Ayurveda and Spirituality
By: Mother Maya

For the unreal, there is no existence
For the real, there is always existence
The ultimate truth (of this paradox)
is seen by the knowers of truth.
        Lord Krsna -- Bhagavad Gita (2-16)

  Indeed, it would be awesome if we were to recognize that we are already healed. Unfortunately, we subscribe to the erroneous belief that disease is inevitable, and that at sometime in our lives we are destined to fall prey to despair, disease, and death. The rishis inform that good health is the natural state of being in the form of the `true self' and that once we realize the true self to be a conscious entity, intrinsically whole, we may eliminate the sense of separation that is the primal cause for disease, disharmony, and unhappiness.

  Ayurveda, the oldest paradigm of health and healing known to the earth, grew out of the rishi tradition of the Vedas, specifically the Atharva Veda. The rishis were adept at entering elevated states of consciousness to "see" truth, retrieving information directly from the cosmos for the welfare of all beings. A wellspring of infinite healing resources, Ayurveda does have the necessary knowledge to meet the challenges of our time.

  Vedic cosmology tells us that Ayurveda comes from the buddhi (cosmic intelligence) of God Brahma who transmitted the knowledge of Ayurveda to his son, Daskha Prajapati who, in turn, shared this knowledge with Asvinideva who taught Indra - Lord of the firmament. As the world evolved, imbalances followed with the advent of disease. To restore health and awareness, a council of sages convened in the Himalayas to mitigate the fate of disease and disharmony on Earth. After studying with Indra, Bharadvaja was sent to Earth to disseminate Ayurveda's wisdom to the sages, one of whom was Atreya. His disciple, Agnivesa, is believed to have scribed the first written text (12,000 verses) on Ayurveda - Agnivesa Samhita – the popularity of which led Charaka to redact this work into what we know as Charaka Samhita. Sushruta's recount of Ayurveda's introduction to the Earth varies slightly: According to him, Dhanvantari learned Ayurveda directly from Indra. In turn, Dhanvantari taught twelve disciples who produced specific tantras, one of which was Sushruta Samhita.

  The main reorganizer of Ayurveda, who has sustained its education from 1,200 years ago to the present, Charaka belongs to Atreya's lineage of the school of internal medicine; Susruta comes from Dhanvantari's school of surgery. These two methodologies brought Ayurveda into recognition as a verifiable medical science. In the Vedic period, the practice of medicine had not yet branched into an independent profession. It was part of the function of the Atharvana - priest-healer - who advocated the principle of body-mind-spirit as an inseparable whole unit of consciousness and applied this edict to evoke the energy and memory of the challenged person to help them heal themselves.

  Given that its exalted origin comes from the buddhi of the devas themselves, Ayurveda's power to heal and make whole must be equally as powerful. With the progressive deterioration of health, the popularity of Ayurveda surges. At the nadir of its application, Ayurveda provides a broad stratum of information for the prevention of physical and emotional disorder. Unfortunately, as Ayurveda education aligns itself more closely with the approaches of contemporary medical science, we find ourselves becoming alienated from its core principle of oneness and wholeness.

  For Ayurveda to preserve its resplendent cosmic memory, its practice must reflect the understanding that the human cognition is limitless. Taittiriya Upanishad informs that knowledge is the intellect's reflection of consciousness. The student of Ayurveda must strive to cultivate the knowledge of the whole unfragmented understanding of Ayurveda. Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita both espouse ten specific topics limited to - sarira, anatomy; vitti, physiology; hetu, aetiology; vyadhi, pathology; karma, treatment; karya, objective; kala, time (age, season, and so on); vidhiviniscaya, procedure and process. Indeed, these texts - when disseminated by a qualified acharya - are the authoritative basis for the study of Ayurveda's theory and practice. In and of themselves, their content does not address or reveal the core study for consciousness that underpins all Vedic work. More than knowing the biological nature of the organism and administering therapies and curatives for body and mind, we are behooved to inquire into the deeper secrets of Ayurveda that exist within its science of spirit and its relation to human cognition.

  Like the Atharvanas, the true Ayurveda practitioner must have the knowledge to educate individuals to cultivate their own inner resource for healing. Clearly, the dilemma we face is that the human mind is caught in the sublime paradox of perceivable reality. At the profound extreme we contribute to the mirage perspective (asat buddhi), misconstruing cosmic truth to be the changing, decaying mortality we experience in everyday life. Indeed, cosmic truth is sat - the unchanging infinite awareness that does not depend on any other condition for its existence and from which all thoughts, perspectives, and realities emerge, manifest, and within which all things dissolve. In short, sat sat is the very nature of self.

