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94-476: Five types of prāṇa, collectively known as the five vāyus ("winds"), are described in Hindu texts. Ayurveda , tantra and Tibetan medicine all describe prāṇa vāyu as the basic vāyu from which the other vāyus arise. Prana is divided into ten main functions: The five Pranas – Prana, Apana, Udana, Vyana and Samana – and the five Upa-Pranas – Naga, Kurma, Devadatta, Krikala and Dhananjaya. Pranayama , one of

188-444: A 2003–04 report states that India had 432,625 registered medical practitioners, 13,925 dispensaries, 2,253 hospitals and a bed strength of 43,803. 209 undergraduate teaching institutions and 16 postgraduate institutions. In 2012, it was reported that insurance companies covered expenses for ayurvedic treatments in case of conditions such as spinal cord disorders, bone disorder, arthritis and cancer. Such claims constituted 5–10 percent of

282-480: A designated sequence with the stated aim of restoring balance in the body through a process of purgation. Ayurveda is widely practiced in India and Nepal where public institutions offer formal study in the form of a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) degree. In certain parts of the world, the legal standing of practitioners is equivalent to that of conventional medicine. Several scholars have described

376-431: A detailed philosophical and logical idea about the origin of life on earth and the description is one of the earliest concepts on Matter and energy. The fourth section, in contrast, contains substantial philosophy. The last two sections discuss the symbol Om and concept of Moksha . Roer as well as Weber suggest that the last two Prashnas may be spurious, later age insertion into the original Upanishad. Prashna Upanishad

470-442: A person who is thin, shy, excitable, has a pronounced Adam's apple , and enjoys esoteric knowledge is likely vata prakriti and therefore more susceptible to conditions such as flatulence, stuttering, and rheumatism. Deranged vata is also associated with certain mental disorders due to excited or excess vayu (gas), although the ayurvedic text Charaka Samhita also attributes "insanity" ( unmada ) to cold food and possession by

564-411: A report titled "The Health Workforce in India" which found that 31 percent of those who claimed to be doctors in India in 2001 were educated only up to the secondary school level and 57 percent went without any medical qualification. The WHO study found that the situation was worse in rural India with only 18.8 percent of doctors holding a medical qualification. Overall, the study revealed that nationally

658-410: A school seeking knowledge about highest Brahman (Ultimate Reality). They ask sage Pippalada to explain this knowledge. He does not start providing answers for their education, but demands that they live with him ethically first, as follows: तन् ह स ऋषिरुवच भूय एव तपसा ब्रह्मचर्येण श्रद्धया संवत्सरं संवत्स्यथ यथाकामं प्रश्नान् पृच्छत यदि विज्ञास्यामः सर्वं ह वो वक्ष्याम इति || To them then

752-495: A treatment for diarrhea. In the Bhaisajya Ratnavali it is named as an ingredient in an aphrodisiac. Ayurveda says that both oil and tar can be used to stop bleeding, and that traumatic bleeding can be stopped by four different methods: ligation of the blood vessel , cauterisation by heat, use of preparations to facilitate clotting , and use of preparations to constrict the blood vessels. Massage with oil

846-433: A unique combination of the doshas which define this person's temperament and characteristics. In either case, it says that each person should modulate their behavior or environment to increase or decrease the doshas and maintain their natural state. Practitioners of ayurveda must determine an individual's bodily and mental dosha makeup, as certain prakriti are said to predispose one to particular diseases. For example,

940-807: A view similar to Phillips, with a slightly different ordering, placing the Prashna Upanishad's chronological composition in the fifth group of ancient Upanishads, but after the Svetasvatara Upanishad. The Prashna Upanishad consists of six questions and their answers. Except the first and the last Prashna, all other sections ask multiple questions. The pupils credited with the six questions are respectively Kabandhin Katyayana, Bhargava Vaidarbhi, Kausalya Asvalayana, Sauryayanin Gargya, Saibya Satyakama and Sukesan Bharadvaja. Sage Pippalada

1034-690: A whole person with each element being able to influence the others. This holistic approach used during diagnosis and healing is a fundamental aspect of ayurveda. Another part of ayurvedic treatment says that there are channels ( srotas ) which transport fluids, and that the channels can be opened up by massage treatment using oils and Swedana (fomentation). Unhealthy, or blocked, channels are thought to cause disease. Ayurveda has eight ways to diagnose illness, called nadi (pulse), mootra (urine), mala (stool), jihva (tongue), shabda (speech), sparsha (touch), druk (vision), and aakruti (appearance). Ayurvedic practitioners approach diagnosis by using

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1128-406: A wide geographical area outside of India. Smith and Wujastyk further delineate that global ayurveda includes those primarily interested in the ayurveda pharmacopeia , and also the practitioners of New Age ayurveda (which may link ayurveda to yoga and Indian spirituality and/or emphasize preventative practice, mind body medicine, or Maharishi ayurveda ). Since the 1980s, ayurveda has also become

