The treatment in Ayurveda is essentially to regain the vital strength and then the accumulated waste has to be eliminated to make the dhathus pure. If the accumulation is too much, it has to be cleared by evacuative treatments, sodhana chikitsa, known as panchakarma. If it is not so much, it can be transformed by medicine, and is be easily eliminated in the natural course of the system by treatments known as samana chikitsa. Samana chikitsa ignites the vital fire, the agni, performing digestion and metabolism. A man with good and natural digestive functions with a correct life style seldom gets diseased, and if by clearance of omissions and commissions, gets diseased, it can be easily corrected and, cured with some simple medication. It is in essence the Ayurvedic approach to health and disease. The virus, bacteria etc. will fail to act in such a constitution, will get digested and eliminated in the course of digestion and metabolism, and in certain persons, they remain to some period, but without being able to do any havoc in the system, such persons are called carriers. They too naturally perish, in course of time, the systemic conditions being unfavorable for their existence.

The treatment with medicines is yukthivyapasraya, the rational application of drugs. There is a branch of medicine, with repentance, invoking the blessings of the Gods. Ayurveda considers sin, ‘papa’ as the basic cause for all kinds of sufferings. Primarily sin is the result of certain actions, which we have done previously with faulty intension, causing harm to other people, at times not performing our duties. The papa need not be committed in the present birth; it may be in a previous birth. Ayurveda accepts the theory of rebirth, to sustain the concept that every effect has to have its particular cause. Various kinds of prayer and propitiations of the Gods are presented in the texts to ameliorate sin. Texts elucidated sins as three fold, with deeds, words and thoughts, which are all inclusive of life. Virtue (punya) is the primary cause of all happiness. Sin hinders discretion, as a result of which good and bad are not differentiated, ensuing harmful changes occur in the life style. A perturbed mind disturbs the mechanism of the proper working of the system, which results in disease. The opposite is the case of virtue, (punya), which results in health. To achieve, maintain, and regain happiness in the form of health, one has to be essentially virtuous in all aspects of life. 

The third aspect of treatment is the control of the mind. Agitated mind agitates all aspects of the whole system. Without a calm and quite mind, the intellect will not function properly, which results in indiscretion, discerning the bad and the good. Association with good and wise people, reading good books, scriptural texts, practicing methods of controlling the mind, meditation, discrimination etc. assist in controlling the mind. We can see that Ayurveda is perhaps the only system of medicine where all these aspects of life are clearly explained and advised in maintaining health and curing diseases. It makes the system of Ayurveda truly holistic, compressing all aspects of practical life and living. The trend in modern medicine, even in modern ayurveda which tries to imitate modern medicine in the name of science usually adhere only to the medicinal aspects of treatment, ignoring perhaps the more important other two aspects. For the medicinal aspects to be essentially successful, the other two aspects have to be thoroughly comprehended and basically applied. Ayurveda is said to eternal because of its holistic approach, which is natural in natural conditions. Against nature nothing will persevere; that is the lesson of history. 

The theories and practices of Ayurveda strictly adhere to the laws of nature. The panchabhootha theory is derived from the laws of nature with regard to the structural aspects of the substance, used as food and medicine. Tridosha theory is mainly derived from the functional aspects of the system in response to the conditions and circumstances of life. The plants from which the drugs are obtained, also germinate grow and perish in their circumstance. The thridoshasiddhantta can be applied to explain these phenomena. The body has its own structure, which has to be explained from the standpoint of the panchabhootha theory. Even the doshas, the basic functional units of the system are explained as constituted of the bhoothas. So we can find that the theories and practices of Ayurveda all pervasive in nature. In spite of many historical reasons and even ceturies of neglect Ayurveda still exists with practitioners of the old generations, like me with no knowledge of the modern methods of diagnosis and practices, curing many a time, even the diseases not cured by the expert treatments of the modern medicine. Advanced researches in ayurveda are being carried out through out the civilized and scientifically advanced countries of the world. Medicines can be mostly from herbs naturally available. The processes of preparing medicine are mostly like that of food items. In Ayurveda, health is natural food is natural, disease is natural, and medicine also is natural in their given conditions. The natural life style naturally promotes health, while unnatural life style also naturally promotes disease. So to cure disease and regain health, the main thing to do is mainly to correct the life style, medicine is just a helping hand or hasthalamba as the word is used in the texts. This is perhaps a common sense view of the whole problem. Bereft of commonsense, the explanations will not be easily and correctly comprehended. And it is perhaps the traditional view. In addition it is actually the outcome of the experiences and experiments of centuries. So if properly understood and applied, for times yet to come it will serve its purpose of sustaining and maintaining health. Any system of treatment, entirely ignoring these fundamental aspects of life and nature, cannot succeed in its fundamentals purpose, as is evident from the conditions of modern society, which is said to be with less mortality but with more morbidity. Mortality is less because of advances made in emergency management with advances made in surgery particularly. Morbidity is more are to the neglect in respect to life style–eating, exercising, resting, sexual matters, moral aspects, reacting, thinking, sense pleasures, controlling emotion etc.. Particularly in indulging in bad habits like drinking, smoking, using narcotics, with paying scant attention to these matters with highly powerful medicines applied weakening the immune system. In modern medicine, it seems, more stress is given to medicine, without much importance to these kinds of harmful habits, which actually is the basis of disease, making the system as whole, vulnerable to disease. It is said that many modern diseases are iatrogenic in origin, caused by medicine. With a little common sense most of problems of health can be avoided and solved. The strength of Ayurveda which has a common sense view of treatment, is the emphasis given to avoid all these bad habits of life, to ensure good habits, as prescribed regimen as a part of treatment (pathya). Pathya is avoiding habits inimical to the system ensuring habits conducive to health. Then medicines logically selected and applied; work properly and easily, correcting the metabolic and other aberrations of the system. In Ayurveda cure is not enforced by treatment, but induced from inside, endogenic. 

It is recorded history that even up to surgery according to Ayurveda, was being practiced in various parts of India. During the period of about two hundred years of British rule, Ayurveda was neglected and modern medicine was encouraged in every way. But something of the original, Ayurveda, still remains in practices, because of its benefits, and even that works wonders, many a time. In the course of history, many good practices vanished in the current of change, but at times, nothing better does take shape. In the case of Ayurveda there is a chance of resurrection, as it has not thoroughly vanished, and as a thoroughly better system has not emerged. So from what has remained, with proper understanding and application, a revival is possible now, we see a general change in the attitude of the people. There is a trend in the higher level of scientists to turn to traditional systems as alternative medicine. The thought of alternative arises when the prevalent system fails to meet the challenges of life. So I think, there is real hope for the revival of ayurveda, in a better shape to meet the challenges of modern life.