AYURVEDIC VIEW ON DOWN SYNDROME
: Classical Ayurvedic texts do not directly address Down syndrome and many other mental disorders. These conditions may have been dismissed in earlier times as a form on insanity (उन्माद) or possession by evil spirits (भूतोन्माद).Down syndrome can be classified in कर्मज व्याधी category.
Karm sidhant as per Bhagvatgita:- “यत्करोशी यदास्नासी यज्जुहोशि ददाशी यत| यत तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत कुरुष्व मदर्पनम || शुभाशुभ्फालैरेव मोक्ष्यासेकर्मबंधने| संयास्योग्युक्तात्मा विमुक्तो मामुपैश्यसी”|| (भगवद गीता -९/२७-२८)
consider all your acts as acts of devotion to me.whether eating,offering,giving away,performing austerities.Perform them as an offering to me.In this way you will free from the karma.You will be liberated & you will come to me.
AYURVEDIC INTERPRETATION OF KARMA:i)Karma determines the fundamental attributes of an individual’s personality. These characteristics, known as संस्कार,determine each individual’s characteristic reaction to particular situations. Since they are etched in the subconscious (चित्त)of an individual, they are extremely difficult to override. These tendencies create challenges that need to be overcome.ii)Facing these challenges allows an individual to learn lessons that help in exhausting the karmic consequences of past lives.iii)However, selfish actions in the current life create new karma, which takes over and manifests itself as disease.
CLASSICAL AYURVEDIC INTERPRETATION OF DOWN SYNDROME:i)Classical Ayurvedic texts do not directly address Down syndrome and many other mental disorders. These conditions may have been dismissed in earlier times as a form on insanity (उन्माद) or possession by evil spirits (भूतोन्माद).ii)Down syndrome falls in the अध्यात्मिक branch of diseases which includes conditions with “a spiritual cause, those coming from a past life.” ,iii)Dr. Vasant Lad explains that “अध्यात्मिक disorders primarily affect बुद्धी(intellect), स्मृती (memory) and धी/धृति (learning capacity and attention). They can be so serious that they affect both the functioning and structure of the brain and sense organs.iv)अध्यात्मिक diseases include many genetic and congenital disorders.” More specifically, अनुवांशिक रोग refers exclusively to genetic diseases. The term अनुवांशिक (genetic) comes from अनु (resulting from) and वंश (family/lineage).v)Genetic disorders, such as Down syndrome, as per the classification & types of the disease can also be categorized as अदिबलप्रवृत indicating that they occur before conception. This category includes subdivisions that indicate whether the disorder comes from the egg cell produced by the mother (मातृज) or from the father’s sperm cell (पितृज). While the improper number of chromosomes in the fertilized egg can result from contributions of either the mother or the father, it most commonly results from an improper egg. Therefore, Down syndrome is primarily classified as a मातृज.
According to modern science:-Downs syndrome is he genetic disorder caused by presence of extra genetic material chromosome no.21 in some or all of an individual’s cells.Types of Down’s syndrome:-i)Trisomy of 21-It is most common.92-94% characterized by an extra copy of chromosome 21 in all cells of an individual.ii) individual who have extra chromosome 21 in some cells not all.iii)Partial triplication of chromosome 21.
Signs & Symptoms:–i)Flat appearing faceii)upward slanting eyesiii)Short Neck.iv)Abnormally Shaped Ears.v)Small mouth making the tongue protrude.vi)Floopy muscles.(hypotonia)vii)Deep crease upon the centre of the palm.viii)White spot in the centre of the iris.ix)Wide space between first two toes.x)Small hands & feet.xi)Extra fold of skin near the eyes.xii)Mental retardation-mild to moderate & IQ is usually in a “trainable range.”
निदान:-(cause) i)According to the classical text चरक संहिता the cause of genetic diseases such as Down syndrome is कर्मज. Thisindicates that these diseases are the manifestations of संचित कर्म accumulated from past lives.ii)In the चरकसंहिता, it states the following about कर्मज (actions of past life) diseases: “The action performed in the previous life which is known as दैव (fate) also constitutes in due course causative factors for the manifestation of diseases.iii)There is no major action (performed in the previous life) which does not lead to the corresponding results” .iv)Dr. Lad narrows down the cause from कर्मज to आत्मज by considering the subtle causes that affect the individual consciousness (जीवात्मा) as a result of an individual’s संचित कर्म.. He explains that “the post-digestive effect of undigested past karma is to createसंस्कार (impressions or tendencies) and these create a scar, called a खवैगुन्य (weak space in the body.v)This causes the person to suffer.” In the case of Down syndrome, patients usually have a weak head, known as मानस मांद्य; this is the term used for mental retardation by both ayurvedic scientists चरकाचार्य and सुश्रुताचार्य.
रूप (SYMPTOMS)i)In Down syndrome, the predominant symptoms are seen in the mind in the form of मानसमांद्य (mental retardation).ii)Down syndrome patients often also demonstrate memory loss (Alzheimer’s) later in life andii)speech impairments.iv) fear, worry, and anxiety.v)A non-painful accumulation of fluid in the middle ear, known as glue ear, is common inDown syndrome.vi)slow speech development.vii)Some Down syndrome patients also havedifficulty breathing as a result of low muscle tone/muscle weakness.viii)Additionally, many children with Down syndromehave congenital heart defects; the most common of these is an atrioventricular septal defect.ix) Some Down syndrome patientsalso have gastrointestinal problems such as malabsorption and Gastro-oesophageal reflux.x)Other symptoms such as hypothyroid, obesity/weight gain, and cataracts are also common.xi)It is explained in the चरकसंहिता –“It is a fact, that in individuals having the association of past action, the physique and the mind are respectively derived from the physique and mind of his past life. The dissimilarity in the shape and intellectual faculties is caused by the राजस,तामस, and the nature of the past actions.”“This association or combination of the subtle body with the sperm and ovum is conditioned by the [unrighteous, selfish] actions in the past life. The cause and effect always bear resemblance with each other…Dominance of राजस and तामस, and the actions in the past life are responsible for the variations in the characteristic features of individuals.”
संप्राप्ती(PATHOGENESIS):-i)वात accumulates in the पुरीषवहस्त्रोतस overflows into the रस धातू and रक्त धातू .ii)As a result of low digestive अग्नि, समान वायू relocates to the अन्नवह स्त्रोतस and causes malabsorption.iii)In the case of gastro-oesophageal reflux, the obstruction of the downward flow of अपान वायू causes the वात दोष to move upward and bring the pitta contents of the stomach into the esophagus.iv)The downward flow of वात can be caused by अपान वायू in the रस धातू of the पुरीषवहस्त्रोतस drying out the large intestine.v)व्यान वायू relocates deeper into the रक्तवह स्त्रोतस where it affects the vascular tissue formed as an उपधातू of the रक्त धातू .vi)उदान वायू then relocates into the मांस धातू resulting in systemic muscle weakness and speech impairment. It relocates to the प्राणवह स्त्रोतस., resulting in weakness of the muscles ofrespiration.vii)प्राण ,समान & व्यान वायू also relocate to the मज्जा धातू and the मनोवह स्त्रोतस , resulting in inability to learn and memory loss.viii) In the मनोवह स्त्रोतस , it results in anxiety and fear. The roles of the मज्जावह स्त्रोतस(brain)and the मनोवह स्त्रोतस (thought and emotion) are difficult to separate in this condition. The pre-existing geneticcondition is exacerbated by वात provoking factors (cold, light and dry diet, and a lack of routine)
DOES AYURVEDA HAVE ANY ROLE TO TREAT THE DOWN SYNDROME? in the upcoming article…