agni and pitta

[Guest guest]

Dear Janaka,

 

One way to think of it is that Pitta is agni is a disturbed state.

Similarly, Vata is Prana, and Kapha is Ojas. So you can have a Pitta

increase and weak agni. When agni is functioning properly you

shouldn't notice anything except normal B/Ms, one to two daily. Any

symptoms of digestion represent a dysfunction, and the source of this

dysfunction can be understood if we look at the quality of the

dysfunction, and classify these according to the tridosha lakshanas

(symptoms), e.g. burning sensations and diarrhea (Pitta), pelvic

heaviness and catarrh (Kapha), irregularity in function, with bloating

and gas (Vata).

 

It also seems to me that one problem may be the method used to assess

the pulse. I can say with some authority (if no humility) that all the

methods of "Ayurvedic" pulse diagnosis I have reviewed that are

currently taught and practiced here in the West have no basis in

authentic tradition, and in some cases are exactly opposite to what is

written in the only two surviving texts on Ayurvedic pulse diagnosis,

the Nadivijnanam by Maharishi Kanada (c. 8th cent BCE) and the

Nadiprakasham, by Sankara Sen, written around the turn of the last

century (i.e. early 1900's). Even if you pick up the Nadivijnanam and

read the first couple stanzas you will see that most Ayurvedists have

the basic correspondence of the fingers incorrect, in which it is

usually held that the index, middle and ring fingers represent Vata,

Pitta and Kapha respectively. According to the fourth stanza of the

Nadivijnanam, this totally backwards.

 

There are several excellent texts on pulse diagnosis, such as the

Chinese Bin Hu Ma Xue by Li Shi Zhen (c. 1518 CE) and the methods of

pulse assessment discussed in the Tibetan rGyud bzi (c. 8th cent CE),

which is stated to be a translation of an earlier, now lost Sanskrit

text entitled the Amrta Hrdaya Astanga Guhyopadesa Tantra. There are

several more recent texts written on the pulse, but most of these

present a system that is significantly different and has no authentic

basis in these ancient texts. For absolute clarity, I recommend

Ayurvedic practitioners to study the Nadivijnanam, the Nadiprakasham,

the Tibetan rGyud bzi, and elements of Chinese pulse diagnosis. What I

teach is based on these teachings, as well as some of my own insights.

 

The important thing to realize about pulse diagnosis is that it is

anumana, an inferential method of assessment, and in and of itself

cannot provide the practitioner with the exact nature of the patient's

condition: it always needs to be assessed in conjunction with the case

history (aptopadesha) and direct observation (pratyaksha). This is a

key component of Ayurveda, clearly stated in the Charaka samhita. For

some reason many Ayurvedic practitioners get this confused, and

substitute anumana for pratyaksha.

Caldecott

phyto

http://www.wrc.net/phyto