Health is one of the basic needs of animals and humans. People from all walks of life have developed their own health systems and medical traditions. Among them are Indian Ayurveda, Hela Wedakama, Chinese Medicine, Korean Medicine, and Unani Medicine, which are specific to Asia.
Today, these medical traditions are intertwined with each other. The Ayurvedic system of medicine originated in India and spread to other countries, combining with the indigenous medicine of each country. Dr. Nadeeja Maduwanthi, who works at the Ayurveda Hospital in Kirimetiyana, shared her views on the Ayurveda medical system developed in accordance with Hela Veda (indigenous Sinhala medicine), which is associated with the Indian medical culture.
Q: How did the advent of Ayurveda medicine come about?
 Dr. M.A.Nadeeja Maduwanthi |
A: There was a traditionally developed indigenous Sinhala medicine in the past. Over time, the knowledge of indigenous Sinhala medicine for many generations was lost. After that, Indian Ayurveda medicine adapted and used in Hela Veda, which was becoming obsolete. There is a tendency between the Tamil and Muslim communities to practise Indigenous medicine, both Siddha and Unani. There is a tendency in today’s society about these medical methods.
In the past, there was a local food pattern among our people. There was a daily routine and seasonal behaviour in line with Ayurveda. Many home remedies are used for minor ailments. The ancients knew how to avoid diseases. They knew more or less about certain defects in their bodies, and they knew how to balance those moments with their own diets and avoid diseases. At that time, the knowledge of the basic principles of medicine in man was amazing.
Q: About the present condition of Ayurveda medicine?
A: With the development of society and the advent of Western medicine, hereditary knowledge was underestimated. From generation to generation, Ayurveda medicine began to decline. The properties of the same substance are changed and compared with the ability of digestion to eat it. Volume, body condition, and time (morning, evening, noon, and the patient’s age) are all taken into account here.This is in accordance with the basic tenets of Ayurveda.
Knowledge of these basic principles should be studied in depth as a doctor. There should be some understanding in society. Basically, it’s about the three doshes (Thridosha), shad rasaya, Panchamaha Buutha, and 20gunas such as cold and hot. The doctor has a responsibility to talk to the patients who come to him or her and inform them about the knowledge. That is what needs to be done in a timely manner. Ayurveda medicine is not a symptomatic treatment. It is a medical system that is scientifically proven to work on the correct theories that come with deep vision.
Many gastrointestinal diseases, including gastritis and piles, are prevalent in society today. These include not eating on time, a stressful lifestyle, eating short meals, getting used to fast food, tolerance without defecation, and drinking less water. We lost our “Diya batha, heel batha” from our society. It was a shame to tell others that we were using those foods.
Ayurveda doctors could not explain the value of those foods, and they missed that opportunity. The use of Rathakalka and Ura Beheth in young children has sparked debate. These drugs are despised in various medical treatments. But the good stuff is the best. Mothers were advised not to give their babies any water for up to six months, possibly because germs could enter the body.
We must remember that small children cannot ask for water. Much research has been done on Rathakalka. Its good results have been clinically confirmed. But mothers with small children are afraid of giving the Ratha Kalka. Out of love for their children, adults reject giving Ratha Kalka to their babies. Their minds change to the extent that they are given nothing externally except Western medicine.
Ratha Kalka is an immunosuppressive drug that can cure small children from a number of ailments (skin diseases, phlegmatic diseases, digestion problems (Leukoplakia) (Ullogam), but the drug alone could not. Pharmaceutical manufacturers have not designed this to be a single-dose preparation for a child. When taken by hand and put on a spoon and mixed with breast milk, it may become contaminated. This is what we need to think about anew.
Q: Importance of Ayurveda medicine?
A: What will happen if we change our attitude towards how people expect us to give antipruritic and antibiotic drugs? In order for our body to develop immunity so that it cannot be invaded by external micro-organisms, it can use home remedies as soon as it becomes immune to prevent the disease from getting worse.
