Knowledge has no barrier. The confinement of innovation, imagination, exploration just adds to the details of the concerned subject. The inner drive of the mind acts as a catalyst to present the knowledge in its refined form. Literary research is the basic pillar of any research that determines the efficacy and standards of the research being conducted. Ayurveda as we call it the science of life has so many benefits to offer to the mankind. We all have witnessed and experienced the miraculous and divine benefaction of this science at some or the other point in our lives. But still, Ayurveda has not prospered in its true light. There can be many reasons that can be attributed toward this. One of the reasons that come to my mind is the inability to understand the concepts properly. The issue is not about convincing the masses about the multifaceted benefits of the Ayurveda treatment, but it is about applying the principles that we have learned and deriving a treatment plan from that to cure various diseases. Hence, literary research is the first and foremost thing that needs to be adopted and conducted in the right manner.

Acharyas have given us a way of first obtaining the theoretical knowledge and then applying it practically. Both the theoretical and practical knowledge have to go hand in hand. The present scenario reveals a lacuna in either the theoretical knowledge or the practical knowledge or even both. Whenever we talk about the term research, there are certain things that come to our minds. Let us contemplate some of the weird things regarding the term research. There are various notions like research is something that we have to pursue in our post graduation exclusively. It is a complex subject, in which many students fail. It requires a research oriented thinking which you either have or you do not. It is something like getting away with the dissertation and obtaining a degree. There are many more notions attached with this, but these ones are the prominent ones. Hence, are these notions really true? According to me, these are some incomplete thoughts that need to be addressed. Coming to the first point, research is not something that is only done in post graduation. Research is a process of compiling, analyzing, interpreting, and applying the knowledge or the information that we have received. This is something that we do in the entire process of education that we take up. First, we understand the concepts from the teacher and then we interpret it in our unique perspective and think about the multiple ways of using that knowledge. In this process, we have certain ideas in our minds that we put into action by adopting the materials and methods to derive a conclusion based on certain observations and results. So why is it that research sounds something that is implicitly a part of post graduation. Of course, One thing that is taught to us in post graduation is the scientific way, in which we have to conduct the research. However, it is definitely not an alienated process. Whenever a student begins learning Ayurveda, the literary research in Ayurveda starts then and there. Literary research is understanding the theoretical part perfectly to do the practical application in the best way possible. If we devote our time whole heartedly in understanding the concepts to their core, we will definitely get the desired results. Even if you pursue Ayurveda practice in your clinic, or take up post graduation or even be a teacher, the ability to take up all these three things successfully depends on the extent to which we have done our literary research perfectly. Literary research is then tested with the help of evidence and proof with the help of clinical research, experimental research, and so on. The next point is about research as a subject being very complex to pass. Research as a whole has a very bigger perspective than this. Research as a subject is about learning the rules and regulations of a game to succeed. As we all know, to win a game, it requires a lot of hard work and dedication. If we put these things into it, we are bound to succeed sooner or later. Let us look at the third point. Research-oriented thinking is not something that we inherit, it is something that we develop over the years in a quest to apply whatever we have learned and make use of it to the entire society. We all can develop this thinking which is about applying what we have learned and contributing our bit to the society of whatever education that we have received over the years. The last point is that research is something that has to do with dissertation and obtaining a degree. Making a dissertation on the basis of certain scientific protocols and guidelines and obtaining a degree professionally is indeed a very wonderful thing and it needs to be encouraged and motivated. However, the equation of research cannot be restricted only to these things.

For the purpose of research, our classrooms or our clinics anything can be our laboratories. The only thing is about striving to apply whatever is learned and coming out with innovative inventions or discoveries that help the entire world to enjoy a healthy life with the help of this science of life i.e., Ayurveda.

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Article availableonline/offlineon: AYU, Vol. 37, Issue-1, Jan-Mar 2016, Page no.1-2, for more details please visit: www.ayujournal.org

About Author: Prof. Mahesh Vyas, Executive Editor - AYU, IPGT and RA, Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar - 361008, Gujarat, India

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