Therapies

Among medical professionals in India and even in the most advanced Western countries, there are two distinct groups. One group advocate for Allopathy (the literal meaning of which is “Opposite Therapy”), receiving support from governments globally due to the influence of pharmaceutical companies. The second group, having witnessed the significant adverse effects of allopathic treatment, opposes Allopathy and advocates Alternative therapies comprising of Homeopathy (that means “like” or “similar), Naturopathy (comprising of Hydrotherapy, Airotherapy (Yoga) , Mud therapy, Aromatherapy, Food therapy, Herbalism etc). “, Ayurveda, Unani and Acupressure -collectively known as Alternative Medicines. The increasing number of followers of alternative therapies every day is a response to the concerns about the adverse effects of allopathic treatment.

Therapies

(Naturopathy, Homoeopathy, Yoga, Acupressure, Ayurveda and even Allopathy)

We all know that the world’s oldest literature is the Vedas (Rigaveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda). Some of us firmly believe that not even a single scientific research in the world is present, the seed of which is not found in Vedas. Even concerning the medical world, if we look at these Vedas, we find all the treatment therapies available on this planet are mentioned there in Atharvaveda, and we also conclude that unless person obtains complete knowledge of all these therapies, they cannot claim to be an actual Doctor. According to Atharvaveda:

आथर्वणी आंगिरसी दैवी मनुष्‍य जा उत ।

औषधय: प्रजायन्‍ते यदात्‍वं प्राण जिन्‍वसि ।।
अथर्ववेद 11-4-16 ।।

This shloka emphasizes that we can treat diseases in four ways – Aarthvarni, Aangirasi, Daivi, and Manushya ja. The meaning of these four words is as follows –

Aarthvarni– Treatments done with the help of affection of heart, devotion, willpower, self-power (Hypnotism & Masmarism), etc
Aangirasi– Treatments done with the help (regulating) secretion of internal organs of the body (Secretion of Ketabolic, Metabolic, and Endocrine glands)
.
Daivi– Treatments done with the help of Gods. However, here God does not represent Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, etc., but Gods that nature has provided us without which life is not possible—for example, Sun, Moon, Fire, Water, Earth (Mud/soil), Akash (space and sky), and Aether (i.e., God of Air), to sum up Naturopathy. Apart from these, in the Rigaveda, we find:

सूर्य चक्षुषा गच्‍छ वातमात्‍मना दिवं च गच्‍छ पृथ्‍वी च ध‍र्मभि:।
अपो वा गच्‍छ यदि तव ते हित मोषधीषु प्रति तिष्‍ठ पारी रै ।।
ऋग्‍वेद 10-16-3 ।।

This shloka means:

Hey, human, absorb sun rays through your eyes, absorb the power of sunlight, grab the vital air with your inherent power, and use sky, aether, and earth (mud/soil). You also take water into your grip, and whatever medicinal values are there in these, you avail yourself of all those and live in this world with excellence.

The five elements of nature are the essence of our wellness and life. According to Ayurveda, disturbances in elements related to Vata, Pitta, and Kapha give rise to various ailments. These three elements, the causative factors according to Ayurveda, are simply a combination of elements of nature as follows:

Vata represents Air and Space – light, cool, and dry. It governs all movements and processes in our mind & body, processes of Blood circulation, elimination of waste, breathing, and movements of thoughts in our mind.

Pitta represents Fire and Water—Hot, Light, Sharp, Oily, and Liquid. It provides heat and energy to the body through the breakdown of complex food molecules and governs all the processes related to conversion and transformation throughout the mind and body.

Kapha represents Mud and Water – inherently cool, heavy, and wet. Cold weather, heavy food, and wet season tend to increase Kapha. It is responsible for creating the structure and support of body tissues.

Manushya ja–Medicines made by humans come under this category. Thus, all Churna, Kwath, Aarisht (Pancharisht, Arjunarisht, etc.), Aasava (Drakshasava, Punannavasava, etc.), tablets, capsules, surgery, etc., are part and parcel of Manushya ja mode of treatment and have been provided in Vedas.

