Dr. Vinodkumar M V, a post graduate in Ayurveda (Basic Principles), is presently working as Professor in Dept. of Basic Principles of Ayurveda at the prestigious institution VPSV Ayurveda College, Kottakkal, Kerala. Graduated from the same Institution, he did his post-graduation at Govt. Ayurveda College, Thiruvananthapuram in 2004. He has, in hand, an experience of 15 years’ teaching, in subjects like Philosophy, Basic Principles, Psychology and Research Methodology at UG and PG levels. Having taught such subjects to the beginners he happened to face all the hardships in transacting abstract and unfamiliar concepts to them. Hence, he put specific efforts on devising innovative teaching models for beginner learners in Ayurveda, which he tried on research basis as a part of PhD research (ongoing) under Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Pune. He developed comprehensive models for teaching Tridosha sidhanta to higher secondary students also. He authored four books in Ayurveda. Padarthavijnana, the philosophical background of Ayurveda, was selected as the content for the first textbook, “Essentials of Padarthavijnana”, and History of Ayurveda for the second, “Short History of Ayurveda”. He prepared a concise Malayalam edition of Carakasamhita and was published by most popular publishers in Malayalam, DC Books.
Dr. Vinodkumar has been the editor of ten publications including textbooks and souvenirs, member of editorial board in three publications including Aryavaidyan from Aryavaidyasala Kottakkal and reviewer of three peer-reviewed journals. He has in credit of five papers published in UGC approved peer reviewed journals, 40+ in other journals. He contributed chapters to five books, two in Malayalam and three in English. Subjects dealt in his papers include textbook tradition of Ayurveda, methodological paradigms, issues in teaching and learning, misinterpretations in Ayurveda, basic principles etc. He chaired five sessions, presented eight papers in International seminars among which two won best paper awards. He was invited as subject experts in more than 15 National Workshops related to Basic Principles of Ayurveda. He visited Russia (2013) as an invited expert in First India-Russia Ayurveda Conference to present lecture series in Ayurvedic Psychology. In Ayurvedic psychology he regularly conducts classes and counselling sessions based on Ayurvedic Psychology and Transactional analysis. Being invited as speaker to deliver lectures he usually address school going and college students to initiate discussions on adolescent issues, scholastic issues, relationship issues, substance abuse etc. He completed one year Certificate Course in Young Adults Counseling and Guidance (CYAGC) under Kerala University of Health Sciences. Blending Psychology with Yoga he regularly leads sessions for different strata of public in Yoga camps and workshops. He keeps a unique interest in Research Methodology by shaping an attitude on comparison of ancient methods with modern methods of research.
More than being an Ayurvedic scholar, Dr. Vinodkumar shares interest in literature, history and humanities, which placed him to be a pursuer of cultural, historical and other co-scientific content of medicine especially Ayurveda. With this interest he could successfully conceive and organize, the first of its kind seminar on “Vaidya – what is written and what is read” during Centenary Celebrations of his institution (2018) in collaboration with Kerala Sahitya Akademy which could put light on the reflections of medicine in general literature and the cultural grounds of medical practice.
