In Homoeopathy, the concept of Vital Force is most important. If a homoeopathic physician has clear concept of the Vital Force, it is my belief that he will perform his duty as a preserver of health with greatest zeal, and the importance of SIMILIA SIMILIBUS CURENTUR and the single, simple and minimum will become very clear to him. In that case he will not be liable to be tempted by the attractive combinations and shortcut formulas.
I am of the opinion that, if one travels to his destination through the main road; he will become able to recognize numerous shortcuts and will be able to choose the best ones after traveling thus a number of times through the main road. On the other hand, if one travels through a shortcut in the very beginning, he will know only this one and none other. Besides, he, even, will not know the main road properly.
Before we proceed further, the questions come to mind, “what is LIFE?” “If the body or the organism is LIFE?” Or “it is something else that we call LIFE?” So long one is alive and in senses, feels all the emotions; happiness, sadness, anger, pleasure, pain, enjoyment, feels hunger, thirst, nature’s calls, is capable of feeling desires and aversions, etc., etc. After day’s work feels tired and desires to rest. When exerts or goes into sun feels thirsty and desires cold drink, and so on. He eats drinks and takes rest, goes to sleep and wakes up feeling fresh and rejuvenated. He again goes to his job, attends his duties of the family and livelihood. This goes on day in, day out, month by month, through years. These are the signs of Life.
At the time of birth whole body was tiny and extremely delicate, the total height hardly one and half feet; weighing hardly six pounds or a little less or more. But at fifteen to twenty years of age the same tiny body grows to the height of five or more feet, weighing fifty or more kilograms; and strength, every reader knows. Actually the same body at the time of conception was merely a single cell. Scientists say, it grows by division of the cells. But, what is that which makes it to divide and grow? By division this single cell grows into bones, linear muscles, sphincter muscles, teeth, pupils of the eyes, the nerves and whatsoever else in the body.
Numerous functions go on in the body without a feeling of any inconvenience. The person feeds the raw material; we call food and water as per demand, which comes from the inner-self automatically. And, then the functions of:
Digestion,
Repair,
Growth,
Formation of blood, plasma, cells, tissues, etc.,
Purification of body fluids,
Excretion of unused and waste matter in the form of feces, urine, sweat, etc.,
go on continuously automatically. And, the person remains in good health.
Defining health Hahnemann say in ? 9 of Organon:
“In healthy condition of man, the spiritual vital force (autocracy) the dynamis that animates the material body (organism), rules with unbounded sway and retains 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 freely employ this living, healthy instrument for the higher purposes of our existence.”
Here, the question comes to mind, “what this Vital Force is? Simply the Organism cannot be the Vital Force. Because, as soon as one dies all the life processes stop. In the words of Hahnemann:
” The material organism, without the vital force, is capable of no sensation, no function, no self-preservation. (It is dead, and now only subject to the processes of external physical world; it decays, and is again resolved into its chemical constituents), it derives all sensations and performs all the functions of life solely by means of the immaterial being (the vital force) which animates the material organism in health and in disease.” ? 10 ibid.
If, the Soul (Atma) is Vital Force?
Soul cannot be the Vital Force, as according to Indian thought, Soul is immortal and changeless; is ultimate being.
It has been seen that in persons suffering from diseases, such as gangrene, chronic fistula or sinus, cancerous ulcers etc. etc., the trouble remains more or less localized i.e. all the tissues of the body do not get involved. Medical scientists say that the defense mechanism of the body prevents the trouble from engulfing the whole organism fast. But after death, apparently nothing separates from the body, yet the person is dead and the body, which was fully capable of sensations and functions, and the defense mechanism, which was defending it flawlessly, stops at once. The whole body starts decaying a short while after death.
It clearly shows that the organism is not the life. Actually the existence of life is constituted of (i) the dynamic being and (ii) the physical being. The dynamic being is some energy like substance. The physical being is the instrument, which shows the signs of life. As long as the dynamic being remains in it and the life processes continue the body remains alive. The combination of both these beings is Life.
About sickness Hahnemann says,
” Our vital force, is a spirit- like dynamis, cannot be attacked and affected by injurious influences on the healthy organism caused by the external inimical forces that disturb the harmonious play of life, otherwise than in a spirit-like (dynamic) way,…..” ? 16 ibid.
It is a scientific fact that, if a stronger magnet is brought close to a weaker one, the later loses its properties and accepts those of the stronger one, i.e. it starts behaving like the former. There are numerous kinds of morbid energies in the nature which are inimical to life. The chronic miasms singly or in combination prepare the basis for the effect of these inimical forces. But, so long the life force remains strong, the effects of the miasms remain dormant, and the inimical forces remain ineffective. And, the man remains healthy. The man suddenly gets ill, and the dormant inimical forces or miasms become active. How? The man is liable to various temptations, he develops sedentary habits, becomes addict to various narcotic substances, intoxicants, tea, coffee, tobacco, etc., etc. He involves in unnecessary worries, hurries. Takes spicy foods, pickles, sauces, etc. Indulges in immoral acts. All such things have the power to weaken the body and mind, consequently the life force. Now the dormant miasm/(s) find opportunity to get flared up, resulting in disturbed harmony of the life force. This is represented through unusual sensations and feelings, and the changes in organic functions, which we call disease.
