Integrated View of Health and Well-Being : Bridging Indian and Western Knowledge

Concepts like Health and Well-being are not exclusive products of the Western culture. Research has widely demonstrated that the representation of the body and of its pathologies, as well as treatment and healing practices vary across cultures in relation to social norms and beliefs.The culture of India is a melting pot of nine main Darshanas, or philosophical systems, that share the common core of a realization of the self in society. India’s traditional health system, Ayurveda, is a result of the practical application of the Darshanas to the observation of human nature and behavior. Ayurveda conceptualizes health, disease and well-being as multidimensional aspects of life, and it seeks to preserve a balance in individuals among their biological features, their psychological features and their environmental demands. The Ayurveda approach to health is remarkably similar to the eudaimonic conceptualization of well-being proposed by positive psychology, and the basic tenets of Ayurveda are deeply consistent with the latest developments of modern physics, which stresses the substantial interconnectedness among natural phenomena and their substrates. This text shows how the approach to health developed in Ayurveda can be fruitfully integrated in a general view of health and well-being that encompasses cultural and ideological boundaries. Specifically, it details the conceptualization of health as an optimal and mindful interaction between individuals and their environment.

Dr. Antonio Morandi, MD, Specialist in Neurology and Ayurveda Vaidya (Ayurveda Academy, Pune, India and Joytinat International College of Ayurveda), from 2002 is the Director of the School of Ayurvedic Medicine “Ayurvedic Point” (ISO 9001 certified) in Milan, Italy and President of the Italian Scientific Society for Ayurvedic Medicine (S.S.I.M.A.). His professional experience spans from experimental and clinical research conducted in Universities and Hospitals in USA and in Italy, to Manager of Research and Development Project Management of an international Pharmaceutical Company. His main research interest has been the mechanisms underlying the aging process and the role of psyche in the genesis of diseases. In  2003 has been awarded with the honorary doctorate Ayurveda Acharya from the Institute of Ayurveda Ashtavaidyan Thaikat Mooss, Kerala, India. He is Head of Medical Education of the European Institute of Vedic Studies, Sauve, France, and Director and Professor of the Ayurveda section at the PostDoctoral specialization course in “Health Sociology and Non Conventional Medicine”, University of Bologna, Italy. Dr. Morandi has been Scientific Director of the 1st International Congress on Ayurveda “Ayurveda: the meaning of life - awareness, environment and health” held in Milan, Italy on March 2009. He is Co-Chairman for Europe of the Research and Clinical Care Working Group created by the Dept of AYUSH, Ministry of Health, Government of India. Lecturer on Ayurveda in several Italian and foreign Universities, member of Editorial Boards and Boards of Reviewers and author of numerous publications, Dr.Morandi directs the Ayurvedic Medical Center  “Ayurvedic Point “ in Milan, Italy.