Maharishi Ayurveda: A Bahá’í Exploration

Abstract

Ayurveda is the traditional health system of India. Maharishi Ayurveda is the restoration of Ayurveda in a system adapted for universal application in the modern world. This article explores the parallels between the writings on health and healing, and the principles of Maharishi Ayurveda. After an introduction to Ayurveda, the article provides a comparative assessment of the understanding of homeostasis, pathogeny, and the mind-body relationship. It then outlines some of the therapeutic strategies of Maharishi Ayurveda and examines how they correspond to the Bahá’í writings on healing. The article does not purport to be a comprehensive discourse on Maharishi Ayurveda. It is, rather, a layperson’s brief exploration from a Bahá’í perspective. It is neither attempted nor indeed possible to include all the pertinent Bahá’í writings, as are voluminous and transcend the scope of this article.

This paper was originally delivered at the New Zealand Studies Conference, Palmerston North, January 3–4,1992. Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to reprint excerpts from Perfect Health by Deepak Chopra, © 1990 Deepak Chopra. Reprinted by permission of Harmony Books, a division of Crown Publishers, Inc. This presentation of Maharishi Ayurveda primarily aims to show the close relation of the theoretical framework of Maharishi Ayurveda to the Bahá’í writings. The article does not advocate Maharishi Ayurveda as a Bahá’í medicine. Neither does it advocate Transcendental Meditation as a Bahá’í technique. While the author practises the Maharishi Ayurveda regimen, she does not have any commercial interest in Maharishi Ayurveda or any formal affiliation with its organizations.