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Our newest contributor, Rick Baker, shares with us a fascinating story of his encounter with a kind and skilled Ayurvedic doctor who successfully treated the author for a very serious illness. Mr. Baker left Kathmandu with a new respect for the practice of Ayurveda, and takes this opportunity to enlighten us about the basic tenets of the oldest form of medicine on the planet.
One of the worst sicknesses I’ve ever had was when traveling abroad in Kathmandu, Nepal. Some time ago, after graduating from college, I traveled to India and Nepal for five months, gaining an insight into the culture by living close to the native people. As such, drinking water can be a big issue for travelers in foreign countries. I really wanted to fit in with the native culture, including drinking from the water supply the local people drank from. This was a mistake. As I discovered, someone unaccustomed to this water can’t easily consume bacteria and other microscopic organisms in the water. The local people have either developed immunity or otherwise live in symbiotic relationship to these microorganisms.
I distinctly remember the cup of water that I drank in Kathmandu that made me sick. I was at an open-air restaurant and asked for a glass of water. I had been in Asia for two months, and had already had dysentery several times. These instances, unpleasant yet not severe, were nothing compared to what I was about to experience. That fateful drink of water exposed me to amoebic dysentery that was very severe. The illness manifested symptoms such as extreme fatigue, diarrhea, and nausea particularly when exposed to the smell of food. I kept resting each day hoping I would get better. But in fact, I would wake up each morning, brush my teeth, then collapse back on my bed with exhaustion for the rest of the day. I wasn’t getting any better and I knew my situation was becoming serious. I had to get out and try to find a doctor who could help me. I went to a clinic and found a doctor who gave me a prescription for an anti-amoebicide. For whatever reason, this medication was ineffective. It could have been because it was old, as pharmacy standards are not always high in third world countries such as Nepal.
Finally, one of my Nepali friends came to me and said in his accented voice, “I’ll take you to the best doctor in Kathmandu.” I had no idea what to expect, but felt this was the best option available. Again I had to gather all my energy to see this doctor as I experienced many of the strange sights, sounds and smells of this exotic city, all the while feeling sick and nauseous. We passed through an open market where freshly slaughtered chickens and goats hung from the vendors’ rafters. I could barely hang on. Down a street and just past a vegetable stand was an alley. I was relieved to find myself in a much calmer residential area. At the end of the alley was a courtyard with a single cow. Then I went up two flights of ladder-like stairs to the doctor’s apartment/office. It was a single room with a desk, shelves filled with bottles of medicine, and a bed with an open curtain around it. I was invited to sit at the desk while the doctor and his current patients---a mother with a baby---sat on the floor that was covered with a thick wool Asian rug. I waited and observed his kind manner as he cared for the mother and child.
Soon it was my turn and I took my place on the rug. I told him of my symptoms and that the other doctor had said that I had amoebic dysentery. He visually examined me and felt my abdominal area. He was very reassuring and confident as he began mixing herbs for me with a mortal and pestle. I believe one of the ingredients was anise. He gave me enough of the mixture to eat with hot water three to five times a day. Then he found a glass bottle on his shelf containing a brown liquid Ayurvedic mixture that had a sweet and delicious taste. It was about a liter in volume. I’m sure I was given more precise instructions on how much of it to take, but I recall sipping from that bottle quite regularly throughout the next day. I left, grateful for the doctor’s kind attention. From what I can recall I paid him the equivalent of about $7 for his services. I would always remember him as one of the most compassionate and skilled doctors I’d ever met. We agreed that I would return in a couple of days.
The next morning I felt much better. My energy had returned and I was up and walking about. The doctor had put me on what he called the ‘brat’ diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. I must have begun eating again that next day, but what was most startling was that my urine began to turn dark brown. While my overall health and vitality was improving, I knew this was a serious symptom of possible hepatitis. I was soon back to see the doctor again. He was very confident, reassuring me that I didn’t have hepatitis, and he gave me another bottle of Ayurvedic medicine. This time the liquid was red and had a delicious cherry-like taste to it. The medicine was particularly for the kidneys, and the label listed fifty or more herbal ingredients. I gladly sipped on this bottle of medicine for the next day or so, finding it extremely effective in restoring my urine to a nice healthy color and clarity.
