Ayurveda Beyond the Elements

The texts used by today’s Ayurvedic physicians, were written thousands of years ago and are based on the Vedas, ancient Indian scriptures written about 6,000 years ago, which means there is nothing new under the sun. Or should I say in the air, ether, fire, water or earth.

Dr Hule, an Ayurvedic physician in Bombay, says that, “to understand the principles of Ayurveda is very simple. We are all aware that the entire physical world is composed of the elements, but through the study of Ayurveda we also understand that the bodily functions as well as our mental and spiritual beings are also related to the balance of fire, water and air (the elements) in each of us. We interact, affecting and being affected by the balance of these elements in our environment.”

Krishna, an office employee in Bombay, spent several years trying unsuccessfully to find a cure through Western “allopathic” medicine for his continued weight loss. An Ayurvedic physician felt his pulse and immediately determined that his “digestive fire” was weak and that he was unable to absorb the nutrients of his food. He was given some herbal remedies and advice on changing his diet: avoiding spicy or acidic foods like oranges, tomatoes, eggplant, spinach, chillies and radish – to bring his “pitta” or the fire side of his nature into balance. Within a few weeks he was beginning to put on weight and feeling less angry and aggressive.

I asked Dr Hule what such an ancient medical science could have to say about modern life. “Interestingly”, he said, “the facts about Ayurveda have been observed for thousands of years and are still being observed. For instance, Vata or air in the body is the principle of movement and sensation in the body. If, in our modern lifestyle we travel a lot, eat too much wind producing food (like cabbage and beans etc.) are hectic, using a lot of electronic gadgets, subjected to a lot of noise and drugs etc. then our Vata gets out of balance.”

He also explained that the principles of Ayurveda involve much more than just taking herbal remedies. There are many detailed methods of diagnosis, including the pulse and condition of various parts of the body, for example: the tongue, nails and hair etc. They used many techniques for cleaning toxins from different parts of the body, for example: ingesting natural substances that induce purging. Then, there may be various herbal treatments required to stimulate or suppress specific functions in the body. More importantly, feels Dr Hule, is the wealth of advice on lifestyle and meditation which the ancient treatises prescribe.

In the absence of an Ayurvedic physician, we can diagnose our own tendency towards a particular constitution according to Ayurvedic principles. We can discover if our constitution leans towards vata (wind), pitta (fire) or kapha (water). This can help us to know how an imbalance is likely to occur in ourselves. Using the principle of “like increases like”, if we have a kapha (water) dominant constitution then we may have a tendency to overweight, over-emotional nature or suffer congestion in the chest. So we should modify our diet and actions accordingly, for example, avoid sleeping too much in the day or eating too many sweets. The following table summarises the characteristics of the three bodily constitutions. By placing a tick against the statements which could describe us the best (more than one can apply), we can see where our own constitutional tendencies lie.

Sadly, the legacy of the British occupation of India for 400 years, was that this traditional Indian medicine was discouraged and Western medicine promoted. According to Ayurvedic physicians, only about 40% of the population in Indian cities consult Ayurveda physicians.

On the other hand, your average Indian mother-in-law may advise some simple ayurvedic cures for everyday problems like: toothache, cold or stomach upset. The kitchen cupboard provides many of them. For example, chewing on a clove for a toothache, inhaling the smoke from burning ajwain seeds to relieve congestion in nose and chest, ghee and camphor drops administered through the nose for sinus pain or even eating papaya seeds for intestinal worms.

The practice and philosophy of Ayurveda is not only to restore balance and ease the aches and pains of the body but also those of the spirit. Since ancient times, the message of Ayurveda has been to keep in a state of balance and to avoid extremes so that the existence of the Divine can be felt on the central nervous system. According to Dr Hule, the most important message of Ayurveda is that of getting a connection with the spiritual side of our being. That, together with the practice of meditation, you can avoid illness altogether and embark on your spiritual evolution beyond the elements of fire, air and water.

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VATA	PITTA	KAPHA
Thin and slim build	Medium build, sharp features	Stout, big and well developed
Dry, rough, cracked skin	Warm, moist, pink skin (sometimes acne & moles)	Thick, white, oily, smooth & soft skin
Thin, coarse, dry, wavy hair	Fine, soft, red or grey hair, balding early	Dark, thick, oily, lustrous hair
Thin and small forehead	Forehead medium with folds	Broad and large forehead
Small brown eyes	Red, medium, piercing eyes	White, attractive, large eyes with thick eyelashes
Thin small, dry lips	Medium, soft, red lips	Large, thick, oily lips
Small, thin, dry nails	Soft, pink, medium nails	Large, oily, white nails
Dry, hard stools, constipation	Regular, loose, often burning motions, diarrhoea	Moderate, solid sometimes with mucus
No perspiration	Profuse, hot sweat with smell	Moderate, cold sweat often pleasant smell
Appetite variable	Strong appetite, irritable if meal missed	Constant appetite but can skip meals easily
Low weak hoarse voice	High pitch, sharp voice	Deep, pleasant voice
Quick, inconsistent, erratic speech, talkative	Moderate, convincing speech, argumentative	Slow, definite speech. Not very talkative.
Quick, adaptable, indecisive mental nature	Intelligent, penetrative, critical mental nature	Slow, steady, dull mental nature
Poor memory, observation good but forgets easily	Sharp, clear memory	Slow to take notice but will not forget easily
Fearful, anxious and nervous in emotions	Angry and irritable in emotions, futuristic	Sentimental, content, calm, attached in emotions
Erratic, rebel, changing faith	Determined, fanatic in faith. Good leader	Constant, loyal and conservative in faith
Light, disturbed sleep. Tends towards insomnia	Moderate sleep. May wake up and fall asleep	Heavy sleep, difficulty waking up
Flying, moving, restless in dreams and has nightmares	Colourful, passionate, fighting in dreams	Few, sentimental and romantic dreams
Likes travelling, dancing, jokes, stories, parks, and art	Likes sports, politics, painting and hunting	Likes business, cosmetics, flowers and lakes
Prefer warm climate, sunshine and moisture	Prefer cool and well ventilated place		Any climate is fine as long as it is not humid
Low strength, poor endurance, starts and stops quickly	Medium strength, intolerant of heat		Strong, good endurance, but slow in starting
Diseases of nervous system, pain, arthritis, mental disorders, constipation, sciatica, rheumatism.	Often fevers, infections and inflammatory diseases, rashes, hives, acne, diarrhoea and conjunctivitis.		Often respiratory system diseases, mucus, edema, colds, hayfever, cough, congestion, sneezing and sinus.
Difficulty in making decisions, changeable	Quick in making decisions, strong minded		Slow in making decisions and actions
Does not gain weight easily	Gains weight moderately		Gains weight easily
Spends money quickly	Spends money on luxuries		Saves money
Variable thirst	Usually thirsty		Rarely thirsty