Secrets of Indian Medicine

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History tells us about the supremacy of Indian culture and medicine in olden days. Evidently the consciousness of Indians of that time must have been more developed than that of other nations. What made those people great in their thoughts and actions? Persons who really discovered something for the good of humanity were the seers, thinkers and men of action. They had creative genius. Their intuitive faculty was highly developed. Their motive of life was the service of God through humanity. On such a sound basis they dared to achieve the highest truths in various aspects of life as well as of medicine.

Today the ancient medicine is in a deplorable condition because its followers have forgotten the spiritual idealism and lost the intuitive faculty and are under the influence of materialistic ideas. The result is that spiritually they have be- come stagnant and have lost the creative genius. They have lost the true interpretation and application of Ayurvedic principles, hence there is a downfall, and this profound, simple system of medicine has become very confusing to the modern mind.

The past knowledge is both a drag and a force for progress. It is the past that has created the present and a great part of it is creating the future. Modern medicine has developed from ancient medicine. Both Allopathy and Ay- urveda are working on the same lines. Ayurveda has given the general outlines of medicine while modern medicine has detailed each part of it with the help of a highly developed intellect. We must take full account of the potent revelations of Allopathy and combine them with the luminous secrets of Ayurveda which seem to be veiled. The modern doctor will still find something simple and efficacious in Ayurveda and will be surprised to discover rare secrets worth applying to patients.

Being an Allopath myself my studies of Ayurvedic literature are limited and whatever I have learnt about Ayurveda is mostly from a spontaneous growth which is mainly due to the divine grace. Opportunities came and the problems arose and I had to discover the solution. The first problem was put before me by a minister to write a paper on ‘Synthetic Research in Ophthalmology’. The second problem arose after a lapse of two years when the editor of an Ayurvedic Journal wanted me to write some articles and I decided to elaborate the Tridosha theory. Again after a lapse of two years another problem arose and I was asked to write on the ancient methods of investigation to determine the qualities and actions of a drug.

If Indian medicine is to accomplish its real mission it must start a double movement of revival and reform. It must revive its Tridosha theory on which the whole ancient medicine is based, so that it may appeal to the modern mind, and on the basis of this theory modify and purify its forms of application. These forms of medicine and modes of application must be simple and scientific to reveal the spirit of ancient medicine.

Ayurveda affirms that along with the gross material body there is a subtle body also, which is quite plastic and mobile, not rigid like the material body. One feels the presence of this subtle body usually in the subconscient state, that is, during sleep, and in dreams, when one finds oneself away from the body, moving amongst different people and at different places. To deal with the diseases of man efficiently the knowledge of both the gross material body and the subtle body is essential.

Ayurveda believes that like all other things man is also composed of five elements earth, water, fire, air and ether. It is quite simple to understand; one eats food, drinks water, enjoys the sun, breathes the air and is alive due to the presence of ether or life-force. This life-force is the basis for man’s mental and spiritual activities so that Nature may evolve him towards perfection. The function of each element is different. The earth gives shape to the body and releases its energy; bones, muscles and tissues represent it in the body without which no such shape of man would have been possible. Water makes the earth supple and helps in the transmission of energy; serum and lymph represent it, without which the body would have become a dry and rigid mass. Fire makes the form of the body steady and gives vigour and stimulation; digestion and circulation represent it. Air ignites the fire and works as a life carrier and is the support of all contact and exchange; respiration and the nervous system represent it. Ether is the creator of life itself in the body. A harmonious combination and function of these five elements produces a healthy and beautiful body.

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