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The fundamental
principles of Homoeopathy
1.
Diseases are not what we actually call it a disease, not
the presence of morbific agents or the pathological
changes; the disease is prior to the results. Sickness
begins long before we are able to see it through the
tissue changes in the body. Organs are not man; he is
prior to organs; real sickness is prior to his sick
body.
2. To kill
bacteria is not cure. Mere removal of the symptoms is
not cure. Real cure is bringing the whole organism into
a state where it is impossible for the bacteria to
thrive on it. Removal of symptoms must be followed by
health.
3. There
is a Vital Force, animating the body and ruling with
unbounded sway and retaining all parts of organism in
admirable and harmonious vital functions. (It must be
stupid to suppose that the body functions are
individualistic and are going on by themselves. There
must be a co-ordinating agent. Hahnemann called it Vital
Force. The modern scientist may attribute this to our
endocrinal system, which has the chief role on the
control of body metabolism. We may call this Vital Force
by any name but the concept is that there is Master
Agent monitoring all the activities of body in the
body’s struggle for existence.)
Dr.Hahnemann says that this vital force is endowed with
formative intelligence (namely, construction,
development, domination and adoption). How true it is?
Are we to believe that the organs are capable of
carrying out these functions themselves without the
direction and control by a Central Co-ordinating Agent
with formative intelligence. Let us take the example of
an ordinary injury. One will be lost in wonder at the
system and approach to the repair of the injury. The
blood platelets rush to the spot to prepare a dam to
obstruct the blood flow and prevent blood loss. These
platelets, which have been hitherto aimlessly floating
in the blood stream get, activated the moment injury
takes place. Then, there is an enormous effort in the
bone marrow to step up production of red blood cells to
compensate for the loss of blood. And then the body
defence system is alerted and the white cells, which are
on petrol in the blood stream, rush to the area of
disturbance to fight and devour the bacteria that might
find entry into the system. There is some method of
rapport. Evidently, it is this Central Intelligence that
is co-ordinating. It is preposterous to imagine that all
these activities could go on by themselves without the
guidance of Central Intelligence.
4. This
concept of Vital Force led Hahnemann to conclude that
disease cannot be physical but it shall have to be
dynamic. If this body function is dynamic, the disease
also must be dynamic. Disease is not the physical or
chemical changes that are taking place. It is here that
the clash with science occurs. Science wants physical
proof. Hahnemann propounded his theory of Homoeopathic
principles and then challenged the world, “TRY IT AND
PROVE IT OTHERWISE.” It is a scientific challenge. It is
true that no physical proof of the Central Intelligence
could be furnished by science. Also, there are no means
to explain how the Homoeopathic potencies are acting on
the system. However, the results of experimentation
could be verified.
There is practically no original substance in the
Homoeopathic remedies, they are the product of
dynamisation, and there are no physical or chemical
reactions. And just by their coming in contact with the
sentient nerves, the reaction begins. No substantial
doses need go into blood or the body system. As
Hahnemann said that the action is dynamic, it would
require approach to quantify the reaction on dynamic
scales only. The science has not made any endeavour to
proceed on these lines. Somewhere in the future, some
interested scientist may take up the research, and may
be able to corroborate the principles propounded by
Hahnemann.
Some body may say that practice of modern medicine is
assisted by clinical tests, X-rays, instrumental
recordings etc. With reference to this, we would have to
first firm up the concept of disease. The changes in the
activities of body, the changes in sensation and changes
in functions are indicative of disturbance in the
Central Intelligence and if this disturbance of the
Central Intelligence is set right, automatically it will
carry on the control of the right functions of the body,
which it has learnt to do of its own during its
relentless struggle for survival. What the physician can
ultimately do is just assist the body in this relentless
struggle to heal itself and preserve itself.
