This is the fifth article in a remarkable series on Ayurveda by Prof. K. K. Bhaumik, Chairman of Coordinating Council of Association of Astrology & Allied Sciences. A renowned figure on astro-occult sciences, he is an internationally acclaimed authority in this field. Though modern medicine and curative methods do not recognize the role of divinity in the management of diseases, Ayurveda is essentially a religious medical science, based in astrology, which believes in holistic curing of ailments through a pronounced spiritual methodology. Ayurveda helps opening our mind, soul and body to cosmic forces of life and prepares human beings for spiritual re-examination through its unique and highly metaphysical curative process.

He was a young, bubbling man of 31 when he was seriously maimed and mauled by a street accident. His mobility was completely jeopardised as both his feet were wasted. A series of major surgeries failed to make him stand on his feet again and he lost all his desire to live when a renowned orthopaedic surgeon advised him to seek divine blessings and a few exercises. Seven years later, he now walks without any crutches, however, with a limp.

Power of Prayer -- and Exercise!

Sustained exercises helped him to regain the strength of his muscles, while prayers seeking divine blessings helped him to get over the psychological trauma. He gradually retrieved his faith in himself and developed a strong desire to walk again. Prayers restored his desire to live. The miracle that happened with the young man was largely due to his faith in divinity, which restored in him a positive will and a faith in him.

Root Cause of Diseases

This lack of faith coupled with negative feelings often is the root cause of diseases and their perpetuation. Hence, according to Ayurveda, the first step to healing is to open up the mind to divinity or cosmic life forces through restoration of positive feelings and an indomitable desire to be healed.

Though modern medicine and curative methods do not recognize the role of divinity in the management of diseases, Ayurveda is essentially a religious medical science, which believes in holistic curing of ailments through a pronounced spiritual methodology. Ayurveda helps opening our mind, soul and body to cosmic forces of life and prepares human beings for spiritual re-examination through its unique and highly metaphysical curative process.

Astro-occult Ayurvedic practitioners also recommend the wearing of gems, either as rings or as pendants hanging down from the neck as a cure for diseases after a thorough astrological calculation and identification of the exact malefic planet and its negative influences. The doses are the size of the gems.

According to vedic astrology, the fingers on our hands correspond to the five elements:
the little finger represents Earth
the ring finger represents Water
the middle finger represents Air
the index finger represents Ether (Akasha)
the thumb represents Fire
The planets ruling these fingers and elements are:
Mercury (earth/little finger)
Sun or Moon (water/ring finger)
Saturn (air/middle finger)
Jupiter (ether/index finger)
No specific planet rules the thumb
By wearing gems related to the planets and elements on the appropriate fingers one can amplify the powers of the elements, counter negative influences of planets and enhance their benign influences on human life and body. The process not only effectively reduces possibilities of diseases caused by the malefic influences of planets by augmenting the powers of the elements, it also helps in the curing process.

The chart given below shows the gems that correspond to the planets:

	Planets	Gems
	Sun	Ruby
	Moon	Pearl
	Mars	Red Coral
	Mercury	Emerald
	Jupiter	Yellow Sapphire
	Venus	Diamond
	Saturn	Blue Sapphire
	Rahu (North Lunar Node)	Garnet
	Ketu (North Lunar Node)	Cat's Eye

	Precious Gems	Substitutes
	Ruby	Garnet or Sunstone
	Pearl	Moonstone
	Emerald	Peridot or Jade
	Yellow Sapphire	Yellow Topaz or Citrine
	Diamond	Clear Zircon
	Blue Sapphire	Amethyst

Colours too have miraculous healing properties and powers to neutralise malevolent influences of planets on human health and mind. Colours can be used in the same way as gems as colours too correspond to specific planets. Given below some of the colours and their corresponding planets:

	Planets	Colours [vedic colours vary from Western colours]
	Sun	Red
	Moon	White
	Mars	Dark Red
	Mercury	Green
	Jupiter	Yellow, Gold
	Venus	Transparent, Variegated
	Saturn	Dark Blue, Black
	Rahu	Ultraviolet
	Ketu	Infrared

Effective colour therapy entails bathing human body in the light of the particular colour specifically required. A person can be exposed even more to that particular colour through clothes, flowers, environment etc.

Ayurveda is intimately bound up with Astrology and with the planetary rulerships of herbs, gems, and other natural items. The skillful use of the correct remedy, as determined by its planetary rulership, can neutralise the effects of malefic planets on our health and general well-being. This valuable series of articles by one of the world's leading authorities will be continued on this site over coming months. Click to read more about Ayurveda, the science of life, and the way ayurveda is related to astrology.