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ayurveda and subtle energies |
Subtle Energies: All those energies existing in
the universe beyond the four known to and accepted by
present day science. There may be more to be discovered
at the physical level and there will certainly be many more to
be discovered in the subtle domain levels beyond the physical
band of consciousness. - Dr William A. Tiller Ph.D.. former
chairman of the Department of Materials Science &
Engineering, Stanford University
Ayurveda: the ancient healing philosophy of India, at least 5,000 years old. Ayurveda is a subtle energy science.
Ayurveda, means science or knowledge of life, and is one of the Vedic scriptures, said to have been divinely revealed.Vedic seers or rishis meditated, asking for a way of relieving the suffering of humanity. The knowledge received became ayurveda. Charaka Samhita--1,000 B.C. Primary text upon which Ayurveda is based. This text could be based on the earlier work of Atreya.
Ayurveda is one of the Vedas, accessory to Artharva Veda. Other Vedas are Rig Veda, (the oldest one upon which the others are based) Yayur Veda,(yogic rituals) Sama Veda. Ayurveda is one of five systems of medicine practiced in India today. Ayurveda is a system of maintaining and preserving health, because health is necessary for spiritual well-being.
Harappan civilization: Indus river valley. Harappan city Mohenjadaro--evidence(radioactive bones of the dead)at Mohenjadero indicates a nuclear-type cataclysm, thousands of years ago.
The Mahabarata, ancient Indian document describes Vimanas--spaceships, 30,000 years ago. From the northwest, some 2,000 B.C, wandering tribes settled in the Indian subcontinent. They carried a consciousness expanding substance called "soma". Settled in Indus valley, 2,000 B.C. Religion these people brought with them became the Vedas. one of which was Ayurveda
AYURVEDIC SUMMARY
Doshas-constitutional elements
Dhatus-tissues
Malas-wastes(urine, feces, sweat)
Srotas-channels
Agni-digestive fire
Ama-undigested food toxins
Ojas-subtle immune energy
According to Ayurveda, a person is considered to be in a state of health when the doshas are balanced, the agni is neither high or low, ama is not present, the malas, or wastes of the body(urine, feces, sweat) are normal,and the srotas are not blocked.
But what do all of the above revolve around, what is the most important of all the above factors in well-being? The answer is OJAS. Ojas is at the center of the wheel around which all the other aspects revolve and to which they contribute.
And Ojas, like Prana (life force energy also known as ch'i)and the Doshas (VATA, PITTA, KAPHA) themselves are SUBTLE ENERGIES.
Can current 21st. century culture be trusted to provide a health-giving environment, and the means to restore well-being after it has been lost , when the most fundamental essence of well-being, Ojas is not even acknowledged by its standards?
. Fundamentals of Ayurveda
Ayurveda condenses the five mahaboutas or universal elements, fire, water, earth, air and ether, into three:
vata, pitta,and kapha.
VATA, PITTA AND KAPHA ARE SUBTLE ENERGIES
These elements are known as doshas and each individual is composed of the doshas in unique arrangement. The degree of influence of a particular dosha in an individual profoundly influences his or her physical form, physiology and emotional make-up. When the doshas are in balance health and well-being is experienced; when any of the doshas are out of balance, all manner of disease can manifest.
Three doshas. Vata, pitta, kapha.
Vata: air and ether
Pitta: Fire and water
Kapha: water and earth
Characteristics of the doshas
Vata: Dry, light, rough, subtle, irregular
Pitta: Hot, light, penetrating, oily, acidic.
Kapha: Solid,wet, heavy, oily
Seasons affect one's doshas: Pitta aggravated in summer. vata accumulates in summer, calms itself in winter. Kapha calmed in summer.
Age and doshas
Kapha till age 16, then pitta to middle age, vata in old age.
Five sub-doshas.
VATA
1)Prana vata, regulates the other 4 prana sub-doshas. Seat is the cranium, relates to central nervous system. Found in every cell.
2)Samhana vata-equalizing, seat is organs of digestion and absorption, liver, spleen, pancreas, stomach, gall bladder, small intestine. Brings food to the digestive fire, separates essence from the waste in food, related to absorption of nutrients.
3)Udana: vata:upward moving, from navel to throat, governs self expression, ability to transcend worldly affairs. Confers courage and boldness. Imbalance leads to coughing, belching, vomiting. Seat is the chest. Elevates the soul upward.
