Elaboration of concept of health in Ayurved classics:
Ayurveda is an ancient Indian medical science.
“Ayurveda is the science and knowledge of life which describes all substances of the universe in terms of their being beneficial, harmful, pleasant and unpleasant to life”1.
As per described in classic Charak samhita well being is a “disease free State” to be pursued for the attainment of "virtue, wealth & gratification".
Ayurveda thoroughly describes preservation of health with excellent medicines as well as healthy food, good thinking, good habits, healthy environments etc. This can achieve by ‘Swasthya Rakshanam’ (‘Swasthasya Swasthya Rakshanam’ i.e. 'Swasth' compose from two words swa and stha, where 'swa' means own ,self and 'stha' means stable, steady, established in self, self has three parts body, mind and spirit thus swastha denotes self abiding , being in one's natural/prakritik state. One who is in his own norms; Individual who enjoys normal health is the swastha, healthy in true means as per ayurveda.)To be healthy is thus to have mental, spiritual & physical peace along with social well being.
The hymn “swasthasya swasthya Rakshanam Aturasya vikar prasamanam cha"2delineated two purposes of the Ayurveda like elegant health system,1st is the protection of health of a healthy individual and second is the alleviation of disease of a patient. Here stressing on the protection of the health of a healthy individual, for that ayurvedic proponents advocate various life style administrations which are described in classical texts.
One of the great seer, founder of the legendary Indian surgery and proponent of Ayurveda ,defined health in his classical treatise called Sushruta samhita, as "samdosha samagnishcha samdhatu malahkriyah…" i.e. samadosh ( balanced humour),samagni( balanced enzymes and metabolites in the form of digestive fire),sama dhatu( balanced tissue system),malakriya ( state of excretory function),prasanna (ecstasy),atemndriya manah( soul, sense organs and mind) " swasthya iti abhidhiyate"3 ( called as healthy state).
These two schools (Charaka and Sushruta) gives major contributions in the provision of the Ayurveda like gem health care systems in the service of mankind.
The definition of health proposed by WHO can also be revised in the light of Ayurveda . The widely accepted definition of well being ,health given by WHO in 1948 " Health is a state of complete physical ,mental and social well being & not merely an absence of disease or infirmity."
This definition has 3 dimensions of health; physical, mental and social. which can be compared with sushruta's definition, the physical health is can be correlated with dosha, Dhatu ,Mala & Agni, means their appearance in the body with a harmony or a coordinated manner will lead to healthy state and opposite will lead to unhealthy or diseased state, the social & mental dimensions of health related with stage ecstasy of soul, sense organs( Indriya) & the mind. Here the sense organs give a social relevance, means a individual with stable sensible, all sense organs are able to grasp, understand and react sensibly on social surrounding issues and happenings brings health of society also, that is described more subtle by Charaka as follows:
Definition of life has been given in the form of Ayu in the 1st adhyaya is further elaborated in last adhyaya of sutrasthan 30th chapter as people whose body and mind are disease free and those who are endowed with youth, enthusiasm ,strength, virility, reputation, manliness, courage, knowledge of art and sciences, healthy senses, objects of sensory perceptions, ability of the sensory organs, richness and various luxurious articles for enjoyment and who can achieve whatever they want & roam as they please are said to be lead a happy life. Those who are the well wisher of all beings ,who do not desire the wealth of others ,who are truthful, Peace loving, who are thoughtful before taking action, who are vigilant, who experience the three important objects of life(righteousness, wealth and desire)without one affecting the other, who respects superiors who are endowed with knowledge of art, science and tranquility, who serves the elders, who have full control over the lust, anger, envy, arrogance and pride , who constantly indulge in various types of charity, meditation, acquisition of knowledge and quiet life(solitude),who have full spiritual knowledge and are devoted to it, who work both for the present as well as for the next life ,and are endowed with the memory and intelligence lead a useful rather beneficial life, while others don’t. 4
In this way Ayurveda described the concept of health is not only the condition of physique but also an individual fit by mind, soul, socially should be sound.
Thus Ayurveda is a life science, a health system, which aims to help, assist man kind in living, well being and to provide healthy happy life. It concerned mostly with longevity, whose notion is to provide long lasting life with all conditions to live health, vitality also to achieve a natural peaceful end of the life i.e. death after a long satisfied fulfilled life , means the natural final experience of the cycle of life ,which is a very broad, distinct view towards life.
Ayurveda is based on the basic fundamental principles of dosha, Dhatu, mala& Agni. Health is an outcome of harmonized state of these factors.
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