Ayurveda Herbal Preparations
The principle of complementarity in Vedic Medcine states: As is the individual, so is the cosmos (totality). This principle is a corollary of the concept that human physiology is an expression of Veda. It explains why Ayurveda recognizes such an enormous variety of bioactive therapeutic substances in nature: every aspect of human physiology has a complement in nature including in the physiology of plants.
Any tendency toward imbalance begins as a distortion in the proper sequence or structure of Veda, the unmanifest sound (fundamental intelligence) governing the physiology. A well-conceived therapeutic program serves to reconnect life with its source in Veda, enlivening the link between changing values of physiology and their unchanging origin. Vedic Medicine corrects this sequence and the medicinal plants it uses can be regarded as "tuning forks" which restore the underlying harmony.
Modern Western medicine focuses on isolating and treating symptoms of disease. Its approach to botanical pharmacology has been to isolate the active ingredients of a plant that appear to attenuate symptoms. When the active ingredient is disconnected from the balancing power of the whole plant harmful side effects can occur. The fallacy of the active ingredient is that in the west, we seek out the active ingredient in order to create extracts that will be more potent, and in doing so, create unknown and unwanted side effects. For example, certain alkaloids present in a plant have been shown to augment the action of other alkaloids and minimize untoward effects. Investigators in botanical pharmacology are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of synergy and balance in herbal formulations. Ayurveda utilizes whole plants or parts of plants to maximize the therapeutic response while avoiding harmful side effects. This has been a consideration in the design of recent laboratory research studies of Maharishi Ayurveda herbal formulations or rasayanas.
Nature often provides a remedy in the geographical location where disorder or imbalance exists. The medicinal plants growing in any region are held by Ayurveda to be most effective for maintaining health in the people of that country. For example, the cinchona bush from which quinine is derived is generally found in areas where malaria is prevalent. At Lancaster, while we understand this principle, we also have recognized that the proper use of the medicinal herbs in North America has been largely lost, and the ability of true experts is not currently as available as for the traditional plants of India. For that reason, for this important responsibility we recommend herbs from the land of the Veda and put our confidence only in expert custodians of Vedic knowledge.
The herbs we recommend at Lancaster are supplied to us by Maharishi Ayurveda Products International (MAPI). They are grown and prepared under the direct supervision of vaidyas of an International Board of Ayurvedic Physicians from time-tested traditions. They are either wild crafted from replenishable sources, or grown in ecologically friendly ways. The time of harvesting is specified by the vaidyas and their processing with strict organic methods supervised at every phase. Upon receipt in this country, every lot is tested for purity using modern laboratory methods. The herbs are packaged to preserve their freshness. While this often means that in certain seasons some herbs may not be available, equivalent substitutes are on hand to address nearly every disorder.
The preparations range from decoctions of fresh plants, tinctures, syrups, herbal pastes made from clarified butter and fruits, tablets and powders. Vegetarian capsules have also been prepared to make swallowing powders easier. Most importantly, research is being done documenting the benefits of these ancient formulas.
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This information on "Ayurveda Herbal Preparations" is in the "Herbs & Rasayanas" section of AyurvedaMed.com website. To return to the index page of this section, please click here.
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