• This article attempts to throw light on the origin and development of the science of Naturopathy. It traces the roots of this natural healing system, and brings us back to the India connection, where it got shaped into a huge sheltering and protective Banyan Tree. Naturopathy is a healing system, which only uses natural means to effect cure.

It is a known fact that India is the cradle of the Science of Ayurveda, and its origins are traced back to the Vedas, one of the oldest known treatises on all aspects of life. However, the fact about the origin of Science of Naturopathy would probably be lost upon many, except for the students, teachers, scholars and ardent researches of this subject. Far from what many may believe—thanks to the term ‘Naturopathy’ being associated with Mahatma Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave, and Morarji Desai—India is NOT the country of origin of Naturopathy.

The concept of Nature having the power to heal has been around for centuries and finds mention in many cultures. The earliest mention is said to be in Vedas, and also in Tamil Siddha literature. However, Naturopathy is believed to have sprouted in Greece where Hippocrates gave the idea that the body has the ability to heal itself. It germinated in Europe, was planted in the US, and finally blossomed in India.

Hippocrates was a Greek physician who lived from 460-370 BCE. Traditionally known as the ‘Father of medicine’, he established the idea of the "healing power of nature" His famous saying, "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food", implying that we should use natural foods to prevent and treat illnesses, is one of the cornerstones of Naturopathic practices till today. 

Unlike Ayurveda and Siddha Systems, which trace back their origins to Yogic Sciences and the Great Spiritual Masters of India, Naturopathy developed through stray incidences observed and practiced by simple people in Europe, who first tried out their observations to heal themselves with amazing results.

The European roots

Many of the principles and philosophies of naturopathy originated in Germany and Europe in the 17th and 18th century. The earliest significant reference is to an English Physician Sir John Floyer (1649-1734), who published a book in 1732, Psychrolousia, or The History of Cold Bathing: Both Ancient and Modern. The book covered topics like hydrotherapy and cryotherapy. Floyer is also credited with inventing the Pulse watch, which provided the first exact method to count the pulse.

A Cambridge University Press article, published by National Library of Medicine, USA, gives details of cold-water treatments by Floyer’s student, Scottish Physician James Currie (1756-1805), in late 18th century. However, it is Vincenz Priessnitz (1799-1851), an Austrian peasant, who brought world attention to water as a method of treatment for many illnesses.

Priessnitz’s first encounter with the healing properties of water was at the age of 13, when he placed his sprained wrist under flowing cold water and got relief from pain. Since it was impractical for him to continue to place his wrist under water, he devised a wet bandage to give him similar result and relief. It is said that he had earlier observed a wounded deer visiting a flowing stream again and again till it completely got healed.

There is another famous story about Priessnitz using wet bandages to heal his broken ribs from a traumatic accident at age 17.  Having tried the water cure method on himself several times, he later developed plunge bath, shallow baths, and wet sheets to give relief to those who started visiting him for their health problems.

Although his main focus was on hydrotherapeutic techniques, Priessnitz also laid stress on vegetarian food, air, exercise, rest, water, and traditional medicine, and is therefore credited with laying the foundations of what later came to be known as Nature Cure. 

Advances of hydrotherapeutics

The use of cold water as a curative is recorded in the works of Hippocrates, and techniques such as spas, bathing, and drinking were used by various physicians in Europe and the US throughout the 18th century. However, Priessnitz took it to another level after having major success applying it on his patients.

Interestingly, Priessnitz had the enterprise to turn his observations and random practices into a thriving industry. He used his mountain location to establish a spa at Gräfenberg where he promoted various forms of hydrotherapy. He kind of established a modern 'health farm' with emphasis on pure water in large quantities, both internal and external, where cold water compresses, baths and showers were interspersed with mountain walks, lots of fresh air, and exercises.

His success prompted claims by Austrian physicians that he must be achieving such good results by other methods which resulted in quite a few prosecutions against him. However, he was vindicated by an Imperial Commission, the findings of which were so favourable that Priessnitz's business flourished even more.

Eventually, Priessnitz had the Austrian medical establishment on his side, and his therapies were incorporated into the curriculum at the medical school in Vienna, thus gaining credibility throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His fame as Father of Hydrotherapy was so widespread by mid-19th century, that he became a household name on the European continent, and his death was reported as far away as New Zealand.

Priessnitz, with his path-breaking work and effective results, left an indelible mark on the entire European landscape, and up to the shores of America. Richard Metcalfe, his biographer, in his 1898 biography, stated: "there are hundreds of establishments where the water-cure is carried out on the principles laid down by Priessnitz". 

The beginning of health concepts

Sebastian Kneipp (1821–1897), a German Catholic priest, walks tall amongst many others who took up the ways of Priessnitz. While attempting to heal himself of tuberculosis, Kneipp began reading many books and found his illness described in a book about water cures. It is recorded that Priessnitz’s work was continued by Kneipp, "an able and enthusiastic follower" of Priessnitz, "whose work he took up where Priessnitz left it". 

Kneipp began working with the cures developed by Priessnitz, but later developed a more complicated and gentle method. The five-pronged concept devised by Kneipp for his therapy combines hydrotherapy with herbs, healthy nutrition, exercise, and emotional well-being.

His carefully-considered health concept has been practised, disseminated, and refined for over a century. There is scarcely anyone in Europe who has not at least heard of Kneipp therapies. Many effects brought about by Kneipp treatments are said to have now been scientifically confirmed.

Kneipp later expanded the definition of health to include a more holistic view, which included mental, social, and spiritual aspects. In 1891, he founded Kneipp Bund, an organization that promotes water healing to this day. Presently, there are about 600 organizations that are a part of Kneipp Worldwide and there are approximately 1000 members of the International Society of Kneipp Physicians. Towards the end of his life and after his death, various organizations were created to teach his methods, and his treatments became part of mainstream medicine in Germany. 

Kneipp’s concepts of health and disease played a very significant role in giving shape to Modern Naturopathy in the Western world. 

Later hydro-therapists and Naturopaths, who had taken many a leaf out of Kneipp’s practices, kept refining the concepts further. However, the contribution of Benedict Lust, Louis Kuhne and Adolf Just stand out from amongst a gallery of dedicated practitioners; they provided a much needed theoretical and philosophical foundation and framework for the others to work upon. 

Kuhne’s book, The New Science of Healing, along with Return to Nature by Adolf Just, hugely influenced Mahatma Gandhi and triggered the Naturopathy movement in India. 

The history of Naturopathy and the associated branches that emerged over the late 19th and early 20th centuries bring us back home to the Indian shores, where this science evolved to the ultimate levels of deeper precepts and more refined concepts.

But all that is another story!

Anuradha Vashisht    is a Natural Health educationist who is promoting preventive health care through her HEALTH NECTAR initiative for more than two decades. She guides individuals to recover and enhance their health levels naturally, by adopting natural health care concepts and dietary changes. She trained under Acharya Seshadri Swaminathan, foremost and the most committed disciple of Acharya Lakshmana Sarma, known as Father of Nature Cure in India.

Anuradha can be contacted at reach.healthnectar@gmail.com

References

1. The origins and fate of James Currie's cold-water treatment for fever. A Cambridge  University Press article published by National Library of Medicine, USA. 

2. Vincent Priessnitz by National Library of Medicine, USA .

3. Wikipedia.org

4. Hidden Europe Magazine

5.https://www.unesco.at/en

Also read

1. About Naturopathy

2. History of Naturopathy and its benefits today

3. Ayurveda and Modern Concepts

4. Naturopathy by Swami Sivananda

5. Ayurveda, the Science of Life is always relevant