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1Molecular in every sense is the Biology of the Hindus. Virtually speaking, Ayurveda is our Science of Life, and we will presently shew that Lije and Ayus are identical. The continuous adjustment of molecules, their successive breaking down and building up within an organised living body, without destroying its identity, is the definition of Ayus as suggested by Maharshi Punarvasu. He says :— In another place the same definition is repeated with a slight modification and in this he enumerates ^TTT^ff^:, (consciousness) as the most distinctive of'Ayu. ^^^'^^^^^^ characteristic of ^I'wj. According to this definition, aifl^f^^r^imMT: and %i^Tg- ?t^: re'er to an organised living body ; f^^: and '^ig^^: are identical with processes of breaking down and building up of the organism without destroying its identity. The idea of continuous adjustment is included also in these two words. So we find, the definition oiAyus^ as sugessted by Punarvasu, includes more than what is proposed in The same as Life, x/r tt u .. c > j /- •.• t t -x Mr. Herbert Spencer's definition oi Ltfe. The words ^ilr and eftf%?TiT, as explained by the great annotator Chakrapani, represent two more distinct phases of Life, the INRODUCTION. IX first bearing upon the cistence in the system of a preven tivefactor of putrefaction, the second More compre- ... , , hensive than Life PO'»'"g ^^ the agent or agenr. hat as defined by Mr. adjit the internal relations Herbert Spencer. catttouche?, which professor Foster speaks of as "contiuously passing from protop protoplasm and compared/ith which the nervous ^ „ „. , , (whih are perhaps electrical in Prof. Michael ^ , Foster on the The- are rosser and coarser shocks. ' ory of Sensation. ^^-^^^^ ep'ahei, viz., "^^lf^/' as em plained by Chakrapani — t^I^?^ mWT*[ ^TT^fw^'— furnishes us\^ with a clue to determine wat Ayus ( ^[^: ) actually means. Our Sacred Upanishads now come for-
2' ory of Sensation. ^^-^^^^ ep'ahei, viz., "^^lf^/' as em plained by Chakrapani — t^I^?^ mWT*[ ^TT^fw^'— furnishes us\^ with a clue to determine wat Ayus ( ^[^: ) actually means. Our Sacred Upanishads now come for- J Upa^n'fste °^ ""-^^ °"' '^"«f ='"d '«" "'■ '" 'he first place "^g: flTC" ie , Ayu and Prana are one and the same prinole. In the second place, "?[: im: ^ ^:", i.e , Prana and Vdy are identical. In the third place, '% 1^ ^^?i ^fTT^n^'n'RT:",?'.^., Vayu is not unlike Ether. In the fourth place, '^T3 ^-^^t w", i.e,^ the primitive fluid ^according to Lord Kelvin)^ divided into two parts, viz., — without motion, another edued with motion. In the place, "^4f%«5in^if\ />., everything in this world waves of this Ether enduecwith motion. In the sixth pi "^rg^ ^*^:" "^gx^ t%, W m^g", ie., Vayu is the univei-.^. store of energy ; in the Phjical world it is known by the name of Vayu ; in the Liing world it is called under a different name and that nam is Prana (mw.) From the above short tab we come to know that the agent that adjusts the internl relations to external relations, is Ayus and that Ayus is Liftand that Life is a motion of the great etherial fluid which is kown in Sanskrit as ^'is" and that *'^T^^ is the sum of all the various The same as pri- . . • , • , j . • i • , mitive fluid as de- energie— biological and abiological— fined by Lord which nder the name of heat, light, Kelvin. » 5 I electricy or consciousness, etc., manifest themselves both in the Physiil as well as in the Metaphysical ^ X INTRODUCTION. world, and that Prana (vm',) is another name of the same force that, in acting on an aggregated living body, divides itself into five distinct forces, viz.y Prdna, Apdna^ Samdna, Uddna^ and Vydna, and subserves the functions of correlation ( ^rgt ) and sustentation ( f^ ) and controls oxidation (^^). So Prana continuously helps to adjust, like the main-spring of a watch, the internal relations to the external relations. We are indebted to the master mind of Sankara for his able exposi- tion of the functions of this main-spring, vJyu a5dlth7r. "^ ^^at is, of the etherial vibrations (mgiiro:) as transformed into the vital force in an organised body. We quote below what he says about it in his celeberated commentary on the Vedanta Darsana. The five divisions -s _-. _c of V^yu in its ac- 'H^* ^^ ^^"^ ^'^ '^ cf^T^^ STTST^ ^f-
