Ayurveda described a wholesome daily routine or day to day conduct called “Dinacarya” or Daily Regimen as not only prophylactic but conducive to Panchamahabhutas (.Earth (bhumi), Water (jala), Fire (agni), Air (Vayu) and Space (aakash)
The recommended routine comprehends the days requirements both physical and mental. It includes all activities that man normally indulges in instinctual, habitual, spontaneous, delibrate, life presevative, aesthetically apealing and professionally relevent.
Ayurveda gives equal importance to the maintenance of health by prevention of ailments and in curing them. The branch of Ayurveda, which deals with the maintenance of svasthya or the state of well being is known as “svasthavrittha”.
it includes the daily routine, which is to be followed by a healthy person.
The regimens to be followed after awakening from sleep to maintain health routinely are mentioned in Ayurveda
There are two types
The principles that are to be followed by the individual to prevent diseases.
Principles to be followed by the community for the maintenance of health of the society.
Man should always follow those procedures which keep him healthy always, as health is always desired.
Daily regimen, night regimen & seasonal regimens should be followed as mentioned to maintain health not other wise.
The person who always consumes wholesome food, practices wholesome habits, thinks, who is not interested in worldly matters, who sacrifices, who is always balanced towards all beings, forgives, speaks truth and who follows words of Guru’s or Acharyas does not develop any disease
Caraka (Acharya Of Ayurveda) emphasize on food which are wholesome to the body like rice, green gram, rock salt, goose berry, barley, rain water, milk, ghee, meat and honey. These should be consumed regularly for maintenance of health and prevention of diseases.
One should avoid prajnaparadha (intelluctual errors), take care of sense organs, by avoiding under utilization, wrong utilization & over utilization of sense organs, one should have good memory. knowledge about place,Time and one self and should follow rules of Sadvrtta (Good Behavior) to prevent diseases.
The diseases due to variations in the climate can be prevented by following purification in respective seasons.
All the diseases are produced by creation of unmanifested urges or suppression of natural urges. So one should always avoid both to maintain the health.
One who is desirous of his own well being, should take appropriate treatment while disease is in intial stages.
These are the measures in short which help in prevention and cure of External and Internal variety of disease.
The above mentioned 7 points can be taken as aspects of primary prevention dealt in Ayurveda. 8th point can be related to secondary prevention.
The rejuvenation therapy (Rasayanacikitsa) is used in the prevention and cure of diseases as well as prevention of old age.
According to WHO health is defined as “the complete state of physical, mental and social well being and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity”.
Charateristics of Health
In Ayurvedic View,
Health is not merly absence of disease.A healthy individual has not only a healthy body but also a healthy mind. He has a well balanced constitution and all his tissues and organs function at an optimal level.
He will be having-:
Timely desire for the intake of food, proper and easy digestion of the ingested food,
Evacuation of faeces, urine and flatus properly, lightness in the body,
Pleasantness in sense organs, proper timely sleep and awakening, gain of strength, life and pleasant mind and normal Agni (Digestive Fire) are the features of health and opposite state is illness.
Features of ultimate health (Paramarthasvasthya)
Due to decreased effects of past deeds, the soul experiences eternal happiness of liberation that is salvation, which is wonderful, never ending exceptional and desire of great people.
Features of general health (Vyavaharasvathya)
The normalcy of Agni, (dhatu, dosa, mala, without any confusion blissful state of soul and mind is general health that is vyavaharasvasthya
A healthy body and mind is the sign of good health.A healthy person will be well built, healthy and strong having appropriateness and shapely physique. His skin is lustrous and complexion pink. He has a swift rhythmic gait and deep, voluminous, melodious and resonant voice. While enjoying sex and having good libido, he has a full control over the sex urge. He has a good appetite and digestive power and regular bowel habits. He enjoys all seasons equally well. His sleep is sound. He is energetic and undertakes physical and mental chores with enthusiasm and skill. He rarely ill. Though capable of enjoying all the wordly pleasures he does not crave for them. He looks younger than his age and enjoys a full and helathy life of 100 years.
Healthy Mind
The characteristics of a healthy mind, are:
A happy and contented state of mind, cheerful disposition and pleasing manner.
Feeling of security.
Self esteem and self confidence.
Absence of tension and frustration.
Ability to accept and give love, affection and happiness.
Insight or knowledge of self, Ability to apply one’s capacities to the task at hand.
The maximum ability of getting along with people and be friendly with everyone.
Ability to adjust easily in every respect. Stability of mind which does not fluctuate or waver.
Stability of mind which does not fluctuate or waver.
Fortitude and courage.
Intelligence and good memory.
Creative ability.
Follower of the dictates of one’s conscience.
Perfect control over one’s own desires, instincts, emotions, behaviour, actions and speech
Respect for teachers and learned people.
Truthful speech, clear thought and correct action.
Humility and gratitude.
Well wisher of people and works for the uplift of the society.
Ideal health means positive and perfect health and not merely an absence of disease. The criteria of ideal health are sound physical health and the best mood of senses, mind and soul. Health is a dynamic and constantly changing state. Hence, a healthy man should be as vigilant in the maintenance and enhancement of his health, as the sick man is in getting rid of his disease.
