Too many diya pics these days, I know!

Yet, I do not want to miss sharing the big learnings that such small occurrences bring.

In this picture, I have two diyas. They are different in design, but serve the same purpose. I picked them up at different times simply because I liked them. Do note that I liked them because they were different.

Yesterday evening, I put oil and a wick in each of them and lit them together. Both shone beautifully. But, since their size and shape is different, there was one difference in the way I had to use them. In the bigger one, I put oil only once and it lit for a good 3 hours. While in the smaller one, I had to refill oil thrice for it to go on that long.

Now, we don’t need too much knowledge to figure this out. Small size means less oil fits and thus needs refilling. Our bodies are also that simple if only we do not get stuck in information over load. All our bodies are made up of the same stuff, same organs in each, but depending on the structural changes, the functioning may vary. All of us eat, work, sleep, think. But we all do not do all of this in the same way and same degree. We have our individual body types, our own unique permutations and combinations – this is the variety and thus the beauty of nature.

To know in detail, read https://ayurvedicanswers.com/preventive-ayurved/body-constitution/

Trouble begins when for some reason we feel, all of us must eat the same amount in the same frequency. Children are the most common targets for this absolutely misplaced belief we carry. We even take it forward to expect that all must grow up to be tall and well built, to excel in the same subjects (that even means ALL subjects for some parents!!) and achieve the same accolades.

From the above example we must understand that a Vat prakruti person has a smaller stomach and digestive capacity as compared to a Kaf prakruti person. So he will need to eat frequently in smaller amounts while a K person needs to eat one big meal. Doing vice versa will harm both. The Vat person risks indigestion if he overeats and low energy, aches and pains if he skips a meal. The K person risks being overweight if he eats frequently and unsatisfied if he eats tiny meals.

Both of them will work to their best potential, albeit differently, if given what they need, instead of going by what some ‘standard’ suggests.

Hoping this Diwali, we celebrate our differences while rejoicing in our oneness.

Let’s put oil as our diya demands and enable it to shine the brightest it can.

The post So same…Yet so different appeared first on AYURVEDIC ANSWERS.

Writing this post brings fond memories to me. During my college days of learning Ayurved, I would share all the new health knowledge I gathered with my family. Mom and dad would agree with a lot of it and share their own experiences while my brothers had a jolly time making fun of the new Sanskrit words I said and the food or other changes I suggested..

After all the ayurvedic dos and don’ts they had to listen to from me…invariably their concern would be ‘can we never eat this or do that?’

And how pleased would they be with my “Na. Na..kyarek chale” answer!

(kyarek chale is the Gujrati for ‘its alright sometime’)

Coming back to the topic of this post…It is Abhyaas.

Abhyaas means continuous, repeated practice.

Ayurved says that which is done daily or regularly is what creates an impact and a corresponding effective consequence.

Think about this.

Do we start to suffer from chronic ill health by consuming the wrong food once or twice or occasionally?

No, we do not.

Same way, we cannot get well having the right food or medicine once or twice, irregularly or occasionally.

Anything that is consistent bears results.

Good health is a consequence of forming right, healthy habits. Habit means making it a part of everyday life. 

Bad health is naturally a result of wrong habits.

Just as planting seeds and then watering it daily makes it develop roots and grow gradually, then forming stems, branches, leaves, flowers and fruits step by step, similarly the roots of any action performed repeatedly must grow strong and deep for it to have an effect.

Nothing happens overnight. Everything is eventual. It is just that we are rarely aware of all that which goes into the  making of the eventuality.

Occasional indulgences, relaxations of principles and out of routine behaviors are totally fine and must be done too…

It’s alright to have curd one night with your favorite dish. But it is not alright to make eating daily curd and at night a habit.

Tasty but junk hotel food is alright once in a while but it is not alright every weekend.

Who doesn’t enjoy an ice cream for dessert sometime? But having chilled drinks daily or frequent ice-creams is very different.

Staying up late or waking up late sometime is not a crime, but if done daily it has the potential to impact our complete life.

Laying on the sofa one rainy day is so ok, but not the lack of  physical activity on most days.

So, the bottom-line is, be consistent in the good, sensible practices… only then will they bring you wellness.

Stay occasional and rare in the unmindful indulgences, if you must…only then will they be stopped from causing you much harm.

Kyarek chale.

The post The ‘Kyarek Chale’ Episodes appeared first on AYURVEDIC ANSWERS.

LONG AGO, 

We had the concept of a ‘family doctor’ This doctor knew and treated the entire family and was like family too. He felt accessible and friendly.

He KNEW his patients. That means he was aware of what type of food they ate, their basic lifestyle, business or job characteristics, possible hereditary factors, nature etc etc.

Any health problem that was bought to him was analysed against this background and a decision was reached. These were the good old days.

COMING TO THE PRESENT,

We have a general practitioner who prescribes medicines for a week or two and soon refers you to a ‘specialist’ that you must see.

A specialist is a doctor who has gained in depth knowledge of a particular system in the human body and so he becomes so and so specialist. In no way do i mean to downplay the extensive knowledge these doctors have or the years of hard work they have spent gaining it. (I am not talking about surgical branches here) 

But it is also a fact that this speciality usually comes at the price of missing the full picture.

THE PATIENT

A patient is one whole person. A combination of one body, one mind and one soul. 

Any problem that he may face can start at any of these levels, but if it continues for long, sooner or later, it affects all and is affected by all. Broadly, these facets are all interdependent and not independent. 