It is implied that all these modes of treatment need to be followed in the sequence as mentioned in our most ancient and foremost literature. However, over time, just by seeing a few advantages of the Manushya ja mode of treatment, we forgot the first three modes of treatment and started excessive use of the fourth one. Allopathy is also one of these, which in some cases shows the immediate effect. The approach of this therapy is such that it attracts people, totally ignoring its side effects, just like a sweet shop attracts us with different kinds of colourful, presentable, and appealing sweets or various garnished, showy restaurants attract us with their ambiance, dressed staff, style, and menu to eat too heavy and unhealthy food completely ignoring after-effects of such food. If someone does a survey, I think there shall be more hospitals and Doctors to handle the side effects of such kind of food, and unfortunately, they have also commercialized themselves and have started suggesting unnecessarily expensive treatments and avoidable surgery, forcing a person to be on lifelong medication in the long run.

Our primary focus is that most treatment therapies originate from the Vedas and are spread worldwide from India. Only a few of us may agree that all these medical sciences teared up the miles from India to China, Egypt, Greece, Europe, and other Western countries. They adopted it wholeheartedly, but we slowly forgot about it. Those who disagree are requested to refer to what Western scholars, philosophers, and doctors think: scholar Mining, says “Indian Ayurveda literature had gained reputation all over the world when Khalifa of Baghdad tried to establish a center of its education there” – ( Ancient Medieval –Vol. 1, pp. 353-354). Alberuni says “ The Indian science of Ayurveda reached Baghdad in two ways (1) By appointing Indian Ayurvedic Doctors as Head of their Hospitals and (2) with their help, by translating this literature from Sanskrit to Arbi – (Alberuni’s “India Vol. page. XXII) , Sar Hunter says Europe took this knowledge from Arab in 17^th century , Doctor Maca let says “All the Philosophers and Sages of antiquity went to India to study the science of life”.

ORIGIN OF HOMOEOPATHY

Many know that Homoeopathy was invented by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, M.D. (1755-1843) in Germany. Still, a few know that Vedas induced him to think along the lines of the fundamental principle of Homoeopathy. Dr. Hahnemann was an M.D. and had an outstanding practice in Dresden, Germany. In 1784, unfortunately, or most fortunately for the whole world, his daughter got cholera, and despite best efforts with his allopathic science, she could not survive. At this juncture, his soul gave him a feeling that the actual effect of these medicines is unknown, and it is not good to play with the life of humanity to earn some money. He gave up his running practice and started writing some books for his livelihood. When he translated a medical book ‘Materia Medica’ by W. Cullen, into German, he was surprised by the findings. Dr. Hahnemann found that if a healthy person took Quinine, which physicians widely used for treating malaria, they would develop the same symptoms for which the doctor used the medicine. This finding induced him to conclude that these so-called medicines do not cure the disease but suppress it. This view further induced Dr. Hahnemann to pursue alternative therapies and natural cures. During this journey, Dr. Hahnemann found out about “Vishasya Vishbhodhanam” in the Veda. He worked on this principle of Veda and invented Homoeopathy on the principle of ‘Similia Similibus Curentur’ (Latin). This principle is more popularly known as the Law of Similars, which means: ” Let likes be treated by likes.”

