The Preface
A tiny town on the Western coasts of Gujarat. It was 7:30 in the evening, but the city stood splendid with colors as the sunlight was still lighting up the city. It is thrilling that the sun sets pretty late in this part of the country. ‘Chandu’s Pan Ki Dukaan‘, a little shop in the Northern corner of the street was packed with men of almost all ages. This was the scene every evening as it was not just another Pan and Tea shop, but a hangout hub for the men in the town where they exchanged news and thoughts and definitely some gossips. A few minutes spent there would equip the visitors with all the updates in and around the town, in such a way that the local news channels and newspapers would sit aside.
Thanks to the pandemic, now the chitchat sessions at ‘Chandu’s‘ were a little more organized. To avoid crowding, each group had fixed their individual timings and measures of social distancing were also observed. Today’s hot plate, that was served in group after group at ‘Chandu’s’, was about the sons of ‘Maheshwariji’, who was a leading industrialist in the region and owned quite a few dyeing and printing mills. Vasudev Maheshwari, had stepped into his old age and was busy enjoying life with their grandchildren and nurturing his philanthropist wife’s dreams and thus the old couple never missed to visit the brothers and sisters at their charity hospital at least twice a week. The hospital was named after his wife’s father, Vaidya Agnivesh.
His elder son Vimal had got into his father’s shoes and the fabric industry was now being taken to newer heights by him. The younger son Anurag and his only daughter Shweta were settled with their respective families in the United States. Anurag was an Investment Banker and Shweta with her husband ran a restaurant.
The hot news in the town was that America returned son of the family had somehow escaped from the deadly claws of the pandemic from the foreign land and this is a homecoming for the Pardesi and he with his family would be staying back, forever and joining their family business. But what was exciting and new among the talks was that this Pardesi had come up with some kind of a health plan in association with the medical team at their charity hospital for the children of the town. So that we have a healthier next generation, strong enough to fight against and withstand any similar health challenges, that may arise in future.
At The Maheshwari Mansion
The US returned son of the house was showing the concern about the people round the world suffering daily with the fresh blows of the pandemic. How every year his family luckily escaped the Winter Flu by following the lifestyle and diet as directed by his Ayurveda doctor friends. And how the different Kaadhaas packed and sent by their beloved mother helped them revive from mild to moderate fever, cold and cough, so that the condition didn’t get worsened to seek any emergency medical aid. And he also specified how their family survived this pandemic with very mild symptoms where as their other friends suffered serious health problems and were left behind with fatigue and very much reduced quality of life even after surviving the acute infection. He spoke a million words about the ‘Herbo-gold’ preparations given to his children in their childhood by their great grandfather which may have been the one reason that they were infected much lesser than the other kids of their age with the seasonal flues.
So to keep that tradition alive and to pacify his philanthropist thirst, that runs through his veins, he was all set to do something for the society, for the future India. All the members of the family listened and agreed to him in unison.
His mother who was keenly observing her son’s zeal, asked him that how exactly was he going to execute everything? As an answer to this, both brothers spoke up together and said “Don’t worry Mother we will not trouble you for making all those medicinal powders, lickables and decoctions of yours. As our charity hospital is blessed with a handful of young, enthusiastic, professional Ayurvedic Physicians and they have agreed to organize everything.” On hearing that, mother gave a thoughtful smile to her sons.
The Proceedings
So, as the next step a meeting of certain responsible social figures of the town was called upon to convey the methodology of the campaign. As all meetings were held at their house only, their mother was a silent participant in everything, and she came to know that they were planning a Rasayana Therapy for the children. She was very happy on hearing that.
What is Rasayana?
After all the official meetings, in the evening, mother asked her sons, what made them think about this Rasayana in children? The elder son replied that, as told by the team of Ayurvedic physicians, Rasayana is the Rejuvenation Therapy, which aims at maintaining the human body at its healthiest peak and as a healthy body is the resort of a healthy mind, this may be the perfect health maintenance that could be thought about. And to build a healthy and wealthy nation we wish to pioneer this kind of a movement.
Why Rasayana in Children?
On hearing that, mother asked, “but why doing rejuvenation therapy in children? They already are young and their bodies also relatively fresher?” Now the younger one flung over, he said to their mother that, even they were doubtful about this earlier but the Ayurvedic team showed them solid classical references from the precious treatises of Ayurveda, which clearly mentioned about starting Rasayana at a tender age and not at all in the old age.
“Moreover, rather than immunizing against each pathogen, isn’t it smarter to think about upgrading the stamina of the body, so that immune system becomes strong enough to recognize and fight against any kind of a foreign invasion. Though the immunization against the most prevalent diseases is a must have.” Their mother was quite impressed that her children were not simply beating around the bush.
Detoxify Before Rejuvenation?
