EDUCATIONAL INSIGHT§
An accomplished doctor prescribes a remedy after considering the patient’s nature, the disease’s nature and the time of year.§
Tirukural, verse 949§
BY DR. KULREET CHAUDHARY§
As a doctor who has extensively studied and practiced both Western and Eastern medicine, I believe we need to bridge the gap between the two in terms of their approaches to understanding biology, blending research and discoveries from both worlds in order to create a united and enhanced understanding of life. In our current system, an artificially divisive line has long been drawn between Western and alternative medicine as if one must necessarily be abandoned for the other—when, in fact, the two, taken together, offer advances in treatment that don’t exist in one discipline alone. As mystical as healing tools such as mantra can initially seem, I believe in uncovering the science and looking at the biological models to explain why and how any component works to sustain or restore our health. Although ayurvedic medicine as it was practiced by the ancients is slowly beginning to reemerge in modern medical research, we haven’t yet embraced the capability and dynamism of the human body and spirit. If we can synthesize the evidence-based practice of Western medicine with the metaphysical concepts of ancient cultures and alternative medicine, we will be rewarded with stunning discoveries.§
Nature’s pharmacy: Using a granite mortar and pestle, a practitioner grids herbs, turmeric, ginger and peppercorns in careful proportion to help a patient’s body heal itself§