Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the National Ayurveda Summit 2014 in Gandhinagar, on the morning of 25th February, 2014. The Summit is being organized by the Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of Gujarat.
Addressing a large gathering of Ayurveda practitioners, representing the 26 states of India, Shri Modi spoke of how the untapped potential of Ayurveda had significant scope in the future as the concept of holistic healthcare was increasingly being adopted by people across the globe. He stated that along with giving emphasis to the practitioners, an equal focus must be laid on the Ayurveda medicine manufacturers.
Speaking on promoting Ayurveda through better application of technology, Shri Modi highlighted how branding and packaging of the vast base of Ayurvedic medicines, and the extensive knowledge of Ayurveda, would escalate their demand across the globe and thereby increase our exports. “We have lot of talent but we need to present it to the world in the most modern manner. We need to present our technology to the world in the language in which they understand. The Hathi Commission was called for improving the packaging for Ayurveda. If China is exporting it, it means there is a market. Why cannot our herbal medicines take over the world market? How can we take our Ayurveda to the world,” said Shri Modi. He also suggested other ways of promotion, including digitalisation of ancient manuscripts.
Shri Modi also put forth many ways to promote the use of Ayurveda, some of which included tapping the countries that believe in traditional medicine and engaging them in discussions and affiliating our Ayurvedic colleges with foreign colleges. He stressed that by taking such initiatives at the global level, other countries could be brought under the umbrella of Ayurveda and a corpus fund could be created and used for intensive research in this field. The increased emphasis laid by the State government, on promoting Ayurveda, was clearly reflected in Shri Modi’s statement of the budget for the same rising from Rs. 36 crores few years back to Rs. 325 crore in the current plan.
Urging the audience to take effective steps at creating a ‘Swastha Bharat’, Shri Modi called for the need to raise awareness on Intellectual Property Rights, stating that patenting was the need-of-the-hour for Ayurveda. “We are also lagging behind in one thing and that is patent. Just saying our things are best will not do. We need greater awareness in IPR and patents especially vis-a-vis Ayurveda,” said Shri Modi.
Shri Modi spoke of the vast scope entailed in the practise of Ayurveda and emphasized on the need to understand and value our rich Ayurvedic legacy, instead of doubting its prevalence and effectiveness. “There have been attempts to forget the nation's glorious culture. Sadly, sometimes we begin suspecting ourselves also,” said Shri Modi.
He highlighted how the prevalence and preference for Ayurveda will increase only if its practitioners have trust in its effectiveness and only if the patient has enough patience to follow it. “The doctors of Ayurveda must have complete faith in Ayurveda. Also, the patient needs to have patience. If that does not happen, then the patient and Ayurveda cannot mix,” said Shri Modi. He also put forth the example of Mahatma Gandhi’s immense faith in our culture and urged the audience to have faith in the efficacy of Ayurveda. He said, “First and foremost we need to have faith in our traditions. Many times, people wondered about Gandhiji's attire etc. but he was never affected. He engaged with the world on his own terms.”
Asserting that the problems of ‘hurry, worry and curry’ are the main cause of concern for humankind, Shri Modi called for the need to adopt an approach that promotes the balance of all three aspects and ensures improved living.
Shri Modi also put forth the pioneering initiative of the ETC (electro-tridosh-gram), which, like the ECG, reflected the imbalance, if any, in the ‘tridosh’ of the human body.
Stating that the potential of every flower or fruit to cure illnesses is immense, Shri Modi, with a touch of wit to his talk, said, “Every flower has the potential to rid illness...one such flower is the Lotus.”
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev spoke of how Ayurveda was being given its due credit from the land of Gujarat, and stated how this form of medicine had cured several diseases like thyroid, BP and asthma. He said that all forms of medicine must be given due importance, and stressed on the need to have better infrastructure for promoting Ayurveda. “Let us think about our nation. Let us think how we can prevent our people from falling ill. Humare paas gyan hai aur vigyaan ka roop dene ke liye thodi madad chahiye...poori duniya ko swastha bana sakte hain,” said Baba Ramdev.
Dignitaries present on the occasion included Shri Nitin Patel, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Shri Parbatbhai Patel, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, renowned Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev, Shri Rajesh Kishore, additional secretary, Health and Family Welfare Dept, Government of Gujarat, Dr Varesh Sinha, Shri Acharya Balkrushna ji, head of Chikitsalayas of Patanjali Yogpeeth,
Dr. H.R.
Nagendra,
Vice Chancellor, SVYASA University,
Bangalore
, Prof. O P Upadhyaya, Vice Chancellor, Panjab University, Shri Krishnakumar from Coimbatore, Shri Rasidullah Khan, Dr. Banita Murlikumar, Dr. Raghunandan Sharma, Dr. Tyagi, Dr. Bharat Boghra, ex-MLA Rajkot, Dr. Hasmukh Soni, Dr Rajesh Koteja, Dr Kirit Patel, Vaidya H S Kasture, ex-director ISM & H, and well-known proctologist Vaidya Indubhai Dave.
