Article by Dr Raghuram Y.S. MD (Ay) & Dr Manasa S, B.A.M.S

Shat = six
Utkrushtatama – best
Bhavas – factors, habits

Master Charaka mentions six best habits worth practicing in our life. They can also be considered as the five best factors which adds value to one’s life and makes it meaningful and hence should be brought into practices in one’s life.

In this article we will try to enlist and understand the meaning and worth of those six factors or habits explained by Acharya Charaka.

Reference – Charaka Sutra Sthana, Chapter 30, Verse 15 (Cha Su, 30/15)

Shat Utkrustatama Bhavas: Best factors or desirable habits for life

अथ खल्वेकं प्राणवर्धनानामुत्कृष्टतममेकं बलवर्धनानामेकं बृंहणानामेकं नन्दनानामेकं हर्षणानामेकमयनानामिति | तत्राहिंसा प्राणिनां प्राणवर्धनानामुत्कृष्टतमं, वीर्यं बलवर्धनानां, विद्या बृंहणानाम्, इन्द्रियजयो नन्दनानां, तत्त्वावबोधोहर्षणानां, ब्रह्मचर्यमयनानामिति; एवमायुर्वेदविदो मन्यन्ते||१५||
There are many factors which contribute towards enhancing any attribute that we possess or to fortify the same, but one among those factors will be the best one. Here, we speak about the best factors which would increase five attributes in us, one best factor to enhance or fortify or enrich one particular attribute. 

Example – there may be many drinks or liquids which might quench our thirst, but none is better than water. So, water is the best drink for a thirsty person. It is also abundantly available. And no other liquid satisfies or pacifies the thirst as quickly and as effectively the water does.

So, which factors and what attributes is Acharya Charaka speaking about?

The related question is – ‘Is there at least one utmost factor amongst the other factors which can bestow or enhance the below mentioned attributes?’

1.    One for bestowing longevity
2.    One for improving strength
3.    One which always needs to be increased
4.    One among all types and sources of happiness
5.    One for ecstasy / exaltation
6.    One for path of self-realization

Acharya Charaka says ‘yes’ and also mentions one factor for each of the above-mentioned attributes.

1. Ahimsa Prana Vardhananam Utkrushtatamam

Ahimsa – non-violence is the best factor / habit (practice) to promote and bestow longevity of living beings. Ahimsa is said to be the best form of Dharma – righteousness and hence is a part of Purushartha Chatushtaya, the four pursuits of life. When one chose the right way of living, he or she also would choose ahimsa.

Himsa means ‘causing harm’ or doing violence. Ahimsa means not harming or adopting non-violence.

Here ahimsa should be understood in a broader sense –

–        Not harming self
–        Not harming others

It also includes of not developing thoughts of harming others. When the person is in such a state, he is evolved and is sattvika in nature – a person having a serene balance of trigunas – sattva, rajas and tamas.

In this state, the person will not commit prajnaparadha – intellectual errors (obsessive mistakes). He will also avoid asatmya indriyartha sannikarsha – i.e. abnormal contact of senses with sense objects and hence have control over his senses. So, he has avoided two main causes of all diseases. This would promote longevity of life.

When the person is in the pathway of dharma, he would also have avoided harm to self and others. It is also true vice versa, i.e. when a person practices non-violence, he values life and hence on the pathway of dharma. When he is indulged in a Dharmic way of life, his choices related to food and lifestyle and behaviour would all be in a righteous path. So, he has selected a healthy way of living and hence longevity of life.

Ahimsa is said to be the best in enhancing or promoting Prana. Here if prana is taken as life, the person practicing ahimsa would respect his and other’s life and consider life as the best gift from God and that he is an important part of creation. This will help him in taking care of not only his life but also the life of others in and around him. This enhanced positive thinking and self-respecting attitude would enhance the lifespan of individuals.

Now-a-days people are weak minded and tend to commit suicide for trivial reasons, thus not valuing the ‘life’ of self. The lessons of ‘Ahimsa’ are of utmost importance even as a part of psychotherapy to make people realize the importance of self and all lives.

Ahimsa enables the person to earn love, respect, friends, relationships and good people in his or her life. This is the greatest life support system in one’s life.

2. Veeryam Bala Vardhananam Utkrushtatamam

Veerya means courage, valour or fearlessness. It is said to be the best factor / habit (practice) to promote and bestow bala – strength (immunity, endurance) in living beings.

