tulasi — promotes awareness

• Latin: Ocimum sanctum
• Sanskrit: Tulasi
• Hindi: Kala Tulasi
• English: Holy Basil

Parts Used:
Whole herb.

Traditional Ayurvedic Uses:

• Tulasi is one of the most sacred plants in India, and many worship this plant daily as a means of cultivating their own consciousness through the power of devotion.
• Tulasi gives Sattwa, or positivity and healing power. It is said to open the heart and mind, increase the sense of spiritual love, and to enhance devotion, faith, compassion and clarity. It also helps to develop pure awareness.
• Tulasi helps to enhance the quality of Rasa Dhatu (nutrient plasma), Rakta Dhatu (blood), Majja Dhatu (bone marrow and nerves) as well as Shukra Dhatu (reproductive fluids).

Combinations are Best
The ayurvedic physicians of Maharishi Ayurveda do not recommend the use of single herbs for self-care due to several important reasons.

One of the specialties of ayurveda is the science of herb combining that has been perfected over thousands of years of clinical practice. From this ayurvedic perspective, the study of herbs from scientific research which is based on single ingredient formulas is not very practical. This is because an herb can give a number of different effects depending on the other herbs it is combined with as well as a number of other factors such as dosage, how the herb was processed, etc. If one focuses just on the results of a study based on one ingredient, while it may be interesting, it does not give the full insight into the complete range of effects available from that particular herb.