Think about how you started your day today.
Did you reach for your phone the moment you woke up? Did you listen to music while getting ready, check your messages while having breakfast, and spend the rest of the morning looking at one screen or another?
By the time the day is over, you’ve probably seen hundreds of images, heard countless sounds, tasted different things, touched dozens of objects and taken in more information than you can remember.
We don’t usually think twice about any of this. Our senses are constantly working, and we’ve become so accustomed to stimulation that silence or doing absolutely nothing can sometimes feel uncomfortable.
But have you ever wondered whether the way we use our senses has anything to do with our health?
Interestingly, Ayurveda explored this question through a concept called Asatmya Indriyartha Samyoga.
It refers to how the way we interact and perceive things with our sense organs affects our overall health. It also discusses what happens when we use them too little or in the wrong way.
Let’s understand this.
What is Asatmya Indriyartha Samyoga?
The term is made up of four words:
- Asatmya: Unsuitable or incompatible
- Indriya: Sense organs
- Artha: Objects or subjects of perception
- Samyoga: Contact or association
Together, Asatmya Indriyartha Samyoga refers to an unsuitable or improper interaction between our sense organs and their respective objects.
In Charaka Samhita, Acharya Charaka discusses this in the eleventh chapter of Sutrasthana, where he identifies it as one of the three fundamental causes of disease.
But what makes this concept particularly interesting is that it is divided into three forms:
- Atiyoga: Excessive use
- Ayoga: Insufficient or lack of use
- Mithyayoga: Improper use
Let’s look at what each of these means.
- Atiyoga: When we use our senses excessively
Atiyoga refers to excessive use of our sense organs.
And honestly, this is something we can relate to quite easily today.
Think about your eyes.
Most of us spend a considerable part of our day looking at screens. We move from our laptops to our phones, from our phones to televisions, and sometimes back to our laptops again.
It is clearly an example of Atiyoga of the eyes.
Similarly, listening to excessively loud sounds and repeatedly exposing the sense of smell to very strong odours are described as forms of excessive sensory use.
The idea is that even something our senses are naturally meant to experience can become unsuitable when the exposure is excessive.
It isn’t necessarily about avoiding these experiences altogether. It is about recognising that our senses also have limits.
- Ayoga: When we don’t use our senses enough
Now, this is something we don’t usually think about.
Ayoga refers to insufficient use or the complete absence of appropriate engagement with the sense organs.
For instance, Charaka describes not seeing anything at all as an example of Ayoga of the sense of vision. Similarly, not hearing or smelling anything represents insufficient engagement with those respective senses.
Think about how different our experiences would be if we completely stopped engaging with the world around us.
We need our senses to interact with our surroundings, recognise things, experience our environment and respond to what is happening around us.
So the discussion isn’t simply about reducing sensory stimulation.
It is about maintaining an appropriate relationship with the things our senses are meant to experience.
- Mithyayoga: When we use our senses improperly
This is perhaps the most interesting of the three.
Mithyayoga refers to the improper or unsuitable use of the sense organs.
It isn’t necessarily about using them too much or too little. It is about the nature of the experience itself.
For the eyes, looking at objects that are excessively close or far away, or repeatedly exposing oneself to disturbing and frightening sights, are discussed as improper sensory experiences.
For hearing, listening to harsh, frightening or unpleasant sounds is described as Mithyayoga.
Similarly, exposure to unpleasant or harmful smells is discussed under the improper use of the sense of smell.
When you look at these examples, you realise that Ayurveda wasn’t only concerned with how much sensory stimulation we experience. It also considered what kind of stimulation we expose ourselves to.
What about taste and touch?
Of course, Ayurveda doesn’t stop with sight, sound and smell.
It also discusses the senses of taste and touch.
Food isn’t just something we consume to satisfy hunger. Taste is one of the ways we experience it. And Ayurveda considers the relationship between taste, food and the individual an important part of understanding nourishment.
Then comes touch.
Charaka discusses excessive exposure to extremely hot or cold sensations as Atiyoga, while inappropriate contact with objects or environments is considered Mithyayoga.
So, when you look at all five senses together, the underlying idea becomes clearer.
Ayurveda considers not just what we experience through our senses, but also the frequency, intensity and nature of that experience.
Why does this matter today?
We live in a world where constant stimulation has become completely normal.
There is always something to watch, something to listen to, something to read or something to respond to.
Even when we are eating, travelling or simply sitting alone, we often look for something to occupy our attention.
Think about the last time you sat in a room without music, television or your phone. Did you feel comfortable, or did you immediately feel the need to reach for something?
We rarely give ourselves the opportunity to experience our surroundings without constantly adding something to them.
Are we constantly exposing our eyes to intense stimulation? Do we ever give ourselves a break from noise? Are we mindful of the sounds, sights and experiences we allow into our everyday lives?
These are questions worth considering.
The idea of Indriya Samyama: Learning to use our senses wisely
There is another interesting aspect to this discussion.
Ayurveda doesn’t suggest that we should withdraw completely from the world or stop enjoying sensory experiences.
Our senses exist for a reason. We need them to experience, understand and interact with everything around us.
The idea is to develop a more appropriate relationship with them.
This means recognising when we are overusing them, when we aren’t engaging with them sufficiently, and when the experiences we expose ourselves to are unsuitable.
It also means becoming a little more conscious of what we consume through our senses.
Sometimes, this could be as simple as taking a break from a screen, enjoying a meal without watching something, or spending a few minutes without background noise.
Not because these things are magical remedies, but because being aware of how we use our senses is a good place to begin. Not because these things are magical remedies, but because being aware of how we use our senses is a good place to begin.
We usually associate health with what we eat, how much we exercise, how well we sleep and how regularly we follow our routines.
But how often do we think about what we see, hear, smell, taste and touch throughout the day?
Our senses are constantly interacting with the world around us. These experiences are part of our everyday lives, even when we don’t consciously pay attention to them.
If you’d like to understand how these principles are explained in the original classical texts, with their Sanskrit verses and commentaries, you can explore our Charaka Samhita and Ashtanga Hridayam courses.