Trayopasthambhas in Ayurveda
One cannot deny the urge to have food ,sleep and healthy sexual life . This is clear for everyone .
Acharya Vagbhata in his Astanga hrdaya advocates Three pillars of life, The Trayopasthambhas , Ahara ,Nidra and Brahmacharya.
Ahara as per Ayurveda should be Satva guna yukta and madhuram,brmhanam ,hrdyam and balyam. Food should make us grow ,not only in the terms of body weight and strength ,but also become food for a thought. Ayurveda says ,proper food nourishes the body and the essence reaches the inner manomaya kosha ,the thought centre and initiates positive thoughts also.
This is right in the present scenario where children are brought up as fast and furious ,being forced to eat bakery items and broiler meat.
The mind itself become spoiled due to the erroneous habits they are being inculcated with .
Food being stale ,improperly cooked and taken in improper time makes the situation worse.
Hina ,mithya and athiyoga also is seen in this case.
Dieting and skipping the meals especially ,the morning breakfast ,affects the brain .
Watching television or using mobile while having food not only distracts the concentration in food ,but also results in improper digestion.
Excessively hot or cold ,heavy food with viruddha _ the contradictory compositions also is to be avoided.
Sleep should come naturally ,; Swabhaviki nidra is peaceful sleep created by a calm and quiet outer atmosphere and inner mind . Sleepless nights and days fully indulged in sleep will only deteriorate the health.
Popping up sleeping pills also is not a good idea to deal with. Meditation and chanting mantras help to create sound sleep .
Celibacy ,the word itself may make some people think out of the topic ,but well,this means the controlled sexual life. Ofcourse ,celibacy is part of most of the people in the early adulthood , later on it turns to family life.
Eastern philosophy had in it various descriptions of types and positions of sex . The sages knew the secrets of family life also , Adisankaracharya also was no exception in that.
Hina yoga was not observed in them because they knew what it meant to be eventually .They did penance to transform the sexual energy to spiritual energy , Mooladhara chakra to Kundalini sakti . For them ,Siva sakti yogam was powerful so as to create the whole universe. Sex was the divine union of masculine and feminine counterparts.
Sadism ,masochism ,bestiality ,fetishism ,necrophilia ... the present list of sexual perversions never ends. Hiding in public and enjoying secretly made this issue more worse.
Proper sexual education will help a lot regarding this matter. Psychological stress also has a major role in this arena.
The three pillars if properly stand in one's life , guard the person like anything.
Ayurveda has selected principles to guide us achieve proper health. Follow them to feel good.
Do good ,feel good .
As Bhagwat gita says... do your duty well without thinking the results.
Article by
Dr.Sreedevi NV
St. Ritas hospital
Nalukody ,changanassery
Kottayam, Keralam
email id: