About 900 doctors from all over the country attended the
seventh National Holistic Health Conference which opened
here on June 17. The conference was held in Gyan Sarovar,
one of the country's most modern and aesthetically
designed complexes. Organised by the Brahma Kumari
World Spiritual University, which has its headquaters in
this city, the conference was part of the diamond jubilee
celebrations of the organisation. What the organisers here
offered was the amalgamation of known medical techniques with the techniques of Raj Yoga meditation.
As Girish Patel, renowned psychiatrist and the organising secretary of the conference said, the concept of holistic
health care includes not just diagnosis and medication, but
the whole method of medical practice. "There is definite
need for improving doctor-patient relationship, because
that is vital in ensuring better cure," he said. Holistic health
care, as Patel pointed out, includes preventive health practices, eventually leading towards "an elimination of the
need for doctors". During the first two days, many doctors
themselves admitted that medical practitioners have
become exploitative. It is here that the organisation felt
the need for doctors to practice meditation to improve
upon their own human qualities and therefore, the quality
of medical treatment.
"Meditation cannot replace traditional medicine, but it
augments the latter's effects, and in some cases, even by
itself becomes curative," Ashok Mehta, senior surgeon
with the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, told DTE. The
Global Health and Research Centre, a few kilometres
from Gyan Sarovar is another institution run by the
Brahma Kumaris and is doing pioneering research into
the science of meditation. Documentation through
state-of-the-art equipment, including multimedia, is
establishing the psychophysiological impact of meditation,
and literature linking spirituality and science is selling like
hot cakes.
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.