Our Beloved Ayurveda Teacher: Vaidya Ramakant Mishra
Photo from his wedding in Malibu 2009
I met Vaidya (Ayurvedic Physician) Mishra when I was attending a workshop on Marma Chikitsa Therapy at my Ayurvedic college, Kanyakumari Ayurveda in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2007. When I traveled to classes at Kanyakumari, I would usually stay in the guest rooms at the house because it was 3.5 hours from where I lived in Viroqua, WI. Vaidya was a visiting teacher from California and was also staying at the school when he came to teach. I will admit that I was definitely intimidated at the idea of studying with and being 1:1 with this “famous doctor from India”. However, when we would meet in the kitchen for breakfast of stewed apples, oats, cardamom and cinnamon, and chai, I was struck by his grounded, soft and approachable nature. He exuded peace and clarity, kindness and non judgement. We would casually chat and discuss whatever was relevant in those quiet, simple moments. It was in those early morning moments, over breakfast, that I knew that he was my teacher.
Vaidya Ramakant Mishra was an Ayurvedic physician, author, and lecturer, he was born in 1952 at Bhagalpur, Bihar, India in a family of traditional Vaidyas (Ayurvedic physicians). He grew up studying Āyurveda from his father Kameshwar Mishra from a young age – also a reputed Vaidya. After graduating from Bihar’s SYNA Ayurvedic College in 1974 and earning the title of GAMS (Graduate of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery), followed by a Sanskrit Degree from KSD University (Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University), Vaidya Mishra came back home to follow an additional intensive seven-year training with his father.
Vaidya toured several European countries, USA and Japan in the 1990’s before settling in the United States in 1996 to work for MAPI (Maharishi Ayurveda Products International) at the request of Maharishi Mehesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation. It was at MAPI that he was head formulator for the Ayurvedic products, as well as an Ayurvedic physician for the clinic and community. Vaidya authored articles for the MAPI newsletter, and jointly co-authored a number of books on Ayurveda and health.
In 2003, he established the left MAPI and started his own Ayurvedic companies, chandika.com for products and unique formulations and svayurveda.com for education. SV Ayurveda stands for the name of his lineage- Shakya Vansiya. Vaidya often spoke of being the inheritor of a distinctive tradition of Ayurveda that had come down through the paternal family lineage. This lineage, called the Śakavaṃśa, the lineage (vaṃśa) of the Śakas, is also sometimes called the Śākadvīpīya lineage. The Śākadvīpīyas are a distinctive group of Brahmins from eastern India. The Bhavishya Puran, as well as the Sambh Puran, narrate the story of a group of Ayurvedic healers from the island of Shaka who came to India at the behest of Lord Krishna, to cure his son, Samba, of leprosy.
These Ayurvedic healers remained in India and their lineage flourished, practicing Shaka Vaṃśa (also pronounced vanśiya) Ayurveda or SVA. The SVA tradition has continued uninterrupted, from generation to generation over the past several thousand years, remaining whole, unbroken, and unaffected despite many foreign invasions. One of their traditional occupations is to practice Ayurveda, in addition to Jyotish.
One of Vaidya Mishra’s many innovations was his approach called “from sutra to science” where he confirmed the findings of the ancient Rishis by calling on modern scientific studies. His teachings of the Sanskrit sutras were unique and pioneering. For example, he was the first Ayurvedic physician to discuss the harmful effects of EMF and EMR,[1] which he proposed long before the recent confirmation that EMF and EMR have biologically harmful effects.
As an Ayurvedic physician, he emphasized the importance of diet over herbal oral supplementation. Spearheading diet as a primary method of prevention and treatment, he spent much time researching and understanding the impacts of different modern foods and methods of processing and preparing foods for maintaining good health.[2] Some of his students carry this legacy and have authored cookbooks in this tradition. Everything we teach at Bliss Alchemy is founded in this legacy and tradition.
Vaidya Mishra’s most profound legacy is the SVA Transdermal Marma System® and his unique transdermal and transmucosal Ayurvedic formulas. The SVA Transdermal Marma System and SVA herbal formulas are gentle, safe, and effective. Vaidya Mishra’s teachings of Marma and Nadi Pariksha (Ayurvedic Pulse Assessment) are practical and powerful. He created many unique protocols that target specific conditions and imbalances, making the multi-faceted SVA Transdermal Marma System® one of the most powerful healing modalities in modern practice.
He has written the new chapters for modern-day Ayurvedic practitioners. His student practitioners continue his legacy through their SVA practices, teachings, and publications.
He co-authored the book “The Answer to Cancer: Is Never Giving it a Chance to Start” and was the forward author of “Women’s Best Medicine for Menopause through Maharishi Ayurveda” by Dr. Nancy Lonsdorf. His articles have appeared in several health magazines. His television appearances include: Live on ABC, New York; News on NBC and ABC, Total Health Talk, Los Angeles and Breakfast Television on CITY-TV Toronto, Canada amongst others.
He passed away on 13 April 2017.[3]
1. Vaidya Mishra. “Electromagnetic Toxins”. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
2. Brian Chance. “Secrets Of An Ayurvedic Kitchen”.
3. Rocco, Michael (27 April 2017). “a video testimonial, a Tribute to Vaidya Mishra, and SVA tools for home detox – Vaidya Mishra’s Newsletter #16, Vol 7, April 27, 2017”. SVAyurveda.com from Sutra to Science. Retrieved 10 February 2020.