We keep doing so much work throughout the day. This is essential for us to live and to earn and to lead life. Strength is needed to do any activity / action. Some people accomplish their actions or work with physical strength, some with mental strength and some others with both. But the driving force would be ‘the courage factor’ in each case. Courage is the seed of strength needed to do any work or achieve anything. Courage enhances strength. It promotes both physical and mental strength needed for accomplishing any task – karma. Courage enables us and strengthens us to accomplish even the toughest tasks, in toughest conditions. If the courage is down and out, even the easiest task would look impossible to accomplish. So, courage is the driving force and fuel for the strength needed to accomplish all life activities. Therefore, courage is the best among the promoters of strength.

3. Vidya Brimhananam Utkrushtatamam

Brimhana means nourishing or (bulk) enhancing. It is one of the Upakramas i.e. sub-therapies and an important strategic intervention in Ayurveda. But in this context, Brimhana shall be taken as ‘those / anything which deserves to be always increased or enhanced’.

Vidya means knowledge. Vidya or knowledge is the best factor / habit (practice) which always deserves to be increased / enhanced or should always be increased. Among all factors which need to be increased or enhanced always, knowledge tops the list and is always the best.

There is no limitation to knowledge. So, the more you enhance, the more it accommodates. Life itself is a journey of continued learning and acquiring knowledge and we do it at every juncture of life. Our life depends on what we learn and how we bring the knowledge of everything into practice. We learn new things as we ascend the graph of the timeline of our life. So, the process of learning and knowledge is never stagnant. It is constantly nurtured and updated with every new thing we learn. Knowledge is the source of evolution of mankind and hence it needs to be constantly nurtured and increased. Nothing else deserves to be increased so constantly and consistently as does the knowledge.

4. Indriya Jayo Nandananam Utkrushtatamam

Indriya Jaya means gaining victory or conquering over the senses. It also means to gain ‘self-control’. Self-control is one of the toughest things to practice and master upon. But once practiced and mastered, it becomes the source of bliss, unlimited happiness and mental peace and health.

Nandana means ‘a state of being happy’. ‘Control over the senses’ is said to be the best factor / habit (practice) to promote and bestow Nandana – happiness in living beings.

Asatmya Indriyartha Samyoga / Sannikarsha i.e. improper or erroneous contact of the sense organs with sense objects is said to be one of the three main causative factors of all diseases. Such contact may be of deficit, excess or perverted kinds.

When we start controlling our senses we can effectively abort or avoid such contacts of the indriyas. This will help the indriyas be in a state of balance. When one gains such control, he would develop the sattva guna in him and gain control of rajas and tamas qualities of mind and their fluctuations. This is a point of self-realization. Here, the person would not commit ‘conscious mistakes / sins’ i.e. prajnaparadha. With this, the mind too will be in control and the atma i.e. soul – in a state of bliss. The prasannata – i.e. pleasure state of atma, indriyas and manas is an important criterion for psycho-somatic health and also helps in prevention of many mental disorders. This forms the source of happiness, pleasure and bliss.

5. Tattva Bodho Harshananam Utkrushtatamam

Tattva Bodha means ‘knowledge or realization of truth’. The knowledge of Atma or knowing the difference between the Jivatma – individual soul and Paramatma – greater soul can also be considered as Tattva Bodha. It is when one realizes that he or she is a minute and negligible part of this cosmos / creation.

Harshana means ‘getting exhilarated or ecstatic’. It is a state of being exalted, a unique feeling after having discovered or realized the greatest truth in life.

‘Tattva Bodha – Knowledge of realization of truth’ is said to be the best factor / habit (practice) to promote and bestow Harshana – exhilaration or a state of ecstasy – in living beings.

This realization is the foundation and stepping stone towards a meaningful spiritual journey. Here the person loses the egoism and becomes aware and enlightened.

6. Brahmacharyam Ayananam Utkrushtatamam

Ayana means path, way or pathway. From a spiritual perspective, ayana means pathway leading to self-realization.

Brahmacharya means celibacy in actual sense. But it has an elaborate and deeper meaning as we dig deep into understanding the term. Brahmacharya broadly means living a principled life while following the principles of the creator and creation. This again includes rightful following of Purusharthas i.e. Dharma, Artha and Kama which will lead to Moksha – the ultimate liberation.

According to Ayurveda Brahmacharya is one of the Traya Upastambhas i.e. three supporting pillars of human life, the other two being Ahara – food and Nidra – sleep.

Celibacy is equated with sexual abstinence but the term Brahmacharya can be elaborated to include abstinence from everything which is bad and unwholesome. Brahmacharya is also an Ashrama – the stage of life. This describes the earliest phase of life, wherein one is indulged in the process of learning – the student life. One can always be a Brahmachari throughout life, through all phases of life, since there is no limitation of knowledge and we are always students of life.

‘Brahmacharya’ is said to be the best factor / habit (practice) to promote and bestow Ayana, or in other words to open up the pathways leading to self-realization.

Among all the pathways that lead to self-realization, Brahmacharya is the best.