What are vedas?
Vedas are the books of knowledge compiled by the Guru Veda Vyasa born in Damauli Nepal in the previous eons. The 4 Vedas (Rig-Veda, Samveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda) are the fathers of all the religious texts, literatures and scientific discoveries.
The roots of Ayurveda
Ayurveda is one of the chapters of Atharvaveda that covers herbal medicines and the over-all longevity/well-being of human beings. The word Ayurveda comes from the Sanskrit language of Nepal meaning Ayur (life) and Veda (Knowledge). The origin of Ayurveda is the pious land of Nepal. From the ‘time immemorial’ (a time extending beyond the reach of memory), the saints and sages of Nepal discovered herbal medicine through meditation on the foot-hills of Nepal Himalaya. There are still many places named after those saints. For example, Kausik Rishi (Koshi), Bhardwaj Rishi (Bhardaha), Janak Rishi (Janakpur), Kapil Rishi (Kapilavastu), Kashyap Rishi (Kaski), Manu Rishi (Manaslu). Charak and Chyawan Rishi are the most esteemed sages for Ayurvedic discoveries. They meditated on the Panchase hill and practiced Ayurveda. Nonetheless, Ayurveda is an ancient health care tradition that has been practiced in Nepal from the very beginning of human civilisation. Archeological evidence showed that Ayurveda was in practice more than 60,000 years ago. Long later, the Hindus of India and the Chinese during Lao-Tzu period learnt Nepal’s herbal medical science by heart. Moreover, it Ayurveda gained worldwide popularity when it was integrated with Yoga and Meditation.
The principles of Ayurveda
Ayurveda is based on the five elements of the universe: fire, air, ether, earth, water. These elements are represented in humans by three Doshas (bodily energy): Kapha (water), Vata (air), Pitta (fire). Our health and well-being depend on getting the right balance of the three Doshas. People become ill if imbalance occurs in Tri-Doshas. Therefore, the major objective of Ayurveda is to balance Tri-Doshas. The World Health organisation (WHO) has firmly stated that Ayurveda is the most reliable medical treatment as it goes to the very core and treats without any side effect. It is said that homeopathy (alternative medicine) begins when allopathic (mainstream medicine) stops working. And, it is true allopathic is taken just as a remedy but cannot cure the disease whereas homeopathy (Ayurvedic treatment) finds the root cause of health problems and addresses it. This is the reason why patients come to visit Ayurvedic hospitals when they get tired of visiting several renowned modern hospitals.
Why should you visit Nepal?
Nepal is the hub for Ayurvedic studies because Nepal is often known as “the biggest natural museum in the world”. Besides mountains, jungles, lakes, rivers and great diversity of flora and fauna there are numerous cliffs beneath the high snow-clad mountains too. These cliffs are the habitat of the cliff bee called Apis Laboriosa. They are far from the madding crowd, completely immersed in natural surroundings. Because of the richness in flora, there is a great diversity in honey types. Among the varieties of honey, the honey of Laboriosa bee is considered of high quality because of its natural taste and medicinal properties. Cliff bees sucks nectar from high Himalayan herbal plants like Paanchawale (Danctytorhiza Hatagirea), Anthopogan flowers, Champaka, Bikh (Aconitum spp), Pangra (Entada spp) Pieris (Piris Formosa) which have intoxicating properties. In these regions grows Cordycep Sinensis (6 month plant and 6 month caterpillar) and Ganoderma mushroom too which are highly expensive herbs. For this reason, wild honey and wax contains curative properties.
Lip balm mede from bees wax
Unaware of these properties, honey hunters used to leave the beeswax in the jungle and take only honey home. Learning from mother-nature, after accurate research, we discovered a classic natural product – Wild bee wax lip-cream. Our forefathers in eastern Nepal used bee’s wax on cracked heels and on burns; we started doing the same. As it’s natural produce, it’s effective and possesses healing properties. It is cream-coloured with a sweet fragrance. It contains vitamin B abundantly, works as a moisture preservation and makes skin smooth. It is good for cracked lips and heels, wrinkles, minor wounds, itchiness, pimples, black marks, cold sores it prevents burns. It’s ingredients are: wild bees wax honey, anthopogan oil, organic sunflower oil, camphor, chiuree plant ghee, wooden container. It is one of the best products of Tushita-Nepal. At the same time we respect the forest, cliffs, bees and the people who live on honey hunting in Nepal. This is the reason why international media (CNN, BBC, NHK) have commended the adventurous heart and spirit of honey hunters, the natural beauty and the extreme bio-diversity of Nepal. Come and visit us in our beautiful Ayurveda retreat (www.tushitanepal.com)!
