{"id":588,"date":"2017-12-12T09:15:54","date_gmt":"2017-12-12T09:15:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/religious-studies\/?p=588"},"modified":"2017-12-07T12:27:54","modified_gmt":"2017-12-07T12:27:54","slug":"from-ayurveda-to-biomedicine-understanding-the-human-body-reblogged-from-the-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/religious-studies\/?p=588","title":{"rendered":"From Ayurveda to biomedicine: understanding the human body | Reblogged from The Conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FileCourtesy of Wellcome Collection<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Suzanne Newcombe<\/a>, The Open University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

What is a human body? This may seem a facetious question, but the answer will be very different according to which medical tradition you consult. Take Ayurveda, a traditional system of medical knowledge from India which has enjoyed a renaissance of popularity in the West since the 1980s \u2013 and is the subject of a new exhibition<\/a> at London\u2019s Wellcome Collection.<\/p>\n

Walking round the show, one is encouraged to explore different ways of understanding and visualising the human body. The Ayurvedic body differs significantly from that of European biomedicine, which is based on dissection. The Ayurvedic body is a body of systems. It is conceptualised as being composed of five constituent parts (mah\u0101b\u016bta<\/em>), seven body substances (dh\u0101tu<\/em>) and three regulating qualities (do\u1e63a<\/em>). According to Ayurvedic theory, by attending to imbalances between these principles in a body, health might be promoted and illness avoided. The Ayurvedic concepts of the do\u1e63as<\/em> \u2013 vata<\/em>, pitta<\/em> and kapha<\/em> can be seen in the West today promoting teas, soaps and massages.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Parallels between the yogic and the medical\/anatomical view of the body.<\/span>
\nWellcome Collection, Svami Hamsasvarupa, Sanskrit MS 391.<\/a>, CC BY<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But of course, there are many other different conceptions of the human body. There is the tantric understanding, often conflated with that of Ayurveda. Tantra focuses on the concept of energy channels (n\u0101\u1e0d\u012bs<\/em>) which have particular centres of concentration along a line in the centre of the body (chakras<\/em>). The traditional Chinese model, on the other hand, emphasises the dynamic principles of ying<\/em> and yang<\/em> as being paramount for ensuring health. Meanwhile, indigenous healing in many traditional cultures identifies problems between the individual and the greater social and metaphysical context as the cause of illness.<\/p>\n

Competing medical systems<\/h2>\n

So what, then, has determined the dominance of one medical system of thought over another? The answer is far more complex than the \u201ccorrect\u201d or \u201cmost accurate\u201d one.<\/p>\n

This complexity is epitomised by the central piece of the exhibition, one of very few illustrations of the classical Ayurvedic systemic descriptions of the human body. This 16th-century drawing, as Dominik Wujastyk\u2019s research<\/a> has shown, was probably produced at the request of a rich, Nepalese patron by a scholar-physician, a scribe and a painter, none of whom were fluent with the original Sanskrit source. The Nepalese artist was clearly influenced by Tibetan medical illustrations.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t know how this image was originally used or how influential it was, but its creation was dependent upon patronage and intercultural exchange. It was out of this mix of cultures, then, that came one of the most iconic visual presentations of the \u201cIndian\u201d Ayurvedic body.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Ayurvedic Man.<\/span>
\nCourtesy of the Wellcome Collection<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Economic and political powers are strong influences on the shape and popularity of Indian concepts of the body today. Yoga is currently the most widespread Indian approach to promoting the health of the body. It is flourishing globally. Millions attest that yoga makes them feel better and Ayurvedic concepts are often presented as integral to yoga practices.<\/p>\n

But it is not well known that the contemporary global interest in Ayurveda and yoga is partially a result of colonial mismanagement of India. This point is creatively illustrated in the Wellcome\u2019s new show through an interactive commission by the artist Ranjit Kandalgaonkar. Millions of lives were lost throughout the colonial period due to forcible redistribution of food and other resources away from local Indian populations, to serve what were considered to be the greater needs of the British Empire.<\/p>\n