DRAWBACKS OF ALLOPATHIC MEDICINES

It focuses on the part, not the complete health. This approach fails to eliminate the root cause, leaving room for the reappearance of disease in similar or even more severe forms.
Allopathic medicines may destroy good bacteria— They kill the good bacteria in the body, which may allow harmful bacteria to grow.
Pop-a-pill approach— Allopathy suggests popping a pill in case of any emergency or ailment without medical intervention instead of slowly rooting it out completely.
Drugs don’t cure; they suppress— Allopathic drugs do not cure the disease that is causing the problem. Instead, they suppress the effects for some time or change how the body functions. Long-term use of allopathic drugs might result in some chronic hidden side effects, which might turn out to be life-threatening later on.
Invasive procedures may be dangerous—Strong drug overdose cases are pretty common to hear and can cause fatal incidents. These quick-relief medicines might make us addicted, and we become prone to an overdose of such drugs, which can cause organ failure or even death sooner or later.
Missing the whole picture—Doctors with a hectic schedule and a long queue of patients outside their cabins tend to miss out on proper diagnosis and minute details.
Possibility of incorrect medication—In this therapy, prescription totally depends on diagnosis through pathological tests, which many times may be incorrect due to the minutest mistake in the lab or the inability of these tests to detect disease at its early stage (until it settles well). Sometimes, medicines prescribed may be incorrect, resulting in more severe side effects.
Allopathy doesn’t assess the pros and cons. Allopathic drugs are prescribed, usually seeing the frontline symptoms and not the latent symptoms or causes. Doctors often undermine what suits different bodies. Speedy but temporary relief is the main gist of allopathy.

SHOULD ALLOPATHY BE COMPLETELY CONDEMNED

Just like any other therapy, allopathy also has its merits and demerits, benefits, and limitations. Our responsibility is to use all of them judiciously, availing their benefits without getting overindulged. In some cases, the use of allopathy also becomes inevitable and must be availed. Certain situations where allopathy must be used are as follows:

There may be unbearable pain–for example, because of fractures, and quick relief may become needed over time. Though painkillers will in no way boost the process of recovery to provide some temporary relief, patients need to take them. Speeding up the recovery process is the scope of alternative therapies; hence, patients should pay attention to them.
There may be some emergencies—for example, when we may be a bit unwell but unable to avoid certain tasks like traveling or equally time-consuming tasks, making it almost impossible to avail alternative therapies. As a thumb rule, if the disease is casual and circumstances do not permit alternative treatment, there is no harm in taking allopathic medicines, provided these are required to be taken for a few days only. If long-term medication is needed, it is always better to opt for alternate therapy, even if you must remain without any medicine for a few days.
In case of fractures, severe burns, snake bites, etc, we must take shelter from allopathy without any hitch till it is required. While, in the case of burns, snake bites, etc., a complete course of treatment is inevitable, in cases like fractures, limited help only is required, like setting the dislocated bone, application of plaster, etc. The process of rejoining the bones is a natural phenomenon, and allopathy has no scope to speed up this process, whereas alternative therapies can help speed up the process.
Surgery is a critical tool available in allopathy only. In case of need, it has to be used, e.g., multiple and complicated fractures due to serious accidents, life-threatening tumours etc., where we cannot completely deny the need for surgery. However, due to commercialization, it is being overused, which we must avoid. More than 95% of cases nowadays suggested for surgery are avoidable and must be avoided. As a thumb rule, any invasive procedure should be avoided as far as possible and if it can be cured or managed with alternative therapies.
Pathological diagnosis is another important tool available only in allopathy. Despite some drawbacks, it is very useful and must be used. Proper diagnosis of the disease always helps in proper treatment, even with alternative therapies.

Conclusion

It is usual for humans to look forward towards so-called advanced countries, to think that we Indians are orthodox, that advanced countries are more scientific, and that we must follow them to enhance our lives. We forget that even advanced countries have taken many things from our orthodox system, beliefs, and philosophy. Even in the medical field, advanced countries have adopted many of our alternative therapies, including naturopathy, homeopathy, ayurveda, yoga, etc. Advanced countries are importing several of our ancient medicines from India. Perhaps it may be surprising that the quantity of natural medicines like honey India exports is several times greater than what we domestically consume.

So, we need not mindlessly follow foreign cultures in any aspect of our lives, including medicine. Running after allopathy is a copying of others, and thereby, we rush towards allopathy without any need. Even with very casual problems like food poisoning, we rush towards hospitalization, whereas with alternative therapies, we can cure them in a few hours and at home. Alternative therapies can cure even cases like nose bleeding due to extremely high blood pressure in just one to two hours at home. Instead of getting stressed with everything, we must evaluate our ailment and its cure wisely and judiciously. Remember, our health is our responsibility. Therefore, take good care of it and make sane decisions concerned with health.

