At one time or another, almost everyone has wondered about the vast range of differences that exist among human beings. Though physiologically, we are made of the same substances and function in much the same way, our responses to life vary tremendously. Why do human beings exhibit such diversity in size, shape, complexion, energy levels and health? What produces the great variety in intelligence, emotional responses and adaptability to the environment’s demands?
The exact same influences or stimuli seem to produce disparate, even opposite reactions in people. Consequently, we have developed the saying: “One person’s food is another person’s poison.” For example, in a room full of people at a party, some will feel hot and stuffy and want to open a window, while others will feel quite comfortable with the temperature as it is. Still others will feel chilly and want to turn up the heat. What accounts for these diverse experiences of something so simple as room temperature?
It is also common for people to experience the same results from totally opposite influences, as shown in research on longevity. In interviews with the elderly, scientists have not been able to develop a consensus on the factors responsible for a long and healthy life. Some people credit their longevity to working hard and staying busy, while others attribute it to a relaxed, easy-going attitude about life. Some insist that their long life is due to eating a particular type of food, while others claim completely different foods to be responsible for their longevity.
How can we explain the fact that one person eats little, exercises a great deal and still gains weight, while another person gorges on food, rarely exercises and never seems to put on any weight? Why is it that one person can easily handle a hot, spicy, Mexican meal, while another lies awake all night with indigestion? Why does milk nourish and strengthen one individual and give another one stomach cramps, loose bowels or allergies? Why do some people require only five or six hours of sleep, while others need eight or nine hours to feel rested?
Trying to make sense of these differences can be confusing. Few psychological or physiological models of human nature are comprehensive enough to explain the reason behind these differences. As a consequence, no single type of diet, exercise program or medical approach seems to work for everybody.
Your Doshic Constitution
However, when the vast array of physical, mental and emotional responses are viewed in light of the theories of Panchamahabhuta and Tridosha, it all makes perfect sense. As we have already discussed, all phenomena in creation arise from the continuous interaction of the five universal organizing principles or mahabhutas and their corresponding physical elements. Though each and every object contains all five elements, there are two factors that account for the vast diversity of physical existence:
(i) the bhuta or bhutas that predominate in an object; and
(ii) the phase of creation (sattva, rajas, tamas) that governs that object.
We are able to gain knowledge of the world — to perceive these ever-changing relationships among the bhutas and the gunas — because of our minds’ ability to compile, compare and discriminate among things. Regardless of whether they are thoughts, feelings or objects within our perceptual field, it is the comparative differences that the mind is able to detect which give us knowledge of diversity. In a field of similarities, nothing stands out. For instance, if all we had ever eaten were strawberries, we would not be able to appreciate their delicious taste. We would never have experienced any other taste with which to compare it.
The differences between things draw our attention and allow us to know them. We watch the Olympics to see which athletes will excel, not to see all the athletes give the same performance. The things within our perceptual field that are most easily known to us are those which stand out — the biggest, the brightest, the loudest, etc. For example, there are many impressively tall mountains that exist in the world, but when asked to name them, most of us remember only one—Mt. Everest. Why? It stands out in our minds as being the tallest.
Vaishamya
The mind’s inherent tendency to gain knowledge through comparison and differentiation is what allows us to identify our own particular physiological and psychological predispositions. Just as variations in the physical world exist due to the predominance of one or more bhutas, so variations in human beings exist due to the predominance of one or more doshas. Our diversity does not arise by chance; it correlates directly with each person’s doshic make-up.
Each dosha displays a unique set of qualities that defines the way it functions in the body. Since it is common for one dosha, and sometimes two, to have a predominating influence, its set of qualities or characteristics will be more obvious than those of the other doshas. The three, however, are never found in equal dominance. Such a state would destroy the dynamic nature of their relationship and produce a stasis. We would also be unable to perceive any distinctions, since no one set of characteristics would stand out.
This situation never occurs in life. It is the relative disparities among the doshas that generates the momentum and change we call evolution. The fact that we can and do identify the differences among ourselves is due to the relative dominance of one or more of the doshas.
