Hindu Medicine c5.s3.113

c5.s3.113

This negative impression, however, is counterbalanced by the unchallenged reputation that Hindu medicine has enjoyed throughout the centuries. Even today Hindu students of medicine who have been trained in Western critical research get their inspiration from the wealth of information and from the serious endeavor of their ancient predecessors. They feel that if they would succeed in penetrating the primitive experiences and insights that lie buried beneath the huge building of abstract theories, they might be able to contribute new aspects and methods to our present-day knowledge of health and of preventive medicine. The authoritative character of the ancient teaching remains an amazing fact not to be taken lightly or to be disposed of on the ground that it sprang from the naive and primitive archaic mind. Moreover, it must be remembered that Hindu medicine throughout the centuries remained faithful to its ancient tradition. For the prestige and success of the medical profession and its representatives, the actual results in restoring health or saving and prolonging life, which in India were not computed by statistics, are far less important than their consistency with the general outlook on life characteristic of the various epochs. To be sure, the physician is expected to do his utmost in treating diseases of every kind, even to