The Spirit of Homeopathy
- Rajan Sankaran - Part 1
Bio and previous experience
He worked with Dr. Jayesh Shah after his graduation from
the Homeopathic College.
Lectured in Europe and India between 1986 and 1990.
Sankaran first used the repertorizing method of
characteristic and peculiar symptoms but found that it failed more often than it
cured. Working with the pathology also did not work well. Prescribing by mentals
and generals was much more successful. Even though the pathology is not covered,
the remedy cures when following this method.
One principle that he followed was that of using only one
remedy at a time. This helped him to validate his observations.
He tried to find more ways for understanding the mental
state of the person. One was dream interpretation. Also the patient’s
communication and interaction with other people was important.
The Central Disturbance
The mental and general symptoms are called the “central
disturbance” and is followed by changes in the various organ systems depending
on each individual’s pathological tendencies.
The mental state of a person is different than listing his
mental symptoms.
General modalities are common to all provers. Aconite
produces violence of mind, Stramonium – terror, Pulsatilla – a tearful
disposition. Particular symptoms will show only if the prover is susceptible to
them. Modalities represent the state of the central disturbance.
Prescribing on mental and generals
A remedy given on the basis of just mentals and generals
will cure even when the pathology has not been seen before. Ignoring the mental
and general symptoms will produce a failed case.
Kent said to write down the symptoms in two columns. One
column is for the symptoms that are common to the pathology and the other is for
the ones not common, or the non-pathognomonic. These non-pathognomonic symptoms
represent the central disturbance.
Boger talked of characteristic or uncommon symptoms. He
said to generalize the modalities of them.
Boenninghausen talked of concomitants. These are symptoms
that fill in the totality of the person. Generals come from looking at
concomitants together. His doctrine of concomitance is as follows: “The
concomitant is to the totality what modality is to the symptom – it is the
differentiating factor.”
Try to generalize the modality that leads to the peculiar
symptoms. Phatak’s Repertory,
Boger’s Synoptic Key,
Boenninghausen’s Therapeutic Pocket Book
and Boenninghausen’s Characteristics and
Repertory are based on this.
The remedy and the disease state
“Potentised remedies have dynamic effect only.”
Understand remedies in terms of components. For instance,
Aconite has “predicts the time of death” as a symptom. There are two
components here. There is fear of death and clairvoyance. These components are
connected in the background by all being needed at the same time.
Disease is a survival mechanism in a particular situation.
Sankaran calls this situational materia medica.
Children who have no special past situations have disease
because it is inherited from past relatives. There is a striking resemblance
between the pregnant mother and the eventual infant. There are even similarities
between the state of the parents at conception and the child.
Allopathic treatment assumes that disease is local and can
be cured locally.
Disease is more about the patient’s state of being than
the local problem. This state of being is either an unsuitable posture taken
against a misperceived perception or an out of proportion reaction.
Roots
The impressions of an past extreme situation that still
exist in the current mental state is called a root. Roots can be inherited from
mothers during pregnancy or from both of the parents during conception. They
will be stimulated to produce disease through external factors later in life.
“Roots [of disease] are tendencies which, when excited,
manifest as specific states of disease. These tendencies are impressions from
specific situations in the past (or previous generations) and make a person feel
and react as if he is in that situation (delusion).” p. 7
Health was a restoration of the patient’s reaction to the
present by exposing them and thus making them aware to the delusion that was
their disease.
The ideas that are new to classical homeopathy or at least
not well explained are the ideas of roots of disease, components of mind,
importance and use of delusions and dreams, compensated and uncompensated
feelings, homeo-psychotherapy and situational materia medica.
Patients can have multiple roots which will be treated by a
repeated series of remedies. Sulph-Calc-Lyc is one of the most common. This is a
dominating state and silent states where only one remedy picture is active at a
time. Roots are cured with one dose, silent states remain active and return
after one dose.
Origins of roots
Strong roots are produced by long exposure to situations.