1222-554: Is a Sattvic diet . Ayurveda follows the concept of Dinacharya , which says that natural cycles (waking, sleeping, working, meditation etc.) are important for health. Hygiene, including regular bathing, cleaning of teeth, oil pulling , tongue scraping , skin care, and eye washing, is also a central practice. The vast majority (90%) of ayurvedic remedies are plant based. Plant-based treatments in ayurveda may be derived from roots, leaves, fruits, bark, or seeds; some examples of plant-based substances include cardamom and cinnamon . In

1316-552: Is a deep sleep state where impressions end and the mind too sleeps without impressions, and this is the complete state of mind relaxation, of body happiness. It is then when everything in a person retires into Atman-Brahman, including the matter and elements of matter, water and elements of water, light and elements of light, eye and what is visible, ear and what is audible, smell and the objects of smell, taste and objects of taste, touch and objects of touch, speech and objects of speech, sexuality and objects of its enjoyment, feet and what

1410-727: Is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practiced throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayurveda is pseudoscientific and toxic metals such as lead are used as ingredients in many ayurvedic medicines. Ayurveda therapies have varied and evolved over more than two millennia. Therapies include herbal medicines , special diets , meditation , yoga , massage , laxatives , enemas , and medical oils. Ayurvedic preparations are typically based on complex herbal compounds, minerals, and metal substances (perhaps under

1504-477: Is an ancient Sanskrit text, embedded inside Atharva Veda , ascribed to Pippalada sakha of Vedic scholars. It is a Mukhya (primary) Upanishad , and is listed as number 4 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads of Hinduism. The Prashna Upanishad contains six Prashna (questions), with each chapter discussing the answers. The chapters end with the phrase, prasnaprativakanam , which literally means, "thus ends

1598-611: Is called rasashastra . Ayurveda uses alcoholic beverages called Madya , which are said to adjust the doshas by increasing pitta and reducing vatta and kapha . Madya are classified by the raw material and fermentation process, and the categories include: sugar-based, fruit-based, cereal-based, cereal-based with herbs, fermentated with vinegar, and tonic wines. The intended outcomes can include causing purgation, improving digestion or taste, creating dryness, or loosening joints. Ayurvedic texts describe Madya as non-viscid and fast-acting, and say that it enters and cleans minute pores in

1692-457: Is commonly prescribed by ayurvedic practitioners. Oils are used in a number of ways, including regular consumption, anointing, smearing, head massage, application to affected areas, and oil pulling. Liquids may also be poured on the patient's forehead, a technique called shirodhara. According to ayurveda, panchakarma are techniques to eliminate toxic elements from the body . Panchakarma refers to five actions, which are meant to be performed in

1786-691: Is credited with giving the answers. The questions are not randomly arranged, but have an embedded structure. They begin with macrocosmic questions and then proceed to increasing details of microcosmic, thus covering both universals and particulars. The six questions are about the origin, prana , origin of mind, meditation and spiritual states, nature of the syllable "Om", and the nature of the Supreme Being. Divisions Sama vedic Yajur vedic Atharva vedic Vaishnava puranas Shaiva puranas Shakta puranas The opening verses of Prashna Upanishad describe students who arrive at

1880-708: Is designed to do research on ayurveda. Many clinics in urban and rural areas are run by professionals who qualify from these institutes. As of 2013 , India had over 180 training centers that offered degrees in traditional ayurvedic medicine. To fight biopiracy and unethical patents, the government of India set up the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library in 2001 to serve as a repository for formulations from systems of Indian medicine, such as ayurveda, unani and siddha medicine. The formulations come from over 100 traditional ayurveda books. An Indian Academy of Sciences document quoting

1974-756: Is difficult to resolve because all opinions rest on scanty evidence, an analysis of archaism, style and repetitions across texts, driven by assumptions about likely evolution of ideas, and on presumptions about which philosophy might have influenced which other Indian philosophies. Olivelle states Prashna Upanishad "cannot be much older than the beginning of the common era". Mahony suggests an earlier date, placing Prashna along with Maitri and Mandukya Upanishads, as texts that probably emerged about early fourth century BCE. Phillips dates Prashna Upanishad as having been composed after Brihadaranyaka, Chandogya, Isha, Taittiriya and Aitareya, Kena Katha and Mundaka, but before Mandukya, Svetasvatara and Maitri Upanishads. Ranade posits

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2068-434: Is emphasized, and suppressing natural urges is considered unhealthy and claimed to lead to illness. For example, to suppress sneezing is said to potentially give rise to shoulder pain. However, people are also cautioned to stay within the limits of reasonable balance and measure when following nature's urges. For example, emphasis is placed on moderation of food intake, sleep, and sexual intercourse. According to ayurveda,

2162-686: Is first mentioned in the Sarngadhara Samhita (1300–1400 CE), a book on pharmacy used in Rajasthan in Western India, as an ingredient of an aphrodisiac to delay male ejaculation. It is possible that opium was brought to India along with or before Muslim conquests . The book Yoga Ratnakara (1700–1800 CE, unknown author), which is popular in Maharashtra , uses opium in a herbal-mineral composition prescribed for diarrhea. In

