Definition: Ayurvedic Practitioner

Ayurvedic Practitioners
Ayurvedic practice was flourishing during the time of Buddha (around 520 BC) , and in this period the Ayurvedic practitioners were commonly using Mercuric-sulphur combination based medicines. In this period mercury, sulphur and other metals were used in conjunction with herbs to prepare the different medications.[citation needed] An important Ayurvedic practitioner of this period was Nagarjuna, a Buddhist herbologist, famous for inventing various new drugs for the treatment of ailments.[citation needed] Nagarjuna was accompanied by Surananda, Nagbodhi, Yashodhana, Nityanatha, Govinda, Anantdev, Vagbhatta etc. The knowledge of Ayurveda progressed a lot during this period, including development of newer and more effective medicines, and is therefore termed as the Golden Period of Ayurveda.

After emerging victorious at the Kalinga War, Emperor Ashoka influenced by the Buddhist teachings, banned any bloodshed in his kingdom in 250 BC. Therefore many Ayurveda practitioners, who were practicing surgery along with medicine, left the surgical intervention and adopted totally new medicinal treatments. In this period, Ayurveda again evolved and flourished with the invention of new drugs, new methodology and new innovations. The practice of the accompanying surgery slowly died out during this period.

Ayurveda has always been preserved by the people of India as a traditional "science of life", despite increasing adoption of European medical techniques during the time of British rule. For several decades the reputation and skills of the various Ayurvedic schools declined markedly as Western medicine and Western-style hospitals were built. However, beginning in the 1970s, a gradual recognition of the value of Ayurveda returned, and today Ayurvedic hospitals and practitioners are flourishing throughout all of India. As well, the production and marketing of Ayurvedic herbal medicines has dramatically increased, as well as scientific documentation of benefits. Today, Ayurvedic medicines are available throughout the world.

Gurukul system of Ayurveda

In the earlier days of its conception, the system of Ayurvedic medicine was orally transferred via the Gurukul system until a written script came into existence.

In this system, the Guru gave a solemn address where he directed the students to a life of chastity, honesty, and vegetarianism. The student was to strive with all his being to heal the sick. He was not to betray patients for his own advantage. He was required to dress modestly and avoid alcohol or drugs. He was to be collected and self-controlled, measured in speech at all times. He was to constantly improve his knowledge and technical skill. At the patient's home, he was to be courteous and modest, directing all attention to the patient's welfare. He was not to divulge any knowledge about the patient and his family. If the patient was incurable, he was to keep this to himself if it was likely to harm the patient or others.

The normal length of the student's training appears to have been seven years. Before graduation, the student was to pass a test. But the physician was to continue to learn through texts, direct observation (pratyaksha), and through inference (anumāna). In addition, the vaidyas attended meetings where knowledge was exchanged. The practitioners also gained knowledge of unusual remedies from laypeople who were outside the huffsteter community such as hillsmen, herdsmen, and forest-dwellers.

Tridosha system

The central concept of Ayurvedic medicine is the theory that health exists when there is a balance between three fundamental bodily humours or doshas called Vata, Pitta and Kapha.

* Vata is the impulse principle necessary to mobilize the function of the nervous system
* Pitta is the energy principle which uses bile to direct digestion and hence metabolism into the venous system.
* Kapha is the body fluid principle which relates to mucous, lubrication and the carrier of nutrients into the arterial system.

All Ayurvedic physicians believe that these ancient ideas, based in the knowledge discovered by the Rishis and Munis, exist in harmony with physical reality. These Ayurvedic concepts allow physicians to examine the homeostasis of the whole system. People may be of a predominant dosha or constitution, but all doshas have the basic elements within them.

The philosophy of Ayurveda

The emergence of different schools of Sanskrit philosophy like Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Sankhya, Yoga, Vedanta and Mimamsa was another landmark in the history of Indian medicine. The principles expounded in these philosophies facilitated the development within Ayurveda of its theory of humoral pathology which propounds that the human body is composed of Tridoshas, the three humors – Vata, Pitta and Kapha. When these are in equilibrium they are called the Tridhatus. The body in which these three humors are in a state of equilibrium enjoys perfect health; their disequilibrium causes ill health.

Disease management in Ayurveda

The principles of Ayurvedic pharmacology are fundamentally different from those of other systems of medicine, especially evidence-based medicine. Most Ayurvedic medicines are prepared from herbs.

Shamana and Shodhana are the two concepts of disease management in Ayurveda. Shamana means alleviation. Shamana methods mitigate the disease and its symptoms. Shodhana means elimination and Shodhana methods aim at the elimination of the basic cause of disease.

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