Faith and Healing

Physicians and researchers are now paying increasing attention to prayer and its powers in healing, relegating the concept that our body and its ailments are not influenced by our minds, to history. Science is reluctantly coming to terms with observations that patients in intensive care units who were prayed for did significantly better in terms of recovery and survival than those who were not prayed for.

Neurosurgeons of LSU Health Sciences Center, Louisiana, USA, evaluated the effect of prayers on the recovery of unconscious patients admitted with traumatic brain injury. They compared 13 patients who received prayers with another 13 with equal severity of injury who did not receive prayers. The analysis showed the group who received prayers did better in terms of survival, and recovery from coma. Doctors are finally waking up. Two decades ago most medics would have discarded a patient’s or his relative’s spiritual aspirations as humbug. In a recent study from Massachussets, USA, Drs Cadge and Ecklund (Southern Medical Journal, 2009) found that the attitude of even senior specialists had become open and accommodating, almost 100% of those interviewed, respecting the wishes of the patient or family towards praying.

Critical illnesses and invasive procedures carry high risk, and doctors and nurses are beginning to accept the limitations and unpredictability of medical science and their efforts in these situations. In another eye opening study, Baumhover N and Hughes L from Arizona, USA, explored the role of spirituality among health care professionals in dealing in these settings; they found that the spiritually inclined professionals were more willing to allow the presence of relatives during invasive procedures or resuscitaion of the critically ill. Allowing the option of patients’ families to remain present by the bedside promotes holistic family centered care.

Many people use religious activity to cope with stressful life events. Dr Ayele and colleagues from Virginia, USA, analysed the scientific publications on this topic and tried to address the question,“Does religious activity really improve health outcomes?”. Based on 16 publications, they concluded that religious intervention, such as intercessory prayer improved success rates of in-vitro fertilization, decreased hospital stay and duration of fever in septic patients, improved rheumatoid arthritis, reduced anxiety, and improved outcome of cardiac disease.

Prayers may decrease our stress levels and boost our immune system. Dr Bormann and colleagues from San Diego, USA showed that prayers could bring down increased corticsol levels in patients with HIV disease. Cortisol suppresses the immune system, and bringing it down could hold promise in strengthening it and improving our fight against diseases.

Does all that I have mentioned above sound like De ja vu? something that you had guessed all along but never really had evidence for? Precisely. Many of us have ignored the teachings of our rishis, yogis and sufis as unfashionable, and shied away from accepting them. Now, research conducted in the west using modern scientific tools, is proving them correct. It is time we rediscoverd our roots and our traditional wisdom with pride.