in India and many other countries today.
Criticisms of Contemporary Ayurveda
As mentioned previously, Ayurveda serves a large population across the world. Its fairly recent revival and subsequent flourishing, however, has not occurred without criticism. Nazrul Islam has examined Ayurveda’s current trend towards a health commodity for global consumption in detail, maintaining that it is a far cry from its roots as an indigenous system of healing (Islam: 2010). As the rapid social and economic modernization sweeps through India, N. Islam holds that Ayurveda has taken a significant hit as a result. In an effort to fulfill the needs of a diverse global economy, Ayurveda has become increasingly liberalized over time. Indian pharmaceutical companies have pounced upon Ayurveda’s foundation as a system of “natural” healing, an increasingly popular ideology in the West, and thus it is being viewed as an untapped resource of great export potential. In recent history, the practice of Ayurveda has undergone many changes. In terms of professional practice, there are three main tracks leading to becoming an Ayurvedic practitioner: the traditional method of apprenticeship to a guru, institutional training at a college in the form of a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine degree, and finally the postgraduate Doctor of Medicine (MD) in Ayurveda. Along with these changes in practice have been alterations in the way Ayurveda has been portrayed and utilized. N. Islam identifies the commodification of Ayurveda as having begun during its revitalization period, after independence from Britain was won. Part of this nationalistic revival meant that Ayurveda was produced on much larger scales, and soon commercially manufactured Ayurvedic products became linked to symbols of Indian civilization and pride. Drug manufacturers began casting Ayurvedic drugs in a more modern and sophisticated light in order to appeal to its middle and upper classes, which often meant undergoing a transformation to resemble modern Western health products. The Indian pharmaceutical companies producing Ayurvedic medicines on large scales began to resemble those of America, with aggressive marketing campaigns to promote their products and working with Ayurvedic and allopathic practitioners alike as a tool of proliferation with incentives for the practitioners. Pharmaceutical companies have gone so far as to attempt to redefine the female body- from a ‘medicalized’ one to a ‘natural’ one- in an appeal to capitalist consumerism while maintaining Ayurvedic ideologies. Therefore, despite their natural herbal components, Ayurvedic drugs are no less a medium used to promote health commodification than are allopathic drugs. In sum, while Ayurveda has increased its appeal by pandering to hegemonic Western values of commodification, it has sacrificed some of its integrity as a traditional healing system.
Ayurveda in the Clinical Setting
Not all contemporary practitioners share such a fatalistic view about the future of Ayurveda, however. In fact, some have devoted their lives to assuring that Ayurveda retains the highest standards possible, and have gone even further as to push for its integration into allopathic medicine. In particular, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was an instrumental figure in its rejuvenation, especially in the past few decades. He was an avid supporter of the integration of Ayurveda into contemporary medicinal systems and developed a modern variation of Ayurveda called Maharishi Ayur-Veda (MAV), which emphasizes Transcendental Meditation (TM) as a central mode of healing. Maharishi purports that during British colonization of India, the central role of consciousness, meditation, and other mental techniques, was at least eclipsed and at most given lip service. Due to Maharishi’s belief in the centrality of consciousness to Ayurveda, he devoted forty years of his life to bringing this ancient Vedic knowledge back to its former importance, and further to integrate such knowledge into Western medicine. Other important contributions that Maharishi has made to Ayurveda include systematizing the teaching of meditation, facilitating research on Ayurvedic techniques, unifying conflicting approaches under Vedic science, founding multiple Ayurvedic universities around the world, and encouraging the incorporation of MAV into Western clinical settings.
(A typical transcendental meditation position)
This particular branch of Ayurveda has been carefully researched by many scholars over the past couple of decades, and its modern interpretation makes it better adapted to other contemporary medical systems and clinics, such as biomedicine. Maharishi was a proponent of the idea of a ‘new model’ of Western medicine, as the way it exists today is falling quite short of our needs. MAV emphasizes a holistic approach to healing, has a more comprehensive view of ‘health’ as a positive entity, provides a detailed concept of what ‘normal’ health is, and offers more effective preventative medicinal practices. A central existing critique of Western medicine is the tendency to treat symptoms of a disease rather than attempting to solve the core problem; one of the specialties of Ayurveda and MAV alike is determining the root cause(s) of an illness- one example of the many ways in which Western medical philosophy could benefit from the integration of Ayurveda. These are but a few examples of how Ayurveda exists and functions in our contemporary world. While it is important to acknowledge Ayurveda’s shortcomings as N. Islam has done, it is also necessary to address its strengths and further to incorporate them into hegemonic systems of healing. A mutually beneficial relationship that combines the strengths of both disciplines is the best way to provide the greatest degree of efficacy to the patients being treated, which should be the goal of all and any healing system.
