The Vedas present the broader system of Self and cosmic knowledge of which yoga and Ayurveda are specific manifestations. Both Ayurveda and yoga arose as Vedic schools, taught by lineages of Vedic seers, projecting Vedic knowledge into specific practical forms. Both look back upon Vedic texts for their authority. They follow the Vedic vision into their respective fields of health and spiritual practice.

The Vedas

In their basic formulation the Vedas are three in number and each relates to an important practice of yoga and Ayurveda:

Correspondences of the Three Vedas

 The Vedas reflect a mantric approach that comprehends all aspects of life. They set forth the Vedic ritual, yajna or fire sacrifice, which mirrors the process of cosmic creation. Inwardly it is a yoga practice balancing agni and soma (fire and water), the perceiver and the perceived within us. This general Vedic yajna uncovers all the powers of the universe and can be used to realize all the goals of life from health to liberation.

A fourth Veda, the Atharva Veda, provides mantras for specific topics, including personal matters, and similarly covers all aspects of life. It is sometimes added to create a fourfold Vedic symbolism. In this regard the Vedas are also said to be four in number in their expanded symbolism.

Another distinction is that the Rig Veda sets forth the main deities, Devatas or cosmic powers, the different facets of Brahman or the supreme reality, and how to invoke them both in and around us. The Sama Veda sets forth the sound patterns through which these Divine energies manifest. The Yajur Veda indications the actions and transformations through which these Divine energies work. The Atharva Veda sets forth additional details on the Devatas or Divine energies and how to recognize them in all aspects of our lives down to a mundane level.

The Vedic yajna is a healing process aimed at restoring to wholeness the divine consciousness that has entered into us and become fragmented through the mind, body and senses. The purpose of the Vedic yajna is to heal or put back together the purusha or cosmic being that has sacrificed itself to become the world. This reintegration of the Creator and creation, or God and the soul, is the foundation of yoga as well, which means union. Ayurveda arises out of this Vedic urge not merely for personal healing but for healing the divine consciousness that has fallen into the material world.

The existent Vedic texts are vehicles of a deeper cosmic wisdom that is woven into all aspects of life. In this regard the Vedas are infinite and eternal. They are inherent in the cosmic Mind and manifest along with every cycle of creation as the vibrations of the divine Word through which the universe comes into being. Our soul and its creative forces work through a portion of this power.

The Vedic mantras reflect the energy of life. They are said to be inherent in prana, which is not only the life-force but the entire movement of cosmic energy. As vehicles for the cosmic prana, the Vedas possess tremendous vitality and healing power. Prana itself creates language, as speech itself arises from the breath. This creative word holds the seed or archetypal forms of creation that the Vedas portray. Through the Vedas, therefore, we gain access to the very powers of creation that can change nature itself.

Vedic mantras are the language of Mahat Tattva or Cosmic Intelligence, which has its own language of Divine sound, light, symbol and image, which transcends our ordinary human languages born of the brain and our mere human rationality. Without understanding the nature of the Vedic language and its cosmic connections, it is very difficult to make sense of the Vedas. Unfortunately most of the existing Vedic translations, such as were produced by western academic and colonial scholars, did not understand the deeper dimension of the Vedic language, and rendered them superficially as mere nature worship. Traditionally, the Vedas are said to have four or seven levels of interpretation from referring to natural processes, to explaining the nature of the Absolute Brahman beyond time and space. Later in Upanishadic thought, the inner meaning of these Vedic symbols and their philosophical connections was made evident, though it was always hidden in the Vedic mantras.

All four Vedas relate to the main families of Vedic seers or rishis that perceive them. These are the same rishis beyond the other Vedic systems of Yoga, Vedanta, Ayurveda and Vedic astrology. They include such famous Rishi lines as the Angirasas, Bhrigus, Kashyapas, Atris, Kanwas and Gotamas, as well as such famous individual seers as Vasishta, Vishwamitra, Vamadeva, Agastya, Bharadvaja, Brihaspati and Shukra. All are connected to Manu or the primal human being, described as a great Yogi who brought the seeds of culture and spirituality into the present humanity, which occurred after a great flood at the end of the last Ice Age.

