Support Sultan's Becoming: Grad School!

Hello!

My name is Sultan Salah, a student and a lover of the health sciences. I recently graduated from Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa with a B.A. in Physiology and Health with a focus in Maharishi Ayurveda, as well as a minor in Maharishi Vedic Science.

I am asking for your support in taking my next step in life: graduate school! Starting this fall, I will be attending Maryland University of Integrative Health where I'll be pursuing a Masters of Science in Nutrition and Integrative Health. The program here is perfect for me: it takes a holistic approach to the science of nutrition, focusing on the value of purity and wholeness in one's diet, but still very much based in the related sciences (bio-chem and biology) and is inclusive of many traditional medical sciences, including Traditional Chinese Medicine, Native American Medicine and even Ayurveda!

Diet is my favorite aspect of health. There is a great expression from the Ayurvedic literature that states: "Without proper diet, medicine is of no use. With proper diet, medicine is of no need." I believe that with the proper education on the role of diet and nutrition in our lives and for our health, a great percent of diseases in the world today can be eliminated easily.

Ayurveda (translated "knowledge of life") is the ancient, traditional medical science of India, which is still fully functional and widely practiced today. Thanks to the work of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, many great family lineages which upheld this science were brought together and organized to restore Ayurveda to its original purity. I have the great honor of desiring to be an expert in Maharishi Ayurveda, and have spent years studying, teaching and practicing this ancient medical science with great joy and success. I recently received my Maharishi Ayurvedic Wellness Consultant training, which allows me to formally practice Ayurveda in certain "health-freedom" states, or anywhere in conjunction with a hospital or clinic.

My goal is this: to discover and formally document the relationship between the theory and principles of Ayurveda regarding diet, and the sciences of digestion and nutrition.

When Ayurveda describes in detail how the body digests and metabolizes specific foods and herbs, the modern sciences must either substantiate this or not, and this is what I'm interested in: Revealing the modern scientific basis of the principles of Ayurveda.

Having spent 4 years now studying Ayurveda, I am ready to begin integrating the modern sciences. I wish to become intimately familiar with the form and functions of all the major nutrients, and to understand completely the process of digestion and metabolism from the modern physiological perspective. In doing this I can begin mapping out the connection between Ayurveda and the modern sciences.

To do this, I have decided to spend the next 4-5 years of my life in school. After I finish doing research at MUIH (2 years), I plan to return immediately to Fairfield, IA to begin my doctoral research at MUM. My plan to tie back all that I have learned to the Vedic sciences, particularly Maharishi Ayurveda. My desire as this point is to design and publish, in conjunction with the faculty at MUM, a formalized and well-researched thesis documenting the relationship between this ancient medical science, and the modern, health related sciences. At this point I will also be attending the next available Transcendental Meditation Teacher Training Course since this is an integral part of Maharishi Ayurveda.

Hence, here I am asking for your financial support. I will be moving to Laurel, Maryland, a place I have never been and a place where I will know no-one. Your support will ensure a safe and comfortable transition.

Everything I earn here will go to support this big, adventurous move in life and help to cover the cost of moving and living expenses. Of course, I plan to work in MD while I go to school, and am looking for jobs there even now. However, I am asking for your support in helping me establish a self-sufficient and healthy lifestyle while I undertake my 2 years of graduate studies. Anything leftover will go towards covering tuition and the great mountain of student loans our generation faces.

Your support will have a far-reaching influence! I have a strong desire to bring Maharishi Ayurveda to the world: to medical organizations, to top universities, to respected hospitals, everyone should know about this! This next step of studying the modern sciences is to help solidify and make fully clear, for myself and for the world, the validity, authenticity and great value of Ayurveda.

I hope you feel inspired to support my life long endeavor! Thank you!