John Polkinghorne in his famous book, "Faith in the living
God" writes, "We surely are psychosomatic unities, animated bodies
rather than incarnated souls". I too believe that we are not disembodied
minds rather we are psychosomatic beings.
Even otherwise, if we ponder, we will find, that
everything we experience in terms of our feelings and sensations is
psychosomatic because every time the body is involved necessarily, for
instance, we look through our eyes, we hear through the ears, etc. This interaction
between the human mind and the body is so subtle, that it is highly complex and
demanding task to discover the mysterious osmosis that seems to exist between
the body and the mind. Maybe it is because of this intricate interconnection
between them, our physical wellness and our mental well-being also become so
much so badly entangled that at times it becomes difficult or nearly impossible
to establish the "cause and effect" relationship between them. I
see this interdependence of the two, as a "Holistic Law of
Nature".
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| Peace and Serenity: Healthy Body dwells in Healthy Mind and Vice-versa |
Further, this interrelatedness engenders a bizarre
species of illnesses termed as "Psychosomatic Disorders". The concept
visualises that mental and emotional factors have a bearing on how a disease
affects a person and therefore plays a significant role in its treatment as
well, for instance, a disease may go inexplicably worse due to the mental state
of the person at a particular point of time. So, ceteris paribus,
the same disease may hit two persons differently at the same point of time or
may even hit the same person differently at two different points of time which
is attributable to their mental and emotional state. As also, the term includes
and encompasses even those diseases which are solely caused due to mental
factors, for example, lower back pain may be caused due to stress or even one
may feel chest pain without any biological explanation for the same. So, in the
former case, some aspect of the disease is unaccounted for while in the latter
case the cause of the illness itself is not biologically explainable. However, now this distinction is almost blurred in the interdisciplinary
branch of medical science dealing with these disorders known as
"Psychosomatic Medicine".
These days we can also see an increase in the use of the term "Psychosomatic Illness" to explain illnesses that could not otherwise be diagnosed or cured. But, as yet, the epistemological aspect involved in medical science vis-a-vis these psychosomatic disorders much seems to be governed by the philosophy of "Mitigated Scepticism" i.e. there can only be virtual but no real knowledge regarding the disorders resulting from this interconnection of the body and the mind. Maybe I can also put it like, we have not yet been able to study and understand the whole concept holistically i.e. in its entirety.
These days we can also see an increase in the use of the term "Psychosomatic Illness" to explain illnesses that could not otherwise be diagnosed or cured. But, as yet, the epistemological aspect involved in medical science vis-a-vis these psychosomatic disorders much seems to be governed by the philosophy of "Mitigated Scepticism" i.e. there can only be virtual but no real knowledge regarding the disorders resulting from this interconnection of the body and the mind. Maybe I can also put it like, we have not yet been able to study and understand the whole concept holistically i.e. in its entirety.
However, there is no denial that the limitation of
the human mind to behold only a single object at one given instant necessitates
compartmentalization. Also, the attempts made so far to study the whole complex
system in its totality are commendable, needless to specifically mention that
it has produced results and has given a measure of relief to us. Nonetheless,
in the light of epistemological vacuum in the arena of "Psychosomatic
Medicines" as well as the significant rise in cases of these disorders, it
becomes significant all the more, to make further endeavours to study this
complex system in its entirety rather than breaking them into components; bits
and pieces.
Last but not the least, the discussion also makes me contemplate,
that on a larger perspective, there would be many such "Holistic Laws of
Nature" existing for long but have either not been found out altogether or
at least not been looked into in its entirety. The connotation of the phrase
"Laws of Nature" here must be distinguished from "Scientific
Laws", premised on the fact that unlike "Scientific Laws" these
are not an approximation of the truth rather the truth itself and from
"Natural Laws" on account of the fact that "Laws of Nature"
are inviolable while "Natural Laws" are not. Thus, "Laws of
Nature" should be construed as "the principles" governing the
world or at least describing it, based on whether one espouses the
"Necessitarian" theory or the "Regularity" theory of it.
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| Sunrise & Sunset: The Sun may seem to move but when studied holistically, the Earth was found rotating on its axis |
No wonder such studies if could be done, would yield miraculous results
!
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| Optimism: A New Ray of Hope |
©Both the text and the photographs are protected works of the author Bibhuti Bhushan Mishra. They can not be published, reproduced, adapted or otherwise dealt with without the prior permission of the author.
