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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
 Posted - Sep 16 2013 : 1:03:18 PM
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WARNING: This may be hard to digest if you’ve been trying hard to nullify your sense of individuality, or if you’ve been carrying around thoughts like “I don’t exist”, “the ego isn’t real”, etc. But, if you’re inclined to embrace individuality and integrate that into the whole (family-->community-->universe), then this might be refreshing and helpful…on the topic of health (mind, body, AND spirit)...
From Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution by Dr. Robert E. Svoboda:
“Every human being is a unique individual, full of idiosyncrasies and peculiarities. Your most precious possession—your life—is your’s and your’s alone, unlike that of any other human being past, present or future. Each human is a unique manifestation of Mother Nature, the Creative Energy of the universe. Each possesses an indwelling fragment of the Universal Soul. The message of the Vedas is that each of us must find our own path to a life lived to the fullest, for only by making the most of ourselves can we repay to Nature the debt we owe Her for giving us life. The universe needs you to add your mite to the vast collective tapestry we call human civilization. You can make your fullest contribution to life only when you are healthy, and health alone enables you to enjoy your life to the fullest in return.
The word Svastha means “healthy” in Sanskrit. Sva (“self”) + Stha (“established”) = Svastha (“established in the self”). The “self” here is the ego, not the Freudian ego, but the power of individual identity, which separates every being from every other being. The ego is that which gives me my identity, which makes me me, which causes me to know that I am I and not you, he, she, we or they. This power which perpetually reminds me that I am I is called in Sanskrit ahamkara (literally, “the I-former”). Because each of us is a body, a mind and a spirit, we each have a body-I, a mind-I, and a spirit-I. To be “established in self” is to be established in each of these selves.
Today’s physicians tend to ignore individuality. They often look at people as “livers” or “lungs”, and neglect the organism that hosts that liver or lung. Some espouse the therapy they know best as a cure-all for all the ailing, overlooking the variations which exist even among patients of the same illness. Such piece-meal therapy cannot encourage balance in the organism. Since today’s doctors often fail to project health onto their patients, today’s patients must learn to project health themselves. Everyone in today’s world who wants to be healthy has a personal responsibility to learn as much as possible about health.”
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bewell
1275 Posts |
Posted - Sep 16 2013 : 7:36:47 PM
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Thanks, I needed that |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Sep 17 2013 : 09:05:38 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by bewell
Thanks, I needed that
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kami
USA
921 Posts |
Posted - Sep 17 2013 : 09:45:20 AM
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Hi Bodhi,
Thank you for sharing. I like Svoboda's writings, but you should know that nothing he says here is unique or new. Ayurveda is as ancient as yoga, and this a translation/commentary on the Charaka Samhita. That being said, it is good stuff.
A few things that come to mind:
-When we talk about self-realization as the dawning of the knowledge "I don't exist", it does not mean that "I" as an individual body-mind don't exist - that cannot happen. It simply means that all this while, I thought I was this body-mind, but hey, I'm not "just" this body-mind, but something far greater, unborn, undying, eternal. Recently, I was reading an excerpt from one of the tantras where Goddess Saraswati (the shakti or power of Brahma, the creator) declares, "My perfect consciousness shines in the world like a beautiful face in a soiled mirror. Seeing that reflection I call myself you - the individual jiva, pretending to be finite." Thus, that eternal Self is reflected in each individual self whether we realize it or not. But, when we become less identified as this individual body-mind and more as that Self, we become clear channels for that Self to blossom through us into our highest unique expression/contribution to the whole. As long as we are embodied, we cannot be anything but unique expressions of the divine. There is no such thing as annihilating the ego - where would this body-mind go then? Is that not also duality where the Self is seen to be different than the individual self? True nonduality is seeing that there is One in many, many in One.. Like pearls on a necklace; each is unique, but all have that one thing that goes "through" them and holds them together as a necklace - the thread.
-an issue that is seen commonly among "alternative" medical practitioners is the tendency to make grand sweeping statements such as "today's doctors know nothing, etc etc..". And the same applies to allopathic practitioners that pooh-pooh holistic approaches. Let me assure you that I know dozens of Ayurvedic, homeopathic, and other alternative practitioners whose knowledge base leaves a lot to be desired. Any time there is the "us versus them" attitude, I tend to question the place where such writings come from, no matter how beautifully elucidated.. I'm surrounded by doctors of modern medicine that are the most beautiful souls I know - compassionate, caring and hard-working, these folks toil all their lives for the well-being of their patients, and not just their hearts or livers. Discriminating wisdom is always helpful when we tend to get swayed into "this is good, that is bad" in a blanket sort of way.
