In English
Doctors have to practise with devotion
Note that the science of medicine, practised by doctors in India is known by the sacred name of - the science of healthy longevity Its source too is as divine as the source of the ! It has to be studied with as much awe and veneration as the are learnt, at the feet of the . It has to be practised with as much devotion and dedication as Vedhic ceremonies and recitations are fulfilled. The Veda or knowledge that confers (longevity) is . It can prolong life, preserve and protect life from hazards. The deals not only with the curing of illness but it also deals with the prevention of disease. Absence of mental ease and equanimity leads to what we correctly call disease. One sacred duty of the doctor is to advise persons on how to preserve health and prevent disease. He has to be vigilant in society to discover and suppress every tendency in and (food habits and recreational activities) by which diseases are developed. The dress worn by humans, the houses where they live and the areas where they are situated, have to be tidy and clean. The food that is taken has to supply all elements.needed to keep the body strong enough to resist illness. Even if it falls short a little in this respect, health can be maintained if it is unpolluted, pure and holy. The atmosphere breathed in, the water taken in, the ground lived on, the animals and plants that surround - all have maleficent microbes that may cause illness, if the mind and body are not equipped with powerful resistance armour. Exercise, bathing, washing, cleaning, etc., are prescribed for this purpose. The body is the boat on which we voyage across the ocean of (worldly life) and it has to be kept trim and sea-worthy. The voyager too has to be strong, confident and courageous. The current belief is that medicine is to be valued for its validity during illness. Its use ends with the cure. But this point of view has to change. Medicine is used to see that one does not fall ill, not so much as to raise him up when he falls, just as the purpose of truth is to so live that one is not subjected to birth again.