Each system may do it in its own way. The modern system
endeavours to go to the help of the body by assisting
the individual functions. For example, if fever is the
result of virus infection, attempts are made to kill the
virus. If there is anaemia, which is indicative of iron
deficiency, attempts are made to feed the system with
iron. If the kidneys are secreting less urine, attempts
are made to activate the nephrons and the tubules to
secret more. If there is elevated blood pressure,
attempts are made to dilate the arterioles to bring down
the blood pressure. If there is pain, analgesics are fed
to relieve pain. It can be easily observed that none of
these functions can lead to cure. What the modern
physician is attempting is to assist the individual body
functions for alleviation. He will do this until such
time that the disturbed or dazed Central Intelligence is
restored to normalcy and is able to carry on its regular
functions of control and co-ordination of body
metabolism. That is why in some of the systemic diseases
like hypertension, modern medicine cannot be
discontinued since there is no tendency for the Central
Intelligence to restore itself to normalcy in such
cases. Nature has made provision for restoration to
normalcy but in cases of systemic diseases, there is no
such tendency. It is here the advantage of Homoeopathy
can be noticed, since its approach is with reference to
the Central Intelligence only. However, we should not
confound with those incurable cases where the tissue
changes have been so extensive that repair and normalcy
are ruled out, even by Homoeopathic treatment.
5. The
disease makes known itself by the symptoms, that is, the
changes in the activities of body, changes in the
sensation and changes in functions. When all functions
are carried on in a perfectly orderly way, we have no
consciousness of our body. And guided by these changes
and guided by the symptoms produced by the Homoeopathic
remedies on healthy persons, Homoeo remedies are
administered. Some dynamic reaction takes place. The
Central Intelligence swings back into corrective action
and normalcy is restored. Thus, there is no absolute
need of clinical tests for Homoeo treatment except by
way of some prognostic reference. For example even in
modern medicine, the E.S.R has no diagnostic value, but
it has only prognostic value. The detection of Typhoid
bacilli in the Widal test is not going to alter the
approach of treatment by Homoeopathy; the selection of
remedy will have to be based on individual symptoms and
not based on the presence of the Typhoid bacilli. Thus
such of those Homoeopaths who took to the routine
prescription based on pathology, faced more failures in
practice.
Let us recall the
challenge of Hahnemann, “TRY IT AND PROVE IT OTHERWISE.”
This is scientific. Many of the stalwarts of
Homoeopathic system were those who came from Allopathic
system. They were themselves stalwarts in Allopathic
system. Dr.Frederic Foster Harvey Quin was one who
became the first practicing Homoeopathic doctor in
England. It was Quin who initiated the founding of the
British Homoeopathic society in 1843. Then there is the
great Dr.Constantine Hering. He was a brilliant young
doctor under the famous surgeon Dr.Robbi at the
University of Leipzig. At about this time Robbi was
asked to write an article against Homoeopathy, which was
meant to be its deathblow. Dr.Robbi being a very busy
practitioner suggested his brilliant young assistant
Dr.Hering. Dr.Hering set about first reading as much as
possible of Hahnemann’s writings. Next, to investigate
the truth of these writings he procured some cinchona
tincture and experimented on the lines enunciated by
Hahnemann. Dr.Hering never wrote the article meant to be
the death-knell to Homoeopathy but later he himself
became an able champion of Homoeopathy.
If we give ourselves to a
little contemplation, it will be evident that it is
wiser to keep our trust in the power of the body to
organize itself and to control all the related
activities and to restore itself to health. The body has
acquired this power from the nature. What the physician
can do is help the body to discharge its functions
according to the nature. Otherwise, the least we disturb
it, the better. And also the nearer to Nature we live,
the healthier we will be.
In a normal healthy body,
without any outside assistance, the body can take care
of itself. But man does not live in harmony with Nature.
With civilization, man’s need for vices increased.
Coffee, alcohol, cigarette smoking, various types of
artificial foods, environmental pollution, stresses of
fastness of modern life and many other things make his
internal system pre-occupied with combating the internal
pollution with the result his defense system gets
sluggish. The Naturopaths assert that no outside
organism can harm our body if our internal system is
kept in a perfect healthy condition by living nearer to
Nature. It is recorded that a German doctor, a staunch
advocate of Naturopathy swallowed cholera germs from a
test tube, enough to pollute a whole township and
remained without any adverse effects.
We cannot say that
Homoeopathy is not scientific simply because the present
day science is not able to define it. The principles of
Homoeopathy can be verified by any body by resorting to
experimentation.
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