Ayurveda Initiative For Global Health

The first chapter of Bhagavad Gita is called Vishaada Yoga. How can Vishaada be yoga?  Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji:  See, yoga is interpreted in three ways. 1. Union of several herbs. Ayurveda and Ayurvedic medicines are also called yoga. 2. The combination of various planets is also called yoga. Raja Yoga, Kaal Sarpa Yoga, all these terms are used in Jyotish (astrology). 3. The union of the individual Self to the cosmic Self. Here in Bhagavad Gita, since it is an authority on yoga, it’s the union of the small, individual Self to the Cosmic Self. When the small Self comes in contact with the big Self, first it comes with Vishaada Yoga -- Vishaada means regret. That is how yoga began there -- by regretting having jumped into the field of war; regretting the state of affairs that one is facing in life. That is Vishaada Yoga. I think many people are stuck in this situation. Often people move into spirituality because there has been some trouble. Some problems come ...

  Vedas  Ayurveda has a similar story.  Q: Vedas are said to be of non-human origin. What does that mean?  Vedas are simply downloaded information. The Rishis went into deep meditation and what they saw and heard they started sharing. There is a beautiful story that I would like to share with you -- Vedavyasa went to the creator and asked him to please give him knowledge. The creator pointed to a shining mountain and said, "That is knowledge, whatever you can grab you can take". So what he could grab with his hands, that is what the Vedas are today. More than one thousand saints went into deep meditation and whatever they cognized are the Vedas. Ayurveda has a similar story. There were 88,000 saints gathered in a place. They wanted to bring health to the society and so they all gathered to meditate. They needed someone to write down what they cognized and so one of the Rishis, Rishi Bharatwaja volunteered to not meditate and write down what the other sain...

Ten types of Shuudhis , Purification . 1. Body gets purified by water and exercise. 2. Breath gets purified by pranayama. 3. Mind gets purified by meditation. 4. Intellect gets purified by knowledge. 5. Memory gets purified by manan chintan. 6. Ego gets purified by SEVA (service). 7. Self gets purified by guru chintan. 8. Food gets purified by cow's ghee. 9. Wealth gets purified by daan. 10.Bhav (feelings)gets purified by satsang. ~ Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji

A doctor’s job is not just to prescribe medicine but a proper lifestyle including diet, exercise, pranayama & meditation. Take this holistic science of Ayurveda to every home. Serve the people of this country & serve the world.    ~ Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji 

Importance of Ayurveda Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji explains the importance of Ayurveda. The practice of Ayurveda can truly enhance the quality of your life. Ayurveda is the study of life.  Ayur is life and Ved means to know. According to Ayurveda, life or existence is not a rigid compartment, but a harmonious flow.  Even the five elements (earth, water, air, ether and fire) of which the whole universe is made of, are not tight compartments of defined objects.  They flow into one another.  Each of the elements contains the other four. The subtlest element in us is space, which the mind is made up of, and the grossest is the earth element, which our bones, marrow, the skin and the structure are made of.  This is further divided into three Doshas — Vata, Pitta and Kapha. This is a way to understand our physiology, its characteristics and its reflections on the mind. When an illness arises, it comes first in the thought form, the subtlest aspect, the...