Ayurveda

Ayurveda is a system of medicine that originated in India thousands of years ago. The word “Ayurveda” is made up of two Sanskrit words ‘Ayus’ that means ’life’ and ‘Veda’ that means ‘science’ or 'knowledge'. Ayurveda is more than just a medical system. It is the knowledge (Science) of life and life is composed of mind, body, spirit & soul. Apart from being a healing system it also provides guidance regarding our diets and our lifestyles that helps in keeping us healthy and in balance in our every day lives.

Principles of Ayurveda

According to ayurvedic philosophy an individual bundle of `spirit’, desirious of expressing itself, uses subjective consciousness or Satwa to manifest sense organs and a mind. Spirit and mind then project themselves into a physical body, created from the five (Pancha) great (maha) eternal elements (bhutas) – together called the Panchamahabhutas – which arise from Tamas. The sense organs then using Rajas to project from the body into the external world to experience their objects. The body becoming the mind’s vehicle, its physical instrument for sense gratification.

Panchamahabhutas
According to Ayurveda everything in life is composed of the Panchamahabhutas – Akash (Space), Vayu (Air), Jal (Water), Agni (Fire) and Prithvi (Earth). Omnipresent, they are mixed in an infinite variety of relative proportions such that each form of matter is distinctly unique. Although each element has a range of attributes, only some get evident in particular situations. Constantly changing and interacting with each other, they create a situation of dynamic flux that keeps the world going.