Ageing : View of traditional medicine
Ageing is a natural physiological process which is characterised by a gradual weakening of the vital functions, a lowering in the activity of metabolic process etc. People become old at different times and ageing is not necessarily accompanied by disease. Many people reach a ripe old age in full possession of their physical and mental faculties. This is normal old age, and man can easily reconcile himself to its inevitability. There are many causes of ageing.
The primary cause of ageing are genetic and these are unavoidable. Genetically one has a predetermined life span, morphological and physiological constitutions and therefore an average rate of metabolism characteristics of a given individual. The secondary causes are avoidable and they comprise of infectious diseases, deficiencies of vitamins, enzymes, hormones and other vital factors. When these occur, they can do accelerate and aggravate the ageing process. The occurrence of disease can be prevented and the deficient vitamin or any other factor can always be supplemented. There are some other supplementary or triggering factors which are to be looked for behaviour of the person concerned. The important are the social conditions, that is housing, food physiological factors and the possibility or otherwise of hygienic living.
Diseases, particularly infectious, is a major factor which affects the length of the life span. It may not threaten life, but often may serve and produce an irreparable damage to the tissues.
However many measure will remain ineffective if man does not help himself. A lot of depends on how correctly and rationally he organises his life, work and leisure and even his relationships with the people around him. The more the reasons for premature wear and ageing of the body are studied, the clearer becomes the role of the so-called internal factors, prominent among which are harmful habits which affect the dhathu and elements in body.
The resayana and vajeekarana chikitsas, by virtue of their capacity ti modify the metabolic changes in man, enable him to fully utilise the possibilities that nature has endowed him with. These two methods of treatment not only prolong the life but also improve the strength of all the seven dhathus.
The resayana and vajeekarana chikitsas are the divisions of the Kayakalpa chikitsa. Even though these two deal with the treatment of certain specific varieties of diseases, they are considered as separate from general treatment, because they are also recommended to healthy persons for the better enjoyment of life.
Deva Vidya was established in the earlier nineties, as a Traditional Gurukula System, under the eminent leadership of Sri Prem Nath. Prem Nath, hailing from a Siddha family of famous physicians, followed the footsteps of his grandfather, Late Sri Narayanan Vaidyar and started practicing traditional siddha medicine and marma therapies. He uses his large collection of manuscripts for advancing and spreading the Siddhar wisdom to all.
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