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GETTING THE BALANCE RIGHT
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| Ayurvedic treatment is based on balance. Any imbalance is a state of the three doshas—Vata, Pitta and Kapha—causes disease in the body. They are brought back into a state of normalcy by correct regimen, diet and with the use of certain herbs or therapies. The selection of herbs is based on rasas (taste and qualities of the herbs) as the qualities like rasa (taste), guna (quality), virya (potency), vipaka (after taste), prabhava’ (specific effect) are the factors which are taken into consideration for bringing the doshas into a state of balance. |
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VATA |
PITTA |
KAPHA |
| AGGRAVATES |
Pungent, Bitter and
Astringent |
Pungent, Sour
and Saline |
Sweet, Sour
and Saline |
| ALLEVIATES |
Sweet, Sour and Saline |
Sweet, Bitter and Astringent |
Pungent, Bitter and Astringent |
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There are six rasas (tastes) which are employed properly maintain the health of the body and their incorrect use results in disturbing the
doshas. The six tastes are sweet, sour, saline, pungent, bitter and astringent. One of the three doshas is vitiated by three of the rasas and the other three rasas alleviate that particular
dosha. The table above explains this in detail.
Herbs or foods which are pungent, bitter and astringent by nature aggravate vata and sweet, sour and saline in nature alleviate
vata. That, only in the absence of any inhibiting factor. The inhibiting factor can be potency, after taste etc. for
eg. Herbs like Arka (Calotropis Gigantea R) or Guducha (Tinspora
Cordifolia) though bitter in taste, do not aggravate vata because the potency
(virya) which is hot in nature serves as an inhibiting factor.
Let’s try to understand with an example how foods are brought into use for specific purposes:
Oil, ghee and honey are alleviators of vata, pitta and kapha respectively, lets understand how. Oil is unctuous, hot and heavy in nature and vata is just the opposite—cold, rough and light. When there is interaction between substances having mutually opposite qualities, the stronger dominates over the weaker, therefore continuous use of oil alleviates
vata.
Similarly, the sweet, cold and heavy nature of ghee alleviates pitta which is pungent, hot and sharp in nature. Honey alleviates kapha as it is sharp, pungent and non-unctuous in taste and kapha is slimy, dull and sweet. So we can understand that substances having attributes opposite to that of the
doshas, when continuously used result in alleviating the
dosha.
(To be continued...)
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—The writer is an ayurved expert from Dhyan Foundation.
For queries contact gautam_aarti@yahoo.co.in |
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January 2007
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