By this time, three days had passed since I had first seen the Ayurvedic doctor. I got up to walk into town and sat at one of the ancient stupas in the old square of Kathmandu to take in the sights, much like I had done when I first arrived there. It was that memorable moment that I reflected on my health and how well I was feeling. My energy was restored and I was back to eating. I felt as good as new again. In three days, this doctor had completely restored my health. I felt such admiration and appreciation for him. I saw him one last time, just to check in. I told him about my father who was undergoing treatment at the time for what we believed was colon cancer, back in the United States. He was even eager to treat my father’s condition, inviting me to bring my father to see him. Of course that wasn’t possible, but at that time I would have loved to have had this kind doctor treat my father. Since that time, I have not learned much more about the ayurvedic system. But I do know that it is a system of philosophy and medicine dating back 5000 years, as old as the Hindu tradition itself. And it is known as the oldest, most continually practiced form of medicine on the planet.1 The central concept of Ayurvedic medicine is the theory that health exists when there is a balance between three fundamental bodily humours or doshas called Vata, Pitta and Kapha. • Vata is the dynamic "kinetic" principle necessary to mobilize anything from electron to a galaxy. Air is the representative in an abstract sense.
• Pitta is the thermal, explosive force behind the ability to transform everything. Sun is the representative.
• Kapha is the cohesion that holds everything together with its electro magnetic and gravitational forces.
These Ayurvedic concepts allow physicians to examine the homeostasis of the whole system. People may be of a predominant dosha or constitution, but all doshas have the basic elements within them. 2 Another principal of ayurveda is its health-enhancing quality. For example, when I took the tasty liquid kidney medicine, it was a mixture of herbs designed to greatly strengthen the health of the kidneys. This represents a different approach than is applied in traditional western or allopathic medicine, which often focuses on attacking the disease by rooting out the infecting agent or cause. Ayurveda works on restorative or vitalizing principles - and tastes great too.
Upon returning to the U.S., I began a search for the same ayurvedic medicine that I found in those bottles the doctor had given me. While this ayurvedic pharmacy provides medicine for much of India and surrounding countries, I was sad to find it was not available anywhere in the US. However, other ayurvedic medicines and practitioners do exist in the U.S. and are growing in number and popularity. A well-known yoga center in western Massachusetts, Kripalu, offers a two-year program in Ayurvedic medicine. I’ve also found some suppliers of Ayurvedic medicine over the Internet and have ordered specific mixtures---or Rasayanas---for various health needs such as liver cleansing and high blood pressure.
As compelling as this story might be, I feel it is necessary to make the qualifying statement about alternative medicine that is often made. Obviously western medicine has a lot to offer and this is not meant to be in any way an attack on our traditional western medical practice. Where would we be without modern medical science? However, complimentary use of other systems of medicine does open up the possibility of alternatives to treatments. Many of these alternatives may prove to be more effective and less painful. As globalization changes the world, my vision is for healthcare to become more integrated with a global perspective. The availability of more integrated medicine may be able to help lower health care costs as well as to offer treatment alternatives and a greater perspective for consumers and providers alike.
1. From Wikipedia.org, article Ayurveda http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayurveda
2. From Wikipedia.org, article Ayurveda http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayurveda ------ Rick Baker, B.A. in Philoshophy, currently lives in Sedona, Arizona. Please feel free to visit his website, Quantum Cafe.
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I think studies in Ayurvedic medicine are limited in the US and western countries, unfortunately. Additionally more oversight testing and allowing these remedies would be a welcome change. Testing would help insure that the remedies that are on the market meet minimal safety standards.
Thanks for your comments!