3We quote below what he says about it in his celeberated commentary on the Vedanta Darsana. The five divisions -s _-. _c of V^yu in its ac- 'H^* ^^ ^^"^ ^'^ '^ cf^T^^ STTST^ ^f- tion on a living ^^^ , ^fc^^w ^ w^w^ ^ ^ fw-^ I aggregate. That is, the primitive fluid that is endued with motion in its evolution of Life gets knotted into five divisions, viz , Prdna, Apdna, Samdna, Uddna and Vydna, and this acting on any aggregated living matter is called Prana. So what we call Prana is not the Vayu itself, but a particular mode of its motion. Hence the question of identity and non-identity is a matter of choice. Shortly speaking, this is the Biology of the Hindus. This too is the sum and substance into which (as a department of Biology), Physiology unfolds itself. This too evidently serves as the line of Biology forms the demarcation between ^TfT^: and ^'.^j:, ^^fl'n^T^evllopel f^: -^ ^fwj. From this too as so much col- Health and Disease, Hygiene and lateral branches. r^,^^^^^^^^ Psychology and Sociology have all their origin and start. In fact. Biology forms the basis upon which the great edifice of the Indian Medical Science, as a collateral branch, has been developed. Conclusion. ^j^g general truths of Biology a e all there in the Ayurveda ; but the special truths from medicine INTRODUCTION. XI have been given so great a prominence that the real character of the book has been over-shadowed and it has been trans- formed into a Science of Medicine. ******* With a view to convey to the minds of our readers an idea of the different branches of the Medical Science which developed as a'collateral branch of this great Science of Life, we would here touch upon a few of them in passing. Magnetism had formed its way into the therapeutics of the ancient Hindus and animal magne- Masnetism. . , • , . tism was very extensively practised in India long before they were recognised by Mesmer in Germany and subsequently by John Elliotson in England. The Indian writers on Medical Science of the good old days have described in length the medicinal properties of the waters of the principal rivers, lakes, water-falls and mineral springs of the country that were known at the time and their respec- tive curative powers as applied to various ailments that human flesh is heir to. This goes a long way to establish the fact that Hydropathy was known in India long before it was even dreamt of in the Western world.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
1Molecular in every sense is the Biology of the Hindus. Virtually speaking, Ayurveda is our Science of Life, and we will presently shew that Lije and Ayus are identical. The continuous adjustment of molecules, their successive breaking down and building up within an organised living body, without destroying its identity, is the definition of Ayus as suggested by Maharshi Punarvasu. He says :— In another place the same definition is repeated with a slight modification and in this he enumerates ^TTT^ff^:, (consciousness) as the most distinctive of'Ayu. ^^^'^^^^^^ characteristic of ^I'wj. According to this definition, aifl^f^^r^imMT: and %i^Tg- ?t^: re'er to an organised living body ; f^^: and '^ig^^: are identical with processes of breaking down and building up of the organism without destroying its identity. The idea of continuous adjustment is included also in these two words. So we find, the definition oiAyus^ as sugessted by Punarvasu, includes more than what is proposed in The same as Life, x/r tt u .. c > j /- •.• t t -x Mr. Herbert Spencer's definition oi Ltfe. The words ^ilr and eftf%?TiT, as explained by the great annotator Chakrapani, represent two more distinct phases of Life, the INRODUCTION. IX first bearing upon the cistence in the system of a preven tivefactor of putrefaction, the second More compre- ... , , hensive than Life PO'»'"g ^^ the agent or agenr. hat as defined by Mr. adjit the internal relations Herbert Spencer. catttouche?, which professor Foster speaks of as "contiuously passing from protop protoplasm and compared/ith which the nervous ^ „ „. , , (whih are perhaps electrical in Prof. Michael ^ , Foster on the The- are rosser and coarser shocks. ' ory of Sensation. ^^-^^^^ ep'ahei, viz., "^^lf^/' as em plained by Chakrapani — t^I^?^ mWT*[ ^TT^fw^'— furnishes us\^ with a clue to determine wat Ayus ( ^[^: ) actually means. Our Sacred Upanishads now come for-
