Concept of three pillars in Ayurveda, how they help us to lead a good life

Abstract

Ayurveda is an ancient science that hides many secrets deep inside of it. Our classics have mentioned many concepts and conceptions that make a really huge difference when they are being implied in your day to day life. Our Ayurveda acharya had mentioned to pursue the concept of taryoupsthamba (Three pillars). These pillars are explained as a reason for body stability. Concept of Taryoupsthamba is defined through an analogous relationship between the human body and building. Any building no matter how big requires pillars for its longevity, in the same way for the life sustainability pursuing trayoupsthamba (taryo means three and stambh means pillars) are very important. In this article we will discuss the importance of triads of health (concept of three pillars).

Introduction

The three upsthambha are ahaara (food), nidra (sleep) and brahmacharya (celibacy).Proper intake of food helps in replenishment of bhutika components, sleep helps to provide soothing effect to body, regulates and relaxes mind and brahmacharya is generally referred to as sex but it’s about controlling your urges which may include any things like your feelings, emotions, thoughts, life style etc. It is also mentioned by acharya charaka that the destruction of any of these pillars will ultimately result in the collapse of the body. These Pillars ensure the health of the body, health is the core foundation for the achievement of happy and pleasant life. Now let us understand how triads of health help in building a healthy body.

Triads of Health (Taryupsthmbha)

1. Ahara (Balanced Diet)
2. Nindra (Complete or Sound Sleep)
3. Brahmacharya (Abstinence)

1. Ahara (Balanced Diet)

Ayurveda states that food is responsible for health as well as for disease. The type of food we intake decides whether our body’s well being and happiness will be maintained or not. In simple words it decides the happiness and unhappiness of the body. It is very important as it helps the body through the process of wear and tear, develops the body and nourishes it. That’s why ahara has been mentioned in the first place when we talk about trayoupsthamba.

Aahara is very much important in maintaining the panchbhautik sharir. Pancha bhoota are prithvi (earth), jala (water), agni (fire), vayu (air) and aakash (space) and to maintain this sharir made up of panchabhoota, it is very much important to understand and imply the theory of panch bhautik ahara. Panchbhautik aahara is which contains all the six rasa that are madhur (sweet), amla (sour), lavana (salty), katu (pungent), tikta (bitter) and kashaya (astringent). Presence of all these rasa helps therapeutically as well as diagnostically because it helps in determining the involvement of dosha i.e vata, pitta and kapha.

Description of Shad Rasa (Six Tastes)

1. Madhur Rasa (Sweet): This rasa is having predominance of earth and water mahabhuta and hence tends to increase kapha. It is being described first because it brings life longevity, nourishes the body starting from rasa dhatu to shukra dhatu. Madhurrasais believed to increase the body’s resistance against diseases and is liked by people of all ages (from birth till death).
2. Amla Rasa (Sour): It has a combination of two mahabhuta prithvi and agni. It has properties like vata shamak (decreases vata) and increases pitta as well as kapha. Amla rasa is known to maintain healthy digestion, increases food taste, salivation and nourishes the tissues. It mainly nourishes dhatu like rasa, rakta, mansa, medha, asthi and maja.
3. Lavana Rasa (Salty): Lavana is composed of jala and agni. This is having vikashi property that means it spreads very well and also increases kapha and pitta dosha. But helps in decreasing vata dosha. Excess of this rasa generally results in water retention in the body thus giving rise to conditions like rakta chapa (hypertension) and stimulates the flow of saliva and gastric juices. Regulated use of lavana strengthens the tissue but its excessive use depletes the body.
4. Katu Rasa (Pungent): It is composed of agni and vayu mahabhuta. This is very much potential in reducing kapha due to ushna guna and also due to this guna increases the pitta dosha. It kindles digestion and cleanses the mouth. If preferred in small amounts it clear sinuses, stimulates digestion and promotes microchannel detoxification by clearing the accumulated kapha.
5. Tikta Rasa (Bitter): Tikta rasa has predominance of aakash and vayu. This provides the body with a cooling effect, increases digestion and is very light to digest. Due to akasha and vayu mahabhuta dominance it tends to increase vata but decreases pitta and kapha. It helps in reducing mucous,fat and pus due to its drying nature. Tikta rasa aids blood purification and thus flushes out ama (endotoxin) throughout our body.
6. Kashaya Rasa (Astringent): It also tends to increase vata dosha but decreases pitta and kapha. It is really good for skin and tends to have a cooling effect. If taken in excess causes vata vitiation. Due to its drying effect it lessens mucous secretion and induces fantastic sleep.

2. Nidra (Complete or Sound Sleep)

Nidra is used to describe sleep in ayurveda. On an average a person spends one third of his life sleeping. When we sleep our mind and body repairs and rebuild itself. That’s why nidra is considered as the second pillar for health. Sleep helps in mind rejuvenation and charak has mentioned a person’s happiness, sorrow, growth, strength, weakness, potency and sterility all depending on the quality of sleep he or she gets. Proper sleep brings all positive while improper or disturbed sleep cycles makes a person unfit or unwell.

Nidra is said to be ratri swabhava prabhava and is very good for maintaining the health and vigor of life. It provides normacy to tissues and relaxes the mind of a person. Acharya yogaratnakar says that a person who is enjoying sleep cannot become easy victims of diseases.