OUR THERAPY

Our therapy at Swasthya Bhandar involves a reasonable combination of Homeopathy, at-home manageable Naturopathy, Yoga, Acupressure, Herbalism, etc. Let us have a brief stock of each before arriving at their integration.

Homeopathy: There are some differences between conventional medical science, i.e. Allopathy and Homeopathy. At the outset, while common causes of disease – bacteria, viruses, microbes, and poisons (external causes) are considered the leading fundamental cause of any disease in Allopathy, Homeopathy recognizes “Predisposition” in specific individuals without which these microbes cannot become activated. Most of them remain in our bodies, but they need particular environment to become activated to harm us. When activated, our body’s immune system fights back with them and tries either to remove them from the body or to make them inactive again. The immune system represents its efforts by way of some symptoms. In the Allopathic approach, we try to threaten these microbes with Antibiotics, which suppress the disease. Suppression results in its reappearance in its crude form. That is why in the allopathic system when the disease of “n” number of persons due to infection of a particular kind of bacteria or virus shall be treated with the same medicine “Same Antibiotic,” in Homeopathic system treatment of the same infection, the same disease in “n” number of different organism shall be treated with different medicines depending upon symptoms – the immune system may represent to fight back with the disease—for example, time of aggravation or amelioration of the problems, nature of thirst, and nature of pain, among others. Also, in the allopathic approach, while we consider physical issues only, in the homeopathic approach, the doctor considers the mental, emotional, and physical symptoms.

Another significant difference is in the usage of drugs. While in Allopathic medication, drugs are in material forms and doses, in the Homeopathic approach, drugs are in diluted forms, amounting to the ultra–molecular range. The process of such dilution is known as succussion or trituration, which is repeated at each dilution stage. Thus, the medicine administered in the human body is not in any physical form but in its ultra microform with the hidden strength or energy of the crud drug. Our nervous system directly absorbs it, bypassing the stomach, liver, and kidney routes. Because of this process homeopathic medicines are faster in their action and can be safely administered even in diseases where doctors cannot administer allopathic drugs–for example, liver problems, spleen problems, smallpox, chicken pox, etc. This is also why, unlike allopathic medicines, homeopathic medicines are neither swallowed nor chewed but are placed on the tongue and allowed to dissolve. Patients take homeopathic medicines in potentized form only. In this process, molecules of the substance are broken to their minutest micro level, which increases their effectiveness, and all malefic properties of the substance are washed out or removed. This difference in the mode of medication is so significant that many substances intake, which even in the most minor form will cause loss of life, do form many necessary medicines in Homeopathy, e.g., Potassium cyanide. It is based on the law known as “The Arnold Schultz Law,” which expresses and highlights the differences between conventional and homeopathic approaches, stating that – “large doses of a poisonous substance may prove lethal, smaller doses of the same poison can actually stimulate vital cellular activity.”

Homeopathic medicines work by stimulating the immune system, setting the system right, and thereby providing a cure. Thus, in many cases where in the Allopathic system of medication, an individual must take medicines lifelong to keep the problems under control; in the homeopathic system of medication, after a few months of medication, the human system starts working normally, and the body functions normally even after medication is withdrawn. Diabetes, hypo- or hyper–thyroid, high blood pressure, and diseases of the heart are a few examples of this type, which are never cured by allopathic medication, and the patient must take medicines throughout his life. Meanwhile, in the homeopathic mode of treatment, with a few months of medication, the primary causative factor is removed, the responsible organs start working normally, and then after the medication is stopped, it is no longer required. Thus, after a few months of treatment, the production and function of Insulin becomes normal in a diabetic patient, the production of thyroxin becomes normal in patients with thyroid, and so on.

