THE substance in this approach is obvious and cannot be ignored. An integrated approach will always serve a greater cause by any standard. But then, a presupposition underlines this thinking -- that Ayurved is a complete science by itself and in itself and that it needs to be taken seriously. This is of utmost importance against the background of crass propagandism indulged in by various commercial interests to malign Ayurved. True, there may be some limitations to the ancient Indian science of healing. Yet, the flip side also is equally true that Ayurved served humanity for thousands of years in the best possible manner. There often is a charge -- though quite ludicrous -- against Ayurved that it does not have a strong research base. This is certainly a dirty propaganda not related to reality. For, countless numbers of treatises on Ayurved written thousands of years ago do point to the fact that extensive and intensive research was conducted by earliest promoters and scholars before formulating ways to heal human ailments that included even mental illnesses and emotional disturbances.

 

All the ancient texts point to a very systematic approach to first understanding human ailment and later its treatment and correction. Modern researchers are found to have fallen prey to deciding upon the timeline of various ancient texts on Ayurved -- like the Charak Samhita, or the Sushrut Samhita, or Ashtang Hridayam and Ashtang Sangraham by rishi Vagbhatt, or Sharangdhar Samhita, or Madhav Nidanam, or Bhavaprakash, to name only a few. For, many calculations may be wrong since there is no understandable reference to the periods when those were scripted first. Yet, suffice it is to state that most of these treatises were written several hundred years ago. Some of them can be dated back to Vedic period -- offering detailed comprehension of human ailment and ways and means to face the issues. Ancient science of Ayurved also had a very expansive section of surgery -- which has been dealt with in Sushrut Samhita which is complete with detailed description of various surgical tools and equipment and supplementary materials that were so essentially needed during surgical operations. Reading those details and looking at the sketches that are available on record offers an amazing experience, thanks to the attention the Ayurvedic surgical masters paid to the process of making those tools and equipments.

 

The Sushrut Samhita also makes elaborate mentions of various surgical processes in a neat order that must have been decided upon only after deep and extensive research over time (may be of thousands of years). This usage of term ‘thousands of years’ is not out of any personalised fancy, because enough evidence is available in Vedic texts -- such as RgVed or AtharvaVed -- highlighting various human ailments and their correctional treatment in precise terms. Rishi Vagbhatt dedicated his famed treatises Ashtang Hridayam and Ashtang Sangraham to maintenance of healthy lifestyle that would keep human individuals away from ailments. Instructions were available from Vagbhatt’s knowledge bank about how and how much to drink water during the day or during the meals or before and after it, for example. Today also, experts prescribe lifestyle changes to patients picking up points from Vagbhatt’s treatises and ensure that ailments are kept at bay successfully. This brings us to a very critical point of understanding that Ayurved was not just a medicinal or medical science but a complete thought-process that was designed to protecting and preserving human wellness in all conditions.

 

Usage of medicine or application of surgical processes was prescribed only as later resorts and not as first steps to correctional methods. Detailed instructions also are available in various Ayurvedic texts about the stages where medicinal approach is to be undertaken. In other words, a firm sense of restraint was the first instruction given to the practitioner of Ayurved as to using medicinal or surgical approaches. This thought was based on a complete knowledge of the element of vitality that resided in human body -- Chetana. Human body was not a machine and it was governed by a pranic energy -- Chetana -- which expresses itself through various elemental components that form the fine combination of human body with a divine core and purpose. Naturally, then, such a divine creation had to be handled with extreme care. This, thus, became the basis on which Ayurvedic thought stood. (To be continued)