Relevance of modern science to ayurveda

[Guest guest]

I loved the parodies on Allopathy by Jagannath Chatterjee, about going to a

Doctor with a car, as well as the town called Allopathy.

 

But, on a much more serious note, let us not get carried away by saying that

only Alternative Medicine is better. Let us look at the texts of Ayurveda and

Acupuncture. Both the subjects are filled with thousands of diseases, that are

classified as easily curable, difficult to cure and incurable.

Plus, in the last 250 years, there has been no research in Ayurveda, due to

suppression of Ayurveda by the Brits, and while "modern" medicine was making

progress, especially in the last 100 years. And diagnostically, there has been

no equivalent in Ayurveda to Echo, MRI, Cat scan or Pet Scan. We should be able

to integrate the 2 branches and not just harp on one or the other. I have

personally known people attempted to be cured for diseases that do not have any

treatment by Western methods, where Ayurveda has also equally failed ( at the

hands of nationally known experts ).

 

We can "treat", does not imply we can "cure".

 

Learn both the systems, and make the best use of both. Atleast this adage

applies to the doctors in this group. For the non-doctors, there are myths on

both sides and anecdotal experiences that may sway them from one side to the

other. In both the systems, we presume that one's physician is the most

qualified. Therein lies a fallacy. we have all sorts of biases from food to

other preconceived notions or expectations, just as what we read in this column.

Durgesh Mankikar,MD

[Guest guest]

Dear Durgesh,

The views expresses in parodies veer extremely to one side.

 

There is a total relevance of the sophisticated diagnostic equipment

turned out by modern scientists to medicine practitioners, whether

main line or alternative. The allopathy is plagued by ethics of drug

industry, not practitioners. In a leading institute teaching ayurveda

in Maharshtra, they teach to use modern means for diagnosis, and

prescribe ayurvedic drugs for cure. This becomes necessary as modern

ayurvedic institutions are inadequate to disgnose everything

using "nadi vigyan", which can be learnt only from a guru, meditation

and experience. That is the reason, in India, many yogis are treating

thousands with inexpensive medicines and they only told PanchGavya

formulae for several chronic/incurable diseases, e.g. cancers of all

types. Cancers, even in fourth stage (based on some cases only) can

be curable, but some more years are needed to proove this statement.

 

Regardding diseases not curable, ancient texts themselves

mention "karmic" diseases and the acc. to texts, Vaidya should inform

the patients and perhaps advise to use Mahamrutunjay Mantra or

similar "self" purification techniques.

 

Since yogis cant reach masses, and cities will have only academically

trained ayurvedic doctors, following a middle path appears best,

though only for patients who can afford the cost of costly diagnostic

tests.

 

Having several friends in alloptahic camp, having received immense

help from them in understanding complex modern science to some

extent, author records here that the main line science is also

equally relevant today, provided practitioner is service minded and

guided by the spirit "First, do no harm".

 

Dr Bhate

 

ayurveda, durgesh mankikar

<d_mankikar> wrote:

> Plus, in the last 250 years, there has been no research in

Ayurveda, due to suppression of Ayurveda by the Brits, and

while "modern" medicine was making progress, especially in the last

100 years. And diagnostically, there has been no equivalent in

Ayurveda to Echo, MRI, Cat scan or Pet Scan. We should be able to

integrate the 2 branches and not just harp on one or the other. I

have personally known people attempted to be cured for diseases that

do not have any treatment by Western methods, where Ayurveda has also

equally failed ( at the hands of nationally known experts ).

>

> We can "treat", does not imply we can "cure".

[Guest guest]

Dear Dr Durgesh/Dr Bhate,

 

I am in awe of both of you, for your knowledge and your attitude of service.

Both of you are also extremely balanced in your views. Therefore it is with

great humility that I attempt to try and give a reply to your posts.

 

I personally believe that allopathy not only created a false notion of disease

by harping on germs rather than on strengthening the immune system, it also

divorced us from our rich culture of do's and dont's that kept our civillisation

disease free for many generations. I cannot recall any other period in history

where mankind has been more diseased and depraved than today. I call allopathy

the vehicle of "kali yuga".

 

We had always both prayed to God, kept our vows and gone to the physician. This

ensured a strong and robust health both at the physical and mental levels. It

also kept us spiritually connected to our source. However allopathy declared

that mans' karma had no relation with his disease and that antibiotics and

vaccinations would be enough to make us disease free. They even talked of

conquering death. However this notion was soon proved to be wrong when people

came down with lifestyle illnesses, direct offshoots of our karma and results of

straying away from the simple, honest, hardworking, and prayerful attitude of

our ancestors.