2256-491: Is found in older Vedic literature, such as the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad hymn II.1.19. It asserts, for example, that human body has a heart as the principal organ of Self, from where arise 101 major arteries, each major artery divides into a hundred times, which in turn subdivide into 72,000 smaller arteries, giving a total of 727,210,201 small and large arteries, and that these arteries diffuse air throughout

2350-536: Is from the 3,000-year-old Chandogya Upanishad , but many other Upanishads use the concept, including the Katha , Mundaka and Prasna Upanishads . The concept is elaborated upon in great detail in the literature of haṭha yoga , tantra , and Ayurveda . The Atharvaveda describes prāṇa: 'When they had been watered by Prana, the plants spake in concert: 'thou hast, forsooth, prolonged our life, thou hast made us all fragrant.' (11.4–6) 'The holy (âtharvana) plants,

2444-516: Is he who beholds, touches, hears, smells, tastes, perceives, thinks, reasons, conceives, acts, whose essence is knowledge, the Self. His foundation and dwelling is the supreme, indestructible Self. The Prashna Upanishad answers that happiness and bliss in man is this established calm state of knowing and dwelling in the Atman, the spiritual state of truth, beauty and goodness. The Prashna Upanishad opens

2538-414: Is it that sees the dreams? (4) What is it in man that experiences happiness? (5) On what is all this founded? The Prashna Upanishad begins the answer with a simile to state the background of extant theory, before offering its own explanation. Like rays of the sun that withdraw into the disc as it sets and that disperse ever more as it rises, all gods (sensory organs) inside man withdraw and become one in

2632-593: Is moveable, hands and what is seizable, mind and the objects of mind, thought and objects of thought, reason and objects of reason, self-consciousness and objects of self-consciousness, insight and objects of illumination, life-force and object of life-force. After setting the foundation of its dream theory and deep-sleep theory, the Prashna Upanishad defines Atman as Purusha (Cosmic Self, Consciousness, Soil of all beings, Universal principle), एष हि द्रष्ट स्प्रष्टा श्रोता घ्राता रसयिता मन्ता बोद्धा कर्ता विज्ञानात्मा पुरुषः । स परेऽक्षर आत्म नि संप्रतिष्ठते ॥ ९ ॥ It

2726-643: Is notable for its structure and sociological insights into the education process in ancient India. In some historic Indian literature and commentaries, it is also called Shat Prasna Upanishad . Prashna (प्रश्न) literally means, in modern usage, "question, query, inquiry". In ancient and medieval era Indian texts, the word had two additional context-dependent meanings: "task, lesson" and "short section or paragraph", with former common in Vedic recitations. In Prashna Upanishad, all these contextual roots are relevant. The text consists of questions with lessons or answers, and

2820-444: Is one of the eight limbs of yoga and is a practice of specific and often intricate breath control techniques. The dynamics and laws of Prana were understood through systematic practice of Pranayama to gain mastery over Prana. Many pranayama techniques are designed to cleanse the nadis , allowing for greater movement of prana. Other techniques may be utilized to arrest the breath for samadhi or to bring awareness to specific areas in

2914-526: Is the oldest in the world. Ayurveda is a system of traditional medicine developed during antiquity and the medieval period, and as such is comparable to pre-modern Chinese and European systems of medicine . In the 1960s, ayurveda began to be advertised as alternative medicine in the Western world. Due to different laws and medical regulations around the globe, the expanding practice and commercialisation of ayurveda raised ethical and legal issues. Ayurveda

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3008-544: Is the spirit, matter is the moon. The sun ascends to the highest, alone in splendor, warming us and serving as the spirit of all creatures. He is Aditya, illuminates everything, as stated in the first Prashna, and has two paths - the northern and the southern. Those who desire offspring follow the guidance of sun's southern path, while those who seek the Self take the northern path, one of knowledge, brahmacharya , tapas and sraddha . The first chapter includes several symbolic mythological assertions. For example, it states that

3102-477: The Atman (Self) is born this life. Life enters the body, states the Prashna Upanishad, by the act of mind. It governs the body by delegating work to other organs, sage Pippalada continues in verse 3.4, each specialized to do its own work independent of the other powers, just like a king commands his ministers to govern functions in the villages in his kingdom. The Upanishad then enumerates a theory of human body that

3196-417: The Bhaisajya Ratnavali , opium and camphor are used for acute gastroenteritis. In this drug, the respiratory depressant action of opium is counteracted by the respiratory stimulant property of camphor. Later books have included the narcotic property for use as analgesic pain reliever. Cannabis indica is also mentioned in the ancient ayurveda books, and is first mentioned in the Sarngadhara Samhita as

3290-758: The Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) was established under the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha medicine and Homoeopathy (AYUSH), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare , to monitor higher education in ayurveda in India. The Indian government supports research and teaching in ayurveda through many channels at both the national and state levels, and helps institutionalise traditional medicine so that it can be studied in major towns and cities. The state-sponsored Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS)

