Fusion of ancient wisdom and modern technology

Prof Ram Harsh Singh and Dr Vipin Bihari Gupta discuss the salient features of ayurved and the advancements in pharmaceutical technology, the communication gap that exists between them and the necessity of bridging this gap

Green Pharmacy - l

Prof. Ram Harsh Singh	Dr Vipin Bihari Gupta

‘Green Pharmacy’ is an agglomeration of ayurved and modern pharmaceutical technology designed to consequence into a system of pharmaceuticals having the best from the two. Distinct from the red, green symbolises healing, harmonious, non-violent and friendly pursuit so are the Green Pharmacy Programmes that are paralleled to the allopathic pharmacy (red pharmacy) but do not carry the violent or toxic attitude of the later. These programmes named as D Pharm. (ayurvedic), B Pharm. (ayurvedic) and M Pharm (ayurvedic) are conceived by the Rajasthan Ayurved University (RAU) and are being launched at its ‘Center for Pharmaceutical Education in Ayurved.’

Driving force behind conceptualisation of these programmes has been the fact that at one hand ayurvedic-herbal medicines and healthcare products constitute to be one of the largest and most rapidly growing segment of FMCG sector the world over, at the other, they lack authentication and standardisation.

Also, the manpower available for manufacturing these is not appropriately trained as the courses available in Ayurved, ie BAMS etc, cover very little of pharmaceutical technology whilst the courses available in pharmacy, ie B Pharm etc, do not carry the wisdom of Ayurved. The Green Pharmacy programmes being hybrid of modern pharmaceutical technology and ancient knowledge science of Ayurved offer the best of the modern as well as the ancient.

Wisdom of Ayurved About the origin of Ayurved Sushrut Samhita which is believed to have been written around 500 BC says, “Having seen the short span of life and limited intelligence of men, Bramha composed Ayurved (Tatah alpayushtvamalhedhastvam chalokya, narana bhuyah adhapraritvan).” Other schools of thinking believe that it evolved in an era existed around 5000 BC. Nonetheless, whether Ayurved is eternal or evolved few thousand years back, one thing is undisputed that it is the most ancient system of healthcare, a system that has passed the most rigorous test of the existence ‘the test of time.’

Emphasising the motto of Ayurved another shloka says, ‘‘It is a science having neither a beginning nor an end. It is a divine, eternal, omniscient system encompassing medical science for promotion of universal good (Anadimvyam divyam vyapakam vishyabheshajam, trikalabadhitam nityamayurvedamupasmahe) yet again reiterating that Ayurved is forever and for everybody.

Still, something happened to this system and a system that survived for millenniums as the middle-of-the-road got reduced to ’alternative’ after evolution of modern system of medicine.

The modern system, which is just a few centuries old, is highly influenced by the western philosophy of negation, competitiveness and killer-instinct as is evident from its drug categories that mainly starts with an ‘anti’ prefix. It evolved around the concepts of analysis, isolation and destruction whilst Ayurved had altogether different approach considering the whole cosmos as one entity, and hence, working in the interest of the whole.

As a matter of fact, only whole could be holy, henceforth, well-being is a quest to be harnessed collectively and never in isolation (Sarve bhavantusukhinah, sarve santu niramaya). The evidences with which modern system came forward were so aggressive and subtle that it labelled the Ayurved as nonscientific and non-dependable. Though the problem was not that that Ayurved was not substantial enough, the modern science was not capable enough to understand and appreciate it. It happened like a blind person declaring that sun does not exist.

The modern science was in its infancy, hence, was unable to comprehend and support Ayurved. It is only now, after so much advancement that the modern science is able to understand Ayurved. And ever since it started understanding, it is exclaiming that how this system would have evolved in a time, which appears to have been of stone-age order from the present standards. Perhaps, it is just the beginning and it will take a long way before science evolves sufficient enough to completely verify Ayurved.

Ever-advancing pharma technology

Ayurved is much more than just a medical science. It has its own pharmaceutical system that employs more than hundred dosage forms, out of which some are quite complex and incorporate drug delivery and biotechnological considerations. Since long, modern pharmaceutical technology had been developing around allopathic medicines and its interaction with ayurvedic medicines remained sparse. Perhaps, now it has become so evolved that it would be unfair keeping Ayurved deprived from it any more.

(To be concluded)
Prof Singh is the founder VC of RAU and has earlier been Dean, Faculty of Ayurved at BHU. Dr Gupta is member, Select Subject Committee at RAU and Head, Department of Pharmaceutics at LMCST