Ayurveda vs. Modern Medicine

(Read WSJ on Narayana Hrudayalaya, Bangalore - Photo: Lord Dhanvantari statue in the hospital lobby)


Of late, I am the odd man out in discussions where my Indian colleagues and friends quote godmen, gurus and medical men who propound that moden medicine is very immature, treats only symptoms in an attempt to fight disease and is nowhere as developed as ancient Ayurveda which helped men to live healthy and long - up to 120 years and more, as it was a holistic system.

I have problems with this type of thinking. Let me first state that I have been in the medical equipment industry for 30 years and have dealt with the best surgeons and physicians in India and abroad. But I have also seen the crass commericialisation of modern medicine by the unscrupulous. I am aware of how industry and trade has been hell-bent on pushing unwanted and unnecessary scanners and pills, and how doctors have been harvesting their investments by exploiting hapless patients.

I am also often a witness to cynical patients and families who avoid treatments and accuse doctors of malpractice whenever they advise someone to undergo angioplasty or surgery. There are also associations and doctors who conduct camps to "Treat your Heart without Surgery" and who strenuously advocate life-style change and natural methods to resolve heart ailments. So I am not surprised by everyone's urge to go back to ancient Ayurveda. In fact I also tried it a few times before.

Ayurveda, purportedly given to us by Lord Dhanvantari and practised successfully for thousands of years by Indians for longevity and good health, has seen a resurgence now. Today's pollution, adulteration and pills-for -every-symptom approach are pointed to be the reason for the explosion of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes in India. Now we all long to go back to pure and natural and wise Ayurveda!

In this context, I am an upholder of modern medicine. Here are my reasons:

1. To judge medicine, we have to see its best proponents and practitioners, rather than the over-commercialised version. Like everything around us, there are good doctors and bad doctors.


2. Modern medicine is the evolution of a science and is not opposed to Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, Yunani or anything else. Down the ages, the science has been growing through cross-fertilizing ideas. Greeks surely learnt from ancient Indian sages during Alexander's travels.


3. The language of science is mathematics. The Greek and Roman terminology employed in modern medicine, coupled with medical statistics, is a robust scientific platform. Perhaps this level of rigour is missing in most traditional methods.


4. Modern medicine believes firmly in tried and tested methods. It believes in data-driven diagnoses. There has been no real data-driven research in tradional methods. Thus they are unable to submit the required data for US FDA or international patents.


5. The key to successful Ayurveda practice is standardisation of training, medicine production, and
   "peer-reviewed" professionalism. That will go a long way in proving its success.


6. The first principle of medicine is "do no harm". So like Ayurveda, modern medicine in its pure form is conservative. Life-style changes and food habits are to be addressed first before medication. It is unfortunate that we run after doctors who dish out instant remedies.


7. The body cures itself. That is the power of life. The will power to cure oneself works wonders. That can also be called the placebo effect. Psychology functions particularly in life-style diseases and chronic diseases where more than a cure, we want alleviation and management of symptoms.


8. Yoga is totally focussed on psycho-physical activity. It is the peak of human endeavour to heal oneself and evolve. It is the method for achieving well-being here and hereafter. But Yoga should not be confused with Ayurveda.


9. Yoga has four elements - Asana, Pranayama, Mudra and Bandha. It can always be combined with modern medicine without any issue.


10. If holistic medicine and life-style management as propounded by Yoga is adopted, this is NOT AGAINST modern medicine. Just as the ancients believed in Aushadi, Pathya, and Kriya, medicine can absorb and benefit from the wisdom of "healing oneself".


11. As I said before, the body can be helped to heal itself rather than dump treatment and medication. That is an important attitude we can cultivate within the context of any school of medicine. Today's "good" Ayurveda practioners are doing this and their positive results are based on that holistic approach.


