The festival commemorates the victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance.

Diwali solemnises various stories, most notably the return of Lord Rama and his wife Sita after defeating the demon king Ravana after 14 years in exile.

It also honours Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.

To mark the occasion I’d like to reach out to all within our community to empower you with information on how Diwali and Hinduism have shaped contemporary medicine and the excellent healthcare you receive from our NHS.

Diwali marks the birth of Dhanvantari, the Hindu god of medicine, and the first day of Diwali, called Dhanteras, is considered auspicious for health-related practices.

It is believed that on this day Dhanvantari came out of the ocean to gift the science of medicine.

Many patients within our community have gained enormous physical and mental health benefits from yoga, acupuncture, massage and herbal medicines. Hinduism has influenced contemporary healthcare through its integration with Ayurveda.

This is a system of traditional medicine native to India which uses a range of treatments, including yoga, massage, acupuncture and herbal medicine, to encourage health and wellbeing. It is a holistic system that emphasises the mind-body-spirit balance.

Ayurvedic medicine has also influenced the development of medical ethics through concepts like karma, reincarnation and the sanctity of life which can affect views on medical research, organ donation and end-of-life decisions.

Furthermore, preventative medicine has its roots ingrained in Ayurvedic medicine which prioritises the prevention of illness through hygiene and healthier lifestyle choices.

Since the formation of the Centre for Global Traditional Medicine, the World Health Organisation has published several important studies geared towards the standardisation of Ayurvedic principles with Western medicine.

Tens of thousands of patients within our community have received life-saving surgery but did you know that the origins of surgery were rooted deep within Hinduism well before the work of European contemporaries, such as French surgeon Ambroise Paré or the British surgeon Joseph Lister?

The Hindu doctor Sushruta published a thesis entitled Sushruta Samhita, which is an ancient text written in classical Indo-European language Sanskrit, on medicine and remains one of the most important such treatises on this subject to survive from the ancient world. It was written in the Indian city of Varanasi around the sixth century BCE.

While the original composition is dated to this period, the manuscript has been worked on by several authors with the oldest extant manuscripts dating to the third or fourth century AD.

The final version of Sushruta Samhita was influential with versions translated into Arabic in the eighth century AD and later into European languages.

It provides a comprehensive exploration of medical practices. Divided into six principal sections, it covers essential principles, ethics, pathology, human anatomy, medical and surgical management and toxicology.

Accordingly, Sushruta Samhita is considered the ‘Father of Surgery’ for its foundational contributions to medicine in ancient India, particularly on plastic and reconstructive surgery.

It describes over 300 surgical procedures and 120 surgical instruments.

For example, it’s the first text to describe the procedure of cataract surgery to restore sight and rhinoplasty to change the shape, size or structure of the nose using a forehead skin flap.

It was also influential in developing early anaesthesia to ensure operations are pain-free by advocating the use of wine with cannabis for anaesthesia, a method that predates similar practices described elsewhere in the world.

Doctors who treat patients with chronic pain know all too well that medical science provides incomplete and unsatisfactory pain relief to many patients.

Thousands of patients within our community suffer from chronic pain and rely upon specialist pain management programmes that teach them to cope with the pain while accepting that it will never be cured.

The aim of chronic pain management programmes is to minimise the negative impact it has upon quality of life.

This concept of ‘acceptance’ in pain management stems from Hinduism.

While Hinduism supports medical intervention to alleviate pain and suffering and has a strong history of advocating for compassionate care in pain management, the Hindu concept of acceptance of chronic pain involves a multi-faceted approach.

The concept of acceptance is central, not as resignation but as a way to gain detachment from the otherwise insurmountable mental and physical challenges of chronic pain by focusing on spiritual goals as a form of healing.

Diwali symbolises how multiculturalism has benefited our county through medical and spiritual innovation to improve the health of our community. Let’s all enjoy a happy Diwali.