3384-460: The Mahavamsa , an ancient chronicle of Sinhalese royalty from the sixth century CE, King Pandukabhaya (reigned 437 BCE to 367 BCE) had lying-in-homes and ayurvedic hospitals (Sivikasotthi-Sala) built in various parts of the country. This is the earliest documented evidence available of institutions dedicated specifically to the care of the sick anywhere in the world. The hospital at Mihintale

3478-478: The Rishi (sage) said: Dwell with me a year, with Tapas , with Brahmacharya , with Sraddha (faith), Then ask what questions you will, If we know, we will tell you all. This preface is significant, states Johnston, as it reflects the Vedic era belief that a student's nature and mind must first show a commitment, aspiration, and moral purity before knowledge is shared. Secondly, the method of first question by

3572-407: The base chakra to the crown chakra , enabling prana to flow throughout the subtle body . When the mind is agitated due to our interactions with the world at large, the physical body also follows in its wake. These agitations cause violent fluctuations in the flow of prana in the nadis. Prāṇāyāma is a common term for various techniques for accumulating, expanding and working with prana. Pranayama

3666-422: The doshas or tridosha , are vata (air, which some modern authors equate with the nervous system), pitta (bile, fire, equated by some with enzymes), and kapha (phlegm, or earth and water, equated by some with mucus). Contemporary critics assert that doshas are not real, but are a fictional concept. The humours ( doshas ) may also affect mental health. Each dosha has particular attributes and roles within

3760-480: The eight limbs of yoga , is intended to expand conscious awareness of prana. V.S. Apte provides fourteen different meanings for the Sanskrit word prāṇa ( प्राण ) including breath or respiration ; the breath of life, vital air, principle of life (usually plural in this sense, there being five such vital airs generally assumed, but three, six, seven, nine, and even ten are also spoken of); energy or vigour;

3854-884: The 19th century, William Dymock and co-authors summarized hundreds of plant-derived medicines along with the uses, microscopic structure, chemical composition, toxicology, prevalent myths and stories, and relation to commerce in British India . Triphala , an herbal formulation of three fruits, Amalaki , Bibhitaki , and Haritaki , is one of the most commonly used Ayurvedic remedies. The herbs Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) and Ocimum tenuiflorum (Tulsi) are also routinely used in ayurveda. Animal products used in ayurveda include milk, bones, and gallstones . In addition, fats are prescribed both for consumption and for external use. Consumption of minerals, including sulphur , arsenic , lead, copper sulfate and gold, are also prescribed. The addition of minerals to herbal medicine

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3948-587: The Indian system of medicine or AYUSH (ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani , siddha , and homeopathy) were used by about 3.5% of patients who were seeking outpatient care over a two-week reference period. In 1970, the Parliament of India passed the Indian Medical Central Council Act which aimed to standardise qualifications for ayurveda practitioners and provide accredited institutions for its study and research. In 1971,

4042-791: The Latin anima ("breath", "vital force", "animating principle"), Islamic and Sufic ruh , the Greek pneuma , the Chinese qi , the Polynesian mana , the Amerindian orenda , the German od , and the Hebrew ruah . Prāṇa is also described as subtle energy or life force. Ayurveda Traditional Ayurveda ( / ˌ ɑː j ʊər ˈ v eɪ d ə , - ˈ v iː -/ ; IAST : āyurveda )

4136-470: The Prashna Upanishad states that Prana (breath, spirit) is the most essential and powerful of all, because without it all other deities cannot survive in a creature, they exist only when Prana is present. The deities manifest their power because of and in honor of Prana . The spirit manifests itself in nature as well as life, as Agni (fire), as sun, as air, as space, as wind, as that which has form and as that which does not have form. The third Prashna of

4230-656: The Sanskrit knowledge systems, ayurveda is assigned a place as a subsidiary Veda ( upaveda ). Some medicinal plant names from the Atharvaveda and other Vedas can be found in subsequent ayurveda literature. Some other school of thoughts considers 'ayurveda' as the ' Fifth Veda '. The earliest recorded theoretical statements about the canonical models of disease in ayurveda occur in the earliest Buddhist Canon . Ayurvedic practitioners regard physical existence, mental existence, and personality as three separate elements of

4324-535: The Upanishad asks six questions: (1) Whence is life born? (2) when born, how does it come into the body? (3) when it has entered the body, how does it abide? (4) how does it go out of the body? (5) how does life interface its relation with nature and senses? (6) how does life interface with Self? Sage Pippalada states that these questions are difficult, and given the student's past curiosities about Brahman, he explains it as follows, आत्मन एष प्राणो जायते From

4418-424: The Upanishad focus on cause and effect of the transient, empirical, manifested world, remarks Eduard Roer. The fourth through sixth Prasna of the Upanishad focus on the nature of Self, that which is unchanging and independent of cause, of proof, and is self-evident. The fourth Prashna lists five questions: (1) What sleeps in man? (2) What is awake therein (when he sleeps)? (3) Which Deva (god, deity, organ) in man