 

I agree that no "pathy" can match the diagnostic tools of allopathy. They are

essential to tackle the much complicated disease states of today. But whether

these disease states would have occurred in the first place had we restricted

ourselves to ayurvedic, naturopathic or homeopathic systems should be a subject

of debate. Even the miracle surgical cures advertised by allopathy are often for

cases that have been rendered incurable by overuse of drugs and allopathic

interventions.

 

Had people borne in mind that disease is an offshoot of our own wrong attitudes

towards life, not only would we have had a more healthy population but also a

saner society. I think as ayurvedic doctors yourselves, you must be fully aware

of what is causing the falling moral values of our so called civillised society.

Today disease has progressed to such a level that erroneous glandular activity

is leading even our younger generation astray. We should be ashamed of belonging

to a society where twelve year old teenagers rape a woman old enough to be their

mother after watching a movie. This is what our motherland has been reduced to

as a result of the debased culture ushered in by the false promises of

allopathy.

 

As has been detailed by an article I have posted earlier today, allopathy is

based on our vegetable system. Today it seeks to ban that same system because it

proves a threat to their synthetic drugs. This is what I call "the allopathic

mentality".

 

You also must be aware that allopathy has yet to come up with satisfactory cures

(not mere palliation or suppression) in case of any chronic disease. On the

other hand, homeopathy, which is the exact opposite of allopathy, has truckloads

of clinical evidence where remarkable cures have taken place. I myself am one of

those cures. Two decades earlier I was a bedridden vegetable. Today I am

fighting for thousands, nay, millions of others who I know can be helped

immensely if only they switched their system of treatment.

 

Please do not get taken in by promises of "integrated medicine". You will be

doing your patients a lot of harm if you practice different modes of treatment

on them which pull in different directions. It would be like committing murder

taking into consideration the severely impeded vitality of today's generation.

If ayurveda has to cure patients it has to do it alone and without letting its

principles getting polluted by the very system that sought to systematically

destroy it to gain access to the immense "market" in India.

 

You only need to come to Orissa to know how the first British allopaths

systematically burnt thousands of ayurvedic palm leaf and copper manuscripts.

They also cut off the hands of the practicing ayurvedic surgeons so that the

science could be lost for ever. Even today a cave near Bhubaneswar bears

testimony to drawings of the anatomy and physiology of human beings that would

put a modern allopathic surgeon to shame. Therefore please do not say that

ayurveda on its own would never have access to details of the physical body. The

ancient ayurveds dipped the human caracass in water and then peeled it layer by

layer to study the subtle aspects of the human anatomy. Had ayurveda continued

in the same vein today it would be the undisputed king amongst the healing

systems of the world. As I have pointed out earlier ,in a different post, even

homoeopathic principles were not unknown to ayurveds.

 

The allopathic industry that today seeks to ban alternate medicine in the name

of safeguarding the interest of the worlds population should first look at the

statistics of people routinely killed by its own toxic drugs. Today, faced by

intense public pressure, this obnoxious science is trying to blend itself with

other modes of treatment to ensure its continuity. I feel no self respecting

individual should allow that to happen. We have spoiled our lives but we should

ensure that our children at least be spared the ravages of allopathy.

 

Regards, Jagannath.

[Guest guest]

Our body is a representative of the cosmos and none has yet found the final

phenomena which either governs the body or the activities of cosmos.

Hence telling absolutely wrong or right are the fools paradise.

To my mind every where some useful material is available and wise man takes it

for the welfare of man kind.

The goal of ayurveda to provide relief from the suffering by any means hence the

hesitation in accepting the developments and compartmentalising the health for

the fulfilment of once ego is crime against the welfare.

So I agree with the views of both the doctors but this need the interpretation

of ayurvedic thoughts on that line too and who will do that is a multi dollar

question.

In India, Maharastra is not the lonely state where the modern system is taught

to the ayurvedic wards we need to reveal the history and see even present that

how mahamana did his successful effort to integrate ayurveda not only in the

field of treatment but diagnosis, drug standardisation, surgery, gynaecology

etc. and the living example of these are the products like Dr.Uduppa, Dr.

Deshpande, Dr. Kulkarni, Dr. Chunekar, Dr. P. V. Sharma, Dr. Gour, Dr. P. V.

Tiwari and many a like of international repute and contributors.