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Online edition of India's National Newspaper Tuesday, Apr 01, 2003

Holistic healing

THE SAIENCE OF MEDICINE — Where Modern Medicine Meets Spirituality: Dr. Hiramalini Seshadri and Dr. Seshadri; published by Giggles, Biggest Little Bookshop, Taj Connemara Hotel, Binny Road, Chennai-600002. Price not mentioned.

MODERN MEDICINE has become frustratingly hi-tech. In this era of tele-medicine, it is no longer essential for the doctor to see the patient either for a diagnosis or to decide on the modalities of treatment.

The treatment options are also conveyed to the patient through the same channel of the worldwide web. While this might save precious time in some instances, more often than not, the patient is left with a feeling of dissatisfaction even if his "illness" in physical terms seems better. The doctor-patient relationship that was built upon a deep trust, at times through several generations of the same family, has got gradually eroded.

The authors of the book under review have made a genuine attempt to re-build and restore the special doctor-patient relationship. They have outlined in a simple and easily understandable format, steps that need to be taken towards developing a more "holistic" approach to treatment of a person with an illness.

The WHO defines health as being "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity". The importance of the attitude of a person to the illness, the role played by music, yoga and Ayurveda have been stressed in different chapters of the book.

The chapter "Psycho spiritual strategies — a practical guide" is the highlight of this book as it explains methods to improve the quality and content of our lives, in a very simple fashion without being didactic.

An interesting chapter devoted to narration of Indian and Western encounters of "near death experiences", for which scientific evidence has been mounting steadily has been included. While this concept is viewed with scepticism, it appears likely that the Vedic view of life, of an existence after death is indeed possible. The authors have substantiated their statements with real life experiences and beseech the reader to be impartial instead of being sceptical.

The holistic approach that the authors have suggested together with "state of the art" medical care is a reality for anyone to see and experience at the two, now three "Temples of Healing" in Puttaparthi and Whitefield near Bangalore, which have been established and run by Sri Sathya Sai Baba. These world-class centres offer completely free treatment to everyone regardless of caste, community or race.

The wealth of information carried in this book, does not allow for a casual reader to flip through the pages. The authors have asked questions of the reader right through the book and one almost wishes they had not, as it tends to disturb the concentration that this book merits. "This is a book that is quite radical and must have taken a lot of courage to write.

It is hardly surprising that the authors feel that they were just writing implements in the hands of their spiritual guru, Sri Sathya Sai Baba, who guided them through this very admirable accomplishment.

N. SARANYA