2' ory of Sensation. ^^-^^^^ ep'ahei, viz., "^^lf^/' as em plained by Chakrapani — t^I^?^ mWT*[ ^TT^fw^'— furnishes us\^ with a clue to determine wat Ayus ( ^[^: ) actually means. Our Sacred Upanishads now come for- J Upa^n'fste °^ ""-^^ °"' '^"«f ='"d '«" "'■ '" 'he first place "^g: flTC" ie , Ayu and Prana are one and the same prinole. In the second place, "?[: im: ^ ^:", i.e , Prana and Vdy are identical. In the third place, '% 1^ ^^?i ^fTT^n^'n'RT:",?'.^., Vayu is not unlike Ether. In the fourth place, '^T3 ^-^^t w", i.e,^ the primitive fluid ^according to Lord Kelvin)^ divided into two parts, viz., — without motion, another edued with motion. In the place, "^4f%«5in^if\ />., everything in this world waves of this Ether enduecwith motion. In the sixth pi "^rg^ ^*^:" "^gx^ t%, W m^g", ie., Vayu is the univei-.^. store of energy ; in the Phjical world it is known by the name of Vayu ; in the Liing world it is called under a different name and that nam is Prana (mw.) From the above short tab we come to know that the agent that adjusts the internl relations to external relations, is Ayus and that Ayus is Liftand that Life is a motion of the great etherial fluid which is kown in Sanskrit as ^'is" and that *'^T^^ is the sum of all the various The same as pri- . . • , • , j . • i • , mitive fluid as de- energie— biological and abiological— fined by Lord which nder the name of heat, light, Kelvin. » 5 I electricy or consciousness, etc., manifest themselves both in the Physiil as well as in the Metaphysical ^ X INTRODUCTION. world, and that Prana (vm',) is another name of the same force that, in acting on an aggregated living body, divides itself into five distinct forces, viz.y Prdna, Apdna^ Samdna, Uddna^ and Vydna, and subserves the functions of correlation ( ^rgt ) and sustentation ( f^ ) and controls oxidation (^^). So Prana continuously helps to adjust, like the main-spring of a watch, the internal relations to the external relations. We are indebted to the master mind of Sankara for his able exposi- tion of the functions of this main-spring, vJyu a5dlth7r. "^ ^^at is, of the etherial vibrations (mgiiro:) as transformed into the vital force in an organised body. We quote below what he says about it in his celeberated commentary on the Vedanta Darsana. The five divisions -s _-. _c of V^yu in its ac- 'H^* ^^ ^^"^ ^'^ '^ cf^T^^ STTST^ ^f-
3We quote below what he says about it in his celeberated commentary on the Vedanta Darsana. The five divisions -s _-. _c of V^yu in its ac- 'H^* ^^ ^^"^ ^'^ '^ cf^T^^ STTST^ ^f- tion on a living ^^^ , ^fc^^w ^ w^w^ ^ ^ fw-^ I aggregate. That is, the primitive fluid that is endued with motion in its evolution of Life gets knotted into five divisions, viz , Prdna, Apdna, Samdna, Uddna and Vydna, and this acting on any aggregated living matter is called Prana. So what we call Prana is not the Vayu itself, but a particular mode of its motion. Hence the question of identity and non-identity is a matter of choice. Shortly speaking, this is the Biology of the Hindus. This too is the sum and substance into which (as a department of Biology), Physiology unfolds itself. This too evidently serves as the line of Biology forms the demarcation between ^TfT^: and ^'.^j:, ^^fl'n^T^evllopel f^: -^ ^fwj. From this too as so much col- Health and Disease, Hygiene and lateral branches. r^,^^^^^^^^ Psychology and Sociology have all their origin and start. In fact. Biology forms the basis upon which the great edifice of the Indian Medical Science, as a collateral branch, has been developed. Conclusion. ^j^g general truths of Biology a e all there in the Ayurveda ; but the special truths from medicine INTRODUCTION. XI have been given so great a prominence that the real character of the book has been over-shadowed and it has been trans- formed into a Science of Medicine. ******* With a view to convey to the minds of our readers an idea of the different branches of the Medical Science which developed as a'collateral branch of this great Science of Life, we would here touch upon a few of them in passing. Magnetism had formed its way into the therapeutics of the ancient Hindus and animal magne- Masnetism. . , • , . tism was very extensively practised in India long before they were recognised by Mesmer in Germany and subsequently by John Elliotson in England. The Indian writers on Medical Science of the good old days have described in length the medicinal properties of the waters of the principal rivers, lakes, water-falls and mineral springs of the country that were known at the time and their respec- tive curative powers as applied to various ailments that human flesh is heir to. This goes a long way to establish the fact that Hydropathy was known in India long before it was even dreamt of in the Western world.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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