Shakti Namaste

Vaidyas Ranade: Learned Embodiments of Ayurveda

Vaidyas Subhash and Sunanda Ranade are among the most internationally acclaimed senior teachers of Ayurveda today, each with a lifetime of outstanding academic, professional and personal accomplishments to their credit. Yet at an age when people are typically settling into retirement and dealing with ailments, the Ranades are active and enthusiastic ambassadors of Ayurveda, continually moving from country to country to teach, consult and inspire. Here are a few glimpses of our recent time in their inspiring company.
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Vaidya Mahesh - A Patient Teacher with a Passion for Healing

Vaidya Mahesh Sabade works closely with Vedika's Acharya Shunya Pratichi Mathur as an anchor teacher of Vedika Gurukula and the founding Ayurvedic consultant for Vedika's low-cost community clinic in Berkeley, Vedika Jyoti. His knowledge was gained not only in one of the world's top Ayurvedic colleges, but also in the company of masters who lived Ayurveda with every breath, and in forests of Western India amongst tribal people with astonishing intuitive and oral knowledge of medicinal herbs. I invite you to discover more about his personal Ayurveda journey and his upcoming lecture on Ayurveda & Obesity.

Hema Patankar
President

International Ayurveda Ambassadors:

Teaching Visit to Vedika

Vedika Gurukula was most fortunate to have both Dr's. Ranade visit in early June. They are respectively the Chairman and the Director of the International Ayurveda Institute based in Pune, India. Dr. Subhash Ranade gave a stimulating introductory talk on ayurveda along with several in-depth classes. Dr. Sunanda Ranade, an expert in Ayurvedic gynecology, gave an illuminating course on women's health. Along with this, they gave the students tremendous encouragement and inspiration.

Top: Vaidya Sunanda Ranade with Dr. Saritha Shrestha
from Nepal, Vedika's Acharya Shunya Pratichi Mathur,
and Hema Patankar
Bottom: Dr. Subhash Ranade

Secrets of their Youthful Wellness

We all wanted to know how they stay so fit and active, always exuding positive energy and avoiding falling sick as they clock up tens of thousands of airline miles every year.  They smiled and said that basically they eat very little. Interacting with them throughout their stay, it became clear that the Ayurvedic principles for a healthy life in body, mind and spirit are not just what they teach but also what they live. They observe discipline in eating, and rise early every morning for Surya Namaskar, pranayama and other yogic practices.  They share their knowledge in the spirit of service and are the genuine well-wishers of all.

The Ranades are not only spreading the knowledge of ayurveda worldwide, but also helping to identify a natural abundance of Ayurvedic herbs hidden in settings from the Amazon jungle to flowerpots in urban gardens.

Visits to the Amazon Jungle

As we walked with them amongst the giant redwoods in Muir Woods one afternoon, they recalled their experiences of the Amazon jungle. They described it as the most terrifying and most serene place on earth. Every sound was consumed by the abundance of damp vegetation. Every image was consumed by pitch darkness, even at noon. The rain was so torrential that holding an umbrella up for protection was useless. And the Amazon River was as vast as an ocean.

Nestled in the dense forest bed, with the aid of flashlights they found many of the herbs described in the texts of the ancient Indian sages of Ayurveda, including pippali and a plant they had not been able to find anywhere outside of India: bhallatak or marking nut. While these nuts have been in common use by washermen to mark clothes before they were washed, this is a highly potent traditional herb that with careful use is very effective for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and is being used in contemporary research connected with cancer. They were thrilled to find these healing plants hidden in the heart of South America, and spoke to us of the extensive research into Ayurvedic herbs and healing that is taking place there.

