AYUSH – Cradle of Wisdom or Shrine of Faith & Pseudo-Science?

Has God ever made us ignorant and have also contributed to our ignorance? Certainly God may not have directly but definitely through the clever God men, by helping their sinister and folly design. The God-men have made people around them especially the believers of God ignorant by affirming their faith and fear in God mainly to protect own ignorance from getting exposed and to keep the ignorance of the followers/believers going uninterruptedly.

If we ask any straightforward questions to our Sadhus, Saints, Swamis etc., they would easily get angry not because they do not have answers to our questions or are ignorant as they pretend, but such questions are not permitted as per our ancient traditional belief system. God should not be questioned.

Once the God is forcefully dragged into the debate and cleverly the card of faith and curse are used to shield own ignorance from getting known, the Gurus, Saints, Sages, Swamis not just protect own interest, but are making several of their followers ignorant by accepting whatever God says are right and they are the messiahs of God appointed by none other than God.

But no one knows when God has appointed these people to say God would never go wrong; God should not be questioned etc. Unfortunately, no one asks such questions because such questions should not be asked. Certainly such questions should not be asked to God but why not to the Gurus to verify their identity card issued by God that displays their designation, date of appointment, which God has appointed them, the job brief etc.

We have destroyed generations and generations of people in our country by scaring them through God and psychologically prohibiting them from questioning rather than accept and follow whatever the self-appointed God men and religious leaders say.

The spiritual bazaar is quite big and it has several offerings for everyone. They can identify own Gurus, listens to their teachings, follow them like their shadow….but will the followers ever get moksha or nirvana or eternity…………never ask any such questions.

All through our association, have we seen any spiritual Guru dying differently and attained eternity which is conspicuous, distinct and different from another mortal being?

In most occasions, the spiritual Guru himself or herself may live a miserable life with multiple diseases, suffer a painful death and become ash if cremated or get decomposed if buried. Where is moksha despite a lot of sadhana (penance) and preaching?

The story of AYUSH is no way different from holy business in the spiritual bazaar.

Many Siddha graduates during our personal interaction (wish to be anonymous) confess that they were not even permitted to ask doubts let alone questions. Because once questions are entertained, the extravaganza of ignorance, nonsense, occultism etc., would get exposed. So convincing people to believe in the name of tradition, faith, God and divinity is the smartest way. So the ignorance will continue to propagate its children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and so on. At the same time, the followers and particularly the students would remain just followers of the system. The Tridosha is whether balanced or not, the ecology of ignorance is well balanced and preserved both for the present and for the posterity through such faith and fear.

The predatory animals like lion, tiger, cheetah, wild dog etc., always look for a herd of deer or zebra or other prey animals to hunt and eat. Easy to spot and catch a prey is possible from a herd than those animals live a solitary life. The predatory animals do not bother to know whether there are any amity and peace among all animals in the herd. It knows the truth that all animals in the herd live so only because of their faith in group living that would offer some protection.

Similarly, the political classes once know the faith of people in certain belief system, however, unscientific and meaningless that may be, instead of questioning and correcting such nonsense, would appear to exploit. The patronage and sponsorship enjoyed by AYUSH from Government since independence look more political than for the benefit of the nation or its people.

The repercussions of questioning the ignorance are incalculable. In comparison, the nuclear fission and fusion can be easily managed than the consequences of questioning the ignorance. That is why the cunning God men (sages, sadhus, swamis) etc., invented God to stop people from questioning them. AYUSH is in the fat gift of God to mankind.

If we are wise and willing to question the merit and science of AYUSH, will the Government promote AYUSH as a system of medicine and produce graduates from such impractical subject as a doctor? It is wise to promote AYUSH as paramedical practice than as drug and cure based medical science.

Most countries have had own native health care practices. Perhaps some of those practices also would have offered some small benefits to people several centuries ago. But many countries have abandoned and or have bundled up and pushed their traditional health care practices with the advent of scientifically proven allopathic system. Such countries have developed, prospered and become global leaders. Science and technology in those countries also have grown.

The countries that choose to second fiddle the faith-based occult concepts and made these practices as heroes and heroines of our health care system, wonder drugs, and medical science have not done well culturally, economically or technologically.

The beauty is that our political system is strong enough even to convert the scientists to sing a song, write lyrics and play music for AYUSH. As a result of such new found loyalty of some scientists to AYUSH, any new laboratory findings from herbs are automatically given to AYUSH. Instead of claiming a herb from AYUSH has shown some effect, they prove that such an effect of the herb proves the science of AYUSH. What a path-breaking, brilliant interpretation of science? Scholars and super scholars fight amongst themselves to line up just to say ‘hallelujah’ to AYUSH.

The question is, are we really fallen victim of our own making or are we victimizing the victims due to their faith, innocence and hopelessness and therefore they believe in AYUSH?

All these above questions are asked only because of cross pathy by a large number of AYUSH vaidyas in private practice. Despite having enjoyed all the status and luxury provided to them by Government, why still many AYUSH vaidyas in private practice use allopathic drugs to conceal the ineffectiveness of AYUSH products as drugs?

Cross pathy by AYUSH vaidyas in private practice must be ended and simultaneously AYUSH must be renamed as Indian Traditional System of Medicine and its role in paramedical benefits and wellness.

S Ranganathan