  In the opening epithet, Lord Krsna reveals the knowledge of the self as - sat-cit-ananda - infinite, unchanging awareness. The self is cit-atma - self revealing consciousness. Cit and sat are the inseparable reality of pure consciousness. This formless stratum (sat-cit) on which all existence depends is ananda - infinitum. The nature of everything within and without the universe is satcitananda. The nature of atman - your indwelling spirit - is infinite awareness.

 Existence is awareness. All things that we see exist around us change, alter, transform, and change again. How we respond to the ever shifting field surrounding us also changes from moment to moment. These apparent fluctuating conditions and forms of existence are known as asat, because all things which change form, shape, and so on must have their basis/source in the formidable - pure and formless reality which the Vedas call sat. In essence, the awareness in which all thoughts and objects exist, move and transform is sat - unchanging. Disharmony, disease, despair, and death are impermanent conditions belonging to the asat-buddhi.

 One little shift in thinking may reveal sat-buddhi consciousness - our nature of pure awareness seen through the quantum metaphor for consciousness - panchakosha. Let us explore your cosmic anatomy through the doctrine of the panchakosha first described in Taittiriya Upanishad. The rishis inform that we are created from the panchamahabhutas - five subtle elements: space, air, fire, water, earth - which power manifests the five-fold `bodies' or `layers' of consciousness. Referred to as koshas of which there are five - these `layers' form the universe's structure as well as our cosmic anatomy. The word `kosha' is used as a metaphor. Within consciousness there are no guises or masks deliberately hiding the truth of our real nature from us. In this context, "layers" or "sheaths" as they are sometimes called, refer to the individual's lack of awareness of the real nature of self being satcitananda.

  Our cosmic anatomy stretches us across the vast plane of existence - from the manifested material world to infinite, formless consciousness. According to the rishis, somewhere along this human journey our goal is to realize the knower of self and to strive to distinguish between the apparent `unreal' and realized `real'. Asato ma sadgamaya, tamaso ma jyotirgamaya.

  According to Taittiriya Upanishad, consciousness is the primal source of life from which intelligence manifests and creates the mind, breath, and body. Intricately woven in the network linking self and planet to the whole universe, our cosmic nature revealed by the rishis demonstrates that the layers of body, mind and spirit are inseparable. Each one of us possesses a cosmic anatomy developed and refined through this five-fold stratum of consciousness that mirrors the structure of the cosmos.

 Anandamaya is the ultimate `layer' of consciousness within the universe and jiva, human being. In other words, our true nature is that of pure consciousness - beyond name, form, attribute, definition, modification, differentiation. This consciousness-body is beyond the grasp even of intelligence. Self is Absolute. Anandamaya is beyond the chakras and elements. Because of its spatially limitless and infinite nature, everything dissolves within it and arises again from its source. Having contemplated our true nature, we may realize sat-buddhi, wherein we remember that we are wellness. We are consciousness. Disease is an imposter. In fact, we are forever healed.

  The human buddhi (intellect characterized by awareness, intuition and wisdom) begins and ends in consciousness. The seers call this awareness, vijnanam - universal intelligence within self. Vijnanamaya, the fourth `layer' of consciousness within self, is the all-knowing presence of the human entity. Each person is endowed with the potential to know and realize this intrinsic knowledge within self, although they may not be awakened to their wisdom. This self-generating intelligence refines itself through each and every life-form as the planet sheds, produces, and evolves. The only known species that can transform intelligence through the resolve of thought is the human being. Also, unique to our species is the experience of will and self-reflection. Intelligence is the natural order of life. Genuine human response is a resonance of intelligence. When buddhi and its intelligence are functioning, memory prevails and thoughts and actions are easily resolved in inquiry, observation, and contemplation.

  Our cosmic nature is perennially evident. Human capacity to cogitate, contemplate, and finally to transcend thought and dwell in the oneness of the universal presence is a result of our innate intelligence. Evolution of both vishuddha and anahata chakras occur in this layer of consciousness. At this stage, vishuddha chakra, pervaded by the element of space, cleanses and purifies the buddhi with its subtle nada (primordial sound). Both chakras play a profound role in the manifestation of buddhi.

  Residing within the heart, anahata chakra is the epicenter of cosmic vibrational forces. When awakened, the heart chakra marks a profound leap in our evolutionary growth. The powers of spiritual awareness begin to flourish when the sonic energy of the heart is awakened along with our intuition. Just as the fourth chakra serves as a gateway between the more basic survival-oriented impulses of the lower three chakras and the more ratified aspirations to the higher three, the fourth kosha represents a major transition in our inner orientation and thinking - a leap of faith in and compassion for all.

