As a person born in this country, we all naturally and intuitively perceive the power of traditional systems - be it healthcare or education or governance.
Yet, decade on decade, and now year on year, it has moved from a well practiced, well understood "power" to a folklore, even derided by newly western educated masses as wodoo in many cases.
Coming from an economist viewpoint, and that too with a technology background, I too had similar starting point of views- a blank slate unaware of thousands of years of passed on wisdom and natural assets.
As time passed, and my own efforts to grow forests graduated to a one of surrendering to nature and let it grow or perish by itself, it was inevitable that all the previously held notions were going to be under my own scrutiny.
First very obvious observations were that wild animals, and to some extent tribals and mountain folks were so much healthier, and bodily powerful , compared to those living modern urban lifestyle. The Bliss of a healthy body was an irrefutable evidence that most humans were trapped by their minds into giving up this bliss for fear of losing out on benefits of scientific progress.
But could science leave out such powerful observations, and bring them to destruction? As I spoke to many scientists, it was evident that science was not to blame. It was a devilish combination of unreal or mayavi forces of business, economics with its facade currency that were using science and its face, to gain power over a well organised natural system. Education, healthcare and their periodical threats and solutions and isolated success stories, were the entry points.
Science exists at many levels. At the very top, or in its purity, it acknowledges that even Relativity or Quantum theories will not suffice. It tries to interpret complex multivariable, multi outcome theories, and is ready to even test against proof. Such scientists are ever aware of how termites are critical to human existence.
On mediocre level, it becomes a one input one positive result, kind of science. This was the zone of businesses, medical systems, etc. They called it magic, and hid or never imagined all the negative outcomes of each input. This mediocre layer of educated folks, in pursuit of its own greatness, was the best ally of exploitative forces.
At lower level, science or development had found utility. Rapidly, that utility transformed to a path to avoid or come out of poverty. Few could see that poverty was a monetary term, and entirely artificial concept that can be directed by allocation of resources through equally artificial laws, and baseless printing of money.
Looking outside this edifice, it was clear that a lot of human knowledge had been ignored to support the above structure.
When I looked at the state of such knowledge and associated assets, it was clear that it was not just left to languish. It was being plundered at no cost, since the custodians and the practitioners , themselves had been compromised to believe its insignificance.
( I have written other brief articles in the same blog site, on Tragedy of Ayurveda, and Wealth transfer thru education and healthcare, and list of Medicinal plants found in central India, that may also add here.)
Most intellectuals and social activists, who could care, were busy fighting for socialism, democracy, human rights, education , etc. Their minds could not see the larger picture of plunder, despite folks like Rabindra Nath Tagore, Gandhi, warning about it. And so the discourse too was lost for a very long time, till loot started reaching a boundary barrier (Read Kardashev's limit to this exploitation).
Coming back the traditional wellness system in the backdrop of this system, I first had lost hope.
For one, I realized that the loss of ecosystem also meant loss of herbal wealth. I assumed that would take decades to bring it back to sustainable levels.
Second, the loss of ecosystem meant that skills and knowledge were not being practiced even in remote forested areas. A system that had formed the primary and secondary wellness and healthcare system, at no cost to planet or to country, and one which had formed over a long period of civilization, had been lost in quick time.
It looked like a doomed situation.
Yet as it is said, if you have true quest, a guru appears. So gurus after gurus started appearing. In Another article, I have written how a Peepal tree was my first guru. That immediately told me that massive wealth not only still exists, but it can come back in quick time.
More masters appeared, some holding just enough knowledge of a functional traditional therapy e.g. Marma chikitsa. But more than enough for a demo of it vast power.
The some scientists shared that DNA structures of a medicinal plant getting rare and another one still abundant are almost identical, and so are their ability to benefit other bodies like humans. I have written another article on biological currencies that allow exchanges between nature.
Replenished with such knowledge, and a quest across societies to find a sustainable answer to livelihoods and survival, it appears that the rejuvenation of traditional wellness systems is not only possible in quick time, but also inevitable.