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The History of Ayurveda

For thousands of years, Ayurveda was one of the most advanced forms of medicine on the planet. This was because Ayurveda was founded on the principle of approaching physical, spiritual, and mental health with a scientific mindset. This, according to Vedic wisdom, is the appropriate way to balance an individual’s health. This is because when these 3 aspects come into balance, life becomes easier; and by default it’s much easier to find enlightenment. And just like there are tools to achieve physical health- such as diet, herbs, and exercise- there are tools to find mental and spiritual health.

SEE ALSO: How Ayurveda Works

The Theory

Ayurveda teaches that everything in the universe has a subtle influence on us, especially gemstones. When the rishis began probing into the concept of healing emotionally and spiritually, they realized they could leverage this powerful energy. According to the ancient science, some gemstones are more healing for certain constitutional types than others, so this lead to the idea of recommending specific stones for different people.

For instance:

• A vatta (cold) constitution needs to wear ruby, garnet, and yellow sapphire.
• Pitta (hot) constitutions need to wear pearl, moonstone, amethyst, emerald, and blue sapphire.
• Kapha (earthy) constitutions need to wear ruby, garnet, or cat’s eye.

This helps to bring about more balance in a person’s energetic field.

Karma

More than just balancing an individual’s constitution, wearing gemstones allows an individual’s karma to be worked on at a subtle level. After an Ayurvedic practitioner discovered a person’s constitution, they can begin to work on their astrological chart, performing a detailed analysis. This allows them to see at which point an individual’s chart aligns to produce negative circumstances in their lives. Seeing this, they could recommend any number of gemstones to wear, counteracting that particular planetary influence for that period.

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Energy Pathways

Once the planet’s influence is determined, it has to be decided where the stone will go. This process was even more refined, with emphasis on the subtle energetic currents running through the body. Whether it is on right or left side, or on a specific finger or area of the body, it’s just as crucial as any other step before it.

Conclusion

Whether or not you believe in the idea of subtle energetic influence over your body, one thing is for sure: Ayurveda is an impressive system. This ancient science certainly didn’t beat around the bush, however- they believed (and still believe) that gemstones can radically change our lives.

Sri Yukteswar, the guru of Paramahansa Yogananda, had this to say about the use of gemstones for energetic-healing:

“Astrology is the study of man’s response to planetary stimuli. The stars have no conscious benevolence or animosity; they merely send forth positive and negative radiations. Of themselves, these do not help or harm humanity, but offer a lawful channel for the outward operation of cause-effect equilibriums which each man has set into motion in the past (karma)…. The ancient rishis discovered many ways to curtail the period of man’s exile in delusion…. Just as a house can be fitted with a copper rod to absorb the shock of lightning, so the bodily temple can be benefited by various protective measures. Ages ago our yogis discovered that pure metals emit an astral light which is powerfully counteractive to the negative pulls of the planets. Subtle electrical and magnetic radiations are constantly circulating in the universe…(the sages) found helpful not only a combination of metals, but also of plants and – most effective of all – faultless jewels of not less than two carats.”