As the interaction increases vigorously around integrated healthcare, spiritual leader Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar opens about the role of traditional systems in today’s healthcare scenario, emphasizing the need to keep a more overall approach to open mind and health.

He recalled his early efforts to bring ancient and modern medicinal systems together.

“In 1980, I brought Ayurvedic and allopathic doctors on a platform to examine Ayurveda through modern science lens,” Gurudev Sri Ravi Shankar said in an interview with Sneha Mordani.

He explained how Ayurvedic doctors praised turmeric for their ‘vyoshopan’ or anti-aging properties, while their allopathic counterparts rejected it as a mere pigment without nutritional value.

“Decades later, we know that turmeric has anti-scientific research supported, anti-inflammatory and anti-aging benefits.

The spiritual leader cited another example: demonetisation of butter.

“Over the years, people believed that butter was bad for heart health. An entire generation left it, and now Time magazine says the butter is good again. It shows how science develops. We should not be staunch. We should not be staunch. We should keep an open mind,” he said.

He said that alternative medicine like Ayurveda needs to be modernized through documentation and research.

“Alternative medicine requires scientific verification. That is what we are doing in our ashram, conducting research, so Ayurveda can be presented globally, in evidence-based format,” he said.

He appreciated the Government of India for institutionalizing traditional medicine through the Ministry of AYUSH.

Gurudev said, “Ayurveda is now being standardized and appreciated around the world. It is no longer ancient knowledge, it is emerging as a recognized system, thanks to appropriate channels and policy support,” Gurudev said.

They were appealed not to choose a form of medicine on the other, but to integrate the best of both.

The founder of the Art of Living Foundation said in the midst of an uproar culture, someone should understand to enjoy life and spend time in nature.

“Do some time gardening, listen to music. People with left-brain-oriented jobs, like an accountant, should balance it with the right-brain activities. Appreciate the flowers. Appreciate the flowers. Reflect your real nature. Who are you?” He said, stating that welfare is not just physical, it is also emotional and spiritual.