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• Personal Growth

January 2007

By Deepak Kashyap

Here, a comparative study of the strengths and weaknesses of allopath, ayurveda and homeopathy, and what you should try for which illness

Lurking in the shadows of the dazzling Vedas, Upanishads, epics and yoga sutras, is yet another gem of the rich Hindu scriptural tradition, Karma Vipaka Samhita (KVP). Unlike its awe-inspiring cousins, even a cursory reading of KVP can send a chill down your spine. The all-pervading law of karma that underpins all Eastern thought, takes centre stage here, chilling you with its implacable causality.

Not only does it state that all your diseases have their roots in your past life, but it also pinpoints the specific cause of each illness.

Sample These:
• Dysentery: Forsaking a good wife who has no means of subsistence.
• Dyspepsia: Stealing others’ food and eating beef.
• Rakta pitta: Prescribing wrong medicines with bad intentions.
• Jaundice: Stealing a devotee’s money.
• Tuberculosis: Land-grabbing, eating meat, killing a Brahmin.
• Asthma: Ingratitude and harming one who has helped in need.
• Paralysis: Humiliating parents.
• Heart disease: Seducing another’s wife and breaking hearts.
• Diabetes: Seducing a virgin.
• Cancer: Union with a widow or widower.
• Blood pressure: Union with a widow or widower.

You could be excused for dismissing this as rubbish. However, my study of yoga, meditation and alternative therapies have brought me close to this ultimate realization: all physical suffering is due to disconnecting from the Energy in thought and deed, and all natural therapies work by taking you back to the point from where you drifted or transgressed. Negative emotions such as anger, envy, lust, lack of forgiveness and hostility are the real killers, preparing, as KVP and modern consciousness research would both suggest, the karmic breeding ground for illnesses of all hues. Right living with moderation in whatever you do physically and mentally is the key, then, to avoiding today’s lifestyle diseases. KVP emphasizes as much, by suggesting specific acts of prayer, atonement and charity for a complete cure.

At the same time, there is no doubt in my mind that there are supports available for all of us to come out of the hole that we dig ourselves in. My own experience is that while physical exercises, life-style changes, meditation, pranayama, reiki and diet discipline create the right kind of atmosphere for healing to manifest, deep-seated complaints respond most encouragingly to a judicious selection of allopathy, homeopathy or ayurveda, both in chronic and acute cases. In allopathy, opt as far as possible for the doctor who isn’t too busy a practitioner; in homeopathy, for one who isn’t too commercial, and in ayurvedic medicine, for brands that are not ‘eaten up’ by superstars. And yes, don’t be guided by that heavy metal bogey raised by dollar-crazy pharmaceutical companies in their not-so-holy crusade against ayurveda: they are actually more worried more about their own health – financial, that is.

You are reasonably safe so long as you stick to the reputed ayurvedic companies that offer you full care and value for money even as they avoid big spending on propaganda and high-paid models. Some of the honest brands that readily come to mind are Zandu, Unjha, Vyas, Surya, Dhoot Papeshwar, and Swami Ramdev’s .

Through my years of research in alternative medicine, my consultations with enlightened yogis and medicine men (some of them being brilliant allopaths), and, last but not least, my own suffering, I have now with me the kind of experience that has enabled many like-minded physicians to think out of the box and rid people of their longstanding illnesses. But, first an overview of the main systems.

Overview
Allopathy : Strengths: Fast acting. Best for any crisis situation. Surgery is a major plus and has made impressive advances. Ease of diagnosis and medicine-selection. Highly trained and qualified doctors; especially effective in the short run for bacterial infections.

Weaknesses: The most ‘unnatural’ of all therapies. Depresses the immune system. Full of side-effects. Emphasis on short-term symptomatic relief rather than on permanent cure. Highly expensive, system-invasive drugs and procedures.

Ayurveda: Strengths: Among the safest and most natural of therapies. Ease of medicine-selection. Splendid diagnosis of nascent diseases through the unique method of nadi-pariksha. Especially suited for chronic and bacterial diseases with least side-effects. Has a tonic effect on the immune and nervous system. Attempts to cure rather than control.

