& the breakdown of family
life after the Second World War. The social disturbance caused
by the Vietnam war, the propagation of materialistic ideals &
the erosion of faith in Morality & Ethics brought a sense of futility
& meaninglessness in the Western psyche. The disillusionment
with the promises of Science & technology, the limitations of
the Western system of chemotherapy & the adverse side-effects
of antibiotics, sedatives and certain other drugs made the West turn
to Oriental philosophies, divine practices & systems of therapy.
Holistic Health refers to a modern movement which regards health as
a dynamic state of the total human being. Although the symptoms of
a disease may be found in certain tissues or organs, health is not a
mere removal of such symptoms by the treatment of the affected
tissues or organs, but a state of multidimensional experience,
according to this perspective. The mind, body & environment are
in a state of dynamic interaction & the maintenance of this interaction
in a maximal state of efficiency is what health means. In other words
“To be healthy is to have the ability, despite an occasional bout of
illness, to live with full use of our faculties and be vigorous, alert and
happy to be alive, even in old age.” This concept of operational
health has been termed as wellness. It is a sense of all-round
well-being.
Sir William Osler’s advice that Whole is more important than the Part
( that the patient who has the disease is more