A Brief Review of Indian Science of Health and Medicine with Special Reference to Ayurveda
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Chapter I A brief review of Indian Science of Health and Medicine with Special Reference to Ayurveda The study of norms and values is one of the essential activities of philosophy and philosophy as an intellectual discipline of human knowledge. In the Indian tradition, the study of principles and values with reference to reality and life has seldom been disassociated or independent. The western division of science, art and Philosophy, (and religion too) is not aptly or rigorously applicable to various disciplines of human knowledge in the Indian tradition. A discipline of knowledge covers under its scope, reality on the one hand, and life on the other hand, simultaneously. Hence, in their original forms, till their mature growth, disciplines of human knowledge have been independent philosophies. Ayurveda, popularly known as the science of health and medicine, is likewise a complete system of principles and values to study human life with a focus on health, longevity and medicine to keep life happy and energetic in functions and activities constituting the course of life. Hence it becomes a primary concern of a modem student of Philosophy to study and bring forth the Philosophical aspects of Ayurveda. The present dissertation aims at working out the ethical aspect of Ayurveda from the modem point of view. 1.1. Why Ethical Considerations? Human life has evolved immensely during the course of the last two thousand years. With changing times, man has adapted fairly well to his natural habitat and made his life more comfortable. However, though with the increase of comfort, human life has evolved to become a prosperous and lavish in a few mundane aspects, yet, at the same time the complexities of human life are increasing with every instance of progress and achievement. One can notice drastic changes in the lifestyle of humankind today if compared to that of the tenth or fifteenth century populace. The evolution of man on the rational level is, 1 without any doubt creditable. However, the issues in the private as well as public spheres of human life have increased over a period of time at an alarming rate and continue to do so. Technological advancement has led to environmental issues, various political ideologies have given birth to differences of opinion leading to unrest and increasing stratification of the society, adoption of violent means to settle disputes between communities and nations has resulted in homicides, and no nation of the world is free of the growing threat from terrorism. All these social, economic, political, religious and geographical issues have only aggravated with time and one cannot deny that the origin of most of these problems lies in the lack of deliberation on ethical perspectives towards the issues. Ethics as a normative science deals with the right and the wrong, good and the bad of human conduct and human dealings whereas its applied aspect gives directives on the very practical level. While material progress and well-being of man can be attributed to science and technology, his progress as a social and spiritual being and his quality of life as a whole can be attributed to his awareness on the level of conscience and in turn to the evolution of his ethical thought. The need of the hour, thus, seems to be bringing about a change in the thought process of human beings so as to make them more responsible inhibitors of the planet, of their communities, nations and societies. Bringing about a radical change in the mindset of mankind is not a straightforward process and requires efforts to be taken on the micro level, i.e. on the individual level. Guidelines for such efforts can be derived from Ethics, which has both, a theoretical as well as an applied relevance in the different spheres of human life. The objective of my thesis is to unravel the ethical considerations discussed in Ayurveda, especially Caraka Samhita in order to arrive at a unique, yet globally applicable ethical theory which reflects the exceedingly appealing and characteristically mundane approach towards life. The thesis also aims at discussing the stance taken up by Ayurveda regarding the role played by a Physician in an archetypal medical context of the ancient times and seeks to enumerate the etiquette for medical practitioners, patients, as well as the nursing staff as stated by Ayurveda, to suit the modem context. This ethical position and 2 etiquette of Ayurveda is arrived at by a detailed study of all the discussions and debates that bear an ethical import. The primary source for this study is the text of Caraka Sarhhitd. 1. 2. V^\iy Ayurveda! Ayurveda is the ancient Indian Science of Health and Medicine. It represents India's rich cultural as well as scientific heritage. As a science of healing, it is claimed to be the oldest of its kind in the history of mankind as a whole and believed to be eternal according to its mythological account. There are several characteristics of Ayurveda that make it unique as a therapy and most of these will be discussed in due course of the present thesis. However, it's exceptionally holistic approach makes it one of the most competent alternative therapies through the history of humanity till date. The Ayurvedic understanding of man, his life and the comic life has a noteworthy potential to provide humanity with insights towards increasing the quality as well as quantity of life. Some such significant perspectives oi Ayurveda are discussed here. This holistic approach of Ayurveda is evident through its discussions on understanding an individual and his relation with his fellow beings, society, community, his natural world, and the universe at large. As a fundamentally therapeutic discipline, the focus of Ayurveda is the individual human being and its ultimate objective is his overall health and wellbeing. The science is then buih around the individual using principles concerning with and leading towards attaining this objective. With reference to the individual again, the central theme of Ayurveda is the balanced state of his mind-body organism in all its aspects, which constitutes his health. The science of health and medicine considers the physical and the psychical aspects of life to be essentially related, to be precise - interdependent. The health of one is conducive to the health of the other and the disturbance of equilibrium in one implies the same of the other. Treatment is administered in Ayurveda considering him as a holistic entity and considering his mental and physical constitution. Ayurveda does not administer treatment only for the symptom of the disease that is visible in the patient, but goes to the root cause of the ailment to which the symptom is related and restores the desired equilibrium. At the same time, it considers the environment and the climatic conditions that continually have an impact on man's health whilst administering treatment. This approach of Ayurveda is significantly valuable due to its potential to provide an in depth understanding of man, and his overall health and wellbeing. What makes Ayurveda stand out amongst other alternative therapies is that it does not confine its study of man to the aspects of health and medicine on a merely physical level. Its holistic approach is extended to its concern about the wellbeing of an individual and, equally, his happiness. The science of health and medicine acknowledges the human pursuit of happiness and prescribes an elaborate way of life conducive to the same. These prescriptions give it a fundamentally normative perspective. The norms that Ayurveda recommends, are pertaining to alleviating disorders as well as maintaining the health of the healthy. These norms are suggested throughout all the treatises of Ayurveda in the context of discussions regarding treatment of innumerable diseases and this is the primary function of any therapeutic system. Ayurveda not only performs this function efficiently but also takes a step forward to suggest an appropriate way of life in the form of instructions pertaining to the daily regime as well as regime in accordance with seasons. Considering the changes that take place in the nature with changing clime and season, it provides guidelines in order to maintain the equilibrium of the psychological as well as physical components, thus retaining the health of an individual. These guidelines include instructions pertaining to the routine activities of man such as diet, sleep, exercise, maintaining bodily hygiene, etc. In its effort to facilitate man's pursuit of happiness, Ayurveda also extends its normative perspective to life as a whole. This is done through norms prescribed for good life, which is known as the Sadvrtta}l\vQ Sadvrtta consists of normative and ethical principles pertaining to one's conduct, particularly as a social being in relation with other fellow beings. The normative considerations in Ayurveda are innate to the discussions pertaining to the health of an individual; and Ayurveda CS.Sii. 8.18-29, a detailed description of these regimes appears in the fourth chapter of the present thesis. aims at the overall health of man, in all its aspects viz. physical, mental, social, normative and spiritual. These holistic as well as normative perspectives of Ayurveda are extremely relevant so as to understand the ethical considerations that it deliberates upon. 1.3. Scope of Ethics in Ayurveda As mentioned above, Ayurveda is replete with normative insights for the sake of attaining the goal of a long, healthy and happy life. A major part of these normative considerations falls within the scope of ethics and as such, deals with human conduct as well as his moral fiber. The immense scope of ethics in Ayurveda is reflected to the different issues it touches upon through its discussions relating to the health and longevity of an individual.