Much love. |
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bewell
1275 Posts |
Posted - Sep 17 2013 : 10:17:55 AM
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Thanks kami, I needed that too
In my recent experience with surgery, I was amazed at the combination of caring and competence in the whole hospital community. The scientific, evidence based approach used in modern allopathic medicine is clearly useful, and making progress rapidly. I feel lucky to have had a surgeon with many successful surgeries of that type completed with consistent results. So being treated as one case of an impersonal category of diseases saved my life.
Through the experience, I had a sense of surrendering to higher knowledge. I was reduced to sheer gratitude, especially when I came out of surgery and the anesthetic wore off, and I realized I had a new lease on life.
But there is more. The surgeon also spent an hour with me in conversation about life issues, mine and his. He had his gall bladder out too. It was an amazing human encounter we shared, some of it so fresh and intimate that I hesitate to share it.
I like the point of agreement between your post and the quotation above in regard to individuality, and the integration of spirit, mind and body. There are peculiarities of my particular case, and my recovery, that I need to take responsibility for. I will be especially interested in learning more about healthy dietary habits as it relates to my body/mind in social/cultural context.
With a grateful heart,
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Sep 17 2013 : 4:12:36 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by kami
Hi Bodhi,
Thank you for sharing. I like Svoboda's writings, but you should know that nothing he says here is unique or new. Ayurveda is as ancient as yoga, and this a translation/commentary on the Charaka Samhita. That being said, it is good stuff.
A few things that come to mind:
-When we talk about self-realization as the dawning of the knowledge "I don't exist", it does not mean that "I" as an individual body-mind don't exist - that cannot happen. It simply means that all this while, I thought I was this body-mind, but hey, I'm not "just" this body-mind, but something far greater, unborn, undying, eternal. Recently, I was reading an excerpt from one of the tantras where Goddess Saraswati (the shakti or power of Brahma, the creator) declares, "My perfect consciousness shines in the world like a beautiful face in a soiled mirror. Seeing that reflection I call myself you - the individual jiva, pretending to be finite." Thus, that eternal Self is reflected in each individual self whether we realize it or not. But, when we become less identified as this individual body-mind and more as that Self, we become clear channels for that Self to blossom through us into our highest unique expression/contribution to the whole. As long as we are embodied, we cannot be anything but unique expressions of the divine. There is no such thing as annihilating the ego - where would this body-mind go then? Is that not also duality where the Self is seen to be different than the individual self? True nonduality is seeing that there is One in many, many in One.. Like pearls on a necklace; each is unique, but all have that one thing that goes "through" them and holds them together as a necklace - the thread.
-an issue that is seen commonly among "alternative" medical practitioners is the tendency to make grand sweeping statements such as "today's doctors know nothing, etc etc..". And the same applies to allopathic practitioners that pooh-pooh holistic approaches. Let me assure you that I know dozens of Ayurvedic, homeopathic, and other alternative practitioners whose knowledge base leaves a lot to be desired. Any time there is the "us versus them" attitude, I tend to question the place where such writings come from, no matter how beautifully elucidated.. I'm surrounded by doctors of modern medicine that are the most beautiful souls I know - compassionate, caring and hard-working, these folks toil all their lives for the well-being of their patients, and not just their hearts or livers. Discriminating wisdom is always helpful when we tend to get swayed into "this is good, that is bad" in a blanket sort of way.
Much love.
Ummmmm...yes...yes...and yes, may I please have some more?  [Insert image of obedient dog salivating with tongue hanging out of mouth]
Wait, let me re-phrase in more sophisticated terms...your writing speaks not only of your spiritual maturity, but also of your direct experience being a compassionate physician (being surrounded by colleagues of that caliber too), and so I greatly appreciate your illumination on the matter. I crave diversity in all manners of living, and I forever wish to broaden and sharpen my perspective so I can make this body-mind as pure a vehicle as possible...health being a major variable in the pursuit.
Onward, Dr. Kami. And as another fine doctor once said: Live long, and prosper. |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Sep 17 2013 : 4:28:53 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by bewell
Thanks kami, I needed that too
In my recent experience with surgery, I was amazed at the combination of caring and competence in the whole hospital community. The scientific, evidence based approach used in modern allopathic medicine is clearly useful, and making progress rapidly. I feel lucky to have had a surgeon with many successful surgeries of that type completed with consistent results. So being treated as one case of an impersonal category of diseases saved my life.
