Ayurveda has always emphasized the importance of treating the mental aspects for complete relief. It administers various treatment modalities to keep the patient’s mind healthy by maintaining the balance between the Manas Doshas. Satva, Rajas and Tamas are the Manas dosha amongst which one should aim at developing the Satva guna as it can help to keep our mind stable.Increase in Rajas guna leads to disturbed co-ordination of mind and body and causing unnecessary thinking. Increase in Tamas guna makes one lethargic and non enthusiastic thereby generating negative thoughts in his mind. Naishthiki chikitsa helps to increase the good qualities of Mana (mind) which is also called as Satva. Hence Naishthiki chikitsa treatment is also termed as ‘Sattvavajaya Chikitsa’.
DEFINITION OF NAISHTHIKI CHIKITSA
हन्तीत्युक्तं चिकित्सा तु नैष्ठिकी या विनोपधाम्।।
(च .शा.१/९४ )
Chikitsa which is devoid of upadha (upadharahita) is termed as Naishthiki Chikitsa, here ‘upadha‘ refers to ‘desires’. Desireless chikitsa which aid to get ultimate salvation. Upadha (desires) give rise to dukkha (misery), dukkha is the primary cause which make individual to dwell in the web of birth and death. Person in pursuit of obtaining all desirous materialistic world, will become victim for psychological fluctuations like anger, lust, hatred, enmity etc. . This makes an individual to get entangle in the web of birth and death (Janma Marana Chakra).
उपधा हि परो हेतुर्दुःख दुःखाश्रयप्रदः।
Upadha is the root cause of all miseries. Elimination of desires, leads to the eradication of all miseries.
A silk worm provides for itself suicidal threads. So does and ignorant person, bound with worldly miseries, provides for himself desires arising out of the various objects.
SATYABUDDHI
सर्व कारणवद्दुःखमस्वं चानित्यमेव च।
न चात्मकृतकं तद्धि तत्र चोत्पद्यतेस्वता।।
यावन्नोत्पद्यते सत्याबुद्धिततदहं यया।
नैतन्ममेति विज्ञायज्ञःसर्वमतिवर्तते।।
(च.शा.१/१५२-१५३)
Anything that has a cause constitutes misery; it is strange and ephemeral .It is not produced by the soul (Atma); but one has got a feeling of its ownership until one has got a real knowledge to effect that this is something different from him and is not his own. As soon as one knows it, he gets rid of all miseries.
BENEFITS OF SATYABUDDHI IN NAISHTHIKI CHIKITSA
- Facilitates to eliminate the psychological symptoms like kama(lust), krodha(anger), lobha(greed) etc. bhavas.
- Help to explore the knowledge and importance of satya (truth) and nitya (eternal) vishaya (concepts).
- Imparts the samyak gyana (True knowledge).
- Enhance the process of focus and concentration over the supreme soul.
- Aid in attaining the ultimate liberation (Moksha).
TATVA SMRITI
एतत्तदेकमयनं मुक्तैर्मोक्षस्य दशितम।
तत्त्रस्मृतिबलंयेनगतानपुनरागताः॥
अयनंपुनराख्यामेतद्योगस्ययोगिभिः।
संख्यातधर्मेः सांख्यैश्च मुक्तैर्मोक्षस्य चायनम॥
(च.शा.१/१५०-१५१)
‘Tatva smriti’ is made up of two words – tatva and smriti.
The term Tatva refers to darshan or shastra or the science or a cause that is responsible for the purusha utpatti .
Smriti refers to-
अनुभूतविषयासम्प्रमोष : स्मृतिः।।
( पा.यो. सूसमाधिपाद. 11)
Smriti is one of the mental modification. It gets stimulated by the previous impression of an object, without adding any other attributes from other source.
- The origin of miseries is because of ignorance of tatva gyana, as mentioned in Sankhya darshana. So one should have the comprehensive knowledge of tatva always. True knowledge (Yathartha gyana) and memory (smriti) helps to eliminate all sorts of dukkha which give rise to rebirth.
- Memorising and practising the knowledge of darshana/ tatva is termed as the tatva smriti.
- Acharya Patanjali elaborates to practice and memorize the any one of the tatva/darshana to eliminate the yoga pratibandha kara bhava’s (obstruction of Yoga siddhi).
- Smarana (memorizing) the one tatva prevents the fluctuations caused in the cite and enables the mind to focus on the particular point.