Nidra Physiology

Sleep is termed as a physiological state of rest for both body, motor organs and mind. When mind along with body and soul gets exhausted from day to day work routines then karma indriya dissociate themselves from their objectives and hence sleep is induced. If understood in short then due to day long activities when the body gets exhausted, a rise in kapha dosha causes induction of sleep.

Types of Nidra

Acharya charak has mentioned six types of nidra:

These six types are as follows:

1. Tamobhava Nidra : Tamobhava nidra is caused due to excessive predominance of tamasic guna. This guna tends to calm the mind and hence induces sleep. It causes lethargy and also contributes in lack of initiative in mind. Even when the person wakes up he or she feels drowsy, confused and is not able to differentiate between good or bad.
2. Shleshmasamudbhava : Shelsha is a synonym to kapha. This kind of sleep is induced when there is excess kapha dosha in the body. Excessive kapha causes sleep and also obstructs the sensory organs and prevents their normal functioning.
3. Manasharira Shramasambhavara : Mana means mind, sharira means body and shramasa means exertion, sleep induced due to excessive exertion of mind and body is called as manasharira shramasabhava. In this kind usually vata vitiation is present hence sound sleep is not present.
4. Agantuki Nidra : Agantuk is something that is not natural or is not usual or unexpected sleep. The reason for the induction of this kind of nidra denotes the bad state of the body and disturbedorganic disturbance. It is called as rishtabhuta i.e. the sleep which indicates death or its signs.
5. Vyadhyanuvartini Nidra : As the name suggests this type of nidra or sleep is the result of Prolong diseases ot vayadhi. In kaphaja roga patients will have excessive sleep and in vataja and pittaja roga fever, exhaustion and sleep is decreased.
6. Ratri Svabhavaprabhava Nidra : Ratri means night, svabhava and prabhava means induced due to the character of night. It basically means sleep which is induced due to the character of night and is natural in nature. It helps in maintaining the life of human beings and hence is called as bhudhatri.

Benefits of Proper Sleep

Sushruta mentioned that good quality and quantity of sleep provides following benefits:(ch. Su. 21/36-38)

• Sukha (Pleasure)
• Pushti (Nourishment and Growth)
• Bala (Strength and Immunity)
• Varishtaa (Potency and Sexual Vigor)
• Gnaanam (Knowledge and Intellect)
• Jeevitam (Longevity of Life )

It also restores the natural equilibrium among different tissues.

Consequence of Improper Sleep

Improper sleep means excessive, inadequate or irregular sleep. This hence bestow many effects on the metabolic working of body and thus present with:

• Dukha (Grief)
• Karshyam (Consumption)
• Abalam (Loss of Strength)
• Kleebata (Impotency)
• Agnanam (Idiocy)
• Mrityu (Death)
• Burning Eyes
• Irregular Bowel Movements
• Termed as kalratri as it takes away happiness, prosperity and longevity of life.

Divaswapna

Divaswapna is understood as day time sleeping. Day time sleeping causes kapha utkalesha (kapha vitiation), but not particularly in greeshma ritu (summer season). Still there are some indications and contraindications for divaswapna.

Indications include people who sing excessively, study very much, drink too much alcohol, after sexual intercourse, after carrying heavy weight, dyspnoea, hiccups and unmad.

Contraindications include people with excessive fat, eats oily or fried food, people with kapha prakriti, partial headache, people suffering from disease due to dosha vitiation should not sleep during day time.

Nidravegadharan

When someone suppresses the urge to sleep is called nidravegadharan. The signs include jrumbha (Yawning), angamard (body pain), drowsiness and diseases or conditions related to heaviness of eyes and head.

3. Brahmacharya (Abstinence)

Abstinence is when a person completely abstains from sextual pleasures and other sedentary pleasures. In Ayurveda it is understood typically as sextual abstinence. Human body requires food in proper amounts. For the sustenance of the body. The food is processed at three levels in the body:

• Jatharagani (converts gross from solid to liquid state)
• Panchmahabhuta Agni (fluid further converted into panch bhautik components)
• Dhatu Agni (tissue metabolism)

Now this tissue metabolism is better understood using khira dadhi nyaya (ch.chi. 15/16)Khira dadhi nyaya, states that rasa from ahara, rakta from rasa, masa from rakta, meda from mansa, asthi from meda, majja from asthi and then finally shukra from majja are formed

As of now we know that sukra is the ultimate product of all supreme tissues and at last this shukra which is dense, heavy, cold and has a slimy nature is responsible for formation of ojas. Shukra also has an exclusive quality to procreate. Shukra is believed to be very close to the soul and hence is used by the transient soul and mind as a vehicle. That’s why Ayurveda has mentioned preservation of this shukra dhatu by observing brahmacharya or abstinence.

The regenerative property of shukra, is utilized for the formation of and growth of various body constituents until the person attains maturity. When a person becomes mature and the dhatus are stable, shukra will behave as reproductive tissue.

Conclusion

Ayurveda provides complete understanding of ahara (food), nidra (sleep) and brahmacharya (abstinence) in terms of health management. The three pillars of health play the most important role in balancing the metabolic functioning of the body. Ayurveda is the branch that works on the dosha, prakruti and dhatu and also provides you with the knowledge about the ahara you can take according to your prakriti so that your dosha remains maintained hence providing you with adequate natural sleep and also helps you in following abstinence. The taryosthamba should be considered as the therapeutic way to maintain proper health and healthy functioning of the body. In case of any query kindly visit www.PlanetAyurveda.com