Karin Pirc Teil

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ON MAHARISHI AYUR-VEDA

Now I would like to ask my wife, Dr. Karin Pirc, to give you a glimpse of scientific research that has been conducted on the efficacy of the various approaches of Maharishi Ayurveda. She is a medical doctor with a PhD in psychology. So far, she has supervised the Panchakarma treatment of more than 17,000 people from all over Europe. She is also the author of four popular books on Maharishi Ayurveda, and she has become quite a renowned exponent of Ayurveda through her many appearances on television.

Dr. Karin Pirc: When you have worked as an Ayurvedic physician in Germany for 17 years, you cannot help feeling that the scientific research on Ayurveda might after all not even be necessary! You witness every day such remarkable improvements in your patients and the curing of diseases which modern medicine considers as incurable – this is proof that Ayurveda really works. Nevertheless it is very important that scientific research is done, especially for people in the West who want firm proof that the therapies, the techniques and the concepts of Ayurveda are as profound as we all know them to be. This is why I want to bring to your attention some of the latest findings concerning the procedures and herbal preparations of Maharishi Ayurveda.

1. Rasayana Therapy, enlivening the process of physiological rejuvenation produced by ojas, is validated in a very profound manner by more than 30 studies done on Maharishi Amrit Kalash – one of the most powerful rasayanas. Maharishi Amrit Kalash: Research indicates that it induces the binding of free radicals in the body cells 100 to 1000 times more than Vitamin A, E, Vitamin C and selenium. Studies conducted on laboratory animals have shown that it prevents different kinds of cancers to a substantial degree and it also helps to cure or reduce already existing cancers, including metastasis. In patients it was shown to significantly reduce the side-effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Maharishi Amrit Kalash reduces angina pectoris, atherosclerosis, and also cholesterol. It enhances different functions of the immune system (proliferation of lymphocytes and macrophages), and It has been shown to reduce depression, pain, and many other health problems.

2. The second point I want to show to you is the rejuvenating influence, which Maharishi Panchakarma can have on humans. People who were treated with Panchakarma for ten days also took Maharishi Amrit Kalash and practised Transcendental Meditation for half a year. Scientists measured their biological age compared with their chronological age through systolic blood pressure, auditory threshold, and near-point of vision. It was found that during this period of half a year biological age had been reduced on average by about 4.8 years. Other studies have shown that Maharishi Panchakarma substantially reduces cholesterol, and also reduces the damaging effect of free radicals in a remarkable and measurable way. These effects could still be observed even three months after the Panchakarma treatment had been completed. The most recent study, which was published in October this year, revealed that even environmental toxins can be reduced. A period of 12 days of Maharishi Panchakarma reduced the pesticides and herbicides measured in the blood plasma of the patients by an average of about 48 per cent. People who had undergone Panchakarma treatment up to eighteen times had levels of pesticides and herbicides in their blood plasma up to 90 per cent lower than non-treated persons. So one can see that the ancient therapy of Panchakarma is also extremely valuable in modern times where it is necessary to take care of environmental toxins. If these are not eliminated from the body they will induce cancers, severe damage of the nervous system, and many other diseases against which modern medicine of today is completely helpless and knows no cure.

3. The last research study I want to introduce to you is one large long-term study of about 2000 people who practised Maharishi`s Transcendental Meditation regularly. By comparison with 160,000 persons of the control group, the health care utilization were on average 56 per cent lower in all categories of diseases and in all age groups. This study becomes even more interesting when one knows that the data have been observed now for more than 11 years. The researchers found that for individuals who in addition to their practice of Transcendental Meditation also regularly took Maharishi Amrit Kalash and underwent Maharishi Panchakarma several times, the health care utilization were reduced by about 84 per cent on average! This shows that these ancient Ayurvedic procedures in combination represent a valid solution for the big problems that modern medicine and the health care systems in all Western countries now face. The increasing number of chronic diseases caused by the unnatural life-style of most "Westerners" and their food habits puts a heavy load on the economy of these countries.

Mr. Lothar Pirc: Thank you very much, Dr. Karin Pirc.