vedanta philosophy Archives

By Maria Garre We don’t have to search very far in the ancient Ayurvedic texts to find a simple definition of Ayurveda. Charaka, known as the first physician of Ayurveda, says “science where advantageous and disadvantageous as well as happy and unhappy states of life along with what is good and bad for life, its measurement and life itself” is Ayurveda. To begin the healing process, we must first inquire and comprehend what made us sick in the first place. Understanding the root cause of illness is at the heart of Ayurveda. Often we want to get rid of the symptoms, put a band-aid on what pains us, without looking deeply and connecting the dots of our actions which led us to feel ill. This is the glory of Ayurvedic medicine as stated above. We should understand how all of our actions, from eating to exercise habits along with lifestyle choices, can sometimes serve us and sometimes not. Today’s nectar may very well...

Try and guess the source of this philosophical quip: “Your eyes can deceive you, don't trust them”. This is actually from Star Wars Jedi knight Obi Wan Kenobi, but it might as well have come from the Vedanta philosophy (the philosophy stemming from the Vedas, the Hindu scriptures). Let’s take a look! Is what we see real? How far can we trust our senses? How can Yoga help? We'll start with the simple expression, “my eyes were bigger than my stomach”. This is an expression many of us have heard and used, though what does it actually mean? Sight only happens with our eyes, yet we use to sight to judge the visceral taste experience – we think, “boy, that chocolate cake looks good” and “wow, that pizza looks delicious!” How do we know they really are good, and how do we know we’ll enjoy the experience of eating it as much as assume? Here is the illusion. Seeing the whole picture...

Tag: vedanta philosophy

Ayurveda For Self-Healing

Vedantic Philosophy: The Snake and the Rope