Dance of the Doshas

According to Ayurveda, everything in this universe, which includes animate and inanimate, living and non living, gross and subtle, substances and organisms…literally everything, is made up of nothing more than the five great elements known as Space (akasha), Air (vayu), Fire (agni), water (aap) and earth (prithvi). These five great elements are not the 'air' and Fire' as we commonly understand. They are that and more. When our creator, that one great intelligence, sometimes called God, sometimes Nature and sometimes referred to as 'IT" was (and is) creating the universe - the same building blocks were used. Hence, what connects each one of us is that we all are composed of the same essence (energy) and is that we are all essentially the same. Whatever difference that we perceive is not a qualitative one, merely quantitative. When we sit in front of the Grand Canyon or any other large splendour of nature we observe it's natural offering pf space and stillness - and before long we embody the same stillness and space. When we sit by a lake or river we notice sentiments and hidden emotions arising in our hearts and a busy noisy city street aggravates anxious thought and sensations in spite of us.

According to Ayurveda, every living being, pieces of the planet which we consider nonliving, such as soil, and minerals, and water in the lake, and even the far off distant planets and stars and other cosmic bodies…each and everything is made up of the same building blocks - Space (potential energy) Air (kinetic energy), Fire (Nuclear energy), Water (forces of cohesion) and Earth (forces of density).

In a living being, these forces combine to become forces that help a living being "live". Air and space combined to form the force of Vata is responsible for all movement in the body, and it governs mainly all nervous functions. There are 80 kinds of possible disturbances due to Vata. Pain, stiffness, paralysis, and hypertension, Heart diseases - all these are caused by Vata. Fire and water combine to form the force of Pitta. Pitta governs mainly enzymes and hormones. Pitta is also responsible for digestion, pigmentation, body temperature, hunger, thirst, sight, courage etc. There are 40 kinds of possible disturbances due to Pitta. Burning sensations, excessive body temperature, blue moles, jaundice, urticaria and pharyngitis are examples of disorders caused by Pitta. Water and earth combine to form the force of Kapha. Kapha regulates the other two. Kapha is responsible for the connections of joints, the solid nature of the body and its sustenance, sexual power, strength, patience etc. Among the 20 possible disturbances due to Kapha are anorexia nervosa, laziness, mucus expectoration, hardening of vessels, obesity, suppression of digestive power etc.

Vata, Pitta and Kapha are known as "Doshas" in Ayurveda. The three doshas are mentioned as early as in the Rig Veda which is easily the oldest compiled knowledge compendoum of mankind.

" Tridhatu sharn vahatam shubhaspati"

Rig Veda I.35.5

Vata, Pitta and Kapha are not the 'wind, bile, and phlegm' of the Greeks. Vata, Pitta, and Kapha are the primary principles controlling the entire functions of the living body, comprising on one side the bio motor force (Vata), the metabolic activity (Pitta) and, the preservative principle of the body (Kapha); and forming the vehicles of the qualities of Rajas, Sattva and Tamas in the living organism on the other.

Vata - The principle of motion or and multiplication is born with the first cell, which when impregnate, begins to divide and becomes gradually organized through what turns out to be an inherent force. This force is known as Vayu, or Vata - cell force or vital force (prana). Later this inherent force manifests itself as nerve structures and nerve force. Charka, an ancient Ayurvedic scholar describes Vata as a force that upholds the constituents of the body and determines their course through the body. It causes the senses to perform their functions. It causes speech. It is the prime cause of touch and sound and the root of scent. It gives form to the embryo in womb. It holds together all the elements of the body, assisting cohesion of the particles of human frame. It furnishes evidence of the existence of life itself.

