Corruption of the holistic health systems.
Ayurveda existed as a preventive system of medicine with very few requiring the attention of a qualified ayurved. The strength lay in its philosophy that rested on "prana" or the life force within the person. The philosophy involved the elements; space, air, fire, water, and earth and their combinations vata, pitta, and kapha. Their interplay and excesses were recognized and could be dealt with mostly by rest, change in diet, mentality, and lifestyle.
Around 1930 a Commission declared that
ayurvedic philosophy (Samkhya) was "religion" and its study and
application was discontinued in colleges. Instead a disease name based system
was propagated. This led to a drug based reductionist approach that has
continued ever since. What has emerged is no longer ayurveda but herbalism.
Drugs were there earlier but sparsely used. They were prepared by the Vaidya
based on the constitution of the individual patient. The prevalence of this
system and the discontinuation of ayurvedic education in the general population
ensued that the knowledge base of the general population suffered a hit.
Today there are many dissenting sects within
the ayurvedic system who are trying to get out of the mess.
Homeopathy was discovered by Hahnemann who was
a mainstream doctor. He was opposed by his colleagues who refused to believe in
it. However they were not without integrity and reason. They decided to read
Hahnemann, understand the remedies, and apply them according to the stated
principles. To their amazement they achieved cures. This led to widespread
acceptance of homeopathy infuriating the quacks who formed the AMA to dissuade
doctors by threatening them with cancellation of license.
Later the Flexner Report buried the entire
holistic system and the colleges teaching them were closed. Hahnemann was
brutally treated and he had to flee from one place to another, ultimately
giving up the ghost. Homeopathy however survived and spread.
Homeopathy is based on the vital force, just
as ayurveda. We all observe an intelligent energy in the physical frame that
performs all vital functions. This also ensures health by resorting to acute
symptoms when faced with any crisis. The common acute ailments of the body, mostly
eliminative, are but the healing attempts of the body. The human body is a
composition of biological elements and organisms that are very well
synchronized to perform as a whole. The system is adversely affected by waste
accumulation and toxicity.
What homeopathy does is to arouse the vital
force with potentized remedies; freeing it of derangement which then results in
its efficient function, restoring the eliminative process, and establishing a
cure. The concepts of Herxeimer reaction and Herring's laws of cure describe
the process.
Homeopathy was initially championed by
mainstream doctors who resorted to the disease name based treatment. Hahnemann
through his writings steered them to understand the value of totality of
symptoms. Gradually over time the new concepts developed into what is termed
classical homeopathy. This approach treats the patient and not the disease (an
approach appreciated by William Osler).
In India a lot of effort went into
"modernizing homeopathy" and making it "scientific". As a
result the medical colleges teach modern medicine instead of homeopathy leading
to very confused graduates. In my State I had taken up this issue and for many
years pursued the same without any results.
Thus there are many groups in homeopathy who
adopt the classical approach and try to fine tune it. The graduates then have
to study these evolving systems to become homeopaths. It is an arduous process,
and thoroughly unnecessary.
Currently there is a movement towards
integrative medicine. Doctors of all modalities are converging to provide the
best of all systems to their patients. New incumbents into these groups tend to
fight but are made to see reason. This form of integrative medicine was what
was dismantled by Rockefeller's henchmen. To be fair to Rockefeller he had
wanted to also invest in homeopathy as it was the modality he and his family
exclusively depended upon. He never tasted the brand of medicine ascribed to
his name.
The doctors (of all systems) who want health
and cures despair at the intense toxicity meted out by the mainstream. There is
also no understanding about disease and health. Disease management is about
disappearance of symptoms. It is convenient, deviates and absolves from the
responsibility of ensuring cures and therefore there is a huge deficit in the
understanding and knowledge that would lead to restoration of health.
Any genuine system of medicine should;
- Keep the healthy at the peak of their health
- Lead the unhealthy towards health
- Cure the sick
Cures are characterized by three things;
- Temporary worsening of symptoms
- A period of elimination
- Appearance of previously suppressed systems
in a given order
Ayurveda starts with Panchakarma or cleansing/
detoxification.
The above are dependent on the strength of the
vitality in the body, the nature and extent of toxicity, and the number of
times and methods resorted to, to suppress the acutes.
If the vital strength is low, the toxicity
intense, and the patient has suffered years of abuse, then cures become
difficult. That is what is increasingly being witnessed today.
We are at a stage where mass deaths are set to
happen. The demands for hospitals will give away to demands for crematoriums.
But we should not give up hope. We should pray that sense percolates into the
profession and the concern for patients' welfare triumphs over all other
concerns.
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