Each of us is born with a doshic “fingerprint,” a unique set of traits formed by the relative strengths of the doshas in our constitution. Not only our physiology but our personality evolves from this doshic make-up. It determines the unique way each of us responds physically, mentally and emotionally. Our dominant doshic qualities are like Mt. Everest. The mind recognizes them most easily. This phenomenon is called vaishamya. Vaishamya is the Ayurvedic term to denote the recognizable influence of one dosha over the others, brought about by its predominance in the body.
Ayurveda refers to our doshic constitution as prakruti, which means “nature.” It uses this word to denote both our individual nature and the whole of nature. This underscores the intimate connection which Ayurveda sees existing between the individual and the totality of life.
Knowledge of our prakruti permits each of us to recognize our unique style of functioning in the world. When we identify our specific “response-ability,” we can optimize our connection to nature by avoiding influences which bring ill-health and unhap-piness.
Our prakruti, or doshic balance, provides a comprehensive understanding of ourselves in relation to the world. It offers an individual profile of the tendencies and predispositions that determine not only our physical functioning but also our mental and emotional characteristics. It includes everything about us: physical structure, complexion, hair color, digestive capacity, appetite and stamina. It describes mental acuity, general personality and emotional reactions. Our prakruti defines our truest nature — our most optimal way of being in life. It also describes the ways in which our environment influences us.
Our prakruti is determined by the balance of doshas with which we are born. For the most part, it is a blend of our parents’ doshic constitutions at the time of conception. This specific doshic balance defines our interactions with the world. The proportion of dosha(s) decides our greatest strengths and talents, and when we know our prakruti, we can take maximum advantage of them.
When we live life in accord with our innate constitution, our individual nature is perfectly attuned to that of Mother Nature and ideal health results. We excel in our dharma (life purpose) and achieve maximum happiness and satisfaction in life with minimum effort.
VIKRUTI: OUR IMBALANCE
Unfortunately, our inborn doshic structure often gets distorted or obscured by imbalances. Excessive functioning of our strongest dosha constitutes the most common cause of imbalance. When a particular dosha is already prominent, it does not take much environmental stimulus to aggravate it. Take, for example, a person with a pitta prakruti. Agni bhuta—the conversion element— is more prominent in his system than in the systems of people with vata or kapha prakruti. This gives him a naturally strong digestive fire. However, when he introduces additional heat into the body in the form of hot, spicy food, pitta becomes excessive and produces hyperacidity.
The imbalance which obscures the natural, optimum relationship of the doshas is called vikruti, meaning “out of nature.” Vikruti arises when there is a predominance of one or more doshas that is not natural to our constitution. When this improper relationship exists among the doshas, ama begins to form which damages the dhatus and impairs elimination of the malas.
It is important to understand that vikruti is a condition which arises from an incorrect relationship with our environment. When we don’t know what is best for our particular system, we often expose ourselves to harmful input, such as inappropriate sensory stimuli, improper food and stressful activities. We also make wrong or inadequate adjustments to the impact of seasonal changes. These influences cause physical, mental and emotional stress that overwhelm the system, causing the optimum dynamic relationship among the doshas to get distorted. This then compromises our ability to adapt efficiently to life’s circumstances.
Prakruti or Vikruti?
Two questions naturally arise from the knowledge above. “How do I find out what my prakruti is?” and “Should I use prakruti or vikruti to determine the diet and lifestyle most suitable for my particular constitution?”
These questions have been the source of a great deal of confusion among people interested in the Ayurvedic approach to health and living. The nature of your constitution should be determined by someone experienced in Ayurvedic diagnosis. However, even a highly trained Ayurvedic physician may not be able to ascertain conclusively an individual’s constitution in fifteen or twenty minutes. This is because the innate doshic predominance is almost always hidden underneath the imbalances caused by years of poor choices in eating and behavior.
If it is so difficult to know our prakruti accurately, how do we treat it? The answer is simple. We never have to treat what is most natural to us. We only have to remove that which obscures our true nature. In Ayurveda, all treatment regimens, as well as all dietary and behavioral suggestions, are oriented towards our vikruti — pacifying or removing the excesses that create imbalance in the functioning of the doshas. As explained previously, these excesses are usually, though not always, related to our strongest dosha or doshas. When doshic aggravation is corrected, the sattvic mind’s inherent “knowingness” brings to light our prakruti, the most advantageous way to relate to life.