There are two main parts of the Vedas. First is the mantra portion (Samhita), which is the foundation just discussed of the Vedic hymns. Second is the commentary portion, which itself consists of three parts — the Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads — making up a total of four sections. The Brahmanas deal with the details of various rituals both external and internal (yogic), individual and collective in ature. The Aranyakas are similar but have a more internal nature, providing themes for meditation and ascetic practices. The Upanishads are predominantly philosophical in nature and provide a summary of Vedic insights and knowledge. Yet the distinction between Brahmanas and Upanishads is only a matter of degree. The Brahmanas teach much spiritual wisdom or Self-knowledge and the Upanishads present rituals and practices of various types. The Upanishads provide the philosophical basis of Vedanta, yoga and the later spiritual and philosophical disciplines that derive from the Vedas.

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Out of the Vedas arose six schools of philosophy, shad darshanas, which literally means six ways of seeing or insight. These were designed to show the logical, metaphysical and cosmological implications with the Vedic mantras. Classical yoga as expounded by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras is one of these six schools of Vedic philosophy. Patanjali himself was said to be in the line of the great yogi and Vedic sage Yajnavalkya, one of the seers of the Yajur Veda and Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, and Patanjali was said to be a teacher of the Sama Veda as well. Hiranyagarbha, a name for the sun god as the cosmic Creator, was the traditional founder of the Yoga system.

The Six Schools of Vedic Philosophy and Their Founders:

1. Nyaya — Logic School — Gautama

2. Vaisheshika — Atomic School — Kannada

3. Samkhya — Cosmic Principle School — Kapila

4. Yoga — Yoga School — Hiranyagarbha

5. Purva Mimamsa — Ritualistic School — Jaimini

6. Uttara Mimamsa/Vedanta — Theological or Metaphysical School — Badarayana

Nyaya and Vaisheshika are schools of logical philosophy, similar to the system of Plato in Western thought. All Vedic schools, including Ayurveda and yoga, insist upon the development of strong rational skills, which comes about through training in Nyaya-Vaisheshika. Both the yogi and the ayurvedic doctor must support their conclusions with the proper logic, though this is made subordinate to a higher intuitive perception.

Samkhya provides the background philosophy and cosmology both for yoga and Ayurveda, as already noted earlier in the book. It has a scientific view, examining both internal and external reality. The Samkhya system outlines the tattvas or cosmic principles that yogic practice seeks to realize.

However, there is a slight difference between Samkhya and yoga. Samkhya is more concerned with knowledge of the tattvas (soul, mind, sense organs, motor organs, elements), while yoga is concerned more with purification of the corresponding tattvas within us. Yoga prepares us for the knowledge of Samkhya because only when a tattva is purified can we understand it. Yoga adds a theistic view to Samkhya and could be called a theistic form of Samkhya. Yet the approach of yoga is more practical and so more of a technology than a philosophy and can be used with various philosophical systems.

 Yoga occurs along with Samkhya as a common term in late Vedic texts, like the Bhagavad Gita of Sri Krishna, which is also said to be a yogic scripture. Yoga is commonly mentioned in the Upanishads, particularly the Prashna, Katha and Svestasvatara. References to Yoga can be found in all the Vedas going back to the Rig Veda itself. Many great modern yogis like Sri Aurobindo, Ganapati Muni or Paramahamsa Yogananda have explained the Vedic basis of yoga. Yet Yoga pervades all Vedic schools and is not limited to Yoga as one of the six schools only. Many other forms and branches of Yoga have existed through time.

The ritualistic school, Purva Mimamsa, emphasizes proper performance of rituals for both individual and social welfare, using special prayers and offerings to link us with the beneficent forces of the universe. These rituals are good for purifying body and mind and prepare us for meditation. This is the field of karma yoga or the yoga of service.

The term Vedanta is used specifically for the Uttara Mimamsa school, which is the most concerned of the six systems with the proper interpretation of Vedic texts (though all the six systems share this concern). Vedanta or the theological/metaphysical school discusses the nature of God, the soul, the Absolute and their relationship. There are several schools of Vedanta, which became in time the most important and extensive of the Vedic philosophical traditions.

