“The human being is an integrated whole acting all the time through three distinct levels: the mental, the emotional and the physical. The mental level being the most important, while physical the least.” -Dr. George Vithoulkas
The main concern of the homoeopathic physician is human beings in health and in sickness both. Because, (i) he acquires the knowledge of medicines through the proving on healthy individuals and then (ii) he applies this knowledge in restoring the sick to health. Therefore, he must know what is health? and what is sickness?
Hahnemann has defined the health as follows (Aphorism 9 – Organon):-
“In healthy condition of man, the spiritual vital force (autocracy), the dynamis that animates the material body (organism), rules with unbounded sway, and retain all the parts of the organism in admirable, harmonious, vital operation, as regards both sensations and functions, so that our indwelling, reason gifted mind can employ this living, healthy instrument for the higher purposes of our existence.”
Hahnemann used the words vital force (autocracy) and dynamis in the above Aphorism, now the question comes to mind what this vital force is? Because, in Western system of medicine there is no concept of the vital force. Although in Indian system of medicine, spiritual forces like Prana-shakti and Soul are supposed to be responsible for life. Dr. J. T. Kent has clearly stated in his Lectures on Homoeopathic Philosophy that by vital force Hahnemann does not mean what is called the Soul. According to the ancient Indian philosophy Soul is supposed to be eternal and absolutely neutral, whereas the vital force is capable of manifesting the sensations and feelings of the man consequently the symptoms of the existing malady through various sensations and feelings. In Aphorism 15 of the Organon Hahnemann says: –
“The affections of the morbidly deranged, spirit like dynamis (vital force) that animates our body in the invisible interior, and the totality of the outwardly cognizable symptoms produced by it in the organism and presenting the existing malady, constitute a whole; they are one and the same. The organism is indeed the material instrument of the life, but it is not conceivable without the animation imparted to it by the instinctively perceiving and regulating vital force….”
An alive person has the faculties of understanding, consciousness, thinking, criticism, comparing, calculating, classification, creation, visualization, planning, describing, communicating, etc., etc. Actually these are the faculties of mind or MANA the Hindi equivalent of mind, which constitutes the mental plane of the human beings. So long as all these faculties remain sound and in good order the human being remains perfectly healthy on mental level. He continues to live happily and does creative service for others and for himself even though physically he may be crippled.
Dr. George Vithoulkas says,
” A person can continue to live, be happy and be of creative service to others and to himself, with a crippled body, the loss of limbs, or even the loss of sight or hearing. Many examples can be cited of people who were healthy on this level of existence, even though handicapped on more peripheral levels. There are well- known musicians today who are blind. Beethoven composed some of his most profound and powerful works after losing his hearing. One of the most revered and successful geniuses in astrophysics today is confined to a wheelchair, virtually paralyzed by a neurological ailment, unable to pronounce words clearly; yet he has contributed an unprecedented amount of insight to his field since his affliction. Spiritual giants such as Ramana Maharishi and Ramakrishna (Paramahamsa) had cancer without dimming their spiritual reality or the impact on their disciples.”
But, when there is disorder at mental plane the very existence of the person is threatened. He becomes rather a burden for himself and the society. Such is seen in conditions such as senility, schizophrenia and imbecility, etc.
The mental plane is also called the spiritual plane. It seems that the term Vital Force used by Hahnemann is this spiritual plane. The physical plane or the organism or the body is the medium through which the higher faculties can manifest themselves.
Between mental plane and physical plane lies the emotional plane, which is the faculty of the brain. The range of the emotional expressions varies widely: love/hatred, joy/sadness, calmness/anxiety, trust/anger, courage/fear, etc. are the manifestations of the emotional plane.
Dr. George Vithaulkas says,
“Feelings as to their quality, can be defined as positive or negative. Positive feeling are those tending to draw the individual towards a state of happiness; negative are those tending to draw the individual toward a state of unhappiness. The more an individual feels or experiences negative feelings, the more unhealthy he or she is on this plane. To measure the degrees of emotional disturbance of a person is to find out how much, in his waking state, he is occupied with negative feelings, such as apathy, irritability, anxiety, anguish, depression, suicidal thoughts, jealousy, hatred, envy, etc.”