On the other hand, the medicinal substances also have the powers to effect the life forces in their own peculiar manner, producing various changes in sensations, feelings and organic functions (medicinal powers).
Realizing the importance of the forces behind health, sickness and remedies Hahnemann has written in ? 3:
i) “If the physician clearly perceives what is to be cured in diseases, that is to say, in every individual case of disease (knowledge of disease, indication)…
ii) If he clearly perceives what is curative in medicines, that is to say, in each individual medicine (knowledge of medicinal powers)…
Here, Hahnemann does not simply say, knowledge of diseases and knowledge of medicines. He emphasizes that, if the physician clearly perceives the disturbed forces causing diseases and the forces inherent in medicines that could establish order again, or the physician has clear understanding of the core or the essential nature of the diseases and the medicines.
In this context Hahnemann says:
“As diseases are nothing more than alterations in the state of health of the healthy individual, which express themselves by morbid signs, and cure is also only possible by a change to the healthy condition of the state of health of the diseased individual. It is very evident that medicines could never cure diseases, if they did not possess the power of altering man’s state of health, which depend on sensations and functions; indeed that their curative power must be owing solely to this power they possess of altering man’s state of health.” ? 19, 20, ibid.
We learn this phenomena through proving of medicinal substances on healthy and sensitive individuals. Thus, in Homoeopathy the physician deals with the energies responsible for the health, sickness and the remedies.
Now, let us have a look into the ancient Indian thought known as Adhyatma – meaning, the knowledge of the qualities and duties of Atma (the Soul). Yajurveda says that:
“O man! You are great, the whole universe is present within you. The soul within you has the power to purify all Vasus and governs everything in the body; like God governs whole universe.”
At another place Yajurveda says:
“You (O man)! Has immense powers, so, you become great.”
The great exponent of Indian Yoga Maharishi Patanjali says the same thing in the following Sutra,
“Whatever is in the universe is present in the body.”
These statements are true if the man could awaken his inner-self and lives a simple life with close proximity with the nature. One has to be free from all the stigmas or miasms namely Psora, Syphilis and Sycosis and their combinations, if any of these is present in his heredity.
But, in this world the humans are liable to fall prey to various temptations started with Adams and Eve. A Hahnemannian Homoeopath tries to set order in the disordered PRANA SHAKTI (Vital Force) of the sick person by his remedies.
According to the Indian philosophy the living organism is constituted of five elements, namely Agni (Fire), Vayu (Air), Akasha (Space), Prithavi (Earth), Jala (Water) and Atma (Soul). Atma (Soul) is said to be absolutely neutral like nucleus in the atom. But, the life processes go on only when Soul is present in the organism. Soul is an infinite substance and the organism is physical, both are joined intimately from physical to the infinite in degrees of fineness. The living organism is supposed to be constituted of three bodies (i) Bhautic shareera (Physical body), (ii) Sookshama shareera (Infinite body), (iii) Karan shareera (Soul).
The whole individual has been further classified into five Kosha, namely:
(Kosha = store or treasure, here it means body.)
i) Annamaya Kosha
ii) Pranamaya Kosha
iii) Manomaya Kosha
iv) Vigyanmaya Kosha
v) Anandmaya kosha
The three classifications from ii) to iv) above may be taken as constituting the VITAL FORCE Hahnemann has described in his Organon and based his whole theory of Homoeopathy; these three Kosha are responsible for the sensations, functions and vital operations in the physical being. Soul is the cause of life. In common term what we call Prana is the VITAL FORCE, as I understood so far.
In case of sickness, the morbid symptoms are the signals or the outcry of the Vital Force for the help. The homoeopathic physician decodes them in relation with the powers of his remedies and performs CURE. Actually the Homoeopathic Materia Medica is the reflection of diseases in the form of remedies.
In the end I would like to submit that the VITAL FORCE which is said to be responsible for our health in the state of health, sickness and get CURED under the effects of remedies, cannot be explained in words. It is simply a matter of perception. I believe, when the homoeopathic physician creates the understanding about this subject, he can do his job skillfully and can achieve miraculous results in most complicated and chronic cases with his infinitesimal doses of simple and single homoeopathic remedies.
I do not claim to be a pure Hahnemannian. Yet I have seen in my own practice with my little knowledge, that the Homoeopathic remedies act instantaneously like lightening in emergent and acute cases in single, simple and infinitely small doses, whenever the remedy is accurately homoeopathic to the case. In very chronic and complicated cases thoughtfully, chosen remedies, on the basis of Prana Shakti not only palliate and prolong the life with less sufferings, but in various almost hopeless cases re-establish health.
(c) Dr. Rajneesh Kumar Sharma
Homoeo Cure & Research Centre P. Ltd.
N.H. 74, Moradabad Road, Kashipur- Uttaranchal
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