Sanchalana literally means regulating the movements of the living organisms. This function is attributed to Vata. It may be interpreted as the process of movement and multiplication. Vata is the most powerful of the triad of Tridosha and the sole factor for the process of segmentation and development of the organism from the first cell. It pervades the whole organism and helps the other two doshas - Pitta and Kapha from one place to another as they are inert in themselves:

"Pittam pangu, kapham pangu, panguvo mala dhatvaha vayuna niyante"

Vata is the dynamic principle of the body controlling and keeping in equilibrium the functions of the other two doshas, dhatus and other constituents of the body intact, and guides and represents all the correlative forces at work in the human machine. It expels from the body all secretions and excretions which if retained would be harmful. Vata combines motive, segmentative, differentiative and the correlative forces of the body as one force.

Pitta - Is the principle that generates and keeps up the heat of the body. It manifests itself in different forms and in different chemical activities mainly digestion and assimilation. It prepares the material to be absorbed, and the power to metabolize the nourishment that is absorbed into the body. It maintains the equilibrium of heat and combustion. On the mental side, it is the principle that prepares the field for the perception of light and stimuli.

Swedana literally means the process of sweating and heating and is attributed to Pitta. It manifests itself through thermal effects. It metabolizes tissues, nourishes cells, guides the process of pigmentation, and helps digestion, assimilation of food and controls sweating functions.

Kapha - It is said that just as there is a principle that keeps the fire burning (Pitta) there is another principle, which keeps up the coolness. This cooling principle acts like the water jacket of the internal combustion engine. Kapha principle keeps the body cool by its secretions. A cooling most secretion is always present in the mucous membrane, respiratory passages, in the eyes, in the joints and in the hot stomach. Wherever there is friction and wherever there is heat production (Vata or Pitta), there is the Kapha principle manifesting itself in the secretion or lubrication by preservative fluids.

Snehana literally means the process of lubrication or preservation conducted by Kapha. It secretes mucilaginous secretions to preserve tissues from over reaction of P, which is 'hot', and Vata, which is 'dry'. Burning sensations and feeling of dryness of limbs marks its deterioration. It produces smooth working of joints, general stability and strong build of the body. We can say Kapha is a cooling, sustaining and preserving principle of the living organism.

In the metaphysical sense, the Tridoshas form the physical counterparts of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas of the body. According to Sushrut, an ancient Ayurvedic surgeon, Vata, Pitta and Kapha are to the body what Sattva, Rajas and Tamas are to the universe.

Whether the Tridoshas are energies, forces, principles, humors or hormones (in their different firms and manifestations) their physiological and pathological significance remains the same. The ancient sages never confused Vata, Pitta and Kapha with their tangible effects such as wind or gases produces in stomach during digestion, etc. The Tridosha was a much wider concept of inherent multi dimensional complex forces - and much misunderstood and poorly explained by western scholars.

" The trees also, like men, get diseases due to the derangement of Vayu, Pitta and Kapha…" Shri Shiva Sattva Ratanakar.

Surely, the sages did not discern any bile and phlegm in the trees. They evidently believed the three doshas to be forces or principles regulating all living organisms (including trees).

While the five great elements (panch mahabutas) prepare the frame of the body, they cannot as such take up the function of life. For this as soon as life enters into the body three vital principles emerge which regulate and control the biological functions. According to Sushrut on the basis of his observation of nature and it's application of the law of Uniformity - that just as Soma (the Moon), Surya (the Sun) and Vayu (air) hold the cosmos by their functions of visraga (releasing), aadaana (receiving) and Vikshepa (dissemination) so do the three doshas - Kapha, Pitta and Vata in the living body.

"Wherever there is life Tridoshas are there". Charak Samhita SU.18.48

In addition, Charka further elaborates that as such, every living cell (paramanu) is pervaded by them (the three doshas) in order to perform their functions. Dead bodies merely have the aggregation of Maha Bhuta (elements) but not forces (Doshas) so it is obvious that doshas are connected with life itself.

In Ayurveda, we not only recognize these forces (the Tridoshas) but we also learn to harness them and develop an optimum food and lifestyle program that balances the three doshas. When doshas are in balance individual (human, animal, plant etc) is disease free and when in imbalance - disease begins to grow.