Professor Rama Jayasundar, the head of the department of NMR at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi spoke on the difference between Ayurveda and Allopathy and why this matters, as a part of the lecture series organised by Vijnana Bharati.
She began her talk by pointing out the biggest resource that India has - AYUSH. She stressed on the possibility of using Ayurveda and the growing interest in understanding the ways of including Ayurveda and other Ayush systems in the management of COVID19. It is important to know why, how and where Ayurveda differs from Allopathy. Medical sciences, be it allopathy or Ayurveda, is an applied science and is built on basic sciences. Basic sciences provide concepts, theories and methods to understand the biological system. We are able to understand the pathology and pathophysiology of the diseases and they provide techniques for diagnosis and treatments. Most importantly basic sciences help us in understanding the “World View” or the understanding of reality.
What is important in clinical medicine? Be it any form of medicine- Ayurveda, Allopathy, homeopathy, siddha or unani, they all begin with diagnosis and end with treatment. Treatment depends on diagnosis and diagnosis depends on how well we have understood the human system. Clinical medicine speaks of cells, molecules, tissues and diagnosis will speak the same language. This in turn is followed by treatment, thus maintaining a sync.
When we take up Allopathy, this system of medicine understands the human system in the form of cells, tissues, genes and proteins. Basic sciences contribute to the understanding of any stream of medicine that has a world view. In other words it speaks to the world in a way the world wants to perceive it. This forms the basis of how the human system is understood. Physics has contributed immensely to the understanding of Allopathy - Nuclear radiation, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, quantum physics. Newtonian physics or classical physics talks of how the universe is made of building blocks and this has directly affected the way one looks at the biological system. Larger objects can be reduced to smaller ones. We have atoms to molecules to organelles to an organ leading to an organ system and finally to an organism. There is a clear structural hierarchy. Modern medicine follows the reductionist viewpoint wherein the entire organism can be broken down to its most fundamental unit. This structural view point is followed in diagnosis, treatment, diet and nutrition.