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Healthy Living: Sutras by Maharishi Vagbhata

One of the most precious gifts by late Dr. Rajeev Dixit to the world, are his talks on the sutras for healthy living by Maharishi Vagbhata. His videos may be viewed on Youtube.

Vāgbhata (वाग्भट) is one of the most influential classical writers of ayurveda. Several works are associated with his name as author, principally the Ashtāṅgasaṅgraha (अष्टाङ्गसंग्रह) and the Ashtāngahridayasaṃhitā (अष्टाङ्गहृदयसंहिता). Sushruta, one of the earliest surgeons in the world, Charaka, a medical genius, and Vagbhata are considered to be "The Trinity" of Ayurvedic knowledge. According to Vagbhata, 85% of diseases can be cured without a doctor, and only 15% of diseases require a doctor - a fact that might seem almost unbelievable given the years of conditioning that we must run to a doctor even for common colds.

Maharishi Vagbhata lived for 135 years and reportedly took इच्च्छा मृत्यु, i.e. shed the body consciously and out of his own will.

The Background

Disease mongering is a standard process in Western medicine, wherein diseases are created where none existed, to feed the industry. That more problems are created than solutions offered, is becoming more and more clear. The Indian Govt has now accepted that the present system of allopathic medication is incapable of solving the very poor health care situation in India.

Out of the 1.4 billion people in India only .25 to .3 odd billion can be termed healthy. The rest of the population is suffering from a multitude of problems. E.g. 10-15 Crore Diabetics, 12-15 Crore suffer from lung ailments like Asthma, TB, Bronchitis etc. 16-20 Crores have joint pains and bone pains. 10-15 Crores suffer from digestion related ailments like Gastric, acidity, ulcers etc. 25-30 Crores have eye related problems.

As of December 2023, there are just 13,08,009 allopathy doctors, 5,65,000 (Ayush) doctors in alternative medicine in India, putting the total at less than 2 million. This means that there is one doctor for more than 700 people. (Of course, we do not take into account over here that many women stop working after marriage - 27% of doctors exist only on paper.) Over 10 trillion rupees have been spent on training doctors. The government does not currently have the funds to increase the number of doctors in any significant way.

200 yrs ago, the number of people ill was only around 10%, based upon the surveys conducted by the British. Today we would be optimisitic in saying that 10% of the population is healthy - take into account the increase in population, and what do you have? We have to face the stark reality that most MNCs and pharmaceutical giants are in the business to make the profit - not to benefit people. And India is a great market.

Doctors admit that in 250 years of allopathic history the only credible thing that it has achieved is pain reduction.

Ayurveda says that the patient is the best doctor for himself. All that is needed is a bit of knowledge or information. According to Ayurveda, 85% of our health problems are very easy to resolve and no expert help is needed for this. Only 15% of ailments are serious enough to merit expert help.

Maharishi Waghbhat says - अपने शरीर को जान लीजिए और भोजन को पहचान लीजिए, which translates to "know your body and recognize/understand your food". Just this much is enough to take care of almost all ailments.

According to Maharishi Waghbat the highest discovery/invention is the science of food and cooking that was followed in India of yore.

The following Sutras are based on the two books written by Maharishi Waghbhat which contained over 7000 such sutras /formulae. Out of these 7000, the below, around 50, sutras are the most relevant for modern day lifestyles and related ailments.

Physical Activity

Physical activity should not reduce till age of 60 yrs. Children below 18 should labour via play. 18 to 60 productive labour, and after 60 plus labour should go on decreasing.

The Importance of Laar or Saliva

Morning laar is very valuable – wounds of people with diabetes are also cured by this. Even gangrene has been cured by this.

Eye problems like conjunctivitis and squint are also cured with this. Dark circles under eyes – gently massage with morning laar. Almost all skin ailments can be
treated with this. Burn marks, eczema and psoriasis can also be cured by this.

All animals use saliva to treat their wounds. All the active ingredients of mud that are essential for the body are also available in saliva.

Be Peaceful

Your mind and countenance should be peaceful and relaxed. One way to achieve this is to pray or utter a mantra.

Position During Sleep

While lying down head should always be pointing towards sun i.e. east, the direction of knowledge and enlightenment. The next best direction is South, the direction of health and prosperity. Never sleep with head pointing towards North. North is the direction of ‘death’ for sleeping, though it is very good for various other activities.

Householders should keep head towards the South while sleeping while Brahmchaaries (students and ascetics) should place their head towards the East.

Live in Alignment with Locality

Geographical conditions should be considered to decide way of life. India is a hot country and is Vata is predominant. 75% ailments are vata, 15% are Pitta and 10% are Kapha.

E.g. Running is not a good exercise in India. Most of the Indian running athletes have worn out their knees by the time they reach 40 yrs of age. Europe and USA are opposite, they are cold and hence Kapha is bad there. They need high speed activity to keep Kapha under control. Pitta usually stays balanced.

Changes that are happening in your geography are good for you but adopting changes from other places isn’t good for us.

If living in south India one should eat rice more than wheat. The mud in south holds water for longer while in Rajasthan soil is sandy and doesn’t hold water. Therefore Rajasthan soil is suitable for growing wheat and not rice whereas South Indian soil is apt for rice and not wheat. Hence one should eat local foods in order to stay healthy.

Give the Body Freedom

Laughing is good if it happens naturally. One should never try to force it or stop it. It is one of the 14 ‘veg’ of natural forces in the body. This is true for all the other ‘veg’.

Sneezing should not be stopped – suppressing a sneeze can cause upto 40 types of ailments, and if induced forefully, upto 14 types of ailments.

Thirst should also never be stopped. Drinking water very quickly causes Hernia and Appendicitis. If you are above 60 and it can cause Prostrate and Hydrocele. Holding back thirst causes 58 types of ailments. Drinking water without thirst will also cause problems.

Hunger, when forcefully stopped, causes 103 types of ailments, starting with acidity and ends with intestinal cancer!

Fasting is a Kriya to cleanse the body and mind. One needs to follow certain rules for fasting. When you start feeling that something extra is happening in the body then one can fast. Like after eating too much one can fast the next day.
 a) Upto one day fast after 6 days of eating normally.
 b) While fasting one should keep drinking warm water at regular intervals. The extra acid in the stomach will be diluted by water and excreted via urine else it will burn up/ damage the intestines.
 c) Water can be of clove, mung, ghee, chuna (caked lime) while fasting.
 d) Vegetarians should not fast for long periods. While non-vegetarians should always fast for long periods. Non veg food creates certain changes in the digestive system (reduces acid secretion in stomach) and hence it is advisable to fast for long periods. All carnivorous animals actually fast for many days after a full meal.
 e) Best way to fast if one has to fast is alternate day fasting and eating. The body gets used to it over a period of time. Varshitam in Jains is highly respected.
 f) Fasting is not good for those who do heavy physical labour.

Yawning should also not be stopped. Stopping it is a very bad habit that we have gotten into. The body’s need is more important. However, avoid yawning when sitting near those who are more tapasvi or gyani.

Urine should never be stopped.
 a) Pressure of all types in the body increases. Stopped urine is one of the most painful experiences in life.
 b) If urination is too frequent then you need to check with specialist.

It is similar with stools. Upto twice a day is normal. Three is a bit unusual. More than that calls for expert intervention.

Veerya or Kaama veg (sexual desire) should only be stopped by renunciants. It should never be stopped by those living in family situations.

Continue to "The role and importance of water".

We thank Dr. Rajiv Dixit for making this information accessible. Hungery for more on Rajiv Dixit, just Google and there is Tons of videos to watch.

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