Graha Chikitsa 2
Ayurveda has a classical clinical branch called Graha-chikitsa or Bhoota-vidya. Graha or Bhoota is evil spirit that affects the people. Ancient India had many superstitions. The belief that evil spirits affect people was one such superstition deep-rooted in Indian society. But Ayurveda has identified possession syndrome as a problem of a sick mind.
Seers like Charaka were bold enough to declare that those who believed evil spirits affect and possess human beings are unfit to be practicioners of psychiatry. According to Ayurveda, possession syndrome (graaha-badha) is a personality disorder prompted by the guilt complex in the background of feeble mindedness. The guilty person subconsciously suffers a sudden total change in his personality. This may be due to three longings: violence (himsa), sex (rathi), and respect (archana). Those who cannot satisfy these naturally tend to show the personality change. Treatment involves providing satisfaction in these areas except violence.
Ayurveda has well understood the psycho-somatic relation. The role of psychic factor, even in the production of physical illness such as fever, diarrhoea and vomitting is mentioned in our treatises.
Ayurveda has detailed etiological factors of mental disease in the most scientific manner. Ayurveda uses medicines, psychotherapy and religious rituals and practices to treat mental diseases. A healthy body could lodge a healthy mind, purification of the body is also important in treating mental diseases. The religious rituals are to be performed by a priest and not by the physician.
According to Ayurveda, out of the three major attributes of the universe viz. Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, the last two are condsidered as mental pollutants (maanasa dosha).
- Sattva represents knowledge and love and hence is a virtue, not a pollutant.
- Rajas represents arrogance, hatred and action. It causes anger.
- Tamas represents inertia and ignorance. It causes fear, laziness and sleep.
Both rajas and tamas operate together to cause mental diseases. An interesting thing to note that Ayurvedic formulations used in mental diseases have a broad spectrum of indications and can be used to treat various mental disease.
