Product Description

In his Ayurvedic Studies Program, Vasant Lad, Ayurvedic Physician, teaches Ayurveda as a science of moment-to-moment living. Each lecture that he gives flows from his own heart in a river of healing wisdom that is inspired by and pertinent to the students who are present at the time of the lecture.

This textbook is a presentation of Dr. Lad's years of teaching in that classroom setting. It conveys the philosophical and fundamental principles of his first year Ayurvedic Studies Program at the Ayurvedic Institute in a dynamic and inspirational way. This book will give the student a detailed foundation upon which to pursue deeper knowledge, including that of the future volumes in this series.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19263 in Books
• Published on: 2001-11-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 368 pages

Review
"...his latest work, Textbook of Ayurveda, attests to his indisputable role as the foremost expert in this ancient healing science." -- Deepak Chopra, M.D. and David Simon, M.D.; Founders, The Chopra Center for Well Being; La Jolla, California; cover of book (item)

"...series is bound to revolutionize the study and practice of Ayurveda worldwide. All students of Ayurveda should seriously examine it." -- Dr. David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri); Author Yoga and Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Healing, and others; cover of book (item)

"...his latest work, Textbook of Ayurveda, attests to his indisputable role as the foremost expert in this ancient healing science." -- Deepak Chopra, M.D. and David Simon, M.D.; Founders, The Chopra Center for Well Being; La Jolla, California; cover of book (item)

"...series is bound to revolutionize the study and practice of Ayurveda worldwide. All students of Ayurveda should seriously examine it." --Dr. David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri); Author Yoga and Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Healing, and others; cover of book (item)

From the Author
For the last twenty years, I have traveled extensively teaching the various aspects of ¢yurveda. The great three Ayurvedic texts—Charaka, Sushruta and Vagbhata—Samhitas are quite authentic and contain several layers of meaning for the serious student. However, they are rather difficult for the beginner to follow and understand. I took an extract of these Three Greats and created a practical Ayurvedic Studies Program that I teach at The Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

I love my students. They are sincere, hardworking and study Ayurveda in both the Ayurvedic Studies Program and in the more advanced Gurukula Program. Over the years, the students have repeatedly requested a textbook for our classes. The entire curriculum is taught in an eight-month period and all of its material cannot be put together in a single volume. Hence, I have decided to write three volumes of a general textbook of Ayurveda covering the basic principles and philosophies of Ayurveda, the clinical assessment of health and disease, and the management of disease.

It gives me a great joy to write this preface for Volume I of the Textbook of Ayurveda. This book contains authentic teachings of the basic principles and philosophies of Ayurveda. I am quite sure that it will be a practical guide to all students of Ayurveda.

Love and light,

Dr. Vasant Lad Albuquerque, New Mexico March 2002

About the Author
Dr. Lad brings a wealth of classroom and practical experience to the United States. He received the degree of Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine & Surgery from the University of Pune, in Pune, India in 1968 and a Master of Ayurvedic Science from Tilak Ayurved Mahavidyalaya in Pune, India in 1980. For 3 years he served as Medical Director of the Ayurveda Hospital in Pune, India. He also held the position of Professor of Clinical Medicine for seven years at the Pune University College of Ayurvedic Medicine, where he was an instructor for many years. Dr. Lad's academic and practical training includes the study of allopathic medicine (Western Medicine) and surgery as well as traditional Ayurveda. In 1979, he began traveling throughout the United States sharing his knowledge of Ayurveda, and in 1981, he returned to New Mexico to teach Ayurveda. In 1984, he founded and began as Director of The Ayurvedic Institute.

Dr. Lad is the author of numerous articles and several books; Ayurveda, The Science of Self Healing, co-author of The Yoga of Herbs and Ayurvedic Cooking for Self-Healing. His book, Secrets of the Pulse, The Ancient Art of Ayurvedic Pulse Diagnosis, presents this fascinating subject for the first time. His work from Harmony Books, The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies, is a compendium of classic Ayurvedic treatments for common and chronic ailments. His most recent book, The Textbook of Ayurveda: Fundamental Principles, is the first of a four-volume set of textbooks covering the topics he teaches in his eight-month Ayurvedic Studies Program. Dr. Lad presently is the Director of The Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico and teaches the Ayurvedic Studies Program and, for more advanced study, the Gurukula Program as well as a program in India each year. Dr. Lad also travels throughout the world, consulting privately and giving seminars on Ayurveda; its history, theory, principles and practical applications.

