“Ayurveda is one of the traditional methods of healing diseases in India, practiced since ancient times using natural remedies.

It is God’s gift for the well-being of humanity.”

Dr. Vikram Chauhan, M.D., B.A.M.S.

Foreword

Dr. Madan Gulati

Doctor of Ayurvedic Medical Sciences

Deputy Director, AYUSH Department (Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, and other alternative medical systems) Chandigarh, Ministry of India

…”Looking back at my more than thirty years of personal experience as a Vaidya (Vaidya – Ayurvedic doctor, practitioner – see glossary in the book’s appendix. translator’s note) in the science of Ayurveda, I continue to doubt how appropriate it is to refer to Ayurveda as “the Indian system of medicine”.

It is clear that it belongs to India, but only as a “system of medicine”? Over the years, I have come to believe that labeling Ayurveda merely as another “system of medicine” is quite a shortsighted approach. As inferred from the very meaning of the term “Ayurveda”, it is a comprehensive knowledge about life in its entirety. In my opinion, no other existing health promotion system today reaches the understanding of health to the extent defined by the World Health Organization:

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

Ayurveda not only promises this health, it offers much more. It goes beyond this and provides a more comprehensive understanding of health, where in addition to physical, social, and mental well-being, one also achieves a spiritual dimension of health. A good student of Ayurveda will be one who recognizes the limits of their knowledge in this great science and philosophy, which has developed over thousands of years thanks to the experiments and intellectual efforts of Indian rishis (sages).“…