Abhijit Naskar's Blog - Posts Tagged "sickness"
The Meaning of Medicine
What is medicine? And what is the practice of medicine? Is there really any difference between the two? Do not rush to a conclusion - let's move slowly. Let's think over the question. Let the question stir inside your mind. Aren't the practitioner and the practice an organic manifestation of potential! As long as you think that there is a separation between you as a practitioner of medicine and the practice of medicine, you can never be a first class physician. The force of medicine, that is the force of wellness, must course through your veins like lifeblood, only then can you become a beacon of hope to the hopeless and a ray of help to the helpless.
You know what medicine means! MEDICINE means Mercy - Empathy - Dare - Integrity - Care - Ingenuity - Nobility - and Ethics. Now, from the outside these qualities may look different, but in practice they all are one force for good. Let's investigate how. What is a human without mercy - not a human. What is a human without empathy - not a human. Likewise, all these qualities define the very existence of a true human being - they distinguish human life from animal life. Hence, any human who is a true human, automatically turns into a medicine for the society. And based on the paths chosen by these humans, they are termed differently. Some are called scientists - some are called teachers - some are called doctors - some are called cops - and so on.
Those who treat the darkness of the unknown, are called scientists - those who treat the ignorance in the budding minds, are called teachers - those who treat the darkness of ailments in individuals, are called doctors - those who treat the darkness of chaos in the society, are called cops - and so on. Each human being on this planet is a potential medicine, for each human being holds in their nerves the capacity to heal the wounds and sicknesses of our society.
And when it comes to being a doctor, the sickness is both metaphorical and physical. So, don't be a doctor just to earn a living, for being a doctor is much more than just making a living - it's about empowering others to start living. Remember, there is no such thing as just a physical sickness, for every sickness has much deeper and wider implications in the life of the person who's sick and that of their family. A disease not only cripples an individual, it cripples a family. So, expand your mind from the narrow technicalities of diseases and treatments, only then you will be a first class doctor - only then you'll be medicine incarnate.
Remember, you are not just a person in the lives of the sick, you are their hope - you are their help - you are the first monsoon cloud that they have been praying for in their draught infested lives. If your medical training turns you into a mean, egotistical, insensitive machine with merely a technical understanding of medicine, then you are anything but a doctor, for a doctor is not a walking encyclopedia of medical knowledge, a doctor is a gateway to wellness.
Now we must understand the meaning of wellness. I have said previously, wellness is not the lack of sickness, wellness is the capacity to overcome sickness. For example, symptoms of a sickness are not necessarily signs of weakness, rather they imply that your body is actively fighting the sickness. And when all the resources of the body fall short to fight the sickness, that's when the real trouble begins. However, with the advancements in modern medicine we have been able to provide substantial aid to the body in its fight against sickness and avoid many of the lethal outcomes. And the advancements continue, thus becoming better with each passing day in fortifying life in its ever-going battle against disorder. And in this battle, scientists, doctors and nurses are the torchbearers.
You my friend are the one who is to hold the torch of wellness high with your spine upright, so that every sicknesses trembles at the very sight of you. However, hard as it may sound, we'll always have sickness, for sickness adds value to wellness. A life without sickness is a life without wellness. So, don't pursue the illusive idea of a diseasefree world, rather aim towards improving the quality of life. More than treating a sickness, try to empower life. Treating sickness is a very small portion of the grand picture of a well and healthy life. Hence, treatment of sickness is a part of Medicine, but it's not the whole of Medicine. The day you realize this, is the day a revolutionary doctor is born.
You know what medicine means! MEDICINE means Mercy - Empathy - Dare - Integrity - Care - Ingenuity - Nobility - and Ethics. Now, from the outside these qualities may look different, but in practice they all are one force for good. Let's investigate how. What is a human without mercy - not a human. What is a human without empathy - not a human. Likewise, all these qualities define the very existence of a true human being - they distinguish human life from animal life. Hence, any human who is a true human, automatically turns into a medicine for the society. And based on the paths chosen by these humans, they are termed differently. Some are called scientists - some are called teachers - some are called doctors - some are called cops - and so on.
Those who treat the darkness of the unknown, are called scientists - those who treat the ignorance in the budding minds, are called teachers - those who treat the darkness of ailments in individuals, are called doctors - those who treat the darkness of chaos in the society, are called cops - and so on. Each human being on this planet is a potential medicine, for each human being holds in their nerves the capacity to heal the wounds and sicknesses of our society.
And when it comes to being a doctor, the sickness is both metaphorical and physical. So, don't be a doctor just to earn a living, for being a doctor is much more than just making a living - it's about empowering others to start living. Remember, there is no such thing as just a physical sickness, for every sickness has much deeper and wider implications in the life of the person who's sick and that of their family. A disease not only cripples an individual, it cripples a family. So, expand your mind from the narrow technicalities of diseases and treatments, only then you will be a first class doctor - only then you'll be medicine incarnate.
Remember, you are not just a person in the lives of the sick, you are their hope - you are their help - you are the first monsoon cloud that they have been praying for in their draught infested lives. If your medical training turns you into a mean, egotistical, insensitive machine with merely a technical understanding of medicine, then you are anything but a doctor, for a doctor is not a walking encyclopedia of medical knowledge, a doctor is a gateway to wellness.
Now we must understand the meaning of wellness. I have said previously, wellness is not the lack of sickness, wellness is the capacity to overcome sickness. For example, symptoms of a sickness are not necessarily signs of weakness, rather they imply that your body is actively fighting the sickness. And when all the resources of the body fall short to fight the sickness, that's when the real trouble begins. However, with the advancements in modern medicine we have been able to provide substantial aid to the body in its fight against sickness and avoid many of the lethal outcomes. And the advancements continue, thus becoming better with each passing day in fortifying life in its ever-going battle against disorder. And in this battle, scientists, doctors and nurses are the torchbearers.
You my friend are the one who is to hold the torch of wellness high with your spine upright, so that every sicknesses trembles at the very sight of you. However, hard as it may sound, we'll always have sickness, for sickness adds value to wellness. A life without sickness is a life without wellness. So, don't pursue the illusive idea of a diseasefree world, rather aim towards improving the quality of life. More than treating a sickness, try to empower life. Treating sickness is a very small portion of the grand picture of a well and healthy life. Hence, treatment of sickness is a part of Medicine, but it's not the whole of Medicine. The day you realize this, is the day a revolutionary doctor is born.
