I first learned about the extraordinary work of Vaidya Mana Bajra Bajracharya of Nepal from my colleague and his apprentice Dr. Alan Tillotson in the 1980’s. I am very glad that Alan was able to engage the help of Dr Manas son Madhu Bajracharya in Kathmandu and Todd Caldecott of Canada to translate this text from the original Sanskrit .
This work is important in that it is both a scholarly contribution to ethnomedicine as well as a practical handbook for modern students of Ayurveda. It is extraordinary in that it outlines exact treatments for hundreds of Ayurvedic medical conditions. It brings you into the Kathmandu medical offices of Dr. Mana and Dr, Madhu and shows you how they treat different diseases.
It is my earnest hope that the publication of this book in English will stimulate new interest in examining the medical traditions of Ayurveda in a more authentic fashion. It brings to the surface the exact understanding of the ideas and medicines, developed in a single family tradition spanning several hundreds of years, which have successfully been used to benefits untold tens of thousands of patients.
It is also an urgently needed book for medical researchers, ethonobotanists and even for the peoples of Nepal, because the unique diversity of herbs in Nepal is threatened by deforestation, and the 700 year old tradition of Dr Manal and his son is being overwhelmed by the advance of modernity.
Some of Dr Mana’s more extraordinary contributions include his development of treatments for the Ayurvedic urustambha, a disease which he finds parallels with multiple sclerosis, and his treatments for various forms of hepatiis, including chronic hepatitis. Alan Tillotson witnessed dozens of MS and hepatitis patients flying to Nepal for treatment, many with good results. Dr Man also describes unique and unknown treatments for various types of cancer, psoriasis, hypertension, asthma etc.
Some of his insights about common problems show them in a new light, such as his linkages of rheumatoid arthritis with uric acid accumulations and digestive problems.
Dr. Mana was also sensitive to complaints from Westerners that Ayurveda was primitive or unscientific or simple. His many books, well over 30, are his answer to that criticism. I can only hope that more of this work is translated from Sanskrit and made available in coming years.
James Duke Ph.D.
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