Swami Vibhooti Saraswati
The essence of all beings is earth. The essence of earth is water. The essence of water is plants, and the essence of plants is the human being.
— Chandogya Upanishad (1:1.2)
Once,
on the full moon night of May (Vaishakha Poornima), a beautiful queen
was on her way to her family home to give birth to her first and only
child. It so happened that as she was passing through the depths of
the Lumbini forest with her entourage, her labour pains started
earlier than had been expected. And so it was that she gave birth
right there among the trees, in the lap of nature, while clinging on
to the strange midwife, a tree, for support. It is said that this
tree bent down in empathy with the queen so that she could hold on to
its branches, thus expressing the deep connection and psychic link
between women and trees. The child to whom this queen gave birth was
to become known as the Buddha, the Enlightened One, and the tree to
which she clung to was the ashoka.
The
evergreen ashoka is from the Caesalpinaceae family. The ashoka is the
tree most intimately associated with women in India’s mythology,
and is said to remove their ‘grief’. The Sanskrit term ashoka
literally means ‘that which ends sorrow’. In the Ramacharitamanas
(Sundar Kand), Sita is imprisoned in the Ashoka Grove by her captor
Ravana. In her distress, she turns to implore the ashoka, saying,
“Hear my prayer, O ashoka tree, take away my sorrow and live up to
your name.”
Life,
according to ayurveda, is a system of mutual care and nourishment.
Plants, rooted in the unity of nature, show this sense of caring more
than many human beings. The consciousness of plants and trees is on a
primal level, and is more psychic and telepathic in nature. Women are
also known to be more psychic than men, and can communicate with
plants and trees more easily. Thus Sita was drawn to seek solace from
the ashoka in her time of need.
The
image of a young woman and a tree recurs constantly in Indian art,
and it is said that trees increase both the desire and fertility in a
woman. The myths of the forest tribals teach respect for nature, not
only by deifying plants, but also by having women transformed into
plants. According to Indian mythology, if kicked by a virgin, the
ashoka tree is said to burst into flower. Its red flower buds, which
are highly nutritious, are eaten in the last month of the year ‘to
remove grief’.
Curative properties of the ashoka
Swami
Sivananda writes in his Home Remedies, “The bark of the ashoka is
used in ayurveda. It has considerable reputation in uterine diseases,
and is used in checking uterine haemorrhage or bleeding from the
womb, menorrhagia or excessive menstruation. Ashoka is a uterine
sedative and tonic.” He gives the following ‘Ashoka Decoction’,
about which he states, “The womb will be strengthened, and all
diseases of the womb will be cured.” “Boil six ounces of crushed
ashoka bark, six ounces of milk, and twenty ounces of water, until it
is reduced to a quarter of its volume, and strain. One ounce should
be taken three times daily. This decoction must be freshly prepared
daily.” About ‘Ashoka Amritam’ Swami Sivananda says, “This is
especially useful in leucorrhoea, menorrhagia, pain in the womb,
irregular monthly periods, scanty menstrual discharge, amenorrhoea,
painful menstruation, displaced uterus, congested uterus, sterility
and other complaints. It prevents miscarriage and restores normal
action to the uterus. It improves conception capacity and increases
general strength.”
Women and ayurveda
Ayurveda,
which has existed for over 5,000 years, has always had a special
branch of medicine just for women, offering natural alternatives. It
has a very unique understanding of a woman’s body, which includes
not only a deep knowledge of the physical and pranic bodies (ayur
refers to prana as well as life), but her emotions, mind and spirit.
For ayurveda honours a woman as a spiritual being, and its system
corrects her basic metabolic imbalance so that the symptoms can be
addressed. Ayurveda is feminine in its approach, always seeking
harmony, non-invasive and never aggressive. It is based on the belief
that the external universe is reflected in the human body, and that
all things are intimately interrelated.
Ayurvedic
herbal medicine is needed more than ever in this age of imbalance,
where women are taking artificial hormone replacement therapy to the
detriment of their physical, emotional, mental, and consequently
spiritual health. Hormones are not to be found in plants, but there
are phyto or plant steroids that form the basis for the production of
many human hormones, and which often act like hormones in the body.
