Poonthottam Ayurvedasram was founded by Vaidya.P.M.S.Raveendranath . Raveendranath was born in July 1965 in a Namboothiri family of central Kerala. He was initiated into Ayurveda by his father who is a renowned Sanskrit teacher belonging to a family of ardent believers of Ayurveda. Raveendranath had Sanskrit education from his early childhood.
In the year 1980, he started his Ayurvedic studies at the Ayurveda College, Pathanjalipuri in Coimbatore, Tamil nadu, which adopted a "Gurukula" (A method in which the disciple stays with the teacher and learns from him) method of imparting education. This was a formal graduate course in Ayurveda with duration of about 8 years. Apart from Ayurveda, the students were taught other related areas like Yoga, Kalari and Indian philosophy (Darsanas). Special emphasis was also given on learning Sanskrit. With his brilliance and diligence, Raveendranath gained a strong foothold in Ayurveda and other related disciplines.
Guru and kulam
During the later part of his education, for acquiring skills for clinical practice, Raveendranath moved to his guru Sri. Vaidyamatham Valiya Narayanan Namboothiri, who was a highly reputed physician of Kerala belonging to the Ashta Vaidya tradition. People belonging to Vaidyamatham family are popularly known as Shalavaidyas (physicians who are entitled to enter the sacrifice/ritual premises) in Kerala. Vaidyamatham family does upasana (worship) of Dakshinamoorthy. Sri. Vaidyamatham Valiya Narayanan Namboothiri was born in 1910 and had a long career of Ayurvedic practice till 1988. He was known as "Vaidyashastra Mahodadhi" a title given to him by the chief of Kanchi Kamakoti math of Sankaracharya, Sri Sri Chandrasekhara Saraswati Swamigal. Raveendranath stayed with his guru for three years and learned practical skills of Ashta vaidya and particularly Vaidyamatham tradition.
After his guru's demise, Raveendranath started the centre "Poonthottam Ayurvedasram" named after his family in the year 1989. His aim was to develop a centre for Ayurvedic treatment procedures as he strongly believed that treatment methods like Sodhana (elimination) and Rasayana (rejuvenation) did not get enough attention and could not be done in the out patient clinics or at home. Raveendranath's intention was to create a complete centre, which is self-reliant for practice, research and training in Ayurveda. His steady and sustained efforts in this direction finally bore fruit. Through establishment of this centre, he proved that dedication and hard work could benefit any sincere aspiration.
Poonthottam
Poonthottam literally
means “Flower Garden”. The Asram is set in the luscious green, healing
landscape of Kerala’s verdant Kulakkad hill region. It is located in
the beautiful part of central Kerala, in South India –. The Asram
follows proven Ayurvedic philosophy of holistic treatment for
rejuvenation, otherwise called “Panchakarma”, in which includes a
spiritual environment. The asram is owned and managed by
Ayurvedacharya (Ayurevedic Physician) Dr. P.M.S. Raveendranath (fondly
called Dr. Ravi) and his wife Latha Raveendranath. They are committed
to share their knowledge and experience of true traditional “art of
living” with you. The asram is surrounded by paddy fields, rubber,
coconut and banana plantations.
The greenery surrounding the asram
depicting the different shades of green, is pleasing and calming, and
provides the ambience for rejuvenation. Most of the herbs used for
medicines are cultivated and collects from the area. There is also a
rice paddy field which produces special rice used for medicinal
purposes. These herbs are processed in our own factories which are
within the compound. This assures purity and the highest quality of the
treatment in the Ayurvedasram.
Ayurvedasram
The
asram features fourteen (14) rooms including 6 independent cottages, a
herbal manufacturing wing, a large yoga hall, and library, a canteen
and dining place, telephone and internet facilities.
All patients are free to move around within the campus. If anyone is
inclined to take longer walks outside the campus, please notify the
office before proceeding for the walk. Vehicles are not permitted
within the compound and traveling outside the campus is discouraged
during the treatments. We can accommodate around 20 in-patients at a time. Around
10 qualified Ayurveda Vaidyas are working here now. Clinical training
of Ayurveda graduates is one of the thrust area of our service to
Ayurveda saastra.
Around 100 formulations are being prepared here
with the help of around 20 fulltime staff members working here. Idea of
starting a production unit was to make good medicines. Many
combinations that are not available in the market are being prepared
here as and when required. More than 20 medicinal plants are
collected from nearby areas in bulk providing a substantial income to
the plant collectors of this area. Other materials required for
preparation of medicines are obtained from the local market. On the
whole, we use around 150 drug materials in our pharmacopoeia. A
medicinal plant demonstration garden with around 200 different types of
plants is an educational place for patients and those interested.
Communication
English
is not the first language of most of the staff at the campus.Malayalam
is the language of Kerala state and is widely spoken here.The words
commonly used for treatments,herbs and medicines are influenced by ,and
have their root in Sanskrit language.While many folks on the campus
speak or understand english,there are a few who do not, there will be
always some one who can understand english and communicate.
