It all started with the stars...

In this publication we will talk about the elements, briefly about the doshas and how modern science, using another language, also explains our irrefutable union with the universe.

Ayurveda is based on the belief that everything in the universe is composed of five elements or states of matter (for simplicity we can simply say elements): earth, water, fire, air and ether (or space).[1] And that we, as part of nature, so are we. That is precisely why Ayurveda says that everything that happens in the macrocosm, also happens in the microcosm, and vice versa. And that is why Ayurveda has relied on the observation of nature to understand many of the things that happen within us. For its part, modern science came to the same conclusion. It showed that we are made of the same chemical elements as the stars. I had always heard it said that we were made of stardust, but it wasn't until I started studying Ayurveda and went to a lecture on astronomy a few days ago, that I really understood that it wasn't just a metaphor.

The elements in our body are not theoretical concepts, we can observe them directly or feel them. Let's do some simple exercises to better understand what I am talking about. Bones are hard (although porous), static, they give support, support and shape to our body. This is an example of the composition of the earth element in us. It is estimated that 65-80% of our body is composed of fluid in the form of blood, saliva, lymph, cerebrospinal fluid, etc, which represents the water element in us. Fire is found, for example, in every cell, in our digestive system, in the liver, because they are centers of transformation, of heat production. With breathing, peristalsis, the beating of the heart, we feel the manifestation of air. And finally, the subtlest of all, the ether, which creates the space or volume so that the others can manifest and function. For example, the colon is a long tube that allows air to circulate. In the same way, every organ and system in the human body is composed of different proportions of atoms of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, etc.

Then in our body, these elements combine and give rise to the 3 vital energies or doshas: Vata (ether and air), Pitta (fire and water) and Kapha (water and earth). The doshas are the managers of our physiology and anatomy, of our health and imbalances. Because the proportion of the elements is different in each individual, the proportion of the doshas is also different. This indicates that each person is unique and should therapeutically be treated as such, hence the reason for the individualized approach of Ayurveda. But the ratio of the atoms of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, etc. is different in each of us. So we are also unique and different in the eyes of modern medicine?

Both the 5 elements and the doshas are not separate from each other. You need the three doshas and the five elements working together in harmony to function properly. In the same way, the isolation of an atom has been one of the challenges of modern science and has been achieved only in very specific conditions recently. Conditions that are not those of our body at least.

Ayurveda invites us to rediscover our deep connection with the universe and to listen to the rhythms of nature that resonate within us. By understanding and balancing our elements and doshas, we can live in harmony not only with our own body, but also with the world around us. Each human being is a unique manifestation of the same elements that make up the stars and the oceans; the key is to remember that by caring for our inner balance, we also nurture our relationship with the whole. And that by taking care of Nature, we are also taking care of ourselves.

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[1] I must say that many of these bases are not only part of Ayurveda, but of many disciplines, traditions and philosophical currents that deeply enrich the Indian culture.