Alchohol and ayurveda - Response of Dr Todd.

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hi JagannathI appreciate David Frawley's insightful comments here, and thebalanced perspective from which he addresses the issuesit is clear that the vast majority of indian spiritual traditions,excluding some of the tantric sects, suggest that the aspirant avoidalcohol consumption - in my experience, there is no question over howalcohol and drugs affect the mindalcoholism has been a perennial issue in every society, except"primitive" hunter-gatherer groups that never developed thetechnology to make itin Ayurveda, alcoholism is given a thorough exposition, and clearlyhas been an issue in India for a very long time, as well as otherancient cultures in China and the Middle Eastit is interesting to juxtapose the identified problems with alcoholconsumption however, with the its many virtues as rendered in theAyurvedic textsfor example, in his exposition in alcoholism (madatyayadi

chikitsita,chikitsa sthana 7:54-67), Vagbhata extolls the virtues of wine, howit gave "splendour" to the Ashvins, "knowledge" to Sarasvati,"valour" to Indra etc, was used in the sautramani (soma sacrifice),and to paraphrase further, can help make one more playful and livenup a good party, and when consumed wisely, prevents diseases of vataand kaphaVagbhata clearly indicates that wine is a beverage for thehouseholder, for those wishing to enjoy their wealth and prosperity,and in fact, to protect prosperity, by making one more generous andcongenial; as he says "if he does not drink wine at least once, whatelse can he enjoy in the troublesome life as a householder?"some may say that alcohol inhibits spirituality, but i have seenhighly realized practitioners "indulge" on occasion (and sometimesmore often), and according to the Uttarakhanda of the ValmikiRamayana did not Rama and Sita pass their time at Ayodhya

drinkingwine while engaged in other leisurely pursuits?even in Islam, in which alcohol is prohibited, sufi poets like Hafez,Sa'adi and Rumi all use wine as a metaphor for divine intoxication,and it is also clear that sometimes their verses refer to the realstuff and its capacity to facilitate a feeling of divinity...personally, i find significant amounts of alcohol to be a biginhibitor of my capacity to concentrate and definitely affects mymeditation and focus so i tend to avoid it; but every so often alittle wine with meals has no discernible effect, and is helpful inwinter to digest the heavier food; in summer however, alcohol andother heating foods are best avoidedbest... todd caldecottOn 24-Jul-06, at 5:55 AM, ayurveda wrote:Ayurveda, the medical branch of Hindu dharma, contains clearlydefined views on the use alcohol. Ayurveda uses alcohol as a solventfor extracting the active ingredients of certain herbs. Tinctures areused in western herbalism in the same way. Ayurveda also preparesspecial herbal wines called asavas and arishtas. Herbal wines areregarded as particularly good medicines to take for a weak digestionand as relaxants for stress. Ayurveda recognizes that certainalcoholic beverages (like wine) can have health benefits, likeimproving digestion or circulation, but only taken in moderation. "Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." -

Aurobindo.

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