The nature of increase and decrease

This verse places an emphasis on the word balance. The balance of Doshas, Dhatu and Mala leads to health and the body shines. Their disharmony results in deterioration and the body is feeble. This verse involves many concepts, but the essence is that the feeling of health appears when the Doshas are balanced, when they support the growth of tissues in the right direction, right proportions and proper quality.

When the Dhatu is produced in an ideal way, its waste products have certain qualities. This implies that we can estimate the condition of the metabolism in the body according to the waste products. For example, when the faeces do not have the right quality, we can deduce an imbalance of the first tissue, Rasa Dhatu, the mother of all other Dhatus, or of the whole body. Some people are surprised during an Ayurvedic consultation when the practitioner asks them about their feaces and defecation. This is very important information that provides the practitioner a picture about the metabolism's condition. Constipation, diarrhea and gaseousness are a manifestation of Rasa Dhatu imbalance.

This means that when the waste products are good, then the Dhatus are good as well. If our lifestyle leads to the balance of Doshas, Dhatu and Mala, then according to Ayurveda we are healthy.

Should these parameters fail to correspond in quality, according to Ayurveda we cannot say that this body is healthy. Health and illness are not measured with respect to pain and discomfort, but according to the condition of Doshas, Dhatus and Mala. If our life is full of poor sleep, bad awakening, bad eating etc. (Dincharya), the result is the imbalance of Doshas, which manifests itself as an illness.

Ayurveda calls what is appropriate Pathya, and Apathya means inappropriate. What is appropriate for someone does not have to be appropriate for another. According to Ayurveda, each person is very individual and his or her behaviour and care has to be individual as well.

The verse may also be interpreted as follows: growth comes when the qualities are similar, and decrease comes when the qualities are opposite. For example, a dry skin meets dry and cold weather which provokes growth of Vata. Conversely, applying oil will decrease the skin dryness and thus Vata decreases as well.