Homeopathy — A philosophy to be explored!

A friend once called me a ‘Homeopathy baby’ because within minutes of taking a homeopathy medicine, my wheezing, which until then didn’t let me even speak, had magically stopped right in front of her eyes. That was of course the dose given to provide immediate relief but homeopathy does not treat to suppress, it rather dives deeper to find the root cause — where the problem originated — physical or mental.

Picked up Shri Jagannath Chatterjee’s book “Why People are Sick” with the sole intention of understanding how healing works. The book is not your short cut to learn about healing or a handbook on homeopathy, but rather helps in understanding, as the name suggests, why we fall sick. Once we understand, we can attempt to not fall sick and even if we do, know how to heal.

My father developed cognitive issues recently following drop in platelets, hospital admission, allopathic medicines and their side effects. I was lucky enough to meet a homeopath who asked me the questions I would expect a genuine “doctor” to ask — that is not just about some numbers like Hb count etc. — but questions on the patient’s behaviour, response etc. The first interaction with this doctor, where I explained what the problem was, lasted for nearly one and half hours with him very sincerely and diligently wanting to know the details of events around my father and his illness.

Reading Dr Chatterjee’s book at the same time when my father’s treatment is ongoing, and me noticing gradual improvements, and understanding that it is going to be long drawn process, I understand more deeply now why homeopaths describe disease to be the result of a disturbed mind.

I will confess that though I have been on mostly homeopathy all my life, except for some urgent interventions here and there, and claim to know some homeopathy, I never had explored “miasm” in homeopathy. “Miasm” means an obstacle to cure the deeper roots to diseases and it can be traced back to generations. No wonder traditional homeopaths seek more and more information not just about the ailments but other aspects like mood, behaviour, likings — hot or cold, sleeping pattern, and of course the family history. I recently heard about a doctor who asks visiting patients to come along with a few family members. It is also a known fact that some diseases are hereditary.

So, the principle of homeopathy is based on the theory that a disturbed mind sends ripples down the body which disturbs the body. Toxins are produced in the body as a result of the disturbances and if these toxins are not let out or suppressed, more disturbances follow. One’s intellect also get impacted as a result of these disturbances. Depending on what was suppressed, the disease states are termed. Some of these states drain the body of vital nutrients and cause more complications. One of these states, or a combination of two states may be predominant in a person and that is the reason for the diseases he suffers from. Symptoms of Tuberculosis, AIDS seem to have parallels in symptoms of these states/or their combination states. Homeopathy remedies help in eliminating the toxins based on the state from which the toxins originated.

This principle of disease elimination may have limitations in case of injuries, accidents etc but once immediate relief is received, homeopathy may be a boon for long term benefits and in ensuring that other diseases do not manifest.

Of course there are diseases one cannot directly trace to the patient’s mind matters, but surely can be trace back to hereditary factors, medicines taken both by the person concerned and/or his parents, if not the generation before that.

Under classical homeopathic treatment, Dr Chatterjee in his book says that the disease disappears in the way it came, in the reverse order in which it had progressed.

More to learn…