4)Apana downward moving, acts like a plug stopping energies from draining out of the body.. Seat is large intestine and pelvis. Supports and controls the other four vata sub-doshas. Governs reproductive system, menstruation, micturition and defecation. Eliminates toxins. Keeps the soul downward.
5)VYANA air in body, related to circulation and distribution. Seat is the heart. Governs movement, voluntary and involuntary, and musculo-skeletal system, opening and closing of sphincters and eyes.
PITTA
1) Pachaka pitta-Pac means to cook, relates to digestion. Breaks food down into essence and waste. The root pitta, protecting all other pitta sub-doshas. First part of pitta to be treated. Destroys invading organisms, builds up tissues. When pachaka pitta is balanced, discrimination in choice, quantity and type of food is naturally exercised.
2) Ranjaka pitta: digestion, liver, spleen, stomach, small intestine. Relates to colour in the tissues.Governs transformation of one dhatu(tissue) to the next, as in rasa(lymph) to rakta(blood) to mamsa(muscle) etc.
3)Brajaka pitta: lustre of skin and hair, related to expression of life energy
4) Sadhaka pitta: fire of ambition passion, awareness, intelligence. located in brain and heart. On lower level, relates to worldly pleasures, and material goals, on higher level, spiritual liberation.
5)Alochoka pitta: located in the eyes. Governs intake of light into the system.
KAPHA
1)Avalomboka kapha: storehouse of kapha, all other kaphas depend on this sub-dosha, as does rasa the first tissue. Lubrication of heart, lungs and throat through mucus production. Seat is heart and lungs. Cause of most kapha(mucus) disorders.
2.) Sleshaka kapha: Seat is the joints. Function: lubrication, stabilization of the joints, shock-absorbing
3) Bodhaka kapha, mouth and tongue, gives taste perception. Related to saliva
4) Tarpaka kapha: Relates to satisfaction, seat is brain and CSF. Nourishment of nerve tissues, and production of fluid known as amrit, produced by contentment and meditation.
5) Kledaka kapha: moistening, softening, seat is stomach, related to alkaline secretions, from the stomach's mucus lining. Allows for digestion and absorption of food through moistening.
Vata: Mind affects body. Nervousness, anxiety, fear. losing weight, seat is colon.Irregular. Easiest dosha to go out of balance, also easiest to fix. Relates to nervous system. accumulates in hollow organs, or in empty spaces.
Pitta: Muscular, bright intellect, athletic. Seat is small intestine.Governs digestion, metabolism. Problems: heartburn, ulcers, redness of face, inflammation , fever .Relates to bile. Aggravated pitta: yellowness of sclera, skin, loose stool.
Kapha: Gives substance to body. Means "to keep together". Seat is stomach. Children ruled by Kapha. Relates to phlegm(mucus) Aggravated kapha: vomiting.
Stages of disease
Western medicine recognizes only two stages of disease--Ayurveda recognizes six
1/ACCUMULATION: Doshas accumulate in their seat: vata in colon, pitta in small intestine, Kapha in stomach. Each produces own symptoms. Vata; weakness, dryness, desire for warmth, fullness in abdomen, flatulence, or constipation, increased fear, disturbed sleep
Pitta: burning sensations, bitter taste in mouth, yellowness of skin, increased anger,
Kapha: loss of appetite with weakened digestion, pallor, heaviness of limbs
2/AGGRAVATION: may occur directly, if causes strong enough
3/OVERFLOW: If aggravation is not checked, doshas escape their homes, wandering about the body. All symptoms worsen
Signs of overflow of doshas
Vata: Many disease processes
Pitta: Diarrhea
Kapha: Vomiting
4)LOCATION: Doshas find their location in previously weakened body region.
5)MANIFESTATION: Pathological disease recognizable by modern medicine
6)SPECIALIZATION: Different diseases have vata, pitta or kapha types.
Disease does not spring up suddenly. The factors responsible are built up over time.
Main treatment for doshas
Imbalances in the doshas are first treated by the appropriate taste
Vata: Sweet and salty taste. Warmth and oil, especially sesame oil.
Pitta:Bitter, astringent taste, and sweet taste. Purgatives such as castor oil. Cooling substances such as ghee,
Kapha: Pungent taste, herbs like chili. When ama is present, bitter taste should be used first. Activity, exercise balances kapha
Dhatus
Seven tissues which make up the body. One builds upon the other.
Rasa: plasma
Rakta:formed blood elements
Mamsa: muscle
Meda: fatty tissue
Ashti: bone
Majja: nervous tissue
Shukra: reproductive tissue, semen.