Emotional plane is the plane where most of the mental diseases affect. The diseases affecting the emotional or psychic and mental or spiritual plane are more serious and more deeply seated. According to the Hahnemannian principles such diseases are the manifestations of inherent or acquired workings of one or a combination of chronic miasms. To clarify this, I will put forth a brief description of the mental states under the influence of Psora, Sycosis and Syphilis.
The mental state under the influence of Psora: –
-Quick, active. Prostrated easily from mental exertions or impressions.
-Anxious, filled with foreboding.
-Fear of death or of illness. Fear that his case is hopeless or incurable.
-Depression. Timidity. Vanishing of thoughts or can not control thoughts.
-Sadness. Anxiety. Dread of labor, of being alone, of dark.
-Sudden change of mood without apparent cause. Melancholy.
-Palpitation. Pulsation in different parts.
-A certain feeling of insanity induces him to commit suicide although there is no anxiety.
-Easily frightened, often from trivial things.
-Chills or chilly sensations, fainting spells, headache, nausea, vomiting and a host of symptoms follow attacks of fever, even to convulsions, epilepsy and spasms.
-Becomes dizzy or faint in a crowd.
-He is easily bewildered, is inclined to be irritable, cross, or sensitive to many impressions, such as odor of flowers, smell of cooking foods, atmospheric changes, bad news, joy, etc.
-Psoric patient is a chronic complainer – a chronic grumbler, never satisfied with his conditions in life.
-Absent minded in a general way.
-Fears everything.
-Psora is restless in thought, feeling and will. He is never satisfied with his existing state of things.
-In delusion or mania there is no end to his words.
-Mental delusions of all kinds, etc., etc.
Mental state under the influence of Syphilis: –
-Mental spells, the patience is driven out of bed, inducing symptoms of suicide.
-All symptoms are worse at night.
-Mentally dull, heavy, stupid and especially stubborn, sullen, morose and usually suspicious. Depressed, but keeps his troubles to himself and sulk over them.
-Fixed ideas, fixed in moods.
-Slow in reaction. He is a close mouthed fellow. Mistrustful.
-Desire to go away from self, which often drives him to suicide.
-Idiocy. All quickness of thought gone and there is a gradual incapacity for understanding things.
-Comprehension becomes slow. If he reads a line he can not understand it’s meaning and he has, therefore, to read it over and over again.
-There is a kind of mental paralysis.
Mental state under the influence of Sycosis: –
-Sycosis is cross, irritable.
-Fits of anger.
-Suspicion. He becomes so suspicious that he dare not trust himself, he must go back and repeat what he has done or said and wonders, if he has said just what he means, he goes back and starts again.
-There is a peculiar tendency for making a secret of everything.
-If he writes or says something he will repeat it over and over – he always suspects that the idea has not been correctly laid out.
-Broods over things.
-Sycosis coupled with Psora is the basis of criminal insanity and of most suicides.
-The Sycotic taint develops the worst forms of degeneracy, because of the basic suspicion and jealousy. This is most markedly degenerate of the stigma in its tendency to harm others and to harm animals. This produces the worst forms of cruelty and cunning deceit, and worst forms of any of the stigma.
-Sycosis is the most mischievous of all the miasms.
-Sycosis makes its victim devoid of all sense of righteousness. It makes him a liar, a vicious scoundrel, makes him destitute of all love and affection of others, and makes him mean and selfish. It makes him a beast out of a man.
In short the mentality of Sycosis is: –
Suspicious, mischievous, mean, selfish and forgetful.
When two or all the three miasms combine, their result is always devastating on mind and body.