4512-586: The Vedic practice of describing sun as having six seasons, in contrast to five seasons for earth. The first section ends with verses 1.15 and 1.16 asserting that ethical living is necessary to realize the Atman-Brahman: Satya (truthfulness), Brahmacharya (chastity, celibacy if unmarried, fidelity if married), Tapas (austerity, meditation, perseverance), no Anrta (अनृत, falsehood, lying, deception, cheating) no Jihma (जिह्म, moral crookedness, ethical obliqueness with an intent to not do

4606-623: The Yoga Upanishads, discuss various breaths with specific names and functions. Prana is consistently regarded as the primary breath, akin to breath in English, while apana is associated with carrying off excrement. The Prashna Upanishad first described prana governing upper body functions and apana controlling lower functions, based on the concept of distinct airs or gases governing bodily functions. Aitareya Upanishad also support this division of breaths, associating prana with

4700-604: The answer is the implicit admission by the teacher with "if we know", that he may not know the answer, and thus acknowledging a sense of skepticism and humility into the process of learning. A year later, sage Pippalada is asked the first question, "whence are living beings created?" In verse 1.4 of Prashna Upanishad, the sage's answer is stated: Prajapati performed Tapas (heat, meditative penance, austerity) and created two principles , Rayi (matter, feminine), and Prana (spirit, masculine), thinking that "these together will couple to produce for me creatures in many ways". The sun

4794-400: The answer to the question". In some manuscripts discovered in India, the Upanishad is divided into three Adhyayas (chapters) with a total of six Kandikas (कण्डिका, short sections). The first three questions are profound metaphysical questions but, states Eduard Roer, do not contain any defined, philosophical answers, are mostly embellished mythology and symbolism.The first question gives

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4888-489: The beginning of the common era . Ayurveda has been adapted for Western consumption, notably by Baba Hari Dass in the 1970s and Maharishi ayurveda in the 1980s. Although some Ayurvedic treatments can help relieve the symptoms of cancer, there is no good evidence that the disease can be treated or cured through ayurveda. Some ayurvedic preparations have been found to contain lead , mercury , and arsenic , substances known to be harmful to humans . A 2008 study found

4982-404: The body and mind; the natural predominance of one or more doshas thus explains a person's physical constitution ( prakriti ) and personality. Ayurvedic tradition holds that imbalance among the bodily and mental doshas is a major etiologic component of disease. One ayurvedic view is that the doshas are balanced when they are equal to each other, while another view is that each human possesses

5076-425: The body. Purified opium is used in eight ayurvedic preparations and is said to balance the vata and kapha doshas and increase the pitta dosha . It is prescribed for diarrhea and dysentery, for increasing the sexual and muscular ability, and for affecting the brain. The sedative and pain-relieving properties of opium are considered in ayurveda. The use of opium is found in the ancient ayurvedic texts, and

5170-497: The body. It is this life-breath which interfaces Self to all organs and life in human body, states the Upanishad. The third Prashna uses symbolic phrases, relying on more ancient texts. It states, in verse 3.5 for example, that "seven lights" depend on air circulated by arteries in order to function, which is a phrase which means "two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and mouth". Its answers to metaphysical questions are physiological, rather than philosophical. The first three Prashnas of

5264-507: The contemporary Indian application of ayurvedic practice as being "biomedicalized" relative to the more "spiritualized" emphasis to practice found in variants in the West. Exposure to European developments in medicine from the nineteenth century onwards, through European colonization of India and the subsequent institutionalized support for European forms of medicine amongst European heritage settlers in India were challenging to ayurveda, with

5358-414: The context of answer that follows, to reflect the extant belief that deities express themselves in human beings and creatures through sensory organs and capabilities. The second significant aspect of the question is its structural construct, wherein the teacher is called Bhagavan , reflecting the Vedic culture of veneration and respect for teachers. The Upanishad thus suggests multiple contextual meanings of

5452-545: The country's health insurance claims. Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti , an organisation dedicated to fighting superstition in India , considers ayurveda to be pseudoscience. On 9 November 2014, India formed the Ministry of AYUSH . National Ayurveda Day is also observed in India on the birth of Dhanvantari that is Dhanteras . In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) published

5546-702: The density of all doctors (mainstream, ayurvedic, homeopathic and unani) was 8 doctors per 10,000 people compared to 13 per 10,000 people in China. About 75% to 80% of the population of Nepal use ayurveda. As of 2009, ayurveda was considered to be the most common and popular form of medicine in Nepal. The Sri Lankan tradition of ayurveda is similar to the Indian tradition. Practitioners of ayurveda in Sri Lanka refer to Sanskrit texts which are common to both countries. However, they do differ in some aspects, particularly in

5640-638: The details vary. The Brhadaranyaka Upanishad (2.I.19) mentions 72,000 nadis in the human body, running out from the heart, whereas the Katha Upanishad (6.16) says that 101 channels radiate from the heart. The Vinashikhatantra (140–146) explains the most common model, namely that the three most important nadis are the Ida on the left, the Pingala on the right, and the Sushumna in the centre connecting

