The Philosophical Foundations of Ayurveda, an Ancient Healing System
By
Linda Thompson
University of Malta
Philosophy and Medicine developed simultaneously in India. Health, happiness and well-being were important factors then, as they are now. Samkhya Philosophy, one of the oldest systems of Eastern Philosophical thought, provides the foundation for all aspects of healing now modified in Ayurveda and Yoga.
Samkhya enumerates and classifies the building blocks of our entire worldly creation. The divine origins of the creation are elaborated, together with the essential nature of a human being and in consequence, the ability to maintain health and cure disease.
The Samkhya model of reality is often considered to be dualistic, owing to its clear distinction between consciousness and matter. The two basic principles are, Purusha, consciousness, regarded as the pure witness and passive awareness and Prakriti, pertaining to experiences of energy and matter. Prakriti is the primordial cause of the natural world. Twenty three universal elements emerge, which are gross, subtle, cognitive and active, together with the mind, ego and intellect. These are the universal sources of our perception of life, good and bad, negative and positive.
The goal of Samkhya is freedom from pain and suffering. Samkhya outlines the outward enfoldment of creation. Yoga philosophy teaches the way back, through reflection and inward retrospection. Ayurveda prescribes solutions for the three levels of pain and suffering mentioned in Samkhya, in body, mind and soul. When freedom from all three is complete, pure being can be experienced in recognition and infusion with divine consciousness.
Biographical Note: Linda Thompson is a teacher and practitioner of Ayurveda medicine. She is currently researching Eastern philosophy underpinning Ayurvedic treatments, as a PhD student of Philosophy in Malta University. She teaches Ayurveda in Central London and has published an article on Divine Healing in the Journal of Ayurveda. She has previously presented papers on Ayurveda’s Secret Therapies, Sanskrit and Ayurveda and Life and Death in Ayurveda.
