Greetings from Digital Ayurveda Solutions (DAS)!
Every year AYUSH ministry of Government of India celebrates NATIONAL AYURVEDA DAY. This year the theme is PUBLIC HEALTH AND AYURVEDA. Let’s discuss what Ayurveda can offer in betterment of Public health.
Definition of Health
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. We all know this definition approved by WHO. Ayurveda has some more things to add. The main is spiritual aspect for an individual. The other is, every human being is different and unique. So, when we talk about health in general, we should never overlook personal differences.
Health also has social, physical, environmental and genetic specifics for a person which determine individual response in health, disease, prosperity and well-being.
Public Health
Public Health’s mission is to create the conditions within which people can be healthy. It is developed to promote health and quality of life by preventing and controlling diseases, injury and disability.
Public health focuses mainly on prevention of diseases, prolonging life, promoting physical and mental health and efficiency through organized community efforts.
The core functions of Public Health include – sanitation of the environment, control of community infections, education of the individual in principles of personal hygiene, organization of medical and nursing services for early diagnosis and preventive treatment of disease.
What Ayurveda can offer?
As we all know Ayurveda was developed to achieve two goals. To maintain the health of healthy individuals and to treat the diseased ones. The main focus is on preventing diseases and offer a prolonged healthy, happy life. There is no science other than Ayurveda which has elaborated relationship between body, mind and soul. It has narrated many measures to maintain health and prevent diseases. The following are the major points which can be used by health policy makers to include in furtherance of Public Health.
• प्रकृति (Physical and mental constitution of an individual)
• दिनचर्या (Daily regimen)
• ऋतुचर्या (Seasonal regimen)
• ऋतूसापेक्ष शरीर शुद्धी (Body purification in specific seasons)
• धारणीय तथा अधारणीय वेग (Suppressable and unsuppressable natural urges)
• आचार रसायन (Ideal conduct)
• त्रयोपस्तम्भ – आहार, निद्रा, ब्रह्मचर्य (Three pillars of health)
Let Lord Dhanvantari bestow health and peace to everyone!!
Thanks.
– Dr. Aniruddha Kulkarni