5734-541: The entire epistemology called into question. From the twentieth century, ayurveda became politically, conceptually, and commercially dominated by modern biomedicine , resulting in "modern ayurveda" and "global ayurveda". Modern ayurveda is geographically located in the Indian subcontinent and tends towards secularization through minimization of the magic and mythic aspects of ayurveda. Global ayurveda encompasses multiple forms of practice that developed through dispersal to

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5828-847: The establishment of the Mount Madonna Institute. He invited several notable ayurvedic teachers, including Vasant Lad, Sarita Shrestha, and Ram Harsh Singh . The ayurvedic practitioner Michael Tierra wrote that the "history of Ayurveda in North America will always owe a debt to the selfless contributions of Baba Hari Dass". In the United States, the practice of ayurveda is not licensed or regulated by any state. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) stated that "Few well-designed clinical trials and systematic research reviews suggest that Ayurvedic approaches are effective". The NCCIH warned against

5922-524: The five major vāyus. Prāṇa is thus the generic name for all the breaths, including the five major vāyus of prāṇa, apāna, uḍāna, samāna, and vyāna. The Nisvasattvasamhita Nayasutra describes five minor winds, naming three of these as nāga, dhanamjaya, and kurma; the other two are named in the Skandapurana (181.46) and Sivapurana Vayaviyasamhita (37.36) as devadatta and krtaka. Indian philosophy describes prana flowing in nadis (channels), though

6016-525: The five senses. For example, hearing is used to observe the condition of breathing and speech. The study of vulnerable points, or marma , is particular to ayurvedic medicine. Two of the eight branches of classical ayurveda deal with surgery ( Śalya-cikitsā and Śālākya-tantra ), but contemporary ayurveda tends to stress attaining vitality by building a healthy metabolic system and maintaining good digestion and excretion . Ayurveda also focuses on exercise, yoga , and meditation . One type of prescription

6110-415: The ghost of a sinful Brahman ( brahmarakshasa ). Ama (a Sanskrit word meaning "uncooked" or "undigested") is used to refer to the concept of anything that exists in a state of incomplete transformation. With regards to oral hygiene , it is claimed to be a toxic byproduct generated by improper or incomplete digestion . The concept has no equivalent in standard medicine . In medieval taxonomies of

6204-537: The head and throat), and samāna (digestion and assimilation). Early mention of specific prāṇas often emphasized prāṇa, apāna and vyāna as "the three breaths". This can be seen in the proto-yogic traditions of the Vratyas among others. Texts like the Vaikānasasmārta utilized the five prāṇas as an internalization of the five sacrificial fires of a panchāgni homa ceremony. One of the earliest references to prāṇa

6298-716: The herbs used. In 1980, the Sri Lankan government established a Ministry of Indigenous Medicine to revive and regulate ayurveda. The Institute of Indigenous Medicine (affiliated to the University of Colombo ) offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and MD degrees in ayurveda medicine and surgery, and similar degrees in unani medicine. In 2010, the public system had 62 ayurvedic hospitals and 208 central dispensaries, which served about 3 million people (about 11% of Sri Lanka's population). There are an estimated 20,000 registered practitioners of ayurveda in Sri Lanka. According to

6392-403: The highest Deva named Manas (mind) when he sleeps. Other people say, asserts the Upanishad, gods that reside inside man, other than the deity of mind, cease from work in this state of sleep, and in this state, the essence of a person, his Self sleeps. The Fourth Prashna of the Upanishad, thereafter presents "five fire" theory, pointing out that Prana (breath, life-force) does not sleep, that

6486-799: The human body is composed of tissues ( dhatus ), waste ( malas ), and humeral biomaterials ( doshas ). The seven dhatus are chyle ( rasa ), blood ( rakta ), muscles ( māmsa ), fat ( meda ), bone ( asthi ), marrow ( majja ), and semen ( shukra ). Like the medicine of classical antiquity, the classic treatises of ayurveda divided bodily substances into five classical elements ( panchamahabhuta ) viz. earth , water , fire , air and ether . There are also twenty gunas (qualities or characteristics) which are considered to be inherent in all matter. These are organized in ten pairs: heavy/light, cold/hot, unctuous/dry, dull/sharp, stable/mobile, soft/hard, non-slimy/slimy, smooth/coarse, minute/gross, and viscous/liquid. The three postulated elemental bodily humours,

6580-409: The influence of early Indian alchemy or rasashastra ). Ancient ayurveda texts also taught surgical techniques, including rhinoplasty , lithotomy , sutures, cataract surgery , and the extraction of foreign objects. Historical evidence for ayurvedic texts, terminology and concepts appears from the middle of the first millennium BCE onwards. The main classical ayurveda texts begin with accounts of