On the physical level too, various systems of the body work harmoniously through their cooperation.

HOW DISEASE HAPPENS

If one part is in dis-ease, it affects the other parts too.

For examples- 

If the stomach is frequently irritated by too much spicy food, this irritation is felt by the blood too and the blood circulates in the entire body. The spicy feel even reaches the mind and it is then no surprise that this mind will not be too able to handle day to day stresses easily, the blood vessels may have the tendency to rupture and cause bleeding in the brain. 

A body that has a big collection of wastes or undigested material in it, is forced to let these wastes travel to other parts of the body. If they land in the joints, they cause a joint disease. If they are lodged in the skin, it manifests as a skin issue.

Of course this is a very brief description, missing the technical points, but it is enough to give us an idea of how it is all connected. 

HOW IT IS TREATED BY SPECIALISTS

Now, a specialist is trained to look at a particular part too much and modern medicine has no practical concept of inter relation of systems. So these problem areas are treated while ignoring its source. The patient is never told what he is doing wrong.

When one specialist doctor is done with his part of treatment, the patient is sent to another specialist to solve another problem. No one will realize that this ‘another’ problem has occurred in the ‘same person’ simply because the offending imbalance was just pushed away from one part. The patient becomes a football and is played around until he gives up trying to get well.

WHAT SHOULD HAVE  BEEN THE TREATMENT 

If instead of this sad picture, the patient was educated about his wrong eating habits and how it was affecting his body, he would have had the option to stop the source soon. Then treatment should be provided for the imbalance already present. This would stop progress of the disease immediately and make recovery possible. 

AYURVED SAYS

All disease arise from the gut

The first treatment for any disease is avoidance of the cause

So,the most natural question to specialists giving special treatments is – 

But .. what about the gut??

The post But..What About The Gut ? appeared first on AYURVEDIC ANSWERS.

GURU…the one who turns on the light. So that we can SEE. Once we can see, it is easy to make the right choice..

A true Guru is one who aims to make us independent. He passes on that gem of knowledge which will suffice for all the times we are faced with tough questions. He makes sure we become our own Guru..

Ayurved is very similar to the role of a Guru too. It is a system of medicine by common perception..but in reality it is a way of living, the right way of living.

Ayurved teaches us what health really is all about. A real doctor is the one who works to make sure we don’t need a doctor. Isn’t that the meaning of bringing health?

Through Ayurved, he empowers us..makes us independent.

Health is not about which food has how much of which nutrient? 

Not about how much of it we can absorb? Not about its active or inactive form in the body.

It is not about counting calories or portion control.

Not even about supplements that MUST be taken. 

It is not about back breaking work outs followed by high protein intake at weird hours of the day or night.

It is not about my so and so blood levels are up or down.

I can go on and on…but i guess you get the hint..

It is not about such complicated things at all.

It is about simplifying and seeing for yourself and not dancing according to the whims of the world.

Health like all good things comes from within..

It is about am I hungry? 

About how much food do I really need?

Is this food right for me? At this time?

Am I using my body in the correct way or am I under or over using it?

Am I sleeping appropriately?

Am I enjoying my work or is it a source of constant stress to my mind?

How do I decide how much is appropriate in food, exercise, work or sleep?

Is my body giving me subtle hints when I am lethargic or burping or smelling or constipated or not hungry or irritable frequently? Does that recurring mild headache mean something important?

Answers to these questions are already there in us. To each his own. We don’t need to search for them. This is how we become our own boss. Our own doctor. A science like Ayurved alone, lays down such genuine principles for the benefit of mankind as a whole and not for a few as bunch of ‘doctors’

All it requires from us is Honesty, Attention and a refusal to settle for anything lesser, no matter how easy or comfortable it looks. In fact it is good to remember that just as a true guru is never a pleasant experience initially, a way of living that is best for us is not going to be a bed of roses either. Simply because right now we have walked so much away from the right things.

On this wonderful day of Guru poornima and always, I bow my head to my Guru and to this science of Ayurved. May we all become honest and simple enough to be benefited by their grace.

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The question is Will Ayurved work For You?

Fact is, real change in any part of our lives, doesn’t happen unless we change. Health is no different.

Isn’t it irrational to beleive that we can continue to be as we have always been, do what we have always done, eat what we always ate and yet avoid all its consequences? How is that possible?

It is like saying, I will light a fire and yet my home should not burn. I will pour water and yet my clothes should not get wet.

Get the hint?

Consequences are always going to be in accordance with the actions. So the action is where our focus should be.

First step is to accept that ‘I am responsible for my health’

Only when you are ready to take that responsibility, does Ayurved hold your hand successfully.

Diseases do not drop from the sky. They are created right here, by us.

These are the main causes of any disease.

1. Faulty diet

2. Wrong lifestyle

3. Futile thoughts and emotions.

The dis-ease has arisen out of this and the ease will return only when these are rectified. Unless the seed is changed, the fruit will not.

Medicines and treatments (Ayurvedic) will help you get over it, will speed up the recovery, heal the damage done…but they will not work optimally if you do not support them by stopping to add fuel to the fire by wrong doings.

Modern medicine will give you the freedom to be as you like and do the suppressing of symptoms by its chemical potency to provide you temporary (false) relief only to allow the symptoms to return back even more strongly with more damage done to the organs.

Choice is always available.

Difficult but true

Or

Easy but false.

The bottom line is, Come to Ayurved when You are ready to change.

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