Open AccessTraditional healing practices in India: Intangible knowledge and its resultant socio-cultural sustainability
Author(s) -
Chitrangda Singh,
Amrita Madan
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
iop conference series. earth and environmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.179
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1755-1307
pISSN - 1755-1315
DOI - 10.1088/1755-1315/588/2/022026
Subject(s) - construct (python library) , sustenance , sustainability , sociocultural evolution , meditation , space (punctuation) , sociology , agency (philosophy) , psychology , knowledge management , epistemology , geography , social science , political science , computer science , ecology , anthropology , philosophy , archaeology , law , biology , programming language , operating system
There is an intimate relationship between our emotions and things around us. How and what we interpret from surroundings, formulates our experience of a spaces, which in turn governs the way we feel. Spatial setting has a deep impact on the practice and outcome of ‘psychological and spiritual’ healing. In India, there exist diverse traditional healing practices such as Ayurveda, Tibetan healing, Yunani, etc., which are the storehouses of intangible knowledge and ideas. The spaces of such practices appear to be unique and it seems that there are strong traditional ideas expressed through the physical construct of space. Such elaborate characteristics of the space enables the traditional systems to sustain in the rapidly urbanising society. The aim of this research is to explore the correlations between the spatial construct and fundamental ideas of healing as mentioned in the ancient texts of Ayurveda and Tibetan healing practice. Further, the research delves into understanding how such correlations result in sociocultural sustainability of traditional systems. Tushita Meditation Centre at Dharamshala and IAIM Healthcare Centre at Bengaluru are taken as primary building case studies. First-hand experience of the authors and observations with respect to the spatial construct are recorded. Further, the ancient texts of the traditional practices are studied to formulate the correlations with the ideas of healing as mentioned in the ancient texts of the respective practice. By doing such a study, we not only explore how the nature of the spaces is critical to the sustenance of the values embedded in the traditional system but also how it reflects on the overall continuity of the system. The outcome of the research is a set of correlations leading to sustainability of the traditional systems and hence, the importance of the UN Sustainable development goal 11 which suggests the strengthening of efforts to safeguard and protect natural and cultural heritage in order to lead to inclusive, sustainable and resilient cities.