There are at least fifty-seven phyto-steroids found in plants and
food. The Ayurvedic approach is the conscious, aware, integrated
approach. Its comprehensive system enables a woman to understand the
great mystery of her own body and find inner balance.
Plants to the rescue
Monthly
cycle: According to Ayurveda, any disruption, emotional or physical,
in a woman’s monthly cycle indicates a metabolic imbalance. It
associates menstrual difficulties to an imbalance in the vata dosha
and recommends natural remedies, which do not have the side effects
of allopathic medicine, to balance these changes in a woman’s
chemistry.
Indian
madder (manjith or manjishtha), with its blood-red colour, is
symbolic of the menstrual cycle. Powdered, and made into
prescriptions, the Indian madder root is a valuable blood purifier,
particularly prescribed for women with menstrual irregularities, and
as an infusion after the delivery of a child. Ayurveda values the
sesame seed (til or tila) for possessing medicinal properties useful
in dysmenorrhea, especially in cases of irregular menstruation in
pubescent girls. It prescribes the scarlet hibiscus (gurhal or
jabakusuma) flower, which has particularly feminine virtues, as an
emmenagogue (for promoting a healthy period). The densely formed
flowers of the plantain (kela or kadali-phal) are powered into a
medicine for gyneocological ailments. Swami Sivananda writes, “Take
the juice of the plantain flower, and palmyra sugar-candy (or
ordinary sugar-candy) and drink it in the early morning. This is
useful for excessive menstruation.”
The
flame of the forest (dhak or palash) is one of India’s most
venerated trees with its bright red flowers. Juice made from its
roots, bark and leaves are administered for regulating menstrual
flow. During the spring festival of Holi, people smear each other
with powder made from its dried petals. Ayurveda also extracts drugs
from the vasaka (adusa) shrub, which regulate excessive menstrual
flow. In Sanskrit botany this modest shrub is named Lion’s Muzzle
and Stallion’s Tooth, after the shape and white colour of its
flower. Ayurvedic physicians now regard vasaka as the rival of ashoka
in its value to women. The Sanskrit word vasaka means ‘little
dweller’ or ‘protector of the dwelling place’.
Infusions
are made from the bark of the mango tree (aam or amra) to control
excessive blood flow, while the seed is ground into a powder for
countering vaginal discharge. Swami Sivananda also prescribes the
following pomegranate decoction as an astringent injection in vaginal
discharges: “Boil four ounces of pomegranate rind for fifteen
minutes in twenty ounces of water. Strain and add one drachma of
alum.” Another tree benevolent to women is the bauhinia (kachnar or
kanchnara). Ayurveda’s main interest in the bauhinia is the drugs
extracted from its bark to regulate menstrual dysfunction. The
glorious display of its pink-white blossoms marks the advent of
spring. In this festival time, after the harvest, village women go
into the forest and collect the flowers and buds from this tree,
which they dry and store for seasonal household remedies.
Pregnancy:
Winter cherry (ashwagandha) regenerates the hormonal system and is
good for fertility. Swami Sivananda writes concerning ‘Ashwagandhi
Ghritam’, “Women will develop their conception capacity by use of
this medicine. The resulting pregnancy will develop a fully developed
foetus.” (Ghritam is the Sanskrit word for ghee). Ashwagandha is
also prescribed as nutritional food for weak pregnant women, as it
helps to stabilize the foetus.
The
small scented herb cumin (jeera or jiraka), whose flowers open in
parasols, is traditional to the diets of pregnant women as an
antidote to morning sickness. Ayurveda uses pessaries made from the
soap nut (ritha or aristaka), a large deciduous tree with fleshy
fruit like a berry, which yields a type of soap, to induce
childbirth, for both difficult delivery and abortion. The matured
pulp enclosing the seedpods of the Indian laburnum (amaltas or
aragvadha), one of India’s most lovely flowering trees, is used to
make a gentle laxative for pregnant women. Small doses of castor oil
are also given as a laxative in pregnancy, and immediately after
childbirth. Medicine is also made from the drumstick tree (sahajan or
sigru), with its long slender fruit, both to induce abortions and as
an aid to difficult deliveries. Ayurveda uses small quantities of
saffron in mixtures that are drunk to tone the uterus after
childbirth, and to regulate gynecological disorders.
