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Monday, Jul 05, 2004

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Neurologist for adopting holistic approach

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR, JULY 4. Going beyond the "numerical correlation'' between science, religion and philosophy, a noted neurologist of Rajasthan has called for adopting a holistic approach towards medical treatment that takes into account spiritual well-being as an important aspect of health. The concept of total health has expanded with the World Health Organisation recently incorporating spiritual well-being as the fourth facet of health, in addition to the physical, mental and social well-being. The neurologist has sought to distinguish between brain and mind while affirming that the latter is the seat of spiritual experience.

Ashok Panagariya, head of the Department of Neurology in Sawai Man Singh Medical College here, told The Hindu today that since the spiritual experience could be associated with distinct neural activity, the concept of "consciousness'' -- the greatest mystery in neurosciences -- could be comprehended fully in near future.

"The experiences that seem to exist outside time and space can be explained by observing the changes in brain and body. For this, we must accept that religion is intimately interwoven with human biology,'' Dr. Panagariya said. This concept has given rise to a new field of neuro-theology that tries to amalgamate science with philosophy and examines spirituality as more than a mystical sense.

Dr. Panagariya -- the recipient of several prestigious awards during his career spanning three decades -- pointed out that taking care of spiritual well-being as a tool of healing would help treat the fast-spreading lifestyle-related diseases caused by modern living and decaying environment. "We are paying a heavy price for going on a fast track imitating the West and forgetting our values,'' he said, while affirming that spirituality had the capacity to provide the highest level of contentment, satisfaction and serenity to the patients. It was a state of mind when the "inner world'' was filled with pure thoughts, pleasure and relaxation, he added.

The neurologist said the state was generally achieved through meditation or extreme involvement and engrossment in an act or thought process. A lesser mortal can experience this bliss for a short while, but when someone achieves this state permanently, he is said to have acquired "Gyana'' (knowledge) and completed his spiritual journey. "What Gautam Buddha achieved after the Bodhi tree experience, or Prophet Mohammed after the revelation in the cave in Mount Hira, or Vivekananda and Adi Shakaracharya by their own methods was probably this particular state of mind,'' Dr. Panagariya said while trying to link neurology and spirituality in a scientific perspective. Against this backdrop, Dr. Panagariya has for the first time examined the relationship of spirituality with destiny and deeds and concluded that the "initial capital'' of man -- as propounded in the Indian philosophy -- was nothing but the genetic make-up of an individual.

While the higher initial capital led to Vivekananda's and Sankaracharya's success at younger age, the Karma (deeds) could modify the expression of the genetic make-up, said the neurologist. The ability of spiritual existence has a positive modifying effect on the initial capital, according to him. Referring to the dualistic and congruent approaches to the human brain and mind, Dr. Panagariya pointed out that the area and circuitry of brain which had been hypothesised as mind had a strong presence in spiritual experience. Many changes in neural activities occur when people are praying or meditating, but similar activities are also noticed during the acts of deeper engrossment.

Dr. Panagariya expressed the hope that neuro-theology would bridge the gap between science and religion in the coming decades and help the medical scientists, philosophers and religious leaders understand the intricacies of spiritual experience. "Spirituality and religion are not synonymous, but spiritual experience is definitely a part of the larger domain -- the religion,'' he said.

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