1.1 Introduction
It is a universally accepted fact that good health plays an important role in human development. According to the concepts of Ayurveda, good health is based on the equilibrium of dosha (humor), agni (digestive fire), dhatu (seven body tissues: lymph, blood, muscle, adipose tissue, bone, bone marrow, semen), and mala (feces, urine, and other waste products). Furthermore, in Ayurveda there is clear-cut emphasis on maintaining physical, mental, and spiritual well-being as part of good health.1 The World Health Organization (WHO) defines good health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity,2 which is in close approximity to the definition of good health mentioned in Ayurvedic classics. Creation of the infrastructure, generation of requisite human resources, and framing of appropriate policies required to meet the health-care needs of its citizens are accepted as some of the main and fundamental responsibilities of a modern state. Every country in the global fraternity aspires to meet the health-care needs of its people through an appropriate and cost-effective approach.
The contributions of Traditional Systems of Medicine (TSM) for global health care in the past and their importance for the health-care needs of the present and the future are well recognized. The traditional systems of India, which are now called Indian Systems of Medicine (ISM), have a very strong conceptual base and have been practiced uninter-ruptedly for a very long time; hence they are considered as independent medical systems. Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani are the three important traditional systems practiced in India. Ayurveda is the oldest and the most widely practiced system among the three. It takes into consideration all aspects of health including mental, physical, and social components.
Considering the comprehensive manner in which all matters related to health are addressed in Ayurveda, it has potential to become a global medical system. However, to achieve this status, some of the shortfalls that are perceived to hinder its progress must be rectified. In the following pages the present status in different subsectors of Ayurveda are reviewed and some of the steps required for further development in the future are suggested.
The matters that require consideration are national policy for the development of Ayurveda in India; role of Ayurveda in the country’s health-care delivery; regulatory mechanism to control and regulate manufacturing and utilization of the drugs manufactured in this sector; and facilities available for the generation of trained manpower, including clinical and paramedical personnel, research and development aspects, and globalization of the system.
Soure: Lakshmi chandra Mishra, scientific Basis for Ayurvedic Therapies; 2004 by CRC Press LLC
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