Customer Reviews

A must have for the Ayurvedic student!
Thank you Vasant Lad for this great tool that helps one unlock the truth called Ayurveda. Vasant Lad has presented a true text book that will become a companion of the modern day Ayurvedic student. Normally if one was to source concise information on the fundamentals of Ayurveda then one had the difficult task of studying the translations of Caraka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita and Vagbhata Samhita. While these texts are the foundation for modern Ayurveda they can be daunting to the student new to this amazing science. The only other method was to correlate information from books written by Vasant Lad, David Frawley, Atreya, Robert Svoboda, Subhash Ranade, Maya Tiwari etc.... and then one would build up a collection of information from different sources. Whilst this is not a bad thing (and I will continue to read books offered from these great teachers) finding enough detailed information was sometimes very hard. "The Text Book of Ayurveda: Fundamental Principles" is truly amazing. It is a must for the serious student of Ayurveda. Vasant Lad has indicated that this if the first of three, the next two dealing with; the clinical assessment of health and disease, and the management of disease. The contents of this book is vast, it covers all aspects of the philosophical foundation that Ayurveda stands upon, The Tridosha, Agni, The Seven Dhatu, The Fifteen Srotas, Ojas, Tejas, Prana, Digestion and Nutrition, to be honest this does no justice to what is actually in this textbook. Get it!

A useful text for western students
Traditionally, ayurveda has been taught orally, with reference to ancient texts like the works of Charaka, Sushruta and Vagbhata; references that are still used today. These writings, which are believed to date thousands of years, contain the eternal and universal principles of the natural science of ayurveda; however they also contain therapies and lifestyle prescriptions which are hopelessly archaic; and materia medica which are no longer accessible (e.g. opium and camel's urine!). With the spread of ayurveda to the West, there emerged a great need for a text that not only catered to the western mode of thinking and education, but that also made connections between the ayurvedic view of anatomy and physiology, and that of the West. This book attempts to do just that.

Dr.Vasant Lad is in the forefront of Vaidyas (ayurvedic practitioners) who have made ayurvedic education available to the West. He started teaching ayurveda in the USA in 1980, and has produced many prominent writers and educators on the subject. His previous books include the popular Ayurveda; The Science of Self-Healing; and The Yoga of Herbs, co-written with Dr. David Frawley, a groundbreaking book introducing the concepts of ayurvedic herbology to the western public.

This Textbook of Ayurveda comes as more in-depth ayurvedic education programmes develop in the West. It contains the necessary foundation for the understanding of a medical model far removed from the western allopathic paradigm. To understand and practise ayurveda, one literally needs to adopt, to immerse oneself in, a completely different perspective. Dr.Lad's book contains chapters on the Six Philosophies which underpin ayurveda, from the unthinkably ancient Sankhya philosophy of creation, which also forms the basis of Buddhism and some aspects of Yoga; to the Nyaya science of logic; to Yoga itself, the profound science of psychology and human potential.

Then we explore the system of 20 qualities of nature; the five elements; the three humours (Doshas) and their 15 subtypes; the concept of Agni or Digestive Fire; the Dhatus or body tissues; the Srotas or body channels; Ojas, Tejas, and Prana or the subtle humours; and Digestion and Nutrition. Each aspect is explained and related back to western anatomy, physiology and pathology. The important connection is also made between each aspect and the mind, which in ayurveda is considered a distinct but interdependent part of the body. There are copious appendices and tables on the various systems, ayurvedic properties of food, and other useful information.

A notable feature is the high quality of production. This is refreshing - and I would say necessary, if ayurvedic education is to be taken seriously by mainstream medicine. To be frank, I am fed up of poorly written, edited, designed and produced books from India. Even so-called textbooks are appallingly arranged, sometimes with no indexes or useful means of finding information. This book is clearly illustrated with line drawings, attractively designed, and printed on good paper. Two of the book's editors are ayurveda and Sanskrt instructors in New Zealand. If such talents were used more often in the editing and production of ayurvedic books, the credibility and reputation of ayurvedic education and publications would no doubt increase.

But does the book really deliver the goods? In my opinion, a lot of the correlations with western anatomy and physiology are speculative, and Dr.Lad should admit they are so. A lot of the material, while interesting, is simply not standard ayurvedic training, traditional or otherwise - and therefore misleading. If, instead of trying to pass off these wishy-washy correlations, Dr.Lad had worked on better translating and elucidating the traditional texts and principles, I believe the book would have more usefully served the growing interest in ayurveda as a clinical medical system. I feel that, while the book is insufficiently academic and credible for serious students of ayurveda, it still serves as a good introduction for the intelligent western reader.

A "Complete Guide"
I've recently purchased several ayurvedic books and will be returning most of them now. This book has everything. I MUST have. It is very thorough and extremely interesting. Not just a rehashing of information found elsewhere. If you only have one book - get this one!