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Ayurveda
: Ancient Heritage in the Age of Globalisation
hand you may see a leech which you use to remove the
toxins from the body especially through the blood and on
his left hand there is a pot of nectar what we call as ‘Amrit’
which is an elixir or a tonic. On his two hands at the back
are the symbols of sustenance. In one way it symbolizes
in fact Ayurveda, a system which is meant to sustain life,
to remove toxins and rejuvenate using different tonics or
methods. To start with the recent trends in the world -
traditional medicine, in India Ayurveda is known as
traditional medicine and outside the country it is known
as complementary and alternative medicine. World
Health Organization has given a very clear definition for
traditional medicine that “The sum total of knowledge,
skills and practices based on the theories beliefs and
experiences indigenous to different culture that are
used to maintain health, as well as to prevent, diagnose,
improve or treat physical and mental illnesses.”
I don’t know why the word cure is missing from
this definition. Hope there is nothing political in it. There
is a growing demand for traditional and complimentary
and alternative medicine. It becomes a complimentary
medicine when this system is adopted along with a
conventional medical system and becomes an alternative
medicine when you are choosing Ayurveda or any other
traditional system instead of the conventional main
