There is a fall in all institutions. Its seeds were set in utilitarianism; however enlightenment ethos had that divinity, at least in the early masters of Modern Project.
Now market rationales with consumerism at its back have made not only dent to it, but also separated morality from materiality, engagement from attachment and freedom from security.
The philosophy of neo-liberalism that tacitly preaches perishing of those who are not functional in this capitalistic system has come to live. We have witnessed it in COVID times. No social movement or no dissent would have any effect on the power elites.
This was not a story before the demise of Cold War. The ideology had purchase and idealism would be with religion as well as with science. Now scientism, and religiosity too, has become intrinsic with market, killing the very spirit of holiness and humanity.
Doctors are supposed to be next to God. Their say is unconditionally being believed and heeded to. This sacred institution is also in shambles, very source of human sufferings.
We always had good doctors and fine administrators in the past, who had compassion, merit and zeal in their profession. But this breed is now rare, diminishing day by day.
Dr Kundan Lal Choudhary, a human being par excellence, a genius doctor and a recognized writer, whom Kashmirs irrespective of religion and rank would adore, throng for treatment of their ailments. He died of cancer at his daughter’s place in US.
Before his death he had written a letter to his doctor friend about his ailment and doctor’s helplessness ‘who can know better than we doctors about the frailty of medical sciences’. This is a significant statement from a genius doctor, who was messiah for multitudes.
The notion that pathological labs and doctors at every nook and corner of the country have made us less vulnerable is proving false. It has made poor more poor and rich skeptic about their money power.
Medical treatments in most of the cases are making death uglier than perceived. The treatment in a reputed hospital is beyond the means of a commoner and municipality hospitals lack high class facilities. There is no dearth of doctors, but treatment is not cheap and readily available.
The myth of medicine and the illusion of treatment have come to doubt and well exposed by the outspread of COVID19. The invisible market, the power polemics and over relying on tests are new play fields of medical geography.
Like social geography explored by social scientists, the experimentations of advance tests in medical research are proving to be like frailty of empirical researches and irrelevance of modern methodologies in social research. First time COVID 19 has exposed the reality of modern medical advancement as a mechanism that human body could be mapped and diseases are subject of new imperatives of classification.
COVID is not over yet, but post COVID19 ramifications have cast new shadows on the genuineness of medical sciences. The blind belief that technologically made science free from human manipulations is unfortunately exploding.
The treatment in super specialty hospitals in intensive care units can hardly do anything other than postponing death and marketing medical knowledge in a storyline. In fact new medical sciences with mind boggling technologies is an exercise of exploration of medical geography, like sociologists observe social geographies in view of migrations and expansions.
To use Foucault’s coin ‘medical gaze’ is how doctors modify the patients narrative fitting it into bio medical paradigm, as sociologists turn their empirical researches into their cherished conclusions.
We reject tradition for better quality of life chances and look towards developed countries. Delinking tradition, the developed countries have created a health care market, where people see themselves first as consumers, and then as patients. It would link medical health with market catering systems.
The COVID 19 has last laugh on the fragility of dehumanized health care systems of these societies. Thus medical knowledge that was considered free from manipulations is in fact in league with power controlled consumerist system. Irony is that advancement in science and technology is only making us more helpless and more aware about the fluidity and frailty of this world order.
It is wrong to think that rich can earn health and find treatment to their satisfaction. Despite advancement in medical care systems, we still remain struggling for fundamental choices of free will. Our friends in US say that we are fortunate to have tests and treatments at will in India. In US, the huge testing has made health insurance companies first time susceptible.
However, they are so powerful that they dictate terms to doctors tacitly not to prescribe serious tests, for it would mean their losses. Instead of prescribing tests, they suggest engagement with patients like councilors.
Doctors more than before now record life histories of patients, tape their narratives and like councillors suggest proactive redemptions for their family and job stresses.
Thus, like our courts are interested in prolonging the meetings and delaying the justice. In India since health insurance covers a limited section, our doctors without hearing anything are pleased to prescribe as many tests as possible and as many medicines as they would know.
We think that our ailments are over, after we undergo such prescribed procedures. Instead, we enter into vicious circle of ailment. Thus in a nut shell, it is the surveilling gaze of society, internalized into individuals and constitutes them through power relations of political and corporate world. In reality, it is a life demeaning process with huge disillusionment.
There is a new thinking line to look at life in holistic way. Despite perfecting in surveillance technology, scientists have not been able to overcome the miseries and control the nature completely. Invisible is to be more explored to win over it.
It is to find relationship of conscience with physical world. The emergence of perceptional studies is on rise. Gone are the days, when incarnations or children reporting their past lives were deemed something of Indian romance with its tradition of yogic experiences.
Now, it is no longer a cultural phenomenon of India, but being empirically observed all over world as well. The reporting reincarnations are becoming important subject matter at many universities and research centers. Fifty years of research at UVA in US is being discussed on social media to research centers.
These new death experiences (NDA) are linked with language (different memories) consciousness and mind that ‘over flows the organisms’. The clinical death of brain is pause before new birth. These revelations make us believe in our traditional wisdom that had morality and materiality fused together, intrinsic one.
Modernity and market rationale have brought split in it. Therefore existence in professional perfection is lost. We need lived religion to foster the morality back in families and schools. The doctors in the past, who were known for their miracle performing treatments, were religious persons as well.
Their religion was morality based as our teachers in yesteryears were. We still can imbibe that spirit. Human relations are neither give and take nor based on market rationale of loss and gain; It is in compassion for weak, sacrifice for civility and trusteeship for poor.
It is not late to explore our fine traditions. Otherwise, focus on individualisation with proactive and prevention-conscious behaviour, all would lead us to be mechanical pawns in a medical consumer society, perishable .
Ashok Kaul is a Professor Emeritus at Banaras Hindu University.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author.
The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.