Interview of Dr. Vikram Chauhan for “Vedos” Magazine in Vilnius, Lithuania

Interviewer: I am from magazine Vedos. This is Lithuanian magazine about vedic life.

Dr. Vikram Chauhan: I am Vikram Chauhan, Dr Vikram I am from India. Planet Ayurveda in India. In India there is Vedic culture. Vedas are ancient manuscripts, ancient scriptures, written in ancient Indian culture. After those Vedas there is Ayurveda. There are four Vedas, Yajurveda, Samveda, Athrava veda, and Rig veda. Rig veda is the main first one. Then Rig veda, Yajur veda, Atharva veda and Sam veda. Four vedas are there, ancient manuscripts, which were in fact written on the bark of this breza birch tree. Do you know breza, birch? Don’t know birch. Yes. It is growing here in Lithuania and surrounding area. In Northern Europe birch is growing. In ancient India in Himalayan range there was this tree growing. So all the ancient sages were thinking and meditating they found this tree and they took the bark of this tree to write this vedic literature, manuscripts. Ayurveda is also one of those ancient literatures that are part of atharvaveda. It is upveda or subveda of the Atharveda. Ayurveda is made from two words, Ayu and Veda. ‘Ayu’ means life and ‘Veda’ means knowledge. So knowledge of life is Ayurveda. That is Ayurveda.

Interviewer: You write book about ayurveda by construction of God. Can you tell more about this book?

Dr. Vikram Chauhan: I have named it as “Ayurveda – God’s Manual for Healing“. Why it is God’s manual working here. When you have this for example, computer of this company apple and with this apple you must have got some manual small booklet. Did you get small booklet with this? Every company makes a product and gives small book. How to run this computer, how to use this computer, and if you buy a car you get manual, by what time you get its service, so similarly this ayurveda, actually this machine is made by the God. And I think there should be a manual and God gave the manual already Ayurveda. That is called Ayurveda. In ancient ayurvedic books it’s mentioned that it is science of Gods. Then there was some problem, whenever there is some disease, Gods were using certain nectars, some herbs to correct all the problems. That’s why I named it Gods manual. It is manual for our health and how this machine runs, how we should follow the routine, seasonal regime, diet and life style. How we should run this machine this is how, that’s why I named it “Ayurveda – God’s Manual of Healing”.

Interviewer: Ayurveda is based on ancient manuals, manuscripts ancient or it is good for today modern people. Life has changed.

Dr. Vikram Chauhan: Previously we were hunters and gatherers, we were living in forests we were hunting, and we were eating the fruits, vegetables long time ago. Then we became farmers. We started to do farming, agriculture, and became agriculturists, we were growing the crops, and now in this 21st century we have become industrialists so we are eating industrial food, it is very damaging, it is very disease causing food for the body. So this should not be consumed. We are basically like animals, like in past in ancient time we were living in forests but we should be thankful to God now that we are living in houses and we are having good life but it should not change our food because food for this machine is run by the fuel which is growing out in the forests so we should eat the forest food. We should eat the food which is growing from the earth. It should not be taken from some factory and made into some food. Like biscuits and all this packaged food, chips and the sparkling water. People are drinking this sparkling water. Recently there was a doctor with me in consultation. She agreed with me that we take lots of efforts to get rid of oxygen. To get rid of carbon dioxide when we inhale, we take oxygen when we exhale we throw carbon dioxide everybody knows that it is a toxin, carbon dioxide is a toxin. Similarly like we are breathing, our small cells they are also breathing, they are breathing out carbon dioxide they are struggling hard to get rid of the toxins and convert into carbon dioxide and then throw the carbon dioxide out and it will be out of the body. And what we do we drink carbonated water, sparkling water and load ourselves with lots of carbon dioxide, that sparkling water or soda, soda is meant from carbon dioxide so we burden our body. We should not drink that carbonated water; we should not drink that all such fizzy drinks. Fizzy drinks like these soft drinks, so all this is happening because we are becoming industrialized. So ayurveda is very much useful in today’s world. This machine has not changed, our system have changed. Now we are living in houses. Now we are having all these electronic gadgets but our digestive system is still the same. Our body works in the same pattern as it is working since thousands years ago. So we should not make any changes in the diet. Natural diet should be consumed, not the industrialized diet.

