Ayurveda- Lead a Healthy Life

About the Book Ayurveda, which literally means "the science or knowledge of life", is the traditional medical system of India. Its origin dates back an estimated 5-10,000 years, and it is widely considered to be the oldest form of health care in the world. Ayurveda is based on the premise that disease is the natural end result of living out of harmony with our environment. 'Natural' is an important word because Ayurveda understands that symptoms of disease are the body's normal way of communicating disharmony. With this understanding of disease, Ayurveda's approach to healing becomes obvious: to reestablish harmony between a person and environment. Once reestablished, the need for the body to communicate disharmony diminishes, symptoms dissipate, and healing is said to have occurred. Through various chapters, the author Dr.Murli Manohar gives out the Ayurvedic concepts of health & treatment, diagnosis by Ayurveda, role of diet and season in health & disease, symptoms & causes, prevention & treatment, nutrition & diet, herbal therapies & nature cure for common and chronic ailments.

Preface This book is in your hands because of the incidents that took place in my life. The first one relates to my father Dr. Chirumamilla Ranga Rao, an eminent Ayurveda physician who has imbibed both science and spirit of Ayurveda (he is currently working for Maharshi Mahesh Yogi's Vedic University and Ayurveda Research Centre, Holland). When I was studying Intermediate, an arthritis patient with severe disability was brought on a stretcher to his clinic. After visiting several doctors belonging to various medical systems, he consulted my father as a last resort and this was enough to arouse my curiosity to watch his progress. After three months of Ayurvedic treatment, when he started moving about on his own, I found myself admiring this particular system of medicine. Consequently, I appeared for entrance test for B.A.MS. (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery).

The second incident as described here prompted me to study Ayurveda more deeply and empirically. While studying Ayurvedic medicine, I used to visit my native village on vacations. During one of those visits, I advised an elderly neighbour of mine, to stop drink- ing lest it would ruin his health. The gentleman, who retired as an army officer, asked me with a twinkle in his eyes- "In my case, I am immune to ill effects of alcohol. Don't worry. However, tell me my lad, why some people are more susceptible to diseases than others? Members of the same family eat similar food, yet their health is not the same. Some people have good habits, still they fall sick easily while some people with bad habits are immune to diseases. Why is it so?" I had no answer till I entered into fourth year and was taught "Charaka Samhita". Then I realized that people fall sick not because of bacteria or infection alone, but due to three main causes namely, Asaatmya indriyaartha samyogam (Incompat- ible correlation of the senses with their objects), Prajnaaparaadham (Wrong use of will), and Kaalam (Effect of time). These basic causes upset the fine balance among the bio-regulating factors of the body-Vaata, Pitta and Kapha and make the person fall prey to opportunistic diseases. If one can take care to maintain the balance among these bioregulating factors, he is assured of good health. I went back to my neighbour with this reply, and unfortunately, I found him in the terminating illness due to alcoholic liver. With great difficulty, he stood up and shook my hand and congratulated me for not merely parroting the books but trying to analyze things in proper perspective. He added with a wry smile, had I explained him earlier, he would have probably taken precautions and averted the disaster.

These three incidents made me think about ways and means to convey this ancient knowledge to public in a way that was simple and easy to understand. Since I believe that more than the foreign systems, Ayurveda is in tune with Indian way of living, I thought it is easy to convince the public if written in a native tongue. I discussed the concept with a young editor of a popular Telugu weekly and he readily agreed to give me a regular column in his publication, Andhra Jyothi. I must thank late Shri Tripuraneni Srinivas, through whom I could enlighten millions of readers, through tips and small pieces of information. Then followed my weekly column in Vaartha, a popular Telugu daily, under the supervision of Shri Jeedigunta Venkata Rao.

**Contents and Sample Pages**