Naturopathy: Our body is made of five elements of nature known as Aakash, Vayu, Agni, Jal, and Prithvi. Naturopathy believes that whatever is required to remove the primary cause of disease is freely available in nature. It is the way of fine-tuning the internal vital forces and natural elements comprising the human body with the earth’s atmosphere and biosphere. No disease can attack unless there is already soil in which the microorganism can thrive.

Nature protects us. We can never fall ill unless we betray it. Nature never betrays the heart that loves it. We can solve all health problems by embracing Nature’s laws. Whenever we violate the rules of Nature, we suffer. More than 90% of the diseases are self-created and curable by naturopathy. Naturopathy uses natural methods that help the body eliminate toxins without prescribing drugs to suppress symptoms. Accumulating foreign waste matter in the body is the primary cause of all diseases. When this foreign matter naturally moves out of the body, we become disease-free. This is the basic principle of nature cure.

Warning signs such as constipation, indigestion, flatulence, and acidity are nature’s way of alerting us to potential health issues. If we ignore these signs, harmful bacteria can develop in the intestine, leading to toxemia, a serious condition that can cause various diseases, including cancer. In such circumstances, the role of naturopathy in detoxification becomes even more crucial.

Our modern lifestyle has taken its toll on our digestive system and alimentary organs. Nature is a hard taskmaster; it gives a few warnings, and it becomes our choice to either obey the warnings or suffer. Going deeper into the causes of diseases that ruin our health, we find that the primary cause of all diseases is the violation of Nature’s laws, i.e., breach of rules of diet, exercise, drinking water, relaxation, sleep, etc. Diseases, as such, are the self–purifying effort of Nature. Every acute disease result from Nature’s cleansing and healing effort. If we suppress the acute conditions by drugs or by any other means, we simply lay the foundation for chronic diseases.

Microbes and germs that cause diseases become activated where morbid matter accumulates. Hence, a disease can not attack unless there is soil where microbes can thrive. When morbid waste products in the body become very strong, the self-curative forces (immunity/ vitality) work at a low pace, and nature loses its fight, disease results. According to Naturopathy, all healing comes from within the body itself. Thus, inherent in the body, self-curative forces work towards health and healing. A Naturopathic Doctor provides the required guidance, whereas self-control, diet control, yoga, and exercises that are to be adopted by the patient will play a significant role in the process of healing. The human body is a tough and sophisticated machine. Most diseases, including difficult and dreaded ones, can be cured by cleansing the body through natural, eliminative, and physiological processes.

Herbalism: Herbalism (“Herbology” or “Herbal Medicine”) is known as the use of plants for medicinal purposes. Plants have been the basis for medical treatments throughout human history, and such traditional medicine is still widely practiced today. Modern medicine recognizes herbalism as a form of alternative medicine. Modern medicine, however, uses many plant-derived compounds as the basis for evidence-tested pharmaceutical drugs, and phytotherapy works to apply modern standards of effectiveness testing to herbs and medicines derived from natural sources. Sometimes, we extend the scope of herbal medicine to include fungal and bee products, minerals, shells, and certain animal parts.

Archaeological evidence indicates that medicinal plants were used at least 60,000 years ago, and written evidence of herbal remedies dates back over 5,000 years. Herbs were also common in ancient India’s medicine, where diet was the principal treatment for diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 80% of the population of some Asian and African countries presently uses herbal medicine for some aspect of primary health care. According to WHO, pharmaceutical companies derive approximately 25% of modern drugs used in the USA from plants, and modern pharmacopeia derives at least 7,000 medical compounds from plants. Among the 120 active compounds currently isolated from higher plants and widely used in modern medicine today, 80 percent show a positive correlation between their modern therapeutic use and the traditional use of the plants from which they are derived.

