BHU, Varanasi
The head of one of the departments is engaged in a deep
debate with me about the value of Ayurveda. He decidedly states that Ayurveda
is only preventative, but cannot intervene on diseases: that is why modern
medicine has succeeded and is superior.
It is a well-paved argument, one I was taught at Columbia
and Harvard: the power of modern medicine is in its speed and scientific
precision. He cites the advent of
antibiotics as the cure-all since WWII.
His colleague is seated with us, did a fellowship in New York, and
willfully agrees.
They discuss fever and diabetes.
“You will have to admit that paracetamol (aka acetaminophen/Tylenol) works much
faster than anything we have in Ayurveda. When you cannot wait for the fever to
come down, you have to get it down. If my son has an exam tomorrow and he
develops fever in the night, I can’t risk him taking Ayurveda which will take 2
days to take effect. Paracetamol will have his fever down in 2 hours, and then
he can take his exam. This is the way of modern life.”
Indeed. Modern life. The long term effects of paracetamol are not
cited, but the short-term action is celebrated.
I ponder, as I cannot deny his truth.
“And there are no drugs in
Ayurveda to lower blood sugar. Modern medicine uses insulin very effectively to
lower blood sugar, quickly and effectively.”
My mind echoes the same thought: what is happening to the body while we
are precipitously countering its actions and reactions, pretending to
understand its ecosystem by analyzing a few molecules and proposing a mechanism?
I pause, waiting for my turn for
rebuttal. The rules of academics in India require that we listen and never debate with persons
much senior than ourselves. The
Fulbright faculty status has exempted me for these months: I am allowed,
expected to engage in debate, in the activity of “faculty interactive
discussions.”
As I begin to cite some
biochemical mechanisms, patient cases, and some Ayurvedic roga
nidana (pathophysiology), he rocks suddenly in his chair, calls abruptly for tea,
and stops the conversation. It is an
indication, another indication that when someone is ready to hear, only then
can he hear. I politely leave, actively
engaged in this example the Universe has provided for debate. I have to get
sharper, more deep, more able. Down the
marble steps, I walk across the length of the yellow-painted megalith,
pondering. Are there really no drugs in Ayurveda for fever and for diabetes?
The issue is diagnosis and keen
observation and examination. All the clues are there and only need to be
perceived accurately. This requires that we have a still mind, acutely clean
senses. There are many modalities in the
ecosystem of Ayurveda: herbs, surgery, metal medicines, pranayama, mantra,
gemstones, marma, yoga, ahara (diet), lifestyle,…. The most potent, according to the wisemen, is
Pathya, or appropriate and clean intake of food. Diet is not only what you eat. It also
includes where the food comes from, how it is cultivated, how it is prepared.
The detail required to teach this to each and every patient is what prevents
Ayurvedic doctors from doing it, well.