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Indeed, we live in a world full of paradoxes. We live in a world where one can see, in stark contrast, two mutually exclusive states of being co–existing at opposite ends of the spectrum. The unparalleled progress of science and technology towards the close of the last millennium has made life much more comfortable for the common man. Medical science in particular, seems to have come of age. Most illnesses have been conquered. Staggering amounts of money have been pumped into medical research.

New discoveries and new insights are being recorded every now and then. Things deemed impossible have now become run of the mill. New methods are being devised to treat old diseases. New techniques in surgery are being fashioned. Post–operative care has improved by leaps and bounds. New drugs are being manufactured for problems as diverse as erectile dysfunction to myasthenia gravis.

However, most benefits of modern medicine have been appropriated by the developed world. On the other end of the spectrum, in many third world countries, disease and malnutrition are a way of life. While Western doctors might brag about having increased life expectancy, infant mortality rates are alarmingly high in African, Latin American and South–East Asian countries.

While traditional medicine was looked upon with suspicion by the West, there simply wasn’t the requisite wherewithal to set up an infrastructure that could have made ‘Western’ medicine accessible to all in the developed world.

Read more: Nature's Way to Health and Happiness