By Dr Partap Chauhan
 Modern life often violates the
principles of natural living. We work long hours in
offices with artificial light and air conditioning
systems. We rush from one mundane task to the next
while being bombarded with advertising, constant
noise and pollution. Pure water, air and food are
becoming scarce resources, in an environment that is
becoming increasingly toxic.
Our lifestyles are often as detrimental to our
health as the environment. We don’t have time to
prepare breakfast. We eat a fast-food lunch at our
desk and a pre-prepared dinner in front of the
television. Coffee keeps us alert, alcohol ‘relaxes’
us and drugs treat our ailments.
When the weekend arrives we are so exhausted that we
often don’t even have time to really enjoy! And then
it is Monday again with that familiar feeling of
dread. We are back in the race of trying to make
enough money to buy processed food, gadgets to save
us time and amusements to distract us from the
monotony of our lives. In our efforts to seek
pleasure we are working hard to achieve personal
suffering and poor health.
So why are people in modern times, with all the
conveniences of technology to make life easier,
finding that life has lost all joy? It is because we
have lost contact with nature. It is also because we
have remained ignorant of the fundamental purpose of
human life.
People have forgotten the rhythms of natural living.
As a result, we often feel empty and unsatisfied as
well as physically sick, for reasons we can’t really
identify. We tend to overlook the fact that humans
are as much a part of the earth as all the other
species.
Instead of being in harmony with earth, we have
begun to adopt artificial practices that disturb the
equilibrium of the mind and body. Despite luxuries
of the modern times, people are anxious and
depressed. We can’t sleep, concentrate or relax. The
imbalance in our lives manifests as things such as
addiction, diseases and death, much sooner than our
anticipated lifespan.
 The modern age with its fast-paced life has taken
its toll on the family life of people in general.
After the day’s hard work people are left with
almost no time to even talk to other members of the
family. This has created a sort of artificial
barrier between each other. The net result is utter
non-cooperation and incongruence—the son does not
know where his father is going the next morning or
the mother is not aware of her daughter’s greatest
day in school the next day. There are also examples
of a ‘family’ of four living together as neighbours
in separate rooms, with individual television sets,
bathrooms and wardrobes!
Ancient Solutions to Modern
Problems
Seeing our plight, it is pertinent to ask certain
questions to ourselves. Should we continue moving on
and on in this vicious circle involving work,
stress, diseases, drugs and work again? Or, should
we renounce this modern life and start staying in
huts in the lap of nature? Or, is there a path
somewhere in between that strikes a balance between
work and life?
For almost all of us, the answer to the first
question is an absolute “no.” The second one might
be possible for a few but that literally sends us
back to the cave! The answer to the third one is a
downright “Yes.” We do have a way to be in harmony
with nature and spend time with our family,
remaining very much inside the confines of the
modern-day, busy life. In other words, it is
possible to maintain work-life balance.
This is only attainable with Ayurveda—the 5000-year
old science from India that is often said to have a
divine origin. Ayurveda is the world’s oldest known
medical science, originating in India. The written
source of this science is the Vedas. Vedic knowledge
propounds the principle of natural balance within
the body and harmony with the environment. People
are seen as an integral part of their habitat and
not as separate entities from the natural world.
Obtaining and maintaining balance within the body
and mind, and with the external environment, is one
of the goals of this knowledge that ensure complete
physical health and peace of mind.
Charaka, one of the founding-fathers of
Ayurveda wrote in his magnum opus,
Charaka-Samhita, thus:
Dharmartha-Kama-Mokshanamarogyam
Moolamuttamam
Rogastasyapahartaraha-Shreyaso-Jeevitasya Cha
 “According to the Vedas, the purpose of human life is to
strive for the following four Purushartha (Great Goals)—Dharma (pursuing
one’s religion), Artha (attaining economic development), Kama
(accomplishing regulated sense-gratification) and Moksha (attaining liberation).
The basic requisite for attaining all the four Purushartha is Arogya
(health). The greatest enemy of Arogya is Roga (diseases) that are
the main obstacles for the human beings in their path to the Great Goals.”
Ayurveda uses a holistic approach to treat and prevent diseases and disorders
and help people reach life-wellness. Ayurveda is not a medical discipline
limited only to the physical body. It also provides comprehensive knowledge
about other crucial aspects of health. Health goals in Ayurveda, therefore,
address the four constituents of life—body, senses, mind and soul.
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