AYURVEDA:

Ayurveda is derived from two Sanskrit words Ayur that means life and Veda mean knowledge or science. The origin of Ayurveda has been traced back to the Vedic periods, particularly to the Atharva Veda. As a formal and organized system of health care, it has a history of a little more than three thousand years. It is a fact that, among the entire complimentary and alternative systems of medicines like, traditional Chinese medicines, Tibetan medicine, unani, African and European herbal medicines. Ayurveda is unique in its vast volumes of documented knowledge, which is also known to be the oldest. Oldest documented treaties of Ayurveda are Charaka Samhita, which was written in the early periods of the Christian era. There are very many classical formulation mentioned in it, which are still in vogue. Several other treatises like Susrutha Samhita, Ashtangahridaya, etc followed in the subsequent centuries. They are all written in the classical Indian language of Sanskrit. There are others written later in Hindi and other Indian regional languages like Malayalam. All these treatises, which are more than a few hundred in number, are all recorded documents of collective experiences.

Ayurveda is essentially a philosophy of life. It perceives human beings as integral parts of nature. a traditional healing system, it brought to fore the fact that good health is a combination of a healthy balance between the five elements: fire, earth , ether, water and air. Ayurveda works by stressing on these factors and follow the concepts of three bio-energies known as doshas- vata, pitha and kapha. Vata is ether and air, pita is fire and water and kapha is water and earth. All these dosha’s exist in al human bodies n varying degrees. When their constitutions become unbalanced, the human system feels discomfort and unease.

Ayurveda aims at detoxifying the body and restoring its overall balance. This process includes meditation, yoga and massages and a specific diet is prescribed after observing a person, by prasna (questions) and by sparshana (touching). Food pollution, stress, and climate can disrupt the bodies equilibrium. A controlled lifestyle keeps the human system healthy and ensures a perfect balance between the body and the mind.

Though Ayurveda has been a popular form of medicine for centuries, it could not gain the prominence it deserved in India. There are many reasons – firstly the foreign invasion affected the practice of Ayurveda. The Muslims who invaded India closed down a lot of Ayurveda colleges, and later the Britishers shut down the remaining ones. It continued to be practiced secretly and so did not totally lose its significance. It regained its lost prominence after India attained independence. Ayurveda colleges and institutes were re establishment of universities and colleges and the 1970s saw a rise in the popularity of Ayurveda form of medicine.

Over the past few decades, the power and popularity of this ancient medicine has risen considerably. Kerala with its abundant fauna and flora provided an ideal location for the science to evolve and develop, as this form is largely inspired by nature and natural produce. Ayurveda and its success stories got global appeal, giving it international acceptance. Awareness about its curative effect and lack of harmful side effects made it a preferred choice among people- both in India and abroad. An Ayurveda treatment aims at rejuvenating the mind and body by flushing out the toxins and brings back the body to normal condition.

There are three dedicated Ayurveda universities and more than a couple of hundred colleges imparting Ayurveda education in the under graduate, post graduate and doctoral courses. Similarly the drug manufacturing industry is also highly regulated under the provisions of the drugs and cosmetics acts and rule of the government of India. Only licensed and GMP (good manufacturing practices) accredited manufacturers can produce and market Ayurveda drugs now. The department of AYUSH is also engaged in long term projects of bringing out official formularies and pharmacopoeial standards for ayurvedic medicines. Several volumes of these statutory documents have already come out.

The government also supports formal research in core areas of Ayurveda. There are almost 9500 Ayurvedic drug manufacturing units across the country; some are major does with an annual turnover of more than Rs 200crore, and several others that are much smaller in size of operation, market reach and product range. Similarly, the drug sector also deals in exclusive classical formulaions whereas there are others which specialize in modern derivatives which take off from classical knowledge base.