The Basic Concept of Indian Healing Traditions

Series Summary

The healing traditions of India are part of a diverse and resilient culture that has existed for thousands of years. Many of the healing practices derive from ancient stories, epics like the Mahabharata and scriptures like the Vedas and Upanishads, that contain the collected wisdom of Indian society. Within these stories, which were passed down orally for generations before being recorded around the second century BCE, lie the philosophy, theology, traditions, and cultural norms of India. Ayurveda and Yoga, popular practices in the American health industry of today, are systems of thought that stem from these South Asian texts.

Reiki expert Eileen Dey leads us through the history of Indian healing traditions, beginning with the ancient texts, leading up to the versions of Ayurveda and Yoga that have become popular in America. Eileen gives quick summaries of many Hindu terms that have swum the Pacific and reached American soil, including karma and dharma. She also introduces one model of the Hindu universe, talking to us about Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu. These three gods play a role in healing traditions as representatives of the forces of Creation, Destruction, and Balance, respectively. Ayurveda, the science of life, is a system of thought that seeks to find harmony among the primary elements (ether, air, fire, water, and earth) at work in our bodies. Eileen uses more Indian terminology to explain the relationships of these elements and how practitioners would establish proper harmony.

Video Transcript

"This is Eileen Dey on behalf of expert village and in this series we'll talk about healing traditions of the east with an emphasis on India. Aspects of Hinduism and healing traditions in the ayurvedic system. India is very much so the birthplace of so many of the taditions that we take for granted now in our western lives. Things like yoga, meditation, as well as aspects of connecting to humanity on a global scale. In our next segment we'll have the first on the pre-history of India."