“Good Morning. I am new to Ayurveda. I am enjoying the way I feel and how my daughters feel with the diet change and herb supplements. I do have a concern though. We are born again Christians. Jesus Christ is our only Lord. What are your thoughts on a family following Ayurveda diet & Medicine withoutthe spiritual connection of chanting, etc. I have been told conflicting things on this subject.
Thank you for your insight.
Sue H.”
Dear Susan: welcome to Ayurveda! And rest assured that Ayurveda is through and through a secular health care science. As far as chanting goes, while it has and may be used by religious aspirants as an aspect of spiritual practice, by definition in Ayurveda, chanting and the recitation of sounds or mantra-s is part of a holistic healing protocol that aims to reset the physiology on a vibrational level, to relax and calm the nervous system and the mind to initiate total optimal healing. This is a purely scientific and observable practice that can be measured with modern scientific instruments. The PNI theory or theory of psycho-neuro-immunology has
given many breakthrough conclusions through modern scientificresearch. Thousands of studies have been published in well-known journals showing the benefits of exposing the physiology to specific vibrational sounds (of (ayur)vedic or other origin) for therapeutic purposes. See, for example, the recordings I recently released with carnatic vocalist Aditya Prakash, the balancing mantras for the organs and different aspects of the physiology.
So in and of itself, the recitation of mantras or chants is not a religious activity as originally described and prescribed by Ayurveda. Through listening to chants or chanting oneself, the physiology is meant to be brought to relax, made to take the inward stroke by silencing the external sensory experiences. In this sense, chanting of specific syllables can be used by people of any credence or religion, without foregoing their faith, as a balancing tool that helps calm the nervous system, and silence the mind so there can be even better communication, for example, through prayer, between the individual and his/her God.
