– Rajesh Pathak
I happened to watch a panel discussion of TV recently on the ways of preventing the spread of Corona virus and the possibility of its cure. The panel consisted of doctors of national repute from different systems of medical treatment — homeopathy, allopathy, medicine and it also had India’s prominent heart specialist Padamshri Dr Naresh Trehan, CMD of Medanta hospital. They all gave their opinions on the matter.
Baba Ramdev of Patanjali Ayurved was also invited for the panel through video conferencing. Putting across his view on dealing with the challenge of Corona virus, he laid emphasis on increasing the immunity of the body. The simplest way of which, according to him, is doing Yoga and three kinds of Pranayama – Bastrika, Kapalbhati and anuloma-viloma. He further advised that boiled and filtered solution of Giloy, haldi (turmeric), tulsi (basil), gud (jaggery) and kali-mirch (black-pepper) be consumed regularly.
Towards the end of the discussion, each expert gave their concluding suggestions in brief. But what Dr. Trehan said was unprecedented and remarkable in the ethics of medical-world. He unequivocally said, “Follow anything which was suggested here but along with that one must do whatever Baba Ramdev adviced”. This means that he gave priority to performing yoga and adopting Ayurveda based medicines and homely herbs.
What is notable here is that till about 15-20 ago, we refused to rely on our own traditional knowledge concerning wellness of health, and many even viewed it in utter contempt. I still remember that few years ago a dentist I had consulted for root-canal therapy asked me as to which toothpaste I used. When I mentioned the name of an Ayurvedic toothpaste, he instantly replied, ‘throw it away from the window of bathroom.’ In all seriousness he prescribed a toothpaste of a popular brand which had allopathic based inorganic contents.
Ironically, things have changed today. In order to remain in the market, even the biggest of the brands are bringing in herbal products assuring the customers that it is also composed of clove, basil and other such Ayurvedic contents.
Recently, I read in a newspaper that the remedy for stomach pain and gastric troubles is to consume at least 2 liters water in a day, perform Yoga or light exercises, and walk for 10-15 minutes after a meal. Further it was advised that one must consume black pepper, drink buttermilk with black salt and celery. The article also suggested to boil the leaves of mint in water, and consume the solution and take lemon juice with water or papaya after lunch.
Do not mistake that this was the advice of a doctor of Ayurveda. This was advised by none other the famous Allopathic doctor Dr. S.K Mundra, HOD Internal Medicine at Saroj Super-Speciality Hospital in New Delhi.
It must be said that in this today’s changed scenario, the medical world should think over what the head of Bihar school of Yoga HH Swami Niranjananand Saraswati said on a TV channel on the occasion of Yoga-diwas. Laying stress on the importance of maintaining balance among different medical systems, he had said, “Diagnosis from allopath; medicines and eating habits according to Ayurveda; and then go in for Yogic exercises — this together will offer us healthy and disease-free life.”
