May 10, 2011
School of Medicine, Kochi
 

A one-day symposium on integrated healing titled Mind, Body and Soul – An Integrated Healing Approach was organized at Amrita’s Health Sciences campus on April 30, 2011.
 

The conference focused on Integrated Medicine for healing that takes all aspects of the patient’s lifestyle into account.
 

“It is an evolutionary approach that couples the latest scientific advances with the most profound insights of ancient healing systems with the aim of providing the best possible health care to the individual,” stated the organizers.
 

In his welcome address, Dr. Prem Nair, Medical Director emphasized the significance of the conference. “All of us in the medical field are confined to the intricacies of the biology of the body and to a small extent, to that of the mind,” he said. “In the world of the soul and spirituality we have really no grasp. I think, symposiums such as this one will highlight something critically important.”
 

The conference was blessed by the presence of Sampoojya Swami Amritageetananda Puri, one of Amma’s senior disciples. “We have to understand that we are not just the physical body,” Swamiji said. “If we have to integrate the body, mind and soul, we have to turn within ourselves. None of us knows the real I. Only a spiritual master like Amma can make us realize the real I.”
 

Dr. Daniel Monti, Head of Integrated Medicine and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Thomas Jefferson University, United States, was the invited chief guest. With broad expertise in several areas of integrated medicine, particularly mind-body medicine and integrative oncology, Dr. Monti is the recipient of a substantial research grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH), USA.
 

Dr. Monti’s talk was based on the effects of a novel stress reduction intervention technique developed by his research team. “In addition to simply focusing on the biology, we should also think about what is going on in the person’s mind and what is going on in their social network,” he stated. “Integrated model of health care teaches people, the need to be proactive about health.”
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Dr. M. V. Pillai, Professor and Head of the Department of Medical Oncology at the Thomas Jefferson University spoke next. In his address, he stated that integrated medicine is really aiming at studying other systems of care objectively with modern scientific tools.
 

Dr. C. K. Ramachandran, noted doctor and professor, elaborated on a physician’s perspective on integrated medicine. “Soul is the truth, chaithanya, brahman and atma and is the adhishtanam (base) of everything,” he stated.
 

Apart from the Amrita fraternity, the conference was widely attended by non-Amrita students, doctors, invited guests and faculties.