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In 1992, in response to the second article, including the actions surrounding its writing and subsequent actions, the Lancaster Foundation and the American Association for Ayur-Vedic Medicine filed a $194 million dollar libel suit against the author of the article and the editor of ''JAMA'', alleging in part that statements in the article were false and defamatory. Pursuant to a settlement agreement, in 1993 the suit was dimissed by the judge at the request of the plaintiffs, with the option of reinstating pending completion of the settlement.<ref>The Lancaster Foundation, Inc., The American Association for Ayur-Vedic Medicine, Inc. vs. Andrew A. Skolnick, George D. Lundberg, M.D.,; in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, No. 82 C 4175; Judge Kocoras</ref> In 1992, in response to the second article, including the actions surrounding its writing and subsequent actions, the Lancaster Foundation and the American Association for Ayur-Vedic Medicine filed a $194 million dollar libel suit against the author of the article and the editor of ''JAMA'', alleging in part that statements in the article were false and defamatory. Pursuant to a settlement agreement, in 1993 the suit was dimissed by the judge at the request of the plaintiffs, with the option of reinstating pending completion of the settlement.<ref>The Lancaster Foundation, Inc., The American Association for Ayur-Vedic Medicine, Inc. vs. Andrew A. Skolnick, George D. Lundberg, M.D.,; in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, No. 82 C 4175; Judge Kocoras</ref>

According to a 2008 study published in JAMA (JAMA. 2008;300(8):915-923) "One-fifth of both US-manufactured and Indian-manufactured Ayurvedic medicines purchased via the Internet contain detectable lead, mercury, or arsenic. Two of the more than 230 products tested were obtained from Maharishi Ayurveda Products International.



==References== ==References==

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Main article: Transcendental Meditation

Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health (MVAH) (also known as Maharishi Ayurveda and Maharishi Vedic Medicine) was founded internationally in the mid 1980s by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, creator of the Transcendental Meditation technique. Although Ayurveda has been in existence for centuries, Maharishi claims to have restored the purity of some aspects of this ancient system that had become distorted with time. This revised system of Ayurveda was endorsed by the All India Ayurvedic Congress in 1997. Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health is a so-called alternative medicine and aims at being a complementary system to exist alongside modern, western medicine. Practitioners of MVAH believe that it helps to restore balance in the physiology, eliminate toxins and impurities, and awaken the body's natural healing mechanisms.

Aspects of the Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health

According to co-author/researchers, Dr. Robert Schneider and Jeremy Z. Fields, Ph.D., Maharishi sought to revive the ancient Vedic system of health care (Schneider & Fields 2006:5). The authors explain that the Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health uses forty approaches, each of which is based on one of the forty aspects of the age-old Vedic literature. Each of these forty aspects of Vedic literature is thought to have a direct correlation in terms of their structure and function to various aspects of the human physiology. These forty approaches are further reduced to three areas of practical application: mind, body, and environment, all of which are considered in treating the patient, and all of which are said to have a common source in the body's "inner intelligence."

The Mind

Transcendental Meditation, a meditation technique introduced in 1958, is the main modality for improving health from the mental angle. Studies have suggested a positive correlation between the Transcendental Meditation technique and possible health-related physiological states, including improvement in lung function for patients with asthma, an effect the researchers termed "younger biological age", decreased insomnia, reduction of high cholesterol, reduced illness and medical expenditures, decreased outpatient visits, decreased cigarette smoking, decreased alcohol use, and decreased anxiety. It also has been used to prevent and treat a variety of disorders, including ADHD, pain, diabetes, and congestive heart failure. The National Institutes of Health, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and the National Center for Research Resources have funded research on the Transcendental Meditation program, which is considered an application of Maharishi Ayurveda. Further research on MVAH is on-going. Researchers have been particularly interested in its potential usefulness in treating heart disease and hypertension, especially among African-Americans, and in promoting longevity.

The Body

According to the authors, the "Body Approach" involves reconnecting physiological functioning with the body's inner intelligence by reducing and eliminating impurities and imbalances, the basis of disease. The MVAH practitioner uses pulse diagnosis (also known in Sanskrit as "nadi vigyan") to non-invasively determine the levels of imbalance and impurities in the patient, and, taking the person's natural physiological tendencies into account, offer procedures and recommendations related to herbal preparations, diet, daily and seasonal routines, exercise, and physiological purification. Procedures that strengthen digestion and proper nutrient absorption are also given importance. (Schneider & Fields 2006:95-111) Practitioners of MVAH also believe that the pulse can be used to help detect diseases before they manifest. Simple treatments (often consisting of herbal remedies, dietary adjustments, routine changes, etc.) are recommended to reestablish "balance" and eliminate potential health problems.

Another aspect of the body approach of MVAH is a series of purification therapies known as Maharishi Panchakarma. Some of the Maharishi Panchakarma treatments might be considered unusual in the context of modern medicine such as the procedure called "abhyanga"; the Sanskrit word for a highly regimented oil massage. Preliminary research suggests that these Maharishi Panchakarma therapies, when used in concert with one another, may be effective in reducing cholesterol, reducing fat soluble toxins and creating an improved sense of well being.

