Revival of traditional healing sciences
The subject I had chosen for this column has been put off to next month because recently I was surprised by a front page news report in the business section of the Hindustan Times (September 17). Not that I’m a media fan or a newspaper reader. News priorities are so obviously confused and newspapers are full of reports that have paid their way there rather than being printed for their news worthiness. However, sometimes we need to take cognizance of what appears in the press. This particular news report disclosed that a popular diabetes drug poses high risk of heart attack, weight gain and oedema. Yet the sympathy of the reporter was for the drug manufacturing company which has invested heavily in R&D (research and development), which will now "suffer". Yes, the company’s business will suffer, but what about the suffering of unsuspecting consumers? That doesn’t seem to matter at all. And what about the company’s earlier pills which diabetics had regularly popped? Who will take responsibility? Or are lay people just guinea pigs?
It’s a sign of our subservience to western sciences that in a country that gave birth to the first healing science that is ayurveda, we have adopted the allopathic system of medicine as our primary line of defence. All other forms of medicine and healing are termed alternative. Never mind that ayurveda is more than 5,000 years old, while allopathy is not even 500.
I agree that many quacks have spoilt the image and reputation of ayurveda, because this ancient medical science hasn’t been taught properly in formal classrooms. Therefore even legitimately qualified ayurveda practiti-oners need better guidance and experience in this changing world to enable people to benefit from this holistic healing practice.
Nevertheless there are some brilliant Indian ayurvedic medical practitioners who are internationally renowned. And fortunately even foreigners such as Dr. Robert Svoboda, an American who studied at the Tilak Ayurveda Medical College, Pune are beginning to respect and study ayurveda.
Moreover if ayurvedic medicine has suffered loss of reputation because it isn’t taught properly, allopathy characterised by wrong diagnosis, excessive reliance on surgery and expensive prescriptions doesn’t enjoy a much better reputation either. The system works on blame being shared by the hospital system or all its shortcomings are passed off as the natural process of ageing and death. What is obscured are the very basic differences between the two sciences, their understanding of the human body and curatives for it. Allopathy’s obsession with germs and viruses is so completely illogical that its prescriptions are symptoms related, of limited utility, and unmindful of harmful side effects. In the allopathic system, root causes of ailments and disease are rarely addressed.
Lack of confidence in allopathy is the reason why doctors are so quick to advise surgery. All too often it is recommended as an immediate and emergency requirement. Increasingly allopathic doctors advise emergency surgery as though they fear that given time to think, patients will decide to choose more sensible and less invasive healing options.
These musings on the relative superiority of ayurveda has made me appreciate how unique and deep are our ancient sciences and traditions which are unfortunately indifferently taught — if they are taught at all – in our schools and universities. The Vedas, I am now beginning to understand, include laws for living and curatives when one lapses. Indeed all the knowledge needed to live a happy, peaceful life is contained in our ancient texts. Nor is this body of knowledge obsolete or old-fashioned. It is very applicable in our daily lives as we go into the future. The further our lives are from nature, the more the need to deepen our roots and learn from our seers who left us such a glorious inheritance.
A good example of the practical, applicable wisdom of our ancient sciences is provided by Mudra Vigyan which I had the good fortune of re-learning from its excellent practitioner Kiran Kumar. Since I sensed a cold coming, my teacher persuaded me to apply Mudra Vigyan principles to get immediate relief. Essentially this time-honoured healing science requires use of numerous finger and hand postures to heal ailments. So I did a set of exercises to energise my lungs to forestall my cold which it did immediately. Others in the class also had amazing results with pain, gas, sore throats, and chest congestion. The five fingers of the hand represent the five elements (fire, air, ether, earth and water) which influence the human body and psyche. The impact of these elements can be manipulated so brilliantly that only true wisdom could have established this ancient science.
All these miraculous health sciences are our legacy, in which we need to repose faith and confidence. It’s a crying shame that they are not included in school and college curriculums. The education system we inherited from the British may have served a useful purpose, but it divorced the people from our miracle healing sciences, which happily are in the process of being re-discovered.
(Kavita Mukhi is a Mumbai-based eco-nutritionist and director of Conscious Food)