Nursing
mothers: Many plants are used to increase the flow of milk in nursing
mothers. The star-like leaves of the castor plant (rendi or eranda),
one of the first medicinal plants known to mankind, are warmed and
applied to a woman’s breasts as a galactagogue (to increase breast
milk) and the oil is rubbed to prevent sore nipples. The leaf also
provides one of the ingredients in a mixture drunk to increase milk
flow. (The seeds of the castor plant have been found in Egyptian
tombs dating back to four thousand BC). Another galactagogue is
cumin, as is asparagus racemosus (satavar or satavari), a graceful
and delicate climbing plant that grows wild in the lowland Indian
jungles.
Camphor
has the opposite effect on the milk of a new mother. Swami Sivananda
says, “Camphor (kapur or karpuram) is an anti-galactagogue that
checks the accumulation of milk in the breasts, so it is beneficial
for mothers who have lost children soon after birth, and who suffer
from severe pain in the breasts owing to accumulation of milk.”
Camphor
is extracted from the wood of the evergreen camphor tree. The
Chronicles of the Emperor Akbar state, “The camphor crystallizing
on the inside of the tree looks like salt; on its outside, like
resin; and it often runs on to the ground where it solidifies. It is
as white as snow.” Ayurveda however stresses that camphor is very
acrid and if taken in large doses, highly poisonous.
Plants for beauty
Ayurveda
holds that nature is the greatest source of beauty. It also stresses
the importance of living close to, and cultivating, flowering plants
because of their tranquillizing effect. The purely natural cosmetics
described in classical Indian poetry and literature, written hundreds
of years ago, are still used by Indian women today. Many of these
were introduced by the early Ayurvedic physicians. All the plants
from which Ayurveda extracts its cosmetics are also medicinal and
purifying. Traditional Ayurvedic massage oils not only keep the skin
beautiful, but also remove stress and fatigue, clean and disinfect
the skin, and act as an aid to the digestive system. Ayurveda’s
facial treatments, besides beautifying also heal sores, acne and
other blemishes. Breath-fresheners and lip colouring aids also act as
appetite stimulants.
Henna
(mehndi or madayantika) has a history dating back thousands of years
in India of being used by women to colour their hands, nails and
hair. A perfume is made from the small rosy white or red flowers,
which also acts as an anti-irritant, deodorant and antiseptic.
Ayurvedic preparations made from henna cool the body during the heat
of summer. If a few sprays of these exquisitely scented flowers are
placed underneath the pillow at night, the heat will be removed from
the body. Henna paste is also a cure for skin rashes brought on by
the summer heat, apart from having antibacterial properties.
Saffron
(kesar or kumkum) made from the dried stamens of the crocus plant,
became the most valuable cosmetic that could be obtained in Asia. It
was used as face mask by royal women or wives of wealthy aristocrats
and merchants. Not only did it smoothen the skin, but also added a
golden glow to it. Charaka, one of ayurveda’s legendary physicians
of the first century AD, recommended women to drink a concoction of
leaves from the slightly bitter Indian sarsaparilla (anantmul or
sariva) to restore colour to a sallow complexion. South Indian women
put the roots of this slender creeper in brass or earthenware pots to
sweeten the water and mouth.
Return to the world of plants
Indian
women incorporate plants into their lives in many ways, from washing
their hair to worshipping their ishta devata, for health and
happiness, balance and beauty, cooking and fumigating their homes –
all without the use of chemicals! Surely it is time for women in
general to turn once more to the natural and simple world of
Ayurveda. On all levels of their life – medicinal, cosmetic,
culinary, aromatic and sacred – they can take inspiration from the
traditional Indian woman, who has maintained such a close link with
the natural healing and spiritual energies around her. Then they will
be able to not only attain better physical and mental health, but
find a harmony and balance within, which will open doors to a deeper
understanding of themselves, their place in the natural order of
things, and the real meaning of their lives.
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