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Shakti Namaste
Namaste. When lovers of the wisdom of Ayurveda come together, there is an upsurge of inspiration, and a heightened sense of community. This spring, Vedika was invited to participate in both national and international conferences, and expanded our own community events in the Bay Area. Below are glimpses of these events, and the opportunities they presented to share and promote classical Ayurveda's healing knowledge and the Gurukula tradition of education. 
At the beginning of May, the Dept. of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) conducted their 2nd Interactive Meeting with International Delegates for Global Propagation of Ayurveda. Vedika's President Hema Patankar and India Director Shivani Maheshwari were invited to participate. Preserving Classical, Holistic Ayurveda In her opening address, Mrs. Jalaja, Secretary of AYUSH, again emphasized the importance of preserving the study and practice of classical Ayurveda. She spoke about a proposal for an extended undergraduate level course in India that would include more focus on the study of yoga, and greater immersion in Sanskrit studies in order to engage deeply with Ayurveda's source texts in their original language. She reminded the audience that AYUSH also has a program called Rashtriya Ayurveda Vidyapeeth, which offers graduate students of ayurveda to spend a year with a master teacher or practitioner of Ayurveda, in order to imbibe and preserve their skills and wisdom. Mrs. Jalaja, Secretary of AYUSH, spoke with passion about recognizing Ayurveda as a comprehensive knowledge system that should not be viewed as simply a parallel to modern medicine. Ayurveda, she said, is a way of life not just a system of medicine. So de-linking our understanding of Ayurveda from simply medicine to treat physical diseases is an important exercise. In Ayurveda, she emphasized, the understanding of pathya is the main thing: appropriate food, lifestyle and thinking. She reminded the gathering that both Ayurveda and Yoga deal significantly with the mind, so both systems view health in an integrated way. She praised the research underway by Ayurvedic experts in India, while at the same time reminding her audience to keep things in perspective by remembering that while there is much value in confirming the efficacy of ayurvedic methods through modern research, Ayurveda is not something new in need of validation. It's thousands of years of successful practice are its own validation. Interactive Meeting The objective of the interactive meeting was to bring about synergy between the efforts of the Dept. of AYUSH and the various independent international organizations who are working for the propagation of Ayurveda, by bringing everyone together in open dialogue. The two day meeting focused on 5 areas of Ayurveda: education, research, trade, pharmaceuticals and promotion. Leaders in Ayurveda in India today including Padmabhushan Vaidya Devendra Triguna of All India Ayurveda Congress, AYUSH Dept.'s chief Ayurveda Advisor Dr. S. K. Sharma, CCRAS Director Dr. Ramesh Babu, and Geneva-based Honorary Advisor to the Dept. of AYUSH retired Ambassador Swashpawan Singh. |
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Congratulations to NAMA, the National Ayurvedic Medical Association, for putting on a successful conference in San Francisco in April. The conference brought together practitioners, students, teachers, promoters, and lovers of Ayurveda for three days of rich education programs and case study presentations, along with group yoga and meditation session in the early mornings, and lively networking. Vedika's Advisor Vamadeva Shastri and other keynote speakers set a spiritual focus that brought a meaningful sense of unity in the community. It was encouraging to hear guest speakers from India, including Vaidya Ramkumar who spoke from the wisdom of the Gurukula tradition. Vedika Global participated at the NAMA conference held in the Bay Area in April, where students created a taste of Vedika Gurukula and its culture at their booth. They offered delicious home-made laddus with everyone who came to their booth. Hand-made to a recipe whose qualities they had studied in class and laden with fresh ghee and roasted wheat, these sweets were the ideal medicine for the busy, travel-worn attendees of the conference and an opportunity to share a taste of their studies and open hearted culture. Both were received with much appreciation! Their booth was attractive with a backdrop image of a traditional gurukula scene and a mini garden of tulsi plants with their potent air-purifying qualities – so welcome amidst hotel air. The students all dressed in flame colored saris – symbolizing the sacred fire of knowledge -- and conveyed a sense of universal respect and love, seva and sangha, as they shared information and experiences with the lovers of Ayurveda who had gathered from around the country.
Vedika Sangha is an open community forum for sharing the uplifting knowledge and flavors of Ayurveda's wisdom, foods and transformative lifestyle. South Bay Sangha The focus of this special sangha was to re-introduce Ayurveda's living wisdom to families of Indian origin settled in the South Bay Area. Vedika's Acharya Shunya Pratichi Mathur reminded the participants of the benefit of incorporating Ayurveda's traditional super foods such as Green Mung daal and Ghee, the use of digestive spices like Cumin, Turmeric and Rock Salt in every meal and homemade buttermilk daily after meals. She also reminded them to avoid the trend of excessive consumption of heavy, clogging and hard to digest foods such as Yogurt, Paneer, Tofu and Cheese, especially at night. For many participants, Shunya's words ignited childhood memories of growing up in India, where the day to day kitchen wisdom of Ayurveda was alive in their homes through their mothers and grandmothers. Relocating to USA for work, they realized, was no reason to give up the traditional wisdom and foods that had kept them healthy when they were growing up.