  The third and pivotal `layer' of consciousness within self is manomaya - the transforming expression of consciousness that fuels mind and mental function. Fire, the dominant element that makes creation visible, is to the universe what the mind is to humans. Fire is the catalytic force that keeps air, water, and earth, elements in check. Mind assimilates the universe of information fueled as it were by tejas - transformative fire power necessary to have evolved the mind's prowess. Controlling a variety of emotions, mind is the basis of will power and architect of desire. In the third layer of consciousness, manipura chakra plays a significant role in the creation of mind and its evolution. The third chakra empowers a definitive shift from sensorial existence, thereby charging and progressing the mind's mental and material force. Nourished by buddhi's intelligence, the mind's dynamism may be perceived through ideas, vision, imagination, invention, and dream. The mind's ability to project the names and forms of creation - nama rupa - reveals clues to our supremely ordered intelligence.

  Pranamaya, the second `layer' of consciousness of the material self, is sustained by breath. Prana is the breath of the cosmos. The element of air plays a dominant role in the prana body. Wind and air are to the universe what prana is to humans and all life-forms. The prana body is more grossified than the mind body and more subtle than the food body. Prana controls the expansion and contraction of the earth's surface, the ebb and flow of the oceans and the moon's orbit around the earth. In the body, prana moves air, water, nerves, and memory cells. Numerous nadis, and strotras, (conduits and channels) comprise the prana body which kinetic force is responsible for all vital functions and urges of the body. The ahamkara, ("I" sense, or ego), which stores memory subsists on prana. The energy of svadhisthana chakra contributes to the evolution of ego and memory in this plane of existence.

  Each layer of consciousness is interlaced with other layers. Once one substratum of the anatomy is afflicted, all layers of consciousness where elements exist may be affected. Once the balance of prana is disrupted the food body is injured. When the food body is diseased, the prana body suffers. Forgetfulness, which is rampant in our world, is the direct symptom of pranic impairment. Once prana is vitiated, the life force of the planet is impinged, bringing as a result hunger, thirst, loneliness, hopelessness, and deprivation. The progressive state of cosmic amnesia reflected in present human condition is a direct response to the vitiated prana body of self and universe.

   Annamaya, the first `layer' of consciousness within the material self, is sustained by food. The food body or physical body consists of the tridosha, saptadhatu and all of our physiological functions. Earth and water elements play the most significant role in sustaining and making stable the food body of humans and other life-forms. When the massive food body of the earth and her nature is safeguarded and preserved, the food body of all species thrives. Without a healthy food body, we cannot remember our cosmic nature. When we, the sentient species, forget our nature, the planet too forgets itself. Nature's food is the most vital link to our history of cognition which spans billions of years of the universe's evolution, from the beginning of time and space.

  The food body is the most tangible form connecting us to cosmic consciousness. Ironically, it is this very density of form that influences our primeval need for survival, barring easy access to the subtle and pervasive forces of awareness. The memory of survival is intrinsic to the root chakra, muladhara, which energy stronghold on the food plane of existence may keep us fixated on survival issues through many births. Consciously shifting our vision from the asat-buddhi to recognize our food body as energy (rather than densely packed matter) we may transcend attachment to the physical body and material plane, thereby shedding our sense of self-absorption. The physical plane of existence does provide a great inherent challenge to master - the delusion of deha-atma wherein mind becomes attached to the sensorial, physical and material goals and gains. His Holiness, Swami Dayananda Saraswati puts it this way: deha-atma is the primary cause for delusion that creates body/consciousness alienation. As we cultivate balance and good health within the food body, we may create harmony in our self.

  The food body is the most accessible layer of consciousness to serve. Nature's food is the most vital connection to remembering our cosmic nature. To feed, nourish and nurture all layers of our cosmic anatomy, we may adhere to timeless dharma that cultivates inner harmony - ahimsa - the awareness and practice of nonviolence, nonhurtfulness toward self which includes every being, nature, and life. Ayurveda sheds substantial light on the role of ahimsa in the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of a person. In the cultivation of consciousness, ahimsa is the foremost dharma we may strive to achieve and practice in our daily lives. Ahimsa is awareness that informs all aspects of our behavior - not only restraint from killing and violence. We must recognize that all forms of violence originate from within mind and its mental function when we are in disharmony with self. It is about recognizing that violence assumes many forms; from the subtle negative thought, word, expression, or action to the full blown reality of poverty, disease, despair, war, slaughter, and killing. The rishis caution us to carefully safeguard and guide our thoughts so that we may mitigate the root of violence in our minds before disharmonious thoughts progress to propagate negative action and response. In the spirit of the Atharvanas, each one of us must make a commitment to inner harmony our first priority and we will manifest peace and good health everywhere.

Om cidekarasa rupinyai namah
Reverence to Divine Mother who is the nature of Pure Consciousness