• Siddha and Ayurveda medicine
• Origin and regulation in Siddha medicine
• Moods and Elements in Siddha Medicine
• The Siddha techniques

Siddha and Ayurveda medicine

Indian medicine is not just Ayurveda . Alongside this ancient school of Indian medicine, now famous all over the world, among the most used and effective forms of alternative medicine , we also find the so-called Siddha medicine , typical of South India and also particularly ancient. 

To the untrained eye it will seem that the two medical schools are almost identical, but this is incorrect. However, this similarity testifies to the continuous and profound exchange of knowledge that has taken place over the centuries between Ayurdevic and Siddha medicine . 

Origin and regulation in Siddha medicine

” Siddha ” is a Sanskrit term that means ” perfected “, ” full powers “, ” who has reached the crowning point “. Nowadays its practice is officially recognized and regulated by the Indian government . 

It is practiced in hospitals and special clinics but the real heart of its application is still rural , in the villages where it is still taught through a master-disciple lineage. During this apprenticeship and practicum, the students learn to recognize the influence of the five elements in food , the characteristics of the “humors” in the various bodies (from the grossest to the most subtle) that make up the human being, and the secrets not only of materials of organic origin (plant and animal products, but also those of inorganic origin, such as rock and crystal powders. 

This peculiar culture, with a clear  alchemical matrix , is one of the main differences between Ayurvedic and Siddha medicine. However, Indian institutions try to keep the rural practice of Siddha medicine under control and only trust practitioners who have studied this medicine in science-based academies ,
deeming the self-certifications of traditional masters null and void.

The traditional lineage is based on evidence that proves the practice of Siddha medicine from the third millennium BC, when the tribal peoples of the forests joined the civilized ones of the Indus Valley, where the ruins of Harappa and Mohenjodaro now remain. Beyond these finds, the legends extend backwards tracing their divine origin to Shiva and Parvati. 

Moods and Elements in Siddha Medicine

According to Siddha medicine, the body is composed of a combination of elements, harmonic though dynamic. This harmony is given by the balance between Vata , Pitta and Kapha , three psychophysical moods that
represent dryness and excess of mental activity, overheating and excess of emotionality, and finally water retention and excess of laxity.

When the balance between these three elements differs from the harmonic one (traditionally established with a 4: 2: 1 ratio), physical and mental activities tend more to catabolism than to anabolism, directing the individual towards a degenerative disorder that can take the form of various ailments or diseases, or a general lack of energy and accelerated aging.

The Siddha techniques

The doctor Siddha intervenes using three types of external elements : herbal ones, those based on  animal derivatives  and inorganic ones . Everything can be administered in various forms: substances dissolved in water to drink or inhale in the form of steam, substances dissolved thanks to the temperature, soft substances that can be eaten as they are and substance to be taken in powder form because they are too hard to chew and insoluble.