Chapter 6 - The Oath of Initiation

In Caraka Samhita:

[Carakasaṃhitā Vimānasthāna A. 8.13]

“The teacher then should instruct the disciple in the presence of the sacred fire, Brahmanas and physicians—

(Saying) ‘Thou shalt lead the life of a bacheler (Brahmacārī), grow thy hair and beard, speak only the truth, eat not meat, eat only pure articles of food, be free from envy and carry no arms. There shall be nothing that thou oughtest not do at my behest except hating the king or causing another’s death or committing an act of great unrighteousness or acts leading to calamity

Thou shalt dedicate thyself to me and regard me as thy chief. Thou ehalt be subject to me and conduct thyself for ever for my welfare and pleasure. Thou shalt serve and dwell with me like a son or a slave or a supplicant. Thou shalt behave and act without arrogance and with care and attention, and with undistracted mind, humility, constant reflection, and with ungrudging obedience Acting either at my behest or otherwise, thou shalt conduct thyself for achievement of thy teacher’s purposes alone, to the best of thy abilities

If thou desirest success, wealth and fame as a physician and heaven after death, thou shalt pray for the welfare of all creatures beginning with the cows and Brahmanas.

Day and night, however thou mayest be engaged, thou shalt endeavour for the relief of patients with all thy heart and soul Thou shalt not desert or injure thy patient even for the sake of thy life or thy living. Thou shalt not commit adultery even in thought. Even so, thou shalt not covet other’s possessions. Thou shalt be modest in thy attire and appearance. Thou shouldst not be a drunkard or a sinful man nor shouldst thou associate with the abettors of crimes. Thou shouldst speak words that are gentle, pure and righteous, pleasing, worthy,

true, wholesome and moderate. Thy behaviour must be in consideration of time and place and heedful of past experience. Thou shalt act always with a view to the acquisition of knowledge and the fullness of equipment.

No persons who are hated of the king or who are haters of the king or who are hated of the public or who are haters of the public shall receive treatment. Similarly those that are of very unnatural, wicked and miserable character and conduct, those who have not vindicated their honor and those that are on the point of death, and similarly women who are unattended by their husbands or guardians shall not receive treatment.

No offering of gifts by a woman without the behest of her husband or guardian shall be accepted by thee While entering the patient’s house thou shalt be accompanied by a man who is known to the patient and who has his permission to enter and thou shalt be well clad and bent of head, self-possessed and conduct thyself after repeated consideration. Thou shalt thus properly make thy entry Having entered, thy speech, mind, intelect and senses shall be entirely, devoted to no other thought than that of being helpful to the patient and of things concerning him only.

The peculiar customs of the patients household shall not be made public. Even knowing that the patient’s span of life has come to its close, it shall not be mentioned by thee there, where if so done, it would cause shock to the patient or to others

Though possessed of knowledge, one should not boast very much of one’s knowledge. Most people are offended by the boastfulness of even those who are otherwise good and authoritative.”

In Sushruta Samhita:

[Suśrutasaṃhitā Sūtrasthāna A. 2.6-8]

“Thou shalt renounce all evil desires, anger, greed, passion, pride, egotism, envy, harshness, meanness, untruth, indolence and other qualities that bring infamy upon oneself Thou shalt clip thy nails and hair close, observe cleanliness, wear brown garment and dedicate thyself to the observance of truth, celibacy and the salutation to elders. Devoting thyself at my bidding to movement, laying thyself down, being seated, taking thy meal and study, thou shalt be engaged in doing whatever is good and pleasing to me. If thou shouldst behave otherwise, sin will befall thee. Thy learning will go fruitless and will attain no popularity.

If I do not treat thee properly despite thy proper observance of these behests, may sin befall me and my learning will go fruitless.

