Practising Siddha Medicine

Auroville Today: Why did you, an allopathic doctor, take up Siddha medicine?

Dr. Sharavanan: Allopathy is basically a sort of a stop gap arrangement. It has its value in emergencies and essential surgeries. But it generally falls short in the treatment of chronic diseases such as diabetes, arthritis, hypertension, etc. I’ve found that Siddha provides much better healing as it goes to the root of the disease. In Siddha I look at the patient in a holistic way, both body and mind, whereas in allopathy, I would only be looking organ-wise or specialty-wise. But Siddha doesn’t offer miracle cures. Acute cases can be treated relatively quickly. But the treatment of chronic problems takes time. And in advanced cases of Parkinson’s and cancer, we’ll need to use allopathic treatment methods. In such cases, Siddha medicine can only be complimentary. But you need to know how that can fit in.

When you look at a patient in a holistic way, do you use the dosha system of Ayurveda?

Yes, I do. But it’s rather the other way round. The concept of doshas was first developed in Siddha medicine, because Siddha is more ancient than Ayurveda. The Tolkappiyam, the oldest palm leaf manuscript in existence, written in old Tamil, has Siddha medical texts; it dates from around 3,000 BCE. The Siddhars (who attained perfection) were the progenitors of the Siddha system of medicine. The Siddha system was reportedly able to diagnose 4,448 kinds of diseases, through three doshas, Vata, Pitta and Kapha, ten gases and five elements of nature – earth, water, fire, air and ether. This indigenous medical system of the Tamils has been found to be very effective in curing chronic diseases which allopathy fails to do.

Doesn’t Ayurveda claim a 5,000 year old history, based on the Rig and other Vedas?

(Laughs) Let’s not go into that controversy. Ayurveda and Siddha developed in different parts of India, Ayurveda in the North and in Kerala, Siddha exclusively in Tamil Nadu. The systems have developed on identical lines, but there are some conceptual differences and the medicines differ due to regional variations because of the availability of herbs. And as all the Siddha texts are exclusively in the Tamil language, Siddha has been restricted to Tamil Nadu and to places in the world where Tamil speaking people live, such as Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. But today, it is also being practiced in other states of India. It’s becoming popular.

How do you evaluate a person?

When a patient walks into my room, I first determine the constitution, the dosha, the patient was born with. That can be judged from the person’s appearance, the way they speak and from a few other indicators. But what we treat in Siddha is based on the current dosha, the dosha which is prominent at the time the patient comes for healing, and which can be different from the dosha at birth due to many factors and influences, such as the person’s lifestyle, the food choices, the living and work environment and so on.

I then read the person’s pulse (Nadi diagnosis), which usually gives a fair understanding of the imbalance in the body. If necessary, I use urine diagnosis (Nei Kuri). That’s a diagnostic method where some urine of the patient is put in a Petri dish. Then a drop of ghee or sesame oil is put on to the urine. The shape the ghee or oil takes – for example a pearl or a ring – is a good pointer to the existence of a certain disease. I use allopathic investigation methods such as blood test, x-ray or scan if I think that is necessary, but not routinely as is often done in allopathy.

Once the disease has been diagnosed, I prescribe specific Siddha medicines for healing or for mitigating the disease’s effects. I also prescribe a change of diet, e.g. what foods to take and what foods should be avoided. In some cases, especially when it comes to mind related problems, I prescribe homeopathic medicines, as I am also a qualified homeopathic doctor. I would also suggest Asanas or Pranayama if necessary.

Siddha initially included surgery. Is surgery still being practiced as part of Siddha?

Not anymore. Because of the advancement of surgery in the allopathic field, this has dwindled out. Until recently there was a family living near Pondicherry whose members practiced Siddha eye surgery for generations.

How is it that you have started giving consultations in Auroville?

I run a Siddha clinic in Pondicherry. Quite a few Aurovilians have come there, some for more than 20 years. As the trip to Pondicherry became inconvenient for elderly people, and as more Aurovilians started showing interest in Siddha healing, I was requested to come to Auroville twice a week. It’s working out well. Many people benefit, also as the Siddha medicines are much cheaper than allopathic medicines.

Websites such as Wikipedia abound in labelling Indian medicinal systems as ‘pseudo-science’. What’s your take on this?

Personally I’m not bothered because I know they work, and work well. But I have also seen a slowly increasing acceptance of these systems in the West. Actually, there is more opposition to Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homeopathy from allopathic doctors in India than in the West. The Ministry of AYUSH has been trying to develop medical institutions where all systems of medicine would be together, but this has not yet taken off. The main reasons are the difference in the philosophies of practice; disparities in the approach to specific clinical conditions; and ethical issues such as unfriendly relationships between practitioners of different systems. But this may change. The AYUSH Ministry has done much work to promote the Indian systems and I think they will increasingly be accepted by the Indian allopathic establishment.