Four-day world Ayurveda summit begins in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The second World Ayurveda Summit opened at Palace Grounds here on Thursday, with this year’s event focusing on ‘Ayurveda for a healthier future,’ reviving ayurveda in modern practice and empowering next generation ayurvedic healers. 

The four-day summit has been organised by the Kaje Ayurvedic Charitable Foundation in collaboration with the union ministry of AYUSH and the state AYUSH department. 

The summit aims to shift from reactive treatment to proactive wellness, to understand traditional nature-based solutions and build a health-centric conscious society. 

A unanimous demand was raised at the summit to increase evidence-based scientific research related to the Ayurveda system of medicine and that both union and state governments should take concrete steps in that direction. 

Speaking at the event, Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade said increasing research in the field of Ayurveda would aid formulating medicines  and in treatment of diseases. 

“Those practising Ayurveda and students studying it need not hesitate. This system of medicine is gaining global recognition. The union and state governments should establish research centres, prioritise scientific studies and encourage local Ayurveda practitioners,” he noted. 

After the inauguration, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said Ayurveda plays a significant role in helping people lead a healthy life. “Ayurveda and yoga are preventive lifestyles that help in avoiding diseases. They were developed thousands of years ago on a scientific foundation.”

Ayurveda, he said, is not just a treatment system, but also a dietary practice and a way of life. He stressed the need for more research in Ayurveda and for the emergence of specialised Ayurvedic doctors.

“For instance, in modern medicine, people easily trust certified specialists such as nephrologists. Similarly, in Ayurveda too, there should be a proper system of certification with clear standards for specialised practitioners,” the minister said.