Schools built on graveyard, haunted hospitals and abandoned buildings, ghosts and paranormal have always fascinated us. But did you ever think that you could learn about these phenomena in schools and colleges?

Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has started a 6-month certificate course in Bhoot Vidya, or the ‘science of paranormal’, the classes for which will begin from January 2020.

As per a report by Hindustan Times, this course would be for doctors who would be taught psychotherapy and other remedies to treat psychosomatic disorders and abnormal psychological conditions caused by unknown reasons. The course will be conducted by the faculty of Ayurveda.

Twitter

Doctors holding Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) and Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degrees would be eligible for studying the new course.

In conversation with media, Yamini Bhushan Tripathi, dean of the Ayurveda faculty, said:

A separate unit of Bhoot Vidya has been created in the faculty of Ayurveda for imparting formal education to doctors about the branch. Bhoot Vidya is one of the eight basic branches of Ashtanga Ayurveda. It mainly deals with psychosomatic disorders, diseases caused by unknown reasons and diseases of mind or psychic conditions.
culture trip

According to sources, faculty of Ayurveda at the BHU is the first in the country to create a separate unit of Bhoot Vidya and design a certificate course on the subject.

While some people questioned the government’s priorities and thought that this is a regressive course, others are citing similar courses from around the world in paranormal sciences.

Intriguing or regressive, what’s your take on it?