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May 28th, 2018 
Awake Goy Renegade Editor’s Note: To be clear, I do not advocate dairy whatsoever, but think this article was still worthwhile.
By Elsie Christensen (1987)
Many Wotanists have come to realize how important a holistic approach is to our general health and well-being, but learning about this and sorting the wheat from the chaff is another matter. However, just as we seek the ancient wisdom in the Edda for our spiritual and moral concepts, so we might seek the answers to the preservation of body and mind from the Aryan holy scriptures known as the Vedas, particularly the Ayurveda, a Sanskrit word meaning ‘knowledge of life’. And it is amazing to find that contained in these writings is a tremendous fount of insight and knowledge available to us for thousands of years, but ignored, neglected or consciously disregarded in preference of modern medical treatments under the thumb of the powerful AMA.
The Indo-Aryans who wrote the Vedas lived in the area now comprising India, Pakistan and the Punjab but did not have many racial characteristics in common with the peoples now occupying the territory, through much of the old wisdom still exists and is followed. These ancient Aryans had a system of natural healing which was put forward in the Ayurveda (veda – knowledge; ayu = life) but a better translation suggested by some practitioners would be ‘knowledge of health’, as it involves a system of proper maintenance of both body and mind; the old ideal of a healthy mind in a healthy body comes directly from the Ayurveda.
The system therefore contains guidelines for the healthiest interaction of the body and mind with the inner life forces in each of us. This entirely holistic system of healthy living existed as an oral tradition long ages before it finally was written down about five thousand years ago. Legend tells that it was received by Lord Dhanvantari directly from Brama, and that he was later deified as the ‘Physician of the Gods’. One wonders how this knowledge could have escaped our forefathers of the West for such a long time.
In the East, however, students of the arts scrutinized the old manuscripts and wrote volumes, discussing in detail the various disciplines within medicine, from obstetrics to plastic surgery; and modern scientists are awed by the thorough description and deep understanding of the human processes found in this literature.
The basis for Ayurveda rests on the so-called Tridosha theory. The doshas are the dynamic force within the human body and mind whose interaction produces the psychosomatic entity of an individual. They cover three important areas; activity and motion (Vata), heat and energy (Pitta), structure and density (Kapha). During our daily activities these areas get into a state of imbalance; the Ayurveda deals with ways of bringing back the bodily functions to the correct balance through proper diet, physical activity and mental discipline.
It is interesting to note that the Ayurveda divides up into eight disciplines, most of which we know from our modern specialists; internal medicine; surgery; ear, nose, throat, mouth and eye disease; psychiatrics; pediatrics; toxicology; rejuvenation; and virilification.
In the West we are usually taught that all knowledge about medicine and medical treatment came from the Greek scientist Hippocrates who is seen as the ‘Father of Medicine’; he was supposedly born in the 4th century B.C.E., far later than the Ayurveda was written and practiced. Not much was written and practiced. Not much is known about the personal life of this Greek scientist and it seems that much of what is accorded to him has been added in later years; however, it is mentioned that he traveled far and wide so it is certainly possible that his journey’s brought wisdom and he thus became the first to bring the knowledge to Europe.
Interestingly, the ancient Aryans were aware of the differences between body types and the various racial constitutions which are seen as unchangeable, and Ayurveda thus teaches the diversities of both physical and mental characteristics, including the differences between the races, hereditary and environmental factors, as Ayurveda, therefore, would never prescribe the same treatment for everyone but tailor each prescription to individual needs. This clearly shows that Ayurveda is mainly concerned with the prevention of diseases and the general well-being of the person, whereas modern medicine tends toward simply killing the germs and viruses that cause diseases, not so much with the healing of the whole patient.
Ayurveda thus states ‘It is correct and pure medicine which cures side effects or give rise to other diseases. It is impure treatment which cures a disease only temporarily, suppresses symptoms or give rise to side reactions’.