Herbs are common in almost all medical sciences, i.e., Allopathy, Homeopathy, Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, and even Naturopathy. However, herbs’ basic nature and efficacy change with the mode and method of their use. Thus, pharmaceutical drugs made from plants become different than their formulations, most done by Ayurvedic and Unani treatment methods. The use of basic herbs remains a part of Naturopathy, and their use as such (in their natural form – either by chewing or taking as juices or drying them to enhance their shelf-life without any further processing) helps the body eliminate morbid matters from the body and in strengthen the immunity or vitality. A wise naturopath would adopt an intermediate route of using Homeopathy and mild herbs along with practicing nature cures and yoga. After all, it is not possible to lead a purely natural life in modern times, and one needs to find a mediatory route to achieve fast and effective cures and to get rid of diseases.

Acupressure: “Acupressure” = “Acu” + “Pressure,” where “Acu” means Point and “Pressure” means to apply or to give pressure. There are specific points in our palms and soles that represent the internal organs of our body. For example, our palms represent the front portion of our body, while the back of a palm represents the back side of the body. All internal organs located in the front portion of the body find their point in the palm and vice versa. Further, amongst four fingers, the outer two represent the hand and the middle two legs, i.e., the way our body is – the hand is outside the trunk and the legs in between. The thumb represents the head, neck, and so on. Putting pressure on these specific points stimulates those organs, which become active in eliminating the problem.

Acupressure and Acupuncture work on the same principle, with the only difference being that in Acupuncture, needles are used to pressure the required point/s. In contrast, instead of needles, other modes of giving pressure are used in acupressure. While Acupressure is non-invasive, but Acupuncture is invasive, hence we do not encourage it.

Another important feature of Acupressure is its link with Ayurveda. In Ayurveda, Vata, Pitta, and Kapha are the three forces as well as dosh. In balanced form, they act as a force to drive our body in a healthy mode. However, if these become imbalanced, they give rise to many diseases. All these three forces/dosh result from the balanced/imbalanced state of the five physical elements of the earth our body is composed of. Thus,

Aakash + Vayu= Vata

Agni + Jal = Pitta

Prithvi + Jal = Kapha

According to principles of Acupressure, the energy of all the ten elements, i.e., five physical (space, air, fire, water, and earth) and five meta-physical (time, direction, mind, soul, and tam, i.e., origin), flow in our body at a defined route known as meridian. The existence of such meridians is well confirmed by scientists the world over with the help of scientific equipment. We remain healthy as long as these energies flow in their normal and balanced form—any deficient or excess flow of one or more energies results in disease. By giving pressure at well-defined points falling in the meridian, i.e., the route through which these energies flow in our body, we can regulate the deficient or excess energy flow, curing the disease. This therapy is said to have such an incredible effect that it may even rectify many congenital disabilities, though in such cases, prolonged treatment may be required.

OUR APPROACH

Though all four therapies are effective and self-sufficient in covering most diseases, we focus on homeopathy as it is very convenient to take these medicines. These medicines are commonly dispensed in small pills packed in a small phial which can be easily stored, for example, in a patient’s pocket or bag. Further, it is straightforward to take these medicines anytime, anywhere, even while traveling, in meetings, etc, because just a few small pills are kept on the tongue and allowed to dissolve, which takes a few seconds only.

However, sometimes, patients may be suffering from some difficult disease, a proper cure of which may either be complex, out of the scope of a single therapy, or may require a longer time to cure. In all such cases, we need help from other therapies to increase the efficacy and scope of homeopathy and achieve our mission of providing rapid, gentle, and permanent cures. Certain diseases have no cure in any therapy. It is only a matter of disease management, i.e., to say the patient must be on medication throughout their life and have witnessed a permanent cure within a few months of treatment when the science of Homeopathy is integrated with other therapies like Naturopathy, Herbalism, Yoga, Acupressure, etc. Cancer, Diabetes, Arthritis, Gout, and Bone diseases are examples of such diseases where a judicious approach of integrating homeopathy with other required therapies is solicited. Since all these therapies work on the same principle of strengthening the immune system or vitality of the body to help self-removal of disease in its natural way, they help each other to provide desired results without having any side effects.