Future science of medicine should be holistic and not reductionist
The science of yoga does not fit into the Western paradigm of reductionist science. However, the recent quantum physics of holism can, and does, fit into it eminently. In fact, quantum physics has come very close to the ancient Indian philosophy of the Sankhya school. German physicist, Hans-Peter Durr, who enunciated the a-duality principle in quantum physics, feels that he is just playing the second fiddle to the ancient Indian sages who have recognised a-duality in the form of advaita (non-duality or unity in duality).
“Many scientists do not seek to find the relationships between parts. Instead, they dissect things into smaller and smaller units. This way of perceiving the world has been called ‘Newtonianism’ or ‘reductionism’. All things exist in relationship to other things. Many scientists attempt to disconnect from these relationships and prefer to observe the world from a mechanistic viewpoint instead,” writes Jon Burras in his classic paper, The Myths of Science.
Reductionism, a core of Western science, loses sight of the wood while counting the trees. Bits need not make the whole; that apart, bits do not understand, or make the researcher understand, the inter-connectedness of the whole which is the real thing. Like what Dr Durr says, one can comprehend much more than what one could grasp with the five senses and reductionism.
Yoga research must be ‘outcomes research’ only, and not reductionist—studying surrogate end-points like blood pressure (BP), heart rate, blood sugar estimations, etc. It should aim at research in long-term holistic outcomes. Yes, such research does not get funds easily and getting it published is very difficult. That does not mean that we repeat the same bad Western science research to claim that yoga is scientific. Science is just there to understand nature and not there to teach nature a lesson or two. Today, the whole of Western science is trying to alter the natural world as it is concentrated only on making money.
The human body is not built with organs put together. We are derived from one single nucleated cell generously donated to us by our ancestors, the germs, who ruled this world for the first two billion years. That single cell, the zygote, which is a fusion of ovum and spermatozoa, simply divides to make the 120 trillion colonies of interdependent cells that make up the human body. Of course, we also have 10 times that number of germ cells incorporated into that colony. They are mainly responsible for our immune system functioning at its best!
Consciousness, that energy which flows as waves and is not seen or felt as particles, has not been comprehended by many scientists even today. The father of quantum physics, Max Planck, however, had realised that “consciousness is fundamental; even matter gets derived from consciousness.” Visualising and trying to correct and deviation from the normal is thus possible. This takes us closer to spirituality (not religion), where the essence is sharing and caring for oneself and others.
Future science of medicine should be holistic, and not reductionist, as the human body works like a closed system in systems biology. It is a self-correcting system and does not need intervention for every minor deviation from the normal. Such interventions in modern medicine result in misery for the hapless patient. We must learn to intervene only in the unlikely event of the body’s immune system failing to correct the problem in a reasonable time span to lessen our burden on humanity. Recently, and I keep on repeating it, when interventional cardiologists were away in conferences, mortality in their intensive care units (ICUs) fell significantly, showing thereby that, given enough leeway, many deviations might self-correct. Long live mankind on this planet!
(Professor Dr BM Hegde, a Padma Bhushan awardee in 2010, is an MD, PhD, FRCP (London, Edinburgh, Glasgow & Dublin), FACC and FAMS.)
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ॠशानà¥à¤¤à¤¿à¤ƒ शानà¥à¤¤à¤¿à¤ƒ शानà¥à¤¤à¤¿à¤ƒ ||
The immense depth and deep understanding from this one sholka is too profound.
namaskaraha.
Pl translate/give summary interpretation for wider appreciation.tks.
Puurnnashya Puurnnam-Aadaaya Puurnnam-Eva-Avashissyate ||
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||
Meaning:
1: Om, That is Full, This also is Full, From Fullness comes that Fullness,
2: Taking Fullness from Fullness, Fullness Indeed Remains.
3: Om Peace, Peace, Peace.
Source: http://www.greenmsg.org
I am still exploring the ideas put forth in ancient literature. One needs to have open mind to all ideas. That is the true spirit of science too.
In the word-to-word translation of 'Puurna' can be interpreted in various ways. It can ofcourse mean 'Full'. But I feel it points to something more deep. This is explained in various forms in the Upanishads and the Gita.
To make you more curious, try to think the 'puurna' as
1. infinity 2. energy 3. consciousness 4. atman/brahman 5....
2. energy is easy to understand in this century. Something known as E=mc*c (perhaps thats the reason so many quantum physicists are drawn closer to upanishads these days..)
well, these are my few points. I stand corrected for any misinterpretations.