What is the future of Ayurvedic practise ?

Phase-III: Being an Ayurveda disciple and a pioneer of Ayurvedic Biology interface

KJ: After a long and successful career as a cardiac surgeon, assuming the high post of Vice Chancellor in the field of education and several honors as a biomedical scientist, why did you study Ayurveda?

MSV: The “predisposing” factor was my upbringing in an Ayurveda-friendly environment. For any ailment, except obviously surgical, such as a fracture or a tumor, our family consulted a reputed Ayurvedic physician—a scholar who was our neighbor. Once I joined the Medical College and throughout my surgical career of three decades, Ayurveda vanished from my view. It reappeared in the 1990s, when I began to feel that nothing in my cardiac surgical practice, or indeed in the modern medicine, had been contributed by an Indian. That was the “precipitating factor”. It disturbed me that since the advent of modern medicine in India over 200 years ago, there had been no contribution by an Indian—in the causation of a disease, a drug, a surgical technique, a technology, a prophylactic regime in medicine—which had been adopted globally. I refused to accept Shockley's view that originality in science was exclusive to White people! India is much older than 200 years. Was there a time in India's history when we were creative and innovative? That search landed me in the company of Charaka, Susruta, and Vagbhata.

KJ: How did you study Ayurveda?

MSV: I started my study of the Charaka Samhita with a saintly Ayurvedic physician and profound scholar, Sri Raghavan Thirumulpad in Kerala. He was in his 80s but was gracious to me and generous with his time. I would inform him in advance that I would be coming with notes on my understanding of three to five chapters of the Samhita—sometimes only one—so that he too would have looked at the text. I would discuss what I had understood; he would point out my mistakes, the need for greater clarity, for abridgment, or expansion, etc. He would also share with me related ideas and his own experience, which was invaluable. They were highly enlightening discussions.

I used to go to him once in two months and the studies went on for 2½ years. I was honored when he told me that I would not need similar help in the study of Susruta and Vagbhata!

KJ: Please share with us your views on Charaka, Susruta, and Vagbhata.

MSV: Volumes have been written on the Great Trinity. What could I possibly add to what has been said? For me, Charaka represented the synthesis of all that is great in Ayurveda. While excelling as a general physician with an encyclopedic mind, he formulated the Mula Sankhya doctrine—with 24 tathwas—before Iswarakrishna, and modified the gunas of Vaiseshika to suit Ayurveda. He had thoughtful views on destiny and destruction of habitat; and so on. His claim that “what is found here, you may find elsewhere; but what you don't find here, you will find nowhere” was justified. Susruta's text was revised by Nagarjuna a few centuries after Charaka and was better structured, more compact, and conspicuous by emphasis on surgery. He was the surgeon extraordinary. But I felt that several important sections on cadaveric dissection, plastic reconstruction of nose, lips, etc., which won global recognition had perhaps been unduly shortened during the revision of the text! Unlike Charaka and Susruta who cared little for literary style, Vagbhata was a master poet and physician who composed Ashtanga Hridaya in memorable verse for students and practitioners. He drew his inspiration from Charaka and Susruta, and made them more accessible to ordinary people like us.

KJ: How was the process of understanding Ayurveda? Was the language a barrier?

MSV: Learning of Ayurveda was not easy because the basic concepts, the role of causation, pathogenesis, diagnosis, the rationale for doing procedures, the basis for prognosis, and most of all, the preparation of medicinal formulations, were vastly different from what I had learnt and practiced in a lifetime. Language was a barrier, but not insurmountable. Without an inspiring teacher like Sri Thirumulpad, I would have found the learning process too hard if not impossible.

KJ: What is the future of Ayurveda practice?

MSV: Only Ayurvedic physicians can answer this question.

KJ: How can we use newer information (generated through reductionist approach) for understanding Ayurveda (holistic science)?

MSV: New Science (reductionist) cannot help in understanding all aspects of Ayurveda. By definition, “holistic” cannot be fully analyzed by reductionism. Even after the ultimate reduction, there will be a part that would defy understanding. But what is revealed by the reductionist approach even at this early stage—in studies on Prakritis, Rasayana, etc—is important and exciting. That opens a new frontier in knowledge.

KJ: Should Ayurveda be included in medical or basic science courses?

MSV: Yes, it would be desirable to introduce a short, familiarization course of 2 or 3 weeks in Ayurveda for medical students. This is already standard practice in the US, UK, etc. Of course, the course should be prepared carefully and imaginatively.

KJ: What are the important outcomes of the “A Science Initiative in Ayurveda” projects? How are these projects progressing?

MSV: The projects in the first round were concerned with studies on dosha prakritis, panchakarma, rasayna, dosha-neutralizing plants, and rasa-sindur. The investigators were Ayurvedic physicians and scientists from reputed institutions all across India. The studies have been completed and two important papers have been published, with several more on the way. Equally importantly, they have built a bridge between Ayurvedic physicians and basic scientists for joint research, and led to the establishment of a Task Force in Ayurvedic Biology at the Department of Science and Technology. This is a highly significant development.

KJ: You have introduced innovative ideas like “textual epidemiology” in your book Legacy of Charaka. Similar several ideas are reflected in other publications too! Please share your perspectives on these new ideas!

MSV: It would seem that my novel exercise in archeo-epidemiology based on a digitized text of the Charaka Samhita had escaped the serious notice of reviewers except an American scholar! As a matter of fact, textual studies can be as exciting as biological studies. For example, digitized texts could enable one to make probable estimates of common and uncommon diseases, commonly and uncommonly used procedures, evolution of the treatment of a disease from Charaka to Vagbhata, etc., during the period of Brihatrayee; computational linguistics could dissect the different layers of composition and revision of the Charaka and Susruta Samhitas, and so on. Some work on these lines on the Charaka Samhita is being done in Vienna, but none in India.

KJ: What is your future plan?

MSV: I am at a stage when future comes to me in the disguise of today! “Every morning brings a noble chance” and something of interest to do. Future will then take care of itself!

Research in Ayurveda has so far been mainly focused on the utilitarian aspect of drug development. However, Ayurveda offers much more for a student of science. Apart from its central claim to be a holistic system, which prizes wellness, Professor Valiathan believes that unique scientific opportunities would arise from investigating Ayurveda through the perspective of contemporary science. When I asked him how Ayurvedic Biology would help Ayurveda or Biology, his answer was, “I cannot claim that Ayurvedic Biology helps, or will help Ayurveda or Biology. Neither needs help. However, when new science, new techniques are applied to old science, new sprouts of knowledge would appear. Chemistry emerged from new experiments in ancient rasasastra, as P.C. Ray had shown”.

The conversation with Professor Valiathan awakened the scientist as well as philosopher in me. Here I wish to quote Charaka's words from his book: The Legacy of Charaka.

“Ayurveda owes its call not to selfish goals or worldly pleasure, but to compassion for fellow beings. In seeking to know my legacy, you have but seen the leaves of a universal tree, too vast for your eyes. May your sight grow and your quest never end”.

JOURNAL OF AYURVEDIC AND INTEGRAL MEDICINE.