Vedanta, Ayurveda and Meditation

Vedas is not only a set of Holy Scriptures of the Hindus, its has as the literal meaning (knowledge), has provided the world with an answer to the mystical questions related to spirits, life and reincarnation, questions which have always remained a mystery and unexplained by the scientific advancement of humankind. These are scriptures which have been passed on by the teacher to his student in the form of oral tradition. Historians have argued endlessly to establish a date to the origin of these scriptures but there is no common consensus and thereby remains arguably the oldest surviving texts in the world.

The six schools of Vedic philosophy are:
• Nyaya — The Logical School, founded by Gautama
• Vaishesika — Atomic school, founded by Kannada
• Samkhya — Cosmic Principle School, founded by Kapila
• Yoga — Yoga school (includes Raj, Hatha, Kundalini, and Tantra Yoga), supposedly founded by Hiranyagarbha, although the Bhagavad Gita, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, and Hatha Yoga Pradipika are the most popular treatises that have survived.
• Mimamsa (also Purva Mimamsa)— Ritualistic School, founded by Jamini
• Vedant (also Uttara Mimasa)— Theological School, founded by Badarayana.

One of the subsets of the Vedas is the Ayurveda, India’s ancient healing system which emphasizes on a subjective and natural approach to medicine and is hence preventive and not corrective.

Of the few Westerners to study Vedas was Dr. David Frawley. Is his Wisdom of the Seers, he explores the possible relevance of the ancient scriptures with the present day and tries to find answers to many questions related to life, philosophy, health and well being.

The term Ayurveda means, the Science of life, and deals exhaustively with the measures of well being through the various phases of life in entirety. Apart from preventive measures it has also devised some corrective therapeutic measures to combat illness which has gained acclaim in dealing with modern day illnesses. It explains health as a state where an individual’s physical, social, mental and spiritual aspects are in complete harmony.

On the other hand, Vedanta, which liberally means Veda (knowledge), and Anta (end) translating to culmination of Vedas, is a treatise which has been popularly accepted by the West as a treatise, which holds the key to many complex modern day questions. Vedanta has been propagated by a number of modern scientists, philosophers and authors. Nikola Tesla was influenced by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda, who propounded Vedanta vigorously in the West in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Many other Indian teachers followed in due course, including Yogananda and others who came to North America to preach Vedanta and related philosophies. Erwin Schrödinger claimed to have been inspired by Vedanta in his discovery of quantum theory. According to his biographer Walter Moore: "The unity and continuity of Vedanta are reflected in the unity and continuity of wave mechanics. In 1925, the world view of physics was a model of a great machine composed of separable interacting material particles. During the next few years, Schrödinger and Werner Heisenberg and their followers created a universe based on superimposed, inseparable waves of probability amplitudes. This new view would be entirely consistent with the Vedantic concept of All in One."

The combination of Vedantic philosophy and Ayurveda has come up as an alternate healing mechanism which is commonly known as Transcental Meditation. The western world has always known yoga as a school of physical exercise comprising of asanas(postures). However, asanas which is a part of hatha yoga is a system of physical culture used to prepare students for Raja Yoga, the yoga of meditation. Meditation and yoga are central to both Ayurveda and Vedanta, wherein the practice stems from the thought that within a healthy mind dwells a healthy body and vice versa. This therapeutic system involves the Vedantic philosophy of understanding of the self as a cosmic unit of the universe and thereby empowering the self as a healthy being devoid of illness, as sacred and pure as the Almighty himself. This is a step towards achieving complete physical, emotional and spiritual health. This is not about preaching a religion but about a way of life which has been found to be scientifically proven method of achieving perfect health.

Obesity, insomnia, stress and tension, depression and various other serious physical problems arise out of postural defects and modern lifestyle and food habits. While there are various ways to deal with these, the easiest would probably ingesting some pills which would have short term effect on the problem and long term affect on your total health. Ayurveda and Vedanta have answers to these and more.

The mystery hidden in the mystic scriptures of the Vedas teaches one basic philosophy that your body is a sacred temple and your mind the God and your life a spiritual ceremony. It teaches that you understand your Self and fulfill its need, to establish harmony between you which is a unit of this universe and ensure a smooth flow of cosmic energy between you and the World.


Coming up: Practical applications of Meditation and Meditation for beginners.