‘Defining
health & Importance of Subjective Wellbeing’, Some Ayurveda Perspectives.
When we all talk about health,
restoration of health & diseases, the very basic question arises is what exactly
the ‘health’ is. Ayurveda has got two different schools of thoughts as that of
Surgeons & Physicians. Let’s explore the definition of Health & lets
understand the underlying hidden deep meaning of it.
Sushruta the father of Surgery
defines health as a state of equilibrium of Dosha, Dhatu, Mala, Agni
& blissful state of mind, senses & soul! But interestingly Charaka the
father of Philosophy of Medicine & Health has something different &
simple to say! He defines Health as, ‘Sukha sandnyakam aarogyam’ which simply
means the one who is ‘sukhi’ is healthy!!! World’s greatest things are simplest one & so is this definition
of Charaka!! Simple but far meaningful! Ranging from a philosophical,
psychological perspectives upto the actual bodily perspective.
First of all this definition of health by Charaka underlines the
importance of ‘Subjective feeling of wellbeing’. Today with the advancement of technology
we are opting for ‘Objective Criterions’ for all domains of our life. The overuse
of objective criterions in biomedical
fraternity has distracted physicians from evaluation of subjective wellbeing of
patients. Even the western Biomedical fraternity is now making emphasis on need
of assessment of subjective wellbeing. In a Lancet editorial editor quotes, ‘Being
more humble about the experience of individuals, rather than simply drawing up
reductive report cards of their health status, opens up the possibility for a
more realistic understanding of what it means to be healthy’. [i]
While the World Health
Organization’s definition
has not been amended since 1948, many
scholars/scientists/health practitioners now accept that a transpersonal or spiritual dimension needs to be included.
This reinforces that health is “wellness of
all dimensions of the individual, and that
the health of any one dimension is dependent on the maintenance of health on all other dimensions”[ii]
Now the last & most important thing is to criticize ‘Sukh’!! The meanings of the term ‘Sukh’ from Monier William’s dictionary
include happy, pleased, delightful, gladden, rejoiced and comfort! According to this World standard dictionary, ‘Su’
means good & ‘Kha’ means axle hole. Thus the word is originally in a
context of running of a chariot. Better
the structure & working state of axle hole better will be the driving with
that chariot. It is so true that even with the chariot of life! Ayurveda quotes
life as a union of soul, senses, mind & body. Better the hole of this
chariot of life smoother it will run!
It is also interesting to note that Sukh has a root word ‘Kha’.
‘Kha’ stands for Aakash i.e. the hollow space. Aakashiya
prakruti (constitution of person with dominance of Akasha) persons are said to have longer life span. It is simply
because better the aakasha there will
be less chances of diseases with pathologies of constrictions of body lumens
& space occupying lesions.
Lastly let’s criticize this Sukh
with divine/ mythological perspective. In Vishnu Purana there is mention of
progenies of Dharma by the daughters
of Daksha. It is a documented
that ‘Sukh’ was a child of Siddhi & Dharma.[iii] Now this is interesting!
Sukh is not mere pleasure of day to
day life. But Sukha is progeny of ‘Siddhi’ (The complete understanding/ enlightenment.)
& Dharma (The eternal law of the cosmos/ the one inherent in the very
nature of things & not mere few customs). Thus the classical meaning of Sukh!
And this is why while listing different meanings of Sukh, Monier William do not forget to add ‘Virtuous’ as a meaning
of Sukh. And ‘Knowledge is Virtue’, quotes Aristotle!!!
Let’s pray for Health of all! Pray for a better world with
Healthy, Virtuous & enlightened population.
[i] Editorial, What is health, ability to adapt, The Lancet,
Volume 373, page 781, March 2009.
[ii] Lawson,J.
Self Healing (or Achieving Total Wellness), IYTA NZ Philosophy Module.
[iii] http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/vp/vp041.htm