Ayurveda defines man as an aggregate of body, mind and soul. Naturally, the concept of health is not only physical health, but mental and spiritual health too. Its personal, daily and seasonal regime, known as Swasthavritta, is supplemented by (Sadvritta), ie„ rules of good conduct and regulation of spiritual life, so that the individual, apart from leading a healthy and happy life, is an asset to the society. Its concept of life is a total concept of the individual life in relation to society and universe, Hence, ayurveda apart from discussing cure of disease and maintenance of health, includes eugenics, ethics and philosophy.
The target is to turn every man into a noble citizen of the world, so that mankind evolves into a better race. The aim of Ayurveda is to see that everyone leads a long, happy and useful life. One can attain this goal with the help of the following means:
Rich heritage – Plan for your progeny.
Pure mind and body.
Nourishing, satvik and balanced diet.
Regular Pranayama and yogic exercises.
Regular and adequate sleep.
Taking appropriate Rasayanas, ie., tonics, which would delay the ageing process.
Avoiding rash or harmful activities or adventures.
Avoiding vices like smoking, drinking, gambling and visiting prostitutes.
Enjoying worldly pleasures without coming into conflict with rules of good conduct.
Earning money in a righteous manner.
Keeping good company and having good manners.
Respecting parents, teachers and elders.
Letting the lives of great men, learned men and saints set an example to you.
Acquiring skill, proficiency and mastery in your subject.
Restraining our sense organs by mind, mind by intellect and intellect by conscience.
Identifying self with the entire universe.
In the quest of true happiness, one should realise, that true happiness lies within oneself and one can attain it by developing detached attitude towards all wordly affairs, loving all creatures as oneself, performing one’s duties without expecting returns and by acquiring true knowledge. Example is better than precept. Put into action what you preach, if you want your children to be ideal ones. If everyone abides by these rules, the day will not be far when the following dream of all the physicians from time immemorial will be materialised. “Let none suffer from sorrow or disease and let everyone be happy. Let everyone be a well wisher of others and enjoy the heavenly pleasures on this very Earth (Bhagavatgeeta).
Charaka lays down:”One must always manage to maintain health (swasthya), so that the disturbance (vikara) that have not arisen may not arise” (CS, sutra 5,13). Health, here, is defined by his commentator thus the condition in which one abides well, i.e. without any disturbances whatever. In Ayurveda Charaka’s prescription has two aspects : the causes that promote health, and the causes that interfere with health.
The former is the balance (or equilibrium) of the bodily constituents (mg- writ) while the latter is the imbalance there of (dhatu – vaishamya). Imbalance excites and disturbs.
1) The maintenance of health is accordingly regarded as two fold (1) the body, which constantly being worn out and liable to be thrown out of balance, must be nourished and maintained by good food and correct conduct like a flame being tended by pouring oil to the lamp and by trimming the wick.
(2) The body must also be protected from disturbances, internal and external, by appropriate medication and curative methods, like the flame being guarded from breeze, insects, etc., The latter, viz disturbances, are brought about by internal factors (e.g. the doshas being excited by careless or thoughtless conduct), over which the individual has control, or by external factors (for example seasonal variation , occurrences in nature, ageing) over which he has little control.
Health , thus , is a dynamic concept; it is constantly being subject to factors of disturbance and needs to be restored as often as it is disturbed. It is a continuous process of integration (yoga) of time ( kala), sensory objects (artha) and actions (karma) ( AHr, 1,1,19) time refers to seasonal Variation cold, hot, rain. Sensory Objects are physical stimulation sight , sound, touch , smell and taste. Actions are threefold: bodily ( Physical reactions), mental ( thoughts, fears, wishes etc.,) and vocal ( speech and expressive behaviour). These encompass the substances constituting reality that Charaka spoke of (CS, sutra 1,47) (the three units of time; the five primary elements; direction ( samyyag-yoga) of the three factors (time, sensory objects and actions) is the single causative condition of health. Imperfect integration or association of the same three factors brings about disease.
Association of the three factors could be deficient. excessive or improper. when disease is occasioned. If the weather is proper (cold in cold season, hot in the hot season, and raining in the rainy season), if the sensory objects are just and adequately presented for sensory experience (viz. not straining the sense – organ either by insufficient stimulation or by excessive or unpleasant stimulation) and if the work done by the body and mind is in keeping and the normal needs of the mind, there can be no disturbance whatsoever and disease cannot arise. This is the condition to health.
Integration is further explained in terms of the equilibrium of the doshas, bodily constituents, the digestive fire and the elimination of waste products.
Diseases are two fold: bodily and mental.
Body is the ground for the former while the mind is the ground for the latter. An absense of bodily diseases is bodily health and absense of mental disease is mental health. Thus the balanced functioning of the body and mind is the basis for health in general, which is experienced as ‘ happiness’ or well – being’ (CS sutra, 9,4) The balanced functioning involves the integration of the constituents, viz. the three doshas the seven body – constituents or ingredients of the physical frame and the three gunas. it is in this context that health is describe as prakriti ( nature), borrowing the Samkhya idea of undifferentiated balance of gunas in the primal condition (CHKP on CS, sutra, 9,4).
A pragmatic definition of health is that it is the condition when the digestive fire is nourished ( arogyamvahni – vardhanam’ RN, 20). Good digestion is regarded as symptomatic of good health, for digestive disturbances are at root of most of the ailments. It is in order that the digestive fire may be kept in good shape (viz. neither dull, Manda, nor fierce, ati) that the daily regimen of diet, exercise etc., and the conduct appropriate to seasonal variations are prescribed.
Acharyavagbhatta told that a healthy person is one who what is good, eats moderately and eats only when hungry to the satisfaction of the God.
