THE AGE OF QUICK FIX SOLUTIONS- WHY AYURVEDA  FAILS SOMETIMES?- A MUST READ FOR ALL AYURVEDA PRACTITIONERS AND ENTHUSIASTS

Many of you would have wondered that why does Ayurveda sometimes fail to deliver, despite the fact that we keep hearing/witnessing so many success stories of people, getting rid of chronic and life threatening disease (some of which even i have shared in several blogs), with the help of this wonderful science. With the aim to reinforce/reinstate faith in Ayurveda, this blog will help you to understand those reasons along with examples. Here they are:-

Reason one-Absence of diseases doesn’t mean good health:-  In today’s world, our minds are running so fast in the rat race that they neither settle to gain knowledge of self (which is what Ayurveda is all about), nor do they register very subtle changes coming in our behavior and body, unless these changes reach enormous and uncomfortable proportions.

Reason two-The Quick fix approach:- When we reach uncomfortable levels, we all lose patience and instead of going to Ayurveda (which hits the root cause but does take some time to show its effect), we look for quick fix solutions, which never hit the root cause but rather slowly poison you in the long run. To give you an example, as explained in the previous blog, a person with ulcerative colitis may get immediate relief from allopathic treatment because of steroids, however a generic approach of this kind will reduce the metabolism of the entire body instead of just targeting the colon and area around and is bound to cause several complications in the long run like obesity, depression, hypertension, diabetes. Whereas Ayurvedic medicines specifically hit the root cause by slowly and gradually reducing the metabolic rate of only the colon by increasing sweetness there with the help of astringency and bitterness thereby reducing inflammation and healing ulcers etc.

***This post is an extract from the book THE ROOT CAUSE- Ayurveda, Astrology and beyond for a blissful life”. To pick up a copy of the book, please click the link/s mentioned at the end of this post ⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓

Reason three- Lack of determination/will to quit the cause:- Ayurveda works on the simple principle of how six tastes (present in foods that we eat) work inside our body and its medicines are also based on this principle only (In fact an Ayurvedic expert can make medicines at home by mixing different spices/fruits/foods in right combination). And, since all diseases (even if congenital) flare up due to wrong combinations of foods eaten, abstinence from such foods/their combinations is a must to get desired results. However, our greed/impulse laden minds enslave our conscience and we don’t stick to the precautions suggested by the ayurvedic physician leading to delayed positive results or no positive results at all. Again I know several cases who due to lack of determination to quit foods/drinks like tea/coffee, onion, garlic, alcohol, tobacco, chocolates are getting into a vicious circle of taking more and more allopathic meds for getting rid of their symptoms. To sum up, a person can be disease free only when he/she learns to control his/her senses and stays away from foods, which are harmful for him/her.

Reason four- I know everything/I know more than you:– Today’s world decides the index of one’s intelligence only basis one’s degrees. Unfortunately, degrees also bring ego/conditioning (in most of the cases, not all) and once this happens, “I know everything/I know more than you/Ayurveda is ridiculous” approach sets in resulting in blocking of higher knowledge. This is the reason that Ayurveda is called as occult science because only a settled mind can understand it.

Reason five- Setting wrong priorities/surrendering your body and mind to someone else- Knowledge of self is the most important tool if one wishes to stay healthy and happy forever. However, in today’s age, we are more interested in knowing about external world (the macrocosm) instead of the world inside (the microcosm). And due to lack of this knowledge of self, we feel helpless (what can I do approach?) and surrender ourselves in the hands of a stranger (a doctor here) whereas the fact is that no one can know your body more than yourself because we all are unique. Ayurveda says that at least 85-90 percent of the diseases can be cured by self only provided one understands this science.

Reason six- Malpractices by certain Practitioners (though rare but damaging)– it is not only the basic Right of the patient but also important for him/her to know what medicines he/she has been consuming. This is because ayurvedic medicines make permanent changes in the wiring of the body and that’s how they cure the root cause unlike allopathy and that’s why it is important for the patient to keep the history of the medicines consumed. However there are practitioners (some of them very famous) who never disclose the names of the medicines they prescribe by writing codes for them which is an extremely unfair practice that creates suspicion among people (e.g. of presence of steroids) thereby dissuading them from approaching Ayurveda. Equally important is the time that the attending physician should be giving to the patient. Another malpractice (though rare) is when certain Ayurvedic physicians do not mention the duration for which the patient should be taking the prescribed medicine which sometimes results in severe imbalances due to prolonged usage of certain ayurvedic medicine (especially due to bitter taste) that are supposed to be used only for a specific period of time.

Reason seven- Misconception that Ayurvedic medicines can not have side effects

That herbs are natural and do not have chemicals is a foolish statement. Every thing in this world living or non living, including food, medicine (whether allopathy, ayurvedic or homeopathic)is made up of chemicals only. And therefore even an ayurvedic medicine/herb could also cause serious side effects if not prescribed/administered by a person who knows this science well. Therefore unscrupulous use of ayurvedic meds without supervision of an expert is highly likely to create serious imbalances leading to loss of faith in this wonderful science.

Reason eight- Lack of conviction/logic/understanding of allied sciences by practitioners:- This is an extremely important aspect that becomes the reason for loss of faith in this wonderful science. A good physician should have an absolutely clear understanding of all allied medical sciences while attending the patient so that he/she can understand that what previously taken medicines would have done to the patients body. However due to lack of this understanding (and therefore fear of the unknown), most of the Ayurvedic doctors do not remove the cause of the disease (i.e. the allopathic medicine itself in most of the cases) which is the first principle of Ayurveda for curing/treating a disease. **** Do check the blog giving my example through the link below ⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓ to understand that how inability of  my attending physician to realize that allopathic BP med was causing the imbalance, created more imbalance in me thereby delaying relief.