Weaknesses: Expensive, slow-acting, poorly qualified doctors, the slow death of the great nadi-pariksha tradition, brought into disrepute by charlatans using steroids and allopathic drugs. Unable to give full results unless medicines are used in conjunction with cumbersome detox procedures such as panchakarma.

Homeopathy: Strengths: Negligible costs, fast acting, best for viral infections, most potent in long-term use, suited for chronic diseases, tones up the immune and the nervous systems when used judiciously, attempts to cure rather than control.

Weaknesses: Very difficult medicine-selection, can have a lot of side-effects if the correct medicine/ potency/dose-frequency is not chosen, poor quality of doctors who attempt to use short-cuts with damaging consequences, hardest to master and administer among all therapies.

Here below are some of the more common ailments with practical tips on how to deal with them. Rather than try them out on your own, discuss them with a qualified physician you trust, in order to arrive at the right solution.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Allopathy: Extensive and regular deworming could help if you have the slightest doubt persisting on this score after inconclusive blood and stool reports. Beyond that preliminary precaution, your doctor has very little to offer by way of cure of this most common, yet least understood of the major lifestyle illnesses.
• Ayurveda: IBS is more likely to be diagnosed as mandagni (slow digestive fire) or samgrahani in ayurveda. A combination of sutashekhar ras (better still, swarna sutashekhar ras and antidysentrol (unjha) – two tablets of each twice a day – could work wonders for your intestinal tracts and the digestive system. Top it up with about 10 gms of gulakanda (pravalyukta) at bedtime. Antidysentrol, by itself, is a tested remedy for amoebic dysentery and a very welcome substitute for the tinidazole/ metronidazole combinations minus their side-effects.
• Homeopathy: Nux Vomica in the usually recommended powers of 200 or 30 could be a boon, especially for the Type A personality that increasingly characterizes us in these days of living in the fast lane. China and Carbo veg could also help.

Acidity
• Allopathy: The regular prescriptions of antacids and omprazole group are best avoided except in short-term management of acute cases.
• Ayurveda: Two tablets each of sutashekhar ras and muktajem (Vyas) taken twice a day before meals is excellent, both for chronic and acute cases. In more severe cases, especially those that have led to peptic ulcers, go for suvarna sutashekhar ras, which is a more potent form of sutashekhar ras with the ‘gold punch’ that is greatly valued in ayurveda.
• Homeopathy: Carbo veg and nux vomica are safe bets. However, remedy selection isn’t as easy as in ayurveda: any good homeopath would like to have a detailed patient profile before prescription.

High Blood Pressure
• Allopathy: Stick to allopathy if you must. But be aware that the pills that you are merrily popping are only masking the real illness. Long-term use is full of side-effects for liver, kidney and vital functions. The sensible way is to gradually switch to ayurveda or homoeopathy without allowing the BP to go wild while giving up on allopathic medicine.
• Ayurveda: Best option with the added advantage in that it can easily combine with allopathy where necessary. Swami Ramdev’s divya mukta vati works the best although other brands bring out like products. Take vasant kusumakar ras (one tablet twice a day) for synergistic action on the immune and the nervous systems.
• Homeopathy: There are effective remedies available, but selection once again will be patient-specific.

Diabetes
• Allopathy: As in blood pressure, keep taking the medicine until your sugar levels can be checked through other systems. A cautious shift to more natural options is highly recommended.
• Ayurveda: The best option again. The big plus is that it can easily combine with allopathy and can actually lead to complete cure in new cases. One could go for A. X diaba ( Surya ) with energic 31 ( Ayurveda Vikas Sansthan), or B. shilaprameha vati (Vyas) with vasant kusumakar ras in appropriate dosage.
• Homeopathy: Syzygium jambolanum is the remedy of choice. But a seasoned homeopath could go for even better options after taking the patient profile, and as in ayurveda, effect a complete cure, at least in new cases.

Heart Diseases
• Allopathy: Strategy and switch-over options are nearly the same as in BP and diabetes.
• Ayurveda: Thirty mls of arjunarishta twice after meals with prabhakar vati could work wonders. Other good options are Swami Ramdev’s hrdaymrit vati and shankar vati (Vyas). Add vasant kusumakar ras (one tablet twice a day) for the much-needed tonic effect.
• Homeopathy: There are very effective remedies available that can actually ‘bypass the bypass’ in most cases, provided your homoeopath knows his job and is right with his selections.