The seventh tissue, the shukra, is transformed into OJAS
Ojas-the central most important element of vital health around which all other factors revolve
Two types astu bindu(translation:eight drops) located in heart, amount never changes otherwise death results immediately
Para-ojas: located throughout the body. Amount does change throughout life.
Ojas is the final energy produced by all the dhatus(tissues) Energy of the immune system. Located in heart chakra. Subtle energy, reddish-yellow in colour. Ojas cements body together.
Things which weaken ojas: emotions, disease, alcohol, drugs, excessive sex.
Foods which lower ojas are meat, and fish.
Things which build ojas: peace, gems, especially yellow sapphire, rice cooked in milk, milk, dairy, ghee(clarified butter), herbs such as ashwagandha,sesame, makaradwaj.(special ayurvedic metallic preparation)
Aids and other auto-immune diseases are due to low ojas.
According to many immunologists, the cause of AIDS is not HIV virus, which is described as a harmless retrovirus, but a multi-factorial weakening of the immune system,due to lifestyle, diet and environmental pollutants. The anti-HIV drugs, such as AZT, are the final death sentence, and according to many medical doctors and researchers are the agents primarily responsible for the AIDS epidemic. Who benefits? The drug companies who make billions from the sale of the deadly anti-HIV drugs.
The American rock band, The Foo Fighters, recently toured while spreading information about the non-HIV cause of AIDS
Click here for immunologists' views on the real causes of AIDS
http://www.rethinkingaids.com/Archive/1998/RA98023DuesIntervwColombia.html
Further sites with information about the HIV/AIDS controversy:
http://www.mouthshut.com/readreview/21818-1.html http://www.trunkerton.fsnet.co.uk/AIDS.htm http://www.duesberg.com/about/bribepd.html http://buildfreedom.com/aidsdir.htm http://www.buildfreedom.com/tl/tl09a.shtml http://www.mmsweb.com/eykiw/aids/aids.htm http://aids-info.net/ http://www.geniusideas.com/aidsgate/ http://www.webleyweb.com/tle/le951101.html http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/6443/aids.html http://www.artnet.net/~acharya/truth/aids.htm http://pages.prodigy.net/johnhunter2/hivaids.htm http://www.zolatimes.com/v2.30/aidsexis.html mwww.sumeria.net/aids/willner2.html
Srotas
Channels which carry nutrients to tissues, and allow wastes out. Srotas are physical as well as subtle, may be microscopic or large in size.
Blockage in the srotas, called srotarodha, is the main cause of most disease.
There are seven channels relating to the seven dhatus(tissues) as follows:
RASA(Plasma): Rasa Vaha Srotas
RAKTA(Blood): Rakta Vaha Srotas
MAMSA(Muscle): Mamsa Vaha Srotas
MEDA(Fat/marrow): Meda Vaha Srotas
ASHTI(Bone)I: Ashti Vaha Srotas
MAJJA(nervous system): Majja Vaha Srotas
SHUKRA(reproductive): Shukra Vaha Srotas
There are addidtional channels as follows: Prana channel: prana vaha srotas, Fluid Channel:jala vaha srotas,Food channel: Anna vaha srotas, Sweat channel: Sweda vaha srotas, Urine channel: Mutra vaha srotas Feces channel: Purisha vaha srotas, Menstruation channel: Artava vaha srotas, Lactation channel: Sthanya vaha srotas and the Mind or Consciousness channel:Mano vaha srotas
The resin, from the plant commiphora mukul, known as Guggul in Ayurveda, is used to unblock the srotas.
Jaggery, unrefined sugar in block form, from India, or Thai palm sugar, is melted, made into small balls, then rolled in sesame seeds. A couple of these balls are taken daily to unblock the channels(srotas)
Agni-the digestive fire
Charaka:" the balance and aggravation of the Doshas is at all times due to the strength or weakness of the digestive fire. Therefore one must always protect the digestive fire, and prohibit all activities which weaken it."
Things that weaken agni: cold drinks, cold food, too much raw food, overeating, emotions, commercial sweets, commercial food, bad food combining, fasting.
13 types of agni: most important is jathar agni, in the stomach.
Digestive fire is weakened by excessive food, emotions, raw food, fasting. Candida is really low agni. Hydrochloric acid in stomach and so on, are manifestations of agni, but agni is the energy behind these physiological functions, and not understood by western medicine.
Agnimandya: low digestive fire. Symptoms of lowered agni: undesirable weight gain, bloating, loss of appetite.
