AYURVEDA AND BEYOND: THE NEED FOR HINDU STUDIES IN ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS
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Ayurveda and Beyond: The Need for Hindu Studies in Academic Institutions
I recently got into a discussion with a doctor friend of mine about an Ayurveda meme. The discussion took place on a social media platform and was open to contributions from other readers and observers. This post drew much sympathetic approval from the conventional medical fraternity and generally vouched for the sentiment that established Ayurveda as an inferior, unscientific and unrecognized form of nonsense (aka quackery). The caption suggested that Ayurvedic doctors were unqualified doctors who inevitably put patients’ lives at risk, while conventional doctors were out there saving lives and picking up the mess after Vaidyas, who were most likely to be seen as weekend or short-stay graduates. courses. Of course, there was no awareness of Ayurvedic education, no effort put into preparing him to practice it, and worse, no impetus for him to take any steps to understand the tradition.
These conversations are not new to me. I also come from a conventional medical background. However, being curious and searching by nature, my education has shifted from curative and symptomatic allopathy to Ayurveda and holistic wellness – a more consciousness-based health practice. Now that I have established my view of this conversation with my friend, which then went into many aspects of importance to many of us present-day Indians, let me proceed to relate what happened.
My conversation with my friend began by inviting me to put some fillers on the table to clear up at least some of the gaps in understanding: that Ayurveda is not quackery, that surgery in Ayurveda was not borrowed from modern surgeons, and that Ayurvedic practitioners such as modern doctors have gone through intense training in diagnosis, treatment and surgery before graduating. I also invited my friend to consider how Ayurveda – like many other indigenous health practices and protocols – was virtually destroyed at the hands of the colonizers (especially the British) and that what survives is a cherished heritage that dates back much earlier . Hippocrates. I also explained that Ayurveda had a much deeper purpose; one that includes the patient’s overall well-being, even spiritual well-being. You have to remember I was talking to a rational mind and you can imagine where this could go.
How do you think my passionate plea was granted?
With the inevitable “Let’s agree to disagree” and other rational points that refused to budge from the entrenched paradigm that “Western Allopathic Medicine” was superior, scientific, respected, and had plenty of past and ongoing research behind it. prove to be legitimate; while Ayurveda is unregulated in its formulation, can contain ingredients that are toxic (yes, the irony is not lost on that), is established in some mumbo-jumbo pseudoscience, has doctors who cannot communicate universally in common medical jargon, and at best has quacks , who hold MS certificates in witchcraft, while at worst endangering the lives of innocent and naive people (not patients) using ‘jadi buti’ concoctions, and most importantly – “colonialism or the consequences of our history, have nothing to do with it.”
So where does that leave us?
I’ll start by saying that as much as I may have presented the above paragraphs with a tone of frustrated ridiculousness – because conventional medicine doesn’t really accept it as “ridiculous”, I’m coming from a place of deep pain and anguish. when I say that. Pain and anguish as, beyond the immediate intent of both sides to save lives, the gulf between the two worlds of medicine seems to be widening. The shared history of the two practitioners, both siblings born in the same country, simultaneously meets opposing views with one glaring difference. The richness of Ayurvedic heritage from a bitter history faces ridicule, scorn and eventual removal by our educated youth who continue to perpetuate the narrative embedded deep in our psyche for many generations – that the English way must be the right way. Right way!
In my view, this can be solved by ensuring that authentic studies of the history, culture, practices and wisdom streams of India, as well as Hindu thought, are an essential part of learning for children of all ages and in all academic institutions. . As a mother, I see children absorb the stories, ideologies, beliefs and values they are exposed to. Unfortunately, our education system is set up to convey the history of figures and data without exposing our children to the lessons of history. In the end, parents with poor exposure to our rich past will hardly be repositories of authentic resources for future generations; leaving a country with one of the largest populations (citizens and diaspora) believing in a distorted view of their own culture – the largest and practically the only survivor of ancient civilizations. Education based on pride in one’s heritage, provided by stewards of the land and community, building a foundation of openness and tolerance, can break the vicious cycle of dominant narratives perpetuated by those in power and create space for a more diverse truth leading to subsequent healing for all involved.
When I was in medical school in Ukraine, we had to study Ukrainian history, religion and psychology as compulsory subjects for two years. Religions included Christianity, Hinduism (taught by an Indian Hindu pandit), Judaism, Buddhism and Islam (with teachers from both Shia and Sunni sections). In addition, we had a woman who taught us about herbalism and natural phenomena. I found this to be a very unique approach because I don’t think this is – or has been – a standard curriculum in any Indian medical institution.
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