In this excerpt, Deepak Chopra talks about being given primordial sounds by the Great Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
“By comparison, the drugs and surgery you are used to using are very crude.” I think it makes all the sense in the world, using sound to cure. We are vibrations, even physicists agree. Like attracts like, Dr. Lad says, and how can an ocean of vibrations not be affected by a (so-called) external cone of sound. "On one side is scientific inquiry, with its breathtaking record of achievement and understanding. On the other side is complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), an umbrella term for remedies that are based on tradition and spiritualism, which receives heartfelt anecdotal support but little else to vouch for its efficacy."
I am still amazed at this debate. On one hand we have a tradition that a short 150 years ago had their surgeons sharpening their knives on the bottoms of their boots (Western medicine) and on the other (CAM) there are treatises 3000 years old that describe the microscopic structures of virii and bacteria. Medscape’s “Integrative Medicine Resource Center” has nothing on realEvidence Based Medicine, the results for thousands of years of billions of people treated with Ayurveda. Suspicious doctors scoff at small study sizes for Western CAM while minimizing their active scope of practice. See my bibliography for references to my attempts to bridge the two fields, CAM and science, that are not very far apart at all. Neuroscientists tell us that children do science natively and naively. Adults do Ayurveda, globally and completely. From Louise:
This information is for informational purposes only. Consult your health practitioner if you need health advice. Turmeric (Curcuma longa, Zingi beracea) is an anti-bacterial, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant. In Sanskrit it is Haridra. For strains, bruises, itching, or swelling, 1/2 teaspoon and a pinch of salt are used for external application to the area. One cup warm milk and 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder and a pinch of saffron or alum added is used as a healing drink and pain reliever. For boils, equal parts ginger powder and turmeric (1/2 teaspoon of each) are mixed with water to make a paste and applied. The boil will come to a head. Acne is said to be helped by equal parts turmeric and sandalwood with water added to make a paste. For burns, a paste of fresh aloe vera gel and a pinch of turmeric is used, or ghee or coconut oil is applied. For sore throat, one gargles a mix of one cup hot water with 1/2 teaspoon turmeric and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Gargle morning and evening or drink 1 cup hot milk boiled with 1/2 teaspoon turmeric. For sores and wounds, its anti-bacterial quality helps prevent infections. Mix turmeric powder with some coconut oil or aloe vera. You can use this on your pets too. For cuts, cover with turmeric, then tape or gauze. For bites and stings, apply turmeric and sandalwood paste. To keep ants out of your home: make a line of turmeric powder outside your doors. Turmeric is also used as a culinary spice and in religious ceremonies, as well as a textile dye. Put a bit of turmeric on the meat cooking so that it will be digested easier. It is a good source of B6, dietary fiber, and potassium, as well as an excellent source of iron and manganese. Doshic effect: Vaata, Pitta, Kapha decreasing, Pitta and Vaata increasing in excess. This is only touching on the surface of what Turmeric might be capable of helping to heal. Scientific studies are showing that it might help major illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, Cystic Fibrosis and arthritis. Dr. Lad talked often about how much you can learn by looking at a person’s nails.
Diabetes, heart attacks, hyperthyroidism… it’s all there, with simple noninvasiverugna patrakam (physical analysis). Now, Medscape has published a comprehensive article on this very subject, 40 some pages long, where the following are discussed:
I was so happy to see this article. Not only does it give plenty of really helpful tips, with pictures, it is a strong confirmation of Ayurveda‘s validity. You will need to sign in to view the article but it is quite worth it. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/571916 [Here is a more recent article in Medscape with 14 pictures: http://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/nail-diseases?src=mp&spon=17&uac=96118PN] Dr. Lad said something interesting at last year’s Ayurveda conference:
"Ayurveda is Hindu medicine. I’m sorry, but it is." The sooner we all talk about this, the sooner Ayurveda can be considered a complementary medicine in the mainstream. Let’s admit it. There is a Hindu underpinning to Ayurveda, to this site, to my self. It’s true that this might upset some. I know of someone who will not go to an Ayurvedic practitioner, although she needs help, because she feels it contradicts her Christian beliefs. Then there are the comments made in the local paper that yoga shouldn’t be available in community recreation facilities, because it is a religious undertaking. I’m stunned by charges such as these. At first, my response is a bit of stammering. Maybe because they are a little bit true, but only by a speck. Only by a flick of superficialities. It’s feels like someone calling The Theory of Relativity German or Jewish. Looking deeper, I am reminded that the number zero and the whole of trigonometry were once religious works made by Muslims long ago. (Math is predicated on a lot more belief than you may realize.) Does that mean they are not true? Pythagoras was first and foremost a mystic. Shall we not teach math in public schools? In the same way, yoga, meditation, Ayurveda, whether practiced by a Sikh, a Quaker, or an atheist is still TRUE. The body will get fitter, the mind more still. Both are required in any faith for happiness. Health is the best foundation for the aims of human life. (Charaka, 1) And to me it is not surprising that FAITH is required to reach far into the universe and find these truths, forming the core of our shared knowledge and our common beliefs. [Edited: Dr. Lad at a talk last week said, if I may paraphrase, that Chinese medicine has been around for 200 years in our country and acupuncture is accepted. With time, he seemed to say, Ayurveda will be too.] I just want to write something here once. And then hopefully forget about it.
I am amazed at the level of gossip in the Ayurveda world. Don’t get me wrong. I truly love my fellow students. They are amazing. They are love and light such as I have never encountered before. They are my siblings. I truly love my fellow practitioners. They are strength and clarity and insight personified. But the gossip level is something I also never saw before. I think the same sensitivity with which we Ayurvedically-inclined can discern say between the provocative effects of cold water (kapha) and cool water (vaata) is also the same sensitivity that we bring to social situations. Maybe there’s some competition thrown in by the pitta types. It’s also a small community centered on a subject that is shrouded in mystery and magic. This might make some anxious. Regardless, I would like here to submit that we open our arms, encourage each other, and be gentle. We have to accept everyone where they are, as my acupuncturist says, and everyone has to start somewhere. Including me. What I am trying to say is said much better here. definition of Ayurveda:
hitaahitam sukham duhkham aayus tasya hitahitam, maanam ca tac ca yatrokam aayurveda sa ucyate (Charaka, 1) Ayurveda is said to be that science where what is useful and detrimental (to health/life); the unhappy and happy (state of) life; what is good and bad for life, it’s measurement (span/length); and life itself are described. (translation, Dr. Lad.) Welcome to the section about Ayurveda, which in Sanskrit means the study/knowledge/lore/broomset of life in all ways, shapes, and forms. Just that is enough to make my heart go pitter-patter. Ayurveda is a 10,000 year old of system of medicine still used in India for billions of people. Efficacious, poetic, beautiful. Learn more about it in these pages. |
ARTICLESAuthorRenay Oshop - teacher, searcher, researcher, immerser, rejoicer, enjoying the interstices between Twitter, Facebook, and journals. Categories
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