Savi Sarin
I had been waiting for some divine inspiration, the seed idea to begin this writing project. Call it providence, it was International Yoga Day, and the inspiration presented itself as a question from my little one. Sharing the excerpt of our conversation:
Me: Today is International Yoga Day
Little one: So does that mean everyone in the world will be doing yoga?
Me: Yes
Little one: You mean everyone!
Me: Well, almost!
Little one: All continents, all countries, Africa, Europe, China, Australia?
Me: I suppose so.
Little one: What about mosquitoes, cows, monkeys, elephants and snakes? Do they also know yoga?
And that’s what got me thinking and gave me the seed idea.
Before we broach the heavy subject of yoga and āyurveda, the two ubiquitous words, and forms they have taken in today’s modern world, it would be interesting to start from a question, which will give a meaningful perspective (insight). Instead of asking ‘What is yoga and āyurveda?’, let’s ask ‘Who is it for and why’? Humans of course, we may quip: gender, nationality, caste, creed, religion are no bar. But why is it for humans, why not animals? After all, we have many things in common with our biped and quadruped friends. There is a beautiful shloka in Sanskrit that goes like this (Hitopadeśa 25):
आहार-निद्रा-भय-मैथुनानि सामान्यम् एतत् पशुभिर् नराणाम् ।
ज्ञानं नराणाम् अधिको विशेषो ज्ञानेन हीनाः पशुभिः समानाः ॥ २५ ॥
āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunāni sāmānyam etat paśubhir narāṇām |
jñānaṃ narāṇām adhiko viśeṣo jñānena hīnāḥ paśubhiḥ samānāḥ ||
The first line states very clearly that eating, sleeping, fear and procreation are the activities humans have in common with animals. Then what is it that makes us swell with pride? What is it that differentiates humans from other species?
The second line explicitly elucidates that moot point. One thing that differentiates us from other species is knowledge (jñāna, vidyā). We have been endowed with knowledge (vidyā, veda) and superior intellect to learn and evolve. If we do not make use of the knowledge gifted to us without any copyright or IP-right conundrum, then we are as good as animals. (No offense to our slimy, slithery, scaly, furry friends.)
Being born as a human, to get the superior tool of body, mind, and intellect is indeed a privilege. It is like getting a pole vault to make that huge leap and cross the vicious cycle of birth and death.
Wait a second, but why do we get into this birth and death cycle in the first place? That is because of our karmas (actions). Only humans are gifted with free will, the agency to do karma as they wish: good or bad, it’s their choice. Animals, the anuśayī jīva, don’t have this privilege; they are born to meet with the consequences of their wrong actions of previous lives (bhoga) and have no scope of learning or evolving into superior beings – or doing anything much beyond what they are programmed for. Humans or abhimāni jīva, on the other hand, are entitled to jñāna, karma, and bhoga of a wide variety. We are not just born to bear the fruit of our good and bad actions in the form of jāti, the species in which one is born, which is fixed at birth and can’t be changed; ayu, life span; and bhoga, pleasure & pain. Since āyu and bhoga can be upgraded or degraded as per our current actions, we are to learn and evolve to a higher level of existence.
However, many of us may argue that being an animal is way better than being a human. Look at the birds, for example, they have the freedom to do whatever they want, whenever they want, fly above all. What a wonderful life.
Fair enough, but if we observe closely, our avian friends adhere to their intelligent design to a T with little scope of deviation from what they are programmed for. A rooster will crow at the break of dawn, an owl will hoot at night, a hawk will not feed on berries, a parrot will not scavenge on the dead, a kiwi will build a burrow to lay eggs, while weaver birds – even though they have exemplary craftsmanship – have been weaving their beautiful nests the same way as they did centuries ago.
Now let us look at ourselves. We wake up when we want, we sleep when we want. When it comes to food, we have a smorgasbord of delicacies to whet our appetite, we eat when we want – rather all the time, not just when hungry. We travel far and wide, we sail, we swim, we fly, we build fancy homes, homes that keep us safe from the vagaries of weather. Our designs and creations evolve as per need and time. Which one do you call freedom, the aforesaid or the latter? (It is a different matter that we have not been discerning enough with the freedom of choice gifted to us, a poignant topic to be taken up for another time.) If you still think the former is better, then imagine a prisoner’s life.
