Book review
Developed from the Vedas, India’s ancient books of wisdom, Ayurveda combines physical, psychological and spiritual therapies in an approach to health that is as relevant to the modern world as it was to the ancient world when it first became part of India’s collective consciousness. Here, for the first time in the West, is a definitive handbook of a health care both sensible and sublime, that is still alive and well itself – the author is the first Westerner to graduate from an Indian Ayurvedic college.

Utilizing herbs and minerals, proper nutrition and purification and, above all, affirmative ways of living, Ayurveda treats not just the ailment but the whole person and emphasizes prevention of disease to avoid the need for cure. Its ancient message has helped spread the new holistic thinking in the West, encouraging us to become ‘stewards of life’ in order, now, to give civilization itself a chance to heal.


About the author Dr. Svoboda was the first and one of the few Westerners ever to obtain a degree (BAMS) from a traditional Indian Ayurvedic college. He graduated in 1980 from Tilak Ayurveda Mahavidyalaya in Pune, where Dr. Lad was one of his professors. Since that time he has traveled extensively around the world, lecturing and conducting workshops on Ayurveda. Dr. Svoboda has traveled to more than fifty countries in the world, understands six languages and has authored several books.