the homepage:
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/st.../extended.html
T.R. Reid: If you were talking to someone who knew nothing about Ayurveda and they said, "How is it different from Western medicine?" how would you explain it?

Dr. Ram Manohar: I think Ayurveda and Western medicine originated in entirely different cultural paradigms, which nurtured radically different world views. So, the basic difference lies in the epistemology, the very approach to knowledge-building. I would say the most primary thing is that Ayurveda looks at the human personality as composite of the body, mind and self. This is very central to the approach of Ayurveda. The human personality is considered as a dynamic manifestation of interactions between the mind, body and the self, whereas Western medicine seems to be more focused on the body. And the mind is just an epiphenomenon of reactions that take place in the body, and the self is almost a nonexistent entity.

Whereas in Ayurveda, the mind is given much greater importance than the body. The body is the shadow of the mind, as far as an Ayurvedic physician is concerned. So, this makes radical differences in the way an Ayurvedic physician approaches a patient and tries to understand disease and health.

Q: Western medicine generally relies on established scientific authority. What is the source of authority in Ayurveda?

A: In Ayurveda also we have mechanism for kind of validating knowledge. So, just like in modern science, there is this concept of scientific authority. Ayurveda believes that knowledge is generated out of experience through a process of validation. And this validation takes place through two things. There is a validation by authority, by individuals who have the training and the background to validate knowledge, plus the tools of validation.



http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...view/main.html



2 -part very excellent video - enjoy

http://nccam.nih.gov/news/newsletter...erspective.htm

Bala V. Manyam, M.D., is a member of NCCAM's National Advisory Council for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Dr. Manyam is retired director of the Plummer Movement Disorders Center, Scott & White Clinic, Temple, Texas, and professor emeritus at Texas A&M University System Health Science Center College of Medicine. He received his medical degree from Bangalore Medical College, in India, and did his neurology residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia (where he also held a pharmacology fellowship). Currently, Dr. Manyam is researching Ayurvedic herbal medicines, especially for degenerative neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. In a recent interview, Dr. Manyam offered his personal perspective on Ayurveda.

Q: What are some reasons that people in the United States become interested in Ayurveda?

A: Many patients with chronic diseases find that conventional drugs can have significant side effects. Also, some patients are seeking preventive and health-promotion benefits (two things that Ayurveda focuses upon).

Q: What is your philosophy about using Ayurveda versus conventional medicine?

A: I have an open mind. I believe that all health/healing systems have merits and demerits. I look at the good things in each system that I think could do the best for my patients or me. I also believe that just because a particular therapy was stated as effective in an ancient text and has been continuously used, does not mean it is effective. We should not blindly accept it. It should be tested and retested over the years.