Medical Prospects in India

There are other features relative to our medical work in this field to which I believe we should give study. From time to time we have given thought to the question of health-food work. ' The Spirit of prophecy tells us that this work is an important part of our program wherever our work is established. Our people in Australia have perhaps taken this instruction to heart more than in any other part of the world. We see there a fully established, successful health-food program being carried forward, In America, our Loma Linda Foods, Worthington Foods, Miller Foods, Madison Foods, as well as several private con­cerns, have all achieved a good degree of success. Here in Southern Asia we have done very little so far in this line.

There are, of course, certain well-known deter­rent factors here in India which militate against the success of such a venture, as, for instance, religious prejudices and superstitions in regard to touching food, communal variations in tastes, and the financial limitations of the buying public. It is a recognized fact, however, that at the present time there is a marked liberalization of thinking in regard to these social and religious barriers to progress.

There is then another question which we have before us—the possibility of our developing a sanitarium work in this field. We are conducting hospital work. In fact, we have had as many as eight hospitals functioning at one time in India. However, I believe we have never had an institu­tion in which was carried on what might be called genuine sanitarium work.

As we discussed this matter at our recent divi­sion committee meeting in Mussoorie, it was felt that there would be great advantage in developing an institution of this kind. If centrally located, it could become a means of bringing our work to the favorable attention of Indian leaders and gov­ernment officials. We know something of the influence of our sanitariums in places like Wash­ington, D.C., Shanghai, Southern California, as well as various countries of Europe where the leading^- people of these countries have come into favorable contact with our work through our sanitariums.

We have already made a little start toward this in our approach to the General Conference on the question, and in our budget, as you noticed, we have set aside a substantial amount which will be the beginning of the fund which we hope may ultimately provide for the opening of this institu­tion. There are various suggestions as to where this might be located. Delhi seems to be the favored site, although Poona, certain places in Bengal, and elsewhere, have been suggested.

Opportunities in Christian Temperance Lines

Passing on to another phase of our health work which I believe has been somewhat neglected not only in this country but in other countries as well, I would call attention to the field of temperance promotion. There was a time when our people were more enthusiastically engaged in the promo­tion of temperance. However, at the present time we are not doing what we should in this field. It is the definite purpose of the General Conference that we should be identifying ourselves with every force in the world which is working consistently in the cause of temperance. I hope to see our people, both laymen and medical, engaged more actively and in a more influential and strong manner with those who are pressing forward with temperance work.

Here in India we are particularly advanta­geously situated to help in this regard. The peo­ple of India know what we stand for. The lead­ing political figures in India are all, including the Congress, declared outright opponents of liquor and all liquor interests. We have in this an op­portunity to take advantage of our situation and establish ourselves as leaders in the field of Chris­tian temperance. Turning to the question of the importance of our medical work, we have a state­ment from the Spirit of prophecy which reads :

"When those in charge of the medical missionary work realize that plants must be made in many places, God's work will be carried forward even in the hardest fields. When men see that it is necessary to establish the medical missionary work in America, can they not see that the same work is needed in new fields, where there is nothing to give character to the work?"—Medi­cal Ministry, pp. 329, 330.

When opening up work in new fields, this is one feature in which we necessarily are quite lacking—that quality which gives people the impression that there is background and char­acter to our work—and we believe that our medi­cal program, properly conducted and carried for­ward, is a feature which will surely supply it. This will be true, however, only insofar as it is developed within the framework given us by the Spirit of prophecy.

Background and "Character" That Bear Fruit

Recently we have seen the effect of this influence in our own district around Nuzvid, South India. There has been on the part of various doctors who have been sent to the government hospital at Nuzvid a bit of prejudice against the wide influ­ence of our Christian institution. However, our doctors have always attempted to cultivate the friendship of these physicians. Following their worthy example, as soon as I arrived in Nuzvid I made it a point to meet the present incumbent in the government hospital, who is a very fine Hindu gentleman. He is very much a strictly religious Hindu, and as such has a considerable degree of appreciation of values. This man saw in our work something which happily surprised him.

Shortly after we arrived in Nuzvid, the district medical officer was making a routine inspection of government hospitals and dispensaries in our section. Just to learn what might be going on in the mission hospital, he condescended to come over and look around. I was pleased to show him the work we were doing, and tell him some­thing of our plans for development.

It happened that at the time he called, we had nine typhoid cases in the hospital. This attracted his attention, and he wanted, to know how we were treating them. I told him quite in detail the technique we were using. It was such a radical departure from what is generally accepted in his country that he could scarcely believe that we were meeting with success by such means. He thought that what we were doing was so danger­ous we could not be saving them. He asked, "What is your mortality?"

I replied that we had had none to the present this year.

He was much surprised and said, "I admire the boldness with which you are doing this, but I would hesitate very much to try it in my own hospital."

Cases were being brought in which were sup­posedly hopeless and ready to die, even those that had been comatose for hours. These were treated by forcing fluids and food. He thought that would surely cause rupture of the bowel, with consequent peritonitis and early death. But he observed the most serious cases going out well again. Thus the doctor went about the institu­tion, carefully looking over the details of our functioning, and upon leaving, he thanked us enthusiastically for what we had shown him.

About a month later our friend, the local gov­ernment doctor, came over and said, "I have a letter from the district medical officer in which he wishes to know whether you will lecture to the district medical society on such and such a date."

Upon looking at the calendar, I found that this date fell on the Sabbath. In answer to my ques­tion as to what hour the meeting would begin, the government doctor explained that it would be at four in the afternoon. I said, "You will then have to count me out, as our Sabbath is not over until sundown, which comes about five-thirty."

"Would five o'clock do ?" he asked. "I think we could wait that long for you."

"No, I am sorry, sir," I said, "but if I am to be there to lecture it will have to be some time after five-thirty."

He wrote to the district medical officer, explain­ing the circumstances, to which a reply came back: "That is all right. We will have our busi­ness meeting first and get our tea out of the way, and at 5:30 we will be ready for the medical lecture."

We drove down to visit some of our outsta­tions on Sabbath, and then at the appointed time went to the city where the medical meeting was called. Here I found some forty or fifty doctors gathered. They gave me a very cordial reception. As they had requested, I spoke to them on the scientific aspects of the treatment of typhoid fever. The lecture was followed by a very hearty dis­cussion, at which I was held for about two hours. At the close there were a number who expressed their appreciation of the material presented.