The Environment

According to Schneider and Fields, (2006:191), MVAH also addresses health concerns from the environmental angle. It considers the patient's immediate environment, (one's home, office, etc.), the collective influence of the society in which one lives, and the distant environment of the sun, moon, stars, and planets. The authors explain that since the same cosmic intelligence underlies all these environments as well as the patient's own state of health, optimization of their positive influences also favors personal health. Maharishi Sthapatya Veda , a system of Vedic architecture, is the main modality for improving the immediate environment. For promoting collective health, MVAH recommends group practice of Transcendental Meditation and the more advanced TM-Sidhi program , and Maharishi Vedic Astrology (also known as Maharishi Jyotish) is said to optimize planetary influences on individual health.

Finally, Schneider and Fields (2006:211-216) report that MVAH has also systematized the use of sound therapy for healthcare. It offers three main modalities: the Vedic Literature chanted in Sanskrit; Maharishi Gandharva Veda Music; and Maharishi Vedic Vibration Technology, all of which must be delivered by native experts in these traditional practices. In the first case, the patient listens to the specific aspect of the Vedic Literature that corresponds to that area of the body that is unwell. In the rather unconventional program called the Maharishi Vedic Vibration Technology (MVVT) the MVVT expert whispers within themselves some specific traditional Vedic sounds that have been chosen to address the individual health concerns of that individual and then administers the sound vibrations by blowing on the affected area of the person's body.

The authors explain that since the frequencies of sound that the patient listens are believed to give rise to that particular group of cells at the time of creation of the body, hearing them is thought to enliven the intelligence of that area of the body and aid in the healing process. Schneider and Fields (2006:215) also report on research done on the use of Maharishi Vedic Sound Therapies. In the second modality, Maharishi Gandharva Veda Music, the patient is only required to listen to the recorded music which is said to integrate and harmonize the cycles and rhythms of the body, including, for example, the cardiovascular system. With the third form of treatment (MVVT), the expert is physically present to select and administer the specific sound therapy that is supposed to enliven the healing intelligence in the particular diseased area of the body or mind.

Reception

In 1991 the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published an article on the benefits of Maharishi Ayur-Veda titled Letter from New Delhi: Maharishi Ayur-Veda: Modern Insights into Ancient Medicine, authored by Hari Sharma, M.D., of the Ohio State University College of Medicine, Brhaspati Dev Triguna, of the All India Ayur-Veda Congress, and Deepak Chopra, M.D., of the American Association of Ayurvedic Medicine.

A subsequent article in JAMA alleged that the authors of the first article had not disclosed their financial ties with organizations that sell the products and services about which they wrote. The article also investigated the marketing practices surrounding Ayur-Veda products and services. It was felt that the media had been intentionally deceived for financial gain. It also countered the Sharma et al. claim that Maharishi Ayur-Veda was more cost effective than standard medical care.

Additionally, the article reported that in the late 1980s, herbal researcher Tony Nader, at the time a Ph.D. candidate in neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had been criticized for using his position to promote Maharishi Ayurveda Products International herbal products. Nader also drew the ire of the organizers of the Annual Meeting of the Society for Economic Botany, which was held at the University of Illinois at Chicago in June 1987. According to the organizers, Nader submitted a research abstract for a presentation that they said was a promotion for the herbal remedies of Maharishi Ayurveda Products International.

The second article quotes a former TM teacher and chair of the TM center in Washington, D.C., as saying that he had been told to deceive the media.

In 1992, in response to the second article, including the actions surrounding its writing and subsequent actions, the Lancaster Foundation and the American Association for Ayur-Vedic Medicine filed a $194 million dollar libel suit against the author of the article and the editor of JAMA, alleging in part that statements in the article were false and defamatory. Pursuant to a settlement agreement, in 1993 the suit was dimissed by the judge at the request of the plaintiffs, with the option of reinstating pending completion of the settlement. 

According to a 2008 study published in JAMA (JAMA. 2008;300(8):915-923) "One-fifth of both US-manufactured and Indian-manufactured Ayurvedic medicines purchased via the Internet contain detectable lead, mercury, or arsenic.  Two of the more than 230 products tested were obtained from Maharishi Ayurveda Products International.


References

  1. Contemporary Ayurveda, Medicine and Research in Maharishi Ayur-Veda, H. Sharma MD and Christopher Clark MD, 1998, Title Chapter 13
  2. Schneider, R and Fields, J: Total Heart Health: How to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease with the Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health, Basic Health Publications, Inc. 2006
  3. The Physiology of Consciousness, Robert Keith Wallace, Ph.D.pp 64-66, Institue of of Science and Public Policy 1986
  4. Contemporary Ayurveda, Medicine and Research in Maharishi Ayur-Veda, H. Sharma MD and Christopher Clark MD, Churchill Livingstone 1998.
  5. Conquering Chronic Disease through Maharishi Vedic Medicine, Kamuda Reddy MD and Linda Egenes, Samhita/Lantern Books 2002
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  49. Sharma HM, Triguna BD, Chopra D (1991). "Maharishi Ayur-Veda: modern insights into ancient medicine". JAMA. 265 (20): 2633–4, 2637. PMID 1817464.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  50. ^ Skolnick AA (1991). "Maharishi Ayur-Veda: Guru's marketing scheme promises the world eternal 'perfect health'". JAMA. 266 (13): 1741–2, 1744–5, 1749–50. PMID 1817475. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  51. The Lancaster Foundation, Inc., The American Association for Ayur-Vedic Medicine, Inc. vs. Andrew A. Skolnick, George D. Lundberg, M.D.,; in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, No. 82 C 4175; Judge Kocoras

See also

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