Page 43 - NAMAH-Oct-2018

Managing imbalance to prevent and cure disease: the approach of
Eyurveda to life, health and longevity

Dr. P. Ram Manohar

Abstract
The dossas are the pillars that support the body and, for this reason, their instability leads to the destruction
of the body itself. The dossas are unstable by nature and prone to imbalance. A continuous reconstruction of
the body is necessary to keep the dossas in balance for our health and longevity. Eyurveda makes us recognise
the imbalance underlying disease in both early and advanced stages of affliction, helping us to prevent and
manage diseases more effectively.

Vāta, pitta and Kapha are termed as the three course of time, they will go out of balance
dossas. They destroy the body when deranged and cause the death of the physical body.
and sustain it when in a normal state. Dossas The body is managed by factors that will
represent the most basic of the technical eventually fail it. Since the body is designed
terminologies that we have to be acquainted for self-destruction by a process of internal
with in order to learn and apply Āyurveda in breakdown of the factors that are responsible
our lives. The concept of the tridossa points out for its maintenance, these factors are called
that the life line of the body is also the fault- dossas.
line. This is the great paradox of life. Whatever
is responsible for the sustenance of the body is They are called dossas or faults because all
also responsible for its destruction. The term pathologies are initiated by the imbalance of
dossa itself conveys this concept. Dossa means the dossas irrespective of whether the causative
‘fault’. Why are the dossas called so? What are factors operate from within or without. To
the dossas’ faults if they are responsible for the survive, the body has to constantly adapt
sustenance of the body? and adjust to changing circumstances.
The dossas are the factors that facilitate and
How can the pillars of the body be called execute the adaptation. There is no disease
faults? The reason is that the body will eventually as long as the body succeeds in adapting
perish because of the very factors that sustain to changing circumstances. When the dossas
it in the first place. The balance of the dossas are incapacitated, the body fails to adapt.
cannot be maintained for ever. In due When there is failure to adapt, then the body

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