These are wise words to remember when faced with today’s medical treatments where sometimes the cure is more dangerous than the disease. Maybe instead of the many laboratory experiments, costing millions of dollars, it would be more effective to study the Vedas and relearn the old wisdom which has been used with good results for thousands of years and which now slowly is becoming known in the West through the energetic work of mavericks within the medical profession from the AMA.
Now, how does the Ayurveda tell us to live? It prescribes a diet of vegetables and dairy products but it is essential to use the correct combinations. We are used to counting calories, vitamins, minerals, etc.; the Ayurveda bases its science on a different set of ideas; the so-called six ‘rasas’ sweet, sour, salt, hot, bitter and astringent; we are here not talking about the taste but on the reactions these elements have on our bodies which counts for the importance of having the right combination of the foods, even the time of day they are eaten is vital as this will affect the nutritional value of the food and have great influence on the well-being of the entire person.
The balance between the three doshas depends on moderation in eating and sleeping. Too much or too little food and sleep result in an imbalance which makes it important how and when these activities are carried out.
Here is how it is explained: For proper eating, six factors should be considered – time of day, the place, intervals between meals, which kind of food is to be eaten, the order in which the food is consumed and the individuals state of mind. General rules: water before a meal is recommended (if taken after, obesity will result). Contrary to our habit, sweets should be eaten at the beginning of a meal (remember, ‘sweet’ does not necessarily mean dessert or candy but refers to the reaction of the food in the stomach) as they contain body-building materials, a rather devastating dictum for all junk-food eaters! Next come the sour and salty foods among which are listed cooked vegetables, beans and dairy products. After that food of a more solid nature may be eaten, including rice. Not all food groups should be eaten at all meals. In general, though, sweet and/or heavy foods should be eaten at the beginning of the meal. For you salad eaters, Ayuveda recommends that it be taken at the sour and salty stage of the meal and to use lemon juice or yogurt as dressing. This is another change from our custom of having salads first.
It is notable that there is no warning against salt, something we hear all the time today. Fruits should be eaten by themselves or maybe with milk; however, we doubt if the Ayurveda has taken into account the adulterated milk we now get from the supermarket, so maybe it would be wise to skip the milk unless you can get the real McCoy. French buttermilk is highly recommended as it stimulates the whole digestive system and helps to obtain the proper acid – alkaline balance. How about drinking buttermilk instead of junk food!!! Do we hear any applause?
Now, that was the food itself, but what about sleep and the proper state of mind? A regular sleeping habit is recommended; too much or too little sleep is not healthy; and the room should be cool and quite. In the long hot days of summer it is permissible to take a nap during the day but otherwise one should only sleep during night hours. If insomnia strikes, don’t take Sominex or whatever else you see advertised on T.V., instead Ayurveda suggests several tricks. One of which is to drink a cup of hot milk with a pinch of turmeric. After a sleep stretching is recommended and so are other morning exercises.
Although much gain has been obtained through medical research, the general public has in recent years become aware of the failure of the medical profession to prevent many new and old diseases and its neglect of preventive methods. This combined with the large amounts of chemicals our modern food processing companies now use (with the blessings of government agencies, cause more people to go looking for the ancient wisdom health preservation, homeopathic remedies and proper diets. Many families are taking charge of their own health care and are trying to find a balance that will work for them. We all know how difficult it is to get foods that are not permeated with poison to various degrees and amounts; health food stores are not always easy to get to and the whole health food business has turned into another racket.
The noise and pollution constantly surrounding us are detrimental to a stable state of mind, and the general atmosphere of anxiety and agitation combines to make more people nervous, unbalanced and tense, all of which work on the mind. And when the mind is not at ease, the body reacts in various ways. Wotanists therefore ought to strive to counteract the unhealthy environment most of us have to live and work in. Using the system of the Ayurveda is one way of fighting against the devastating effects modern living has on our physical and mental health.
From Elsie Christensen’s “The Odinist” periodical issue #105 1987, via Ron McVan
Source Article from http://www.renegadetribune.com/ayurveda/
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