- Pranic Therapy Part II
- By: G Kumar
Astrologer and Epistemologist
All the four forces in the Universe
- weak nuclear force, strong nuclear force, electricity &
magnetism -are but different manifestations of that Unitary Power
which the Vedists call Prana. Using this Vital Energy to heal
is called Pranic Therapy. This article is a continuation of the
earlier article Pranic
Therapy Part I.
Application of Chaos Theory in the field of Medicine
Another breathtaking development in medicine is the application
of Chaos Theory. Chaos theory,advanced by Mendelbrot, is a mathematical
theory applied to non-linear and random events.
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It sees order in chaos. Most
of ordinary phenomena in the world such as changes of weather,
the behaviour of cancer cells, occurrence of heart attack, movement
of electrons etc, do not seem to follow any regular & recurrent
pattern and are unpredictable on the basis of linear mathematics.
Though it contradicts Laplace, its positive aspect is that is
sees Cosmos (order) in Chaos.
Chaos theory of maths tries to
find a more meaningful correlation and behavioural pattern in
such systems. One of the most fundamental properties of an organism
is Homeostasis, the maintenance of a fixed internal milieu, especially
with regard to body temperature, BP, pH etc.The earlier school
of thought regarded homeostasis as health, (Walter Cannon called
it "the wisdom of the body") and any deviation from
it was disease. But Chaos theory revolutionised this thinking
and pointed out that health is the flexibility of an organism
to respond to any changing environment. Our lungs, heart, liver
etc are all designed to deal with frequent changes and health
is the flexibility or capacity to maintain this state of chaos
at the maximal level of efficiency. |
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Holistic health does not reject
the Western system of medicine in toto. In the case of infectious
diseases, nutritional & hormonal deficiencies and bodily
defects which need surgical intervention, it follows the Western
system. Psychosomatic diseases such as hypertension, peptic ulcer,
allergic asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome
etc can be treated by Holistic Medicine, it averrs. Holistic
health provides a way of life which prevents the reccurrence
of some of these ailments. It is more prophylactic, preventive,
curative & restorative.
Integral Life
Integral Life is an ancient Vedic ideal. The ancient Rishies
(Seers) believed in the fulness of Life - 100 % materialism and
100% spirituality. They actualised the Unity of Life first -
long before they realized the Unity of Consciousness. The unitary
principle of life is known as Prana, the Vital Energy. Cosmic
Prana is a major topic of discussion in the Upanishads. This
Universal Vital Energy flows through invisible channels in the
human body known as Nadis. The Brhadaranyaka Upanishad describes
Prana as Truth and Brahman as the Truth of Truths. It was during
this period ( around 500 B C ) that India developed the Science
of Life known as Ayurveda.
An integral view of life far more comprehensive than that of
any school of Vedanta was developed by Tantras which arose between
the 6th and 9th centuries AD. The Ultimate Reality is conceived
of as Chit-Shakti, Consciousness-Force. Matter, Mind & Self
are all regarded as manifestations of this Universal Power which
is personified as the Divine Mother. All activities are carried
on by the Consciousness-Force (The Universe is the play and display
of Consciousness-Force) and all we have to do is to open ourselves
to Her Power through self-surrender and aspiration. This master
science was revived by modern Masters like Aurobindo and Ramakrishna.
The programme for activating the body's own self-renewal processes
is called holistic health programme. It may take months or years
for the body to learn new patterns of response and renew itself.
And this programme succeeds only when certain conditions are
fulfilled.
Awakening to a New Holistic Health Awareness
Only after undergoing an inner conversion do people start on
a holistic health programme. This conversion may come naturally
in the fulness of time or by coming into contact with a holistic
health adept or Yoga teacher. But more commonly, the inner transformation
takes place only when people have reached the limits of suffering
or when the shadow of some terminal illness looms large on the
horizon. Fear, they say, is the beginning of wisdom.
Pain is the first born of the Inconscience
And thy body's dumb original base !
Whatever way the change occurs, it takes the form of two inner
processes; a new attitude towards one's body and a feeling of
responsibility for one's own health.
Man's greatest enemy - Thanatos ( Death-instinct )
The notion that what a person loves most is his own body has
been proved erroneous by Freud. Freud, who declared that pleasure
seeking (hedonism) was the basic instinct in man, modified his
view later. He came to the conclusion that along with Life-instinct
(known as Eros) man had apparently a powerful Death-instinct
(known as Thanatos) which manifested itself as Self-hate and
aggressive behaviour. He showed that not all accidents were really
accidents. The accident-proneness of the victims produced by
the unconscious death wish they had cherished was the cause behind
some accidents. Research has indicated enough evidence for vicious
and insidious forms of self-hate in man. We can understand how
self-hate operates on the level of the Unconscious if we observe
the way many people abuse their own stomachs, lungs and other
vital organs, and the way some people bring ruin upon themselves
by yielding to drug addiction andalcoholism. This self-hate acts
as an inhibiting factor for most individuals. Success can be
achieved, said Dr Maxwell Maltz, if this inhibitive factor is
removed from the mind. Most people are unaware of it and drift
through life unaware of the self-harm they do. Some of them wake
up from this unconscious drifting and begin to have a new attitude
- an attitude of love, friendliness and peace towards themselves
and their brethren. It actually indicates the dawn of true love
for one's higher Self known as the Atman.
Thanatos was known in Vedanta as Thamas (the destructive element
in man). Thamas is destructive and self-destructive. By yogic
sadhana alone can this Thamas or Thanatos be destroyed.
Yet till evil is slain in its own home
And light invades the world's inconscient base
And perished is the Adversary force
He (the Saviour) must still labour on, his work halfdone! (Aurobindo)
Copyright 2002 G. Kumar |
