Healing Systems in India
¤ Traditional Remedies
Ever since we could foresee our death, we have sought the means to
forestall it. Our mistake has been in thinking that the key to
longevity must be exotic: elixirs, rare herbs or some alchemical
formula.
We tend to ignore that the human body does react to nature’s
ever-changing moods and that human life is but only a link in the
great web of Life.
¤ Ayurveda
‘Harmony is health’, is what Ayurveda preaches. This is
India’s age-old science of medicine which illumined many, like
the early Greeks and Arabs who were so awed that they went ahead and
borrowed from it. Ayurveda in India was at its glorious best in the
age of rishis (Hindu ascetics) and rajas (kings). Our ancient masters
and physicians knew exactly how to be hale and hearty till a ripe age,
which would be nothing less than a century! Traces of the science have
filtered down the centuries, and are being revived in a big way these
days. But most people tend to think of Ayurveda as an alternative
system of medicine, which it is not. It is a way of life.
¤ Yoga
"The wavering, restless mind goes wandering on… you must
draw it back, and have it focused every time on the soul."
Lord Krishna to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita
The whole world is talking about yoga these days. In the west people
are increasingly casting a keen eye on relaxation and meditation,
essentials of the ancient Indian tradition of yoga. The knowledge of
yoga comes to us originally from the Vedas. The idea then developed
and branched into a whole lot of other texts and philosophies. The
yoga that is most well known today is the Hatha Yoga of bodily
positions called asanas.
¤ Homeopathy
Homeopathy is based on the principle of "like healing like "
( Simile Similibus Curentur); homeopathy believes that a sick person’s
symptom are sings of the body’s battle against illness and they
try to stimulate, rather than suppress his reaction. A homeopathic
remedy is given to cure a set of symptoms in a sick person, which it
would cause in a healthy person. The treatment was discovered some 200
years ago by a German doctor, Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann.
Conventional drugs are usually prescribed in individual capacities to
act upon specific parts of the body, so it follows that several
different drugs might be prescribed to treat the various symptoms of
one individual. Homeopathic medicine offers an alternative .
¤ Acupuncture
Acupuncture is probably one of the oldest therapies still in practice
and is perhaps the most frightening to the layman. It is a technique
in which metal needles are used to puncture selected points of the
body and induce stimulations by various manipulation methods
The earliest success in this therapy is recorded by a historian of
the Han Dyansty (206 BC -220 AD ) where a doctor brought a patient out
of coma by applying acupuncture needles. The doctor was Pein Chueh,
who later summed up his forerunners’ medical experience and set
forth diagnostic methods. The story started with stone needles and
later nine metal needles (four of gold and five of silver) were
discovered from graves dating back to the second century BC.
¤ Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy heals in a easy and gentle way. and what’s more,
the ‘treatment’ is not just for your physical problems, but
for your mental and emotional problems as well. Aromatherapy is one of
the oldest forms of natural therapy practiced in India, and also in
Egypt and China. Way back in 1000 BC, people used aromatic oils and
plants to adorn their bodies and for physical and mental well being,
for religious purposes and for mummification. With a rekindling of
interest in the ‘natural way of life’ people are once again
turning to aromatherapy, the most natural and beneficial of all forms
of naturopathy. Aromatherapy is not to be confused with herbals or
nature cure, the latter being the wider domain.
¤ Naturopathy
Naturopathy is a century old healing disciple that fell from favour
about 40 years ago, when drugs and technology became the norm. But
recent years have seen the revival of naturopath’s popularity, as
more people have become disillusioned with conventional medicine. The
appeal of naturopathic physicians is that while they have an
educational background similar to that of conventional MD's, they also
take extensive course work in various alternative remedies.
¤ Herbal Healing
Herbs are as old as the first blade of grass on a cooling earth and
so is herbalism - a curative science that was practiced extensively by
the flourishing centres of civilization. Written record of history
bear testimony to their use in the earliest known times. One of the
longest medical paypri - Papyrus Ebers, dating back to the second
century B.C. describes various ailments and their herbal remedies like
myrrh, cumin, peppermint, caraway, fennel, olive oil, etc. Licorce was
possibly a prized herb as it was discovered in abundance from the tomb
of king Tut that dates to 3000 B.C. The earliest Chinese book on
medical herbs, written around the same time epitomises ginseng,
besides listing numerous other herbs. The Arabs, Greeks, Persians,
Babylonians and Romans were adept in herbal healing. |
