Swine-Flu Prevention - The Ayurveda Way

They say that prevention is better than cure. It becomes even more important in present Swine Flu situation where new viruses like H1N1 are challenging human body. Generally I do not write anything other than astrology on this blog, but seeing the seriousness of present situation, I want to share my experience on this topic.

Ayurveda is not merely about medicine but about the way of living. Ayurveda daily routine and life-style is probably the only method to prevent such diseases. I have noted some of the very important advises that are relevant in case of swine flu and are noted keeping present life style in mind. Here are those, I hope these will be useful -

• Take Chyawanprash daily. Role of Chyawanprash in improving resistance power is generally well known in India. I myself experimented with it extensively and telling you based on my own experience. I feel that Chyawanprash is nothing less than miracle.
• Practice Anulom-Vilom Pranayam for minimum 5 minutes a day. This is a yogic method to improve resistance power. Though not directly related to Ayurveda, but pretty useful in present situation.
• Sleep latest by 11:00 PM and avoid staying up late. A time after 11:00 PM is known as kapha period and body immune system is not that powerful to fight infectious disease after this time.
• Avoid over exertion.
• Try to move around the place of work instead of sitting in one place or do some kind of physical work. This will help you to refresh yourself, especially when you feel dull & lethargic. The idea is to avoid exertion, as one can be infected only at a time when body lacks the power.
• Do not delay or skip your meals, meals should be taken at regular timings and in fixed quantities.
• Always have fresh food and avoid stale food. Ghee is preferred over oil for food preparation. Ghee has divine healing power and oil can not be a replacement of Ghee. If possible, use Cow Ghee.
• Daily use of Honey, Ginger (Adarakh) and Basil (Tulasi) helps controlling excessive kapha. This is good for controlling Kapha, but I don't think that it has any significant impact on improving resistance power. I would give priority to Haldi Milk and Chaywawanprash.
• Take one cup milk with one tea-spoon full of Haldi. This is also good way to increase digestive fire which is required to fight against such diseases. Again I myself have seen miraculous power of this medicine in similar situation and highly recommend it.
• Avoid refrigerated, microwaved, re-warmed, stale food, etc. Food should be taken immediately after cooking.

These are some simple but very effective suggestions. I strongly advocate them.

Ayurveda & Astrology

Ayurveda defined a detailed diagnosis methodology. It is called Ashtasthana Pareeksha or eightfold examination. It is said that a Vaidya (Ayurvedic doctor) can tell about the disease just Nadi examination and he doesn't require any instruments the way it is required by allopathy doctos now-a-days. Ashtasthana Pareeksha contains following examinations -

• Nadi Pulse.
• Moothram Urine.
• Malam Faecal matter.
• Jihwa Tongue-taste.
• Sabdam Voice and speech of the patient.
• Sparsham Touch, skin and tactile sense.
• Drik Eyes and vision.
• Akrithi General body build, eg: lean, muscular, etc.

Though the diagnosis methods are very well defined in Ayurveda, there are places where it can not solve the purpose. For example, it is not easy to determine the severity of the disease using above diagnosis methodologies. Also it can only tell about the present condition of the patient and it cannot through much light on past or future condition. This is the place where astrology can help immensely.

Astrology can prove an excellent tool to medical diagnosis. Not only diagnosis, astrological can also prove very useful in remedies by the usage of mantra, yantra, gems, havan, yagya etc. In case of illness, astrological remedies can work with Ayurvedic medicine to ensure recovery. Vedic astrology has given very high place in Ayurveda and Vaidyas are suggested to study astrology, if possible.

Here comes a problem. Though there are tons of classical texts both on vedic astrology and Ayurveda but none of them talk about using both of these sciences together. Now a days neither astrologers not Vaidyas have any clue how to use both the sciences together.

There are various Ayurveda authors who talks about astrology, but those are limited to studying horoscope and suggesting astrology remedies. They have no clue how to apply ayurvedic principles with astrology. Similarly, there are lots of books on medical astrology but none of that talk about relating astrological conditions to ayurvedic conditions. For example, there is no astrolgoy book that I know which can tell the vitiated dosha (vata, pitta, kapha) which is causing the illness. Till the time this can not be easily defined, treating disease is not going to be easy. There is no proper relation defined. The way planets, signs and nakshatras are the foundation of astrology, similarly rasas, dhatus and doshas are foundation of Ayurveda.

It doesn't mean that these relation is altogether missing. There are pointers given in various astrology texts but no body, as far as I know, ever tried to utilize them with Ayurveda. This is just an introductory post, in the following posts, I am planning to talk about my understanding of applying both of these sciences together. I would like to tell, that if applied together, it can do the miracles.

Herb Names in English, Latin and Sanskrit Translation

Here is a good tool for translation of names of Ayurvedic herbs in English, Latin and their Sanskrit euivelent.

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