From Herb Forest to Research Lab - The Story of a Powerful Ayurvedic Formulation

There is a beautiful narration in Indian mythology that serves as the perfect analogy for how Amrit came into being. The story is called "Samudra Manthan"-The Chu
ing of the Ocean-and this is how it goes. Once, in ancient times, humanity was steeped in suffering. The Devas and the Asuras, the gods and the demons, got together and made a solemn resolve in the deepest level of their consciousness to find a solution for the suffering. Together they chu
ed the mighty ocean, from where they had been told relief would appear. And when they chu
ed the waters, Amrit-the Nectar of Immortality-appeared. And with the precious gift of Amrit, all of humanity recovered its health and happiness. Many millennia later, in the 1980s, when the stresses of the modern lifestyle were beginning to seriously impact the well-being of people everywhere-stress from the environment, stress from time pressures, emotional stress, mental stress, physical exhaustion-Maharishi Mahesh Y! ogi, founder of the Transcendental Meditation (r) program, gathered together the most eminent ayurvedic scholars and physicians of the time to see what could be done to alleviate people's suffering. One of the first things to emerge from these collective deliberations was the quintessential rasayana to nourish mind, body and spirit in a very holistic and balanced way. Appropriately, Maharishi decided to name this rasayana Amrit. Amrit represents the essence of the supreme knowledge in the ancient ayurvedic texts, distilled, as it were, into a product. That's why, for a traditional ayurvedic vaidya like me, the wide range of benefits Amrit offers is hardly surprising.

One of the primary goals of ayurveda is Swaasthasya rakshanam-preserving health, and rasayanas are considered the primary method for maintaining health and vigor. Literally translated, a rasayana is "that which enters the essence"-in other words, that which promotes health and longevity. The Sanskrit definition for a rasayana is yat jara vyadhi nashanam tat rasayanam-"that which negates old age and disease is called a rasayana." There are many individual fruits, herbs and spices in ayurveda that are considered rasayanas-for example, the main two fruit ingredients in Amrit, Indian Gooseberry and Indian Gallnut, are both deemed premier rasayanas in the category of fruit. If you read ayurvedic texts, it is clear that these two fruits can help towards a long, happy, healthy and blissful life. They promote bliss in body, mind, spirit and senses. Turmeric and Long Pepper (Pippali) are rasayanas in the category of spices, well known for their healing properties. We have anothe! r entire group of rasayana herbs called medhya rasayanas. Medhya refers to the mind and intellect. The medhya group of herbs helps enhance the ability to learn, retain and recall information. One such herb in Amrit is Indian Pennywort or Gotu Kola, which we sometimes call Brahmi. Shankapushpi, or Aloeweed, which is also an ingredient in Amrit, is another medhya rasayana. What is so great about Amrit is that it is actually a rasayana of rasayanas-what you could call a "super" rasayana. It incorporates all the best qualities of the best herbs in ayurveda, in a synergy that is able to deliver all of the benefits that researchers are beginning to tabulate.

Ayurveda is based on the principles of wholeness and balance, and traditional rasayanas are formulated to account for both aspects. There are many different kinds of herbs that go into a rasayana, each chosen and blended carefully in a precise proportion. Amrit, for example, contains forty-four herbs and fruits in combination. This principle or science of herb combination is called sanyog, and in my opinion is one of the most significant offerings of Maharishi Ayurveda. Some herbs in a formulation are chosen only to balance the effects of other herbs in the formulation. Others are put in because they help the main herbs be better assimilated by the physiology. In Maharishi Ayurveda, we typically do not recommend single herbs because even though an herb may have powerful qualities, it may not be balanced or equally efficacious for everyone who takes it. The incorporation of supporting and balancing herbs helps create a rasayana capable of wider application-across people ! of different doshic combinations, for example. Balancing herbs perform the saatmya function-loosely translated, that means they make the resulting formulation acceptable or "friendly" to the physiology-no side effects, relatively easy to digest and assimilate. Because the herbs are used whole, and used in combination, the result is balance, and when there is balance, side effects are not an issue. Modern pharmaceutical drugs, and even some nutritional supplements, are the result of taking the so-called "active" ingredient from a natural substance and working with it in a laboratory. Ayurvedic rasayanas, on the other hand, rely on the healing prowess of nature's own intelligence. Amrit, for example, has both a nurturing effect and a detoxifying effect on the physiology. But because it is a perfectly balanced formulation, it nourishes so perfectly that it creates no ama or toxins in the shrotas or channels of the body, and it cleanses so subtly that the body's ability to d! raw sustenance from nourishment is left undisturbed. That ! is the beauty of a holistic, balanced formulation like Amrit.

If one goes through all the benefits a rasayana such as Amrit offers, as they are laid down in ayurvedic texts, they include enhancing longevity, enhancing the intellect, making one's complexion radiant and lustrous, and enhancing the understanding of deeper, spiritual knowledge. A rasayana such as Amrit helps make the senses, the body and the mind more coordinated.

Amrit has a powerful positive influence on mental health because of the synergistic action of so many powerful herbs. Gotu Kola and Shankapushpi are both medhya rasayanas. According to ayurveda, mental ability is at its optimum when the three aspects of dhi, dhriti and smriti-learning, retention and recall-are working well individually and are perfectly coordinated with one another. Medhya rasayanas are good for enhancing each individual aspect of mental ability and for enhancing coordination among them also. They promote mental clarity because they enhance coordination among cells, between mind and body and among senses. Plus, Ashwagandha or Winter Cherry, which is also one of the ingredients in Amrit, is a powerful adaptogenic-it helps balance and stabilize the mind so it performs optimally even under situations involving day-to-day stress.

