Modern and Global Ayurveda: Pluralism and Paradigms

Modern and Global Ayurveda provides an overview of the relatively recent history of Ayurveda in its modern and globalized forms. One of the traditional medical systems originating on the Indian subcontinent, Ayurveda is fast becoming a transnational phenomenon. Contributors to this volume include both scholars and practitioners of Ayurveda. The wide range of perspectives they offer include the philosophical, anthropological, sociopolitical, economic, biomedical, and pharmacological. Issues such as the ideological clashes between “classical” and “modernized” Ayurveda, the “export” of Ayurvedic medical lore to Western countries, and the possible “reimport” of its adapted and reinterpreted contents are covered and prove particularly relevant to contemporary discussion on the integration of complementary and alternative health care.

About the Authors: 

Dagmar Wujastyk is an independent scholar pursuing her PhD in Indology at Bonn University, Germany. Frederick M. Smith is Professor of Sanskrit and Classical Indian Religions at the University of lowa and the author of The Vedic Sacrifice in Transition: A Translation and Study of the Trikandamandana of Bhaskara Misra

Review:

“This book is a really good overview of contemporary Ayurveda: the colonial transformations; the formation of Ayurvedic colleges, institutes, and associations in response to the allopathic influence; the capitalist and global marketing procedures that affect the packaging and distribution of Ayurvedic pharmaceuticals; the global outreach into Europe; and the impact of Ayurveda on New Age religion and thought with a special focus on Maharishi Ayurveda.” Gananath Obeyesekere, author of Cannibal Talk:The Man-Eating Myth and Human Sacrifice in the South Seas