Vishama agni: Irregular digestive fire
Tichna agni: high digestive fire. Symptoms: ulcers in mouth and nose,burning sensations. Affects Pitta constitutions. High agni first burns up oiliness of kapha, then oiliness of pitta, leaving person as a dried out husk!
People with high agni who attempt fasting are at the risk of burning themselves up,as the high agni is like a fire sweeping through the body. Dairy, cream,ghee, quark cheese, and other forms of milk, are suitable for people with high agni : the dairy is like putting a damper on the high flame. For use in Ayurveda, the dairy should be organic/ bio-dynamic, without homogenization of the milk. Milk from Jersey cows is best.
Ama
Ama:food that is absorbed into the system without being properly digested.
Undigested or partially digested food creates toxins.setting up an internal environment which supports the growth of bacteria, yeast, fungi and parasites. The undigested food(ama)creates blockages in the "srotas" or channels of elimination, and of nutrient supply in the body. Srota blockage is considered the main cause of disease in Ayurveda
Ama has a definite relationship to Agni. When ama goes up, agni goes down.
Ama: sticky, white foul- smelling substance.
Ayurvedic purity is purity of body's juices or "rasa". Often, people on "healthy" vegetarian diets have high ama, and constant problems.
Some foods are considered "amagenic"(building ama). One of these foods is soy, especially as in soy milk, worse if the soy milk is taken cold, (poured on cereal for example) Pathogens, yeasts feed off ama. Complex CHO's burn cleanly, are less likely to produce ama.
Signs of ama: coated tongue, stool with undigested material,.emotional instability, low attention span in children, behavioral problems .The plaque associated with Alzheimer's disease is pure ama strangling the neurons of the brain.
Modern drugs suppress symptoms of ama buildup
Ama must be burnt up, before disease can be treated .
AMA IS REMOVED THROUGH:
-Digestive herbs like cumin
-the salty taste(must be from unrefined grey moist sea salt, table salt will not have the desired effect)
-pungent taste(chili) breaks up ama. If the body type is pitta then burning up the ama with spicy tastes will aggravate, so other substances than pungent should be used.
-Guggul, the resin from the plant commiphora mukul, scrapes ama from the cells of the body, does not aggravate pitta.
--Shilajit
Guggul(Commiphora mukul)
****
If ama has a mental component, then gem therapies, colour therapy, meditation practices or similar should be used.
MIND AFFECTS BODY, AND BODY AFFECTS MIND
Balance doshas and mind balances.
Three gunas-qualities of the mind
Rajas, Tamas and Sattvas
Sattva: refined, pure, focusses on higher ideals
Rajas: passionate, active,
Tamas: lethargic, gross, violent
Mind full of Rajas and tamas is always going to have problems. Food, herbs, gems can refine consciousness.. Natural nature of a divine consciousness is kind, and loving; if you remove negative accumulation, through purification, the loving nature comes forward.
Six tastes
Sour, sweet, salty, bitter, pungent, astringent
The six tastes are condensations of the five universal elements(air, ether, water, earth and fire)and are thus used as a primary approach to restoring balance when the doshas(elements) are aggravated.
Sweet: (earth and water) examples: wheat, sugar, milk, rice, dates;balances vata, reduces pitta, increases kapha
Sour:(earth and fire) examples: yogurt, lemon, tamarind; hot and oily. Increases kapha and pitta, relieves vata.
Salty: (water and fire) examples: sea salt, rock salt, kelp;effects same as sour
Pungent: (fire and air) examples: onion, radish, ginger, chillyIncreases vata and pitta, relieves kapha
Bitter: (air and ether) examples: dandelion root, rhubarb root, bitter melonCold. Anti-biotics are cold and bitter. Increases vata, relieves pitta and kapha.
Astringent: (air and earth) examples: plantain, pomegranate, apples;cold. Increases vata, reduces pitta and kapha. Pitta tends to dilation , so astringent is good.
Rasa :Juice. tissue which nourishes all other tissues. Should be sweet, attracts sweetness to it.
MODERATION BALANCES, EXCESS HAS OPPOSITE EFFECT. TOO MUCH SWEET, WILL AGGRAVATE
RASA, VIRYA, VEEPAK
Rasa: taste of a substance
Virya: taste of a substance after it has been worked on by
the agni(digestion)
Veepak: Post digestive effect
A food or herb may have for example a salty taste(rasa)
but after digestion the taste changes, and the final veepak is sweet
Sweet and salty are sweet in post-digestive effect. Sour is sour, and pungent, bitter, and astringent are pungent.