Insomnia and Stress
• Allopathy: Should be a positive no no, except in dire need.
• Ayurveda: Brahmi vati with vasant kusumakar ras could work very well with the possible addition of ashwagandha capsules twice a day. In more severe cases, a seasoned vaidya has many more options that are deeply relaxing to the ravaged nervous system.
• Homeopathy: Nux vomica could turn out to be a miracle medicine as this is a complaint mostly associated with the overstretched Type A personality. Coffea and passiflora could be other good options, though exact selection is again best left to a good practitioner. Homeopathy is perhaps the best option, especially in more severe cases, provided you get lucky with your doctor and are ready to be ‘ patient’ with him.

Obesity
• Allopathy: Avoidable except where it is clearly due to hypothyroidism, in which case daily hormonal replenishment could work up to a point.
• Ayurveda: No satisfactory cure, although there are umpteen claims made for products like medohar guggul.
• Homo Eopathy: Thyroidinum is the remedy of choice with the usual precaution that medicine selection is ultimately your doctor’s prerogative.

Rheumatism and Arthritis
• Allopathy: Avoid as far as possible.
• Ayurveda: Your best option, with a lot of promise for complete cure in early cases and very effective management in advanced cases. A combination of mahayogaraj guggul and rasna sallaki (Vyas), both two tablets twice a day, will almost invariably work.
• Homeopathy: Rhustox is the remedy of choice, although other options would run in hundreds. Could bring a complete turnaround if the remedy matches the patient.

Alcoholism and Drug Addiction
• Allopathy: Has no satisfactory answer.
• Ayurveda: There are no effective off-the-shelf remedies. In the hands of a seasoned vaidya, though, a range of potent combinations is available that would not only mitigate the urge, but repair the damage done to the liver, the lungs and the body in general.
• Homeopathy: Nux vomica is again very effective as an antidote. It could succeed, both in breaking the compulsive patterns and healing the vital organs. Other remedies could be considered by your doctor depending on his diagnosis.

AIDS
• Allopathy: No effective cure so far, despite all the frenzy.
• Ayurveda: Some of the medicines, especially those making use of powerful suvarna (gold) and hiraka (diamond) bhasmas are reported to be effective. Serious research is needed before ayurveda can make convincing claims in this largely unknown territory. A seasoned vaidya could, nonetheless, bring considerable relief to the victim.

My father died of lung cancer some ten years back. I, as his only son, allowed him to pass away in relative peace, without allopathic intervention

• Homeopathy: Treatment options and strategy are in the same state as ayurveda, with this vital difference that homeopathic medicines would be far more affordable.

Cancer
• Allopathy: Perhaps the mercenary face of allopathy emerges in full in its treatment of cancer. True, cancer in its advanced stages, especially those involving the vital organs, is almost incurable anywhere. But the trouble with allopathy is that in its rather vain attempt to ‘manage’ the patient’s life and death with chemicals, knives and rays, all it often achieves is to emotionally and financially kill the patient and his family before death actually comes. My father died of lung cancer some ten years back. Rather than make him suffer allopathic excesses in his twilight, I, as his only son, allowed him to pass away in relative peace, taking care all the time that his pains and complications were palliated as far as possible through some wonderful homeopathic medication. All this is not to deny, though, that the chemos and the surgeries would justifiably remain the order of the day in early and peripheral cases, where life expectancy could clearly be enhanced without making a vegetable out of the patient.
• Ayurveda: As in AIDS, medicines fortified with processed gold and diamond hold early promise. The use of gaumutra (cow’s urine), as a powerful anticancer agent is on the rise in ayurveda and nature cure. This, along with Swami Ramdev’s range of medicines, could well turn out to be a ray of hope in what still appears to be a very gloomy scenario.
• Homeopathy: Arsenic, hydra stasis and thuja are some of the often employed remedies. If the cancer hasn’t yet touched the vitals, then a carefully chosen remedy can at times even cure it in many instances. In any case, aside from the possible use of gaumutra, the best a cancer victim could possibly look forward to in my opinion is via the homeopathy route, either singly or in combination with allopathy.

Deepak Kashyap is an occasional contributor to Life Positive and author of the book: Healing the Future.