Well, the great scientists of yore, the rishis, did just that: they observed, asked real questions, hard questions, sought answers, and realized that even a human birth is no less than a prison, misery, agony.
Since time immemorial, the prime focus of our species has been to attenuate our miseries and alleviate our sufferings and pain. It still is and will always be so. Ask anyone and you’ll find the basic premise of why they are doing what they are doing is that they seek joy and want to steer clear of any kind of agony. The material world has been going in circles to find that elixir of life, eternal bliss, to no avail. But the great seers, due to their inquisitiveness, penance, and deep resolve to find answers to life’s real problems, unraveled the biggest mysteries of origins, of existence, that no modern scientist has even come close to solving. They realized that human birth, despite being a crucible of suffering, is also the only window to escape from all kinds of suffering (trividhā-duḥkha: ādhidaivika, ādhibhautika and ādhyātmika) and achieve the main purpose for which we keep getting sent into the world.
Scientists are inquisitive in nature and have a fervent desire to get to the root of the problem. The primeval rishis, the greatest scientists of all times, received the veda jñāna in their deep meditative state (samādhi). Being the ultimate and true source of all knowledge, this veda jñāna was revealed to the sages at the beginning of creation. Those sages passed it on to their disciples through oral tradition, who in turn passed it onto their disciples, till it reached the common man through their oral narration and written works. These primeval rishis did the root cause analysis and they got to a profound conclusion, a eureka moment! They found out that the real reason behind the cycle of birth and death is primarily ignorance (avidyā). Hence, the only way out of this vicious cycle is to get rid of all the ignorance and be a seeker of ultimate, absolute, universal, knowledge. It purifies and strengthens the spirit which will in turn bring us closer to our being and the Supreme being.
After this realization of the ultimate, unchanging reality, illuminated with truth, consciousness, and bliss, the tender-hearted sages started to hold the hands of ordinary distressed humans and showed the path of light to the entire humanity. Out of compassion, these self-realized souls created ancient Vedic knowledge systems, solely to get humans out of the quagmire they were in and help them realize the supreme purpose of their lives. These outliers dispelled ignorance (avidyā) from the lives of ordinary humans.
The Divine knowledge was encapsulated in easy-to-assimilate, succinct aphorisms by the contemporary sages, to show humanity how the world really works. By comparison, neither Noam Chomsky or Vaclav Smil’s best selling title, ‘How the world really works’ might not be able to give a holistic view. Moreover, they wouldn’t be able to give answers to the deeply perplexing questions or wouldn’t look beyond the material world, for the answers to the problem of real-life, lie elsewhere.
Of all the knowledge that was decoded in various texts, the two forms of Vedic literature that have stood the test of time are āyurveda and yoga. This divine knowledge is eternal, universal, and is most beneficial for humankind; ergo, gaining prominence worldwide.
We are indebted to the preceptors of āyurveda (Maharṣi Charaka, Suśruta, Vāgbhaṭṭa) and yoga darśana (Maharṣi Patañjali) for compiling the two universal knowledge systems which help mankind traverse from the outermost sheath of the human body (annamaya kośa) to the innermost self (ānandamaya kośa). With sincere practice (abhyāsa) and detachment (vairāgya), these Vedic sciences can help transcend all the five sheaths of the human body and reach beyond the self to meet with the Supreme Guru. The main reason they were formulated.
Āyurveda and yoga are complementary knowledge systems that find their roots in the Vedas. They are the sciences that help us in taking care of the pole (our body) and then show us how to use it for our maximum benefit, which is essential for us to take that leap. Āyurveda helps in the upkeep and maintenance of the pole (that is the main objective of āyurveda, not just fixing the broken one) whereas yoga teaches us how to use it for that big leap. Hence both work hand in hand for strengthening, purifying, and uplifting the human soul so that we rise above the morass. If the pole is broken, misused, or mishandled then we can’t go for that gigantic leap similarly if we obsess about the pole, are only engrossed in its upkeep and maintenance, and forget the main purpose for which it is to be used, how it is to be used then also it’s a loss-making proposition.