After a pause, their mother said, “my dear sons I have heard my father say that any Rasayana Therapy must be preceded by a detoxification procedure called the Panchakarma Therapy. What are your plans about that?” Hearing that the younger son said that though such a thing was suggested by one of the experts but the idea was dropped as it would consume a lot of time and energy and the scheduled immunity boosting program may not get a mass participation, as everyone wants things to be simply accessible. This answer was not welcomed by their mother and she stressed upon a detoxification before the Rasayana campaign. Days passed by and the preparations were going on at faster rates. Both sons asked their mother to keep calm, and keep herself content at that old age and thus children in the family were made to spend more time with their grandma.
Is Something Wrong With Mother?
As days moved on, the elder daughter in-law of the house started noticing few changes in the behaviour of their beloved mother, and informed her husband. “These days our mother is busy playing with the kids and dyeing clothes in different colors.”
Vimal smiled on hearing this and said, “Oh! My dearest wife, these colors run in our blood, dyeing fabrics is our ancestral profession. Mother may be just showing the basic, manual, traditional methods of dyeing to the kids.” She was not convinced with the response and requested her husband to stay back home the next day, just till the noon and to see for himself.
Is That Actually A Muddy Game ?
The dawn of the next day broke into the Maheshwari Mansion. As the Sun arose the little party was seen playing in the backyard of the mansion. Kids happily playing in mud, which obviously is their universal favorite. But there was something peculiar. They were not simply playing. It seemed as if they were doing something that was already assigned to them.
Why Dyeing The Muddy Cloth?
One of them would get a white cloth and another one would wet that piece of cloth in muddy water and hand it over to their grandma who would spread it neatly under the sun, when dried, we heard her ask one of the kids, “Which color do you want?” Then she took that dirty dried cloth and started dyeing it blue. This was weird, taking a muddy cloth for dyeing ! Then the eldest of the children came to her with a red cloth, this little soul was irritated and unhappy. She said, “Grandma this is for the second time you are giving me improperly colored cloth. Is this how Grandpa’s men dye the clothes at our firm? If so, definitely we are going to be sued.” Witnessing this much drama was the height of Vimal’s tolerance. He rushed to the back yard and reassured the child, “no my child we don’t dye fabrics this way. In fact our fabrics are world famous for their quality and vividity.”
The Fire Under The Ashes !
Turning to his mother Vimal asked, “what for the heaven’s sake has happened to you? Mother I know you are not unaware about the fundamentals of dyeing, which is nothing but the cleanliness of the cloth used. No dyeing would be appropriate if the fabric is not clean. “On hearing this, she said, “you can’t dye a dirty cloth but you can do Rasayana Therapy in a dirty body, right?”Finishing these words as usual she started reciting some hymn.
Hearing those lyrics entered the younger son Anurag with another person who was a senior Ayurveda Consultant and had come along on his request to clear some doubts regarding the proposed campaign. Hearing their mother’s hymn, the guest asked Anurag, when you had such a knowledgeable person in your house, why did you come searching for me at all? What this wise lady just recited, itself is the answer to the query you made over the phone.”
By this time the entire house was in the backyard, hearing the doctor’s words everyone was taken aback. The head of the family, Vasudev Maheshwari took few steps towards the guest and introduced himself. He said, “Sir, this lady about whom you just commented is my wife. She’s the loving mother of my three children and my lifetime companion and sorry for the misconception, she is not a learned person, as you know education in our generation was not everyone’s cup of tea, especially for ladies of those days. Hearing this, the senior doctor said, “what you said may be right, but with my experience of long years of teaching and practicing Ayurveda, I doubt your statement.
Every Truth Shows Itself Some Day !
“Let’s confirm it right now”, came up Vimal backed by his father too. The doctor asked the wise lady, “Oh! Respectful lady of the family, can you please explain what made you to chant those verses in Sanskrit?”. This question was the next shock to the family. The eldest daughter in-law of the house came forward and said, “ was that Sanskrit?, I have heard mother chant such hymns now and then, but I thought those were parts of some prayer song she byhearted in her childhood.”
As the answer to everyone’s quest the lady of the house started to open up, layer after layer.
‘‘अविशुद्धे शरीरे हि युक्तो रासायनो विधिः।
वाजीकरो वा मलिने वस्त्र्रे रग्ङ इवाफलः।।’’
‘‘मलिनं हि वस्त्र्रं न रज्यते।’’
These are the verses I chanted, which is nothing but the theoretical representation of the muddy game I played with my lovely grand children. I appreciate the initiative of the Rasayana Campaign for our children that you are planning for. But I strongly believe that in today’s situation even the newborn’s body is impure because of the improper diet and lifestyle of the mother. These young children who are fed upon on almost every fancied thing on the earth, except some real healthy, natural, wholesome diet. How could we expect the Rasayana to show its real effect on their bodies and mind when the primary and the most important step itself is skipped.”
