New Delhi, Jul 27: National President of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) KK Aggarwal said that The Mahabharata is full of pointers to issues of psychiatric dimensions. He further stated that this epic also offers many answers, and considers Lord Krishna as the most celebrated counsellor. Also Read - 10 Verses From The Bhagavad Gita That Carry The Essence Of Life

According to Aggarwal, Krishna was the first and perhaps the most celebrated counsellor. Justifying his statement he said how Krishna in his “sessions with his patient, Arjuna, not only led to his spectacular recovery but also constituted” one of the most revered ancient texts of Bhagavad Gita. Writing in The Equator Line magazine’s latest issue ‘Cobwebs Inside Us’, which centers around mental health, the IMA chief said that the history of psychiatry in India began with Krishna’s ‘successful’ counselling of Arjuna prior to the battle of Mahabharata. Also Read - Honey Singh Opens Up About 'Dark Phase' Battling Bipolar Disorder, Says 'Deepika, SRK Supported Me'

In the write-up titled “Psychotherapy in the time of the Vedas”, he wrote, ‘at a time when there were no psych drugs or mental-health professionals, the Sanskrit epic seem to have offered a few answers to ancient Indians.’ He also emphasised how although the Vedic Indian Age lacked knowledge regarding anti-depressants, but the “bucolic environment woods running along the river banks, deer prancing around, peacocks strutting close to the courtyard had its own way of healing the bruised mind”. Also Read - Shilpa Shetty's Yoga Tip to Remove Unwanted Thoughts From Mind

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Aggarwal further said that the Vedic approach to mental health focuses on controlling the mind, intellect and ego. However today, he added, there is an assortment of drugs that nourish the mental health of an individual and the prescription differs from person to person.

He also said how Shiva and his ability to consume poison can be taken as a metaphor to a ‘Vedic way of anger management’. ‘Whenever you are filled with resentment, store the negative thoughts in your throat. After some time, think about the issue at hand with a cool mind,” he writes.

In the article ‘Of the Mind and its Maladies’ , AIIMS psychiatrists Dr Rajesh Sagar and Dr Ananya Mahapatra wrote, “The future demands scaling up of a wide variety of interventions, ranging from public awareness, early identification, treatment of acute illness, family education, long-term care, rehabilitation, reintegration into society, ensuring of human rights of the ill persons, and efforts to reduce the prevalent stigma and discrimination against these patients.”

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Among other contributors to the edition are psychiatrist Dr Sanjay Chugh, former G B Pant Hospital CMO Dr Reshma Hingorani, psychologist Pallav Bonerjee and Bollywood scriptwriter Sumeet Panigrahi.

With PTI inputs