Interviewer: Why sometimes men know what work for him but he can’t glue to that. Why?

Dr. Vikram Chauhan: That’s a very good question. We know that this is bad for us and we still do that. That in Ayurveda is described as pragyaaprad. Pragyaaprad is a leading cause for all the diseases. ‘Pragya’ means the intelligence and ‘Aprad’ means when you commit the crime knowingly. When you do something which is not right. We know this is not right, this is wrong but we still do it. So pragyaaprad should not be done. This is because we are allured or tempted by our senses. For example there is some sweet , if I will give you some very sweet chocolate, or brownie, ice cream it is very tempting, then your tongue will tell to your brain, eat it, you need it. So that is what happens. Our sensory organs, they are telling us to feed for our sensory pleasures. So that’s what we don’t control our mind, because of sensory pleasures. To get sensory pleasure we get trapped and that’s why these things happen. Similarly not only the tongue but there are other sensory organs, like eyes are there, we want to watch TV, we watch cinema for hours and hours. We want to listen to music, loud music, disco for hours and hours for sensory pleasures. We use a lot of expensive perfumes for pleasure of our sensory organ nose and for the skin also, people indulge in wrong practices. For the pleasure of the skin prostitution and all such things. So all these sensory pleasures are the cause of pragyaaprad. Crime by the mind that you get tempted to do something which is not right. So that is because of this sensory pleasure and then that causes the diseases.

Interviewer: So how people can help for themselves?

Dr. Vikram Chauhan: To control the senses, how we can control our senses. See these are the five fingers, this the mind or the intellect, this is big finger, this is the biggest finger, so you can compare it with your mental health. This is your mind, mind has differentiated us from the animals, so if our mind is happy and we are in good shape, mental shape, then we can keep our senses and body in good shape and if our mind is good, our body is good, this is mental health and this physical health, this is your financial health.

Interviewer: What?

Dr. Vikram Chauhan: Financial, money matters. So if your mind is good, your body is good then also you will have money, money to enjoy and then your financial health is good, your social health is also good. Because all the society will like to have connection with you. Because you have good finances. You have good mind, good health and all this financial health, social health and physical health is maintained because of your intellect or your mind. If your mind is doing everything right and accurate then you are maintaining good relationship, you are good in talking, you are good in behavior, you are good in intentions that is mental health. Your behavior is good, your intention is good and then you can maintain your physical health, financial health and social health. But question was how to control the senses. So this is mind which is above the senses. So how to control the mind that is what you have asked. So I explain you only about the four and this is the fifth one. This is something very important, it looks so small but you can’t hold your pen with this. It is difficult? You can’t write. It can’t function properly. Without the thumb it is very difficult to function properly. You can’t drink coffee, tea. So it is very difficult. So this finger controls the mental health. And what is this finger, this finger is your spiritual health. If you are connected with God or universal energy, top universal energy. You are connected through yoga or through Meditation, and then we can control all the senses of the mind. And we understand how and what we need because there is little difference between need and want so we don’t know how much we need and how much we want and most of the time people are running around because of their desires. So those big desires and even up to desire for something is ok but when desire becomes bigger that become greed. Sometimes we need, then we want and then we have desires then we have greed. So people just jump from here to greed. So this greediness is the cause of imbalance. So that is one thing, greed is one and there are other problems, like lust is there, anger is there, hatred is there, jealousy is there. All the negative emotions are there. They all arise when we are not meditating or trying to tell ourselves what we are. If we tell ourselves every day that you are a soul, you are powerful, you are blissful, you are happy, you are loving, you are caring, you are pure, all these things and you have a lot of knowledge. God is giving you all the knowledge. So you take the knowledge from above and everything in your mind stays normal and avoids these senses pleasure. I am not saying that you don’t indulge. Sometimes, you can have some chocolate brownie or something but very rarely. There are different types of people, satvik, rajsik and tamsik. Most of the people are rajsik type but they forget the sickness and they go into tamsik. Tamsik is complete negativity. If there are rajsik people, then in the company of satvik people they become satvik, and rajsik people in the company of tamsik people become tamsik, so most of the people are rajsik. So it’s better to have a good company. So the good company or the satsang (preaching) is very important, or the company of good people. If you have company of good people then you will remain normal. Then you will not indulge in wrong things.

