Before the Western invasion, in India, there were no ‘Doctors’ per se. We called the healers as Vaidyas and the only way of treatment is through Ayurveda. The whole concept of Medical System was entirely different. There was no suppression of the symptoms of a disease. The Vaidyas knew only complete healing. There were no regular health check-ups, no medical shops, no vaccinations, no pharmaceutical giants, no energy drinks, etc. As a result, India was labelled as “Under-Developed” nation.
The irony is, during the “Under-Developed” period of our nation, we had icons in our history like Chathrapathi Shivaji, Krishnadevaraya, Jhansi Rani, Raja Raja Cholan and many more. Maharana Pratap was 7.5 ft tall and weighed 110 kg. His war outfit alone was 208 kg which is approximately equal to three fully-grown adults. Imagine the kind of diet that they had and the Vaidyas who treated their illness, without any help from western science or research.
The Vaidyas treated the person, whereas the ‘Doctors’ today treat only the particular system in the human body. In Ayurveda, before a person is treated, a Vaidya analyses the person’s mind, body, age, season, environment, stage of the disease, medical history, constitution, etc. Ayurveda never encouraged getting results, by just popping in few tablets and medicines. As Vaidyas, we are instructed by our Gurus and guided by our Ayurveda Shastra, to approach any health problem by enquiring into the root of a disease.
William Osler, the father of Modern Medicine, once said,” The good physician treats the disease, the great physician treats the patient who has the disease.” We can say with pride, that in India, there were only great Ayurvedic Physicians.