Mass mentality to adhere to and follow a tradition when associated with a legend or religious ritual is a mass social mind set. Festivities and customs have always emerged on the basis of this belief. Same is the case with the Karkitakam. Many similar favourable factors converged to a single point of focus to initiate a healthy Kerala Ayurveda Karikataka Chikitsa, the monsoon regimen.
Kerala society is based on the agricultural cycle. With the monsoons the fields are tilled, the saplings are planted during the fertile farming cycle of Tiruvathira Njattuvela and the next two months is the waiting period for the harvest and relatively free time for the farming community. Some intelligent health freaks started utilizing the period to boost the health of themselves and their livestock. The obvious result prompted others too to jump into the boat. Traditions got associated. Customs developed. The ridding of the evils was marked by the cleansing of the home and surroundings in an attempt to shoo away Chetta Bhagavathi. The cleansing is followed by the decking of the homes to usher in Sree Bhagavathi. The whole process assures clean green homes and confident content minds. The tradition of healthy nourishing diet and the healthy lifestyle kept the society physically healthy. The life of the farmers and related occupations was close to Nature and soil. They had a good knowledge of the natural cycles and respect towards all creations of Nature. They searched the monsoon meadows and through a trial and error process grouped the Dashapushpam together and clubbed it with the Karkitaka Chikitsa. Thus the whole month developed to be termed as the month of physical rejuvenation ad spiritual enrichment.
The run behind the modern trends and a blind folded aping of the western customs almost wiped away the locovoristic food habits and regional lifestyle. The mistake is getting realised though late. A few sections of the society are attempting a turnaround towards the proven healthy lifestyle. Genuine Ayurveda institutions sensed the change and rose up to reinvent a contemporary Karkitaka Chikitsa. Sakalya Ayurveda is one among these Ayurveda institutions. The flip side of the renewed interest in Karkitaka Chikitsa is the mushrooming of a multitude of quacks, who are much more lethal than the NIPAH virus. The article series is a humble attempt by Sakalya Ayurveda to spread awareness and share knowledge about the science related to the tradition. This is also a word of caution to keep away from the hawking quacks.
We willingly and voluntarily take up the responsibility of warning you as we are concerned about your health and life Please follow our SAKALYA AYURVEDA MONSOON SERIES weekly articles on www.sakalya.com blog page……
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