Mahatma Gandhi, India’s "Father of Naturopathy"

Michael Cronin, ND
AANP President 

The entrance to S-VYASA's Prashanti Kutiram Campus

I am writing this from the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthanain University (S-VYASA) near Bangalore, India in the state of Karnataka. I was invited (with 4 weeks notice) to give a presentation on the evolution of the naturopathic profession and naturopathic education in North America at the first International Conference on Yoga, Naturopathy and Arogya (ICYN) in Bangalore, known as the Silicon Valley of India. Naturopathy as a healthcare profession is considered to include Yoga, and there are 12 universities across the country offering a degree in Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences, as well as numerous inpatient facilities. Mohandas (often referred to as Mahatma, meaning “great soul”) Gandhi revived naturopathy in India and is often referred to as the "Father of Naturopathy." Gandhi's birthday, October 2nd, is to be celebrated here by the profession as Yoga and Naturopathy Day.

Carnage of Symptoms

Photo by D'Arcy Norman via Flickr, used
under the Creative Commons License.

By Lise Alschuler, ND, FABNO
AANP Past-President (2008-2009)

If you were to walk into my study, you might think that an enormous massacre had taken place. A duck lays across a chair, its beak dangling over the edge of the seat. Below the duck, a monkey can be found sprawled on its back with a rooster, a look of alarm on its face, oddly resting its head on the monkey’s belly. Across the room, there is a red bird unceremoniously toppled to its side. A few feet away lies a giraffe, long legs tangled helplessly. And then, towards the back of the room sprawls the hunter, exhausted after this convincing display of prowess, legs and ears all comfortably splayed on the ground.