Genesis of Charaka Club, New York and Gleanings Related to Hindu Medicine from the Proceedings

GENESIS OF CHARAKA CLUB, NEW YORK AND GLEANINGS RELATED TO HINDU MEDICINE FROM THE PROCEEDINGS By K. RAGHUNATHAN Medical societies, associations and clubs occupy an important place in the life of the profession. These bodies hold fast the profession, and help in inculcating the feeling of love and oneness besides bringing the members into contact with great workers of the field and age. This contact serves as an inspiration and acts as a powerful impetus to the youngsters to cultivate the spirit of labour which made those great people what they were. This healthy influence has a significant place in the advance- ment of knowledge. There are various medical societies, clubs and associations in different parts of the world, each having special objects in view. Charak a Club of New York was one of the clubs formed with select gathering. It was a medico-historico-social club that c iscussed a range of subjects involving fields like medicine, medical history, literature and poetry even. In order to prevent from becoming too engrossed in purely professional matters, dinners, conversaziones and popular meetings are commonly held in the club. This club periodically released its Proceedings containing the names of members, list of subjects discussed together with certain papers read before the club. A club Was founded in November 1898 by a group of four-Charles L. Dana, Joseph Colleirs, Frederick Peterson and Bernard Sachs at New York. These members were attending regularly medical meetings at New York Academy of Medicine in West 43rd street. They were more anxious, in the words of Bernard Sachs, to get together at regular intervals to discuss, in an intimate way, subjects of cultural rather than purely medical interest. To this group of four was added Ward Holden at the sugges- tion of Collins. About the formation of Club, Joseph Collins, in his paper "The past, present, and future of the Charak a Club" read forty three years after founding the club, on 19th November, 1941, said as below: "The Charaka Club was founded forty-three years ago this month. It was concei- ved by an Irishman, gestated by a Puritan, delivered by a Yankee, and baptized, or, better said, named by a Jew. They were the Four Horses of the Apocalypse and theii names were, respectively, Collins, Dana, Holden, Sachs. You may attribute it to vanity that I put my own name first, but I recall vividly the talks and discussions, I had with Holden, when we were both assistants in Herman Knapp's Clinic in Twelfth Street, as to what we, as ambitious young physicians, should do, could do, to satisfy the needs and opportunities of the third leg of the day that should be devoted to play. Golf had not yet swept over the country like a tornado. Finally we agreed upon a plan to get a group of men who knew at least the meaning of culture to gather four Genesis of Charaka Club=-Raghunathan 241 or five times during the winter to talk and discuss what was in their minds concerning art, literature. education, and our predecessors, particularly the remote and epoch- making ones." The following introductory note in the first volume of the Proceedings of The Charaka Club which was released in 1902 spelled out briefly the object with which the Club was started and also on its name: "The Charaka Club was organised in November, 1898, by a number of medical men of this city who were interested in the literary, artistic and historical aspects of medicine, and who hoped to find some recreation if not profit in dealing with this, the less serious, side of their art. The expectation of the founders have been realized, and incidentally their meetings have been the means of bringing together some literary material which it was decided to print. The name of the Club was chosen in honour of the Hindoo Sage whose history is given in the first article by Dr. Sachs. The design for the title page and book-plate was made by Mr. George W. Maynard. - New York, 1902. The Editorial Committee consisting of Ward A. Holden, Smith Ely Jeliffe, and Charles L. Dana while issuing the volume III of the proceedings noted on the recep- tion to the proceedings as below: "The Proceedings of the Charaka Club appear to have interested medical men and the editors feel justified in issuing a third volume. The Society itself has added to its membership and increased its activities. The result is that the present issue is larger than those which preceded it, although some valuable papers read before the Club have been publi-hed elsewhere. Still other contributions, we may add, have not been published at all, because modesty exists as well as