Through the experience, I had a sense of surrendering to higher knowledge. I was reduced to sheer gratitude, especially when I came out of surgery and the anesthetic wore off, and I realized I had a new lease on life.
But there is more. The surgeon also spent an hour with me in conversation about life issues, mine and his. He had his gall bladder out too. It was an amazing human encounter we shared, some of it so fresh and intimate that I hesitate to share it.
I like the point of agreement between your post and the quotation above in regard to individuality, and the integration of spirit, mind and body. There are peculiarities of my particular case, and my recovery, that I need to take responsibility for. I will be especially interested in learning more about healthy dietary habits as it relates to my body/mind in social/cultural context.
With a grateful heart,
Boom! What a real-life affirmation of the validity of modern medicine and its incorporation of channeling divine energy through its practice! Thank you, bewell. |
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BillinL.A.
USA
375 Posts |
Posted - Sep 17 2013 : 4:51:39 PM
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For those not totally geeky Bodi Tree quotes Dr. Spock from the original Star Trek T.V. show..."live long and prosper."
Love it!!!
quote:
Originally posted by Bodhi Tree
quote:
Originally posted by kami
Hi Bodhi,
Thank you for sharing. I like Svoboda's writings, but you should know that nothing he says here is unique or new. Ayurveda is as ancient as yoga, and this a translation/commentary on the Charaka Samhita. That being said, it is good stuff.
A few things that come to mind:
-When we talk about self-realization as the dawning of the knowledge "I don't exist", it does not mean that "I" as an individual body-mind don't exist - that cannot happen. It simply means that all this while, I thought I was this body-mind, but hey, I'm not "just" this body-mind, but something far greater, unborn, undying, eternal. Recently, I was reading an excerpt from one of the tantras where Goddess Saraswati (the shakti or power of Brahma, the creator) declares, "My perfect consciousness shines in the world like a beautiful face in a soiled mirror. Seeing that reflection I call myself you - the individual jiva, pretending to be finite." Thus, that eternal Self is reflected in each individual self whether we realize it or not. But, when we become less identified as this individual body-mind and more as that Self, we become clear channels for that Self to blossom through us into our highest unique expression/contribution to the whole. As long as we are embodied, we cannot be anything but unique expressions of the divine. There is no such thing as annihilating the ego - where would this body-mind go then? Is that not also duality where the Self is seen to be different than the individual self? True nonduality is seeing that there is One in many, many in One.. Like pearls on a necklace; each is unique, but all have that one thing that goes "through" them and holds them together as a necklace - the thread.
-an issue that is seen commonly among "alternative" medical practitioners is the tendency to make grand sweeping statements such as "today's doctors know nothing, etc etc..". And the same applies to allopathic practitioners that pooh-pooh holistic approaches. Let me assure you that I know dozens of Ayurvedic, homeopathic, and other alternative practitioners whose knowledge base leaves a lot to be desired. Any time there is the "us versus them" attitude, I tend to question the place where such writings come from, no matter how beautifully elucidated.. I'm surrounded by doctors of modern medicine that are the most beautiful souls I know - compassionate, caring and hard-working, these folks toil all their lives for the well-being of their patients, and not just their hearts or livers. Discriminating wisdom is always helpful when we tend to get swayed into "this is good, that is bad" in a blanket sort of way.
Much love.
Ummmmm...yes...yes...and yes, may I please have some more? [Insert image of obedient dog salivating with tongue hanging out of mouth]
Wait, let me re-phrase in more sophisticated terms...your writing speaks not only of your spiritual maturity, but also of your direct experience being a compassionate physician (being surrounded by colleagues of that caliber too), and so I greatly appreciate your illumination on the matter. I crave diversity in all manners of living, and I forever wish to broaden and sharpen my perspective so I can make this body-mind as pure a vehicle as possible...health being a major variable in the pursuit.
Onward, Dr. Kami. And as another fine doctor once said: Live long, and prosper.
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whippoorwill
USA
450 Posts |
Posted - Sep 17 2013 : 6:02:57 PM
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I second the sentiment. Live long and and prosper, Bewell!
And Bodhi, I'll have to check out Dr. Svoboda. I've been looking into Ayurvedic medicine, herbs, and cooking for some time, but I haven't come across him yet. |
Edited by - whippoorwill on Sep 17 2013 6:39:40 PM |
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An American Aryuvedic pioneer
