Healing Modalities, Faith and Our Societal Biases

The prevailing wisdom in today’s world holds that science has understood enough about the etiology of disease to be able to intervene and take steps to mitigate or cure disease using drugs or even, at the cutting edge, various forms of genetic intervention. The practitioners of that science envision a day when they will be able to change the genetic makeup of an individual to eliminate certain diseases, or even use this science to alter the mechanism of disease. Modern vaccines, using recombinant RNA, are used to awaken the immune system to a potential future threat and thereby forewarn and forearm the body against that disease. Research in monoclonal antibodies is being used to provide protection against certain illnesses, and new antiviral medicines are developed to prevent viruses from reproducing in the body, thereby aiding the immune system. All of this science is based on a specific line of understanding of biology and physiology, and certainly provides a distinct line of development over time that many people have come to trust and rely on. What is not heavily discussed, however, are potential side effects and unintended consequences, nor are other approaches considered valid even if they have a long history of success.

It is true that concurrently, Western science is exploring and developing the use of lasers, concentrated beams of light energy, to effectuate certain treatments, as well as using radiation therapies, and even various dietary and lifestyle regimens to address certain chronic imbalances. Entheogenic substances have also started to be explored as a means toward understanding and treating various conditions. Clearly there is room for other ways of understanding and approaching the issue of health and wellness.

Indigenous people around the globe have explored various other ways of understanding human health, wellness and physical balance and harmony. Prayer and faith healing, the use of various forms of sound therapy through the chanting of various sounds or mantras, the use of various physical asanas, specific dietary regimens including in some cases the use of herbs, meditation and harnessing the power of the mind and the will are just a few of the methods seen in the ancient traditions. Of more recent vintage, but nevertheless shown effective in certain cases is the use of homeopathic remedies which do not rely on “active ingredients” the way Western medicine does, but on ‘energetic response’ of the body at more subtle levels.

Ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine, shamanic healers all have a long history and show successful outcomes where practiced with understanding and faith. In fact, we see a resurgence of interest in these traditional modalities, even in the West, as the implications and unintended consequences of the Western approach become more obvious.

These unintended consequences include in some cases serious imbalances, disease conditions, even death of the patient, not to speak of the high cost involved, and the chemical waste products that then enter into the environment. Chemicals in the air, land and water, resulting from our modern day romance with chemical products as the cure-all for every problem, are changing the very nature of our physiology, impacting chromosomes, changing hormone balances, etc. In some cases, these waste products actually create mutated disease vectors that become “antibiotic resistant” “superbugs”. Thus, the apparent victory of the Western approach turns into a long-term defeat as the bacteria and virus vectors find ways to survive and thrive faster than Western science can keep up!

What the ancient traditions have found is that there are powers other than physical substances, that can aid us in maintaining physical health and wellness and in restoring that balance when it has somehow been lost. We are already aware of the ability of the mind and will to aid the healing process. Research has actually been done that shows that meditation and yoga can aid in the treatment of cancer. [2014 study published in the journal Cancer, conducted at the University of Calgary and the Alberta Health Services Tom Baker Cancer Center]. In 2019 another study published in Frontiers in Psychology disclosed that those who had meditated for a considerable time had longer telomeres than those who did not meditate. The length of telomeres is related to the aging of the cells, and they shorten as cells age and die. Other studies have found similar results.

There was also a well-advertised case of a surgeon who was diagnosed with advanced cancer and was told he had only a short time to live. He decided to take a leave of absence from his job to sort out his priorities and along the way he met someone who recommended he take up a macrobiotic diet and meditation. He did so, and forgot all about the death sentence hanging over his head as he deepened his focus on his inner growth. He simply forgot to die! [Dr. Anthony Sattilaro’s autobiography Recalled to Life: The Story of My Recovery from Cancer]

It is no great leap to suggest that as we continue to expand our understanding and reflect upon the various different approaches, we could dispense with many of the physical substances and go directly to an energetic approach to healing that relies on the ability to harness the higher and occult powers that we have tended to disregard in our reliance on external support and means of healing. The placebo effect gives us a clue that should be a bright sign for us along this line of approach.

Sri Aurobindo writes in his Thoughts and Aphorisms: “We laugh at the savage for his faith in the medicine man; but how are the civilised less superstitious who have faith in the doctors? The savage finds that when a certain incantation is repeated, he often recovers from a certain disease; he believes. The civilised patient finds that when he doses himself according to a certain prescription, he often recovers from a certain disease; he believes. Where is the difference?”

The Mother observes: “One could say in conclusion that it is the faith of the patient which gives the remedy its power to heal. … If men had an absolute faith in the healing power of Grace, they would perhaps avoid many illnesses.”

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Powers Within, Chapter VI Faith, pp. 54-55