6674-592: The issue of heavy metal poisoning, and emphasised the use of conventional health providers first. As of 2018, the NCCIH reported that 240,000 Americans were using ayurvedic medicine. The first ayurvedic clinic in Switzerland was opened in 1987 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi . In 2015, the government of Switzerland introduced a federally recognized diploma in ayurveda. Ayurvedic medicine is considered pseudoscientific because its premises are not based on science. Both

6768-611: The lack of scientific soundness in the theoretical foundations of ayurveda and the quality of research have been criticized. Although laboratory experiments suggest that some herbs and substances in ayurveda might be developed into effective treatments, there is no evidence that any are effective in themselves. There is no good evidence that ayurvedic medicine is effective to treat or cure cancer in people. Although ayurveda may help "improve quality of life" and Cancer Research UK also acknowledges that "researchers have found that some Ayurvedic treatments can help relieve cancer symptoms",

6862-453: The magic (ângirasa) plants, the divine plants, and those produced by men, spring forth, when thou, O Prâna, quickenest them (11.4–16). 'When Prâna has watered the great earth with rain, then the plants spring forth, and also every sort of herb.' (11.4–17) 'O Prâna, be not turned away from me, thou shall not be other than myself! As the embryo of the waters (fire), thee, O Prâna, do bind to me, that I may live.' (11.4) The Upanishads, particularly

6956-415: The mind focused for meditation". According to Theos Bernard , the ultimate aim of pranayama is the suspension of breathing, "causing the mind to swoon". Swami Yogananda writes, "The real meaning of Pranayama, according to Patanjali, the founder of Yoga philosophy, is the gradual cessation of breathing, the discontinuance of inhalation and exhalation". Similar concepts exist in various cultures, including

7050-440: The mind sacrifices food stored in the body with air provided by breath in order to serve the mind. Dream is a form of enjoyment for the mind, where it reconfigures and experiences again, in new ways, what it has seen before, either recently or in past, either this life or another birth, whether true or untrue (Shaccha-Ashaccha, सच्चासच्च), whether heard or unheard, whether pleasant or unpleasant. In dream, mind beholds all. There

7144-517: The nasal region and apana with the abdominal region. The Bhagavad Gita verse 4.27 describes the yoga of self-control as the sacrifice of the actions of the senses and of prāṇa in the fire kindled by knowledge. More generally, the conquest of the senses, the mind, and prāṇa is seen as an essential step on the yogin's path to samadhi , or indeed as the goal of yoga. Thus, for example, the Malinivijayottaratantra 12.5–7 directs

7238-410: The organization warns that some ayurvedic drugs contain toxic substances or may interact with legitimate cancer drugs in a harmful way. Ethnologist Johannes Quack writes that although the rationalist movement Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti officially labels ayurveda a pseudoscience akin to astrology , these practices are in fact embraced by many of the movement's members. A review of

7332-412: The original meanings of prana and apana . Some, like Böhtlingk , argue that originally prana meant inbreathing, while apana meant outbreathing. Others, like Deussen, claim the opposite, stating that prana meant outbreathing and apana meant inbreathing. However, they agree that in later times, these two terms came to refer to air located in different parts of the body, with prana associated with

7426-463: The physician's art, "the medicine that has eight components" ( Sanskrit : चिकित्सायामष्टाङ्गायाम् , romanized :  cikitsāyām aṣṭāṅgāyāṃ ), is first found in the Sanskrit epic the Mahābhārata , c. 4th century BCE. The components are: The central theoretical ideas of ayurveda show parallels with Samkhya and Vaisheshika philosophies, as well as with Buddhism and Jainism . Balance

7520-442: The practitioner's subtle or physical body. In Tibetan Buddhism , it is utilized to generate inner heat in the practice of tummo . In Ayurveda and therapeutic yoga, pranayama is utilized for many tasks, including to affect mood and aid in digestion. A. G. Mohan stated that the physical goals of pranayama may be to recover from illness or the maintenance of health, while its mental goals are: "to remove mental disturbances and make

7614-433: The right thing), and no Maya (माया, dissimulation, delusion, guile). The second Prashna starts with three questions, "how many Deva (gods, deities, powers) uphold a living being? how many manifest their power thus? and who is the best?". The question is significant because it explicitly expresses gods to be residing in each living being and in nature, to support life. This is widely interpreted by scholars, given

7708-572: The sections within the Upanishad are also called prashna . The Prashna Upanishad was probably composed in the second half of 1st millennium BCE, likely after other Atharva Veda texts such as the Mundaka Upanishad , but the precise chronology of Prasna Upanishad is unclear and contested. The Mundaka Upanishad, for example, writes Patrick Olivelle , is rather later era ancient Upanishad and is, in all probability, post-Buddhist. The chronology of Prasna Upanishad, and other ancient India texts,

7802-454: The seeker "who has conquered posture, the mind, prāṇa, the senses, sleep, anger, fear, and anxiety" to practise yoga in a beautiful, undisturbed cave. One way of categorizing prāṇa is by means of vāyus. Vāyu means "wind" or "air" in Sanskrit, and the term is used in a variety of contexts in Hindu philosophy . Prāṇa is considered the basic vāyu from which the other vāyus arise, as well as one of