“Moreover this is a first of it’s kind venture and I think that’s why only, everything should be dealt with utmost care. Because for a careless mistake of ours, the entire science of Ayurveda, would have to pay off. Which has been fighting for ages just to make it’s presence known. But on the other hand if we succeed in helping influencing the commonest men of the country, we can shine like never before in this era as the entire world sits with eyes fixed on us.”
The Re-Incarnation
Hearing all this, the two sons came running to their mother and asked, “When did you learn all that mother? And why didn’t you ever reveal this to us?” The daughter in-laws came forward and asked, “why didn’t you ever try to practice the knowledge you have gained, not doing so, didn’t you walk away from your Karma?”
Mother was smiling, listening to all her curious children, she looked at her companion of life from a distance and said, “I am sorry that I didn’t mention about my medical training which I received from my father right from the first day I remember of my life, so it was much of life to me, than a profession. And moreover this is the science of life itself ”. The doctor nodded his head in favor of the words.
And who says I ran away from my Karma, you may ask your father, right from the day I entered this house, to this date I can very confidently say that no one had to go to a hospital other than for some surgical emergencies.” At this point everyone in the house started to flash back their memories. The elder son said, “Oh! Mother, what I thought was God’s grace, actually was the result of your work for the people in the family. My kids have never seen a doctor, only Grandma’s Kadhaas cured them. Oh! God… so blessed are we.” The younger one also joined him and said, “those tiny packs of some home remedies that you sent for us, from time to time were real medicines ???, Oh! Mother, you are the ultimate. Let’s redesign the program, what do you say doctor?” He enquired turning to the senior physician.
Operation Rasayana Reloaded !!!
So, everything was scrutinized again and a detoxification schedule prior to the Rasayana Therapy was planned. Before letting all the volunteers know this the brothers discussed the entire strategy with their mother.
What is Panchakarma?
Anurag asked his mother to explain little more about the detoxification of body. Hearing this, their mother asked them, “have you heard of Panchakarma?” Anurag answered, “yes mother it is some kind of a relaxation massage etc. and is quite famous globally, especially the Panchakarma of Kerala.” Mother said, “This is the most serious problem, that things are wrongly grasped among the people.”
She continued, “Panchakarma is actually a purificatory therapy. It cleanses the body of the morbid dosas called the Vata, Pitta and Kapha. It is a combination of 5 procedures called – Vamana – Induced Therapeutic Vomiting , Virechana – Induced Therapeutic Diarrhea, Vasti – Therapeutic Enema, Nasya – Therapeutic removal of dosas from the head by instilling medicines through the nostril, Raktha moksha – Therapeutic Letting of Blood.”
“There is no place for the oil massage, as you said among the Panchakarma. Oil massage and induced sweating, using steaming techniques are just the pre-requisite steps of Panchakarma, and not at all the main procedure.”
Is Panchakarma Done In Children?
“Why not? The Ayurvedic classics explain that the procedure of Vamana is performed as the very first procedure in the neonate immediately after birth, to prevent any further complication like pneumonia that may arise due to aspiration of the fluid in the womb of the mother. The great sage Kasyapa, who is the classical pediatrician, in his treatise called the Kasyapa Samhita has clearly explained about the various times and conditions where Panchakarma is performed in children of different ages depending of the strength of their body and the strength of the disease. And Ayurvedic pediatricians do practice it.”
“Vimal, do you remember once when your daughter Gayatri had some kind of an itchy, oozy skin disease on her scalp and she vomited out all the milk that I made her drink early in the morning. And, you were so irritated that why I gave her so much of milk for the first time, that too so early in the morning. But, dear son, do you remember, it’s been 4-5 years now, but she hasn’t suffered from it ever again. That is the highlight of Panchakarma. It can uproot the total disease from the body. And in case of Gayatri, It is an induces vomiting. As a little child she used to suffer from those skin disorders now and then, also she had that cough and chest congestions all the time. That’s why I planned to conduct a Vamana – induced vomiting, for her. That jaggery paste with some herbs that I prepared for her after that vomiting episode, which she loved so much to have every day, for almost a month, was nothing but the Rasayana. Now you realize, why the detoxification is so important? Your daughter itself is the best example.”
Hearing this Vimal’s wife said, “Mother is right that lickable was very effective for Gayatri, as she has never got back those respiratory and skin complaints again. Oh! Mother, you are the true divine healer for our family, actually next to God.”
The Happy Ending And A New Beginning!
- The entire campaign was redesigned and executed as Panchakarma and Rasayana Therapy.
- The participation was much massive than the expected.
- The review and follow up was well organized and patient friendly.
- Future ventures were on the cards.
- The Mother of the house now had an official chamber in the Charity Hospital, with a sign board – ‘Vaidya Ayushmati Maheshwari, Chairperson’, which was a gift from the legend, Vasudev Maheshwari to his wife.
- The chamber always remained empty as, the mother Ayushmati was always busy in putting together her home.
- But one change that had happened was that, the Maheshwari Mansion was now the second home to many young, enthusiastic, passionate torch bearers of the Divine Science called Ayurveda.