Who is a healthy person?

Equilibrium is ayurveda’s buzzword. If you acquire it in body and mind, then, your health is ensured.

• Sama Dosha: Dosha is the key concept of Ayurvedic medicine. Are the forces of Vatha, Pittha and Kapha in the right proportion in your body?
• Sama Agni: Agni in this context is the digestive fire. Is it in a state of equilibrium?
• Samadhatu Kriya: The seven dhatus (or bodybuilding tissues) are rasa (chyle), raktha (blood), mamsa (muscular tissue), medha (fat tissue), asthi (bone tissue), majja (marrow) and shukra (seminal fluid). Are these functioning properly?
• Sama Mala Kriya: The three malas (excretory processes) of the body are swedha (sweat), mala (faeces) and moothra (urine). Are these functioning properly?

If the answers to all the above questions are yes, then you are physically healthy.

However ayurveda does not see the body as separate from the mind. Even for all the above functions to be in order the mind must be in the right mode.

To achieve perfect health one must possess:

• prasanna atma (blissful soul)
• prasanna indriya (perceptive senses)
• prasanna mana (blissful mind)

Why do we fall ill?

According to the tridosha theory, each individual must have the proper balance of the three basic forces of vatha, pittha and kapha. But this is not always possible. Each individual’s prakruthi (nature of constitution) is determined at the time of birth. It depends on the prakruthi of the parents and the state of their mind at the time of conception, etc. If one dosha is predominant in a person, then that imbalance results in certain kinds of susceptibilities. It can be aggravated by improper habits and diet. These can be treated by medication.

The second possibility for falling ill, according to ayurveda, cannot be analyzed on material terms. The karma (the merits and demerits of actions of the past birth) that an individual has accrued is responsible for this. Karmic diseases require atonement or some qualitative change from within.

|