EP 74: Modern Medicine & Lessons from the Bhagavad Gita with Dr Kavitha Chinnaiyan

“Seek refuge in the attitude of detachment and you will amass the wealth of spiritual awareness. The one who is motivated only by the desire for the fruits of their action, and anxious about the results, is miserable indeed.”
Bhagavad Gita

In medical school, Dr Chinnaiyan was fascinated with embryology. The question that used to hunt her was how does once cell know to differentiate into so many different organs: what is that knowledge?

In this week’s Parallax, Dr Ankur Kalra welcomes back Dr. Kavitha Chinnaiyan cardiologist, Professor of Medicine at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine and accomplished author.

This nurturing episode focuses on questions that touch on what it is that we seek as human beings and how can we cultivate awareness and authenticity while practicing modern medicine. Ankur asks Kavitha about what it means to be spiritual as a cardiologist. Kavitha talks about the experiences made possible by mindfulness. They discuss the difference between conditioning and growth. Kavitha talks about burn out and how we could make changes by embracing medicine not only as a measurable science but as an art.

What is happiness? How can we become more authentic by letting go of judgements? What can we achieve by looking at medicine not only as a science, but as an art?

Questions and comments can be sent to “[email protected]” and may be answered by Ankur in the next episode. Guest, @ChinnaiyanMD hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO.

You can find Drs Ankur Kalra, Erin Michos and Kavitha Chinnaiyan’s article on COVID-19 and the healthcare workers here: https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article/41/31/2936/5851729?login=false