Alternative therapies will take centre stage.

[Guest guest]

Dear Sanjay ji,

 

Namaste. I should thank you for having taken the time to read my mail and the

effort to reply. I really appreciate your effort in trying to understand the

problem. If most people were like you then our problems could have been solved

by mutual discussion alone. I also wish to similiarly thank Subhasish and

Sujeet.

 

But Sanjay, there is really nothing in my mail to stun you so much. Astrology

etc. are really a part of ayurveda. Before taking up the issue of astrology let

me dwell on another aspect. Why is it that ayurveda seems to be incomplete and

also not documented properly? This is because as I have already pointed out, a

certain powerful invador who ruled for two centuries was very harsh on the

system. Thus the teaching places where ayurveda was studied by students all over

the globe ceased to exist. Almost 90% of the documents too perished. But the

knowledge had by then spread to other countries and was established. It is a

fact that most of eastern medical practices owe their original to their Indian

roots.

 

As you know, ayurveda developed out of religious texts. Thus it gained a lot

from spiritual experiences that are very different from the materialistic

science that we pursue today. I cannot deny that this approach to science has

made our life easier on earth but it has failed to measure man and his

aspirations. Ayurveda is entirely based on such concepts as intuition, faith and

the like. Does it not surprise you that the ayurvedic pharmacopea during the

time of Caraka, and even earlier, was so extensive? Mind you there were no

advanced mechanistic devices that we have today. Then how did it all come about?

 

When I put this question to the Head of the Department of Medicine of an

ayurvedic college, the reply I got was very stunning to say the least. I was

informed that the early ayurveds prayed to nature to reveal its secrets and

simply noted down what came. As per present scientific parameters this is

certainly nonsense. But, I was told, there is no other explanation.

 

It is not only the descriptions of the herbs and their usage that is amazing.

There exists minute details about which part to use for particular ailments,

what time to pluck the herb, how the same plant planted in different soils gave

different results, the use of prayers and incantations to increase the potency

of the herbs and so on. The do's and dont's are so vast that even the current

six year course of ayurveda is not sufficient to contain it.

 

About physical anatomy, I have a personal experience. Very near to where I

stay is the place where King Ashoka had embraced Buddhism. This place in Orissa

is very ancient being close to Sisupalgarh, the fortress of the early kings of

Orissa. In the hill of nearby Dhaulagiri archaeologists have come across a very

old cave that doubled as an ayurvedic hospital in the past. The drawings in this

cave have amazed one and all. They contain very intricate anatomical drawings

which are perfectly accurate. In fact, researchers say that the early

practitioners knew of nerves that have not been found even today. Then there

were drawings of the energy meridians of the body, tens of thousands of them

that form the basis of treatments like accupuncture and accupressure.

Archaeologists have also found proof that physicians studied the body by

immersing dead bodies in water and then peeling them off layer by layer.

 

There are many other examples which I cannot cover here. However the above

should be sufficient to prove that the physicians were very scientific and

detailed though they depended more upon their mental skills than physical

instruments. So is it very difficult to assume that there existed a detailed

database that did not survive? Again, at Puri in Orissa, there existed very

skilled ayurvedic physicians who were so perfect in surgery that the British

physicians had to cut off their hands to stop the spread of ayurveda and to

establish their dominance. But even today many ayurvedic practices flourish here

that are totally unscientific and yet highly effective. The Professors of the

nearby allopathic medical college and hospital have admitted that they do not

understand how such methods which their own science forbids can solve cases they

usually reject. A case in point is the treatment of fractures by heat. In the

nearby hamlet patients from all over India with untreatable fractures

come to be treated. I personally know two MD's who have benefitted from the

treatment. One of them now practices in the USA.

 

Thus clearly we cannot draw a line between what is correct and what is not

based on current scientific parameters. It is also very disconcerting to assume

something to be wrong till it is proved correct. Even criminals are not treated

that way as they are assumed innocent till proved guilty. Science, particularly

in the medical field, has always tried to examine these methods with an

intention to prove them wrong. This is another aspect that will have to be

rectified.

 

We cannot study man scientifically. This is precisely the reason why despite

such advances in science man remains an enigmatic creature. Ayurveda too will

appear enigmatic, like homeopathy, unless one sheds inhibitions and bias to

study it with an open mind.

 

Currently work is undergoing on a huge digital database to record the

medicines and procedures mentioned in the ayurvedic texts by collecting palm

leaf and copper manuscripts from all over India. Even the unresposive

international media has taken note of this effort. Work has also started on a

patient database. A similiar parallel exercise is underway in the massive 40,000

acre ayurveda and yoga hospice started by Swami Ramdev in Hardwar, Uttaranchal.

Major drug companies too are setting up world class laboratories and

manufacturing facilities. Care is being taken to see that all ayurvedic

manufacturers stick to good manufacturing practices. Institutes like the

Jadavpur University in Calcutta are now offering courses in ayurvedic pharmacy.

In rest of India too such courses are coming up thanks to the efforts of the

Ministry of Health which has at last woken up to the ground reality. As per the

Health Minister unless the focus shifts to alternative therapies India will go

bankrupt

on the health front.

 

It is expected that the rising fortunes of ayurveda will also attract the

attention of MNC drug majors who are now concentrating on chemical drugs. This

is inevitable as is borne out by the fact that MNC companies have almost totally

switched over to ayurvedic cosmetics sensing the surge in demand. Can you

imagine Colgate coming out with a herbal toothpaste and a sea salt toothpaste

and Proctor & Gamble having ayurvedic shampoos and cosmetics in their shelves?

This has happened in India. Already hospitals are coming up offering only

alternative therapies ranging from yoga, naturopathy to ayurveda and homeopathy.

Such hospitals have already come up in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and

Maharastra.

 

Regarding the cost factor, some chemical medicines may be cheap. But if you

take into consideration diagnostic tests, hospital charges etc. then the scales

tilt. Today even rich nations like the USA and Canada are unable to bear even

the partial health costs of its citizen. As ayurveda, homeopathy etc. are more

interested in prevention rather than medication and also in disseminating

information, the costs turn out to be minimal, almost negligible.

 

Regarding ayurveda being elite, this information is incorrect. Earlier complex

diseases were confined to kings who were thus more in need of ayurveds. The

common people led disciplined lives and were taught enough about food, herbs and

daily living to keep them fit. If I am not wrong disease has reached dangerous

proportions only after modern medicine has been accepted and allowed to

dominate.

 

We are very fortunate that despite all odds, ayurveda and homeopathy have not

faded from the scene, another proof of their effectiveness. Everything is there.

What is needed is patronage and renewed interest. I am very hopeful that within

the next decade there will be a revolution in the health sector.

 

Regards,

Jagannath.