DISEASE - CURE ( Death of Disease - 2)

Main Methods of Treatment

This book (Death of Disease, written by Swami Vijnananand,( S. V.) in chapters 4 to 8 briefly discusses some of the major treatment methods giving their history, concepts, broad shortcomings or objections as well as limitations. Excerpts follow.

Evaluation of Allaopth

1.  Here we proceed to analyze the claims of allopath. This is the first major system of modern treatment of disease. We shall strictly adhere to reason and quote authorities from their own group.

2. Hippocrates (the founder) laid down three principles which form the corner stones of science of modern medicine.

 a) There is no authority except facts

 b) Strict observation alone leads one to facts

 c) Conclusions are to be established only from facts

In practice, however, no one ever adhered to these principles.

2.1 Experts considered that the ultimate solution was in their hands and maintained so. (Ego of the experts). Pasteur propounded that bacteria will be conquered in the case of every disease, leading to eliminate of all disease. This continues to remain an unfulfilled dream.

2.2 Naming new disorders keeps allopath busy, while every problem connected with cause remained unsolved. A common man remains helpless when doctors name disorders differently, at intervals. For interval of time, the cause of disease according to doctors lay in susceptibility, then it is shifted to inheritance.

2.3 Effective drugs are few, rest are mainly directed at symptoms. According to Dr. A Hutchnecker, out of thousand drugs in pharmacopeia, only a few drugs contribute towards cure of specific disease.

2.4 Surgery is (often) misused in practical life. Authority like Donald Cooley (besides Bernard Shaw) suggests that kidney stones tend to grow more after the operations. Dr. Graefenberg wrote in 1929 – "Many an appendix has been sacrificed to a harmless …… pain, If the pain happened to be in the left lower quadrant, the left adnexa (ovary) were doomed ……. Back pains were at once associated with displacement of the Uterus".

2.5 Drugs old or new, after passage of time prove worthless. Even apparently harmless therapy leads to undesirable reactions.

After decades of X-Rays treatment, the multitude of dangers of X-Rays attracts the scientists' attention. The dangers of radiation are becoming more and more apparent. The disadvantage of chemotherapy, as now revealed, shock us.

"To begin with, the antibiotics shift the balance of body in favor of the patient but, as treatment is continued, it may shift back in favor of organism." – The comments from scientists.

2.6 Many allopathic practices now accepted as erroneous and given up. This has cost humanity thousands of lives.

2.7 Theoretically, modern medicines does consider factors mental or emotional. But one fails to trace a method in allopath wherewith the problems of stress, the original cause of disease is faced. Except possibly occasional lectures to patients to forget stress. Doctors (tend to often) ignore the mind factor in practice, while advocating in theory the essential need of taking it in to account.

3. The claim is not that these points make a full case against allopath. The list of un-solved riddles, as admitted by allopath itself and partly mental (in the book) establish the limitation of allopath.

4. Although, allopath’s bright side too exists.

For instance, of all methods of cure, allopath alone stands very open, frank and unpretentious. In no other schools of Medicine, the top-heads of the world so readily admit the failure of their system.

In many instances, the world knows about the failures of modern medicine through their inventors or their immediate followers themselves. Such frankness hardly comes across where truth about the other cults get placed in the dock.

Another noteworthy fact about allopath is worth mentioning. If experiments prove that standards set forth by its logic are reached, then discoveries receive acceptance even when they come forth from non-medical persons. As we know Pasteur was not a medical authority in the real sense of the term.

5. These highlights of allopath have acquired for the system a supreme honor and confidence, in contrast to the position of other cults.

But there are shortcomings too!

6. Shortcomings

 a) Its non-consideration of and failure to treat psyche in all its aspects. Some experts feel that treatment of psyche continues constitutes a specialized area reserved for psychologists, psychiatrists.  Psychiatrists themselves hold conflicting views on problems of psyche and the allopath’s wisdom in living mind to them, this has brought grief to allopath in every respect.

 b) The second great handicap of allopath lies in the fact that its followers have not the same sense of scientific detachment of their masters that resulted in highest respect for the allopath’s. Therefore, its high value gets completely diluted when we turn to a representative of allopath of our street corner or neighborhood, who undertakes to relieve us of any agony.

Evaluation of Four Other Systems

The discussion in the book also deals with the analysis of other four pathies namely homeopathy, naturopathy, osteopathy, and psycho-therapy.

The details can be seen from the Chapter.

Conclusion

Innumerable objections and very powerful ones can be shown for the theory and practice for each cult. This is again not to totally deny the utility of these pathies, but only to show certain limitations to which each cure system is exposed.

The Incompleteness of Every System

Do we mean that all methods are absolutely wrong? No! We are talking only about limitations.

The afflicted (depressed), nervous patient often forgets the ills done to him by several practitioners (may be from diverse pathies) and he propagates the name of his successful doctor. Thereafter all systems of cure go unquestioned amongst their respective followers – for patients may shift their camps, but they never give-up the faith that someone else will certainly cure them. They feel justified in their faith, when they meet their reliever in the form of some white-dressed doctor. The poor patients never know that so great an authority as Dr. H.W. Haggard, M.D. recorded the verdict that "Ninety percent of diseases are curable without medicine".

The truth remains unpalatable to doctors and therefore, they often oppose it on quite untenable (unsound) grounds in private. Yet every patient in his heart of heart fully endorses the extent of his own suffering at the hands of various pathies.

To sum up – All prevailing therapies thrive on a few grains of truth and the rest are merely experimental speculations.

( to be continued)

Vijay R. Joshi.