Essay name: The Nervous System in Yoga and Tantra (Study)
Author:
Ashok Majumdar
Affiliation: Banaras Hindu University / Department of Kayachikitsa
This study deals with the presentation of the Nervous System in Yoga, Tantra and Ayurveda. Yoga and Ayurveda are allied sciences dealing with science of man in depth. This study has revealed a number of hither to unknown facts about concept of nervous system and thought science of Hindus.
Chapter 7 - The Physiological and the Pathological concepts of Tridosha Theory
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External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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(2) THE NATURE AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF VAYU
Charaka says (CS.Ch.28 and CS.Su. 12) that Vayu is
our life, Vayu is our strength, it is Vayu which keeps the
body sound and it is Vayu which controls everything. Susruta
also says (SS.N1.1) that Vayu is omnipresent and it is Vayu
which is the root cause of the production, preservation and
destruction of the universe. We may take it that this is
the description of the atmospheric air. When we inhale this
air, it enters into the body. There is another Vayu, however,
which is produced within the body,
Inamely in the intestines,
during the digestion of food. These two kinds of Vayu mix
with each other and form the Vayu-Dhatu of the body. This
Vayu-dhatu nourishes the original Vayu i.e. the Vayu-bhuta,
which is one of the primary constituting causes in the
production of the body. When in the woumb, this original
Vayu is nourished by the Vayu-dhatu of the mother. The two
kinds of Vayu mentioned above must act in concert in order
to maintain the body because it is evident that without
external air we cannot live; and on the other hand, lower
much we inhale the external"air", we cannot also live long
if that Vayu is not helped by the fresh production of the
internal Vayu- that is to say if we do not take any food.
That a close relation exists between the body
Vayu and the external Vayu is also evident from a study
of Charaka because, in connection with the description of
the normal and abnormal functions of the internal Vayu, we
