Ayurveda and Western medicine can coexist
THE decolonising of alternative medicine is gaining momentum.
And I can already hear every grandma, patti and nani exclaim: “Didn’t I tell you that turmeric milk (manjapodi paal in Tamil and haldi doodh in Hindi) is good for you? It works better than the white man’s cure for cough and flu.”
Slowly, one leaf, twig, root and bark at a time, the work of healers, medicine workers and herbalists from traditions and cultures that span the globe is being elevated.
In recent times, the West has been raving about the curative properties of their latest foodie discovery, turmeric latte. It is forgotten that long before the warming Starbucks Turmeric Latte gave rise to a cult following, our grannies were spreading the goodness of Ayurvedic home remedies every day.
For centuries, Ayurveda served as the basis of traditional medicinal practices among the people of India and went with them wherever in the world they were scattered. Ayurvedic medicine is rooted in the Vedas, India’s sacred texts, written more than 5 000 years ago.
Ayurvedic traditions outline the concept of the doshas and how they impact body, mind and spirit. A fundamental principle of Ayurveda teaches that there must be unison of mind, body and spirit.
Cardamom may lower blood pressure, improve breathing and potentially help stomach ulcers heal. Turmeric may help reduce inflammation and improve heart and brain health. Cumin may decrease symptoms of irritable bowl syndrome, improve risk factors for type 2 diabetes and heart disease, and offer protection against food-borne infection. Brahmi herb lowers inflammation and improves brain function. Ashwagandha is an Ayurvedic spice that may help your body manage stress more effectively, lower your blood sugar levels and improve sleep, memory and muscle growth.
All was going well with Ayurvedic cures among the civilised communities throughout India until British scholar Thomas Macaulay implemented colonial-era reform in 1835, eliminating all local languages and indigenous medicines, including Ayurveda. Thus, many Indians grew up heavily influenced by Macaulay’s educational system that taught them to look down on their Indian culture and traditions.
Many years after India gained independence, Ayurvedic medicine attempted to re-establish itself in a world that had rejected it. Ayurvedic medicines began gracing the shelves in pharmacies and health food stores. Marketed with anglicised names, attractive packaging and streamlined delivery methods like pills and tablets, these products only vaguely resembled the remedies that grandmother had prescribed.
But many people misunderstood how Ayurveda worked, expecting quick cures and symptom relief instead of a holistic system that takes the whole person and
their environment into account. This led to the dilution of Ayurveda as a poor substitute for Western or mainstream medicine.
It is vital to clearly understand that Ayurvedic medicine is based on the idea that the world is made up of five elements – aakash (space), jala (water), prithvi (earth), teja (fire) and vayu (air) – and a combination of each element results in three humours, or doshas, known as vata, kapha and pitta. These doshas are believed to be responsible for a person’s physiological, mental and emotional health.
Every person is said to have a unique ratio of each dosha, usually with one standing out more than the others. For example, a person may be mostly pitta, while another may be mostly vata. In
Ayurveda, the balance of the doshas is integral for health and well-being.
In the past several decades there has been a resurgence in Ayurveda which is gradually making its way to the top. And that’s because Ayurveda is being decolonised by people who are proud of who they are and their traditions. In South Africa, there are only a handful of practitioners of Ayurveda.
In 2014, Ayurveda received great impetus when India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi established the Ministry of Ayush to promote alternative therapies such as yoga and traditional Ayurveda medicine. The word Ayush emerged out of the acronym of the names of different traditional and complementary medical systems practised in India, such as Ayurveda, Yoga and
Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy.
Anish Rajan, the Consul General of India in Durban, has prepared the groundwork for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of KwaZulu-Natal for the establishment of a Chair in Ayurveda.
The Chair will undertake academic and collaborative research activities in Ayurveda, including herbal medicine and yoga, as well as design academic standards and short-term/medium-term courses and educational guidelines.
This Chair will also conduct workshops/seminars/conferences on Ayurveda, advocate the safe and effective use of Ayurveda systems and identify strengths and gaps in academic and research programmes on Ayurveda.
The Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine at UKZN already has a Research Chair in Indigenous Health Care Systems, which was established to restore the dignity of African traditional medicine through excellence in teaching, research and stakeholder engagement.
Testifying about the wonders of Ayurveda two weeks ago, Raila Odinga, former Kenyan prime minister, contacted Modi to express his joy after the medical services rendered by the Sreedhareeyam Ayurvedic Eyecare Hospital in Kerala had helped his daughter regain her eyesight. He said his daughter underwent eye surgery at hospitals in Africa and around the world, without success.
“My daughter lost her vision due to a tumour in 2017 and we sought a cure in South Africa, Germany, Israel and China, among other countries. The family came to Sreedhareeyam after hearing about its Ayurvedic eyecare facilities. Within four months, her vision had improved and she has returned to Kenya,” said Odinga.
While Ayurveda is gaining traction worldwide, Ayurveda and Western medicine must be viewed as complements rather than competitors because both have their place. Ayurveda is great to use daily and in the home for prevention of disease and Western medicine is great for emergencies.
Western medicine treats the symptoms so that we feel better as soon as possible. It often does not dig deep enough to find and fix the root cause of the problem. Ayurveda advocates disease prevention as a lifelong practice. Ayurveda works to understand the individual person while uncovering and fixing the root cause of the problem so it does not happen again in the future.
Thus, Ayurveda and Western medicine can coexist. Referencing the Buddhist principle of taking the middle path, it means there must be tolerance and moderation rather than veering to extremes and choosing only one type of medicine to the total exclusion of the other.
Ayurveda, like yoga, is part of India’s legacy and contribution to the world. It must be shared with everybody.
Here Mahatma Gandhi’s quotation is apt: “I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.”