Ayurveda : The Ultimate Medicine

Contents: Preface. 1. The beginning. 2. The ocean of wisdom. 3. The holistic way. 4. Basic concepts of Ayurveda. 5. Concept of health. 6. Prakrti and constitution. 7. The seven supportive elements. 8. Preventive medicine. 9. Adaptation. 10. Minerals and inorganic drugs. 11. Standardisation in Ayurveda. 12. Genetics and Ayurveda. 13. Dravya-guna--the science of drugs. 14. Srotas. 15. Internal medicine and treatment. 16. Pancakarma. 17. Surgery. 18. Agada Tantra: toxicology. 19. Bhuta Vidya: Psychiatry. 20. Rasayana: rejuvenation. 21. Vajikarna Tantra: aphrodisiacs. 22. Immunity: the Ayurvedic view. 23. Spiritualism and Ayurveda. 24. The road ahead. Glossary.

"Ayurveda is one of the most ancient medical systems where the concept of specialisation originated--be it in surgery, internal medicine or psychiatry; they all evolved in Ayurveda before anywhere else in the world. This system, also called the mother of medicine, focuses not only on eliminating the disease but on providing a holistic cure of the patient, propounding his total well-being. It considers the human body as a miniature cosmos and yearns to help strike a balance between the various forces, both outside and within the body. This book attempts to break the myth that Ayurveda at best is a supplementary or an alternate medicine and avers that it indeed is the ultimate in medicine." (jacket)