Ayurvedic Lifestyle: The Key to Health (Introduction to Ayurvedic Lifestyle)

Dr.(Vaidya) Dilip Prabhakar Gadgil MD,Phd(Ayureda), MPhil(Sanskrit), An academician, practitioner and researcher in the field of Ayurveda. Date of Birth – 13th May 1955. Ex Principal Investigator Ayurvediyah Triskandha-Kosha Chief Editor - Hetu-Kosha, Lakshana-Kosha, and Aushadha-Kosha, AYUTA NIDANA(Ayurvedic Diagnostic Software), AYUTA UPCHARA (Ayurvedic Treatment Software) Private Ayurvedic Consultant since 1980. Hon. Ayurvedic Consultant-Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, Pune. Regular visitor to various countries like Australia, Germany, UK, US. Recipient of various awards including Vaidya Shivnath Sharma award at the hands of Hon. Vice President of India. Felicitation at the hands of Hon. Chief Minister of Maharashtra State.

“Life Style-The Key to Health” which is introduced by Dilip.P. Gadgil who is M.D., Ph.D(Aurveda), and Master of Philosophy(Sanskrit). Life style through Ayurvedic means, is a good book to get a good background on health.

Health is not just fitness but a flowing awareness of intelligence in each cell of the body from the Skin to the Self and from the Self to the Skin. Thought both Ayurveda and Yoga are ‘Moksha Shastra-s, Ayurveda takes one from the body towards the Self and yoga from the Self towards the body. Hence knowledge on both is needed to understand not only the views on life force but also the ways of generating this life force for the utilization in maintaining sound mind into sound body.

Ayurvedic method triggers the five elements of nature to gain back a disturbed health and helps in maintaining soundness in body, mind and the Self whereas yoga helps in recharging the defensive energy to fight the offensive forces which cause ill-health.

Hence, I feel that one who likes to enjoy the true health, should know the seven states of consciousness which are – 1) Wandering, 2) Restraining,3) Tranquil,4) One pointed, 5) Fabricated, 6) Split and 7) Divine consciousness.

These seven states of consciousness are close to the seven states of health. These are- 1) Ethical and moral, 2) Physical, 3) Physiological, 4) Mental or emotional, 5) Intellectual 6) Conscientious and 7) Divine.

If all these various sheaths of consciousness work with unison with the various sheaths of health, I consider him the healthiest person. Dr Dilip. P. Gadgil has touched all these aspects and I wish that his book which conveys the basic ideas to maintain a good health constantly is read and recommended for their fellow men to read in order to lead a lively and lovely life.

To live a long, healthy and happy life is a natural instinct that most people desire. But what is the best way to achieve this goal? The simple answer is that you should live A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE. There are many versions of what a healthy lifestyle is. So you might ask, ”Why is Ayurveda’s version of the healthy lifestyle superior?” and “What does it mean to live an Ayurvedic lifestyle anyway?”

Life is a long journey from conception until death (or even beyond). Ayurveda considers four factors which constitute Life. Life is the union of these 4 components: body, senses, mind, and soul. Ayurveda sees the living body as a sensitive instrument affected by everything in our environment, first at subtle and eventually at physical levels. As long as these factors function in harmony, there is health. But as soon as one or more components are out of balance, affliction and sorrow develop.

Most of the medical Sciences have come to understand life in a different way. These sciences have broken down the physical body into minute parts and ha ve taken various approaches to understand the parts. Physics has illustrated the mechanics and biochemistry has uncovered the chemical reactions in the body. Biology has shown us with intricacy the physical structures. In these sciences, the body is emphasized and the 3 other factors of life are not generally considered. This is why there is less attention to the impact of lifestyle on disease and health. Ayurveda embraces all four factors and understands that an imbalance in one can negatively affect the others and bring a person into a state of ill health. Ayurvda understands that restoring and maintaining health can something be as simple as going to bed earlier.

Both modern sciences and ancient sciences like Ayurveda are based on the principle of cause and effect. So, no matter what scientific system is used to understand health, the cause of disease must be analyzed in order to understand the disease and find a lasting cure. It is only when the cause is fully understood that we can hope to address the problems appropriately that we see all around us. The philosophical base of Ayurveda is broad and comprehensive. Ayurveda understands that health and illness are multi-factorial phenomena, involving many aspects of life. Since causative factors are quite difficult and time-consuming to understand, the tendency of focusing directly on symptoms is more common than finding root causes and prevention. This has led to a poor track record in removing illness from the body, healing is not achieved. Causes have to be stopped if a disease is to be cured. Ayurveda focuses on the details of causative factors and thus excels at avoiding illness, heading off imbalance before small problems become big problems, and reversing disease so that a person can live a healthy normal life.