SWAMI RAMDEV. The many miraculous cures he promises, and the \"scientific\" evidence he cites for them, offer a window into the sad state of scientific research in Ayurveda. Charaka, the legendary healer and complier of Charaka Samhita, the ancient textbook of Ayurveda, does not mince words when it comes to the subject of quacks. He calls them \"imposters who wear the garb of physicians... [who] walk the earth like messengers of death\". These fake doctors are \"unlearned in scriptures, experience and knowledge of curative operations, but like to boast of their skills before the uneducated\". Wise patients, Charaka advises, \"should always avoid those foolish men who make a show of learning.\"
Ayurveda under the scanner
by MEERA NANDA, FRONTLINE, 21 April, 2006