12. Health and Well-being are goals. We set goals as a part of our modern lives. That is no different from the old philosophy of yuktaahara-vihaarasya...yogo bhavati dukkhahaa ( Bhagavadgita Ch. 6)

Let me finally quote a Sanskrit shloka we had in our school text. It is purported to be an ancient sholka, when doctors were practising only Ayurveda. It states that Yama, the God of Death, takes away only our lives, but the doctor takes away our lives as well as our wealth!

Indian techie on foreign assignment!

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Bharata - a true hero of Ramayana

I went to Chitrakoot.

After Rama's banishment to the forest, he wanders with Sita and Lakshmana and arrives at Valmiki's ashrama. He requests the sage to suggest a suitable place for his sojourn in the forest. The sage suggests the beautiful, hilly forest of Chitrakoot. And while staying there, Rama receives Bharata and his entourage. The story of Bharata's encounter with Rama, his entreaties for Rama to come back to Ayodhya, Rama's conversations with king Janaka, sage Vasishta, and Rama's unshakeable resolve, are very touching parts of the story. But the most touching and abiding images are those of Bharata's asking and taking the padukas, and later enthroning them in Ayodhya. And Bharata dwells as a hermit in Nandigrama, living on roots and shoots much like Rama, for fourteen years, running the kingdom in trusteeship and devotion.This entire episode is called Bharat Milap.

Rama, after Hanuman returns successfully from Lanka with Sita's Choodamani, embraces him with tears and says "Bharata hi sama Bhayi"!"( a brother as close as Bharata!)

I went to the spot where Rama receives Bharata. Travelling to Chitrakoot and dealing with the priests there is a hassle. But the hill where Rama stayed and the Bharat Milap spot are sacred to devotees, who circumambulate the hill for 5 kilometers. The hill lies on the border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and both states claim that Bharat Milap is their heritage.

Bharata is the true hero of Ramayana according to me. The epics are full of stories where people like us encounter and deal with life's challenges in a special way,with sacrifice, devotion and courage. Of all such stories, Bharata's story is incomparable. Let me summarise:

1. Bharata did not take shelter in the parental diktat to occupy the throne. He used his buddhi (wisdom).
2. His act of trusteeship was not merely politically astute, preserving Rama's inheritance and the family unity - he did it with love and devotion.
3. He need not have lived as a hermit. He need not have worshipped the sandals of Rama. He need not have gone to such lengths to persuade Rama to return. All this shows how he lived out of his heart, and his righteousness and devotion to truth. 
4. Bharata was singularly handicapped in his situation. His heart said the kingdom belonged to Rama, and the turn of events had to be corrected. He was a prince too, and all princes want to become kings. His mother had extracted a monster gift of Ayodhya for him, at the cost of his father's death. But he did not succumb to political expediency.
5. The way he marched to the forest, with Janaka and Vasishta, and tried to right the historical wrong to Rama shows true statesmanship. There is perhaps no other example of such an act in history. We hear of brothers killing each other, and cousins causing the death of hundreds of thousands for the kingdom. But this man was different.
6. In Mahabharata, when faced with "duty" and devotion to the throne as opposed to fighting for what is right, Bhishma and Drona came up short. They are not heroes. They did not fight for what is right. They went by expediency and convenience. They wanted to preserve their "name".  Bharata did something crazy in comparison.

If Ramayana is about righteousness, sacrifice, love, and steadfastness, its true hero is Bharata.

Let me share with you a link to a great song..Sada Enna Hrudayadalli... by the late Bhimsen Joshi. What music!

Sada Enna Hrudayadalli by Bhimsen Joshi

Marvellous Narmada

I travelled to Jabalpur recently. The river Narmada, even after being dammed a couple of times, flows majestically. She has gouged a deep marble ravine and you can go in a lovely boat ride and watch pink marble rocks running to several hundred feet high, just as cool and crystal clear Narmada flows majestically, in places up to 600 ft. deep. Up a few miles away is a mini Niagara- like fall at Bheraghat. It is called Dhuadhar or Dhauldhar. Watch it here!