The treasures of our ancient tradition and its usefulness & values, every civilized country must preserve, promote and popularize and from that perspective, the efforts of PM Modi is commendable. Unfortunately whether the large number of people from AYUSH fraternity has ever recognised the value and usefulness of AYUSH in letter and spirit is a million dollar question. Otherwise they would to show great aggression to compete with MBBS graduates that AYUSH vaidyas are also quite knowledgeable in allopathic medicine.
Instead of providing the holistic therapy to the patient, most AYUSH vaidyas in private practice feel using stethoscope as symbol of pride and the point of completion as doctor. How stethoscope would help a vaidya to diagnose tridosha such as vata, pitta and kapha is quite curious and posing such question to any vaidya why they use stethoscope would end in unnecessary fight.
The curriculum content of AYUSH education is being mutilated so badly with the superficial inclusion of modern science such as microbiology, biochemistry, anatomy etc.
AYUSH is completely a faith based philosophy and spirituality linked system and its science is faith, human values, ethics & morality, mutual trust between the vaidya and the patient, self- discipline, chanting hymns, faith in God etc., not proven science. The present day world certainly requires AYUSH to impart living values to people. AYUSH emphasis upon self-discipline in all activities of human being to remain healthy. But unfortunately such great AYUSH philosophy has been muddled by the inclusion of modern science in the curriculum.
The superficial and shallow learning of modern science has made many AYUSH vaidya to feel they are competent both in AYUSH as well as modern medicine but unfortunately they lack even the basic wisdom in either of the subjects otherwise they wouldn’t adventure to claim their scholarliness in modern science.
AYUSH vaidya see each patient in toto, recognize the patients as part of the universe made of panch booth (5 elements) and the composition of tridosha and that is how vaidya diagnose the problem. Instead of attempting to treat the disease in a compartmentalized manner like liver, kidney, heart, lungs etc., the treatment is often suggested to the total body and mind and that is why AYUSH is called holistic. But unfortunately the holistic treatment approach of AYUSH is vanishing steadily and soon if the above situation continues, AYUSH would vanish completely.
Many Siddha vaidyas in Tamil Nadu are digging out several ways to engage in allopathic practice than Siddha system of healing. Cross pathy by several AYUSH vaidyas also corrode the system from within. But the concerned authorities like CCRA, CCRS, NIS, NIA etc., remains indifferent towards cross pathy by several AYUSH vaidyas as they argue that it is the mandate of the respective state government to act against cross pathy.
It is not the responsibility of the state government alone, also the respective research councils of AYUSH must call the institutionally qualified vaidyas in private practice who are engaged in cross pathy and must warn them to promote AYUSH as per their expertise instead of defaming AYUSH through quackery.
AYUSH Ministry must completely cleave all modern science contents from the curriculum of AYUSH and instead must include protocol and other details of clinical trial so that the vaidya in private practice also can evaluate several AYUSH recipes.
The present curriculum in all sense is not going to do any good to AYUSH as the vaidyas, after graduation would tends to engage in cross pathy than establishing the validity and credence of the system that they have studied for 5 ½ years.
AYUSH is a sacred system of healing practice, spirituality, humanity and philosophy are the foundations of the system and therefore the vaidyas must conduct themselves more as experts of wellness and happy life than as doctor meant to treat patients.
Unless the curriculum content of the AYUSH is modified, excluded all modern science contents from the existing curriculum, included clinical trial procedures and finally cross pathy by vaidyas in private practice is banned, AYUSH cannot be made relevant and useful healing practice to humanity.
The money Ministry of AYUSH incur on such mission without doing the root cause correction, it would be a wasteful exercise and nothing else. The nation is at loss.
S Ranganathan