Here we have to mention our Paspangu and the ginger and coriander boiled drink. The same paspangu (a medicine made from five herbs) does not fit into every immune system. Depending on the condition of the immune system, fever, sore throat, headache, and phlegm may or may not be present at all. It is advisable to remove some of the material and add the required material. Simple knowledge about this should be present in society.
There is an opinion in society today that there is no such thing as a painkiller in Ayurveda medicine. There are many ways to get rid of minor aches and pains, like having paracetamol in Western medicine. These include herbal paste plaster, sweeting, oil applications, sudation and poultice. This is a good answer for those who have taken pills and capsules as their food. These are effective in the first and second stages of an illness.
It is possible to cure poisonous animal bites, migraines, hemorrhoids, and joint pain. Many Ayurvedic medicines contain diuretics, medicines prescribed to maintain the normal functioning of the kidneys, diluents for kidney stones, and internal medicines for diseases such as urinary stones and urinary tract infections.
Ayurveda has a successful treatment system, especially for arthritis. Depending on the patient’s condition, the disease can be eliminated by weakening the course of the disease and treating it. Why wait for patients to be referred to rehabilitation camps or surgeries without responding to Western treatment at the end of their illness, giving symptomatic treatments once the disease has stabilised in the body? There are many things that can be done for externally associated diseases. Medical oils and medical ointments are just some of them.
Pain is a manifestation of a disease that the body gives us. It is important to keep in mind that primarily eliminating it does not cure the disease, but rather gives us the opportunity to implant it in the body.
Physicians in Ayurveda medicine need to understand that they have a responsibility beyond treating the patient. That is, the patient should be told what the cause of the disease is, that the disease does not recur by removing the pathogen, and that the disease disappears by weakening and eliminating the onset of the disease. This is why the journey of Buddhist followers is successful since they are going by knowing the Abhidhamma.
Due to the shortage and increase in the prices of Western medicines today, the Ayurveda doctor is self-sufficient in medicine. This opportunity can be considered the best opportunity to socialise the potential and value of Ayurveda medicine. This is not something that a single person can do. The entire administrative structure should come together. This is something that doctors, farmers, and the entire population of the country should do together.
Q: What can be done to revive the Ayurveda medical system?
A: This should be implemented through long-term, short-term, and medium-term plans. As for long-term plans, activities such as creating herbal gardens, basic theories of Ayurveda, and knowledge of hand remedies can be given some space in the school curriculum. Encourage people to grow herbal remedies instead of ornamental flowers in the backyard as a medium-term plan. We should motivate people to go to the hospital to gain an understanding of the location of the Ayurveda Hospital in the area and about its services. It is also possible to reintroduce local foods in place of fast foods. As a short-term plan, we need to give a chance to those accustomed to long-term Western medicine to experience the healing effects of external therapies in a more practical way. Herbs can be planted in urban places and public places. People need to learn to use hand remedies for their minor ailments every day.
Q: Should patients exercise restraint in their diet?
A: One of the most frequently asked questions by patients is whether or not they should exercise restraint in their diet. That is what is suitable to get and what is not suitable to do or get when doing Ayurveda medicine. Only the right foods are involved. It should be understood that this applies not only to drugs but also to disease. The patient should be made aware that the disease is exacerbated if he eats only unhealthy foods. It also causes the disease to increase or decrease in severity, regardless of which medication is taken. It should be noted that drugs do not cause poisoning or degeneration.
Let us re-establish the extinct Ayurveda system of medicine and provide relief to people suffering from various ailments. Let’s get rid of the myth among people. In the past, men did not have access to Western medicine. They lived for many years practising indigenous medicine. Our indigenous doctors had the ability to cure any ailment with indigenous drugs. Why Western medicine for a man who lived a healthy life in the past? If local, indigenous drugs were revived without shouting about the shortage of Western drugs, we too would be a nation without debt to the world.