Not long ago, the University of Oxford published
results of a study on wild chimpanzees in Uganda. Crucially, these results show
that chimps know of certain plants which they can apply to visible wounds, both
on themselves and on others. Tests on the particular types of leaf which they
were using showed that several of these had anti-bacterial properties, so the
chimps were applying leaves which were helping to heal the wound. With regard
to chimpanzee behaviour, the evidence suggests a number of things which were not
definitely proven before, but I wish to concentrate here on the animals’
instinctive knowledge of natural remedies. As a Bahá’í, this is no surprise to
me. There are references to the phenomenon of natural healing in the Bahá’í
writings. Abdu'l-Bahá, who was Bahá'u'lláh’s son, wrote the following on the
subject of animals healing themselves:
“Animals have never
studied medical science, nor carried on researches into diseases or medicines,
treatments or cures. Even so, when one of them falleth a prey to sickness,
nature leadeth it, in fields or desert places, to the very plant which, once
eaten, will rid the animal of its disease. The explanation is that
if, as an example, the sugar component in the animal’s body hath
decreased, according to a natural law the animal hankereth after a herb that is
rich in sugar. Then, by a natural urge, which is the appetite, among a
thousand different varieties of plants across the field, the animal will discover
and consume that herb which containeth a sugar component in large
amounts. Thus the essential balance of the substances composing its body is
re-established, and the animal is rid of its disease.”
This process also helps to keep animals in good health. They have very few
ailments compared to humans. Abdu’l-Bahá explained: “…when the constitution is
in a state of equilibrium, there is no doubt that whatever is relished will be
beneficial to health. Observe how an animal will graze in a field where there
are a hundred thousand kinds of herbs and grasses, and how, with its sense of
smell, it snuffeth up the odours of the plants, and tasteth them with its sense
of taste; then it consumeth whatever herb is pleasurable to these senses, and
benefiteth therefrom. Were it not for this power of selectivity, the animals
would all be dead in a single day; for there are a great many poisonous plants,
and animals know nothing of the pharmacopoeia.”
It is often said, for example, that ragwort is dangerous to grazing animals and
should be removed wherever found, but cattle, for instance, will not choose to
eat ragwort. It is only when plants grow in fields which are harvested for
fodder that it becomes dangerous, because the animals don’t recognise the bits
of ragwort which have become mixed in with the feed, so they become ill.
The same principle, of keeping and restoring the balance between different
chemicals or different food groups, applies also to human healing, and
therefore to human diet. Abdu'l-Bahá refers to various questions relating to a healthy
diet, including using plants for recreating a natural balance in the patient:
“People… must develop the science of medicine to such a high degree that they
will heal illnesses by means of foods. The basic reason for this is that if, in
some component substance of the human body, an imbalance should occur, altering
its correct, relative proportion to the whole, this fact will inevitably result
in the onset of disease…” Since the time in which Abdu'l-Bahá wrote these
words, a number of discoveries have been made in which certain conditions have
been shown to be a direct result of chemical or nutritional imbalance, and it
is also well understood that invasive diseases are more of a threat to those
whose nutritional condition is not good. More study of the effects of nutrition
in human beings is essential. Abdu’l-Bahá continued: “At whatever time highly
skilled physicians shall have developed the healing of illnesses by means of
foods, and shall make provision for simple foods, and shall prohibit humankind
from living as slaves to their lustful appetites, it is certain that the
incidence of chronic and diversified illnesses will abate, and the general
health of all mankind will be much improved.” In the meantime, we need to use modern
medicine when needed. Bahá'u'lláh, in communicating with a medical doctor,
wrote the following about the practice of medicine: “Do not neglect medical
treatment when it is necessary, but leave it off when health has been restored.
Treat disease through diet, by preference, refraining from the use of drugs;
and if you find what is required in a single herb, do not resort to a
compounded medicament… Abstain from drugs when the health is good, but
administer them when necessary.”
Through much of human history, there have been people who studied which plants
had beneficial results when treating each particular illness. Medical practice
began to neglect or even dismiss these “folk” remedies, but in the present era
there is now a general belief that there are naturally beneficial plants, and
that there will still be plant remedies to be discovered among the many
thousands of species present on the planet. This is indeed often used as an
argument for biodiversity: if we replace all the world’s forests with grazing
land for cattle or monocultures of palm oil, sugar cane or tea, we may well
lose entire species of plants before their medicinal possibilities are even
discovered. It is therefore of interest to learn that Bahá’í communities in
different countries are now deliberately planting native species on land
belonging to the community. For example, I am aware that this is happening
around both of the Houses of Worship in South America – the Continental one in
Chile and the local one in Colombia. Similarly, at the Bahá’í World Centre in
Haifa, Israel, the beautifully maintained Bahá’í gardens are flanked by areas
left for nature to flourish.
The Bahá’í approach to healing can be generally summarised as accepting
scientifically developed medical approaches, but coupling that with a desire to
learn more about the natural type of diet possible in each part of the world. We
have already discussed the idea of developing medicine in the direction of
healing illnesses by means of foods, but this is not to deny other current methods.
Bahá'u'lláh says: “Resort… in times of sickness, to competent physicians.” In
the case of the chimpanzees however, as they do not have doctors or hospitals
of their own, they will presumably continue to use natural healing.