The twice-born, the preceptor, the poor, the friendly, the travellers, the lowly, the good and the destitute—these thou shalt treat when they come to thee, like thy own kith and kin and relieve their ailments with thy medications. Thus behaving, good will befall thee. Thou shalt not treat a hunter, a bird catcher, an outcaste and a person doing sinful acts. Thus, thy learning, will attain popularity and will gain for thee friends, fame, righteousness, wealth and fulfilment”.

In Kashyapa Samhita:

[Kāśyapasaṃhitā Vimānasthāna Pṛ. 80]

“O gentle one, you should be agreeable in disposition and righteous You should control your senses and be ready to study when called You shall have no secrets from me, share the suffering of others, bear in mind country and clime and be resolute You should be away from greed, anger, infatuation, envy, derision, enmity, wine, flesh and females. You should apply yourself to study after serving the preceptor. You should not go away without taking his permission, without having worshipped the preceptor and without completing the full course of study.”

In Hastyayarveda (Hasti-Ayarveda):

[Hastyāyurveda 6.12-15]

“O son! you should never turn deceitful, wicked, greedy, envious, hard-hearted and unfair. You should always be free from lethargy and sin and should have the character of venerable persons and compassion for the family and should always put yourself at the service of the preceptor.

If, towards such a submissive student the preceptor is unfair in the matter of clothes, study and food, he will incur the sin committed towards the disciple.

If in spite of the noble dealing of the preceptor in the matter of imparting learning, food and delight, the disciple behaves in a contrary manner, he incurs sin committed towards his preceptor.”

Conclusion:

The spirit of dedication with which all education was pursued and particularly medical education, is evidenced by the character of the initiation ceremony described in the medical texts such as Caraka, Sushruta, Kashyapa and Palakapya. There after going into elaborate details as to how the student should approach the Guru and the auspicious nature of the time and the place, the teacher depicts fully the nature of the duties and responsibilities devolving upon the aspirant to the medical profession, setting out in full the daily behaviour during the student-career as well as his conduct as a full-fledged physician. This is done in the form of an oath, which is administered to the student by the teacher in the presence of the sacred fire, Brahmanas and physicians of repute and standing. This ceremony reflects the deep import that the ancients had attached to such undertakings, for by that they sought to impress on the young man entering on his career of enlightenment, the solemnity and sanctity of the pursuit he had taken up

The student took the oath after invoking the names of the great promulgators of Ayurveda, namely Brahma, Dhanvantari, Prajapati, Ashvins, Indra, and the Rishi compilers of the great medical text-books. This is the list of names as found in Caraka Sushruta instead of mentioning the individual names of deities and the Rishis refers in general to all presiding deities and Rishis of medicine. In Kashyapa we find mention of Soma, Kashyapa, Sarasvati and Purna Bhaga as being the gods to be invoked at the administration of the oath Palakapya, the author of Hastyayurveda or the science of medicine for elephants, lays down the invocation of the deities and elephants of the quarters, Sankara, Visnu, the sun and the moon, the planets, Skanda and a host of minor deities.

On the completion of the initiation ceremony, the student is said to be a Dvija (twice born) and is designated as a Brahmacari (Brahmacārī) till he completes his life as a student.

[...—Yogīndranātha Sena]

“The first birth is from the womb of the mother and the second birth is through initiation”

The Brahmacari is one who has dedicated himself to the pursuit of knowledge:

brahma jñānaṃ tapo vā ācarati arjayatyavaśyam—

“One who necessarily practises penance or acquires knowledge.”

He is held in high esteem by all the lawgivers; and the society.

During the student life, special emphasis is laid on celibacy, abstinence from meat-foods, the non-carrying of weapons and non-resort to seditious and sinful acts even at the express command of the teacher, to whom the student otherwise owes unquestioning obedience Brahmacari, as he is now called, is according to Kashyapa exhorted to keep a liberal mind and progress with the spirit of the times. The part of the oath which relates to the life that the student was to lead when he actually took up the calling of a physician will be touched upon when we come to the subject of the ceremony marking the completion of the studies or graduation