More excitable roots are the most recent that the patient has been exposed to. A
mother’s emotional state during pregnancy is more recent than her previously
acquired roots.
Often, twins must have different remedies. This is because
they must have been raised differently.
Disease causes other than roots
Out of proportion reactions can sometimes be stopped by
will power. A reaction that is in proportion is not a disease.
Diseases can be because of intense external causes without
a root present. This is what happens in an epidemic or an acute problem. The
reaction to the stressing factor usually is greater than what is necessary.
Disease consists of two parts: a general disturbance of the
whole organism and localized problems. The disturbance, which includes physical,
general and mental changes, precede the localized symptoms.
Sankaran assumes
that the general disturbance is that which Hans Selye describes as the
“general adaptation syndrome.”
Disease is a blockage of the spirit which is using the
human organism. A compulsion is when the person still acts as if the blockage is
there. This is a delusion.
Disease is a restriction of vision and awareness can remove
delusions. Meditation, philosophy and psychoanalysis create awareness. A remedy
puts you in touch with the original delusion.
Normal stress that causes a disturbance makes the person
feel OK about himself. A disease state causes the person to feel separated and
negative in a special way. A lame man feels OK about himself even though he
can’t walk. The man who thinks he can’t walk feels disadvantaged in some way
but doesn’t know. The lame man could have a son who would feel disadvantaged
in some way like the lame man but wouldn’t know how.
Because a person has an ego, they are much more susceptible
to disease. There are more reasons in the ego to feel stress. Animals only wish
to survive and their symptoms would be less in number.
Ego is a delusion, but a healthy one. It keeps man
progressing and is part of the survival mechanism. You can reach a higher level
of spirituality by becoming aware of the ego in the consciousness of the mind.
The ego is the first identity of the person and the spiritual identity is the
second identity of the person.
The process of cure is an act of consciousness where the
body becomes aware of the real state of the cause of the overreaction. Body and
mind are both part of consciousness.
Homeopathic treatment is better than psychotherapy because
it only concerns itself with the what and not the why. It eliminates the need to
relive the experience to become aware of it which is made difficult if it was
the parent’s state that caused it.
The PNEI axis
The mind acts on the body through three systems. These are
the nervous system, the endocrine system and the immunological system. These
form the PNEI axis (Psyche, Neuro, Endocrine, Immunological). This axis controls
and regulates all other body systems. A remedy acts on the vital force through
this axis. This is where the first symptoms in cure will be seen and not the
local symptoms.
The symptoms of the PNEI axis together represent the
“central disturbance.”
If a remedy covers the central disturbance then it will
cure the pathology even if atypical of the remedy. Just because it covers the
particulars does not mean it will cure.
Hahnemann’s mental, general, and peculiar or
characteristic symptoms are represented by the PNEI axis disturbances. Many
localized symptoms like the burning of the soles of Sulphur are the result of
the nervous system disturbance.
Potentized remedies have no sphere of action except on the
vital force. The organ affinities often talked about are a result of
toxicological properties. The effects on the PNEI axis as a result of the toxic
effects of the drug will yield to the potentized version of the substance.
Prescribing principles
Children have a strong vital force and can withstand a
strong general disturbance. You will good mental, general and peculiar symptoms
from them. In older people the vital force is less and the disturbance is
diverted into pathological symptoms. These are always in the least important
parts possible and not the entire part if possible.
Vitality is high when few local symptoms appear with a
strong central disturbance. It is low when there is severe pathology and a weak
central disturbance.
A remedy which is indicated by the local symptoms will
palliate but will not cure.
Removing the local symptom will eliminate the expression of
the central disturbance and cause the vital force to find another area to
transfer it to. Continued homeopathic palliation will create this kind of
suppression as much as allopathic means.
Changes in symptoms do not require a change in remedies
unless the original characteristics have been superceded.
“The indication for
a change is a change in the indications.”
