THE TRADITIONAL HEALTH SCIENCE OF INDIA（印度的传统健康科学）.pdf

AYURVEDA THE TRADITIONAL HEALTH SCIENCE OF INDIA Ayurveda is one of the great gifts of the sages of a ncient India to mankind. It is one of the oldest scientific medical systems in the world, with a long record of clinical experience. However, it is not only a system of medicine in the conventional sense of curing disease. It is also a way of life that teaches us how to maintain and protect health. It shows us both how to cure disease and how to promote longevity. Ayurveda treats man as a “whole” – which is a combination of body, mind and soul. Therefore it is a truly holistic and integral medic al system. The word “Ayu” means all aspects of life from birth to death. The word “Veda” means knowledge or learning. Hence Ayurveda indicates the science by which life in its totality is understood . It is a way of life that describes the diet, medicine and behavior that are beneficial or harmful for life. The roots of Ayurveda can be traced to th e beginning of cosmic creation. Indian philosophers state that Ayurveda o riginated from Brahma, the creator of the universe. Brahma is not a mere i ndividual but the unmanifest from the Divine Lord, from whom the whole manifest world comes into being. The desire to maintain fitness, h ealth and longevity is one of the basic instincts of all creatures. Ayurveda in this respect sets the pattern for other system of medicine. It is a t radition with an antiquity comparable to that of life itself. The magico- religiou