Health benefits of Guduchi

Guduchi or Giloy is very effective herbal plant and widely used in Ayurveda. It called Amrita in Sanskrit, Guduchi or Giloy in Hindi, Tinospora Cordifolia in English.

Guduchi has been used for thousands of years in India but is only just beginning to be available in the West. It is commonly used for the following purposes:

·         Preventing colds and flu

·         Reducing the side effects of chemotherapy drugs

·         Immune system enhancement

·         Chronic skin disorders such as psoriasis or eczema

·         Anti-arthritic and anti-inflammatory

·         Hepatitis & jaundice (helps protect the liver from exposure to toxins)

·         Gout and rheumatic disorders

Guduchi Can Live On Air

Guduchi has all the properties of amritam. It is the best rasayana for rejuvenating the body and getting rid of deep rooted imbalances. In fact, it is so full of life that it can grow without any soil or water.

The ancient Ayurvedic text, Bhava Prakash, lists one of guduchi's names as chinnodbhava (able to grow even after being cut). You can suspend a cutting of guduchi in the air with no access to water or soil and it will grow leaves and branches as if it were connected to the ground.

Ayurveda compares this to the ability of certain saints and rishis (seers) who don't need water or food. They have what is called the amrit siddhi (ability to live purely on vibrational energy). These saints get all the prana (soma, agni and marut) from the air, the sun, the moon, and the vibrational intelligence of the environment.

Guduchi is the Best of the Three Amrit Plants

There are three plants which have amrit (nectar of the gods) in them, according to Ayurveda. One is guduchi. The other two are garlic and haritaki.

The Properties of Guduchi

Bhava Prakash lists many valuable properties of guduchi. Our tradition know many many ways to use this plant. Here are a few highlights worth mentioning.

Guduchi is the one and only Ayurvedic herb which can bind and get rid of both amavisha(reactive toxins generated inside the body) and garavisha (xenobiotics like mercury, pesticides, etc.) and reestablish the intelligence of the body once it removes the toxins.

Guduchi is the #1 rasayana (rejuvenative herb) in Ayurveda because it can really reverse aging, support the immune system and detoxify. It has the vayasthapana prabhava (the ability of making a person look youthful).

It is described as sangrahani (helping to accumulate healthy dhatus, or tissues). It travels to the gaps, or burners, between the dhatus and helps to increase absorption there. If there is anykashaya (wasting) in any tissue, guduchi helps to build it back.

This is partly due to the fact that guduchi not only has lots of soma (nourishing ability) but is also kashaya (astringent), laghu (light), and has an ushna virya (hot thermogenic property).

The warmth and lightness, as well as the subtle nature of the plant, allows the soma to penetrate into the deep tissues, and the kashaya guna (astringent quality) allows the soma to be absorbed by the tissues.

One other important prabhava (special property) of guduchi is vakshagni dipani. Vaksha means "chest" or "heart" in Sanskrit. Agni means "flame." Dipani means "strengthening the flame."Vakshagni dipani means that guduchi strengthens the flame of the heart.

Just as there is a pitta governing the heart and emotions (sadhaka pitta), so there is a flame, or burner, in the heart (sadhaka agni or vakshagni). The pitta is the fuel, and the agni is the burner.

Guduchi cleans the burner and strengthens the flame that processes all emotional challenges in life. When this flame is strong, no emotional challenge is powerful enough to extinguish it.

Depression cannot happen if the sadhaka agni is strong. Anger cannot happen when thevakshagni is strong. When the sadhaka agni is burning brightly, one become spiritually free.

Because guduchi opens the heart in this way, it also indirectly helps the mind by connecting the light of the soul to the mind more easily. This is why it is also called a medhya rasayana (good for the mind).

Conditions Where Guduchi is Helpful

The list is probably infinite, but here are a few of the conditions where guduchi is reported byBhava Prakash to be helpful: daha (burning), meha (when useful substances like sugar go out through the urine), kas (chronic cough), pandutam (anemia), kamala (chronic jaundice), kushta(skin diseases), vatasrajwara (vata type of fever), krimi (pathogenic bacteria), vamimharet(vomiting due to toxins), krichahridaroga (difficult to cure heart conditions).

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