Interviewer: Questions about herbs. You make most preparations from Indian herbs or Lithuanian, for Lithuanian people, are Indian herbs better than Lithuanian herbs?

Dr. Vikram Chauhan: He is from Latvia and his name is Alexander and he is distributing products in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, Planet Ayurveda products. This is our Lithuanian distributor. So your question is whether the herbs from India are better or Lithuanian are better or for Lithuanian, Indian herbs are better? When we created these borders, when? When Latvia was created, when Lithuania was created, when Russia, China, India all these when they were created. When planet earth began, originated this was just one planet, when we made these lands, partitions few years ago, check the history every hundred years, the borders changed. Every 200 years everything changes. Every 300 years the whole thing changes. So these borders are just created. You can say five hundred years before we were humans; we have been existing from thousands of years. Just imagine ten thousand years ago or 5 thousand years ago, these herbs were not lithuanian, or Latvian or Indians. These herbs were from planet earth and they are the same and we are humans and we are all one species of Homo sapiens. So the herbs are working equally well for all the humans. So Indian herbs are working for Chinese, Lithuanians, Latvians, and Americans. American herbs are also working for Indians or Lithuanian. Lithuanian herbs are also working for Indians. So the herbs and their properties are described in Ayurveda. For example this breza you call it, its properties are described in ayurveda so you can use Lithuanian herb. They are there in ayurveda. In Ayurveda it is also mentioned that if you don’t know the herb, if you have never seen the herb, you can just check the herb and you can taste the herb, smell the herb, you can, because you are an ayurvedic doctor, you can just check the herb and you can understand how it works because the herb works by taste, the smell, by its potency whether it is hot or cool. You eat some herb you immediately feels, it is heating or it is cooling. For example you take some black pepper. Is it heating or cooling? So it is heating for a Lithuanian, heating for an Indian, it is heating for an American. So similarly if we don’t know any herb for example growing in Lithuania, we can analyze that herb and can make medicine from that herb. Use it. Principles are described in Ayurveda. So you can use herb from any other country. It works for all.

Interviewer: What about food?

Dr. Vikram Chauhan: He is Mr. Andrews. He is our distributor in Lithuania for Planet Ayurveda. She is his wife Rozana and she is also practicing Ayurveda. A little bit she has started. She will practice more and he has all kinds of Ayurveda products here. So we were talking about the food. Food in Lithuania. So she wants to know which food is better Lithuanian or Indian. Because Indian food has different properties. All the foods have, not only Indian. Food regulation has occurred, It is now more industrial food. We should not take industrial food. It can be from any country. It should not be an industrial food. It can be natural food from any country, it has some properties. Ayurveda has divided all kinds of food in different categories; there is food which is growing in the fields. Like rice, maize and this wheat. They have certain properties which are described in Ayurveda. Then there are pulses and grains. There is certain category of food which Ayurveda has explained. Ayurveda has explained milk and milk products. Ayurveda has explained different types of meat products also. All kinds of meat are also explained in Ayurveda. All kinds of alcohol, different alcohol types are also explained in Ayurveda. Many people they say that Ayurveda is a kind of Hindu religion, no meat products, no alcohol; Ayurveda has explained the properties of all the food items. All the different meat from different animals, Ayurveda has explained. Alcohols of different types whatever we have now, Ayurveda has also explained the properties of all types of alcohol. Ayurveda has also categorized different types of milk from different animals. Not only from cow, sheep or goat but also from the camel, elephant, and also human milk. So all kinds of milk are explained in Ayurveda. So it doesn’t matter you are Lithuanian, that you can’t drink that milk or you can’t have that food from India. You can have but it has certain properties. All the properties of food should be consumed according to your body type is, it all depends upon what type of food is suitable for you. So if we have something sweet from India and if you are Vata Pitta type, then it will be very good for you or if you have something which is pungent or sour or salty and if you are pitta type, it doesn’t matter if you are Lithuanian or whatever if you will take Pitta type of food, your pitta will increase so according to Ayurveda our body is made up of five elements- earth, water, fire, air and space. So those five elements are manufactured in the form of three energies in our body. This kapha, pitta and vata. So if we consume food which is having lot of pitta or the fire and our prakriti is also fire then food can be from Mexico, from Argentina, from India, from America if it is food full of fire then it will increase the fire. So it is a very basic principle in Ayurveda in verse, sarvda sarv bhavanam, samayam vridhikarnam, hans hetu visheshca. Similar things increase similar things or properties or opposite. For example this fire, if we want to get rid of this fire we put some water or put some sand. Sand is earth, water is water. Earth and water bring down the fire. In our body if we are pitta type, earth and water are sweet, sweet can bring down Pitta, natural sweet.

