Books on Ayurveda

A comprehensive list of books on Ayurveda can be found at https://www.vedamsbooks.com/ayurveda.htm

Ayurveda Notes on Rasa and Dhatu

Signs and Symptoms of vitiated tissues (Dhatus)

Restlessness, palpitation, cardiac pain, exhaustion without cause, irritation by loud noises, haemoglobin deficiency, roughness and dryness of skin.

• Muscle (mamsa) - cracking joints, eye
• Fat (medas) - lassitude, overly thin constitution, exhaustion, falling hair, nails, teeth, loose joints
• Bone (asthi) - thinness, weakness, bone, lightness, Vayu bone diseases weakness, and dry mouth
• Marrow (majja) - pallor, lassitude
• Reproductive - exertion, impotence, non-ejaculation of semen
• Essence (ukra)

Sapta (Seven) Dhatus and their functions:

• Rasa (fluid) Dhatu -Derived from the digested food, it nourishes each and every tissue and cell of the body and is analogous to the plasma.
• Rakta (blood) Dhatu - Regarded as the basic of life, it is analogous to the circulating blood cells. It not only nourishes the body tissues, but provides physical strength and colour to the body.
• Masma Dhatu - The muscle tissue, its main function is to provide physical strength and support for the meda dhatu.
• Meda (fat) Dhatu - Consists of adipose tissue providing support to ashti dhatu. It also lubricates the body.
• Ashti Dhatu - Comprising of bone tissues, including cartilages, its main function is to give support to the majja dhatu and provide support to the masma dhatu.
• Majja Dhatu - Denoting the yellow and red bone marrow tissue, its main function is to fill up the ashti and to oleate the body.
• Shukra Dhatu - The main aim of this reproductive tissue is to help reproduction and strengthen the body.
• Blood (rakta) - cracks, loss of luster, emaciation (especially of buttocks, neck and abdomen)

Table 1: Dhatus. The information presented here is derived from Principles of Pharmacology in Ayurved by Dr. Kulkarni.

Indian Name	Modern Translation of Meaning	Indications of Favorable Condition
Rasa	nutrient portion of the blood	good skin quality, vitality
Rakta	blood (e.g., blood cells)	good coloration of the cheeks, lips, ear lobes, tongue, tip of nose; warm palms and soles
Mamsa	muscles and soft tissues	muscles of chest, arms, and legs are strong; facial muscles yield good expression and eye movements, speech is clear
Medas	lipids (fats, membranes)	proper moisture of skin, eyes, lips, and hair; normal sweating without bad odor; no excessive accumulation of fat in the area of abdomen, hips, back, and neck
Asthi	bones, cartilage	well-proportioned body, strong teeth and nails, thick hair; joints are supple and freely mobile
Majja	marrow	glowing face, healthy skin, soft voice
Shukra	vital fluid, semen	eyes are bright, teeth are white, skin is soft, voice is pleasant, sexual vitality is strong but controlled

Must Read Books On Spirituality

I understand that no book is needed for attaining the ultimate. Though these are few great books that may guide you on your spiritual path. Here are my favorites -

"I Am That" by Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj

"The First And The Last Freedom" by Jiddu Krishnamurti

"Vigyan Bhairav Tantra (The Book Of Secrets)" Part I by Osho

"Vigyan Bhairav Tantra (The Book Of Secrets)" Part II by Osho

Buddha Boredom

Feeling bored. Want to change it, want to change it with doing something interesting, something fun, something cool .. check this out -

Something strange is happening. I begin to like this undercurrent of boredom that runs through my life. It is part of my life, no, it is my life! Looked at from one side it is boredom; seen from the other it is sheer s p a c i o u s n e s s. My excitements, my activities are small islands in a vast ocean of boredom-spaciousness. Islands come and go – the ocean is. Why would I want to fill this boredom space with something to do? Is it not beautiful and perfect? It was its emptiness that scared me. But it is not only empty, it is also spacious. And this spaciousness is wonderful, like sitting on a mountain peak with nothing around but translucent blue space. So let there be spacious boredom!

Full Book - http://www.globalserve.net/~sarlo/VishramBoring4.htm

Buddha was utterly bored. He left his kingdom when he was only twenty-nine, at the peak of his youth. He was utterly bored—with wine, with wealth, with kingdom, with everything. He had seen all, he had seen through and through. He was bored. Traditionally it is said he renounced the world because the world is bad – that is absolutely nonsense. He renounced the world because he became so bored with it. ... more

Dowsing, The Paranormal Witching

My exploration to western books is continuing. Recently I started a book on Dowsing, the psychic ability to find water, gemstones, metals or other objects. This is nothing new in Indology and Indology has well developed process for this. The difference from Western dowsing and Indian dowsing is the reliance on the psychic abilities and intuitions. Indology has defined it in more detail and supported it with some other branches of Indology. Also all such topics converge to each other. Whereas in western world all such psychic branches are independent to each other. Also normally we have some detailed process involved to develop these psychic abilities, but in Western world, they have just-do-it kind of approach. Around ten years back, unknowingly, I tried few of dowsing methods and found that the objects were responding to my queries. I remember how the crystal was moving just by the directions of my mind. Though I believe, at that initial level, these were my more my bodily response to my queries rather than any divine response.

Anyways, here is how wikipedia defines dowsing -

Dowsing, sometimes called divining or water witching, refers to practices in which people claim to detect hidden water, metals, gemstones or other objects, usually obstructed by land or sometimes located on a map. Most commonly, the movement or vibrations of apparatus, such as a Y-shaped twig, an L-shaped rod or a pendulum, is used. Some practitioners use no apparatus at all.

Dowsing is considered pseudoscience by the scientific community while Practitioners say their powers are paranormal. Research intended to prove its efficacy has failed to do so, but some people believe that it works, and it is widely practiced in its various forms.
The detailed wikipedia article can be found here.