HOW HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE MEDS RUINED MY HEALTH AND AYURVEDA/YOGA HELPED ME TO REGAIN IT- THE SILVER LINING OF MY EXPERIENCES (check especially the section mentioning “How incomplete understanding of medical sciences delayed my cure and how i could have been spared of my horrendous experiences”)

Reason nine- Approaching Ayurveda after damaging the body:- Most of the people reach Ayurvedic doctors, only when they stop getting relief from allopathy and usually, when this happens, their body has reached a severe state of imbalance, due to years of abuse by allopathic medicines. Of course, this imbalance may also set in due to indiscreet use of bitter foods like alcohol, tobacco, tea, coffee, onion, garlic which are addictive in nature (to understand how bitter foods work, please watch this video and pick up a copy of THE ROOT CAUSE book). In such a case, it becomes difficult (In fact most of the times impossible) to provide total relief to the patient. Sometimes these imbalances are so confusing for even the best of the ayurvedic experts that instead of imparting relief, the ayurvedic medicines create even more discomfort. While those who have read my case history would know it that how long term usage of high BP meds created severe imbalances in my body (click here to know it), here is one of the numerous examples I know. Have picked up one from my home only so that it gives you assurance of its authenticity.

Here it goes….

Like more than 60% of the world’s elderly people, my mother too who is in her late 70’s, has been taking BP lowering medicine for almost 19 years. And since I had experienced the consequences of taking them for very long (all my harrowing experiences are captured in my blog), I sadly knew that she is also going to face them sooner or later (though goes without saying that no one would like to see his/her parents in distress).

When my Fears came true

And there came a time when my fears came true. All these symptoms started appearing in my mother too.  And since our family has witnessed a case where life threatening disease of my niece where allopathy had totally surrendered, got cured by Ayurveda, we do visit established Ayurveda experts off and on for our health issues. In my mom’s case too, because of lack of appetite and indigestion, my dad took her to a very famous Ayurveda expert. However, sadly, as anticipated by me because of my own experiences, within two days of taking these Ayurvedic medicines, my mom had to be hospitalized for anxiety and acute tachycardia where her heart beat reached as high as 160 bets per minute. Naturally, everyone attributed it as a side effect of Ayurvedic medicines (corporate world calls it halo/recency effect).

Why did it happen?

So what had happened was that since less of blood was reaching towards my mom’s brain as a result of BP meds, her brain had become hyperactive leading to short circuit. When the ayurvedic doctor checked her pulse, he realized that her pitta (heat) is too less in the body which is resulting in low metabolism (called as agni or fire) leading to poor digestion and lack of appetite and accordingly he gave those medicines to mom which increase metabolism (or say pitta/heat in the body). However, the doctor didn’t know about the imbalance created by allopathic BP medicines in her body and thus those medicines further increased her upper body’s metabolism (including the brain) which was already very high. All this led to super-hyperactive brain sending signals to heart to beat faster for supplying more blood towards it leading to tachycardia. Today as I write, like majority of the people who have been taking BP medicines for too long like me, my mom too has to walk on a thin line. People attribute her health issues to her age but the fact is that with the right type of BP medicines (as prescribed by Ayurveda which are not supposed to be taken for more than 15 days unlike modern meds which are taken for as long as one lives), her health could have been far more vibrant than what it is now.

Thus, in nutshell:-

• Donot reach Ayurveda as the last resort. Ayurveda should never be treated as alternative medicine and rather should be the first line of approach. Of course, for issues like sudden exposure to infection/accidents, one may need things like antibiotics/surgeries which are definite achievements of the modern science. Also spend time on understanding your own body and mind as well through Ayurveda.
• For accurate analysis and treatment/cure, every attending physician should understand the functioning of other fields of medicine as well. For example if the attending ayurvedic practitioner knew the working of allopathic BP lowering medicines, he would have suggested my mother to transit from allopathy to Ayurveda for lowering her BP and perform simple yogasanas to push blood towards upper body for undoing the effects of long term usage of allopathic BP medicines. Please check my blog to know how to control BP with the help of Ayurvedic medicines along with testimonial and to understand the science of Yogasanas please click here.

         In this context, I would like to cite a quote here from the classical Sanskrit text on               Ayurveda called “Sushruta Samhita”:-

                                       एकंशास्त्रमधीयानोनविद्याच्छास्त्रनिश्चयम्।

                                       तस्माद्बहुश्रृतःशास्त्रंविज्ञानीच्चकित्सकः।।                                     सू. ४, ७

        Which means that by knowing just one field of science, it is not possible to reach an          accurate conclusion. A physician should therefore study other allied sciences as well          to arrive at accurate diagnosis.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Sutra 4, 7

• It is extremely important for a doctor to know the medical history of the patient (including what medicines he/she has taken so far) as these medicines may have imbalanced the flow of blood of the patient which is referred to as metabolic syndrome in modern medical language.
• This also means that Ayurveda is incomplete without Yogasanas and other allied sciences of Vedic wisdom because certain imbalances can be reversed only with the help of yogasanas. Exactly this has been postulated by Sage patanjali in Ashtang yoga sutra which also includes control on senses (meaning having strong will/determination) as one of the eight limbs to reach ultimate happiness.
• Please do not simply attribute diseases to old age. Ayurveda and its allied sciences can help you thrive for as long as you live.
• Last but not the least, consume only Satvic foods and stay away from tamasic/rajasic foods, since the latter increase ego and unsettled mind and unsettled minds can neither understand the subtle knowledge of Ayurveda nor can follow them thereby taking the person into a vicious circle of disease/s mind and body. Click here to know what are satvic, tamasic and rajasic foods.