Chapter 8. Sanskrit Gynecologies in Postmodernity: The Commoditization of Indian Medicine in Alternative Medical and New Age Discourses on Women's Health

Selby, Martha Ann

doi:10.9783/9780812205251.120

Cited by 11 publications

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“…In many different ways, nationalism draws on but ultimately claims to supersede and contain – if not categorically reject – the dynamics of globalization, even if this produces many contradictions, paradoxes and curious rationalizations (Alter, 2004). The common idea that Ayurveda is all about harmony and balance is a simplistic distillation of ideas that are appealing in the abstract, and are couched in terms of classical Hindu philosophy, but reflect the invention of a global tradition rooted in Orientalism and the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as late 20th-century health consciousness (Selby, 2005b). This tradition finds expression in many different contexts and is fitted into the rubric of various ideological positions, most notably Maharishi Ayurveda.…”

Section: Ayurveda: Nationalism and The Cultural Politics Of The Bodymentioning

confidence: 99%

Nature Cure and Ayurveda

Alter

2014

Body & Society

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Nationalism can be closely associated with powerful feelings about the relationship among cultural heritage, identity and embodied experience. Almost by definition this relationship is expressed in terms of continuity, distinctiveness and the purity of tradition, to an extent that nationalistic sentiments can be said to be 'visceral.' Contrasting the way in which the body is implicated in nature cure and Ayurveda, two forms of medicine closely linked to nationalism in India, this article presents an analytical perspective on the embodiment of viscerality to provide a more nuanced understanding of how these experiences blur distinctions of cultural continuity and how an ecology of the body shapes the cultural politics of tradition in India. Introduction: Viscerality, Nationalism and the BodyIn this article I take up the question of the body in relation to medical practice and nationalism, arguing that an affectively visceral relationship between the body and the environment can profoundly contradict the supposedly logical relationship among culture, health and medicine in the imagination of a community and in the political ideology of state nationalism.

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Section: Ayurveda: Nationalism and The Cultural Politics Of The Bodymentioning

confidence: 99%

Nature Cure and Ayurveda

Alter

2014

Body & Society

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“…Dismissing these as ‘New Age’ fads, a number of scholars have critiqued promoters of Ayurveda in the West for their commoditisation of this tradition; their transformation of this ‘medical’ tradition into a form of wellness and self‐help culture (Reddy 2004; Selby 2005; Zimmerman 1992); their attempts to infuse Ayurveda with notions of spirituality (Zysk 2001); and their appropriation of Ayurvedic concepts to suit a highly individualistic, perhaps ever narcissistic, understanding of the self in terms of particular humoural types (Langford 1995, 2002). Some of these authors (Selby 2005; Zysk 2001), while criticising the preoccupation of ‘New Age’ Ayurveda with what is ancient and ‘Vedic’, and therefore eternal/perennial, themselves appear to use the classical Ayurveda of the ancient texts as a yardstick against which to measure these newer manifestations of Ayurveda. This notion, that ‘authentic’ Ayurveda is that contained in the earliest texts, is in some ways problematic since Ayurveda, as explained earlier, has always been a changing and evolving tradition, with Buddhist and Islamic influences, among others, playing an important role in shaping this tradition over time.…”

Section: Ayurveda In the Modern Westmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modern Ayurveda in Transnational Context

Warrier

2011

Religion Compass

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Ayurveda, the ancient system of Indian medicine rooted in Hindu and Buddhist cosmologies, remained relatively under‐researched in the humanities and social sciences until the 1970s. It is only in the last four decades that it has received significant scholarly attention, from Indologists and Sanskritists, as well as historians, anthropologists and sociologists. In recent times, the volume of research on modern and transnational Ayurveda has grown, not least because of the growing popularity of this tradition in Western Europe and North America. This survey offers a brief overview of scholarship on the ‘classical’ or ‘traditional’ form of Ayurveda elaborated in ancient Sanskrit texts, before going on to review literature tracing the development of modern Ayurveda both in postcolonial South Asia, as well as in global and transnational settings.

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“…As part of this, there has been a growing interest in ayurvedic medicine, particularly in the West, which has inspired Indian drug manufacturers, ‘who see in this a massive export potential’. 2 In India as well as in the West, ayurvedic brands have been used as a ‘lucrative market strategy’ because of the booming cosmetic industries and beauty ideals (Selby, 2005, p. 121). There has been a steady growth of both local and international markets for herbal-based beauty products, and ayurvedic beauty products are featured as natural and organic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Promotion of Masculinity and Femininity through Ayurveda in Modern India

Islam

Kuah-Pearce²

2013

Indian Journal of Gender Studies

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This article argues that, although men’s sexual health has been presented in classical ayurvedic texts as associated with semen, physiology and reproduction, ayurvedic companies in modern India relate men’s sexual health to the ‘power of masculinity’ with an emphasis on sexual prowess, focusing on premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, etc. Women’s health is presented in the classical ayurvedic texts in terms of human reproduction, but ayurvedic companies today, problematically, redefine women’s health in terms of beauty. Emphasising the ‘natural’ content of ayurvedic medications, pharmaceutical companies target women as potential consumers by promoting products for the enhancement of beauty, associating women’s bodies with nature. This article concludes that a problematic gender distinction and hierarchy is reproduced through appeals to masculinity and femininity by manufacturers of ayurvedic products, so that women’s health is associated with nature while men’s health is associated with power.

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Chapter 8. Sanskrit Gynecologies in Postmodernity: The Commoditization of Indian Medicine in Alternative Medical and New Age Discourses on Women's Health

Cited by 11 publications

References 0 publications

Nature Cure and Ayurveda

Nature Cure and Ayurveda

Modern Ayurveda in Transnational Context

The Promotion of Masculinity and Femininity through Ayurveda in Modern India

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