In ayurveda, there is a specific term for rasayanas or herbs that help support the heart and the cardiovascular system. Just as medhya herbs enhance mental and intellectual ability, hridya herbs are those that offer holistic support to the cardiovascular system by enhancing the ability to tolerate physical and emotional stress on the heart. Ayurveda does not treat the heart only as a pump-ayurvedic formulations seek to address both the physical and the emotional heart in a holistic way, flushing out toxins that block the physical and mental channels. Amrit has this hridya effect.

The heart cannot be looked at individually and neither can the mind. They must constantly check with each other and be coordinated. Amrit, because it has both medhya and hridya properties, strengthens the mind and strengthens the heart individually and also enhances the coordination between them. Interaction between the heart and the mind therefore becomes smooth, seamless and cohesive.

The immune system is very well described in ayurveda. Bala, the ayurvedic term for immunity, encompasses not just physical resistance but also mental, emotional and psychological immunity. So again the concept is holistic. Three types of immunity are discussed in ayurveda-the first is sahaj, which is genetic or hereditary-the level of immunity you were born with. The second is kalaj, seasonal immunity, which varies based on the seasons, the stage of life and planetary cycles. And the third is yuktikrit or established immunity-a balanced, permanent level of immunity that is the objective of the ayurvedic approach to well-being. Ayurvedic rasayanas, diet and lifestyle are the three main aspects to yuktikrit or planned immunity enhancement. Amrit definitely helps strengthen natural levels of immunity at every stage of life and provides balance to offset the impact of changing seasons on the physiology. Although it is the whole combination that provides the effect, I would! like to talk about one herb in Amrit that is particularly known for boosting immunity-Tinospora cordifolia or Guduchi. Many ayurvedic herbs have interesting stories associated with them and the mythological description of the origin of Guduchi is fascinating. My father told me this story when I was in the seventh grade and he was introducing me to various ayurvedic herbs. Rama, the hero of the Indian epic Ramayana, lost many of his army of monkeys during his war with Ravana, the demon-king. He prayed for help, and the heavens rained nectar on the battlefield to bring the creatures back to life. Some of the drops fell to the earth, and wherever the nectar touched the earth, the herb Guduchi sprang up. That is why another name for this herb is Amrita-immortal. This plant is quite indestructible-if you cut a vine off the main plant, it grows aerial roots and keeps growing, without water or soil. Indian Gallnut, another major ingredient in Amrit, is also designated Amrita! . This fruit helps flush out toxins from the body, helping! to prevent the build-up of ama, and aiding in keeping the microcirculatory channels clear. So, with at least two such powerful immunity enhancers, and with other supporting and balancing herbs, the overall impact of Amrit is to enhance the immune system. Modern research focuses on the immunity-enhancing effect of Tinospora cordifolia as a single herb, but from the ayurvedic perspective it is a part of the whole. Amrit provides holistic balanced support to our immune system, not just isolated support to any one aspect of the immune system.

Amrit is a whole formulation, and it is the combination of the herbs in Amrit that produces all the benefits. I told you about Guduchi and Haritaki (Indian Gallnut) earlier. Indian Gooseberry (Amalaki) is one of the main ingredients in Amrit. Amalaki alone is considered a super rasayana in ayurveda. It contains five out of the six tastes-sweet, sour, pungent, bitter and astringent-all except salty, which is a rare and valuable property even among herbs, and is equally beneficial for all doshas. It is considered such a powerful rejuvenator that it is one of the very few herbs that is sometimes used by itself in Maharishi Ayurveda. It is the richest source of vitami
C in the plant world, and the form of the vitami
C is such that it is resistant to heat and light and able to be easily assimilated by the human body. This herb has multiple positive effects - it is good for the eyes, the digestion, the heart, muscles; it helps the body absorb iron and calcium from the foods! you eat - as you can see, there is good reason it is considered a leading ayurvedic rasayana. Other ingredients like Tinospora cordifolia and Gotu Kola also are individually known for their anti-aging properties.

We've spoken about medhya and hridya herbs, herbs that balance the three doshas like Indian Gooseberry, now I would like to talk about nourishing herbs such as Indian Asparagus, also an important ingredient in Amrit. Indian Asparagus is very good for nourishing all the seven types of body tissue, particularly reproductive tissue. It enhances the metabolic processes and thus improves the quality of the body tissues, each of which, as you know, is formed as a result of a series of metabolic processes in the body. The seven tissues are Rasa, Rakta, Mamsa, Medha, Asthi, Majja and Shukra-nutritional fluid, blood, muscle, fat, bone, bone marrow and reproductive fluid. This herb is especially good for improving the quality and quantity of reproductive fluid in men and women (Shukra Dhatu). Shatavari, as this herb is called in Sanskrit, also helps increase the production of ojas. Ojas is the finest, the most refined by-product of digestion. It is the master coordinator between ! self, or consciousness, and the functions of the mind and body. It is the subtle substance that maintains life itself. When your physiology produces the optimum quality and quantity of ojas, you are healthy, blissful and vital-your mind and body are getting the sustenance they need to function at optimum levels. Amrit supports the creation of more ojas in a shorter period of time. It helps the body perform the metabolic processes without creating toxins or ama.

For more information on ayurvedic rasayanas and Amritm visit http://www.mapi.com.

Disclaimer: Individual results with Amrit may vary. This product is not intended to treat, cure, mitigate or prevent any disease. Information is provided for educational purposes only. If you have a medical condition, please consult your physician. nnn