What is traditional medicine?
WHO defines traditional medicine as including diverse health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs incorporating plant, animal, and/or mineral based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exercises which can be used to maintain well-being, as well as to treat, diagnose or prevent illness.
Ayurveda is Shastra/Vigyan Ayurveda is not mere practices, approaches, knowledge or belief. Ayurveda is shastra (science in original sense) which guides pertinently all practices, approaches, diagnostic, therapeutic and non therapeutic interventions intended for cure by health as well as prevention by health in man.
Shastra is the specific knowledge which is acquired by repeated experimentation of different rationale in human beings of various centuries and their cause- mechanism- effect undoubtedly verified and established in every time . The evidence that Ayurveda is shastra is that it is based on siddhanthas (permanantly proven and established solid basement theorems) and not uncertainty based theories not a therapeutic formulary which incorporate different medicinal plants and formulations.
The scientific techniques and tools for estimation of health, disease (named& unnamed) along with its variable state and stages, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, prognosis, treatment in accordance to variable state and stages and cure are explained within the science of Ayurveda .
Light on Ayurveda
Ayurveda has been recognised and practised as Traditional Medicine exactly in the same form as mentioned by WHO, though originally , it is Scientific Medicine .
The true culprit here is the incorrect way of recognition and practice adopted by the practitioners and not the science. The standardized Science Based Medicine of Ayurveda is being practised as non standardized Medicine Based Science. The limitations of practitioners are counted as limitation of science. The original scope and limitations of science are never attempted to be known and practiced!!
Ayurveda is Life science
The safety and efficacy of scientific medicine is to be primarily examined based on Science and not mere statistical data . Research Data does not always ensure the scientificity and safety of any medicine unless the Research methodologies and data is astutely led by science in accordance to the nature and circumstances of every research participant.
Research methodology for Traditional Medicine is no way comparable to Ayurveda as the latter is an independent science with its own inbuilt research methodology and tools
Ayurveda is Science Based. Holism (not with respect to body, mind and Atma alone, but with respect to intertangled nature of cells, tissues, organs and systems in the body). It is Science based, not spirituality based .The intention of Ayurveda is long healthy life and not moksha.
How to practice the steps of reversal of pathogenesis in accordance to its state and stage and many other intrinsic and extrinsic factors and circumstances and not what to choose for any illness
HIGH TIME TO STOP CALLING AYURVEDA AS TRADITIONAL MEDICINE
Let’s call it Science.
AYURVEDA IS UTMOST SCIENTIFIC MEDICINE and it is a time tested Medicine !
Reference: Dr. Remya Krishnan
