Retrieving the lost texts.

[Guest guest]

Dear Doctors/Friends,

 

While I was reading about ayurveda I came across the fact that nearly

all the available texts on this great subject were destroyed by the

raid of the Mughals and later by the British doctors.

 

Having been aware of the same problems confronting Buddhism in India,

where the plunder of the Buddhist Monasteries led to the destruction

of the great libraries contained within them.

 

Drawing parallels between the two I came to the conclusion that the

texts could be retrieved if a little effort is made. We know that

there were ayurvedic learning centres in all parts of India. Students

from not only interior India but also from countries like Greece,

China, and many neighbouring civillisations came to study ayurveda

and took notes of the various important texts. They also carried the

knowledge in their minds and taught the vaidyas in their own country.

This knowledge also travelled to Europe.

 

Therefore we see very similiar native healing systems prevailing in

the traditional societies all over the world. If an effort is made to

collect that knowledge then we could recover many missing links.

 

Not that this attempt has not been initiated. Dr. Frawley, one must

have noticed, gives a lot of importance to chinese herbs in his books

on ayurveda. He also points out, like others before him, that

accupressure and accupuncture have been spread to China and other

eastern countries from India. He points out to references made

to "suchi chikitsa(accupuncture)" and "marma chikitsa(accupressure)"

in the ayurvedic texts.

 

Even Reiki has travelled from India and is derived from the praises

to the Sun and the revered Gyatri Mantra. I have shared this opinion

with many Reiki Masters of repute all over the world and they amazed

me with the reply that it was a fact. Reiki owes its origin to the

Lotus Sutra of Buddhism, which Mikao Usui studied and which in turn

was the translation of an ancient sanskrit text.

 

Now why go so far? We must be aware that many forms of diverse

healing procedures exist in India itself. These are also offshoots of

Ayurveda as the knowledge spread within India and was handed down

from generation to generation. I have already referred to the fish

treatment of Hyderabad and the "seka chikitsa" or the use of herbs

and hot compression used in Orissa to cure fractures. Many

other "mantra chikitsa"'s also exist in many parts of India which are

a result of tantric knowledge. We know that ayurveda has derived a

lot from tantra.

 

In Orissa and attempt is being made to integrate the knowledge of the

various vaidyas practising the many facets of ayurveda. This will

hopefully give them legitimacy and enable them to operate from a

single platform. Why Orissa is so sensitive to these issues is

because Puri in Orissa was a great centre for ayurvedic learning.

Homeopathy too had a very early impact on its citizens. It is no

wonder that the people of Orissa are usually very healthy and of a

very good temparament. Now of course modern medicine is spreading

here also like in other parts of India. But the people of Orissa have

not lost their faith in ayurveda and homeopathy.

 

Another facet of ayurveda exists where the medicinal nature of plants

is deduced from their shape and similiarity to various organs in the

human body. Like Brahmi, shaped like the human brain, Kalmegh, shaped

as the liver, etc.

 

I can recall a very interesting incident here. A certain OAS officer

of Orissa was posted in a very remote village. A son was born to him

with a very case of open fontannels. There was no hospital nearby and

when the tribal attendant of the Office ventured to help, the Officer

had really no other go. The tribal employee applied a strange herbal

paste on the head of the child and in the next morning the open

fontanelle had closed ! Upon enquiry the paste was found to be of the

leaves of the plant known locally as "lajjabati". Most of you will

recall seeing a plant whose leaves close on touching. It was this

very plant. Its closing nature was used to treat open wounds, however

difficult. So we see how the art of observation forms a very

important part of traditional healing. It also proves that nature

heals.

 

Regards,

Jagannath.

[ritesh0000]

respected sir

I have completed my BAMS. I want to learn marma chikitsa. Is there any centre who offer this course ??????

regards

ritesh