7896-452: The spirit or soul. Of these meanings, the concept of "vital air" is used by Bhattacharyya to describe the concept as used in Sanskrit texts dealing with pranayama , the manipulation of the breath. Thomas McEvilley translates prāṇa as "spirit-energy". The breath is understood to be its most subtle material form, but is also believed to be present in the blood , and most concentrated in semen and vaginal fluid . Scholars are divided on

7990-583: The student and then answer is significant, according to Johnston, as it reflects an interactive style where the student has worked out the question for himself before he is provided an answer, in contrast to a lecture style where the teacher provides the questions and answers regardless of whether the student understands either. The three ethical precepts emphasized in this verse of Prashna Upanishad are Tapas (austerity, perseverance, fervour), Brahmacharya (chastity, self-discipline) and Sraddha (faith, purity, calmness of mind). The second interesting part of

8084-479: The subject of interdisciplinary studies in ethnomedicine which seeks to integrate the biomedical sciences and humanities to improve the pharmacopeia of ayurveda. According to industry research, the global ayurveda market was worth US$ 4.5 billion in 2017. It was reported in 2008 and again in 2018 that 80 percent of people in India used ayurveda exclusively or combined with conventional Western medicine. A 2014 national health survey found that, in general, forms of

8178-421: The sun is ultimately the giver of rain and races in sky in the "chariot with seven wheels and six spokes". This symbolism is also found in more ancient Vedic literature, and the seven wheels represents half years, seasons, months, half months, days, nights, and muhurtas (मुहूर्त, a Vedic era division of time equaling 48 minutes and one muhurta was asserted to be 1/30 of a day). The six spoke symbolism refers to

8272-645: The three substances in close to 21% of U.S. and Indian-manufactured patent ayurvedic medicines sold through the Internet. The public health implications of such metallic contaminants in India are unknown. The term āyurveda ( Sanskrit : आयुर्वेद ) is composed of two words, āyus , आयुस् , "life" or "longevity", and veda , वेद , "knowledge", translated as "knowledge of longevity" or "knowledge of life and longevity". The earliest classical Sanskrit works on ayurveda describe medicine as being divided into eight components (Skt. aṅga ). This characterization of

8366-475: The transmission of medical knowledge from the gods to sages, and then to human physicians. Printed editions of the Sushruta Samhita ( Sushruta's Compendium ), frame the work as the teachings of Dhanvantari , the Hindu deity of ayurveda, incarnated as King Divodāsa of Varanasi, to a group of physicians, including Sushruta . The oldest manuscripts of the work, however, omit this frame, ascribing

8460-722: The upper parts and apana with the lower parts. The ancient concept of prāṇa is described in many Hindu texts, including Upanishads and Vedas . Prāṇa is typically divided into constituent parts, particularly when concerned with the human body . While not all early sources agree on the names or number of these divisions, the most common list from the Mahabharata , the Upanishads, Ayurvedic and Yogic sources includes five classifications, often subdivided. This list includes prāṇa (inward moving energy), apāna (outward moving energy), vyāna (circulation of energy), udāna (energy of

8554-704: The use of ayurveda for cardiovascular disease concluded that the evidence is not convincing for the use of any ayurvedic herbal treatment for heart disease or hypertension, but that many herbs used by ayurvedic practitioners could be appropriate for further research. In India, research in ayurveda is undertaken by the Ministry of AYUSH through a national network of research institutes. Prashna Upanishad Divisions Sama vedic Yajur vedic Atharva vedic Vaishnava puranas Shaiva puranas Shakta puranas The Prashna Upanishad ( Sanskrit : प्रश्नोपनिषद् , IAST : Praśnopaniṣad )

8648-417: The word Bhagavan . Such use of the term Bhagavan for teacher is repeated elsewhere, such as in the opening lines and verse 4.1 of the Prashna Upanishad, as well as in other Upanishads such as in verse 1.1.3 of the Mundaka Upanishad . Sage Pippalada opens the answers to the three questions by listing five gross elements, five senses and five organs of action as expression of deities. In verses 2.3 and 2.4,

8742-564: The work directly to King Divodāsa. In ayurveda texts, dosha balance is emphasized, and suppressing natural urges is considered unhealthy and claimed to lead to illness. Ayurveda treatises describe three elemental doshas : vāta , pitta and kapha , and state that balance ( Skt. sāmyatva ) of the doshas results in health, while imbalance ( viṣamatva ) results in disease. Ayurveda treatises divide medicine into eight canonical components. Ayurveda practitioners had developed various medicinal preparations and surgical procedures from at least

8836-436: Was adapted for Western consumption, particularly by Baba Hari Dass in the 1970s and by Maharishi Ayurveda in the 1980s. In some cases, this involved active fraud on the part of proponents of ayurveda in an attempt to falsely represent the system as equal to the standards of modern medical research . Baba Hari Dass was an early proponent who helped bring ayurveda to the United States in the early 1970s. His teachings led to

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