Immunity and Ayurveda

Opinion

Immunity means the natural body mechanism through which our body protects itself from various diseases. According to Ayurveda there are many factors which contribute to our immunity. One of such things is the “Oja”. According to Ayurveda there are 7 basic body tissues which form the human body and all the functional systems of the body, these are; Rasa (Nutritive Fluid), Rakta (Blood), Mamsa (Muscles), Meda (Lipids), Asthi (Bones), Maja (Marrow) and Shukra (Reproductive cells). These are known as the “Sapta- Dhatu”. The essence of these 7 tissues is known as “Oja”. And if this Oja is in a balanced state and functioning properly you won’t have any disease. So, many consider this Oja as the Immunity. But as you know that this oja is the Essence of all 7 Dhatus (Tissues) we need to understand that there can’t be anything which will directly increase your immunity. So, Immunity of the human body according to Ayurveda is developed when you keep all the Body tissues and systems in a balanced state. You can understand it in this way: that even if only one of your 7 dhatus is not proper then your immunity won’t be proper.

This Immunity is also described as “Bala” of an individual i.e. strength. Bala according to Ayurveda is of 3 types: Sahaja (Congenital {Since Birth}), Kalaj (Depending on Time {Season, Age}) etc. and Yukti Krut (Acquired). The Sahaja Bala is inherited and we see that many people are not affected by few diseases naturally due to their DNA or chromosomes hereditarily. Kalaja Bala depends on many Opinion factors like the persons age: Children are more prone to certain diseases like chicken pox or measles or polio because it can occur during that age group only (We don’t give polio drops to grownups right? Because after a certain age we are immune to many diseases), we also say that young people are more immune to many diseases and so they can recover fast from illnesses. Kalaja Bala also depends on season and climate: We are more prone to certain diseases in certain seasons (eg: We see the outbreak of Dengue or Virus related diseases during the rainy season or more attacks of Asthma during the Sharad Ritu). Our health is in better condition during Youth, spring and early morning compared to Old Age, summers and evening. Yukti Krut Bala represents acquired immunity (eg: Durign the times of epidemics of Viral and flu diseases like the present CoVid-19 outbreak we advise to take Tulsi juice, Turmeric Milk and Ayurvedic decoctions to prevent the diseases from entering our body).

So for overall improvement of Immunity as I said at the start only having some herbs or medicines won’t help but you will have to improve the overall status of your body by following Seasonal Regimen (Ritucharya), Daily Regimen (Dincharya), Achar Rasyana (Moral Code of Conduct), eating wholesome-easy to digest-compatible food, daily exercise- yoga-pranayama-prayers, and having herbs and medicines like Rasyana’s which are suitable to you depending on your age, season and epidemic conditions.