mercury bhasma

[Guest guest]

hi bonnie

 

the process of shodhana (purification) and mardana (killing) used in

bhasmas results in an inorganic constituent (e.g. iron, gold, mercury,

diamond) being complexed with organic compounds, thereby changing the

biological properties of whatever is being purified, and supposedly

making it more fit for human consumption

 

while this might be effective in some metals like iron, it is important

to acknowledge that mercury is actually more toxic when complexed with

organic constituents, as per your concern about its bioaccumulation in

the environment. in alberta for example, there are many lakes and

rivers that are prime fishing, but because groundwater that naturally

contains mercury seeps into them, the fish cannot be eaten regularly.

for the most part, mercury is not as toxic when it is in its inorganic

state - may remember playing with quicksilver when you were a kid,

rolling it around in your hands. it was unlikely that you absorbed any

mercury at all, although i certainly don't think its safe to do this -

this was back in the day when they x-rayed peoples feet in shoe stores

to see how well the shoes fit...

 

nonetheless, the external and administration of mercury has been an

important component of medicine for some time. it was first introduced

into practice in the west as a salve to treat syphilitic sores, a

procedure originally developed by the arabs. it became a popular

treatment after that and in the west at least, became a kind of panacea

despite the fact that it certainly killed more people than it ever

helped. physicians were impressed with mercury because it had such

"quick" clinical results - almost immediately the patient would begin

to purge, which of course was thought to be helpful to the healing

process by "equalizing the circulation." it was the frankly

preposterous usage of mercury, along with opiates and blood-letting

during the 19th century that in large part generated the opposition

that create the basis for alternative medicine today. today we still

find mercury in medicine, mostly in dentistry and as a preservative

 

the usage of mercury in ayurveda is venerable and unique, unlike any

other system of medicine primarily because of this concept that it

first needs to be purified before use. nonetheless, although the

actual amounts used in each preparation are quite small and the dosages

smaller still, the administration does have the potential to make

somebody quite sick. i have seen a few studies, mostly biased against

ayurveda and traditional medicine, that points out the dangers of its

use. to me the potential dangers are obvious, but as far as i am aware

scientists haven't really looked at this issue, primarily because it

would be unethical to do a clinical trial with a substance that is

generally recognized as toxic

 

i personally am not interested in using mercury bhasmas in myself, my

family or my patients, but I do respect the fact that their preparation

and usage is a part of ayurveda, or more specifically, the alchemical

branch of ayurveda known in south india as siddha

 

the nature of alchemy is both highly esoteric and highly technical.

some researchers state that the rig veda is actually a secret text on

alchemy that has been reduced to a liturgy. perhaps what is most

preposterous is that somebody is asking for assistance to prepare a

mercury bhasma over the internet! while we're at it, perhaps somebody

has a recipe for a homemade atomic bomb?

[Guest guest]

OMG!! very enlightening, as well as quite entertaining. I'm laughing so

hard over the Atomic Bomb. I can't see!!

Bon

-

Todd Caldecott

ayurveda

Thursday, July 01, 2004 11:35 AM

Re: <ayurveda> mercury bhasma

(Edited by moderator to remove quoted post. Members, please, snip when

you reply to messages!)

[Guest guest]

Dear

 

As I understand mercury bhasmas, the mercury is mixed

with another metal to make a fairly inert compound.

It is then put through many "firings" and coolings

(perhaps as many as a thousand) and then mixed with

organic compounds. The "firings" make the molecules

of mercury weak and so it more or less acts like a

homeopathic remedy. Is this right?

 

By the way, do you have any good sources for

plutonium?

 

GB Khalsa

 

P.S. I think Todd's remark on the atomic bomb is being taken too literally. I do

beleive plutonium is one of the ingredients. ;->

Cybervaidya.