Non-dualistic (advaita) Vedanta, taught by the great philosopher Shankara (seventh century), makes both God and the soul to be manifestations of the Absolute, which constitutes their real Self. It emphasizes jnana yoga or the yoga of knowledge, such as made popular today through the teachings of the modern sage of South India, Ramana Maharshi.

Dualistic (dvaita) Vedanta, like that taught by Madhva (fourteenth century), makes God and the soul to be different but eternally related. It teaches devotion to God and the subordination of the soul to His grace. It emphasizes bhakti yoga or the yoga of devotion. Many Vaishnavas (worshippers of Vishnu) follow this line, including the Krishna movement of Prabhupada.

An intermediate school, the qualified non-dualist Visishtadvaita school of Ramanuja (twelfth century), is also important. It is devotional and Vaishnava in nature like the dualistic school. It has a special connection to yoga. Krishnamacharya of Madras is the guru of many yoga teachers famous in the West, such as B.K.S. Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois or T.V. Deshikar, who was of this line.

Yoga is closely aligned with Vedanta of some sort. Most of the original yoga teachers who came to the West — Swami Vivekananda, Rama Tirtha, Paramahamsa Yogananda, Swami Rama, or the many disciples of Swami Shivananda — taught Yoga-Vedanta of the advaitic line. Most ayurvedic teachers are also Vedantins.

Vedanta is close to Samkhya, and in later India took over much of the place of Samkhya, whose main teachings it adapted. Samkhya itself was originally a Vedic system, with its own commentaries on Vedantic texts. Yet there is a slight difference between Vedanta, Samkhya and Yoga.

Samkhya and Vedanta are both concerned with knowledge of the tattvas. However, Samkhya is concerned with knowledge of all the tattvas leading to the purusha or individual soul. Vedanta, particularly in the advaitic school, is aimed mainly at paramatman (the supreme soul) and Brahman (the absolute), the highest tattva, and has less concern with the lower tattvas. Devotional Vedantic schools are theological in nature and concerned mainly with Ishvara tattva or the Creator, which is not a separate tattva in classical Samkhya.

To use Sanskrit terms: Samkhya is concerned with tattva vichara or inquiry into the nature of the tattvas. Advaita Vedanta involves Atma tattva vichara, inquiry into the Self or the highest tattva. Dualistic Vedanta’s main concern is Ishvara tattva vichara, inquiry into the nature of God and our relationship with Him (or Her, as the divine is not limited to the masculine gender in Hindu thought).

Yoga is concerned with tattva shuddhi, which means not only purification of the tattvas but research into them. Yoga, in purifying the tattvas, allows for inquiry into them to proceed, which cannot occur when mind and body are in an impure condition. The proper practice of yoga in all of its eight limbs up to samadhi, therefore, provides us the aptitude to pursue Samkhya and Vedanta. For this reason many Vedantins require that their students first gain proficiency in yoga so that they have the right training to proceed on their knowledge quest.

Yet yoga in some form is part of all six schools, which are integral parts of the same Vedic darshana or way of seeing. Yoga provides the practical foundation for the insights that the other systems seek to develop — preparing body, prana and mind to become tools of inner inquiry. In this regard yoga is probably the most universal of the six systems and is the main link between them. Ayurveda provides the foundation of right living for yoga and for all the six systems, whose world view and practices it shares, so it also is common to all the six systems.

Yoga and Ayurveda, at least to some degree, were adopted by non-Vedic systems in India as well. Buddhist, Jain and even Sufi teachers have used various insights and methods of Ayurveda and yoga. Many connections are through tantra, which employs aspects of yoga and Ayurveda and has Hindu and Buddhist forms. Tibetan medicine, for example, is predominantly ayurvedic.

