An article based on my limited knowledge of ayurveda.

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Jagannath Chatterjee <jagchat01 wrote:

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 06:40:10 -0700 (PDT)

Jagannath Chatterjee <jagchat01

Ayurveda.

To:

 

Dear Dr ______,

I'm sorry I am a bit late in replying to this mail of yours. The heat here is

too intense to concentrate on any subject and give a useful reply.

 

I was attracted to ayurveda after I finished my rudimentary reading of

homoeopathy. I felt that there is a lacunae in homoeopathy. Though it has a

marvelous philosophy and a wonderful healing system behind it, no homoeopath

deals seriously with maintainence or lifestyle therapy. I have raised this issue

in some homoeopathic groups without being replied to.

 

Ayurveda is primarily a method of disease prevention. It seeks to do that by

putting down various rules for day to day living. It also seeks to develop a

diet which can keep disease at bay. These rules/diets are not general in nature

but are prescribed taking into consideration individual requirements. Just as we

have psora, sycosis and syphillis in homoeopathy, the ayurveds classify people

into vata(wind), kapha(phlegm) and pitta(bile) depending on which humor is

dominant in the body. These body states (they cannot be exactly termed disease

states) can exist singly or in various combinations.

 

It was only when, despite these rules and diets, or in cases where these were

not followed and disease appeared that treatment comes into the picture. Easily

available herbs, minerals, milk and its extracts, animal body parts, oils,

massaging techniques, enemas etc. are used to combat disease and bring the body

back to health. As Hahnemann was not averse to accepting other healing

philosophies, ayurveda too takes cognisance of spiritual healing, mantra

healing, gemological healing, touch theraphy, sun therapy, accupressure and its

like.

 

Considering that it is a 5000 year old science, or even older, considerable

inputs have enriched this science which studies the nature of man, his goal in

life, his part in this world, his duty towards society etc. Much of this

knowledge is now lost because of invaders who wanted to impose their own therapy

on this land and hence destroyed the old texts. They even physically eliminated

the physicians.

 

Ayurveda is a result of psychic knowledge. The ancient seers prayed to nature

and meditated on herbs, urging them to reveal their curative powers. They also

studied the aura of people to determine the nature of health or disease. Energy

healing or pranic healing forms an important part of ayurveda. The ayurveds talk

of various nerves which are yet to be identified. They also talk of energy

nerves (meridians?) many of which extend beyond the physical body. They speak of

chakras or energy wheels within the bodies, and also outside it. The ayurveds

recognise the presence of various fires or absorption factories within the body

that helps assimilate and distribute energy mainly from food intake as well as

breath.

 

It is interesting to note that ayurveda also takes cognisance of various

physical abnormalities which result from intense spiritual practice. We have

instances of spiritual personalities as Sri Chaitanya and Sri Ramakrishna being

cured of the results of their spiritual excesses by taking recourse to ayurvedic

means. Potencising was also not unknown to ayurveda as it was observed that

minimum doses, succussions, or minute crushing often led to miraculous

results. I think it was the legendary Charaka who started serious

experimentation on this aspect. Unfortunately he passed away before he could

complete his research. I personally believe he reincarnated as Hahnemann to

carry his research to its logical conclusion.

 

The ayurvedic materia medica in its original is reported to be very complex. The

ayurveds divide herbs into roots, stems, branches, bark, leaves, fruits and

flowers each of which is ascribed different healing potential. The healing power

is also determined by the time of plucking of the needed part, day, night,

planetory configurations etc; ayurveda is intimately connected with astrology.

There are also various mantras or chants that go along with the plucking

process. The herbs are to be used within a specified period of its plucking so

that its healing power is best utilised.

 

Ayurveds not only worried about the herb but were also aware of various agents

which increased their potency. They were aware about the need for elimination of

the unutilised portion by adding appropriate agents that aided elimination thus

subverting the possibility of any toxicity.

 

If ayurveda is not so potent today, as it was earlier, it is because of mass

production of ayurvedic drugs in an effort to combat the menance of allopathy.

Also the allopathic principles have crept into ayurvedic philosophy while

subjects like anatomy and physiology are taught to the students. Again the best

of brains are not attracted to ayurveda prefering other routes of earning a

livelihood. The students are also not taught how to increase their psychic

abilities to deal with disease and finding out methods of cure. (The ancient

physicians had divination powers and could detect illnesses by observing the

face and the pulse of their patients). However the main factor remains that only

a small fraction of the original ayurvedic texts are available for study today.

But then these problems are a part of all alternate healing methods in the

present age.

 

Like homoeopathy, ayurveda is too vast a subject to be tackled in a single mail.

I hope to write more in future. If you wish to study on ayurveda I would suggest

books by Attreya, Robert Svboda and David Frawley. All are Europeans but it is

fascinating to note their knowledge on the subject. It is as if they are ancient

Indian ayurveds who have reincarnated to spread the knowledge of ayurveda all

over the world. I'm sure, with time and effort, much of what has been lost will

be rediscovered once again.

 

Regards,

Jagannath.

 

wrote:

Hi JAgannath,

I read through the note by dr. Bhate.

I think the dr. needs to present a balanced picture about the situations today.

I meet any number of people who have not improved or have deteriorated following

ayurvedic or herbal treatment.

He needs to be asked:

How many people do NOT improve with ayurvedic or herbal treatment?

How many people are suppressed by (inappropriate) ayurvedic and herbal

treatment.

What are the iatrogenic diseases caused by (inappropriate) ayurvedic and herbal

treatment?

There seems to be a bit of a blind spot for all those statistics.

 

We know very well what homeopathy does if not properly used as well!

Just another perspective for the note below...

thanks,

Dr. _____