Ayurveda is the oldest medical science in the world, at the root of Tibetan, Chinese, Persian, and western Medicine. According to Ayurveda, ‘Old age is a disease born of Time.’ Our lives reside in the body of Time and our body, like everything that grows, eventually decays and dies. Buddha said: “Suffering is inevitable,” and he also said “All suffering is not necessary.” In this way, the disease of Aging is inevitable, but it may be manifested in a timely or untimely, comfortable or uncomfortable, disease-free or disease-filled manner. Herein lies the Ayurvedic approach to aging . . . it does not prevent death but prolongs life and health, offering understanding and practical wisdom on how to live our elder years in the best possible way.

Peter Malakoff is a Religious Studies scholar who lived in India for nearly ten years. In 2004 he received his Ayurvedic Sadhana Padavika Diploma from Kalidas Sanskrit University in Nagpur, India.