Doctors Should Be Taught a New Physiology

Prof Dr BM Hegde 16 May 2016

Life

Biology, especially human evolution that I learnt in school and college, does not make much sense to me with my observations of human beings and their illnesses as a doctor for over half a century. The new evolutionary biology, and the systems biology in it, makes a lot of good sense against the background of new quantum worldview. A judicious combination of those two, in conjunction with Indian wisdom of eons, explains lots of things in medicine and reaffirms my faith in our indigenous wisdom even in disease management.

The Western science, which we believe as gospel truth, did not come from God. It was very much man’s creation. I believe that these intelligent men of science in the West went terribly wrong in treating this universe as a separate non-living entity where man has a right to exploit nature for his benefit. The truth seems to be that nature is a living, steadily evolving, system where man is just a part of the whole. Consequently, the health of this planet is connected with our own health and well-being.

Human physiology needs to be approached differently. We now believe in the reductionist idea that the internal environment of the human body is maintained by keeping all the parameters of the known body systems under control. We need to acknowledge that the human system, which has developed from consciousness to begin with, is a living system as an integral part of nature with in-built capacity to correct most, if not all, changes that the system is heir to.

It has got such sophisticated technology that it can shred proteins into small parts and reconvert them into new proteins or, if needed, to destroy the protein itself. When we teach physiology in medical schools, we never stress the inherent capacity of the human body to correct itself without outside help. It is only in the unlikely event that outside help (doctor) is needed.

Unfortunately, the mindset that the student develops in the present culture is that “every ill has to have a pill or surgical manipulation to put things back into shape.” This is the bane of modern Western medicine. The truth, however, is that “while there is no pill for every ill, there is an ill following every pill” as the latter is a foreign invader in the holistic system that is built to mend itself.

Physiology must stress the central role played by the human immune system and the student should learn to respect and help the immune system to help disease management. Natural immune boosters must also be stressed. Panchakarma, the five methods of boosting the immune system, is the backbone of Indian Ayurveda. Similar efforts are made in many other ancient systems. The student must also realise the role that the human mind, human consciousness, plays in disease control and prevention. Human body is but the human mind as both are only energy. The placebo effect studies in Western medicine and the efforts at quantum healing stress the need for medical students to be human and humane to be good healers.

Future doctors should be equipped with this new knowledge of the living universe where survival requires cooperation and not competition, human physiology will have been better served by the scientific community. Let us wake up before we destroy ourselves completely.

Professor Dr BM Hegde, a Padma Bhushan awardee in 2010, is an MD, PhD, FRCP (London, Edinburgh, Glasgow & Dublin), FACC and FAMS. He can be reached at [email protected]

Comments

User

Ramesh Poapt

9 years ago

excellent, sir! Mind creates most of the illness and not body. Cure should be of mind first and the body then, if at all it is required. Mind has infinite potential for physical fitness and vigour!

Vannala Keervanamma

9 years ago

Yes. Hegde sir is absolutely right. Allopathy do not take a patient as a whole with life force in it, however, they try to look into the problems superficially and never go into root cause and give medicine. On the contrary, Ayurveda, Homeopathy do treat the patients by taking the person as a whole and give medicine to the person and not to the organs.