Notes the article by by Sarah M. Whitman “Pain and Suffering as Viewed by the Hindu Religion”

There are many interesting points made in this article, including the whole idea of acceptance and detachment from the outcome of whatever action. The idea of acceptance is central in Hindu religion as is the concept of Karma through which all the life’s misfortunes are viewed. 

At the same time, the author shows us with the example of several scientific studies, that acceptance-based strategies in dealing with chronic pain have proved to be more efficient than control-based strategies. Bringing these scientific facts to parallel the religion-based approach is very helpful for medical professionals, for whom it may be difficult to grasp this strategy only based on belief. 

Another interesting parallel was drawn within the discussion of non-attachment to the outcome. While describing how people of Hindu religion may take some steps to fight for their well-being, they are not attached to the specific outcome and take any outcome as the right one, Whitman also points out that professionals working in the field of chronic pain would themselves benefit from such approach in their practice. 

She goes on to explain that it would not mean giving up on the patient, but rather being the best possible professional and yet not being attached to a particular outcome of chosen treatment. These types of parallels, including the one in the quote I chose, are sort of putting invisible lines connecting everybody, showing that these concepts are relevant to virtually all of us. 

While the article is aimed at summarising the general approach to suffering and pain by people holding the Hindu religion,  the quote below  refers to the treatment of people of all religions and beliefs. Here, drawn from the example that not every Hindu person holds the exact same spiritual views, Whitman goes on to extend this idea to consider patients holding other sets of beliefs. In other words, the message is to guard our tendencies to generalise.

“As with any religion, patients who consider themselves Hindu may hold all the central beliefs described here or may believe in some tenets but not others. As such, there is not one single description of what every Hindu believes. Pain medicine practitioners must be culturally sensitive to patients of other religious traditions in general; as well, they must be sensitive to the unique beliefs of each individual they treat—whether of a differing religion, or even of patients who share their own religious tradition.” (p. 2)

Whatever religion the person might assign himself to, his individual beliefs may be anywhere in the range even slightly accepted within the religion. It is only through the cultural sensitivity of healthcare professionals that relevant beliefs may be revealed and considered in the planning of treatment.