CONTENTS:- 1. Preliminary Observations. 2. Aayurveda - a Synthesis of all Hindu Sciences. 3. Aayurveda - the Science of Life. 4. Evolution Means Spiritual Progression on a Vast Scale. 5. Definition of Aayu - Life. 6. The four Aspirations of Life. 7. Sources of Knowledge in Aayurveda (Pramaanaas).
DESCRIPTION
The science of Aayurveda is the science of life. It deals not only with the health and long life of the individual but also with the utility of the individual to the human society and to the evolution of the universe as a whole. The aspirations of human life, according to the Indian tradition, are defined as four. They are called Purushaardhas, (1) Dharma (right conduct), (2) Ardha (acquisition of wealth), (3) Kaama (gratification of desires and ambitions), and Moksha (emancipation of the soul). Of these, Moksha is described as the supreme goal of human existence. Moksha is really freedom from attachment (Sanga). Mind is responsible for the attachment (Raaga) or detachment (Vairagya) of the soul with the body. The physical life of man largely depends upon the mental or psychic life. The psychio-somatic concept of man, which is now occupying the minds of great scholars in the West, was clearly described in Saamkhya, Yoga and Vedanta Sastras in Aayurveda, which term literally means the science of life, and which deals extensively with the relationship of the mind with the body, both in health and disease. Aayurveda is not merely a medical science, dealing with disease and its prevention and cure, but it is a science of the whole man and his evolution.
