Ayurveda is the 'Knowledge or Science of Life'. According to Charaka, the ancient physician-sage, life is a unified state of the physical body, the cognitive organs, the mind and the soul, thus signifying a living being.

Ayurveda deals with the maintenance of health and relief from disease. Susruta, another physician-sage of early times, defines the healthy state thus: 'A person whose somatic and psychic humours are in equilibrium, digestion is uniformly healthy, with normal functioning of the fundamental tissues of the body and body wastes, accompanied by the processes of the soul, cognitive organs and the mind, is said to be a healthy person'.

The primary position given to humoral equilibrium indicates its importance in maintaining health. Any disequilibrium is considered to lead to disease. Health is the physiological maintenance of all the functions of the living being, while disease is the disturbance in the physiology.
The contemporary practice of Ayurveda is based on the several hundred volumes of Classical treatises and on the official Formulary and Pharmacopoeia.

Revitalization of Ayurveda:
During the 500 years of foreign domination of India, Ayurveda was held in ridicule, and it withered. But the invincible spirit of this life science survived and thrived. Today, Ayurveda has caught the attention of the people the world over - both laymen and professionals.

The major credit for reviving and spreading the message of Ayurveda in the 20th century goes to the Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala and its founder Vaidyaratnam P. S. Varier. Called the 'Saviour of Ayurveda in the South', he was the first man in South India to organise the treatment of patients under the Ayurvedic system. He pioneered the production of Ayurvedic medicines on modern lines, and ensured that Ayurveda occupied its rightful place among the country's major medical systems.

Inspired by the zeal, vision and human compassion of its great founder, Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala carried on with its noble mission. It sailed smoothly through two World Wars, the Great Depression of the thirties and several natural calamities and political upheavals. Today, it has grown into a mighty organisation unparalleled in South India.

The services of The Arya Vaidya Sala reach its patients through a nation-wide network of 14 branches and more than 1000 retail distributors that market its 500-odd formulations.

Thousands of patients visit Kottakkal every year, seeking succour at the healing hands of Arya Vaidya Sala. Ailing people from the West European, Arabian, American and Far East countries also approach the institution. For thousands of years the wise men of India have applied natural medicine.Massage, herbs and oils are applied to the body aiming to restore the natural balance of the three doshas Vata, Pitta and Kapha. The diagnosis is based on the combination of Vata, Pitta, Kapha, which describes the constitution of each individual.