This document discusses key differences between Ayurveda and Western medicine in their approaches to research, diagnosis, treatment objectives, and evidence-based practice. It emphasizes that the goal of Ayurvedic research and treatment is to fully reverse a patient's morbidity by addressing underlying causes, not just alleviate symptoms. Ayurveda diagnoses seek to understand each unique patient and environment, while Western medicine focuses more on distinguishing diseases. The document argues that Ayurveda should be researched and practiced according to its own principles and not integrated with other medical systems without deep learning.

1. AYURVEDA IS NOT WHAT YOU
THINK
Dr. Remya Krishnan MD PhD
The Co-pioneer of SBEBA

2. RESEARCH IN AYURVEDA
• In Ayurveda , research is technically termed as pareeksha
• The very objective of research in Ayurveda is attaining Pratipattijnana.
• Pratipattijnana is technically defined as the knowledge of those specific
components of science of Ayurveda with regard to human subject and his
external environment, disease and medicine which when applied correctly
would instantly reverse the cause mechanisms of existing morbid condition in
the subject leading to health of the subject
• Ayurveda specifically emphasizes upon the need to conduct research also
specified that only a physician who does scientific research would only excel
in profession

3. Objective of research in Ayurveda
• Research in Ayurveda is not meant to develop “ this medicine in that disease”.
• Research in Ayurveda is to discover the most optimised application of
diagnostic and treatment principles of science of Ayurveda to reverse the
ENTIRE morbidity of the subject and thus enabling him to attain health.
• A subject might have multiple interlinked pathologies at the same time which
could be developed as a continuation of first developed disease pathology
unresolved or as a result of a method employed to treat the same or by both.
• It is therefore not possible to focus one disease alone in a subject with multiple
ones, if the intention is to enable him to get rid of morbidity because disease is
existing in dynamic human being and not a machine

4. Underlying difference in diagnosis
• Diagnosis in Ayurveda invariably differ from that of western medicine
• Diagnosis in western medicine is the process of determining which disease
explain a person’s signs and symptoms while diagnosis of Ayurveda is the
process of determining the nature (by signs and symptoms), mode of onset,
cause and course of the disease in relation to the internal and external
environment of the subject which constantly modify the nature of disease and
the subject as well.
• In western medicine, it is the disease which is discriminated and distinguished
by the diagnosis while in Ayurveda , it is the patient and his unique
environment which is distinguished by diagnosis

5. Difference in the objective of treatment
• The objective of drugs in Modern Medicine is emerging benefits outweighing
risks in the moment while that of Ayurveda is reversal of cause mechanisms of
disease and emerging health.
• The science of western medicine treats the body as a biochemical machine
and physicians as technicians who intend to repair the faults by doing some
adjustments.
• The approach of healing is the sick is replaced by the approach of making
patient comfortable as much as possible .
• The research papers on Medicine discuss the working of drugs and not healing
of patient

6. Underlying difference in approach of treatment
• First and foremost, it is only treatment and not any adjustment possible with
Ayurvedic science
• Hence identifying the initiating cause mechanisms responsible for chain of pathogenesis
based on unique environment of every subject is the crucial most part of Ayurvedic
diagnosis and reversal of the same is the sole method of Ayurveda in management.
• In Western Medicine at the same time , the drug treatment is mostly focused on the
blocking, suppressing, altering enzymes, hormones, channels, immune mechanisms etc ‘
• The use of such kind of drugs for doing different adjustments is given as prominence in
treatment and many times this necessitates polypharmacy to block/ suppress/ modify
pathologies of various system in variable manner.

7. Evidence Based Medicine
• Evidence Based Medicine in Ayurveda is not the data of benefit risks of unknown
compound/ treatment after administering the same in an unknown/ less known
population.
• Evidence Based Medicine in Ayurveda which is Ayurvedic science based is the very
foundation of practice of Ayurvedic science based Medicine . It recommends all the
doctors to engage in a continuous process of education in order to select and apply
the optimised evidence from the science to understand and reverse the particular
clinical situation in particular subject .
• Or in other words, physician of Ayurveda should be thoroughly conscious of every pros
and cons of his therapeutic decision and action which is to be based on transparent and
reproducible innate logics of the science

8. Evidence Based Medicine
• Evidence Based Medicine of Ayurveda is of two levels- the Primary and the
Secondary ones
• The primary evidence is entirely meant for the physician who must intellectually
depend upon accurate and appropriate contemplation and translation of
appropriate Science Based Evidence ( SBE) to the clinical situation and employ it
pertinently for the fasta nd on the target “intended effect”.
• Thus primary evidence is originally the integration of most suited algorithm of
science of Ayurveda to the situation in particular subject and therefore requires
precision, attention and responsibility for the physician

9. IMPORTANCE OF PRIMARY EVIDENCE
• The primary physician oriented evidence of Science Based Medicine is the
powerful most tool with the potential to maximise the quality and scientificity of
Ayurvedic medical practice ultimately to secure fast and intended recovery and
health of the people .
• Faulty employment of primary evidence by the physician will lead to several
medical errors like delay in recovery, aggravation of diseases and absence of
intended effects
• When the primary evidence is faulty or application is flawed , secondary
evidence which is the response of the subject to the primary evidence gets
naturally invalid.

10. Secondary evidence
• Secondary evidence of Evidence Based Medicine of Ayurveda is the highly specific individual
response of the subject towards the applied primary evidence.
• Secondary evidence of effectiveness of treatment is the onset of “intended effect”( not
benefit- risks) in intended time.
• A medicine/ treatment of Ayurveda is not unknown like that of western medicine ;rather it
has documented specific logical strategies ( guidelines and protocols) and standards
explained in Ayurvedic science for their manufacturing , choice and application which are
developed by both basic and applied research for centuries and established by Science
Based Evidences.
• Applied research in Ayurveda is intended for optimising primary science based evidence to
attain the “intended effects” in the subject in all the contemporary disease care situations

11. BASIC DIFFERENCE
• Western Medicine is a science of uncertainity and art of probability while Ayurveda is a
science of logicality and art of predictability.
• Discovering the patient and not merely the disease is the way of Ayurveda and thus paves for
the endless possibilities to explore and reverse the entire morbidity in man instead of doing
analytic reductionism.
• The research in Ayurveda gets scientific only when it terminates conventional stupidity of
analysing whether medicine X works in disease Y and instead intiatiate focus upon the
subject with disease Y and reversal of his morbidity .
• The highly specific and specialized principles of diagnostics and therapeutics in Ayurveda are
not written in a probability setting , rather they are thoroughly explained in an inbuilt science
based on proven algorithms of the inbuilt science of man instead of the very outbuilt
generalized data of population

12. • For all these reasons , Ayurveda is an entirely independent science of man
with its own theoretical and practical solid framework of theorems, laws and
algorithms for its independent mode of decision and application.
• Trying to forcibly interpret or integrate this medical science with that of the
infrastructure of different medical system is foolish and aimless .
• An alien science can never be learnt, mastered and applied by the world
without deep learning and comprehension of the same. There are no short
cuts for it .

13. CONCLUSION MESSAGE
If Ayurveda is not learnt, comprehended, researched and practiced as
Ayurveda , then do not call i Ayurveda