11/10/97-1188

The Glories of Sankirtana

Switzerland (VNN) - At the Biomedica, an international congress on health prevention, held in Zurich, Switzerland on October 19th 1997, Dr. Hans H. Rhyner MD (AM), PhD (Citrakara das) was invited to represent Ayurveda medicine at the concluding podium discussion. Other guests were Dr. Amipa-Desam, a relative of the Dalai Lama representing Tibetan medicine, a Dutch physician representing traditional Chinese medicine, Dr. Ravi Roy representing Homeopathy and a German doctor representing the anthroposophical System of Rudolf Steiner.

Dr. Rhyner reports: "First, the talk-master proceeded to establish some common grounds of all systems and wanted to know about the role of the elements. I explained that all Vedic sciences where based on the Shankyan concept of the Pancamahabhuta or the five primordial elements that forms the working hypothesis in Ayurveda but pointed out that these elements are not to be compared to earth, water, fire, wind and ether but to subatomic particles of which all matter is made of."

"The next round of question really took me by surprise. The speaker wanted to know the role of Karma in the disease process and in therapy. Dr. Amipa-Desam was quick to reply that according to Buddhist philosophy the original cause of disease was the ignorance of the living entity. The audience took intensive interest in this reply and so I went on to elaborate Caraka?s statement that all disease is ultimately caused by negative Karma and that a holistic medical system like that of Ayurveda that was brought into existence to treat body, mind and soul must also offer therapeutic concepts to treat body, mind and soul. Kayacikitsa or Internal Medicine is meant to treat the body, Sadvritta or the concept of leading a life in Sattva Guna, also called ethical behavior, leads to the health of the psyche and Moksha or spiritual emancipation serves to attend to the real mission of human life. The first disease we contracted is the misconception that we are the body!"

"In previous such meetings that I had attended all over the world, the questions were only pertaining to the kind of herbs and physiotherapeutic techniques I was using in Ayurveda. A question about the implications of Karma in treatment was absolutely unthinkable. It was already highly controversial just to be a practitioner of an alternative medical system, what to speak of bringing in philosophy - or still worse religion."

"My notion has always been that people are not stupid. If they are given Srila Prabhupada?s books, they will realize the truth. Especially in Switzerland, where this incident has taken place, a nearly incredible amount of Srila Prabhupada?s books have been distributed by the great Vaishnava souls over more then 20 years. And those wonderful books are changing the thinking pattern of society at large. We are not sliding into an apocalyptic abyss. This is the Golden Age inaugurated by Shri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. My deepest respects go to all devotees of the Sankirtana movement and to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness that has - against all odds - kept this spirit alive."

Dr. Hans H. Rhyner MD (AM), PhD

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