What are the building blocks of the universe?

Ayurveda and the Five Doshas:

Everything exists within the field of consciousness, and consciousness creates different frequencies of vibration in the womb on Nature. These frequencies serve as ideas from which all of creation can be constructed. These ideas are known as the five elements.

The Five Great Elements

The five elements progress from subtle to gross and exist at the causal, astral, and physical levels. They also develop from and contain each other:

“ETHER is the original element. It derives from mind, which is a form of subtle space…through movement ether becomes AIR, which is nothing but the idea of motion inherent in the idea of space. Air through repeated movement creates friction that becomes FIRE, which manifests the idea of illumination inherent in the idea of movement. Fire through densification becomes WATER, which manifests the idea of life inherent in the idea of illumination. Water as it coagulates becomes EARTH, which manifests the idea of form inherent in the idea of life.”

– Vamadeva Shastri

I often tell people that my introduction to spirituality came in high school chemistry when I learned about quantum mechanics. That day I was told that the relative size and space of the nucleus of an atom and its nearest electron were equivalent to a ping pong ball at the center of a football field and a speck the size of a pinhead out at the furthest reaches of the bleachers.

“Not only does it become apparent that the most abundant reality is nothingness,” my teacher continued, “but quantum mechanics informs us that these nucleus and electrons particles are hardly solid at all. They are more like predictable waves of energy!”

I spent the rest of class that day attempting (unsuccessfully) to stick my finger through the top of my desk, thinking, “Man, what’s up with this?”

Ether is the most abundant of the elements, and serves as the field in which form can manifest and is connected. Air is the principle of movement. Fire is energy as radiance, heat, light, and transformation. The idea of fluid and flow is Water, and stability and form is Earth.

The elements have qualities that reflect their nature and presence and provide the substratum for a unique sensory experience and expression:

Ether is cold, light, subtle, and clear. It the medium for expression, and relates to both hearing and speech.

Air is cold, dry, light, and mobile. It provides for sensation and holding through the sense of touch

Fire is hot, dry, light, and sharp. Fire is related to vision and motivation.

Water is cool, moist, heavy, and flowing. Water is necessary for the experience of taste and emission.

Earth is cool, heavy, stable, and dull. The sense of smell and the act of excretion relate to Earth.

From these five principles Cosmic Intelligence builds the infinitely varied forms throughout creation, and all beings identified with form are subject to their laws and limitations. Enlightenment, memory of one’s True Nature, affords an individual the same creative control over the elements as Spirit. This is the basis of yogic siddhis, supernatural powers that are a natural byproduct of awakened consciousness.

Additionally, the five elements and their related senses are present in the astral body. In their more subtle form they are not limited to the gross organs of sensory experience and expression, or to concepts such as time and space. It is from this subtle foundation that the phenomenon of “extra-sensory perception,” (ESP) originates.

At the causal level the elements and their related senses exist as the tanmatras, seed potentials that are the most subtle source of sensory experience. They are the “ideas” that allow the senses to become energetic and physical “realities.”

The Three Ayurveda Dosha

In our physical bodies the five elements take form of three doshas, or bioenergetic components of life. The three ayurevda doshasare:

Vata: Air contained in Ether

Pitta: Fire contained in Water

Kapha: Water contained in Earth

The word dosha means “fault” or “cause of decay,” because when imbalance is present the doshas are the pathological factors. When they are in harmony, the doshas are responsible for supporting all of the processes of the body through the function of the elements from which they are built.

All three ayurveda dosha are present in every individual as essential forces for life to operate. However, each individual has a unique proportion of the doshas which make up their constitution, and the constitution then reflects the qualities of the dominant dosha(s).

An individual’s constitution is generated from the deepest level of his or her individual consciousness as a seed potential in the causal body. This seed is the storehouse of a person’s desires and develops a unique energetic and physical body with certain tendencies towards health or disease.

The physical constitution, its dosha predominance and heartiness are not necessarily indicators of spiritual development. The constitution is the “horizontal” aspect of personality expression: a “lens” of doshic and elemental qualities. Any constitutional makeup will express a person’s spiritual development—the “vertical” aspect—through the dominant quality of the mind. Ignorant, distracted, or transcendent energy will shine through the constitutional “lens.”

The constitution does offer direction in spiritual focus however. Vata, pitta, and kapha have unique virtues that manifest with the evolution of consciousness, as well as unique challenges when ignorance or distractions dominate the mental landscape.

Vata is cold, light, dry, subtle, and mobile like the Ether and Air elements from which it is made. It is the force responsible for all motion within the body. When vata is dominant in the constitution, the person’s build and structural features tend to be light, narrow, and irregular. Their body systems and mental nature also tend to be sensitive, delicate, and irregular. Vata’s main spiritual challenge is a tendency toward fear, anxiety, and superficiality. Spiritual development lies in the cultivation of inner stillness and faith.

Pitta is hot, light, oily, and sharp. This is the result of the combined qualities of the Fire and Water principles from which it is formed. Pitta is the force of digestion and metabolism within the body. An individual with dominant pitta is characterized by a moderate build and sharp structural features. Their functional tendencies and psychology are characterized by heat, intensity, and sharpness. The primary spiritual challenge for pitta is a propensity for criticism, animosity, and excessive “seriousness.” Pitta benefits spiritually from the cultivation of an attitude of play, acceptance, and peacefulness. This comes from using the fire in the mind to distinguish between what is lasting and what is transitory, rather than evaluating what or who is “right” and what or who is “wrong.”

Kapha is cool, heavy, moist, and stable as the product of combined Earth and Water. Kapha creates the bulk of the bodily tissues and contributes to structure and stability. When kapha dominates, the build is bulky and strong and the structural characteristics are round and full. Slowness and stability are evident in their functional tendencies and psychology. Sluggishness, lethargy, and attachment can be spiritual blocks for kapha. This is overcome through the practice of letting go of attachment to physical possessions and people, and breaking out of roles and habits.

Though an individual’s constitution may be dominant in one or more doshas, he or she is not limited to imbalances in those doshas. Diet, lifestyle, climate, season, stage of life, and other circumstances all have qualities that will either augment or balance the doshas, and these factors frequently outweigh the influence of the constitution.

As an example, the fast pace of life, disconnected quality of many relationships, isolation from natural surroundings, and nutritionally devitalizing foods that characterize much of modern life, are all disease causing factors that primarily disturb vata. There are few individuals free from these troubles in “civilized” countries, and as a result disorders of a vata nature are frequently present in individuals of any constitution.

Disease can be received as a summons to explore areas of life that are out of harmony with Nature, or it can be regarded as the enemy to be eradicated. Seen simply as an obstacle or inconvenience, ignorance is perpetuated and disease will inevitably progress. But when viewed as a teacher, disease can serve as an opening to spiritual development, an invitation to awakening.

Chronic disease and poor health are rampant nowadays. Psychological suffering is widespread. A spiritual void exists in the hearts of many. We are being invited to restore balance and harmony to our bodies, our minds, and our planet. We are being called to enlightenment!

Ayurveda and Ayurveda Dosha