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A Concise History of Science in India c8.s5.t3: General Principles of Treatment

A Concise History of Science in India c8.s5.t3

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General Principles of Treatment

c8.s5.t3.1

Treatment in *Āyurveda* is fundamentally a process of restoration and building up, consisting largely of elimination of undesirable ingredients and replacing them (and also inherent deficiency) by desirable ingredients from outside. Except in emergencies, medical measures have always the long-term aim of restoring the lost equilibrium of *doṣas* and *dhātus*, or of stabilizing any imbalance which may be present in a state of apparent health. All drugs and medicinal measures, as also surgery, are employed to these ends; so also are diet and conduct recommended to the patient. In pursuance of these aims, *Āyurveda* makes no distinction between hygienic measures, preventive medication and therapeutics, or between items of diet and oral medicine.

c8.s5.t3.2

a *CS. Vi.*, **4.**

c8.s5.t3.3

b *CS. Vi.*, **4.**

c8.s5.t3.4

c *CS. Vi.*, **8.**

c8.s5.t3.5

d *SS. Sū.*, **35.** 13–15.

c8.s5.t3.6

Food, drugs, therapeutical and surgical measures, daily routine in health and medical measures in sickness—all are, therefore, oriented to the paramount need of creating an equilibrium of the *guṇas*, *doṣas*, *dhātus* and *malas*, individually and jointly. Only then it is possible to uproot the causes of the disease. These ideas apply equally to the mind and the body; for in the case of the mind the equilibrium can be similarly upset by an imbalance of the *guṇas* beyond normal levels. Mental treatment, therefore, requires psychic catharsis and spiritual rebuilding.

c8.s5.t3.7

As stated previously, the actual medical measures depend upon the disease; and diagnosis depends upon a host of variable factors most of which are individual. Though there cannot naturally be any hard and fast rules, there are certain common denominators in the Āyurvedic treatment of all pathological conditions. These are *saṁśodhana* (cleansing and evacuative processes), *saṁśamana* (tranquilization and rectification of humours and *dhātus*), *āhāra* (proper drugs taken orally, and diet) and *ācāra* (correct conduct and medical regime). All these apply equally to physical and mental processes, which also must be purified, tranquilized, fed with proper ideas and trained to think in proper lines. So in *Āyurveda* prayers, propitiation, spiritual guidance, exorcism of evil influences, etc., are of as much importance as medical measures.a

c8.s5.t3.8

Public hygiene is also not neglected in *Āyurveda*. People are urged to avoid all filth like offal, broken fragments and dirty grounds. Blowing or picking the nose in public and committing nuisance on a public road are forbidden. Dirty and inadequate dress, crude habits of eating, drunkenness, gambling and associating with prostitutes are considered unhealthy practices to be strictly avoided.b

c8.s5.t3.9

The dictum of Manuc not to pollute public waters is in conformity with Āyurvedic teachings. Contaminated waters and waters of public baths are recognized as major sources of ill health and epidemics, and the use of only clean and pure water from natural sources is recommended in all the texts.

Cites (4)