Living Bridge

Ayurveda, meaning the science of life - often considered the fifth Ved - in addition to Rigved, Yajurved, Samaved and Atharvaved - is the science of health and wellness. It is a complete solution to good health and lifestyle. India is the home to Ayurveda and the system has immensely benefitted millions of people globally. Its popularity is increasing every day as it uses natural products for not only curing diseases but also prevention. The concept that prevention is better than cure is fundamental to the Ayurvedic system. It aims to go to the root cause of any ailment while treating it. Our body is made of certain basic elements and Ayurveda identifies them for treating it better. Dhanvantari is the God of Ayurveda. Shushrut Samhita is the basic Sanskrit text of Ayurveda written by Rishi Shushruta. 

In India, systems of medicine and wellness like Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Naturopathy, Siddha, Homeopathy, etc were developed thousands of years ago. These systems have been used by people and their knowledge and practice have been exported with them to different parts of the world. To further promote them, the Government of India has created AYUSH Ministry in 2014. High Commission of India organised an interesting event titled 'Ayurveda - Power of health and beauty' to promote Ayurveda in UK. Three speakers, experts in the field of Ayurveda, spoke at the event including Mrs Shahnaz Hussain, alongside representatives from the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) and Kerala Tourism. The representative from AIIA pioneered in imparting formal education and conducting research in Ayurveda while the representative of the Kerala Tourism Board has been instrumental in promoting Ayurvedic medicine and massage along with tourism in Kerala. AYUSH is beneficial and has no side effects. These systems being ancient and connected to nature have been developed, tried and tested for centuries under different climatic conditions. Therefore, they are the most reliable medicinal and wellness systems for our modern lifestyle. As we face unique health-related issues in the modern world, AYUSH could be used to address most of the challenges. Its high time we adopt to AYUSH systems. (Expressed opinions are personal.)