So far, I have tried to answer ‘Yoga & āyurveda, for whom and why’? Now, let’s move on and just dip our toes into the vast, comprehensive ocean of universal knowledge, the twin sciences of āyurveda and yoga – a complete package for the complete human, from the gross body (sthūla śarīra) to the subtle body (sūkṣma śarīra) and beyond.
Āyurveda and yoga have taken many forms and meanings in the modern world, losing their essence somewhere down the line. Yoga and āyurveda are not any sort of acrobatics, secret guru mantra, or wizardry to be done to us by a third person (worldly gurus) or magic potion to be handed down to us by any physician/doctor (vaidya). It is very disheartening to see how this knowledge that was given to humans by the Supreme Guru, which then was passed on to the common man by the selfless sages for free, has been contorted and copyrighted as personal property and being sold to gullible folks like us. These two knowledge forms are as vital as fresh air and water, thus fundamental for the existence of every being. No one should have a monopoly on this knowledge, or try to hide its source by repackaging and branding it with something based on their imagination.
While I am writing this, a thought flashes in my mind again. Hence, let me think aloud: Are we born blank slates? Do we create knowledge, or do we build it from the repository of previous knowledge? Where does that previous knowledge come from? We know that we stand on the shoulders of the people who lived before us, and they stood on the people before them till we trace it back to the ultimate source. In Yajurveda, 40th chapter, the first mantra says,
तेन त्यक्तेन भुञ्जीथा
मा गृधः कस्यस्विद्धनम् ॥
II tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā
mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam II
Content thyself in what God has given thee. Don’t be greedy. Don’t covet. Whom does the wealth belong to anyway?
Knowledge is the greatest wealth humans have been gifted, to whom does it belong? We’re not talking about the bhautika or material knowledge, but about the ādhyātmika knowledge: spiritual knowledge, which imparts wisdom and makes us a person of discernment.
Where do good ideas come from? Ever heard of writer’s block? As a writer or creative artist, all I can say is that for all our work we seek the guidance of the Supreme Creator residing within. It is inexplicable how it happens, sometimes it is surreal. I don’t think we can ever lay claim to any great ideas. (I’m not talking about the hackneyed, ordinary, or not-so-great ideas, which come from a repository of our previous knowledge, saṃskāra or impressions, memory storage, etc.) The ideas certainly come through us, and we feel the joy of being the receptacle, but they certainly aren’t ours. Unfortunately, we consider them as our brainchild and claim ownership of the same as a possessive parent.
At the risk of sounding naïve, I would say knowledge should always be shared for free and not for a price. Knowledge is of two kinds: one that helps us make our living and one that makes our life a beautiful journey (gifted to us by our Supreme parent). If the latter is given priority and made a fundamental right, then it will help take care of all the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals . Invest in imparting the true, absolute, universal knowledge (Āyurveda & yoga) in its original form to all and see the world’s woes vanish. Tall order; we have to be really deserving to desire this happens.
A cursory glance at these twin sciences might convince rational thinking minds of this utopian possibility.
Let us look at Āyurveda, which means science/knowledge (veda) of life (āyu). Its main goal in a nutshell (Charaka Saṃhita 1.30.26):
svasthasya svāsthyarakṣaṇam āturasya vikārapraśamanaṃ ca
This means to prolong life and maintain health (add years to life and life to years) in a healthy person, and to eradicate the disease and dysfunction of the body in the sick. Āyurveda is not just a medical system that prescribes medicine, the way it has become today; it prescribes a framework for habits and practices to live well (dinacaryā , rātricaryā , ṛtucaryā), at the center of which is āhāra, vihāra, vicāra and vyavahāra (diet, habits, lifestyle). Ergo, for all intents and purposes, Āyurveda puts the power of maintaining and preserving health in our own hands rather than with doctors or pills, for prevention is always better than intervention.
