Ayurveda, a great gift by our civilization, has been beaten
hollow. What one sees in the markets and television ads, makes one feel that it
is resurgent and thriving.
Unfortunately, in the very times of its dire need, it is
fighting a battle for survival.
Ayurveda evolved when humans were one with nature, there
were abundant forests, and herbs and medicinal plants grew commonplace. Today, not only has the quantity of such
herbs and medicinal plants reduced, we have even lost a huge chunk of
bio-diversity. Even honey is now not produced by bees on natural flowers, but
by Boxed non-native bees using fed liquids.
On the other hand, human population has exploded.
So how has Ayurveda got new feet. There are companies and products everywhere,
promoted by famous personalities. The products are complex preparations with
more complex names. That perplexed me as in all my understanding, Ayurveda was quite simple, made of simple yet
very effective suggestions and a way of life. No one was telling about raw
Giloy or turmeric, but almost an allopathic or western composition of extracts,
juices and tablets.
There lies the secret. The simplicity of Ayurveda had been
hijacked by complexity of marketing, product preparations, dilutions and names.
What we have in hand is a nutracetical style model that suits everyone but
doesn’t benefit the patients.
The
governments do not have an answer to escalating medical costs or to depleting
sphere of our herbs and medicinal plants- the very base of Ayurveda.
We will have to make up now and change the consumption and
link it to natural products, before it is too late.