The world was already in the grip of the epidemic when we published a ground-breaking report on the practical action plan for the treatment of COVID-19 through Ayurveda. When it was published online before it was printed on April 23, 2020, people laughed at us. Two of India’s greatest Vaidyas were on our trio of doctors: Padmshri Prof. Dr. Ram Harsh Singh of Banaras Hindu University and Prof. Dr. Sanjeev Rastogi of Lucknow. It is currently the most quoted work on COVID-19 and Ayurveda in the world after saving tens of thousands of lives. Nearly all of the top clinical trials pertaining to Indian medical systems have cited it. In fact, current medical professionals, such as Dr. Naresh Trehan, have also used it as a source of information in their studies. In addition, the Ghar Ghar Aushadhi Yojana (GGAY) of the Rajasthani government used our publication as a major source of support. In this updated assessment of the information that has since accumulated, I address the topic of whether GGAY herbs such as tulsi, kalmegh, ashwagandha, and guguchi can promote overall health and aid in the fight against COVID-19 in particular. Is it a concern that families would wonder how to use these plants? Information has already been made available with assistance from the Department of Ayurveda. However, we must be careful not to fall into the medicalization of Ayurveda’s traps. Vaidyas can give us knowledge.
Ayurveda is the source of even the widely publicized non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19, such as isolation, social seclusion, and healthy lifestyles. It is erroneously believed that these originate from Europe in the 14th century. Actually, these were created in India in the fifth century BC. A renowned teacher and monarch of Kashi named Lord Dhanvantari taught his students how infectious diseases spread and what needed to be done to stop the social spread of infections in the city that is now known as Varanasi. One of the pupils in the program was Sushruta, a renowned expert in Ayurveda and surgery. He wrote one of the earliest surgical scientific treatises ever known to mankind. Sushruta became the father of surgery thanks to this work, currently known as the Sushruta Samhita. Sushruta makes the following observations about infectious diseases: Contact with the infected person’s body, breathing in the air that contains the patient’s exhaled breath, eating, sleeping, and sitting together, using clothes, garlands, and cosmetics that have been used by an infected person – all these actions spread diseases like skin infections, fever from infections, pulmonary tuberculosis, ophthalmia or conjunctivitis, and other contagious diseases. As a result, total avoidance of these behaviors is required to stop the spread of contagious diseases within the population. What is the next step, then? Only when a scientific enterprise produces knowledge that is solid, unquestionable, and irrefutable does science develop. This is true for both Western medicine and Ayurveda. It’s crucial to recognize that the main goal of every healthcare system now in use is to give its adherents the best possible care. The fact that a healthcare system has been continuously used and passed down knowledge for more than five millennia testifies to the potential value it may hold. For the sake of humanity as a whole, there should be a stop to the ongoing hostilities between vaidyas and allopaths. The COVID-19 problems are difficult, diverse, and recalcitrant. Therefore, we need to make decisions that are supported by data on a variety of fronts. Recognizing that scientific study has reinforced the body of evidence is a step in the right direction, but Ayurveda would not have endured for 5,000 years if it were not based on science.
It is in fact unscientific to dismiss the evidence from recent studies as well as the generations of practice-based evidence. Instead of being dominated by western medicine, which today lacks both directions and proof, we must draw from all systems of knowledge.