Vaidyas Subhash & Sunanda Ranade with
Vedika teachers, directors & friends

Vaidya Mahesh:

Upcoming Lecture & Inspiring Background

Since February 2009, Vaidya Mahesh has been inspiring Vedika's students with his precise knowledge of the scriptural and living foundations of Ayurveda and the fruits of his years as an Ayurvedic practitioner in India. As he speaks again and again about the causes and corrective measures for obesity, and it's cohort, diabetes, I hear in his voice a passion for helping people overcome these debilitating diseases to experience wellness and vitality. And with patience and clarity, he instills in his students Ayurveda's amazing knowledge and lifestyle skills that can keep these two diseases – and so many others -- out of a person's life.

Apprenticing with an Ayurveda Master

Vaidya Mahesh attributes his inspiration to his mentor, Vaidya Prashant Suru. During his student years, Mahesh would rush to Vaidya Suru's clinic every day after his classes at the University of Pune to spend 2-3 hours huddled with a couple of other students observing his master at work. Vaidya Suru didn't usually spell out the explanations for each patient's condition and treatment. Instead, he inspired the students to observe closely, think the cases through themselves, and note the results when the patient returned. Only after their own contemplation would he ask them what they understood, and guide them.

Learning from Tribal People about Forest Herbs

Vaidya Suru would take his students on excursions into the forest to see Ayurvedic herbs growing in their own habitats. Mahesh was amazed by the knowledge of the so-called illiterate tribal people who guided them. Once they were looking for a rare medicinal fruit known to cause a terrible rash all over the body if picked at the wrong time. The tribal people explained that they watch for when the monkeys start eating these fruits. Then then know there is a window of time in their ripening process when it is safe to collect the fruits for their medicinal purposes.

After returning with sacks of fresh herbs, Mahesh and his fellow students would stay with their teacher for a couple of days, slowly and painstakingly preparing the herbal compounds exactly as per the shastras. The results were potent and highly effective.

Mentors Who Embody Ayurvedic Lifestyle

Vaidya Mahesh's in-depth study of obesity began as the research project for his MD. It is ironic that in a country once known for its undernourished masses that diseases of over-nourishment have become rampant amongst those now enjoying an era of economic success. While immersed in this research, he inevitably observed that neither his mentor nor his mentor's mentor, Vaidyaraj Atmaram Datar Shastri, fell prey to these conditions of over-nourishment. This was the fruit of embracing and living the Ayurvedic principles. Even in his eighties, Vaidyaraj Datar remained fit and healthy, totally present for each patient amidst long and demanding hours of service. His strength was that he lived a very pure and disciplined Ayurvedic lifestyle, rising long before dawn to immerse himself in spiritual practices, eating simple meals in harmony with movements of the sun and the seasons, and never sleeping during the day.

Obesity Class: Shifting Focus from Calories to Agni

On Thursday July 30th, Vaidya Mahesh will share the fruits of his experience and successes with obesity, and describe the steps people can take to avoid or overcome this disease. To learn more, visit our website.

Read more about Vaidya Mahesh

Vedika Jyoti

Ayurvedic Community Clinic in Berkeley, CA
Affordable, Authentic, Empowering
Offering low-cost individualized care, preventative medicine, and traditional healing.

For more information and appointments.

Contact Us

To find out more about Vedika Global, Inc and its activities,
write to info@vedikaglobal.org

Latest Projects

Always looking ahead to the developing needs of the field, they are now actively involved in a database project of Ayurveda research in India. The aim is to list and ultimately upload all the Ph.D. theses from the last 50 years on aspects of Ayurveda. This will become an extremely useful resource for those doing contemporary research, and of great value internationally as research on Ayurveda becomes a matter of increasing worldwide attention. 

In the same spirit, Ranade's publications have not only been translated into multiple languages, but they have now made them available as e-books through their website.

Vaidyas Subhash and Sunanda Ranade with Vedika Gurukula Students

These much-loved Vaidyas embody the spirit expressed in Rishi Vagbhatta Asthanga Hridaya:

May life be filled with blessings for those who are
learned and noble-minded,
who work skillfully and selflessly with
the elements of nature to bring about healing,
who are proficient through constant practice,
and whose deepest desire is for the good of all.

Please read more about Vaidyas Subhash and Sunanda Ranade