Pathology depends on the disease picture (“nature of the
state”), the tendencies of the person either inherited or acquired, and the
level of vitality of the person. Any disease picture can aggravate a strong
tendency towards a pathology so you shouldn’t rule out a remedy without a
particular pathology. A person without the characteristic headache of Spigelia
only means that that person does not have any tendencies towards headaches and
not that Spigelia wouldn’t cure their asthma. You would however expect to find
the modalities and other characteristics of Spigelia. So don’t memorize one
keynote for a remedy.
Prognoses:
Tendency not aggravated easily and pathology not severe: Best prognosis.
Tendency aggravated easily: Very poor. No tendency but pathology exists (acute
states): Excellent.
Modalities, sensations and locations are all tied together
by what it means by expressing it that way. A desire to keep quiet, aggravation
from talking and a feeling of vocal cord paralysis are all expressing the same
thing – that they shouldn’t talk.
Many characteristics of remedies such as the bearing down
sensation of Sepia are nervous sensations and not necessarily pathologies.
Symptoms are more important when there are no physical explanation for them and
occur as a concomitant to or independent of the pathology. This leads you to the
small or lesser used remedies.
Treat the present state of the person not the past states.
The totality is the totality of the present states.
Concomitant types
Physical concomitant to mental e.g. burning between scapula
when excited.
Physical concomitant to physical pain e.g. can’t tolerate
light during an asthma attack.
Mental concomitant to physical e.g. suicidal feeling during
pain
Mental concomitant to mental e.g. grief with depression but
likes to talk.
Causation
“Ailments from” come from clinical sources so should
not be used in finding a remedy but only confirmation.
Arnica symptoms occurring long after an injury, without a
history of an injury, or from a little injury but out of proportion would
indicate it as a deep-acting remedy for the person.
A deeply acting remedy also would be indicated for a person
when symptoms are not listed in Ailments
from, they arise from a different cause entirely, or by a disproportionately
minor event like a loss of a few hours of sleep.
Symptoms occurring naturally from an Ailment from would be doubly indicated if that event didn’t occur
.
Posology
A higher potency has an ability to produce a more intense
central disturbance. Select a potency just above the level of the central
disturbance at that time. A lower one will have little effect and will have to
be repeated quite frequently.
A much higher potency will aggravate and could cause harm.
The intensity of the mentals and generals are seen by the
clarity of their expression. Choosing a high potency with a clear expression
will provide a quick response. Pathology does not indicate low or high, only the
central disturbance.
30x, 200x, 10M, 50M is the range that Sankaran thinks in.
Also 6x and MM.
A vague or broad picture indicates a low potency given
repeatedly. Cell salts are given this way.
Chronic cases show improvements after several months of
doses, acutes in a few days or hours. After one or two years the peripheral
pathology is reduced.
Don’t repeat ameliorating remedies if they don’t
improve the mentals and generals. This will suppress.
A strong central disturbance, a clear mental and general
picture, or the more exact match to the simillimum indicates the higher potency.
Curative effects proceed from the central disturbance to
the pathology. Pathological effects proceed from the periphery to the center.
Repetition
Cases that will not need repetition are those with no
pathology or those where there was an acute exciting factor which has been
eliminated.
Doses are exhausted after the level of the central
disturbance returns to its original level by a disease root or aggravating
factors.
If the exciting factor is very strong and persistent, the
effect of the dose will be short.
If the root is excitable, minor factors can aggravate and
the effect of the dose will be short.
Environmental factors will cause the effect of the dose to
be short.
A strong pathology will cause the effect of the dose to be
short.
Short effects mean you should repeat frequently.
Increase the dose until you get an aggravation. Don’t
repeat when an aggravation has occurred.
If the aggravation is sharp, the remedy acts quickly, or
the longer the duration of the remedy with no exciting cause, the potency is
higher than the central disturbance.
Repeat when the dose is exhausted or you will excite the
root more and any removal of the pathology will return.