In the Homoeopathic Materia Medica all well proved remedies have a priceless wealth of mental symptoms. And all homoeopathic physicians know the basic principle- similia similibus curentur- of Homoeopathy well. The present science of psychiatry came into being hardly one hundred years ago, while Hahnemann cured Klockenbring, a quite insane patient about two hundred years ago. During that period the insane were treated like animals, they used to be kept in chains and used to be beaten mercilessly. Hahnemann was strongly against such inhuman practice. He performed the cure by affection and proper management.
Now, after two centuries after the invention of Homoeopathy we have lots of well proved remedies in our Materia Medica. I believe homoeopaths can handle the mentally sick people in a better way without any toxicological effects and side effects to the patients.
On the other hand the Repertories like those of Kent, Knerr, Boericke and others have a wealth of Mental Rubrics with numerous remedies from general to particular Rubrics. The only need is, the Homoeopathic Physician must have clear concept of the law of similia. In this respect the Aphorism No. 3 is most important. Great Hahnemann, in this Aphorism, has clearly explained in brief what kind of knowledge the Homoeopathic Physician must possess in order to perform rational and judicial CURE. Further in Aphorisms 82 to 104 he has given clear hints on case taking which is very essential in diagnosing the proper curative remedy. Regarding case taking the booklet “What the Doctor Needs to Know In Order to Make A Successful Prescription” by Dr J. T. Kent is also a very comprehensive guide.
Dr. Kent says that if the mental symptoms clearly indicate towards a remedy the physician can prescribe it with confidence and predict the result. For example I may be allowed to quote a little case here: –
A childless couple had adopted a baby boy, when he was about two or two and half year old, he started crying incessantly and wanted to be carried all the time. One day and two nights had passed, but the child did not stop crying. The couple started cursing the moment when they adopted the child, because they could not took rest during this period. On the third day the gentleman came to me and asked to do some thing. On hearing about the whole episode I prescribed Chamomilla 30, a dose every four hours and ask him to report the next day. The gentleman was reluctant and in doubt what the small powder will do. I insisted him to go and give the medicine, and see himself the outcome. Next day he came, he was very happy and thankful, he told that the child went to sleep after a short while after the first potion and was at ease thereafter.
It is a case of about 18 years back.
The following case is an illustration, how the mental effect causes bodily trouble:-
A lady about the age of 36 years wife of an army Captain was suffering for the past one year from distressing pains in sides of head and neck extending up to her breasts. She used to feel great anxiety and palpitation. On close inquiry it was found that a year ago a vehicle of her husband’s Unit met with an accident in which some of the soldiers died and the others got seriously injured. Being Captain’s wife of the Unit, she went to the Military Hospital to show her sympathy. On seeing the mutilated bodies she got shocked deeply. After that incident she started feeling the complaints. Mainly Aconite in high potency cured her in about a month, whereas she had been under empirical treatment for the past whole year without feeling any relief. It was twelve years ago and she did not get a relapse since.
I may be allowed to quote one more case: –
A lady about 54 years of age has a large uterine tumor (fibroid), dysmenorrhoea, leucorrhea and has been under my care since 1991.She lives at a far away place, so the treatment is continuing through correspondence. Her husband reports that the tumor is improving and she feels better in other respect also. During March 1999 it was reported that she is suffering from mental disturbance as stated in the following lines: –
For some time she has become very peevish, noisy, Very angry in the morning on waking. She talks incoherently whatever comes to her mind, she doesn’t care who is present. In her fit of incoherence she starts crying if some one tries to calm her. She complains that no one cares for her in the family. She has become very suspicious. Suspicious of neighbors, of people about her, thinks they will harm. Due to such state of affairs there was no peace in the house.
Along with the remedy for fibroid and other complaints she was given Lachesis in high potency intercurrently at long intervals.
She has improved a lot by now (July 2000) and continues to improve steadily in all respects.
References: –
Hahnemann- Organon Of Medicine 5th & 6th Edition, B. Jain Publishers.
George Vithoulkas- The Science Of Homoeopathy.
Phyllis Speight- A Comparison Of The Chronic Miasms.
“DOON RATNA” Dr. S. K. MAMGAIN Gold Medalist
MAMGAIN HOMOEO CLINIC
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