Svāsthya (health) means to be established in oneself and reach the prime goal of life. Yoga, i.e. samādhi, also means union with Self and the Supreme.
Therefore, unless one is svāsthya, one can’t do yoga. One Sanskrit shloka states ‘śarīra madhyam khalu dharma sādhanam’: this body is the means to a greater end that we all need to work towards. Hence it is imperative to take care of the tool appropriately and keep it healthy to tread the path of dharma / sādhana / upāsana yoga.
What is health?
As per Āyurveda, the definition of svāsthya or health is (Suśruta Saṃhita, , Sūtrasthāna, 15.41):
समदोषः समाग्निश् च समधातुमलक्रियः ||
प्रसन्नात्मेन्द्रियमनाः स्वस्थ इत्य् अभिधीयते ||
samadoṣaḥ samāgniś ca samadhātumalakriyaḥ ||
prasannātmendriyamanāḥ svastha ity abhidhīyate ||
An individual who is in a state of equilibrium of the body’s humors, digestive fire, tissues, physiological functions of excretions, and whose spirit/soul (ātmā), senses (indriya) and mind (manas) are all happy, is considered as a healthy individual.
According to the WHO, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely absence of disease and infirmity.”
If we compare the two definitions of health, we can see for ourselves which one is more holistic.
Āyurveda and yoga are universal and hold good for all times, all people, at all paces. It is the science of life, the experiential wisdom of the sages of yore (Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya 1.2).
आयुः कामायमानेन धर्मार्थ-सुखसाधनम् |
आयुर्वेदोपदेशेषु विधेयः परमादरः
āyuḥ kāmāyamānena dharmārtha-sukhasādhanam
āyurvedopadeśeṣu vidheyaḥ paramādaraḥ II
The purpose of Āyurveda is to promote health and longevity. Only a person with a healthy long life can achieve the four puruṣārthas, namely dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa. One who desires to have a long healthy life must follow what Āyurveda prescribes with the utmost respect (Charaka Saṃhita 1.1.15-16).
धर्मार्थकाममोक्षाणामारोग्यं मूलमुत्तमम् ।
रोगास्तस्यापहर्तारः श्रेयसो जीवितस्य च ।।
dharmārthakāmamokṣāṇāmārogyaṃ mūlamuttamam |
rogāstasyāpahartāraḥ śreyaso jīvitasya ca ||
The foundation for performing dharma, artha, kāma and attaining mokṣa is ārogya (good health). Diseases destroy that very foundation, so one must heed the prescriptions of Āyurveda.
Both yoga and Āyurveda focus on self-realization and realization of the Supreme, and on attaining bliss/moksha, the ultimate and most important goal of human life.
Both Āyurveda and yoga work in unison to keep our bodies in a state of equilibrium. They use the three guṇas (sattva, rajas, tamas) for determining the individual’s psychological or spiritual nature. Both emphasize the development of sattva. In yoga, sattva is the higher quality that allows spiritual growth to occur. In Āyurveda, sattva is the state of balance that makes healing happen.
Patanjali’s eight-fold path of yoga is a step-by-step procedure laid down for a lay person to control our mind (cittavṛttis). It can be divided into two: external yoga, that is to do with the purification of body and mind, and internal or subtle yoga which is an inward journey where one has to transcend the body and mind to finally be one with Self and the Supreme.
The 8 steps to reach the final goal have been carefully laid down by the sage; one cannot skip any step to reach the next level. It needs tenacity and practice of the first five with utmost sincerity to master the last three.
To conclude, I would reiterate that the twin sciences of Āyurveda and yoga aren’t something that someone ought to do to us, but they are certain codes of conduct of righteous living (physical, mental and spiritual), self-control over body, mind, and senses, svasthavṛttas, sadvṛttas. We undertake these for optimal health, vitality, to reach the pinnacle of awareness, evolve to be our higher selves – and, most importantly, to have a rendezvous with our Creator. Juggling responsibilities while working on self-development and growth can be overwhelming. This makes it even more crucial for us to look after our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. What better way to do this than to live by the principles of age-old Vedic science?
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