Milk:An Ayurvedic perspective
Few subjects related to health attract as much controversy as whether milk is a healthy food. According to Ayurveda, milk is the purest food, which is immediately transformed into pure rasa, the foundation tissue on which all the other six dhatus(tissues) are based. Milk and dairy products build ojas, the vital immune energy, the foundation of wellbeing.
Dairy supports the kapha dosha, and balances pitta dosha; if there is a blockage in the channels or an aggravation of kapha, then milk products will not be well tolerated. But if one avoids dairy because of an imbalance, then that imbalance will cause problems of itself, so should be corrected, rather than create a lifestyle and diet which avoid certain foods because they aggravate the pre-exising imbalanced state.
Vegans and others who feel that milk should not be consumed after early childhood, often cite studies where certain problems have resulted from milk consumption. They cite that dairy products contain high levels of pesticide residue, and antibiotics and other drugs that are used to treat the cows when they are sick;they also relate that the dairy industry is a huge commercial enterprise where cows are treated poorly and exist under stressful conditions.
There is no contesting the truth of the above statements. The same however can be said about fruit and vegetable production, as well as grain production. Following this train of thought to its logical conclusion would mean that no-one can eat anything.
Commercial dairy is for the most part unacceptable for a healthy diet. Apart from the chemical residues ,the milk itself is of a low vibration that will not support health, and often contains yeasts, molds and spores,or miasms of such despite pasteurization.
People against milk also state that milk leads to a kind of pacification, and affects the mind. Ayurveda agrees -in a world full of violence, unrest and turmoil, where the greatest challenge is to maintain a peaceful mental state, the regular intake of vital substances such as pure dairy which has a SATTVIC (calming, refining) influence on the GUNAS(mind states)is a great blessing.
HOMOGENIZED MILK SHOULD NEVER BE TAKEN
Homogenization of milk, is where the fat particles are evenly distributed through the milk.The process makes the milk indigestible; such milk will create ama very rapidly, and cause blockage in the channels. Pasteurization of milk is however acceptable .
Fortunately, as with fruits and vegetables, the importance of chemical free, high vitality dairy has been realized by producers, and in Australia there are a number of sources of organic and BIO-DYNAMIC dairy, which are readily available. Bio-dynamic dairy not only is produced from happy cows living under ideal conditions on chemical free diets, but incorporates subtle energy principles such as the use of the material Bio 500 based on Rudolf Steiner's anthroposophical research. This truly creates very high vibration dairy and other foods which act as some of the most important counters to the pollutants and energy depleting circumstances encountered in the modern world.
Milk is cooling in energy making it perfect for PITTA constitutions, which run hot. People with KAPHA constitution,(cold) don't need that much support of their substance, which is what pure dairy does, so kapha people should limit their dairy intake, and use warming spices such as cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg with their dairy, to reduce its kapha(phlegm) effects.
Regardless of constitution, milk should never be taken cold from the fridge and should always be warmed or at room temperature before consumption.
AN INDIVIDUAL ESPECIALLY OF PITTA CONSTITUTION WITH SROTAS(CHANNELS) FUNCTIONING WITH OUT BLOCKAGE, AND WITHOUT AMA BUILDUP, CAN TAKE LARGE AMOUNTS OF PURE, UNHOMOGENIZED DAIRY ON A DAILY BASIS WITHOUT EXPERIENCING ANY EXCESS PHLEGM BUILDUP.
Phlegm(mucus) is only a problem in excess, and serves a most important role as protector of membranes, joint lubrication and stomach lining.
Milk and milk products made from JERSEY COWS is superior to that made from other dairy herds and conveys especially powerful immune and bio-regulatory functions.
Ojas and bio-energy fields
Ayurveda, teaches that the energy field of man is composed of five layers, and is known as the "five sheaths".According to GNOSTIC , VEDIC and KABBALISTIC understanding, the physical body is only a shell housing the consciousness within; many different types of consciousness, of different vibratory natures, exist in physical forms, in all kingdoms, mineral, vegetable, animal, human and beyond.
From an understanding of vibrational medicine , we know that one energy field will affect another, due to resonant attunement. When two high vibration fields interact,the effect will be one of enhancement and increased vibratory resonance in the fields; when one high vibratory field interacts with a polluted or lower vibrator field, the result will be a lowering or dampening of the higher vibratory energy field. THE DAMPENING OF THE HUMAN ENERGY FIELD BY A LOWER VIBRATORY FIELD RESULTS IN DECREASED OJAS, AS WELL AS PRANA
Copyright: Mark Abriel, 2011
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