Wednesday, 5 November 2014

Time to get up from the bed: Ambrosial hours, As per Ayurveda

Early morning has gold in its mouth!


-Benjamin Franklin.



The most wonderful gift that ever given by ayurveda to this world is Dinacharya, which means healthy daily regimen. It is all bout the best possible way of leading life with minimal changes, which focus on balancing daily activities. Controlling bad habits, adopting the good ones, maintaing the good ones and uplifting quality of life completely is the main focus of Dinacharya. Of course the daily activity starts with waking up in the morning, let us discuss about waking up in the ambrosial hours: Brahmi muhurta.

Famous Indian kannada poet Bendre says,
"Morning is not just the sunrise."

One can only understand the predawn period and feel the divine activities of the surrounding by nothing but getting up in the period, wash eyes and stand in the terrace facing east. Now one understands why the feeling of sunrise is always stands immortal. what exactly lies behind the sunrise. is that which happens before the sunrise is just simple routine of planetary movements? No. The curiosity of thousands of poets, painters, artists and musicians towards the sunrise is an everlasting thirst. Sunrise is itself an amazing activity in this universe to witness and is evergreen, different everyday.
Discovering the early light of the day is something which makes to discover self. Acharya Vagbhata, Ayurvedic saint says in the treatise Ashtanga Hrudaya: "A healthy person should get up from bed in Brahmi muhurta, to protect his life!"
 
The great sage mentions that a healthy person should wake up on time, which means people who are not supposed to wake up are those who are suffering from the diseases of Vata and Kapha or people who are sick, who needs some more stretched sleeping hours.

Brahmi Muhurta or Ambrosial hours for self realisation

That which is related to brahma (knowledge) is called Brahmi.Muhurta is the time.  As the commentator of Ashtanga sangraha, Arunadatta in his commentary Sarvanga sundara disusses about the exact time of brahmi muhurta, it is more precisely ninety six mins or one and a half hours before the dawn.  
One may picturise the brahmi muhurta as the period before one and a half hours of sunrise when the sky has a rosy red hue, a few stars may also be visible.  

Why early morning or why Brahmi muhurta?

Health in ayurveda mainly revolves around the principle of tridosha. Three biological forces, Vata, pitta and Kapha are the responsible pillars to sustain and maintain the body when they are functioning in normalcy and destroy the body when they are abnormal. Among these three forces, Vata being principle component of Air and space, maintains the body as the thousands of galaxies in Space. In this universe, every small movement has a law of special force of Brahma. here brahma can be translated as the supreme knowledge.

In the universe, early morning is dominated by vata. As Acharya Charaka says, " "Vaayustantrayantradharah", which means vata or vayu is the principle force which controls the living being and the mechanism of living being. 

When the theory is applied to the universe. air and space are the main forces with which, of which the known and unknown galaxies are existed. 
All the material and immaterial things in the body is in the universe and vice versa- Acharya Charaka.

The universe is dominated by all the tree doshas one after the other on specific periods as the time and space is concerned.

In a day, Kapha is dominated in the morning, Pitta in the mid day and vata is the evening. In a night, Kapha en the early night, Pitta in midnight and Vata in late night or in the pre dawn period. Activities like, evacuation of bowel, physical exercises, studying, practicing any special thing which require everyday practice, like practicing a musical instrument etc can be performed very well during the Vata period, that is before sunrise in Brahmi Muhurta. 

Undisturbed state of vata which is found during this period is the best period of a twenty four hours day and night cycle for all the practices which require everyday attention. To learn and realise subtler aspect of  philosophies and spiritual growth of life, this is the period considered as the best.

Getting after sunrise imbalances Kapha dosha in the body. As the period after sunrise is dominated by kapha in the universe, starting the biological activity during which is not at all good and increases mucus activity in the body. This can be observed physically as an increased tendency to get respiratory infections and congestions,indigestion and incomplete bowel evacuation leading to the deposition of toxins deep in the body. The whole day will be lethargic, dull and stressful with fatigue.

Because this ambrosial period is of vata dominated, a high level of Prana (vital life energy) which is none other than the Vata itself in another form which is necessary for the body to perform in its best is adequately present in the atmosphere. The activity of the entire world, especialy of the living beings are yet to be started, the pollution is at its minimum. The cheerful atmosphere has a considerable effect on body and mind.

Ayurveda gives a deep thought on the daily routine, which when followed properly aligns the chakras which makes one to express the best of the best. The daily routine starts in the morning. When one starts the day in Brahmi muhurta, can achive the best not only in the day, but in the life on a regular practice.
 Tuning our biological clock into the daily sunset and sunrise schedule is the best way to reverse aging process. Opening the eyes and staring the life of a day in Brahmi Muhurta puts us in perfect synchronized manner with the natural clock. 

This microcosm, that the individual when responds properly to the law of macrocosm, will unfold the secret story of successful healthy life.

Famous Sanskrit poet, Kalidasa says :Shareeramaadyam khalu dharmasaadhanam? which means the body is the tool to achieve whatever we set in our life as dharma.

To keep the body updated with the newer versions of goals, one really need a healthy mechanism that runs inside and directs the correct path. The activity of the universe which is real but unreal is because of the exhibition of Rajas and Tamas, which are two doshas of Manas, the universal mind. This universal mind is none other than Satva itself. If one looking forward to understand the real activity of this massive microcosm, Brahmi muhurta is the perfect period to begin with, where the peace never ends in the form of Satva.

So, one should start the day with this auspicious feeling of supreme lightness, to achieve the best possibilities of individuality. Wake up and see once! It is really difficult to say no to the rising east when you witness once the glorious golden sky.




 

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