Fall Series of Introductory classes with Shunya Pratichi Mathur
Introducing Vedika Gurukula's transformative education in Ayurveda, drawn from Ayurveda's classical texts and the living Gurukula tradition. Infusing academics with ideals, practical training with philosophy, and textual study with personal experience. Ideal for prospective students of Vedika Gurukula in 2011, and anyone wishing to become familiar with Vedika's Gurukula experience. September 10 & 17, October 1 & 15 For more information: email info@vedikaglobal.org and join Vedika's online Sangha on facebook for up to date event notifications or call 1.877.708.3342 extn. 14. To find out more about Vedika Global, Inc. and its activities,
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International Education Working Group Vedika's President Hema Patankar was invited to be a member of the International Education Working Group, to insure that the perspective of the gurukula tradition with its emphasis on the body-mind-spirit dimensions of classical Ayurveda is included, and Vedika's India Director Shivani Maheshwari was appointed Secretary of this working group. Leaders and promoters of Ayurveda from every continent and representing multiple perspectives on Ayurveda participated with great energy and good will in these focused break-out meetings. By the conclusion, each group presented action plans and teams to carry them forward. Accrediting Traditional Healers It was encouraging to learn about the Dept. of AYUSH's efforts in partnership with the Quality Control Council of India to create realistic, creative systems for accrediting traditional and folk healers using their traditional competency standards so that their wealth of oral wisdom can be preserved and come into greater use. Vedika is exploring methods to preserve Ayurveda's Gurukula method of education and its unique standards of excellence, while bringing this to the new cultural and social context of contemporary USA. AYUSH Encourages Guru-Shishya Education Vedika Directors also met with Dr. V. V. Prasad, Secretary of Rashtriya Ayurveda Vidyapeeth (RAV), to discuss viable methods to promote the Gurukula model of education in Ayurveda. RAV is also exploring ways to revive elements of India's traditional Gurukula system. Their approach is a guru-shishya program that places selected graduates of Ayurvedic colleges with traditional or senior Vaidyas for in-depth, personalized study of Ayurveda's Sanskrit texts and traditional skills.
Vedika Gurukula welcomed a new faculty member in April, Dr. Abhijit Jinde, M.D. Ayu. Vaidya Abhijit is an ardent Ayurvedic practitioner, researcher and teacher. He runs Sukhayu Ayurveda Clinic and Panchakarma center in Pune, where his treatments emphasize diet and lifestyle management and Panchakarma therapies along with therapeutic yoga and Vastu-shastra corrections. He is also the specialty consultant for skin diseases, diabetes and cardiac care at Vishwananda Kendra, where he also he co-ordinates the Panchakarma Therapist Course, in affiliation with Pune University. He is currently developing research using a holistic approach to diabetes prevention, based on the careful application of classical Ayurvedic principles. Students at Vedika appreciate Vaidya Abhijit's knowledge and clarity, his deep respect for his own teachers and for the classical texts of Ayurveda, and how this deep respect has enabled him to cultivate greater insights. Vedika's Shunya Pratichi Mathur was invited to speak at the Stanford University campus in May by Sarvodaya, a graduate student group with a mission of being the change through service. There were questions from a panel that involved Prof. Ronald Howard (the founder of Decision Analysis) and Dr. Charles Barrett (a doctor in OB/GYN with three decades of experience). Students shared that “the Q&A and talk were remarkable, covering many topics from the absurdity of limiting Ayurveda's validity to clinical analysis when it is a system of individualized treatments, to the use of warm water (instead of cold) to keep our digestive fire alive (a good idea, unless we have too much fire already), sleeping at night (there's an idea for us nocturnals!), and taking good care of our bodies.” Those who attended were given a delicious Ayurvedic Dinner and the recipe for the main dish. World Ayurveda Congress
Vedika Global is pleased to be associated with the 4th World Ayurveda Congress, a huge international gathering organized in partnership with the Indian Central Government's Dept. of AYUSH, and leading Ayurveda organizations. It promises to be a landmark gathering of today's great teachers, researchers, practitioners, scholars, cultivators, students, preservers, promoters and lovers of Ayurveda both from India and worldwide. For more information about the conference, call Ishani at Vedika: registrar@vedikaglobal.org (877) 708-3342 AAPNA: Association of Ayurvedic Professionals of North America
This 3-day conference will feature more than 15 international presentations by accomplished Ayurvedic doctors, integrative medicine doctors and researchers on the theme of "Anti-Aging and Rejuvenation Through Ayurveda". Chief guests of the conference are Dr. Raman Singh, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh State, India who is a keen student of Ayurveda, international spiritual guru Devkrisnananda Avadhut, and a guest appearance by Ricky Williams Dolphins Running Back. The conference will include panel discussions, case studies, and a question & answer session. For information and registration, please visit www.aapna.org
Vedika's media partner Tathaastu magazine, is dedicated to promotion of Eastern wisdom for Body, Mind and Soul, including Ayurveda and Yoga. Tathaastu magazine is available at major bookstores in USA, Canada and India. The Power of a Satisfying Meal We often associate satisfaction with overeating. But when we relish our food with focus, understanding and delight, it actually helps us put wholesome parameters around our eating. |
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The principles of Ayurveda help us understand that even if we're eating what we believe to be the right number of calories and carbohydrates, vitamins and anti-oxides, the missing ingredient is typically satisfaction. We are missing the profound nourishment that our body, mind and spirit get from the satisfaction of truly relishing a balanced meal. We are missing those lingering moments of enjoying the beauty and fragrance, the colors and subtle flavors, that give us energy and happiness and make even a simple meal so satisfying.
Vedika Global, Inc. is a 501(c )(3) not-for-profit organization, dedicated to igniting a community healing and wellness movement with classical Ayurveda. Vedika's core program is a school offering transformative, lived education in the science and spirituality of Ayurveda, including unique wisdom from the Gurukula tradition. Located in the Emeryville/Berkeley area of California, Vedika Gurukula offers authentic education in Ayurveda's oral tradition integrated with the contemporary academic standards for Ayurvedic education in India. Vedika's culture is rooted in the spirit of service -- Seva -- and community upliftment – Sangha. The school includes a teaching clinic and open events to empower the broader community with the wisdom of Ayurveda. Vedika Global, Inc. %%PLUGIN_UNSUBSCRIBE: 174376-UNSUBSCRIBE%%
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