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The Upavedas supplement the Vedas with more specific applications of Vedic teachings into the cultural field. Ayurveda arose as a secondary Veda or Upaveda generally connected with the Atharva Veda. This is because the Atharva Veda first presents specific mantras and methods for treating various diseases. However, Ayurveda is connected with the other Vedas, which are all concerned with self-knowledge and internal integration. It has a close connection with Yajur Veda which describes the Vedic ritual aimed at healing both the Cosmic Being and the individual soul.[iii]

The Upavedas are:

1. Ayurveda — healing arts

2. Dhanur Veda — martial arts

3. Sthapatya Veda — architecture, sculpture and geomancy

4. Gandharva Veda — music, poetry and dance

Ayurveda is closely connected with all the Upavedas. It relies upon Dhanur Veda or the martial arts for exercise recommendations and styles of massage and body work, particularly the treatment of the marmas or sensitive points on the body. The marmas are mainly described in Dhanur Veda. Many yoga asanas also reflect the insights of Dhanur Veda.

Ayurveda employs Gandharva Veda for its subtle therapies of music and art, which are very important in healing both mind and body. Yogas of music and sound develop out of Gandharva Veda.

Sthapatya Veda, more commonly called Vastu, shows the right design of structures to bring in wholesome earth and spatial energies. This is essential for the proper orientation and construction of clinics, hospitals, and healing rooms. Some people may suffer from disease mainly due to the fact that the wrong construction of their houses exposes them to harmful directional forces. For this reason, many ayurvedic doctors will question patients on how their house is situated as part of their diagnosis. Yoga uses Vastu for the orientation of temples, ashrams and meditation rooms. For example, the yogic recommendation to meditate facing east or north reflects the considerations of Vas

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There are six Vedangas or limbs of the Vedas. These are closer to the Vedas than the Upavedas, being part of the Vedas themselves, the main tools used to interpret them.

1. Jyotish — astrology

2. Kalpa — rules of ritual

3. Shiksha — pronunciation

4. Vyakarana — grammar

5. Nirukta — etymology

6. Chhandas — meters

Of the six vedangas, jyotish or Vedic astrology is the most important. For Ayurveda it helps determine the basic health potential of the person, their disease tendency and possibility of recovery. This is particularly important for patients suffering from severe illnesses and for illnesses that are not responding to normal treatment measures. Vedic astrology is also used for the timing of treatment and for preparing medicines. Even the right therapy done at the wrong time may not bring good results. Astrology helps us understand psychological problems, which are often evident from the birth chart. It is useful in ayurvedic therapies, particularly for showing what gems are best for a person to wear.

Vedic astrology is helpful in yoga for determining individual spiritual potential, for the timing of yogic practices and, particularly, for mantra initiation. An examination of the birth chart is important either for ayurvedic or yogic concerns and is an integral part of a Vedic approach to life. For this reason many ayurvedic and yoga practitioners study jyotish or at least make sure to have access to a good astrologer to consult with as needed.

Four of the six vedangas deal with language. They are the basis of the Sanskrit language and its precise terminology for both yoga and Ayurveda. They are part of the path of mantra yoga, which is very important in both yoga and Ayurveda. Ayurveda uses mantra as the main tool for healing the mind. Yoga uses it as the main tool for purifying the mind and unfolding its inner powers and faculties. Mantra is the most important tool of yoga, Ayurveda and jyotish and the foundation of Vedic science.

In summary, yoga arose as the application of Vedic wisdom for Self-realization. Ayurveda arose as a Vedic method for healing and right living. Both systems are best understood in a Vedic context and help us understand the principles of Vedic living.Yoga provides the means for purification of the mind (chitta-shuddhi) to enable us to gain Self-realization through Vedanta (Self-knowledge). Ayurveda affords us purification of the body (deha-shuddhi) for optimal health and energy. Vastu gives us purification of the home (griha-shanti) for right orientation in space. Jyotish gives us purification from negative planetary influences (graha-shanti) for right orientation in time.

Putting together this entire system of Vedic knowledge — combining Ayurveda, yoga and related disciplines — we have a tremendous resource that can transform both ourselves and our planet if we apply it in our daily lives. This is one of the keys to higher evolution in humanity, a subject that requires much more attention in this age of crisis and transition.

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