Interviewer: What is most important for man who started willing to buy Ayurveda? What are most important herbs?

Dr. Vikram Chauhan: First thing to learn by person is to start living in an ayurvedic way. First thing is to know the prakriti, body’s constitution. Second thing is to know the relationship of the body with the environment with the season, with the day and night and the season. Third thing is to know the relationship of the food items with his body. These are the basic if know yourself, if you know the environment you are living in. If you know the food you are eating then it can have good body or having good mind you should have good social life, good mental health, good spiritual health, this is how we should constitute.

Interviewer: One last question. About Ayurveda for animals. Tell more about how you discuss it?

Dr. Vikram Chauhan: How it is not possible? Ayurveda is not working for animals, but its working for animals. Ayurveda is there for animals, we are also animals. So we just evolve somewhere here and started living in houses and eating industrial food now. Ayurveda works in similar principles which work on humans. As we see vata pitta kapha or the five elements are there and we are made up of those five elements plus soul. Similarly type of animals, certain are vata animals, certain are pitta animals, certain are kapha animals and their diseases are caused by imbalance of vata, pitta and kapha. So on similar principles, we use herbal medicines for various animals. You can know the prakriti of the animal, we can know the disease of the animals and we can analyze the imbalance. For example, I order some medicines for a horse from America. So I already ordered same products which were for humans. What when she got the products she said I need to use them for my horse for his knee joints. That product which I made, that was for humans for knee joints. She said I want to use it for my horse because my horse is not able to walk, doctor putting in injections, and still not able to walk, tell us the dosages. So I told them give one bottle, 60 capsules in one day and within three four days the horse was normal, and he was able to walk without pain and then they ask me to make the product for them for their company for animals. Then I made products for cats, for dogs, and for horses. So we have ayurveda for pets, ayurveda for animals, in reality I have products for pets, for dogs, horses and cats. So I am selling in America and also in India now, some herbal organic products.

Interviewer: Thank you for answers. What do you wish for Lithuanian people?

Dr. Vikram Chauhan: I wish that, I like Lithuania very much, I am here for the first time and I like the people here, they are quite healthy. I won’t say they are very unhealthy. But I have observed from different countries that Lithuanian people are having better life style of course the eating habits lot of salad they eat. So I wish them health and I wish that they keep enjoying the good air they are blessed with. In Lithuania the air quality is very good. There is less traffic on the roads and there are more forests so just live close to nature and don’t fall in crap of this industrialized food and then things will be ok. You will be very good and follow the natural lifestyle and natural routine. And try to learn more ayurvedic principles and adopt Ayurveda in their lives and one more thing, Ayurveda is not religion. Here may be some confusion that some ayurvedic doctor from India is preaching about ayurveda and it is kind of religion, no it is not religion; it is an ancient ayurvedic medical science. Where herbs and natural things are used in life, it is way of life. Natural life style is used to get rid of the diseases. It’s not about teaching or preaching about some Hindu religion or any other religion. So anybody can adopt ayurveda. Thank you.