The health care practices that followed in India is linked with Hindu culture, i.e., the way we live, what we eat, how we deal our society, our belief and value systems, our family concepts, dressing pattern, our social, emotional, financial, political responsibilities, spiritual awareness, our respect for both the animate and inanimate nature etc. The health problem or sickness was never looked at in isolation and dealt it separately like how our modern science does. Mind healing, infusing confidence, bringing self-disciple to both the mind and body through divine faith and spiritual practices, extending complete care and support of the family to the sick person are included in the treatment regimen. Treatment in true sense occupied only a small portion in the health care delivery system and the paramedical care was given utmost importance. Both Siddha and Ayurveda have evolved with the above philosophy where the treatment is given first to the mind than to the body or organ.
When the Vaidya engage in Nadi Pariksha (Tridosha pulse reading), the Vaidya always tries to intimately connect to the patient through touch and then read the patient from his or her body postures, gait, expressions, narratives, the psychology of the family members, their anxiety and distress, their living conditions and economic status etc., and that is how the diagnosis is made and then the customized and individualized treatment recipe is arrived.
The Vaidya always bond the members of the family to the patient and then to the society. The Viadya would advise the patient and his or her family to visit certain temples, do certain Poojas etc., to achieve relief. All those procedures were done to strengthen the mind of the patient as well as his/her family. Healthy mind and healthy body of the patient was the end goal Vaidyas of Siddha and Ayurveda always attempt to achieve.
The treatment aspect of every disease was approached in a holistic manner where the entire family of the patient was also included in the treatment process. The Tridosha is a wonderful philosophical diagnostic approach that helps the Vaidya to understand the health status of the patient at notional level in order to provide highly customised, individualized Siddha or Ayurveda paramedical recipe and therapy.
Unfortunately several institutionally qualified AYUSH Vaidyas, predominantly the Siddha Vaidyas in private practice has forgotten the sacredness of Siddha and or Ayurveda and have migrated to cross pathy. Instead of offering complete and wholesome healing to the patient, several Siddha and Ayruveda Vaidyas in private practice short-circuit the treatment with allopathic drugs which is illegal both to humanity and to the health care delivery system. Through the process of cross pathy, several Siddha and Ayurveda Vaidyas also demean the tradition, glory, essence and sacredness of Siddha and Ayurveda. Cross pathy really deface and disfigure the health care culture of India.
India was a healthy country in true sense where the meaning to health was understood, followed and practiced fully for both mind and mind. Entire society was responsible to each other to ensure people remains healthy, responsible and upholds the values and believes our tradition and culture.
Government of India and the respective state governments must bring back all those AYUSH Vaidyas in private practice to own system, help them to retrace the essentials of Siddha and Ayurveda and must make them proud to practice own system than migrate to cross pathy. India definitely needs India’s ancient healing practices which is strictly paramedical in nature, to remain healthy and young.