merit among the Children of the Sage. The list of names of the contributors to this and previous volumes shows that active professional life does not make impossible a dalliance with the Muses. "Inter sylvas Academi quaerere verum." To seek after truth in the groves of Academus is an occupation which in some degree and form all may profitably pursue." The group soon felt that subjects beyond the range of medicine would prove attra- ctive. The meetings were held at homes of the members. The first meeting was informal and was held at Dana's home to discuss the purpose and the range of subjects. The members agreed to meet four or five times a year at each others's to discuss : subjects ranging from historical medicine to the recording of rare experience. The increase in the membership was very gradual as no one was to be elected unless he .had wide cultural interests, was in sympathy with the aims of the ~club; the colour of his eyes, or hair, or his special religious affiliations did not determine the choice. 242 Bulletin Ind. Inst, Hist. Med. Vol. VI or the first addition to the club were Pearce Bailey, Johns S. Billings and George F. Shrady. The first five members met at Peterson's, in January. 1899; Peterson read a paper on post-humous diplopia, and C-ollins made and read a contribution to Bthics. In the meeting at Collins' in February 1899, Gerster was added to the list. Bernard Sachs, proposed father Arpad Gerster 1899 and later in 1930, John. C. Gers- ter (his son). Arpad Gerster had intimate knowledge of art and was a skilful teacher. In the meeting at Sachs', Dana read a paper on Guy Patin. In April 1899, the meeting was held at the University Club at the invitation of Holden. Holden therein presented a paper on the printed page and its optical defects. In the sixth meeting held at Collins' it was decided to call the Club as the Medico-Historical Club. At the seventh meeting held at Dana's, Dana spoke on costumes of ancient Greek physicians. Subjects such as 'the evil spoken of physicians'. 'education and social position of the Greek physician', ophthalmology of the greek physicians', and Hippocratic cranial surgery were a few of the subjects presented in the meetings of the Club. It was in 1899, the group elected Dana as President. Holden was described as the first, and a very competant secretary who inaugurated a style of secretarial notes, which was subsequently continued ably by Camac and Malloch. It was one of the meetings in 1899 group decided that the program might include reports of unique and instructive personal experiences, presentation of drawings, prints or other illustrations and reading of poem not exceeding to two verses. The group decided to have one special subject by way of a regular address followed by general discussion. In the eighth meeting of the Club held in January, 1900 at the residence of Arpad Gerster, Bernad Sachs presented a paper on Hindoo medicine. In this paper, he said the Charaka was the oldest medicine man and priest whose works were still extant. Immediately after this statement was made there was a whisper in the group "We have a name for the Club" and it was since then the nameless happy group began functioning under the name, The Charaka Club. It was in the meeting of April, 1900 the name was finally adopted. Bernard Sachs mentioned that he was interested in the Hindoo Medicine through his brother Professor Julius Sachs, a thorough Sanskrit scholar. It was he who advised him. to look into the ancient medical practices of the Hindoos. At the meeting in April 1900, the name Charaka Club was adopted, and in 1901 the seal was adopted. (Fig: 1) The seal of the Charaka Club is marshalled as follows: "Upper half. On a mantle of lilies blanc, in a field circular with slittered bordure, a snake spiral, salient, Border gobonated by gods and goddesses medicinal. Scutcheon supported by dog dexter and goat sinister" couchant affronte. Lower half. Enclosed by border wavy without, indented within, a field spattered with Roman numerals and charged with rooster rampant stepped in socket of globe quiescent. Crest, without wreath, but with earring, bust of Indian sage erased". The descriptive verse of the seal emblem of the Charaka Club was printed as fronts- piece in the 7th volume of the procedings of the Cbaraka Club. (Fig. 2) l~~ i I t ;, l . .[ - •.. Fig. 1. Seal of the Charaka Club. ·J '.' Pig. 2. Descri~ti~everse of the seal (Emblem) ',. .: ---;- .. .' . "-, 'Genesis of Charaka Club=Raghunathan 243 Dr. Walton got a gold signet ring of the seal made and he exhibited this while reading a paper on 'Our seal' in the club meeting on 19th November, 1924.

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